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mortedeveles · 3 years

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Valentine’s Day, but make it illegal!

SUMMARY: Denki has been planning for weeks on how to ask his dearest crush, you, on Valentine’s Day. But once the holiday has arrived, luck doesn’t seem to be on his side...

PAIRING: Denki Kaminari x fem!reader

THEMES: Fluff, humor, slight angst but overall lighthearted. [ONE-SHOT] [CUPID’S ARROW WRITING EVENT]

WORD COUNT: 4.7K (around 4702 words)

TAG’S AND TW’S: Illegal activity (don’t try this at home kids) trespassing, mentions of insecurities, blood and minor injuries, a bit of hurt comfort but mostly fluffy, romantic pining.

before you read (!!!): this fic is part of the writing event, Cupid’s Arrow! check out our masterlist if you’re interested in more Valentine Day themed works <3 please support the event with REBLOGS, likes and follows!!

Out of all the things Denki Kaminari considered himself to be, brave wasn’t exactly one of them. Sure, he could muster up the courage to tease Bakugou about something silly, then run away in fear, or pull off some stupidly dangerous stunts, but when it came to you, it felt like all the adrenaline and courage in the world abandoned him.

Left him to fend for himself, stuttering like an idiot, or simply being way dumber than his usual self. He would race off with burning cheeks after making a mistake in front of you, attempting to forget the fool he made out of himself. And you never brought it up, which he was extremely grateful for. It was just another reason why he had the biggest, fattest crush on you. You never judged him for his chaotic antics, never insulted him, or felt ashamed of him.

Denki knew he was a big flirt, and even though he would occasionally try a cheesy pick-up line on you, it never worked. You would only laugh and pat his shoulder, telling him it was a good pick up line to use on someone. Why didn’t you see that the only person he wanted to conquer with his lines was you? That’s why he always told you them, always tried to be as romantic as one could, but you never picked up on it.

Every unintentional rejection of yours left him to mope alone and disappointed. He had tried everything- tried using all the pick-up lines he knew of, would try to invite you on a date, but you always waved him off, almost as if you didn’t even believe him.

As the months came by and quickly left, February was here in a blink of an eye. The cold weather continued, some days were chillier than others, and on some days, there would be the occasional sunny view. Not much warmth, but at least some sunlight.

The number fourteen on Denki’s calendar haunted him. Valentine’s Day was approaching quicker than he’d like, but he had decided that he would ask you out, for once and for all, on the upcoming day. The thing was, he still hadn’t completely made up his mind. Unsure of what to do for the special holiday, he decided to consult Kirishima, Sero, and Mina after class. When Denki brought up the topic of asking you out, Bakugou merely snorted and walked out of the classroom, not before muttering, ‘’Just ask her out dunce head, it’s not that hard.’’

His shoulders slumped with a dramatic sigh, and the remaining of his friends watched him with sympathetic gazes. They found themselves sitting in the 1A classroom, just after the final school bell of the day had rung. You had quickly left, walking away with Uraraka and Midoriya. Denki and his friends huddled in the center of the classroom, sitting on some desks that weren’t theirs- but since Aizawa-sensei had left early for the day, there was no one around to reprimand them.

‘’I don’t know what to do,’’ he groaned into his hands, ‘’I can’t screw this up- it has to be perfect. But…’’

‘’You don’t know what to do.’’ Sero completed the sentence for him, and Denki moaned in response.

‘’Well, I don’t think you have to do something extraordinary, bro,’’ Kirishima piped in. ‘’Y/N likes you for who you are, not for some facade of sorts. Just be you, and you’ll be fine.’’

Mina tapped her fingers on the table, remaining to stay silent for once. Sero hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ‘’You’re not wrong Kirishima, but knowing Denki, Y/N might kiss him and he’ll end up accidentally electrocuting her.’’

Kirishima laughed heartily at this, while Denki pouted. Mina gasped loudly, raising a finger in the air. She then grinned and clasped her hands together, rubbing them vigorously.

‘’I know what you should do, Denki! I’ve just thought of something,’’ she leaned towards the blonde, whispering into his ear. Kirishima and Sero watched the exchange, as Denki’s droopy eyes quickly widened.

‘’No!’’ He yelled out, and Mina cackled as his face went bright red. ‘’I’m not- I’m not doing that!’’

‘’What did Mina suggest?’’ Sero asked and Denki grumbled.

‘’She told me to-to put a trail of roses in Y/N’s room, and sit on her bed, a rose in my mouth and half-naked!’’ He cried out, and by how flustered he was, it wouldn’t be long until steam puffed out of his ears.

His friends laughed loudly, while he rubbed his ears, feeling the warm skin against his palm.

‘’I am not doing that,’’ he stated and Mina snickered.

‘’Okayy...’’ she sang-song, ‘’I was just trying to help you out!’’

Denki huffed, shaking his head. ‘’I may be a big flirt, but that’s… waaay out of my boundaries.’’

Sero chuckled. He then began to shoot small strips of tape out of his elbows, absentmindedly placing them on the desk. Kirishima hummed in his seat, his sharp teeth poking out.

‘’Well,’’ the red-hair started. ‘’Y/N’s quirk has to do with nature, right? Maybe you could take her to a camping site. Or a park, but I think maybe she’d like to spend a night outdoors.’’

‘’Kiri…’’ Denki trailed off. ‘’That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard!’’ He quickly scrambled out of his seat.

‘’Wait- where are you going?’’ Kirishima and Mina called after him, watching as their friend tripped over a seat before racing out of the classroom.

‘’I need to plan this date!’’ He shouted. ‘’If I want everything to go as planned, I need to start working now!’’

The remaining U.A. students chuckled at their friends’ antics, before returning to look at each other.

‘’Do you think the date will go alright?’’ Mina piped in.

Kirishima shrugged. ‘’I don’t know,’’ Sero responded. ‘’Knowing Denki, they might end up in trouble, or lost somewhere.’’

Kirishima laughed, slapping Sero on the back. ‘’Let’s have a little bit more faith in our human Pikachu, Sero. Who knows? They might end up dating after Valentine’s Day.’’

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Today was the fated day. It was February 14th, and Denki didn’t think he could be any more nervous than he already was. With a rose in his hand and a box of chocolates in another, he slowly trudged into his first period, eyes immediately landing on your seated figure. You were smiling, laughing, and nodding along with whatever Mina was talking about. But when the pink girl spotted him, she grinned, before bidding goodbye to you.

Aizawa-sensei hadn’t arrived yet. The blonde took a deep breath, feeling his heart ready to explode. This was it. He was going to walk up to you, give you a charming smile, and ask you out without hesitation.

‘’Here goes nothing,’’ he told himself before approaching your desk. Your head was ducked, focused on a notebook you had just pulled out.

Denki cleared his throat and straightened his posture as you looked up at him with a welcoming smile.

‘’Hey, Denki, what’s up?’’ You saw the flower and chocolates in his hand but didn’t say anything.

‘’Um…’’ he felt just like when he’d overuse his quirk, dumb and unable to say anything. You were just so damn pretty, and he was speechless every time he met your gaze.

‘’Would-would you like to go out with me today?’’ His voice was much squeakier and nervous than he’d like, but Denki mentally clapped himself on the back for being able to do it.

Now, it was up to you. Your eyes widened in surprise, lips slightly parting open.

‘’Wait...that’s for me?’’ You pointed at the flower and chocolates. Denki suddenly became aware how most of his classmates had gone quiet, and were watching the two of you. Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded in response.

‘’Do you, um, wanna be my Valentine’s?’’ The blonde cursed as his voice escaped as a squeak yet again. But when you smiled widely, his worries were washed away in an instant.

‘’I would love to!’’ Some of his classmates began to cheer, while you stood up and wrapped your arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Your perfume suddenly invaded his senses, and his mind was foggy, unable to focus on anything but you.

Wait... you accepted-?! Denki couldn’t stop the dopey smile that spread across his lips as he returned your hug, basking in your lovely scent.

‘’Grea-great!’’ He stammered but felt his confidence return quickly. ‘’I’ll pick you up at your dorm at four o’clock, is that okay with you?’’

His heart stuttered at your bright smile. God, you were so cute.

‘’That works with me!’’

For the rest of the school day, Denki could not stop thinking about you. The rush of confidence and happiness he felt was still there, but so was something else. He felt his insecurities creep onto him.

What was he going to say during the date…? Should he dress in any particular way? Wait- he was the one who had decided on the location, so he should know. Should he bring you more flowers? Did you even like the flowers and chocolate he gave you? What if you’re allergic to flowers and he didn’t know-?! You had accepted the gifts and thanked him nonstop, but what if you were just pitying him…?

He was growing nervous and antsy. Unable to stop thinking about the future, he sat on the lunch bench next to Kirishima, tapping his leg up and down. Sero and Mina were talking, but Denki had his mind on other things.

He had decided to go with Kirishima’s idea, a date at a camping site, which was in a fairly popular park near U.A. Denki had checked the park’s website, reading over the type of events they had. He had also heard that there was a beautiful view at the park, but it was extremely dangerous so it was restricted. But Denki would find the way to show it to you, he was sure of it.

And before he knew it, the blonde found himself standing outside your dorm, extremely aware of Mina and Kirishima watching from the wall corner down the hall, murmuring excitedly. He swallowed nervously, feeling small beads of sweat form on his forehead. This is it, he thought as his fist fell upon the wooden door.

‘’Hey!’’ You greeted him cheerfully as the door swung open. Denki’s mouth opened, jaw slackening as he stared at you, eyes trailing over your outfit. You felt slightly scrutinized under his gaze but felt your cheeks warm up as well.

‘’Hey... you look really nice.’’ He murmured, nervously scratching the back of his head. You smiled, hands tightening around your backpack straps. Denki was staring at you in awe as if you were wearing the finest of silks and jewelry. But really, you were just wearing a comfortable grey tracksuit, paired with some black running shoes, a backpack with some essentials, and a sleeping bag hung around your shoulder, you were ready to go. He’d told you during English that you would go camping, so you decided to prepare for the trip.

‘’Thanks, you look good as well.’’ The blonde was sporting a black jacket and black sweatpants, with a yellow lightning bolt sewn onto the upper left shoulder, sporting a pair of black sneakers similar to yours. His hair was slightly ruffled and you resisted the urge to reach out and hold the golden locks between your fingers.

’It’s nothing,’’ he waved you off, but the soft blush that spread across his cheeks made you smile. ‘’Anyways, uhm, are you ready to go?’’

‘’Yeah!’’ You adjusted the bag around your shoulder, stepping out of your dorm, locking it behind you. ‘’Let’s do this.’’

Denki smiled brightly, and you felt your heart stutter. He outstretched his hand and with a shy smile, you took it.

The two of you quickly walked out of the dorm buildings, your friends cheering and whooping behind you, and you couldn’t help but laugh as your face grew warmer. Denki glanced at you, and the two of you shared a bright smile.

‘’So, where are we going? You told me to we’re going camping, but you didn’t say where…’’ You questioned, your hand that was intertwined with Denki gently swinging back and forth.

‘’Oh! Well, I was thinking about it for a long time,’’ he paused. ‘’Like a really, really long time,’’ you giggled. ‘’So uh, I thought we could spend the night at this national park! They have a camping area, a local store and so on. What do you think…?’’ He stopped for a second, staring at you as he awaited your reaction.

‘’Oh, cool!’’ The idea truly did excite you. ‘’Sounds great, I haven’t camped in so long.’’ The blonde smiled widely, and the two of you continued to walk away from the campus, and into the streets, where a car awaited.

‘’I order a taxi for us,’’ Denki explained. ‘’Let’s go!’’

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶

‘’Wow, this place is beautiful…’’ was the first sentence that left your lips as the two of you stepped out of the taxi, which quickly drove away. The scenery ahead of you left you speechless. So much nature, trees, it was nearly impossible to describe it in mere words. A sea of tall and towering trees surrounded the park, with a cement trail a few ahead of you, some bushes and rocks littered between trees. From the corner of your eye, you saw a squirrel climb up a tree, and grinned, forcing down a squeal of excitement.

‘’I love it!’’ You turned to look at Denki, who was already looking at you. His head jolted back in embarrassment, cheeks blooming red.

‘’Yeah? I’m glad you think so. Come on, let’s go find our camping site. I made a reservation, so we should be fine.’’

‘’Oh my, okay then,’’ you walked beside him, your backpack gently bouncing on your back with every excited step you took. ‘’You planned all of this out, huh Denki? It’s amazing, I love it.’’ You stopped in your tracks, and the blonde did the same. He smiled nervously, shrugging his shoulders casually.

‘’It was nothing,’’ but you saw how he shied away from your gaze. ‘’But I’m glad you love it.’’ He gave you a warm smile, radiation so much genuine happiness and pleasure that you nearly melted into a puddle.

‘’Well then,’’ you cleared your throat, looking away with burning cheeks. ‘’We have to go find our site, right?’’

The blonde nodded silently, and the two of you continued to walk in the stone path. Eventually, the path led to a widespread area. There were two small wooden housings at your left- what you assumed were the local convenience stores, and in front of you, stood an array of camping tents, and three campfires.

It wasn’t particularly crowded, with only a few people in the area, chattering animatedly. No one paid mind to you both as you walked to the camping tent on the farthest left, which was also the closest to the trees. The tent was a bright yellow and shaped like a triangular pyramid, a column of sticks holding it up from the center on the inside. The color reminded you of the blonde on your left, and you smiled.

‘’So, the tents here are kinda small, sorry ‘bout that. But I did rent the biggest size they have, hopefully, it’ll be comfortable enough for the two of us.’’ Denki explained. The two of you dropped your bags on the ground, kicking off your shoes and opening the tent. It was rather cramped, but you didn’t mind.

‘’Sounds good to me!’’ You replied. Your eyes trailed over the inside of the tent. It was empty, and the two of you began to unpack, first unfurling your sleeping bags and laying them on the ground. It was a tight fit, and the implications of it made you swallow nervously. There was no space left between the two sleeping bags, which meant you’d have to sleep really, really close to Denki. The thought of it made your stomach twist and your heart stuttered.

Once the bags were spread and your backpack definitely felt lighter, the two of you set them on top of the sleeping bags and sat down.

‘’So,’’ you traced your fingers on the tent’s flooring, a thin grey carpet. ‘’What’s the agenda for today?’’

‘’Okay, so first we’re going to walk on a trail with a tourist guide, do whatever we want, maybe some birdwatching and eat dinner? And then once it’s night time, return and roast some marshmallows over the bonfire. How does that sound?’’

‘’Lovely,’’ you smiled and Denki nodded. ‘’Yeah, so…’’ he pulled out his phone and nodded to himself.

‘’The tour begins in twenty minutes, so we’re here just in time. In the meanwhile, want to go outside and get to know the park?’’

‘’Sure.’’ You said. Denki stepped out of the tent, and you followed, about to get up when he outstretched his hand towards you.

‘’Would you do me the honor, m’lady?’’ He then bowed dramatically, and you giggled as you took his hand, standing up on your feet.

‘’Alright then Romeo, let’s go exploring.’’

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After hours of walking, one bird attack, and some roasted marshmallows later, you were curled up in your sleeping bag, the night calm and steady. Denki was right about the tent being tight, and honestly, you weren’t sure if you were thankful or just a nervous wreck.

He was so close to you. His warm breath was fanning your closed eyes, and you swallowed nervously. Somehow, you ended up sleeping on your side, facing him, and now your hands were brushing against his, knees bumping every now and then. Slowly, you opened one eye and peeked at him. He was sound asleep, snoring. You giggled. You followed after, gently closing your eyes and falling into a deep slumber. That is, until you heard Denki’s hushed voice, and your shoulders gently being shaken by him.

‘’Psst! Y/N, wake up,’’ he murmured, and you slowly opened your eyes, mumbling in confusion.

‘’Denki?’’ you murmured, sitting up and leaning your elbows. ‘’What’s going on?’’

‘’I have to show you something,’’ there was a gleeful smile on his lips. ‘’Can you get up? Let’s go, we have to sneak out.’’

‘’Mmm..’’ you groaned in protest, but eventually got up, dusted off your clothes, and trudged behind Denki, exiting the tent. You slipped on your running shoes, and he did the same.

Crickets were chirping, the wind was gentle tonight, and it was mostly ark tonight, other than the moon shining down. You looked up and smiled. Being away from the city and deep into nature, the stars in the sky were much visible. It was a beautiful sight.

‘’Wow, it’s beautiful out here.’’ You commented. ‘’Yeah,’’ Denki replied, but he wasn’t looking at the sky. His gaze was pinned directly on you, a soft smile on his lips. ‘’It is.’’

His unwavering gaze made your face feel hot. So with a slight tremor in your walk, you went up towards him, waiting for him to take the lead. You stood next to one of the campfires, which had already been put out earlier, and there was nothing but some wood and ashes.

‘’What did you want to show me?’’ You piped in, wringing your hands nervously, unsure how to feel with Denki’s sudden quietness and intense stare.

‘’Oh, it’s this way. C’mon.’’ Without any further warning, the blonde slipped his hand into yours, walking further away from the camping tents and into the sea of trees. Denki’s hand was really warm, and how he took your hand without hesitation made butterflies swarm in your stomach.

You didn’t know where you were going. Lost sense of direction, and only clung to your friend’s hand. He was holding a flashlight in his other hand, leading the way. You stepped over tree branches, dead leaves and heard small critters chirp around you.

A few more minutes went by until you heard a noise. It was faint, but only grew louder the more you walked straight ahead. The unmistakable noise of water. You perked up, the haze of sleepiness clouding you quickly diminishing, and focused on the noise. You felt it too, how the air became cooler, and the sound of falling water slowly surrounding you.

You saw a gleam of water in the distance but was met with a wired fence in front of you. Confused, you turned to Denki.

‘’Here, hold this,’’ he handed you the flashlight, before gripping the fence, slowly climbing upwards.

‘’Wait, Denki-!’’ You exclaimed when you realized what he was doing. Then your eyes swept to your sides, and your blood ran cold as you saw the big, bold and red warning sign that read; RESTRICTED AREA. ANY TRESPASSERS WILL BE ARRESTED AND FINED.

‘’Denki!” you hissed as he jumped over the wired fence, eyes darting around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else around. ‘’Are you sure this is legal?!’’

He nodded quickly,- a little too fast for your liking, which made your suspicions heighten. ‘’Of course, it is!’’ he responded eagerly, offering you his hand. ‘’Why wouldn’t it be?’’

You sighed. ‘’Because, it’s already dark, there’s no one here, and I’m pretty sure that sign to my left says that this area is off-limits.’’

‘’Pfft, that old thing?’’ The blonde shrugged and shook his head in denial. ‘’Doesn’t matter. We’ll be fine!’’ He waved you off.

‘’Anyway, can you throw over the flashlight? Then climb over here.’’ With a defeated groan, you threw the flashlight over the wired fence- which wasn’t too tall, around one and a half meters at most.

Denki caught it in his hands, and you began to climb. Days, months of training helped you move quickly without any major difficulties, and before you knew it, you were on the top, springing towards the floor. Except, you didn’t notice the top of the fence had particularly sharp wire ends, and pressed your hand against it, before jumping down to the ground.

‘’Fuck!’’ You hissed when pain sprang from your palm and watched as blood seeped out of it. ‘’Oh god.’’

‘’Are you okay? What happened-oh.’’ Denki’s mouth fell shut when he noticed your bleeding hand. Then his eyes widened and he sprang into action.

‘’Oh, shit! Does it hurt a lot? I’m so sorry,’’ he began to ramble, and looked around at his surroundings, anything to stop the bleeding. ‘’Fuck, shit,’’ the blonde took off his jacket and your eyes widened.

‘’Wait, no Denki-! That’s one of your new jackets, it’ll get stained with the blood!’’ But he didn’t listen to you and insisted, wrapped one of the sleeves around your palm and gently pressed down, the cloth soaking up the blood.

‘’It doesn’t matter,’’ he stated. ‘’You’re hurt, and it’s my fault. I can’t just stand here and do nothing about it,’’ the last part of his sentence came out as a whisper, but you still caught the words with a frown.

‘’Hey,’’ you gently reached out for his arm, squeezing it reassuringly. ‘’It’s not your fault, okay? Don’t worry about it. It’s just a minor cut, I’ll be fine.’’

‘’But it is my fault,’’ he looked at you pleadingly, almost desperately. Your chest ached.

‘’I’m so dumb, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on us trespassing, none of this would’ve happened. Fuck, I’m so sorry, I never meant for you to get hurt, I’m lucky enough as it is that you gave me a chance today -,’’ you stopped him with a finger against his lips, frowning at the sight of his watery eyes.

‘’Hey, hey, everything is okay,’’ you said gently, dropping your now wrapped left hand to the side, and held Denki’s chin with the other.

‘’Everything will be alright. You’re not dumb, okay? Don’t ever say that,’’ his lip wobbled. ‘’And what do you mean, you’re lucky enough I gave you a chance? I would’ve said yes anytime, Denki.

‘’Wait...really?’’ He looked genuinely shocked, and it made your heart ache.

‘’Yes, I’m serious Denki. I’ve liked you for so long, didn’t you know?’’

‘’Oh.’’ His sudden silence from the shock made you giggle. But then his eyes drifted to your wrapped hand, and he frowned.

‘’Hey, hey,’’ you murmured, bringing his attention from your hand to your face. ‘’My hand’s all wrapped up now, I’ll get it cleaned up on the way back, why don’t you show me wherever you wanted to go first?’’ Denki was quiet and didn’t remove his eyes from your face, and your heart stuttered when his gaze fell open your lips.

‘’Okay,’’ he said but made no moves to step away. The blonde and you suddenly became aware of how little distance there was between the two of you. You couldn’t stop thinking about how tempting Denki’s lips looked, and his thoughts weren’t too far from yours.

‘’Can I..can I kiss you?’’ The words left his mouth before he could even register them. You smiled, and instead of answering, you leaned forward.

A needy, almost desperate ghost of a groan left Denki’s throat when you met his lips, and you noticed how his eyes widened, but you merely smiled against his mouth. He wasn’t rough, but his movements were fast, desperate as if this would be the last time his lips met yours.

Your hands trailed to his hair, gently toying with the tips, and Denki melted even more into the kiss. It was enthralling, kissing your friend, but before you could get carried away, you pulled away, hands resting on the blonde’s chest. It was heaving up and down, and you smiled at the sight of Denki’s pink lips, now swollen and reddish.

‘’You know, when you asked me out earlier today, I didn’t expect things to end up like this,’’ you commented, and the boy chuckled.

‘’Yeah, me either.’’ He slowly took your hand in his once again, and the two of you began to walk forward. Your surroundings were pretty much the same as before, walking in a multitude of trees and nature, with no clear path ahead.

‘’I heard water,’’ you said. ‘’Earlier, when we arrived at the fence. Is there a lake or something here?’’

Denki gave you a sly smile. ‘’Maybe. You’ll have to wait and see for yourself, Y/N-chan.’’ You smiled at his response, and the two of you fell back into a comfortable silence, feet trudging along the grass and dirt.

‘’We’re almost there,’’ he said, and you could tell. There were fewer trees as if forming a path straight forward. Finally, you caught the sight of the water, and let out a breathless sigh. It was a beautiful sight. There was a waterfall across the forest, the water pouring down into a lake below, and with the moon shining on it, it left you mesmerized.

‘’Oh, be careful,’’ Denki held you back when you walked forward, eyes pinned on the waterfall. ‘’It’s a cliff here, so we don’t want to walk too far and fall, but we can sit on the edge if you want to.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ you agreed and smiled. The two of you walked forward, hands clasped together tightly. Soon enough, you reached the edge of the cliff and tentatively, peeked at the bottom. Your stomach lurched a bit, seeing the distance, but instead, you ripped your gaze away from it and sat down with Denki.

‘’I really enjoyed today,’’ you commented, swinging your legs back and forth. Denki looked at you, and his hand slowly crept to yours as he gave you a nervous smile.

‘’I’m glad,’’ he said. ‘’I wanted it to be special for you.’’

You exhaled with a small smile, before quickly leaning towards the blonde, landing a brief kiss on his mouth, and pulling away. Despite kissing earlier, his face still went red as a tomato.

‘’Oh-oh wow,’’ he looked dumbfounded before his face brightened. ‘’… does this mean I get horny rights-?’’

You sighed but cracked a smile. ‘’Say that again and I’m pushing you off this cliff, Denki.’’

‘’Okay, okay,’’ he raised his hands in surrender, and gave you a lopsided grin. ‘’It was worth a try.’’

a/n: ahh!! this was my first time writing for denki, i hope it’s okay!! i struggle with characterization a lot. anyways, check out the Cupid’s Arrow masterlist if you want more Valentine’s Day themed content!

if you enjoyed, please leave a like, REBLOG, comment, and/or follow! all the support is greatly appreciated <3

96 notes · View notes

kiras-sunshine · 3 years

Text

tarlos valentine 2021 day 1 prompt: “babe please sharing is caring” + blanket hogging

words: 5111

summary:

“Are you seriously reading a WikiHow article about how to stop hogging the covers?”

"Yes"

read on ao3

”This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” TK declares as he takes yet another forkful of the chocolate cake that Carlos has baked for his birthday.

He cannot remember when someone would have baked an actual cake for his birthday. They celebrate everyone’s birthday at the firehouse, but usually those are bought from the supermarket and they taste and look exactly like they cost less than five dollars.

His dad has threatened to bake something every year, but after the year when he served the dairy, butter and sugar free cake, TK had banned him from birthday related baking.

“Seriously,” he continues, gesturing towards the almost empty plate with his fork, “this cake made me fall more in love with you and I didn’t know that was possible.”

Carlos shakes his head, clearly in amusement, as he bites down his smile. He looks delighted and pleased. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Like is an understatement,” he remarks and reaches over the narrow kitchen island to press a quick kiss on his lips.

The cake tastes amazing, rich and sweet, and the texture is fluffy, but firm. It looked gorgeous too, as if it were straight rout of the high-end confectioneries of Manhattan. He had asked where he had bought it before Carlos admitted, rather timidly, that he had baked it from the scratch.

TK hadn’t been expecting anything other than the supermarket cake, and honestly, he thought his birthday would be just grouped together with the firehouse annual Christmas party. Being born in December usually meant that it got joined with Christmas celebrations and it didn’t get to be a separate thing. TK is fine with it. It bothered him more when he was a child, but now he doesn’t mind that much.

Hoping that one day would be about him feels like a dumb, childish and selfish wish.

Carlos had been uncharacteristically quiet about the upcoming birthday or any plans related to it, and TK had been almost convinced that he had forgotten the whole thing. It would have been fine if it were the case, but obviously, he hadn’t forgotten. Instead, he had gone all out.

TK knows he should have suspected something when Marjan had asked all slyly if he had any plans for his birthday when they all had been gathered around the firehouse dining table to eat the pathetic looking supermarket cake.

He had said no, and everyone had smiled like they knew something he didn’t, but he had brushed it off.

TK reaches scoop a forkful of the cake from Carlos’ plate, because his is almost empty, and he grins at him brightly. “Babe please, sharing is caring,” he chuckles.

Carlos rolls his eyes, but the fondness is too visible to make him seem even a tiny bit annoyed.

“You’re lucky I love you,” he mumbles. There is no heat behind his words, and he pushes the plate closer to TK.

It’s obviously meant to be a joke and his voice is light, but still TK is aware that it is the closest thing to the truth anyway. He feels lucky, incredibly so.

Carlos is a kind, caring and loving person in general and it is evident in the way he does his job and the way he treats people around him, and TK is fully aware that he would be lucky to get just a fraction of the love Carlos has to give, but the fact that he has decided that TK is worth of all of it makes it a whole another thing.

Lucky doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Privilege, maybe.

He has started to notice lately that the English language doesn’t have nearly enough words to describe what he is feeling for him. But that doesn’t stop him from trying.

“I know,” TK eventually replies, several beats too late it to be counted as banter anymore and the fondness in Carlos’ eyes just grows.

He does steal another forkful of his piece of cake and lets his gaze wonder around the small cabin.

Instead of forgetting his birthday, Carlos had rented a cabin for three days. It is a couple hours away from Austin, located near camping-area, and while the cabin is small, it is still objectively really nice and fancy for a log cabin.

He looks at the dark brown wooden walls and the shiny marble kitchen island. He tries his best not to think how much money he has spent on his surprise.

Carlos had also coordinated it so that they both have the three days off around his birthday, and he had listed his whole crew’s, and his dad’s help, to do it, several months in advance. TK guesses there are certain perks that his boyfriend gets along with his family like a house on fire.

Carlos yawns. He blinks a couple of times, before focusing his gaze back to him. He smiles and it is warm and genuine one, but TK can see the redness of his eyes and the dark circles below them. He looks exhausted, even though he is trying to hide it.

“You should go to sleep,” TK points out, softly, as he places the fork on his own plate.

“I’m fine,” he insists.

In his opinion, it is a small wonder Carlos hasn’t collapsed already. He had pulled an fourteen-hour shift with some over time on top of it. After that he had still driven them up to the cottage and cooked him a huge dinner. It’s a bit unclear to him where he found the time to bake the cake, but the point is, he knows that he is tired.

He would know it without having all the details. They have been together for year and a half, and TK likes to think that he can read him. Understand all the little cues from his facial expressions and behavior. At the moment, everything he picks on screams that he is fatigued.

“You look like you could pass out from exhaustion,” he remarks.

“It’s your birthday,” Carlos argues, a little flatly, but he is poorly attempting to repress yet another yawn.

“I’m aware,” he says, amusedly, as walks around the kitchen island and reaches to take his hand into his own. He presses a soft kiss on his knuckles. “All of this is really nice, and I love it, but it also pains me to see you so tired.”

He blinks slowly, but his smile is lopsided, but still full of adoration. “I wanted to do something special for you.”

TK remembers faintly that he had told him on his last birthday that his birthday rarely was a priority, always getting entangled to the preparations of the holiday season, and he had certainly not meant anything with it. But Carlos, being a strong contender for the title of most considerate person in the world, had hung on his words and decided to indulge him on his silly wish of having a proper birthday.

TK had snorted when they had picked up the keys of the cabin and the receptionist had frowned when she clarified that there would be no Christmas decorations, per request, but Carlos had just grinned at him.

“And it is,” he reassures, squeezing his hand slightly.

It makes his stomach flip as he thinks how much effort he has put into the whole thing, just so that he would feel loved and cared for.

“Maybe,” Carlos admits softly, “but going to sleep before eight wasn’t really part of the plan.”

Carlos lets go of his hand, but places both of his hands on his waist and pulls him closer. TK has no objections against that, and he loves the feeling of their bodies being pressed together. He loves the closeness of it, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world to be so up in each other’s personal space.

“Yeah, just one of the many perks of dating a first responder,” he deadpans, resting his other hand on his bicep.

Carlos huffs amusedly. “Because there are so many of them.”

“Our never matching schedules,” he offers. He lets his other hand run along his spine and settles it to hold the small of his back.

“Monthly hospital visits.”

TK glares at him. “They aren’t monthly.”

“Bi-monthly,” Carlos corrects himself with a shit-eating grin and it makes his nose scrunch, and it is one of the most adorable things TK has ever witnessed.

“Constant fear and worry,” he adds.

He knows he should be almost used to it. Since early childhood, he has had to learn to live with the fact that one day his dad might not make it to home, and now almost everyone he loves and considers family risks their lives on daily basis to help others.

He should be used to it, but the truth is that he isn’t. The fear and worry still sometimes knock him off his feet and take over every part of his body, but he can cope with it. Most of the time. Although, he loathes the fact that his standards for a good day have been lowered to the simple rule of if they both make it home in one piece, it’s a good day.

Carlos nods and presses a soft kiss on his forehead. He doesn’t immediately pull away. “The way you smell like smoke,” he murmurs against his skin.

TK lets out a surprised laugh and the ghost of his kiss still lingers right above his eyebrows when he pulls away. “I could always shower again.”

He has gotten into the habit of showering at the firehouse when the shift ends, because Carlos does have a point about the smell hazards. Most of the time he reeks after the shift and he had rinsed his skin today too, and the shift hadn’t been terrible. Only one fire at the 24-hour diner when their deep fryer had caught on fire, but that was hours ago.

“You’ve smelled like it since the day we met,” he points out, “I’m not sure a shower is going to help.”

“Hey,” TK protests, but he doesn’t bother to hide his grin.

“I wouldn’t change any of it for anything,” he says under his breath, “apart from fearing for your life.”

Over the couple of years, he has known Carlos, he has noticed that certain things happen when he gets thoroughly exhausted. His accent becomes thicker and he becomes sappier than usually and he starts to lack a certain filter. It’s mostly just amusing and endearing, and he loves that side of Carlos just as much as any other, but he also wants to take care of him.

It makes a certain kind of knot of uneasiness to form in his stomach knowing that he is burning the candle from both ends for him.

“I know, me neither,” TK reassures, softly, but pushes him a little backwards, “but seriously, you should go to bed. And you don’t even have to go alone.”

He is also a little weary after the shift. His muscles are achy, and he wouldn’t mind sleeping around the clock. And as always, seeing Carlos yawn, makes him sleepy, too.

“Your pickup lines are terrible,” he retorts, but takes a couple steps backwards towards the bedroom.

TK snorts. “They worked well enough on you.”

He still keeps walking backwards, his left shoulder only slightly bumping against the doorframe as he enters the bedroom. “They didn’t. I didn’t need pick-up lines, it was that damn smile.”

He ought to add getting complimented by him to the list of things he should be already gotten used to, because Carlos does it a lot. It’s a casual comment here and there, and it definitely isn’t always about his looks, but still no matter how many times he hears them, they always make his stomach twist in a best way possible.

Even now, the bubbling feeling of happiness settles into his chest and his lips are curling into a smile, and he knows it’s giving away everything he is currently feeling. The happiness and adoration mixing into together and spilling out as a soft and bright smile.

“That’s the one,” Carlos whispers, contently and almost in awe, and few seconds later his fist is full of the soft fabric of TK’s grey sweatshirt and he is pulling him close again.

“Yeah,” TK finds himself saying, but he cannot tear his gaze away from his lips and judging by the glint in his brown eyes, he has noticed it too, despite the sleep deprivation.

Sometimes, most of the time really, it is like electricity humming underneath his skin when Carlos looks at him. It feels like it now, too, and while they established very early into their acquittance that they are into each other. It was painfully obvious from the way they glanced each other while dancing and from the way they ended up hooking up within an hour.

Still, TK cannot help but marvel the that the feeling of sparks and electricity is still there, but it is still different. All the rush and fumbling are gone because there is more certainness now, of that the other is not going to disappear and that any of the lingering touches would be the last ones.

Now, every moment is like a small declaration of love.

He tugs the hem of Carlos’ shirt and gently yanks it upwards and helps him to undress it and Carlos helps him to get rid of his sweatshirt and tosses it somewhere on the floor. Suddenly, his lips are on his again, and the kiss is soft, but it still makes TK’s heart beat faster and toes curl up with want.

He runs his hands along his arms and squeezes his left forearm slightly. “Mmh, not when you’re that tired,” TK mumbles against his lips.

He knows where it is heading unless he breaks it off, and while he wants to, it still defeats the whole purpose of his grand plan of Carlos getting enough sleep.

Carlos immediately takes a step back, like he always does when he lets him know he is not up for something, and his smile is mischievous, but still a little flustered. “I’d not fall asleep on you,” he adds, as he takes off his sweatpants, but this time he folds them neatly and picks up their shirts from the floor.

“You have,” TK points out, kindly, as he gets rid of his own pants, “and you probably would now, too.”

Since their schedules don’t always match, they tend to take up any opportunity that arises, but a couple of times, after double digit shifts, Carlos has fallen asleep before they have even properly started, and it’s no big deal. TK knows he has fallen asleep on him too.

He mostly finds it endearing, but it also means to him that Carlos trusts him enough and is comfortable enough to fall asleep without a second thought to it.

Carlos just hums amusedly as a response and gets into the way too huge bed.

The bedroom is tiny, and the bed takes a ridiculously big part of it, but he is surprised to find it to be incredibly soft and comfortable. Still, as TK sits on the bed, he pushes his pillow closer to his because he is not sleeping twenty inches away from him.

He settles down, lying right next to him and Carlos immediately drapes one arm over him, resting it on his chest and nuzzling his shoulder. TK’s hand fumbles a little until it finds Carlos’s other hand and curls his fingers around his.

“I’m--,” Carlos starts, quietly, but TK cuts him immediately off.

“Don’t you dare apologize again,” he says, softly. “This is all I ever wanted and it’s perfect.”

He runs his fingers along his forearm. He hopes that he knows that he doesn’t mean the cabin or any of it, but just that he gets to spend his birthday with him.

Twenty-year-old TK would have laughed if someone would have told him that his best birthday would be in rural Texas, but there he is, more content than ever.

“How did you know what I was going to say?”

He glances at him. “I can hear you think.”

Carlos exhales softly and TK can feel his breath against his bicep. “I just wanted to do something nice for you. You deserve all of it and more.”

It has been a long process to learn that he deserves nice things and to be loved, because of everything and despite of everything. He has Carlos to remind him about it occasionally, but still he cannot help but wonder what he has done to end up with more love than he could have imagined a couple of years ago.

He turns his head to press a gentle kiss on his temple. “Why this place?”

TK has wondered about it since the moment they arrived. He has never heard about the place before and albeit, his knowledge of anything about Texas outside of Austin is a little wobbly, but the whole place seems to be quiet and has a little hole-in-the-wall feeling to it, like you would have to know about its existence to find it.

“It’s a dumb story,” he murmurs against his shoulders.

“I wanna hear all of your dumb stories.”

Carlos shifts a little. “We came here with my family when I was maybe thirteen,” he starts, slowly and absentmindedly tracing some sort of pattern against his ribs. “I loved this place, and we had great time, but it still filled me with dread ‘cause the place was full of happy couples and families, and I was pretty convinced at that age that I couldn’t ever have any of that on my own.”

His heart breaks a little as he listens to him. He meant his words that he wants to hear all of his stories, dumb or not, but now he regrets a little of ever asking because he knows that his coming out process hasn’t always been the smoothest and deep south hasn’t been the most forgiving place for him to live and grow up.

“But,” Carlos continues, “I had this dream that one day I’d bring here someone I’d love.”

TK breath almost hitches in his throat. It’s almost too much, but in the best way possible. To know that he has had that idea in his head for years and that he decided that he would be worthy of being a part of that. It makes his heart soar.

“I did try to warn you it was dumb,” he mumbles, taking his silence in the wrong way.

“It’s not dumb,” he rushes to say, “it’s actually really sweet.”

It’s not the most eloquent response, but it’s too difficult to pinpoint anything he is currently feeling or to put them into comprehensible words that would reflect any of the love he has for him.

“Yeah, well, you’re the only one I’ve brought here, so there is that too,” he adds, his gaze focused on his jawline, but he looks up to his eyes too, with the softest of smiles.

He is convinced his heart is going to burst. “Thank you for sharing it with me,” he whispers, right below his ear, “and for including me in it.”

They lay there for a moment, in silence, only listening the steady breathing of each other’s, but eventually TK sits up to reach the corner of the duvet and tries to settle it so that it covers both of their bodies.

“Are you going to hog all the blankets again?”

Carlos has closed his eyes already, but his voice is light and teasing.

“I don’t hog ‘em.”

He sputters out a laugh, and it’s warm, happy and genuine, and TK loves to hear that particular laugh.

“Oh, so I’ve been sleeping without one willingly for a year and half,” Carlos asks, quizzically, but it looks like another fit of laughter could erupt from him at any given moment.

“What?”

“You always steal the blankets, even if there are two,” Carlos explains, sounding almost fond as he looks at him.

“I don’t?”

TK hates how it sounds like a question to his own ears, too. He is aware that he moves a lot in his sleep, and his ex-boyfriends have given him so much shit about it, which is also why he tried to avoid staying the night when he started seeing Carlos.

Nothing is more charming than elbowing significant other in their sleep or kicking their shins. Still, Carlos has never said anything about the way he sleeps.

He knows that their bed is a goddamn mess every time they wake up, the blankets are usually disregarded somewhere, and they are not in the same positions as they fell asleep to, but he had no idea that he was the main cause of it.

“Mhm, you do,” Carlos hums, his eyes closing again.

TK shoots perplexed glance at him. “Why haven’t you woken me up?”

He is a little more than appalled that apparently he has been doing it since the beginning of their relationship, but he is only hearing about it now.

Carlos opens one of his eyes, squeezing the other one shut. “Yeah, wonder why I haven’t woken up my boyfriend, who on regular basis pulls twenty-four-hour shifts,” he mumbles, but there is nothing but kindness in his voice.

“You could have,” he argues, flatly.

“I’ve tried to steal them back sometimes,” Carlos admits, his gaze landing back to him, and his eyes are gleaming. “But there’s no point. You just steal ‘em back. I’ve extra blankets, too, but there is no limit to how many blankets you hog in a night.”

Not for the first time around Carlos, TK finds himself to be a little loss for words. This time it is because of completely different reasons, he is a little too stunned and confused to talk.

“The way you clutch to them and collect them is almost adorable,” he adds with a low chuckle.

“So, every time you have said you sleep better when I’m there with you has been a blatant lie?”

He almost wants to laugh. It’s a bit more than ridiculous that he is only learning about his own nocturnal habits now, and Carlos has told him multiple times that he sleeps more soundly and deeply, that he feels safe, when he is around, and he has always found that a little more than endearing, but now it feels impossible to wrap his head around that it would be anywhere near the truth.

“Nope.”

“You really expect me to believe that the best sleep of your life happens without blankets?”

Carlos blinks, but the look he gives him is soft and laced equally with love and fondness. Still, he gently pokes him in between his ribs. “Am I in the habit of lying to you?”

“No.”

“Then there’s your answer,” he replies, easily and effortlessly, as if he has accepted the fate of sleeping without any blankets, ever.

TK grunts and picks up his phone from the nightstand and starts typing.

“Are you seriously reading a WikiHow article about how to stop hogging the covers?” Carlos questions, as he peaks the article he started suddenly to browse through.

“Yes.”

He cannot put his finger to what actually bothers him about this small revelation so much. The unnamed feeling in his chest grows and it starts to resemble something similar to guilt, even though some logical part of his brain is telling him that there is no reason to feel that way.

He can admit that it makes him uneasy to know that Carlos has stayed silent about it for so long, especially when it must have affected the way he sleeps, too.

Carlos chuckles, softly. “It’s not that big of a deal, Ty,” he whispers, pressing a kiss on his shoulder.

“Apparently we could sleep separately,” he reads aloud as he scrolls through the surprisingly long article.

“Out of question,” Carlos replies, without missing a beat.

He huffs in some sort of agreement. It’s not the solution he would be eager to try any time soon, but he wants to find something tangible to make the uneasiness in his heart to go away.

“Somehow trap the covers underneath the mattress, smaller bed, bigger blankets--,” he continues to slowly read as he makes through the list, until Carlos gently yanks the phone away from his hand and places it face down on his chest.

“We don’t need to do any of that,” he reminds, “I sleep perfectly fine. You cling like an octopus and you’re like a walking radiator, I don’t need a blanket. And above all, I like sleeping with you.”

It’s a tiny confession, but he sounds sure of it and there is genuine fondness in the way he says it, and he cannot help but believe that he means it.

TK loves the way they sleep. There is so much closeness in it. Their bed is pretty wide, but every time he wakes up, they are close and touching each other, in one way or another. A hand resting on a thigh, fingers against hip, face pressed against shoulder blade, entangled legs and arms.

He is pretty convinced there are no moments when they are not touching when sleeping. He sort of likes that. That they drift towards other, even when they are completely unaware of it. They move in their sleep. Carlos always falls asleep on his side but ends up lying on his back. He moves around a lot more, but the fact that they always wake up pressed together, means that they move together.

When the other moves, the other follows. Invisible string connecting them in their dreams. Like magnets pulling each other in.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier,” Carlos continues to fill in the silence, “I knew you’d get stuck in that beautiful mind of yours about it, but I didn’t know it’d bother you this much.”

There is a question hidden, and he knows he is giving him the space not to answer, but he wants to.

TK groans, quietly and softly. He places the phone back on the nightstand and rubs his own face. “It’s just that—you simply decided to put up with it,” he tries to clarify, still trying to make sense of the emotions that keep bumping against each other inside of him, “instead of telling me to do something about it.”

He knows that he cannot control what he does in his sleep, but he would still like to try and make it better.

“I get that, but sayin’ that I’m putting up with it makes it sound too negative,” he says, exhaustion leaking back into his voice just slightly, “and I’d have told you if truly bothered me, but it doesn’t.”

“Yeah.”

He strokes his side, in slow moments, with his thumb. It sends small shivers along his spine. TK glances back at him, but his eyes are closed again. “I love you and I’ll gladly sleep without a blanket for rest of my life, it’s a small price to pay.”

Silence follows, and TK can feel how he tenses up slightly next to him. It’s a small change, but he knows him well enough to spot the difference.

“That’s pretty much wedding vow material already,” TK jokes, planting another kiss on his forehead because he wants him to know it is okay, and that he is not freaking out about any mentions of their shared future, and that he can say stuff like that to him.

That he wants to hear it.

Some of the tension immediately leaves his body when he pulls away from the kiss.

“I know,” he slurs, sleepily. “I should write it down.”

“Height of romance.”

He laughs, even though he manages to make it sound tired too, but it is still a beautiful sound. “Damn right it is.”

“I’m gonna buy a bigger duvet when we get home,” TK declares.

“You don’t have to.”

“No, but I want to.”

It might not help anything, and Carlos does seem pretty content with their current arrangements, but he still needs to do something. To try, at least, even if it is something as small as blanket hogging.

Carlos opens his eyes again, clearly fighting off the sleep. “Promise something.”

He is a little surprised by his words, but he cranes his neck on the pillow so that he can get a better look at his face. “Anything.”

“Don’t start to overthink it, the way you sleep isn’t something you should actively think about. You’ll only lose sleep,” he tells him.

TK knows he has a point. It’s definitely an easy rabbit hole to fall in, and to become too self-conscious about every moment and not being able to relax and just be. Maybe he should take Carlos’ word for it.

“I’ll promise I’ll try my best to get over the fact that I’ve forced you to freeze your ass every night for over a year.”

Carlos’ eyes are shut, but the grin that forms on his lips is bright and brilliant. “We live in Texas, it’s hot and humid most of the time, my ass is fine.”

“It is.”

He laughs again, mostly against his fluffy pillow. “How did we end up having this conversation?”

“About us, the blankets, the future or the future of our blankets?” TK asks, deadpan, just to mess with his sleep deprived brain.

“Any of it?”

“I don’t know, you started it,” he tells him, amusement shining in his soft voice

“I’m too tired,” he half-slurs, but the smile still lingers on his lips.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” TK points out, kindly, and moves his other hand to run through Carlos’ hair, massaging his scalp soothingly.

“You’re right,” he breathes out, and TK can hear the smirk in his voice, “just this once.”

He laughs quietly, trying not to stir him any more than necessary, and he thinks he might have already fallen asleep, and he almost startles when he hears his voice again.

“Ty?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t need any blankets, just need you.”

He would have expected his voice to be light, teasing and joking, but it sounds surprisingly sincere and like it half-accidently escapes away from his exhausted mind, but it sounds still so goddamn sincere that it makes TK’s heart flutter.

“Smooth,” he remarks, quietly, unsure what to do with all the happiness that keeps bubbling inside of him, but the only reply he gets is the quiet and steady breathing.

#tarlosvalentine21 #tarlos #tarlos fic #911 lone star fic #once again i have no excuses

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typicalmidnightsoul · 3 years

Text

Icarus, her moon and her sun

After Emerie finds out the tangled History between her best friend and her lover Emerie is hesitant to make her relationship with Morrigan known. She wonders if she could avoid the rejection she would face by keeping her relationship a secret. Also considering the state Nesta was in.... it wouldn’t be good to let her know...right?

A/N: ITS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HAVE WRITTEN IM SORRY SKL IS TAKING THE PISS xx anyway love you all please leave me a comment and likes and reblog 🥰🥰 a lotta you guys wanted this so here ya go

Icarus and the Sun. The Forbidden love story. That’s what their love was like, that's how she loved her. Too close and too much. All it would take would be one peek behind the curtain and her heart would be there. Holding her hand. Her lover was the Sun, and she was Icarus. The only difference is that her wings had been snatched away from her before the Sun had come along.

Emerie.

“Emerie!”

Fingers clicked in her vision and Emerie looked up, “Hmm?” She was sitting opposite Nesta and Gywn on the dining table, breakfast lay before them. Nesta cocked her head,

“Where’d you go?”

Emerie waved off the concern in her eyes, and asked her to continue, Nesta gave her a last worried glance and carried on talking about her current read, explaining the world building skill to them both in detail.

Emerie smiled. Icarus, the sun and...her. Nesta.

Emerie’s moon. Nesta may be Gwyn’s sun but she was Emerie’s moon. She was the clarity Emerie had once longed for. She was the consistency and care Emerie needed as a child. She is the hand that always holds on. She will always be there for her yet unlike the moon in the love story of Icarus and the Sun, Nesta was never jealous of Emerie. On the contrary, Emerie could tell from the notes she got in the morning asking her if she ate, or the fresh flowers that filled her vase every morning, or the abundance of spices and teas she got every month, that Nesta Archeron in fact loved her to bits. And Emerie loved her. Nesta was an essential part of her...one Emerie knew she would never be able to let go without shattering to pieces.

Emerie watched now as Nesta tipped her head back and laughed at Gwyn’s comment - those eyes of ice and silver twinkling with joy, her honey-coloured hair dancing in the rays of the sun. She was perfect…

...and stupid because no matter what her friends told her deep down she refused to belive that she was stunning. Nesta’s head turned to hers and asked,

“You are coming right?”

Emerie blinked, “Um, where?”

“To the markets, silly.” Gwyn replied affectionately.

Crap, she forgot about that.

“Wait, Gwyn you are coming?”

Nesta and Gwyn shared a secretive smile and it was Gwyn who quietly said,

“Let’s be honest I can’t very well let Nesta go out in this state, can I?”

Emerie raised another brow and Nesta went around the table to stand before Emerie and grabbed her hands, “In my defence I did not want either of you two knowing before the Summer Solstice but this one,” she gave a pointed glare in Gwyn’s direction, “barged into my room this morning and found out.”

Emerie glanced between them in bewilderment, “Found out what?”

Nesta squeezed her hands, smiling down at her sister, “I'm pregnant.”

Emerie stood, chair dropping to the floor, mouth wide, and squealed, “REALLY?! Oh my god!!”

Nesta nodded, “You’re going to be co-godmother!!” In midst of her jumping Emerie stopped and rolled her eyes looking at Gwyn who had joined them, “I’m guessing I’m co-godmother with you?” Gwyn nodded, proud of herself and all three sisters jumped up and down squealing until Gwyn told Nesta off for jumping [a] and Cassian came in. He went straight to his mate,

“I’m guessing you told them??” She nodded wrapping her arms around him and tip-toeing for a kiss. Cassian smiled at Gwyn and Emerie and Gwyn gave him a knowing look. Nesta explained to Emerie, “After Gwyn found out she promised Cassian that she would not let me leave her side. And she very readily offered you up as an extra bodyguard too.”

Emerie chuckled, “I will gladly do so for my godchild. Oh and do your sisters know?”

Nesta nodded, “I was planning to tell everyone at Summer Solstice but the only people who know are you, Gwyn, Feyre, Elain and Cassian. I told my sisters after Gwyn found out.”

Emerie looked her friend in the eye, “And your scent?”

Nesta gave her mate a light shove, “This one has kept a shield around me at all times and then Feyre, who is as protective as him, did the same, which was then joined by another ritual shield by an overly protective acolyte godmother. And only I am allowed to dictate who goes in and out of said shields.” She glared lovingly at Gwyn. Gwyn smiled.

Emerie grinned at her best friend and shook her head at the General,

“You couldn’t wait to knock her up, could you?”

Cassian gave her a fiendish grin which told Emerie enough. The commander trusted them both enough to know his mate would be safe. Understanding shone in the eyes of Cassian, Gwyn and Emerie, an unspoken pact going through them until he turned his attention back to his mate and cradled her face.

“I have to leave at noon today, I will probably be back in a week?”

Nesta gaped at him, “Cassian! We have to be in the Summer court in 9 days!!”

He sighed pulling her closer, “I know baby, but I need to check on all the camps before Summer Solstice holidays and make sure everything is tended to. But… remember if you need me just call down the bond and I’ll be here.”

She waved him off, “I have a Death trove now remember? I’ll be fine.”

A tang of jealousy went through Emerie, what did she have to do to get a love like this?

Cassian rolled his eyes and Gwyn interrupted them,

“I need to get back to the library to finish my jobs if we are to leave for the markets this afternoon.” She turned to Emerie, “You are coming right? Today at 3?”

Emerie nodded, “Yeah, but I need to be getting back to my shop now.” Gwyn gave her and Nesta a parting hug before leaving for the library and Cassian nodded and flew her down to the river estate so Mor, who was waiting for them, could winnow her back.

----------------------

As Emerie breathed in the familiar scent of her shop, a voice that resembled bells said from behind her,

“Are you not going to invite me in?”

Emerie gave her lover a sly look over her shoulder,

“Well, you are very much welcome to follow me to my bedroom.” And then quickly ran up the stairs. Morrigan laughed, flipping a lock of hair over her shoulder and chasing after her angel.

After a lustful afternoon Emerie got up an hour before she was due to meet up with Nesta and Gwyn and headed for the shower to remove any intertwining scents. Once she had done, and made her way back to the bedroom, she found that her lover had awoken,

“Come back to bed…” Mor muttered. Emerie laughed over her shoulder,

“No dear, I have to go meet with Nesta and Gwyn. We’re going to the market.”

Mor leaned to her side, head on her fist, “Oh? Is Gwyneth coming outside?” She asked looking at Emerie in her vanity mirror. Emerie inwardly smiled, but merely replied,

“Yes she is. She’s getting much more confident every day. She’s even coming to the Summer Court for Solstice with Nesta and I. And your family, of course.”

Mor nodded and then asked quietly, “Have you told them...about us?”

Emerie looked at her in the mirror, hesitantly stopping brushing her hair and gulped, “Would you want me too?”

Morrigan considered for a long time before she whispered more to herself than her,

“Yes.”

Emerie didn’t know why but she could tell that letting their relationship be known mattered a lot to Mor. So she smiled and said,

“Of course but… maybe not today? It's just that Cassian’s left to check the camps and I think you want us to announce it in front of your whole family?”

Mor considered, then nodded and laid back on the bed and Emerie admired her as she laced up her boots. Laying back on the white pillows and sheets… golden hair around her like a halo. Her sun...in such a true sense.

Mor grinned at her, “What?”

Emerie controlled her blushes and asked, “Could you please winnow me to the river estate so I can meet up with my friends?” Mor groaned but got up, masking her scent, which was now mixed with Emerie’s, and shrugged her clothes back on.

-------------------------

“Blue or red?” Nesta asked, holding up the dresses in front of the girls. Gwyn shook her head at both of them,

“Not your style, The tulle’s nice but it’s really pretentious for a summer solstice. The beading is just too much.”

Nesta turned to Emerie,

“What do you think Em?” Emerie shook her head,

“You could do so much better.” Nesta rolled her eyes with amusement as Gwyn squealed and picked up a satin silver dress from the rack. It had a low sweetheart neckline with full sleeves that clamped down on her wrist a slit up the thigh. Nesta gaped as Emerie giggled,

“You better try this on Nesta Archeron or I swear I will never talk to you again,” Gwyn threatened and both Nesta and Emerie fell apart laughing at Gwyn’s attachment to that dress. Nesta took the dress from Gwyn and disappeared to the changing rooms.

“We’ll be looking for our dresses and accessories.” Gwyn called out leading Emerie away.

She was really proud of Gwyn, and the courage she had portrayed in the past couple of years by leaving the sanctuary of her library. So much so that she even frequented Emerie’s shop almost as often as Nesta did. But travelling to a whole different court… Emerie would have to inquire about that.

“So, since we’re representing the Valkyrie, we should therefore match with Nesta,” Gwyn mused and pulled Emerie along to the ‘satin’ dresses rack and started combing through dresses. Emerie picked out a bright red one and held it against her,

“What do you think?”

Gwyn made a sour face, “Not at all. It’s too Morrigan.”

This was her chance, she realised as she put the dress back,

“Speaking of her, what do you think about Morrigan? Do you have an issue with her?”

Gwyn was still combing through the dresses and didn’t really pay any heed to her words and the gravity of them but answered nonetheless,

“Not necessarily, I will obviously be forever grateful to her for saving me and giving me my sanctuary but… she can be a tad bit… insensitive when it comes to validating trauma that she wasn’t present for or that isn’t... visible. Especially if it threatens her privacy or her relationships.”

Emerie tried to gauge the full extent of her words… her breathing somehow slowed as Gwyn said,

“But if Nesta doesn’t hold a grudge against her then why should I?” She pulled out two ruched satin turtleneck dresses, one in black and the other in champagne. “These will be perfect for us.”

Nesta called from the changing room, “Finished!”

And Gwyn answered back, “Coming!” Before she could leave however Emerie grabbed her arm,

“Wait, what has Nesta got to do with this?”

Gywn raised an eyebrow, “Do you not remember on our third..? Fourth? Girls night Nesta got really drunk and started talking about how she was told she should've been sent to the court of nightmares, she didn’t deserve the benefit of good people like Cassian and how she was a viper with a forked tongue?”

Emerie searched through her memories.

Whenever did Nesta say tha-....no. no, no, no, no, no.

Emerie looked up at Gwyn, “Mor said that?”

Gywn cocked her head at Emerie calling Morrigan “Mor” and then replied,

“Yes… but- why are you even asking me this? Did Morrigan say something?” Emerie plastered a smile to her face and shook her head,

“No, I was just curious about their… history.”

Gwyn slowly nodded her head as if suspicious but Nesta called for them again and after another worried glance she dragged Emerie to the dressing rooms with her.

Nesta looked breathtaking on a bad day but in that dress… She truly looked as though she could bring males to their knees by merely breathing in their direction. Her body looked as though it had melded with that dress and Nesta was a glowing pillar of moonlight. Gwyn jumped to Nesta’s side on the pedestal and hugged her meeting her eyes in the mirror,

“Look at you,” Gwyn whispered in soft reverence.

Nesta shrugged, “It’s nice.”

“You are radiant.” Emerie countered with the same reverence.

Gwyn turned to Emerie and they both shared a look of sadness. Nesta never knew how to take a compliment, Nesta’s insecurities ate away on Emerie more often than she’d like to admit. As if Nesta woke up in the morning and all she saw was the broken female with toxic coping mechanisms and not the absolute beauty and power that rolled off her in tidal waves. The thought was enough to make Emerie get up on the pedestal and stand on the other side of Nesta. All three sisters looked at each other through the mirror and spoke. Not physically but with their eyes. A look of joy passed through all of them as Gywn reached a hand and put it on Nesta’s stomach and whispered,

“ Godmother!!!” They all giggled and in that moment Emerie felt honoured that she was to be co-godmother to Nesta’s child. It was a Fae tradition that the godparents of the children were not siblings or cousins of the parents as they were already considered to be a second mother or father to them which was why Amren, Cassian and Azriel were the godfathers and godmother of Nyx. Emerie could already imagine the chaos and laughter that Nesta and Cassian’s child would bring. Nesta eyed the two dresses in Gywn’s hand and said,

“Don’t tell me we’re matching.”

Gwyn nodded and Nesta pushed them to the changing rooms demanding they get dressed and as Emerie slipped into her black dress she tried to push down the weight of Gywn’s words that were threatening to crush her. Not now… let Nesta have today. She told her heart. The dresses had an open back that were convenient for her wings but she was guessing that Gwyn would button hers up.

As they stepped out Nesta’s breath caught in her throat. She gaped at the two of them and Gywn said,

“We should stand in front of the mirror with our eyes closed and open them at the same time!” They did so with a lot of stumbling and cursing but as they stood in front of the mirrors and beheld their image a soft silence went through the room. Until 2 years ago they didn’t even know one another existed but now look at them,

Twin flames of champagne and black flanking either side of Nesta who shone like stardust and moonlight in the middle. They were unbreakable.

“I’d just like to remind you both that I was the one who picked out all the dresses.” Gywn whispered, breaking the silence and they all burst out laughing. Nesta nodded at them and said, “Let’s go find the accessories as Gywn claims and we’ll pay for them and leave.”

--------------------

Events of the 3rd girls night

Nesta sat back into the chair, drunk and crying,

“I don’t know why you guys love me. I never deserved you two.”

Gwyn gasped not as drunk as Emerie and Nesta,

“No no no no Nes! Why would you think that.”

“Did you not know??? I am a viper! I have a forked tongue! I am worthy to only reside in the court of nightmares and do not deserve the good benefit of Cassians doubt! I. Am. Worthless.”

Emerie leaned up and slurred, “someone said that to you?”

Nesta’s silence was answer enough.

“Whoever they are....they can go... to hell.” As Emerie nodded off she heard Nesta say , “I love you Em.” And Gwyn pull the covers around her and then sit down next to Nesta asking her....

Some...

Thing...

How could she have been so stupid?! As she lay next to Mor in her bed she wondered what to do. If she told Nesta she didn’t know the consequences.... Nesta would maybe distance herself? Um, or maybe she would be happy for Emerie but then close up whenever Mor came in the room? Oh good god! What if Nesta just cut herself off from Emerie?! Gwyn would be disappointed in her and she would be lonely all over again.... maybe she could keep things on the low... just until she found out a way to tell Nesta. Mor stirred beside her,

“You ok, dear?” She muttered opening her eyes slowly,

Well now or never Emerie.

She sat up and looked down at Mor, “I was just wondering... maybe we could keep our relationship a secret for a little longer....?”

Mor woke up startled,

“What- I- uh, Where is this coming from?”

Emerie got up as well,

“I just would like to keep this,” she gestured between them, “hidden for a little longer that’s all...”

Hurt flashed in Mor’s eyes but she replied, “Yeah, yeah um sure it’s your choice I guess.” She got out of bed, “I need to get going, is there anywhere I can take you?”

Emerie nodded unaware of her lovers change in behaviour,

“Yeah I actually need to go to Nesta’s. When will i see you again?”

Mor refused to meet her eyes, “a couple of days probably, send word to Rhys if you need winnowing anywhere.”

Emerie nodded smiling at how easy it was to make Mor agree to it, blind to her lovers silent tears pouring down her face.

--------------------

2 days later

The bell dangled in the shop and Emerie turned expecting to find Rhysand here to winnow her to the house of wind.

“Hello,” Mor’s brown eyes were cold as she stepped through. At the sight of Emerie’s face she said, “Did you not want me here?”

“No- I mean yes but… I thought you were in Vallahan?”

Mor shrugged, “There were more important things here.” She rubbed her face and Emerie put a hand on her arm,

“Something has been...eating at you. What is it?”

Mor looked up and whispered, “You.”

Emerie flinched, “What?”

“Why? All I want to know is why. Why do you want to keep us hidden, a-a secret?”

Emerie backed away and started hopping from one foot to another, “You see I-”

“Was it Nesta ? You came back from a shopping spree with her and you...changed.”

Emerie snarled at the venom that crept into her at her best friend’s name.

“ Don’t speak of her name in that tone ,” she seethed.

It was Mor’s turn to flinch now, “I-I’m sorry I-I did not mean it intentionally-”

“Oh don’t bother,” Emerie laughed cruelly, “I get it. Old habits die hard.”

Sadness crept into Mor’s eyes and Emerie almost cracked at the broken plea she sent her way, “Emerie please…”

Emerie just thrust her hand out, “Just take me to Velaris.”

Mor gave up, nodding once before winnowing them away.

------------

“We HAVE to go for a neutral themed baby shower,” Nesta argued.

“NO Nesta look I’ve been researching baby showers in the human lands and they have a theme and a gender reveal and all that jazz and we NEED A THEME THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE GENDER!”

“GWYN I WAS HUMAN REMEMBER and I will not be subjecting my child to gender stereotypes!”

As those two bickered Emerie tried to do some Mind-stilling to calm the after effects of her fight with Morrigan. She knew she had to push that away before Nesta or Gwyn realised something was wrong.

“Emerie, You okay?”

Too late. Emerie turned meeting Nesta and Gywn’s worried glances and answered Nesta,

“Yeah it’s just after Rhysand opened trades from my shop here work has been getting on top of me…”

“I can talk to Rhys with maybe take the workload off-” Nesta started

“Or we could help out and maybe hire others to help out?” Gwyn offered.

Emerie smiled at their concern and shook her head,

“No need, I’m fine I’ll let you know if it gets too consuming, now show me these themes and remind me why we’re having a baby shower?”

Gwyn and Nesta exchanged a worried look but decided to drop it,

“I wanted to do a baby shower because my mother loved them a lot, obviously due to fae traditions no one’s gonna be giving the baby anything but that doesn't mean they can’t give ME anything.”

Gwyn snatched the folder with the color swatches and theme ideas and showed a blue and pink one to Emerie,

“Now here's the thing, I think that we should have the planner do the party in the theme of the gender,”

Nesta snatched the folder back, “And I think that we should go for a more neutral theme…”

Gwyn lightly pushed her, “Who the hell are you to decide?”

It all went quiet, “THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD MAYBE?”

“Oh shut up, these are your hormones speaking.”

Nesta gaped at Gwyn and then turned to Emerie. Emerie laughed and as she did her past gloom was chased away by the consistent bickering of her friends. In that moment she had forgotten all about her argument with Mor.

But Morrigan hadn’t.

------------------------------

Mor hadn’t seen Emerie in weeks except once after their argument in her shop. Emerie was apparently busy with Nesta and helping her out. Mor scoffed to herself. As if. Morrigan never thought that she would be jealous of Nesta but she was. Now she was, seeing Emerie not letting Nesta carry the crates into her shop, watching Nesta and Emerie in the veranda every time she tried to talk to her, laughing and giggling over books. God she hated this yet some low part of her still blamed Nesta, despite the remorse that was coursing through her. She replayed the argument in her head again and again.

Emerie flung her hand out of Mor’s grip,

“Stop it Mor! Just...stop!” Mor tried pleading with her again,

“Please Emerie, please if you could just tell me what’s wrong…”

“Why Mor?” Emerie turned and Mor noticed the silver lining her eyes, “Can I ask why I should? How will this help us Mor? If I want to tell you something in the future about me then how the hell would I tell you without fearing that the next person you call a viper with a forked tongue is me? How the hell will I be able to be angry with you in the future if I’m scared whether or not you’re going to tell me that I don’t deserve the benefit of good people or I would thrive in the Court of Nightmares.”

Mor stilled, “So this is about Nesta.”

Emerie blew a fuse,

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

Mor took a step forward, “Emerie the words I said to Nesta I-I regret them and I would never say those to you…”

“YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE MOR... “ She took deep panting breaths, tears running down her face, “you might as well have. You fail to see how similar Nesta and I are and it just-” she trailed off trying to, “I love Nesta ok? She- she saved me. She made me less lonely. I-I had no one and then a female made of ice walks into my shop and suddenly I have someone I-I have her . You didn’t even Know of my existence and we met because of Nesta. I am terrified that I will hurt Nesta by telling her that I am having an affair with the female who repeatedly let her know that she didn’t deserve anything?”

Venom filled Mor’s eyes, “Oh I see, you’re afraid of disappointing “Nesta”, you’re afraid of what Nesta will think. Well why don’t you go sleep with her then!”

Emerie shook her head in disbelief,

“I can’t believe you. Instead of trying to make this work…” she shook her head again, “I can’t reason with you Morrigan. I can’t-” she looked up choking on a sob, “I can’t talk to you now. We’ll speak once you have something to say other than that.”

She turned and fled into her shop. And Mor’s heart broke.

Could this maybe be her karma for all of the hearts she broke by keeping past relationships hidden? “Go to hell,” Mor muttered to no one in particular and got up from her bed to go down to Rita’s and wash away her sorrow.

--------------------

Feyre had invited everyone down to the River estate for dinner and Nesta hadn't wanted to go because Cassian wouldn't be there but was dragged along in the end by Gwyn. Emerie was meant to be her later that day, she was in the city but she told Feyre she had to talk to some vendors before the Palaces closed down. Nesta was laughing at a crude joke Azriel had said to Gwyn when Morrigan stumbled into the living room doors open.

Feyre immediately went to her best friend's side but Mor pushed her away the stench of alcohol filling the air. She pointed at Nesta drunkenly

“ You.” Nesta glanced at her quizzically, stepping forward in concern, “You stole her from me.”

Nesta’s eyebrows bunched together, “What are you talking about?”

“You stole Emerie from me.” Feyre glanced between her sister and best friend, worry coating her eyes. Nesta and Gwyn swapped suspicious glances and Gwyn spoke up her voice soft,

“Emerie is Nesta’s best friend, she can’t really be-”

“NO” Mor cut her off, “Emerie- Em left me for her … She’s in love with you.”

Nesta laughed at that, “I assure you Morrigan, Emerie is not in love with me, besides why would that affect you if she did?”

“Because I am in love with her” The whole room stilled, slipping into a bewildered silence. “She didn’t want to tell you that she was in a relationship with me,” Mor sobbed, “She didn’t want you to know because she feared losing you, she cried-my god she cried so much whenever we argued and then she went back to you with fake smiles…” Morrigan’s crying intensified as she recalled the memory but Nesta...

… Nesta let out a shuddering breath, eyes flashing with hurt as they looked at Gwyn,

“She didn’t tell me Gwyn…” tears now lined Nesta’s eyes and Gwyn tried to console her, “She- she didn’t want to tell me… She kept it from me.”

“I don’t believe her intention was to hurt you, Nes,” Gwyn tried, caressing Nesta’s unbound hair, “No Gwyn but… I have never kept anything from her and she thought I wouldnt approve?!”

The door opened behind them and Nesta turned,

“Hey…” Emerie stepped in and saw Nesta and Mor both crying. She stood at the entryway,

“What the hell happened??” She asked, eyes darting between them, Mor noted the movement and muttered bitterly, “Fitting of you to assume I did something to the female you are in love with.” Emerie gave her a bewildered look, “Who are you…” her eyes fell on Nesta, “You don’t think… this is a mess.”

Feyre and Rhys looked at each other and decided not to intervene.

Nesta stepped forward anger lacing her voice,

“Yes, yes this is. I trusted you and…” She looked up silver eyes piercing into Emerie, “You know that if someone- if you had told me then I would’ve been supportive right? Right?”

Emerie didn’t answer and Nesta turned away dragging a hand through her hair,

“Nesta please , Calm down please this isn’t good for the…” Nesta pushed Gwyn away refusing to listen to reason and stepped up to Emerie, “I tell you everything. I never keep secrets from you but you do not trust me enough to tell me about such an important thing but the worse thing is… I wasn’t there for you...I couldn’t be there for you when you cried after arguments with Mor because you didn’t tell me, because you wouldn’t let me. ”

“I didn’t- I didn’t, I never wanted this to happen!”

“Forget it, Em,” Nesta pushed past her running out of the door, off the grounds of the river estate, Gwyn ran after her pure terror going through her eyes as she contemplated what would happen to the child.

Emerie grabbed Gwyn’s arms, “Gwyn… please…”

Gwyn turned, “You mean the world to Nesta, she’ll talk to you later but it is best now if you don’t”

“But Gwyn-”

“Let me go Emerie, I need to make sure Nesta’s all right. She can’t be running in this state Emerie Let. me. Go.” Emerie dropped her hand and turned back to Mor who was still crying on the floor, a drunken mess.

“I am not in love with Nesta, you dimwit,” Mor looked up at Emerie, “I love Nesta but I am in love with you. How could you-”

Mor tried to stand up, “Emerie I didn’t mean too-”

“We’re done.”

Another silence rippled through the crowd around them and Emerie turned pleading eyes to Azriel,

“Take me home.”

As Azriel took her away Rhys swore,

“Shit.” He looked at Feyre, “Cassian’s here.”

As if in response the earth trembled on the grounds of the River house.

Rhys turned to Az, “You have to get Emerie out of here now.”

---------------------------

Cassian growled at Rhys, “Where is she?”

Rhysand leveled a hard look with his general, “She is safe, Gwyn is with her, Feyre and Nyx are with her and you know how Nesta melts with Nyx” he cocked his head, “You are being more overprotective than usual brother?”

Cassian shrugged, “When you heard your mate crying down the bond you dropped everything for her.”

“You’re right. I apologize brother.”

Feyre rushed through the doors, “Cassian… Nesta fainted. She’s with Madja.”

Cassian’s eyes widened once before he rushed out of the door taking to the skies towards the healers’ buildings.

Cassian stormed through the hallways until he reached the room he had been directed too. His heart rushed with relief at the sight of his mate, awake her hand in Gwyn’s. Cassian shot Gwyn a look of gratitude and walked to Nesta’s side. Gwyn excused herself but before she could leave Cassian asked her,

“Could you send word to her? She’s worried sick about Nesta apparently.” Gwyn knew who he was talking about and just nodded leaving the room. Cassian pulled a seat on Nesta’s side and grabbed her hand stroking a thumb down the back,

“Don’t scare me like that,” he whispered, leaning forward to press his forehead against hers, “Is the baby ok?”

She nodded, “They’re ok.” Cassian pressed closer against her and Nesta voiced her worries, “Cass, I-I overstepped she… you know she won’t come and visit me out of sheer guilt? Don’t be mad at her Cassian, It wasn’t her fault… and Mor? Is Mor ok? She was- was heartbroken.”

“Hey, hey, baby, It wasn’t your fault or anyones for that matter… but you need to calm down. I don’t need you fainting from more stress, please. Talk to her once you’ve healed but… please don’t do this to me.”

Nesta nodded once, feeling guilty for how worried he was and settled back into the covers pulling him with her.

Later, she’d talk to Emerie. Later.

------------------

Mor found Nesta in the private library. The house of Wind seemed reluctant at first but Mor assured it her feelings were pure.

Nesta was sprawled on the lounge and her eyes flicked up, slightly hardening as they beheld her.

“Hello,” Mor tried. Nesta sat up and patted the spot next to her,

“Hey.”

As Mor sat down she refused to meet Nesta’s eyes,

“I’m going to cut to the chase, I have never had a public relationship and I’m not trying to get you to sympathize with me but after Emerie told me she didn’t want us to have a public relationship I spiraled. I was always jealous and suspected that Emerie may be in love with you so when she started telling me my problems the only thing I focused on was...how much you were involved and I missed the whole point. She was scared that I would treat her how I treated you and I would never treat her but… I have a feeling that I owe you an apology for how I treated you in the past. And the day before. You never deserved it and like always my jealousy was my main motivator.”

Nesta had sat and listened through it all and when Mor finished she reached over and put a hand on hers.

“I forgave you a long time ago.” Mor looked up to see silver eyes swirling with forgiveness, “And about Emerie… I can assure you that she is not in love with me. She is very much committed to you. However Emerie can be fiercely loyal to the ones she loves and she is very protective of me. I just regret not being there. This is more a reflection of me than her. And I was going to talk to her but I thought I’d let you two sort it out.”

Mor’s face conorted to pain and Nesta shuffled closer, “Hey, hey what’s wrong?”

“She refuses to see me.”

A look of pure determination came over Nesta as she stood up and the house gave Nesta her cloak.

“Wait Nesta where are you going?”

As Nesta put the red fur lined cloak on she said, “Emerie hasn’t been here to see me either. Which means that this bitc- she’s punishing herself and you dear Mor are not capable of shouting at her like I am. I’ll see you at dinner.”

Nesta walked off shouting for Azriel.

Mor wondered what the hell she just started.

-----------------

The door of her shop slammed open and a red hooded figure stepped through the door.

“We’re closed-”

“EMERIE!” Nesta took off her hood, “You piece of- how dare you hole yourself up here and hide away from us?! I am disappointed in you. Is this what you’ll be teaching your godchild. That they should come hide up with you when their problems become too much?”

Emerie gaped, “Wait you still want me to be their godmother?”

“Of course I do you you idiot. We had an argument. It’s healthy.”

Nesta groaned and dragged Emerie to the back sitting down with her, “But you need to start explaining yourself.”

Emerie sighed, “Look Nes, I-I when I heard what Mor had said to you in the past I got scared and defensive. You’re the one who gave me a way out of these mountains. It was because of you I got love and a family. And then I thought if I didn’t tell you I’d get the best of both worlds, but that obviously blew up in my face… and after when you fainted I realised-”

“Stop right there. I fainted because I didn’t eat anything asI cleverley decided that if I didn’t eat anything it would prevent the morning sickness. I was wrong. Obviously. I fainted at the bad time and it was NOT your fault or anyone’s at all.”

Nesta held Emerie close to her chest and said, “You need to talk to your lady love, Em. She’s tearing herself up over you.”

Emerie sobbed quietly, “I know I just-”

“I’ll always be here for you. If your talk goes badly come and tell me. I’ll handle it then but you need to talk to her Em.”

“I will, I will.”

-----------------------

“Hey.” Mor turned, seeing a familiar face, one she ached to see in the past days.

“Hi.” Emerie gave her a thin smile.

“We obviously need to talk.”

Mor nodded, “Yeah. Do-do you wanna sit down?” She gestured to the bench in Elain’s garden. Emerie nodded and sat, Mor sitting next to her.

A long silence drew out, Emerie being the first one to break it,

“I- you need to know that I am not in love with Nesta. I was just...scared. And I hate seeing you like this and I am so sorry-”

“No,” Mor stopped her, “Your reasons were fully justified. I was a horrible person to Nesta and you were right. Even though Nesta has forgiven me... you need to know that I will change but Em... I cant do it without you. I love you...so much it hurts.”

Emerie let out a shuddering breath,

“I love you too.” She reached over and kissed Mor and just like that... the words that were once spoken were healed over.

——————

Bonus:

Nesta got sat down by Gwyn in an arm chair. Nesta rolled her eyes putting a hand on her swollen belly, “Gwyn i honestly can’t with you. Please let me go upstairs and get a book-“

“ABSOLUTELY NOT! Nesta Archeron you are 8 months pregnant if you think I’m letting you go upstairs”

The doors of the room downstairs Nesta had shifted too were flung open by the hous of wind as if to say “this is why I made this room and shifted you here”

Nesta groaned as Gwyn gave Nesta a disappointed look.

“Auntie NES!!!!” A shrieking voice echoed through the house as little 2 year old Nyx ran along the hallways into Nesta’s arms. Feyre and Rhysand walking close behind.

“Hello my baby!!” Nesta tucked him into her side mindful of the baby bump.

Nyx put a tiny hand on her belly and said,

“My cousins in here?” Nesta nodded.

Feyre and Rhys leaned on either side of Nesta’s armchair. Nesta gave Rhys a pleading look, Rhys turned to his mate,

“Feyre why don’t you and Gwyn go check on the arrangements for the baby shower outside...”

“Oh Yeah! Feyre I was wondering-“ Gwyn led Feyre outside and Rhys peered down at his sister-in-law.

“What’s the matter Nes?”

Nesta huffed and then saw Az and Mor and waved them over.

They gave her a concerned look,

“You ok?”

“No,” Nesta whined, “I want a book and chicken! And I’m carving butterscotch candies and you know what else I’m craving? AIR! I cant even breathe without Cassian, Gwyn, Emerie or Feyre hovering over me it’s horrible!”

Rhys laughed not being able to control himself and Nesta slapped his leg,

“ITS NOT FUNNY!” Az and Mor quickly joined in, “what do you want us to do?”

Nesta huffed again flailIng her arms out as Nyx cuddled closer looking up at everyone observing quietly.

“I want you three to keep them away from me for AN HOUR that’s all! Please please just let me have this ONE hour before the baby shower please!!”

Rhys looked at Mor and Az and then Nesta, “I mean we could try-“

“THANK YOU!!!” She rushed up and hugged Rhys, “you’re my favourite you know.” Rhys hugged her back and scoffed, “we all know Az is your favourite Illyrian now can you please let go of me before your mate comes in, I don’t want to die today.”

“Too late” Cassian growled from behind. And Rhys gently pushed Nesta away Nyx giggling on her side.

Cassian shot a glare in Rhys direction and strode up to his mate, kissing her and then putting a hand on her belly. It never failed to amaze her how much his eyes sparked up with devotion whenever he beheld her. Fuck he was gonna make an amazing father.

Nesta started crying. Gwyn stormed in.

“CASSIAN! What have I told you about making my girl emotional before the baby shower!”

Cassian stepped back holding up his hands in defence, “I didn’t even- hold on she is MY mate why the hell are you-“

“CONSIDER YOUR WORDS GENERAL”

“You consider yours! You can’t tell me to stay away from my pregnant mate-“

“I CAN AND I WILL YOU KNOW WHY?! BECAUSE I HAD HER FIRST-“

“I KNEW HER FIRST-“

“AND YOUR BEHAVIOUR WAS SHITTY-“

Nesta put her hands over her ears, Nyx mirroring her movement. Nesta smirked down at her 2 year old nephew.

Rhysand on the other hand was trying to weather the fight between Gwyn and Cassian and made subtle nod for Nesta to dip. Nesta winked at Nyx and picked him up stealthily walking to the haven of her room.

As they both lay in bed together Nyx giggled,

“We fooled them Auntie Nes!”

Nesta laughed, “we did!” Nyx put a hand on her belly and laughed aloud when he heard his cousin kick,

“Did you feel that auntie???!!”

“Yes they are inside me Nyxie,” they both laughed then Nyx looked up,

“Is uncle Cass not leaving you alone?”

Nesta groaned, “not at ALL.”

Nyx considered, “hmmm.... I think we should be mad at him.”

“We definitely should for being so over bearing but forget about Cassian let’s read a book while they argue downstairs.”

The house plopped several books down on Nesta’s table which showed exactly how long the argument was going to go on according to the house.

After about and hour or so (because That’s the only amount of time Cassian is willing to stay away from her) Cassian came in,

“Baby we’re gonna do the gender reveal now.” Nyx gave Cassian a Nesta signature glare which was surprising for a 2 year old,

“What did I do?!”

“Mama Nesta said you’re being a bear!”

Nesta laughed, “over bearing Nyxie not a bear!”

Nyx blushed, “my bad... but yeah what she said.”

Cassian rolled his eyes and then gestured outwards, “C’mon.” When Nesta and Nyx didn’t get up he went over and pulled his maye to her feet and then picked Nyx up leading them both outside, Nesta on his arm.

As they came out their family cheered and Cassian passed Nyx to Rhys. The couple strode up to the 2 tier cake decorated with gold and white. Nesta smiled at Gwyn and Emerie as Gwyn shoved a “future mommy” sash, them matching with “co godmother sashes. She looked up at the face of her mate to find Cassian already looking at her, utter devotion on his eyes as he rubbed a hand over her belly and then picked up the knife. She held onto it as well as they both leaned forward and cut the cake. They pulled the cake out and watched it drop onto the plate.

Pink. They were having a daughter.

Everyone burst out into cheers around them and Nesta cried out laughing as Cassian engulfed her in his embrace. Elain and Feyre reached over to hug her and then parted for her best friends. Her chosen family.

Emerie and Gwyn gripped onto her tightly, both crying,

“You guys are my yellow.”

Gwyn tipped her head back and laughed, Azriel’s eyes glinting with admiration behind her.

Emerie grinned, her wings rustling, Mor’s eyes misting with love.

Nesta turned to look at her own mate who smiled softly towards her.

She wouldn’t spend eternity with anyone else except them.

---------------

TAGS: @idc-camille @wannawriteyouabook @skychild29 @aesthetics-11 @perseusannabeth

#nessian fanfic #nssian #acosf #nessian #valkyrie trio #gywneth bedara #gwyn #Nesta archeron #emerie #morrigan #Feyre archeron

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just-anka · 3 years

Text

I realised I haven’t really regularly posted here since like... I don’t even know, September? It’s been a while, anyway. A lot happened, and I now feel like actually writing a post for the first time in a while, so here goes haha. The first bullet point is entirely work waffle so feel free to skip. Apologies in advance for the fact that this post will probably reach novel length by the time I’m done.

• I took a week off in late September before Ben started his new job so we could go to the mountains for a bit, and it was a much-needed little break from work. And pretty much right after I got back, work got completely mental - nothing bad as such, just one thing after the other, loads of deadlines, so many important things. First I was finishing up data for a paper (first authorship was being debated which is partially why I threw myself into the job so much, but it looks like it’ll be the PhD student before me’s now, which is how it should be tbh, it’s much more hers than it is mine), then the date for my first committee meeting was set and I suddenly had only two weeks to prepare (did not think it was going to be that short notice, whoops, had a very stressful two weeks but all went well - for us, this meeting means presenting our research plan and preliminary data to a committee of four professors so they can give you input, it’s not suuuper formal but still pretty stressful), then I had to write the report for that (I love writing so that one was okay), then there was suddenly a lot to do for a really important cooperation with a company (big money responsibility which stressed me the fuck out), and then, just as I thought I was pretty much done for the year, I realised I needed my lab book up to date for my end of year meeting with my PI (which wouldn’t be such a big deal, except I didn’t have a lab book at the time. Never got around to starting one. So nine months of lab book were written within another very stressful week). Whew. Even writing this out makes me feel like that was a lot haha.

• After the end of year discussion, I really was done for the year - I officially worked until the 23rd but there was not that much actual work happening, and with the pressure off after months, I properly crashed for a few days. Ben left for England on the weekend after to see his family for christmas etc, and I spent most of that weekend sleeping and doing very little. It was needed. Then my mum came to visit me for the holidays and we had four really lovely days together, also involving a lot of chilling (the only actual thing we did was that magical winter hike that I posted some pictures of the other day).

• And now I’m skiing! I was planning to go to England as well for NYE to see Ben’s family, but with the corona situation escalating again lately I decided it was too risky for just a few days. So I made a last-minute plan to go skiing by myself instead, because all that involves is a 2 hour train journey. I’m actually staying in a hotel too, which I’ve never done by myself before, I’m usually a dorm in a hostel type of person, but well. Covid has changed a lot of things :D trying to stay safe and away from people, which is of course not entirely possible in a ski resort, but it’s going okay. The skiing itself is great, it’s really nice having some time to go at my own pace and a few days in a row. Today was day 4 and I’ve really found my groove again (more on that later). There’s not much snow though so not many off-pisteing opportunities :/ I’m staying until Monday and then it’s back to work on Wednesday.

• Speaking of skiing, we’ve got season passes this year, my first season and Ben’s second. We’ve just been doing on the weekends so far - since the 21st of November I just realised while looking back in my calendar! That’s one hell of an early season start haha. We did just one day three weekends and then one full weekend right before Ben left. The first few days were bloody hard. For context, I learned to ski before I learned to walk and loved it as a child, then stopped for a few years because I felt like I wasn’t progressing anymore and was getting bored with it, basically. Then last January I went to France with Ben and his skiing friends and got introduced to freeriding and the idea of ski touring, and now I’m back to loving it haha. I’d ideally like to not have to resort ski anymore at one point (meaning touring) because I know it’s terrible from an environmental standpoint but... idk. It’s currently my only option, and I love it a lot, so I guess it feels okay? Anyway, since I learned to ski so early, it’s the one sport that I’ve always been pretty good at and like, never get scared, at least not on piste. Until this year. The first three individual days were just all kind of horrible, the conditions weren’t ideal with very hard surface and tons of ice and pretty busy slopes, and only steep terrain open as well (Engelberg, our “home” resort - we have a season pass that encompasses a bunch of resorts so we’re not limited to one - is literally dead flat beginner’s slopes, which weren’t open in the beginning, or red runs that should be black and black lol). Pairing loads of ice with my old skis which barely have an edge anymore was... not ideal. I was so scared constantly and it made me like I lost all my ability etc etc. But yeah, turns out I just needed a few days and some easier conditions to get back into it, and now ice and steep stuff and everything is fine again. Who would’ve thought. (a sensible person, probably).

• But then, the full weekend we skied in December was awesome! Saturday already felt much better and then it snowed a bunch over night and Sunday we spent all day powder skiing, basically. I learned SO much and just had an absolute ball! Definitely one of the best days skiing I’ve had, and one of the best days recently in general.

• Plus that whole weekend was just lovely, car camping in a campsite full of huge campervans was pretty fun :D I love the looks we get when people see the car and clearly wonder where we sleep. And we’ve got our setup perfected for winter now so both the nights were toasty. Friday night we had dinner in “bed” watching a movie, and Saturday night we sat in the little kitchen (the campsite has it open for everyone, but everyone else there has a camper, so it doesn’t seem to be used much) drinking tea and playing cards and ahh. Camping in the mountains. My ideal life eh? (though the weekend before this wonderful one, we got snowed in because it dumped over a metre over night completely unexpectedly and that was stressful as hell, but I think that’s a story for another day, if ever, I’m kind of trying to forget that day :’D)

• Yesterday I also finally took the plunge and ordered new skis. Been debating for ages which ones to get but I’ve finally decided and I’m now very excited!

• Ok this post so far reads as “work and skiing” which is pretty much what November and December were and probably what January is going to be too haha. Ben and I want to ski another week together end of January as well, and there’s some big exciting work things coming up as well.

• Even though I have to admit, now that I’m on a break, I’ve spent a lot of time dreading work and questioning my career choices and all of that lark... sigh. I love my job most of the time, but I kind of hate having a job? If that makes sense? Sometimes (okay a lot of the time) I just wish I had more time for other things that I care about. But I also now I’m lucky to have that job, especially this year, and lucky to have a job I don’t hate, and get to do a lot of fun stuff on the side, even if it often means little sleep and downtime.

• Speaking of things I care about, I was on a proper roll with writing for a few days before and after Christmas. It’s ebbed off again a bit, but it was still pretty cool, and my totally-useless-all-cheese-project is now 33,000+ words long and like, half-way there story wise. Had a lot of fun with that.

• Lastly, Ben is still in England, and he’s coming back next Sunday, and I can’t wait! I miss him so much when we’re not together it’s actually silly. Although it’s less stressful this time than the last few times because... we live together, his work just offered him an unlimited contract from January, and I’m stuck here for another 2-3 years, so it looks like we’ll actually get to be in the same place for now. Which is all I wished for last year, and I’m so damn grateful - that stability really is the best thing 2020 has brought for me. And, as he said, even though we were apart for the start of the new year, it will hopefully bring more time together than any previous year ♡

• Okay I think this is long enough now, if you actually made it until here you’re a hero and I will try and post a bit more regularly again now to avoid this size of mind dump :’D I hope you all got into the new year alright, it feels very strange to me that it’s 2021 because I actually slept through midnight on new year’s for the first time since I was tiny haha but I’m sure a lot of people feel the same way!

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noire-pandora · 3 years

Text

Birthdays

Another prompt from this list. Also on my ao3

Words:1682

Warnings: none

Arissa Surana learns how it feels to be loved.

The cold of the night made Arissa shiver, and she scooted closer to the campfire. No matter how much she wished to get to Denerim, they had to make camp and rest. Her companions chatted next to her as they ate their tasteless dinner. Arissa, Alistair, Leliana, Morrigan and Zevran have been travelling together for almost three weeks and now they had a moment of peace to get to know each other. She quietly watched them as they bickered, laughed and bonded. Even Morrigan joined them tonight, leaving the loneliness of her isolated campfire.

Arissa rarely spoke in moments like this. She preferred to eat and listen, Fluffy drooling on her leg. She loved to learn more about them but she was shy to participate. She believed tonight would be the same. Until Alistair turned towards her, a bright, big smile on his round face.

“What about you? What’s the best present you got for your birthday?”

Arissa blinked a few times, her hands squeezing her food bowl a bit too hard, her knuckles turning white. She could hear her heart pounding against her chest and she took a deep breath to steady it.

“I did not get any presents. I did not celebrate my birthday in the Circle”

Alistair’s eyes widened and his voice boomed with surprise. What? You never celebrated your birthday? Why?"

“Maybe I did, with my family, but I do not remember. The Templars took me to the Circle when I was five years old. And nobody asked for my birthday there. I never received any birthday presents. Sorry, I cannot answer your question,” she answered and avoided Alistair's eyes, looking down at her legs.

“Why are you apologizing, it isn’t your fault! I can’t believe they ignored your birthday. What a bunch of jerks.”

“This is how it usually goes in your Circles, Alistair. They do not care about the ones they cage in. They do not care about birthdays or presents or any holiday. Kindness is scarce. And all for the safety of the world, as your Chantry likes to say,” Morrigan intervened, sarcasm oozing from her words.

Arissa glared at Morrigan, deeply hurt by her words, but said nothing. Morrigan’s opinions against the Circle hurt, but Arissa usually ignored her. She had no idea what she talked about.

A long silence followed before Leliana spoke. “When is your birthday, Arissa?”

Arissa looked surprised at Leliana, as no one asked this until now. “22st Drakonis.”

“Friend, but this is three weeks from now. Why did you not tell us earlier?” Zevran asked, surprise written on his face.

“Why would I tell you that?” Arissa asked, truly confused about his question.

“Because we need to get your presents! And do something special for you!” Alistair shouted, raising his arms in the air. “What if we missed it? I can’t believe it, we have only three weeks to find a good present for you. You know, doing that in a Blight might be a biiiit tricky.”

“I am sorry, I did not realise that. You do not have to buy me anything. We are at war. My birthday is insignificant in times like this.

“Don’t be silly!” Alistair insisted, waving his hand to dismiss her words. “We’re going to buy you a present and have a birthday dinner for you. Somehow.”

“You do not have to, Alistair,” Arissa whispered, but her words were lost as Alistair started to plan what they should do for her birthday with the other companions.

The conversation lasted a few more minutes until Leliana decided to call it a day and they retreated to their tents, except Arissa, who took over the first watch. She stood in darkness, staring at the sky and wondering how her life would have been if the Templar did not take her away from her family. Maybe her parents would have bought her presents? Made her a cake? A tear slipped on her cheek. Fluffy whimpered and licked her face.

“It is all right, my friend. I am being silly. No need to cry about ifs and maybes. Let us pay attention so no Darkspawn can surprise us.”

-------------------

As the days and weeks passed by, Arissa forgot about that conversation. She had more pressing matters to think about, the Darkspawns attacking them at every corner.One night, they made camp as they usually do, but this time, Alistair insisted Arissa and Leliana went hunting for dinner. Arissa frowned, for it usually was Morrigan’s duty, and Morrigan rarely refused to do her part.The hunt went awful. Arissa was no hunter and while Leliana had impressive archer skills,the animals in the forest heard their steps and run away before Leliana had any chance to fire her bow. After an hour of running around animals and failing to hunt them, they returned to the camp with a few berries and mushrooms in their pouches. Arissa found Leliana’s nonchalant air about the whole situation a bit strange, but she did not question it.

A smell of cooked meat tickled Arissa’s nose as they got closer to the camp and she saw her friends sitting around the fire, a wild boar roasting above it.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “When did you catch the boar? Why did you send me and Leliana to hunt, knowing we will fail?”

“We planned this to distract you, friend,” Zevran answered, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. “Today is your birthday. Or have you forgotten?”

“We did this for you!” Alistair chimed in, visibly excited to talk about it. “Here, sit, sit. Alistair pushed her to sit on the wooden log next to his own. She looked at them, too surprised to say anything. “The boar needs time to cook. We have to wait a bit more or else we’re going to spend a lot of nights in the bushes. But until then, how about we give you the presents!”

“Presents?” Arissa murmured, unsure if she heard right.

“Yes, presents,” Zevran answered, a thick book in his hand. “This is my present to you. I brought you a journal. So you can write our adventure in it. Or draw. Anything that might distract you from your mission for a few minutes. “

Arissa’s hand shook as she took the journal. The black leather cover felt rough to the touch, but she loved the sensation against her fingers. She gently opened, careful not to break the spine. The white pages were empty and waited for her to put her mark on them.“Thank you, Zevran. It is wonderful. I think I know what to do with it. Do you mind if I used it to press and conserve plants? I always dreamed to make a herbarium.

“Not at all! What a beautiful idea. It is yours now.” he said, a big smile on his lips.

“And I offer you as a present a spell my mother taught me,” Morrigan said, her hands touching the will-be herbarium. She closed her eyes and her hands glow green, the light covering the book. It faded away in a few seconds. “The spell will protect the pages of your book from rain, mud, any element of nature, thus keeping your work intact.”

Arissa’s eyes became glossy as she held back her tears. No one ever cared about the integrity of her precious books. “Thank you, Morrigan.”

Morrigan nodded, and Arissa could have sworn she saw a small smile tugging at Morrigan’s lips.

“My turn now,” Alistair exclaimed, getting up and grabbing a small package from this backpack. “I tried to wrap it, but I’m not that good at it.” He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck, and watched as Arissa slowly unwrapped her present.

Inside, she found a small wooden carving, a few centimeters bigger than a chess piece. At first, she wondered herself why Alistair gave her a chess piece but, as she looked closer, she noticed what it was: a carving after the Circle tower she spent all her life in. She gasped and blinked back a tear, but it escaped and slid down her cheek.

“I’m sorry!" he rambled, panicked. " I know it isn’t the best carving, but you said the Tower was the only house you knew and you miss it so I tried to give you a part of it. But I guess you don’t like it if you’re crying.” His shoulder dropped, and he kicked the ground, his disappointment showing. He gasped when Arissa’s arms wrapped around his torso, her hair tickling his nose. He stood still for a few seconds, but he returned the hug, squeezing her a bit too strongly. They stood like this for almost a minute until Morrigan grunted.

“Are you all right there?” Alistair gently asked as they broke the hug.

Arissa nodded, squeezing the small wooden tower against her chest. “Thank you, Alistair. I will treasure it forever.”

Alistair giggled and rubbed his neck again, his cheeks slowly turning pink. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Can we eat now?” Morrigan asked. “I am starving. Running around to catch a boar is not an easy task.”

“Be patient, Morrigan, please,” Leliana said, rolling her eyes. “My present to you, my dear friend, is a song. Would you like to listen to it?”

“Yes, I would.”

“Then take a seat and allow me to sing for you.”

As Arissa sat on the wooden log and listened to Leliana’s wonderful voice, the tears finally slipped on her cheeks and she didn’t bother to wipe them. She let her emotions take the best of her.

No one cared to compose songs about her. No one bothered to carve anything for her or spend their money to buy her books. No one thought to offer her anything, and she never realized others could go out of their way to make her happy. But now, these wonderful people prepared a delicious dinner for her and bought her presents, in the middle of a Blight, while they had to run away from Darkspawns attacks. For the first time in her life, she understood how being loved felt.

#promp #arissa surana #characters: alistair morrigan zevran leliana #birthday #dragon age #noire writes #my stories

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halfasleepoetry · 4 years

Note

I wish you would write a fic where Ben and Joe go on holiday together. As a couple or as friends with feelings for each other.

Because I am unlike any sane person who answer asks normally, here you go, a 4K+ word count answer.

One Year Of Love

Joe and Ben found out early on in their friendship that they like travelling together. They make compatible travel buddies; Joe would do the research and Ben would plan the heck out of the trip down to the details and both of them try as much as they can to get everything to work out according to their plan and following their schedule. So far, they have successfully done so each time, until they decided to go to Morocco. They’ve been to almost all European and American destinations that they had wanted to see together, so they decided that the next downtime they have would be the best time to branch out a little, see new places. They had a few countries in mind, but ultimately chose Morocco for obvious reasons (“Casablanca!” Joe said, being the biggest fan of old, classical films), but after much research, they decided ultimately that they would go to Agadir, because Ben loves seaside towns and beaches.

“Do you know that Agadir’s weather is like LA’s?” Joe asked without looking away from his phone.

“No way,” Ben said after swallowing his food. “We’ve picked the perfect place.”

So when they got to Agadir and realized that the chill seaside town is exactly what it is; laid back and operates on its own concept of time, they met their first stumbling block. Their taxi was late, their room not ready for checking in. But the people smiled and carried on as if there’s nothing inherently wrong with a little tardiness here and there. “People around here are really that chill, huh?” Joe recognized the hint of irritation in Ben’s voice instantly. He’s tired. They both were. So he distracted the blonde by dragging him to the rooftop patio of their hotel, where it is also a lounge cafe during the day and a bar at night.

“The sunset here is going to be amazing, don’t you think?”

And Joe was right. They spent the evening looking at the amazing view from the rooftop before going along and around the promenade on a rented scooter, Joe at the front and Ben with his arms around Joe’s waist. They returned to their hotel when it’s pretty late, but the seafront never sleeps, it seems. They stayed out because it’s a shame not to do so, the sound of waves in their ears and night sky lit with stars and a silver crescent moon as they sipped wine and talked quietly and share comfortable silences as they tend to do whenever they are alone in each other’s company.

Morocco is both everything and nothing they had expected it to be; it’s breathtaking and different, quaint and modern, quiet and bustling. They explored the kasbah during the day, went through the restored ruins and returned to the promenade on the second evening, this time staying out longer to enjoy the nightlife. They went hiking at the Paradise Valley, taking in the view of square mudbrick houses and almond trees and olive orchards along the way. Joe had fallen in love with Moroccan mint tea, and even Ben, who isn’t a tea drinker, found himself liking its fresh and charming taste. They, or Ben in particular, had quickly forgotten the initial wariness towards the local’s warped sense of time and tendency to be over-friendly and inquisitive towards tourists. Partly because Joe is very good at handling both the situation and Ben in times like this, and partly because Morocco breathes its old magic everywhere and into everyone who sets foot on its soil. It’s impossible not to be lulled into its spell, as if they’ve drifted out of their lives into a completely different existence, especially as they make their way to Ouarzazate. Moroccan’s Little Hollywood. Games of Throne season 3, Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and a long list of Hollywood movies were shot there, according to Joe’s research. Joe is driving.

“I feel like--” he started.

“No, don’t say it,” Ben tried stopping him.

“--what, my inner Daenarys is coming out.” Ben groaned and Joe laughed.

When they stopped en route at Taroudant, they walked into the souq. Ben hasn’t stopped taking pictures since morning. He must have taken hundreds of pictures for the last few days, maybe thousands. Joe navigated the way, and they stopped by at a cafe to have mint tea. They--no, Joe--struck a conversation with a couple in their twenties, they’re from France and travelling on a tight budget, so Joe offered them a ride, which they gratefully accepted. They drove on to Taliouine, where they stopped by to try the freshly-made saffron tea, and it’s like no other. Joe bought some saffron stored in dark glass jar for his mom from the local seller before driving on to Ouarzazate, arriving at their riad late in the afternoon. The couple stayed at a budget place nearby, but Joe asked them to join him and Ben for a dip in the riad’s outdoor pool, and dinner later. They talked late into the night before parting ways, and later on as they were lying down on their respective beds in their room, Ben was about to fall asleep when Joe suddenly turned on his stomach and called his name. He told Ben the guy, Louis, told him earlier that he will propose to his girlfriend, Chloe, at the end of their Moroccan trip.

“That’s sweet.” Ben said, yawning.

“Get ready to be invited, if things go well for him.”

“What?”

“I exchanged phone numbers and emails with them.” Ben would have laughed if he wasn’t too sleepy.

“We could have another trip to the French countryside.”

Ben hummed an affirmative noncommittally.

Joe continued, “You know what’s funny?”

“What?”

“Chloe asked me if we’re together.”

There’s a pause before Ben says, “Oh.”

“Anyway, not the first time.” Joe turned to lie down on his back again. “Good night, honey.”

“Asshole.”

“Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bug bite.”

“Shut up, Joe.”

It’s dark but Ben thought he could see Joe grinning. He turned away to face the wall, closed his eyes, but it took him a long time to finally fall asleep.

The next day Ben let Joe slept in as he got up early to jump into the pool, work himself a little before eating breakfast. He ate quickly. One of the older and friendlier staff that Joe had struck a conversation with the evening before, approached him and asked about Joe in broken English. When Ben told him that he’s still asleep, the staff asked if they could send breakfast upstairs for him and Ben thanked him for the kind gesture, endlessly amused by the fact that no matter where Joe goes, he always manages to get people to spoil him.

“Wake up sleepyhead, we’re exploring the citadel today.”

Joe grunted, nodded and sat up, eyes still closed.

“Still tired?”

Joe nodded. Ben sighed.

“Want to sleep in a little bit more?”

Joe shook his head.

“They’ll send your breakfast upstairs.” When Joe neither moved nor made any sound, Ben called his name. He turned his face to Ben’s direction, eyes still closed. He’s pouting a little.

What a baby, Ben thought, but he kind of like this Joe. At least he’s quiet. “Try to wake yourself up while I got our stuff ready for the day.”

Exploring the citadel turned out to be one of the most fun they had as they endlessly struck poses reminiscent of movies they could recognize were filmed there. There were lots of silly ones, especially the ones with Joe and his ‘inner Daenarys’ coming out. They spent the entire morning there, and as the afternoon got unbearably hot, they returned to the riad to soak themselves in the cool water of the pool. Ben let his body float, buoyed by the gentle swaying of the water as Joe submerged himself completely under. His body was rocked by more pronounced swaying as Joe came up and out of the water.

“I could get used to this.” Ben said.

“The pool?” Joe asked.

“And the palm and olive trees. Cool water, hot afternoon, desert heat. All this.”

They spent the evening relaxing, enjoying dinner with wine before turning in early, they would have to be up by dawn to leave for the Sahara desert. That early in the day, the desert is windy and cold, and Ben made sure Joe is properly layered and covered for the journey, using his experience on location in Dubai, filming in the Arabian desert, to good use. As the day breaks and got hotter they lose the layers, which they would need again later at night. Their Berber travel guides made sure their journey went smoothly. They passed by Draa Valley where there are more kasbahs to be seen, palm groves and a village where pottery-making is the mainstay.

They arrived at the camp where they’re staying for the night as the sun set; it’s set up like nomadic tents fit for ancient royals. There’s clean water, delicious food, more wine and Berber traditional drum beats, conversation with fellow travellers. Joe practiced some of the Berber phrases he learned, much to their guides’ delight. As expected, a little bit of wine was all the encouragement he needed to start joining the Berbers and their tribal desert music, moving in time with the drum beats as Ben watched on with a smile on his face. He’s happy, contented and possibly a little bit in love.

The wine and the desert night must have gotten to my head, he told himself.

The bonfire crackled and shone golden-red on Joe. Ben thought the older man looked darkly ethereal, and he’s ready to fall beyond in love with him, ready to go right into the fire. The desert was magic, Joe its sorcerer. And Ben was spellbound.

As the night got deeper and colder they slept under the tent, cozy and warm under their blankets. The bonfire kept on burning. Ben wanted to know if he would still be under the desert's spell when he wakes up tomorrow.

“Ben.” It’s Joe. “Did you drink too much wine last night?” He could hear the tch-tch in his voice, but there were also fingers in his hair, rubbing his scalp, and he almost purred in sheer, unadulterated happiness. Everything is dim, almost dark. “Don’t want to miss the desert sunrise now, do we?” For a moment, he didn’t understand what was happening. And why was his head so heavy and foggy? He was holding on to something warm and soft, an arm and a leg thrown over it almost possessively, and he didn’t want to let go--

--until he realized it’s Joe that he was holding on to.

That jolted him out of sleep right away, and he sat up almost immediately, only to be greeted by a long, numbing pain in his skull. He had to put his head in his hands for a while. Joe sat up too and started massaging his head. He put both hands on Ben’s temples, kneading gently, moving across and around, on the sides of his head, at the back, down to his neck. This feels so good. He didn’t realize he had said it out loud until he heard Joe chuckling. “I should have told you to go light on the wine. They’re local, pretty strong stuff.”

He wanted to tell Joe, no, this doesn’t feel like a hangover at all, but he didn’t want Joe to stop either, so he merely grunted and lied down again, putting his head on Joe’s lap.

He could definitely get used to this.

They got up and moving when one of guides drew the curtain slightly open with his hand, not looking in, just letting them know that they’re ready to go anytime now. Joe replied and thanked him.

The guides brought them a little eastward on camels to see the desert sunrise. The sun came into sight as if it was lighting amber fire that burned across the vastness of the sand and sky all around them. It was magnificent. On Joe’s pale skin, it looked like he was bathed in gold.

Ben continued clicking away on his camera for a while.

When Joe turned to him he was smiling, and Ben found himself smiling too.

“That was bucket-list worthy,” he said, and Ben agreed.

They continued moving until they reached an oasis town, a quiet, rustic place with friendly dwellers, always with mint tea at hand. After looking around the oasis and the buildings, some lived in, some abandoned, they made their way back to Ouarzazate again, through Draa.

It was late afternoon when they were back at the riad; almost evening. Ben missed the clear-water pool and Joe joined him. They had more mint tea, Joe was again chatting away with seemingly everyone over dinner, and Ben was happy to occasionally interject. But mostly he was smiling and laughing. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this relaxed and happy, and each time he looked at Joe talking and charming everyone at the dinner table, the feelings seemed to amplify.

When they went to bed that night it took a long time for Ben to finally fall asleep, but when he did, his sleep was dreamless and uninterrupted. He woke up feeling fresh and rejuvenated, ready to hit the road again. This time they’re driving to Marrakech on the winding road around the High Atlas mountain range. The view was amazing; snow-capped mountains lining their sight, punctuated by small villages clinging to the mountainsides. Joe decided earlier on to take a slightly more challenging route to Telouet through the Ounila Valley, where they were greeted with terraced valleys and orchards, abandoned houses carved deep into the mountains and more kasbahs, still very well preserved, sprawling and magnificent in their ruins. Ben hoped his camera wouldn’t run out of memory anytime soon.

When they arrived in Marrakech they immediately headed to the riad they’re staying in. It’s in a relatively quiet part of the city, which is saying a lot, since Marrakech is densely populated and its spirit is one of an endless open market. It’s also a lot more colourful than the sienna-hued desert areas and brown-grey of the mountainside. Shops filled with goods and trinkets of all kinds and shapes and small cafes lined the street, with people going in and out constantly. The walls are painted bright white or pastel hues, colourful tiles and geometrical shapes as interior decor. Ben immediately started clicking away at his camera the moment they arrived. Once they entered the riad, they were greeted by the indoor pool in the middle of the open courtyard, its edges tiled green, turquoise and white. It’s not as large and deep as the outdoor one in Ouarzazate, it’s more of a dipping pool if anything. Ben snapped a photo, and checked the display screen.

“We’re gonna have to get a new memory card.”

“Let’s get it when we go out to eat later,” Joe said, looking up and around the courtyard. “It’s gonna be hard to leave this place.” He shook his head apologetically.

They head upstairs, walking along the quiet and empty balcony to their room. The entire riad seemed to belong only to them, no other soul in sight, no sound heard from other rooms. Their room is spacious, with a large bed and a lounge chair big enough for an adult to lie down comfortably on. It’s decorated tastefully in that distinctively Moroccan style; the tilework beautiful and intricate and lining the walls and covering the floor, even in the bathroom. They decided to book this room despite the large bed because of the size and the view; the room with two single beds were much smaller too.

Joe let himself fall down on the bed, while Ben drew the curtain to the balcony. The view is of many other adobe buildings, rooftop patios and far beyond it is the High Atlas, still so majestic in its shadow. Ben began stripping down and out of his dusty travelling clothes, grabbing a pair of shorts from his bag and one of the towels provided in the room.

“Heading to the pool already?” Joe asked, sitting up with a groan.

“Yep.” He ran a hand through his hair, there’s fine dust in them. “You coming?”

“Yeah. Will join you in a minute.” Joe got up and grabbed his bag. Ben didn’t want to wait around for him to get undressed and changed so he went ahead and downstairs to the pool.

He got in and submerged himself completely in the water, and his entire body sighed at the cool relief that it’s been given. He likes the complete, bottled up silence underwater. Soon, from under the water, he could see Joe’s feet, making his way to the edge of the pool, sitting down with a small book, and two red apples in his hands. The thin book is a phrasebook he has been carrying around with him. He took one of the apples and bit into it.

Ben came up and out of the water.

“Look what I got,” Joe said, smirking and showing off the red apple in one hand.

“Were they from the room?” Ben asked, not recalling seeing any. Joe gestured to give him an apple, but Ben shook his head.

“No,” Joe answered around a mouthful. He swallowed before continuing. “Got them from a staff as I was coming here. There’s a kitchen apparently, but it’s hidden a little further away from the courtyard. She was carrying groceries and fruits so I helped her.”

“Been sweet-talking again, haven’t you?” Ben shook his head, but he’s smiling.

“Hey, I helped her.” Joe was indignant. “Even asked for another apple for you.”

Ben waded through the water to come closer to Joe. He stopped in front of the redhead and put an arm across his bare lap. Is it him or is Joe’s skin a lot less paler now since they got here? He seemed to have gotten a bit of healthy colour on them. He leaned forward and stole a bite from the apple in Joe’s hand.

"Hey!" Joe laughed before shaking his head disapprovingly.

“I’ll eat mine later,” Ben said, a little cheekily, but clearly liking the apple’s taste and sweetness.

“No way,” Joe protested, chuckling. “They’re both mine now. Thief.”

Ben just smiled, clearly up to something. “Put that down, I’m pulling you in,” he said suddenly, hooking his arm behind and around Joe’s knees.

“What--” Joe let out a surprised yelp as the younger man pulled him into the dipping pool. It wasn’t that the pool was deep or even remotely dangerous; Ben could stand perfectly fine in it and the water goes up just until his chest, but Joe had noticed an undercurrent of irritation and strain in Ben’s mood since they were in Agadir and then in Ouarzazate, but suddenly it seemed to have disappeared completely in Marrakech, replaced by this cheeky playfulness that Joe hadn’t seen for quite some time. Not since the last time they had taken a long trip away together like this, at least.

It took him awhile to realize that the sudden jump had their bodies pressed close together now, Ben’s arms around him and his arm around Ben’s neck, in each other’s attempt to not let the other person fall down into the water earlier. Ben always came up with some childish, playful ideas like this when he’s in the right mood. How immature, Joe thought, but he likes this Ben better anyway.

He told himself that he should pull away from Ben now, suddenly realizing that not only they’re too close, they’re also wet and almost naked. But neither of them seemed to want to move.

“Hey,” Ben said, and Joe thought he could hear his voice shaking a little, “Remember you told me the other day Chloe thought that we’re together?”

Joe looked straight and unwaveringly into Ben’s green eyes. “Yeah.”

“Do you--” he started and paused, swallowing. “Do you really think it’s funny?”

“No.” He didn’t know why it came out of his mouth almost like a whisper. Suddenly it seemed like the pool water he’s standing in had turned warm, or maybe it was Ben’s arms around him, or the heat he could feel pooling at the base of his gut, and now spreading everywhere in his body, to his head, and colouring his cheeks.

On the other hand, Ben looked like he had lost all colour from his face.

“Me neither,” he said. It must have been barely a whisper too, considering how closely they’re standing in each other’s arms right now, but Ben’s voice sounded too loud in his ears, like the sheepskin drum banging and clear voiced singing piercing the silence of the desert. Ben had been unusually quiet the entire first day they were out on the Sahara, and Joe had tried every little, subtle trick he knew to lift the mood of the younger man, to no avail. He ate less than usual, and had been steadily sipping glass after glass of wine, and his eyes--Joe knew Ben’s eyes better than anyone--they’re filled to the brim with things that were threatening to break and spill anyway no matter how much he--or they, for that matter--tried to hide.

“Joe, I--”

It felt like this conversation that they’re struggling to have, with stuttering words and half-whispers, was the only conversation they have been waiting to have since forever. Since they first met and Joe thought Ben hated him, the American actor who’s playing the bass player of a British iconic rock band. Since Joe’s birthday when Ben apologized and kissed him with an apple between their mouths. Since they hate being away and apart from each other’s side. Since they started using endearments in texts, like they don’t really mean it. Since they first snapped a photo of Ben kissing Joe’s cheek and sent it to Gwil, and it became a normal thing for them to do to rile the poor man up. They’re all just a joke, after all. Joe used to think it didn’t matter, the feelings he had for the younger man, until he learned to read Ben’s eyes, and he could see something more in them. But he kept telling himself it was absurd, it was all merely his imagination.

That is until they found themselves standing here, in a dipping pool with the sun shining through the open, unroofed courtyard, arms around each other, him looking straight into Ben’s eyes and the younger man looking like he’s about to stop breathing, stumbling and choking on his own words.

So Joe did the only thing he could think of. He leaned in, as close as possible without actually touching Ben’s lips, closed his eyes, and kissed him.

There was that initial second where they pretended like they were playing it coy, like they were being careful with each other. But Joe took that half step closer to Ben, and the water around buoyed them on, until two steps and a half later, Ben was pressed against the tiled wall of the pool, and Joe was kissing him with one hand under his jaw, his thumb grazing the corner of Ben’s lips, and the other arm slung over his shoulder, around his neck, keeping his close, even as Ben slips both his arms tighter around Joe, very clearly not going to let him go. At least not anytime soon. They pulled apart for a moment, just enough to breathe, before kissing open mouthed again, savouring each other like making up for lost time. There’s a hint of apple sweetness still on their tongues, but other than that they’re just tasting and breathing in each other, so familiar and yet so new. And touching skin. There’s just so much skin. So when Ben’s roaming hands rather deliberately ran along and inside the waistband of Joe’s shorts, causing him to shudder involuntarily and pull away, he moaned a little into Ben’s neck.

“Wait--” he said, lips still on skin.

“Wait what?” Ben sounded a little confused.

“Wait until we get upstairs?” Joe offered.

“Don’t say things like that.” Ben closed his eyes, pressing their foreheads together before kissing Joe again.

“Like what?” Joe said when Ben let go of his lips to start kissing the skin along his jawline instead.

“Like that.” Ben said, catching Joe's upper lip between his lip and teeth.

“Like, let’s get upstairs, get dressed and go out so we can get the memory card for your camera and something to eat?” He was teasing him.

Ben made a sound in his throat that sounded clearly like a protest and kissed Joe again. “No, like, get upstairs so I can kiss you all day long like this.”

And Joe could honestly, really, see no point in arguing with that, so he kissed Ben one more time.

#hardzello #hardzzello #joe mazzello x ben hardy #joe x ben #one year of love #oneshot #borhap fanfic #fanfic #fic #answer #ask me

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camillemontespan · 5 years

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candidly camille [interview]

The Duchess of Valtoria aka Camille Montespan aka Camille Walker is like a chameleon. As I watch her model for our cover shoot, she adopts sultry expressions before bursting out laughing at her, I quote, 'ridiculous attempts to be sexy,' then switches to a soft smile, looking like butter wouldn't melt.

When she talks to me after, her leg tucked under herself on the sofa, she goes from incredible politeness to a real throaty laugh when she makes a risqué comment.

The photoshoot actually took place in her home, as Camille was also on Mom Duty while her husband, Drake, was out for meetings. Now, we are settled on a slouchy sofa and drinking coffee, while baby Luna is in in a play pen and playing with blocks.

Camille is still wearing the sweater from the photograph that will become the cover. 'I love this sweater, must find it online..' she muses, whipping out her phone to search if its in stock. I tell her she could just keep it. She blinks at me, clearly surprised at the suggestion. 'I'm not stealing this, I have morals!' she says. She then whispers, 'I am the Duchess of Valtoria!' before winking at me.

The many names she has means it's often hard to pin down the woman herself. Can she clear this up please?

'Duchess of Valtoria is my job, Camille Montespan is my professional name, Camille Walker is my married name and personal favorite,' she explains. 'I kept Montespan because it's a name that goes back to French nobility so I guess it makes sense to keep it for my title. But I am actually a Walker, in my heart.'

She really loves her husband. She blushes when she mentions him and that's after seven years of marriage. How are they still in the honeymoon phase after seven years and two children?

'Lots of sex,' she deadpans, before she let's out that throaty laugh again. 'No, in all seriousness, it takes work, all relationships do. But Drake's my best friend. He's my person.'

The couple are very private and it's hard to secure interviews with them. But today, we are meeting Camille because she and her husband have become the new subjects of a documentary celebrating the seventh year of the Duke and Duchess of Valtoria's occupation, airing on Netflix next month. The documentary doesn't go behind the scenes per se, as Drake and Camille are very private, but Royal commentators are interviewed, as are their friends and some members of the Valtorian public, to talk about Drake and Camille. How has Camille found the past seven years?

'A complete whirlwind,' she tells me, beaming. 'I've loved every minute of it.'

Drake and Camille met seven years ago when she came to Cordonia to take part in the suitor competition to marry the now King Liam. Instead of winning the crown, she married Liam’s best friend. Was it awkward?

Camille bites her lip. ‘Questions were asked, I had to be very, very honest. But once we talked about it, Liam got it. He actually said on my wedding day that him and I would never have worked!’

Drake and Camille married at the Walker ranch in Texas, much to the anger of the Cordonian public. ‘We wanted something private with just our family and close friends,’ she explains to me, clearly used to having to defend this decision. ‘We didn’t want any frills or fanfare. The day was to be intimate and we didn’t want it to be broadcast to the world. I guess we wanted to have something that was just ours before we took on our roles of Duke and Duchess, you know? Before everything became a rollarcoaster.’

Their lives did indeed become a rollarcoaster. Camille fell pregnant with Lily soon after they married before they welcomed baby Luna a year ago.

I ask how Lily is with her sibling. Is it something she wanted?

‘It was difficult for her when the time came,’ she tells me carefully. ‘She was so used to it just being us, her own little unit. She’s used to being the only child and being her daddy’s favourite thing. Drake had to sit her down and explain that she was not being replaced. '

I ask if Lily is a daddy’s girl. Camille bursts out laughing. ‘Oh my god, yes! She is obsessed with him! So obsessed!’ Her laughter fades and she looks at me, her eyes warm. ‘You know that idea that a girl’s first love is her father? That totally applies to Lily. Drake is the love of her life.’

I ask what Luna is like as a baby. Camille must be exhausted. She laughs and shakes her head. 'Honestly? Luna is the quietest thing. She just observes, she's always looking around. She sleeps so well and she rarely cries. We were a little worried to begin with, since Lily was so different, but then when we thought about it, we were like: a quiet baby who let's us sleep for 6 hours? YES THAT'S THE DREAM!'

Lily takes after Camille, she tells me, in that she is so energetic and girly. 'She tries my perfume and walks around in my heels, it's the funniest thing. But she also isn't afraid to get dirty in the garden, she loves going camping with her dad, so I guess that Walker charm is in her somewhere..'

How is Drake with two girls? Camille beams at my question. 'He loves it. Oh, I just know he's going to be an overprotective dad when boyfriends or girlfriends come over for the first time. He relishes his role. Like, he isn’t afraid to take part in Lily's tea parties,’ she divulges. I can’t imagine Drake Walker, the man with the permanent scowl and sarcastic remarks to the press, taking part in tea parties. I tell her this. Big mistake.

‘First of all,’ she says, pointing her finger in the air, ‘my husband does not have a permanent scowl. He reserves that for paparazzi because he hates them. Second, his sarcasm is really funny?! Like he is so dry and cutting sometimes, it’s shocking but it’s hilarious. Drake is an actual marshmallow, he just doesn’t show it to most people because he doesn’t feel the need to.’ Her voice is getting angrier now. ‘Why should he? He loves me and he loves his daughters, that’s all that matters. So when I say he takes part in my daughter’s tea parties, believe me, he does. And he actually loves it.’

She is a lioness protecting her pride. That is what Camille is like right now and I instantly feel guilty for mocking her husband. She must see my embarrassed face because she places her hand on mine.

‘Sorry babe, I didn’t mean to get pissed. It’s habit. We’ve had to defend each other so much to the press, it’s become instilled in us.’

The tension has gone after her apology. I actually understand why she instantly defended him though and why he would do the same for her; they are a team and they have learned together how to navigate the media, paparazzi and rumour mill. Drake once walked out of an interview when the men’s magazine interviewing him said Camille looked good in a bikini (paparazzi photos of a romantic holiday to the Caribbean made international news, much of the headlines being about Camille’s physique).

‘He is very protective,’ Camille admits, ‘but he’s always been like that. Even when we first met, he protected me at court because he didn’t want me eaten alive by the other suitors. It’s in his nature and honestly, I wouldn’t change it.’

I move back to discuss the documentary. ‘We were approached by the documentary team as they wanted to shed light on what we have done for Valtoria. It’s a great honour to be recognised for the work we have done.’

The documentary interviews their friends, such as Bertrand, the Duke of Ramsford. He was Camille's mentor when she came to Cordonia. Are they still close?

'He's like the dad I never had, even though he's only about eight years older than me,' she says thoughtfully. 'He's serious at first and it takes a while to get him to trust you but once you get over that hurdle, he is the kindest and most loyal man. Seriously, he's done so much for us. He's our children's godfather.'

I pick up on her comment about him being the dad she never had. I gently ask what she means. Camille bites her lip and runs a hand through her hair, giving me a whiff of coconut. ‘I think everyone knows that my parents weren’t exactly.. role models,’ she says.

All I know is that she lost her parents to drugs when she was five. Camille rarely speaks about them to the press but we are aware of her background as she donates money to rehab facilities in Cordonia and visits patients. She exhales and gives me a steady look.

‘My mother and father abused drugs,’ she tells me bluntly. ‘If they taught me anything, it’s how to be a bad parent. They left me alone for hours on end while they chased their next high and I felt very lonely. That is why I try so hard to keep my daughters happy. I want them to enjoy life, have no worries. I want to just wrap them up in a big bundle of love.’

I note that Drake also had a hard time; his father died when he was fourteen and his mother left soon after. They both come from fractured upbringings.

‘And yet, here we are,’ she says with a genuine smile. ‘We are not our parents. We are Drake and Camille, mom and dad extraordinaires!’

We're interrupted by her daughter, Lily, who wanders through. She's wearing a polar bear onesie and her hair is mussed up. 'Mommy, I miss daddy,' she says quietly.

Camille holds out her hands and Lily takes them, letting Camille pick her up and set her down on her lap. 'Daddy will be home soon,' Camille tells her, tucking a lock of Lily's hair behind her ear. She kisses the top of Lily's head and the five year old smiles, snuggling into her mother. Camille looks at me with a knowing smile.

'See?' she says. 'She's obsessed with Drake.'

What kind of parents are they?

Camille ponders. 'Hmm.. Might be a risky move here but, Lily, what are Mommy and daddy like as parents?'

We watch as Lily wrinkles her nose in concentration. 'Daddy is silly,' she decides. 'And Mommy is cuddly.'

Camille pulls her in for a cuddle, tickling the little girl under the arms, making her scream with laughter.

Lily soon clambers off to check on her little sister, before she announces that she's going to play tea parties. Camille and I get back to the interview.

'For a serious answer to your question,' Camille says, 'Drake and I have similar parenting styles because we're a team. Sure, Drake is more easily swayed and wrapped around Lily's finger, but we both agree when it comes to the important stuff, like bedtimes, school, homework, dinner. We're in sync all the time.'

I wonder how they settled into being parents so soon after getting married. Camille ponders for a moment before answering frankly. 'We were terrified. Seriously. We worried we would break her and Drake would spend hours watching over her as she slept. We couldn't relax.'

There has been comments made that the two of them adopt the helicopter method style of parenting, meaning they are very protective over their daughters.

Camille sighs. 'With Lily, sure. But we were just starting out and so scared of fucking up. Bear in mind, I had a shit childhood. Drake fared little better. So we're both so conscious of the fact that we didn't have the best parents to learn from. It goes back to what I was saying earlier that we are not our parents. We want to do it right.'

We are interrupted by the sound of scraping on the floor. I look over to see Lily is dragging a tiny plastic yellow table with plastic tea cups on top. Camille jumps up to help her move it. 'Where do you want it, honey?' she asks.

Lily points to the space in front of the sofa where we're sat. Camille takes the table over and we watch Lily set up for a tea party, right beside us.

'She likes to be part of things,' Camille whispers to me. 'Especially when there's women in the room. I think she likes to pretend she's a fancy lady with her fancy friends.'

She reaches out to ruffle Lily's hair. Her daughter grins and settles down, pretending to sip from a plastic tea cup. Camille and I watch her for a moment, fascinated by this little play.

'Mm, delicious tea..' Lily says quietly and Camille and I giggle. Camille then clears her throat and looks at me, ready for the interview to commence.

Are they aware of their couple name, Cake?

Camille bursts out laughing. 'Oh we're aware! Drake hates it. He doesn't like the whole celebrity thing. Neither do I but its what we have to deal with as part of our jobs.'

The documentary discusses the campaigns that the Duke and Duchess have been involved with. For Drake, he founded Mind over Matter, a mental health campaign for struggling men in Cordonia, which soon formed into something larger. It became a charity and pioneered the beginning of mental health campaigns in Cordonia.

'I'm so proud of him,' Camille tells me. 'To think that before I met him, he made sure he stuck to the shadows at court and now he's taking centre stage and promoting his work.. Its amazing.'

Camille has also been involved in working for equality in the workplace. She had been talking to her fellow Duchesses and found that Kiara had been trying for years to get into a boardroom but to no avail. 'Because she's a woman,' Camille tells me point blank. 'Kiara has the skills needed to be a diplomat, she has more balls than any man in the room, but she is ignored because she has a vagina. Before you say I'm being dramatic, I'm not. Kiara was literally told she wouldn't get her foot in the door because she was a woman.'

Lily then pipes up quietly: 'Vagina.'

Camille turns red and covers her face with her hands. 'Oh god, I forgot she's like a sponge.. She repeats so many things we say.'

I look at Lily who gives me a butter wouldn't melt smile.

Moving on.

Cordonia is known to be very traditional in the sense that women should stay home while men work. Camille rolls her eyes. 'Cordonia needs to join the 21st century.'

After speaking with Kiara, Camille and her friends got together to tour workplaces and schools, advocating for equality. 'I want girls in Cordonia to have the opportunities to succeed and grow,' she says. 'We visit schools to show young girls that their futures are bright and that they shouldn't feel like they can't achieve anything.'

Drake must feel very proud of her. Camille blushes and waves away my compliment. 'I'm just trying my best to make a change. I want Cordonia to be a modern and forward thinking country.'

The documentary follows the Duke and Duchess' efforts to make a difference, as well as showing short clips of candid moments. Moments such as when they visit the palace and Drake holds her hand - nobles are very strict about touching and PDAs, yet Drake and Camille ignore this rule.

'We're a really touchy couple..' Camille says, pretending to look apologetic. 'Sorry guys. We're sickening.'

There's also a moment where Drake is studying fancy finger food at an event with a look of sheer incredulousness on his face while Camille jokingly tries to force him to eat it, waving it in his face. I think it will become a meme.

'Oh god, don't talk to Drake about memes!' she laughs. 'His quote Everything is Great became a meme. He can't live it down.'

The documentary interviews Olivia Nevrakis of Lythikos, the infamous Duchess who terrifies journalists - myself included. Camille and Olivia seem so different, how can they possibly be friends?

She shrugs. 'Just because someone's different to you doesn't mean you can't be friends.. I think she's brilliant. She's the godmother of my children. Underneath that tough exterior, she's a softie. Bit like Drake actually, his marshmallow equivalent..'

She then giggles. 'She's going to kill me for calling her a marshmallow.'

Lily sips her tea cup and says confidently, 'I love Aunt Olivia!'

'Yes you do, sweetie!' Camille coos, leaning over to kiss Lily on top of the head. 'She's your favourite person, isn't she?'

Lily nods eagerly.

Olivia is very open in the documentary about how she, Camille and Drake started off on the wrong foot but slowly became friends. She says that Camille is the friend who always has a bottle of wine ready for deep chats. 'The woman loves a deep discussion about feelings..' Olivia says dryly.

Camille grins. 'I do! I'm like a therapist sometimes! I genuinely think I could have been a therapist if I wasn't a Duchess.'

As a noble, Camille is different. She's more open, relatable and doesn't put on any airs and graces. She's normal.

She blinks at me. 'All of us are normal,' she tells me. 'Just because we have titles doesn't mean we're not like you. I think I'm more myself than ever before because I don't want to lose the old Camille.'

I ask her to explain the old Camille. She sips her coffee and ponders. 'The old Camille watched football, wore oversized sweaters, made risqué jokes and loved Espresso Martinis. I'm still the same person..' She bites her lip. 'I think I don't want to lose that version of me because its the one my husband first fell in love with.'

I tell that it obvious Drake will love her no matter what. She bows her head and smiles softly. 'Thank you,' she says quietly. 'At the end of the day, Drake is my life. I want to be with him forever.'

As if on cue, the front door is heard shutting and footsteps sound in the hallway. Lily jumps up from her tea party table and runs out the room, shrieking, 'Daddy!'

'Hello beautiful thing!' I hear Drake cry. The footsteps get closer and Drake enters the living room with Lily in his arms. He sees me and gives me a warm smile. 'Hi there, nice to meet you.'

He moves towards Camille and kisses her softly. 'How's the interview going?'

'Good, I think!' Camille says, looking at him like he's the most amazing thing she has ever seen. 'Fun chats.'

Drake grins. 'I'll leave you both be. Spaghetti for dinner tonight? I'll cook.'

He carries Lily to Luna's play pen, picking up the two year old as well. 'Hey, little moon!' he greets his youngest daughter. The three of them leave the room and Camille smiles at me. 'See? He's brilliant.'

That is the secret of Cake. That's how they work so well. They are a team and it's family first for them, just how it should be.

#drake walker x mc #cake #trr fanfic

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years

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654.

Honestly, what are you thinking about right now? >> I’m aggravated because ESO’s server maintenance is supposed to be over by now, but it isn’t, and I want to play. I also hate that I am so easily aggravated by things like this sometimes, because I’m sure to people with fully functional brains it’s not a big deal and it probably shouldn’t be to me either -- but no one ever said I had a fully functional brain. Also, I’m thinking about all the raucous crowing going on outside. The crows have really been out in full force lately. Do you like to get your nails done? >> No, it involves too much physical contact (although, at least it’s only on one part of my body). Also, I can do just fine at home by myself, and save like... fucking $60 or whatever. Why the fuck is it so expensive anyway? What are your thoughts on Valentine’s Day? >> I don’t have any thoughts on Valentine’s Day. It really doesn’t affect me most of the time (it didn’t even affect me when I was single, honestly). I think it’s a bit of a silly holiday but far be it for me to rain on other people’s parades about it -- the last thing anyone needs is someone like me being pedantic and bah-humbug-y about the fact that they’re doing something cute for someone they love. Anyway, while V-Day doesn’t really factor into my life any (Sparrow sometimes gets wine and makes dinner and we just veg out watching YouTube or whatever), I was flipping through a local publication while we were at Biggby the other day and I found a V-Day event at one of our favourite places (Long Road Distillery), which was perfect. So we’re going to that, and I think it will be fun. Sometimes V-Day is just a convenient time to find fun "date” ideas. Do you remember the last movie you saw while on a date? >> Well, in the last question I put “date” in quotes because I, an aromantic, don’t really know how I feel about the concept, but at the same time it’s not completely illogical to call planned outings with my spouse a “date”, so... you know. Regardless, the last time we both went to see a movie together is when we went to see Jojo Rabbit last year. Do you love the color pink? >> I mean, it’s fine. I like it in some cases and I like it less in others.

Have you ever cheated on someone? >> Yes. What color is your favorite bra? >> My binder is black. Sometimes I do consider getting one with a cool print on it, though. I forget the name of the company that makes those. If you took on the surname of the last person you kissed, what would it be? >> Can Calah doesn’t have a surname. Do you kiss on the first date? >> --- Do you like to wear dresses? >> Sure, sometimes. What I don’t like is wearing them in public and knowing that I now have no way to assert that I am not a cis woman. Because “well, you’re wearing a dress, after all!” Yeah, because it’s comfortable and has a cool pattern on it. Fuck off. Are you into sports? >> No. Do you like any ‘manly’ activities like hunting, fishing, or camping? >> I’ve never been hunting or fishing, but I imagine I’d find hunting a bit more interesting than fishing (although, from what I understand, both activities involve a lot of waiting around without moving, which doesn’t sound fun at all). Camping, however, can be a lot of fun. Did you lose your virginity before you were sixteen? >> I was coerced into sexual activity before I was sixteen. If not, are you still a virgin? >> ---

What was the name of your first boyfriend? >> Craig. Your first kiss? >> Hm.

Are you still with either of those people from the last 2 questions? >> Like, of fucking course not. Have you ever used your bra to hold things like you would a pocket? >> Yeah. Are you a shop-a-holic? >> No. How many purses do you own? >> Zero. Describe your favorite pair of shoes: >> --- Who knows a secret about you that no one else does? >> --- What is your longest relationship to date? >> The one I’m in. Who ended the last relationship you were in? >> I did. Have you ever gotten back with an ex? >> Yeah. Everyone makes mistakes. Are you bi? >> I assume I would be if I wasn’t ace. Have you ever done something with a friend of the same sex? >> Yeah. Who was your first prom date? >> A 29-year-old police officer from a nearby town. My father set it up. Yes, it was just as sad as it sounds. Have you ever dated someone more than three years older than you? >> Way more. Have you ever dated someone a year younger than you? >> Yeah. Have you ever fallen for a guy friend? >> No. Have you ever had a guy friend you weren’t into, fall for you? >> I don’t think so. Do you cry during romantic movies? >> Not usually. I don’t have the kind of heartstrings that romance flicks are primed to tug upon.

Who was the last person to see you cry? >> The only people that see me cry are Inworlders if I can help it.

Have you ever been used? >> I don’t think so.

Have you ever felt violated? >> Yeah. Do you like when I guy takes you by surprise and kisses you? >> I wouldn’t like it if anyone did that. What do you think of red lipstick? >> I don’t think anything of it, really. It’s just lipstick. Do you ever leave the house without make up? >> I usually leave the house without makeup on.

Do you tan? >> I’m already dark-skinned, boo. What is your natural hair color? >> Dark brown. Is it that right now? >> Yes, with a tiny crop of greys. Have you ever gone for someone despite knowing they were bad for you? >> Well, I kind of just overlooked my instincts, is what I did. Do you prefer guys with dark hair or light hair? >> --- Have you kissed anyone who’s name started with 'C’? ’D’? 'J’? 'K’? 'R’? ’T’? >> I don’t feel like digging back into a history I don’t care about to figure this out. Would you be more likely to date a redneck or a goth? >> A goth, if I were to date. A prep or a skater? >> Unlike “goth” and “redneck”, I don’t know anyone my age who identifies as “prep” or “skater”, so.... An athlete or a musician? >> Musician, probably. I don’t think I’d be able to remain interested in (or interesting to) anyone for whom atheticism was important. When was the last time someone gave you flowers? >> I don’t know. What kind of gift can win you over? >> Win me over to what? Has anyone ever sung to you? >> Yeah. What was the stupidest thing you’ve done while drunk? >> Drank too much and ended up sick for the rest of the night. Are diamonds really a girls best friend? >> I don’t know, ask a girl. Gold or silver? >> Gold. What is your favorite scent? >> I don’t have one. Do you like massages? >> I really don’t. Apparently “no one hates massages” except lmao I do. Have you ever been skinny dipping? >> No. Do you sleep naked? >> No. Is smoking a turn-off? >> Not necessarily. But the thing about smoking is, if you do it enough, it has lingering effects that are turn-offs -- smelling like smoke all the time, yellowed fingertips, a persistent cough, that sort of thing. If you smoke every once in a while, that probably won’t be a problem, so it’s fine. But I’m guessing not many people can say they smoke every once in a while (I’m the only person I’ve known that does).

What is the perfect date? >> --- Is there a certain tv show you get upset if you miss? >> Not really. I can always just... catch up... What is your favorite movie? >> The Fountain. When was the last time you spent the night at someone else’s house? >> Christmas. Was that someone of the same or opposite sex? >> It was Sparrow’s parents... What is one food you always crave? >> I don’t know about always. Baklava, maybe? I have it so rarely that I do end up wanting it often. Are you an exercise freak? >> I am... freaked out by exercise. Ha. What scares you more, spiders or snakes? >> Neither. Do you expect to be married in the next two years? >> I am already married. What would you do if you found out you were pregnant? >> I wouldn’t be pregnant. It’s scientifically impossible for several reasons. Was the last person to call you male or female? >> --- Does it matter if a guy has a sense of humor? >> I mean, I’m not going to hang out with someone completely humourless. Do you wish on shooting stars? >> No. What are your thoughts on guys who wear wifebeaters? >> Literally, that’s just an undershirt. What kind of specific opinion can I possibly have about people who wear undershirts... Who do you vent to when something is bothering you? >> Can Calah.

What is the best way to cool off when you’re mad? >> Distraction. Plenty of distraction. Do you have someone who is protective of you (father, brother, etc.)? >> No. Well, King Crimson would be, but there’s not much he needs to protect me from Inworld, lmao. Would you ever get implants? >> No. Have you ever had a crush on a sibling’s friend? >> No. Have you ever had a crush on a friend’s sibling? >> No. What is the corniest pick-up line someone’s ever used on you? >> I don’t remember. It would have had to be like 10 years ago. Does it mean more to you if a guy uses the word 'beautiful’ about you? >> --- Is your best friend a guy? >> --- Are you more of a 'girly girl’ or a 'tomboy’? >> I’m not either, since I’m not a girl. Is your hair longer than your shoulders? >> It’s not even longer than an inch. Do you prefer showers or baths? >> Showers. Have you ever dated someone with a child? >> Yeah. She was a funny kid, I liked her. One time she dead ass sat in front of the main menu screen of a movie that her father had put on for her and then forgot about, for like an hour, and he was like “omg why didn’t you come get me to press play???” and she was just like *lolshrug*. Kids. Have you ever dated someone shorter than you? >> No. Have you ever dated someone of another race? >> Yes. Do you secretly still love to dress up for Halloween? >> I have never dressed up for Halloween (aside from just wearing a nice outfit, but not like a costume) and I would love to have that experience. Have you kissed anyone today? >> No. Will you kiss anyone tomorrow? >> It’s possible. Are you addicted to texting? >> No. If you and your best friend got arrested, what would it be for? >> ---

#surveys #survey #random survey

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goodnightkisseu · 5 years

Text

Park Jihoon - Giftwrap

Genre: Fluff

Note: It’s time for another post from me for the 12 days of Christmas with Wanna One collab! I’m doing this series with Chelle over at @prettywordsyouleft and with Kim at @nothingwithoutwannaone! I hope that you all have been enjoying the wonderful pieces that Chelle and Kim have written over these last couple of days!

Today is my last piece for the series, and it’s for Jihoon! I hope that you guys enjoy this one! It was a lot of fun to write :3 Please look forward to the remaining posts by Chelle and Kim! I know they’re going to be wonderful~ And as always, please feel free to let me know what you think ^^

Enjoy~

- goodnightkisseu’s admin / ashley <3

Christmas was a time for togetherness. It was a time to spend with family and loved ones, to meet up with those that you hadn’t seen throughout the entire year and catch up. It was a time of travel, whether it be home or to a vacation spot somewhere much warmer. For different people, Christmas meant different things. For you, This Christmas was about being stuck in the city in the middle of a huge snowstorm with no way out. You had plans to fly out and see family a couple of days ago, but when this huge storm hit it completely grounded you and some others as well. Still, there was some silver lining to being stuck in the city for the holidays. At least you would get to spend it with Jihoon.

Much like you, Jihoon was also snowed in for the holiday season. The two of you had originally settled on doing a little post-holiday couple’s outing when you got back from your respective trips. Yet, with this heavy storm that had blown in, you both found yourselves unable to get to your destinations. So instead of spending your holidays alone, especially during a time of year that was about being together, you moved your post-Christmas couple’s outing to now. You were currently at Jihoon’s place with a small bag that you had packed just lounging around in his apartment while he went to work. The office where you worked as a secretary had completely closed down due to the unpredictable weather, but Jihoon’s was still going, and he found himself working overtime now that people couldn’t come in.

You weren’t just lounging around his apartment on your own of course. You had the company of his dog, Max, who had grown quite fond of you over the last year. You knew that you weren’t his favorite person, that title either belonged to Jihoon or his friend, Woojin, you weren’t sure. However, Max still enjoyed spending time with you, mostly because you gave him the most amazing belly rubs and would also slip him some extra kibble from time to time. The easiest way to a dog’s heart, honestly.

Though you had to admit that you would often find yourself bored throughout the day, not having Jihoon here today was proving to be a blessing. It gave you time to put up some of the Christmas decorations in the way that you wanted, particularly the three cute stockings that you had bought to put on the mantle. Jihoon thought they were silly, but seeing as he wasn’t home, there was no one to stop you. Honestly, it didn’t look that bad, to begin with, so you couldn’t understand why he had complained about it so much.

Having him out of the house was also useful because there was one thing you had forgotten to do before you ended up camping out at Jihoon’s place for the week. You had forgotten to wrap his present, and you felt like now was a good a time as any to do so. After all, today was his last day of work and after this, he would be home until Christmas. You would have little free time to yourself and there was no way you could quietly wrap it while he was sleeping, and so, you took your alone time to your advantage and started to wrap the gift in its shiny new home.

This was your second Christmas together. Your first one had been as friends that met through Woojin. You had a hard time shopping for Jihoon then too, as he was the type of person that would buy the things that he wanted if he really wanted them. This year as a couple, even though you felt like you knew him better, shopping for him was still hard. There were certain things that you knew that Jihoon needed, but they didn’t necessarily make great Christmas gifts. After all, ‘honey I got you a frying pan’ wasn’t exactly the most romantic thing. Practical, sure, but romantic? Far from it.

You did eventually find the perfect gift in a pretty roundabout way. When you had first started dating, Jihoon, when telling you about his hobbies, had talked about one of his all-time favorite games. He told you that it was the reason he wanted to become a programmer in the first place, and why he was working so hard now, trying to find the career that fit him. That conversation had always been in the back of your mind, but you never truly knew what to do with that information… until about a month ago. You had reconnected with one of your old high school friends who had told of this artist that made wonderful decals for game consoles. They were custom, beautiful, a bit pricey, and also took time to put onto the console.

So, you lied to Jihoon, in the name of a good Christmas present and asked to borrow his console to play a game that you had been anticipating. It was there for about three weeks while you worked with the artist on the design before you sent it off for the finished decal to be applied, and it was only a couple days ago that you got it back. Granted, this of course coincided with a couple of days in which you had started your stay with Jihoon, so it was a bit hard to get the console from your place, bring it back here, and hide it. You managed it all, somehow and now all you had to do was wrap it up. An easy afternoon task, right?

Wrong.

See, at home, in your quiet and quaint little apartment, this would have been an hour, maybe two-hour task if you were feeling fancy. But here, at Jihoon’s it took almost four hours and counting. And why? The answer was simple. Max. Jihoon’s dog was incredibly curious, so when you laid down the shiny blue wrapping paper, his little puppy was already sniffing it, trying to figure out what it was. He got himself onto the paper a couple of times which only led you to shoo him away or to manually move him off of the beautiful wrapping paper on your own. You had contemplated locking yourself in the bedroom at one point, just to get those quality hours to finish wrapping up his gift. However, every time you left the room, Max would start to whine, wondering why you wouldn’t play with him. So in the end, you couldn’t do that, but now you were struggling with the small pup, trying to get things done while simultaneously taking care of him.

“Max, no stop,” you said in an exasperated tone as he managed to push his paw through some of the wrapping paper that had unraveled itself. You were glad that he hadn’t eaten the paper just yet, and in hoped to prevent it, you got up and grabbed his leash, putting it on him and slipping it around one of the chairs. It was just far enough that he couldn’t get into the paper and other wrapping supplies that could have been dangerous for him. Yet it was also close enough that you could reach over and give him pets, just so that he knew that you hadn’t forgotten him for something so shiny and exclusive.

You were just getting the hang of your new arrangement when the sudden sound of the door snapped you out of your trance. Jihoon was home already? But he was supposed to be at work for another two hours! Why was he back so early?

At the moment you couldn’t help but look around in utter panic. There was no way that you could have cleaned all of this up, hid it in a safe place, without him noticing that something was out of place. He was going to find out no matter what you did and you weren’t too sure of the best cause of action. As your brain tried to run through every single, your body just kind of froze. And just like that, before you came to any type of plan, the familiar footsteps of your boyfriend grew closer, and you had nowhere to go…

“Jagi, can you believe that I got home early today? There were so few of us in today that we couldn’t even really work. Like all of the people that we could have possibly had questions for were either unavailable or already gone on their vacations. Pretty wild, huh?” he asked as he rounded the corner to the living room. Yet when his eyes fell upon the scene before him, he really wasn’t too sure what he was seeing. He saw Max first, the small dog with his leash handle under one of the dining room table chair legs. Jihoon didn’t question that. Overall it was pretty typical for the two of you to do that because you would want Max to have enough room to play, but not let him loose so that he could run around and destroy everything.

His eye next fell upon all of the new Christmas decorations that hadn’t been there before he left for work. There were a couple of things that had been added to the tree, though Jihoon wouldn’t have been able to point out what they were even if he wanted to. He noticed the stockings that he had vetoed set up on the mantle all ready for Santa to come and drop off some things. And finally, his eyes landed on you and the small mess that you had gotten yourself into. In front of you was wrapping paper that you were trying to get around a rather large looking present. Momentarily, he was curious about what that could have been, though, instead of asking, he just kept it to himself.

“Did I walk into something I wasn’t supposed to?”

At Jihoon’s words, you seemed to find your movement again. It felt too late to really deny what you were doing. After all, it was pretty clear as day. So instead of going through the trouble of lying to Jihoon, you decided to be truthful about it. “Technically, yeah, but it’s okay,” you said with a defeated sigh, your boyfriend finding his way over to your side. He seated himself next to you as Max happily ran to him, leading Jihoon to pull the dog onto his lap.

He didn’t say anything, in true Jihoon fashion so you continued. “Your present finally arrived so I was trying to wrap it up before you got home… but you arrived early,” you said with a small pout. You looked over at him, hand reaching out to scratch Max behind the ear and all Jihoon did was chuckle.

“Why didn’t you just go and wrap up the present in the bedroom? Looks like Max gave you a bit of trouble,” he replied, eyes seeing small little holes in the wrapping paper here and there, which he concluded was the work of his little puppy.

“I thought about it, but whenever I disappeared, he got really anxious, and I didn’t want to leave him alone…” you admitted.

You were too cute for your own good. Jihoon might not have been there, but he could already see the torn look on your face when Max started whining and you were considering just staying out in the living room. Why was everyone in his life so cute? He really was blessed.

“Well then, why don’t you continue up and I’ll take care of Max. I’m curious about what you got me, but I think I can wait a few more days,” he said with a chuckle.

But at that moment, you didn’t really feel the need to finish the gift wrapping. Jihoon had already seen the large box, and if anything, you wanted him to see what was inside instead of wondering for the next few days. Opening the present early was okay, right? “No, it’s okay. I want you to open it now. We can do Christmas presents early, right? I mean, it’s not wrapped, but… the idea is still there.”

“Jagi, we don’t have to. Just wrap it up and we can wait a few more days.”

You shook your head in response. “Naw, I want you to open it,” you said with a smile, reaching over for Max so that Jihoon could pull the large box towards him.

He slowly opened the box up, pulling out all of the wrapping paper before he saw what was inside. It was a console that he already owned, yet, that was when he realized the design on it. That familiar character. Those familiar emblems. This wasn’t a console that they had made. Jihoon had been keeping an eye on all of the limiteds and this was not one of them. “How…” he said slowly, his brain still trying to process it all.

A small smile crossed your lips. “I know how much you love this game, so I got a custom decal made for you. Part of the reason why I had to borrow your console. I mean, I was really playing that game, but also, I needed to send it off to get this attached,” you said with a giggle. “Do you like it?” you asked sheepishly. At the moment it had seemed like a great gift, but now that it was in front of him, you couldn’t tell.

Jihoon was in awe of it, at how nice and professional it looked. And in particular, his heart swelled up at your gesture. He knew that he talked about this particular game a bit much, that it could have gotten annoying, and yet, you listened to him each time. You got him a thoughtful gift and he was beyond grateful. “I love it,” he told you, gently leaning over and giving you a kiss on the cheek. “It’s the best, thanks, jagi!”

Your smile grew at how well-received it was. You were glad that he was happy with it, and that was all you could really ask for. “So, do I get my present now too?” you inquired jokingly, but all Jihoon did was shake his head.

“Naw, you have to wait until Christmas,” he replied cheekily, making your eyes widened. His look changed in that instance to a cheeky one and you couldn’t help but make a face at him.

“Ya, Park Jihoon,” you started, but before you could finish, he was on his feet and running out of the room, you quickly behind him, trying to chase down your boyfriend for your present. You knew he had it hidden somewhere.

It wasn’t always great when plans were ruined, trips were canceled, but getting to spend the holidays together also wasn’t so bad…

#wanna one #park jihoon #wanna one imagines #wanna one scenarios #kpop scenarios #park jihoon scenarios #park jihoon imagines

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hayffiebird · 5 years

Text

Taste of Strawberries, chap. 18

Hayffie Post-Mockingjay Multi-chapter, Rated M

Chapter 18

Trouble in paradise

And another year was coming to a close. The surrounding woods of District 12 stood covered in white. Merciless storms whined around the houses and shops and it snowed sometimes all day and all night.

The roads were a constant trouble but Sae’s granddaughter Nella’s family, the one who owned horses, put Blaze and Misty to good use so the people of Twelve could still go about their business. Katniss, Peeta and Posy built a colossal snow lantern in Haymitch’s back garden and Buttercup refused to set so much as a paw outside.

Twelve’s mentor always got surlier in winter. Just like the cat he spent most of his days cooped up in the house, a bottle of spirits in one hand and his knife in the other. Effie made him put it away in a kitchen drawer during her visits. Said she wasn’t keen on getting stabbed in the middle of the night. But since she hadn’t been around in almost two weeks now it had resumed its old purpose. He needed something to hold on to in the night.

With an array of bottles at arm’s reach Haymitch stared sullenly at the phone, his head against one of Effie’s fancy sofa cushions. Less fancy after he spilled on it. The house without Effie was like a garden without a gardener. Sooner or later it went back to its original state. He just couldn’t find a good enough reason to clean up his mess when she wasn’t around.

She tried to get some school trip to a district approved and the Board was giving her a hard time. That’s why she had to cancel but would it kill her to give him a call now and again?

He lifted the bottle to his lips and grunted when he swallowed the last drops. Why was it, that no matter how many seals he snapped he was always sucking the dregs out of it? He grabbed another and let the empty one roll onto the floor where it clinked against the rest of them.

He turned and shifted on the couch. It was exactly 13 days since he saw her and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this uncomfortable. Even in just his pyjama pants the fabric strained against his business. Hell, you could camp under there.

He knew alcohol withdrawal. Was there anything such as sex withdrawal? Because he was horny pretty much all day long. Phone sex just wasn’t the same and Effie hadn’t had much time or peace for that lately either.

I won’t call her, he thought. What little pride he had left he liked to keep.

That’s what annoyed him most about all this. If anyone, Effie was the one supposed to be pining, not him! They’d been together for less than three months and already he’d grown dependent on her!

And it wasn’t just the sex. He was better with her. The nights were never easy but he wondered if Effie knew how hard it was to go solo again after he got used to having her arms and legs wrapped around him. Her kisses distracted him and calmed him down faster than a bottle even.

“This is bullshit,” he told the ceiling. Real good thinking. Getting hooked on someone who lived 24 hours away. ”Bloody woman,” he muttered and slipped his hand inside his pyjama pants. ”All weird clothes and… s-silly accent.” He groaned and screwed his eyes shut.

Lost in his own dirty imagination he never heard the door when it opened and closed.

“Haymitch? You awake? Oh! God, I didn’t need to see that.”

Peeta. Great. Exactly what he needed. Disgruntled, Haymitch pulled his hand out of his pants and saw the boy stand there with a loaf of bread and his hand over his eyes.

Meddlesome kids.

He tossed a threadbare, old blanket over his groin and sat up.

“Since when did you get so squeamish?” he muttered. “Wotcha expect when you walk into a man’s house?”

Peeta peered through his fingers and when he saw his mentor was decent he handed over the loaf, wrapped in a towel. Haymitch muttered out thanks and poured himself a glass of wine. He carved off an uneven slice of the still warm bread that he offered the boy.

“No, thanks, I already ate,” Peeta said and watched his old mentor dunk it in his wine. “You know, Haymitch,” he said and walked over to the hearth to build up the fire. “If you miss her so much just take the train. Before you get completely chafed.”

”Good one,” Haymitch muttered. He looked at the boy with a pair of blood-shot eyes. “What day is today?”

“Saturday,” Peeta replied. “December 1th. And I spoke with Annie”, he added. “We’ll go there on the 11th instead. Theresa works all through the holidays.”

Haymitch nodded to show he heard. Ever since Tessa moved to the fishing district, her relationship with her daughter had shrunk to a call or two. Mostly just birthdays and Christmas. But she had reached out to the girl this year, or so he heard.

Too little, too late, he thought but kept to himself. He wasn’t going to butt in. He left that to the boy. Besides, even if he could come up with something helpful, Peeta would say it anyways and say it a hundred times better.

“Sarah and Cassia will mind the bakery,” Peeta went on. “And Annie said if you and Effie want to join, there’s plenty of room.”

A flame danced up from the coals and so Peeta left his mentor to his own devices. Now was his chance to lock the door and pick up where he left off. He considered it a moment but fuck it, he wasn’t in the mood and soon it was going to be dark. Those damn winter nights that went on forever.

He drowned another piece of bread in his glass. He should just drink himself into a stupor and have this day be over and done with. Yeah, he liked the sound of that.

xXx

*ring ring* Hello, this is Effie Trinket’s answer phone. I can’t pick up at the moment but do leave a message and I will call you back. Until then: have a very very nice day! *peep*

*ring ring* Hello, this is Effie Trinket’s answer phone. I can’t pick up at the moment but do leave a message and I…

Yes, hello? Effie Trinket.

Hey, Effs. Remember me?

Oh, hi Haymitch. How are you?

Bored. Bit hammered.

Well, of course. Did you eat at least?

When you comin’ over, Eff? You never said.

…

Hello?

Yes, I’m here. But Haymitch, I’m afraid I won’t make it to District 12 this week. Half the parents are already furious with me and the Board…

So to hell with it. We’ll go to Four. Annie says…

It’s not for me. It’s for the girls. And this trip will happen, I’ll make it happen!

You didn’t come last week either.

I know.

I …*sighs* I can come over.

Haymitch.

What?

It’s not a good idea. I really need to focus on this 100% and you are…

A big, fat distraction.

Exactly! No, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… I won’t be home a lot and it would be no fun for you in the Capitol if…

*snorts* Yeah, cause I normally have a blast in the big C. But fine, whatever. Just forget it.

Oh, Haymitch. Don’t be like that. I promise I will make it up to you.

*mutters and takes a mouthful of something*

I’ll call you tomorrow night, OK?

*mutters continues*

Haymitch…

Alright. Alright. I’m not angry. Not even a little. *drinks another mouthful* I can do without you kickboxing me in bed anyways.

Goodnight, Haymitch. We’ll talk tomorrow. And please don’t drink too much.

Night, Eff.

*toot toot*

xXx

If Haymitch believed he couldn’t be further from Effie’s thoughts he was wrong. She missed him dearly.

I should tell him so properly, she thought as she poured herself a glass of water and made a mental note to call him again during her lunch hour.

It snowed in District 12 but here the lamp posts reflected themselves in rain puddles on her street. But the Captiol would let the first snow fall any day now and it might very well be the last time too.

There were serious talk about de-funding the weather control altogether and use the money where it was more needed. It stirred a heated debate in the media. To here the negative voices say it, it would be the final nail in the Capitol’s coffin.

As for Effie she found the whole circus rather annoying, especially since she knew something else in much greater need of raised awareness.

With one last critically look in the mirror she reached for her purse on the bed. She knew what Haymitch would say about the bandana but showing up with her natural hair wouldn’t win her any points with the school board.

She turned for the door.

And jumped back.

“Haymitch!” she gasped, hand over her heart. “W-what on Earth…?” Because leaned against the doorframe, face puffy and red, stood the man she hadn’t laid eyes on in two weeks.

”Thought I’d surprise you,” he said. “Believe it or not but I missed you, sweetheart.”

He pushed himself off the frame and wrapped his arms around her.

Haymitch, you’re hard! Did you drink?”

“Not a drop.”

“You’re not supposed to be here,” she said, voice muffled by his lips. ”I told you… I told you, now is not a good time. Haymitch!” she groaned in frustration when he nuzzled her neck. ”I don’t have time for this. My cab will be here at any moment.”

“Five minutes,” he mumbled and pecked and licked the tender skin just below her earlobe where he knew she liked to be kissed and Effie groaned again. A different kind of groan this time. “Come to bed, sweetheart.”

“Haymitch,” she sighed, torn between lust and aggravation. She wrapped her arms around his neck. ”You are totally ruining my schedule.”

They sunk down onto the bed. Effie’s carefully painted lipstick smeared out on both their face, their kisses stressed and eager. She fumbled with his belt and Haymitch trembled in every limb when she pulled down his pants, his underpants. Their lips clashed together again and she grinded her thigh against him.

“No! Ohh!” Haymitch got out and before he could even try to rein himself back in he climaxed. All over Effie’s skirt.

“Haymitch!” She pushed him off of her and stared at his mess. “I don’t believe you!” she hissed and hurled herself out of bed. “This is exactly why I never should give in to you and your goddamn hands, Abernathy!” A car honked outside. “And there’s my cab. Brilliant! Just brilliant!”

She locked herself in the bathroom and Haymitch sat on the bed, rather foolish and with lipstick all over his mouth. He heard the sound of water running and soon she returned, flushed and half dressed, hopping about on one leg to try and get out of her silk stockings. He grinned at how sexy and ridiculous she looked.

Big mistake.

“You think this is funny!?” Effie spat. “How would you feel if I shot my bodily fluids on you!?”

That only invited bad jokes but he knew he was one wrong word away from being thrown out so he just pulled up his pants and got out of bed.

“Sorry, Eff,” he said and tried to pull her into one of his bear hugs. But he could just as well save his breath.

“Careful,” she said and pushed him away. “Before you to blow all your fuses. I have to go.”

And she closed herself in the walk-in closet and didn’t come out again until dressed in an identical outfit as before, only turquoise this time. “I’ll see you tonight,” she said when she brushed by him.

He listened to the fading clatter of her high heels and the cab when it drove off a moment later.

This spur of a moment trip didn’t go at all the way he pictured it.

He wiped the lipstick with the back of his hand. Last time he showed up unannounced they kissed on her doorstep and he got both her and coffee.

This was something else.

And to come on her leg like a teenager. Course, he wasn’t famous for his stamina but he should really be past that point at least.

He sighed and stripped the mattress. Normally he never bothered to make the bed. Effie complained about it all the time. But he’d have a hard time getting back into her good graces as it was so couldn’t hurt.

Not that he wasn’t used to pissed Effie. He’d spent half his life fighting with that woman. Only reason they hadn’t these past few months was because they were both breaking their balls to try and impress each other. Was only a matter of time, really, before they were back to their bickering, old selves. And in a way it was a relief. Familiar ground.

Half an hour later he poured himself a glass of orange juice that he brought with him into the living room.

It would be a long day. He should have brought a book or something. But they spent next to no time here so he never bothered to leave his own stuff around the place like she did in Twelve. Besides, with a butt naked Effs Trinket, who cared about reading?

The glass clattered against his teeth when he drank. He didn’t lie when he told Effie he was sober. One positive thing about her job was that he could drink himself blind when she wasn’t around and thereby stay sober enough once she was.

Chaff would laugh if he knew his old friend rationed his liquor for a woman but really it made life a hell of a lot easier.

Dawn broke into full morning. He wanted to get some shut-eye while he waited for her but between the shakes and the painful sunshine he wasn’t getting much rest.

He rubbed his temples. It was the same each time. The tremors, the headaches. Nausea was next.

And those goddamn mirrors! How many did one person need? He struggled with the blinds, pulled the curtains together but the light was still too bright.

I’m not gonna drink. Not yet. Later. After we’ve made up and she’s asleep.

But Haymitch Abernathy’s perseverance had never been strong. Not when it came to alcohol. He soildered on, for an hour, two. But before long he stumbled through her apartment in search for his bag.

He looked in all the usual places. The hallway, her bedroom, the living room, even the wardrobes in case Effie found it and put it away. Cushions flew through the air as he searched the couch, he tore at the curtains despite the evil sun, checked all the window sills, twice.

Nothing.

And then he realized it and headache or no headache he slammed his palm against the wall.

He forgot the damn thing on the train! He’d been so occupied with thoughts of what he was going to do to Effie when he saw her he went and left it on the seat!

Spewing profanities over himself, he stalked off to Effie’s drinking cabinet but his indignation just flared up all the hotter at the sight of the empty shelves. Since when had he given her a reason to hide her liquor? Not lately! And it wasn’t like Effie had gone and boozed through her entire supply all of a sudden.

He wondered how she would like to see him go cold turkey. Katniss and Peeta could tell her how fun that was.

And all at once, his anger turned to despair. He sunk down onto the couch, his aching head in his hand. An ache for which there was only one cure.

xXx

Maybe I was too hard on him.

Effie climbed out of the cab, umbrella folded in hand. It was dark when she left home and it was dark now. Her breath stood like a cloud in the cold air.

He came all this way.

The apartment was also dark and she turned the lights on with a double clap. A soft clap just in case he was asleep, but she doubed it. He seldom slept this late in the day.

“Haymitch?”

When she didn’t found him on the couch she went from room to room, even the gym and library.

Once back in the living room Effie’s eyebrows were furrowed together. Did he go back to District 12? No, surely not.

The sofa cushions were all in the wrong places and distractedly she put them back where they belonged.

He must have gone out, she thought. Maybe to walk her home from the Academy and they missed each other. Or perhaps even get her something to make up for this morning.

Yes, he’d show up eventually and she’d already decided not to mention what had happened. She didn’t want to spend their night fighting too.

She took a magazine from the rack just as the first few raindrops fell outside. Before long it poured in such relentless sheets you could hardly see across the road even and if Effie thought reading would take her mind off things she was sorely mistaken.

As the hours passed it was impossible not to think about Haymitch trapped out there in the wet and cold. All she could hope for was that he found refuge somewhere. Maybe a coffee house. Yes, Haymitch probably enjoyed a cup right at this moment. No reason to worry.

But Effie was a worrier and worry she did. She sat on the couch, magazine long forgotten and stared out the window.

What if he got lost? Or hurt? Yes, she could see it so clearly. How he crossed the street, soaked and freezing and just desperate to come home to her again. How stupid of me, he’d think, to leave Effie’s nice and warm and well-furnished apartment when I could be in her arms right now. I should listen to her more.

But then a car came and Haymitch got hit, of course he got hit! He never looked both ways properly. And now he lay there on the road while the rain washed his blood down the street and the world floated away and the last thing Effie ever did while he lived was to snap and yell, all because of a little ejaculation.

The vivid images had Effie on her feet. Pacing the floor she wrung her hands in distress.

5 minutes, she thought. I’ll give him 5 more minutes and…

That’s when a pair of head lights sailed across the wall. Effie whipped around and even before the knock she was at the door.

“Evening, ma’am. This man says he lives here.”

On her welcome mat stood two police officers. The rain splashed off their uniforms and propped up between them was Haymitch.

He barely noticed what was going on. His head hung low, hair in wet tangles over his face. You could smell the whiskey on him a mile away. Effie watched the man she shared beds with and knew she was an idiot. A complete idiot, even after all these years. Because she never learned, never truly accepted this was how Haymitch ended up. How he always ended up.

“Ma’am?” the officer repeated and snapped her back to reality.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, that’s just about right.”

They helped Haymitch inside and filled her in on what had happened. Apparently he’d gone to the pub on Heaven’s Square. When the bartender finally told him he’d had enough, things got loud, he wouldn’t leave and finally she had to call the police to come and get him.

“I’ll manage it from here,” Effie said when Haymitch leaned heavily on her, swaying from side to side. “Thanks for your help.”

The two men nodded. When they walked back to their car, one of them turned to the other and said,

“That was Haymitch Abernathy, right?”

“Yes, I think so. He hasn’t changed much, has he?”

And they both chuckled.

“Oh, Haymitch,” Effie said as she half-led, half-carried him through the apartment. “I was so worried about you.”

“Wanted to see you,” he slurred and Effie grimaced at the smell of his breath. It could light a flame. “Better with you, Effie. Better. Oh, ” he groaned. “I don’t feel so good.”

”OK, OK, come here,” said Effie. She struggled to open the bathroom door, her hands full with Haymitch until she managed to get them both inside. Haymitch reached blindly for the toilet and for the next half hour Effie held his hair as he puked.

His shirt and trousers were damp from the rain and once she got him on to the bed she stripped him down to his undergarments. She went to get a blanket but changed her mind mid-way and headed for the broom closet first.

Which was good thinking because she had no sooner re-appeared with the bucket before Haymitch groaned again and she stuck it under his face just in the nick of time.

xXx

“Wha… what’re…?”

The pounding that had woken him only grew worse as Haymitch slowly came to his senses.

“What’re you doing?” he murmured.

“What does it look like?” Dressed in a fresh teacher’s outfit, navy this time, Effie walked back and forth across the room, getting her last minute things. Each step of her high heels sent a jolt of pain through his skull.

Very slowly Haymitch pulled himself to sitting. He winced when she snapped her purse shut. A gunshot couldn’t have made a greater sound. He rubbed his bare chest and watched her lift a water carafe off the vanity table.

“Oh, thanks, sweetheart,” he croaked. His throat felt like someone had dragged it along the asphalt.

Effie eyed him coolly.

”This is for me,” she said. “Unless you want to get me pregnant on top of everything else.” She swallowed the pill. “Not that I am going to sex you up anytime soon.”

Haymitch rubbed his eyes, wished nothing more than to go back to sleep. No, most of all he wanted a drink but he fought the nausea and forced himself to stand.

”What do you want?” she asked when she had his hands on her shoulders. “If you’re thirsty, then…”

”Don’t shout, sweetheart,” Haymitch murmured. ”’m sorry ’bout yesterday.”

”Do you even remember yesterday?”

He tried to pull her into a hug but Effie resisted, squirmed like she sat on an anthill.

”I have to go.”

“It’s early.”

“To you maybe. No.” She pressed her palms against his chest and made him take the empty glass. “Drink water if you need it. Breakfast is on the table.”

And he was alone again.

He felt his way to the bathroom like a boat in full storm and spent some quality time with his best friend the toilet.

This was his reality every time he had a withdrawal. Afterwards he always drank more than he could take. He soaked it up like a dry rag.

And later when he sat in one of Effie’s armchairs, wrapped in a robe and his hands around a mug of coffee, he tried to piece together exactly what had happened yesterday.

He went out to get his bag. That much he remembered. But he never got that far because… he took the route through Heaven’s Square. Yeah, to have a drink at the pub first. And one drink became two and two became three until he was an absolute wreck for Effie to take care of.

In other words, same old same old.

He slurped his coffee.

I should find some way to make it up to her.

xXx

*ring ring* Hello, this is Effie Trinket’s answer phone. I can’t pick up at the moment but do leave a message and I will call you back. Until then: have a very very nice day! *peep*

Haymitch, it’s me. I’m running a little late because I bumped into Octavia. She’s very upset because her boyfriend just broke up with her. She needs a friend right now so I promised I’d stay with her for a while. But I should be home by eight. You can make your own dinner, right?

“Great,” Haymitch muttered. “Just great.”

But then he had to caugh again and he whisked the smoke that billowed up from the roast pan.

He’d never win an award as “Chef of the year” (Neither would Effie for that matter) but he cooked when he was a kid! How out of practice could one person get?

He eyed the dish to try and assess the damage. It was supposed to be roast beef with potatoes and vegetables but it didn’t look right. Not like the recipe. But maybe if he just cut away the burned parts and jumbled it up a little perhaps she wouldn’t notice?

Man, why didn’t he just order catering and pretend he made it? A romantic dinner. Fuck, what a bright idea.

The bottles of red wine had stood untouched in their paper bag all night but now he seized one of them. Just a glass. Just to shut his damn body up.

He found the corkscrew, his breaths more rapid at the mere prospect and he sighed with relief when the red liquid wet his tongue.

It was amazing how much easier everything got after that one drink. The tremors disappeared and so did most of his worries. It would still be great. It looked great, at least it would once on the table.

Ten to eight he spread the beige table cloth (champagne coloured, Effie would say) in the dining room that they hardly ever used. He set the table, dug out some candles and the fancy plates.

Last of all he dropped a handful of lemon slices into the water carafe and paused only to pour himself some more wine. He admired his work – the food, the folded napkins, the candle light in the pretty glasses rimmed with gold.

He saluted his reflection and drank.

xXx

By the time Effie pushed inside the apartment it was past midnight. Her head throbbed from having to console Octavia for the past hours and she couldn’t stop a moan when she finally got out of her high heels.

All she wanted was to sleep but her hands shook from low blood sugar so she limped off to make herself a sandwich. She opened the kitchen door.

And stopped short. For a full minute she just stared at the scene before her, like she couldn’t take it in. Unwashed coppers and pans balanced precariously on top of each other. Used plates, silverware and kitchen tools filled the sink. The counters and the floor were covered with carrot and potato peels, smushed tomatoes, withered lettuce and pools of vinegar. The butter was left to melt, the fridge door not even closed. And the smell of burnt meat she hadn’t noticed through the door filled her nostrils.

It was the paper bag, the empty paper bag, that finally brought life back into her numb limbs.

“Haymitch!”

It wasn’t hard to find him. She needed only follow his snores. She pushed inside the dining room and there he was. Face down on the table, surrounded by empties.

I should just leave him like this. Go to bed and leave him like this!

“Wake up,” she said and shook him.

Haymitch mumbled something and his snores resumed.

”Wake up!” She shook him harder and just when she seriously considered Katniss’s cold water method he cracked opened an eye.

“Where you been?” he slurred and slowly lifted his head from the table.

“With Octavia. I told you so over the phone. Haymitch, how could you!”

“There’s dinner.” He gestured towards the cold food and would have knocked over a candle hadn’t she been there to straighten it up. “Made it so you wouldn’t be pissed no more.”

“Good thinking, Haymitch.”

“Just have to heat it up.” The chair slammed against the floor when he pulled himself up. “I’ll heat it up for you. I’ll do an’thing for you.”

“Come here now.” She tried to steer him away from the table. “Haymitch. Oh, don’t bother with the food!” she said when he grabbed the roast pan. To heavy for him in his state it tilted and potatoes, beef and root vegetables bombed the parquet floor. He staggered back a step when she tried to take it from him and the salad bowl smashed to pieces when he bumped in to the table.

"Careful!"

She tugged at his arm and tried to pull him away but his foot slid forward on a piece of tomato and Haymitch slumped down on his ass. He grunted, confused and crawled on all fours as he tried to find his footing.

“Watch out for the broken glass, Haymitch. Come, I’ll help you.” She put his arm around her shoulder, her own around his back and under his armpit. “Push with your feet,” she said and made a gigantic heave. He was like a sack of potatoes and the smell of wine was so overwhelming it would have brought her dinner up if she had any.

She’d gotten him half way up when Haymitch suddenly gasped and then he vomited all over the floor. A vile, red mixture that splattered Effie’s legs and skirt.

She didn’t know how she managed to get him back to her bed. But just like the night before he collapsed face down and she stripped him out of his clothes. Vomit dripped down his chin and nose and she wiped him off, rather roughly.

“Do you need to throw up again?” she asked and reached for the bucket. “Haymitch, do you feel sick?”

But he looked at her cross-eyed like he didn’t hear or understand.

She left him with the bucket nearby and went into the bathroom to get out of her soiled outfit. But she hadn’t gotten even half-way before she had to steady herself against the wall. The lack of sleep combined with the fact she hadn’t eaten finally took its toll on her and tiny, black spots swam before her eyes. With no chair closeby she let herself slide down the wall until she sat on the floor, waiting for the dizziness to subside.

Through the ringing in her ears she heard Haymitch’s groan.

“Eff. Effs, I…”

And then there was only the splash of vomit when it hit the floor.

Effie closed her eyes.

xXx

*ring ring*

Pallas’s Academy. This is Ruby.

I need to talk to Effie. Can you get her to the phone, please? Effie Trinket.

May I ask who’s asking?

That’s… no one.

She’s got class.

Well, it’s important. Will only take a minute.

She’s got class.

Yeah, I heard you the first time. Tell her … tell her it’s Haymitch.

Haymitch … That Haymitch? As in Haymitch Abernathy?

So can you get her to the phone now?

I’m not supposed to interrupt unless there’s an emergency.

Well, it is.

It’s an emergency?

It’s an emergency. Now go get Effie.

Alright. Excuse me a moment Mr. Abernathy.

…

Haymitch? Are you alright?

Yeah, I’m fine. Look Effs, about last night …

Why do you tell Ruby there’s an emergency if you’re fine?

Only way I could talk to you.

Haymitch, you interrupted me in the middle of class!

I just wanted to say…

I’m not interested in anything you have to say right now! I’ve barely slept in days, you’ve ruined two outfits for me and my girls are waiting! Do you have any idea …

Oh, for God’s sake woman! Just let me tell you why I called and I’ll hang up!

No, I am hanging up! And don’t you ever call me at work again unless, of course, you’ve drunken yourself back into the hospital! Goodbye!

*toot toot*

xXx

The flat audio tone rung in his ear. Haymitch sighed and hung up. He slumped down on the couch and rubbed his forehead.

When he woke today, finding her long gone, he hoped against hope that he could at least clean up his own mess and felt a fresh pang of guilt and regret at the sight of the spotless kitchen and dining room with the strong fumes of cleaning fluids that badly masked the familiar odor underneath. Poor Effie.

How could he let everything reel so completely out of control? Must be some kind of a record.

Of course, it wasn’t the first time she’d taken care of him drunk but she was still just his colleague back then and when he was too much to handle she always had help from the Capitol attendants. To have to clean up his mess as his woman… It was a difference.

And then it was this last, brilliant move of his. To call and apologize. He bent over backwards to fix things and only made it worse.

Maybe I should just go home.

He didn’t want this trip to be just like when Annie, Finn and Johanna came over and he made a complete arse of himself. At least then he had some kind of a mitigating factor to his actions.

But he knew Effie. If he left she’d take that as an offence too.

He drew a deep sigh and with nothing better to do he grabbed her newspaper and opened it at a random page.

And as if fate had a hand in it, it happened to be a full spread add. Of a dance palace.

“Atlas Halls open for the Christmas season,” he read. The picture showed a bunch of weird looking couples twirling around a winter scene with fake trees in the background.

Atlas Halls? Sounded familiar but he was pretty sure he’d never set foot in the place. No, Effie mentioned it at some point. Yeah, she’d spent New Year’s there a couple of times.

Haymitch knew a few Capitol dances, believe it or not. He let Effie teach him years ago. Part of their whole charming sponsors away from their money act. Back when he still thought their district might have a shot in hell.

She’d be home in three hours. That gave him plenty of time.

Because if a night out dancing wouldn’t brighten Effie’s mood nothing could.

He shouldered out of his robe once inside the bathroom. He didn’t exactly smell like roses and he liked Effie’s shower. Felt like standing in a warm summer rain. Of course the products weren’t great. She had so many bottles and jars and tubes in here she could open her own beauty parlor. Half the stuff he didn’t know what it was for and even the supposedly ‘male’ scents she bought especially for him smelled weird as fuck.

Finally he poured something blue on his head and as he massaged it into his hair he made a mental note to bring his own stuff next time. That was to say if there would be a next time.

Back home he did nothing to his hair after he showered, just left it to sundry. But if desperate times called for desperate measures. He punched a few buttons on the panel and stepped onto the math so the currents could turn his wet, tangled hair into something he knew he’d hate.

Baked and dried he went to have a look at himself and true enough. His hair had gone from familiar to Capitol. He hung a towel over the mirror so he didn’t have to see it.

There was an electric razor on one of the shelves but he didn’t touch it. Effie would have to live with his stubble. He looked enough like a Peeta blonde little boy as it was. Instead he went to have a look in his closet. She always sneak bought him stuff. One of the habits she was unable to kick and well, it was her money.

He dumped the garment bags on the bed. Damn, this would be an exhausting night. But he’d suffer through it, the looks and the whispers. He’d dance with Effie and afterward everything would be good again.

Which was why, an hour before Effie went off work, Haymitch sat on the couch dressed to the nines.

And as much as he hated to admit it he actually liked this outfit. The dark blue suit went well with the checkered waistcoat and the lilac dress shirt underneath. Even his pink and blue tie with the matching pocket square looked good. The collar was a little snug but he couldn’t afford to be whiny.

He should’ve thought about this days ago.

But the hour went by and no Effie showed up. He tried to remember how far away her school was. Even if the Capitol was big (not like District 2 or Eleven but still) the public transportation was so advanced here, nothing lay far off. He could call a cab. Go and meet her. But with his luck Effie would be just around the corner the moment he left the house.

So he remained where he was.

The minutes passed at a snail’s pace. He tugged at his collar to get some air in.

How many friends with boy trouble did she have? If she was running late again why didn’t she call?

One hour became two and still no Effie to go. Sweat trickled down his back and he squirmed and pulled at his pants and underpants that kept worming their way in between his butt cheeks.

And when she’d been gone three hours, Haymitch tore off his tie. Effie was never late like this! It was just her way of getting back at him for how he treated her. He saw his reflection in the window, all those ridiculous curls and that decided things.

Screw this.

He grabbed the spray bottle, the one she used for her potted plants and he sprayed his hair until it lay flat and lifeless again. He had never changed for a woman before and he wasn’t going to start now! This was a joke. He was a joke! Dressing up like some damn Capitolian.

She’d been away all day already and she expected him to, what? Lay jigsaw puzzles until she had time for him? Because obviously she didn’t have time for him. She just spent it with everyone else.

His hair dripped on the newspaper when he scribbled down a note. He could just as well go restack his liquor supply for the journey home. He almost never got to drink those expensive brands. Effie refused to buy them for him. Said she wouldn’t “enable him”, like that made a difference what so ever.

By the time he reached the Heaven’s Square it had started to rain again.

The shops and stores lit up the icy drizzle and the stall owners who packed up for the day.

And cramped in between a music store and a shop which sold naughty underwear, was the pub. Like a jewel with its bright colors and promises.

But Haymitch never got that far. Because now he saw her.

By the window inside the coffee house sat Effie across from Katniss’s prep team. Haymitch’s brow crinkled at the sight of their serious faces and Effie’s waving hands in the air to emphasize her words. None of them had noticed him yet, standing out here in the rain.

But now she looked up, startled at the sight of him and excused herself from the table.

”Haymitch?” The cold wind rustled her skirt when she appeared at the door. “You… dressed up?”

Haymitch looked from her to Octavia, Flavius and Venia who practically misted the window in their effort to see what happened.

“Having fun?” he said. “Do carry on. I was just leaving.”

“Haymitch, I … Haymitch?” But he had already stalked off. “Haymitch, wait!”

He knew it was childish but he didn’t stop. He just couldn’t. He felt vomit at the back of his throat and it was the look on the prep’s faces. No doubt she had poured out all her heart’s bitterness over him to those three, telling them what a good-for-nothing drunk he was.

He kicked off his shoes in the hallway.

Haymitch!” Effie called when she entered a moment later, flustered and with rain in her hair. “Why did you run off like that?”

“Sorry if I messed up the image, princess”, he said and shouldered out of his jacket. “I know how much you care about your looks. Must be important when you have little else.”

“Why are you like this?” Effie cried. “We just had a coffee!”

“Yeah, sure. What’s another three hours when I’ve already waited all fucking day, Effie!”

“Well, I told you not to come this week, remember? I told you I was busy!”

“At work,” he threw back at her. “Not out on the town. Bet you had a great trash-talk.”

“We didn’t talk about you! Not at all! But perhaps I didn’t want to come home, ever thought of that? You haven’t exactly been a lot of fun lately.”

“What do you want from me? I was gonna take you out dancing.”

“That doesn’t make up for the horrible way you’ve acted!” Effie yelled. “Ever since you got here, Haymitch, I’ve been nothing but worried, disappointed and exhausted. Taking care of you drunk is not my job anymore! It never was!”

It got very quiet after Effie finished.

“Eff,” Haymitch finally said, his face hard and closed off. “I know you shouldn’t have had to deal with all that. But it’s not like it was some big mystery to you that I drink. I’m tired of this argument, alright. This is who I am. If you can’t deal with it then…”

“Well, maybe I can’t!” Effie cried.

She never meant to say it but now the words were out.

The truth was out.

Haymitch stared at her in the silence that followed those words and all the things she implied. Effie’s eyes were filled with tears now and when he didn’t speak she only got out of her painful shoes and said,

“You can have the bedroom. I can’t sleep with that smell anyway.”

Author’s note: Extra long chapter to make up for the long wait and it was an absolute pain to edit lol! I hope you liked it. Leave a review if you wanna make my day and I’ll see you in the next chapter!

#hayffie #haymitch x effie #effie trinket #haymitch abernathy #taste of strawberries fanfic #myfanfiction #multi-chapter #the hunger games #fanfiction #district 12 #the capitol #octavia #flavius #venia #don't know what is up with the paragraphs today sorry about that

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zoethegrey · 5 years

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We’re back in full swing!

March 23rd, 2019. 10:50AM Weather: 53, partly cloudy, some drizzle. Moon phase: 91% full, waning.

Oh man, I so needed that vacation. I’ve been back in the mundane world for about a week, and I’m still on a slight high from the camping trip for a week. We went with the local SCA group, Mooneshadowe, to Lumberton, Mississippi for a week long medieval camping trip. I spent much of my time out in nature. It felt so good to recharge. The part I loved the most was the lack of a good stable cell signal, so I could just about completely disconnect! I would have completely disconnected but I had people I promised to check in with throughout the week. I was able to spend time reading, finished my books on Runes, and part way into my new spell book. The drives were long, but it was nice to get lost in the highway hypnosis. Ian was a champ and drove 80% both ways of the trip, even though he is a horrible traveler. He can’t stand sitting still for so long with nothing to do! Now that I’m back in the real world it’s time to jump back into my studies, both mundane and magical. I’ve been spending much of the week sewing on projects for work on an upcoming convention we’re attending next weekend, which means less sleep for me. Work had me scheduled several days this week to make up for my time missed last week. This has given me much time in the office to sit down and meditate while crocheting a new project called F-bombs. These little “bombs” are stress balls, about 6″ in diameter and look like an old Acme bomb with an F embroidered on the front. I’ve decided to be silly and not go the classic route and make these little “bombs” colorful instead. Hopefully they sell well next weekend at our next convention. Anyways, I got off topic talking about crocheting, although its a form of my meditation so not completely off track. But besides the point... My classes are going well this morning, I finished up my last essay for Intro to Healing Stones, I should be getting the grade for that back soon. I failed the final test for vGSW, oops! Some of those questions were rather hard, and required you to have much dabbling knowledge of SecondLife. They weren’t in the normal lesson plan and were rather difficult to understand the actual answers on. Hopefully I can retake that test and get both of those classes finished. I also finished an essay in Magickal Tools about creating a wand. I found my oak branch while out at GulfWars last week with the SCA and it called to me. It’s about 20″ long, and about 3/4″ thick, a little narrower than I would have liked, but it has a good feeling to it. I whittled it down slightly to get some knobs off it and wrapped the handle in red yarn. It’s consecration meditation with me told me it wanted to be used for healing and was a warm campfire like feel to it. I found this to be a good sign. Speaking of oak, I need to tell you about what I did for Ostara. I’d completely forgotten it was the holiday, but I ended up doing something nature like which worked out perfectly. The plot of property next door to my parent’s house was bought, and the new owners hired someone to come cut down several trees so they could start building a new house. I was very upset this week that they were cutting down all these trees while they hibernated. After the tree trimmer left, I went out and collected several branches about 2″ thick and several chunkly logs easily a foot long and wide. I plan on cutting these into discs and either etching runes into the branch discs or painting landscapes on the larger discs. I’ll let the tree tell me what it would like to be used as, but I think these projects are a good idea. Anyways, I think this is enough for now. If I remember anything else I’ve done in the past week or later today I’ll make another post.

#runes #sca #mooneshadowe #gulfwars #gws #meditation #crochet #makeawand #logs #painting

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tornbetween2loves · 6 years

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Clearing the air

This is my submission for the @choices-september-challenge. Today’s theme is “camping”. This was a request from @darley1101 for camping with Riley, Drake, Bertrand and Savannah. It is a stand alone fic. Shout out to @klaudiana-beaumontkkreal for the accompanying photo. She’s awesome.

All rights to these characters belong to Pixelberry. I am simply borrowing them.

Taglist: @kennaxval @boneandfur @blackcatkita @bobasheebaby @drakewalkerwhipped @femmeshep @hhiggs @laniquelovely @lizeboredom @priyasayeed @pb-boeboe @klaudiana-beaumontkkreal @tmarie82 @writtenbycandy @xxrainbowprincessxx @speedyoperarascalparty @darley1101 @katurrade @lodberg @bella-ca @indiacater @hopefulmoonobject @missevabean @walkerismychoice @eileendannie @museofbooks @jared2612

“Are we almost there?” Bertrand huffed, trying to catch his breath. They had been hiking through the woods near the palace for what seemed like hours. Savannah swatted his arm and gave him a little shove. “Stop being so difficult. If Drake says he knows the perfect spot to set up camp, then trust me, he knows.” “Hmmph,” Bertrand grunted. “Seems to me like we’re just lost.” He murmured quietly so only she could hear him. Savannah shot him a dirty look then smiled at Drake and Riley who were waiting for them ahead. “Bout time you all caught up,” Drake teased. “My favorite spot is just ahead.” Bertrand looked ahead but saw nothing different. He shot Drake a doubtful look. “It still just looks like woods to me.” Drake turned and began hiking again. He called over his shoulder, “Have a little faith Bertrand. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

Riley and Savannah both dropped back to walk with Bertrand. “Can you please try to relax and enjoy this trip? Just for one weekend, can you be Bertrand and not the Duke of Ramsford? For me?” Riley pleaded. Bertrand’s mouth dropped open but before he could speak Savannah cut in. “This trip is supposed to be about us bonding as a family. It’s important to me.” He rolled his eyes in submission. “Ok but only because you are my two favorite women in all of Cordonia.” They both smiled and leaned in to kiss each of his cheeks at the same time. Bertrand blushed as Drake turned around just in time to witness the dual kiss. He throws his arms up in the air with a grimace. “Why does he get all the love?” Riley and Savannah run to catch up to him and both lean up to kiss his cheeks. Riley then moves to his ear and whispers, “don’t be grumpy. You’ll have all my love later.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and softly kissed his lips.

“Get a room, you two,” Bertrand said. “Or I guess in this case a tent.” All of them turned to face Bertrand who had a cheesy grin on his face. Riley and Savannah glanced at each other and burst into giggles. The smile faded from Bertrand’s face. “Are you making fun of me?” Drake rolled his eyes and started walking. “Don’t worry about them Bertrand. They’re just being silly girls. Let’s go.” He walked a few more steps then veered off the path into the woods. They all followed behind him, Bertrand trying to hide his annoyance as he navigated through the brush. After a few minutes Drake pushed through one last bush into a clearing. Riley and Savannah followed next, stopping suddenly to take in the view. The clearing already had a fire pit with some wood gathered. There were tree stumps and fallen logs forming makeshift benches around the fire pit. And about 20 ft away the ground dropped off into a cliff, providing a great view of the valley below. “Wow, this place is awesome!” Riley said with a smile. “So pretty,” Savannah commented. “How come you never brought me here before?” Drake shrugged. “I didn’t find this place until after you left. I used to go camping quite often in the first few months you were gone.” Bertrand finally stumbled through the bush, cursing as the branches snagged his sweater vest. “Dammit! This is my favorite vest. It’s ruined,” he frowned as his fingers found the snags in the material. Savannah shot him a pleading look as Drake said, “Who wears a sweater vest camping? You gotta loosen up Bertrand. Especially if you wanna marry my sister. She’s not uptight and concerned with appearances like you are.”

“Ok, babe let’s get the tents set up. I’ll give you a hand,” Riley interjected as she grabbed Drake and pulled him over to the other side of the site. “We’re gonna go gather some more wood,” Savannah called out. Riley nodded at her and waved. She turned and gave Drake an exasperated look. “What? Come on, I’m trying here. He doesn’t make it easy.” Riley took off her back pack and they began to set up the tents. “Look, I know Bertrand is not your favorite person. I understand. But your sister loves him. She is gonna marry him. He is the father of your nephew. You need to try to get along. For the sake of our family. He’s not going away. Do you want holidays to always be as awkward as this camping trip has been so far?” Drake sighed as he rubbed his hands down his face. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I’ll try harder.”

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

Later that evening they all sat around the campfire cooking hot dogs and roasting marshmallows. The awkwardness from earlier had faded, but tension still hung in the air between Drake and Bertrand. The girls were trying their best to keep the conversation light, but eventually an awkward silence fell on the group as they all finished eating. Riley couldn’t help but think of future family functions and holidays. Would it always feel this way? She glanced at Drake, pleading with her eyes for him to do or say something to make this better. “I have an idea,” he said as he stood up and walked over to his tent. He returned with a flask. Riley’s eyes lit up. “Oh let’s play truth or dare,” she said. Savannah smiled in agreement. “That’s a wonderful idea” Drake and Bertrand exchanged a look of annoyance. “Do we have to?” Bertrand said with a scowl. “Yeah can’t Bertrand and I just get drunk while you two play?” Drake said as he took a swig from the flask and passed it to Bertrand.

Riley glared at Drake. “That’s no fun. You’re both playing and that’s that.” She grabbed the flask from Bertrand and took a swig. “And we’ll all get drunk,” she snapped as she passed the flask to Savannah. The girls shared a giggle. “Now that the first round is done, who wants to go first. They get to drink next,” Savannah said as she stood up preparing to pass the flask. “I guess I’ll go first,” Drake muttered as he took the flask from his sister. “But only because I need a drink. I pick dare.” Riley giggled. “I dare you to strip down to your underwear,” she began as she looked at Savannah mischievously. “And climb that tree as high as you can,” Savannah said as she pointed at a large tree by the edge of the cliff. “When you reach the top, you must proclaim your love for Riley loud enough that it echos through the valley below,” Bertrand added. Drake’s mouth dropped open. The three of them smiled at Drake. “You all are serious?” He exclaimed. “You picked dare,” Riley said. Drake gulped and took a big swig from the flask. “Fine dammit,” he mumbled as he stood up to remove his clothes. He approached the tree in just his boxer briefs as the other three burst into fits of laughter. He glared at them as he began climbing the tree. It didn’t take him long to reach the top. When he got there, he perched on a branch, threw his arms over his head and yelled, “I love Riley Reynolds-Walker. She is amazing and I’m so thankful for her.” Then he climbed back down as the others applauded and cheered him. Riley met him under the tree and kissed him sweetly on the lips. “That was great my love,” she whispered. Drake brushed a piece of hair behind her ear and smiled at her.

After Drake got dressed he stood in the middle of the group, flask in hand. “Ok so who’s next?” Riley jumped up and grabbed the flask. “Me! I pick truth,” she said. Savannah grinned. “When did you first realize you had feelings for my brother?” Riley smiled and locked eyes with Drake. “It was actually in Lythikos. Drake got angry at Olivia and stormed out into the cold when a storm was coming. I followed him, and we laid in the snow and watched the most beautiful star-filled sky light up with shooting stars.”

Drake smiled at Riley as he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her down next to him. She took a swig from the flask, then tossed it to Bertrand. “My turn? I guess I pick truth.” Drake narrowed his eyes at Bertrand. “Are you sure you want to pick truth?” He said. Bertrand nodded as he also narrowed his eyes. “I will answer whatever question you ask.” Riley and Savannah exchanged nervous looks. Drake stood up and walked over to where Bertrand stood. He leaned in close and pushed his finger into Bertrand’s chest. “I want to know what you did to my sister to make her leave,” he said as their eyes locked. Riley and Savannah jumped up and approached them. “Drake that’s not really a fair question,” Savannah said. “He doesn’t know why I left. He didn’t know I was pregnant. I didn’t tell him anything. I didn’t tell anyone anything.” Drake turned to face his sister, his eyes watery. “I need someone to explain this to me. I have to understand what happened in order to move past this. Please.”

Riley approached and placed a hand on Drake’s shoulder. “Maybe this isn’t the time or place,” she began. But Bertrand cut in. “No Riley, Drake is right. This is it. This is our chance to clear the air. So we can put this whole frightful mess behind us and move on.” He took a swig from the flask then passed it to Savannah. He looked Drake in the eye and said, “I can’t speak for Savannah, but I acted like a fool. I loved her, even back then, but was too proud to admit it to myself, let alone anyone else.” “Too proud?” Drake said angrily. “Why? Because you were too good for my sister? Because she is just a commoner and you’re the Duke of Ramsford and it wasn’t proper?” Bertrand moved in closer to Drake. “No! It wasn’t that at all! It was because I wasn’t good enough for her. My house was facing financial ruin. What could I offer her? What kind of future could I provide? So I pushed her away. And for that I will always be sorry.” He turned away from Drake, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I will always be ashamed of my actions.” He approached Savannah and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m so sorry that I hurt you. I spent my whole life worrying about the image of House Beaumont and poured all my time and energy into keeping a sinking ship afloat. I should have followed my heart back then. Maybe things would be different. Maybe you wouldn’t have left and maybe there wouldn’t be all this tension.”

Savannah hugged Bertrand close as Drake shook his head. “Financial ruin? I don’t understand.” Riley turned to Drake. “It’s true. House Beaumont is broke. Maxwell brought me here so they could sponsor me in the hopes that Liam would pick me and restore their house’s honor.” Drake looked at Riley. “You never told me that.” “It wasn’t my place to tell you about it,” she said. Drake sighed and approached Bertrand and Savannah. He put a hand on his shoulder. “I understand why you did what you did, Bertrand,” then he turned to face Savannah. “But why did you leave? Without even an explanation? I thought we were close.”

Tears coursed down Savannah’s cheeks as she turned to Drake. “I was so ashamed. I couldn’t believe I was in that position. I always thought I was smarter than that. I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t stand for you to look at me like you’re looking at me right now. I can take you being angry. But I just couldn’t live with being such a disappointment to you.” Drake wrapped his arms around his sister as tears flowed from both their eyes. “I could never be disappointed in you Savannah. You are one of the strongest women I know. You left the country and had a baby all on your own, with very little support. I’m sorry that you didn’t feel comfortable enough to come to me when you needed help. That’s my fault. But you must know that I would do anything for you. You’re the only sister I have.” Savannah nodded into his chest.

Riley approached and wrapped her arms around them both. “See, underneath that rough exterior, Drake really is just a big marshmallow.” Everyone laughed as they separated from the hug. Bertrand watched the group embrace. Drake motioned for him to join. He extended his hand for Bertrand to shake. They shook hands with a smile, pulling each other into a brotherly hug. “Take care of my sister Bertrand. If you hurt her again I swear I’ll kick your ass.” Bertrand wrapped his arms around Savannah’s neck possessively. “Don’t worry. I’ll never push her away again. She’s mine,” he said as he bent to kiss her.

The tension melted away from the group as they sat back down around the campfire. They all chatted happily about the upcoming wedding. Riley smiled at Drake as she scooted closer to him on the bench. “Thank you,” she said and planted a soft kiss on the end of his nose. “For what?” “For making this work. For clearing the air. For moving past the pain.” Drake smiled and cupped Riley’s cheek. “Well you were right,” he said. “This is our family. It’s important that we get along.” He kissed her gently then stood up. “I have an idea. I’ll be right back.” He went to his tent and returned with a bag a moment later. He pulled out a familiar looking whiskey box. “Uh, Drake I really don’t think we need any more whiskey,” Bertrand stated as he took another swig from the flask. “This isn’t whiskey,” Drake said as he removed the lid. “This is a wedding present from my beautiful wife.” He pulled out the bag of marshmallows and set them on the bench beside him. He reached into the bag and grabbed a box of graham crackers and two chocolate bars. “I’ve been saving these for a special occasion. I can think of no better occasion than this,” he said. “Our first family camping trip.”

#trr #choices fandom #the royal romance #choices september challenge #long post #drake x mc #bertrand x savannah

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becomingherocomic · 4 years

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Becoming Hero

Despite bullets and hunger, Isabel saves orphans in Liberia. #superheroalert #dogood

Isabel grew up in Liberia around the time of the Civil War. Four of her siblings were killed during the war, one by an accident she never specifies, one by raging diarrhea–one of the leading causes of death in the majority world; there was a sister whose death I cannot remember, and another, most horribly, she describes as being butchered like an animal, chopped into pieces. The way she looks away when describing this tells me she saw this happen right in front of her.

I first met Isabel when I was working late in a military hospital here in the US. She was working as a janitor, and I thought I would give her some cookies. I wanted to reach out to her, and show her some kindness. How absolutely silly–there is a verse in Hebrews that says that the lesser is blessed by the greater. We didn’t have much time to talk that night, but over the following evenings the scattered conversation she shared with a lonely family medicine resident became my comfort, my blessing, from this woman so much greater than I. The janitors at CRDAMC in Fort Hood in the US are treated with no mercy. If they miss a day of work by accident, they can be instantly fired. The other two I came to know through Isabel both had health problems not effectively treated by their insurance; one young Liberian found herself up against a several hundred dollar charge for the flu that she could not pay, so she never got treatment for her back problems. Another woman was not given appropriately early evaluation for a mass in her spine, likely because it was too difficult to explain things through her thick language challenges; even though the correct standard of care is to ask for a translator, she was never once offered one in her visits to her military PCM. Isabel never complained. And one day–perhaps over lunch, perhaps at the hospital–she told me about her orphanage.

Isabel and her husband used to go to the refugees camps to share what little food they had with the refugees. One day, very early in this process, Isabel noticed a little child running around who seemed lost. She asked for his parents, and the people said the child just didn’t have any. Isabel became concerned about the children with no parents, and as her eyes opened to more and more of them she determined in her heart to give them a place to live, and a family of some kind. When she mentioned the idea to people in her church circles, they laughed. It was a running joke, she told me: “you have nothing, and here you want to take all these children?” I think, if you really think about it, you can’t blame them for thinking she was irresponsible. I’ve heard Christians in Puerto Rico say it was irresponsible for someone to want to donate a kidney to a stranger (“what if you need it for your family”), and I’ve heard Christians in the mainland US say it’s optional, not a duty, to take care of the poor. “You can do that if you want to,” but your money belongs to you first, they’ve said. There’s a prevailing desire for safety, a fear of taking risks. So we can’t quite judge the Liberian churches who, having nothing, laughed at this crazy woman who wanted to take in 75 lost children. Think about the logistics of feeding 75 children. Think about how you could possibly find a place for them all to stay. In your house? There isn’t room. How on earth can you feed all of them? But Isabel is a woman of solutions instead of problems, and faith instead of fear. She began to go from church to church anyway, and gradually she did gather enough money to buy a small house. Finding the children was easy–she had 75 almost immediately. But now, she had nothing to feed them. She went to the Peace Corps, and they gave her 200 bags of milk. But with nothing else to eat–no solids–she feared the children would simply develop diarrhea and die anyway. An inspiration occurred to her–perhaps inspired by the widow in Scripture, who at Elijah’s behest sold olive oil to save her family. Isabel took 100 bags of the milk, and began to sell them. And discovered they sold like gold. People would pay insane amounts for each bag. This wasn’t just enough to pay for solid food for the children, but for mattresses and clothes! And that is how Isabel started her orphanage. In those days, during the war, the orphanage she managed to buy was about two hours from her house–and she would walk those two hours daily, hiding from gunfire. After the war, she would travel throughout Liberia to reunite the children with their parents. She managed to find the parents of over half of the children; the rest, by now, are in high school or older. One day, she went into one village, and saw a grandmother, and some men with shovels, around a hole in the ground. “What happened here?” she asked. The grandmother pointed to a tiny, wrapped up infant. The baby looked like a skeleton, with her lips fused together from hunger. “She died last night,” the grandmother said. Isabel had a sense–“no, this child isn’t dead,” she said definitively. “Yes, she died last night! She stopped moving,” the buriers insisted. “No, no,” Isabel took the tiny skeleton, and dribbled water into her mouth. The baby’s lips moved. “This baby isn’t dead; she is just hungry. Let me take this child.” “If she’s not dead now, she’s just going to die on the road, and then you’ll throw her away. No, please, let us bury her right,” they insisted. But Isabel won out in the end, promising to bury the child if it died. The baby spent three months in the hospital. But today, she is 22 years old. Isabel has a number of other stories like this. In the end, she established something that looked like it would last. For a year they had help from a peace corps worker, and at one point some US Marines from the embassy built solar panels for Isabel’s electricity. But when the Kargbos lost their primary US donor to support the orphanage, Isabel had to seriously evaluate their financial situation. While many of her biological children had moved to the US for a better life, she still had her son Moses back in Liberia, and her husband, to tend the orphanage. She thought she could go to the US, the land of plenty, and earn enough money to send back to the orphanage so that it would flourish. And so after two decades in Liberia establishing the orphanage, she spent nine years trying to raise money for it in the US. She found, however, that the expenses and high cost of living in the US ate away the paltry funds she could gather with her education, and as the orphanage began to suffer without her presence, she decided to return to Liberia permanently. It was around this time that I met her. I remember when I was working one Thanksgiving–I had no family in Texas anyway–and Isabel had invited me to come to her Thanksgiving whenever I managed to get away. I was doing rounds on the newborn babies, enjoying the quiet of a fairly empty hospital with only essential staff, free from the annoying interference of the more controlling nurses and administrators (you know, the kind of person who knows better than you about your patient care even though they’ve never been to medical school, because they improve the numbers geared to make the hospital money; the person who controls everyone around them, and still somehow manages to get holidays off because “they deserve it”). Suddenly, whispers and warnings permeated through the hallways: the hospital commander was coming in. “What is the hospital commander coming in for?” I admit I kind of smirked. People hate it when I smirk. But the smirk was deserved. He was coming to get his picture taken while he gave out turkeys to the patients stuck in the hospital over Thanksgiving. He had a glorious entourage, all decked out in their blue Army dress uniforms, their chests studded with colorful war-candy. The vast majority of the awards in the modern Army have nothing to do with combat, or bravery–you can get one for just going on a deployment, or writing a good paper, and there’s even one for just existing in the Army during 9/11. You wouldn’t know that, with the chests stuck out, and the strutting: it’s not uncommon for a commander, at military balls, to insist that lower Captains take pictures with him so you can see by contrast how very many medals he has on his dress blues compared to everyone else. I met the commander’s eyes for a moment as he passed by with his photographer; we all had to stop working on medicine to praise his presence. Decorum, and so forth. “When you give to the poor, do not do as the hypocrites do, and bring your trumpeter to announce your good work in the city square,” my Messiah once said; the commanders of his time didn’t have photographers. But his words are so much harder than we think, aren’t they? All of our giving programs online include social media buttons, so we can share how good we are with others. We call it “spreading awareness,” and I admit to feeling like if I tell everyone else I’m doing good, they’ll want to do good, too. And of course, we have to have some way to share good programs. But there must be a difference between a photograph of a well-dressed man of power handing out turkeys, and a practical call to action begging you to join the work. As the commander continued down the hall, I could only think about Isabel, working in the lowest position in the hospital, compared to this man with all his power. “The first shall be last,” the Messiah once said. In heaven, she will be the one studded with awards, and hers will not be pompous, but glorious. Thanksgiving with Isabel’s family was shy, but good. Those were the good days, even though I didn’t know it, and I miss going to lunch with her once a week, and learning about potato greens, and spicy chicken; the memory brings a soft, full, well-fed feeling. I was working often 80 hours a week in that hospital, a brand new physician, completely overwhelmed by a creeping illness suddenly exacerbated by an unrealistic work schedule. I regret spending so much time worrying about my position in the hospital, and I regret almost all of the time socializing with other military medical professionals, desperate to be liked but too rebellious and different to ever earn any place in those safe, successful hearts. I wish I had spent even more time with Isabel before she left; I am so grateful for the opportunities I did take. Ultimately, I left that residency as it ate away my health and my mind, burdened by my significant moral opposition to the residency’s prevailing philosophy of loyalty to the organization over the patient. None of the female residents in my year or above me who had pretended to care about me really kept contact. They looked down on me for my weakness and had little compassion for my daily chronic pain and worsening chemical depression. My best “friend” at that time seriously used and then deserted me in my time of need, after a relationship so deeply emotionally manipulative and mind-altering that my depression spiraled and I had to be hospitalized. Isabel never judged me, even when I was kind of stupid; she saw my pain with such deep compassion even though I had so much more than she did from a material perspective. I know of people who are so poor they feel uncomfortable, angry, or cruelly unsympathetic towards people who have more than they, and I understand their justification; but Isabel was so rich in spirit that she didn’t see it that way. There’s an old Hebrew saying, “never muzzle an ox as he treads out the grain,” and a later one to explain that the teacher deserves his due; as Isabel returned to Liberia to rescue the orphanage that could no longer survive without her presence, it would be truly evil of me, with the life I have, not to support her work. To stand by while she lives often without running water or electricity, in extreme heat, eating only rice every day with the occasional vegetables, and not give? I would be as fake as that man of power, and a bad friend to boot.

However, I am finding I cannot, alone, provide for the enormous needs of the orphanage. The government recently dropped off twelve more children; there are five mattresses that need purchasing, a child with severe liver disease who needs $450 worth of medicine, and three teenagers who have graduated high school but cannot afford the mere $1200 ($300 per semester) it would take to pay for their technical school or college. One of the young men wants to become a PA, to be provide medical care of the children at the orphanage, but had to stop school after two semesters because there just isn’t any more money for his schooling. It’s frustrating because most of these costs are so cheap for most people in the US and Europe–six semesters of trade school at $1200 is absolutely unheard of. The younger children need just $50 per month to receive full clothing, education, and food support; a significant amount of their diet comes from Child Aid International, but consists primarily of rice and occasional vegetables, with a slight deficiency in variety and protein.

If you would like to help, you can sponsor or half-sponsor a child for $50 or $25 a month with His Hands Support Ministries. I personally verified sponsorship records and end finances received by Isabel from this volunteer organization, and 100 percent of the funds they receive go to Isabel–not the case with large, admin-heavy organizations like Compassion International. For some people, this sponsorship is literally just the cost of one fancy date a month; for others, it’s the price of a cup of coffee a day. And it makes a huge difference.

Alternatively, if you would like to help fund someone’s college or trade school, get in touch with me at jen at becominghero.ninja, and I will coordinate with His Hands Support Ministries to find a way to make your special donation 501(c)3 tax exempt.

And finally, please share and tell as many people about Isabel’s work as possible!

Thank-you, as always, for your superhero work.

Want more ways to make a difference? Get superheroalerts sent to you weekly with a free fiction digest. Or check out today’s Random Act of Kindness from my special Random Act of Kindness Generator!

http://becominghero.ninja/despite-bullets-and-hunger-isabel-saves-orphans-in-liberia-superheroalert-dogood/

#Superhero Alerts (Become a hero!)

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dainwritesnonsense · 4 years

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Passerby: Day 2 the phone call

Why is he calling at 5:54AM? I answer the phone. “Holaaaaa~” my cheery voice rings in my bedroom and into the ears of one of my closest friends, Jake Melrose. I met him through my free spirited best friend, Kayleigh Langston who abandoned us to go on a solo road trip to the east coast of the United States. To have that luxury and liberty to drop everything and drive cross country is a dream. Unfortunately, I have a job I’m obligated to do and I’m saving my paid time off for the holidays.

Soft laughter fills my ears from the caller named Jake. You haven’t met him personally, and aren’t sure he totally exists, but let me paint a picture. In this story, Jake, if that’s his real name, has blonde curly hair. When you touch it, its like a Tempur-pedic pillow. His hair has that bounce of a spring mattress and it’s soft like his voice. He remembers everything you do just like the memory foam of the mattress remembers where you lay your body on. He’s a very gentle man; a true gentleman. He only speaks when he needs to and is in stark contrast to me.

Sometimes I blurt stuff without thinking, but it’s not like the wonderful Kayleigh Langston. She’s very outspoken, bright and beaming. Her smile lights up the room and her personality emanates AWESOME. Her skin is dark like my favorite triple espresso and she is a woman of the moon. She’s more extroverted and I am very much in between her and Jake. I’ve grown to love them both over time.

It seems that wherever Kayleigh settles, both Jake and I follow. Kayleigh met Jake and I in grade school. We were inseparable until college hit us. She was his roommate during their senior year. I followed her after I graduated with my degree to a place down on the west coast. She reminded me there was so much more to the small world I knew. Yet, she’s making the solo road trip back east without me…or Jake.

“Mara,” Jake starts, “Kayleigh said she will be back before Halloween. What do you want to do?”

I pace around in my room and narrow my eyes at Little Munna who just stares back at me with innocent eyes. ‘Hmm…great question…what the hell do I want to do when Kayleigh gets back?’ I ponder this for a moment. I really want to tell her about Doe Eyes. I want a girls day…without Jake.

I laughed, “Jake, I don’t know…should we go camping?” There were so many things we could do, but that was the first one that popped into my head. “Maybe?” I can tell he’s not totally sold on the idea. “Okay, how about this, why don’t we hike through Joshua Tree?” Jake chuckles, “Mara, it’s too hot!”

I sighed, this is why I missed Kayleigh. She’s the leader of our group if I’m being honest. When left alone without our leader, Jake and I never come to a final decision. What ends up happening is that we meet up, end up staying at our apartments or we head into town and meander a couple of blocks. We always find ourselves in a restaurant talking. Our relationship is strictly platonic. There’s nothing more or less. If I’m not mistaken, we both have a slight crush on Kayleigh. Though, out of mutual respect of our friendship, I would never try anything. I like where my friendship is with the both of them. I don’t want to change it.

“Hmm…” I try to think of a good place to go. I hear some shuffling and movement in the background. Maybe he found a new roommate? Kayleigh was his roommate prior. “Jake, did you find a roommate?” “Oh yeah! You haven’t met him yet. Maybe Kyle might have an idea of where we can go.” He has a roommate named Kyle. ‘Ugh! No, we need to talk about a surprise party for Kayleigh!’

“Jake! Wait -” I try to catch Jake before he reaches out to this ‘Kyle’. I really just wanted us to hangout and plan the surprise party like old times, but…

“Kyle!” I hear Jake exclaim. “Yeaaaaahhh -” I hear his new roommate respond. There’s a thud on the floor. “Do you want to head out anywhere today?” Wait, since when did we go from planning Kayleigh’s welcome party event to heading out somewhere today? Unless…does Jake want to physically discuss this?? “Uh, maybe…” his roommate sounds farther away, “where are you guys headed?” “Oh, we haven’t figured that out yet.” I hear Jake breathe on the phone a bit as he hurries over to his roommate. He catches his breath and stops shuffling. “Okay, do you want to head to the beach?” Kyle’s voice doesn’t sound so far away now. “Mara, do you want to go to the beach?” Jake asks. Crap. Beach with a stranger. A STRANGER. “Um-” Jake interrupts, “Here, let me get you on speaker.” ‘No, Jake. This is a private conversation.’ I sit back down on my bed. I can’t. I am totally overreacting. I’m personally going to quote Drake here, ‘No new friends.’

“Here, give me the phone.” New Roommate Kyle takes the phone after some silence. “Wha-?” Jake starts, but never finishes. There’s some scuffle and someone takes hold of the phone. “Mara,” It’s not Jake. It’s New Roommate Kyle. His voice is crystal clear and there’s no echo, “have you been to Santa Monica Pier?” Oh phew! This guy can make a decision. “Yes, it’s been awhile.” I respond. “Okay, so do you mind if we pick you up?” he asks eagerly. I shake my head to no one. I see Little Munna cast her gaze on me and I get up to go to the closet. “No, I don’t mind. Jake should have my address.” “Alright, see ya later.” He’s done talking and I hear Jake ask, “What did she say?” “We’re picking her up and we’re going to the Santa Monica Pier.” “Oh, whoa, why can’t we -” Phone clicks.

Kyle must be used to Jake’s indecisiveness. This is going to be interesting being in a car with someone new for a few hours. There’s butterflies dancing around in my stomach. ‘C’mon, Mara get it together.’

I try to hide my excitement, but maybe New Roommate Kyle knows exactly what I deal with when it comes to Jake. I chuckle to myself and get ready for the day ahead.

My hands pulled apart the doors concealing my closet. I let my hands run past all the clothes until I find what I want. There’s a black muscle tank with a silly smiley face with it’s tongue sticking out. On the tongue it has the EDC logo. I snatch that. I grab my super sexy black monokini and snatch that out of the closet too. Last, but not least, my damn cut off shorts with the pockets peaking out. I snatch that too. I grab a random recyclable canvas bag and throw a towel in there, some sunscreen, a magazine (for light reading if the boys get stale), and my favorite el cheapo sunglasses from Urban Outfitters. The copper colored frames are pentagon in shape and sported a bicolor tint of yellow and blue on the lenses. I set the bag down and jump out of my pajamas.

Time to transform into a semi-decent beach goer! I take another look back at my reflection once the transformation is complete.

I check myself out in the mirror. Acceptable. I give myself a wink and almost run into my easel and an unfinished Doe Eyes painting. I almost forgot about her. That was one of the reasons I wanted to hang out with Jake too. There was so much we had to catch up on. He’s a realist when it comes to relationships.

My phone buzzes. I check the notification banner and they’re on their way.

Jake: See you in 15 min!

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elevenhoursinfront-blog · 6 years

Text

9th December 2017

We allowed ourselves to wake up when we wanted. I mean, we had to be out by 1000 at the latest otherwise we would be charged, but we're always up way before then anyway. It was chilly at night and we did use the duvet. It was amazing. There's nothing quite like wrapping yourself up warm in a duvet at night.

Today, we were on the move to the Gold Coast. I've heard amazing things about this place so I was stupidly excited about it. I imagined it to be one of my favourite places. I was hoping it would live up to the name. It was only an hour and a half drive so we planned for the day.

I saw online that there was a deal for Dream World tickets. They were doing entry into the theme park, the water park and the sky point observation deck for $79 each. That's an absolute bargain in my mind. The observation deck itself was $20 each. I bought the tickets online as Steve was driving.

We arrived in Surfers Paradise around 1200 and my smile was from ear to ear. It looked amazing. It was a city but also a holiday destination. There were sky scrapers everywhere as well as palm trees. The sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We were driving round for a long time trying to find a parking space. We drove along the coast looking at the beach. It was a massive stretch of white sand and crystallised water. There were surfers everywhere. It was Australia's version of Miami.

We found a car park that we weren't sure we'd fit in. There was a limit bar above us and I was so worried we'd hit it. We were obviously miles off and we did get in without losing the roof. It was an expensive one but what else could we do? Every space along the beach front was full and you're always limited to time. I had a coin bag which is what I had collected them for, silly things like parking. I had a good $200 in coins so we were set for the trip.

We walked through the centre to get to the beach front. There were shops after shops. It reminded me of our favourite place in NSW – Manly. It had that relaxed vibe. People were there for the beach and that was it. Swimwear and surfboards.

We walked along the beach and I started to get hungry. I had packed our extra pizza and half of mine from last nights dinner into sandwich bags. We didn't eat the garlic bread either. We sat on the beach watching the waves as we ate. I was so content.

We decided to go up the sky deck as we were right next to it and it was on our to-do list. We had our tickets, sort of anyway. I purchased them and a confirmation email had come through. The email stated that 'this is not your ticket, they will come through in a separate email'. That separate email never came through. I rang them up and asked what was going on as I was waiting to use them. They said that as it was the weekend, the tickets wouldn't be through until Monday. We were meant to be leaving on Monday so they better had think of something fast! They said that if we just show the confirmation email, we will be allowed entry. Let's find out.

We walked to the deck and waited in line. I went up to the person and explained. She seemed very unsure and had to speak with her manager. They allowed us in which was good. I would've been very upset if we couldn't.

We waited outside the lift and the door opened. We had to go up 88 floors. We stood inside and the lift moves so fast. I looked at the ceiling and there was a camera showing what it looked like from inside the lift shaft. It was incredible how fast we were actually going up. My ears kept popping.

After about 30 seconds of going up, the doors opened. We walked out and the room was a 360 degrees circle with glass walls. It's probably my Dad's worst nightmare. We walked up to the glass wall and looked out – it was unreal. We did the sky deck in Melbourne but there's something pretty spectacular about seeing a beach go for absolute miles. It was really quite the picture. I was so happy and taking pictures like there was no tomorrow. Steve walked off and went to the bar.

I found two seats next to the window and sat down. The views were just incredible. I couldn't get over it. You have the most beautiful city to your left, with skyscrapers and palm trees, rivers, lakes. You then have the longest stretch of golden sand separating the ocean from everything. It was quite the picture.

Steve came over with a beer for himself and a glass of wine for me. It wasn't too expensive so we thought, why not treat ourselves? We sat there for a good 20 minutes chatting away, admiring the view.

Once we were finished with our drinks, we continued to walk around the perimeter of the room. It was a huge room, obviously with a bar. A lot of people were having their Afternoon Tea. The views continued to not disappoint. We decided to leave after we were finished and waited for the lift. First on the Gold Coast to do list – done!

We left the skydeck and walked along the beach front. Steve saw an advert for Mini Golf so we were walking towards there. It wasn't until I Googled to find out it was $30 each to play, that we decided against it.

Funnily enough, the weather started to make a turn for the worst. The winds picked up and the skies turned dark. We walked back to the car as quickly as possible. I was getting really quite, how do I put this? The only word I can really use is shitty (sorry Dad). I was quite clearly knackered and I really needed a nap, according to Steve. I was just being very snappy and sarcastic, argumentative. You know, the average.

We drove to our campground which was a cheaper one. We decided to go cheap and then tomorrow, we will go expensive. Maybe.

I had found one on our camping app that was only a 20 minute drive out of the city. It was $25 for unpowered but there was showers, kitchen, hot water, and free laundry.

The rain was really coming down when we eventually pulled up. It was a lady who obviously had way too much land so she 'rented' it out. I guess a lot of Australian's have a lot of land though, look at the size of their country!

She lived in a forest although it wasn't a scary one. It was a large area with a lot of ground and trees on the outside with some dotted within.

We passed her little house where we had to stop to give her the money. It was chucking it down so it was a run to and from the car. She told us that we could stay on the gravel area which is what we wanted. We didn't want to get stuck in the mud, again!

We pulled up, emptied the bed and I was told to have a nap. He was being fair to be honest, I really was tired. I struggled getting off to sleep because I was over tired. It was getting later and darker and we really needed to get dinner going. Plus, Steve has to sit there in the bed as it's raining.

It started to stop so we got out, got the table and chairs out to make dinner. We had decided on cooking veg as we felt so unhealthy. We bought some veg earlier on in Coles. The plan was to fry them in seasoning and have cashews with them. We got the table out and it had to go behind the van so that the boot door would block the rain from us should it start again.

Steve chopped all the veg and I stirred. How exciting! I love our little portable gas stove. It's amazing. I wish we had them at home, especially when you're entertaining. One flick and it's on! I am so easily pleased though. They've probably been around since the dinosaurs...

Our dinner turned out to be amazing. It was so nice to finally have something which was boarder-line healthy (minus the nuts and oil they were cooked in). We had enough veg left over to do the same dinner again another time.

As we were finished, the rain started ever so lightly. I didn't think that we had particularly long before the heavens opened again so I rushed all the stuff over to the kitchen to get it washed.

There was a little camp group staying at the same place. I guessed that they often stayed as it was loads of kids and a few adults. The kids had little cabins to stay in with bunk beds. They all had dinner together and dessert. Some of the aboriginal said to me that they were doing a performance with the didgeridoo later on should Steve and I want to come over and watch. I would've loved too but I probably would be asleep the moment my head touches the pillow.

I went back over and Steve had put the chairs and table away to stop it getting ruined in the rain. We jumped into the back and the rain got heavier. How irritating.

We had another car pulled up next to us – a slightly bigger version of ours. A high top. Steve was desperate to get a high top but that wasn't in our budget. I love our little van and I wouldn't change it for the world.

We played some cards before getting off to sleep. Or, well, at least tried. The camp group didn't end up playing the didgeridoo as I heard them ask if they could play hide and seek instead. Sounds great but it was pitch black outside and one of the kids went, “Let's hide under their van!”. Erm, how about no?! Don't go anywhere near my van.

They didn't, or so I didn't think they did. We fell asleep after about 15 minutes of listening to them running around, shouting and what not. You can't get annoyed, you just have to remember what it was like being that age, especially with nothing around you to keep you entertained.

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