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crystalstar8 · 3 years

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Knights of the Night (ch 23)

Chapter 23

Ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5, ch 6, ch 7, ch 8, ch 9, ch 10, ch 11, ch 12, ch 13, ch 14, ch 15, ch 16, ch 17, ch 18, ch 19, ch 20, ch 21, ch 22, ch 23

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139240/chapters/71536491

pairing: Jungkook x oc

genre: vampire au, college au, twilight, romance

word count: 3,393

warnings: blood (obviously), kidnapping, child kidnapping, needles, France, human trafficking

notes: vampires, vampire au, college, college au, so many twilight references, blood, needles, kidnapping, children, homelessness, dance, ballet, flashbacks, romance, slow burn, probably no smut, idk yet tho, France, French things, attempted genocide, inaccurate French history, bisexual main character, @strawberriewithchocolate-blog @mozy-j @daechwitad-2 @zobadak @fallenstar-7

summary: Catalina starts college in a small town all the way across the country. She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t exactly looking for friends. She just wants to focus on dance. But when she meets fellow dance major, Jimin, and adventurous, fellow freshman, Jungkook, Catalina ends up discovering a whole new side to the small college town; one that is dangerous but oh so enticing...

The hallway was quiet outside Taehyung’s room, but she could hear voices downstairs. She couldn’t remember if she had her phone on her before she… well, before she died. But when she checked her pockets, it was right there, fully charged. She smiled.

Her smile dropped when she tried to open her phone and it didn’t recognize her face, refusing to unlock without the number code.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” she mumbled. “I don’t look that different.”

She had several missed calls and texts from her mom. It looked like her mom was keeping her eyes on the news and saw something about the raid at the abandoned hospital. She clearly panicked when she couldn’t get ahold of her. The last text told her to call when she woke up. She checked her calls. There was one outgoing call to her mom. One of the guys must have called her.

She sat down against the wall in the hallway and tapped her mom’s contact. The phone didn’t even ring twice before she picked up.

“Mi hija, is that you?” she answered, her voice frantic.

“Yeah mom, it’s me,” said Catalina. “I’m okay, sorry I worried you.”

“A young man named Hoseok called me and told me you were in the hospital?” Lucía asked. “I heard there was some sort of explosion downtown and you were nearby. I tried to fly over there but the city is in lockdown-“

“Mom, slow down,” Catalina said with a laugh. “I promise I’m okay. I’m back home with the boys and honestly, I feel great.”

“Were you unconscious all that time?” Lucía asked. “Did you have some kind of head injury? Those don’t just go away so easily.”

“Yeah, I was asleep for a while, but my head is perfectly fine,” said Catalina. “I just got my phone charged up, that’s why I wasn’t able to call you until now.”

She hated lying to her mom, but clearly the guys didn’t want her knowing the truth. Catalina knew that was for the best. They couldn’t just go around telling people about all this. She knew someday her mom would need to know, but now wasn’t the time.

“Okay, I’m so happy you’re okay,” Lucía said. “Please call every day until your poor mom is satisfied.”

Catalina laughed and said, “Sure mom. I can do that.”

“The boys are taking care of you, right?” Lucía asked. “Is Jungkook there?”

“Yeah, they’re taking good care of me,” said Catalina, her heart skipping a beat at the mention of her boyfriend. “Jungkook is here, he’s downstairs. I have to go now mom. I’ll call you again tomorrow.”

“Okay, cariña,” said Lucía. “I’ll let you go. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, mom,” said Catalina. She hung up and looked down at her phone. She wondered how she’d be able to tell her mom about everything that happened. About what she was now.

She sent a text to Hoseok, telling him to meet her by Taehyung’s room. He sent her back a thumbs up emoji and was there within a minute. Catalina stood up and looked at him. He didn’t look all that different. She wondered how badly he was hurt. But first…

She pulled him into a tight hug.

“Thank you,” she said. “For saving me.”

“I did it without your consent,” he mumbled into her shoulder. “I thought you would hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” she said, pulling away to wipe away his gathering tears. “I wasn’t ready to go. I’m glad you did what you did.”

He hugged her again, then Catalina said, “I heard you were hurt at the fight.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” said Hoseok. “Tae tae likes to exaggerate.”

Catalina laughed.

“I can’t wait to hear the whole story,” she said. “But first, I wanna see my boyfriend. I was told I needed a chaperone.”

Hoseok smiled and said, “I’ll be your chaperone! You look okay right now, but seriously, be careful getting close to him.”

“I feel fine,” said Catalina. “I think I should be okay.”

“Trust me, you will not feel that way when you get close to him,” said Hoseok, his face getting serious. “I remember what it was like to be new. It’s like, you can’t always control yourself. If you get really close to him, he’s gonna smell irresistible. Literally. It’s going to be really hard not to just bite into his pulse-“

“That sounds sexy,” said Catalina.

“It’s not,” said Hoseok. “You won’t be able to stop. Not when you’re this new. You could literally kill him in less than a minute.”

“Yeah, that’s not sexy,” said Catalina.

“I would suggest being…chaste for a while,” said Hoseok. “At least until you’re well fed for a few weeks.”

“Weeks? In Twilight, it takes years,” said Catalina.

“This is not Twilight,” Hoseok said, laughing. “The only vampires that sparkle like that are the ones at San Francisco pride.”

Catalina laughed loudly at that, following him towards the stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jungkook leapt from the couch as soon as Catalina came into the room. Namjoon, who was sitting next to him, was faster in pulling him back.

“Guk,” Catalina said, itching to finally hold him. He was staring at her with wide eyes, taking in her face and hair and body.

“Cat,” he whispered, slowly approaching. Namjoon and Hoseok watched them carefully as they met in the middle, enveloping each other in a tight hug. Too tight, if the pop Catalina felt in his back and the groan he let out was anything to go by. She quickly loosened her grip, adjusting herself so her face was buried in his chest instead of his neck. Hoseok was right. He did smell irresistible. His heartbeat and pulse were loud in her ears and the smell coming off of him was making her thirsty again. Before she knew it, she was no longer focusing on him. It would be so easy to just lean up and take…it’s right there…

Her thirst came back full force and it took everything in her to push him away before she lost control.

She ignored the hurt that flashed in his eyes as she turned her back to him, looking at Hoseok with desperation. He pulled something from his back pocket and handed it to her. It was another blood bag. Her hands shook as she drank it, unsettled by the thoughts running through her head. She hated thinking about Jungkook like that.

Catalina felt tears well up in her eyes.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry Kookie. You just…you smell really good.”

“Thanks?” he said. She turned to look at him with a smile.

“By that I mean, I couldn’t stop thinking about biting into your neck and taking from you,” she said, feeling guilty.

“That sounds sexy,” he said with a smirk.

“It’s not. I wouldn’t be able to stop,” said Catalina. Behind her, she heard Hoseok chuckle and say under his breath, “No wonder they get along so well.”

“Well, maybe when you think you could stop, we can test it out,” said Jungkook.

“We’re still here,” Namjoon said, clearing his throat.

“No, let them keep going, this is fascinating,” Hoseok said.

“Okay, I promise I won’t do anything crazy, I just really want to sit down and hold my boyfriend’s hand and listen to everyone’s war stories,” said Catalina. “And maybe drink some more.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Taehyung was a beast,” Hoseok said.

Jin and Jimmy K were given the notice that it was safe to come over, so they did right away. Once everyone was settled into the couch in the lounge, they were all eager to share their stories. Catalina and Jimin were both sipping their way through a pile of blood bags on the coffee table, listening intently with wide eyes. Jungkook sat beside Catalina, an arm around her waist, sparkling eyes never leaving her.

“Yeah, Taehyung was legendary,” said Jimmy K.

Taehyung, who was sitting beside Jimin, blushed and waved a hand.

“I’d say Jimmy K was more legendary,” said Taehyung. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

“Well, let’s start at the beginning,” said Catalina. “I don’t even know how they got Jimin!”

“They kidnapped me again,” said Jimin. “The day before the battle.”

“Jimin, I’m so sorry,” said Catalina. “If we had known…”

“It’s okay,” he said. “Better me than Caleb. I’m glad Makai assumed we didn’t know him.”

“It’s true,” said Namjoon. “If it were Caleb, we wouldn’t have been able to save him the way we did with you. Turning children is illegal.”

“Illegal?” Jungkook asked. “Would you get arrested? By the police?”

“That’s a question for another time,” Catalina said impatiently. “So, what happened? Tell us from the beginning, from when you all went in.”

“Well, it was pretty boring when we first got in,” said Namjoon.

“Let me tell it,” said Hoseok. “You guys are bad at telling stories. Okay, so we went in and our backup is all there, and right away, we’re demanding to speak with Makai. There’s this lady there, was her name Mohati?”

Namjoon nodded.

“Right. Mohati tells us that Makai isn’t there, but Yoongi knows she’s lying,” said Hoseok. “And he says so, and then one of our guys tries to attack her and that’s when the fight started. A bunch of guys came out of nowhere and attacked us and it was just madness. Yoongi had his sword-“

“It was my original sword,” Yoongi said with a grin. “From when I was a prince. I haven’t touched it in a good three hundred years, but it cleaned up pretty well.”

“And he was cutting peoples heads off,” said Hoseok. “Which was gross and terrible to watch, but it was so awesome. He was like a master fighter. I got separated from them for a while, because I found someone I knew in the crowd. It was Jamie, the woman who kidnapped me back in the nineties. She recognized me and started taunting me and I couldn’t even focus on anything else at that point. My anger totally took over, but she was pretty strong. I didn’t last long in that battle. She hurt me pretty bad, I couldn’t fight after that.”

“She broke his leg,” said Yoongi.

Hoseok’s face looked pale. “You don’t have to tell them. It’s really gross.”

“His bone was sticking out,” Yoongi said, chuckling. “It was magnificent.”

Hoseok put his face in his hands and groaned. “Don’t make me think about it again. It was so awful. I’m gonna throw up.”

Yoongi laughed and patted his back. “I helped set it. He did throw up.”

Hoseok punched him in the arm.

“He got her back though,” said Yoongi. “Once you could stand up, you killed her, didn’t you?”

“I’m gonna be sick,” Hoseok said, standing up. Yoongi pulled him back down and rubbed his back.

“Namjoon, tell us what you were doing,” said Yoongi.

“I tried to control the crowd, but eventually I had to fight,” said Namjoon. “I mean, I held my own, but nothing crazy happened.”

“Didn’t you blow up the wall?” asked Yoongi.

“No, I didn’t blow up the wall,” Namjoon laughed. “Beck, one of the guys from up north, brought explosives. He was setting them up all over the place. I think he just wanted to come to blow stuff up. But I heard Jimmy K was pretty badass during the battle.”

Jimmy K chuckled and said, “I was just doing my job.”

“I saw Jimmy K swing over the crowd on a chain, shooting a crossbow,” said Taehyung.

“I saw Jimmy K with a machete, fighting back-to-back with Yoongi,” said Namjoon.

“I saw Jimmy K karate chop someone in the neck and they passed out,” said Hoseok. “I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“I saw Jimmy K run up a wall and do a backflip kick to one guy’s chest,” said Yoongi.

“Was that before my shirt was ripped open, or after?” Jimmy K asked.

“After,” said Yoongi. “You had a big gash across your chest.”

“That was from someone’s nails,” said Jimmy K. “Can you believe that? They ruined my shirt. I might have a scar there!”

“But what a great story it’ll come with!” said Jin.

“That’s true,” said Jimmy K. “Women love scars. And they love the stories.”

�� “What happened to you when you went missing?” Jungkook asked Catalina.

“I was with Priya and we were going back in to evacuate more captives,” said Catalina. “Amanda came out of nowhere and Priya tried to defend me but she didn’t stand a chance. Amanda pounced on her and snapped her neck. I ran away, but I got lost. Amanda was following me, but I think she was just playing with me. She let me run until I couldn’t breathe anymore, and then she came out and grabbed me. She brought me to Makai’s office. Jimin was there. I don’t think Makai was expecting this attack.”

“Really?” asked Namjoon. “Because there were way more enemies there than we expected.”

“No, he told us that he knew we knew Jimin. He realized Jimin was part of our group when Yoongi went there to buy him, but he didn’t pay any mind to it,” said Catalina. “He basically said, he got paid either way. He didn’t think we’d do something like this.”

“He said he wanted to try to make a deal with you,” Jimin said to Namjoon.

“He tried to,” said Namjoon. “He wanted me to call this off and let him continue his business. He’d spare you if we did. I couldn’t let him continue his work, so I tried to reason with him to let you go, but then some idiot wanted to be a hero and tried to attack Makai. Obviously Mohati jumped in and killed him right away, but it was too late. Makai and Amanda panicked and took it as an attack.”

“That’s when Taehyung went crazy,” said Hoseok. “He was legendary.

“A beast,” said Jimmy K. “Absolutely fearsome.”

“He was truly a formidable force,” said Namjoon.

“Guys,” Taehyung whined, blushing and looking down.

“His eyes were practically glowing when he attacked Makai,” said Jimmy K. “And Makai is a big man, way bigger than Taehyung, so I was sure he’d win. Not to mention, Amanda was also a part of his attack. But Taehyung let out a piercing battle cry and tackled Makai to the ground. He fought both of them like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He was like a wild animal.”

“He was faster and stronger than I’ve ever seen him,” said Namjoon. “He killed Amanda right away and then tore Makai apart.”

“Literally,” said Yoongi. “He literally tore the man limb from limb.”

“Ew, please stop,” said Hoseok, looking pale again.

“He didn’t waste any time biting you, Jimin,” said Jimmy K. Jimin looked at Taehyung, whose eyes were downcast. Jimin took his hand and rubbed a thumb over his knuckles. Catalina had to assume Jimin wasn’t too mad about being turned.

“They formed a circle around us,” said Jungkook. He looked pale too as he told Catalina the next part. “Hoseok tried to hold your wound closed, but it wasn’t working. He said he was sorry before biting you.”

“Once Makai was dead, most of his people started running away,” said Namjoon. “The battle ended quickly and then the police came down to sweep for any other survivors. We didn’t stay though. We had to get you two home.”

Catalina stayed silent for a moment to take everything in. She couldn’t believe everything that happened, just within…

“How long was I out?” she asked.

“Just a day and a half,” said Namjoon.

“Shit. No wonder my mom was panicking,” said Catalina.

There was something else weighing on her mind. Something she wasn’t sure they’d have the answers for.

“So, something strange has been happening with me, and I think I understand what it is, but I don’t know how it’s possible,” said Catalina. Everyone was listening intently. “About a week or so after I moved here, I started having these dreams. They would always start out chaotic, mostly me running from something. Then they would end in a library or den and Namjoon would be there, telling me about the book he read last.”

Various faces of confusion stared back at her.

“The weird part is, we hadn’t met any of you yet,” said Catalina. “I met Namjoon in my dreams before I met him in real life. But it didn’t stop there. The night after our bonfire at Jungkook’s house, I had a dream that I was being chased in a tunnel with a metal floor. And the person chasing me said something like, ‘Don’t you know girls like you get eaten…’, or, what was it? Like, ‘Here kitty kitty, don’t you know trespassers get eaten?’. And these dreams kept happening, the same one over and over again, me being chased in this tunnel and the person chasing me kept saying something similar to that, a little different each time. And then, the night before the battle, I had a dream that me and Jimin were being held captive and I woke up when our necks were slit.

“When Amanda was chasing me the day of the battle, I was running through the same tunnel as the one in my dreams. But I didn’t think about it too much because she was following me and taunting me and she said those words. She said, ‘Here, kitty kitty. If you keep running, you’ll run into monsters down here. And pretty kitties like you will get eaten by the monsters’, something like that. And I realized that this was the moment I had been dreaming about all along. And I knew what happened next but I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”

Catalina felt a tear run down her face, which she wiped away quickly. She didn’t want to cry, she wanted to be mad. But there was no point in being mad at a dead woman. She supposed there was also no point in being mad at a situation that was meant to be anyway.

“Fascinating,” Namjoon said after a long pause. “You’re a prophet.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in stuff like that,” said Yoongi.

“I don’t, I mean I didn’t,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter what I believe in. If she’s telling the truth, which she has no reason not to, then that’s proof. That implies that destiny is real, and we don’t truly have free will.”

Namjoon rubbed his chin and looked off into space before continuing.

“But not entirely,” said Namjoon. “If your dreams were a little bit different each time, that means that the future isn’t completely set in stone. It might still be possible to change it, especially if you know what to expect. It might be difficult though, since it sounded like all your dreams had about the same outcome.”

“No, not all of them,” said Catalina. “Some of them ended with me finding you all and you protecting me from whatever was chasing me. One of them ended with Jungkook getting injured. He was unconscious and both of us were locked in one of those cells.”

“So, it sounds like the future is changeable,” said Yoongi. “I bet your dreams were shifting every time someone made a decision.”

“This isn’t unheard of, Catalina,” Namjoon said. “Lots of vampires have some sort of special ability. Usually it’s just things like hypnotism, or having an affinity for certain skills, but this could be very useful. And very interesting. The philosophical implications of this are well worth looking into.”

“I don’t like it,” said Catalina.

“You better get used to it,” said Yoongi. “There’s a lot of things about this life you won’t like.”

“Well, vampires don’t need to sleep, right?” Jimin said. “If you don’t like it, just don’t sleep.”

“Oh, that’s true,” said Hoseok.

It was then that she remembered the last dream she had. The one on the beach. If that one came true, like the others did, then maybe this gift of hers wouldn’t be so bad.

“What are you smiling about?” Jungkook asked.

“The last dream I had, before I woke up today,” she said, her smile growing wider. “I hope it comes true.”

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toomanysurveys9 · 3 years

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[100 Truths by thev0iceofreas0n]

Lasts: 1. Last Beverage? Milk with dinner. 2. Last Phone Call? My mom. I was afraid we weren’t going to have enough chicken for everyone but we did. 3. Last Text Message? Also my mom. 4. Last Song You Listened To? I don’t remember. It was on Pandora. 5. Last Time You Cried? This morning. I tried waking Jacob up at 6:50, but he evidently didn’t get up until 7:30, but since he usually ends up sleeping downstairs I didn’t know that. But he yelled upstairs saying he needed socks and I said I gave him some when he was laying down and then he got yelled something I don’t remember and also yelled at me because it was 7:30 which is when he was supposed to be at work, not waking up.

Have You Ever: 6. Dated Someone Twice? Yup. It was dumb. Lol. 7. Been Cheated on? Yup. When Jake and I first started dating. There was a thing with his ex before me. But never happened again. 8. Kissed Someone And Regretted It? Nope. 9. Lost someone special? Too many times.

10. Been Depressed? Lol, I have depression so pretty often. 11. Been Drunk? Yeah. List Three Favorite Colors: 12. Black. 13. Light blue. 14. Light purple. This Year Have You: 15. Made New Friends? Not this year. 16. Fallen Out Of Love? Nope. 17. Laughed until You Cried? A few times. :) 18. Met Someone WHo Changed You? Not yet. 19. Found Out Who Your True Friends Were? You could say that. 20. Found Out Someone Was Talking About You? Yeah, kind of. 21. Kissed anyone on your friends list? Not on Tumblr. 22. How Many people on your friends list do you know in real life? No one on here. 23. Do you have any pets? Two dogs (Phe and Cocoa), two rats (Kore and Loki), and one cat (Arlo). 24. What did you do for your last birthday? Just hung out at home and had cheesecake. 25. What time did you wake up today? 6:45 to wake up Jacob and then fell back asleep until he yelled and then I fell back asleep until I had to get up at 8. 26. What were you doing at midnight last night? Laying in bed. 27. Name something you CANNOT wait for? Ultrasound tomorrow! 28. Last time you saw your father? Tonight. He lives with us. 29. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? Finances. 30. What are you listening to right now? Eliana and Jacob are both watching videos.

31. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom? Yeah. That’s Jacob’s stepdad’s name. 32. What’s getting on your nerves right now? Jacob’s attitude. Almost prefer him working two jobs... he recently quit his second job at papa john’s. You 33. What is your real name? Marlina. 34. Zodiac Sign? Virgo. 35. Male or Female? Female. 36. Elementary School? The one I was supposed to. 37. Middle School? ^^^

38. High School? ^^^^

39. Hair Color? Medium brown? It’s not especially dark, but not really light either. 40. Long or short hair? My hair is currently short. 41. Height? 5′3″ or something. 42. Do you have a crush on someone? Nah. 43. What do you like about yourself? I’m usually a good mom. 44. Piercings? None besides earlobes these days. 45. Tattoos? I have three. 46. Righty or Lefty? Righty. Firsts: 47. Surgery? I had a couple teeth that had to be removed. Aside from that... I had my gallbladder removed after I had Wyatt. 48. Piercing? Ears. I was weeks/months old. 49. Tattoo? A matching flower with my mom. 50. Best Friend? Alyson. 51. Sport you joined? I never joined any sports. 52. Pet? My parents had a cat when I was a baby that loved me. 53. Vacation you remembered? Our Florida trips to visit my mom’s foster family. 54. Concert? I don’t remember. 55. Crush? This boy named Cooper. Lol. 56. Alcoholic Drink? Alcoholic root beer float with Leslie. Lol. Right Now: 57. Eating? Nothing. We just had dinner. 58. Drinking? Nothing but probably going to get water. 59. I’m about to.. Get a drink and warmup Jacob’s dinner. 60. Listening to.. Nothing. . 61. Waiting for… Tomorrow. :) Your Future: 62. Want kids? I have two and pregnant with another. We’re done. 63. Want to get married? I already am. 64. Careers in mind? Hopefully a marriage and family therapist. Which Is Better with the opposite/same sex? 65. Lips or Eyes? 66. Hugs or Kisses? 67. Shorter or Taller? 68. Older or Younger? 69. Romantic or Spontanious? 70. Nice stomach or Nice arms? 71. Tattoos or Piercings? 72. Sensitive or Loud? 74. Trouble Maker or Hesitant? Have You Ever (2): 75. Kissed a stranger? No. 76. Drank hard liquor? Many times. 77. Lost glasses/contacts? Sunglasses. 79. Broken someone’s heart? I guess so. 80. Had your heart broken? Yup. 81. Been arrested? Nope. 82. Turned someone down? Yup. 83. Cried when someone died? Yes. So much. 84. Liked a friend that is the same sex? Nope. Do You Believe In: 85. Yourself? Not as much as I should. 86. Miracles? Nope. 87. Love at first sight? Yes. 88. Heaven? Nope. 89. Santa Claus? Nope. 90. Kissing on the first date? Depends on the date. 91. Angels? Nope. 92. Sex before marriage? I had sex before marriage sooo. 93. Life on other planets? Yeah. 94. Life after death? No. 95. Only being with one person forever? Hopefully but it doesn’t work for everyone. Answer Truthfully: 96. Is there one person you want to be with right now? I’m okay. 97. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfrend at one time? Nope. 98. Do you believe it’s possible to remain faithful forever? Well, yeah. 99. What’s the one thing you cannot live without? My kids. 100. What’s one secret you have that not many people know? I don’t know.

#survey #surveys #personal #questions #question #random

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softestsaddestbitch · 4 years

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December TC Challenge

stole this from @elder-edda (sorry for creeping! just, given the usual demographic of the tc community I was excited to find another 20-smthg)

1) what color is your tc’s hair?

He has just, simple brown hair but he’s starting to go grey which, no lie, is 100% doing it for me.

2) is your tc married?

Yes? He doesn’t wear a ring and I believe she kept her last name which makes me think it’s more of a civil partnership since they’ve been together since the early 2000s at least. But he also will refer to her as “my wife” and was telling me once that they waited until “after they got married” before moving in together.

3) if yes, do you care? would you do something with them regardless of their marriage?

I know these questions are general but I do take offense at the idea of being a homewrecker/other woman. I’ve met his wife, she’s really nice.

4) what’s your worst memory with your tc?

I put my foot in my mouth SO OFTEN. Good lord. Especially my last semester at that school? He was acting weird and I had just realized after fucking ... four years?? that I romantically liked him. So I kept bringing up my weird age fixation and other bs bc I have adhd and am possibly autistic?? and can’t read a room to save my life.

5) what’s your best memory with your tc?

One year we had a really bad snowstorm, so bad in fact that I had my first-ever snow day. The college that I used to go to has four campuses across as many cities, and C has to drive in twice a week to my (old) town from his. Now, morning classes had been canceled but afternoon classes had been given the go-ahead. C, who does not check his emails until he arrives at campus, evidently did not get this message until he was already in town and therefore didn’t have a morning class, but did have an afternoon class. On this day I had a late morning class that had been reinstated, but my prof didn’t get that memo so I also was on campus but didn’t have a class. So I went to visit his office, which I had been doing throughout the semester (I didn’t have a class with him at the time) and we just ... hung out for like 2 hours. It was so nice and one of the anecdotes he told me still haunts me lol.

sidenote: at the time, I hadn’t yet realized that I liked him, but I still went out of my way to visit him. Damn I was a dumbass.

6) does anyone in your school know how you feel?

ish? I told a classmate but in a “haha joking” kinda way. And a friend who went to that school knows. No one at my current school knows.

7) does your tc know how you feel?

I think he might? might have a lil inkling which would explain why he started acting so weird my last semester. Or at the very least was told/realized how bad it could look that he was getting so chummy w/ a student.

8) do you think there’s any chance your tc reciprocates your feelings?

He and his wife have been together for around 20 years now. No. No, I don’t think so. Maybe in an alternate universe.

9) are you getting your tc a christmas present? if so, what is it?

I have in the past! Specifically like, a tin of cookies lol. I’ve also given him an actual present when I left. I do intend to send him a Christmas card every year but not this year because ... you know ... the apocalypse.

10) have you ever flirted with your tc?

Flirtation inherently has intent. So, no. How he interpreted our interactions I don’t know.

11) how long have you had a crush on them? what began it all?

SO! TIMELINE!

I was at my old school from September 2014-April 2019, I had C for the first time in September 2015. Like I mentioned above, I did not realize I had a crush on him until literally the middle of my final exam of my class with him December 2018, so I’ve only consciously had a crush for about two years now. However, as I also mentioned, I went out of my way to stop by his office, even when I didn’t have a class with him. And my relationship with/feelings towards him are complicated so I’m not going to say I did so solely because I like him, but I would put it maybe closer to somewhere in 2017. You don’t plan your schedule around someone you don’t feel strong feelings for.

12) do you believe you’ll get over them shortly after you stop taking their class/have the chance to spend time with them?

As of today, it has been been exactly a year and a half since I last him in person. In the time since, I have cried over missing him, routinely gone back to keep up with his current research projects, and made his picture a part of my home screen. I almost exclusively listen to the playlist I made for him - so much so my Spotify Wrapped is pretty much that playlist with a few extras.

13) what kind of grades do you get in their class?

Haaaaaa pre-supension I was failing his classes. My first semester back I got .... a mid/high 70? and I finished my last class with him with an A+ and the essay I had written for his class had the highest grade between the two classes so..

14) does your tc ever do any tiny, little things that you adore?

When he puts a hand in his pocket and leans against the wall. When he tucks his hair behind his ear because he keeps falling in his face (he has long hair, a little past his shoulders). When he can’t stop himself from googling something even if its in the middle of class. How you can ask him anything at any time. The way he would chuckle at my jokes. How his handwriting hasn’t improved in decades. How easily he brushes off toxic masculinity. His candidness and willingness to share little anecdotes. The way he used to always smile whenever he saw me. That he goes home everyday to have lunch with his wife.

15) are you their favorite student?

I was! And it was obvious to other students that we had a friendly, casual relationship too. For a time, if his other students had questions about him they would ask me, and I usually had the answer. I didn’t matter in the long run, but I was.

16) do you two share any tastes? movies, books, music, etc.

He’s a legal historian, I’m a baby legal/political historian. We also like the same historical cooking youtube channel.

17) is your teacher religious?

I doubt he would say he’s religious, but I feel like we have a similar relationship to religion which is to say no formal association, but had profound effects on our childhoods and subsequently, presumably, how we view things as adults.

18) do you masturbate to them?

Yes.

19) do you communicate with them outside of school?

I sent him a meme once. And asked about the socialist uprising scandal he was apart of. I also almost emailed him while at a museum exhibition with my history friend. These are all through email.

20) do you have any tc songs or songs you relate to your tc? what are they?

SO my number one song this year was “You are the Reason” by Calum Scott because, you guessed it, of him. But also:

I Lost a Friend - Finneas When You’re Ready - Shawn Mendes You Are in Love - Taylor Swift Break My Heart Right - James

& given the season, especially w/ what transpired last year, Last Christmas by Wham!

21) what’s your favorite thing your tc has said/memory you have with them?

One time he kinda trailed off in the middle of lecture after stating that he thought of xyz a particular way which contrasted one of the popular schools of thought, and the way he plainly said, “well, yeah, which I guess ... is I’m arguing it” almost like he was semi-surprised with himself has always stuck with me.

But also, in addition the memory I shared earlier, we spent an hour and a half talking about grad school and what to expect and how to get there.

22) do you plan to continue a relationship with them after you leave school?

I trid, I really did. But he doesn’t “socialize with students part or present” so I can’t exactly see him. But I did get some academic-related from him at the beginning of the year.

23) how will you deal during the summer? will you see him/her?

He’s a hermit who used my last vacation before I moved to go on all the vacations he had to postpone because he was working on his last book. And this past summer ... Covid. This question is obviously directed at high school students, but in general, he lives in the back of head always, and when I’m in my hometown for the summer my heart aches because theres a none-zero chance I’ll see him, but I know I won’t.

24) does your tc support gay rights?

Yes. He’s never been put in a position that I know of where he had to outright condemn homophobia, but in one of his classes, he actively made the choice to make the very first reading of the semester about how women in ancient times had more agency than assumed, and also how the woman in the case study was a lesbian.

25) what class do you have with them? And what period? Do you have them every day?

History classes. I won’t get into specifics because it’s kind of an eclectic mix and I’m paranoid someone from the area could come across this. But I had him twice a week every semester that I had him. Again this kind of question is more so applicable to high school students, not so much university students.

26) have you ever drifted out during a lecture thinking about them and missed information?

No. In his classes he is too enthralling, and I’m a good student otherwise.

27) have you stalked them online? what did you find out?

In theory. He’s a fifty-year-old history professor whose reaction to a description of the big lipped/tiny face filter on snapchat was “that sounds disgusting.” The man doesn’t have social media, and if he does those privacy settings are on so students can’t find him he thinks he’s very professional. I do visit his mini-bio section on the college website fairly often tho.

28) have you ever run into them outside of schools? what happened?

I did once. He introduced me to his wife, who said “oh you’re E! C has talked about you” and it apparently he had done so positively, and blew my mind because this was back when I was failing classes and also, as a person, I don’t believe that people think about me when I’m not there. They gave me a restaurant recommendation and afterwards his wife surprised me a they were leaving the restaurant because ... we had listened to them, and they also went there for lunch that day.

29) has your tc ever spoken of teacher-student relationships? what did they say?

It had recently come out that it had been found out that another professor had been in a relationship with a student and he’s the one that brought it up before class one day (with all of us not just me). He didn’t say anything for or against it, just that it was generally discouraged, but that most schools did have policies in place to handle the situation.

30) do you regret telling anyone about your tc? if you’ve kept it a secret, why have you done so?

Absolutely not. I can’t tell my best friends because they’d do nothing but give me shit for it and it would call every time I mention him into question. But the friends that I have told ... its been so freeing, and like a weight has been lifted from my heart. One friend in particular I unloaded on her all my emotional shit pertaining to him this past summer and she was so understanding it legit since then I’ve been less distraught when thinking about him. It still hurts, but it feels less like I’m suffocating now.

#personal #professor crush #professor crush community #teacher crush #monthly challenge #december

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pancakexspacexdragon · 3 years

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Long ass post ahead. TL;DR I found an old set of questions and decided to answer them again 7 years later because why not.

1: What are you wearing?

2014: Some Shorts and a shirt I accidentally stole from my brother.

2021: Panic! at the Disco shirt and some running shorts

2: Ever been in love?

2014: Oh yes, sadly...

2021: pfft.

3: Ever had a terrible breakup?

2014: Not technically, but I once had my homecoming date hook up with another girl.

2021: hahahahahaha. Yes.

4: How tall are you? 2014: like 5 foot 1, maybe 2? I dunno.

2021: 5’4”, apparently

5: How much do you weigh? 2014: How about no...

2021: Who’s to say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

6: Any tattoos? 2014: Yes! I got one on my left shoulder blade not too long ago. I often forget I have it, actually lol.

2021: I’m up to five, and six is planned.

7: Any piercings?

2014: I do. I have double lobe piercings, and my left ear at the top. No non-ear piercings. Those seem uncomfortable to get, tbh.

2021: Uh...double lobe, helix, forward helix, tragus, nose, and septum.

8: OTPs? 2014: Marshall and Lilly on HIMYM. I mean, I think that's what this is asking. Right?

2021: I’m still not 100% sure what this means but I’m doubling down on Marshall and Lilly.

9: Favorite show? 2014: I'm still recovering from the ending of How I Met Your Mother, but I also love Criminal Minds, and the Big Bang Theory.

2021: HIMYM, Criminal Minds, Stranger Things, and Masked Singer.

10: Favorite bands?

2014: I pretty much love anything, so I'll try to shorten it to Love and Theft, Newsboys, t.A.T.u, Beast, and Fun.

2021: My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, twenty one pilots, Maroon 5, Relient K.

11: Something you miss?

2014: Going to the park and just lying in the grass with my friends or crushes. I know, I'm Cheesy.

2021: Not having responsibilities or bills to pay.

12: Favorite Song? 2014: ...why do they even bother asking this? Tbh, “I'll Be” by Edwin McCain, and “Hello, My Name is” by Matthew West

2021: “you should see me in a crown” by Billie Eilish and “no body, no crime” by Taylor Swift

13: How old are you? 2014: Nineteen. I feel old.

2021: ...twenty-six.

14: Zodiac sign? 2014: Aries, barely.

2021: (not) shockingly, I’m still an Aries.

15: Quality you look for in a partner? 2014: Just someone who's willing to go on cheesy dates at the park, and love me for who I am. And a Christian. Yea, I'm one of those people. Sorry...

2021: dude just someone who’s gonna stick with me.

16: Favorite quote? 2014: It's actually a verse. I love Jeremiah 29:11. It's actually part of what's tattooed on my shoulder; right below a cross.

2021: “it do be like that sometimes”

17: Favorite actor? 2014: Uhhhhh. Matthew Gray Gubler, or David Tennant. I love them both :)

2021: Matthew Gray Gubler.

18: Favorite color? 2014: Green, or pink. Depends on the shade and whatnot.

2021: pastels. mostly green.

19: Loud music or soft? 2014: If I'm alone in the car? loud. Anywhere else I enjoy my soft music.

2021: If I’m by myself loud but if there’s others I like to keep it low enough so we can still talk.

20: Where do you go when you’re sad? 2014: My Room, or the park not to far from me. I like parks, if you haven't noticed.

2021: My room

21: How long does it take you to shower? 2014: Uh, probably about 10 minutes.

2021: Either 10 minutes or 45 minutes. There is no in-between

22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 2014: About 30 minutes. I like to sleep tbh.

2021: Maybe 20 minutes at the most. Cutting off all my hair really took some time off my getting ready list.

23: Ever been in a physical fight? 2014: heck no.

2021: hell no.

24: Turn on? 2014: Cute shy smiles, and geekiness. I love someone who I can be comfortable with.

2021: dorks with a lame sense of humor. I am all about the dad jokes.

25: Turn off? 2014: Those guys who try to make you uncomfortable, or act like they're super cool. I guess that would be douches, huh?

2021: the “oh you should smile more” men.

26: The reasons I joined Tumblr? 2014: I was trying to find a place where I could post stuff without my parents seeing it tbh. I like having a place where like 2 people actually know me.

2021: Because where else can I release the true psychotic chaos within me?

27: Fears? 2014: Being abandoned. And darkness, for sure.

2021: Finding out people only stayed in your life out of obligation and not out of their own choice. And spiders.

28: Last thing that made you cry? 2014: The guy I liked totally looked past me and started telling me about this other girl, after I told him how I felt (not RIGHT after, it had been about two months...but still).

2021: My mom manipulated me into showing up to something I didn’t want to because “I should really go visit family”

29: Last time you said you loved someone? 2014: My best friend and I say I love you after we hang up the phone Lol.

2021: Other than normal parent “Love You”’s, it’s probably been about 3 years.

30: Meaning behind your Tumblr name? 2014: I'm short, totally socially awkward in new situations (and with old friends, now that I think about it) and Idk about the fox. I just like foxes, I guess...

2021: There is no meaning. I like pancakes, space, and dragons.

31: Last book you read? 2014: If you don't count my English Lit book, then it was probably "Only the Good Spy

Young" by Ally Carter, but I don't remember.

2021: oh geez. It was probably “George” or “Rick” by Alex Gino

32: The book you’re currently reading?  2014: Nothing yet. I do have that last Gallagher Girl book to read though. I'll probably start it this weekend.

2021: Nothing. But I never got to that last Gallagher Girl book...

33: Last show you watched? 2014: The Big Bang Theory.

2021: The Masked Singer

34: Last person you talked to?  2014: My dad lol. We were watching the NFL draft.

2021: Guy friend of mine. I went to his place for dinner and some video games.

35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted?  2014: Good Friend

2021: hahahahahahahaha. We’re just friends.

36: Favorite food? 2014: Cajun. Blame my grandparents, that's what they cook a lot lol.

2021: Pasta

37: Place you want to visit? 2014: I wanna go to Alaska. Even though I know it's super cold.

2021: Europe. Specially Spain or France.

38: Last place you were?  2014: I honestly left home like twice today, to bring something to my brother at the High school, then to bring him to a friends house. He has a better social life than me.

2021: Friends place to hang out. We played Stardew then ordered wings and watched a movie.

39: Do you have a crush? 2014: Yes. See question 28 lol. Also, there's this other guy who I got close to last year, but I haven't spoken to him in weeks, and it's killing me.

2021: See guy referred to in 34, 35, and 38.

40: Last time you kissed someone? 2014: Never. I have never kissed anyone. Well, besides like a kiss in the cheek from family. Yeah...

2021: wow it’s probably been about three years.

41: Last time you were insulted?

2014: Recently lol. I guess... I don't really pay attention, or care...

2021: I don’t know. Probably recently.

42: Favorite flavor of sweet? 2014: I'm just gonna act like this doesn't exist, cause idk what it's asking.

2021: Chocolate.

43: What instruments do you play? 2014: I can play the French Horn and Mellophone! I also want to learn the flute, but I can't unless I have something to practice lol.

2021: French Horn, Mellophone, and Ukulele. Still want to learn the flute.

44: Favorite piece of jewelry?

2014: My purity ring. If I forget to put it on, I can seriously feel the emptiness, and it bothers me...

2021: My septum ring! I feel like it’s the first piercing I got for myself, and not just something I thought others would like on me.

45: Last sport you played?

2014: Maybe Soccer? Idk.

2021: pfft. Sports.

46: Last song you sang?

2014: “I'll Be” by Edwin McCain. But I really don't sing well, so it doesn't happen much, unless I'm alone.

2021: “You Belong with Me (Taylor’s Version)” by Taylor Swift and I 100% sang it to my dog.

47: Favorite chat up line?

2014: I don't have one

2021: It’s been 7 years and I still don’t have one.

48: Have you ever used it?

2014: Since i don't have one, no.

2021: Nah.

49: Last time you hung out with someone?

2014: I hung out with my future roommate before I left college yesterday.

2021: When I went to the previously mentioned Guy’s house earlier today.

50: Who should answers these questions next?

2014: Well, I guess any of my followers can choose to, if they want.

2021: Bold of you to assume anyone’s actually going to see this.

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horansqueen · 4 years

Text

AM Conversations : chapter 48

A Niall Horan fanfiction ; rated MA

CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 2 || CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 4 || CHAPTER 5 || CHAPTER 6 || CHAPTER 7 || CHAPTER 8 || CHAPTER 9 || CHAPTER 10 || CHAPTER 11 || CHAPTER 12 || CHAPTER 13 || CHAPTER 14 || CHAPTER 15 || CHAPTER 16 || CHAPTER 17 || CHAPTER 18 || CHAPTER 19 || CHAPTER 20 || CHAPTER 21 || CHAPTER 22 || CHAPTER 23 || CHAPTER 24 || CHAPTER 25 || CHAPTER 26 || CHAPTER 27 || CHAPTER 28 || CHAPTER 29 || CHAPTER 30 || CHAPTER 31 || CHAPTER 32 || CHAPTER 33 || CHAPTER 34 || CHAPTER 35 || CHAPTER 36 || CHAPTER 37 || CHAPTER 38 || CHAPTER 39 || CHAPTER 40 || CHAPTER 41 || CHAPTER 42 || CHAPTER 43 || CHAPTER 44 || CHAPTER 45 || CHAPTER 46 || CHAPTER 47

NOTES:

-one chapter is her pov, the next is his. -4.2k -im sorry, i never proofread, i hate it. -there WILL be smut. but not only smut. -this is a romance, comedy, smut story. -for the summary, check my MASTERLIST.

- if you want to be notified when this is updated, please message me or leave a comment!

- note for this chapter: i know my last chapter didnt get many notes but the chapter is ready so why not post it you know? sex is vanilla again. thought it was cute. sue me lol. theyll have kinker sex dont worry hahaha! i would LOVE to know what you think of the characters and their reactions and stuff. so please, message me!

here are the requests for this chapter! for the instagram one, i changed it a bit because i dont think her character would want to be in the spotlight like that i hope its ok! also i had already talked about their first time and such so I added the others :)

Chapter 48 : His chapter

NIALL

"Oh my god! Look at you flirting with that woman like she's not 30 years older than you!"

I started laughing and let my head fall back slightly. My arm was on the couch's back right behind her head and I brought it closer, pulling her to me by her neck.

"Is that the tone you use when you're jealous?"

I noticed her nose raise up in a grimace but she kept staring at the tv, making me laugh even more. For some reason, Olivia wanted us to watch old One Direction interviews, pretending it would help me for the ones I had planned in the next few weeks. It didn't really help, all it did was make us laugh and I had to admit it was quite entertaining and I was pretty sure I had never watched most of them.

"It was tough watching interviews back then." she admitted, raising a shoulder. "Especially the older ones. You were such a horny kid."

I frowned slightly at her comment. I could hear a lot of pain but also a bit of blame and it bothered me. I was young, I was newly famous and not shy at all. Of course, I was a bit stupid and I tried to be funny but out of all the people in the world, I thought she'd be the last one to comment on it.

"I just enjoyed flirting." I let out, shrugging too. "I don't do that anymore."

It took her a few seconds but she turned my way, staring at my profile.

"How many times did it work?"

I frowned, still looking the old 60 minutes interview we did a few years ago playing on screen. Did I really want to have this discussion?

"What are you asking?"

I held my breath and turned to her, noticing how painful it was for her to ask me something like that. I felt my annoyance falter a bit but not leave completely.

"How many girls did you have sex with?"

We had never talked about that before. I thought about asking, especially when we started dating, but I was scared it would start shit between us. When I was younger, I didn't mention my stories mostly because I didn't want to hear hers. Now that I think about it, it was probably out of jealousy, too.

"Liv, please-"

"More than 10?"

I stared at her a few seconds and nodded a bit. I watched her lick her lips and breathe in and nervously, I felt my fingers play with the fabric of the couch. I hated this, it could only turn wrong.

"More than 20?"

I could feel myself getting angry and I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. I didn't know why I was so touchy, it was not in my nature, but perhaps the way she asked me didn't help. It was not just a casual conversation, there was clearly a reason why she asked and I suddenly regretted that we never talked about these things before.

"20 sounds about right." I just said, impatient to talk about something else.

"That's more than twice my number."

We remained silent for a few seconds and I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Am I supposed to answer something to that?" I just wondered a bit rudly. "I don't know what you expected Olivia, but clearly you're delusional. I've had a lot of opportunities it's true, and no of course I didn't jump on all of them, but you don't ask an 18 year old boy to be reasonable after being thrown into fame. I don't think you can really understand what it's like."

I shook my head and sighed louder than needed before getting up a bit roughly. I felt her fingers wrap about my wrist and stopped immediately.

"I'm sorry."

I stayed motionless, standing up with my eyes closed as her fingers pressed around my wrist more.

"I'm just scared. And insecure." she added low as i felt her fingers slip and free my hand. "I don't understand why you're dating me, Niall. You could date so many girls or just fool around with anyone you want. But you're here with me and it just makes no fucking sense to me. So when I see how things used to be for you, it scares me for the future and at the same time, it reminds me how much I cried during those years."

I sighed and slowly sat back down next to her, still not being able to look at her.

"Why did you propose we watch that then?"

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed her looking down and swallowing. I couldn't pretend I knew how she felt, not now and not back then, but I was dating her now, I had been dating her for over 9 months. The fact that she was still doubting me... doubting us, was tough to accept.

"I thought i'd be okay, I thought since you were next to me, holding my hand, that it wouldn't bother me." she explained in a low and ashamed tone. "I was wrong."

I sighed again and rubbed my eyes before getting up again. Her head shot up quickly but I just held my hand out to her. It took her a few seconds but slowly, she slid her palm against mine and I pulled on her hand, helping her get up.

"Let's go outside, okay?"

She didn't say anything, she just let me bring her outside, in the backyard. I took my socks off after letting go of her hands and sat on the side of the pool, putting my feet in the water and waited for her. It took her a few minutes but I still didn't turn to her. The night was calm and warm enough, especially for late september, and I looked down at her feet moving slowly in the water.

"At the lodge, I saw you and Harry making out naked on the side of the pool. It made me very jealous, even if I didn't really realize it back then. Not really because you two were having sex, but mostly because he had your full attention, and I was so used to have it all for myself that losing it was like a slap in the face." I admitted, licking my lips. "I'm not saying I know how you feel, Liv, or how you used to feel. I just think that holding on to that is changing you and stressing you for no reason."

"Maybe."

She didn't comment on the part about Harry and I closed my eyes.

"The first date I ever went on was with a girl from school." I added low.

"Grace, I remember."

"The whole time, all I could think about was kissing her. I didn't care about anything else. I was young, I can't even remember if I liked her, but I wanted my real first kiss and it's all that mattered." I made a pause and sighed. "Then I had girlfriends when I was a bit older, and then I joined One Direction and met other girls. And whenever I hung out with them, I was never jealous, I thought 'hey if it doesn't work then it wasn't meant to be' and that's it. I didn't expect it to last because I didn't want it to last. I had nothing to lose. I thought about sex and having fun."

I turned to her and sighed louder when I noticed tears falling down her cheeks. I moved my body her way slightly and shook my head.

"Olivia, why are you crying? I'm trying to tell you that it's different with you. I care about you. And the first thing I thought of when it came to you was not sex, it was not kissing you. It was making you happy, it was how good I felt around you. Why would you cry for that?"

"Because you seem to forget that I was there, Niall. I saw you with these girls. I cried myself to sleep because I desperately wanted to be in their shoes. My first kiss was with a guy at school who was harassing me to go out with him and when he kissed me, all I thought about was you. The first time I had sex with Rian I wished it was you. Every single decision in my love life seems to have been related to you. I'm not blaming you, it's all on me, but its still not easy for me."

My eyes roamed on her face and I watched her wipe her tears and sniff a few times before clearing her throat.

"We both need to make efforts. You can't spend all your time asking questions about my past that's gonna hurt you, you know."

"I'll work on that." she whispered. "But you're gonna have to be patient with me."

"Okay."

We remained quiet again for a while, just looking at the lights of the pool shining on the water. I knew I should reach for her hand but I wasn't sure I wanted to.

"Remember the first time we got drunk together?" she asked with a chuckle, moving her feet a bit more vigorously and making the water move around her. "You were so cute, and so damn tactile. At some point I was so close to tell you that I loved you that I got scared and hid in the bathroom for half an hour."

I smiled at the memory and chuckled.

"You were so dramatic and I didn't even know!" I let out, making her laugh too. "I don't know how you kept it inside for so long."

"Fear of losing you." she shrugged. "I just looked at you, both of us totally pissed, and I thought 'everyone wants a piece of him but he's with you right now, don't ruin this Olivia'."

"You were cute, you had that really high ponytail. I remember because whenever you'd turn around, your hair would brush against my arm and I was so drunk it made me shiver every time."

My eyes found hers and she was not smiling anymore. Her lips were parted and her eyes were glued to me. I raised my eyebrows and moved my face closer to hers.

"Yes, I remember things. Not the same things you remember, and maybe not for the same reasons, but I do remember things."

Slowly, she pressed her lips together and they curled as she kept looking at me.

"I love you, Niall."

I moved my upper body over hers, forcing her to move down on the hard cement but she didn't complain. I placed both my hands on each side of her chest to hold myself over her and bent down to kiss her.

"I love you too." i answered, moving up to a bit to look at her.

Her eyes traveled on my face until my lips and she licked hers.

"You said you'd make love to me whenever I'd want." she whispered so low i barely heard. "I really want it now."

"It's not really comfortable." I pointed out, the right corner of my lips moving up.

"Then you're gonna have to be extra gentle with me."

I nodded and sat up, immediately reaching for the hem of her sweatpants and she moved her butt up to help me. She brought her feet off the water and placed them on the ground, her knees up, and my eyes roamed between her legs as I let out a low groan. I took my shirt off and didn't even react when it fell in the pool. It made Olivia chuckle and I just moved gently over her, placing myself between her legs.

One of her hands ran on my chest as I pressed myself against her. I felt her grind up slowly against me and bent down to kiss her. I could feel myself get harder with every move of her hips, even if she was barely moving and I let my lips brush on her jaw and down her neck.

"You should keep your shirt on, I don't want your back all scratched."

I brought my mouth back on hers and I noticed her lips curling in a fond but amused smile.

"You don't want to see me completely naked?"

"Don't be silly." I chuckled again, glancing down and noticing her hard nipples through the fabric of her shirt. "I really fucking do. But you don't need to be naked to turn me on."

She smiled more and I moved down on my elbows, moving her head up gently and placing my hands under it to make sure her head wouldn't rub against the cement.

"Are you sure you want to try it here?"

She didn't say anything, she just kept looking at me as her hands moved between us. One of her palms pressed on my cock and I groaned low. She started nibbling on her bottom lip, slowly pulling my pants down and I pushed myself into her. I was surprised at how wet she already was and how easy it was for us to do this, like our bodies just seemed to fit perfectly together.

"I love you."

I bent down again, kissing her as I started thrusting in and out of her so slowly that I could feel everything incredibly well. So well that it brought sensations in me that I hadn't felt before. I felt impatient and my whole body throbbed even more than usual. It was definitely different than what I was used to but I loved it. I could really see all of her facial expressions and ended up letting out a very low curse word when her lips parted and her eyes fluttered close. I watched her as she moved her chin up and I could feel the back of her head rubbing slowly against the palm of my hands, making a mess of her hair. She looked amazing, all fucked beneath me, and it made me realize how much I loved her.

"I love you too." I whispered back. "So much."

"Just me?"

My movements faltered and her eyes opened slowly. I stared at my best friend, laying under me, and I thought of all the things we went through together and all the things we'll go through together too. I thought about our friendship that turned into love, I thought about us when we were young, I thought about everything I missed with her and everything I lived with her, and I could swear I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Yes, only you."

Her hands traveled on my back until my ass and she let out a short whimper as her thighs pressed on my side to keep me close. I could feel my elbows and the back of my hands hurt from rubbing slightly on the cement but it was really the sharp pain in one of my knees that made it worse. I tried to push it out of my thoughts to focus on her and when she arched her back and started shaking, I knew she was cumming.

"Oh god Niall... I.. I'm..."

I tried to keep my movements slow and steady but it was pure torture until I felt an orgasm reach me. I felt it coming and held my breath as my eyes closed and I groaned again as it spread inside me slower than normally. I could feel it until the tip of my fingers and in my toes and when I came down from my high, I blinked a few times.

"I'm literally seeing spots." I let out with a short laugh.

"Me too." she chuckled just as my sight was getting clear again.

I looked at her laying under me and sighed. Now that it was over, I was more aware of the pain and I grimaced. I let myself roll on my back next to her and she moved her upper body over me with a frown.

"You okay? You're not bleeding are you?"

I brought my hands up to look at them and shook my head.

"I'm sorry." she added, raising her nose up. "We should have tried on the grass. Do you need ice or something?"

"And pizza." I pointed out with an exaggerated pain expression, making her laugh.

"Alright i'll bring all that in the living room."

She was about to get up but I put my hand on her thigh to stop her, my fingers brushing gently on her skin.

"Wait." She stopped and turned to me. "These girls, they mean nothing. You need to trust me."

She sent me a sad smile and shrugged a shoulder very slowly. I was tired to fight and I was scared it would ruin things between us.

"I'll try."

---

I was driving the first time I heard 'This Town' on the radio and she was sitting next to me. I didn't know why but I felt incredibly lucky that I was not alone, and even luckier that she was the one with me. Her face illuminated and she let out a short scream, making me smile even more. I parked on the side of the road and she threw herself in my arms awkwardly since we both still had our seat belts on and we looked at each other the whole time it played until the very end.

"This is so fucking good Niall i'm so proud of you!"

I cupped her face and brought her closer a bit roughly, crashing my mouth against her and making her laugh. She grabbed the front of my shirt and deepened the kiss slightly, making me smile through it.

"Fucking hell."

She laughed as we pulled away slightly and smiled more.

"It's a big deal. Your first solo song." she whispered. "And you worked hard for that."

We remained in the car for a while, just flabbergasted by what had happened and a bit ecstatic. I looked at her reacting almost as intensely as me and it made me realize so many things that I just leaned against my seat and sighed. Despite all the fights we had, despite my almost total absence in the past few weeks, despite the fact that we had it hard recently, she was there, she supported me, and she was happy for me.

"A few drinks tonight to celebrate, how's that?" she proposed as I started the car again. "We could invite a few friends?"

"Yea, yea good call!" I let out, glancing at her. "Hey take my phone and go on instagram!"

She frowned a bit but she was still smiling and she did what I was told before looking at me again.

"You want to add something to your story?"she asked as I nodded. "Okay, go ahead!"

"Hello lovers, so we just heard 'This Town' for the first time on the radio a few minutes ago and we went completely crazy!" I just said with a laugh, trying to focus on the road as I passed one of my hands in my hair and shook my head. "Let me just get back home and I'll do a live and answer a few questions!"

She stopped filming and played with my phone for a few seconds before looking at me again.

"That's a very good idea."

With a smile plastered on my face, I parked the car and unlocked the front door before quickly getting my laptop. She put her purse on the couch and I sat next to it right before she disappeared in the kitchen. It took me a few minutes to go live but when I finally was, my smile hadn't faltered not even for a second. I started answering questions, glancing from time to time at Olivia that remained away from the camera. I knew she didn't like to be in the spotlight and that a lot of times, I brought attention to her without meaning to, but the fact that she was still there, in the shadows, to support me, meant the world.

"I was with Liv, it's her you heard on the video." I explained, answering an other question.

I saw my girlfriend grimace when she realized everyone had heard her voice and her probably her laughter when we recorded the small video in the car and my eyes found her again, her expression making me chuckle.

"From the face she's making now, it was clearly not intentional." I pointed out, laughing again.

My eyes caught a comment that made me frown but I tried to ignore it until I saw an other one and I finally closed my eyes, breathing in.

"Okay, i'm normally not the type to give attention to bad mouthing but we're trying to have a nice time and reading shit about my girlfriend is no fun."

I could feel Olivia tense near me as my eyes roamed on the comments.

'No Niall pls stay!!!'

'Ignore them we love her! OTP!'

'Fuck whoever talks shit about her'

'They don't deserve your attention!'

I didn't add anything else but kept on answering questions about an upcoming album, more songs, the process of writing and tour. After over half an hour, I said goodbye and turned my computer off. Olivia had left and I joined her in the kitchen, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind. My lips reached her neck and I squeezed her tighter against me.

"Hey, darling." I whispered. I heard her sniff and my heart twitched. "It wasn't that mean. I promise."

I watched her fingers grip the side of the sink more and suddenly felt extremely bad. I shouldn't have commented, that way, she wouldn't know about the mean comments, but when I saw them, I didn't think, I just reacted. It was not like me but reading shit about her made me a bit impulsive and now I regretted it.

"That's what I mean when I say I don't understand why you're dating me." she murmured after swallowing hard. "No one understands why you're dating me."

"People who know nothing about you or our story don't get it, so what?" I just replied, nuzzling her nape. "Fuck them. I know why i'm dating you and i've got a shitton of good reasons."

"Don't tell me you don't doubt us, sometimes, Niall." she shook her head. "Don't tell me it never crosses you mind that you should be dating someone who's in your league. A tall, skinny, gorgeous actress, model, singer... I don't know."

She moved away from me and turned around, her back still facing me. I let my arms fall on each side of my body and sighed a bit loud before rubbing my eyes. I was trying to comfort her but it seemed like nothing i'd do would change anything.

"I'm telling you it's you, okay? I love you!" I argued, getting annoyed again. "I don't get how it's so hard to understand!"

She finally turned to me slowly and I felt a pain at heart when I saw the tears on her red cheeks. I didn't know why it was affecting her that much and I felt like i'd never understand.

"Love is not everything. Contrary to popular belief, love is not all you need." she pointed out, her arms crossed on her chest. She shook her head again and licked her lips as I stayed still, holding my breath. "I don't get why you don't understand how I feel, and I can't seem to explain it. It's useless, Niall. I'm useless."

Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and walked in the hall. I closed my eyes, trying to calm the beating of my heart. I should have ran to her and took her in my arms. I should have tried again to tell her how much she meant to me. I should have begged her to believe me and trust me. Instead, I sat on a chair and sighed loud. I felt defeated and exhausted at the same time. I just wanted us to be happy like we used to be but I didn't know how.

After a good twenty minutes of thinking, I got up and walked to our room, opening the door slowly. She was laying in bed, on her side with her knees up. I took a few steps closer only to realize she was asleep. I put my hands deep in my pockets and stared at her for a few seconds. Her lips were slightly parted and I could hear her breathe a bit louder than usual. I sighed again and found a blanket before putting it over her and bending down.

"You're so much more than you seem to believe." I murmured close to her ear. "I wish I knew how to show you. Maybe i'm the useless one."

#niall horan #niall horan smut #niall horan fluff #niall horan fanfic #niall horan fan fic #niall horan fanfiction #niall horan fan fiction #niall horan writing #niall horan story #amc #my fanfics #is this chapter even worth it?#is this STORY even worth it #ahh i always doubt myself whenever its time to post a new chapter

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seagreen-meets-grey · 4 years

Text

When Lightning Strikes Ch. 8

When your life is nothing but a cloudless sky, lightning can come and strike you so unexpectedly, you won’t even know what hit you.

Or: When Hiccup and Astrid meet, it is as if lightning strikes.

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] [Chapter 16] [Chapter 17] [Chapter 18] [Chapter 19] [Chapter 20]

Crossposted on ao3 and ff.net

_______________

Her parents weren’t home when Astrid arrived. Letting herself in through the backdoor, she scanned the place, grabbed a handful of chocolate chips from the living room table and trudged up the stairs to her old bedroom that now served as a guest room.

The sheets were clean and not a single wrinkle dared to disturb the still sea of cream-colored linen. She felt like she just walked into one of the catalogues her mother had stacked in the giant, neat bookshelf downstairs. The only thing missing was the overly enthusiastic model having the time of her life feeling the fabric, and the book and glass of water decorating the nightstand to give a domestic impression. Looking around, Astrid found only the fine layer of dust on all surfaces betraying the perfect picture.

She dropped her duffle bag onto the tidy floor and let herself flop onto the mattress. Taking a deep breath, she could smell the detergent; the same one her mother had been using for as long as she remembered. Suddenly, she felt fifteen again, but in a room where no sports clothes and equipment littered the floor, the desk wasn’t covered in books and school supplies, and the walls weren’t decorated with pictures of friends and family and her rigorous, color-coded life plan.

Most of the photos now hung in her own living room, in-between several new ones, her wedding picture framed in the middle. The giant poster of her life plan was collecting dust amidst old furniture and boxes stuffed with her old toys in the basement two stories below. It wasn’t like that thing had worked out, anyway. Be the manager of an elite swim team at thirty? She still had a few years to go, but considering how she’d been training the same team of kids for a while now, that goal didn’t seem very realistic.

Not that that wasn’t the only part of the plan, which she’d designed way back in middle school, that hadn’t gone as she’d once been sure it would. The plan had considered boyfriends during her years of building her career, but no marriage and kids until she had the position she wanted. When Eret had proposed to her years before she’d even come close to that goal, and she’d said yes, she’d practically blown the whole plan to bits. And with everything else unexpected that had happened to her around the same time, she’d realized she couldn’t meticulously plan her whole life.

She pushed memories of that brief period away by jumping up and connecting her phone to her old stereo. To loud music, she danced through her room with a rag and a bottle of cleanser, singing and polishing every surface and every corner to the beat.

When she was done, she moved the party downstairs and set the table for dinner. In the past year and a half of being a wife, she’d jokingly donned an apron once a week and put her hair in an old-fashioned bun, waving a spatula around and putting on the act of a housewife from the fifties, much to her husband’s amusement. But both of them knew she only did this so she could practice her cooking skills, because she was too proud to admit that she didn’t have any.

Which was why there were pots of gratinated cauliflower, potatoes, and corned beef on the table when first her mother’s, then her father’s car appeared in the driveway. The meat had ended up too dry, but that’s why she’d prepared enough sauce in wise foresight. All in all, she was very proud of her achievement.

Her parents did a double-take when they came in and followed the clang of dishes into the kitchen where their daughter was washing pots and pans, surrounded by an utter chaos of cooking ingredients and supplies.

“Surprise,” Astrid grinned at their baffled reactions.

“I knew that was your car outside. What are you doing here?” her father asked. “Not that we’re not happy to see you, but you haven’t been to Berk in months.”

Her mother hung her jacket in the hallway and put her keys in the key holder under the cupboard with the spices, taking in the sight before her. “Did you cook?!”

“You don’t have to act so incredulous.” Upon both her parents’ raised eyebrows, she rolled her eyes. “Yes, I made dinner and it’s not poisoned. Now would you please eat it before it gets cold?”

Drying her hands on her apron, she took it off and joined her curious parents at the table, ignoring their slightly doubtful expressions when they eyed the food.

She took a bite of potato and reached the same conclusion as her mother. “Way too much salt,” Wilma commented, scrunching her nose. “But the sauce is delicious.”

Although she didn’t like to hear it sometimes, Astrid had always appreciated her mom’s honest criticism. It’s how she knew what she could do and what needed to be better. There was no talking around bullshit in the Hofferson house.

Which was why she held her chin up high and sat upright, conveying the notion of confidence and an abundance of shameful failure that she had to hide, while they all bravely put more sauce on their food. She celebrated her small victory when every pot was clean and every stomach full.

“Are you staying the night?” her father asked, scraping the last bit of under-salted cauliflower from his plate.

“Actually, I’m gonna stay a bit longer.” She immediately felt two pairs of eyes set on her face as she started collecting plates and cutlery. Unperturbed, she looked up and shrugged. “Eret’s on a convention for two weeks and I didn’t want to sit alone at home all day. And since you keep asking me to visit more, I thought I’d swing by for a while.”

“Since when are you sitting at home all day?” her father asked. “Don’t they have any dogs to train at the moment?”

The long answer would have been that ever since the Breakneck Adventure Park over in Bog had opened and the Raven Point Zoo had had a series of vandalism cases, the popularity and financial situation of RPZ had forced every department to cut salaries, even over in the attached dog obedience school Astrid worked at. Either a whole lot of people needed to get a dog that they needed help with training really soon, or their PR team had to come up with a better solution.

She settled for the short answer. “Not really.”

Her father looked like he wanted to discuss her occupational situation further, but she really didn’t want to get into it at the moment. She missed the dogs. Talking about her issues wasn’t what she came here for; it was rather the opposite. She wanted to distract herself, push away everything she seemed to be failing at.

“Do we have cake?” She opened the fridge and a few cupboards, coming up empty.

Her mother shook her head. “There’s ice cream in the freezer.”

Astrid made a half-hearted attempt at checking, but she didn’t really want ice cream. Ice cream was for summer days and break-ups, and neither the former nor the latter applied to her right now. If she wanted to overstuff herself and quiet the craving she’d had since last night, she needed cake. And if there was none in the house, she would find a way to get her hands on it somehow. With a determined nod, she set her agenda for the next day.

She slept until noon, went shopping for ingredients, and looked up the easiest cake recipe she could find; one even she couldn’t mess up. It ended up a little too crispy anyway.

Trying not to think of what Eret might be doing or not doing at any given moment, she flipped through every magazine her mother had during the next three days, even the catalogues. Still asleep when her parents went to work, they usually found her lounging on the couch when they came back, or dozing in the hammock in the garden.

Her mother asked her about Eret at least twice a day and Astrid quickly grew tired of telling her that he was doing fine. She knew what her mom wanted to hear from her, but she wasn’t going to open up that can while she was browsing through the latest IKEA catalogue for the fifth time as if it was the most fulfilling activity in the world.

On her fifth day back at her parents’ house, she went into battle with the kitchen again and baked three cakes – the first one ended up too dry, the second was perfect except that she forgot to add sugar, and the chocolate cream she added to the third was way too sweet. She ate the whole thing that night and regretted it in the morning when she woke up feeling sick and frustrated.

Pushing away any stupid upcoming worries related to sickness in the morning, she finally decided to leave the house. If everything she’d left at her own house was catching up to her at her island of refuge, she wanted to do nothing else than run. Channel everything into her muscles, kick at the ground with every step, show the world that this was something she could do perfectly.

She got up and opened the window, then got dressed while the fresh air cleared her head and chased away the queasiness. After she splashed cold water in her face, she already felt much better.

When she came downstairs, her parents were sitting at the breakfast table reading the newspaper, the radio playing the usual morning program in the background. Surprised that she was up so early on a Saturday compared to the past days, they eyed her running gear while she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

“Aren’t you going to sit with us?” her mother asked.

Astrid shook her head and chugged down the juice. “I’ve been neglecting my training. I have to catch up.” She knew that her mother wouldn’t object to that. And it wasn’t as if she was lying; she did need to train more, especially now that the swimming hall was closed for renovations and her assistant had taken over training the kids at the place that belonged to that damned theme park in Bog. Heaven forbid she betrayed her principles and supported that place in any way, shape or form. But if she sat down now, she might have to listen to her mother asking her about her home life once again.

“But tonight we’re going out for dinner, okay?” her father shouted after her when she’d already grabbed a banana and was halfway out the front door.

“Sure!” she yelled back and then she was gone.

She ate her banana and stretched on the lawn before she put the peel in the trash and fell into a brisk pace, heading down the street. Running felt invigorating, like throwing off a heavy coat and allowing her cells to be injected with life again.

A soft morning breeze caressed her skin and the beams of the May sun on her back promised another warm day, even though the browning leaves in the front gardens she passed were screaming for it to rain.

The whole city was in bloom. Streets were glowing in white, pink and lavender, rich greens adorned the trees, petals and pollen were flying through the air, and Astrid was glad she didn’t have any allergies. A particularly beautiful patch of blue, orange and yellow flowers made her slow down for a moment, listening to the bumblebees buzzing around the vibrant colors. Breathing in the pleasant fragrance, she continued down a narrow path towards the park.

She hadn’t bothered to bring her phone and headphones, taking in the performances of various arias pleasantly filling her ears from every direction. A family of ducks crossed her path at the entrance of the park, heading for the lake that stretched through the whole park like a still river. The water was glistening in the sun, its smooth surface disrupted by water birds going about their morning activities and various insects dancing at the top. Plenty of people were already out and about, runners like her, people with their dogs, a few families. A young couple with a child in a stroller caught her eye and she ran faster.

Concentrating solely on the road and the rhythm of her feet and breath, she shut out everything else, as if she were wearing blinders. She counted to ten, sprinted, slowed down, started anew, until her lungs began to burn and her feet were stomping harder on the gravel.

Life was good. Despite her payment cuts, her mostly self-imposed lack of exercise, and what happened last weekend at home, she was okay. A failure wasn’t a failure if she could overcome it. It was just a minor hiccup on the road… Ha.

One and a half years later and even the word made her stomach drop. She was back in Berk, not just in the outskirts to get to Raven Point for work, to the swimming hall for training, or to her parents’ house for one afternoon. If she didn’t want to return to a quiet house where she would anxiously wait for her husband’s return, she would have to get over her paranoia that she could run into the one person in all of Berk she didn’t want to see. Or rather couldn’t allow herself to see.

One and a half years and he was still on her mind. Not every day, sometimes not even for weeks, but he was like that annoying mosquito in her bedroom that, no matter how often she killed it, always respawned the next night. Perhaps if she kept comparing him to obnoxious, bloodsucking insects, her feelings about him would finally change.

She should have brought music. Then she could have just turned up the volume of the most energetic songs she had on her phone and drowned out every thought. Although the rush of running had shaken the layer of lazy languor from her limbs, she’d opened the corner of her mind that she’d successfully blocked with ignorance up until now.

She started counting her steps, just to have something to focus on in order to keep her mind from spiraling.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…

She was at forty-nine when she evaded an old couple on their bicycles, and an ice cream cart on the other side of the lawn caught her eye.

It wasn’t so much the cart that made her heart stop out of the blue, without any preamble. It was the tall figure waiting in line, it was the auburn hair burning on his head like fire in the sun, it was the magnetism that instantly made her recognize him by pulling at her soul like the moon pulled at the ocean.

She tripped and caught herself on the next best thing, which happened to be a young man with dark hair and a dog leash hanging around his neck like the world’s longest, ugliest open tie.

“Whoa, there!” The guy put a hand on her arm, a flirty grin on his face. “No need to fall for me, although I understand why you might.”

Momentarily confused, she blinked at him flexing his bicep and unabashedly checking her out. “What?”

He winked. “You should come to the gym with me some time to work out, you look like you work out.”

“What?” she repeated, her brain only slowly catching up to the situation. Her head turned by itself, seeking out the ice cream cart, but there was only a kid delicately balancing two huge cones with ice cream running down his fingers. She blinked. Had she only imagined – no. There he was, a few paces to the left, coming towards her. Coming towards her.

She completely froze, her line of sight pinned to his face, ears deaf to the lame pickup lines still coming out of the guy’s mouth like a waterfall. Then he looked her way, and the moment blue eyes locked onto green, she was transported back to Dagur’s party where she’d felt like a bolt of lightning had shot straight through her.

He stopped short and stared with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape, face white as linen. Time slowed down, an eternity of mere seconds passed, the universe narrowing down to its only two inhabitants.

“Hey, are you alright?”

The guy’s voice yanked her back to planet Earth and she realized she was still holding onto his shoulder, spacing out in the middle of the path like an idiot. Her heart started to beat again at full capacity and she remembered how to fill her lungs with oxygen.

“I… sorry,” she stammered and bolted, lightning fueling her, and she sprinted and sprinted, away from the green emeralds boring into her back. Out of sight, out of mind, until she had used up all of her adrenaline and her legs gave out underneath her.

_______________

Hiccup’s understanding of space and time momentarily vanished. Gravity was an illusion. Down was up and up was down. Were dragons real? Words had no meaning. Tuna was a lie. A frying pan was a kind of bird. Colors tasted like witchcraft. The eyes of Astrid Hofferson were even more captivating than he remembered.

He was certain only that last one was true. It was a mystery to him how his heart was still beating. He didn’t register the ice cream escaping his grasp and painting a trail down his jeans onto his shoes. He was too occupied staring after the blonde ponytail swinging on her back, shorter than he remembered, as her frame became smaller and smaller until she rounded a corner and was but a fading melody riding the waves of the aftershocks she caused to his heart and soul.

“Dude, people are staring!”

Hiccup blinked a few times before shaking the haze off his brain and following the source of the complaint to the man in front of him.

“Did you shit your pants or something? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Checking just to be sure, he shook his head. No, he did not shit his pants. He wasn’t so sure about seeing a ghost, though. With an awkward cough, he returned to reality and frowned at the sticky stains on his clothes. Typical.

“Who– who were you just talking to?” he carefully asked his old friend, hoping desperately he hadn’t imagined her.

Snotlout’s face changed from embarrassed to overconfident in the blink of an eye. “That hot chick over there?” With his thumb, he pointed over his shoulder in the direction she had just disappeared to. “Yeah, she totally digs me. Wouldn’t admit it, but she did.”

“Did she tell you her name?”

“Psh, Hiccup, my man. Names are for second dates only.”

Hiccup raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Let me guess, she didn’t even talk to you and only accidentally bumped into you?”

Snotlout opened his mouth, closed it, then turned and whistled for his dog.

“Thought so,” he mumbled and followed Snotlout to where the man’s dog was pulling so hard on its leash it wasn’t exactly clear who was the master of whom. Before they made their way back to Snot’s apartment, Hiccup looked back once more, as if the remaining ghost of her presence would show itself and talk to him. But she was long gone.

On their way back into the city, Hiccup barely said a thing, still miles away. But it wasn’t like he was needed to fill the air with conversation since Snotlout was talking nonstop. Hiccup managed a comment here and there, but if he’d been asked what they’d been talking about when they reached the apartment, he would have been unable to answer.

The inside of the apartment was, to his nonexistent surprise, a mess. Dog toys and barbells were lying everywhere, one side of the rundown couch was full of dog hair, and it smelled of bacon and sweat. But what struck Hiccup the most was the nearly bald fir tree in the corner. Dry needles covered the ground and mismatched baubles and an assortment of cheap wooden decorations were desperately clinging to the twigs like a last lifeline.

“Really? Still?” he asked while Snotlout put dog food in a bowl. “I thought you wanted to throw that thing away weeks ago.”

Snotlout shrugged. “Eh. Didn’t seem worth the effort. It’s almost Christmas soon again, anyway.”

“It’s May, Snot.”

“So? As soon as I buy a new one, I just have to put the balls from one tree to the other. No need to cram everything back on the shelf.” He opened a can of coke and flopped onto the clean end of the couch.

With a defeated sigh, Hiccup decided to free the tree from its misery and started with taking off the wooden stars. In the background, Snotlout was scrolling through his phone and slurping his coke.

“Snot.”

“What?”

“At least bring me the boxes these go in.”

He heard a series of groans and shuffling, a few choice swear words, then an armful of cartons were unceremoniously dropped next to him and the slurping started anew. Sometimes, Hiccup wondered why they were friends. But some bonds just seemed to miraculously never break.

His mind wandered to the park again, to the blonde ponytail highlighted by the sun, to the two blue orbs circling his thoughts ever since. He was electrified in such a familiar way, his heart speeding up again at the mere memory of her frozen face as she stared back at him.

“I think it was Astrid,” he blurted out, for fear he would burst if he didn’t voice it.

The slurping stopped. “Who?”

“The girl from earlier. The one you probably drove off with your obnoxious flirting.”

Snotlout was quiet for a moment. “Am I really that awful?”

Hiccup had to smile despite himself. That was why he was still friends with Snotlout Jorgenson. Because as irritable and annoying and full of himself he was most of the time, underneath all that there was a boy who actually cared. Cared what women thought of him, what his father thought of him, even what Hiccup thought of him. It was rare that he showed his vulnerable side and Hiccup always made sure not to tease him about his honesty, aware of the trust his friend put in him.

“Depends on what you said this time. Maybe stop diving in full force every time a woman so much as glances at you. Usually, they don’t like that.”

The slurping continued, followed by a loud belch. “I can’t believe I’m taking advice from you. You’re not exactly the king of the ladies. And if that in the park was Astrid, then I can’t even begin to tell you how far out of her league you are.”

Hiccup didn’t need to be told that. He’d always known that she was unattainable for him, just not for the reason Snotlout thought. There’d been a connection between them, and if he’d considered it only a hopeful fragment of his imagination at first, he’d definitely felt it the last time he’d seen her.

“Jingle bells, Hiccup smells, Astrid ran away. She will never love you back and Snotlout is the king!”

“That’s not what happened.” Hiccup regretted telling him about her. In his defense, though, that had been after Snot had put extra rum in his tea during the Christmas party thrown by the neighborhood they’d grown up in together. And if the woman from the park had indeed been her, then he refused to believe that she’d run away. General running, that’s what she’d been doing. The athletic kind.

“Jingle bells, Astrid smells, Hiccup ran away. He is such an idiot and Snotlout is the king!”

“She doesn’t smell,” Hiccup mumbled, overwhelmed by the sudden memory of her flowery scent when he’d stood so close to her under the canopy. When he’d come to her wedding in an attempt to make peace with the fact that they could never be together. Because he’d been too late; because it wouldn’t have mattered. She loved another man that she would spend the rest of her life with, and coming to her wedding day of all times to tell her he wanted to be that man would not have been fair. She’d made her decision and he couldn’t just tell her what to do.

Maybe he really was an idiot.

A part of him wanted to drill Snotlout for details, ask what exactly she’d said, if she’d said anything at all. Ask if she still had a nose speckled with tiny freckles and ask if her eyes still resembled a clear blue summer sky.

But he didn’t. He’d sworn to get over her, and so far, that had worked… Or maybe not, he’d just chosen to ignore it and to tell himself he wasn’t still thinking about her.

“What about Angela?” it came from the couch, accompanied by the metallic crinkling sound of an empty can. “She seemed to like you. Or Crankyhead McPurplepants.”

“You mean Kristy?”

“If she’s the cranky one with the purple pants, then yeah.”

Hiccup shrugged. “None of them worked out.” A few months ago, he’d downloaded a dating app and dived into the world of online dating, only to delete his profile and create a new one every other week in a vicious cycle of loneliness and breakups when none of them could smother the fire for long that she’d started within him. He was completely and utterly hung up on a girl he barely knew and yet felt deep in his heart every time a storm was raging through the sky and bolts of lightning illuminated the night.

And if he spent the majority of the next day on a bench in the park where he’d seen her yesterday, then that was just a coincidence. Because even the prospect of being friends with her seemed impossible, and who was to say he hadn’t merely imagined her? Maybe he’d seen someone who looked a lot like her, maybe even a cousin or some kind of doppelganger designed to torment him.

But she didn’t show up again. His stomach was growling and he felt restless, his right leg jiggling up and down like a bouncy ball on a sugar rush. Who was he kidding, anyway? He was just being pathetic. Giving up with a heavy heart, he left the park and went to the only place in Berk that sold his favorite cheap sandwiches on a Sunday evening.

Entering the main kiosk at Berk Central Station, he headed straight for the fridge, deciding between turkey and tuna, and ending up grabbing both sandwiches. It was only when he turned around that he caught sight of the small corner with the drugstore products.

Her hair was hanging over her shoulder in a slightly messy braid that she kept absentmindedly fiddling with. The jeans she was wearing had a large coffee stain at the side. The letters on her hoodie read Berk Vikings Swim Team and a year in Roman numerals. She was frowning at something on the shelf in front of her.

He blinked once, twice, to make sure it was really her, here, in this very kiosk, at this very moment in time.

Before he could overthink it, he walked up to her and, only hesitating for a few seconds, reached out his hand to touch her shoulder ever so slightly. She winced the same moment he pulled back his hand from the shock that had just rushed through his fingertips at the contact.

She turned around in question and time froze once more.

He swallowed hard. “Hey.”

#httyd #hiccstrid #fanfiction #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson #snotlout jorgenson #when lightning strikes #modern au #a bit of angst with a dash of drama #or the other way around #maja writes #ff #fic #how to train your dragon

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tirednotflirting · 4 years

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you can tell a lot about someone by the type of music they listen to 🎵🎶

was tagged for this fun lil game by @devilatmydoor, @lukehummingbirdz, @allsassnoclass, and @clumsyclifford <3

rules: hit shuffle on your media player and write down the first 20 songs, then tag 10 people. no skipping!

(using my liked songs on spotify for this. its 707 songs. lets go)

1. You’ll Be Back - Jonathan Groff, Hamilton OBC (starting Strong)

2. Ghost - Halsey (I was posting about Badlands what? 10 minutes ago? Truly Badlands is probably the reason I stuck around on Tumblr not even kidding)

3. But It’s Better If You Do (Live) - Panic! At The Disco (Live in Chicago is a thing of dreams, y’all)

4. Numb Without You - The Maine (YOU ARE MY GLITTER AND MY GLOOM)

5. Folkin’ Around (Live) - Panic! At The Disco (FOLKIN AROUND RIGHTS HERE AT TIREDNOTFLIRTING SEND TWEET)

6. Some Nights - fun. (Quite literally one of the most defining albums of my Younger Years. Like this is what they’re going to play in Super Bowl commercials 30 years from now to make us ~feel things~)

7. Stranger - Vampire Weekend (Fun Fact: this week a year ago I saw VW twice in a week. Experience of a lifetime, damn)

8. The Other Side - Conan Gray (Conan writes songs for kids that hung out on overpasses in high school to watch the sunset w shit boys who spoke in poems...it’s me i’m kids)

9. Yorktown - Hamilton OBC (IMMIGRANTS: WE GET THE JOB DONE)

10. Grand Theft Autumn / Where Is Your Boy (Live) - Fall Out Boy (PLEASE STAND FOR YOUR NATIONAL ANTHEM...had to pause and listen through this one)

11. More - 5 Seconds of Summer (why can’t we choose them????? MAH HEART)

12. Hallelujah - Panic! At The Disco (DOAB will always remind me of my first semester of college. like it holds such a special lil place in my heart)

13. Year 3000 - Jonas Brothers (we are getting a look at just every single corner of my pop music filled mind huh?)

14. Outer Space / Carry On - 5 Seconds of Summer (whenever I feel like my conducting is starting to fade off some, I just loop this song and do my 3/4 patterns w some volume direction for like an hour straight and then i feel Better)

15. 12345SEX - UPSAHL (saw this absolute babe when she opened for Tessa Violet last August and she may be the coolest person I have ever met idk like she’s so sick)

16. This Town ft. The RTÉ Concert Orchestra - Niall Horan (Flicker is a hold masterpiece like I’ll never get tired of it, Niall really killed it I think)

17. Aftertaste - Shawn Mendes (Won’t lie, this specific song ended up in my likes after it was used in a chap of this Gorgeous Shawn fic I read sometime last year - cannot remember which one now but I remember that is why it’s there so)

18. Doom Days - Bastille (This song inspired my “Pop Songs for the Apocalypse” playlist I started last fall. If only I knew. But really Bastille is another band I’ll remember 20 years down the line as ‘oh yes this was what 17 felt like’)

19. Sarah Smiles - Panic! At The Disco (Brendon said “HI I LOVE MY WIFE AND HER NAME IS SARAH”)

20. Slow Burn - Kacey Musgraves (last fall I saw Kacey at a festival and every 30 seconds or so someone around me would just quietly say “she’s...so beautiful” and that feels like an excellent note to end on)

absolutely everyone has done this already I am almost certain but pls, if you have not, hit shuffle and join the fun <3

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thatmultifandomhoe · 5 years

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Strawberry Cream and BBQ - 2

Pairing: Hybrid Hoseok and Human Reader

Overview: Your best friend knows she can count on you for anything, so when she asks you to watch her hybrid while she’s gone for a study abroad trip for four months, you can’t say no. But when these four months are over, things have changed in a way no one expected.

Word Count: 2,265

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Future smut, Angst, Best friends to Lovers

Warning: Occasional swearing. Like maybe once or twice.

Surprise Update.

Master List

Sneak Peak - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 (Final) - Move in Day: A SC&BBQ Drabble

©thatmultifandomhoe Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without permission.

Adjusting your knit hat, you patiently waited for Sue to answer her door as you stood outside her house. Your friend had been extremely lucky on the financial end of things and unlike everyone else who was in college, owned her own house at the fair age of twenty-three. Her parents had died in a tragic accident when Sue turned twenty, so she inherited the house her parents owned. It surprised not only her but also her relatives when they learned that the mortgage was already paid and everything was going to their only daughter. With the money she had saved up since she started working part time at fifteen, she was able to live a comfortable life while attending college and working.

It was almost the end of January and the new semester was starting up soon. But Sue was leaving two weeks before it started to get adjusted in Hong Kong before the homework and essays could pile up above her head. Out of habit, you lightly kicked the toe of your boots against the cement stairs to get any snow off them. There wasn’t going to be any time for chit chat and visiting today, you were supposed to be driving Sue to the airport today and Hoseok was coming to your house right afterwards.

You could hear footsteps rushing around inside, making you smile. Was it Hoseok? He usually got excited when his friends were coming over. Or, was it Sue, trying to shove in some last-minute packing before you all drove to the airport? You were betting your money on it being Hoseok.

“STRAWBERRY!” Hoseok screamed, confirming your thoughts. The front door was opened a second later and a pair of arms had wrapped around you, carrying you inside to the heated house and out of the frigid cold.

“It’s good to see you too Hoseok!” You giggled, tightly wrapping your arms around his shoulders as he spun you around. It was a little pointless though, Hoseok would never drop you. His reflexes were too quick and strong to let him. “It’s been way to long since we’ve hung out.”

He lightly set you down and pulled away, allowing you to see his heart shaped smile. “I know. I should have visited at the bookstore, but I wanted to try and get Sue to come along so you two could hang out as well, then she’s been busy and then we’ve been preparing for the show at the dance studio…” He could have continued going on and on but he stopped himself, a faint blush appearing as he forced himself to take a breath. His tail continued to happily wag behind him though.

It made you giggle as he calmed himself. He just wasn’t able to help himself sometimes. Once he got talking about what he liked or was passionate about he’d start rambling. Which you understood yourself, 1qyou tended to ramble a lot when you were nervous or embarrassed.

“Don’t worry,” you reassured, reaching up to scratch his black ears as you smiled at him. The two of you had known each other long enough that Hoseok was perfectly fine with scratching his ears whenever you felt like it. “You have the next four months to make it up to me.”

Hoseok smiled, bending his head in your direction to make it a little easier for you. “Thank you again for letting me stay with you. I hope Sue didn’t pressure you or anything.”

You raised an eyebrow at him, the two of you dissolving shortly after into giggles. Sue wouldn’t negatively pressure a person into doing something for her, but things like, swinging by Dunkin with some coffee and donuts on your way over, or having Hoseok stay with you were up for grabs at any moment.

“I thought I heard you yell Strawberry.” A teasing voice called out, heels clicking against the tile floor announcing Sue’s presence before she even entered the kitchen. Hoseok straightened, flashed you an apologetic smile, and hurried over to Sue to hug her.

An adoring smile appeared on his face as she hugged him back and scratched his ears. “Sorry, it’s just been so long since we’ve last seen her.”

“It’s fine Hobi. I’d do the same if I wasn’t in a rush.” Sue said, smiling and waving her fingers at you. Hoseok tensed in her arms for a moment as he looked over at the hallway, his ears turned in that direction as another pair of boots heavily clomped down on the floor. It made you frown in confusion. Who else was supposed to be here?

“Why does he call you Strawberry?” A familiar, and completely unexpected voice asked.

With a roll of your eyes, you forced a smile as Colin came into view. He was a handsome man, you weren’t stupid or blind, but his selfish personality and the fact that he could never bother to remember the simplest things, annoyed you. To Sue, he was nice and sweet, and when his jealousy wasn’t in overdrive, he was sometimes nice to Hoseok. Everyone else had to fend on their own though when he was around.

Hoseok sniffed, his head turning your direction with his eyebrows furrowed. To reassure him, you relaxed your smile. “Because according to Hoseok, my scent smells like strawberry cream to him.” You answered for the millionth time. You lost count how many times he’s asked why Hoseok dubbed you with that nickname.

The memory of when you first met Hoseok came to mind then, truly making you feel relaxed actually. It was a sweet memory. He had only been a little nervous when Sue introduced him to everyone, but the minute he smelled you he became overjoyed. It was apparently one of his favorite scents in the world. Sue’s, a combination of lilacs and lavender, was his first favorite though.

Colin pretended to nod in understanding, but he was too focused on how Hoseok’s arms were tightly wrapped around Sue. His eyes narrowed and his hands clenched. But because Hoseok was sensitive to the sudden changing of emotions, especially if they weren’t happy ones, he released a soft whimper. This only made Sue hug him closer and kiss his cheek to comfort him.

You chewed your lip in annoyance. Colin’s jealousy was something you never understood. Sue and him had been dating for several months before she adopted Hoseok. The day she brought Hobi home it had been made clear that the two them were friends, not lovers. Obviously, Colin was too thickheaded to comprehend that.

“Sue, am I still driving you to the airport? Or is that what Colin’s here for?” You asked, throwing in a joke to lighten the atmosphere. Sue’s flight was leaving at noon and it was almost nine now. The two of you had agreed to leave early so she’d get through security and check in her luggage.

Hoseok weakly smiled at you as he pulled out of Sue’s embrace and stepped closer to you. The two of you felt the same way about Colin, so you were his saving grace when you were around at moments like this.

Completely oblivious to what was happening around her, Sue leaned against Colin’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Change of plans. Colin is driving me, and then I was thinking Hoseok could ride with you. That way after my plane leaves you two can just go to your place.”

This wasn’t surprising to you. Whatever Colin wanted, Sue gave in to him. He probably used his famous line, ‘But Hoseok is always with you. It’s only for…’ and then however many hours he desired would be slotted in to finish the statement. Sometimes it was even a few days.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Hoseok deeply inhale as he studied the floor, suddenly interested in the tiles. Whether he was breathing in your scent or Sue’s was beyond you. “Okay then.” You said. “Both of you got everything packed?”

“Yup! Just finished actually. And I told Hoseok, if he needs to come back for anything, it’s fine. He has his key to get in.”

“We just need to lock up.” He informed you.

You nodded, watching as Colin leaned forward to whisper in Sue’s ear making her giggle like a school girl. Hoseok’s ears flicked in her direction, his face scrunching up for a microsecond before turning back to his neutral face. Stepping closer to the hybrid, you slipped your arm through his and laid your head on his bicep. Whatever Colin told Sue must have been something he wanted to miss.

Thankfully, Sue and Colin broke up their embraced and you let Hoseok go so he could grab his duffle bag, his dance bag, and his suitcase. He was prepared alright. Although, it wasn’t hard to see where he got it from; Sue had three large purple suitcases and a duffle bag. Better to be prepared then be missing something important.

In no time you were driving behind Colin’s red car, your own black SUV following with Hoseok’s luggage in the back seat, and Sue’s in the trunk. Apparently, Colin had forgotten to clean out the backseat in his car, and his trunk had a flat tire in it that he needed to get rid of. Hoseok was uncharacteristically quiet while sitting in his seat, his tan and black tail across his lap so it wouldn’t get squished.

“It’s only four months,” you gently said, turning the radio down so it was just a softly filling the silence. You always kept it turned down in general when Hoseok, or any of your other hybrid friends were in the car with you.

“I know, but it’s not that.” He said, resting his elbow on the door so he could lean his head against his elbow. “I mean I’m going to miss Sue, she’s my best friend and owner, so of course I’m gonna miss her. She’s never been gone this long and not taken me with her.”

You nodded in agreement, waiting for him to tell you what was truly on his mind. He didn’t speak again for a while. In fact, it wasn’t until you were on the highway and halfway to the airport that he spoke again. “It’s Colin. I know he doesn’t really like how clingy I can be, but no matter how hard I try to limit my affection for Sue, he gets jealous so fast. He reeks of it.”

Being careful, you glanced over at Hoseok and offered him a small smile. If you were on a regular road, you would have reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. But driving on the highway made you nervous so you kept both hands on the wheel. “Colin…He’s something else.” You tried to reason. You knew exactly what Colin was. He was a self-centered, close minded and ignorant asshole, but you were trying to play peace keeper at the moment. Sue was in love with Colin and Hoseok was her best friend and hybrid. They had to at least try and get along. Which Hoseok was doing, Colin…not so much.

“You’re not telling the whole truth Strawberry,” Hoseok said, smirking as he looked at you. “Did you forget that I can tell when your emotions change? Because as soon as I mentioned him your scent turned a little bitter.”

“Stop sniffing me,” you teased.

He chuckled and shook his head, sitting up this time. “Because I can just turn the dial back like that.” Hoseok licked his lips and suddenly his face fell again, his ears lowering so the insides faced downwards. “If I could do that, maybe Colin might like me. Or at least, tolerate me better.”

You sighed as you stared at the red vehicle in front of you, cars on your left side passing you by in a various cycle of black, grey, green, blue, and red.

The sky was overcast and resembled a grey blob, which conveniently matched your mood when thinking about Colin. The weather man only predicted that it would get up to high thirties by late afternoon, but you had felt the cold straight to your bone when you all left Sue’s house. You doubted that it would get even about mid-twenties today.

“Colin’s an extreme work in progress.” You said, giving in and taking his hand in yours. When you felt his hand squeeze yours in return, you softly smiled. “But for these next four months, you don’t have to think about him even once. Okay?”

When you didn’t hear anything, you stole another glance at him. He was staring at the car in front of you two. Sue was in the passenger seat sitting sideways, letting you see her side profile and the smile on her face. “Colin’s an ass. That’s why I’m not inviting him to join us to get ice cream on our way back.”

Hoseok’s ears picked up at that and he looked at you again, a hopeful look on his face. “You mean it?”

“Of course!” You said, grinning as you looked forward to make sure they hadn’t of gotten ahead of you. “Just you and me, and ice cream from Munchies. How’s that sound?”

The thumping of his tail against his legs was all you needed to hear. He was holding himself back from hugging since you were driving, but you figured he would squeeze the life out of you either when you got to the airport or to Munchies.

Whichever came first really.

#bts hybrid au #hoseok #hybrid hoseok #Strawberry Cream and BBQ #bts #bts hoseok #hoseok x reader #jung hoseok #jhope #bangtan sonyeondan #hybrid j-hope #kpop #kpop fandom #kpop fanfiction #hybrid #bts hybrid #hybrid bts

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thirsty-pixie · 5 years

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Richie x Reader. Part 5

Part 1, part 2, part 3, Part 4

Part 6

I got home and checked the mail seeing a bright blue envelope with my moms name on it, I grabbed it and sat on the couch while the boys raided my kitchen for snacks. I opened the letter not recognizing the name on the return address, it came from California where my mom said she lived as a little girl.

Dear Teresa,

I know it's been 20 years since we last spoke but your father is sick and would like to make amenities and we are willing to send you a plane ticket to fly to California. We miss you dearly and hope you can forgive us for everything. We hope you will consider coming home you can hall us at 530-838-2356 (idk if it's a real number I kinda made it up lol)

Love, mom and dad.

I stood up and looked at Richie who was drinking a soda and leaning against the kitchen entryway watching the guys. "I just got a letter from my moms parents" he turned and looked at me "I thought she told you they died...?" He looked at the letter then back at me. "She did.... should I call" I scrunched my eyes as I read the number again. He shrugged and looked at the phone, "it wouldn't hurt to try..." I nodded and walked to the phone hanging on the wall.

The phone rang twice before a womans voice answered, "um hi uh...." I didnt know what to say "Hi may I ask whose calling?" I swallowed the lump in my throat before answering in a shakey voice."Yeah you sent a letter for Teresa Brooks.." the woman gasped "Is this Teresa?" She asked excited, I cleared my throat and sigh "no I'm sorry you have to find out like this but she passed 2 years ago.. but I an her daughter Y/n" the woman was silent for a few moments before I heard a muffled cry. "I'm really sorry I wish you could have found out differently." I played with the cord waiting for her to respond.

After a few moments of silence the woman sniffled "you said you are her daughter.." i cleared my throat again and nodded "yes ma'am" she was quiet for a second "well Y/n do you want to fly to California to meet some of your moms family?" I smiled and said yes. I hung the phone back up and turned around, Richie was standing behind me "well?" He asked curious about how the call went. "I'm going to California to meet my moms family" I said excitedly smiling at him.

~~~Time Skip a week after graduation~~~

I was waiting at the bus stop looking for Richie, he was supposed to meet me here to say goodbye. My bus was supposed to be here in 10 minutes, the rest of the losers club had come to say goodbye which ended up making me cry. "You'll be back though right" Mike asked as he hugged me, "yeah in a year or so." I wiped my eyes looking around one last time for any sign of Richie. But he wasn't around, and here came my bus.

I grabbed my bag and handed it to the bus driver to put in the storage area under the bus, I gave the guys one last hug before I turned to get on the bus. "Y/N" I stopped hearing someone yell my name, I looked down the road seeing Richie running towards me. I smiled and looked back at the driver "just give me a minute please" he nodded and got on the bus. Richie ran up to me pulling me into a tight hug, I hugged him back and my eyes began to water.

"I'm gonna miss you Trash Mouth" I pulled back and he wiped my tears before kissing me. "I'm gonna miss you too but you're gonna be back in no time." I smiled and hugged him again. They all waved as the bus drove off leaving Derry and all of my friends behind.

~~~time skip 2 years later reader is 20 losers club is 18~~

I sat on the bus staring out the window as we drove passed the welcome to Derry sign. It had been 2 years since I had left to meet my family and I was more than happy to be back in my hometown. Richie and I would talk every day while I was gone for the first year but by the second year we would only send a few letters a month. I walked off the bus and grabbed my bag from the driver throwing it over my shoulder, while I was gone I rented out my house to an elderly couple who just move out last week. I had called a moving company to move all of my furniture from storage back into the house so it would be ready when I got home.

The walk to my house from the bis stop was about 20 minutes so I stopped at the drug store to get a soda. As I was leaving I seen Richie and Eddie walking down the road, "hey losers" I said as I walked up to them. It took them a few moments to realize who I was, Richie hugged me like he was trying to squeeze the life out of me. "Oh my god how long have you been back" I pushed him off and smiled "maybe 5 minutes" Eddie hugged me briefly before telling Richie and I he'll let us have some alone time.

Richie walked me home and we talked about everything that had happened since I left. When we got to the house I invited him in and we sat on the couch awkwardly, "so are we still uh....." I wasnt sure how to as if him and I were still dating. "Still a thing?" He said finishing my question I looked at him and nodded. "Do you want to be?" He added looking at me smiling "I do if you still want to" as soon as i finish my sentence he leaned forward kissing me. It felt like the first time all over again, within a few minutes we were giggling and making our way up to my room.

I stood infront of my bed as he shut my door and walked up to me, he shoved me back and I fell onto my bed with a sight bounce. He pulled his shirt off tossing it aside and climbed on top of me he began kissing my neck and down to my collarbone. He both groaned when we heard a loud banging on my front door followed by the sound of Ben, Eddie, Stan, Mike and Bill Singing Don't you by Simple Minds. I laughed and pushed Richie off and stood up handing him his shirt, "as much as I'd like to finish this they wont be leaving any time soon." He rolled his eyes and put his shirt on.

I opened the door and seen the group of boys I had come to think of as my brothers, "Y/n! " the all came into my house talking loudly. Richie stood at the top of the stairs watching us all hug and say our hellos, "you gonna stand up there all day?" I asked looking up at at him. He nodded walking down the stairs wrapping his arm around me, Eddie and Richie looked at each other's like they were nonverbally communicating.

"So how was California?" Stan asked leaning on the back of my couch, "it was good my moms parents are crazy rich it was weird. My mom had like 4 brothers and 6 sisters. They took me to Hawaii to visit my moms oldest brother who was in the Army" I looked at my shoes then back at Stan. Eddie came back into the room from the kitchen "Wow how was the beach?" I looked at him and shrugged "it was fine not really my scene" the guys started talking amongst each other loudly, I leaned against Richie and sighed.

"What's wrong" Richie asked resting his chin on the top of my head "nothing.... its just happy to be home." I smiled as Eddie and Stan started arguing while Mike and Bill tried to break it up. I turned wrapping my arms around Richies waist resting my head on his chest "I missed you so much" he hugged me back"i missed you too Y/n" I kissed him and turned to look at the guys. "Hey losers let go down to the quarry like old times" they all agreed and we left the house walking down the road to th drug store because I wanted to get some snacks.

Eddie went in with me to fill his inhaler, Gretta was at the pharmacy counter when we went in and she smiled at me. "Wow Y/n you finally go out of this shit town but you came back." I fake smiled and looked down the snack aisle. "Good thing you and Richie were on a break while you were gone right?" She popped her gum as she spoke and I walked up to the counter. Eddie stepped back from the counter and watched nervously as I slammed my hands on the counter. "What are you talking about... we were never on a break" if looks could kill Gretta would gone, "oh well according to him you were" she smirked and looked put the window at Richie.

"What are you trying to say Gretta" I said through clenched teeth. "Oh was it not obvious? I'm saying I fucked your boyfriend. Multiple times." I stormed put of the drugstore and shoved Richie. "What the fuck Richie" he looked at me confused, "what's wrong with you" he rubbed his chest where I shove him.

"You fucked Gretta?!" He looked down immediately when I said this "so its true... " he looked ath me and nodded "you were gone for two years Y/n what did you expect" his words were like a slap in the face. "That shouldn't have mattered! I didn't sleep with anyone I thought you loved me as much as I loved you but clearly I was wrong." I felt a burning in my eyes as tears made their way down my cheeks. "I don't know what you want me to say. You left." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked a rock that was sitting on the sidewalk.

"I just found out I had family and I wasnt alone anymore. I wanted to meet them and get to know them." Richie glared at me. "Not alone anymore? Really you were never alone! You had Bill, Mike, Stan,Ben and Eddie..... you had me. Were we not enough for you?!" I stepped towards him and he stepped back. "You expected me to wait for you like some stupid romance movie. Well news flash Y/n this is the real world! Nobody knew you were coming back I wasn't going to wait forever. I do love you and I want to be with you but honestly look at the bigger picture" wasn't sure if I was angry crying or sad crying but all I knew was I felt betrayed.

"Dont play that you didn't know if I was coming home shit because I told you I would he back" he rolled his eyes and turned his head away as I talked. "You're a real asshole Richie" I wiped the tears away and he just looked at me and shrugged. I wait for him to say something anything "that's it?" He nodded "like I said I dont know what you want me to say you were the one that left" he shrugged and raised his eyebrows "you're right and I shouldn't have come back either...." I turned and started to walk away but he grabbed my arm. "Stop Richie.....I'm done I don't want this anymore" I pulled my arm away and left Derry i sold my house and moved to California with my family. That was the last time seen or talked to any of the guys.

Part 1, part 2, part 3, Part 4

Part 6

#pennywise #it chapter one #richie it #it imagine #it #it 2017 #it movie #richie imagine #richie tozier #richie toizer x reader #richie x reader #beep beep richie #bill #mike #ben #richie #stan #eddie

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chwetuan · 5 years

Text

Polarity - Jackson Wang x Reader (a)

1. Requested: uh normally i would put the exact request here but y’all know how tumblr is set up soooooo rip that post. this was supposed to be an idol!au but i’ve made it an up&coming!au because i no longer write idol!aus (anon)

2. Summary: Polarity - When two opposite things are attracted to each other. Or, in which Jackson is on his rise to stardom, and he can’t let anything, even love, stop him from achieving his dream.

3. Warnings/Ratings: langauge, implied smut. career driven jackson makes for an unhappy ending :(

4. A/N: 2 fics? in a row? mayhaps it’s because i hit 500 followers!!!!! thank you so much for your support. it means the world to me. i love you, seriously.

You can’t help but feel a bit bitter when you see him on tv.

Rationally, there’s a part of you that knows you should be happy for him. Happy to see him do what he loves, and happy to see him do it so well.

But the part of you that knows he left you behind stays bitter. No one talks about the emptiness that is left behind once a soulmate leaves you.

You would say it started the day you were born.

The little red string on your finger had always been a reminder that things in life were out of your control. Nevertheless, the little girl you were couldn’t help but fall in love with the idea that someone in the world was made just for you.

It was a little self-indulgent, you would conclude as you got older. What were the chances of you meeting your soulmate anyway?

You assumed that there couldn’t be any harm in wondering, in letting your mind conjure up fantasies and fairytales of the “what if”. After all, the universe had put it into play. But deep down, you thought it was tortuous how fate had tricked you into thinking that maybe, there was a possibility. Maybe there was a possibility for love. A possibility for forever.

However, on the other side of your soulbond, there was Jackson. And his perspective on the string around his finger was completely the opposite of yours.

He decided long ago that everything in life was never set in stone. Fate and destiny were barriers meant to hold people back, meant to trick people into believing that is just how it is. It was like being behind bars.

He hated the idea of soulmates. The idea that who you could love in this life wasn’t up to you. That it was predetermined, and if you never got the chance to meet them, you were forced to be reminded that they were out there somewhere.

So, he tugged, and pulled, and snipped. But despite all attacks, the string remained, and all he was left with was scars.

~~~

The earpiece you had in was buzzing with dialogue as you searched for contestant #18.

Working on the set of Next was stressful, and it could get especially emotional backstage when tensions were high between contestants and judges. The show itself was brutal - filled with teenagers and 20-somethings who were all talented and doing their best to prove that to the judges. And the world.

This last week of filming had been the absolute worst, and everything seemed to reach its peak tonight — the finale.

From 20 contestants, only 4 were left, preparing to perform their hearts out on stage in hopes of winning the grand prize: a record deal and $50,000 dollars.

The last two months had gone by in a breeze, and part of you was sad at the thought of having to part ways with some of your newly found friends. The other part of you was excited at the thought of the future, and the possibility of moving up within your own company after a successful gig.

However, you were grounded in the current moment, feet moving with purpose as your eyes caught the large red sign that read “WANG - #18” hung on the door at the end of the backstage hallway.

You knocked once, then twice, waiting anxiously for a reply, clutching to your clipboard.

When he answered, you opened the door and closed it behind you. He was standing in front of a vanity adjusting his microphone piece.

“Hi, I’m sorry if-“

Your words die in your throat as a sharp pain draws your attention to the string around your finger. Except, the string is no longer tied around your pinkie. Instead, it floats gently to the ground as a dull sting settles.

It all happens quickly - Jackson freezes, your eyes widen, and a choked sound of surprise leaves his lips.

“You?” The words are said with utter disbelief, and he steps forward without thinking before grabbing your hand and staring at your fingers.

You’re stunned into silence, dropping the clipboard as you tug yourself away from him.

~~~

Everything that happens in the next couple of hours passes you in a blur. You’re on autopilot, a feeling of emptiness settling deep in your chest as the show comes to a close. He wins - of course, he does, and the set is filled with tears and smiles and congratulations.

You can’t feel anything but the pain in place of your string.

You gather your things, hug some of your team members and thank them for their work. You swipe out one last time as you begin making your way down to the parking garage. As you start unlocking your car door, a desperate sound of your name echoes through the underground tunnel.

You pause, turning to see none other than Jackson himself. He stops a few feet away from you, clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt. The thought that he should be out somewhere celebrating fleetingly crosses your mind, but for now, all you can focus on is the sound of his voice when he asks:

“Aren’t we going to talk about this?”

~~~

Jackson makes it known from the start that if a relationship is what you’re looking for, you won’t find it in him. He’s got too much of his life ahead of him.

He’s got a new record deal, an album in the making, and a possible documentary on the way.

You don’t fit into Jackson’s plans, but you do fit into his bed.

A relationship isn’t what you get, but late nights, early mornings, and fleeting kisses seem to come with the package that is your not-relationship.

It’s that way for months. Nothing more than a late-night text, a call of convenience, and someone he knows will never tell him no.

Deep down, you want more, but you know that’s not part of the deal.

You crying when he makes headlines with his new girlfriend - a model, or actress, or something or the other - is not part of the deal.

You crying when Jackson tells you he’s leaving is not part of the deal.

His voice is soft as he sits across from you, wringing his hands and sighing as he watches you blink back tears that threaten to spill.

“Don’t do that, please.”

“What am I doing?” You rasp, throat tight from holding back the strain of rivers. “I’m not doing anything.”

You stand up, pulling on your shorts as you bunch your tank top in your hands.

His eyes trace your movements. “Where are you going?”

An exasperated sigh leaves your lips, a rebel tear falling down as you gather your things. “Where am I going?” You scoff. “Jackson, I’m leaving.”

He stands from the bed, crossing over to you as he reaches for your forearm. “That’s not fair.”

You pull yourself away from him, eyes wide with disbelief. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

He follows you out of his bedroom door as you see the remnants of last night scattered across his apartment: takeout and wine glasses. You scan the room for your keys, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

He stands in the archway of the kitchen, watching you in your search and blocking you from leaving.

Dropping your bag in the middle of the floor, you let tears of frustration and months of pent up anger spill out. “You think this isn’t fair? I’ll tell you what isn’t fair, Jackson.” You spit out, turning to face him and stepping closer.

“What’s not fair is you saying that you don’t want me. Telling me our bond doesn’t guarantee a relationship, and that it sure as hell doesn’t guarantee your love.”

He watches you in silence. There’s nothing he can say - your words ring true and all he feels is regret beginning to settle in his chest.

It’s a broken sound, your voice. Unstable and cracking as you continue. “Then what? You play into my fantasy? For what reason?”

“To get me in your bed? To have someone to fuck when your girlfriend is out of town? Congratulations on your relationship, by the way.” Your words are bitter, of course, they are.

You pick up your bag and grab your keys.

He stays silent as your hand touches the handle of his front door. You turn to him, one last time. Your eyes demand his attention, and all he sees behind the tears is anger, and pain, and undeniable love.

“I hope everything goes well for you.”

You slam the door and a sudden emptiness washes over his body. He’s frozen to the spot he’s in, feeling his hands tingle with the feeling of being apart from you.

It’s all he feels - when he boards the plane, when he records his songs, when he performs on stage; when he eats dinner across from his girlfriend.

The sadness, the regret, and the guilt. They sting worse than the pain wrapped around his pinkie finger.

He’s empty, you’re gone, and there’s nothing he can do, because it’s his fault.

#got7 jackson #got7 reactions #got7 scenarios #got7 imagines #got7 fanfiction #got7 jackson x reader #jackson x reader #kpop drabble #kpop fluff #kpop reactions #kpop scenarios #jackson wang imagines #jackson wang reactions #jackson wang scenarios

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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604

1.) What was the last strong scent you smelled? Kate poured some gin in her cup last night and the smell from the bottle wafted towards my nose. Shit staaaaaaaaank 2.) When was the last time you changed your outfit? 10 minutes ago – I just took a shower. 3.) What did you buy the last time you went shopping for new clothes? I got this cute two-piece ensemble of a bralette top and high-waisted pants. 4.) What is your favorite meal of the day? Dinner. 5.) Do you typically eat breakfast or skip it? I usually kinda have to skip it regardless if I’m full or downright starving. We have godawful traffic and I’d rather make it to school on time than spending +1.5 hours on the road just because I decided to have breakfast at home for 10 minutes.

6.) What was the last thing you took a picture of? I took a selfie of me cooking corned beef yesterday because it was the first time I ever made it hahahaha. 7.) Do you have a collection of anything? Not really. I always say I collect receipts from dates but I honestly haven’t done that or been thorough with my collection for like a year now. 8.) What was the last thing you threw away? My dog did some number 2′s so I cleaned up his mess. 9.) What is the cause of your current emotional state? I’m feeling waves of shame because I’ve already misplaced Gabie’s early Christmas gift to me (Apple earpods that I only got a month ago). Couple that with my usual seasonal Christmas depression, and you would know I’m not doing so well. 10.) What were the last plans you made? How about cancelled? Jum, Aya, Kate and I were making plans to party for New Year’s when I drove them to their dropoff point last night. I don’t think I’ve cancelled any plans, at least in a while. 11.) How did you discover your favorite band? It’s from this girl who discovered them while we were in Grade 4. 12.) Does the weather affect your mood? If so, in what ways? Yeah, I get lethargic being outside when it’s humid. I work okay and am generally in a better mood if it’s chillier or if it’s raining out. 13.) When are you most likely to be bored? If I’m outside and alone. I tried eating dinner alone twice so I can understand what other people mean whenever they say how spoiling yourself while alone is good self-care, but I hated every minute of being by myself cos I just found it boring and a bit sad. 14.) What was the last big decision you made? Haven’t made any big ones in a while. 15.) Where was the last place you traveled to, and what did you do while there? The last far place I drove to was a small community in Bulacan. We held a journalism workshop for their members. 16.) What is your favorite thing to go shopping for? Clothes. <– Yep. 17.) How organized are you? I’ve said this already but I’m messy-organized. My working space is usually a mess, but I know where everything is. I love making to-do lists, categories, tables, and charts though so maybe I lean towards being organized. 18.) What were the positives and negatives of your last week? Huge positive was turning in my last requirement and thus ending my semester; another positive was it was my org’s initiation rites for our newest batch of members AND our Christmas party last weekend. Shittiest negative was misplacing a very valuable gift from Gabie lately. 19.) If applicable, how did you decide what you wanted to study in college/university? I’ve always been good at and loved writing, telling stories, and watching investigative documentaries. I thought I was going to like journalism, but it turns out I’m much more comfortable just reading the news and being on the audience side when I watch investigative joun stuff. 20.) What was the last thing you received in the mail? My online order of three necklaces for Gab. 21.) What is one of your wildest dreams or ambitions? To end up working for WWE, my absolute dream company. 22.) When was the last time you performed in front of a group of people? My org was a participant in last school year’s freshman orientation party and we had to perform this cheesy choreography thing for them (along with other partner orgs) by the end of the day. 23.) Who was the last person to upset you? How about the last person to cheer you up? The answer to the first question is me. As for the second one, it has to be my friends last night. We had our Christmas party and it was nice to be with them where we weren’t fixated on our laptops because we’re working. 24.) Is there anything or anyone you’re trying to get over or let go of? Yes. 25.) What was the subject of your last phone conversation? I just told Gab I was so sorry and that I am very disappointed in and hating myself at the moment and hung up. 26.) What are your plans for tomorrow? How about the weekend? If I remember correctly, we have a test photoshoot with our chosen photo studio for our grad shoot tomorrow but nothing’s been said about it lately so I don’t actually know if that would push through. If it’s a go, I guess I’ll have to go to that. 27.) When was the last time you were sick? Three years ago. 28.) How close do you have to be with someone before you’ll consider them a friend? I dunno, they just shouldn’t annoy me lmao. 29.) What did the last jacket you wore look like? It’s dirty white and it’s got some Japanese print on the left side. 30.) Name five things you can grab from where you’re sitting. A pair of scissors, the keys for our family car, a jar of peanut butter, our dining table decor, and my shoulder bag.

#survey #surveys

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thewritewolf · 5 years

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Rekindle Chapter 4: Birthday

It looks like Marinette is going to be spending another birthday alone, unless a certain feline hero intervenes.

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@marichatmay

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

Adrien opened the door to his house and immediately began fumbling for the light switch. It had been another long day at work, where he had been back to modeling again. The modeling sessions were getting fewer and more spaced out, but that just seemed to mean that when his father did call on him to pose for the camera, he expected him to do the work of two or three sessions in one day. So much for slowly getting away from modeling and into the business side of things.

His eyes felt heavy, and his limbs heavier still. A few weary steps inside and he collapsed onto the couch in his living room, unable to make it to his bed. Plagg emerged from his jacket pocket, the kwami hesitating over Adrien for a few moments.

“Kid, you need to stand up for yourself.” It was all Adrien could do to avoid rolling his eyes. This was becoming an ever more common topic of conversation for them and it was starting to wear thin. "Gabe always had did run you ragged, but these last few years he has practically run you into the ground."

“I get paid for all that work, you know. Someone has to pay for your cheese habits.”

Plagg's fur bristled in irritation. “No way kid, you’re not putting this one back on me. You know as well as I do my delicious camembert is a drop in the bucket with what you make. Besides, you don’t even spend most of it since you don’t do anything. If you really wanted, you could stop working right now and be fine for what? A few months? A year? More?”

“Father pays for the house. I can’t just say no to him.” Adrien yawned and rolled away from his kwami, only for him to zoom back into his field of view.

Plagg shook his head. “Yeah, the house that you hate to be in and always try to find an excuse to get out of. You need to tell your old man-”

The ringing of Adrien’s cell phone cut Plagg off. “Oh no. I guess we’ll have to shelf this conversation. Too bad.”

Plagg glared and pointed a grubby paw at him. “This ain’t over, kid. You gotta stand up for yourself eventually.”

It was a struggle to pull out his phone, but he managed it. Nino’s face appeared on the screen.

“Sup, dude!” He took in Adrien’s appearance and cracked a smile. “You look like crap, man.”

“Thanks for sparing my feelings. I may have collapsed on the couch after getting home from the shoot. All the hard work of the makeup and hair teams - wasted!” He threw his arm over his face dramatically, earning a chuckle from Nino.

“Whatever you say, dude.” His face eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Wait. Another day of modeling? I thought you said those were a thing of the past and you were a management guy now?”

Adrien winced on the inside and shrugged. “I’m still the face of the company which means my face needs to be in some of the company’s products. For now, at least,” he rushed to add when he saw the look on Nino’s face. “Soon enough they’ll all be done and someone else can be the face of the company.”

“I dunno, bro. Your daddio’s got his claws in you and if he keeps you modeling, you’ll be too tired to do anything else. I think he’s really dragging his feet if he still hasn’t moved you to some other part of the company. Or he’s just saying he’s gonna promote you to keep you placated.” Nino shook his head. “You gotta talk to him, dude. Nothing’s going to change otherwise.”

Somewhere else in the room, Plagg cackled and Adrien shot a glare in his general direction.

Nino’s face brightened. “You got some peeps over? Good on you! Not gonna lie, I feel guilty sometimes when I realize how little we get to hang out. Especially with all the traveling Al and I do.”

“No, no one’s here.” Growling at Plagg, he added, “Just a stray cat that I’m considering shooing away.” Nino’s words caught up to him. “Wait, are you guys going to be still be gone in a couple weeks?”

“For Mari’s birthday, you mean?” Nino chuckled while Adrien felt his cheeks heat up slightly. His smile faded away as he continued. “But yeah, you’re right. We won’t be able to do anything with her this year. It’s a real bummer.”

“Yeah…” Adrien frowned. He was used to his birthdays being disappointing, but Marinette had always been surrounded by friends and family. Being alone for such an important day after being used to that… it couldn’t feel great.

“You know, this might be the perfect time to rekindle that friendship,” Nino said hopefully.

“I don’t think she’d want to spend so much time with the guy who broke her heart.”

“I’m telling you, dude, I’m sure you guys would be the best of friends. I get that you don’t see her in a romantic light, but I know she’d be happy to have a friend close by, you know?”

A friend? His heart clenched in sympathetic pain. “Yeah… okay, maybe. No promises, though, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“That’s all I can ask.” Off screen, Adrien heard Alya calling for Nino. “Sorry, dude. Gonna have to cut this call short. Best of luck with you two, okay?”

“Thanks, Nino. Stay safe and goodbye.”

“I do what I can. Bye!” The screen went dark as Nino hung up.

Adrien lowered the phone onto his chest, still staring up at the ceiling. Despite what his best friend had said, he didn’t think Marinette would be happy to see him appear out of the blue. At least, not if it were Adrien showing up. Smiling, he ran his fingers over his ring. Thankfully, he didn’t have to be Adrien all the time.

But… he shouldn’t just show up empty handed, right? This wasn’t just a normal day to hang out. This was a birthday party for two! They couldn’t leave her apartment, but he could make it feel the special day that it was. Oh, and he should get her presents too.

Adrien leapt to his feet and sat down in front of his desktop computer, searching for anything that he thought Marinette might like. Maybe he could get away with getting her two presents - one as Chat Noir and one as Adrien? That’d be a good way to ease into a normal friendship, right? And had nothing at all to do with the fact that this allowed him to justify buying her twice as much as was socially acceptable.

In a dark corner of the room, Plagg watched his chosen more around the room, more lively than he had been in months. The cat kwami couldn’t help but grin. There might just be hope for him yet.

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

Marinette trudged up the long staircase to her apartment, once again cursing the broken elevator and her aching legs. Which only made her even more angry with herself because she was Ladybug! Is a couple flights of stairs really going to be the thing that causes her to break down today?

Then again, she knew that if she did get reduced to tears because of this, it wasn’t simply stairs that did it. The stairs were just the latest in a long line of awful things happening today. Spilt coffee, manically working in preparation for the fall line, asshole bosses - all on top of the frustration that they aren’t letting her do much work on actual designs since she is an intern, which is apparently another word for errand girl. No, the stairs weren’t the problem. They were just the final insult on the terrible, terrible day that was supposed to be the celebration of her birth.

She fumbled for her keys, which were somewhere on her person, feeling the tension as the breaking point starting to arrive, ready to great it like an old friend. Before it did, she caught a scent in the hallway that made her pause. Something like… Italian? But very spicy. It was making her mouth water just smelling it, which made her pout. Great, she smelled something delicious and now has to go and heat up a frozen meal. A normal day then, since she rarely got the chance to cook for herself these days.

With a sigh, she unlocked the door and stepped into her apartment, only for the scent to hit her full blast. She turned to her right, towards her kitchen. Standing there was Chat Noir in a chef’s hat, wearing an apron with a cartoon cat on it saying 'Feline Up for Some Dinner' - the cartoon cat also had a chef's hat, she noted in a daze. Chat Noir was merrily humming to himself while stirring a red sauce on the stovetop, a tall pot boiling nearby. Her small kitchen table, normally overburdened with distinctly non-food items like fabrics and dishes, had been cleaned off with two plates and a vase with a pink flower adorning it. She watched the scene for a few long moments before Chat Noir turned around and noticed she was standing stock still in the doorway.

Brief surprise gave way to a broad grin. “Hey, purrincess! I wasn’t sure when you got off work today, so I kinda got here way earlier than I needed to.” He rubbed the back of his neck when she didn’t immediately respond. Instead, she walked towards him, dropping off her purse on her couch as she passed by.

“Sorry I didn’t call or anything, I wanted to surprise you since its your birthday! Oh, that reminds me,” he disappeared below the countertop between them. He emerged with a box covered in cartoon cat face wrapping paper and pushed it towards her. “Happy birthday!”

She looked down at the box, slowly unwrapping it. Inside was a handmade card saying that she was “Pawsitively the best fur-real friend a cat could ask for,” a couple quality sketchbooks, and a few dvds of her favorite movies that her collection had been sorely lacking.

“Chat… I don’t know what to say…”

The feline hero shrugged, his lips quirking up in a barely suppressed smile. “Then don’t say anything. Dinner is almost ready, so go ahead and take a seat while I finish making it.” He turned back around to attend to the red sauce and stir the pasta.

Once she sitting at the table, she took a deep breath to savor the scent of the food. “I didn’t know you could cook, chaton.”

“I can’t,” he laughed, “I know just a few dishes. It’s been a while since I made arrabbiata, but I’ve been practicing for the last two weeks to get it right.”

“Why that dish?” Not that she was complaining - it smelled delicious.

“Well, you’ve mentioned that you liked spicy food, all I can cook is Italian, and arrabbiata is the only Italian dish I know of that’s got the heat.” She had a vague memory of them discussing food choices when they were considering if they wanted to order take out a few weeks ago. Had he really held onto that little tidbit of information for that long?

Before she could ask more questions - like, for example, why he could only cook Italian - he took her plate and handed it back laden with the steaming pasta and red sauce. Despite what he seemed to think, it had ended up amazing and if he tried to talk down his cooking abilities in the future, she’d have to give him a firm smack upside the head.

Somewhere between the unexpected meal and the ensuing conversation, Marinette felt the tension that had been building up throughout the day melt away. And for the first time since she moved here, her apartment felt like a home.

#MarichatMay2019 #Miraculous Ladybug #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Chat Noir #Plagg #Nino Lahiffe #Marichat #ml fanfiction #my writing #Rekindle

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smolfelton · 6 years

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Love, France - Part 17

1 ♡ 2 ♡ 3 ♡ 4 ♡ 5 ♡ 6 ♡ 7 ♡ 8 ♡ 9 ♡ 10 ♡ 11 ♡ 12 ♡ 13 ♡ 14 ♡ 15 ♡ 16 ♡ 17 ♡ 18 ♡ 19 ♡ 20 ♡ 21 ♡ 22 ♡ 23 ♡ 24 (coming soon)

“Sit down,” Snape commanded.

Draco said nothing and sat in the chair opposite of the desk, feeling a sense of dread in the air. It was never good when his agent ordered him to come in for a sudden meeting. Usually it was only when he was going to be reprimanded, which was the most likely case today.

“I have good news and bad news,” Snape informed him. “Which one first?”

“Surprise me,” Draco said with a snort, just wanting to get it over with already.

Snape turned the desktop computer around and Draco had to lean forward and squint to properly see it. It was a celeb gossip website- one Draco was very familiar with as he had been it’s victim on numerous occasions. He read the article and felt his stomach drop when he realised what it was.

There were several pictures- screenshots, actually- of Draco’s Instagram posts. One was of the selfie he had taken at the cafe, Harry right behind him wearing his silly disguise. Another was of the comments the two had shared on Draco’s picture at the spa and on other posts. And then there was yet another of the picture Draco had taken of Harry in front of the bakery across from his flat. He scrolled down to read the article below, already knowing what it would say.

He wasn’t disappointed. The article was lengthy and there were numerous questions about who Harry was and what his and Draco’s relationship entailed. They called Harry ‘Draco’s juicy new fling’ in one sentence, which made him scowl. In another they called him an ‘attractive and mysterious young man’ who seemingly ‘came out of nowhere.’

All the information they had was of what Draco posted, but his heart skipped a beat when he remembered that he had tagged Harry in those pictures. No doubt the reporter had probably went to Harry’s profile and looked his name up. It would only be a matter of days before all of France knew who Harry was.

And then Harry would know who he was.

This is going to ruin everything, he thought.

“Who is he?” Snape asked, his voice stern and demanding.

“He’s... a friend,” Draco said. He leaned back in his seat and crossed one leg over the other, folding his hands into his lap. He stared at his fingernails so he wouldn’t have to meet his agent’s eyes.

“Now you listen here, Draco. I moved from England for you, to be your agent and to help guide you through this business as a favor to your parents. I have jumped through hoops and bent over backwards for you throughout the years, and I will not tolerate your lies. Do you understand me?”

Draco’s grey eyes flickered up to finally meet Snape’s black ones and he let out a long sigh, nodding. “I understand.”

“Good. Now, who is he and what do you know about him?”

“His name is Harry,” Draco said, feeling his stomach churn. “He’s here on holiday from England. We met and... well, we became friendly. I was having coffee with him when you called me in, actually.”

“Is he a love interest?” Snape asked, not beating around the bush.

Draco shrugged.

“Draco,” Snape warned him.

“We... We have a dinner date set for Saturday.”

“I see,” Snape said, leaning back in his chair. “What do you plan to do?”

“About what?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He must go back to England sometime,” Snape said simply. “And what will become of your new relationship when it does, hmm?”

Draco stilled and looked back down at his hands. The thought had crossed his mind before, but he had never lingered on it for too long.

“I... I don’t know,” Draco admitted.

“Right,” Snape sighed. “Well, we are going still going to have to do something about this situation you’ve gotten yourself into. From now on you are to limit both your online and in-person interaction with the man. At least publicly.”

“But our date-” Draco began, but Snape cut him off with a raise hand.

“I don’t care about some silly date. You do realise your next runway is in less than two weeks, right? And both your photographer and costume designer have made complaints to me. Raphael says you have come to his shoots unprepared and Alice tells me your clothes are looking a bit tight lately.”

Draco blushed at the comment suggesting he had been gaining weight. Although he could admit it probably wasn’t the best idea to have coffee and muffins for breakfast in the morning.

“I do not want this man distracting you from your work. After the runway we can speak about this again. But until then, you are treading on incredibly thin ice. Understand?” Snape asked, his voice cold.

Draco continued to stare at his hands sadly and nodded.

There was a dead silence that hung in the air for a good minute until Snape began speaking again.

“The good news,” he began, “is that ZAE is looking to take you on for their next ad. They’re offering a shoot for this Friday upon your agreement.”

Any other time Draco would have been very happy with hearing this news. ZAE was a new makeup and clothing company that Draco had begun noticing recently. He had wanted to begin purchasing their products, but didn’t want to do so unless he was offered an advertisement deal first.

“Alright,” Draco muttered. “I’ll do it.”

“Good. I want you to get yourself together before the shoot. No mistakes. No distractions. Got it?

“No mistakes. No distractions,” Draco repeated. “Got it. Can I go now?”

Snape nodded. “Be in at 10 on Friday. You may leave.”

Draco stood, not bothering to give his agent a second glance as he left, letting the door slam behind him as he did so. He walked clear out of the building, not giving the receptionist nor the paparazzi across the street any attention as he hopped into his Mercedes. He drove away as fast as possible and only after a few minutes did he allow himself to finally breathe.

Draco could feel an overwhelming sadness swell up in his chest. He liked Harry. He really, really liked Harry. But Snape was right, Draco was distracted from his work, which had always come first up until now. Plus, what kind of a future did the two even have together, if they had one at all?

Harry would find out about Draco’s fame. Harry would have to go back to England. Harry would be nothing but a distraction from Draco’s work.

Harry, Harry, Harry, bloody Harry sodding Potter.

Draco drove home and left his car in the basement car park, quickly walking out and up the stairs as fast as his feet would allow him. He made sure to wear his sunglasses and cover his hair in his beanie, not wanting to be recognised even for a moment by any passing strangers. He took the stairs, as being stuck in a lift with other people could prove disastrous. He had already had to move twice last year when fans and the paparazzi had found where he lived.

The moment Draco got to his flat he slammed the door and flopped down onto his parlor sofa rather ungracefully. He shoved his face into a pillow and felt the burning desire to cry, but he didn’t.

Draco took his phone out and immediately pulled up Harry’s contact to call him, but stopped when he realised what he was doing. He quickly turned off his phone and tossed it onto the table, groaning loudly in frustration.

He didn’t contact Harry for the rest of the day. Even if he wanted to, Draco would only sound miserable and would probably end up putting the man in a terrible mood as well. He figured one day away was for the best to clear his mind. To calm himself and get his shit together.

“What do I do?” he asked the empty room miserably.

There was no answer.

#drarry #harry x draco #draco x harry #Draco Malfoy #Harry Potter #hpdm #dmhp #ficlet #Muggle!AU #French!Draco #Love France #smolfelton

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redfoxwritesstuff · 5 years

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Silent Song, Chapter 22

Holy shit folks, we are 22 chapters in and so so so very close to the end. It looks like we are bumping up to 26 chapters at the end. Can you believe it, only four more chapters after this? Fair warning because I love you all, grab some tissues. I cried writing this a little. And I cried a little editing this. Sorry not sorry.

Also! You have @bambamwolf87 to thank for this chapter as it largely pulled from a impulsive delve into *What if* when talking with her. So friend, these dreams are for you.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Masterlist of my other works

Tony was actually worried about Loki. The thought was mind boggling on its own. Never did he think the day would come where he would give a shit if the god lived or died, let alone about his sleeping schedule. The reality of the situation was that he did find himself caring as time wore on.

Try as he may to hate the man- and a part of him did- Tony couldn’t ignore how the man’s appearance had begun to change as the second month of their search began coming to a close with still no sign of Her.

Her. They stopped saying her name a few weeks ago. No one talked about it, no one discussed it. It simply became too much to say her name. They simply called her… ‘Her’ or ‘She’. Some silent agreement passed between them, just as no one spoke of the excuses each still made to walk passed her door.

Sometimes, if needed they would utter a nickname of hers but never her name. Never Hotaru. Even the nicknames were used far and few between, always whispered as if to speak it too loudly would shatter all of their reality like fine crystal, taking Her with it out of existence.

It had looked like Loki was coping well at first. Weeks dragged on and he would function well, though he was quicker to anger as time marched on. No one dared go into her room but Loki. Tony couldn’t bare it that Loki entered but wouldn’t dare to confront the man.

At first, Loki would go into the room once a week, twice at most but as weeks passed Tony would notice her door open more and more often and for longer spells. Sometimes Thor would stand in the hall and speak to his brother but never enter. No one else would speak to Loki when he was in that room and no one else would dare enter.

It became Loki’s space. A tomb that held the memory of Her. A grave of what could have been. It was where he dug up the ghosts of his harsh words and allowed them to push the daggers deeper into his heart. It was a torture he deserved and yet Tony stopped being able to take pleasure in it when the illusion that Loki was alright began to slip.

For Loki, the nights became harder and harder. With each passing week reality was harder to grip. The only place he felt he could think clearly was in her room. Each night he felt he didn’t deserve to be in that space.

It was his fault she was taken. It was all his fault. Even if they could get her back, he didn’t deserve to so much as speak to her again. Not after the way he spoke to her. Not after the way she heard him speak of her.

In the mirror in her room, he caught sight of himself but paid it no mind. His skin was pale with a sheen of oil and sweat that seemed to never wash away. In truth, he couldn’t say when the last time he bothered truly washing was.

Long black hair hung limply around his shoulders, grease buildup showing even his hair was overdue for a proper washing. Dark circles that were beginning to look more like bruises sat under his eyes and his skin was washed out and pale. So pale that even the golden morning sun would do nothing to bring warmth to it.

He looked sick. He looked tired. He looked half crazed. He wondered how much of that was true. Surely, sanity had abandoned him by now. Loki couldn’t even remember when he began allowing his illusions to slip. When did he begin allowing the others to see him as he was? That must be why they gave him such space lately.

As he did nearly every night now, Loki picked up the snake necklace and sat on Her bed. Every night he sat and felt the way his power shifted and moved within the stone. Every night he waited and prayed to the norns that the threads of his magic trusted to her would somehow reach out and tell him where he could find Her. Every night he was disappointed when they did nothing more but twist and turn around themselves.

Eventually with a sigh, Loki would stand when his eyes burned and his mind stopped functioning on the level that had become his normal. When he couldn’t hide from sleep any longer, he would return to his room after speaking one last promise to find her.

He’d never been one to need much sleep yet now he was sleeping nearly every night. Stress, grief and depression would likely be part of the cause but it didn’t matter to him. Sleep was a way to pass the time at least.

While he slept often, it hadn’t felt restful in weeks. He’d not had a restful sleep since he had rested with her in his arms. How dearly he hoped that he would one day get to sleep as such again. He wondered if that was too much to ask for. He didn’t deserve it for all his sins.

Loki had made a decision while he sat and thought, thought and sat for hours each night. He’d take Her for all she was worth, for all She had. She was enough. He needed Her more than he needed air to breath or mead to drink. The need for Her was all that mattered and he was a fool to not see it sooner.

The love for Her made the pain of her eventual death worth it. He’d stay by Her side where ever she chose to make her life in Midgard. Any illusion needed to make her feel at ease, he would cast. Should she wish to have a normal life, he’d allow himself to look to age.

Anything for Her. Anything to have Her. Anything.

Loki dragged himself across the hall, not bothering to put in place the illusion. He’d not had the energy to spare. Every ounce of his power would be used to find Her. It wasn’t worth it to expel the energy.

He couldn’t really remember hitting the bed. More often than not, that was the case. It felt too cold, it always did. It was warmth that he craved and for a fleeting moment he thought of finding a woman to warm the bed for him.

If he buried himself in her, perhaps he could forget the woman he yearned for even for but a short moment. As his red rimmed eyes closed, he knew that a random woman wouldn’t lend to his bed the warmth he craved. She’d never be good enough because she would never have the light his love did.

As his mind slipped into the darkness the morning light slowly claimed the sky.

Loki ripped open the bars with strength he didn’t know he still had. Blood covered him, ran down his neck, covered his hands and matted in his hair but he paid it no mind. Anything to have her back. Anything to protect her.

When he reached out to her she flinched back but he paid it no mind. He was there now, she was safe. Even if it took time, he would show her his heart. She would see that he loved her. He always had. He always would. There would only ever be her as long as she lived. It was her that had taught him that and he would show her now.

Loki took her out of that terrible place and she clutched to him all the while. Far, far away he took her, the whole time holding her tightly in his arms. As a clearing full of green grass came into view he decided it was perfect. How long they had traveled, he couldn’t say but he found the place he didn’t know he was looking for.

A river could be heard bubbling near enough to the clearing. It would have fish and draw game. The land itself was likely fertile enough to grow a garden. Here he could protect her. Here he could care for her.

A stone home wavered into existence. It wasn’t grand by any means but it would do well enough. White rose bushes sat under windows and boarded by a short white picket fence. They could make a life here, together. They could have a family here, together. It was a gift that could be passed to their children and their children’s children.

Tony would likely see to it the modern technologies would be added in time and Loki couldn’t fault him for it. He wouldn’t stop it, if it made her happy. Loki smiled down at her as he set her down on the newly created path to their home.

Looking down at her, he let the threads of his power flow and circle her. He watched as the green threads of light caressed her skin and brushed out her hair. The dirty clothes she wore were shredded by the light that surrounded her, weaving a gown fit for a lady.

Green flowed down her arms, body and trailed around her legs and it looked beautiful on her. It did wonders to hide the pale of her skin, the sunken features seemed no longer as hollow.

“Loki?” She whispered as his magic danced along her throat and the sound of her voice was perfection even if he couldn’t describe it.

“My Love.” his hand rested against her cheek. “Forgive me, my love. My words were spoken in haste and ill judgment. A childish reaction born of fear. I-”

Hotaru took a sharp step back and then another, bringing her out of his reach.

“No.” Loki’s words died in his throat as she spoke that word. “You didn’t want me. You said I wasn’t good enough. How can I trust you? I can I ever?”

“Give me time and I will show you.” Loki pleaded, following her as she backed up the path.

“I’ve given you a home, we can make this our home together when you are ready.” Her back pressed against the door.

“No.” She whispered again. “I trusted you.”

“You can trust me again, I will show you.” Loki’s pleas fell on deaf ears as her hand snagged the handle and the door opened behind her.

He could do nothing but plea for a chance as the door to the home he created for them to share shut in his face.

The force of the slam jerked him from his sleep. Air seemed to catch in his throat as he rolled to his side and clutched at the shirt covering his chest. His stomach rolled and heaved as he breathed through the wave of adrenaline induced nausea.

When he closed his eyes be could still see how she backed away from him. There was no warmth in her eyes. There was no love in her eyes. All he could find in her eyes was sadness. A deep sadness that he had put there. His stomach heaved again at the image even as he reminded himself it was a dream.

Loki passed the day in a fog, constantly reminding himself what was real. The meetings with Tony seemed pointless as person after person reported no leads. No new information. No information at all. Useless.

“Drink this.” Tony set a tall glass of green sludge down in front of the god, startling him from his daze.

“I beg your pardon?” Loki cringed at the lack of bite in his voice.

“Not that I’m not still pissed off at you but you look like death Reindeer Games. When was the last time you ate anything?”

“One such as I doesn’t require as much sustenance as you pathetic mortals.” Again the bite was missing and he simply sounded empty.

“Not what I asked and Thor eats like a horse.” Tony pushed the glass closer to the god with one finger before standing up. “If you waste away and die you won’t get a chance to try and convince her you’re not a grease ball.”

Loki picked up the glass when Tony’s back was turned. He hadn’t felt hunger in a long time. When the glass was empty he rested his forehead on the cool table. It wasn’t warm like she was. It wasn’t soft like she was. With something in his belly sleep was quick to find him.

It should have been a safe refuge where he could be with her. It should have been an escape for him from the reality of his life. It should have been but it wasn’t.

In a moment he was standing in front of the stone home. Stones grew with a cover of moss and dew sparkled on the grass. He knew time had passed but not why, dreams were funny like that. In his hands he clutched flowers.

It was a sentimental gesture that so long ago would have been out of character for him. He was not a young boy new to courting yet he felt it just the same. With a firm hand he knocked at the heavy wooden door of the home that should have been theirs.

Hotaru answered and she was older but not by much. The few short years that had passed had treated her well. The dress she wore showed off how she had grown, recovered and became a woman yet under it all she still had that light of purity. His light stood before him.

“Loki.” She greeted and the light he knew resided inside her didn’t touch her smile.

“My Light.” Loki swallowed the lump in his throat. “These are for you.”

“No.” No? What could she mean by that?

“My Love? Can’t you see, I love you. I know my words caused you harm but-”

“No.” Her voice was like stone and the world stopped turning. “You hurt me. You’re a monster. I see it now. Leave me. I don’t want you.”

The door shut in his face and he was left standing alone. His chest hurt in a way it never had before as the flowers slipped from his fingers. It hurt to breath, almost as if he were drowning.

The world shifted and it was as if he was trapped observing himself throughout time. He watched helplessly even as it felt like he was drowning as he left a box on a snow covered doorstep just to have her toss it away. Loki promised to wait for her as they spoke on the stone path that lead to the door as the snow slowly melted around them.

“Until the end of time, I will wait.” He promised even as she turned and walked away from him. He watched as his knees bucked and he knelt in the slush. “I will prove to you my love.” He promised.

Loki felt like he was drowning and that his heart was being ripped from his chest. Never had he so badly wanted to be sick. The Loki standing in front of him screamed his sorrow as his hands fell to the ground. Pleas screamed were carried on the cold winds.

Was this the pain that she had felt so long ago? Was this the pain he had caused her? Was this what it felt like to be discarded by the one you love more than anything? If this is what she had felt, he didn’t deserve her forgiveness nor her love. Yet he wanted it just the same. He wanted the pain to stop.

Time moved on around him. Loki watched as the roof he had created with his power alone aged and sprung leaks that he quickly repaired in the cover of darkness or while she was gone. He watched as harvests were blessed. She rarely was left wanting for anything that he did not provide, though he long ago stopped letting her know who was blessing her.

When she knew, she refused the offerings. She didn’t want him, he understood that. He had his chance and he wasted it, pushing her away like a coward. It did nothing to quell the love he had for her nor his dedication to her. She did not want him but he would remain for her always.

Yet it killed him when she went into town. He watched helplessly as time marched on. When she’d leave, he would slip inside and see to it the house was fresh. It always smelt of mint, he had seen to that. The air was always sweet, never going stale no matter how long away she was.

Coin was left in pockets, trinkets left behind books on shelves. All the while, Loki watched as he did all he could to win her heart as time moved on. He watched as he did all he could to not be forgotten.

“Loki?” The voice of Thor pulled him from a restless sleep. “Are you well?”

It was a dumb question and Loki scoffed as he sat up. His back and neck ached and he wondered how long he’d been asleep. With a quick swipe of his hand down his face, he removed the traces of dampness. It was weak to cry. It was even more weak to be seen sleeping slouched over a table while crying in one’s sleep.

“Am I well?” Loki mocked.

“We will find her.” Thor assured. “You must get rest and eat. You must bath. Brother, this isn’t like you.”

“This isn’t like me?!” Loki roared, standing in such a rush that sent the wheeled chair to the ground. “What isn’t like me is falling in love with a human girl. What isn’t like me is to let something that is mine slip away. What isn’t like me is to not be able to find what is mine.”

Loki stormed out of the room with Thor hot on his heels only to have the door to the washing room slammed in his face. Thor counted it as a victory when the shower began to run regardless of his brother’s unseemly outburst. Thor could understand even if he couldn’t begin to imagine how Loki was feeling.

Loki stood under the water as it rushed down his body. He had the water as hot as it would go and it left streaks of bright red down his pale skin. On the shelves sat her soaps, unused and untouched. No one braved to touch her things, to remove them. That would be as if saying she wasn’t coming back. On impulse he grabbed her shampoo and lathered it into his hair. The room was full of the smell of her, drawing a whole new ache in his chest.

Loki had known those with the gift of sight. Countless times had he heard tells of the gift being triggered by any number of ill fated events. Could this be his own trigger. Was it even a remote possibility that these dreams were more than just dreams?

They couldn’t be. He had never shown signs of having sight. Yet even as the water began to run cold he feared it could be true. Would it be a kindness to know she would turn him away before he found her? Was it his mind simply torturing him.

Finally Loki stepped out of the shower. He stood in the center of the small room that was nothing like the bathing rooms he’d been used to before coming to the tower. After breathing the steam for what felt like both seconds and hours, Loki walked outside the washing room without care or consideration for a towel.

Standing in front of the mirror in his chambers he thought. They were just dreams. Even if they were more, the fates never wrote anything in stone. The pale expanses of his body were littered with soft scars, faded with time. In more time, they would fade further.

He tried to see himself as she did, not that she’d seen in such a state of undress. If he tried hard enough he could look passed the monster he was and see himself as the man. If they got her back, when they got her back, would she see him as the man still or the monster he knew he was.

With one last breath he pulled on black trousers and sat heavily in the armchair. Regret settled in his chest as the smell of her clung to him and would haunt him until the scent wore away. Even so, it lulled him into an exhausted sleep just the same.

Standing in the shadows of the trees Loki watched as a man walked with His Light, her arm hooked in his. It felt as if a knife was lodged in his guts as the man spun her around in a dance to the music of her laughter before sinking down on one knee.

As the man held out a little black box and spoke soft words of love to His Light it felt as if the knife was jerked up his chest. The bark of the tree bit into his hand as he clutched it tightly and watched. That was all he could do, watch and swallow the pain as she threw her arms around the man.

He would do nothing to stop it, even as it felt his heart was being ripped from his chest. She deserved to be happy and he had lost his chance. A life and a family of her own were both things she deserved. He couldn’t stand in her way. He wouldn’t.

Dreams moved in such fragmented ways that at times Loki was aware he was in a dream, watching a shade of himself experience a life he didn’t want to live while feeling all the pain. Other times he was living the life as if it was his reality.

“You must let her go.” Tony urged as he went over wedding plans for his dear sister. Loki had insisted on knowing the details so he could hide in the shadows and be sure that nothing ill fated happened on her day.

“I cannot.” Loki admitted. “But I’ll not stand in the way of her happiness.”

“You’ve got to move on.” Tony told him even as the dream shifted again.

Loki sat in a tree, it’s branches heavy with apples as His Light laughed below unaware of his presence. Children laughed as they ran about in the grass in front of the home. They were not his children as he had so hoped years before and it was not their home as he had intended.

Yet a small smile adorned his face as with a flick of his fingers he sent a thread of power to where the youngest was searching for shamrocks. The small girl squealed with joy as she ran up to where her mother sat to show her the clover, complete with four perfect leaves.

Loki stood over watching from the shadows as His Light buried the man that she had gave her heart to. He saw to it that her home kept clean, dust didn’t find its way onto her floors when she was asleep. Foods did not spoil when she was too heartsick to eat. Her children were off living their own lives and were too busy to check in on their poor mother.

He watched as the hair on her head grew white and her body sagged with age. Eventually her body grew weak as did her mind. Sometimes he would visit her then and she wouldn’t turn him away any longer, offering company and asking of how his life had turned out.

He’d lie and tell stories, of course. It was better than telling her that he had spent his life watching her. Other times she wouldn’t know him at all. Those were the best times and the worst times. She’d invite him in and apologize for not knowing his name. Meaningless tasks would be completed for her and she’d be thankful.

Sometimes she’d speak of how she wished her own sons took such good care of her. She’d speak of how lucky his wife must be to have such a kind man and he’d tell her how he had no wife. She would say how it was such a shame for a man like him to be alone. Sometimes she would even speak of how she wished she had the love of a man like him. How if only she were 50 years younger.

He’d never tell her that she did. That she had his love since the moment she gained her freedom. That she had gifted him her love and he had thrown it aside as if it where a worthless trinket. He’d never tell her how he had betrayed her heart and lost his chance, how he was a monster.

He was with her when her heart stopped beating and she drew her last breath. That was the most painful part, watching her frail body give out. She’d lived a long life considering the many rough years she had early in her life. He had seen to it that her health was as good as it could be, all things considered.

Loki watched from the trees as her children buried her. When all was gone and night had fallen he stood at the grave of the woman he had loved, just as he expected he would so many years ago. Would it hurt more or less if she had picked him all those years ago? Perhaps now with her dead, he could move on.

Pounding at the door woke him and he was thankful for it. Swiping at his face he managed to clean the traces of his pain from his cheeks as the door opened.

“Loki?” It was the Wizard Strange opening his door.

“What?” His head rolled to the side, taking in the put together look of the wizard in his robes.

“You’ve got to pull yourself together.” The door clicked shut behind him.

“I don’t recall inviting you in.”

“You need to pull yourself together. You’re not of use to us, to her like this.”

“Do you think I wish to be like this?” Loki stood, back straight and shoulders back for a moment. “Do you think I wish to feel this weak? To know what it is to be heartsick? Do you think I spend even one moment not desperate for some way to fix this?”

“You loved her.” Strange said simply.

“Why does everyone insist on pointing that out as if it were some secret any longer?” The God scoffed however he knew the wizard was right. He was no use to anyone in his current state.

Loki knew he had to pull himself together otherwise there was a very real chance he wouldn’t be able to be there when they found her. That was the one thing he needed more than anything, to be the one to find her. He had to do better, somehow.

Tag list: @bambamwolf87, @dangertoozmanykids101, @theoneanna, @0-0-0-0-0-0-0-7, @alexakeyloveloki, @purplekitten30, @blackcat995, @excuse-you-dickwad, @sometimesiamhere, @missaphrodite23, @yougotakillyourmind, @insert-cool-and-edgy-title-here, @paanchu786, @fairlightswiftly, @j-u-s-t-4

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#loki x oc #loki x ofc #loki x original female character #loki fanfic #loki #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki of asgard #loki of jotunheim #loki (marvel)

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quicksilversquared · 6 years

Text

How To Fake A Marriage Ch. 23

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

(AO3) (FF.net)

As the summer and Adrien's job finally drew to a close, Adrien made one last push to try to get all of his filing done. That meant a week of early mornings, and a lot of whiny, sleepy girlfriend when he first got up.

"Nooooo," Marinette complained as Adrien rolled over to try to get out of bed. Sleepy arms latched around his waist. "Air's too cold. Stay in bed."

Adrien smothered a laugh and scooted back under the covers to try to pry Marinette's arms open. She refused to budge. "I have to go in, Mari. C'mon, let go of me."

"Noooooo."

"Marinette."

Marinette's arms tightened, pulling him back several centimeters. Adrien suspected that she was anchoring herself somehow, because otherwise she would be the one moving. "Bed's too cold without you."

Adrien snorted, letting himself slide up next to Marinette for a few moments more. He couldn't deny that the thought of staying with Marinette for a bit longer was a tempting idea. "Right, right. And then what do I tell my boss when I'm late and can't finish up my filing, hmm?"

Marinette didn't answer, only snuggled into his side more.

"I don't think my boss would be impressed if I told her that my neighbor wasn't letting me out of bed."

Marinette snorted, wriggling to get comfortable on top of him. "That makes it sound like some random person you barely know broke in and sat on top of you to trap you in bed."

Adrien gave the top of her head an amused pat. "Well, you are sitting on top of me."

"Not random though." Marinette yawned widely. "And I didn't break in."

"True enough."

"And I do know you pretty well."

"But you are trapping me." Adrien gave her arm another tug. "C'mon, Mari. Let me up. We can snuggle later."

Marinette groaned, slowly letting her grip loosen until Adrien could work his way free. There was a small pout on her face and Adrien couldn't help but grin and duck down to press a small kiss to her lips.

"You have to get up soon anyway," Adrien cajoled as he dug in his dresser for his clothes. Marinette had already buried herself again under the cover. "You won't get to sleep for that much longer."

"It's a whole hour," Marinette's voice said from under the cover. "Nope. Sleeping."

Adrien laughed and started to get dressed. It was amazing how fast he had gotten comfortable with dressing and undressing with Marinette still in the room. He knew that Marinette wouldn't look if she knew he was in any state of undress, so there was no point in getting all shy about it.

Besides, it wasn't as if Marinette wasn't ever going to see him undressed at some point, considering how things were going. He really wasn't all that concerned about it. In fact, if she did decide to ever watch, he might put on a little show just to tease her. He would probably get a pillow to the rear for his efforts, but it would be fun.

"Didn't you use to get up earlier to go over to work?" Adrien asked as he straightened his shirt. "I remember going over to your apartment sometimes last fall and you would already be gone."

Marinette groaned and peered out from under the blanket at him grumpily. "Yeah, well, first year, first few months- I had to make a good impression. I'm, like, a senior intern now and I don't have to be so overeager. I can do a great job without coming in before most of the normal designers. Now shush and let me sleep."

Adrien just laughed and patted the sleepy girlfriend-lump in his bed before heading out to keep getting ready.

The day went by fast. Adrien spent most of the day plowing through paperwork, determined to get the pile down to nothing before he left so that the normal secretary wouldn't have to try to catch up on much once she returned from maternity leave. It helped that a lot of people had been on vacation and so not as many forms had been coming in for him to file as normal. He had nearly finished for the day when Nathalie called him.

Sighing, Adrien picked up his phone and answered, hoping that it was only Nathalie and not his father who wanted to speak with him. "Yes?"

"Adrien," Nathalie greeted. "I know this is last-minute, but do you think that you could come back to Paris for a photoshoot before your next semester starts?"

Adrien frowned. "I thought I already modeled fall stuff!" he protested. He was almost certain that the photoshoot that he had done at the very start of the summer had included a fair amount of fall outfits. After all, he had spent several hours baking in the summer sun while modeling long-sleeved looks.

He had heard of suffering for fashion before, of course, but he would rather it didn't involve his suffering.

"Yes, well, your father made some new things that he wants in the fall spread, and there's some early winter ads that he wants to get done." Nathalie sounded completely unconcerned by the dismay in his voice. "So do you finish up with your job early enough this week to come back to Paris? I can get the train tickets-"

Adrien sighed, turning to his calendar. As much as he wanted to just refuse and tell Nathalie (and, by extension, his father) to just find a different model to use, it would be easier in the long run if he just agreed to the shoot. "I'm working through the end of this week, and then I'll need the weekend to get ready for the new semester and make sure that all of my books and everything are in order. But I suppose I can go back to Paris the first weekend after school starts again."

He didn't want to. He really didn't want to. Going back to Paris for a weekend meant a weekend where his father could complain about his life choices in person, should he actually choose to show up at any of the shoots or for dinner. But he wouldn't mind seeing Nino and Alya again, even if it was only for a short while, and Marinette had mentioned that she wanted to get her sewing machine from Paris sometime to work on some of her own projects. He could fetch that while he was in Paris, so Marinette wouldn't have to make her own trip.

Unless she wanted to, of course, which was entirely possible. After all, she actually enjoyed seeing her own parents.

"Any chance of you coming back over your fall break this year?" Nathalie inquired. "Do you know yet? Does it line up with your friend's Fashion Week?"

"No, this year it's two weeks before my break," Adrien said automatically. He and Marinette had checked early this year so that they could be prepared. While the timing still wasn't the best, it seemed like it should be better than the previous year. "But we were thinking of going somewhere during my break. We hadn't decided on where yet, but she has vacation days saved up that she wants to use, and we want to explore the country."

"I don't suppose you would be interested in coming back to Paris?" Nathalie tried hopefully.

"Not a chance."

Thankfully, Nathalie didn't try to argue. "Very well. We wouldn't be able to put the full photoshoot off until then anyway." She paused. "...actually, do you think you could do two weekends in a row? One for fittings, one for the photoshoots? Otherwise, it's a whole lot to fit into one weekend."

Adrien made a face. He didn't really want to go back to Paris twice in one month. Even if he didn't have any specific plans in London, he, well...

He wanted to spend time with his girlfriend. So sue him.

"Of course, I understand if you'll be too busy at that point in the semester," Nathalie continued when Adrien didn't respond. "But it would be difficult to fit both fittings and photoshoots into the same weekend unless you could come over before mid-day on Friday."

"That sounds better," Adrien said immediately. He pulled out his phone to double-check on his schedule for Fridays to make sure that he was remembering it correctly. "I have two classes on Fridays, both lectures, and the second one ends at ten. I could probably make a noon or eleven thirty train."

"I'll book you for the eleven-thirty train," Nathalie decided. There was the sound of her clicking something on the computer. "And then back on Sunday night on the nine p.m. train, so you can have time to catch dinner with your friends before you leave Paris."

Adrien grinned. That was really nice of Nathalie to think of that. Hopefully his father wouldn't try to stick in an evening photoshoot on Sunday.

After ironing out a few more details (Adrien had to promise to have Marinette do his measurements so the seamstresses would have the absolute most up-to-date accurate measurements for his outfits), Nathalie hung up and Adrien dove back into his filing, hoping to finish the pile he was on before he took off for the day.

"Why didn't you just say no?" Plagg wanted to know, popping out of Adrien's bag. "Surely your father has other models. They're not exactly in short supply."

Adrien let out a huff. "Yeah, but sometimes it's better to choose my battles. It's one weekend, and I'll get to see Nino and Alya again for dinner, hopefully. It won't be any fun to have to do a ton of back-to-back fittings and photoshoots, but I'll manage."

"I better get cheese if I'll have to spend forever cooped up in your bag on the train for ages," Plagg grumbled. "Your bag smells."

"It does not, I just washed it," Adrien said automatically. He reached over the desk to grab a paper and squinted to read the writing on it. "It smells just fine. If anything, it just smells a lot like Camembert. And it wouldn't do that if you didn't leave crumbs all over."

Plagg just sulked.

The end of the summer came too fast and too slowly all at once. Adrien was glad to be done with office paperwork and glad to see Paul and his other uni friends on a more regular basis again, but now he had homework and readings and projects to take up his time. As expected, his coursework had picked up for his second year, and the concepts took a little more work and focus to understand. The professors also warned them that there would be more papers this year, something that worried Adrien. He had to write the papers in English, and it could sometimes take him quite a while to work out the grammar and to edit correctly. Writing research papers when he had to read published papers first was even harder, since it could take quite a lot of time to wade through the technical jargon in English.

In fact, Adrien already found himself hard at work all week to make sure that he would be on top of things and wouldn't have to do any homework over the weekend. In fact, he was spending more time in the evenings working on his assignments than Marinette was spending on her commissions.

At least he had a fantastic soundtrack to do his homework to in the evenings. Marinette had been sent several more demo tracks from the bands that had commissioned her, and they were pretty good.

"I don't understand why your wife decided not to come with you this weekend," Plagg said as he and Adrien rode the Eurostar back to Paris. "Doesn't she want to see her parents and Nino and Alya again?"

"She thinks that there would probably be a lot of speculation if we both went back to Paris the same weekend if there wasn't a holiday or something," Adrien said. He marked his place in his book so he wouldn't have to re-read the passage he had just waded through. "It makes sense that we would travel together when we go exploring and whatnot, but if we're just going back to Paris, then it starts to look like we don't want to be apart at all."

When Plagg didn't respond, Adrien went back to his book. He hadn't quite grasped the concept that his professor had introduced that morning, and he wanted to have a solid understanding before their next lecture on Monday. He only had a couple hours before he would be in Paris, and he was determined to make the most of them.

By the time the train pulled into Paris and Adrien hopped into the Gorilla's waiting car, he had read the section over twice and had done a few practice problems for good measure to make sure he was understanding and applying things correctly. He had his Physics section down, just in time to switch over to modeling instead.

The rest of Friday passed in a furry of fittings. Things were nearly perfect- clearly the measurements Marinette had taken helped speed things along- and then Adrien got a slight haircut before being shuffled off to an evening winter-themed photoshoot. By the time that was over, it was late and Adrien hadn't had a chance to eat more than a few bites in between shots.

"At least early-morning shots aren't a staple of fall and winter shoots," Adrien said with a sigh as he scarfed down his late dinner. Next to him, Plagg was loudly inhaling a round of Camembert. "I'll actually get to sleep. Not as much as I would at home, but I won't be woken up before the crack of dawn, at least."

Saturday was a mix of outdoor and indoor green-screen and set shoots. Adrien ate whenever he could, snitching bites during set restagings and whenever he had to wait for another model to finish getting ready. There was a proper break scheduled in for dinner- Adrien figured that he probably had Nathalie to thank, as his father usually didn't take things like food and breaks and rest into consideration when making schedules- but she was busy coordinating the photographers and makeup artists and hair team for the next round of sunset and evening shoots and wouldn't appreciate an interruption, even if it was to thank her.

By the time Sunday rolled around, Adrien was fairly certain that it would take a full week, if not longer, to get all of the product out of his hair. It had been brushed and styled and sprayed and re-brushed and re-styled and re-sprayed more times than he could count. A piece would start to slip marginally out of place and an army of stylists would immediately descend and spray it back into submission. His hair didn't even feel natural anymore.

Once he got back to London, he was going to have to hop straight in the shower.

Thankfully, everything was running on schedule under Nathalie's watchful eye. Everything seemed to be going right, and Adrien hoped that it would hold out for the entire day. He had made plans to join Alya and Nino for dinner at their apartment at six, so they would have a couple hours together before he had to swing past the Dupain-Cheng bakery to pick up Marinette's sewing machine and her sewing kit and then head straight to the train station.

He hadn't spotted his father at all weekend. Adrien wasn't certain if he was happy about that or not.

With the last photo snapped, Adrien only gave himself a few seconds to relax before he was dashing off to the changing room. He had to exchange a few pleasantries with the other models before they let him go and he dashed off to get in the car. His small suitcase for the weekend was already stashed in the trunk.

"Remember, you should be at the station by eight fifty at the very latest," Nathalie reminded him as the Gorilla pulled the car out into traffic. "If you want to stop by the bakery after your dinner, I would say you would have to leave your friends' apartment by eight or eight fifteen."

Adrien nodded. He would probably leave closer to eight, simply because a short visit with the Dupain-Chengs was a thing that really did not exist. He would probably leave with not only the sewing stuff, but a large bag of bakery leftovers as well.

Once he arrived at Nino and Alya's apartment, Adrien had only just stepped inside the outer door when he was nearly bowled over by Nino. His friend was grinning as he slapped Adrien's shoulder.

"Hey, model boy," Nino said with a grin. He squinted at Adrien. "Dude, is that eyeliner?"

"Hey, I had to look pretty for the pictures," Adrien said with a shrug. "Blond doesn't showcase the eyes that well, so I have eyeliner. And I came here directly from the shoot, so no judging."

"Aw, but where's the fun in that?" Nino asked as he lead Adrien up the stairs towards his apartment. He grinned. "Seriously, it looks like your hair might just crunch if I touch it. Like, it looks fine from a couple paces back, but up close..."

"Yeah, it's lucky we don't do shots that focus on my hair," Adrien agreed. "It feels fake right now. They could have added in all sorts of hair extensions and I honestly wouldn't be able to tell anymore."

Nino laughed.

Alya already had dinner on the table when they got upstairs. She greeted Adrien cheerfully, wasting no time in joining Nino in teasing Adrien about his makeup and hair.

"Hey, we don't have that much time together," Adrien protested as Alya ruffled his very, very stiff hair. "So I didn't want to waste half of that time showering."

Alya snickered. "Really? You'd spend an entire hour showering? Your water bills must be horrendous. I suppose it's a good thing you and Marinette don't live together, or she would never get any time to shower herself."

"I have more stuff in my hair than I normally do," Adrien protested, deciding to ignore the jab about Marinette. "So therefore it would take longer to get out. I don't spend that much time in the shower."

Neither Nino nor Alya looked convinced.

"It's too bad Marinette didn't come back with you this weekend," Alya said as they dished up. "She hasn't been back to Paris for forever, it seems. But I heard that she has more commissions that she's working on!"

"That she does," Adrien confirmed with a grin. "Several sets of album art, and then one of the singers found out that Marinette sews, too, so she has a couple rocker outfits to make. She has this faux leather stuff all over now."

"Is she going to use the sewing machines at Madam Rosalie's for those outfits, then?" Alya wanted to know. "I thought she left her sewing machine in Paris because she thought it would be too bulky and heavy to bring to London."

"She did leave her machine originally, and I'm getting it before I go to the train station," Adrien told her, impressed that Alya would remember that. "Marinette let her parents know so they could gather everything up, since I'll be in a hurry. I brought a big suitcase back to Paris so I can pack her sewing machine into it so it'll be easier to carry." He grinned, remembering his bodyguard's expression when he saw Adrien with his largest suitcase packed for one weekend at the train station. "The sewing machine is packed in a box for travel, so I had to pick a really big suitcase so it would fit. The Gorilla was really confused when he first saw it, because he thought I packed a ton for just one weekend."

His friends laughed.

"So what are you up to now?" Nino asked him. "You're done with your job now, right? The filing one?"

Adrien nodded. "Yeah, thank goodness. It was all right for a job, but it just wasn't what I wanted to be doing. I'm just focusing on school right now and honestly, I don't know if I could do more at the same time. It's only the first week, but it's already obvious that it's gonna be a whole lot harder this year."

"So that means he's gonna be boring," Nino mock-translated, grinning when Adrien kicked him under the table. "What? You know that's true. You'll be all study, study, study."

"It'll only get worse my third year, or so I've heard," Adrien said. He shrugged. "I think this week was as hard as it was mostly because I had to get all of my homework done before the weekend, and because I had to get used to new professors. They have a different teaching style, most of them, and I need to figure out how to get the most out of their lectures and then it'll be easy. Easier, at least."

"You could ask older students about those professors," Nino suggested, then checked himself. "I mean, students who have been in the program for longer. Third year students."

That was a good idea, actually, and not something Adrien would have thought of himself. He wasn't used to having to ask for help in catching on to a professor's teaching style. Normally he was the one that other people came to for help. "It would just be a matter of finding those students. I'm not super-familiar with people outside of my classes and I can't exactly, like, just go up to other students at random and ask them if they've had a certain professor."

"Then go to the tutoring center or something," Alya told him. "They should have students that did really well in those classes there that could give you study tips or readings and stuff so you can stay top of your class- because I know you're a crazy student like that."

Adrien just shrugged. There was nothing wrong with him wanting to put his best foot forward in his classes. The better he understood the concepts the better he would do in his classes, sure, but it would also make it easier for him to understand stuff in the higher-level courses later on.

From there, Adrien got to hear about how Nino's DJing was going (apparently he was largely in between doing indie movie soundtracks at the moment), and about the articles Alya had been writing for the paper. She was finally getting to do articles with more substance instead of just fluff pieces, though as one of the youngest on staff she still had to do jobs like sorting through letters to the editor and small local interest pieces.

"It's busywork, really, "Alya told them with a huff. "And at least I don't have to go through all of the letters to the editor. The interns whittle it down some to get rid of the junk, and then when it's my turn, then I just narrow further so that the editor can just look through a few things before making the final selection."

"It's not as exciting as covering superheroes," Nino told Adrien in a stage whisper. "Most things aren't, though."

Adrien had to laugh at that. "I can see where stuff would be a little less exciting than what you did with the Ladyblog. But at least your dates and interviews don't get interrupted all the time by attacks. Paris is doing better with Hawkmoth gone."

"Yeah, but it's less exciting," Alya complained. "At least I have my research to do when it's a slow day. It's a lot of sifting through dead ends, but when I find something, then it can be really fun."

"Or really frustrating, if you can't find anything else about them," Nino added. He grinned at Adrien. "She forgets that I hear all her grumbling in the evenings when she'd found a potential historical user but can't find more than, like, two really vague sources."

"It's frustrating!" Alya defended herself. "I just get a feeling about someone, that they were probably a user, but there's no proof. And without proof, all I have is a folder of random normal heroes and people throughout history from all over the world."

"Do you contact historians then?" Adrien asked. "From those areas? I know for that the big ones you could find experts on that person, but maybe you could just find people who were just experts on that period of time. They might have access to other materials that you couldn't find online, stuff that wasn't translated. You might need to find a translator to contact some of them, though."

Nino looked a little nervous. "Uh, maybe we could hold off on hiring a translator," he suggested. "Just have a list of historians you want to contact and the language you would want to contact them in for your application packet. Otherwise I can see it getting really expensive really fast, and we don't exactly have a ton of extra money sitting around."

Alya pouted.

"I mean, if you can find someone who speaks one of those languages who's willing to do it for free- like, one of our friends- then go ahead," Nino said quickly. "But if you'll probably be able to have the newspaper pay for it, then we won't have to spend a ton on translator fees."

"I suppose," Alya grumbled. "I just hate dropping a lead like that. Or not dropping, but at least putting it aside for a bit. I just worry about forgetting about some of the things I've found," she told Adrien. "My research is a bit messy right now. There's a lot of information and a lot of research, but it's a mess. I really have to sit down and properly sort it some time."

"She's getting a filing cabinet for her birthday," Nino whispered in Adrien's year when Alya hopped up to go refill her glass. "And oodles of folders and other organizing stuff. Maybe it's a boring gift, but she needs it right now."

Adrien just grinned.

The rest of their time flew by far too fast, and then Adrien was hugging his friends good-bye and heading out to the waiting car. The Gorilla drove him straight to the Dupain-Cheng bakery and Adrien hopped out, grabbing his ridiculously large suitcase from the back.

His clothes were going to be a wrinkled mess by the time he got back to London, with the amount of flopping around they were doing in his suitcase, but that hardly mattered. He'd have to wash them once he got back home either way.

"Remember, you only have thirty minutes with them before we have to go to the station," Nathalie reminded Adrien as he made to go up to the front door. "So don't linger too long."

"Of course."

It didn't take long for Tom to answer the door after Adrien pressed the doorbell. The large man grinned when he spotted Adrien, and as soon as the door was open, Tom enveloped Adrien in a hug.

"Adrien, son! It's good to see you," Tom said. He gave Adrien one last friendly squeeze before releasing him. "It's too bad Marinette couldn't come back for the weekend with you. Is she busy with work?"

"Work and commissions," Adrien agreed. He stepped inside the door so Tom could wave to Nathalie and the Gorilla before closing the door and leading the way upstairs. "She's working hard, making connections and whatnot. If she's ever between design jobs, she'll be able to get enough commission work to support herself, I think. And it'll look amazing on her resume, of course."

"She's done very well for herself," Tom said proudly. "Sabine and I had initially been concerned when Marinette wanted to become a fashion designer, since it's such a competitive industry and so many people don't succeed, but I don't think she'll have a problem."

Adrien nodded in agreement as Tom led the way into the living room. He could see where Tom might be concerned, since the fashion industry was very competitive and plenty of talented designers went undiscovered. The designers who ended up struggling the most were the ones who decided to strike out on their own instead of joining an existing company, and it seemed that Marinette had already decided against doing that. It was probably a smart move- while being an independent designer probably sounded glamorous, it was a lot of work and a lot of struggling to get things on the market and popular while not earning a particularly steady income.

"Adrien, dear!" Sabine called eagerly as she caught sight of him. "It's so good to see you! We got Marinette's machine all packaged up, and then we found everything else she wanted and got it in her sewing bag there." She pointed to the bag and box sitting on the table. "But won't you visit with us first before you run off again?"

"I can stay for a bit," Adrien agreed. "Just let me get the sewing machine into my suitcase right away, so we're not rushing at the end."

"Be really careful with it," Sabine warned, fluttering around him as Adrien unzipped his suitcase. "It's a sturdy machine and all, but too many knocks around will throw parts out of line and it can be pretty expensive to fix."

"I'll take care of it," Adrien promised. He glanced into his suitcase and quickly scrambled to cover a couple, ah, purchases he had made with a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Over the weekend, he had managed to squeeze in a trip to the store to pick up a few things, stuff that he couldn't exactly risk buying in London in case the paparazzi happened to spot him- and no, he wasn't being paranoid. The reporter that he and Marinette had spotted in the store had been there around the same time as they were several more times, and on top of that, several of the cashiers were young uni students that recognized him from the tabloids and he didn't want any of them taking note of any, ah, mature purchases.

Not that he was necessarily going to need any of said mature purchases anytime soon, but Adrien preferred to be prepared. He also preferred that his secret girlfriend's parents not notice the aforementioned purchases.

"So you just started classes this past week, I heard?" Tom asked as Adrien carefully moved the box with the sewing machine in it from the table to his suitcase. It was heavier than he had expected. "Is your second year getting off to a good start?"

"It is," Adrien confirmed with a grin. He arranged the box in his suitcase- it only just fit, which meant no rattling around when he carried it from place to place- and then tucked everything else in the suitcase into the space over the sewing machine box. He quickly zipped up the suitcase before the Dupain-Chengs could see anything incriminating, and then the suitcase went next to the table so he wouldn't forget either it or Marinette's stuffed sewing bag. "My classes are going to be more interesting this year, I think. We've moved on from the more basic stuff, and I think I get to pick the first of my elective classes second semester."

"Exciting," Tom said. He grinned at Adrien. "And you get to keep my daughter over there with you for another year, so I'm sure that's a bonus."

Adrien nodded a bit cautiously. He could recognize fishing for information when he saw it, especially after spending so much time with Alya and Nino. "Yeah, it's great to have her there! I love having a friend from Paris in London, and right next door, too. And then I get to hang out with Marinette and her friends from work, too, which is always fun. And I hate just sitting in my apartment alone, so..." He trailed off and smiled, trying to not let the smile get too sappy. "We hang out a lot. It's nice to have the company."

"Would you invite your friends from university over otherwise?" Sabine asked. She plopped down a large paper bag that, from the smell of it, was filled with delicious pastries, then headed over to perch on the couch. "Are most of them younger than you are?"

"I have invited my uni friends over before, just not anywhere near as often," Adrien told her. "None of them live in the building or next door like some of the other Rosalie workers do, though, so they have to come further. And yeah, my friends from uni are all younger than I am. There's a few other nontraditional students in my classes, but they're all, like, a lot older, with families and whatnot."

"I don't know if you're old enough to count as a nontraditional student," Tom said with a laugh. "And come over here and sit down, son. You don't have to just stand over there. We want to know how things are going in London."

Adrien grinned, crossing the room and settling down on the cushion Sabine was patting. Marinette's parents were always so welcoming and eager to hear what he was up to. In only twenty minutes, they learned more about what Adrien had been up to over the summer and his first week of the semester than his own father had learned over the entire weekend. There were more than a few pointed questions about him and Marinette that Adrien had to dodge, but Adrien had had so much experience with reporters that it was child's play to evade all of the questions.

"Oh, is that your ride?" Tom asked when Adrien's phone chimed. He looked disappointed. "Is it time for you to leave already?"

"Yeah, I have to get to the train station soon," Adrien admitted, checking his phone and shooting a quick message back to Nathalie to assure her that yes, he was on his way. "Nathalie got me on the latest train back to London, so I can't miss it. It was great getting to talk to you guys again."

"It was great getting to see you again too, dear," Sabine told him fondly. "Now Tom, do you want to help him carry everything downstairs? Maybe you can take the suitcase."

Tom ended up taking both the suitcase and Marinette's sewing bag while Adrien trotted down the stairs after him with the bag of pastries. How he was going to carry everything once he was getting on the train he had no clue, but he would make it work somehow.

"Take care of our girl for us," Tom told him as Adrien stepped out the door. "Make sure she doesn't overwork herself, between her job and her commissions. And see if she'll come back with you next time you come to Paris, all right? Facetiming her just isn't the same as seeing her in person. And give her a hug for us."

"I'll do that, sir," Adrien told him. "I promise."

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #How to Fake a Marriage #all of one page break whaaaat #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng

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