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getcooler · 3 years

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Three Heartbreaks & a Rose

Kim Seungmin (Skz) x Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst, some crackheadery

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: mentions of a car crash, of hospitals; some crying; unnecessary jealousy caused by lack of communication

FLOWER STORE!AU where Seungmin is an annoying regular at your flower store but he sort of grows on you, eventually.

A/N: Sorry for not uploading more often :( But this is an extra long fic by our standards so maybe it’ll make up for it. Originally, this was part of a larger series of different fic based all around this business street and you might find mentions of it in the fic, but I’m not sure I’ll ever write the other members’ parts :( Nevertheless, enjoy and maybe maybe maybe leave some feedback somewhere :)

“Hello, I’m— Oh, it’s you again.”

It took you less than two seconds to identify the clear distaste in Seungmin’s voice as he walked into the store.

The tone of his voice made you roll your eyes, “Yes, it’s me again. Like every Saturday for the past 3 years.”

“And yet nothing ever seems to change,” he sighed, face void of any emotion. In a leisurely pace, he made his way over to the counter of your grandmother’s flower store and asked, “What do you guys have here this week? Anything pretty or are all the flowers here as tired-looking as you?”

“I’ve got some daisies fresh from the garden across the street,” you offered with a glare in your eyes, but he scrunched his nose in distaste.

He mumbled, “Too lazy.”

“Lazy?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “It would seem very lazy of me to take daisies to the home of the elderly.”

In all the years of him coming here, you had never once heard what he was planning on doing with the flowers. Every Saturday he came in, bought a giant box (yes, a literal box) of flowers and left after bickering with you for five minutes or more. Somehow this was the first time you found out that he’s taking the flowers to the house of the elderly.

“Okay, so what type of flowers would you like to buy?” you prompted him while silently begging any deity that he wouldn’t start a fight out of it.

Seungmin looked around, seeming to think for a moment or two before speaking, “I want something bright but not too over the top.”

“Something simple?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, agreeing with you just this once, “Maybe something that would remind the elderly of their home gardens? That kind of feel.”

You chuckled as you pushed yourself to your feet behind the counter, “You seem to be pretty clear on your decision.”

“Not really,” he sighed. “What do you have to offer?”

“Well, it is early autumn,” you pointed out while walking through the store, pretending to think and ponder. “It’s the perfect time to buy asters.”

“Asters?” he frowned in confusion.

You nodded without hesitation before lifting up a vase full of fresh asters, “They grow in most gardens and they look very pretty and colourful yet simple.”

“You do have a point,” he nodded slowly, eyeing the flowers in your hands. “I’ll take fifteen.”

“Great choice,” you said out of habit and Seungmin couldn’t help but snort as he reached for his wallet.

As you picked out some prettier and fresher looking asters, you cheerfully told him his total.

“Do you have to be so chirpy all the time?” he groaned as he pushed his card into the terminal. “You sound like a cartoon character. It’s going to scare away your customers.”

Without much thinking, you shushed him and handed him the receipt with a fake smile, “Please do come again.”

“Do yourself a favour and stop applying for customer service jobs,” he joked with a teasing smile before picking up the flowers and walking out, “I’ll see you next Saturday!”

“I hope not!” you called after him while cleaning the counter of fallen petals.

Just a week later, he walked in once again. This time he was dressed in a patterned button-up shirt and had his hair styled neatly, which was very unlike his usual attire which consisted of a random t-shirt and a baseball cap. He offered a smile as he walked in, “Do you ever get a weekend off?”

“As long as you keep buying flowers every Saturday – no,” you answered with a sigh before putting on your best smile. “How can I help you on this fine day?”

He looked around, just like every previous time, and spoke, “I need three roses and some more flowers.”

“Which colour?” you asked while walking past him towards the rose display.

“What’s the colour of happiness?” he thought out loud and you grumbled underneath your breath. He had the dumb tendency to act like an idiot just to make you speak more. You absolutely despised because it gave him several reasons to pick a fight.

“I believe pink roses are said to represent happiness,” you told him through gritted teeth as you opened the display’s door.

Seungmin smiled brightly behind you, “I’ll take the pink ones then.”

“Which shade of pink? Peach, bubblegum, rouge, watermelon?” you asked him, fully intending to offer him the best client service despite being annoyed by his presence.

“I mean pink,” Seungmin replied without much thought. A small frown had appeared on his face, “Also, I’m pretty sure at least three of those pink shades are actually food and-”

“So, peach?” you interrupted him delightfully.

Seungmin sighed and shrugged. “Just pink will do.”

“Whatever you prefer,” you sighed and handed him three of the pinkest roses. “How about these?”

He eyed the roses, twirling the bouquet in hand for a second before nodding, “These will do perfectly. Now for my other flowers.”

“Asters? Peonies? Poppies?”

“I was thinking something more,” he hummed in thought before deciding, “extravagant?”

“What the hell is happening in that home of elderly today?” you asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Your handsome customer spoke, “One of the older ladies there is turning 95 today. They’re having a little celebration.”

“That sounds lovely,” you replied in a rather monotone voice. “Would carnations do the trick?”

“Absolutely,” he grinned. “I’d like twenty, please.”

You couldn’t help but sigh. Did Seungmin have any idea how heavy twenty carnations were?

“I’ll pay you well today,” he laughed at your reaction. “I promise I won’t even nag you if you give me back the wrong change.”

“You’re paying in cash today?” you were surprised.

“Yeah,” he nodded with a nervous chuckle, “Lost my card when I crashed my bike on Wednesday.”

“Ouch.”

Another week passed. You expected him to come to buy flowers on Saturday but as the clock ticked on, you didn’t catch sight of him.

All-day you waited for him to come. There was not a single joke, not a single order of an outrageous number of peonies. There was simply nothing.

The only customer you got all day was the new music store owner from down the street (Chan was his name, you believed). Even someone as new and unfamiliar as he noticed your sullen mood and expectant glances out the window.

The young curly-haired business owner chuckled and spoke softly, “I’m sure he’ll come. Maybe something just came up.”

“What if something bad happened?” You sighed as you wrapped Chan’s red roses in an old newspaper. “What if he never comes by again?”

“He will,” Chan told you without hesitation as he handed you the money. “Keep the change.”

He left the store and you didn’t see another human walk into the store all day. A sense of worry went through you as closed the store that evening.

You didn’t see Seungmin until Monday.

Focused on re-arranging the lily display, you barely noticed him enter. Truth be told, you didn’t even recognize him until he handed you the money.

Dressed in his school uniform and his face all serious and sad, he was nearly impossible to recognize.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t even look at you.

Seungmin merely walked into the store, picked up a bouquet and handed you the money before walking out.

The next day he came in again, this time dressed in a large hoodie and his baseball cap low on his face. You couldn’t believe how much of a mess he looked.

“Is everything okay?” you asked as you calculated the price of the three gerberas he had picked out.

Seungmin hummed in response, but it didn’t sound like him at all. It was almost like a part of him had gone missing. A part of essential to his being. Once again he walked out without saying a word.

The same thing happened the day after.

“If you want to talk about it,” you spoke hesitantly on Wednesday when he still continued ignoring you, “I’m always here ready to listen.”

To your surprise, when you handed him back the change, you heard a sniffle. Though his head was still hanging low and his cap hid most of it, you could tell that he had begun crying.

Within seconds his sniffles turned into sobs and he leaned against the counter to stay standing. In shock, your eyes widened and for a moment you doubted what to do.

However, when he reached out his hand to you and whispered “Can I take up that offer now?”, you couldn’t help but walk around the counter and pull him into a tight hug. Instinctively, he hid his face in the crook of your neck and let his fingers tangle in your shirt as you wrapped your arms around him and let him cry.

Your grandmother, having heard the crying, walked out from the backroom and gasped in surprise. Holding her hands over her heart, she motioned for you to lead Seungmin to the back, whispering, “I’ll take over your shift. Offer him some tea.”

Gratefully, you led Seungmin to the break room and let him continue crying. When he stopped crying, only half an hour had passed. To you, it felt like much longer. It felt like he had been crying for days, your shirt wet with his tears and your own eyes burning sympathetically.

Suddenly, Seungmin let go of you, as though realizing what he had done. Rapidly —roughly even— he started wiping his face with the back of his hand. He seemed embarrassed about his emotional state, about his willingness to cry on the shoulder of the one person he annoyed every week.

“It’s okay,” you whispered and it was like the valve of his heart had given in and all emotions came flooding out. There was no stopping them.

Without another second of hesitation, Seungmin pulled you back into his arms, resting his head on your shoulder and relishing in the words of comfort you whispered in his ear.

And just like that your heart broke for the first time, in unison with his.

“It’s my mother,” he whispered weakly as your grip on his hoodie tightened. “She’s in hospital. Has been for the past week.”

“What happened?” you asked hesitantly, afraid of triggering more tears.

Seungmin sighed deeply and squeezed his eyes shut, willing his crying to cease, “She was caught in a car crash and she hasn’t woken up still.”

“That’s why you’ve been buying flowers so often,” you realized and he nodded.

He mumbled, “I want her to wake up to the prettiest sight so she could smile again. I really miss her smile.”

“It’s okay,” you whispered again as another set of tears began running down his cheeks. “I’m sure she appreciates it. But she wouldn’t want you to cry.”

“Will you come with me?” he asked in a weak voice after a moment of silence. “To see my mother?”

To say you were surprised at his request would be a major understatement. You were beyond baffled and so you asked, “Why?”

“I don’t want to go alone,” he whispered. “It’s too difficult.”

“I’ll go with you. As long as you wish,” you sighed into his hair as he hummed in appreciation, his tears slowly drying.

That day you walked with him, flowers in hand as you entered his mother’s room. There she lied and at the sight, you felt Seungmin’s hand grip yours tightly. He let out a barely audible whimper of despair before walking up to her and beginning to quietly tell her about his day.

You stood in the doorway, watching him and offering him encouraging smiles whenever he seemed to falter. He seemed too fragile, so gentle compared to the Seungmin who came in every Saturday. This was a side of him you never knew existed.

After an hour of talking and even singing a bit, Seungmin finally pushed himself to his feet and walked back to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his face in your shoulder. He whispered, “Thank you for coming along.”

It repeated for the whole week: every day he came in, bought some flowers and took your hand so you would accompany him to the hospital. In that week, the two of you grew close. You guessed crying with someone really brought people closer. It definitely was the case for you and Seungmin.

The sadness and exhaustion in his eyes slowly began to fade, being replaced with hope and appreciation.

Finally, on Friday, he practically waltzed in, a large smile on his face and his eyes shining with happiness. You could barely react when he ran over to you and picked you up to spin you as his arms remained around your waist. A delighted giggle left his lips as he spoke, “She woke up. She woke up this morning.”

“She did?” you asked, sharing his excitement.

Seungmin nodded enthusiastically, excited to tears as he hugged you tight and sighed in relief, “She’s going to be fine.”

When he came in next Saturday, it wasn’t for his mother.

“Good day,” he cheered as you walked into the store, dressed in a black t-shirt and a jacket. The weather was getting harsher and his clothing style was proof of that.

You hummed in response before focusing back on your crossword, “What would you like today?”

“I’ll have a look around if you don’t mind,” he chuckled, not wanting to bother you when you were so focused on another task. Partly because he cared, but mostly because he recalled a painful experience from the last time he attempted to tear you away from a crossword (let’s just say, he learnt exactly how painful a rolled-up crossword collection could be in the hands of an angry florist).

“Be my guest.”

At that, he began humming without a second of hesitation. He was in a good mood and he tended to display that by singing and today’s song just so happened to be “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast. You rolled your eyes at the realization.

After some minutes of consideration, he opted for sunflowers. He picked out ten of those and made his way over to the register. He spoke quietly, as not to startle you, “I’ll have these, please.”

You looked up from your crossword and offered a smile. “Sunflowers. My favourite.”

“You like sunflowers?” He raised his eyebrows but you snorted.

“Kind of,” you replied, “but it’s more of an automatic response now. Gotta encourage those customers somehow.”

Seungmin laughed at your honest response. “Do I look like I need more encouragement?”

“I mean,” you shrugged, “ten seems kind of a weak number for you.”

He laughed at that and reached out to flick your forehead gently. “I’m already spending half of my weekly pocket money on flowers. How much more do you need?”

“I’m just saying,” you teased him as you wrapped the sunflowers in a newspaper. “Anything else, oh dear customer of mine?”

“A hug would be nice,” he seemed sheepish to admit.

You were taken aback but not one to protest. If there was anything you learnt about Seungmin the week before, it’s that he loved a good hug or twenty. Not only that but he gave incredible hugs.

You chuckled after a moment of thought before opening your arms wide to invite him to hug you. He gladly walked around the counter and wrapped his arms around you. He sighed in content, feeling safe and happy.

“Oh, before I forget,” you pulled back from the hug. “We’re getting a shipment of cacti next tomorrow. Do you want one?”

He raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Are you trying to bribe me with cactus right now?”

“We only get those shipments once a year. The nice ones are usually bought within three days of arriving,” you told him before mumbling quietly, “I’ve seen you look at the cacti before. Figured you’d like one.”

Seungmin chuckled before humming in appreciation. “Sure. If you’ll be kind enough to put one cactus to the side for me to pick up later, I’d be very happy.”

“All I’m asking in return is you’ll buy me lunch next Saturday.”

“Deal.” He didn’t even hesitate. “But I have to go now. Minhee invited me to her tea party.”

You snorted, “What a perfect young man.”

“Shush.”

You hated Mondays. For several, relatively obvious, reasons.

This Monday though? This Monday you were looking forward to. Why? Because a new young florist would be joining the ranks of your tiny flower store.

You could barely contain your excitement and nervousness as a rather short yet athletic-looking young man dressed in all black walked into the store, holding in his hand a small paper and his phone. He looked up from the note to check the large banner above your head.

“This has to be the place,” he mumbled to himself after checking it twice. Feeling your gaze on himself, the young man walked over and offered a smile, “Hi, I’m Seo Changbin. I believe I was hired?”

“(Y/n)!” you heard your grandmother’s voice from behind. “It’s the new florist! Show him around!”

Normally you would’ve grumbled a bit, not being a big fan of the store’s layout. However, this was a relatively handsome young man in front of you, waiting for a quick tour and instructions. A new co-worker. (New eye candy.) You couldn’t bring yourself to say no.

“Sure!” You smiled and began showing him around, telling him everything he needed to know. As you had predicted by his looks, he wasn’t big on flowers usually. But the job had a good salary and he had rent to pay and school to attend.

It didn’t take long for the two of you to click. Within hours, the two of you were in perfect sync.

“You’re pretty good at this,” you told him on Saturday morning as the two of you attempted to arrange a bride’s bouquet. It wasn’t uncommon for locals to order bouquets and flower arrangements from your store, seeing as you grandmother and you had managed to make a good impression on almost everyone (this doesn’t include the rival store’s owner).

Changbin chuckled as he placed a pastel pink rose in the bouquet, doing so carefully as not to disturb your own work. He spoke, “You’re better than me though.”

“I’ve been doing this for years, Bin,” you told him while doing your damn best to not blush under his gaze. “If I wasn’t any good at this, I would’ve lost my job ages ago.”

“Still,” he continued, “this might just be the prettiest bouquet I’ve ever seen.”

“The roses from across the street are the secret ingredients,” you half-joked. “The gardener’s daughter has been sneaking in all types of roses from around the world. So we have a large variety of those, unlike some other places.”

“The pale blue ones are a nice touch,” he mumbled quietly and you couldn’t help but agree.

As he was about to say something else, the bell on the door rang. In walked Seungmin, once again dressed in a random t-shirt and a jacket. But this time he was missing his usual baseball cap.

“Seungmin,” you cheered, looking up from the bouquet, “What would you like today?”

“I think I have a cactus to pick up.” He smiled brightly before looking around. “I’d also like some lilies, please.”

You hummed before asking, “Which colour and how many?”

“White and red?” Seungmin thought out loud and you nodded before patting Changbin on the shoulder. You teased the new florist, “Your time to shine, Bin.”

“White and red lilies?” Changbin didn’t miss a beat and walked around the counter as you walked to the back to get Seungmin’s cactus, one you had picked out to your best ability.

Seungmin seemed a bit surprised to see your new co-worker but if it bothered him, he didn’t voice it out loud. He didn’t have to. His eyes said it all. Still, the moment Changbin turned to him, Seungmin’s glare was replaced with another bright smile.

“Would you like anything else?” you asked as Seungmin and Changbin made their way back to the counter.

“No, that’s all,” Seungmin replied, his eyes remaining on Changbin who kept sneaking quick glances at you.

What was this feeling in his gut? Jealousy? No. Definitely not jealous. Seungmin didn’t get jealous.

When he left the store and took one last look through the window, he saw you giving Changbin a back-hug and messing with his hair, a shy blush on Changbin’s face. It was decided. Seungmin was absolutely jealous.

Every Saturday from then on, Seungmin found himself fuming with spite when he walked into the store and found you and your co-worker practically linked at the hip.

You hadn’t noticed how close you and Changbin really were, seeing his hugs and teasing and occasional flirting as friendly. Seungmin, on the other hand, saw it as a threat to his very being.

How dare a new guy hit on the florist he never knew he had a crush on?!

The following weekend, Seungmin didn’t come in with the usual enthusiasm or playful insults. He actually hesitated to enter. You know because you watched him stand outside the door for 10 minutes, biting his lip and fidgeting with the sleeves of his slightly too large of a varsity jacket. Even his gaze was hesitant as it wandered around the building.

Finally, you had enough.

You marched over to the door and all but threw it open. Without giving him even a second to think about it, you grabbed him by his sleeve and dragged him inside. “It’s raining outside, idiot.”

“Barely a drizzle,” he mumbled in response as he obediently followed you to the counter. “Hello to you too, by the way.”

“Hi. Nice to see you!” you spoke after letting out a short disbelieving scoff. “What would you like today?”

Instead of replying, Seungmin looked around the room. It was almost like he was looking for something.

A minute passed before he turned back to you. The look in his eyes almost startled. He asked, “No loverboy today?”

“Loverboy?” You blinked.

He puffed out his cheeks and raised his hand to around his chin to indicate a height and spoke, “You know, the guy’s about this tall. Kind of looks like he should be working in a Hot Topic instead of a flower store. Always attached to you.”

“Oh!” you squeaked in surprise. “You mean Changbin? We’re just friends.”

Seungmin had the irresistible urge to roll his eyes. “And he’s not here today?”

“No. I trained him well so now he’s working shifts alone.” You leaned over the counter to pinch his cheek. “It’s just me today.”

“Great!” It was as though a switch had been flipped: Seungmin seemed oddly happy all of a sudden. He grinned and declared, “I’ll take some thirty of gerbera daisies.”

You sighed. Of course, he would place an order this large. “You know, my life would be much easier if you just placed your orders a few days ahead of time.”

“Yeah, but then I wouldn’t get to see your pretty face red in anger,” Seungmin replied easily and you were stunned. He had just called you pretty.

“If- If you say so,” you stuttered out and walked over to the gerberas. “Colour preferences?”

Seungmin hummed in thought. “Red and peach. Half and half.”

“You finally figured out that there are different shades to pink?” you teased him but began picking out the flowers.

Seungmin merely chuckled at that and watched you. For a moment he wondered why he had been so hesitant about coming in.

“So, are you going to pay or not?”

“What?” Only now did he realize he’d been lost in his thoughts. Your little giggle snapped him out of the daze and his face felt hot all of a sudden. “Right. Pay.”

You chuckled at that and asked, “Are you okay, Seungmin? You seem a bit distracted.”

“Don’t,” he warned half-heartedly as he handed you the money.

“Do you have a crush on Changbin or something? You seem kind of upset that he’s not here,” you teased him and this time he scoffed.

His glare settled on you but it wasn’t harsh. No, you could only read playfulness out from his gaze. “Sure, that’s why I come here every Saturday. To see your boyfriend.”

“We’re not dating!” you laughed and walked around the counter to throw your hand over his shoulder. Seungmin felt his heartbeat pick up as you rested your head against him while pushing the bouquet into his hand. “Besides, I prefer you to him any day.”

“Lies.”

“Are you calling me a liar, Kim Seungmin?” you gasped and punched his side gently. He laughed at that.

Before he could reply, the door to the shop flew open and Changbin ran in. A wide smile on his face, the short man rushed over to you and pulled you into a tight hug, twirling your around the room after tearing you out of Seungmin’s grasp.

All hope and joy Seungmin had held in his heart for so long vanished in 5 seconds flat. He couldn’t help but glare at the two of you as you laughed in Changbin’s arms, the small man’s face hidden in the crook of your neck. He scoffed loudly and marched out, flowers in hand and heart burning with hatred.

You could just stare after his retreating figure as he walked out, fuming with anger and distaste as Changbin squealed, “She said YES!”

Another week, another Saturday. You were in the flower store, sorting flowers when the door opened and Seungmin stepped in. The usual bounce was gone from his step and he solemnly made his way to the counter where you were seated. Without a single smile or a hum, he spoke, “I’ll have a box of yellow roses.”

“Not asking me for suggestions this time?” you wondered out loud but began fulfilling his order either way.

You attempted to engage in small talk but he seemed to be having none of it. When you asked him a question, his only responses were quiet hums or shakes of his head. Not a single unnecessary word said.

You tried to shake it off. Maybe he was just having a bad day and was taking it out on you. Or perhaps he was trying not to take it out on you. But you couldn’t convince yourself. This just wasn’t like Seungmin at all and it bothered you.

“Could you hurry up?” he spoke after a while. “I’m kind of in a hurry.” The harshness of his tone made you flinch in your spot but you forced yourself to continue to be hopeful.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t order a box of roses on such short notice,” you suggested teasingly. The chuckle at the end was meant as a sign of goodwill but Seungmin only seemed more irritated by it.

He grumbled something under his breath and leant back against the counter. A moment passed before he spoke, “I’m leaving.”

“I’m not even done with your order yet, Seungmin,” you scoffed at that.

“No, you don’t get it.” He cursed quietly, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. Then he tried once again, “I’m leaving Korea.”

Your heart stopped. The two roses in your hand fell to the ground. “You’re what?”

“I signed up for an international student exchange program two weeks ago,” he spoke quite clearly but refused to look you in the eye. “I’m leaving for America in three days.”

“That’s kind of last-minute.” Shakily you picked up the fallen roses and continued sorting them.

Seungmin shrugged. “They had a free spot and I’d been considering it for a while. Figured I’d give it a go.”

“When will you be back?”

He didn’t answer. “Are you done with the roses yet?”

“Yeah,” you finally sighed and placed the box on the counter.

He left after paying the total, never once looking back. Your heart grumbled as you realized - he never answered your question.

“(Y/n), did you order new gerberas?” Changbin’s voice broke you out of a daze.

You looked around, feeling a bit disoriented as you tried to recall what he had just said. You couldn’t and Changbin could see it in your eyes. He sighed and walked over to you.

Bitterly you stared at the couple ring in his hand. He had what you didn’t - the person he loved by his side. Despite the distaste radiating off you, Changbin pulled you into his arms and pressed a comforting kiss to your head. After all, as your self-appointed best friend of three months, he knew what was going on and could read you like the back of his hand.

You quietly grumbled and got lost in your thoughts again. In the months of not seeing Seungmin, you had come to three important realizations:

ONE: you missed Seungmin’s visits to the flower store and his idiotic habit of buying a worrying amount of flowers with no warning.

TWO: you absolutely did not like the fact that Seungmin was in America and you couldn’t communicate with him.

THREE: you were ridiculously smitten with Kim Seungmin, the annoying flower store customer who had left you alone in Korea for the sake of a student exchange program.

“He’ll be back,” Changbin tried to comfort you but you merely scoffed. “I’m serious.”

“I doubt he’ll come back to the store when he returns to the country,” you mumbled. “He’ll have new friends, new habits.”

Changbin rested his head on yours and sighed. “If he cares for you as much as you care for him, he’ll come back and never let you out of his sight again.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then he’s obviously an idiot and I will personally beat him up for you.”

For the first time in what felt like months, you let out a laugh and Changbin couldn’t help but smile upon hearing the sound.

In the six months of not seeing Seungmin, you had made friends with new business owners and staff on the block. The Ninth Street had become a very popular business sight thanks to the advertising that Changbin and Jisung, a boy from the record store down the street, had done over the months as a project for their marketing course in university.

Not a single day went by lonely. Every time you started to feel even a bit of boredom, a familiar face would walk in. Today it was Hyunjin from the photo developing shop at the very end of the street.

His tall model-like figure was not difficult to recognize even in the heavy rain pouring down from the sky. A wide smile appeared on his face as he walked in and greeted you. “Thought you’d be lonely on this rainy day.”

“You know me too well, Hwang Hyunjin,” you laughed and turned on the kettle placed under the counter. “Tea?”

“Yes!” he agreed immediately and enthusiastically. “I wanted to bring cookies but I thought the rain might soak them too much.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got a stash right here,” you proudly declared and pulled a bowl of your grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies out of a drawer. “Eat up.”

Hyunjin stared at you in awe. “I love you.”

“Keep that love talk for your girlfriend.” He scoffed at the mention. “How is she anyway?”

“Annoying as always,” he pointed out. “How many times do I have to tell her that I don’t want to model for her to understand that?”

You shrugged.

“Speaking of girlfriends,” Hyunjin’s eyes suddenly lit up in mischief. “Why aren’t you?”

Not quite understanding, you stared at him in question.

“I mean,” he choked and coughed on a cookie, “why aren’t you dating anyone? Are you not interested in anyone?”

“Not really.”

Hyunjin scoffed once again. “Lies. There are like 7 different, incredibly good looking guys working on this street all year round and you’re trying to tell me you’re not attracted to any of us?”

“Don’t half of you have girlfriends?”

“I get that Chan is a big guy but not even he is big and intimidating enough to make up half of us,” Hyunjin glared at you. “And I’m still single and so is everyone else on this block.”

You offered him a pointed look and he quickly corrected himself, “Alright, so maybe Changbin is in a dedicated relationship and maybe Jisung sort of kind of has a girlfriend but other than that we’re all single.” When you continued looking at him with that look, he finally sighed, “And maybe Minho’s off the market too. Geesh, just tell me.”

“There is this one guy,” you mumbled and Hyunjin’s ears immediately perked up.

Looking almost like a puppy who’s caught sight of a treat in his owner’s hand, Hyunjin asked, “Who? Tell me. Tell me!”

“You need to stop that,” you blinked. “It’s annoying.”

“Just tell me who you like,” he whined and stretched out his arm to flick your forehead. “I won’t tell anyone.”

Your cheeks heated up as you spoke, “There’s this one guy but he went away and I haven’t seen him since.”

The kettle clicked to let you know that the tea water was ready. Without much thought, you poured water in both your and Hyunjin’s designated mugs (which only existed courtesy of Felix who thought that everyone working on Ninth Street should be friends and exchange gifts - he got everyone personalized coffee mugs).

Enjoyable silence filled the store as the two of you waited for your tea to get ready. Hyunjin twirled the tea bag in his mug and suddenly asked, “Is it Seungmin?”

You almost spilt the contents of your mug. “How did you-?”

“Chan is not exactly the best at keeping secrets,” he mumbled sheepishly. “Maybe you should keep that in mind for future reference. Write it on a note somewhere.”

“I’ll keep that in mind from now on,” you grumbled and wiped down the counter. “But it’s not a big deal. He’s not coming back for a while.”

Hyunjin snorted. “He just came back to Korea last night. Jisung said so.”

“Jisung is friends with Seungmin?”

“They’re classmates,” he replied and lifted his mug to his lips to get a taste of the tea. He scrunched up his nose in distaste. “Gosh, this is awful.”

“You forgot the sugar, idiot.”

Seungmin felt like the weight of his feelings was trying to push him down, right into his grave six feet under. His heart was heavy and his head was filled with 20 different ways to speak to you.

During the long walk to the flower store, he came to the conclusion that he should just try to be himself. Sure, it had been 6 months but there’s no way everything had changed so much that he could no longer just be himself.

When he turned to Ninth Street, he was surprised at the number of people walking around. In the past, the street had been almost empty on weekends. He had found comfort in walking down the somewhat abandoned street and ordering a box of roses from you. The thought of you not having anything better to do was what had kept him from feeling guilt about placing such large orders on short notice.

How could he ever ask for a box of yellow roses now when the street was filled with hundreds of curious people.

“Seungmin!” Jeongin’s familiar voice sounded. “You’re back!”

“Yeah,” he laughed somewhat awkwardly. “Got back just two days ago. Slept all through yesterday.”

Jeongin hummed in understanding. “Maybe you should’ve rested today too. You look kind of exhausted.”

“Thank you for pointing that out,” Seungmin couldn’t stop himself from saying and Jeongin merely laughed at that. “Sorry. Old habits.” He cleared his throat and looked around. “What happened here? It’s so lively all of a sudden.”

“Ah, Jisung and Changbin had a marketing project for uni and they decided to advertise the Ninth Street as an ideal hub for small businesses. It worked wonders,” Jeongin told him happily. “Now not a single day goes by quietly. There are so many customers and new people. It’s incredible.”

Seungmin had only one question. “Does the flower store still exist?”

“Yeah,” Jeongin smiled. “(Y/n), her grandmother and Changbin are all so busy these days. The store’s become so popular — everyone goes there nowadays.”

Bidding farewell, Seungmin smiled and walked to the flower store. The building was bigger than he remembered and the sign above the door seemed to shine brighter than six months ago, yet the place held an air of comfort and familiarity. With a sigh of relief, he entered.

True to Jeongin’s words, the shop had more customers than Seungmin could recall ever seeing in the place. There was a couple discussing flower arrangements for their weddings in the lily section, a young man choosing roses to buy for his significant other and two elderly women gushing over the quality of the gerberas that they were trying to buy for their grandchildren’s birthdays.

Seungmin could barely recognize Changbin as he approached the counter. The short male still looked the same for the most part, but he had grown more muscular and the earlier vibe of ‘I’m only here to earn money’ had been replaced with an obvious genuine love for what he was doing. There was a wide smile on the man’s face as he handed a young lady her small potted cactus.

“Have a good day and visit us again!” he called after the lady as she left with a wide grin on her face.

Changbin’s smile only slightly faded as he cleaned the counter. As he finished that, his eyes landed on Seungmin. He couldn’t help but grin and call out, “Yo, Kim Seungmin!”

“Seo Changbin,” Seungmin chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “I see you’re busy.”

“Jisung and I did such a good job on advertising this street that now we get no rest. I’m starting to regret that school project,” Changbin joked.

“How’s (Y/n)? Is she here today?” Seungmin asked. “I thought she worked all Saturdays.”

Changbin clicked his tongue. “She and I switched shifts after she found out that you were coming back. I think she’s upset with you.”

Seungmin bit back a curse. “Do you think I could get her to stop being upset with me?”

“I might have an idea,” Changbin smirked.

It was unusual to work on a Monday. Usually, you avoided this day in favour of sleeping in and maybe going to the theatre. However, your fear of seeing Seungmin again had made you switch shifts with Changbin (who had been more than glad to do so because he wanted an extra couple of hours of sleep before the emotionally draining advertising tactics class in the evening) and now you were suffering the consequences.

“Would you like a ribbon with the flowers? We could arrange it in a bow,” you suggested to the customer as he stood in front of the counter, looking somewhat dumbstruck. Your guess was the guy didn’t visit flower stores very often.

“I- Uh- Sure,” he finally decided and you smiled.

Fiddling with the velvet ribbons, you asked, “Should we do a light blue ribbon to match the flowers or a dark red one to contrast them? Red would also give off an air of passion and love while the blue would give more of an innocent and pure vibe. What do you think?”

The man blushed and mumbled, “The red one should be fine.”

You obediently wrapped his flowers and finished the transaction before smiling and waving him goodbye. The blushy man left and for the first time that day, the store was void of customers.

You sighed in relief but soon put on a smile again as the bell rang. Without a second thought, you turned from the computer screen to the door. Your smile faded.

“Hey there,” Seungmin’s familiar voice greeted you. There was a shy quirk to his lips and you couldn’t help but stop breathing for a second. Instead of delving further into a conversation, he strolled over to the counter as demanded, “I’d like your best red rose. One.”

“Right, of course,” you broke out the miniature daze that had hit you when he entered. “One red rose, coming right up.”

Seungmin watched you quietly before adding, “And maybe a welcome-back hug from my favourite florist?”

Without thinking, you replied, “Sorry, Changbin’s not working until Wednesday.”

Seungmin scoffed between giggles and you melted. He looked you straight in the eyes and spoke, “I meant you, silly. I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” you couldn’t help but whisper as he rounded the counter and pulled you into his arms. Despite not seeing him for six months, you couldn’t help but cuddle into him. His familiar scent just pulled you in and the familiar beat of his heart calmed you down until your heart matched its speed with his.

Seungmin only pulled back from the hug long enough to mumbled, “I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re back,” you whispered. It would not be a complete lie to say that you were surprised at how fast you were caving in. How was it possible to be this infatuated with a person even after this long?

“Let me make it up to you,” Seungmin suddenly decided and pulled away from you. He seemed almost frantic as he suggested, “Let me take you out on a date and make it up to you. For all these six months that I was an idiot.”

You blinked. “How do you even know if I like you back?”

“Changbin can’t lie to save his life,” he joked, “and I had a feeling. Nothing to do with your computer’s wallpaper.”

Your eyes widened. You had almost forgotten that you had set your wallpaper to a photo of Seungmin. The sudden memory made your heart and breathing stop for a second but Seungmin was quick to comfort you, “Don’t worry. You’re my screensaver too.” He rested his forehead against yours. “So, about that date?”

“What about that rose you came to get?”

Seungmin chuckled, reach out his hand, picked out a rose and placed it between the two of you, never once letting his forehead leave yours.

In a low voice, he spoke, “It’s for you.”

You accepted it without a moment of hesitation.

#inkidz #skz #seungmin #seungmin scenarios #stray kids scenarios #kim seungmin scenarios #admin vy

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princecharmingmendes · 4 years

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Best Friend's Brother | Raul Mendes

Growing up with your best friend is amazing, having this loving and caring relationship is fantastic, planning your lives together seemed natural, what Y/N didn’t include in her plans was falling in love with Raul Mendes, Peter’s brother.

Hi hi, lovies! I know, I know, I disappeared, but I’m back with a Raul piece! It’s been ages since the last time I posted something and I missed it so much! I had a really hard time writing for the past few weeks and I’m really happy that I was finally able to finish it. So I’m so sorry it took me way too long and thank you so much for being so patient, really 💘 I’ll stop rambling now! I hope you enjoy it!

*Word Count: 8.5k+

*Warnings: a few curse words, drinking, injure (sprained ankle in case this triggering), and I guess that’s it!

*Posted: October 5th, 2020.

-*-

You could say Y/N was in trouble.

Growing up with someone right beside you will always create that invisible string that’ll keep you two together for, what some say, the rest of your life. It forms a bond so strong you can tell what they’re feeling just by a single look in their eyes and you just know exactly what to do. And if life allows you, you’ll keep them around for a long time and have them around you for every occasion, being it good or bad, but always near you to support you. And thankfully, that were the triplets for her. She met them in High School, Shawn was obsessed with music, Peter was the cute nerd that took amazing pictures and Raul was the typical bad boy and Y/N was a sweet and quiet bookworm. They met when she was asked to tutor Raul and he ended up asking her to meet him at his place, and that’s how she ended up with three best friends and a crush.

She was a bit closer to Peter since they had similar interests in general and also had similar plans on Friday nights, and they’re basically glued to the hip and everyone outside from their little bubble were one hundred percent sure they’re together somehow. And the fact that the three of them (Shawn was too busy touring the world) went to the same college didn’t exactly helped with the rumors. But in reality, the triplet that makes her heart skip a bit, her stomach to do flips and her breath to get caught on her throat was Raul. And if she was honest, how could someone honestly resist him? Girls who didn’t even know him normally wanted him, and Y/N knew him like the back of her hand and knew that behind the bad boy exterior there was the softest and biggest heart on the planet, was almost impossible to resist.

And even though she had all this feelings and felt all warm inside when he playfully winked at her, she never acted on them. Peter obviously knew about it, but she never told anyone else. Hell, she didn’t even tell him, he somehow managed to notice it.

Peter tried encouraging her to talk to him about it or do something about the whole thing, mostly because he was tired of seeing her suffering every single time she saw him with another girl, which wasn’t very uncommon. But she never did. Y/N doesn’t like comparing girls, that’s just mean, because everyone is different, and just because you don’t look like someone doesn’t mean you’re not enough or good at all, just makes you unique, but she can’t help thinking she’s not his ‘type’. Not that she noticed he has a specific body type or something, she’s just not the kind of person who would catch his eye.

It’s just he literally models on the side, goes to med school and has amazing grades, while still going on parties, having hook ups and living his best life while getting tattoos and having fun. While Y/N likes to light up a candle and read a good book on her couch, maybe with Peter while they eat some pizza and discuss from the latest thing that happened on campus to the theory of wormholes. They are close, they are friends, but they are polar opposites.

And the worst part? He acts as if she was the reason the sun rose every single day and treats her as if she’s the reason he’s capable of breathing, but in a “you’re my best friend and I love you like you are family” type of thing, not in a “I am hopelessly in love with you”. He was very touchy and big on pet names, specially when Peter went to sleep and it was just the two of them watching stuff on his living room, but never did anything to lead her into thinking he likes her more than a friend. It’s all her fault for looking too much into it and having her heart broken whenever he had a girl over when she was there (which wasn’t that common since he wasn’t big into having a serious relationship, at least not enough to bring someone to their flat) or when she saw him all heart eyes or making out with someone.

Y/N swears she tried burying those feelings down, even going as far as hanging out less with him and avoiding going to his place, taking way too long to reply to his texts and dodging him everywhere she could like the plague. He wasn’t having it, so he randomly showed up at her dorm room at midnight, looking like an abandoned puppy and begging her to forgive him for whatever he had done that upset her so badly. And that’s when she decided that maybe that wasn’t her greatest idea. That maybe all she needed to do was just to forget those stupid feelings and butterflies that felt like ripping out of her body whenever he smiled at her. Well, that didn’t work either. So, to sum it all up, Y/N was in trouble.

In a big, big, gigantic trouble.

-*-

So it was a Friday night when Peter called her to crash at his place so they could watch the last season of How to Get Away with Murder while he worked on a project for his class or something like that, and she agreed almost immediately, it’s not like she planned on doing much better. Y/N gathered what she considered to be important in a few seconds cause he told her he was going to pick her up since he was still on campus and ran to the entrance of her building, already seeing his car parked outside. The ride to his place was quiet and consisted on them basically talking about what theories they had for the end of the season since they met for lunch.

“I don’t think Raul’s home yet, his bike wasn’t on his usual parking space” Peter hummed as he opened the door to his apartment.

“Yeah, I didn’t see it either” was all she could answer. And Y/N didn’t know how to feel about it, it’s been a week since she had the chance to talk to him and she missed it, but at the same time, she wasn’t going to end up a blushing mess around his natural flirty persona.

“Let me just grab my camera and computer, you can drop your stuff on the guest room if you want”

“Okay, don’t start the show without me” she said before starting to walk away and all she could hear was a ‘don’t take too long then’ Peter muttered under his breath.

She giggled to herself from his silliness as she placed her backpack on the bed and took off her shoes, getting rid of her jacket and pulling her hair in a loose ponytail, only grabbing her phone as she got back to meet Peter on the living room, already on the couch with his stuff around him as he let out a frustrated groan.

“What’s wrong, grumpy?”

“Raul’s an idiot, he took the remote to his room since he stepped on his or something like that and he’s too lazy to get his fixed or return the other one to its place”

“But is it in his room?”

“Probably, could you please grab it for me?”

“Wouldn’t he get mad I got into his room without him being around?”

“Oh please, Y/N, Raul mad at you? He’d probably get mad at me for making you go in there to grab it for us”

“It’s not like that”

“Of course it is, Raul could never even look at you slightly pissed, and even if he did, he’d feel guilty”

“If he gets mad I’ll tell him it was your fault”

“He won’t, honey, he’s not even home yet”

“Fine” she ended up giving up, arguing with Peter was always pointless.

So Y/N turned around and headed for Raul’s room, knocking tentatively and without response, she just got in and tried to find the control without looking at his stuff for too long, she didn’t want to be nosy. Since she was busy with the task of finding it, she didn’t notice the soft sounds coming from the bathroom or the gentle click of the door when someone opened it. Her attention was finally brought the other side of the room, when she hear someone clearing their throat. Her eyes widened as she looked up only to find Raul standing across from her, with his hair damp and naked apart from the fluffy towel hanging low on his hips.

He had a little smirk on his lips and a funny expression, but that didn’t stop from almost giving Y/N a heart attack. She started mumbling a string of apologies as she covered eyes with both hands, walking backward until she hit her head on a shelf and tripped over something, falling right on her butt.

“Ouch!” she said reaching one of her hands on the back of her head to try and relive some of the throbbing, still covering her eyes “I’m so so so incredibly sorry, I didn’t mean to simply walk in here, but we thought you weren’t home, and I knocked, and Peter told me to come in here to grab the remote, and said you wouldn’t mind, and...”

“Hey, no, it’s okay” Raul said hurriedly, walking towards her a crouching down in front of her, lightly wrapping his fingers around her wrists “Y/N, it’s okay, look at me, love”

And with the gentle tug on her hands she decided to let go, opening her eyes to be met with his honey orbs “I’m so so sorry, I really didn’t mean to invade your privacy, if I knew you’d be here I wouldn’t- I would never come in, please don’t be mad at me, please”

“Oh, sweetheart, there’s no reason for you to apologize, really, I’m not even naked, or completely naked at least, and even if I was? wouldn’t have minded, yeah?” Raul said gently cupping her face “and I’m not mad at you, how could I ever be mad at you? You’re the sweetest person I know and you didn’t do anything wrong”

“I’m sorry” Y/N mumbled softly and he just chuckled, leaning in and pressing a kiss at the top of her head.

“It’s okay, are you staying the night?”

She nodded “we’re having a marathon, we’re rewatching How to Get Away with Murder”

“Oh, do you mind if I join?”

“You’re not busy?”

“Not at all, but it’s okay if you want to watch just the two of you”

“No, of course not, you can join us if you want”

“Are you ordering food or do you want me to make us something?”

“We didn’t order anything, and I don’t want to bother you with cooking”

“I’d gladly do it, I can make us something quick so it won’t get in the middle of your shows

“I really don’t want to bother you, Raul”

“It’s not a bother, come on, the remote is over there, I’ll change real quick and make us something to eat, and you two can start the show, I’ll meet you guys in the middle, yeah? Sounds good?”

“Sounds amazing”

“Now go, you pervert, I need to change” he said trying to hold back a laugh.

“Oh, sure” she mumbled as she scrambled to get back at her feet.

“Or you can just stay and enjoy the show" Raul threw a wink at her direction as she was already by the door.

Y/N only closed his door a bit harsher than she should, feeling her whole body heating up, she just couldn’t decide if it was of embarrassment or... something else. She shook her head to get rid of the dirty thoughts about her best friend’s brother out of her head and got back to Peter at the leaving room. Seeing he was sitting at the armchair, with all of his stuff around him for him to work comfortably, leaving her the loveseat.

“Oh hey, is Raul at home?!”

“Yeah, he was at the shower, so thank you for putting me in that position”

“Was he mad at you?”

“No”

“Told ya, got the remote?”

“Yeah, by the way, he’s going to make us dinner and join us later”

“Oh, thought he was going out tonight” Peter said opening his computer “do you want to arrange the show?”

“Don’t you think we should wait for him?”

“Nah, don’t think so”

“Wait for who?” Raul asked coming out of the hallway wearing a pair of sweatpants and thin white T-shirt.

“You, to start the show” Peter answered without looking up from the screen.

“Oh no, go ahead, I’ll make us some food and I’ll bring you guys some, okay?”

“Do you need help?”

“No, it’s okay, sweetheart, it’ll be pretty basic”

Y/N hummed in response as she started the first episode and things were as normal as every Friday she spent watching anything with Peter. Only this time, he was a bit less focused on the show and more on his work, but still was able to make comments about the all the scenes. They would both laugh and joke around a lot more than actually watch anything, specially since this wasn’t the first time they watched this. Almost at the end of the first episode, Raul showed up with plates of a very appetizing looking pasta, placing one in front of Peter and one on Y/N’s lap. He went back into the kitchen and coming back with his own, plopping down beside Y/N.

“This is the first, right?”

“Yeah, the end of it”

“Oh, it’s been a while since the last time I watched it, I don’t think I’ve ever finished it”

“Really?”

“I kind of forgot it, I was watching another one at the time, but I remember liking it a lot”

“Well it’s a great thing we decided to follow the episodes and not just jump into our favorites, and by the way, this is amazing”

“Oh, thanks, it’s really simple actually”

“Don’t even start, you always make the most basic stuff like grilled cheese taste like gourmet food”

“He just likes to be praised” Peter said with a chuckle.

“Fuck off, Peter” Raul chuckled and before he could throw a pillow at him, Y/N grabbed his wrist “hey!”

“His camera is there”

“Oh”

“Thanks, Y/N, but this pasta is actually amazing, I have to give you that”

“Was that too hard?” Raul asked and Peter just shrugged with a laugh.

“Maybe we should focus on the show” Y/N said pressing the next episode before they both decided to start something.

Peter got up after they finished dinner to place everyone’s dishes in the sink, going back to his place and work silently. As they watched the episodes, Peter was getting silent as he focused more on his work and Raul was the one commenting on the episodes and talking to Y/N. Which she didn’t mind at all. He was always pretty funny and manage to make her laugh at the silliest jokes.

Maybe that’s the reason so many people were attracted to him. He had a mysterious vibe going on, since he was pretty close with people in general, but could be a sweetheart with the close ones, he had the looks that had everyone’s head turning, he was funny and intelligent. He’s just so good and she hates to admit that even her fell for his charming smile and golden heart. And when he leaned a bit closer to her as the episodes went by, she hated to admit that her body felt a bit warmer and she was itching to lean into him as well. But what made it worse was him laying his head on her lap as he wrapped himself in a throw blanket, giving her a sheepish smile and turning back to the TV. That had her fingers practically moving to its own accord to tangle on his curls, and she couldn’t help but brush them out of his face. And just as she was about to mumble an apology, he let out a content sigh and leaned into her hand.

After a few moments Peter looked up at them and just chuckled softly, and as Y/N looked up at him he just shook his head and pointed towards Raul “He fell asleep with you playing with his hair, just like a puppy”

“Do you think he’ll mind when he wakes up?” she said barely above a whisper.

“Not at all, he loves you, he can never be upset with you”

“That’s not true”

“It is, ask Shawn or Aaliyah, they’ll agree, he’s got a soft spot only for you”

“Shut it, Peter, we’ve known each other for years, he’s just nice because I’m your best friend”

“That’s not true, but I’ll drop it, I think I might go to bed now”

“Okay, I think I’m going to finish this episode”

“You know you can wake him up, right?”

“I know, I just don’t know if I feel like doing it”

“I can do it for you” Peter offered as he gathered his stuff.

“No, it’s okay, I’m going to finish this episode first”

“Do you want me to roll out the sofa and make it more comfortable for you? You don’t have to move”

“Yes please”

“Okay” he answered as he leaned down to extend the couch into a kind of makeshift bed as carefully as he could to not disturb his brother “call me if you need anything”

“Okay, thanks, Peter” she said smiling at him as he shook his head and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead.

“Goodnight, dummy”

“Night, Peter”

He grabbed his stuff and threw one last look at her direction, but she was far too distracted with Raul’s curls to have noticed, and he caught a glimpse of his brother slowly opening his eyes, only to close them again and nuzzle closer to Y/N. Peter hold back a laugh as he went back to his room, he would never figure out how the most brilliant people he knew could be so oblivious.

-*-

Y/N didn’t intend to fall asleep, but the warmth radiating from his body, the soft light coming from the TV and the soft cushions lulled her to sleep without her even noticing. She only noticed she fell asleep when she woke up to rushed whispers in the living room and the soft click of the front door closing.

She was a bit confused, but the strong Raul’s strong scent and the comfortable position she was currently at made it hard for her to come back into consciousness. But as soon as she opened her eyes, Y/N noticed she had her face nuzzled into Raul’s neck, with her body partially on top of him and cuddled close with his arm around her waist. Her immediate thought was to pretend to be asleep so she could come up with a better plan of getting rid of the embarrassment. But before she could do anything, she heard Raul’s warm chuckle.

“Morning, sweetheart” he said combing his fingers through her hair gently, almost making her melt back into his chest.

“Hi” she said sitting up and knuckling at his eyes softly “I didn’t even notice when I fell asleep”

“Me neither, I was completely drained”

“I’m sorry for -you know, being on top of you”

“Oh, it’s okay, I woke up in the middle of the night and I didn’t feel like waking you up, cause you seemed so peaceful, so I just rearranged us, and I guess we ended up cuddled”

“Yeah” Y/N said brushing her hair out of her face.

“You know I don’t mind, right?”

“Mind what?”

Raul gave her a knowing look and she could feel her face beating up “It happens, sweetheart, and there’s no reason to be ashamed, I slept like a baby with you”

“Oh, I slept well too, is Peter gone already?”

“Yeah, he said something about having to buy something for his camera or something like it”

“He saw us?”

“You make it seem like we were doing something so scandalous, he found it cute actually” he said with a chuckle.

“Oh, okay”

Raul gently grabbed her hand and placed a kiss at the back of it “Relax, darling, hungry?”

“A bit, yeah”

“Want to go and grab breakfast? I can drop you home after if you want”

“That’d be amazing, but only if you’re available”

“Of course I am, I always have time for you, now let’s go, I’m starving”

“Already?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up for a while now”

“Why?!”

“Didn’t want to disturb you, you needed to rest, sweetheart”

“You’re too sweet”

“Only for you” he said throwing a little wink on her direction.

He had no idea how much that affected her.

-*-

Aaliyah’s birthday was always an amazing event. The triplets always committed to provide her the best birthday they could every single year and they never let her down. It has always been like this since the triplets parties were always nice for the three boys, they felt like they needed to give her the best time possible. She was their little baby after all.

This year was no different.

Her seventeenth birthday party was beautiful and she was literally gleaming, surrounded by her closest friends and family. Raul had a tough week and was feeling a bit off for a few days, there were many reasons to it but he could never ruin his sister’s birthday, so he put on his best smile and went smoothly along with his siblings. He tried his best having fun and forgetting about everything else, but he about half an hour into the party he sat down by the bar and decided just to sit there and drink until he felt lightheaded. Raul just sat there and watched everyone, sometimes having a small talk with anyone who sat down beside him, but mostly, his gaze was constantly searching for Y/N. He didn’t mean to act like a thirteen year old boy with a school crush, he didn’t even mean to keep on searching for her, but she looked so damn adorable he couldn’t help it. She was wearing a beautiful summer dress, in a peachy color that accentuated her gorgeous curves and of a silky kind of material, urging him to run his hands through it. But he knew better, he knew her since they’re kids and he knew he wasn’t what she needed or wanted, or at least, that’s what seemed. So he just stood there, watching from a safe distance and from time to time, but as soon as he started feeling tipsier than he desired, he decided to move away from the bar and take a breath of fresh air.

As soon as he got in the balcony, he let out a sigh of relief as he noticed no one was around, so he would have a least a little bit of peace. He placed both of his hands on the stone railing, feeling his footing not the most balanced one, maybe he had too many drinks for the night and maybe he should go back and grab a bottle of water and something to eat. But before he could actually really think about it, Raul heard a pair of heels clicking behind him, and since no one called him or made a noise to call his attention he just ignored. He felt the person coming closer and he saw on his peripheral the same coloured dress he’d been staring all night. As he turned his face slightly on the person’s direction, he saw Y/N standing beside him, mimicking his position and looking down at the city. Neither of them felt like breaking the silence, so they just enjoyed each other’s company in a comfortable silence. At least until he saw her body shivering from the colder temperature it was outside, which led him to taking out his leather jacket for her and handing it to her.

“It’s okay, I don’t want you to be cold” Y/N mumbled as if not to disturb the peaceful environment.

“I’m okay, sweetheart, but you’re visibly cold”

“Thank you” she said giving him a soft smile that made his whole body warm up as she put on his jacket, wrapping her arms around her own body “but let me know if you need it back”

Raul chuckled “Fine”

“So… Are you going to pretend everything’s okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Raul, I’ve known you all my life, you don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, you just don’t have to act as if you’re fine around me”

“It’s silly and nothing to worry about, really, you should go and enjoy the party”

“I’m okay here, actually, ’m a bit tired”

“Oh” he said with a nod and looked forward at nothing in particular.

“And I also didn’t want to leave you all alone, and I want you to know that I’m here in case you want to talk”

“Thank you” he said turning to face her and she looked up at him ‘’you’re beautiful, but tonight you look just perfect”

“Oh, thanks” Y/N brushed the hair out of her face “you look gorgeous, as always”

“Yeah, I do, right?” he joked as she giggled, making a smirk appear on his lips.

“Yeah, right” she said looking down at the city.

Raul spoke up after a few moments of silence, regretting almost immediately “I saw you with Mike yesterday”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, you’re leaving the movies at the mall, Peter asked me to buy his new lens and I saw the both of you, was it nice?”

“What?”

“The date”

“Oh, no, it wasn’t like that, he’s actually into Jeff and we go to the same classes since I got in college, he needed to vent and to get distracted, so we went to see a movie”

“Sorry, I had no idea”

“No need to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong”

And back to the silence. Raul was embarrassed for bringing it up and relieved in a very selfish way she wasn’t going out with him. And he was also afraid he was going to blurt another inappropriate question or comment, the alcohol normally tended to make him lose his filter.

“Was it a shitty week?”

“Huh?” Raul hummed looking back at her.

“Was it a shitty week? That left you like this”

“Yeah, I guess you can say that”

“Is it about the girl you were seeing?”

“Anna? No, we’re not going out anymore, I haven’t even seen her in a while” He answered taking a deep breath “It’s just, sometimes I wish I had someone that understood me, that was there for me, that cared about me besides my family, I don’t know, and I had so much work to do this week was insane, I’m sorry for rambling, I’m just- I don’t even know, I’m sorry”

“Hey, it’s okay, you can ramble as much as you want, sometimes it gets hard, and you should know by now that I’m here for you and that I care for you, yeah?” Y/N said reaching for his hand and squeezing it lightly and he nodded, pulling her into a hug.

“Thank you” he mumbled against her hair as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“Now come on, let’s sober you up a bit for the cake, okay?” she said placing her chin on his sternum to look up at him and he nodded chuckling lightly.

“Whatever you want, sweetheart”

“Don’t give me this amount of power, Raul, I might regret it”

“Would never regret it, ’sides, I’m already yours for you to do whatever you want” he said and her heart did a flip, but she only giggled.

“Oh, darling, you have no idea of the mistake you just made” she said grabbing his hand as he slotted their fingers together, letting her drag him back inside.

And to be honest? The party was much better after she showed up to talk to him, specially since she was practically glued to his side making sure he was having a good time.

-*-

To say Y/N and Raul got closer was an understatement. Since his sister’s birthday, they were hanging out pretty much every single day they could, Peter was involved almost all of the time, but something that didn’t happen before was only Y/N and Raul going out alone just for the sake of hanging out. And even though it was completely new, it felt completely natural as if they’re the closest for years. So, for the past month she felt really connected to him and she also felt her crush multiplying like crazy, which could end up pretty bad, but she couldn’t stop herself from being closer and wanting to be around him. And when Shawn called Raul on FaceTime one night and who picked up was Y/N he was delighted. He was coming home on the next weekend and he suggested they went camping, like they did when they’re younger, renting cabins, bonfire, guitar and marshmallows type of thing.

And of course the triples were instantly excited and planning everything and Y/N was included on the camping trip from the moment she picked up the phone, her wanting or not. Not that she was opposed.

So they rented the cabins, one for Peter and Y/N, one for Shawn, Brian and Raul, and one for Mark, one of the guys’ friend and his girlfriend. Raul took her to the market the night before of the trip to buy supplies and food (mostly snacks, but Raul insisted on buying at least some stuff to make a real meal).ul insisted on buying at least a few things to make a real meal for them “we can’t survive two days with cookies and marshmallows, baby”). He even went to her place to help her pack and offered her to stay the night and his flat with Peter so she could sleep a bit more before they hit the road the next day. She couldn’t deny, specially when Peter was complaining Raul was stealing her from him and that he missed her, and since Raul was pouting and begging while using the silliest pet names he could come up with, and he was pretty creative.

When the time to wake up and get ready to leave, she was awaken by rowdy boys on the hallway, clearly too excited to go camping, just like children as they practically bounced on their feet. The ride was pretty nice, she even took a nap on Shawn’s shoulder as Raul and Peter listened to something on the radio softly and chattered about random stuff. Arriving there brought back that nostalgic feeling of when they’re young and came here twice a month on summer days. They quickly dropped their bags on their respective cabins and went out the explore, going to the lake until it was lunchtime and everyone was starving.

After resting a bit, they decided to go on a hike up the hill to watch the sunset from the top of it. Which was clearly filled with jokes, laughs and a bunch of random pranks they pulled off. If anyone was to tell their age, they’d never say anything over 15 years old. Sarah, the only girl on the group apart from Y/N was pretty nice and was walking side by side with her, laughing at the boys and just talking about everything when Raul came back, face flushed from laughing too hard and grabbing Y/N’s hand.

“I was informed your boyfriend misses you and I’m here to keep miss Y/N company”

“Very well then” she said giggling and throwing Y/N a knowing look and a little wink, walking a bit faster to reach John.

“What?” Y/N asked as she heard Raul laughing “what did you do?”

“Hey! I didn’t do anything”

“Oh really?”

“I did not! Brian did though”

“Oh God, what is it then?”

“He might’ve pushed John into the mud” Raul said sheepishly and Y/N laughed.

“And why do you seem so guilty?”

“Cause I was the one who saw it”

“Of course you did” she said slightly bumping her shoulder into him.

“I wasn’t the one who pushed him though”

“That’s true, but doesn’t make you completely innocent”

“It’s not my fault I pay attention to stuff”

“No, but it is your fault telling Brian you saw it”

“You got me there” he said bumping her shoulder back as he chuckled and she laughed shaking her head.

“Hey, lovebirds, come on, it’s almost staring!” Shawn shouted a few feet away already at the top.

Y/N felt her cheeks heating up and Raul just laughed, walking to where everyone was already waiting for the sunset.

They sat down to watch the process, and since they’re both the last ones to reach the top, they sat down in the end of the semicircle they formed. Y/N leaned her head on his shoulder and he did the same, laying his head on top of hers as they chattered watching the sun to set on the horizon. Y/N’s heart felt a bit warmer being so close to Raul and having such a beautiful view. He grabbed one of her hands and placed it on his lap, carefully playing with her fingers and tracing random patterns at the back of her hand.

“Maybe we should go back before if gets too dark” Peter suggested as everyone got up and grabbed their stuff.

On the way back the guys were trying to make it as an obstacle course, always making fun of every situation as Y/N and Sarah laughed leading the way. At least until Brian called out Y/N when she started roaring with laughter as he fell face first on the mud.

“That’s what I call Karma”

“It’s easy to laugh and not do anything princess, bet I can get to the cabin before you do”

“Well, I was on the tracking team”

“Well, I’m better than you”

“First one to get there is free from all the chores?”

“Deal” Brian said “on three, who’s counting?”

“I am!” John chirped in.

“This is not the greatest ide-” Peter was cut off by John”

“3... 2... 1 and GO!”

That was all it took for both of them to start running down the hill as they laughed, the others hurrying their steps to follow them. The cabins weren’t that far and as soon as Y/N got there, she tripped in one of the firewoods the guys placed there sooner, falling down and feeling the pain crawling up her leg in a burning sensation.

“Fuck, Y/N!” Brian was the first to arrive, kneeling down beside her “are you okay?! Are you hurt?! What the hell?! Who let this shit in here?!”

“It’s okay, I-“ her words got caught in her throat as she tried to move her feet to get up, feeling her eyes welling up with tears from the burning sensation.

“Y/N!” Raul shouted rushing towards her, flopping down beside her “what happened?”

“She tripped on the damn firewood someone left here early”

“It’s not their fault” she let out with her voice a bit strained.

“It doesn’t matter right now, what’s hurting, baby?”

“My foot”

“Which one?”

“Left”

“Can I see it?” he asked and she just nodded, knowing that if she spoke another word her voice would break and she would start crying for real.

“Holy shit, what’s going on?” Shawn was the first to ask.

“She tripped and now she’s hurt”

“Do you need me to get you something?!” Peter was the first to offer.

“Yeah, I brought an aid kit in case something happened, it’s in the car, also, grab me a bottle of water” Raul said almost robotically as he carefully worked on taking her shoe off “it’s swelling, it looks like a sprained ankle, but it doesn’t seem like you feared any ligaments for now”

“Should we go back?” Shawn asked.

“No! Please don’t!” Y/N barely chocked out as Raul looked up at her and she focused on looking at him because it was calming her a bit “I don’t want you guys to miss all the fun due to my clumsiness”

“Honey, we don’t mind, we ca-”

“Please, Shawn, I- no, okay? I want to stay, and it’s dangerous to drive at night” Y/N cut him off, still looking directly at Raul.

“Here!” Peter said coming back with a bag.

“Thanks, I don’t think it’s too bad” Raul finally said “I’ll keep on checking it through the night, if the swelling gets too bad or if there are any signs that she might have tore or stretched a ligament I’ll take her back, is that okay?” he asked and she just nodded, looking down at her lap.

“You should stay with her tonight, I can spend the night with Shawn and Brian if she doesn’t mind” Peter offered.

“I’d appreciate it, do you mind, Y/N?” Raul asked and she nodded “okay, I’ll take her to her cabin so we can have a better look at it and shower, can you guys take care of the bonfire?”

“Sure, do whatever you need to” John said.

“Okay, can I pick you up, sweetheart?” and again she just nodded, so he picked her from the ground bridal style and carried her back to (now) their cabin.

“I’m okay, you don’t have to do this”

“Of course I do, and it’s okay, we need to put some ice on it, where do you want to sit?”

“Not on the bed, I’m probably too dirty to sit there”

“Okay” he replied placing her down on an armchair, with her feet up “wait just a sec” he said before going through the mini fridge to retrieve an icepack “here”

“Thank you”

“It’s okay, sweetheart” Raul said kneeling down beside her on the floor “is it hurting?”

“A bit, it was worse before”

“Okay, good, you can’t put much weight on it, yeah? Or it’ll only get worse” Raul softly grabbed her hand, lightly thumbing at her knuckles “if you need anything, just let me know and I’ll do it for you, yeah?”

“You don’t have to do this, I don’t want to bother you”

“You won’t, don’t worry about it”

“Raul, you’re literally going to have to babysit me, I’m ruining your weekend”

“You’re not ruining my weekend”

“Of course I am, this is what you do every single day, you’re supposed to be free to relax and not take care of people all the time”

“This is different, this is you we’re talking about and I really don’t mind spoiling you and caring you around the whole campsite if it need be, besides, I like doing what I do, so it’s no bother at all, you’re not ruining everything, now try to relax a bit, you don’t need sore muscles to appear too”

“Okay” Y/N squeezed his hand lightly.

“Good, I’m going to grab my stuff and hand Peter his, is it okay?”

“Yeah, sure”

“Be right back” he said placing a kiss to her forehead and leaving.

Y/N reached into her bag to grab a book to pass the time, Raul quickly came in and said we was going to shower so she would be free to do the same when the ice was done. She got so deep into reading it, that she barely noticed when he got out of the shower, only realized he was in the room when she her gentle humming to a song. Looking up from behind her book, only to find Raul with only a towel wrapped around his hips, looking through his duffle bag for something to wear. Y/N really tried to look away quickly, but maybe her brain was too clouded by him to actually make a quick move, and since he was literally standing in front of a mirror he caught her glimpsing at him, causing his famous smirk to appear on his lips as he got back into the bathroom to get dressed.

“Don’t” Y/N warned before he could even say a word when he came out with a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie.

“What?”

“Just don’t, I know you”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to be shy, you can look, I don’t mind, I actually like it”

Y/N scoffed and threw the pillow that was behind her at him as he laughed “Fuck off, Raul”

“Okay, stinky lady, let’s get you to the bathroom, I got a little plastic chair for you to sit instead of being on your feet”

“Hey! I’m not stinky”

“Oh really? How can you be so sure?”

“Shut up, Raul, I hate you”

“Fine, then you won’t be taken to the bathroom”

“Okay, then I’ll walk!” Y/N said standing up and before she could put her feet to the floor, Raul was swiping her off her feet (quite literally) and she let out a squeak as he chuckled “put me down!”

‘’Nope, you can’t simply walk without a cast or something, so I’ll be your knight and shining armour”

“My saviour” she mumbled rolling her eyes and he laughed, pressing a kiss to her cheek and placing her seated on the little plastic chair for her shower.

“Okay, smelly girl, do you need help with anything?”

“I think I’m good, can you just grab me something to wear?”

“Sure, ma’am”

And with that he left, only to come back with a similar look to his and left her to shower. It wasn’t the easiest event of her life, but she managed it just fine, trying to get out to the door by jumping in only on foot, and as soon she opened the door to the bedroom, Raul was already there by her side with furrowed brows, hands on her waist to steady her and helping her to the bed as he informed her they had a bonfire ready and food as well outside. And they decided to grab some shoes and meet the rest of the group outside, Raul tried wrapping her foot the best he could to imobilize it with what he had there, and he did a pretty great job. So they sat down on the little wood kind of benches already on the ground with everyone, and they started talking about the most random stuff and Brian was trying to convince everyone to tell creepy stories like the movies, which quickly turned into a huge joke cause they couldn’t be serious for a long time. The environment was pretty light and filled with laughs as they ate the burgers Peter was making, Shawn even grabbed the guitar and played some songs, that were quickly ruined by everyone else shouting atop of his voice and messing up the lyrics. As they started to roas the marshmallows and calm down a bit, acting like civilized humans again, Y/N started to feel a bit sleepy.

She was wrapped up in a cozy blanket with Raul, making her just absolutely toasty and comfy, a bit drowsy from the painkillers she took and all the food, feeling just delighted to be surrounded by this people. She loved to be around the triplets, and Brian and John have been around long enough that she was completely used to them and liked them very much. They always made sure she was okay and having fun, the whole Mendes Family if she’s honest, she always felt very welcomed and glad to have them around, specially since she grew up with them. Maybe it was all of that great feeling, associated with the medicine and the that comforting feeling, she felt herself leaning into Raul a bit as Y/N struggled to stay awake, and instead of pushing her softly or saying something about her falling asleep too soon, he wrapped his arm around her welcoming her in his arms as she laid her head on his chest. She heard his warm chuckle as he placed a kiss on the top of her hair.

“Do you want to go to bed?” he asked softly rubbing intricate shapes on her back in a gentle way and she shook her head “let me know whenever you’re ready, yeah?”

She just nodded, nuzzling closer to him and without even noticing, she fell asleep.

-*-

She woke up what felt only moments later feeling her body moving and when she opened her eyes, she noticed that Raul was placing her on the bed for the night.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you” Raul whispered, pulling the covers up her body.

“It’s okay, I didn’t mean to fall asleep”

“It was a long day, sweetheart, it’s only natural” he said going to grab them each a bottle of water and flopping down beside her and she giggled.

“Thank you”

“For what?”

“For taking care of me and being the sweetest person”

“You don’t have to thank me for anything, you deserve it”

“But I do” Y/N said knuckling at her eye and reaching out for his hand, slotting their fingers together and squeeze it gently “thank you”

Raul smiled and leaned in to place a kiss at her forehead “you’re so beautiful, you know that, right?”

“Stop being silly” she laughed as he feigned an insulted expression.

“I’m not, you’re just the prettiest girl I’ve ever met and I’ve always thought this”

“Oh really? Aren’t you just trying to butter me up?”

“Me? I would never do that!” Raul scoffed and she just chuckled giving him a knowing look “okay, okay, you caught me, I’m just trying to steal your heart”

Y/N gasped “why would you do that to me?”

“Because I want it”

“For what? I’m not an athlete anymore, it’s a poor heart, and I love junk food, you won’t be able to sell it”

“You’re ridiculous, you know?”

“Look, you have to decide if I’m pretty, smelly or ridiculous, can’t be all of them” she said and he laughed.

“You’re impossible”

“Oh great, thanks, can you elaborate?”

“Don’t feel like doing it, no” he said and she rolled her eyes, turning away from him on the bed.

“Fine, then goodnight” Y/N turned off the lamp from her side of the bed and he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back flush against his chest “Hey! I-“

“Do you really want to know?” he said taking a deep sigh and burying his face on her neck.

“Well, if there’s an explanation to it, then yeah, but I was just being dramatic and-“

Raul cut her off trying to gather all the courage possible “There is and I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while, I was just trying to find the best timing and not ruin our friendship”

“You won’t end our friendship, yeah? You can just tell me” she said trying to turn in his arms but he had a vice grip on her, so she just gave up, interlacing their fingers together.

“We’ve known each other for years now, and even though you are closer to Peter most of the time, I couldn’t help it but want you closer. You’re always the cutest and sweetest little thing, always caring about the people around you and taking care of others, and being this funny smart person that always make the environment better around you, so I felt drawn to you. And for years I pushed it aside cause you’re always shy around me and I thought you just weren’t interested so I never made a move or something, but recently that was proven to be impossible, since that night you spent over and we slept on the couch I’ve been wanting to ask you about it or just do something about it“ Raul slowly loosened the grip on her and she decided to turn around to face him “You’re not impossible, maybe sometimes when you really want something, but what was really impossible was not falling for you, and you don’t have to say anything, I just thought you should know”

And Y/N couldn’t even speak and she wanted to. She was just speechless. The guy she had a crush on for years just told her he liked her, what the hell was she supposed to say?! She truly wanted to shout that she liked him too, that she wanted him too and that she felt like this for years, but the only thing she could do instead of gaping him like a fish was lean forward and press their lips together, and that’s what she did.

Raul was completely shocked at first and didn’t react at all, which made Y/N instantly regret her decision starting to pull back, but before she could completely pull away, Raul cradled her face in his hand and smeared their lips together in a sweet yet passionate kiss, pulling her closer as she wrapped her fingers in his hair, tangling on his curls. Y/N couldn’t believe this was actually real, the only thing that made her understand this wasn’t a dream, was the warmth and butterflies spreading through her body as he swept his tongue on her bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth genlty. Her head was spinning when they finally parted for air without actually leaning away. Raul rested his forehead on hers as they both panted softly, a bright smile spreading on his lips and Y/N just chuckled, making him do the same.

“I’ve had a crush on you for years now, you idiot” she said and he laughed.

“So sweet” he retorted and she laughed.

“But it’s true! I thought I was so obvious!”

“If I knew I wanted me too I would’ve done it sooner” he said before leaning in and pressing another kiss to her lips.

“Well maybe I should’ve said it sooner”

“Well, we can change that now, but I can take you on a date as soon as we get back and your feet is a bit better”

“Or we can just ignore my feet and go!”

“Not a chance, we can hang out at my place or yours and then go out”

“Sounds pretty nice”

“Then it’s settled”

“Oh, we have to deal with Peter”

“Hm, we can deal with him tomorrow, yeah? Really don’t want to think about my brother right now” he said pulling her to his chest and she giggled.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t completely fucked as she thought a month ago.

-*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

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rextasywrites · 3 years

Text

Fuck Canon 5 (a short Fix It Fic for the ending of Resident Evil Village)

i read someone's HC on here that Leon would be like an uncle to Rose too and couldn't resist....

Warnings: mentions of alcoholism, Leon being an idiot

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Kept under the ‘read more’ to avoid spoilers!!

Over time, Rose got to know a bit of Uncle Chris and his family. There was his sister, Claire, and her husband Leon. They both met at Raccoon City during the outbreak, and from what Rose had heard about it...oh boy!

While Chris gave Rose a lot of training when it came to strength, Leon took over the guns and knives. She can remember her first time at his lesson:

Rose had entered the room Leon was waiting in for her. He took a sip from his flask, closed it and threw it into his bag. From his bag, filled with guns and knives and first aid kits,, he pulled out two pocket knives and threw one of them to Rose. “First rule in close combat. You don’t stab, you slash. It’s ways harder to fight when your guts are spilling out.”

Rose instantly liked Leon.

Despite his sometimes concerning alcohol consumption, Leon and Rose bounded very fast. For Leon, Rose felt like a little sister and he had to be the cool big brother who teaches her all the cool stuff. He taught her how to drive both cars and motorcycles, and on her 18th birthday, Claire and Leon gifted her a motorcycle. Mia was not happy about this, but thinking of all the stupid shit she did as a teenager…

A few weeks after, Leon invited Rose on a motorcycle tour through a part of the state. He needed to clear his head and Rose was a welcome addition to a fun ride. The days consisted of driving around, eating junk food at midnight at random gas stations. It was all fun and games until four days in when a terrible storm caught up with them and forced them to stay in their motel room.

“Leon?”, Rose asked into the dark room, the man dozing off on the other side of the bed they shared. Upon hearing her asking for him, Leon opened his eyes and rolled over, his gaze focused on her.

“What’s the matter, kiddo?”, he returned the question, not knowing what she wanted from him.

“Did you know my father?”

Leon shrugged at her question, “A little bit. We met twice before the events of the village and it was a shame I didn’t get to meet him more often. He was an alright guy with his heart in the right spot.”, and he thought back on those two times nearly 20 years ago.

Chris had introduced them to one another and Leon instantly tried to flirt with Mia, earning a smack on the back of his head from Chris. But Ehan? Ethan just laughed. “I know my wife is a babe so I don’t mind, Chris. Shows that I married quite a catch!”, while Mia was blushing like a virgin.

“Can I trust you with something, Leon?”, Rose continued after Leon told her this very story, laughing as he rubbed the back of his head. He could feel the smack from Chris there!

“Sure.”, Leon said and sat up, making sure that Rose felt that Leon was giving her the attention she wanted and needed.

“You know, I am technically a bioweapon too. Chris trains me for the best, but I am still...moldy, I dare to say.”, Rose started and sat up too. “I have some powers. I could summon mold if I wanted to, just like this Eveline chick mom and Chris sometimes talk about. But there is one thing I can also do, and that’s communicate with dad.”

Leon’s eyes went wide at Rose’s confession, placing a hand on her shoulder. Of course, Rose could be a weapon of mass destruction if she wanted to be, but Rose was part of the good ones. “How? What do you mean with this?”.

“Do you remember the one time we rode in the city and I made us stop?”, Rose asked Leon.

Leon did remember. The two were riding through the city, the first ride Rose ever did on her own bike. It was a few days after her 18th birthday and it was a beautiful day. Several bikers were cursing through the streets, and with them some careless car drivers too.

At an intersection, Rose felt a hand on her shoulder while they had to wait at a red light. It was Ethan, sitting on the back of her motorcycle. “Don’t go that way.”, he said and pointed towards the street Leon and her had planned to drive through. “Pull into the McDonalds parking lot, say you gotta pee or so.”, and with that, he vanished again.

Rose pointed over to Leon to catch his attention, then she pointed to the McDonalds on the right side of the road. Leon shrugged and drove there with her once the lights turned green. They got off the motorcycles and Rose explained to him, “Sorry, I really ne-”.

Her voice was cut off by the sound of cars crashing into one another. Or better said, a truck crashing into a car. The truck that had driven behind them - its brakes had given up and drove right into another car. Normally, Leon and Rose would have been between them.

Leon’s jaw dropped at this story. Of course, he doubted her story for a little bit, but with all the weird stuff he had seen in his life...his doubt went away very fast.

“Rose.”, he started, placing his other hand on her shoulder too, then pulled her into a big bear hug. “You are such a special kiddo. I am amazed!”

Rose laughed, both out of happiness and relief - Leon didn’t think she was crazy, so that was a good thing! But she knew she’d have to tell Uncle Chris someday soon...but not today.

Today she’d spent in the motel room with Leon, eating junk food and watching horrible sitcoms while roasting the main characters. And that was okay. It was normal, and Rose loved everything normal.

#rosemary winters #ethan winters #leon kennedy #chris redfield #resident evil #resident evil village #resident evil 8

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tanakavox · 3 years

Text

Look into the multiverse chapter 7

DMC3 chapter! And yes I know that Yang came off as being Lady the next chapter but I decided to go Ruby. Reaction written by my friend Doppel Micheal.

The scene starts off with a door getting kicked aparted, and a shirtless Jaune walking out shirtless carrying his sword in one hand and a red jacket in the other.

Jaune gasped at seeing his image shirtless for all to see. "Augh, Cut that out! I don't want people to… uhm…." his voice faded off in embarrasment. "Aaay someone's been working out!" Yang said in a teasing tone, while Weiss sighed in annoyance. "S-shut up Yang. It's not like I'm Sun.."

"Sun does have very nice abs…" Blake whispered at that. "Pfft, you are fine Muscles boy. Isn't he Rubes?" Yang looked to Ruby, trying to get her sister to join in the teasing only to find her little sister seemed lost in thought; she was simply staring at the Jaune on the screen without saying anything. The blonde knight walked closer to her, waving a hand in front of her to try bringing her back to earth. "..." "...Ruby?" "... HUH-? Oh y-yeah. Right, you're f-.. you're alright Jaune." The short reaper was brought back down suddenly, her cheeks taking on a red shade as she seemed to avoid looking at the tall boy in any way.

A pack of demons were outside waiting for him. Jaune turns to look at the broken remains of his shop

"Damnit!" Jaune moaned. You guys totally ruined my shop! And I haven't even named it!" He snarls and turns back to the demons. "Your gotta pay for that." Jaune throws his sword into the air, doing flips and overtop movement before pulling on the red jacket , and catching the sword posing. He sneezes a bit and rubble falls down. Jaune turns and glares at the demons and points Rebellion at all the demons."I hope you all have enough to cover all this!" He growled. The blonde went to town on the demons, Shooting and blasting them to pieces with ease.

"Is this supposed to be the suicidal one's dream world where he's actually important in a fight?" Cinder snarked at the vision in front of her, sending Emerald into a fit of giggles and Mercury to mock them with delight on his voice "Oooh destroyed."

Jaune growled in annoyance. "Hey-!" "HEY!" His attempt at retorting the insult was cut short by Nora. "SHUT UP before I break your second pair of legs. I'm not afraid to do it." She finished with a glare; meanwhile Jaune felt something press on his shoulder, and turned to see Ren, a pleading look on his eyes that said 'Don't let them get to you.'

And after he was done, the bigger ones flew off, the ground splitting in half as a tower arised from the ground. Jaune looks at the tower with a grin.

"It's been nearly a year since we last met. Where does the time go?" Jaune said still grinning knowing Cinder was on top of the tower. He began to walk towards it clearly excited. "No doubt you've got something fun planned for me. Right Cinder?!"

"It's definitely the suicidal one's dream." Cinder expressed while rolling her eyes, making Emerald giggle even more. "Like I would actually care about such a small fly."

Jaune clenched his teeth and fists in frustration, before his lips curved into a smile as he looked at her "At least I actually get to put my sword through your eye this time!" Now Ruby was the one laughing as she saw all of Cinder's smug get wiped out of her, Nora cheering on from behind with yells of "YEAAAAAH tell her!"

"Y-you- if this barrier didn't exist I would tear off your-!" She couldn't finish her reply before being interrupted by Salem. "Cinder. I suggest you calm down and don't let a child get the better of you." With steam nearly coming out of her ears and a death glare sent in Jaune's direction, everyone went back to watching.

The scene cuts to Cinder looking over the town on top of the tower. Raven walked towards her.

"Raven" Cinder greets without looking back.

"Well? Doesn't it excite you? Raven asks. "The Teme-ni-gru has been revived. The great one who once ruled this earth as the medium between the human world and the demon world." Raven smiled a bit. "Isn't it a magnificent view?" The greatest mind of all their time, those who revered evil, construed this glorious edifice. Now, after two millenniums of confinement, it can at last fulfill the purpose for which it was intended…"

"That's none of my concern." Cinder said interrupting Raven. "Did he have it?"

"Of course. He's taking good care of it. After all, it is the last memento left from your mother you both lost.

"But he has no idea of its true power."

"Ewgh, I still can't believe he's related to me in this nonsense."

"The feeling is mutual" Jaune replied to the maiden, his voice full of venom, before noticing Ruby was grabbing his hand in an attempt to comfort him. "It's okay Jaune. It's not real."

"Indeed it isn't Mr Arc." He turned towards Ozpin, speaking for the first time in a while. "Keep your wits about you, none of this is worth losing your mind over."

The demon that escaped Jaune leap onto the Temen-ni gru behind Cinder and Raven. Cinder began to walk off the demon following her. She stopped and unsheathed her kanata, twirling it a bit before sheathing it. The demon upper torso being sliced in half and sliding off before it went poof! The rest of it remains falling off the Temen-ni gru.

The scene cuts to Ruby on a motorcycle, Bumblebee, with the engine still running as she looks over to Temen-ni-gru.

"I found it." She said. Demons began to slowly walk up behind Ruby. She payed them no mind and rev the engine and set the demons on fire with the exhaust port and jump over a pile of demons falling over dead into the number 3.

Ruby stared wide eyed in giddiness at her counterpart, struggling to find her voice "Is that...me?" "-driving MY bike?!" Yang wasn't so amused though.

"I didn't-I'd never! I don't even have a driver's license Yang!" She tried to calm her sister down, making Qrow chuckle at their antics. "She does rock the aesthetic, you gotta give her that." " …. I guess."

Yang crossed her arms, looking the other way while Ruby whispered in excitement. "Ye! I'm cool." Not low enough for Qrow not to hear her though. "Ha! Yeah." Nor Winter. "Indeed."

Weiss couldn't hide the shock from her face at the elder Schnee's response. "Sister?!" "What can I say, I always wanted a bike when I was your age."

The next cut goes back to Jaune walking through a icey area. He's in front of a Icey statue shake, the ice around it falling to ground. A three headed canine chained to a door, stood before Jaune and roared sending a block of ice flying toward Jaune, which he casually cut with rebellion.

"Leave now mortal!" Ceberus growled. "The likes of you are forbidden in this land! You who are powerless are not worthy here!"

Jaune was sweating bullets at the sight "That's…. A big dog…. Z-Zwei doesn't turn into anything like that right Ruby?" "What!? No! Of course she doesn't…. right Weiss?" The reaper gave her partner a hopeful, but questioning look, irritating the heiress. "Why are you looking at me? Like I would ever hurt your dog." She replied indignant, adding one last part as a whisper. "Also he looks much cuter as it is anyways."

"Wow I've never seen a talking mutt before. You know in a dog show, you'd definitely take first place." Jaune says taunting the caine.

"You, a mere human, make a mockery of me?!" Ceberus breathes a beam of ice toward Jaune, which he easily jumps over. The ice blocking the entrance he had came from.

"Easy, Fido! How about I take you for a walk? Jaune bends his knee and starts clapping and whistling. "Come puppy! Let's go!"

"You'll regret this, you worm!"

"It's showtime" Jaune grinned hopping in place and throwing a few punches in the air before gesturing at the oversized mutt. "C'mon!

A short battle happens ending with Jaune cutting off all but one of the heads of the mutt. It leaps back, in awe.

"You are not human,are you?" It asked in awe.

"Who knows? I'm not even sure myself."

"Regardless, you have proved your strength. I acknowledge your ability. Take my soul and go forth. You have my blessing. A bright light fills the area as the demon canine transforms into nunchucks with chucks, Jaune smirks and begins to test out his new weapon, twisting and twirling it around with ease to the point he twirled it with his feet.

"Ha, not bad at all scrawny. You've been going soft on us haven't you?" Jaune felt Qrow punch his shoulder lightly. "Please. Like I would ever pull something like that."

"That remains to be seen Mr Arc." Ozpin spoke yet again. "You have potential yet untapped, perhaps you should play closer attention to what a you from an alternate reality can do."

He didn't like feeling scolded, but gave some thought to what the old man said.

"Too easy." He boasts as he poses with the new weapon. He puts it away and begins to walk off when a motorcycle crashes through the ice behind him, Ruby riding it, Ruby nearly hits Jaune, him jumping out of the way at the last second. He makes eye contact with Ruby as they pass each other midair, both landing at the same time.

"Are you going to the party?" Jaune asks with a smirk. "What's the hurry, didn't you get an invitation? Ruby doesn't turn to look at Jaune and pulls out a bulkier version of Crescent rose firing a rocket at Jaune who casually duck under it and then jumps on riding it around the room, laughing with pure joy before he hops off and let's it blow a hole in the ceiling chuckling a bit.

Ruby couldn't help herself but to stare in obvious excitement and giddiness at the alternate version of her weapon, which brought some amused chuckles from Yang, before crossing her arms and feigning indifference "Hm, my version of my baby is still the best." She completed the act with sticking her tongue out at Yang.

Ruby eyes are finally show and they are filled with cold rage. She revs up her motorcycle and drives towards Jaune and hops over him, the wheel nearly hitting his face as he looks on unflinchingly. She hopped high enough to go through the new hole in the ceiling leaving Jaune alone. "This just keeps getting better and better!" Jaune smirks again as he began to walk to the next area. The scene cuts back to Cinder and Raven again, standing on top of Teme-ni-gru, the time pasting to night.

"Looks like we have an uninvited guest." Cinder states, looking out to the city below.

"Is that so?" Raven replied, flipping through her book.

"A human. A woman." Raven closes her book and sighs.

"I'm afraid I should ask the uninvited guest to leave." She stands and walks toward Cinder. "That is what you want. Actually I happened to be acquainted with that woman." Raven begans to walk off to deal with the woman. "A storm is approaching."

"Can I point out the fact I would never work with that bitch again?" Cinder pointed out with extreme contempt. "Next time I see Raven, I will kill her for what she did."

Qrow chuckled in amusement at her remark. "Because that worked really well last time huh?"

"YOU-" "Is he wrong dear?" Once again, Cinder's attempt at a retort was cut short by Salem, scowling at her protegee. Cinder simply crossed her arms and choose to stare at the floor beneath her feet in frustration. "Tch."

The scene cuts back to Jaune and a door. He gives the door a push and when that doesn't work, he runs up and kicks it. The door still doesn't budge. Jaune snarls and pulls out his pistols getting ready to shoot.

"Yoo hoo!" A voice behind him calls out merrily. Jaune turns to see a woman with pale skin and wearing a blue jester outfit. "There's no need to use violence Devil boy." Jaune ignores her and twirls his pistol getting ready to shoot anyways."Wait wait wait,better listen to what others say lad." The woman rushs in front of Jaune and points to the door with the specter she was holding. "This tower here is very study, you see." She taps the door to prove her point. "Your tricks will do you no good. No good!" Jaune points one of his pistols in her face pushing it to her nose.

"Zip it."He growled. "Or I'll pierce that big nose."

"That could be a problem" The jester moves to Jaune's side. "You've got nothing to lose,right?"

"...is this the Neon of this world?" said Yang.

Jaune never looks her in the eyes, being very annoyed at her. "My name Jester, and I know a thing or two about this place.

"Guess not." Weiss replied. "Sure gives me the same vibes though."

She points over to an object close to the blonde. "That thing there is a power generator for this entire sector. In order to open the door you need to apply a little SOMETHING to it first. You know what that is kid? Or is that too difficult for you?" Jester begins to laugh maniacally when Jaune finally had enough and started to shoot at her feet, She begins to dance crying in fears as she dodges the hail of bullets.

"Get to the point. Or do you wanna keep on dancing?" Jaune asks before stopping. Jester took a deep breath.

"Actually, I prefer a sword to be my partner. May i have this dance my lady?" She asked, taking a bow. Jaune takes out his sword rebellion and attempts to cut Jester in half, the clown dodging at the last second and instead he hits the generator opening the door. "Bingo!" Jester cheered while standing on the ceiling. "That is what something is! Remember that kid. Write down on your hand if you don't trust your head!" Jester began to laugh and started to dance away while Jaune began to shoot at her again.

"I see…. Thanks. Jaune begans walk into the next room. "You still piss me off though."

Everyone stared in silence after the scene ended. Weiss was the first to attempt speaking up "That was…" "It was something alright." Yang concluded after the heiress found herself at a loss for words. Jaune looked down, feeling very self conscious. "I'm not that cool. Kinda wished I could be.."

Again he felt Ruby's hand tug at his, and his eyes rose to meet her showing him a supportive smile. "Hey. You're plenty cool as is." She told him in a soft voice. It was immediattely followed by Nora not so gently punching his shoulder. "Yeah! You coooould stand to get a grenade launcher though." Giggles came out of him, and eventually they all erupted in laughter.

Emerald groaned at the sight. "Do you have to act so sickly happy all the time? It was enough having to put up with seeing him be such a try-hard."

"Meh, it was kinda funny." Mercury shrugged it off with a smirk. "So, what's it gonna be next?"

The end!

#look into the multiverse #devil may cry au #rwby ruby rose #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #weiss schnee #rwby jaune arc #lie ren #rwby cinder fall #rwby nora valkyrie #rwby salem #oscar pine #rwby raven branwen #rwby qrow branwen

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starshipsofstarlord · 4 years

Text

Chaos After the Storm

There had been a storm which came crashing down on all, with a name to make the destruction feel that much more humane. The kooks were lucky, they had generators which could reboot their power, dousing their houses back into the light with electricity and keeping them cool by the air conditioning. If you did not live on Figure Eight however, you were residing in the Cut. You were a pogue.

And you were, a pogue that was. The definition was that you did not have masses of money like the wealthy families that lived in luxury. It meant if a storm hit, like Agatha, it took longer than an hour to recover from the after affects. Weeks, sometimes even months it would be before you had to stop using candles as a source and could revert back to the lights that hung from the ceilings.

Currently, you were pulling fallen branches off of the driveway, removing them from the roof of your parents’ car. They were heavier than they looked, and as you discarded another from on top of the vehicle, you noticed a crack in one of the back windows. It was only small, but to cut expenses, it probably wouldn’t be repaired until the damage became worse.

You turned your head as you heard the riveting of a bike. A red bike was driving towards you, its engine slowing before it came to a stop at the start of your drive. JJ dismounted it, not needing to remove his helmet as he never wore one, and in an instant you dropped your duties and ran to him.

Concern was the reason, the day the storm hit, hours prior to its interference, his face had been bare of injury. But now, there was a purple bruise covering almost half of it.

“That son of a bitch.” You muttered as you let him wrap his arms around you and burrow his head in your hair. It disgusted you that a father could treat his son in such a way. Sure, JJ was a troublemaker, and loud, and liked to smoke and drink despite being underage, but none of that made him deserve such treatment.

“It’s fine.” This wasn’t the first time you had witnessed this behaviour from him. JJ would always try to play the incident as though it was no big deal, but he was wrong every time. It mattered, because he was in pain, and you feared one day his father would go too far, not that he wasn’t already, and kill him.

Pulling away from his desperate embrace, you winced as you studied his face. There was a fearful depth to his eyes, and they reflected that he needed you. And he did, you were his protector, his safe place, his fellow pogue. You were also his girlfriend, but that bit was the least bit relevant right now.

“Don’t say that.” It was not fine, and you could see that as clear as day. “We need to do something JJ, this can’t keep happening. I’m ready as soon as you are to stand up against that man, but only when you give your go ahead.”

To take action against his father, you needed his consent. It was vital. He had to want it just as much as you did, it was his father and it pained you to see how much JJ suffered. If it wasn’t for the storm, you were sure the boy would have snuck into your room that evening or the two of you would have stayed in John B’s spare bedroom. But both of your parents wanted you home, clearly for very different reasons.

“They won’t believe me, the sheriff’s department think of me as a liar.” There were tears collecting in his ocean eyes, and it made your own water in response. A 16 year old should not have been so accustomed to the scolding of pain at such a young age, but here he was, on the verge of crying from the torment he received.

Frowning, you grabbed his hand, squeezing it for the search of giving him reassurance. “There’s evidence.” You looked sadly at his face. He was such a strong guy for how much he went through. You knew he liked to shut it off, but if he gave in he would never have to again. He’d never have to pretend the fading marks meant nothing in front of you and the rest of the pogues, or feel like he meant so little that he could throw his whole life on the line. “And witnesses. You’re a victim JJ, and that’s okay. Don’t be strong for me, okay, be strong for yourself. I know you, and I know that you can do this.”

In response, his bottom lip trembled, a sob wracking through the parting of it. Once again, he attached his body onto yours, needing to be comforted by the contact. On instinct, you allowed your hand to stroke up his back and play with the bottom of his hair. It really was an honour and a curse to be able to see JJ at his most vulnerable.

….

JJ had been in the room for almost an hour. You had kept checking the time on your phone as you sat in the waiting room, nervous for him. The officers hadn’t allowed you in there with him, and you were aware that had made it that bit more difficult for him.

John B sat beside you, wringing his hands and fiddling with the bracelets on his wrist. JJ had asked him to be here with him, he needed the support of the two people closest to him in this scenario. You looked over at the boy, giving him a small smile. He could see right through your minor façade, he sensed you were scared. If Will Maybank was not brought in and punished by the authorities, JJ would suffer more than ever before. Neither of you wanted that, but now he had been willing to take the risk.

That itself indicated that his time with his dad inside during the storm had been different. Worse would be a better word. You didn’t want to imagine what ways JJ had been pained, not only with fists but words. That man had a poisonous mouth, toxic from all of the alcohol that ran through it and tainted his speech.

You felt a hand reach for your own. It belonged to John, and he allowed you to hold it. It reminded you of the old times long before the treasure hunt, or his relationship with Sarah, or even before Pope and Kiara joined your little group. In those ancient times, it had just been you, JJ and John B, and to this day you were all as strong as thieves.

“I’m so proud of him.” The boy spoke, tapping his converse covered shoe against the leg of his seat. The shoes had seen better days, they were still stained from when he was dropped down into the murky water of the well at Crain Estate.

“As we should be.” You kicked his foot with your own to stop the irritating habit he was coercing. Biting your lip, you dipped your own foot ahead of you, deciding whether or not to let your thoughts out. It would be okay if you did, you were speaking to the thoughtful, adventurous, kind John B after all. “The only thing that scares me is what will happen after. Say theoretically Will gets busted for this, what will happen to JJ? We don’t know if he can be as persuasive as you were and avoid child services.”

“No matter what happens,” he began, swallowing in thought for a second, “we’ll be there for him. We’ll fight for him and whatever he wants to do after he’s free.”

“It’s weird.” You spoke. “No matter how many times I’ve came here to try and bail him out, which obviously doesn’t work because of my age and dodgy IDs, I always dreamed of being here for the right reason. This reason.”

JJ had definitely became less afraid of his father after he had fought him for the money that he had stolen, but something had changed during the storm. He had become stronger, and realised how he could really adapt to survive.

As John was about to speak, the door to the room JJ had been taken into opened, and the pair of you quickly stood. The officer exited first and JJ was behind him, looking as though he had seen a ghost. The thought that he had reflect to all of the times he had been hurt made you feel guilty, but as your mutual friend had said, proud altogether. It even made you fear that the plan had not worked, and that there would be no possibility of charges pinned against the abuser.

He spoke to the officer quickly, nodding and then began his route over to you and John. Hope melded into your skin, and you even went as far as crossing your fingers behind your back. JJ gave a small smile, putting his arms around one of your shoulders and the same with John B, pulling the two of you into a group hug.

“They’re going to want to speak to you two, is that okay?” It was the first time that you had seen JJ appear so small in himself, almost as if he was concerned that you would not be willing to do such a thing. That was ridiculous, you would do anything for the boy, and so would John B.

“That’s good with me.” You kissed him on the cheek, noticing how that cheered him up a little. “Now how about we take a little break from this for the day, and go celebrate?”

…..

It had been organised beforehand, that everyone would be waiting at John B’s place, no matter the outcome. If it went sideways, it would cheer him up, if it went good like it did, it was a celebration.

As you all sat around the fire, JJ stood, with a beer in his hand.

“I want to say a toast.” It was very different from one that a kook would do, and that was what made it so special. “Thankyou to everyone that is here, you are the best friends I could have, and Sarah.” He tipped his beer in her direction. “We’re pogues, our thing is living shitty and doing stupid things to get money.”

“You can amen to that.” Pope said, kicking the rock that the little bit of gold left was buried under.

You sipped on your beer, looking up at your boyfriend and taking in every word he said. “I know my life had been pretty shit, but you guys are the good part of it. I never would have done what I did today if you hadn’t been there for me all these years. You guys are my family, my real family. None of you would ever hurt me, instead you will and have helped me heal. And this girl here,” he looked down at you, “has been my rock. We broke the no pogue on pogue rule long ago, and that was the best thing I ever did. But she’s more than a broken rule to me, she’s my shelter, my home, the love of my life.”

Sarah couldn’t help but aw at this and leaned back into her boyfriend as a blush rose up from your neck and onto your face. “She’s the real hidden treasure, she’s worth so much more than gold. If it wasn’t for you (Y/N/N), I’d be searching for something that I would never find. Okay, that’s it.”

He sat back down, frowning at Kiara as she shook her head at him. “What?” He asked, slinging his arm around your shoulder.

“You ruined that beautiful speech, you might want to come up with a better ending.” Even though the initial end to his toast was not as sweet and heartfelt as the rest of it, Kiara did notice how even then you did not stop looking with adoration at the boy. It was good to see the two of you so hassle free and happy.

JJ turned his head to you, worried. “So no macking?” You couldn’t help but laugh. The boy sure knew how to ruin a moment and make one at the same time. You were just glad that was what the chaos after the storm had diminished to, for now at least.

#jj x reader #jj maybank #jj mayback x reader #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank one shot #outer banks x you #outer banks x reader #jj imagine #jj maybank x y/n #jj maybank x you #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x oc #rudy pankow x y/n #rudy pankow imagine #rudy pankow x reader #rudy pankow x you #jj

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queenk00k · 4 years

Text

but what if we were pure gold all along? jj maybank (chapter 3)

Summary: After the assumed death of their best friend, the Pogues are falling apart at the seams. With Pope and Kiara getting closer and JJ left with nowhere to go, he finds himself left to his own devices. Feeling lost and rejected, his luck seems to turn when he meets Scarlett - a Kook who doesn’t treat him like shit and has an affinity for partying. JJ gets sucked into her world as she promises to help him forget.

How much longer can he keep running from his demons? And what happens when he starts sharing a bed with one?

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, child abuse, angst, sexual content, drug use, underage drinking.

Author’s note: Hi all, this is my multi-chapter fic I’ve been working on. My oneshots & Rafe series have taken off so I thought it was time to share this one too. Let me know what you think!

Word count: 2K

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

the one where JJ throws caution to the wind (but when was he ever cautious anyway?)

JJ has woken up in pretty strange locations before. The porch steps of the Chateau, the hull of the HMS Pogue, the Boneyard. Nothing was stranger than waking up on a couch in a Kook’s bedroom, who he’d really only spoken to twice. The couch was surprisingly soft, and JJ finds that he actually had one of the best sleeps he’s had in, well, he can’t quite remember how long.

That doesn’t erase how completely fucking weird it is that he not only went home with a Kook but spent the whole night there.

JJ sits up and is quietly thankful Scarlett appears to have been awake for a while; she’s dressed and perched on the end of her bed in a similar position to the night before. She’s also biting her fingernails, chipping away the black nail polish with her teeth. This brings JJ some comfort – she’s clearly feeling as unsettled as he is.

He clears his throat and Scarlett turns to look at him, smiling cautiously. “Hey,” she says. “You feeling okay?”

JJ nods and stands up. “Yeah, yeah I’m good thanks.”

“Sleep alright?”

“Mmmhmm.”

An awkward pause.

“Listen,” JJ says as he moves towards the door. “I really appreciate what you did for me and all but I gotta go. Honestly, I don’t understand why you let me stay on your couch-”

Scarlett scoffs. “You really think that low of me? You crashed your motorbike in the middle of the night and looked another blow from death. What was I going to do? Leave you on the side of the road?”

JJ is taken aback; he didn’t expect her to answer like that.

“You’re a Kook, I’m a Pogue…you know how it is.” JJ shrugs.

Scarlett rolls her deep brown eyes. “That shit is so stupid. We’re not all that bad.”

JJ opens his mouth to reply something along the lines of “well, in all of my experiences-” but the sound of tires screeching on gravel outside diverts his attention.

Scarlett’s eyes widen and she grabs JJ’s arm tightly. He clenches his jaw and forces himself not to wince; she grabbed one of his darker bruises. He gently removes his arm from her grip and Scarlett looks at him apologetically.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just my parents are home. You gotta go, now! Go out the window, quick quick,” Scarlett says as she frantically ushers JJ to the window. JJ’s startled by the sudden change in pace but honestly, he’s pretty thankful for an excuse to get out of there. He’s never felt comfortable around Kooks.

You can hardly blame him.

Scarlett helps JJ push the window up far enough for him to climb through (his arm is feeling pretty busted from the events of the previous night) and he doesn’t hesitate in sticking a leg through to climb out onto the roof.

“Wait, wait,” Scarlett says. “Is that it? You’re just gonna leave?”

JJ looks at her quizzically. “I mean, yeah. What were you hoping for? A goodbye kiss?” He taunts.

Scarlett makes a face at him. JJ can’t tell if it’s disgust or disappointment.

“No. Can I at least give you this?” She reaches into her bedside drawer and pulls out a wad of cash; JJ estimates it to be at least $200.

“And why would you give me that?”

“You seem like you need it,” Scarlett replies, shrugging.

Wrong thing to say.

JJ narrows his eyes and replies, “I’m not your charity case.”

Without giving Scarlett a chance to reply (JJ has an old habit of needing the last word), he scoots out of the window and down the gabled roof of her stupid fucking mansion.

He thinks he’d be content with never seeing her again.

JJ eventually manages to drag himself to his bike and take off towards the Chateau slowly, his bones aching (but not before kicking down the realtor’s sign – if the Camerons have more to worry about then he figured they won’t care if Rose’s frozen smile was kicked in). He’s being more careful on the ride over this time, not willing to repeat the spill from the night before. JJ is lost deep in thought on the way back to the Chateau and before he knows it, he’s riding up the driveway, the bike’s tires kicking up dirt as he skids to a stop.

JJ hates that for a second, he expects John B to emerge on the patio, smiling and holding out a Coors Light, like he’d done so many other times before.

JJ clears his throat and shakes his head, willing the thought of his friend to dissipate. He steps off his bike, wincing, and makes his way up to the house. JJ has every intention of making it all the way inside, but he stops at the steps, lump forming in his throat, and sits down.

Eyes brimming with tears that are close to spilling over, JJ sighs and puts his head in his hands, taking off his cap and throwing it into the dirt.

Where the hell are Pope and Kiara? JJ thinks. It’s been well over a day and a half since he stormed out of the Heyward backyard and gee, fuck him for assuming his friends might come looking for him or something drastic like that.

JJ pulls his outdated iPhone 6 (a hand-me-down from Kiara when hers got updated – pity it didn’t come with her unlimited data plan) with its smashed screen and broken home button.

No texts, no missed calls.

JJ presses the lock-button, so he doesn’t have to look at the Pogues’ smiling faces in his wallpaper, and tries to reason with himself.

Pope told you he was going to be busy with his interview, you shouldn’t be mad at him. That’s fair enough, he warned you.

Nah dude fuck that, he lied to you! He was sneaking off and banging Kiara.

Speaking of Kie, why doesn’t she want to see me? I thought better of her, I thought we were supposed to be best friends.

Her parents have her on lockdown-

When has that stopped her before?

JJ grunts in frustration and picks his hat back up off the ground, jamming it onto his head over his sweaty blonde hair. He clearly wasn’t going to solve anything sitting here.

JJ’s new habit seems to be wandering around the island like a lost boy, as he finds himself walking along the beach, kicking up sand with the toes of his work boots.

He’s not sure what his plan is – maybe he’ll run into Kie or Pope or fuck, literally anyone he knows. What JJ does know is that there’s no chance he’ll run into any Kooks on this side of the island, so at least he won’t have to deal with their pompous asses.

Or so he thinks.

JJ makes it halfway down the stretch of beach before he suddenly hears a sweet, but hoarse voice behind him.

“And here I was thinking I’d never see you again.”

JJ whips his head around and fails to suppress his groan at seeing Scarlett in front of him, dressed this time in a red crop-top and cut-off denim shorts. He resists the urge to run his eyes over her – he’s only human after all, and a teenage boy at that.

“Are you stalking me now?” He asks bitterly but makes no attempt to walk away from her.

Scarlett crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes. “You wish, Maybank.”

“What are you doing here then?”

Scarlett sighs and sits down on a sand dune, motioning JJ to sit down next to her. He briefly considers telling her she’s dreaming but hey, once again she’s giving him attention and being nice and honestly that’s all he needs right now. Some company that’s not going to make him feel shittier about his life. So, he relents and sits down beside her in the warm sand.

Scarlett leans back on one elbow and moves her sunglasses to the top of her head as she replies, “less chance of running into Kooks here.”

“But they’re your-

“-my people?” Scarlett scoffs. “Hardly. Only thing I have in common with them is our family money, everything else is completely at odds.”

JJ smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling. It feels nice.

“I’ve heard this story before,” he says. “I’m not much of a reader but “rich girl who’s actually bad ass” sounds pretty familiar.”

Scarlett waves her hand. “Yeah yeah, it’s all true! I even have a dark back story – I’d make a great main character.”

“Let me guess, you’re adopted, and your real family was murdered by some unknown killer.”

“My younger sister died in a car accident, and I was never the favourite child. My parents shipped me off to boarding school, so they didn’t have to deal with me,” Scarlett replies, looking directly at JJ.

It seems an inappropriate time for him to be distracted by how beautiful Scarlett’s dark brown eyes look in the sun.

And yet.

JJ’s eyes widen. “Wait, you’re serious? Fuuuuck, I am so sorry…I had no idea,” he says, grimacing. He’s annoyed at himself – he was just trying to banter, but it’s all fun and games until someone drops a bomb like that.

Scarlett smiles and touches his arm delicately. JJ first notices how cool her hand is, despite the humid day, and then notices she has a fresh coat of dark red polish on her nails.

He tenses, not used to someone being so blatantly touchy like this, least of all a Kook. Scarlett notices and moves her hand back onto the sand, looking at him like she’s about to ask him what the problem is but clearly decides against it.

“It’s fine, honestly. Happened a long time ago and they leave me to my own devices a lot, which makes it easier to do whatever I want.”

JJ nods in understanding. “I get that.”

There’s a comfortable pause before Scarlett abruptly stands up, dusting the sand off her denim shorts. JJ looks at her questioningly but stands up too.

“Enough of this emotional shit,” Scarlett says. “I wanted to talk to you to a) apologise for my behaviour this morning-”

“-it’s fine-”

“-and b) invite you out tonight.”

“Out?” JJ asks.

Scarlett nods. “I think we’re both in need of some fun and some company. Why don’t you come to mine tonight? My parents are out again, and they’ve got a pretty sweet liquor cabinet.”

JJ can’t believe he’s saying this, but he says, “I’ll think about it.”

Scarlett shrugs. “Close enough. See you tonight, or not,” she says and blows him a kiss before turning and walking away down the beach.

JJ stands there stunned for a moment (definitely because of the sheer absurdity of the situation and not because he checked out her ass as she walked away) and thinks over his options.

He’s not sure he wants to willingly wander back into Kook territory for the second night in a row, never mind go into one of their houses.

Although, he thinks to himself. Where’s the harm in spending time with Scarlett for the time being until Pope and Kie come around? Because they will, right?

Besides, Scarlett’s pretty nice, pretty hot and she’s willing to hang out with him and give him free booze. What could go wrong?

JJ’s made up his mind and, perhaps against his better judgement (which was truly shaky to begin with), he finds himself on the roof of Scarlett’s mansion again that night, tapping on her bedroom window.

He starts to worry he got the wrong room or, even worse, the wrong house, when she doesn’t answer straight away but all of a sudden the curtains are pulled back and Scarlett’s excited face appears on the other side of the glass.

She yanks open the window rather haphazardly (JJ suspects she’s gotten into her parents’ grog early), the cool glow of the moonlight making her teeth an iridescent white as she grins widely up at JJ.

“So glad you could make it, Maybank. Let’s get this party started.”

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dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years

Text

The Beach

The sound of the waves crashing against the sand sounded like distant thunder. The dark expanse broken by lines of white caps stretched ahead of him. The sea air caressed the seagrass and Tom’s face. It was night time and the cool wind was moving inland gently but steadily.

He took a breath and then another, aware that the tightness he was constantly feeling in his chest had unwound like a belt coming loose. The pain had finally been relieved.

He looked at his hands. They were normal human fingers with pink skin and smooth nails. No more scales or claws. He was wearing just a cheap T-shirt but he couldn’t make out the image on it. He wore dirty worn jeans. His sandals, plastic flip flops, were brightly colored and seemed to shift from pink, to green and blue.

The beach was empty when he looked at his hands and when he looked up someone familiar was there.

His chest swelled with joy. “Ru’Yi!”

He hurried down towards to the water’s edge.

She was in an orange two piece bathing suit, her long puffy curls were being whipped about and she held them back to look at him.

A sparkler was in her other hand.

Ru’Yi!” He staggered and tripped on the lumps and clumps on the ground. He tripped and fell to his knees. Growling in frustration, he got to his feet. He was running, but he wasn’t getting any closer. “Ru’Yi!”

He reached out, but something seemed to be holding him back. Gravity itself was refusing to let him run any quicker. “No! Stop... I want to...”

“Do you need help?”

He turned and suddenly saw a young boy in swim trunks looking at him with mocking golden eyes. He held a sparkler himself and held it up. “Merry Christmas.”

“Who are you?”

“Just another lonely schizophrenic. Misery loves company.” He offered him an unlit sparkler. “Here you go. You’ll need it.”

His gaze drifted from Ru’Yi to the sparkler. He reached out and held it. It immediately lit up in his hand, and he was transported to the waters edge. The surf lapped at his sandaled feet.

Ru’Yi was right beside him and her eyes widened. “Tom!” She threw her arms around him.

“Careful with the sparkler!” He laughed, pulling away.

“You’re alive! You’re really alive!” She wiped away her tears.

“Ru’Yi. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I lied to you.”

“What?” She blinked.

“I...” He hesitated. What he was about to say was difficult, but he didn’t want to hide the truth any more. “My sister wasn’t run over. My mother and father weren’t killed in a car accident.”

He stared into her eyes as she glanced about in confusion.

“Ru’Yi. I’m sorry I attacked you. I wasn’t myself.” He stopped. His hand relaxed dropping the sparkler to the ground, where it extinguished. “No... I’m a monster.”

She shook her head, glancing away from him at gathering clouds on the horizon, lightning in the distance. When she turned back to him, she glared hard. “Is this real?”

“Huh?”

“Are we really here?” She reached out and touched his shirt, smoothing out the fabric with her palm.

“Huh?” He asked again. “What do you mean?”

He turned to look back up the beach, but the boy was gone.

Ru’Yi was still staring at him. “What is this place?”

The thunder was constantly rumbling now and among the silence the wind seemed to whisper words.

“What is this place?” Ru’Yi asked again. “Where are we?”

“It’s a dream.” Tom concluded. “I’m dreaming. I’m not really here. I’m on an island.”

“I know we’re on an island. This is my island. I grew up here.” Ru’Yi stared at him. “How can this be your dream? I’ve never told you about this place. Are you... on my island?”

She turned to where there had been empty grass. A small wooden house stood raised up on pilings. The lights were on. “That’s my house.”

“Oh.” Tom blinked. He didn’t put that there. She did. His confusion only deepened. How did he know that? “How are you doing this?”

“I’m not doing anything!”

“That house wasn’t there. You put that there. My house is different.” Tom said.

“What is happening?” She turned and walked towards the house. “Mom?” She called.

Tom followed her, unsure of what else to do. The dark clouds were growing closer and the lightning danced on the waves. He ducked against the wind.

Inside, the light was warm and inviting, but the furniture seemed to shift. It was blurry and ethereal. Ru’Yi didn’t remember her childhood home very clearly. It was a mix of different houses. The kitchen was the island kitchen. The living room was a different room.

“The TV didn’t exist in the old house... That TV was from Chicago.” Tom said.

Ru’Yi turned to face him. “You’re doing this!” She approached him. “How are you doing this?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know how I’m doing it! It’s like I’m reading your mind somehow!”

“This is a Soul Skill. It has to be Dragon Speech.” She said, staring at him and nodding her certainty..

“I don’t have a Soul Skill like this.” He shook his head.

“Then its someone else’s.” She said.

“Bingo!” They both whirled on the boy who was now in the kitchen with a pitcher full of cherry colored kool-aid. “Thirsty? Also, you might want to do something about that storm.”

“Who are you? Why are you doing this?” Tom demanded.

“I’m not doing this. You’re using my Soul Skill because you received my blood. It’s happened before you know.” He sipped the kool-aid, staining his smile red. “That girl’s father also bathed in a dragon king’s blood and gained the powers of the Wind in addition to his Royal Fire. He can’t control when the Wind shows up... and you can’t control when I show up.”

“You’re a dragon king?” He whispered.

“Bingo again?” He turned the rattling windows. “Can you do something about that storm please...? Unfortunately, I can’t do anything here but watch you two idiots.”

“How do I stop it?”

“It’s kinda like riding a bike. I can tell you but... until you do it yourself, you won’t understand.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe this was a bad idea...” He moaned.

“Okay... Um... Storm Stop!” Tom shouted.

“What kind of weak whimpering command is that?” The boy snarled. “If you have a dragon king’s blood at least pretend!”

“Ru’Yi?” He looked down at her. “What do I do?”

“I remember this...” She was staring outside. The palm trees were dancing and swaying and the waves were crashing on the beach but they had stopped receding. They were advancing, clawing their way onto land in a surge.

The boy leaned against the countertop and sipped, eying them both.

“Ru’Yi, you’re the one in control of the storm, just make it not happen!”

Ru’Yi’s eyes were distant. The water rose up and up, until it was like they were in the middle of the sea. The house began to rock.

“Ru’Yi!” He shook her. He turned to the boy who again just shrugged and stared at him.

“I told you I can’t do anything!” His eyes narrowed. “Figure it out!” He shouted as the house suddenly came apart at every joint.

Ru’Yi screamed and dropped through the floor, disappearing into the rushing waves. He was taken with it.

Tom had never drowned before. He’d never been in a storm before. These weren’t his memories. They were hers and he was lost in them. He cried out, his voice blending with her screams. “Help! Help!”

“Hey! Wake up!”

Tom’s eyes flew open and he was staring at Lu Mingfei’s. They were both in his bedroom. His clothes were back to his simple fleece striped pajamas. Mingfei was just in his yellow boxers. For someone as humble and simple as he seemed, he had a muscular body and they held him upright.

The pain in his body came crashing in, just like those waves. Tom groaned, gasping. His ribs felt tight, like a corset and he wrapped his arm around his chest and doubled over.

“You were having a nightmare.”

“I know.” He was sweating and his heart ached with every pounding beat. His stomach turned. “It was the weirdest nightmare I’ve ever had.” He grit his teeth against the pain. “I don’t feel good.”

“I’ll call a doctor.” Mingfei laid him back down and hurried to a phone in the room. “Meixiu. It’s me. I think you need to come here right away.”

#Class of 2032 #Dragon Raja

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razieltwelve · 4 years

Text

Tag Along (Final Rose AU Snippet)

Yang had to admit that Taren looked absolutely adorable with his motorcycle helmet and so did Fury with his own matching helmet. However, she was not suicidal. There was no way she was letting either of them onto her motorcycle.

“Sorry, buddy,” Yang said. “But you can’t hitch a ride with me. Motorcycles aren’t exactly the safest things around, and you haven’t got the Aura to walk away from a crash.”

There was also the not-to-so-small matter of her girlfriend murdering her if something happened to the little boy and his even littler chocobo. Averia cut her a lot of slack, but if her brother got hurt because she got careless, she was in for a world of hurt.

“Aw...” Taren pouted. It was an utterly adorable expression, and Yang couldn’t help but feel that he must have practiced with Diana to maximise its effectiveness. “Averia lets me ride with her sometimes.”

“Your sister has Saviour. If you’re with her, there’s basically nothing in the world that can harm you, not to mention, she’d never crash either.” Yang knew better than anyone how good Averia was on a motorcycle. Without her Semblance she was amazing. With Saviour on, it was like playing a video game with all of the cheat codes on. “But, hey, if you want, maybe you can ask your sister if you can come with us next time we go down to the track.”

“I guess.” Taren made a face. “What if I had a personal forcefield generator? Could I ride with you then?”

“Why would you even have one of those?” Yang asked.

“My parents gave me one in case I ever get into trouble.” The boy shrugged. “They told me that if there’s trouble I should hide and wait for them to come help me. The personal forcefield generator is to make sure I don’t get hurt or anything before they get there.”

Yang would bet money that Diana had designed that personal forcefield generator herself, which meant it could probably laugh off artillery, at least for a while. More to the point, it would probably take days for an average Grimm to get through it, and there was likely some kind of emergency beacon built into it too. “Even if you’ve got one, I still don’t think it would be a good idea. I’d really need your parents’ permission.”

“Okay.” Taren nodded. “I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble with my parents. I like you, and I’d be sad if you got mangled.”

“Uh, thanks.” Yang did not like to even think about what Lightning and Fang would do to her if she got on their bad side. “How about this? I don’t have to go just yet, so maybe we could spar a little? You’re learning, right?”

Taren grinned. “My family is teaching me, and Fury is helping too.” The little chocobo chick glared evilly from his position atop Taren’s head.

“Is that so?” Yang tilted her head to one side. “How does Fury fight?”

“Can you show her?” Taren asked Fury. The chocobo nodded and then vanished in a blur of movement.

Yang felt more than saw the chocobo hit her in the back. An instant later, he hit her in the side and then in the leg. She bit back a laugh. The chocobo was zipping and bouncing around like a little ball of angry chocobo lightning. It was actually quite impressive how fast he could move, but he simply couldn’t hit hard enough to do any damage at all. Even without her Aura protecting her, she was durable enough to ignore him.

“That’s not bad.” She reached out and firmly but gently caught the chocobo in one hand. “But I don’t think you can fight like that.”

“Probably not,” Taren admitted. “But it would be fun to try.”

X X X

Averia pulled into her family’s driveway just in time to see Yang put Taren into one of her patented headlocks. Her brother thrashed and screamed melodramatically, but it was clear he was enjoying himself. Naturally, Fury tried to peck Yang in the face, but his beak bounced off her Aura-reinforcement. Still, she had to hand it to the chocobo. He might be little, but if Taren ever got into a fight, he’d be right there beside him. And, sure, he might not be much of a threat to a huntress like Yang, but he was fast enough to overwhelm and blind a normal person with ease.

“Are you picking on my brother again?” Averia asked. “I should have expected it from how you bully Ruby.”

Yang laughed and ruffled Taren’s hair. “Bully? I was saving her from choking on that cookie. Besides, everyone knows I spoil her rotten.” She grinned. “And you spoil me rotten too, you know.” She waggled her eyebrow suggestively.

Averia rolled her eyes. She was fully aware of how good she looked in a motorcycle suit. Indeed, she had almost caused a car accident on her way home when someone had decided that staring at her ass was a better idea than watching the road. Fortunately, they’d managed to avoid crashing. Diana would never have let her hear the end of it otherwise. “You’re incorrigible.”

“I’m amazing.” Yang smirked.

“Eww...” Taren squirmed out of her grasp. “Are you two flirting?”

“Who told you about flirting?” Averia asked, making a mental note to murder whoever was responsible.

“Diana said you two flirt all the time.”

And there went that idea. Diana was one of the few people on her ‘can’t be murdered for any reason’ list. “We are talking. There’s a difference.”

“So...” Yang put one hand on her hip. “Want to go for a ride after this?”

“You’d better be talking about a motorcycle ride, Yang, because my brother is standing right there.”

“What other kind of ride would there be?” Taren asked. “Like riding on a chocobo or something?”

“You’ll find out when you’re older,” Averia replied. “And I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Yang. I was supposed to get back half an hour ago, but Aunt Vanille wanted to run some more tests on the bike.”

“Oh?” Yang’s eyes gleamed. “Anything I might be able to add to mine?”

“Not unless you feel up to driving a rocket-propelled motorcycle.”

“Okay... I might skip that. That sounds... crazy.”

“It was.” Averia walked over and gave Taren a quick hug before lifting him up onto her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He giggled, and Fury decided to move his perch from Taren’s head to hers. “But since you’re here and it’s a bit late, why don’t you stay for dinner? My parents wouldn’t mind.”

“Dinner, huh? Sure. I could go for some dinner. What’s on the menu?”

“Pizza?” Taren asked hopefully.

“Nope,” Averia replied. “Knowing my mom, she’ll probably be making a Yun stew.”

“Oh! Yun stew?” Yang had to fight to keep from drooling. “If it’s anything like the last one your mom made, count me in. It was so tasty.”

“Don’t worry,” Averia added, poking Taren on the forehead. “I’m sure mom won’t add too many extra vegetables to your share.”

“Eww...”

X X X

Author’s Notes

This is a glimpse into what an Averia/Yang relationship might be like in the AU I mentioned earlier where its Team ACYD (Averia-Claire-Yang-Diana) instead of Team ACEJ.

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

I also write original fiction, which you can find on Amazon here. I’ve recently released two stories, Attempted Adventuring and Surviving Quarantine, as well as two audiobooks, Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat, and an Army of Golems and Two Necromancers, a Dragon, and a Vampire. If you like humour, action, and adventure, be sure to check them out.

#final rose #fanfiction #taren #fury #averia yun farron #yang xiao long

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bee-kathony · 5 years

Photo

Kneading Love | Ch. 1 “Rose Street”

a/n: hello! it’s been awhile. I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to write again, but then I saw Sam dressed in a tweed suit and cap and well... here we are. This will be a short fic, and full of fluff and bread so please enjoy! Let’s get this bread y’all! thank you to @julesbeauchamp for the lovely moodboard!

Inverness, Scotland March 1st, 1946

Jamie Fraser owned a small bakery on Cromwell Road. It was his father’s before him and his grandfather’s before him and now it was Jamie’s turn. Each morning before the sun would rise, Jamie delivered his freshly baked goods around the village on his bicycle. What he loved the most was seeing the village quiet before the hustle and bustle of the day began.

By sheer luck, Jamie had managed to keep the bakery open during the war. Due to a previous injury, Jamie had been released from ever serving. He often felt ashamed that he couldn’t fight for his country, but he had seen what the men looked like when they came home from the front and he was secretly glad to have never seen the horrors they did.

Sadly over the past years, Jamie had to cut back on his selection of baked goods due to rationing. This meant hardly any sweets, so he perfected his most basic loaves and ended up giving more bread away than actually selling anything. Everyone fell on hard times, which meant that everyone in the village had done what they could to help others.

It was a close knit community, which meant that when something new — or rather, in this case, someone new — came to the village, everyone found out.

Jamie had just finished packaging his deliveries for the day as he walked outside his shop. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the air was crisp. He took a deep breath, smiling to himself as he set out on his bike.

As he rounded Duff Street, he slowed down to drop off Mrs. Baird’s delivery. Next, it was on to Glenburn Drive where Dr. Bennett ordered a fresh loaf of sourdough each day. Jamie road quietly through the village, dropping off parcel after parcel before heading down Rose Street to deliver a parcel for the local farmer.

Something in a small shop that he thought had been abandoned caught his eye, however. Jamie thought he saw a woman standing in the window, her hair flying all around her. He blinked several times to check again. But he didn’t have a chance to look again. As he rode past, his wheel hit a large rock and Jamie flew off the bike, leaving his packages on the ground.

“Christ!” Jamie muttered to himself, rolling over onto his back.

Just as he managed to sit up to assess the damage, he heard a sound come from behind him. Light footsteps approached him and he turned to look up at the face of a beautiful woman.

“Are you alright, sir?” The woman asked in an English accent as she bent down to his level.

Jamie could only nod, and then the woman placed her hand on his head, brushing off dirt from his cheek.

“You took quite a spill,” the woman smiled. Jamie was drowning in the amber color of her eyes, the sweet smile on her lips and the soothing sound of her voice.

“I think I’ll make it, but I’m no’ so sure about my bike,” Jamie said. They both looked over to see that his bike had a flat tire and was laying haphazardly on its side. “I dinna ken how I’ll be able to finish my deliveries now.”

“What is it that you deliver?” The woman asked and stood up, holding out her hand for him to take.

“Bread,” Jamie answered and began to dust off his trousers. “Sweets and things.”

“Delicious,” the woman licked her lips. She reached up and straightened his cap for him and Jamie’s heart sped up at her touch.

“I can bring ye some if ye like, or ye can come visit my shop down on the main square,” Jamie smiled.

“I’d like to try some!” She smiled. “I just moved here, so I’m learning the lay of the land.”

Jamie looked behind her to the shop she had come out of. So he hadn’t imagined it after all.

“Och, where are my manners? I’m Jamie Fraser,” he held out his hand.

“Claire Beauchamp,” she shook his hand warmly. “That’s my garden house now,” she pointed behind her. “At least it will be once I get everything sorted.”

“A garden house eh? I havena seen anyone in this shop since well before the war. I reckon ye��ll bring life back to this street,” he said. “Ah! And tis called Rose Street, how apt!”

“Indeed,” Claire laughed. “When I came here looking for a vacant building, I never imagined I would find one on a street with the perfect name for a garden house.”

“Twas meant to be, Sassenach,” Jamie said.

“Sassenach?” Claire questioned.

“English person,” Jamie said quietly to her, leaning in as if there were people all around them.

“Ah, I see,” Claire smirked. “I suppose I am the odd one out up here.”

“Ye are indeed,” Jamie smiled. “But yer no’ so odd.”

The sun was rising now and fast. It peeked over the houses and was now shining on both their faces. Since Jamie’s fall, he had completely forgotten the state of his bike.

“Ah Dhia! I still have deliveries to get to, but my bike has got a flat,” he said and went over to pick up his remaining packages.

“Oh, that’s terrible!” Claire said as she bent down and picked up a small square parcel. “I have my bike around back, you must take it. You can bring it back tomorrow or whenever you like.”

Jamie stood there, his arms full of packages of bread, feeling eternally grateful for this near stranger. “Really? It wouldn’t be a bother to ye? I wouldn’t want to take yer bike if ye needed it.”

“I won’t need it! I’ll be in my shop all day taking inventory,” Claire smiled. “You have to get those people their bread!”

“Mrs. Jamison is always cross wi’ me when I’m late,” Jamie chuckled. “Thank ye, Claire. Truly, whatever I can do to repay ye for yer kindness just let me know.”

He followed her around the back of the shop to where her bike was propped against the wall. It had a small basket and Jamie placed his remaining bread into it.

“You can let me try your most popular baked good and we’ll call it even,” Claire smiled and held out her hand. He took it, once again cherishing the warmth of her skin against his.

“Ye’ve got yerself a deal, Claire Beauchamp.” Jamie hopped up on the bike and put his feet on the pedals. He waved goodbye to the curly haired woman and tried not to fall again in her presence. The last thing he needed was to get distracted and cause her bike to have a flat.

Claire Beauchamp and her garden house would be the talk of the town come lunch time.

++++++

There was nothing Claire loved more than waking up early before the sun rose. Before the war, she had preferred to spend her mornings sleeping, with her head buried under the pillow. But she had spent the past several years as a field nurse and had acclimated to the early mornings.

The decision to leave London and move to a small village in Scotland hadn’t been an easy one. She knew no one in Scotland, and she had just enough money to open a small shop and pay rent until she earned more income.

Claire had tried to move on after the war had ended, but everywhere she looked, she only saw loss and pain. She had been stationed primarily in France, but even after returning to London, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

America had been an option — the big vast, wild continent that Claire had dreamed of one day visiting. But as a young girl, she had roamed the Highlands with her late parents and recalled the beauty and magic of the place.

So that’s how Claire found herself packing up her few belongings and handing in her notice to the hospital in London. What she needed was a fresh start, and that didn’t include being around soldiers and scalpels.

Her first love was the earth. More specifically, flowers and herbs and anything green she could get her hands on. Claire sat on the train to Inverness with a suitcase full of clothes, seeds and a book about gardening. With no idea what was in store for her, she vowed to put all her effort into making Inverness her new home.

She had arrived late into Inverness where she had picked up her keys to the shop that also had a small apartment above it and fell quickly to sleep. It was only hours later that she woke early and crept downstairs to observe the state of her shop. It hadn’t been occupied in some time — the thick layer of dust that coated everything was proof of that.

There was a lot that needed to be done before it was ready to open, and she knew it would take hard work. There was no time like the present, so Claire pushed back her sleeves and began to move furniture around and map out what she wanted to do with the space.

The potting area would be near the back, close to the back door where a small greenhouse would be. Then the front would be where her displays of bouquets would draw people in. A fresh coat of paint would have to be applied to both the interior and exterior of the building, but all in all, it wasn’t looking too bad.

As Claire moved around the shelves near the front of the shop, she heard a loud crash and looked up to see a large man laying on the dirt road. She rushed out to see if he was okay, and was struck by how handsome he looked — his mop of red curls bouncing as he sat up and the blue of his eyes as he took her proffered hand.

The last thing she had been expecting that morning was to meet Jamie, and to lend him her bike. As he road away, she wondered how odd it would be for her to go into his shop later that day. She told herself it was just for the bread, but in her heart she knew it was much more than that.

Unable to take his bike with him as he made the rest of his deliveries, Claire drug his bike back behind her shop. Thankfully it wasn’t damaged save the flat tire and Claire had just the tools to fix it. Earlier while she was cleaning, she had come across a box of tools and in it was a bike pump, electrical tape and anything else she might ever need. Jamie would want to get a new tire, but she would at least try and mend it best she could.

An hour later, the bike was fixed. Claire stood back admiring her handy work and then heard her stomach growl. There was only one way to test if the bike was rideable or not and so Claire grabbed her satchel and took off down the road and into the village.

Her eyes took in her surroundings, trying to memorize where everything was and what she might need later on. There was a bookstore, a bed and breakfast and a small grocers. Claire thought she had missed it, but upon second glance, she saw it. Fraser Bakery.

With her heart beating in her ears, Claire propped the bike against the wall and walked in. It smelled divine and there was a cloud of what must have been flour, all around the room. The smell alone was enough to remind Claire she hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon.

There was no sight of the tall scot and she wondered if he had come back yet from his deliveries. A short, dark haired woman was behind the counter as she approached and she smiled as Claire met her eye.

“Hello there, miss,” the woman said with a thick Scottish accent. “What can I get ye?”

“Um,” Claire looked at the case before her, seeing the plethora of goods. “I’ll take whatever you recommend.”

“Then I’d recommend our fresh croissants and maybe a loaf to take home,” the woman said. “My brother baked it all fresh only hours ago.”

“Your brother?” Claire’s eyebrows shot up. So that meant this woman before her was obviously Jamie’s sister. It was a relief to Claire to find the man she had met this morning wasn’t married — or at least she hoped he wasn’t.

“Aye, Jamie.” The woman said. “I’m Jenny. Ye’ll be new around here then if ye didna ken that.”

“Yes,” Claire smiled. “I just moved here from London. I own what will be a small garden shop down on Rose Street.”

“Och, tis a bonny street for a garden shop,” Jenny grinned. “Well, ye can take this on the house then lass. It’ll be a welcoming present.”

Claire took the buttery croissant and fresh loaf into her arms. “Thank you so much, Jenny.” She turned to leave the shop, but hesitated in the doorway. Looking back, she saw that Jenny was still watching her. “Your brother, Jamie… he’s not here is he?”

“No,” Jenny shook her head. “He got a flat tire on his bike this morning and so he borrowed someone’s and is now picking up a new tire. Should be back this afternoon. Did ye need him for somethin’?”

His sister eyed her suspiciously, no doubt wondering how she knew Jamie or why she would be asking for him if she was new in town. For some reason, Claire didn’t want to tell her that the bike Jamie had borrowed had been hers or that Jamie’s bike was now outside at this very moment.

“Oh no,” Claire smiled. “I just wanted to thank him for the bread as well. I’m sure I’ll be back to try something else. Thank you, Jenny!”

“Yer welcome…”

“Claire! Claire Beauchamp,” Claire grinned and then waved goodbye and set off for her shop.

++++++

Jamie had been so preoccupied with getting a new tire for his bike and all the new orders for the next day that he hadn’t a spare moment to think about Claire Beauchamp. That was, until later that evening as he began the walk home with his older sister Jenny.

“I met a young lass today who was askin’ for ye,” Jenny said.

“Aye? And what did she want?”

“I dinna ken,” Jenny shrugged. “She only asked if ye were in the shop and I told her ye werena.”

“Did ye catch a name perhaps?”

“Claire,” Jenny said and Jamie stopped walking. “What? Do ye ken her?”

“I met her this morning,” Jamie admitted and began walking again. “This is her bike actually,” he said as he pushed the bike along with them. “I crashed in front of her shop and she was kind enough to lend it to me.”

“Ah, I see,” Jenny grinned. “Well, I gave her a few things on the house. She said she only wanted to thank ye, but now I ken why she wanted to see ye again.”

“And why’s that?” Jamie chuckled, looking down at his sister.

“I’ll let ye figure that one out on yer own bráthair,” Jenny laughed.

Claire was all Jamie thought about that night and still into the morning as he baked the bread for the day. He couldn’t stop smiling to himself as he made deliveries that morning. He hoped that Claire would be awake again and he would have a chance to talk to her, but there wasn’t a light on that he could see as he came to her shop.

What he did see was his bike leaning against the door. As he approached it, he realized that the tire had been mended.

“Clever, Sassenach,” Jamie grinned. He touched the handlebars and his fingers felt something soft. It was a bright yellow daisy tied with string. Leaning down, he sniffed the flower and sighed.

As quietly as he could, he switched his packages back over to his own bike and left Claire’s against the shop wall.

Later that morning when Jamie came back from his deliveries, he was surprised to see Claire’s bike out in front of his bakery. It seemed he wasn’t the only one unable to get the other out of his head. Or perhaps, Claire just really enjoyed fresh baked goods. Whatever the reason, Jamie straightened his cap and walked into the bakery in search of the curly headed garden lady.

#kneading love #outlander fanfic #bread #get it #outlander #jamie x claire #rose street #chapter one #bread puns

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wonderland-irwin · 4 years

Text

Neighbour!Ashton

Word Count: 1862

Warnings: None

Summary: Bella gets locked out of her house when a cheeky friend from her past pops up to her assistance.

A/N: This may become a bigger story, I’m not sure what will happen. Let’s see how much people like this one! Neighbour!Ashton is not the title, its the current concept lol until I find a title. Enjoy! Let me know if you want me to continue this story line! If you wanna be tagged in other parts, let me know! (Also I tried to remove unnecessary commas! I edited the best I could)

~*~*~

Unable to get my feet under me, I slipped on the towel I’d placed on the bathroom floor instead of the bathmat and as I fell to the floor, I grabbed the towel rack for aid, and it crashed loudly beside me. Muttering curses under my breath I stood, snatching the nearest towel and wrapping it around myself.

I fumbled with the lock in the door knob, then once I finally got it open, I hurled myself into the hall. Why was I never able to do anything? All I’d wanted was a shower to wipe the thin layer of sweat I could feel over my entire body off, but I’d barely stepped in and the dogs had begun to bark and howl at something.

I crashed down the stairs, spooking Olive, our grey tabby, and I raced into the front living room. Our shih-tzu’s - a breed of small dog that should be rather chil, however ours were far from - Peekley and Mushroom were standing on the back of the couch in the bay window, heads thrown back barking as loud as they could.

“Hey!” I hollered, pulling my towel tighter around myself, “shut up!” Usually when they did this there was a person walking past with a dog or the poor paperboy. The dogs refused to stop, and I collapsed on the couch, leaning over them to pull the curtain back. Their barking was slightly valid when I saw the white mail van pull away from our house.

“Stop,” I hissed at the dogs as the van drove around the crescent. They were usually good with their barking and stopping, but sometimes they got excessive. It was ridiculous.

I pat to the front door, pulling it open, stepping into the hot summer’s day, then pulling the door shut to keep the air conditioning in. There was barely a cloud in the sky and those home during the day were doing garden work. I grinned when I saw the box on the bottom step. A few days ago I had made a large order of novels I had wanted to read on my summer break, and it seemed to have arrived. I expected it to arrive at the house’s mailbox down the road, but it was so big that they had to deliver it right to our doorstep.

Adjusting the towel around me again, I bent to pick the package up when I heard the front door click shut. I shot up, sprinting up the steps and trying to push the door open. It rattled and I cursed. Our front door had an automatic lock that could only open with a key. My dad worked for a lock company and was testing it on our door, and long story short the thing was useless.

“C’mon,” I begged, rattling the door. It refused to budge and my key was hanging on the hook by the front closet. The dogs started barking from the window, and I shouted for them to stop, the horror that it was mid-afternoon and I was stuck outside in my front garden in nothing but a towel was occupying my mind. I realized I may have left the back door unlocked, and I leapt from the porch, adjusted my towel yet again and darted down the cobblestone pathway, across the hot driveway and up the side of my house to the gate. I reached over to find the hook on the gate, then my stomach turned hollow as my fingers brushed a hard padlock fastened to the hook.

I cursed, balling my hands into fists and I stormed back to the front door. As soon as my dad got home from work I would demand he remove that lock and burn whatever prototypes his company had created. What an awful design.

My parents weren’t going to be home until that evening, and my sister was out with her friends at the amusement park. I was going to be stuck out there forever.

“Bella?”

I whirled around, grabbing the top of my towel and clutching it to my chest in protection. I stared at the person. It was Ashton. I hadn’t seen Ashton or spoken to Ashton in years. He lived across the street, and we’d grown up as best friends. We got to high school and interests changed, our lives got busier, and we started to drift apart. I missed him sometimes. Sometimes someone would remind me of him, or I’d see him when he was home from college in the dark hours of the night lit by the street lights riding his yellow trick bike in aimless circles. Sometimes I saw his posts on Instagram, or I’d simply just think about him. And I missed him.

But mostly I tried to push that missing feeling away. Tried to pretend it didn’t exist.

“Hi,” I said quietly, staring at him. He was the same as the last time we spoke, which was at our high school graduation and our mothers demanded a picture of the two of us together. He still wore dark jeans and ripped band tees. He still wore black converse. Still had those pretty hazel eyes I knew every girl gushed over. He was a little older, had a couple of tattoos, but he was still recognizable as my old Ashton.

“You okay?”

Mm, he still also had that cheeky grin.

His eyes roamed up and down me, and I felt briefly violated before realizing he wasn’t looking at me in a way that meant he wanted to rip my towel off. He was being his usual cheeky self, and was probably very concerned why I was out in the street in my towel.

“It’s a whole thing,” I told him, “but my dad’s stupid lock locked me out of the house.”

“Ah,” he nodded. I nodded in return because I felt awkward, and a silence fell between us.

“Why don’t you come over to my place until your parents get home,” he offered.

I raised my eyebrow, “are you sure?”

“Of course. You’re family.”

“Thanks.”

I adjusted my towel again, and took the steps slowly. Ashton scooped up my large box of books and quirked his eyebrow at me as he tucked it behind a planter on my porch.

“Books?”

I smiled, “of course!” He chuckled as we made our way across the street to his house.

“The water droplets on your shoulders sparkling in the sun are very pretty, Bella,” he said as we walked up his front porch and he opened the door for me to step through.

“Oh,” I said as he pulled the door shut, feeling off guard, “um, thank you.”

He flashed another smile before calling out to his mum, “Bella’s over!”

Ms. Irwin appeared from the kitchen with wide eyes, “Bella?”

I wondered when the last time was that Ashton and I stepped through the Irwin’s front door like this.

“Hi Ms. Irwin,” I waved, my face flushing.

She beamed, “hi, Sweetheart. How are you?”

“I’m fine,” I nodded, “you?”

She just nodded and said, “you two be good,” before disappearing again.

Ashton rolled his eyes with a grin before putting a hand on my back between my shoulder blades and guided me towards the stairs. As we climbed, I looked at the photographs that lined the wall of Ashton and his little sister and brother. There were photos that had been hanging there for as long as I could remember, but some, like school photos, now showed them as older kids, Ashton as an adult.

There was one photo that made my heart stutter. It was Ashton and I when we were about six. We were at the zoo, sitting on a bench laughing, my head on his shoulder, his head against mine. We each held a melting popsicle, the red and pink syrup all over our hands, around our mouths and on our chins. I don’t think a photo has been taken of me where I’ve looked that happy since.

“I love this photo.” I pointed it out.

“Yeah,” Ashton who had been at the top of the stairs, hopped down the last few to join me, “that was a fun

day.”

We looked at it for a moment, then continued to Ashton’s room. I laughed when I entered.

“What?” He asked, rummaging around his closet.

“Ashton, it looks the same!” I wandered around the room. The room itself was painted a dark blue. Ashton’s bed was unmade, clothes were in piles on the floor. He had a desk, where his laptop sat, and in one corner his drum kit, the other a black bean bag chair. Knick knacks and odd belongings sat on shelves and in odd spaces on the floor.

“Like yours doesn’t?” He grinned, passing me one of his t-shirts.

“Okay,” I laughed, “it might be.” My room was still purple and green. The doll house my dad had made me that I made Ashton play with me numerous times still sat on its shelf. I still had fragments of LEGO upon my shelves. My books cluttered every corner. Posters from movies and musicians covered my walls.

He chuckled, moving to his drawer and rummaging around. I pulled on his shirt, a Guns N Roses shirt with minimal holes, and pulled it down as far as it could go. Ashton passed me a pair of boxers, and sat at his desk as I pulled them on and ditched my towel on his floor.

I felt better now I wore clothes and stepped over to him. Folding my arms across my chest, I leant over his shoulder to see what he was doing. A message appeared on the screen once he’d logged in, and he clicked it.

_dirtycliffo: log in!

I grinned, “Ashton, is that Michael?” I hadn’t talked to our old friends in a long time.

“Yes,” he frowned, typing back.

weeniebeanie: no

I suddenly exploded with laughter, clutching at my stomach. Then I leant over his shoulder so I could see his face.

“You still have your screen names from eighth grade?”

“Yes,” Ashton grumbled. He was avoiding looking at me, but I could see in his eyes he was smiling.

weeniebeanie: i hate that game

_dirtycliffo: c’mon. Luke n cal also suck

bread: heyy

“You still act like you're in grade eight too,” I laughed, resting my chin on Ashton’s shoulder as he logged into the game.

“Here,” he said, passing me a headset that was on his deck, “listen in.”

I twisted the headphones so we could both hear and Ashton could use the mic.

“Good, you’re here,” came Michael’s static filled voice.

“Yeah,” Ashton sighed, “but it’s not just me here.”

“Oh?” Calum’s voice came. It occurred to me that even though I wasn’t as close to them as I was Ashton, I kind of missed them too.

“Yeah. Bella-Wella is here too,” he replied, calling me my grade school name.

“Stop,” I laughed, nudging him, and he grinned.

“So it’s just like old times? Hey, Bella.”

“Hey,” I called back, and the boys started their game, talking about weapons and strategies. And I listened along. Just like old times.

#ashtonirwin #ashton irwin blurb #neighbour!ashton #5sos blurb #one shot #5sos one shot #ashton irwin one shot #bestfriend!ashton

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texanredrose · 4 years

Text

Managing Expectations

Listen, I know I’m behind on the prompts, it’s been a helluva everything, okay? --- Weiss opened her eyes, noting the weak rays of light filtering in past the blackout curtains illuminating the carpet beneath their bedroom window. Absently, she cursed herself for waking up this early on a day when she could sleep in, the alarm clock beside the bed reading just before seven o’clock in the morning. Halfway through sophomore year, one would think her body would recognize which days she had to awaken before the sun rose and which days she could sleep a little longer, but one would be surprisingly wrong.

With a sigh, she debated getting out of bed and starting her day. She could rarely fall back asleep once sufficiently roused, so trying to fall back asleep seemed futile.

Then, the arm loosely curled around her waist shifted slightly, and Weiss turned her head enough to see her girlfriend cuddled up behind her, still sound asleep. In contrast, Blake had two distinct modes: she could either sleep like the dead or awaken at a pin drop. It would be impossible to tell which so-called mode she was in if not for the way her ears behaved. When she slept lightly, they were always somewhat erect, twitching at sounds; when she slept heavily, they tended to relax and lay to the sides of her head. Right now, one ear was curled up against the pillow, almost lost among midnight black tresses, while the other drooped back lazily.

A heavy sleep. Perfect.

Carefully, Weiss turned, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend’s waist and snuggling into the Faunus’ chest. Sometimes, she couldn’t believe the unexpected turn her life had taken. When she first spoke to Blake last year, the best she could’ve hoped for was a tentative friendship. It had taken her weeks to summon the courage to actually approach Blake, and months longer before she began to actually believe the Faunus wasn’t simply putting up with her existence for convenience’s sake. When they actually started dating midway through the year, they surprised everyone- but most of all, themselves.

Or, at least, that’s how Weiss felt, still unsure if she could really believe that this would last. They both had stubborn streaks, and they had their ideals, and while those matched up for the most part there were still some rough spots. Areas where misconceptions held for far too long made enlightenment seem like a threat- they’d worked past some but there were bound to be others.

It scared her, sometimes, because between the potential outcomes, the ones that in some way involved her losing Blake as a girlfriend hurt far worse than anything else- more than even losing the chance to own her family’s company, the culmination of her life’s work. To be that devoted to someone… she didn’t have a frame of reference for it. Not even her sister Winter- whose tenure in the military had made already jagged edged sharp and somewhat callous- exhibited that much blind loyalty, more than willing to make sacrifices or betray her superiors in order to adhere to her personal moral code.

Worst of all, she hadn’t summoned the strength to voice that. She told Blake she loved her often but that somehow didn’t seem like… enough. Then again, she always had those doubts whispering in the back of her mind- they were attending University, they were too young to consider anything long term, they were too different, Blake would never want to be directly tied to someone of the Schnee name, she was deluding herself thinking of this as more than a fling- and they stole her voice whenever she tried to broach the subject.

They often talked about the future, about reform and activism and using the weight of the names they were born to for a greater good. But they never spoke about it in terms of each other. Did Blake’s future include her at all? As more than a friend? As nothing more than an ex? Where did she stand?

Gradually, the whirlwind of thoughts building up in her mind calmed as she permitted herself a wistful daydream, imagining herself and Blake, married and attending a fundraiser. Blake wore the purple coat Ghira had shown them during their trip to Menagerie, the one his daughter would wear when she inevitably took his place as Chieftain. Weiss wore complimenting colors, with gold hoop earrings like Kali wore, and her family’s sigil etched across her back, stepping away briefly to check on how her company was doing before rejoining her wife.

It seemed idyllic and silly, that everything might work out, that they could claim their birthrights while side-by-side and achieve a happily ever after. There would no doubt be barrier after barrier, obstacle after obstacle, and the reality of that didn’t make Weiss balk. It made her relish the challenge.

All too suddenly, she became aware of fingers carding through her hair, looking up to see Blake’s half-lidded eyes watching her, her lips quirked into a small grin.

“You’re thinking too hard again.”

Weiss opted to break eye contact, resting her forehead against the Faunus’ collarbone. “I didn’t intend to wake you.”

“You didn’t.”

“I doubt that.”

Blake hummed, continuing the soothing motion of threading her fingers through the woman’s hair. “What were you thinking about?”

“Do you really want to know?” Half the time when her girlfriend asked, Weiss was midway through an essay on business practices, and opted not to delve even further into the ridiculous ethical gymnastics used to justify certain processes.

“Yeah. I do.”

Again, her voice faltered but she somehow forced the words out. “I was thinking about the future. You as the Chieftain of Menagerie and me as the CEO of the SDC.” She paused there, her courage almost giving out, but instead doubled down and relied on her stubbornness to carry her through the rest of the conversation. “I was thinking about how busy our schedules would be considering our chosen career paths, being married and all. It would be challenging.”

Weiss held her breath, waiting for the words to register- waiting for the gasp of surprise, the fingers moving through her hair stopping suddenly, the realization to sink in, and the scramble for an answer.

It never came.

Instead, Blake hummed while her fingers continued moving in a soothing motion. “It would be. It’s been hard thus far, what with differing courses and requirements… but we’ve made it work because we wanted this bad enough. As long as we want it, we’ll find a way.” Then, the Faunus bent her head and placed a soft kiss against white locks. “Have you thought about the wedding at all? I assume you’d want to wear the white dress but I’m torn between a dress or a tux.”

“You’d look good in both,” she replied automatically, as she struggled to parse the first part of her girlfriend’s response. “So, wait- you… you’ve thought about this, too?”

“Yeah. I have.” Weiss lifted her head to look at Blake, seeing excitement and fear and happiness and apprehension all vying for dominance in amber eyes. “I’ve thought about it and I’ve thought about how silly it is and I’ve decided that… I don’t care. It’s something I want to think about and something I want to believe is possible. It’s a future that I… really want and I think that’s what matters.”

“I want it, too.” She leaned up, kissing her girlfriend, and feeling the way the Faunus relaxed, as if she’d been worried about Weiss reaction- and, in hindsight, she really should’ve expected it, because of course they’d both be scared and worried and biting their tongue instead of speaking their mind. They’d need to keep working on that. “I love you, Blake.”

“I love you too, Weiss.” Then she smiled, her ears perking up. “And I’m glad I can look forward to a future with you.”

“Me too.”

CRASH!

Both of them jolted, sitting up in their bed and staring at the bedroom door in bewilderment as their housemates began shouting.

“YANG XIAO LONG, YOU GET BACK HERE, I’M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE!” Ruby shouted at her sister, her threat barely audible over two peels of laughter about an octave apart. “SUN WUKONG, YOU KEEP LAUGHING, YOU’RE JOINING HER!”

Another crash preceded the laughter abruptly cutting off, which could only mean one thing: whatever prank the girlfriend and boyfriend duo had planned for Ruby had also caught another target- this one, unintended.

“Yang. Sun.” Although not nearly as loud, the gravity in Pyrrha’s voice somehow allowed it to carry throughout the house. “You have until the count of three. One.”

“Shit shit shit!” Yang’s voice got a bit fainter as she likely ran towards the garage.

“Two.”

“Babe, wait for me!” Sun called as he likely followed his girlfriend.

“Three!”

“Get ‘em, Pyrrha!” Ruby started laughing as the sound of pounding footsteps and slamming doors, plus the roar of Yang’s bike, quickly turned the calm early morning into a symphony of ridiculousness.

Weiss huffed. “Can’t we have one day without those four causing a racket?”

“It was your idea to let them stay here.” Her girlfriend pointed out with an amused grin.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, that was technically true. “In my defense, I was trying to be gracious.”

“You were trying to make sure we could sleep together.”

At the end of their freshman year, the two sets of roommates had decided to rent a house just off campus for the four of them, reasoning it would be cheaper to share the living space- especially as Weiss had managed to get the whole rent and utilities paid by her ‘allowance’. Of course, the house they settled on only had three bedrooms, which Weiss had reasoned at the time would be fine, as she and Blake could simply share a room, since they were dating. Ruby immediately pointed out that both she and her sister had partners of their own, and it wouldn’t be fair if they couldn��t have ‘sleepovers’ while Weiss and Blake shared a bed.

In hindsight, all six of them living in the house- while mostly a good arrangement that worked for everyone- came with some rather specific drawbacks, such as the out-of-control prank wars.

“Still.” She supplied the weak rebuttal.

Blake simply shrugged. “Well, if I moved out-“

“Oh no you don’t; we were just talking about wedding plans, so don’t try to pull the ‘if we break up, you could-‘ line of thought with me!”

As her girlfriend laughed, Weiss couldn’t help but smile, too. Yes, she would prefer to go at least a few days without another prank sending the whole household into a whirlwind of activity, but if that was the price to pay, then so be it. It would take some concerted effort to convince her to break up with Blake at this rate, and she doubted anyone could be stubborn enough to change her mind.

She never expected this to be the result of talking to Blake in the library last year but, in hindsight, it proved to be the best decision she’d ever made. --- Does anyone else remember that one random college AU from, like, three years ago? Me neither.

#Monochrome #monochromeweek2020 #monosweek2020 #pyrruby #solarflare #expectations college au

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rougepetale · 4 years

Text

I’m sorry (Toshiaki) (Angst) (SFW)

Fandom: Irresistible Mistakes (Voltage love 365)

Pairing: Toshiaki Kijima x Reader

Warning: Maybe a trigger? Car Crash

Note: This is for @hifftn and her bingo, going for a blackout :3 and nearly 10 pages long. ;w;

It all happened so fast. Nobody could have predicted it. Toshiaki was sitting at a stoplight, enjoying the warmth of his girlfriend’s body pressed tightly to him. It was their one year anniversary and he had wanted to start the day off right with a ride through the city.

The light turned green. His foot came up to gas and eased into the gas and began to take off.

He didn’t see the car speeding through.

He didn’t have time to react.

He couldn’t react.

He felt the impact of the car barreling into them, he felt his body flying. He also felt his body hitting the asphalt and skidding furthermore.

Excruciating pain.

He had never felt this much pain in his life.

*****

When he awoke, he had a pounding headache. Everything hurt, and he wanted to throw up. He could smell the disinfectant, he knew he was in the hospital. He could also feel eyes on him, looking to the side, he saw his friend from college. Shunichiro Tachibana. “What happened?” he croaked. Trying to move, he found his body refusing to move.

Shunichiro sat forward, a look of concern on his face, “Try not to move. You’ve been in the ICU for a day.”

Toshiaki frowned, “What happened?” he asked again, “Where is ___?” he asked, he could feel a rising panic in his chest.

He saw the look of concern transform into a guarded mask. “Where is she?” he asked again, a little more urgent.

Shunichiro sighed, “She took the brunt of the impact.” he started, “She is in the Trauma Center, being operated right now.”

Toshiaki could feel the pit of his stomach drop, and any contents in his stomach coming up. Shunchiro brought the bucket up in time.

He had brought her out on his bike, he had insisted on taking her to the tourist trap on his bike. He was the cause of this. “Oh gods.” he groaned, he managed to raise one hand to his head, “What have I done?”

Shunichiro frowned, “You can’t blame yourself for this. The driver ran the red light.”

“You don’t understand, we were supposed to take the car today. I insisted we take the motorcycle.”

His friend sighed, “She is in the best hands.” Shunichiro smiled, “She’s a fighter.”

*******

It took a week until they let Toshiaki out. Each day he asked about her. Each day he begged to see her. Shunichiro, the dutiful friend, came every day to check on both of you.

“She’s in room 201.” Shunichiro told his friend as he sat beside him, “I’ve kept an eye on her, she is still in a coma.” Shunichiro watched as his friend’s shoulders sagged. He patted the same shoulders softly, “Stop beating yourself up.”

“I will never forgive myself.” Toshiaki sighed, “I decided to sell the bike.”

Shunichiro shrugged, “That is up to you.”

With his friend’s help, Toshiaki stood and went to visit his girlfriend.

Hesitating outside the closed door, his fingers inches from the door. What if because of him, she wouldn’t survive? What if she hated him?

He was paralyzed by fear. He couldn’t face her. What would he say to her?

Shunichiro reached forward and pushed open the door. Inside the hum of monitors and ventilators greeted both of them. Toshiaki took tentative steps forward, and collapsed into the chair by her bed.

It was angled where he could see her easily. “Did you sit here and watch her?” he asked, Shunichiro could hear the exhaustion in his friend’s voice.

“From time to time, I gave her some updates.” Shunichiro pulled a chair next to Toshiaki, “They say that people in comas can still hear what's happening on the outside.”

Toshiaki scraped the chair forward, his uninjured hand gripped her lifeless one. “___” he called her name out tentatively, as if she would spook if he said anything. He bowed his head and sighed, “I am sorry, I am so sorry.” he whispered.

His fingers ran over her knuckles as he tried to hold back the sobs, “I am sorry I put you in this place.” He didn’t hear Shunichiro quietly closing the door behind him, leaving the two alone. Toshiaki could feel his heart breaking every beep of the heart monitor. It was too loud, too real.

A knock at the door, Toshiaki jumped. A nurse came in, she had a kind smile as she walked in. “You must be Mr. Kijima” she spoke to him, she went to the other side of the bed, checking vitals and drips.

Toshiaki nodded, “Yes, why?”

The nurse laughed, “We’ve heard a lot about you.” Toshiaki found his cheeks coloring and before he could ask the nurse continued, “She asked for you, right before she went into surgery. She wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Toshiaki felt the uncomfortable tightening in his throat. “Of course she did.” He chuckled mirthlessly, “She’d be more worried about me than herself.” Toshiaki watched the nurse with sharp eyes, suddenly feeling very protective of his girlfriend.

“She is going to survive Mr. Kijima,” the nurse informed him, “ She has cerebral edema, It will take a while, but she will wake up.” The nurse bowed her head and left.

Toshiaki sat by her bedside for well over three hours, his eyes were trained on her face, thankfully, the helmet protected her, he couldn’t fathom the damage that could have happened if she wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Another knock at the door and Shunichiro entered the door, “Ready to go home?” he asked.

“Honestly?” Toshiaki sighed, “I’d stay here all day and night if I could.”

“I know, but you need to go home, you need to rest.” Shunichiro replied, “You’re no good for her if you collapse out of exhaustion.” He patted Toshiaki’s uninjured shoulder. “C’mon let’s go.”

Toshiaki stood, even though his feet felt planted to the floor; with more effort than he cared to admit he stepped forward and brushed the bangs from her face. He kissed her forehead and whispered ‘I love you’ into her ear. He kissed her knuckles and set her hand down gently. “I’ll be right back.” he told her, “Just wait for me.”

*********

The day passed agonizingly slow, Toshiaki’s eyes kept darting to the clock. He couldn’t remember if he slept last night or not. Did it matter? He was counting down the day to see you again.

He hardly ate, he hardly slept. Any moment he was not at work or being forced to sleep or eat was by your bedside. Shunichiro and Yukihisa kept an eye on their friend, they could see him wasting away before their eyes.

Yukihisa made sure that if Toshiaki wasn’t eating, he’d get at least supplements. He knew his friends were worried for him, but he didn’t have time to worry about himself.

He knocked on the door to her room, and entered. Each time however, he held his breath, hoping he’d hear your voice saying he was allowed in. Each time, he felt crashing disappointment.

He told her about the day, what he did, and how he felt. Each time he held her hand and rubbed his thumb over your knuckles. Some days he brushes your hair, some days he’d run his hands over your arms to help with blood flow, but he always ended his days with “I am sorry, I love you, and I’ll be back soon.”

Today, he decided to read to you. Your favorite author had just published a new book. He held the book with one hand, as it was nestled into his folded leg. His other hand held yours. He wanted to cuddle with you, hold you in his arms, but settled with just holding your hand. He was midway through the first chapter when he felt your fingers twitch. Immediately, he stopped his reading and trained his gaze upon your face.

You had twitched before, your eyes would even move under your eyelids. But he felt something different. He sat forward, and his breath was nearly stolen when your eyes slowly opened. He never thought that he would see those beautiful eyes again. “___” he whispered.

You responded to your name, your eyes drifting to his, but your eyes also looked around the room. The spike in your heart rate registered on the monitor. Toshiaki immediately stood, “You’re in the hospital.” he told you, “We were in an accident.” his voice was choked. Your eyes went back to him. Your mouth opened, trying to make a sound.

Toshiaki could feel his own voice drowning in his throat, he couldn’t wait to hear your voice again. But before he could, a plethora of doctors and nurses had come swarming the room. Toshiaki was pushed to the side.

He wanted to fight back against the doctors, he wanted to be by your side. It was past visiting hours by the time the frenzy inside the room had died down. He hated that he would have to come back tomorrow.

He stood outside of the hospital, staring blankly at the walls. Your hospital room faced towards the street. He could see your window, he had wished that he would see you peering down at him. He hesitated for a moment longer, wishing and hoping that his dream would become reality.

With a dejected sigh, he left the hospital with mixed feelings. He was elated to see you awake, but he had only seen you for a second before he was pushed out. Despite his mixed feelings, he couldn’t wait to return the next day.

He could hardly sleep. He kept waking every hour or so to check the time.

He was distracted at work, and was lucky that Shunichiro had kept his eye out for him, and even shooed him off of work. Shunichiro would follow Toshiaki later that day, after all he was your boss.

Toshiaki stopped at a store and picked up a bouquet of flowers. He couldn’t wait to get back to your room.

He knocked twice on your door and slowly opened it. He saw you sitting up, reading the book that he had begun to read to you the other day. “____?” he called your name. He noticed you jump, “May I come in?”

You nodded as you put the book aside, “Come in.” you said quietly. You watched as he came inside and handed you a bouquet of roses and hyacinth. “These are beautiful” you gasped, breathing in the unique scent.

Toshiaki smiled, he had missed your smile. He missed your voice. He missed everything about you.

“The hyacinth means ‘I am sorry’” you said softly, “Though, I don’t know why a complete stranger would be sorry.”

Toshiaki paused, “I beg your pardon?” he wasn’t sure he heard you right.

“I don’t know why you are sorry, we just met a while ago.” you replied, watching him, and the blood drain from his face. “Are you okay sir?” you asked, putting the bouquet to the side and reaching over to touch his hand nearest to you.

Toshiaki felt lost, was she playing with him? “What do you remember?” he asked, his voice shaky.

You were inches from touching him, your hand hovered over his; eventually you sat back without touching him. Toshiaki had wished you would have, he missed you so much, he missed your touch. “I… I don’t remember anything besides waking up here.” you replied.

Toshiaki pressed his lips into a tight line, and he clenched his jaw. You remembered nothing, this… this was catastrophic, he was losing the one person he loved all over again. He didn't think he would feel this type of pain again. His heart was feeling ripped out and stomped on. “I, uh, that’s fine.” he finally managed to say.

He sat forward, “You were in a car accident.” he informed you. “Thrown from the bike.” He watched your face, he was ready to stop if you looked to be in distress.

Your eyes drifted to your own hands, sitting upon your lap. “Did, did anybody else get hurt?”

Toshiaki shook his head, “The driver got away with minor injuries.”

You smiled softly, “That’s good. I would hate to know that anybody else got hurt.” you picked up the flowers again. “I thank you again for these.”

Toshiaki stood and smiled, “Well, I unfortunately must go. I will see you later.” bowing, he pulled the chair to the side, “Have a good evening.”

Toshiaki stumbled out the door and slumped against the wall, all energy sapped from his very being. This news that she didn’t remember him had nearly ruined him. He stood in the hall for some time, battling with his own emotions. The moment he saw you, he wanted to kiss you, hold you in his arms and to beg for your forgiveness.

Toshiaki was so out of it, and in his own head that he didn’t notice nor hear Shunichiro’s voice on his way out of the hospital. He sat in his car and zoned out for a while longer.

Shunichiro knocked on the door and waited for your admittance. Entering the room, he saw you looking at the flowers and caressing the soft petale between her fingertips. “Oh, I heard you were awake.” he came to your bedside and smiled at you, “I saw Toshi leaving just a second ago.”

“Is that his name?” you asked, looking at the brown haired man, “He gave me these flowers. They are very beautiful.”

Shunichiro had a confused look on his face, yet he didn’t press the issue, “He is a very romantic man.”

“I imagine so, he was very kind, telling me how I got into the hospital. But he left before I could ask any other questions.” you looked at Shunichiro, “Maybe you can help?”

Shunichiro nodded, “What do you want to know?”

Shunichiro spent the better part of an hour telling you what you wanted to know, where you lived, what you did, any other information he could give you. He stayed till visiting time was over. He had hoped that he had removed some questions from your mind.

********

Toshiaki continued to visit you, however, he had changed his visits to when you were sleeping. He couldn’t face the pain of your loss of memory. The pain of being completely erased from your memory was almost too much to bear.Despite the pain, he brought flowers to your bedside every day. Every time you were waking up he would quickly excuse himself and watch from afar.

The nurse blocked his path on accident once, when he was retreating. Allowing you to catch a glimpse of his retreating form. “Wait!” you called out, but he didn’t stop.

“That is Mr. Kijima for you” the nurse said with a sigh. “This entire week he has been by your side, but leaves as soon as you wake up.”

You frowned, “Is he the one that brings me flowers?” you asked.

“Yes, your boyfriend makes sure that your hospital room has as much beauty as possible”

“My boyfriend?”

“Yes, he was in the crash with you.” the nurse replied as she changed the drip. She looked at the poor girl sitting in the bed, “He comes every day.”

“I had a feeling he did, I can feel him when I am sleeping.” you replied, “I just wish I could talk to him. My apparent boss comes from time to time. He has filled me in on some things, but always dodges the question when it comes to my love life.”

“Maybe, he desn’t want to step on any toes?”

“Maybe.” You sighed and slumped against the bed, “I want to say thank you to him.”

The nurse paused for a moment, “I will try to stop him tomorrow, that’s the best I can do.”

“Thank you.”

Toshiaki came the next day and sat beside your bed, again, he sat beside you, and took your hand again. “I miss you,” he started, “I shouldn’t have…” he swallowed his words when your eyes fluttered open. He went to remove his hand when you grabbed it.

“Please, stay?” you whispered.

Toshiaki felt rooted to his spot, your voice was heavenly. “Okay.” he croaked out. You sat up and smiled at him, squeezing his hand softly. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, thank you. Mr. Tachibana, is that his name?” you paused, trying to remember, “He has told me a few things. I wish I remembered everything.” you bowed your head, and your shoulders sagged, “I wish I remembered you.”

Toshiaki felt his heart clench, he stood up and sat on the edge of your bed, tentatively enveloping you into a loose hug. He didn’t dare hold you tight, how weird would it be to be hugged by a stranger? It wasn’t until you leaned into his embrace did he hug you tighter. He nestled his nose into your hair and inhaled, wishing you didn’t smell like a hospital.

The both of you held each other for a long while, it was a healing unlike any medicine. Finally Toshiaki pulled back, a sad smile upon his lips, “I’ve missed you so much.”

“The doctor said that I can eventually get my memories back.” you smiled sadly at him, “That I should do things that can bring back memories.”

Toshiaki nodded, “Yes, I agree. As soon as you are out, all of us will help you regain your memories. Your childhood friend is eagerly waiting to tell you some of your most embarrassing stories, or so I have been told.”

“I want to do things that help me remember you first.” you admitted, looking into your eyes, a blush spread over your cheeks, “Can….” you took a breath, “Can you kiss me?” you requested.

Toshiaki paused, “Are you sure?” he asked, wanting not to push you against some you didn’t want to do.

“I want to remember you,” you repeated, “You’ve been by my bedside this entire time. Read to me when I slept, held my hand to give me comfort.” You looked at him, straight in the eyes, “I may not remember, but I know that you’re important to me.”

His hand slipped behind your head, and slowly brought your lips to his. Your hands gripped at his shirt in front. His kiss was tentative, shy almost. His other hand pulled you closer to his own body. Oh how he missed this, your lips, your warmth.

You were both getting into the kiss when his cell phone went off, chiming in his pocket. “You should get that” you whispered against his lips.

“I don’t want to.” he whispered back, peppering your lips with light kisses, but growled in anger when the phone wouldn’t shut up! “Please, pardon me.”

He stood and stepped back, turning away from you. You watched as he talked on the phone, while the kiss and hug felt foreign it also felt familiar and you craved more. You wanted so much more.

While you were musing, he came back, “Sorry… I have to go, a client is demanding a meeting.” his hand reached forward to caress your cheek, “I will be back as soon as possible.” you leaned into his touch.

“Oh! Before you leave, can I have your number?” you asked, shyly. “So, I can text you. It can help me remember.”

Toshiaki smiled as he pulled your phone from the charger, “I’m here under Toshiaki Kijima.” he showed you where to contact him. “Okay, I’ll be back. Just wait for me” he left quickly and you smiled happily.

You may not have remembered anything in that kiss, but you were eager to try it again. You waited about ten minutes before you called him, eager to hear his voice.

Toshiaki was half way to his car when he heard the chime that was set for you, “___?” he immediately picked up, “Are you okay?” he asked, ready to turn back to your room, work be damned.

You chuckled on the other end, “Yes I’m fine.” you could hear Toshiaki sigh on the other side, “I just wanted to tell you something.”

“Did you remember anything?” he asked, hopeful.

"I still don't remember, but I want to fall in love with you again" you replied, “If you’ll let me.”

Toshiaki couldn’t stop the smile spreading over his face, “Of course. Of course I will.”

“Thank you Toshiaki, I’ll see you soon. Have a good day at work.”

“Thank you, I’ll be back soon. Just wait for me.”

#Voltage Trope #Voltage trope fanfic bingo #Memory loss #hifftn #Irresistible mistakes #voltage inc #voltage fanfic #toshiaki kijima

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roswelldetails · 4 years

Text

Episode 202: Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space - Details

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Liz (Jeanine Mason) is forced to put her latest experiment on hold after Rosa (Amber Midthunder) begins to struggle with her new life in Roswell. Reluctant to face the truth about his mother’s past, Michael (Michael Vlamis) turns his attention to helping Maria (Heather Hemmens), who is dealing with her own family crisis. Elsewhere, Isobel (Lily Cowles) agrees to join her mother for a day of spiritual healing to keep herself distracted. Finally, Rosa turns to Kyle (Michael Trevino) to learn the truth about what really happened the night she died. Tyler Blackburn and Trevor St. John also star. Lance Anderson directed the episode written by Eva McKenna (#202.) Original airdate 3/23/2020.

DETAILS:

Secret lab is in an Indian Boarding School that was shut down. The Air Force bought it. It's been empty for 40 years (i.e., since approx. 1979). Part of Alex's job is to monitor it.

Security was set up by Alex’s team. They follow orders and don’t ask questions. (But that also means other soldiers know about it.)

Max's password was password. 🙄

Liz lies to Rosa. "It was beautiful. The whole town came. Everyone joined in the rosario. Mom sang Las Golondrinas. Dad wanted you in a white dress but I insisted on your Live Through This t-shirt."

According to: https://blog.sevenponds.com/cultural-perspectives/tradition-spanish-funeral “Nine days after the death, the family holds a ceremony known as a “rosario.” It consists of candles, flowers, prayers and sharing memories of the person who has died. The rosario also takes place every year on the anniversary of the person’s death.”

Las Golondrinas

Rosa Nightmare #1… unclear when it started since it flowed directly from her on the couch, doing graffiti around town, seeing her dad. Assuming it starts when she goes to the Wild Pony, pours herself a drink, hesitates, and then Max appears.

Max and Rosa's exchange:.

"What are you waiting for? You have to stop Liz. Tell her she can't bring me back, Rosa."

"Why? Why don't you want her to save you?"

"I can't take it anymore. Just end it."

"They'll figure it out. They'll save you."

"I can't wait that long. It's like burning alive from inside."

"She's never going to stop trying."

"Then you have to stop her. Please!"

Rosa wants her sketchbook from the bookshelf in their room. (Later in the episode when she breaks in we see that the bookshelf is empty. Liz cleared out Rosa's things in 1x07.)

Rosa's old email [email protected] (90s music reference to the band Everclear).

Michael is experimenting by blow torching a piece of alien ship.

Apparently it was Lindsay (of Hank and Lindsay) that Michael made out with. Seeing as it's only been a month since Hank died (2 weeks passed in 2x01, Maria says in 2x02 that her mom has been missing for 2 weeks), and the big guy was pissed about Michael making out with her, she moves on pretty quickly!

Maria is meeting with a private detective.

Science babble! "Human tissue can obviously regenerate from stem cells. With the right methodology I could use your blood (Isobel) to make adjustments for alien physiology. I have to monitor exactly when cell degradation begins, down to the second. I can't miss it. Eight hours before I need to be back.

Michael is developing nanotechnology to make the transplant possible. "It's like replacing parts in a broken machine."

They harvested all of Noah’s primary organs. "I have his body parts in jars."

Isobel steals what looks like an empty syringe. But at the end of the episode she has the serum in it.

New brand of fake beer! (Last season it was always Copper black lager. Now it's Hunks and Heroes Lager! Broken bottles were on the ground in the cemetery, Wyatt Long is carrying a bottle at the beginning of the scene when he and Michael fight (which could tie him to the graffiti on Rosa's grave), and also has a bottle in front of him on his YouTube video.

Michael is holding a bag from Milikan Value Hardware Store.

Flint's report on Caulfield: "Shepherd Protocol was activated. Bodies were disposed of without incident. Local papers ran an item confirming that the long-scheduled demolition of the prison was a success."

Exchange between Jesse and Flint:

"Dad, I don't think we should have covered it up. People should know."

"Do you have any idea what would happen if we confirmed that alien specimens were once housed at Caulfield but are now suddenly gone? It'd be dismissed as fake news. Buried by a racist tweet within seconds. No, we need to make a bigger statement."

"'Cause justice can't be served until after disaster has struck."

"That's right."

Really don't want to transcribe the racist rant from Wyatt Long that Rosa watches, although I will if y'all demand it. I don't think it's relevant beyond Rosa learning the truth. However as a detail I want to note, the video is titled BUILD THE WALL! IN MEMORY OF KATE LONG and it's dated September 3, 2010 (so 2 years and a few months after they died). Amusing side note. The comments on the video. Great fake usernames:

fayhuman: Kate Long didn't deserve what happened.

Curious Murphy: I just donated to the cause!!

thecyberwitch48: is this really the best solution?

Isobel’s baby is at 5 weeks, the size of a lentil.

Isobel calls Ann "Mama". Good note for fic writers! 😉

Maria's class: "Woman as Warrior: Strength Training for the Mind, Body, and Spirit."

Under the Bridge - same location as in 1x03 where Liz finds Rosa's paint canister.

Maria's cards:

Maria DeLuca

Psychic Reader

Spirit Leader

Social Media Revitalizer

Great line: "The infinite reservoir of strength and healing within us all" 😂👏

Rosa's chart…

"What's this error here?"

"Must be a contaminated sample."

"No way. I'm meticulous."

Steph says regarding the error on Rosa’s test “Congrats. Looks like you just discovered a protein never before found in the human body. Or you didn't get the Flamin' Hot orange dust off your hands when you scrubbed in. Whichever's most likely."

Michael to Liz, "I was working. I went home to find formulas I worked out years ago…"

Rosa is reciting Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer, which is commonly used by AA and other 12 step programs.

Noah was struck by lightning directly in the heart.

Isobel’s moment of epiphany:

"Using your newfound goddess strength I want you to get up and throw your fear into the fire. Set yourself free. You're a warrior. You aren't afraid of anything. Draw upon your feminine power. Why are you hesitating, Isobel? The sooner you throw your paper in the fire the sooner you can leave."

"Look, it's not that simple, okay? I can't just throw this into the fire." Maria gasps and rubs her chest, similar to how she did when she realized her necklace was missing at the beginning in 1x10) "I'm trapped.

Ann: "This is my fault. I put too much pressure on you."

"It's nobody's fault. It's just here."

Maria: "Whatever it is, you can choose to set yourself free. Say it. 'Say I choose to set myself free.'"

"I choose to set myself free."

Maria: "Louder."

"I choose to set myself free."

Rosa breaks into the Crashdown. It mirrors her first nightmare in 2x01, but it's not a dream. She goes to her room, sees the empty bookshelf, goes to the closet, and snags a hidden bottle of tequila.

Camera lingers on Steph stuffing a bottle of nail polish remover in her purse. Note: she was actually doing her nails.

Michael and Alex's conversation mostly mirrors the information we learned from the file in last week's episode. She wasn't caught until October 1948 and the crash was June 1947. She was the last alien captured and admitted into Caulfield. Alex thinks people in Roswell might have known her.

Liz says that the accident never made sense to her because when Rosa was 12, Mamma Ortecho drove drunk with Liz and Rosa in the car, hit a bike, and flipped the car. Rosa told Mamma Ortecho that she would kill her if she ever drove drunk with Liz in the car again.

Rosa's tequila brand: Blistering Rose.

Rosa’s 2nd Nightmare: Rosa runs into the cave and starts beating on the pod. When she hits it, it sounds like metal (which doesn't seem like it would make sense given what we know about the pods).

Her conversation with Max:

"Leave me alone, you dick!"

"I am so much pain, Rosa."

"Oh really? So is everybody. Man up."

"Have some mercy. I saved your life."

"My life is gone. My mom bailed, I can't talk to my dad, my entire town hates me, and my sweet little sister is somebody that I don't even know. But I do know that she'll save you. She's gonna fix you and until then, leave me alone."

"I'd Liz won't stop then you have to do it. Go to the pod, pull me out, and walk away. You won't be killing me, Rosa. I'm already dead."

"I said no. Leave me alone."

"As long as that handprint is on you I can reach you."

"Fine. I'm an expert at quieting voices."

"No. Rosa, wait. Don't do anything stupid."

"I never dreamed when I was using."

MUSIC:

1. Oasis "Wonderwall"

2. Gord Bamford "#Rednek"

3. Hamish Anderson "Trouble"

4. Radiohead "High And Dry"

#roswell new mexico #rnm season 2 #long post #episode 202 #ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space #rnm music #episode details #submission

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twinxyjinx · 4 years

Text

Plot/Prompt: It took him a moment to register that Ned had just shot him.

This is really bad, but it was a Drabble that I decided to add a twist on.

Reblogs are appreciated! ^^

_____

His ears were ringing. A low, high-pitched screaming in his ears that made his head spin. A wave of nausea washed over him, towering above him like a wave from a tsunami before crashing down. His vision flashed, dancing with dots that made his head spin even more. His throat tightened unexplainably, his chest aching oddly. It wasn’t painful. In fact, it felt like someone had thrown a pebble at him. A pebble that made him stagger backwards. A pebble that made pain blossom and course through his body like electricity, wreaking havoc upon his system. A pebble that wasn’t a pebble.

A pebble that was a bullet.

A burning, aggravating sensation tingled through his chest. It grew outward from where the bullet had made contact, slowly consuming him. His arms felt heavy as he stared, his eye-lids fluttering rapidly as he choked on his words. There was an odd buzzing feeling creeping into his finger-tips that were… oddly out-stretched as if reaching for something. Hot, wet pain slowly overwhelmed his chest. A horrible choking sound left him unintentionally as his knees buckled and his legs gave out. He crumpled to the ground unceremoniously, the pain from hitting cement nothing compared to the from the bullet. His knees hit first, sending bursts of pain like fire crackers dancing through his knee caps. Whatever sense of gravity he had failed him as he toppled onto his left side, grimacing at each movement. His jaw hung open, tongue heavy in his mouth as he inhaled and exhaled quickly.

His mind whirred, racing desperately for some sort of answer. Who had shot him and why? He was just Peter Parker right now. Peter Benjamin Parker. Fifteen year-old sophomore that attended Midtown. Peter Benjamin Parker who also had a side-life as Spider-Man. But only a select few knew that secret, and he couldn’t imagine any of them being behind this. So who had done it? Panic wreathed around him as he attempted to look towards the general direction of where he believed the bullet had come from. His vision swam, every single surface wiggling and wobbling unsteadily as if everything were made out of jello. That simple thought tore a delirious, shaky laugh from him. Why did he taste blood? Was he bleeding?

“I thought you said you had spider senses dude. Total let down.”

That voice sent him into overdrive. Any form of amusement from before evaporated, melting out of him in an instant. He heard a little huff overhead before the shuffling of footsteps came, sounding far louder than usual in his ears. The rustling of clothes pounded against his head as a figure came into view, kneeling down besides him. And he begged his limbs to move. He begged desperately for his heavy arms to shift. For his fingers to curl. For his legs to start churning. However, his entire body refused to move. It felt like a ball was chained to every limb, and that the more he moved, the heavier it got. A strained wheeze left him as he slowly glanced up towards the figure, his stomach churning.

It took him a moment to finally process that Ned had shot him. Ned. Ned Leeds. His best friend. His best friend that knew he was Spider-Man. His best friend that had just pulled out a pistol and shot him in the chest.

“Don’t try moving Peter. That bullet was coated with a special toxin. It’ll just hurt more.” The tone that was lingering in Ned’s words sent chills coiling down his spine. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear away the black dots speckling his vision. Everything looked gray, now. A word devoid of color that shook and wobbled around him. His eyes burned with strain as he fought desperately to keep them open, trying to suck in air desperately. The simple action made his throat sting and burn. His lungs refused to inflate enough for him to breathe properly, leaving him able to only suck in shaky and shallow breaths that provided barely enough oxygen to keep him functioning.

“I thought you would’ve expected it. I mean… did you really think me asking all those questions about your powers was out of curiosity?”

He couldn’t move. Why couldn’t he move? Was he on the ground. He blinked slowly, sluggishly. There was something in his mouth. A bitter-tasting, thick liquid that made him grimace. His mouth parted slightly, as if he planned to spit whatever the liquid was out. But his body refused to move. He felt the liquid trickle out of the corner of his mouth, hot and slow. He exhaled a heavy, small breath as his eyes began to roll upward, his fingers curling up slowly. There was a hum overhead, soft and almost lulling. “You don’t have to worry about Queens anymore, Spider-Man. It’ll be safer without you anyways.”

Safer...

Safer.

He was safe.

_____

There was yelling.

Someone was crying, a muffled scream of a name ringing in his ears. Everything around him was black. He was in nothing, but he had to be somewhere. What had happened again? Why was it so dark? He tried desperately to pry open his eyes, but they refused. He was left in the oddly warm darkness encasing him. It was… hard to breathe. Why couldn’t he breathe? Was he underwater? Maybe this was a dream. Or a nightmare. He wasn’t sure which one it was yet, but he really didn’t want to find out.

Cold.

Something cold pressed against his chest, abrupt and sharp. It sent a jolt of awareness over him. His ears rang for a moment. Anything muffled became sharp and focused, sounding oddly far away however. He still couldn’t make out any words entirely, but he recognized one male voice. It was gruff and sounded familiar, but in an odd way. Not like he knew the guy very well, but in a way that he still felt some sort of bond with him. There was another voice too. The shrill, high-pitched wails of a woman… followed by another male’s voice. One that sent an odd stab of warmth through him. The feeling lanced through his body before fading away quickly as yet another wave of cold pressure wrapped itself around his chest.

Energy sparked throughout his body. Such a powerful wave of such that everything was moving at once. His eyes snapped open and he was coughing. HIs legs churned desperately for a moment, as if he were riding a bike. Both of his hands flew up towards his throat, as if trying to protect it. Why, however? He was not sure.

“See? He’s fine!”

“He was dead! Don’t you say that he’s fine you pampered asshole!”

“My bad.”

He narrowed his eyes, a low groan crawling out of his throat as his gaze flickered around. Everything was in fous now. Nothing was trembling or wobbling like it had been when Ned shot him… wait. Ned. Ned Ned Ned. Ned was dangerous. Ned had… Ned had shot him. Ned had been planning to kill him. Ned… Another low groan left him, though this one was much more guttural. He closed his eyes tightly for a few moments before opening them again when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He slowly looked up to see… Happy. Happy hovering by him, both a terrified and relieved express painted across his face. “Kid? You okay?”

Unable to trust his voice, he nodded wordlessly. Happy gave a low hum and glanced over his shoulder. Weakly, he… Peter followed his gaze. He strained to turn his head to look over at the… the kitchen. The kitchen where Tony was stood, May standing in front of him with tears welling in her eyes. A wail rose in her throat as he dove forward, hitting the ground with a thud loud enough to make Peter wince. A moment later, he was encased in her hold, her fingers carding through his hair and rubbing his back. She whispered wordlessly into his shoulder as he stared dumbfoundedly at Tony, who was staring back with almost the same face.

“So kid… care to explain why aunt hottie,” a swear joined those wordless whispers. “Called up saying her kid was shot and not breathing?”

Peter stared for a moment. His aunt- May. May pulled away, her eyes wide and yearning for an answer. A pit of dread formed in the bottom of his stomach, accompanied shortly after by another wave of nausea. He looked down, feeling breathless. His body still felt heavy, reluctant to move until he physically strained himself to move. Ned had shot him. Ned had tried to kill him. Ned… Ned was behind this. He furrowed his eyebrows, slowly looking up.

“Ned.”

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mikauzoran · 4 years

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Lukadrien: Nachtmusik Chapter Twenty-Seven

A Little Night Music (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) Chapter Twenty-Seven: Finding a Voice

There was a gentle tapping at Luka’s cabin door before Rose turned the handle and slowly nudged it open.

“Knock, knock,” she called quietly, voice low.

Luka’s throbbing head appreciated this immensely.

“You up?” she whispered as she tentatively approached.

“Unfortunately,” Luka groaned, pulling the cover over his head.

Rose sighed, hiking up her leg to rest one hip on his mattress.

Her right foot kicked back and forth like a metronome.

She was silent, but Luka could hear her eyes boring into him through the blanket.

Rose was like that. She looked small and cute and harmless, but, within, she was fierce, unyielding, and deadly.

Luka reluctantly pulled down the cover to peek up at her with crusty, bloodshot eyes. “Yes?”

She sighed again, voice soft and kind, cajoling. “Are you thinking about getting up today?”

“More important things on my mind right now,” he mumbled emotionlessly.

“Oh?” Rose reached out to brush greasy bangs out of his eyes with all the tenderness and care due to cleaning off an ancient artifact.

A hint of bitterness stained his weary voice. “Like how much I wish I were unconscious right now so I wouldn’t have to feel the shock of having had a limb hacked off without being put under first.”

“Okay,” Rose replied patiently. “I realize that that’s very important.” She purposely left out the “but” before continuing, “It’s also important to focus on taking care of yourself. Why don’t we switch tracks and do that a little bit before you go back to focusing on how bad you feel?”

Luka shook his head slowly. “Sometimes I still wake up expecting him to be curled up next to me, and then it hits me all over how I’m never going to see him again.”

Rose winced. “…I’m sorry, Lulu.”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Do you think you could slip me one of Juleka’s sleeping pills?”

“Luka,” she replied sternly.

“It’s been a few hours. The alcohol should be all out of my system. I wouldn’t take it if I’d been drinking. I promise, Rose. I’m not suicidal,” he insisted, hoping to convince her to help him.

She shook her head resolutely. “Maybe you’re not actively suicidal, but you’re sure not trying very hard to stay alive, Luka. I’m not helping you get your hands on anything that could hurt you. We locked those sleeping pills up for a reason.”

Luka blew out another sigh, running a hand through his thick, slightly stiff hair.

“…Why don’t you get up and shower?” Rose suggested. “You’ll feel better once you get clean and put on some fresh clothes and eat something.”

“I don’t want to feel better,” Luka grumbled, rolling over so that his back was to her. “I want A-Adrien.”

His voice cracked in his anguish, putting a chink in Rose’s heart as well.

“I know,” she whispered, “but if you take care of yourself a little and start feeling less miserable, maybe you’ll start wanting to feel less miserable.”

He didn’t reply.

She stared at his back for a long moment. “Luka, Adrien loves you. He wouldn’t want to see you like this,” she tried.

Luka snorted ruefully. “Well, good thing he doesn’t have to. Ever again.”

“Luka, you know that’s not what I meant,” Rose replied, trying not to sound as exasperated as she felt. “Adrien wouldn’t want you to be like this. He’d want you to take care of yourself and be happy.”

“I’ll take care of myself and be happy when Adrien comes and asks me himself,” he retorted in a mockingly sweet tone.

Rose sighed and fell silent.

Remorse slowly welled up in Luka’s chest, overriding the throbbing in his head and the bitterness in his heart.

“I’m sorry, Rose. I know you’re just trying to help.” Luka rolled back over and tentatively placed his hand on top of hers. “Sorry I’m such a toxic wreck. I just…This is what grief looks like. I thought I was in love before with Honoré…with Marinette…and maybe I was. Maybe that was love, but this…Adrien…he’s my soulmate. I don’t think this is something I can get over.”

Rose was quiet a minute or two more, reflecting before replying patiently, “Lulu, we’re not asking you to get over it. We just need you to get out of bed and eat some real food and not drink so much. We need you to try to go back to school…try to go back to work…not get drunk and nearly die in motorcycle accidents.”

Luka sucked in a breath, not daring to point out that his bike was totaled, so another motorcycle accident wasn’t happening anytime soon, and that he hadn’t “nearly died” in the wreck. As drunk as he’d been when the idea to storm the Agreste Mansion and force Gabriel to let him back into Adrien’s life had entered his head, Luka had still remembered to put on his helmet…the black one with cat ears that Adrien had given him. Luka had gotten banged up a bit in the landing, but he’d walked away from the crash.

“Sorry,” Luka whispered. “I know I’m driving you all mad with worry.”

“Because we love you, Big Bro,” Rose sighed, flipping her palm over under his to grasp his hand. “Can you please shower and put on fresh clothes sometime today? Maybe try to eat some toast? Or, if you like, I can make you an egg or some bacon? Come on. Let’s try to do the bare minimum and see if maybe we can do something else after that,” she urged, trying to sound encouraging. It came off more like desperate.

“Maybe if you get up and get dressed and you eat something, you’ll find the energy to…to play guitar,” she suggested optimistically. “You haven’t played in months, and we all miss your music. What do you think?”

Luka slowly shook his head. “I can’t. I’ve tried periodically, Rose. I’ve tried to get these feelings out of me, to work them into a song, but the guitar just isn’t… It doesn’t work. A guitar can’t express what I’m feeling. Sure, I can play sad, heartbroken songs, but that’s not what I need from an instrument right now. I need an instrument who can scream in bloody, violent agony, Rose.”

She bit her lip, getting up and going over to the far side of his room where the usual assortment of instruments was either lined up or stacked. Her eyes skimmed the organized mess, searching for something to help.

She came up empty.

Well, there was one candidate, but…she didn’t think it would be good for Luka to try the keyboard he and Adrien had often played together.

With a sigh, she slunk back over to his bedside. “Please get up. Juleka’s really freaking out. Just…shower, get dressed, eat, and let me switch out the sheets for you. You can go back to bed for another couple days after that, but…please, Luka?”

Luka took a long, slow breath. As he blew it out, he pushed down the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “All right, Little Sis. Shower, new clothes, food, but then I’m going back to sleep.”

“Thank you.” Rose nearly cried as she watched Luka trudge across the room to the bathroom.

“Sure thing,” he mumbled. At least, that’s what she thought he said. He didn’t put much energy into make his words audible.

“I’ll just tidy up a bit while you’re in the shower,” she replied, already plotting how quickly she could change the linen, pick up the assortment of empty alcohol bottles and junk food wrappers, and clean out the minifridge (surely filled with molding specimens more fitted to a research lab than a bedroom).

Twenty minutes later, when Luka finally dragged himself out of the shower, he found his room completely overhauled. All the filth he’d been working on stockpiling the past four months had been summarily evicted. His bed was made—sheets now smelling fresh and not like Bvlgari Blv. Though, to be honest, they hadn’t smelled like Adrien’s bath products in months.

Rose had left the comforter alone as asked back in September when she’d first tried to wash his sheets.

“Asked” wasn’t really the right word. He’d freaked out when he discovered she’d washed his bedding while he was passed out drunk in the main cabin. Luckily, the nail polish stain on the comforter from Adrien and Luka’s last night together when Adrien had asked Luka to paint his toenails with a Viperion-inspired design had survived the washing.

Luka let his towel drop to the floor. He slid into the fresh clothes Rose had set out for him and then grabbed the comforter, wrapping it around himself, pressing it to his face, trying to smell some hint of Adrien left on it.

He wished he had Chat Noir’s keen sense of smell.

The comforter didn’t smell like anything.

This wasn’t really surprising. Adrien and Luka had shared warm months from the end of March until the middle of August. They hadn’t used the comforter on the occasions when Adrien spent the night. True, they had curled up on top of the covers to watch movies, but there was no trace of Adrien left save the nail polish stain.

Luka tossed the comforter haphazardly up on the bed and trudged out of his room, into the main cabin where Anarka was lounging on the couch and Juleka and Rose were busy in the kitchen.

“Lulu,” Rose called chipperly. “I made eggs and toast. Come eat.”

Anarka looked up from her book, taking in the emaciated wreck of her son. “Good morning. It’s nice to see you up. How are you feeling, Luc?”

Luka sank down on the opposite limb of the wraparound couch from his mother, too tired to go any farther. He contemplated his response for a moment as Rose brought over Luka’s plate and a glass of water.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, forcing himself to pick up a piece of toast and chew.

Luka swallowed and replied honestly, “Like my insides are dead but somehow my body won’t stop moving.” As an afterthought, he added, “I should write a song.”

Anarka swallowed hard, reminding herself that she wasn’t allowed to cry now. That had to wait until night when she was alone in her cabin.

“It wouldn’t be a very nice song,” Luka continued distractedly, spearing a fluffy globule of egg and transferring it to his mouth. “Probably something ultra-serialist. Nontonal. Maybe I could use the twelve-tone method so I really had to concentrate on the composition of the piece.”

A tense silence fell as Luka took another bite of toast, suddenly realizing that he was famished.

No one knew what to say, and all three of the women were desperate to change the subject.

Luka helpfully obliged. “My head is killing me. It feels like it’s about to split open.”

“Because you’re dehydrated,” Juleka suggested. “Drink some water.”

Anarka gave a snort. “You’d think he’d be overly hydrated with the amount he drinks.”

Luka ignored his mother lashing out in frustration in favour of taking a long swallow from his glass.

“Be nice, Maman,” Juleka chided meekly as she set down the towel she’d been using to dry dishes and came over to sit beside Luka, tentatively resting her head on his shoulder.

He tipped his head to the side to nuzzle her hair and then went back to eating.

Anarka sighed, picking up her book once more and staring blankly at the pages, unable to concentrate on the words. She wanted to strangle Gabriel Agreste and give his son a good shake and a slap upside the head.

If she never heard the name Agreste again, it would be too soon. She’d never forgive them for what they’d done to her boy.

“Would you wanna jam a little bit after breakfast?” Juleka suggested, a frailly hopeful tone in her voice. “I’ve got this killer bass line just waiting for a guitar part to flesh it out.”

Luka slowly finished chewing and swallowed the bit of toast he’d been working on. “I’d love to hear what you’ve come up with, but I’ve kind of got a headache at the moment. Maybe a little later today, okay? I really want to head back to bed for a bit.”

Juleka nodded, trying not to let her disappointment show. “Yeah. Sure. Later.”

He turned his head to give her another nuzzle. “I promise, Jules. Later today. Just let me sleep a couple hours.”

“All right,” Juleka agreed, feeling a little better now that she was sure he wasn’t just brushing her off.

“Luka,” Anarka sighed, snapping her book closed. “It’s eleven o’clock. I hate to harp at you, but you can’t just sleep the day away. You need to get up and do something productive.”

“Maman,” Luka groaned. “Not today. I’m not feeling well.”

“Why? Because you’re drunk again?” she huffed.

Juleka tensed.

Luka put a hand on Juleka’s leg as he corrected, “Hungover. Let me sleep for a few hours, and then I’ll get up and listen to Juleka play, okay?” he bartered.

“No.” Anarka put her foot down. “Luka Couffaine, this has gone on long enough. I’ve let you wallow and try to destroy yourself for four months. Now, I’ve had enough of this, young man. I’m sorry that you’re hurting, and I would do anything to make it better for you, but, obviously, supporting you while letting you ride this out isn’t working,” she sighed in frustration.

“Maman,” Luka tried to coax.

Anarka wouldn’t hear it. “No,” she repeated forcefully. “I thought you’d snap out of it after nearly killing yourself on that bike on your birthday, but you haven’t gotten any better. I’ve tried to be nurturing and understanding and supportive, and it’s gotten us nowhere. I am at my wit’s end, Luka, and if I have to be a drill sergeant to get you out of bed and back out there with the living, so help me, I’ll do it.”

Luka squeezed Juleka’s knee gently as her trembling started to grow worse.

“Maman,” he replied in a slightly tense, entreating tone.

Rose quickly wiped off her hands, coming around to the side of the couch. “Okay, you guys. Let’s all take a deep breath, okay?”

“Luka, this behavior is unacceptable,” Anarka continued intently as if she couldn’t hear Rose. “I understand that you’re heartbroken, but this is getting ridiculous. There are plenty of other people out there. Adrien isn’t worth killing yourself over.”

“You’re such a hypocrite,” Luka snapped with venom as he shot to his feet.

Anarka, Juleka, and Rose collectively flinched.

Luka turned to Rose, tersely commanding, “Take Juleka somewhere else. Please,” he remembered to add.

Rose nodded, snaking her arm through Juleka’s. “Come on, Honey. Let’s go to your room. Show me the bass part you’ve been working on, Juju.”

Juleka obediently followed after her girlfriend but couldn’t help casting a worried glance back at her brother and mother.

Once the girls were gone, Anarka sighed, opening her arms down at her sides in a “come at me” gesture. “All right,” she encouraged tiredly. “Let me have it. I’m a hypocrite?”

Luka didn’t pull any punches. “Do you remember when Father left you?”

Anarka winced and opened her mouth to reply, but Luka cut her off.

“—No! You don’t! Because you spent a year blind drunk and moping around the house afterwards!” he accused, jabbing a finger at her.

She lowered her eyes and sighed. “Luka—”

“—No!” he snapped. “I don’t want to hear your sorry excuses. Do you know who held your hair back as you puked into the toilet? Who cleaned you up when you spilled vodka all over yourself? Who got odd jobs running deliveries so we’d have money for groceries? Who figured out how to pay the bills so we’d have water and electricity? Who made sure you ate? Who fed his sister and made sure she went to school and did her homework and took her medicine and went to the therapist and had clean clothes? Who took care of her in the middle of the night when she woke up from nightmares because her father was suddenly gone and her mother was a wreck? Do you know who held this family together while you were busy wallowing in self-pity, Anarka Couffaine?”

With each accusation, she sank further into the couch cushions, feeling smaller and smaller. She couldn’t look at him. He was right. He’d done it all and never complained, never mentioned it. When she’d come back to herself after a year-long void in her memory, he’d smiled and told her he loved her. He’d never held it over her head, never told her everything he’d done.

“Your ten-year-old son,” Luka hissed, lowering his voice to a hurt murmur. “Father abandoned me too, but I didn’t have time to be sad and angry. I had to put every ounce of energy into taking care of you and Juleka. I don’t resent that, Maman. I love you two so, so much, and even though I was terrified and overwhelmed, I was happy that I could take care of you. I was proud that I could keep it all together and protect my family.”

His voice softened. “I don’t resent you, Maman. I’m not mad, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I just want you to remember what it was like when Father left. Now I’m the one who can’t get out of bed and doesn’t want to eat and longs to slip into an alcohol-induced oblivion to make the pain stop.”

“Oh, my baby,” Anarka sighed, rising to her feet, going to him, and pulling him into a fierce hug. “My poor boy.”

He rested his head against her shoulder. “I can’t push my feelings down and pretend I’m okay this time.”

“Luc,” she sighed, running a hand up and down his back. “Oh, Luc. Ma Baleine, it’s all right. It’s going to be okay.”

“I don’t think so,” Luka mumbled.

“It will,” she insisted, squeezing him tighter. “We’re going to get you through this.”

They stood there for a minute or two before Anarka spoke up again. “Why don’t you go sleep a little more?”

Luka gradually disentangled himself from his mother’s arms and nodded. “Could you go check on Juleka? Tell her I’m sorry for snapping.”

“I will,” Anarka assured. She bit her lip and tentatively asked, “You’ll get up again in a couple hours?”

Luka nodded, pulling away. “I promised Juleka I’d listen to the song she’s working on.”

A relieved look slowly took hold on Anarka’s face. “Okay. Thank you.” She watched after him as he trudged back towards his cabin.

Her teeth sank further into her lip. “I—…I love you, Luc.”

He turned slightly to smile tiredly over his shoulder. It didn’t really reach his eyes. “I know. Thanks. I love you too, Maman.”

Luka kept his word, getting up again a few hours later to listen to Juleka play. He said he’d think about a guitar part to go with it. He really couldn’t come up with anything at that point. His head was still a cacophony of angry, anguished notes with no outlet in any of the instruments currently in his possession.

The following day, Anarka knocked at his cabin door in the mid-morning, peeking her head in without waiting for his response. “Hey.”

“…Hey,” he mumbled groggily.

His sleep schedule was completely messed up. After his mid-afternoon nap the previous day, he hadn’t been able to fall back asleep until nearly four in the morning, and he was feeling it.

“You thinking about getting up today?” She waited expectantly.

He groaned.

“Maybe a little later?” she tried. “For a few hours?”

“Okay,” he relented. “Later for three or four hours.”

A relieved smile spread across her lips. “Okay. Thank you. When you get up, could you maybe go to the old storeroom and go through some of the boxes? Maybe just one box?” she revised. “I’m trying to free up some space.”

The thought of expending that much effort made Luka feel exhausted already.

He took a deep breath and reminded himself that he loved his family and could do this one thing to make them worry about him less.

“I can at least start on a box,” he conceded. “I didn’t sleep well, so I kind of want to get a little more rest before I do anything.”

“All right,” she compromised. “Rose or Juleka will bring you something to eat in an hour or two. Is there anything in particular you want?”

Luka closed his eyes and sighed. “Pain au chocolat and passionfruit macarons? Maybe some sour cream on the side?”

Anarka frowned. “Odd choice, but okay.”

“They’re comfort foods,” Luka muttered.

Anarka hummed thoughtfully, wondering whose comfort foods they were because Luka had never displayed a preference for any of those. She had her suspicions, but she wasn’t about to ask. “Hey, if you’ll eat them, I’ll have the girls run to Tom and Sabine’s.”

“I will,” Luka promised.

“All right then. Go back to sleep,” she urged, quietly pulling the door flush with the frame.

True to his word, Luka ate the pastries and the glob of sour cream when they were brought to him.

Later that afternoon, he got out of bed and headed to the storeroom, intent on making good on his promise to start going through one of the boxes of his old stuff.

The Couffaines were all packrats, and the storeroom was piled high with junk, not all of which had actually made it into boxes. Luka decided to start with the loose articles, making two piles as he went: stuff to keep and stuff to give away or pitch.

More items were ending up in the pitch pile than not. Luka couldn’t believe how much detritus had built up in their lives. Who had decided that they needed that many lawn flamingos or that they might someday have use for pool floats with holes in them?

The Couffaines had never been well-off, so they’d always been thrifty and resourceful, careful to reuse and repurpose whenever they could…but, even then, Luka couldn’t justify holding onto some of the stuff that had ended up in that storeroom.

With an exasperated sigh, he lugged an old clunker of a sewing machine over to the refuse pile. Maybe he’d consult Marinette and see if she thought it could be fixed. Maybe they could give it to her or sell it if she didn’t want it. She’d probably think the antique machine was neat, but he suspected she’d prefer to work with something modern that could do zippers and buttonholes.

Luka turned back to the junkheap, eyes scanning for the next most-likely target. He paused, spotting a gem amid the rubbish.

He grabbed the stepstool and climbed up to retrieve the violin case from on top of one of the box towers near the back. A layer of dust had formed over the case, and Luka tried to remember the last time he’d seen the instrument.

He’d never actually played violin seriously, but he had a passing familiarity with how to play it. Although not infallible, he possessed a good ear for pitch and had faith that he could figure it out given time.

They’d had the violin for as long as Luka could remember, and it was one of the many instruments he’d messed around with growing up. It had probably been three or four years since he’d last played.

The violin had never struck a chord with Luka the way the guitar had, so he hadn’t noticed when it went missing.

He carefully climbed down from the stepstool with his prize and set the case on a shorter stack of boxes so that he could open it up and inspect the instrument. He popped up the clasps keeping the case closed and gingerly raised the lid.

In general, the violin and bow looked a little neglected and in need of love, but all of the strings were accounted for, and it looked playable. It was probably horribly out of tune, but…

Luka picked up the block of rosin and rubbed it back and forth along the hairs of the bow, not sure if he’d applied too much or not enough. He figured that he’d probably find out once he started playing.

Carefully, he scooped the violin from its case as if it were a baby and lifted it into position, tucking it under his chin. He raised the bow, not pressing down on any of the strings with his left hand, leaving them open and free to ring as he drew the bow across them.

The violin squawked indignantly, insulted by Luka’s attempt.

Luka let out a short burst of laughter. He tried again, pressing a little harder until he could feel the hair of the bow gripping the strings as he pulled it across.

The violin shrieked dissonantly—as expected, horribly out of tune.

Luka chuckled as he lowered the instrument, setting it along with the bow down in the case to rest while he got out his phone.

He was used to working with six strings on his guitar, so he wasn’t sure quite where to start with four. A Google search quickly revealed that the strings were supposed to be G, D, A, and E. He followed each string up the neck of the violin to the corresponding peg, gently plucking each string as he carefully turned the peg back and forth until it sounded true.

Taking a deep breath, he drew the bow across the strings once more and beamed as a rich sound vibrated to life, high and sweet and resonating with his bones.

He set the instrument to the side once more and reached for his phone again, looking up a finger chart for first position. He found F sharp on the E string and grinned like a madman as the violin wailed beautifully.

That was the sound his sorrow needed to transform the agony of having his beloved torn from him into a melody. His guitar had worked to express joy and melancholy and frustration and amusement, but the violin was the voice he need to give his sorrow form. This was the instrument he needed to allow his soul to cry.

Hours slipped by as Luka experimented, getting to know the instrument and figuring out how to produce the sounds he needed to put his feelings to music.

Frankly, it was rough. Luka had always been a talented musician, easily able to pick up an instrument and befriend it, but the violin was not something to be taken lightly. It was a proud, prickly instrument that knew it deserved respect. It wasn’t forgiving like a harp or piano. It demanded precision and discipline before it would deign to sing.

The violin was a prima donna whose heart Luka would have to work hard to soften. He’d need hours, days, months before he could successfully woo her. He was patient and willing, knowing it would be worth it in the end. It had been months since Luka had wanted anything besides Adrien this much. It had been since August that something had felt this right.

The violin resonated with Luka in a way only his guitar had before, and he knew he had to learn to play her. She could understand his pain like no one else and transform it into something cathartic. She could help him get the misery out so that it didn’t eat him alive from the inside anymore. The violin could draw out the venom.

He just had to practice until he was able to match the instrument’s potential.

It was dark when Juleka went to fetch her brother.

“You still at it?” she called from the doorway.

He didn’t respond.

She wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t noticed her the other three times she’d come to check on him, and she was familiar with the way he went into a trance sometimes, unable to register the world around him when he was caught up in his music.

“Hey.” She carefully reached out and tapped his arm, fully expecting the way he jumped at her touch.

“Juliet! Hey. You startled me,” he gasped, heartrate still in the stratosphere from the scare.

She snickered, grinning smugly. “Yeah, I know. You got caught up in the music. Are your fingers bleeding or did your guitar callouses help?”

Luka looked down at his left hand and inspected the damage. His fingers were a little sore after not playing anything for a few months, but it didn’t look like he’d hurt himself. “Nope. Seems okay.”

Juleka nodded. “Good. Why don’t you pack up and come eat, Luc?”

Luka’s brow furrowed into a frown. “I just ate an hour ago.”

Juleka shook her head, letting out a fond sigh of exasperation. “No, you didn’t. You’ve been in here for hours playing that thing. Come have dinner.”

“Dinner?” Luka pulled out his phone and sucked in a breath when he saw the time. “Oh, yikes.”

“Yep,” Juleka confirmed. “Come on.”

Obediently, Luka cleaned off and packed up the violin and took it with them into the main cabin where Rose and Anarka were sitting on the couch, waiting with the herb-roasted chicken, baked potatoes, salad, and fresh baguette on the table.

“You found a violin,” Anarka observed with a satisfied smile.

“We heard you playing,” Rose added brightly. “You sound great! Well…not at first, but the last two hours you’ve sounded great!”

Luka smiled sheepishly as he headed to the kitchen to wash his hands before joining them. “Sorry for the noise.”

Anarka waved away his concern with a roll of her eyes. “Couffaines don’t apologize for making noise. Besides, like Rose said, the last few hours you’ve been sounding downright tonal.”

“Small miracles,” he sighed, breaking off a piece of the baguette and scooping some salad onto his plate.

“Seriously, Luc.” Anarka rested a hand on his arm, catching his gaze. “You sound good. We’re all happy you’re making music, so go for it. It’s okay if it’s three in the morning. Go for it.”

He looked down at his plate, chewing on his bottom lip, and then gazed back up at Juleka and Rose. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Juleka agreed, and Rose nodded, looking earnest.

Luka looked back to his mother. “Do you happen to know if I have any money in my account? I’d like to take the violin into the shop to get some love. I’m honestly surprised I didn’t break all four of the strings today. I have a feeling I’m going to be playing a lot, so I’d like to get her in working order.”

“If you don’t have the money, I do. We’ll get her playing for you,” Anarka assured, giving his arm a pat before pulling away.

“Thanks, Maman,” he replied, a little surprised at how readily she was supporting this whim of his.

“Mmhm. Now, eat up, Luc,” she encouraged.

Rose reached across the table to deposit some of the chicken onto his plate with a grin.

He returned the grin with a small smile of his own even as he thought about how Adrien didn’t like chicken.

As it turned out, the violin was not a cure-all.

Some days Luka played obsessively. Instead of sleeping the entire day, he practiced the hours away. Instead of lying awake at night, he played mournful tunes somewhat unskillfully.

There were other days where he lacked the energy and didn’t get out of bed, and once or twice a week he still drank himself senseless.

It did feel like things were slowly getting a little better, though.

At least Luka now had an outlet for his feelings.

#Lukadrien #Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction #Adrien Agreste/Luka Couffaine #Luka Couffaine #Rose Lavillant #Anarka Couffaine #Juleka Couffaine #Adrien Agreste #Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant #Mikau's Writings #A Little Night Music (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik)

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