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janicho88 · 3 years

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Falling For You -Part 3

November

Pairing- Eventual Dean x Female!Reader,

Word Count-3546

Warning- Fluff. Mention of serial killers. Still burning slow.

A/N- I had an idea for a one shot, and giving a little backstory to Dean and the Reader meeting took on a life of its own. We should hit the one shot part around chapter 20, oops? This story is AU, and un beta’d. Thank you @waywardbeanie and @whatareyousearchingfordean for helping me keep these 2 characters in line and letting me bounce ideas off of you.

Summary- After being burned before you had sworn off finding love for now. Coming home from work one night there is a strange man pounding on your door. Neither of you knew what this meeting would lead to.

Series Masterlist

Do you ever notice how quickly time goes once October hits? In a blink November is over and suddenly Christmas is here and then we are ringing in the new year. You aren’t even sure you remember much of the first two weeks of November this year. You did remember you had been out helping Dean a number of nights. Work was finally back under control , but you needed to get a list around to start on your Holiday baking for the first weekend of December, Thanksgiving was next week. It seemed like you couldn’t figure out which direction to go in.

Dean had gone to see a few houses and asked you to go with him for another opinion. Both of you fell in love with the sixth house. It was a two story single family home, you would have killed for the kitchen. So much counter space for baking or cooking. It only needed a few touch ups here or there, maybe some new paint in some of the rooms eventually, but it was move-in ready. The previous owners already moved out of town and took all their belongings with them. Dean had been working with a bank to be approved for a loan before finding the house, plus he had saved what he had when his house sold. The closing was done by Friday the end of the second week.

While Dean was busy finalizing paperwork on his house, you were at your desk on your lunch hour looking through pinterest for new cookie or bar ideas. A familiar voice sounded behind you.

“I’m back bitches!” Turning around you saw the fiery redhead who was in charge of IT for the company. Charlie used to work out of this office, but they had moved her to the new clinic that had opened an hour away for the last two months.

“Things are running smoothly over there, two weeks without any problems, I get to come back to you guys now.” She walked over to her familiar work area and tapped the Hermione figure sitting by her monitor and asked if she missed her. “So what have I missed here?” You and Monica filled her in, and introduced her to Anna when she came back. The rest of the day passing fairly quickly.

Making a quick dinner that night you received a phone call from your mom. Her older sister had fallen and hurt her hip. She wasn’t going to be able to travel down for Thanksgiving, so your parents were going up there. This way your mom could help her around the house and with the meal. Your cousins were a bit lazy, they weren’t going to do it. She asked if you wanted to go with them, and after thinking about it for a moment, told her not to worry about you. Your aunt's house wasn’t very big, and some other family was going up also. That was going to be too much close family togetherness for you.

Wiping down your counter you heard a tap at the door, slipping on shoes and grabbing your purse you headed out. Jess and Dean were out in the hall waiting for you, the two of you offered to help Dean clean tonight before things were moved in tomorrow. Sam was working a big case and stuck at work this evening. The house was in good shape, it just needed a good pre move in clean.

“So Dean,” Jess started talking when you got in the car. “Since you are going to have the most room, how about you host Thanksgiving next week?”

“What?” He was a bit caught off guard by that.

“Your parents are coming up, so are mine, that’s seven of us in our apartment trying to cook a big dinner, you have a huge new kitchen and a dining room.”

“One, do you really trust me to make Thanksgiving dinner?”

“I didn’t say you had to make it all, we’ll help, you just have the space to have it at.”

Sitting at a red light Dean closed his eyes and let out a sigh, “If we can have the house usable by Tuesday, fine.”

“Good, Sam also told your parents they were staying at your house.” Rolling his eyes Dean knew it was pointless to respond. Jess turned in her seat to see you in the back, “What are you doing for Thanksgiving, Y/N?”

“Usually we go to my grandparents, but my mom called tonight and my aunt got hurt so they are all going up to her house. I’m just going to hang out at home, watch the parade, and be lazy.”

“Apparently I’m hosting Thanksgiving, come join us.” Dean offered, glancing at you in the back.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to intrude.”

“You won’t be, Sam already did that when he has people staying at my house that I’m not even living in yet, without telling me.”

“Okay, if you are sure, thanks. Just let me know what I can bring.”

“Pie, lots of pie,”

Dean had already taken cleaning supplies over to the house and the three of you decided to divide and conquer. You took the kitchen and dining room, Jess and Dean split up the two upstairs bathrooms and the master bedroom and one of the guest rooms. Whoever finishes first would start in the living room. These rooms would be used for his parents' visit and Thanksgiving, the other rooms would be tackled if there was time. Walls, windows, doors all scrubbed down, floors vacuumed and mopped, kitchen cupboards all wiped out. It took you guys a few hours and everyone was beat when you headed back to the apartment building. Sam and Dean were renting a uhaul in the morning to get Dean’s stuff from storage, you made plans to ride over with Jess to help unpack.

Back in your apartment you looked to see what you could whip up to take with you for breakfast. Normal cinnamon rolls would take too long, and you didn’t have the energy, but cinnamon biscuits were doable. You made a double batch, and prepped the icing. Figuring you would warm them in the morning and top them then.

Dressed in a comfy old t-shirt and worn jeans sweatshirt sitting with the biscuits, you were ready when Jess came to get you. “Oh my, what is that smell?”

“I figured we would be working up an appetite today, so I brought breakfast rolls. Do you want one for the road?”

“Uh, yes please.” Both of you laughing, she grabbed one out of the container while waiting for the elevator.

“Yep, Dean’s right. Girl you can bake.”

The guys pulled up with the uhaul just as you were getting out of the car. “Ready to start,” she asked.

“Not really, you?”

“I wish I was back in bed.”

“What are you two laughing at?” Sam inquired leaning down to give Jess a quick kiss.

“Just wishful dreams,” she told him.

Dean unlocked the house while Sam opened the truck. They let you and Jess take some boxes, while they moved some of the furniture that came on this load. Thankfully Dean had somewhat labeled the boxes as he packed so you knew where to drop what. His labels gave you an idea on what was important to the man: kitchen crap, bathroom junk, living room stuff, bed things, other room bed things, you just didn’t know what was in each of those boxes, but clearly knew what was in the VINYLS, TOOLS, and MOVIES boxes.

Dean had kept most of the furniture from his old place, but did have a few new things coming. Such as a master bedroom set, and new couch and dining room table. Those were going to be delivered Tuesday. Jess told you he didn’t want things that reminded him of Lisa, so he sold anything that did when he moved.

Cas came over to help in the early afternoon, bring some pizzas as an apology for missing the morning work. The biscuits you made long gone. Things were coming along nicely, Dean wasn’t super picky on where things went right now. Dean gave you the job on organizing the kitchen, he said you would know best. His only request being the coffee items were close to each other and easy to get too. He would figure out where you put anything else later. Placing his old coffee maker next to the plug between the sink and refrigerator, the glasses and mugs in the cabinet next to the sink and and coffee and filters above the machine.

Jess was helping Sam set up the guest bedroom and washing the sheets for that room and Dean’s once his bed arrives. Cas and Dean ran the wires for his tv and speakers for his record player. Dean deemed those two things most important. Everything was out of storage and into the house Saturday evening, put away was another story. You offered to help on Sunday, but Dean said he wasn’t going to work on it then, taking one day of the weekend not to work and unwind a little. He still had a few things at Sam and Jess’ place to get packed up at some point.

Thanksgiving week was always a nice work week since you were only open 3 days. Monday and Tuesday evening you had helped at Dean’s and it was ready for Thanksgiving, his parents were arriving sometime Wednesday.

When you left his place Tuesday night you headed home alone. Dean was all moved in, he was out of the apartment across the hall. It made you kinda sad to think about. It’s going to be weird not running into him in the hall, or have him randomly come over when he was giving his brother some space.

You opted for staying home Wednesday night instead of hitting the bar with Charlie and her friends, and decided to get the pies made. You went with two traditional pumpkin, and one apple since Dean liked the last one so much. When you were at the store you also picked up the ingredients to make a strawberry pretzel jello.

Thursday morning you watched the parade in comfy pj’s on your couch with a glass of hot chocolate. Unlike Dean coffee wasn’t your thing. But with the chilly weather you liked something hot in the mornings. When it was warmer you would enjoy your weekend morning drinks on your balcony.

Dinner was supposed to be at two, but you headed over before noon to help with the preparations. You put on leggings and a long sweater, Jess had told you it was more about comfort than fashion today.

It was your turn to knock on Dean’s door for once, a pretty blonde woman answering the door. She had a big smile on her face that turned to surprise when she saw you.

“Hello, can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Y/N. Dean and Jess invited me, I came over early to help with dinner.”

“Hey Y/N!” Dean came up behind her with a big smile on his face. “Come on in.”

“Hi Dean, I came to help, brought pies, pumpkin, apple, and a jello”

“You don’t have to help,” he said while ushering you inside, “you did that enough with moving this week. Y/N this is my mom Mary, mom this is Y/N. She actually lives in the apartment across from Sam.”

“Nice to meet you dear. I’m sorry, I was expecting Sam at the door, I didn’t know anyone else was coming.”

Getting to the kitchen Dean opened up the pies and you saw him hide one of them in the cupboard. Shaking your head, you look around at the food out on the counters.

“What kind of jello is this?” Dean asked looking at the cake pan you set down.

“It’s a pretzel strawberry jello or some people call it a salad. I didn’t think you would be too fond of that term though.”

Dean looked at you before looking back down, “Pretzel jello? I see the jello and strawberries, and something solid under that but it doesn’t look like pretzels. Where’s the salad part? What are you trying to feed me sweetheart?”

Rolling your eyes and shaking your head “There isn’t actual lettuce in it Dean, this time salad is referring to a side. The solid layer is cream cheese cool whip mix, the Pretzel is the baked crust. It’s a combination of salty and sweet. Just try a bite, I’m not trying to sneak anything past you. I promise it won't hurt you as much as Sam's veggie bacon.”

Dean's face grew serious, “I thought we agreed that we don't speak of that fraud, it's not bacon. I need actual meat.”

Laughing you pat his back, “I know, I'm sorry. Now you have your own kitchen to cook real bacon.”

“Yeah or I could come to yours and let you do the work.” He said with a smile your way

“You are always welcome at my place.”

“Now that we are done discussing the jello, what do you need me to do?”

“Y/N, seriously you don’t have to help.”

“I want to, I like cooking almost as much as baking.”

Dean moved over to the list of food Jess had made up the other day, “Turkey is stuffed and in the oven, potatoes are boiling, the corncake hasn’t been started yet, neither has the salad, rolls are just waiting to bake.”

“Well Sam wanted the salad so he can do that, I’ll get the corncake going and in the oven.”

Sam, Jess, and her parents arrived a short time later. The guys all ended up in the living room watching football and left you four ladies in the kitchen. Mary started to ask Dean where his mixer was, but he told her to talk to you since you organized the kitchen. While working on last minute touches Mary turned and looked at you.

“How long have you and Dean been dating?”

Jess started laughing while you stuttered out an answer, “Oh, uh no we, we aren’t, we’re just friends.”

“They are both in denial about having any feelings for each other.”

“Jess! There are no feelings to be in denial about, we’re just friends, that’s it.”

“I’ll let you know when they catch up with what the rest of us know, Mary.” You turned back to setting the table shaking your head at her.

Dinner was great, and the conversation was even better. Dean’s dad was a little intimidating at first, but grew on you as the meal progressed. Dean sat next to you and before he took a bite of his jello he picked up the bowl and looked it over and made you promise him he wouldn’t regret it. He took his time chewing, bobbing his head around while you awaited the final verdict.

“It’s actually pretty good.” You just gave him a little nod, holding back your laugh at his behavior before going back to your own food.

The guys migrated back to the television after a while, and the four of you cleaned up. Dean came in a few times, but you sent him back out. When the first game ended the men came back for dessert. Jess brought out pumpkin bread and apple crisp her and her mom made and Dean carried the pies over.

“Y/N made pumpkin pie,” Dean told the others.

Leaning over to whisper in his ear, “You keeping the apple for yourself?”

Giving you a little grin he nodded, “You know it sweetheart.” Laughing you didn’t notice Mary watching your exchange across the table.

Looking through the ads with Jess you made plans to go out with her and her mom the next morning. Mary was watching the two of you, and you asked if she wanted to join. Jess quickly looked up and told Mary how much fun it would be if the four of you went together.

Sam tried to talk everyone into playing a new game he picked up. When he finally got everyone, even Dean to agree to join he went out to the car to retrieve it. Coming back in empty handed swearing he put it in the car, but unable to find it. He went looking through some of Dean’s things for the deck of cards he swore he didn’t have striking out again. Dean told him if he wanted to play games he needed to host Thanksgiving and went back to watching the football game. Jess was sitting beside you unusually quiet the whole time.

“Did you know he forgot the game?” You whispered to her.

“He didn’t forget it, who do you think took it out of the car?” Quickly covering your laugh with a cough she continued. “It was a trivia game about serial killers that used a courtroom type setup. The box said something about cross examining, objecting and redirecting. It seriously wasn’t happening, I get enough lawyer talk at home.”

At five am the next morning you decided Jess had too much energy. She had you leaving the apartment building by 3:30, then picked up Mary before hitting the mall. You drove the 40 minutes to Ann Arbor because Jess wanted to go to the bigger mall. Luckily the temperature was in the high 30’s this morning and you didn’t have to wait outside long. There are years you have stood outside in the snow waiting to get in a store.

You had a few things on your list, but no clue for some people. You weren't great at coming up with gifts, especially at this hour. You walked past one store front before stopping abruptly, and Jess walked into your back.

“Sorry, I wasn't thinking. I’m going to run in here real quick, I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute.” The display in the window made you think of Dean and you went into get him a house warming present.

Stopping in the food court for a break later, Mary had a question for you, “Call me crazy, but didn’t you say something about apple pie yesterday when you arrived?”

You started laughing, “ I did, Dean apparently hid it when he took it to the kitchen. He had some last time I made one and decided he didn’t want to share this one.”

Mary was talking to you more about Dean. “He seems so much happier now than when he left. He was in a dark place for a while, that girl hurt him bad. I ran into her in town, and she had the nerve to talk to me like everything was fine. I gave her a piece of my mind and John had to pull me away.” She paused for a minute before continuing, “Dean has mentioned hanging out with a new friend a number of times I’ve talked to him. I think that person has made a big difference in his happiness, and I hope they stick around for a long time.”

You weren’t really sure what to say, you gave her a little smile, and told her Dean was an amazing guy who didn’t deserve to be treated like he had been.

After running errands on Saturday you stopped over at Dean’s. He was surprised to see you at the door and invited you into the living room where he was talking with his parents.

“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to drop something off.”

“You’re fine sweetie, you aren’t interrupting anything. We were just chit chatting, but we should actually start to get some of our things around. We fly out tomorrow morning. John, we should go pick up the room, and pack what we don’t need tonight.”

“I did that earlier.’

“Well you should double check it, just in case. You two talk, we’ll be back later.” Pushing John out of the room they headed upstairs.

“I didn’t mean to chase them away, I just wanted to drop off your house warming gift.”

“Thank you, you really didn’t have to get me anything. Your help was a huge present,” Dean told you, taking the wrapped box out of your hands.

“I wanted to, just open it.”

“Oh Sweetheart, she is a beauty.” You had gotten him a new Keurig coffee maker, this one could make a whole pot, or a single pod. He mentioned he had been fighting with his old one, and you knew how important coffee was to him, especially in the morning.

“This way, you can make yourself a single cup if you just can’t wait for the whole pot to finish, or if you want one later.”

“This is great, thanks Y/N. You did well, especially for a non-coffee drinker,” he finished with a teasing grin.

“I should get going, let you enjoy your last night with your parents.”

“You don’t have to, Sam and Jess should be over soon, her parents left today.”

“Thanks, but I don’t want to interfere with family time. Tell your parents it was nice meeting them, I hope they have a safe trip back. I’ll see you around Dean.”

Part 4

Thank you for reading!

Tags @talesmaniac89 @katehuntington @winchest09 @flamencodiva @whatareyousearchingfordean @waywardbeanie @deanwanddamons @smol-and-grumpy @emoryhemsworth @anathewierdo @malfoysqueen14 @superfanficnatural @jensengirl83 @atc74 @sandlee44 @akshi8278 @fantasydevil2002

Falling For You tags- @halesandy @abuavnee @hearteyes-j2 @vicmc624 @440mxs-wife @wonder-cole @maralisa124

#FalingForYou #Deanx FemaleReader #dean x reader #dean winchester #supernatural

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padme-parker · 4 years

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Keep On Loving You [AU!Anakin Skywalker x Reader]

Summary: After breaking up with Anakin nearly 5 years ago, you see him again.

Word Count: 6.1k+

Warnings: um angst, mentions of pregnancy and abortion, Anakin is an asshole in this one, fluff if you squint

A/N: This is a song fic, so listen to the cover of “Keep On Loving You” by Cigarettes After Sex while reading this!

Also, I was never gonna post this but I wanna supply ya’ll with content while I try (and horribly fail) to write ch 3 of Collide. Fun Fact: This was actually THE first fic I ever wrote and completed (so don’t have high expectations lmaooo)

Walking into the grocery store, you noticed it was more crowded than usual. It was odd, you thought, no one ever really comes to your local grocer. You brushed it off, continuing your shopping. Although you shopped here often, the workers rarely changed where the items were located. You had already familiarized yourself with the baking aisle, so imagine your surprise when you realized the flour was now on the top shelf. You tried to grab it by hopping, but that didn’t work out. As you started to climb the shelves, a hand reached out and grabbed it for you.

“Thank you!” You replied cheerfully. You hadn’t even had the chance to turn around before you heard a quiet, “No problem.” Your body had tensed up. You could recognize that voice anywhere, it didn’t matter that five years had already gone by.

“Ani?” You turned slowly, hoping your ears weren’t deceiving you.

“Y/N?” The warmth had left your face, you tried to blink back the tears. The air had left your body, suddenly you couldn’t remember how to breathe. “Hey, Anakin.” You said with a faint smile

“My god! It is you Y/N. How are you?” You were surprised he had even remembered you.

“I’m good, just buying some stuff for myself.” you replied.

“Flour? I don’t recall you being into baking when we were together..”

“Oh, yeah. It’s something I..uh.. Picked up on after you left. I was just actually getting some ingredients for some cookies. What about you, how are you doing?” You told him, you couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes, so you chose to admire the floor instead.

“I’m doing pretty good, I would go into full details but I don’t want to disturb you.” He said, “Actually, how about we go grab a cup of coffee?” After he said that, you lifted your head to look at him. He must’ve thought the face you made was funny because the corner of his lips started to quirk up.

“Yeah, okay. Let me just pay for this and we can go. Same place?” Anakin simply nodded his head, and with that you were off.

You let out a loud laugh, amused by one of Anakin’s stories. It felt like everything was right. As if the two of you never broke up, just like the old times. You wrapped your hands around the warm drink, trying to warm up your hands.

“So why are you back in New York, Anakin? I thought you were in Los Angeles for your acting career.” You paused, unsure what to say next.. “Congrats by the way, I know how much it means to you.” Although it hurt to say it, you were truly proud of his accomplishments. You turned to look at him and for the first time, you admired his appearance. His hair had gotten longer and his eyes were brighter now.

“About that, I’m here for my wedding!” For the second time today, the air left your body. You felt as though the world around you was now crumbling to pieces. It might’ve been five years, but you could never be able to stop loving Anakin.

“W-wow, really? Who’s the lucky lady?” You asked, you tried to keep your emotions in check. Now was not the time to cry.

“Her name is Padme, she’s an actress, just like me. It’s funny, we were both working on the same movie, our characters were in love with each other but I could’ve sworn she hated me. Well one thing led to another and now we’re going to get married.” A grin made its way onto Anakin’s face, “What about you Y/N, find anyone special?”

You hesitated before speaking, “No not really, I’ve been busy with work, taking care of my dogs and-” The shrill tone of Anakin’s phone cut you off, “Hold on, Padme’s calling..” He then proceeded to answer, giving you a sheepish look. You could faintly hear her on the phone, she had been panicking which caused Anakin to swiftly tidy up, “Okay, okay Padme, calm down, I’ll be there soon.” He gave you an apologetic look before getting up. “Do you.. Um… perhaps wanna go? To the wedding?” He asked you.

“Me? Ani, you want me to go?” You were curious, the two of you hadn’t spoken for almost five years, why in the world would Anakin want you there?

“Of course I do Y/N/N, how could I not?” You swallowed the lump in your throat before nodding. In return, a bright smile was given. “Great, I’ll send an invitation to your address” you quickly corrected him, “Actually, Anakin, I don’t live there anymore.” He let out a quick oh in response. Getting out a pen from your purse, you wrote down your address on a napkin before handing it to him.

He took a brief glance at it before shoving it in his pocket, “See you tonight?” You were caught off guard, “W-what?” you asked.

“To give you the invitation I mean.” He replied

You let out the breath you were holding, “Oh yeah, I guess I’ll see you tonight.” He gave you a swift nod accompanied by a smirk, and then he was gone.

By the time night came, you had completely forgotten that Anakin was going to stop by, too engrossed with the cookies you were baking. You were just about to take out the cookies when the bell rang. With a curse, you threw down the rag and ran to the door. Hastily opening the door, you were greeted by Anakin.

“Hey, thanks for coming by. It really means a lot to me, Anakin” You told him

“It really is no big deal y/n, and it would mean a lot to me if you came to my wedding.” Anakin then pulled an invitation out, “The wedding is on Saturday, the ceremony starts at 3pm.” Given that it was Tuesday, you had three days to find a suitable outfit. Or just rummage through your closet and find whatever was good enough.

“Look, I would invite you in Anakin, but I’m currently busy. Sorry” Your eyebrows were raised and gave him a shrug, “Gotta go, my cookies are gonna burn!” You shut the door on him before he could respond. You pressed your back against the door and took a deep breath to compose yourself before going back to your cookies. Seeing that your cookies were about to be burned, you quickly took them out.

“Who was at the door?” Asked your roommate

“HOLY SHIT! What the hell, Steve. Are you a ninja now?” You whisper screamed, taking a quick glance at him only to realize he was nearly naked, “And why in the world are you almost naked Steve?”

“It doesn’t matter. Oooh, are those cookies?” Before you could reply he grabbed one and shoved the hot cookie in his mouth. “So are you gonna tell me who that was?”

“No one, just a-- it was nobody.” you say, trying to sound convincing. Steve then gave you a pointed look, indicating that he would wait all night for the truth if he had to. Giving in, you told him who he was. “That was..he’s..” your eyes begin to tear up, “Anakin, it was him. He was just inviting me to his wedding.” It seems like all you did now was cry. You didn’t understand why you were crying, it’s been five years. You should be over him by now.

“Anakin, as in Anakin Skywalker the-” you cut him off, “Yes, that’s him.” The tears were coming out of you like a river now. He let out a soft sigh before taking you in his embrace, he knew what had happened between you and Anakin.

You had been waiting all night for Anakin to come home. You knew that he was close to landing a lead role, so you had wanted to prepare a nice dinner for his efforts along with sharing some good news of your own. Just as you pulled the chicken out of the oven, the front door opened. Anakin set down his stuff with a sigh, coming up behind you to wrap his arms around you.

For a moment, you let yourself get lost in his embrace. You enjoyed the warmth he emitted, snuggling closer to him. Anakin was the first person you had ever truly loved. No one could ever compare to him.

“So, how’d it go Ani?” Expecting another rejection, you turned to cup his face. However you were proved wrong when a smile lit up the room. “I got it baby! I did it!” He screamed, lifting you up and placing kisses on your face. You screamed along with him, you were happy that he was finally being recognized for his talent.

“Anakin, that’s amazing!” You were jumping with joy, “I made roast chicken, let's discuss over dinner.” You began to plate the chicken along with the honey roasted carrots and potatoes. Anakin set up the plates and cutlery, getting two wine glasses and your favorite bottle of wine. Once you saw that he finished setting up, you put the chicken and sides down on the table. Taking out a knife, you cut out a piece of breast meat for him. You were quite excited for this meal, you tried a new recipe, resulting in the chicken looking juicy and flavorful. You then served yourself before sitting down. Anakin reached for the bottle of wine, pouring himself a glass first before reaching over to grab yours.

“Actually, Ani, I think I’ll stick with water tonight.” He gave you a questioning look, “I’m quite parched, and although I’d love a glass right now, water seems like the only thing that can quench my thirst. Thank you though.” He got up to get you a glass of water before returning to his seat.

“So, tell me about it Ani.” You started the conversation

“Well y/n/n, everything about it was great. After auditioning I was sure I wasn’t going to get a call back, but they did baby! They called me and wanted to discuss the role with me.” He continued, “We have to start filming soon but..” He paused

“But what, Ani?” you implored

“I’m going to be gone for a long time y/n, in Los Angeles…” that surprised you, he was supposed to be gone in LA while you were in NYC, “How long Anakin?” you asked, afraid of his answer.

“Almost a year, my flight leaves tomorrow at 4:35pm” you froze, how were you supposed… what if… you couldn’t think, so many thoughts and questions were running through your mind.

“Ani, you’re going to spend a whole year in Los Angeles..away from me.”

“Y/n, it doesn’t have to be that way.” He reassured you, “You can come with me, we can still be together.” He must have been joking, there was no way you were going to leave. “Anakin, you know I can’t! Everything that I’ve built for my career is here!”

“If you come with me, we can rebuild our future together. Nothing will stop us, we won’t have anything to worry about. Imagine it, you and I, walking down the red carpet together. Hand in hand.” You were appalled, was that all he really cared about? The fame and fortune?

“You can’t be serious right now, Anakin! Is that all you care about? The money and fame that comes with being an actor? We both know that the world doesn’t give two shits about people like us!” You screamed, your chest was heaving now.

“People like us? What do you even mean by that? Are you insinuating that I’ll never be successful?” By now his eyes were wide open, gone was the supposed celebratory night.

“No- Anakin you’re putting words into my mouth, I-” “THEN WHAT Y/N? WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY MEAN?” You took a deep breath before opening your mouth, “Ani, all I’m saying is that the people don’t care about nobodies, and they never will.”

“But that’s the thing y/n, everyone starts as a nobody, yet the only person who can change that is yourself. I’m sorry but I can’t be with someone who doesn’t believe in me.” His eyes glistened with tears, he sniffled quietly, “I’ll come back for my stuff tomorrow before I leave, but I can’t stay here tonight.” The awkward squeaking of his chair broke you out of your trance, you watched as he put on his jacket and collected his keys. Just as he was walking out the door he paused, “You know y/n, I would’ve gone anywhere in the world for you. I just wished you’d done the same for me.” He said before softly closing the door.

You got up from your seat and walked towards your bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, you let out a defeated sigh. You scanned the room, only now noticing how much of it was filled with Anakin’s things. His scent still lingered in the air. You didn’t realise you were crying until you felt a tear drop onto your hands. You wiped away the tears before reaching under your side of the bed and taking out a box. Gently grasping the picture, you took it out of the box before starting to cry again, “It was supposed to be us together, forever.”

“So what’re going to do y/n? Are you actually going to his wedding?” Steve questioned you. In response you gave him a shrug. You knew it was wrong of you to go, but Anakin had personally invited you himself. Even though the two of you hadn’t talked to each other for half of a decade, he was still someone you cared about. Hell, you and Anakin grew up together as best friends, you had to be there for him. It was the least you could do. “Yeah, I’m going, Steve.”

The day of the wedding, you woke up nervous. Who wouldn't be, the ex you’re still madly and deeply in love with was going to get married to someone that wasn’t you. You called out for Steve but got no reply. You let out a sigh before getting up to get your phone to text him.

You: Hey, wya?

Steve: Good Morning y/n, I’m currently out. I won’t be home until later today, sorry bug :((

You: What! I was relying on you to watch my kids

Steve: I know, I know, sowwy. Maybe you can text the babysitter?

You left Steve on read to quickly text your babysitter.

You: JAR JAR!

JJ: Yo, wassup. What can I do for you today?

You: Can you take care of my precious children today? Pretty please!!!

JJ: Of course I can, I’d love to.

You: Great thanks JJ! Please be here before 2:05pm :)

You were grateful that you had Jar Jar on days like this, while you hadn’t spent much time with him, you trusted him enough with your kids. Hopping into the shower, you washed your hair and body, letting the warm water and steam unwind you a little. By the time you were done showering it had been 11:35am, leaving a couple hours to get ready and maybe have a little snack.

Walking over to your closet, you pulled out a satin champagne dress. It had a low cut, showing a little cleavage. The fabric on the left side of your hip wrapped around your body, coming back up to where it started, giving you a slight slit. Then you moved onto makeup, deciding on going for a simple look. After applying your foundation, concealer, and contour, you moved onto the upper half of your face. You carefully filled in your brows, making sure each swipe was precise. Taking a spoolie, you blended the brow product ensuring that your brows weren’t so harsh looking. Next, you took your favorite mascara and applied it to your lashes. While there was some volume, you decided to put on some eyelashes so your eyes didn’t look so naked compared to the rest of your face. You moved onto blush and highlight, deciding on whatever complimented your skin. For the finishing touch, you chose a mauve-nude lipstick along with a glittery lipgloss. As for hair, you slicked it back, putting it into a nice tight low bun. By the time you were finished, the clock was at 1:25pm. It took you nearly two hours to get ready, but you still had time to accessorize and grab a snack.

You grabbed the first gold necklace you could find and put it on, along with a pair of dangly earrings. The house was quiet, so you assumed that the dogs were still asleep or taking a nap. Creeping into the kitchen, you settled on having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a cup of yogurt for breakfast. Something quick and easy, it would keep you sustained until the eating portion of the wedding. If you had to be real, that was the one thing you were looking forward to. I mean who doesn’t love free food? After cleaning up, you went back to your room taking a quick second to check up on the sleeping beast on your bed. Seeing as it was still asleep, you went to the closet and pulled out a jacket along with strappy gold heels. It was nearing 2pm so you picked up your purse and made sure you had everything you needed. Makeup? Check. Phone? Check. Keys? Check. Invitation? Check. You walked into the bathroom and checked yourself out one last time. As you were heading towards the door, the doorbell rang, signaling Jar Jar’s arrival. You went to open it and invited him in.

“Alright Jar Jar, I’ve gotta run. You know where the food is if they get hungry, they’ve been napping for a while now so they might wake up soon, you know the drill.” You told him

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve got this under control. I’ve done this like a hundred times, duh.” He announced, you smiled at him. He never failed to lift your mood with his sarcastic and goofy attitude. You gave him one last nod before grabbing your keys out of your purse to lock the door.

Hopping into your car, you typed the address into your phone and started the journey to the venue. It took about 25 minutes to get there, you arrived at 2:30, giving you some time to find parking and a seat at the ceremony. The event was pretty big, given that both Anakin and Padme were famous, there had been many guests. You chose a seat in the middle of all the chairs, not too close yet not too far. You looked around, trying to spot anyone you knew but you couldn’t find anyone. Just as you were about to go on your phone to pass the time you felt someone sit awfully close to you. You looked up realizing who it was.

“Anakin!” You were surprised, shouldn’t he be up at the front? “Why’re sitting next to me? Aren’t you supposed to be at the front?” You took a glance at him, noticing how well his tux fit him.

“Well yeah, but I’m nervous y/n/n..” he replied. “What, why? Isn’t this supposed to be the happiest day of your life..?” you asked, you were starting to have second thoughts, maybe you shouldn’t have come after all. “I guess… listen I gotta go now, but you’ll be at the reception yeah?” you nodded, then he got up and walked away.

Before you knew it, music was starting to play but no one walked in yet, signalling that they were going to begin shortly. You took the time to admire the venue, there was a light lace fabric spanning from wall to wall, acting as a backdrop. The venue itself was a beautiful, dark brick building. Strewn around the room were fairy lights, making the atmosphere warmer. At the ends of every row were lanterns, containing light pink rocks and a burning candle. Across the aisle laid a white runway, each side having flower petals scattered, but left a clear path for the bridal party to walk down.

The doors swiftly opened and the music changed pace, one by one the bridal party began to walk down the aisle until the only person left was the bride. Each bridesmaid wore a different style of dress that complimented their style, but the color remained the same. Noticing that everyone was standing up, you stood up too, straightening out your dress. The orchestra played Canon in D, a wedding classic. Turning to Padme, you first took in her beauty. Her hair was curled to perfection, tied back only leaving a few hairs to frame her face. Her features were soft and angelic looking, you really couldn’t tell if she was wearing makeup or not. Your eyes drifted to her dress, it was truly magnificent. It was white with ivory detailing, her flowy sleeves made of lace. It was as if she was an angel sent from the heavens. You continued to admire her, then your eyes fell to her swollen belly, one hand clasped over it while the other was holding her bouquet. You were shocked to the core, Anakin really didn’t love you anymore, did he? Of course, you weren’t a silly girl, you knew that he was going to move on from you, but you hadn’t expected this.

Just as Padme took Anakin’s hand, you flopped down into your chair. The remainder of the guests sat down too, commencing the ceremony.

“Friends and family, we are joined here today to celebrate the wedding of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker.” Hold on, wait a second. Was that Obi Wan? Your whole body perked up, looking for the strawberry blonde. You were surprised that they chose Obi Wan to be their officiant. Given the fact that they’re both famous, you’d assume they’d have an actual priest at their wedding. To ya’know, keep up their reputation and appeal to their audience.

You should've seen by the look in my eyes, that there was something missing.

“Marriage is a pathway to a promise between two beings. That they will always love and trust each other. Creating a bond that can never be broken. So I’ll ask this now before we continue. If anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.” For a minute, the world around you stopped. All you could see was him, your Anakin. His eyes met your gaze, as if it was a silent plea.

Tearing your eyes away from him, you sunk into your seat. Oh gods, why did you just have to go to the store while Anakin was in town. All of this could’ve been avoided if you had just gone shopping on Monday, but who the hell goes grocery shopping on a Monday?

“Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let's allow the bride and groom to share a few words.” Obi Wan handed the microphone to Anakin.

You should've known by the tone of my voice, but you didn't listen.

“You know Padme, never in a million years did I think I’d be getting married.” ouch, “Let alone to the girl of my dreams.” wow, it seems like Anakin was trying to make you more miserable than you already were. “So it’s so amazing that I’m standing here today, with you. Within the five years I’ve known you, three of them consisting of us being together, I’ve come to know what type of person you are. Padme is selfless, loving, and strong-willed. After our first movie together, I just knew that I had to have her. Every time I’d ask you out on a date, you’d laugh and say ‘Ask me tomorrow, Anakin’” cue the laughing, “so that’s what I did. Finally when you said yes, I felt like I was going to explode with excitement. After our first date, I just knew that I would love you forever, Padme.”

‘Cause it was us baby way before them.

The sun was softly shining through your curtains, you felt a hand brushing through your hair. Letting out a soft groan, the hand stopped, “Oh, please don’t stop on my account, Ani.” You looked up at him, a smile forming on his lips, “Good morning, angel.” You gave him a quick peck before saying good morning back, getting up to get ready for the day.

“So what’s the plan for today, Anakin?” You asked from the bathroom, picking up your toothbrush you applied tooth paste then proceeded to brush your teeth. Anakin’s arms suddenly wrapped around your torso, his chin resting on your head. “How about you go treat yourself, go shopping, maybe hang out with some friends, and when you come home, I’ll have dinner ready. How does that sound?” You pondered for a minute before nodding your head.

By the time you had arrived home, it was already 6:50pm. Unlocking the door, a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen. First you took off your shoes, leaving them by the door. Next came your jacket, hanging it on the coat rack. You snuck up behind Anakin, wrapping your arms around his neck. You could say sneaky snuggles were a daily thing in your relationship. “Whatcha cookin good lookin?” Anakin let out a snort, “Only the best for my girlfriend. How about you go sit down while I bring the food to the table.” You turned to the table, noticing everything was already set up. You took your seat just as Anakin laid down the meal. Chicken parmesan with homemade lasagna.

“Oh Ani, my favorite! You didn’t have to, what’s the occasion?” You squealed

“No reason, like I said, only the best for my girl.” He smiled, lifting up his wine glass, you mirrored his actions, “I’d like to make a toast dedicated to you, my lovely, beautiful, amazing girlfriend. I love you, forever.”

And I meant every word I said, when I said that I love you, I meant that I love you forever.

You were full on blushing now, “I love you too, Ani. A toast, to forever.” The two of you joined glasses, a clink echoed in the near quiet apartment.

You were awoken from your flashback by loud applause, did you just daydream during the remainder of the wedding? You turned to the old lady next to you, “Is it over?” She turned to look at you, appalled by your appearance but nodded nonetheless. “Oh am I crying,” awkward laugh, “I always cry at weddings..” You turned to look away and instead focused on the bride and groom newly wedded husband and wife making their way down the aisle. Both adorning smiles on their faces.

The guests were ushered outside near an open bar area. You were encouraged to take pictures but chose to watch the workers as they changed the venue from ceremony mode to reception mode. You noticed they kept most of the decorations, only adding circular tables and necessities. The lanterns now became centerpieces while the flowers scattered down the aisle were now randomly placed across the room. There was a long, rectangular table arranged in front of the white backdrop. Obviously for Padme and Anakin, along with their bridal party and family. You looked around quickly before leaving to go to the bathroom. Once there you took a deep breath and looked at yourself in the mirror. A gasp left your mouth, your looks were beyond atrocious. You closed your mouth before you could catch any flies and touched up your makeup.

Walking out of the bathroom you had nearly made it to the bar before you stumbled into somebody, “Hello there.” Seems like you couldn’t run away from your past, “Hello, Obi Wan. How are you?” After asking him, the two of you had spent the next fifteen minutes catching up on eachothers lives. Finally, the staff had announced that the tables were ready. Obi Wan promptly excused himself, now by yourself you went to go find your seat. To make your life easier, you went to the table where they had a list of names and where you could find your seat. You were sat at table three, pretty close to the front for someone who R.S.V.P.ed at the last second.

When you got to your table, you noticed there were already some people seated, none that you knew though. Sitting down, you began to mingle with your peers. Making small talk until the buffet was ready.

It took a while, but dinner was finally ready to start. You’d waited all day for this moment and you couldn’t wait. Once your table was dismissed, you got in line with a plate in your hand. The first thing you noticed was the variety, which was a good thing for you because you could eat to your heart's content. After making yourself a plate, you went back to your table to eat. You shoveled the delicious food into your mouth, hoping to get a second plate but you were interrupted by the clinking of glass. Toast time you thought to yourself, a frown upon your face. Darn, you were really keen on getting that second plate.

You zoned out during the toasts and eventually their first dance, all you could think about was getting out of this damn dress. You couldn’t wait to go home and take a hot shower while crying your eyes out. Coming back to the real world, you noted how everyone was standing up, crowding around Padme and Anakin as a cake was placed in front of them. Great, I really need to stop zoning out.

“Okay, before we continue with the cake cutting, I’d just like to say that not only is this cake to celebrate our marriage, but it’s also our gender reveal cake!” fuck, Fuck, FUCK..you really shouldn’t have come. God you’re so stupid, I mean why the fuck would would anyone think going to your exs wedding is a good idea. The room fell silent, anticipating the color of the cake. Gasps were let out when the piece of cake was shown. Pink and blue? Are they having- “Twins! We’re having twins!” Anakin shouted. You couldn’t breathe, you needed fresh air. You hurriedly stepped outside, choosing to sit down on a bench to try and collect your breath.

You must’ve been outside for a while because before you knew it, Anakin was sitting next to you. “What’re doing out here, Anakin? Shouldn’t you be inside dancing with your wife?” You asked.

“I wish..” Anakin scoffed, his eyebrows were furrowed deep in thought. “What do you mean? This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. You just married the woman you love for crying out loud!” You protested.

Anakin let out a sigh, “Yeah, that’s just the thing. Padme was never supposed to get pregnant. We were never supposed to get married. The only reason why I proposed was because our agencies thought it would be good for our reputation.” This was some shocking news, you thought they truly loved each other. Well Anakin at least, you couldn’t speak for Padme.

“You know, the day after we broke up when I came to collect my belongings, I waited for you. I knew you were gone, waiting for me to finally leave. But I waited for you. For as long as I could.” You had no idea why Anakin was telling you this. Why would he bring something like this up… unless… no, it wasn’t possible.

When Anakin entered his your apartment, the first thing he noticed was how quiet it was. Sure, it was still morning, but you weren’t someone to sleep past 10 am. You had always enjoyed getting up early. It was before noon, so Anakin had just assumed you were out for brunch. He began to collect some of his belongings, only taking what was necessary. He didn’t want to take any of the pictures, just in case you missed him enough and wanted to longingly stare at them. So instead he took out his phone and took a photo of every picture he liked. The good, the bad, and the ugly; Anakin wanted to remember all of it. Entering your room, Anakin was quick to take what he needed. He almost left before he remembered the most important thing to him, his mother's ring. Anakin knew he couldn’t leave without so he went to find it. He searched high and low until he came across a box under the bed. Although the two of you were together, he never went through your things without permission. But Anakin was desperate, so he opened the box.

At first he was unsure of what he was looking at. Sure, the picture was simply black and white but he just couldn’t figure out what it was. Until his eyes drifted to the upper left hand corner, containing your full name, medical information, and the date. Was this what he thought it was? Were you pregnant? He took the ultrasound into his hands, forgetting about the ring.

He swore that at that very moment, he could’ve cried, and he did. What was he going to do now? He didn’t know if he should’ve waited for you to return or leave. On one hand he would be starting a family with you while on the other he would be following his dreams.

“So, you knew? That I was pregnant?” Anakin nodded his head, “..and you still chose to leave?” The words felt heavy on your tongue. “Believe me, I wanted to stay. For god's sake, y/n, I waited there for you. For HOURS! By the time I had to leave you still weren’t back. I had to choose between my passion and you. It wasn’t easy to make the decision, but you weren’t there and my future was awaiting me.” Anakin’s voice was quivering, it hurt him to think about this.

“Anakin, can I ask you a question?” Anakin nodded his head, motioning for you to go on. “The night we broke up, if I had told you that I was pregnant; would you have stayed?” His mouth opened as if he was going to answer, only for it to snap shut. Tears welled up in your eyes, you had your answer, “You know what, it doesn’t matter, it’s not like I kept the baby.” You shook your head, not wanting to cry in front of Anakin. You stood up, gathering your things and left without uttering another word to him. Everything he said to you was a lie, because if he had really loved you, he would’ve stayed.

And I'm gonna keep on loving you, because it's the only thing I wanna do.

By the time you had gotten home, you had much time to think. You’d spent the past five years dreaming of that exact moment. You would’ve told him you were pregnant, and in return he would’ve chosen to be with you. The two of you would get married and live a happy life with your children. But those dreams were shattered by the harsh reality. Anakin wouldn’t have stayed and he wouldn’t have married you.

Moving into the bathroom, you removed your makeup, seeing as it was ruined by your tears, again. Taking off your clothes, you hopped into the hot shower. You were going to cry but decided to give your eyes a rest since you had basically cried all the way home. After changing into your pajamas you creeped into your room.. Slowing making your way to bed, you got under the covers. Once you had almost fallen asleep, you felt something lay on your chest. You gently started stroking her hair, “Sorry, did I wake you, Shani?” you asked softly, a quiver in your voice.

“No, it’s okay momma. I was waiting for you to get home.” Her voice was quiet and delicate. “Are you okay momma?” Although she was barely five, she was a smart girl. She looked up, noticing your eyes were swollen. She must’ve heard the falter in your voice.

“Of course I am Ani, I’ve got my little angel with me.” She gently laid her head back down, her small arms doing their best to wrap around you. You continued stroking her hair until her breathing evened out, signalling she was asleep.

Soon after, you found yourself dozing off to the thought of what could’ve been.

I don't wanna sleep, I just wanna keep on loving you.

#Anakin Skywalker #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin skywalker x you #anakin skywalker fanfiction #anakin skywalker imagine #Anakin Skywalker x Padme Amidala #Padme Amidala #obi wan kenobi #sw #star wars fanfiction #star wars imagine #star wars

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writeiolite · 4 years

Text

work hard, play hard

who: iwaizumi x f!reader

what: age regression fluff

plot: iwa catches you not doing what you said you would but he’s your partner in crime, after all

wc: 1,175

Your to-do list has a few things scribbled on it that Iwaizumi can’t help but smile at.

1. make mac n cheese

2. clean our room

3. wait for bubs to get home

4. be good!!! ♡ ♡ ♡

Oh, how he loves to see you flesh out even the simplest of things. It’s the softest thing, the feeling you give him, and it’s nearly impossible for him to resist the urge to pinch your rosy cheeks while you sleep soundly in the unmade bed.

Poor little thing, he wonders if you even made it halfway through list item number two before you started getting tired, but the odds are you didn’t. He knows how you get when you have mac n cheese.

“Hey, bunny?” he calls softly, his large hand cupping your cheek. He doesn’t get a response but he’s fine with that. That gives him more time to indulge in the sight of you wrapped up in a fuzzy pastel blanket even with the comforter over you as well.

“Princess,” he tries a little louder. That makes your stir, your eyes squeezing more closed before you finally open them, wide and innocent. You hold entire galaxies and unborn stars in your irises, each fleck of color glowing like a pure ball of gas just waiting to burst.

And burst you do.

Well, it’s more like popping a bubble. A faint gasp slips pat your pouty lips before you sit up with urgency as if Iwaizumi would disappear any second (he would never).

“You’re home!” you cheer, throwing yourself into his embrace lightly. His big protective arms encompass you completely, not at all deterred by the surprise attack of soft affection.

“I’m home, yeah. And you’ve been busy, hm, little one?” he smiles while resting his chin on the top of your head, keeping you tucked into his embrace as your heart skips a beat.

Oh no... How could you forget? The bed was so comfy and, and, and...

Iwaizumi doesn’t see the shift but he’s been with you long enough to notice how you go oddly still and hush-hush at the question. He’s always been the best he can for you, especially when you feel like you can’t be the best for yourself. And undoubtedly, this is one of those times. Events leading up to this are a hint enough.

Job applications, studying for entrance exams, bills... All of these were things that you had to put a lot of focus into and you were no stranger to effort. All of that at once though and you had lost the time to de-stress. There was no time to let out the breath you were holding to breathe in the smell of the roses he would bring you on Tuesday mornings. You didn’t have the seconds to spare to just slide the baking sheet of cookie dough into the oven like you loved to do on the weekends.

You had easily lost track of everything you enjoyed as the days went on and deadlines approached.

So truly, he was pleasantly surprised when he saw Crayola to-do list taped to the refrigerator. He knew that meant his little girl was back and taking care of herself as best as possible even with him gone at work.

He’d be the worst person in the world if he wasn’t there for you too.

“Baby, do you want to see what I got? I think you’d really like it,” he proposes softly, leaning back to get a good look at you.

You don’t meet his eyes, though. Like the Jenga tower was about to tumble down and you don’t want to claim responsibility for it.

“C’mon,” he tries, softer this time. “I don’t want to see my bunny pout. Can you smile for me?”

Your bottom lip quivers at his words. He’s the best, really! You love him but... Gosh, you forgot to do everything else on your list and went to sleep instead... You just wanna curl up and close your eyes. Count to 10! Think of something... soft!

Iwaizumi’s palms cup your cheek and his thumbs tilt the corners of your lips upward, a makeshift smile being formed close enough to what he wanted. “There it is... sorta,” he chuckles.

“Mn-mm!” you try to pout more, caught between wanting to delve further and further into the cotton candy pink clouds or resurfacing into reality. The conflict must be evident on your face, for eventually Bub is smoothing the wrinkles in your forehead with kisses and everything feels so light and sweet and he’s just so perfect you don’t want to be anywhere else right now.

He smiles softly once you melt at his affections, finally getting what he knows you need — reassurance that it’s okay to be little right now.

“Good girl,” he praises softly, landing one tiny kiss on your lips before standing up with you in his arms. Somehow the blanket haphazardly remains attached to you and almost tangles with his legs while he carries you into the living room.

Two new coloring books and-

“Which new stuffie do you want to hold?” Iwa asks, setting you on the couch. You don’t stay for long — you have to check out the coloring book!

“You!”

His heart twists and twirls in a dance full of affection at your answer. Almost as if it was a kneejerk reaction for you to say that, but no matter what he’s a mix of adoration and amusement.

“I’m not a stuffie, baby girl. Here-” he holds up the baby blue puppy dog and the orange tabby cat stuffed animals while squatting in front of you and your Crayolas. “Puppy or kitty?”

“You!” Your eyes meet his this time, finally pulling away from the endless black and white pages. Although to you they were already filled with colors — you were envisioning exactly how you want to color each one and you can’t wait to get started.

“Me, huh?” Iwaizumi sighs with a smile, dropping his shoulders in faux defeat. “I guess I’ll have to return the-”

“No! No, no, no, you can’t! They have a new home here now so they’re mine!” You grab which Crayons you want to start with while you nearly scold him. How dare he think of something so absurd, right?

A firm kiss is planted on your forehead before Iwaizumi settles down beside you with the other Crayola box you had left lying around from earlier. “Want some help, princess?”

An energetic nod comes from you and you dive right into the third or so illustration in the book — tongue out, eyes focused, body curled over the coffee table while you get hard at work. Iwaizumi can feel himself diving deeper in love with you, giving him all the more reason to help you color certain parts, make the bed, clean the dishes, and anything else. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is. As long as he can help keep your stress away, he’ll be right there beside you.

{ hq sfw taglist — tell me if you want to be added or taken off: @yamxgucci @emrystld @tomatokuen @skyguy-peach @aplexii @for-ests @tobiosbabie @xiorrawrites @miyulovestowrite @hq-cuties @keuromi @noya-senpai-imagines @leiasfanaccount648 @marshyrebelcloud @iwaizumi-chan @shinsukestan }

#haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu fic #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!!#haikyuu #HQ #HQ!!#haikyuuwritersnet #iwaizumi x reader #iwaizumi fluff #iwaizumi scenarios #iwaizumi imagine #iwaizumi fic #iwaizumi hajime #hqappreciation

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stereksecretsanta · 3 years

Text

Merry Christmas, theydraggedmein!

For @theydraggedmein. I hope you like this story!

Fic inspired by Melsephant's Monster of the Week Comic, specifically Solidarity and by the freedom of creation from my Secret Santa giftee

Tags: Supernatural is somewhat known, Stiles is a Selkie, Alive Hales, Friends to Lovers, Quickburn, Workplace Setting, Light/Background Angst, Communication

Read On AO3

*****

Selkie Solidarity

Stiles’ alarm doesn’t go off when it’s supposed to and he wakes up about two hours late for work.

Thankfully, he has an understanding boss with even more understanding bosses, so when he calls in, they just tell him to get himself there safely and don’t worry about it.

Stiles hops in and out of the shower so fast his suit doesn’t even have time to dry before he stuffs his clothing into a waterproof bag, chucks his phone and wallet in too, and leaps off his balcony to do a perfect seal dive into the water below.

He makes good time swimming, but nothing changes the fact that he’s late and he and his office mate were supposed to be running expense reports all day today.The final step before the merge negotiations happening next week.Thankfully they got most of it done this past week, but still, Stiles feels bad about slacking when his office mate is such a good sport. Without him there, Derek’s probably gone a little grumpy around the edges, the way he always does whenever Stiles is inevitably late.

Stiles passes a delicatessen and backtracks. He’s already late, so a few minutes more isn’t a huge deal, and Derek does love everything bagels.

Stiles climbs out of the water, ducks behind some brush, and sheds his suit. He tugs on his clothes, checks his phone for messages—none—and grabs a twenty out of his wallet.

Then, bag slung across his back, he troops into the deli and orders three everything bagels, two for Derek and one for him because he hasn’t had breakfast yet.

Then, it’s an exchange of his clothes for his suit, making sure the bag with the bagels is secured in his bag, and then leaping back into the river to finish his commute.

He’s already apologizing when he races into his and Derek’s office.

“Dude, I know I’m so, so late, but, look, I got us bagels!”

He stops short at the sight of Derek, shifted into his full werewolf form, hunched over his computer and poking at his keyboard.

He looks miserable, his snout long and dripping with saliva where his teeth are too big to retract anymore. His claws keep catching on the keys and he stares at them sadly before huffing out a sigh and starting again.

Stiles digs out the bagels and plops the bag onto Derek’s desk. Comically, Derek’s nose twitches. He looks at Stiles with his baleful eyes before gently opening the top of the bag and with far more care than Stiles is used to seeing from Shifted-Derek, he plucks out a bagel and pops it whole into his mouth.

As Derek chews with the power of a ravenous wolf, Stiles glances at the little calendar Derek keeps pinned to his side of the office.

“Oh man,” Stiles remarks, tracing the outline of the day. “Full moon? That’s rough, buddy. I’m sorry.”

Derek shrugs and picks out his second bagel. “s’okay,” he mumbles, spraying saliva and crumbs everywhere. “T’nks for bagels.”

His over large teeth and flopping tongue make his words nearunintelligible and kind of fascinating. Stiles wishes Derek would talk more during his shifts, but he also knows that Derek doesn’t like making messes even though he’s good at cleaning them up, so he tries not to make messes. And talking with his shifted mouth is about the messiest Derek can be. Second only to eating while shifted.

Stiles takes his bagel and sits down to boot up his computer. Derek hasn’t eaten his second bagel, and instead seems to be waiting for Stiles to start eating his. A quick bite confirms this, and Stiles smiles at Derek.

“So, shall we get those expense reports done?”

No argument from Derek, who seems to be trying to savor his second bagel.

Whatever. It’s cute. That’s why Stiles got them for him. He likes doing things like that for Derek, even when he isn’t almost two and a half hours late.

After a few more minutes of Derek struggling to type with his claws, Stiles turns to him. “Should I shift too?” he asks, gently. Derek barely moves his head, but Stiles feels stared at all the same. “I mean, if you’re stuck in your form, wouldn’t it be less awkward for me to be shifted too?”

“Work?”

Stiles shrugs. “I was late today. How productive am I really going to be?”

Derek looks at his keyboard. It isn’t really functional, and he’ll probably just keep tapping at it and then replace it on Monday when he can shift back. “Broken?”

Stiles waves his hands. “They’re flippers, dude. I don’t think they can do that much damage.”

Derek tilts his head while he thinks about it. It’s such a cute pose that Stiles has to physically turn back to his computer and enter his password before he accidentally squees out loud or something equally embarrassing.

“Okay,” Derek finally says. “T’nks.”

“Be right back!” Stiles grabs his bag and skips off to the bathroom where he exchanges his clothes for his suit and then happily bounces back to his and Derek’s shared office.

Derek straightens for a few minutes when Stiles gets back. At first, he thinks it’s because Derek is laughing at him. Stiles isn’t the most graceful in his human form, but in his seal form, he’s simultaneously better and worse at moving. If the office were water, he’d be grand.

Derek huffs a few times before slowly stepping off his chair and motioning Stiles to his chair. And, whoops, yeah, Stiles forgot that he’d have to climb all the way up there.

He gives Derek a hopeful bark and Derek nods. Together, mostly because of Derek’s brute strength, they get Stiles situated in his chair and ready to do as much work as his flippers can manage on his keyboard.

Surprisingly, despite Derek’s general malaise of being a werewolf in the midst of an uncontrolled shift, and Stiles’ selkie solidarity, they get a lot of work done. And surprisingly, Derek just holds half of the second bagel in his mouth for a long time before it disintegrates into mush and he swallows it.

Their boss pokes his head and shoulders in around lunchtime, some request dying on his invisible lips.

Stiles gives him a happy bark, and Derek follows it up with a less-pained wuff than he’s been giving lately.

“I just wanted to see how those reports were coming along, but I guess never mind.” Kindly, he adds, “If you ever need time off something like this, just let us know. We have a secondary set of time off for supernatural afflictions.”

Derek growls lowly before nodding. He stands up, hands his ruined keyboard to their boss, and walks out.

Stiles waits a few seconds to see if Derek will come back. It’s insulting to call their supernatural abilities afflictions, but Stiles can kind of see where their boss gets it from. He is invisible after all. There’s so many things he can’t do anymore because he inherently gets called a creep. In fact, he has to wear clothes on top of his invisible clothes constantly or risk being called out for being naked.

To him, being invisible is an affliction. To Derek, being a werewolf is like being human: natural.

Same with Stiles and his selkie side. He doesn’t even think of it as an affliction.

Derek doesn’t return, and Stiles decides that he might as well shift back and actually get something done, so he bounces off to the bathroom, tucks his suit away, and walks back to his office.

He finds Derek’s sister Laura standing by his desk. She has a note in hand and a tray of coffees. Stiles doesn’t think he was gone that long.

“Derek wanted to apologize for running off,” Laura says, thrusting the coffee tray at Stiles. One cup is already missing.

She hands him the note after he selects a mocha cappuccino. Then she installs a new keyboard at Derek’s computer and heads out.

Stiles opens the note. It’s a shaky apology written by Derek. Stiles flips it over and, avoiding the tears made from Derek’s claws, writes an acceptance of the apology and leaves it on the brand new keyboard. He’s not insulted by Derek needing time off. This full moon seems rougher than normal.

If Stiles really thinks about it, Derek’s tolerance and control during the full moons has been getting less for a long time. Almost six months. Something to think about.

He decides that he’ll bake Derek some of his prize winning double chocolate chip cookies when he sees him again.

It’s Friday today, so that means that Stiles won’t see him until Monday, and they have a meeting, so maybe he should do the cookies thing on Tuesday?

For now, he focuses on his computer and manages to complete all the expense reports they had planned.

5:00 rolls around and Stiles all but dances into the bathroom, switches into his suit, slides his bag on, and bounces out into the river for his commute home.

~ * ~

All weekend, Stiles does his normal routine, which involves staying up way too late and playing online games with friends halfway across the world. Then, he takes a quick, two hour break to make his apology-accepted-sorry-your-full-moons-suck cookies, because why not?, and clean his apartment.

Monday, he makes sure he has everything, including an actual suit for the meeting with their new clients, the ones he and Derek were doing expense reports for, slides into his suit, and speeds off to work.

He barely gets to greet Derek with the tin of cookies before they both have to change into their suits for the meeting. Stiles slings his bag on his back. He doesn’t like leaving it out of sight for too long, his mom and dad impressing upon him at a young age that selkies can’t trust people with their suits when they’re not in them. In fact, Stiles has a cousin who only just got away from her abusive partner that kept her suit locked away the whole time they were married.

Their boss is standing at the door to the conference room. He is made up to look as if he’s got an actual face for once. He’s wearing gloves and is dressed fully in the required suit. It’s a little uncanny valley, but has the desired effect of making all of him visible.

“Sorry, Stiles, you need to leave your bag somewhere secure.”

“What? Why?”

One of Derek’s ears twitches as he squeezes past them and sits next to Laura, who in addition to being Derek’s sister, is the head of their IT department.

“The clients. They’re human. We’re presenting as human today. I’m sorry, but you have to leave your bag off for this meeting.”

Stiles wants to bite out something about discrimination, but he knows how hard the supernatural world has worked for this. Their firm is the first human-supernatural merger, and if it goes well, there will be others.

“Isn’t this the meeting we reveal ourselves?” Stiles asks. That was the rumor around the water cooler a few weeks back.

“No.” His boss shakes his head. “We merge. Business goes on as usual. Another, more visible, supernatural business merges with another human business. The humans are told at that merger, and if there are any uprisings, we represent cases of discrimination.”

“What if our partners end up being discriminatory against us?” one of the more timid department heads asks. Stiles thinks his name is Boyd. He’s a werewolf, like Derek. It’s a good question, and it’s good coming from Boyd. He was rescued from a hunter farm where they bred and-slash-or forced werewolf creation so that they could “find out what makes them tick.”

Thank fuck that had been shut down right quick.

That’s what these mergers are all about: eliminating the humans’ natural instinct of being afraid of or hurting their supernatural counterparts.

“This firm has been heavily vetted. There can be no room for error here,” Stiles’ boss says. “Unfortunately that means that, for the press release, there can be no evidence of supernatural. Stiles, I am so sorry, you have to leave your bag somewhere. You will be compensated for your time without it.”

Stiles scoffs. “You think you can name a price and buy off my anxiety about my suit?” He looks at Derek, who looks murderous, at Laura, frowning, one hand on Derek’s arm, like she’s restraining him, at Boyd, who looks terrified. He sighs. “Fine. I’ll go hide my bag. But,” he adds, vehemently, “only because not doing so would endanger more than myself.”

“Hurry back,” his boss says. “The meeting starts in fifteen minutes.”

Stiles mutters a curse under his breath as he heads back to his and Derek’s office. There’s no place here at work that he feels safe enough to hide his suit, and there’s not enough time to call his dad to guard it for him.

Then he thinks about the file cabinet. It’s kept locked all the time. Paper copies of all the files he and Derek work on. He and Derek have keys, as does their boss. If he locks it in there, it should be safe for the meeting.

And he can check on it at lunch to make sure it’s still safe and sound. Stiles unlocks the top drawer, shoves the bag as deep as it can go, and heads back to the conference room, pausing to sneeze as some scent tickles his nose a little much. He slinks to his seat next to Derek and sits down.

Derek pats his arm, whispering, “I’m sorry,” without moving his lips.

Stiles shakes his head, turns to watch as the merging firm marches in, and the meeting begins.

~ * ~

Four hours later, Stiles heads back to his office under the guise of a quick refresher break.

When he gets to the room, he stares in shock at the destruction he sees there.

His and Derek’s computers have been knocked over, the towers scratched and smashed. Thank goodness for external servers. At least their work won’t be too disrupted while it’s fixed.

He turns to survey the rest of the room and his heart freezes in his chest.The file cabinet is leaning against the wall, all the drawers jimmied open, their contents spilled everywhere. Derek’s meticulous filing system ruined in a few moments.

But most heart-stopping of all is the fact that Stiles’ bag is gone.

It’s not anywhere in the mess and it isn’t still in the drawer he left it in.

Stiles runs around, digging frantically, in case he missed it. He also sneezes again and again, and finally pauses. He’s been gone too long. He’ll be missed at lunch, which they’re having catered in the conference room.

No. This is too important. Stiles isn’t hungry. He feels rather sick and on the verge of a panic attack.

He knows his nose is good, better than a human’s, but he knows better noses. He remembers when he first met Derek, and Derek was an awkward co-worker who claimed that Stiles stunk of the river even though, at that time, Stiles only went swimming on the weekend and used regular transport like his less aquatically-inclined counterparts.

Stiles hurries back to the conference room, grabs Derek’s arm, and drags him out, muttering something about a number or some shit.

Derek reverses their grip, holding onto Stiles as he leads him back to their office. Derek stares at the mess.

“What happened?” He doesn’t sound like he’s asking Stiles, so Stiles doesn’t bother to answer. He just goes to the file cabinet and points at the drawer where he’d stashed his bag.

Derek nods sharply, inhales deeply, and then points back out to the hallway. Stiles follows him as he goes through the building until they’re out on the street.

Lunch is probably being served now, but Stiles can’t find it in himself to worry about it. He and Derek already presented their expense reports. They’re clear for the rest of the day. It’s just that the firm wanted representation from all departments to be there for the whole of the negotiations. And lunch is also negotiations for some reason.

“Here,” Derek says suddenly, jerking Stiles into a coffee shop down the block from their building.

There’s a few customers in line and they all jump, muttering angrily as Derek budges.

He stops in front of the barista, a woman in her twenties, with long brown hair pulled into a requisite ponytail, green visor “protecting” her eyes.

“Sir, the line starts back there,” she says, bored.

“Where’s your girlfriend?” Derek asks.

Stiles frowns at him. Girlfriend? He leans closer, catches a whiff of something spicy on her. It tickles his nose, and he stifles a sneeze into Derek’s back. Oh hell. They’re both still wearing their suits. It makes a hysterical laugh bubble up in his throat. Derek pats at him clumsily but comfortingly.

The barista blinks. “My girlfriend is none of your business,” she snaps.

“She is when she steals something from my boyfriend,” Derek snaps back.

Stiles chokes on his spit. Boyfriend?News to him.

Derek gives him a quick, apologetic glance, before turning back to glare at the barista.

She caves rather quickly then. “Sorry. She’s in the back. What did she take?”

“A green bag, waterproof. Everything that was in it had better be in it when you get it back. My boyfriend will confirm.”

“I’m sorry about this. I thought she’d gotten over it.”

Derek just points to the back.

Behind him, the line takes a collective step back, some of the people mutter about being late, but for the most part, they all look too intrigued to leave. Shame.Stiles really doesn’t want to reveal to a whole roomful of people that he’s a selkie.

Derek grips his elbow and steers him to the far side of the counter so that they’re no longer in the line’s way. Another barista steps up and things start flowing again. No one leaves even after they get their orders. Crap. It’s like daytime TV, so hilariously bad as to be completely riveting. Stiles could do without the starring role though.

The first barista comes back, leading a pinkish-tinged woman with bright pink hair and cat ears headband by the hand.Stiles sneezes as soon as he catches her scent, the same spicy one on the barista, and definitely the same one in his and Derek’s office.

The pink woman has Stiles’ bag clutched tightly in one hand, the other is still being held by the barista.

“She’s sorry about taking your bag,” the barista says. She squeezes her girlfriend’s hand, and wordlessly, she offers Stiles his bag. Stiles grabs it, digging through to see that everything he’d left in there is still in there, including his suit. He strokes it before hugging the bag to his chest.

The pink woman nods at him. “Soft,” she says, voice low, sweet.

“I’m so sorry about that,” the barista says. “It’s just, she’s a pixie, y’know? She has compulsions.”

“Soft,” the woman says again.

“Yes,” Derek agrees. “It is soft. But it’s his.” He draws his eyebrows down, but it’s not his mad face. Stiles has become quite the expert on Derek’s faces after a year as office mates.

He knows they’re friends now because Derek doesn’t make his I-hate-you-and-want-to-rip-your-throat-out-with-my-teethface anymore, but he hadn’t known Derek thought they were dating. They haven’t gone on any dates. It’s an oversight Stiles will have to correct, and soon.Unless, a stray thought mocks, Derek only said that to get the bag back quicker. Stiles’ stomach drops. They’re still friends, so whatever direction Derek decides to go in after today, Stiles will respect his choice, even if it doesn’t include him.

“Soft,” the pixie repeats, making a gimme motion with her free hand.

“I’m so sorry,” the barista says again. “I used to have a coat like that, but it got lost.”

Derek’s brow furrows. “Where did it ‘get lost’?” he asks. Stiles leans closer. Derek has his I’m-going-to-solve-this-even-if-it-means-an-international-incident face on. Stiles has seen that face exactly once: when he ousted a hunter cell that was operating near their firm. Derek’s mother, high level ambassador in the supernatural-human merges, had come down swiftly and kept other hunter groups from retaliating. Stiles surreptitiously slides out his phone and picks out Laura’s number. He doesn’t dial quite yet though.

Derek’s faces, while always a clear sign of what Derek is going to do, are not always indicative of the trouble they may or may not cause. Mostly, it depends on the other parties’ reaction to 200 pounds of pissed off werewolf suddenly appearing in their faces.

The barista makes a face. “My ex-boyfriend stole it one night. And I couldn’t exactly tell the cops what it was, so he’s still got it. I’m unharmed for the most part. Sometimes,though, I can feel him stroking it.”

“That’s good that he hasn’t hurt you through it,” Stiles says. He hasn’t really gotten into dating specifically because of the horror stories from his mom and dad. From the look on Derek’s face, this ex-boyfriend is going to be dead when they meet him.

“What’s his name? Where does he live?”

Derek is speaking lowly, but even the pixie draws back, a look of fear on her face.

Stiles pats at Derek’s arm. “The full moon was just yesterday,” he explains. “He’s really good with control, but it might still be affecting him.” He shows the barista his phone. “This is his sister. His whole family will help you get your coat back.”

She covers her mouth, tears already running down her face. The pixie turns to her and starts swiping at them, making little distressed noises.

“No, no. they’re happy tears. They’re going to help us get my soft back.”

“Soft?” The pixie gives both Stiles and Derek a long, assessing look before nodding fiercely. “Friends.”

They get more information from the barista before she checks her watch, flinches, and says, “I have to get back to work. Thank you for doing this. Bye.”

Stiles checks his own watch. They’ve used up all their lunch break and if they don’t leave right now, they’ll be late for the other half of their meeting.

Derek seems to realize it too, because he deflates a little. “I’ll call my mom. She and my uncle can go get her suit back.”

“Coat,” Stiles corrects. “I call mine a suit. She calls hers a coat.”

Derek smiles then. “Remind me that I have to tell you something when all this is over.”

“What?”

Before Stiles can attempt to get it out of him now, Derek starts running, and Stiles has to run to keep up with him. As much as Stiles knows Derek, Derek knows Stiles too. It’s frustrating sometimes, like now, when they’re running half a block back to their firm.

When they get back to the conference room, their boss, looking a little less visible with some of his makeup worn off, ushers them into the room. Derek fakes needing the restroom, promises to be back in two minutes, and runs off. Stiles sits down and pretends to pay attention.

Derek comes back in the promised two minutes, sits next to Stiles, and together they just listen as the finer details of the merge are finalized and suddenly, they’ve doubled in size.

Derek and Laura both get a call as soon as the workday ends, and before Stiles can ask what’s up or what Derek needs to tell him, they’re both shifted and gone.

Stiles sighs. There’s always tomorrow.

He changes into his suit, glad to have it back, and swims home.

~ * ~

Tuesday dawns bright and early without sun and with a dripping wet werewolf sitting on the end of Stiles’ bed.

Stiles screams and throws the first thing he can grab—his alarm clock—at the werewolf, and Derek tumbles to the floor with a muted oof.

Stiles flicks on the light and points at Derek. “Explain,” he says. “Why did you try to give me a heart attack in the middle of the night?”

Derek rolls his shoulders in a self-conscious shrug. “’snot the middle of the night,” he mutters, pettily.

Stiles points at his clock. “Well, I wouldn’t know. I had to use my timepiece as an improvised weapon.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll go. I didn’t mean to—” Derek spreads his hands in a helpless gesture. Stiles can’t read it. He’d gotten so good at reading Derek’s facial expressions and tones but he forgot to learn his body language as well.Mostly because Derek doesn’t use body language. He sits still and doesn’t give clues. Stiles takes a metaphoric step back, studies Derek for a long, solemn moment, and then offers his hand to pull him up on the bed.

“Why are you wet?” he asks, more gently.

Derek rolls his shoulders again, like he’s trying to work out a kink, but it’s probably embarrassment that’s pinching his nerves.

“I wanted to update you on the pixie and the selkie,” he says, eyes fixed on his lap. “I only know you smell like the river a lot, so I followed it up.” A flush creeps up his neck, and he ducks his head down more. “I fell in,” he says miserably.

Stiles can’t help the laugh that comes out of him. He slaps his hand over his mouth, but the damage is done. Derek shakes his head once, and moves to get up. Stiles grabs his wrist.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you—well maybe a little. I mean, you’re a werewolf and you fell in the river?”

“I wasn’t paying attention,” Derek says.

“Why not?”

“Because,” Derek says, and then mumbles the next part too low for even Stiles’ selkie ears to hear.

“What was that?”

Derek repeats himself louder and faster. It’s still just a jumbled mess of syllables that mean nothing to Stiles.

“Couldn’t catch that, dear, repeat again please. And enunciate.”

Derek lifts his head, determination burning in his eyes. “I said,” he speaks slowly, more, Stiles gets the feeling, to get the words out, than through annoyance at having to repeat himself for a third time, “that I fell in because I caught your scent and got distracted.”

Stiles doesn’t know how to respond to that, because, aside from the pretend-to-be-boyfriends to get Stiles’ suit back, Derek has expressed zero interest in Stiles like that. So why would he fall in the river after catching Stiles’ scent?

Stiles decides it’s too early and goes with a less confusing topic of conversation. “You said you wanted to update me on the pixie and the barista?”

Derek nods, grabbing the offered opportunity gratefully. “My mom and uncle found the ex-boyfriend easily. And because werewolves, they were able to locate and secure the coat quickly. Turns out he’s just a regular human obsessed with selkie lore and just wanted to have control over her.”

“Is he in jail?”

Derek shakes his head. “How can we arrest him? Humans aren’t exactly aware of the supernatural yet. My mom is going to keep an eye on him, and my uncle promised to put the fear of Peter into him.”

“‘The fear of Peter’?”Stiles raises an eyebrow. “That’s awfully cocky of your uncle Peter.” He gets a quirked smile in response. Stiles has met Peter once, and that was enough for Stiles to realize that Peter, if he didn’t like you, could make your life miserable.

Thankfully, Peter seemed to like Stiles, and he hasn’t been subjected to more of his particular brand of Peter-ness.

“Anyway,” Derek continues, “I wanted to tell you that Ari got her coat back, and Livie is sorry for taking yours.”

“I get it. She probably thought it was Ari’s.”

“Yeah, and one more thing: I think I love you.”

Stiles blinks at the confession. Blood rushes in his ears and it’s a little difficult to breathe.

“What?” he manages to whisper.

Derek makes eye contact with the wall past Stiles’ head. Choked, he says, “I think I’m in love with you. It’s why my full moons have been getting worse. My anchor is shifting. It’s you.”

“What?” Stiles repeats. Derek’s head drops, his shoulders droop. Confused, Stiles just stares at him.

“My anchor isn’t what it was before. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you. It’s too much. I’m sorry.”

He stands up almost too fast for Stiles to grab him again. “No!”

Derek looks at where Stiles is gripping his wrist. “No?” he asks, and it sounds so, so hopeful.

“No,” Stiles says, settling back, tugging Derek gently until he’s back on the bed. “Don’t go. Tell me more about your anchor. Tell me more about you. ‘Cause, Derek, you’re not the only one who thinks they’re in love.”

Derek’s eyes go to Stiles’ chest—his heartbeat. “I love you,” Stiles says, and the skip in his heartbeat isn’t from a lie. It’s because he’s realizing the truth. He may have been able to reason with himself at the coffee shop yesterday, and even explain away all the little anomalies of being attracted to his officemate as being friends, but he knows with certainty, he wants to be actual boyfriends with Derek.

He wants Derek here, in his space, wants to help him get his wolf back in control during the full moons, wants to get him bagels every morning, wants, wants, wants, so steady, it’s like his heartbeat.

And when Derek leans in, asks, “May I?” so gently and carefully before kissing Stiles’ like he’s the most precious thing in the world, Stiles knows, Derek wants too.

Warmth surges in his veins and he deepens the kiss, holding it like a breath, kissing like their lives depend on it, and trying to climb into the space in Derek’s heart that is already calling his name.

~ End ~

#theydraggedmein #stereksanta20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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love-and-monsters · 4 years

Text

Norek the Naga

Male naga X gender neutral reader, 3,322 words.

You have just gotten a new job at a bakery and become rather smitten with the naga who works the register.

You took a deep breath, stepped into the sweet-scented bakery, and were immediately greeted by the sight of the largest naga you had ever seen.

His human half was roughly normal sized, but you could see his massive mottled lower half curled behind the glass display counters. Part of him was even draped over a display case, coiling slightly over the top of it. You couldn’t even see where his tail-tip was, he was so massive and coiled in on himself.

“Hey there,” he said in a drawling southern accent. His hair was dark and looked like he’d gone long enough without a haircut that it was starting to get out of hand. There was a lazy, but pleasant expression on his face. “What can I do you for?”

“Um.” You looked down at the email on your phone. “I’m looking for, uh, Marz- Um, Marziana?”

His eyebrows lifted and he leaned away from the wooden counter. “Hey!” He called into the back of the bakery. “Your interview’s here!”

There was an indistinct yell from the back and he nodded before slumping back over the counter. “She’ll be up in a minute.” He looked you up and down. “Are you new ‘round here?”

“No,” you said. He titled his head at you, interest sparking in his yellow eyes.

“Then how come I’ve never seen you around?” he asked.

“Usually if I want something baked, I do it myself,” you said. “I don’t stop be bakeries all that often.”

There was a clicking noise and a woman stepped out from the back. She was dark-skinned and middle aged, hair tied up into a tight bun. From the waist down, she was a scorpion.

“You must be my ten o’clock,” she said. “Sit anywhere you like, and we can chat.”

You picked one of the little cozy tables toward the wall and sat with her. She flipped open a file and read through it. “Says here you’ve got a pretty good degree, but not a lot of experience.”

“No, I graduated recently. I mean, I have no official experience, but I’ve been baking for a while.” She nodded, expression inscrutable. You glanced around a little nervously. The naga was leaning over the counter, eyes on you. When you caught his gaze, he gave you a thumbs-up.

After going through a few more questions, mostly about what you enjoyed baking and what you struggled with, she flipped the file closed. “An interview is good and all, but not as useful in a practical job.” She stood and gestured for you to follow her into the back. When you passed the counter, you had to be careful not to step on the naga’s coils.

There were only a few other people working in the back, and she led you over to a clear space. She slid a recipe in front of you and gestured to a cabinet of ingredients. “Make this.”

You looked at the recipe. It was for scorpion tails, the bakery’s specialty. Essentially, they were cream puffs piped into scorpion-like shapes. You rolled your sleeves up and started to bake.

The scorpion tails you produced weren’t as good as the ones the bakery usually made. They weren’t piped properly and the flavor wasn’t quite what it should have been. Marziana tried one, expression completely unreadable.

“I have another interview tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll call you if you got the job.”

It wasn’t quite what you hoped for, but it was better than what you had feared. You stepped out of the back of the bakery and almost ran into the naga.

“Here.” He pressed a white bag into your hands. You glanced inside. It was filled with an assortment of cookies.

“This isn’t some kind of consolation prize, is it?” you asked. ,

He laughed. “No. Just a gift.”

“You’re not giving away food again, are you, Norek?” Marziana asked, emerging from the kitchen.

“Take it out of my paycheck,” he said. He winked at you, a pleasant smile on his face.

You left the bakery with one final glance over your shoulder. The cookies were very good, as it turned out. Even if you didn’t get the job, you could see yourself returning to the bakery.

Two days later, you received a phone call from Marziana. “Are you still open to the job?” she asked.

“Yes!” you said eagerly.

“Good. You’ll work from three in the morning to eleven from Wednesday to Sunday. You’ll have most holidays off, but you’ll be expected to work overtime leading up to holidays, as those are our busiest times. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes. Yes!” you said. “When do you want me to come in?”

“Come in tomorrow. I’ll email you some paperwork to sort out and we can finish it up on your first day.”

“Great. I’ll see you then.” The line clicked off and you grinned across your apartment, giddy with joy and relief.

As much as you needed your sleep, you only got into bed a few hours before you needed to rise again. You scrambled out of bed at two and hurriedly pulled yourself together before heading to work.

Marziana was already there, as were a couple other people, one a burly woman you figured was some kind of shapeshifter and a guy you were pretty sure was a vampire. You were introduced and, after filling out some paperwork, got put to work under the watchful eye of Marziana.

“You’ll be on probation for the first two months while you learn. You’ll have to run your creations by other people before they go out in the shop and I may test you on occasion. If you fail, I reserve the right to fire you,” Marziana said. “Does that seem fair?” You nodded. “Good.”

Marziana kept you busy, working flat out until six, when the shop opened. The other bakers stayed in the back while you moved products out to the front. Norek, who had arrived to help open the store, smiled at you as you stacked cupcakes on a display.

“Glad you’re the one who got the job,” he said. “I liked you best out of all the interviews.”

You blinked at him, a little flustered. He offered you a charming smile. “You okay, darlin’?”

“Yep! Great!” You scrambled back into the kitchen and tried to pretend that your cheeks weren’t burning.

That set the tone for most of your interactions in the days that followed. Norek would speak to you, often saying something charming, and you would get flustered and scramble back into the kitchen. You were pretty sure he was doing it to tease you, and you couldn’t say it was a routine you minded.

“That looks good.” You jumped a little as Norek leaned over your shoulder. You were setting a few cinnamon buns that had been carefully shaped into hearts out on the main display. “You make these?”

“I helped,” you said.

“Don’t sell yourself short, sugar. You’ve been doin’ really well.” He grinned at you. “I tried those cinnamon apple cookies you made the other day. They were amazing.”

“Thanks,” you said. “They’re an old family recipe. Well, not that old. My grandma’s. But I’m glad I got to put something of my own out in the store.”

“Mm hm,” he hummed. “Say. I was wonderin’. There’s this real nice restaurant near here that opened a few months back and I’ve been lookin’ for an excuse to go. Would you be interested in coming with me?”

You stared at him like a deer in the headlights. “As… as a date?”

“Sure, sugar. If you’re all right with it.” He flashed you an utterly charming smile and your heart thundered against your ribs.

“I- um.” You took a reflexive step backwards and tripped over the coil of his tail that was on the ground behind you. You slammed against the wood floor hard, momentarily knocking the air out of you.

“Sugar!” Norek leaned over you, concern flashing over his face. “I’m sorry. Are y’ all right?” He stretched his hands out. You clasped them and he tugged you to your feet. He coiled in around himself, ducking his head. “Sorry, darlin’. Sometimes it feels like there’s a little too much of me to fit back here.”

“I should have watched where I was going,” you said hurriedly. “It was my fault. I didn’t hurt you, right?”

“Naw, I’m fine. Takes more’n a little thing like you to hurt me,” he drawled. “Though maybe my pride is a little damaged. Sorry for makin’ you uncomfortable. I know I probably shouldn’t have asked you at work, but we don’t see each other much elsewhere. Forget I asked.”

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable,” you said. “I was just surprised. I didn’t expect to be asked on a date today. But it’s not a no.”

He tilted his head a little, hands folded. “Is it a yes?”

You teetered on the edge of uncertainty, then took a step. “Yes. It’s a yes.”

His smile was so wide it looked like it was straining his cheeks. “Wonderful! I’ll-”

“You’ll plan dates on your own time,” Marziana snapped from the kitchen. You froze, embarrassment flooding you, but Norek seemed unconcerned.

“Here’s my number,” he said, pressing a piece of receipt paper into your hand. “Text me later tonight, all right?” He winked and turned back to work.

It was hard to focus for the rest of the work day, but you managed to please Marziana with your work before leaving for the day. Norek waved at you as you left.

A few hours later, you texted Norek. He responded almost immediately.

Hiya, sugar. You could almost hear his soft voice dripping its gentle, syrupy accent over text. Feeling up for a date on Tuesday?

That works for me, you replied. You texted back quicker than I expected. Aren’t you at work?

Just got off, actually. And would it be embarrassing to tell you I’ve been waiting for your text since you got off?

No. It’s sweet. A warm, fluttering feeling ran from your head to your toes. Does Marziana let you have your phone on you at work?

What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. I’ll pick you up at six, if that works?

Sure. You smiled down at your phone.

Tuesday couldn’t come soon enough. When the time finally arrived, you couldn’t stop pacing in front of your front door. It was an upscale restaurant, so you were wearing some of your nicer clothes. When you heard a knocking on your door, you were wound taut enough to snap.

You opened the door. Norek was coiled there, a small bundle of roses held in his hand. “Evening, sugar,” he said, extending the bundle toward you. “I figured most people like roses, so…”

“Thank you,” you said, taking the bundle. “I should probably put them in water before we go. You can come in.”

Norek slithered in as you stepped back from the door. He was wearing a simple button-down with a black jacket over it. Despite its simplicity, it hugged his form in a way that seemed designed to draw your eye to his chest. His hair had been somewhat tamed, though there was still a tousled quality to it.

“I have something for you too,” you said, picking up a box from the counter. “It’s not quite roses, but I hope you like it.”

Norek removed the lid from the box to reveal several truffles nestled in white tissue paper. “Did you make these?” he asked. The note of awe in his voice was gratifying.

“Yeah. I like baking, but I’ve been practicing chocolate making too, recently.” Norek picked one up and took a bite out of it. A soft moan slipped from his mouth and he closed his eyes, swaying slightly.

“Sugar,” he said, accent thickening a little. He opened his eyes, only enough so you could see his irises under the long shadows of his eyelashes. “These are wonderful.”

You grinned and laughed. “Thank you.”

He popped the rest of the truffle into his mouth with another over-exaggerated groan of delight. “Oh, sugar, you’re going to spoil my dinner.”

“Why don’t we leave these here, then,” you said, placing the box back on the counter, “and you can grab them when we get back.”

Norek waggled his eyebrows at you. “Inviting me into your home already? You must be confident this date’s going to go well.”

“W-well,” you stammered slightly, trying to think of something playfully flirtatious to say next. Your brain seemed to screech to a halt.

Norek nudged you gently. “Don’t be nervous. It’s only me.” He shifted his tail and grinned. “I only bite if asked.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” you said. You grabbed your jacket and headed out of your home, Norek right behind you.

“The restaurtant’s only a few blocks that way,” he said, pointing. “And it’s such a nice night out. Do you want to just head there on tail?” He glanced at your legs. “Or, I suppose, on foot?”

“Sure.” There was a little bit of a chill, but that gave you an excuse to huddle close to Norek as you headed toward the restaurant. Your shoulders rubbed against each other.

The restaurant was beautiful. It was right at the edge of what was generally referred to as the ‘forest’ district, a section of the city typically for those who dwelled in the treetops. The outside was made of unfinished wood and it was surrounded by plants illuminated in fairy lights. It gave the whole place a nearly ethereal aura.

A harpy hostess greeted you and guided you toward a table on one of the upper levels. Norek was surprisingly skilled at getting from one level to another. There were tree-like protrusions on the walls that Norek wound himself around to climb from one level to the next.

You were seated at the table and the harpy left, promising that your server would be back in a few moments. A quick glance over the menu showed that it was split into several sections, each one with specials for a different sort of creature. The human section was limited, but you could see a couple of dishes you were interested in.

“I hope this place works for you,” Norek said. “They don’t cater to humans specifically, but it can be hard to find restaurants that are nice and work for multiple species, so…” He trailed off and you sensed some almost-frantic nervousness from him.

“No, no,” you reassured, “I like it here.” You glanced around. As far as you could see, there were no other humans, but there were several other species. The nagas you could see looked similar to Norek. “Do you live around here?” you asked.

“Oh,” he said with a slight chuckle. “No, this is a specialized district. I don’t make enough money at the bakery to live here. But it’s a goal. It’s just such a nice place to live.”

“It is really pretty,” you said. Norek nodded. “Did you live in an area like this with your parents?”

He shook his head. “No. My dad was a human.”

Your eyebrows shot up involuntarily. “Really?”

He chuckled. “Everyone’s surprised by that. They assume I must be a full naga. Probably because I’m so big.” He shifted his tail. It coiled beneath him and under the table, right next to your feet. “But I’m only half-naga. Just got good genes, I suppose.”

A waiter popped by and took your drink orders before fluttering off. Norek folded his hands under his chin. “What about you?”

“Pure human,” you said. “Pretty far back, too. I lived in a pretty human-dense area for a while, but I moved here recently.”

The waiter returned with your glasses of wine and Norek sipped from his. “That must have been quite a change,” he said. “I’ve never lived in an area without a variety.”

“I definitely looked like a tourist when I first came here. I think I made some people uncomfortable with how much I stared. But I don’t regret it. It’s a lot more interesting here than I was where I came from.”

“Your parents don’t have a problem with interspecies dating, do they,” Norek asked.

“I don’t think so. I mean, I think they’d prefer it if their grandchildren were human, but they’re not against me dating outside my species. I mean, they knew it was possibility when I moved here.”

Norek nodded, taking another draw of his wine. “I think you can guess that my parents aren’t concerned with it,” he said. “Although it’s a mite early to start talking about meeting the parents.”

“A bit,” you agreed. The waiter returned and you put in your orders. Norek leaned closer to you. His tail brushed against your leg. It was surprisingly cool and smooth.

“How’re ya liking the job so far?”” he asked.

“It’s better than I expected. Marziana is a good boss and the work’s challenging, but pretty fun.” Norek nodded.

“She’s great. Doesn’t need to pay me as much as she does, but she gives me enough to live on and then some, so I’m grateful.” He grinned. “She’s a bit of a slave driver around the holidays, though. I remember one year-”

He launched into a story that continued even after your food arrived. You were dimly aware that time was passing, but you weren’t really aware of just how long you’d been sitting there until you realized that the candles had burned down almost to nubs.

“Shit,” Norek said. “We really shouldn’t have stayed for so long. You have work tomorrow.” He waved down your waiter, coils shifting anxiously under the table. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

You felt your face burn as you tried to think of a classy way to say “You look good when you get into talking and I didn’t want to stop looking at you”. You didn’t manage to get there before Norek grabbed the check. Luckily, you’d agreed on split the bill ahead of time, so there was no squabbling over who was going to pay.

You left the restaurant together, Norek careful not to let the door catch his tail on the way out. He looked around for a moment, hissing quietly. “Which direction is your home in again?”

“This way,” you said, leading him in the right direction.

“Sorry we couldn’t get dessert,” he said. “I didn’t realize how late it was getting.” He grinned at you. “It was a good night, though.”

You nodded. The tip of Norek’s tail twitched in a way you were starting to recognize, which meant he was excited or enjoying himself.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to doing it again,” he said cautiously, bright yellow eyes searching your face.

You grinned. “Are you asking me on a second date?”

By this point, you were already at the front door to your home. Norek smiled, tail twitching. “Maybe,” he said. “Are you going to say yes?”

You considered him for a moment, planning your approach. He was tall enough that you had to get up on your tiptoes to kiss him. His reaction was immediate. His hands came up, securing your head against his, and he groaned against your mouth. As the kiss deepened, his tail tangled around your legs, pinning your in place.

It was a few minutes before you broke away. Norek looked a little dazed, long lashes fluttering over his eyes. “Wow,” he murmured. “You’re… you’re going to kill me.”

“In a good way, I hope,” you said. Norek grinned.

“I’m not complaining,” he said. He hesitated, then sighed. “I really have to go.” You gestured that you wanted to kiss him again and he shook his head. “I’ll never leave,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He darted in and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek before slithering off into the night.

#naga #exophilia #naga boyfriend #monster boyfriend #monster romance #monster lover

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not-close-to-straight · 4 years

Text

Sugar, Sugar (Two)

Read more about literally hopeless Stucky and Sweet as Sugar Tony here on the MASTERLIST

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

To say the very first official Sweet Peach Happy Hour was a hit would be an understatement.

The event wasn’t a “hit”.

Sweet Peach Happy Hour was a screaming success, complete with a line out the door, taxi’s backed up alongside the road full of people trying to get in, and even a local news van that had seen the commotion and decided to film an on the spot interview.

Or rather, they tried to film an on the spot interview. That sort of thing was difficult when the owner of the bakery couldn’t manage to stand still long enough to answer any questions.

“Seriously, I don’t have time for this!” Tony insisted as he pushed the microphone out of his face, ducked beneath the camera and went running towards the back kitchen to get another couple dozen cupcakes. “If you’re going to interview me, you’ll have to keep up!”

“We just want to know how you feel about the sudden success of your bakery!” the reporter shouted, and Tony shouted back, “When I run out of cupcakes, I’ll let you know!”

“Tony Tony Tony!” Pepper had been wrangled into ringing up customers with box after box of sweet treats, and she waved her hand frantically at the busy brunette. “Tony! I don’t have any more change!”

“Start taking tips?” Tony laughed, dropped a free sample of S’mores cupcakes down at a table full of teenagers, then bustled off to do help someone else, tying his apron tighter around his waist as he went. “Start only accepting cards? I dunno, Pep! I’ve never had this exact problem before!”

“Easy does it, son.” Colonel Rhodes was acting as impromptu security, and clapped his hand down on the shoulder of someone who’d had every intention of ditching the long line at the register and running out with their cookies. “Back in line with everyone else, or you and I are going to have a problem.”

“I love you.” Tony stood on his toes to smeck a kiss to Rhodey’s cheek. “Thank you, you’re the best.”

“I’m getting paid for this, right?” Rhodey called over the noise of happy customers. “Tony? I gave up date night and sex with my fiancee for this nonsense, am I getting paid?”

“You’re getting paid in my ever lasting devotion!” Tony called back, and he was still laughing at Rhodey’s entirely disgruntled expression when he whirled around to get back to the kitchen--

--and ran smack into a rock wall.

“Ooph.” Tony just about splatted on the bakery floor, but the rock wall was connected to a set of strong arms and big hands that snatched him right back up, and all those muscles were topped off by bright blue eyes and a hell of a smile and--

“Oh!” Tony’s dark eyes lit in excitement. “Oh hey! You guys made it!”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Steve set Tony back on his feet and stepped back to give the busy baker room to breathe. “Almost couldn’t get in the door though. It’s packed in here.”

“For good reason, too.” Bucky shouldered his way in between Steve and Tony and grinned around a mouthful of cupcake. “This is amazing, Tony. Somehow, even better than the apple cake.”

“Just wait until you taste the cream filled ones.” Tony cheesed, and immediately, predictably, Bucky about choked to death on his current snack. “Steve, have you had anything yet?”

“Can’t get to the counter.” Steve motioned behind them to the packed display. “Not real sure where Bucky got his from.”

“I pushed through th’fuckin’ crowd till I got one.” Bucky said blandly. “Stop being such a wimp and use that size for something other than keeping that big head upright. Push people, it’s fine.”

“Its absolutely not fine.” Tony laughed out loud at Bucky’s faux innocent expression. “But I’ll let it slide cos I’m having a good night and cos you’re both so damn good looking. Stay right here, I’ll grab you something from the back.”

Tony was gone in a whirl of floral apron and the scent of sugary frosting, and Steve elbowed Bucky with a grin, “You hear that? I’m damn good looking.”

“He said we’re damn good looking.” Bucky corrected. “And he’s probably a little dazed, seeing’s how he bounced off your tits and went flying like that. Probably gave the guy a concussion.”

“Please don’t call them tits in public, Buck.”

“It’s better than tiddy-knockers, right?”

“Everything is better than tiddy knockers.”

“Then stop complaining.”

Tony was back in a split second with a fresh cupcake for Bucky and one for Steve as well, and the ‘tits vs tiddy knockers’ conversation was forgotten in favor of huge mouthfuls of frosting and all the appropriate moans and groans that amazing desserts deserved.

“I do love when pretty boys make those sort of noises.” Tony clapped his hands in delight over Bucky and Steve’s obvious approval. “But I’ve got another ten dozen cupcakes to get boxed and out the door. You guys have a good time, alright?”

“We uh--” Bucky licked a glob of frosting off his thumb. “We’re not leaving, right?”

“Are you kidding me?” Steve tore the wrapper off his cupcake and tossed it into a nearby bin. “Tony’s apron has flowers on it today. He’s got a little flour in his curls and he smells like a candy store. Where the hell are we gonna go?”

“That’s why I love you.” Bucky leaned in and kissed his boyfriend for a long minute. “We’re really gonna do this, huh? Spend more time with Tony?”

“It was your idea, Buck.” Steve pointed out. “Your emergency.”

“Yeah, but you know damn well you get to make the call on this sorta thing.” Bucky was rarely serious, but he was certainly serious now, pale eyes searching Steve’s darker blue for any sign of insecurity. “Cos we could eat these sorta ridiculously good cupcakes, buy a dozen and just go home and forget it.”

“Yeah we could.” Steve caught Tony’s eyes from across the room and smiled when the smaller brunette bit his lip and then looked away. “But I say we get a table and wait until it dies down a little so we can talk to Tony some more. What about you?”

“What about me?” Bucky finished his cupcake and yoinked the rest of Steve’s right out of his hand. “I think I’ve changed my mind and we’re gonna need two dozen of these, cos I’m gonna eat at least ten by myself and since Clint is coming over tomorrow and he can smell cake from three city blocks away--”

“Yep. Two dozen it is.”

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

“I love you.” Tony yanked Pepper down and kissed her square on the lips as the last of the customers wandered out of Sweet Peach nearly three hours later. “I dunno why I thought I could handle this all by myself.”

“You do love me.” Pepper wiped a smudge of chocolate from Tony’s cheek and smiled fondly down at him. “I’m glad I told the girls at work about this, hm? Sure got busy quick.”

“Yeah, I’ll barely have enough supplies for tomorrow’s baking.” Tony smoothed down his wrinkled apron and blew out a deep breath. “I might have to close on Saturday so I can get over to the big warehouses for ingredients for next week, the truck won’t come through until Tuesday.”

“Seems like it’s a good problem to have.” James came back from turning off the Open sign, and pried his fiancee out of Tony’s arms, tapping his own cheek and grinning when Tony kissed him too. “Now then, should we talk about Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb ass over there? Any reason they’re still hanging out, and do I need to say anything about it?”

“Oh stop, Bucky and Steve are practically harmless.” Tony waved over at the boys, who promptly waved back. “I’m glad they stayed, I didn’t have two seconds to talk to them earlier.”

“They’re certainly hot.” Pepper remarked. “Not my type, but I could see why they are yours.”

“Not your type.” Tony repeated. “Pepper. Steve is like six and a half feet of homegrown American goodness and Bucky looks like something out of a vampire porno. Look at them. It’s like Superman and Ultra Hunky Batman. Not your type? They are everyone’s type. Rhodey’s straight as fuck, and they are Rhodey’s type. I wanna climb them like a tree and fondle their fruit.”

“I hated everything you just said.” James groaned and Pepper covered her mouth so her fiancee wouldn't see her laughing. “Don’t ever say any of those words again. Not the tree thing, not about them being my type. None of it.”

“Aw leave him be.” Pepper gathered up her purse, then handed over the key to the cash register. “You know baking and making money gets Tony all hot and bothered, let him climb trees all he wants.”

“You’re a true friend, Pepper.” Tony said solemnly, and Rhodey snorted, “I think you mean an enabler.”

“If you end up closing Saturday, let me know so we can get brunch.” Pepper buttoned into her coat and kissed Tony one more time. “Love you, Tony.”

“Love you.” Tony blew kisses at both his friends and walked them to the door. “Love you love you, thanks for your help tonight!”

The door closed with one last jangle and Tony locked it securely before taking a deep breath-- here we go-- and spinning around to send Bucky and Steve big smiles.

“Well boys. How was your first Sweet Peach Happy Hour?”

“Shit, Tony.” Steve really was just a whole lot of American goodness, and Tony’s fingers flexed idly remembering just how solid a rock wall chest he’d ran into earlier. “This was amazing. You did a really good job tonight.”

“Hell yeah you did, sugar.” Bucky propped his chin up in his hands and winked, and Tony-- damn Tony really did want to climb that guy like a tree. Pepper was right, baking and making money did get him all hot and bothered. “So. First of many happy hours?”

“Um, I don’t actually know.” Tony dragged the tip jar across the counter and dumped it out. “I mean, I don’t know if I can afford to go through so much product and prep every week. I’ve spent the last three days making frosting and freezing cupcakes just so I had enough and I still ran out.”

“Money was good, though?” Steve raised his eyebrows as Tony lay out stacks of dollar bills. “Or not worth it since everything was half off?”

“What if you do it on Fridays?” Bucky suggested. “That way you’re gettin’ rid of left overs from earlier in the week?”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Tony unlocked the cash register and stuffed the tips in. “You guys gonna hang out? I’ve got to do a little clean up and a little prep for tomorrow morning, but you’re welcome to stay?”

Then he paused-- “Even though, I should warn you. Try any funny business and I’ve got a gun so...”

“Jesus Christ.” Steve blurted, while Bucky cackled, “Fuck me, the little baker’s got a gun?”

“I just realized it was probably stupid of me to let two guys I barely know hang out after closing.” Tony admitted, feeling more than a little foolish at being so horny distracted that he’d potentially compromised his safety. “You gonna be cool?”

“Tony.” Bucky was still laughing too hard to answer, so it was up to Steve to assure him, “Tony honey, we’ve got nothing but good intentions. But if you want us to leave--”

“I don’t want you to leave.” Tony interrupted. “Its ah-- probably dumb? But I feel good about you two, so stick around.”

“Well now I dunno.” Bucky pushed his hair back from his eyes and waggled his eyebrows. “Now that I know you’ve got a gun, maybe I’m too scared to stay. You should probably convince me you’re safe.”

“Don’t be such a goddamn creep!” Steve hissed and Bucky hissed back, “I was just teasin’, Tony knows I’m not a creep!”

“I’m feeling pretty good about you not being a creep.” Tony agreed over a laugh of his own. “Steve, you want a drink? Bucky? Wine?”

“You grab some wine and I’ll take this.” Steve offered, coming around the table to take a stack of trays from Tony’s hands. “Bucky, get the rest of those trays. Tony, you got an industrial washer, or just a sink?”

“Industrial.” Tony relinquished the trays with a grateful sigh, and pulled a half drank bottle of wine from the cooler. “Thank you. You guys don’t have to help, but I’m definitely not going to say no.”

“We don’t mind.” Steve reached up and got Tony a wine glass from the rack, then set two more down alongside it. “Do we, Buck?”

“Oh it ain’t no thing, sweet thing.” Bucky sent him another wink. “But we should make Steve wash the trays while you and I drink. His tits look great beneath a wet shirt.”

Steve made a horrified squawking noise and Tony coughed wine all over the counter, all over his apron and right out his nose when he screeched in laughter. “His tits?!”

“Oooh yeah, I forgot he doesn’t like to call them that in public.” Bucky was no where near repentant. “Sorry babe.”

“I hate you.” Steve shoved the rest of the trays at his boyfriend, who staggered theatrically under the weight. “Tony, what else can I do to help you?”

“Ummm....” Tony gestured towards the mop in the corner. “Maybe clean the front room so I can get started on tomorrow’s prep.”

“No problem.”

Steve went to work mopping, Bucky went to work washing, and Tony started in on icing for the next days orders, sipping at his wine and glancing up at the two strangers in his bakery.

It probably was very stupid for him to let people he didn’t know at all stay behind in his place of business, but every instinct in Tony’s body told him he was safe with Steve and Bucky. Safe and probably in for a hell of a good time if their easy laughter and seriously ridiculous bodies were anything to go by.

Then again, the last time Tony had trusted his instinct and felt safe and like he was having the time of his life, everything had crashed and burned in a public, paparazzi style way. Some days he still felt like a fucking idiot for it all so maybe his instincts weren’t exactly trust worthy.

“Tony.” Bucky held up his phone and whistled sharply. “Can I play my music through your system, do you mind?”

“No.” Tony shook his head and cleared his thoughts. “No, music is fine. Go right ahead.”

“Thanks, doll.” Bucky tapped at his phone a few times and a minute later the first lines of The Joker by the Steve Miller Band warbled over the speakers.

“Some people call me the space cowboy!” Bucky sang at the top of his lungs, and out in the front Tony heard Steve shout, “Goddammit Bucky! Not this stupid song again!”

“SOME CALL ME THE GANGSTER OF LOVE!” Bucky belted and Tony grinned when Steve only groaned louder. “SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE!”

“I am so sorry about him, Tony.” Steve poked his head over the counter and sighed in Tony’s direction. “I’d blame it on him being drunk, but honestly Bucky is like this all the time.”

“I love it.” Tony poured Steve a glass and handed it over. “He’s a lot of fun. Lot more fun than my usual crowd anyway.”

“Cos I speak! Of the pompitous! Of lo-o-ve!”

“The Colonel seems nice.” Steve smacked his lips over the red wine and took another sip. “And the redhead, his fiancee? What’s her name?”

“The redhead is Pepper and she is a literal perfect angel.” Tony eyed the amount of powdered sugar in his mixing bowl, then threw in another cup for good measure. “The sour patch is James Rhodes. He’s my oldest friend, and they spent at least five years eye humping each other before I told them to either get naked or get the hell out because I couldn’t take the tension anymore.”

“They got naked?” Steve guessed, and Tony confirmed, “Just to be clear, I hadn’t meant ‘get naked’ right there in my living room but that’s exactly how they took it.”

“People talk about me, baby!”

“They’re getting married in a couple months and I could’t be happier for them.” Tony dunked in some vanilla extract and turned the mixer on. “But now they’re boring married people, so I guess it’s time for me to make new friends.”

He finger gunned at Steve and the blond chuckled at him. “Which is where you and Bucky come in, right?”

“I thought you said you didn’t want to do anything with a couple.” Steve pointed out, as Bucky caterwauled in the background. “Or has that changed since yesterday?”

“What, we can’t be friends?” Tony challenged, but there was a spark of hurt beneath the words he didn’t quite manage to cover, and he knew Steve caught it when the blue eyes shaded darker in curiosity. “I mean, I don’t want you guys taking me out on a date, but just hanging out it is fine.”

“Hanging out.” Steve repeated. “Yeah that’s-- that’s fine.”

“What’s fine?” Bucky came sauntering over his wine, tried to stick his finger in the mixing bowl and got his hand slapped with a spatula for the effort. “Ouch! Damn it! Tony, I washed pans for you! Don’t you think that deserves a taste of frosting?”

“Maybe when it’s done.” Tony laughed at him. “And I was just telling your hunky boyfriend that I don’t have a problem hanging out, so long as you guys are okay with it.”

“So what.” Bucky drained most of his glass in one go. “So we can’t take you out for drinks or try to ask you on a date, but we can hang out after closing and drink your wine?”

“That alright with you?” Tony waited with an uncomfortable knot of anxiety in his throat as the couple exchanged glances and seemed to have an entire non verbal conversation right there in front of him.

“On one condition.” Steve finally said, and Tony worked hard to keep his heart from plummeting. “We’re fine hanging out after closing and doing this sorta thing so long as you turn around and show us that sweet peach real quick.”

“Mr. Rogers.” Tony faux gasped to hide the sheer relief in his eyes. “What kind of baker do you take me for?”

“Show us the peach, damn it!” Bucky hollered, and Tony burst out laughing, whirling around and undoing the bow of his apron with a little sashay of his hips. Bucky banged on the counter and howled while Steve whistled in appreciation and Tony only rolled his eyes at them, redoing his apron and going back to work like he wasn’t blushing halfway to death.

Just that fast the mood was lightened again, one hour and then two passing before anyone noticed. The wine bottle emptied as they finished cleaning up, the music cranking while Bucky sang along to “really love your peaches, wanna shake you-or tree-ee-ee!” and when only frosting was left to do, Bucky and Steve sat down at the closest table and traded teasing and light hearted jokes over the noise of the mixer as Tony finished up.

“I think I love him.” Bucky muttered once when Tony ran back to the fridge for some more cream. “I mean seriously, Steve. How is he so cute? I wanna put him in my pocket and carry him around all day.”

“Tell me about it.” Steve finished putting Tony’s number in his phone and put it aside. “You catch that, though? How he’s all weird about dating?”

“Only one reason for that.” Bucky agreed immediately. “Just wouldn’t expect him to be all comfortable flirting with us if he’d had his heart broken, you know? He sure doesn’t seem to mind us looking.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Steve rolled his now empty wine glass between his hands. “And I know I’m gonna sound like a damn creeper when I say this, but holy shit Buck. I plan on doing a lot of looking.”

“I’m thinking of investing in binoculars just to make sure I stay up close and personal.” Bucky informed him and Steve shoved at his boyfriend. “What? I’m just saying it’d be easier to creep from a distance if I had--”

“Oh oh holy shit.” Steve’s hand clamped down on Bucky’s thigh hard enough to make the big brunette yelp in shock, and Steve only squeezed harder and hissed, “Shut the hell up and look at Tony right now.”

“Whad’ya mean look at Tony?” Bucky scowled and tried to pry Steve’s fingers off. “I’ve been lookin’ at him all night! We were just talking about this, Stevie! Remember? Binoculars? Long distance creeping?”

“Stop talking and look right now.” Steve insisted. “Buck, it’s an emergency.”

“No.” Bucky shook his head. “No no no no, you don’t get to make fun of me for calling Tony’s butt an emergency and then use the same word for something—“

“Bucky!”

Bucky’s mouth fell open when he finally rotated to get a better look at Tony and was treated to the sight of the adorable baker standing up on tiptoes straining to reach a bowl on a high shelf. Tony’s shirt had rucked up around his ribs, his leggings dragged down a little by his apron and—

“Holy shit. That is a fucking emergency.” Bucky wheezed and Steve nodded frantically. “Look at his tummy. Look at his— oh fuck me runnin’ is that a belly button ring?”

“He’s so soft I’m gonna die.” Steve whispered mournfully. “He’s so soft Buck, it ain’t fair.”

“It ain’t fair.” Bucky echoed in the same wheezy tone. “How’m I sposed to sleep tonight knowing Tony’s got a belly button ring?”

“See something you like, boys?” Tony cocked an eyebrow at his future hook up new friends. “What’s with all the whispering?”

“Just havin’ a perfectly casual conversation about your belly button ring.” Bucky squeaked, and normally Steve would have stepped in with something less stupid to say, but he was too busy still staring.

“Oh yeah?” Tony set the bowl down and came around the corner, lifting up his his shirt a little and inwardly preening over the half strangled noise Steve made. Oh yeah, these two were gonna do wonders for his rather trashed self esteem. “This old thing? I’ve been meaning to get the charm changed to a cupcake, but I guess the blue gem does the trick for right now.”

“Uhhhh yep.” Both Steve and Bucky’s eyes were zeroed in on Tony’s navel, and for the first time in a very long time, Tony didn’t feel self conscious about his less than six pack tummy. Nope, basically impossible to feel anything but sexy when these two were all but drooling over him.

“I’d say it does the trick.” Steve breathed , clenching his fists like it was taking all his self control not to reach out and touch. “How-- who-- I mean what um-- how long have you-- is it uh--Bucky? Help.”

“Nope. M’just as stupid as you are right now.” Bucky was no help at all, staring just as hungrily at Tony’s stomach. “Shit, sweet thing. You’re gonna kill me.”

“Well I hope you don’t perish before we get to the good part.” Tony said dryly, and two sets of heart stoppingly vivid blue eyes shot up to meet his gaze. “Which is of course, tasting the frosting I’ve been making for the last hour.”

“Yep.” Bucky nodded. “Frosting.”

“So much...” Steve gulped. “Frosting.”

Tony left them there slack jawed and hilariously dumb, but he was whistling as he went to get them each a spoonful of icing to try.

It’d been a year, but apparently he still had it.

Good to know, since there’d been a time he didn’t think he was worth looking at in any capacity at all.

“Aw honey.” Tony sang quietly, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Oh sugar sugar. You are my candy boy...”

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

SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHAPTER!

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

@ships-galore @ceealaina @izziebladez @cwar1864 @hausoffro @lookuplaughing @tonystarkisanangel @multishippinglife @girlnic @iam93percentstardust @water-colouredmemories @paranormalmoonlight5 @igotloki @moosette05 @wayward-student-philosopher @kaz-brekkers-gloves @atomicfandombomb @desitonystark @1fuckingshitup69 @agentlokii

@thanossucks @thebuckybrigade @fanfic-up-to-my-tits @starknakedsluts @basiad @everything-is-applepie @kimstark

#ncts fics #stuckony #stucky #winteriron #stony #tony stark #steve rogers #bucky barnes #bakery au

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adramaticbeauty · 4 years

Text

Clouded Dreams

Gray took slow steps up the cobblestone staircase. He could feel the pulse of his heart beating faster as the seconds passed like minutes. How long had it been since he had seen Juvia's smiling face? He couldn't remember the last time he had last looked into her cerulean blue eyes.

He couldn't deny he was feeling nervous, but a good nervous. He was excited to see her, and he could feel the sweat forming on his palms in anticipation. He took a deep breath as he stared at the chips in the wooden door, gripping the lilies in his hands even harder. This must be the place, it was the only house at least 5 miles from town. Cana had specifically instructed him to go in the woods and take a right from the creek until he reached a wooden cottage with a white shingle roof and cobblestone stairs. He could hear Cana's voice in his head.

"Juvia got her own place now y'know. She moved out of Fairy Hills to be on her own in the woods. The girls were pretty upset about it too since she baked cookies for everyone on Tuesday every week, but they understood."Cana shrugged as she yawned and took a gulp of beer from her almost empty mug.

But suddenly Cana grew quiet for a minute, most likely thinking carefully of what she would say next.

"Gray...things may have changed from when you were last here 3 years ago. Everyone has changed in some way or another, even if you stayed the same. But you should accept that things have changed. Alright?"

Gray blinked and then stared at her suspiciously.

"What do you mean Cana?"

She took a big hearty gulp from her new barrel of beer until she met Gray with dark eyes that had grown dead serious.

"You will see."

In fact he had seen that look from everyone in the guild when he returned from his long journey, and it set his nerves on edge a bit. As soon as he stepped into the guild there were shouts of celebrations and drinks of beer being offered, but every time he questioned someone about the absence of Juvia, there was an uncomfortable air of silence. Then there was a mumble of a crazy excuse before a look of sympathy was seen.

He wanted to become a better version of himself for Juvia, but for that he needed self reflection. He needed to discover more about himself, and maybe then he could finally deserve Juvia's love and be strong enough to protect her. So she would never suffer because of him again. That's why he struck out on his own, in hopes of accomplishing his goal.

It had been 3 long years, but he knew Juvia would always wait for him. She always did. Those were the thoughts that were reverberating in his mind as he lifted his fist to knock quietly on the door. He took one last breath before he braced himself, but for what he didn't know. There was silence for a moment. Then a series of shuffles, before the handle of the door shook violently. The familiar shade of ocean blue quietly came into view as the door slowly opened.

His breath caught in his throat as he couldn't help but feel the corner of his lips lifting. She was just as he remembered, but her face was messy from flour from what he guessed was cake batter that she was steadily mixing in a bowl. Her messy blue locks were smoothed into a ponytail. As she took in the view, her eyes slightly bugged as she dropped the bowl in her hand and squealed. Gray couldn't help but put on a wide smile. But that smile steadily melted off his face when he saw another person come into view.

"Juvia are you okay? I told you I would answer the door y'know-".

A man with a worried look on his face was examining Juvia, worry etched on his features. A look of confusion dawned on the man before he followed Juvia's shocked filled eyes. He brushed a strand of his messy dark brown hair out of his face to glance at who was at the door. Gray locked eyes with the stranger, his coal colored ones with the mans emerald green. There was tension in the air and Juvia could feel it. But Gray's mind was going a mile a minute, now focused on something else entirely. Who the hell was this guy in Juvia's house?

"Um, who is this Juvia?" The man asked, confusion in his voice and his eyebrows raised in alarm.

"I could ask the same question." Gray inquired. The pit of his stomach swirled, and he felt sick to his stomach. Juvia was nervously looking between the men before she scrambled to justify herself.

"Deren, can you please give Juvia a second to talk to her friend? She will be right back." The word 'friend' cut him deeper than a knife.

He couldn't even wrap his mind around this whole crazy scenario. The man nodded and locked eyes with Gray once more, this time out of protectiveness. Like he was warning Gray to try something. Gray couldn't help but glare back and grit his teeth. This man had a lot of nerve, considering the scenario where he would ever hurt Juvia was offensive. Juvia carefully shut the door as she stepped out onto the porch, her clothes still covered in flour.

"Gray~sama, when did you get back to Magnolia? It's been such a long time, she doesn't even remember how long it has been! Juvia has been worried sick..." She could feel the lump beginning to form in her throat and tears were gathering in her eyes just remembering the immense pain she felt accepting the truth that Gray left her once more.

"Are you sure, Juvia? Or did you forget me, to be with that guy in your house?" Gray seethed. He couldn't stop the venomous words from leaving his lips. Her eyes narrowed.

" Gray~sama is the one that left Juvia, or did that detail slip your mind?" Juvia took a deep breath before she continued.

"Gray...Juvia needs to explain before you jump to conclusions." Juvia could feel Gray's eyes watching her every move silently. She let out a sigh as she stared at the ground with a downcast expression. She thought for a minute before she started.

"Juvia was left for 3 years Gray. With zero warning of you leaving. She didn't even get a goodbye. She had to hear it from her guildmates. Do you think that was fair to Juvia?"

Gray gulped as he pondered an answer. But he knew it wasn't fair, it fact nowhere near.

"Juvia I-"

"No, Gray~sama. Juvia thought for a long time about what she would say when she saw you again. Did you honestly expect her to wait for whenever you came back?"

"Juvia, you said you would always wait for me! What happened to that, huh?"

"That was when she was younger! Things change, just like Juvia has. She was very depressed when you left her so suddenly again. She never thought you would do it again after the first time, but silly Juvia. Then she met Deren-" Juvia was cut off from the frustrated groan of an irritated Gray.

"Juvia who the hell is that man to you?"Gray spit, venom seeping from his words . He couldn't not know any longer, and his impatience was getting to him. Juvia flinched, closing her eyes in surprise. Gray lowered his tone.

" Please...I just need to know."

She then whispered something that made Gray's whole world freeze in less than a few seconds.

"He is Juvia's husband. Gray~sama, Juvia has moved on now and she is happily married you see."

Gray felt his heart racing a mile a minute. He could feel the beating in his ears overcome everything else surrounding him. The pit of his stomach was in a whirlwind, and his mind couldn't fathom the concept Juvia...was someone else's now. He was right, as much as he knew he would have given anything to be wrong. She was always his, ever since she had first met him. Gray could do nothing but swallow the lump in his throat and stare at the ground in a daze.

He couldn't bring himself to look at her, or he was sure he would act out of character. He had taken her love for granted all these years, and the thought of it being taken away from him and being given to someone else tore him up inside.Why didn't he listen to Erza, when she gave him advice so long ago? She told him Juvia wouldn't wait forever. He just thought, maybe Juvia wouldn't leave him behind like all the others.

"I left for you Juvia. I left to become a better person for you." You could hear the dejection in his voice taking over. "I- the only thing that kept me going was the dream of us being together. Me being good enough for you."

"Don't you see Gray? You were always good enough for Juvia, you just needed to be there for her when she needed you the most, and that's when you were gone. Juvia...just couldn't be alone anymore." Juvia couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She never knew how much it would hurt when she actually had to tell Gray this to his face. How much it would kill her.

"So this is it Juvia? After all we been through, you would choose this guy that didn't even save you from the rain?"He knew it sounded pompous but at this point he didn't even care. He was losing her and that was the only thing occupying his clouded mind.

"Gray, you did save Juvia from the rain. But you didn't keep the rain away, because you didn't stay with Juvia. She is truly sorry, she fell in love with another. But that man in there, comforted and cared when you didn't for 3 years. Juvia was sure you didn't care anymore so she moved on. Now...it's time for you to do the same Gray~sama."She wiped the remaining tears off her face with one swift motion, as if she was cutting off all remaining connections with him. She had left him.

As he left from those woods he knew nothing would ever be the same again, especially when it starting raining harder than it ever had before in the town of Magnolia.

Every word she muttered was like a stab to his heart. And it hurt like hell. That's what his life would be like without her now. Hell. Even when he eventually stopped hurting constantly, those words still haunted his dreams, and he knew. He would never truly move on from Juvia, and her love would forever be only in his dreams.

End- Wow this was probably the worst angst fanfic I ever made but at least I’m back :D. Hope you enjoyed my trash!

#gray fullbuster #juvia loxar #Juvia x Gray #gruvia #gruvia fanfics #fanfics #angst

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jadeile-writes · 4 years

Text

Fanfic Progress Update 46

Oh, hi! Is it Saturday already? Well, then! Fanfic Progress Update! Stay tuned to the end of this post for a spoiler-y glimpse into the next chapter of Adventure Gone Mini AND the next chapter of Shit, the Radio Demon is a part of my afterlife.

Current WIPs:

Adventure gone Mini

Fandom: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild / The Minish Cap

Summary: Sidon is given his very own Sheikah Slate, the first replica Purah has managed to make, and sets out to travel with Link with the intention of registering warp points for convenient travel in the future. However, when a malfunction shrinks them down to the size of bugs, and they meet little people called the Minish, they have to change their plans from “fun adventuring” to “getting out of this mess”. Not that those two have to exclude one another. Link/Sidon.

Progress: Chapter 33 is the current latest chapter and was posted on 8th of January. Chapter 34 is halfway done and the scheduled posting date is 29th of January. This chapter is super fun to write, you guise.

I update this fic every three weeks on Wednesdays.

—–

Shit, the Radio Demon is a part of my afterlife

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: Husk is just your everyday demon, minding his own business and living his afterlife mostly in self-caused misery. He’s been at it for about ten years when he rather abruptly finds himself on the Radio Demon’s radar. Suddenly his life becomes a lot more interesting. For fuck’s sake, he did not ask for this bullshit. Alastor/Husk.

Progress: Chapter 7 is the current latest chapter, and was published on 10th of January. Chapter 8 will be published on 14th of January, and chapter 9 on 17th of January. The rest of the chapters are done and waiting for their turn; the final count is 16.

I update this fic every Tuesday and Friday!

—–

Fine, be a part of my afterlife, jackass! (previously known as Afterlife the Complementary Text)

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: This is not a stand-alone story! This is a compilation of additional “filler” chapters that go between the chapters of “Shit, the Radio Demon is a part of my afterlife”, starting from chapter 7. Read the main story up to that point or further before bothering with this one.

Every chapter of Afterlife is vital to the story: they bring the plot forward, each introduces a new development, each has a reason for being included. The chapters in this, however, are the ideas that couldn’t fit in Afterlife, because they don’t bring the story forward. So, additional fun Husk and Alastor content for this universe, because I feel like it!

Progress: Chapter 1 (or ch.7½ ) is finished and will be posted on 12th of January (Sunday. Tomorrow. Yay!) Chapter 2 (ch.7½ the second) is half done and I hope to get it done by 13th of January (Monday), but if not, then by either Wednesday or Thursday. Chapter 3 (ch.11½ ) is half done, no posting date yet. This fic is looking to be 7 chapters long at this time, but could still change.

So. This is happening now. I’ll be posting the chapters alongside the main story when we get to the point where they come in, assuming I’ve gotten them written out by that time. The updates will happen on the days I’m not posting anything else. Let’s see if I can manage this ^^;

Btw, there will be no sneak-peeks with this one. You’ll have to walk in blind each time ;)

—–

Drunk Alastor (workname)

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary (temporary): Roles are reversed in many ways when a drunk Alastor knocks on Husk’s door and has no intention of going to his own room for the night. And it only gets weirder from there, leaving Husk with a most unexpected arrangement with the Radio Demon. Alastor/Husk.

Progress: Okay. This was supposed to be a long oneshot, but the thing kept writing itself and then took an unexpected turn, I divided it into chapters, and now it has a plot and will be an actual chapter story. Chapters 1 and 2 are done. Chapter 3 has been started. The plan is to start posting this once Afterlife is done with, assuming that I have this mostly written by then.

—–

Other WIPs I’m not currently working on but intend to get back to someday:

PoE Drabbles (Pillars of Eternity)

DC Drabbles (Justice League)

Diaphanous Relations (Forgotten Realms, R.A. Salvatore’s books)

Rolling with it (Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

Possibly worth staying for (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Radiohusk that makes me question my life choices (Hazbin Hotel)

—–

That’s it for the WIPs! Here are the promised sneak-peeks into Mini and Afterlife. (Note: the text may end up slightly different in the fics themselves due to more editing happening before publishing). Enjoy!

Mini

The Hero statue started to freeze over. A pained grunt sounded in the air, and Link recognized the voice as Sidon's. Hylia damn it! Link grabbed the only boot he had left and tossed it to the right, as far as he could. An ice ray followed immediately, and Link took the opportunity to jump to the left, leaving his shelter. He locked his sight on his enemy, who was looking confusedly in the wrong direction now.

Afterlife

A few years flew by and Husk's friendship with Alastor grew steadier now that he had accepted it and was more or less embracing it. He still made sure to grumble about Alastor being a thorn on his side almost every time they met, but he only meant it sometimes, when Alastor was actually being a fucking pain in the ass. Which he was often enough, and he knew it, too. The bastard did it on purpose more often than not, so he had Husk's complaints coming and deserved every single one of them. There were moments of real camaraderie mixed in as well. For one, Alastor cooked for him all the damn time, whether Husk needed it or not, or even expected it. Alastor simply loved to cook and seemed over the moon with joy at having another person eating the food he made, which also enabled him to cook more often. By now Husk was so used to jambalaya, gumbo, dirty rice, and all things crawfish and shrimp that he felt like he had eaten them all his life. Alastor loved baking as well, so Husk now always had beignets or pecan cake or pecan pie or pecan cookies or pecan anything really in his food stash if he needed something sweet. Alastor didn't much care for sweets, so Husk basically had to eat all of it whenever the guy had the sudden urge to bake. If Husk wasn't almost anorexic levels of skinny regardless of how little or much he ate, he would worry about getting fat with the way he was being fed nowadays.

That’s it this time. See you next Saturday!

AO3 FFnet Purple Crayon Ko-fi

#fanfic progress update

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sailormoondust · 5 years

Text

Training wheels - Huang RenJun

(Cry baby series 1/16)

Huang RenJun x Na JaeMin

Warnings: teenagers! AU, light mention of WinKun, violence, bullying. Smut.

RenJun was always something that people would describe as “pure”. And that made many boys go crazy for him. They wanted his innocence and his weakness. Only to corrupt his mind.

To be fair, RenJun was beautiful to them. To everyone. He was the type of person you would expect to have lots of ex’s waiting for a text from him for a one night stand or something that teenagers think that a healthy relationship is about. But he was totally the opposite. A shy Chinese exchange student that didn’t knew that much of the Korean language.

One day, RenJun went out for a walk to the little park that was near his house. His parents weren’t worried, his little RenJun was a big boy now, they trusted in him. Plus the neighborhood was a very secure and small place. SiCheng and Kun knew that they had raised their son well.

RenJun went to a really calm place to read his favorite book. But the evening would not be as peaceful as he thought. As soon as he started reading his book, a boy crashed his bicycle into a tree. The boy fell from his bike and landed on the hard soil of the forest, knocking out immediately.

RenJun was confused. How could someone faint by crashing into a tree. But what could he know, he was just 15. The boy seemed to be around his age, but fairly taller than him. Maybe 20 cm taller than him... —That is.... Even bigger than Dada Kun!— the only boy who wasn’t unconscious though. He grabbed the bicycle and placed it near the tree. Then he ducked down to see the boy clearly. He had brown hair that looked fluffy, white skin and was dressed in a blue shirt with white shorts. His mommy was going to be mad at him when she discovers that he stained the shorts. Or maybe his dad is going to be mad. RenJun doesn’t know. He doesn’t cares tho.

RenJun adjusted his glasses in his nose. He moved closer to seethe boy. When he suddenly opened his eyes and sat on the floor, causing RenJun to jump backwards and to hit the hard ground with his butt.

—What am I doing here? Who are you?— the unknown boy asked.

—I-I don’t know. You came here with your bicycle and crashed into a tree. Then you passed out.— Remjun was kinda shocked.

—Really? Well I’m sorry. I don’t know how to ride a bike yet.— the strange boy seemed to be embarrassed about the fact that he was already a high schooler and didn’t knew how to even ride a bike. Let alone drive.

—You don’t?— RenJun asked curiously, he didn’t talked often with other people, so it was unusual for him to hear that somebody couldn’t ride a bike. His Daddy SiCheng thought him how to do it. —I can teach you if you want!—

RenJun seemed excited for the idea, this could be his opportunity to make another friend. It wasn’t that he was bored of ChenLe, his best —and only— friend. But he wanted to make another friend. Maybe the 3 of them could be best friends and do sleepovers!

—Would you do that for me?—

—Sure. I mean, why not? You seem to need help and I am an expert. — Said RenJun as he got up form the ground and lifted a foot to put it on the tree log he was sitting before the boy crashed. Forming an “heroic” pose.

—Thank you— the boy said — What’s your name by the way?—

—RenJun. Huang RenJun. Yours?— RenJun asked smiling.

—JaeMin. Na JaeMin.

RenJun didn’t knew the terrible situation that he had got into. Everyone on JaeMin’s school knew that he was a player. He took the best out of girls and boys and then leaved them. But RenJun was in another school, the one who lets you put pins in your uniform sweater. RenJun had a moo in one.

Both of the boys went to the place they met every Tuesdays and Thursdays. Only to teach JaeMin to ride his bike. But RenJun started to feel strange around Na. But not that kind of creepy strange, but good strange. Do you know what he means? Nah, he doesn’t even knows to be fair. Maybe it was the milkshake his Dada Kun have to him before coming. Or the cookies his Daddy SiCheng baked.

He felt a weird thing when he saw JaeMin. Every time they met he felt so happy, but so nervous at the same time. He wanted to puke and smile at the same time. And when Na gripped his hands searching for balance he could faint.

—Junnie, I’m so tired— the older cried. —Lets do something else—

—Okay. What do you want to do?— RenJun was thinking on grabbing some snacks, or going to the park games. Even going to the arcade that was 4 streets below his house.

—Come here RenJunnie, I want to play a game—

Renjun wasn’t concious of how he got into that situation. His legs were trembling and if it wasn’t because of the tree he had leaned on, he would have already fallen 5 minutes ago.

—Fu-Fuck... You are a fucking dumb Jun— JaeMin was at his highest.

—Ahh...Ack-Ahhhg...— And RenJun was a moaning disaster. His chin was dripping with his sweat, and his back was slippery.

But RenJun was happy, his parents always told him that he had to give his special gift to the person he truly loved. And that person was JaeMin. The clumsy boy with a the big smile.

RenJun was walking to their meeting point. Face flustering every time he remembered one of those pitiful whines that came out of his mouth the day before. Halfway through the road he found Na, riding his bicycle at full speed. Riding without his training wheels.

Both of them stopped a meters away from the other.

—Hey, JaeMinnie~ I- I have something to... to tell you— the smaller claimed. — I... I really really really really like you! I mean... I think I’m in- in love w-with you...— RenJun wanted to mentally and physically slap himself. How can he be so stupid?

JaeMin only smirked. He knew that. RenJun was a sweet and cute guy. But he took the best out of him and it was useless for him at this point. So JaeMin just started to ride his bike again. Getting closer to RenJun.

Huang leaned for a kiss. A kiss that never came. JaeMin just passed by him.

— I love everything you do! When you call me fucking dumb for the stupid shit I do! — RenJun thought there was something wrong. This is not like the stories his Daddy SiCheng used to read him when he was younger.

But JaeMin just got away in his bike. Smiling. He was satisfied with what he did, not a single drop of regret. The next day RenJun went to the place where JaeMin told him he lived, but the house was empty. A cute old woman told him that the family that used to live there moved out of the country the day before. Na was gone. He just disappeared. And with him, RenJun’s happiness.

Needless to say, RenJun never went to the park again. And he never rode his bike again.

-SåilorMøønDūst

#renjun #huang renjun #jaemin #na jaemin #nct #nct u #nct 127 #nct dream #nct smut #nct dream smut #nct oneshot #melanie martinez #training wheels

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thedistantstorm · 4 years

Text

Dawning Delights 01: Holiday Lights

Summary: Hawthorne invites her newfound family in the Tower to experience a City-Style Dawning with the family that took her in years ago. The holiday is not without it’s charm, or aggravation, and certainly has plenty of surprises in store. A season-inspired, trope-tastic story about a family forged by something greater than blood, finding reasons to enjoy the season - and cherish each other.

Pairings: Hawthorne/Zavala, Sloane/Amanda, Devrim/Marc

Updated every Tuesday/Friday & both holiday eve and days for Christmas and New Years.

This was always her busiest time of year. The Clans always had their largest number of squabbles - she felt like a babysitter at most of their council meetings - this time of year, and almost always seemed to find ways to faceoff with the Factions (more-so than usual). Half of her time was spent putting out fires, and the other half was spent on home visits and making herself available to the City’s most vulnerable.

Then, of course, add in the grown-up babies that were the Guardians of the Tower (and their Clans), the Consensus, and the Farm’s day-to-day affairs, and Suraya barely has a moment to breathe.

Admittedly, she enjoys it. It's nice to be busy and even nicer to get off the wall and spend time in the concrete and plasteel jungle that was the Last City, still in the throes of rebuilding. Of course, her body protests at the end of a long day, but eight out of ten times she comes home to a heating pad, a mug of tea, and takeaway courtesy of an attentive partner.

He apologizes every time he gets stuck late, as though he’s some golden-age housewife who’s responsible for her well-being. She usually just eats dinner in bed - to his horror - and falls asleep tablet-in-hand with a message half-typed yelling at him that she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Most nights like those she wakes to Ghost light and gentle chiding - from the both of them (Zavala telling her she needs to take care of herself and his Ghost humming some rendition of the pot calling the kettle).

She’s getting soft, she knows it, and she finds she can't bring herself to care. They’ve had their ups and downs, come together and drifted apart since crossing paths more than two years ago. This is… different. A lived-in, domestic sort of luxury - adapted to practical use, of course - that she relishes.

Hawthorne steps out of the elevator and back into the Tower proper, bag slung over her shoulder and a tin of cookies in her hand and stops.

Bright, warm lanterns lights the railings and ribbons are draped between the buildings. The sounds of bells being jingled by the wind is pleasant and soft, muffled by weather and mild snowfall.

It’s picturesque. Perfect.

Suraya takes a deep breath in and lets it go. She really does love this time of year.

“D’ya like it? Do ya, do ya?”

She hears Amanda before she sees her, and turns herself around in time to be tackled.

“Eva got here this morning while you were out,” The Shipwright informs her, giddy. Amanda’s happiness is infectious and Suraya can’t help but squeeze her friend tight, smiling as she continues. “We waited for ya, Zavala got us reservations for dinner. He said we should be celebratin’ and I agree.” She jerks a thumb at some hanging banners. “I mean it’s practically done. Her frames are fast!”

“Apparently,” Suraya agrees. “Do I have time to shower or-”

“Take your time. I’m sure Zavala built in time for you to get ready, dear,” Eva interjects, approaching them with help from her cane. She’s got baubles under her other arm. They exchange a one-armed embrace, one (former) de-facto leader to another. Eva pats her hand when they part, eyes taking on a knowing look. “I’ve heard stories,” She says with a wry tone. “I apologize in advance. I can’t help but tease him. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him so… radiant.”

“Aww,” Amanda drawls as Suraya flushes. “Y’really do make a cute-”

“Enough.”

Both women turn back to see a very smug looking Zavala lingering a short distance away.

She takes one look at him in the new lighting and scoffs, “Ugh, he is radiant,” To the two of them, detangling herself from Amanda who’d lached back onto her arm, and Eva who still holds one of her hands. They laugh as she heads toward Zavala. “I’m going to get ready.”

“You’re sure you-” He’s silenced by a hand on his chest.

“You’re not going out in armor, are you?”

“No, but I wanted to make sure you were okay with-” She smiles at him and he falls silent, much to the amusement of the duo standing behind her. “Fair enough." He directs his gaze over her shoulder. "We will meet you back here in about an hour.”

“We’ll go try to convince Ikora to join us,” Amanda informs them. “And when that fails, we’ll grab Shaxx.”

“We’re not covering his bar tab,” Hawthorne throws, over her shoulder, already heading back to their flat. “Tell him that when you invite him.”

Amanda’s giggling rings loud in the cool evening air. No doubt she remembers the last time they’d gone for a nice dinner and Shaxx had single-handedly drank more than the worth of the rest of the group’s food and drink combined.

It’s not a secret. It’s never really been a secret. Work has always been work - professional, polite - and home has always been separate and their own personal business. Of course, they both bring their work home with them, so it wasn’t exactly that cut and dry, but what relations they had were never meant to be brought into the workplace.

On this, though, they were doomed from the start. Too many of their co-workers (a loose term, considering the myriad of organizational charts and the lines drawn across them to create a tangled picture of the Tower’s personnel infrastructure) were in the know, and even more-so, they’re both highly recognizable figures within the City’s core operations.

To most, it seemed right. Appropriate. Two level-headed individuals, with similarly aligned goals - the success, safety, and greater good of the City - and a backstory that was unmatched. The criminal and the commander: there were horribly done movies (and possibly an all-Ghost theatrical production, they never had the courage to look) made about this.

“I don’t think we’re making it through this Dawning without the everyone knowing,” She says to him as she steps out of the shower, drying off with a towel while he pulls a sweater over his collared shirt.

“I think the people would speculate no matter what we do,” He reasons, always level-headed in his thinking. “Even if we had no interaction. They suspected the Drifter was-”

“Oh, please tell me you’re going to bring that up at dinner,” She interrupts. “I want to see Eva yell at Shaxx sooo badly. He always gets so outraged.”

“Absolutely not. He’ll get us kicked out of the restaurant.”

She lets the towel drop to the floor and smirks as his gaze is drawn downward before padding into their adjoined bedroom and past him to their closet. “You do know people feel ‘blessed,’” She air-quotes, “When Shaxx pulls his theatrics in a public place, right?”

Zavala seems to materialize behind her, hand on her bare hip. He’s stealthy without his armor. “I’d like not to encourage him, if we can help it.”

“Mmm,” She agrees, and Zavala drops his nose and lips to her shoulder, dragging kisses across her skin. “You know we don’t have time for that,” She tells him, when he doesn’t back away afterward. “You’re the one who made the reservations.”

“You’re the one thinking about it,” He teases back. “If I thought we had time, I wouldn’t have dressed.”

She turns around and kisses him, hard. When his grip on her hip tightens, she draws back. “Now what?”

He might lick his lips, a bit swollen thanks to her nipping at them, but doesn’t take the bait. “Now,” He says, ushering her back to the closet, voice dipping low, “You’re going to get dressed and then we’re going to go to dinner with our colleagues and each drink one glass of wine short of being hungover tomorrow.”

“And after?” She queries, plucking out a sweater and scarf from her things.

He grins. “We’ll see.”

The restaurant is dimly lit, but has beautiful festive lanterns strung all over. Most of them are plain, but a half dozen depict snowflakes and baubles relevant to the season. Eva comments on them to Zavala as Hawthorne orders wine for the table, ignoring Shaxx’s commentary on scotch. He’s not allowed to start before the appetizers; It’s wine or bust.

When crusty, fresh-baked bread is brought out, Hawthorne eyes Zavala, whose Ghost appears in a delicate blink and transmats a stack of envelopes into her waiting hands. She distributes them amidst murmured commentary from the rest of the group, rolling her eyes.

“What’s this?” Amanda asks, when it’s clear everyone else has gotten their jibes about her and Zavala's relationship out of their system.

She’d gone over this in her head, and doing it once Eva arrived only seemed fair. Best to invite everyone as early as possible, Marc insisted on a head-count at least a week out, for the sake of his preparations. Still, she felt a bit exposed, offering up her life like this to them, even if they’d all become rather close over the last few years.

“Well, uh,” She laughs a little, out of her element. “I thought it might be nice for all of us to get together for the Dawning. I know everyone has their own traditions and plans, but my family always did a big feast growing up and we thought it might be time to expose you to a real City-style Dawning. Obviously,” She glances to Eva, “You’re welcome any time. We have enough room to-”

“Wait,” Amanda interrupts scanning the fancy invite. “Is this from Marc? You ain’t the kind to use fancy-shmancy gold-embossed anything.”

“He likes to host,” Suraya answers. “And Zavala and I were already planning on joining him for dinner-”

Shaxx leans forward before Amanda can chime in with a snarky comment about their relationship status. “I, for one, would be honored to join in your family's celebration. Let me know what I can bring.”

Hawthorne nods. He won’t be bringing anything if Marc has his way, but no sense in dealing with the specifics just yet.

Amanda squeals. “I’m so excited. We always did stuff in the Tower, but this is a big deal!” She looks at Zavala, green eyes gentle. “Obviously-”

“I know what you mean,” Zavala agrees. He’d had the experience Eva gave him, but a true Dawning in the way of the City’s denizens was never something he’d been able to pull off for his self-appointed ward. His knee nudges Suraya’s under the table. If she’d been nervous about it - and she had, he could see it on her face - it melts away in an instant. “I’m looking forward to it. Marc is an excellent cook.”

“So is Dev gonna come home? It’s not a real family affair without ‘im,” Amanda presses.

Hawthorne frowns. “We’re working on it. The Farm is a bit sparse, this time of year, and the Guardians are… manic with all the celebrating. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to swing it, but he’s going to try. Either way, Marc is just excited that I’m bringing friends home. He kind of missed that phase with my whole wandering outside the City thing.” Amanda laughs and dips her head, sipping her wine.

Unnoticed by Suraya, wise brown eyes find Zavala’s. She smirks, but covers it quickly with her hand. Nothing, absolutely nothing, escapes old Eva.

The conversation continues around them. Amanda muses, “Well, he’s certainly gonna have his hands full. Y’gonna invite Saladin?” She glares at Shaxx, who bristles immediately. “If y’did, tell Marc to sit me between them at dinner. It’s for the best for e’rybody. ‘S what we used to do for my birthday parties.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Hawthorne considers, serious. Everyone laughs.

“I’m sure it will be a lovely celebration,” Eva adds with a smile. “I already promised Tess I would spend time with her, but we’ll do our best to stop by afterwards.”

"Please do. We always have enough leftovers for a week. The number of mouths he's feeding won't change the ratio of food per person, there will be so much left over."

When everyone else goes their separate ways, Zavala gives in to the impulse to take her hand. Suraya looks over to him with a hint of a smile and allows herself to drift closer to him. Their upper arms touch, and her head finds his shoulder for a brief moment before she pulls away.

"This is impressive," Suraya gestures to the Tower around them. "If the frames could be programmed to help decorate the districts, I'd be out of a job."

"I assure you, you would not," He hums, admiring the decorations as well. "I don't know how she managed to secure enough frames. I assume she received help from the Redjacks. Arcite had tinsel hanging off his frame earlier."

She laughs. "He didn't."

"He did," Zavala insists, chuckling. His voice dips lower. "Everyone seems excited for your Dawning celebration," He continues.

She makes a non-committal hum. "Our Dawning celebration. Marc insists you're part of the family now. Bit weird when you start thinking about the age difference, but," They share a smile. It is what it is. "It'll be nice. I just wish Devrim would be able to come home, y'know? I get why he can't," She sighs when he pulls her closer, releasing her hand in lieu of wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Ugh. Ignore me, I've had too much wine. I know you tried to figure it out."

"It's fine," Zavala replies, smoothly as he can.

"I just, I haven't had this since I was a kid, y'know?" She shakes her head, as though she hadn't meant to let that much slip. "It is what it is."

They continue walking in the direction of their flat, the only sound between them is the crunch of fresh, undisturbed snow beneath their feet.

Eventually, Zavala admits, "The Dawning is far more nostalgic for you than it is for me." He looks down at her. "I recall making arrangements for Amanda's sake and volunteering, things I would normally do flavored by the season," He supposes. "But I am looking forward to experiencing it from a different perspective."

Suraya snorts. "You mean my dad treating you like a kid because we're together?"

Zavala shrugs. "Centuries of war don't prepare you for your significant other's family. This is uncharted territory. I've never-" The 'dated a non-Guardian' goes unsaid. Suraya is a lot of firsts for him. The same goes for him with her.

"I know." Her eyes soften. "I want you to be excited for this, too."

"I am."

"Good."

[Main Fic Post]

#Destiny Fanfiction #Commander Zavala #Suraya Hawthorne #Amanda Holliday #Eva Levante #Zavala x Hawthorne #Steelponcho #dawningdelightsfanfic #lord shaxx

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hello-justawriterofthings · 5 years

Text

Someone who Loves You ( Without Me Part 2 ) - Billy Hargrove

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Hey guys, We’re finally here! this is part 2 to Without me. It's not really based off the song this time. I was excited to write this, I just want to Thank everyone for the Amazing support I got on the first part, I appreciate it so much. I hope everyone enjoys <3 { Warnings - Language and angst. I make a lot of Freddy Krueger puns, so bare with me }

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I let out an aggravated huff as I walked up the Wheelers sidewalk on the Chilly October night, the Door opened and I was Greeted by a Smiling Karen, who quickly pulled me into a hug. " Nancy ans Steve are upstairs, still putting their costumes together. You know them, they wait until last minute and throw things together. Yours looks great by the way! " she stated motioning to my costume, if Freddy Krueger were a female, that'd be me. I wanted to go as something, unexpected. Not like the rest of our girls in school and I also wanted something that would hide my face somewhat, since I was avoiding Billy. I left classes early so I wouldn't run into him in the hallway, I ended up at classes 15 minutes early, I ate lunch in the office, after volunteering to be an office aid. I might hve been taking this to an extreme, but I already hurt from being used, I didn't want to feel the whole heartbreak. So, when Nancy guilt tripped me into going to this stupid Halloween party, I knew to expect Billy and his crew to be there. " Knock knock, Better Stay up late, because you're never gonna sleep again! " I chuckled as I entered Nancy's room, Steve rolled his eyes " How long were you rehearsing that one? ". I smirked " Long enough, can you tell that it's me under the makeup? ", Steve and Nancy both nodded. " Shit " I sighed while sitting on her bed, Nancy smiled " It's a great costume though Y/N, besides I doubt he'll even know your there, he's going to be wasted ". " No, he'll know. Yesterday he punched Tommy in the face when he made a nasty comment about you Y/N. Trust me, Billy has it bad " Steve then stated with a slight chuckle, " He only has it bad because I took away the only thing he wanted, the first girl to deny the great Billy Hargrove... Besides, I heard he was out with Jessica or Heather, or whoever he was with last week " I stated seriously while rolling my eyes. " He was not, those girls love making shit up! I don't think he's been out with anyone since you started ignoring him " Nancy exclaimed, " When did you you become Pro Billy? " I asked her with a brow raised. " I'm not, but when you were hanging out with you, you seemed happy. Happier then what you are now, you barely go out anymore because you're avoiding him. I miss you sometimes, it's different, you're different " she stated with a sigh, I didn't reply, but I did stand up and give her a hug, avoiding smudging my makeup I worked 3 hours to get right. Letting her know I was always here, she still had me as a friend.

Once we reached Tina's house, we all got out of Steve's car and made our way towards the party. " Is Jonathan coming? " I asked Nancy since she and him seemed to be be spending more time together recently, she shrugged " He was taking Will trick or Treating, I tried to talk him into it, but I don't know if my tactics worked ". I nodded while letting out a sigh, " Wow, great costumes guys! Thanks for Coming, Wooh!!! " Tina shouted over the music, already drunk. The three of us smiled awkwardly but headed towards the kitchen, I wasn't much of a drinker, but I needed an escape ( But still needed to stay level headed, because if I got too out of control, I end up in bed with Billy again ). When we reached the kitchen, I grabbed a plastic cup with people were calling ' Pure Fule '. " What are you supposed to be Y/N, a fashion victim " Carol stated with a smirk, but also rolled her eyes at the same time. Rebecca chuckled behind her, even though it wasn't funny at all. " I see you two decided not to wear a costumes, just the same old masks you were everyday. Slutty as always " I stated with a smile, walking further into the kitchen as Nancy and Steve decided to dance. " 1, 2 Freddy's coming for you! " I heard Billy shout loudly, " No No, Freddy's not coming for you anymore! " I sighed shaking my head as I quickly found an escape route, turning many corners to get away from him. When I managed to do so, I ended up running into someone else. " Woah, slow down Freddy " The guy chuckled, I sighed deeply " I'm so sorry... ". I looked at the guy, realizing it was Chad from art class. He chuckled " It's okay Y/N, great costume by the way. Make a statement, just because Freddy is a guy, doesn't mean a girl can't dress up like him for Halloween!... How have you been? ", I smiled " Thanks, I've been good, just dodging this guy ". " Hargrove? " he asked, I nodded letting out a deep sigh. " Well, I wish you luck with that then " Chad stated , I looked at him confused. An arm slung around my shoulder, " Buzz off Chad, she's mine! " Billy slurred. Chad held his arms up in defense with a smirk on his face, I pushed Billy's arm off me " I'm not yours, now leave me alone or I'm going to haunt you in your dreams! "{ End of the Freddy Krueger puns, promise }. I then walked away from him once more, not hearing him whisper behind me " You already haunt them ". I ended up leaving the party after that, unaware of what happened after that. I walked to the bus station and caught the closest bus that would end up close to my house. I sighed deeply, receiving weird looks from the other people in the station, I ignored it though. Once I got home, I sighed deeply. My dad wasn't home, thankfully he had left on a business trip that lasted until Tuesday. I went into the bathroom, stripped out of my clothes, jumped into the shower. Scrubbed off the three hours of work I had put into my makeup, the got into my pajama's and then climbed into bed, Good Fucking Night Halloween.

Since Halloween fell on a Friday, I got to lounge around all weekend at home and I planned on keeping it that way. Halfway through the day, around 4pm. There was a knock on the front door, making me groan deeply. I got up and answered it, Nancy rushed her way in while looking frazzled. " What happened to you last night, I thought you left with Hargrove! " she exclaimed quite dramatically, I rolled my eyes " You thought wrong, he was bugging me and I didn't want to deal with it ". " It;s just that, he left soon after I noticed that you were gone and I can't remember anything that happened after that. Steve won't answer my calls, I was worried about you, I was freaked out this morning " she then stated, making me nod " Billy's an idiot, he had so much to drink last night, he was drunk out of his mind. You know I'm not that stupid to get in a car with someone who's drunk, whether I love him or not! ". Nancy's eyes went wide " You love him, why didn't you tell me before ! ", I groaned deeply " Because I'm trying not love love him anymore, that's why I've been avoiding him ". " " Oh my gosh, your first love! " Nancy smiled widely, causing me to roll my eyes and groan " Okay, I think visiting hours are over ". " Y/N " Nancy sighed deeply, " No Nance, I'm trying to get over it okay. I'm going to move on and one day fnd someone who'll treat me better. No one ever ends up with who they date in high school anyway " I muttered loud enough for her to hear. She sighed once more while awkwardly nodded " Fine, I'll drop the subject. Can I stay and hangout with you for a while? ", I nodded " Okay, you can stay, but no more mention of my love life or I'm kicking you out ". She chuckled slightly, but she knew I wasn't joking.

Nancy ended up staying a few hours, we baked cookies, watched a dramatic movie and did little bit of homework. By the time she left it was almost dinner time, so I warmed up leftover pizza and made myself comfortable on the couch. That is until 10 minutes later, I heard a loud bang come from upstairs. I furrowed my brows, grabbed the closest objects to me, which happened to be my math book, then made my way upstairs. Checking all the rooms, until I landed on my own bedroom. I let out a deep sigh, then pushed open the door, only to see Billy laying on the floor groaning. " What the hell are you doing? " I asked tossing my matchbook onto my desk and placing my hands on my hips, " I wanted to talk, why did you move your furniture around, I expected to lad on your bed like I used too " he groaned while rubbing his knees. " Maybe you should've used the front door " I stated, he groaned once while getting to his feet " You wouldn't have answered and I saw that your window was open and took the chance ". " Your right, I wouldn't have answered. Because, when you avoid someone that's what you do " I stated walking out of my room and back downstairs, back to my pizza. Billy followed my of course. I sighed deeply while sitting back on the couch, " Y/n, are you going to avoid me forever? " he questioned sitting on the arm of the couch. " That's the plan " I stated with a smile, focusing back on the TV. Billy let out a deep huff, then grabbed the remote from my hand, switching off the television. " Billy, give it back! " I yelled, making him shake his head no. " Billy! " I exclaimed grabbing for it, making him stick it in his pants. " Go for it now " he smirked, making me roll my eyes " That's all you care about! ". He looked at me confused, " Sex! Billy, all you care about is sex! " I exclaimed loudly. " That's not true " he stated bluntly, making me roll my eyes. " If all I ever wanted was sex, I would have ditched you the minute after we fucked " he stated with a sigh, " You did, you were gone by the time I woke up and if you really cared about me, you would've stayed or at least told me you were leaving! " I snapped back. " You now my dad would've killed me " he stated, " You didn't care any time after that, when you were taking out other girls, your dad didn't expect you to come home those nights. So you ended up here, toying with my fucking feelings. You used me " I spat. He shook his head while fishing the remote out of his pants, dropping it on the coffee table, then started walking towards the front door. " I did not Y/N, I care about you! " he stated loudly on his way, " No! You wanted to talk, let's fucking talk! " I yelled chasing after him. " You only ever came around for sex and for me to make you feel good about yourself! You never once did the same for me, never cared about what was going on in my life or how I was feeling. You took advantage of my feelings, especially when I told you I loved you... So, if you can't accept that, then leave and don't ever come back. My feelings are just as important as yours, stop acting like your the only one that's been through shit! " I yelled, causing him to turn towards me with a softer look on his face, it reminded me of the look I saw the night I met him. It didn't last long, he got that harsh look on his face once more as he stomped his way towards his car, jumping in and then pulling out of my driveway like a bat out of hell. I only hoped now, he got the message.

The weekend passed quickly, as did the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Finally confronting Billy about everything, felt rewarding and I stopped hiding from everything. He had yet to try to contact me again, so I guess he got the message. Wait, unless you count the midnight phone calls I had been receiving. I knew they were him, the caller never spoke, they waited until I said Hello three times before hanging up. Nancy said, that maybe my voice was like a security blanket, that he still wanted to hear it, maybe it helped him sleep. To that I rolled my eyes, it was just another way to annoy me, but I continued to answer those calls, because somewhere deep inside, I missed him. But after we all returned to school after the Thanksgiving he fell back into his old ways, he pretended as if I wasn't there, had a different girl on his arm everyday and always gave that said girl a ride home after school ( And we all know what happened on those ride homes ). As much as I wanted to stay strong and get over him, it seemed to be a lot harder than I thought. I found myself crying late at night about the old days with him, waiting for him to climb through my window and make everything okay again. Why couldn't I figure out what I wanted, I couldn't get my feelings in check. I'd curse at myself when I woke up in the morning, realizing I'd left my window open the previous night, on purpose. The relationship he and I had was unhealthy, I made the right decision when I ended things, but that thought never brought me any comfort. This pain I was feeling for that boy, was worse than when my parents got divorced, I wasn't sure how I'd get through it.

The week before the Winter Formal, notes had started appearing in my locker out of the blue. Simple ones at first, telling me how nice I looked, congratulating me on how well I did in science class, Odd things. At first I took it as a joke, kids at school were cruel and knew what had gone down between Billy and I. The notes though, were always signed - Someone who loves you. So, it couldn't be Billy, he didn't love anyone. I was taken by surprise when I opened my locker this morning and the note read - Be my date for the Formal? Circle Yes or no, then slip it in locker 306. Someone Who Loves You -. I didn't do anything with it at first, just put it in my pocket and made my way to my first class. I'd deal with it later. Once lunch came along, I grabbed my food and sat down at the normal table. Nancy and Jonathan joined soon after, I let out a deep sigh " I have to talk to you! ". Nancy looked worried as I pulled the note out of my pocket, slamming it on the table. " Oh no, what did Mr. Someone who loves you, say today? " Jonathan smirked, Nancy picked up the note and read it. " He asked her to the winter formal " Nancy smiled widely, I rolled my eyes " I'm not going ". Nancy then scoffed " What! Why not? ", " Because this is probably some prank on Carol's end, they all know what went on between Billy and I... I don't want to show up and be made a fool " I stated with a shrug. Nancy sighed " What if it's not a joke, what if someone actually like you in this school other than Us! Don't you want to find out? " again I shrugged " I'll think about ". She nodded, " What if it's Billy? Maybe hes trying to right his wrongs " Jonathan stated with a smiled. " Billy's locker number isn't 306, it's 490 " I sighed running my hand through my hair, " Well, we have to figure out who's locker is 360! " Nancy exclaimed. " We don't, I wasn't planning on going anyways, it's just a stupid dance " I stated honestly, " Just a stupid dance, I'm appalled! I'm on the dance committee, it's going to be amazing " Nancy stated dramatically. I just rolled my eyes, I hadn't made my mind up yet. This is my decision and only I could make it.

By the end of the day, I had slipped the note, that I had circled yes onto, back into locker 306, hoping I didn't just make a mistake. I got a ride home from Jonathan and when I arrived home, I wasn't surprised to find the house empty. My dad had been dating a new woman recently and he was gone most days / nights. Even though I spent so much time alone now, he seemed to be happy again, so I guess I approved. He was a good man and deserved it. In preparation for the Winter formal, Nancy and I planned on going dress shopping Wednesday after school. Mrs. Wheeler ended up driving us and dropping us off, before running errands of her own. Nancy was extra excited for the formal, she and Jonathan would be going together and I was very happy for the as well. What I wasn't happy about was because our town was so small, there was only one dress shop and it seemed other girls had the same idea coming after school. Wow, look who it is girls. Wheeler and her little side kick Y/L/N. Tell me, did you both finally find dates or are you going with each other " Carol stated with a cackle, I rolled my eyes " Just because this is a stupid dance, doesn't mean you can't go alone or with Friends ". She scoffed " Your lame is you go alone though, imagine how awkward the picture will be. Tommy and I are going together, Heather's going with Josh and Tina tell the who your date is ", " Billy " Tina smirked. Causing me to roll my eyes " Give me a break, did you really think I actually cared who your dates are? You and Tommy are always blowing each others ass holes and I remember both of you last year trying to fuck Steve, face it. You're both pathetic ", " then why are you talking to us, if we're so pathetic? " Carol smirked. " Well, I didn't start talking to you, you both came up to us as soon as we entered the store and started this. Clearly bored with your own lives and Now I'm ending it " I stated with a smile as I grabbed Nancy's arm and walked towards the back of the store. " I'm shocked Y/N, I didn't think tonight would end up like that. I don't get why they have to ruin everything " Nancy stated while looking through a rack of clothes, I just lent up against the wall and sighed " They aren't going anywhere in life, so they have ruin good times for everyone else to make themselves better ". She nodded, picking out a few dresses. I heard the bell ring and noticed Carol and Tina leave the store, carrying large bags with them. " Come Y/N, I know this started off bad, but let's make it more fun, your frown is bumming me out " Nancy then groaned, " Sorry, I just can't get excited for something like this. Especially when I know it's going to be a let down " I stated with a sigh as I glanced around the shop. " Why do you think it's going to be a let down " I stated with a serious look on her face, I shrugged slightly " I just feel like this is one big joke and I'm in the middle of it ". She let out a deep sigh " Well, at least you'll have us there if something goes down. You'll still have your friends to keep you company ", I nodded while sending her a smile " Okay fine! Let's stop talking about it and get back to dress shopping. I actually see something I'm interested in ". She smiled widely as we walked over to the strapless white dress that had pale color marks on it, I ended up getting that one in the end. Now with the formal only two days away, I was getting even more nervous, which was annoying. But what's done is done and hopefully, I wouldn't regret it in the end.

The night of the winter formal, Nancy and I were getting ready in her room, with the help of her mom. The day before I received another note from someone who loves you, saying they'd met me in the back parking lot at 9:30pm. That's about an hour after the dance began, so I'd be able to hangout with my friends before I had to meet this mystery person. Steve swore it was Billy, he said throughout the last week that Billy couldn't keep my name out of his mouth. I just brushed it off, Billy would never go to this amount of trouble to ask someone to the dance, let alone go to the dance, it wasn't his thing. I sat on Nancy's bed, flipping through a magazine as she curled her hair, I just couldn't stop thinking about tonight. It was driving me crazy, not knowing who this mystery person was and I was terrified of looking like a fool in front of the whole school. " Come on Y/N, your turn " Nancy stated wearing a large smile, I sent her a panicked look " That’s it, I'm not going, I changed my mind! ". Nancy let out a deep sigh knowing I'd been thinking far to into this and she was probably tired of hearing my worries. " Y/N, everything will be okay. It's only a stupid high school dance as you put it, but it's also a time to unwind from all the stresses of School and have fun with friends ", Nancy stated with a small smile " Don't let the fear get in the way of your happiness ". I took in her words and nodded, " And you have to go and find out who wins the title of the Ice Queen and King. I Won when I attended Hawkins High, I probably still have the Crown around here somewhere " Mrs. Wheeler stated proudly. Causing me to chuckle and Nancy to roll her eyes " Not now Mom ", I let out a deep sigh as Mrs. Wheeler left the room in search for her Ice Queen crown. " So, are you ready to get pretty? " Nancy asked with a small smile, " Bitch, I already am pretty, but there's always room for improvement! " I stated with my own smile. " Look girls I found it, I can imagine there much small nowadays! " Mrs. Wheeler exclaimed excitedly while walking back into Nancy's room with a large white crown on her head, Nancy groaned loudly as I chuckled, everything was going to be okay.

Jonathan picked Nancy and I up, looking very dashing himself. I let out a sigh as we got closer to the school, the nerves already setting in now. Nancy turned her head towards the backseat, " Hey, remember it'll be okay and besides, if things don't work out, you can always get Steve to dance with you " she stated with a smile. I rolled my eyes as we pulled into the packed parking lot, next to Steve's car. I let out a deep sigh as I stepped out of Jonathan's car, wishing I had worn a heavier sweater. " Wow Y/N, you look... The best I've ever seen you look. Damn, if only I'd known, I would've picked you over Nancy " Steve stated with a joking smile, " Ew.. But, thanks " I smirked giving him a hug ( Steve and I have always had a brother/sister relationship ). " Ha ha, funny Steve! Okay, let's head inside, I'm freezing " Nancy exclaimed grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the front door, Steve and Jonathan following close behind. Once we reached the gym, I looked around, taking in all the faces. Who was I kidding, I was searching for the specific blonde. Tina, Rebecca and Heather all had dates off the basketball team. " Tina's a Damn liar, she's here with Trey not Billy. How many people has she been screwing around with, does she not realize that Billy and Trey are two different people " Nancy stated with an eye roll, causing me to chuckle loudly. 9:30 was approaching fast and I couldn't stop biting my nails, thinking of all the ways this could go wrong. " You okay? " Steve asked sitting down next to me and handing me a glass of punch, I only shrugged because I had no words for the battle that was going down in my head. " I get that your nervous Y/N, but I'll let you in on something, it's not a prank " Steve stated with a sigh, I looked at him confused " How would you know? " . " Because, Chad couldn't shut up in the locker room four days ago. Team members kept asking him who he was taking to the Formal, he didn't say a nae, but said that he asked a girl in a creative way. Through a note " Steve stated honestly. I looked at him shocked " How could he be the note holder? Sure he's a nice guy, but Chad is very artistic, any notes he would've slipped into a locker would've been more deep then. Hey, you looked good in History today. That doesn't sound like him ", He nodded " I get it, he's been my lab partner for 3 years. He doesn't speak like a normal person sometimes, more like a novel. Bit, I'm just telling you what I heard because I know you've been worrying about this ". I smiled slightly glancing up at the clock, seeing that it was 9:22pm. " Thanks for telling me, your a good friend " I stated with a sigh, him nodding in response while wearing a similar smile.

I walked through the school, more like snuck, because students weren't really allowed to venture through the school after hours. The faculty was worried kids were going to sneak off and have sex in classrooms, thankfully I had a good reputation around here and the staff weren't worried about me. Once I made it to the back door, I let out a deep sigh, Now or Never. I walked slowly towards the dark figure, butterflies in my stomach and my dinner was ready to make a 2nd appearance tonight. Once I saw that the figure was indeed Chad, I couldn't tell if I was relieved or a little angry. " So, your the mystery note holder " I stated with my arms crossed, Chad let out a small sigh but didn't respond. I rolled my eyes and started walking back towards the door, to possibly salvage and make the rest of the night good. Chad quickly ran around me, halting me in place. " Where are you going? " he asked nervously, " Back inside, if you wanted to ask me to the formal, you literally could of just asked. Instead of writing all those simple notes, that sounded nothing like you. I would've said yes " I spat. He let out a sigh, " Other than my friends, your the only one who's treated me like an equal, the only other guy that's been nice " I stated honestly. He nodded " But Y/N, I didn't write the notes. I've just been the middle man through this whole thing, hell I've been dating the same girl for over 2 years. Natalie Wood ", I furrowed my brows in confusion. Yes, I remember seeing them together, but never thought they weren't anything but friends. " Middle man? " I then questioned, earning a nod from him. " Middle man for who? " I asked, only getting a smirk in return as he pointed towards the parking lot behind me. I took in a deep breath as I turned around slowly, letting out a slight groan as I saw Billy standing there, leaning against his car, holding a handful of flowers. I turned back towards Chad, who was still wearing a smirk. " My locker is locker 306, he didn't want to use his own because obviously you would've known it was him. So, he paid me 5$ to help him out, but this was all his idea, he wrote all the notes, he's got it bad for you " Chad stated with a smile before patting me on the shoulder and making his way inside. The degree's had dropped slightly, making it even colder now. I sighed deeply while walking over towards the blonde, unsure of what I was going to say to this boy now. " Before you say anything, I just want to say... Hi " Billy started off nervously, " I know this is probably very confusing and I know you told me to leave you alone, but I can't. I just want a chance to explain everything to you and after that if you still want me to leave you alone, I will ". I had no words, but I was curious as to what he was going to say. So, I nodded. He let out a deep sigh " Okay, cool... Oh, these are for you... Stole money from my dad to buy them, I'll probably hear about it later, but it was worth it. Didn't have enough for a new suit though... ", he handed me the flowers which made me smile. " Thanks, they're beautiful and I recognize that suit from when we first met, on the beach in California " I stated with a smile, making him nod. I didn't say anything further, waiting for him to continue. " So, the last time we spoke, it didn't end well. But since then, I've realized how much I miss and need you in my life. I will do anything to have you in my life again " he stated with a deep sigh, he's dropped the tough guy act, he's more vulnerable. " I know that you think when we were messing around, I was also fucking with other girls, but I wasn't. Before we started doing things together, I had slept with two girls, none that go to our school. But as soon as we got together, I didn't want another bitch. Anytime I climbed through your window and told you I was out with some girl, I lied. I always came straight from home after having a fight with my dad. I didn't want to tell you, because I know you always worried about me when I was at home. Now I realize that I made the wrong choice in lying. I stayed all night at your house those nights, not caring about the trouble I'd get into when I got home, because at least I got to spend time with you, even if we were just sleeping " he stated a bit winded, I however furrowed my brows in confusion. " I understand that this is a lot to take in, but I want to be with you " he stated strongly, making me let out a deep sigh " But when I told you I loved you, you never said anything, you chose to ignore it ". He ran his hand through his freshly styled hair " I didn't ignore it, I just didn't confess that I felt the same way. I've never felt this way towards someone before and I was afraid of what people would say at school, you know Billy Hargrove being tied down. The longer I kept my feelings to myself, the more I felt guilty. Then you started distancing yourself and I knew I had fucked everything up. But, I love you Y/N and I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks or says! ", I looked at him shocked. I wasn't expecting this to come from tonight, something told me that he was telling the truth. Billy cleared his throat, making me realize I hadn't said anything in a while. " SO? " he sighed deeply, " Your serious, no games? " I asked looking at him intensely. He nodded " Absolutely, I don't want to spend one more day without you ", I smiled at him slightly as I pulled him into a hug. " But, what about Heather and Tina, they both swore that they were screwing you the same time we were messing around. " I then asked, " Both liars, Heather had herpes the last time I checked and Tina is such a fucking snooze fest. You know she asked me to the formal, I told her I'd rather hammer nails into my toes. I was working on getting my girl back and I wasn't risking that on her boring ass " he stated with a slight chuckle pulling me into another hug. " It'll take some time for you to gain my trust again, but if you're willing to put in the work, I think we could get back to what we once were " I stated honestly, making him hug me even tighter " I'll do whatever you want! I'll wait forever if I have to ". I smiled to myself, " Hey, you're freezing! Here take my jacket " he stated taking off the leather jacket and placing it around my shoulders. " Come on, let's get inside, I want to dance with my girl " he stated with a smile as he locked his car and then walked me back into the school.

When Billy and I walked into the gym together, we caught everyone's eye. A few people laughed, some gasped. Steve smirked, making me think he might have had a part in this too, despite the hatred he had for Billy. Billy and I got out onto the dance floor, I put my arms around his shoulders and he put his hands on my hips, as we started to sway to the music. I had never seen Billy smile the way he was smiling at me know, things were finally right. Jonathan and Nancy both sent me smiles, causing me to roll my eyes, but smiled happily back. Not long after the principle was on stage, ready to announce Ice Queen and King. " And the Winner is... Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler! " the principal shouted , causing a wave of applaud to abrupt in the gym. I let out a loud shriek of excitement as they were both crowned, Mrs. Wheeler was going to be very happy about this. Billy put his arm round me, pulling me closer and kissing the top of my head. Things seemed to work in my favor I guess, but even though I was happy now, there was no way to tell what was going to happen in the future. But, let's forget about that now and Enjoy the moment.

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Hey guys, I totally over did it with this one, but I enjoyed writing it so much. I've been in a slump lately and haven't been the best of health, so the fact that I was able to enjoy writing this so much means a lot. And I hope Everyone Enjoyed reading it, I just want to say Thank you for the amazing support I've received on this series. You're all Amazing <3<3

#Billy Hargrove #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove angst #billy hargrove fanfic #billy hargrove fanfiction #dacre montgomery #dacre montgomery angst #stranger things angst #Thank You #thank you for the support #your amazing #hope you enjoy

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maevefiction · 5 years

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Your Light in the Mist - Chapter 39

I dumped my bag and the baked goods on the counter, then leaned back against it.

“He never joins your family for the holidays? But this year…he IS? Did someone tell him that you all know what he did? What the actual fuck, man?”

He shook his head. “Em and Sarah insist they haven’t said a word, and I sure as hell haven’t, and I don’t think Mum has…so we’re all completely blown out of the water by this. He called Mum earlier and essentially said ‘I’ve decided to join you Thursday and Friday’ and that was that. After the divorce, he showed up two years running, but once Em was ten he decided that his presence was no longer necessary because Christmas was for children and surely she’d grown past such foolishness by then. He never even bothered to show up last year, when Sarah and Ansh were finally able to join us at Christmas for the first time since having Saachi.”

I crossed my arms. “So, he doesn’t turn up for a first Christmas with his only grandchild but this year, he does? Is it because she’s a little older, maybe? Eh, that sounds ridiculous so I’ll say that is totally not the reason. What’s your take on this? Any ideas?”

His gaze fell to the floor, then returned to my face. I didn’t wait for him to speak.

“Oh for fuck’s sake you think it’s me, don’t you?” My arms uncrossed, one hand rising to my forehead and resting there, palm down. “But WHY? Why does he give even the remotest shit about you and I, if he hasn’t cared about anything else…OH MY FUCKING GOD, IT IS ME, isn’t it? Jesus…listen, babe, if you want me to sit this one out…”

Closing the distance between us, he took me in his arms, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Not. A. Chance. If you don’t feel comfortable going, I’m staying right here with you.” He leaned back, staring into my eyes. “And yes, I do think it’s related to you in some way. I just can’t quite figure out how or why.”

“Is that what your mother thinks? Is that who you were talking to?”

His head shook again. “No, that’s not what she thinks…I was talking to her and my sisters on a conference call. None of them know what to think. They’re just trying to figure out how to flow with it and not let it ruin the holiday. Which is a challenge and a half, after this past summer.”

I released him and grabbed the bakery bag from behind me. “Let’s have some cookies and put on our thinking caps and try and puzzle this out.”

A dozen over-sized chocolate chip delights and an hour later, we were no closer to solving the equation, likely because, as Tony Stark explained in the Avengers, we didn’t have all the variables.

Tom’s head was in his hands, elbows on the dining table amongst the crumby mess we’d made, and he spoke without looking up. “Bottom line is no matter what the man throws at you, IF he throws anything at you, that is…I know you can handle it, Maude. You on your weakest day is a thousand times more powerful than him on his strongest.”

As he glanced through his fingers at me, across the table, I raised a brow. “Uh, a thousand? Hyperbolize much, Tom?”

He sat up, smiling. “I do not. You simply underestimate your strength, my love.”

I rolled my eyes. “Puh-leaze. Stop it. Honestly, it’s all totally confusing and makes no sense and I’m slamming myself up against a logic wall at this point. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Which, as you know, fucking drives me bat crap crazy so…feel like going out for some burgers and wrapping supplies?”

Standing, he stretched, arms up toward the ceiling, his lower belly and happy trail peeking at me yet again. It was a view I would never tire of, for sure. When my eyes made their way up to his face, he was grinning. Caught, I was…red handed. Eyed? Something.

“That sounds perfect, actually. I’ll go put some pants on.”

I bit my lip. “Good. You do that. I’m going to use the facilities.” His mouth opened, but I cut him off. “I’m PEEING. Nothing else, you bastard. I am capable of restraint, you know.” A chuckle. “Oh, MAN…”

He jogged up the stairs, and shortly thereafter we were out the door and on our way.

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

My alarm went off at six AM on Wednesday, and I left Tom all warm and naked in our bed to grab a cheese danish and a cup of tea before heading downstairs. I’d wrapped my gifts for him last night, having locked myself in the over-crowded spare room. At points I could hear him breathing heavily outside the door, and knew he was doing it on purpose to distract me in hopes of getting a look at what I’d gotten for him. He gave up after three attempts, and I was able to continue in peace. Diana had come to my aid, providing me with a list of all she could recall of the Jurassic Park toys Tom had played with as a child. One by one I’d tracked them down on eBay and had them sent to the office, and Simon had hidden them for me in our flat while we’d been gone. I’d even managed to score the rare Electronic T-Rex, Jungle Explorer Vehicle and the Command Compound, new and sealed in their boxes. The action figures weren’t quite as hard to find, and I’d gotten a set that included five of the main characters still in their original packaging. In addition to those, as a sort of gag-but-not-really gift, I’d found a very cool strap-on set that included six dildos, sized from kinda small to bigger than Tom’s own cock. THAT one I put off to the side so I wouldn’t accidentally bring it with us to Diana’s house…plus, I was hoping he would want to try it out, like, immediately after opening it. Part of me wanted to save it for Loki’s next visit, but I’d been thinking about it for months, and he’d mentioned it several times, so, no time like the present, right? The pièce de résistance was obtained via the most convoluted network of human beings I’d ever had to wrangle, a daisy chain that included Stephen Spielberg which had started with me and ended with Harrison Ford writing a letter and signing one of the fedoras he’d worn in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The only downside was that I was aware that it was likely a feat I would never, ever be able to top.

The shipment arrived as scheduled, eight AM on the dot, and the driver even schlepped it all downstairs for us. Everything had been prepped and ready to go, so Trudy and I set about getting all the servers in place so they’d be ready to connect once the utility company was done installing the T1 line…they’d turned up just after we’d opened the cartons. Everyone else was off for the day, so we cranked some tunes while we set up the network itself and installed all the software. As soon as our internet was accessible, we updated the newly-installed software, then began adding our own. Trudy and I had written the client management program together, though the base code was hers alone. It had functioned perfectly during previous testing, so we focused mainly on it running cross network and left it at that. Tom brought us lunch at around two, and after our break we dove into external DNS access, connectivity and security protocols. It was the most time-consuming and intricate part of the process, but by midnight we had a functional, locked down system that was ready for intensive testing, which was set to begin first thing Monday morning. From the look on Trudy’s face, though, I was reasonably sure that she’d be at it over the weekend if she got the chance. The only other remaining obstacle, other than testing, was the installation of security devices and alarms, and the company providing us with those was scheduled to come in on Tuesday. We celebrated our victory by inhaling an entire bag of truffles, high fiving each other and bragging about how we’d accomplished in a single day what Mark hadn’t been able to achieve in months. It was just after one AM when I dragged myself upstairs, then up the flat’s steps, stripped, and crawled in next to a slumbering Tom…and I would have thought he’d remained there for the entire day if it weren’t for the fact that he’d brought Trudy and I lunch.

Thursday afternoon found us on the road, quickly nearing Oxford, gifts tucked into the trunk of the Jaguar, our season’s greetings having been exchanged with Luke and Simon right before we’d left. They were spending the holiday with Luke’s parents, and Roland would be joining them for Boxing Day. U2 performing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) was on the radio, and I was watching Tom’s hands as he manipulated the steering wheel. An elegant man guiding an elegant machine. The brief feeling of positivity about the holiday I’d experienced on Tuesday had faded after the whole ‘dad’s coming’ thing, and I really, really felt like asking him to turn around so we could go back home and have our own private, peaceful Christmas….but I knew he’d say yes, and I didn’t want to be the one responsible for him missing out on time with his family, which, in spite of all the insanity, had always been precious to him, even more so since he’d started travelling for his career.

He turned to me, smiling. “All set for your first holiday with the future in-laws?”

“Sure. Yep. You betcha.”

His right hand left the wheel and pressed gently into my thigh. “I’m sorry it’s gone a bit off the rails, my love.”

I snorted. “When we write our joint biography, that’s SO going to be the title.”

“Oh, I like that. Fitting.”

“Unlike this damn bra.” I reached down the V-neck of my blood-red sweater and shifted my boobs back into place. The color was the closest I could force myself to come to being festively dressed, whereas Tom was wearing a bright green monstrosity that his mother had given him last Christmas. Apparently, that was her thing…new holiday sweaters for everyone each year. Shaking my head, I reminded myself to be grateful that it wasn’t one of the infamous UGLY Christmas style sweaters, and also that I needed to say a hearty thank you and pretend to like the one that was surely lying in wait for me to open tomorrow. I heard a car horn honk, and realized that Tom had drifted off to the side of the road because he was staring at my tits. “Dude. Eyes on the road. EYES ON THE ROAD.”

“I know, I know. Sorry. But surely you can’t expect me to look away when you’re fiddling with them so artistically and they’re shifting around with such buoyance like…like…”

“Like, boobs?”

He nodded. “Yes. Boobs. Do shut up now, Maude. Safety first, you know.”

“Oh, safety…speaking of, you know this seat belt really rubs against them something fierce…”

“Behave, lest Father Christmas decides you belong on the naughty list after all.”

I sighed in mock exasperation. “You are really, really mean, you know? But let’s be real, I’ve GOT to be on that naughty list already because what I bought YOU is…”

“NO SPOILERS. WE AGREED NO SPOILERS.”

“But it’s…”

“My lord, woman, NO. NO NO NO NO NO.”

I chuckled, then reached over to rest my hand on the nape of his neck, rubbing gently with my thumb. “No spoilers, babe. I promise.” He moaned quietly as I pressed harder. “How are you coping with this? It’s all strange and new for me, but you’re used to it being a certain way. You okay?”

His right hand returned to my thigh as he turned onto the street that would take us to his childhood home. “You’re right, I am accustomed to the holidays being as they’ve always been since he stopped coming, and if I’m honest, it’s been vastly better that way. But it is what it is, and I’m just going to focus on the fact that it’s our first Christmas together and…well…fuck everything else.”

“Fuck everything else. Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

He grinned, rotating the wheel to the right as he pulled into the driveway, two other cars already neatly parked in front of the garage. “No, you couldn’t have…because it’s essentially the exact phrasing you would have chosen, is it not?”

“You are correct, sir. Did you perchance buy me a thesaurus for Christmas so I can expand my vocabulary?”

He put the car in park, leaned over and bit my neck. “I did no such thing. I happen to both admire and adore your vocabulary. Especially your habitual overuse of things like ‘oh yes’ and ‘oh god’ and ‘fuck me’.”

I bit my bottom lip and smiled, left brow raised. “I love you, you ridiculously horny dork.”

He laughed and pinched my cheek. “Lobbing that right back at you.”

We were grabbing our first load of stuff from the trunk when the yelling started. It was faint at first, and high pitched, and then I saw an adorable tiny human running towards us.

“Uncle Tommy! Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas!”

She was gorgeous, big dark eyes, dark brown hair, two shoulder-length braids bouncing and flying out behind her as she drew closer. I knew she was four, and thought she was probably of average height for that age, but in truth I had no fucking idea because children were like creatures from another planet to me. The way Tom squatted down to catch her in his arms then lifted her up, first spinning her, then popping her onto his shoulders and running a few laps around the driveway as he screamed ‘yay’ right along with her made my heart melt, and when I imagined him doing the same thing with our own child, I found it hard to breathe. Tom ran back to me, Saachi still on his shoulders, both of them grinning like fools. An unfamiliar voice caused me to inhale sharply, and I saw a woman approaching us quickly. She was about my height, though I was wearing my Diva Darcies so that stacked the deck a bit, slender, bearing a strong resemblance to Tom but with a different nose, a good amount of visible freckles across her cheeks and strawberry-blonde hair. I’d only seen her in pictures until this moment, and her hair had been much longer, down to her waist, as opposed to the chin-length bob she was sporting was now…but there was no doubt it was Sarah.

“Saachi, what did we decide? We decided that we’d wait for Uncle Tom and Aunt Maude to come INSIDE before throwing ourselves at them, did we not?”

Aunt Maude. Not helping with the breathing difficulties. Sarah strode toward me first, arms wide open, wrapping me in a snug embrace that I was barely able to return. She pulled back, hands grasping my forearms as she looked me up and down, smiling beatifically.

“Maude, it’s so nice to finally meet you. I’d like to formally welcome you to the insanity that is every single Hiddleston holiday. And pretty much every Hiddleston gathering, come to think of it.” Her hands slid down to hold mine, lifting the left one up to examine my ring. “My word, this is so unique and stunningly elegant.” She released me as she turned to Tom. “Well done, little brother. Saachi, have you said hello to Aunt Maude yet?”

Saachi shook her head, and Tom lifted her off his shoulders and placed her gently on the ground. She held out one tiny hand, looking up at my shyly. “Hello, Auntie Maude. ‘S nice to meet you.”

I leaned down and took her hand in mine, shaking very gently, terrified that I’d somehow break her. “Hi Saachi. It’s nice to meet you too.”

She paused, glancing down at my feet then back up at my face, nodding, still holding my hand. “I like your shoes. Come inside and help us decorate the tree. Grandma has lots of pretty things we have to hang today so Father Christmas will come tonight.”

And with that, I was led up the driveway by the adorable tiny human, her mother and uncle following behind me, both giggling, their arms around each other’s waists.

An incredibly handsome man with dark hair to his shoulders and nearly-black eyes was waiting in the doorway. He squatted down, hands on the knees of his jeans. “Well, my Saachi, I see you’ve brought us a new friend. Thank you.” He ruffled her hair as he stood, then extended his hand toward me. “Hello, Maude. I’m Ansh, but you likely knew that already. Lovely to meet you.”

We shook briefly, as Saachi was tugging on my other hand. “Good to meet you as well, Ansh. I’d stay and chat but I think someone has other plans…”

He laughed. “She always has some sort of plan. Gets that from her mother.”

Sarah and Tom had caught up to us, and she reached out and slugged Ansh in the shoulder. “If I didn’t always have a plan, where would you be, Ansh? Back home, that’s where. At the airport, eight hours late.”

He kissed her cheek. “You speak the truth, my love. I am grateful for your plans. Unquestionably.”

She chuckled, and they led the way into the living room. Saachi pulled me forward, and Tom took hold of my other hand. The staircase had been done up with fresh pine garland and white lights, and the tree was directly ahead, at the front-facing portion of the living/drawing room. It had white lights as well, and plastic tubs full of decorations were scattered around it, and on the closest couch as well. Diana was bent over one of the tubs, Emma was holding another and rummaging through it, and behind her was David, her fiancé. She’d shown me pictures of him on her phone, and I hadn’t thought he’d be so tall…same height as Tom, stockier build, and an honest-to-goodness genuine ginger with green eyes. He’d taken a single step toward me when Diana and Em noticed we’d arrived, both rushing ahead of David to dole out hugs. Diana reached me first, and Saachi let go of my hand in order to move out of the way, skipping over to stand at her mother’s side.

“Maude! Welcome, welcome! I’m so glad you came.” She squeezed me, then kissed my cheeks. “You look beautiful in that color. How are you? How’s your new project coming along?” Laughing and shaking her head, she released me. “You can answer over dinner…I’m sure you and Tom want to finish unloading the car and getting everything up to your room. Same as last time for you both so you have your own bath. Sarah and Ansh are in my room, Em and Dave are in Sarah’s old room, James will be in Em’s old room, and I’m in Tom’s.”

I could feel my eyes widen, remembering what havoc we’d wreaked on Tom’s bed during our last visit. “You know, we’d be just fine in Tom’s room…”

Diana grinned slyly. “No, no, it’s all right. I’ll be perfectly comfortable in the new double I had put in last week. Long overdue, truthfully. That old single had seen far better days.” She winked at me, and I tried to not die on the spot as she switched places with Em, who stared at my rapidly reddening cheeks, then giggled as she embraced me, whispering in my ear.

“Never underestimate Mum’s ability to find things out, Maude. She’s like Sherlock, but…worse.”

We released each other, my neck and chest now flushed as well. “Oh. My. God. Sooo…does EVERYONE know we broke the bed? Distant relatives? Friends from work? Random strangers? Should I start wearing a ski mask when I’m out in public?”

Em doubled over, laughing. “Oh, Maude…you are hilarious.”

Tom and Diana had separated, her attention diverted to Saachi, who was peeking out from behind Diana’s legs and waving at me. I waved back, feeling Tom’s hand come to rest on my lower back.

“What’s hilarious, Em?”

She pointed at me, trying to compose herself and failing. “Her. Ask her. I can’t.”

And with that I grabbed Tom, pulling him back toward the door. “Let’s get the rest of the stuff now, m’kay?”

As soon as we were outside he turned his head in my direction, in step with me as we headed for the car. “So, does our hasty exit have something to do with what was hilarious?”

I nodded. “Yup.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“And I thought this was the part where you tell me what was…”

“Your mother knows we broke your bed.”

We’d reached the car, and he had the keys in his hand, ready to open the trunk, but promptly dropped them onto the pavement upon hearing my words. His mouth hung open, then snapped shut before he reached down to pick them up, then spoke.

“I’m sorry…what was that again?”

“Your mother. She knows. That we broke your childhood bed. While having sex.”

He leaned on the car for support. “Well fuck ME.”

I snorted. “Exactly the root of the problem.”

He shook his head, eyes wide, now standing erect, hands out to the side at shoulder level. “And to think I spent all those years managing to not get caught tossing off, yet a single visit home with you…”

“Mmm hmm. Sorry, sunshine...joke all you like, but I have no idea how I’m going to go back in there.”

He reached out a hand, which I grudgingly accepted, then pulled me into his arms. “I’ll be right there with you, by your side, your eternal partner in familial mortification. We’ll take the mickey together.”

I sighed, gazing up at him. “This isn’t ever going to go away, is it?”

“Oh, no. Never. We’ll be a hundred and fifty and they’ll still be going on about it.” His eyes closed briefly. “My mother knows I had vigorous sex in my childhood bedroom with my wife-to-be. That’s not so awful, is it? I mean, it’s obvious that we HAVE sex, is it not? We’re adults, in our thirties, we live together…one should assume…”

“And your sister. Don’t forget about your sister. And probably your other sister. And…”

“Good lord, my sisters. Get in the Jag, my love…next stop, home.”

I pulled him down to me, kissing him gently at first, then sucking his bottom lip into my mouth. He groaned when I released him.

“Maude.”

“What?”

“Now I’m sporting a raging hard-on. Lovely accompaniment to my other problem, that.”

Grinning, I took the keys from him and opened the trunk, loading myself up with bags. “Figured maybe that would give them something else to discuss besides the bed, you know?”

“Fantastic.”

“I thought so, anyway.”

He rested one hand on my shoulder and I turned to find his face an inch from mine. “My mother knows I have sex.”

I nodded. “Your mother knows you have sex with ME. We’re just going to pretend this never happened and if anyone mentions it I’m going to feign a fainting spell and you can carry me out to the car and we’ll escape. Sound like a plan?”

“Yes, but then they’re likely to think you’re pregnant…”

“Shut the fuck up, Tom.”

Laughing, he kissed my cheek and grabbed the remainder of our luggage. “Yes, ma’am. Will do."

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

We shot right upstairs to our room upon re-entry, sat on the bed for a few minutes, then walked down the stairs to meet our fate. Everyone was busy decorating, and we helped hang ornaments, Saachi picking them out and instructing me where to place them. Just when I thought we were in the clear, Tom pressed against me from behind to put a fragile bauble higher up and I lost my balance, falling forward and almost taking out the eight foot spruce. He caught me by quickly wrapping one arm around my waist, but the tree was left shaking like mad.

Sarah broke the brief silence that followed in my clumsy dork wake. “Easy there, you two. Beds we’ve aplenty, but there’s only one tree.”

Everyone burst out laughing, including the man holding my sorry ass up…though he tried to disguise it, I could feel his chest vibrating against my back. I was in the middle of turning around to take a bow when the doorbell rang and the room fell silent yet again.

Diana cleared her throat and spoke, her voice bright and cheery. “Well, that’s Dad, then. I’ll see him in.”

My eyes met Tom’s, then noted him swallowing repeatedly before smiling at me. I stood at his side, our arms around each other’s waists, waiting, listening to distant voices that drew ever closer until their source came into full view. Tom’s father was around his height, strikingly handsome, hair gone completely white. I could see bits of Tom in his face, and similarities in the way he held himself. Elegant, just shy of regal. He was wearing a light blue button down shirt under a navy blazer, paired with khaki slacks and toffee brown deck shoes. His accent, though not as strong as it likely was before relocating to England, was still present, and the melodic Scottish lilt combined with the pitch of Tom’s voice reminded me of Sean Connery.

“Hello, all. Happy Christmas.”

His greeting seemed to hang in the air, creating an undercurrent of tension, awkwardness and uncertainty. No one replied, except for Saachi.

“Happy Christmas, Granddad. Your hair is very white. Mummy says we’ve met before but I don’t remember because I was a baby then and babies aren’t good at remembering.”

He went to her instantly, squatting down before her and taking her hand, then planting a kiss on the top of it.

“My, you’ve grown into a beautiful young lass, Saachi. I’m very glad to see you.”

She giggled and pulled her hand away, eyes narrowing. “Have you brought me a present?”

Sarah groaned. “Saachi, remember your manners, please.” James stood, and Sarah embraced him tentatively. “Hello, Dad. Good to see you.”

Ansh garnered a handshake, as did Dave, and Em was the recipient of a hug, which she returned with visibly shaking hands. That left Tom. And me. James closed the distance between himself and us in four striding steps. He reached out and patted Tom’s upper arm.

“Thomas. How are you, son?”

Tom returned the gesture. “Fantastic, Dad. You?”

James nodded. “Quite well, quite well.” He turned to me. “And you must be Maude.”

I faked a smile. “Lovely to meet you, Mr. Hiddleston.” When I extended my hand, he accepted and shook vigorously.

“The feeling’s mutual. And please, call me James.”

I nodded as he released me and turned to Diana. “I believe I was promised some of your famous fish and chips, Di. It’s been far too long…”

She rolled her eyes. “All battered, the fryer’s been ready for an hour, waiting on you.”

He laughed, she laughed, and the rest of just stared at each other, heads tilted like a pack of confused puppies.

Dinner was delicious, but the undercurrent of strangeness permeated the atmosphere. Desert was assorted puddings served with coffee and tea, as well as the sugar cookies Diana had baked and decorated to make me feel more at home, as it wasn’t part of their tradition. Saachi decided that from that point on, they would be. She began to doze off at nine-thirty or so as we all sat in the living room after a round of caroling, her head bobbing and finally coming to rest on Sarah’s upper arm. Ansh scooped her up, and when she woke briefly she mumbled something about presents then was out cold again. When he and Sarah came back downstairs after tucking her in, James cleared his throat and stood, moving to the center of the horseshoe of couches, hands extended, palms up as he addressed the room.

“Well then. I’d imagine you’re all wondering what in heaven’s name I’m doing here, and I aim to explain as best I can, but wanted to wait until the little one was off to bed first.” No one moved, no one spoke, and after he was certain things would remain as such, he continued. “Simply put, your mother invited me to join the family for Christmas.”

Sarah, who was seated closest to Diana, turned to her, eyes wide. “Mum. You invited him? Is he serious?”

Diana nodded. “Yes. I did. He is.” She glanced pointedly at each of her progeny in turn. “And as a favor to your Mum, I’m requesting that you please allow him to continue.” Sarah returned her gaze to James, nodding curtly along with Tom and Emma.

James cleared his throat again. “Back in August, she reached out to me and asked me over for dinner so we could discuss a few…things. She advised me of what you all had spoken about, making it clear that the reason for our divorce was no longer a matter just between the two of us. Since then, we’ve been talking frequently. About the past, mainly, but also about the future. And we’ve…well, we’ve become rather decent friends.”

It was Emma’s turn for an outburst. “Friends? Surely you’re joking. Or I’m dreaming, or I’m in some parallel universe. Friends? Mum? Have you both lost your minds?”

Diana laughed. “Sometimes I wonder, love. But yes. We’ve spent a good bit of time going over everything, from the moment we met until we divorced, trying to figure it all out, what went wrong, the why of it, and…it just seemed it was something we needed to do, once and for all, I suppose.”

Sarah shook her head, eyes on Diana, left index finger pointing at James. “After everything he’s done…you’ve FORGIVEN him?” Her voice was raw, full of emotion she was struggling to contain.

Diana shook her head as well. “Sarah, it isn’t always about forgiveness. Sometimes it’s about closure. And acceptance.”

James nodded, his expression grim. “I would never, ever expect your mother to forgive me for my actions. They were unconscionable. Indefensible. Deplorable. Nor would I expect any of you to forgive them. That’s not why I’m standing before you. I’m here to apologize, though I understand that such a thing is likely too little and too late. But I’m doing it anyway. Sarah and Emily, I’m sorry you lived your lives without me when you needed a father most, though perhaps you were better off, and I’m sorry you were left wondering what went wrong between your mother and me. It was wrong, of both of us, to deny you your own closure, to not tell you the truth. And Tom…the way you found out what I’d been doing, that you carried that with you for so long, a burden so heavy, all on your own…and that you thought at some point you were to blame for the divorce…I…” He cleared his throat, overcome with emotion he likely didn’t want to display. “The three of you deserved better. Your mother deserved better. Over the past few years, as I’ve begun to not recognize the old man I see in the mirror every morning because he can’t possibly be ME…I started to view the past with new eyes. I can see my selfishness, the pain I’ve caused, the destruction I’ve wrought. I’ve lain awake many a night wishing I could go back and change it. But I can’t. And that’s the worst of it. I can’t take it back, I can’t make it disappear. And I’m not going to make excuses for myself, but I feel that I need to be honest, for a change…my first marriage ended, but the hurt…didn’t. And that was not something a man like me admits, especially to himself. So I told myself that love was useless, that it was pointless frivolity. And I believed it, like a religion. From that point forward, that’s how I lived my life. I liked, respected and enjoyed your mother, but I wouldn’t allow myself to become emotionally attached. Same thing with all of you. I focused on my career, and I permitted myself to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, but love…that had left me betrayed and broken, and I maintained a firm, albeit foolish, resolve that I was never going to let that happen again.”

Again, silence fell over the room.

“So. Here we are. I suppose the point of what I said there is that what I’ve learned is that allowing your past to walk with you in the present does irreparable harm to the future, and not only yours, but that of those around you. As I said, I expect no forgiveness from you. I’m unworthy of it. But I came, because…because I wanted to tell you, in person, that you three, my children, you are all intelligent, talented, loving, caring people. And I am grateful for that now, each and every day. And I thank your mother for doing all the work of raising you, for being there for you, and teaching you how life should properly be lived. It’s not about money, it’s not about success, it’s not about power…it’s about the connections you form with the people around you. It doesn’t matter so much when you’re young and you have, seemingly, nothing but time…but when you get to be my age, time is short, and you look back and see all you missed, all you wasted…” He paused, inhaling deeply before continuing. “And now, all of you have your own connections, love in your lives. I’m grateful for that too. And I know it’s far too much to ask of you, after everything, but I shall do so anyway as your mother said I should, but if you would allow me to participate in events such as this, and, perhaps, eventually, to get to know you again, to learn all the things I should already know…well, I would welcome the opportunity. Very much so.”

And with that, he sat back down, arms crossed in front of him. What he’d said about the past walking with you in the present struck a chord with me, and I focused on that for the moment. It was still completely quiet, Tom’s hand now in mine, his eyes fixed on the floor, jaw clenched. Diana rose from her spot.

“Well, what say we put presents under the tree?”

Sarah got up so quickly that Ansh jumped, startled. “Great idea, Mum.”

And then, as so many families do, we simply carried on as if none of it had ever happened.

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

Sarah and Ansh said goodnight first, reminding us that Sacchi would likely be up at a ridiculously early hour, which led to a mass exodus toward the second floor. There were hugs all around, but for James hanging back, and good tidings shared. After closing the door behind us, Tom half-jogged to the bed, sat down and rested his head in his hands. I walked to sit at his side, placing one hand on his lower back, then slowly circling, hoping to soothe.

“Maude. Did…I just…I really don’t know what to DO with all of this. I’m not even sure what I heard. This is…it’s…”

“Don’t put any pressure on yourself to do something right now. Take your time. Process it.” I snorted. “Said the woman who took an eternity to come to terms with her own familial bullshit.”

He lifted his head, a tiny smile upon his lips. “I adore you.”

“Of course you do.” I reached out with my free hand and cupped his chin, thumb gently stroking his stubbly cheek. “In all seriousness, though…how can I help? Do you need to vent? Rant?”

His head shook back and forth. “Not sure what I’d rant or vent about…too confused, because I just received an apology that I never saw coming nor ever imagined getting. I truly believed it would be about you, his reason for being here. But I think that might have been because of my own fear, that my father wouldn’t like you, that he wouldn’t approve of you, and it makes me sick to think that after all he’s done and all this time, that deep down, his opinion matters to me and I still crave his approval and his respect and his blessing and…and…” His voice broke as he began to sob. “And…and…his…lo…love.”

I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him to my chest, and he wept upon my shoulder, uncontrollably, struggling to silence himself but unable to do so completely. Every time a gasp or muted wail escaped him I had to rein in a wince, as it reminded me of how both he had broken down in our hotel room in New Orleans and how I’d done the same at my mother’s house. This time, at least, I was fully present and able to offer him comfort. He clung to me as I stroked the back of his head and rocked him, and as he began to calm I whispered in his ear.

“I’m here. It’s okay, baby. I know. I know how it hurts. I understand. I love you.”

My sentiments were repeated until he spoke, his face buried in the crook of my neck. His voice was ragged, but soft. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I love you too.”

Just as I opened my mouth to say for what seemed like the millionth time that he need not apologize I felt his own mouth open, teeth sinking into my flesh, lips pressing, followed by suction so powerful it made my toes curl.

“Well hello there, Hiddleston. Damn. This is…unexpected. But please, do continue.”

He growled, fumbling with the hem of my sweater, working his hand inside to caress my left breast through the satin of my bra. Right after he began to pinch my hardened nipple, he pulled away from me, yanking his own sweater off over his head and blowing his nose in it. The snarky comment on my lips was suppressed by his tongue thrusting into my mouth as he guided me into a standing position. I bit down on it and he moaned, hips jutting forward and grinding against me. The kissing continued, sloppy and wet, a long string of saliva still connecting us when we finally came up for air and attempted to separate. Neither of us said a word, the only sound in the room the discordant noise of us removing our shoes and stripping off our clothes as quickly as humanly possible, flinging them everywhere. I looked away from my bra hooks for a moment to find him watching me, pupils blown, jaw clenched. My nether region did some clenching of its own as I completed the task at hand, spun the bra around on my index finger, then let it fly through the air to land on the dresser top. He remained where he was, and I strode toward him, biting my lip as I noticed his cock twitch. Leaning forward when I reached him, I blew on his chest hairs, the initial shiver intensifying as my tongue snaked out and circled his right nipple, then his left. When I added teeth, he pushed me up and off him, then walked me backwards to the bed. His voice was dripping with desire when he spoke, as was his cock.

“Hands and knees for me? On the bed?”

I nodded, mouth agape, panting at the thought of him taking me from behind. While there wasn’t a single position I didn’t like, doggy style was one of my favorites. Just a flash of what it always felt like, his hips slapping against my ass, was enough to cause a rush of wetness that began to trickle down my thighs. I turned and clambered onto the bed, scooting up far enough so he had room to join me, wiggling my own hips suggestively and peeking over my shoulder back at him. He was on me in a heartbeat, pulling my cheeks apart, one nimble finger dipping into me, then pulling out to circle my clit.

“The view from back here, woman. I wish you could see it, see yourself spread wide…open and ready. Ready for me. For my cock. Are you ready for my cock, Maude?”

I whimpered, quietly, I thought, but he heard me anyway.

“Oh, I’m of a mind that you’re MORE than ready.” The head nudged my entrance. “Are you? More than ready? Have you reached the point of desperation? Is it driving you mad, feeling me so close but not where you need me to be most?”

With that I slammed backwards, taking him all in, and the sound he made was half scream, half moan and entirely too loud. He grabbed my hips and began thrusting, hard, fast, and grunting with every single re-entry. I felt his fingers intertwine with my hair, then tugging on it gently but firmly and holding my head in place. He slowed, regaining some semblance of control, which I snatched away by rolling my pelvis and pushing back against him, parrying his thrusts. The hand that had been in my hair disappeared and his arm wrapped around my chest, pulling me up and back, until my ass was resting on his thighs, my knees bent and spread wide, feet resting on either side of him. He ran his tongue up and down the back of my neck as he began to massage my clit, and I squealed. His response was a whisper, and his hot breath on my ear making me clench around him.

“Ride. Me.”

“Yep. Sounds good. Will do.”

I lifted myself off his cock slowly, then sank back down, then again, and again and again, my tempo increasing with each instance as I drew closer to orgasm. As it began he propelled us both forward again, me coming to rest on my elbows with my cheek pressed to the bed, him on top of me, body covering me like a blanket, holding himself up with one arm at first so he could continue playing with my clit, then shifting as the need for additional support arose when he came, hips jerking erratically, mouth open and lips on my shoulder, moaning and whimpering as he spent himself inside me, my walls squeezing and pulsing, leaving me without words, or thoughts, feeling nothing but the pleasure in that moment.

We remained as we were until our panting returned to simply breathing, his chin resting on my shoulder. Tom regained the power of speech first, which was not a single bit surprising.

“Sorry if the timing of that appears questionable. I just…I…”

I pushed myself up on my hands, and he lifted himself off me and rolled us over. I pulled away from him, his cock slipping out of me as I did so, then rolled again to face him, index finger tracing the line of his jaw.

“No need to say it. I understand what you ‘just’.” And I did, absolutely. Receiving comfort, wanting to lose your pain in pleasure, the desire for closeness, fulfilling that desire via the act that brings you as physically close to another human as you can possibly be, reminding yourself of what’s good, affirming that you love and are loved.

He reached out to bring me closer, and I buried my face in his neck, and he buried his in my hair, stroking my back as he murmured how much he loved me and I did the same. It seemed like we’d just fallen asleep when we heard Saachi screaming excitedly out in the hallway.

“It’s morning! It’s morning! Father Christmas came! And he left presents! PRESENTS FOR ME!”

Tom and I donned our pajamas and robes, which I’d made sure to bring when he informed me that no one in the Hiddleston house dressed on Christmas day until it was time for dinner, which was actually lunch. No official breakfast, either, just chocolates and sweets and fruit and caffeinated beverages, which sounded acceptable to me. As we descended the stairs the smell of roasting turkey hit my nostrils and my stomach growled loudly. Tom snickered, and I punched him in the arm.

“It’s like, not even 6 AM yet, dude. How long has your mother been up?”

Diana’s voice sounded from below. “Birds went in the oven at 4:30.” She came into view as we reached the bottom few steps, standing in the living room doorway, wearing a Christmas apron over a fluffy green robe. “This lot is not exactly patient when it comes to food, sad to say. Happy Christmas, Maude. And you too, son of mine. Treats are all laid out…grab a handful and come on in and see what Father Christmas brought for our darling girl. Or our tiny whirling dervish, which is more fitting for today.”

We were the last ones down, everyone else seated either on one of the couches or on the floor, all pajama-clad. A group shout of ‘Happy Christmas’ ensued, and I felt like I was starring in the British version of A Christmas Story, which was amusing until I realized that I was the prime candidate for pulling a Ralphie and saying fuck. Tom and I sat on the couch facing the fireplace, next to Dave and Emma. Sarah and Ansh were on the floor, helping Saachi with her gifts, among which were puzzles, books, various stuffed creatures, and an iPad. Sarah noticed me staring at it, not realizing it was with awe.

“I know, I know…we’re going to limit screen time, but we just think there’s so much for her to learn…”

I blinked, slowly comprehending what her comment meant. “Oh, sorry, Sarah…not why I was gawking. I just really, really love the design of Apple stuff. It’s like high art…flawless, seamless, feels as if it’s an extension of you when you hold it.” Tom chuckled, and I elbowed him in the ribs. “The kid stuff…no clue. But I guess I need to GET a clue.”

Emma shrieked. “OH MY GOD, MAUDE, ARE YOU PREGNANT?”

My brain short-circuited, and I realized Tom hadn’t been kidding about them thinking that if I fainted, and he graciously jumped in to do damage control.

“Christ, Em. It’s too early for that decibel level. No, she’s not.” He turned to me, silently asking if I thought it acceptable to discuss our plans. Though it made me incredibly nervous, it being said out loud, and the fact that it would now be obvious if we weren’t successful, it was my own carelessness that had opened this particular can of worms, so I nodded for him to continue. “Or I should say, not yet. We’re going to start trying soon, once I’m done filming, most likely.”

Within seconds I found myself being hugged and kissed by all of them in succession, with the exception of James, who simply said ‘jolly news’ but remained seated, drinking a glass of milk. Saachi rescued me by stating that all her Father Christmas gifts had been opened and now it was time to see what we’d all gotten for her. Tom went to the tree to retrieve our gifts, and she followed him back to the couch and climbed into his lap, tearing open the first one before she was fully seated. It was a giraffe-printed T-shirt with a cartoon giraffe on the front, munching on some leaves.

“Oh, a giraffe! Look, Mummy!” She held the shirt up. “It’s beautiful!”

Next came matching pants, sweatshirt, and sneakers. Tom saved the best for last, and when she removed the paper and saw a plain cardboard box she gazed up at him. “I do like boxes very much, Uncle Tommy. Thank you.”

The room erupted in laughter, and I reached out to help her open it. When she saw what was inside she gasped, reached inside and pulled out the eighteen-inch high plush giraffe I’d found for her. Unlike most, its proportions were correct, which she noticed immediately. “Oh, he’s just like a REAL giraffe.” She turned to her parents. “I have my very own real-like giraffe. His name is Charlie, and we’re going to be best friends.” Snuggling him to her chest, which was adorable because he was so giant, she turned back to me. “Thank you, Auntie Maude. I love you now.” And with that, she hopped off Tom’s lap and onto mine, hugging me tightly, Charlie between us. As I returned the embrace, the fragility of her, the smallness, this little person, putting her trust in me was incredibly overwhelming and I found myself both struggling not to cry and beaming like an idiot.

She left me soon after when Ansh said her iPad was ready to use, and the rest of us began to open our presents. There was no rhyme or reason to it, other than Diana matching gifts with each individual and piling them nearby. Tom and I were lost in our own little world, choosing to open our presents to each other before ones from family. He insisted that I go first, and I argued, but he smiled that smile and I had no choice but to give in.

The first was a team Jersey, navy blue, and I wondered if he’d lost his fucking mind until I unfolded it and saw my name on the front left breast in white, with the number 31 smack in the center. The back was the same, but across the top over the number was ‘TEAM HIDDLESTON’. I stared at him, and he grinned.

“That’s your team jersey. We’ve all got one. The number is…”

“My birthday.”

He nodded. “Yes. Your birthday.”

“All the swear words.”

His head tilted. “What?”

I raised my left hand, palm towards him. “That’s me using profanity without using profanity.”

“Oh, I like that. Here, do this one next.” He handed me large, flat object, heavier than I expected. I removed the wrapping, and realized it was a frame. Inside was a poster. A movie poster. The Matrix. One of my very favorite films. And when I finally really LOOKED at it, I noticed that there were signatures. Three of them. Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Laurence Fishburne.

“Thomas. Are these real? They can’t be real. Are they REAL?”

He nodded again, chuckling and licking his lips.

“ALL THE SWEAR WORDS TIMES A MILLION. How did you…my god, this is AMAZING. You are amazing. Thank you. Wow. I cannot EVEN.”

There was one more for me, a small item, the size and shape of a CD case. I peeled back the paper, and there I was, mid-song, from Hawaii karaoke. Down at the bottom was my name, with the words ‘Back to Black’ under it, and a logo. Skrillex. My mouth dropped open. “Dude. What. Is. This.”

“That’s you. From Kauai, doing Back to Black. Remastered by Skrillex. If you’ll look at the back you’ll see he did a remix for you as well.”

“NO HE DID NOT.”

Tom laughed. “Oh yes he did. Shall we listen to it now?”

I threw my arms around him. “Hiddleston, you are so thoughtful and kind and sweet and I love you, you bastard.” He hugged me back, and I pulled away. “But no, we’ll listen to it later. You have to open your stuff now. Plus I don’t think I want present company to hear me singing about a dude keeping his dick wet.”

“Excellent point. In addition, your voice does things to me…”

“Yes. Duly noted. Later. Anyway. Open the giant box first.”

I’d put all the Jurassic Park toys inside a single box, because I felt if he saw one it would be like he’d seen them all and let’s face it, there’s nothing quite like a box full of toys just waiting for you to love them. He peeled back the paper, popped the tape, lifted the flaps and the expression he wore when he realized what was inside filled me with such joy I thought I’d burst. He turned to me in disbelief.

“How did you…where did you…are these really…” He removed the electronic T-Rex from the box. “IT IS. ORIGINAL.” The rest followed suit quickly, and he placed them gently on the floor after giving them the once-over, alternating between grinning, giggling, and shaking his head. “Maude. It’s like I’m a kid again. On Christmas. This is incredible. Thank you.” With that, he kissed me, and it went on long enough for Sarah to feel the need to tell us to get a room already.

We laughed, blushing, and I decided to fess up. “I can’t take all the credit, you know. Your mom made me a list of what she could remember you having. All I did was find the stuff on eBay.”

He pinched my cheek. “Yes, but you’re the one who thought to do it.” He glanced at Diana. “Thanks, Mum. You’re becoming a regular Sneaky Pete, aren’t you?” She nodded, and I pointed to the other box, smaller than the first.

“Dude, open it. I can’t stand waiting another second.”

Of course he removed the paper at a snail’s pace just to torture me, and then pretended to not know how to get the lid off properly. His face lit up like a thousand suns when he saw the fedora.

“My very own Indiana Jones fedora. I hope you realize I’m going to where this everywhere we go forever and ever from this day forward.” As he lifted it out of the box with the intent of putting it on, I figured I should draw his attention to what he was actually holding. I reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“You might want to take a gander at the inside before you wear it.”

His puzzled gaze met my mildly impatient one, and he flipped it over.

“My god. Oh my god. OH. MY. GOD.” He stood, hat in his hand, his last comment so loud that everyone was staring at him. Emma snorted.

“Tom. It’s a hat. It’s lovely. Pipe down, won’t you?”

Tom shook his head. “It’s not just a hat. It’s a fedora signed by Harrison Ford. Indiana Jones.”

I tugged on his robe but he didn’t notice, so I stood, pausing to pull out a framed letter I’d hidden under extra tissue paper in the bottom of the box. He read it quickly, and when I saw his Adam’s apple bob I knew he was holding back a sob. A deep breath followed, then he spoke.

“It’s a note from Harrison. It says ‘Tom – Steve told me how much Indy means to you, but what really sold me was the story from your fiancée about you cutting off your sister’s braid and using it as a bullwhip. Here’s a hat. Wore it for the Last Crusade. You do good work, kid. Keep it up and you might be able to buy a real, actual bullwhip someday. – Harrison’.”

He sat back down, hat in one hand, frame in the other, staring at them both as his siblings and their significant others came over to get a better look. I sat as well, and as I did so he looked up at me.

“You did this. For me. How? How did you pull this off? I would have never expected this, for him to send one of the fedoras he actually wore. I…my god…my mind. So completely, utterly blown.”

I grinned. “I am tenacious and don’t take no for an answer.” He laughed. “Actually, I had lots of help. Friend here, client there, Steven Spielberg, and here we are. You like it, then?”

“It’s the best present…and it has a deeper meaning than me just being a huge fan, because of how we met, and what I said, and…I love you.”

My grin widened and I patted him on the shoulder. “I know.”

He roared, catching on to my Star Wars reference, and I joined in, Saachi finally looking up from her iPad to comment.

“I want a funny hat next year, please.”

Everyone laughed at that, and once the giddiness wore off it was back to the matter at hand. We’d gotten Diana a set of eight mugs, two tote bags and four T-shirts with her art printed on them, which she marveled at and said she finally felt like she might actually be a genuine artist. For Em and Dave we’d purchased a couples spa weekend, and for Sarah and Ansh we’d arranged for a date night out to see a show and spend the night at a five-star hotel in London, grandma set as the babysitter.

Diana put together a beautiful photo album that included pictures of Tom as a child, as well as other family shots for us, and she’d done a painting on canvas of Tom and I on the red carpet at the Cube gallery. And, as predicted, there was my Christmas sweater, bright blue with snowmen on the front. It was actually kind of cute, and I thought it might even be fun to put it on our first married people Christmas cards next year. Then I shook my head and decided I was going insane and that I needed some more tea immediately. Before I had a chance to get up go grab it, Diana handed me a thick greeting card envelope.

“Here, love. This one’s from me, Emma and Sarah. Technically for you and Tom, but mainly for you.”

I opened it slowly, reading the brochure and the open-ended tickets and where to call to book dates, not quite understanding what I was looking at straight away. It was something I’d never thought of, never would have thought of on my own, but wished I had and was grateful someone else had done it for me. They’d arranged for a week-long vacation for us at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel. Which was in Ireland. In Dalkey, Ireland, to be exact. Where my father had been born and lived until he met my mother and moved to the US. I didn’t speak. I couldn’t speak. The idea of seeing where he’d grown up, walking the streets he’d walked, visiting the bar his family owned…MY family owned? I didn’t know. He’d cut all ties with them, likely at my mother’s insistence, and that’s all I knew. Did he have siblings? Were his parents still alive? He never spoke of family, not once that I could recall. I’d been so angry, so hurt, that it never occurred to me that they could be out there somewhere in the world. And that they were my family, too. Which led me to the next step…what of my mother’s family? They knew there was a child, that I existed, both sides, but did they know it was…me? Suddenly, and much to my surprise, I felt compelled to find out.

Diana was standing in front of me still, her face full of concern as I looked up at her.

“Maude, if that was too forward of us, I’m terribly sorry…we just thought you might want to, since you’re close by now…”

I passed the papers to Tom, who had been reading them over my shoulder, stood, and wrapped my arms around Diana, a muted ‘thank you’ spilling from my lips before I began to weep. Sarah and Emma made it a group hug, and I realized that while it would be wonderful to have my questions answered, it would be icing on the cake, as they say, because I’d already been blessed with a family, the people right there in that room, who had opened their lives and their hearts to me, because I loved their brother, their son, and he loved me. And what a miracle that was, especially on a day made for such things.

#your light in the mist #chapter 39

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vexation-virgil · 6 years

Text

Colors (Part 8)

Fandom: Sanders Sides (Soulmate AU) Pairings: Prinxiety, mentions of Logicality Warnings: General angst, I don’t think there’s another one, this one is pretty soft (As always, if there is anything that needs tagged, let me know!) Summary: Everyone knows when you meet your soulmate, the world is supposed to fill with color for the both of you. Unfortunately for Roman Patrick, that is not always the case.

Taglist: @pendragonqueen09, @anaveragegayfan , @stillebesat , @anxious-but-whatever , @applecannibal , @pikachu-12 , @your-username-is-unavailable , @inkblotsanddoodles , @mikasiri , @hayleycreagine , @phlying-squirrel , @insert-epic-blogger-name-here , @lollingtothemax , @emerald-and-fluorite , @fall-chemically-atthedisco , @miss-meg1710 , @glamorousgizmo , @sleepyssnail

A/N: PLOT TWIST It’s out early because I have no self-control! So. Not a lot to say. Kind of a softer chapter but... Just for now. Love you guys!

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 5 PART 6 PART 7 You Are Here PART 9 PART 10 PART 11 PART 12

The weekend was long and almost unbearable, the scene from Friday afternoon playing in his head practically on repeat. Roman would start over and replay and think of other ways it could’ve gone - no matter how many times Patton would smack his shoulder and tell him to knock it off. There is nothing you can do except fix it, the older boy had told him after about the fifteenth time of catching him staring off and thinking for too long.

And Roman knew that, of course, he did. But it was hard not to wish that he had done it different. Any time that he didn’t spend thinking about what he had done wrong was spent thinking of a way to fix it, like Patton suggested and by Monday he was sure he had the best plan.

Virgil liked space, Virgil didn’t seem to be a big fan of anything big or elaborate, so Roman was going to keep it simple. No flowers like he wanted - Virgil couldn’t even see the flowers to appreciate their full beauty anyway and they weren’t together so it could very well serve to just make the issue worse - no long-winded apology speech. He was going to offer whatever space the other needed and a simple apology for overstepping the boundaries.

Easy.

By the time Monday morning came, Roman was second guessing himself. He went over his plan with Patton six separate times in the drive to school (despite having reviewed it with his brother three times on the way to Patton’s) and even throughout the day.

What if it wasn’t enough? What if Virgil still held onto that anger he had felt towards Roman on Friday? What if Virgil shut him down completely? What if they lost everything they had built towards over the last few months? What if Roman lost his soulmate before he had even won him over?

It was a lot to think about, a lot to consider, and by the time their shared literature period came, Roman was an absolute wreck. His usual neat and tidy hair had been run through so many times that it was starting to stick up in places, his shoulders were tight and tense with nerves, his mouth was practically trapped in the small frown he had worn for the day. But he needed to push through, needed to pull himself together.

And Roman tried, he really did - stopped to fix his hair, slow breathing exercises to relax his face and shoulders - but the second he saw Virgil, all that work went straight out the window and his mind was racing through the different ways this could turn out. The darkly clad boy was staring down at his desk studiously, but his headphones were still around his neck, as if to show that he was open for conversation. Roman pushed his feet, which felt cemented in the doorway, to the back of the classroom, plopping into his usual seat besides Virgil.

Silence hung in the air between them, despite the babbling of their classmates around them, and neither of them dared to look at each other. It all served to make Roman more anxious, until his apology came bubbling to the surface out of his control.

“I’m sorry--”

Roman stopped, his head flipping up to look at Virgil, the confusion on the other’s face probably mirroring the confusion on his own. They’d both spoken up at the same time. Which, honestly, shocked Roman. He wasn’t entirely sure what Virgil thought he had to apologize for. The whole situation had escalated because Roman never knew when to stop. That wasn’t Virgil’s fault…

Virgil waved a hand at Roman, bringing his attention back to the present. “Oh, I. I wanted to apologize for Friday,” Roman started. Virgil blinked at him and the confusion didn’t leave his face. Roman shifted and pushed forward. “It was out of line to try and push information out of you that you weren’t ready to give me. It took a lot of time to build your trust and I don’t want to lose that because I am incredibly stubborn. I will be more careful to not attempt to force you into situations that could make you uncomfortable.”

Virgil stared at him, mouth slightly ajar, and Roman had to replay his own words in his head. He had talked this through with Patton far too many times to have messed that up but Virgil wasn’t /saying/ anything so he must’ve said the wrong thing. Roman scrambled to find some words, backtracking and opening up his mouth to speak only to have Virgil bring his hand up and stop him. His mouth snapped shut. “We’re good, Princey,” he told him, a small smile gracing his lips. “I was actually going to say sorry for maybe being a little too harsh.” He paused. “I’m not good about talking about my feelings, alright? People aren’t usually asking - Dad is too busy, no mom, not a whole lot of friends - and it just… Caught me off guard.”

Now, that, that just wouldn’t do. Not a whole lot of friends? No one to talk to? Roman wouldn’t have that, not for his soulmate, no way. His soulmate deserved the world. “Well-” Roman started, getting cut off by Virgil once again.

“I don’t like whatever you’re thinking. You’ve got a weird look on your face. Can I preemptively say no?”

Roman guffawed, but immediately brought his own hand up to cover his mouth. It took him a moment to force his face to relax. “No, no, absolutely not. Don’t look so scared, I’m not going to hurt you. I was just going to suggest that perhaps after our final show on Saturday evening, you could come over. Stay the night, join our biannual post-show sleepover. And by our, I mean me, my brother, and his soulmate. We keep it small,” he told him with a grin of his own.

Virgil squinted at him suspiciously. “Your brother and his soulmate?”

“Yeah! Logan and Patton. Oh, you’ll love them. Logan is pretty quiet but he’s crazy smart and kind of a bumbling idiot when it comes to feelings so you won’t have to talk to him about those, And his soulmate, Patton. Man, Patton always bakes a stupid amount of sweets during show week. I’ll have cupcakes one day, brownies the next, cookies… And then he usually makes pasta after the last show for me that we eat while watching Disney movies until we pass out.”

“Right, why does that not surprise me?” Virgil snorted, shaking his head a bit.

Roman huffed at him and pouted out his bottom lip. “Well, you don’t have to. I just thought it might be fun to hang out outside of school for once,” he grumbled with crossed arms.

“You know what? It does sound fun. And it might be nice to try and sneak a peek at the less than perfect prince.”

“Ah, that’s assuming that I am ever less than perfect,” he informed him, sticking his tongue out as their teacher made her way to the front of the class to catch their attention.

The rest of the week flew by in a flurry of curtain calls, costume emergencies, and late night crashes. Roman adored every second of it, the lights and eyes on him, the time with his friends, seeing Patton cheering from the third row with his brother clapping next to him during four out of the five shows. It reminded him why he kept doing what he was doing, despite his parents disapproval.

It helped that throughout the week, he and Virgil ironed out the plans for their night after the show - stay to help the crew tear down some of the bigger pieces, Logan would pick them up, they would watch Nightmare Before Christmas (Virgil’s pick), Cinderella (Roman’s pick), and then Big Hero Six (a combined choice of Logan and Patton’s), pancakes in the morning, take Virgil home. Smooth sailing, per Virgil’s request - though it had taken practically begging to convince Logan to not make a minute by minute schedule of the night.

Logan actually seemed nervous to meet his soulmate, which made Patton nervous, which made Roman nervous, which made Patton more nervous, and, honestly, it could go around in circles for days. They were all nervous to meet the boy Roman had spent the last few months absolutely agonizing over.

Set breakdown was quick, easy, with the crew and - thanks to Roman - a large part of the cast working through it together, and as they were walking out of the building, Roman scrubbed off what was left of the makeup on his face and Virgil was tugging on his sleeves, a couple steps behind him. “Hey, Roman,” he piped up as he stopped, waiting for Roman to turn to him. “Are you sure this is okay? Your parents aren’t going to be mad?”

Roman blew out a little breath. “They won’t even find out. Mom won’t be home until Tuesday and my dad is working a double tonight,” he reminded him for the umpteenth time this week. He didn’t need to tell him that he thought they did this purposefully, to not have to deal with his frivolous extracurricular. “It seriously won’t be a big deal. Besides, if they find out Logan is involved, they won’t even care,” he said, smiling as he rushed forward to pull on Virgil’s sleeve.

Virgil huffed and pushed at Roman’s hand until he let go, but Roman could still see the smile on his face as he led him to the car.

Logan, for what it was worth, did not show his nerves on the drive home. He chatted casually with Virgil, easily, in a way that almost made Roman jealous of his brother. It had taken weeks, no months to get Virgil talking to him like this and it had taken his brother mere minutes. But, maybe that was a good thing. Virgil was pressed flush against his side in the backseat, warm and comfortable as he spoke in a quiet voice. If Virgil warmed up to his brother, and hopefully Patton, this quickly, then maybe there was hope for them yet.

And, sure enough, Virgil and Patton clicked almost immediately. Patton gushed over his lavender hair - with puns and Virgil actually laughed at them! Roman had no idea what they were all so worried about. Virgil thanked Patton over and over the spaghetti, saying it reminded him of his mother’s in a way that had Patton already packing a to-go container for him to take home the next morning.

Roman wished he could have enjoyed it longer, he really did, but halfway through Nightmare Before Christmas (it had been an exhausting couple weeks, he couldn’t be judged for nodding off early) with Virgil’s body pressed against his and Patton’s fingers carding through his hair from where he was sitting on the sofa behind him, it was hard not to drift off.

“Hey, hey, Vee,” he grumbled sleepily, patting at the emo’s side and earning a chuckle. “Did you- did you know you have very pretty eyes? They’re… They’re like chocolate. No! Chocolate cake, smooth and rich and I wish I could have them all the time,” Roman told him, dragging out the world ‘all’ for far too long.

It didn’t dawn on him that all eyes had turned to him as he drifted off to sleep, shock covering their faces as Virgil resisted the urge to run right out of the house and all the way home.

#prinxiety #logicality #romantic prinxiety #romantic logicality #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides fic #my fics #colors

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