#patricia's halloween challenge | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

euphralivres · 7 months

Text

Pumpkin Automne Challenge 2023

L'automne arrive petit à petit, et avec lui, le traditionnel Pumpkin Autumn Challenge du Terrier de Guimause et cette année, pour la première fois, j'ai décidé de relever le défi !

Voici donc la PAL de mon premier Pumpkin Automn Challenge.

AUTOMNE FRISSONNANT

Viens flotter avec nous

horreur - thriller - clown - épouvante - fantastique - rouge

Cette première catégorie étant inspirée par Stephen King, c'est donc un de ses livres que j'ai choisi de lire : Cujo, du nom d'un Saint-Bernard qui va se faire mordre par une chauve-souris, transformant l'été de tous ceux qui l'approchent en cauchemar.

Cela faisait un moment que je souhaitais tenter de lire des romans d'horreur, je saisis donc l'occasion pour m'y mettre.

L'enfer des backrooms

dimension parallèle - cryptique - labyrinthe - internet - légende urbaine - mystère

Une uchronie pour continuer ce Pumpkin Autumn Challenge (et donc une dimension parallèle) avec La part de l'autre, d'Eric-Emmanuel Schmidt. Dans ce livre, l'auteur imagine ce qui se serait passé si Adolf Hitler n'avait pas été recalé de l'école des Beaux-Arts de Vienne.

J'avais essayé de lire ce livre il y a quelques années, mais je n'étais pas allé au bout. Néanmoins, le résumé continue de me faire envie, et je vais donc laisser une deuxième chance à ce livre, en espérant que ça marche mieux que la première fois.

Perfectly splendid

fantôme - famille - manoir - possession - gothique - drame

Avec le mot manoir dès le titre du livre, je me suis dit que Le manoir des dames, de Patricia Wentworth rentrerait parfaitement dans cette troisième catégorie.

Dans ce cosy mystery, Miss Maud Silver, ancienne gouvernante reconvertie en détective, est engagée pour enquêter sur les finances d'Allegra et George Trent tandis que ce dernier veut utiliser les finances de sa femme pour racheter un domaine en ruine.

C'est la première fois que je vais lire un livre de cette autrice, et avec cette enquêtrice. J'en ai lu de très bons retours et j'espère ne pas être déçue.

AUTOMNE DOUCEUR DE VIVRE

Something wicked this way comes

halloween - automne - octobre - fête foraine - enfance - cauchemar

Ici, je me suis concentrée sur le mot-clé "enfance" et j'ai choisi le premier tome de la saga Animale de Victor Dixen, qui est une réécriture du conte de Boucle d'or.

Ça faisait plusieurs années que je voulais lire ce livre, mais je ne l'ai acheté que très récemment. Je suis donc curieuse de voir ce que va donner cette réécriture.

Poupée de souvenirs automatique à votre service

épistolaire - correspondance - sentiments - émotions - amour - deuil - gratitude - guérison

Pour cette catégorie, j'ai choisi La police des fleurs, des arbres et des forêts, de Romain Puértolas, un roman policier, mais dans lequel on va suivre les avancées de l'enquête notamment grâce à la correspondance entre l'enquêteur et la procureur.

Une enquête qui porte sur la mort de Joël, retrouvé découpé en morceaux dans une cuve de l'usine à confiture du petit village de P., au cours de l'été 1961. Le crime est si horrible qu'on fait appel à un officier de police de la ville voisine, l'un des meilleurs de la région, pour tenter de retrouver l'assassin.

J'ai totalement craqué pour la couverture de ce livre, et le résumé sur Livraddict m'a beaucoup intrigué, je suis donc impatiente de découvrir ce roman.

La dame chouette des îles bouillantes

sorcière - magie - malédiction - école - parcours initiatique - amitié

Les mots-clés de cette catégorie m'ont immédiatement fait penser au Livre des sortilège, le deuxième hors-série de la saga Campus de Kate Brian.

On reste dans le même lieu que dans la saga, le prestigieux lycée d'Eston, mais les personnages changent complètement puisque l'action se déroule plus d'un demi-siècle plus tôt, et on rajoute un soupçon de fantastique avec de la sorcellerie qui vient se mêler à l'intrigue.

En général, je n'apprécie pas vraiment quand des éléments surnaturels s'immisce dans un univers qui était jusqu'alors très réaliste et je pense que ça avait un peu altérer mon plaisir lors de ma première lecture de ce livre mais j'ai envie de le redécouvrir, en le prenant comme un livre à part de la saga, dans lequel la sorcellerie est présente dès le départ.

La loi fondamentale de l'échange équivalent

lecture/visionnage commun·ne - partage

Pour cette catégorie, pas de livre, mais une série puisque je fais découvrir Lucifer à ma maman. C'est donc notre visionnage commun du moment.

Pour ceux qui ne connaîtraient pas cette série, comme le titre l'indique, on va suivre Lucifer Morningstar, le diable, qui a décidé de quitter les enfers pour aller s'installer à Los Angeles où il devient patron de boîte de nuit. Alors qu'une de ses amies se fait tuer sous ses yeux, il décide d'aider la police pour retrouver l'assassin. Il va ainsi commencer à assister Chloé Decker, usant de ses pouvoirs de diable pour l'aider dans ses enquêtes. Mais en parallèle, Amenadiel, le frère de Lucifer, vient sur Terre pour tenter de le ramener en enfer.

Cette série suit le rythme d'une enquête par épisode (que personnellement j'apprécie, mais qui déplaît, je le sais, à pas mal de monde), mais il y a aussi une intrigue suivie qui s'étale sur l'ensemble d'une saison et on s'amuse beaucoup devant le comportement des êtres célestes qui ont parfois du mal à s'adapter aux règles élémentaires du monde des humains.

AUTOMNE DES BOIS ET AU-DELÀ

Pomme alors ! C'est le goût de la tarte aux amaudes !

animaux - mémoire - intergénérationnel - thé - gourmandise - altruisme - tendresse - aide - guide

On arrive sur la première catégorie pour laquelle je n'ai pas trouvé de livre pour l'instant, donc je la laisse de côté même si le titre et les mots-clés me font très envie.

La légende de la hache noire

médiéval - chevaleresque - quête - épopée - illustré - fantasy

Encore une relecture pour cette catégorie avec La quête de l'oiseau du temps, de Serge Le Tendre et Régis Loisel.

Ici, le dieu maudit Ramor est sur le point de s'échapper de la conque dans laquelle il a été enfermé. Pour l'en empêcher, la sorcière Mara a besoin de temps mais elle en manque. Elle va donc envoyer sa fille, Pélisse, et son ancien amant le chevalier Bragon partir en quête de l'oiseau du temps.

J'ai découvert cette BD quand j'étais enfant, dans la bibliothèque de mes parents et je l'avais adorée. Ça fait des années que je ne l'ai pas relu, et j'ai envie de me replonger dans cet univers. (Et de retrouver le Fourreux. Il est beaucoup trop mignon.)

La mélodie infernale de la corne de chasse

monstre - créature - wyvern - expédition - aventure

Puisqu'il s'agit de monstres dans cette catégorie, j'ai décidé de lire Les mémoires de Vanitas de Jun Mochizuki, un manga dans lequel le Paris du XIXème est soudain attaqué par des vampires alors que ceux-ci ne sont pas censés s'en prendre aux humains.

Je ne connaissais absolument pas ce livre jusqu'à ce qu'on me le prête, et je suis curieuse de voir ce que ça va donner.

Rocket raccoon on the run

mutation - expérience scientifique - science-fiction - chasseur de prime - gardien - galaxie

Je ne sais pas si on est vraiment sur de la science-fiction avec Phobos de Victor Dixen, mais ça se déroule dans l'espace/sur Mars, donc on va dire que ça rentre dans la catégorie.

Dans cette saga, on suit le programme Genesis, une émission de speed-dating à l'échelle mondiale qui se déroule dans l'espace afin de créer une colonie sur Mars. Mais au moment de partir, Léonor, l'une des candidates, fait une découverte qui va tout changer.

J'avais beaucoup apprécié les deux premiers tomes, notamment les intrigues à côté de la romance (même si elle reste assez centrale), et ça fait beaucoup trop longtemps que j'ai le tome 3 dans ma PAL, c'est l'occasion de l'en sortir.

AUTOMNE RAYONNANT

We'll always find a way

cristaux - facettes - singularité - diversité - inclusivité - feel good

Une deuxième catégorie pour laquelle j'ai manqué d'inspiration, je n'ai donc aucune lecture de prévue pour cette catégorie pour l'instant.

L'esprit indomptable de Jo March

place de la femme - indépendance - ambition - rêve - sororité - théâtre - écrivaine

Dans Du miel sous les galettes, Roukiata Ouedraougo nous fait le récit d'une petite fille confronté à l'univers des hommes. Un livre qui me semblait donc parfaitement adapté à cette catégorie.

J'ai découvert Roukiata Ouedraougo en tant qu'humoriste, sur France Inter, et je l'ai entendue s'exprimer sur le sujet de l'excision. Quand j'ai appris qu'elle sortait un livre, j'ai eu très envie de découvrir ce qu'elle avait à raconter. J'ai hâte de me plonger dans ce récit.

Siul a ruin, Maureen

Irlande - petit peuple - mythes et légendes celtes - nature writing - vert

Et je termine ce Pumpkin Autumn Challenge par une nouvelle relecture : Artémis Fowl, d'Eoin Colfer.

Depuis que son père a disparu, sa mère est malade et Artémis, 12 ans, est donc libre de faire ce qu'il veut. Doté d'une intelligence supérieure, il a donc décidé de reprendre les affaires familiales en devenant un génie du crime. Et il ne faudra rien de moins qu'un génie pour parvenir à réaliser son dernier projet en date : voler l'or des fées.

Une saga qui se passe en Irlande et qui met en scène des fées, des farfadets, des centaures et des nains, et qui colle donc parfaitement aux mots-clés de cette catégorie. Le premier tome est l'un de mes préférés et j'ai très envie de me replonger dedans à l'occasion de ce Pumpkin Autumn Challenge.

Si vous voulez en savoir plus sur le challenge, je vous laisse la vidéo de Guimause. Bon challenge à tous·tes et bonnes lectures!

youtube

#pumpkin autumn challenge

0 notes

forever-rogue · 4 years

Text

The Boyfriend Mission

A/N: This is for @killer-queen-xo, who was one of the Halloween Contest winners! Congrats and amazing job, and I love you! I hope you (and everyone else) enjoys this! It’s a little good old fashioned fake dating fic staring the one and only Ben! Who doesn’t want a sweet old Benny Boy for Christmas, honestly?

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: None (fluff)

Masterlist

≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫

"Y/N? Y/N?" you were frozen for a moment, the phone still clutched to your ear as you heard your mother repeatedly calling your name. Her question had stunned you and instead of finding any type of response, your body had responded with silence, "are you still there?"

"Yes," you finally snapped back into attention, running a hand nervously through your hand as you tried to ignore the question, "sorry almost dropped the phone."

"You didn't answer my question, darling," she already knew what you were doing and you flopped on the couch, groaning internally. You knew you could only blame yourself, realizing now that you should have kept your mouth shut the whole time, "don't try and avoid the question! You know we just want to meet him. You've been gushing about for months now!"

"Gushing is a strong way of putting it," you tried to defend yourself even though you knew you had been playing it up to make it seem like you had suddenly acquired the world's best boyfriend, "it's nothing serious, Mother."

"Don't Mother me, Y/N," she laughed lightly, "just bring him over for Christmas Eve dinner. Everyone's coming and we won't bite. We just want to meet the man who has seemingly won over your heart. Yes?"

"Is it even worth it for me to try and argue?"

"Not really," she insisted, having long already made up her mind. You pinched the bridge of your nose as you knew you had to come with some sort of plan. There was definitely not getting out of this mess...which you more or less had created yourself.

"What if he's already busy, Mum?" it was a last ditch effort but also a valid question...what if this imaginary man already had a plan? It was Christmas after all and people made plans left and right. You could hear her tutting at you on the other side of the line.

"Is he?" she was going to break you down and really wasn't going to let it go.

"I dunno," you sighed wanting to sink into the couch and disappear. Why? Why had you lied? If you had just been honest with your family in the first place you wouldn't be in this position. But no, you just hadn't want to admit that you were still single and receive everyone's pity. And now you were going to have to explain why you lied in the first place and receive that pity instead. What a mess you created for yourself.

"Exactly," you could practically hear the smile in her voice. Although she was pushy, you knew she meant well, "so just ask this mystery boy if he's free and if he that we'd love to meet him."

"Fine, okay," you gave in, ever so reluctantly, "I'll ask him and see what he says."

"Don't make it sound like a death sentence! You always love coming home for Christmas," she reminded as you groaned lightly at her, mumbling under your breath, "what did you say his name was?"

Fuck, you thought to yourself as you tried to come up with a name. But after a couple seconds of fruitless searching you just said, "it's a surprise. Don't want to go and spoil everything!"

"You are a strange little thing," there was a fondness to her voice and you relaxed a little bit, "just find out if he can come and let us know!"

"I will, Mum. In fact, I'll go and ask him right now," you lied, squeezing your eyes shut, "talk to you soon."

"Talk to you soon, love. Can't wait!"

Before she could yet another word in edgewise, you ended the call and chucked your phone across the room burrowed your face into the pillows. It was a terrible mess you had created for yourself and you had no one to blame but yourself. Now you only had a few days to find a solution.

Right now that required a nap, you had decided. A nap probably wouldn't really help, considering it was already later in the evening and you needed to do some serious problem solving. But a nap was a nap and you couldn't argue with the pull of sleep you were experiencing.

≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫

You woke up in the middle of a dream, sitting up bolt right as you tried to catch your breath and calm your mind down from the unsettling mental images. You ran a hand through your disheveled hair before tying it up and out of your face. Grabbing your blanket, you made a quick decision and headed out of your apartment and down the hall. You realized it was late, probably almost sometime in the morning, and wondered if you should even bother to see if he was awake.

But Ben was your best friend, your rock and confidant, and he was always there for you, as you were for him. That, and the fact they you lived so close didn't hurt either. You knocked quietly on his door, deciding that if you didn't hear anything from the inside the apartment within a few minutes, you'd scurry back home. Part of you hoped he wouldn't be available and part of you hoped he opened the door and would usher you inside.

Just as you were about to give up and head back to your own apartment, he opened the door, a smile immediately crossing his features when he realized it was you.

"Hi love," he rubbed lightly at his eyes, and you wanted to kick yourself when you realized you had most likely woken him up, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh Ben," you sighed lightly, "I didn't mean to wake you up. I'm sorry, I should have checked the time. Ugh, I'm just striking out left and right today."

"It's never a bother with you," he insisted, opening the door and reaching for your hand to pull you inside. You weren't about to argue, already feeling better by just his presence.

He led you into the kitchen, and you immediately hopped onto the counter, swinging your legs back and forth as you watched him reach for mugs in order to make some hot chocolate. Ben always knew exactly how to make you feel better.

"Now tell me," he said as he flicked his eyes over to you momentarily, "what's eating you up?"

"I'm in trouble," you sighed as you rested your head against the wall, "big trouble."

"What!?" you heard the clinking of spoons on the ceramic of the mugs as he whipped around and stared at you, very concerned expression on his face, "what happened?"

"Umm, oops?" perhaps you should have specified that it wasn't actual trouble. Judging by his expression, he was ready to stow you away and keep you safe, "it's nothing too terrible, really. I'm not in danger by any means."

"Jesus Christ, Y/N," he let out a sigh of relief went back to the hot chocolate, asking his head lightly at you, "you can't just go around saying things like that without context. Marshmallows?"

"Obviously," you replied watching as he reached into cabinet and pulled out the small bag of mini marshmallows. It was hard not to let your eyes linger on him, watching the muscles of his back and arm flex, apparent still under his sweatshirt. Sometimes it was hard to pretend you weren't absolutely in love with your best friend. Especially when he was so kind, gentle, amazing, handsome, and wonderful. You were so lost in your thoughts, you didn't even realize he was talking to you, holding out your mug.

"Earth to Y/N," he said gently as he nudged your leg with his. You came back to reality and took the cup from his hand, your face heating up under his gaze. Taking the mug from his hand, and bringing it to your lips and taking a drink of the warm, sweet, liquid.

Ben watched you with a smile on his face, silently trying to pick your brain. You were feeling shy all of a sudden, something you rarely experienced with your best friend.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked as he hopped up and sat next to you, his body touching yours and sending little jolts of electricity through your body.

"Nothing," you lied as you set the mug down and let out a long sigh. He mirrored your actions as he patiently waited for you to continue on. There was something different about tonight, the way the two of you were interacting that was different. You wondered if he somehow knew that you were in love, if you somehow had spilled your secret.

You had liked him for some time, and always wondered if he felt the same; but you had talked yourself out of that idea. This was Ben after all, and there was almost no way that someone like him would you like. At least that's what you had convinced yourself. And you were sure of that. Mostly anyways.

“Are you gonna tell me why you’re in trouble?” you had gotten so caught in trying to suppress your feelings for him that you’d completely lost sight of the real reason you’d come to him in the first place.

“Oh! That,” you laughed lightly as he raised his eyebrows at you, “you’re going to laugh and make fun of me…”

“I would do no such thing,” he promised, and it was your turn to give him the look, “fine, so I might. But, as your best friend, I promise to try and help you find a solution to this problem. Now, go on.”

“Okay,” you started and let out a long sigh, “so a few months ago, I was at a family thing and everyone was talking about who they were dating and all that jazz, and then they got to me. I panicked and didn’t want to be the only single one, again, so I lied and said I was dating someone.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Ben was already cracking up with laughter, his shoulders shaking as he tried to control himself, “so, rather than just admit you were single, you lied and said you were dating someone?”

“Yup,” you admitted, popping the P loudly, “it was a spur of the moment decision that I didn’t really think through.”

“Ahhh, well it can’t be that bad,” he insisted, giving your shoulder a gentle squeeze. His touch was warm, and part of you was glad that it lingered for a few moments longer than necessary, “I’m sure it’ll blow over soon. They’ll probably have forgotten it by now.”

“Umm, well, that’s where the real trouble comes in,” you sighed, bracing yourself for his reaction, “I kind of just kept up with lie and Mum called today and asked me to bring him, my completely fake boyfriend, to Christmas.”

“Oh…boy,” he let out a long breath and you nodded in agreement, “you just couldn’t let it go?”

“You know how I am,” you said, taking another hearty slip of hot chocolate. You noticed that he seemed to tense up a little bit at the mention of a boyfriend. It gave you a moment of thinking that maybe he was jealous. But there was nothing to be jealous of it seemed, “and now I don’t know what to do.”

“How about a breakup?” he suggested and you mulled it over in your mind briefly. It did seem like a solid plan, but at the same time, it would be highly suspicious timing.

“Too risky. A holiday break up? Seems unlikely, and something that would realistically happen after the holidays.”

“Accident?”

“Too dramatic,” you sighed, “people would ask questions and it seems like too complicated of a lie to even start.”

“Already busy?”

“That was going to be my go to,” you confessed, and wondered if you should just go with that plan, “but Mum’s been really insistent and she’s not going to let it go until she meets him. This him that’s totally fake.”

There were a few moments of pause as the two of you sat there in silent contemplation. Without thinking, you put your head on his shoulder and rested it there. It only took a moment before he rested his head on top or yours, giving the crown of your head a quick kiss. Your face lit up at the contact, even though it was just coming from him. Best friends did stuff like this, right?

“What if…you brought me?” he finally said after a few moments, an odd sort of excitement in his voice. He gently got off the counter and tried to read your reaction. You were more stunned than anything else, so you watched him in silence as he took your hands in his, “it’ll be perfect! And we can easily sell the act.”

“But…my family already knows you,” was the only response you were able to get out. The idea of Ben being your boyfriend, even if it was just pretend, was enough to send your heart thumping rapidly. You weren’t going to lie like you hadn’t imagined this exact scenario a million times before, “it wouldn’t really work.”

“Sure it would! You’ll just say that you didn’t want to ruin anything, or give anything away just yet but surprise it’s me!” he had come up with a brilliant plan, even you had to admit that one. His green eyes were shining as he hoped you would agree to it. Little did you know that an idea of his own had most popped into his mind, “besides, your family loves me!”

“But what about after Christmas?” you reminded him, “what happens when we inevitably have to break up and then we remain best friends? Wouldn’t that be weird?”

“We can cross that bridge when we get there,” he promised, but you were still hesitant. It was a good plan, but you didn’t want your real feelings for Ben to get in the way. And even with a fake breakup, you knew it would hurt like hell, “come on love, this will work.”

“I dunno,” you sighed at him, “it might just be easier to admit I lied.”

“Nonsense,” he insisted, “I promise you that this plan is brilliant and nothing will go wrong. Now what do you say? Are you down? If nothing else, think of it as an adventure!”

“Ben Jones, you will be the absolute death of me,” how easily you melted at his smile, the way a single soft curl fell onto his forehead, everything about him made you melt and feel like a blushing school girl more than anything.

“Andddd?” he ask expectantly, and as much as you realized this was going to be interesting, and probably end up hurting more than anything else, you said decided to acquiesce to his request.

“Okay,” you nodded and he let out a small cheer. It seemed odd to you that he was so into this whole plan, but who were you to argue with him? You got off the counter when held out your hand to him, “let’s do this, fake boyfriend.”

“The pleasure is all mine, fake girlfriend,” he took your hand in his much larger one and shook it firmly. You had either just made a huge mistake, or a brilliant plan. It was a fine line between the two, but you were eager to see how it panned out.

≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫

“You need to breathe,” Ben whispered into you ear as he gave your hand a reassuring squeeze. You looked at him and nodded lightly letting out the long breath you had been holding in. As soon as you had gotten out of his car, nerves took over and you were suddenly regretting your whole plan.

It was a crazy plan, having him pretend to be you boyfriend in front of your whole family and then spending the night together, trapped in the same bedroom. What could possibly go wrong? Besides everything anyways.

“Right,” you said as you shot him an anxious smile, “my brain’s going a million miles an hour and it’s hard to remember how to function.”

“You’re actually nervous,” he seemed amused by that fact as you glowered at him. It was easy for him to do all this, he just had to play along, but you were the only who had to sell it. He leaned over and kissed the side of your head, getting into the role of doting boyfriend, “although it’s super cute, you have no reason to be. It’ll be fine.”

“I...what?” you asked just as your mom opened the door, her arms already open to pull you in for a hug. But once she realized who you were with, she stopped short, a confused expression on her face.

“Ben?” she looked between the two of you, “you’re dating Ben? He’s the boyfriend?”

“Yup, that’s it,” your eyes widened with fear for a moment, sure she was going to call your bluff, “I’ve been seeing Ben.”

“Oh sweetheart,” she threw her arms around you and gave you a tight squeeze, rocking you back and forth, “that’s absolutely wonderful news! And Ben! How perfect!”

She let go of you and wrapped him up next, not even letting him get a word in edgewise. You knew she had always loved Ben, but you never realized just quite how much.

“You two make a lovely couple,” she pushed the two of you closer together and studied you closely, “I always had a feeling it would end up being the two of you. I had hoped anyways, you were always so right for each other.”

Your heart plummeted at her words when you realized how this meant to her. She thought this was real, and here you were living a lie. You exchanged a quick glance with Ben and he just gave you a smile followed by a light shrug. If you didn’t know any better you’d swear he was in cahoots with her.

“Oh well, you know,” you looked at Ben and waited for him to jump and help out, just he either purposely was ignoring your silent plea for help or blissfully ignorant. You nudged his hip lightly, “sometimes these things take time but work out…”

“I’m so happy for the two of you,” she took a hand from each of you and pulled you both inside the warmth of the house which was filled with all sorts of delicious smells, “everyone’s going to be so happy to hear the wonderful news!”

“Mum, it’s okay, you don’t need to make an announcement,” you tried to stop her, but it was already too late. She left the two of you in the foyer, and momentarily thought about just turning around and running away, but the soft look on Ben’s face told you otherwise. He helped you take off your jacket and beanie, hanging them up.

“Well,” he said as he took off his own gear, “see that went well! I told you it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“You idiot,” you hissed at him, whacking his arm lightly, “why you’d just along with it!? You should have said something!”

“And just what would I had told her?” he threw his hands up in the air, “sorry to disappoint you, but we’re actually just joking?”

“Not that exactly,” you sighed, rubbing at your temples. This was going to get out of control and fast, “I dunno, Benny. Let’s just not play it up too much…it’s going to hurt them enough when I tell them we’re breaking up. I never thought she’d be this into the idea of us. Fuck!”

“I guess at least she doesn’t hate the idea,” he shrugged and you supposed he was right. You nodded and took his hand, pulling him along with you into the living room, where you could hear the rest of your family. This was going to be a long, long day.

Ben hung back for a second, holding onto your hand and keeping you back. You turned to him with a confused expression and wondered what he was doing.

“Ben?” you asked as he pulled you toward him, leaving only a small distance between your bodies. You could practically feel the heat radiating off of him; your heart was thumping wildly and you were sure he could hear it. He reached up and put his hand on your cheek, tracing his fingers over the high points. You swallowed the lump in your throat, “Ben? What’re you doing?”

But he didn’t respond with words, instead he closed the gap between the two of you and pressed his lips against yours. It was soft and gentle, and was much shorter than you had wanted. You found a small, sad little sound leaving your mouth when he pulled away. Needless to say you definitely hadn’t been expecting that, but it had been just as perfect as you had always imagined.

“What was that for?” your voice was small and almost shaky as your whole body got hot. Ben’s cheeks were flushed as he seemed to think you didn’t like what he had done.

“Just...for practice,” he explained hastily, clearing his throat. If you didn’t know any better, you were almost sure he was lying, “we have to make it look convincing, right?”

“R-right,” you replied, wishing he would look in the eyes. You opened your mouth to say something else, but before anything else left your mouth, your dad walked in, a devilish little grin on his face.

“And hello my darling,” he engulfed you in his arms, and at this point, you had just decided to give in and not even try and argue. Everyone was so set in their own ideas and you likely weren’t going to change their minds.

“Hi dad,” you mumbled as you pulled away and he turned to Ben. There was a gleam in his eye that suggested, much like your mother, he was beyond excited that you and Ben were finally a couple.

“Young man,” he gave Ben a firm handshake and you totally expected him to go straight into a speech about how he would kill him if he ever broke your heart - you know the typical dad speech. But he didn’t, instead just grinning as he looked between the two of you, “I’m so happy for both of you. Can’t say I’ve been waiting for this one for time, but I’ve been waiting for this one for some time! It’s about time I dare say, how long have the two of you been flirting around now? Years?”

“It’s been a long time coming, sir,” Ben was just eating it up and going along with everything while you just wanted to sink into the floor. You knew Ben always had a little flair for the dramatics, but you didn’t think it would translate quite to this, “I guess we just needed to do it on our own time.”

“All good things take time,” he shot him a wink and you were internally screaming at the both of them.

“I guess the next question will be when are you giving us all grandchildren?” this time your mouth hung open and you grabbed your dad’s arm and started steering him towards the living room. As much as you found your family overbearing, right now you were looking for any excuse to get away from this conversation.

“Dad, not the time,” you hissed at him, attempting to give him a stern look, “besides, it must be getting close to time for dinner, right?”

Ben was biting his lip as he trailed after the two of you. If he was being honest, everyone else was basically doing the job for him; he had been planning on finally professing his love for you for some time, but he had never quite knew how to do it.

When you had first proposed your little plan to him, he had practically jumped for joy when he realized this was it. This was how he was going to finally get you...or so he hoped. He was almost positive you had the same feelings for him that he had for you, but he could never be completely positive.

But the way you had responded to his kiss and the way you seemed flustered and worried about every little thing told him all he needed to know. He was definitely willing to take the help and bust your family was giving him.

≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫

The rest of the afternoon and evening had passed in somewhat of a blur, and thankfully no one else had been as pushy as your parents. Everyone else was merely glad to see you with Ben, after a lifetime of friendship, finally together. You got a few little I told you so comments but that was the extend of it.

Ben played the perfect doting boyfriend, holding your hand and touching you at all the right times. His face lit up whenever he turned to look at you, and it made your heart soar; he was convincing, very convincing and you knew it was going to hurt like a bitch when it had to inevitably end. All you had ever was someone that looked at you the way Ben had been, the way Ben had been talking about you. But it wasn’t real, and you had to constantly remind yourself of that. You did know one thing though - whatever girl ended up with him was going to be very, very lucky.

“Y/N?” you snapped your head in your mother’s direction and waited for her to go on, “I’ve got your bedroom all cleaned up for you. I’m sure you and Ben have no problem sharing it for the night.”

“Oh, no. Of course not,” you gave her a tight lipped smile as Ben played with a lock of your hair, beaming at you. You looked at your watch and noticed that it was already late and realized what she was trying to get across, “well, I guess we’ll retire for the evening. Thank you all for everything, and we will see you in the morning.”

“Good evening to both of you,” she grinned at you as you bid everyone else a good night. Ben took your hand in his and entwined your fingers as you waved to everyone else.

You remained silent as you walked up the stairs, wondering if Ben was going to let go of your hand as soon as you were out of everyone’s line of sight. But he didn’t; he took the lead, a sort of weird silence falling between the two of you. Normally it was a comfortable silence, but today it was more weird, different from what it usually was.

As soon as you got into the room, you closed the door and locked it, leaning against it as you let out a long sigh, running a hand through your hair.

“That went well,” Ben flopped on the bed, a proud little smile on his pouty lips. Ones that you totally weren’t thinking about kissing then and there. Definitely not.

“Ben,” you crossed your arms over your chest, “what the hell was that? You were putting on way more of a show than necessary! They’re going to be crushed when I tell them we broke up. I...I didn’t expect them all to be so into it. Was everyone just expecting, like what the hell?”

“Is it that weird?” Ben felt a rush of nerves, but he knew it was his time to finally confess. You gave him a shrug as you tried to realize what he was playing at. He got off the bed and took a step closer to you, leaving a little room between both of you.

“I mean, kind of,” you admitted, “we’ve been best friends since we were what? Seven? Eight?”

“Eight,” he confirmed, “twenty long years.”

“Right,” you met his eyes and found that there was an unreadable expression in his eyes, “and if something was meant to happen, then it would have by now, right? I mean we’ve had plenty of opportunities and we’ve dated other people.”

“And how well have those relationships worked out?”

“Not well,” you gave in, remembering your slew of past boyfriends and girlfriends that just never seemed to work out, “but I just...we haven’t found the one.”

“What if we have?” he suggested and while you were hoping you knew what he was referring to, you didn’t want to get your hopes up and have your heart broken, “what if we’ve known for years?”

“What do you mean?” you were playing dumb, but the way he stepped closer to you and the little smirk playing on features were all highly suggesting you that he knew that you knew exactly what he meant.

“I think you know, love,” he was right before you know and ever so gently putting his hands on either side of your face. His touch was warm and you thought you might explode from all the of feelings stirring around inside of you, “I think we’ve both known for a long time, just like everyone else.”

“But we haven’t...” you trailed off, lost for words as you stared at his eyes, watching them study you so closely, occasionally flicking to your lips, “ever said anything...or done anything.”

“Maybe it’s a been long time coming,” he ghosted his fingertips over the high points of your face, “just like everyone’s been saying.”

“Do you...like me?” you blurted out suddenly, feeling more shy suddenly than anything else. He let out a small laugh himself, nodded to confirm your question, “oh? Oh. Oh?”

“I have for a long time, Y/N,” he finally admitted, feeling more free and happy than he had in a long time, “I just never quite knew how to tell you. What if you didn’t feel the same way? I would have made a fool out of myself and then been heartbroken. And then when you mentioned this whole needing a boyfriend for Christmas, I thought it was the perfect idea and time to finally tell you.”

“You like me?” you repeated, the grin on your face spreading from ear to ear, “I like you too, Ben. A whole lot, but I never thought that you’d feel the same.”

“And just why not?” he was amused by your answer.

“Because it’s you.”

“Well, it’s just so happens that I like you very much,” all of the fears you had felt suddenly seemed to leave your body and you felt a sense of happiness you couldn’t even begin to explain, “so I’ll sum this up, you like me and I like you.”

“Yes,” you felt breathless as you beamed at him and he got slowly closer and closer to you, mere millimeters between your lips.

“And now I’m going to kiss you,” he concluded.

“And now you’re going to kiss me,” you agreed before crashing your lips onto his and snaking your arms around his neck and pulling him tightly against your body. His hands went to your hips as he held you close, your bodies melding perfectly into one another. It was a perfect fit, just like you had always imagined. You had always wondered what he felt like, how he tasted, and needless to say it was all that you had imagined, and so much more.

“Hey,” he said as he pulled back after a few moments of frantic kissing and hands roaming each other’s bodies.

“Hey,” you grinned at him.

“I don’t just like you,” he whispered gently, “I’m in love with you. So in love with you.”

“I’m in love with you too.”

≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫

Permanent Taglist: @supernatural508 @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety@asguardiansoftheavengers @the-bright-lights@dixonsbugaboo @justanewqueensfan@yourealegendroger@anna1523@thesecondlastjedi@bitemerog@rogernroll@secretsweetscollectionblog@sheridans-dynamos@dinkiplier@deacontaylormercurymay-blog @starrystarrybabe @musical-prostitute-my-dear@onexlittlespark@benhardyseyes@marvelstuck@whenthe-smokeisinyoureyes@wonderwich @reedusteinrambles @a-kind-of-magik@lv7867@itissnowingandimstuckinside@brian-may-be@dessert-hardy@rogertaylors-lipgloss@rogerfxckingtaylor@queenbbarnes@luvborhap@drowseoftaylor@persephonesnebula@mamaskillerqueen @leatherjacketmazzello @theimpossiblehologramtree @discodiscodeaky @loveandbeloved29 @meddows-rose @onceitbubbles @wonderwoman292

469 notes · View notes

chasing-dreamers · 5 years

Text

Close encounters

This is my entry for Patricia’s Halloween Challenge!

#12: “I paid $50.00 for this haunted house. I better die.”

#53: “There will be a lot of screaming tonight.”

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Reader

Word Count: 5.6k

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Billy Hargrove or Stranger Things. This is completely fiction and made up.

A/N: I totally finished this within the first couple weeks and have been waiting to post this, just so I wouldn’t post it too early! Then I started working again and completely forgot about it. This is also the first time I have done anything like this and shared it this publicly.

Halloween. It’s literally the BEST day in the entire year. Candy. Costumes. Scary movies. Parties. Oh, and a possible Demogorgon every now and again. You know, usual Hawkins Halloween celebrations.

Thankfully we hadn’t seen any Demogorgons in almost a week and everyone in the lab were getting closer to closing the gate. They we reminded us frequently to stay cautious, but we weren’t going to let the worry of it get in the way of having a good night.

“Okay. So, these shorts or these ones?” I held up two pairs of short jeans in front of myself.

“Hmmm...” Robin tilted her head and squinted her eyes. “I like the red ones, but you have to wear your AC/DC shirt with them.”

“Are you sure?” I grabbed the shirt out of my closet, went into my bathroom, and changed quickly. I went back into my room and stood in front of the mirror. “SO, like this?”

“Tuck your shirt in and please, for just once, keep your hair down.” Robin sighed.

“Do I have to?” I whined. My hair was a curly mess all the time and I hated it.

“Yes!” Robin said. “Who knows, maybe your knight in shining armor will show up?”

“What is up with you and Nancy always teasing me about him!” I glared at her. I turned back into the mirror and tried to get my hair to fall where I wanted it to, but there was no point.

“Because you're actually obsessed with him,” Robin teased. “and I didn't even have to say his name.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Billy Hargrove.” Robin shook her head. “I don’t know what you see in him, Y/N.”

“I don’t know either.” Billy was literally everything I wanted. Well, mostly. The guy was probably the biggest asshole I had ever met, but he was so god damn gorgeous. “It’s just a crush. It’s not like I have a chance with him or anything.”

“If he doesn’t realize that you are literally the coolest girl in Hawkins.” Robin stated. “Then he is actually the dumbass everyone says he is.”

“Yeah, I guess your right.” I chuckled.

“Hey guys! Hurry up!” Nancy walked into my room and grinned when she saw me. “Ooooo, look at you. Someone got all fancy for Billy.”

“Shut up, Nancy!” I groaned and we all giggled. I grabbed my backpack, made sure the walkie and other things I needed were in it, then followed the girls downstairs. Steve and Jonathan were sitting in the living room with my parents. “Are we all ready to go?”

“Yes!” Steve exclaimed and threw his arms up dramatically. “We were just waiting on the princess!”

“I am not a princess.” I rolled my eyes. “I just couldn’t figure out what to wear.”

“Well, you just proved his point.” Jonathan laughed.

“Watch it Byers.” I shot him a look and chuckled. “Do we have everything we need?”

“Yupp. Here’s your bat.” Steve tossed me the nail covered bat and I threw it over my shoulder

“Alright. Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Hold on!” My mom grabbed her camera off the table.

“Mom!’ I whined.

“No, Y/N. You know the rules!” My dad scolded me.

“Alright. Fine!” I sighed. I grabbed the others and made them stand next to me.

“1, 2, 3, cheese!”

Click. Click. Click.

“Mom! You have taken like a million pictures!” I groaned as my mom stood there snapping away with her camera.

“Okay! Okay! Okay!” My mom chuckled and began to shoo us out the door. “Go have fun! And no boys, Missy! And why do you have to take that ugly bat everywhere?”

“Bears, mom. Duh!” Steve opened the door and we started walking out.

Right before I left the house, my mom walked over to me and started messing with my hair. “We have to have something done about this hair of yours.”

“Mom come on. Stop!” I shook my hair away from her and huffed. “Robin already tried.”

“Stay safe, Y/N.” My mom started lecturing again. “And I’m serious, no running into the woods with any boys.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her, Mrs. Y/L/N!” Nancy waved behind us, as we quickly tried to walk out the door.

“Thank you, dear!” My mom stood on the porch and waved as we headed down the driveway.

We all piled into Jonathan’s car since it could seat all of us, pulled out of my driveway, and headed to the forest. The haunted trail was a new thing the mayor decided we had to do. Pretty sure it was just his way of getting more money in his pocket. I mean, why else would a haunted trail cost $50.00.

We got to the field where the beginning of the trail was set up. A few feet away were a few food stands and small carnival games. The boys had just arrived on their bikes and were wearing their signature Ghostbuster outfits. Jonathan parked the car and they put their bikes right next to it. We all started laughing as we could hear them singing the Ghostbuster’s theme song.

“Who you gonna call?”

“THE NERDS!” I laughed as I jumped out the back and the boys all shot me dirty looks.

“Really, Y/N? Really?” Dustin scolded.

“Oh. Come on. You guys are such nerds.” I chuckled. El and Max giggled as other boys rolled their eyes at me. We all grouped together at the front entrance of the forest.

We all got our walkies out and made sure we were all on the same channel. “Y/N and Nancy, you have the front entrance. We cut up the trail into different sections on what it is going on in that area. All of you have map and a list of where we will be inside. Everyone will stay inside the trail with everyone else. If ANYTHING happens, use your walkie, and if you have to run; Hopper said we can go straight to his cabin and hide out there.” Dustin directed.

“Got it, Dad!” Steve shouted as he ran into the forest first with Jonathan right behind him. The party went in after them. Then El, Max, and Robin went it. I sighed.

“This is lame.” I huffed and leaned against the tree next to me. “We have to just sit here all night, take tickets, and listen to people complaining because it’s $50.00 to walk through a forest.”

“Would you rather be in there with them?” Nancy shrugged.

“There is NO WAY I am going into that forest.” I shook my head. “Not even if you paid me.”

“But what if Mr. ‘He’s-So-Hot-I-Could-Die’ showed up?” Nancy smirked.

“I should have never told you too that.” I laughed. “Plus, he will be with them and they are the last people on the planet I would want anything to do with. I definitely wouldn’t go into a god damn forest with them.”

“You never know.” She grinned. Oh, I knew. No way. As much as I was obsessed with him, I never had a chance. Even though I would go with him, I’d die before I went with anyone else he hung out with.

“I just don’t have a chance.” I shook my head in defeat. “It’s 5 til 8. People should start lining up here soon.”

“He will show up.” Nancy said, putting in her last thought about it. “Just you wait.”

It had been about an hour after the haunted trail opened, and ticket sales were higher than I expected. Even though everyone complained when we first heard about it, it was the only thing for anyone over the age of 13 to do. Except getting shit faced and partying, which is what I thought everyone would have been doing.

“I SO told you so.” I was taking someone’s ticket as I felt Nancy’s fist connect with my arm.

“Those are actually the last people I want to see tonight.” I huffed. Tommy H, Carol, and Nicole. Literally the worst trio ever. Then I realized Nancy was right. Billy did show up. I stood there in awe as he shuffled his feet around. He was mindlessly crewing his nails and you could see the muscles in his jaw tighten. His hair was falling into his face perfectly and his eyes sparkled in the light. My heart leaped into my throat as I noticed his chest and torso were completely bare under his jacket. His was made by the gods and I could stare at him forever. I looked back up to his face and those blue eyes were staring right back at me. “Shit!”

“Were you staring hard enough, Y/N!” Nancy half shouted; half whispered at me.

“I’m sorry! Look at him!” I groaned. I went back to taking tickets for the kids that were standing in front of me. I looked back over to where they were standing. Tommy and Carol seemed very eager to get into the woods. Nicole was too busy trying to get to Billy’s attention, but he showed no interest in her.

“Billy is TOTALLY staring at you!” Nancy nodded and jabbed me in my side.

I shoved her back and hissed at her. “Nancy, shut up. He’s not even here to see me.”

“How can you be so sure about that, princess?” Excuse me? What is happening! Why is he standing right here!

“Because you came here with me, Billy. Come on.” Nicole explained as she stomped over to him and tried to wrap her arm around him.

Billy rolled his eyes and tightened his jaw. “No, Nicole. No, I didn’t. Now get in there before you have to go by yourself.”

Nicole shoved the ticket into my hand, then went back to where Tommy and Carol were.

Nancy winked at me and giggled as I shot her a dirty look. I turned back towards Billy and he was standing even closer to me.

“So, what do you say, Y/N? Care to join me?” Billy purred.

“Nah., I think I’ll pass.” I shrugged.

“Why not? It could be like a date.” He smiled even more, and I could hear Nancy squeal as she continued to keep the line moving.

“Date? Billy Hargrove, do you even know me?” I laughed.

“Yes, Y/N. I do.” There is no way he did. “You just decide to run off every time I get close to you.”

“Well, then this is me running off again.” I threw the tickets into the trash can next to me, grabbed my backpack, and then grabbed my bat. “I am going to go get some food, Nance. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, fine. It’s not a date, but I still want you to come with me.” Billy insisted and grabbed my arm to keep me from walking away.

“Why Billy?” I pulled my arm out of his grip.

“Come on, princess! Live a little!” Billy shouted. “Nancy can handle this by herself.”

“Definitely.” Nancy grinned. She nodded toward my bat. “You were going to leave me anyway!”

“I do live, a little! That’s why I am just selling tickets!” I pointed him in his broad, bare chest. “Billy, your dates end up in a car or a bed or just where the hell ever, and usually with someone screaming. So, thanks but no thanks.”

“Oh, there will be a lot of screaming tonight.” Nancy chuckled.

“Nancy!” I yelled.

“Y/N, you are literally the biggest baby I know when it comes to this stuff.” She quickly shot back. “You’ll scream before anything even jumps out at you.”

“Well, then you definitely need me to go with you.” Billy laughed.

“Go on, Y/N. Have some fun for once.” Nancy took his ticket and tried to get me to walk into the trail.

“Nancy, you literally told my mom this was the last thing that would happen.” I didn’t budge.

“What’s the worst thing that could happen, princess?” Billy asked.

“Actually everything.” I huffed.

Nancy looked at me and rolled her eyes, then started pushing me into the woods. “Gotta keep the line going.”

“You are a traitor, Nancy Wheeler. A traitor!” I yelled. I tried to go back out, but Billy slinked an arm around my waist and walked into the trail.

“Is this trail even worth $50.00?” Billy asked as we finally started walking deeper into the forest.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t know.” I replied. “I have never been in here. Obviously.”

“Well, I paid $50.00 for this haunted house, so I better die.” Billy stated.

“If you died, it would definitely make it worth $50.00” I shrugged. “This is literal kidnapping and it’s just a trail, dumbass.”

“Ouch.” Billy gasped, putting is hand up to his chest. The first part was just a long tunnel made from cardboard boxes and with fake candles hanging from the top. We walked through it silently, but I couldn’t understand what I was doing.

“Billy, why am I in here?” I asked him.

“Because you can’t resist me.” He chuckled.

“But I said no.” I said. “I mean, why me and not Nicole? Actually, why me at all?”

“I think you’re cool and I have been trying to figure out how to get you to hang out with me for months.” He nervously rubbed his hands on his jeans.

“Who are you and what have to done to the Billy Hargrove I go to school what?” There was no way he had been trying to hang out with me. Absolutely no way.

“Very funny, princess.” Billy chuckled. He moved his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to where his lips were touching my ear. “And yes, I do.”

“I just can’t-AAAH!!” As we turned a corner, someone dressed up as a clown jumped down from the trees and yelled right in my face. I instantly swung the bat up, barely stopping myself from swinging.

Billy burst out in laughter. “Looks like Nancy was right.”

“Oh, shut up.” I growled.

Before I could answer him, something jumped out from behind us and I shrieked. I whipped around to another person dressed as a clown skipping back behind the wall and laughing manically. Then suddenly two arms were wrapped around me. I pulled away and, again, instinctively swung the bat above my head.

“Y/N! Holy hell!” Billy reached up and ripped the bat from my hands. “It was just me!”

“Fuck!” I stumbled back and put my hands over my mouth. Billy looked at how freaked out I was and let out a sigh. He grabbed the bat from me and took my hand with his free one.

“Is there a reason you get scared so easily?” He squeezed my hand reassuringly as I just shook my head.

“I’ve seen some shit, Billy.” I shuddered. “It would scare you too.”

“I can tell. From how jumpy you are, to how fast you react with this bat of yours.” He swung the bat down next to his leg. “But don't worry, princess. You have me now.”

“Well, that’s comforting.” If only he knew.

“So, what happened?” He asked. “What is there in Hawkins that could have you so freaked out all the time?”

“Okay. There are big, scary monsters, called Demogorgons coming into Hawkins from another dimension called The Upside Down. The Hawkins Lab is responsible for keeping the door open. Then your sister’s best friend has crazy powers that lets her control stuff with her mind. Oh, and there might be Russians somewhere too.” I explained as we walked through the third part of the trail.

“I know I’m an ass.” Billy growled. “But you don’t have to bullshit with me.”

“I’m not.” I shrugged. We turned a makeshift corner and I realized there was blood in pools on the ground. “Billy. Don’t move.”

“Why? Is some big, scary, whatever monster going to hurt me?” He grumbled and rolled him eyes.

“Billy. Shut up.”

“Come on, princess!” He sighed and pulled at my arm.

“Billy!” I grabbed his arm and pulled back as hard as I could. He stumbled back toward me and gave me a bewildered look. I slammed my hand over his mouth and ripped the bat out of his hand. “I said ‘Shut up.’”

He grumbled but nodded. “Now stay behind me and do exactly as I say.” He nodded again and turned back toward the blood on the ground. I slowly turned to look around the corner and felt my blood go cold. There was a Demogorgon dragging a deer through the trail. I grabbed my walkie from my backpack, ducking behind a tree and dragging Billy with me. He just stood there with a questioning look. Shit.

“Code Red. Repeat. I have a Code Red. Section 3. Code Red. This is a Code freaking Red.” I quickly said.

“Copy. On our way.” Nancy responded.

“Copy. We are in section 5. Give us two minutes.” Lucas also replied.

Billy sat there and tried to get me to walk back towards it. “It’s just part of the trail, princess. What kind of trick is this?”

“This isn’t a trick, Billy. Stay quiet.” I snapped.

“Stop messing with me, Y/N.” He growled.

“I’m not, Billy.”

“Then let’s go.” He pulled me and, in the process, stomped down on a tree branch and it snapped.

I froze. Billy pulled on my arm again. I ripped it out of his grip and whipped around. The Demogorgon had now turned around and was walking towards us.

“Seriously, Y/N? I’m not falling for this.” Billy yelled. The Demogorgon opened his face and screeched towards us. “What the- “

“Billy. Run.” I shoved Billy right as the Demogorgon started running towards us. We ran back towards where we had just come from, but we had to get off the trail. I couldn’t let this thing get to where everyone was. I pushed through a pumpkin set up and got away from the trail. I would NOT let this thing find anyone else. Billy stayed close beside me as we continued running through the forest. My first thought was to stay several feet outside the trail so the others could still find us...somehow. I just hope they could find us before we get killed. I tried to run towards the cabin, but I had lost track of where we were is the midst of my panicking.

“Umpf.” Billy tripped and smashed his face down onto a tree root. I dropped the bat and tried to pull him up, but the Demogorgon was already standing less than fifteen feet away from us.

“Y/N, What the hell is that?!” Billy screamed.

“A Demogorgon. I told you to shut up! Maybe if you had listened; he would be dead already!” I yelled back at him.

The Demogorgon opened his opened his face again and screeched at Billy. Billy scuffled back as far as he could, until his back was up against a tree, and I stood in front of him. “Y/N, what are you doing!”

“Shut up, Billy! Shut the HELL UP!” I tightened the grip I had on my bat and started swinging it down in front of my feet. For some reason, I wanted to keep this thing distracted. “Billy. Get out of here.”

“Y/N, there is no fucking way I am leaving you with this thing.” He sounded completely terrified and I couldn’t blame him. I was fucking terrified.

“Billy, please.” The Demogorgon let out a long growl and was slowly getting closer.

“Come on, big guy. You know you want this.” I tried to remain calm as I began to shake violently.

As I taunted him, he leaped forward and I swung the bat as hard as I could. It made a loud squelching noise as it connected with the side of the Demogorgons head. The monster jumped back and crouched down. He shook his head, flinging blood everywhere. He tried to attack again, getting hit with the bat a second time.

We went back and forth for several minutes. He would swing, I would dodge it, then connect the bat to some part of his body. I kept my distance and tried to make sure I stayed between him and Billy. After another hit, the Demogorgon made it to where I could hear Billy breathing right behind me. I turned and at look at him. His face was covered in blood. He stared at the monster without even blinking. He looked at me and I could see tears starting to collect in his eyes.

Suddenly, everything went white. I had let my guard down. I now I could feel a sharp, agonizing pain it my side. I screamed and felt the Demogorgon’s claws catch my body and I fell into the dirt.

I sat there and watch the Demogorgon stand up and get ready to attack again. I ducked my head and felt the bat get ripped from my hand. Billy swung it over his head and smash it down onto the Demogorgon’s head. The monster backed up and screeched in pain, but Billy didn’t stop. He yelled as he continued swinging without giving him anytime to swing at him.

“GO. TO. HELL!” Billy spun the bat in his hand, swung it up, and caught the Demogorgon on the side of the head.

“Billy!” I tried to stand up but fell back down quickly. Small, black spots began to fill my vision and I felt my body wobbling around. “Billy!”

Right as Billy swung the bat at monster again, I heard someone else screaming and the Demogorgon was lifted into the air. Eleven stepped out past the trees, her hands stretched out in front of her, and blood pouring out from her nose. The Demogorgon screeched as he was thrown through the trees and make of cracking sound as him body connected with a tree.

“Billy!” Max was right behind Eleven and I could faintly see a few more shadows walking towards us. I tried to say anything, but I felt my body give away and my eyes get heavy. The smell of blood filled my nose.

“Y/N! Oh my god!” I heard Nancy yelling and I felt my body being picked up.

Then everything went black.

A few moments later, I felt my head bobbing and my body moving slightly. There was a sharp pain in my side that was more intense than anything I have ever felt. I could hear distorted talking and slowly tried to open my yes.

“Hey. Hey. Hey. Careful, princess.”

“Billy?” I blinked a few times and looked up to see Billy's face right above me. I turned my head and could see the trees flying past us as the car sped down the road.

“Billy. You seriously can never tell anyone what happened.” Nancy was rambling and freaking out.

“Nancy, seriously? I don't even want to try and figure out what the fuck happened back there.” Billy snapped at her. “Y/N is injured and all that matters to me is getting her to the damn hospital.”

“Why do you even care what happens to her, Hargrove?” Steve yelled at Billy.

“That’s none of your damn business, Harrington.” Billy snapped. As their voices continued to get louder, so did the pounding in my head. I groaned and tried to cover my ears. “Hey. Hey. Hey. Careful, Y/N. Careful. We’re almost there.”

“Beep. Beep. Beep.”

I woke up to a mild pain in my head and a numbing feeling in my torso. I felt extremely groggy. I groaned as I opened my eyes and a bright light flooded into my vision. “W-Where am I?”

“Woah. Woah. Woah. Be careful.” Someone said softly.

I tried to focus my eyes on who was talking, but everything was still too fuzzy. I brought my hand up to cover my eyes, hoping any part of my headache would go away. “What happened?”

“Honey, you got attacked by a bear.” Another voice said. “He messed you up pretty badly. Thankfully, your boyfriend here and your friends got you to us fast enough.”

“What?” My eyes focused and I looked at the nurse standing by my bed.

“Do you need anything, Hun?” She asked.

“J-Just water. Please.” Boyfriend? The nurse left and I turned to see who else was in the room.

“Hey there, princess.” His eyes were flooded with concern and he held my hand firmly. “How do you feel?”

“Hi, Billy.” I leaned my head into his hand that was holding my face. He was definitely a sight for sore eyes after what happened. I looked down and realized he had changed out of what he was wearing before. Instead he just had a light blue button up shirt on and had tucked in into a cleaner pair of jeans. “I just feel like I got run over by a truck.”

“Well,” he raised his eyebrows and chuckled. “considering what I saw, that doesn’t seem like it hurts too bad.”

“Here is your water, dear.” The nurse came back in and she had Billy help her sit me up more. I yelped out in pain when I tried to push up with my hands. “Careful, Hun. Here you go.”

“Thank you.” I said weakly. I took a few sips out of the straw and sighed. The cold water felt relieving going down my throat.

“Now that you are awake, my name is Anna. I will be the main nurse taking care of you while you are here.” She gave me a warm smile.

“Thank you, Anna.” I drank more water and Billy helped me hold the cup without spilling it. “Are my parents here?”

“Yes, dear. They were here as soon as they got called. Hopper had to have them go down to the station, but they should be back here very soon,” Anna explained. She asked if I needed anything else and I shook my head. She left the room and said she would let my parents know I woke up.

“I finally know where you get your little spark from.” Billy chuckled. “Your mom almost killed me when she saw all the blood all over me. Then yelled at me from almost twenty minutes about taking you into the woods.” “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.” I groaned.

“I don’t blame her. Her daughter leaves with her friends and then ends up in the hospital because Billy Hargrove took her into the woods.” He shrugged. The door to the room opened and I smiled as my parents came in.

“Y/N, oh honey, you’re okay.” My mom rushed over as soon as she saw me and hugged me. She pulled back, keeping her hands around my face, making my look at her. “Are you okay? Do you need anything? Have they been taking care of you?”

“Yes, Mom. I’ve only been awake for a few minutes. I’m fine.” She pulled her hands away, only to give my dad some room to hug me. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, kiddo. I’m glad you’re doing okay.” He said. He tried to sound firm, but I could hear him holding a choke back, trying to keep himself from crying.

“Me too.” I relaxed a little more. Having my parents here made me feel more comfortable.

“We came as soon as we got the call from Hopper.” My parents pulled up a chair and my mom started explaining what happened after they had gotten me to the hospital. “All of your friends were here, and Joyce and Hopper were here too. We all waited until after you went in to get your stitches done before going down to the station. The other kids tried to stay here, but their parents wanted them home where they knew where they were.”

“Billy here, he is the only one that hasn’t left yet.” My dad nodded toward Billy. He was nervously twirling his ring on his finger and I reached up to grab his hand. He took a deep breath and looked back up at us.

“But I do remember telling you not to go into the woods and especially not with any boys.” My mom scolded both of us. “You’re lucky he was there with you and was able to get you out of there.”

“I know, Mom.” I sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“We are just glad you are safe, kiddo.” My dad said.

“We will go get you some food and be right back, sweetheart.” My mom stood up and kissed my forehead.

“I love you too, mom.” They walked out and I turned back toward Billy. “You never left?”

He shook his head. “Hopper almost killed me because I made him bring the paperwork to file the report to me. I couldn’t leave your side, Y/N. You saved my life and I almost lost you.”

“Billy, you saved me too.” I reached up and wiped the tear that rolled down his cheek. I giggled lightly. “But for future reference, I told you a haunted trail was a horrible idea for a first date.”

“Y/N, I’m so sorry.” Billy stammered. “I should have... I should have listened to you. Plus, you went in there because of me. This is my fault.”

“Billy,” I said taking ahold of his hand. “there is no way you knew what was going to happen. You didn’t even know it was there. How could you?”

“I could have lost you.” This was a side of Billy Hargrove that I had never seen. He looked so vulnerable. Over me of all people.

“Trust me,” I laughed. “you can’t get rid of me that fast.”

“I hope not, princess.”

It was finally time to go home. It was a still early in the day, so only my parents were there with me. We had finally convinced Billy to go back to school after a couple days and we only agreed so he could get my schoolwork for me. It was weird without him here

“Well, Miss Y/N. It looks like the doctors are finally ready to let you go home.” My nurse happily stated. “As much as I enjoyed having you here and getting to take care of you, I am very glad to see you finally going home.”

“You have been the best nurse ever, Anna.” I gave her a quick hug and she handed me all my paperwork. “If I ever come back, I will definitely ask for you.”

“Y/N, if you end up back in the hospital,” my dad shook his head. “your mother will kill you.”

“Yes, she will.” My mother laughed and sighed.

I chuckled. After three and a half long weeks, the doctors we finally allowed to give me the ‘Okay.’ Mostly, because Dr. Owens heard about the attack, knew what it was, and they made me stay longer. Thankfully, there were no severe infections and the wounds healed up relatively quickly.

“A list of all the ointments and antibiotics you will need are in here. You will just need to take that paper to Kathy down the hall.”

“Thank you so much for taking care of her, Anna.” My mom had tears in her eyes as she thanked her.

“Just make sure she isn’t running into the woods with anymore boys.” Anna smirked. “She’s definitely not one to mess around with.”

They all laughed, and I headed to get my medicine. Once I got that, it was finally time to go home.

Five years later.

“Hey, princess.”

“Billy!” I laughed loudly as he picked me up and spun my around. I kissed he deeply. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and slowly put me back down on the ground. I pulled back and staring into his still, memorizing blue eyes. “I missed you.”

“I told you I would be back from California for Halloween. I can’t miss this one.” He kissed me again, then took my hand as we headed toward the ticket booth.

“You would never hear the end of it.” I grinned. We walked to the back of the line and waited to get our tickets. “I’m kinda nervous. I’m surprised they decided to do this again.”

“Well, there haven’t been anymore ‘bear attacks,’ so I guess the mayor decided it was worth a shot again.” Billy shrugged. “It’s been made a lot shorter and Hopper said the police are even working it this year. Like, fully overseeing the whole thing.”

“That’s good to know.” I crossed my arms and could still feel the deep scars running across my side. Five years. That’s how long it took them to do another haunted trail. That’s how long it took me to even want to go back into the woods. That’s how long Billy and I had been together now. Five years.

“You okay, princess?” Billy’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I realized he had gotten the tickets already. “Are you sure you’ll be ready?”

“Yes. I even made sure I brought this.” I laughed and shook my backpack. The handle of the nail covered bat stuck out the top. There was no way I wasn’t taking that thing with me.

“Of course, you did.” Billy slung his arm over my shoulders and kissed my head. “Let’s go, princess.”

We joined the line headed into the trail. There were two officers standing on both sides of the entrance, and then they had adults walking through with all the kids. The safety precautions were through the roof for this thing. I couldn’t blame them. We were lucky I was able to recover from the attack last time.

The officer took our tickets and we walked into the trail with a few other people that had been standing in front of us. Billy kept a tight grip on my hand, and I nodded whenever he looked at me with worry.

My skin crawled as we walked deeper into the trail. We were very lucky I was still alive. But there was something that nobody could have known.

We wouldn’t be so lucky this time.

205 notes · View notes

queenmylovely · 5 years

Text

Friendly Competition

Summary: Joe mazzello x fem!reader. A day at the Farmstead turns into a night at the corn maze.

Word Count: 4.8k

Warnings: cussing, some slight innuendo

A/N: This is my entry for @forever-rogue Patricia’s Halloween Challenge! It was so fun to write! Thank you again to @musicgirlyy for beta-reading!! Also, if this is enjoyed, I could be persuaded to write more... I hope you all enjoy, and any feedback including likes, replies, reblogs, messages, and asks are greatly appreciated! Especially replies, messages, and asks are super helpful for my writing ‘cause I get to hear what you think!

Masterlist

(pretend it’s apple cider)

19. “Let’s split up.” “Let’s not.”

46. “OH MY GOSH SHUT UP THEY’RE GOING TO KILL US!”

66. “How did you manage to get us lost in a corn maze?”

🎃🎃🎃

Crisp fall days were the way you always really felt yourself getting into the holiday season. It was hard to get into the Halloween spirit when it was 75 degrees and still humid. So, when the temperature first dropped down to the high 50s in New York and there was a slight breeze in the air, you hit up your friends to head out of the city for a Saturday. There was a perfect fall place that you knew of called the Farmstead that had a pumpkin patch, sunflower fields, hot apple cider, hay rides, and corn mazes (of both the scary and non scary variety).

Everyone replied in the group chat that they’d be able to make it: Rami, Lucy, Ben, Gwilym, and Joe. You rolled your eyes when you saw the dumb pun that Joe sent to the group.

Joe: Hell yeah I’m down, the group that spooks together stays together #SquadGhouls!

Y/N: Save it for the Instagram post Mazzello

It wasn’t that you disliked Joe, he was just… annoying a lot of the time. Plus, the two of you brought out each other’s competitive sides, which led to a lot of heated moments. Rami and Gwil thought you two hated each other and were always surprised when the two of you made sure to include each other in the group plans, going as far as to make sure that it worked for the other’s work schedule. Lucy and Ben thought you should just fuck and get it over with.

Day of, Joe came around to pick everyone up since he was the one with the SUV that could hold all six of you. He was picking you up last since your place was the furthest along the way there. When he pulled up to the curb, you were surprised to see that the passenger seat was still open. You assumed that Gwil or Ben would’ve been sitting there.

As you got in and said hi to everyone, Joe explained the reasoning, “I figured you should sit in the front since you’re the one that knows where we’re going. Plus you have the least weird taste in music out of any of the others.”

All four of the others protested, but you talked over them, “I’ll take that sad excuse of a compliment. And hush up all of you, you know it’s true. Ben and Gwil, you guys always try to play that weird euro-techno stuff, and Rami and Lucy, no one else likes the death metal.”

Joe laughed, Lucy and Ben flipped you off, Gwil made a shocked face, but Rami just drawled, “What can I say? She converted me.”

That set all of you off, and Joe started driving in the direction of the destination as everyone caught their breath.

It was about an hour and a half drive and you all amused yourselves with catching up, recountings of old stories, and a song guessing game. Ben was in the lead when you were in charge of the music, but that was because neither you nor Joe were playing. When the two of you kept heckling the others however, Ben grabbed the phone from you and had you and Joe face off. Rami and Gwil had wide eyes full of concern that something drastic would happen like you grabbing the steering wheel to throw Joe off or Joe screaming at you about the answer instead of looking at the road. Lucy saw where Ben’s thought process was going and egged the two of you on.

Luckily for everyone’s safety, you and Joe were able to keep civilized; he focused his eyes on the road and you didn’t distract him as the two of you fought for the answers. It was a game of back and forth, though. Joe would get an answer first, and on the next song you would. Then you would remember the title of a song but not the band and Joe would have the opposite predicament. After about half an hour of the score volleying, you arrived at the destination, but neither of you would let anyone get out of the car until the tie was decided.

Ben conferred with Lucy for a second, leaning over the back of his shared bench seat with Gwilym before describing the rules, “It’s sudden death, you can listen to the first thirty seconds of the song and then tell us the song, artist, and album. The one who gets the most elements wins.”

They played the song, and you knew it with just the first two seconds. Joe looked confident too as they stopped the song. You bit your lip in anticipation and noticed Joe look at your lips and wet his own in what you assumed was the same nervousness.

“Okay, driver first. What’s your guess Joe?” Ben asked, and everyone leaned forward to hear him.

He cleared his throat and then said with conviction, “Queen, ‘Sheer Heart Attack,’ from the album of the same name.”

Ben’s face did not change at all, and neither did Rami or Gwil’s (though their lack of change was more from a lack of knowledge than remaining impartial). You saw Lucy’s eyes widen ever so slightly and were unable to keep the smirk off of your face.

“Okay, Y/N, what about you?” Ben asked.

“Queen, ‘Sheer Heart Attack,’ and News of the World,” you replied with 100% confidence.

“Fuck,” Joe said under his breath as Rami and Gwil gasped at the difference in answers.

“Y/N is correct. ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ was originally written for the same album, but it was not published until News of the World,” Ben said in a stoic voice and the others erupted into a chorus of “ohhhs.”

Joe stuck his hand out to shake yours and said, “Good game, Y/N.”

“You too. Although I am a little surprised at you. A bit of an amateur move, Joey,” you replied in a teasing voice. Joe’s grip tightened around your hand and his eyes darkened, but you didn’t know whether it was out of anger or something else.

You shivered under his intense gaze and he noticed, “Cold already? We haven’t even gotten out of the car.” He didn’t let you make up an excuse before he let go of your hand and turned off the car, quickly opening the door and getting out.

Shaking whatever that feeling was from your head, you grabbed your gloves and scarf and joined the others in climbing out of the car. The six of you made your way over to the entrance and paid the fee that would allow you to go anywhere and do anything. They stamped the back of your hands with a cute little jack-o-lantern stamp and you continued onto the property.

The afternoon was spent picking out pumpkins and then carving them at the station they had already set up. Rami and Lucy worked together on a giant one that they carved into a spooky graveyard scene, you did a traditional jack-o-lantern face, Gwil made his into a cat, Joe did a creepier type of jack-o-lantern with sharp teeth, and Ben didn’t let anyone see his until he was done.

Ben turned it around with a, “tah-dah!” and revealed an incredibly intricate forest scene with delicately carved trees, an owl, and a glowing moon. All of you gasped softly in response.

“Ben, I never knew you were so good at pumpkin carving!” Lucy exclaimed as you all took a closer look.

“What can I say? I’m a bit of an artíste,” he said with a smirk, causing everyone to laugh. Travelling in a group, you all took your pumpkins back to the car, stashing them in the trunk before heading back into the Farmstead.

For the next hour or so, you all took turns taking pictures with different pumpkins, in the sunflower field, and with an array of scarecrows. When the sun was just starting to sink in the sky, you decided to go on a hayride before it was too dark. It was a big old tractor pulling a trailer that was lined with hay bales along the sides and the back. You and Joe climbed in first, each planning to sit at the end of either side. However, as you were sitting down across from each other, Lucy grabbed you and Ben grabbed Joe, both roughly pushing you to sit down at the head of the trailer, squished in next to each other.

Then Lucy sat diagonally to you on the side, as did Ben with Joe, Rami and Gwil sitting on the other side of them. Effectively, you and Joe were trapped sitting next to each other. Joe shot Ben a puzzled look which he ignored, and you rolled your eyes at Lucy who just winked at you. Two more couples got on, filling up the four empty seats.

The person who would be driving the tractor climbed up, holding five medium sized flannel blankets. It had cooled down considerably since the afternoon, and it would be especially cold sitting still. They tossed a blanket to each pair then climbed down and went to get in the tractor and start the ride.

“Here, you can have the blanket,” Joe told you, handing you the folded up blanket he caught.

You took it from him, but replied, “Oh please, it’s freezing, literally freezing, and this blanket is plenty big for the two of us. Just scoot closer.”

Joe moved like two inches closer to you, but the gap between you was still about 6 inches across. You rolled your eyes at his hesitancy.

“Like this,” you said, moving until your thigh was firmly pressed against his. “I won’t bite.”

You watched his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, though you couldn’t tell whether it was because of your closeness or your words. You ignored the implication that either way it was because of you.

Draping the blanket over your legs, you smoothed it out, brushing your hands across both of your laps. It was mostly an innocent touch, but you were also testing out your theory. Although he tried to hide it, his breath hitched when you got a little further up his lap, but you kept your hand from going anywhere that would make what you were doing obvious. You smiled to yourself triumphantly, but put a pleasant smile on your face as the hay ride started.

The hay ride was fun, and you all took more pictures. It did get pretty cold, and you had to huddle closer to Joe, for purely warmth reasons. You all chatted, but also took time to just enjoy each other’s company in silence.

When the hay ride ended, you all decided to grab a snack before choosing the next activity. There was a little shack of a café that sold caramel apples, apple cider, soups, and hot sandwiches. Everyone got something to fill their stomachs and warm up a little. Once everyone was done, there was talk about what to do next. Lucy and Rami wanted to go to the scary maze, since it was finally dark enough to be good, but Gwil and Ben seemed a little scared of doing so. You weren’t so scared, but you did want to go through the regular maze because you wanted to solve it, and you convinced Gwil and Ben to come with you. Joe seemed like he was leaning towards the scary maze, but you could tell that Lucy wanted some time with just Rami (or maybe she just wanted you and Joe to go together, who knows?).

“Joe, why don’t you come with us? Bet I’d be better at solving the maze than you are,” you said, making it interesting for him.

“Oh, you’re so on,” he said, moving to join where the three of you were standing.

“Okay, perfect. Meet back at the shack by 11:00?” Rami asked and everyone agreed. He and Lucy headed off towards the scary maze hand-in-hand, already giggling in excitement.

“Aw, aren’t they just the cutest?” you said aloud, and then turned to see the three boys watching them walk away with the same adoration in their eyes as they nodded.

“Alright, come on, boys,” you said, linking arms with Joe and Ben who were closest to you. Gwil linked arms with Ben on his other side and the four of you headed off to the entrance of the maze.

“Look at us, we’re like The Wizard of Oz,” Joe said cheerfully and you all laughed.

“Wait, then who’s who?” Ben asked curiously.

“Well, I think it fits that I’m Dorothy, especially since I’m the one that’ll be leading this quest,” you started.

“I resent that,” Joe interrupted.

You shot him a look and continued, “Gwil is definitely the Cowardly Lion because he was the first to say no to the scary maze.”

Gwil shrugged and said, “I’ll own up to that. I don’t like being scared.”

“Then Ben is the Scarecrow,” you started, and Ben made a sound of disapproval. “Just because your blonde hair matches the straw, Benny,” you added, ruffling his hair.

“Y/N, not the hair,” he complained, dropping your arm to fix it.

Taking advantage of you not being attached to Ben anymore, Joe tightened his arm around yours and tugged you to the side.

“What’s next, you gonna call Gwil ‘Gwilly’? And what, I’m the Tin Man ‘cause I’m heartless?” Joe practically growled in your ear.

Frowning in confusion at his first question, you wondered what about you calling Ben ‘Benny’ would have made him mad. Nevertheless, you couldn’t stop the shiver that took over your body at his closeness, but tried to return to a neutral face, “It’s the only one left, and it’s not a perfect metaphor. You’re the one who brought it up, anyway. Plus, if you’d ever read the book, you’d know he has quite the love story.”

Joe’s arm relaxed around yours slightly at your words, and the frown on his face changed from annoyed to confused. To your surprise, though, he didn’t release your arm and you stayed linked as you continued walking. Not that you necessarily wanted to get away.

The four of you reached the entrance, and Ben and Gwil took maps, but you and Joe refused to look at them. You dropped Joe’s arm once you were all inside the entrance and turned back to face everyone.

“Let’s split up,” you said plainly.

“Let’s not,” Gwil and Ben said in unison.

“I’m not prepared to face anything in this maze with any less than three other people,” Gwil said, unrelenting.

“But Gwil it’s not even the scary maze. There’s nothing in there that will jump out at you,” Joe tried to reason with him.

“That’s exactly what they want you to think,” Ben said, shifting his gaze from side to side as if he were a conspiracy theorist trying not to let on that he knew a secret.

“Yeah,” Gwil agreed.

“Oh come on, how are Joe and I supposed to compete if we’re in the same group?” you asked them and Joe made a sound of agreement.

“Ummm…” Ben hesitated, but Gwil had been looking at one of the maps and spoke up.

“Ah ha! It says here that the fastest anyone’s ever gotten out was in 36 minutes. Why don’t you two just work together to beat that time?”

You and Joe looked at each other and sized up what the other was thinking. Coming to the same conclusion, you said simultaneously, “Okay.”

“I’ll go tell the people at the entrance that we want to be timed, and then we’ll get a move on it,” Joe told you and you nodded before he jogged off to tell them. He was back in a second, and you started right away.

“Okay, if we stick to one side the entire time, it’s a surefire way to get out,” Joe told you.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Left side? Let’s go,” you confirmed, and the two of you took off purposefully, leaving Gwil and Ben hurrying to keep up.

It was a pretty simple way to solve a maze, but it worked way better than just wandering around and hoping for the best. Every so often, your group would come across what looked like a real path, but you weren’t sure. One time, you were about to head down one of them when you stopped the others.

“Wait, this isn’t a real path. All of the others have been about four feet across, and I’d say this one is only about three and a half. Also, you can see where some of the stalks have been trampled down instead of cut,” you pointed out, matter-of-factly.

“You’re right. Good catch,” Joe said seriously and the two of you moved to the next real path.

“They’re like fucking bloodhounds,” Ben said in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Gwil laughed with him. The laugh died in their throats though when you and Joe rounded a corner and they couldn’t see you anymore. They basically ran to catch up to you, and you and Joe both laughed at their harriedness.

“Real talk, guys, if you ever do lose us, just go southwest and you’ll find the exit. Even if you have to make some new paths, you’ll get there,” Joe informed them.

“And how exactly are we supposed to know which way is southwest?” Gwil asked incredulously.

“The sky, duh,” Joe replied.

“Are you sure you weren’t a soldier in a past life or something?” Ben said in confusion.

“No, I just played one on TV,” Joe joked and you laughed, lightly touching his arm. He laughed along with you, looking at you cheerfully.

“That’s fine, don’t tell us. We’ll just die out here when you ditch us because you have to win,” Gwil said grumpily, though you knew it was more to make you feel bad than him actually being worried.

“Aw Gwil-” you stopped yourself from saying Gwilly, remembering what Joe had said earlier. You shot a glance his way to see him looking relieved that you hadn’t and then continued, “We would never desert you guys.”

Gwil looked satisfied with your reply, and so you hit your hands together and said, “Let’s get to it, then!”

The rest of the maze was going well, and by your own timing, it had only been 25 minutes and you could tell you were close to the end. That is until the two of you let Ben and Gwil take the lead for a minute since they said they had figured out how the system worked.

You and Joe were walking behind them and chatting when you noticed a similar pile of corn cobs as you had seen before. You pointed to them and asked, “Haven’t we seen those before?”

Joe looked at them closer and replied in exasperation, “Yes, we absolutely have.”

“Ben, Gwil, How did you manage to get us lost in a corn maze?” you asked them, bringing your hand to the bridge of your nose.

“Um…” Ben was at a loss for words again.

��Isn’t that the whole point of a corn maze?” Gwil asked sheepishly.

“Not when you’re trying to beat the best time!” Joe insisted.

“You guys said you knew what you were doing,” you reminded them.

“Oh come on, we can’t be trusted to do this kind of stuff. It’s on you guys for believing us in the first place. You should be mad at yourselves,” Ben said, pointing an accusatory finger at you both.

“Believe me, we are,” you said, giving up on being mad at them. Ben was right, they were always getting lost, and they were too cute to stay mad at anyways.

“If we hurry, we can still do this. We didn’t pass this place the first time too long ago,” Joe encouraged you and you agreed.

Staying in front this time, you and Joe set off a faster pace to make up for having to retrace your path. Gwil and Ben trailed a little, not far enough to lose sight of you, but far enough that they could complain under their breath for their perceived mistreatment.

“I can’t believe they’re blaming us for that,” Ben complained to Gwil.

“I know, it’s not like we tried to get lost,” Gwil grumbled.

They were silent for a couple seconds and then there was a rustle of corn stalks somewhere behind them.

“Shhhh,” Gwil told Ben.

“What are you shushing, I haven’t said anything,” Ben pointed out.

“Can you hear that? Something’s moving behind us,” Gwil whispered and Ben listened with him. Sure enough, they were more sounds of movement, and they were creeping closer and closer to the boys faster and faster.

Looking at each other with fear in their eyes, they screamed, starting to run to catch up to you and Joe.

Startled by their screams, you and Joe turned back to see what was happening. Joe saw what was coming first and pulled you to the side with him to keep you from getting hit. You were just in time to see a blur of long limbs and shorter, more powerful ones running past you and hear Gwil yell, “OH MY GOSH THEY’RE GOING TO KILL US!”

The two of you tried to yell “wait” after them, but they just kept going. Luckily for them, you and Joe had only been about 200 feet from the exit, and they were able to run straight out of the maze.

You and Joe looked at each other in confusion and then looked behind where you were standing to see two kids jogging towards you. They didn’t slow down, instead just calling out an explanation, “We’re trying to beat the record, excuse us.”

Realizing that your friends had been scared out of their wits by two twelve year old kids made you and Joe crack up. The two of you laughed, leaning on each other to stay upright as you lost your breath and wiped tears of laughter from your eyes.

“Oh my- oh my gosh, I can’t believe they were so scared-” you got out between heaves of breath before you dissolved into another fit of giggles.

“I know, I didn’t think- didn’t think either of them could run that fast. You know, Ben’s not really a cardio guy, and Gwil hates to run,” Joe said, which just sent you two into another full on laugh-attack.

After a little while, the laughs died down and the two of you were left standing incredibly close, breathing heavily in the same proximity so that you were sharing the same breath. The smiles died from your faces as you continually stared into each other’s eyes, searching for a sign that you should do exactly what you were both thinking about.

You didn’t even know what you were going to say next, but you started with, “Joey-” and that was his sign. He closed the distance between you and crashed his lips against yours, taking what was left of your breath in a searing kiss.

Moaning into it, your mouth opened slightly and Joe took the chance to run his tongue just along the inside of your bottom lip. You followed his tongue with yours and wrapped your arms around his neck, keeping him unbelievably close.

His arms went to your waist, and even through the layers of your coat, sweater, and undershirt, you could feel the warm pressure of his hands on you that made your skin burn for more.

Before the kiss could go anywhere else, you heard laughter coming from around the corner and broke apart, smiling at each other for a second before you started walking towards the entrance. You didn’t say anything, but Joe linked your arm through his again and you leaned into him.

As you exited the maze, you found Ben and Gwil standing together, looking pretty embarrassed.

“Hey guys, you doing okay?” Joe asked in mock concern.

“Yeah, or do we have a couple of twelve year olds to give a stern talking to?” you said in the same tone.

“Very funny,” Gwil said sarcastically.

“Yeah, by the way, those twelve year olds just beat the record and you two are two minutes too late,” Ben taunted, trying to get the mocking off of him and Gwil.

“I’m okay with that,” you said calmly.

“Yeah me too,” Joe agreed.

“Who even are you?” Gwil questioned, looking at you two suspiciously as if you were about to go off and blame the two of them for losing the contest. Ben on the other hand saw the way your arms were linked and noticed the flush of Joe’s cheeks that hadn’t been there earlier, even from the cold, and came to his own conclusion.

Before Ben could say anything, you spoke up, “Shouldn’t we head to the shack? It’s almost 11:00.”

“I s’pose,” Ben conceded, and the four of you linked up again, though this time Gwil was next to you and Ben was on the other side of Joe. Someone started skipping and soon you all joined in, so you arrived, out of breath and cheery to find Lucy and Rami sipping on some hot apple cider outside the shack.

They laughed at the sight of you and Lucy asked, “So, how did it go?”

“Pretty well, until Gwil and Ben literally ran screaming out of it because two kids had been walking behind them,” you explained as everyone dropped their arms, Joe hesitating for a second before dropping his from yours too. Lucy caught it, but didn’t say anything, instead she just stood there with a thoughtful look on her face.

“Guys, I know you don’t have that much experience with kids, but trust me, they’re not that scary,” Rami said, and everyone but Ben and Gwil laughed.

“Whatever, I’m going to go get some cider,” Gwil said and turned on his heel to head inside.

“Yeah, uh, me too,” Ben said, following him in there.

Joe leaned in and said to you, “I’ll be right back.”

Lucy, again, noticed it and gave you a knowing look, “So, Y/N, anything else happen in the corn maze? Anything Ben will be excited to tell me about?”

“Well, Joe and I were trying to beat the time for solving it, but when Ben and Gwil distracted us, we decided to let those kids win instead,” you replied, being purposefully obtuse.

“Haven’t you said before that nothing could distract you from winning? Seems like something as trivial as the boys being scared or some kids wouldn’t stop you,” Lucy pointed out, trying to get you to admit that something had transpired between you and Joe.

You didn’t want to give her the satisfaction and were about to give a counter argument when Joe, Ben, and Gwil all emerged from the shack.

Joe was carrying two cups of cider and handed one to you, “Careful, it’s hot.”

Taking it from him with a smile, you leaned in and whispered, “Thank you, Joey.”

He wavered for a second, nearly dropping his cup before he regained his composure. That was certainly one experiment you had discovered the solution for: call him Joey more.

“You’re welcome,” he managed, voice cracking on the second word.

You giggled softly and then turned to see the whole group watching the two of you. As soon as they were caught, they all turned to each other and started their own conversations, extremely obviously trying to cover up.

Making eye contact with Joe, you rolled your eyes and he did the same, before taking the lead in walking back to the car. Everyone piled in, careful of their cider, and Joe had the car on with the heat blasting as soon as he could.

You put on some soft music à la Fleetwood Mac and James Taylor. With the heat and the music to lull them, soon everyone but you and Joe had conked out. Looking back, you chuckled at how Gwil and Ben were more cuddled up than Rami and Lucy were.

When he saw in the rearview mirror that everyone was asleep, Joe sucked in a breath and said, “So…”

“So…?” you asked.

“So I had a really good time tonight. Working with you to win a game, for a change,” he went on.

“Yeah, I did too. Maybe we should try more of it in the future,” you suggested, moving your hand to touch his where it was resting on the middle console.

He intertwined his fingers with yours and squeezed your hand in his, “Yes, we definitely should.”

Neither of you knew it, but Lucy had woken briefly when Joe started talking and saw the two of you holding hands. She smiled happily to herself before snuggling closer to Rami and closing her eyes again to fall back asleep.

🎃🎃🎃

Permanent taglist: @riseetothesun @caborhapch @drowseoftaylor

If you would like to be added to a taglist, just send me a message or ask!

Reminder that my requests are open! If you would like something in a sort of one shot format/length or blurb, etc. send it in! Who knows, it might end up a miniseries too! I’ll write for any of the Borhap or Queen boys (Freddie platonically), Lucy, Patrick Murray, Gardner Langway and adult!Tim Murphy or possibly any of the other characters these people have played if I know enough about them!

84 notes · View notes

taylorroger-s · 5 years

Text

are you afraid of the dark // roger taylor x reader

a/n heyyy there people! so this is for @forever-rogue ‘s halloween challenge. there were so many awesome prompts that it was hard to choose, but i went with #11 (“is that red syrup? please tell me it is syrup.”), #12 (“i paid $50.00 for this haunted house. I better die.”), and #19 (“let’s split up.” “let’s not”). warnings about halloween stuff???? a haunted house is included, so enter at your own risk. but honestly this is just some fluffy, slightly self indulgent haunted house date

masterlist here!

enjoy :)

⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱

“c’mon rog, it’ll be fun!”

you had your arms wrapped around your boyfriend’s waist with your head resting on his shoulder he ignored your plea and continued his efforts to make pasta while you distracted him as often as possible. you had been begging for the past hour and a half in hopes of persuading him to the local haunted house. autumn had always been your favorite time of year, with halloween being the highlight. each year you would go all out with some elaborate and unique outfit, a highly decorated flat, and attending any costume party you were invited to.

roger wasn’t as keen on the practice, for reasons you couldn’t understand. what was there not to love about oversized sweaters and spiked apple cider? but somehow, he certainly thought something was. so when you heard about a supposedly terrifying haunted house located just a few blocks from your london flat, convincing roger to take you became your singular goal. you were determined to have him share your passion for the holiday.

“what could possibly be fun about paying to be terrified? there’s plenty to be afraid of in the real world, love.” you scrunched up your nose, fingers slowly playing with the hem of his half-buttoned shirt. his long hair tickled your cheek, swaying softly as he shuffled around with you clinging to him like a lost puppy. he let out a heavy sigh, taking your hands off his waist with calloused fingers from years of drumming, and turned to face you, his back resting against the counter. you kept your fingers gripping his as you leaned into him.

“it’ll just be you and i rog, all alone in the dark.” your voice lowered, eyes slowly scanning his soft features and baby blue eyes. he really was too pretty for his own good. you fiddled with the silver necklaces resting against his sternum, occasionally raising your eyes to meet his with a coy smile. you knew exactly how to entrance him, and you could feel his breathing grow shallow.

“you know that isn’t true.” he said, voice low and laced with annoyance. you almost had him. your hands snaked higher and wrapped strands of his blond locks in between your fingers, nails occasionally scraping his scalp. you felt his muscles relax under your touch, and his eyes slowly closed. it was almost possible to see the gears turning in his head, weighing the pros and cons of your request.

“please?” you whispered, placing a chaste kiss to his jawline. once you looked up at him with a sickly sweet smile and eyelashes fluttering softly, he was a goner. roger let out a heavy sigh through his nose. he reached up and took your hand from his hair, holding it gently as he slowly met your eyes.

“i hate you sometimes, you know that right?” he muttered, placing a soft kiss to your palm. you broke into a triumphant grin, rising up on your toes to kiss him on the cheek. his arms sunk to your waist and pulled you tighter, and you moved to mirror his actions. he rested his chin on the top of your head, fingers tracing soft patterns at the base of your spine. perfectly content.

“i love you too.”

----------

“how do i look?” you chirped, doing a quick twirl to show off your lord of the rings-esque elf costume. most of it was thrifted or handmade, and you were immensely proud of how it turned out. you tried to convince roger to match, but he declined in favor of a flashier alternative. he did love his patterns.

“absolutely ravishing, love.” he responded, adjusting his sleeves as he looked you up and down. you smirked, striding over to press a slow kiss to his temple. he chased your lips with his, but you backed away just before they met. he pouted, but you simply patted him on the cheek and went to retrieve your purse.

“good. now let’s get going, i want to avoid the lines.” roger pulled on one of his fur coats and followed you out the door, hands shoved into the deep pockets with a frown on his face. he hadn’t complained as much as you expected, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t made his disdain for the evening’s plans unknown. the ride was just a couple of minutes, passing in relative silence besides the quiet music streaming from the radio.

“so what does this… haunted house experience entail?” you glanced over at him, but roger’s eyes were still focused on the road ahead. as to his question, you weren’t quite sure of the answer. from the flyer you had seen at your favorite coffee shop, it declared itself as: ‘a haunting experience located in one of london’s oldest catacombs. what horrors rest within its subterranean walls? it is up to you to survive the hidden tragedies, or become one yourself. open every friday and saturday, 7 to 11, from october 15th to the 31st. enter… if you dare” a little cliche, but you were excited nonetheless.

“it’s somewhere in those old catacombs, i think. i really only know what i saw on the flyer.” you shrugged, adjusting the metal diadem resting in your hair. it was all about the details with you. little swirls in golden thread around the hem, forest green fabric from an old dress you found in the back of your closet. details like how his blond hair shimmered under the streetlights, the way his eyes filled with life as he sang the lyrics to his songs with perfect clarity.

“what’s up love?” you hadn’t realized how long you had been watching him. whoops. wasn’t like anyone could blame you, he really was a vision. you became aware of the goofy grin you were sporting, laying your head on his shoulder from the passenger seat. he gave your forehead a brief kiss before turning back to the road.

“just wondering how lucky i am too have you.” your voice was sickly sweet, but the words were completely genuine. roger snorted, taking a slow right onto the street where the haunted “house” was located.

“laying it on thick. it’s alright love, i’m kind of looking forward to this. like you mentioned, all alone, in the dark…” he whispered, wriggling his eyebrows with the subtlety of a lovesick teenager. you simply laughed, shoving him lightly on the shoulder.

“calm down perv. look, here it is” you sat up quickly, peering over the dashboard to see the handful of other cars arranged around a large arch that led into a low building. roger smoothly backed into a place near the entrance, snug between two volkswagens. his constant car talk has definitely rubbed off on you.

the two of you strolled to the entrance in a comfortable silence, hands clasped tight together, swinging as you walked. waiting wasn’t horrible either. there was a group of uni students in front of the two of you, and they chatted for a while about their worries and struggles while you offered light-hearted advice. one of them recognized roger from an album they owned, and promptly asked for a photograph with the beat up polaroid in their gloved hands.

roger turned sour again once you reached the front of the line. his iron will made it difficult to fork over the £25 per person entrance fee, but he soon surrendered and settled for cursing under his breath as you led him into the dark.

“fifty bloody pounds, love. that’s insane!” he rambled as you walked slowly on, arm now slung across your shoulders. a breeze swept through the tunnel, bringing with it musty air and the smell of fresh paint. the mystery just made your excitement heighten. roger, on the otehr hand, still wasn’t changing his tune, slowly bringing you tighter to his side. his bright blue eyes scanned the dim tunnel back and forth, while his free hand was clenched into a tight fist at his side.

“you alright rog? seem a little… afraid.” you whispered with a sly smile stretching across your lips. you pulled away from him slowly, stepping further back until you were only connected by your fingertips as the journey continued. you began to notice some irregular marks and messages on the walls, which only made you more cheerful.

“i’m just saying, i paid fifty pounds for this haunted house, i better die.” roger muttered gruffly, tugging you back towards him as you continued to step just out of his reach. soon, you let go entirely, and quickened your pace. you could hear roger huff behind you and jog to catch up. you took a quick look back at your boyfriend’s gorgeous face, his eyes alight with a childish gleam. you knew you would get him to enjoy it.

but in that moment your eyes were focused on him, your heeled boots caught on the old cobblestones, and you began to fall forwards. but a warm hand slipped around yours just soon enough to soften your landing, and you dragged roger down with you. he ended up with you under him and your intertwined hands by your head.

“now was that really so…” he began in a cocky tone, seemingly about to playfully reprimand your behaviour, when his voice trailed off and his eyes shifted away from you. your brows furrowed and you turned your head, drawing eye level with a dark puddle you had narrowly missed falling into. the light from a nearby fixture shone on its smooth surface, revealing a reddish tint. roger’s face went white.

“is that red syrup? please tell me it is syrup.” he groaned, reaching under your arms to lift you into a seating position. he dutifully checked your head and face for any abrasions, and aside from a slight scrape on your palms, you were unharmed.

“relax rog, i’m not about to bleed out in an overpriced haunted trail… tunnel… thing.” you brushed off his wandering hands as they checked the back of your head one more time for any injury. the excursion had been disappointing so far, but you were determined to show roger how much fun halloween could be.

“now that you’re done examining me, onward! there is more danger that lies ahead!” you cheered, taking his hand and once more dragging him forwards with minimal protest. roger hurried to keep up with your intense pace as the wandering continued. a few minimal scares passed you by, including a figure in a hospital gown that followed you for a solid ten yards before turning back, a woman leaning against the wall with grotesque wounds covering her body, and a pair of performers dressed as otherworldly guards that reacted to none of the sounds roger would make or the silly dances the two of you did. it was like the two of you had suddenly deaged about ten years, reverting back to teens that held hands tightly as you ran through any adventure together, smiles never fading.

roger actually seemed to be enjoying himself. you could feel the “i told you so” rising up, but there was still a little ways to go until the two of you were home free. the section that the guards were defending was an entrance to a maze, with walls just high enough that you couldn’t peer over. there were two choices in direction presented right at the entrance. right, or left? and you had an idea that would surely give roger a good scare.

“let’s split up.” you said, turning to him with a shit-eating grin. you were taking way too much enjoyment out of watching him be scared. you dropped his hand and stepped backwards into the maze before he could lunge forward and stop you.

“let’s not.” he immediately responded, pulling you back into him with a quick spin. you just pouted with your arms locked around his waist until you felt him tense up again.

“fine. but we wait for each other at the end, yeah?” you smiled brightly, grabbing roger’s face and pulling him down for a long kiss, definitely to the dismay of the performers standing like statues all around you. once you let go, he pressed a quick peck to your nose before his hands left yours and you confidently strolled down the right side of the fork. once you could no longer see the entrance, you heard him enter.

there was no spoken contest between the two of you, but being friends forever made it routine for challenges and races to pop up, this being a perfect opportunity. alas, your machismo didn’t last for more than five minutes before you got sufficiently spooked by a person lurking in the darkness. you couldn’t even register their costume because you hurried past them so fast.

from what you could hear, roger wasn’t so impenetrable either. a chorus of ‘bloody hells’ and ‘bastard’ rang out as he stumbled through his own challenges. this was much more than what you had expected from a presumably low-budget theater show.

by the end of the maze (which wasn’t terribly long; just felt like it), you were definitely scared. your hands were clammy, heart racing, and your arms were clasped tightly across your chest. you were out first, which meant you had to stand and wait for roger to exit the maze, only company being more cobwebs and faux skeletons. just a few minutes after you had gotten out, roger followed suit, coming out muttering a curse and shaking his foot free from some unknown obstacle. you almost fell into his arms and he copied the gesture, lifting you up off your feet.

“jesus christ, love,” he whispered in your ear, “that was much more than what i had bargained for.”

“you think i don’t know that?” you shot back, trying to feign your earlier bravado. but at that point in the night, you were tired, anxious, and just a little bit annoyed that you didn’t get the sweet satisfaction of being unafraid while roger would be losing his mind. the remaining section of the tunnel the two of you were much more subdued. his arm was thrown over your shoulders, yours around his waist, keeping him close, your free hand was locked around his hand dangling from your shoulder.

no words were exchanged during the final stretch, settling for listening to each other’s slightly elevated heart rate and shaky breathing. soon enough, you walked back out of a hidden door about ten yards from the entrance. the whole experience had been highly cheesy but quite unique, and you felt as if it was a night well spent. you were also spent, eyes fighting to keep open on the way to the car.

“that surely was something.” you muttered, slumping down in the passenger seat. your fingers were laced tightly with roger’s across the center console as he went about preparing to leave.

“you could say that again.” he replied, sticking his key into the ignition. he took a few long breaths, bringing your intertwined hands up to press a kiss to the back of yours. his thumb lazily traced small circles on the back of your hand as the engine roared to life. you reluctantly released his hand so he could put the car in gear and slowly pull out into the line of people clambering to leave the makeshift car park.

“wanna go find a chippy?” you said, voice barely audible over the rumble of the engine. roger turned to you, a shining grin lighting up his soft features. that was the moment your heart absolutely melted. that gorgeous smile was all for you, appealing to some greedy, selfish part of your heart. his love was all yours. and yours was his.

“you’ve read my mind, love.” roger chirped, pulling out of the car park and onto the open road.

⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱

yeehaw I wrote something i’m pretty proud of! thanks for reading loves!

and happy halloween! thanks to patricia for hosting this challenge! super duper fun! and congrats on 5k!!

69 notes · View notes

likesomekindofcheese · 5 years

Text

The Knight of Hallow’s Eve (A Knight!Gwylim Lee Oneshot)

Pairing: Knight! Gwylim Lee x fem! Reader

Word Count: 6,000 (wahoo)

Get ready for some fluuuffff!

Warnings: A mention of sex feat. a creeper, witches, a bit of violence, mentions of violence, Halloween magic, a DND reference, and good ol’ fashioned Urban Fantasy.

Prompts: #10 - “Nope, I’m not scared. Not at all” and #45: “I hate the woods…especially at midnight on flippin’ Halloween! How did we get so lost?”

A/N: This is my oneshot for @forever-rogue‘s 2019 Halloween Challenge! I wanted to get a little more creative this time around. I hope it’s Halloweeny enough for all of your tastes. I hope you guys all enjoy it! (Also tagging @jimmypagesandbrianmayshair, here you go! Knight! Gwilym on the house!)

“I’ll take your dare; I’m heading to the woods,” you said.

Your darer, Carl, smirks with slight disappointment. Alcohol mixed with truth or dare on a Halloween’s night get together made him bold. His leering at you made the chocolates in your stomach flip over.

For your dare, you were given two choices-you had chosen heading to the woods over stripping for him. You’d take anything over that.

Your friend, Erin, runs over to get your arm.

“You can’t! You know that’s where that killer’s been lurking! You’ve seen the news!” she begs. Her black eyeliner is smudged with worried tears.

“I’ll be back in ten minutes. I won’t run into any killer. Set a timer.” You suggest.

You know what the alternative is and so does she.

Erin shoves her purple manicured hand into her black corset. From it, she retrieves a necklace with a simple, dark blue stone.

“Here, take this. For protection” she offers.

You accept it. You know she has always been obsessed with the magical, claiming to be a witch (“but…I’m a different witch…it’s complicated, Y/N!”) and you could accept any possible good luck to get through these next ten minutes. Kindness from her was always a blessing itself, superstition or not.

I can handle this you think.

Crickets chirruped quietly. The trees make the air clean along with the crispness of the breeze. You peek back behind you. You see the back-porch lights of Erin’s house and their faint chatter of what truth to give the next sucker in your group.

An owl swoops over your head. You turn around to look for it, but you only see a faint silhouette and hear its wings flutter away.

You turn your head back to the house. The porch lights are gone.

You take ten steps closer to the house. Besides, if you are still in the woods and can still see them, it still counts as being in the woods. Dare accomplished.

There is no house.

You keep walking, trying to convince yourself that you misjudged your steps. Another turn, and there it will be. Progressing slowly, the night is getting darker and the moon is bobbling in its slow line above.

Trees and darkness is all there is.

You tried to remember what the back of the house looked like. A sign. Anything. But your brain has blanked in panic. You keep walking, almost running, trying to see anything in the darkness.

Reaching down into the pocket of your jacket, you feel the necklace. It’s suddenly hot. Surprised, you take it out and to your shock, it’s glowing light blue. Squinting from the darkness, you see a tree a few feet from you has started glowing bright blue too.

Getting closer, it becomes more beautiful and surreal. It’s a tall willow tree with light blue leaves that seem to swirl as they rustle with the wind. Your eyes blink to make sure it’s real. You have never heard of glowing trees anywhere!

You let the amulet rest on your palm. Suddenly, it floats above your hand. You scream a little in surprise. It’s too heavy for the wind. You feel your head spinning.

A bright beam of light blue light, matching that of the leaves of the tree shoots forth until it meets the dark wood- making a large black hole.

“AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Clunk!

A form falls through the hole and lands facedown into the leaf-ridden ground. The colors melt from light-blue to a musty red. Though it is night, there is enough light that one might think it was the early evening.

“Are you alright?” you ask, shell shocked.

“I…hope I am” he answers.

He starts to groan and get up. Two things strike you: first, not only is he incredibly tall with dark brown hair and the most astonishingly blue eyes you have ever seen, but even more so his clothes.

He is wearing a full plate of shining armor.

This is nothing like the plastic knight armor you see in costume shops. It thuds with heaviness and its silver sheen makes him bright amongst the redness. There is a bit of rust and dirt, here and there. But the edges and quality you know would make any cosplayer or costume designer drool.

How rich would someone have to be to buy a full plate of armor that good for only one night?

“Who is that?” The man pecks his head up. You step back a little. He’s a handsome man with high cheekbones, soft lips, and eyes the color of the sky.

He starts to pull his arms down to get up. “I…I’m alright, I think. But may I ask, where am I?”

You tell him the name of the city you live in.

He arches his eyebrows. “What kind of kingdom is that? Do you have a ruler?”

You tilt your head.

“No…uhm…we don’t. Look, are you a part of a live Dungeons and Dragons campaign?”

“I have no campaign; other than slaying monsters I’ve been sworn to slay and protecting the innocent. I made a vow to the king of my land after the dragon attack” he says.

He sounds genuine.

“Well…wherever you are, you must be far from home.”

“As a knight, I must go where I am called to. You see, the good witches gave me this…” he begins.

From beneath the breastplate of his armor, he reveals an amulet identical to yours. You stop breathing until you must take in a sharp inhale.

“The good witches of my kingdom tell me that if help is truly needed, then the amulet will lead me there. I am on a quest to fight the black rider. I have asked the amulet where the black rider is-what I must do, and if someone is in need or in danger. And it glowed to this tree…and now I am here.” He confesses. He straightens his back in a bit of pride.

“Well, uh…let’s make this simple. You see…this stuff isn’t normal where I’m from but, I could use some help. My name is Y/N. Y/N L/N.” you inform.

“I am Sir Gwilym of the Lee house, my lady.” He replies, with a short bow. He grins and stands erect as if saying he won a championship.

“I…I guess you could say I’m not…not a real lady” you stutter, gathering what knowledge you gained from Fantasy books and period dramas. Anything to help him.

“I’m just a humble peasant, according to your world.” You add, turning pink.

“Yet every woman, peasant or none, is a lady and deserves protection when needed. And if no one else will protect and assist them, then I must, my lady.” He responds with a shrug.

Smiling toothily, you remind him “I have a name, it’s Y/N.”

“Lady Y/N then!” he finishes raising his arms a little.

The wind picks up speed a little and it feels like a bony finger brushing your necks. Gwil’s armor shivers a little, despite its thickness.

“Lady Y/N, I have been riding and searching for two days. I haven’t rest and ate only grass. Do you know of shelter?” he questions. The dark circles under his eyes and slight weakness in his steps are more obvious.

“Yes. There’s a house somewhere around here…I just have trouble remembering where. I had to go out here and I got lost.” You recall. You start clutching and fiddling with the amulet in your pocket.

“May I accompany you? For your safety?” he asks.

“Sure.”

He takes a branch from the tree full of red and orange leaves. Gwilym notices how your jaw drops a little at the sight of them.

“Trees like these may light our way. They’ve aided me many a time” he explains.

“Ours don’t glow here. They bloom green when it’s warm. And some have flowers. Normal stuff” you explain.

“Ah! That is its own set of magic.”

You walk together for a bit. He lumbers across and you must scurry to keep his pace. His armor clanks a little mixing with the crunch of leaves beneath your feet. Walking alone in the dark with a knight as kind (and handsome, you confess silently) as Gwilym you feel your heart pick up the pace. You distract yourself by looking around for a path or sign of the house. There’s still nothing.

“I hate the woods…especially at midnight, on flippin’ Halloween! How did we get so lost?” you whine.

“We could find the tree and turn around” Gwilym suggests. He waves the branch in the other direction.

But when you try that strategy, the tree is nowhere to be seen. You begin wandering together hoping for any sign of human life. After a few minutes in silence, curiosity strikes you.

“Sir Gwilym, uhm…why have you been traveling in the woods?” you ask.

Gwilym grits his teeth. “There is a foe I have sworn to defeat. A foe that has been preying on the children and maidens of my kingdom and some say of neighboring ones. He has been spotted in these very woods. I must find him and bring him to justice” he says.

You nod. You admire his profile from the glow of the magic leaves.

“That’s very brave of you.” You laud. You can smell the cold air in your throat.

“Especially…since I have a little niece” he sighed. His face tightened. Did knights normally speak of their loved ones? Were they permitted?

“She is so dear to me. If anything were to happen to her, I would never…” he stopped himself.

He grew pale with fear of what could happen. You give him a hopeful smile, touching his arm feels too bold.

“You’ll find your foe.” You assure to him, looking up into his eyes, softly.

“Your niece will be …”

You are interrupted by a horse whinny and the clutter of hooves.

“Looks like you’re right” Gwilym stammers.

Before you stands a huge knight on a white Clydesdale horse, both in full black armor with faint red stains. Blood and dirt reek from them.

You freeze, unsure what to do. Gwilym leaps in front of you, blocking you, and unleashes a gleaming sword from his hilt. But the Knight’s shield, twice the size of your body, smacks him across the jaw and knocks him to the ground. Gwylim’s sword falls to the side with a clatter.

“Gwilym!” you cry impulsively.

The knight turns his head and looks at you. He lifts his visor to reveal big, yellow eyes like that of a piranha. You rush and grab the sword, aiming the hilt at him and circling around Gwilym.

The knight hops off the horse and approaches you, sword in hand aimed at your heart.

“Be scared, little girl” he booms.

“Nope. I’m not scared. Not at all” you half-lie. Anything to stop your shaking grip.

You charge and stab him in the breast quickly. His frightened horse dashes away. The black rider falls to the grass. Black leaves replace his plates of armor until they drift away into eternity.

You run over and lend Gwilym your hand to help him up. He looks up at you in amazement.

In the distance, you hear your friends calling out your name. You can make out the distant lights of flashlights.

Gwilym breaks the silence saying, “Lady Y/N…thank you.”

He kisses your hand devotedly. His lips were so soft that it was not stopping your adrenaline from the fight.

He asks for the sword and you hand it to him. Gwyilm kneels on one knee. His two large hands holding onto the hilt while the sword digs lightly into the ground. He lowers his head.

“I am ever in your debt…though I am not sure yet how I may return home. But I swear, even after I return, you are ever my lady and should you need me, I will always be in your service” he promises.

38 notes · View notes

calistosims98 · 3 years

Photo

SIMSTOBER Day 6 : Lost Highway

Challenge by @simstober

I didn't know what to do, so what I looked for and I discovered that it was a movie (I sign it up to see). The sim doesn't look like Arquette but I hope you like it.

#simstober challenge #patricia arquette #lost highway #sims 4 #sims #render #blender #2021 #october #halloween #ts4 challenge #day 6

26 notes · View notes

aliverse · 4 years

Photo

OC HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE 2020 › Day Six

Kids Show AU (photoshop crashed and I couldn’t be bothered to retry combining)

taglist: @abbysarcane, @perfectlystiles, @margothedestroyerr, @villanele, @tangleddiaires, @ocfairygodmother, @foxesandmagic, @delicateblackrose, @bravelittleflower, @lenonizi, @fiercefray, @randomfandoming1, @richitozier, @phoebestarks, @ocappreciationtag

#i'd say this is pretty accurate excpet Auriella would definitley be Patricia #allaboutocs #type: gifset #ohc2020 #oc halloween challenge #oc halloween challange 2020 #oc: ariella caldwell #challengedit

15 notes · View notes

wonderswritings · 4 years

Text

Frights and Confessions

Summary: Tony throws a halloween party but nothing can ever be that simple when the avengers are involved. Warnings: Slightly NSFW, Crappy Ending Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Platonic!Steve Rogers x Reader Prompts: 4. “I hate costumes. There is no way in hell I am dressing up.” 85. “We all know, that you will be the first to die.” AN: I kinda reworded prompt 85 I hope that’s okay! Written for @forever-rogue halloween challenge ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

“Y/N? Y/N I know you’re in there. Let me in.”

I huffed, falling back against the bed.

“No.”

I sat up when my door was flung open, glaring.

“Hey!”

Steve shrugged as he closed the door, moving to stand in front of me, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Should’ve let me in.”

I glared, rolling my eyes as I laid back down.

“What do you want Steve?”

“Are you going to the halloween party?”

“Isn’t that required?”

“And you have to wear a costume.”

“I hate costumes.”

I sat up, tilting my head to the side.

“There is no way in hell I am dressing up.”

“It’s required.”

“There is no part of me that cares.”

Steve huffed, slightly stomping his foot.

“Y/N.” “Nope.”

“Just come to the party, in a costume. Or Tony will get you.”

I laughed, shaking my head as I sat up, watching him walk out.

“He can try!”

Steve pulled the door closed with a laugh as I fell back down, huffing.

“What the hell?”

✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

I leaned against the wall of the elevator, crossing my arms over my chest as the numbers ticked by. I had two more floors to go when I heard the music, rolling my eyes. I sighed as the elevator doors opened, pushing off the wall and walking out of the elevator towards the party. I made a beeline for the bar, leaning over and grabbing a bottle of tequila, sitting down on one of the stools. I looked around, seeing Clint and Sam at the pool table, Bucky watching them from against the wall. Tony was laughing with a group of people, Vision and Wanda were sitting on the couch, huddled close together.

“You came.”

I turned, looking up at Steve. “Well it is required.”

Steve snorted, sitting down beside me.

“And you dressed up.”

I laughed, shaking my head.

“No I didn’t.”

Steve tilted his head to the side, leaning against the bar.

“But your-”

“Nope. I’m wearing my catsuit.”

Steve made a face, leaning forward slightly.

“Seriously?”

I nodded, bringing the bottle up to my mouth.

“Yup. Pulled my hair up and put on some makeup. Thus giving me a costume without a costume.”

Steve shook his head, sighing slightly.

“Don’t judge. You’re not even-” The lights cut off and there was a scream, the entercom cutting on.

“Everyone needs to get out, now!”

When the lights came back on everyone who Tony had invited were gone, leaving those of us on the team behind.

“What just happened?”

I shrugged, setting the tequila on the bar and walking over to the others, Steve following behind me.

“Friday, what was that?”

“I’m unsure boss. It seems as though I’ve been hacked.”

I rolled my eyes, sitting down on the couch, leaning back against the cushions.

“Tony I swear to god if this is just some elaborate prank for halloween-” “It’s not! I promise!”

I glared, leaning my head back against the couch. I turned my head when someone sat down beside me, snorting as Bucky brought his hand up to his neck, moving his hand back and forth. He turned back towards the others, leaning back as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“You know that if this does turn out to be a prank, she’ll kill you right?” Tony glared, huffing as he turned back towards Steve. The lights cut off again and I heard Bucky groan beside me. When the lights came back on we were surrounded by men in full tactical gear, their guns pointed at us. Me and Bucky flipped the coffee table over, ducking behind it. I grabbed my gun, handing Bucky my extra causing him to grin.

“You came prepared huh?”

I shrugging, cocking the gun.

“Nat’s gonna be so pissed she missed this.”

He laughed as we both took aim, opening fire.

✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

I crouched back behind the table, leaning against it with a sigh.

“They just keep coming don’t they?”

“Is that rhetorical or?”

I shot Bucky glare causing him to grin.

“Stark any idea yet where the hell these people came from?”

“Uh, no.”

“Well, then you will be the first to die.”

Bucky snorted, grabbing a knife from my thigh and throwing it.

“Hey!”

He shrugged when there was a loud explosion and a bright light, Bucky grabbing me and covering my head. Bucky sat up, his face blank as I looked over the table, seeing everyone was laying on the floor.

“The hell?”

I turned towards Bucky who shrugged, standing up and offering me his hand, pulling me up after I grabbed his hand. We walked over towards the others, Bucky placing my gun back in my thigh holster.

“What just happened?”

Tony grinned, holding up his tablet.

“Flash grenade I’ve been working on. It’ll take out our enemies and not our frenemies.”

He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows causing me to shake my head.

“It’s not that funny Stark.”

He huffed, rolling his eyes.

“Whatever. Anyways they're all gonna be out of it long enough for shield to come and pick em’ up so you guys are free to leave.”

I went to say something when Bucky grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the elevator. I crossed my arms over my chest, watching Bucky press the button to his floor.

“What was that?”

He looked over at me, tilting his head to the side.

“What?”

“Back there.”

He made a face, turning towards me.

“Nothing.”

I tilted my head to the side, grinning slightly.

“Really?”

He walked towards me, causing me to take a few steps back until my back hit the wall, Bucky placing his hands on both sides of my head, leaning down.

“Really.”

“And this? Is this nothing too?”

Bucky looked down at my lips, shaking his head as he met my eyes again.

“No. No it’s not nothing.”

He closed what little distance there was between us, kissing me. I sighed, reaching up and running my fingers through his hair as I pulled him closer to me.

✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

I sighed, falling down onto Bucky. One of his hands came to rest just below my butt, the other running up and down my spine.

“I do, you know?”

“I know, I do too.”

Bucky laughed, shaking his head.

“So what were you supposed to be?”

“Myself, why?” “Because you looked really hot.”

I leaned up, looking down at him, tilting my head to the side.

“Oh really?”

He nodded, smirking as he moved his hands to my hips.

“Yes really.”

He flipped us so he was on top, leaning down.

“But then again, you always look hot.”

I laughed, leaning up and kissing him as his hands moved down.

“I love you.”

I grinned, leaning up and kissing him.

“Love you too.”

✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Likes, Comments and Reblogs are always Appreciated!

✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Go here to be tagged in future works!

✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Permanent Tags:

@joannie95

@strewberx

@estillion14

@hollymac79

@magical-spit

@thebookisbtr

@drakelover78

@duhitzbeatrice

@babypink224221

@elizabethaellison

@moonlessnight14

@rynabarnesrogers

@mychemicalimagines

@bandsandanimefreak

@mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk

Marvel Tags:

@katykyll

@tanelle8

@porcherie

@janeyboo

@alex12948

@minybangy

@songforhema

@xoxabs88xox

@bucky-odinson

@5aftermidnight

@platonicasever

@princessizzy36

@its-forevermore

@smoothdogsgirl

@holyflapexpert

@thefunniestavenger

@thegirlwiththeimpala

@nine-niinehufflepuffs

@queenoftheunderdark

@unicorniorosacomefrutillas

#patricia’s halloween challenge #bucky barnes x reader #avengers x reader #winter soldier x reader #bucky barnes oneshot #avengers onehot #winter solider oneshot #bucky barnes drabble #avengers drabble #winter solider drabble #bucky barnes imagine #avengers imagine #winter solider imagine #bucky barnes #avengers #winter solider

51 notes · View notes

forever-rogue · 4 years

Text

Just My Luck - G.L.

A/N: Hi everyone! This is dedicated to @spacedustmazzello, who was one of the winners of my Halloween Challenge. I hope you (and everyone else) enjoy!! Please let me know what you think!

Pairing: Gwilym Lee x Reader

Wordcount: 1.9k

Warnings: none

»»————-　♡　————-««

Sighing as you woke up yet again, pulled the countless amount of blankets around your body in a vain attempt to keep warm. You hoped for a few seconds that something would give and you'd get warm, but as soon as you moved even slightly, you grew cold again. On top of that you'd neglected to put on socks, which you almost never did. It must have been the coldest night of the year and here you were, sockless and freezing, and naturally the heating wasn't working.

It had just gone out earlier in the evening, much to your and Gwilym's chagrin, and there wasn't anything you could do that late on a Sunday night. You'd both stocked up on blankets out of the linen closet, Gwil giving you the biggest and fluffiest before retreating to your rooms for the evening. He promised he'd call to get the heating fixed first thing in the morning, but that didn't alleviate the chill that was currently setting into your bones.

Hastily making up your mind, you slid out of your bed and pulled on a thick of wool socks, courtesy of the time you had stolen them from Gwil, grabbed a few blankets and draped them around your shoulders. You padded down the hallway and stopped in front of Gwil's door, wondering if you should actually wake him up just because you were cold. But you could see the faintest sliver of light peeking out from the under door, signaling that he was either reading or watching some late night television. You held up your hand and rapped your knuckles gently across the door. There was only a moment of pause before Gwil quickly said, "come in."

"Hey," you grinned at him shyly, immediately struggling to not get your eyes roam all over his body. It was hard being in love with your best friend who also happened to be your roommate sometimes. You stepped in and closed the door, going over to the bed, "I am absolutely freezing. Can I join you? At least to get warm?"

"Of course," he shot you that megawatt grin you so much as he lifted the covers up and motioned for you to slip under them, "come then, we'll get you nice and warm."

"My hero," you joked as laid down next to time, trying to maintain at least a little bit of distance between your bodies, "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Probably would have frozen to death," he joked as he put his arm around and pullet you closer, causing the breath to catch in your throat. It was almost like he was acutely aware of what he was doing, but at the same time had no intention of stopping. He seemed to notice your slight reluctance and gave you a curious glance, "what's wrong? You know I don't bite!"

"Haha very funny," you mustered up a nervous smile as you allowed yourself to meld against him, immediately comforted by his body heat. He was almost as effective as a furnace, but much better at the same time because he was very much real, warm, soft, and currently smelled like your favorite body wash of his, having probably showered just before bed.

"Better?" he asked as you rested your head on his chest, intently trying to listen to the beat of his heart for any signs of nervousness. You knew that if your positions had been reversed he would definitely have been able to hear the erratic thumping of your heart; honestly it's a wonder he didn't hear it regardless.

"Mhmm," you mumbled as you closed your eyes and let yourself be lulled to sleep by the everything, "you can keep watching your movie. I don't mind."

"It's okay," he said as he switched off the television and switched off the bedside lamp, "besides it's definitely time for bed. Good night Y/N."

He moved ever slightly so he could get a better hold on you as he nestled against his pillows and let out a small, content sigh. You felt like your heart could burst from the sweetness of the moment, "good night Gwil."

Just as you closed your eyes and were almost sound asleep, you were stopped by a soft sensation on your back. It took you only a moment to figure out that it was Gwil, gently tracing shapes up and down your back as he hummed softly under his breath. You wondered if he was still away or doing it in his sleep. Either way, you weren't going to question him or tell him to stop; you decided to let it happen. Maybe, just maybe, he might actually have feelings for you too.

»»————-　♡　————-««

The following evening when you arrived home with a few bags of groceries, you expected to come home to a new warm apartment, ready to relax and enjoy an enjoying with Gwil.

But, your plans were quickly interrupted and thrown to the wayside when you got inside and realized it was just as freezing as when you had left in the morning to go to work.

"Umm," you said as you put down the groceries in the kitchen and wondered what could have happened, "Gwil!?'

"Hiya love," he said in a nervous tone as he clambered into the kitchen. You gave him a surprised look and gestured at nothing in particular to signal your annoyance with the lack of heating, "umm about that...I have some bad news unfortunately."

"Oh?" you groaned quietly as you pulled out the bottle of wine you had just purchased, decided it was already time to put it to good use.

"I called around and no one's go availability to come and look at the heating for at least several more days," he said it so quickly you almost didn't catch but once you processed it, took a large swig from the bottle, "I'm sorry love, I must have called every company in the city and they've all got their hands full."

"I know it's not your fault Gwil," you told him, "life happens but it's still shitty. It must be 5 degrees colder in here than it is out there!"

"Well, I know it's not much, but maybe we sleep together again?" you almost choked on the wine and started coughing to try and clear your throat at his choice of words, "I just...ugh, I meant sharing the bed. Jesus, are you alright?"

"Yup," you said with one final cough as you set the bottle down and came to your senses, face feeling warm under his gaze, "I don't want to inconvenience you, Gwil. I can just bundle up in more layers before going to bed."

"It's not an inconvenience at all," he insisted, a small, hopeful look in his eye, "I swear, and that way we'll both be warm."

"If you insist-"

"I do," he said as he came around and into the kitchen to help you put things away, "now, why you don't you go and take a long, hot shower and I'll start dinner?"

"I, ughh...thank you," you said as his hands brushed over yours as he gently nudged you in the direction of the bathroom, "I'll be back soon.”

"Take your time," he said as he began to set out a few ingredients out for dinner. You watched him for a moment, a probably dopey smile on your face as you realized just how much you love him.

»»————-　♡　————-««

The next several, cold, days continued in the same fashion. You'd come home to the freezing apartment, make dinner with Gwil and then end up together in his bed, all tangled up with each other by the time the morning rolled around. It was almost funny, that it took something like the lack of heating to bring you together, but you weren't complaining.

You were sad knowing it would end sooner rather than later, but that was the reality of the situation. It wasn't like you were suddenly dating and this was the unofficial start to your relationship; rather it was two friends doing each other a favor.

It was Friday night when you got home, later than expected, and exhausted, and as soon as you stepped inside, you were greeted with all the warmth you could ask for.

"Surprise!" Gwil called from the kitchen as you forced a smile onto your face. Yes, you were happy to be back home and in the warmth, but it also saddened you. Suddenly gone were your nights with Gwil.

"Hi," you gave him a tight lipped smile and he could immediately tell something was wrong. You sat down at the bar and watched him work in silence for a few moments, "heating is back on I see."

"Finally! The guy finished like an hour ago," he beamed at you, "I was so worried it wouldn't be done before you got home, but I'm glad it is! We won't freeze now!"

"Finally!"

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately sensing your hesitation.

"Nothing-"

"Y/N..."

"Fine, alright if you must know..." you sighed, feeling silly suddenly, "I've quite enjoyed spending the night with you..."

"Oh," he let out a small sound of surprise as he watched you intently, "really?"

"Really," you admitted, watching your feet and avoiding his eyes.

"Well, we don't...have to stop," he seemed just nervous as you suddenly and his cheeks turned a brilliant shade of crimson, "if you catch my drift."

"I...oh?" you were surprised by his nonchalant response and it made your mind race and if this was it, the time to profess your love for him, "because I like you, Gwil. Like I really, really like you."

"It just so happens that I really, really like you," he was trying to test the waters as his heart leapt with joy as he realized that the sentiment was mutual, "so I'm reading this correctly, we both like each other a lot."

"Yeah," you breathed out nervously, "I guess we do."

"Maybe we should do something about it," he suggested and you snuck a glance at him, heart starting to race again, "and I think I have the perfect idea for starters."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"I'm going to kiss you now," he said simply as he came so he was standing in front of you. He put a hand delicately on your cheek before tracing the contours of your face, "if that's okay of course."

"Yes," you grinned at him, "absolutely yes."

And he didn't have to say anything else to you. You leaned up to meet and before you knew it, his lips were on yours and he was kissing you like it was the only thing that mattered. It was soft, passionate, and perfect; all the waiting had definitely been worth this moment.

"Was it there?" he asked as he rested his forehead against yours.

"Was what there?"

"The spark," he chuckled, "because I definitely felt it."

"I dunno," you joked, "maybe you should try again. Just to make sure it's really there. I felt something though...this is purely for science."

"Right, science," he joked and just shrugged innocently, "I'd be more than happy to oblige."

»»————-　♡　————-««

Permanent Taglist: @ruinerofcheese@courtneychicken@santa-crew@supernatural508 @ssweet-empowerment@nerissa98@jamesbarnesappreciationsociety@buckybarnesappreciationsociety@mannatgalhotra@prxttybirdz@piensa-bonito@mightyhemsworthy@shewalksinanotherworld@jems8241@bookaddic@fairyxxfighter@asguardiansoftheavengers@esoltis280 @the-bright-lights@artisticlales@loislp@dixonsbugaboo@sleepylunarwolf@patzammit@thisismysecrethappyplace@princess-evans-addict@bookgirlunicorn@makapaka11@bornfortherainydays@avipshamitra@justanewqueensfan@yourealegendroger@anna1523@thesecondlastjedi@bitemerog@rogernroll@secretsweetscollectionblog@sheridans-dynamos@dinkiplier@deacontaylormercurymay-blog@starrystarrybabe @musical-prostitute-my-dear@onexlittlespark@benhardyseyes@marvelstuck@whenthe-smokeisinyoureyes@wonderwich@sunflower-borhap-boys @reedusteinrambles @a-kind-of-magik@lv7867@itissnowingandimstuckinside@brian-may-be@dessert-hardy@rogertaylors-lipgloss@rogerfxckingtaylor@queenbbarnes@luvborhap@drowseoftaylor@persephonesnebula@mamaskillerqueen@leatherjacketmazzello@theimpossiblehologramtree@discodiscodeaky @onceitbubbles @wonderwoman292

#gwilym lee #gwilym lee x reader #reader insert #au #queen #borhap #bohemian rhapsody #bohemian rhapsody fanfic #Brian May #John Deacon #roger taylor #freddie mercury #joe mazzello #ben hardy #rami malek #patricia's halloween challenge #winner #congrats

152 notes · View notes

redfoxwritesstuff · 5 years

Text

Camping

Summary: When Mary catches word that Tom had never been camping it was decided that she had to fix that. What could go wrong?

Rated: T

Warnings: None

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x ofc

AN: This is for @forever-rogue‘s Halloween challenge using prompts: 72. “You’re beautiful. uh, u-um i mean the weather. It’s beautiful. Not that you’re not beautiful, because you are. I’m just gonna shut up.” 73. “I thought you said you knew how to start a fire!” “I said I could probably figure it out. ”76. “You have bits of leaves all over in your hair! Let me help you.”

Camping

Mary was a simple stage hand in New York City. It was a stressful job that didn’t pay enough yet she wouldn’t trade it for the world. It allowed her to experience life behind the scenes of plays, musicals and performances. It was something she could only dream of seeing if not for her job.

While she loved theater and everything about it, she was still attending classes at night to become a lawyer. She was in a constant state of exhaustion but still found that it was worth it. She got to meet some amazing people with more talent in their little finger than she felt she had in her whole body. But that was alright, her skills were elsewhere.

It didn’t surprise her when word passed in whispers that Betrayal would be making a run through Broadway. It was a good play, one of her favorites and it was exciting to have the chance to be a part of the production. It was true, she'd only be behind the scenes. It surprised her that they would be doing a run so soon after the play wrapped up in London but she didn’t think anything of it.

That was until the whispers morphed into the same actors as the London run coming to New York to act, to do the play here. Mary was a fan of all three, if she was honest. Meeting them was something she had never expected, never dreamed of and now she was working with them. And that was as much of a dream as she had wanted it to be.

It wasn’t like working with other big name actors. No, it took little time before it felt like working with a group of friends as each eased into the company of the other. It was surreal and yet she loved every single moment of it.

~~~~~<3

Mary had surprised herself by growing close to the cast over the first few weeks. Autumn was quick approaching and she was sad to see summer go. That was the topic of their pre-show dinner a few nights ago and Tom had let it slip that he’d never been camping.

She wasn’t one to let something like that stand and so they made arrangements to for her to take Tom camping. Thanks to the magic of online shopping and a few days to prepare, they were able to gather everything they needed. They were able to buy tents, sleeping bags and everything else without putting too much strain on his already packed schedule.

The day in question arrived way sooner than Mary could mentally prepare herself for. But it was too late to back out now. She parked in a rented large black SUV with the back packed full of supplies near the back door to the theater. She had hot dogs, she had chicken, she had vegetables, she had bread and eggs and jam. Mary had everything she could think so and more.

The rear passenger door opened and Bobby was rather unceremoniously plopped on the blanket she set on the seat for him. He looked at me with his big brown eyes and floppy ears as if she somehow could make the blanket into a proper throne.

“You’re spoiled, you know that right?” Mary asked the rather adorable mass of brown fur and personality. He offered a soft ‘woof’ in response.

“Darling, I’m free. Let’s make our getaway.” Plastered across Tom's face was a wide grin.

“Let’s hurry, before your adoring fans spot you and you’re trapped forever signing things.” Mary laughed as she pulled onto the road and made the drive to the campground.

~~~~~<3

The campground was out of the way and little known. With the cooling temperatures paired with it being the middle of the week kept many people away. They had the place almost completely to themselves. She parked at a secluded spot and stepped outside, it felt amazing to be so isolated.

Living and working in the big city- the feeling of isolation was a rare thing and when Mary could get away, she savored the feeling. Stretching, her back popped in a way that sounded rather like popcorn when she gave it a little twist. Tom was making himself busy, unloading the back until it was empty.

“I’ll help you with your tent after I get mine up.” Mary slung one of the two tent bags over her shoulder with the intention of finding a smoothish place to set it.

“I’ll do mine. There’s no need.” Tom’s voice came from behind her, his own tent slung over his shoulder.

“You want it somewhere generally flat. Close to the fire pit is good but you don’t want it too close unless you wont to light it on fire.”

“Alright.” He nodded and set to work picking a spot and unpacking the tent.

Mary ignored him as she worked on her own tent. It was a simple enough process. Put the pipes together, run them through the loops. It took time and was tedious enough but that was the worst of it. Off to the side, there was a sound that she tried to tell herself wasn’t what she thought it was.

“Bloody hell.” The words were grumbled and heavy with annoyance.

“What happened?” She regretted turning to look as soon as she saw. Tom managed to rip a massive hole through the side of the tent.

“How did you manage- never mind.” She didn’t want to know. “Let me see it.”

There was a massive rip. When she turned it to get a better look, Mary discovered that there as a second rip. Both the side of the tent and the bottom were now blessed and holly.

“I can just sleep in the ca-”

“Don’t you even.” She snapped. “The other tent is big enough. We’ll make do.”

“Oh, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or-”

“It’s fine.”

She wouldn’t hear any argument from him so Tom stopped trying after a bit. Bobby was careful to keep close and well mannered enough. Tom still didn’t untie his long leash from the tree. While she spread sleeping bags out inside the tent, Tom milled about the camp, setting up folding chairs and pulling the cooler close.

“Wanna get the fire going?” Mary called out from where she was, half inside the tent.

“Sure.” Tom answered from where he stood next to the fire pit. His eyes focused on her as worked, admiring the view.

“You do know how to start a fire, right?”

“Sure, sure.” He didn’t sound all that convincing. “I can probably figure it out.” Tom added under his breath as he broke open the wrapped bundles of wood.

“What was that?” Mary called from inside the tent.

“Nothing, Darling.”

She was on her hands and knees, spreading sleeping bags, blankets and battery lanterns. She arranged the pillows at the head of the tent. It was then that she realized that she should have situated her feet be by Tom’s head but she wasn’t going to change things now.

Tom set to work stacking wood in what looked like a decent formation and shoved some sticks and twigs under. Grabbing the long tipped barbecue lighter, he pulled the trigger, summoning the flame. Holding it under the sticks, he watched as one after another caught fire and rather quickly burnt out.

“I thought you said you knew how to start a fire?” Mary asked, having crawled out of the tent and stood watching the last two twigs fail at catching the larger stack.

“I said I could probably figure it out.” Tom grumbled and she could almost not make out the words.

~~~~~<3

They spent the next hour trampling through the woods. It was somewhat awkward at first, being so alone together but they soon found their rhythm. Mary showed Tom the types of moss she needed. It was one that would burn fast and hot. While they hunted through the undergrowth, they threw handfuls of leaves at each other.

She had to admit, the sight of a handsome Brit picking through the forest, getting dirt and leaves on his neat dark jeans and navy sweater was something she didn’t think she would ever see. But he looked good out here, with the leaves starting to turn and the blue sky above him.

When we finally returned to the camp site, we were well relaxed and full of smiles. Even Bobby had his fair share of forest leafs and dirt in his fur. He didn’t seem to mind however, he looked beyond pleased with himself. Bobby had gotten to chase bugs and sticks to his heart content.

Mary demanded Tom kneel next to her as she deconstructed his failed pile of wood though he needed no urging. It was something she had found unique and unexpected to him. Tom was always eager to learn and it didn’t seem to matter to him what the topic was.

He watched with interest as she balled up the moss around a center about the size of her fist filled with brittle broken twigs. Without fear of splinter, Mary grabbed portions of the log where the wood was splintering off and yanked them free. Each bit was thin and narrow. She crossed pushed those through the moss ball and crossed more over top along with ticker twigs and sticks- much to Bobby’s dismay.

With a nod from Mary, Tom took the lighter and set flame to the ball of moss. It caught right away and spread. The ball was packed tightly but still burned through fast enough, fire catching the sticks inside and poked through. Unlike when Tom had attempted the first time, the fire didn’t wink out of existence. Some twigs and sticks did burn out before they could catch. Others held a hearty flame that spread to other sticks and slivers of wood.

When the moss had finished burning out and the flame remained, Mary set the smallest of the logs on the pile, leaning one end up. Tom was quick with another in his hand.

“Don’t you dare.” Mary hissed, though a smile remained on her face.

“No?”

“Not yet. Let this one catch first.”

They sat around the small fire. Once fire was steady and eating the underside of the first log, she directed Tom to use the small chunk in his hand to slide it over, toward the side of the pile before setting his down. The end of his log was resting atop the first one and again, he learned how important it was to wait as the fire caught and began eating the second log.

Soon the fire was strong enough for a third and a forth, all leaning against each other and all placed in a way Mary had explained would leave them with a wide bed of coals.

Leaning back on her heels, Mary watched the fire. The sun was starting to set and the sky hadn’t yet really begin to change. There was a slight chill in the air but Mary was always a fan of a campfire.

She could feel Tom’s eyes on her and for a while, she pointedly ignored him. Finally, she snapped, “What?”

“You have bits of leaves all over in your hair!” Tom laughed, holding his hands up in defense. “Let me help you.”

Tom’s long fingers delicately picked out leaf bits and small twigs. With the amount of care he used, she could almost forget that he was the reason for them in the first place.

Reaching up, she pulled a nearly complete leaf out from one of the more wild curls of his hair. If he was cleaning her up, it was only fair she did him the same favor. She became suddenly aware of how close they were. She’d hardly touched Tom before, aside from a handshake when they had first been introduced and his warm hugs that he would offer everyone he knew.

“So far, I think I like this camping thing.” Tom had a smile on his face but his voice was thick, heavy and she watched as he swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing.

“We’ve hardly started.” She laughed and the spell shattered.

~~~~~<3

Dinner was hot dogs over the fire as the sun set. It was far more romantic than it had any right being. It was simply a camping trip between two friends and coworkers who happened to be of opposite genders and with only one tent. Just because it looked like the perfect set up for a romcom didn’t mean it was one, right?

The fire, large and hot, managed to keep the bugs away from the intimidate area. Still, one didn’t have to go far at all to become a snack for the most annoying of the bugs. Both Mary and Tom however were content to stay fireside and trade stories of youths spent almost half a world apart.

The moon climbed high as their laughter spilled out over the trees. Stars twinkled and crickets chirped. Hardly more than a chill clung to the air. The slightest of breezes rustled leafs high in the tree tops as Tom fell silent with a thoughtful look on his face.

“What is it?” Mary tentatively asked, pulling a marshmallow tipped stick from the fire and blowing it out.

“You’re beautiful.” Be blurted out after a moment of consideration. The firelight managed to hide the blush that climbed his cheeks as words began to spill from him uncontrolled. “Uh, u-um I mean- the weather. It’s beautiful.” There was another moment of thought as Mary watched the wheels turning behind his eyes.

“Tom?”

“Not that you’re not beautiful, because you are.” Again, the words came rushed and blurted. He looked surprised to have said them. Looking away from her for a moment, he carded his fingers through his ever growing curls before declaring, “I’m just gonna shut up.”

“Tom?” She again asked and his eyes reluctantly met hers.

“Mary.” Her name sounded like it carried so much more meaning.

Hesitantly, carefully, his long fingers reached out for her and brushed her own. Tom leaned forward, slowly closing the gap between their folding camp chairs. Mary was moving just as slowly. Neither had really thought about it until that moment but it felt like it was something that was meant to be, that should have always been. In that exact moment it felt like something would always be.

His lips brushed hers. She could feel the scratch of his neatly trimmed beard against her skin. Warm breath fanned over her and she was sure hers was doing the same. Each was testing, waiting to see if the other would pull back.

When the tension became too much, it was Mary that again closed the short distance. Her lips were soft against his. Tom’s hand reached out as he leaned further over to rest against her. She sighed into his kiss and he very much felt like the luckiest man in the world in that exact moment.

Well, until he was rather unlucky.

The chair tilted and before he had a chance to catch it, down he crashed in the space between the chairs. Thanks to involuntary reflexes and the and already on her cheek, Tom reached down to brace himself with her unfortunately equally flimsy chair, causing her to tip as well.

As Mary crashed down atop him, together they laughed as dirt and leaves once again covered them. It wasn’t the way one expected to realize she had fallen for the handsome Brit but Mary couldn’t imagine realizing she had fallen in love any other way.

~~~~~<3

Tag List: @winterisakiller, @toozmanykids, @alexakeyloveloki, @theoneanna, @0-0-0-0-0-0-0-7, @bambamwolf87, @j-u-s-t-4, @wegingerangelica, @tinchentitri, @missaphrodite23, @nonsensicalobsessions, @xoxabs88xox, @queenoftheunderdark, @theheartofpenelope, @myoxisbroken

#Patricia’s Halloween Challenge #tom hiddleston x ofc #Tom Hiddleston X Original Character #tom hiddleston x original female character #tom hiddleston x oc

61 notes · View notes

fleckcmscott · 4 years

Text

Bewitching Hour

Summary: October has been a blissfully busy month. With Halloween around the corner, Arthur and Y/N have some planning to do.

Warnings: Swearing

Words: 4,665

A/N: Special thanks to @hhandley80 for this request! You've been so supportive and sweet. I truly appreciate you and hope you enjoy it!

On a side note, my oneshots will be more sporadic. I'm still writing but life has been life. Also, I've finished the first draft of another multi-chapter featuring Arthur and Y/N. It's going to take time to rewrite the subsequent drafts and edit, edit, edit. The chapters will go up once the story is ready. Thanks for your patience and support! 🙂 I heart you all!

If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment, feel free to message me, or send me an ask!

Arthur's suggestion that they make plans to celebrate Halloween should not have been a surprise. He loved starting traditions with Y/N, and she prized adopting them with him. "It's been awhile," he'd said as they'd walked arm-in-arm to the laundromat. "I think it'd be nice."

Holidays had been a source of merriment most of her life. The beauty of red and green decorations at Christmas. Turkey and mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. An egg hunt and chocolate rabbit at Easter. The togetherness of family during them all.

Halloween, though, wasn't a favorite.

As a child, she'd had fun trick-or-treating, riding her bike from house to far-flung house. And she hadn't minded escorting her little sister as a teenager. Y/N's homemade witch costume had been passed down. She could still recall the sleekness of the ribbon between her fingers as she'd secured the pointed hat under Mabel's chin.

But the magic had fallen away. When married to Jeff, she'd had to attend his boss's annual party. After receiving an apologetic shrug and kiss, she'd be relegated to hanging out with the other wives. They'd included her in their recipe swaps, in their exchanges of mild gossip. Her natural friendliness made chit-chat easy, far easier than having a good time. Those evenings had been spent nursing a glass of wine and willing the clock to go faster.

During the period she'd cared for her father, she'd tried to hand out candy. She liked being a good neighbor and imparting kindness in the form of bite-sized sweets. As his health had declined, the porch light had gone dark. Random rings of the doorbell would result in shouting and swearing. Repeated attempts to explain the door's lock wasn't broken. Festivity would transform into drudgery. It hadn't been worth the trouble. Instead, she'd watched terrible TV specials while her thoughts wandered to a future far from Boonville. A future she'd doubted would ever be.

"I don't know if it's your thing," Arthur had continued, bringing her back to the present. "But you might enjoy it with me." The response he longed for was evident in the worrying of his pocket, outlines of his knuckles visible through the tan cloth.

Everything they'd experienced together had soothed the sting of those wasted years. The hesitancy lurking in her was silly. Unwelcome. Less than either of them deserved. She'd met his keen eyes and half-smile. The sudden mental image of him dressed as a cowboy or pirate, eyepatch and all, prompted a laugh. Convinced her as she dug out her dry-cleaning stub. "It isn't my thing," she'd said. "But you are."

Relief had relaxed his wrinkles, save for his crows feet, which had deepened as he'd returned her happy expression. A slender arm wrapped around her waist, drew her against his solid frame. Once the clerk disappeared through the swinging doors to retrieve their clothes, Arthur grasped her chin and kissed her. The tender explorations were soon sloppy, and she'd giggled, his enthusiasm becoming her own. Their noses had met, his lashes resting on his wide cheekbones. "I think you're the sweetest treat, Mrs. Fleck."

Currently, Donahue's Department Store, Gotham's number one retail emporium (if the ads were to be believed), was bustling with last-minute shoppers. Weary mothers escorted their babbling children through the aisles. Clerks swapped out displays for the changing blue light specials. Lines went for yards. Patricia and Y/N sought refuge at a corner table in the café on the top floor. The warm glow from the pendant lamps provided a relaxed ambience, one that matched the hot cider and pumpkin spice cake they were savoring.

"I've got my grandson on Sunday," Patricia said between bites. "My daughter's going to a party with a medical records tech from Gotham General. Met him when she missed the bus. They split a cab and hit it off." Chuckling, she lifted her mug. "Speaking of, how's married life been so far?"

Memories of the past week quickened Y/N's heart, until she thought it might stop. How Arthur had gripped her replacement Social Security card, just to read her new name. The way he'd grab her for a twirl whenever they were in the kitchen. The reverence in his gaze when they'd lay together after sex, a look that both thrilled and made her blush. "The bills for his medication and appointments will no longer make us cringe," she deadpanned. She lowered her fork. "When we met, I was kind of blindsided - I'm not the type to fall in love quickly." The corners of her lips tugged up. "Being married to Arthur feels like a habit. A habit I should have learned twenty years ago."

"I'm glad you found each other." Patricia reached across the light brown table and covered Y/N's hand, gave it a squeeze. Then she wiped frosting from her mouth and nodded in the direction of the escalator. "Now let's find a costume that'll drive him nuts."

Beyond the colorful cosmetics and pungent perfume counters, they sorted through racks of vinyl smocks and plastic masks. Pop culture icons and princesses. Vampires and spooks. Knockoffs of classic movie monsters. Most were poorly made and decidedly uninteresting. Y/N pawed through accessories in a nearby basket, a cigar here, a patched hat there. "How about a hobo? I could steal Arthur's tie."

"This was his idea. Give him something a little exciting." After a roll of Y/N's eyes, Patricia held out a plastic display bag. "Found it."

The white font on its blue label declared she should "Create a unique look!" A woman in a leopard-print leotard and bow-tie wore black cat ears and a tail, the only two items included in the set. Y/N's nose wrinkled. "I don't think so, Patricia." She rummaged through another bin and examined a hockey mask. "I don't show a lot of skin."

"You show Arthur." Patricia ignored Y/N's glare, continuing to shove it at her. "Every man loves a woman dressed as a cat. Our next lunch is on me if I'm wrong."

Patricia could be relentless, but Y/N had to admit she was usually right. She arched a brow as she eyed the costume. Maybe she could find a solid body suit instead of animal print. The kit was only $2.98. And her friend had made it a challenge. "You're on. But I'm not wearing a bow-tie." She crossed her arms across her chest and tapped her mouth. "Your turn. Would Robert like you as a French maid or a go-go dancer?"

~~~~~

It was a busy season for performers. Arthur remembered HaHa's talent agency being booked solid for October by the end of August. Myriad functions at nursing homes, parties, and children's organizations took place throughout the city. Amusement Mile had a series of special events, allowing Arthur to work extra hours before the slowness of winter dragged in. Once the holiday was over, he'd buy make-up and props on clearance.

He'd always assumed he would like Halloween - if he'd had the chance to celebrate it properly. It was about connection, something he'd never managed. The customs gave him a pretense, a template to meet people, rather than leaving him wondering how to go about it. Provided a hiding place for his seeming inability to act normal.

Recollections of the day were few but vivid. When he'd been around eight, there'd been a party at school. The teacher had made brownies and given the students a half-hour respite from lessons. (A welcome relief, since he wasn't very good at most of them.) But he hadn't had a costume. Hadn't known how to reply when the other kids asked where it was. Not wanting to be left out, he'd pocketed a watercolor pallet and sneaked to the bathroom.

The teacher (he wished he could remember her name) had walked in as he'd smeared green and blue on his face, a pathetic attempt at a turtle. Fear of punishment had caused his laughter. But her kindness as she knelt, wiped away tears and pigment with a scratchy, brown paper towel, had calmed him. "Wait here," she'd instructed. It had taken all his courage not to run home.

After some minutes, she'd returned, an old white sheet in one hand, black marker and pair of scissors in the other. "The nurse won't miss this." She'd traced eyeholes, helped him cut them out. She'd asked questions. About his mother and what it was like at home. Questions he was at a loss for how to answer. Finally, she'd draped the cloth over his head. "There," she'd declared. "Gotham Elementary has its own ghost."

Even as he'd gotten taller and the sheet no longer went beyond his knees, that costume had remained his go-to. He'd venture out to the rest of his building, knocking on paint-chipped doors and pushing broken buzzers. Having learned to stay away from doors that yelling or funny smells emanated from, he hadn't gotten a lot of candy. What he had collected he'd shared with Penny. The wax lips became a free toy. He wasn't sure his memory of startling his mother and being tickled until he couldn't breathe was real or imagined.

At twelve, he was told he was too old to go trick-or-treating. He'd starting scrounging for change to buy hard candies at Helm's Pharmacy. They weren't particularly appetizing, but they'd been what he could afford. Only a few kids rang, a number that dwindled further every year. Most neighbors kept their distance, likely aware he was troubled. Cinnamon discs and butterscotch drops had loitered around the apartment for months. He'd sucked on them in an attempt to cut down on his smoking, just to save money. It hadn't worked.

Y/N hadn't spoken about the holiday, not the way she had other special occasions. At first, he'd thought it had slipped her mind. Work, planning their honeymoon, completing the red tape required to meld all aspects of their lives had taken up much of their time. But, given her reluctance to talk in detail about her past heartache, he'd come to assume her Halloweens had been unpleasant. He was certain he could change that.

Sitting on the dingy, dark green plastic seat of the train car, he giggled to himself, chest puffing up as he straightened. They'd been man and wife for eight whole days. Movies and songs said love was supposed to be somewhere between serendipitous and fated. A happy accident that was meant to be. Lying awake at night, he would find himself wondering where they were on that scale. If the emotions swirling through him - the excitement of belonging, the fear of fucking up - were what every newlywed felt. Then Y/N would snuggle closer in her sleep, murmur nonsense into his skin, and for a few minutes he'd be at peace.

Years had been spent trying to figure out who he was. Trying to find an identity, his role within the world. While he was still searching, it had been far easier to become accustomed to the role of "husband" than he'd dreamed.

Teaching his wife about events across the city had been a delight. Gotham Village's Annual Costume Extravaganza was a parade that went all the way to Gotham Square. He'd participated a couple of times, never formally registering but slipping into the clown section. It had been exhilarating. Had allowed him to pretend, for a little while, that he was being seen. That the crowds lining the sidewalks were cheering for him. Signs for extravagant balls were plastered on billboards and lampposts throughout the streets; he'd have gladly attended and shown her off. A haunted house was being held in a building in his old neighborhood, a fundraiser for the orphanage. He hadn't brought that up.

In the end, once he'd explained trick-or-treaters went from apartment to apartment, they'd decided on a cozy evening at home. The details had been left to her. Whatever she'd plan, he'd love it. He wondered what she'd disguise herself as. Would she be a sexy devil or nurse, like he'd seen on a sit-com? The notion sparked a fire in his cheeks.

Given how busy he'd be, he'd stay dressed as plain, old Carnival. Part of him regretted accepting two gigs, especially on a Sunday. He would have preferred her company. But he wanted to put the money towards the wedding band he'd put on layaway. (Even though they had one account, he wasn't going to let her chip in for it.) He should already be wearing it for all of Gotham to see.

The lurch of the subway prompted him to rise and grasp the pole grip. His stance widened as it came to a halt, knees bending with the instinct of a man who'd ridden public transportation since he was a boy. As soon as the graffiti-covered doors parted, he stepped out onto the platform and ascended the stairs, eager to share his new insurance information with Dr. Ludlow.

~~~~~

Scratchy violins and the hum of a theremin. Shrill shrieks and cracks of thunder. A cackle resounded, then a pipe organ, playing a melody in a minor key.

There was no doubt about it. Halloween spirit had saturated 4A.

NCB's Movie Marathon Mayhem had begun at 10:00 AM. Y/N had had it on since getting out of the shower, hoping to catch a horror classic while she decorated the apartment and prepared Bloody Mary mix. As she hung cotton batting between the television's rabbit ears, creating a long, narrow spider-web, she realized they were only playing cheesy B-movies. Giant insects threatening buildings. Science experiments gone wrong. Alien invasions. Oh well. At least she wouldn't have to pay much attention to get the gist of the plots.

The orange plastic platter, black bats along its edges, had been an impulse buy. She thought its array of sugary skeletons, candy bracelets, and Jolly Jack chocolate bars would be well received. But having seen only one or two kids in the lobby, she had no idea how many children lived in their building. She hoped she'd bought enough.

The cardstock window decorations she'd found were festive and matched Arthur's sweet nature. One portrayed a warted, green witch flying on a broom past a full moon. On the other, a ghost and mouse shared a pillowcase of candy and wished a "Happy Halloween." She held the tape dispenser between her teeth as she stuck them to their white front door.

Just then, the elevator dinged. Glancing to her left, she saw Arthur stroll down the cheerfully lit hallway. Buoyant expression on him, despite his white, blue, and red make-up being streaked from sweat. Striped prop bag on his shoulder and carved pumpkin cradled in his arms. "The store owner was going to throw it out," he explained with a half hug. "But he let me have it as a tip."

Classic, triangular eyes evoked the annual carving contest her parents had taken part of back home. Her father had been well-known in the community, being the town's only doctor. Entering the competition had been expected. They'd never won but enjoyed it all the same. Y/N had picked out the patterns and scooped out the squash's slimy innards. Her mother had baked the seeds. Peals of their laughter echoed in her ears, and a lump formed in her throat.

She swallowed hard against it. Dammit, Y/N. Get it together. This was supposed to be a special night for Arthur and her. She needed to distract herself. One of his curls peeked out from under his bald-cap and green wig. She twirled a strand around her finger. "With that toothy grin, it just might be your twin," she said. He pecked her temple, the kiss sticky from greasepaint. She lit the half-melted candles using his red lighter and put the jack-o-lantern just outside their door.

While he freshened his paint in the bedroom, she slinked into the bathroom to change. Arthur's and her routines were closely aligned; keeping her costume hidden had not been easy. The headband holding the furry cat ears was quite stiff, its teeth a tad sharp on her scalp. Once it was in place, she hid it under her hair. The lint on her form-fitting stretch top and leggings reminded her why she rarely wore all black. She retrieved her brown eyeliner from the nearby shelf and started in on her whiskers.

Arthur's footsteps neared, heavy due to his clown shoes, and Y/N turned to lean back on the sink. His thin lips parted as he scanned her body, forehead furrowed in pleasant surprise. His reaction planted a seed of bliss in her belly, one that bloomed every second they regarded each other. The lunch she'd have to spring for was well worth the pink shells of his ears. Eventually, she held out the fluffy, wired tail and a safety pin. "Would you pin this just below my waistband?"

Fingers grazing hers, he took it and sat on the toilet lid. He cupped her hips and pulled her closer, positioned her until the dampness of his breath hit a bare sliver of her back. "Hold still," he murmured, his voice sending a tingle through her. At his gentle ministrations, the spandex of her leggings felt snugger. "Did you- Did you read my journal?"

A faint click of metal as the pin closed. "No." She colored the tip of her nose, frowned at how lackluster the shade was. "I'd never do that. Even if I'm dying for a preview of your material. Why?"

"No reason." A soft huff, his shy smile clear in his answer. "I have an idea." He handed her a washcloth and hurried out of the room. She was patting her face dry when he returned, a fine tipped brush and pot of black greasepaint in his hand. "This'll look better."

Her brow arched. She'd only had her make-up done once; Patricia had invited her when they'd first met. Such an outing was not her preference, but Y/N had accepted, being new in town and wanting to learn about her colleague. There'd been champagne at the counter, which she'd sipped until she'd spent too much on eyeshadow and apricot scrub. The next morning, she'd put the products and a note on Patricia's desk: "I'll never forgive you. Thanks!"

The heat radiating from Arthur prompted her to close the gap between them. She craned her neck towards him, slid her palms to his yellow vest until she held him just below his ribs. His forefinger curled under her chin, lifted it slightly and angled it to the right. The cool, wet brush met her fevered skin. The dusty smell of the greasepaint blended with a whiff of stale cigarette smoke and traces of his sweat. She licked her lips.

The vibration of his chuckle was felt before heard. "I really like your costume," he said lowly. Two more ticklish caresses of the bristles on the apple of her cheek. "If you're not careful, I might werewolf and go wild."

She stretched closer to him, the fervor in his tone going straight to her center. Though he'd been growing bolder, his cocky side wasn't often revealed. She wanted it, thirsted to see more of the wild horse kicking inside him. Her touch ran over his chest, until she dipped under his black suspenders and pulled. "Are you going to gobble me up?"

Teasing strokes on her nose. "Maybe." Then his thumb whispered along her jaw and guided her face upwards. His kiss was supple, slow, a drag of his mouth as his tongue sought entry. She yielded, the simmer of anticipation bringing her to her toes. He groaned deeply and palmed her thigh, then fondled the curve of her rear-

The ding-dong of the doorbell halted them. He lifted his head and laughed, gaze sparkling. "I got paint on you."

She twisted in his arms and looked in the mirror. The whiskers caught her eye, embellished at the ends with dainty curlicues - his skill never ceased to impress her. Red brightened her lips and streaks of white were on her cheek. "It's all right. They'll just know I've been necking with a clown."

~~~~~

The sound of the bell continued. Over and over and over. More than it ever had in Otisburg. There were mummies, ghosts, a couple of skeletons. A superhero proudly displayed his red cape and blue tights, and a kid in her karate robe went on about her yellow belt. A tiny clown, too young to walk, was brought by her sister. As Arthur made funny faces, the baby cooed and tried to take his red, foam nose. Arthur parted with it gladly.

Only one member of the Wayne family appeared, slicked back hair and pompous pout making the disguise complete. The man accompanying the boy introduced himself as their upstairs neighbor and shook their hands. After one look at Y/N, he nudged Arthur's bicep. "So, she's the one keeping half the building up at night. Good on you, pal." Arthur blinked in confusion as she ushered the guy away, red-faced and muttering about his nerve.

Arthur was overly generous, giving out fistfuls of sweets while taking a few extra seconds to gather his nerves and compliment the costumes he liked best. It felt good to interact with strangers without constantly second guessing himself. Y/N would rub his arm or kiss his shoulder and tell him what a great job he was doing. "Kids are easy," he said, refilling the candy dish. But he reveled in her praises, anyway. And the knowledge that meeting the neighbors was going well.

Clean-up required little effort. The jack-o-lantern sat on their kitchen table, flames flickering as the wicks burned away. The door decor was packed safely for use next year. His plaid blazer was slung over the back of a dining chair and his wig was off. Y/N's decision to leave her whiskers on pleased him - she made a damn sexy cat. He pocketed the last few pieces of candy to snack on during the remainder of the evening.

The Sunday Night Special Presentation she'd picked out, a made-for-TV horror movie, began at 9:00 PM on GBC. Most of its airtime was punctuated by her tipsy snickers and legal wisecracks, which was typical when they watched something stupid. Yet, as the show went on, she grew quieter, barely speaking between sips of her third cocktail. As they sat on the sofa, her posture stiffened. Forearms crossed over her breasts. Her nails dug into her upper arm.

The change started two-thirds of the way into the show, when the plot about a doll running amok twisted into a story about a professional woman trying to assert herself against the demands of her mother. Against the expectations of availability. To fight for the simplicity of having dinner and peace and quiet. It resonated with him, which felt weird. Especially when the film cut to black, the implication being the mother would meet a violent end at the hands of her possessed daughter.

A cheerful jingle came on. Puerto Rico was a direct flight from Gotham Airport, it advertised, a flight that lasted "two hours and fifteen tropical minutes." They should get out while the weather was still good. The juxtaposition of mood broke him out of his ponderings. He flicked off the blaring television with the remote. Then he heard Y/N sniffling.

She set her glass on the coffee table, a slight tremble in her hand. "I need some air," she whispered as she rose, then went out onto the fire escape.

Arthur rubbed his thigh and pressed his lips together. He wasn't used to seeing her cry. Not from sadness. Should he follow her? Give her time? Both had worked previously, depending on the situation. But he wasn't sure what had upset her, what situation they were in now.

Exhaling sharply, he grabbed her glass and dumped the rest of the drink down the kitchen sink. Rinsed their dinner plates and put the slow cooker in the fridge. When he'd finished making decaf coffee ten minutes later, she still hadn't returned. He ambled towards the ajar glass door and stepped out.

Moonlight outlined her shapely figure and reflected off her hair, the silver a contrast to the orange glow of the streetlamps illuminating her face. Her stare seemed fixated on the street below. He followed it to see a group of ghouls and goblins spraying shaving cream on a shop window. A couple, one he'd see occasionally when out for a cigarette, walked down the sidewalk. A woman was half-carrying a drunk man towards a bus stop.

Upon clearing her throat, Y/N spoke. "I may not look like it, but I had a great time with you tonight. The movie just got to me." Relieved, Arthur sidled next to her, wrapped his arm about her back. Her head fell to his shoulder and she smoothed her hand over his stomach. "I don't mean to hide from you. Someday you'll know the details of my earlier life." She scoffed. "When I'm ready to think about them." He entwined their fingers and kissed her hairline, avoiding the wired tips of her cat ears.

Shivering, she took a shaky breath. "There are no skeletons in my closet. Only disappointments." Her voice cracked as she beamed at him, cupped his cheek, and pressed her face to his. "Knowing I'd get to have you would have made those years so much easier."

He held her tightly, massaging between her shoulders. She'd been speaking about herself, but he couldn't help thinking it was about him, too. His years with Penny. His stints in Arkham. The loneliness, the isolation, the endless anger and yearning to be more than a speck of dirt no one cared for. His journal was full of questions about where the hell his one and only was. If he'd known she'd be real, tangible instead of a figment, would existence have hurt less?

Wincing, he tried to push through those thoughts. To focus on her instead of himself. What mattered was that Y/N needed him. Perhaps a joke would cheer her. "I was thinking the other night of how easy it is to smile around you," he said. "You tickle my funny bone." Amusement bubbled in her throat, music to his ears. She released a contented sigh and nuzzled the crook of his neck.

Peaceful stillness ensued as the minutes passed. Though the breeze was chill, goosebumps forming on his pale skin, her affection kept his heart warm. His fingertips rubbed circles into her lower back, and she offered a pleasured hum. Across the way, footsteps pounded. He glanced to see a kid darting up the street, plastic pumpkin pail in tow. The boy's scream was filled with boundless energy: "Happy Halloween, Gotham!"

Snorting, Y/N took Arthur's hand and led him inside. The cheap tail she wore bounced with every exaggerated swivel of her hips. "I've behaved all evening, which your werewolf comment made extraordinarily difficult." She looped her arms around him and flashed a come-hither stare. "May I have a goodie?"

The scrape of her nails on his scalp coiled a knot in his abdomen. "Aren't you supposed to say 'trick-or-treat?'" he asked huskily.

"Your pussycat needs a petting or two." She closed the bedroom door behind them. "Maybe even a mauling."

His brows shot up on a hitched giggle. Then he palmed her hip while she started in on his buttons. Before she got too far, he traced a whisker with the pad of his thumb. Let their foreheads meet and pecked her eyelids. "Only if you give me something good to eat." He pressed into her, his enjoyment relentless, not waiting for her reply before devouring her mouth.

~~~~~

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added!): @harmonioussolve, @howdylilflower, @sweet-nothings04, @stephieraptorr, @rommies, @fallenstarsabyss, @gruffle1, @octopus-plasma, @tsukiakarinobara, @arthur-flecks-lovely-smile, @another-day-in-chuckletown, @hhandley80, @jokerownsmysoul, @mrscarnival

#arthur fleck #arthur fleck fanfic #arthur fleck x reader #arthur fleck x ofc #arthur fleck x female reader #joker 2019 #watchwhathappens

41 notes · View notes

naturepointstheway · 3 years

Text

Frozen - Domestic Assassin (Crack AU) Masterpost

This is a Masterpost of all the fanfiction I’d written (all on Tumblr) based in @ultranos’ Domestic Assassin crack AU which was hilarious for a fairly good-sized group of us! And from what I”ve seen in my notifications, people are still enjoying and finding fics of mine in this AU even to this day, which is great!

I’ve basically dug into my previous fanfiction pages and pulled them out year by year, so because it’ll be way too much work to try and arrange everything by title, I just went by year. At least Tumblr keeps the links when I copy and paste.

Since there are so many, you’ll find them under the cut. Enjoy!

Pre-2016

Air Mattress Prompt

An exhausted Anna returns home from a hot night with Kristoff only to accidentally make her sister fly off the air mattress when she flops down on it for a sleep.

“Am I supposed to be alarmed by the moon tonight?” prompt

Elsa is so exhausted she gets confused between the sun and moon apparently.

“Can we please stop fighting and talk about the koala in your room?”

Elsa adopted a koala, much to Anna’s exasperation.

“Can you pull this fake cobweb across the door?” Halloween prompt

Anna wants to play a prank on Elsa...

Cell Block Sniper (M - violence and strong language)

Yes. Yes. It’s a crossover. A crossover between “Cell Block Tango” song from Chicago and this AU.

“Do you realise what this means?” “That you’re a really bad shot?”

Elsa is NOT having the best of time trying to instruct a new trainee.

Domestic Assassin AU prompt: Hans’ POV (pre-reveal)

Hans has a visit from Elsa when he dumps Anna.

“Don’t touch that!” (Healthcare writing prompt, Snow Sisters)

Elsa was bound to fall out of a tree at some point and end up in hospital. Anna takes care of her.

Elsa and Weselton prompt

Elsa refuses to let Weselton in the door.

Eyes That Glisten

Anna knows how to persuade Elsa to do whatever she wants.

“God you’re such a grumpy bags in the morning aren’t you?”

Elsa is not a happy camper after a long night where everything just goes wrong. “Holy shit. Most realistic Dementor costume ever.” Halloween prompt

Turns out, Elsa just looks like that most of the time.

“I can’t help being a geek about my vital signs!” prompt (Elsarik)

A crossover between another AU (Shardsverse)

“I don’t think I should tell you what we’re dressed as.” (Halloween Prompt)

Somebody think of the children!

“I dropped my cookie :’(”

Elsa cries when she drops her cookie.

“I feel like a T-Rex”

Anna is too lazy to just grab the goddamn stepladder and get the jam herself.

“I wish I could drive you out of my life with a sword!” (Hans and Anna, prompt)

Anna is NOT a fan of Hans...

“Maybe you should go as an assassin. Oh wait, you already are one.” (Halloween prompt)

Anna is a sarcastic little sister to Elsa.

“No one unfollows like Gaston!”

Anna overhears Gaston boasting about how he unfollowed someone because of a disability. She is not happy.

Ruined Dinner Party

After an hour of waiting for her sister to come to the party, Anna finally spots her with “ketchup” all over her top.

Part 2 of “Ruined Dinner Party”

Of course it wasn’t ketchup. Duh. Anna is NOT HAPPY.

Sleepyhead (drabble, Snow Sisters)

Elsa, going to the kitchen for midnight munchies, spots Anna sprawled on a couch, textbooks all around her.

“So. Many. Triangles. Help me here!”

Anna, not being a maths-y person, gets frustrated with geometry, and Elsa offers to help.

“So you’re going as yourself for Halloween.” Halloween prompt

Elsa is not keen on dressing up as Halloween.

“Tell our parents my Tumblr URL and I swear I will make your death look like an accident” prompt.

Elsa practically threatens Anna when the latter demands to explain her Tumblr URL (of course she quickly forgives her little sis.)

“That mask is all kinds of creepy. I like it.” Halloween prompt

Elsa practically shits herself when Anna scares her while wearing a terrifying mask.

Things you said at 4am prompt

Anna gets a call at 4am on her phone from Elsa, who accidentally sniped the wrong guy..

Those Poor Birds

Elsa mistakes a pair of birds’ mating antics as fighting, much to Anna’s amusement.

“Wait, you’re yelling at a movie?” (Snow Sisters, writing prompt)

Elsa is very confused to find that Anna’s yelling from the lounge is at a movie. Not at an invader.

“Was it really necessary to shoot my pumpkin carving?” (Halloween prompt)

Anna is NOT happy when Elsa decides to use her pumpkin carving for shooting practice.

“What do you mean it’s a sunset…?” prompt

Elsa wakes up only to find that it’s already after sunset, not sunrise.

“What the hell? You gave out alcoholic chocolate to trick-or-treating kids?!” (Halloween prompt)

Anna discovers that her German chocolates had been opened by Elsa, who’d handed them out to kids.

“Where did you leave the spare copy of that book?” (Elsarik DA!verse, prompt)

Crossing over with another writer’s AU with her OC, Alarik. Elsa can’t find that one specific book she needs, and she’s sure Alarik has it.

“You once asked me what I’d do if I had only one day left.” prompt

Anna will most definitely NOT be spending that final day of her life with Hans.

“You did what?!” prompt (Elsa and Kristoff)

Elsa does not appreciate Kristoff’s concern over her having WAY too many cats for one house.

“You mean a line segment.” prompt

Elsa is a huge geometry nerd, even waiting in line for takeaways.

“You should go as an assassin. Oh wait. You already are one.” prompt

Another one where Anna suggests Elsa goes as an assassin for Halloween, only to be all “oh wait, you are one.”

2016

Accidental shooting

Elsa accidentally shoots someone she did not mean to shoot in a library’s basement.

Amuse Me

Elsa’s having one of those blah days and Anna’s there with bad puns all ready to go.

“Bittersweet and Strange” (not based on a prompt)

Elsa explains exactly how she likes her coffee to Anna. Turns out Elsa is also a huge fan of marmite.

“Can’t I at least take this baby koala home?”

Anna, no, you cannot take a koala home from Australia, no matter how cute it is.

Cat Gallery (not based on a prompt)

Kristoff discovers Elsa’s huge photo album of her cats.

“Did you lose your main point…”

Anna hears something about money and bills and wait what now.

“Do nurses ever fall asleep on the night shift?”

Anna visits Elsa in hospital and inevitably someone has to wonder this. Elsa’s adorbs when she’s pouty and Anna can’t help but annoy her on this count.

Fight Me

One sister challenges another to a fun boxing game.

“How did you get these bruises?”

A crossover with another writer’s canon OC, Alarik (”Elsarik”) where he asks how she got some bruises while on the job.

“How many cats are in bed with you?”

Anna marvels that there are nine cats in bed with Elsa.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to have the whole packet at once.”

Do not eat a whole bag of coffee. Do not.

I Have Found My People (not based on a prompt)

Elsa has discovered that certain Scandinavian countries drink the most coffee in the world and wants to migrate there right now.

“I know you don’t want this but it’s for your own good…”

Kristoff is rightly concerned when he finds that Elsa had thirty cups of coffee in 48 hours. Do not do this at home.

“I, uh, kinda dropped it in the water.”

Elsa calls Anna to tell her there’s an emergency: she dropped her wallet in the sea and all the fish now have her personal information.

“I want a Venusian day…”

Elsa tries to explain to Anna why she would not want to live on Venus. Anna doesn’t give a fuck. More hours in the day what’s not to love about that?

Of Cat’s Paws and Adopting Stellar Systems (not based on a prompt)

Elsa is enthralled by a photo of the Cat’s Paw Nebula she has found on the laptop.

Of Monkeying Around and Going Ape (not based on a prompt)

Anna comes home to discover that Elsa has adopted a monkey that had been neglected by its owner. Even Anna is almost (I said, ALMOST) tempted to keep the monkey but her common sense reigns.

“Oh so you were in my bed this whole time?” (nsfw)

Dontcha hate when you’re in the middle of coitus and your goddamn cat has to interrupt you? (Elsarik, with another Frozen writer’s (@patricia-von-arandel) OC for Elsa)

“Once we start tickling, we can’t stop!” (nsfw)

Another steamy one with an old abandoned OC of mine (Jannike), where they find themselves having a quickie while the boss is away.

Rubbish Day (not based on a prompt)

Anna is horrified to find a rubbish bag gone and trails of what suspiciously looks like blood leading outside. Turns out some meat thrown in there leaked inside.

“The best way to get rid of your ex…”

Anna didn’t think that Hans Westerguard would ever end up on Elsa’s targets to “take care of”. Until he does.

The One Time Elsa Caught Anna “Studying” (not based on a prompt)

Anna uses the mirror in the bathroom to practice distinguishing teeth for a medical exam. Elsa suggests alternatives.

“What is this owl doing in our bathroom?”

Of course Elsa would adopt an owl and want to keep it in the bathroom. Of course.

“Who dances in the rain anyway?”

Elsa comes home to discover Anna dancing in the rain.

“Why is there an otter in our kitchen?”

Anna comes home to find that Elsa has “adopted” an otter from a “client”. As you do.

“Why would you wish to be at a backpackers?”

Elsa and Alarik (Shards AU, Elsarik) decide to stay at a backpackers together for some private time.

“Yes, yes the cold doesn’t bother you…”

Anna is not impressed with Elsa standing in the snow when she has a major cold.

2017

The Blood of White Men (not based on a prompt)

As Elsa’s favourite song goes, he had it comin’ all along.

Is the Earth Broken? (not based on a prompt)

Elsa is confused about why the day she thought it was today...actually isn’t. She convinces herself the Earth has somehow broked.

“It won’t be high tide you said…”

Elsa needs to learn that reading yesterday’s newspaper’s high tide times is not helpful.

Kittens on Saturn (not based on a prompt)

Elsa hopes there’s actual giant kittens on Saturn after seeing a graphic manipulation on an astronomy news site.

Of Singing Humpback Whales and Rock Trolls

Kristoff visits Elsa in hospital while Anna’s busy with other things. It...does not go as expected. Poor Kristoff.

“Proboscis Monkeys look ridiculous…”

Anna’s exasperation at Elsa rescuing a Proboscis monkey is still not so great that she can’t help but wonder what would happen if you honked their nose. Anna NO.

“She’s going to kill you.”

Kristoff knows his days are numbered when he spills carrot juice all over Elsa’s brand new rifle. Uh oh.

“There’s a perfectly good reason for all these kittens.”

Turns out Elsa decided to adopt some kittens left on the side of the road when they’re already over-run with cats.

“This is extreme, even for you.”

Elsa is so addicted to her coffee she’s begun pouring them into wine bottles, as you do.

2018

Elsa brings home a parrot

Anna discovers that Elsa has “rescued” a very large, very loud parrot from one of her, ahem, “clients”.

Elsa’s Back Up Cat, Mushu

Anna discovers one of the cats apparently reading a book, and much to her consternation, Elsa explains he’s for back up.

“Oh what a circus!” photo prompt

Anna takes her still-bewildered-after-five-coffees sister to the circus. This may or may not turn out to be a great idea.

#Frozen #Domestic Assassin AU #DA!verse #Frozen DA!verse

15 notes · View notes