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purecantarella · 1 year

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A Long Time Coming

not what i really wanted to post for my comeback buT THIS WAS ALREADY HALF WRITTEN SO I THOUGHT JUST RUN WITH IT!! anyway, i hope you all missed me and i will try to get more writing in, i promise. but for now, here yall go!! kim jennie x reader disclaimer/s : none, mostly floof and a touch of angst if you squint

You think back to your entire life, never once thinking that you'd find yourself in one of the most stereotypical romcom plot trope in the book. Dashing through the airpot, trembling from the cold the rain brought you.

All for her. All for Kim Jennie.

Your entire life was intertwined with hers. Your father had worked closely with her mother during their college years, moving into the same community in New Zealand, both becoming single parents, and above all, had the same wants for their children.

You'd grown up with Jennie, especially with how familiar your parents were with one another. Same daycare, same friend group, same beliefs. It was uncanny how close you two were. You were even aligned to be in the same college, until she announced her intentions to audition for YG Entertainment.

She remembers the argument you two got into.

"You're serious?" You ask as she sits on your bed, trying to reason with you. She could tell from the furrow of your brows and the twitching of your lip just how upset you were. She breathes a sigh, "I just want to follow my own passion, N/n. Not the path our parents paved for us."

You fall back into your desk chair, averting your gaze from your childhood friend, your best friend. Eyes glued to the photo collage she made you during your 15th brithday. Jennie watches your stilled gaze as you stare at your young faces. Standing up to lean over you, placing her hand on yours.

The warmth of her hand sent sparks from your hand to your chest. Brushing the feeling off, you focus on her smile. The brightness radiating from it lighting up every night you slept over, the softness in those cat-like eyes, those soft plush cheeks.

You knew it would be better for her, but damn would you miss her.

"I know it'll be a little different..." She pauses, squeezing your hand gently, "But it'll always be you and me against the world. I could never lose you." The last part only gets past in a breath. Wordlessly, you pull her into a loose embrace. Arms draping around her waist, your head pressed against her chest, "I don't want to lose you either, Jen."

You whisper, silently giving her your blessing to leave as you nuzzle yourself deeper into her. Unbenost to either of you that your father was listening from the door, snacks in hand forgotten.

He watches as Jennie leans down to press her lips to the corner of your hairline, almost missing her saying, "And you'll always have me."

Your father keeps that in mind as you drive her to the airport, watching the tearful goodbye. He keeps it in mind when he watches you fall asleep talking to her. He keeps it in mind when he catches you making out with another woman in your class.

Most of all, he keeps it in mind when Jennie comes back to New Zealand.

"Dad, I was in a meeting. What's up?" You ask, carefully eying your assistant who fends off the angry businessmen. Suddenly, the nerves from the meeting are a distant memory when your father's gruff voice says, "You remember Jennie Kim?"

Your mind goes blank for a minute, previous stress from the meeting fading away as the memories of your first love filling your senses. Each sensation still fresh in your head, on your skin, and in your heart. Your father's words falling on deaf ears.

The last thing you caught before you thank him and tell him you won't be home for dinner is, "She's coming home."

It's been several years since you last saw Jennie, and just around the same time since you two drifted apart. She wasn't your adorable next door neighbor anymore, she was Kim Jennie of Blackpink. While you became a lawyer, choosing a smaller university to stay near home. You were successful and so was she.

But upon hearing her name again, you were a teenager just wanting her to look at you as more than a friend.

Your father and her mother spoke and arranged for a dinner just the four of you when she arrived. You'd planned all your cases around the week she would be in the country in spite of your client's irritability about all of it.

Her arrival date came far sooner than you were emotionally prepared for it. You dressed in your best, picked up flowers, and insisted to your assistant that you could drive to the airport just fine alone.

As you parked, you swallow thickly, placing a hand on your chest in attempts to calm your pounding heart. You take a deep breath and look at the lavish flowers with blue roses, lilac, and hydrangeas before whispering, "She's your best friend, it'll be fine."

Jennie was the same on the plane.

She sorely missed you but it had been years since she saw you. Would you be happy to see her? Would you want to see her? Were you the same? Did you still smile then your cheeks would flush? Do you still scratch at your nails when you got nervous? With how many questions flooded her head, she almost didn’t realize that she was landing.

As she dragged her luggage behind her, she looked around the airport for her mom. A couple minutes to no avail, she pulled her phone out in attempts to call her. A couple rings later, "Jennie! You've touched down, I presume?"

"Yeah-" Before she could say anything more, her mother interjected, "Oh! Then you'll see my surprise for you soon enough!" Jennie's mother exclaimed gleefully. A wave of tiredness washed over her and she sighed, a retort just at the tip of her tongue when someone spoke behind her.

"Jen...?"

The rapper whipped behind her and her eyes widened to a concerning degree.

There you were. Far more cleaned up than when she last saw you. Your tired eyes and loose fitting and dirty sweater evidently missing. In its place was a casual business suit, hair shiny and healthy, your eyes more alert and discerning. Her serious demeanor shattered at the look of you.

A squeal broke from her lips as she wrapped her arms around your neck. Your ears perked up at the contact, before you wrap your arms around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. Savoring the smell of her vanilla body wash.

Jennie pulled away and looked at you in amazement while you take in every ounce of her. Not much changed, more so she just grew into her features. But regardless, you feel your heart pound harder than when you imagined reuniting with her.

"I uh..." You trail off awkwardly, only raising the flowers up to her. Like a child giving a gift to their first crush. Well, when it came to Jennie it was pretty much the same feeling. She smiles warmly at you before taking the bouquet in your hands, "Thank you, N/n. I love them." Her hand finding purchase on your arm.

A nervous laugh falls from your lips as you say, "The florist I terrorized for an hour will be very happy to hear that you liked them." Jennie looks up at you with an adoring glaze in her eyes. The smile on her face leaves you breathless and you grin like a child, slipping your hand onto the handle of her luggage, briefly brushing with her hand.

Jennie, trying to mask the flush on her cheeks, looks down. She sees how much you've changed from when she last saw you, just a teenager with their whole future ahead of them. It was odd, but comforting. You'd grown up to all that you strived for, she'd read up on some of the cases you've handled when she had down time. It filled her with an inexplicable amount of pride.

But she also couldn't tell if you would still want her around.

But then, her eyes fall down to your nailbeds and smiles, faint white lines. Maybe you weren’t too different from the Y/n she grew up with.

Once you were both hauled into your car, once again she'd felt like you've reached a point in your life where you have it figured out. A shiny and sleek black car that just oozed class and sophistication. It overwhelmed her to an nth degree.

The only thing keeping you grounded in her mind was the picked at nails you had, a sliver of what made her believe you were still the one she looked up to. The one she looked for in every friend she ever had...in every relationship she'd ever had.

You on the other hand, were just praying that your sweat wouldn't seep through your suit jacket. The anxiety of having her eyes on you weighed on you so heavily. The silence didn't help either.

You open your mouth to speak, but it shuts before anything substantial or just about anything came out. From the corner of your eye, you see Jennie smile before finally easing into the seat, gaze still locked on you.

"You really made something of yourself, N/n." She pauses as you shift the gears into drive and pull out of the slot you were in. You laugh gently at her statement, stealing brief glances, "You're one to talk, miss Jennie Kim of one of the world's biggest girl groups."

"Hope that's not all you think of me..." Jennie pouts before crossing her arms playfully, your smile softens as you lean over and pull her arms out of their position. Smoothly taking her hand in yours, in spite of yourself. Your heart catches up with the action but by this point it's too late, her fingers lace comfortably with yours.

You clear your throat and reply, "Of course that's not all I think of you..." I think of you as the first person I've ever had feelings like this for...maybe even the only one. You think to yourself.

Jennie stares at you expectantly, "You're extraordinary on stage, but nothing beats the memory of you and I just kicking back in my room with a cheesy sit-com on our off-brand cellphones on a crappy pirating site." You both laugh before you continue, stopping at a red light and looking over at her. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I see you as I always have..."

Pausing to find the right words to say to her as Jennie waits with bated breathe. Her mind and pulse rushing at a million miles a minute. You smile goofily at her, "I see you as the amazing, smart, gorgeous girl who took a chance on her soft-spoken neighbor."

The air around you both is thick and your eyes unconsciously flick down to her lips. Jennie is shocked and is left frozen. Realizing yourself, you clear your throat and pull a forced and dry laugh. "But that's not of course without the drawback of your hair literally being all over the place, on top of your obsession with keeping everything tidy!"

Jennie is pulled out of her adoration and howls out laughing, "Shut up!"

"I swear, one or two of my jackets being left on the floor leads to a whole fuckin spring cleaning moment!" You retort as the light turns green. The rapper beside you rolls her eyes and scoffs.

"Please, if it were just one jacket as you claim, why could I not walk in your room without accidentally stepping on a clean t-shirt."

The rest of the car ride went without a hitch, falling back into your old conversations, her telling you interesting stories of the idols she socializes with, and you whining about the demanding partners and clients you have.

Before you knew it, you were at the curb of your childhood home.

You and Jennie stepped into your home, a sense of familiarity filled the rapper. She breathed in the scent of lavender and sandalwood, the only candle your father ever lit. 'Added a touch of class' he would always say. Your hand wrapped around her waist, making her jump out of nostalgia.

"Jen, I'm just going to grab your bag. Make yourself at home." You say quickly before ducking out the door again, leaving her with a hot flush on her cheeks. Damn feelings, she thinks to herself.

"Jennie Kim! It's been far too long." Your father calls from the door of your kitchen. She smiles warmly at him before jogging over to him and accepting his embrace. He pulls away, ruffling her hair. "You gotta come around more often, kid."

You grunt as you lift Jennie's luggage to the first step of your staircase. Proud of yourself you turn to see Mama Kim smiling at you, "N/n, dearest!"

"Mama Kim!" You cry happily before enveloping her in a warm and tight embrace. She chuckles and pats your arm affectionately and as you pull away, she slaps it gently. You feign distress before she says to you with playful anger, "I've been in the country for weeks and it takes me running into your dad for me to see you."

You chuckle softly before bowing your head respectfully, "Some partners just keeping my hands full."

Jennie's mother smiles deviously, the idol must've picked it up from her. "Speaking of partners keeping your hands full, ever going to woman up and tell my daughter how you feel?" Your eyes bulge as she says this.

"I swear to God, did dad tell you anything?" You ask, embarrassment pumping through your veins. She simply hums and bumps your shoulder with a childlike pout. "Like you could ever hide anything from me. Remember when I caught you sneaking in after curfew."

You eye the older woman cautiously, her eyes glued to her daughter and your father. A soft expression falls onto her face before she looks up to you. "I know how happy she makes you. You don't buy bouquets like that for someone you don't care for." Mama Kim nods over to the flowers atop Jennie's purse.

You blush thinking back to when you bought the arrangement, being so meticulous and seeking the perfect flowers to give to your childhood best friend whom you haven't seen nor spoken to in 9 years. You clear your throat as Jennie looks over at you both, eyes disappearing as her smile brightened.

"I just want everything to be up to her standard." You whisper as she closely approaches. Her mother, still looking at you mutters, "Is it what she wants though?"

With that Mama Kim walks up to her daughter, giving her a tight squeeze while you walk over to your father who was still leaning up against the door frame of the kitchen. Two bottles of beer in hand, he hands one over to you. "She looks good."

You cringe as you take a sip, "Creepy, dad." But you both laugh, before you look to the two other women in the living room looking at old memorabilia. "You are right though...those YG cameras have nothing on how she looks in real life."

There's a lull, you two sip your alcohol quietly waiting for the oven to ding for dinner. You hear your father chuckle beside you, "And that is one hell of a bouquet, Y/n."

"Shut up, dad." Your dad sputters laughing when the oven dings. You grin to yourself and walk into the kitchen, "Dinner time!"

Dinner was filled with laughter and one too many drinks. All the while you couldn't keep your eyes off Jennie. You knew even when you two were kids that she was gorgeous and that that gummy smile lit up anything and everything. She was an enigma...and she still was.

You both stumbled into your bedroom, tipsy from the evening's drinks. Laughter echoing the hall followed by shushing from one another, given your father was asleep on the couch and her mother in the guest bedroom.

Once Jennie gains her composure, she looks around your room. "Not much changed around here since I was last here, huh?" She asks as you plop down on your bed. You hum softly as she continues to walk around the room, everything was meticulously kept. Even the stack of papers was kept tidy and organized. But something out of the corner of her eye piqued her interest.

"No." The rapper gasps before bolting to your shelf, there sat a Blackpink album beside her solo album. Jennie marvels at them for a second, dust had collected atop both of them but they hadn't lost their sheen. "You big fucking nerd!"

You groan and smile before you lift your head up, mind returning once you saw what she had in her hands. "You have my albums?!" She makes out of her laughter.

You grin sheepishly before sitting up to remove your jacket, "Don't make a big deal of it, Kim. I happen to be very in touch with music, not just yours." Trying to brush her off.

Without saying another word, Jennie returns your mini-collection to the shelf, and jumps onto you. You grunt as she lays flat on top of you. "Did your bed get lumpier or is it just me?"

You laugh breathlessly, "I will throw up if you crush me like this."

There's a silence for a moment, it lingers before she rolls over her eyes meeting yours. Eyes droopier but still so bright, it sends a wave of warmth through your chest. You stroke the back of her hair lovingly, weaving your fingers through her soft locks. "I don't think I've told you just how much I missed you, Jen."

She nods and lays her head flat on your chest, nuzzling deep into your shirt. You continue, "I wanted to reach out, but I never knew what to say or I was scared I'd say the wrong thing."

"You could never say the wrong thing, N/n." Her voice childlike and faint. You knew full well how hard your heart was beating and you just knew that she could hear it too. You press your nose atop her head, savoring the moment before your lips meet the soft skin of her forehead. "I almost did, so many times...I've almost told you that I-"

A soft snore.

You shift your gaze from the ceiling to the woman on your chest, sound asleep. You smile and lay another soft kiss on her forehead, "I love you, Jennie."

After that night, you noticed that Jennie had become more clingy. The morning after while you were cooking breakfast, she was seated on the counter, feeding you freshly cut fruit as you cooked. The next day while you were walking around in the New Zealand heat, she took the time to pat your forehead dry while your arms were interlocked.

Finding new ways to make each other smile and reminiscing on the days when all you had to worry about was a paper due at the end of the week. Now, you had jobs, she had crazy fans, and there was so much pressure on both your backs to do well by your clients and her audience.

"You get me, you just get me." Jennie says before she takes another lick of her ice cream. You two had found a nice shady tree with only a few onlookers in the middle of a serene park. You lay on her lap as she talks about how demanding her company is. Photoshoots, video shoots, promotional appearances, all of it. "Trust me, I know a thing or two about that, the people in my law firm suck." You whine.

Jennie laughs, brushing your baby hairs back with a thoughtful look on her face, "They can't be all bad."

You look up at her, catching her eye, giving her a small wistful smile, "They aren't you."

Jennie's eyes widen before she nervously laughs and crushes what's left of her ice cream on your forehead. You gasp and shoot up pulling the sticky substance from your skin, "You're fucking dead, Kim!" You yell before she squeals and runs around the tree.

Her laughter makes her breathe catch before she leans up against the tree, holding her hand out in defense. "Y/n, I call truce, please?"

You laugh, shaking your head. "You stuck a cone of ice cream on my head."

"I made you a unicorn." She retorts with that damn gummy smile on her face. Before you can catch yourself, your hands press against the rough bark of the tree behind her. The smile on her face falters and you feel a twinge of hesitation in your chest. But before you can take a step back, her hand finds its way to the back of your neck. Brushing the hair away and scratches the skin right below your hairline.

She'd done it since you were kids.

Your gaze falls onto her lips, pink, hints of the strawberry ice cream left on her. You wonder if that's what it would taste like if you'd kissed her, like you dreamed of since you were 15. Jennie gently, oh so gently, pulled you closer. "You know, you should really be careful what you confess when you think someone's asleep."

A dry chuckle falls from your lips, "I knew it," You pause, just looking at her in all her glory. No make-up, no stage lights, no big crowd screaming her name. But she still blew you away. Finally, you finish, "I meant it."

Her smile grows twice as wide and you lean forward, your lips ghosting hers before her phone goes off. You hear her curse under her breath before pulling it out of her pocket, leaving you rather awkward.

Jennie answers in the phone in Korean, her brows crease instantly. She's seemingly arguing with whoever's on the other end before her hand balls into a fist behind your neck. Practically fuming, she nods and hangs up. You'd pulled away a bit to give her room to speak, but she turns her attention back to you before she says, "It was my manager, apparently they'd booked me for something this Friday."

"But your going back on Friday?" You return.

The rapper nods but continues to say, "Yeah, but there's preparation, fittings, video shoots to promote that I'll be in attendance." She breathes a frustrated sigh, before her eyes loose their spark, "I'm flying back tonight..."

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Jennie, packing everything away into her suitcase. Making sure everything was packed. Her mom stopped by to bid her goodbye and that they would have dinner when she was in South Korea again.

"Now or never, N/n." Mama Kim whispered to you while she held you in her embrace. "If I hear from my daughter that you did nothing now, I will hunt you down."

You smile and nod. After that moment in the park, you knew it was about time. Your dad called a cab and you two waited on the curbside, a comfortable yet, as paradoxical as it was, uncomfortable silence. You knew what you wanted to say, you know you should explain, and she does too.

But the words just feel like they'd fall flat.

A car pulls up and Jennie takes her bag to the trunk, thanking the driver before turning back to you. "I'm sorry I had to leave, I know you moved everything around to be able to spend time with me."

"It's no worries...Just maybe don't wait a decade to come back?" You joke to which she slaps your arm gently. She smiles up at you. Your heart is hammering again. You want to say something, you should; but all you do is open your arms to her.

Jennie steps into your warm embrace and nuzzles herself into your neck. Leaving a light kiss as she did.

Your arms around her tighten as her taxi waits on the curb, honking impatiently. She should go, you know it but as the beat of your heart echoes loudly in your ears you need to do it. The urge fills you as you pull away.

Everything slows, you pull the mask over her lips down slowly. The idea of her rejecting you terrifies you further, hands shaking, heart pounding, blood rushing through your body quickly and you feel warm in spite of the cold winter air flowing around both of you.

Your foreheads press briefly together as your eyes maintain steady eye contact, as if she were giving you her final permission. With a grin on both your faces, you lean in and your lips press together for the first time.

A long time waiting, but you can’t help the smile that breaks onto your face as time returns. It was short, but it was everything you'd ever wanted since you were just kids in your bedroom dreaming of the future.

Jennie pulls away with a gummy smile on her face, you mirror the smile on her face as you cup her cheeks lovingly. Your lips littering pecks across her face as she giggles as her hand finds yours.

"I can't believe I'm leaving now." Jennie says, a pout forming on her lips. You chuckle, thumb reaching back to stroke the back of her hand. "Neither can I."

You lean down, pecking her lips again, longer than the first time. "But if you think I'm waiting for the next time you're here for a kiss like that, you're dead wrong."

The rapper giggles again, before another honk pops the bubble around you both. Reluctantly, Jennie pulls away, her hand loosely locked with yours as she gives you a shy smile.

"I'll see you soon then?" She asks, hopeful.

You can't resist the teen-like giddiness running through your body, lifting her hand to your lips. Paying particular attention to her ring finger, your pulse hammering as you look up into her dark brown eyes. "It's a date."

Before she can cancel all her schedules for the coming week, she pulls your hand away and opens the door to the car. Turning back briefly to look at you standing with your hands in your pockets, a goofy smile on your face. "I'll call you before I board."

"And when you land?" You ask.

"And every night after." She replies before slipping into the car.

You smile at her through the car window, cheeks sore from all of it. Even though you know she can't hear you, you say, "I'll be waiting."

Jennie sinks into the seat with a dreamy sigh. The driver of the car looks into the rearview mirror, seeing the wispy look on Jennie's face and you folding out of what he assumes is delight. He smiles before saying, "Must be someone amazing to get you smiling that way, ma'am."

She's taken aback for a moment, but her shock melts into a warm smile, too giddy to push the question away.

"Yeah, but it has been a long time coming."

this was far longer than i had initially wanted BUT i quite like how it came out, the parents were a little janky and i feel like a lot of the parts are OOC but still, as a story i quite liked it HAHAHAH i was typing this on my bed so my back really, really hurts rn i hope you lovelies missed me a bit and i will try to continue to bring you guys the content you deserve. i love you all so much and i'll see you all vv soon!! - r

#blackpink #blackpink imagines #blackpink x reader #blackpink fluff #blackpink scenarios #blackpink jennie #kim jennie #jennie kim #jennie x reader #jennie imagines #jennie fluff #jennie reactions #kpop idol x reader #kpop idol imagines #kpop x reader #kpop imagines #purecantarella

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pandorasword · 1 year

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can you maybe write a little something about blackpink bringing chaeri out as a special guest for their Coachella performance and the fans reactions??

Hi! Thanks for the request! I like to write about Chaeri and other female artists, I hope you enjoy it 🫶🏼

Chaeri as the 8th and youngest member of BTS.

Chaeri's masterlist

April 22, 2023

჻ In the first coachella week Chaeri was at the festival only as a spectator

჻ Week in which, for the first time, her and the Blackpinks showed how they were on good terms

჻ After years of speculation about a possible rivalry between the 5 girls, they proved that their careers do not affect their personal lives

჻ Jisoo and Chaeri made their bond public on instagram, posting a photo together of them sharing a hotel room during the days of the festival

჻ There were numerous leaked photos of the BTS female member with Blackpink throughout the event

჻ Fans were ecstatic about the girls' connection, making the hashtag dedicated to them a trend on twitter for multiple days

჻ Nothing like the one that went viral the following week, however

჻ While for the first weekend the girls had sent everyone into delirium with their interactions, for the second they literally made their mark on kpop history

჻ In fact, they gave birth to the very first collaboration between BTS and Blackpink

჻ Chaeri joined them during Typa Girl's choreo, appearing from behind a feather fan

჻ "Coachella, are you read for today? I bet you are not," were Jennie's words before Chaeri took the stage

჻ No one expected to see her blend so well with the rest of the group, to the point where she seemed fully one of them

As soon as she emerged from behind the two huge pink feather fans that had hidden her from the public up to that point, she could see the crowd in front of her going wild. The screams of the fans so loud that they almost covered the music that echoed and shook meters and meters of the ground where the festival was taking place.

"Cause I'm that girl that drive you crazy, but you can't leave me alone. Got you thinkin' maybe I went supernatural Put you under spells or look into a crystal ball I'm not like these other girls at all"

"Coachella, are you seeing this? We've got a very special guest with us tonight. She's part of the BTS family, but tonight she's one of us. So give it up for Chaeri!" Jennie screamed to the crowd, setting aside for a moment the next verses of the song.

The fans went wild once again, the screams getting even louder as Chaeri took the center stage, twirling around and joining the other four girls in synchrony. They looked like a perfect unit, like they had been rehearsing together for years. Every move was timed to perfection, every step in sync with the beat.

When the song reached its crescendo, the crowd erupted with thunderous applause. Chaeri and the girls, their faces beaming with elation, gave a triumphant bow that seemed to linger in the air.

Chaeri's cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkling with emotion, as she stepped forward and addressed the audience. "I just want to say," her voice carried over the applause, "these girls right here are some of the most amazing people I've ever met. During this song, I was in awe of their talent and dedication. I feel so blessed to have been able to join them on stage. Thank you for including me in this!"

"What? One more song?" Lisa cupped a hand around her ear, leaning more toward the fans in a theatrical gesture, "Let us hear how hard you want one more song!"

The mass pulled out all the stops to show their approval, clapping, shouting, stamping their feet

"I can't fucking hear you Coachella!" Chaeri riled up the fans even more, the adrenaline of being by her friends' side rising higher every second.

She didn't know she could hear so much noise despite the in-ears in her ears, yet her eardrums vibrated in fury from the screams that rumbled around

Fans Reaction

Unposted pictures that scream "chaotic sisters"

taglist: @alixnsuperstxr | @keonsvt | @ycuvi

#bts 8th member #bts female addition #blackpink imagines #blackpink scenarios #bts addition #bts imagines #bts female member #kpop female member #kpop addition #bts eighth member #bts 8th member au #bts au #blackpink

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renee-writer · 2 years

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Faith 's Journey Home Chapter 21

AO3

She looks at the cup containing, what she hopes is, a potion to fool bodies into believing them pregnant. A 18th century version of the Pill. Under her feet, sixth month old, Hannah Rebecca, crawls around. She smiles down at her. This was for her too. For her and her cousins. If it works, then all the childrearing females on the ridge will be able to truly plan their families.

“Mama did it, she thinks.” She squeals, her current way of communicating. “Yep, it will be nice to not have to worry every month.” Ian stands in the doorway of the surgery. He can’t get enough of watching his daughter crawl about. Her innocence and curiosity are something he never gets enough of seeing. Rollo is by his side. He follows the baby around whenever she is outside. A few times, when she has traveled farther then her wolf dog guardian believes safe, he has lifted her by her gown and placed her closer to her parents.

“I am sure you have. You are the smartest healer I know, even smarter then Auntie.” She smiles at him. “I received a letter in the post, from my mam.”

Faith’s breath catches. The infamous Jenny, her aunt and mother-in-law. “What did she say?” This is the first letter they have received even though Ian had sent one announces his marriage and another telling her of Hannah Rebecca.

“I don’t ken. I wished to open it around you.” She smiles even though it is a bit sickly.

“Well let’s see.”

“My Darling Ian,

Forgive my late reply to your news. It took some time for me to understand what you told me. Your Uncle Jamie wrote me about the return of his daughter and your father and I raised praises up to heaven for her return. To have a child returned…

I know, you are happy there. It wasn’t anyone’s intent that you would leave with your uncle and auntie and not return. A parent’s love is deep and wide as I am sure you have found out.

I write around the subject because I am still not sure how I feel. Your happiness was all your father and I wanted for you. That you have found it makes us happy. That you have found it with your cousin, that is a whole other thing.

Aye, you weren’t raised together and you did meet as strangers. All true. It is just, she does share your blood. That your daughter is healthy is a blessing.

Be careful, mo mhac. We just don’t want to see you hurt.

Your brothers and sisters send their love. You are missed here Ian.

I love you.

Mam.

P. S.

Your father wished to add a word.

Ian, I read what your mam wrote and I can’t disagree with any of it. But, she missed saying something. Congratulations Faith and Ian on your marriage and the birth of Hannah Rebecca. We wish we could meet both your lasses. You have found a home and happiness there. This makes me happy.

I love you son. I love you and am proud of you.

Da.”

They read it and then read it again. She smiles at him. “It seems all is alright.”

“Better then expected.”

“I was thinking. Maybe Bree could sketch us. A family portrait could be made. We could send it to them. It would be a way to have them meet us until they can really meet us.”

He draws his wife into his arms. “I love that idea. Let’s do it.”

Her concoction works. The babies stopped coming every year for Marsali. Hannah Rebecca was two and running everywhere with her cousins. Bree sits watching Mandy play with her and sketching them. They sent her pictures three times a year to Jenny and Ian. They can watch their granddaughter and the others grow.

“I think it is time for another.” Faith says to her sister. Bree turns from her paper. “She is two. I don’t want them to far apart.”

“I think that is a good idea.” She nods towards Mandy and Jemmy both running in circles chasing each other among the others. “They fight but are good friends too. Two to three years is perfect spacing.”

Faith smiles and nods. “Agree. What about you? Any thoughts about having more?”

“We have been discussing it. Haven’t decided yet.”

“Mandy’s wee nose may be out of joint were you to decide to.” Mandy is attached at the skirt to her mama.

“It may do her good.” They both laugh.

It is a bit easier on Ian the second time. He knows what to expect. His wife clings to him, her eyes shut, as she rides out the pain. Auntie Claire talks softly to her.

“Almost there love. Just a bit more.” A groan and a heave as she pushes again. “Grand job. One more like that and the head will be out.” He keeps his eyes firmly on her. Yes, all had went well with Hannah Rebecca ‘s birth but, this child seems more stubborn about being born. It worries him. “Pant while I clean out the mouth. Grand now one more and we will have baby.” She bears down again.

The room seems to still as Claire eases the child out. The sun is just setting and it’s spreading waning light hits the baby as it’s lifted up. The baby is placed on Faith’s chest. She lets go of her husband ‘s hands and wraps them around her new baby. Ian then looks down and checks to see what they have.

“A son!” he whisper shouts. “A lad.”

Faith’s tears come faster. It is what they both prayed for. His granny declares him, “Healthy though a chunk of a lad.” and Faith and son are moved to the bed.

“Raymond Okwaho.”His daddy announces a few hours later when his family gathers to see the baby. “Okaho is Mohawk for wolf.”

“It is perfect Ian.” Jamie says as he cradles his newest grandson. The baby is Faith all over. While Hannah Rebecca is a beautiful mix of them both, little Ray is his mama. Appropriate, Jamie thinks, as his daughter was the one that brought the big lad forth.

“Hannah Rebecca see baby!” She demands. Jamie sits and she comes over. She smiles at her brother. “My baby.”

“Aye, he is yours, ours and, himself.”

Mandy and Jemmy come up to see the newest cousin. “He is big. Danny is tinier.” Jemmy declares. Daniel Roger Mackenzie was born two weeks ago.

“Yes, your Auntie Faith did amazing.” Bree replies. She cradles her baby against her as she meets her nephew.

“He is pretty Auntie Faith.” Mandy says.

“Thank you love.” She lays on the bed, in a well earned rest. Her mama sits beside her, monitoring her daughter’s vitals. She had bleed a lot but it was now under control.

“Félicitations soeur.” Fergus comes over and kisses his sister’s cheek.

“Merci Fergus.”

“You did a good job.” Marsali adds. Thanks to her medical knowledge, she hasn’t had another.

“Thank you Marsali.” Her children gather around her, looking over at their new cousin.

“Bonté! The child is already almost as big as me.” Herní-Christian exclaims. All burst into laughter.

“Maybe so but he is still your baby cousin.” Ian comments.

A few weeks later, Ian gets a letter from his mam that shocks the entire Ridge. He reads it, and then again. Faith, nursing Ray and reading to Hannah Rebecca, stops at the look on her husband’s face.

“What is wrong?” He hands it to her. She reads it over and then looks up at him, tears already gathering.

“What wrong mama, daddy?”

She swallows and catches her breath that the letter had knocked out of her. “Some bad news from Scotland honey. Your daddy and I need to talk. Will you go play in the other room for a bit? We will finish the story later.”

“Alright mama.” She moves that direction and Faith focuses on Ian.

“My dearest Ian, Faith and all my family at Fraser’s Ridge,

I have distressing news. My darling Ian went to heaven today. He was sitting in his chair and just gasps and was gone. He went in peace. We will bury him tomorrow. I am sorry that you can’t be here but I understand.

I am not sure what I will do. Wee Jamie has invited me to move in with him and his family. I may but right now I can’t make a decision. I need to see my love set to rest.

I have thought about coming to visit you, my darling son. Meet my Faith and little Hannah Rebecca. I am sure the new baby is there now. Life, it goes on. See what my brathair is about. See my darling Claire again. My Brianna and her children. Fergus and his.

I shall write you again after I have decided. You must know Ian that your father was so very proud of you for making your own way. As am I.

All my love,

Mam.”

“My darling, I am so sorry.” She holds him close as he weeps against her. She weeps too, for the uncle and father-in-law that she will never now meet on earth, for her auntie and mama -in-law that is so devastated and her children. For the grief her mama and papa will go through.

They have a memorial service for Ian Sr. a few days later. It mainly involves sitting around sharing memories of him. In this way Faith and Bree learn about the uncle they barely knew.

“He was always by my side. Now matter what we were battling. Whether it was our da’s ire or the English” Jamie says, raising a glass in toast.

“He taught me how to deal with the Fraser’s .” Claire adds.

“Now I must hear more.” Faith says. Ian holds Raymond Okwaho out so he can be a part of the festivities.

“Well, your papa was quite stubborn.”

“You don’t say.” This from Bree, who sits nursing Danny. The room laughs.

“When we returned to Lallybroch, he changed.” She tells them all about the gathering and her frustration. “So, Ian’s advice was well received.”

“He was always giving good advice.” Ian softly says. “I wasn’t the easiest child. He never lost his patience with me.” He looks down at his son. Hannah Rebecca rests against his lower legs, half asleep, “I pray that I will be the same type of father to my own children.”

“You will son.” Jamie says, “You already are.”

The death of Ian puts a pale over the whole Ridge. It is lifted some a few months later when William returns. He comes to meet his newest nephews and to offer his condolences to his da and the rest of the family. While he is there, they receive another letter from Jenny. She writes that she has decided to come to the colonies and visit her family.

“I cannot wait until you meet her.” Ian is overjoyed that his mam is coming. “Your other granny is coming.” He tells his children.

“Other granny?” She inquires.

“Aye my own mam.”

“Are you nervous?” Her brother asks. They walk along the road leading to the big house. She carries Raymond Okwaho in a papoose on her chest and William holds Hannah Rebecca’s hand.

“A bit. I am meeting my mother-in-law and auntie, after all.” He giggles. “Yes, it is a bit queer.”

“A bit. But, there is no way she can’t love you. You make her son happy and have given her two beautiful grandchildren.”

“Thank you William.”

A month later, Jamie and Claire meet Jenny at the docks. There is tears and tight hugs. This is followed by laughter as they talk over each other. She tells them about her children and grandchildren. They tell her about those on Fraser’s Ridge.

“Mam!” he falls in her arms. They hug tight as their family watches. After a few minutes, he moves aside and introduces her to Faith. “Meet my Faith and Hannah Rebecca and Raymond Okwaho.”

“Faith.” Her Auntie Faith studies her with deep soft eyes. “My darling, you are your parents all over. Come her my daughter and give me a hug.” She does in relief. Her aunties embrace is welcoming. It feels like home.

“Granny Jenny.” Hannah Rebecca climbs on her lap.

“Hello my darling.” She spent her first day on the ridge cuddling her newest grandbabies and catching up with everyone. Fergus’ and Bree’s children also are eager to get to know her. The big house is full of the sound of family. Jamie waits until they are all in bed to formally introduce William.

“Jenny, I would like you to meet William Ramson, my son.”

She gives him a sharp look. “Your what now brother?”

“Hello Aunt Jenny.” He bows low to her. Her eyes remain on Jamie.

“When I was working as an indentured servant… Well, John told him all and now he is fully part of the family.” Her eyes hadn’t moved off him during the telling. Now they do, taking in the man standing beside her brother. She exams him and sees it. In the sloop of his nose, the set of his eyes, in the trace of red in his hair.

“It is nice to meet you William.”

“It wasn’t something I wanted to tell by letter.” Jamie explains.

“I understand. She was blackmailing you using us?” Jamie nods. “Jamie Fraser you never cease to amaze me. To have your virtue taken so, for us.”

“I’ve a son and you a nephew out of it. It seems no loss.”

She stands and draws William against her. “Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you auntie.”

A year passes and another. Claire and Faith continue to work as healers as Faith raises Hannah Rebecca and Ray Ray, as he is called. Jenny stays and Ian builds a bigger house so his mam can stay with them. Bree and Roger decide three is enough and she stays on her sister’s concoction as does Marsali. Faith decides to have one more. But life is full of surprises.

“It is a lass.” Jenny declares. She is assisting Claire in the delivery. They have decided to name a girl, Janet Julia. She holds her close as the contractions bring forth the afterbirth, or so she thinks.

“Mama, these feel awfully strong.” Claire checks and gasps.

“Faith darling, you are having another.” She hands a shocked Ian his daughter and bears down once more. Five minutes after Janet Julia was born, her brother arrives.

“Well, if you are going to have twins, that is the way to do it. A lass and lad.” Jenny says as she cuddles them. “What is my grandsons name?”

“Ian Brian.” Faith announces. “For his grandfather and great-grandfather.”

The children grow up wild and free on the Ridge. War comes but they are protected from it. All their men return. They are Americans but they always know they are Scots also. When they are old enough, their parents tell them the story about how their mama arrived, about the love story of their granny and grandsire that lead to them.

The End.

#my writing #outlander fanfic #faith's journey home #chapter 21 #jamie and claire #cannon divergence #outlander fandom

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southernirishcream · 2 years

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I found out how hatebad was spelled during arc 6 because that was when i got into unprepared casters tumblr and when i tell you that i was fuming that there was a pun about the family with love and joy in the name versus a family with hate and bad in the name and nobody told me???

and now its like oh yeah, there’s an added layer there, because the family with love and joy in the name is an evil capitalist empire and the family with hate and bad in the name is working to stop them from gaining complete and total power!

I love this podcast so much I’m screaming All The Time

#unprepared casters #lovejoy's four #the glacerian trail #the king is dead #helga hatebad #she's the one who made me remember how mad i am about this #jenny sent us a blessing when she made hope

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hyuckssunchip · 3 years

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Redemption Pt. 2

Pairings: Jungwoo x reader, ft. Johnny, Jaehyun, Mark

Words: 2.3K

Warnings: Language (there is almost always language in my writings), some angst

Summary:

Y/N finds Jungwoo in a compromising position weeks after their breakup. A list of misunderstandings leads to outcomes neither of them can bear to handle. Will the two of them be able to move past this and sort things out again? Or is there no room for redemption?

Part 1 | Part 2 |

The tickets from the movie of our first date

"Hey I'm sorry I'm late." There was a breathless voice that came from across the room. A boy in a grey shirt stood before his date and she blushed shaking her head.

You reached for another piece of popcorn, slowly chewing on the piece before sighing and reaching for another.

As the last call for your movie showed on the big screen you glanced at your watch again.

"Is this your movie?" He was tall, wearing a baby blue shirt and wore a thin pair of spectacles. Definitely not your blind date.

You sighed.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be."

"Supposed to be? You don't want to watch it anymore?" He asked, taking the seat in front of you.

"My date stood me up." You said bluntly, "I'm not really in the mood for a romance movie right now."

"How about murder mystery?" He flashed two tickets in the air, and sent you a sweet smile.

"Murder mystery? You don't really seem the type." You laughed, looking at the screen one last time. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise.

“Excuse me? I’ll have you know that this is research and I kill people on my down time.”

You cringed at him.

“Okay, that was bad, I know. But don’t you pity me now? Now you have to join this loser for a movie date.” He smiled, his dimples on display.

You laughed standing up from your chair, “If you promise never to say stuff like that again, I’ll join you.”

“So it worked!” he fist pumped the air before skipping the way to the right theater with you in tow.

Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

“I can’t believe that it was the police officer the whole time!” You spoke animatedly, genuinely shocked that you spent the majority of the movie liking the man.

“I know right! People are so crooked.” He said, shaking his head on disappointment. “But what a great plot twist right?”

“Yeah I thought for sure that it was the store owner. I mean who carries around a metal wedge like that?” You nodded enthusiastically, way too into the conversation.

Jungwoo laughed beside you. “So you don’t regret joining me?”

“Nope, I think I rather enjoyed myself.” You sent him a cheesy smile when you noticed that the two of you had already made it to the exit.

You didn’t want this to end quite yet.

Almost as if he sense your hesitation he spoke up. “How about dessert? There’s this fantastic ice cream shop just down the street and I’d love to treat you, y’know cause I just stole two hours of your time.” He grinned softly.

“I’d love that.” You couldn’t help the smile that was bursting to break free.

“Then shall we?” He asked in a fake posh manner, sticking out his elbow for you to grab onto.

“We shall.” You linked your arm and his and the two of you left for the shop.

The evening had started out sour, but like always Jungwoo managed to bring a little extra spark into your life. Imagine if he had never come up to you that evening, imagine if he had never stepped foot in that movie theater. You might’ve lost out on the most important thing in your life and never started your journey with Jungwoo. Where would you be now?

JUNGWOO’S POV

PRESENT DAY

The movie ticket of our first date.

The three boys looked down at the list and contemplated what they should do next.

“Okay, how am I supposed to find movie tickets with the same movie and date?” Jungwoo groaned. “This isn’t going to work it’s just stupid.”

“Hey, it’s gonna be fine. All we need to do is get comfortable with photoshop. Right? It’s not like it’s that hard to make a pretend movie ticket.” Jaehyun rested his hand on Jungwoo’s shoulder, “It’ll be fine.”

“Sure it will.”

“Do you atleast remember the movie? And date?” Mark asked, notebook already in his hands again.

“Of course I do. How could I forget?” The last bit he muttered under his breath, but still loud enough that the boys could hear him.

They gave each other pitying looks.

“Right. Write it down then.”

Jungwoo’s hands moved on its own.

“Dude! No way! That’s what you watched on your first date?” Mark couldn’t help but giggle at the title, earning a glare from Jungwoo and a shove from Johnny.

“Dude. Not helping.” Johnny shook his head at the youngest before turning back to Jungwoo.

“Sorry. It’s just that they’re making a sequel to that. It came out last week.”

Jungwoo cringed at the thought, vowing not to watch it.

“Was it good?” Jaehyun asked, more interested in the movie than the current situation.

“Yeah! God you would not believe the plot twist there. It was awesome, I would totally watch it again-”

Johnny shoved the two of them. “Guys, not important right now.”

Jungwoo had retreated back, heads in his arms again and sighed, hearing the others talk.

“Sorry.”

You didn’t know how you got yourself dragged to the movie theater in the middle of the week. It was Wednesday and it seemed like all of a sudden your friends decided that movie night could be moved up a few days.

“Popcorn?”

You nodded haphazardly in response to your best friend Jennie’s question.

“Cool, I’ll wait in line, go ahead and go to the bathroom, I can see you squirming from here. I’ll meet you in the theatre.”

You sent her a look of relief, and rushed towards the bathroom.

Staring at yourself in the reflection of the mirror, you couldn’t help but notice the large black circles under your eyes. You rubbed them once more before heading to the theatre.

Jennie had picked out the movie, dragging you along and you pulled out the ticket that she shoved into your hands the moment you walked in the building.

Theatre 2 B14.

That should be easy enough to find. Although your direction skills could always use improving.

You froze as you stood before your theatre, noticing the large poster next to it.

No.

You recognized the familiar poster, same cast, give or take a few, but it was almost identical to the one you remembered as your first encounter with Jungwoo.

You scrambled for your phone and typed in the title of the movie, your heart dropping at the description. It was the sequel.

Your feet refused to move, stuck in the same spot and you heard a loud bang coming from the theatre. The commercials had already started.

A group of teenagers bumped into your shoulder trying to enter the theatre, you stumbled forward, hearing the faint giggles and muttered apologies.

It was the push that you needed to make your way into the theatre.

As you walked up the aisles to find your seat you felt a wave of anxiety as you noted the group of rowdy boys in the seats next to yours.

You sighed, knowing that you were in for a uncomfortable movie.

Taking your seat, the boy next to you turned to give you a hesitant smile, almost as an offering of an apology in advance.

Your blood ran cold.

“Jungwoo?” It came out as a whisper, catching in your throat, but it was undeniable that he heard you.

He gulped, eyes fluttering across your face.

The noise next to you seemed to hush, a familiar voice called out to you, tearing you from Jungwoo’s face.

“Y/N?” Mark couldn’t control the amount of shock as well as the other boys, letting you know that you were the last person they were expecting. You lifted your hand into a shy wave, to which they returned, leaning back into their respective seats.

“So...”

You turned awkwardly to your ex, waiting for him to continue.

“Are you excited for the movie?”

You raised your eyebrows, the idea of small talk still uncomfortable to you.

“Yeah, I guess... I hope it lives up to the first one.” You blushed in memory of your first date brought up subtly.

Although it was dark, the red tint on Jungwoo’s was noticeable by you.

“Yeah... I heard it was good though, Mark’s already watched it and he dragged the rest of us here again.” His voice dropped a few octaves, lowering as the commercials got quiet as well.

You nodded, facing the screen, refusing to take your eyes off of it.

“Y/N.” There was a hiss coming from your right, you found Jennie desperately trying to find your form before initiating a crouch run to your side. She sank into the seat and leaned towards you, not noticing the boy next to you.

“I’m so so so sorry. But Lucas just asked me to pick him up from school. My mom stranded him again and he won’t stop calling.” She grimaced and looked at you apologetically.

Your eyes widened, realizing that she was planning on leaving you here.

“He’s been waiting for three hours and I actually think he’ll try to kill me in my sleep if I don’t go to pick him up.”

You nodded, knowing that Lucas may be younger than his sister, but he was ten times bigger and had enough passion in him to do so.

“Okay.” You moved to get up, you didn’t really want to stay here alone. “I’ll come with you.”

“No. You should stay for the movie, we already paid and movie tickets are not cheap. Plus I think you’ll like this one, it looks right up your alley. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She shoved the bucket of popcorn into your lap and left before you could respond.

You sighed, slumping in your seat and picking at the pieces of popcorn that sat on top.

Jungwoo looked over at your side profile nervously from his seat.

You were tempted to move into Jennie’s unoccupied seat, eager to distance yourself from Jungwoo. But your body didn’t move.

His eyes followed the movement of your fingers, aching to reach out and grasp them in his own.

Less focused on the beginning of the movie and more concentrated on the bucket in front of you, you could feel yourself eating your way through your anxiety of the situation.

You choked slightly, turning red from embarrassment and tried to suppress the urge to cough.

You felt a nudge in your side, Jungwoo slid his drink towards you, and invitation to relieve your throat of pain.

You hesitated, as childish as it seemed you really didn’t want to drink from the same cup as him, but you were suffering.

You gave him a thankful smile and sipped for moment until you felt alright again.

In return you stuck the bucket of popcorn out towards him, after all there was no way that you could finish the whole thing on your own.

Halfway through the movie you felt the warmth of his hand graze yours as you simultaneously reached for a handful. As cliche as it seemed you felt sparks fly up your arm and you flinched pulling away, watching him do the same.

You hated that you still felt your heart rush at the close proximity. You hated that he still made you nervous. You hated that you still had these feelings.

Before you knew it the closing credits had rolled across the screen and the lights of the theatre began to fade on.

From the corner of your eye you could see as the other boys stretched and stood up, making their way out of the theatre. It was only you and Jungwoo now.

You avoided eye contact, moving to make your exit. He followed.

The bright lights of the lobby had you blinking in distress. Johnny grinned at your fazed state and walked the group over to where you were standing, Jungwoo steps behind.

“Hey Y/N.” Jaehyun waved shyly at you before shoving his hands back into his pocket.

You smiled in response before turning to face Johnny, who looked like he was dying to say something.

“Y/N fancy seeing you here.” There was a grin that crossed his face, he looked too happy to be seeing you here.

You furrowed your eyebrows and nodded at him, not saying anything.

Standing awkwardly in the group you glanced at your phone checking the time. It was getting late and you groaned suddenly realizing that Jennie had left earlier. You no longer had a ride.

You grimaced, pulling your phone out to text her, then realized that it was best not to bother her, as she was dealing with a very upset Lucas.

“What’s up?” Johnny asked, peering over at your screen.

“Nothing.” You sighed, “I just remembered that my ride left earlier. I should go now to see if I could catch the bus.”

He shook his head, “No way, why don’t you let us give you a ride?”

“Oh. You wouldn’t mind?” As much as you hated the thought of being confined in a car with the four of the them, it was much better than getting on the sketchy bus that comes by every hour.

“Of course not, the bus is gross.” You nodded thankfully.

“Oh, that makes things easy then, could we pick up my box of things on the way then?” You asked, remembering that Johnny said they were at his place.

There was a pause, and you didn’t miss the look the three of them gave each other.

“I-uh... I forgot I actually have this thing I have to go to, with Mark and Jaehyun. Jungwoo, why don’t you drop her off?”

Your eyes widened at him.

Jungwoo nodded more enthusiastically than you expected him to.

You glanced at him, reluctantly following his lead.

How bad could one car ride be?

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iliveiloveiwrite · 4 years

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Surprise!

A/N: AND THE FLUFF TO FOLLOW THE ANGST! I have something close to 20 requests sitting in my inbox and yet my brain tells me to stay up until almost four in the morning writing Draco fluff (that hasn't been requested) because I am a simp for this man. I am getting to your requests, I promise you, I just didn't expect this many! So please be patient with me. And I know I always write Draco as a Healer but I will take this trope with me to the grave. Also, all of my medical knowledge stems from shows like ER so forgive me for inaccuracies. AND on top of this, I’m less than 10 followers away from 700 so thank you all who follow me and deal with my ramblings on a daily basis! As always, I hope you enjoy and I hope you know that I love you all!

Summary: A surprise at work.

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Fem!Reader

Warnings: none - fluff

Word count: 2.2k

It hadn’t been a particularly long shift; long in the sense where time dragged on. It was long in the sense that all he wanted to do was to go home to you.

He had his evening planned in his head; good food, favourite TV show ready, and you – laid between his legs, leaning back against his chest onto his chest for cuddles.

Truthfully, he just wanted cuddles.

But he couldn’t admit that to the Head Nurse Martha as she berates him for sighing for the third time in a minute.

“Malfoy, I love you like my own son but if you don’t stop sighing and go to see this patient, I’m afraid I’ll have to accidently forget your coffee all next week.”

Draco gasps, “Martha, you wouldn’t.”

“Sigh again and watch me, Draco.”

Draco holds his hands up, relenting; not willing to risk his coffee or Martha’s wrath, “Alright, alright. You win – now who’s the patient?”

“Six-year-old girl, severe burns to her forearms from a spilt potion. She wanted to help her mother, bless her.”

Draco takes the chart from Martha; walking towards curtain area five.

Little Jenny had only wanted to help her mum and she had landed herself in the emergency room at St. Mungo’s. She was the perfect patient – did not cry and did not fuss. He cleaned the burns; debrided them and then used ‘Ferula’ to ensure minimal scarring. Jenny’s mother thanked him profusely as they left the curtain area to return home.

For Draco, patients like Jenny are what make the job worth it. They’re what keep him clocking in day after day. It’s the joy and gratitude from parents and family members when he arrives with good news; that yes, he can heal this, no it isn’t life-threatening.

For as long as he can remember, Draco was pushed into thinking a job in the Ministry of Magic would be perfect for him. Decent hours, decent pay, good holidays – what more could you want?

But Draco had never followed the rules; he wasn’t bothered about how long he would have to work as long as it was rewarding; he didn’t care about pay as long as he loved his job. He applied for the Healer training programme straight out of Hogwarts and was thrilled to be accepted.

It had taken years of hard work. Years of all-nighters, exams, stress and his tears but it was all entirely worth it the minute he was handed his full licence and a job in the emergency room.

He couldn’t take all the credit though; you had been by his side through it all. Quizzing him on the flashcards; making the coffee; drying his eyes if it all become too much.

Draco shakes himself out his reminiscing as he’s overwhelmed by a strong sense of missing you. He’s a lovesick fool, and he knows it.

Draco places the chart in the ‘discharged’ section; taking the offered cup of coffee from Martha’s hands. The caffeine addiction had started early in his career, and it was one that Martha and you were happy to indulge.

“Martha, you are my saviour.”

“Draco,” Martha starts, raising an eyebrow, “You are so full of it.”

He laughs, leaning against the triage desk, looking up at the admit board, “Anyone else for me?”

“Eager for more already? You did come back from your annual leave ready.”

Draco ducks his head, “Actually, I was hoping for some more patients to keep me busy, so I don’t turn around and go home.”

Martha chuckles, “You’ve got it bad.”

Draco smiles, “I don’t deny it. Are there any more waiting to be seen?”

Martha shakes her head, “Sorry, love. Everyone’s covered right now.”

He nods, understanding.

“Why don’t you go into the lounge? I’m sure you’ll have left some unfinished paperwork before your holiday.”

“You’re probably right,” He says, draining the last dregs of his coffee. “I’ll head there now.”

“Dear, there’s no ‘probably’ about it. I’m always right.” Martha states as a goodbye.

“Come get me if I’m needed.” Draco replies in parting.

Martha doesn’t reply; she rolls her eyes at the young doctor before returning to her paperwork.

The lounge isn’t a very large room; big enough to fit a few lockers, a battered old couch, a table and a fridge. Used by Healers and Nurses alike, Draco doesn’t think twice before pushing open the door.

Only to freeze in the entryway.

You’re here.

At St. Mungo’s; sitting on the battered old couch.

You grin at Draco; pressing a finger to your lips, telling him to keep quiet as your eyes flash down to the bundle of blankets in your arms.

Draco can’t help the smile that breaks across his face as he tiptoes over to you and the baby.

“What are you doing here?” He whispers; holding his hands out for his daughter.

“We thought we’d surprise you on your first day back.” You reply; handing your sleeping daughter over to her father. She fusses slightly at the change but quickly settles back into her dreams.

Draco cradles her in his arms; gazing at her face for only a moment before meeting your eyes, “Consider me surprised.”

“We knew you’d miss us too much,” You tease.

Draco holds his daughter in one arm; confidently cradling her head as he wraps his other arm around your shoulders, pressing one kiss to your forehead and another to your lips.

“Hi,” He whispers, greeting you at last.

You grin at him, “Hey there.”

His daughter shifts in his arms; finding a comfier position. Both you and Draco freeze, watching her so intently. She settles back to sleep in less than second; seeming more settled now that she’s in her father’s arms.

“You’re right,” Draco murmurs, “I do miss you. I’ve been driving Martha mad all shift. She’s threatened to take my coffee away.”

You gasp, “Well we can’t have that.”

“No, we can’t” He says, agreeing wholeheartedly.

You fold your daughter’s blanket on your lap; knowing that she would be warm enough in her father’s arms. “I hoped she would stay awake long enough for you to see her but alas, the minute we got onto the tube, she was fast asleep.”

“I don’t mind; having you both here is enough. I’ve been counting down the minutes until the end of my shift.” He confesses. He has; he’s been watching the clock since he put on his white coat; wishing for time to go that little bit faster just this once so he could go home and cuddle you and kiss his daughter goodnight.

“You sap,” You tease, but there’s no malice. You adore seeing Draco with his daughter. He had been so scared from the moment you told him you were pregnant with her; terrified of the type of father he would be, but the moment she arrived, he stepped into the role with such grace it was hard to believe that he hadn’t done it before.

“Only for you two,” Draco coos.

Draco doesn’t know how long he remains holed up in the lounge with his family. He just enjoys the time he can spend with them before he’s inevitably called away.

Quiet conversation is spoken between the two of you; mindless conversation about anything and everything. You told him how Narcissa and Lucius visited today bringing more gifts for your daughter.

“They’re completely wrapped around her finger.” You murmur, humour lacing your voice.

He chuckles, thinking of his parents who adored their granddaughter – find any and all excuses to come visit. “Who wouldn’t be? She’s adorable.” Draco replies, motioning to the sleeping baby in his arms.

“That is true. She looks so much like you, Draco. I can’t get over it.” And it’s true; she has his grey/blue eyes and is showing the first signs of having his blonde hair. She’s going to be heartbreakingly pretty.

“She’ll have your brains, love. I know it. How many degrees do you have now?”

You roll your eyes at your husband, “Just three. I’ll wait until she’s a bit older before I think about enrolling for my doctorate.”

Draco shakes his head, “My wife – the wonder woman. First for marrying me, then for having my daughter, and now for going back to school. You amaze me.”

“Oh hush. You’ll make me blush.”

Silence falls between the two of you; both turning your attention back to the baby dozing safely in her father’s arms. Draco lost feeling in that arm a while back but he won’t mention it; he won’t ruin this moment with his family. He never thought his heart would be big enough to love; then he met you and he found out that there was just enough room in his heart for one. Then upon the birth of his daughter, his heart stretched again and made room for her. He had loved her from the moment you announced your pregnancy but fell in love all over again the moment he held her in his arms.

He shifts slightly; taking care not to jostle your daughter. “Thank you for coming; I needed this.”

You stroke his cheek with your thumb, “It’s no problem. I missed you too. But you’ll have to thank Martha as well.”

“Why?”

“She sent us a message about two hours into your shift asking if I’d come and see you. She could see that you were missing us.”

“Martha is a wonderful woman.”

“She is. Thank her for us as well. We really were missing you.”

Your daughter coos; all conversation coming to a halt as your attentions fall to her. She shifts again, cooing one more time before falling back silent.

“She’s dreaming,” He says, voice slightly breathless as if he can’t believe what he’s witnessing.

“She is,” Your voice matching his.

Martha pokes her head around the door; heart softening at the sight before her. Draco’s arm wrapped around your shoulders as you both watch your daughter sleep; utterly captivated by her.

It hurts Martha to break up the scene, but she must. A case has come in sure to keep Draco distracted long enough for time to pass faster for him.

“Draco,” Martha calls softly from the door.

Draco looks up, sighing as he realises what her presence means. “I’ll be right there, Martha, thank you.”

Martha nods, greeting (Y/N) with a large smile before closing the door quietly behind her.

Draco hands over your daughter somewhat reluctantly; already wishing to have her back in his arms. You drop a kiss to her forehead before placing her ever so gently into her pram and draping the small blanket over her. Draco leans down into the pram to kiss her forehead too; inhaling the scent of talcum powder.

Draco places a long kiss to your lips before whispering goodbye.

“You’ll be home soon,” You promise.

“It seems so far away,” He whines.

You can’t help the feeling of delight that runs through you; at how Draco wants his shift to end sooner so he can be at home with you and your daughter. In the months since she was born, he’s dedicated himself entirely to role of husband and father. So much so that his profession as a Healer dropped down the list of importance.

You peck his lips, “It’ll be over before you know it.”

Draco sighs, nodding at you. You’re right, of course you are.

You let Draco walk you both to the main entrance; Draco walking the pram until he has to let you go. He wraps you in an embrace; hiding his face in your hair, keeping one hand on the pram.

“I’ll see you at home,” You murmur into his shoulder.

“I’ll see you at home,” He affirms.

Draco watches you walk away; wishing he was walking alongside you. He has to resist the urge to run after you and skive off his entire shift. He forces himself to turn from your retreating figure and drags his feet back to the emergency room.

Draco squeezes Martha’s shoulder when he next passes her at the triage desk. “Thank you,” He murmurs, loud enough for her to hear.

Martha chuckles, patting his hand, “You’re welcome. I remember how it was when I had to leave my eldest for the first time. I think I snuck off to the bathroom enough times to cry.”

“I know that feeling.”

“You’ve got a gorgeous little family, Draco. You’d be stupid not to miss them.”

Draco smiles at the elderly Head Nurse, “Any new patients then? Let’s get me through this shift so I can kiss my wife and daughter when I get home.”

“Aye, aye, Healer.” Martha jokes before handing him a chart, “Eighteen-year-old male; celebrating his graduation from Hogwarts. Too much firewhisky – he fell through a plate glass window, blood everywhere.”

“Sounds like a lot of work,” He muses.

Martha nods solemnly, “It could even take hours.”

Draco takes the chart from Martha, repeating his words from earlier, “Martha, you are my saviour.”

“Go on. The quicker you’re there; the quicker you’re home to your wife and baby.”

Draco grins; skim reading the chart as he walks to curtain area two.

Four hours to go until he was home.

This case wouldn’t take five hours to heal but it would cut a large chunk of time out.

Four hours to go until he’s home with you and your daughter.

****

General (HP) taglist: @the-hufflefluffwriter @obsessedwithrandomthings @kalimagik @summer-writes @lupins-sweater @slytherinprincess03 @mischiefsemimanaged @soleil-amaryllis @masterofthedarkness @bforbroadway @chaotic-fae-queen @peachesandpinks @nebulablakemurphy @haphazardhufflepuff @siriusly-addicted-to-writing @firewhisky-kisses @deafgirltingz @kylosleftbuttcheek @heloisedaphnebrightmore @harrypotter289 @sprvpti @accio-rogers

Draco Malfoy taglist: @cheapglitter @the--queen-of-hell @in-slytherin-we-trust

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treasureswordsgirl55 · 3 years

Text

What I Gotta Do

Character: Sam Wilson

Pairing: Sam Wilson / Fem!Reader (OC)

Inspired by (song): What a man gotta do? - Jonas Brothers.

Warnings: Nop. Fluff. First meetings. Mentions of COVID-19. Flirting. Post!TFATWS.

Author’s Note: Hello! Hello! I hope everyone’s well 😃

Ok, this is the first fic that I write with our new Captain America, Sam Wilson.

Short story: I heard that Jonas Brothers song and think in Sam in the moment. And I thought: Why not?

That moment I realized that I love write with Sam. It's a lovely character that deserved the world.

This is the first part of the fic, so at night maybe post the other part.

I hope you like it and thanks you for your replies! Always are appreciated!!! XOXO 😘😘

bbb-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Part 1

You ain’t tryna be wasting time on stupid people in cheap lines, I’m sure, I’m sure…

I’m not tryin’ to be your part-time lover. Sign me up for that full-time, I’m yours.

I’m yours.

- Excuse me, My friend sent me on a commission - I hear that voice in the distance and I feel that deja vu as if I had heard it before. I even have the feeling of knowing it.

- Name?

- James Barnes. The girl who always serve him knows him as Bucky.

Jenny laughs and mutters something I can’t hear. Wasn’t the sad-eyed boy outside? I focus on the cake in front of me, trying not to make mistakes in the new colors that identify Captain America, who was now the new obsession of all the children of the country.

- Charm, they are looking for you - Jenny enters my field of vision and I just raise my hands showing her that I have the shield in them and I was not going to leave it to deliver an order - It’s no excuse. You must go.

- Would you do me the favor of delivering it yourself?

- Nope. Go and then you’ll thank me.

She gently takes the sugar shield from my hands and hands me the package with Bucky’s order.

I shake my head as I leave the kitchen and look around for the avenger’s possible delivery, but none of them fit the guy. Most of the men were keeping an eye on the people they were chatting with, and there were none waiting on the other side of the bar for the order.

- Tam? - My best friend turns around and as soon as I show her the package, she is simply pointing to the door with a “happy birthday” smile.

What the hell is wrong with her?

The sound of the door bell makes me look and as I put the green package on the table, I feel my cheeks start to heat up. The object of my deepest desires was there.

Captain America was at the bakery looking for a damn cake for his friend.

Oh my god … I think as I try to remove my blue apron, which is full of traces of cream of white and red colors, but I feel that the knot in my back becomes impossible to remove and I give up with a sigh.

“Ok, Charm. You have to calm down. He is the man you dreamed of the last few months, so you must behave like a decent woman since he will not respond as he usually does in your dreams”

- This is mine? - I lift my head quickly as Sam sees me with a smile and nodded at my apron - Nice color combination. I like it.

God save me from that. Why do I feel like the world is reeling?

- Sure, if you’re here to pick up Bucky’s order - I push the two small boxes towards him while he puts the cell phone in the pocket of the brown leather jacket he wears and walks a little closer to the bar. Hell, he was even more attractive in person, and I wished for a second that the image of him in his suit didn’t invade my thoughts.

That was my damn weakness.

People knew who he was but we all knew that he was too private a person to bother him on the street. That’s why they only came over to pat him on the shoulder or simply bowed their heads to him.

- Yes, I’m babysitting.

We both laugh and I bite my lip, hesitating whether to ask. It was customary for Bucky to spend his mornings here, and that he didn’t come is very strange to me.

- Is James okay?

Sam laughs as he leans calmly and confidently on the bar and lets out a heavy sigh, as if something about that question bothers him.

- I could say yes. He has the “cold” - I nod when I notice that he refers to the Covid, that disease that kept us on edge for so long and that today was considered just another cold - He asked me to come for his order on my way home.

- Shouldn’t you be isolated?

That question comes off my lips like I’m talking to Jenny, and I shrug at that rush of confidence.

- No, because contrary to what many people believe, I do not live with Buck.

I laugh as I feel Sam’s gaze on me and that attention makes me even more nervous, in a way that I find charming.

- It’s not exactly what he says. If you are that friend that he talks about so much, he says that you are not one of those who share things.

I hear him curse as he looks away and waves to those watching him at a table in the distance. The four young women who see him smile at him as if it were a trophy they want to get, something that I notice makes him feel uncomfortable.

- I’ll rip off that bastard’s arm.

I barely pushed me away with my hands up and he tries to get closer, perhaps preventing me from walking away if he could get past the bar. Which wouldn’t be difficult for him if he’s used to jumping off a building.

- That does not sound good at all - I approach while I extend my hand towards him, who takes it without even hesitating and a spark seems to jump in the place where our hands are joined - I’m Charm, by the way.

- Sam, Bucky’s “tight-fisted” partner.

- It’s hard not to recognize you.

I wanted to let go of his hand but he wouldn’t let me apart.

- So you know who I am?

That dazzling and shy smile made me realize that Sam Wilson is not one of the men to be good for popularity. Rather, they escape from it.

- It’s hard not to know when a man with a bionic arm comes to breakfast every day and talks proudly that his partner is Captain America - Sam drops his head while smiling and I feel my heart melt like butter in contact with fire. That gesture seemed to me the most adorable - Besides that you are the new obsession of everyone around here. Children love you.

- Just the kids? - The tone of his voice changes and I feel that he becomes softer when pronouncing those words. Was that some kind of flirtation? - You’ll make me feel really bad if it’s just childish fanaticism.

- That’s what the cakes I decorate every day say. Your admirers range from 2 years to 15 - I admit while trying not to laugh at the expression of feigned disappointment that appears on his face, I even maintain the image would be regarding my childish analysis and in a moment, I push my hand away for more than wish the warm contact - My nephew Katriel loves you. And he’s only 3.

He nods as he looks around.

- Buck always talks to me about this place, especially how well they treat him … And sometimes, he only talks about you sometimes - He approaches over the bar, as if he wants to keep that between us - I think he wants to have you alone for him.

I blush at his words and shake my head.

If you knew ….

- If that were the case, it would be a shame if he is getting his hopes up, since I’m interested in someone else.

I play with a small envelope of green tea in my hands and if I even doubt it, Sam takes it from me, he approaches to ask Tam for a pen, who sees him as if he were a delicious sweet as he hands it to her, and write something on it before putting it back in front of me.

- I would like to continue with this but I feel in my pocket Bucky’s insistence on why I’m not in his department with the blessed cake.

I looked down for a moment the paper and I see a number. His number.

- Actually, they’re cupcakes.

I see him roll his eyes as he smiles at me and indicates the tea bag between us as he takes the two boxes in one of his hands.

- In fact, tomorrow maybe I’ll try again these delicacies that have enchanted a certain white wolf.

- They will be waiting for you.

I respond by trying not to get my hopes up about seeing him here tomorrow and even try to appear indifferent, but something gives me away because he gives me a mischievous smile as he walks away from the bar.

- I’ll only come if you are here, darling.

- And why are you so sure I’ll be waiting for you?

- Instinct. I think there may be something important between us.

- That’s how they all begin … - He frowns at my words and I shrug as he remains still.

- I’m not like the others.

- I don’t know you.

- But you will.

- Whatever you say, Mr. Trust. Or should I say, Mr. America.

Tam, who is pouring coffee next to me, lets out a laugh and mutters under her breath “America’s Ass” that makes me choke on my own laugh.

- I heard that, girl - We both blush at that proposal he makes to Tam and after pointing her out to her, he indicates to me as if I were guilty of something - You remain as a witness, Charm will marry me.

I gasp for words to rebut that, but my brain fails for a second and I just shake my head. I sure look like an idiot.

- Whatever you say, Captain.

- You will do it. You’ll see - Something in his words makes me shiver and I don’t doubt that. It seemed like a promise he was willing to keep.

And worst of all, instead of freaking out, I liked the idea.

- Didn’t you have to go, Sam?

- I’ll come for you, darling. As many times as it takes - he walks to the door after saying goodbye to Tam and just gives me a smile that could melt any woman on the road - And one more thing, don’t make plans after work. You already have them with me.

His scream is heard all the way to the kitchen, which makes Jenny come out of it with some pieces of candy tangled in her hair that I don’t even want to ask how they got there and for the first time in a long time I feel the stares of everyone present about me.

- Is that what I think it was? Did Sam Wilson just ask you out?

- I never said yes - I try to avoid looking Jenny in the eye because unfortunately she knew of my infatuation with Sam and she would see that the idea of a possible date was very tempting for my mind and my heart - Besides, he will give up easy .

- I don’t believe that him is the type of men who give up the first time. It seems one of those who insist until he get what he want.

- I don’t see it that way. Maybe it won’t even get anywhere. Besides, he doesn’t know that tomorrow is my day off.

Jenny rolls her eyes as she hands me another sugar shield she just entered the kitchen and indicates the shield as if it were a spellbound object.

- Don’t forget you’re talking about the new Captain America. Giving up, we both know, is not an option for him.

And time would prove her right.

#marvel cinematic universe #avengers fanfiction #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson x oc #tfatws #tfatws fanfiction #the falcon and the winter soldier #fanfic writer #marvel #sam wilson #i write for myself but you can read it too

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thecassadilla · 4 years

Text

Change of Pace - Chapter 1

Pairing: Kristanna

Chapter 1 on AO3

Word Count: 3,292

Summary: With her sister’s blessing, Anna takes a step back from her royal duties and finds herself working for a ski resort nestled in the mountains. A chance encounter with the resort’s maintenance technician leads them down an unexpected path, as they must work together to plan the resort’s annual ball - and maybe fall in love in the process.

Author’s Note: Hi everyone! I’m trying something new here - I’m not really into writing multi-chap fics because I feel like my brain betrays me and I put it to the side and never look back. However, I’ve already managed to plan out the first 20ish chapters (and have written a ton of it), so I’m giving it a shot. This idea came to me back in September, when I was flipping through the television channels, and came across the summary for a Hallmark movie. Just from the description, I decided I wanted to write a fic based off of it. I did watch the first half of the movie and got some inspiration from that, too, though the ideas are mostly original. (If anyone’s interested the movie is called A Winter Princess). Rated T for the foreseeable future, but will eventually be M-rated. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

In the two months since she had arrived at Valley Ski Resort, Princess Anna of Arendelle hadn’t stopped smiling. She greeted each day with a smile, worked with a smile, and whenever she thought about how thrilled she was to be experiencing life away from the castle and Arendelle, she smiled.

If she were being honest, she hadn’t stopped smiling since her older sister - and Queen of Arendelle - had approved her proposal of a sabbatical. She remembered the day she’d asked very clearly, as she was certain that her sister would reject her idea and she’d be stuck in Arendelle for the foreseeable future.

“Soooo,” she’d started.

“Yes?” Elsa had raised a questioning eyebrow.

“How would you say your mood is today?”

“My mood?”

“There’s something that I want to ask you, and I’m not sure how you’re going to react, so I’m trying to gauge if now is a good time or a bad time.”

Elsa had chuckled. “Anna, you can ask me whatever it is that you have to ask me.”

“Okay,” she’d breathed. “I wanted to know how you’d feel if I...went away for a while.”

“Went away? To where?”

“I was thinking of taking a sabbatical and finding work in another country - temporarily, of course. Just a few months where I could do something other than mope around the castle. I think it would be good to have some work experience under my belt, especially because your coronation is next year. I want to be able to do more than what I’ve been doing.”

Elsa had nodded. “I see. That makes...sense. Did you have something specific in mind?”

“Not yet,” she’d confessed. “I wanted to know what you thought about it before I committed to anything specific and got my hopes up.”

“There are a lot of factors to take into consideration. Your identity and your security are the first things that come to mind. But...as long as you’re back before the coronation, I really don’t see the harm in you -”

Before she could finish her sentence, Anna was throwing her arms around her sisters neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best big sister, ever!”

It was some of the best news she’d received in her life. Not that her life had been dismal prior to her arrival at Valley Ski Resort, but it was rather...boring. Not boring in the traditional sense, as she had plenty of things to do. Horseback riding in the gardens, reading every romance book she could get her hands on in the library, and practicing piano at twilight. Regardless, her days felt empty, as if something was missing. She selfishly wished for more - travel, new friends, love.

So with her sister’s approval, the arrangements were made. With the exception of the general manager of the resort, her colleagues would remain unaware of her royal status, and would refer to her by her first name rather than by any titles or formalities. She’d stay on site, in one of the luxury “cabins” that the hotel rented to guests who wanted a more home-y experience, and set off to Valley in September, vastly unprepared for a life so different from the one she was accustomed to, but ready for anything. She had to learn how to do everything on her own; from cooking to cleaning to laundry, but she adapted fairly quickly to her new, “normal” routine and fell in love with her job as the assistant event planner for the resort. Two months in, and she was happier than she’d ever been in her entire life.

This particular morning had started the same as any other. In fact, when she woke up, she had a great feeling about how the day would go. She woke up feeling well rested before her alarm went off, had extra time to put on a little makeup, and was able to stop by the café on the first floor before making it to work with plenty of time to spare.

“Good morning,” she called, upon entering her office. She dropped her bag on the floor before shimmying out of her coat and hanging it on the rack by the door.

“Hey! Morning, Anna,” Holly, the administrative assistant, called back.

She glanced around and noticed that Holly was the only person there, which was rather unusual. Her boss always made it in before she did. “Jenny’s not here yet?”

“No,” Holly answered, running a hand through her chin length, raven-colored hair. “And it’s not like her to be late.”

She scooped her purse off the floor and walked over to her desk. “I know. Maybe she called out today?”

“She hasn’t been answering my calls or texts and I didn’t get an email from her.”

“Do you think Bonnie will know?”

“I’m sure she does, but she has more important things to worry about than one person calling out sick.”

“I’ll try texting her, too. I hope everything’s okay.”

“In the meantime,” Holly started, opening the top drawer of her desk and pulling out a box, “Look at what came in today!”

“Are those the invitations for the ball?”

“They are! Come look!”

Though she’d just sat down, she immediately hopped back up and ran over to Holly’s desk. She peered over her shoulder, at the silver and royal blue invitations. “Wow, those are gorgeous.”

“‘Valley Ski Resort cordially invites you to the twenty-fourth annual ball. Join us on Saturday, February sixth at seven in the evening for dinner, drinks, and dancing,’” Holly read. “Followed by the address to the hotel, of course, your extension and email for the RSVP, and the prices per head.”

“They’re perfect.”

“All you have to do now is finalize the guest list, print the name and address stickers, stick ‘em on and drop ‘em in the mailbox.”

“That’s it?” Anna teased.

“At least you don’t have to worry about hand-writing every name and address on five hundred envelopes.”

“It would give me an excuse to practice my penmanship,” Anna laughed. “My teachers always said my handwriting could go from neat to illegible in the same paper.”

“I know for a fact that your hand will be tired after sticking that many stickers to the envelopes, so don’t get too far ahead of yourself. At least the return address and stamp are already on there.”

“Less work for me,” Anna smiled, picking up the box and carrying it to her desk. “And I already have my work cut out for me.”

“Jenny is keeping you on your toes, huh?”

She sat down again, finally kicking off her snow boots and switching them for the flats she kept in her bag. “Just a little. I enjoy it though. I like keeping busy.”

“I know you haven’t been here very long, but you’re doing great,” Holly said. “Way better than any other assistant Jenny’s ever had.”

“Thank you, Holly. I really appreciate that.”

They kept up the small talk as they began their work for the day. As usual, Anna had plenty of emails to respond to and the talking helped to pass the time. A few hours into the day, the office door opened and they both turned around to see if Jenny had finally arrived for her shift. Instead, it was Bonnie, the general manager of the resort. “Good morning, ladies.”

“Good morning, Bonnie,” they responded in unison.

“How’s the planning for the ball coming along?”

“Excellent,” Anna spoke up. “We received the invitations this morning. The guest list will be finalized by early next week and the invitations will be sent out by the end of next week.”

“That’s wonderful,” Bonnie smiled. “Now, I’m afraid that I have good news and bad news for you both.”

“Oh,” Holly murmured, exchanging a worrisome look with Anna.

“I’m afraid that Jenny has resigned, effective immediately,” Bonnie stated matter-of-factly. “That’s part of the bad news. The good news is for Anna - congratulations, you’ve been promoted!”

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “I have?”

“Of course! Sure, you’ve only been here for two months, but you’ve been shadowing Jenny the entire time, you show excellent potential, you’ve never been late...I can go on and on, but it was one of the easiest hiring decisions that I’ve had to make in my entire career.”

Anna couldn’t help but wonder if she was being promoted out of sheer desperation, or if it was because Bonnie was the only person aware of her royal status and was trying to kiss up to her. “Thank you, Bonnie. I hope that I can exceed your expectations.”

“I don’t think you’ll have any trouble fitting into your new role. Now for the second part of the bad news - unfortunately, there won’t be enough time to hire a new event planning assistant in time for all of the upcoming events, between the Christmas season starting in three weeks, and then the ball the first week of February. I’m so sorry.”

Anna nodded slowly, trying to process everything that Bonnie had just told her. Not only had she been promoted, but now she’d have to take on the workload of two people by herself. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask,” she remarked. “I know that you’re going to do great. Enjoy the rest of your day, ladies.”

Bonnie swiftly exited the office, and as soon as she was gone, Anna turned to face Holly. “What am I going to do?”

Holly stared for a moment, her mouth agape. “I...don’t know. This has never happened before.”

“I don’t think that I can do this alone! How am I supposed to do this alone?”

“Anna, I genuinely don’t know. I’m as stunned as you are. I mean, I’ll do my best to help you in any way that I can, but I only took this job because it came with a set, part-time schedule. I have a baby at home - I can’t be here for all of the events on the calendar.”

“Of course not,” Anna agreed. “That’s not fair to you or your husband or son.”

“Yeah, but this situation isn’t fair to you. Bonnie has plenty of time to find a new assistant, I bet she’s just being lazy.”

“I wonder why Jenny quit so abruptly.”

“I know! Jenny isn’t the type of person to do anything abruptly. I hope that she’s not sick or something.”

A wave of anxiety rolled through Anna’s body and she buried her face in her hands. “What am I gonna do?”

“Oh sweetie,” Holly cooed. “It’ll be alright. You’ll figure it out, I promise.”

Anna exhaled heavily and nodded.

“How about we go over everything we have to do for the rest of the season?” Holly suggested. “I know Jenny normally goes over the events on a week-by-week basis, but it may make you feel better to recall everything you’re dealing with in advance. Kind of like a quiz.”

“Okay,” she agreed. She got up from her desk and paced back and forth across the office; she often did her best thinking as she paced. The office was modest; the three desks were all lined up against the right wall, and the other walls were lined with filing cabinets, a bulletin board, and plants. Lots and lots of plants. Luckily, the plants were Holly’s responsibility, so Anna didn’t have to worry about keeping them alive - something she was sure that she’d fail at.

“So the cookie decorating is on the twenty-fourth. Do you remember the game plan for that?”

“Yes. We...I have to pick up the cookies at the bakery, bring them to the conference room - which I’ll try to set up in advance - and then sell the cookies until the event is over.”

“Do you remember how much each cookie costs?”

“Three dollars.”

Deciding to distract herself as she and Holly talked, she started to reorganize the bulletin board. A couple of the fliers were outdated, and they could use the extra room for the upcoming events.

“Take down the pictures with Jenny in them while you’re at it,” Holly replied. “Alright, what’s next?”

She began to collect the many photos of Jenny that had been posted onto the board. A few of them included her, from the events that they had worked on together. It was almost bittersweet to take them down; Jenny was her boss and mentor. They spent forty hours a week together for two months straight, and Jenny had taught her everything that she knew. “Um, that’s the last event that this office has planned for the month and December is maxed out.”

“Well, what events do we have in December?”

“So many,” Anna sighed, stacking the photos neatly into a pile. “Santa will be here every night in the lobby. A reindeer petting zoo will be set up outside. A few movie nights and Christmas caroling. On weekends there will be sleigh rides through the woods and hot beverage stands outside. Am I forgetting something?”

“There’s also going to be a story time and cookie decorating with Santa event on Christmas Eve,” Holly pointed out. “All of the kids will be wearing their pajamas.”

“Okay.”

“But other than that, that’s it.”

“Thank god,” Anna breathed, finally collapsing in her office chair and tossing the pile of pictures onto her desk.

“I’m actually really excited for the story time with Santa.”

“Are you bringing your son to that one?”

Holly nodded. “He’ll only be eight months old, but why not? It’ll be adorable.”

“I can’t wait to actually see him in person,” Anna smiled. “Now, is there anything that we have to do on Christmas Day or New Years Eve or Day?”

“No, not us. Culinary is going to have buffets - like the one they’re having for Thanksgiving - and then the hotel puts out extra televisions and passes out champagne for New Years. We actually have off on those days.”

“Really? I mean, Christmas Day makes sense, but New Years? That’s a little unexpected.”

“Well, we have put most of our energy into planning the ball, and there wouldn’t be enough time to throw three huge parties in a month. So, the holidays are ours.”

“I’m so thankful for the person who made that decision,” Anna laughed. “I may wind up here on those days, anyway, though.”

Holly clicked her tongue. “Don’t do that - enjoy your extra days off.”

“It’s not like I have anywhere better to be,” she shrugged.

“I’d offer for you to come over on Christmas, but I’ll be with my in-laws in the morning, and my parents at night. Baby’s first Christmas, and all.”

“Oh, no I wasn’t trying to invite myself or get you to pity me.”

“I know,” Holly nodded. “I just feel bad that you’ll be all alone.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll call my sister, like I always do when I have time off, and then I’ll come here and see what’s going on.”

“Maybe by then you’ll have a boyfriend and he’ll invite you to spend Christmas with him,” Holly teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

Anna felt her cheeks warm up at the thought. “Christmas is six weeks from today and I think we both know that that’s not going to happen. I’ve been here for two months and the dates I’ve been on haven’t been great.”

“I don’t think you’ve been looking in the right places.”

She rolled her eyes. “To be fair, I came here to work.”

“And now you have enough work for two people,” Holly reminded her. “You should try to have some fun in your free time.”

“I do have fun,” she remarked defensively.

“Oh yeah? Tell me what you do for fun.”

“I just got a Netflix account, so I’ve been trying to catch up on all of the shows that I’ve missed over the years.”

Holly cocked her head. “That’s not fun, that’s pathetic. Also - watch Grey’s Anatomy.”

“I’ll add it to my list. And I don’t think that you should judge what I do in my free time when you spend your free time tending to your infant.”

“Exactly! I don’t have any free time. I’m trying to live vicariously through you.”

“Don’t do that,” Anna laughed. “You’re only setting yourself up for disappointment.”

“What if we set you up on Tinder? Or Bumble?”

“Holly -”

“Ooh, I could set you up on a blind date! My husband works in the high school and he has a ton of young, single coworkers.”

“How about we stop talking about my dating life and finish talking about the rest of the events that are coming up?”

“Fine,” Holly groaned, looking down at the calendar. “January is pretty empty. A few movie nights scattered around, and two make-your-own hot chocolate nights.”

“Hot chocolate?”

“Yeah, the kids get a kick of being able to choose their own toppings and stuff.”

“Gotcha,” Anna nodded.

“And then the rest of our energy goes to the ball. January is crunch time. Making sure that everyone RSVP’d, making sure the menu is finalized, reaching out to the DJ, et cetera. It’s going to be a lot.”

“I’ll consider myself warned.”

“That’s the right attitude! Now for February - obviously, the ball is the first thing that month. There’s going to be a few events for Valentine’s Day - card and cookie decorating and a carnation sale.”

“Carnations? Why not roses?”

“Carnations are the flower of love,” Holly answered. “And they’re cheaper than roses.”

“Yeah, but roses are way more popular,” Anna pointed out. “Maybe we should consider ordering roses this year.”

“I’ll look into it,” Holly said, writing it down on her notepad. “Now for March. Easter is the first weekend in April, so the Easter Bunny will be in the lobby for the month. There will be egg hunts and egg decorating - basically, we’ll have eggs coming out of our ears - in the week leading up to the holiday.”

“Is that it?”

“Well, we hadn’t got that far for this upcoming year, but usually we throw in some cookie decorating, too.”

“Okay, that’s manageable,” Anna commented.

Holly frowned. “And then I believe we’re losing you, after that.”

“Yeah, I’m going home in April,” Anna sighed. “We can plan a few more events for that month, though. I won’t be leaving until late April.”

Holly smiled. “So I get a little more time with you than I thought.”

“Hopefully Bonnie will find her replacements by then. Or else you’ll be doing the work of three people.”

“Don’t remind me,” Holly groaned. “I don’t want to think of that as being a possibility.”

She wiggled the mouse of her computer and it turned back on. She signed onto her email, hoping to see an explanation from Jenny. Instead, she found an email from the manager of the bakery. She spun around to face her coworker. “Liz just emailed me and said that they were able to specially order the cookie kits that Jenny requested.”

“Finally, some good news today,” Holly remarked. “Not that the news of you being promoted was bad. But it was...a lot.”

“Tell me about it,” Anna laughed.

Holly’s phone rang, then, interrupting their conversation. “Hold on just a sec,” she started, before picking it up. “Hello, you’ve reached the event planning office, this is Holly speaking.”

Anna turned back to her computer and scrolled through her inbox, trying not to eavesdrop on Holly’s conversation.

“Oh, hi Bonnie! How can I help you?”

Bonnie? She glanced back at her coworker, who had a puzzled look on her face.

“I’m sorry...what? Are you kidding?...Okay, we’ll be right down,” Holly said, slamming the receiver down and standing up. “Come on, Anna, we have to go.”

“Wait, what happened? Where are we going?”

#kristanna #kristanna fanfic #anna #kristoff bjorgman #frozen #frozen fic #my writing

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ladywynneoutlander · 4 years

Text

Letters of Outlander

Jenny Murray to Jamie Fraser, TFC Ch. 99, September 16, 1771

Brother,

Well. Having taken up my pen and written the single word above, I have now sat here staring at it ‘til the candle has burned almost an inch, and me having not one thought what I shall say. It would be a wicked waste of good beeswax to continue so, and yet if I were to put the candle out and go to bed, I should have spoilt a sheet of paper to no purpose -- so I see I must go on, in the name of thrift.

I could berate you. That would occupy some space upon the page, and preserve what my husband is pleased to compliment as the most foul and hideous curses he has been privileged to hear in a long life. That seems thrifty, as I was at great pains in the composition of them at the time, and should not like to see the effort wasted. Still, I think I have not so much paper as would contain them all.

I think also that perhaps, after all, I do not wish to rail or condemn you, for you might take this as a just punishment, and so ease your conscience in perceived expiation, so that you leave off your chastising of yourself. That is too simple a penance; I would that if you have wove a hairshirt for yourself, you wear it still, and may it chafe your soul as the loss of my son chafes mine.

In spite of this, I suppose that I am writing to forgive you -- I had some purpose in taking up my pen, I know, and while forgiveness seems a doubtful enterprise to me at present, I expect the notion will grow more comfortable with practice.

You will be curious to know what has led me to this action, I suppose, so I will tell you.

I rode to visit Maggie early Monday last; she has a new babe, so you are once more an uncle; a bonnie wee lassie called Angelica, which is a foolish name, I think, but she is very fair and born with a strawberry mark on her chest, which is a charm for good. I left them in the evening, and had made some way towards home when my mule chanced to step into a mole’s hole and fell. Both mule and I rose up somewhat lamed from this accident, and it was clear that I could not ride the creature nor yet make shift to travel far by foot myself.

I found myself on the road to Auldearn just over the hill from Balriggan. I should not normally seek the society of Laoghaire MacKenzie -- for she has resumed that name, I having made plain in the district my dislike of her use of “Fraser,” she having no proper claim to that style -- but it was the only place where I might obtain food and shelter, for night was coming on, with the threat of rain.

So I unsaddled the mule and left him to find his supper by the road, while I limped off in search of mine.

I came down behind the house, past the kailyard, and so came upon the arbor that you built. The vines are well grown on it now, so I could see nothing, but I could hear that there were folk inside, for I heard voices.

The rain had begun by then. It was not but a smizzle, yet the patter on the leaves must have drowned my voice, for no one answered when I called. I came closer -- creeping like a spavined snail, to be sure, for I was gromished from the fall and my right ankle gruppit -- and was just about to call once more, when I heard sounds of a rare hochmagandy from inside the arbor.

I stood still, of course, thinking what was best to do. I could hear that it was Laoghaire shedding her shanks, but I had no hint who her partner might be. My ankle was blown up like a bladder, so I could not walk much farther, and so I was obliged to stand about in the wet, listening to all this inhonesté.

I should have known, had she been courted by a man of the district, and I had heard nothing of her paying heed to any -- though several have tried; she has Balriggan, after all, and lives like a laird on the money you pay her.

I was filled with outrage at the hearing, but somewhat more filled with amazement to discover the cause. That being a sense of fury on your behalf -- irrational as such fury might be, in the circumstances. Still, having discovered such an emotion springing full-blown in my breast, I was reluctantly compelled to the realization that my feelings for you must not in fact have perished altogether.

September 18, 1771

I dream of Ian now and then. These dreams most often take the shape of daily life, and I see him here at Lallybroch, but now and again I dream of him in his life among the savages -- if indeed he still lives (and I persuade myself that my heart would be some means now if he did not.}

So I see that what it comes to in the end is only the same thing with which I began -- that one word, “Brother.” You are my brother, as young Ian is my son -- the both of you my flesh and my spirit and always shall be. If the loss of Ian haunts my dreams, the loss of you haunts my days, Jamie.

I have been writing letters all the morning, debating with myself whether to finish this one, or to put it into the fire instead. But now the accounts are done, I have written to everyone I can think of, and the clouds have gone away, so the sun shines through the window by my desk, and the shadows of Mother’s roses are falling over me.

I have thought to myself often and often that I heard my mother speak to me, through all these years. I do not need to hear her now, though, to ken well enough what she would say. And so I shall not put this in the fire.

You remember, do you, the day I broke the good cream-pitcher, flinging it at your head because you deviled me? I know you recall the occasion, for you once spoke to Claire of it. I hesitated to admit the crime, and you took the blame upon yourself, but Father kent the truth of it, and punished us both.

So now I am a grandmother ten times over, with my hair gone grey, and still I feel my cheeks go hot with shame and my wame shrink like a fist, thinking of Father bidding us kneel down side by side and bend over the bench to be whipped.

You yelped and grunted like a puppy when he tawsed you, and I could scarce breathe and did not dare to look at you. Then it was my turn, but I was so wrought with emotion that I think I barely felt the strokes. No doubt you are reading this and saying indignantly that it was only Father was softer with me because I was a lass. Well, maybe so, and maybe no; I will say Ian is gentle with his daughters.

But then Father said you would have another whipping, this one for lying -- for the truth was the truth, after all. I would have got up and fled away then, but he bade me stay as I was, and he said to me, quiet, that while you would pay the price for my cowardice, he did not think it right for me to escape it altogether.

Do you know that you did not make a sound, the second time? I hope you did not feel the strokes of the tawse on your backside, because I felt each one.

I swore that day that I should not ever be a coward again.

And I see that it is cowardice indeed, that I should go on blaming you for Young Ian. I have always kent what it is to love a man -- be he husband or brother, lover or son. A dangerous business; that’s what it is.

Men go where they will, they do as they must; it is not a woman’s part to bid them stay, nor yet to reproach them for being what they are -- or for not coming back.

I knew it when I sent Ian to France with a cross of beechwood and a lock of my hair made into a love knot, praying that he might come home to me, body and soul. I knew it when I gave you a rosary and saw you off to Leoch, hoping you would not forget Lallybroch or me. I knew it when Young Jamie swam to the seal’s island, when Michael took ship for Paris, and I should have known it, too, when wee Ian went with you.

But I have been blessed in my life; my men have always come back to me. Maimed, perhaps; a bit singed round the edges now and then; crippled, crumpled, tattered, and torn -- but I have always got them back. I grew to expect that as my right, and I was wrong to do so.

I have seen so many widows since the Rising. I cannot say why I thought I should be exempt from their suffering, why I alone should lose none of my men, and only one of my babes, my wee girl-child. And since I had lost Caitlin, I treasured Ian, for I knew he was the last babe I should bear.

I thought him my babe still; I should have kent him for the man he was. And that being so, I know well enough that whether you might have stopped him or no, you would not -- for you are one of the damnable creatures, too.

Now I have nearly reached the end of this sheet, and I think it profligate to begin another.

Mother loved you always, Jamie, and when she kent she was dying, she called for me, and bade me care for you. As though I could ever stop.

Your most Affectionate and Loving Sister,

Janet Flora Arabella Fraser Murray

#Letters of Outlander #Jenny Murray #Jamie Fraser #The Fiery Cross #TFC #Diana Gabaldon #Outlander

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angelsswirl · 4 years

Text

Been Through

Chapter 4: Must be confused about me

Get ya, get ya, get ya shit together. Girl, I got 20/20 vision, and that's the reason I'ma keep my distance.

"I'm on my way to work now. Just dropped Lily off at preschool......Yes, Mom. I vetted the school extensively. She was on the waiting list since she was 2, so it better be worth it.....Okay. I have to go. Yes....I love you too."

You sighed heavily as you removed the phone from your ear.

Your mother, bless her heart, had a affinity for calling you at inopportune times, such as this one.

You were running late for a meeting. You don't like to blame your problems on your daughter, but this one was definitely her fault. After only two and half hours she had gotten attached to both Lisa and Jennie (you wish she would have just picked one and made this easier for you) and proceeded to have a mental breakdown when they eventually had to leave.

That mental break had caused the both of you to lose sleep, which meant you slept right through your alarm, causing Lily to be late for the one day a week that she went to preschool, and making you late for work.

And you hated being late for anything.

So, This was all your daughter's fault.

"Howdy, Boss." Your assistant, Max, greeted you as you trudged into your office. He handed you a warm cup of coffee. You took a sip, letting out a satisfied noise.

"Thanks, Max. I needed this."

He smiled, happy to be of service, "No problem, Boss."

You rolled your eyes, "Didn't I tell you to stop calling me 'Boss'? I'm a publisher who works for a publishing firm, I'm not the owner of this building. I don't sign your checks. That's the boss."

Max just shrugged happily. The beta was always infuriatingly happy.

"And stop saying 'howdy'. It makes me upset."

"You got it, Bos-Mrs. Y/LN."

You sat at your desk with another eye roll, "Maxwell. You know I'm not married. Just call me Y/N."

"But-"

"Aht! Call me Y/N."

You glared at the poor boy until he nodded back. You could feel a migraine sneaking up the back of your skull. After mumbling something unladylike in Korean, you set about turning on your computer.

"So, what's on the agenda today, Max-a-million?"

The twenty year old perked up at the question. The weirdo loved organizing and things of the sort. You're pretty sure his favorite part of the work day was when you asked him what you were supposed to be doing.

"Today is Tuesday. You've got a meeting with the boss in twenty minutes. Then, you have a manuscript in your email that I forwarded you. It needs to be approved by lunch. And by then it will be time to pick up Lily, and you can leave for the day."

You nodded slowly, "If a full manuscript needs to be approved in three hours why did you just now send it to me today?"

Max gulped, you watched his Adam's apple bobble in his throat. You felt bad at the look of pure fear on his face.

"I um...I'm sorry. It was only sent to me this morning. I was told that you already knew about it."

You wracked your brain for any mention of a manuscript approval by absolutely anyone you had ever had a conversation with.

You turned to Max, the headache was shifting forward towards your eyes, "No one told me anything. Ugh! Fine. I'll just have to skim. You can go back to your desk. Thanks, Maximus."

The boy scurried out of your office.

You sighed, then opened your email to locate the manuscript.

It was the last email you had been sent, you hurried to click it open and download it onto your computer.

It looked like a normal manuscript. No frilly font. No decorative cover. Just bare and unblemished. Just how you liked it.

Rosès Are Pink

Though, it had an absolutely shit title. That was an easy fix as long as the author didn't get attached.

Speaking of the author. You could tell it was a pen name. C.R. Park. There was no telling who that could be. But if you approved this manuscript then you'd probably be getting to know them a whole lot more.

You read the first line and frowned. Then you read the next. And the next. And the next. And soon your were through the first five chapters. The frown soon turned into an angry glare.

You dug into your cardigan pocket for your phone. You pulled it out and dialed a increasingly familiar number.

"Hel-"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Good morning to you too, Y/N. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE WRITING A BOOK?!"

"I didn't think I needed to?"

"Of course you fucking needed to. I'M IN IT."

"How do you even know that?"

"YOU FUCKING SENT IT TO ME!"

"You can stop yelling now."

"Boss? Are you okay?"

"GET. OUT. MAXIMUM."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I would like to reiterate that I didn't send anything to you. My managers probably did."

"What's the difference? You know I'm a publisher. I was bound to hear of it eventually." You wiped a frustrated hand down your face.

"What's the big deal, Y/N? Did you even read the manuscript?"

"Not all of it."

"Did you like it?"

"Chae, it's magnificent."

"So, what's the problem?

A heavy sigh left your mouth, and with it, your shoulders sag, "I-do you really want to put all of BP's business out there like that?" 'Do you really want to put all of BP's business with me out there like that' is what was really being asked.

"Yeah. The girls and I talked about it for weeks. The group is slowing down and we haven't liked the idea of lying by omission to our fans for awhile now. And I like to write. You don't have to worry anymore. " You could practically hear Chaeyoung's shrug.

"Okay. If you're sure. I hate the title."

Chaeyoung giggled, "So does Lisa. I'll let you fix it. Besides, it's not finished yet."

"You sent me an unfinished manuscript?"

"It doesn't have its happy ending yet."

"And what will that be?"

Chaeyoung paused for a second, "...You tell me."

~~~

"Mommy!" Lily bounded into your arms as soon as she saw you.

You brushed the brunette locks from her eyes and kissed her on the forehead, "Hello, my beautiful baby girl. How was your day today?"

"Good. Miss Taylor let us paint." She bounced in your arms, a semi damp peice of paper in her hands that she wouldn't let you see.

"That sounds like fun. What did you paint?"

"Families."

"Oh?"

"We see Lisa and Jennie today?"

I hope not.

"Not today, sweetheart."

"Oh."

You thought back to the previous day. Lisa was bonding with your kid while you were making out with Jennie on your bed....yep, sounds like you. You had been fine with that turn of events until you stopped kissing Jennie. Well, she stopped kissing you.

She stopped kissing you like she had suddenly remembered she left the stove on at home. You shared a very weird look before she pretty much ran out of your room like a terrified puppy. Or probably, more accurately, someone who just realized they made a mistake.

So, yeah. Now, you weren't so fine with the kiss and you could deal without seeing either of them for a good month.

"Mommy? Why don't I have a daddy or other mommy like the other kids?"

Your kid is trying to kill you. Hmm. What an ironic way to go out.

"Sometimes, kids only have one daddy, or one mommy. Some don't have either at all. But that doesn't make them different or any less special."

"Oh. Okay, " Lily laid her head down softly on your chest. "But I want another mommy. I don't like daddies."

"And you're absolutely valid for that. Mommy doesn't like daddies either."

"I want Jennie or Lisa to be my other mommy."

You had been so close to dodging the fattest bullet in parenting history, but no, your kid really did want you dead.

"We'll see, Dancing Queen. We'll see."

#blackpink fanfic #jesssica's fanfic #lisa x reader #blackpink #jennie x reader #lisa fanfic #jennie fanfic #jennie #lisa manoban #been through

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theresnosafeharbor4myships · 4 years

Text

TITLE: Healing Wounds

A/N: Songsty (soft and angsty) Ichabbie fic borne out of a little hurt/comfort.

"Is it still bleeding?" Ichabod slowly pulled the gauze pad she'd given him from the glove box away from his head and eyed the pool of red it'd soaked up. "Significantly less now, but yes." He pressed the gauze back against the deep gash along his hairline and sucked air in through his teeth at the sharp pain. Abbie glanced in her rearview mirror, half expecting to see the demon who'd nearly bested them following, regardless of the fact they'd sent it screaming back to hell. Instead she saw only inky blackness. Still, visions of the demon scratched at her brain: an ugly, horrid, horned beast of a thing, similar to Moloch in size, ferociousness, and power. And it'd used that power to nearly choke Crane to death. Until, armed with the weapons Jenny had discovered would kill it, she'd stabbed it with a wooden shard made from a cross around the time of Christ and flung salt blessed by a priest on it. At which point the demon had screamed in agony, threw Crane with all of its might, and nearly imploded in a burst of brilliant light. She'd run to him then, her unmoving partner whose head had collided with an old brick wall delineating the property they fought on. Her heart in her throat but breathing his name all the same, she gently eased him onto his back, afraid the light had left his eyes. He blinked rapidly, stunned, and she started breathing again, tears stinging her eyes as she felt the rise and fall of his chest where her hand lay upon him. If she'd lost him...no, she couldn't think about that, needed to check his injuries and see for herself he was alright. She shook the minutes-old memory from her mind and focused on the road in front of her. "We're almost home," she stated unnecessarily, trying to ease any worry he felt, to calm herself. A few minutes later, she swung the car into the driveway and bolted out, meeting Ichabod near the front bumper and holding on to his arm as she assisted him inside. He appeared to have all his faculties, but the wobbling he'd done for the first minute after taking that hit to the head had her worried. "Sit here," she commanded, patting one of the stools at the breakfast bar on her way to the freezer. He complied without comment, head pounding too hard to calm her nerves—or his own—though he managed to keep a neutral look on his face. He'd seen the worry on her since she'd rolled him onto his back after that hell monster had thrown him, and it hadn't left her since. He could feel Abbie's concern, felt the tension in her the whole ride home, watched her fingers absently tap the steering wheel to some silent tune of agitation.

He couldn't fault her: it'd been his fear for her safety that'd put him in the grips of that demon to begin with. The thought of her small body, fierce though it may be, in the hands of the horrid monster had compelled him to forfeit their plan and go rogue. He felt no regret though; a concussion was a small price to pay to protect her, to ensure her safety. Abbie grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and pressed it into his hand before heading down the hallway to grab the first aid kit. By the time she returned, Ichabod had removed his coat and thrown it over the back of the couch and now held the ice pack over the gauze.

She set the kit on the breakfast bar and held her hand out to him. "I'm gonna get you some water so you can take these," she explained as she dropped Tylenol into his open palm. "Thank you, Lieutenant," he intoned gratefully, if wearily. Abbie handed him a bottle of water from the fridge, then flung open the first aid kit and rifled through it until she found the needle and medical thread. She laid them out on a kitchen towel, along with gauze, cotton balls, bandages, antiseptic, and medical tape. "How you doing, Crane?" she asked him lightly after he'd swallowed the medicine, her voice betraying the fear she felt at how quiet he'd stayed since taking the hit to the head. He smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm still alive, which is a vast improvement over other battles I've experienced." She eyed him warily, her head tilted in consternation. "A tad woozy," he admitted sheepishly. "And my head is pounding." "The Tylenol will help with that, but let's take a look." He gently removed the ice pack and the gauze, and he breathed in deeply, steeling himself as Abbie stepped in close to him. Heat radiated from her—or was that him?—and he welcomed her proximity, the feel of her soft hands and gentle touch on his brow. He never took hits purposefully, but her ministrations almost made it worthwhile. Even now, with a harsh blow to the head, her fingertips pushing his hair away from his face sent shivers running through him. Abbie pushed her fear aside and inspected his head, the ache in her heart easing slightly now that she could doctor his wound in the safety of their home. The two-plus inch gash looked angry and deep but had nearly stopped bleeding. "It needs a few stitches," she mumbled, more to herself than to him, forcing herself to stay on task and her emotions down. "But...it should be fine." She could feel him watching her carefully, intensely, but she avoided his gaze, not wanting him to see how much their scuffle with the demon, how watching him go airborne only to land head-first into a wall, had shaken her. It was a wonder he hadn’t broken his neck. She got to work cleaning the wound, dabbing at it with an antiseptic-soaked cotton ball as gently as possible. She could see him holding his breath against the pain, though he only let a few, nearly imperceptible moans escape. Each one stabbed at her heart though, and she forced herself to concentrate harder on the wound and less on the man. Ichabod tried to keep his breathing steady as she stitched him up, and he made his mind focus on each inhale and exhale instead of the pain. Not to mention her hands on him, her body only inches from him, the tension emanating off of her. There'd be hell to pay later for his wayward actions in the woods tonight. He didn't relish the thought but couldn't help feeling grateful he was still around for Abbie to reprimand. And she would, he acknowledged to himself in adoration of her. She'd glare and scold and sound fierce and fiery, and he'd apologize—and mean it. He'd stood on the other side of a plan when someone had gone rogue and knew the righteous anger that accompanied that.—while admiring her spirit and strength and fortitude of character. Which she was currently exhibiting: keenly focused, strong as steel, gentle as silk. Right now he was the task at hand, and he felt most grateful, much preferring her doctoring over an emergency room technician’s. Her fingertips skimmed his brow line, feathered through his hair, and his eyes dropped closed for a moment at the sensation. Abbie tied off the stitches and covered the gash with gauze, taping it to his forehead. She eyed her handiwork, estimating he may have a faint scar but hoping this latest fight wouldn't mar him. "It's gonna be painful for a while, but I think it should heal nicely. Hopefully without a scar." He remained silent, unsure what to say, too many emotions roiling inside of him. The adrenaline of another fight, fear for her safety, then for his own, relief they’d survived, sheepishness at having made the fight more difficult for her, the pain flooding him, her agitation and solemnity, her proximity, her touch, everything about her filling his senses…he felt drained and emotionally raw, a bad combination to keep himself under control. "You okay?" she asked, her brow wrinkled with quiet concern. She stood next to him, in his space, closer than normal—not nearly close enough if he had his say. But he didn't, and now wasn't the time, no matter how much he desired her. He wanted to reach out and wipe the worry from her face, to assure her that everything would be fine, so long as she stayed right here with him, kept stroking his brow, playing with his hair, breathing against his skin. Instead, he gave her a reassuring half-smile. “Yes, thank you, Lieutenant.” Abbie eyed him curiously, wondering at the strange expression on his face, the far-off look in his eyes, but she let him have his secrets for the time being. They had enough to discuss after tonight's deviation from their plan, but it could wait until tomorrow. Right now he needed to rest, and though it wouldn't be his inclination, she meant to ensure he got it. She nodded once. "You need a little more ice and then some rest." He needed more than that, but he kept his thoughts and comments to himself. Grabbing the ice pack off the breakfast bar, he stood and instantly regretted it as a wave of dizziness came over him. He reached for the counter, dropping the ice as the world slowly set itself right. Abbie watched him wobble and instinctively reached to help steady him, one hand gripping his forearm, the other landing flat against his chest. "Woah," she said softly, staring up at him, trying to decipher from his expression whether he could stand on his own two feet or not. She attempted a small smile of encouragement, but she felt more distressed than reassuring at the moment.

She wasn’t ignorant of the dangers of head wounds and wondered if she should’ve taken him to the ER instead of handling it herself. He’d have resisted, but she could have persuaded him—and if not, she’d been driving; she could’ve made him go.

The fear gripping her insides squeezed relentlessly. If she lost him, she couldn't be sure she'd continue this fight. Not after losing Corbin, her mother, Frank, and Joe to it. She couldn't add another casualty—couldn’t add him—to the tragic roster of failures. And especially not without him knowing how she felt. And what do I feel? she wondered, eyes locked on the man standing before her, filling her vision. Was it simple affection that left her smiling at his quirks and historical rants and funny descriptions of modern day appliances? Was it attraction that made her stare a bit too long into those baby blues when he got revved up retelling colonial stories or caused her eyes to roam his fine features—long, lean, strong hands, hair you could run your fingers through, wide shoulders, toned arms that encircled her comfortingly—when he wasn't looking? Was it mere friendship that made her want to spend more hours than she rightly should learning more and more about him, about his previous life, his hopes for one beyond this infernal apocalypse, all the facets of him and his mind and his heart that they hadn't had time to explore yet?

No, it was something more, something she feared putting a name to. And right now she didn’t have to; she just needed to make sure he survived this latest wound.

She shook away her thoughts. "Take it slow," she advised as she pushed his hair back once more to check the bandage on his head. Ichabod had nearly collapsed, and yet all his senses remained attuned to Abbie standing mere inches from him, her hands upon him, the faint scent of her lotion teasing his nostrils. He'd caught her furtive glances, her emotions on edge, both of them coming down from the high of battle to the realization of the aftermath. But this felt different. Abbie's movements were taut and precise, more clinical than normal and cool in their familiarity. Until now. Now he felt her hands on him, her breath against his chest, her gaze burning his skin, the air between them charged, morphing into something altogether heavy and heated. She was a live wire, and he couldn't help but touch her. Her hand against his heartbeat and her fingers in his hair again sent his pulse racing, and his hand came to rest over hers where it lay against his chest. She avoided his eyes—had since they'd sent the demon back where it belonged, he calculated—as her gaze followed her hand, which trailed down a lock of his hair to his jaw. Her fingers caressed down the side of his beard until they dropped to his collarbone, sliding along it until they dipped into the hollow of his throat. He swallowed hard, her exploration sending both shivers and heat racing through him. Could she not see what she was doing to him? Did she not know the depth of his attraction to her, the swell of desire she elicited, his yearning to be with her? Apparently not since her fingertips continued their study of him, teasingly snaking along his chest where his shirt lay open, the drawstrings having come undone sometime during the demon fight. Only when she reached the v-point of his shirt did she lay her palm flat against his breastbone and finally, finally look at him. What he saw in her eyes sent his head swimming: bright brown pools of desire and aching need coupled with fear. He felt dizzy again, and this time it had nothing to do with his head and everything to do with the woman before him invading his heart. Her touch sent his blood boiling, left his knees weak, and he slowly sat down again, putting them nearly at eye-level. Abbie didn't know what’d come over her, what made her cross the unwritten boundary line that'd always kept them professional and friendly, even if at times they became flirty or intensely heady. Didn't know what’d possessed her to trace that tempting patch of bare skin that taunted her every day, wondering what it'd feel like to touch him. She feared she’d made a mistake, and an icy-hot sensation flooded her. It wasn’t enough that she worried about his safety; now she worried she’d destroyed their partnership with her wayward hands and inappropriate thoughts, and she wilted inside.

She could handle rejection and embarrassment—though God knew the humiliation would sicken her—and courageously face any demon or monster to protect the world, but she couldn’t bear the idea of her actions changing their dynamic, the way they worked and communicated and played off of each other on a daily basis. She still wanted him around to cause her headaches and irritation and laughter and companionship...and now maybe more? His skin, warm to the touch, made her crave more, and she gazed up at him. Fire burned in his eyes, making her heart pound, and when he dropped to the bar stool again, she wanted nothing more than to move against him, press into him, feel the length of his body warm and hard against her. She saw his eyes drop to her mouth for a second, causing her stomach to dance somersaults, and she unconsciously licked her lips in anticipation. "Abbie," he whispered, his breath feathering against her lips, and she didn't know how he'd learned to speak a plea, a statement, and a question all at once. Her heart had jumped into her throat and, unable to respond, she merely nodded, her wide, trusting eyes never leaving his. One of his hands, warm and gentle, cupped her shoulder, drawing her closer as he leaned towards her, and when his lips touched hers, the earth fell out from beneath her. His lips moved softly, tentatively against hers, and she let the moment wash over her. The miles they'd traversed to make it here, the hurts and losses and aches and triumphs and long days and lonely nights and missed opportunities they'd endured to arrive at this moment, here, together, hearts yearning, blood pounding, lips speaking a new language as old as time itself. Too much—every nerve ending attuned to him, his hands sliding heat along her arms as he moved to embrace her, his lips firm but tender, his mustache deliciously abrasive, his body close—and entirely not enough at the same time. Ichabod floated through a dream, utterly awash with Abbie: her hands flat against his chest even as she pressed against him, her small frame held in his arms, her full lips, warm and inviting, pressed against his. And then she stepped between his legs, her hands sliding up and over his shoulders, fingers lacing into his hair as she snaked her arms around his neck. He felt aflame and started to pull back for air, then changed his mind, kissing her anew, this time more insistently as she moaned low in her throat. Abbie felt like she was simultaneously floating, falling, and flying, and she couldn't get enough. His lips molded to hers, hot and needy and insistent and more perfect than she’d ever imagined. His mustache scratched and tickled her, an entirely erotic sensation she could get used to. The mouth that infuriated and encouraged her, that spoke in eloquence and intellect, would now be her undoing.

“Lieutenant,” he rumbled her name against her lips.

It washed over her like a potent elixir, and she silenced him easily, kissing him harder, unable to mask her ardor any longer. He succumbed with a pleased sigh as her hands roamed over him every place she could reach, his nape and back, broad shoulders, the pulse point at his neck, his strong jawline. And then she started over again, running her hands through his hair, a fantasy she'd imagined thousands of times. But in her fantasies, she'd never hurt him doing so. He suddenly jerked away from her and gasped lightly, her hand having brushed over his wound in her fervor. Regret instantly took over her face. "Sorry, I'm so sorry," she gasped.

He shook his head slightly, brushing aside the pain and giving her a gentle smile before setting his hands on her hips and leaning his forehead against hers for a moment. When he pulled away, she cupped his face in her hands, her thumbs feathering over his lips, still mesmerized that he'd kissed her. His mouth quirked up beneath her ministrations. "You are most adept at this, Lieutenant," he admired, his Puritan sensibilities screaming against the passion racing through him now that her mouth wasn’t working magic on his. He kissed her thumbs where they lay against his lips.

“As are you,” she returned, feeling a slight flush on her cheeks. She ran her hands down his arms as she stepped back from him, only now realizing as his hands dropped from her waist how intimately she’d moved into him.

He clasped her hands before she trailed them away, holding her at arms’ length and staring openly at her, at her flushed cheeks and wide, bright eyes, luscious, just-kissed lips, the light purple shirt that lent her skin a rosy complexion, small waist perfect for his hands, jean-clad legs that teased him on a daily basis.

The attraction he felt for her actually made him hurt.

Rein yourself in, scoundrel, he commanded himself. Swallowing hard, he met her eyes, which did nothing to help his cause as her heated, sultry gaze set him on fire anew.

“I…” He swallowed down the desire threatening to overwhelm him again. “I believe I could use that ice now.”

He realized the unintentional innuendo of his words as her face broke into a smile, and they both burst out laughing, releasing their clasped hands as Abbie handed him the ice pack.

“Come on,” Abbie motioned for him to follow her as she headed to the living room and sat on the couch. Ichabod held the ice pack against his wound and followed her, sitting near her but leaving a few much-needed inches between them since his heartrate still raced wildly.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, each lost in thoughts of what’d just passed, their evolving relationship, the delicious tension that still wound around and through them.

After a few moments, Abbie peered up at him. “You alright, Crane?” she asked, indicating his wound.

He nodded once. “I am quite more than ‘alright,’ Lieutenant. Abbie,” he corrected, his voice dropping low as he gazed at her appreciatively. “I have the best doctor in town.”

Was he flirting with her? She felt giddy at the prospect. “Don’t let it get out. I don’t do house calls.”

“I certainly hope not. You’d cause significantly more heart palpitations than you’d cure. Speaking from first-hand experience, as it were,” he teased.

She chuckled, kicking her feet up onto the couch, wrapping her hands around his bicep, and leaning into him. “I could get used to your flattery,” she admitted on a sigh.

“And I to your…ardent bedside manner.”

She turned her head and kissed his shoulder, tucking closer into his side. “Keep up the sweet talk, Crane, and there’ll be a whole lot more of it.”

“I can only pray this isn’t a wonderfully potent dream induced by my head injury.” He nuzzled the top of her head.

“Wonderful, potent, and dreamy. And as real as the possibility that you may have a concussion,” she affirmed, turning serious for a moment.

“Mmm, it is concerning.”

“We should stay up for a while, make sure you’re still feeling well.”

“Hm.” He nodded in agreement, even though she wasn’t looking at him. “Whatever shall we do with our free time?” he queried coyly.

She smirked up at him. “You can start by telling me why you went rogue out there.”

The amusement dropped from his face, replaced by chagrin, and he relaxed back into the couch with Abbie’s weight pressed comfortingly into his side. Better now than later, he mused. The quicker we can return to making up.

“Yes…,” he began. “About that…”

#ichabbie #ichabbie fanfiction #ichabbie fan fiction #ichabbie fanfic #ichabbie fan fic #ichabod x abbie #abbie x ichabod #crane x abbie #abbie x crane #sh #sleepy hollow #sleepy hollow fanfiction #sleepy hollow fan fiction #sleepy hollow fanfic #sleepy hollow fan fic #my ichabbie writing #my writing #personal #ichabbie first kiss

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mo-nighean-rouge · 4 years

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Gone - Epilogue

Jamie Fraser prepares to send Claire and Faith through the stones. A last-minute interference changes everything.

A/N: This is it, folks. Again, thanks to @ianmuyrray for betaing, and to all of you who have read along, or might just be starting now.

November 20, 1748 | Paris, France

“Seas, a bhailach,” Jamie whispered to the beast as he brushed its shining coat. He’d taken quickly to the horses in Mary Hawkins Randall’s stables, but the black sorrel pony had stolen his heart for its similarity in appearance and character to his own Donas.

The horse was still riled after his afternoon jaunt with Faith. The lass had more confidence than experience on horseback, and had led the horse into mischief with a puddle, even under her father’s close supervision.

Jamie had sent Murtagh upstairs to deliver a squirming and filthy Faith to Claire. In fact, it had been quite a while since, and he hoped the man was not dallying his time flirting with Suzette, who had recently come into the Randall estate’s employ.

Dubh, aptly named by Faith, huffed impatiently as Jamie recalled Grey’s promise to release Donas, Brimstone, Thistle, and Blanc within ten miles of Lallybroch.

A week after their arrival in Paris, Jenny had written of Ian’s surprise to open the front door one morn and find all four beasts grazing in the kailyard.

It warmed Jamie’s heart to imagine the sight, and made him long for home all the more.

He hadn’t long to wait, as their parole was nearly complete and they would soon see the shores of Scotland once again. Much as he was willing to sacrifice the sight to see to his family’s safety, he was looking forward to leaving the confines of the city.

Jamie figured it couldn’t come at a better time. While Mistress Randall had welcomed their company in the lonesome and overwhelming time she had found herself, she had recently made a good match. According to Claire’s account, Robert Isaacs made Mary very happy, and the engaged couple were looking forward to staffing their well-established estate.

So long as the bairn arrived safely within the next few weeks, the Fraser family would stay whole and make it back to their homeland. Jamie couldn’t wait to re-introduce his children to Lallybroch, and most of all, watch the years touch Claire…

Jamie’s thoughts were interrupted by the swift re-entry of Murtagh, balancing Faith on his shoulders. While the lass wore a fresh dress, her face had only been wiped quickly, still smudged with streaks of dirt.

Murtagh grinned. “Ye’re needed upstairs, a charaid. The bairn seems to be comin’ quick, and Claire’s asking fer ye.” He bounced Faith once, and she broke into giggles.

Jamie dropped the brush and let it clatter to the stable floor. He wasn’t sure he could keep his jaw from doing the same. “Ah dhia, she’s laboring now?”

“Aye lad, get tae it. Ye don’ want to miss the birth of your son.”

Jamie nodded, clapping his godfather on the shoulder. He felt his eyes mist over as he studied the man that has served his family since before he was born.

“Ye have the bairns? The others?” he asked, stammering, his mind rushing to catch up.

“O’ course, just fetch us when ye’re ready.”

“Thank you, a ghostidh… for everything.”

“Och,” Murtagh exclaimed. “Dinna get soft on me now. Go see yer lady.”

Jamie raced out of the barn, heart hammering. That she be safe, she and the bairn...

“Da!” Fergus called in the corridor, the lad balancing a stack of clean rags from the kitchen. Jamie stopped short to gasp for breath.

The lad had called him such by a slip of the tongue during their first weeks back in Paris �� so used to hearing Faith use the precious word – then had immediately blushed scarlet.

Jamie had simply clasped his shoulder and returned with a simple “Aye, mon fils?” as he had called the boy for more than a year.

Fergus had cautiously tested the word ‘Mama’ out on Claire not long after, bringing her to tears as her heart soared.

“You heard about Mama?” Fergus exclaimed, rocking back on his heels in his excitement.

“Aye,” Jamie cracked a smile. “Gi’ those here, I’ll take them on my way. I’d like ye to bide in the barn with Murtagh.”

The lad’s face fell. “But if Mama needs me –”

“Dinna fash about yer mam. Faith needs ye.”

Fergus brightened. “You can count on me, Da.”

Jamie concentrated on the soft weave of the old towels in his hands as he mounted the stairs two at a time, eager to reach his wife. In his hurry, he tripped over the blonde porcelain doll that had been cast aside and forgotten earlier. He shuddered. Annalise had once gifted the toy to his daughter, and its resemblance to the woman herself was that bit frightening.

He burst through their bedroom door, nearly plowing over Mary, who was setting water to boil as if she were lady’s maid to Claire, rather than the other way around.

“Apologies, Mistress,” he murmured, grasping her elbows to keep her upright.

“Jamie!” she exclaimed, squeezing his arm. “You’re just in time.”

He was careful as he squeezed back, unsure of the strength of his grip, especially as his eyes landed on Claire with her face red and scrunched in pain, breathing rhythmically at the gentle direction of Mother Hildegard. Her eyes popped open to meet his, relief swelling in their whisky depths.

Jamie crossed the room in four steps, his hand finding Claire’s naturally as he knelt to kiss the old woman’s wrinkled cheek. “Good afternoon to ye, Mother.” Mary had housed the nun in one of her many guestrooms for the past week, well aware that Claire’s time was quickly approaching.

He brought Claire’s warm, sweaty hand to his lips as he kneeled behind her stool, content for her to use him in any way she wished. He’d missed the birth of their first child, and had since sworn she’d never go through the experience alone again.

Just then, Claire braced her back against Jamie as she wailed in pain. Her short fingernails scored Jamie’s palms as the contraction crested and she breathed out deeply.

“That’s a braw lass, a ghraidh,” Jamie whispered, placing a kiss on her shoulder and caressing the swell of her belly.

Several sharp contractions later, Mother Hildegard continued softly coaching at Claire’s knee. “Keep breathing, my child. I can almost see the head.”

“Jamie,” Claire croaked, short of breath. “If anything happens…” she whispered, just as the powerful force overtook her body once again and she screamed.

“I willna hear that talk, Claire,” he answered sternly, massaging her lower back.

“Push, Claire.” Mother Hildegard’s voice rose above the noise of the room.

Jamie felt Claire inhale deeply once more, then gather her strength from him for the task ahead.

________________________________________

Claire smiled through her tears, admiring the little one cradled in her arms. Mary had bathed the baby as Claire delivered the afterbirth, then passed their blessing swiftly to Jamie, who had admired the sight with flooded eyes until tiny lips had begun rooting around for sustenance.

Their newest child had latched on with impressive speed and skill, inspiring jokes about Jamie’s own appetite.

The man himself eased carefully to Claire’s side, placing a steady arm around her and pressing his face into her neck, just watching her sustain the new life.

Little brown eyes popped open as the meal ended, searching for something familiar in their new surroundings.

“Hello, baby boy,” she cooed. While the lad’s red fuzz stood out starkly from the moment he appeared, she was thrilled to find something of herself in him.

Jamie reached over her shoulder to brush the boy’s diminutive cheek with his broad thumb. “He’s a braw lad, Sassenach.” He kissed her hair. “Thank ye for our son.”

Claire grasped the hand he had left on her shoulder, swaying gently with the baby. “He’s just as much a gift from you to me. We’re so lucky to have him, all of them.”

A gentle knock sounded from the door, followed by Mary peering around the corner, her own wee Denys at her heels. “Ready for some introductions?” she asked softly.

Claire sniffled and wiped her eyes. “Please, bring them in.”

“Mama!” Faith scrambled in, dragging Murtagh behind her. She approached the bedside slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of the bundle in Claire’s lap.

Jamie stood to give her a boost upward, settling their daughter between them easily. “What do ye think, a chuisle?”

“So bonny!” Faith whispered, reaching to grasp Claire’s free hand. “Ye did it all by yerself, Mama?”

Jamie chuckled. “She did, lass. Wasn’t that canny of your mam?”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Da cheered me on.” She squeezed Faith’s hand. “I’m glad you like him, Lovey.”

Murtagh slapped Jamie’s shoulder before leaning over to pat Claire’s. “A wee lad, then?”

“Mmmph,” Jamie replied, grinning widely.

Fergus appeared in the open doorway. “Look who is up from her nap!” Holding tight to his hand was a toddler with red hair already trailing halfway down her back, rubbing her eye with her free hand.

She perked up at the sight of her parents, dashing to the bedside and slamming into Murtagh’s knees. He scooped her up swiftly, depositing her on the mattress knees first. She scrambled closer to Claire’s knee, looming over little brother.

“It’s the bairn?!” she squealed, bouncing in place.

“Gentle, Bree.” Faith scolded. “He’s still wee, see?”

“Sae wee,” Brianna whispered reverently.

Jamie chuckled. “You were this size once too, a nighean ruaidh.”

“And you were even smaller,” Claire added, tickling Faith’s chin.

The girls exchanged dubious looks.

“Nah.”

“Canna be!”

Fergus stopped next to Claire. “How do you feel, Mama?”

Claire’s heart warmed for the son of her heart. He’d offered to wait on her hand and foot these last few weeks, to the point that she’d laughed and told him to take a rest for himself.

Claire leaned her head against him as his arms folded carefully around her neck. “Just fine, my love. Would you like to hold him?”

Fergus nodded, his eyes wide.

Claire eased the baby into his arms, reminding him to be gentle of his head and neck. She welcomed Bree into her arms not a moment later, smoothing hair out of her blue eyes.

Murtagh cleared his throat, ineffectively covering his emotions. “So who do we have here?

Claire met Jamie’s twinkling eye, nodding her approval.

“This is Robert Franklin Murtagh William Fraser.” He swallowed deeply. “Our second son.”

Murtagh’s bushy eyebrow had creased at the second of the boy’s names, but he stood visibly straighter at the third. “’Tis a fine name.”

“That’s so many,” Bree stage-whispered, to the amusement of everyone else.

Faith rolled her eyes dramatically. “No more than you, Brianna Ellen Claire Jan-dit Fraser,” she taunted.

“Alright,” Claire sighed. “The lot of you all have as many names as the others. It’s certainly not a competition.”

Jamie chuckled. “That’s enough o’ that. Stop bouncing. We should let your mam get some rest.”

The children each kissed their mother’s cheek, then let their father herd them out the door as he cradled wee Rob to his chest.

Claire watched them file out the door one by one, each stopping for one more glimpse of her and the baby. She waved at them fondly, blowing kisses. Before Jamie could follow them into the corridor, she caught his hand.

“Stay?” she asked him.

“Aye.” A smile tickled his lips. “I willna go far.”

Claire patted the empty space next to her. “Here.”

He turned, then folded her into his side carefully.

She rested her chin on his shoulder, watching their son sleep until her own eyes drifted shut, a promise of their life together, and their family’s to come.

April 17, 1967 | Oxford, England

Professor Roger MacKenzie Wakefield shuffled through the ever-growing piles of paper crowding his office desk. Amid his lesson plans, papers still to grade, and disorganized files, he’d be surprised if he set off for home in time for supper.

Even still, his curiosity overwhelmed him as he broke the seal on an envelope of research left for him by his colleague. Ever since he was a boy, fascinated by the solemn disappearance of Claire Randall, he had pieced together clues about her whereabouts with the help of his beloved uncle. Her husband’s death last year had only energized his search. Perhaps if he could find answers at long last, it would bring meaning to the most discouraging period of Frank’s life.

More and more, the evidence had begun to point toward something not of this world, much as Mrs. Graham had insisted over the years. He retrieved the file that he had been accumulating for decades, thumbing through what he already knew. The marriage certificate for one James Fraser and Claire Beauchamp, the Deed of Sassine willing the Lallybroch Estate to a James Murray, and a curious pamphlet of medical advice attributed to a C.E.B.R. Fraser.

Roger dumped the new stack of documents on top of the current chaos. The top sheet caught his eye, heart skipping a beat as he read the photocopied print dated from the 1770s, with only the last digit smudged:

"It is with grief that the news is received of the deaths by fire of JAMES MACKENZIE FRASER and his wife, MISTRESS CLAIRE BEAUCHAMP FRASER, in a conflagaration that destroyed several crofts on the estate of Broch Tuarach. Their five children: FERGUS CLAUDEL, FAITH GLENNA, BRIANNA ELLEN, ROBERT FRANKLIN, AND JULIA ELIZABETH, also perished and now lay at rest with them."

Roger shook his head and blinked. Once. Twice. All the hope and warm imaginings he held for the kind woman that he was almost sure he remembered, all for them to be dashed with one headline bearing tragedy.

If there was something, anything, he could do for her and her family, he would in a heartbeat.

He stilled, skin tingling. Christ, but who was to say there wasn’t…

FIN

*Note: The obit is adapted from a screenshot of the news clipping from Outlander Season 4, all credit due.

#Jamie Fraser #Claire Beauchamp #Faith Fraser #Brianna Fraser #Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser #Fergus Fraser #Roger MacKenzie #Gone #Canon Divergence au #Outlander #Outlander fanfic #my fic

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mymelodyheart · 4 years

Text

A Passage In Time ~Halloween Short Story~

A Passage in Time

Claire parked into an empty slot at the foothills of Craigh na Dun, the street and open fields packed with cars of stone circles, and Celtic feast days enthusiasts. Jenny, her college friend, mentioned there was a possibility they'd be able to observe a group of local druids dancing to the feast of Samhain. If the ritual hadn't started yet, it could be the highlight of her trip to Inverness.

Bonfires blazed everywhere, their glow lending the atmosphere an air of mystery and something akin to otherwordly. Old fashion looking lanterns hung on wooden posts, and white canopies strung with fairy lights gave the hills a magical atmosphere at this time of night. The sound of bodhran drum beating in the distance and the rush of wind rustling through the trees sent a chill down her spine. There was an unusual, low vibratory hum in her ears, causing a nervous stir in her stomach. It reminded her of a time when she'd gone ghost hunting with Jenny in St Sepulchre's Cemetery in Oxford, frightened out of her wits and very jumpy.

She was so on edge she nearly screamed when the pocket of her coat buzzed. Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ! She quickly unbuckled her seat belt and fumbled for her phone, hoping it was Jenny. Her friend always came a little earlier than Claire and was usually impatiently and grumpily waiting for her in the wings.

"Claire! I'm so sorry I'm no' gonnae make it. I think I have food poisoning and my tummy isnae right, but I asked my brother to meet ye next to the biggest stone at Craigh na Dun. He's got ginger curls, and he's tall, and his name is Jamie. I ken ye didnae want to be alone. I hope ye dinnae mind my brother coming instead." Jenny's and her definition of tall differed. Whereas tall in Claire's books was above six foot, anyone that towered over her petite friend was considered massive to Jenny.

"Oh, Jen!" Claire wailed, hitting her steering wheel with the palm of her hand. Without her friend, she really didn't want to do this now, but it had taken her over an hour to drive up here.

"So sorry hen. Please don't bail on my brother. He's going to be there soon. Ohhhh, God ...going to be sick ...bye."

Claire stared at her phone, and her stomach turned. Maybe, like Jen, she was coming down with food poisoning too. The way her insides was churning, it really was beginning to seem that way. "Fucking great," she mumbled miserably to herself. "I didn't even fix my hair, and I don't even have a smidgen of makeup. I just hope her brother is not that cute."

She peered at the mirror and fluffed her chocolate curls. Her face was nice enough, she supposed, looking at her thoughtful amber eyes, full lips and arched eyebrows. As she found more faults in her face, she sighed wishing she had lipstick in her purse, but nought could be done and how she looked will have to do.

She took deep cleansing breaths, mustered all the social courage she had, and stepped out of her car. The wind suddenly picked up and caressed her cheeks with cold breeze fingers. She was glad she wore sensible clothes, grateful for the warmth of the turtle-neck cable knit jumper, fitted jeans, hiking boots and down jacket.

Looking up towards the hill, she realised she wasn't far off and could see the tips of the stone circles and people milling about dressed in traditional garb and period costumes. She skipped over some shallow pools and trudged up the incline, pulling down her knitted hat to cover her ears. The hill was fairly steep, so she took a few stops to catch her breath as it wouldn't be a nice look to greet Jenny's brother panting like forge bellows. He would probably get the wrong idea if that ever happened. Ugh!

She looked towards the top of the hill as she rested and realised she didn't have far to go and the standing stones looked, even more, impressive from where she stood. Her eyes landed on the biggest of them all, and her heart skipped a beat. Something had moved from behind the stone and disappeared through the cluster of trees! She held her breath and peered hard, to make sure she wasn't mistaken. Yes! There it is ...a tall shadow!

Claire's heart started to pound so hard, she thought it might burst out of her ribcage. Was that a ghost? The ritual hadn't begun yet, and she was already spooked out of her wits. But she immediately felt silly when the shadow stepped out from behind the tree and motioned to her. He was waving and smiling. It took a few heartbeats for her to register that he was tall, had ginger curls and was dressed in eighteenth-century Highland garb. Ah, that must be Jamie!

She shyly waved back at the man, who grinned at her as if she was an old friend. When he beckoned to her again, her blood rushed between her ears, and she felt dampness under her arms. What's the matter, Beauchamp? Watching too many horror films lately? She swallowed down her nervousness, and she stared harder. He seemed friendly and didn't look surprised to see her. Actually, he looked eager to meet her. She scolded herself for letting her imagination run wild and continued her ascent, almost laughing out loud at her childish reaction.

When she finally reached the top, she looked around. There were quite a lot of people waiting for the Samhain ritual to start, but there were no signs of Jenny's brother. The balefires lit the standing stones in wavering lights, sending shadows scurrying across the grounds and making the whole setting looked like it jumped out of the Old World. She quickly scanned her surroundings, trying to imagine what it might look like under sunlight so as not to dwell too much on her nervousness.

Making her way around the stones, she weaved in and out of throngs of revellers while straining her eyes to look for a tall ginger-haired man. The drum continued to beat, and the cameras clicked nearby, the clash of old and new unsettling Claire further. In the middle of the circle, dressed in a druid costume, stood a gorgeous girl, her red hair wild and loose. She spoke to the crowd about extraordinary people that had a rare ability to hear the stones, seeking its passageway that led to another time.

Claire didn't stop and continued to walk, determined to find Jenny's brother as she listened to the druid girl's chanting. The people huddled closer as they listened to the solemn incantation, either seeking warmth from neighbouring bodies or straining to hear. Claire examined the faces, searching for someone that could be her friend's brother, but her skin crawled when she realised there was no tall red-head. Who was the man in the shadow, then?

"We call upon the Old Ones known before the measure of time, some named and yet forgotten! Who would bless us with their energies of love and care! Harmonious to our nature, n' the energies of cosmic creation to cast this circle! We create and bind this Sacred Space with Sacred Love and Sacred Trust! To protect those we love and cherish within and without. N' to focus through our will in this space out of time, between worlds for the making of Majick! The Circle is now cast! So mote it be!"

The wind suddenly stilled, and Claire could tell the crowd also felt the sudden change in the air.

"We Summon You and Call you Forth! O' Ancient Ones, of Thought and Sound! Rising, moving in concentration, this seasons night in clear still air, vibrations felt, clear, resounding, in the sound of drums pounding, of Life's Breath and Heartfelt Love! Come be with us this Seasons Night. Join us in our Holy Rite, O' Ancient Ones of Power."

Suddenly, the lantern in the druid girl's hand flickered and puffed out, and the crowd drew in a sharp intake of breaths.

"What was that?" somebody shouted out.

The druid girl holding the lantern shushed everyone patiently. "It's only the spirit of the ancient ones communicating with us. Dinnae be afraid. Playing with light is their way to make his or her presence known. Please remain calm. This spirit is benevolent. I have a good sense about these things."

Even though a part of her thought it was all for show, Claire couldn't help but feel the shift in the air, as a shiver crawled up her back, making every hair on her body rise.

A cold hand brushed her own, and she let out a blood-curdling scream. Even though she didn't want to look, her body had a mind of its own and turned around. She opened her eyes and swallowed hard, and was relieved and surprised to see a handsome ruddy face with intense blue eyes and ginger curls smiling down at her.

"I beg yer pardon, mistress. It was no' my intention to frighten ye. I only wanted to introduce myself' and see what all the fuss was about."

"J-Jamie?"

He bowed down, one arm swooping elegantly in a semi-circle. "James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser, at yer service. Please call me James."

She stifled a giggle knowing it was part of an act for the Samhain festivity.

The red-head girl in the circle glared at Claire. "Lass, yer screams will no' make the spirits want to speak. If ye're too frightened, go somewhere else, if ye please."

Heat crept up Claire's face as she jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "I'm so sorry I got carried away. I'll go now." She turned away from the circle and made her way down the hill.

"Wait, mistress, please! Dinnae let that druid priestess ruin yer evening," he said, grabbing her wrist and still speaking in his Old World accent. "There are other pleasing things to see than listen to her chant."

Claire stopped on her tracks and smiled shyly, swiping a loose curl away from her face. "I bet there are. It was beginning to get too spooky for me. Maybe you could show me around?" she suggested.

James laughed out loud, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously as he offered her his arm. "Weel, mistress, ye are in luck. It is but my good fortune ye are in need of a person to accompany ye, for I am in need of a fair lass on my arm. Come, let us leave this over-crowded place, and I will give ye a personal and less embellished, account of Craigh na Dun ."

Claire blushed profusely as she wound her arm into his. She was grateful for the darkness of the night, concealing her scarlet face. Although his eighteenth-century Highland accent was spot on, she wished he would cut out the play-acting. He had a languid air about him that put her at ease, and the magical Victorian vibe got her in a romantic mood. Under her tentative hand, his Highland garb felt unusually coarse, and a little cold but his arm was firm and strong underneath the wool fabric of his tartan.

As they made their way down the hill, James turned his face to her, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Ye never mentioned what I should call ye, and I think mistress will grow bothersome."

Odd that Jenny never mentioned my name to her brother.

Claire stifled a girlish giggle. "Sorry. I'm not so good at socialising. I tend to forget to do polite things like introducing myself and refraining from screaming in people's faces. My name's Claire ...Claire Beauchamp."

James chuckled, the sound coming from him throaty and deep. "Ach, ye screaming was entirely my blunder. I shouldnae have snuck up on a lass in a dark of the night. It was highly improper of me. I like the name Claire by the way ... it's Sorcha in Gaelic. Both roll off the tongue easily."

The way he said her name made her shiver in pleasure, like speaking her first name was an act of foreplay. It sounded beautiful coming from his mouth, like a poet from the olden times reciting an ode. As awkward as Claire felt she was, Jamie didn't notice and seemed to enjoy her company immensely. She could swear from the bottom of her heart, he blushed like a boy.

"Ye have an unusual way of speaking," James added, as they navigated the rocky hill. "But I like the sound of yer voice. But I must admit yer clothes are quite unusual too. I think I'm going to call ye, Sassenach."

"Oh!" she breathed. "What does that mean?"

"It simply means ye are an outlander, a stranger from a faraway place if ye will."

"Oh, that's alright then. As long as it doesn't mean anything bad."

"It's not bad at all, Sassenach, not bad at all."

James helped her down from a steep drop and led her towards a tent. There was a blazing bonfire, and an antique-looking lantern hanging from the post outside. Taking in her surroundings, she realised they were further away from the rest of the shelters and the crowd.

Once inside, she noticed the tent didn't look anything like she had seen before, but it looked strong and kept them warm from the outside elements. The floor was covered in the same material as the tent, and there were a couple of comfortable, high backed chairs covered in sheepskin and a small dark stained wood as the table. The oil lamp hung from above, illuminating the space in a soft glow. In the far end was a simple cot, covered in sheepskin as well, the sight of it making her blush.

He guided her towards the chair, pulling it in an invitation. Once she was seated, he took the chair facing her. "Ye must be parched and hungry. I'm begging yer pardon for presuming as I couldnae help but hear the grumble in yer belly."

Claire nodded and smiled. "In fact, I am, and there's no need to apologise. I haven't eaten all day, and if I'm entirely honest, I could eat a scabby dog."

He laughed out loud, and she noticed his eyes crinkling at the sides. His whole face lit up when he smiled, as though it was naturally part of his expression. "Ah, a lass after my own heart. I think I might have just the thing to soothe those hunger pangs." He looked at her with mischief in his eyes, and she bowed her head to hide the blush. "I hope ye like the Highland's fare. Not many travellers in this part of Scotland favour what we have to offer."

Claire grinned. "Don't worry. I can eat anything. Actually, this is not my first time here, and I do like the local food. They're so wholesome and delicious. When you've travelled to places like Egypt and the Middle Americas like me, you become accustomed to trying something new."

James's eyes widened. "Egypt and the Middle Americas? Ye've been to the New World! Ye must be a great adventurer. Unfortunately, I am not as seasoned-travelled as ye. I've been to France as a young lad, to study Latin, Greek and Philosophy."

"Oh! I've only been briefly in Paris. I've lived a semi-nomadic life with my uncle, you see, but I've settled down now in Oxford to study medicine."

James looked impressed. "Women in yer part of the world are very fortunate to be allowed to study, and from what I know, medicine is only meant for the sharpest mind. Here in Scotland, women stay at home and cook and care for the bairns."

She was about to admonish him for that remark, but she stopped. She reminded herself it was all part of the act, so she changed the subject. "Maybe, one day you'll visit Oxford, and I can show you my parents' hometown," she suggested, crossing her fingers under the table.

"Perhaps one day. As I said, I dinnae travel much, and this small sphere of the world comprises the extent of my life. I dinnae meet strangers often, so my manners might be slightly lacking. In fact, I believe I've forgotten all about the food I offered. Excuse my behaviour, it is a rarity I am in a company of a bonnie lass." He held her gaze and leaned in, propping his elbows on the table.

She tried not to gawk at the way his tartan hugged his body in just the right way. He was much too handsome and dashing to be flirting with her.

He shook his head as if he had to clear it. Perhaps his thoughts were drifting, and he was seeing her in a different light. When he stared into Claire's eyes, he made her feel desirable and alluring for the very first time in her life. And the way he leaned towards her and stared at her lips, caused butterflies to flutter in her belly.

She'd never met anyone who carried themselves like him. She was starting to think his chivalrous and courteous manner wasn't an act. She believed deep down, he was a very charming man with unusual humour. Even though she knew he was acting to suit the mood with his period costume and accent, she was beginning to find it endearing and adorable.

Suddenly he stood up. "Pardon me, Sassenach. I will arrange something for us to eat. I shan't be long."

She nodded and smiled up at him, as she made a mental note, to ask Jenny more about her handsome brother. He was unusual, that's true but in a delightful kind of way. He was at ease with himself and had such an open and inviting manner, unlike most of the men she met, jaded and carrying a lot of hangups.

A few minutes later, a woman in an old fashioned white apron over a dark grey dress and a bonnet came through the opening followed by James. She had a grandmotherly air about her, kind and cuddly. "G' evening, mistress," she greeted, curtsying low and smiling broadly. "A fine All Hallows' Eve to ye. I will be bringing some food in no time, but for the meantime, I brought a flask of whisky to warm up yer cockles."

James took the flask and a couple of pewter from the elderly woman's hands. "Thank ye, Mistress Fitzgibbons. Very kind of ye."

The woman curtsied, and once again, they were alone.

"I hope ye like whisky, Sassenach. It will warm yer belly until the food comes," he said, pouring a whisky in each of the vessels.

"I like anything alcoholic when its this cold. Thank Christ for whisky in this part of the world." She took the pewter of whisky he handed her and took a whiff. It was very unlike any whisky she'd seen and smelled, but it was peaty, just how she liked it.

James sat back down. "I must admit I am overly delighted ye have decided to come with me instead of watching the rituals of Samhain. I've seen it loads of times and having ye as a company is indeed a refreshing change. After we've eaten, perhaps we can take a walk under the moonlight, and by then the people in Craigh na Dun would be long gone. Mistress Fitzgibbons will surely feed us well with rich food and ale, so our energy does not wane. If that's alright with ye ..."

Claire's breath hitched. She was surprised he wanted to spend more time with her. When she realised she hadn't answered him, she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. I'm... I'm just shocked. I hardly know you, but it seems you are determined to spend time with me. It's just that these things don't normally happen to me. I'd love to, of course, to take a walk under the moonlight."

James frowned. "Well, I must admit I was unusually forward, but I thought we had a connection. It's like I've known ye for many lifetimes, and I would like to understand more about this connection. But permitting me to treat ye to an All Hallows' walk around Craigh na Dun is not the main object of my attention. I guess I should be forthright about that, now, so ye can make an educated choice to leave or stay."

Oh sweet Mother of God, is he trying to seduce me? She was not the type of person to jump into bed with anyone after the first meeting, no matter how handsome her date was. But the warmth of the tent, the sparkle reflected in James's eyes and the promise of adventure tugged at her heart. So she decided to do a little play-acting herself. "I hope you don't have any dishonourable intentions, kind sir. Perhaps it's high time I remind you that I am a lady."

His cheeks turned bright scarlet. "Oh, Sassenach, no. Ye have mistaken my intentions. I wasnae talking about…" he cleared his throat, tugging at his scarf, "about…" he leaned forward and whispered, "physical amusement."

This time it was her turn to be embarrassed. "Oh, dear, I'm reading this all wrong, aren't I?

He took a deep breath, obviously unhappy about giving her the idea she was a one night stand. He leaned forward, again, this time, he reached out for her hand, and she didn't pull away when she felt the warmth of his grasp. His muscles were strong underneath the skin, firm and calloused from manual work. She liked the fact that he had a worker's hands and a gentleman's manner.

"It isnae my intention to treat ye like anything other than a fine lady, Sassenach." He took a deep breath and brushed her hand with the tips of his fingers, making her heart do multiple cartwheels. Maybe she was affected because she'd never had a man look at her the way James was doing now. "My intention tonight is not to win yer very sumptuous person but to have a long conversation with ye under the moonlight. In hopes, by the end of the evening, ye will not wish to return to whence ye came from, and will, in the future, come back to me."

Claire's logical, modern head was screaming warnings. Get a grip, Beauchamp, he's just acting like this for the night. In the morning, he will be himself again, and what if you don't like that person?

She didn't have an answer and was thankful for the return of Mistress Fitzgibbons, balancing a huge tray filled with food in both hands. When the feast was laid out on the table, Claire's mouth watered as her stomach grumbled loudly enough to make the elderly woman grin.

James thanked Mistress Fitzgibbons before she turned around to go. His eyes were dancing playfully as the woman left them and sighed, "Ach to be young and in love…"

James grinned. "Let us eat, drink and be merry and not worry about later. Yer decision about agreeing to accompany an undeserving stranger can wait until after the victuals."

They had a pleasant meal of clootie dumpling, apple frushie, cranachan, scones, and almond cake, barely talking, only to compliment the fare. Instead of tea or coffee to wash down the sweet treats, they were served with warm ale. It was unusual, but it did not taste bad at all, probably too hungry to care.

When she groaned her pleasure, sampling all the food, he winked at her. "See, we are already making memories and connections."

She nodded her head playfully as she stuffed an almond cake into her mouth. Everything was so good, and nothing tasted pre-packaged or stale. It all had the homemade taste of ingredients measured by eye and mixed by hand.

By the end of the feast, they sat back in their seats, sated and glowing from the warmth in the tent. Claire sighed and downed the last of her ale from a beaker. "Okay, I guess I'll have to accompany you for a little bit longer if only to walk off everything I just ate."

He chuckled, his eyes lighting up boyishly. Damn! "I'm looking forward to it, Sassenach and I'm delighted ye accepted my invitation."

Claire had no fight left in her. James was so sweet, his blue eyes always playful, and his conversation light but entertaining. She wanted to spend the evening with him, even if it meant the play-acting was set aside, and the man of her dreams evaporated into thin air by tomorrow morning.

"Shall we go, Sassenach?" he asked quietly, interrupting her reverie and offering her his arm.

She nodded and stood up, slipping her hand under the warmth of his arm.

By the time they'd left the tent, the wind was calm, and the air didn't feel as cold. Claire put it down to the food, ale and whisky she'd consumed and her company. She noticed there weren't as many people compared to earlier, but the few that were left were scattered around campfires. They walked past a group of men in their Highland costumes, complete with dirks and swords. One was stood in the middle, preparing to tell a tale of the waterhorse of Loch Garve. Men and women gathered around, looking for the perfect spot. When Jamie gestured if she wanted to listen, she nodded.

They sat further away from the campfire as James took off his plaid and laid it on the ground for her to sit on. With the boulder behind them, they leaned back and sat side by side, his thigh touching hers.

Claire turned to Jamie. "There are few things I love more than waiting for a play or a story to begin," she whispered.

James' arched an eyebrow. "Is that so? Why?"

She shrugged. "I'm not quite sure. Look at everyone ...they are excited but quiet, hopeful but a little uncertain. It introduces a particular mood and air, you know? Like we're all preparing for an experience or adventure if you will. There's nothing else like it. Instead of reading a book, we get to be in it, but not so much a part of it we are not ourselves. We are away from risks and threats. We are safe but affected, and changed. The storytelling is part of that, but really, the mood a storyteller set is the most important part."

He stared at her intently, his body so intuned with hers, she forgot their surrounding. "Ah, Sassenach, ye are a poet. That is precisely accurate. That is how I feel right now, and every time I sit down to listen to stories of the old. And All Hallows' is particularly ripe for atmosphere, do ye not agree? The wind, the fire…"

"The feeling of someone watching you and ghosts just around the corner?" Claire added, getting caught up.

James chuckled. "Ach, Sassenach, what is a ghost really? I am no' frightened of spirits, and do ye want to know why?"

Claire had been terrified of evil spirits and ghosts ever since she watched The Exorcist. So she nodded, wanting to know how anyone could not be afraid of the possibility of a haunting.

"Weel, I am flesh and blood. I am my eyes, my smile and the work I do." He motioned to himself. "But I am also spirit, that immaterial element no one else can claim, and I am anything but frightening. All my ghost would be is me, without the shell. That which makes me me, but less substantially in the world, am I right?"

Claire smiled as she the digested his words, "Well, yes, but you are a wonderful soul. Not every person is. As a woman, I've met my fair share of men with truly terrible spirits. If they die, I wouldn't want them lurking about."

Jame's eyes twinkled. "You are very shrewd, Sassenach. My ma and pa are going to love ye. Maybe if ye are inclined, I'll introduce ye to them after our walk ... that's if my spirit has no' scared ye off, that is…" He waggled his brows and made a funny face.

She slapped his arm and laughed, but her laughter died when she caught him looking at her. For the first time, Claire really looked into Jamie's eyes instead of avoiding it shyly. The smile in them remained, even when his face took on a more serious look. They stared at each other, locked in an intense moment, before turning their attention back to the storyteller. How could that one stare make me feel like I'm spiralling out of control and into love? Love? Where the hell did that come from?

"Claire?"

Her heart started to beat as he inched closer and put an arm around her shoulder. "Yes?" she squeaked, unable to look, afraid she would not be able to resist him. But when a finger touched her chin, she was forced to look once more into his beautiful blue eyes.

"Do ye mind if I kiss ye? Because if I don't, I think I'll die, and I'll regret it for the rest of eternity."

Her heart and mind had been playing tug-of-war for the last couple of minutes, but the way he asked and stared at her lips became her undoing. "No, I don't mind at all," she whispered. "But do you think ..."

His lips swooped down upon hers, smothering her words with the sweetest kiss and extracting a soft moan from her mouth. One firm hand gripped her waist and the other moulded to the back of her head, pulling her gently against him.

She hadn't expected to be kissed today nor to fall in love in the brief time they'd spent together. But his mouth was warm, soft, intoxicating, and all-consuming. She lost track of time and place as everything suddenly seemed to spin out of focus and control, only aware of the movement of his lips and his hands sliding up and down her back.

When they broke their kiss, she stared at him for the longest time, and it was as if she was looking through him for a moment like he was a malfunctioning hologram.

"James?" She gripped his arms in panic, but he felt solid enough, though ice cold.

"I'm here, Sassenach," he whispered.

Why does his voice sound distant? She turned her head to take in her surroundings, and a chill shook her body. Everything looked odd, like a double-exposed photograph. On the misty surface was a more modern, brighter, lighter version of the hillside, and underneath sat the darker, dirtier, more romantic version of this place.

Suddenly, she felt nauseating fear, her eyes focusing and unfocusing like she was losing grip of reality. The twin pictures swam together in a confusing pattern before her eyes. She turned to James, and it was like she was looking at a ghost of the man she loved.

"James, please don't leave me!" She reached out to him at the same time he reached out to her, but she only grasped air.

"Sassenach!" he called out, his voice was the barest of a whisper, and then just like that, he was gone.

Her surrounding was one big whirlwind around her, images rushing and a loud buzzing sound echoing in her ears. Unable to cope anymore, her eyes closed and she fell to the ground.

..........

"Lass, are ye alright?" Claire felt a gentle hand on her cheek, and she sat up, abruptly.

"James!" She gasped, hoping for a sign of him. She was confused at the sight of unfamiliar faces peering down at her.

The red-headed girl looked worried. "Did ye come with a friend, lass? I thought I saw ye alone. Ye screamed and passed out, but everything is fine now, hen. There was a spirit, a benevolent one, but I think he's gone. I'm afraid ye might have scared him off. Do ye feel like ye can stand?"

Claire ran a hand at the back of her head, deeply confused. She stared around her and was shocked to find a few people encircling her. She shook her head vigorously, probably in an attempt to shake off the cobwebs in her brain. "Where's James?"

People around her muttered and murmured to each other, and the words "fainted," "hit her head," "concussion" reached her ears.

She was about to stand and tell them her head was fine when the pocket of her jacket vibrated. She pulled out her phone and was surprised to see it caked with mud. She swiped the screen to read the message from Jenny.

OMG. I'm so sorry, Claire. Jamie called and said he's on his way. He fell asleep and forgot the time. He said he'd be there soon. Please don't be mad at me. So sorry!

What the hell? Could Jamie and James be the same person? She didn't think so. It had to be coincident.

Claire leaned against the boulder to get a foothold and stood as the red-headed girl helped her up. "Do ye feel better now?"

She muttered she was fine and gave the girl a weak smile hoping, they would leave her alone.

"If ye need anything, just ask for Geillis. That's my name. I'll be over there in the third tent selling some t-shirts," the girl offered, her face still looking worried.

"Thank you," Claire whispered hoarsely. "I'm alright now. I must have passed out because I haven't eaten anything all day. I'll go and get something to eat and drink."

To her relief, Geillis nodded and walked away, followed by the rest of the crowd. Claire stayed where she was, totally confounded by the recent event. James had to be real, or I am going nuts. It had to have happened because I could still feel his lips against mine.

"James, where are you?" she whispered to the cold air, wiping away the tears that now streamed down her face.

She was about to go when a hand touched her elbow. "Excuse me miss, Are ye Claire Beauchamp?"

Her heart hammered against her ribs at the sound of the familiar voice. Slowly she turned around. "James?" she whispered.

The modern version of James grinned and extended a hand. Gone was his Highland garb and in its place were a sweatshirt under a leather jacket and jeans. "It's Jamie, everyone calls me Jamie," he greeted. "And I'm so sorry, I'm late. I fell asleep and had the strangest dream. But never mind that. Are ye hungry? Shall we go for something to eat? I havenae had anything to eat all day."

Her mouth opened, closed and opened again, unable to string words to form a sentence. When she finally was able to speak again, all she could do was give Jamie her best smile and take his offered hand. "Nice to meet you, Jamie. Ummm ...have we met before? You look someone I know."

He smiled, and his eyes twinkled. "Ah, I was gonnae asked the same thing. Ye look very familiar. How about we talk about it over a glass of ale?"

Before she could answer, he offered his arms, and he looked delighted when she took it. "Sounds like a grand idea," she said, her heart beating a million miles per hour and she wondered if he could hear it. "Do you know by any chance where we can eat some clootie pudding?"

He laughed out loud. "I know just the place, Sassenach. I know just the place."

And he led her to the same spot where James had taken her, but this time, the tent was much bigger, filled with people drinking and eating. Taking her hand in his, he guided her inside. She was about to point an empty table when he leaned down to her ears and whispered, "By the way, Happy Halloween to ye, Sasssenach. I have a feeling this is going to be the best Halloween ever."

She smiled and off they went to celebrate her first Samhain festivity.

#melodyheart #apassageintime #Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser #outlanderfanfic

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raysofcrosby · 4 years

Text

LITTLE DO YOU KNOW PT. 7

"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦–– 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦'𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵." – 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐀𝐦𝐲 & 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫

gif credit (x)

series masterlist

requested: yes | no

warnings: slight *unprotected* smut, implied sexual situations, otherwise its just fluffy convo.

word count: 10,282 [it’s a fucking novel ladies and gents, better buckle up]

authors note: FIRST AND FOREMOST, i’m going to apologize for the horribly written smut. i never write smut bc 1) i suck at it and 2) it makes me feel awkward lmao [sidenote: safe sex is great sex!!!]. also, if a boy did for me what tyler did for baby benn in this– then homeboy could like...get it. ALSO this ending wasn’t supposed to be the original ending, but i feel like it adds a little more oomph when it comes to small things involving the storyline– so i hope it doesn’t flop. i hope you guys’ enjoy! i love reading your comments, seeing your tags in the reblogs and just seeing that you guys’ enjoy this story as much as i enjoy writing it! without further ado, here’s part 7!

Your weekend with Tyler was exactly what you needed as a break away from school and of course, the biggest blessing Dallas was about to receive– the rest of the Benn's. Jordie was in town with the Canucks and your parents, Jenn, your brother-in-law, and your niece were all flying down to not only have a small visit with you before you traveled home for Christmas but to also see the two boys play against each other. Sure, they were able to see Jamie and Jordie play against each other only a few days ago when the Stars stopped in Vancouver, but there was one thing that the game didn't have– you. And you were never one to toot your own horn when it came to your siblings, but you were the favorite– second to Jenny at times. She was the firstborn and she had blessed your parents with a grandchild way before the rest of you. But you were the baby, and that was always a prize.

The rest of your family all got into Dallas around the same time, but since you had class and Jamie and Jordie had workouts, you guys didn't plan to get together until lunch, which unfortunately for Jamie, cut into his pre-game nap– but at least he'd get a free meal out of it, thanks to your parents. Until then though, you were suffering in your classes, too busy thinking about this past weekend and telling Kennedy everything you'd learned from Brandon about this Maisy girl. Kennedy didn't know who she was, and being the best friend ever, kept you out of your own worst thoughts by assuring you that if the relationship was as serious as Brandon said it was– Tyler wouldn't have played it off as nothing.

And that kept the bad thoughts out of your head for most of the day, until it came time to pick Jamie up at his place. The conversation in the car between your parents, you and Kennedy also kept you distracted– it was easy to talk about how school was going and how her family was doing, but when they mentioned your internship, it was hard not to immediately think about Tyler. Thankfully, by the time that came around, you guys were pulling up to Jamie's. Before your dad could even put the rental into park, you offered to run up and grab Jamie, that way they didn't have to get out of the car. You ran up the front steps and rang the doorbell an obnoxious amount of times and when the door opened, you were pleased to see Jenn standing there with a smile on her face.

"You know, there's a child sleeping in here," she joked, wrapping you in in a hug.

"Sleep is for the weak, Jenn. Kennedy is in the car with mom and dad, just send her to the back of the SUV so you guys can make room for the car seat."

"That's okay, Y/N. I managed to snag a sick rental," Andrew, your brother-in-law smiled, walking past with the car seat in his hands and giving you a one-armed hug.

"And by sick, he means a red 4runner," Jenn rolled her eyes as Andrew carried the car seat to their rental in the driveway. "He really just left without letting you see her, didn't he?"

"I'll see my favorite niece at lunch, that's fine," you laughed, watching as she put her purse on her shoulder. "Is he inside?"

"Jamie? Oh yeah, he's almost ready. We'll go ahead and follow you guys to the restaurant."

You nodded and walked inside as she walked out to their rental, closing the door behind her. "JAMIE EVERYONE'S READY BUT YOU!" You yelled out, unsure just where he was in his house.

"Jesus Christ, Y/N. You don't need to blow a guy's eardrum out like that," he groaned, walking from around the corner. "I just need to finish my hair and then grab water and I'm ready to head out."

"J...why are you even bothering to do your hair when you'll mess it up during your nap?"

He stopped in his tracks as if the thought never even crossed his mind. "Well, fine. But let me grab a hat at least so I don't have to brush it."

You sighed and leaned against the stairway, looking around his house aimlessly. When your eyes landed on an old picture of him and Tyler with Dude Perfect, a thought entered your mind. "Hey J? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, why not?"

You bit the inside of your cheek, wondering whether or not you should ask. Would it make Jamie suspicious to...whatever the hell you and Tyler had? Would he tease you for even wanting to know? "Do you know who Maisy is?"

"Huh?"

"Maisy! Do you–" You started to yell, only to see him come back down the hallway with a hat in his hands. "Do you know who Maisy is?"

He didn't even bother to stop this time, only walking away and into his kitchen. "Like, Tyler's Maisy?"

Your stomach dropped then and there straight into the bottom of your shoes. 'Tyler's Maisy.' You weren't sure if it was the nonchalant way that he said it or the fact that he just confirmed that Brandon wasn't lying that made you feel so uneasy– but either way...you were.

"Yeah, where they like...a thing?"

He came out of the kitchen holding onto two water bottles and tossing you one. A genuine look of concern on his face sent your heartbeat into overdrive as you tried to keep your expression as neutral as possible. "I mean, yeah. I don't know if they were ever really official, but she was his man hookup all last season."

He walked away again, this time coming back and shoving his wallet into his short pockets. "She also kind of played a roll in why he had to pick his new house so fast. Granted he already had two settled, but I guess she accidentally leaked his address on Instagram or snapchat or something after order postmates." He opened the front door, grabbing his house keys off of the hanger. "Also, there was this huge spamming thing from random accounts on twitter, some sports forum and other crap saying he needed to go public with her. They'd even comment on Candace and Cassidy's stuff."

As you followed him out of the door, it all started to make sense as to why Tyler didn't want you to ever post that you were at his house– it wasn't fully out of fear that Jamie would know you were there...but because he was scared that maybe you'd leak his address. And while that revelation made you feel a little more at ease, you couldn't help but acknowledge the hint of sadness when you connected Brandon's comments about Tyler not letting Maisy post stuff, to what Jamie just confirmed.

"I think he broke it off in the summer though, why?"

You shook yourself out of your thoughts and walked ahead of him. "Oh nothing, I just heard some frat guys talking about her when I dropped Cole's stuff off."

"Yeah, well I wasn't the only one who warned Seggy about getting involved with a college girl. I mean, I got lucky with Katie, but there's also a three year age difference between us." You were shocked at Jamie's reply as he walked ahead of you this time. "Tyler's going for girls now where the age difference is like six to seven years– I mean, maybe mentally he's right for them, but it's just...I don't know it never works out and we keep trying to tell him that, but you know how he is."

You just smiled and nodded as he opened the car door for you and you saw Kennedy climb into the next row of seats. You followed suit, saving a seat for when you went to pick up Jordie and ultimately ending your conversation there. The conversation picked up between everyone in the car as you made your way to your lunch destination, but you were lost in your little world, resting on the things both Brandon and Jamie have said...plus the fact that Tyler would be joining you guys for the post-game dinner in just a few hours.

How bad could it all go?

❒❒❒❒

Dinner was going to be a fun time and it would only be because you were going to be witness to Jamie rubbing it into Jordie's face that they beat them twice in less than a week. Little brother beating big brother– the theme to their entire childhood, was enough to entertain your dinner for 11. They spent a good five minutes arguing about who would cover the check, Jamie or Jordie and for a hot second, they both agreed that you would cover it– but a quick reminder that you were a college senior with no job and an unpaid internship, shut them down real quick. Otherwise, dinner was fun and heartwarming.

Your parents had invited Big Rig and Tyler along– Big Rig once they learned that he and Kennedy were an item, and Tyler because he was like another son to them, and Jamie's best friend. Luckily for you, the way everyone ended up being seated around the table, you had Kennedy and Big Rig to your right, and Tyler to your left, before it moved on to Jenn at the end of the table with your niece. The conversations were flowing all across the table and seemingly never-ending, everyone around the table, at least once, having the conversation focused on them. With Big Rig, it was his sister and if he liked being back in Dallas versus being in Pittsburgh.

With Kennedy, it was how her family's work is going and whether she was ready to deal with the Canadian cold come Christmas. Jamie and Jordie were tied together, the same with Tyler when they weren't asking about how his family was doing. With you, it was school and how your internship with the team was going– and God the conversation seemed never-ending. But you weren't sure if it was because you hated being the topic of everyone at dinner or if it was Tyler's hand resting on your thigh.

The entire night, beneath the table Tyler had been touching you. At first, it was knocking his knee against your own now and then before full on pressing his leg against yours. Then it escalated to him touching your leg and eventually keeping a hold on your leg throughout dinner. Acts that seemingly everyone around the table was oblivious to. And during dinner, the two of you kept up your chirping at one another like it was another day in the locker room, though there were few moments that slipped through, where it was like you were the only two in the room. A time, that once or twice, Kennedy had to nudge you with her knee to warn you that your flirtationship with Tyler was starting to make its presence known in front of your family. You would then nudge Tyler with your leg, signaling for him that the two of you needed to cool it down a little, but then you'd place a hand on his thigh, letting him know that a little touch was still okay. While keeping it on the low was a high priority, you couldn't help but feel reassured about Tyler's feelings towards you with those small touches– for they cast away any doubts you'd been thinking only hours before.

Everything was fine until you got up to go to the bathroom just before Jordie handed off his card to pay the bill, at least you thought it was. Because the moment you walked out of the bathroom, Jordie was leaning against the awning for the bathroom hallway, waiting for you. "Creeper isn't a good look, Jordie." You joked, brushing by him as you continued to shake your hands dry of the water that the air dryer didn't get.

"Is there something going on with you and Seggy?"

The question stopped you in your tracks, both because you had feared that maybe he had picked up on something during dinner and because he had asked so blatantly that you were scared someone else would hear. "What?" You asked, turning around.

He moved off of the wall, still crossing his arms and walked up to you. He looked around before looking back at you again. "Is there something going on with you and Seggy?"

"What?" This time, the question didn't come from you, but from Jamie who had just walked towards the bathroom awning. "No way, that's ridiculous!"

You looked between the two Benn brothers, Jamie looking at Jordie as if he was insulted that Jordie even suggested it, and Jordie giving you his 'I'm your big brother, I'm not as oblivious as this idiot so I already know the answer' look. "What are you three talking about?"

We looked to see our Mom coming around the corner with everyone else slowly trickling behind. "Jordie seems to think that Y/N and Tyler have something going on, which is stupid and he's probably just still bitter that he lost."

Your mom just looks between the three of you with raised eyebrows before nodding her head. As if he had perfect timing, Tyler came strolling around the corner and plopped two hands on Jamie's shoulders. "I'm going pee and then I'm headed home, the dogs need to be fed and let out."

You sent up a silent prayer to the Universe at the fact Tyler hadn't offered to drive you back to your dorm, especially after Jordie had seemingly connected the dots. "I'm going to catch wait by Big Rig's car, he's taking Kennedy home...so I'm catching a ride." You smiled, before removing yourself from the situation and walking out into the crisp, night air.

It felt too stuffy in that restaurant all of a sudden and for the first time all night, you were grateful that your parents were staying with Jamie at his place instead of a hotel. That way, they had no choice but to take him straight home before they called it a night. They weren't obligated to drive you back to your dorm and both the Stars and your family were heading out of Dallas the next day.

"Hi, Sweetie." You turned around to see your mom making her way over to Big Rig's vehicle, pulling her cardigan across her chest. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," you huffed, nodding towards the restaurant. "It was just a little hot in there."

She nodded, seemingly accepting your pathetic excuse. She barely let the silence settle between you before she spoke again. "You know I love you and that no matter what it is, you don't have to keep secrets from me...right?"

You tried not to let your face give it away, that you knew where she was going with her conversation. "Y-Yeah, I do..."

She took a deep breath before turning to look back at the restaurant, making sure the coast was clear. "Is Jordie right? About you and Tyler? Is there...something going on between you?"

When Jordie had asked, you were fearful– scared that he would judge you on being with Tyler, your brother's best friend, hell...a close family friend in general. That if he knew, all of a sudden he'd see you as just another one of Tyler's playthings and not Y/N...his younger sister. But when your mom asked, it was like the pressure of hiding it, mixed with a huge swell of emotions just washed completely over you, drowning you if it could, and you started to cry.

"Y-Yes..." You let out a small gasp as you went to speak immediately after your confession, "but please don't be mad at me mom– please don't–"

She took you into her arms and hugged you tightly, a hand resting at the back of your head and shooshing you to calm you down. You closed your eyes, taking in her embrace as you felt your shoulders feel a little lighter at the confession. When you pulled away, she held onto both of your hands before smiling at you. "So you and Tyler, you're...dating?"

"Yes...No..." You sighed, wiping your cheeks and shaking your head. "I don't know."

Your mom laughed, which was a reaction that you didn't expect from her. "I'll never understand this generation and your definition of relationships. Just tell me one thing...do you like him?"

You looked down at the ground, thinking about the last few days that you'd spent with Tyler and smiling at the way he made you feel and the funny moments in between. "I do...a lot. We have fun together, you know? It's just...it's easy."

"And I assume that Jamie doesn't know?"

You looked away from her again, nodding your head in shame. "We haven't told him yet...I'm just, scared of what he'll think."

"He's your brother, Y/N. I'm sure he'll think no less of you because of who you're dating." She sighed, squeezing your hand and gaining your attention. "And Tyler, well he is quite the step up from Cole."

"Yeah," you laughed, smiling at her. "He really is." As your eyes skimmed her face, your heart and brain prepared you for the 'but' that you knew was coming.

"Tyler's just..." Your mom shook her head, sighing again. "He's a little too old for you, don't you think?" She must have seen the look on your face when those words left her mouth because she held onto your arms and looked worried.

"I'm only saying that because well, the two of you are in very different stages of your lives. He's almost 28 and he's been in the adult world long enough to find out who he is and what he wants for his life. And you...you're barely 22, about to graduate college and experience the real adult world for the first time. You still need to find out who you are and what you want."

You understood what she meant and took her fear into account because if you were being honest...she had a point. Besides the summertime, you were in school for 9 months out of the year, living to a strict class schedule and figuring out your day to day routine without the fear of bills lingering over your head. You've had your little taste of the adult world, but come May you were about to get smacked in the face with reality...whereas Tyler's already figured out his life.

"Just...be careful, okay? You can have your time and relationship with Tyler, but don't lose yourself in this."

"Thanks, Mom, I love you." You whispered, hugging her close and wishing with everything that she didn't have to go back home tomorrow.

"I love you too sweetie." She pulled away and cupped your face, kissing your forehead. "Now promise me that you won't hide this from your brother forever, okay? It'd be a lot worse for him to find out from someone else rather than hear it straight from the both of you."

You only nodded in reply as the rest of your dinner group walked up, saying their goodbyes before separating to their cars. You lingered your goodbyes with Jenn and Jordie, telling them that you'd see them come Christmas time before hopping in the back of Big Rig's car and burying yourself out of sight. The entire ride back to the dorm, you were playing countless scenarios of how you'd tell Jamie about you and Tyler, hoping that there'd be the magic one that would solve every worry you had.

Only they all ended horribly wrong.

To make matters a little more stressful, when you got to your room, Kennedy had asked if she and Big Rig could have some private time alone. You agreed because at least one of you was going to get laid after that stressful dinner. So you did what you always did, packed an overnight bag and sent Tyler a text, wondering if he'd mind some company.

Of course, be there soon! 😁 All of your boys miss you (me included if you weren't aware)

Oh also, pack a bathing suit 😏

You quickly shoved your hottest bikini into your overnight bag and wished the two lovers goodnight, not failing to remind them to stay safe because you were too young to become an aunt again. They laughed you out of your dorm room and you raced down the stairs and out towards the parking lot where you knew Tyler would be waiting.

When his headlights shined on you, you felt a little burst of happiness rush through your veins as you climbed up into his jeep and immediately greeted him with a kiss before he could even say a word. "Wow, not that I'm complaining but...what was that for?" He laughed, waiting for you to put your seatbelt on before driving away.

"For saving me from having to wait hours before I could sleep in my sinful dorm room."

He threw his head back and laughed. "Wow, sinful dorm room? Is it that bad?"

"Tyler...we barely got two steps into the room before she straight up said 'I need to get laid, can I have the room?'" You joined in with his contagious laughter. "They're lucky I love them so much."

"Well, I for one am grateful for their horny actions," he reached and grabbed your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours and bringing your hands up to his mouth, kissing the back of yours. "Because now I get to spend the night with you and show you my surprise."

"Does it have anything to do with me needing to pack a bathing suit?"

He wiggled his eyebrows and kissed your hand again. "It has everything to do with a bathing suit. Speaking of," he let your hands rest on the center console. "Did you pack the...what did Kennedy call it? The raunchy red bikini?"

"Shut up, that was so embarrassing!" You leaned over and smacked his shoulder with your free hand as you felt your cheeks warm up. "And for your information...yes, yes I did. But if you keep teasing me, you won't get to see it."

Tyler coughed, this time trying his best to hide the fact that he was getting a little bashful. "There are two ways I could take that statement...and I'm not sure which one you meant."

God the two of you were practically downing in the awkward, sexual tension that surrounded you. You knew which two ways he was speaking of, too– either you don't do whatever activity involved your bathing suit, or you go full-on nude during whatever activity. And in all honesty, the thought of being naked with Tyler has been lingering in the back of your mind since the weekend when Kennedy asked if the two of you had had sex yet.

Plus, let's be honest...you've seen his ESPN body issue shoot...and seeing him naked wasn't the worst thing in the world.

When you guys got to his house, you greeted the dogs before he could manage to usher them all away from you. He handed you your bag and kissed your cheek before nodding at you to go upstairs. "Go ahead and drop your stuff off and get dressed, then meet me outside."

The chill he sent down your spine lasted well into your trip up the stairs and into his bedroom. You could only wonder what he had planned but made sure to keep your imagination tamed as you stripped off in his bedroom and put on your bathing suit. Which, until Kennedy said so, you didn't perceive as all that raunchy. It was your favorite, simply because its fabric hugged you in all the right places– making you feel like you could take on the world...if you were going to take on the world half-naked. When you left his room and walked back down the stairs and outside, the cool night air greeted you and the light wind blew some of your hair into your face. When you looked out for Tyler, you heard mumblings of music and saw lights stationed around the jacuzzi.

Holy shit, he put fucking candles around his jacuzzi and had music playing nearby? Cheesy? Everyone else would think so. But the fact that you had just broken up with a boyfriend who never really did anything like this for you...it was cute and romantic. It got better when you walked closer to the jacuzzi to see that the little candles were electronic and you couldn't help but laugh.

"I know, I know, it looks stupid, but the wind and fire hazard," Tyler said, keeping his back to you, across the way in the jacuzzi as he adjusted the volume on the Bluetooth speaker– before turning your way and smiling. "But its the thought that counts, right?"

"Tyler, what is this?" You laughed, sliding off your shoes at the edge before stepping in.

He walked across and reached out his hand, holding onto yours and making sure you didn't fall in. "You've been studying like crazy lately, plus dealing with us needy assholes almost every day...so I decided that you need to relax."

You had to admit, the moment that your body was engulfed by the hot water and jets– you were relaxed. It felt like if Tyler wasn't holding on to your hand, you'd probably slipped under and let the water swallow you up. You never realized just how tired your body was. You sat across from him, extending your legs out and letting them float as you closed your eyes and felt the jets against your back. "Is this what you do after every game? Come here and forget your troubles?"

"Usually," he laughed, moving his arms in the water. "Though sometimes I'll take an icebath upstairs or when you're here, I just kind of chill out. It all depends on how much energy I have left."

You sighed, letting the feeling of the water take over your mind as you laid there listening to what seemed like a top 50 hits playlist. "I wish I had one of these in my dorm room. God, I think I'd go from the library to my bathroom and never leave. Studying is stupid, don't ever do it. It's hard to believe finals are only–"

"Ah, ah, ah!" He said, interrupting you and reaching out for your leg, tugging you out of your relaxed state. "No school talk. This is why we got into the jacuzzi, now come here."

You sat up and walked over to where he was. He grabbed onto your shoulders, turned you around and placed you in front of him in the space between his legs. "Loosen up and relax, Y/N. I'm not going to drown you."

You took a deep breath and sighed, closing your eyes and anticipating what he was going to do. When you felt his calloused hands on your shoulders, you stayed relaxed. Only when he started to add pressure with his thumbs did you realize what he was doing. "Okay wow, did you go to massage school or something?"

He laughed, moving towards the center of your neck. "No, but I've had enough done that I remember a few things."

You felt his breath along the back of your neck as he continued to apply pressure with his hands and dig into your shoulders with his thumbs. It felt good, really good and you had to bit down on your lip to prevent a moan from coming out of your mouth. It was one thing that Tyler was giving you a candlelit massage in his jacuzzi, but it was another thing for you to moan out just how good he was doing. Your mind wandered down the road of no return as his hands kept doing the Lord's work. You couldn't help but wonder how his hands would feel if they were touching and massaging other parts of you and how bad you wished that they would just linger a little bit lower than their current location.

"See, now isn't this better than talking about school?"

You were too lost in your daydream until you heard the moan you'd been holding back, escape from the back of your throat. You felt embarrassed because the moment you let it happen, Tyler had paused his hand movements for only a second, before picking them back up. You sat there, biting the inside of your cheek and focusing on how fast your heart was racing against your chest.

Should you do it?

What would he do if you did?

"Fuck it," you whispered, stepping out from under Tyler's hands and turning to face him.

"What?" He laughed, "Did I suck that bad?"

You didn't say anything as you moved closer to him and crawled onto his lap. You felt his quads tighten and watched as his eyes went wide, almost as if he was too afraid to move because he was too focused on what you were doing. You were nervous as hell, never really one to make big moves like this, but you were tired of just dancing in circles with Tyler and more than anything, you were hoping that taking the leap on this one...wouldn't bite you in the ass.

You wrapped your arms around his neck before leaning in and pressing your lips solidly against his. It was like the first time he kissed you, nothing crazy, just a kiss. And when he didn't kiss you back, you felt yourself begin to get swallowed up by a hole on embarrassment. No sooner than you went to pull away, Tyler grabbed your lower back and pulled you further onto his lap, groaning quietly before kissing you again. This time his mouth moved with your own, setting the pace that you were more than pleased to follow. You were the first to tease, dragging your tongue slowly across his bottom lip before he took it up a level and teased your tongue with his own. Your fingers looped around the back of his head, tangling themselves in his curls, just as he brought one of his hands down to your hip and tugs you against him once more.

Goosebumps erupted over your entire body the moment his hands started to wander across your skin. One stayed beneath the water, constantly guiding you across his lap as the other wandered across your belly before landing on the side of one of your breasts, his thumb rubbing over the front of your top. It was like he had well-timed the entire ordeal, because the moment you moaned at the sensation coming from beneath your top, Tyler stuck his tongue back into your mouth before biting down softly on your bottom lip. When you went to kiss him again, you untangled your fingers from his curls and untying the back of your bathing suit, taking the material and blindly tossing it aside before pressing your bare chest against Tyler and kissing him harder.

You were desperate to get him to understand just how badly you wanted him and when you could feel all of him brushing against your inner thigh, you sped up your movements, rolling your hips against him as he held onto your hips tightly. "Oh Fuck Y/N," he groaned, letting his head fall away from you.

You took the opportunity to reach your hands down into the water and grab onto his swim trunks, searching for the tied strings. You started to feel embarrassed at how you couldn't find them until you felt Tyler stir and you looked up to see him staring blatantly at your chest– reaching for a breast and cupping it. "You weren't wrong," he looked up at you with his childlike smile cupping the other breast and massaging them both. "Your boobs are pretty great."

You laughed before leaning in and kissing him, running your hands down his stomach and coming to a stop, once again at the waistband on his swim trunks. "No strings, you just tug em," he pulled back and reached his hands beneath the water, shifting as you felt the fabric of his swim trunks brush against your bottom. "It's easy science."

You rolled your eyes as he brought you back into his chest and you let your hands continue their journey down his body. To your, happy, surprise, the waistband of his swim trunks was no longer blocking your way. He kissed down your neck as you felt his hands wander down to your bottoms, twirling with the strings on either side of your hips. "Yes," you breathed out before he could even ask the question, even nodding your head in case he wouldn't get the signal.

His tugs on the strings of your bottoms were in synch and you felt him pull the fabric away from your body, leaving you vulnerable and naked beneath the water and on his lap. His hands traveled down to your butt as he tugged you closer against him, to the point where you could feel his cock resting between the both of you.

As he continued his assault on your neck, one bite caused you to moan loudly and he pulled away with wide eyes and a smile. "Not going to lie, that was kind of hot, and I’m definitely a big fan of the red raunchy bikini..."

You smiled, before the reality of your situation set in and you looked down at the water. The adrenaline was running through your veins, making you feel on top of the world– this was it. You and Tyler were going to finally have sex.

"I-I've never done this before," you blurted out, swallowing the small nervous knot in your throat.

Tyler stopped kissing down your chest and pulled back, looking at you. The look on his face could only be described as one that was worrisome as his hands cradled your lower back. "I thought...I mean...you and Cole never..."

"Oh no! No, no, no, we did!" Only then did you realize what your statement had made him think and you wanted to do nothing more than drown yourself in the jacuzzi. "That ship sailed a long time ago, like a lonnnng time ago. Junior winter formal, Jack Makenzie at Jamie's cabin– post formal party. Though, don't tell him that because I kind of lied and said it would be only girls, but it was actually–"

Tyler leaned forward and kissed you softly, a hand coming up to the left side of your face and cradling it. When he pulled away, his thumb was rubbing along your cheekbone. "Relax, Y/N, it's just me. If you don't want to do this, we don't have to. We can cuddle in bed and fall asleep."

"No, I want to do this, I want this..." You leaned into his touch, closing your eyes only for a moment before looking back at him. "I want you, I just...I've never done it in a hot tub before so..."

Tyler tried so hard to hide his dire want to laugh, but as always, he failed and burst out into laughter. He kissed you once, twice and pressed his head against yours. "You're such a dork, you know that? And I love that about you."

Your heart fluttered when he said it, and while you know that he probably didn't mean the big L...it still felt the same. You pressed yourself against him and kissed him until you were out of breath. When you pulled away, you kept your forehead pressed against his as the both of you tried to catch your breath.

It should be noted that hooking up in a jacuzzi, will leave you just as breathless as the hooking up itself– and you were going to be sure to mention that to Kennedy as a lesson learned.

Tyler's hands traveled up your sides, resting on your ribs before you looked at him. His eyes were staring into yours as if he was trying to find any hint of regret– that you weren't choosing to do this because it was a spur of the moment thing. You nodded before breathing out a breathless 'yes' and his hands traveled back down to your waist and beneath the water.

You were waiting for the touch of his you'd been longing for and when it'd yet to come you looked at him to see he has a sheepish smile on his face. "Do you want to uh..." his eyes traveled to the water, "I just don't want to um...I want it to be comfortable for you and you can set it at your own pace and–"

This time, you cut him off with a kiss before laughing and nodding your head. You took a short, but deep breath as a way to calm yourself before dipping your hand beneath the water and finding Tyler's wrist. You followed it to his hand, lingering your touch against his fingers before grasping his cock in your hand. He coughed to cover up his groan at your added touch but kept his eyes on you as you positioned yourself over him.

The both of you took sharp inhales of breath as you suck down onto him, one hand grasping onto his chest as you felt your head fall back slightly in relief. You took your time, taking him in and admiring the slight burn of him stretching you out. You needed to go slow, it's been months since you've had sex and Tyler was considerably thicker and longer than Cole.

"Y/N..." He whispered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear and kissing your neck. "You need to breathe, babe."

"Sorry, it's just...it's been a while and you're so..." His hips tugged you down softly the last few inches and you moaned, falling into his chest. "Oh fuck."

You stayed pressed against his chest, focusing on breathing as he told you too– all in the while, he was stilled within you, rubbing your sides and switching between kissing your neck and your shoulder blades. As soon as he turned his face into the crook of your neck, you relaxed and pulled back nodding your head. "You ready? Can I move?"

"Yeah," you leaned in and kissed him hard, a clash of teeth and lips before moving to his neck and nipping just below his jaw. "Go ahead."

He thrust his hips up, pushing himself further into you and hitting a spot that made your legs feel like jello. When you felt him smirk against your neck, you laughed to yourself and knew that it was game on. You weren't one to toot your own horn, but little did Tyler know, this position was your expertise. You always had Cole melted like putty in your hands whenever you topped him and unfortunately...or fortunately for Tyler, he was about to find out.

You raised your hips and circled them before sinking back down again, grinding down onto him hard. "Oh fuck that..." his head fell back as his grip on your waist loosened, giving you more control. "That feels so fucking good."

You grinned to yourself as you placed your hands on his shoulders, pushing him against the wall of the jacuzzi, earning wide eyes and a smirk from Tyler. "Oh, shit Y/N...are you trying to dominate me?"

Your only reply was a flirty grin and your hips grinding down against him harder before clenching down onto him, causing him to choke on the breath he'd been holding. As you quicken your pace, Tyler started to meet you halfway but keeping his focus on his hands massaging your breasts.

"Tyler...fuck." You moaned, pressing your face into the crook of his neck and focusing on how good he was making you feel...until a jingling sound tore you away. "Did you hear that?"

"Huh? What?" He mumbled, thrusting his hips up again, completely enamored in you to even pay attention.

You heard more jingling, this time your eyes focusing on the house. You grabbed Tyler's face and turned his head towards the backdoor. "It's coming from over there...wait..is that?"

"Oh no, you've got to be kidding me," He groaned, stilling inside you and bringing you closer to his chest as the two of you watched the three figures get closer. "No! Go, bad boys!"

The three furry Seguins came running up to the two of you, tails wagging and tongues out. Gerry attacked Tyler's face with kisses as Cash and Marshall tried their best to get to you. Tyler wrapped one arm around your waist, pulling you into him as he shooed the dogs away with the other. "Go away, you're ruining it!"

You laughed, pulling your face out of his chest before patting it. "I don't think they're going away any time soon."

He looked at you, pouting before groaning. "I just got cockblocked by my own dogs, man's best friend my ass."

"Who said we were done?" You replied, climbing off of his lap.

He raised his eyebrows and let his eyes linger on you before he tugged up his swim trunks and climbed out of the jacuzzi. He picked up a towel and unfolded it, holding it up for you.

You stepped out of the jacuzzi, easily feeling his gaze linger on you before stepping towards the towel and letting him wrap you up in it.

He picked up his towel, wrapping it around his waist and touching your elbow. "Meet me in our room while I go deal with these," he turned his attention towards the dogs, who were all sitting down and staring at you both with big smiles. "Very bad boys."

You watched as he walked the dogs back into the house and took that time to not only collect your bathing suit but to turn off all of the lights and grab the Bluetooth speaker. As you made your way into the house, you couldn't wrap your mind about what just happened. Every time you tried to, the result was always the same:

Holy shit, you just had sex with Tyler.

And the butterflies haven't left your body at the way he called his bedroom, your bedroom or how slow and gentle he had been with you. It's only been a few moments since the dogs interrupted you, but you swore that you could still feel his touch and you were more than positive that you'd never forget the way he felt. When you got to the bedroom, you walked into the bathroom and laid your bathing suit over the tub before placing the speaker onto the counter and walking back into the room.

Now it felt like a waiting game and you could feel your nerves start to return– mainly in the fear of, what if he doesn't want to continue? You were beginning to pace around the room, clinging to your towel before you saw it– his jersey. The jersey he let you wear on Halloween, the one Jamie said he was waiting to get boxed up in a shadow box. You smiled, dropping your towel and walking over to the jersey, picking it up and letting it fall down your body. As you heard his footsteps coming up the stairs, you quickly walked back over to the bed, standing at the end of it and kicked the towel away.

"I don't know how the hell they even got out! I could've sworn that I left them in the–" He stopped in the doorway, his eyes glued to you in his jersey and you could tell that he was seconds away from drooling.

"So?" You smiled, raising an eyebrow as he made his way over to you.

"I wanted to have you the first time I saw you in the jersey," he smiled, making his way over to you. "With nothing but spandex, heels, and those cute bunny ears."

"Aw shucks," you pouted jokingly, "no bunny ears."

His hands traveled up the bottom of the jersey and ran across your bare skin, coming to a stop on your hips. "I like this outfit much, much better."

You wrapped your arms around his neck, smiling up at him. "Even without the ears?"

"Hell yeah," he replied, pulling you into him and kissing your cheek, moving down to your neck. "But I can always go and buy another pair."

"No need," you grinned as he playfully nipped your neck and you pushed him away. "Well, I think we've got too many clothes on, Seguin. What about you?"

"I think we can fix that," he replied and you watched as his childlike grin took over his face before he pounced on you, playfully tackling you onto his bed and sending you both into a giggle fit.

❒❒❒❒

When you woke up the next morning, the two of you were intertwined in mess of limbs and bedsheets. He had his face smashed into his pillow and he was drooling a little bit, add in his slight snoring and you knew that he was still sleeping hard. And you couldn't blame him, because last night was the most physical activity you had in a long time and if it wasn't for your immediate need to pee, you'd still be sleeping too. You snuck out from beneath his arm and he immediately stirred away, glaring at you with sleepy eyes. "No, come back."

"We have to get up, Ty," you groaned as he pulled you back into him. "We have to be at the arena in an hour for morning skate and we both need to shower."

His eyes shot open and he smiled at you. "Shower sex?"

"If you get up now, then–"

He practically jumped on top of you and kissed you before rolling off and running into the bathroom, stark ass naked. "I've got the water, you bring yourself and we're all set!"

"You're insatiable, Tyler!" You laughed, leaning up on your elbows and looking into the bathroom.

He peeked out from around the corner, still with a smile on his face. "I don't know what that means, but it sounds kind of hot so thank you." He disappeared back around the corner, the shower door opening. "Now get your cute ass in here so I can wash your hair."

Your time in the shower cut your 'get ready' time short, but Tyler made up for it by practically speeding to the arena. Luckily for Tyler, the morning skate wasn't going to be a normal practice, seeing as the Stars flew out to Nashville later that afternoon. When the two of you got out of the car, you told Tyler to walk ahead of you and that you'd wait for Big Rig, that way it wasn't suspicious of you to arrive with him rather than Tyler. When Tyler went to leave, Big Rig pulled up and you waved him down. You were leaning against Tyler's car when Big Rig walked up to you, adjusting the duffle bag on his shoulder. He stopped in front of you and took in your appearance before getting the biggest grin on his face.

"What's your problem, Teddy Bear?" You asked, looking back down at your phone to reply to a text from Kennedy.

"Oh yeah, you so got laid." He picked at a wet piece of your hair and smirked. "Last night and maybe some shower sex this morning I assume?"

You almost dropped your phone with how straightforward...and quite frankly correct, he was. "Don't say it so loud, you ass!" You smacked his stomach and he just laughed. "But how do you know?"

"You've got that post-sex glow," he waved his hand at you as the two of you made your way into the building. "Plus your RBF isn't as bad this morning like it always is."

"Oh shut up," You said, bumping into him as he kept laughing. "Don't think I don't know about your post-sex routine."

He gasped, looking at you with wide eyes. "She told you about that?"

You smirked and patted his chest. "We're best friends, Teddy Bear. I know everything." You eyed him up and down before patting him on the chest again and walked ahead of him.

"Wait! What do you mean everything! What did she say?"

You kept mum all while trying not to laugh as he kept begging you to spill the details on what you knew, your entire journey to the training room. And just when you were about to tell him, Jamie came jogging down the hall. "Y/N! I need you to grab my foam roller from the car, pretty please?"

"There's like five foam rollers in the room, why do you need yours?"

"Because everyone's using one and I forgot to bring it inside with me and my hamstrings are dying," he tossed you his car keys. "I'll tell Dave you're there, please!" You groaned, but ultimately agreed to go to his car and he smiled. "You're the best little sister ever!"

You turned to walk down the hallway, giving him a deadpan stare. "I'm your only little sister."

"Fine. Best sister!"

"I'm telling Jenn!"

He and Big Rig ignored your comeback and continued their way to the locker room as you made your way back out to the parking lot. On the bright side, this little detour gave you a little more time to yourself to absorb everything that happened last night, without having to do so in a room full of hockey players. Your busy night replayed in your mind and you pushed back the blush that so desperately wanted to make an appearance on your face. One thing that you couldn't help but wonder, is whether or not last night with Tyler and everything you guys did meant you were official on some kind of level.

"Nope, don't do that," you shut Jamie's car door, tucking his foam roller under your arm as you shook your head at yourself. "Don't be that girl who falls in love with a guy the moment you have sex."

Though to be fair, it was some pretty great sex. The best you've ever had and it only made sense as to how Tyler maintained to get so many girls throughout the years and kept them coming back. When you reached the training room, you stood outside of the door for only a few moments and composed yourself before opening it and walking inside.

You were immediately greeted with wild laughter and chirps being thrown left and right, the focus mainly being on Big Rig. "What's going on?" You asked, tossing Jamie his foam roller and walking over to your designated desk to grab the bands for Big Rig's stretching.

Dickinson smiled, wiggling his eyebrows in Big Rig's direction. "Oh nothing, just asking Big Rig how his trip to the zoo was."

"The zoo?" You came to a stop in front of Big Rig, handing him one end of the band. "When the hell did you go to the zoo?"

Big Rig looks at you before tugging onto the band and starting his stretches, trying his damndest to hide his blushing. "Not the literal zoo, Y/N," Pavs chimed in from across the room. "We're just pointing out how it looks like he jumped into an animal cage and got bit quite a few times."

You were confused as hell as you looked around the room to see everybody still laughing at Big Rig. When you turned your attention to him, your eyes widened the moment they landed on his neck. He had been wearing a sweatshirt beforehand, hiding the purple bruises that traveled below the shirt collar. "Holy fuck, what did she do to you?"

The boys' laughter roared again before fading as Big Rig finally looked at you with a groan. "She just wanted to celebrate the win." He tossed his towel at Rads and Dickinson. "At least I'm getting good sex, assholes."

You cringed, hitting him on the shoulder before moving towards your desk. "Please don't talk about that."

"I thought you already knew everything?" He replied, obviously mocking you.

"Yeah, but I don't need to hear YOU talk about it to your teammates, including my brother," you shuddered, shaking your head at the thought. "Ew."

"Hey Y/N, can you grab me two ibuprofen?" Jamie asked, raising his arm into the air.

You nodded and turned your attention over to the medicine cabinet, your back to the now relaxed and chattering group of men. The door opened again, followed by a whistle. "Looks like Big Rig wasn't the only one who found himself in bed with an animal, boys."

You rolled your eyes at Rad's comment, trying your best to mute out the guy talk as your eyes skimmed the shelves for the ibuprofen. "Jesus Seggy, did you and Big Rig take trips to the zoo together?" Miro chimed in, probably still a little confused at the metaphor.

"What the fuck are you on about, Miro?" Tyler asked, moving about the training room.

"Ha, got ya!" You smiled, reaching into the back of the cabinet and grabbing the bottle. You kept your focus on opening the bottle as you closed the cabinet and turned back to face the room.

"I'm talking about the sex scratches all over your back. It looks like you bedded a fucking leopard!" Dickinson laughed. You looked upon instinct to see him tugging on Tyler's shoulders and eventually forcing him to have his back faced to the room.

The moment your eyes landed on his muscled back, your body froze and the bottle of ibuprofen fell from your hands and onto the floor. Your eyes lingered on the bright red scratches that decorated the entirety of his back– evidence of your night together and just how good Tyler had made you feel.

"Let me see!"

"No, I want to see! Are they that bad?"

You watched, horrified, as his teammates kept tugging him around, trying to get a glimpse of the so-called 'sex scratches', their laughter bouncing off of the walls. Your cheeks were no doubt a deep scarlet color by now and they only got hotter when you saw Jamie bend down and pick up the ibuprofen in front of you. "Jesus Seggy, you're telling me that you didn't know those were there?" He asked, opening the bottle and grabbing two pills before handing it back to you.

"I was uh, a little distracted I guess."

You made quick eye contact with him before tucking your head into your chest and turning away, trying to prevent yourself from any more humiliation. You kept your back to the rest of the boys, looking up only for a moment to see Big Rig looking at you with a smirk. As you walked by him, you reached out and pinched his inner thigh hard, quickly rushing by him and going to the cabinet.

"Let me guess the number for the o-scale...three for four?" Pavs called out, silencing the roaring laughter.

"No fucking way, I say one and done. He's getting too old.." Dickinson chimed in, elbowing Tyler. "There's no way he can hang on that long."

You bit your tongue as an effort to prevent yourself from saying just how many times Tyler had made you cum last night, instead, choosing to focus on helping Big Rig continue his stretching– though it wasn't needed. "Yeah Seggy, tell us!" Big Rig said, keeping his eyes on you and the smirk on his face. "Three for Three? More than four?"

If looks could kill, Big Rig would be buried in a casket six feet under right now and you made sure that he knew it. You grabbed the elastic around his foot and snapped it back, only making him laugh.

"The gel's over there, Tyler. Grab it for me and I can get out those knots." Craig said, paying no mind to the conversation around him.

Tyler was turning red and rubbing the back of his neck in an effort to try and hold them off and you were silently praying that he wouldn't cave into their pressure. "Four for four..." He mumbled and you could feel his gaze scrape over you.

The hollering from the boys around him was deafening as they all congratulated him and patted him on the back. Meanwhile, it was all you could do not to die from embarrassment while dealing with the plaguing smirk coming from Big Rig.

"Damn Seggy," Jamie laughed, patting Tyler on the back like some proud dad. "You've got a real keeper there, don't you? She managed to scratch you up that bad? She must've been doing all the work for you."

Big Rig couldn't hold back his laughter anymore, making a noise that mimicked an elephant as he let go of his side of the band and fell back onto the table, clutching onto his stomach. "Oh my God," he whispered, his face turning beet red.

You were too busy focusing on anything but the nauseous feeling you started to have the moment Jamie unknowingly congratulated Tyler on having sex with you, his younger sister. "Yeah, she is..." Tyler replied.

You kept your focus on the band around Big Rig's foot, constantly tapping his shins in an attempt to try to get him to sit back up. Before he made it known, you could feel Tyler's presence and were sure of it when Big Rig finally sat up, still with a grin on his face. "Well, isn't this a lovely sight? At least I'm not the only one getting chirped."

Tyler laughed and looked at you, seeing that you were extremely embarrassed. In an effort to calm you down, he moved closer to you, pretending like he was asking you a question. "I'm sorry. I forgot they were there and I need to get scraped and I just...came in here without a shirt."

You shrug it off, focusing on Big Rig. "It's fine. Though I'll admit, hearing my brother talk about us having sex is something I never thought I'd experience." He laughed and you looked at him, leaning against the table. "So what do you need?"

"I need a lot of things," he whispered, smiling at you. "A massage like last night, for one." He scoffed when he saw you roll your eyes in reply. "Okay yeah, don't act like my massage last night didn't do something for you."

"Man," Big Rig laughed, shaking his head at the two of you. "These Copeley 206 girls, am I right Seggy?"

You pinched Big Rig again, this time on the inner knee and he flinched away from you as he and Tyler laughed. "Well, he's not lying. I mean have you seen what you and Kennedy have done to us? Ruined our beautiful, athletic bodies with your...sexual marks."

"Yeah, well if Big Rig doesn't stop and you don't stop encouraging him," you turned to Tyler and gave him a sarcastic smile, batting your eyelashes at him. "You'll be getting none of my services from last–"

"A mini towel and some gel!" Tyler blurted out, his smirk falling and his eyes looking panicked. "I just need one of those towels and the gel. Craig said it was over here somewhere with you?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, shaking your head slightly. "What are you–" When you saw Tyler move his eyes to your left, you pretended to look for the stuff he needed and that's when you saw just how close Bishop was standing by your area, doing his band exercises.

You felt yourself begin to panic, but took a quiet, deep breath and exhaled before clearing your throat and bending down beneath the table, grabbing a towel. "I have towels, but the gel is probably with Dave. You must've heard him wrong."

Tyler nodded, taking the towel from you. "Probably, seeing as I didn't get much sleep last night." You saw the mischievous gleam in his eyes before he nodded at Big Rig. "Nice marks, did you cross paths with a squid?"

Before Big Rig could smack him with his free band, Tyler ran off laughing. You kept working with him, adding in new stretches until Bishop finished with his and left the training room. When you reached another point that Big Rig was done with his stretches, he leaned up and put both hands on your shoulders. "You need to breathe Y/N, because you look like you could pass out at any moment."

"I think I'm going to, what if..." You looked around the now, less crowded training room, collecting the bands from him. "What if he heard something? Anything or all of it? I'd be dead! My own brother would probably murder me with his hockey stick..maybe even his skate if he was angry enough."

"You'll be fine, Y/N." Big Rig patted your shoulders before hopping off of the table. "Bish has old man hearing, I doubt he heard anything."

He gave you a reassuring smile and you felt yourself start to relax. He was right, there was no way that Bishop could've heard your entire conversation, and now that you thought about it...he wasn't really all that close to you guys after all. Your gut feeling was wrong this time, you were sure of it.

"Hey Y/N, can you help me real quick? I just need my ankles taped." Miro asked, walking over to your table before hopping up and greeting you with a smile. "Best ankle taper in the game."

You smiled, before walking over to the cabinet and grabbing some pre-wrap and tape. You closed your eyes, took a deep breath, opening them once you exhaled and closed the cabinet.

Everything was going to be fine...perfect, even.

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