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storiesofsvu · 1 year

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A Dangerous Game Ch 22

Emily Prentiss x reader warnings: language, alcohol, smut. Okay so i did say we were gonna wrap at 25 chapters but I'm smooshing things together cause I didn't have enough meat to fill out chapters and am getting lazy. SO! ONE more chapter after this one. Hopefully soon, but also I work the next two days so we'll see how that works out LOL. Plenty of other stuff in the wip pile otherwise and some bingo squares actually started on so you have content to look forward to, promise.

Both you and Emily were incredibly thankful when there was no last minute new case on Friday, leaving the two of you (and the rest of the team) free to head home right at five. You had enough time to wind down from work, shower and get ready before Emily was knocking at your door. She let out a quiet swear when you pulled open the door and you giggled, kissing her cheek gently before setting the alarm and locking the door. You were in a dusty pink casual yet flirty dress, the neckline enough to tease Emily while still being modest, the hem of the skirt flowing across your mid thigh.

“You know I could’ve met you there.” You commented as you slid into the car, “less back tracking for you to do.”

“Yeah, but I figured I wanted to do this the right way.” She smiled softly at you, her hand naturally finding home on your thigh as she started the car, backing out of your driveway. “You look absolutely gorgeous by the way.”

“Thanks.” Your cheeks flushed, glancing over to her with a warm smile, “so do you.”

Emily hadn’t planned much, not wanting to go too crazy or come off overbearing, telling you just to dress nice but casual was fine. She’d made dinner reservations at Iron Gate Restaurant, a cute little place that was a prime spot for date nights that wasn’t too fancy but just fancy enough. It was warm enough outside that the two of you ended up at a corner table on their back patio, fairy lights strewn overtop of the gardens and candles on the tables to embrace the ambiance.

You started with a round of cocktails while you looked over the menu, the waiter offering wine suggestions when you placed your food orders. The table started with focaccia, cremini mushroom arancini and a citrus salad while the two of you gossiped about work that week, laughing over the stories that Emily had missed out on while trapped in her office.

“I can’t believe you told Morgan about the jet.” She laughed, taking another sip of her drink and you joined in on her laughter.

“Listen, I was hungover as fuck, I needed that couch.”

“Well now he’s insistent on bunking with you on trips to keep us apart.”

“Okay.” You shrugged with a grin, “never stopped us before. He can give us an hour for privacy or he can suffer. Or I’ll bribe Savannah. If he’s gonna cockblock us, I’ll cockblock him right back.”

“You’re cruel.” She chuckled.

“No.” You insisted, “I give back the same energy I’m given.”

“Ah, the changing of a few crucial words and you get away with it.”

“It’s worked so far.” You replied with a teasing shrug and she laughed again, her free hand sneaking across the table top to grab yours before laying a kiss on the back of it, fingers remaining tangled when they hit the table once again.

Wine and dinner came out shortly after that, Emily teasing you for your choice of seafood despite your absolute hatred of crab. You scoffed, pointing out that they were completely different tastes and textures, and that this would be delicious. The playful argument was completely unneeded, but the way it brought a spark to Emily’s eye when she looked at you was all the excuse you needed to dig into her when she ended up liking your choice of dinner better than her own.

You opted to take one of each desserts to go and Emily was obviously insistent on taking care of the cheque. You attempted to open your mouth to object and the look she shot you was enough alone to know she definitely wasn’t going to give in, no matter what you said. You thanked her, kissing the back of her hand before the two of you were gathering your things, making your way out of the restaurant hand in hand. She faltered in her step as you reached the back of the car, turning back to you with a smile on her face and you leant in, kissing her gently, lips lingering against hers a little longer than normal for being in public.

“Thank you for dinner.” You murmured, “it was really nice.”

“It was.” She smiled, pecking you lightly, “should do it again next week.”

“It’s a date.”

“Now…. Am I taking you back across the river?” She raised a brow at you and you laughed.

“We got dessert to go. What did you think? I was just gonna run off with it? Besides, Sergio’ll throw a fit if I don’t come say hi.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes about Sergio, considering you were completely correct and kissed your cheek softly before nudging you in the direction of the passenger side door.

The moment the elevator doors slid shut Emily had you against the wall in a bruising kiss, lips moving with fire against your own. Your arms quickly looped around her shoulders, fingers threading through her hair, your body relaxing into hers. A thigh found its way between your legs, pinning you to the wall and you let out a whine into the kiss when her hands grasped at your hips, grinding you down against her.

“That’s it angel…” she murmured, her breath hot on your skin as she kissed across your jaw, her muscle flexing under you and your head dropped back against the wall, “feel good?”

“Yes daddy…”

The elevator pinged and you barely had enough time to tear away from each other before the doors slid open and you fumbled your way down the short hallway to Emily’s apartment. Once the door was locked behind you Emily’s hands were on you again, shoes were kicked off and her lips found yours, tongue daring to slide into you mouth and you bit back a moan. Your hands slipped under her shirt, whimpering when she broke the kiss to pull the offending fabric over her head before kissing you again, a happy sigh escaping you that she swallowed down. You quickly got rid of her bra, tossing it to the floor and began squeezing at her chest, lips curving up into a grin at the way she practically melted into your touch. Emily’s hands wound around you to find the zipper of your dress, letting the clothing fall to the floor and she pulled back from the kiss, letting out a low swear when she saw the set you had on underneath.

“Christ princess….”

“Figured I should dress up for you.” You shrugged with a playful grin and she chuckled, her eyes darkening as they dragged up your body.

“You always look so pretty for me.” Her hand reached out, brushing a piece of loose hair behind your ear, “but this is… wow…”

“Yeah?” Grinning, your fingers curled into her belt loops, tugging her closer to you so you could kiss her, “I have a feeling it’d look even better on your bedroom floor.”

“Can’t argue with you there.” She smirked, hands ghosting up your sides to grope at your chest through the lace, pinching at your nipples and you sucked in a breath, your back arching towards the touch. Your hips ground against her and you gasped, a small laugh leaving your lips.

“Why am I not surprised you’re already strapped?”

“Didn’t want to waste any time.” She murmured back, her lips beginning to trail down your neck as her hands made quick work of your bra so you could let it fall from your body. Her hands pinched at your nipples as she bit into the crook of your neck, nudging you back onto the bed. “Good girl.”

She undid her pants, kicking them off, cock springing out before she leant over you, fingers in the waistband of your lace panties and she pulled them down your legs. Her hands smoothed back up them, spreading you open for her and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. The moment her mouth lapped at you, your head fell back into the pillows, a happy moan leaving your lips. One of her hands slid up your hip and your own quickly found it, fingers interlacing as she continued to eat you out. Her nose brushed against your clit and you gasped, your hips rocking up to the sensation as your free hand tangled into her hair, holding her gently to you.

Emily’s tongue darted out, pulling your juices into her mouth, groaning over the taste she adored so much, her free hand pressed down your thigh, spreading you even further open for her, just the way she liked. Her mouth sucked at you, moaning against your pussy, the vibrations shaking through you deep into your core. She shifted up, latching around your clit, letting her tongue trace patterns across it while two fingers slipped into your pussy. Her eyes flicked up so she could watch the way your body thrived against the bed, whimpers and whines escaping your lips while her fingers pumped and curled within you. Your pussy was soaked, fluttering around her with each brush of her fingers.

“Fuck… oh god daddy… feels so…so… fuckin good.”

She sucked harder on your clit, tongue pressing down heavily on it while her fingers curled right against the spongey spot inside of you and you cried out, coming undone, thighs shaking around her.

“Good girl.” She praised, kissing just above your clit before pulling her fingers from you. Before she could even blink, your hand wrapped around her wrist and you were sitting up, pulling her slicked fingers into your mouth, sucking them clean of your juices.

“Please fuck me daddy.” You mewled, nearly pouting as you did so and she swore again, knowing that you were likely going to be the death of her.

“Lie back princess.” She urged after stealing another kiss, watching the way your tits bounced when you did as she asked, spreading your legs even wider for her.

She ran the tip of her cock through your folds, smearing it with your juices and your eyes fluttered shut, breath catching in your throat. She lined the toy up, sinking into you inch by inch until she was completely buried within you and you let out a low moan when she circled her hips. She leant over you and your hands instantly wrapped around her, fingers digging into her skin as she began to move her hips. Her mouth wrapped around a nipple, sucking it into her mouth, teeth scraping against the sensitive skin as she set a steady rhythm. Each thrust her cock seemed to hit every inch of your pussy that you needed and you let out a whine, one of your legs wrapping around her to pull her even tighter to you.

“Harder…” you moaned, “please.”

She bit down harder in the same moment that her hips heavily rocked into yours and you gasped, your hands digging deeper into her skin, pulling a moan from her. She braced one of her hands on the bed, fucking deeper and harder with each thrust of her hips, your whimpers and whines getting louder and longer with each push of her cock. Your hips began to rock up to meet hers eagerly, begging for more,

“God… fuck…oh fuck!”

Emily’s teeth sunk into the curve of your breast, her tongue lapping out to soothe the burn but you both knew there’d be a mark for days to come. She licked across your collar bone, placing a kiss on it before making home in the crook of your neck, mouth licking, biting and sucking while she continued to fuck you.

You were a whimpering mess by now, your entire body on fire and completely consumed by her. Her cock filling you so precisely in only a way she could, her fingers pinching at your nipple, tracing patterns across your skin, your senses were overloaded with Emily, her perfume surging through you, bringing tingles to your skin with each inhale you took. She could feel the way your thighs were beginning to tremble around her, the shake in your breath and her lips formed a smirk on your skin.

“Gonna come for me angel? Come all over daddy’s cock?”

“S—so close.” You whimpered, gasping when her cock thrust heavily into you.

Emily’s hand vanished from your chest, sneaking down in between your bodies to find your clit, pinching it when she did so and your legs tightened around her, a loud moan leaving your lips. Her fingers began to rub in time with her thrusts, pressing harder and harder with each roll of her hips.

“That’s it princess… let go…” She husked into your ear, biting at the lobe and you cried out, shaking in her arms as your orgasm washed over you.

Your body shook, tensing around Emily, nails digging into her skin, burying yourself into the crook of her neck in an attempt to be fully absorbed by her, wanting to feel nothing but her in that moment of pleasure that continued to wash over you, wave after wave. You could hear her voice, but were completely unaware of what she was saying, everything was a haze until you could feel the drag of her cock in your pulsating pussy and let out a shuddering breath, letting go of her and collapsing down into the pillows with a sigh. She gazed down at you with a happy smile, her hips stilling against yours as her hand caressed at your cheek, thumb rubbing at your skin until she was certain you’d had enough of a chance to catch your breath. Leaning down she kissed you softly, lips moving with grace against yours and there was no place in the world either of you wanted to be in that moment. She slipped out of you, leaving the strap to be dealt with later and rolled onto her back, wrapping an arm around you in the warm embrace that you gladly accepted, curling around her body.

Your leg nestled between hers, head resting on her chest and your arm lazily strewn around her while you slowly came back down to earth. Emily’s hand came up to the back of your head, gently scratching at it, playing with your hair and she left a tender kiss on the top of your head. Everything felt right, felt peaceful, comfortable and despite the air cooling as the night wore on, a warmth was wrapped around the two of you that you knew wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. The silence took over the room, only the sound of your breathing and happy little hums as you simply basked in the embrace of each other.

You let out a happy sigh, nuzzling into her body deeper, kissing at her bare skin and she hummed softly, kissing your head once again. A warmth bloomed throughout her as you nestled against her, pressing gentle kisses to her skin. Her eyes drifted down at the feeling of your finger tips on her skin and she caught the way they were softly tracing the pattern of the scar on her stomach, ghosting over the white lines and Derek’s words from the other day replayed through her head.

“Hey…” she whispered softly, gently squeezing at you.

“Hmm?” You replied without looking up.

“I wanna tell you something. Something that should help make sense of why I did things the way I did…”

“Okay..”

“Years ago…. I was the target for someone, someone who wanted to see me in pain before actually killing me. Meaning they were going after my team first and I decided to be dumb, I thought the only way to protect the people I cared about was to go take care of it myself, go straight to the source of the violence.” Your fingers stilled in their pattern, shifting off the scar as your head tilted up at her and she stalled in her words at the expression on your face.

“I know about Doyle.”

“What?” Her brow furrowed and you shrugged.

“It’s not every day an FBI agent comes back from the dead. Everybody knows about the legendary… or… reckless depending on you who ask, Agent Prentiss. I’d just never heard a first name or seen a picture. So yeah…” you nuzzled back into her chest, letting out a happy sigh at the feeling, “I know the Dewald thing kinda just brought you right back there and you didn’t want to repeat history, especially with me in your place.”

Silence overtook you, your hand curled around her waist this time, thumb rubbing across her soft skin as you waited for her to absorb your words. She kissed your head, her lips lingering on you before she spoke once again,

“Is that why you never asked about the scar?” She felt her brow furrow and you shrugged.

“I’ve been in law enforcement long enough to know not to ask about scars. Hell, even before I started this job. You never know if it’s gonna bring up some super painful memory or if it’s from something like falling off the swings as a kid.”

“Hmm…” She replied and you could feel the wariness flowing off her, so you shifted up onto your elbow to look up at her again.

“Emily…” your voice was soft and hearing her name on your lips like that made her heart nearly stop, the adoring gaze in your eyes completely melting her. “We’re good. Okay? You don’t need to be constantly apologizing or explaining yourself or buying gifts. Give it another month and we’ll be arguing over something trivial like whose turn it is to take out the trash.” Your smile brought a laugh to her lips, worry washing away as the sparkle in her eye returned while you leaned up to kiss her. “We’re more than good. Okay?”

“Okay.” She smiled brightly, letting out a happy sigh when you nestled back into her chest, “as long as you know that I’m in this for the long haul, that I want it to really be something and mean something.

“I do.” You murmured.

“So much so that I may have mentioned something to the director earlier today.” She winced at the way your body tensed against her.

“And… what would that have been?”

“I didn’t specify things, I just brought up that something was… blooming and I wanted to get in front of it professionally.”

You propped up on your elbow again and Emily frowned at the worry wavering in your eyes, “are they gonna transfer me?”

“No!” Her hand shot out, cradling your cheek, “no baby, no. I didn’t even mention you by name. We’ll have to go in and sign some paperwork on Monday, there will be some situations where you report to the section chief or director directly instead of me. Any evals or performance reviews will be done by them instead, and they’ll likely keep a closer eye on us in the field for a bit, but we can do this.”

“Good.” You smiled, leaning in to kiss her, “because I really like this job. And I also really like the idea of not having to sneak around or be worried about it all the time.”

“And we won’t have to.” She kissed you softly, lips curving up against yours as she did.

“When do we tell the team?” You asked and she sighed heavily.

“Let’s give it a bit? If that’s okay with you?”

“Please, Morgan and Garcia are already having field days with it, let them get the major teases out before everyone’s in on it.”

“Knowing Garcia that’ll only take the rest of the week.” Emily chuckled and you laughed.

“Well then let’s make the week worth it.” You murmured as you leant in, your lips brushing her skin as you caged her into the bed and she let out a chuckle, eagerly accepting the kiss.

______________________

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#emily prentiss #emily prentiss x reader #criminal minds #a dangerous game #emily prentiss series #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fic

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nightcourtseer · 8 months

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Chapter 1

Read on A03

Summary: It’s been a year since Elain ended her seemingly-perfect engagement, deviating from the seemingly-perfect life she had been expected to lead. As she struggles to regain her sense of self among the growing pains of her 20s, a tragic accident reunites her group of friends from university - some she thought she may never see again. Amid the pain of loss, and a celebration of life, Elain lets go - and finds again.

………….………….………….………….………….………….

The year after passed in a dizzying haze of sleepless nights and sun-soaked days.

Elain stayed with Nesta and Cassian for a few weeks, just until she found a new job at a mid-size marketing firm in a small town about two hours away from the city. As far as she could stand to be away from her family for the time being, but far enough that she no longer had visions of the past at every street corner.

The small house she rented was at the top of her new budget, but was nothing to brag about. The cupboards were an awful stain of orange, the hardwood floors were scratched and warped, the sole bedroom was small, and the closet space near non-existent.

But there was so much light. So many windows, and a small garden out back where the previous owners had tended a variety of florals.

And more importantly, it was hers.

But her emotions still see-sawed between heart-bursting ecstasy, and chest-crippling despair. There seemed to be no inbetween, for the better part of that year.

One day she was learning to master a rosemary focaccia, and the next she was so tired she could barely get out of bed, her Postmates cold and forgotten on the vinyl counter in the kitchen. On those days, she could barely manage to answer concerned texts from Nesta or Feyre.

The guilt nearly ate her alive that year. For each day that she felt weightless, basking in the early morning light in her garden with a cup of coffee in hand, her mind would inevitably drag her back to the life she had ended, the relationship she had taken a knife to. And she questioned, over and over again, why she should feel so happy after causing so much pain.

As empowering as her independence was, as much as she had been starved for it, it was also lonely. And exhausting.

Nesta texted frequently, calling at least once a week to check in on.

It had taken Feyre a while to reach out first.

She knew the difficult position she had put Feyre in - tearing her between her best friend, and her middle sister. She avoided gatherings at her youngest sister’s place for the first few months for that reason - she never wanted Feyre to have to decide between inviting her or Lucien, or the impossible decision of what to do if they both showed up. So Elain stayed away, primarily gathering with just her sister and Cassian for the occasional Friday night movie night at their place when football season was over. When Cassian was coaching games, she sat beside Nesta on the bleachers, both of them hiding books under their tied blankets they had made in high school.

But after a few months, she started hearing from Feyre more once again. Joining her and her husband, Rhys, for dinner out when Cassian and Nesta would join them. Sometimes others of their friends would pop in - Amren when she deigned to visit from California with her boyfriend, Varian, Mor even more rarely, dropping by to see her cousin Rhys and family when work allowed.

As days turned into weeks, and then months, and then a year, Elain fell into a rhythm. Slowly, the guilt faded to a companionable pang. It helped whenever she saw Lucien make an appearance in one of Feyre’s Instagram stories. He looked healthy, well. Happy, even.

A year passed, and Elain started to finally believe that she had made the best choice for her - and maybe even Lucien in the long run. The tan line on her ring finger faded, and she replaced her bare hands with numerous rings in gold and decorated with opals and jade and emeralds that she had found at the farmer’s market near her house. She had even had Feyre tattoo an “A” in scrawling cursive across her wrist.

Winter she spent bundled inside. She taught herself to knit, and every single one of her family members received a scarf that year. The small Christmas tree she had bought and decorated stayed up late into February - she liked spending her evenings on her couch with just the light of the tree and a few lamps to illuminate the room. Maybe a candle or two, and she left the curtains open to watch the snow fall. If this was getting older, she didn’t particularly mind it, even as some part of her still itched for something, some need unfulfilled.

Spring reemerged with green buds and warmer temperatures. She started to leave her windows open, so that she could wake to the sound of the robins. The prior few weeks had been spent painting, with her landlord’s permission. Feyre had come over to help, and after the walls were a fresh coat of warm white, Elain’s sister had started detailing little flowers just above the baseboards.

When she was finished, Elain had nearly been brought to tears. A little garden of wildflowers, cosmos and wild roses and sprigs of lavender decorated her walls, from the kitchen through the living room, down the hall and all around her bedroom. So that she might always be walking among a garden.

“Thank you,” Elain choked out, squeezing Feyre tight, clutching onto her sister’s overalls as they stood back to look at the finished work.

“I love you,” Feyre answered with a smile, pale freckles dusting her cheeks and grey blue eyes shining.

That had been only two weeks before their world came crashing down.

That particular spring day was overcast, and Elain spent most of her pre-work ritual in the garden glancing up worriedly at the sky, wondering if she was about to get rained on. As she did each morning, she threw on a light sweatshirt and pair of lounge shorts, and sat outside on the small tiled patio, chair facing the small green buds that were just beginning to bloom in the garden box. Each morning, she brought her steaming cup of coffee outside in the mug that Rhys had bought her one day from the campus store - he was always doing things like that, buying them all little gifts. Not because he had the money and wanted to throw it away, but because he genuinely lit up each time he presented Nesta with a new book, or Feyre new art supplies, or Elain with odds and ends that reminded him of her.

And each morning, with her coffee in hand, Elain scanned the news on her phone. Feet tucked up under her as she bent over, squinting to see the screen in the early light, still blinking sleep from her eyes.

Once she was satisfied, she scrolled through Instagram, following the stories of the few friends she had added - primarily their tight-knit group from university.

And then it was time to get ready for work.

The job she had found was fine enough to hold her over. It was at a similar sized marketing firm as her last job, and seemed secure enough. It had health insurance, and a 401K. All of the staples of a decent gig. But Elain knew she didn’t want to stay there forever.

In the meantime though, she had made a few friends on her floor, starting with Cerri in the next cubicle over.

“If InDesign crashes one more time I’m going to put my fist through this screen.”

Elain had taken to Cerri right away - her and Nesta would have made more sense as sisters than she and Elain.

“I’m going to pretend, as IT, that I didn’t hear that,” Eris smirked, depositing a coffee on Cerri’s desk. Elain had long stopped trying to convince Cerri that Eris was in love with her - maybe one day she would see it for herself.

“If you’re so smart then why don’t you fix it,” Cerri grumbled, immediately snatching the coffee up and taking a long sip, followed by a frustrated huff.

“You have to put in a ticket, just like everybody else. No preferential treatment, you have to follow the rules.”

Cerridwen gave him a long look, dark eyebrow lifting as she stared at him incredulously.

“You wouldn’t know a rule if it hit you on the ass.”

Eris threw back his head and laughed, giving Cerri a cheeky grin.

“That can be arranged, if you’re interested.”

Cerridwen gave him the finger in response, and Elain couldn’t help but smile.

Eris sauntered away, back to the dungeon IT called its domain in the basement.

“He’s in love with you, you know.”

Cerri scoffed. “All Eris wants is a verbal sparring partner.”

“Then you fit all his boxes,” Elain grinned, digging through her desk to pull out a hair tie. She pulled back her unruly curls into a low bun - all of it except the messy bangs she had cut herself in a moment of impulse.

Nesta had given her a long look when she had come out of their guest bathroom with her new hair, while Cassian merely gave her a wide smile and said, “Looks good, Ellie!”

“When he gets the balls to ask me out, then we’ll see,” Cerri commented, but Elain didn’t miss the hint of blush forming on her high cheekbones. Before she could comment, Cerri ducked her head, using her curtain of braids to hide her face.

Elain wasn’t particularly meddling, when it came to others’ relationships. Not like her sister, Feyre, who always seemed to know what was going on when it came to crushes and unrequited love. They had used to sit as a large group in their university’s cafeteria on Saturday mornings, and from the day she stepped on campus Feyre had been able to point out who had slept together the night before, who was crushing hard, and who had just broken up.

When it came to Cerri through, Elain knew there would be no use trying to meddle. She was like Nesta in that way. She would say yes to Eris when she was good and ready, waiting until he stepped up instead of just trailing after her. Nesta had given Cassian similar treatment, or so Elain had been told. By the time Elain got to Velaris University, they had already been an inseparable pair. And that was how she had come to meet the others.

Eris was Lucien’s half brother, but the two weren’t especially close. Maybe because of that reason, he never brought up the past at work. Never brought up the fact that there was an empty chair where Elain used to sit at their family dinners.

“What are you doing this weekend? Please tell me you’re doing something fun. Nu is dragging me to some orchestra concert she got tickets for through work. I don’t know why she even bothers entering those - I never want to go. She needs a girlfriend she can start dragging to these things.”

Cerri’s twin, Nuala, was a writer for the government. Elain never fully understand what it was exactly she did, and Cerridwen and her usually joked that she must be a spy.

The quiet office was always slow on Fridays, and soon she settled in, turning on her computer and pulling up the logo rebrand deck she was putting together for a client presentation.

Soon, Elain drifted away into her work, blissfully slowing down her overwhelming thoughts and focusing on the simple task in front of her. Until a phone going off broke her concentration.

Elain removed her headphones, slipping around her neck, taking care that they didn’t get caught in her long curls. Without looking up from her computer, she addressed her friend.

“Cerri, I think your phone’s ringing.”

No one ever called Elain. Texted, sure, but her family knew that she had nowhere private to take calls at the office, which for her, was really just a cluster of cubicles.

“That’s not mine.”

Confused, Elain bend over to dig through her purse at her feet, pulling out the phone that was indeed ringing and vibrating loudly.

“Cass,” the caller ID read, followed in parentheses by, “Future Brother-In-Law,” ending with a flexed arm emoji. He had put his number in himself when Elain had first met him her freshman year. Back when he was still pining after Nesta, and she introduced Elain to his two best friends. Then Amren, then Mor. The seven of them became inseparable quickly, only adjusting when Feyre started the following year, and brought along a new friend she had made, Lucien.

Elain’s heart fell through her stomach. It had to be a pocket dial. Cassian never called her, even when she wasn’t at work. He preferred to leave her rambling voice memos at all hours, knowing she could listen to them whenever she wanted. Sometimes it was about an actor they had seen in the movie the night before, if he had just remembered what else he had seen them in. Sometimes it was about what he and Nesta were making for dinner that night, and sometimes it was to share a laugh about why her sister was mad at him this time.

Cassian never called her. It had to be a mistake.

Elain swiped to answer.

“Hello?”

The noise of keyboards and ringing desktop phones and quiet conversations dimmed around her, fading to a low buzz.

“Elain.”

Her heart immediately sunk at the tiredness in his typically boisterous voice.

“Ellie, we need you to come home. There’s been an accident.”

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#elriel #elain archeron #azriel #acotar fanfiction #pro elriel #elain x azriel #pro elain #elriel fanfiction #azriel shadowsinger #elriel fic #all human au #acotar au

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morethansalad · 10 months

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Focaccia Garden with Baby Tomatoes (Vegan)

#vegan #appetizer #italian cuisine #mediterranean cuisine #foccacia #foccacia art #bread #tomatoes #sage #parsley #olive oil #yeast #agave nectar #sea salt

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onboardsorasora · 5 months

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❄️Enchanted AU: Christmas Part 20❄️

We're still figuring out the name guys! Enchanted Mondays? idk idk idk

Part 1 | Christmas Part 1 | Last Chapter

Part 20

“Hey Mama.” Daniel comfortably laid on his tummy and smiled fondly at his phone while he watched his mother cook. She was baking today, the house probably stunk of vanilla and sugar or the smell of warm bread. He sighed into the crook of his elbow. He was in his bed, Max was off collecting his family from the airport, so Daniel was alone with Sassy and Jimmy for a little while. He’d wanted to use the time to call home.

“Hello my baby, how are you?” Grace’s eyes squinted at him while she smiled. Her identical honey gaze swept over what she could of his face.

“I miss you.” Daniel mumbled, he knew it might be silly. But he missed her terribly. He missed home. He’d never been away like this.

“I miss you too, my love. Has everything been ok?” She eyed him with concern for a moment.

“I just miss home, I think. Max has been great.” He smiled a bit when he thought of Max and Grace raised a brow, catching the miniscule change with laser focus. She hummed a question and Daniel flushed with embarrassment.

“I– stop looking at me like that.” He ducked his head from his mother’s view again, pulling a pillow to rest his chin on. Grace tutted at him before proceeding to flour her countertop and drop a large blob of risen dough on it.

He continued to watch her work, kneading the dough and spreading it with her fingers. He bit his lip and then nibbled his cuticle whole watching her methodically work on her bread. He felt calmed by the purposeful movements.

“I think I like him.” Daniel mumbled, eyes focused on his mother's fingers as she worked olive oil into the flat pan of stretched dough. “But I can't– because like he's helping me. And he doesn't see me like that anyway. And it's fine. It's not going to like affect anything. And I…” he continued to ramble while his mother placed herbs onto her focaccia to look like a small garden.

Grace hummed periodically and let him work through his thoughts, exactly like how it would be if he were at home. He would sit by the breakfast bench and watch her cook while they gossiped or while he told her his problems.

“Are you sure you can't? Does he maybe feel the same?” Grace cut in, she wiped her hands on a tea towel and waited.

Daniel sputtered and eased up into a sitting position, he brought the phone close to his face. “Mama–” he glanced to his closed bedroom door to make sure it was closed and then to Jimmy who was lounging on his other pillow to make sure he wasn't listening to their private conversation. He totally was, Sassy too, but it wasn’t like they could tell anybody.

“Mama no. It-it's not like that.” Daniel stressed and Grace giggled. “I'm already like enough of a burde–”

“Daniel Joseph don't you ever call yourself that again!” Grace's face turned to stone, her eyes narrowed behind her fashionable glasses.

Daniel's mouth snapped closed at her tone and he whined a little. He hated when she was angry with him.

“You are not a burden and I don't want you to think that. Max doesn't think you are a burden either, honey.” She soothed, Daniel bit his lip sullenly. “Besides, if you truly think your presence is such a problem, why haven't you asked for an update on your passport? Hmm?” She grinned cheekily when Daniel sputtered in reply.

“I-I mean I was– I was trusting the process?” His excuse sounded poor even to him, so he said nothing when his mother tutted at him and rolled her eyes.

He watched as she placed her tray in the oven and started to wash up. She hummed to herself and Daniel listened silently, swaying to the song.

Before he knew it, there was noise coming from the living room, which meant that Max was back with everyone. Daniel felt torn, wanting to go outside and see them all but also to stay on the phone with his mother watching her putter around and finish up dinner.

“Mama I have to go.” He said finally, frowning sadly. She smiled and told him she loved him before sending him off.

Daniel opened the bedroom door and watched as the cats darted out excitedly. The noise grew in volume now that the door was open and he heard Luka and Lio cheer in happiness to see Sassy and Jimmy. Daniel made his way into the den of Dutchies and smiled widely, hugging everyone in greeting.

Max watched Daniel carefully, he seemed a bit tired, drawn maybe. “Daniel, is everything alright?” Max asked when Daniel settled back into the kitchen between himself and Sophie. He ignored the quick (and pointed) look Vic gave him.

“Oh! Yeah! Uhm I was on the phone with Mama. I miss her, is all.” Daniel smiled with a shrug and tucked into Sophie's side when she put her arm around his shoulder.

“Max said you decorated for us, it's all so beautiful. Thank you “ Sophie gushed, she understood that sometimes a distraction was the best medicine.

Daniel blushed thinking of all the effort he put in. He was still super proud of himself for the level of magic he was able to produce to clean everything. He'd never cast an enchantment so powerful without a conductor before. But it was all for good, because the aura of the flat was pure, only positive vibrancy remained.

“Thank you.” Daniel bit his lip and smiled. “Are you guys tired? The guest rooms are also all ready.” He offered and Sophie fanned off his concern, she instead went into full mother mode.

Max and Victoria watched from their vantage, Vic leaning over to brush their shoulders. “He'll be ok.” She mumbled and Max nodded.

“So what do you have planned for our first Monaco Christmas?” She teased, snorting a laugh when Max shushed her quickly and quickly checked to see if Daniel had heard. He had already told them in the car not to bring the topic up, but he should have known that Vic would tease him dangerously.

“Daniel wanted to go to the Christmas night market and I was looking up Australian Christmas stuff and we can go to the beach maybe. Oh shoot I forgot to order the pavlova.”

“What's a pavlova?” Vic's brow furrowed. Daniel leaned back from whatever he and Sophie were focused on.

“It's– uhm, like a cake made of meringue. With like fruits and stuff on top” Daniel explained with wide eyes. “We don't– we don't have to. It's fine– really.”

“No, it's your first Christmas away from home. We should incorporate some of your traditions from home too.” Sophie shushed and Daniel blinked watery brown eyes and nodded. He didn't offer up any further opposition.

Max went to go sit with the boys, while they played with their toys under Sassy’s supervision. Luka was colouring quietly and Lio was driving a toy car around a track shaped like the outline of Jimmy flopped on his side, complete with engine noises.

“Are you guys ready for Christmas?” Max asked, stroking Jimmy who swiped his tail to change the ‘track’ that Lio’s car drove on.

“Yeah we already got our first gift!” Luka said, not looking up from his coloring. Max knew he was talking about the early present that Sinterklaas left them at the start of the month.

“Oh yeah? What was it?” Max looked between the two boys.

“A sister! She's in Mommy's belly.” Lio piped up and Max's eyes widened comically before his head whipped to his sister and brother in law who sat talking quietly by the kitchen.

“Vic?! You're pregnant?” Max scrambled up, calling out in Dutch. Sophie looked up with a smile and Vic nodded happily. Max scooped her up in a tight hug. Daniel watched with wide eyes, he looked to Sophie while Max and Victoria babbled excitedly to each other. Max was almost crying with happiness, his face scrunched so achingly tender and adoring. And Daniel staunchly ignored any little feeling in his chest that this all created.

Sophie laughed happily and repeated the good news for Daniel's benefit. His mouth dropped open in surprise and he hugged Sophie before going to hug and congratulate Tom and Vic. Max was watching his sister with awe in his eyes and he clung to her happily.

Part 21

#🥰🥰🥰🥰#I think the Christmas chapter will actually land ON Christmas. I'm amazing #max/daniel #maxiel #enchanted au #enchanted au: christmas #disney princess dan

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