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starfruitwyne · 3 months

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Quiet On The Other Line - Bellice Oneshot

Summary:

After encountering yet another bump in the rocky road of her situationship, Bella finds herself on Alice Cullen's doorstep in the middle of the night in the pouring rain. With Edward simmering down by himself in the mountains for a month, Bella takes to Alice for comfort and companionship. Together they start to bond in unexpected ways and Alice starts to wonder if Bella has had ulterior motives from the beginning. // Lots of angst and plenty of sm*t here. Enough to give you an adrenaline rush! You can Google what that is.

Alice wasn't surprised to see the soaked, shivering brunette on her doorstep at three in the morning in the middle of a heavy rainfall. She had received an earful of her aggravated brother's relationship drama all afternoon. Bella this, Bella that. Despite having half listened to at least an hour of Edward’s incessant rambling, Alice scarcely remembered what had caused the fight between him and his equally emotional human lover.

‘Edward’s not home,’ Alice said. And this was true. The broody vampire had left to “clear his head,” as he’d put it. That was always how he’d put it.

‘I know,’ said Bella Swan, the girl on the doorstep. She was soaked to the skin from the violent downpour. Her red college varsity jacket did little to protect her from the wind and rain. At her side, she clutched a thick, canvas tote bag. Her keys dangled from a shiny carabiner hooked to her jeans. Through long, drenched strands of hair, Bella peered up at Alice like a lost kid. ‘I came to see you.’

Alice was confused. Usually, if Edward wasn't around after a fight, Bella would walk home and stay home. Usually, Alice wouldn't see Bella for a few days. Usually, she'd be so distraught, she’d even skip a day or two of college. None of this, none of it at all, was usual. Something must have been very, very wrong.

‘Come in,’ Alice said, not wanting to leave the girl out in the harsh weather.

Bella bowed her head gratefully and quickly shuffled inside like a wet kitten, though she shook like a dog once Alice closed the front door.

‘Why didn’t you bring a freakin’ raincoat? Or even a hoodie, for crying out loud!’ Alice said, bringing her hands to Bella's frozen face. ‘You’re as cold as I am!’

‘It started pouring when I was halfway here,’ Bella shivered. ‘And the truck's in the damn shop again.’

‘Jesus, that's a twenty minute walk! You need a damn phone, you could have called,’ Alice rambled.

‘I know,’ Bella said dismissively, followed by a hard shiver.

‘Someone could’ve come and got you.’

‘I know.’

‘You know I can't always foresee shit like this! If you had a ph—’

‘I know! Alice! I fucking know!’

Alice closed her mouth, stunned by the girl's outburst. She brushed it off and pressed the back of her fingers to Bella's forehead.

‘Go to my room. Get in the shower and then change into whatever.’

‘Are you sure—’

‘Go, just go! You're gonna catch a cold,’ Alice said, gesturing for Bella to hurry upstairs already.

Without another word, Bella did as she was told. She dripped rainwater onto the smooth, marble steps as she went. Alice went to find a mop and met her mother in the kitchen.

‘Is that the Swan girl?’

‘Yeah, she was looking for Edward,’ Alice said. She rummaged through a broom closet.

‘She knows he's not here, right?’ Esme asked, looking up from the sewing project she had laid out on the kitchen table.

‘Yup,’ Alice said. She pulled out a mop and then a plastic bucket.

‘Poor girl,’ Esme said with a motherly frown. ‘Does her father know she's here?’

‘I don't know,’ Alice said. ‘And I've been looking into Edward. He's not coming back for, like, a month. I think.’

‘You’ve seen it?’

‘Yup,’ Alice said. She picked up her bucket and mop and hurriedly left, wanting desperately to avoid any more questions from her mother.

‘Ah, young love,’ Esme sighed.

Love, Alice thought incredulously. Whatever it was that Bella and Edward shared was not love. Infatuation at best. Obsession at worst.

‘I hear those angry words!’ Esme called in a sing-song voice from the kitchen. Alice ignored her and quickened her pace to escape the vicinity of her mother's mind-reading barrier.

Once she had finished mopping up Bella's wet footsteps, she went to check her bedroom for the girl.

She was crying, all curled up in the middle of Alice's reading nook. She had found a pair of tennis shorts and a black band t-shirt. Her clothes were tossed into a heap by Alice's laundry, along with her dirty, green high-tops. Her damp, lengthy hair clung to her trembling shoulders.

‘Hey, woah,’ Alice said, approaching the girl slowly. ‘You gotta tell me what happened this time. Edward never said anything. And I can't read your mind, remember?’

The vampire sat down on her couch next to the quivering ball of tears. She awkwardly placed a hand on Bella's shoulder and stroked it as if she were a pet. The rain beat down on the large skylight above them. Bella’s crying was so distraught, it seemed to be spurring the weather on.

‘Come on, B, tell me what's up,.’ Alice had softened her voice now, a tone she often used with human babies. In her current state, Bella could pass as one.

‘Stupid shit,’ Bella said. She sniffed and shakily sat up, crossing her legs and grabbing a pillow to hold to her chest.

There was something so youthful about the motion. So juvenile. Alice stared at Bella's sad, brown eyes and how they seemed to never end. Two murky pools of deep, dark grief. That was something that Alice secretly thought Bella wore well. Grief. The way the bags under her eyes never seemed to leave simply accentuated her constant gloomy expression. The way her jaw was sharp and rigid when she cried - there was just something about it that Alice found pretty. She was always a sucker for Shakespearean tragedies. Maybe that's where the admiration for such a face came from.

‘He said I'm a brute,’ Bella said hoarsely. ‘That I need to work on myself. And a bunch of other crap. Fucking stupid.’

The girl rested her forehead on her pillow and let out a few more pitiful sobs. Alice continued to pet her shoulder, unsure of what else to do.

‘I’m sure he was just concerned about you,’ Alice said quietly. ‘Boyfriends will say things the wrong way now and again.’

‘He’s not my fucking boyfriend,’ Bella said frustratedly. ‘I dunno what the hell he is or what we are or what any of this shit is.’ Bella slapped her hands against her pillow.

‘Damn,’ Alice said with a chuckle. It wasn’t unusual for Bella to get angry. She had two very dominant emotions: sadness and anger. And a lot of things, Alice noticed, made Bella angry. Authority. Hierarchy. Paris Hilton. But never Edward. It was unusual for her to show so much disdain towards Edward. Tonight, however, seemed to be full of unusual things.

‘Why did he say you were brute?’

‘Because of… everything, I dunno! Vampires and humans and bullshit. I… He said I’m too much, whatever that means. Too much for a vampire? Kiss my fucking ass,’ Bella said, throwing her arms up in frustration. ‘Sorry, I just— Ugh! I'm just sick of him. He called me stubborn. Like a child, y’know? Do I look like a child?!’

Alice pondered this. She lifted away a lock of Bella's damp hair to get a better view of her face. The lamp light illuminated her features — the slope of her button nose, her round cheeks, her frowning lips. However, no matter how warm the light was, the bags under Bella's eyes were dull and prominent. And, of course, Alice thought she wore them quite well.

‘Enlighten me,’ Bella said, grinning amusedly. Her bleary eyes blinked up at the vampire, spilling two more tears over her rosy face.

‘Apart from the pouty lip and angry eyebrows, I wouldn't say you look like a child,’ Alice said. ‘A street fighter, perhaps.’

‘Sick,’ Bella sniffled. She tapped at her nose with a tissue.

‘How come you wanted to see me?’ Alice asked then.

‘Oh, yeah,’ Bella said, suddenly reminded of why she was there.

‘You’re usually only here for Edward,’ Alice added. ‘In fact, I think the last time we spoke one-on-one was a whole month ago. At your volleyball game, remember?’

‘I try not to,’ Bella said. ‘My damn knee still isn't right. I dunno why I thought joining a college team would make me any better at it.’

‘Bella, seriously,’ Alice said, a tiny smirk creeping over her lips.

‘Oh, you're fucking laughing!’

‘I’m not!’

‘Bitch, you're a liar!’

‘Look, when Newton sent you flying into the stratosphere with that slide, it was kind of hilarious, okay? Jesus.’

Bella laughed — really laughed at Alice's confession. She burst into a fit of teary giggles. Alice placed a hand over her grinning mouth. It was rare for Bella to express such outwardly joy. And when it happened it was simply infectious.

‘I always thought you were real funny, y’know?’ Bella said with a tired sigh.

‘Oh, really?’

‘Uh huh, totally.’

‘Well, I'm flattered. But you still haven't answered my question.’

Bella took a shallow breath. ‘Can we smoke first?’

Alice had foreseen the question coming, though not in a vision. Bella usually - if not always - partook in the stuff when she and the other Cullens got together for a hangout. THC was one of the few substances that had any effect on vampires. Carlisle had once explained it had to do with their metabolism. Vampires could experience intense highs from certain chemicals. However, the effects wouldn't last nearly as long as they could for the average human.

In other words, when Bella wanted to smoke, Alice had to smoke even more.

‘You didn't come here just to mooch off my supply, did you?’ Alice asked, rolling the first joint. Her nimble fingers made quick work of the roach and paper. She pushed her sweater sleeves above her elbows for ease of movement. Rolling was serious business. Alice took the utmost pride in her joints.

‘Hey, no, it's not like that,’ Bella said.

‘Easy, I'm joking. I'm funny, remember?’

Alice flicked at her green lighter and held the end of the joint in her mouth over an ashtray. The lighter sparked a couple of times, occasionally giving flame before dying out again.

‘Shit,’ Alice murmured through her teeth.

‘Hang on,’ Bella said. She hopped up from the couch and went to fumble in her tote bag. Alice continued to spark her lighter.

‘Whatcha bring in that thing?’ Alice asked, her sticky joint hanging lazily from her lower lip.

‘Uh, just my phone and shit,’ Bella said nonchalantly. ‘Ah! And this baby,” she smiled, holding up her cherry shaped jet lighter.

‘Cherry, my old friend!’ Alice cheered. ‘Always coming through for us.’

‘Filled her up yesterday,’ Bella said, tossing Alice the tiny blowtorch. ‘I’d have brought some fuel if I’d known yours was dead.’

‘Well, you could have texted me,’ Alice teased, ‘If only you had a—’

‘Oh, give it a rest,’ Bella laughed. ‘Cells freak me out, okay?’

‘I promise you, there’s nothing scary about owning one. Unless you want me to send you a cursed chain letter?’

‘Wow, you’re really selling this to me,’ Bella said, raising an eyebrow.

Alice smirked and flicked at Bella’s lighter. A steady, noisy flame ignited from the ceramic vessel. ‘Hallelujah,’ the vampire smiled. In seconds, the end of her joint was lit. She inhaled. Her vampire strength made for excellent lung capacity. Over the decades, Alice found she had perfected the art of the slow drag, knowing exactly when she had enough smoke to get her buzzed. Alice exhaled without even the slightest cough and passed the joint to Bella.

Bella had been watching her. She rocked back on her crossed legs and leaned against the stack of pillows behind her. Her baby pink lips pursed and took the joint between them. She dragged and puffed and dragged and puffed. And coughed. And dragged again. And puffed again.

‘Fuck, what are you tryna forget?’ Alice asked.

‘Oh, shoot. Guess I should get to talking now, huh?’ Bella choked. She passed the joint back to Alice, who took one more drag before setting it down in the ashtray.

‘Talk to me, B.’

‘Okay,’ Bella sighed. She cleared her throat. ‘Well, first of all, can you tell me how long Edward's gonna be gone for?’

Alice rolled her eyes.

‘Please, Alice? And I won't ask again.’

Alice stared Bella dead in the eye. Had Bella’s visit simply been a disguise to ask her a boatload of questions about her lovesick brother? Was Bella only here to use Alice as her crystal ball?

‘I swear,’ Bella said.

Alice sighed. ‘About a month,’ she said plainly. ‘Three weeks and four days, to be exact.’

Bella exhaled sharply and cursed under her breath. Her mouth formed a thin line and she nodded to herself. ‘Thank you. That's all I wanna know about him, I promise.’

Alice raised a thin eyebrow. ‘Go on.’

Bella dragged her red-knuckled fingers through her hair. It was a bit wavy after having some time to dry. Alice liked it.

‘I just felt like I… wanted to see you. I mean, yeah, I wanted to see you— needed to see you, actually.’

‘Yeah?’ Alice said. ‘Why’s that?’

Bella's chin was tucked into her arm. She had curled up like before, though no pillow was wedged between her and her thighs now. Her pale legs were squeezed together. Alice stared at the slight bruising on Bella's right knee. She gently reached out her hand to stroke it softly. Bella lifted her head to watch.

‘Does it still hurt?’ Alice asked.

Bella shrugged, ‘Just a little.’

Alice wasn't sure what compelled her to do so, but she continued to rub her fingers over Bella's knee in small circles. Bella watched quietly. Alice could tell she was trying not to cry again. Her eyes, now tinted pink from the weed, were growing shiny once more.

Slowly, Bella's hand crept up to hold onto the fingertips that stroked her knee. Alice wordlessly let her. It was such a vulnerable act; so desperate for the touch of another. Even if it wasn't human.

Alice stared at the ring Bella wore. It was an old, gilded, antique thing with a carved image of Jesus adorning its circular face. Alice recalled Bella saying her father had given it to her as a child, but these days he didn't so much as say Grace at dinner.

‘Bella?’ Alice said, softly prompting the girl to speak.

‘I think I just didn't wanna be alone,’ Bella said.

Alice frowned pitifully. ‘Whatever happened to your new college friends? Or your old school friends?’

Bella winced. ‘I think they're all avoiding me. But it's not like I'm a joy to be around lately.’

Alice leaned in closer, moving aside the stray pillows and the ashtray in between them. Bella still hung loosely onto Alice's hand. Gently, Alice squeezed Bella's fingers. The tender touch sent Bella over the edge, as fresh tears spilled over the girl's dark lower lashes.

‘C’mere,’ Alice said. She let Bella sink into her arms. Bella wrapped her arms around the vampire and buried her face into her neck. They stayed like that for some time, Alice slowly rocking Bella and stroking her hair, Bella sobbing against her. The rain outside started to ease until it became a gentle shower.

‘Everybody fucking leaves me,’ Bella said finally. ‘My mom, my friends, Edward; Everybody leaves eventually.’

Alice let the words hang in the air. They were so defeated. And yet, Alice knew that even if she couldn't read Bella's mind, they begged for reassurance.

‘I’m here.’

The girl stiffly pulled away from Alice's embrace. Her eyes were slightly puffy now, only adding to the tragedy which consumed her expression. And still, Alice found it so fitting.

Silently, they gazed at one another — into one another. Alice could hear the slight crackle of Bella's lungs as she breathed, no doubt caused by the copious amount of weed and tobacco the girl smoked daily. It was a wonder how Charlie had never smelled the stuff on her clothes.

Alice followed the direction of Bella's gaze. Her eyes would fall upon her lower face and back up again, asking a question which Alice could not hear.

‘Alice?’ Bella said then.

‘Hmm?’

‘Can I kiss you?’

Alice blinked. Her lips parted in surprise. ‘Kiss me?’

‘Yes.’

‘Oh.’

Silence. Unblinking silence. Alice stared. Bella stared.

‘Why?’ Alice said.

Bella chuckled incredulously. She scrunched her eyes, flicking the remnants of tears down her face and onto her knuckles. ‘Because I think you're fucking pretty, that's why.’

‘But… what about—’

‘Don’t say his name,’ Bella interrupted. ‘Please, just don't. I don't wanna think about him.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Alice said.

Bella shook her head, dismissing the apology. She shakily shuffled closer to Alice before flopping down in front of her again. She used both hands to brush Alice's spiky bangs out of her eyes. All the while, Bella made sure to keep eye contact with the vampire. There was a new look on her face - one of determination. Her nose and her cheeks were a sugary blush. Her eyes shimmered, still fending off new tears. Her eyebrows were furrowed as if she were thinking particularly hard about something. And her mouth was a thin, pink line.

Bella's hands came to a stop at either side of Alice's face. She cupped her like a precious jewel. Her big, brown eyes were so intense. Alice thought about how burdened they looked.

‘You’re sooo pretty, dude. I can't fucking believe it sometimes,’ Bella said, still with that hardened expression.

‘You look so damn angry,’ Alice said softly. She brushed her thumb over Bella's wrist. She knew it would do little to soothe her.

‘Kiss me, Alice,’ Bella whispered.

Alice licked her lips instinctively. Their faces were inches apart. Alice could see the depth of colour in Bella's eyes now. When she looked closely, she could see flecks of sparkly caramel. The hint of a rusty, red hue also hid behind the earthy brown. Like rich clay in a riverbed.

Bella had freckles. They were a delicate fawn colour and were sprinkled over the apples of her cheeks, her forehead, and the tip of her nose. Alice was compelled to count them. To just spend the day sitting and talking and counting.

Alice couldn't remember who had leaned in first. And usually, she was quite good at remembering things. But one moment she was taking Bella in, and the next she was pressed against Bella's body, kissing her tenderly as the girl straddled her lap.

The kiss was slow. Bella's hands had found their way under Alice's sweater. Even so, they only lingered around her waist and back. Alice's hands were lost in Bella's hair. She allowed herself to tug on it every so often, eliciting a quiet moan from the girl.

Bella tasted like weed. And Monster Energy. And gun metal. It was intoxicating. She smelled like a burning forest; pine needles and smoke and charred flowers. When their lips would pull apart, Alice found that she was the one to close the gap again. And still, it was all so careful; full of the intensity and lust of a first kiss, but holding an air of unspoken hesitance.

Bella was out of breath when the kiss finally came to a natural end.

‘Shit,’ the girl panted.

‘You good?’ Alice asked softly.

‘Yeah, I’m good,’ Bella laughed breathily. She removed her hands from underneath Alice's sweater. The vampire was surprised at the sheer warmth they left behind. Memories of the girl's presence. Ghosts on her skin

‘Um… I should go. I've probably overstayed my welcome,’ Bella said, glancing at the clock over Alice's writing desk.

‘At this hour? Out there?’ Alice asked, looking out her window. The rain, though no longer violent, still fell at a pace that was less than inviting.

‘Yeah.’

‘Bella, just stay here.’

‘Are you sure—’

‘Yeah, idiot. I'll make up the couch bed for you.’

‘Geez, well, if you insist,’ Bella smirked. Something about the smirk told Alice that Bella knew she'd rather be executed than let the girl catch pneumonia.

Quickly, Alice got to fishing out top sheets and meticulously fluffing up pillows, much to Bella’s amused protests. Alice waved her hand away and smoothed down the sheets. She was hosting. That was something she did best.

‘Seriously, you’re not a hotel maid,’ Bella said. ‘I don’t need— What is that?’

‘A spritz of lavender essential oil. It’ll help you sleep,’ Alice said, smiling proudly at her work.

‘Jesus,’ Bella laughed. ‘I think you’re doing too much.’

‘Am I?’

‘Totally.’

‘Good.’

Soon Bella was tucked under thick blankets. She nestled down like a rabbit in a warm burrow, closing her eyes once she was in a comfortable position. Alice decided to sit by her writing desk, facing her from across the small room.

‘Comfy?’ Alice asked.

‘Mmf,’ Bella said through the fuzzy covers.

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

Alice continued to watch the girl. Only the top of her face peeked out from the covers. It was almost five in the morning. Birdsong had begun to swell outside, greeting the warm hue of the slowly rising sun. Bella’s soft snoring joined their chorus.

Alice laughed quietly. She turned towards her desk and absentmindedly drummed her fingers against the wood.

‘Ali?’ came a sleepy voice.

‘Hmm?’ Alice said, turning around once again.

Bella’s eyes were still closed. She had turned slightly to face Alice.

‘I like kissing you.’

Before Alice could process the whispered words, Bella was snoring quietly again. The vampire exhaled through her nose, surprised yet again by the human’s unusual behaviour tonight.

‘Same,’ she said to herself.

☆

When Bella left the next morning, awoken by an unimpressed phone call from her father, Alice was left wondering if they’d ever again hang out the way they had. Alone. Just the two of them. Something about the night’s activities left Alice yearning for more. More pointless conversation. More bitching about her mopey brother. All of it had made Alice feel so warm. It had made her feel like a girl. It had made her feel human.

And the kiss. At first, it did not thrash around Alice’s mind the way she had expected it to. But it still lurked in the corners. Three whole days went by, and still, it crept into Alice’s frontal lobe when she folded her laundry. It flashed across her vision when she tried to read or write in her bedroom. Only ever in brief bursts. Only ever a whisper of what the kiss had truly been.

And then it started to plague her. It appeared in her daydreams in vivid colour, wrapping itself around her brain like an obsessive, flesh-eating worm. Afraid of her family peering into her thoughts, Alice began to seclude herself in her bedroom. But staying in the place where the kiss had happened did little to banish it from her memory.

Alice tried to write to distract herself, but all of her poems and stories ended up being about love and pink lips and girls with big, brown, puppy dog eyes. How could one kiss take up so much of Alice’s mental capacity? It was getting ridiculous.

‘Swanny girl’s been looking rough lately,’ said Rosalie, passing Alice by in the kitchen. The clock struck noon. Alice raised her eyebrows. She could have sworn it had been much later in the day. When Alice didn’t reply, Rosalie continued.

‘Saw her passing through town the other day. Does she even sleep? Humans need a lot of that, don’t they?’

‘That’s rude,’ Alice said, mulling over a wineglass of deer blood.

‘Ooh, is that fermented?’ Rosalie asked, swiping the glass before Alice could protest. She sipped once before Alice could stop her.

‘Girl,’ Alice said.

‘Geez, you're off your game today. Hanging around Bella threw off your foresight, huh?’

‘Leave her be, she's dealing with Edward.’

‘Oh, I know. He seemed pretty heated when he took off. I told him to spare me the details of his lover’s quarrel though.’

‘He didn't tell me anything about it anyway,’ Alice said, trying to hide her frustration.

If there was one thing she didn't like about Bella, Edward never spoke about her to anyone. Never allowed her to cross his mind when surrounded by family.

Alice loved her brother, even if it was not always reciprocated. She cared about his wellbeing. And not being allowed to know about someone who so greatly impacted his immortal life thoroughly bothered her.

‘You said a month, right? Girl's gonna be abusing that drum set of hers.’

‘They’ll hear it halfway to the moon,’ Alice chuckled fondly.

Bella played drums. Alice remembered how she had explained that it channelled her anger into something productive. The vampire admired that about her. She was full of rage. But she had somewhere she felt safe putting it. Even though Charlie had to beg her to “can it” after nine pm.

‘You coming with us to hunt later? We're looking for deer,’ Rosalie said, typing rapidly on her white Nokia.

‘I’ll think about it,’ Alice said.

‘Aw, come on! You can get blood drunk at noon some other time.’

‘I’m not getting blood drunk!’

‘Oh, please. I barely had to tip the glass to get that sip.’

Alice laughed at her sister's quick wit. ‘Okay, look, I'll strongly consider it.’

‘Great. See you in the clearing at six then,’ Rosalie said, walking off with her eyes glued to her phone.

Alice huffed. She wasn’t particularly in the mood for hunting today, and that was truly telling that something was bothering her. She loved the thrill of a good, long chase. She loved feeling the dirt between her fingernails and the salty air of the bay on her tongue. Most of all, she loved the catch. She could not deny the guilty pleasure that would overcome her after a successful hunt. Alice relished the sensation of bringing a living thing to its demise, tearing at flesh and sinew with her sharp teeth. She was somewhat of an animal herself, after all. How could she starve her beastly instincts of the adrenaline rush of killing?

Sighing, Alice went to take another sip of her deer blood, only to find out that Rosalie had sneakily stolen it. Perhaps Bella truly had shaken her foresight askew.

‘Bitch!’ Alice yelled into the house.

‘Thank you!’ came a faint reply.

Perhaps a good hunt would take her mind off of Edward. And Bella.

☆

The deer was fast. It weaved in and out of the trees like the wind itself. It knew these woods. But Alice knew them better. She had seen many of these trees when they were only skinny saplings. She had watched humans map out the hiking trails. Knowing this, Alice let the deer run ahead. She would catch up eventually.

It was always a treat when the other animal put up a fight — posed a good challenge. As Alice slowed her sprint, Carlisle, Emmett, and Esme caught up with her.

‘What a runner!’ Esme exhaled. ‘She’s taking us to the border!’

‘Well, she won’t reach it,’ Emmett said, grinning smugly.

‘You don’t plan on taking the kill do you?’ came a voice from above. Rosalie dropped down from the trees. Her leather hunting boots lifted the pine needles from the forest floor as she landed.

‘Don’t worry, babe. I’m a man of my word. No one’s taking down that deer but you.’

Rosalie placed a loving kiss on Emmett’s cheek. Alice faked a gag.

Carlisle sniffed the air, looking for signs of where the deer had fled. He stretched out his back and placed his hands on his hips. ‘I’d say if we split and circle, we’ll be able to direct her back into our territory. If we let her get too close to the border, that’s dinner off the table.’

Alice looked in the direction the deer had run. She closed her eyes and inhaled, allowing herself to smell every little note the forest held within. She rooted her boots to the ground, letting her body absorb every small motion; every padded footstep and slow blink. In her mind’s eye, she saw that Carlisle’s plan would work. However, for everything to play out correctly, the coven would have to move quickly.

‘You’re on the money, Carlisle,’ Alice said. ‘But we need to move now!’

‘Perfect,’ Carlisle grinned. ‘Esme, Emmet, the three of us will form the triad formation. Alice and Rosalie, outer circle.’

‘Adaptive triad, on your mark,’ Alice and Rosalie said in unison. They crouched at the ready.

‘Move out,’ Carlisle instructed.

In seconds, the family had split. Alice and Rosalie created a wide circle around the deer’s trail. The rest of the Cullens would form a triangle around the animal, decreasing in size as it became easier to trap.

Alice could swear she could feel her heartbeat when she ran this fast. Like the still ichor within her had suddenly found a purpose to flow once more. Nothing could distract her at this moment. Alice was locked in like the beast she was, pinpoint-focused on the task at hand and absolutely nothing else.

A faint rumbling noise sounded off in the distance. It played out in a rhythmic, four beat time signature. When Alice listened closer, she could hear the quiet reverb of an accompanying instrumental track.

“Laid to Rest.”

‘Lamb Of God?’ Alice thought out loud. She listened for longer, coming to a stop in the middle of her sprint. ‘Bella,’ she whispered.

The aggressive melody of the Lamb Of God song was being bashed out at a violent pace. It sounded like Bella had moved her drumset to the garage, most likely under Charlie’s wishes.

She played every note like she had the intention of somehow killing each one. Alice was intrigued. She listened and felt for Rosalie’s presence. She was already starting to hone in on the deer. Taking this as a sign that she could break away from the group, Alice leapt into a nearby tree, scaling it so she could gain a better vantage point to listen to Bella’s angsty performance.

Atop the thick branches, Alice closed her eyes and listened. A vision formed. She could see the girl, alone in her garage with the roller door up. Her truck was probably still in the shop. But its absence certainly gave Bella more room in there.

She was heating up from her rigorous playing and had stripped down to a white tank top and baggy sweatpants. A small cross hung from a dainty chain around her neck. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, though it did little to stop the finer hairs from falling over her lashes as she played. Alice envisioned Bella’s hands and was surprised to find that they were bandaged and slightly bloodied. What on earth had she been up to over the last three days?

Charlie was away today, Alice could sense it. She could also guess from seeing the cigarette that dangled from Bella’s lip. Bella had stolen a few of her father’s Newports. A second one rested behind her ear. A third was nestled in her pants pocket.

The thought of Edward was surely still bothering Bella. She looked pained. Frustrated. So damn angry. Alice’s attention, unfortunately for her family, had been grabbed by the neck.

Where are you? I’m about to move in. It was Rosalie’s voice in Alice’s mind. Unsurprisingly, she sounded very annoyed.

I’m here in the canopy. Do you need me?

I guess not. But why? Where are you going?

Alice didn’t answer. And Rosalie didn’t wait for her to. Alice heard the crunch of meat and bone as her sister took down the deer, a mile away from where she stood. Alice jumped down from her tree and started up a sprint in the other direction.

It was time to pay someone a visit.

☆

‘Fucking damn it!’ Bella groaned, slamming her drumsticks down on her set.

Obscured by thick foliage, Alice watched her from afar, studying her intently like the forest creatures she hunted. Prey. Amusing prey.

‘There you are,’ Rosalie huffed. She reeked of her fresh kill. Dark splashes of blood ran down her hunting gear and smeared across her lips. She joined Alice on her chosen tree branch, swaying it gently.

‘Rosalie,’ Alice greeted.

‘What happened back there? Why are you here?’

Alice had predicted Rosalie’s arrival and also her question.

‘I just wanted to see her,’ Alice said quietly. ‘I heard her across the forest.’

‘So did I! But I didn't dissolve the hunt over it!’ Rosalie said. When Alice didn’t answer, Rosalie followed Alice’s line of sight. She clicked her tongue. ‘What has you so interested?’

Alice shook her head, ‘I don’t know. I just think she’s so fascinating. Don’t you?’

Bella was sparking up her second cigarette. She had sat herself upon a treestump in her front lawn. The temperature change sent a shiver down her spine. The sweat on her skin had surely been cooled by the evening air. She rubbed at one arm and continued to smoke.

‘Truly fascinating,’ Rosalie hummed. Her mouth curled to one side and she wrinkled her nose. ‘You’re not fawning over this girl, are you?’

Alice’s eyes widened. ‘What? No, of course not. Edward would freak,’ she hissed.

‘As if,’ Rosalie said. ‘You’re his favourite.’

‘That’s a joke. And I won’t be inserting myself into his relationships.’

‘Well he certainly isn’t nurturing this relationship, if you could even call it that.’

‘Rosalie!’ Alice gasped.

‘I’m serious. All he’s done to that girl is love bomb her, throw childish fits, and abandon her when he needs to take responsibility. And I’m damn sick of everyone leaning back and watching it happen.’

The blonde vampire’s face was stern. The blood on her mouth had begun to dry, cracking and flaking onto the forest floor. Her lower lip was sucked under the top one in a tense frown.

‘I don’t particularly like her,’ Rosalie said. ‘But I also don’t like how Edward’s treating her. All this running away.’

‘Things are complicated between them,’ Alice said.

‘I don’t see how up and leaving the girl by herself will help that.’

‘What are you saying?’

‘What do you wish I was saying?’

Alice was silent. Rosalie observed her wordlessly. There was a hint of what Alice could only describe as sadness in her eyes. She was unsure of why it was there.

Suddenly, that look of sadness changed to one of surprise. Rosalie’s mouth slowly hung open and she frantically looked Alice up and down. Her brow lowered, creating lines at the corners of her eyes.

‘You kissed her?’

Alice bared her teeth. She must have let the memory slip. She could not pinpoint when the vision had crossed her mind exactly. But Rosalie had caught it. Rosalie knew.

‘It wasn’t my idea,’ Alice whispered guiltily.

‘Dear god,’ Rosalie said, stretching the last word.

‘She just— She wanted to! It really wasn’t anything like that. I haven’t even thought about it, really. Until now, I suppose. But I mean it, it didn’t mean anything. We were high.’

‘This is… Damn, this is—’

‘We were high. And she was so upset. And— And it was so nice, Rosalie. It was so nice. And it wasn’t for very long. I…’

Rosalie stared, letting Alice ramble herself into her grave.

‘Oh, I've screwed up. Say something, Rose.’

‘Hey, all right. Calm down, I’m not angry. I’m kind of happy for you.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Come on, Alice. Don’t pretend like you haven’t been gushing about a partner since the day we met. I think you even hit on me when we did.’

‘Oh god, do you think I look desperate?’

‘No, stupid. I think you need to catch a break. Look, what you guys choose to do is your decision.’

‘I don't want to do anything with her,’ Alice said.

‘Why’s that?’

‘Because! Because... I don’t think she needs that right now.’

‘Needs what? A healthy relationship?

‘No, Rose. Another one of… us.’

‘Ain’t that the truth,’ Rosalie sighed heavily. She poked her tongue into the inside of her cheek. ‘What are you going to do then?’

Alice watched Bella through the leaves. She hated how pretty she looked when she was focused. Shaking the thought away, Alice pulled her eyes away from the scene.

‘I need to tell her we can’t kiss again.’

‘Man,’ Rosalie said, ‘This coven’s a damn soap opera these days.’

Alice laughed sadly. ‘I think it’s the right thing to do. I think if I stop this now, it’d hurt Edward less. Won’t it? God, tell me it will.’

Rosalie shrugged. ‘He’ll find out regardless.’

Alice let those words sit with her. Suddenly, Bella’s drums started up again. Both vampires turned to watch her.

Rosalie sighed. ‘We’ll put your drink aside. See you at home.’ She placed a tender hand on Alice’s shoulder and stared at her with a knowing sincerity. Alice watched her silently disappear between the tree trunks. She turned back towards Bella, who was trying to master a particularly difficult part of her song.

Carefully, Alice slipped down from the tree and began to walk towards Bella’s garage. The girl spotted her quickly and quit her drumming to wave at the vampire. Alice waved back.

‘Yo!’ Bella exclaimed. She hopped up from her drum set and hurried over to bring Alice into an awkward hug. ‘Whatcha doing here?’

‘Hey, B,’ Alice said, smiling warmly, ‘I was just out hunting with my family.’

‘Shit, well, it’s nice to see you. You missed Charlie. He left not too long ago.’

‘Ah, gone for the evening?’

‘For the night. You wanna smoke?’

‘I don’t mind.’

Bella playfully punched Alice’s arm and brought her inside. The house was cooled by the late summer air. A glowing, honeyed hue was creeping in through the windows, draping over the walls and furniture like a gold-spun gossamer blanket. Bella sat Alice by the breakfast table and laid out her smoke box between them. Sunlight pooled into her dark eyes, turning them from deep brown to a gilded amber. It was magic.

‘You’re awfully quiet,’ Bella observed as she unfurled a new slip of wax paper.

‘I guess I’m just tired after the hunt,’ Alice said.

‘Nice save,’ Bella chuckled. ‘Something bothering you? You might as well take your turn to unload on me after last weekend.’

‘Aw, Bella, I didn’t mind our talk. You needed it.’

‘Yeah, yeah, whatever. What’s up?’

‘Your smoke alarm is about to go off.’

‘Huh?’

A high pitched beeping noise blared over the kitchen. A thin pillar of smoke was rising from the oven.

‘Shit! My hashbrowns!’

Bella scrambled out of her chair, knocking it to the tiled floor with a bang. She flung open the oven door and stuffed a towel around the metal tray inside. Frustrated, she slammed the tray into the kitchen sink and coughed as she waved away the smoke.

‘Aw, it’s fucked,’ Bella muttered, staring at the blackened pucks of potato.

‘I’m sorry, my foresight has been so off lately,’ Alice said, turning to open a window.

‘I ain’t blaming you, dude,’ Bella chuckled, fanning the grey mist out of the house. ‘Shit, well, I guess I gotta order takeout. That was the last thing I had to eat for tonight.’

‘It’s Wednesday, you didn’t do any grocery shopping over the weekend?’

‘No, I was crying and eating your face off last weekend, remember?’

‘Oh, yeah.’

Bella snickered. ‘Light up on the porch, I’m ordering a pizza.’

Alice gathered the half-rolled joint and sat herself outside. She had to shield her eyes from the low, setting sun. Her skin glittered softly, but she knew she’d soon be safe from its damning rays.

She fiddled with the end of Bella’s joint and flicked at her lighter. It sparked and failed again.

‘Shit, yeah, you’re dead,’ Alice muttered, turning the plastic thing in her hand.

She had forgotten. Sighing, Alice leaned back on her step, letting the chill forest breeze brush over her face. The faint smell of burnt hashbrowns mixed with the mountain air. Something began to tap rapidly at Alice’s left knee. When she looked, she noticed it was her fingers. They quickly rapped against her knee like they were trying to gain her attention. Unsettled, Alice placed her other hand over them.

Odd, she thought. Phantom nerves, perhaps.

‘That’s done,’ Bella said, appearing on the porch steps. She hunkered down next to Alice and handed her the cherry lighter. ‘Sorry, I forgot yours is bust.’

‘At least one of us remembered,’ Alice said.

Bella briefly narrowed her eyes at the statement. She shrugged it off after Alice finally sparked up. They sat in silence as Alice took the first pull.

‘You said your family went hunting?’ Bella said, taking her turn to drag. ‘Did you not go with ‘em?’

‘I did.’

‘They leave without you, or?’ Bella trailed off.

‘Uh, no. I kind of ditched them.’

‘Flake,’ Bella grinned, tapping out her ashes.

‘I wanted to stop by,’ Alice said.

Bella inhaled and puffed. ‘Just to see me?’

‘Yeah, I guess.’

Bella fiddled with the roach of her joint, turning it over and over between her fingers. A small smile was creeping across her face. It was dripping with mischief.

‘What?’ Alice said.

‘Oh, nothing,’ Bella replied and went to take another drag.

‘What?’ Alice repeated, more urgently than she would have liked.

‘Well,’ Bella began, ‘You’ve never stopped by before. Not by yourself. And not to see me. Just me.’

‘Yeah,’ Alice said. She didn’t know what else to say.

‘I don’t mind, ya know?’

Silence. Alice watched the girl drag once more, reeling back to cough a few times.

‘Y’good?’ Alice asked.

‘Good,’ Bella choked. She brushed a hand over her face, giving Alice a glance at her bandaged knuckles.

‘Hey, what happened to you?’ the vampire asked, reaching out to inspect the damage.

‘Hmm?’

‘Your hands, B, you look like you've been cage fighting.’

‘Oh!’ Bella laughed, ‘Yeah, uh, I was just punching shit.’

‘Punching?’

‘Yeah, walls and stuff,’ Bella said. She nodded over to an old, disintegrating brick wall, which stood at the end of her lawn. ‘I been punching that thing, uh, a lot. And also the drywall in my room. My wardrobe is currently hiding quite the crater.’

‘Geez,’ Alice said.

‘Yeah, shit’s fucked,’ Bella said, puffing shortly on her joint.

‘How have you not broken something?’

‘I dunno.’

Alice shook her head in amazement. ‘You are so bizarre.’

‘Thank you.’

Silence. Staring. Silence.

‘Look, Bella,’ Alice started.

‘Yeah, here it is,’ Bella laughed quietly.

‘No, listen. I wanted to ask you something. About last weekend?’

‘Mhmm?’ Bella nodded, tapping her joint and letting it die in her fingers.

‘About… the kiss?’

‘Ah,’ Bella said. Her gaze was focused on her green high-tops. She shuffled them awkwardly. ‘You come here for round two?’ the girl asked. She forced a sheepish grin.

‘Bella,’ Alice said dolefully.

‘I’m joking.’

‘I know.’

Silence.

‘I don’t think we should do it again,’ Alice said finally. ‘I think it’d just make things more complicated for you. Don’t you think?’

‘Hell if I know what’s good for me,’ Bella shrugged. She flicked her roach into the gutter. ‘But, yeah. Maybe you’re right. I’m sorry if I’ve made things weird between us—’

‘Not at all, absolutely not at all,’ Alice breathed. ‘I promise.’

‘Okay,’ Bella said. ‘Good.’

A delivery truck began to approach the house. Alice hurriedly stood and rushed inside. Her skin was still shimmering against the sunset. As she waited for Bella to fix up with the driver outside, she silently rehearsed her departure. It was done. She wouldn’t have to worry about Bella or kissing her or thinking of kissing her anymore. She could deal with composing her explanation to Edward later.

‘He forgot my sauce,’ Bella grumbled once she reappeared in the kitchen. Once she had set her food down on the table, she glanced over to Alice awkwardly looming by the doorway.

‘You’re leaving?’

The vampire played with her fingers. ‘Oh, yeah. I thought I should get going.’

‘Stay a while.’

The words caught Alice off guard. She had expected Bella to want some alone time after such a loaded conversation.

‘I mean, are you sure?’

‘Yeah, dude. I was gonna put on What Lies Beneath.’

‘You hate that movie.’

‘Yeah, but I like watching it with other people,’ Bella shrugged.

Alice couldn’t help the amused smile that crossed her face. ‘I’m dressed in my hunting gear.’

‘Then wear something of mine.’

It was clear that Bella didn't plan on letting Alice leave any time soon. Thinking it'd be rude to refuse her invitation a second time, Alice gave in.

‘All right. But I’ll bounce after.’

‘Cool.’

☆

Alice sat on the lumpy couch in Bella's living room, dressed in a pair of her sweats and an oversized hoodie. Bella finished two slices of her pizza before becoming engrossed in the low-budget horror movie. Despite it being a movie she heavily disliked, she knew the ins and outs of every terrible shot and stilted line of dialogue. She laughed at every cheap jumpscare and rewound when Alice laughed too. During the boring parts, Bella rolled a handful of pinners and insisted they be smoked to “enhance the experience.” Alice joked that she was the only human who could out smoke a vampire, though she didn’t exactly doubt the notion either.

With about a half hour left of the screening, Bella’s pocket buzzed and beeped. She idly fished out a shiny, silver Motorola.

‘Are you joking? When did you get that?’ Alice questioned.

‘Oh, yeah,’ Bella said sheepishly, ‘I decided to finally enter the digital age,’ she said, awkwardly waving the phone about.

‘Since when?’

Bella shrugged. ‘I’m, like, nearly twenty-one. And if my college friends weren't initially on my ass about it, you sure hammered it into me last weekend.’

‘Who’s in it? Add me!’

‘Sure,’ Bella smiled, handing the phone over.

Alice excitedly clicked on Bella's contacts. She glanced over the small list of names. Her father was pinned at the top of the list. Alice also recognised the names of Bella's old high school friends and a few names she did not recognise.

One particular name stuck out like a sore thumb.

‘You have Edward on here.’

‘Uh, yeah. I had his number in my journal from, like, a year ago. He told me to take it down. Just in case I ever decided to get some digits.’

‘Did you text him?’

Bella was quiet. She was focused on the screen of the TV now, sheltered by her long hair.

‘I did,’ she said bluntly.

‘And?’

‘He hasn't responded.’

Bella messed with the shoulder of her tank top. Her eyes were locked on the TV, but they did not move.

‘I’m sorry, I didn't mean to upset you,’ Alice said.

‘It’s fine. I don't care.’

Alice frowned. She gently brushed away the curtain of Bella’s hair that separated them on the couch. Her mouth had formed into a familiar thin line. Her cheeks shifted as she clenched and unclenched her jaw.

So damn angry.

‘You sure you don’t wanna talk about it?’

‘I’m very sure.’

‘All right,’ Alice said softly.

Without realising, Alice had let her fingers linger in Bella’s hair. Her fingertips rested behind the shell of her ear. Bella turned herself slightly, not leaning into the touch but not pulling away either. Her eyes were still narrowed, still angered by the person on her phone.

‘It’s okay,’ Alice whispered tenderly. A finger slipped from Bella’s ear and stroked her cheek. Bella blinked slowly as she studied Alice's face.

‘What?’ Alice whispered.

‘Hmm?’ Bella said.

Alice smiled crookedly. ‘What are you looking at?’

‘You.’

‘Mm,’ Alice hummed.

‘I like looking at you,’ Bella said.

‘Oh, yeah?’

‘Uh huh, very much so.’

Damn it, Alice thought. This was not the type of conversation that people who don't kiss would have. And Bella was looking extremely kissable right now. All glowy in the light of the TV. Warm from the weed. Soft to the touch.

Bella had turned her body so that she was leaning towards the vampire. One hand was nestled between them, dangerously close to Alice's hip. The girl's chin was tilted upwards, practically inviting Alice in. It became clear to Alice that vampires weren't the only creatures to harness the power of seduction.

‘I like looking at you too,’ Alice said. Her voice was a low whisper as if she were telling Bella a closely guarded secret. In a way, Alice felt like she was. She wasn’t supposed to say things like this to Bella. Right? Friends don’t speak to each other like that.

Right?

‘What do you like about looking at me?’ Bella asked. Her eyes had half closed and the hint of a smirk played on the corners of her lips.

If Alice could blush the way humans did, she was certain she’d be redder than Bella’s cherry lighter.

The vampire’s throat ran dry. Her next word was strained but true.

‘Everything.’

Bella was inches away now. She placed a gentle hand on Alice’s thigh and slid it upwards.

‘We can't,’ Alice whispered, though she found herself leaning in just as close.

‘I know,’ Bella whispered back, tilting her head ever so slightly.

‘Oh, Bella,’ Alice whined. Mournful. Wanting.

The end of Bella's name was cut short by an eager mouth. Firm lips pressed against Alice's, so hard the vampire feared Bella would bruise herself. It was so hungry. And frighteningly determined.

The girl slid into Alice's lap, and Alice couldn't stop the way her hands fell onto Bella's hips or trailed up her back under her tank top; how they clawed down Bella's skin, how they pulled her even closer.

The kiss was a mess, all tongue and teeth. Alice couldn't get enough. It was addictive. She nipped at Bella's lower lip and lost her hands in the girl’s hair, not minding how rough she was being; Bella's soft moaning only spurred her on.

Bella sucked once on Alice's tongue, slow and deliberate. When she pulled away with a ragged breath, Alice could see the hard nubs of her nipples poking through her white tank top, which had slid up significantly to reveal her pale under breast. Her ribs peeped out from under the thin fabric. Alice gasped at how soft she looked. Her pale silhouette tinted blue against the TV screen made her look as if she were made of milk glass.

‘No bra?’ Alice said breathlessly.

‘Yeah, yeah, fuck the patriarchy,’ Bella panted. And Alice giggled.

Their lips collided once more. Bella held Alice's face in both hands, kissing her with a passion that was so intense it was almost animalistic. Feral.

Alice shifted in her place on the couch, causing Bella to moan into her mouth.

‘Shit,’ Bella gasped, pulling away briefly. ‘Do that again. Please?’

‘This?’ Alice asked, pushing her hips upwards and into Bella's straddled centre.

‘Uh huh,’ Bella squeaked.

Alice obeyed. She began to grind herself over Bella's sweatpants, allowing some error for the girl to settle into her rhythm.

‘Jesus,’ Bella panted, ‘Fuck. Shit.’

‘Does that feel good?’ Alice asked shakily.

‘So good,’ Bella nodded. Her hair began to stick to one side of her face and forehead. It reminded Alice of when she’d shown up on her doorstep in the rain.

The way Bella’s hips moved with Alice's was simply hypnotising. Alice observed every bone and muscle working together to aid Bella towards her high. And it wasn't far off, judging by the girl's quickening pace.

Alice's eyes fell on Bella's heaving chest. She inched Bella forward so that she could take one nipple between her lips through the fabric. She tugged lightly, eliciting a needy whine from the girl.

‘Don’t stop,’ Bella breathed, ‘Please, don't fucking stop.’

Bella's hands gripped Alice's shoulders. She bucked into her frantically, beginning to lose her rhythm as her orgasm finally rose to the surface.

It was heaven to watch. Bella pressed herself deep into Alice's centre, grinding slower and slower until she'd rode out every last wave of her release. She had fallen against Alice's chest and buried her face into the vampire's neck. Alice rested hers into Bella's mane of hair.

Bella trembled against her, still rubbing out the last of the high. Eventually, she came to a still, letting her breath catch up to a regular speed. Alice stroked her smooth back with both hands, allowing the girl to collect herself.

For a while, Bella's irregular breathing filled the room. The movie had long ended. Alice stroked the girl's hair with one hand, her other draped over her back.

‘Shit,’ Bella finally mumbled against Alice's hoodie.

‘Yeah,’ Alice sighed finally. ‘Shit indeed.’

‘We… I shouldn't have that.’

Bella shakily sat up on the vampire’s waist. And of course, Alice would have painted her vision on the finest canvas. Hung it in the damn Louvre. Written poetry about how pretty every damn hair on her damn head was. She was perfect. Half naked, hair dishevelled. Perfect.

‘You’re so beautiful,’ Alice said.

Bella huffed, ‘Thanks.’

‘I mean it,’ Alice said.

‘Well… You still want to leave?’ Bella asked, turning back towards the vampire.

Alice laughed. She couldn't help it.

‘I probably should.’

‘Damn.’

‘I’m sorry, I said I'd be home later.’

‘Can you lie?’

Alice rolled her eyes and went to budge Bella off of her. The girl hissed, startling Alice.

‘What? What is it?’ Alice asked worriedly.

‘Nothing, I… I'm just really wet.’

‘Oh,’ Alice said.

The two burst into a fit of giggles, falling about the couch as they did. Bella awkwardly pulled down her tank top and insisted Alice keep her clothes, no doubt a reason for them to meet up again.

‘You can text me, you know?’ Alice grinned, standing with Bella on her front porch. ‘Whenever you need.’

‘I know. Thank you,’ Bella said. ‘Um, and thanks for… staying a bit.’

‘No problem,’ Alice said. ‘I guess I'll see you around?’

‘Yeah,’ Bella said. ‘I’ll see you. Around.’ She gestured awkwardly.

‘Goodnight, Bella.’

‘Night,’ Bella said, waving shyly as Alice descended the steps.

‘Ali?’ Bella called.

Alice turned to face her inquisitively.

Bella tapped her foot on the porch wood. ‘This was… We can’t… What do we do now? After… all that?’

‘I don't know, B,’ Alice said softly.

Bella nodded dumbly. ‘Was it… bad?’

‘Bad?’

Bella cleared her throat. ‘Was it a bad thing that we did this?’

Alice frowned - a heavy sadness weighing down her chest. She walked back up the porch steps and drew Bella in for a firm hug. The girl hugged her back just as tightly, burying her face into the soft fabric of Alice’s borrowed hoodie. When Alice pulled away, Bella’s winced expression resembled that of a wounded animal.

‘How about we talk about it another time?’ Alice whispered.

Bella’s lips pouted for a brief moment before she nodded slowly.

‘All right,’ Alice said quietly.

Bella reached down to kiss her, slow, firm, and longingly; as if it would be the last time she’d ever get the opportunity. In the back of Alice’s mind, she wondered if it would be. It took all of her strength not to kiss her just as firmly back.

Bella pulled away, her eyes not meeting the vampire’s.

‘Goodnight, Alice.’

‘Goodnight, Bella.’

Without another word, Alice sped home.

☆

‘You motherfucker!’

‘Rosalie,’ Alice groaned.

Her sister had greeted her at the front door, a shit-eating grin on her pristine face.

‘I knew it! I knew you were bullshitting me. You were gawking at her like she was the second coming!’

‘Who’s coming?’ Emmett asked, walking into the foyer and holding a mug of blood from the family hunt.

‘Alice and Bella boned.’

‘Aliba— Bwuh, huh?’

‘We did not bone,’ Alice huffed, ‘Don’t be so vulgar.’ She made a beeline for the stairs, mortified by her sister’s shameless prying.

‘Hey! Get back here!’ Rosalie yelled up the stairs.

Alice shut her bedroom door behind her. She leaned against the wood, silently begging her sister not to charge through it. Rosalie's muffled ranting echoed throughout the foyer. She was cackling like a hyena. Alice had to admit that her enthusiasm towards the situation was somewhat of a comfort, even if it was at the expense of her dignity.

With her mind a swirl of untamed emotions, Alice shakily sat herself down at her writing desk. Her haven. The walnut surface was hidden beneath several crumpled pages of Alice's mind matter. She sighed and took one of the white, crinkled balls, smoothing it out with her palms. It was a single phrase, hastily scrawled in black ink.

If I should take your pain away, would you still look as sweet?

Alice moved the page aside and grabbed another.

Sadness flows through you and permeates your blood. To drink of it would surely bring me to my knees.

‘Jesus Christ,’ Alice mumbled.

‘Bitch, open the door,’ came Rosalie's voice from outside the room.

‘I’m brooding,’ Alice called back.

The door opened. Alice sighed. Rosalie entered with a tall glass of red in one hand. She slammed it down on Alice's desk and then folded her arms.

‘Start talking and then you can start sipping.’

Alice reached for the glass, only to have it swiped away.

‘Are you going to talk?’

‘Rose,’ Alice groaned.

‘Don’t make me poke around in that filthy little mind of yours,’ Rosalie said, twiddling her fingers in Alice's face. ‘Tell me what happened.’

‘Fine,’ Alice sighed, throwing her arms up in defeat. ‘We kissed. Again.’

‘And?’

‘And… maybe some heavy petting.’

‘Ohoho,’ Rosalie beamed. ‘This is incredible.’

‘Yeah, you seem weirdly pleased about it,’ Alice said dryly.

‘Because it's you! You don't do stuff like this. You're Alice. Our sweet little Alice,’ Rosalie said, tousling her sister’s hair.

‘Knock it off,’ Alice grumbled. She snatched the glass of blood from Rosalie and took a long gulp. ‘It’s not like I've been the one initiating all this.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yeah. Bella has been, like, so… intimate? I feel like she’s never even looked my way until now.’

‘Well, maybe you just didn't notice,’ Rosalie said. ‘You had Edward shielding her from you.’

‘Don’t talk like that. Don't speak of him that way.’

‘I’m serious! Maybe Bella's been trying to get closer to you but she's been too busy scrapping with that man-child every other week.’

‘Can we drop this? I'm done. I'm done talking about this.’

Rosalie shook her head. ‘You need to lighten up.’

‘And you need to stop talking about Edward like he isn't going through his own stuff.’

Less than amused, Rosalie began to make her way out of the room. She paused at Alice's door.

‘Edward has had plenty of time to deal with his own emotions. That girl shouldn't be the one to sort them out for him.’

As Rosalie opened Alice's door to leave, Emmett stood outside with one fist in the air, ready to knock.

‘Yo… Uh, so did Alice and Bella really—’

‘Yes, they did,’ Rosalie scoffed, pushing past Emmett and heading downstairs.

‘Damn it,’ Emmett muttered, scratching the back of his neck.

‘What?’ Alice asked.

‘I owe Rose so much money.’

☆

Three more days passed, each without any word from Bella. Alice began to wonder if she'd decided to revert to her phoneless ways. She wondered if she'd texted Edward again. She wondered if Edward had replied to her. Or if she had punched the rest of her brick wall into dust. Most of all, Alice wondered if Bella was thinking of her.

The girl’s vengeful drumming could be heard across the forest. It was enough to assure Alice that she was at least still alive. Though it did little to distract her from thinking about her.

Alice had lost all hope in trying to banish the girl from her mind. Thoughts of Bella came frequently now. They took form in Alice's brain whenever she had a moment of peace. When she was walking in the woods at night. When she was cleaning her fangs. When she was listening to her vinyl records. Not even the soothing tones of Ella Fitzgerald could free her from the mental prison that was a new crush.

When she tried to peer into Bella's future, Alice could see her brother there with her. The vision was not clear. She could not tell if they were happy or sad together, just that they were with one another. When Alice dared to look even deeper, still she found Edward, his blurry face staring back at her from a world that had not yet dawned.

Alice couldn’t fathom the disappointment that followed when she did not see herself in the visions. This disappointment was then often followed by guilt. It was ridiculous even to consider. Of course, Alice wouldn't play a part in Bella's future love life. The vampire wasn't sure why she had even wanted to look. Had she truly expected to find herself there? A fuzzy figure wrapped in Bella's arms? How silly it was even to imagine.

Then why do you keep checking? Alice asked herself as she curled up on her couch bed. She had failed to fold it away after Bella's unexpected visit. A part of Alice didn't want to do such a thing. She liked remembering that Bella had been there. Her scent still lingered in the pillows and blankets. Smoke and flowers.

Saturday night had rolled back around and Alice found herself alone in her bedroom, listening to Louis Armstrong, waiting the night away. Brooding had become something she had found herself doing more and more. Despite it being quite a popular vampire pastime, Alice rarely indulged in the activity. She was built for movement. Running aimlessly with friends. Driving fast down a highway. Dancing for hours in exclusive speakeasies.

These days, she found herself uninterested in anything else but the headstrong girl living in the little white house, with bloody knuckles and dark circles. Bella Swan. Tragic, doomed, Bella Swan.

A mug of warm blood was nestled between Alice’s fingers, covered by the sleeves of her oversized sweater. It was well into the early hours of the morning. Alice had planned on going for a solo hunt, but she could not bring herself to get into a hunting mindset. Her body had felt off as of late. She knew damn well why.

The life of a settled vampire was simple: Hunt. Drink. Brood. With most of those things knocked off her list today, Alice was growing frustrated with the lack of enrichment.

Bzz bzz.

No. It couldn't be. Could it?

Alice slowly picked up her phone. A contact which she had lovingly decorated with star emoticons appeared on screen.

hey. u awake?

Alice re-read the contact name over and over, making sure that it was who she saw it was. After taking a full minute to come to terms with the fact that Bella had contacted her, she received another message.

i 4got u dont need 2 sleep. im dum as fuk :P

Alice bit back a smile, hearing Bella's voice in her head. The girl typed the way she talked. Alice found it amusing. She hovered her fingers over her keyboard, hesitating before bringing a single finger to the buttons.

Wide awake :)

Bella’s response was slow. Alice figured she was still getting used to the small keys.

sweet. r u busy?

No, why?

The chorus of “Inside Your Heaven” by Carrie Underwood blared from Alice’s phone. She jumped in surprise, usually able to sense when she was about to get a call.

Bella’s name lit up on her screen. Alice stared at her phone in silence, letting the song play until the chorus repeated once again. She accepted the call.

‘Hello?’ Alice said warily.

‘Hey,’ came Bella’s voice over the speaker. It was quiet and slow and was followed by a burst of two short coughs.

‘Hey, sleepy,’ Alice replied. ‘You’re up late again.’

‘Yeah,’ Bella said groggily, fighting a long yawn. ‘I can’t fall asleep.’

‘Why’s that?’ Alice asked. She pulled up one of her blankets from the couch bed. Something about the way Bella spoke made her want to feel cosy.

‘I dunno. The house is creepy when it’s just me sometimes. Maybe that’s it.’

‘Charlie’s out?’

‘Yeah. Or, shit, maybe it’s this stupid microbiology exam I have coming up.’

‘You study?’

‘Yeah, dude, sooo much,’ Bella groaned.

Alice giggled. ‘Maybe you’re a bit overworked then. Too much brain activity in that noggin of yours.’

‘Sure, sure,’ Bella said.

God, her voice, Alice thought. Does she know how delicious it sounds?

‘What you been up to the last few days?’ Bella asked.

‘Oh, you know. Feeding, reading, standing in one place for hours at a time.’

‘Damn, I’m getting serious FOMO.’

‘You’re sure missing out.’

Bella shuffled in her bed, causing the audio from Alice’s phone to crackle. Alice listened intently as Bella sighed and settled into a different position. Eventually, the line went static, accompanied by Bella’s soft breathing. Alice wondered for a moment if she’d suddenly fallen asleep. But that question was soon answered with another short cough. Alice smirked.

‘All good?’

Once again, it got quiet on the other line. Alice’s ears pricked with anticipation. The way Bella was breathing didn’t sound like she was dozing off. It sounded like she was almost holding it. Alice then picked up on a small, dry swallow.

‘I wish you were here, dude,’ Bella said.

It was Alice’s turn to go silent. She messed with her sweater sleeve, pinching it and twisting it between her thumb and index finger.

Bella cleared her throat. ‘You still there?’

‘Yes.’

‘Okay.’

‘I’m right here, Bee.’

Alice heard the subtle squeeze of Bella’s throat tightening and untightening. She heard fingers slowly scratching across tangled hair and the wet slide of teeth chewing on soft lips.

‘It’s cold here,’ Bella said, her voice growing low and quiet.

‘I’m not sure I can help you there,’ Alice replied.

‘I could. We could.’

Alice had to close her eyes and take a slow inhale. She fluttered her eyes open again and leaned back into her couch, staring at her ceiling.

‘Yeah? How’s that?’

Bella took her time answering. The static on the other line seemed to grow louder.

‘I could hold you till you’re warm.’

‘You could.’

‘I could rub my hands all over you until you’re just as warm as me. And then we’d both be warm.’

Alice had started to tug at the neckline of her sweater. She bit down hard on her lower lip to stifle her quickening breath; a primal instinct that only kicked in when she was nervous or excited.

‘That might warm me up, yes,’ Alice said. She hated how evident her flustered voice was.

‘Mhmm, I’d make sure of it.’

‘You sound determined.’

‘I am.’

Alice rolled onto one side. She focused her eyes on her hunting boots by the doorway. Her next words were whispered and shaky.

‘How else would you warm me up?’

Bella laughed softly. Alice pictured her smile.

‘How do you want me to, Alice?’

Alice dragged her fingers through her hair and scrunched it at the ends.

‘I’ll be over in five.’

☆

Bella shoved Alice into her bedroom door, rattling the picture frames on her walls. Her lips locked with the vampire’s the second it slammed closed. Her hands pulled at Alice’s coat, though Alice had already shimmied it halfway down her arms. It fell to the floor, followed by Alice’s sweater.

In a frenzied waltz, Bella guided Alice towards her bed, never once breaking their makeout session. Alice’s hands had snaked down to Bella’s ass, squeezing it over her boxers. The two stumbled and collapsed onto Bella’s mattress, Bella rolling Alice onto her back. Her eager hands trailed over Alice’s chest, down her stomach, and finally rested on the zipper of her jeans. The desperation and speed at which Bella moved was sending Alice’s mind into a spin. She was so quick yet so calculated. She’d done this before.

Alice’s jeans soon joined the growing mountain of clothes on Bella’s bedroom floor. Bella had slid them off with ease.

‘I like your panties,’ the girl smiled, coming to straddle Alice’s lap.

‘You’ll like ‘em better on your fucking floor,’ Alice replied, sitting up to crash her lips to Bella’s once again.

In unison, two pairs of hands fiddled with the clasp of the other’s bra, resulting in giggles when it took longer than expected to unhook them. Again the clothes pile grew. Alice flopped back down against the mattress.

‘Jesus,’ Bella breathed, ‘Oh my god, they’re so fucking pretty.’

‘Yours too,’ Alice said wistfully.

‘And you,’ Bella began, leaning down to pepper kisses along Alice’s jaw and neck, ‘are so perfect.’

‘Oh, B,’ Alice groaned, arching against the bed.

Bella inched herself to the end of Alice’s waist - Alice watching her go down - and gently pried open her pale legs. She placed a firm kiss against the thin fabric of Alice’s panties, eliciting a soft gasp from the vampire.

‘You’re so wet already,’ Bella said in awe.

‘Look what you’re doing to me,’ Alice panted.

Bella made quick work of tugging the underwear down and throwing it aside. An unfamiliar warmth radiated from Alice’s body. It felt so strange but so nice all the same. A long dead hearth reignited.

Bella’s movements had come to a snail’s pace, a startling contrast to her once erratic speed. A slow, firm tongue pressed against the slit of Alice’s pussy. It travelled upwards, swiping over each dip and fold. The care and attention to which Bella gave each second of eating Alice out was admirable. She did not race to reach her sensitive clit, only teased it with the tip of her tongue. When Alice thought the girl would finally give in to her bucking hips and needy whines, her tongue would only slip downwards again to lap and suck at her folds. Bella was going to take her time, and she seemed to be sadistically relishing in the torture she was inflicting upon the vampire. Alice could see the corners of Bella’s mouth twitching upwards. She knew she would have to be patient.

‘What do you want, pretty girl?’ Bella hummed against Alice’s heat.

‘You’re such a fucking bitch,’ Alice laughed breathlessly. Bella only grinned.

‘Oh, am I not being nice to you?’ Bella mewled. ‘Am I not giving my pretty girl what she wants?’

‘Please, Bella,’ Alice panted. ‘Please, I need you.’

‘Mhmm?’

‘I… I need your fucking tongue on my fucking clit.’

‘That’s more like it,’ Bella said.

She ducked her head back down, repeating her agonisingly slow journey from the bottom of Alice’s soaked entrance to the very edge of her pulsing clit. Just when Alice thought she was still going to deny her any relief, Bella lapped her tongue over the shiny, pink nub.

‘Oh, fuck,’ the vampire exhaled.

Bella continued. She gently licked and swirled her tongue across Alice’s clit in a steady rhythm. Alice matched her movements by gyrating her hips, pressing herself harder against Bella’s tongue. Bella slid her arms towards Alice’s tits. She squeezed them tenderly and rolled her fingers between her erect nipples.

Alice felt like she was burning up. She hadn’t been this warm in a long time. She begged her body to keep her orgasm at bay for just a few minutes longer, but she knew that such a goal was foolish to think attainable. Bella felt too good.

‘I’m so fucking close,’ Alice whimpered. Her eyes felt watery. Her legs were stiffening. Bella hummed against her clit. ‘Oh, god,’ she moaned, her hands scrambling to grab hold of something before settling in Bella’s hair, ‘Oh, Bella.’

Alice’s back lifted from the mattress as her high finally reached its peak. She stroked herself against Bella’s mouth, Bella’s tongue lapping over her with every move. Each wave was as vibrant and wonderful as the last. Alice imagined pure, shimmering light radiating from within her, shooting through her arms and legs; right to her toes and fingertips. When the light finally began to dim, a warm buzz washed over the vampire, numbing her gently.

The vampire melted back against the bed. Bella sat up, skin glistening with Alice’s juices. She wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand and flicked her thumb across her lower lip.

‘Yo, you’re shaking,’ Bella said, crawling towards Alice at the top of the bed.

‘Yeah, I’m still coming down,’ Alice exhaled.

‘C’mere,’ Bella murmured, pulling her in for a cuddle.

Alice eagerly accepted the embrace, lazily rolling onto her side. Bella placed her chin atop Alice’s head and draped her arms around her shoulders. Alice pulled the girl in by her waist, face nestled atop Bella’s warm chest.

The silence that passed was short lived. Alice placed a tender kiss on Bella’s jaw. Bella hummed in approval.

‘That’s nice, baby,’ Bella said quietly.

‘Mhmm,’ Alice mumbled against her skin, reaching up to massage one of Bella’s tits in her palm.

‘Shit,’ Bella breathed.

It was Alice’s turn to roll Bella onto her back. She couldn’t help grinning at Bella’s excited expression. She was too adorable for her own good.

‘What do you want, B?’

Bella licked her lips.

‘I want you to fuck me.’

‘That can be arranged.’

Bella giggled, ‘No, Alice, I want you to fuck me.’

Alice raised an eyebrow but still smirked at the smiling girl beneath her. There was a mischievous glint in her eye.

‘Gimme a sec,’ Bella said, wriggling out from underneath Alice’s hips.

Alice watched as the girl hurried into her closet, rummaging about the shelves for something hidden away. She soon reappeared with a shoebox and placed it on the bed.

‘Whatcha got there?’ Alice asked.

‘Just… something fun,’ Bella said.

She opened the lid and revealed a series of leather straps and fasteners.

‘Item number one,’ Bella grinned. She fished into the box again. ‘And two,’ she added.

Alice’s mouth fell open as the girl revealed a sizable purple dildo. The vampire giggled incredulously. ‘She’s huge!’

Bella cackled, ‘Are you surprised?’

‘I don’t know, I… Jesus, Bella.’

Bella laughed again and began to piece together the toy and the heap of straps.

‘I said I wanted you to fuck me, Alice,’ the girl said, voice falling a pitch lower.

Warmth pulsated at Alice’s centre. ‘You did say that, didn’t you?’

‘Come here, baby,’ Bella said, patting the edge of the bed in front of her.

Alice obeyed. She watched intently as Bella connected the toy to the straps via a rubber ring. Alice giddily waited for Bella to help her into the strap-on and adjust it so that it hugged her comfortably.

‘Fit okay?’ Bella asked, stepping back to admire her work.

‘Shit’s heavy,’ Alice chuckled. ‘But yes, it— Oh, fuck, the swing!’

Bella erupted in laughter, holding her hands over her face. Alice steadied herself against a nearby dresser, also falling into a fit of giggles.

When the laughter had died down, Bella had placed her hands atop Alice's shoulders, kissing her tenderly. The vampire pressed her close, the toy squished between them.

‘Where should I put you?’ Alice hummed.

‘Bed,’ Bella mumbled through kisses.

Alice guided Bella towards the edge of the mattress. The girl wasted no time in wriggling out of her underwear and sitting up on her elbows, staring darkly at her secret lover.

‘You look so beautiful,’ Alice said, positioning herself between Bella's legs. Bella was drenched, her inner thighs slick with her wetness.

‘God, I need you so bad, Alice. I need you so fucking bad.’

‘I’m here, B,’ Alice grinned, eyes half-lidded.

Alice wrapped Bella's legs over her hips to get a clearer angle. She felt slightly awkward in her harness, having never used such a contraption before. But seeing Bella below her - impatiently squirming with anticipation - was enough to ease her nerves.

‘I’ll go slow at first, okay? I haven't done this before.’

‘That’s okay, Ali,’ Bella smiled warmly, ‘I’ll guide you through it.’ A look of adoration crossed her face. Alice felt butterflies again.

The vampire gripped the middle of the silicone shaft, her other hand clamped on Bella's left hip. She carefully eased herself forward, Bella eagerly meeting her halfway. Slowly, Alice placed the tip of the dildo at Bella's entrance. The single touch alone was enough to make the girl whine.

‘God, you're soaked for me,’ Alice said.

‘Put it in, Alice. I need you, I need you now,’ Bella rambled.

Alice inhaled slowly before easing the tip into Bella's entrance. The girl moaned encouragingly. It was music.

It was easy to slide the rest of the toy inside. Bella was dripping to the point of it being almost too frictionless. But Alice soon found a steady pace, allowing both her hands to grip Bella's hips. She rhythmically thrust into Bella's walls, garnering short, approving moans from the girl. The wet slap of each stroke made Alice feel dizzy. It thrilled her to know just how aroused Bella was. Because of her.

‘Harder, Alice,’ Bella spoke after a few unspoken minutes.

‘You sure?’ Alice asked.

‘Mhmm, please. I can take it. Fuck me harder. Please.’

Alice obeyed. She scooted Bella further onto the bed before supporting both of her legs in her arms. With bated breath, Alice began to thrust deeper. Harder. The bedframe knocked against the back wall at an even tempo. Alice hoped that none of Bella’s neighbours were having an early morning stroll right now.

Bella's mouth was a long O. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her brows raised and scrunched together. Her arms flopped against the mattress above her head like a ragdoll. She had grown quiet with this new pace - but Alice was reassured that she was enjoying each minute by the tiny whine that occasionally escaped her lips.

‘That’s so fucking good,’ Bella grunted through gritted teeth.

‘Yeah, baby?’ Alice panted.

‘Yes, fuck, yes. Mmm, I need you from behind. I wanna turn around.’

‘Okay, baby,’ Alice said, slowing her pace and pulling out with a wet pop.

‘Shit,’ Bella panted. She sat up on her knees and pulled Alice in for a passionate kiss. Alice moaned into it and hosted Bella onto her waist. Bella squeaked in surprise.

‘Christ, I forgot how strong you are.’

Alice giggled and peppered kisses over Bella's neck. ‘I wanna try something.’

‘Oh, yeah?’

Alice carried Bella over to a nearby armchair. She positioned her so that Bella was kneeling away from her. Alice eased Bella forward and grabbed her wrists, securing them behind her back with one hand.

‘I like where this is going,’ Bella smirked.

‘I’ll make sure you love it,’ Alice whispered into Bella's ear, causing her to whine in desperation.

She slapped the dildo up against Bella's dripping pussy. The girl moaned impatiently, wriggling herself towards Alice's strap-on.

‘Uh uh, good girls wait,’ Alice said sternly, holding the tip of the dildo to Bella's throbbing entrance.

‘Alice,’ Bella whined.

Alice began to slide the shaft of her strap-on inside Bella's folds, painfully slow. The frustrated whimper that followed this decision only spurred her on.

‘Does my good girl not want to wait?’ Alice cooed.

‘Mm mm,’ Bella whimpered, shaking her head.

‘Oh, how bad does my good girl want it?’

‘So fucking bad, Alice.’

‘You’re going to have to do better than that, my love.’

‘Please, Alice. I can't wait any longer. I need you, I'm desperate for your strap inside me.’

‘Good girl.’

Alice thrust herself into Bella's pussy at a pace that was almost brutal. Bella did not hold back her moans of pleasure, fully submitting to the desperate, horny mess she had become.

Alice gripped hard at her wrists behind her back. Her other hand had taken a bunch of Bella's hair and cocked the girl's head backwards. Alice managed to pull Bella up towards her, pressing firm kisses into her cheek and jawline. Bella's mouth hung open, allowing Alice to hook her thumb inside the girl’s jaw between her teeth.

‘Choke me,’ Bella mumbled.

‘What was that, love?’ Alice asked, removing her thumb from Bella's mouth.

‘Choke me, Alice,’ Bella panted.

‘Yeah? You want me to be real rough with you, huh?’

‘Uh huh,’ Bella whined.

Alice reached her hand down to Bella’s neck. She carefully placed her fingertips on either side of the girl's throat, making sure not to apply any pressure to her airway. She picked up her pace again, thrusting hard into Bella's warm walls. Gently, Alice squeezed at Bella's throat, eliciting a new kind of moan from the girl. It was guttural. Unashamed. It told Alice that Bella was close.

‘You’re being such a good girl for me, Bella,’ Alice muttered between hard thrusts. ‘Letting me fuck you so roughly. You're taking this strap so well.’

‘Oh, Alice,’ Bella whined, ‘You’re gonna make me cum so hard.’

‘Mmm, I wanna hear you cum for me, baby.’

‘Oh, fuck… Oh, fuck!—’ Bella exclaimed.

She came undone, calling out Alice's name and trembling against her hips. A splash of sticky juices ran down her legs, coating Alice as well. At last, after three more slow and deliberate strokes, the dildo slipped out from Bella's entrance and she began to fall against the armchair.

‘Woah, I got you,’ Alice said, hoisting the limp girl into her arms. ‘I got you, b.’

‘Unnghh,’ Bella groaned.

Alice stifled a giggle, ‘You okay?’

She pulled back the covers on Bella's bed with one hand and then placed her onto the mattress against her pillows. Bella remained limp, curled up on one side, eyes delicately closed.

‘B?’

‘Hmm?’

‘I wasn't too rough with you, was I?’ Alice asked, now growing worried. Perhaps Bella wasn't able to take her after all. She leaned over Bella, one knee sinking into the bed.

A small, breathy laugh escaped Bella's lips. ‘You were fucking phenomenal, stupid.’

Alice sighed in relief and shook her head, bewildered. She slipped out of her strap-on harness and joined Bella in bed, covering their naked bodies with the cool duvet.

Once Alice had laid down, Bella stiffly wriggled closer to her, nestling underneath the vampire's chin. Alice draped one arm over Bella's body.

A few minutes of peaceful silence passed. Alice watched as Bella's body rose and fell with each steady breath.

‘Hey,’ Bella mumbled against the vampire's cool skin.

‘Hmm?’

‘Do you think ‘m too much?’

Alice rubbed Bella's arm over the covers. ‘No, Bella.’

‘Y’don’t think ‘m too angry all the time?’

Alice placed a tender kiss atop Bella's hair. ‘I think your anger is valid. I think you're allowed to feel it.’

Bella took so long to reply to Alice that the vampire assumed she had fallen asleep. But the girl suddenly shuffled closer against her naked body.

‘I like you, Ali.’

Alice closed her eyes gently. ‘I like you too, Bella.’

‘G’night, Ali,’ Bella mumbled sleepily.

‘Goodnight, B,’ Alice smiled softly.

Though she would not sleep, Alice was grateful for the moment of peace that was following such an active night. She silently stroked Bella's damp hair and listened to her gentle snoring, accompanied by the dawn chorus outside.

Alice did not worry about what she was to Bella, or how they'd navigate their relationship from here. All that mattered to her now was that the girl was in her arms, safe and asleep. And that Bella wanted — needed Alice to be there.

☆

Fucking Bella became an almost daily occurrence. If Alice wasn't texting her regularly, she was at Bella's house when Charlie was out, screwing her like an animal in heat.

Alice became accustomed to learning exactly what would give Bella the best high. She also learned what would slow it down, keep it from her, and drive her insane. It was such a thrill to figure out what exactly made the girl tick and what made her squirm with frustration.

Bella liked pain. And lots of it. She begged Alice to grip her thighs and leave bruises on her soft skin. She wanted hickeys everywhere; her neck, her chest, her tits. She liked nails down her back and her hair pulled into a ponytail by a firm fist. She liked being spat on and slapped and choked and dragged.

She liked being bitten. Alice had found a way to nip at the girl without her fangs getting in the way. And though Bella had pleaded with her at one point, Alice did not dare draw blood.

She did not question Bella's need for such extreme physical activity. It was relieving some stress. And Alice was only glad to help her.

Bella had purchased herself some thin turtleneck shirts. Alice's fingers had left dark marks on her wrists, waist, and neck; and Bella was not planning on conjuring an excuse for Charlie anytime soon. She would just tell him she was preparing for the fall and that turtlenecks were totally in right now.

Alice knew that her own family suspected something was up, though they never made any attempts to pry on the matter. Something told her that they already knew but did not dare to intervene. If not out of fear, then for unspoken respect. Rosalie would smirk and roll her eyes if she ever caught Alice heading out alone.

‘You’re so good to me,’ Bella moaned on the verge of yet another high, face shoved against her pillows with Alice pounding her from behind. ‘I’m close.’

‘Me too,’ Alice panted, slamming herself into the girl at a practised pace.

‘God, I love it when you cum when you’re wearing that thing,’ Bella said. ‘You’re so fucking hot.’

‘Mmhmm,’ Alice mumbled, too on edge to form words.

‘Fuck me, Alice,’ Bella pleaded, a sign for Alice to start speeding up so she could finish.

Alice gripped Bella’s waist and flipped the girl onto her back. She pounded the girl onto her strap, staring intensely. Bella’s face scrunched into a stern look, an expression that formed when Alice was giving it to her particularly hard.

‘Kiss me,’ Bella breathed. And Alice did.

They came in unison, a divine melody of long moans and fluttered breaths. Alice chewed on Bella’s bottom lip, grinding herself against her a few more times before pulling out and flopping down beside her.

‘Was that good, my love?’ Alice asked as Bella sprawled out on top of her like a lazy cat.

‘As always,’ Bella said, placing a firm kiss on Alice’s cheek and lips.

They held one another, basking in the morning sun while their bodies relaxed and settled.

‘I’m sensing Esme wanting me to come home,’ Alice said then, staring at the ceiling and tracing circles on Bella’s shoulder.

‘What for?’ Bella mumbled.

‘A hunt perhaps. It’s been a while.’

Bella stretched and groggily sat herself up. Her hair was a tangled mess, all bunching to one side. Alice smiled fondly and did her best to tame it with playful fingers.

‘Will I see you soon?’ Bella asked.

Alice wriggled herself out of the strap-on harness and pulled on one of Bella’s shirts.

‘Probably,’ the vampire said, rummaging around the room for more clothes. She pulled on her jeans and sweater before busying herself with her boots. As she dressed herself, she felt Bella’s eyes watching her closely.

Alice was about to ask the girl what was catching her eye so intensely when a sudden surge of nausea swelled in her gut. Alice stumbled and steadied herself against Bella’s dresser. She could hear Bella’s surprised gasp and the clamour of her feet as she approached her to see what was wrong. But the girl’s voice was far away and Alice’s vision was becoming blurred. A shot of pain ran up through Alice’s chest and into the back of her skull. The room melted away, revealing an explosion of colour on the back of Alice’s eyelids.

A vision. A strong one.

A fuzzy figure was running — no, sprinting through the woods, crashing through trees and breaking boulders as it went. The ground beneath the figure was hardly touched at all. They were chasing something. Someone. And they wanted them dead.

A clear voice broke through Alice’s noisy mind. A familiar one. It was terrified, all raspy and broken.

Rosalie.

‘It’s Edward,’ her voice said, forcing its way into Alice’s consciousness. ‘He said he caught wind of your thoughts on his way here.’

Rosalie desperately pushed six more words into Alice's mind, ones that sent a visceral shiver through her body.

‘He’s come home, Alice. He knows.’

☆

Bella would not let go of Alice’s sweater sleeve. She dug her shoes into the dirt, trying desperately to get Alice’s attention.

‘You can’t go alone! I need to see him! I can talk to him—’

‘He’s going to kill me, Bella!’ Alice screamed, yanking her arm away from the girl’s firm grasp.

‘He won’t if I’m there! Please, Alice. Let me fucking come with you!’

‘Get. Off!’ Alice yelled, tugging at her shirt collar before shoving Bella backwards.

The girl tumbled to the ground. She lay there in the dirt, propped up on her elbows. Alice stared in shock. Bella’s wide, brown eyes blinked up at her. Horrified. Angry. So damn angry.

‘I… I can’t fucking bring you,’ Alice said, her voice now a hissed whisper.

Bella struggled to her feet and stared hard at the vampire.

‘So you’ll just leave? You leave and get yourself killed and then what?’ Bella said as hot tears began to spill over her blushed cheeks.

‘I don’t know,’ Alice said. ‘Then you can be with him.’

‘That’s such bullshit,’ Bella spat. ‘This is such bullshit.’

‘It is!’ Alice screamed. ‘It was! All of this… All of this fucking was.’

‘The fuck are you saying?’

‘I should have stopped!’

The two fell silent. Bella’s heavy breathing created clouds of condensation which billowed up into the crisp air. Only two feet of space lay between them. But to Alice, it felt like miles.

‘I should have stopped,’ Alice repeated shakily. ‘But I couldn’t.’

‘I… I didn’t want you to,’ Bella sobbed. Her words were strained. Slow. ‘I didn’t let you. I needed someone. And… I just didn’t let you go, Alice. I didn’t want to.’

Alice stared softly. ‘I didn’t want you to either.’

Bella swallowed roughly. She angrily brushed away her tears and balled her hands into tight fists.

‘I don't know what happened, Alice. I… I fucking used you. But somewhere along the way I… I started—’

‘Don’t,’ Alice pleaded, ‘Don't start that sentence.’

‘I started loving you, damn it! I don't fucking love anybody!’ Bella screamed. More tears fell to the dirt beneath her. ‘But I love you. I fucking love you, dude.’

Alice was stunned. Bella's sweet face, scrunched into a pained expression, begged her to stay.

The vampire stared out across the treeline behind her. The woods were so silent. In any other circumstance, she would have thought it to be quite pretty. Peaceful. But now, the towering pine trees swayed in a way that reminded her of Death beckoning her forward, welcoming her in with long, dark fingers.

‘I thought we had so much more time,’ Alice said calmly, still facing the trees. ‘I thought we’d never reach the end. Isn’t that silly?’

‘Alice,’ Bella whimpered.

‘But here we are. The end.’ Alice turned slightly, not wanting to look Bella in the eye. ‘I sure wish it could have been a different one.’

Alice ran. The forest blurred past her. She squinted through her tears, begging in her mind for Bella’s cries of anguish to fade fast. But they followed her all the way home, echoing like a swan song.

☆

A clawed hand swiped across Alice’s face, sending her into the dirt with a booming thud. Esme screamed and fought to reach her daughter, but Carlisle held her back, not wanting his wife to get caught in the middle of the dispute.

‘They’re killing each other, Lisle!’

‘Emmett!’ Carlisle yelled.

Emmett lunged for his brother, sending him flying into a nearby boulder. Edward crashed against the hard stone, shattering it to pieces.

‘Get out of my way!’ Edward grunted, flinging a sharp, stray piece of the boulder in Emmett’s direction. Emmett dodged, sending the piece into a porch window.

Rosalie leapt onto Edward’s back, slashing her fangs across the vampire’s shoulder. Edward yelled in pain and frustration before flipping Rosalie onto the ground, creating a sizable crater in the earth. Emmett raced towards his lover, shooting Edward a look of pure, feral rage. Rosalie was quick to regain her posture, hunching down in a ready stance. Emmett mirrored her, prepared to take down his brother with her. Edward loomed over them.

‘Edward!’ Alice screamed, shakily standing and wiping ichor from her mouth, ‘This is our fight.’

Edward huffed and charged for the smaller vampire, who gnashed her teeth into his face. Edward hissed and aimed his fangs at Alice’s jugular. Alice was quick. She dipped in and out of Edwards slashing teeth and swinging fists. But she knew she would have to start fighting back before exhaustion took hold of her.

Edward finally managed to tear at Alice's arm with a firm swipe, sending Alice to the ground once again. Alice stared up at her brother through the black liquid that oozed out of one side of her forehead. Her sweet, darling Edward. Who was this creature above her? This tall, scary, ravenous thing? The very vampire that had saved her from death all those years ago was now about to send her there for good.

Edward took a step back, maliciously waiting for Alice to stand again. Alice never broke eye contact with him as she trembled to her feet.

A car horn blared in the distance. Edward and Alice jerked their heads towards the sound. A little red truck was speeding towards the house, shaking like a tin barrel of snakes.

‘Bella,’ the vampires spoke in unison.

The truck swerved into the driveway, spinning in a circle before screeching to a halt. Bella kicked open the driver-side door and raced towards the pair of battling vampires.

‘Bella! Get back!’ Rosalie screamed.

‘Don’t come closer, Bella, please!’ Alice begged. But still, the girl ran.

‘Well, look who’s here,’ Edward grunted, shoving himself into Alice’s chest and sending her back down to the dirt. Alice huffed, clutching her body.

Bella screamed and slid to a halt, hands clawing at her face in terror.

Alice dry heaved, beginning to feel the toll of her brother’s strength. She attempted to stand but a heavy boot gently pushed her back down. Horrified gasps erupted from her onlookers. Alice’s eyes strained to see Edward, now towering over her like a menacing giant. It was too late. His dark eyes shimmered, blinded by the rage that flowed through him.

‘So, this is it, brother?’ Alice coughed weakly. ‘What a fine and honourable death you have given me.’

‘Oh, don’t get pretentious. You don’t deserve the pleasure.’

‘Edward!’ Bella begged.

‘Don’t move, Bella,’ Edward demanded. He leaned in closer to Alice. ‘This is for betraying your family. For betraying me.’

Edward’s boot raised above Alice’s head. Alice closed her eyes and let her body relax. She felt the earth beneath her shift as if a grave were already taking form around her. It was near bliss.

‘Edward, she's mine.’

Edward froze. His wild eyes stared holes into Bella’s spirit. Slowly, silently, he lowered his boot to the dirt beside Alice’s face.

‘What did you say?’ Edward asked lowly.

‘I… I said she's mine,’ Bella said hoarsely.

Alice fluttered her eyes open. All of a sudden, Bella was by her side and hoisting her up, supporting her against one hip.

‘She… She was there for me,’ Bella began. ‘And she listens to me and she tells me things about myself that I don’t fucking believe but she swears them anyway. And I… It feels… good. It feels safe. And I love her, Edward, I'm so sorry. I love her.’

Edward was silent. His stern expression only softened slightly as he stared between the two. Alice stared back at him, her lower lip quivering.

‘Alice?’ Edward said quietly.

Alice hung her head, exhausted. When she met her brother’s gaze again, his face was dark with grief.

‘I love her too,’ Alice said.

From across the yard, Rosalie buried her face in Emmett’s chest and sobbed. Carlisle and Esme looked on in frozen concern.

Edward’s shoulders relaxed. He nodded to himself, staring at the ground. His eyes, dark from blood lust, were somewhere far away.

‘I… I run, don’t I?’

‘Oh, Edward,’ Bella said sorrowfully.

‘And I still want to. I still… can’t give you what you want. Perhaps I should have realised that long ago.’

‘I can’t do this,’ Bella whispered. ‘Not with you. Not anymore.’

He nodded again. ‘Very well.’

Edward turned to Alice, who had been holding back the urge to collapse into his arms; forgive him for his anger, tell him that it was all going to be okay. He was her brother, in life and death, he was her brother.

Today that had all changed.

‘Please, take care of her,’ Edward said solemnly.

Alice could only nod as she clutched Bella’s arm. In complete silence, Edward turned and started to walk back into the forest, the midday sun glinting off of his diamond skin. The coven surrounded Bella, watching him disappear into the trees.

‘Will… he be back?’ Bella asked.

‘He will,’ Carlisle said.

Esme placed a wary hand on Bella’s shoulder. ‘But not for a while.’

Alice winced and buckled against Bella’s body.

‘Ali,’ Bella gasped.

‘Let’s get her inside,’ Rosalie said, ‘She needs help.’

☆☆☆

Summer left like a slow whisper, its heat still apparent in the fall air. Alice sat on her porch steps, smoking a pinner and reading her original copy of The Strange Path. A mild breeze sent crinkled leaves scattering across her shoes. Rosalie was inside with Esme, preparing the blood from a recent hunt. Emmett and Carlisle were chopping firewood out back.

Alice turned a page and found that her mind had completely scrambled the last paragraph she had read. Though her memory had started to vastly improve since Edward’s departure, she found it still faltered in places. Sometimes she’d forget to take out her favourite hunting bow. Sometimes she lost track of a deer in the woods.

There were things she could not forget. Her brother’s face. Despite it all, it remained sweet in her memory. The way his thick, dark eyebrows raised when he was curious. The shade of his swooping hair. His strong arms. Edward. Dear Edward. Her brother.

A beat up, red truck pulled into Alice’s driveway. A girl with choppy, chestnut hair and a canvas tote bag exited the driver's side and waved to her. Alice smiled and waved back.

Bella plopped herself down beside her and leaned in for a kiss before swiping the vampire’s pinner away.

‘Ay!’ Alice exclaimed, ‘Naughty.’

Bella puffed and exhaled, ‘What do you think?’

Alice cupped the girl’s face and studied her new hairstyle. It was cut messily, almost haphazardly so; no doubt a bold DIY. But damn, did Bella make messy look good.

‘I love it. It’s so rugged,’ the vampire smirked. ‘Makes you look like a rockstar.’

‘So you’ll ride me all night long?’

‘Fuck off,’ Alice chuckled.

The two stood and headed inside, Bella immediately greeted by the coos of the Cullen welcoming committee. A small table had been decorated with branches, red leaves, and fairy lights. Alice sat back on a stool in the kitchen and watched as Bella laughed at Emmett’s terrible jokes and graciously thanked Esme for preparing her a giant turkey leg.

A fuzzy feeling swirled in the back of Alice’s skull. When she let it swell - if she focused very hard - she saw herself standing outside a little white house.

Beside her was a girl with choppy, chestnut hair. They shared a kiss.

The End

"Demi Moore" by Phoebe Bridgers

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading! Hope you're all doing well :) I like to imagine that Bella looks how Kristen Stewart does in Love Lies Bleeding at the end of this story. It just suits the canon hehe. I leave you with "Demi Moore" by Phoebe Bridgers as this story's theme song, linked after the end of this fic.

#twilight #the twilight saga #alice cullen #bella swan #bellice #bella x alice #my fanfiction #twilight fanfiction #bellice fanfiction

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sarah-in-disguise · 2 years

Text

Free

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Female Reader (past), Bucky Barnes x Female Reader (present)

Warnings: pregnant reader, time in a hospital, a super brief mention of childbirth, character dies of old age, a few swear words, and a little angst with lots of fluff

Summary: Building a life with Bucky has been everything you could’ve dreamed and more. When Steve wants to give you and Bucky closure, will you take it?

Word Count: 6399 (this got way out of hand, but I couldn’t stop!)

A/N: After seeing people enjoy Run, I decided to write up a sequel tying up a few loose ends. Since this is Run’s sequel, you should definitely take a few minutes to read that first. At the end of the day, I’m just a sucker for all the angst followed by all the fluff. Lastly, there are two written letters referenced in this. Both of them are italicized so they stick out. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do NOT consent to have my work posted, translated or published to any third-party site or app. This is a work of fiction and I do not own any characters in this story. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer. Moodboard picture sources are Google and Canva.

Make sure to check out my masterlist!

“Bucky?” After a few seconds without a response, you let out a huff and try once again to get up. You’ve been trying to get out of this rocking chair on your front porch for the last five minutes, but your giant stomach makes everything harder these days. With another kick to your bladder, you rock yourself back and forth a few more times hoping momentum will work in your favor.

It doesn’t.

“BUCK!” Finally, you hear a crash followed by rushed footsteps. Bursting through the front door, Bucky skids to a stop in front of you. It’s a few days away from your due date, and he’s extra jumpy because of it.

“What do you need? Is it time? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

“No, Bucky, I need you to help me out of this chair.” You wince as your daughter delivers another swift kick inside you while Bucky helps you up. “If your daughter doesn’t stop kicking soon, I may need to live in the bathroom until she comes out.”

With one hand on your arm and one on the small of your back, Bucky guides you inside and to the bathroom. “How come whenever she’s making you uncomfortable, she’s my daughter?” A smirk grows on Bucky’s face before he continues. “Last time I checked, you had just as much to do with this as I did.”

You sigh in relief as the bathroom comes into view. “Because until she’s made it to the outside world and we can take equal responsibility for her, she’s yours when she’s annoying.”

Bucky lets out a chuckle before pausing at the bathroom door. “Fair enough. Are you good from here?”

“Yes, but can you get me something to eat while you wait? Sarah brought over those brownies earlier. Do we still have ice cream?” Before Bucky can respond, you have another idea. “Oh, and can you crumble potato chips on the top? And add a drizzle of chocolate syrup!”

“Are you feeling OK?” Bucky puts his hand on your forehead like he’s checking your temperature. Another sly smirk appears before he adds, “that’s the most normal pregnancy craving you’ve had in months.”

You scoff as you shut the bathroom door. “Remember, your baby, Barnes!” Thankful for the railings Bucky and Sam temporarily installed in your bathroom a few months ago, you do your business in peace and hoist yourself up to wash your hands.

As you settle into the couch and wait for Bucky to return with your latest craving, you think back to how you got where you are today - new house, new husband, and baby on the way.

After making the decision to settle in Louisiana, you spent about a month looking at houses. When you couldn’t find the perfect place to settle, Sarah offered some of her and Sam’s family property to build on. Both Bucky and Sam were hesitant about living so close together, but you, Sarah, Cass, and AJ quickly convinced them it was exactly what you needed.

A few months later when the foundation was poured, Bucky brought you over for a sunset picnic to celebrate being one step closer to finishing the house. After a bad pun comparing your relationship to the house foundation, Bucky was down on one knee. You couldn’t say no to Bucky (or his bad puns), and a few weeks later you were married in front of your immediate family, the Wilson’s, and a few of your close friends.

When you started to feel sick a few weeks later on your honeymoon, you did the math and realized you were late. After a few too many rounds of “what are you late for, beautiful?”, Bucky sprinted to the nearest pharmacy to pick up every brand of pregnancy test he could find. He insisted you take all five and all five came back positive. You were both ecstatic - after all, if you were going to make changes in your life, why not go all in?

While you enjoyed the celebrations, there were still rough moments to work through. Bucky had made progress with Dr. Raynor but there were still nights he woke up with memories he’d rather forget. He also had doubts about becoming the father your baby deserved, but you shot those thoughts down pretty quickly.

On the flip side, Bucky was there for your moments of uncertainty. You had moved past the majority of things Steve did - after all, it’s what led you to the life you’ve built with Bucky. What was harder to get past was the doubt that crept in. You knew Steve had left to build a life with Peggy, but not knowing the full reason sometimes kept you up at night. Was it because she would be a better wife? Or maybe he didn’t think you would be a good mother. Thankfully, Bucky was just as fast to calm your nerves and remind you how much you meant to him and your soon to be family of three.

A few months later, you mutually decided to find out if you were having a boy or a girl. You’d never seen Bucky get as emotional as when you found out you were expecting a beautiful and healthy baby girl. Unfortunately, that excitement faded when your doctor started asking about Bucky’s serum. After bringing Dr. Cho in to run additional tests, Bucky was relieved that the only thing your baby inherited from his serum was a slightly increased growth rate and a watered-down version of his super strength. You were not so relieved when that transferred into an extra large baby to carry and intense kicks as your daughter tried to escape her cramped living quarters.

After that doctor appointment, Bucky and Sam put in extra hours with the construction crew to get your house ready as soon as possible. The house was finished about a month ago giving you plenty of time to unpack, nest, and get ready for your baby girl.

All these events led to this evening and trying (and failing) to get comfortable on your extra large, super-soldier sized couch. Bucky walked around the corner with two bowls just in time to see you wince as you tried to find a spot that gave you any relief. After handing you a bowl, Bucky eased down next to you. “I think after we’re done eating, it’s time for a bath and a massage.” You couldn’t stop the smile forming on your face. You were definitely living your best life with Bucky.

Before you could get too excited, your doorbell rings. With a quick kiss to your forehead, Bucky was running to grab the door. To your surprise, you heard Bucky greet Sam and welcome him into the house. On his way to sit down in the armchair across from you, Sam stops by Bucky’s bowl to sneak a bite of ice cream.

“Hey, birdbrain, hands off the ice cream!” You can’t help but giggle at these two as Bucky snatches the spoon back from Sam and settles down next to you on the couch. “Why are you here, anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be on a mission for the next few weeks?”

Right away, you can sense something is wrong. In the past year you’ve found you can always depend on Sam for providing a sense of calm. He says it’s from his training and working with the veteran’s support groups all those years ago, but you can tell he’s always been that way. He’s the easiest-going person you knew, and you were always grateful to have another calming presence in your life.

Tonight, however, Sam was on edge. Glancing over at Bucky, you could tell he could feel it, too.

“Sam,” you start, “we can both tell something is wrong. What’s going on?”

Sam makes eye contact with you for a few seconds before heaving out a deep sigh. “I don’t know how to bring this up, so here it goes. It’s about Steve.”

Slinging an arm around your shoulders, Bucky squeezes your arm to get your attention. “You OK to talk about this, beautiful? I can talk to Sam by myself if you want me to.”

After a few seconds you let out your own deep sigh. “I’m fine, Buck.” You place a comforting hand on his thigh and squeeze gently before you look back to Sam. “You haven’t mentioned Steve once since we left the Avengers.” Your line of vision drops down to your large stomach and your hand starts rubbing your bump. “I’m guessing that means this is important, right?”

“Hey,” Sam says, causing you to look back up at him. “Bucky’s right. We don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want to. I know you’re at a place where you can put all that behind you, so if you want to leave it that way, we can.”

Shaking your head, you push back. “Sam, you brought it up so we’re going to talk about it. What is it?”

Before Sam continues, he digs two letters out of his pocket and hands them to you. You see your name on one envelope and Bucky’s on the other - both written in Steve’s flowing script. Handing Bucky his letter, you look back over at Sam so he can continue.

“I’m giving you these letters because Steve isn’t doing well. The last time you saw him, he still had serum running through his body. In the few months after that he started to get weaker at a pretty rapid pace.” At that revelation, Bucky sucks in a breath. You’ve had a few conversations with Bucky wondering how his serum would impact his health later in life, but no one really knew what to expect.

“Bruce and Dr. Cho did some tests, and Steve’s serum was starting to deteriorate.” Sam pauses to take a deep breath before he continues. “They anticipated he would make it a few more years but he’s really taken a downhill turn in the past few weeks.”

You can feel Bucky deflate next to you. Steve put you through hell after making the decision to live in the past, but that doesn’t change the fact that Steve was Bucky’s best friend.

Trying to give Bucky a few minutes to process this, you ask another question. “Why are you telling us this now?”

Sam looks down to the floor before responding. “While I’ve been out on missions the past few years, I’ve been taking extra time to stop in and check on Steve.” Bucky immediately tenses up beside you, but you’re quick to squeeze his leg to keep him grounded. “I know it sounds like I was sneaking around behind your backs, but you two are doing so well right now. I didn’t need to mess that up and you didn’t deserve to have Steve mess it up, either.”

It doesn’t surprise you that Bucky’s gone silent. Even though his mask has been gone for over a decade, Hydra spent years conditioning him to stay silent. While he’s made progress and shed most of that conditioning, you’ve noticed when he’s overwhelmed the first wall to go back up is his silence.

Knowing Bucky will need more time before he’s ready to talk, you turn your focus back to Sam. “It’s OK Sam, but I’m still confused. Why are you telling us about this now?”

“When I first started to visit Steve, the only ground rule I made was that I wasn’t going to be a middleman. It’s not my place to give him insight on how either of you are doing. To this day, Steve doesn’t know that you two are married or that you’re expecting. When I was in New York to visit Steve earlier today he asked if I was still in touch with either of you. He knows he doesn’t have much time left, but he wanted me to give you these letters and tell you there wasn’t any pressure to read them. He just wanted to make sure if you wanted closure someday, you knew where to find it.”

Looking back down at the letter in your hand, you’re surprised when your vision starts to blur with tears. Closure is something that you’ve been longing for - a reason to justify everything Steve put you through. Now that it was in your hands you didn’t know what to do with it.

When your soft sniffles don’t bring Bucky back to the present, Sam grabs you a few tissues from the bathroom. You dry your eyes before you respond. “Thanks, Sam, but I think we just need some time to talk. Can I walk you out?”

With a scoff and a sparkle in his eyes, he responds. “Are you serious, woman? Can you even get yourself off that couch right now?”

With a laugh you launch a pillow in his direction that hits him in the back of the head. “One of these days I won’t be nine months pregnant, Wilson. You better watch it!”

Before he walks out the door, Sam pauses to turn around and face you again. “Remember, what you do with those letters is up to you. Steve owes you closure but you don’t owe him anything. Only you know what’s best for you.” With that, Sam bids you goodnight and heads back to his house.

After you take a few extra minutes to finish your ice cream, you move around in an attempt to find a comfortable position on the couch. All of your wriggling brings Bucky back to the present, and he suggests taking this conversation somewhere more comfortable. A few minutes later you find yourself in your oversized tub. Melting back into Bucky’s warm embrace, you start the conversation you both know you need to have.

“What are you thinking, Buck?” You absentmindedly start drawing shapes on your stomach. After a few minutes of silence, you turn your head to try to catch his line of sight. “James, are you OK?” The use of his real name breaks him out of his train of thought. He leans down to give you a quick peck on the lips before he answers.

“I think so. Honestly, it’s a lot to think about, you know?” You sit for a few more moments while he organizes his thoughts. “Steve was such a big part of both of our lives. You had every reason to cut him out after everything he did, but if we’re being honest, I’ve been thinking about reaching out to him again.”

You knew your husband would do anything for you, but at this moment you can’t help but feel guilty. “You didn’t cut off ties with Steve because of me, did you? That was never my intention. The two of you have been best friends for decades, and I never want to be the reason - ”

“Hey, hey, no - nothing like that. I know you would never do that. It was my decision to step back because of how he handled things after returning the stones. Lately, I keep thinking about telling Steve about all the good things in my life. He believed in me when no one else did and knew I was still somewhere in here after everything Hydra did. He was constantly saving my ass and reminding me I deserved happiness. For the last month or so I’ve felt like it was time to reach out and reconnect and tell him about my new life.” A sad smile crosses Bucky’s face before he continues. “He’s a punk, but he’s my punk, you know?”

“I get that.” You face forward so you can fully relax back into Bucky’s hold. Bucky’s hands travel down to brush over your stomach causing your daughter’s kicks to come to life. You both giggle for a few seconds before he nuzzles his nose into your hair and inhales your floral shampoo. “If we’re both being honest,” you add, “there are some days I’d like to thank him for leading me to you. I don’t know if I’m ready to be his best friend or anything - “

“That’s my job anyway, beautiful.”

“Don’t worry, I know it is - but I do think you’re right. It might be time to open these letters. What’s that saying, again? It’s time to bury the hatchet?” You turn your head to look at your husband and immediately spot the glint in his eyes.

“And if we bury the hatchet and he turns on us again,” he smiles, “you know where I’ve hidden the knives.”

Rolling your eyes with a groan, you respond. “What am I going to do with you, Mr. Barnes?”

His belly laugh shakes you and your baby starts to kick at the sudden movement. “It’s too late, Mrs. Barnes. You’re stuck with me.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Buck.” You seal the sweet sentiment with a kiss before a particularly hard kick to your bladder signals it’s time to get out of the tub. Bucky helps you out and dries you off before leaving you in the bathroom to do your business. By the time you’ve joined him in the bedroom a few minutes later, he’s wearing a pair of boxer briefs and is already rubbing your favorite lotion between his hands to warm it up. Laying down, you let him massage away your aches and pains before throwing on one of his old shirts and moving to lean up against the headboard.

Before joining you, Bucky runs downstairs to grab the letters. Once he’s settled in next to you, he hands you your letter with a kiss and throws an arm around your shoulder so you can tuck into his side. Taking a deep breath, you unfold your letter and start reading.

Sweetheart,

I have a lot of things I want to say to you in this letter, but I’ll start by saying thank you. After all the pain I’ve caused, I wouldn’t blame you for ripping this letter to shreds. Instead, you’re taking another chance on me, even though I don’t deserve it.

In the past few months, I’ve tried to write this letter at least a dozen times. Each time I’ve had to stop because it’s never good enough. I don’t know if this attempt is going to be better than the others, but I’m running out of time to try. I’m sure by now Sam has told you my serum is deteriorating, but I’m mostly at peace with it. I’ve lived a full life - one that is longer than many others will get to experience. But with life comes regrets, and unfortunately, most of mine involve you.

The first apology I’d like to make is for my actions last year at the compound. I had so much I wanted to say to you but cornering you and physically restraining you on a balcony wasn’t the way to do it. For decades I’ve heard women tell horror stories about men forcing them into situations against their will, and that night I didn’t realize that was exactly what I was doing to you.

Before I explain my side of the story, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Thank you for taking a chance on me and loving me with your whole heart. Thank you for being by my side through all the good times, bad times, and everything in between. Thank you for fighting alongside me, and most importantly, thank you for helping me fight for Bucky. Thank you for giving up everything to go on the run with me. Lastly, thank you for believing in me and showing me I’m worthy of the love others give.

When I crashed that plane in the 40’s, I lost everyone and everything I knew. Losing to Thanos felt like I was repeating history all over again. With one snap, I lost everyone for the second time in my life. I didn’t think I had it in me to start all over again, and that feeling stayed with me for years after you disappeared.

When we found a way to go back in time for the stones, I wasn’t prepared to see Peggy. Sure, when I came out of the ice I played the “what if” game. What if I found a place to land the plane instead of crashing it into the water? What if I could’ve lived my life with Peggy? All those questions seemed so far-fetched, and after I met you, I didn’t think about them as often as I used to. But thanks to time travel, I was standing less than ten feet away from the love of my life. All those questions and feelings came running back, and I couldn’t stop them.

At that moment, I made a realization that wasn’t easy to accept - while I loved you, I was never going to be in love with you in the way I was with Peggy. I made a promise to myself in that office that after we brought everyone back, I was going to be honest with you. Unfortunately, I wasn’t strong enough to keep that promise.

Looking back, I should’ve told you about my plans to stay in the past before I told Bucky. I thought breaking it to him would be easier. While he put on a brave face and said he understood why I was going back, I could see he was heartbroken by my decision. After that I convinced myself it would be better to not tell you so I could save you from heartbreak in the moment. Selfishly, I thought if you saw how happy I was, you would understand why I didn’t come back to you.

Believe it or not, Peggy was first to point out my horrible decision. We were newly engaged when she asked if I’d had other relationships in the future. When she realized I left you without ending our engagement or explaining why I went to live my life in the past, she almost walked away. After all, if I did that to you, what was stopping me from doing the same thing to her?

Later in life, we sat down with our kids to tell them who I really was and how I ended up back in the past. Every child has that moment when they realize their parents aren't perfect and telling them what I did to you was that moment for them.

Now that you know what happened, there are so many things I need to apologize for. I’m sorry for not telling you I saw Peggy during my time travels. I’m sorry for denying anything was wrong leading up to my mission to return the stones. I’m sorry for telling Bucky what my plans were and not telling you. I’m sorry for taking advantage of you the night before the mission so I could spend one last night with you. I’m sorry for saying goodbye without telling you I wasn’t coming back to you. I’m sorry you had to find out about these decisions by watching me reappear as an old man while wearing a wedding ring that wasn’t yours. Lastly, I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to get you the apology you deserved.

I’m never going to forgive myself for the pain I’ve caused you and I’ll never expect you to forgive me, but there are some people who deserve your forgiveness. Knowing you, I bet you’ve already forgiven them, but that isn’t stopping me from asking.

Please forgive Bucky for not telling you I was staying back to start a life with Peggy. He was insistent I tell you about my plans before I left to return the stones, and I lied and told him I would. I never should have put him in that situation.

I also hope you can forgive Sam. I decided when he first started visiting that it was better to keep it from you instead of causing you more pain, and I didn’t give him much choice.

My hope for you is that you find someone who deserves you and can give you everything I couldn’t. Someone who will show you the difference between loving someone and being in love, and someone who will treat you with the respect you deserve. Lastly, I hope you find someone you can build a home and family with because I know you will make the best wife and mother.

Love, Steve

The moment you finished the letter, you felt lighter. You finally had closure, and that realization caused any remaining insecurities to flow out of you with the tears streaming down your face.

After pulling your face up and brushing away your tears, Bucky broke the silence. “Do you want to talk about it?” With a nod, you take his hand in yours and start talking.

“In the past few years, you helped me pick up the shattered pieces of my heart. Together, we put them back together and you poured all your love and trust into loving me and healing the cracks Steve left behind. You made me whole again, Buck, but there was one small crack left - a crack that wasn’t your responsibility to heal.” Looking down and squeezing his hand, you continue. “This crack caused all those insecurities about being a good wife, a good mother, and being the best version of myself. The one that you deserve.”

At your pause, Bucky grabs your chin to tilt your face up to him. Drying a few more of your tears, he gives you a quick kiss before you carry on.

“This letter filled that crack and gave me the closure I needed.” With a watery giggle, you continue. “Who knew closure was so fulfilling, right?!”

That caused both you and Bucky to laugh and let out any remaining tension from the evening. After you calmed down, Bucky shared that his letter was much the same - apologizing for putting him in a tough situation, asking him to forgive Sam for keeping their visits a secret, and (your personal favorite) asking him to watch over and take care of you. He also wished Bucky the same happiness he wished you. Little did he know you would find that happiness together.

After nodding off twice while having a discussion about reconnecting with Steve, Bucky decides a good night's sleep was more important for you and your baby girl. Without a fight, you say your “goodnights” and “I love you’s” and settle into a restful slumber.

A restful slumber, that is, until you wake up a few hours later to find out your water broke.

Between Bucky’s military background and your knack for overplanning, you have a hospital bag packed and the fastest route to the hospital ready to go. You soon find yourself in your assigned delivery room and just like everything else in your life, delivery happens fast - which is good given the fact epidurals don’t provide much relief when you give birth to serum-enhanced babies.

Bucky felt horrible, but he made up for it by being the best birthing partner. He was ready to dry your tears, give you a hand to squeeze, and provide reassurance every step of the way. Most importantly, he constantly kept his metal hand in a bucket of ice to provide cooling relief when you needed it and took all the swear words you threw at him in stride.

By sunrise, the newest addition to your family was here - Rebecca Lynn Barnes. Quoting Mary Poppins, she is practically perfect in every way, right down to the bright blue eyes from her father.

Sam and Sarah arrive just in time to snap the perfect picture of your new family: you holding Rebecca, Bucky sitting next to you with his flesh arm around your shoulder and metal arm reaching for Rebecca, and Rebecca squeezing one of Bucky’s metal fingers with all her might. The picture perfectly captures Bucky’s joy in realizing Rebecca didn’t fear his arm, and the complete adoration in your eyes as you stare at your amazing husband.

Like many things in life, perfect moments always come to an end. As Bucky rocks Rebecca to sleep, Sam shares the phone call he received on his way to the hospital. Steve took a major turn for the worse overnight and Bruce doesn’t think he’ll make it much longer. After he was done checking in on you, Sam was heading straight to the compound with a quinjet.

Looking over at Bucky, you know exactly what you need to do.

“Bucky, I think you need to go with Sam.” Immediately, three faces filled with shock turn your direction. Making eye contact with Bucky, you continue. “Seriously Buck, we decided just last night we wanted to reconnect with Steve before it was too late. If you don’t go with Sam right now, it might be too late. It will take less than an hour to get up to the compound and back with the quinjet, so even if you only stay in New York for an hour, you’ll be back before lunch.”

“You can’t be serious! You just had a baby. I can’t leave you now.” Bucky looks around the room for backup but isn’t finding any.

“Buck, I hardly got any sleep last night and your daughter is a newborn. We’ll probably both be asleep the whole time you are gone.” Reaching out your hand, Bucky returns to your side. “I won’t push you into something you don’t want to do, but just know that we’ll be fine if you decide to go.”

Turning to face Sarah, you get an idea. “Sarah, are you doing anything this morning?”

Knowing where this is going, she smiles. “Nope. I was planning on sticking around here for a few hours until I have to pick the boys up for their dentist appointments after lunch.”

“Perfect! Sarah can stay here until my parents get here. Their flight lands just before noon.”

Now that you’re wearing a matching smile with Sam and Sarah, you can see Bucky’s resolve cracking. Sitting next to you in bed, Bucky lets out a deep sigh before looking into your eyes. “Are you sure, beautiful? You say the word and I’ll stay.”

Bringing your hand up, you run it through Bucky’s hair a few times before it falls to the back of his head for a few comforting scratches. “We’ll be good, Buck. Think of how we felt last night after reading those letters.” Pausing to give him a smile, you continue. “I can’t go anywhere right now, but you can go and brag about your amazing wife who just gave birth to your perfect daughter.”

With a small laugh, Bucky finally agrees to go. With a last-minute idea, you send Sam to use his charm with the nurses to see if they can print the picture he just took of you and your family. He returns a few minutes later, and while Bucky puts a sleeping Rebecca in her cradle, you grab a pen and write on the back of the picture:

Steve,

I’m sorry I couldn’t come to see you. I’m sure Bucky can fill you in on the reason why.

Even though I can’t be there, I wanted to send a note to thank you.

Thank you for your letter and the closure it provided.

Thank you for each and every time you fought to save Bucky so he could have the wonderful life he deserves.

Most importantly, thank you for leading me exactly where I needed to be. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to share my life with the most amazing husband and our perfect daughter.

Enjoy your time with Buck.

With a few tears in your eyes, you sign your name and hand the picture over to Bucky. After quickly skimming the back, he looks at you with a small smile. Sitting down next to you, he takes your head in his hands to give you one of his famous earth-shattering kisses. When you’re forced to come up for air, you tell him you love him and send him on his way.

After the boys leave, you and Sarah catch up over the breakfast that’s delivered to your room. Not long after you finish, you drift off into a peaceful and much needed sleep.

A few hours later you open your eyes to find Bucky looking out the window with Rebecca in his arms. You soon realize he’s carrying on a conversation with her, filling her in about all the new and wonderful people she’ll get to meet in the next few days. Her tiny yawn triggers a bigger one from you, indicating to Bucky you’re awake. With a big smile he joins you on the hospital bed.

“Hey, sleepyhead. I just got a text from your mom. They landed a few minutes ago and they’re going to drop off their luggage at the house before they come to the hospital.”

Another yawn slips out before you respond. “That sounds good. How long have you been back?”

“About ten minutes. Sarah just left to pick up Cass and AJ.”

After a few minutes of silence, you decide to address the elephant in the room. “So, how was Steve?”

Realizing Rebecca was once again sleeping, Bucky gets up to set her down in her crib before joining you back on the hospital bed. Leaning back, you both turn so you are facing each other before he responds.

“It was really good. By the time we got there he wasn’t very responsive anymore.” When Bucky breaks eye contact, you know it’s going to be hard for both of you to get through this conversation. Reaching out to cup his cheek, you give him a few moments to collect his thoughts before he continues.

“He smiled and said my name when I walked in. After I said it was good to see him, he said your name and I kind of froze. With how fast everything happened in the last twenty-four hours, I didn’t really have time to figure out how to tell him I married his ex-fiancé and we have a kid together.” Although the situation was very serious, you couldn’t stop the snort of laughter from bubbling out of you. Thankfully, Bucky was quick to join in.

“What did you tell him?”

“The truth - I looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘Well, funny story, Steve. We actually got married a few months ago and she gave birth to our daughter earlier this morning.’”

Hiding your face behind your hands, you groan. “Please tell me that was not what you actually said to him.”

“Hey, Sam thought it was funny! After Steve laid there for a few seconds staring at me, I shot a look at Sam to make him stop laughing. I didn’t know what else to do, but thankfully after a few more seconds, Steve finally smiled and said, ‘good.’ I showed him the picture you sent and I talked about how great you were in the delivery room and how wonderful it was to be a dad even though it’s only been a few hours.” Bucky’s smile fades a bit before he goes on. “I told him what you wrote on the back of the picture, too. I could tell he wanted to say more, but all he had the strength to say was ‘thank you.’”

Considering the emotions you had gone through during the last day, it wasn’t a surprise when you could feel tears streaming down your face. After wiping them away, you gave a small “thank you” to Bucky before asking what else they discussed.

Thankfully, this brought a big smile to Bucky’s face. “All of his kids were there, so I got a chance to meet them. We all talked for a long time, and each time I looked down at Steve, he had a smile on his face. When Dr. Cho and Bruce came to check on his vitals and asked him how he was feeling, he responded with ‘happy.’”

“That’s so good to hear. How long were you and Sam able to stay?”

“We stayed for about an hour and a half before he started to look really tired. Sam and I decided it was best to say goodbye and give him time to rest with his family. When we left, he caught my hand and asked ‘happy?’ I told him we were both happy and that I would do everything possible to keep it that way. With a light squeeze to my hand, he said ‘thank you’ and we left.”

You didn’t realize you were holding in a sigh until you let it out, but you were filled with so much relief knowing their visit went well. “I’m so glad you were able to see him, Bucky. Are you thinking you want to go back up later this week to see him again?”

The sad smile on Bucky’s face tells you everything you need to know. “I’m so sorry, beautiful, but we got a call from Dr. Cho on the way back. Steve passed away.” With a fresh set of tears streaming down your face, you cuddle into Bucky’s side in search of comfort. “He fell asleep right after we left and he went peacefully in his sleep.”

After a few minutes, you pull away just enough to look up at Bucky. “I’m sad Steve’s gone, but I’m thankful for everything else that’s happened since last night.”

“Me too, beautiful. I’m so glad I listened to you and got to see him one last time.”

For the next few minutes, you laid together and processed everything from the last few hours. After a while, Bucky broke the silence.

“Did you know Steve named a kid after me?”

Gasping, you look up at him. “He did?”

“Yeah,” you startle hearing Sam’s voice at the door. “And I only got mentioned in a middle name. Can you believe that?”

Leave it to Sam to know exactly how to lighten the mood.

While you wait for your parents to arrive, Bucky and Sam fill you in on Steve and his kids. For the first time in years, you find it freeing to talk about the past without having to stop and dwell on the negative. Who would’ve thought you’d have Steve to thank for that.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x you #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x female reader #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x you

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janfraiser · 1 year

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I was bored in the car today and @lesbiansayaishii was nice to me in the tags of my pinned moodboard, so elle, this is for you ❤️ this also marks the first thing I've properly written for the Ivy AU, and it's intentionally not the start of the story but more in the middle, because I wanted to make my brain think about other parts of the story. Thank you elle for giving me an excuse to flex my muse 🖤💞💗

Background/Context, Connor went to Mayo after s3, and Ava didn't ask him to stay, nor did she tell him when she realized she was pregnant from their one night stand. He comes back as head of the emergency department around four years later, and... you can probably fill in the blankssss

Connor is reviewing patient charts in his mercifully private office when the phone on his desk starts ringing. He eyes it for a moment, pretty sure it’s no one he wants to talk to. But he doesn’t get to foist it off now, now that he’s the one in charge, so he picks up the phone with a groan.

“Rhodes.”

“Dr. Rhodes, it’s Beth in the OR with Dr. Bekker,” says the surgery tech. “You’re on speaker.”

Not the most headache-inducing call he could’ve gotten, then. “Thanks, Beth. Ava?” It’s been a rocky few weeks since he’d suddenly learned that she had a daughter— that he had a daughter— but getting closer again, even just by arguing and pestering each other with every spare minute of their shifts, means he’s falling back into the familiar patterns from before his years at the Mayo Clinic, including using her first name.

“Connor, what’s the weather doing right now?”

He blinks. “Huh?”

“I know we’re supposed to be getting a winter storm,” she continues, “but last I heard it wasn’t getting bad until tonight. Only, now Ivy’s daycare is saying they’re closing early because the roads might be dangerous as early as this afternoon.”

Connor scrubs a hand over his face. “Oh, shit, the ER’s probably gonna get flooded.”

“Connor,” Ava says, exasperation audible even over the phone, “I’m currently elbow-deep in the chest cavity of a man in late-stage heart failure. I cannot leave this patient on the table for the half-hour minimum it would take for me to drive out to the daycare and check Ivy out. She can play quietly in the doctor’s lounge up here, she knows how to do that, but I need you to go pick her up.”

“Uh.” He pauses for a moment as his brain tries to catch up. “What?”

“I know you’re working too, but you’ve got a little more flexibility than I do at the moment,” Ava continues. “I’ll call ahead and tell them you’re cleared to sign her out, can you come get my car keys so you’ll have her car seat with you?”

“Hang on.” Connor’s hand flexes on the arm of his office chair. “A week ago you were saying you weren’t even ready for me to meet her yet, and now you want me to go pick her up from school? The hell do I know about entertaining children?”

“You don’t have to entertain anyone,” Ava huffs, “as long as you can buckle a seatbelt, you’ll be fine. I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate."

"That makes me feel so much better," he says drily.

"Look, if I spend any more time begging you right now my patient is going to end up with brain damage. Car keys are in my locker; the combination is Ivy's birthday. Beth, hang up on him, please."

Sure enough, the call ends abruptly, leaving Connor to stand there and wonder what he'd expected.

"I don't know her goddamn birthday," he says aloud to no one.

On a hunch he boots up his desktop to open the hospital's L&D records from 2018, and punching in Ava's surname he finds a file from late in the fall. 11-06-18. Got it.

Sure enough, that combination opens the locker, and Connor grabs the car keys from the magnet hook inside the door. He vaguely remembers the name of the daycare, so he punches that into google maps, and even with the snow starting to fall, the drive doesn't hit twenty minutes. When he enters the lobby of the place, the woman at the front desk nods when he awkwardly gives his name.

"Dr. Bekker gave us a call, you're on the approved guardian list," she says. "We appreciate you working with our unpredictable winter schedule; the kids are in the main playroom and their belongings are in the cubbies with their names."

"Got it," Connor says, finding the small cubby with Ivy's name on it. There's a purple coat on one hook and a blue, floral-patterned backpack on the other, and he crosses his fingers and hopes there's nothing else he needs to grab, because he's not exactly sure the three-year-old will tell him. He makes his way into the playroom, scanning the small crowd of children, and a familiar face stares back at him, blonde pigtails bouncing as she crosses the room.

"You're Doctor Rhodes," she says a picture book clutched in one hand. "You work with Mummy." There's a pause, and then she adds, "hi," as if just remembering how to use greetings.

"Yep, that's me," he agrees. It feels insanely weird to have this small child referring to him with his full title, but everything about interacting with her feels insanely weird-- he's going to let Ava tell her what to call him, and all that. "Hey, Ivy, your mom is really busy right now, but because of the snow the nice people here are worried it might not be safe for you to stay all afternoon like usual. So I have your normal car, with your car seat, and we're gonna go back to the hospital. Sound alright?"

"Mhm," Ivy agrees. "I have my coloring books." And then she instantly reaches up for his hand, and he takes hers reflexively, but it brings him a moment's pause when he looks down at her and realizes this is effectively the first time he's held his daughter's hand. But he doesn't really have the time to pause and sit with that, especially with an inquisitive toddler staring up at him, so instead he leads her out of the room and to the car.

"Coloring books sound great."

In the car, Ivy talks a little about friends from her Pre-K, but mostly she looks out the window and dances to the random radio station Connor had turned on. They park in the hospital parking lot, and when Connor lifts Ivy out of her car seat, she wraps her arms around his neck. "It's cold!"

"We'll be inside soon," he tells her, picking her backpack up from the floor of the car. But after he shuts the door and locks the car, he hesitates, looking from Ivy's sneakers to the slushy puddles on the sidewalk. "Um... do you want me to carry you like this?"

"Yeah!" She rests her head on his shoulder. "Your beard is funny."

He chuckles as he begins to walk toward the hospital. "Funny?"

"It's soft. Soft like a fuzzy bear."

"Oh, yeah?" He grins at her. "I thought you weren't supposed to pet bears. Do bears like people?"

"No!" Ivy giggles, leaning back to give him a toothy smile. Connor adjusts his grip to account for the change in her center of gravity. "Bears don't live with people, silly. I got stuffed animals."

"Oh, I see," he says, adopting an air of seriousness. "You're the expert, then."

Ivy certainly agrees with that assessment, and she tells him all about her stuffed animals and their names as they make their way through the hospital. Really, Connor could put her down now that they're out of the weather, but he feels happily warm with her clinging to him so tightly. Yeah, it's a little freaky to meet a tiny alien of a human who's half made of him when she's already her own tiny person, but Ivy is so immediately trusting and bubbly that he can't help but love her. He can lose his shit on his own time; if a toddler wants to hug him, he's gonna hug her back.

"Here we go." Connor sets Ivy on the couch in the CT doctor's lounge, and she eagerly opens up her backpack and pulls out coloring books and crayons. "Your mom will come see you when she's done with surgery."

"Thanks." Ivy quickly opens the coloring book and holds out a crayon to him. "Here. Color."

He takes the crayon, a little surprised. Technically, he really should get back to the trauma floor, but... surely Ava will be out of the OR sooner rather than later. He can stay with Ivy for a little while later.

"Okay," he agrees, sitting on the floor to reach where she has the coloring book on the couch. "What... what color do we start with?"

#chicago med #ava bekker #connor rhodes #chicago med au #chicago med fic #ivy au #my aus #this got long but domestic fluff is my weakness #crockettstiddies #im so tired i might try to tag this better tmrw

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lifetimeoftired · 10 months

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Tacking on to my other post about Vergil/Lady, there’s another interesting canon moment, that now that I’ve actually gone back to watch, that really got me.

In the cutscene in the post-second Vergil fight where she accuses Vergil of forcing Arkham to do this, he looks mildly annoyed and a bit disappointed. But note, he only attacks her once. She interrupted his fight with Dante, which annoyed him and that’s why he attacks her, but he pauses and takes the time to call her out specifically for believing Arkham. Sure sure, he could just be being dramatic cause he hates the guy, but this is also the same man Vergil just ‘killed’ because of “fondness” for his daughter when the guy has been leading him around to the thing Vergil wants and this was almost entirely Arkham’s plan anyway.

If we put our shipping googles on here for a minute, and consider Vergil’s pov, he might have been jealous of her. We know he hates Arkham, hated him the entire time from how he was constantly glaring at the son of bitch anytime he spoke. Part of that is the fact that he knows Arkham murdered his wife to become a devil. And this is Vergil! Mommy issues central! No doubt Vergil absolutely despises Arkham for killing his wife, and is just using he supposedly saving his daughter as an excuse to kill him for that. Also, he no doubt hates the idea that Arkham has any softer feelings towards his child (because maybe, his own parents were more complicated than he wants to believe), if he even believes that Arkham actually did. And if he did believe, for just a second, that Arkham actually cared about her, he most certainly wondered, in those few moments, why Lady was so damn special? Why did Arkham still choose to care about his daughter but his parents didn’t care about, him was something wrong with him? How come Arkham couldn’t a father to HIM? Then imagine his disappointment when he realizes Arkham manipulated Lady. To what end? He won’t know for a few more seconds, but he goes right back to thinking ‘lol Arkham’s a piece of shit, glad I killed him’.

And maybe, he sees something in Lady that’s like himself. Someone abandoned, someone unloved who lost everything too soon. Angry, lashing out, doing everything to put the wrong right and make it so that she’s never vulnerable again. Going so far as to challenge something so far above her, she could never succeed because she must.

And then there’s Lady. She does stop, right then and there. She could’ve chosen not to believe Vergil. After all, there was no reason for her to believe him. He’s a demon! She just learned he was possessing her father and made him do terrible things! Except, she does believe him. She could just be thinking about how Arkham being possessed doesn’t really track with what she knows. She could be questioning why she’s even trusting Arkham in the first place. I like to think, that she sees that he’s honestly, genuinely disappointed in her. He says, ‘you really believe that?’ and she actually considers what he’s saying because, that’s not the reaction of someone who ‘won’ the manipulation chess game. Something I think she’d be well versed in, seeing as Arkham is Like That and it no doubt slipped through into his every day personality.

Obviously Dante/Jester interrupts so we’ll never really know how they would’ve reacted to after this exchange, but I like to think he would have let her walk away. Might have even told her, in his pompous way, that things were about to get bad and she should save herself while she could. She obviously would’ve called him a dick, challenged him, and I do think he would’ve killed her. But only because if he didn’t go all out, he would be ashamed of himself for not showing a worthy opponent respect.

#devil may cry #Vergil/Lady #dmc3 #dmc lady #dmc vergil #character meta

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dragonmuse · 1 year

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Absolutely LOVE the new story!! It's so nice to see Stede's and Olu's POV, I didn't realize how much I missed Olu. I'm guessing we will see some in this story, but could we see Olu and Alma hanging out? Maybe when she was younger and would hang out at the bar when she's in the city?

(yay, thank you! You may certainly have some young Alma and Oluwande!)

“What’s up, baby bat?” Oluwande asked as Alma flopped down into Ethel’s empty makeup chair.

“I’m bored,” she informed him as if this was the very worst thing in the world that could’ve happened. “I want to go home, but Dad and Eddy are talking and they keep saying five more minutes and it’s been like an hour.”

“Yeah, I think all good tiny people are supposed to be in bed,” he considered. “It’s like 2 AM.”

“I’m not tiny. Or a baby,” she stuck out her bottom lip. “I’m thirteen.”

“Right, my mistake,” he nodded, wiping off the last pits of his makeup. “Want to help me clean this place up?”

Alma looked in despair around the changing room. “Did you make the mess?”

“Little bit of it. But we just take turns going through every few weeks. John did it last time, Frenchie time before that. I’m probably due. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“Good,” she wrinkled her nose. “Cause it looks really bad.”

“We’re just going to go through, pick up clothes and if it’s got a label, it gets tossed on their chair. No label, let me get an eye on it. It’s usually easy to tell who belongs to what. If we don’t know it, it goes in the box by the door.”

“Yeah, okay,” she sighed and went to go start in Leda’s corner where there was little in the way in clothes and a lot in the way of rhinestones. “What do I do with these?”

“Toss ‘em.”

“Can I keep them?”

“Knock yourself out.”

“What’s this?” Alma held up a squishy yellow object.

“That’s a hip pad. We cut ‘em out of couch cushion foam. That one looks like it’s Frenchie’s size, toss it on her chair.”

“Okay.”

It was actually useful to have a smaller person around. Alma got under all the vanities for what might be the first time in literal years. She found an earring Oluwande was sure he’d lost for good, an entire set of the Kraken’s press ons, innumerable bobby pins, and a roll of duct tape.

“What’s this for?”

“...ask your parents,” Oluwande took it from her. “Better yet, just google it in say...five or six years.”

“Whatever,” she wrinkled her nose. “I probably don’t want to know.”

“Probably not. Okay, so that piece is done. Let’s take a step back and see what the next thing to do is. The key is to break it down into steps so you don’t get overwhelmed.”

It took a half hour or so to square the room away enough that Oluwande felt good about abdicating responsibility again for a few months. Alma even vacuumed and looked pleased when he praised her for it, even if she’d missed a few spots.

When they headed back out to the bar, Stede and Eddy were still in deep conversation with several people. Oluwande walked up and Eddy caught his eye, grimacing.

“Listen,” she whispered. “There was some petition going around that’s got everyone in the neighborhood nervous. It’s probably nothing, but Stede wants to hash it out with the club owners from next store tonight, so we’re on the same page. Can you walk Alma home? The sitter is there with Charlie, probably both sleeping though. Sorry to even ask.”

“No, I heard that too,” he sighed. It was a nuisance thing, but he got why it made Stede jumpy. Oluwande didn’t like it either when the morality gang showed up to raise their particular brand of hell. “Where’s Jim?”

“Knocking on doors of all the other late night businesses. Just to let them know we’re going to meet in the next week or so. Pre-game. We’ll want you there for the actual meeting. You’re better at getting people to listen to you than either of us. I’ll read you in. Ok?”

“Got it. Keys?”

Eddy tossed the them to him and Oluwande shoved them in his pocket.

“Let’s get you in bed,” he said to Alma, who in a remarkable moment, didn’t protest.

“Okay.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Stede stopped for a moment, bending down to hug her. “We’ll all go out for a long brunch tomorrow, all right?”

“Kay,” she said into his stomach. “Night, Dad.”

“Good night, Alma.”

They walked together into the night. She had a little leather jacket, pulled over her dress and her purple docs. Oluwande remembered being that age, an unsure cocktail of newly pumping hormones, caught halfway from child to teenager. There was a bow tied at the end of her braid.

“You do that?” He asked flicking the ribbon so her braid swayed a little.

“Eddy put it in,” she said, pleased. “She has a lot of ribbon.”

“Yeah, I think she’s doing a whole dress thing. It’s a Roach idea.”

“Do you make your own dresses?”

“Nope. I leave that to the dream team. I do my own wigs though and I style theirs in exchange sometimes. It evens out.”

“How do you style a wig?”

“You want the whole class?” he glanced at her with as mile. “Because I charge for that.”

“No,” she huffed. “Just curious.”

“It’s a lot like real hair in some ways. Just things you have to be careful of. Different products sometimes. The hard part with drag queen wigs is that they need a lot of volume, so you usually wind up making them out of a lot of different wigs. It’s a process.”

“Why do they have to be big?”

So he spent the rest of the walk telling her about proportion. If it was a different kid, he wouldn’t have bothered, but Alma always listened with birdlike intent and seemed to retain everything. She asked questions and fired off a random,

“Victorian people kept the hair if their dead family and made it into jewelry.”

“Oh fuck, why?” he groaned.

“I don’t know, I think it’s nice,” she said dreamily. “Like keeping a bit of them with you.”

“I think I’ll stick to photos, but thanks for that image.”

When they got there, Alma took the keys from him to open the door and then dropped them on the spindly table by the door. She sat and worked off her boots. Oluwande hovered, uncomfortable with just leaving her there.

“It’s okay, see,” she got up and pointed to the sofa where someone was sleeping under a blanket. “That’s Marisa. She’s okay. Dad says it’s okay for her to nap as long as Charlie can wake her up if he needs something.”

“Okay, you need anything before I leave you though?”

Alma hesitated, and then shook her head. “It’s okay.”

“Hey, how about a last snack before bed?” he said nonchalantly. “I know I could eat and your Dad and Eddy are snack hoarders.”

“Do you like macaroons?”

“You know it.”

They were quiet, pouring glasses of milk and eating fancy little cookies without turning on the overhead lights. Oluwande was glad he stayed, when Alma went on telling him about Victoiran mourning jewelry, clearly relieved for the company. When she started yawning again though, he gestured her towards her room.

“I’ll text your Dad. Want me to set the security alarm on my way out?”

“Yeah, okay,” she shrugged, but her face said ‘Yes. Please.’

Stede had never changed the passcode from the early days of living here when Oluwande crashed on the couch. He wondered how Eddy let him get away with that as he armed the thing and walked back out into the night.

The streets were still busy, even at the late hour. It was a summer Saturday, rich with potential vices and delights. Oluwande avoided a few drunks and watched the neon lights sparkle in puddles from last night’s rainstorm. It was it’s own kind of lullaby and by the time he got back to the bar, he was yawning.

“Hey,” Jim swung out from the still clustered group. “Want to go?”

“Yeah, but-”

“It’s cool. They’re going in circles. Eddy said she’d call you tomorrow.”

“Sure?”

“Mhm. Let’s just go.”

That was probably smart. If they said good night, they’d get sucked into the conversation. The alley door was propped so they went out the back.

“Walk?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Jim nodded. “Nice enough.”

They made it a few blocks before Oluwande offered to them,

“Want to know what I learned tonight?”

“That you’re a soft mark for babysitting?”

“Haha. I don’t have to tell you.”

“But you want to,” Jim smiled. “So you will.”

“...okay so apparently people made jewlery out of hair.”

“Gross!” Jim grinned at him. “Why?”

“That’s what I asked!”

He caught them up on all of Alma’s factoids as they walked.

And maybe, several years later, there would come a day when Alma would stand at the door to her bedroom with a contractor bag and her mother saying,

“I told you this day would come!”

And she would close her eyes, take a deep breath and say to herself, “Just break it into small steps.”

Bit by bit, the dragon hoard that had been her childhood bedroom would yield itself to her persuasion. She texted Oluwande a picture when she was done.

Alma: voila.

Oluwane: good job.

Alma: thanks. Like a lot. I was freaking out.

Oluwande: You had it. You’ll have all of it.

#leda house and the kraken verse #ficlet #oluwande boodhari #alma bonnet

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found--family · 1 year

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i finally finished Bridgewater season 2!

(i know i'm way behind but i was listening on my drive to and from work but then i lost my job and suddenly listening at home felt weird but i binged the last handful of eps this long weekend so now i wanna share some thoughts..)

best finale bits:

- realising francine was spn alumn/battlestar galactica's tricia helfer (wish I'd realised this sooner bc i think i would've enjoyed her character more)

- jeremy becoming an unexpected father to a time travelling kid he spent the whole season vocally not giving a shit about (serious s13!grieving!dean vibes here)

- the setup for season 3! would love to get some pov from folks in the fae realm!

best s2 bits:

- aside from misha, soni has been my fave thing about this series (his voice acting is So Good) and this season we got more vippin and more of him interacting with other characters!

- learning more about jeremy: he visited fairyland as a kid! he was a teen wiccan! he just wants a friend! he's happy without a partner and kids! (the phonecall to his british colleague was a fave scene)

- peyton! wish we'd gotten more of her, hope she returns next season.

- more hillary! she's not in it much but we got a few long scenes with her and it was great to hear her flex her voice acting chops.

- tudyk! i was sceptical at first (i'd really been looking forward to fillion) but he was stellar. his distinct voice is perfect for voice acting and his vocal control and timing was really superb. his and misha's scenes were a highlight but there were also a few delightful and emotional scenes with other characters (including a makeover!)

- MONSTERS. one of the huge draws of this podcast for me was the supernatural element. this season had a bunch of different creatures appear and there were mentions of way more that had me googling and learning so much (yay fic fodder!)

a few s2 cons (imho):

- this season is a lot compared to season 1. more characters, more plot, more at stake. it was hard to keep up with what was going on specifically with all the fae stuff. i had to relisten to numerous scenes multiple times to grasp what was happening.

- it kinda feels like season 1 was written not knowing how everything would play out bc all the fae stuff feels shoehorned into the relevant parts of the s1 narrative. they make it work but some explanations seemed like a bit of a stretch.

- as much as i love her on-screen, i didn't really enjoy helfer in this. i don't know whether it's because i found her character annoying from the jump or if it was her vocal style being a little too overdramatic and on the nose (that could've been a director's decision in which case it makes sense, but i really didn't enjoy her personality as the legend tripper or her almost comical portrayal as fae)

- the finale was a lot of exposition, and it got very convoluted with different characters wanting to sacrifice themselves over each other, and the whole fae deal thing was still unclear and confusing despite being explained. tbh i was bored for most of it.

- the first 19 minutes of the finale was an uninterrupted convo between jeremy and francine. that's too long, it's half the damn episode. and francine was doing most of the talking (almost monologuing) and since she's the badguy of the season it felt like a poor choice (or maybe that's just my bias for not liking her portrayal?)

- anne and thomas going through the portal made total sense and I'm glad that's what happened bc thomas was sick and anne had missed her life BUT that made all the arguments over who should go that much more pointless. the arguments felt like filler, going round in circles with people ignoring each other's sound reasoning.

- there were quite a few noticeable editing mistakes this season: chopped dialogue poorly stitched together, misspoken words, and dead air that did nothing to set the tone but instead felt like they hadn't bothered fixing.

closing thoughts:

i preferred the mystery of season 1. this season was a lot of focus on the how's and why's of all the monster and fae stuff with character studies crammed between, whereas season 1 was more concise in the investigation and character focus and there was always room to wonder what was going on (i preferred that) but there was also room for the narrative to breathe; season 2 is crowded. it's a lot of fast dialogue and info dumping, a lot of characters - some interesting, some annoying, a few pointless. I'd listen again for clarity and enjoyment of particular scenes and dynamics, but more often than not i found myself confused, left with more questions than answers, and therefore not being able to enjoy the journey. there were definite high points, including the many monster cameos, but it lost that eery feel that season 1 did so well; this season felt like multiple genres rolled into one with all of them fighting for dominance - horror, fantasy, drama, mystery - whereas season 1 melded themes and genres effortlessly. season 2 also didn't have the emotional chords that season 1 played so beautifully (I'm looking at you, emotional jeremy realising his whole life was a lie) the finale should've been a tear-jerker, it wasn't.

it's always hard to follow the success of a first season, especially when the second decides to explain all the mysteries season 1 set up - and given how season 1 ended there was a lot that needed explaining. unfortunately (for me) the story felt caught up in the details and yet it explained things without explaining things leaving me wanting for clarity that never came. often it didn't bother setting the tone (or an intriguing tone) and more characters meant less misha which is always disheartening.

i'm looking forward to season 3 with papa!jeremy(?) and fae realm content (I'd love more fae) i just hope they can recapture the thematic feel of season 1 (it can be a different vibe but it has to permeate the narrative) and refocus on our main folk (jeremy, vippin, anne, thomas, olivia) instead of introducing too many new characters and elements that will steal more scene time.

#Bridgewater #thoughts #spoilers #honest review

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yeetlegay · 2 years

Note

The gremlin is back with new notes, I hope you don't mind. I'll put a read-more mark in case someone wants to skip them.

Santa Maria we're like 1 minute in and it's already going places

Pete didn't strike me as a tattoo person but it makes sense

I mean I know my man is getting slapped and all but that shirt is fire

"Who's a good boy?" sounded equally terrifying and awfully cute (9 minutes in and I'm already bananas)

TANKHUN YES HELLO OMG YOUR OUTFIT IS LIT LIKE ALWAYS

Tankhun has the best reactions, kicking Kinn with legs included

Porsche is the definition of "this all could've been done without a gun and yes, this all could've been an email"

JESUS that wrench is huge

what if the car accident was caused by Time? In one of the first episode Time mentioned Tay's dad covered up his car accident like nothing ever happened because it was his area. Just a thought.

omg Porchay and his Snoopy hoodie so cute I'll die

as someone who has terrible relationship with my siblings, I'd die for their bromance. Porsche and Porchay might get on some people's nerves in the fandom, but like... They literally only have each other. Of course they'd be super gentle and overprotective.

God that blow-dryer is loud

omg these two babies. Tay and Time are serving looks

OH MY GOD SHE IS SO PRETTY SHE IS INDEED SERVING LOOKS

Love how Tay is manspreading while Time is trying to occupy as little space as possible

Vegas is really reading Childhood's End, a story about literal aliens invading Earth while he has Pete locked up???

No, he isn't. Idk whether I should say God bless or not

I wish Vegas' father a happy burn in hell

Tankhun is such a fashion icon and no I will never stop saying it

I want Tankhun to be kindergarten teacher to my kids so he can teach them basic life rules such as be relaxed and kill everyone who is suspicious immediately and all that while looking so damn fabulous

Sir, uh, that is, um, really creative excuse to kiss someone...

Pete is so good at asking the right questions at the right time

"Have you ever loved me?" no, that's why he Superman-ed those kidnappers and proceeded to enter the warehouse guns blazing... (I getchu tho, Chay...)

Vegas, it's not as bad as before because prior to this you got free Pete therapy session

"If you hate me, you'll have energy to kill me later." or as I call it, positive thinking

Turbulence... noted.

Nope, I don't think my car accident theory was correct. Rest in peace theory, you did your best.

I started to respond to this bullet by bullet but half the bullets were just variations of “AKDHDJNSJSKAJSH SO TRUE” so here is a shortened version lol

THE WHO’S A GOOD BOY LINE REWROTE MY FUCKING DNA ISTG if I ever decide to proceed with my villain era I will be taking Vegas as my manipulate manslaughter malewhore inspo

“This could’ve been an email” LESTAT I WHEEZED

That wrench scared me more than the electric chair (taint edition) from ep 10, like for why is it so ENORMOUS

I live for sibling bonds too ugh. Oldest of 5 here so Porsche’s older sibling struggles resonate deeply. (Also that one post about how Kinn is a middle son but an eldest daughter…math was found dead from the accuracy)

The second I saw the Childhood’s End cover I had to pause and Google lol I’m obsessed with analyzing characters’ reading choices (the Kardashian Konfidential book led to a headcanon that Kinn started watching KUWTK with Tankhun just to feel something and now he’s lowkey a celebrity gossip encyclopedia)

Tankhun kindergarten teacher…WHO’S GONNA WRITE HIM STARTING A MAFIA DAYCARE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF THEERAPANYAKUL TOTS

No bc my first thought when Vegas did the pill kiss was “holy shit he’s ballin I could’ve been having my gf give me Tylenol kisses this whole time???” Like absolute legend behavior imo

Kinn walking like that had me thinking Something Else and I was like “surely…surely they wouldn’t have…..not-not on a-a helicopter” so glad we got confirmation of a sky bj to bring my brain back online (sort of)

#kinnporsche #yeetle asks #why don’t queue stay #lestat tag

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prongsmydeer · 2 years

Text

Ayesha Liveblogs Business Proposal S1

“Can you believe this ad? You can hardly tell what product they’re promoting.” As much as I am immediately wary of businessmen, I also do sometimes feel this emotion LOL if I have to sit through an ad I’d like to know what it’s for

I don’t yet know Fish Girl but I like her. It was the ponytail and labcoat moment. What can I say, I am easy

President Kang Tae-moo immediately putting poor Sung-hoon in the line of fire to be attacked with a cane by his grandfather

I love how comically evil Park Bribery Incorporated is. They cackle into the night over a box of money in a golf course

I have not yet seen Min-woo but if these cutaway animations are any indication I think I will adore him:

“You think you’re the only smart one in the world.” said Tae-moo’s grandfather. “You’re just realizing that now?” replied Tae-moo, in what I’m sure isn’t foreshadowing of him immediately doing something stupid ASAP

You know, I think I like Grandpa Kang, he’s funny

TKJHKJTHKJGHKJG. Min-woo. Who invites someone to a restaurant on their birthday when u are making a cake for SOMEONE ELSE’S BIRTHDAY. I feel like the cake mishap is kinda on you

“And even if I liked men, President Kang really isn’t my style.” 1) I love you Sung-hoon, 2) This is a very bisexual way to respond to this question why do u know ur type LMAO

Subpoint to this: I think Grandpa Kang would be chill if Tae-moo and Sung-hoon were dating. He’d be like, “Great! Marry him. This saves time for all of us.”

Poor Ha-ri, I feel u on the family that rarely puts in effort on ur birthday

Omg is this ‘I need 800,000 won’ neighbour conflict the reason for what I assume will be a fake relationship between Ha-ri and Tae-moo?? Feels a little imbalanced, I hope it has Ouran High School Host Club energy LMAO

Young-seo might be the sugar mama in this situation bc she’s paying Ha-ri to go on a blind date in her stead? I feel better about that LMAO

All the little cutaways and special effects in this show are very fun, there is no real reason why Young-seo needs to magically throw outfits onto Ha-ri like she’s Kirby after a power-up, but they decided to add it in anyway and I think that’s very powerful of them

For a guy so meticulous as Tae-moo, you’d think he’d google his dates

LMAO I love how convoluted this scheme has already gotten 30 minutes into the show. Why did Ha-ri not just run away after going to the bathroom. She did not need to come back to the table

Come to think of it. If she wanted to end it with a goodbye. She could’ve just faked a family emergency

“The one on the left is Samantha and the one on the right is Rachel.” KJHJKGHGKJH THERE WERE SO MANY WAYS TO END THIS DATE ALTERNATIVE TO ‘UR MAKING MY TIDDIES SAD’

I love how many creative options Ha-ri has for getting rid of men though. This must be a pastime for her. Or she’s very quick on her feet. Either way, admirable

Also. I don’t know if this is a cultural difference but like. What makes u think offering to have sex with a man will get rid of him. Have you met a cishet man

I assume, however, in Tae-moo’s case because he’s Mr. Smarty Trousers, he can tell she doesn’t want to be on the date and he’s gonna proposition fake dating, not knowing she’s not Young-seo

Oh my god. HE DOESN’T KNOW. And I think he secretly liked the date. THAT’S SO FUNNY

“To partners in crime?” “I’m so proud of you.” Ha-ri and Young-seo’s dynamic is perfect. No comments

I want Sung-hoon to find love. I know it’s early to suggest a throuple, but I think he should be in a throuple with Tae-moo and Ha-ri. Bye (bi).

“A regular employee will never run into the President at work,” said Young-seo, in what I assume is again immediate foreshadowing of Ha-ri running into Tae-moo at work

HA:

LMAO at Tae-moo looking RIGHT AT a picture of Ha-ri and not noticing it’s the same woman he declared he was going to marry just bc she’s wearing glasses and has her hair up. Is he faceblind or does Ha-ri have Clark Kent Syndrome?

“With my face, body, impeccable manners and flawless personality, why would she say no?” Tae-moo said: I got self-esteem baybee <3

“This goes for you too. Why don’t you get a girlfriend?” Awwww grandpa said I will hassle my honorary grandson Sung-hoon about his relationships too, equal opportunity meddling >:)

It didn’t take Sung-hoon long to find love I guess LOL

“We’re going to get married, so I should know all of your numbers.” JHGKHJGKH Tae-moo ur insane

Well, when Tae-moo decides he’s gonna do something, he commits

Ha-ri is also insane. WHO JUST JUMPS INTO RANDOM CARS!! THAT’S HOW U GET KIDNAPPED

“How do I look like [feathered bird-like dinosaur]?” “Just the overall vibe, especially the nose.” HAHAHAH SUNG-HOON COMING IN FOR THE KILL CASUALLY

Hahahaha this drunken scene has only reinforced my love for both Young-seo and Ha-ri

“Stop saying ‘female employees.’ They’re just employees. Don’t you know that’s sexist? And what, climb up the ladder? The only thing that’s climb is my blood pressure. So stop it, and get those invoices submitted.” I love Ha-ri’s boss Ms. Yeo

Maybe it says something about your personality that you think people would be interested in throwing shoes at your face, Tae-moo?????

WHY ARE YOU CHASING HER. THIS IS SO STUPID. However I love the immediate payoff of mentioning in the previous scene that he was a track and field star hahahahah

It’s a little incongruent with the whole façade of being this v pragmatic president to be chasing an employee wildly through the hallways. But it’s funny so I’ll give it to them

Also. Put your hair up and put on some glasses. He’ll never find you

I wasn’t expecting Tae-moo to actually catch up to her. But I like that every time he meets her in any capacity he’s like, ‘She’s bananas but honest and hardworking. <3 Delightful <3′

Bold of Tae-moo to describe Ha-ri as “the woman he almost married” when she flat-out rejected him and told him looked like a dinosaur

I love how Tae-moo invites himself into Sung-hoon’s apartment and cooks and cleans. Domestic. Maybe they are dating a little

With the added factor of the wig to the outfits and makeup, I guess it’s more of a Hannah Montana situation

Gfjggfkjhgkjgh Young-seo really did just throw her friend to the wolves LOL

Tae-moo having a personal vendetta against Ha-ri the Fake Young-seo over being called a dinosaur. At least he’s consistent in his petty ego HAAHAHAH

Kang is calling Ha-ri in the middle of the night just because he got mad while watching a dinosaur documentary. Extremely unhinged. I love this for them

Tae-moo must love his grandfather a lot to go on ten blind dates in a row

HAHAHAHAHAHA WE FINALLY ARRIVE AT THE FAKE DATING PLOT I UNDERSTOOD TO BE THE PREMISE OF THIS SHOW:

“You should thank Mr. Cha. He’s the reason we made up and got back together.” [Tae-moo blinking desperately at Sung-hoon for back-up.] “Yes sir. I tried very hard.” Sung-hoon proving he’s a ride or die homie

Fjfhkfhkfjhkf feels mean-spirited of Tae-moo to put tons of money on the line for someone he knows to be struggling. His motto is truly mansplain, manipulate, malewife

“Rich people are people too.” Grandpa Kang reinforcing to us all that rich people are tone deaf always

Ohhh my god Ha-min walking in on Ha-ri and Tae-moo accidentally kissing jhgkjhgkg her brother doesn’t know what’s on the horizon

Why are they just chilling, lip to lip? PULL AWAY U DOOFS

Tae-moo fully blackmailed her into being his fake date. Like don’t get me wrong, if I look at other fake dating shows, they’ve also been a little bananas, but it’s worse here cause of the money thing. Eat the rich

Also: If she signed that contract with her fake name it cannot possibly be legally binding LMAO

Silver lining: Tae-moo catching Ha-ri as she falls asleep and then tossing her at the car window bc he felt an emotion was very funny

“I won’t stop you from living on your own. But leave my credit card behind.” I guess Young-seo is going to have to get another job because only one couple in this show can pay each other to be in a relationship

“What kind of show makes the characters get together after just one kiss?” Enjoying the recurring background plot of their lives being followed exactly by what’s happening on TV

Excited and dreading seeing the Min-woo storyline and Ha-ri’s double life as Geum-hui the Fake Girlfriend collide

Unclear if Young-seo gets to keep her job at her dad’s company?? But was absolutely certain this would be Sung-hoon’s apartment building so called that one LOL

Awwww poor Ha-ri finding out Min-woo is still in love with his ex. It’s sad girl hours

Tae-moo pretending he didn’t hear her sobbing on the phone ahhhhh

Also. Girl. How did u get ur phone out of the gutter lmao

“Not her. Her.” Hahahaha Grandpa Kang realizing that Tae-moo likes flashy girls

“On top of that, you know that Tae-moo hates the rain? It was raining that day, and he still came.” I’m going to take Tae-moo’s stricken expression as evidence his parents were killed in the rain and so he has been planning to become Bitchy Batman ever since

Fhfjkhfkfhkjfh Ha-ri truly drops her bag and belongings everywhere. Realistic. Subscribed.

I feel solidarity with Sung-hoon and Young-seo over their mutual hatred of bugs

“You put Mr. Kang in a difficult position by sending somebody else on the blind date to fill in for you. So I just don’t think it would be right for me to get to know you personally.” Wow. Sung-hoon IS ride or die

This is the chillest concert I have ever seen. Seems more like a recital than a concert. This is smaller than my high school auditorium

Min-woo said, unhelpfully: Just in case my comments get selected, I wanted to inform both the band and the audience that Ha-ri is single. <3 Please help this lonely woman <3

“I don’t regret [falling for Min-woo], though. I was really happy for those seven years.” This is one of the most romantic things this show has said and it’s not even about the main couple LOL

There is something to this whole forced proximity thing like these two coming to understand each other’s sensitive spots a bit more... that’s very sweet

Tae-moo heard what I said about Min-woo and immediately took it as a challenge to be more romantic:

Why does Min-woo look so aghast? Is it bc Ha-ri no longer looks at him with love in her eyes kjghkghgkh

Between the ringtone and Min-woo and the eye bruise, Tae-moo is really having a lot of puzzle pieces thrown together in quick succession. Will his supposed high intellect piece together the truth about Ha-ri Montana? Tune in next episode

“We met when we were 20, so we’ve known each other for 7 years now.” “And you’ve been just friends this whole time?” That’s an inappropriate question to ask, Tae-moo kgjhkjghgjkg

Me: Maybe he’s connected the dots

The show: He didn’t connect shit

Gjlgkghgkjh the fact that Tae-moo and Sung-hoon have been besties literally since they were kids makes the fact they address each other so formally so funny. Imagine if in Boy Meets World, Cory called Shawn, “Mr. Hunter,” that’s the equivalent scenario

Weel weel weel, the ‘accidentally got us roped into a date’ shoe is on the other foot now, isn’t it Tae-moo and Sung-hoon Who Put Fake Anniversaries in their Calendars

Dfhkjghkghkgh Tae-moo counting the rings after Ha-ri missed his call bc he’s cool and chill and not catching feelings

Lmao @ Ha-ri making the absolute worst possible impression on Grandpa Kang while Tae-moo continues to look at every iteration of Ha-ri (both as herself and as Geum-hui) and go: <3 <3 <3 <3

Omgggggggggg they’re giving each other anniversary presents in the form of bruise ointment and fried chicken. I love this <3

I’m not saying much bc I’m too enthralled in the anniversary date but I am convinced this Young-seo furniture designer neighbour is a stalker

There was immediate payoff to this comment bc he is now delivering furniture to her unsolicited. Also gjkhkgjh at Sung-hoon becoming suspicious about this guy’s glasses bc he can tell time. He could just have a low prescription or wear them for fashion. Not everyone who wears glasses with relatively good vision is a liar and weirdo. (But this guy definitely is).

We cut back to Tae-moo falling wholeass in love:

Of the two, I don’t know that I was expecting Tae-moo to be the one who wears his heart on his sleeve but every single second of this date he is showing he cares and Ha-ri is internally going [Gabrielle Aplin voice] Please don’t say you love me

It took him four full episodes and numerous occasions to look at her but Tae-moo has finally connected the dots about Ha-ri Montana by seeing her ID and seeing her chilling outside her house picking up his call

Tae-moo, stupid as hell: I cannot believe she fooled me twice

“She’s going to keep lying to me?” YOU BLACKMAILED HER INTO FAKE DATING U AND YOU’RE HER BOSS OF COURSE SHE’D LIE TO U, WHAT’S WRONG WITH U TAE-MOO

“I’m going to take my time to make her realize just how big of a mistake she’s made.” HEY! TAE-MOO! YOU LITERALLY MADE HER DATE YOU. UR JUST MAD CAUSE UR IN LOVE WITH HER. STOP BEING SO WEIRD AND MEAN

What Tae-moo did not account for in this stupid Ravioli Repetition Revenge is that if he looks directly at her he falls to pieces because he is in love with her. A problem of his own making

Even if Min-woo and Ha-ri WERE dating it would be none of ur business bc ur her boss and fake boyfriend, Tae-moo. Get a grip, my love

If he hates lying so much why is he forcing her to lie more by constantly putting her in positions that put her job at risk? EAT THE RICH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If Sung-hoon isn’t saying it, I will. YOU ARE IN THE WRONG!!!!

I fucking knew furniture guy was a stalker. Gross. Hate it. Unnecessary

Also kind of bad vibes that he would give her an award for her work and use it to trap her. Eat the rich x3

“Why are they doing this? They never invited our family members before this.” It’s because your fake boyfriend is coocoo bananas

You know. If I saw my family dressed in a wig and heavy makeup trying to hide from eyeline. I’d let it go. None of my business

Hard to tell how much of that was a dream sequence lmao

“Why am I worried about that woman?” [Grandpa, through narration] “Look at him. It’s because he likes her.” I hope Grandpa Kang mockingly narrates Tae-moo for the rest of the show

Tae-moo 🤝 Young-seo

Expressing their romantic feelings by being as annoying as possible

“I’m Shin Ha-ri. Shin Ha-ri is Shin Geum-hui.” It took Ha-ri one (1) drunken admission and mumbled apology for her to stop every cog in Tae-moo’s unhinged little brain all at once:

“There’s no way I have feelings for Shin Ha-ri,” said Tae-moo, after searching all night for her to make sure she got home safe, releasing her from his ridiculous contract to make her life easier, and literally fleeing the country so he did not have to keep looking at her

The English switches always take me off-guard but what’s most funny about this New York scene is that Tae-moo quite obviously has more of an American accent to his English than either of the white people (who are presumably Korean by nationality) do

“Are you sorry for being so petty and messing with me because it hurt your pride when I’m not even interested in you?” I love a good romantic hallucination that calls you out for your mistakes LMAO

Well. Furniture stalker finally had his reveal. Yikes. I hope she is able to press charges

Sung-hoon took this opportunity to say: Tae-moo is not the only Business Boy who did track and field! WATCH ME RUNNNNN and catch this creep

Time for Tae-moo to prove that this ride or die relationship with Sung-hoon is reciprocal!! Go get your boy

“You’ve managed to make this far without getting caught. But unfortunately, you ran into me.” Tae-moo has been waiting his whole life for this Feminist Batman moment

“Well, who wouldn’t be upset in a situation like this?” said Tae-moo. “Yeah!” replied Sung-hoon, which, while true, is also definitely a product of the fact this secret perv footage thing happened to two women they have feelings for

“Didn’t you hear me? I’ve developed feelings for Ms. Shin.” Surprisingly self-aware for Tae-moo, what a quick turnaround

I really appreciate how the show emphasized how stupid Tae-moo is for wanting to confess his feelings and ask her out without at all considering that she is and has been his employee this entire time

I can’t wait to see Tae-moo start to try to be a normal person. Also I guess they’re finally going to start addressing all the loose threads around Min-woo

Min-woo, if you are in love with Ha-ri, as your sad faces when she mentions dating imply, WHY ARE YOU NOT DATING HER

Tae-moo asking to meet Ha-ri outside of work bc he likes her is a blatant misuse of authority but I’ll allow it because I think it’s going to be cute

But honestly, and I hate to say it: Same energy as that guy at my uni who said he was going to hold a debate club meeting but only invited one of the club members so he could trick her into a date. Cishet men do be like this

As much as I really dislike the plotline, I appreciate that they are addressing the actual trauma that Young-seo would experience after being the victim of sex crime

LOL @ Ha-ri’s coworkers immediately showing up at this theatre. Love that we’ve progressed from fake dating to secret dating

Tae-moo missing the whole event is Karmic Justice both for the False Pretenses Date and for being so snippy with Ha-ri about leading a double life earlier. THE CRAWLING OUT OF A SPACE TO GO UNNOTICED BY COLLEAGUES IS ON THE OTHER FOOT

Sung-hoon proving chivalry is not dead by ramming against the broken bathroom door so Young-seo could pee

“What excuse should I use to call her next?” HOW ABOUT U TALK TO HER LIKE A PERSON TAE-MOO U WEIRDO

“Come to your senses. You’re here for work!” said Ha-ri, proving she was the only one in this relationship who had any concept of work-life separation lmao

“She would be very touched if you told her that you called me here.” “It would be tasteless if I bragged about it.” Awwww if Tae-moo just uses all of these “work meetings” to do very sweet things for Ha-ri in secret just to make her happy then I will forgive him for 63% of his craziness

Turns out even Sung-hoon has limits to his chivalry:

Tae-moo ending the simultaneous double date by having a rain-induced panic attack and abandoning his lover on the road

Let it never be said that Tae-moo doesn’t double down on his shenanigan's. Immediately after finding her again he decided to volunteer as her fake boyfriend even though he is her real boss and their last conversation was him demanding she get out of the car in the rain, at an isolated bus stop, at night. Perhaps peak unhinged for Tae-moo

It’s definitely peak unhinged. Tae-moo must never have been in a relationship in his life he is acting like he is OBSESSED with Ha-ri it’s a bit much

Also. Announcing he is the President with NO regard for the position that puts her in as someone who 1) has received an award in his name and 2) is an employee that people may look down on for supposedly sleeping her way upwards. #JustRichManThings

You know. I’m pretty sure they didn’t actually have sex but. This broken heart is on Sung-hoon for not thinking about how someone who has recently been victimized would respond to waking up in a strange apartment with hazy memories

Min-woo really wants to have his Yu-ra and emotional affair with Ha-ri too like I know why Tae-moo is being So Much (it’s a character flaw) but your girlfriend is literally right there!!! Chill out or break-up

We’re finally getting Sung-hoon’s perspective about how all of this has been going down:

How many sad businessmen does it take to change a lightbulb

Also is the implication that Young-seo and Sung-hoon DID have sex while she was drunk because if so. Eughhhhhh don’t like that

Falling in love has really tanked Tae-moo’s ability to take a meeting lmao every single one he cancels or spends the whole time thinking about Ha-ri

“If you reject me, I’ll ask you out again and again. Until you finally like me back. So you need to brace yourself.” This is not a flex it is a red flag something that should be documented in case u need to file a restraining order 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

Ha-ri said: Red is my favourite colour, how romantic 🌹

I’m sure the decision to makeout at a work event with a filming crew around will not immediately blow up in their faces:

Tae-moo to Sung-hoon after being kissed one (1) time: I now believe in love so take some vacation time bestie <3

“Are my lips some kind of column for you to crash into?” Tae-moo said: IT’S DTR TIME HA-RI

Hahahaha the more fun kind of blackmail where Tae-moo only makes Ha-ri go to activities he knows she’ll enjoy

I cannot BELIEVE that Tae-moo is playing River Flows in You lmao. What in the Twilight soundtrack

“There may be some things I don’t do, but there’s nothing I can’t do.” 1) Love this mentality for Young-seo 2) I anticipate her food being terrible lmao

Tae-moo said: The way to a woman’s heart is telling her she has to have fun with you forever in penance for her kissing crimes

What both Sung-hoon and Tae-moo are demonstrating with the hiking and bumper cars is that their love language is quality time/including their lover in their interests

I’m sure as pay-off for Young-seo trashtalking Tae-moo, he will be the one to get them out of this dangerous mountain excursion

LMAO finally Tae-moo’s exploitative contract has come back to bite him in the ass also Min-woo why the FUCK are you rifling through Ha-ri’s drawers get some help dude

“If you don’t have the money, pay it back with a kiss.” Min-woo must be reading this as some version of escorting vs. what it actually is, which is Ha-ri and Tae-moo’s fucked up little version of foreplay

Ha-ri playing dodgeball with a broken wrist to win a date with a man already in love with her while Tae-moo is being forced into yet another date. Both sides of this relationship aren’t doing well atm

Hoo boy on Sung-hoon going on a “date” with Young-seo’s cousin

“I’ll pay you back for that kiss with a kiss.” They decided to be emotionally forthright and then made out on a bridge. Good for them

They’re hitting their relationship’s honeymoon phase, I think:

Young-seo’s Yikes Cousin Yu-jeong announcing she’s dating someone as if Sung-Hoon hadn’t full ass told her had a girlfriend and wasn’t interested in dating her. I knew this subplot would happen but it’s still annoying to watch

God. Young-seo inadvertently encouraging her cousin to go after her boyfriend. What a mess

“And I also think it’s about time we got married.” Yu-ra and Min-woo BOTH seem to know he’s in love with Ha-ri at this point I don’t know why they don’t just break up

Also Min-woo has had SEVEN YEARS to act on his feelings. Was he concerned about losing a friend? It’ll certainly be hard to maintain his friendships if he two-times them, emotionally or physically

LMAO @ SUNG-HOON AND TAE-MOO BOTH COWERING BEHIND EACH OTHER IN THIS SCENE BUT FOR DIFFERENT REASONS:

[Text message sent to group chat] “You’re being harsh, babe. Do you think I copied it? You made me look bad in front of Ms. Kim.” Ongoing subplot that I have yet to mention: Mr. Gye and Ms. Yeo, the two older/supervisory members of Ha-ri’s team, have been background dating for like a few eps also in a semi-secret way and now that’s finally coming up as well

No one in this company cares about office power dynamics LOL

Kay I had to stop watching for a few days because this scene of Grandpa Kang YET AGAIN finding Ha-ri locked in the bathroom was too much for me but we back

“But why is a woman in the men’s bathroom?” “She must be in here by mistake. If you do this, she’ll be too embarrassed to come out. You should go to another bathroom.” This is the most rational thing Tae-moo has said over the course of this whole show and he says it with unbridled panic bc he KNOWS his girlfriend is in that stall lmao

There was absolutely no reason for Grandpa Kang to insist she be the one to come out. If I were here I would stonewall him. Bathroom filibuster. I’m never fucking leaving

I love how Tae-moo has only half a brain cell and chooses to think with his heart. What possible rationale does he have for crashing the Food Research Team Dinner LOL

“I love bomb shots.” HAHAHAH Tae-moo looks so happy and relaxed. He’s like ‘See, baby, I fit in!’ hahahaha

In other updates, Sung-hoon tried to introduce Young-seo to his nun mother and, predictably, Cousin Yu-jeong brought the whole event to a crashing halt

“Do you know what’s most infuriating? It’s how you ignored me and blindly did as Kang Tae-moo said. Are you that family’s servant?” There are a couple of flaws with this, despite the fact that Sung-hoon is clearly in the wrong for lying. 1) Tae-moo is like family to him, so of course he wants to help him out and 2) He does work for them, so yeah, there are blurred lines and 3) He’s known Tae-moo for like.... his whole life. You’ve known each other for what, a few months? Romantic love or no, of course he protects the more established bond. All of this can be summarized by “bros over hoes,” but I digress

“I want to be loved by the person you love the most too.” Ha-ri is SO GOOD at romance. I am also a little in love with her, Tae-moo

GJfigjjfdhkjghkgh loving Ms. Kim catching Ha-ri and Tae-moo covert holding hands LOL

I also appreciate Tae-moo’s hair arc. The lovey-dovey messy bangs are doing a lot for me

[Forced laughter] “I should get going too.” “Yes, it’s late, so you should.” “Yes, goodbye!” [Continued forced laughter on exit] For two people who have been deceiving Grandpa Kang for nine episodes, Tae-moo and Ha-ri act like they’ve never told a lie in their lives

“I’ll introduce her to you soon.” I really look forward to Tae-moo and Ha-ri trying to explain even HALF of what the fuck they’ve been up to together

The friendships in this show really are delightful:

Awwww Sung-hoon and Tae-moo orphanage backstory is getting me. Young-seo bonding with nun mum. Their little brothers and sister there. Call me sentimental but I love a cliché

Side note: It’s really drawing my attention that Sung-hoon isn’t wearing his glasses. Wasn’t that his entire reason for suspecting the Furniture Stalker that he could see without glasses? What, you’re the only man in this city who can wear contacts?

“One day, we’ll be able to tell each other about these things. Once we get closer with time.” YOUNG-SEO COMING IN WITH THE ROMANCEEEEEE. The women of this show have wooed me

Tae-moo’s “Thank you for accepting my feelings,” and “When you feel ready, let’s tell him,” are also up there in what has been a very swoon-worthy episode so far

Insane that while Ha-min has embezzled chicken funds and disappeared now the two couples are just having a double date running the restaurant LMAO

Tae-moo and Young-seo are finally bridging the divide between them LOL that’s growth

[Ha-ri, laughing] “Of course I don’t want to watch [Tae-moo changing his clothes]. Go to Ha-min’s room--” [Tae-moo, sincerely] “No, I’ll show you.” TAE-MOO PLS

HAHAHAHA I culturally relate to being a grownass woman who outright refuses to explain her dating life to her relatives. Western TV could never LMAO

Tae-moo is SO happy to be in Ha-ri’s room. He’s living his dream

“He’s very kind and gentle,” said Sung-hoon to Ha-ri’s parents, as if Tae-moo had not tricked their daughter into signing a contract to fake date him with untenable financial penalties and then subsequently tried to punish her for being dishonest with him mere episodes ago

It makes me laugh that Ha-ri is still calling her boyfriend “President Kang” even as he is hiding in her cupboards

The physical comedy of Sung-hoon, Young-seo and Ha-ri trying to sneak Tae-moo out is killing me

The Boyfriend Boss is out of the bag for brother. Bet you can’t say that five times fast

“Go buy yourself some clothes, brother-in-law.” HAHAHA Tae-moo has one act of service in his love language repertoire and it’s giving people money

Also his smile at being called brother-in-law was VERY CUTE

Lmao @ Tae-moo’s instinct when Sung-hoon is drunk crying about his girlfriend being to film it for future blackmail. He really did say mansplain, manipulate, malewife

Young-seo’s dad can mind his own damn business. Firstly, Sung-hoon is a key role in the company and presumably is quite rich himself by merit of that. Secondly, she doesn’t live with you!! You leave her be, Scrooge McFuck

“Can you please get out of Min-woo’s life?” We circle back to Min-woo whenever people are feeling too happy

They really wanted Yu-ra to have no redeeming qualities. That she dated him initially out of spite, cheated on him, and then is blaming Ha-ri for the fact Min-woo doesn’t feel the same about her? You should maybe get some therapy Yu-ra

“Now that I’ve seen how you act, I can understand why Yu-ra’s acting that way.” I MEAN. I FEEL LIKE THEY’RE BOTH BAD PARTNERS, HA-RI

WAHHHHHHHHHH Tae-moo being able to focus on Ha-ri instead of his rain-induced panic attack :’)))))))))))) They’re working through it together ahhhhhhhhh

The callback to the rainy day story she made-up when they were fake dating. STOPPPPPPPPPPP

The way she makes sure to distract him from the rain by going into the flower shop to delay going outside or sitting beside him and rambling about work when the rain gets heavy. I love Ha-ri. I can’t handle it, it’s too sweet

The way that they brought back the campy little animations to crumble the bouquet in Ha-ri’s hands. I knew this was coming. Damn u Second to Last Episodes of Asian Dramas

“Stop seeing Tae-moo. I don’t think you want to be in a situation that other people may misinterpret.” Honestly. Even if you interpreted it correctly, I don’t think it would leave you with the best impression

Tae-moo said: If I cannot be with Ha-ri, I will waste away inside the Go Food building like Businessman Midas with only his Golden Kimchi Ravioli for company

I wasn’t expecting Tae-moo’s Batman origin story to affect me as much as it did, but Tae-moo and Ha-ri crying together while acknowledging that the accident was not Tae-moo’s fault really got me

Yu-ra REALLY needs some therapy. What the fuck. Ha-ri has been decent ALL THE WAY THROUGH and she just decides to make up shit for the whole internet to see about this fake love triangle!!! HA-RI HAS CLEARLY SHOWN THAT MIN-WOO HAS MISSED HIS CHANCE

Well. At least Tae-moo will be confronted with the inevitable implosion that follows all of his unhinged dating-his-employee antics. It’s really a lesson to be learned

“I won’t tell him, for Sung-hoon’s sake.” Cousin Yu-jeong does not believe in bros over hoes (or sisters over misters)

“Let’s not talk badly about something we know nothing about. Also, Ms. Shin is way prettier than you.” Mr. Gye said Team 1 is Ha-ri Support Squad no matter how rough our work situation is <3

Young-seo spent her month’s salary on preventing Ha-ri’s parents from hearing about the rumours. Great friends all around <3

Meanwhile, Tae-moo and Sung-hoon have circled back to people thinking THEY’RE in a relationship. I think Tae-moo should be allowed to be mean if he does it by flirting with Sung-hoon. It tickles me:

I cannot BELIEVE that 1) Tae-moo continues to be short-sighted about how this affects Ha-ri’s career and 2) He was gonna propose by payphone. Not even half a braincell on this day, my love

“But once people find out you’re dating, do you think she’ll be able to come to work? The employees will gossip about it. You might be fine, but she’s just an employee.” UNBELIEVABLE. GRANDPA KANG HAS TO SPELL IT OUT FOR HIM!! TAE-MOO!! STEP OUTSIDE OF YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES

The other shoe finally dropped on Tae-moo being in the loop about their supposed scandal. But I love that he’s doubled down on defending Ha-ri and didn’t believe for a second the rumour that she had two-timed him

“There he comes! The handsome young owner!” “You must’ve been mistaken. That’s my daughter’s coworker.” HAHAHAHAH I fullass forgot that Tae-moo already met Ha-ri’s parents under the fake name of Mr. Gye. Oh my god

“If love is a crime, then yes, I’m a criminal. But resign? I can’t resign, sir!!” HAHAHA GRANDPA KANG DESERVES HAVING TO JUGGLE THESE BATSHIT TWENTYSOMETHINGS

“I’ll explain everything later! Mother and Father.” HAHAHAHAHA I KNEW HA-RI’S PARENTS WERE GONNA BE LIKE ‘WHAT THE HELL AREN’T YOU 40?!’ BUT IT’S STILL FUNNY

Point of clarification if for some reason you’ve gotten this far in the liveblog and haven’t seen the show: Tae-moo’s not 40. He merely cosplays as 40something-year-old in his spare time

“I know how stubborn and arrogant I’ve been. But I don’t want to be on bad terms with my only daughter anymore.” Well damn, an unexpected turnaround from Young-seo’s dad

Everyone on this show is coocoo bananas. Ha-ri and Tae-moo at least have the reasoning of wanting to protect each other from rumours/scandal and having been fake dating prior to their real dating. You two have only been together a month. What’s your excuse for getting married!!!!!

I say this. And Tae-moo proposed to Ha-ri after one (1) date without even knowing her real name. So. We arrive again at coocoo bananas

Ha-ri coming down the N Seoul Tower while Tae-moo goes up so they meet halfway is poetic cinema

Thank you for ending this episode much more kindly than it started:

Well, Young-seo’s dad’s turnaround lasted all of 10 minutes, I guess

HAHAHAHA @ Ha-ri and Tae-moo immediately getting caught on their walk of shame

“Ha-ri is the first woman I’ve met who is a joy to be around and always makes me laugh.” Tae-moo <3

Loving everyone finally being able to hang out honestly ahhhh <3

Also Tae-moo constantly telling people he fell in love at first sight while we as the audience know that Ha-ri spent that time trying to get rid of him and anthropomorphizing her tiddies which go by the name of Samantha and Rachel. LOL

“You were with Ms. Shin or whatever, right?” Power move for Grandpa Kang to call Ha-ri this as if you had not met her at length a number of times lmao

“Ha-ri, when I get back from my trip, do you think we could go back to being close friends like before?” Min-woo said when the going gets tough, the tough sell their restaurant and go to Europe

“Do you think you can you do anything without the privilege that my name has given you?” “Actually, I think I can. I’ll prove it to you. That I’ll be just fine, without using your name.” <3 <3 <3 Young-seo, love of my life

Ghkjghkghkgh Ha-ri being defensive about just having regular work conversations with Tae-moo while Tae-moo is like ‘where have we landed on cuddling in the stairwell?’

It’s clear that Tae-moo’s penchant for theatre is an inherited trait considering Grandpa Kang’s hospital antics

Young-seo immediately sharing her emotions about cutting ties with her dad and Sung-hoon offering to invest in Young-seo’s start-up!! The communication has improved leaps and bounds

“Wait, isn’t she supposed to be taking care of me? Where is she?” Hahahaha Ha-ri has won over Grandpa Kang in one (1) hospital visit. They are now doing a sing-a-long to music shows

I like that they’ve found an opportunity to drop her K-Pop history into this show LOL

“You’ve always been like a mountain to us. So please be healthy and stay that way, Grandfather.” “Being sick is kind of nice. I never thought I would hear you call me that.” SUNG-HOON <33333333333333

I thought this episode was going suspiciously well so it’s fitting that we’ve arrived at the Long Distance Parting at the Playground

I am generally not for time-skips if used to change character motives but I am ABSOLUTELY for time-skips if they are to show everyone getting advancement in their career goals and romantic endeavours and generally softening over time. I can’t wait to see all the married couples and reunion

“What if they get a divorce?” AHA, MS. YEO IS NOW MRS. GYE

Love that Sung-hoon’s ultimate form is househusband. Good for him

The campy little animations make their final triumphant return via taxi sign:

Title reference (affectionate): Young-seo = Business, Tae-moo = Proposal

#ayesha says things #ayesha liveblogs business proposal #liveblogging #television #korean television #business proposal #long post

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