#ten is like the opposite of this. he was created out of nine's love and sacrifice for rose. his personhood is basically defined by it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sugutoad · 5 months

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Matchup Trade for the amazing @fourtyfourcatss

↳ Thank you for doing Matchups at Sugutoad

↳ "Behold, a boy named after a star, and a girl whose heart finds solace in the cosmic wonders above, destined to intertwine in a celestial dance of love."

⍣ ೋ A part of me doesn’t know how to quite explain how I came up with this… it just felt right. The pairing had keys that could support one another yet call out mistakes. Your composed demeanour and thoughtful nature possesses a chance to balance Sirius's passionate and sometimes impulsive personality. The both of you are extremely passionate people and will often be found together and talking about a few of your interests that overlap one another’s. Together, you and Sirius have the potential to learn from each other's unique strengths and provide unwavering support in areas where the other may encounter difficulties. Both you and Sirius have ambitions and a drive for self-improvement. You can inspire and motivate each other to reach their goals, pushing each other to grow and achieve their full potential. Sirius, renowned for his quick wit and playful nature, can match your sense of humour. A lighthearted environment is often created during interactions between the two of you. Harmless little banters, he is one of the many people who find you funny. While initially misjudging you as a stern and rigid individual due to the house you originated from, Sirius soon discovered the enigmatic nature that captivated his curiosity. He had to solve the little mysteries surrounding your life. Teasing and causing mischief, he secretly hoped to impress you, fully aware that Hogwarts' sweetheart, despite holding a kind and intelligent soul, was never impressed by his antics. I wholly believe that after he was framed for ‘killing’ the Potters, you prevented him from going to Azkaban. You did mention your logic and persuasion is amazing. I assume he had met you in a similar manner to any other people that he considers his friend - at the great wizard in school known as Hogwarts.

⍣ ೋ Families crowded the area, Quasar Xing found herself bumping into a few strangers. A crowd of people can be observed and a person can never know whether the regular family squawking about being late is a wizard one or not. Quasar pushes her cart, her owl screeching at other people repeatedly which certainly earned her a few glares, until she came to a stop in front of a thick pillar between the platforms nine and ten. The way to get to her station was still funny to her, despite being in her second year at Hogwarts. Quasar had grown up in China until she was 7 when her father, who was half-blood while her mother was a muggle born witch, decided to move to England. She still remembers the day when her mother had scolded her for jumping up and down when she had received her letter. Her older siblings ran through the pillar and her parents took her younger siblings. Gripping her cart tight, she takes a breath and runs through the wall. It’s a funny feeling when someone enters the pillar. A certain thing was it was a magical feeling, like something is there yet nothing is felt. It's nearing eleven o'clock and the platform is filled with parents bidding their children goodbye with handkerchiefs clutched in their palms. Quasar made her way to the train, feeling excitement and anticipation at the prospect of returning to Hogwarts. Every single memory she created in the castle’s walls remained intact inside Quasar’s mind, in a small vault at the back of her head. Sirius Black was already there, leaning against a nearby wall and eyeing her with a faint, amused smile. Quasar had heard of him, both his antics and his legendary status at Hogwarts. It seemed as if his family hadn’t come to bid their farewells to him, he was an outcast — a disgrace chosen into the house that valued bravery over ambition. Though she felt pity for him, she couldn’t really empathise with the boy. They grew up in opposite environments. She gives him a small smile before looking away. Sirius had to look away and blink a few times to prevent himself from being blinded at her smile. It reminded him of the stars. Soon she could hear his chatter with his best friend, James Potter. The duo could have a whole novel dedicated to the mischief they had caused solely in their first year. She didn’t realise how nervous she truly felt until her parents pulled her into a hug before letting her go. Getting on the red Hogwarts Express, her older siblings have separated from her and gone to their own friends. She soon found herself sneaking into the Gryffindor Compartment of the Express, wholly knowing that

⍣ ೋ Quasar soon found herself sneaking into the Gryffindor Compartment of the Express, wholly knowing that she isn’t allowed and should be seen only in her own compartment but truly no one would mind if she went have a quick visit to Lily Evans, the red haired muggle born that Quasar befriended on her first day and maintained a steady friendship with despite being in different houses, right? Jogging her way in the hallway, she could sense the eyes of kids bearing the Gryfindor symbol staring at the Ravenclaw girl in the midst of them but who were they to judge her. Sliding open the door, she plopped down next to Lily after exchanging a quick greeting. Passionately talking about different books the two girls had read over the summer and greedily consuming the chocolate they had gotten their hands one from the cart leaving their fingers all dirty (which disgusted Quasar but she didn’t say anything as she didn’t wish to kill the mood) the door slides opens once again. A mischievous grin stared back at the two girls alongside twinkling hazel eyes belonging to none other than James. James Potter has had a crush on Lily since their first year but Lily was disgusted by his behaviour. Quasar often found herself being chased down the stairs by the red head after teasing her about James, they were cute and Quasar being the individual she was decided it would be fun to poke Lily around. Behind them with an equal mischief in his eyes stood Sirius Black. She never really spoke much to him other than sharing eye contact. She would always look away first. He had certainly grown taller too. After a quick conversation, which consisted mainly of Lily telling him to get out and James shamelessly flirting with her, the duo left. Before leaving Sirius looked back and waved with a smirk plastered on his face. “See you at Hogwarts Evan and Xing. Also, you should go back to your compartment, Quasar. Don’t want to get in trouble would you?” He snickered and ran to catch up with James pace. Quasar's face started to heat up until its colour mirrored Lily’s hair. Who was he to talk about getting in trouble?

⍣ ೋ “Can I sit here?” Qausar asked. Her face flushed in embarrassment, it had taken all her humility to ask Sirius that question. He looked up at her, raising one eyebrow, and smirked. For Salazar’s sake, that bastard smirked at her. “Hm,” pausing purposely for a second. “Are you sure? Thought I was too annoying and handsome for you.” She huffed at her, her nostrils flaring but let in a deep breath to calm herself down. Shouting at him with so many around certainly wasn't a logical idea, especially in Transfiguration Class. It was Quasar’s favourite class and the one she topped every student during exams. She was the brightest witch of the age and getting in a fight with the black swan of the esteemed Black family would certainly impact her - alongside her family's- reputation. He chuckled at the black haired girl, patting the chair beside him. “Joking! You can sit.” Why did every other seat have to be occupied by another student? Little did she know that fates were playing a little game with her, a game of love. For the fates had funny ways of doing as they pleased. Professor McGonnagal continued her lesson, Quasar closed her eyes for a few seconds. She already knew the lesson, she always did. The girl was sleeping over her parchment, folded arms supporting her head. It seemed like she had already finished her assignment. “Wake up, Xing.” Sirius’s voice had quickly woke her up, rubbing her eye vigorously and she realised something. God, she fell asleep in class! “You fell asleep.” “No shit, Sherlock.” She murmured groggily. “ The name is Sirius, bookworm” "And I’m Quasar. Not ‘bookworm’.” “ Did I ask?” He chuckled, his face rested in the palm of his hand. Quasar sighed deeply, she was starting to hate this. He got up from his seat to leave a room, not without winking at her first. With that, the witch finally had her first encounter with the famed Sirius Black. Of course, she was curious about him back when they were first years. Always getting in trouble and increasing his fame throughout the school, she heard of him way too many times. After her encounter with Sirius, he seemingly started to show up everywhere she went. During her walks near the castle or while studying in the library, he was there. She was really starting to get irked by the so-called fates, who were most likely cackling at the future lovers.

⍣ ೋ It certainly didn't help when Lily fell head over heels for none other than James Potter, the boy she claimed to hate his entire existence. How does one go from loathing someone to falling in love with them? It truly baffled even Quasar and she knew everything from how to cast a patronus to knowing the function of a rubber duck. And with James and Lily dating, being their best friends, Quasar found herself hanging out with Sirius a lot. Doing each other’s hair in low buns, going on walks together in the forbidden forest ( courtesy of Sirius’s brilliant mind) or him picking up a stack on books from the Black Family library that no one has ever ever gotten their hands on resulted in Lily often nudging her best friend often Quasar to which in reply she would roll her eyes and say something witty. But she was not to fool herself, she was falling into a pit that she couldn’t climb out of. Sirius ignites so many, too many, emotions inside her that she thought was impossible. He manages to make her feel everything all at once with one look at him. And when he would smile — oh god, her heart would pound so fast that Lily could certainly hear it while standing beside her. Those twinkling eyes and heartful laugh she once hated is something she would die a thousand times for just to see it again.

⍣ ೋ December was just coming to an end, January peaking at the corner. Quasar and Sirius found themselves chatting (in other words, teasing one another) about Animagus Forms. Recently discovering his strange ability, she dedicated a portion of her time to research more on how it worked. They only had 2 years left, 2 years before they said goodbye to Hogwarts. “What do you think I would be, Sirius?” She asked him, hiding her face into her scarf to make sure her nose doesn’t fall off. “A cat. A cat for sure.” He didn’t even hesitate. He glanced down at her from the side, a small smile at the corner of his lips. The two decided to take a small break and sit down on one of the ledges, far away from Hogwarts yet they could still see the castle tremendous in size. “Was that an insult?” Quasar said, adding to their conversation. “Am I lazy?” He chuckled softly at her, he was always so soft with her. “Nah. I like cats. That’s why.” His cheeks were red, she didn't know whether he was blushing or just cold. She blinked at him a few times, she wasn’t a dense individual at all. But for once she was startled. “Thought you would be a dog person. But how does that connect to me?” She says hesitantly in a soft voice, please let it be the answer she had hoped for. His hand cupped her cheek in the like she was the most fragile thing to ever exist on the planet. His thumb started caressing the apple of her cheek. “Y’know why. You're not dumb. Not at all.” Quasar never knew her heart could beat this fast. Not until their lips meet. It’s soft and unyielding When they pull away, all they can see is each other. Well except at the corner of the eye a red head squeezing a black hair boy while shrieking that her best friend is now with someone. Sirius on the other hand doesn’t look at them all, his eyes fixated on the beautiful girl in front of him. Her brown eyes staring at Lily in confusion, her lips parted slightly open and hair strands falling to her face and her lips, the lips he had just touched. For she truly was a divine gift from the Gods, who governed the wizard in word through the stars, given to him and it took him just too long to accept and open its ribbon. If only he had opened the silk ribbon from before, to touch the divinity of her lips and hear the giggles between every kiss.

Runner Up: Cedric Diggory

↳ #PROFILE: QUASAR XING. HALF BLOOD. Though her mother being a muggle born and her father being a halfblood, the Xing family line certainly dives deeper in the development of magic. Her great - grandfather had a gift, one that he had not passed on to his son and grandson but rather his great- granddaughter. Quasar Xing had discovered that she could do magic with her fingertips, a gift from her father’s side but yet even he was bewildered by this discovery.

⍣ ೋ The debate in my head between giving you Ravenclaw or Slytherin had certainly been wild but at the end of my inner battle, Ravenclaw took the victory. And it certainly fits you the best. You're a passionate individual who seems to always have an opinion on something. To you, magic is a gift that must be learned to its full extent. People often think Ravenclaw is just about brains and stuck up people. But you hold the bronze and blue on your robe with pride. Your love of books certainly helped even more! Always sitting in the library as Sirius tries to get your attention. Whining how you should focus on your lover more than your books and here you were, thinking that you were the whiny one of the duo. You are a dreamer. The sorting hat had trouble with you. Your ambition and pride could fit in Slytherin but you were so much more than that. You are a person who wishes to know the secrets of life, everything taken too seriously by you (Sirius could certainly losen few strings.) With quills and books, you seek truths untold, your mind, like stars, shine bright, never to fold.

↳ Patronus. “People who have this patronus are willing to take chances in order to learn and appease their curiosity, highly observant, constantly looking to mentally challenge themselves, and a loving person”

⍣ ೋ Honestly the truth is, similar to yours, I don’t really have much of an explanation to this. While searching for different sorts of Patronus, this one made me halt and choose it. But this is a rather great analysis and the reason why I had given you this house: this

↳ What do you think of Quasar Xing?

⍣ ೋ LILY EVANS: “My best friend. She is amazing.” Quasar and Lily had first ever crossed paths upon arriving on the train, their first day to be precise. Lily had been abandoned by Snape, who had decided to hang out with the older kids such as Lucius Malfoy, and sat alone in the cart. Quasar was nervously walking down the hall in an attempt to find an empty compartment . Lily had gone to use the bathroom so Quasar had assumed the cart was empty. Upon arriving at her compartment, she found a dark haired girl sitting nervously on the leather seats. Lily slid in her seat and looked at the girl, she was really pretty. “I’m Lily Evans.” And from that day the two girls had been inseparable. Sneaking into each other's carts or houses to talk about anything, sending owls over the summer ( Quasar had bought her one as a gift) and telling each other secrets then proceeding to tease the other about it. The two girls are the bestest of friends.

⍣ ೋ JAMES POTTER: “ She is interesting to say the least… Sirius is always talking about her.” James has heard all about the girl who managed to wrap Sirius Black around her fingers. He had first seen her on their first day when she was getting sorts in her house but paid no attention to her. But when he started to like Lily, he tried to befriend Quasar. Quasar Xing was Lily’s best friend and in order to date a girl, you need permission from her best friend. At first Quasar didn’t like him, Lily didn’t like so Qusar shared the same opinions. Girls always stick together. But overtime, Quasar became his friend and she taught him how to cast a Patronus. And when Harry was born, she was appointed his godmother. Well after Quasar and Sirius promised the Potter family that the godparent of their first child would be them.

⍣ ೋ REMUS LUPIN: “Talented! One of the few people other than my close friends to accept me despite knowing the whole … you know.” Remus was the most tolerable of the Marauders when Quasar first met them in her second year. Often shy and secluded, she couldn’t help but wonder how he ended up in a batch with idiots like James and Sirius. Quasar and Remus were often found looking at James and Sirius. They may have had not much in common but both agreed that those two were idiots.

⍣ ೋ REGULUS BLACK: “I honestly couldn’t care about her.” Regulus did in fact care to some extent. Ever since dating the Xing girl, Sirius had been more happy and put more focus on his study since his Ravenclaw girlfriend was disappointed in his grades at that time.

⍣ ೋ HARRY POTTER: “She is my godmother but she is also like a mother to me. She is a professor at Hogwarts and despite not ever joining her class, she seemed to favour me for a while. But when I discovered the whole Sirius situation, it made more sense. Really nice and patient with me, like a mother would. But she also nags me about my lack of studying. Like a mother would.”

⍣ ೋ HERMIONE GRANGER: “She used to be the brightest witch of her time! When I grow up.. I hope I can be just like Mrs. Black! Her magic is brilliant, how exactly can a person do magic without using a wand? I understand if you have lots of practice like Headmaster but she has been doing that since she was a child. If only I can learn how to do it…”

#Harry Potter #harry potter fandom #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter matchups #: KHUN’S PRINCESS [ 🌟 ]#sirius black #i hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

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callsignmuse · 2 years

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BEYOND THE SCRIPT

Pairing: Miles Teller x oc Reader

Summary: You’re on set filming when a migraine strikes in the middle of a scene

Request: Yes

Oneshot

Author’s Note: Requested that oc reader was sick on set but since I know migraines a little too well I chose that!

Rolling!

You had been feeling a little off all day long. A tad bit moody even a little sluggish. But here you stood trying to finish your work day as you stood on set. You took a deep breath trying to center yourself. This scene took a lot out of you. You had gotten yelled at for one and doing that over and over again made your brain think you actually did something to deserve it. Especially when you were acting opposite Miles. He was able to bring such life to the character you both often forgot you were supposed to be acting.

“WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU THINK I WOULD GO!?” he yelled on the top of his lungs as he approached you. You shrunk. The sound and the inflection in his voice hit a nerve within your brain sending a signal to cause you a helluva lot of pain. You winced.

“Alright cut. I think we’ve got it.” The director announced. Finally. They had been working on getting just the right angle on the camera for when you shrunk away from him. Your director, Aidan loved the way you reacted to Miles in the scene. He loved it so much he kept remarking to all of his friends about how you got the role in the film. You were assisting at auditions to run lines with the callbacks when you read when Miles. Aidan had put down his pen and stared in complete shock at the chemistry created between the two of you. It was natural. It was sexy. It was playful. It was his ticket to winning an award this season. He had to go with it. You weren’t green by any means but you were new to the blockbuster caliber films that Miles was used to now. You were still in the indie phase of your career waiting on a big break like this.

You changed quickly ignoring the prickling sensation running down your neck and shook out your hands. You stood across from him in a brightly lit room. You squinted your eyes trying not to let it show but the pain was beginning to threaten your ability to seem fine. You had a high threshold for pain but when you had your migraines they reached the high level of an eight, sometimes nine out of ten. You were in the beginning stages of a long journey. Right now the migraine was just at the edge of being manageable and becoming a problem. You looked up trying to open your eyes all the way. “Another one?” He wondered his voice was dripping with concern. You had been on set for weeks with each other becoming extremely emotionally connected. He knew exactly what to look for on your face. He saw the pain creeping in and the uncomfortably tense stance you took on. “What can I do?” He asked his voice was so soft it was such a contrast to hard pain you were beginning to feel. You took your pills when you went to your dressing room for a costume change but they would take a while to kick in. And when you take it this late in the game there was the possibility they wouldn’t work at all.

“Just be with me.” You mumbled. It was as loud as you could make your voice go but he understood what you meant. Be present so you wouldn’t feel so alone. When you dealt with the pain on your own it felt much worse. The tingling in your pinky finger worsened and you groaned at the uncomfortable feeling. Underneath the tingling your palms began to sweat.

“Fuck” you cursed under your breath but he caught it and smirked. He always thought it was funny when you used profanity because of the sound of your voice. It sounded so inconceivably innocent. For as many years as you had apart in age, you hit it off as if you knew each other since brith. You had so much in common and the list kept growing every day. You were both insanely into music and loved to sing. You actually found yourself getting moody if you didn’t listen to at least one of your favorite songs during the work day. He loved to dance. You were a trained dancer since three years old. He loved sports. You had opposite taste in teams but when they would play each other it made for the perfect night in. And if you could sneak away from work, the perfect night out. Your sense of humor was the same and if peoples didn’t know you well they would think you hated each other with the way you exchanged insults and sarcasm. Really the only way you differed was how much you loved watching movies and tv.

They adjusted the lighting above you making you wince again. This time with a hiss between your teeth. “Do you we need to stop?” He asked under a lowered tone. You shook your head no.

“We have two more hours. I can do this.” You felt a wave of nausea hit making you gag behind your hand.

“You sure?” He asked behind a chuckle.

“Miles, I-“ you began to say.

“Quiet on the set!”

You knew it was time to show everyone what you were made of. You weren’t all that established like Miles was. You would have to work through this. You couldn’t cost the production money by delaying the shot.

“Rolling… Action!”

Luckily this was a quieter scene between the two of you. It was more of an intimate moment between lovers afraid of the future. He was supposed to show concern and compassion for you as you told him how you didn’t know if this business was going to be good for him. You were scared for him. He grabbed you by the hips leaving a tingling sensation where he touched you last. You let out a breath and stared into his eyes lovingly. You hid your physical pain in the emotional as you looked up to his face. Your height difference was astounding. He loved that about you too. He never said anything about it but you could tell by the smirk he had on his face whenever you were this close to him. He smelled amazing to you, you always had a weakness for guys who smelt enchanting. But then again he was enchanting all by himself.

“Remember what I told you when I got into this? Don’t worry about me, I know what I’m doing.” He tried to reassure you. He held a sparkle in his eye talking about doing the thing he loved, boxing.

“It’s just hard to watch them hit you.” You admitted with a furrowed brow. That furrowed brow was from the migraine. He knew it too. His eyes flashed with a deeper level of concern than written in the script. He placed his hand on your cheek causing you to close your eyes. When you opened them again he was still standing there but you couldn’t see through the blurry vision that taken over your sight. There was a visible layer of panic. Miles caught on to you. He steadied you and noticed your eyes reacting slower than normal. The pressure from the headache causing a delayed response as they glazed over. Quickly he grabbed you and pulled you into his body. You nestled your head in the crook of his neck letting your body relax. The physical touch was aiding you momentarily with the amount of pain you were in. The pounding in your head causing you to become extremely nauseous. You wanted to throw up at any moment. Honestly you wanted to lie down in a cold, dark room for all eternity to come.

Two and a half excruciating hours later and you found yourself on the floor of your apartment panting. You were trying to get to the bed but haven’t managed to get that far. You could only manage it by audibly moaning at this point. When your head pounded you felt it in your throat and it was hard to breathe. There was short knock at the door. Luckily you were already close to the entrance from your adventurous trip to the kitchen for some water. You were crawling on your knees because you couldn’t stand to walk right now. The pain made you almost pass out every time you stood on your feet. You reached for the handle as well as you could failing on your first try. The door opened revealing you out of breath and collapsed in front of the doorway.

“What the fuck? Are you ok?” Miles was clearly thrown off. He had never seen you this bad before.

“Quiet voices. Can’t walk. Hurts.” You said in short bursts your raspy voice carrying the point across. He put the box of pizza down on the kitchen counter and returned to you. Carefully he scooped your body into his arms and carried you to bed in your room. The tv was running softly as he looked at you to make sure you were comfortable. You laid there with closed eyes. “Thanks” you mumbled. It was all you were capable of at the moment.

“I brought pizza.” He said softly.

“Oh that’s sweet but it’s kind of hard for me to eat right now.” You told him honestly. You didn’t want to hurt his feelings for such a sweet gesture.

“Alright then, I brought pizza for myself.” He chuckled, “got any beer?”

“In the fridge” you croaked. He returned moments later getting himself settled in to the chair next to your bed. “What are you doing?” You were genuinely confused.

“There’s a Phillies game on” he shrugged before changing the channel. He ate his pizza and drank beer while quietly watching the game which was a challenge for him. He occasionally slipped up and yelled when he got too excited earning a groan from you in protest.

“Sorry” he would apologize.

He got you everything you asked for more pain meds, small snacks and water. He was an absolute dream to have around.

“Miles” you moaned clutching your head. “I hate to ask this but I have to pee.” He looked at you quizzically before it clicked. You still couldn’t walk. The last time you tried you ended up running to throw up not before almost passing out on your way there.

“S’no problem.” He smiled before getting up. Luckily it was a commercial break so he wouldn’t miss the action. The game was almost finished now and the sky had turned dark. He grabbed you gingerly placing your knees over his forearms as you clung to him. You buried your head in chest, “Jesus Monroe, your hands are freezing.” He shivered through a stifled laugh. Your hand had accidentally brushed against his bare skin on his shoulder blades. You ran your hands further down just to tease him causing him to nearly drop you. “Evil. Pure evil.” He teased before turning his back and leaving you to relieve yourself. A few short moments later he heard his name being called. He opened the door to find you lying on your back on the rug by the sink. You were squinting and out of breath. “You’re a right fucking mess you know that?” He chuckled. His smile was so light and genuine it made you feel unbelievably seen. “Aren’t you glad your stuck with for two more months?” You smiled through closed eyes. “We still have press tours don’t forget that Monroe Stacy. You’re stuck with me.” He joked as he placed you back under the covers.

You weren’t sure how or when it happened. But at some point you must’ve fallen asleep. When you woke you found him slumped in the chair. Your head felt clear, a welcome change from the painful cloudiness you experienced for so long yesterday. As you rolled over you took in the fact that he had cared enough to stay with you. He went beyond the script. Small butterflies erupted in the pit of your stomach as he groaned and stretched his limbs.

“Next time I get the bed.” He mumbled sleepily as he rubbed his eyes.

You laughed, “Good morning.” The light shone through the blinds igniting the hidden pigments in his brown eyes. He flashed you a cocky smile. “And we’re off.” You thought to yourself

#miles teller #miles teller request #miles teller x oc #miles teller x reader #miles teller x actress reader

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doomedandstoned · 2 years

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Patriarchs in Black Issue Explosive First LP, ‘Reach For The Scars’

~By Tom Hanno~

You know an album is gonna be kick ass when Dan Lorenzo is helming guitar duties, it's just a matter of fact at this point. However, when you add in drummer Johnny Kelly of Type O Negative, Danzig, A Pale Horse Named Death, Seventh Void, Kill Devil Hill, and many more, then you know that there's about to be perfect drumming behind Dan's wealth of guitar riffs. Enter PATRIARCHS IN BLACK, whose first album, Reach for the Scars, will be out July 1st.

I've been exchanging emails with Dan for quite some time now, and he's one of the most prolific artists out there right now. He was in Hades back in the day, followed by Non-Fiction, and has worked with Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys) in Cassius King, Nathan Opposition (Ancient VVidom) in Vessel of Light, and Bobby Blitz Elsworth (Overkill) in The Cursed. However, Patriarchs in Black doesn't rely on just one great vocalist like the four bands that I just mentioned, instead Dan and Johnny reached out to several vocalists to help them complete the vocal aspects of these songs, and they picked some of the best guys imaginable.

The singers include Karl Agell (who sang on my favorite C.O.C album, Blind), John Kosco from Dropbox, Dewey Bragg from Kill Devil Hill, Rob Traynor of Black Water Rising, and Dan Nastasi from Dan L's Non-Fiction days. Each of these guys bring in something different and unique, which helps make these songs all the better.

"I'm the Dog" features Karl Agell on vocals, and in my opinion it is the best song on the album. Karl sang on the only Corrosion of Conformity album that I truly enjoyed from start to finish, so his involvement with Patriarchs in Black makes me very happy; and he sounds amazing on this track; there's just something about his voice that hits me perfectly.

The verse riff is slightly staccato, and its sharp attack is felt as much as it is heard. I love the riffs Dan writes, they're always doomy, Black Sabbath inspired heaviness. Johnny also crushed it on the drums, but that's not surprising at this point in his career, he's adept at playing exactly what the songs call for in any project that he's involved in.

"Sing for the Devil" is up next, and features the vocal talents of John Kosco. The nice thing about John's approach here is that it reminds me of Pantera a little bit, more on the subdued, almost spoken type of stuff that Pantera used perfectly, but he also does much more than that on this song.

Again, the music here is excellent, showing Dan using a groove filled riff that oozes with a doom feel mixed with an almost southern metal twist; Dan also plays the bass track on this song.

Another standout is "Built of Misery", which is another of the songs that Karl sings on, and is the peak of his contributions on Reach for the Scars; he just sounds so damned good here.

The music is full of groove, and utilized a serious southern metal swagger to help accomplish that. I think that my favorite riff is when that single note main riff turns into more of a power chord structure, that little change adds tons of power to the original part.

Releases July 1st (get it here).

Interview with Dan Lorenzo of Patriarchs in Black

The obvious first question is how did you and Johnny get together to create this project? Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (Overkill) had a little to do with that, correct?

Let’s not give my good friend Bobby Blitz too much credit! ( laughs) I’ve been a fan of Johnny’s for many years. I thought it was cool that he would even acknowledge me honestly. In the summer I try to play a lot of basketball. Then in the late fall I start picking up my guitar more regularly. I wrote the music for...maybe ten or eleven songs for the next Cassius King record with Jason McMaster and Jimmy Schulman. Ron Lipnicki is our drummer. I kept writing and writing and as we were moving along, Ron was kind of busy with some cover bands and work and I have the attention span of a nine year old boy. ( laughs) I have to keep moving. So, I was thinking of reaching out to Johnny to see if he would be willing to play drums. I mentioned it to Blitz and Blitz texted me, “Johnny is the perfect drummer for your riffs”. I sent Johnny a few songs and he agreed to record them. Now I had to think of a name for our project.

The band name is befitting of all the talent that's spread across the album, how did you settle on Patriarchs in Black?

As soon as Johnny tracked maybe one song I thought of the name. It just came to me. I use Jimmy Schulman as my confidant. Jimmy said, “That’s a great name.” I ran it by Johnny and it was settled; Patriarchs In Black.

I always ask artists how they create their music, especially with Covid throwing wrenches in all things over the last few years. I know you write a ton of riffs on your own, but did Johnny contribute to the music beyond playing the drums? And did you work together in person, or do the file sharing thing in order to record this album?

I’ve recorded seven albums in the last five years. And since the first Vessel Of Light EP which Nathan Opposition and I recorded together in the same room I recorded it this way. I go to JROD Productions in New York and I record my parts alone. So, basically I hand a finished, arranged song with all my guitars to Ron Lipnicki or in this case Johnny Kelly. After Johnny records his drums we send that to a singer and bassist.

All of the vocalists did amazing work on Reach for the Scars, Karl Agell is my favorite of the bunch, but each of them are exceptionally talented singers. What criteria was used when choosing which guy was better suited for each song?

A guy named Patrick Whitaker put me in touch with Karl. Karl actually jumped up onstage with my old band Non-Fiction in 1992 or 1993 in Raleigh to sing Sweet Leaf and then I didn’t see Karl again until the New England Stoner and Doom Festival four years ago. Johnny and I gave Karl what would become "Demon Of Regret," and while we waited for Karl to track his vocals Johnny and I both had the same idea simultaneously; Why don’t we ask friends of ours, different singers and bassists to play on Reach For The Scars. Johnny got Dewey Bragg and I reached out to the other singers. No real criteria other than they had to have done something before. Meaning, we weren’t looking to “discover” anyone.

Demon of Regret by Patriarchs In Black

I think that "I'm the Dog" is my favorite song, it's insanely memorable to me, and Karl sounds so good on it. What track would you pick as being representative of what Patriarchs in Black are?

That’s my favorite too, probably, but I’m REALLY happy with all of them.

Did you have control over which tracks were singles, or is that a label call? This is something I've often wondered throughout my years of mainlining music like it was heroin lol.

We pick the singles.

You close out the album with a killer cover of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir, and you guys give it new life; especially for a song that I feel has been beaten to death by radio for years. Why did you choose this cover, Jimmy Gnecco to sing it, and what made you feel that it would be a great way to end the record?

Let me think...I guess because I’ve always wanted to have Jimmy sing a song with me. Johnny loves Led Zeppelin and it’s not a song the band routinely covers. Eric J. Morgan was buds with Johnny and he and Jimmy knew each other previously, so it was perfect.

Are there any thoughts on playing any shows, or is this a studio project only?

Karl and I are dying to do shows...but Johnny is playing most weekends with Quiet Riot and everybody in the project lives all over the US. It would be tough, but we are trying to figure something out.

You're an extremely prolific songwriter, and I assume that you're already plotting out your next album. Would that be an accurate assumption? And if so, what band is up next?

I wrote the music for the 2nd Cassius King and I already have a few songs for what I hope will be the next Patriarchs In Black album.

I'd like to thank Dan for taking the time to answer these questions, and I also want to suggest that you all go check out Vessel of Light, Cassius King, Hades, Non-Fiction, and this upcoming Patriarchs in Black album. All of the bands are incredible, and Dan writes some very cool, doomy, Black Sabbath influenced riffs … which is never a bad thing.

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#D&S Reviews #D&S Interviews #Patriarchs in Black #heavy metal #doom metal #Tom Hanno #Doomed and Stoned

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miekasa · 3 years

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speaking of college boys, what do the college au aot babies study??

Okay, okay, I think I’ve talked about this in an ask before but I can’t find it 😭😭 but it’s okay, I love college aus, so I’ll talk about it again! Plus, now I’ve got more thoughts for more characters, so here we go

Levi — neuroscience and psychology of human behavior

He started out on track to do a bachelor of arts in psychology, but when they touched on the anatomy and biological parts of it during his first year lecture, he switched to a bachelor of science.

The focus is still psychology, but through a more clinical lens. Essentially, he gets the best of both worlds this way. He’s intuitive and analytical, so clinical and mental diagnosis is easy to dissect for him. He’s also canonically good at math, so the calculus and stats parts aren’t too bad, either.

This major also leaves him with a few options post-grad, which is a nice bonus for him. He’s likely going to medical school, but that’s not the only route open to him: law school, therapy, lab work, medicine and pharmacy, even teaching are all viable options without going to grad school.

Do not talk to him about Freud unless you wanna get punted off a building.

Be careful with him, because with a single glance he’s already got scarily accurate predictions about your parental and emotional attachment styles, your behavior in social settings, and the onset (or seemingly lack thereof) of your frontal lobe development.

He thinks he’s so smart making comments like, “I see those synaptic connections aren’t working so well for you today,” like mf come here let me lobotomize you and see how well your synaptic connects are working after that🙄

Eren — general health sciences

He’s interested in science and the discovery aspects of it, but picking a specific field of focus right now feels too final. He likes it this way, because his schedule and requirements are less restrictive, and he has more room to find out what really interests him.

He does best when he’s doing something he loves, so picking a major with a bunch of reqs that he couldn’t care less about would have sucked big time for him. It also would have affected his grades. There are still some classes he has to take that he’s not fond of (see: chemistry), but that’s to be expected. Science in general is cool to him and he hopes to make his own discovery some day, even if it’s microscopic.

He also plays a lot of sports, keeping his schedule flexible is important. The sports end up helping him excel academically, which is a nice bonus. Honestly, Eren uses his time at university to learn more about himself than anything, so having control and freedom to do what he likes the majority of the time was important to him.

He uses his elective credits to take philosophy or history courses of his interest, or maybe even a course that you’re in just to spend time with you. He also uses you as a live model for his homework bye, congrats on being patient number one to him.

Armin — astronomy and physics

He’s still interested in marine biology, but unless he attended a school near a coast, or with a specialized integrated program for that, it’s unlikely he’d major in it during undergrad.

Space and ocean exploration aren’t all that different. Both are vast, largely unexplored domains that reel-in Armin’s interest for discovery. So, while studying astronomy, he still gets to study evolution and make his own predictions about what could be out there because there’s so much to know.

Physics comes with the territory of learning about planetary science, and he’s mathematically inclined, so it works out for him. Learning about the different physical properties of other planets and space masses is honestly pretty sick to him. Because math isn’t a struggle, he actually considered aeronautical engineering, but he didn’t want to be a part of the college to military pipeline; that is, he didn’t want any potential design of his to be weaponized.

He still gets to study animal biology through his elective courses, and might even find a few focused on marine animals to satiate him. Plant and cell biology are also of interest to him, and are just further applications of his primary study anyway, so he’s got plenty of room to work with.

This boy is interning at NASA and still, with his whole chest out is like, “I don’t need to discover a new planet, you’re my whole world.” Armin, go check on the Mars rover or something please.

Mikasa — anthropology + minor in japanese language studies

Anthropology is virtually interdisciplinary in nature, and Mikasa is a pretty well rounded student, so she’s able to excel in a program like this. She gets to study history, science, cultural studies, and even a bit of art all at once.

She’s still debating between going to law school vs med school, so anthro this is a good in-betweener. She gets a taste of science through her anatomy and kin courses; and lots of practice with reading and dissecting texts through the historical and cultural lectures. So, when the time comes to decide, she’ll have some experience with both.

Don’t know whether it’s confirmed that she’s (part) Japanese or not, but either way I headcanon that she speaks/spoke some second language at home. She wanted to delve more into it, and courses were offered at the university so why not?

Cultural studies courses end up being her favorite. She likes learning about the history of people and their cultures, and it encourages her to learn more about her own family history and culture. It also propels her to apply for a study abroad opportunity, so she spends at least one semester doing an exchange program and absolutely loves it.

She would also encourage you to apply and go, too. You guys might not be in the same program, but if there’s an applicable program in the same country she’s going to, then she’d definitely want you to apply. Spending the semester away with you would be a dream come true.

Hange — bioengineering + minor in political philosophy and law

It’s almost self-sabotage to be in an engineering program and have a minor; the coursework for engineering alone is backbreaking, and bioengineering has the added weight of human intricacies, but of course Hange makes it possible.

They’re nothing short of a genius, so of course they have time to work a completely unrelated minor into their schedule. It doesn’t surprise anyone that they go on to complete an MD-PhD after undergrad. Insane.

Bioengineering is essentially the synthesis of chemical engineering and health sciences; Hange spends their time exploring biological sciences and applies the engineering aspects of their coursework to their understanding of (and interest in creating) medicine. Truly a one of a kind mind.

They also have an interest in philosophy and justice, so when they found out they only needed a measly nine or ten courses to minor in, they went for it, of course. In honesty, they don’t find the studies all that opposing: both law making and medicine making both have some kind of philosophy or method to them in their eyes.

Hange has... little to no free time pls. They don’t mind it, because they love their coursework, but this means you are essentially ducking into their labs or scrambling to find them in-between their classes during your time in undergrad. They appreciate every second spent with you tho, and will gladly rope you into long discussions about their work.

Jean — biochemistry + minor in art sustainability

He was undeclared his first year, and took a little bit of everything: art, science, history, anthropology, english. Basically, anything that fit into his schedule. It was hard for him to pick one thing—he liked the science and lab applications of STEM courses, but not the math; and the obvious painting and creativity of art, but hated the pretentious air about art history.

What he wants to do is make a difference, which is how he ends up knowing that he wants to go to med school after, so he picks a science-heavy major, but uses his elective spaces to take art courses. When he mixes the two, he ends up on sustainability—and the complexities about it that are applicable to both science and art are what really reels him in.

Interdisciplinary studies end up being his forte. He can approach sustainability from a science perspective which impacts his art style and materials; and tuning into his creative side allows him to think about science not just from a purely clinical perspective, but from a human one, too—patients are people after all.

He believes that everything is connected somehow, even things as seemingly opposite as art and biochemistry. And he works towards finding the unique intersection where everything overlaps. His studies are pretty cool, and he’s very passionate about them, so ask him about it 😌

The art he makes is pretty sick, too, and often commentary about science; he’s proving they’re not so opposite. You also heavily influence his studies in both areas: caring about you so much inspires him to take the healthcare focus seriously, and your very nature is inspiration to his art.

Sasha — nursing

She’s friendly and good at working with people, so nursing was an easy choice for her. She accredits most of her motivation to being around her younger family members, and learns that she finds a simple kind of joy in helping to take care of others.

She struggles a bit her first year when it’s mostly all grades and standardized testing, but when she starts getting clinical experience and working in the hospital on campus, things round out for her.

Patient care is her strongest point. A lot of people often forget that knowing everything isn’t everything; if you don’t know how to calm or even just talk to your patient, you’re not that great of a healthcare professional.

Pretty certain that she wants to work with kids in the future, but she’s open to public health and even being a travel nurse if she finds opportunity there!

Of course, she’s pretty doting when it comes to you and all her friends. She might want to go into pediatrics, but the basics of nursing and health care extend to everyone, so you’re guaranteed to be well taken care of with Sasha around. You might even have to switch roles and take care of her sometimes, because her coursework can get pretty out of hand.

Connie — computer engineering with a focus on game design

He might not look it, but Connie has a brain under that shaved head of his. Computer engineering is cool to him because he basically learns about how simple things he uses every day (ie: phone, computer, microwave) works.

Systems and coding are actually the easy part for him, especially when they get into the application of it and aren’t just stuck looking at examples. That’s how he gets into game design.

The part about math and electricity and magnetic fields… well let’s just say he needed to make friends with someone who likes math and hardware his first year to get through it. But the struggle was worth it, because by his junior year he’s found a professor willing to mentor/supervise him as he works on his game and other projects, so life is good.

His school work is definitely hard, which is why the lives by the mantra of “work hard, party harder.” It’s only fair.

He makes you a little avatar so you can test out his games for him <33 best boyfriend things <33 He’d also… build a game about your relationship. Every level is a different date you guys went on, and he definitely includes something cheesy, like “There are unlimited lives because I love you forever babe <3”

Porco — kinesiology + maybe mechanical engineering

He’s pretty into athletics and working out, but didn’t wanna go down the sports psychology route; he wanted something that left him with a few more options, so he ended up in kinesiology.

He was surprisingly pretty good at biology in high school, so something stem-oriented works out in his favor, and it turns out he’s pretty damn good at anatomy, too. He’ll probably end up in physical therapy after graduation.

He’s also got a knack for cars, which is where the engineering comes in, but he doesn’t care so much for the math part of it (he doesn’t care for it at all actually, fuck that); he just wants the hands on experience of building/fixing things and working with his hands. So, if he can get a minor in it and not struggle through 4 years of math, then he’d do that. If not, he’d take a few workshop-like classes.

Because he wants to go into physical therapy, you are essentially his practice patient. Your back hurts? Not a problem, he’s basically a professional masseuse. Muscle aches? He’s got a remedy and understanding of why it’s happening. Don’t let him catch you hunting over your desk grinding away at your homework, because he will poke your neck and correct your posture (he’ll also massage your shoulders, but after the scolding).

Pieck — classics + minor in philosophy

Ancient studies interest her, but more than that, the language of ancient Greek and Roman culture fascinates her, so classics is the way to go.

Because her focus within Classics ends up being Greek and Latin language studies, she is essentially learning both languages at the same time. She gets farther with Latin that she does with Greek. For whatever reason, the former comes almost naturally to her, so her written and translated work is more complex in Latin.

However, she finds cultural studies relation to Greece more interesting than that of Rome, so it’s a give and take with both; better at languages for Roman studies, better at culture and history for Greek studies.

Her minor is a natural evolution from her primary coursework. Ancient Romans and Greeks set the foundation for a lot of modern day philosophy, so it comes up in her major classes, but she wanted to delve further into the philosophy, and not just look at it historically, so she takes more courses to fulfill the minor.

Can be found laying on a blanket in the quad on a hot day, with her books spread out all around her, highlighter in hand as she works through her reading. You’re always invited to sit with her, and more often than not, it ends up with Pieck’s head in your lap, a book in her hands, and your own schoolwork in yours as you both read in each other’s company.

Bertholdt — computer science and coding

He’s level headed, good at planning, and above all, patient, so he’s cut out for this. He doesn’t consider himself to be particularly creative, which is why he doesn’t pick a speciality with lots of design; but he’s good at streamlining and ideas to life.

The patience really comes in when his code doesn’t run. It’s frustrating to scroll for two hours just to find out that the issue is a missing semi-colon in line 273 that he overlooked, but Berty will sit there until he finds it.

He’s also good at fixing issues. That’s not limited to issues in the code itself; it can mean finding shorter ways to produce the same function or loop, or integrating new aspects into existing code.

Also, he’d just be so cute, coding away on his computer. Just imagine: Berty working on his homework in the library, he’s got his signature crewneck + collared shirt look going for him, his blue-light glasses, a cup of coffee nearly as tall as him sitting at the corner of his desk. Adorable.

He’d make little codes/programs for you, too, even if it’s silly. A simple code that helps you decide what to eat for dinner or where to go on a date, one that shuffles different reminders for you, hell he’ll even forgo the torture of design engineering just to build you a little robot that says “I love you” to you.

Reiner — english + minor in justice & political philosophy

Everyone expects Reiner, star quarterback of the university’s rugby team, to be a business student or communications student; but no, he’s an English major, and he loves it.

Just imagine a guy as huge as Reiner absolutely manhandling someone on the field, just to show up in his lectures with a tiny paperback of The Great Gatsby tucked between his fingers with his reading glasses on. It’s so precious.

He’s always running a bit late to class—either coming from the gym, or practice, or oversleeping from exhaustion—but he’s so sweet to his professors and genuinely interested in the literature that they don’t give him a hard time about it. They can tell that balancing school and sports is difficult, and they just appreciate that he takes his studies seriously.

Yeah he’s in a book club and he dog-ears his books. What about it. They’re doing poetry this month and Reiner actually likes Edgar Allen Poe. Who said jocks can’t be sentimental.

He also reads a lot outside of his classes, and has a soft spot for coming of age stories. He usually empathizes with the main character somehow. His ideal weekend plans after a week of grueling games and essays is taking a long, relaxing shower at your place, while you both share a bottle of wine, and maybe even get you to read a chapter or two of his current book out loud to him.

Annie — clinical psychology/neuroscience

Almost scarily analytical and methodic, so this major was calling her name. Localizing brain legions is… insanely intuitive to her it’s incredible. She’ll be an insanely impressive doctor someday, even if she doesn’t end up working with patients directly.

She doesn’t care too much for the more philosophical/reading heavy parts of psychology. Even experiments and research closer to the social end of the spectrum aren’t all that interesting to her; but the brain science behind it it.

Nobody should be good at cellular biology. Nobody should be able to ace cell bio and neuro and calc and work towards their thesis proposal in the same semester, but Annie proves it’s possible.

Ends up working in one of her professor’s labs by her junior year. She was offered three TA positions working with first year students, but she swiftly turned them down. Teaching isn’t her thing.

She doesn’t bring up her studies to you unprompted, but if you ask her about them she’ll explain it to you. Her notes are color coded and it’s super neat, and very cute; coloring them is somewhat relaxing for her. She usually saves the coloring part for when you guys study together; there’s extra comfort in doing it with you around.

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firstbeachgoblin · 3 years

Note

Hey! I hope you’re well, can i request an imagine where reader is Embry’s imprint and they haven’t seen eachother in months because reader has a life she can’t just drop for him but she comes back when the pack is blowing up her phone ? Thank youu and don’t worry if you don’t write it, it’s fine!

Thank you for the request! It took a Long time But It's now complete with a total whopping 5k words!! Any way I hope you enjoy the fic.

I put it under the cut because it's so long but it's my brain baby at the moment lo.

Returning to you.

Embry Call x Reader

5058 words

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

Most of my life has been spent in the Forks area so getting to travel to Europe for six months to see the art and culture was a dream come true. The past four months I’ve been travelling through Europe, starting in Greece and ending my trip in the Irish countryside.

The old art and architecture filled me with a joy that I could not get anywhere else in the world. The smells, sounds and sights all played their own part into the experience. I got to see the moon rise over Mount Olympus, the David by Michelangelo in the Vatican, tour through the Louvre, drink wine on the beaches of France and so much more. I’ve been living my best life.

It's been a dream to see the world, I've met so many new people and tried so much food. I’ve enjoyed every minute of my trip, but there was a part of me that longed for the beaches of La Push.

That part is Embry. Embry Call. My boyfriend, my pal, my love and my light. To me Embry is my everything and to him I’m his everything. That is one thing that has been made perfectly clear the past four months I’ve been away. Every day he’s told me he misses me and I know he means it, I’ve been told not just by him but also the rest of the pack.

Everyday I’ve woken up to ‘Good morning I miss you.” Sometimes he phones to tell me that he feels like he might die if I’m away for any longer. I always chuckle and tell him he will survive, it’s not like I’m going away forever; but that's what he feels like it is. This usually earns me a long winded whine from the other end of the line.

My phone buzzed against the smooth surface of the bedside table while Embry’s face flashed across my screen signalling that he’s calling. A smile graces my lips as I pick up the phone to be greeted with his loving voice.

“Hi (y/n)!! I miss you so much.” sadness was laced in his usual cheery greeting, it hurt my heart to be away from him but I would never trade this experience for anything. I’ve been planning this for years and I wasn’t going to pass up cheap plane tickets.

He filled me in on the pack's shenanigans, complaining about how they keep teasing him for being glued to his phone awaiting any updates I would send him. The later it got the heavier my eyelids seemed to feel, my speech started to slur with exhaustion of time zones while Embry continued to become more energetic with each passing minute.

“Em. . .” A yawn interrupted me mid sentence, a low whine emanated from the phone as he knew I would want to get to bed to have the energy for the long trip I’ll embark on tomorrow for Ireland, which is my last stop. I’d be spending the remaining two months of my trip in the lush countryside.

“I think I should get to sleep, I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.” I mumbled into the phone.

“But (y/n)!” he dragged out. I knew he wanted to talk longer but I physically cannot do it. Even though Embry and I don’t live together officially yet, we’d talk into the early morning till one of us fell asleep.

“But (y/n) what?” I dragged out the ‘a’ matching his whine.

“I miss you and want you to come home.” I could hear him pause over line before he continued.

“Besides, sleeping isn’t the same without you.”

I ran my hand through my hair gently tugging on the roots easing the tension that’s built up over my trip. As much fun as I’ve had, he does have a point. Sleeping just isn’t the same without Em. My nights have been spent restless in beds that aren’t mine without the comforting touch of my boyfriend; but that doesn’t mean I can just drop everything and go back home.

“Em you know I can’t just pack everything and go home. . .” I looked at the painting that hung over the tv that sat opposite of my bed. A puppy-like whimper fell from his lips when he spoke again, his voice cracked like he was going to cry. It broke my heart hearing him upset.

“I-I know I just really miss you.”

“I know Embry I miss you too, but it’s only two more months then I’ll be home.”

We chatted for ten more minutes before I fell asleep on the phone. As much as I missed falling asleep in his warm embrace I can’t just fly back home, not yet at least.

The blaring of my alarm woke me from my slumber. The clock face read 6:02 a.m. taking everything within myself to peel back the blankets that encased me in their warm grip. I patted through the bed sheets to find my phone only to knock it onto the floor in the process.

My lock screen adorned a photo of Embry with icing smudged across his face from his birthday party but a swamp of text messages from the pack covered my favourite photo of him. Five texts from Leah, seven from Jake, nine texts from Paul, 12 texts and two missed calls from Sam and a whole group chat titled ‘(y/n) come home.’

The group chat kept pinging with the members of the pack who were still awake discussing the logistics of flying out to Ireland to take me back home. Was Embry really causing that much strife in the pack for them to create a group chat? Knowing him, it couldn’t be too far from the truth.

Leah and I call once a week to check in and make sure the other is doing okay since I left. It’s one of my favourite parts of the week being able to have a one on one with someone sensible. Every week she fills me in on Embry begrudgingly, she does it because she knows it makes me happy which I appreciate.

Reading through her texts she didn’t say much in regards to Em’s behaviour the only message relating to him was “come get your man child please, he’s getting snot on the floor.”

I listened through Sam’s voice mails which were begging me to come home, he informed me that once Em knew I was asleep he started moping around Emily’s house again for the fourth consecutive night in a row. This was news to me.

The texts entailed that Embry was becoming a pain on patrol and that Paul ‘couldn’t take another minute of the incessant whining.’ I told them the same thing I told Embry; I’m not dropping everything and rushing back home to sooth the wails of a love sick boy. There isn’t much I can do from across the ocean anyway.

I stretched my body and headed towards the bathroom to brush my teeth and shower before I had to leave for the airport.

I packed the few remaining things I left out to prepare for the flight and headed my way to the lobby to check out. I enjoyed travelling but I wasn’t going to miss sleeping in hotels and hostels.

Two weeks have passed since I touched down in Ireland and to say I’ve been having the time of my life is an understatement; I’ve been having a ball living my best life.

The land was capped in a luscious emerald green sea of grass that waved in the wind, the roads were lined with hand built stone walls that marked the division of farmers fields.

Sheep and cattle grazed in pastures, and old castles dotted the countryside. It was gorgeous. It was a view that I wanted to see again, a view I want to see with Embry.

It felt like time was flying by between sight seeing, trail hiking, museum tours and calls with Embry and Leah. It has already been a month. I had one more month before I was to jet set back to the U.S. and see my Embry.

One more month before I was back in La Push surrounded by the scent of sea water and trees with the looming threat of rain constantly overhead except in the summer. For two months of the year La Push was bright and sunny with the expected summer storms that happened.

I had fallen asleep on the phone with Embry again when I realized my phone was lost in the sea of sheets as it buzzed with an incoming phone call.

I couldn’t find it until the call had gone to voicemail and my phone landed on the ground when I gave up and ripped the blankets off of the bed but whoever called must have felt it was really important. Picking up my phone the most unflattering photo of Jacob was plastered on the screen, his name in white.

“Hello?” I asked groggily into the phone, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I looked over at the clock which said in bold red numbers 1 am.

“Hey (y/n)! You sound like you just woke up.” I heard him chortle from the other end.

“That’s because I just woke up Jake, it’s one in the morning.” a yawn escaped my lips, I know I’ll have a rough time getting over jet lag when I go home.

He occupied twenty minutes with idle chatter and borderline interrogation about all the sights I’ve seen before I asked him why he was calling me so early in the morning

“Embry has spent the week at my house, you need to come home there’s nothing we can do anymore to occupy him till you return.” He sighed, Jake knows I want to finish my trip but we made a deal that I would come home early if there were absolutely no options left to keep Embry from sending the pack into hysterics.

I knew he was buttering me up for something.

“Are you sure you can’t figure something out? It’s just another month!”

“Another month of him eating my cereal and getting dirt on me from my dad!”

I snorted with laughter at the fact that Billy was telling Embry every embarrassing detail from his childhood.

“Jake please just let me think about it okay?” I sighed, flopping back into my hollowed cave of blankets and sheets.

“Okay, I’ll let you think about it but don’t think I won’t be telling Sam.” he warned.

We laughed together and he wished me a good night before hanging up the phone, before I slipped back into slumber I sent Jake one more text.

‘You wake me up at one in the morning again and it’s over for you.’ in which he responded with ‘Oh no I’m so scared lol.’

I reached over to the bedside table and plugged my phone in before the sweet embrace of warmth and slumber took over my senses.

The next three days I was bombarded with texts from Paul whining about the wolf mind link and how every patrol shift he had with Embry was spent tuning out his constant thoughts of me.

Standing in the shower with hot water running over my skin soothing my tense muscles I heard my phone buzz against the granite countertop. I rolled my eyes and continued to bask in the endless hotel hot water.

As bad as staying in hotels could be, the hot water made up for the early breakfast and sheets that were tucked in a little too tightly.

I had shampoo in my hair when my phone started buzzing again, this time with a call. I grumbled under the stream of water washing away the soap before it could get in my eyes; whoever's calling can wait.

I moved on to conditioning my hair, letting it sit while I wash the rest of my body with a lightly scented lavender soap.

I refused to use the complimentary soap because it dried out my skin and the lotion just left me feeling sticky instead of moisturized.

Watching the soap run down the drain my phone rang again, I clenched my fists, who could possibly be calling me now? I still refused to get out of my steamy heaven to answer my phone.

My gut told me that whoever was calling wouldn’t let up until I answered. I washed out the conditioner from my hair and wrapped it in a towel.

The mirror was coated in a layer of steam, the tiles were cool against my feet. I wrapped the plush towel around my body, mopping up the droplets of water that remained.

My phone started vibrating with rapid fire text messages from the pack’s group chat they made a month ago. I sighed, picking it up to sift through the messages. I read a message from Jared telling me he’d pay me to return.

The pack always made me laugh, together they’re a walking sitcom. There is never a dull moment with them, someone always had something witty or sarcastic to say.

I checked to see who had called me and it turned out it was Sam, I listened to his voice mails and immediately phoned him back.

As soon as I hit the call button it only rang for half a second before he picked up.

“Thank you for calling back, I thought I’d have to call two more times.” he chuckled.

“Well I was in the middle of a shower, can’t really take a call there.” I moved through the room with my phone pressed between my shoulder and cheek. Stopping at my suitcase to pick out what I was going to wear for the day.

“I’m going to be frank with you, I need you to come home. . .” I let out a huff before he continued.

“Embry needs you badly, he’s just a pile of mush on the floor now. It’s a chore to get him up to go on patrol. Please?”

“Fine, I’ll see what I can do Sam, I’ll try to book a flight for the earliest date I can find.” I knew I was giving in but from what they were telling me and the constant texts were getting to be difficult to manage.

“Thank you, when you get back I’ll buy you take out for a month okay?”

“I hate that you know what my weakness is.” I laughed through the phone, a month of free take out? Hell yeah. It made the prospect of going back a little brighter since I wasn’t going to complete the rest of my trip.

I wasn’t losing out on too much though, I had seen and done everything that I wanted. It wouldn’t be too bad to go home early.

We talked for a couple more minutes before parting ways, I threw my phone on the bed and watched it bounce a couple times before turning my attention back to getting dressed. Since I had a flight to book it was okay to spend the rest of the day lounging in pj’s.

The soft fabric of my pj’s brushed against my skin as I jumped into bed with my computer in hand, and now it was time to book a flight back home. Maybe text Paul and tell him he can quit complaining as well.

I woke up the next morning with my flight booked for take off in the afternoon and my daily good morning text from Embry. I felt a little sad to be leaving such a beautiful country but the trees, ocean and Embry all called my name.

Pacing through the room I grabbed the comfiest set of clothes I packed for my return flight back to Seattle, I had enough time to sleep on the plane to be conscious enough for the three and a half hour drive back to La Push.

I was set for a long day ahead of me but it was going to be worth it in the end, seeing the bright and happy face of my boyfriend, getting to hug him and kiss him again.

I made one last check of the room before I gathered my clothes and toiletry kit and made my way into the bathroom to shower before my long flight. As I was stepping into the shower my phone pinged from the counter with a text from Sam.

“Have you booked that flight yet?” it read.

“Yeah I’m due for take off at 1. I should be back in La Push some time tomorrow!”

My fingers brushed the cool surface of the counter top as I put my phone back and got into the shower, hot water immediately running down my back; this time my phone wasn’t being blown up by a desperate wolf pack trying to get my attention.

I can’t sit in the shower for hours on end this time, I have a flight to catch and a boy to surprise. Embry was currently still under the impression that I would be coming home in two weeks. Boy would he be in for a surprise.

The residual steam wafted out of the bathroom while I brushed my teeth revealing my towel wrapped body and hair in the mirror behind the skin. I checked the time and noted that I had two hours to check out, make my way to the airport, and check into my flight back home. Two more hours before I could smell the trees and ocean, two more hours before I could see my friends and hug Embry.

The time managed to move by in a blur by the time I was shutting the trunk of the yellow cab that was going to drop me off at the airport. I got into the back seat and the driver peeled away from the hotel front onto the winding roads.

“Aye where are you headin’?” The driver inquired in a thick Irish accent.

One thing I noticed in my stay here was that the accent changed in every town or village I passed through. It added to the charm

“Well, I’m on my way home after spending six months in Europe.” My eyes scanned over the green hills that rushed past in a blur.

“My favourite places I’ve been have definitely been Ireland and Greece.” I smiled towards him.

The lines around his eyes crinkled with the smile that graced his face at the mention of Ireland.

“Well that’s good to hear innit? Glad you’ve enjoyed your stay. We welcome ya with open arms if you return.”

We held a light conversation until we arrived in front of the drop off area for passengers, thanked him and grabbed my bags before heading into the crowded lobby.

The front of the terminal was metal and glass that reached towards the heavens with automatic doors gaping open like a mouth. Inside was a dull white with light grey floor which my shoes clicked against with each step.

It was packed with people like a can of sardines, I weaved my way through the masses towards the check in desk which thankfully only had a short line to get through.

Under the mix of fluorescents and natural light the desk lady’s bags that donned under her eyes glared with visible exhaustion from the mass amounts of people that swarmed the terminal.

Despite her clear drowsiness she still greeted me with a warm smile and a soft hello.

I grabbed my ticket and thanked her then turned and pushed myself through to the security check, dropped my luggage off and took a seat to wait for the boarding call for my flight.

As I waited grey clouds started to fill the sky blocking out the little sun that was once shining in its place.

My eyes grew heavier by each minute that passed, waiting could be hard, but waiting in an airport where there’s no sense of time is worse. So I distracted myself by people watching.

A lady was bouncing her baby, the old man across from me was snoring. A businessman paced back and forth speaking urgently into his phone, a family chatted excitedly for their family trip to the Canary Islands.

I pulled my eyes away from them as the call for my flight rang out over the crowded terminal, grabbing my suitcase and making my way towards the gate.

Excitement filled my every step as the anticipation grew and bubbled inside me. I gave the greeting flight attendant a small smile and made my way to my seat, for being last minute I managed to get a window seat.

We sat on the tarmac for twenty minutes before taking off and before I knew it the seat belt light pinged off and I was fast asleep jet setting my way back to America, back to my home.

I couldn’t tell what time it was when I woke up but the clock on the tv screen said 2 a.m. and that we’re due to arrive in an hour. I sat up in my seat and gazed out the window into the starry night sky.

Energy started to course through me as I watched the arrival time tick closer and closer. A light rain misted down over Seattle as I left the Seatac terminal and made my way through the maze of cars in the night that was made darker by the rain.

I spotted my blue Subaru and popped the trunk so my interior and seats wouldn’t get wet. It had been a long six months since I last sat in my driver's seat, the wheel almost felt foreign in my hands as I turned the key and listened to the engine roar to life.

I drove through the winding roads of the city to the Seattle-Bainbridge Ferry to take the 45 minute ride into Bainbridge and headed North to get on the 101 then turn onto 110 which would take me back into the heart of La Push.

The closer I got to Forks the brighter the sky became; well as bright as it could be on a gloomy day. The clouds became painted in the glow of purple and pink as the sun rose over the horizon, the rain had let up and left me with an overcast sky for the remainder of the drive back.

Since I slept virtually the entire flight back I didn’t feel the weight of exhaustion at all, but surely when I arrived back in the arms of Embry I knew I’d hit the wall with sleep deprivation.

As I barreled through the corridor of trees I passed the signature ‘welcome to Forks’ sign and turned right onto the 110, twenty minutes to home. I was so close but my soul felt like it was light years away.

The clock on my radio told me that it was currently 6:45, the pinks and purples that coated the sky faded away to the typical grey that fills my senses with delight. Sea salt and washed up kelp started to seep into the air that circulated into my car making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Closer to Beach Drive I got the stronger the smell of the ocean became. The turn signal clicked as I turned onto the road that gave way to Sam and Emily’s house so they could take me over to Embry’s in the off chance that he happened to be awake at this hour.

It’s highly unlikely that he would be up at this hour but it’s not something I could be one hundred percent positive about. I stepped out of my car and turned around to see Emily running as fast as she possibly could towards me with open arms and a huge smile plastered across her face.

Dropping my bags I dashed across their lawn into her embrace.

“Oh (y/n)! I missed you so much, you must be so tired.” She released me from her hug and settled her hands on my shoulders giving them a gentle squeeze.

“I missed you too Emily, I knew I’d be tired but not this tired.” I chuckled while wiping at my under eyes in a feeble attempt to wipe away the exhaustion.

She put her hand on my lower back and led me inside for the awaiting cup of tea while Sam moved my bags into his truck.

The warmth of their home embraced me, the comfort of their kitchen was familiar. The only thing missing was the rowdy group of boys that made up the pack who usually occupied every available seat in the home.

I took a seat at the kitchen table where three cups of tea sat waiting, I should have expected a q and a when I returned. Wrapping my hands around the mug the warmth that radiated from it filled my hands.

Emily took a seat beside me and Sam entered through the door and sat adjacent to both of us.

“So how was the trip?” We sat around their table chatting until our cups were empty and filed out of the house into the early morning air.

“Emily and I will drive your car back to your place after I drop you off at Embry’s, the kid’s been sleeping in my living room more often than I’d appreciate.” Sam’s eyes crinkled with a smile, I knew he was joking but at the same time there was truth to his words; and honestly I couldn’t blame him.

“Thank you for putting up with him while I was gone, I owe you guys one and you owe me take out for a month.” He rolled his eyes and ruffled my hair turning into the Call's driveway. Embry’s mom had already left for work leaving him to his own devices; which meant he would sleep in as late as his heart desired.

We got out of Sam’s truck and he dropped my bags on the doorstep. I turned and gave him a quick hug and a thank you before sticking my key into the lock.

The door creaked open and I dragged my suitcases to a stop in their front entry way and shut it behind me.

My shoes landed on the floor with a soft thud and I gingerly walked up the stairs to ensure I wasn’t too noisy while making sure to avoid the one squeaky stair.

I got to the top of the stairs and hung a left down their light beige hallway that gave way to the oak door that guarded Embry’s room. His soft snores filtered through the door, it’s door knob was cool in my hand. Making an audible click with the turn of my wrist.

Dark mahogany brown hair peaked up from beneath the sheet that tucked Embry’s body out of view. One pillow was on the floor while the other was tucked firmly between his cheek and arm, I smiled at the sight of my sleeping boyfriend which filled my every inch with the utmost joy.

My sock covered feet pressed into the carpeted flooring with each step I took towards his bed making sure to step over the piles of dirty clothes that were scattered around the room.

The sun filtered through the gaps in the window blinds casting pools of golden light on the floor and along his walls causing the crystal prism that hung above his closet to sweep dashes of colour across his walls.

I pulled back the grey top sheet to reveal his peaceful face and I swear my heart was going to burst with the amount of love that I feel for him. His hair was tousled in every direction and a cow lick stuck straight up on the left side of his head.

My hands ran over his hair, smoothing it out while I whispered his name. Embry groaned a bit and rolled over, I whispered his name a little bit louder and moved my hands from his hair to his shoulders running them along his arms finally waking him from his slumber.

“Hi Em!” I gushed out as his brown eyes opened and focused on me. His face split with his toothy smile and his arms shot around me, pulling me down into his chest.

“Do you know how much I missed you?” Embry mumbled into my hair.

“I figured a lot with the amount of texts I got from the pack.” I reached up brushing the hair from his face.

“You can never leave me for that long again. . .I didn’t know what to do without you here.” He ran his hands through my hair placing a gentle kiss upon the top of my head.

“I was so worried about you. I couldn’t protect you and make sure you were safe.”

“Well next time I’ll make sure you can come, then you don’t have to worry.” Craning my neck up I placed a kiss upon his lips which were still a bit swollen from slumber.

“The important thing is that I returned safe and in one piece. The other important thing is I get to spoil you with the gifts I brought back!”

His laugh filled the room sending vibrations through my body.

“Hey! That’s my job to spoil you, not the other way around.” He ruffled my hair causing us both to laugh. I peeled off my socks and wiggled my way under his blanket.

“I think it’s time we catch up on six months worth of cuddling.” I poked a finger into his side.

“Yeah I think that’s a good idea, you owe me for being gone so long.”

“What? I came back early!” His hands made their way under my shirt to rest on the bare skin of my back sending waves of heat through my body from being pressed into him. Oh how I missed my heater.

“Yeah, by like what? Two weeks?” his silky voice chuckled out.

“I missed you Embry.” I told him, placing a kiss on his exposed shoulder.

“I missed you too. Now let's go back to sleep, you look tired.” He said to me as he rested his chin atop my head and pulling me closer.

#embry call imagine #embry call x reader #twilight wolves #twilight wolf pack #twilight renaissance #twilight revival #twilight saga #wolf pack #embry call #jared cameron #jacob black #sam uley #paul lahote #quil ateara #seth clearwater #leah clearwater

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arospecsyourblockdudes · 2 years

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Day 3

Cleo can’t be sure it’s days, exactly, but it feels like it’s been three days. That’s what she’s going with.

So. Things are fine. It’s fine. Totally fine. Why would you suggest otherwise.

She has an ugly little house set up, more a shack than anything. She’s made a little wheat farm. Set up a chicken collector with a hopper and chest and all. Even got a pumpkin to put on for when she doesn’t want the enderman bugging her.

So it’s fine. It’s what was expected. Did she think that the portal back home would be available? Yes. Did she think that this would be temporary instead of a long-term thing? Of course. Is it fine? Yes.

She sits on the steps of her house and stares at a chicken that’s gotten loose from her bin of them. It just sort of runs around and makes some noise but that’s what goes for entertainment these days.

Yay.

Day 10

Things have improved somewhat.

Cleo’s house is less ugly. It’s now not a shack and looks like a proper house. So that’s neat.

The chickens are doing well. The farms are doing well. Food isn’t an issue.

The beginnings of a moat are showing, just a one-deep trench around what she’s calling her area. Cleo hesitates to wreck the lovely art made of the End but it has to be done. It makes her feel a bit safer from the enderman. Nasty things.

There’s no beds. Beds do not work here. Spawn-setting results in explosions. Cleo hasn’t slept comfortably in some time. Sure, there’s the floor and blankets, but it’s not the same as a real bed.

She’s tired.

Day 29

The moat is now not a moat. It is that her whole area is covered in water.

Everything is raised up one on stilts, and there’s paths of slabs between her house and her farm and her chicken bin which has become two chicken bins. There’s a lot of chickens.

There are a few chickens in her house. They are her pets. Their names are Patricia, Florence, and Reginald. Cleo talks to them sometimes when she’s feeling extra lonely.

It’s probably been less than twenty-nine days, Cleo thinks as she marks down another day. It has to have been less. How would she know? It must be. It must be only ten days but she thinks it’s more. Wouldn’t that be nice?

She’s kept an eye on her communicator, seeing if any new messages pop up. Nothing. Messages are all it really can do in the End.

Sometimes she looks into the void and wonders where she’d respawn in if she jumped. She remembers the moon and how it was going to be crashing into the earth. She thinks of ruined homes and crumbled structures and destroyed terrain.

She goes back inside.

Day ???

Cleo is so, so tired.

She’s fallen asleep in her wheat fields more times than she can imagine. She finds herself waking up later. Day and night haven’t existed for a while. It’s all messed up. She’s exhausted.

She stays outside of her area more often. Created a little shack on the opposite end of that original island for some variety and then burnt it down.

She burns down many things. Sometimes she makes a beautiful wooden structure just to destroy it. She has more trees, she’ll be alright.

There’s a crude stone staircase up one of the obsidian towers, one of the tall ones. Sometimes she sits up there and just looks. Sometimes she jumps into the water of her area.

You forget to pretend a day and then it all goes haywire. Cleo is a bit of a mess.

There Are No Days

The bedrock portal home has been covered in cobble.

Cleo didn’t like seeing that it wasn’t functional. So she covered it. Easy fix! Now she can pretend that it works and that she’s choosing to stay here.

There’s no reason to venture out of her area. She has what she needs. Food. Trees to chop. Blankets to sleep on. She rebuilds the roof a lot. Just to have something to do.

Reginald escaped the house one day and she watched as he wandered off into the void. Stupid chicken.

She’s been firing messages off fairly often. No one responds. Of course not. Maybe they aren’t sending or maybe they’re all dead. Who could say. Not her. She can’t check (out of choice of course it’s not like the portal doesn’t work).

She stands at the top of the tower and looks down. Everything seems pointless from up here. Of course, it’s the same from down there as well. It would be easier to give up.

But she can’t. Joe would never let her hear the end of it. Defeated by her own stupid brain. Ridiculous. She’s way better than that.

She takes up writing. Little things. Feelings, thoughts, observations. Whatever. It helps some.

She pretends it hasn’t been as long as it feels and it’s only been ten days. Ten days and they’re all searching for her. Ten days and soon in a few hours everyone will show up and come bring her back home.

The carved pumpkin talks to her. Cleo is aware this is a hallucination because she has been alone for some time. But sometimes she talks back. It’s nice.

She talks to the chickens and the pumpkin and the endermen and herself. She wanders the island just saying things. Maybe she’s crazy. Maybe she’s coping.

Cleo hopes they find her before day eleven

#hermitcraft #hermitcraft spoilers #moon big spoilers #lmk if I need to tag this as anything

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babymetaldoll · 3 years

Text

DIWK - Chapter ten: "Set me free my honey bee"

Word count: 11,6K

Summary: Let's jump 19 months in time and see how painful it has turned for reader and Spencer to hide their feelings for each other. JJ leaves the team, and a new member joins the BAU.

Warnings: Angst and hurt. Fools being assholes. Cursing, of course. Mention of CM cases and spoilers on S06E11.

A/N: Please don't hate me. Just remember things usually look like the shit before they get worst, and then everything is better. I hope.

Masterlist

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(Y/N)'s point of view

Time is a weird thing. I remember when I was in school and time didn't pass fast enough. Semesters were eternal. It felt it had been years by the time summer vacation arrived. The complete opposite happened to me at the BAU. Suddenly, time passed too quickly. A whole year and a half went by in the blink of an eye.

I told Spencer about it, and he sent me a paper published by Professor Adrian Bejan that presented an argument based on the physics of neural signal processing. He hypothesizes that, over time, the rate at which we process visual information slows down, and this is what makes time 'speed up' as we grow older.

My answer was that I thought it happened 'cos as we grew older, we did things that actually gave us joy, which made us feel the time was passing faster than before. So we argued a whole Saturday afternoon about it and created our own theories for that event.

My theory was my personal favorite, 'cos it was the only one that could easily explain why so much time had passed in the BAU, and it felt like it had been just a few weeks.

It hadn't been easy, though. Those nineteen months had been filled with some of the worst situations we had been through as a team.

After I got shot, JJ finally admitted her relationship with Will and got pregnant. That was shocking, the first BAU baby: Henry.

Sadly, Henry was the only little good thing that happened that year. Because to sum it up, a bunch of awful shit happened to all of us: Hotch was in a car explosion that almost killed him. Spencer and Prentiss got trapped in an undercover mission into an underground cult to investigate child abuse, and Emily was beaten up pretty badly. Also, Spencer got infected with anthrax and nearly died. That was probably the most agonizing moment I had lived since the whole Tobias Hankel situation two years earlier.

Also, that year Prentiss had to investigate the case of the death of one of her best friends, and I was in a pretty nasty fight with an unsub that got me out of the field for three weeks. Not to mention, Spencer was shot in the leg.

Hotch was stabbed by the only unsub that has actually won against the BAU: Foyet. He attacked Aaron and got on the lose for months, but we all knew his next move as torture Hotch's family. That's why his ex-wife Haley and his little son Jack had to go into protective custody, and he couldn't see them for months while we tried to catch Foyet.

Things didn't go as planned. And without a doubt, the worst moment that year was the day Haley died. Foyet killed her, and Aaron lost it. He literally killed him with his bare hands the moment he got him. For a solid week, I was sure Aaron Hotchner wouldn't be the unit chief anymore. Strauss actually opened an investigation related to everything that happened that day. But in the end, somehow, she understood the "bloodbath" that had happened in that house was all in Foyet's hands.

However, there's no way to deny that the whole team had changed in many ways after that year. The concept of being a family was now more present than ever. After chasing Foyet for months, we were all onto him as if he was chasing our own family, because he was.

You don't work this kind of job with a team like mine and don't get attached to them. And this goes beyond how in love I was with Spencer. The (Y/N) who first stepped into the BAU, scared to show her true self, was long gone. And despite my deepest fears, letting them in and showing them who I really was had been one of the smartest decisions I have ever made.

Do you want to know which was my stupidest decision? Falling in love with Spencer Reid. It hadn't actually been my choice. I just didn't fight the feeling either. I don't think I could have even if I tried, though. Those nineteen months brought us so close, my mom thought we were living together, and the teasing from our friends was so common we weren't even affected by it.

For Christ Sakes, even Strauss thought we were dating! She forced us to attend a seminar on fraternization, concerned after she realized we always took our vacation together. We had a lot of fun trips, though. First, we visited his mom and had an amazing weekend in Las Vegas. Then we took a few days off after the anthrax incident and went to Hawaii. Picture Spencer Reid in an "all-inclusive," drinking all the coffee and eating all the pastries possible while reading a million books underneath an extra-large umbrella. We had fun that week, did some local touring, but most of all, sleeping in and relaxing. Spencer hates the beach but got those tickets anyway.

Did everybody think we were a couple? Yes

Did it help that we shared rooms, 'cos we were already used to it? No

Did it feel like a honeymoon without sex? Yes

Could I stop thinking about sex with Spencer? No.

And all that led us to the nightmare our relationship was going to become.

Penelope Garcia was drunk. She kept pouring shots and pushing them to us. Emily was wasted as well. But she kept acting like the classy lady she is. Not like JJ. My poor baby had mascara smeared under her eyes after crying for like an hour.

We found out she was leaving the team, and it was a hard blow on us. And by hard, I mean the worst thing that had ever happened to us. We had suffered without JJ when she was on maternity leave. And we struggled without her. Now knowing the Pentagon had taken her away from the BAU was torture.

We had a goodbye party for her at Rossi's, but this was our goodbye girl's night, and neither of us was holding anything back.

We had cried, we had sung sad songs. We drank all the champagne, wine, and vodka we could find. And now, holding our tequila shots, we knew it was time to call it a night.

- "I just love you girls so much,"- JJ whispered, crying- I don't wanna work without you.

- "Boo, come here!!"- I opened my arms and wrapped them around my friend, kissing the top of her hair a few times- "I love you too, and you are going to come back so soon you won't have time to miss us. You'll see. Papa Rossi and Dada Hotch are gonna fix everything."

I was drunk. Seriously drunk. But that wasn't the reason why I was so sweet with JJ. The truth is, I was broken-hearted. Like Penelope and Reid, I didn't manage change very well, and the fact that JJ was forced to leave made me feel frustrated and mad. But most of all, it made me think of every time I had been a little bitch with her during the years. And I regretted each one of them.

- "And we won't be far!"- Emily added and caressed JJ's arm, smiling kindly- "You will still be in town, and we will not leave you alone"- JJ chuckled and nodded.

- "I know, girls. Shit, I love you all so much!"

- "We love you too!"- Penelope sobbed and moved closer, wrapping the three of us in her arms.

- "Please, take care!"- JJ wiped off the tears from her eyes and looked at us- "Emily, don't do anything stupid! Don't rush in the field, and please don't take your fucking vest off!!"

- "I won't! I promise!"

- "You have to live to be Unit chief one day!"- JJ added, and Prentiss widened her eyes, shocked.

- "That's not really my gold."

- "But you'd be queen, baby!!"- Jareau added and turned to Penelope- "And you, please make sure Hotch eats. I kept a stack of granola bars on my desk to keep him fueled during the day. He usually forgets lunchtime and skips dinner, so..."

- "Don't worry, JJ,"- Penelope nodded, and we all felt our heartbreak a little thinking about all the things JJ did in her daily basics to take care of the team, and we didn't even know.

- "How are we going to survive without you?"- I mumbled, pouting. JJ chuckled and held my hand.

- "You are a rock, and you will do a fantastic job keeping this team together. Just, please, can you and Spencer start dating now?"

I wide opened my eyes and stared at JJ. The comment surprised me. I shouldn't, 'cos the whole "you and Spencer should start dating" joke was getting old. Only this time, JJ wasn't joking. She held both my hands and looked right into my eyes.

- "(Y/N), he loves you"- I was about to argue with her, but she covered my mouth with her Cheetos smelling hand.

- "Don't say a word! Spencer loves you so much you really must be blind not to see it. And I know you love him too. It's implied in all the little things you do for him every day. So don't take it for granted. Don't think this will last forever 'cos look at me! A week ago, I was happily working at the BAU, and now I'm drinking at my goodbye party! So don't waste any more time! You are in love with Spencer, and he loves you! It doesn't take a profiler to see it. So please! Act on it!"

There was a dramatic silence after. I didn't know how to break it. I could just joke around, but somehow, it didn't feel right. It had been too quiet for too long, and that made everything harder to deny. Finally, Emily put her hand on mine, just like JJ was still doing, and smiled at me.

- "There's nothing to be ashamed of, (Y/N). You are not the first person to fall for her best friend."

- "And the Junior G Man loves you so much,"- Penelope added, landing her hand on our hands too.

- "As his friend"- I corrected and sighed. I guess that was it. After three years, I could probably start facing my feelings in front of my friends.

- "No, (Y/N)"- Garcia tried to argue, but I shook my head and stood up, 'cos all that sudden attention and affection was bothering me.

- "PG, I was in Hawaii with the man, sharing a room, walking around in a bikini, and he didn't do anything."

- "That's because he is shy!"- Emily excused him right away.

- "My bikini leaves pretty much nothing to the imagination. Do you know what he said when he first saw me on it?"- I looked at my friend and poured us another round of tequila- "And I quote, "I don't think I brought enough books. This one is too interesting."

I air quoted with my fingers as we spoke, and the three of them looked at me, speechless. I made my point and drank my shot, feeling the alcohol burning down my throat. My friends opened their mouths but didn't produce a word. I sighed and looked at them.

- "But he hates the beach, and he took you there anyway,"- Emily pointed out

- "Did he give you his speech about how he hates sandy food?"- JJ asked me, and I chuckled, nodding.

- "And about pink skin, limited and unengaging topography, and of course, the real reason he hates the beach: drug-resistant bacteria spread by seagull feces."

- "And the man took you to the beach!"- Penelope argued.

- "But he didn't do anything! he didn't make his move, didn't even hold my hand!!"- I nearly shouted- "That's why, among a lot of reasons, is how I know Spencer is not interested in me! If only I'd tell you all the shit we've been through!"

- "Please!! Tell us!!"- Garcia begged and grabbed one of my legs- "I won't live another day 'cos I won't be able to deal with the mystery!"

- "No! 'cos you are gonna tell Morgan"- I slurred- "And he is going to embarrass and tease my honey bunny, and my honey bunny is gonna get all nervous and nervous around me, and we are never going to..."- I stopped talking and looked at my friends. I was sharing too much.

- "(Y/N)?"- Prentiss looked at me, but I just shook my head and looked down.

- "I think I better go home."

- "No, you can't drive like this,"- JJ argued immediately and held my hand- "I'm not gonna let you go intoxicated. Will is gonna come pick me up, and we'll drop you in your place."

I nodded at her and stayed still. My friends smiled at me, and slowly very slowly, I leaned on JJ's shoulder and rested my head on it.

- "I love you, boo,"- I whispered, and she giggled- "I don't think I'll stay sane without you there with us anymore."

- "Hotch is gonna manage to get her back,"- Penelope assured me, and I just nodded.

- "Meanwhile, we won't replace you, and if anyone tries to push someone new into the team, we are not gonna take them,"- I added, feeling JJ's hand holding mine.

- "Don't be mean with people just 'cos you miss me. If there's a new teammate, it won't be their fault I was pushed out of the BAU."

- "But, JJ,"- I tried to argue, but she shook her head right away.

- "No, (Y/N). You can't be mean to people just because."

Clearly, my friend hoped I could be the better person. The simple question was: did I want to be the better person? Right there, drunk and sad, the answer was no.

Spencer's point of view

I kept finding myself awake at four in the morning, walking around my apartment, not able to read or to write anything. For the last months, at least twice or three times each week, I would stay awake, no matter how tired I felt, and I would haunt my own apartment, listening to my vinyl records.

The sudden lack of sleep wasn't really something weird in me. I have always been nocturnal. Besides, the news of JJ's departure had hit us all pretty hard. I had already shared my share of tears and tried to manage the fury that caused me to know we were helpless to the government's decisions. There was nothing we could do, neither us, Hotch, or even Strauss. Not that she would if she could.

My family was in crisis, and all we could do was hope for the best and stay together.

It was scary losing JJ. It made me think of all the things that could go wrong every day on the field daily. It was bad that we could get hurt or even die on our work. But that they divided us that way made no sense. Like Rossi said: our loss was someone else's winning, and in the FBI, no one cared if we lost.

I poured myself a cup of herbal tea and inhaled the smell of it. It smelled like home. Like (Y/N). She had some of her favorite teas in my apartment. She had a bunch of all her things there, actually. When mom visited, she thought we were living together. She is still sure we are dating and that I don't wanna tell her. I don't longer argue with her about it. It's useless, and it somehow feels good to imagine in another world. It was actually true.

That year my feelings for my best friend had grown in a way that made it all more difficult to deal with. I didn't just love her. I was in love with her. She was in everything I did, in each and every one of my thoughts. I could hear her laughter in my head, like a record playing my favorite song over and over again.

When she was out there in the field, I couldn't stop running all the probabilities of her getting hurt, and most of the time, I would do my best to keep her safe, knowing it could somehow interfere with the case.

Hotch had called me to his office a few times, aware something was going with me. He could read it on my face, I guess. It was scary to know everybody could read my feelings for (Y/N) but her. And it was sad to think of the worst: that she knew how much I loved her, but she didn't feel the same, and she was just being my friend 'cos she was never going to be anything else but my friend.

I drank my tea and hummed the song that sounded in my house at four in the morning: Love is a losing game. Seemed pretty accurate for my mood. I remember the day I got that vinyl. We were out with (Y/N), Frank, and Lu, looking for a present for Mikey's birthday, and we ended up in a record store, getting a million vinyl records for ourselves.

- "Are you getting all those?"- (Y/N) asked me and looked at the seven albums in my hand.

- "Yes, why? I can't?"- I answered and raised an eyebrow.

- "Sassy!"- she giggled and grabbed them- "You can get all the albums you want. But I have to give my approval first. No, you are not getting this!"- she grabbed The Beatles' Revolver and left it aside.

- "What? Why? It's only one I need to complete my collection."

- "I know, but when you get it, you'll force me to listen to it, and I don't like the Beatles,"- she argued, and I just shook my head, taking the album again.

- "Sorry, chipmunk, I'm buying it."

- "Fine. I won't go to your house for the next couple of weeks then."

- "Why don't you tell me which album you wanna listen to when you are in my house then?"- I looked at her, smiling at me and looking for a record on the shelves.

- "This! You need some Amy in your life."

And I did. Now, at four in the morning, all alone walking around, I could see her in my apartment, singing along to her favorite songs while cooking dinner, feeling at home. I wished she was there, with me, doing nothing. Watching tv, or reading. Just hanging out. I knew it wasn't healthy being in love with my friend, seeing her every day, and also hanging out with her every chance I got. But even when I knew she was never going to love me the way I did, I was going to take every chance I had to enjoy her company. If that was all I was going to get.

My phone took me from my thoughts, and I quickly walked to my room to get it. I thought it was Hotch announcing a case, but it was JJ.

- "Hey! JJ, everything ok? Is Henry ok?"

- "Yes, hi Spence. We are all ok."

- "It's four in the morning."

- "Sorry I woke you up... I just..." - she made a pause and sighed at the other side of the line- "Spencer, you know I love you."

- "I love you too. You are one of my best friends. Is everything ok?"

- "Yes, I just wanted to... remember a bunch of years ago, when you asked me to that football game?"

A million years had passed since the one and only time I had asked JJ out. It was the only move I tried to do on her, and I failed incredibly. It was awkward, and she had no idea it was a date, so she invited Garcia to come along. I was so embarrassed I never even mentioned that single event ever again, and our friendship grew after.

- "Yes, I remember, JJ. Why?"

- "When you asked me out, did you have a crush on me?"

- "JJ, are you drunk?"- I had to ask 'cos that conversation was starting to scare me.

- "Yes, but that's not why I'm talking about this. Just answer the questions, Spence. When you asked me out on that date, did you have a crush on me?"

- "Yes, I did."

I closed my eyes, embarrassed to face feelings that were far forgotten.

- "You see, I had a crush on you too back then,"- JJ said and chuckled- "But neither of us acted on it, and life continued, and now I'm in love with Will, and we have a baby, and you are his godfather."

Of all the things I thought I would listen to that day, never in a million years, I imagined I would hear JJ drunk telling me she had a crush on me when we first met.

- "Now, do you want that to happen again?"- she asked, and I didn't get it, 'cos I was still trying to process what I had just heard. So I might have had a relationship with her if only I had said something, act on it. Kiss her, ask her out again?

- "What?"

- "Spence. Do you want to miss the chance to be with the girl you like?"

- "No, but JJ, what are you talking about?"

She sighed, frustrated, and used that tone of voice with me, that very maternal specific tone of voice she used to explain things she knew were hard for me to follow.

- "When you like someone, Spence, you have to tell her. 'Cos sometimes, life gets in the way, and if you don't do what you have to do to be happy, no one will do it for you."

- "Are you ok, JJ?"

- "Yes, Spence, I'm ok. I'm home with Will. We just got here after dropping (Y/N) off her place."

- "How was she?"

- "She might have had a few too many drinks, but she'll be ok in the morning. Maybe she'd appreciate it if you brought her coffee and donuts."

- "She doesn't like donuts,"- I corrected her- "She likes cupcakes and brownies."

- "Sorry. Coffee and cupcakes... just tell her you love her, Spence. She deserves to know."

I held my breath and closed my eyes. I didn't get why JJ was telling me that, but I knew I didn't want to talk about it. So I said good night and hung up.

What was the point of telling me we could have been a couple of years had passed already? Why didn't she say a thing before? Or even better, why didn't she ever say a word about it at all? So I missed the chance to be happy with her. Great. One more regret to add to my list.

I laid on my bed and tried to remember that date. I was so nervous that day, my hands shook inside my pockets as I walked to JJ's door. She looked beautiful that day, especially when she looked at me and announced she had invited Penelope to join us.

That was when I realized she would never see me as a proper date, just like a friend. And I learned to make my peace with that over the years. My crush for JJ lasted a few more months, but it vanished when I fell for (Y/N). What if she had never joined the team? Would I have been in love with JJ forever? Jeniffer always made me feel like her little brother, and I guess that's the mechanic that works for us. We were good friends ever since we met, and yes, I had a crush on her, but we work more like siblings than anything else.

What was the point in telling me I had missed a chance with her now? I just couldn't see it.

(Y/N)'s point of view

The next few weeks were us trying to survive without JJ. The team was making the best it could, but it was hard. Penelope took the lead during the second case without JJ. She turned into our tech analyst and communication liaison, only to collapse under the pressure of having two roles.

No one was going to replace JJ. We all knew it. Literally, no one, 'cos Hotch decided he and Garcia were going to split the job, and we were all going to collaborate as much as we could, 'cos we were a team. A family. And that's what families do.

And families were the target of the unsub we were hunting the day everything changed. Again. I hadn't recovered from the departure of JJ when Rossi and Hotch walked to the bullpen and introduced us to Agent Trainee Ashley Seaver.

My nemesis.

- "Agent trainee Seaver"- Rossi smiled at her like a proud father and looked at us as we stood up, wondering who she was- "Supervisory Special Agent Prentiss, (Y/L/N), and Morgan."

- "I've heard so much about the three of you,"- she said with the sweetest tone of voice I had ever heard. Something about that felt odd.

- "I hope it is all good- Morgan flirted right away, of course."

- "Very, sir."

- "Anything specific? I mean about me in particular?"- I turned to him and failed in holding back my chuckles.

- "Please, don't encourage him, or he will never stop talking,"- I said, and Derek elbowed me playfully. Seaver smiled at us and even blushed a little bit. She was nervous.

- "Agent Seaver is on loan to us from the academy while she is remedial training with an injury."

Hotch announced. And my stomach tightened right away. There was something wrong with that whole scene. I could feel it in my guts. But I didn't know why?

- "Concussion. Hand to hand got a little out of control."- Seaver explained and kept a silly smile on her face.

- "How's the other guy?"- Prentiss asked.

- "Don't ask."

- "I was remediated in the academy also,"- Spencer said, walking over us, and suddenly I understood why I had a bad feeling about everything.

- "Agent Seaver, Dr. Reid."

As soon as I heard Rossi say those words, there was a part of me who just wanted to hold Spencer's hand and push him away from her, even before they could say hi. She looked at him like he was eye candy, and I clenched my knuckles as I stared at the scene.

- "Uhm... What was your issue?"- she asked him, and I could see the pink on her cheek intensifying as he looked at her, confused.

- "What was my issue? Marksmanship, physical training, obstacle course, Hogan's alley. You know, pretty much everything that wasn't technically book related. They ultimately had to make exceptions to allow me into the field."

Seaver stared at him and kept nodding, though I wondered if she was listening to what he had said. Spencer looked exceedingly handsome that day. His hair was very short for the first time in years, and he still had no idea how to comb it, so it was all over the place, making him look as hot as fuck.

I was so in love with him, I didn't know what to do with those feelings at all. It was hard working with Reid at that point. I just wanted to kiss him.

- "Agent Seaver's going to accompany us to New Mexico,"- Aaron announced, and I couldn't help but question him right away.

- "She is?"

- "As a consultant."- he assured me.

- "On?"- Morgan raised an eyebrow and looked at Hotch, wondering what a trainee agent could help us with as a consultant.

- "She has a unique perspective,"- Rossi tried to explain, but it sounded like bullshit.

- "They don't know?"- Seaver turned to the elderly agents, and they shook their heads.

- "Well, we weren't sure how you wanted to,"- David whispered.

- "Uh... Seaver's not my original last name. It's my mother's maiden name. Mine used to be Beauchamp. My father is Charles Beauchamp"- Ashley was supposed to explain the circumstances of her consultancy to the whole team, but she just looked at Spencer as she spoke.

- "As in the Redmond ripper, Charles Beauchamp?"- he asked her, and suddenly, it clicked. It was like my whole body was telling me I couldn't be close to her for a reason.

- "That's him,"- she whispered and kept her eyes on my best friend as he continued talking.

- "He killed 25 women over 10 years in rural North Dakota. I think that you caught him, right, Rossi?"- and David nodded.

- "Hotch was on that team, too."

- "Based on her life experience, we were hoping that agent Seaver might recognize something in the family dynamics inside the community that could be helpful. We have a plane waiting,"- Hotch announced and looked at us, but none of us said a word.

I kept my eyes glued at my feet the whole time Aaron talked. Then, Spencer nodded and walked with Seaver and Rossi out to the hangar. I couldn't even blink. I think I was in shock.

- "Her father was a serial killer?"- Prentiss asked Hotch, not getting what he was thinking.

- "That's definitely a different set of parameters,"- Morgan added. Neither of them was sold on the idea, which made me feel a little bit better.

- "I don't want her presence to get us sidetracked. It's a long shot that she's gonna see anything helpful. We work it like any other case,"- Hotch was clear, and Prentiss and Morgan nodded.

- "You got it."

But I disagreed with that.

- "(Y/N), is everything ok?"- Aaron asked me, and I tried my best to lie and be cool.

- "Yeah, I'm ok."

- "Ok. We work this like any other case. Wheels up in twenty."

But everything was far from being ok.

I sat next to Spencer on the jet, and we reviewed the case files together. Hotch briefed us, and we all pretended it wasn't weird having Seaver there. And I guess we had to pretend it wasn't odd knowing her dad was a serial killer.

- "You are very young, (Y/N),"- she said and smiled at me. She was sitting across from Spencer and me, and you could tell she had been trying to join the conversation for a few minutes now.

-" Twenty eight,"- I answered and looked at the files again.

- "And you, doctor?"

- "You can call me Reid. I'm twenty eight too,"- Spencer cut her a short, awkward, and nervous smile, and I turned to him.

- "Honey, did I leave my Mets jersey at your house?"- it was the only question that came to my mind at that minute. It was completely random, but somehow it showed a part of our dynamic that Ashley didn't know. Our friendship. Our closeness.

- "Yes, I found it last night,"- he answered and sipped his coffee- "I was gonna bring it over, but then I remembered you always borrow all my sweaters when you are home or when you stay over, so I thought maybe it was a good idea to keep it at my place."

- "I don't know, Batsy. It's my favorite sweatshirt- I raised an eyebrow, and I'm pretty sure I even flirted a little bit."

- "So? You need to keep one there."

- "But I like wearing your clothes when we are at your place. It's extra large and extra comfy."

- "Is that why you keep taking my sweaters back to your house?"- he asked and chuckled- "Last Sunday, I found four of my sweaters in your closet."

- "Sorry, I'm not even sorry,"- I said and laughed- "And what were you doing in my closet?"

- "Lucy, Ricky, can we focus on the case?"- Morgan asked and waved at us with one silly grin on his face- "We love hearing your adorable daily adventures, but we've got a psycho killer to catch."

Spencer blushed and flustered right away. I stuck out my tongue at Morgan and just shook my head. The way Seaver looked at Reid was still driving me nuts, but I felt I had shown her he was mine, childishly.

It's embarrassing to think that's not the most childish thing I did around her those days. Or in the weeks to follow. But I didn't like Ashley, and I didn't want her around my team. And it wasn't just her constant flirting with Spencer. It was the fact her father had killed my mother's sister when she was in college, and I was making my best effort to keep that fact aside from work. My personal life had to stay out of the FBI, especially when working a case.

I had to do some serious mental work trying to remember it wasn't Ashley's fault her father was a sick bastard. She hadn't hurt my family, and her father had ruined her life too. It wasn't her fault.

But one thing is knowing. Another thing is being rational about it. Spoiler: I wasn't so rational about it.

- "So, (Y/N). Do you like working at the BAU?"- Ashley asked me and looked at me through the rearview mirror. We were in the SUV, and Prentiss was driving. I was in the back seat, trying to ignore her, but she made it impossible.

- "Yes, very much,"- I answered and nodded, not taking my eyes from the window.

- "Everybody is very friendly,"- Seaver added and made a pause. I don't know if she wanted me to say something or if she was trying to find a way to say what she wanted to say.

- "Yes, they are,"- I humored her, and she quickly responded.

- "Are you and Spencer dating?"- I could feel the blood raising my cheeks as she spoke. And Prentiss flashed me a look through the mirror as Ashley continued talking.

- "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude. I just wondered because of the fraternization policy."

- "Right. Sure. Of course."

Those three words were meant to let Ashley know I wasn't buying her bullshit, So I literally spit them.

- "Spencer is my best friend. We are not dating."

Facing that simple truth had never been harder before, especially after how I saw Ashley's face light up.

- "You just seem to be so close."

- "Oh, they are close,"- Emily smiled at me and winked- "They are so close, they sometimes freak us out."

- "We freak you out?"- I raised an eyebrow and carefully hit her arm, pretending to be upset. But honestly, I was glad she was teasing me.

- "I am just saying, we are all pretty suspicious about you two. I am actually surprised you didn't share rooms tonight. They usually share rooms."- Emily explained to Seaver.

- "He was paired with Morgan,"- I pouted and looked at my phone. I thought maybe I could send him a funny text. I actually wanted to hang out with him.

- "He is very nice,"- Ashley added- "I mean, everybody is nice."

- "Yes, you mentioned it"

I was clearly not being nice. Seaver nodded and looked at the files again. I assumed she was trying to find a way to keep asking about Spencer, and I was making my best not to kill her.

- "Working with a genius must be somehow intimidating,"- she said after a few minutes. Damn it, she wasn't going to let that subject go.

- "It's fun working with Spencer,"- Prentiss said, trying to humor Seaver. And mostly, I guess trying to ease my mood and keep me from killing the trainee agent.

- "I'm sure it is,"- Seaver added. I hated her.

- "He is more than just a genius, he is a nerd."- Emily pointed out and chuckled at her words, making Seaver giggle too. I looked at my book again, but I knew I wasn't going to be able to concentrate on it at all. He was my nerd. Mine.

- "Well, it's very refreshing to be with a group who trusts and works so well together,"- she added- "I had never felt less judged and more welcome in my entire life."

I know I should have felt sorry for her. But I honestly couldn't. That was the day I realized I wasn't the good person I thought I was. There was a part of me that was a scumbag. I'm guessing knowing that is pretty helpful and positive 'cos you can work on your flaws. But I wasn't planning on working on anything at that minute, though. I just wanted to break Seaver's face.

Spencer's point of view

I didn't like working without JJ. I've never been good with change, and that was a massive alteration of our routine. I missed her, and adding Ashley to the team made things even weirder for me, even for a case. I didn't want to be judgemental, but her father was a serial killer. Of course, that would make things weird.

Besides, everybody kept bugging me, teasing me, trying to see if I liked Seaver. Penelope called while we were on the case and started taunting me, saying she knew I thought Ashley was cute. I could see she was beautiful, but I couldn't see her that way. And I didn't want anyone to say those kinds of things around (Y/N).

Why did I care so much?

I didn't want to face it 'cos I knew it was completely platonic, but I didn't want (Y/N) to think I had a crush on Seaver. I knew my best friend didn't have romantic feelings for me, and I also knew I wasn't going to make a move on her or anything. But I didn't want things to change more than they already had. And most of all, I didn't want anything to alter my dynamic with (Y/N).

But at the same time, somehow, it felt everything was already different between us.

- "Hey, honey bunny,"- (Y/N) walked to me and handed me a cup of coffee- "I thought you might need one of these."

- "You are a lifesaver,"- I whispered and sipped the cup. It was perfect.

We were on the jet on our way back home. The whole team was mostly quiet. The mood was weird. Ashley had done something quite reckless earlier and nearly got herself killed. She walked to the unsub's house all alone, not knowing he was our guy. She almost died, and none of us can even imagine what went through her head to do such a thing.

Rossi and Hotch walked to her. (Y/N) looked at me, and I could read on her face that both of us knew what was going to happen.

Ashley was alone when David sat in front of her, and Hotch stood in the middle of the aisle. Maybe that had been insensitive of us. Neither of us tried to contain her. Neither of us really knew her that well. Or at all, as a matter of fact.

- "You were not supposed to go off on your own."- Hotch went straight to the point.

- "I know,"- she whispered, and I could see how (Y/N)'s face changed. I tried to read her, but all I was able to see was... anger? I had to be wronged. She had no reason to be mad at Ashley.

- "You could have been killed,"- Hotch crossed his arms on his chest and stared at her.

- "I know that, too."

- "Why, Ashley? You're smarter than that"- Rossi sounded like a worried father. I didn't look at him 'cos I kept my eyes on (Y/N)'s, still trying to read her emotions. But what I saw made no sense. She really looked like she was angry at Ashley. Like she hated her.

- "I never got to apologize to any of the victims. The families of the women my father killed. I thought if I could just apologize to one family that had been hurt that way..."

And that was when (Y/N) snapped. She jumped from her seat and walked to Seaver. Aaron and David looked at her surprised, and Morgan turned to me, taking off his headphones. Neither he nor Prentiss got what was happening until that moment.

- "Ok. Shoot!"- (Y/N) sat right in front of Seaver, next to David, and looked at her. But she didn't get it.

- "What? What are you talking about?"

- "You just said you wanted to apologize to one of the families. So go ahead. Try."

The silence on the jet was so deep and awkward it felt no one was ever going to talk again.

- "I'm sorry, (Y/N). But I don't get what you are implying,"- Ashley's voice was a whisper. I knew she was sad and affected, embarrassed even. But I also knew (Y/N), and I could read it on her face. She wasn't joking.

- "You said you wanted to apologize to the family of one of your dad's victims, so go ahead. Apologize to me."

My first instinct was to stand up, which I did. But I froze and didn't take a step closer to (Y/N) when I noticed the severe and cold look in her eyes. I didn't know what she was talking about. But I knew she wasn't bluffing.

- "Why should I... apologize to you?"- Ashley asked her, and her voice broke at a certain point, probably scared of the answer.

- "Your dad killed my mother's older sister. She was in college,"- (Y/N) spit each word with hate and looked at Ashley, waiting for her reply. But Seaver didn't know what to do. She widened her eyes and stayed still. She barely kept her breathing steady.

- "(Y/N), maybe we should let Seaver rest,"- Hotch landed a hand on her shoulder, but my friend shook her head.

- "No, Hotch. By making that choice, she put everyone at risk,"- (Y/N) didn't take her eyes from Ashley as she spoke- "As far as I remember when you are at the academy, they teach you that in the field, we are responsible to and for your team."

- "(Y/N)... I had no idea..."- Ashley tried to apologize, I could see it, but it was clear she wasn't going to win that argument- "I am so sorry."

- "I don't know, Seaver. Did you think saying "sorry" would make those families feel better? 'Cos it ain't working here. "Sorry" won't make my mom stop feeling guilty about what happened. And, if things had gotten ugly back there, "sorry" wouldn't have made your mistake go away in case anyone would have gotten hurt. So no. Sorry doesn't help. Maybe it can ease your conscience, but when you really fuck it up, it never makes things better."

(Y/N) stood up and walked back to her seat in front of me. I let her pass and didn't say a word. I knew she wouldn't want to talk about it there. And, of course, Seaver didn't say a word. She just stood up and walked to the back of the jet, to the bathroom. Rossi and Hotch looked at each other and then looked at me.

David poured a glass of whiskey and walked to (Y/N) slowly. He didn't say a word, he just handed it to her, and she just took it and sipped it with shaky hands.

- "Thanks,"- she whispered, and Rossi nodded. Hotch raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, I thought he was going to say something, but he didn't. He just walked to his seat and opened a case file.

I moved back to my seat and opened my satchel. I had run out of candies earlier that day, so I didn't have much to give to her that could make her smile. So I picked a book and handed it to her. She took it and smiled at me kindly. I knew she was fighting back the tears, and I am sure she has held back all the emotions than being with the daughter of the man who killed her aunt since she knew who Seaver was. And she managed to do the job well. I was proud of her.

- "Wanna grab something to eat when we reach DC?"- I whispered, but for the first time ever, she shook her head.

- "I'm gonna have to catch a rain check for that dinner. I think I wanna go straight to my bed today, honey."- she sipped her glass again, and I nodded.

- "Don't worry, next time."

I was waiting for the train to go back home later that night when I saw Seaver sitting at a bench at the station, staring at her hands on her lap. I didn't see her leaving the BAU, though to be honest, I was really focused on finishing my paperwork to go home. (Y/N) had left as soon as we reached DC, but I had stayed a little longer.

I hesitated for a few seconds before I took a few steps closer and waved at Seaver. She looked at me surprised, as soon as she saw me, but didn't move. I smiled, trying to look friendly, and sat next to her.

- "Hi. What are you doing here?"- I asked her, and she shrugged.

- "I was going to go home, but I think I sat here half an hour ago and haven't been able to move,"- I turned to her and shook my head.

- "Do you want to eat something?"- after what had happened at the jet, I figured Ashley wasn't feeling so good, and maybe talking with someone could help her. She looked at me and blushed; I don't know why. But at least, she smiled and nodded.

- "Great, pizza?"

- "Pizza sounds good."

We were waiting for our food and making small talk. I kept giving Ashley pizza facts to fill the silence 'cos it was weird hanging out with Ashley. I didn't know her, really. We had worked a case together, but that didn't mean I knew her. And, of course, we had the whole jet incident. I felt a little guilty about what had happened, though it wasn't my fault at all in retrospect. I just felt like it was my job cheering her up a little bit after everything she had gone through.

- "How do you do it?"- she asked me all of a sudden- "How do you deal with the pressure of this job?"

- "You get used to it, I guess. I don't know if it's a good thing to get used to, but... it comes with the job, I think,"- I didn't know if I was doing ok comforting her. Then again, I have never been particularly good at it. Not then, not now.

- "Did you always dream about doing this?"- she asked me, and her eyes locked into mine in a way that made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

- "Y... yes. Ever since I was a kid, catching the bad guys,"- Seaver nodded and sipped her coke- "You? Why did you get into the academy?"

I regretted my question right after I asked, just 'cos I realized she might have done it to understand her father's behavior. It was only apparent that had shaped her actions.

- "I guess you know that..."- Ashley answered and smiled, her eyes looking straight into mine. I know I blushed. She is a beautiful woman, though I wasn't thinking about her that way. It was an odd feeling being observed that way.

I was glad our pizza made it to the table, and we were forced to stop talking, and I could focus on anything else but her. Not that I didn't want to look at her, but... I think the right way to explain it is to call it "uneasy." That's how I felt. I wanted to be friendly with her, she had a horrible experience consulting with the team, and I was sure she wasn't really having a good day.

- "This might sound weird, but... do you think I can call you sometime?"- Ashley asked after a few minutes. We were eating and talking about nothing important. I nearly chook at her words and looked at her, nodding.

- "Sure, why?"- I didn't mean to be rude. I just didn't know why she might need to talk to me again.

- "I just think maybe you could help me with a few assignments at the academy."

- "Yeah, of course."

Ashley Seaver smiled and nodded at me, pleased. She took a sip of Sprite, and I could read her, trying to find the words to continue speaking.

- "I'm glad. I was sure you were going to say no."

- "Why?"- I furrowed my brows, confused- "I'm not a big fan of phones, but I can handle a casual phone call."

- "No, I just didn't think your girlfriend would like... I mean, I think (Y/N) hates me, and as her boyfriend, I thought you... would... I don't know."

- "I'm, we are... we,"- I was completely flustered as I tried to rearrange my thoughts. Seaver looked at me innocently and waited for my words.

- "(Y/N) isn't my girlfriend"- it bothered me to admit that simple fact. Why? 'Cos it hurt to think we looked like a couple, but we weren't. Why did Seaver think we were together?

- "Really? But..."

- "She is my best friend,"- I explained poorly. She nodded and hesitated before saying what she was thinking. It was obvious she was trying to arrange the words in her head.

- "It's just that you two... sorry, I'm overstepping,"- Ashley blushed and shook her head- "She is... strong."

- "Yes, very."

- "I think I started with the wrong foot with her."

- "Well, I don't mean to justify anything, but if your father hurt,"- I made a pause, trying to find a way to say it that wasn't so painful.

- "Killed. My father killed her aunt,"- she corrected me with a cold and monotonous tone of voice. I just nodded and sipped my water.

- "She is an amazing person,"- I don't know if I was trying to excuse (Y/N)'s earlier behavior or if I just loved her so much I needed to tell people how awesome she was.

- "I'm sure you will pass this,"- I assured her- "Once you get to know her, and she gets to know you."

- "I don't think she will give me that chance. Besides, I was just clear to assist with only one case."

- "If you want to stay, you can request your remedial training be here. And if Hotch approves it, I could talk to (Y/N). I'm sure she will like to know you better."

Why did I say all that? I had no idea.

- "Thank you, Spence. You are really sweet,"- Ashley moved closer and held my hand. I stayed very still, absolutely awkward.

- "Yeah, I don't... like... holding hands,"- I quickly moved it away and tried to smile at her. She stayed still, not understanding my reaction but trying to act normal.

- "Sorry."

- "That's ok. I'm a germaphobe, that's all."

After pizza, we left the place and said goodnight. I told Ashley I was weary (which was, in fact, the truth) and got her a cab to take her home. After that, I walked to my place. I felt like I needed to be alone for a while. My head was overwhelmed, and in the latest couple of weeks, I had severe trouble sleeping.

I had migraines that nearly blinded me. I was scared they meant I could develop the first signs of schizophrenia, like mom, 'cos they were coming more and more often. It wasn't that bad yet, the light didn't hurt my eyes, and I didn't have any sign of hallucination, but still, I knew it could be serious.

I tried to think of a reason why I might be having those severe headaches. I was eating correctly, mostly 'cos (Y/N) forced me to eat. No, she didn't force me, but she made sure I had all my meals at work, not just coffee. And usually, at the weekends, we would spend our time together, and she was a fantastic cook. So it wasn't an alimentary issue.

I wasn't sleeping well. That wasn't new, but it was getting serious. I wrote and read a lot at night 'cos I couldn't fall asleep until late. I didn't know why. I just couldn't rest. My body ached, and my brain wouldn't sleep. The only nights I could actually get some rest were the ones when (Y/N) stayed with me. It was a blessing when Hotch paired us to share rooms, 'cos I could easily fall asleep when she was around. Her presence soothed me in a way that I didn't understand. Let me put it this way, I know it might sound cheesy, but the beating of her heart set the rhythm for my own, and at night it would bring me peace.

I reached home that night and sighed. I knew I wasn't going to rest easy. (Y/N) wasn't there with me. So I made myself a cup of herbal tea, (Y/N) had a lot of those in my house, and I drank them when I missed her. The smell coming from the cup made me feel like she was close.

How pathetic I had become! But I could only share those thoughts with myself. No one knew I had feelings for her, and I was going to deny it till the end, no matter what had JJ said. I couldn't take that phone call from my mind, and on those sleepless nights, I kept overthinking and overanalyzing everything.

I got into bed with a few books and my cup of herbal tea. I took a look at my cell phone, two new messages.

- "I miss u"

(Y/N) sent, and a warm feeling spread on my chest as I imagined her whispering those words as I read them

- "Breakfast tomorrow before work?"

- "See you at seven-thirty."

I typed and sent it.

What could ever happen if I told her how much in love I am with her? I would lose her, and I'd be alone. She didn't feel that way for me. It was a fact. I was just glad she was my best friend, and I could share everything with her. Was I pathetic? Yes, very, but in a way, it felt it was just all I deserved. Not more, not less. Just being in love with a girl who didn't love me back.

At least she wasn't dating Paul anymore. I hated that guy.

(Y/N)'s point of view

Spencer was waiting for me outside our usual coffee shop, already holding two cups of coffee. His short hair looked dreamy as she smiled and took off his sunglasses. It had to be illegal being that hot. But, seriously, how didn't he get laid? He was fucking dreamy. In the four years we had been best friends, I saw Spencer in many hairstyles, and each of them made him look like a model.

Falling in love with Spencer Reid had been a process I hadn't actually been fully aware of. But I was completely conscious I needed to hide those feelings from him and from everybody at the BAU.

Ok, fine, I had somehow faced part of those feelings in front of my drunk best buddies at Penelope's house, but I never actually confirmed anything. I had just... shared some of my frustrations, I guess.

- "Good morning, honey bunny,"- I smiled and sighed as I stood in front of Spencer, watching him grin back at me and hand me one of the coffee cups.

- "Good morning, chipmunk. Did you get some rest?"

- "Yes, I fell asleep as soon as I reached my bed. I was exhausted."

- "I'm glad you are fully rested."

- "What did you do yesterday?"

- "Nothing,"- he answered quickly and turned around- "I got you a carrot muffin to go."

- "Thank you so much. I'm starving. I didn't even have dinner yesterday."

- "Really?"

- "I told you, I reached home and crawled into my bed."

We walked outside the coffee shop in silence. Spencer bit his donuts, and I ate my muffin. It was nice and calming being with him doing domestic things in life.

I hated how much in love I was with him 'cos I knew I had to shake that feeling away. He was never going to have feelings for me. I was a regular human being, and Spencer Walter Reid was a genius. He deserved better, he was actually never to think about me that way, and I refused to ruin our friendship with those feelings.

- "So, Comic-con is coming. What are we doing this year?"- I asked as I drove us to Quantico.

- "I was thinking we should do something classic,"- he looked at me, nearly beaming on his seat- "We haven't done Star Wars yet."

- "Really?"- I frowned, confused- "All these years? Are you sure?"

- "(Y/N), eidetic memory,"- he argued, and I chuckled- "So, how do you feel about Leia?"

- "Do I have to be Leia 'cos I'm a girl?"- I asked him, and he flustered right away.

- "What? No, you can be whoever you want to be. I was just, it came to my mind... I didn't,"- I giggled and looked at him for a second.

- "I'm messing with you, Batsy. I always wanted to dress as Leia. Surprisingly, I never had. Padme once, it was a mess, but never Leia. Who are you planning to be?"

- "Maybe Luke... or Obi-Wan. Morgan suggested C3PO once."

- "If I'm Leia, you should be Han,"- I don't know why I said that out loud. I thought about it, I pictured it in my head, but I knew I shouldn't have said it. Then why did those words leave my mouth? I don't know.

- "Han Solo... yes... yeah, sure. Of course! We can pick our outfits this weekend."

- "Great! What do you think would look better? Slave Leia or classic all in white Leia?"- Spencer didn't answer. He just sipped his coffee and looked outside the window.

- "You would look good in both,"- his cellphone interrupted our conversations, and I thought it might be a case. But I was so wrong, it hurt.

- "Hello? Oh, hi, Ashley,"- I nearly hit the break as soon as I heard him saying her name, but instead, I turned around and looked at him.

- "Good, yes. On my way to work with (Y/N). Oh, that's good."

I didn't care what she was saying. I just needed to know why that bitch was calling him. I was blind in jealousy, and I was having a hard time hiding it.

- "Really? Emily? That's... that's great. Sure, we'll see you around, gotta go. Bye."

- "What the fuck?"- I swear, I didn't think what I was saying. Those words just slip through my lips straight from my guts. I hated Seaver.

- "That was Ashley."

- "Figured when you said "Hi Ashley." What? Are you best friends with her now?"

- "What? No! No way! She just wanted to say hi... and... She.... asked for my number 'cos she wanted to help her with some of the academy's projects,"- Spencer was so nervous he actually stuttered as he answered my simple question.

- "Of course, she did,"- my voice was bitter and hurt, but most of all, ironic. And I don't know if Spencer didn't want to understand me or actually didn't get the hint, but he just continued talking.

- "She wanted to tell me she requested her remedial training be at the BAU."

- "What?!"- that wasn't subtle. I actually yelled- "I'm gonna have to see her again?"

- "If Hotch approves..."

- "Fuck!! That's awful!!"- I hit the wheel, frustrated.

- "She's not a bad person, (Y/N). Her dad was a murderer, but that doesn't mean..."- I turned to look at Spencer for a second, and he just shut up- "Sorry."

- "I don't like her, Spencer."

- "Yes, I know."

- "Her dad killed my aunt!!"

- "I know..."

- "And on top of that, that bitch is..."

I had to bite my lips and focus on the road, actually holding my breath for a few seconds, just not to open my mouth and ruin it all.

The main reason why I hated Ashley Seaver wasn't just because of what her father had done. That itself was enough to keep her away. But on top of that, she was flirting with Spencer. She wasn't even subtle about it; she was nearly all over him. I saw her! She wanted him, and he had no idea! He was blind to her attention. Unless he liked it. Did he? Shit, I hoped not.

- "She what?"- Spencer whispered, scared of my reaction.

- "She plays the pity card the whole time. Bad things happen to all of us. You don't have to make it who you are, she does, and she expects sympathy."

I grabbed my muffin and took a big bite of it. Spencer sighed and stayed quiet for a moment, giving me space to decompress, I think.

- "Did you know the origins of carrot cake are disputed by many countries?"- I looked at Spencer, and he nodded- "Many food historians believe carrot cake originated from the English recipe of carrot puddings, eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages when sugar and sweeteners were expensive, and many people used carrots as a substitute for sugar."

- "My mom would fight all those historians and convince them she invented it. Her carrot cake is the best."

- "And I would agree, the cake she baked for your last birthday was amazing."- I nodded and heard him chuckle as I kept my eyes on the road. I wanted to focus on the memories of my last birthday and how fun it was, but something was bugging me.

- "And why did she call you to tell you what she wanted to do?"- I parked the car outside the BAU and turned to Spencer. He opened his mouth, but no word came from it. So I asked him again.

- "Honey, why did Seaver call you to announce she would take the remedial training at the BAU?"

- "It... might... had been my idea,"- he whispered and held his satchel tight against his body. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't believe it.

- "Why on earth did you do that, Spencer?!"- I shouted as I got out of the car, grabbed my purse, my clean go bag in case we had a case, and started walking towards the building.

- "It wasn't like a suggestion. She just..."

- "I can't believe it!!"

- "It doesn't have to be that bad! It's just for a few weeks..."

- "Hopefully, Hotch won't accept."

- "(Y/N), come on,"- Spencer held my hand and stopped me- "This is not like you. Yeah, you don't like her, but you are making it a big deal, and it's not."

- "I'm starting to think you are crushed on her,"- I didn't want to say those words. They just slipped.

- "What!? Why? No!! I'm not!"- the high pitch on Spencer's voice was a clear sign of how uncomfortable he was with the conversation.

- "Then why are you defending her?"

- "I am not! I'm just saying maybe you are acting a little bit... irrational about this whole thing. She hasn't done anything bad."

- "Other than jeopardizing the whole case yesterday?"

- "Right, other than that..."

I felt Spencer's hand in mine, and I swear, I couldn't stop thinking about how it felt. It kept sending shivers all over my body. His thumb rubbed small circles on my skin, probably trying to calm me down, and it worked. I followed it with my eyes for a second as I took a few deep breaths and nodded.

- "Ok, I won't make a big deal if she stays."

- "Thank you."

- "Just... don't ask me to be her friend."

- "You don't have to be her friend."

Spencer stood in front of me and smiled. I swear all I could think of was kissing him. And a part of me felt it was getting harder and harder to resist. He put on his sunglasses and kept his hand in mine for a moment until Penelope's voice took us from our little bubble.

- "Good morning, my wonder babies!! Ready to fight crime?"

I actually didn't know what I was getting into.

Hotch had taken the day off. We were around the one-year anniversary of Haley's death, and according to what Rossi explained to us, Jack wasn't feeling so good. It was said it would be just a day or two, but I had the feeling it might be a couple of weeks. Hotch would always put himself second, but he would do whatever it took to keep him safe when it came to his son.

Morgan had been asked to take a trip to Petersburg Federal Correctional Complex to do a risk assessment on a case, so Spencer, Prentiss, and I were in the bullpen. Garcia was in her office, and Rossi was in a meeting with Strauss. I'd say it was a very calm morning, catching up with all the pending paperwork we had. Spencer had just gotten me a cup of coffee when I heard Seaver's cheerful voice.

- "Hi guys!"- she walked in with a big smile and waved- "How are you?"

Spencer looked at me as we all said our hellos. I could almost read "Please, be nice" written all over his face, and for a moment, I was willing to do as told. I didn't want him to suspect why I was so annoyed by her after all.

- "I talked to Hotch"- Emily smiled at Seaver and moved a chair for her- He signed off your remedial training, and I'll be your training agent. I'll supervise your work. I already told Rossi too, so it's official.

Ashley jumped from her chair and hugged Emily. I rolled my eyes and stared at the file on my desk. I really wasn't ready to deal with her. I wasn't prepared to deal with someone trying to steal Spencer from me.

Ok, Spencer wasn't mine to keep, but we had been inseparable for four years, and I didn't want to lose that. I didn't want to lose him.

I had never been ready to deal with Spencer dating other girls. The few times girls had hit on him had been awful. Once, Morgan took him to a club when we were on a case, 'cos the unsub was picking his victims there, and he taught him how to pick up girls. The bartender ended up giving him her number 'cos my dorky best friend was charming. Derek still remembered that moment from time to time, quoting it as "The day he turned Spencer into a man."

I loved Derek, but fuck, I hated him sometimes.

- "Welcome to the team,"- Spencer waved at Seaver from his desk and turned to me, raising an eyebrow.

- "Yeah, welcome,"- I added and cut her a short smile.

- "I'm thrilled to join you guys for a few weeks. I always dreamt of being here. I'm ready for making it up after the last case."

- "Don't be so hard on yourself,"- Prentiss interrupted her and smiled friendly- "You remained calm under pressure, and the case was solved. That's all that matters."

I had to control myself not to snort after Emily's words. Instead, I kept my eyes locked on my desk like I had done before. I was so focused on it that I could have actually developed telekinesis skills and moved the freaking file with my eyes.

- "I just wanted to say thank you to all of you,"- Seaver's voice was soft, in a mix of fear, excitement, and... something else I couldn't read.

- "Especially you, Spencer. I really enjoyed our talk last night, and I have the feeling I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. Thank you for the pizza. I owe you dinner."

- "Don't, it was nothing,"- Spencer flustered and stood up quickly, grabbing his pile of files and walking away, arguing he needed to ask Garcia something.

I did my best not to move a muscle. I didn't want Seaver to know how much I hated the fact she had shared what seemed to be a lovely evening with Spencer. One he didn't actually mention when we talked about what we had done the previous evening. Why did he decide to keep me in the dark? I couldn't understand that. Maybe he just didn't want me to know he actually had feelings for Seaver. Maybe he had asked her out, and because he knew I hated her (though he really didn't know why), he decided not to tell me what was going on.

I had been wasting all that time in love with Spencer. I knew I would never act on those feelings, and clearly, he didn't have feelings for me. So... maybe it was time to let him go.

How could I let Spencer Reid go when I never actually had him?

–

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General Taglist

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–

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Next update: June 16th, 2021

#spencer reid #Criminal minds #matthew gray gubler #diwk #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x you #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds re write

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foodieforthoughts · 3 years

Text

I Would Do It Again - Five

Summary: Anya Adams, a troubled soul but fierce on the outside, stumbles over a stranger at a party and ends up sharing more than just her name. She’s in for a whirlwind encounter when he turns out to be her boss. Striking up a deal for pleasure, Anya soon finds herself mixing work and play. For someone who swore off love, would she let the handsome Brit break down her walls?

Pairing: AU Henry Cavill x OFC

Words: 3.9k

Warnings: 18+, Smut, oral (female receiving), fingering, vaginal penetration, bodily fluids

A/N: Hello, guys. I'm back. 🤭 We are at the smutty chapter of the series. It's not beta-read so please ignore the typos.

Divider by @firefly-graphics

I was still not sure why I was sitting in this fancy restaurant in the middle of day, on a Sunday. Sundays are supposed to be lazy lying day, sip beer or wine in the bed kind of day. I usually got my errands done on Saturday so that I could free up my time on Sunday.

But here I was sitting in one of the plush chairs with the scent of essential oils wafting around me. I was in Midtown Manhattan in a restaurant that was under a high-end hotel upstairs. I had no clue why Henry had chosen a location with napkins probably costlier than my clothes. They had provided with freshly squeezed juice as soon as I sat my bottom on the chair which I was currently sipping waiting for Mr. Henry Cavill to show up.

Since the accidental liking of his picture on Instagram and him calling me out on it, we got to talking. It was over the DMs first but then he asked if we could exchange numbers instead. He was so polite about everything; I was having increasing difficulty to say no to him.

As soon as he had gotten my number, he hadn’t wasted a moment to call me. My hands had become clammy and the wine had started to create a buzz. His voice had sounded amused and like he was holding a chuckle. I never had a problem with talking to men before. Worst of all, he was a man who I had slept with, which was never the situation because I never saw my one night stands ever again. Henry was the kind that was sticking around.

I sipped from my glass of juice and looked around at the people sitting around me. I had arrived fifteen minutes early, which I was trying to not address. I had an internal debate about the reason for coming so early having narrowed it down to being suddenly overly punctual or nervous that I couldn’t sit at home. There were people with sunglasses and fur lined purses sitting two tables away from me. They had the upscale looks with their voices travelling up to me accent with the heavy Upper East Side vernacular. I had been skeptical the moment Henry had suggested for lunch at this particular restaurant. But I nearly spit out my juice when he sauntered to my table all smiles and polished like the people around us.

I was surprised more about seeing Henry in a casual checkered flannel and denim. His jaw was shadowed by dark stubble like he hadn’t shaved today. It was an unusual sight because since the time I had seen him, he had always been all primed and clean shaven.

“Hello,” his greeting sounded so much better coming from his British mouth. “I was hoping to reach before you.” He grinned and sat on the chair opposite to me.

Sipping the entirety of the juice left, hating the mint leaves gathered on the side and scrunching my face in disgust, I slid the glass away and sat back on my chair. Henry was smiling at me and looking at me expectantly to say something.

Clearing my throat, I clasped my hands and placed them on top of the table. “Okay, Mr. Cavill. Let’s get down to business.” I ignored the single eyebrow raise Henry was throwing my way. “I agreed to meet you here because I am kind of obligated to because you are my boss. And I think it’s time for me to address what is going on here.”

“This is going to be interesting.”

I could hear the humor in his voice. He leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. I was trying to not notice his shirt stretching over his biceps. What was this man on? Steroids or some heavy-duty protein shakes? I cleared my throat again and looked away.

“We hooked up as strangers. It was nice-”

“Nice?”

“Nice.” I rolled my eyes, hiding the blush beginning to burn under my cheeks. “I don’t meet my hook ups again, but we are in a situation where we have to see each other every day. And I am not going to lie, you are incredibly good looking.”

“Is that now?” His eyes gleamed with amusement.

“But, if anyone at the office finds out what we have been getting to, you and I would both lose our jobs. I know you are qualified to get another high paying job, but I don’t think anyone would want to hire someone who rendezvous’ with their boss.”

I was really spreading myself thin by hiding how badly I wanted to kiss those tantalizing lips of his. His smile was stuck in an upward turn on the side. He seemed pretty confident about us meeting here. On one hand I wanted to rip his clothes off and let him have his way with me and on the other I was thinking about not getting fired for sleeping with my boss.

“Love,” My thighs clenched hearing him say that, “You know how to really dampen the mood, don’t you?” He leaned forward, his hands now resting on the table next to mine. His fingers were clasped together the same way as mine with only a centimeter of distance between our skin.

I pouted at his unwelcomed comment. I was not a mood killer. I was a hoot.

“Tell me you are not thinking about us hooking up again. Tell me I am wrong.” I liked the way he was challenging me. He knew I was stealing glances at him in the office and he had even caught me staring a few times. I was also certain he had felt the goosebumps covering my skin as he had worked his fingers slowly over my arm only forty-eight hours ago.

I was beginning to feel my panties beginning to soak with the influx of memories.

Henry tipped his head to the side with an expectant look. The more I looked at him, the more my inhibitions were beginning to vanish. The scale was tipping more and more on the side of casual hook up and less worrying about keeping my job. My eyes travelled to his lips as he licked his bottom lip with the tip of his tongue. I could feel my mouth going dry and my core getting wetter.

“You can take some time to decide,” He chuckled, obviously noticing how I was hungrily looking at his lips. “I had asked you for lunch, so I’ll go ahead and order some food.”

The nonchalance in his voice was irritating and arousing at the same time. He spoke to the waiter like he knew exactly what to order. I had a soft quacking spot for men who could predispose authority and Henry was ticking all the boxes. I wasn’t necessarily a ‘submissive’ in a relationship, but men who knew what they wanted really fulfilled my kink.

While Henry ordered our food with a glass of Pinot Noir for me and scotch for him, I contemplated the idea of sleeping with him. I wanted it, I very well knew that, because all I had been thinking about was him. And after the Instagram mishap and talking to him over the phone, I had even imagined him while pleasuring myself with the help of my trusted toy. The feeling of silicone could not suffice what his fingers and tongue could do, but it was enough for my sexual appetite to be suppressed for the night.

I could feel the ache in my belly to feel him again. And so, with a deep breath and anticipation bubbling in the pit of my stomach, I said, “Once a week.” I wanted to sound straight-forward and up to the point, but my voice barely came out as I intended it to.

Henry seemed to miss it since his eyebrows knit together. “Sorry?”

“I’m not a booty call, never have been.” Henry nodded while sipping his water. “Also, I am not looking to get involved with anyone. I don’t have the emotional or mental strength to jump on that ship right now. So, once a week we hook up, no strings attached.”

“Just one day?”

“Yes. We see each other at work every day, this way we can at least keep the sex casual.”

Henry nodded to himself while chewing on the inside of his mouth. His lips took on a side smirk and a darkness of lust flashed past his eyes.

“Done. Can we begin this arrangement right now?” His voice had definitely gotten heavy and huskier.

“Are you going to take me to your apartment?” I wasn’t inviting him to mine.

“Better,” he stood up in one swift move. The smirk not leaving his face. “We could go to my room upstairs.”

I gaped at him. He had a hotel room booked upstairs. A smile creeped up on my face too and warmth travelled from my cheeks to my chest. “Were you that sure we would be doing this?”

He shrugged his shoulder. “Either that or I was going to enjoy room service.” He extended his hand towards me. In a sudden déjà vu it looked a lot like the first time he had extended his hand to me while I had danced with the Troy-look-a-like. “We can get the food up to our room,” he leaned in when I was standing in front of him, “Because I’m sure we’ll be starving by the time we are done.”

With my heart beating hard against my chest and a devilish smile stuck on my face, I followed Henry to the elevator with his hand clutching mine tightly.

***

We did not waste a moment in devouring each other’s mouths as soon as we reached his room. Henry had held my hand all the way up to the room and I was not one to complain. We could have jumped each other in the elevator but I guess both of us had a sense of dignity left in us. But as soon as the door was shut, Henry had pulled me to him and glued our body together. He had tipped my chin up towards him and crashed his lips on mine.

I was melting like a block of ice. His lips always moved in perfect synchronization with mine. One of his hand rested on my buttock while one was placed gently on my cheek. I could feel his growing hardness pressing against my stomach which was getting me drenched by the minute.

I started unbuttoning his shirt while he decided to kiss his way down the side of my neck. I moaned as he sucked a point under my ear. My fingers faltered while halfway undoing his buttons as I closed my eyes and let him suck on my skin. He tended to leave marks, something he had done discreetly the last time, a hickey just under my boob.

He pulled my hip closer to him, if it was even possible anymore, and travelled further down towards my chest. I was wearing a strappy blouse which made it so much easier for him to just pull it down to reach the top of my breasts. It was becoming increasingly difficult for me to focus on my task to undress him.

“Having some difficulty, love?” I could feel him smirking against my skin. His hand was cupping one of breast while one was squeezing my bum.

If it was humanly possible, my cheeks were reddening even further. I suppressed a moan as he pinched my nipple through my bra. With extreme difficulty I was able to unbutton his shirt and pulled the fabric down his shoulders and dropped it down on the floor.

Henry’s skin felt warm. The topography of his body was lined with the hardened contours of his muscles. I placed kisses on his chest, feeling the fuzziness of his chest hair on my cheeks. I tweaked one of his nipples and he jumped up with a squeal.

“Are you ticklish at your nipples?” I jutted my tongue out to the side in amusement.

He narrowed his eyes at me. I, on the other hand was suppressing a laugh which was threatening to burst out. But I couldn’t because Henry pulled me towards the bed and pushed me down on it before I could even blink.

“I would much rather hear you moan than laugh.”

My eyes bulged slightly as he fiercely kissed me while pulling my blouse up over my head. He unhooked my bra with expertise and threw it down to where my blouse had joined his shirt on the floor. I ran my hands over his back feeling his muscles flexing with the movements.

I gasped when he sucked my nipple inside his warm mouth. His hand massaged my breast while his mouth sucked the nub. My back arched with the building tension in my body. I decided to stroke his hardening member through his jeans making him groan. I smirked hearing the rumble emanate from his chest.

I had no idea how much I had wanted Henry to manhandle my body. He was definitely good with pleasuring a woman. His hand squeezed my other breast and tweaked the nipple in between his thumb and index finger.

Feeling him straining against the fabric of his jeans, I decided to unbuckle his belt and pulled his pants down to his knees. I had forgotten how thick and long he was. Even under his grey briefs he felt huge, making me wonder how it had fit inside me. The tip of his cock was peaking slightly from above his waistband. I ran a delicate finger over his tip and was rewarded with a grunt escaping his mouth.

I continued to stroke him while Henry decided to suck on my skin which was definitely going to leave marks. It became difficult for me to continue my handiwork as he began sliding down my body, placing raspberries over my skin. I squirmed at the feeling and a noise similar to something between a mewl and a giggle poured from my lips. I was still clothed from the waist down with my underwear now soaked. He hovered over the waistband of my tights, kissing lightly, making my skin tingle.

My breath hitched when he raised his gaze to look at me with a slight smirk, pulling down my tights along with my underwear. He also kicked off his jeans but kept his briefs on.

Completely naked in front of him, I somehow felt exposed and vulnerable. I clenched my thighs under his lusty gaze. He licked his lips like he was ready to relish me. I had already slept with this man and yet I found myself to be unguarded and burning under his stare.

I watched as Henry kneeled and pulled me by my calves to the edge of the bed. I was like a feather for this man. He could lift me like I weighed nothing and now he was pulling me like a doll. But his actions were such a manly move, it was making my core quiver.

Running his hands up and down my skin and simultaneously kissing his way up on my inner thighs, Henry was advancing hungrily towards my center. It seemed like he took forever for him to reach there, making me arch my back to feel his mouth over my folds. “Please…” I begged wanting to feel him suckle at my drenching core.

A sigh left my lips as Henry finally placed a warm kiss on my clit, spreading open my delicate folds with his fingers. He was quick to suck at my sensitive nub while also inserting a long digit inside me. He was amazing at pleasing women, I could gather by the way his mouth moved over me and his finger thrusted in and out. I moaned as he added another finger, spreading me like he wanted me to relax for his dick.

I could already feel myself reach the familiar peak as my muscles began to tense. It had been two long months of dry spell, longest I have been sex-less since Jake, and I could feel myself nearing my high. I clutched the sheets as Henry assaulted me with his tongue and fingers, bending them to hit a deep spot within me. My thighs began closing as I neared, but a firm hand held them down. I reached a hand down to grab a chunk of Henry’s dark curls, the tendrils soft against my fingers.

“Fuc-fuck,” I breathed out as my inners clenched around his fingers. My thighs quaked as the pulsations ran through my body, tightening and releasing my muscles. I breathed heavily as I rode my high against his fingers, thrusting my hips to feel him inside.

My lips fell open because breathing through my nose was proving to be inadequate. I felt hot and cold at the same time with my hands still clutching at the sheets and his hair. I let go of him as he moved, now hovering over me.

“You get so wet,” his voice was low and husky. His eyes had darkened long since we began kissing. A smile played on his lips, but he grasped my hand and pulled me in a sitting position making my legs hang from the edge with Henry was standing up. His cock strained against his briefs prominently urging me to stroke him again.

He bent down to shift through his pants’ pockets, pulling out the familiar silver foil. He was about to tear the packet when I snatched it from him. A playful idea had erupted in my head, something I had tried with other guys, but I especially wanted to do it to Henry.

Henry stared down at me with a raised eyebrow. I gently pulled his underwear down, his dick springing erect and hard. I licked my lips and wound my hand around him. It throbbed in my hand, thick veins lining the underside. Henry sighed as I began pumping his shaft. I looked up at him with hooded eyes. His head was thrown back with his mouth slightly open. His eyes were closed and his breaths coming in huffs.

Tentatively I kissed the tip of his cock, making him hiss at the feeling. He looked down at me and placed a hand over my cheek. I was getting wet again and also craving his throbbing cock to be inside me.

“I would rather finish inside you,” He breathed out. The pad of his thumb ran along my cheek bone.

I smiled at him and opened the silver packet. Placing the latex at the tip of his cock, I lined my mouth on top of it. It tasted like the artificial flavor of strawberry which could never match up to the real fruit. It’s strong fruity scent teased my nostril. Not breaking eye contact, his hand still against my cheek, I slid the condom down his shaft with my mouth. His eyes closed as I swallowed his length as much as I could. I felt him deep in my throat and I moaned. He grunted and thrusted inside my mouth making him hit the back of my throat again.

But he pulled out and swiftly lifted my bare bottom up on the mattress. I was getting used to him moving me around like that. He captured my lips again, I could faintly taste myself on his tongue, and positioned himself in between my thighs. He lifted both my legs up on his shoulders and lined his dick against my entrance.

I grabbed at his arms as he rubbed his tip against my hole, pushing me to whimper as I became painfully desperate to feel him inside. He leaned his body down on me, almost bending me in half, as he entered me. It was just the head first but with slow movements, he sheathed his entire length inside. I felt my squelching muscles stretch to accommodate him.

“Uhh…You are so tight,” his face was right above me.

“Fuck me already, Henry.” I pleaded because I wanted him to move, to feel the friction.

But I wasn’t anticipating the sleeping lion inside him. He held my legs up the whole time as he hammered inside me, increasing his pace eventually. Soon the room was filled with our breathy moans and groans and the sound of skin slapping against skin.

Through the sex filled mind of mine, I noted how he liked to be vocal while he had sex. His grunts were heavy, and his moans audible. I had never liked men who were silent fuckers, but Henry’s sounds were like absolute melody. He held onto the headboard with one hand as he rammed into me hard and fast.

I was lost in the feeling of his dick sliding in and out of my dripping folds. I yelped when he brought his mouth against my neck and a hand sliding in between our bodies. I was bent so much that even I was taken by surprise at my flexibility.

His finger found my clit, rubbing at it while he suckled at my neck. His thrusts were becoming frantic now which meant he was nearing his climax. I knew I wouldn’t be long before I fell over the edge again as my muscles were beginning to tighten. I clutched at his back, marveling slightly at his flexing muscles.

“Cum…uh…cum with me.” He breathed between grunts.

I was so close, and he must have known because his fingers began circling faster. He thrusted in and I met his hips in perfect sync. I felt the pit of my belly tightening with every move of his hips. I pulled his face away from my neck and towards my mouth. I sucked at his bottom lip and felt the high peaking.

“Oh,” I moaned against his mouth as my inner walls closed around his shaft. I rode my high as he thrusted a couple of times before grunting a guttural growl like I had never heard before, emptying his seed.

With a few lazy thrusts, he stilled inside me. He gently let go of my legs, my muscles thanked him for the release, and half laid against my heaving chest. He breathed loudly near my head, shuddering with his heart beating against his chest. I let him have a moment to himself, staring at the ceiling while soothingly running my hands over his back. He pulled his softening cock out of me in with a grunt and laid besides me on the bed.

“Are you going to sneak out again?” Henry asked after regaining his breath.

I bit my bottom lip and shook my head with a smile. “This time, I’ll tell you I’m leaving.”

“Or you could stay.”

I turned my face to look at him. “Casual sex, Henry. No strings attached. Staying back after sex equals strings.” I sat upright on the bed, suddenly feeling a grumble from my stomach. “And you were right, I am starving now.”

His deep chuckle echoed in my ears as he sat up to call room service. Food and sex, Henry was the definitely the whole deal.

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill au #henry cavill fanfiction #I would do it again series

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tomtenadia · 3 years

Text

A family of ice and fire

Rowaelin month day 20 - playing with magic.

A day late and finished this in half an hour. Hope you’ll like it. Short and fluffly

Rowan and Aelin were enjoying a rare day of peace and quiet.

Aelin’s meeting had been postponed and at the amazing news, Rowan had finished very quickly his training session with the guards and joined his mate and daughter in the big library.

That room was Aelin’s favourite corner in the whole castle. The place where she would hide after a long day of queenly duties and courtly bullshit. Rowan had placed for her a comfy sofa an armchair and a small coffee table. Building the library had taken time and it had taken more time to get hold of all her books. With so much to do after the war, that had been very low on their priorities’ list, but Rowan had been working on that project in secret when he had time. He wanted to give her a place for herself.

And now on a cold winter day they were just having a family day, the snow falling thick and heavy on the land.

Aelin was tucked against Rowan’s chest while he held her and read a book to her at the same time. Opposite from them, on the thick carpet was their daughter Aisling. She was nine and had started reading basic books and was now on her belly reading the last book Rowan had bought her. Her mate, the stone cold warrior who was renewed for his brutality, loved to spoil his daughter with books. To sit at her side and help her read the difficult word she still struggled with. With stranger and the outside world he still put up the mask of the unyielding warrior, but she and Aisling knew him in a way none ever could.

“I really do love cancelled meetings,” she told him, brushing her hand on the shirt he was wearing “because it means I can stay with the two of you instead and that is so much better.”

“I am not complaining,” a soft kiss on her temple.

All was perfect until a cold breeze started to descend on the room “Ro?” Said Aelin moving closer to her husband “what are you doing?” Ice and wind magic was his after all.

“The room is cold.” And she saw ice spread and a light cold wind pick up as well.

“Aisling.” Muttered Rowan. She had started to discover magic powers only recently and they had found out she had an affinity to wind and ice just like Rowan. But it was something still new that she was still struggling to control and her powers would sometimes, just burst all of a sudden.

Rowan had been trying to teach her and they had daily sessions together where he’d show how to keep her magic from flaring up at the most inopportune moment.

He got off the sofa and kneeled in front of his daughter who was still reading ignoring the fact that she had plunged the castle into the ice age.

“Darling.” He finally got through to her and as she saw the iced library she panicked and the breeze transformed in a full blown wind.

“Aisling, look at me.”

Her wide green eyes settled on him “Dad, what am I doing? I am scared.” Panic clear in her voice.

“Shh… look at me and relax. It’s normal.”

The girl breathed with her father and the ice slowly started to recede “good.”

Once the room was back to normal Aisling relaxed “It just happened. I am sorry.”

Rowan chuckled “it’s fine and let’s just be happy it was ice.” And he winked at Aelin who was still following the exchange from the sofa. In response she sent a flaming hand to Rowan and slapped his backside. He turned to her and sent a fiery gust of wind to his mate and she laughed.

“Wanna do something fun?”

Aisling nodded.

“Then let’s all get dressed and go in the yard. We don’t want to risk ruin mum’s book collection.”

Ten minutes later the three of them were in the massive yard and Rowan was ready to play and show his daughter that magic could be fun.

A snow flurry appeared out of nowhere and playfully enveloped his daughter and mate and the women cackled at the feeling. Rowan released his magic and the two of them ended up with their coats covered in snow and it was his turn to laugh.

Aelin in turn created a small fire vortex and melted the snow around her.

“Come on Aisling, stop mum.”

The girl concentrated and slowly a block of ice started to form around the fire and once she was happy it was big enough she let it melt around it, thus killing her mother’s vortex of flames.

Aisling screamed excited.

“Well done my darling.”

“Now, do you remember when we tried to conjure things?” Asked Rowan who was beaming with pride.

Aisling nodded and created an otter made of ice. The animal started to run around her parents feet.

Aelin patted the ice animal and stood, looking at her daughter “let’s make things interesting.”

She flicked her hands and a dragon made of flames appeared in the air.

Her daughter looked up amazed at the beast. She then looked at her father and he nodded in approval and a sword made of ice appeared in her hands. Although she was only nine Rowan had been teaching her basic defensive skills but only with weapons of ice so far. He didn’t want his daughter to handle a real blade yet. Or never for all he cared.

The dragon circled around them and Aisling moved in position, remembering all her dad had taught her.

“I will slay you.” And she attacked the dragon, but the beast flew away and she missed, groaning in disappointment.

She tried a few more times but kept missing. Then she looked at her father almost begging for help when he winked at her. He was standing and watching the fight with his arms folded at his chest when Aelin squirmed “Rowan,” shouted Aelin while directing the dragon at him “stop tickling me.”

The man laughed “I am not doing anything, your majesty.”

She glared at her mate and went back playing with her daughter.

Eventually Aisling did manage to slay the dragon which disappeared in a puff of smoke. She celebrated by jumping and the ice otter, which hadn’t disappeared, played with her.

“I killed the dragon.”

“Well done, my love. Was that fun?”

Aisling nodded “magic is so fun.”

In that instant Rowan created a snowball in his hand and threw it at his mate.

Aelin gasped outraged, bent over and moulded a ball in her hands and threw it at Rowan.

“Come on Aisling, you and me against dad.”

The girl nodded and walked beside her mother. And where Aelin had to make each ball out of real snow, Aisling attacked her father with her magic until Rowan walked quickly to her, grabbed her and fell on the snow with his daughter in his arms. Then out of revenge he pulled Aelin’s skirt and she joined them on the snow.

Aelin threw a final ball on Rowan’s head and he ended up with his hair even whiter.

“Mum look, dad is like a snow creature from the Staghorns.”

Rowan lay content in the snow with his two women in his arms “tomorrow will slay more dragons. Your mum is rusty and she need to play with magic too.”

Aisling nestled in her father’s arms and thought that magic was not scary after all.

#rowaelin #rowaelinkids #rowaelinmonth #rowaelin fanfic #rowaelin fanfiction #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #domestic fluff

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tteokggukk · 3 years

Text

fireworks → knj

⭒ pairing: namjoon x reader

⭒ genre: fluff, friends to lovers

⭒ words: 1.1k

⭒ warnings: none

⭒ summary: it’s new year’s eve and you decide to ditch finding someone for a new year’s kiss. instead, you spend your time waiting for the fireworks with your best friend, namjoon, stalling and talking about how fireworks worked.

⭒ a/n: just wanna say i’m not a physics major asDAJSLK so pls don’t come for me ✌

permanent taglist: @100percent-dum-dum @boraength @rageyoudamnednerd

You've never felt this comfortable in weeks.

The night breeze felt cool on your skin as you watched the people below enjoying the festivities tonight during new year's eve. From the top of this hill, everything felt calmer. It was quieter, and there was no need to interact with all your other friends and acquaintances. It was just you, the night sky, the stars, and Namjoon.

He was busier these days but always made sure to make time for you. You assured him that you didn't need him to constantly stay by your side, you respected how hard he worked and was just grateful that you could talk to him anytime. Namjoon never listened though. He'd always arrive at the smallest of issues, ready to make you feel better. He'd take you on spontaneous museum dates and walks on nature parks, and even on late night drives.

Namjoon was the perfect description of a best friend.

Was, because the more time you spent with him, the more you began to notice the dimples on his cheeks every time he smiled, the way he explains just about anything with eloquence, and how he's always attentive when it comes to your needs. It definitely bothered you, because even his clumsiness was beginning to be endearing when it was something you used to tease him about nonstop.

In your eyes, Namjoon was slowly becoming more than just a friend.

You feel the heat begin to pool on your face at the thought of what he was starting to mean to you.

"Here," Namjoon covers you with his thick jacket when he notices you touching your cheeks, mistakenly thinking you were cold when really, you were feeling flustered, "You should've worn something thicker."

"That's why I have you," you tease, flashing him one of your cheesy smiles. Namjoon smiled at your words before looking up at the sky.

"What time is it?" He asks, not quite meeting your gaze. You catch the way he's fidgeting with his fingers and how he was on his toes swaying back and forth— one of the tells that he was nervous.

Why was he?

Your brow raises at his behavior. Checking the time on your watch, you jokingly ask, "A few minutes left 'til midnight. Why? Do you wanna leave?"

He looks down and laughs, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "Of course not, I wanna watch with you."

"You sure?"

"Yes, ____, there's nowhere else I'd rather be," he sends you a reassuring smile that immediately fills your body with warmth. You had to look away before you broke into a crazy-looking grin in front of him.

"What about you? I might be keeping you from a potential new year's kiss partner," Namjoon says teasingly as he leans on the fence, trying to act as normal as possible.

"Psh, please. Even if I were down there no one would wanna touch these lips," you snorted, "Instead, I'll annoy you by talking about how fireworks work."

"You wouldn't be annoying me because I'm actually looking forward to it."

Those words were nowhere close to a confession, maybe not even close to what might be hinted as a confession, but your heart still did several backflips at what you heard. It's safe to say you were now struggling to keep your cool even in this cold weather. You cleared your throat.

Before you could think of saying something clever, the sound of people counting completely grabbed your attention.

50 seconds left ‘til midnight.

Namjoon was fidgeting even more now, but you didn’t notice because of how occupied you were with the thought of fireworks.

"People are counting," Namjoon says followed by a nervous laugh.

"I know," you gulped.

Should you tell him? Or should you just shrug it off and talk about fireworks?

"So the way fireworks work can be explained by the law of conservation of energy, one of the most basic laws of physics," You start. Namjoon's eyes turn wide at the way you started explaining at lightning speed.

Maybe it’s best to keep these feelings to yourself.

"Before it ignites, it's total chemical energy must remain the same after it explodes. The energy is then released as light, heat, sound, and movement," you continued.

40 seconds.

While you went on talking about chemical energy, you unknowingly washed away the nervousness Namjoon previously felt by the sound of your voice.

He's realized this before, but everything was much clearer tonight. Every little thing he's done for you these past couple of weeks was done out of something more than friendship— and he knew. As you continued talking about the physics involved in fireworks, Namjoon knew all he wanted was to get lost in your eyes and listen to the sound of your voice forever.

"There's also an action-reaction involved because it gives off hot exhaust gases that fire backwards, creating an opposite equal reaction."

30 seconds.

"So tell me if I've got this right," Namjoon places his hands on your shoulders, "Law of conservation of energy?"

"Right," You nodded.

"Law of action-reaction."

"Right."

"And ____, I'm in love with you."

"Right— wait, what?"

You could feel your heat leaping out of your chest while he stared deeply into your eyes. Are you sure you heard him right? Or were you hearing things? You wanted to ask him to say it one more time just to be sure, but at this point it was impossible to even choke out your words.

"I'm in love with you. I have been all this time," Namjoon continues, "You're the first person I want to see at the end of a busy day and you're the only one I want to be with whenever we go to certain places. I'd go on endless night drives with you while listening to you talk about the physics involved in fireworks and other things and I'm— I'm just deeply, wholeheartedly, in love with you.”

“Ten, nine, eight…” The crowd below continues counting down, even louder this time. Namjoon continues searching your eyes, feeling afraid that you wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings. His hands fall from your shoulders, but he doesn’t leave.

“Namjoon, I’m in l--“

Just as you were about to confess, the sound of the crowd drowns out your voice.

“What?” Namjoon squints and leans closer to you, but the crowd only gets louder.

There was no point in trying to shout it out. With one last sigh, you decide to muster up all your courage to gently grab the fabric of his shirt to pull him even closer.

Three, two, one.

As the fireworks lit up the sky, all you could hear was the sound of your heartbeat while Namjoon’s soft lips were pressed against yours. You could feel each other smiling through the kiss while his large hands cupped your face, making you feel even warmer. When you two finally pulled away, you couldn’t help but chuckle at the shy grin on Namjoon’s face. The sound of your laugh leaves him wanting more as he pulls you in for another.

Looks like you got your new year’s kiss after all.

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creativerogues · 4 years

Text

Using Myths to Create a Campaign Setting...

So while researching for this Mega-Post (which will probably become one part of many), I’ve found that myths, legends and folklore as a whole is really just a cool thing to read about.

There’s so much creativity and wonder in every myth, and it’s been super fun to find story elements that have persisted all the way to the modern day.

With that said, and wait for it: Making a D&D Setting can be really really tiring.

So, after rediscovering my love of mythology, I thought I’d take a new approach to all this: Using “Comparative Mythology”.

“Wait! What’s Comparative Mythology?” I hear you ask. Well Comparative Mythology is when you compare myths from different cultures and identify all the things they share.

So let’s start this Mega-Post by ending this long-winded intro and getting to the whole point of this: The Common Myths!

The Creation of Mankind from Clay

The creation of man from clay is a thing that recurs throughout a bunch of world religions and mythologies. In this Myth, Mankind is created from dust, clay or earth by a single deity.

In Greek Mythology, Prometheus molded men out of water and earth.

In Egyptian Mythology, one of the several ‘Creator Gods’, called Ptah, is a Potter who fashions the bodies of humans (and some Gods) from clay.

The Theft of Fire

The theft of fire for humanity is another that recurs in many world mythologies. Where a deity, sometimes the deity of earth, the forge, or the deity that actually created Mankind, steals a portion of the Sun or a Magical Heavenly Flame and gives it to humanity so they don’t freeze to death or starve because they can’t cook their food.

Probably the most famous version of this Myth comes from Greek Mythology, where the Titan Prometheus stole the heavenly fire of the gods and gave it to humanity, the thing he created from clay, so they could build their first civilisation.

The Great Flood

Cultures around the world tell stories about a great flood that leaves only one survivor or a group of survivors. Sometimes the Flood is meant to restart the world, defeat a great evil, or as a punishment to Mankind for some known or unknown thing.

In the Hebrew Bible, probably the most famous example of this, God sends down a global flood that wipes out humanity, with only one man surviving and saving the world’s species by taking them aboard a giant boat.

In Greek Mythology, a Myth says that Zeus, Head of the Gods, sent down a great storm to flood the world after people started trying to sacrifice humans to him, which was completely against the Greek Laws of Hospitality and a big ol’ no-no in the eyes of Zeus.

The Dying-And-Rising God

Many Myths feature a God or Goddess who dies somehow and returns to life thanks to the help of the other Gods.

In Egyptian Mythology, Osiris, who was slain by his brother Seth, was brought back to life by his sisters Isis and Nephtys. Osiris eventually became the ‘King of the Dead’ while his Son became ‘King of the Living’, which may have something to do with a Father-like Figure giving power to their Son, which is another theme that pops up in a few cultures…

In Greek Mythology, it’s Adonis, a beautiful man born from his Mother that just so happened to be turned into a tree. But after being left in a Forest by Aphrodite and told to avoid any wild Boars (also known as Ares in disguise), Adonis immediately decided to do the opposite and hunt down the wild Boar (also known as Ares, the God of War). The fight didn’t really go in Adonis’ favour, and after Aphrodite found out, she stormed into the Underworld and demanded her Boyfriend back, and eventually Zeus got involved, deciding to split the Year in two, the warmer months (summer and spring) where Adonis would be with Aphrodite, and the colder months (autumn and winter) where Adonis would go back into the Underworld. This is why Adonis is associated so much with spring, renewal and rebirth.

The Creative Sacrifice

Many cultures have stories about divine figures whose death creates a certain part of reality.

These myths seem especially common among cultures that are farmers or have agriculture as a major part of their society.

In Norse Mythology, the First Giant, known as Ymir or ‘The Cosmic Giant’ was killed to create the World of Norse Myth.

In Aztec Myth, after Huitzilopochtli kills his sister Coyolxauhqui and his 400 brothers, Coyolxauhqui's severed head becomes the moon, and her 400 dead brothers become the stars in the night sky.

In Greek Mythology, when the many-eyed Giant Argus was slain by Hermes, Argus' eyes were transferred by Hera to the tail of the peacock, hence the beautiful tail feathers of a peacock!

The Seat of the World

The seat of the world is usually noted as a place that sits at the centre of the world and acts as a point of contact between different levels of the universe: Usually Heaven, Earth and the Underworld.

And as a small Sidenote, there’s a LOT of mythologies and world religions that use a giant ‘Cosmic Tree’ to represent the seat of the world, and they usually describe it as “a great tree joining heaven, earth, and the underworld”, with branches that reach the Heavens and whose roots that reach the Underworld.

In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Mythology, Mount Meru (also recognised as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru), is a sacred five-peaked mountain, and is considered to be the centre of all universes, both physical and spiritual.

In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil is an immense mythical cosmic tree that connects the Nine Worlds of Norse Cosmology.

In Greek Mythology, the “Seat of the World” was the City of Delphi, the literal centre of the Greek Mythological World. Delphi was almost always seen as “the belly-button of the world”, with many tales surrounding the famous Oracle of Delphi. You could also consider Mount Olympus to be a sort-of “Seat of the World” too, since that’s the famous place where only the Gods lived...

The Ideal God

This is usually referring to a King, Queen or some kind of Head of a Pantheon, a God to rule the Gods.

Even actual Official D&D Settings do this by having an ‘Overgod’.

In Norse Mythology, Odin is the Leader of the Gods.

In Greek Mythology, Zeus is Head of the Gods, though Hera (his Wife) also has some influence on the Pantheon.

In Roman Mythology, which is extremely similar to Greek Mythology, they have Jupiter as the Head of the Pantheon and King of the Gods.

In Egyptian Mythology, Ra is Head of the Pantheon, though some interpretations vary on his actual name.

And as a side-note, it seems most ‘Head of the Pantheon’ Gods are male with some sort of connection to the Sky, the Sun, or Storms, and are often extremely wise or extremely powerful, usually depicted as extremely ripped and wielding big ol’ stabby weapons...

And weirdly enough, most have some sort of connection to birds, I can’t really find out where that comes from, but it’s cool nonetheless.

The War with the Titans

This is usually the Myth that creates the “Official Pantheon” for a Place’s Religion. The Titans (or sometimes called Primordials, beings that represent chaotic and destructive elements like Fire and Lightning) fight the Gods, sometimes a few Gods die, but the Gods always win.

Again, the most famous version of this Myths is In Greek Mythology, where the Titanomachy was a ten-year series of battles consisting mostly of the Titans fighting the Olympian Gods and their allies. This event is also known as the War of the Titans, Battle of the Titans, Battle of the Gods, or just The Titan War, which is just a cool name in general...

Gargantuan Giants

By “Gargantuan Giants”, I mean Gargantuan compared to Humans, who in most cultures were less than 6 Feet Tall, so sometimes Giants were as short of 8 Feet, and others they are quite literally the size of the Universe…

In Greek Mythology, there’s the myth of Ourion (or more commonly known as ‘Orion’) the Giant, a Huntsman famous for being placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion. There’s also the Hecatonchires, also known as the Hundred-Handed Giants, as well as the Myth of the Cyclopes and a bunch of other Gods and Demigods who are described as “Giant” in size.

In Norse Mythology, there’s dozens of famous giants, also known as Jotuun in some texts. From Surtur, the fire giant that leads his kin into battle during Ragnarok, to the trickster giant Utgard-Loki, famous for annoying the Hel out of Thor and thoroughly embarrassing him in front of all the other giants.

Mythical Dragons and Serpents

Sometimes just large snakes and other times gigantic snakes, legendary snakes and serpent-like creatures appear in the folklore of a bunch of different cultures around the world. And speaking of Dragons, while they vary from region to region, they’re almost always depicted as gargantuan serpentine creatures with four-legs.

Mythical Serpents in Mythology

In Egyptian Mythology, Atum shaped the world thanks to four mythical serpents. Also in Egyptian Mythology is Apophis, a gargantuan mythical serpent that symbolises chaos, who tries to eat the sun every day as part of the Journey of Ra and his Sun-Barge/Sun-Boat.

In Greek Mythology, there’s the Lernaean Hydra, more often known simply as the Hydra, a multi-headed snake monster killed by Heracles as part of his Twelve Labours. There’s also Python, a big ol’ sea snake with the gift of prophecy, that was then promptly killed by a Baby Apollo...

In Aztec Mythology, there’s Quetzalcoatl, a giant feathered serpent (and sometimes a dragon!) characterised as the God of Wind, the Dawn, the Planet Venus, Arts and Crafts, Wisdom and Knowledge.

And another thing, it seems some Myths depict these giant snakes as pets or living weapons used by Kings, Queens or even the Gods to keep their subjects in check.

Dragons in Mythology

In Eastern Cultures and Mythologies, Dragons are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence and the ability to control rivers, the ocean, the wind and the weather.

In Western Cultures and Mythologies, Dragons are often depicted as savage, winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire.

The Myth that founds a Custom

This myth is way more varied than the rest. Many cultures have myths describing the origin of their customs, with most societies often justifying their customs by claiming that the Gods or the Mythical Heroes of their Culture established those customs.

The Curse of Cannibalism

Human cannibalism features in the myths, folklore, and legends of many cultures and is most often attributed to evil characters, with the idea that consuming human flesh is an evil act that usually transforms the person into a monster of some kind.

In Greek Mythology, there exists the Lamia, a woman who became a child-eating monster after her children were destroyed by Hera after Hera learnt of her husband Zeus’ little “escapades”.

In Native American Myth, there’s the famous Wendigo, a creature (or sometimes depicted as an evil spirit) from folklore, with some sources saying Wendigos are created when a human resorts to cannibalism to survive.

The Hero's Adventure to save their Lover

This is usually a story of three parts: Hero gains a Lover, Lover dies through unforeseen circumstances, and finally the Hero goes on an Adventure (most commonly going to the Underworld) to meet/save/resurrect their Lover.

This Myth can also be known as the “Hero goes to the Underworld to save their Lover” Myth, which is also super common when you look at all the different world cultures.

In an old Babylonian Myth, the Babylonian Goddess Ishtar (Goddess of Love, War and Fertility) gets trapped in the Underworld with the Queen of the Dead after trying to save her husband from the Underworld. But then Asushunamir, a gender-ambiguous individual constructed by Enki (a Babylonian Ocean God), is sent to the Underworld to save Ishtar, so I guess that’s two stories in one?

In Japanese Mythology, Japan has two Creator Deities: Izanagi and Izanami. But after the Birth of Kagi-Tsuchi (the Fire God), Izanami dies. So Izanagi decides to just go on down to the Underworld to get her back. But after lighting a torch in the Underworld when he’s specifically told not to, Izanami is understandably peeved and sends a bunch of monsters after Izanagi to chase him down until Izanagi decides to block the entrance to the Underworld with a giant rock so no monsters get out. Yay?

In Greek Mythology, Orpheus (one of Apollo’s kids) walks on down to the Greek Underworld to chat with Hades and maybe get his dead lover Eurydice back. Hades says “Yeah, sure bro! Just don’t look at her before you two get back to the World of the Living again, okay?” But Orpheus, like an idiot, decides to immediately do the opposite after thinking Hades is tricking him, and Eurydice is dragged back down in the Underworld to stay there forever...

The Sun gets eaten by a Giant Beast

This is usually what Cultures and World Religions use to explain celestial events such as an Eclipse.

In Aztec Mythology, they had a God called Huitzilopochtli (Yay! I spelt it right!) who was their Sun God and God of War and Human Sacrifice. Huitzilopochtli also had 400 Brothers and one Sister: Coyolxauhqui. After murdering his sister, Coyolxauhqui’s severed head becomes the moon and several of Huitzilopochtli’s brothers become the stars. And now the sun is constantly at risk of being devoured by the night sky and to put this all short: Huitzilopochtli is constantly fighting off the severed head of his sister (The Moon) to stop her eating/murdering the sun and the earth. FUN!

In Norse Mythology, at some point during Ragnarok (the Norse “End of the World” Myth), the sun and moon are eaten, possibly by Fenrir, but definitely by Mythical Wolf of some variety, sources differ.

In Egyptian Mythology, the Egyptians would pray against Apophis (the giant snake in the Underworld) to squash his nightly attempts to eat the sun as it passed through the Underworld.

And as a side-note, this one doesn't have to be a Beast, sometimes the sun is stolen by a thief, or something happens and it's sealed away or just straight up nopes out and disappears for a few days...

Gods named after Planets

It’s right in the name, a lot of Gods are named after Planets, Stars, Constellations and other Celestial Objects.

In Egyptian Mythology, the Gods are actually named after the various Stars and Constellations that can be seen in Egypt’s night sky.

In Roman Mythology, examples include Jupiter, Head of the Pantheon, as well as Mars the God of War, Mercury the God of Merchants, and Venus the Goddess of Love and Beauty, as well as Neptune, Saturn and More!

The Beast to be Released and Kill the World

This is usually a Wolf, Snake, or other Giant Beast that, when the Apocalypse comes, is released from whatever bindings they have and wreak havoc on the Mortal World. Sometimes the Beast is chained away or trapped in the Underworld, but other times they’re just sleeping until the Apocalypse comes knocking…

In Egyptian Mythology, this Beast is known as Apophis, a Giant Snake trapped in the Underworld that tries every day to eat the Sun (and sometimes eat Ra too!) before Apophis is defeated by the powers of Gods and the apocalypse is stopped for another day.

In Norse Mythology, this Beast is Fenrir, a Giant Wolf and Son of the Trickster God Loki. Fenrir is bound by a series of heavy chains, and when Ragnarok (the Norse version of the Apocalypse) comes, Fenrir will break his chains and go on a big ol’ god-killin’ spree!

So there you go! I’m so sorry for having to cut quite a bit of content, since I didn’t want to make this Post a full-blown essay.

If I missed your favourite myth, or forgot to add a detail that you thought was important or cool, I apologise profusely.

The research for this Post was A LOT, and I just want to thank everyone in the Community who helped out and contributed to this thing.

I hope that when you’re building your own D&D Worlds, you can look back at this Post as inspiration for creating a pretty cool and realistic world for your Players to mess around in...

#dnd #DnD 5e #dnd 5e campaign #dnd 5e homebrew campaign #dnd campaign setting #mythology #Greek Mythology #norse mythology #Roman Mythology #egyptian mythology #creativerogues #communitymade

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junicai · 3 years

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lights out.

| summary | In New York, the City that Never Sleeps, Aria can’t sleep. So, her roommate comes up with a skeptical idea, and ropes Mark into it as well.

| word count | 3.7k

| warnings | one (1) curse word

| era | circa. April 2019

92. "Just remember if we get caught, you’re deaf and I don’t speak English."

New York City.

Forever illuminated in light, forever alive and bustling down below the skyrises that towered above the people that wandered through the streets no matter what time was displayed on the clocks. The city was teeming with energy, bubbling beneath the surface as it waited for a chance to explode.

Traffic backlogged street to street, wandering souls pattering around the block in search of nothing, aimlessly strolling past the busy business-goers, those that carried briefcases with carefully filed notes and papers, and those that had dragged themselves out of their beds for the graveyard shift in the neon-lighted coffeehouse.

24-hour Coffee! The best coffee you’ll find in the Big Apple!

The noise outside the window was muffled through the thick glass but the busy sounds of the city still filtered through, gently falling in to the otherwise silent hotel room.

Aria rolled over onto her side, pressing her head into the soft pillow. The red LED lights of the alarm clock sitting on the locker beside her bed was boring the colour into her retinas, and no good could come from simply watching the minutes tick by.

The blankets were soft, if not a little cold on her skin, and she pulled her legs into her chest to rub at the exposed skin lightly. Donghyuck had insisted on leaving the air conditioning on as they slept, the boy living up to his name Fullsun as he ran hot near-constantly, but that left Aria to shiver slightly despite the mountain of blankets she had buried herself beneath.

Rolling back over to the cool side of the pillowcase, Aria let her eyes fall on Donghyuck’s back.

The boy wasn’t asleep - she could hear the low sounds coming from the airpods in his ears as he watched something on his phone - but he looked comfortable enough that she was reluctant to disturb him.

It had been a long day, and tomorrow was their only real designated day in this area before they were scheduled to be flown out to their next concert.

Aria loved touring, but it was hard to keep going sometimes. She assumed that Donghyuck thought the same, and that’s why instead of insisting that the pair of them watched something on his laptop, or played a game, he was letting her sleep in peace.

He had watched Aria push herself past what they both had thought her limits had been that day - watched as she stumbled through the final songs of their set with blurry eyes and a shaking frame. He’d moved to wrap an arm around her waist as soon as they had broken formation, and she’d given him a shaky smile for his efforts.

Donghyuck had guided a rapidly blinking Aria through their ending ments and off the stage, catching her as she slipped down the last two steps. He’d practically carried her into the car, waving off an insisting Yuta, who was adamant that he could help despite still favoring the ankle he had rolled two nights ago.

They were all running a little worse-for-wear, but, by god the crowds made up for it.

He had known that NCT 127 had an international fanbase, had known that they were popular overseas for years. But there was nothing like seeing a crowd of five thousand, even eight thousand people from a country that didn’t speak their language, singing their songs and screaming their fanchants at the top of their lungs.

It settled into his bones, pushed him past his old boundaries to create new ones, made him want to keep going and keep singing, keep dancing, keep performing until his knees went from beneath him and he fell to the ground with a thud.

Donghyuck knew Aria felt the same, and that’s why he took it upon himself to pull her away when she needed him to.

Despite their broadly opposite personalities - truly the sun and the moon when it came down to it - they were similar in so many ways. Scarily so.

Scary, in so far as the fact that Donghyuck knew when Aria couldn’t take it anymore, knew when she was stumbling and falling not because she was tired but because she’d hurt her back again and was unwilling to talk about it. Scary, in the fact that he knew when she wasn’t telling them something, choosing to bite her lip instead of letting whatever worry that was bouncing around in her head fall onto their shoulders to help carry the weight.

Donghyuck wanted to help her carry those things. Even if that meant carrying her as well.

The two of them had slipped into the hotel room at nine minutes past ten, showering briefly in the small bathroom they had adjoined to the left wall and slid into the two beds with a quiet goodnight. It had been silent since Aria had leant down to turn off the centre light, only the light peeking through the curtains from the street and the light of Donghyuck’s phone screen to illuminate the dark room left.

He had thought she had fallen asleep soon after - given the bleary squinted look she had given him in the van home as she told her to not fall asleep just yet, that they’d be home soon and then she could sleep - so you could imagine his surprise as he flipped over in the bed, letting the phone fall face down and was met with the image of Aria starfished over her single bed, staring open-eyed at the ceiling.

“Ari?” Donghyuck cleared his throat. “Ari? Why’re you awake still?”

Aria’s head flopped to the side to look at Donghyuck in the opposite bed, blinking once at him before closing her eyes and groaning. “Can’t sleep.”

He hummed, lifting up the corner of his blanket with a hand as the other pushed his phone onto the bedside locker to make sure it didn’t fall off the bed.

Without a word, Aria slid out from underneath her own blankets - pulling one from the top layer - and padded across the room to slide into Donghyuck’s embrace, fluffing the extra blanket on top of them both.

Donghyuck sniffed a laugh at her, but said nothing as he dropped his arm around her waist to pull her closer to him and snuggled his head into where her shoulder meets her neck.

Aria giggled lightly at his hair tickling her skin, moving her head away from the strands until the hand around her waist squeezed once.

“It tickles,” She whispered.

“But m’comfy like this,” He responded, shoving his head further in if possible and throwing a leg over hers.

“Just-” Aria moved some of his hair away from her face. “Better.”

“Better?”

“Its not in my face anymore.”

Donghyuck lifted his head from her shoulder to peer up at her face. “Why couldn’t you sleep? You were sleepy in the van.”

Aria huffed. “No I wasn’t.”

“You hit your head against the window when you dozed off.”

“I-”

“Twice.”

She sighed through her nose. “If it bruises I’m going to be upset. My face is my only selling point right now.”

A silence permeated the room, and Donghyuck sat up.

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” He asked again.

Aria flipped to lay on her stomach, shoving her head into the pillow. “I dunno. Think I have some excess energy to burn off or something.”

“You were literally dead on your feet three hours ago,” Donghyuck said.

“I know that. I just, feel like I need to go on a walk or something. Just to move or do something that isn’t lying in a bed in the middle of New York.” Aria muffled out into the fabric, kicking her legs slightly.

Donghyuck caught a wayward ankle before it could hit him in the face. “Hey, kicking your best friend was not on that list!”

“It could be.”

Scowling, he fell back beside her, scooching closer. The pair laid together for a moment, listening to the sound of traffic from outside.

“You want to go for a walk?” Donghyuck was the one to break the silence, looking down at Aria.

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s go.”

Aria lifted her head to blink up at him. “It’s like,” she broke off to turn her head towards the clock, blinking rapidly to bring the LED numbers into view, “Half one in the morning, I don’t think the hotel gym is open.”

“I don’t mean the gym. I mean out there.” Donghyuck pointed to the window.

This time it was Aria who sat up, rubbing at her eyes. “Hyuck, what?”

“You want to go for a walk? Let’s go for a walk. Who’s gonna stop us?”

“Our managers? The fact that its nearly two in the morning? The fact that Taeyong will kill us?” She said, bewildered.

Donghyuck sat up to face her properly. “They won’t know! We could be quick - promise. You can’t tell me you don’t want to see the city properly.”

Aria spluttered. “We have seen the city! We took that bus tour around when we first arrived!”

He scoffed. “I meant properly, Ari. Like a local. How the city is meant to be.”

“We could get murdered.”

“Bold of you to assume I’d let that happen.”

Aria swallowed. “What happens if we get caught on the way out?”

“Simple: Lie.” Donghyuck leant back on his hands like this wasn’t the worst plan he had ever come up with in his nineteen years of life.

It wasn’t often that Aria went along with his ideas - nine times out of ten, she was usually the one talking him out of them. It was only when she’d run out of patience, or the will to give the effort to barter logic out with him that she’d give in. Or in cases like this.

“Fine.”

Donghyuck let out a whoop, reaching over to the locker to snag his phone off the top of it and flicking the screen unlocked. Aria in turn proceeded to roll off the bed and onto the carpet, looking for the pair of leggings she had worn through the airport to cover her legs so she didn’t go wandering around the city in a pair of sleep shorts.

Finding the black coloured material hanging on the back of the chair, she could hear Donghyuck texting someone behind her.

“Who’s that?” She asked, not bothering to turn around as she moved into the bathroom and partially shut the door to allow her both privacy and the ability to continue her conversation with him.

“Mark - Thought we should tell someone where we’re gone, right?”

Aria stopped. “Does he want to come?”

“Given the angry texts I’ve just received about quote, missing out on stuff like this now that he’s not in Dream: I’d say a solid yes.”

Aria nodded, before realizing that he couldn’t see her. “Is Jungwoo coming as well then?”

Mark was rooming with Jungwoo this time around, the members alternating on a rotational basis.

Donghyuck shook his head. “No, he says that Jungwoo is too tired. He’ll keep a lookout for Taeyong for us though, which is good.”

“Huh, that’s nice of him.” Aria re-emerged from the bathroom, leggings pulled up over her hips and a large hoodie swamping her frame. With her thin wire glasses, she looked cosy and extremely comfortable.

Donghyuck himself was still wearing a pair of sweatpants, and pulled one of his hoodies on over his t-shirt before rummaging in the pile of shoes to find something comfortable.

Without looking back, he tossed out Aria’s runners, who caught them with a thanks before sitting down on the ground to do up the laces.

He succeeded in finding his own pair of shoes, pulling them in just before two light knocks sounded against their door. Aria pulled it open to reveal a bleary-eyed but excited Mark, a padded jacket pulled over his jumper.

"You are insane." Was the first thing out of his mouth.

"You're welcome to leave?" Sniffed Aria.

Mark frowned. "I never said I wasn't."

Opening the door wider, she revealed Donghyuck who had just stood up from the edge of the bed, brushing down his pants. He looked up to meet Mark's eyes and grinned.

"Let's go!" He cheered, moving to walk out into the hallway but being stopped by Aria catching the neck of his jumper and tugging him back.

Looking at her quizzically, he raised an eyebrow.

"You need a coat? It's nearly two in the morning it's going to be cold outside."

Aria herself had pulled on a jacket once Mark had arrived, but Donghyuck was still only clad in a threadbare hoodie that wouldn't protect him from the cold outside.

Reaching back over the bed, he pulled out his cost from beneath a chair and slid his arms into it wordlessly. He turned to Aria and spread his arms out into a display. "Happy?"

"It's better."

"Guys do you think we could not do this in the hallway? I really don't want to get caught by someone right now." Mark's voice came from just inside the doorway.

"Right, right," Aria agreed, shoving Donghyuck out the door and snatching the keycard off the table just before they left.

She slipped the keycard into her inside pocket of her jacket, zipping it closed before patting the padded material lightly. “Safe and sound.”

Mark, closed the door behind them. The beep sounded as the mechanism locked itself, and the trio were left standing alone in the empty hallway.

Donghyuck stretched his arms above his head, wincing slightly as his shoulder clicked. “Just remember if we get caught, you’re deaf and I don’t speak English.”

Aria paused. “Hyuck, you don’t speak English.”

“I’m deaf and you don’t speak English.”

“And what do I do? You planning on leaving me for dead?” Mark asked, arms crossed.

Donghyuck only pat him on the shoulder, moving to rest his weight onto his elbow. “You, are fast. You’ll be fine.”

“You, are a terrible influence.”

“A proud one.”

Aria put a hand on one of their shoulders each, pushing the two boys forward down the hallway insistently. “Let’s not have this argument where we can be found in incriminating circumstances, okay boys?”

Donghyuck snorted. “Aria we’re not going to go to jail for sneaking out.”

“Doyoung might put Aria on house arrest,” Mark countered.

“Then let’s not wait around for him to find her!”

With that, the trio made their way down the hallway, choosing to take the stairs down to the ground floor instead of the elevator - hoping to avoid as many people as possible. Aria had slipped three black facemasks into her pocket before they had left the room, knowing that if they were to be spotted they’d need something to help them blend in.

The front doors of the hotel slid open with a quiet beep, and she was blasted with a cold front of air. She could feel her nose twitch slightly at the breeze, and knew that she’d be returning with a rosy tinge to her skin if they stayed out longer than a few minutes.

But instead of letting that bother her, Aria chose to focus on the identical wide grins Donghyuck and Mark sported, both boys looking around in wonder at the lights that surrounded them on the pavement.

“Shall we?” Aria extended her arms playfully, giggling lightly as they both linked their arms into hers.

Beginning their walk down the pavement, she could only look around in wonder. New York truly lived up to it’s name - dozens of people were milling about even at this time, all clad in various thicknesses of coats, and Aria felt herself relax minutely at the knowledge that the trio didn’t stick out against the colorful lights like a sore thumb.

Each street had something new, and her eyes grew wider with every sign they passed as they walked.

“Mark look!” Aria pointed towards a small bookstore on the corner of the block, dropping his arm to run towards the window. “Doesn’t that look like the notebook you wanted to get in Atlanta?”

A small, green leather-bound notebook had piqued Mark’s interest in the city earlier that month, but by the time he had had the time to get to the bookstore, the notebook had been sold.

The notebook that Aria pointed out was near identical - perhaps a little bit thicker, but close enough to the original that Mark was already planning on how he was going to get back to this street tomorrow when all the shops were opened back up.

“Do you think we could come back here tomorrow to get it for you?” Aria looked away from the window, eyes shining hopefully.

Mark reached out to tug Aria underneath his arm, pulling her into his side. “I’m sure we can figure something out, Ari.”

She clapped her hands lightly to celebrate, before Donghyuck was taking them both by the hand and dragging them both back down the street which they had walked up.

“Now, while you’ve both been looking for fancy notebooks, I’ve been doing some important area recon, and have discovered that,” He trailed off, continuing walking with a firm grip on their wrists.

“Ta-da!” Donghyuck came to a stop, releasing their wrists before making jazz hands beside his face.

Behind him, was a small food cart with an attendee that looked like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world.

“Pretzels?” Mark asked with a tilted head.

“Pretzels.” Donghyuck nodded emphatically.

Aria tugged lightly on the younger boy’s sleeve. “Hyuck, I don’t think any of us brought money with us-”

Donghyuck hummed, cutting her off. “Got you covered, angel.” pulling out his phone and taking several small bills from behind his opaque phone case.

Turning to the attendee with a blinding smile he strolled forward to the cart, opening his mouth to begin speaking.

“Can I.. we..”

Mark stepped up behind him. “Order,” he whispered, facing the pavement so his lips weren’t visible to the man.

“Order.. three.. three,”

“Pretzels,”

“Pretzels please?” Donghyuck finished, looking up at the man curiously.

“Yeah,” Came the deadened response. “That’ll be $9.87.”

Donghyuck fumbled with his hands momentarily, before placing three bills into the awaiting hand and stepping back from the cart, shoving his hands into his pocket.

Aria came up beside him as Mark waited at the front of the cart. “Hyuck, I don’t think I should..”

He turned his head to look at her. “Hm?”

“I don’t think I should, eat that. You know?” She looked down knawing at her lip slightly.

“I think you should.” He said.

“No I really shouldn’t-”

Aria was cut off by Mark approaching them, three warm pretzels in his hand. He handed one to Donghyuck who took it with an affirming hum before ripping into the bread with his teeth, and handed the other to a cautious Aria.

After Mark had taken his first bite, he looked quizzically at Aria who was staring traitorously at the bread in her hand. “Ari?”

She sighed, dropping her shoulders a little. “I’m sorry, I don’t know if I should-”

Aria squeaked when both Donghyuck’s and Mark’s glare was turned on her. “Guys I-”

“Pretzel.”

A protest formed on the top of her tongue, but fell flat when Mark raised an eyebrow.

“Ok, ok sorry.” Aria took a bite from the now-cooling snack.

Satisfied, both boys went back to their own snacks, sighing lightly as the trio continued their walk back down the streets they had come. From a different angle, they noticed new things each time, and it was so easy to lose track of the time when they were staring up in wonder at the neon lights.

The atmosphere was broken by a ping from Mark’s phone.

Jungwoo [2:08] uh

Jungwoo [2:08] taeyong hyung started his rounds

Jungwoo [2:08] id recommend getting ur asses back

Jungwoo [2:09] ill stall him

Mark [2:09] how long do we have

Jungwoo [2:09] seven minutes. tops

Mark [2:09] fuck

The trio turned on their heels, pelting down the pavement.

The people they passed looked oddly at them - they must have made a comical sight. Three twenty-year-olds, dressed in padded jackets and facemasks sprinting down the street at two am. They looked like they’d just committed a robbery.

Aria could feel sweat beading at her forehead beneath her headband, pulling it off and tucking it into her pocket. These shoes were not designed for sprinting, and she could feel the rough plastic digging into her ankle already.

“How long do you think it’ll take us to get back?” Aria yelled over to the other boys, the blood rushing in her ears.

Mark slipped out his phone from his pocket, pulling it up close to his face and checking the time. “Four minutes? We’ve gone in a big circle.”

“We’re dead.” Donghyuck breathed out harshly, picking up speed.

Silence filled in the wind rushing past their ears, feet pounding against the pavement. Mark barely stopped himself before crashing into a small child clinging sleepily to an older woman’s hand; twisting his body out of the way at the last second before profusely apologizing.

It seemed like an eternity before they reached the front doors of the hotel they were staying at for the next two nights.

Panting, Aria slowed to a walk, pulling at the neck of her sweater to fan herself. She took slow and deep breaths, trying to calm her pulse before they made their way into the lobby.

Starting forward, she was stopped by Donghyuck’s hand on her shoulder and Mark’s sharp intake of breath.

“Oh. Oh god.”

“Mark? You alright?” Aria turned to face the boy, watching his face drain of colour.

He lifted a hand, pointing to the one window on the fifth floor with a light still on. It stood out against the other darkened windows, like a lightstick in a sea of concert-goers. And there, illuminated against the cream-coloured curtains, was Taeyong’s silhouette.

Donghyuck huffed. “Aria, this was a terrible idea!”

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hauntedbythefanficsofmypast · 4 years

Text

Roma Marinette pt. 1

Marinette's parents joined a traveling circus a year before Marinette was born. They make all the food that's sold as well as food for their fellow travelers.

Marinette is born in the circus. She is one of three kids. Only one year younger than Dick Grayson, Dickie as she grows up calling him, and five years younger than Johnny Grayson. Dick's nickname for Marinette is Marigold. Marinette takes to the Graysons she and Dick adore each other and all the Graysons love little Mari. With Tom and Sabine's permission they start training her along with Dick. Both kids fast learners with what seems like an ability to completely defy gravity and break its rules.

Dick and Marinette are stuck at the hip learning everything their circus family can teach them. Marinette is the one that decides that they should learn knife throwing and fire spinning. While Dick decides they are going to work out with the strong men and learn how to handle the animals.

While they are still too young to join in on the trapeze they are allowed in the show. Together they wow crowds doing cartwheels, flips, and complicated floor routines together. Once they are 6 they are allowed to fly with the rest of them. Their shows garner more and more attention, everyone wanting to see the two youngest aerialists in the world.

Everything is perfect in their lives, until they go to Gotham for a show. Dick parents begin acting weirdly, hugging Dick more and more, while looking at him in a resigned manner. This causes both to worry a bit but they don't let it show. When Dick sees people messing with the trapeze both of them brush it off. Before the show they meet the young Drake family and take a picture together. Marinette and Dick are on one knee together with Tim sitting on their bent knees.

When the lines snap Marinette and Dick stand on the boards opposite of each other watching in horror as the lines snap. In minutes both are on the ground near the bodies, Dick crying silently holding his mother's bracelet while Marinette holds him tightly crying herself.

Bruce walks up and talks to the two and is slightly surprised to find that Marinette wasn't their daughter. Marinette smiles weakly telling them she was pretty damn close. Bruce comforts Dick before going to talk with the Commissioner and a Social Worker.

Before the end of the night Dick is packing up his stuff and getting ready to leave with the social worker. Bruce never leaves their sides. Marinette stops Dick from leaving and hands him her stuffed tiger named Sikhaya. Dick hugs it tightly before pulling out his elephant Zitka and giving it to her.

Marinette pulls him into a tight hug sniffling into his shoulder.

Mari- Don't you dare forget me Richard Grayson. We'll find each other again someday Dickie. So until then don't you dare forget me.

Dick- I could never forget you Bluejay.

Two months later Marinette and her parents leave the circus and settle down in Paris. It breaks their hearts but after the Grayson's tragedy Tom and Sabine find it the best option.

Dick and Marinette don't see each other for a very long time, but they never forget the other.

Zitka is well loved and taken care of. The stuffed animal has a special place on Marinette's bed even when she is an adult. While Dick takes to putting Sikhaya on a shelf when his brothers come into the mix, not wanting it to be destroyed if they become destructive.

Dick grows up as Bruce's son becoming Robin when he turns nine. At thirteen he joins a team of young superheroes, at fifthteen he leaves behind Robin giving the mantle to his new brother Jason. He also begins dating Barbara. They break up a year later when Dick realizes he is continually comparing Barbara to Marinette. When he becomes seventeen he mourns the loss of his brother and nearly kills the Joker, only stopped by Batman. He takes a year break, taking counseling sessions with a reformed Harley Quinn. During his break he meets Tim Drake once again, he doesn't remember him however. He begins training Tim to find solace in acting as a brother again, he also digs up evidence on why the Drakes are terrible parents. Dick encourages Tim to become Robin, his first night out as Robin is Nightwing's return. When he turns 18 he goes to the police academy, and once he graduates he becomes part time and goes to college for business. He is 20 when Red Hood begins targeting the entire family. Jason was not prepared for how vicious Dick got when he shot Tim. Batman once again stops Dick in his anger, telling him once again that neither of his brothers would want him to kill. Jason uses this time to escape from the family and drops into hiding. He hacks into the Batcave and watches the caves videos and reading reports of what's happened since his death. When Jason finally comes back he is ashamed and is surprised when Dick simply hugs him crying. Things are tense between Bruce and Jason, but a few counseling sessions with Harley and their relationship is slowly rebuilding. Shortly after Damian comes into their lives. Dick is quick to knock Damian down when he attacks Tim. He tells Damian that he doesn't care who his mother is, or that he is Bruce's blood son. He slowly brings Damian into the family. While the boy is still distant and mean to the family they all notice he doesn't mean his insults anymore. When Dick is twenty-two he graduates college with a degree in business. He begins working at Wayne Enterprises as well, he mainly works from home and behind the scenes with Mr. Fox. No one outside the company knows he also works there, the entirety of Gotham believes he is just Officer Grayson.

Marinette grows up in Paris with absent parents. They love her but now that they have their own business they only have time for dinner with Marinette. While she is upset she joins gymnastics and aerial arts classes, quickly rising to the position of top student. She also begins going to regular school during her first day. She is so nervous she keeps tripping. The entire class soon begins to view her as clumsy, something that sticks. Even though Marinette only trips afterwards when someone does it on purpose, they choose to ignore the fact she catches herself quickly. While everyone believes she is just clumsy Marinette no one realizes that she is Paris's national champion in Gymnastics. Marinette is so good that they want her on Paris's Olympic team once she turns 16. When she turns ten she realizes she can sell her designs online. She pulls out all her notebooks pulling out her favorite designs and begins to make them all. Once done she creates a website under the name Marigold. On each outfit she hand stitches Mari in gold thread, for a signature marking. Marinette slowly makes friends outside her classmates, while they are nice they all stand by when Chloe attempts to bully Marinette and she doesn't like that. Especially when she sticks up for a few of them, she remains civil and polite to them although in her eyes she is clearly distant. When she is thirteen she becomes friends with Alya, the two girls slowly growing closer. She also develops a crush on Adrien that Alya blows way out of proportion wanting to help her new bestie. While Marinette likes Alya, Dick still holds the spot of best friend in her heart. Marinette also becomes Ladybug, she struggles at first but her years of training in flying helps her greatly and her aim has not deteriorated since leaving the circus. Marinette begins making less clothes and takes up karate classes as well four days go to gymnastics, two go to aerial arts and one to karate. Her three main instructors make the connection to her being Ladybug after a year, when Ladybug uses an aerial move that only she has ever used in front of them.

Aerial Arts- Madeline Saint Cloud

Gymnastics- Tasha Buchanan

Karate- Abraham Lebanon

Instead of confronting her the three get together and come up with a way to help Marinette. They start by deciding that Chat Noir either needs to get serious or get lost. One month later they all have solid examples of. why Marinette needs to bench him if he doesn't. It's at that time they confront her. Marinette attempts to lie saying that she isn't but stops when Madeline speaks up.

Madeline- My dear bird, you've never liked lying. You've rarely done it, and because of that you are truly terrible at lying

Marinette is dejected and apologizes to Tikki, but the Kwami just smiles telling Marinette that it wasn't the first time a Ladybug's mentor had found out.

Tikki- It's just never been three before!!

Marinette listens to her instructors carefully before telling them that she agrees. She tells them her partner looks through life with rose colored glasses. That while she does find him kind and silly she doesn't have a crush on him. That she doesn't find him as kind, caring, or as funny as Dick. She pauses after saying this, surprised that she hadn't said Adrien. Her instructors watch her as she closes in on herself taking a moment to sort through her thoughts. Once she is done a stray tear falls from her left eye.

Marinette- After all this time my thoughts still drift back to him…Chaton will never measure up to the person I truly love. His insistence and pushing do nothing more than cause stress on our partnership. I will look into having him either replaced or given one last chance.

That night she lays in bed hugging Zitka close to her chest as she stares out her open trap door at the stars. A few minutes go by and Marinette gets out of bed gently setting Zitka down. She walks over pulling the pictures of Adrien down, as well as his schedule tossing them all in the trash. Once done she climbs out onto her rooftop garden Tikki following her and sitting on Marinette's knee once the girl sits down.

Marinette- Adrien...Adrien Im sorry. I took your act of kindness and compared it to the kindness I use to have daily. Instead of seeing you, I saw Dickie. I thought I loved you, but I loved the kindness you showed me, that reminded me so much of him. I don't love you like that Adrien, instead of wanting to be your girlfriend. I just want to be your friend, so from this day on I will try harder to be that.

Two days later Ladybug tells Chat Noir to meet her on the Eiffel Tower that night after patrol. She tells him that she isn't in love with him and that she never will be. She knows she is coming off harsh and she tells him that, then explains that she needs to because after a year he is still acting like this. Chat is clearly saddened, this causes Ladybug to sigh and hug him.

Ladybug- I know it hurts, but you need to come to terms with this Chaton. You are my partner and you're like a brother to me. My heart is already taken, Chaton I have loved him since I was a child. Even if I was to date another right now I would just continue to compare them to my Robin.

Chat agrees to take things more seriously telling her that he still loves her, but he understands. He promises her that he will not let his feelings get in the way anymore. As the months pass the two become closer and closer. When Lila arrives Adrien already knows that she is lying and takes to avoiding her. When he spots Marinette getting put down by Alya and Nino for telling them Lila was lying he is quick to stand up for her. This causes a split among their classmates they don't want to be mean to Adrien, but he is always with Marinette. Lila is constantly telling the class that Marinette is bullying her and they want to do something but Adrien gets in their way. While Adrien and Marinette get closer they both realize one day that their partner in suits and civies is the same person. After them the two are rarely separate from each other. Gabriel finds Marinette very respectable despite Marinette being Roma, which would caused him to turn up his nose at first. He allows Adrien to spend more time with her, giving him permission to attend her gymnastics competitions. She is fifthteen when she becomes the new Guardian. By the time both are sixteen they have been outcast by their class and forced to the back. However they did not allow this to way down on them. Adrien had gained permission to model for Marinette along with their friends Luka and Kagami, and Jagged and Clara, two of Marinette's most famous clientele. Marigold was a very well known designer however no one knew what she looked like. Marinette never stepped out in public so the media didn't know the designer was a high school student. Marinette was also old enough to try for a spot on the Olympic team. She is sent an email the day of her birthday and Tasha laughs at the subtle begging in the email. Marinette is quick to agree and the four friends go out for dinner to celebrate. Only for it to be ruined when Lila shows up with Alya, Rose, and Alix claiming that they stole the table she reserved. Adrien was going to snap until Marinette placed a hand on his arm. She wiped her mouth standing up gracefully. She smiled politely at the four telling them not to worry the table was open now. The four walk away together not acknowledging Lila's glare. Marinette is seventeen when she participates in the Tokyo Olympics Adrien going with both her and Tasha. She uses Kaalki to get her and Adrien back to Paris for Akuma attacks. She loves her entire time in the Olympic Village. Marinette takes the gold for all four events. She is crying as she stands with her teammates four medals around her neck. Returning to Paris had been wonderful, she was greeted by the President and the Mayor and many fans. Adrien teased her relentlessly over the amount of fans she had. Once they returned to school the entire class demanded to know why Marinette never told them. Marinette simply sighs telling them she never kept it a secret. That she'd told them plenty of time she couldn't do something because of training. The class is really upset and they try to get Bustier on their side and the teacher just sighs softly wishing she never agreed with the Principal to teach Lila Rossi. Bustier knew she wasn't the best teacher but that girl destroyed her reputation by turning her class into the worst in the school. They are eighteen when they begin attending college Marinette for fashion and Adrien business. Marinette is nineteen when she and Adrien take down Hawkmoth only to discover Gabriel Agreste underneath. They hand him over to the cops before heading to the Eiffel tower together. Once there Adrien and Marinette de-transform and Adrien breaks down, Marinette pulls him into a tight hug tear of her own falling. Two months later Adrien sold off his father's company and the mansion. Moving into a cosy apartment with Marinette. Adrien takes the last name Dupain-Cheng and the announce it together on their way to the next Olympics when Marinette is twenty-one. She once again takes home all four gold medals, keeping her title for another four years. They graduate college together at twenty-two, and decide its time for the world to meet Marigold. Marinette reveals herself to the world as Marigold, and everyone in the fashion industry is talking about the young women who built her fashion empire before she was even 18. Adrien takes a job in her company head of PR. When they fully introduce themselves they become known as Marinette and Adrien D.C. The world is talking about the D.C. siblings, most of the conversations being around Adrien no longer going by Agreste. Together they travel the world, nothing changing in their lives until they visit Gotham, and Marigold receives an invitation to the Wayne Charity Event.

Marinette's first stop in Gotham is the place where the Graysons fell. Adrien goes with her hugging her gently as she softly cries. The next day she visits their graves alone, saying hello to the cold stone and asking if they remember her. She leaves flowers on the graves and a letter to each of them, including one to Dick.

Marinette- Thank you for all you taught me and encouraged me to learn. I never thought I'd use my flying to save peoples lives when I returned to Paris. Please continue watching over me and Dickie. I'm going to find him, I promise.

She leaves the graves feeling a lighter happy to have visited them once again

When the Charity Event arrived Marinette and Adrien D.C. couldn't wait to leave their mark on Gotham high society. Unknown to both of them that Dick Grayson had become Richard Grayson-Wayne.

@blackmagicforever

@chocolateherringtacofan

@mythogaychic

#maribat #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fandom #miraculous marinette #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous au #dinette #batfam dick grayson #dick grayson #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #lila salt #circus #class salt #batman #batfamily #BatFam

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victoria-daydreams · 3 years

Text

The Long Way Home

Chapter Eight: The Plane Ride from Hell

AN: This week flew by so fast that I almost forgot to post this chapter today.

Trigger Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.8k

Taglist: @iloveeverything-09, @eiferundruhe, @greatscott--wrongdecade

Chapter Nine: Nighttime & Morning Chats

As day turned to night, darkness had swept throughout the sky and no one really felt like sleeping. But I'd be damned if I didn't try.

I had moved to a table at the front of the plane in the aisle opposite of Charles who was sitting on his own. Logan remained in the back and was reading and drinking of course. I sat silently in the window seat with my head leaned against the wall, my eyes were closed as my mind was full and busy. My arms were folded against my chest to preserve the little warmth I had.

Suddenly, I felt a soft material gently cover my body, it was a blanket and it instantly made me feel better. Familiar hands grazed my arms as they tucked the blanket around me, an unintentional smile reached my lips from Charles' gesture. A breathless laugh left his lips at my reaction, his finger softly stroking my cheek up and down.

"There's the Charles I fell in love with," I thought.

Abruptly, I felt him snatch his finger away from my face and a tinge of sadness hit me from Charles, he must've of remembered the state of our broken relationship. I felt his gaze linger on me before I heard him shuffle back over to his seat, opening my eyes I watched Charles through the reflection of the window. Erik walked over to him and placed down a chessboard with the brown and black figures already set in their respective positions.

"Fancy a game? It's been awhile," Erik said to him.

My lips quirked up slightly at what he was doing, it was a peace offering from what happened earlier.

"Kudos to you Erik," I thought.

"I'm not in the mood for games, thank you," Charles sipped from his glass of whiskey, turning his head away from his friend to stare outside the window.

Erik reached over and picked up his own glass and poured himself some of the dark amber liquid.

"I haven't had a real sip in ten years," Erik noted, perching himself on my table as he took a swig of the alcohol. His eyes closed as he savored the expensive drink. He placed it down looking at Charles. "I didn't kill the president," Erik stated, it took everything in me not let out a gasp.

"The bullet curved, Erik," Charles argued.

"Because I was trying to save him," Erik countered, defending himself. "They took me out before I could," he explained. "I would say ask our resident human lie detector if I'm lying, but she's sound asleep," Erik commented, looking over his shoulder at me as I simultaneously closed my eyes.

"Why would you try and save him?"

"Because he was one of us," Erik answered, turning back to face Charles and I reopened my eyes.

Charles' face softened, letting out a scoff as he stared at him in shock, "You must think me so foolish," he murmured. "We've always said they would come after us," Charles remembered, shaking his head.

"I never imagined they'd use Raven's DNA to do it," Erik admitted, looking down to the floor, ashamed.

The two of them were angry at each other, I could feel it. But they were talking so softly you would have never guessed it.

"When did you last see her?" Charles asked curiously.

Erik clicked his tongue and rose from the table to sit in the seat across from Charles, "The day I left Dallas," he answered.

"And how was she?"

"Strong. Driven. Loyal..." Erik started, listing adjectives.

"How...How was she?" Charles repeated closing his eyes.

"She was...We were-" Erik couldn't find the words to say the right thing. "I could see why she meant so much to you. You should be proud of her, Charles," he commented with a smile. "She's out there fighting for our cause,"

"Your cause," Charles corrected. "The girl I raised, she was not capable of killing," he reminded.

"You didn't raise her, you grew up with her. She couldn't stay a little girl forever, that's why she left,"

"She left because you got inside her head," Charles said slowly, leaning forward over the table.

Erik smiled slightly, then shook his head, "That's not my power." Erik quipped, defending his position while looking at Charles. "She made a choice," he added.

Charles nodded and stared back at him, he knew Erik said the truth and for once he was right and there was no disagreeing with that.

"But now we know where that choice leads, don't we? She's going to murder Trask, they're going to capture her, and then they're going to wipe us out," Charles said, almost in a whisper.

"Not if we get to her first. Not if we change history tomorrow," Erik paused, looking into his old friend's eyes. "I'm sorry, Charles," he finally admitted, his voice taking a much more gentle tone. "For what happened. I truly am,"

I knew Erik wasn't talking about Cuba, I could feel it very clearly that he had no remorse for what had happened with Shaw or turning the missiles on the humans. The only exception to his remorselessness was curving the bullet into Charles' spine. Charles closed his eyes and sat back in his seat, pursing his lips together and shaking his head. He clearly didn't receive the apology as well as I thought he would before downed the rest of the alcohol in his glass.

"It's been awhile since I've played," Charles started, clearing his throat.

"I'll go easy on you," Erik teased before he picked up his own drink. "Might finally be a fair fight," he took a drink and Charles almost smiled, but it was gone just as fast as it came.

"You have the first move,"

Erik looked down and moved the first piece with his magnetism and looked up at his old friend for his move. A few minutes passed in comfortable silence and I started to feel my eyes finally become heavy.

"It's amazing isn't it? A decade has passed, and she still looks the same." Erik stated, causing my eyes to snap open. "Seeing Claudia yesterday, I almost thought I went back in time," he laughed lightly.

"Well Claudia may look the same, but she's different now," Charles pointed out. "She is harsher, more closed off," he commented, as I felt two pairs of eyes on my back.

"Sounds like the Claudia we met in 1962," Erik chuckled, shaking his head. "She's always had a sharp tongue," he recalled, before making his move.

"Yes, but...I don't remember it being so venomous," Charles responded, bringing his eyes back to the game in front of him.

What happened between you and Claudia?" Erik questioned softly, Charles looked at him and shrugged.

"I drove her way, I was quite the miserable person to be around," Charles explained honestly. "I said terrible things to Claudia, I honestly don't know how she stayed as long as she did," he added, running a hand through his hair.

Erik looked at him, "I envied you for a long time because of Claudia," he confessed. "I was angry that she didn't come with me after all the moments we shared together at the mansion," Erik continued, making Charles flinch slightly, I could tell he didn't really feel comfortable talking about this with Erik. "But she made the right choice in the end, God knows what might've happened to her if she followed me." Erik finished, and took a sip off his drink.

Charles shook his head, "I just don't understand how Claudia forgave you so easily," he said, knitting his brows together.

Erik laughed breathlessly, "The stinging smack she gave me earlier would say otherwise," he stated, placing his glass down. "Can't say that I didn't deserve it though," Erik shrugged. "I don't think Claudia has forgiven me," he disagreed, now shaking his head as well. "But Charles, I'm also not the man who broke her heart," he pointed out.

~~~x~~~

My eyes fluttered opened from a surprisingly good night's rest, looking out the airplane window I noticed it was still dark. It must of been early the morning. I shifted myself in my seat, stretching my arms to the side as I did so before rising my feet. Carefully, I grabbed my suitcase from the overhead compartment and placed it on the table, grabbing everything that I needed before sliding it back into the cupboard. I walked to the small bathroom with a fresh set of clothes on my arm and quietly closed the door behind me.

I slipped on my tan wide flare pants and red sleeveless top before focusing on my hair. Turning on the sink faucet, I wet my hair and combed it back to a low bun. I leave from the bathroom and make my way back to my seat and began setting up my makeshift vanity area. With everything neatly laid out in front of me, I reached my hand out and plucked my eye shadow palette and brush from the table and began my work.

The low of the plane engine was the only thing that could be heard throughout the cabin as I gently moved the brush over my eyelids. Once I was done I picked up a cotton ball and dabbed a bit of makeup remover on the cotton before carefully applying it to my face to remove the excess eye shadow. As I concentrated on my task I suddenly felt a presence near me, but unless they were going to say something I was going to keep working on my makeup.

"I know you weren't asleep last night," Erik stated, as I unscrewed the cap to my mascara.

Momentarily, I didn't speak as I curled my eyelashes carefully, creating the perfect shape I was looking for.

"I don't have the faintest idea of what you're talking about," I replied, not looking up at him, my gaze intent on the small portable mirror in front of me.

My brown eyes were highlighted by the charcoal grey eye shadow I just put on, bringing out the warmth in my irises.

"Don't play dumb Claudia, it doesn't suit you," Erik commented.

Realizing that Erik wasn't budging from his spot next to me, I looked away from my reflection, my eyes glancing up at him to see that he was looming over me like a tower.

"You're right," I agreed, shrugging my shoulders. "I was awake last night," I admitted. "You've caught me," I said sarcastically, raising my hands in mock surrender.

I turned my head back to my mirror and grabbed my eyeliner, lifting it to begin tracing the edges of my eye.

Erik shook his head, "Is that all you're going to say?" he questioned, taking a seat across from me.

I paused in my movement, "What did you want me to say?" I asked back, in utter confusion. "Did you want me to play cat and mouse?" I guessed, letting out a chuckle as I drew the eyeliner pencil across my eyelid, carefully forming a sharp point at the corner of my eye.

"That's what you usually do isn't it? Erik questioned, with a wry grin.

Ignoring him, I picked up my lipstick to the right of me and pulled the cap off before twisting the bottom of it to push the stick up higher. I looked back into the mirror and started carefully applying the nude lipstick

"Erik, what do you want?" I asked bluntly, before rubbing my lips together.

"I want to apologize," Erik answered, and I paused in my movements. "For yesterday," he added. "You're right, I don't know what you went through," Erik conceded, his eyes shining with sincerity.

I looked to the man in front of me, "Erik Lehnsherr apologizing?" I questioned, lifting my eyebrow. "Why a lightning bolt might strike us down right now," I joked, packing away my makeup kit and brushes. A pulse of slight irritation struck me, causing me to stop what I was doing. "Apology accepted Erik," I stated, looking at him and continuing what I was doing. "Now was that all you wanted to talk about?" I inquired, inspecting one of my brushes.

"Can I not just speak to an old friend?" Erik asked, slightly tilting his head.

A light laugh erupted from me, "It's been a decade since we last seen or spoken to each other and you still call me a friend? " I stated, propping my elbows up on the table and resting my head on top of my hands.

"We can hardly call ourselves strangers. You and I, we know to much about each other," Erik quipped, a smile tugging on his lips.

I breathed out a chuckle, "Alright, so speak," I instructed, jutting my chin out.

"Seeing you yesterday...it made me think about our time together at the mansion," Erik began, a faint smile on his lips. "And it reminded me what bothered me the most about you," he stated.

"That I was a smartass?" I guessed, raising a brow.

"You still are," Erik pointed out, and I grinned. "It was that you were scared of what you are capable of,” he recalled, shaking his head. "And here we are a decade later and you are in complete control of your abilities, and unafraid to use them to their fullest extent," Erik observed.

My smile slightly vanished and I looked over my shoulder to see Charles' sleeping form, thinking back to what he said yesterday.

I returned my gaze toward Erik, "Much to Charles' displeasure," I commented, slightly chuckling.

"After you left Charles, where did you go? What did you do?" Erik asked. "If you don't mind me asking?" he added quickly.

"To be honest, I was slightly lost after I left him," I admitted, lifting my head off my hands so I could rub my arms. "Charles, he was supposed to be different than the men I had known," I sighed, closing my eyes briefly. "I poured my heart into that relationship, just for it to end like all my past ones," I stated, a humorless chuckle escaping my lips.

Erik stared at me with something akin to pity, "Claudia I'm-" he started.

Lazily, I waved my hand, "Please, don't pity me, Erik," I stated, shaking my head. "When I left Charles...I don't know something...something just snapped within me and I stopped caring," I explained, my eyes moving downward to the table. "I remember how Charles would always stress on how I should use my abilities responsibly, but to hell with him," I continued, glancing up at Erik again. "The world has never been kind to me, I didn't owe them anything," I said, slightly shrugging my shoulders.

"So, what did you do?"

"I traveled the world like I always wanted to do," I answered, a smile forming as I thought back to those days. "Each country I visited I had a new identity, a new look. I had all sorts of fun with my abilities in Europe now that I was uninhibited, it was even better when I met fellow mutants who liked causing mischief," I laughed softly, remembering when I was in Barcelona with a group of mutants and I convinced some rich man to take us on a night out in the city to the most expensive places, of course it was on his dime.

"I'm assuming you enjoyed yourself?" Erik questioned, with a knowing look.

I reached both of my hands out for Erik to take. He glanced down at them before looking up back at me and I gave him a nod. Softly, he placed his hands in mine and I looked at him.

"Erik," I began, an airy laugh escaping me. "I'd never felt freer in my life," I confessed, smiling brightly. "It was everything you wanted for me, to not limit myself. I have learned so much more about my abilities," I stated, still smiling.

"You finally decided to listen to my advice?" Erik asked, grinning himself.

"I'll admit, there were some wisdom to your words," I chuckled, nodding my head. "It just took some time for me to see it,” I stated, slightly shrugging.

"I truly just wanted the best for you Claudia," Erik said softly, squeezing my hands gently.

"I know, I see that now," I replied, nodding my head understandingly. "But you have to realize that I was going to be wary, I've heard the same sentiment before," I reminded.

"I know," Erik repeated gently.

A long silence fell over us and once again the only sound that could be heard was the rumbling of the engine. I slipped my hands from Erik's, my lips quirking up into a quick smile.

"Well enough about me, what about you Erik?" I asked, placing my hands in my lap.

Erik arched his brow, "I've been locked up,” he answered flatly.

"Okay, before that then." I clarified, rolling my eyes.

"Where do I begin?" Erik asked, rubbing his neck.

I lifted my arm up and reached over the table, to softly stroke Erik's dark brown hair. "How about this cut?" I joked, leaning back in my seat. "I liked it longer." I commented, and Erik let out a snort, dropping his head in laughter.

"Oh, how I missed this old friend,"

Chapter Ten: Pandemonium in Paris

#x-men fanfiction #black fanfiction #x-men fanfic #charles xavier fanfiction #charles xavier x oc #black!oc #magneto x oc #charles xavier #erik lehnsherr fanfiction #erik lehnsherr x oc #erik lehnsherr x reader #charles xavier x reader #black!reader #x men fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #marvel fanfic

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