#can acacia write romance? let's see...
Text
Our Corner of the World
Description: When pre-wedding jitters and nervousness start to get the better of Grey, her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Marie, knows just what to do, and though it may be bad luck for the groom to meet with the bride before the wedding, Gauche is willing to take that risk if that's what it takes make sure that their wedding day is one of the happiest days of Grey's life.
Rating: G
Warnings: Hurt/Comfort due to Grey's social anxiety, but it's really just soft fluff here
Fandom: Black Clover
Genre: Wedding Fluff and Hurt/Comfort
Relationships: Grey/Gauche Adlai and also Grey's sisterly bond with Marie and her friendships with the other Black Bulls ladies, her trusted bridesmaids.
Characters: Grey, Gauche Adlai, Marie Adlai, Vanessa Enoteca, Noelle Silva, Secre Swallowtail, and Charmy Pappitson.
Word Count: 1880
Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another site. Thank you for reading!
Many thanks to @lyranova for this request and the opportunity to write about this pairing! Much love, dear!
Story Below the Cut
“You look so beautiful!” exclaimed Marie with a bright smile as she bustled around Grey with her bouquet of flowers. Blushing, Grey twisted her hands as she looked at herself in the mirror. She could agree that the wedding gown itself was stunning—an unrepayable gift from Vanessa when Grey hadn’t found one she liked while shopping—as was the sparkling bracelet that Noelle had lent her for her “something borrowed.” She wasn’t so sure about herself, however, even though her friends had been up since six that morning helping her get ready.
Even so, she replied in sheepish gratitude to her soon to be sister-in-law, “Thank you.”
“Gauche won’t know what hit him when he sees you in this dress,” Vanessa laughed with a wink as she finished pinning Grey’s veil to her intricate updo.
Grey’s blush deepened. “You…you really think he’ll like it?”
“Oh, honey, he’s going to love it,” said Vanessa before Noelle chimed in.
“You could walk down the aisle wearing a potato sack, and he’d still love it.”
Vanessa playfully rolled her eyes. “Are you really comparing my tailoring to a potato sack?”
Frowning, Noelle bristled. “I just meant that Gauche loves her so much, he would be dying to marry her today no matter what she was wearing.” She sighed before turning to Grey with a smile. “But really you’re stunning—no one will be able to take their eyes of off you.”
Grey swallowed hard. “No one…?” Her cheeks grew warm, and her hands began to shake. Her head was spinning just thinking of a room full of people with their eyes transfixed on only her. “Everyone…everyone is going to be staring…at me…” Something twisted in her stomach. She could almost picture it now—a hundred eyes just waiting for her to do something humiliating or stupid like stumble over her dress on her way up the aisle or mess up her vows or…. “I think…I’m going to be sick…” she mumbled with a gulp.
Noelle and Vanessa immediately helped her ease back into a nearby chair before she lost her balance, and Charmy rushed over with some water and light snacks.
“Oh Grey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you nervous,” Noelle apologized as Vanessa patted Grey’s hand and Marie took the other.
“Everyone gets jitters before their wedding,” said Vanessa with a sympathetic smile. “But you have nothing to worry about—Gauche loves you, and today is about you two starting the rest of your lives together.”
“Vanessa is right, la,” chimed Charmy. “We didn’t even think Gauche could be this happy, and honestly, never really thought this day would come.”
“Charmy!” huffed Vanessa. “Not helpful.”
Charmy shrugged but chuckled, “But the point is that you two love each other, and this is your day. Don’t worry about anybody else.”
Grey swallowed hard. That was easier said than done—especially when an entire hoard of wedding guests would be staring at her and watching her every move. She shook her head. She was so stupid for not having thought about this before. She had worried about so many other things that seemed insignificant now when what she should have been worried about was how she was going to make it up the aisle without getting so nervous she froze in place or transformed into someone else—which she supposed wouldn’t be fair to Gauche, even if he might be better off marrying someone else anyway, someone who wouldn’t be so painfully shy.
“You’re looking green, la. Drink this,” said Charmy handing her a glass of water. Grey took it with a nod, but the idea of drinking anything right now made her stomach churn.
Vanessa stood up from her place beside her. “Don’t worry—this is fixable.” She patted Grey’s shoulder before heading towards the door. “I have an idea of something that might help.”
“Me too!” added Marie taking off after Vanessa.
Despite Charmy, Noelle, and Secre’s best attempts to reassure her in Vanessa and Marie’s absences, Grey merely sunk further and further into her nervousness and pre-wedding jitters. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized to her friends but stopped herself from burying her face in her hands before she ruined her makeup.
“Don’t apologize,” said Secre. “We’re here to support you.”
“That’s what bridesmaids are for, la,” Charmy insisted.
Grey nodded, but before she could respond, she heard voices echoing from the hallway.
“She needs to talk to you right now,” said Marie’s voice very emphatically.
Another voice sighed. “Okay, but aren’t I not supposed to see her before the wedding…?”
Grey’s face flushed an even deeper pink. Gauche. Gauche was here? Marie went to get him? Why?
“Come on, girls, let’s leave them alone for a minute,” said Noelle ushering the other bridesmaids out into the hall. Grey stared at the partially open door—frozen and unsure of what she should do when Gauche knocked on it.
“Grey? Is everything okay in there?”
Grey swallowed hard, wondering if he was going to walk through into the room, but he waited on the other side of the door where she couldn’t see him.
“It’s fine,” she squeaked, but he knew her far too well to believe that—even without the hitch in her voice.
“Are you sure? Do you want me to come in? I’ll close my eyes,” he added dryly.
Grey nodded, before realizing that Gauche couldn’t see her, but it seemed he didn’t have to as he walked through the doorway very slowly with his eyes closed and his arms outstretched in front of him. He looked very debonair in his suit and the little pink flowers in his boutonniere.
“I’m sorry Marie came to get you,” she said when he reached the center of the room. Gauche stopped walking.
“She was worried. I think the other girls are worried too.” He paused. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
Grey swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, I—”
“You don’t have to keep apologizing. You feel how you feel and that’s fine,” he answered matter-of-factly, but there was something kind in his voice that made Grey’s mouth twitch in the corners. “Are you…having second thoughts about getting married?”
“No. Not at all. Never,” she reassured him. “I was just…nervous…because I…”—she paused and gulped—“Don’t you think everyone will be staring at me?”
“Of course, they’ll be staring at you—you’re the bride and also the most beautiful woman in the room.” There was something about how matter-of-fact his tone was when he said it, that made Grey blush. “But you don’t have to pay them any attention.”
“I’m not sure I can do that…” stumbled Grey, and he reached out his hand to her.
“Do you want me to take the attention off you? I could cause some kind of scene or ask Luck or Magna or Asta to do it—they might even cause a commotion without being asked.” He shook his head slightly, but she could see the twitch of a smile in the corners of his mouth as she stifled a laugh.
“You’d do that?”
“I’d wear a clown nose up on the altar if that’s what it would take to get you to marry me,” he said with that dry, deadpan humor of his. “When you walk down the aisle, I just want to see you happy—because I know that it will be one of the happiest moments of my life, and I hope it’ll be one of the happiest moments of yours too.”
“Gauche…” She stopped herself from hugging him—though she desperately wanted to. “You really mean that?”
Nodding, his face softened as did his tone as he continued, “I do. I can’t wait to start my life with you, and that’s what this about. Not some big ceremony or big reception or all the attention—it’s about promising to spend our lives together.” He leaned forward, and Grey moved so he could gently kiss her forehead. “And if you still get nervous, that’s okay—just look right at me, at how happy I am to be marrying you. Pretend we’re the only ones there—like it’s our little corner of the world.”
“Our little corner of the world,” she repeated, and Gauche nodded—gently clasping her hand in both of his and giving it a tender, reassuring squeeze. Grey took a deep breath allowing a feeling of calm to wash over her. Perhaps Marie had been right to get him, had known that there was something about Gauche that helped her feel safe and secure, even confident but, most of all, loved. He couldn’t have been more right—this was about the rest of their lives, and she was so blessed that she would get to spend the rest of hers with him.
“Why do you put up with me?” she asked with a bit of a playful smile.
“Because I love you, you goofball,” he teased dryly squeezing her hand again. “Now do you want to get married or what?”
Even though he couldn’t see her, Grey hoped Gauche could feel her joy as she beamed at him with a confident, “Yes.”
*-*-*
Grey and her bridal party, save Gauche, gathered excitedly—waiting for their procession down the aisle. Grey trembled more with excitement than nervousness now and hugged Marie tightly multiple times, thanking her profusely for getting her brother to help her through her pre-wedding anxiousness.
“It really was the perfect plan, thank you,” she whispered, and Marie smiled brightly at her.
“I’m glad I could help, and I’m glad you’re going to be my sister.” She hugged her again before she pulled away with an inquisitive shake of her head, “But what was Vanessa’s idea?”
Grey’s brow furrowed. In all the excitement, she had completely forgotten that Vanessa had said she had a plan of her own. “I don’t—” she began but stopped. She quickly scrambled to cover her gasping mouth with her hand as Captain Yami walked over wearing a brightly colored, obnoxiously floral-print shirt.
“Ca…Captain…” stumbled Grey as most of the bridesmaid and groomsmen stifled laughter.
“At least not everyone is going to be staring at you now,” quipped Vanessa giving her a pat on the back.
“She made this ridiculous thing,” Captain Yami grunted with a huff and a shake of his head.
“You really don’t have to—” Grey began to insist with blushing cheeks, but the Captain cut her off.
“Only for you, Grey.” He paused and his lopsided grin faded as he glanced over at their companions. “So don’t the rest of you knuckleheads start getting ideas.”
As the music began to play, the Captain linked his arm with hers preparing for their procession. Grey’s heart pounded as they finally moved in front of the doors, and when they finally opened, she realized she had been so foolish to worry. Her eyes found Gauche immediately—he had never looked happier, and as she walked down the aisle, she didn’t even have to pretend that there was nothing and no one else there with them. There really was only him and the look of indescribable joy and love on his face, as if they really were in their own little corner of the world.
#greyche#grey x gauche#gauche x grey#grey x gauche adlai#gauche adlai x grey#grey (black clover)#gauche adlai#marie adlai#black clover fanfictions#writing requests#limited edition romance writing event#can acacia write romance? let's see...
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I don't know If I can choose 2 flowers if not then just take the first flower into consideration 😊
Duece Gardenia , Arbutus
Jamil Tulip , Acacia
(I generally only do one prompt and one character per ask so I’ll just do the first one)
Deuce Spade:
Gardenia - the love of a friend who doesn’t want to just be friends.
It was a simple little exercise.
After being swept up in a conversation with Rook, where they had talked all things love and romance, Deuce had been given the idea to write out his feelings. While he didn’t think he could adequately describe the way you made him feel, Rook told him it was of no consequence, and to focus on writing the words in his heart rather than forming something coherent. He thought the advice was a bit odd but he trusted his senior.
He scribbles, erases, crosses out, and otherwise annihilates the paper but eventually it’s filled with words that seem to reflect on his feelings for you. He hesitated to call it finished as each time he wanted to end it, he thought of more things about you that made him smile. His heart was racing at the thought of you reading this letter, the intimacy behind you reading his very thoughts, and he nearly crumpled it then and there.
When he’s finally finished he’s ready to tuck it away and forget it ever existed, stopped only by Ace and Grim who suddenly stole his attention away.
“Wh-what are you…?!” Deuce is confused as Ace suddenly hoisted him up out of his seat, irritation evident on his face while Ace seemed unphased.
“Let’s go! You’re helpin’ me and Grim out here with something.”
“Why would I do that? Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“Busy doing what?”
Wrong move.
Deuce quickly snatched a book off the table, holding it directly in front of Ace’s face to fully block his view. Ace let out an annoyed groan and swatted the book away.
“Haven’t you given up on learning how to read?”
“Huh?!”
“Come on, let’s go! This is way better than reading anyway!”
Deuce is pulled away, the letter with his heart on it left abandoned on the table for all to see until a certain dorm leader happened by.
“Who left this paper here? …Hm, a letter?” Riddle frowned as he picked it up, reading only the top line that said your name. “I know who it’s addressed to. I suppose I can deliver it as I look for Trey…”
Deuce was not at all prepared for the events of that night.
#Disney TWST#TWST#Disney Twisted Wonderland#Twisted Wonderland#TWST Imagines#TWST x Reader#Twisted Wonderland x Reader#Twisted Wonderland Imagines#Deuce Spade#Deuce Spade x Reader#Scenario#Flower Prompts
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❤️🔥 ship your tumblr cutie patooties (moots and anons) with a character + assign them a troupe ❤️🔥
Wow this has been sitting in my inbox for… far too long…
Alrighty friendos, get ready to be shipped!
……….
@cringeyvanillamilk: Steph, I ship you with Kyoujurou Rengoku! You deserve this sunshine man, okay girl! Kyoujurou is strong and dedicated. He's observant and helpful. You're very intelligent, always learning and willing to go. You both are also brimming with energy and enthusiasm for life! You'll set each other's heart ablaze with romance and inspiration to live full lives. Kyoujurou would defend you from any physical threats and with your understanding of the human mind and emotions, I'm sure you could talk him through the difficult relationship he has with his father and his heavy burden as a Pillar. Your trope with Kyoujurou is the Seduction-Proof Marriage. Kyoujurou would love you so much, he'd never even consider any other person once he's with you. No way, no how! And you're a loyal gal, Steph! Once you've got a quality man like Kyou on your arm, you know you're good. (Maybe he'll allow you to glance some other ways because he's that confident that you'll always be with him.)
@acacia-may: Dear Acacia, I would ship you with Mitsuri Kanroji! I love me the Obamitsu ship but you and Mitsuri would be quite the pair. You two have a lot in common personality-wise which is why I think you'd get along great. Mitsuri is the type of girl to see the beauty in everything. She admires and thanks everyone she meets. She's creative and free-spirited. Acacia, you have your Little Trees appreciation and I believe you've mentioned having a number of aus and ships so you've got a big heart and big brain full of creative thoughts. You two could probably go on and on about the nice people she works with or the medias you enjoy. I could see Mitsuri being interesting in learning recipes to accommodate your dietary restrictions too as she's ultra caring and into food like that! Lots of fun and love in your relationship. The trope I'd give you two is Sickeningly Sweethearts, though you two wouldn't gush about your coupledom all the time, you'd be so sweet with each other that it might give people cavities~! 💖
@lyranova: Lyra, dear, the person I ship you with is Loke/Leo the Lion. Loke is a very romantic guy and a bit silly with how forward he can be when interested in someone. He's got a complicated history with romantic relations and women in general but he doesn't let it show so I think that as long as you don't bring it up, it shouldn't cause any issues with the relationship. Loke would be your valiant knight to protect you. And if you ever learn to fight with your own power, he will acknowledge that strength and work with as an equal rather than being over-protective. Out of all the characters brought up in his post, Loke is the most experienced so he will know all the best date locations, no matter what your preferences might be. Your trope as a couple would be Terrible Pick-Up Lines. Sorry, not sorry! Loke would try to be a smooth talker but given your experience with fanfic, you'd probably just laugh them off because you know how funny they can sound. You'd still find it endearing that he's trying to smooth talk you though. Make sure to give him a flirty line back to let him know you don't see his one-liners as complete failures.
@marune2: I’ve decided to ship you, Marune, with Prince Cyril (from Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost). It’s the monstrous looks and kind heart of his that I think you might like (because you write characters that are that way). Cyril a bit (okay maybe a lot) snarky but he’s ultimately a good man! He's also magical and it's very cool when he uses his magic! He's got this gothic fairy tale vibe which I think you might enjoy. Cyril is fond of strong-willed people; with your goal to be a comic writer and the work you do, I think he'd give you a chance and grow fond of you with time. Our beast prince here is a little reckless at times and you're a caring person so hopefully you don't worry yourself sick over him. And be warned though, Cyril has some admirers who aren't friendly so when he shows an interest in you, be prepared to fight for your life. I'm definitely picturing the One Head Taller trope with you two. Because Cyril is tall (remember, he's a beast). He will probably poke fun at the height difference, but you can just yank him down to your level if you feel like messing with him back.
(Lowkey, I also recommend you read the manga. Just five volumes, there's some pretty gruesome moments, and there's a bit of dark magic and contracts involved. Though it is a mxf romance and I don't know how much that might affect your interest.)
@thoughtfullyrainynightmare: Twilight/Loid Forger is the character I'd ship you with, Laura. He's no Fuegoleon but he's as close as we'll get elsewhere. Loid is capable and intelligent. But despite being an acute spy, he's a bit dense on some things (like how is he not suspicious of Yor?) and isn't totally in tune with "normal" people which can lead to some awkward moments. But, Loid always tries his best, for the sake of his missions as well as the people he finds himself closely associated with/growing to genuinely care for. The trope I'd give you two is Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl. Loid doesn't brood so much as obsessively worries about his missions and I can see you, having a more normal life and a very understanding heart, finding a way to calm him down and give him advice when he's troubled (or give as good advice as you can when he'd be keeping the spy life secret from you. Though I think you'd eventually catch on cause you're so smart). (Lowkey I was gonna pair you with Loke as well because... Lion, but nah! 🤣)
@simpingforthisonedeer: Anshi, dearest, the fictional character I'd ship you with is Lord Grandfather. You like your old men (Julius/lh+j) and you like your villains (Lucius) so why not both?
But actually no, I'd ship you with Tengen Uzui. You two have a similar vibe in that you both can be loud and goofy, but when things get real, you both can buckle down and be serious. Tengen is more serious about fighting and the battlefield while your strong presence calls out people's nonsense or bad behavior. Tengen can come off as having an inflated ego but he puts on a bit of an act because he knows he's not a fighting prodigy like other characters and doesn't have the same people skills like other characters. You play yourself up too but I know there's genuine confidence in who you are and your abilities. I think you and Tengen would do a great job of building each other up because you two would see the greatness in each other. You two would definitely do the Romantic Ribbing trope. It'd be mutual, you teasing Tengen and him teasing you back because you both are smart and sassy enough to keep the banter going.
(Although you should probably be made aware that Tengen already has three wives and I don't know if that'd be a deal breaker or not...)
#questions from the ask box#soda asides#friends#steph the og mutual#fully bloomed acacia#lyra of the future#marune the devil delight#laura the writing senpai#anshi the inbox invader#kyoujurou rengoku#mitsuri kanroji#loke/leo#prince cyril#loid forger#tengen uzui#not a single black clover character made it into this post#but a lot of kny...#hmmm... the kny brainrot is returning...
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flowers for a forbidden (particularly lgbt+) romance? bonus if they can be found in scandinavia ✨
aIt has been ages, but we have an ask floating around this blog about secret relationships. Which is essentially what this comes down to in flower language. Even better we have a little secret love tag as forbidden as a meaning doesn’t exist. So let’s start with that, and see what we can add to that.
You might also find our feelings of love tag interesting. (An umbrella tag for romantic and platonic.)
Victorian flower language
alstroemeria – devotion
amaranth (globe) – unfading love, immortality
amaryllis – pride, timidity, splendid beauty, haughtiness
ambrosia – love returned
anemone – forsaken, frailty
apple – temptation
aspen – excessive sensibility, lamentation, fear, groan
butterfly orchis – gaiety
carnation (red) – my heart aches for you, admiration, my heart breaks
citronella – homosexual love
cobaea – gossip
dogwood – love undiminished by adversity, durability
evergreen thorn – solace in adversity
flora’s bell – without pretension
honeysuckle (coral) – the colour of my fate
lily (yellow) – gay, gratitude
locust tree (green) – affection beyond the grave
milk vetch – your presence softens my pains
mistletoe – I will rise above all, I surmount (all) difficulties, kiss me, affection, difficulties, I climb to greatness, parasite
mullein – take courage, good nature
pine (spruce) – hope in adversity
poplar (black) – courage
protea – courage
rosebud (stripped of thorns) – I fear no longer I hope
spindle tree – your charms are engraven on my heart
toothwort – concealment
willow (french) – bravery and humanity
wormwood – do not be discouraged, absence
Hanakotoba
alstoemeria – longing for the future, sustainability, exotic
astilbe – visit of love, freedom
azalea (white) – happy to be loved by you, satisfaction
chamomile – power born from adversity, endure adversity
cleome – secret meeting, drunk on your appearance
crown-of-thorns – endure adversity, kiss early
deutzia crenata/ utsugi – secret, old-fashioned
dracaena fragrance (tree of happiness) – happiness that cannot be hidden, happiness
edelweiss – courage, important memories
gladiolus – secret meeting, beware, memory, oblivion, victory
iris/ayame (kakitsubata) – happiness always comes
loquat – secret confession, confessing to you, healing
mimosa (acacia) – secret love, friendship
nigella – secret joy, embarrassment
primula (red) – secret of beauty, achievements without trust
stock (white) – secret love, compassion
Some of the above, or rather some species of the above can be found in Scandinavia. Be aware however that we cannot vouch for either flower language having had exactly this particular species in mind given their origin. Yet there is also no way to say a more general application doesn’t work. (A primrose is a primrose regardless of species to most people).
Denmark
pines of Denmark
primula veris
Norway
artemisia norwegicia
primula veris
salix arbuscula/salix artica/salix lantana (all willows but none of them the French willow)
Sweden
salix arbuscula/salix artica/salix lantana (all willows but none of them the French willow)
Iceland
salix arctica/salix phylicpholia (both willows, but also not the French willow)
Faroe Islands
salix arctica/salix lantana/salix phylicpholia (all willows, but also not the French willow)
Finland
dianthus armeria
salix arbuscula/salix lantana/salix phylicpholia (all willows, but also not the French willow)
That being said even if the flowers above aren’t native to Scandinavia, given the right circumstances they could still grow, or be bought. However, my instructor once did tell us how costly flowers are in northern countries due to the cold temperatues and more specificically that it seems to be custom to add an extra sheet of packaging for each degree below 0°C.
– Mod Jana
Disclaimer
This blog is intended as writing advice only. This blog and its mods are not responsible for accidents, injuries or other consequences of using this advice for real world situations or in any way that said advice was not intended.
#flower language#writing advice#victorian flower language#hanakotoba#japanese flower language#forbidden love#feelings of love#ask answered#mod jana#self referral
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Journaling
1400 words. Kyler’s memories about the Heir trials. Warnings for angst and tragedy.
It all starts with Acacia insisting he should write a journal.
The idea is ridiculous so he doesn’t even consider it. What is the point of writing down his own thoughts? The information he has and remembers? Quite the pointless activity.
But she insists it’s amazing, freeing and helps with focus. That it’s somewhere safe to talk to, to deal. And she leaves a very inviting looking empty notebook in dark leather with an old-style ink pen on his desk.
At least she doesn’t say it’s therapeutic. That would be the last drop.
He glares at it every time he walks by. Acacia put the stupid idea into his head. So one afternoon he gives in, just to get her of his back. He can just try and tell her it didn’t work and it will be over.
He isn’t sure why he can’t just outright lie. It feels too wrong to lie to her. Another thing she has taken from him.
Sitting down, he knows she means well, and that’s something that confuses and fascinates him at the same time.
He refuses to write about the thing he suspects she wants him to confess though. No, this is not a trauma session and he isn’t doing this for himself. He is following a whim and nothing more.
The ink pen slides smoothly on the paper. He starts with something simple, something at least a bit worth remembering. How the quit mornings in the forest remind him of the smell of damp grass before sunrise at the training fields. He used to go there before the other clones woke up and he was the last one to leave.
The training routines. The magic techniques. The sequence of movements. He can work with that. Those are safe points, practical and worth dwelling on. So he describes them in painful detail, as if it was tomorrow he would have his tests again.
As if he was leaving materials for the younger ones to learn from.
He turns the page abruptly at the dangerous direction. This is not about him, not about the future, not about the clones.
But what else is there to write about? He doesn’t have much else.
The first time he met Acacia at the battlefield. Her hair shining on the sun in all shades of gold. He latches onto that, on all his first impressions, on the battle strategy, on pinpointing her weaknesses.
When she was hanging from the chains in the prison, her face too bright for such a hopeless place. No, that’s not it.
He would much rather write about seeing her strong and friendly and bold. The paper rustles under his hands. There is no Acacia without the hideout, the Rogue Mages. So he writes about them - the routines, the daily regime, the guarding shifts...
No no no. This isn’t a report to hand over after a mission. This is not a paper for his Father. If he wants to write for himself, he has to let go of the truth, of the objectivity, of the cold detachment.
Focus on the emotion.
Seeing Mira in the garden, balancing on one leg in a comical yoga position. Casey playing basketball with kids. Jayden grinning as he reads a sappy romance novel at the porch.
The images, the smells, the colors. Biased, personal, unapologetic. How it made him feel and why it mattered.
The scales running up Wes’s arm, his smile far from sheepish. Elsa playing the electric piano in the kitchen. Nike taking his hand to show him the sunset. The first time in so long that someone wasn’t afraid of him.
The peaceful image is replaced by Grayson’s hunted face, as shadows from the camp fire flash over him.
His eyes reflecting his own, it brings him to the other eyes in the dark, to that night again.
No no no. Not going there.
His chest feels heavy aa he tries to move on. The loud music shaking the walls. Mira’s horrible singing as she cuts the fruits. The raven perched at the window.
The days spent holed in his room after dinner, training more than was scheduled for the day. He has to be the best. Nothing can be left to luck.
His writing becomes more frantic, scribbles that are too quick and bent to be readable. There is no logical thread anymore, the scenes replace each other incoherently, jumping between times and people.
No one is going to read this. He can burn it right after it’s finished. It doesn’t matter what he says here.
A cramp pierces his hand, but the need is burning him too much to let go of the pen.
The image of Acacia and Casey playfully sparring in the field interrupted by his own hands clashing with a pair of identical ones. He can’t have a bruise from this, he has to be strong enough not to let this hurt him.
It’s as if some imagined barrage broke and the memories flood him, overwhelm him, one by one.
Joking conversations in the cafeteria. Sneaking around the alarms to climb on the roof. Tyler playing on a flute. Where the hell did he get it? Such a useless thing.
Tyler smiling down at him, when he does something right. Giving him tips in secret in the locker room. Greeting the others as if he expected a greeting back.
The odd one, the friendly one, the risky one. He was known for it. They were all suspicious and yet no one could resist him.
Tyler.
Tyler. Tyler. Tyler. He writes down the name in the middle of a blank page. And then he can’t stop. He writes it down, again and again, fills the pages with his brother’s name.
Years of suppressed memories. Years of silence, when he didn’t dare to think about him, remember him, mourn him. Years since he would let himself even whisper his name.
And now it is everywhere. He can’t stop. Sweat slicks down his back, his breathing becomes heavy, his arm is burning. The sunny afternoon sky long since turned into deep darkness.
He doesn’t want to let that name go, despite the dread that resurfaces with it. Tyler has been hunting him in his dreams for the past few months. Since meeting Wes, since the argument with Grayson, since he let himself get involved with all of them.
Tyler, who was helping out the clones and never got any worse himself. Tyler who smiled as if he didn’t need a reason for it. Tyler, who was there with him at the Heir Trials.
They have shared the dark together, the realization. They were handpicked to be the best clones, having the best mindset, the most potential. The best from the best. It was a promise and a pride to be selected for the trials. It took them being sent to the forest in a survival test to realize, how wrong they were.
That this wasn’t training or a test. It wasn’t meant to be fair. Their promise of bright future turned into a gladiator fight. And only one could be left standing.
He watched his brothers destroyed in various ways. Some have gotten too slowed down by denial or by helping an injured one. Some fell to panic and some to despair. Some gave up during a fight and others would just kill themselves.
Until it was only him and Tyler.
His hands were shaking as he gripped the pen like a sword, carving the words right into his heart.
Tyler who was too strong to die, but too weak to live. Tyler who was supposed to win, but his heart betrayed him. Tyler who smiled at him even then, as blood dripped from his lips, as he touched his cheek gently, for the last time.
In apology, forgiveness or plain kindness, he wasn’t sure.
Kyler lets the pen go, the falling noise waking him up from the zone. There it was, written, tangible, in the open. The paper drinking it all up, the pain, the horror, the guilt. The love.
There was nothing left to say.
He can’t look at the notebook, almost completely filled with his scribbles. The cover slides shut.
Kyler stumbles to his bed, feeling completely drained. There is no peace, as far as he can tell - just emptiness, with all his strength stuck on the page between the lines.
Before he can wonder about the point, he falls asleep.
And it’s the first night in three months that he doesn’t dream.
---
Wip tag list:
@thewalkingnerdx @kosmosian-quills @kittensartswriting @cilly-the-writer @beanenigma @this-is-where-i-write-stuff @sybil-writes @mjmnorwood @stories-by-rie @fields-of-ink @sunlight-and-starskies @skwilliterate @mudtomagic @writingwithhotchocolate @lyssthewriter @missbrunettebarbie-writer
#writeblr#creative writing#my writing#fantasy#clones#brothers#angst#my wip#my ocs#kyler#wip: 5th magic#idk it's a bit spoilerish#but I have been wondering for so long how this could be expressed in a scene#how this could come up in the book#and this is finally an idea for it#so yeah#experimenting with scenes that might make it into the book#see the mates are for something XD
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Ascension
Summary: When Chase was on his power hungry rampage, you helped him push through. Now you’re about to ascend and the boys find out. You find yourself in the same shoes as Caleb when one of your sisters come after your power
Pairing: Chase Collins x Black!Witch!Reader (The Covenant is one of my favorite movies of all time and there just aren’t enough Chase fics out there)
WC: 8.1K (this is my longest one yet and I’m proud of it)
Warnings: Mentions of witchcraft, a bit of angst, death, raising the dead, digging up a grave, blood, allusions of Hell.
-I KNOW THIS ISN’T AVENGERS! I WRITE FOR CHASE COLLINS AS WELL! I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY IT ANYWAY! PLEASE COMMENT AND REBLOG!!-
A/N: This was supposed to be part 2 but since almost everyone hasn’t read the first part, I started over since the first part was written like last July (2018) when I started this account. I deleted part 1 since it only had 24 notes lmao so here’s the full thing, edited and better!
Chase was a guy many knew not to mess with. Yeah, he stayed to himself but it was his mysterious demeanor that everyone didn’t want to get the ugly side of. He didn’t care about anyone really, only one person. You, his precious girlfriend.
You were there to keep him grounded, even during his power hungry rampage. You were the one that kept him from destroying himself and the lives of others. You made him realize he couldn’t lose you by doing this. He didn’t know how such a girl like you, such a homebody, quiet and shy could keep a maniacal witch like him at ease but you did it.
Just like Caleb though, you didn’t want your powers to get the best of you, which no one knew you had in the first place, not even Chase. You were in a coven of your own, but your coven knew what such power could do to just one person, and losing a previous member really made that reality set in.
You couldn’t lose another person you cared about due to their inability to keep their powers at bay.
————
Another fateful night at the Putnam barn consisted of drinks and music and just the group hanging together. Kate and Sarah were having their own conversation but you weren’t interested so you tuned into the guys.
“I think someone else like us is here” Reid brought up as he took a swig of his drink.
“And what would make you say that?” Caleb arched an eyebrow and took his arm from around Sarah, now leaning on his elbows on his knees.
“Remember when you could feel that Chase was here?” Reid questioned and that caused Chase to tense up but you were there to calm his nerves.
“Yeah” Pogue now joining in.
“It’s like that. I feel it. The dreams, the darklings, spiders. It’s like that all over again” Reid explained with his hands.
“It’s not me, I swear. I’m done with all that” Chase was nervous. He was finally beginning to feel included, was finally getting the brotherhood he missed as a kid.
“I know.” Reid was sure. So sure.
“But how?” Tyler finally spoke up and was twiddling his thumbs.
“Because... this power isn’t like ours. I-it’s different. From different roots. It’s a female coven. I see it in my dreams”
At that point everyone was quiet. Even Kate and Sarah.
“But how are you sure?” You swallowed the lump in your throat. It couldn’t be your coven. You all swore, you took an oath to not use your powers for personal gain, to not lust for it.
“Apparitions of a girl. When I was showering. Just like Sarah experienced when she was first here.”
At this point, all the guys ascended so their powers were stronger. Your birthday was coming up you hadn’t ascended yet and it scared you. What if the same thing between the boys happened to you?
“A female coven? Maybe I can get in on it” Kate joked.
“That’s not funny. This is serious. We don’t need a repeat of what happened. Whoever is doing this is strong. Not like us, but in their own way” Pogue scowled at her.
You knew what Reid was talking about. The apparitions only appeared in your dreams. Never in person like him. You just brushed it off. But maybe you shouldn’t have though.
“We have no clue though” Caleb ran a hand through his hair and Sarah comforted him.
“M-maybe it’s nothing” you shrug. Your eyes burned. The need for them to turn a blinding white and speed away to solve this itched at your conscious.
“White.” Reid whispered.
“What?” The boys were questioning is random statement.
“The female coven! Instead of black eyes like ours, theirs turn white”
“How does this help us figure it out, though?” Chase was intrigued by that statement.
“A spell. There’s a spell we can put over ourselves so that we can see their true form”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. No, Reid don’t do that.
“That just might work.” Caleb smiled and you knew you were done for.
———————
You went back to your dorm and luckily your roommate was there. Your coven sister.
“Someone in the coven is using powers”
You were both breathless as you said it at the same time.
“The Ipswich boys are gonna weed us out. They’re putting a spell on themselves to see our true form. I could lose Chase, Mariah!”
“You won’t! I’ll put a protection spell on you so they can’t see you”
“Okay and what about you?”
“I don’t care! When they see me they’ll see that I’m a part of the coven but they’ll also be able to tell I’m not the one they’re looking for” she was so nonchalant about this.
“Mariah, I ascend in a few days...” You express your fears
“No,” her eyes grew wide.
“We have to figure this out! Now!!”
——————
You were all back at the Putnam barn, it’s your hideout, a place to get peace of mind. You all were just enjoying each other’s company except Tyler wasn’t there yet. He was still at the library finishing an essay.
The boys hadn’t come up with anything throughout this whole week. They found members of your coven but they couldn’t sense the one causing all the trouble.
“I found her!!” Tyler bursts in soaking wet from the rain and panting as if he just ran all the way from the school to here, even though it was only from his car.
“The one. I found her. And I know why she’s doing it!,”
He came over to you all and you felt your stomach drop. You could sense his anxiousness on the topic.
“What? Who is it?” Caleb stands up and walks over to him.
“You know that groups of girls. Like the quiet ones who always have their noses in the romance novels? Your friends!” He points to you and you can feel your chest tightening in fear.
“Yeah, what about them?,” you cleared your throat.
“The one with the dark, kinky curly hair,” he sighs
“We.. we all have kinky curly hair, Ty,” you laugh to try and lighten the situation.
“Violet? Vi.. Vienna! Vienna transferred from Pennsylvania with you guys. Glowing dark brown skin, nice lips, cute glasses. Long legs,” he explains
“What was her reasoning, Tyler?,” Pogue walked up as well and you wanted to run away but you were frozen, fear had weighed you down, you couldn’t move.
Tyler looks at you and their eyes follow. You can feel the tension rise in the room
“Why are you looking at me? I don’t know what’s going on,” You shrug as you run your hands up and down your sweatpants. Tyler turns back to the group and you knew what was about to come out of his mouth next.
“Y/N ascends in three days time...,” he looks down at his feet and you can feel tears burn in your eyes. You wanted to fling him across the room for running his mouth. You had this handled for fucks sake.
“A-ascend? Chase stands up quickly and looks between you and the boys, “What the hell do you mean ascend?,” he gets loud, voice echoing in the empty barn.
“Y’know, that thing that happens to us on our 18th birthday?,” Reid’s sarcasm would usually lighten the mood, but not this time.
“She’s a part of the other coven,” Caleb’s realization finally clicked and hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Why didn’t you say anything?,” Pogue asks. He looks at you with slight disdain, even though you thought of him as an older brother of sorts, this situation of you not telling him had turned everything around.
You didn’t know what the hell to say. Shit, what can you say?
“Y/N, say something! Please tell me they’re wrong,” Chase looked distressed. They were all standing a few front in front of you and you just couldn’t look them in the eyes.
“Can we trust her?,” Sarah whispers and that hit you like brick wall. You weren’t a danger to them. You hadn’t had any problems ever with your magic. You rarely even used it.
“Let her talk,” Pogue’s voice was monotone and you knew you were deep shit.
“We..,” you tried to swallow the lump in your throat but it wouldn’t go away, “We.. we swore.. we took an oath! A blood, soul-binding oath to our sisterhood that we wouldn’t lust for more power. I-I didn’t know what Vi was doing! She was the one who took me in when we were back home. We all took the opportunity to get far away from home because we had people looking for us, trying to use us for our power and they got one of us. Acacia, they made her lust for more power and she ended up dying. So.. we ran. We took the first chance to get out of there and Spenser Academy was that chance. We vowed to never let that happen to any of us. We kept it a secret. I didn’t know she was doing this, I swear!,” you pleaded
“None of us did!,”
They all just stared at you. A witch, from another coven, in their town. Someone they considered a friend, hell, family even, had lied to them.
“You lied to us, Y/N. To me!,” Chase was upset and even though you didn’t want him to be, he had ever right. It’s not like you meant to lie, was it even really a lie? Sure you said you didn’t know what they were talking about but shit, it wasn’t a topic until recently so you just never said anything.
“You ascend in three days time and didn’t think to tell anyone?!,” Pogue took a step closer and you just stared at everyone’s feet.
“I could have handled it. I can.. handle it. If she comes for me, I can do it alone!,” you stood up and started to walk away. You wouldn’t stand for them being upset at you for something you did to protect yourself.
“By doing what? Willing your powers away?,” Caleb shouted and you stopped in placed to turn back around
“If it comes down to it.. when her mother got sick, she willed Vienna her powers so she is already stronger than me,”
“So you mean to tell me, you would have gotten yourself killed and none of us would have known what the fuck happened to you? Great girlfriend you are, babe. What about me, huh? Do you know how torn I would be if something happened to you, knowing I could stop it?,” Chase comes up you.
“You can’t stop it! No one can!,” you felt your eyes burn as the realization set in that your own coven sister might literally be the death of you.
“Y/N, I thought the same thing when I was spiraling out of control. I can help!,” he tried to reason with you but you had your mind set on the outcome of this fight.
“How is this any different? How is this any different than what happened here, huh?,” You felt the hot tears running down your face as you waved your hand at the barn
“You.. you know I’m not like that anymore,” he gritted through his teeth.
“If I can’t beat her there is no other choice,”
“There is always a choice. You have us, you have the rest of your coven!,” Reid exclaimed.
“The way Caleb did it on his own, I can too. There’s no point in dragging you all in this,” you wanted this conversation to end. You were feeling overwhelmed and that was never good with your powers.
“I wasn’t alone though, Y/N. You were there,” Caleb was right. Had you not been there to stop Chase, Caleb, Kate, Sarah and Pogue would be dead.
“You guys don’t know her!,” You shook your head, “She is stronger! She is faster, smarter, more cunning,” you felt your eyes burn again but it wasn’t from the tears. It was a flash of head and you knew your eyes were now a blinding, angelic white.
They all just stared in disbelief. Sure they’d seen the eyes of a witch but they were always pure black.The white was almost scarier.
“I. Can’t. Beat. Her!,” the rush of your energy had caused all the lights to blow out. Chase grabbed you in his arms as you cried and you just stood there, body trembling.
“Either way, she’s gonna kill me. Everyone else has already ascended. I’m the last in the coven,”
Everyone came up to comfort you, rubbing your back as Chase whispered in your ear
“We won’t allow that.
------
Vienna had come to you in your dream letting you know when and where she wanted you. Thirty-three minutes past ten on your birthday under the waning crescent moon. This dream had woken you up, you were gasping for air and were in a cold sweat. The commotion has caused Chase to wake up from beside you.
“Babe, what’s going on?,” His voice was laced with sleepiness as his eyes cracked open.
“She’s coming. She’s really coming for me, Chase. She’s in my dreams!,” You ran your hands over your face as you cried and he woke up completely at your state is distress.
“Y/N, we’re gonna figure this out. I am not letting anything happen to you. You know that, none of us are going to let her hurt you,” Chase tried to soothe you but it didn’t help much as you reiterated to yourself that this was your doom.
“You know how you felt like you were out of control when you were power hungry? How you felt like you needed it. You remember how it was damn near impossible to get through to you? It’s going to be the same thing with her but worse. Our lineage is so much more different than yours. Our power dates back to the beginning of time... and she has her mother’s magic on her side. M-maybe I’m not meant to win this,”
Chase sat up in bed to hold your face in his hands, “And you have your coven sisters. Without Vienna and your late coven sister from back home, there’s still ten of you, not including yourself. Then there’s us, we’re gonna win this,”
He gets a weird urge and climbs out of bed and grabs your phone to hand it to you, “Call your other sisters. We only have two days now, we need to figure out a plan,”
-----
“What do you mean she’s trying to take your power? Y/N, we took an oath,” Octavia spoke in disbelief
Everyone had met up in you and Mariah’s room. She was a deep sleeper so she had missed your conversation with Chase until you filled her in when the boys came over.
“Is it really that hard to believe? She’s always been secretive and always had a holier than though demeanor to her. Plus, when was the last time we’ve seen her, Tavia?,” her twin sister Ophelia countered.
“It makes sense,” Nyelah sat forward, “Frankie, the spiders, the centipedes, it all makes sense,” she turned to your coven sister, Frankie. Frankie hated conflict and she quite honestly hated the life of living the craft, but she was supportive no matter what.
“Why didn’t you guys say anything?,” Caleb folds his arms and leans against the door.
“Well, we weren’t exactly supposed to let anyone know we were witches, to keep ourselves safe. But Tyler spilled and I guess in a way it was a good thing because we’ll need all the help we can get,” Juniper rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she pulled a grimoire out of her bag as did Frankie, knowing they wouldn’t get sleep and needed all the information they can get.
“So what do we do? She’s clearly not afraid to come to Y/N in her dreams, she’s showing her face now. So how do we stop her?,” Chase asks
“There’s no stopping her unless we kill her,” Blythe spoke gently. She was the mother of the group and the noble one. She knew the ins and outs of the craft way before any of you did. Sure your mothers taught you all, but her mother sent her away to a school of The Craft to properly prepare her past the limits of what only she was able to teach Blythe, “But Y/N, if you kill her... you will receive her and her mother’s power,”
“That’ll be too much for her to bear. Her body is pure, Blythe, it won’t hold up especially with her already ascending. There has to be another way,” Ivy came to your defense.
“Why can’t one of us take her out? Or one of you?,” Pogue questions.
Blythe sighs and leans back in the chair shaking her head, “The one ascending has to be the one. She’ll be at her peak so she will be able to put up a good fight. There is no other way. Y/N is the one she’s after so only Y/N can stop her. We can help her fight Vienna but we can’t stop her. That’s the the way things work in our lineage,”
Mariah gets up and starts pacing, you two were like two peas in a pod, she wouldn’t let you go down like this, especially at the hands of Vienna.
“Frankie? Juni?,” Chase calls out for her, “You found anything interesting for Y/N to use?,”
Frankie closes the book and sighs deeply as if the information she was about to relay truly and deeply bothered her, “Yes but I don’t think any of my sisters are going to like it,” she looks around at you all.
“Fran, whatever it is, spit it out,” Piper was the hothead and ready to bust some ass at any time.
Frankie was still stalling and Aurora snapped in her face, “Whatever it is, we will deal with it. We need to know, Fran,”
Frankie stands up and looks at you sorrowfully, “We’re gonna have to go back home..,” all your sisters gasped at the mention of their long forgotten home, neither of you spoke of it since you all got here almost two years ago, “We... we’re going to have to dig up Acacia’s remains,”
“What the fuck, why?,” Piper stands up in a flash, fists clenched, “We promised we would let her rest!,” Piper and Acacia were practically lovers. Though they were coven sisters and their parents came from the same coven, there was no blood connection.
“Pip...,” Blythe looked at her through her eyelashes, “I know what we promised. But if we don’t stop Vi, Y/N goes out just like Cacia if not worse,”
“Don’t,” Piper held out her finger, her cracked at the mention of Acacia’s death, “Don’t talk about her death. J-just-,” She tried her best to ‘forget’ Acacia and how she died, so all of this was opening a healing wound.
“I know it hurt!,” Mariah came to defense
“You don’t know shit!,” Piper yelled.
“Oh really? Because as if Acacia wasn’t important to me too? As if my best friend’s life isn’t on the line here?! Do you really want to lose another one of us, Piper?!,”
“How about we sit down and just let Frankie finish what the fuck she was trying to say?!,” Reid rolls his eyes.
“Yes! Please, guys. We already have to lose Vienna... let’s not make it Y/N too, she’s the main thing that keeps us going,” Octavia begs.
She was right. Everyone had their own purpose and personality in the coven. Octavia and Juniper were the resourceful ones, they could make anything out of nothing, Octavia was good with her hands and Juniper was good with her mind. Ophelia was the comic relief, she was the one that kept everyone laughing and constantly telling jokes. Nyelah and Aurora were quiet but they were hard asses when they needed to be, they were good at protection spells and doing anything they needed to keep you all safe. Frankie was the book worm and like stated, she hated the life of the craft but she took it seriously so she kept up on everything to make sure nothing fell out of line. Blythe, also like stated was the noble one. She was like the mother of the group, making sure everyone knew their spells, when and how to use them and the backlashes if used in vain, she kept everyone educated. Ivy was the eccentric one, she was very unconventional and kooky. Her mother taught her differently than the rest of you so she has a different outlook on the craft and offers unorthodox help if she feels like Blythe is being too hard on you all. Mariah was the sister everyone wanted and needed. If you were sick, she was there, money problems? she’s got you, need help with academics? oh she was well rounded in all subjects. Piper, clearly the hothead, liked to do her own thing and dared to be different, she was more on the darker side but she believed in the craft and what it stood for so that’s why she stayed. Her mother was more into the darker spells and what not so that’s what she grew up learning despite all of your mothers being from the same coven. Vienna was the distant one, she loved being along and though she took you in and cared for you, she liked going her own way and not asking for help. Acacia was like the little sister everyone wanted to protect, she was the innocent sweetheart that didn’t want to put up a fight to hurt anyone.
But you... you kept everyone together because of your positive attitude. You were always willing to put yourselves in harm’s way to protect the ones you love, some might call it dumb... but you called it selfless... which is why the next words came out of your mouth.
“Maybe we shouldn’t... maybe I shouldn’t fight Vi... let her win,”
“Absolutely not!,” - “Hell no!,” - “Are you fucking insane?,” was heard all around the room.
“There’s no discussion about this,” Blythe stood up, “Tyler, round up your truck, Caleb get your car and I’ll get mine. We leave in an hour,” Blythe spares Piper one last look before walking away but Piper wraps her hand around Blythe’s arm, stopping her.
“You do this and I will never forgive you,” Piper had hot tears rushing down her cheeks and you felt bad. But no one was standing for you dying, especially if it could be stopped.
“You don’t have to. I’m not looking for your forgiveness,” she snatches her arm out of Piper’s grasp, “I’m looking to keep my sister alive, no matter the cost. We all lost Acacia, this isn’t easy for any of us... But you and I knowing Acacia the most should know she’d be willing to let us do this if it meant keeping one of us alive,”
Acacia was selfless just like you that’s why you two got along so great. But Blythe knew her before anyone because they learned about the coven pretty much from birth and Piper knew her for well... obvious reasons.
“You don’t want this to happen then don’t come. But your forgiveness doesn’t have the same weight as our sister’s life right now,”
--------
The ride to Lock Haven was long but the ride to Acacia’s grave site was longer and more nerve wracking. You sat with Chase in the back of Blythe’s SUV and he was holding your hand, knowing you were scared and felt bad as Nyelah held Piper as she cried. She decided to come because sister’s don’t leave each other behind and she was trying to come to terms with the fact that this was the only way.
Frankie was in the front reading to you all about how this would go. She had everyone else on the phone. Tyler, Reid, Pogue, and the twins were all in one car as Caleb and Mariah, Ivy, Juniper and Aurora were in his car and there was a three way call.
“You must dig up the remains of the resting sister. Though she is physically gone, her power will remain in her bones as she is now a part of the Earth. Once the resting’s bones are dug up, the ascending one must perform a summoning spell to gain the power of their resting to protect herself against the adversary,” Frankie read out loud and you gasped. You didn’t want to take another’s power.
“The resting one can consent to this summoning by willingly giving their power to the ascending one. The resting one does not offer up their power unless it is dire, meaning, power hungry savages can not take their power for the keeping,”
Frankie turned around to look at both you and Piper to reassure you that Acacia will come alive in her form to be able to consent to this. You wouldn’t just be stealing them, she would be gifting them.
“And you said Y/N has to perform this spell at the first sight of the peaking sun?,” Caleb’s voice run through the car.
“Yes and call me crazy but I believe Acacia wanted us to find this way. She wanted Chase to make Y/N call us all so we can stop Vi. She was letting us know this was the right way,” Frankie says into the phone.
“Even in the afterlife she’s still putting others before herself,” Piper softly cried into Nyelah’s shoulder,
“It’s because she loves us, Pip. She wouldn’t want to live in the afterlife knowing she could help us stop this evil,” Ny tells her.
You all still had a little over an hour before sun rise, so you all left at the perfect time. Octavia and Juni had their bag full of spell oils, herbs and candles to perform this correctly.
“We’re here,” Blythe puts the car in park and takes the keys out of the ignition, immediately jumping out, all of you following suit, “This way,”
This was a grave of your coven and those before you. Blythe lead you all to Acacia’s gravestone and Piper fell to her knees, “I’ve missed you so much,” she whispers, “I’m so sorry this has to happen,”
The boys had their shovels ready and once Ivy pulled Piper away, they began digging. The closer they got to Acacia’s coffin, the more the wind picked up.
“She’s welcoming us,” Juniper assured everyone, “They all are. They know we’re in a fight for the greater good,”
Chase hit the coffin and they all swiped the dirt away before pulling the coffin up. Pogue and Caleb pried it open and there Acacia lied, still intact and beautiful somehow, even two years later. That’s how it was with your lineage, they never became worm’s food once laid down to rest. They remain intact because you all are already a part of the Earth. Her skin remained glowing that beautiful dark brown, hair still voluminous in her natural afro. You felt tears pool in your eyes.
Piper let out a loud sob and you wanted to back out of this.
“Please let there be another way,” she pleaded, but Blythe helped them take her body out and lie her down in the circle of sage that Octavia had put for them. Frankie lit the candles and handed you the book that you set at your feet.
“Sisters...,” You looked down at the book to read the words, “While this is my mission, I need the power of the sisterhood to help raise the resting. Do you consent to this summoning?,” You first looked at Blythe and she took your hand
“Yes,” she firmly nods her head.
“Sister Ivy, do you consent to this summoning?,” you and Blythe asked at the same time. It continued until you all got to Piper.
“Sister Piper, do you consent to this summoning?,” you all spoke in unison.
She stood there staring at Acacia’s body. At first she shook her head before you all repeated yourself.
“Please, don’t make me do this,”
“Piper, please!,” Chase came up and begged, “I get it. L-losing a loved one hurts. I know you would never wish that hurt one anyone else so please. You don’t owe me shit,” His eyes welled with tears at the thought of losing you, “But Y/N... Y/N is your sister and I love her, you love her. We all love her. I know this is hard but we don’t need to lose anymore people,”
Piper stared at him and saw how hysterical he was. She saw the fear in his eyes and it reminded her of her state when she found out Acacia had passed. As much as she wanted Acacia to rest, Chase was right, she wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone. She looked back to Acacia then to you before wiping her tears and stepping up to take your hand as well as Ophelia’s. The sister circle was complete and you were ready.
“With the bones of Acacia Brown... I ask my resting sister to rise and help me in this time of trial and tribulation,” you began as you saw the faint glow of the sun rising.
“With the bones of Acacia Brown, we as our resting sister to rise and help Y/N in this time of trial and tribulation,” The other’s chanted after you. The boys stood far enough away to be out of the way but still had a clear view of what was happening.
The wind and leaves started to blow in circles around you and the candles around you all lifted as Acacia’s body stood up right. You all kept chanting until her eyes flew open, blinding white orbs staring back as you all and the wind stopped blowing but the candles continued floating.
You all dropped each other’s hands as Acacia started moving on her own.
“Sisters,” she greets with a smile, “My dear Piper,” she turned to Piper and Piper could have fainted. She got Acacia back just for her to lose her again.
“It’s really you,” Piper stepped into the circle and raised her hand to touch Acacia’s cheek, “I’ve missed you so much,” she wrapped her arms around Acacia and she lightly laughed.
“How do you miss someone who has never left you?,” She took Piper by her shoulders and kissed her forehead.
“Cacia, baby. You died,” Piper stated flabbergasted.
“My flesh has died but my conscious and spirit are very much alive. I know you feel me when you’re going through hard times. I have never left you my love and I know this is hard, but we must help our sister,” Acacia held her face and kissed her lips passionately. As gross that it might seem that she was just dead, Piper didn’t give a damn and gave Acacia that last kiss she was never able to give her.
She pulled away from Piper and pressed her forehead to hers, “I love you. I am never gone. Remember that,”
Piper tried her best not to cry as she returns to her spot in the circle. The boys watched from the side and realized how different your sisterhood dynamic really was.
“You’ve... brought.. guests? I knew you always had a thing for a little almond milk in your tea,”
“Ever the jokester,” you laughed at her with tears in your eyes, “They’re like my brothers. Except for that one,” you pointed to Chase, “He’s my love,”
“I can tell by the look in his eyes. Fear, pain. He doesn’t want to lose you,” her voice was low and smooth like navy blue velvet, “But I am here to help,”
“It’s good to see you all,” She hugs them all one by one and the water works is a commonality between you all now, “I can see our sister Vienna had betrayed the ethics of the sisterhood and broken the oath. Word travels fast in the afterlife but I couldn’t get to you all as fast as I wanted to but the timing is just right,” she sighs and looks directly into your eyes.
“You haven’t ascended yet so having my powers might overwhelm your pure spirit but it will not be tainted as these powers are being gifted. You defeat Vienna, the universe will gift you her powers too and since you have mine, your body will be able to hold up. Your spirit will remain pure as you take in her evil power, but once it’s gifted, the evil vanishes,” she informs you all and you can hear everyone sigh in relief that your body will be able to handle the power once Vienna is defeated.
“Do not be afraid. Embrace the gift, it will treat your body well as long as you accept it with open arms and not fight it,” she adds.
You step in the circle with her while Blythe and Piper join hands to close the gap. Acacia takes your hands and smiles at you, “I know you are afraid. But please do not fear. Gaining power of a resting sister will not steer you wrong, you are safe. And just because you are gaining mine, doesn’t mean my spirit won’t still remain intact. You have me and our ancestors on your side now,” she squeezes your hands in reassurance.
“Ancestors of the sisterhood, I, Acacia Brown, gift my sister, Y/N Y/L/N, my powers to help her in this time of trial and tribulation,” she chants until both of you are floating five feet off the ground. The sun is rising and once the sun hits both of you at a certain angle, a strong bolt of power shoots through your chest and it’s almost too much to take.
It’s a burning sensation and you want to let go of Acacia’s hands but she tightens her grip on your hands, “Do not let go. Remember, embrace it. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Think of what you’re fighting for,” though all you could see was blinding white as the power was entering you, her voice rung through it all.
You took in her words and the white that you were seeing turned into visions of your sisters, you were fighting for them because if you didn’t fight for them, Vienna would go after them next and kill them for their power. Next you saw the boys, Reid, Pogue, Tyler and Caleb, you fought for them because they were family, you couldn’t give up. Last, you saw Chase and yourself. You were fighting for him because you couldn’t hurt him by losing this. You were fighting to keep the wonderful blessing the universe has given you.
You look up at the ombreing sky and gasp violently as your body now vibrated with new power. You’re brought back the ground and fall against Acacia’s chest.
“You have been gifted. The sisterhood sees you doing great things with this power,” she holds your face to look down at you, at first she wore a smile, then it turned into a grimace you’ve never seen before, “Now defeat Vienna. She will pay for her betrayal to the sisterhood in the afterlife... and it will be worse than what you dish out to her,”
---------
“She wants to meet at the barn,” You all sat in your room as you paced back and forth. Sure you had Acacia’s power now as well as your own and you were about to ascend but that didn’t ease the nerves.
“We’re all gonna be there. We can fight but like Blythe said, you have to be the one to take her out,” Juniper tells you as she puts her coat one. It was almost time for you to meet Vienna to fight for your life.
“Me and the guys will stay outside, around the perimeter. If the fight gets outside the barn she won’t be expecting us to be there. Just you all,” Chase notified you as you started walking to the cars. He was worried but wouldn’t let it show. He knew you were strong and wouldn’t doubt you, but the whole fact that you’re literally fighting to stay alive is what’s bothering him so much. Now he’s seeing how the other guys felt when he was in Vienna’s shoes.
“We’ve got your back. Let’s just get this over with so she can pay,” Aurora practically yanked the door open as she got in the vehicle.
The ride was shorter than normal, probably because you didn’t want to be doing this. It was raining and that made this ordeal more eerie.
“Everyone is here for you. Just make it back to me okay,” Chase leaned his forehead against yours and kissed your lips. You let out a shaky breath as Blythe told you that it was almost thirty three minutes past ten. Happy birthday to you, right?
The girls followed you inside the barn and it was empty, or at least it seemed that way.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear sister Y/N. Happy birthday to yooou,” Vienna’s eerie voice rung through the cold, dark barn and you felt your chest ache from how hard your heart was beating.
She came into view and you all stood in a V formation with you in the front, “I would say ’and many mooore’ but ya know how this is gonna go so that’s seem pretty redundant, don’tcha think?,” she sat on stack of hay and smiled darkly at you all.
“Why are you doing this?,” You asked. You tried to keep your voice steady and strong but fear got the better of you.
“You’re just shaking in your boots aren’t ya?,” she teased, “Brought the whole sister brigade. Even with you all, you can’t stop me. How do you think Acacia died?,”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!,” Piper shouts.
“Oh you really think she died at the hands of others from gaining too much power? No no noo. She was being a selfish bitch so I took care of her. Figured if she wouldn’t give me her power then she shouldn’t have them either. So... I killed her aaand framed it as if someone else did it,”
You could hear Piper seething, fists clenching,
“Piper, keep steady,” Blythe tried to calm her down but Piper was a hothead after all. There was not calming her down after this.
“You fucking bitch!,” Piper swung her fist and a fiery blast was sent toward Vienna but she was gone.
“Got a be a bit faster than that, Pip,”
You all turned around to see Vienna there with black orbs floating in her hands
It started pouring harder and the crescent moon started shining through the holes in the roof. You started to feel nauseous and you knew you were about to ascend.
“Aurora, Juniper, Ophelia, Mariah, and Ivy,- Protect Y/N!,” Blythe shouts over his shoulder. She could tell the ascension was happening without even having to look at you.
Her, Frankie, Octavia, Piper and Nyelah started to fight Vienna as you screamed out in the air as you started to ascend. The other five had to keep Vienna from getting to you as it happened.
You had to keep in mind what you for fighting for, you couldn’t fight the power, you had to welcome it with open arms.
-------
“It’s happening,” Tyler tells the boys, “She’s ascending. Look at the moon,”
They all looked up and saw the way the moon was almost a grey blue in the night sky. They could hear the screams inside the barn over the thunder.
“Get into position. It’s getting pretty loud in there,” Chase instructs.
They got into position, ready to fight just in case it came down to it. They weren’t going to let anything happen to you.
----
“You can’t stop me!,” Vienna sang as she was sending black orbs to everyone. Piper was doing her best to at least subdue Vienna with her dark magic but Vienna had so much power, Piper didn’t come close. No one did.
You fell to the ground with another painful gasp as you fully ascended.
“Birthday girl finally fucking ascended! I’ve been waiting for forever!,” Vienna swipes her arms in the air, knocking the other girls out of the way of you.
You stood up straight and countered her attacks as she sent black masses your way, “You won’t win!,” you shout at her. The fighting was non-stop. Just when you would think you had her, she’d get you and vice versa.
“I always win,” she flung you through the wall of the barn and you rolled outside. You groaned in pain as you looked up to see Pogue and Reid, “Y/N!,” they shouted.
Vienna stepped out of the hole she created in the side of the barn and smiled even wider, “You really brought the lost white boys to fight me?, I thought you were smarter than that, sweetie pie,”
By the time the boys sent a blast of power her way, she had stopped it before it even got close to her, sending it right back to them, knocking the wind out of them as they hit the trees
Chase stands in front of you, eyes pure black and yours pure white, “You picked the wrong girl to mess with,” Chase hadn’t used his power since that night he tried to take Caleb’s and that was a year ago, but he was right up there with Vienna almost.
“You think you can stop me from getting my sister’s power?,” she asks
“Can hardly call her your sister if you’re trying to kill her!,”
“Think of it as mercy. Better me than any other hag down the line. I took you in my dear, Y/N,”
“Chase, Chase she’s right,” you stand up. You hold your side and look down to see blood, “She’s won,” you looked up at him and watch his eyes return to normal.
“W-what do you mean?,”
All you did was kiss him and start walking away. He tried to stop you but you sent a blast of white energy his way.
“Y/N, STOP!,” Everyone was outside now as you limped towards Vienna’s smiling, tall figure.
“Please, Y/N/N, please!,” Mariah cried out, “Don’t do this,”
Reid caught her as she ran to you, “It’s not over, Riah. Y/N’s got something up her sleeve,” he whispers in her ear. Blythe knows this too. But everyone else thinks you’re about to give yourself away.
You fall to your knees in front of her and cry out in pain. She places her hand on your forehead, pushing your head back, “Say the words, sweetie pie,” she called you that nickname when she took you in. After you parents disappeared, she was there to guide you into the sisterhood properly and she gave you that nickname. It was like a bad curse now to hear her say it.
“I know it’s your birthday and all... but tell me you gift me your power- SAY IT!,”
She was so impatient, “I.. g-gift,”
“Y/N no!,” Piper screams. She couldn’t let you go. Especially since Acacia’s powers were within you now. But Vienna didn’t know that. That’s how you used it to your advantage.
“Fucking. say. the words,” She grits through her teeth.
“I gift you.. Vienna Woods, absolutely... fucking ...nothing,”
The smile on her face drops before she steps back kill you with one blast of energy until you put your hands up and nothing hits you. You open your eyes and see Acacia standing in front of you, she held her arms out as she held Vienna’s face tight in her grasp.
“Cacia?,” her voice was laced with fear. You looked around and saw all your ancestors in the same stance as you and Acacia. You were controlling their movement.
“You have me and our ancestors on your side now,” Acacia’s words echo in your mind.
You stand up on your feet and your eyes shine brighter than ever.
“Vienna Woods. Traitor to the sisterhood,” you, Acacia and your ancestors all speak at the same time. Your sisters and the boys stare wide eyes at the scene before them
“Holy fucking shit!,” they all quite literally say in unison.
“I-I’m.. I’m sorry!,” Vienna cried out as you lifted her into the air.
“It’s a bit too late to apologize, don’tcha think, sweetie pie?,” your tone was mocking.
“P-please. ancestors! I’m sorry for lusting for more power! I-I’ll do better, I’ll pay for what I’ve done. Just please forgive me!,” Vienna pleaded.
“Oh, you’ll pay alright. There is no redemption for going against the sisterhood,” you all spoke. You clench your hands in the empty air as well as your ancestors and Acacia’s hands tighten around Vienna’s head.
“You want to talk about mercy. I bet you wish I would place some on you right now,” Your hands continue to tighten around nothing but it causes Acacia’s to tighten around Vi’s head.
Vienna was screaming in pain and everyone else couldn’t do anything but stare wide eyed with jaws dropped. Mariah helped Chase stand up as you guided those to help you defeat Vi.
“Please!,” she was screaming bloody murder.
“It’s a bit too late to beg for your life,” Your words only came out of Acacia’s mouth this time. Vienna almost shit herself as the same words she used on Acacia have now come full circle to be used on her, “You’re weak. You don’t deserve what the Earth and Universe has gifted you...,”
Blood from Vienna’s head started dripping down her face, “No mercy will be placed on you in this life or the afterlife,” You and all your ancestors shout and you clench harder, making Vienna scream as loud as she could before squeezing her had to a pulp. Everyone could hear the cracking of her skull and the squelch of her brains as he body fell to the ground. You on the other hand are thrown back against the ground, back arching as you receive another wave of power. Your ancestors and Acacia all flow back into your spirit and you’re brought back to the real world. Breathing heavily as you lie down on the ground.
Chase runs back over to you and holds you tight, “Don’t scare me like that ever again, you hear me,” he holds your face and looks directly into your eyes.
You cry as you nod, wrapping your arms around his neck, “That was a lot to handle,” You cry into his shoulder.
“I know, but I am so proud of you. We all are. You did it,”
Everyone gathered around you and hugged you as you did what you had to do. They know it was overwhelming, defeating someone as close to you as Vienna was hard, you never in a million years would have thought this night would happen.
“Let’s burn the body and get back to campus to properly celebrate your birthday, yeah?,” Blythe cracks a smile and helps you up. She rarely smiled but she was like a proud mother in this moment.
“Please! Cause this shit was wild. I need a fucking drink,” Juniper sighs.
“I second that!,”
----------
It was dark and cold as Vienna woke up. She didn’t know where she was.
Then everything became illuminated with a red glow and the place she was in grew hot.
“H-hello?,” she calls out and her voice echos, “Where am I?,” she holds herself and looks around.
“The realm of punishment for traitors to the sisterhood,” Acacia appears in front of her.
“Cacia,” Vi stand up and tries to hug her but she steps away.
“I am not here for a reunion. I am here to let our ancestors know who dared lust for more power and break a soul binding oath,”
All their ancestors appear once again.
“This is the place you will spend the rest of eternity. Torture will never end. Your screams will never be heard,”
Vienna’s mother comes up and shakes her head before placing her hand on her forehead, forcing her back down to her knees.
“Mom, please. I’m sorry,” Vienna cried.
“You are a disgrace to the sisterhood and for that you will pay,”
--------
I HAVE HAD THIS IN MY DRAFTS EVER SINCE I STARTED THIS ACCOUNT BACK IN JULY! I’m glad I rewrote it and made it better omg
PLEASE COMMENT AND REBLOG!
Tags- @babybubastis @blackreaders-assemble @mbaku-babygirl @yournonlocalpoc @spideys-wife @vozit @chonisberonica @sideeffectsofyou @curlyhairclub @mokacoconut @unicornslothfish @warmchick @huh-i-guess @here-for-your-bullshit @plussizedwriter @crawlingnightmares @valentinevirgo @joyofbebbanburg @iamzion-therealhabesha
#black!reader#sebastian stan x reader#sebastian stan imagine#chase collins x reader#chase collins imagine#sebastian stan x black!reader#sebastian stan fanfiction#chase collins#sebastian stan#chase collins x black!reader#poc!reader#chase collins fanfiction
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#ChoicesCreates: Any Disney song
Title: Aubade (TF, ES, RoE, THoBM, LH, TRR)
Summary: Aubade - song or poem appropriate to or greeting the dawn. A compilation of short pieces. I did my best to keep with the melody. Since it’s a lengthy piece I only did 4 verses for each song. Enjoy!
Can You Feel the Love Tonight (TRR) - Enid x Hana
Go the Distance (#LH) - Julie and her dreams
I See the Light (THoBM) - Aminta moving on after events of the story
Reflection (RoE) - Rose has doubts about herself
When Will My Life Begin (RoE) - How Lotty starts out her days
Part of Your World (RoE) - Clare considers about her future
I Won’t Say I’m in Love (RoE) - Ash x Elena
A Whole New World (ES) - Kieran x Jake
Two Worlds (TF) - Acacia is torn between the city and her hometown
@hollyashton @mermaidwarriorqueen
Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Enid Zuberi - The Royal Romance, MC x Hana)
Can you feel the love tonight?
The way that time slows for us
Just the two of us, right where we’re supposed to be
Locked in love’s embrace
Thoughts running through my mind
Those feelings that I can’t hide
But am I willing to take a chance? I don’t know
If only she’d open up to me
Behind her smile, she hides
But still, I can see her shine
Why can’t the world see her as who she is?
A blossom blooming in the night?
Can you feel the love tonight?
The night has set us free
We can fly and aim for the shining stars
Love will guide us there
Go the Distance (Julie Nagarkar - #LoveHacks)
I’d lie awake at night, deep in my thoughts
Questioning what is waiting for me
Sometimes I’d wonder, if there’s something more
Wherever I go, ambition will take me far
It’ll take some time, I can go the distance
Who knows how far? There’s no way to tell
For every up and down, every pain and smile
I’d search high and low to find where I belong
I’ve traveled near and far, searching left and right
I’m a floating fragment wading into the unknown
And what remains long after I’m dead and gone?
I don’t want to leave this world with nothing to give
I’m breaking away, I can go the distance
Every step I take, I’ll be taking charge
Along the way, I’ll be making history
And I’ll keep on writing my story ‘till the end
I See the Light (Aminta Beaumont - The Haunting of Braidwood Manor)
Far too long I buried myself alone
All those secrets, not mine to bear
Until now I didn’t even realize
I forgot to live
What it’s like, to live without worries?
Now I’m free, what do I do?
Somehow it doesn’t feel right
In time I’ll find my way
And at last I see the light
For once I look to tomorrow
And at last I see the light
There’s so much I want to do
And now I can chase my dreams
Nothing’s stopping me from reaching
All I ask is to hold on to this moment
So I know it’s real
Sleepless nights, haunted by nightmares
All those years, wasted away
A part of my life ridden with pain
Years I can’t take back
All I have are these memories
A reminder of my past
Without them I wouldn’t be here
Now I know it’s real
And at last I see the light
The world becomes more lively
And at last I see the light
This is where I want to be
All my dreams in front of me
I know they’ll be coming true
All I ask is to hold on to this moment
It’s my time to soar
Reflection (Rose Emmerdale - Rules of Engagement)
Look at her, is this how I want the world to see me?
Is this what I show them?
All my life I fall into this routine
I wonder what happens if I were to disappear?
Would anyone notice at all?
What do I want out of life?
Is there more that I can’t see?
When will my reflection show who I am inside?
Standing here
Letting someone else’s wishes guide my heart
Do I really want this?
But maybe if I take a chance, I’ll find happiness
What’s lost won’t matter to me
What lies beyond my view?
Am I more than just this?
Is my reflection a plain deception?
Is she nothing but a lie?
A pretty face to hide behind?
When will my reflection show who I am inside?
When Will My Life Begin (Lotty Emmerdale - Rules of Engagement)
I start out each day knowing what to do
Begin my routine, not a step out of place
Organization’s my motto it’s precise and clear
Checking off my long list of things to do
Everything is planned, there is a time and place
Why should I sit around when I can get on top?
I have ambitions more than I can count but
I wonder when will my life begin?
Starting this year I plan to break out of my slumber
Taking on big chances and falling in love
Dancing and singing and traveling the world
Then I’ll start to dream big
And maybe change the world
Still there’s plans but with room for spontaneity
And now my routine dances to it’s own drumbeat
There’s so many ambitions to keep track
So much I can reach the stars
It seems like a lifetime ago when I asked myself
When will my life begin?
Part of Your World (Clare Emmerdale - Rules of Engagement)
Check out this place, fun times and more
Partying all night without a care
Looking around you’d think
It sounds like a wild ride
I’ve lost myself to the music and more
Got my heart broken so many times
You want wild stories?
I got hundreds
But what else?
Is there more?
I have none
I wanna take charge of my life
I wanna have ambitions
Settle down and find something like
I don’t know, a career?
Running around all day and night
It’s hard to keep up, I’m falling behind
It’s time to think about
What is it? Adulthood
Now I can see my future prospects
I know someday I’ll find my dream
Now I can see, someday I’ll be
Part of that world
I Won’t Say I’m in Love (Ash Emmerdale - Rules of Engagement, Brother x Elena)
I never thought it would be like this
But of course nothing ever works out
For all I know it could be mixed signals
What makes you think I’d have a chance with her?
No chance, no way
Who’d believe such a thing?
She’s too good for me
Why bother thinking it?
It’s too cliche
I won’t say I’m in love
I always told myself it’s nothing
We’re just trying to get things done
Just a charade to get by
Did we end up taking to way too far?
No chance, no way
I won’t say it
It’s just a thought
I won’t say it
Why am I scared?
I guess I’m in love
Oh, at least out loud
I won’t say I’m in love
A Whole New World (Kieran Akiyama - Endless Summer, MC x Jake)
I have opened my eyes
Broadened my horizons
I can’t remember living life without adventure
You’ve given me your heart
In return I gave you mine
No matter what happens
I’ll be flying by your side
A whole new world
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be
Nothing but the blue seas
The crystal skies
With you I’m never alone
Can you feel the sunshine?
Hear the rumbling thunder?
Who knows what danger lies there
The mysteries of this land?
A whole new world
There’s so much we don’t know
Is all this nothing more but a dream?
Look beyond the horizons
Look how we’ve come so far
I can’t stop now
Let me explore this whole new world with you
Two Worlds (Acacia Lim - The Freshman)
Her heart doesn’t know what it wants
Bustle of the city or
The comforts of a small town life
Changing quickly, there’s no time to slow down
Two worlds, one life to live
Times have gone
It’s time to move on
And keep the memories close
In a small town beside the creek
There lives the forest and the trees
When she flies off, where will she land?
Before she knows it, she’s drifting away
Two worlds, one fading fast
She’s moving on
She’s leaving home
Her heart now takes the lead
#ChoicesCreates#choices#playchoices#headcanon ramble#oh boy that took all day and it was pretty hard but worth it because it was fun#and I'm glad i got it done because i've been kinda busy the past few days and will beout tomorrow#idk im not a songwriter but hopefully these flow well#Enid Zuberi#Kieran Akiyama#Rose Emmerdale#Ash Emmerdale#Clare Emmerdale#Lotty Emmerdale#Aminta Beaumont#Acacia Lim#Julie Nagarkar
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Simple Planetary Magic
“The planets in our solar system all contain their own unique energies that can be called upon in rituals and magical workings. Each planet, including the Sun and Moon, has an ancient magical link to certain aspects of life, herbs, colors, metals, symbols, tarot cards, crystals and many other things. The planets in our solar system: The Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Earth, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto* are used widely in various forms of magic. It is advisable to use as many links as possible when performing any kind of planetary magic. Those who work with planetary forces discover that they are more than just ‘energies’, they are spiritual entities that have assisted magical workers for centuries.
*Pluto is still considered by many practitioners to be a planet, even though Pluto lost it’s “official” planet status in 2006. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded the status of Pluto to that of a “dwarf planet” because it did not meet the three criteria the IAU uses to define a full-sized planet. Essentially Pluto meets all the criteria except one- it “has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects.” Be that as it may, some practitioners still use the energies of Pluto with great success.
First, let’s examine each of the planets and their magical qualities. The correspondences listed below are by no means complete, there are many more.
MOON: The Moon is considered a feminine energy, linked to the powers of divination, intuition, psychic ability and the Third Eye Chakra. Crystals that draw upon Moon energy are Moonstone, Clear Quartz and Lapis Lazuli. Herbs and flowers linked to the Moon are Jasmine, Lily and Moonflower. The metal Silver and the colors White and Silver are associated with the Moon as is the day of Monday. In the Tarot, use The Moon, The Star or The High Priestess cards.
MERCURY: Mercury is linked to all forms of communication, self-expression and travel. Crystals for Mercury are Citrine, Goldstone and Yellow Jasper. Herbs and flowers for Mercury are Lemongrass, Peppermint and Clover. The color Orange and the day of Wednesday is linked to Mercury, and the Throat Chakra. From the Tarot, use The Chariot card. Mercury is also the metal for the planet, however, real Mercury is toxic and deadly, so many practitioners use the symbol instead. (See chart below).
VENUS: Venus is associated with love, lust, romance, relationships, friendships, family and other emotional attachments. It is also associated with Women’s Mysteries and Feminine Magic. Crystals that draw upon Venus energy are Rose Quartz and Amethyst. Herbs and flowers of Venus are Rose, Lavender and Elder. It’s day for magic is Friday and The Lovers card from the Tarot can be used. Venus colors are shades of Red, Pink and Blue. The metal of Venus is Copper, and it‘s Chakra is the Heart. (I sometimes simmer herbs in a copper cauldron when using Venus energies).
SUN: Though the Sun is technically a star, it is still included along with the other planets. The Sun is associated with ambition, success, enlightenment and achieving one’s goals. It is linked to the Crown Chakra, and various shades of Gold and Yellow. The metal of the Sun is Gold and it‘s day for magic is Sunday. Crystals for the Sun are Goldstone, Citrine and Golden Topaz. Flowers and herbs linked to the Sun are Sunflower, Marigold and St. John’s Wort. Use The Sun card from the Tarot in your Sun rituals.
MARS: The energies of Mars are fiery and masculine, primal and aggressive. Mars is linked to assertiveness, force, masculinity, Men’s Mysteries, male lust, passion, strength and power. It is very protective and militant. Herbs and plants linked to Mars are Red Clover, Cinnamon and Red Pepper. The color of Mars is Red and it’s day for magic is Tuesday. Crystals linked to Mars are Red Jasper, Ruby and Amber. Mars is ruled by the Sacral Chakra. From the Tarot, use The High Priest or the King of Swords.
JUPITER: The energies of Jupiter are associated with prosperity, money, career, growth and expansion. It’s day for magic is Thursday, and it’s colors are Green and Purple. Herbs and plants for Jupiter are Cinquefoil, Bayberry and Sage. Crystals for Jupiter are Green Aventurine, Emerald or Tree Agate. From the Tarot, use the Wheel of Fortunecard. Call on Jupiter energies when looking for a new job or any kind of advancement in your career or creative projects.
SATURN: The energies of Saturn are linked to boundaries, limitations, restrictions, obstacles, protection magic, banishing and binding. It’s day is Saturday and it’s color is Black. Crystals for Saturn are Hematite, Onyx, Hypersthene and Jet. Plants and herbs of Saturn are Mandrake, Belladonna and Henbane. (These are highly poisonous, so use caution! For a less toxic substitute, use Snapdragon or Slippery Elm). From the Tarot, use The World or The Tower cards.
EARTH: The energies of Earth represent grounding, stability, health, manifestation, and life on the physical plane. It is linked to the Root Chakra, and color shades of green and brown. All crystals and herbs can represent Earth. Tree bark can also be used. In the Tarot use the King of Wands or Queen of Wands.
NEPTUNE: Neptune is associated with the element of Water, intuition, sensitivity, empathy, compassion, adaptability and imagination. It’s color is Grey. Plants and herbs associated with Neptune are Melon, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Water Lily and Lotus Flower. Neptune crystals are Clear Quartz, Smoky Quartz and Pearl. Ocean sand, seashells and sea foam can also be used. In the Tarot, use the King of Cups.
URANUS: The energies of the planet Uranus are associated with individuality, non-traditionalism, revolution, invention and eccentricity. Plants and herbs linked to Uranus are those with sharp, irregular leaves, rare herbs and plants that shock or excite the nervous system, or plants that are purple or electric blue in color. Uranus colors are bright, neon or abstract designs. Rough, unpolished stones and crystals can be used to call upon Uranus planetary energies. In the Tarot, use The Fool or the Page of Wands.
PLUTO: The energies of Pluto are linked to rebirth, transformation, destiny and the subconscious. Herbs and flowers of Pluto are the passionflower, acacia, hollow larkspur, coneflower and the male fern. Colors for Pluto are White and Black. Crystals and stones are Snowflake Obsidian, White Howlite, Hypersthene and Black Tourmaline. In the Tarot use The Hanged Man or Death cards.
It should be noted that many witches and magical practitioners use only the seven classical planets: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, as these were the only planets known in ancient times. Neptune, Uranus and Pluto were not discovered much later, and their magical correspondences are fairly new. Now that we know what each of the planets represent, and the energies they contain, how do we use them?
One way is through meditation and visualization. Each of the planets have a symbol. If you are doing magic to bring prosperity in your life, you can enter a meditative state, close your eyes and visualize the symbol for Jupiter with an intention for prosperity. Or, you may choose to draw the symbol on a piece of parchment paper and place it on your altar under a green candle. It is important to use as many correspondences of the same planet that you can. Carve the Jupiter symbol on the side of the candle, place Jupiter crystals and Jupiter herbs around the candle. Write your intention for prosperity on a piece of paper and light it with the candle, and drop it into a cauldron to burn.
There are many ways to use planetary magic, and this article only scratches the surface. There are planetary sigils and kameas, (these are special symbols you create to manifest specific intentions), planetary oils and even planetary hours of the day. It is also helpful to know that each day of the week is associated with a planet. It can seem a bit confusing until you get it all figured out.”
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Finish the Story (Part 1)
Author: Admin Lex Characters: BTS + you Pairing: Namjoon X Reader X Taehyung Genres: Fantasy, Angst, Fluff, Romance POV: First Person + Taehyung POV Description:
You offered to help Namjoon refurbish his old bookshop and in the process you find a peculiar book. Unknowingly, you end up diving head-first into a world of ink and parchment unlike your own. There, you meet a boy trapped in the bindings of literature and your life changes forever. I was followed into the bookshop by quarrels of Autumn’s leaves and the North Wind’s children dancing away with ribbons of my hair. The shop’s wooden door swung closed, shutting out the world outside but kept hundreds preserved in the room before me. Though tall oak bookshelves lined every wall of the store, thousands of books piled up in precarious stacks rising almost to the ceiling. Blinding rays of sun from the sky-light windows struck the mountains of literature and illuminated the specks of dust orbiting the air. In the back left corner sprouted an Acacia tree, coiling itself around a wooden beam, spiraling upwards towards the roof windows. It’s sunset-colored leaves joyfully basked in the sun amitting from the glass. However stunning the tree appeared, dead leaves from previous seasons decorated the floor and crunched beneath my leather boots as I approached the front desk.
Noticing no one behind the counter, I began to call, “Nam-” before a heavy thud sounded from under the polished wood followed by a muttered curse. Surely enough, Namjoon emerged from under the desk, scratching his head of lilac-purple hair with a pained look on his face. I failed to restrain a loud chuckle that bubbled up from my diaphragm. Namjoon rolled his eyes and deadpanned, “Ha ha, very funny.” He eyed the four books enveloped in my arms and continued, “I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow. Don’t tell me you finished them already.”
I smirked and replied, “I hate to break it to you but I’m only 3 more books away from beating your record of 16 in a month! You better step up your game. You’re getting your ass kicked by a sophomore.” I plopped the small stack of books down onto the counter and Namjoon slid the nearest one on its side, scanning the bar code suck to its spine. A curt “beep” was heard as each novel touched the device. “Well excuse me for having an entire bookstore to manage while you have all the free time to read in the world. Unlike you, I have responsibilities to handle and customers to deal with.”
I looked around the shop, noticing how devoid of business it was.
“What customers?”
“You.”
The comment was meant to be sarcastic but a little pit of pity bloomed in my heart, knowing that I, in fact, was one of his only customers. I decided right then and there that I would no longer be the only one who’s footsteps echoed through this building every day, but rather the silence to be filled by constant turning of pages and friendly chatter about new releases. He needed customers and that’s exactly what he would get. “That’s exactly my point! I am your only regular client but”, I lowered my voice for emphasis, “that is about to change.”
Namjoon lifted his head, temporarily distracted from his task. “You’re so dramatic. Besides, I’m managing this place just fine without your help.”
I sighed and tried a different approach. “Uh-huh, if ‘managing a bookstore’ includes not picking up after your tree -heaven knows why you even have a tree in a bookstore-, not organizing your shelves, and there are so many dust clouds in here I can barely see three feet in front of me.”
I may have exaggerated a tad but I wasn’t necessarily wrong either. And he knew it. The roots of the tree had started to lift some of the floorboards and weave itself through the infrastructure. Eventually, the more damage the Acacia caused, the more it would cost to repair it and with no steady income, where would Namjoon find the funds to pay the fees? His predicament was challenging, to say the least.
I already made my point loud and clear so my voice softened a bit when I proposed, “Ya’ know I could help out around here if you’d like? For free, at least until you gain enough business.”
He scoffed at my offer, seeming unfazed by my my bluntness and challenged, “Do you honestly think you could handle this monstrosity?” Namjoon drummed his fingers against the table-top, obviously amused at my proposition.
Did he know something I didn’t? Probably.
Ignoring the thought, I lifted my chin high and said, “Challenge accepted. When do I start?” “Now.”
•~• It’s been three days and we’ve hardly made a dent in transporting every book to the back storage. Namjoon’s plan was to clear the shop of the literature temporarily until the interior was complete and restock the shelves later. So we began with the cities of stacked books towering over ten feet….
It was a start.
A very slow, gradual start. And the finish line seemed light years away.
The “free time” Namjoon claimed I had was nonexistent, now occupied by long hours of organizing and sorting through endless amounts of novels. The more days that flew by, the more our hard work progressed and the prouder we became. The time after school to long after dark were spent in the soon-to-be-bookstore with only each other as company.
I’ve always thought of Namjoon as ‘the purple-haired dude who runs my favorite bookstore’, that is, until he quickly became the person I spent the most time socializing with. The long nickname shortened when I began to refer to him as a newfound friend. It was almost impossible not to grow this fond of him when we worked together striving toward the same goal, not to mention the shared tastes in books and writing. His company kept the boredom at bay when working and though I wouldn’t dare admit it, I started to look forward to our extended conversations, unpopular theories, or book recommendations. To put it simply, maybe fixing up this old outdated bookstore would blossom both the business of the company and our overall relationship.
Due to Namjoon’s undeniable whit, we eventually developed shifts where every few hours we would switch off between finishing up schoolwork and progressing the bookshop. The system deemed itself very effective, as we both managed to maintain our spotless GPAs.
This particular night, I sorted books sat on the newly-swept hardwood floor, the moon’s silver shadow casted down from the skylight windows cloaking my hands as I worked. Tonight seemed like a regular evening until I reached for another novel, expecting a smooth book jacket to meet my fingertips but, instead, felt the velvet fabric of a book unlike any other. My eyes landed upon a hard-cover book wrapped delicately in crimson-red velvet. The title glistened a radiant gold and read: Finish the Story. I explored its exterior, searching for an author’s name but none was found. I also noticed how the spine didn’t posses a bar code stuck to its back.
Hmm, that’s odd. Maybe this is one from Nam’s personal collection…
The spine cracked as I opened the cover to reveal the title page, which was decorated in florals of bright scarlet roses sprouting thorns of gold. The blooms of flowers dripped black ink from their buds. The artwork was absolutely, positively marvelous and don’t get me wrong, I’m not an artist but the time and effort to paint this must have taken decades. I admired it a few more seconds before forcing myself to flip to the first chapter.
Compared to the art coating the title page, the chapter page seemed mundane. Regular script ran from one side to the next just any other book. Still a bit skeptical about the art, I turned a single page and sure enough, I gaped in awe at the scene that beheld me.
Another picture enraptured my attention. A glowing castle made entirely out of bronze nails and plates loomed over rolling hills of ruby red poppies, making it appear aflame. The sky was painted with varieties of violets, dark blues, and indigos. The two color schemes clashed with one another so perfectly, I almost didn’t notice the lone fox that parted the poppy fields curving in the direction of the palace. The animal’s head turned towards the corner of the page, almost looking…. angry? I followed its eyes over to the bottom left corner where a man sat back looking up at the sky, his neck craning so eager to touch the indigo painted stars. He looked so carelessly free while the fox’s eyebrows furrowed in irritation.
I let a little giggle escape at the bit of absurdity.
What a peculiar sight!
Suddenly, my eyes darted back to the man sitting at the corner of the page, catching a glimpse of movement. To my surprise, he no longer looked up at the sky but instead stared right at me, one ebony eye charmingly winked.
Huh?!?
I wasted no time slamming the book shut.
Ok, it’s official. I’m going completely insane. Maybe these long work hours are getting to me. Yeah, that’s probably it. Right?
However I may try to convince myself that I hallucinated what I saw… I couldn’t help but wish that it hadn’t been my imagination and that something incredible was about to happen. But that’s ridiculous.
Even so, I still found myself placing the book in my bag, swinging it over my shoulder, and briskly began walking down the street to my apartment. •~•
“Ouch! Hey!”
Taehyung flew backwards from the impact of his book rudely being slammed shut. His face was now thinly coated in yellow pollen from the poppy field. It tickled his nose, forcing a sneeze to rip out from his nostrils. “Aachoo!”
The fox bounded over the sea of red and gold to stand before Taehyung, a disapproving growl hummed from his throat.
“You didn’t get to your position on time! And to make matters worse you moved, you moved. This was our first reader in ages and you had to go ahead and blow it!”
Taehyung ran his nimble fingers through his hair, ready to sit through another lecture about how to always stand statue-still when a new reader opens their story. “Ah, I’m sorry Jin. We just haven’t had a reader in forever and I thought it might be entertaining to mess with them a bit.”
He stood up as a small smile carved itself across his features.
Jin flicked his tail, not taking this for a valid excuse. “As funny as that was, next time please do your job as I’m sure Yoongi and the others are doing just fine. Try learning a thing or two from their excellent example.”
Taehyung raised his eyebrows slightly and giggled at the memory of his companions, “Last time I saw them, Kookie and Jimin were playing frisbee with the moon on page 84 and got it stuck in a palm tree. Your right, they are great exam-”
The fox bolted to the end of the page and glanced back at the man, warning him about his job as a book character one last time before he leapt through the pages, stopping on page 84, solving yet another problem.
Sighing, Taehyung plopped back down into the poppy pillows growing around him and peered up at where the reader’s face would usually gaze from. He wondered if the new visitor would open the book again. She was quite interesting, after all. Then again, all the readers were. Each one completely different from the last. Each one more exiting, new, and exotic. Each one, you know not trapped in a book like him and the other characters were. Each one free.
Taehyung knew that it was dangerous to be hopeful, to wish that the girl opened the book again. Because, well, after the little stunt he pulled today she will most likely not. But the little tug on his heart told him that maybe, just maybe she would investigate his book again. The way her eyes glittered and flew from one page to the next gave him the impression that she was a bit too curious for her own good. But, no these thoughts had no place consuming his head. He shut them out and instead focused on the stars above, daring to pretend they were her eyes.
#bts fanfction#bts v fanfic#bts fanfic#bts v#bts namjoon#bts taehyung#bts rapmonster#bts#bts scenarios
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Treasures
Description: When Finesse falls ill, Finral wants to send her a gift to show her that he's thinking of her and wishing her well. Of course, this is easier said than done...
Rating: G
Warnings: Very Slight Hurt/Comfort due to Finral's insecurities and Finesse being ill, but it's really just fluff here
Fandom: Black Clover
Genre: Fluff (and extremely slight Hurt/Comfort)
Relationships: Finral Roulacase/Finesse Calmreich
Characters: Finral Roulacase and Finesse Calmreich
Word Count: 1893
Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another site.
Many thanks for this request and the opportunity to write about such a sweet pairing and two of my favourite Black Clover characters! Much love! 💕
Story Below the Cut. Thank you for reading!
Finral hummed thoughtfully as he perused the shop aisles. He set the handkerchief he had been carrying around with him for the past five minutes or so back down and realized that he had walked in a complete circle around the store. He fidgeted. There were far too many choices, and as much as it pained him to admit it, he didn’t have the slightest idea what Lady Finesse would like best if she was here to pick out a gift for herself. Finral sighed. The problem was, of course, that Lady Finesse would never pick out a gift for herself. She was far too humble and gracious for that. Finral smiled slightly at the thought. It was just one of the many things that made her such an incredible and kindhearted person, but it also made her difficult to shop for. He supposed he didn’t really need to shop for her at all—in fact, she would probably insist that he didn’t need to get her anything, if she was here. But she wasn’t here. She was at home—ill, which was the reason he wanted to get her a present in the first place.
Sighing, he examined a whole line of vases again, but they were all starting to look the same the longer he stared at them. Maybe he should just pick one and send it with a fresh bouquet of cut flowers… But that seemed a little generic, and he felt that Lady Finesse deserved something very special—she was his fiancée after all. But even more than that, she was probably the kindest person he had ever met in his life and an absolutely amazing woman. Beautiful and generous with a real gift for seeing the best in people, even in him. He wished he could be the man she saw when she looked at him, and he wanted nothing more than to be the best he could be for her—to be worthy to stand by her side and spend the rest of his life trying to make her happy. It was still a work in progress, but he felt he was making good strides in the right direction. Or at least he would be if he could decide on this present.
After at least another hour of aimlessly wandering around the shop, Finral left emptyhanded, feeling rather defeated. He shuffled his feet as he walked through the town to clear his head and hoped that maybe some inspiration or new idea would come to him. Unfortunately, he kept getting distracted by the sounds of fallen leaves and branches crunching and snapping under his feet as he walked. It was a beautiful Autumn day, crisp and clear with a slight wind and a bright blue sky. He wished Lady Finesse could see it, but she had been trapped inside with a terrible cough for the past few weeks. In all the time Finral had known her, Lady Finesse had never complained about being ill, though he was sure it must weigh heavily on her to be so frequently stuck indoors and under the weather. He had been hoping to cheer her up by bringing her a present, but after the fiasco of indecision that had been his shopping experience, he supposed he should probably let go of the idea. Besides it wasn’t as though there was anything that he could possibly buy for her could make up for the fact that she was unwell and couldn’t go out into the garden she loved so dearly. Finral sighed. She must miss the outside. But he couldn’t exactly give that to her…could he?
Finral’s brow furrowed as he was suddenly struck with an idea. Perhaps, taking a walk for inspiration was a good idea after all.
*-*-*
It wasn’t one day later before Finral found himself fidgeting in the Calmreich’s front entryway. Lady Calmreich, Lady Finesse’s mother, blinked at him somewhat confusedly from her seat in the nearby parlor where she was working on her needlepoint as their house steward whispered something to her.
Finral swallowed hard as she frowned at him, carefully setting down her needlepoint and walking towards his general direction. He had always gotten the impression that Lady Calmreich was not particularly fond of him though Finesse had assured him that it was not personal and that her mother was simply confused and exhausted by all of the drama surrounding their engagement, particularly the fact that his parents had failed to clarify for several years which of their sons Lady Finesse was actually going to marry. Though that had all been sorted now, the entire situation had left Lady Calmreich with a distaste for the Vaudes in general. Finral wasn’t sure that he could blame her for that, and he probably wouldn’t blame her if she was disappointed that her daughter was now going to marry him rather than Langris who was much more successful, responsible, and accomplished. Lady Finesse always encouraged him that eventually her parents would warm up to him when they got to know him better, and in the meantime, of course, Finral tried his best to be cordial and, hopefully, earn the Lord and Lady Calmreich’s approval.
“Good afternoon, Lady Calmreich,” he said with a polite bow, but Lady Calmreich merely sighed wearily.
“I’m not sure if Finesse is feeling well enough for visitors today, but I suppose I can ask.”
Finral’s cheeks flushed. “Oh please don’t—that isn’t…um…I mean, I didn’t want to cause any trouble. I was just worried about her and wanted to drop off this gift.” He wrung his hands around the handles of the basket he was holding as Lady Calmreich’s eyes narrowed at its contents.
“I see...” she replied with a stern but subtly disapproving expression that caused Finral to fidget even more nervously than before.
“I’d be happy to visit with Finral for a little while,” Lady Finesse gently interrupted as she slowly made her way down the main staircase into the foyer. Finral could scarcely hold back his smile and his relief to see her up and about with a tint of color in her pale cheeks. Though he certainly tried to respect her wishes, he never could manage to stop himself from worrying about her every time she fell ill even when she asked him not to.
“I’m sorry for dropping by unannounced like this,” he said as his cheeks grew warm, but Lady Finesse merely smiled at him with a kind shake of her head.
“Oh no. There’s no reason to apologize at all. I’m glad you’ve visited. I—” She paused as her cheeks flushed a faint rose, and she smiled slightly. “I missed you.”
Finral’s own face turned red, but he managed an understanding nod and an “I missed you too.” Almost without thinking, he reached out for her hand, but before he could take it, Lady Calmreich cleared her throat pointedly. His blush deepening, Finral recoiled and curled his hand into a somewhat awkward, loose fist. He was definitely out of practice in the world of "proper" courtship for the Clover Kingdom's upper crust nobility.
Lady Finesse gave him an apologetic glance, and when her mother had returned to her needlepoint, asked, “How have you been? It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you.”
Finral shuffled his feet feeling suddenly guilty for having not written to her. He had worried about bothering her when she wasn’t well and had only been trying to be polite. In all honest, he was also still trying to get used to how much contact was appropriate—he already knew he and Lady Finesse talked to each other much more than other engaged couples in similar betrothal situations and the last thing he wanted was for his obvious affection for her to be deemed unseemly and cause her some sort of scandal or distress since this was technically still an engagement for an "arranged marriage."
“I’m sorry,” he said, deciding it was probably best to offer apologies rather than explanations. “I’m alright—a bit busy but alright. How are you? Are you feeling better?”
Lady Finesse nodded. “Much better. The doctor says that I might be able to go out again soon.”
“I’m glad.” Finral smiled. “Until then, I thought…” He stopped, his face growing suddenly warm again as he began to trip over his words. “Well…I thought…I thought since you couldn’t go out, I would…um…” He held out the basket to her, and she gasped in surprise. “This is for you.”
Lady Finesse tilted her head curiously at the basket but kindly insisted, “Finral, this is so sweet, but you didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I wanted to,” he said as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “But…um…it’s nothing really just a couple of things that I thought you might—” Miss… He mentally finished his sentence, suddenly worrying that if saying that aloud would have been insensitive. Maybe his entire gift was insensitive… His stomach churned, and he suddenly wished he could just grab the basket and disappear through a portal. It was too late, however, as Lady Finesse had already taken a seat by the parlor window and begun to empty the basket's contents: brightly colored leaves, two pinecones, a handful of acorns, some nuts and berries, a branch, a few sprigs of thyme, a thistle, a squash, two potatoes, a few bird feathers, a chrysanthemum, and an apple that Finral was sure was as bright red as his face as Lady Finesse carefully lined each of the treasures up beside her on the windowsill. He made the mistake of glancing over at her mother who was side-eyeing the gift over her needlepoint with a sort of disdain that made Finral feel queasy.
He opened his mouth to begin to apologize, but Lady Finesse immediately cut him off with an excited, “They’re wonderful!”
Finral sighed in relief as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “I’m glad you like them,” he said meeting her eyes. “I was trying to decide what to get you, and I know you’ve been stuck inside for a while so I thought maybe I would try to bring some of the outside, inside.” He chuckled lightly as he sheepishly rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “I can get you another present…something better if you don’t…”
“Oh no, please. This is perfect. Thank you. Very thoughtful,” she insisted as she reached out and took his hand, giving it a shy but reassuring squeeze. Finral’s cheeks flushed.
“You’re welcome.”
“Would you…would you mind telling me a little about where all of these came from?”
Finral nodded. “Sure. Of course,” he said with a smile before he told her about some of his adventures and favourite nature spots. His heart soared when he watched her eyes light up as she listened to him tell her about the changing leaves in the forest behind his squad’s hideout or the family of birds that lived on Mount Anahu or the field of chrysanthemums outside Nean. Someday, he promised himself, he would take her to all of these places to see them for herself and their basket of treasures would become happy memories. But for now, he had made her happy, had made her smile, and that was enough.
#black clover writing requests#finral roulacase x finesse calmreich#finesse calmreich x finral roulacase#finral x finesse#finesse x finral#fin fin#FinFin#they're so sweet#finral roulacase#finesse calmreich#lady finesse is underrated#black clover fanfiction request#black clover fanfiction#limited edition romance writing event#can acacia write romance? let's see...#thank you for the requests and your support#thank you for reading!
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A Birthday Surprise
Description: Nozel can't wait to surprise his daughters with their birthday presents, but little does he know that his wife, Vanessa, has a surprise for him as well.
Rating: G
No Warnings Only Fluff Here
Fandom: Black Clover
Genre: Domestic Fluff
Relationships: Vanessa Enoteca/Nozel Silva and Vanessa, Nozel & their children
Characters: Vanessa Enoteca, Nozel Silva,
Word Count: 733
Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another site. Thank you for reading!
Many thanks to @just-a-little-fan-1793 for this request and for the opportunity to write about this pairing!
Story Below the Cut
The newly risen sun streamed in through the windows as Vanessa hummed in her sleep nestling closer to her husband, Nozel. They surely would have peacefully slumbered for many more hours on this quiet and still morning if it had not been for the loud thumping of footsteps which came bounding boisterously into the room and their children who climbed up onto the bed.
Yawning groggily, Nozel stretched—his eyes fluttering open to stare at his young daughter, Acier, who was bouncing joyfully up and down on his legs and exclaiming excitedly, “Wake up! Wake up! It’s my birthday!”
“It’s my birthday too, you know?” huffed her twin sister, Gwendolyn.
Acier, however, seemed to ignore her—the short, pink waves of her hair bobbing on her shoulders as she repeated just as enthusiastically, “Wake up! Wake up! Let’s go open presents!”
Vanessa laughed scooping up Acier in her arms and tickling her causing her to burst out into raucous laugh that sounded like a much louder, much more energetic version of her father's—on the rare occasions he used his that is. “And who says there are any presents for you?” Vanessa teased.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Mom” answered Gwendolyn with a serious expression far beyond her years as she sat down between her parents. “It’s our birthday. There have to be presents.”
“She is so much like you, it’s scary sometimes,” Vanessa laughed, winking at her husband before she affectionately ruffled Gwendolyn’s silver hair.
Nozel tilted his head pointedly at his wife, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth before he turned to his daughter. “Of course there are presents. Your mother is just teasing.”
“I knew that,” Acier insisted with a confident nod. “Can we go open them now? Please, Dad…” Her eyes widened as she begged him, and Nozel sighed.
“We’re going to have a special birthday dinner and cake later—”
“Dinner?” Acier interrupted. “But that’s so long from now…”
Nozel sighed again. “You can open your presents then.”
“If there are any presents…” chimed his wife with a playful smile. “Perhaps you didn’t get any this year.”
“Stop it, Mom,” interjected Gwendolyn jokingly though clearly growing a bit worried.
Nozel turned to Vanessa with an almost-affectionate roll of his eyes, but her smile was so bright that he couldn’t help but play along. “Well…there is one way to find out. Why don’t you go downstairs and see if there just might be a present for you waiting in the foyer…”
“Come on!” called Acier as she bounded off the bed and out of the room.
“Don’t let her get there first, Gwendolyn,” encouraged Vanessa with a playful tap on her nose and an affirming smile which her daughter returned before she ran off after her sister.
Once she had disappeared through the doorway, Nozel sighed and leaned back against the bed frame for a moment with a yawn before he said dryly, “Don’t you want to see if there really are presents downstairs?”
Vanessa made quite the show of pretending to thoughtfully consider it before she laughed and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, “That was a great idea to set up their dollhouses last night. I knew you couldn’t wait to give those to them. You get more excited about presents than our daughters, don’t you?”
Though his cheeks flushed a tint of pink, Nozel’s mouth twitched into the slightest smile as he conceded, “Perhaps.”
“Well, that’s great news because I have a present for you,” his wife teased.
Nozel quirked an eyebrow at her. “A present for me? On our daughters’ birthday? How does that make sense?”
“Just happened to time out that way,” shrugged Vanessa with a brightening smile.
“Are you going to tell me what this present is?”
“Perhaps,” Vanessa replied in her playful impression of him before she kissed him and climbed out of bed to put on her robe. “But if we don’t hurry, we will have missed our girls opening their presents.”
“I thought you said there weren’t any presents…” he answered with a dry, deadpan humor that made Vanessa laugh.
“Well, I guess, we’ll just have to go see,” she teased with a wink. “But I do know of one present for sure…” She leaned in close to his face and whispered with the brightest of smiles before she bounded off after their daughters, “I’m pregnant.”
#vanzel#nozessa#nozel x vanessa#vanessa x nozel#vanessa enoteca x nozel silva#nozel silva x vanessa enoteca#black clover fanfiction#limited edition romance writing event#writing requests#can acacia write romance? let's see...
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Special Sauce and Stork Paintings
Description: To Charmy, all meals are important, but this may be one of the most important meals of her life. Or it would be...if her husband Rill wasn't so oblivious and bad at guessing games that is...
Rating: G
Warnings: Nothing But Fluff Here!
Fandom: Black Clover
Genre: Fluff, Romance, Domestic Bliss, Slice of Life, Married Friends, Self-Indulgent
Relationships: Charmy Pappitson/Rill Boismortier
Characters: Charmy Pappitson and Rill Boismortier
Word Count: 1296
Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another site. Thank you for reading!
Story Below the Cut
With a sigh, Charmy brought her sauce to a low simmer. She gave it a thorough stir before picking up a nearby spoon and giving it a taste. It was still missing something… She just wasn’t sure what that was exactly. Sighing again, she twisted her mouth to one side in concentration, combing through her spice rack trying to decide what ingredients she should add. She supposed it was fine as it was, but she wanted it to be better, perfect even, if she could manage it. Every meal was an important one as far as Charmy was concerned, and she always tried her best to make the most perfect delicious dishes, but this meal was special. It might be one of the most important meals of her entire life.
“Mhmm…that smells delicious,” Rill hummed affectionately as he wrapped his arms around her waist hugging her from the back and pressing his chin to her shoulder. “What are you making, Mrs. Boismortier?”
Charmy rolled her eyes with an almost affection as he kissed her cheek. They had been married for years—she would have expected the novelty of calling her that to have worn off by now.
“You’re such a goofball,” she teased, giving her sauce another stir.
“You didn’t answer my question. Unless you want me to guess…?” Chuckling, Rill reached for a clean spoon, but before he could dip it into the saucepan for a taste, Charmy playfully swatted his hand away.
“Stop that. It’s not done yet.” Rill pouted playfully but eventually conceded—placing the spoon on the counter as Charmy reached for two of her spice jars and sprinkled some into the saucepan. She stirred, then took a taste. She smiled. “Now it’s done.”
Rill beamed at her. “Great! Let’s eat! I’m starving!”
“I’m glad, la,” she said with a playful kiss on his nose. “That is barbeque sauce.” She pointed to the steaming saucepan. “For the—”
“Ribs?” Rill cut her off, his face practically lighting up as he noticed the pan filled with the roasted meat. “Can I paint them?”
“It’s called basting…” Charmy sighed with a shake of her head and a lopsided twitch of her mouth. “But sure, have at it.”
A smile tugged at Charmy’s lips as she watched Rill positively beaming as he covered the ribs in barbeque sauce with long strokes of the basting brush. It was his favourite part of cooking—besides plating dishes, adding garnishes, and decorating pastries—and he took it very seriously, even taking a step back to examine the ribs between the frame he made with his hands as if they were a work of art rather than just their dinner. It was not long before the ribs, the pan, the counter, and Rill were all thoroughly covered in barbeque sauce.
“You’ve got sauce all over you, la,” she teased as she wiped some off of his cheek and put the ribs back into the oven for their last few minutes of cooking time before she took one of Rill’s hands. “You’ve got paint under your fingernails again too. Why don’t you wash up? It’ll be another 10 or 15 minutes before the ribs are ready.”
Nodding, Rill shrugged his shoulders before disappearing through the kitchen door. He returned right as the ribs were cooling off. “Perfect timing!” he said with a smile. “You ready to eat?”
“Always.”
Usually on a special occasion such as this she would have insisted on plating their food—or would have let Rill plate the food since he was so fond of it—but since it was clear that Rill was in such a hurry to eat, she supposed they could just serve themselves buffet-style. Even so, Rill’s plate looked like something from her and Vanessa’s restaurant. He even pulled a sprig of rosemary out of the little spice garden in the kitchen windowsill to set on top of his potatoes as a garnish. Charmy supposed it was possible Rill had picked the rosemary at random, but she liked to think he had been learning all of the different spices from her and knew that rosemary was, in fact, one of the main ingredients in their potatoes that evening. The thought made her smile.
With full plates, they made their way into the dining room. Charmy had lost track of how many times it had been repainted over the course of their marriage—as repainting the rooms of their house seemed to be Rill’s favourite pastime or perhaps his favourite method for dispelling boredom. It was currently a sky blue with a mural of flying white birds with long, black-tipped wings on the far wall. Storks.
Charmy stifled a chuckle. Her husband had a bad case of baby fever, as Vanessa would probably say, and those little white birds had been popping up everywhere in his paintings and murals for the last several months since they had started seriously discussing the possibility of starting a family.
“So what are we having tonight?” Rill asked, and Charmy’s smile widened.
“Well, we have some baby carrots with a brown sugar glaze. Some sauteed baby bella mushrooms. Some rosemary baby red potatoes, and then some baby back ribs.”
Rill hummed before he put a forkful of potatoes in his mouth. “It’s delicious. Thank you.”
“There’s a theme, la.”
“A theme?” Rill asked—looking up from his plate. Charmy nodded excitedly, unable to hold back the near giddy grin that tugged at her mouth.
“Something all the foods have in common.”
Rill’s brow furrowed, and he examined his plate very carefully. “They’re all warm colors!”
Blinking at him, Charmy sighed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Of course, Rill would think of something artsy and out of the box like that. “Well…yes…but that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, la…”
“Hmm…” He tilted his head to the left; then hummed again tilting his head to the right. “Hmm… I don’t know. Can I have a hint?”
“How about I tell you the foods again?” suggested Charmy, something sparkling in her eyes as she began to point to each one in succession on her plate. “Baby carrots. Baby bella mushrooms.”
“Baby carrots, and baby bella mushrooms,” Rill repeated with a thoughtful nod.
“Baby red potatoes—”
“They’re all vegetables?” Rill interrupted before he stopped himself—twisting his mouth to one side and thoughtfully pressing his hand to his chin. “Well…I guess, except the ribs.”
“The baby back ribs,” Charmy corrected him pointedly.
“Right. The baby back…” His voice trailed, and his eyes widened with realization as they met hers. “The baby—baby…” he began to stammer almost incoherently as his face lit up with the brightest most excited smile. “Are you…? Are we…?”
Charmy beamed at him, nodded enthusiastically. “Mhmm…” She gave her stomach a pat, just in case he somehow still didn’t get it, and he practically jumped up from his seat at the table and rushed over to her, picking her up and twirling her around. Through her laughter, she barely managed a breathy, “Rill. Rill, put me down.”
Once her feet were firmly planted on the dining room floor again, he gently cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “We—we’re having a baby!”
“I take it you’re happy?” she asked with a smile, and he beamed right back at her.
“Happy? I’m ecstatic! This is the best news ever! I’m going to think of a great mural to paint in the baby’s room—maybe some flowers or trees or a pond with some ducks…”
“Well…”—Charmy teased with a chuckle—“the good news is you won’t have to paint any storks anymore.”
And he didn’t. At least, not until he wanted to give their son a younger sibling…
#charmy x rill#rill x charmy#rillmy#rill boismortier x charmy pappitson#charmy pappitson x rill boismortier#black clover writing request#limited edition romance writing event#can acacia write romance? let's see...#writing requests#thank you for the request#this is my favourite Black Clover ship ngl#I love them I love them so much! <3#thank you so much for giving me an excuse to be this self-indulgent
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Could I request some fluffy FinFin for your limited romance edition? I hope you will get better soon and please don't exhaust yourself.
Hi Anon! Thank you so much for sending in this request and the well wishes. You're very sweet! I appreciate it. 🥰
I love both Finesse and Finral very much as characters, and I think FinFin is just such a sweet ship though it isn't one I write too often (mainly due to lack of ideas 😅), so I just hope I've managed to do them justice. I really enjoyed writing this piece for your request, and I apologise for taking so long to finish it. Thank you again for being patient. I hope you will like it or at least that it'll make you smile! 😊 Cheers and Much Love!! 💕
#answered anons#answered requests#fin fin#they're so cute#i love them#limited edition romance writing event#can acacia write romance? let's see...#i'm not sure this one was too overly romantic but i hope you still like it...#i should think about this ship more often
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Ooo okok for the Romantic requests, if I may, would it be alright for me to request a Grey x Gauche fic with the prompts “I just want to see you happy” and “because I love you” please 🥺? It can be angst or fluffy (or both /lh 👀) whichever is easiest for you 🥰! Sending hugs and love to you 🫂!
Hi Lyra! Thank you so much for sending in your request! I really appreciate your support (and your faith in my ability to write romance 🥺). This was my first time writing Greyche so I really hope I've done them justice here and that you'll be happy with what I've written...
The story is below the cut. Word Count: 1869. Warnings: Grey's social anxiety, but otherwise this is really just fluff with a bit of hurt/comfort (Also a wedding!!) 🥰
“You look so beautiful!” exclaimed Marie with a bright smile as she bustled around Grey with her bouquet of flowers. Blushing, Grey twisted her hands as she looked at herself in the mirror. She could agree that the wedding gown itself was stunning—an unrepayable gift from Vanessa when Grey hadn’t found one she liked while shopping—as was the sparkling bracelet that Noelle had lent her for her “something borrowed.” She wasn’t so sure about herself, however, even though her friends had been up since six that morning helping her get ready.
Even so, she replied in sheepish gratitude to her soon to be sister-in-law, “Thank you.”
“Gauche won’t know what hit him when he sees you in this dress,” Vanessa laughed with a wink as she finished pinning Grey’s veil to her intricate updo.
Grey’s blush deepened. “You…you really think he’ll like it?”
“Oh, honey, he’s going to love it,” said Vanessa before Noelle chimed in.
“You could walk down the aisle wearing a potato sack, and he’d still love it.”
Vanessa playfully rolled her eyes. “Are you really comparing my tailoring to a potato sack?”
Frowning, Noelle bristled. “I just meant that Gauche loves her so much, he would be dying to marry her today no matter what she was wearing.” She sighed before turning to Grey with a smile. “But really you’re stunning—no one will be able to take their eyes of off you.”
Grey swallowed hard. “No one…?” Her cheeks grew warm, and her hands began to shake. Her head was spinning just thinking of a room full of people with their eyes transfixed on only her. “Everyone…everyone is going to be staring…at me…” Something twisted in her stomach. She could almost picture it now—a hundred eyes just waiting for her to do something humiliating or stupid like stumble over her dress on her way up the aisle or mess up her vows or…. “I think…I’m going to be sick…” she mumbled with a gulp.
Noelle and Vanessa immediately helped her ease back into a nearby chair before she lost her balance, and Charmy rushed over with some water and light snacks.
“Oh Grey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you nervous,” Noelle apologized as Vanessa patted Grey’s hand and Marie took the other.
“Everyone gets jitters before their wedding,” said Vanessa with a sympathetic smile. “But you have nothing to worry about—Gauche loves you, and today is about you two starting the rest of your lives together.”
“Vanessa is right, la,” chimed Charmy. “We didn’t even think Gauche could be this happy, and honestly, never really thought this day would come.”
“Charmy!” huffed Vanessa. “Not helpful.”
Charmy shrugged but chuckled, “But the point is that you two love each other, and this is your day. Don’t worry about anybody else.”
Grey swallowed hard. That was easier said than done—especially when an entire hoard of wedding guests would be staring at her and watching her every move. She shook her head. She was so stupid for not having thought about this before. She had worried about so many other things that seemed insignificant now when what she should have been worried about was how she was going to make it up the aisle without getting so nervous she froze in place or transformed into someone else—which she supposed wouldn’t be fair to Gauche, even if he might be better off marrying someone else anyway, someone who wouldn’t be so painfully shy.
“You’re looking green, la. Drink this,” said Charmy handing her a glass of water. Grey took it with a nod, but the idea of drinking anything right now made her stomach churn.
Vanessa stood up from her place beside her. “Don’t worry—this is fixable.” She patted Grey’s shoulder before heading towards the door. “I have an idea of something that might help.”
“Me too!” added Marie taking off after Vanessa.
Despite Charmy, Noelle, and Secre’s best attempts to reassure her in Vanessa and Marie’s absences, Grey merely sunk further and further into her nervousness and pre-wedding jitters. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized to her friends but stopped herself from burying her face in her hands before she ruined her makeup.
“Don’t apologize,” said Secre. “We’re here to support you.”
“That’s what bridesmaids are for, la,” Charmy insisted.
Grey nodded, but before she could respond, she heard voices echoing from the hallway.
“She needs to talk to you right now,” said Marie’s voice very emphatically.
Another voice sighed. “Okay, but aren’t I not supposed to see her before the wedding…?”
Grey’s face flushed an even deeper pink. Gauche. Gauche was here? Marie went to get him? Why?
“Come on, girls, let’s leave them alone for a minute,” said Noelle ushering the other bridesmaids out into the hall. Grey stared at the partially open door—frozen and unsure of what she should do when Gauche knocked on it.
“Grey? Is everything okay in there?”
Grey swallowed hard, wondering if he was going to walk through into the room, but he waited on the other side of the door where she couldn’t see him.
“It’s fine,” she squeaked, but he knew her far too well to believe that—even without the hitch in her voice.
“Are you sure? Do you want me to come in? I’ll close my eyes,” he added dryly.
Grey nodded, before realizing that Gauche couldn’t see her, but it seemed he didn’t have to as he walked through the doorway very slowly with his eyes closed and his arms outstretched in front of him. He looked very debonair in his suit and the little pink flowers in his boutonniere.
“I’m sorry Marie came to get you,” she said when he reached the center of the room. Gauche stopped walking.
“She was worried. I think the other girls are worried too.” He paused. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
Grey swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, I—”
“You don’t have to keep apologizing. You feel how you feel and that’s fine,” he answered matter-of-factly, but there was something kind in his voice that made Grey’s mouth twitch in the corners. “Are you…having second thoughts about getting married?”
“No. Not at all. Never,” she reassured him. “I was just…nervous…because I…”—she paused and gulped—“Don’t you think everyone will be staring at me?”
“Of course, they’ll be staring at you—you’re the bride and also the most beautiful woman in the room.” There was something about how matter-of-fact his tone was when he said it, that made Grey blush. “But you don’t have to pay them any attention.”
“I’m not sure I can do that…” stumbled Grey, and he reached out his hand to her.
“Do you want me to take the attention off you? I could cause some kind of scene or ask Luck or Magna or Asta to do it—they might even cause a commotion without being asked.” He shook his head slightly, but she could see the twitch of a smile in the corners of his mouth as she stifled a laugh.
“You’d do that?”
“I’d wear a clown nose up on the altar if that’s what it would take to get you to marry me,” he said with that dry, deadpan humor of his. “When you walk down the aisle, I just want to see you happy—because I know that it will be one of the happiest moments of my life, and I hope it’ll be one of the happiest moments of yours too.”
“Gauche…” She stopped herself from hugging him—though she desperately wanted to. “You really mean that?”
Nodding, his face softened as did his tone as he continued, “I do. I can’t wait to start my life with you, and that’s what this about. Not some big ceremony or big reception or all the attention—it’s about promising to spend our lives together.” He leaned forward, and Grey moved so he could gently kiss her forehead. “And if you still get nervous, that’s okay—just look right at me, at how happy I am to be marrying you. Pretend we’re the only ones there—like it’s our little corner of the world.”
“Our little corner of the world,” she repeated, and Gauche nodded—gently clasping her hand in both of his and giving it a tender, reassuring squeeze. Grey took a deep breath allowing a feeling of calm to wash over her. Perhaps Marie had been right to get him, had known that there was something about Gauche that helped her feel safe and secure, even confident but, most of all, loved. He couldn’t have been more right—this was about the rest of their lives, and she was so blessed that she would get to spend the rest of hers with him.
“Why do you put up with me?” she asked with a bit of a playful smile.
“Because I love you, you goofball,” he teased dryly squeezing her hand again. “Now do you want to get married or what?”
Even though he couldn’t see her, Grey hoped Gauche could feel her joy as she beamed at him with a confident, “Yes.”
*-*-*
Grey and her bridal party, save Gauche, gathered excitedly—waiting for their procession down the aisle. Grey trembled more with excitement than nervousness now and hugged Marie tightly multiple times, thanking her profusely for getting her brother to help her through her pre-wedding anxiousness.
“It really was the perfect plan, thank you,” she whispered, and Marie smiled brightly at her.
“I’m glad I could help, and I’m glad you’re going to be my sister.” She hugged her again before she pulled away with an inquisitive shake of her head, “But what was Vanessa’s idea?”
Grey’s brow furrowed. In all the excitement, she had completely forgotten that Vanessa had said she had a plan of her own. “I don’t—” she began but stopped. She quickly scrambled to cover her gasping mouth with her hand as Captain Yami walked over wearing a brightly colored, obnoxiously floral-print shirt.
“Ca…Captain…” stumbled Grey as most of the bridesmaid and groomsmen stifled laughter.
“At least not everyone is going to be staring at you now,” quipped Vanessa giving her a pat on the back.
“She made this ridiculous thing,” Captain Yami grunted with a huff and a shake of his head.
“You really don’t have to—” Grey began to insist with blushing cheeks, but the Captain cut her off.
“Only for you, Grey.” He paused and his lopsided grin faded as he glanced over at their companions. “So don’t the rest of you knuckleheads start getting ideas.”
As the music began to play, the Captain linked his arm with hers preparing for their procession. Grey’s heart pounded as they finally moved in front of the doors, and when they finally opened, she realized she had been so foolish to worry. Her eyes found Gauche immediately—he had never looked happier, and as she walked down the aisle, she didn’t even have to pretend that there was nothing and no one else there with them. There really was only him and the look of indescribable joy and love on his face, as if they really were in their own little corner of the world.
#limited edition romance writing event#greyche#answered asks#can acacia write romance? let's see...#answered requests#thank you for the request#black clover fanfiction#grey x gauche#gauche adlai x grey#gauche x grey#marie adlai#gauche adlai#grey (black clover)#thank you for reading!!
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There Is Happiness (OMORI Kelbrey Fanfiction)
Description: Aubrey hadn’t always been this way. She could still remember a younger, less jaded version of herself who was actually excited about the idea of prom. A happier Aubrey who had used to giggle with Mari over the gowns in store catalogs and dream about all of her friends getting dressed up and going dancing together one day. A more innocent Aubrey who used to spend hours making plans for a future that would never get to happen. Her friends never got to go to a prom, and neither did she…Until now that is...
OR
Nearly a decade after the bad ending of OMORI, Kel and Hero plan a fake "prom" to surprise Sally, drudging up bittersweet memories for Aubrey about her friends--both the ones she had lost and, especially, the ones, who like her, had been left behind to pick up the pieces. Will confronting the past lead her to a brighter future?
Kelbrey Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, & How Their (Functional) Relationship Developed Over Time After the Bad Ending of OMORI. (Note: This is a standalone one shot that is a completely different bad end AU than my other really angsty bad end AU fic).
Relationships: KELBREY (Romantic Kel x Aubrey) CENTRIC (Functional, Healthy, Slow Burn Kelbrey). There are also important platonic friendships discussed & depicted in flashbacks: Aubrey & Hero & Kel friendship, Aubrey & Kel & Sally friendship, Aubrey & Mari friendship, Aubrey & Kel & Sunny & Basil & Hero & Mari friendship [Aubrey & Kel's friendships with Basil, Sunny, & Mari are a recurring & important theme]. Past Romantic Hero x Mari is referenced/heavily implied.
Characters: Aubrey (POV Character), Kel, Hero, Sally, and Mari (Sunny & Basil also appear briefly and are mentioned).
Genre: Slow Burn Romance, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Developing Romance Through the Years, Angst With A Hopeful Ending, Post-Bad Ending, Many Flashback Sequences, Prom
Word Count: 12,748
Rating: T for some heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide).
Warnings: Major Spoilers for OMORI! Heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide). Kissing.
Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another website.
A/N: Unfortunately, I missed Kelbrey Week because I did not know the ship even existed at the time (and had never played OMORI back in the dark ages of a couple of months ago), but I saw the prompts on Tumblr and was really inspired by the Prom prompt. Not only did the idea of "Kelbrey Prom" get a bunch of wheels turning in my brain, it also just so happened to be the prompt on my birthday, so I felt like it was it was just meant to be and I needed to write this story as soon as I had the idea. So I just wanted to offer a word of many, many thanks to @kelbreyweek for the prompt & inspiration for this story. 💕
Story below the cut. Thank you for reading!
Aubrey slammed her foot on the brake. She had lived in Faraway Town her whole life and still forgot about that stop sign. She probably always would.
The intersection was bustling today, and there was far more traffic than usual for a Saturday night. Aubrey supposed that was to be expected seeing as it was their local high school’s prom tonight, and the streets and sidewalks were filled with gussied-up teenagers in suits and poofy, colorful dresses. Aubrey rolled her eyes, conveniently ignoring the fact that she was in a pink prom dress herself—but at the very least it wasn’t that poofy.
Aubrey didn’t understand all the prom hype, especially now that she was trying to drive with teens darting in and out of the road and the straps of her dress uncomfortably digging into her arms whenever she tried to turn her steering wheel. She sighed. She sounded like such a grouchy old woman.
She hadn’t always been like that. The memories were hazy now, but she could still remember a younger less weathered, less jaded version of herself who was actually excited about the idea of prom.
*-*-*
“They’re so lucky,” sighed Aubrey glancing up from her pizza to watch the group of teenagers who had just walked into Gino’s dressed up in their finest suits and prettiest dresses for the prom.
Mari chuckled but patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. That’ll be you too soon enough.”
“It’ll be you sooner,” Aubrey insisted with a widening smile. “You’ll get to go in just a couple of years, right?” She paused, then giggled teasingly. “With Hero.”
Hero’s face flushed, and he grew suddenly interested in his piece of pizza. Mari’s expression softened—something affectionate passing over her eyes as she chuckled at him behind her hand. She shrugged her shoulders then teased, “I don’t know. I might have to think about it,” but she winked at him and the blush in his cheeks deepened.
“Why do you even need a date to the prom anyway? Can’t you just go with your friends?” asked Kel as he practically shoveled pizza into his mouth.
Aubrey rolled her eyes and huffed. “Don’t talk with food in your mouth. It’s so gross.”
“You’re gross,” bantered Kel, sticking his tongue out at her before shoving the rest of his piece of pizza into his mouth.
Aubrey huffed again, but Hero gently interrupted changing the subject. “I think people do go to prom in groups with their friends. You don’t have to take a date like in the movies.” He paused before turning to his brother with a dry, bantering smile. “But if you want someone to take you, I’m sure Kel can.”
“No way! I’m not going to the prom with her. Basil can take her.”
“Wha—what? Why me?” stumbled Basil, bright red in the face.
“Because they always have those flower bracelets at the prom in the movies and you know all about flowers and stuff.”
“That’s called a corsage, moron,” bantered Aubrey. “And don’t worry, I’d rather go to prom with Hector than you.”
With a confused tilt of his head, Kel blinked at her. “Can we take dogs to prom? Awesome!” Kel beamed, and Aubrey rolled her eyes. “I’ll take Hector then, and Basil can take Aubrey.”
Basil’s blush deepened as he twisted his hands. “Well…um…I mean…” He paused, swallowing hard. “Well…maybe Sunny can take you…? He’s probably better at dancing.”
“Sunny will take you,” agreed Mari with a warm smile. “Won’t you, Sunny?”
Sunny pursued his lips together and pensively stared at his hands. Aubrey wasn’t sure but his face seemed a little more flushed than usual. He finally nodded briskly and quietly said, “Okay” though he wouldn’t look up from his plate.
Mari’s smile widened, and she chuckled. “See, problem solved.”
“I don’t understand why we can’t just all go to prom together,” sighed Kel. “You, me, Sunny, Basil, and Hector, and Hero and Mari too even though they’ll be older. We can all just go as friends.”
“That sounds nice,” said Sunny so quietly he was difficult to hear over the low roar and ruckus of the restaurant patrons.
“See!” exclaimed Kel triumphantly. “Sunny agrees with me. We should all just plan to go together as friends.”
“You might change your mind when you get older, Kel,” teased Hero with a dry but affectionate smile. Kel grimaced, sticking his tongue out at his older brother.
“No way!” He huffed then turned to Basil. “You think this sounds like a good idea, right Basil?”
“Wha—what? Oh…uh…yeah okay…” he stammered unsurely.
“Aubrey?”
Kel crossed his arms and glared at her, but Aubrey sighed and conceded, “Alright, but only because Sunny likes the idea. It might be nice for all of us to go as friends, but if I get a date, he’s coming with us too, okay?”
Mari started laughing behind her hand as Kel exaggeratedly rolled his eyes and huffed, “Whatever.”
*-*-*
A bittersweet smile tugged at Aubrey’s mouth. How silly they were then—how innocent. There was a pang in her chest, even now, so many years later as she remembered how they had spent hours together talking and laughing—making plans for a future that would never get to happen. She remembered how she used to giggle with Mari over the evening gowns in department store catalogs, sighing wistfully at the billboards advertising that year’s prom theme at the local high school, and dreaming of the day they’d get to go to one themselves. Aubrey’s chest ached as she sighed. Mari never got to go to a prom, and neither did she…
*-*-*
Tears prickled in Aubrey’s eyes as she glanced over the unworn prom dress still hanging up on the back of the closet door. She would probably feel better if she just shoved it into the back of her closet, but she couldn’t bring herself to. She had worked so hard for that dress—picking up extra shifts at Gino’s to afford such a luxury. She had justified it by reminding herself it was probably the only time in her life that she would get to wear such a dress, and this one was exactly what she had always dreamed: deep pink, floor-length chiffon. As soon as she saw it in the department store, a real, genuine smile had tugged at her mouth for the first time in so long that the sensation had felt almost foreign to her. And when she had finally bought the dress and tried it on for her friends to see, Charlene had quietly said she looked happy in it. She didn’t need to add that Aubrey hadn’t looked happy for a very long time.
A tear streamed down Aubrey’s cheek. She had wanted to wear that dress and go to the prom, but she just couldn’t—not today. Not now. Not without them.
Aubrey sniffled—rubbing her hand across her throbbing forehead. Her headache was so severe that she was actually starting to hear the pounding of her head. Or at least she thought she was until her mother called in a slurred, irritated voice,
“Aubrey! Get the door.”
Aubrey quickly wiped her eyes and scurried downstairs.
“Tell them whatever they’re selling we don’t want it,” her mother added with a dismissive wave of her hand as Aubrey walked by the couch carefully tiptoeing around the empty liquor bottles which littered the ground.
Aubrey wasn’t sure who was at their front door, but she doubted a salesman would be bothering them at this time of night. Still she mumbled, “Okay” as she turned the bolts of the lock and opened the door.
“Hey, Aubrey,” said Kel with a slight wave of his hand and a friendly smile. “How’s it going?”
Aubrey could only blink at him. He was dressed in a nice, dark suit with an unexpected bright pink tie. If she had been feeling better, she probably would’ve thought of a dry quip to tease him about it but instead she just sighed, ushering him out onto the porch before her mother got irritated by the noise.
“Kel, what are you doing here?” she asked through her teeth. “Aren’t you supposed to be at prom?”
Kel shrugged. “I was there for a while, but you weren’t there so I thought I’d come check on you.”
“Sorry…”—Aubrey’s face flushed—“I tried to call you…”
“I know,” he interrupted. “I got your message. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…I…uh…wasn’t feeling up to it.” Aubrey sighed, hoping that Kel wouldn’t read too much into it.
“Oh…are you feeling sick? The pharmacy should still be open. I can run down to—”
“No, Kel,” she cut him off, placing her hand on his arm. “That is…uh…I’m fine. You should go back to the prom. I don’t want to ruin your night.”
Kel’s expression softened, and he smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it. The prom was kind of boring without you anyway.” He paused. “You sure you don’t want to—?”
“Yeah,” she cut him off just a little too forcefully, trying her best to frown despite her flushed face.
“Okay…” he said quietly. “Then…do you mind if I hang out here for a little while?”
Aubrey’s face grew warm with guilt and embarrassment. Just because she had ruined her own night didn’t mean she had to ruin Kel’s as well. “You really don’t have to do that.”
“Nah. I want to. I’d rather spend tonight with you than at the dumb prom anyway.”
“Kel, I can’t let you do that,” she insisted, but he smiled at her.
“It’s just a bunch of people dancing and stuff—and sure that’s fun and all but it’s not as cool as everyone acts like it is.” He shrugged his shoulders. “They did hang all these Christmas lights from the ceiling though and that was kinda cool—since the theme is ‘A Night Under the Stars.’” Sighing, Kel took a seat on the porch—leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky. “But there are real stars out here which are better anyway.”
“Kel…” Aubrey began to argue, but she wasn’t sure what to say. “You can’t just miss your prom.”
“Sure I can,” he shrugged with matter-of-fact nonchalance. “You are, aren’t you? And the prom always mattered way more to you. You were really looking forward to it…” Kel’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “Did someone break your heart or something so you didn’t want to come anymore?”
Aubrey stifled a breathy chuckle but shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. I wasn’t even planning on going with a date.” She paused, glancing over at Kel’s pink tie. “Won’t your date be upset that you left?”
“Oh uh…” chuckled Kel awkwardly, fidgeting with his tie. “I didn’t go with one.”
“Really?” The question slipped out before Aubrey could think to stop it, but Kel just shrugged his shoulders.
“Yep.” He paused and sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. “To tell you the truth, I—I kind of wanted to ask this one girl, but it didn’t work out. Oh well…”
Aubrey paused. While he was one of her best friends, they never really discussed their love lives or lack thereof. She didn’t even know Kel was romantically interested in anyone and couldn’t even begin to guess who it was. She supposed it was none of her business, but if Kel had left prom early because of this girl rather than just to check on her, it would certainly help her feel better about things.
“Is she the reason you left?” asked Aubrey taking a seat next to him on the porch.
Kel froze, and his cheeks flushed. “Wha—what?” he stumbled, more awkward than she ever would’ve expected from the happy-go-lucky Kel. He chuckled lightly but didn’t say no.
“It’s okay if she is. I wasn’t going to tease you or anything. I just—” She stopped. “I just don’t want to you miss out,” she said in a shaky voice. “Especially not because of me.”
“I already said don’t worry about it. I’d rather spend prom night with you, even if we don’t actually go to the prom.” Aubrey’s mouth twitched, she could almost hear the smile in his voice, but she frowned with a heavy sigh.
“But you already missed the last one…”
“Because Basil—” Kel’s voice cracked. He didn’t finish that statement, but he didn’t have to. Basil had died just a few weeks before their Junior Prom and the last thing either of them had wanted to do was go to some big party, especially one that Basil should have been attending himself, and instead they had spent prom night at the spot in the park where they had always had picnics with their friends, then sitting around Kel’s kitchen table looking through Basil’s old photo albums.
Aubrey had never told Kel that she had been considering skipping prom months before Basil’s death anyway, too saddened by the idea of having to go without Sunny and of Mari having never been able to go to hers. Basil’s death and the note he left behind for them was the final straw. She wouldn’t have blamed Kel if he had still wanted to go himself, but he had told her he was just too sad. She could understand that. Back then, it really felt like neither of them would ever be happy again.
But this year… she had been so determined, so set on going and trying to have to good time because she knew her friends wouldn’t want her to miss out on it on their account. Aubrey’s insides twisted, and her eyes burned, tears prickling behind them again.
“Aubrey?” When she turned to look at him, the faint flush of red had faded from his cheeks and his expression had softened but a look of concern quickly passed over his eyes. “Have you been crying?”
Aubrey’s face grew hot, and she swallowed hard as she frantically swiped at her eyes again. How red and puffy were they that Kel had noticed? “You can’t just ask someone that, Kel,” she replied with a shaky, bantering huff, but Kel only blinked at her.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, and Aubrey bit her lip. She couldn’t believe him—skipping over the ‘are you sure you’re okay?’ questions and straight to the ‘do you want to talk?’ Aubrey sighed though she felt a blush fill her cheeks and she fidgeted. She should probably expect it by now, given how many deep conversations she and Kel had been having over the past two years ever since Sunny and Basil had passed away. Her chest ached at the thought. Kel was giving her that look now—like he could see right through her, knew something was wrong and knew she was hurting even if she didn’t have the words to say it. She could see his pain too—that hollowness that crept into his smiles, that bittersweet sadness in his eyes. Kel’s eyes reflected the same pain that ached in her chest whenever she thought of Mari or Sunny or Basil. She was sure he could see his own grief in her as well, and perhaps that’s what had led them to find each other in the first place, in the wake of the loss of their friends—clinging to each other like two lost souls, sharing things with each other they could never even begin to tell anyone else.
“You can talk to me,” he gently encouraged her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Aubrey took a deep breath. She didn’t know if she wanted to unpack this, and she certainly didn’t want to dump it all onto Kel. She already felt guilty enough that he had left the prom to check up on her. But the look on Kel’s face was so warm and so kind, and the words, the painful truth was eating away at her waiting to be told to someone.
“You remember how we’d all promised we’d go to prom together someday?”
Kel’s brow furrowed. “Not really, but my memories of everyone are getting fuzzy…” There was a painful sadness cutting through his words as he said them.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t a big moment or anything. We were just at Gino’s joking around about it once, after a group of teenagers dressed for prom came in.” She paused. “You said you wanted to bring your dog.”
“Oh yeah…” said Kel with the slight twitch of a smile. “I remember that now. Mari was teasing Hero about taking her someday, and Sunny agreed with me that it would be nice if all of us could go together as friends.” Sighing, Kel paused—something bittersweet passing over his eyes. “You’re sad you couldn’t go with them, aren’t you?”
It wasn’t really a question.
Aubrey sniffled and nodded, and Kel cut her off reaching out to her. “Oh Aubrey, I…”
“It’s not just that. I was actually planning on going. I wanted to go. I bought a dress and everything. I knew it was going to be a hard day, but I was determined to do this. I knew they wouldn’t want me to miss out—would’ve wanted to me to go, even if I was sad they couldn’t be there with me.” Her voice cracked, and Kel nodded solemnly, understandingly.
“But…but…” she stumbled over her words as her eyes burned. “I was out of hairspray and knew I needed some for tonight, so I was riding my bike down to The Other Mart, and I saw there was a group of kids in the park and…” The tears started to pool in Aubrey’s eyes, and she took a deep, shaky breath, barely managing to choke out, “They were making flower crowns…”
She swiped at the tears that began to splash down her cheeks as she stumbled in the bits and pieces of sentences she could manage despite the panging ache in her chest, “I just—I just froze. I…I couldn’t stop thinking about…I turned around and came straight home and I just haven’t been able to stop crying…” She sniffled, wiping her eyes. “I know it’s so silly…to let something like that ruin my whole day, especially when it’s the prom, but I just started thinking about them and how they never got to go to prom and all the things they never got to do and will never get to do and…” Her voice trailed, as her words got choked by a sob in the back of her throat.
“I know,” sighed Kel quietly, giving her a reassuring pat on the back and pulling her into a hug. Aubrey took a few deep shaky breaths as she pressed her chin to Kel’s shoulder.
“It’s so stupid…” she mumbled, angry with herself as she pulled away from him.
“It’s not stupid at all.” He sighed heavily. “You know the other day I was supposed to be picking up a couple of groceries for my mom, and I was in that aisle in The Other Mart where they keep all the soups and sauces and stuff, and there was this lady there with her kids and the one kid dropped this big jar of spaghetti sauce—made a huge mess”—he paused as his breath hitched—”And I remembered that time we all tried to make spaghetti to surprise Hero, and I dropped the jar on the counter and the sauce splattered everywhere—it got in Basil’s hair and… Sunny was blinking at me with sauce all over his face and you were so mad but Mari just laughed…” He paused, swallowing hard. “It was like I couldn’t breathe. I ran out of there—totally forgot about the groceries.”
“Kel…” Aubrey began as she hugged him more tightly.
“I guess the moral of the story is neither one of us should be going shopping at the Other Mart, huh?” Kel chuckled lightly, but he sniffled and Aubrey could feel his shoulders trembling like he was trying not to cry.
They just sat there holding each other for a long time. No words were spoken, but they didn’t have to be. They understood—shared this pain of being the ones left behind. Kel sniffled, and Aubrey wondered if he was crying. It wouldn’t be the first time he had cried in front of her, and she knew—they both probably knew—that it wouldn’t be the last.
“You know, sometimes I think, I’m okay,” Kel managed in a wavering voice. “I still miss them, of course, but I’m not going to just start crying in the grocery store…but then…something like that happens and I just…I don’t know if I’m ever going to be okay. Like there was this whole life that I had before, but it’s all over and now I have this new life and even if things get better and it doesn’t hurt as much all the time, that sadness is always going to be there. There’s always going to be something missing, and I’m never going to not miss them.”
Aubrey sniffled and pulled away from him to look in his face, but that deep, indescribable pain in his misty eyes made her forget her words. She supposed it didn’t really matter. There was nothing she could possibly say that would make him feel better—she knew that better than anyone.
“Sorry,” he said hurriedly as he wiped his tears away. “I didn’t mean to make this about me. I feel really bad for dumping all that on you, especially when you were already upset.”
“No. I’m…I’m glad you told me, Kel,” she said hugging him again. “It’s…nice to know I’m not the only one…”
“You’re definitely not the only one—but it really does feel like you and me against the world sometimes, right?”
A kind, bittersweet smile pulled at the corners of Aubrey’s mouth as Kel wrapped an arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. “Sometimes.”
“Hero too, but…” Kel paused, fidgeting. Aubrey nodded in understanding. He didn’t have to explain. She knew Hero worried especially about his younger brother which made it more difficult to open up to him about all of this sometimes, plus he was away at school and neither one of them wanted to bother him, especially when he was suffering a lot on his own.
“He missed his prom, too, didn’t he?” asked Aubrey quietly, changing the subject. Kel hummed, and she could feel him nod in response.
“But it’s overrated anyway…”
*-*-*
Kel was probably right, and the prom was overrated. That didn’t mean that she didn’t have the occasional regret about not going to hers, however. It wasn’t something she ever really talked about, but if she didn’t know better she would have thought that the fact she had skipped out on hers was part of the reason that Kel had invited her over tonight for the “prom” he and Hero had been putting together to surprise their younger sister, Sally.
Even though Sally was far too young to go to a prom, she was fairly vocal about the fact that she desperately wanted to. Though Aubrey thought it was a little odd to throw a prom for a little kid, she supposed there was no harm to it, and it was sweet that Hero and Kel were always trying to do such nice things for their little sister. She had also offered to help put it all together though she reminded Kel that she had never actually been to a prom so what would she possibly know about it? He said it wasn’t anything too fancy, but still insisted they should all dress up nicely. Just luckily Aubrey had had her unused prom dress from her own senior prom still hanging up in the back of her closet collecting dust. She supposed it was nice to finally get the chance to wear it, even if that meant getting stuck in stop-and-go traffic for half an hour.
Aubrey sighed. There was never any traffic on the way to prom in the movies. The people just got into their car—or their limo—and whipped right to the school without another car on the road. It was more than little unfair. Though she supposed she should know better than thinking of movies, especially teen rom coms, as real life.
*-*-*
“Okay, okay. I know we watch this movie every year, but I still don’t understand: can everybody at this school afford a limo? And where do the limos go when they’re all at prom?” asked Kel between bites of what had to be his third or fourth piece of birthday cake. Hero had been apologizing profusely for the fact it was store bought this year, but they understood he was extremely busy in medical school. They tried to reassure him that Mari would understand too, but Aubrey wasn’t sure if he had believed them. “How do all the limos even fit in the parking lot?”
“I don’t know, Kel,” Aubrey sighed, setting her piece of cake on the coffee table. “Just don’t think about it too much.”
“Listen, I went to prom—well part of it, and nobody came in a limo. Nobody,” Kel insisted forcefully, gesturing emphatically at her with his fork and flinging cake and frosting onto her face.
Aubrey huffed. “Kel!”
“Oh, you’ve got something on your nose,” he teased before playing poking at it with his finger.
“Here’s some napkins,” said Hero, handing her a stack of napkins with that said ‘Happy Birthday’ surrounded by balloons.
“Thank you.” Aubrey nodded at Hero then rolled her eyes at Kel shaking her head, but his attention was transfixed on the movie again, probably still wondering about the limos.
Aubrey sighed. Every year they watched Mari’s favorite movie for her birthday, and every year Kel found something else about it that didn’t make sense to him. Last year, it was how nobody in the school had worn anything even close to the same outfit. The year before that it was how the main character who was supposed to be smart hadn’t ever questioned her love interest’s obviously complicated motivations in asking her to the prom in the first place. This year it was the limos.
Aubrey sometimes wondered if Kel had only started this tradition of chattering away during the movie in the hopes that it would keep her and Hero’s spirits up and prevent them from being too sad that Mari wasn’t there to celebrate her birthday with them. But other times—like now, when she watched him pick up his piece of cake with his hands and shove it into his mouth as the icing squished into his face, she thought it was probably more likely that it was just Kel being Kel.
A smile tugged her lips in spite of herself, but she pushed the thought away. She’d never admit that she was glad Kel was around to ask dumb questions about the movie, and as she watched the small smile in the corners of Hero’s mouth, she was sure he felt the same way.
When the credits began to roll, Hero started cleaning up the cake, plates, and napkins, and Kel started prattling away again. “Why do movies make prom into such a big deal, anyway? They act like it’s the most important thing that will ever happen to you.”
“Well…” Hero sighed, his brow furrowing thoughtfully. “I think they need a climatic moment for the story, and when the characters are teenagers, they can’t have a wedding or something like that so they use the prom.”
“It’s really not as cool as all that though. I was honestly kind of let down.” Kel’s mouth curved into a teasing, lopsided grin before he chuckled, seemingly getting distracted once again by his cake. “This cake was great, by the way!”
“You can thank Aubrey for that. She picked it up from Nona’s.”
Aubrey shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I was in there anyway.” She stopped, not quite ready to admit that she was in that bakery a lot. It was one of her favorite places in their college town, and she liked to treat herself with a pastry every now and again after exams, if she did well on them of course.
“Sorry I couldn’t make one this year…” Hero apologized again with red, apologetic cheeks. “Neuroanatomy is just kicking my tushie.”
Aubrey and Kel broke into raucous laughter. “Your tushie? Really, Hero?” teased Kel.
“What are you—five?” Aubrey bantered.
“You know what I mean,” sighed Hero. Though his cheeks were flushed, he was smiling in spite of himself. “Medical school is hard.” He sighed again. “I’m sure Aubrey understands being in nursing and all.”
“I’m glad I’m going to be a nurse and not a doctor—there’s too much memorizing. I’m not smart enough for that.”
“Don’t say that, Aubrey,” chimed Kel. “You and Hero are both super smart—you know all kinds of medical stuff. I could never do what you do.”
“Well I’m sure neither of us could ever do what you do either, Kel,” Aubrey insisted, and Hero nodded in agreement. “You can fix anything, and I wouldn’t even know what to do with a welding torch if my life depended on it.”
Kel chuckled his face brightening. “I can show you sometime if you want. It’s really not that hard.”
“Says the ‘Welder of the Year,’” bantered Aubrey.
“It was only ‘of the month,’ and…”
“I still have the newsletter hanging up on our refrigerator,” interjected Hero with a proud smile. Kel scratched the back of his neck as his face flushed.
“You can take that down, you know? It’s really not that big of a deal…” He sighed. “I only fix engines and stuff. I don’t save lives or anything like you guys.”
Aubrey sighed, shaking her head. “I’ve never saved a life.”
“I’ve barely even left my classroom,” said Hero. “So you’ve at least got one up on me. You’re in clinicals now, aren’t you?”
Aubrey nodded. “Yeah. I’m trying to get a job as a student nurse too. I just interviewed in behavioral health and psychiatry.”
She stopped abruptly as Kel and Hero’s eyes widened, a certain sadness in them that Aubrey had used to see all the time but which hadn’t been in their expressions in a while. A silence spread through the room, and Aubrey sighed, wishing she hadn’t mentioned it. She was about to apologize for bringing it up and ruining the mood of everyone’s evening, but then she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and a gentle hand patting her back.
“That’s great, Aubrey,” said Kel with a kind smile and soft expression. “I hope you get it and help a lot of people.”
“Me too,” said Hero. “I think you’ll be great at that.”
“Thanks,” Aubrey mumbled, her face feeling suddenly warm.
“Well, I think this deserves a toast.” Kel stood up from his seat and poured some cups of coffee from the coffee maker for them.
Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at him. “We’re toasting coffee?”
“Yes,” he answered, completely unphased as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He held up his coffee cup. “To Aubrey, soon to be ‘World’s Greatest Nurse.’”
He winked at her, and Aubrey shook her head but bantered, holding up her own cup, “And to Kel—Welder of the Year,”
“Would you stop it with that?” he teased under his breath as a flush of red filled his cheeks. He shook his head and turned to Hero. “And to Hero—who can do anything!”
“And everything,” added Aubrey as Hero turned away from them blushing a bright red.
“You guys…” he mumbled.
“And let’s toast Mari too,” said Kel. “Happy Birthday, Mari!”
“Happy Birthday, Mari,” Hero and Aubrey replied with kind, bittersweet smiles.
As they took sips of their coffee, Aubrey’s lips puckered, and her face contorted as she resisted the urge to spit hers out. Even Hero grimaced.
“What in the world is this, Kel?” She reached for her water to try to rinse out the taste.
“Oh you’re never gonna believe it, but Orange Joe makes ground coffee now.”
“Why?” groaned Aubrey.
“You really should warn us first,” Hero quipped dryly with a slight smile, but Kel just shrugged.
“What? I thought it was pretty good.”
“I don’t know how you drink this garbage. It tastes like rotten oranges,” Aubrey bantered. “It would’ve been better if we toasted with broccoli juice or something.”
“I have some soda in the pantry. Let’s just use that.” Hero, always the peace-maker, got up from his seat and made his way to the kitchen with a gentle smile. Once he was gone, Kel finished off his cup of coffee and turned to her with a soft expression in his eyes.
“Hey Aubrey?”
“Yeah?” she asked, her brow furrowing.
“I think it’s really great that you want to be a psych nurse and everything.”
Aubrey sighed. “I don’t know if it’ll work out, Kel. I mean I just interviewed so…”
“It’ll work out,” he cut her off with a reassuring smile. “I know it will, and when it does, I know you’re gonna be great. I…”—he paused and glanced away from her—"I think you’re really great—at everything.”
Aubrey’s cheeks grew warm from the compliment. “Thank you, Kel. I think you’re—”
She didn’t get to finish that thought, however, as Kel wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an unexpected but welcomed hug. Aubrey pressed her chin to his shoulder and gave him a pat on the back. She waited for him to let go of her, but he held her far longer than usual.
Finally, he whispered so quietly she almost couldn’t hear him. “Do a good job, okay? For all of us…”
Aubrey nodded. She contemplated pulling away from him, but he ran his hand through the ends of her long hair mumbling, “And Aubrey…Uh…I was wondering…”
“Yeah?” she shivered, in spite of herself.
“Uh…” he began again, and she could feel his hands begin to shake as they gently held onto her.
“Do you want diet or regular? I also have a few cherry—” Hero’s voice stopped abruptly. “Oh sorry… I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Kel and Aubrey quickly pulled away from each other. Aubrey could only hope she wasn’t blushing as much as she feared. Her cheeks burned, but she and Kel hurriedly talked over each other, reassuring Hero it was fine, and he wasn’t interrupting anything. Aubrey’s head reeled, but Kel seemed completely unphased, politely declining Hero’s soda and pouring himself another cup of Orange Joe.
As Kel stood up from his seat beside her on the sofa, Aubrey could have sworn that Hero shot her a knowing, somewhat teasing smile that made her stomach twist. She bit her lip and tried her best to push the thought away—nervously, reaching for her coffee cup in an attempt at nonchalance and unfortunately failing to remembered it was still full of Orange Joe until she had actually taken a sip. Aubrey grimaced at the bitter taste, but her cheeks burned as she watched Hero’s mouth twitched in the corners at her.
*-*-*
Aubrey wished she could say that was the last time she ever accidentally tried Orange Joe. It wasn’t, but both her and Hero did get much better at predicting whether or not Kel was trying to pawn the drink off onto them. It had a distinctively putrid citrusy odor that, eventually, made it much easier to identify. If she knew Kel, there would probably be a whole pitcher full of it at the “prom” he was putting together even though Hero had insisted multiple times that Sally was much too young for coffee.
It was nice to hear that Hero was going to get to come tonight, too. He had been so busy with his residency that they didn’t get to see too much of them these days. Even Kel who was his roommate said he was lucky if he occasionally managed to catch Hero as he was heading to the hospital when Kel himself was getting home from his third shift at the manufacturing plant where he worked. Hero promised them that he was happy, just very busy, and they respected his need for rest, even if it was starting to feel a little bit like her and Kel against the world again.
That reminded her, she ought to give him a call about the traffic—letting him know she was going to be late.
“Hey Kel,” she began, but his voice, muffled and staticky from what Aubrey presumed was a bad connection, cut her off.
“Hi Aubrey. What’s up?”
“Well, I’m on my way, but I’m stuck in traffic. You would not believe how many cars are out here right now.” Aubrey sighed wearily. “On their way to prom probably”
“Have you seen any limos?”
Aubrey laughed. “No, Kel. No limos. I really don’t think we even have those in Faraway Town.”
“That’s probably true.” He chuckled before changing the subject. “It’s no big deal if you’re late or anything. Just drive safely, and you can let yourself in through the fence to the backyard.”
“Oh, are you having it outside?”
Kel hummed. “Yeah, it was such a nice night that I thought it would be fun to dance out on the porch and stuff. I’ve been practicing my dancing, and I think I’m a lot better than the last time you danced with me so…”
Aubrey’s face grew suddenly hot, but she took a deep breath, trying and failing not to think of the last night Kel had danced with her…
*-*-*
“Okay, explain to me again how you came to win dancing lessons?” quipped Aubrey, quirking an eyebrow at Kel, but he merely shrugged at her.
“Well I bought a bunch of raffle tickets because I wanted this ceramic chicken.” He paused before adding hurriedly with a sheepish smile, “And, you know, to support the hospital and everything too.”
Aubrey sighed and shook her head, but Kel didn’t seem to notice. It was very nice of Kel to come with her to her hospital’s charity benefit. They were raising money to build a new wing which would mean more beds in the juvenile behavioral health ward where she worked as a nurse. She had told Kel that the gala was mostly for the really big donors, and she was just inviting him for his company so he shouldn’t feel obligated to donate anything. Even so, it was sweet of him to try to buy some raffle tickets for some of the less expensive items.
A smile twitched in the corners of her mouth. It was just like Kel to do something thoughtful like that—especially for a dumb reason like wanting a ceramic chicken he could probably buy for himself half-as-cheap at a local home goods store.
“I was going to put all the tickets in the drawing for the basket with the chicken,” Kel prattled on. “But then some of the other people were giving me these weird looks, so I started to put them in the drawing for some of the other raffle baskets too, and I guess I won the one with the dancing lessons.” With a slight shrug of his shoulders, Kel frowned disappointedly. “Didn’t win the chicken though. I was pretty bummed about that.”
“What would you even do with a ceramic chicken?” Aubrey teased dryly.
“I don’t know, but I’d probably get more use out of it than dance lessons.”
A chuckle escaped Aubrey’s mouth as she barely stifled a laugh—turning back to the stove where she was frying some potatoes as they waited for the lasagna they were making for dinner to be finished cooking in the oven. It wouldn’t be nearly as good as Hero’s, but he was far too busy with his residency to cook for even himself these days. They were making this meal to surprise him when he got home and to celebrate his first weekend off in months.
“Do you want to take them with me?” asked Kel as he absent-mindedly stirred the pudding they were making for dessert.
Aubrey tilted her head at him. “The dance lessons?”
“Yeah. It’s for two people, and I didn’t really know who else to bring.”
“What about Hero?” She didn’t realize how silly that suggestion sounded until Kel laughed.
“Hero is a great dancer already, and he’s super busy right now anyway.”
With a conceding shrug of her shoulders, Aubrey sighed. “Isn’t there someone else you’d rather bring, Kel?”
“Nope,” he replied immediately, clearly not understanding the meaning behind her words. “Why would there be?”
“Well…you know…some people think that dancing can have a more romantic connotation, so I was just thinking that if you were interested in someone you might want to bring…” Her voice trailed as she tilted her head confused and inquisitively at the unreadable expression on Kel’s face.
“Oh…uh…well…” Kel chuckled though he rubbed his hand sheepishly across the back of his neck. “Actually, I’d rather take you, but if you don’t want to come, you can just say...”
“It’s fine, Kel.” With a shrug, Aubrey stared down at the potatoes, put the lid over the pan, and turned the stove down to low heat so they could simmer. Her mouth twitched into a bantering smile. “I just meant, you should probably be careful going around asking other girls to go dancing with you. They might get the wrong idea.”
“Is it really that much of a romantic thing?” asked Kel blinking at her.
Aubrey shrugged again. “It is in the movies.”
“But that’s just the movies. They make everything romantic, especially when it doesn’t have to be. Like how they always make it seem like prom is the best night of your life or when the couple dances together there one time, they’re suddenly desperately in love forever.” Kel laughed, but Aubrey frowned.
“I didn’t mean it like—” She huffed, shaking her head. “And what would you know about prom anyway, you barely even went to ours?”
“I went to enough of it to know that it wasn’t super magical or anything, and yeah, I danced with a few girls, but it’s not like I’m just pining for them forever now.” Kel paused, chuckling to himself, and Aubrey’s face flushed but her brow furrowed. Was he making fun of her?
“That’s not the same thing. For some girls it’s different. They romanticize it in their heads”—she sighed—“not me but…”
“That’s because you’re a cynic,” teased Kel.
“And you’re a moron—especially if you think that another girl wouldn’t take your invitation to dancing lessons in a romantic way.”
Kel just shrugged and admitted, “I don’t get it.”
“Well…what if you had danced with that girl, the one you actually wanted to take as your prom date? Don’t you think that would’ve been special?”
“I didn’t get to dance with her—ever actually, but I don’t think it would’ve changed anything. A dance is just dance, isn’t it?” He tilted his head as a bantering smile tugged at his lips. “You’re acting like if I just started dancing with you right now, you’d—?”
“K—Kel?” Aubrey’s breath hitched as he slipped his arms around her waist. “What are you doing?”
“Proving a point,” he insisted with a shrug.
Aubrey huffed. “There isn’t even any music.”
“Oh.” Kel absentmindedly tilted his head before pulling out his phone, presumably choosing a song to play. As the song’s intro began to play, he set his phone on the counter and held out his hand to her.
“Can I have this dance?” he asked with a playfully melodramatic bow, and Aubrey sighed with a somewhat affectionate roll of her eyes.
“Fine,” she sighed. “Whatever will get you to focus on cooking again.”
Kel smiled brightly as he wrapped his arms around her waist again. As he met her eyes, she looked away abruptly—clearing her throat as she snaked her arms around his neck. He was so close to her. Her cheeks felt warm, and she swallowed hard, pushing the thought away. ‘It’s just Kel,’ she reminded herself.
He began swaying—Aubrey shook her head—off tempo with the music. “You really can use those dance lessons,” she teased though there was a certain, uncharacteristic shakiness that seeped into her words. She pursed her lips and mentally kicked herself. What was wrong with her all of a sudden?
She could almost feel Kel’s chuckle reverberating in his chest. “Yeah, well I guess it’s good I won them then.” He smiled at her, and as he met her eyes, Aubrey shuddered in spite of herself.
Kel pulled her closer to him—almost pressing his cheek against hers and began to quietly sing along to the music. Aubrey’s face flushed. Knowing Kel he probably wasn’t even aware that he was singing, but she could feel his warm breath, those affectionate words almost whispered in her ear. For the life of her she couldn’t even begin to guess why Kel had picked what was probably one of the most romantic songs in the universe. The slow crooning of the melody alone screamed romance, but there was so much devotion, so much longing in the lyrics—and to hear them in Kel’s voice... Aubrey inhaled sharply—hoping her face wasn’t nearly as red as she feared.
“How”—her voice hitched, and she pulled away from him—“How do you even know this song?”
Kel just shrugged. “Hero showed it to me. He likes all those old songs, you know? And I thought it would be good for this.” He paused. “Why? Do you like it?”
“It’s fine,” shrugged Aubrey though she found she couldn’t look at Kel for some reason.
When she finally met his gaze again, there was something so warm, so gentle in his expression, and his dark eyes seemed to glisten with an emotion that she couldn’t begin to describe but which made her heart pound all the same. He lifted his hand from her waist and gently pressed his palm to her cheek.
“If this was a movie, this is probably the point when I’d say something corny like…” Kel paused, blinking at her with heavy-lidded eyes before he continued with a gentle sincerity that made her breath catch in her throat, ”‘You are so beautiful.’” He stroked her cheek with his thumb, and as his eyes fluttered closed, he sighed, “‘I’ve wanted this for a long time.’”
Aubrey swallowed hard. She tried to frown even though she was sure her face was bright red from that…that pining underscoring his voice. ‘This is just a game,’ she reminded herself—one that Kel seemed to be getting extremely into, but a game all the same. Still... the way his voice faltered, the earnestness in his eyes made it easy to forget.
“You’ve been watching too many romance movies with Hero…” she quipped, but her voice wavered.
Kel chuckled lightly. “Maybe…”
His hand softly stroked the side of her cheek until the tips of his long fingers began to tangle in her hair. She shivered as she took a long, shaky breath. His lips parted slightly as his mouth relaxed. She bit her lip and watched as Kel did the same.
“Aubrey…” he whispered as she tangled her trembling hand in the hair at the nape of his neck and gently pulled him towards her in slow, deliberate movements that didn’t feel like her own. His long, dark eyelashes fluttered. He was close enough to her now that she could almost feel them against her skin.
Her heart pounded. Her hands shook. He hovered in front of her mere inches away from her face. When he whispered her name again, she realized they had stopped dancing.
As Kel’s eyes fluttered closed, he tilted his head and cupped her face with his hands. His breath was warm against her skin, so close Aubrey could almost taste the coffee and citrus lingering from that awful Orange Joe he loved so much. As she began to lean closer to him, her hand curled around the unruly strands of his hair, and she pressed her palm to the back of his head—pulling him in. Closer. Closer.
He began to lean forward. That space between them was almost non-existent now. Aubrey froze—unable to move, unable to breath. Her heartbeat raced, and she could almost feel Kel’s heart pounding as he stopped, a breath away from her. She gripped the soft fabric of his shirt and shut her eyes tightly. Waiting. Waiting until…
BEEP! BEEP! The sound of the oven timer rang through the living room. Aubrey exhaled deeply though her cheeks flushed. What had just happened?
Kel startled, pulling away from her abruptly. “Oh! The lasagna!” he exclaimed with a bright smile, seemingly, completely unphased by what had just happened, by the fact that they had almost…
Aubrey inhaled sharply, then took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She bit down hard on her lip. It was just a game to him. Of course it was.
“Alright fine, Kel…” she laughed it off with as much of a frown as she could muster as the music stopped. Her racing heartbeat and wavering tone of voice didn’t seemed to get the memo, however. “You’re right.”
His face beamed. “Seriously?” He chuckled, playfully poking her in the arm. “See, I told you that you didn’t miss out on anything at the prom.”
Aubrey sighed—willing that blush she could still feel in her face away. “Yeah… It’s just a dance—nothing necessarily romantic about that. But you know I agreed with you from the beginning, right? So don’t get too excited about it. I just meant a lot of other girls might get the wrong impression.” ‘Especially if you dance with them like that,’ she mentally added, barely managing to stop herself before the words tumbled out of her mouth.
“Yeah, alright. You know, honestly, I actually kinda see your point now too.” Kel tilted his head and chuckled breathily though his expression was unreadable. Aubrey’s heart raced in spite of herself as she tried to push these thoughts, these feelings, whatever they were away for good.
*-*-*
Aubrey let out a long and heavy sigh. She could feel the blush in her cheeks even now just thinking about it. She hadn’t done a very good job of pushing the memory away. Even though they had never talked about that dance, about that almost-kiss ever again, Aubrey had mulled it over in her mind more times than she could count, until she could almost believe that she had been imagining things, that she had just gotten caught up in the music and dancing and that nothing had actually almost happened. But…—Aubrey sighed—the way he had looked at her…
She swallowed hard and pushed the thought away. This was Kel. Kel—dopey, happy-go-lucky Kel who used to eat spray cheese directly out of the can until she and Hero staged an intervention to ask him to stop and who once got a popsicle stick stuck up his nose because he wanted to see if he could touch his brain with it. Granted he was seven at the time, but still… this was Kel, and Kel was…was…
Aubrey sighed. Kel was sweet and thoughtful. He’d do anything to make his friends and family happy, and he loved making people laugh. He could make friends anywhere he went, and he always found things to smile about. And yeah, he could be awkward sometimes, airheaded, oblivious, and occasionally stubborn, but he had a big heart and even if his words didn’t always come out the way he wanted them to, she never doubted how much he cared. He was a great friend—her best friend, probably if she was being honest, but she wasn’t about to waste another minute of her life sitting around analyzing whether she may or may not have almost kissed him once. And she especially wasn’t going to sit around analyzing whether or not she should have or, worst of all, whether she had wanted to.
“You will dance with me again, won’t you?” asked Kel’s voice through the phone. “I gave those dancing lessons to my parents as a gift, but Hero was helping me practice a little bit, so I think I’ve gotten a lot better.”
“Uh…yeah…sure Kel…” stumbled Aubrey trying her best not to think anything of it.
“Okay, great! I’ve got to go now, but I’ll see you soon, okay? Bye.”
“…Bye…” mumbled Aubrey. She let out a long and heavy sigh, shaking her head and mentally kicking herself for getting so flustered about Kel of all people. It was nothing, clearly…given the way he could mention it so nonchalantly like that. She should just stop thinking about it and worrying that it was something that it wasn’t.
She pushed the thought away—trying her best to think about something else, anything else. What was everyone going to wear tonight? Sally would probably look adorable all dressed up in party dress or a costume if she wanted to be an actual princess—though Aubrey supposed Kel had specifically used the word “prom” rather than “ball” so Sally might not want a princess dress. Would Kel and Hero go all out and rent tuxes or just wear nice suits? Maybe Kel would bring back that bright pink tie from their prom…
Aubrey stopped. That tie. She hadn’t thought about it in years until it got brought up a couple of weeks ago when she and Kel were going shopping at the outlet mall with Sally.
*-*-*
“They’re so pretty,” Sally sighed wistfully with a little twirl as they passed some of the clothing racks filled with sparkly prom dresses. “I can’t wait ‘til I’m old enough to go to the prom.” She giggled and squeezed Aubrey’s hand. “What was it like? Did you get to wear a pretty dress like that, Aubbie?”
Aubrey smiled. Sally had given her that nickname years ago when she was a little toddler who struggled with her “r”s, and it made it happy to think that it had somehow stuck all these years. Her smile quickly faded however, as she awkwardly replied, “Well…Sally…I didn’t actually go to my prom.”
“Oh…” Sally’s eyes widened sadly, and she tilted her head. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay,” she reassured her, giving her a gentle smile and a reassuring pat on the head. “Your brother went though—to part of it. He wore this bright pink tie.”
Kel laughed and playfully poked her in the arm. “You remember my tie?”
Aubrey’s face flushed, but she bantered. “It was kind of hard to forget. Why’d you pick a color like that anyway?”
“Oh uh…” Chuckling, he scratched the back of his neck. “I never told you?”
“No…” Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at him, but Sally giggled.
“I wanna hear about it.”
“Well, okay, just for you Sally,” Kel’s expression softened, but he shrugged his shoulders. “But I’m warning you, it’s…kind of silly now that I’m thinking about it…” He sighed. “There was this girl…She was really amazing. I wanted to ask her to prom, but I was really afraid she would say ‘no’ so I kind of chickened out. But she really liked pink so…I thought maybe she’d like that pink tie. Kind of silly, right?” He laughed it off, but his cheeks flushed.
“Did she like it?” asked Sally, curiously blinking up at her older brother.
Kel’s mouth curved into a smile, and—Aubrey blushed—she could have almost sworn he glanced over at her when he said, “Yeah. I think she did…”
“You know, you never told me—that girl, did she go with someone else?” The question slipped out before Aubrey could stop it. She had spent years wondering, worrying if she had ruined Kel’s prom with her own problems or if he was nursing a broken heart of his own that had nothing to do with her grief. It was probably selfish to be bringing it up now after all these years, but she couldn’t give up the opportunity to find out for sure if Kel would have left the prom early anyway, even if she had been there.
“Nope,” Kel shook his head with a sigh, and Aubrey swallowed hard.
“Did you get to dance with her, then?”
A smile twitched in the corners of Kel’s mouth—something unreadable but undeniably affectionate flashing across his eyes. “Eventually…”
“Was she a good dancer?” giggled Sally.
“Better than me.” Kel shrugged, but he reached out to take Sally’s hand and gave his sister a little twirl. “But I am getting better.”
He flashed Aubrey a teasing smile, and she shook her head at him as she stifled a laugh. She knew it was a sign that this conversation was over, but it nagged at the back of her brain for the rest of the day as they absentmindedly wandered from store to store, eventually stopping for soft pretzels at the food court and surprising Sally with a bright yellow bow for her hair. There was no more talk of prom.
When it started storming, they decided to call it a day and headed back to Faraway Town. It wasn’t long before Sally fell asleep in the back seat of her car, exhausted from the long and exciting day of shopping. Aubrey dreaded the silence left by the absence of Sally and Kel’s cheerful prattling, but she was grateful for the opportunity to focus on driving rather than on mulling Kel’s words over in her head. That guilt she had been feeling ever since he had had to skip out on their prom on her account was suddenly fresh again, gnawing at her, getting harder and harder to push away.
“Hey…uh…Aubrey? Are you okay?” asked Kel quietly enough so as not to wake up the napping Sally. “You’ve been kind of quiet…”
“Well Sally’s asleep Kel,” she replied with a tilt of her head as she glanced in her rearview mirror.
“Yeah, but I meant before that…Ever since we were in that department store…”
Aubrey took a deep breath and tried to muster a, “Yeah…I’m just…”
She stopped abruptly. Even if she didn’t take her eyes off the road, she could almost picture Kel’s reassuring smile, encouraging her that she could tell him anything. Maybe it would be best to ask him now when she didn’t have to look in his face...
Before she could decide, however, she pulled into the driveway of Kel’s parents’ house. Grabbing a nearby umbrella, Kel got out of the car and gently lifted a sleeping Sally, draping his jacket over her head so her face wouldn’t get wet from his attempts to carry her and the umbrella.
Kel fidgeted until he was shielding Sally completely with the umbrella, getting himself soaked in the process. Aubrey sighed and shook her head with a somewhat affectionate smile. He was going to be sopping wet by the time he got back to the car, but if Aubrey was being honest, she didn’t mind. It was sweet how much Kel cared about his sister. Aubrey supposed that was really just Kel—he always thought about everybody else and how to make them happy. He’d give a stranger his umbrella if they needed it, even if that meant he’d get himself soaked. It was something Aubrey admired most about him.
Her face felt suddenly warm, and she pushed the thought away, watching as Kel handed Sally off to his mom on the porch. She gave Aubrey a bright smile and a cheerful wave as Kel rushed back across yard. Aubrey waved back.
Sure enough, when Kel got back inside the car, he was dripping water. He ran his hand through his sopping hair.
“Sorry, Aubrey. I’ll clean it up when you drop me off,” he insisted with a sheepish smile, but Aubrey waved her hand.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s just water.”
Chuckling, Kel’s mouth twitched into a lopsided grin, and he shrugged his shoulders, “Okay, now that Sally’s inside…what’s up? Something’s bugging you.”
“I’m fine,” Aubrey said, but she knew Kel knew her too well to believe that.
He sighed, a look of concern passing over his eyes. “Are you sure? Is it something I said…?”
“No…” She bit her lip. “It’s not you. It’s just…”
“You’ll feel better if you just tell me. I know you will,” he teased with a kind smile.
Aubrey huffed. He was right, of course, but she didn’t really want to admit that.
“Why did you leave our prom?”
Kel’s brow furrowed, and his eyes widened in confusion. “What?”
“You know…was it for that girl you wanted to take but didn’t end up asking or was it for…?” She stopped and cleared her throat.
“Well…actually…” Kel stumbled, his face flushing. Aubrey sighed guiltily. She didn’t mean to fluster him like this—it wasn’t fair.
“I just…I know it’s none of my business, and I feel bad asking but I just don’t want to be reason that you had to skip out on our prom, you know? So if you left because you were heartbroken or…”
“Oh,” Kel interrupted. Clearing his throat, he rubbed his hand across the nape of his neck. “Uh…I wasn’t heartbroken or anything, but…yeah, I did leave because of that girl—the one I wanted to ask…”
Aubrey sighed. She didn’t feel as relieved to hear this as she had always imagined she would. She felt almost…sad…
“Do you regret it?” she asked quietly, staring at her hands. “Leaving her there at the prom?”
“What?”
“You know, you could’ve stayed. You didn’t have to miss out on it, especially not to just waste the whole night sitting on my porch…” She cleared her throat though she twisted her hands around the steering wheel, staring intently at the swaying windshield wipers. “Do you ever wish that…things had been different?”
“I mean…I guess sometimes, maybe, but only to wish that you had been there and that everyone had been there to come with us.” Sighing bittersweetly, Kel paused. “Why? Do you?”
Aubrey sighed, adjusting her grip on the steering wheel even though the car was still parked. “Sometimes…” she admitted. “But for the same reason as you, I guess, and…” Her voice trailed, and she could feel Kel shift next to her.
“And what?”
“I’ve just…” Her face flushed as she took a deep breath. “I always felt guilty for making you miss it. I really am sorry about that.”
Kel chuckled lightly and placed his hand on her shoulder until she turned to look at him. “Aubrey, don’t worry about it. I already told you. I wanted to spend it with you.”
His smile was warm, and the look in his eyes was so tender that Aubrey’s hands began to shake as her cheeks blushed rose. She turned away from him, and he shrugged his shoulders and admitted, “I think about that night a lot, actually…in a good way. I don’t have regrets.”
He gently pushed a piece of hair out of her face, and Aubrey shivered but not from the cold and wet of the rain on his fingers. “Aubrey, I…There’s actually…” He stopped and pulled his hand away from her abruptly as water began to drip into her face. “Oh shoot. I’m sorry,” he stumbled, panicking over the damp streaks in her hair.
“It’s okay, Kel…” Aubrey sighed—politely failing to mention that his panicking over dripping water everywhere was just spraying water and making everything wetter. “Let’s just…get you home.”
“Okay…” Kel nodded, but his face was flushed. Aubrey was sure hers was bright red. She could only hope he wouldn’t notice.
*-*-*
Taking a deep breath, Aubrey parked her car on the street in front of Kel’s house. This was probably the worst possible thing she could have been thinking of right now. Why did she do this to herself?
She sighed heavily, burying her face in her hands before she composed herself, pushing all those thoughts away. She didn’t even know where they were coming from, and even if she did, now was definitely not the time to be thinking about any of that. She could almost guarantee that Kel certainly wasn’t. There was no way he was sitting around wondering what would have happened if the timer hadn’t gone off when they were dancing or if water hadn’t started to drip into her face when he was running his hand through her hair. These were just things Kel did without thinking—it didn’t mean anything more to him than that they were just friends, so why should it mean anything more to her? And…perhaps more importantly, why would she even want it to? Why would she want affection for him that would never be returned?
Her shoes clicked across the pavement as she made her way down the sidewalk and up the driveway to the house where Kel lived with his brother, at least until Hero finished his final year of residency and paid off enough student loans to afford his own place. There was the faint sound of music echoing from the backyard and lights shimmering from what she assumed was probably their decorated porch. As soon as she walked through the gate to the yard, however, she realized she was wrong. There was a beautiful trellis canopy covered in Christmas lights with twinkling icicle lights hanging from the ceiling—underneath it was Hero’s record player, playing classic love songs.
Aubrey froze just staring at it—how it beautiful it was. She didn’t even notice Kel until he chuckled beside her.
“Aubrey, you made it!” He paused, his expression softening. “You look beautiful. I’m glad I finally got to see your prom dress.”
Aubrey’s face flushed, and she curled her toes in her shoes both at the compliment, and at the fact that Kel didn’t look too shabby himself dressed in his dark suit with combed hair and shiny dress shoes. “You look nice too, Kel. I see you’re wearing that tie—” she tried to tease him, but her voice cracked. Kel, however, just chuckled lightly.
“Oh yeah…well, you know…” With a slight shrug of his shoulders, he paused fidgeting with the bright pink tie around his neck. “Do you like it?”
Aubrey somehow managed a playful roll of her eyes. “It’s great, Kel.”
“I got you this,” he exclaimed excitedly, holding out a plastic container with a corsage inside.
“Wow, thank you,” she stumbled as he helped her slip it onto her wrist. “You really did go all out, huh?”
Kel hummed and nodded enthusiastically, but Aubrey’s brow furrowed as she glanced around. “So, uh…where are Hero and Sally?”
A faint flush of rose filled Kel’s cheeks. “Oh. Uh…well…about that. They’re not here.”
“Why not?”
“It wasn’t really a lie,” he tripped over his words. “I was just trying to surprise you, but I…I didn’t do this for Sally…”
As he met her eyes, Aubrey shivered and swallowed hard. Kel chuckled sheepishly. “I knew you were kind of upset that you missed your prom, and so I thought I’d make you your own prom. Surprise!”
Aubrey looked around the yard—at the twinkling lights, the trellis, Hero’s record player, then at Kel, all dressed up in his best suit with his pink tie, the kindest look in his eyes and the brightest, beaming smile on his face.
“You...”—she inhaled sharply—“You did all this…for me?”
“Yeah…Is it overboard? I was worried it might be a little overboard.”
Aubrey could scarcely put coherent sentences together—her head was spinning. Kel…Kel had done all of this…for her…? “Why?”
“Why?” Kel repeated with wide eyes. “Well…because it’s a lot…with the music and the fancy clothes and the decorations…”
“No, uh—” she stumbled. “Why did you do this for me, Kel?”
“Oh…well I thought you were upset about our prom ever since we went to the outlet mall, and I thought maybe a ‘do-over’ prom would make you happy.”
Aubrey’s blush deepened as she stared down at her feet. “You…you really didn’t have to do this Kel. Especially since I’m the one who basically ruined your prom in the first place.”
“Aubrey…” He pressed his palm to her cheek—smiling, waiting until she finally looked up at him. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you this whole time. You didn’t ruin my prom—not at all. I wanted to spend it with you. I know I probably should’ve just asked you, but I don’t know, I was just…I had never felt so close to anybody in my whole life, and I thought you were so amazing, I didn’t know what to do with myself…” He paused, chuckling awkwardly with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders.
“Wait…you…you…” she stammered trying to make sense of what she was hearing. He couldn’t have possibly just said…? “You wanted to take me to our prom? I’m the girl?”
Kel’s cheeks blushed red, but he nodded. “You’re the girl.” Aubrey could only blink at him as he chuckled lightly, awkwardly again and joked as he fidgeted with his hands, “You know…if this was a movie, this is probably the part where I’d say something really corny like ‘You’ve always been the girl.’”
As he met her eyes, Aubrey froze. His words may have been corny, but the look in his eyes was so sincere, so…affectionate. She swallowed hard—sure her face must be bright red by now, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t think. She tried her best to take a deep breath and shakily tease him but her voice was wavering, breathy—it almost didn’t sound like her. “Yeah…that’s—that’s really corny…”
“Yeah, I’m no Hero…” Kel chuckled self-deprecatingly. “I’m really not good at any of this stuff…” He bit his lip and looked back up at her with a gaze that made her shiver. “But I really do think you’re great—probably the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I’m sorry for not saying it before.”
“Kel, I…” Her voice hitched. “I had no idea you felt this way…”
“That’s okay,” shrugged Kel. “To be honest, I didn’t even know I felt this way for a long time. It took me a while to figure it out…I was just kind of dense, I guess.” He laughed with a sheepish grin. “When I finally mentioned it to Hero, he gave me this look like ‘it’s about time…’ Then he was the one who was really encouraging me to tell you, but I just never really could figure out how and…then I was worried I was going to mess up our friendship and I didn’t want to make things awkward…But I guess this is kinda awkward, huh? All the movies make it look so easy…”
Aubrey blushed. If one of them should be feeling dense right now, it really should be her. Kel was…Was he really…?
“Listen, uh…you’re really quiet right now. You don’t have to say anything. We can just pretend that I never said anything,” he began to ramble quickly, nervously. “I didn’t want to put you on the spot, I just—I thought that was something you should probably know about me, er, about you, er how I feel about you because I—I really like you and I think you are really great and if you ever talk to me again after this, I would really like to take you to dinner and…”
Aubrey could only blink at him, unable to get a word in edgewise as he let out a long heavy sigh. “And I am totally messing this up…” Sighing heavily again, he ran his hand through his hair, before he met her eyes. “Aubrey…I’m sorry—”
“Don’t be…” Aubrey interrupted, reaching up to stroke Kel’s cheek with her hand. “I know it’s not an easy thing to say…”
“No, but you don’t understand. I tried to practice and everything. I was going to say all kinds of really nice stuff like that you’re probably the most important person in the world to me, and I don’t know what I’d do without you. After Mari and Sunny and Basil…”—his voice hitched—”Things were so dark and so sad…it was probably one of the worst times in my life, and I felt so alone, but then, you found me…and you showed me that even if this world without them is always going to be a little sadder than it was, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still good things in it too. And a lot of those good things were because of you—when we tease each other and we’re throwing popcorn at each other or I’m wiping frosting on your nose or splashing water at you at the beach—when we laugh about corny movies or dance in the kitchen or when we just talk for hours and completely forget about the time…or when your face turns all red when you’re trying not to smile or the way your nose wrinkles when you laugh. And you”—he cupped her face in his hands—“You’re the best thing.”
“Kel—I…I…” Aubrey began to trip over her words, unsure what she even wanted to say.
Kel sighed, his face blushing red as he pulled his hands away from her, and mumbled, “I don’t even know if that makes sense…”
“No, it…it does,” Aubrey said with a reassuring smile. “I…I completely…” She stopped. “Back then, I…I never thought I could ever be happy again, but you showed me I could be, that there’s still…happiness…” Her voice trailed, but Kel wrapped his arms around her and pulled into a tight hug.
“Aubrey…I’m…I’m so glad…I…”—Kel’s voice hitched—“I just want you to be happy. I want you to be so, so happy. I just never thought I’d ever be lucky enough that you could be happy with me.”
“I am happy, Kel,” Aubrey whispered, unable to think, unable to breath. Something she couldn’t even begin to describe seemed to propel her forward—her whole body almost moving on its own as she pulled back from him just enough to close her eyes and brush her lips against his.
“A—Aubrey?” stumbled Kel with a look more akin to having been whacked on the back of the head rather than kissed.
“Kel, uh…sorry…” she began staring off over his shoulder. “I just um…”
“No, I’m sorry, I just…I wasn’t ready.” Aubrey’s eyes widened, but Kel hurriedly added, “Ready as in prepared not as in ready like I—I didn’t want…because I—I do…”
A playful smile tugged at Aubrey’s lips, but she was blushing too much to actually tease him.
“I—I…” Kel began to stumble again, and Aubrey could have sworn she heard him mumble, “Oh forget it…” under his breath before he finally just threw his arms around her neck and kissed her. His hands tangled in her hair as hers gripped the collar of his suit pulling him even closer to her. She could taste that sickeningly sweet Orange Joe on his breath, but she didn’t even care.
When they finally broke apart from each other, red-faced and breathless. Kel chuckled teasingly, “I guess I should probably ask you to dance now, huh?”
As that familiar song began to play, Kel wrapped his arms around her, and Aubrey slipped her hands around his neck. They swayed in time to the music, and neither one of them could hold back their smiles.
As Aubrey nestled into Kel’s chest, she could feel him chuckling lightly to himself.
“What?” she asked quietly.
“Nothing it’s just…” Kel pulled away just enough to look at her and meet her eyes as his mouth twitched into a soft, playful smile. “Maybe it really is true what everyone says about prom after all…”
#kelbrey#omori baseball bat#omori baseball#baseball omori#omori kelbrey#cries about kelbrey#kelbrey prom#i want out of kelbrey hell#send help#can acacia actually write romance? let's see...#i can't believe i wrote this#omori spoilers#my omori fanfiction#thank you so much for reading
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Valentine's Project
Hello all! I'm slowly returning to activity on my blog. (Thank you again for all the well wishes and your patience! 🥰). As Valentine's Day is coming up soon (and since I just got polls access and wanted to try it out 😅) I was curious to hear from you all what (if anything) you'd like to see me write about for the holiday. Since I've branched out into romance writing a little bit in the last few months, I thought I should probably try to do something for it.
Thanks for participating! 😊
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