#i haven’t left my house in almost three weeks unless it’s for work or grocery shopping because i… simply do not want to exist anymoree
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A New Afton - Stepfather Steve Raglan/William Afton x Stepdaughter Reader
Chapter 6
Rating - Explicit
Warnings for sexual content, daddy kink, praise kink, plushophilia
Also available on AO3
taglist @yellowbunnydreams
William Afton pretending to be Steve Raglan looks at the phone number scrawled on the slip of paper in front of him on the desk blotter and sighs.
It’s the number for the place where his wife is staying.
There’s a framed picture on the desk of himself and his bride and her daughter. He stares at your face when he dials the number.
It takes someone a minute to answer, another few to locate your mother. Steve glances at the clock. His lunch break is rapidly disappearing. He always spends it in his office unless his spouse forces him to be social.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Steve! I tried calling you last night.”
“Really? Sorry I missed your call. I went out to get something for dinner.”
“You’re not doing takeout every night, are you?”
“No, not at all. Just haven’t made the effort to do shopping for the week yet. I’ll take care of that this weekend. Tell me how your trip is going.”
He winds the phone cord around his index finger and half listens to your mother babble. He’s thinking about you kneeling in front of him in the office at the pizzeria. Holding you on the couch. Falling asleep with you in his arms. Waking up the same way, too.
“Steve? Are you there?”
“Yes. Sorry the connection isn’t great. These phones, you know.”
“I asked how things are going with you and my daughter.”
“Oh, fine. We’re getting along fine. You don’t need to worry.” She absolutely should be worried.
“Well, I miss you.”
“Yeah, we miss you too.” He doesn’t. Not even remotely. He wishes he could cut your mother right out of that picture on the desk. Cut her right out of his life. End the charade and just keep you all to himself. He can handle the home life doldrums with you there. They don’t bother him like they used to when it’s just the two of you.
He finds himself enjoying taking care of you.
“I’ll call you on Saturday afternoon.”
“Okay sounds good. Have fun. Take care.”
“I lo—”
He hangs up the phone. Leans back in his chair and sighs, pulling off his glasses and scrubbing a hand over his face. Glances at the clock again and lifts the phone back off the hook and dials a four digit extension number.
“Is my next client here yet? Yeah, no, I know it’s fifteen minutes early. Go ahead and send them in.”
***
You’re sitting on your bed with your legs folded, still wearing your school uniform, a notebook in your lap and a textbook on the bed.
It’s getting late.
Well past time when your stepfather should be home.
You’ve already tried calling the office. No answer. You can only assume he’s left for the day. So where was he?
It’s difficult to concentrate on something as mundane as quadratic equations when the memories of the previous night keep flooding your mind. The previous three nights. Strange to think it’s only been three. Such a scant amount.
You lift your pencil and set it back down, looking at the clock again. What if something bad had happened? Steve should have been back at least two hours ago.
Your bedroom is at the back of the house so you don’t hear the car when it pulls into the driveway. You think you hear the front door open and close and you sigh in relief. He’s home. He’s okay.
You hear his even tread up the carpeted stairs. Your cracked door is pushed open the remainder of the way. Steve leans, letting his upper arm and shoulder gently strike the door frame to rest against it.
“Hey, baby girl.”
“I was worried. You’re late.”
“I know, I’m sorry. Work got a little crazy. And then I picked us up groceries. Enough to get us through the weekend. We can deal with next week when it gets here.”
He looks a little tired, you think. Almost…you’re not sure. You’ve never seen your stepfather wear this look before. A sort of melancholy.
“You doing your homework?” He pushes off the door frame and walks over to stand next to the bed. You nod. “That’s my good girl.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, Princess. Just a little tired.” He begins to gently comb his fingers through your hair as you tip your head to look up at him.
“I was really worried.”
“I’m sorry. I should have called.”
“I missed you, Daddy.”
“Yeah. I missed you too.” He bends to kiss your mouth. You grab his tie, unfolding your legs, the notebook tumbling out of your lap as you struggle to kneel on the mattress’ springy surface, trying to get closer to him. He drags the comforter off the bed and your school things are dumped to the floor. “I miss the taste of you in my mouth,” he pants, climbing onto the bed with you. It’s a twin, three sizes smaller than the king one in the master bedroom. “Let me have you, sweet girl.” He pulls until you’re lying supine beneath him. Lifts your skirt and kisses you through your panties. He gently bites on the material at the crotch and pulls it into his mouth, sucking on it, moaning against you.
Your body had begun responding to his presence the instant he had appeared. You’re conditioned for this now; trained for it. Your entrance waters in anticipation for your stepfather’s sinful kisses.
Steve shoves the material impatiently to one side, holding it with his thumb and licks. You moan and arch against him, burying a hand in his graying hair. His glasses have gotten lost in the shuffle somewhere.
“My God, you’re wet baby girl,” he observes. He flicks his tongue against your clit and you feel a finger ease inside of you.
You hiss in pleasure. This is what you want. What you need. A second figure begins to be added. This is new but your body is eager to accommodate. Stretching. So much fluid leaking from you. His saliva now adding to the slick of your arousal.
“Yes, Daddy. It feels so good…”
Suction on your fuck button as he finishes violating you with the pair of digits. He’s in. Your hips gyrate. It’s a natural response, the way evolution assured that the species would propagate. Your body knows what it’s made for.
“Fuck me, Daddy. I need you to fuck me.” You like the fingers but you want his cock. You’re not afraid anymore. You want him buried inside you, crushing you from above on the outside.
“Soon, baby girl,” he murmurs, mouth pulling off your clit with a soft pop. “I’m going to fuck you so hard. Fill you up every night when I get home. Send you to school every day with another load still dripping out of you.” He wrenches the panties further to one side and buries his face in your pussy. Withdraws the fingers and thrusts his tongue in, alternating between them. Lets his fingers curl around the crotch of the fabric he’s holding so his freed thumb can press your nub against the bone beneath, stroking in circles.
Your thighs are shaking. He’s got you so close. His hair is damp in your clenched fingers. He’s working up a sweat eating you out. “Daddy, I’m going to cum.”
“Good girl. Cum for me.” He slurps between your lips and tongues your bundle of nerves again, his fingers pounding into you.
You explode, quivering against your stepfather, pushing his head against you more tightly. You feel the puffs of air exchange from his nostrils, the encouraging moans extending the pleasure. His fingers finally exit your canal and you relax your grip on Steve’s hair, letting him breathe easier.
“I think suffocating in your pussy is probably one of the best ways I could perish.”
“Sorry, was I too—”
“—No. You were perfect. You’re always perfect.” He releases his hold of your panties and climbs back over you to kiss you, the taste of your cunt heavy on his tongue.
“I want to make you feel good, too.”
“Later, baby. This was just an aperitif.”
You frown. “What’s that?”
“Like an appetizer only it’s alcohol instead of food. It’s meant to stimulate your appetite.” He plants a sloppy kiss on the corner of your mouth and flops next to you. His tall frame is really too much for this bed.
“Oh. That’s kind of hot.”
Steve grins and sighs, swiping at the dampness of you still clinging to his beard. “Everything about you is, baby girl.” He looks happier now. Sated. More content. “I’m gonna take a shower and then I’ll start dinner, okay? I picked up everything you asked for yesterday.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“Anything for my daughter.” He reaches for one of your hands and brings it to his lips, kissing your fingertips gently.
***
William places the dish of foil wrapped Russet potatoes on the oven rack and shuts the door, setting the timer on the stove. You’re at the sink, washing and cutting vegetables for the salad.
He’s going to give them twenty minutes or so before he starts on the rest of the meal.
You look up at him and smile softly. You’ve showered with him and are wearing one of his tshirts. He loves where the hem hits your thigh, the way the material flows over your body. He’s tempted for another round but he doesn’t want to spoil dinner. He was going to wait.
He asks you about school. The details of your day, the things he’s missed. And he’s surprised that he actually cares about these things. He wants you to succeed. He wants you to be happy.
William looks at the time and decides now is the moment to begin. He shoves his shirt sleeves up and gets started on the steaks, seasoning them with salt and pepper, getting the cast iron seasoned skillet hot. He feels you watching him after you’ve finished and he smiles as he lays down the meat to sear. “You like watching me cook.”
“I do. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just…I would have liked to see you in the restaurant, back in the day. It’s too bad it closed.”
“Yes, it is.” The red meat sizzles and its aroma fills the air. Your mother usually is the one to cook. He wonders why you don’t cook with her, indulging in your obvious culinary curiosity. But he’s not going to ask. Not now. He doesn’t want to mention her and have that wedge between you two evenings in a row.
Afton flips the steaks and repeats the searing process. Reduced the heat when he thinks enough time has elapsed and adds in butter and rosemary and thyme. The oven beeps, signaling the potatoes are ready. He’s gotten sour cream and butter and chives to top them with. You set the table. You’re in your mother’s seat again. It’s yours, now.
Everything is cooked perfectly. The warm
food is comforting. He rests a palm on your knee, nothing sexual really, just letting you feel his presence beside you. The intimacy the two of you share.
“That was so yummy. Thank you, Daddy.”
“Of course, Princess. You deserve it.”
You offer to load the dishwasher and he puts the leftovers into storage in the fridge. There’s not much, just some salad. You’d both been hungry. After he’s finished wiping down the kitchen he joins you on the couch, carrying a pair of filled wine glasses. You sip the pale gold liquid and flip through the channels until you find a horror movie to watch, looking a question at your stepfather.
“Whatever you want to watch is fine, baby.”
On screen, he sees a knife sink into flesh and the bloom of crimson brings back so many memories.
Night four has come and is quickly fading away.
***
You’re in your bedroom, setting out your school uniform clothes for the morning when Steve enters.
You can count the number of times you’ve been in here with him on one hand. It’s not a space he normally intrudes in. This is the second time tonight.
“I’m almost ready,” you say. You’re drowsy from the wine. Maybe slightly tipsy. You’d only had two glasses. Your stepfather had drunk at least twice that amount.
His gaze wanders to the lineup of stuffed animals on the shelf beneath the window. “Which one is it?”
“What?”
“Which one did you use. You know, you had mentioned before…” He points to the shelf. The new yellow rabbit your stepfather had retrieved for you from the claw machine is front and center.
“Oh,” you blush. “Um, the rabbit on the end. The ears are easy to hold…” You can’t finish the sentence. It’s ridiculous to be embarrassed about something like masturbating at this point, when Steve had been eating you out a foot away just a few hours ago.
“Did you ever want a toy? A vibrator, or…”
“I never really thought about it, I guess.”
“Maybe I’ll get you one someday. To tide you over if I’m not around. But not until I’ve had you,” he says, stepping closer. He’s looking at you with lidded eyes that have gone completely black.
“Okay, Daddy,” you say softly.
He reaches for the plush bunny. It’s white with a soft pink bow. Button eyes and nose and a stitched mouth. He holds it out to you, clutching it by the ear. “Show me how you touch yourself. I want to see.”
You swallow nervously. “I haven’t really done that in a while.”
“Baby girl,” he says, and there’s a warning there. He’s not asking. He’s telling. The tenderness from earlier has vanished.
“Okay.” You take the rabbit and set it on the bed, about to climb in when he halts you.
“Without the panties on.”
You slowly lift the hem of the borrowed shirt and reach for the waistband. This pair has little pink hearts on it. You push them down and step out of them, leaving them on the floor in a crumpled pile.
You settle into the center of the bed and Steve sits on the side, his body angled to face you. You reach for the rabbit plush and position it between your legs, lifting your hips so the torso and lower legs are tucked beneath you and the face rests against your crotch, the point of its nose poised nearly level with your clit.
The synthetic fur against your bare flesh feels amazing. Why hadn’t you tried this sooner?
You cross your ankles and the stuffed bunny draws tightly against your body. You wind one of the ears around your hand, reminding you of winding your hand around Steve’s tie. Your body grinds against the plush, the bed creaking softly with the movements.
He rests a palm on your thigh, feeling the muscles shifting beneath the skin. Your eyes are locked with his.
“Does it feel good, baby girl?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Your stepfather pulls his erection from his pajama pants and begins stroking. You can’t see exactly all of what he’s doing at this angle but you can hear his palm stroking, the sound of skin brushing skin, see the motions of his arm.
The fabric and fur is damp between your legs. There are times when the nose pushes just right, where the seam lines up perfectly and your sensitive nub is mashed, sparking the nerves within. The gyrating motion continues. Your breathing is more rapid. More of a pant. You’re still staring into your stepdad’s blown pupils. The swishing sounds of Steve rubbing his cock match the rate of your respirations.
His hand leaves your thigh and he climbs into bed with you, positioning himself over you, still stroking, bracing himself with his forearm and knees so he hovers just above. He kisses you and says your name. The hand holding the rabbit ear is cramped. You ignore the discomfort, your hips still rolling, pressing your pussy agains the plush.
“My sweet girl,” he says. “My daughter.”
Your core throbs and aches. You’re getting close again. “I’m yours, Daddy. Only yours.”
Raglan groans. His movements on his dick are more frantic now. He’s nearing his own release.
“I want you to cum all over me, Daddy.” You whimper. Nearly there. Every grind digs against your clit perfectly.
“You want it, baby? Want me to paint you with it?”
“Yes, Daddy. I love the way your hot cum feels on me. Oh, Daddy, it’s…I’m…” You arch off the bed as your stepfather’s hot seed spurts over your chest, soaking into the fabric. His head drops down and he kisses you through the remainder of your shared orgasm.
A half hour later you’re back in his bed with a clean shirt and no panties, tucked beside him. You’re so drowsy now. Satisfied. Steve’s breathing is already slowing as he drifts off to sleep.
The fourth night ends.
#william afton x you#william afton x reader#steve raglan x you#steve raglan x reader#william afton#steve raglan#fnaf fanfic#fnaf movie#dividers credit @saradika-graphics
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sighs
#rant below idk i’m upset lol#i haven’t left my house in almost three weeks unless it’s for work or grocery shopping because i… simply do not want to exist anymoree#genuinely wishing i wasn’t here kind of feeling ya know?#but i’m going to see dr strange tomorrow and i’m beyond excited because mcu movies make me so happy(?)#but like#i’m also really fucking anxious to exist and be perceived lmao#i cant stop shaking the literal thought of leaving my house is making me want to bawl and i can’t calm myself down wheeze#I hate myself i hate it here why can’t things be easier :/#why can’t disney release movies on disney+ and make life easier bleh#but i could also go funko pop shopping to see if they have any new fruba or moon knight ones but even then#the idea of being in the store where i have to talk to the ppl at the register is#making me tremble and not in the good way#sheesh#i have issues lmfaaaaoo 🥳🥳💃🏽🕺🏽#*breakdances*
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not a homecoming, but something like it
There are two men arguing in front of her home.
This is a nuisance, but not an uncommon one. Her neighbors are colorful and loud, so she’s used to people being in her way. Gente estorbosa. Normally she would’ve simply pushed past them to get to her gate. However, these are no neighbors of hers, and that makes her hesitate.
The two men are not speaking Antivan, but she knows enough languages to follow along, even with the street’s lively background chatter.
“This is a mistake,” one of them says.
“At least it’ll be in character, then,” the other replies.
Adelmar shifts the grocery basket on her hip, waiting. They’ll move on their own soon enough, she suspects. Or perhaps they’ll notice her and confront her for eavesdropping. Oh! Then they’d get an earful.
“I am being serious. Why would she remember me, hm?”
“You remember her.”
“That doesn’t mean anything—”
“I think it means more than you expected it to. I think that’s why you’re trying to back out at the last minute.”
Adelmar is not sure what the men are arguing about. She’d assumed their relationship to be contentious but now the shorter of the two steps close to his companion, looping an arm around his waist in an unmistakably supportive and affectionate gesture.
“If you really think this is a mistake, then let’s go, vhenan.”
Neither of them moves.
Adelmar clears her throat. Fascinating as the conversation is, she doesn’t have all day. She has dinner to get started, and her basket is getting heavy.
They turn to look at her, and she drops everything.
Tinned coffee and spices, parcels of lamb, and oranges, which roll out across the cobbled street.
“¿Zevran?” Adelmar’s voice is uncertain. She never expected to speak that name again, but those eyes and that hair…
“Zevran… Chivito. No puedo creerlo.”
The man Zevran is with has begun to pick up her groceries, although somewhat haphazardly, dropping one orange for every three he grabs. “You see?” he calls out, darting after a can and swiping it before it gets rolled over by a cart. “I knew she’d recognize you!”
And Zevran, the little boy she’d read stories to in the brothel, the same brown eyes, just taller, smiles at her like she’s singing a song and he’s in her lap again.
The scene, with all its noise and shouting in the background, and fruit rolling this way and that, feels briefly absurd. Is she imagining this? She has to make sure. She needs to just look at him. Stepping across a gap of decades (but it’s really only a few feet), she reaches for Zevran. She touches his face. Notices his tattoo. Frowns.
“Ay,” she murmurs, removing her hand. It is him.
He bursts out laughing.
“Qué gusto me da verte.”
Close by and with the biggest smile, Hamal Mahariel watches, holding the basket with all the groceries Adelmar has dropped.
It had come up in conversation, casually, a few days earlier. They had been investigating a mark, and Zevran, in the midst of planning and preparing, mentioned, “You know, I grew up near here.”
Hamal blinked. Sometimes he suspected that growing up meant something different for Zevran than it did for him. Did he mean he’d become a Crow here, just thirteen when he’d first killed?
When asked to clarify Zevran gestured at the map before them. He pointed a finger just a few centimeters from their present location.
“Rialto. I lived there before the Crows… acquired me.”
“Mm,” Hamal said, mulling it over. It was always a careful balance on his part to gauge whether it was alright to press for information, or better to let Zevran share at his own pace. But he was curious. Zevran seldom spoke of his early years.
“I’d love to see it, if you’re up to visiting,” he said finally.
“Perhaps. If we have time.” Zevran smiled warmly at him. “But really, amor, the place means very little to me. I have no childhood home, unless you count the brothel my mother worked at. I had no family. No friends. None that would remember me, anyway.”
Then why bring it up? Hamal wondered.
“Consider it a sentimental request from your husband,” he said.
Zevran rolled up the map quietly. He planted a quick kiss on Hamal’s cheek.
“That, I can do.”
Adelmar’s home is small and welcoming, with a tiny patio separating the living area from the kitchen and washroom. Her husband is away for a few days. Her children, grown and gone. She has all the time in the world. She wants to hear everything.
“How did you find me?” she asks, looking at Zevran with wonder. A part of her still can’t believe he’s here.
“We happened to be in Rialto. I… asked around.”
“You went to El milagro,” Adelmar guesses.
Zevran gestures noncommittally.
“I haven’t been there for years and years. It feels like a lifetime ago. I’m surprised anyone remembered, or knew enough to send you my way,” she said. “I’m surprised you looked for me at all…”
Adelmar takes a deep breath. She’s stirring up memories—old thoughts and feelings, few of them pleasant, otherwise she would find it nostalgic.
Quickly, she catches herself and shakes off the gloom. She sets a hand on Zevran’s shoulder.
“But I’m glad you did. I really am so happy to see you. Look at how you’ve grown.”
“I wasn’t sure if I should come,” Zevran admits. “My husband convinced me. He’s nosy. It is why I keep him around.”
He chances a glance at Hamal, who is staying well out of the way. His Antivan still being rather rusty, he’s left Zevran and Adelmar to their conversation, and is currently helping chop vegetables for a stew.
“Well I’m glad for that,” Adelmar says, looking between the two men and beaming. Little Zevran—at her kitchen table and married no less!
“I never forgot you, Zevran,” she tells him. “If I had moved a little faster, saved a little more money, I would have left and brought you with me. You were so smart. You were always moving, running around, playing. In the end, it seems we both escaped to better circumstances,” she says finally, closing her eyes and sighing.
“Thank the Maker,” Zevran adds solemnly. Adelmar smiles, pleased at his manners.
“I’m so glad you’re doing well. So tell me,” she scoots closer and looks at him eagerly, “What sort of life did you have, after you were adopted?”
“Adopted?”
By the kitchen counter, Hamal catches the subtle edge in Zevran’s tone. He pauses, holding the knife in his hand as a lull falls over the kitchen table, but he doesn’t know enough Antivan to guess what’s happened.
What’s happened is this: Zevran and Adelmar came from the same place, and know enough about that life to instantly understand that a lie has been told.
“Oh,” Adelmar breathes after a moment. “You… you weren’t adopted.”
Zevran lets out a laugh. It’s his ‘stalling’ laugh, and now Hamal is looking over, arms crossed, searching his face for clues.
“I was not adopted,” he says. “But do not trouble yourself over that.” Then, smoothly redirecting, he gets up and locks eyes with Hamal.
“Shall I boil some water?” he asks, switching out of Antivan.
The tense moment is gone. Hamal nods, glancing at Adelmar. “I’ll start the fire.”
There’s a reason why the kitchen is kept apart from the rest of the house. While the soup simmers, they bring their visit to the adjacent patio, where a cool breeze offers relief. Tree branches from the outside—from a tamarind tree growing in the street—have stretched out over the wall and blessed Adelmar’s patio with shade and fruit.
Hamal makes a face when he tastes it. Glancing at Zevran, he holds his gaze and waits just long enough to make it clear he’s less than partial to the flavor.
“So delicious, vhenan.”
Zevran laughs. “Wait until you try it in drink form.”
“If you make it, I am sure I will enjoy it.”
Adelmar, knowing she’s touched upon a shared hurt between her and Zevran, makes up for it by talking about anything else. She is particularly interested in their wedding, and is scandalized when she hears they’ve only been married a few weeks.
“I missed it!” she exclaims.
“It was quite sudden, my friend,” Zevran says, as if there’d been a chance of her attending. “Spontaneous. Just the two of us. Very romantic.”
Hamal taps the handcrafted silver band around his ring finger. He gestures at Zevran. “Él lo hizo,” he says in the most accented Antivan ever. “Muy, muy… bello.”
Dinner is delicious. Despite some language barriers, their conversation is easy and effortless. It’s also, intentionally, vague. Adelmar learns that they met in Ferelden, that they’re on an important journey, and that the journey is a dangerous one.
Most importantly, she also learns that Zevran’s heart has survived its rocky passage into adulthood, whole, if not unscathed. The core of the little boy she’d known in the brothel is there, even if he himself does not realize it. It brings her immense comfort.
The visit ends all too quickly, and though she asks them to stay the night, she isn’t surprised when they decline.
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Hamal tells Zevran, who relays the message to Adelmar.
“You and Hamal are welcome, always,” Adelmar assures him. “Will you visit again?”
“If it is less dangerous,” Zevran says. “We were not followed here. But repeated visits might be difficult. Risky.”
“I understand. Not right away, then. When you can. We still have so much to talk about.”
“I would like that,” Zevran agrees.
They share one last hug, the three of them, and Adelmar watches them slip into the night.
“I need to brush up on my Antivan,” Hamal says. “But I enjoyed meeting her.”
“She liked you a lot,” Zevran says, smiling. Hamal laughs.
“You talked about me?”
“Of course. I had to show you off.” He winks at him. Then, with a soft intake of breath, Zevran looks away with his brow furrowed, the lines of his tattoo tense.
“… They told her I’d been adopted. All these years, and she had no idea. I’m almost sorry she had to find out otherwise.”
They’ve traveled for hours, leaving the city behind. Bright points of light shine overhead. The night sky of Antiva smells of jasmine and the distant sea.
“That’s awful,” Hamal says, looking at him.
“What a farce,” Zevran says bitterly. “Just like everything the Crows do. Operating in the open, but hidden from view. Buying children and lives while people look the other way.” Earnestly, his brown eyes black in the dark, he shakes his head. “It must end. It must.”
Hamal touches the lines of his tattoo, calloused fingers grounding him.
“Ma nuvenin, Zevran Arainai. It will.”
~
A short piece to introduce my OC, Adelmar Provencio. If you ever read my WIP For Suffering is Such a Part, you’ve met her through flashbacks already. While I love the idea of Zevran taking down the Crows alone, please consider, Zevran taking down the Crows with the support of a community, strengthened by the bonds he’s made in his life...
Adelmar plays a further role in the story, so hopefully I can write more for her!
#dragon age#zevran arainai#mahariel#zevran x warden#rinnywrites#oc: hamal mahariel#oc: adelmar provencio
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Beauty is Pain
Pairing: Mostly Platonic!Pogues, mentions of JJ Maybank x reader
Summary: You and Kie try to wax your legs yourselves for the first time and accidentally get yourselves trapped in a sticky situation that gets you locked in your room with JJ and Pope while you listen to Sarah and John B fight outside your door. Routledge!Reader.
Note: I got this idea from a Friends episode. If you watched the show, you’ll know exactly which one I’m talking about. Mostly wrote this without the intention of doing a JJ x reader pairing but then I got an idea(: Hope y'all like it!
Word Count: 3.5k
Warning: Language, maybe angst??
For her birthday, Kie was gifted a hard waxing kit. At first you thought it was odd, a Kook like her was better off going to a professional to get evenly waxed brows or a perfectly clear bikini line. But when she asked you to try it out with her, you were intrigued.
You invited her over to your messy home everyone calls the Chateau. Your brother had a date with his Kook girlfriend, Sarah Cameron, which meant you had the house all to yourself. Even though it was just Kie, your best friend of four years, you decided to clean up the place before she got there. Your house was littered in empty beer cans and ends of JJ’s rolled blunts. You noticed John B was drinking more, smoking JJ’s weed, and even sleeping in later than usual. He’s called out of work two times in the past two weeks, and if he does manage to a say hello to you, it’s a grumbled mumble of words you can barely understand. You chopped it up to him just being moody, but there was also a small part of you that wondered if something serious was going on you didn’t know about.
You tried questioning your friends about it. Kie said she had no clue but noticed his change of attitude too. Pope would get nervous when you brought up John B’s name and claimed he didn’t know what you were talking about. Before you could question him further, his dad whisked him away to clean up the store and run a couple of last minute groceries. JJ, your boyfriend, tried to tell you it was probably nothing, but he wouldn’t make eye contact with you when he talked. He busied himself with rolling another blunt or folding the tossed laundry on your bedroom floor. When you called him out on it, he got snippy and frustrated, which just led you to drop the topic because you didn’t feel like dealing with a second moody teenager.
Kie showed up right when she said she would with the boxed waxing kit in her hand. You raised one brow up at it as you tossed the filled trash bag out the door.
“This it?” You said.
“Yes. You haven’t shaved your legs in a while, right?”
“Yeah. It’s been two weeks like you said. JJ says my legs are looking hairier than his. He’ll barely even touch them. One time he called them monkey legs.”
Kie rolled her eyes. “Boys are such hypocrites. If they had to do half the stuff we did, they wouldn’t be complaining at all. They shouldn’t even get to complain about what women decide to do with their bodies.”
Kie continued ranting about how pain is beauty and men will never understand it unless they lived in a woman’s body for a whole month, including the week a woman’s period started, as she set up the kit.
You worked in your room because there was more space for both of you to try your best to be comfortable. Kie plugged in the warmer on your nightstand and mixed the pink wax pellets with a flat wooden stick until it turned to a warm goo.
“Okay,” Kie sat up against your bed’s headboard and patted her thigh to motion for you to give her your leg. “You’re up.”
“Why do I have to be first?” You asked.
You’ve never waxed your legs before. Only your brows and sometimes bikini line and even then, you usually just pluck and shave. Getting your hair professionally waxed was expensive and you tried to prioritize your purchases as much as possible to stabilize the life you and John B still had.
Kie sighed. “Fine, we’ll do it together. Let me just put the wax on you.”
You gave Kie your left leg and she slathered the warm wax up the left side of your shin. You watched as she did the same to her own leg and grimaced nervously when you felt the wax hardening against your skin.
“Ready?” She asked with a teasing smirk.
“On the count of three?”
Kie nodded. “One.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
At exactly three, Kie pulled the long waxing strip from your leg and you did the same with hers. A searing hot pain ran up you leg as Kie ripped the wax off, making you bite down a scream.
“Fuck!” Kie screamed up into the ceiling. You looked down at both your legs. There was a thick line of red from where the wax was. “That shit hurts.”
“Let’s try it again,” You suggested. “Maybe we’ll get use to it if we keep doing it.”
Kie nodded. “Okay. Yeah, let’s try again.”
This time, Kie slid two long strips on both your left and right leg. The warm wax felt soothing. You almost wished you didn’t have to rip it off in the first place.
“On three?” You said.
Kie nodded.
On three, you each ripped one strip off your own legs. You cursed against gritted teeth from the pain. You were wrong about getting used to it. You didn’t think you would ever be able to tolerate this pain.
“What the hell? This has never hurt this bad.” Kie said.
“I think whoever gave this to you secretly hates you,” You said to her.
Kie sighed and looked down at the hardening wax still left on your legs. “Well, we have to finish. We’ll just rip them all off really fast.”
“Okay.”
You ripped three out of the four strips that were left at rocket speed, but they all hurt exactly the same. It felt like you were ripping more than just the hair off your leg. You wouldn’t be surprised if you looked down and saw half the layers of your skin ripped off.
You blinked back the tears at the exact same time Pope and JJ busted into your room looking around frantically. JJ was holding a baseball bat and Pope a pan you just washed and placed on the drying wrack an hour ago.
“What’s wrong?” Pope yelled.
“What the hell is going on?” JJ narrowed his eyes at you, surprised he wasn’t looking at you being attacked by an intruder or covered in cuts and bruises. When he first heard you screaming when he and Pope walked into your house, his heart raced a million beats per minutes. His mind wandered to all the different things that could have happened to you. He swore he was going to make you lock your door every day and night now.
But here you were, safe and sound and laying in bed with Kie. Although he could see your labored breathing and clouded eyes, he knew you weren’t in any imminent trouble. His eyes traced from your face down to your legs where a pink strip of wax was still waiting to be pulled off.
“We’re fine. We’re just waxing our legs.” Kie said.
“What are you doing here?” You asked your boyfriend.
“Pope said Kie was here so we came to hang with you,” JJ said absentmindedly. “I thought you were being murdered.”
“It sure felt like it,” You rolled your eyes, but your heart fluttered from JJ’s protective side.
JJ scoffed. “It can’t hurt that bad.”
Kie tutted her head forward. “Oh yeah? Come here.”
“What? No.”
Kie ignored him and grabbed his arm from across your body and slapped on another slab of wax. JJ hissed from the heat then visibly relaxed.
“Y/N, wanna do the honors?” Kie smirked at you.
You glared at her. “I’m not volunteering to hurt my boyfriend.”
Kie scoffed at you. “What did he call your legs again?”
You clenched your teeth together and nodded once. Kie made her point, and you remembered everything she said about how men will never understand the pain women go through to please not only themselves, but their lovers too.
“Oh, yeah,” You said within a split second and ripped the wax off JJ’s arms. He flinched away from you, rearing his arm back far away from your reach. His mouth was opened in an ‘O’ shape and his brows pinched together. “Monkey legs.” You smirked at him.
“Fuck,” JJ shook out his arm as if you physically lit it on fire.
“It can’t hurt that bad, right, JJ?” Kie mocked him.
Pope laughed at his blonde friend and shook his head. “Stupid.”
“Y/N, you have one left.”
“Shut up, I know,” You rolled your shoulders back like you were getting ready to run a marathon.
“Want me to do it for you?”��You nodded. JJ came up next to you and offered his hand for you to squeeze. “Okay. On three. One, two -” Before Kie even said the word three, she ripped the wax off. You closed your eyes and squeezed JJ’s hand hard, until his knuckles rolled in your closed fingers.
“Shit, baby,” JJ crouched next to you awkwardly, trying to mend his fingers back together.
“Sorry,” You huffed. You weren’t that sorry. He called you monkey legs.
You heard the screen door open and close. Figuring it was just John B back from his date, you relaxed against your headboard again and made a promise to yourself to never wax your legs again. Beauty wasn’t worth this pain. You’d rather be monkey legs than go through that again.
Or just simply shave.
“ - And that’s supposed to make this all okay?” Your eyes opened when you heard, not JB, but Sarah Cameron screaming right outside your room. Pope quickly closed your bedroom door as quietly as possible and held up his finger to you and Kie to be quiet. “That’s your excuse?”
Your brows pinched together in confusion and you looked at your boyfriend for some kind of answer. This was the first time you ever heard Sarah raise her voice at your brother. As far as you knew, the couple never fought.
JJ was looking down at the ground and avoiding your stare. His hands were wracked through his blonde strands and resting on the top of his head. He and Pope didn’t look as surprised as you and Kie.
“What the hell is going on?” Kie asked in a hushed whisper.
“I - I was scared. I’ve never done this before -” John B stuttered.
“Here’s some advice. Rule number one. Don’t cheat!” Sarah yelled. You swore you could hear the pain behind her voice.
You gasped in surprise and snapped your head in JJ’s direction. He wouldn’t look at you, which mean he knew about this long before you did. You put the pieces together. No wonder John B has been acting miserable. Who knows how long he’s been holding onto this.
Well...apparently JJ and Pope know.
“What the hell...” Kie sits up straighter. “Is she serious?”
“Did you know?” You asked your boyfriend. This time he did look at you. And he looked guilty as hell.
Your eyes snapped back to the door when John B yelled back at her. “That’s gold coming from you. Did Topper use that same line when you got together with me?”
You physically cringed at the mention of Topper’s name. It may have been a low blow, but John B had a point.
“Shit,” Kie cursed and sped walked towards the door.
You followed in her footsteps and pressed your ear against the door. One thing was for sure, you couldn’t leave your room now. You couldn’t walk in on that. But at least you could be nosy and eavesdrop.
“That’s not fair. I didn’t love him. I loved you. I left Topper for you!”
“You cheated on him.”
“Because I loved you, John B! You cheated on me because you were scared because...why? Because I’m a Kook? I’ve always been a Kook and you’ve never had a problem with that! Not until now!”
You and Kie crouched on the floor so JJ and Pope could hover over you and listen. It sounded like John B cheated on Sarah a couple weeks ago with a Pogue from your school because he got scared of his feelings for Sarah. Rafe got in your brother’s head, telling him how he will never be enough to care for Sarah when she’s no longer reliant on her father’s money. He became insecure and looked to someone who wouldn’t ever think of him like that - someone who would understand him.
John B was in the wrong and your heart cracked for the couple you once swore was going to be the first to get married out of your group of friends. Although you and Sarah had a rocky start, she quickly became the sister you never had. You got along just as much as you and Kie did. Sometimes John B would find it annoying when Sarah would come over to hang out with you instead of him, but the other part of him loved that the two most important people in his life were as close as he was with JJ. You couldn’t imagine him with anyone else. Not even another Pogue.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Sarah asked. She sounded broken and her voice cracked with exhaustion. You wanted to walk out of the room and hug her tightly while yelling at John B for being an absolute idiot.
You heard John B sigh. “I was going to. I regretted it the second it was over and I was afraid to tell you because I didn’t want you to leave me over some stupid mistake. JJ and Pope said -”
“JJ and Pope knew about this?”
You and Kie looked up at your boyfriends with the deadliest glare either of them have seen out of both you. JJ took a step back and held his hands up in surrender as if you were holding a loaded gun to his head.
“I can explain -” JJ said quickly as Pope’s mouth moved silently to come up with an excuse.
“I didn’t know what to do! They said telling you would only hurt you -” John B weakly tried to explain.
“Of course it would fucking hurt me! You’ve been lying to me for weeks. You had sex with another girl!”
You heard something shatter before a deafening silence. You waited for John B to say something, praying he was smart enough to say anything that could salvage what little of a relationship he had left.
You didn’t want to make this about you, but you wondered how many times JJ didn’t tell you something because it would hurt you. You wondered if he did anything just as detrimental to your relationship and didn’t tell you because he was afraid you would break up with him.
John B and Sarah continued to fight for another hour. You wondered if John B was worried about where you might be. If you go somewhere without telling John B, you usually text him later in the day to tell him where you are. It’s something both of you started doing ever since your father disappeared. So that if something were to happen, you would know where to look first.
You thought about jumping out your window, but your window frame was rusty. Even if you moved the window up a little bit, the wood would grind against each other, and your cover would be blown. You were getting hungry and JJ was getting antsy, probably afraid that John B would say something more to push him in the dog house. You’ve barely looked at him since John B threw him under the bus.
“Baby...” JJ said quietly to try to get your attention. “Come on, baby, let me explain.”
You glared at him and continued braiding Kie’s hair with your back to the door.
“We had good intentions,” Pope tried to save his own ass but Kie’s look mirrored yours. “We just didn’t want them to break up.”
“Shut up, Pope,” You said for Kie.
“We were wrong,” JJ said, making you advert your attention from Pope to your boyfriend. “I was wrong. It was my idea for John B not to tell Sarah. But the more time I spent with you, I knew I’d never be able to do that to you. It would eat at me inside, and that’s exactly what it was doing to JB. So yesterday I told him he had to tell her. Or else he would hate himself for the rest of his life if he didn’t.” Your eyes soften under his ocean blue ones and your hands fell from Kie’s hair. “I know I would.”
The corner of your lip twitched up into a lopsided grin, and just like that, you were entranced by the blonde Pogue all over again. JJ had his way with words. It’s gotten him both into certain situations and out of other bad ones. But you knew JJ like the back of your hand. You knew when he was lying. He wouldn’t look at you and if you questioned him on it he would get angry. Looking at JJ, you knew he was telling the truth.
“Yeah, what he said.” Pope said, pointing at your boyfriend.
You and Kie rolled your eyes playfully. Pope, on the other hand, wasn’t so great with his words. That’s why it took so long for him to score Kie as his girlfriend.
“Where are you going?” You heard John B yell. He sounded defeated.
“I can’t be here. I need...I need space.”
“Sarah...”
“Please. I just need time to think. Okay?”
Your front door slammed shut and you held your breath, waiting for John B to run after her or break more shit in your living room. But nothing like that ever came. Instead, you listened to John B cry to himself probably somewhere on the couch.
And just like that, you didn’t care about being caught. You didn’t care if he screamed in your face for eavesdropping or calling you nosy and inconsiderate. Your brother needed you, and in that moment, it didn’t matter to you that he was the one in the wrong. At the end of the day, he was your brother. Your blood. Your family. And you’re the one who will always be his rock.
Kie stood up with you and watched wearily as you showed yourself to your brother. John B looked up with wide eyes, surprised to see not only you but the rest of the Pogues hidden away in your room.
He wanted to be mad, but he didn’t have the energy to be. Instead, he cried harder because he hated that you of all people knew what he did and that he was now being weak by crying about it in your living room. He wanted to be the role model you could always look up to, especially now that your dad was gone. And he thought he failed at it.
John B was pleasantly surprised when he felt a pair of gentle arms wrap around his shoulders and pull him into a side hug as you sat on the couch next to him. Kie sat on the coffee table in front of you and rubbed John B’s knee comfortingly. Pope and JJ knew the girls were better equipped to handle John B’s emotions, so they busied themselves in the kitchen, grabbing a couple beers and pretzels and setting them down on the table next to Kie.
Even though John B cheated and created a big mess in not only his life, but the rest of yours too, you were family. You would never leave him on his darkest day and play the blame game. You’ll help him get control. You’ll help him fix it. You’ll help him live his life to the fullest. And that’s what John B loved about you. You never turned your back on him, even when he deserved it.
The five of you spent the rest of the night drinking beer, ordering pizza, and watching comedy movies to get him to forget. Later in the night, you and Kie left to comfort Sarah. You admitted that you two heard the whole thing and would support her with whatever she chose to do about her relationship. You and Kie slept over her house and discussed the pros and cons of her staying with John B. You ate popcorn and applied face masks while Keeping Up With The Kardashians played in the background.
“You know, Kie’s waxing kit is still at my house,” A mischievous smirk pulled at your lips. “We could cause a lot of damage while he sleeps.”
Kie encouraged the idea and Sarah laughed, feeling grateful that the two of you would even come to see her when you both had loyalties to John B. She really did love you guys and would be devastated if her relationship with John B drove you guys apart.
In the end, Sarah ended up taking John B back. It took a while for them to get their relationship back to the way it was, but they loved each other enough to salvage it. John B worked his ass off to prove how much he loved her and Sarah appreciated every second of it.
And as for you and JJ...well you made sure to give him one really good reason as to why he should never cheat on you (;
#jj maybank fic#jj fic#jj x reader#jj maybank#jj maybank x reader#outer banks#outer banks fic#outer banks imagine#john b routledge#john b#kie carrera#pope heyward#pogues x reader#pogues#jj maybank imagine#jj maybank one shot
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City Lights . ( Namjoon x OC)
Pairing : OC x Kim Namjoon.
Genre : Angst. Romance.
Rating 18 +
Word Count : 2900
Warnings : Mature Themes , Explicit Sexual Content . Slow burn. Like slower than a snail.
Summary :
Widowed and destitute, Son Yang Mi leaves the comfort of her small , secluded fishing village and travels to the intimidating city of Seoul with her young son. She has a plan, one that involves finding a job, getting her son into a good school and building a life for herself.
Now, three years later she has a job , working as a live in house keeper for the Kim family, specifically for the son, Kim Namjoon, a famous rapper and producer.
Its a job that puts a roof over her head and she’ll do anything to keep it.
But fate has other plans.
Chapter 1 ~
Akogare (ah-koh-ga-reh)Often translated directly as a sort of frustrated “yearning”, “desire”, or “longing” .
Seoul in summer was a sight to behold. I blinked back against the bright sunlight, staring out into the stunning skyline of the city as the sun rose over it , and although it was just a little past seven in the morning, the air was warm and invigorating. The mid July sun shone down with no mercy, and there was no trace of the rain that had lashed city just the previous night.
It had been three whole years but the relief that came from breathing fresh air, untainted by the damp musk of fishing trowels and sweaty men, was still unrivalled.
I shook off the feather duster in my hand, moving to carefully clean the wicker woven chairs on the artificial lawn in the balcony. Dusting the entire condo down was a mind numbing exercise in patience, so i tried to get it out of the way, early in the morning when my son was still asleep.
At six years old, Junsu was a bright , happy child. Summer vacation meant days sleeping in and evenings spent frolicking with the other kids in the building and he was content with being alone in our small shared room, reading or playing with his toys while I went about the day’s work.
I glanced at the clock, grimacing.
It was almost eight . And although Mr. Kim wasn’t due back home for another twelve hours, I felt a little jittery and nervous.
Kim Namjoon , renowned rapper, producer, writer , poet and what not. The apartment was his but he was usually on tour, traveling all over the world to promote his book and to perform in sold out stadiums. For an A list celebrity, he was surprisingly humble.
For the past three years, him and his model fiancée Lee Mina had spent a total of maybe seven months in the condo. They were a sweet couple, or so I’d always thought , a bit formal with each other but clearly in love . Mr. Kim was a kind, soft spoken young man and I’d never heard him raise his voice unless he was in the company of his very dear friends.
Just a little over a week ago , both of them had left Korea for the States , the tabloids screaming about a luxurious destination wedding in the Caribbean and I had been asked to take a few weeks off . The newly weds wouldn’t be back for quite a while and they would let me know when I had to come back to the condo.
I’d been toying with the idea of visiting my in laws in Gwangyog, maybe even dropping by to see some old friends there but yesterday , Mr. Kim’s mother had given me a call letting me know her son was coming home.
[
The conversation went something like this :
Yang Mi, I hope you haven’t left yet?
No, Ma'am, I haven’t.
Joon-ah is going to be back tomorrow.
Oh, is Ms Lee arriving as well?
No, Just him He’s going to be alone.
Yes, Ma'am.
Please don’t mention anything about Mina or the wedding.
No ma'am of course not.
I’ll drop by later . Cook him something warm and filling. And make sure the house is cleaned well.
Yes, Ma’ am.
]
And that was that.
~~~~~~
It took the better part of the day to finish cleaning and setting up the house . I washed the window slats, changed the sheets, arranged the books that had been left scattered all over his bedroom. The walk-in closet was littered with a bunch of his clothes and I made sure his gym bag was stocked with fresh towels, spare clothes and his favorite head and wrist bands.
For someone so careful and calculated, he was really quite a messy man.
i did his laundry, making sure he had ample clothes at least for another two weeks, creasing the handkerchiefs and carefully removing lint from his jackets.
I also carefully sorted out the feminine clothing from the laundry and from the cupboard, folding them neatly and placing them in the lowest shelf of the closet, where he wouldn’t find them. It wasn’t hard, hiding traces of his fiancee from the condo, because it had never really been her home. other than a few spare pieces of underwear and a couple of t shirts and skirts, there weren’t many articles of clothing belonging to Ms. Lee.
But I still got rid of the bobby pins and hair ties, the spare lip gloss and mascara.
Junsu spent the entire day in our room, reading and drawing, only venturing out every few hours to grab a snack. I left him with his drawing tab ( a gift from Mr. Kim for his 5th birthday ) and his favorite book, asking the security guard at the end of the hallway to keep an eye on the door, while i went out to buy groceries.
Lots of meat, no sea food, healthy snacks and high protein fiber bars. I stocked up on sauces and bought a fresh batch of eggs, oranges and grapes . Mrs. Kim had sent a large amount of kimchi a few weeks ago and that was still in the pantry.
i stopped for a second, staring around at the almost deserted store. Most of the other housekeepers shopped at the bigger, more exclusive store on the other side of the residential complex. But Mr. Kim had a very selective palette, which meant that I had to be very particular about the brands i bought.
When i came back home at around six, Junsu was on the floor in the living space and i felt my heart jump in panic.
“Baby!! I’ve told you not to come out here when I’m not home!” I protested bleakly and he pouted.
“I need to show you my gift for Mr. Kim!!” He said softly. I smiled moving to put away the groceries and glancing at the clock. It was a little past six. I had to call Yungyu.
“Did you draw him something ? “ I asked curiously, checking to see if the beer shelf was stocked. probably should have done that before going out for the groceries, I thought regretfully.
“Yeah! Look!!” Junsu held his tab out and my heart dropped.
For a six year old, Junsu drew very well. And there was really no mistaking the very obvious wedding scene on the screen.
Oh, Good God.
“ That looks amazing honey.” I said gently. “ But, I heard that Ms Lee isn’t coming over this time..”
Junsu frowned.
“Why?”
“Well, I’m not sure. But remember how we spoke about saying the right things? When something upsets someone, we do not bring it up.” I reminded him gently. My son hesitated but nodded.
“Okay. I’m sorry. “ He said softly.
“No baby, its not your fault. It’s just that we want Mr. Kim to be happy right? We don’t wanna upset him...”
He smiled at that.
“When he’s happy, his dimples come out.” He said with a giggle. I laughed.
“yes they do... So let’s try and get those dimples out as often as we can alright? Why don’t you show him that picture you drew of yeontan the other day? He’ll really like that....”
“Okay...but i need to go color it!” Junsu yelled, already running back into our room. I watched him go before reaching for the phone and dialing, Yungyu, the chauffeur.
“Are you on the way here? ” i said briskly.
“Just starting from home...” Yungyu muttered, “ I’m supposed to be on vacation now! Why is he coming back so soon?”
“Just hurry up !! We can’t keep him waiting!!” I said sharply, before hanging up.
I made a quick check of all the rooms, filling up water bottles for his gym routine in the morning and stashing them in the fridge before moving to get dinner started.
i set the water on boil for the stew, before moving to peel cucumbers for the salad. I chopped the cucumber , along with some fresh cherry tomatoes . I watched the water boil, thinly slicing an onion and adding it to the bowl as well. The dressing was pretty simple, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and sesame oil . I sprinkled some sesame seeds on the bowl, used the salad tongs to give the whole thing a nice toss and set it aside.
I braised the chicken first , peeling and chopping potatoes and carrots to add to the stew . In a few minutes, the rich smell of lightly spiced chicken and garlic and perilla leaves began filling the kitchen and I turned on the rice cooker as well.
The door bell rang at six forty and i opened the door to reveal Yungyu.
I grabbed the keys to the Palisade, handing them over to him.
“Did you hear?” He whispered urgently.
I frowned.
“What?”
“They say Mr. Kim called off the wedding!” He whispered, wide eyed.
I glared at him.
“Who told you that?” i demanded...
“Seojoon from the gate said-”
“Why don’t you ask Seojoon from the gate to mind his own damn business?” I snapped.
Yungyu looked suitably chastised. i felt a little bad. Yungyu was still young and curiosity was hardly a sin.
“His flight lands at eight exactly. Hurry okay?” I said with a smile, ruffling his hair.
He brightened, peering over my shoulder into the house.
“Where’s the little one?” He asked curiously.
“ Painting something for Mr. Kim... Go ahead, hurry up.” I shooed him away, locking the door behind him. I fixed a plate of food for Junsu and sent him to eat, before moving to check on the stew. +
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
By the time eight thirty rolled around I had the table set and ready. I washed my face quickly in the small bath attached to our room , making sure I was dressed well. Junsu wasn’t allowed in the main house unless Mr. Kim specifically asked for him and my son usually stayed in.
Junsu and I stayed in a bedroom , not large by any means but big enough for a queen sized bed, a table and chair for Junsu and small dresser where I kept a comb and a tube of night cream. I stared at my face, licking my lips as I smoothed my hair out.
I glanced at the bed.
Junsu was asleep , having dozed off while coloring his picture and I carefully extracted the tab from under his fingers, moving him around to lay on the soft pillows. I tucked him in gently, brushing the hair off his face.
“In peace , I will lie down to sleep, for You alone will let me rest in safety.” I whispered gently against his forehead, kissing the soft skin. I felt my lips wobble , a debilitating wave of affection flooding me as the sweet scent of my baby, filled my senses.
I would die for you, I thought fiercely, kissing him again.
The sound of the front door opening made me jump.
Swearing, i smoothed the fabric of my skirt, running to the kitchen.
“Thank you for picking me up Yungyu, I’m sorry you had to cut short on your vacation.” Mr. Kim’s deep voice filled the hallway and I quickly grabbed a glass, filling it with water and placing it on the dinner tray.
“Not a problem, Sir. “ Yungyu’s cheerful voice responded.
“How are you going home?” Mr. Kim asked.
“I’ll take the bus.”
A pause and then,
“Here’s some cash. Get a cab.”
I could hear the relief in Yungyu’s voice as he let out a , “ Thank you sir.”
I fixed his plate carefully, the bowl of rice, the bowl of chicken stew, and the salad neatly arranged next to the napkin and the chopsticks. I heard him move across the condo, the sound of his suitcases as he wrestled them towards his bedroom and I frowned. Yungyu should’ve have brought those in for him.
I finished reheating all of the food and carefully carried the dinner tray to the bedroom.
Mr. Kim’s bedroom was right at the end of the hallway and the door was open. The full length mirror on the opposite wall showed him sitting on the small couch in his room, legs spread and elbows resting on his knees as he ran his fingers through his hair.
I raised my hand, ready to knock on the wood.
“Fuck!” He shouted, kicking out at the coffee table with enough force to send the furniture skidding half way across the room.
I froze in the hallways stunned.
“You’re such a fucking fool , Namjoon !!” He muttered angrily and I swallowed, turning on my heel and quickly walking back to the kitchen.
Maybe I ought to wait till he asked for dinner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He didn’t ask for dinner.
I stayed sitting on the floor of the kitchen, waiting and lightly dozing as I heard him talk to his parents on the phone. I heard him open the liquor cabinet in his room, the sound of ice sloshing against glass, the sound of whiskey being poured carefully and i sighed.
I had to get to bed. It was already a little past eleven.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometime in the night, I woke up sweating....
Wondering what woke me up, I blinked groggily, glancing at Junsu. He was still sound asleep.
Sighing, I climbed out of the bed, carefully making my way to Mr. Kim’s room, peering in carefully.
He was asleep on the sofa.
I stared at the way his long legs stretched over the armrest, his lean hips twisted to accommodate his broad shoulders on the couch and I winced. He was definitely going to regret that in the morning.
I stared at the half empty bottle of whiskey on the table and sighed, moving to take off his shoes carefully. He didn’t stir.
I grabbed a pillow from the bed, carefully lifting his head and slipping it under. I placed a comforter over his shoulders, pulling it down to cover his legs.
Force of habit almost made me brush his hair off his forehead but I stopped myself.
The clock on the wall read three fifty am. God, I was going to feel terrible tomorrow. I carefully tip toed out, shutting the door behind me
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I picked the comforter from the floor, carefully folding it and placing it on the bed, before grabbing the empty bottle of whiskey and glass . i could hear the shower running. The curtains were still drawn in and I tugged on the strings to get them to open. Sunlight spilled in through the floor length windows. The bed wasn’t slept in, so I opened the closet to grab a couple of towels, laying them on the bed for him.
The bathroom door opened and i quickly straightened, wanting to race out of the room but it was too late. Thankfully he was dressed, a pair of loose sweats and a loose t shirt . He was running a towel through his hair and his face brightened at the sight of me.
“Yang Mi! You’re here....” He said cheerfully.
“Good morning sir.” I said softly, offering him a small smile.
He smiled brightly, hair damp and dimples deep. The white t shirt he had on was almost fully soaked through and he shook his head, sending stray water droplets all over the place, a few landing on my cheeks.
“I didn’t see you last night...” He said casually, moving to drop the wet towel in the hamper, grabbing one of the fresh ones I’d laid on the bed.
“I thought you would like your privacy sir, you looked exhausted.”
He smiled.
“ Thank you for the blanket and the pillow by the way. And the shoes.”
I bowed quickly.
“I’ll get your breakfast done, sir.” I bowed again before quickly getting out.
I moved to the kitchen grabbing the oranges I’d got the previous day . Mr. Kim wasn’t fond of traditional korean dishes in the morning. He preferred freshly squeezed juice and toast, sometimes with an omelet perhaps.
I fixed his breakfast quickly, setting it all in the tray . He was still moving around in the bedroom and I heard him drag his worktable to the windows, which meant he was going to stay in the bedroom.
Pouring his coffee into a cup, I carefully picked up the breakfast tray , moving to his room slowly.
I used my foot to knock on the door.
After a pause of a few seconds,
“Come in Yang Mi!”
I carefully moved to the small table in front of the couch, placing the tray right in front of him. The scent of his body wash, green apple and strawberries, hit me hard.
“Where’s Junsu?” He asked casually.
“Still asleep sir. It’s Summer so school’s out.” I smiled, grabbing his phone from the table to make space for his tray.
The phone buzzed just as I was about to place it back down and I blinked.
Mina calling.......
I swallowed, not sure what to do, placing the phone down quickly.
“Uh..you have ...” I waved vaguely at the device before bowing again and moving back.
“close the door on your way out, Yang Mi...” He said gently and I quickly obeyed.
I moved to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee for myself. I stayed leaning over the counter and even through the locked door, I could hear him .
“Just don’t call me Mina...i don’t want to talk about this!!!”
I swallowed, glancing out of the window again. It was a bright, clear morning.
A second later, the door to his bedroom slammed open and he stormed out. I watched him from my spot in the kitchen, his fists clenched as he rushed out to the front door.
The door shut behind him and I exhaled.
Once I as done with my coffee, I moved to his room to clear the breakfast tray. His phone was still on the table.
It began ringing again just as I left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mrs. Kim.” i said respectfully, bowing . She gave me a short smile.
“Where’s Namjoon? I’ve been calling him for the past hour.” She pushed past me into the house and I bit my lips.
“He went out about an hour ago. He left his phone behind.” I explained.
She stopped, sighing.
“Fine, I’ll wait for him. “ She moved to sit on the couch, glancing around the room.
“Should I get you something ma'am?” I asked softly and she smiled.
“Get me a glass of lemonade, Yangmi.” She said brusquely and i nodded, running to the kitchen.
“Did Mina come over?” She called out as I got the lemons out of the cooler.
“No ma'am.” i replied.
“Did she call?”
I remembered the phone ringing, how upset it had made Namjoon, how he had stormed out.
“I don’t know ma'am!” I said softly.
She nodded.
“Okay. You can leave.” She said quietly. i bowed and went back into the kitchen.
I peered out of the window as I fixed her a glass , and my eyes fell on a familiar figure, coming back in through the front gate. Even from this distance there was no mistaking the long legs and messy blonde hair.
I bit my lips, mind racing.
Mrs Kim and her son had a volatile relationship, to say the least.
And something told me that Mr. Kim was probably not in the right frame of mind to argue with his mother, now. The man was upset but apparently, neither his mother nor his ex fiancée understood that. instead of giving him space they were hounding him.
I hesitated for a second before making a quick decision.
I grabbed the tray with her lemonade and moved to her quickly.
“Thank you.” She said sharply. “ Turn on the Air Conditioner for me, will you?”
I fumbled with the remote, grabbing his phone from the table , turning it on before moving to the front door and rushing out.
I almost ran into him as he came out of the elevator , and i jerked back stumbling a bit to stop myself from crashing into his chest. He let out a , ‘ Whoa, “ his hands reaching out to grip my elbows.
“Careful. What’s wrong?” He asked gently and I swallowed.
“Your mother’s here.” I said quickly, “ Sir.”
“Oh, fuck.” He groaned. I swallowed.
“You can leave.” I blurted out. “It’s Tuesday. She has her charity work meeting at ten. Its almost nine. She won’t stay long....”
His eyes met mine, lips parting in surprise.
“I really can’t meet her now.” He said apologetically.
I nodded.
“Of course, I understand , sir. Just be back in an hour , she’ll be go-”
The elevator buzzed , the doors nearly closing over my shoulders and I flinched. He swore and stuck his arm out to keep it open.
I stared at him before holding his phone out.
“Here you go sir. “
He chuckled taking it from me and shaking his head.
“i feel like a kid, sneaking away from my mom.” His eyes reached mine, twinkling, “ Who would’ve thought the quiet, timid Yang Mi would be my partner in crime. “
I didn’t reply, just smiled.
And then he hesitated. “ Is Junsu awake?”
I blinked.
“Uh...yes sir,...he’s playing in the park downstairs with the other kids.”
“Great... Would you mind if i take him out for ice cream?”
I stared at him.
“Oh..uh...of course not. Sure.. I mean.. he’ll love that... Sir. Thank you.. You don’t have to -”
“Consider it thank you for helping me with my mother.” He smiled again and i found myself staring at his dimples again. i swallowed.
“in that case, he loves butter scotch.” I smiled.
The dimples appeared and i bit my lips.
“Thank you Yang Mi.” He said slowly.
“Yes, Sir.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author’s Note : Finally a hyungline fic !!! ugh... I’ve been wanting to write a Namjoon fic for ages and I really hope you guys will like this one :’( Feedback is much appreciated.
#namjoon smut#namjoon au#namjoon hot#namjoon fics#namjoon x reader#namjoon fic#bts smut#bts fanfics#bts au#bts fics#houseofddaeng
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three am - kirby dach
requested: yes/no
a/n: yes hello i finally sat down and wrote something, also as i was writing i realized i ended up changing the request a bit, so i apologize for that. this is my first fic too soooo, i do be really nervous to post this tho LOL, it’s not too long, but it’s still a lil something. a HUGE shoutout to @perpetually-anxious for proofreading and helping me edit this too, thank you so much. anyways, enjoy :)
word count: 1.2k
pairing: kirby dach x reader
warnings: takes place in & talks about the pandemic
tagging: @brokeninsidebutnobodyknows @nolpatts @jdrysdales
When Kirby injured his wrist at the world juniors, he was devastated, and so were you. He was so excited to have been named captain, and yet it all came crashing down before the tournament had even started. Learning he would most likely be out for the season was just as terrible, at least for him. And yes, you knew it was probably selfish, but you liked knowing he was at home and safe from the infectious disease currently running rampant around the world. With cases of covid skyrocketing, you didn’t want anything else to happen to him. So, you being the protective person you are, basically locked him in the house with you. Neither of you left the house unless it was to get groceries, or go for a drive because you couldn’t stand being in the house anymore.
And honestly, everything was going pretty great. Although it was extremely stressful, you were thankfully still able to keep up with your schoolwork. The stress of exams was even worse now, but you were able to get through it and now taking extra advantage of the three week break you have before the start of your second term.
As much as you loved having Kirby home, there were times where it could get a bit annoying; and this was one of them. You were laying in bed, catching up on sleep... or at least trying to. As soon as your head hit the pillow, you fell asleep and managed to stay that way for a couple of hours. That is, until all of a sudden, you felt someone poking you.
“Hey, (Y/N). Wake up.” You hear as you begin to gain consciousness, opening your eyes you look at the clock on your bedside table and see the time reads 2:47 in the morning. With a sigh, you close your eyes agin. “Kirby, it’s almost 3 in the morning, go to bed.”
“But I can’t sleep, and I’m bored.” He whines while continuing to poke you, “Please babe, I promise to let you sleep in as long as you want in the morning, if you wake up now.”
With another sigh, you finally open your eyes and turn around to face him, “Okay fine. I’m awake now.” Smiling down at you, he kisses your forehead and then proceeds to get up. “Perfect, now let’s go on a little adventure!”
“Babe, it’s 3 in the morning and I literally just woke up less than 5 minutes ago, do you really expect me to jump out of bed to go with you?” You ask, while looking at him in disbelief, “I would also like to point out we’re in the middle of a pandemic and you have a broken wrist, so what exactly are we going to do?”
“We’re just gonna go on a walk to the corner store to pick up some stuff, and then we’ll come back here. It’s nothing too big.” He replies while walking out of the bedroom, “I’ll be waiting for you in the living room!”
With a long groan, you force yourself out of bed to get changed into something more suitable for the store. After you’ve finally changed, you grab your mask and keys off the bedside table and walk out to the living room to join your boyfriend. “Alright, I’m ready to venture off into the freezing cold with you, to go pick up who knows what at the store.”
Laughing, he gets up from the couch to grab your coat and gives it to you, “Thank you baby, I appreciate it.” You both put on your coats and then make your way out into the cold Chicago air and begin your walk to the store.
After a short freezing cold walk, which you’re surprised you didn’t get frostbite on, you arrive at the store and right away Kirby is rushing around picking up various different items. Mostly picking up chocolate and candy, but also pancake mix. Meanwhile, you’re just following him around in confusion, wondering why he needed to do this now, at some ungodly hour of the morning, when the both of you could be lying comfortably in bed and at the very least, trying to sleep. After what seems like forever, but in reality is just five minutes, he’s done with his little shopping spree and after he’s paid for everything, you guys finally head back home.
Walking back into your apartment, you both take your coats and masks off and then take turns washing your hands. Once you put your things away, you turn around and see your boyfriend getting various items down from the cabinets. Smiling to yourself, you finally realized why you ended up going to the store so late.
“Why do I have a feeling you had a sudden craving for pancakes, and that’s why we ended up going on our little adventure so late?” You ask as you walk up behind him and wrap your arms around his waist, resting your forehead on his back.
He turns around and wraps his arms around you as he answers, “Yeah, you’re right... You gonna help me make them?” Looking up at him, you give him your biggest smile, “Well, considering the fact that you only have one good hand, of course I am.”
You guys get to work making them. With the lights being kept off, the only light illuminating the room were the streetlights outside and the faint glow from the fridge that was being kept open. Thankfully managing not to make too much of a mess, the pancakes were made and you guys decided to sit on the floor as you ate them.
All of a sudden, Kirby gets up, picking up all the plates to put them in the sink, and then turning around, he extends his hand to help you up and pulls you into his arms. He looks down at you and smiles, “I love you, so much.” He whispers into your ear. Looking up and smiling back up at him, “I love you too.”
In the minimal lighting around you, you both sway back and forth, your head resting on his chest. It’s quiet between you guys for a moment, until your boyfriend decided to speak up again, “I just want to say thank you, for everything. I know it’s hard doing online school and being stuck in the house, and I know I haven’t exactly been the most calm person to be with right now, but you still have done everything you can to help me out and I appreciate it, so much.”
Smiling to yourself, you look back up at him, “Of course, I’m not just gonna leave you hanging. And I don’t care how much you may annoy me sometimes, I’d rather you be safe and at home with me, especially since I can make sure you won’t do anything that could injure you more.” He smiles back and kisses you softly, and then suddenly he’s twirling you around and you guys are bursting out in joyful laughter.
You two dance around the kitchen, the fridge still open and illuminating your little dance floor, giving each other soft kisses and whispers of affection, you decide that you can catch up on your sleep later, and decide to dance around until the sun starts to rise.
And as you’re laughing and dancing, you realize nothing else matters, except for the man in front of you.
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Diary of a lost doe, part 1
A short fic where my character Annabelle writes in diaries
Fresh off losing her parents, Annabelle Flaches must contend with trying to fend for herself and her baby sister Angelica. And with Angelica talking to a mysterious green orb when she thinks Annabelle isn’t watching, things are only at the tip of the iceberg.
This is for me and Aquillis’s “half and half” AU, our ‘main’ AU. not to be confused with Aqui’s pack universe which is her underground re-write.
Due to the length I'm splitting this into two parts. This is part 1, part 2 is here!
Diary Enry 1, Day I dunno.
Okay here it is. First diary entry I guess. Gotta keep it brief, writing instruements are hard.
Been a few months since that day. We’re doing fine. Angie started another garden. Moved to a new spot.
Got some new things for the house. Old car door and a tire. Not sure what I’ll do with the tire gonna use the door as part of wall.
Finished roof this morning. Good thing 2, might rain.
Angie still sleps bad if not next to me. Writing while she’s curled up. Wasn’t for scars on ear and having to sleep in same clothes she’d look like we’re still home.
Gotta sleep now.
Diary Entry 2
Maybe got a job. Illegal probs but $ is $
Angelica talked more today. Good sign? Maybe she relapses back into not talking but progress.
I never thought i’d miss her annoying stupid “hey lets go explore a cave and not tell anyone bout what we’ll do” self. Never thought about losing mum and pa ei
Shit crying. Bye.
Diary entry 3
Diary didn’t get too wet yesterday.Don’t think bout mom and pa it ends badly.
I can’t afford to break down even if Angie’s sleeping
If I break down then Angie will get upset
I won’t put her through it
I won’t
…
Diary entry 54
Had to leave town but am 600 $ richer
Angie’s quiet again. But she didn’t complain bout us leavin
gonna go for a city maybe. more risk but more money and places to live.
Jadetown’s the city. Dunno too much bout it but mum liked it.
Should get there in maybe a cuple weeks or so
Angie’s sound asleep. No kicking or anything so that’s good
Hope the city’s okay. Angie hates crowds.
Need somewhere with not a lot of crowds to live at
…
Diary Entry 63
Been a hot second. Settling in Jadetown’s pretty hard.
Find a quiet spot in the slums. Pretty shitty now, but the two of us can make it work
Angie still isn’t talking, but she kept close to me while we made our way through the crowds. She seemed fine as long as she held my hand
Lost her a couple times, but not for long. She seemed upset bout it.
Sorry Angie.
I’ll do better. I promise.
...
Diary Entry 169 (it’s the morning but fuck it)
The nightmare happened again.
Angelica having her ear scared by those monsters. mum and pa being taken away in exchange for us being set loose
Only it loops around and around before it’s just cries and blood and knives and screams and crying and they’re all surrounding me judging me for just failing everyone because you’re a fucking failure
Haven’t had it a while. Don’t upset yourself, Angie needs you.
Diary entry 169? Night
Angelica almost killed some street thugs.
we caught some dumbass looking punks bullying some sort of chao. I think it’s a chao
I ran up to one like an idiot and gout in their face to know what they’re doin, and the things went dark. I got knocked out on my ass, apparenlty the big brute that led them butted me in the head. Asshole didn’t even let me get ready
I came to to Angie trying to shake me awake. When I looked around the punks were gone, there were plant vines all over, and the other kids that had gathered were a mix of crapped their pants and mouths on the floor
I asked angie bout it and she just said she took care of them and that the punks had run off
What the hell did she do? Usually I’m the one saving her? But she was having none of it today.
Oh the chao’s fine, weirdass chao though. Never seen chao that just cause flowers to grow around them or in their footsteps.
Made 30 $
Rib’s hurting and headache, Angie fast asleep. Time for bed.
Diary Entry 170
Chao’s bak.
Visited Angie’s garden for a while watchin me watchin it. It waved and left right around Angie gettin up.
Showed up again when we got back home. Angie hasn’t seen it yet. Good thing, she wanted to bring it with us. We can’t afford three mouths.
I don’t like it. We save its ass and now its stalking us.
Made nothin.
Ribs hurt less. Still a bitch.
Diary entry 171
Angie’s found the “chao”
She talked to it all morning when she thought i was napping. Couldn’t sleep, too afraid of bad dreams.
It doesn’t make chao sounds. Or it does but really weird ones.
Then it turned a green light ball for a bit and back into a chao
Angie liked that.
I don’t trust it. Even less.
Need to watch it.
Angie’s relaxed.
Made 5$.
Diary Entry 172 morn
Nightmare again
Diary Entry 172 night
Angie got excited, claimed that she “found Trevor”
he lived near us back in our old home
Had to tell her no, every red mouse we see is not Trevor.
She says that Trevor and his family were gonna move here, pretty inistent too.
Man she gets caught up on the smallest things
Made 20$
Diary Entry 173
Chao returned while i was working. Left Angie on her own
Shes seemed like she was having a fun time being able to talk with someone
She’s not made friends much. Maybe i’m being too hard on the ‘chao’
Still gotta watch it. It could be manipulating her
Haven’t told her I know bout the chao yet.
Should i?
Not now. Angelica is sleeping.
Made 5$
Diary Entry 174
‘Trevor’ spotting 2. Angie wanted to go bug the person. So we went and sure enough as we got closer Angie changed her mind. It was a rat, not a mouse she said.
How can she tell the difference?
No Angie and chao visit. Unless it was while i slept in. but why would she be secretive bout it?
Saw the punk bitch again today. Looked like he crapped his pants when he saw Angie and she glared at him. That’s my sister.
Made 60$
…
Diary Entry 364
Got a new diary. Last entry for this one. Things going well. Got a good thing going for myself.
Angie found a new plant today, and now she’s got it in her garden.
Loved the look on her face when I got it for her.
Made 50$
Angelica’s chatted with the Chao again. Sort of like, is her guardian I think. Or is that its name
Guess good bye diary 1. Really weird to do but it feels right.
Angie’s sleeping well enough on her own. She mumbles but that seems it.
Do I do a good job keeping her safe
Diary 2 Entry 1
Managed to find a new diary. Keeping the old one just cause, and because I have the storage. For a couple of street bum does, we’ve got a decent enough house going. Been able to put it together from bits and bobs lying around, Angie even threw in her hat and added her own touches.
Looks ugly as hell with the plants holding things together and it’s all a mish mash of junk and crap I found, but it’s our mishmash of junk and crap.
Also saved up enough and am making enough to afford more than one pen and even some pencils. So I can write more often. Just felt like writing
Angie’s started to get more vocal again. I think she’s catching onto the fact the way I’ve been making money is less than honest a lot of the time.
I’m not going to sell myself for it though. I’m not degrading myself with that and nayone who fucking tries is going to a hospital.
And if any of those freaks dare go near Angie there won’t be enough left for a morgue to pick up.
Oh, and the chao’s still around. I can feel it. Angelica loves it, I think. I don’t trust it entirely, yet. But, it hasn't been a danger for the past months. So I think it’s actually a good thing..
Angie calls it Guardian. Maybe it's our own Guardian Angel.
Made 65$ today.
Good journal entry me. You got talkative. Writative? Whatever.
...
Diary 2 Entry 23
Got into a fight today, that was fun. The punks from when I helped save Guardian decided to jump me when Angelica was at the house. Guess they figured they could jump me without little sis to back me up. Too bad for them, when I don’t get suckered I’m damn good at defending myself. Sent them packing. Got a bit bruised. Why is it always the ribs with those guys.
Admittedly. I didn’t have to beat the crap out of them. But talk shit get hit, I say. They shouldn’t have been trash talking me when I was walking by.
-
Angelica was upset when I got back. Should’ve expected that, really. Don’t know why I didn’t think she would notice me being hurt, she’s got a sixth sense for that sort of thing. Always has. Kinda weird.
But, she did try and heal me a bit. Somehow, she’s gotten better at it -Ever since she's met Guardian, she’s gotten more control over that healing ability she has. I just need to make sure she doesn’t overdo herself again.
I don’t know anything much bout healing magic or whatever it is, but I don’t think what Angie has is normal. I think she uses herself for it. Whatever healing she tries to do just eats away at her. And whatever it was was enough to frighten Pa to move us in the first place
-
I think part of me might blame ANgie for it. For getting us out of the safety of where we lived near Agateton and moving.
But if we didn’t move would we really have been safe still. And it wasn’t Angie’s fault she did what she did, it was Pa who pushed for it and Mum who went with it.
So do I blame them? I don’t want to. The monsters that took them and hurt Angie are the ones to blame.
But they wouldn’t have found us if we didn’t move near that forest. But Mum and Pa couldn’t have seen it coming.
Ugh. brain hurts. Fuck this mind screw bullshite
Spent 123.54$ today. Groceries and supplies. Tampons are stupid expensive but I want to have a decent supply for when we need them. Also some food.
Made 13$. Gonna need to work more to recoup.
No idea if Angie talked with Guardian. She still thinks I don’t know anythin bout it.
At least, I think she doesn’t. She gets defensive and acts like she doesn’t know what I’m talking about.
I wonder why she does that. Wonder if it’s tied with how I react to her saying she’s found Trevor for the umpteenth time.
Maybe I should press her bout it. But I don’t want to get her worked up over nothin.
Okay that’s enough, my mind’s getting wandering now and I stay up if I do that.
...
Diary 2 Entry 54
Someone showed up with a bunch of robots earlier. Cause quite the commotion, sent people running, the usual.
Apparently he set up shop in the rich quarter and is causing all sorts of troubles. People have been coming to and fro a lot the past few days.
Angie got worried over explosions. Had to calm her down, explain that whatever it was probably wasn’t coming here. She asked me bout the people there and if they needed help - told her that someone would take care of the rich fops. That’s what they do after all. Who gives a shit about two practically orphaned kids.
Not sure if she bought it. Gotta keep an eye on her. Might need to pull an all nighter.
And we don’t have any energy drinks or coffee. I could go grab one, no one is gonna give a shit if I do, not in this current environment.
Gotta stop for now. Gotta focus on Angie not some stupid book.
Entry 55
Angie’s missin
#Knower writes#Sonic#Sonic Fic#Sonic the Hedgehog#Annabelle Flaches#Angelica Flaches#didn't realize it'd be so long#guess that's what happens if I just let myself write something#but I had fun writing this#hope everyone enjoys this first part
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finally free
ole miss rafe x reader
rafe is tired, you try and help, and eventually the two of you get to drink
two in one day baby (almost?)
(warnings: cursing, drinking, hardly edited)
Rafe had been exhausted lately, cancelling dates to do homework and pulling at least one all-nighter a week. He’d decided to TA his first semester in the program, and while you were happy he got the subject of his choice, you were worried he was running himself too ragged.
It’s not like you had much room to talk, Vet School had been brutal, and the amount of work was what you expected, but weren’t exactly prepared for. A lot of the time you’d spent together starting mid-semester was takeout and homework in one of your apartments.
Your semester came to an end before Rafe’s by two weeks, and you spent the first week catching up on sleep, working out, and making actual home cooked meals for Rafe. You’d been practically living at his apartment, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Babe,” you called one morning, walking out of his room around 10:30.
He was sitting at the dining room table, and looked up at you, glasses perched on the edge of his nose, “What’s up?”
“About to head to the gym, want some breakfast before I go?”
“Had a bagel, thanks though.”
You nodded and kissed his forehead before heading toward the door, “Gonna get some groceries while I’m out and probably Strange Brew. Text me if you decide you want me to pick something up.”
He smiled at you tiredly, and you could see the bags under his eyes from across the room, “Thanks, sweetheart, I think I’m good though. Going to work for a few hours and then take a nap.”
“Please take a nap, you need it. How many days do you have left?”
“Three and then next week is finals. So I’ll have tests and papers to grade. Plus my schoolwork.”
“Are the tests multiple choice?”
“Yeah.”
“I can do those. So you can focus on your own shit and the papers.”
You couldn’t be sure, but it looked like his eyes filled up and the lines on his face softened, “That would be fantastic.”
“Alrighty then, sounds like a plan. I’ll see you in a few, you’d better be asleep when I get back.”
Rafe grinned and sent you a salute, “Yes ma’am.”
-
He had clearly just laid down by the time you got back, and when you walked in, arms full of grocery bags. Laid on the couch, he jolted, eyes snapping open. You winced, “Sorry, babe.”
Putting away the groceries, you went over the couch and knelt down before running your fingers through his hair. He hummed, leaning into your hand, “Not asleep like you told me to, sorry.”
You smiled softly, “S’okay, you almost were, I woke you up.”
“Groceries put away?” he asked suddenly.
“Mhmm.”
Without saying anything else, he lifted the edge of the blanket closest to you, a clear invitation for you to slide in next to him. Huffing out a laugh, you kicked your shoes off and laid down, half on top of Rafe.
Rafe wrapped a leg and both arms around you, adjusting the blanket until he was happy, and then promptly fell asleep. You smiled and rested your forehead on his collarbone, content to lay in silence with him for a little while.
It couldn’t have been more than two hours before an alarm on his phone under the throw pillow started going off, startling you out of the half asleep state you’d fallen into and waking him up completely.
“Fuck,” he slurred, “don’t wanna get up.”
“Sleep more,” you told him, voice just as quiet.
“Can’t. Got a paper on the Black Plague due in a few days, don’t have enough sources yet.”
“Baby,” you muttered, “you’re running yourself ragged. If you don’t sleep your paper won’t be good anyway.”
Rafe shut his eyes tightly, “I know. But I just can’t.”
“Is there something I can do for you.”
“I-” he paused, one hand coming up to rub his eyes, “you aren’t my mom, I hope you know I really don’t see you that way. I don’t want to treat you like that, you need to know that you’re my equal and that you don’t have to take care of me, that I’m capable of it.”
Your eyebrows furrowed, “I know. Where’s this coming from?”
“Can you,” Rafe sighed, clenching his eyes shut for a second, “would you mind taking care of my laundry? It’s been a few weeks and I’m almost out of underwear.”
“Yeah, of course. I need to do mine too.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. I did offer.”
“Yeah, but I’ve seen my friends act like children, treat their girlfriend like a glorified mother. I don’t want to be like that.”
“You aren’t,” you reassured, “I promise.”
He smiled wryly, “Let me know if I am, yeah?”
“I will, don’t worry.”
-
A week later found you and Rafe sitting on the floor, side by side, backs leaning against the couch. He had a key spread out between the two of you, and you had a stack of exams handed in by two sections of the class. He had an even thicker stack of essays in one hand, and a blue pen in the other.
“Why blue?” you asked, twirling your own black pen in your fingers.
“Hmm?” he mumbled, looking over at you.
“Blue pen instead of black or red, why?” you asked again.
“Oh,” he smirked, “Ole Miss blue.”
“You,” your jaw dropped, “I hate you.”
“You so don’t. I’d even go as far to say you love me.”
“You know I do, please don’t act slick. You’re an MSU student now.”
“Uh huh, only two years compared to five at Ole Miss.”
“Grade your essays, I don’t want to talk to you,” you huffed, faking annoyance, and turned up the quiet music playing through the speaker.
He dropped his head back against the couch and whined, “These papers are so bad though. Like they barely even tried.”
“I’m sure they did, babe, but you’re used to graduate level writing now.”
“No,” he shoved one in your face, a strand of hair falling over his furrowed brow, “read this.”
Grabbing his wrist, you pulled it a few inches from your face to read. He stared at you as you scanned, and made a triumphant noise when you squinted,
“There are a few mistakes,” you mumbled.
“Generous,” he added, sounding smug.
“Don’t make fun of kids, they’re barely 18.”
“They’re assholes,” he corrected you, “like I knew it was a mostly freshman class, but goddamn. I hope I wasn’t this annoying back then.”
“You probably were. I mean, you were barely tolerable when you and I met.”
“No, I was relatively mature, I just didn’t know how to express emotion in a normal way.”
You put a hand on his shoulder and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, “You’ve come a long way.”
Rafe’s cheeks went a little red, and you cooed at him. He pushed your face away from his and muttered, “Grade the exams. You’re a menace.”
-
“Hey, sweetheart,” Rafe asked three nights before his last exam.
“Mhmm?” you answered, half asleep.
“Do we have Christmas plans this year?”
“Don’t think so, why?”
“I wasn’t sure if we were going to your parents’ house.”
“Haven’t talked to my mom in a while,” you frowned, “you think I should call her?”
“Up to you.”
“No, you’re part of this decision too. I know you’re exhausted, so if you don’t want to travel, we won’t.”
He frowned, “You can still go.”
“And leave you alone on Christmas?” He shrugged, not meeting your eye, and you pushed yourself up, staring down at him, “Rafe, you know I wouldn’t, right?”
“I mean, we’ve only been together for a year,” he mumbled.
“Not quite yet,” you corrected, absentmindedly, “but still, you’re important to me.”
“Well, in that case, call your mom, we’ll make the trip.”
“Are you sure? Why don’t you take a few days to think it over. I know you’ve never met them in person before. Doing it on a holiday would be a bit overwhelming.”
He laughed, “Yeah, I guess it would.”
“Sleep now, get back to me.”
“Fine.”
-
The afternoon of Rafe’s last final, you walked into his apartment to hear Christmas music blasting. Your boyfriend was sprawled out on the couch surrounded by beer bottles, and he gave you a lazy wave, “Sup, mamas.”
“Hey, Rafe. How’d the test go?”
“Excellent. Now I’m celebrating.”
“I see that.”
“It’s Christmas season now.”
“Now, huh?”
“Well the tree has been decorated for two weeks now, so I could argue that your logic is flawed.”
“No no,” he held his hand up, “it’s only Christmas now that I can focus on it.”
“You given any thought to Christmas plans?” you asked.
Rafe sat up suddenly, “Yes,” he pointed at you, “what if we FaceTime your parents instead of making the long ass drive.”
“Fine with me. I talked to my mom the other day and she told us that she’d put our presents in the mail anyway. They expected this.”
He frowned, “You sure?”
“Positive.”
“Great, sounds great.”
“Great,” you joked in response.
Rafe rolled his eyes and shoved your shoulder, “Drink with me.”
“I will. Picked some stuff up this afternoon for spiked eggnog, by the way.”
“Oh fuck yes. Homemade eggnog?”
“Of course.”
He followed you to the kitchen, so close he was almost tripping over your heels, and you huffed, coming to a stop. Rafe ran into your back before stepping back, a sheepish grin on his face, “Sorry.”
“Can I trust you to help me or are you too gone right now?”
“I can help,” he nodded, doing his best to look sober.
“Fine, you’ll stir, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He stood by the stove, wooden spoon in hand, feet spread further than shoulder width apart, dropping down to your height. You measured out the milk and cream and turned the heat up, giving him a weird look, “Why are you standing like that?”
“You were humming that song that’s like do you see what I see and I don’t, so I was curious.”
“It’s a song? You don’t have to take it literally.”
“Hmm, braincells gone. Everything is literal unless specified.”
You snorted, “Stir, dumbass,” before starting to separate the egg whites from the yolks. Keeping an eye on him, you started to whisk the egg yolks, pausing to help him add in the sugar, vanilla and nutmeg when the milk started bubbling.
“Smells good,” he told you, sniffing the mixture.
“It does. You ready to whisk it in?”
“Yes ma’am.”
Rafe very carefully poured and you whisked before pouring it back into the saucepan.
“You got a thermometer?” you asked him, flipping the heat back on.
He pulled open a drawer and brandished one eagerly, clearly proud of himself for being prepared, “Fuck yeah I do.”
“Put it in, tell me when it hits 160.”
Rafe stared, eyebrows furrowed, fully focused on the number. When he told you, you flipped the heat off again and poured in the rum and brandy. Making it a bit stronger than you normally would.
“Bro,” he said, taking a spoonful, “this is incredible.”
“Thanks, bro,” you answered, bumping your hip into his.
“Oh, hip check,” he bumped back, twice as hard, knocking you off balance.
“Rafe,” you glared, stepping away to pour two glasses, “don’t make me spill or you can make another batch on your own.”
“No,” he pouted, “I could never.”
“You couldn’t, no.”
You watched, appalled, as Rafe chugged his first glass, slamming it down and wiping his mouth with the back of his other hand.
“Shit’s good,” he told you earnestly.
“We’re not at a bar, Rafe. Take it easy.”
“Nope, blackout remember?”
“Jesus Christ,” you muttered, rubbing a hand over your forehead, “pour yourself another I guess.”
Rafe leaned in for a kiss, missing your mouth and landing on your chin, but it was like he didn’t even realize before he was moving around you back to the pitcher you’d poured it in.
It didn’t take many more cups for Rafe to be totally gone, curled up with you on the couch while the live action Grinch played in the background, eyes fluttering shut every few seconds.
“Tired?” you finally whispered, when you were pretty sure there was drool on your shirt.
“Huh?” he asked, blinking rapidly, “No.”
“Sure,” you responded, amused, “let’s go get ready for bed, huh?”
You put the empty cups in the dishwasher before guiding Rafe to the bathroom to make him brush his teeth and get undressed.
“Tryna get me naked?” he asked, swaying in place as he pushed his shirt over his head lazily.
“Yeah,” you answered, rubbing moisturizer in.
Rafe followed you to bed, falling in after you, mostly on top of you, knocking the breath out of your chest.
“Jesus, Cameron,” you wheezed.
“Rafe is fine,” he mumbled into your neck, and was out like a light a few seconds later.
You sighed, squirming under him to try and get comfortable before falling asleep yourself.
~
day 7 of @obxmermaid‘s holiday challenge: spiked eggnog or cider
#ole miss rafe#rafe cameron#rafe cameron x reader#rafe cameron x you#rafe cameron fic#rafe obx#rafe outer banks#outer banks#outer banks fic#obxmermaidholiday#college rafe
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Because Two People Got Drunk: 32
Series Masterlist
Chapter 32
A/N: I finished this kind of quickly and wanted to get it out so I didn’t re-read it, So I hope it’s okay. Italics indicates flashback.
Summary: You and Fred adjust to a home life with three kids, and attend Sidney and Kathy’s wedding.
Warning: Drinking, swearing, smut, oral sex (m+f) receiving
Word Count: 5800
“Hey” you smile wrapping your arms around Kathy.
“Hey come in” she smiles pulling to the hotel room. You walk in seeing the five other bridesmaids and a bottle of champagne already empty on the table. A couple of the girls have face masks on, laughing about something; others are sitting on the couch with half empty glasses. Tomorrow is Sidney and Kathy’s wedding, being a bridesmaid you are staying with the group for a relaxing night before all the festivities begin first thing in the morning.
“You must be so happy to get away for a night” one of the girls says to you, Kathy passing you a red solo cup with champagne.
Tonight is the first night you are without the kids, and its Fred’s first time watching the three of them for a night alone. You chuckle slightly “yeah I feel bad for Fred” you say taking a sip.
“You don’t have to lie to us” Kathy says smirking over her cup.
You smile and chuckle “okay I kind of feel bad for him but I’m also super happy to be away and have a night off. A night with an entire bed to myself, it is going to be amazing.”
“And no diapers or someone puking on you” one of the girls jokes causing everyone to laugh.
The twins have been home for almost 5 weeks and it has been just as crazy as you imagined. You haven’t left Fred alone with the three of them for more than a couple hours at a time; not because you don’t think he can handle them but because you feel bad given how crazy it has been. That is until three weeks ago.
“Freddie” you call walking out to the living room. Fred is lying shirtless on the couch, Noah resting against his chest and Lucas sleeping in his arm. Fred doesn’t respond and you walk further in “shhh daddy’s sleeping” Oliver calls from the floor playing with a puzzle, causing you to smile placing your groceries on the counter.
You had some errands to run and left Fred alone with the three boys for the first time. You felt bad leaving but Fred said he would be fine, but you remember the time you were alone with them and how terribly it went. Fred reassured you everything would be fine so you headed out.
You had a dentist appointment and a hair cut in preparation for the wedding. After your haircut you checked your phone not seeing any notifications and went to get some groceries; but you didn’t notice you had accidentally put your phone on flight mode; preventing calls and texts from getting through.
Your smile quickly fades as you scan the room taking in what has unfolded during your absence. Dishes and bottles were pilled all over the counter; Fred’s shirt is thrown over the back of a barstool. You see some vomit staining his blue t-shirt and chuckle lightly. Oliver has a million toys strewn across the floor his shirt nowhere in sight.
You walk over to Oliver, dodging the blocks scattered around the floor and kiss his forehead “you good for daddy while I was gone?” you ask softly and he nods not looking up from his puzzle.
Your eyes shift to the couch, soft snores leaving his mouth and he has some dried vomit in his hair. You carefully pull Lucas from his arm and Fred doesn’t move. You walk across the room and put him in his baby swing turning it on a soft setting.
When you pick up Noah Fred stirs and his eyes flutter open “hey” he mumbles through a raspy dry voice.
“What happened to his clothes?” you ask eyeing to Noah who is just in a diaper.
“He had a um…incident” he mumbles rubbing his eyes. “Diaper, poop” he pops his hands open to mimic an explosion. “After cleaning him in the sink I never managed to get him some new clothes.”
You sit beside him on the couch bouncing Noah in your arms trying not to laugh, but secretly thankful you missed it. “Lucas projectile vomited all over me” he groans rolling on his side while you brush his hair out of his eyes. “Oliver had something, I don’t even know. He picked up on the stress or wanted attention, I don’t know. He had a meltdown; threw his toys around spilt lunch on himself and the floor. Twins were screaming bloody murder, it was a fucking disaster.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” you ask watching his eyes close again feeling extremely guilty being gone for so long.
“I did, it went right to voicemail, texts undelivered. I figured you just wanted to enjoy your time away” he laughs.
“Sorry babe” you respond lightly placing a soft kiss on his forehead.
“It’s okay, I just don’t remember newborns being this tiring” he mumbles rising up on his elbow. His eyes go wide while he takes in the disaster in front of him..
“Last time we were younger. There was also only one baby then” you respond laying him back on the couch.
“Calling me old babe?” he laughs eyes closing. You kiss his forehead and place a blanket over him “no never” you joke smiling at him. ”Go have a nap I’ll clean up and make dinner.”
“Babe don’t leave me again” he mumbles which causes tears to prick the corner of your eyes; guilt washing over you. You shoot him a soft smile and stand up to get some clothes for Noah.
Since that day three weeks ago neither of you have left the other alone for an extended period of time. That is until now; he reassured you he would be fine, having a few more weeks to adjust to having three kids. You promised to make sure your phone wasn’t on airplane mode and he promised to message you if something happened. But you honestly doubt he would call you tonight, the night before the wedding unless the house was on fire.
A few hours later you are in your pyjamas in your room alone, you want to just curl up under the duvet and wait until the morning light filters in through the window but you know you shouldn’t. You pull your phone out Facetiming Freddie.
“Hey babe” he mumbles. The screen is dark for a second while you wait for him to turn on a lamp. He presses his eyes closed, gently rubbing the sleep from them before squinting at the bright lights.
“We’re you sleeping?” you ask. You look to the clock and it reads 11:06 and you feel a tinge of guilt.
“Yeah well looking after three babies for almost 8 hours gets can be exhausting” he sighs resting his phone against the pillow. “Fell asleep at like 9:30.”
“Sorry go back to bed” you say softly “I’ll see you tomorrow anyways.”
“No I want to hear about your night of freedom” he laughs. “You girls do anything crazy?”
“Room service, mani/pedi’s, face masks, champagne” you say smiling.
“Sounds really nice” he yawns eyes struggling to stay open.
“It is, now I have this king sized bed all to myself” you respond.
“It sucks I miss you in this bed” he whines.
“I’d miss me too” you giggle into the phone.
The corners of Fred’s mouth curl up, “drunk babe?” he laughs.
“We didn’t drink a lot with the wedding tomorrow and everything” you explain, a hiccup coming out of your mouth. You laugh a little bit “maybe I am a bit” you reply and Fred laughs back into the phone.
“I like slightly drunk (Y/N)” he says seductively. “Drunk (Y/N) is fun.”
You grin into the screen and talk a little bit longer, he tells you about his night with the boys. You tell him more about the night with the girls, your buzz from the champagne making you extra talkative. You notice Fred is quiet and see his eyes are shut, having fallen asleep holding the phone. You chuckle and hang up, quickly falling into a deep sleep.
“Oh we’re having kids right away, by this time next year I want there to be a baby” Kathy says from her chair getting her hair done. Sarah the maid of honour walks around handing out some mimosas to everyone before sitting down for her hair.
“I’m legit getting my IUD out 5 hours before we leave for our honeymoon, we aren’t messing around” she says taking a sip.
“Oh I need to get mine” you say quietly, with how busy the past few weeks have been you forgot to make an appointment.
Kathy all but chokes on her mimosa “what do you mean you need to get yours?”
You turn your head meeting her gaze not realizing she heard you. You feel all eyes on you while the hair stylists continue quietly working on your hair. “I’ve just been so busy the past month or so, I completely forgot to make an appointment. Three babies are a lot, were constantly busy.”
“And you think four will be easier?” she scolds from beside you. “Are you trying to get pregnant again!?”
“God no, we are done, we decided pretty soon after finding out it was twins we were done” you saw laughing.
“Then why aren’t you on birth control? You guys are obviously very fertile” Sarah jokes taking a sip from her glass.
“Well the plan was for me to get an IUD after giving birth, but after the emergency C that didn’t happen. But we’ve been so busy since the twins came home; I mean we barely have time for sex.” That part isn’t a lie; you would only need one hand to count how many times you have had sex. Lucas and Noah are on opposite schedules during the night, so when you get one to sleep, you get about 2 hours or so before the other wakes up. Between the limited sleep and chasing a rambunctious toddler who has been boycotting nap time it has led to you and Fred spending most nights actually sleeping instead of tangled in the sheets.
You get some suspicious glances from the girls “a couple nights ago we were getting ready for bed and Fred came up behind me in the bathroom kissing my neck. I finished my routine and walked into the bedroom less than ten minutes later and he was snoring on top of the sheets. It’s pretty common in our house” you laugh.
“Kay, but Oliver took one time” Kathy says.
“Yeah but I’m breast feeding, it’s 99% effective until they are 6 months. I will get an IUD but until then my doctor says we’re protected.” you reply smiling. The women drop it and continue with casual conversation while you finish getting ready.
“You look stunning” Fred says finding you after the ceremony at the fountain outside the venue. The entire wedding party and family members are scattered around in various conversations while the pictures are taken. His hands rest on your waist he leans down to kiss your cheek.
Kathy picked out a navy spaghetti strap dress with a deep v-shaped neckline, the fabric gathers just above your waist. There is a slit coming up your leg, stopping high on your thigh. You have a natural look for makeup complete with nude lips and gold eyes. You have a braid in your hair creating a crown around the back; it then is pulled into an updo at the back of your head with a few loose curls framing your face. Your hair being held back by a million bobby pins shows off the cut of your dress.
“Thanks babe” you respond smiling. You run your hands over his suit jacket “you look amazing too” you rise slightly on your heels to kiss him on the lips. He is wearing a new crisp burgundy suit with a black skinny tie.
“Ok, I look good, but have you seen yourself? I’ll have to thank Kathy later” he jokes placing a hand on your lower back. “This dress babe, absolutely stunning” he leans down to place another kiss on your lips when you get interrupted.
“(Y/N) we need you for a picture” Sarah calls causing Fred to groan and pull away from you.
“Guess I’ll just have to stare at you for the next few hours” he brings his lips to the side of your face “and think of what I’ll do once you’re out of that dress.” He pulls away smirking at you and walking away from you, you feel some wetness pool between your legs. You take a couple deep breaths before joining the group for pictures.
The rest of the wedding goes off without a hitch, throughout the dinner you feel Fred staring at you from his table across the venue. Every time you catch him staring he smiles at you and turns his attention away briefly, only to bring it back a few minutes later. You shake your head at him slightly; your eyes go wide when he licks his lips with his eyes locked on you.
“You know the entire ceremony all I was thinking about was what you’re going to look like in a wedding dress” he whispers hand sliding onto your lower back dancing slowly to the music.
You smile looking past him but turn to meet his gaze “I mean it” he says kissing your forehead “I can’t wait until it’s our wedding.”
“Want to push it to next year?” you ask while he spins you back into his hard chest. You had been discussing taking two years for the wedding just so you aren’t rushed and don’t have to pull time away from your family to get everything done.
“Think we can get everything done in time? Won’t be too stressful for us” he’s holding you close; you can smell his cologne causing your breath to catch in your throat.
“Yeah I was looking at places, and this one castle has a planner that will help coordinate most of the stuff” you respond. “They do the food, alcohol, décor and have an in house photographer and videographer.”
He turns to look at you slightly confused “didn’t know there were any castles in North America.”
“Oh I was thinking Denmark” you say smiling up at him.
Fred stops dancing looking down at you “you want to get married in Denmark?”
“Yeah” you smile. “It’s so beautiful there, and it’s where you’re from.”
“And you’re from Canada; there are a lot of beautiful places there. You don’t want to get married there?” he asks.
“Canada doesn’t have castles, besides we can leave the boys at your moms and go on our honeymoon” you say causing a large grin to cross his face while he resume dancing.
“So Denmark, next summer” he repeats with a smile on his face. You nod in agreeance feeling Fred’s lips press against yours; you release his arm sliding a hand up to the back of his neck. You open your mouth to deepen the kiss. You feel Fred lean forward, tilting you back your other hand gripping the back of his neck. Your moans are swallowed by the kiss, his hand sliding slightly lower to your ass where it stays for a few more songs.
You see the other guests making their way to the roof and follow the crowd. You lean your head back onto Fred’s chest, his hand resting on your stomach. You tilt your head to the sky, watching as it lights up in a colourful display. Fred’s thumb gently rubs circles on your stomach, a soft sigh leaving your lips while you watch the fireworks.
“I love you” Fred whispers in your ear part way through the show “I’m so lucky to have you.”
You turn around in his grip, wrapping your arms around him under his jacket resting your head on his chest. A slight shiver courses through your body from the cool night air, arms tightening against his body. Fred pulls away and pulls his jacket off and drapes it over your shoulders. You tilt your head, your gaze shifting from the fireworks to Fred’s eyes.
The colours in the sky reflecting off his eyes while he smiles down at you. The heels you are wearing help to close the gap, but you still have to lift up slightly to press your lips to his. One of Fred’s hand rests on your back inside his jacket, the other gripping the back of your neck. It runs slightly into your hair getting caught in the curls and bobby pins currently holding it in place.
You open your mouth for him, his tongue sliding in. Your hips involuntarily arch forward into his touch, hands sliding up his stubbled chin. His hand on your back slides down giving your ass a firm squeeze causing you to pull away slightly with your draw dropping open,.
“Relax my jacket is long enough nobody can see” he mumbles bringing his lips closer to yours again. You can see the half smile tugging at the sides of his mouth when his lips come crashing back against yours.
“How long do we have to stay” you mumble into the kiss.
You hear Fred groan and feel his half erection pressing into your stomach. He pulls his left hand away to look at the watch wrapped around it “its only 11” he responds causing a loud groan to slip from your lips. Luckily the firework display muffles you from nearby guests.
“We have a very comfortable bed waiting for us” you continue resting your hand on his chest feeling some moisture that has collected from the dancing throughout the night.
“A bed where we can sleep uninterrupted” he jokes “no kids.”
You laugh turning your gaze back to the firework show as they prepare for the finale. “Sleeping in, breakfast in bed” he groans under his breath, you clench your legs
A few hours later after many more drinks you are finally walking into the hotel elevator. As soon as the door closes Fred is on you, hoisting you up with ease. He presses your back to the wall, your legs naturally wrapping around him. His hand slides to the bottom of your thigh, while his other to your thigh where your leg slit has left you exposed. He runs his hand up your skin stopping when he hits your hip bone. His thumb plays gently with the cloth covering your core his mouth peppering kisses along your exposed collarbone only stopping when the door dings open.
He sets you down, adjusting his jacket while you fix the fabric that has shifted from your breasts. He leads you down the hall holding the door open for you. You step out of your shoes and Fred immediately loosens his tie pulling it over his head, throwing it along with his jacket on the floor. Fred turns and bends down throwing you over his shoulder while making his way to the bed.
He throws you onto the bed a light squeal escapes from you. You hear his shoes be kicked to the side, next is a belt buckle clanging on the hardwood floor and last his vest is discarded on the ground. You rest on your forearms watching as he undoes a couple buttons from his neck. You swallow the lump in your throat feeling wetness pool between your legs.
You think about how you could stare at Fred all night while he rolls the sleeves of his dress shirt up, showing off his muscular forearm. Before you have a chance to stare much longer Fred crawls over you locking you in a hungry and passionate kiss. He bends your knee his hand running up and down the exposed skin from your slit.
He crawls down you climbing inside the bottom of your dress hooking your legs over his shoulders in the process. He slowly arches your back off the bed pulling your underwear down your legs. You feel him alternate between kissing and sucking the side of your thigh, while a deep exhale leaves your lips.
He nips your skin slowly approaching the area you need him most, his beard rubbing against your folds. He turns his head, warm breath blows against you coming closer to you. His nose presses into your clit first, followed by his mouth gently attaching to you. He flattens his tongue and licks a stripe up you, your head falling back into the pillow.
He groans against you “you’re so wet baby” he mumbles placing long licks, cleaning up what has been pooling all night.
“You’ve seen yourself right” you moan while he dip his tongue inside your walls. You feel the corners of his lips curl up at your comment licking deep inside you. Your heels dig into his back; you reach down to grab his hair but are met with the chiffon fabric of your dress. You bring them down to your side and grip the bedding his nose digging in deeper into your clit.
You buck your hips up towards his face, his hands slide over your hips pulling you down closer to his face. You start rocking your hips against his face and tongue moaning loudly. He flicks his tongue sucking against your clit.
“Oh fuckkkkk” you moan loudly. Too loudly; feeling his tongue hitting inside your sweet spot. He throws his arm over your hips pinning you to the mattress; he rolls his head around in circles, grunting and moaning into your pussy. You feel your orgasm building when he curls his tongue inside you. He brings up two fingers sliding them in and opening you up further moaning at the taste of you.
Your legs tighten around his head holding him closer to you while you clench around his tongue. He works you through your orgasm continuing the pace until you stop. You relax against him when you are finished and he pulls his tongue out all the way cleaning you up. You expect him to stop but he continues to lick up and down your pussy, flicking at your clit when he gets to it. His fingers curl in hitting your sweet spot he hits it a few times tongue flicking against your clit. He brings you to another quick orgasm, this one so strong your legs shaking around him. Your knuckles are white and you tremble; his tongue still working you through it.
He pulls his head away slowly, his beard grazing along your thighs. You shiver at the contact and the feeling of your sensitive cut being released.
“You need more clothes like this” he says head popping out from your dress “the leg slit is very useful.”
You tilt your head laughing while your grip eases on the bedding. “I’ll be sure to add some in to my wardrobe, flowy dresses are very convenient with newborns.”
Fred crawls up towards you, juices glistening off his beard a smile plastered on your face. “Good” he mumbles bringing his lips to yours. You moan tasting yourself on him and feeling his painfully hard member pressing into your stomach.
He pushes your straps down your shoulders and he gently lifts your back feeling around for a zipper. “It’s on the side” you whisper turning slightly to allow him better access. You hear the zipper while he slowly drags it down you helping you out of it. He throws it over to the side, falling off the chair onto the floor.
His mouth immediately attached to your breast sucking on the nipple. You bring your hands down to his waist fumbling with the button as his thumb reattaches to your clit. A loud gasp leaves your lips having not recovered from your previous two orgasms. He chuckles mumbling something against your exposed flesh while you try to focus through the pleasure to push his pants down his thighs.
His mouth switches to the other breast; you bring your hands up to address his shirt. You lift a leg trying to push his pants down with your foot. Fred’s thumb presses harder into your clit causing a loud moan to leave your lips.
“Freddie” you whine unable to concentrate on stripping him. His head pops up “yeah babe?” he asks knowing exactly what you want.
“You need to stop so I can take your clothes off.”
He just smiles at you and pulls away resting on his knees. He undoes the final two buttons and pushes his dress shirt off his body; you see beads of sweat rolling down his chest. He pushes his pants and boxers of his legs his cock springing free. A light moan escapes your lips watching it slap against his stomach. It’s painfully hard, head glistening with precum your mouth waters thinking about wrapping your lips around it
“You can’t” he whispers following your gaze. A pout comes across your lips “just a little” you whine back.
He groans and falls onto his back shaking his head at you “just a taste” he responds bending an arm behind his head. “Thanks” you hum adjusting yourself between his legs.
You wrap your lips around the tip, and slowly take more and more into your mouth until he is hitting the back of your throat. You can hear Fred moaning, you look up at him through your lashes half expecting him to cum then and there from the sounds he is making. You swirl your tongue around him, running it up the vein on the underside, he attempts to grab your hair but is met by a mess of hairspray and pins.
You rise up leaving just the tip remaining in your mouth. You smirk up at him and bring your mouth down, your nose hitting his pelvis. His hips lift off the bed while you do this a few more times. Finally you feel him grip your hair and pull you off him, saliva dripping down your chin.
“I said a taste” he growls pushing you onto your back. You feel him poke at your entrance and slowly push into you. You take a sharp inhale feeling him stretch your walls from the limited sex you have had with him recently.
He continues to gently push in you, staring at you and watching your expression the entire time while you accommodate him. He goes slowly but with determination, gently thrusting back and forth as he works his way deeper inside you. Your hands find the back of his neck, gripping his chain pulling his forehead down to yours.
The pain slowly turns into pleasure while he continues his gentle but persistent pace. His forehead is glued to yours, his brown eyes never leaving yours. Each thrust going slightly deeper than the last, Fred biting his lower lip the entire time.
You can hear how wet you are every time he thrusts into you, finally he bottoms out. His pelvis connects with yours, the head of his cock pressing up against your cervix, just gently pushing it. He softly grunts feeling your warm walls holding him in; muttering under his breath. "So sexy …Fuck..Milking my cock".
Your legs wrap around his waist, a hand sliding down his neck to his bicep. Fred picks up the pace, your nails digging crescent shaped marks in his muscles. He moves your legs so they are against his shoulders, getting even deeper inside you. You turn into a writhing mess under him, your third orgasm swiftly building. Fred snaps his hips, fucking into you faster and faster.
Your hips arch off the bed, the room being filled with your loud moans. Fred smirks knowing exactly where you are thrusting faster as you cum for him. You clench around him holding him tightly inside you, walls fluttering around his cock.
And then, Fred groans, and you are met with his familiar warmth filling you up. He gives you a few more slow thrusts before releasing your legs and he practically melts on top of you. You lightly rake your hand over his sweaty back while he moans softly, your heart rates slowly returning to normal.
His soft moans turn into soft snores. He is fully on top of you, his dick still resting inside of your walls. If it wasn’t for the exhaustion you would have woken him up, but you know how much he needs the sleep so you allow your eyes to close using the man above you as a blanket.
You are the first to wake up in the morning, Fred now lying beside you on his back. At some point you both made your way under the sheets which are hanging low on his hips. You cautiously crawl out of bed, careful to not wake the sleeping man beside you.
You return from the bathroom a few minutes later having pulled out a bunch of the pins in your hair and notice the sheet had slipped down past his waist. His beautiful cock right there on display.
You consider waking him up in a way that has been appreciated in the past but decide to let him sleep a little longer. You walk around the bed lifting the sheet and crawling back in. Fred feels the bed shift and his eyes flutter open, you lying on your arm looking at him.
“Morning” he mumbles through a hoarse voice.
“Hey” you whisper brushing the hair from his forehead.
“What time is it?” he asks rolling onto his side to look at you. He smiles, his brown eyes opening completely to look at you. You reach for your phone but it’s off causing you to groan and rise up to look at the clock on the table beside him. “Fuck your beautiful” he says bringing his thumb to rub up and down your arm.
You go to smile until you see the time “fuck Fred it’s after 11.” You quickly throw the sheet off to get out of the bed but he easily grips you pulling you back down to the bed.
“Babe” you whine “checkout is 10.”
“Well that’s long gone” he laughs. You try to push him away but he firmly holds you to his chest. He chuckles at your meek attempt to free yourself “it’s not a big deal, we’ll just have to pay for another night.” Fred rolls on top of you, his entire weight pinning you below him.
“But Christie” you start. You only have her booked until 12, and you still have to pack and do the 30 min drive across the city.
“I scheduled her til 2” he mumbles lips attaching to your neck. Before you can process what he said or respond there is a knock on the door forcing him to pull away. He stands up and throws his dress shirt your way for you to cover up with while he quickly pulls his dress pants up his large thighs.
He waits for you to do some of the buttons and adjust the blankets around your waist then opens the door. You hear some muffled talking and some creaking and are met by a man wheeling in a table with breakfast. His eyes go wide seeing you in bed, Fred’s white dress shirt doing little to hide your perked nipples. His eyes linger a little causing your cheeks to heat up; when Fred clears his throat causing the man to excuse himself and leave the room.
“You planned this” you exclaim hearing the door shut.
“That guy couldn’t have been any more obvious” he ignores you walking over to pour you some coffee.
“Fred” you say grinning at him waiting for a response.
“Yes I obviously planned this. He pours some syrup over the french toast and brings a piece to your mouth. You open slightly the fork sliding between your lips. You moan, your mouth being filled with amazing flavours.
“When I booked the hotel I made it for three nights. I actually considered trying to get you stay, but I knew there was no way you would leave the boys for three nights.” You smile at him over your mug loving that he knows you that well. As much as you have enjoyed the 36 or so hours away you can’t wait to get back to your sons.
“That and I felt bad for Christie if we had of left her alone for two nights” he laughs biting a piece of bacon.
“I figured we both could use a day to sleep in” he says bringing more french toast to you. “So I ordered us a late breakfast.”
“And my phone” you respond knowing you had an alarm set, picking up a fork and dig in to the hash browns.
“You put it in my pocket and wandered off to the bar. I just turned it off” he shrugs while you laugh. He places a quick kiss on your cheek “have to admit it was a good plan.”
He quickly returns his attention to the breakfast shovelling in a few more bites. You laugh resting your head on his shoulder “yeah you’re pretty awesome” you respond setting your mug back on the table. You feel a pin digging into the side of your skull and pull away, walking to the mirror you pull out the few you had forgotten earlier.
You hear the clatter of cutlery on the table, and Fred wheels it a few feet out of the way. His arm grips around your waist pulling a squeal from your mouth “you look incredible in my shirt” he groans pulling you to the bed. His thumb grips your hip while he bends you over the foot of the bed, his pants quickly landing in a pile at his feet.
You press your hips back feeling his erection press into your ass. He pushes his shirt up exposing you to him, he brings a hand firmly to your ass. You groan feeling pain radiate in your cheek and wetness build in your core. His hard cock grazes your folds soaking up some of your juices before he slams in to you.
Unlike last night you aren’t given time to adjust. Your ass is immediately met by his stomach, him pressed fully inside of you while he begins a fast pace. Your fists clenched on the sheet, your pussy clenches around his cock. You moan loudly, screaming into the duvet and pushing yourself back onto him.
Wedding look:
Next Chapter
#frederik andersen#Freddie Andersen#fred andersen#frederik andersen x reader#frederik andersen fic#frederik andersen smut#freddie andersen smut#freddie andersen x reader#freddie andersen fic#fred andersen smut#fred andersen x reader#Fred Andersen Fic#nhl smut#nhl fic#because two people got drunk#my writing
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Alright. I need to scream into the void because it is 5 AM and the anxiety is eating me alive.
So, in the tradition that is going on now, I am not happy at my job. My boss has done a lot of really messed up stuff, even before her staff all left. Here's some of them. Note: I am the assistant manager, with no manager above me.
1. When I started, we had monthly morning meetings to make sure everyone was on the same page (I started November 2019). Because of the pandemic, I understand why we stopped. So, 2021 rolls around and I was extremely excited to start those back up. Everytime I would tell her to schedule one (because I'm not in charge of the schedule), she would find some excuse not to do it. It is now September 2021, and we have had 1 (one) meeting, which she wouldn't really let me direct.
2. She won't come into her own store unless something huge is happening. She has told me on multiple occasions that she has to have employees to run the store because she can't always be there. Note, this is a small business. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked if I'm the owner because she. Does. Not. Come. In. She (hopefully) comes in once a week to bring us money and then bails.
3. Because of that, I have basically been running the store. I have had former co-workers tell people that stayed past them, "There's only so much responsibility [the owner] can put on [AspenFlower17] without just handing her the keys to the store." I have essentially gone gray enough at this point that people have suggested I just dye my hair gray. I'm going to be 26 next month... That's messed up.
4. I almost hit my breaking point a LONG time ago. After having a shift with her that left me in tears, I was ready to turn in my two weeks but then I found CBD for my anxiety. I stuck it out. When it got bad again, we hired a lovey, lovey girl who has turned into a friend for me. Because of her, I stayed a whole other year because I didn't hate work anymore. CBD doesn't help me anymore at work I'm so stressed. I no longer get to work with this coworker.
She also promoted me to assistant manager while we already had one and told me not to say anything to the current assistant manager because she would talk to her. A month or two later, we all had a meeting together, and THAT'S WHEN SHE TOLD HER!!! So, she left shortly thereafter because she felt like we were sneaking around behind her back, and I honestly don't blame her.
She also did not come in and work during covid even though we were open the whole time.
5. She has just, straight up lied about me to my staff. So, we had a lengthy discussion about what we could go for the staff to help combat burnout. I suggested we do a breakfast that wasn't a meeting just so everyone had time to hang out together. She agreed and when I mentioned going to a local restaurant, she then countered by essentially saying that we need to keep it cheap and to get stuff from the grocery store. So, I told her what day I was going to do it and then that we would have a meeting the next week. She said, "Okay. Well, mornings don't work well for me, so you just do it, and the store will just pay you back for it." Because she has a communication issue I had run into before, I verified the date and that I was okay to do it. She said yes, do it.
So day of the breakfast rolls around. It... Didn't go like I thought it would (partially because I was SUPER tired) but it happened. Whatever. The owner then spoke with one of the employees about how she was thinking about doing a breakfast for all of us. Said employee (who quit fairly soon there after) tells her we had already done it. The onelwer then tells her, "No... We had talked about it, but we never set anything up," and then proceeds to ask for details about it, and tells the employee we were all going to go to a restaurant and blah, blah, blah.
The staff then tells me, to which I obviously told them what actually happened, but it really kind of broke their trust with me and her because it wasn't a very good breakfast (we never had that nice one she told us about btw). I caught her in a point blank our again to me about another staff member later on, so I know they weren't lying (plus she seemed upset with me afterward for awhile). We did have the meeting though (the one we've had that I mentioned above, so... Obviously we decided on something... 👀
6. The back room is out of control and it's not my fault. So, we had a meeting with a higher up in the company (it's a franchise company, so no corporate but there is oversight) and he ran the numbers for us and told us that we need to buy more product to make our store a success (won't go into details, bit we buy products from people and then resale them). So I did. I pushed the staff to buy more stuff and low and behold, we had one of the best years we've EVER had, since the owner opened.
But, with more product comes more back stocking. And when I tell you our back room absolutely EXPLODED. It became a stressful place to be and I told the owner we needed more bins (which is what we put back stock in) when it started getting bad. She told me, "No. You need to make sure the bins we have are full and you need to stock more."
Well, about this time, we physically were not able to stock more because she didn't tell me it was clearance time and we were out if hangers, which I also communicated to her, and she brought us like 2 boxes (which doesn't do much). But I did everything I could to make that happen. I spent a ton of time combining bins and just trying to make it work in general and it wasn't working.
So, she comes into the back one day and just... Panics and reads me the right act for not telling her sooner that we needed bins... So I tell her, "But I did, back before it got this bad. You told me to just combine bins and put stuff out, but I can't do that because I can't because I'm out of hangers," and she says, "But I didn't know it was this bad..." But then later redacted that to say I never told her. So, she brings bins (BECAUSE SHE HAD SONE THE ENTIRE TIME), we... Kind of get the backroom manageable, and she tells me, "Now, if it ever gets bad again, you have to let me know. This is why communication is so important."
So, we use all the bins and are BARELY able to keep that okay. So, fast forward a couple months. The backroom is still messy and we've had... 4 people leave at this point (many because of the backroom). I have my lovely coworker come out of the back and tell me point blank, "[AspenFlower17], that backroom is stressing me out. I don't care if I have to buy them. We HAVE to get bins," so I go, "Cool. Let me text [the owner]," and so I text and tell her, "We need more bins. The staff is getting stressed out," and she texts back, "Well, I need a list if everything you have back there first," ... So I do. She then comes in and instead of working in the back, she's upfront BUYING MORE PRODUCT (she always buys a TON). Then, when I get there, she pulls me around the store, tells me everything that's wrong (note I haven't left behind the counter in we weeks because of buys), and then pulls me to the back, brings out a ton of bins for everyone to stock, and then leaves... That was the ultimate breaking point. I started enacting the exit plan I had come up with since I was already planning on leaving. We still don't have new bins btw.
7. Okay. So. I hired 3 new people. I knew one of them wasn't going to be great, bit figured the other two would be a good fit (this is around the time that everyone was leaving their jobs).
One girl, my favorite actually of the three, completely no showed on me and sent me a text quitting about it 40 mins before her shift though I didn't get it until 5 mins after she was supposed to show up because I DON'T CHECK MY PHONE AT WORK? I told the owner and said I could stay the extra two hours. She says, "Glad you're there."
Next day, I was able to spend some time in the back because, well, I needed to, and didn't get super far, but got some stuff done. I offered to stay longer but was told it was fine, even though one of my coworkers have herself dry socket and was in pain. We were short staffed because that girl quit.
So I go to my friend's house, glad the weeks over because I had the next day off. I then get a text from the coworker with dry socket asking was I actually did in the back. I tell her, getting really pissed at this point, and then she tells me something is leaking back there. So, I head BACK over after a 7 hour shift. She's freaking out and crying. My other coworker is trying to figure out the leak. In the meantime, product is getting wet. So, I stay back there and organize. We send the one with dry socket home and the other coworker is pretty pissed, says she's not staying past 8 and that I shouldn't either; the owner needs to if she wants the store to stay open. So, she texts the owner asking what to do, and doesn't get a reply. I text her, and get a reply 20 minutes later saying the earliest she can come in is 8...
So, this coworker tells me I need to leave because she's taking advantage of me and everything. I ended up staying another 4 hours. The owner was not there right at 8 (did I mention she's also late to almost EVERYTHING?) and seems put out because she had to scramble to find a baby sitter... Ummm... This is your store? And we could have closed early?
8. She's given me tons of shifts with BRAND new people and expected the store to run just fine. She won't even come into help with that.
9. So, I finally put in my two weeks on September 3rd. Work was so bad, I was starting to have suicidal thoughts. Everyone had just reached their breaking point and I was just done. I did not get a reply from her about it (I texted because of my anxiety). The next Tuesday she talked to me about it. I told her I was having suicidal thoughts and I wasn't happy. The next day we talk again, she and convinced me to stay if she made me the backstock manager, so I would only really deal with the back room and the stuff I actually enjoy (and no customers). She also told me she would handle staffing and front end stuff. I figured that would be a good thing, since that's what I've wanted since I started and it would be a full time position. The first week went fine. The second week I had time off, WHICH I REQUESTED BACK IN APRIL, and things just fell apart (partially because if another no show) and she did try to guikt trip me into coming in, which I refused.
It is the 22nd and I am not backstock manager. She has scheduled me 6 days this week and has scheduled it so she is only on the schedule twice. I still have to do staffing things. I'm still doing front end stuff, and she actually got snippy with me on Monday because she left for two hours and a new girl was whining about breaks and asking if she was coming back WHILE I WAS BUSY, so she asked if she could text the owner when she was coming back and I told her sure, whatever. The owner then calls me asking all these questions about why she had texted her and that she shouldn't have her phone on her and blah blah blah WHILE I AM LITERALLY TRYING TO HELP A CUSTOMER WHO DOESN'T SPEAK VERY GOOD ENGLISH!!! and then said, "Well, technically, I'm not on the schedule. I just came in to help you guys, so you're going to have to figure out breaks."
... What happened to you being in charge of the front?
She says I'll be in my new position in a matter of WEEKS, but won't show me anything new with it and with how this is going, I'm pretty sure, even if I do get in this new position, she's going to make me do shift leader stuff when she's short staffed again. She has had she entire staff quit on her before, so it's not like this is a new thing with her.
She doesn't complete all the tasks she's supposed to during the day and just leaves it for night crew, or if she's closing, for the next morning (because she does often open) but then doesn't get it done, again pushing it onto night crew. If we don't get done though, she'll reprimand us.
The problem is, I would just leave, but I feel really guilty about it. We are extremely short staffed and I feel like if I leave now, the store will fail and I've put so much into it, it just feels like a waste.
Everyone is telling me to get out and just leave... But... Anxiety... Plus I feel bad because I told her I'd stay.
Honestly, at this point I'm just looking for some validation that I should leave.
Oh, I also get paid $14... For an assistant manager position. Minimum wage in my state is $7.25 for reference. I also have a seasonal job that ends in October that doesn't pay well, but I enjoy.
Please... Thoughts?
#toxic workplace#sorry if this is jumbled#i kept going back and adding stuff#bad boss?#should I leave?#what should i do#work#anxious#leaving my job#help#opinion
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Break Up Blues
this has been sitting on my drive since August and I only just finished it. Oops. Anyway, post finale, Jitterbug leaving the Hotel and Big Mama.
Breaking up with Big Mama and leaving the Nexxus Hotel had been one of the hardest things in Jitterbug’s life. But she had been done with the lies, the manipulation, the disregard for life...the fact that Big Mama was still in love with Lou Jitsu and the fact she was so alright with endangering so many lives. Jitterbug sang her last song and left, glaring at Big Mama as she did. It wasn’t until she was halfway downtown did she see the hotel crash. Her gut sank...but she knew everyone she was friends with would be okay. At least...Jitterbug hoped. Repo fortunately hadn’t been caught in the orb, being out of the city on a job, and was there when she knocked on the door to his trailer.
“Have any room for a fly?” she asked. It was then and only then that tears sprung to her eyes, and Repo was quick to pull her in.
“Aw fancywings, what happened?” he asked, carefully pushing her down onto a chair. “Who do I have to repo?”
She told him everything, and made Repo promise not to do anything yet, not unless Big Mama tried anything.
“At the very least,” Repo said. “You’re staying here until you’re back on your wings, got it? Once you’re all better, you can look into getting a job in the Hidden City or something.”
Jitterbug roughly wiped her cheek and faintly smiled. “Thank you, Repo.”
“Don’t mention. And don’t worry about rent, fancywings,” Repo said, reaching over for the phone receiver. “I own the place and I’m running off grid. City ain’t getting my money. You good with Italian? I don’t have enough groceries for two.”
“That’s perfect.”
-
Two weeks later, there was another knock at Repo’s door. Repo rolled his eyes, and placed the shop paperwork down and walked over, opening the door. “This is private property and the shop’s closed. Beat it.”
“Rude!” Hypno said. The rest of their little league was with him.
“Oh shit, sorry guys,” Repo said. “Uh, come in I guess?”
“Thanks mate,” Meatsweats replied, entering with the others. “I suppose you’re wondering why we’re here.”
“Well, yeah,” Repo shrugged. “You guys don’t exactly come over for tea and crumpets.”
“Considering the events a few weeks ago, we all decided that perhaps we should all get together more often,” Hypno explained. “You know, brotherly companionship, not knowing when we may be forced to fight death sports, that all.”
“Exactly!” Warren said. Repo hadn’t even noticed him, despite him being on Hypno’s shoulder. “Hypno almost died!”
“So did I!”
“So did my brother!”
Warren only shrugged. “I’m more concerned with him.”
“So what? You guys just came over to hang out in my house?” Repo asked. “If you haven’t noticed, it's a little cramped. And where’s Todd?”
“Todd wasn’t available,” Hypno replied. “And no, we actually were thinking something along the lines of-”
“Guys night!” Ben and Carl exclaimed, snapping their claws for emphasis.
“And by guys night, we go out, raise some cain,” Meatsweats continued. “Eat, drink, be merry, steal and maim!”
“Come’on, Repo! What do you say?” Hypno asked. Repo shook his head.
“I don’t normally do that brand of skullduggery,” he replied. “Besides, I have a guest over, and I ain’t about to leave her alone.”
“Her?” Meatsweats raised a brow. “I hope we weren’t interrupting anything.”
“What?!” Repo sputtered. “No! She’s in a rough spot right now, and I’m doing her a solid.”
“Who are you even friends with besides us?” Warren asked incredulously. The answer came in the form of Jitterbug appearing, wordlessly walking by them to the fridge. She looked like hell in oversized pajamas and a pair of large headphones as she grabbed a carton of ice cream from the freezer, and high kicked the door closed before disappearing again. “Was that-”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t she in a relationship with the spider woman who kidnapped my Hypno and the rest of these people?”
“Was,” Repo explained. “Broke up with Big Mama because of everything and quit the Hotel. Y’know, before it got demolished.”
“Damn. At least she has good taste in ice cream,” Meatsweats nodded, much to the glare of everyone in the room. “What? It is sad about the situation, but she has taste that I can respect.”
“She’s barely left the trailer save for that, other than job hunting in the mystic city,” Repo replied. “But the whole thing was a personal blow.”
“Poor bug,” Ben said.
“Why don’t we take her along with us?” Hypno said. “Gives all of us a night on the town, avoids the skullduggery you don’t usually do, and gets her to have some fun.”
Repo considered it. It would be nice to take a break, and Jitterbug definitely needed a night out. “Sure, why not. But only minor, minor crime. ‘Ey Jitters!”
Jitterbug peeked out from the bedroom she had gone into, eyes going wide at the sight of everyone she had just avoided. “Oh! Yes?”
“Come’on fancywings, we’re all going for a night on the town,” Repo said.
“I don’t know, Repo,” she looked unsure of herself. “I’m not sure-”
Jitterbug yelped as her hands were grabbed, pulling her out into the main room. “Hey! Don’t tug a girl around!”
“Sorry love, but we insist you join us all,” Meatsweats said. “Besides, you’ll class this little party up.”
“It’ll be fun! We’ll paint the town red and all that,” Hypno encouraged, pulling a ring from his jacket and extending it. He held it over her head and dropped it. As it fell to the floor, Jitterbug found herself dolled up in one of her nicer dresses for going out, hair neat and make-up in order. “What do you say? You’re already dressed for it.”
“No pressure, Jitterbug,” Repo said. “But it might be more fun than eating ice cream and calling romantic leads liars.”
“Well...I am dressed for it. Hell, why not!” Jitterbug smiled. There was a group cheer as the group walked in the night, ready to take on the town.
“So where first? High speed chase downtown? Breaking and entering? Maybe getting into that glitzy place uptown?” The Shell Brothers listed in tandem.
“Le Chateau Mure?” Meatsweats said. “Impossible. It takes months in advance to get in, and we don’t all have cloaking brooches.”
“Oh, they’re mutant and yokai friendly,” Jitterbug said nonchalantly. “Big Mama and I...we used to go a lot.”
“Then maybe we should-” Repo started, but Jitterbug continued.
“But they do know my face, and I doubt they would know about the breakup…,” Jitterbug said with a smirk. “This can be my severance package from the Hotel.”
“Oh that’s devilish,” Hypno said. “Let’s do it.”
Jitterbug was right of course - the maitre d’ recognized her and showed the group to one of the nicest tables amongst the high standing yokai. It was by far the swankiest place Repo had been in besides the former Hotel Nexxus. A waiter dropped off a complimentary bottle of champagne, and Meatsweats took over pouring glasses for them. “Cheers everyone!”
“Cheers!”
Jitterbug sipped her glass, leaning back into the plush velvet of her seat, laughing along as her cohort for the night told stories and caught up on everything they’d miss since they all had last been together. It felt...normal after a few weeks of absolute chaos, and Jitterbug loved it. The champagne was refilled and an extra bottle - or two, or three - were stolen from the bar on their way out, heading towards another hotspot for the group. They walked or drove through New York, passing their pilfered bottles around save for the Meatsweats - alcohol didn’t have much effect on him anymore, and he was the one driving. With each new stop and block driven, Jitterbug felt herself grow lighter.
“Are all your nights out like this?” she laughed at one point after a run-in with the turtles. They narrowly avoided a brawl with a promise to do something lowkey for a bit.
“This is the first one,” Warren said. “So I think it’s a pretty good idea of how the rest will be, especially if you can get us into the Mur.”
“I think that might be the last time,” Jitterbug replied. “They’ll all find out soon enough about me and...her, so unless they hire me, I don’t think I’ll be able to get us back in.”
“There are worse places to work,” Hypno said, taking the last champagne bottle from the Shell Brothers. “Besides, that place has ambiance, and far better suited for your talents than the Hotel!”
“You’ve seen my shows?”
“A few, but Repo told us about them,” he replied. “Said you have a very nice voice and are good at dancing. You were being wasted working for that spider.”
“I suppose…,” Jitterbug said softly.
“Speaking of singing, and since we have to be lowkey,” Ben started to say.
“Why not karaoke? They have a few joints around here and Long Island!” Carl finished.
“We’re sticking to Manhattan,” Meatsweats said. “I am not wasting my time on the L.I.E.. And I agree to that!”
“You, karaoke?” Repo said. “That sounds a bit wild.”
“I’ll have you know I can sing! Back in my culinary school days, I was in an underground punk band and I was lead!” the former chef bragged. “Now we definitely must go, if only to show you all up!”
The cashier at the karaoke bar barely batted an eye at them, only taking their payment and handing them the room key. “Bar and kitchen menu are next to the door, bathrooms down the hall.”
“Ah, New York, what a town,” Repo shrugged as they settled in their room. “No one really gives a shit, huh?”
“I cried in Port Authority once,” Carl said. “Literally no one looked at me.”
“I stepped over a dead rat without blinking,” Warren added. “You know, back when I had legs.”
“I’m a giant pig who runs a food truck,” Meatsweats added, scrolling through the song list. “No doubt, most people in the city have seen weirder.”
“I know I have,” Jitterbug replied. “So Meatsweats, what song are you singing for us this evening?”
“Just wait and see,” he said, pressing a number into the keypad and hitting enter. A loud guitar riff began blaring from the monitor. “Watch and learn.”
-
By the end of the night, not only had they all learned that Meatsweats could sing, but Jitterbug felt the lightest she had in a very long time.
"We have to do this again," Jitterbug happily proclaimed. "I haven't had this much fun in forever!"
"Agreed," Hypno replied. "Next month sound good everyone?"
There was a cheer around the van in agreement, even from Repo. Truthfully, he had only been part way into the festivities. He was more concerned about Jitterbug and how she fared. She wasn't a villain like they were, and leaving the Hotel had hurt her more than she let on. But yet, this was the most he had seen her be herself in weeks. A little night of mischief and minor crime and karaoke.
"And you were worried they would be too much," Jitterbug laughed once they got home. "That was nice."
"Eh, they're an okay lot," Repo smirked. "I don't know about you, but I'm hitting the sack, fancywings. See ya' in the morning."
"Heh, night Bugboy."
The next morning, Jitterbug was surprised to see two messages on her phone. One from Warren about doing brunch at some point as “us bug mutants have to stick together and all that” which she happily responded with a “yes.” The other was a voicemail from Le Chateau Mure: they had recently, as in the past twelve hours, discovered her real situation with the Hotel Nexxus and Big Mama. But instead of forcing the bill at her, there was instead a job offer for their lounge.
She had never been so quick to say yes. Her first night singing a few days later had her little mutated cohort in the front row seats on a legitimate claim. She felt her brightest under their lights, happily singing and dancing with a few band members, some of which had followed her once they heard the news. Jitterbug felt herself for the first time in a long time. Not Anais, not the Jitterbug of the Hotel Nexxus on Big Mama’s arm and payroll, just Jitterbug. And she was happy.
It didn’t take long for Big Mama to hear about Jitterbug’s new venue, and once she had healed enough to walk in on her own feet, secured her reservation. Not her usual table at Mur, no, but one in the back, out of sight from the stage and other patrons. No one was to serve her or offer her anything at the table until Jitterbug had finished her set. As soon as she bowed, all glitter, gold and song, Big Mama slipped away from the table. The bouncers parted from her with a glare, and she wove her way backstage until she came to Jitterbug’s dressing room.
There was no pause in her hand as she knocked, once again hearing the bug’s voice ring out an allowance for entry. Big Mama opened the door as Jitterbug turned with a grin, and time paused for a moment. Jitterbug stood, her arms crossing over her middle. “I see you’re better now.”
“I see you have a new stagelly,” Big Mama replied. “You certainly owned it.”
“That’s my job.”
Silence fell.
“Why are you here, Big Mama? Going to buy the place and start terrorizing New York for money?”
“Pfft, please. We both saw how that turned out,” Big Mama scoffed. “I lost my hotel and was hospitalized. Not to mention-”
“Not to mention Lou Jitsu almost got killed because of it,”
“Bugaboo-”
Jitterbug held up a hand to stop her. “I’m not your bugaboo anymore. I can deal with you still having feelings for Lou. Hell, if you had spoken to me about it, I would have been fine with it. It’s Lou Jitsu. I had a crush on him and I barely swing that way. But it was the fact that you hid that from me. Hid how you treated him. How we never officially made anything...official, for us. And then everything that you did to the city…”
She pressed a hand to her forehead. “I can’t do that. Not anymore. I prefer this life now. Don’t get me wrong. I had fun. You gave me a start fresh out of my mutation. But that’s over now.”
“Then I suppose I have really nothing to discuss,” Big Mama replied.
“I suppose not,” Jitterbug agreed. “I’m...I’m glad you’re better. I hope you enjoyed the show.”
She received no response. Big Mama had left as quickly as she came. Jitterbug decided that it was for the best not to draw anything out further. And yet, she still wore the silver dress she had received, all that time ago after her first show, glittering and proud, for the next set of the night.
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Eyes of the Ocean
Anita watched Evan swim away, she walked over to quietly lean on the railing next to Eione. The young woman was regarding the water with a wistful expression on her pretty face. “He doesn’t need that snorkel anymore, does he?”
“No, he doesn’t,” Eione murmured, the glint of her eyes just shy of being human if you knew what to look for, and the slightest glitter of scales on her skin when she trailed her fingers in the water longingly. “The kiss takes a few days to wear off, but I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t find him fast enough to save him without it.”
She shifted from one foot to another like the deck was hot under her bare feet, but Anita knew better. Eione was itching to get into the water and she didn’t have time before Evan got back.
“He probably won’t even notice unless he almost drowns again in the next week. He’s a professional. I hope his luck isn’t actually that bad,” Anita teased her, as she always did when Eione had to kiss someone to get them out of a bad situation. “But hey, the kiss of a mermaid, there are worse ways to not die.”
“It’s not really supposed to be for saving people,” Eione stammered. She was a little shy, and her few relationships had all been with people who already knew what she was. “I—I just found him, I wasn’t even sure if he was alive, but his eyes were open a little and…”
“Sweetie, I don't think he would be mad that you used your superpowers to save his life.” Anita cut her off with a grin. “Besides, he’s cute and he likes you. You should say yes if he asks you out.”
Eione turned crimson to the collarbones and stammered something that was probably denial, but Anita wasn’t born yesterday, and she had been around for most of Eione’s romances, both male and female.
“You know, we haven’t had a cave death in a long time, thanks to you,” she added more gently and squeezed Eione’s shoulders. “Those sea caves kill people, but you’ve managed to find them so far, and even managed to avoid being seen while you were at it. Not easy.”
“Knowing the caves helps,” Eione admitted wryly. “And not needing to worry about carrying tanks the way you humans do, that helps too. There are places that are far too narrow for anyone wearing diving equipment.”
Anita chuckled wryly and let her go before she turned back to the steering console and the chest of drinks that sat next to it.
“You’re too modest. Want a juice?” she offered when she turned to dig in the cooler. She tossed Eione a can when she got a nod from her young friend. “I know you want to get in the water. I would ask you to go get me a lobster for dinner, but there’s not time before he gets back into eyeshot.”
“Give me a ride back to my place tonight and I’ll send you home with a good shellfish dinner,” Eione offered, settling on one of the benches with her juice in hand. “It’s on your way, and I have this morning’s catch in a net at home.”
Anita nodded agreeably. “You bring the seafood and I’ll make chowder for us both. I know that cave of yours is a little lacking in the cooking utensils department. You can spend the night at my place.”
The mermaid leaned over to dip her fingers in the water once more, admiring the ripples that trailed behind her small movements.
“That sounds good to me. I’ll just ride home with you and hunt there. My catch at home will keep. It’s still alive,” Eione murmured. She nodded at the water. “Look, there he is. His gear should still be just inside the cave. I left it visible from the top, but he won't go down that far today. I made it look like it got hung up and the straps tore.”
Anita smiled. “That’s my girl,” she said, pleased. “It’s tough to keep the facts hidden, especially from someone who actually knows how those caves work.”
“He knows that something impossible happened,” Eione agreed softly. “And he’s right. He was dying of. I got to him just as he lost consciousness. He was still breathing, but only just. It made him receptive to the song.”
She shook her head ruefully and shoved her hair out of her eyes. “I suppose it’s a good thing he was mostly out already. He isn’t superstitious and he’s a good diver to get so far into the caves, even trapped like he was. I could have been in trouble if he got a clear look at me.”
Anita cocked her head. “That’s true enough. Which song did you use?”
The mermaids had a couple of different songs they could use. Mostly the local mermaids used them to communicate under water over long distances. There were others, too, with different effects on the listener.
“I used one to make him sleep,” Eione explained with another sigh that wasn’t quite human as it caught the breeze. Anita was long used to Eione’s little mermaid noises and ignored it. “He was nearly unconscious already and I needed him to stay that way until he was on land again. Bashing him over the head with a rock seemed like less a good idea.”
That made Anita burst out laughing.
“No, we don't survive that so good,” she grinned as she rummaged in her cooler again. “Getting hungry? I have sandwiches and chips, even a couple beers from the last time I saw Jakob.”
The mermaid made a face. “You keep your horrible fermented barley juice away from me.”
It was a long-standing joke between them. Eione had hated beer from her first taste and didn’t plan to ever have a second. Anita laughed and passed over a ham sandwich instead.
“If I know you, you haven’t eaten since this morning,” she said with long-held exasperation. It was hard to bring up a young mermaid when you weren’t one yourself. “You don’t eat enough to keep that body going with the work you do.”
Eione smiled. “Thank you for the sandwich,” she said. “And I did actually eat this morning.”
Anita cracked a smile as Eione took the sandwich and dug into it. "Not enough, I bet," she griped. “Did you at least eat before you went hunting?”
"While I was out,” the mermaid admitted. “I need to make a groceries run. I'm low on everything.”
The older woman sighed. “Don’t stock up. It won’t be long before you come to stay with me for storm season. I'll take you out or have Thomas do it. You know he loves talking to you.”
Thomas was another of the local fishermen. His grandson was dating Eione’s older cousin. Until he had spotted Eione, Thomas had had no idea that there was more than one mermaid near Andros Island.
“I may not even bother to go shopping,” Eione murmured thoughtfully. “If I come to stay in a day or two, I can hunt and buy my food at the market. It would save me the time.”
“There’s that also,” Anita agreed. “And Thomas is really getting too old to go out and play with the Shoal. I know a few of your outliers still don’t really understand how fragile old humans can be.”
“True,” Eione admitted. “They've been getting so edgy lately; the summer storms will be rolling in soon. It makes us all jittery. Most of them are getting ready to leave for calmer weather.”
Anita shrugged. “Whenever you feel like moving in for storm season, your room is ready.” She assured her friend. “Just make sure to check your suitcase. I don’t want to find any dead snails in it this time.”
Eione giggled. “I’ll come in a day or two,” she promised. “And no more dead snails. I promise.”
“Good,” she said firmly. “Leave your suitcase with me this year. I can always drive it down to you when you need it next.”
The mermaid opened her mouth to agree, but closed it again when Evan hauled himself out of the water and into the boat. He grabbed for his towel and kicked off his flippers with the ease of long practice before speaking.
“I think it’s down there,” he said triumphantly. “I could see something that looked a lot like my rebreather at the bottom, hanging out of the cave.”
Anita grinned and handed him a towel. “Best news all day. Gonna rent some scuba gear, or do you have a set already?”
“Nah, I’ve got mine,” he told her, pulling off his gear and quickly rinsing it in fresh water from the bottle he had brought. “I have it back at the house. This is my backup mask; I hope I can find my old one. I liked it better. I still can’t figure out how it came off.”
“I’ve seen a mask get pulled off by the waves.”
Eione pulled a juice out of the cooler and offered it to Evan, beaming softly when he gave her a grateful smile. He popped it open and gulped half of it down before he set it aside. From beside his feet he pulled out the jug of water he brought and rinsed off his gear, ever the professional.
“Couldn’t have happened to me,” he told Anita, voice muffled as he dried his hair roughly with his towel. “If I was still breathing, and I had to be or I would already be dead, losing my mask should have killed me. I would have breathed water without it and my mouthpiece, and that’s gone too. That’s probably still attached to my rebreather. It’s not easy to detach.”
Evan slung the towel over his shoulder. His navy swimsuit was drying quickly under the hot sun, and he picked up his juice again. He drank it a little more slowly now that he had gotten the taste of salt out of his mouth.
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “I just don’t know, and it’s driving me crazy. I know what couldn’t have happened, but I don’t know what did. Every scenario I come up with couldn’t possibly be right.”
“Well, something happened,” Anita said blithely, turning the ignition on her boat and getting them moving. Evan was right, of course. It had taken Eione almost three hours to find him. Without her magic, he would have died and his body would have become part of the exhibit he dove for in the first place.
Anita stifled a knowing glance at Eione. Evan was a good man, but she was glad that the truth was so unbelievable. If he ever figured it out, the mermaids could be in a lot of trouble.
+++
HGE - Riptide
Evan Ross survived what no one before him ever has, and now he’s on the hunt for answers. His only clue is a single word that echoed through the water of a flooded cave.
Breathe.
Under Stone
White Sand Sky
The Hint of Answers
Drift to Home
Boats and Salt Wind
+++
More Stories!
+++
#mermaid#mermaids#writing#writer#write#writers#spilled love#spilled ink#spilled words#magic#magical#human galactic empire#humans are deathworlders#humans are weird#humans are space oddities
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Dear Charlie,
It hurts. The more I think about it, the more I try to figure it out, the more that it hurts.
I’m not the kind of person that he wants. I don’t know if I’m the kind of person that anybody wants, not really. So, maybe I don’t know what it’s like to be loved in return, but it’s enough to know how it feels to really love someone. There are a lot of moments where I wonder if I’m the kind of person that’s meant for love, I wonder that about life sometimes too. It’s not about me deserving it or not, it’s about compatibility. I know what I want and I don’t want to compromise it for someone else. I want to live where I want to and live how I want to, I don’t need another person to sway that. Who knows, though? Maybe this is just my attempt at trying not to care that Jack doesn’t want me too, that my own best friend can’t love me.
And the thing is, I’m not mad at him. I don’t hold it against him. I couldn’t do either of those things if I tried. I just understand, and wish it was different. I really thought I was over him, and I don’t know what to do about any of this. I’m not really sure what it’s going to be like when I hang out with him next. He was supposed to come over tonight to watch more of our show, but ended up not being able to make it. I’m kind of glad, I feel like I’d act really weird around him right now. Everyone’s supposed to go to the beach at some point this week too, and I think I’m probably gonna stay home. One, because it’s probably going to be Tuesday and I have a much needed therapy appointment in the middle of the day. And two, because I can’t stand the thought of getting into a car for more than an hour or withstanding a day where people can actually see me.
In case I didn’t mention it, the agoraphobia is getting worse. My therapist says it’s a problem now. I haven’t left the house in probably two months, and that was just to go grocery shopping. The trip to Trader Joe’s was overwhelming enough to make me decide not to go again. Not to mention, getting in the car makes me feel like I’m gonna throw up. Ever since the accident we got into in February, my car anxiety has gotten worse. Needless to say, I’m still not gonna get my license any time soon — maybe ever, if I can find a way to live like that. We have to go to a restaurant tonight for my sister’s birthday and I really, really don’t wanna go. I’m gonna try and see if I can stay home. I know that’s not the healthy option, but sue me. I’ve been having a rough time.
That’s not the point right now. Jack has a few days off of work this week, so he’ll be over eventually and I’ll have to figure out how to act like my latest crisis involves me probably still being in love with him. I’ve been trying to ask for his advice without actually telling him the situation. So far, he just thinks that I’m second guessing my feelings for Lani and I’m trying to deal with an incident from a few years ago. I was vague when I explained it, I mostly focused on the girlfriend part of it all.
The thing is, I’ve been really tempted to just tell him the truth. There have been more than a few times in the past two days that I’ve almost texted him out of nowhere and been like: hey, I might probably kind of definitely sorta totally still love you. It’s been getting harder to reign in impulses like that, and I don’t want the consequences that’ll follow if I end up acting on them. I don’t want things to get awkward, I don’t want him to get distant, I don’t want things to change.
I said once, in an old letter, that things would be easier if I knew I didn’t have a chance with him, that way I could move on. I’m gonna come out right now and say that I was dead fucking wrong. It’s so much harder to know that I don’t have a chance with him. My mind will wander to what if’s and hopeful daydreams, and I have to remind myself that it’s literally never gonna happen. He’s interested in his coworker and she’s interested in him. If he’s happy, what else can I ask for? If he’s happy, I can suffer in silence for as long as it takes to get over him. I shouldn’t be selfish by feeling jealous or mopey.
Maybe I should tell him. Is that really stupid? On the one hand, I don’t want him to get suspicious about how weird I am and figure it out. On the other hand, I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable around me if he knows. Mom asked if I told him how I felt and I told her that I did years ago, but not this time. I told Bella about my predicament and she said pretty much the same things as Nikki.
I wish that he’d be mean to me. I wish he’d make me cry or break my heart or do something that could make me get over him. The little slivers of hope that I get from the “nothing’s off the table” comment is enough to keep me going apparently, and I still wish he’d told me that hell would freeze over before he’d feel the same way. What if he did feel that way about me and never said anything? What if he thought I’d gotten over him and didn’t wanna start me back up again? What if there was a chance and I missed it?
I talked to my mom about the whole situation for like two hours and I think it just really set in that this might never go away. She said that, based on how I’ve been talking about Lani, it doesn’t seem like the relationship will go anywhere. She also said that I shouldn’t ruin my friendship with Jack even if he somehow felt the same. She talked a lot about meeting new people and I made it really clear that doing that is one of the last things I want.
I came to a kind of realization, and it really hurts. I don’t want love if it doesn’t make me feel the way he makes me feel, and I'll probably never find a connection like that again. Even Mom said it, that I'll never be able to find a person that makes me feel the same. She said I might find someone who makes me feel different, but still good, and I don’t want that. I don’t fucking want different. I know how loving someone feels, I don't want that to change.
It'd just be easier to be alone. I don’t wanna meet new people and feel uncomfortable for months or years before really getting to know them, before they really get to know me. I don’t wanna put that work in if they won't make me feel the way he does, if it isn’t worth it, because what would the point be?
If these feelings could just go away, I'd be content with keeping the friend group I have and never meeting new people. I would be content with never having a partner too. The only reason I want one now is because it's him. The moment I got into a relationship with someone else, I didn't really want to be in it anymore. I don’t think there will be anybody who will live up to him, and I don't know how to accept that.
And I’m trying to keep myself from doing something really impulsive and stupid like telling him about all this bullshit, because I just want to know. I wanna know once and for all if there’s a chance or if there isn't, but I can't ask. What if he just said him having feelings for me was a possibility because he wanted to be nice? What if there was never a chance and he just couldn't bring himself to be mean? Would I even feel better if I knew it wasn't a possibility? Would it make me feel worse? Who knows, because I clearly don't.
I don’t think I want anyone else. I know I could change my mind, but I truly don't want to do the work it'd take to get to know someone new if it wasn't a sure thing we'd have a connection like that. Mom compared it to all my trial and error with medications, and that just further solidified how much I don’t wanna do that. It took seven fucking years to get my meds right and I was so close to giving up that, if the latest one didn’t work, I was just gonna say fuck it and let the bipolar do to me whatever it wanted because I was so sick of trying only for things to fall flat.
I think I’d just rather be alone, and that I’m only thinking about relationships right now because I love him too much to not daydream about it. The other thing is, even if (a huge enormous big large giant galactic if) he felt the same for me, would we even act on it? Could we even risk destroying our friendship if things went badly? I don’t know if I could, unless I was sure things would be okay and I’m not sure, I can literally never guarantee that.
I brought it up with my sister, Hannah. I asked if I told her I was probably breaking up with Lani and she immediately guessed that it was because of Jack. I guess I’m more obvious than I thought. She said she’s been thinking about it because he’s been over so much lately, but I didn’t even realize my feelings for him again until this week. So, hopefully, I’m actually subtle. I guess we’ll see when I next hang out with him. I debated the idea of just lowkey ignoring him for a while, but I don’t want him to think I’m pissed off or annoyed with him. Plus, I love hanging out with him. I hope I’m not awkward.
It’s just a lose-lose-lose situation all around. There’s no chance? Lose. There used to be and now there isn't? Lose. There is a chance and we destroy our friendship? Lose. There's literally no good outcome for this, except the completely outlandish and unrealistic one, and that will absolutely never happen. Because, in what world would things ever go perfectly? In what world would someone start dating the person they’re with forever at twenty-fucking-one and have things never end poorly between them? Maybe it works for some, but I’ve never been that lucky.
The only thing I can do is sit with this and pray it will pass. It took me three years last time, if I can pretend I got over it at all, and I don’t know how I can cope with another three if I’m gonna feel this shitty the whole time. I really thought I was over him, and I don’t know what to do about any of this.
Love Always, Just Nick 06 | 20 | 21
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Breathe in the Salt - Chapter 7
AO3
Beta read by @thesnadger who does a great job
Tim and Martin sit out the nausea.
Martin talks to himself.
“You sure you don’t want to head home for the day?” Tim asked, picking at the grass beside him. He and Martin sat with their backs pressed against the cliff railing, facing away from the steep drop. The lighthouse loomed in front of them, barely casting a shadow as morning ticked closer to noon.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Martin replied. He rested his arms on his knees, his chin buried into the fabric of his coat sleeves. “I don’t really feel like walking down the hill yet? I’ll at least wait for the others to get back.”
“Well, they should be here soon, unless the place Simon pointed us toward is yet another weird building that makes you feel like you’re falling into a big hole.” Tim squinted up at the sky and immediately seemed to regret it, leaning forward to drop his face between his knees. “Ugh, the Fairchild place was almost as bad as here. I’m surprised we survived the walk back down. If we didn’t have someone leading us out, we’d probably be swallowed up by the carpet! Sorry to say, but I think your whole town is fucked. Or any place owned by the weird old guy club, I guess.”
Martin grimaced. “I don’t get how Jon and Sasha seem so unbothered by it. If it were just me, I’d chalk it up to stress or something, but, well.”
Tim nodded in solemn understanding. “‘But, well’.’” He lifted his head and squinted in the sunlight. “It could be they’re faking it and I’m the only one willing to ‘fess up. If that’s the case, they’ve been really good at pretending their stomachs haven’t been dropping straight into the sea all weekend. But, between you and me, Jon can’t act for shit.”
Martin’s shoulders bobbed with silent laughter. “He seems very easy to read, yeah.”
“Oh yeah, I don’t think he’s ever successfully lied in his life, unless you count avoiding a subject altogether.” Tim smiled and leaned back against the railing, brushing a hand over his hair. “Glad you two are getting on, by the way. I’m sure Sasha already talked to you about it, but the turnaround really was impressive. I was concerned he’d just be pissy this whole week over some spilt tea.”
Martin buried the bottom of his face a degree further into his coat. “Please don’t remind me. Anyway, I’m sure having something weird to chase after helped. Means this place wasn’t a total waste of time for you.”
“Hey, it wasn’t gonna be a total waste. I can’t speak for him, but I for one love to make new connections.” He waggled his eyebrow, making Martin snort and turn a brighter shade of red. “Really, though, you’ve been a lot of help. If the walk home is that bad, you should just stay up where the sun actually hits for a while. None of us will mind if you hang around, and I need someone here to prove that my dizzy spells aren’t just me being ridiculous.”
Martin’s mouth sunk into a frown. “No, once they get back I’ll head home. Lunch won’t make itself.”
“What, don’t want to grab something with us nerds?” Tim asked, smiling broadly.
“N-No, I just, y’know, I bought groceries yesterday, and if I eat out too much, I’ll end up wasting some of it, and-” Martin searched for more excuses that wouldn’t bring his mother into the picture and failed.
Tim scrunched his eyebrows together in thought, then took out his phone and asked, “What’s your number?”
“What?”
“Your mobile? In case we need to reach you. And so I can send you dumb shit in my down time that I’ve already sent to Sasha.”
For a moment, Martin sat in stunned silence. “Um. Okay?” He said, his voice cracking in the most embarrassing way possible. Then, slowly, he took an old phone out of his coat pocket, technically a smart phone but just barely. They exchanged numbers, and Martin stared at the new contact before slipping the phone back into place.
“There, now you’re stuck with me. I’ll keep you updated if Sasha and Jon do in fact decide to do something stupid that gets us all disappeared. Speaking of,” Tim said, shading his eyes with a hand. “Here they come now, and Jon looks especially irritated.” They both stood up, grasping at the railing and sharing a weary look.
“Come on, guys,” Sasha yelled from the bottom of the steps. “Break time’s over.”
Back inside, the four of them sat around the table. From the looks on their faces, Jon and Sasha had been disappointed by their short venture. “So, how are you two doing?” Sasha asked. “How’s the nausea?
“Oh, just fine. We can almost get up without losing breakfast.” Tim said. “How was the place?”
Jon crossed his arms. “Unsurprisingly, Simon Fairchild sent us to an inaccessible piece of private property owned by the Lukas family. We couldn’t even get anyone to come to the door. For now, it may be a dead end.”
“I could try to get Peter to let us in?” Martin suggested with little enthusiasm.
Sasha looked at his obviously pained expression and shook her head. “No, bad idea. Simon was pretty clear on Peter not knowing we went to his home. I’d guess that extends to any of us going into this other place. If what you said happened back at the house is true, I don’t want that kind of risk. We’ll have to try it later and hope for an answer.”
Martin let out a relieved sigh and stood. “Good, good idea. I’ll be going then. I guess if you need me for… questions? Updates? Tim has my number.”
Sasha raised her eyebrows at Tim in amusement, while Jon rolled his eyes and scowled. With a lopsided smile, Tim shrugged and said, “What? The guy lives at the bottom of the world. We can’t drag him up and down that hill all day.”
Perhaps quicker than necessary, Martin excused himself and walked out of the building. The last bit of conversation he heard was Jon complaining about a lack of workplace professionalism, followed by Tim making a mocking comment that Martin couldn’t quite hear.
Once he had walked a little ways away, he relaxed. They really did balance each other out, the three of them. He could imagine Sasha breaking them apart in a little while, then getting them on task like before.
His hand brushed against the phone in his pocket, and he felt a little pang in his throat. He pushed the sensation down. Chances were, they wouldn’t need to call him, and it would be best to pay as little attention to his phone as he always had.
--
After the usual walk home, Martin approached his mother in front of the television. There was one of her Christian programs playing, the kind with the television preacher. “Hi, Mum.”
“You took much longer than usual,” she said stiffly. He could see her attempting to swallow and went toward the kitchen.
“Sorry, work ran long today. I’ll get lunch going.” He began to look through the fridge, considering his options.
“I’m not hungry. Just want a glass of water,” she said, her voice hoarse. Martin winced.
“One second.” He quickly filled a glass from the tap and brought it to her. “You will need to eat something to get your medication down. I’ll make something for both of us and we’ll see how you’re feeling then.”
She huffed in response, taking a sip of water and clearing her throat. Once food was ready, she did eat enough for her medication and then some, setting Martin at ease.
“It’s sunny today, if you’d like to sit out front,” he suggested after cleaning up the tray in front of her. She sniffed and otherwise stayed silent. “Okay… let me know if you change your mind. The fog even cleared out a bit-”
“I am not going outside today.”
“Okay.”
Martin left her alone and went back to the kitchen and set some chicken in the fridge to defrost. His future self would thank him later, he thought, and he went upstairs to figure out the rest of his Sunday.
The first order of business was to lay down and sleep for a while. Two busy mornings in a row and he was exhausted, the muscles in his legs finally catching up to all of the extra walking. As he lay down, he thanked his walls, bed, and windows for staying in place and gently drifted off to sleep.
Several hours later, Martin woke to find the sun had retreated back behind clouds and a familiar layer of fog. He reached for his phone on the bedside table to check the time. 4:30 pm. It was almost time to get dinner started, but before he could move to set the phone down, he saw there was text notification. Without his glasses, he had to squint and hold the phone close to his face. The brightness stung his eyes. The messages were from about fifteen minutes ago.
Tim: hey
Tim: what do these weird knobs and buttons do anyway
Attached was a distorted photo, apparently of the upstairs console in the lighthouse.
“Shit,” Martin mumbled, tapping out an answer.
Martin: dont know, peter never told me. work the lighthouse i guess, make sure the big light is running.
Martin: also what does all the static mean
Almost immediately, he got a response.
Tim: is that how lighthouses work?
Tim: means its weird shit. weird shit hates digital
Martin: its the only lighthouse ive ever worked in, your guess is as good as mine
Martin: oh good
No response came for a bit, and Martin took the pause to get out of bed. Halfway down the stairs, his phone buzzed.
Tim: update, stairs still bad
Tim: arseholes who don’t get spooky vertigo club
Attached was another photo, still fuzzy, this time of Jon and Sasha walking ahead with Tim’s hand just barely in frame, clutching the rail. Jon was looking at the camera with a stern expression, his mouth open in the middle of saying something. Martin laughed quietly and continued walking.
In the time it took to prepare the chicken for baking, his phone vibrated in his pocket a few times. With his hands coated, there was no way to check until he slid the chicken into the oven twenty minutes later.
Tim: dont think anything stupid will happen tonight
Tim: no one’s gotten too desperate yet but tomorrow is a new day
Tim: will let you know if we end up getting arrested in the middle of the night for trespassing tho
Martin: haha, very funny
Tim: give it until tuesday
Martin’s eyebrow twitched, unsure of how seriously to respond.
Martin: please dont get me fired?
Tim: no promises! ;)
It felt like a lighthearted enough response to put Martin at ease. Tim liked joking. Martin knew that by now. If Tim was saying it, then it was a joke. Plus, it was clear Sasha and Jon were very by-the-books. If Jon would lecture Tim about texting, he certainly wasn’t the type to do anything illegal.
Still, the number of times Tim had joked about it made Martin irrationally nervous. That and Simon being cryptic and threatening. And the buildings trying to make him sick. And Jon-
Sliding his phone into his back pocket, Martin distracted himself with preparing the rest of their dinner. It wasn’t the time to spiral. He had chicken in the oven and vegetables to steam.
Dinner was made and eaten within the hour, and Martin’s phone stayed silent for the duration. When his mother asked to go outside after dinner, he did his best not to be outwardly irritated at her change of mind and did as she requested, covering his face to protect himself against the night wind.
It wasn’t until later when he had just about settled down for bed that Martin checked his phone, under the pretense that he was setting his alarm for the morning. There were no unread messages, so he set his phone down onto the side table to charge.
The fog rolled outside his window, illuminated by the weak light of the front porch. When sleep eventually took him, he dreamed of nothing.
--
When 6 am came, Martin found himself in an empty lighthouse. Under his arm was the expected box of documents he was to work with for the week, which he set on his desk. He then dragged his chair back over from the folding table, which was still littered with loose papers and three used mugs.
“Right, right. Library day. They could’ve at least remembered to clean up a bit.” Martin brought the dirty dishware to the kitchen and placed them in the sink to soak, then looked around for something clean to use for himself. He managed to find a kitschy one he’d always liked, with a tiny, smiling whale on the side.
“Looks like it’s just you and me.”
His voice echoed through the building, the final ‘me’ stretching on much too long.
Martin glared out into the main room. “Yeah, yeah, I’m alone, laugh it up.”
Again, the last ‘up’ lingered and drifted up the stairs, and he wanted to slap himself for walking right into that one. There was no point in talking back to a possibly haunted building.
He settled on silently making himself some tea, then dove into the week’s work. It was mind-numbing, as expected, but after a while it grew to be calming and familiar. The weird ache in his chest gave way to distraction, and hours ticked by without interruption. Martin began to feel normal, or his version of normal before things started to be poked and prodded. Before he knew it, he had eaten lunch and was on his way to the second half of his shift.
“...up.”
Martin jumped, almost knocking over his tea. That had been his voice. Just a single noise that hung in the air with no echo to be heard. No, he thought, no, no, no, he was not going to take any bait in this place. He righted himself in his chair and reached for the pen he had dropped.
“Me. Up.” Even with his original tone resting in those syllables, the new sense of urgency was unmistakable.
Against every part of his brain screaming at him, he took a step toward the stairs. Before he could go any further the front door swung open.
“Hey, Martin, we’re back,” Sasha said, carrying a file folder. “We- woah, are you okay?”
Martin stopped and stared at her, his jaw clenched to the point of pain. “Um. Define okay.”
The three researchers stopped and shared a concerned look. Sasha walked over to set her things on the table. “Okay, okay, clearly something happened.”
“What’s going on?” Jon asked, looking around warily.
Before Martin could open his mouth, his voice came from above. “Up.”
Everyone froze, holding their breath for a moment. Jon was first to break the silence, his voice filled with disdain. “Good. It can record us now.”
“Up. Now.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Tim gripped Jon’s shoulder and gestured insistently to the front door. They all vacated the building and stopped on the front steps, finally letting out a collective breath.
“Have you all, um, dealt with ghosts? Directly?” Martin sat on the bottom step, rubbing his hands over each other. “Ones that take the last word you said?”
“We don’t know if it’s a ghost, but no, not personally,” Jon replied, sitting a few steps up and typing on his laptop. “Can’t say I really believe in them, either.”
Tim snorted. “Yeah, sure, definitely not a ghost in there.”
“I’m inclined to suspect something more concrete. Somehow, the lighthouse was trapping the sound of our voices. According to Martin it only used the last words he uttered, and the same happened with me. With only a few things to work with, it wouldn’t be hard to-”
“To accidentally order us up the creepy staircase of the creepy lighthouse.” Tim stood, hands in his pockets.
“If it’s using ‘me’, ‘up’, and ‘now’, what else could it say? Otherwise, there was just ‘back’ and okay’ as far as I can tell.”
They continued to go back and forth, Jon being much more stubborn about the whole thing than Martin would’ve expected from a paranormal researcher. Maybe ghosts were an especially contended subject? It didn’t seem like it from Tim and Sasha’s reactions, but Martin was out of his depth. People turning into seals was a far cry from specters and mind-bending architecture.
Still, it being a ghost sounded right. There were meaning and intent behind the words repeated back to him, he was certain of it. If that was the case, maybe there was someone or something in this place trying to talk to him. That’s what ghosts did, right? Reach out to the living?
“Then we’ll just have Martin stay outside for a bit,” Jon said, closing his laptop decisively.
Martin found himself back in the conversation. “What?”
“We’re going to try the place Simon pointed us toward again. Hopefully, we’ll be let in this time and get some answers. The library didn’t have much in terms of useful information, I’m afraid.”
Sputtering, Martin replied, “So, what, I’m just going to wait out here? I still have work to do!”
Jon stared at him and sighed. “Bring it outside then. It shouldn’t rain today, and we don’t want to risk anything now that we know something is… active. You’re sure nothing like this has ever happened?”
“No, this is... new.”
“Then the safest thing is to avoid whatever is going on. It’s for your own well-being, and since we’re probably the cause of it, I don’t want to be in the business of putting people in danger.” Jon said. Martin was at a loss for arguments and nodded. “Good. If our luck hasn’t changed, we’ll be back soon. Otherwise, I suppose Tim will text you the good news.” There was a slight, acidic turn to Jon’s voice near the end that Martin couldn’t place.
Martin pushed himself onto his feet. “Okay… good luck? I guess? I’ll go get my work, then.”
Apparently satisfied, Jon placed his laptop into its case and motioned for the other two to follow him. As they left, Tim shot Martin a worried thumbs up.
When Martin walked back inside, he stopped halfway to the desk, eyes glued to the staircase.
He had told Jon he would get his things and go outside.
“Hello?” Martin waited and got no response. “If you’re a ghost, now’s the time to say so.” Still nothing. He let out a noise of frustration. “Say something? Please?”
“Hello? Up. Please?”
Taking a glance back at his desk, Martin bit his tongue and internally berated himself. No use giving the place a name to call him. He really was an idiot, he thought, creeping up the staircase as if the ghost might hear his footfalls. Why had he taught it to be polite?
#tma#the magnus archives#breathe in the salt#martin blackwood#jonathan sims#sasha james#timothy stoker#peter lukas#jonmartin#au fanfic#selkie au#fanfic
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The Song Remains The Same
after quite a long time (i am so sorry this took so long to anyone that’s been following for a while) here’s chapter 17! i’ll probably start working on the next chapter almost right away, but i’m more than happy to have any recommendations/wants to write next, my ask box is always open!
A small panic fell upon the room. No one said anything, but they all knew the cause. The word, the simple word of problem, didn't sit well with anyone. Things had seemed to be going so well. What could this so called problem be? What had they done?
One by one, they all looked at Jimmy. Those who had been together at that dinner, the one that seemed so long ago after the concert, knew he liked to push buttons. Bonzo might not have been there, but his head still turned. The dynamic between Robert and Jimmy wasn't lost to him. They fought like cats and dogs, like true brothers. It got on everyone's nerves back in the day. Even Jimmy, for a few moments, wondered if he was the one to blame. He didn't think he had overstepped, not yet at least.
Calypso, of course, felt the most nervous. She was the less sure of this whole thing. Her footing into their world was weak. She might have been the once to cause this, but that didn't guarantee her a place. One word from Robert and she would be sent packing. An eternity, alone, stuck forever at twenty-one, with her so-called soulmate refusing anything to do with her? It sounded like hell. Her thoughts, after focusing on Jimmy causing this, naturally turned to herself.
John Paul, like everyone else, thought it was Jimmy. It was where his thought stayed for the longest. But then they turned away from them. Perhaps this was no one's fault. Perhaps it was something to do with Robert. Had he not shared that their stay had a limit? Did he need a few moments to himself? John Paul understood why his house was so far out into the woods. Sometimes a man just needed his time to himself. Was that it? Or did Robert had prior arrangements he needed to uphold?
The anxiety stayed over the room for a few seconds. Robert noticed this, watched everyone's eyes and heads shift to Jimmy. It was amusing to him. But he didn't let it sit longer for a moment. That felt a bit too cruel to do to them. He burst out laughing before he could talk, though. All of them were too easy to wind up, even all these years later.
"They're not real problems, not problems like we used to have," he said with a roll of his eyes. A few more chuckles left his body before he could talk again. "Just a few things that need to be taken care of. Physical problems, not social ones, lads. You lot need to calm down just a little bit," he said.
Once he finished speaking, silence again fell over them. They were waiting for him to announce what these problems were. They were all wracking their brains. No one could think of what was wrong. The few moments of silence, as Robert collected himself from his laughing fit, seemed to be a bit too much for some people.
"Well, will you spit it out lad!" Bonzo roared with a smile. "I know we technically got forever and all, but I don't wanna sit here that long, waiting for you to find your words," he said. There was a clearly playful tone in his voice. It brought a smile to Calypso's face.
There interactions seemed so lighthearted. Robert's own face had a smile growing, one that was different from his laughing. It was a fond smile, Calypso realized. He had waited years for this. Robert had gone years and years, likely praying for one more day with his best friend. How many times had Robert dreamed that Bonzo was alive again? It was touching. Calypso counted herself lucky that she got to see this wishes and dreams come true.
"Well, first, you lot are disgusting. You're absolute pigs!" He said with a smirk. "And while this is partially about the dishes, don't think me and Calypso will be doing them all ourselves, it's actually about how much you eat. Though, Bonz, I do expect a thorough cleaning of your room before you leave, I remember what your hotel rooms looked like," he said. There was a twinkle in his eyes. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Robert had missed teasing his best friend.
"And you haven't been eating a grossly inappropriate amount, especially for a bunch of twenty something year olds," he said. Calypso thought for a moment he was getting more comfortable with the whole situation. That was immensely good. It made her feel a bit more at east. "But I hadn't planned for," he paused to count them all off, "five guests plus me. I had just enough or about a week or so," he said.
His thinking, then, was that it would be enough time to hide out. The people he interacted with on a normal weekly basis of course knew who he was. But they also didn't make a huge fanfare of who he was. The town, no doubt, would be swarmed with Zeppelin fans after the concert. People seeking out him or any of the other two. They would make a huge deal out of who he was. Robert was passed the age, at that point, of wanting people to make a deal out of who he was. So he had wanted to hide away for a week. But now that was all gone out of the window. He hadn't exactly planned for this.
What was the problem with the food? None of them exactly got it. Surely they all had the funds to go out and get the food. Robert couldn't be that low on cash that he couldn't afford to eat. "Now, mate, you're not telling me you're broke, are ye? Because I think anyone of them," Bonzo pointed to everyone else, "can afford a bit of groceries."
To that, Robert only tutted and shook his head. Surely everyone else would get it. But even Calypso wasn't piecing together what the food problem was. "Do I need to show everyone a mirror?" He asked with a sigh. "We can't exactly go out like this. Unless someone has enough cash to buy stock in a grocery market, I'm not exactly sure how we can go about getting food," he explained.
Calypso realized he was right. The one thing that had her in constant awe, she had forgotten. Without any real interaction with the outside world, she had momentarily forgotten it wasn't 1970-something. It was easy to do, being surrounded by all their faces for only twenty-four hours.
Robert very much was right. They would need a large amount of food, an insane amount so they could stay hidden for a little bit. Six months to feed on just strictly three meals a day was going to be a lot for anyone. Someone who hadn't prepared? Someone who couldn't exactly go out in public like they were? If anyone used their card, they could be found out immediately.
A card gave a name, and with the increasingly familiar face, the cashier was bond to recognize them. That was assuming that no one stopped them in the shop because how much they looked like whatever member of Led Zeppelin. The voice, the looks, the everything about them would give them away. There was only so much they could lie their way out of. They still held a bit of popularity. If they didn't, the reunion concert wouldn't have been a big deal, or a deal at all. If they didn't, Calypso never would have fallen in love with the band.
"I can do it," Maureen piped up after a moment. They all turned to her, a bit confused. How could she do it? To that, she just laughed a bit. "No one knows what I look like, who I am. No one's gonna think twice about me. I might be young again, but I wasn't the famous one, remember?" She said with a grin. "And I think I've got more than enough money in my bank account to cover it. Well, John does, but you all know it's the same difference," she said with yet another laugh.
In that moment, it was pretty easy to see that Robert felt a fool. All of them did, Calypso included. After a few seconds, Robert busted out laughing. How could that be forgotten? He'd managed to project his problems onto everyone, and not everyone shared them.
It wasn't like he had forgotten about Mo. If asked about it, he would defend himself. He knew she was here. It was more that he had simply forgotten she wasn't famous. Sure, she had been in that one scene in their movie, ages ago, and a few pictures here and there, but how many people really knew what she looked like? She was the only one in their little group with easy access to a bank account who wouldn't get caught.
That didn't solve their next problem. As much as Robert would love for the answer to be Mo doing everything, it just wouldn't work. It also wouldn't be fair to her and Jonesy's bank account.
"The other little problem is a little less life or death, but it'll certainly need to be solved," he said. "None of us have proper clothing. I feel like I'm drowning in my old man's suit whenever I get dressed. And poor Bonz doesn't anything besides what's literally on his back," he paused to chuckle, "it might look like 1973, but we can't wear the same outfit for days on end anymore. He'll reek."
This was not a problem that had occurred to Calypso. It wasn't even really a problem, more a dilemma they needed to fix. The food issue had been somewhere in the back of her mind. After all, Robert had mentioned last night he didn't have enough food for all of them. The fridge and cupboards were becoming more and more bare as she watched him cook.
Eventually, she would have voiced her concern about the food to Robert. But he had beat her too it, before it was a truly pressing matter, so she didn't have to think about that. Having four full grown men in a house without food and those same four fully grown men couldn't leave sounded like something out of a nightmare.
Clothing wasn't something that would have ever crossed her mind. It simply wasn't a problem. She'd packed as much clothing as she could fit into her luggage. Whenever she ran out, she could have just laundry. The rest of them didn't have that sort of luxury. Their clothes didn't fit them anyone. Bonzo had it the worst with the one singular suit he wore that was obviously just a bit too big for him. It had been fitted for a much larger Bonzo.
Calypso glanced around the table and the clothing issue become more apparent the more she focused on it. Robert sat adjusting himself, no longer comfortable in the casual outfit he had on. With the long curls that cascaded to almost halfway down his back, the button up and slacks combo he had on looked out of place. Once again, he embodied a 1970s rock star but his clothes suggested retired dad.
Jimmy looked just as equally out of place and simply wrong as Robert did. He'd always been the skinniest out of the band, even now. But the clothes he was currently in ate his small frame. It was almost like his clothes were swallowing him up until nothing was left. The silver locks were gone, placed by his dark mop of hair, and it a startling difference for Calypso.
Jonesy didn't appear too out of place. His clothes were too big for him, just like the rest of them. But, as far as Calypso was concerned, he'd always dressed rather normally. His build and hairstyle could easily just be a normal, everyday. It was part of the reason he had been able to blend in with a crowd and escape back in the day.
"I don't need any clothing," Jimmy said after a moment of silence.
Bonzo scoffed at that idea. "What? You just gonna deal with what ya got until we all see your ass?"
That was met with an eye roll from Jimmy, barely noticeable underneath his wild fringe. "No, I still have most my stuff from back in the day. It should all fit just fine now. No need to give you the privilege of my bum." Jimmy chuckled as he spoke. "That is, whatever didn't end up in museums or archives."
That struck Calypso as a bit odd. Why would he bother keeping all of that? It wasn't like he thought he should keep it around so that if he lost the weight he could wear it again. No old man could want to wear his clothing from the 70s, could he? Especially one that probably hadn't taken the best care of himself. What condition would the clothes even be in?
As Calypso mulled over her thoughts, something clicked inside of Robert. None of the rest of them had kept their clothes. That was what normal people did. Got rid of their clothes as the fashion changed drastically and they out grew things. There was only one answer.
"You little slimy bastard, you were always ready for this to-" He began, anger apparent in his voice, before he was cut off.
"Boys, let's not fight right now. We've done enough of that, I think," Maureen said quickly. "It doesn't matter why Jimmy doesn't need anything. Just count it a blessing none of us will witness his bum." She gave a cutting glance to Robert, almost daring him to challenger her.
"Alright, well, that settles one out of four of us," Robert said. His voice gave away his clear annoyance. "One or two of us might be able to sneak out, but not all of us. That's asking to be recognized, no matter how good we disguise ourselves." At that, Calypso couldn't help but chuckle. How exactly could any of them disguise themselves?
After a moment, Jonesy spoke up. "I can go for myself and Bonzo," he said. Robert cocked his head a bit quizzically at the statement, as did Calypso. There was something so sure in his statement, in his voice.
"It's not the first time I've done it," he said with a laugh. The statement might have been meant as clarification, but it didn't seem to clarify anything, at least for Calypso. Robert's head remained cocked as well.
"Someone, back in the day, liked to under-pack for tours. It was a chronic condition," Jonesy said as he shot a look toward Bonzo. "Whatcha pack for that one American tour? Two briefs, a singular sweater, and maybe three pairs of shorts?"
"And what was on me back!" Bonzo pointed out.
"Yes, yes, of course. How could I forget that important detail?" Jonesy asked with a playful smile painted on his face.
"Not everyone loved life on the road, you know. I had a family!" He replied, seemingly in defense of himself. This apparently was an age old fight, though maybe not started by the issue of clothing.
Robert rolled his eyes at the comment. "We all had families, my boy, that is besides Jimmy." Bonzo turned a bit red, but didn't bother to respond with anything. It was obvious that this fight was one they had time and time again, and had been settled long before Calypso had come along.
"But, either way, John Paul will go clothes shopping like the old days," Robert said with a smile. The feeling in the room lightened a little bit at that.
"Well, I think you should obviously go, Robert," Calypso piped up after another moment. In her mind, who else could go for him? He was too tall for Jonesy to be able to accurately judge what size he might need.
Jonesy and Bonzo had an almost similar sense of style, or Bonzo just put up with Jonesy's clothing choices. That alone told her that Jonesy didn't have practice buying for Robert as well. Robert seemed a bit pickier than that. And Jimmy seemed to have checked out about the clothing problem, not wanting a thing to do with it. He'd probably shame them all for not simply keeping their clothes.
Once it was out of her mouth, though, she regretted it. Everyone turned to look at her. It was as if they had forgotten she was there. Which, she couldn't fully blame them for. That wasn't the reason for her regret, though. With everyone leaving the house, she'd be left with Bonzo and Jimmy.
It wasn't like she didn't like either man. It would just, it was an uncomfortable thought. She didn't know them too well. Bonzo had literally just come back from the dead. If she stayed… She'd feel like she was getting in the way of a long overdue reunion rather than bonding with people she'd be trapped with.
"Well, I suppose you're right on that," Robert said as he looked at her with a smile. "But," he began as he put a hand on her thigh, "I'll only go if you agree to go with me. A pretty girl like you will distract the paparazzi from an old man like me." He had a toothy grin on his face that she couldn't say no to, one that showed off his missing tooth.
Her gut told her to say no. Calypso could already tell exactly what Robert was thinking about. It was a ploy for him to buy her more clothing. That was something that made her a bit uncomfortable. Having things paid for by other people just wasn't something she was used to. Could she really manage to get the word no out of her mouth, though?
"Well, of course I'll go," she said with a bright smile. Her face didn't show a single sign of her internal fight. She'd regret it later, give the look he gave her, but now wasn't the time to worry.
#the song remains the same#robert plant fanfiction#robert plant fanfic#led zeppelin fanfic#led zeppelin fanfiction
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Game Changer
Chapter Twelve: The New Normal
Word Count: 2539
Warnings: Language
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The sound of my bike tires running on the pavement is one of the only thing I hear as I ride from Turrfield to Hullberry for my last appointment of the day. Ivy trots slightly to the right of my bike as I turn past the Pokemon Center and head down the street to my latest client. I come to a stop before stepping off my bike and go to lift it up to walk up the steps to the side street.
“Hey, (Y/N/N)!” I turn and smile at Nessa, setting down my bike as she walks over to me. “Whatcha doing?”
I shrug before motioning to the path to my left. “Appointment, then I am off to Monostoke to take the train to Wedgehurt to visit Leon’s family for the weekend and train.”
She laughs, walking over to give me a hug. “Well, I won’t let you two be late then.” She lets go and pats Ivy on the head before waving at us.
I pat my side, “C'mon, girl. Let’s head to our last appointment then we are headed home.”
I lift my head when the conductor comes on the speaker to tell everyone who was left on the train that we would be arriving in Wedgehurst soon. I type out the last of my treatment notes and send them to Samantha to look over before placing my tablet into my bag.
Ivy stands when the train comes to a stop, prompting me to stand as well and exit with the rest of the passengers. I weave through the crown, following Ivy as best as I can until I can get off to the side and wait to get my bike from the back. I whistle for my Rotom, who buzzes around my face and shows off the last few messages I had missed. A few were from Leon telling me that he would be late, but not late enough to miss dinner, one from Nessa saying it was good to see me today, and one from my mom.
Rotom buzzes after I reply to the last few messages, notifying me of a new message. “New message from Mama Michelle: Can you stop at the grocery store and pick up a few things for dinner tonight?”
“Reply, ‘Of course, text me the items.” I mutter, before thanking the woman and pushing the bike while I walk to the store. Once the ingredients were sent, I set my bike against the wall and head in. Ivy and I wonder and grab a few things while we wait, but once they do we can finish the shopping. Once I had everything in my bag I grabbed my bike and rode down the road to Postwick and back to the house.
I smile as I see Hop in the yard training his team; Corviknight perched on the stone wall, Rillaboom bouncing by Hop, and Dubwool rolled onto his side while Hop brushes him. I cup a hand over my mouth and hollar, “You wanna fight, mate?”
Hop’s head snaps up before laughing. “Not with you!” He calls with a laugh, standing to open the gate so I can ride in and park my bike against the stone wall. “Did Mum send you a list of things to buy for dinner?”
I lift the bag up, “Yeah, I am going to take them into her, but if she doesn’t need any help I will be back out here with you, okay?” Hop nods at me as I walk back to the house. Once I enter I smile at the smell coming from the kitchen. I walk in and see Michelle chopping something on the cutting board while the pot to her right is boiling. “Hey, Michelle, I got your groceries.”
She turns and smiles widely, “Darling, thank you so much!” She takes the bag from me and sets it on the counter before turning back to me and pulling me into a hug. “How have clinicals been?”
“Good, good. I am kinda thankful that I have the end of next week off for the finals event. Smantha said that she isn’t evening having the main clinic open since almost all of Galar will be attending.” I give her one final squeeze before pulling away. “Leon has been training his team hard to prepare for it, they are in desperate need of a break this weekend.”
“I thought you two were still going to train in the back field?”
I nod as I fill a glass with water, “Yeah! I mean, his are still a little higher than mine but we are hoping to level my team up more than really keep his team in shape.” I take a slow drink before continuing, “Scorch loves to be fully evolved, he is still a big ball of energy. Also, Fritter evolved into an Appletun last week.”
“So you did choose a sweet apple over a tart one.”
I laugh, moving the glass between my hands, “Yeah, I let her decide. She is still really tough in battle though, almost took down Lee’s Inteleon last week. Of course he dodged one of her attacks and managed to beat her, but she is growing stronger.”
“Lee said your team is catching up to him in stats, even said that you were training up Ivy.” I notice her lean down and pet Ivy as she speaks. “He never thought that she would ever fight unless she needed to.”
“Yeah, she decided to join in about three weeks after I got back? She wanted to join in on training after Mr. Rime knocked out Daisy. She took revenge,” I laugh patting my leg as Ivy walks over and hops into my lap.
“Well it’s good to see her joining in on her new team, I know you were okay with her just being a part of the family and not worry about her battling but I am glad she is more comfortable.”
I smile and nod, rubbing behind Ivy’s ears. “I am too.”
The sound of Hop and his Pokemon freaking out alerts us to Leon’s arrival. Michelle and I look at each other before giggling. “Go on, I know you haven’t seen him in a few weeks due to Champion duties.”
I give her an embarrassed smile before I nudge Ivy off my lap and head back outside. Leon is tickling Hop into the ground when I walk out, Charizard shaking his head while Rillaboom smacking the ground with his sticks. Charizard notices me and lumbars over, nuzzling his head in to mine, my hands flying up and rubbing his cheeks and neck. “You miss me bud? I missed you too.”
“Rude,” I hear Leon call, causing me to lean over so I can see him between the gap of Charizard’s wings. Leon is still kneeling down, but is just pinning Hop to the ground. “I thought you would say hello to me first.”
I shift to the side and walk over, playfully shoving Lee over so I can save Hop, only for him to tug me down and land on top of him. I laugh loudly, Leon smiling before pinching my sides causing me to squeal and shove at him to try and escape. “Don’t be rude! The only reason I said hi to Charizard first was because you were busy torturing your brother- Leon stop!” I squirm and wiggle, finally getting some relief when Hop joins and helps me tickle Leon back. The three of us fall into a tickling puddle, Leon dragging the two of us down on top of him before pinning us there and tickling our sides.
The three of us finally give up, panting and laughing quietly. Michelle calls for Hop to come help her, leading for him to slowly roll away from Leon and I and running into the house and leaving Leon and I panting on the grass.
I feel Leon press his nose into my hairline, lips softly pressing into my forehead. “I missed you these past two weeks. I couldn’t get home in time at any point. I hope it hasn’t been awful.”
I shake my head and hug him softly, not wanting to move. “No, it wasn’t bad. Raihan made me come over for lunch last Friday since I got a half day. He also ended up helping me train the team a bit, says that he is surprised how far they have come.”
“He called and told me that, and asked for me to send him my training regimine,” he laughs. “I told him I’d show him when he beat me in a battle.”
“You are so full of yourself,” I laugh, tilting my head up to look at him. “One of these days he will beat you, and you will be so proud.”
Leon leans in and presses a kiss to my nose. “I will be so excited for him.”
“Lee! (Y/N)! Mum said dinner is ready and to stop canoodling on the grass where the neighbors can see you!” Hop yells from the window.
Leon and I look at one another before laughing. I roll off of Lee, giving him the chance to stand and pull me to my feet. “C'mon, let’s go eat. Then we can do some training, maybe even help Hop a little, yeah?”
I nod, squeezing his hand, “Sounds perfect.”
~
Rotom buzzes around my head as I head from the apartment with Ivy at my side to the stadium. Today was the day, Hop was competing to get into the championship finals the next day as well as a few other trainers including Piers’ sister Marnie.
I had met her when I had to go to Spikemuth for an appointment and couldn’t get in, she had shown me the back way so I could make it there in time. Piers eventually saw me and introduced me to her and quickly we became friends.
I show my pass to the door, heading inside about an hour early to take Leon a lunch and go tell Hop and Marnie good luck. My shoes smack against the tile as I slip past the 'trainers only’ sign and head down to the hallway. Ivy trotts alongside me as I find the locker room where the latest competitors are sitting. I knock on the door and step inside, finding them seated at different benches and talking quietly. One girl is standing by the windows, spinning a pokeball on her finger.
Hop looks up and finds me walking in, mouth falling open in surprise, “(Y/N), what are you doing in here? Only trainers-”
“Are supposed to be back here, I know.” I laugh, ruffling his hair. “But your brother forgot his lunch so I am delivering it since I know he won’t eat unless I bring it to him.” I move to pull him into a hug, Hop’s arms circling my waist as he sighs contently. “Besides, I wanted to wish the challengers luck.”
“Well,” he squeezes me a little before letting go, “I am glad to see you.”
I smile before turning to Marnie, surprisingly, she gives me a small smile before hugging me as well. “You too, Marnie, kick ass out there, yeah?”
“Whose side are you one-”
“I’m on you having fun and battling hard. However it works out, I want you all to go out there and have the best battle you can.”
I hear a snicker from across the room, the girl by the window spins around to look at us. She places a hand on her hip, jutting it out in the process as her blonde hair falls in front of her shoulder. “Battling to have fun and battling to win are two totally different things.”
I give her a kind smile, but my words are void of a happy tone, “And yet the person with the best bond with their Pokemon will always have the better battle. You may have strategy and strength, but they have love.”
I watch as she tilts her head, “You’re the Champion’s girlfriend, right?”
“Fiancee actually.” I state, my hands resting on Hop and Marnie’s shoulder.
She laughs, “Mind telling the Champion something for me?” When I don’t answer, she continues, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Tell him to enjoy his undefeated streak, cause after tomorrow it is going to end. Champion Serenity has a nice ring to it.”
I give her a small smile before leaning down so only Hop and Marnie can hear me. “You have to kick her ass cause I can’t.”
Hop breaks into laughter as Marnie nods, “Sure thing, doc.”
Serenity raises an eyebrow before I bid them goodbye and good luck, leaving the room before I try and beat up an over-entitled eleven year-old with Ivy in tow.
I find Leon not too long later, seated in a green room with his head resting on the back of the couch. The sound of the door closing behind me causes him to stir, looking up as I walk over, Ivy curling up beside him. He smiles, hand reaching for me. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
I lift his lunch after taking his hand with my opposite hand. “Making sure you ate before you got started, and to make sure to give you some lovin’ before you go and do your job.”
He smiles, tugging me down so that I was sitting in his lap, “Will you stay while I eat?”
“Well if I get the best seat in the house then sure,” I tease, making him laugh loudly. I listen to him talk about his morning since he left the house early this morning while he eats. At some point, he notices the sour look on my face, asking me what is wrong. “Do me a favor?”
He chuckles, “Sure love, what can I do for you?”
“You know the gym challenger, Serenity I think is her name?” I watch as he nods, “Good, if she makes it to the final round against you, beat her. For my sake.”
He laughs and shakes his head, “Any reason for this request?”
“She isn’t someone I could ever see being a Champion, not because she is bad at battling, but the fact that she thinks she can do what she wants because she is good. She needs to get a reality check.”
Leon chuckles, squeezing my hip. “No one is taking my title unless they earn it, I got you babe.” His Rotom comes buzzing over and shows us that Leon needs to finish getting ready and I needed to head to the stadium. “Alright, love. As much as I have enjoyed you being here, I need to get ready. I will see you at the end of the day in the lobby, I’ll take you and Hop out to dinner tonight, yeah?”
“Sounds perfect, Leo.” I purr, making him mutter out a 'dear Arceus,’ before pulling me into a deep kiss. I giggle against his lips before getting out of his lap. “But do tell me this, why are we staying in a hotel when we live here in Wyndon?”
He chuckles, pushing himself from off the couch to hug me one more time before pushing me toward the door. “Aesthetic, I have no clue honestly, makes sure I am not late I guess. I’ll see you later, okay? I’ll meet you in the hotel.”
“Have fun,” I sing, giving one last wave before leaving, heading to my seat to watch the first of many Semi-Finals.
_________________________________________
A/N: Hello hello hello! Hope you all are having a good day!
Masterlist
#cg writes#champion leon#champion leon x fem!reader#champion leon fluff#pokemon swsh#pokemon sword and shield#pokemon leon#pokemon shield leon#pokemon sword leon#dandeleon#dande
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