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katebishopsheart · 2 years

Text

– mistletoe and snow and kissing. | kate bishop

summary | a well spent christmas day with the world's best archer (and ice skater, apparently)

pairing | kate bishop x gn!reader (gender isn't mentioned/pronouns aren't used !)

word count | 3.8k

warnings | fluff, swearing, food

a/n | moving from my old writing blog skdjkfds. i hope this is well received HAHHA

the very moment you slip the tray of cookies inside the oven, the doorbell rings. hastily, you close the door, discard of your oven mitts and apron, and hurriedly walk towards the door. you’re still wearing your reindeer sweatshirt with the large, fluorescent red nose on your torso. additionally, you haven’t had the chance to change into appropriate footwear—the fuzzy socks and fluffy cow cartooned slippers will have to do.

as you near the door in a stifled fit of excitement, you try to fix your hair. you look at the monitor of the intercom at the door, and there she is. the love of your life, standing in her signature grey plaid coat, with her archery equipment expertly placed behind her back. there’s a radiant smile on her face.

the doorbell rings once again, and you don’t waste one more second.

your face immediately softens as you see her.

‘i missed you,’ you say, quietly.

she steps in, and takes a second to observe what you’ve done with the house.

when you notice, you start, ‘oh, well, you see, i didn’t wanna get started decorating without you, but then yesterday i thought, “what if we don’t have time?” and you know how upset i was last year when we couldn’t finish the planned decorations, and so i thought if i got started, it wouldn’t do much harm—’

before you could utter another word, kate brings you into a dizzyingly passionate kiss.

you’re caught off guard, but immediately you close your eyes in bliss, and your hand reaches to caress her hair.

you can hear the plunk of the archery equipment as it drops to the floor from kate’s hands. you feel a soft, warm embrace on your neck.

you can feel her smile through the kiss.

‘how was the mission?’ you ask, in between kisses.

‘tiresome,’ she replies. ‘why don’t you kiss the pain away?’ you can feel the smirk on her face.

the two of you kiss for some more time, nuzzling noses in the midst of it all. soon enough, kate pulls away, and you can feel the ghost of her touch still lingering over your now slightly swollen lips.

her hands are still wrapped around your neck, and yours are now around her waist. the two of you gaze intently into each other’s eyes.

‘i could kiss you for hours,’ she chuckles.

‘i love you,’ you say, giving her another peck.

she hums softly in approval.

‘anyway, you should go take a shower,’ you say, letting her go and taking a step back.

‘aw, rude. do i really stink that much?’ she teases.

‘yes, yes, you do,’ you laugh.

‘screw you,’ she says, heading towards the stairs.

‘you know, i wouldn’t mind,’ you smirk, playing with the blanket on the couch.

‘okay, so,’ she says, coming out of the shower. her hair is still wet. ‘i have an entire day planned for us.’

‘oh, really?’ you say, feigning wonder. kate loved christmas, and it wasn’t surprising at all that she had made an itinerary for your first christmas season spent together.

‘yep,’ she says, plopping down on the couch cushion near you. she pulls out a crumpled up, torn at the edges, folded sheet of yellowed paper. her handwriting is barely a scrawl—she’s the only one that can begin to understand it. ‘so…’ she squints. maybe there really is no one in the world that can understand her writing. ‘first on the list, we set up the christmas tree.’ she beams, as she looks at the tall fake pine tree at the corner of your living room. there’s two whole boxes filled to the brim with old and new ornaments. ‘then— wait. you know what would be fun? if i just kept surprising you as we went along.’

‘well,’ you shrug, considering it, ‘it’s not the worst idea.’

‘great,’ she says, sinking into the soft couch.

the next hour is spent between being obsessive and fastidious about each ornament’s placements, making sure they all look good if someone steps back and watches; the other state the two of you revolved in was a who-cares-if-it-looks-good-let’s-kiss-instead state, which, eponymously, would lead to the two of you lazily kissing and cuddling with each other on the warm rug, the christmas lights placed on the tree shabbily and not given any attention.

but by eleven o’clock, the two of you had set up the christmas tree, and it looked as good as a real one. it was glowing with the colorful bulbs akin to the ones that adorned each bough at the rockefeller tree; the gold ribbon was draped around the length of the tree with dexterity, thanks to kate’s meticulousness; and from the bottom up, there were an innumerable number of golden orbs, a small snow globe, little sleighs and santas and reindeers and snowmen, miniature versions of wooden pine trees, and to quite literally top it all off, a beautiful white star. kate and you took a step back to observe your crafty handiwork.

it was an absolutely mesmerising sight. what a shame that the lights could only be kept switched on in the evening and night.

the small click of the switch spelled out despair.

‘god,’ you say, falling down on the cushion on the sofa, ‘that was fucking exhausting.’

‘aw, there’s so much left on my itinerary, though,’ she smiles.

‘i think sometimes you forget i don’t have the stamina of an avenger.’

‘now, that’s simply untrue,’ she smirks, pulling you in for yet another soft kiss. what was it about christmas and kisses going in such perfect harmony? ‘alright, i’ll give you fifteen minutes to rest. okay?’

you’re too tired to respond, so you simply hold your hand up in a thumbs-up.

she gets up and walks toward the box of decorations, which is still holding a few things.

the alarm on your phone suddenly rings, with the title get cookies out of freezer. you hop up, and walk towards the freezer. you’d forgotten about your beloved sugar cookies.

you had spent too much time on this tray of diabetes: there were snowmen, pine trees, christmas ornaments (which was just a fancy way to show off your skills with an icing pipe), and candy canes. you were a little too proud of the details on the frostings.

the very smell of the fresh sugar cookies made you a little dizzy.

‘whoa, what’s that smell?’ you hear kate call out from the other side of the floor.

‘i made cookies!’

in under a minute, kate has skidded right in front of you, ready to ravage the cookies entirely.

‘i feel ravenous for those,’ she says, sitting down in front of the kitchen island.

‘alright, alright, calm down,’ you say, laughing. you place the tray of cookies in front of her, plopping down on the seat opposite. ‘take whichever one you want.’

you can see her pupils dilating as she looks at all of the cookies.

tentatively, she picks up the snowman, and takes a small bite. as she chews, her eyes roll back, and she hums. ‘oh, god, this is so good.’

‘thank you,’ you say, beaming from ear to ear.

after she devours the first one (in a matter of one minute), she looks up at you, almost guilty. her hand is hovering over the tray of cookies.

‘can i have another one?’

‘oh, i don’t know. they’re loaded with sugar and i think it might be best if you had one at a time.’

‘come on,’ she whines. ‘okay, i’ll have the next one for lunch.’

‘mm, okay,’ you say, placing the tray back inside the freezer.

kate’s eyes follow the tray, longingly.

‘okay, now, we’re going ice skating,’ she says, hoping to elicit an excited response from you.

‘oh,’ you say, your face momentarily falling into a bit of horror, ‘kate, i don’t know how to skate.’

that rhymes, kate thinks, and resists the urge to say it out loud. ‘no, no, that’s okay. i’ll be there.’

‘what if i injure myself?’

‘do you trust me?’

‘yeah, but—’

‘it’ll be fine, i promise. the rink isn’t even that slippery.’

‘okay, then. i’ll get some coats and gloves.’

‘and hats,’ she reminds.

in about five minutes, the both of you are prepped in “armour”, all ready to face the stinging new york cold.

as you open the door with kate in hand, you notice the rather long shrubbery hanging from the doorframe. there’s a shabbily tied lilac and green bow on top.

‘oh, is that mistletoe?’ kate asks, in a very unconvincing tone.

‘really?’ you ask her, smiling, your hands on your hips.

‘hey,’ she raises her hands in defence, ‘traditions are traditions. i don’t make the rules.’

‘if you wanted to kiss me, you could’ve simply asked,’ you say, smugly, as she pulls you in by your collar.

‘where’s the fun in that?’ she whispers, before planting her lips on yours.

when you leave the house, you see the thick blanket of snow covering your driveway. the snow is still falling.

‘isn’t this fun,’ you deadpan, stuffing your fists into the warm pockets of your jackets.

‘aw, it looks great!’

‘i know. i just miss the the thermostat already.’

kate laughs. ‘you’ll get used to it.’

she crouches down, and starts playing with the snow. you’re not too sure, because the view of whatever she’s doing is hidden by her figure.

‘what are you d—’ before you can complete your sentence, you’re hit in the torso with a snowball that crumbles to the ground. ‘two can play at this game, baby,’ you say, as you roll up snow into a ball and throw it at her. she giggles.

she’s armed with two snowballs, one for each hand, and you don’t have any. as she throws them at you, you duck and run to the other side of the backyard, collecting snow and rolling it up as much as you can.

you throw the ball at her, and she dodges.

this goes on for about three more minutes, until you finally get hit by a snowball on the back of your head. surprisingly, it doesn’t hurt at all.

‘oh, my god, are you okay?’ kate says, running up to you, out of breath.

‘yep, yep.’

‘that was insane,’ she chuckles, fixing your lopsided hat.

‘but fun, i’ll admit.’

kate smiles at you for a moment, before she remembers about the ice skating plan.

‘shit, we have to leave.’ she pulls your hands as she runs to the rink that isn’t too far away from your house.

you are panting as you reach the grand amphitheatre that was converted into a skating rink. kate looks at it in childlike wonder.

‘let’s go, let’s go,’ she rushes.

‘calm down,’ you chuckle.

when you’re inside the area akin to the stadium, you realise it’s empty, except for the two of you.

‘how—’

‘i pulled the avenger card,’ she says, smugly.

you smile and shake your head teasingly.

she swipes the skates hanging off of the rails, and hands one pair to you. she starts wearing the other pair.

you hesitantly step onto the ice. immediately, you slip a little. you might’ve fallen if kate hadn’t held you in time.

‘this is not good,’ you say under your breath, ‘are you sure we should go ahead with this?’

she helps you stand up straight, and places her hand around your waist. ‘put your arm around my shoulders, and don’t move too much. let’s do just one lap, okay?’

‘okay, okay, okay,’ you say over and over, like a chant, as you try to regain your balance.

around half of the way around the circumference of the rink, you start to ease up on the death grip you have on kate. ‘okay, this isn’t too bad. i can do this, i think.’

‘are you sure?’

‘yes, yes,’ you say, letting go a little.

when you try to move ahead, your right foot moves a little too high, and you lean backwards, falling into kate’s arms.

‘oops, innit?’ you say, a blush overcoming your face.

she chuckles, and holds you tight once again. ‘practice makes perfect.’

after a lap in her embrace is done, she looks at you.

‘i think we could do another lap,’ you say, quietly. you might not be the best at it, but ice skating was growing on you. the coldness in juxtaposition to kate’s warmth, her grace, her— her. you are too proud to admit this was just an excuse to spend the entire evening in her arms, looking up at her pretty face scrunched up in concentration.

but when kate smiles at that, knowingly, you have an idea she might have picked up what this might be a front for. but even if she does, she doesn’t say anything to show it. ‘alright, then.’

two laps turn into three, then five, and before you know it it’s three pm. how long did you spend here?

once you step off the rink with her, a sharp pain shoots through your legs. you grunt in frustration, walking stiffly. you look like a penguin.

‘are you okay?’ she asks.

‘yes. my legs just hurt a bit,’ you say. what an understatement! you think to yourself.

‘oh, yeah. that used to happen to me in high school. i think ice skating is something you have to get used to,’ she says, coming to sit down beside you.

‘fair enough.’

after grabbing a late lunch at a restaurant near the rink, and then strolling a bit along the manhattan bridge, kate takes you for a long walk that leads to rockefeller park.

the night seems to be settling in (what with winter days being short and nights being long and all) at around five pm. the tree is huge, so much that you have to strain your neck backwards to see the entirety of it. the lights are glowing in beautiful colours, and you can’t help but think, rather vainly, that the majestic sight in front of you looks like a much, much bigger version of your tree back home. there’s a large orb that glows at the tip of the tree, and it’s big enough that it might as well be an actual star snatched from the galaxy.

the cheerful chatter of the crowd around you instantly brightens your mood. as you look around, everyone is smiling, hugging someone, or calling someone in joy. you look at kate.

‘what?’ she says, when she notices you staring.

taking your hands out of your pockets, disregarding the sting of the harsh winter, you bring her face towards yours and kiss her.

‘what was that for?’ kate whispers against your lips.

‘i love you.’

she softly laughs. god, you love her so much. ‘i love you, too.’

‘merry christmas,’ you say, before going in for another kiss.

after a few more hours spent at rockefeller park—window shopping, listening to the near perfect harmonies of carollers, playing with the toys in christmas shops—the two of you finally head back home.

‘that was a long day,’ you sigh, as you close the door behind you.

certainly not over yet, kate thinks to herself.

‘hey, i actually need to get a few chores done. i’ll be back in about fifteen minutes or so, is that okay?’ she asks.

‘uh, yeah, sure. take your time. i’ll get dinner ready.’

‘love you,’ she says, pressing a small kiss to your cheek before exiting.

the moment kate is out of the driveway, she pulls out her phone, and dials one peter parker’s number.

‘hello?’ comes his voice.

‘okay, i’m leaving now,’ she says, rushing to the car.

‘oh, right, yes. i’ll be waiting there.’

she drives for a good five minutes when she reaches the desired destination.

‘hey,’ peter says as she gets out of the car.

‘is it ready?’

‘yep.’ and with that, they both head inside the jewellery shop.

the next stop they both make is at petco.

after returning from that store, kate swears she is ready to cross the speed limit. the adrenaline is rushing through her veins like a car on a free highway.

she drops peter off at his apartment, and gets back home. when she is exiting the car, the large box in her hands is a struggle to hold. it won’t stop moving—her efforts to be inconspicuous were in vain.

before ringing the bell at the front door, she hurries to the back door at the kitchen, and walks in through there. she half expects you to be standing there, and right then and there, she’s ready to reveal her secret plan to you.

but you’re not there, thankfully.

like a sleuth, she walks on tiptoes, holding the box securely in her hands. the much smaller box in her jacket pocket rests safely.

she walks to the guest bedroom on the ground floor, and places the box in the centre of the room. since the two of you had moved in, no thought had been payed to this room—it was entirely empty. she lets the dog out.

‘we got lucky,’ she whispers, crouching down to his level. she nuzzles his chin. ‘please don’t bark. i’m begging you.’

he makes a small sound teetering between a whimper and a dog’s equivalent of a purr.

she sighs. ‘i’m gonna take that as a yes, for my own sake.’

after making sure the door is closed behind her, she rushes back down to the kitchen as quietly as she can. opening the back door again, then exiting it, and after ringing the front door as though she hadn’t just placed a dog in the guest bedroom, she sees you again.

‘hey,’ you say. ‘i made some lasagna.’

‘that sounds delicious,’ she says, taking her coat off as she enters the house.

‘you look really flushed, did you just take a run or something?’ you joke.

kate chuckles. ‘no, obviously not. it’s just really cold outside.’

‘right. makes sense.’

a delicious, laugh filled dinner later, you put on home alone: lost in new york on the television in the living room, and the both of you cuddle up on the couch in your pajamas.

kate can’t stop fiddling with the ring in her pocket. it’s actually kind of surprising how you haven’t noticed the suspicious square sized lump near the side of her thigh.

‘okay, so… christmas presents,’ you say, sitting up.

‘right, of course.’

‘let me go grab mine,’ you smile, cryptically.

a minute later, you come galloping down the stairs, with an inordinately long rectangle shaped box in your arms.

‘did you get me a tube man or something?’ kate jokes.

you stumble down the stairs with great difficulty, dragging the seemingly heavy box along with you.

when you finally reach her, you drop the box in front of her feet.

‘okay,’ you say, panting, ‘open it.’

kate runs her fingers over it suspiciously, trying to feel for a texture of some sort. nothing. she tears open the plain solid red wrapper, making a mess on the carpet. when she realises what’s in it, she can hardly believe her eyes.

‘an english longbow,’ she whispers, completely wonderstruck. she’s had posters of these up in childhood bedroom walls.

‘i asked clint for advice… of course, i wasn’t too sure because of the generational differences and all but—’

‘i love it,’ she interrupts. ‘i love it so much. i love you.’

your face softens. ‘i’m glad you like it.’

she cautiously places the bow back in the box, with the same delicacy one might use while placing a baby back in their crib.

‘okay, now for your gift,’ she says, getting up. ‘you’re gonna love it, i just know it.’ she runs back upstairs.

she returns promptly, with a huge box in her hand. she’s hugging the box tightly, almost as though if it slipped from her hands the world would end.

‘okay, okay, okay,’ she says, as she takes long strides over to the bed.

‘what is this?’ you say, pushing your hair back in excitement.

‘you’ll see.’

she places the box in your laps. you can feel a weight, but it’s peculiar—is it shifting around in your lap? it’s strange, one moment you can feel pressure on your right leg; the next you swear it’s on your left.

you open the box, equal amounts eager and frightened for what’s inside.

a dog.

you softly gasp. the small and fluffy golden retriever immediately props his forepaws up on the box, looking out at the world outside. when he realises you’re right there, he tries to jump onto you—instead, he ends up toppling the box over.

you chuckle. picking him up carefully in your hands (as his tongue is out, his tail is wagging hyperactively, and he’s still observing his environment) and placing him on your lap.

‘he’s adorable,’ you whisper, afraid to disturb him of his exploring daze.

‘i know, right?’ kate says, as she sits down cross legged on the floor, admiring him along with you.

somewhere as the two of you watch—study would be a better word—kate’s gaze lifts to you. she could spend forever like this, just watching you. she could spend forever with you.

she sits on the couch, closer to you.

‘marry me,’ she says, in a low voice, her gaze down at your lips.

you’re caught off guard, and you turn to look at her. ‘what?’ you say, chuckling nervously, almost as if you’re not sure you heard her right.

‘marry me,’ she repeats, now looking straight at your eyes.

a small smile spreads on your face. ‘yes.’

kate grins. she pulls out the box out of her pocket, and opens the box.

‘formally now,’ she says, wiping her eyes slightly. was she already crying?

you chuckle.

she opens the box, slowly. ‘y/n y/l/n, will you make the happiest woman on this planet and agree to be the sunshine for the rest of my life?’ sunshine—warm, kind, and everlasting.

‘that’s a creative proposal, bishop.’

‘i just came up with it,’ she laughs.

‘i will, indeed, make you the happiest woman on this planet,’ you say, in between giggles, ‘by agreeing to be the sunshine for the rest of your life. but only if you agree to be the moon for the rest of my life.’ moon—beacon, beautiful and constant.

‘that’s so cheesy,’ kate sniffles. ‘but yeah. of course i’ll do it,’ she laughs.

the ring is slipped onto your finger. a perfect fit.

kate pulls you in for a kiss (one she doesn’t intend to break anytime soon), and your new dog settles contentedly in the valley between your and kate’s thighs.

i rly hope u enjoyed this >.< have a good day xx

#this was the first fic ive written on this blog omg im scared #kate bishop x reader #kate bishop #hawkeye #kate bishop x you #kate bishop fanfiction #masterlist

170 notes · View notes

blisschi · 3 years

Note

OKA

Half dragon Zhongli 100% loves cuddling cause you're warm

he likes to just burrow under these fluffy sheets he got and snuggle into you

he sits by the fireplace like a cat in the winter

he's essentially like a cat

he lets you put a few ornaments on his horns during christmas time

HIGHSCHOO AU ZHONGLI MAKES DAD JOKES

SO MANY DAD JOKES

And Venti taught him finger guns so he's awkwardly and hesitantly adds them at the end of the joke

"How many apples grow on trees"

"How many?"

"ALL OF THEM" {Finger guns}

(streamer au) He tells dad jokes to the chat and the chat's just decided 'he's our dad now' so now you and Zhongli have a running joke that you have like a bunch of adopted internet children

Childe when he hears Zhongli make another dad joke

Bakery AU where he brings you home fresh baked bread and he's so excited about it

he comes in and he's like "bae guess what I brought you bread :D"

When Highschool au Zhongli can't sleep, he'll text you random animal facts

he's just like "did you know cows sleep standing up" and you're like "you can't sleep tonight can you"

Zhongli in any au melts inside whenever you offer to brush his hair, it's really soothing to him

BAKERY AU BAKERY AU BAKERY AU!!!

But reader owns a bakery!! And Zhongli is CEO of some big important and famous company!! He falls in love with a single girl from bakery that sells cakes, bread and cookies near his workplace,,, he always makes sure to visit her before work!!

It just seems so cute aaa,,

Him in suit,, always clean and serious and handsome,,,, and her in some cute apron with strawberries and and messy hair tied into a bun,, cheek stained with a little bit of pudding--

Hhnn--

#zhongli x reader #bliss answers #genshin x reader #💌childes rainedrop

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jae-canikeepyou · 3 years

Text

| kismet | j.jh | part two

pair: jaehyun x fem!reader

word count: 10k+

summary: his parents sends him for a month long vacation to the country side to meet his other half, which so happens to be you. and alternatively, your beloveds asks of you to be in your best behaviour while he’s around. disliking how things turn out, you both come up with a pact with each other before your two families gathers together for christmas eve dinner.

genre: arranged marriage + bad 1st impressions

a/n: this is not proofread and i apologise for any mistakes :p here’s the next one and i hope you look forward to the final soon! enjoy reading! ~j

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| part one | part three (final) |

it was another morning johnny saw you and jaehyun arguing at a distance by the stables. be it inaudible yelling or actions that seemed exaggerated, this time it was a sight that was a little worth seeing. so he walked closer to hear this quarrel.

“you didn’t check the horses’ conditions yet? it’s been a few days and i told you to memorise the schedule!” you flipped through pages roughly that they nearly tore. “it’s your job! you’re the ‘vet’!”

“what? you never gave me any schedule to begin with!” jaehyun groaned then sat back on the hammock to rest and you were trying to get him back up on his toes. “and what if i just want to take a day off today? you can’t force me!”

“check the animals jaehyun. that’s an order.” you sighed, writing down notes to keep updated with the stocks and materials. “i have some things to do—”

“like what? practicing and riding?” he asked and you didn’t answer. “thought so. you rarely do things around here and you still brag about how accomplished you feel.” he scoffed and laid back down on the hammock. “i’m the one doing the work..” he mumbled until it was inaudible for you.

ouch that hit the mark. johnny could see your cheeks bubbling up and eyebrows narrowing at jaehyun’s comment. of course he wouldn’t know that because you usually do not deal with the hard work around the farm. the only job you work hard for was horse riding. you had a reputation to hold as you were the daughter of a renowned family.

jaehyun took a huge inhale as he swung himself like a mother did to lull a child. he sung to annoy you even more and with the ruffles from the papers in your hands, johnny could tell his friend was satisfied making you mad. you bit your hairtie between teeth, tying your hair up into a high ponytail and rolling up your sleeves until the elbows.

he was indeed a huge man, you grabbed the edge of the cloth and pulled him as high as you could. he fell miserably to the hard soil. “ow quit it y/n!” he stood up to dust the impossible dirt from his pants. “you’re just sensitive because what i said is actually true! i’ll get back to work if that’s what you’re worried about.”

he fixed his coat and head straight inside the stables.

you crossed your arms and tried your best to hold your changing expression. “talk about sensitive! you can’t even withstand heavy workload!”

“mentally i can but i’m not physically ready! i didn’t sign up to be your pawn so stop acting like a queen and actually help out!” he grabbed the hay and scattered them in the horses’ place.

the audacity- the fall from three days ago still had an impact on you. “didn’t you hear what i said? i have things to do! now continue that. i have to answer this call..” you sounded irritated and soon your voice sounding further away the more you spoke. jaehyun saw you answering the ringing phone, taking it from you.

before you could, you were draped on his shoulder as if you were a towel. “i won’t take that as an excuse, y/n! you’re coming with me!” he forcibly took the phone off your hands and threw it far.

defeated and exhausted to talk back, you tapped his back because fear was slowly consuming you due to your shoulder pain. “you’re buying me another phone! put me down jaehyun! my back still hurts!” you hit his hips and expected he wouldn’t listen but,

he did as you were told.

“you’re forgetting your condition number one!” jaehyun pointed his temples as anger became visibly seen on his face. “you said ‘you’ll do the work for me and with me’, and they go together!” he threw a small sack of hay to you.

“you’re being an ass because i invaded your day-off!” you stomped to the next horse.

“tsk, i don’t think i can continue this with you! you‘re ruining my well-being every single day!”

“the jeong jaehyun can’t stand arguments?” you tilted your head in frustration and nodded at his silence. “thought so. this is part of the pact you suggested and i’m just simply following it! so if there’s anything, you’re the weak one here!”

from afar, johnny was taken aback behind the fences.

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the kitchen was quiet, the grandfather clock ticking away time and as each second passed, so did your patience. daylight met its end. it was day 14 and your mother asked you to give jaehyun the lesson he wanted to have— bread making. you forgot about it, and jaehyun probably did too because despite staying over for ‘vacation’, every day you either saw him with his friends goofing around the barn or him superglued to his school work.

yet now you were close to smashing his face into the mountain of flour he carefully, and slowly built. mark did a better job despite being clumsy. you can handle clumsy, but you couldn’t handle people with top perfection in their ego, a.k.a., jaehyun.

his dimples were hollowing as he looked intently at the numbers on the scale, waiting for that specific and exact digit to appear with a spoonful of melted butter. “oh my g- you’re wasting time!” you grabbed the spoon and put everything into the bowl. “0.1 or 0.2 grams makes no difference! hurry up and mix the dry to the wet ingredients!”

“i was nearly done with the measurements but you had to dump everything in there!” still he stirred them in a bowl with a whisk anyway. “you’re the impatient one!” he carried the bowl and placed it between his arm and waist, subtly asking johnny to film him.

“uhm what do i do after they’re incorporated?” mark interrupted the heated conversation. so far he was careful and observant with your every move. “do i knead it?”

“after twenty minutes.” you smiled at him. this was great; mark actually made your day at least, a lot better than jaehyun did. “resting it will let the flour hydrate. the milk will be absorbed and the gluten will relax too.”

mark snapped his fingers as he tore a plastic wrap to place on the bowl. “that makes it easier to knead right?”

for a moment you felt like a proud mom. “mhm, you’re learning! you’re originally not my student today but you’re doing a better job than—”

the bowl jaehyun was using fell to the floor. to make it worse it was upside-down, that meant all work done had gone to waste. the dough wasn’t close to incorporated. “..him.”

“crap.” jaehyun swore under his breath. his lashes slowly lifted. “my bad. i don’t mind starting again. i can handle my next batch.”

and though they were pretty, your disappointment came through your sigh. “goodness jaehyun. things are never right with you. i’ll clean this up. we ran out of eggs and milk so you have to go to the farm and get some.” you pulled mark’s arm aside as you began to clean. “mark you can chill for a while.”

jaehyun untied his apron and went out with a bucket, mumbling and complaining to himself at exasperating you were so early in the morning.

johnny then followed him. the pact he heard lingered in his head and thought this would be the right time to ask. “i can do the milking myself john.” he opened the gate to the cattle.

“i know. but that’s not why i came along.” johnny put his camera aside. “you and y/n.. made a pact?” with that question out and jaehyun dropped the bucket, johnny figured that what he heard days ago could be true.

“what?” jaehyun turned on his heel, confused, trying not to sound or look surprised. “why would i make a pact with someone so ill-mannered as her? she’s not worth my time or even interests me.” he affirmed with subtle shaky eyes. “the only pact i know is this marriage our parents put us into.

johnny thought for a while, looking at jaehyun who grew clueless the minute passed. he guessed he was wrong. “n-nothing. i’m probably hearing things. or jumbling scenarios because i’ve been watching too many movies this holiday season. i’m sorry dude.”

deep inside jaehyun let out a sigh of relief, but anger was starting to boil at how careless you were for slipping out. he continued to milk the cows and retrieve a couple of eggs before hearing you call them from the house. “oh my g- she’s screaming again-” he scoffed and tried to walk faster. “i can’t just run i might spill the milk bucket!”

“there’s this thing called speedwalking!” you yelled. “try doing that!”

“you always argue with her. aren’t you both tired?” johnny took huge leaps to escape the cold.

“she isn’t, i am. imagine the amount of stress i get the moment i open my eyes in the morning.” jaehyun vouched and shivered at the thought of it.

johnny opened the door and the warmth met their skin. “sure but when you do bump heads, there’s always a smile on your face after you state your point. i never seen you in a good mood since you and sue broke up. i can take that smile of yours a sign.” johnny noted what he’d been seeing.

“it’s a victor’s smile. it means i win the argument.”

they both entered the house and to find you still teaching mark. jaehyun placed the bucket down and rested on the sofa after being told he could use the kitchen once you were finished. trying to keep warm, jaehyun gave small glimpses of you as he wondered when it would be the right time to tell you about what johnny told him. and because he felt johnny tailing him from behind, he wanted your lesson to be over quick.

“i’m thinking it’s a sign that you have feelings for y/n.”

jaehyun batted his lashes. “no no no. i don’t fall in love that easily. there’s nothing attractive about her and i told you i’m not marrying someone like her, with bad attitude and all—”

“and still you tease her for fun? that’s like a cover-up to hide how you actually feel. you may not see that but in another’s eyes, it means something.” johnny clicked the buttons on his camera, rewatching the videos he took.

“are you throwing the ‘i tease her because i like her’ kind of ego? you know i argue with her because i hate her.” he hissed, flipping his laptop open to double check his reports.

the blonde hair boy shook his head with a growing grin of disbelief. “i’m not. my point is, it wouldn’t hurt to try to know her for who she is.” johnny’s lips flatlined when his eyes trailed to your approaching figure. “who knows maybe she’s trying as well and never really got the chance to- yeah i know y/n he’s all yours now.”

unfolding your arms you playfully hit his back with pressed lips. “shut it johnny. just help the baby lion with the cleaning, he’s not really good at it.”

you sat on the sofa, circling your shoulder to ease the pain before leaning back. “ugh. kneading the bread made it worse.”

with the frequent complaints coming from you, he couldn’t concentrate proof-reading his work. it made jaehyun unzip his coat, fishing something from inside and handed a box to you. bothered with how you hesitated to get it, he grabbed your wrists and placed it on your palms. “take it. it helps me a lot too whenever i cram.” did he just.. smile? it was subtle but you were sure he did.

a swarm of guilt started to form at the pit of your stomach. it wasn’t that you thought he partially blamed himself for the fall at the barn house, but because he actually cared when the fall wasn’t even the ultimate reason why your shoulder suffered in the first place. he had no knowledge and still doesn’t. and it was kind of frustrating to think you couldn’t begin that topic.

your heart now was experiencing somersaults. you asked yourself: why? sure he’s handsome and got built, but at this moment why are you all flimsy and speechless? “so you do have a heart for people.” you opened the box of the patch’s packaging.

“i was expecting a ‘thank you’ but i guess with that you’re taking back your words.” he grinned as he typed on.

you snorted as you put your legs up. “hmpf, aren’t you assumi- ow.” you touched your forehead where the pain stung.

“shut up, i’m reading.” jaehyun stressed in a low voice.

“reading what?” you scooted in closer, and jaehyun surprisingly let you see what it was rather than snapping at you. you squinted at the screen and nodded. “equine studies..” you read out softly, that seemed to be a report he worked on in his early years. “isn’t it mandatory for you to study it?”

jaehyun’s scrutinizing gaze caught you off guard, making you clamp your lips to keep quiet. he sighed and continued to read as if you didn’t exist. “i thought you weren’t interested in my field of study.” his brows drew together at your curiosity despite remembering how you did say it clearly.

quickly you tear the patch’s plastic to break the awkward silence you brought upon and let out a soft chuckle of shame. “i’m asking because it’s equine related and i wanna learn. plus i’m too tired to pick up a fight with you so teach me everything you know.”

“i don’t even know if you’d get it in one night- fine. it’s mandatory but i only learnt the basics. i’m not specialising in it or anything so don’t expect much.” jaehyun stared at the screen yet feeling your presence so close kind of pressured him, and he didn’t know why.

“basics like checking the heart, respiratory rate, temperature and hydration status?” you hugged your legs together after placing the patch behind you. “hm.. that’s kinda simple.”

jaehyun clicked his tongue. “that’s the general checking for an animal’s condition, used for emergency access and such. we were given an understanding of veterinary anatomy—”

“which includes learning principles in developmental anatomy in gross, microscopical and ultrastructural levels. learn all these then you can focus on organs to give a physical and radiological diagnosis with the physiology and anatomy as bases—” you finished his sentence, soon shutting up as you got carried away.

his mouth agaped in shock and in strangeness of your interest. he checked your forehead to see if you were in the right mind. “did you read it out from a book or something? and what’s up with you and scientific terminology? you’re supposed to be hating on big words.”

you wondered why his comment hurt you. did he assume you were uneducated? at this point you thought deeply that secrets were meant to be kept. and they were only to be revealed by two ways; one was heard by others, and two was at your will.

“why are you so quiet now?” he laughed, scrolling down at endless of documented pages. “are you experiencing brain fart after that long sentence of sophisticated vocabulary?”

this was far from assumption. this was plain mockery. and it hurt. you hit him on the arm a little more violent and forceful than the usual, and bite back your lips. “it’s not because i’m dumb. i know these because i’ve been there.” you stood up and grabbed the box he gave you. “thanks for this anyway. good night.”

“hey you don’t have to hit me!” jaehyun paused for a second, he had difficulties processing your sudden outburst. he mumbled to himself, “why is she offended when i’m the one who got hit..”

mark happily came out of the kitchen with a freshly baked bread in his hands. “y/n! i’m done with the bread and it smells soooo good- jaehyun, where is she?” the younger one put down the tray.

he sighed and gestured confusingly. “i don’t know she probably went to sleep.”

“man i wanted her to try it.”

“she can try tomorrow. anyway i’m gonna take a shower.” jaehyun turned off his laptop and headed straight to the bathroom.

but before he could have his relaxation, hendery stood against the opposing wall with arms crossed. “can we talk?” he tilted his head, asking to sit at the veranda with him.

they sat at the table set with hendery pouring cups of hot tea. jaehyun took it in his hands, eyes meeting your childhood friend’s as he brushed his hair up. “i kind of wanna tell you something. it’s not my position but i feel like you deserve to know.” that made jaehyun’s mind questioning more. “i overheard you and y/n talking.”

jaehyun frowned at the very recent event, something he found rude from your action. “yeah? she reacted so much and hit me just because i teased her a little. might’ve taken it too seriously but she should know i was joking about her not knowing-”

hendery looked at the dusk distance. “m’lady loves animals more than anything, and for a long time veterinary science is something close to her heart too.”

jaehyun gulped in full on revelation. that was why you reacted. he realised the reason why you hated him in the first place wasn’t only because he was the one you were to marry, but because he was the person who was currently studying the course you’ve always wanted to take.

“she was supposed to take it in college but due to unfortunate circumstances she couldn’t continue. there’s family issue and she had an accident-”

what accident? jaehyun for the first time in other’s eyes, showed worry and curiosity. and his raise in brows cause hendery to realise he missed out an important detail.

“ah you haven’t met mr. y/l/n yet, right?” hendery asked as he sipped on his tea. “he’s busy right now because he’s always out of town but he’s the one y/n’s having issues with.”

“i’m guessing her father opposed to the idea of her becoming a vet?”

hendery shook his head. “he didn’t oppose. in fact he allowed y/n once we graduated high school. she got enrolled to the first semester and was doing well until she had little time to no practice for her semi-finals at cross country at all. mr. y/l/n is a horse riding coach so he’s especially strict with y/n. let’s say their arguments started from there.”

though he didn’t ask parts of your personal life, hearing all these news stunned jaehyun. there was only one thing he wanted to ask: what caused your accident? “how did she do with vet science?”

“she managed and had no fails.” hendery had a brief proud smile. “sadly mr. y/l/n didn’t find it impressive, because he really thought his daughter would be an equestrian like him. y/n hoped he’d be understanding but yeah anyway, you get the gist from there.”

“if it ever crosses her mind, we’ll see if she does. i’ll head inside for a shower. thanks for letting me know.” jaehyun had his palms on the knob, turning around one last time to confirm something. “was the accident, bad?”

“not as life threatening, but it was enough to traumatise her.” hendery picked up the plates and cups. “she.. still hasn’t recovered.”

he stared back at the young lad’s expression, and he could tell hendery has been looking after you ever since. maybe it was better if he hadn’t asked.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

you still shook your legs after hendery warned you of your decency and image, saying that that action was his pet peeve. but really, it was just an excuse to save himself from you due to the fact he said that shaking legs while thinking wasn’t ladylike at all. you couldn’t keep yourself in one place, pacing back and forth in the barn with marg eyeing you since it already been long you did so. “sis.” she cleared her throat and you stopped being jittery with biting your fingers. “what’s up with you?”

“nothing.” you lied, an uneasy feeling began to build up in your chest as the man you despise gently held the horses’ manes. “i’m fine, just thinking.”

jaehyun did the final checks for your horses’ health conditions and to be brutally honest not only did you find him surprisingly quiet, he was rather kind and collected for four days now. he even taught you some veterinary related topics in which you were surprised he was willing to teach. maybe he took your subtle request when you wanted to learn anything he knew about equine medicine. perhaps he wanted a break from all negativity when it came to you. in fact he did mention he couldn’t continue arguing anymore.

and in those four days it got you thinking about the pact. you had a week left and you weren’t sure if you convinced your family or jaehyun’s friends enough to call off the marriage. yes you’ve been at each other’s nerves for small arguments and there were times you forget about it too because the way you both fought was so natural. however today was just too quiet, like he was stopping the fights on purpose and for what reason exactly?

marg slid next to you when you went out for fresh air, nudging you by the waist with hers. “obvious again.”

“w-what?” you widened your eyes, earning a sly grin from your sister. “obvious about what?”

“your heart is on your sleeves. i can see it. the others might do too. so tell me, do you like jaehyun?” she crossed her arms, her grin widening when you began to be jittery again.

“ha?! no!” you stuttered and lied, and you knew marg’s claims hit the nail.

because not only did the past four days of not talking with jaehyun had a toll on your pact, but it definitely had on your heart. there were a total of four things you discovered about him.

1. jaehyun was a fast learner. he learned to clean horse hooves, saddle them and even did carpentry in one day.

2. he had humour but no one really acknowledged it, and appeared a little dorky to you.

3. his dimples were actually cute and has a vampire smile.

4. he really did have a heart for people too. you saw how he helped out your family whenever you were absent.

sometimes these traits softened you, and sometimes you wanted to at least be his friend. but you weren’t close to being one because the pact clearly prevents you to and in the end, it was better off that way. marg held your shoulder. “i know you fight a lot but that’s when the developing starts.” she paused, looking back at the barn. “jaehyun seems alright but you’re really being too obvious.”

“again, obvious about what? i hate it when you’re so vague stating your point.”

“if you wanna talk with him just do it.” she turned around a little to see the said man removing his gloves. “i noticed you’re both distant. it’s been four days so i’m guessing you’re not used to not fighting him. you tend to miss whatever you both stopped doing.”

you pinched her cheek. “do you even know how mentally draining it is to reason out with him?” you darted a gaze at her before a weight was put upon your head. it wasn’t that long for you to realise it was jaehyun. gosh how irritating. you even recognised the perfume he wore.

“i know exactly how that feels, marg.” jaehyun winked at her. “can’t mess with this one,” he messed your hairdo. “she’s feistier than most animals i’ve encountered.”

his giggle of pride echoed in your ears and you thought you were able to tolerate his reply but no. whether he was doing his part for the pact or not, whether he was enjoying this or not, he became more of a jerk the longer he stayed here.

“i’ll leave you two to talk. the light in y/n’s eyes changed when you arrived- ah!” she held her arm as you pushed her aside, and she was proudly walking away with what she had done.

jaehyun shoved his hands in pockets as he gestured you to follow him into the barn. it was only the two of you now while the rest surveyed other parts of the land with hendery. he held jet’s reins, usually your horse would react whenever strangers would. not to jaehyun, shockingly. you bit your lips in wonders what this man had in his mind.

“i just checked him like you taught me. he’s dehydrated.” he pinched a part of its skin close to the mane. “you practiced this morning right? didn’t give him water?”

“i gave him enough.” you unlocked the gate to jet, soon petting him. you couldn’t help but feel immense awkwardness. “did his skin snap back?”

“not as fast as i expected but he needs a little more fluids to keep the levels normal.” jaehyun wrote down numbers before handing your notebook to you, and you thought today was going to pass again without progress for the pact. “i’m gonna walk around for a bit. later.”

“hey.” you called out perhaps a little too rudely and instead of talking things through. he stopped in his tracks. “setting the vet thing aside, aren’t you being too quiet right when we have a week left? it’s been four days and by now some of them might notice the sudden silence. did you forget about the pact?” you asked, not knowing why you were fuming all of a sudden.

maybe it was because he was only staring at you. or that marg’s obversation was slowly getting to you and convincing that her hunch about you was right. “you’re a jerk when i met you but you’re even more so nowadays.”

jaehyun turned around with pursed lips, he didn’t like how you always assumed, especially giving him nicknames in which his friends also have gotten used to calling him those. “me? a jerk? i’m doing all i can to stop this marriage because we both know how it feels to be controlled.”

his answer only made you laugh. “ha you don’t know anything about me, jaehyun. if you’re actually doing something why haven’t you done anything then? you’re being careless-”

he brushed his hair & wore his cap backwards. “it’s not about if i’ve done something! y/n it’s about what you did!” jaehyun pulled you to a corner in caution if anyone heard him. “you were loud and careless! last week johnny asked me if we made a pact because he heard you mentioning it! i assure you he has a mind i still couldn’t understand and he’s probably trying to connect the dots now-”

“wai- you’re saying he knows about it and you’re only telling me now?!” you slammed jet’s gate, your eyes fixed him. “you could’ve told me right then and we could’ve solved this as soon as possible! how much do you think he knows?”

jaehyun slowly rubbed his face, shook his head and shrugged shoulders. “i don’t know! but you know what happens when he figures out we’re arguing for show? he’ll tell everyone we did that because we’re against this marriage! and in the end? we’ll be stuck with each other for life-”

“ugh don’t even tell me about it i couldn’t even stand the sight of you!” you wrapped yourself more in your coat, stomping straight outside and ignoring his reactions towards you.

“why are you like this when it’s clearly your fault?!” he quickly grabbed your shoulders to forcibly turn you around. “i’m telling you and you’re so reactive about it?”

you pointed at his chest. “no! it’s your fault for not telling me sooner!”

“oh so now it’s my fault? y/n look at yourself! can’t you see that someone impudent like you can cause troubles even for a slightest bit! you’re at fault!”

impudent?.. this was all too familiar and nostalgic.

jaehyun then closed his eyes at the stinging pain in the groin. “ugh what the hel-”

“you deserve that-”

right when that felt good and you wanted to hit him more, you were yanked backwards by a force. you fought back the arms restraining you. “y/n stop!”

“let me go wong kunhang! this jerk needs a lesson!” you growled in his arms, shimmying your body through them.

hendery reminded you of your shoulder and soon you stopped. “i’m sure that kick was enough for a lesson and calm down, will you?”

“jae you alright?” johnny helped him up. “hope it’s not too injured because you still need that for reproduction-”

“seriously? now’s not the time.” jaehyun glared at him then to you, you were now like deer in the headlights with his stare. “this is why i can’t stand you.”

mark, hendery and johnny looked at each other trying to figure what had happened. “what were you two arguing about?” hearing hendery ask, you tugged on your coat once he let go of you. “we heard her yelling that she couldn’t stand the sight of you and then you’re both blaming each other.”

you hesitatingly looked down to your boots, avoiding their curious gazes. fidgety as you knew you were, you tried not to respond. they heard from that far of our conversation.. oh my go-

as if jaehyun could read your mind, he cleared his throat. “it’s nothing. y/n’s just stubborn as usual. she doesn’t want to admit her fault when i told her jet’s dehydrated. guess she didn’t want to look irresponsible.”

“classic y/n.” your cheeks suffered from hendery’s squeezing palms. “how many times do i have to tell you to behave? c’mon you’re better than this.”

jaehyun sighed in relief that they were convinced with his reasoning.

jet’s snout poked your arm and exhaled, you cursed under your breath for not locking the gate. “then you should know why i’m like this.” you reiterated with a flat smile. “i’m gonna go to the bar for a drink. don’t bother me.”

“oh then we’re coming with! mark! you’re driving!” johnny pulled the boys into jaehyun’s car. “this hurt dude needs cheering up after you nearly ended his career for having kids.”

“maybe it’s better off that way?” you grinned with a tattling tone.

“i hate you so-” jaehyun barked before his voice was shut off by the car door. his expression became funnier with how the vehicle muted his voice.

jet and cash trotted slowly to let the car go first, hendery rode ahead of you as you followed him. beside the roadside was fields of green, laying flat with new flowers that have yet to bloom. by now the horses were galloping alongside the car, you could feel jaehyun shooting daggers at you. the joy to horse ride diminished when you took a glimpse of him pointing at you, sliding his clenched fist from left to right and pointing at his chest.

you’re dead to me. he spoke with his eyes. and you could hear his annoying voice in your head.

you flicked the reins to ride faster, passing hendery and cash. reaching the bar first would make you feel better and it would at least let the neighbourhood know you weren’t hanging out with boys like him. you soon unmounted yourself from jet and led him to an area where he could stay.

the bell chimed and you raised your hand for a simple mocktail. funny how you told the boys you’d be here for a drink yet didn’t plan to get drunk. you sat by the bartender’s while you saw them entering and sat at one table by the window. honestly you could’ve went elsewhere instead but this bar was the closest from home. and right now you really needed to clear your mind.

to clear your mind from jaehyun because you knew he’d be the death of you.

—

and how you ended up on the same table with them was too hazy for you to recall.

“i was like, singing my heart out at one karaoke place after i was rejected from the coffee shop i applied to. then the girl of my dreams had appear while i was all sweaty and sloppy and i was shirtless! it was really-” johnny spoke too fast for you to hear and curled his fingers remembering it.

“second hand embarrassment was too much at that point.” jaehyun chuckled and sipped on his glass.

“but john, you got her to say yes even though you’re high and wild.” mark raised his palm for a fistbump.

mark turned to you. “y/n what’s something you couldn’t forget?”

you smiled slyly towards your childhood friend and hendery’s panicked face resurfaced with begging hands. you feel yourself going tipsy but went for storytelling anyway. “this previous halloween i forced hendery to dress as rapunzel because i wanted to dress as pascal.”

mark let out a contagious laugh which had everyone giggling too. you brought out your cracked screen phone which jaehyun broke and showed a picture of you on a piggyback ride with hendery. the said man cowered himself from the compliments and while you continue to keep him in the spotlight. jaehyun found it unbelievable that you were quickly switched from cranky to giggly when drunk.

“here’s the awesome part,” you slurred your words with hiccuped breaths. “around nine guys asked me to ask for his number and i gave it to them! he was that hot! i could never compete!”

jaehyun oddly cackled out loud and you all turned heads to him. “of course you could never! i mean look at you!”

his friends raised brows as jaehyun was enjoying this a little too much. perhaps taking advantage of your drunken self. “you dress weird and your hair’s a mess. you’re always rude and sometimes smelling like a horse. by the way that’s such a turn off to guys like us. like do you even bathe-”

you were definitely tipsy but you understood his words clear enough to feel a wave of emotions blanket over you. forgotten memories began play in your head and began to sulk.

“yeah i know i’m like this and so what if i’m plain and ordinary?” you whined and the boys held their breaths.

“my parents think i couldn’t take care of myself after i dislocated my shoulder at cross-country.” jaehyun heard you.

“because of that they started to pair me with accomplished men they think could give me a better life. so i misbehave every time they bring a suitor over.” you propped elbows on the table and glared at jaehyun. “you’re the fifth and before you arrived i lied to mom and dad that i recovered, hoping they’d stop and leave me alone but nope! they think you’re the one-”

hendery managed to catch your collapsed body from falling. he let out a soft laugh. “mhm, she spills a little too much when she’s drunk-”

you covered his lips and did several clicks of your tongue. “i’m tipsy! not drunk but tipsy! are you spilling tea about my life to that jerk?”

he scoffed lightly. “of course not! i didn’t tell him anything.” he lied.

you pinched his cheek. “i doubt it. you’re a talkative donkey! they should cast you to be part of shrek musical next fall!” you giggled and tried to keep yourself awake from all that drowsiness. your eyes dropping to slumber.

“m’lady.” he fixed you on his side and you were now carried on his back. “jaehyun doesn’t know a thing.” he cooed, giving jaehyun a wink to zip his mouth shut regarding the topic.

small sobs began to bubble out from you, you clung onto hendery. “ah jaehyun? you know that jerk called me impudent? he said i always cause troubles but what choice to i have? i don’t want to be betrothed!” you wailed and mark and johnny raised brows at jaehyun as soon as you said it. “hendery he called me impudent! he’s just like dad and i hate them both!” you leaned on his shoulders.

“but do you really hate jaehyun?” johnny smirked as he enjoyed how open you were compared to being sober. jaehyun noticed where this was going and tried to stop him but the tall lad shushed him when you spoke.

“yes!” you slurred with a lopsided smile and narrow brows, which looked strange as they couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad thing.

“i hate him because he’s so prideful! ‘jeong jaehyun, veterinary medicine student’ my butt. i should’ve been one too but daddy said no.” you pout, soon knocking out. “i hate how.. handsome that jerk looks-”

your friend hopped slightly and quickly got out of the bar so you wouldn’t cause a scene any further. “i’ll bring her to my place, it’s just a block from here. you guys can go ahead.” he told the guys to call it a night. “i’ll take jet and cash to my stables at home. see y’all tomorrow.”

they got on the car and started the engine. jaehyun read the atmosphere among them, he fixed the front mirror and saw mark and johnny with questioning looks. “what?”

“did you really call y/n impudent?” mark played with the buttons of the window.

jaehyun stepped on the pedal to head to your place. his friends bombarded him with what if’s and was too tired to respond. but just to shut them up, he replied.

“i was angry when i said that. i didn’t really mean-”

“do you think she meant it when she said you’re handsome?” johnny asked to cut off the weird vibe lingering while mark propped his fists to rest.

“she’s drunk. not like she can remember it anyway.” jaehyun clenched on the wheel.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

you woke up in hendery’s bed with a tray of breakfast on his desk table. you slid it towards yourself to eat when a folded paper fell from underneath.

i saw jaehyun at the grocery store earlier, he asked me to pass this breakfast to you. also! he said he’ll be at the barn’s loft. now go meet him. ~hendery

great, he pissed you off yesterday and he was the last person you wanted to see today. what was his plan now? he prepared breakfast and yet what was the use of eating the meal when it has gone cold? you tied your hair to a top bun and wore your glasses, quickly grabbing your coat, onto to jet’s back and went to the barn.

the sun’s heat was enough to make you warm on the way there. jaehyun swung his legs while he waited. he stared at the ground when a shadow appeared, you stood at the entrance asking him to come down.

he did that, but there was a different air around him. it was the same air as those four days of silence between the two of you. “at least you’re not late.” he slid his palms into his back pockets.

“did you want to talk to me about something?” you asked with a slice of bread in your mouth. he nodded with intense eyes. “then make it quick. i have to make my rounds-”

“i’ll go with you.” jaehyun suggested and you choked on your bread.

“what?” you gulped on the huge piece stuck in your throat and stopped him from walking. “why not tell me now?”

he pulled you to jet’s stall and pushed your back to mount on the saddle. “‘cause it’s better if they don’t see us talking normally when we’re supposed to be at each other’s throats.”

he’s definitely up to something..

jaehyun rode a bike, leading you and jet through woods and up on a hill where its summit towers part of your family’s lands. from here you could see your house and tiny figures you assumed were his friends. you haven’t gotten a clue why jaehyun was being nice again. and if he was, why today? why bring you all the way here to have this conversation? you couldn’t think of anything at all and maybe you should’ve eaten the meal he prepared for you.

when the winds blew, jaehyun spoke in a soft voice. he was awkward, you could tell that, but what he did was something you didn’t expect. he leaned back with his palms on the grass. “i’m sorry i called you names.”

hm.. you better be.

that apology alone pierced your heart, in a good way. if he was tired from all the negativity and endless banters, so were you. it had been fifteen days after all. maybe this was a cool break before continuing with the pact. “which ones?” you copied his position and counted your fingers one by one. “there’s ugly.. shorty.. lazy ass.. a no brainer-”

“i didn’t call you tha-” he paused, his lips forming an ‘o’ until he pursed them together seeing you mimic him on his laptop. “right. i implied it when you wanted me to teach you equine studies. anyway the bottom point is, i’m sorry for calling you impudent.”

you chuckled, but to him it sounded more of a scoff. “haven’t heard that in ages. never expected i’d hear that again.” you looked at him, he did too, there was a stare down before you spoke again.

“but yeah. i guessed you did that to fulfill your part for the pact. the guys were probably nearby and you thought of that to spark up the conversation. are we done?”

jaehyun rested his arm on his knees. “no that’s not what i meant- i’m being sincere here.”

“okay? then tell me what’s on your mind. you brought me up here. it’s gotta be something worth my time.”

“i feel like the pact just brings the worse out. and whenever it does, i don’t feel myself anymore. like this is not me.”

he picked up a dandelion, letting the wind take its soft pieces. he wished his feelings weren’t easily swayed like the flower’s petals. he knew he was easily hotheaded, stubborn and mr. perfect, but should he always be like these?

“then who is the real you?” you caught some flying pieces of the flower before looking back at him for answers.

“a studious douche who got his heart broken by his ex.” he shrugged and waited for your bicker, but you sat there with shocked eyes and struggled to find what to say. “yeah, in case you’re still surprised, i do have a heart for people.”

“i heard you.” you flicked his temple.

he held back fists from hitting back. “hey why’d you hit me?”

“it’s my way of being affectionate.” you laid on the grass and while he copied, you thought that jaehyun had a point, how the pact seemed a good approach yet with deteriorating results.

“by being violent?” jaehyun moaned as he asked. “ever thought that a pat in the back would be better?”

you glared at him. “let’s continue what we’re doing with another condition.. no personal or evil intentions whatsoever, or maybe a slight hint that we’d start dissing. we’re doing this for ourselves and..” you cleared your throat. “..helping out a friend.”

it made total sense, because he knew how much of an effect it did when the purpose of the pact was done unconsciously and naturally. he let out a tight and breathless sigh between his lips. “i’m your friend? after calling you all that?”

“i just needed something to describe you. would calling you a douche make you feel better after you apologised?” you stood up and headed downhill.

“well you did call me ‘handsome’ last night.” jaehyun singsonged and carefully walked down the stoned steps.

you froze at how stupid and blabbermouth you could be whenever you went to the bar. “i don’t remember, since i’ve been studying the things you taught me.”

“you can ask the others if you think i’m lying.”

“y’know what? i take back the condition i said.” you quickly hopped on jet to head back. “don’t bother me!”

“what do you mean studying? you’re planning to pursue vet sci? hey!”

“yeah.” you made jet walk in circles around the confused man, and your one-word response had jaehyun confirming you already decided to tell your father about it.

and it’d be on christmas eve too.

—

for almost half an hour marg couldn’t contain her feelings after you told her what had happened. marg squealed and you quickly covered her mouth since the door wasn’t entirely closed. she squeezed the pillow and hid herself behind it.

“he apologised?! such a gentleman! i mean mark didn’t really tell me the details but jaehyun really felt guilty?” she put the pillow down and crawled next to you on your bed.

as to why she reacted this way remained unclear to you, you figured it was probably she watched too many rom-coms with johnny in the past few days. “i admit, it was considerate of him to do that. but it doesn’t prove he’s already a good man.” you fixed your files and past researches of veterinary science. “sometimes an apology isn’t enough.”

your sister nudged you in a force causing you to stumble in your stance. “ey you’re too mean. him apologising is already enough of a sign that he’s a good one, and raised well.”

“i don’t know marg.” you slumped on your bed. “my head’s hurting because of him.”

she raised a brow and gave you a teasing look. “by thinking of him or he just couldn’t get out of your head?” she kicked her feet to escape your balling fists.

“why are you reacting if it’s not true?!” her giggles grew in volume as she brought out her phone record your reaction.

“get out of my room!”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

jaehyun walked around the mart in response to yet another order from you. it had to be a day before christmas eve too. he should be feeling the very essence of christmas and because of you, he didn’t. people who happened to pass by him swore they saw a walking corpse, while some sensed a spreading dark cloud hovering above him.

his demeanour quickly shifting and changing as if the clouds blocked his rays of sunshine. he was mumbling to himself and those who stood close by took careful small steps away from jaehyun, for he sounded like he was enchanting a spell.

he thought about it a lot— whether it there’d be a difference between the two of you if you hadn’t taken back that condition. because now that he was controlled like a pawn again, he wasn’t going to back down or lose to you. at least for the past few days since then he saw an improvement. you weren’t as violent, not a single word of hate from you nor were they intentional. it was obvious you were helping out. a small smile managed its way to resurface until he saw a reflection of himself looking like an idiot. jaehyun, you’re a fool. you shouldn’t be feeling this.

ignoring his subconscious, he turned a heel at the next grocery aisle when a voice attracted attention, at least to him it sounded like hendery. hearing your name from an unfamiliar man’s lips had him peeking secretly at a distance. “i suppose y/n’s behaving well with jaehyun?”

“better than everyone expected.” hendery followed him with hands deep in pockets. “aside their petty arguments, she gets along with him, mr. y/l/n.”

“that’s good to hear. i knew the jeong’s would never fail my expectations. their son is in vet school, yes?”

the mentioned name chilled him to the bone. he wasn’t to supposed to be feeling in this manner yet the very presence of your father already had gotten his shoes glued to the ground. hendery nodded and continued to walk along with him. “i hope he doesn’t encourage her about it too much. having y/n marry him would keep her quiet about ever continuing vet school.”

jaehyun’s back grazed the products he lightly leaning upon and stood still in his thoughts. he wasn’t the type to eavesdrop on others, let alone your family issues. although he was briefly told about your rocky relationship with your father and couldn’t hear much of the conversation, he shouldn’t care or meddle with it but.. did mr. y/l/n really think that?

and he remembered how you told him you’d pursue veterinary.

he fished for his phone with certainty that he would tell you what he had heard. he nearly dropped his phone when it rang and your name appeared as the caller. staring at it for a while, never in his life had he ever hesitated before— given that he was a straight forward person, he wanted to tell you.

and he didn’t know why he decided to keep his mouth shut and stayed behind, instead of doing the opposite. hendery noticed him beside the hundreds of chocolate chip buckets. “oh jaehyun!” he greeted, making your father turn his head around. “come here!”

jaehyun pressed his lips for being caught, steadily and unwilling to go them. he wished that now would be the appropriate time to be walking on super glue, he really didn’t have the mood to talk to your father. it wasn’t the right time as their conversation about you would probably escalate from there.

“hello mr. y/l/n, i’m-” he greeted, unknowingly staring at him longer because you were his carbon-copy.

“i know you’re jaehyun and i’ve been updated enough that i wouldn’t have to be physically at my residence to know your good qualities.”

“glad to know someone’s giving you the correct information.” jaehyun smiled, subtly gazing straight at hendery with more pressure on the tone of the name. hendery then clamped his lips to a close, regretting he should’ve minded his words carefully.

mr. y/l/n nodded with a chuckle— even hendery rarely saw him doing so, ever. and this only proved that there wouldn’t be a better groom fit for you other than the son of his childhood friends. “i like your personality. mind joining me for tea?”

jaehyun read the situation, and what your father was up to. he had to listen for another half hour even though he felt his phone continually vibrating then stopping. he knew it was you, but how could he answer when the person you grew to hate was with him at this moment? one word from him through a phone call would make you go berserk.

anyone could see that jaehyun was fighting a mental dilemma. for anyone it would be an easy question to answer; free food, you’re in. his future father-in-law asked for company, sure why not. jaehyun felt like he only one answer, and it had to be a correct one. he gulped and though he eyes wavered, he agreed anyway. “i don’t mind, but y/n would probably be moody if i don’t return immediately.”

“mhm, no worries. i won’t keep you long.” mr. y/l/n said, and jaehyun didn’t know why he had a small heart attack on what possibly could follow.

he lead him to a restaurant, hendery nudged the troubled-looking dimpled man. “sorry dude. he likes snacking on things but i’ll try to divert his attention so you can go to y/n asap.”

—

the relieved sigh didn’t last long when looked up from the ground. jaehyun spotted you crossing arms with a slight worrisome look. your fingers then pointed at the kitchen window and it looked like his soul left his body and his footsteps on the ankle-high snow. the curtains indoors brushed to one side with his parents facing back from the windowsill at the upper balcony.

his heart was beating his chest as if it wanted to go out. he planned to tell you what he and your father talked about, but in that previous hour he missed out your text messages and calls— not knowing they were that important. now he knew why they were.

you took his phone and clicked on the lock button, he didn’t check your means to reaching him. they were still in the lockscreen. “i know you’re a seenzoner but you shouldn’t ignore important calls! i was calling you an hour ago because your parents came so suddenly. did you know about their change of plans?”

he gave you other paper bag and made his way inside. “no they were supposed to arrive tomorrow.” to you jaehyun seemed grumpy for doing groceries, but it was obviously not the case when kept looking elsewhere. he bit his inner gums in question as to why he was venting out his irritation at you instead of the revelation that was told to him.

you followed him in and began bring out the items to set the remaining food on the kitchen island. something told you not to go overboard with the planned argument you had in mind, but you couldn’t handle the way he was acting now, as well as giving you the sudden silent treatment. behaving this way was such a wrong timing and you decided to cut the silence before it made you feel worse than you already were. “you good?”

“y-yeah.” he tilted down to take a quick look at you while realising lately how you hadn’t been sleeping well. the puffiness under your eyes was proof. he cleared his throat. “uh, i should be asking you but have you been studying.. lately? or have you been staying up all night?” he asked, changing the subject.

he twitched at your outburst excitement with your palms rested on his arm, shaking it vigorously. now that he reminded you, you gestured him for a whisper. “i found another way to stop this marriage without us hurting each other.”

what? his eyes grew big.

“aren’t you hurting me now?” he cleared his throat, referring to the reddening spot on his skin from your grip. he knew what you meant. he knew you’ve been sitting in your bed the whole day, reading e-books and going over past lectures documents.

“if i tell my dad that i’m pursuing vet school again, i think this time he’d let me. i’m confident because i do have a degree in equestrian sport science. imagine the benefit if have a degree in veterinary?” you opened a carton of milk to drink. “i wonder if my credits’ still applicable?”

“you sure you wanna do that?” jaehyun held the top your head, gripping it as if it were a basketball. “it’s gonna take you years to finish.”

“scared to have a competitor in the field, jaehyun?” your voice challenged him.

he wasn’t scared at all, he loved competitions as well as proving he could do things. but, he was scared for you. he knew the outcome of all this because it was already planned out. he was told by your father during tea break before he arrived here.

chills slowly went down your spine with that one, subtle, short silence from him.

“i’m not scared. it’s just that..” you shot up your head at his remark. he trailed off and shut his lips seeing your parents enter the living room with his beloveds.

“just what?” you stared at him with a long hum.

he had to lie and keep his opinions to himself. “are you able to take on hard words in that tiny brain of yours?” jaehyun scoffed, leaning in closer to provoke an argument with his hands patting your head.

“hey! you’re insulting my height, not my brain!” he heard your innocent whines as if they were precious— too precious that he wanted to protect you than to fight you; just for tonight.

and for the first time he was laughing sincerely at you.

week three had you imagining things, that he would look at you so differently. instead of horns they’d be halos, softer looks than tensed ones, and most of all you wonder what changed him within a day. it was confusing that he would show another side of him, then go back to what he was when you first met him.

but tonight? his possibility of change soon went void.

during dinner, whether or not it was right, that choice you made became one of the two things you regret to do and say. your father said his ultimatum in a low voice by the hallway, isolated from everyone enjoying the celebration.

“dad, please. i’ve done what you want. i think it’s time you’d allow me to do what i want.” you kept your head low in all hope this would be your final time to ask. “i’m successful as an equestrian, i hope to be more so as a veterinarian. please let me continue. i don’t want to get married yet-”

“still holding onto it, y/n?” he scoffed and took quick glances at his surroundings. “i’ve done everything for you to be known, raised you to be the best rider out there-”

and he too, held with the same stupid reason. “no dad! i raised myself to be the best because heavens knows how much damage it’ll cost me if i failed you-”

“this is the last time i saying it, you’re never going to be one.”

“but dad! you know how badly i want to be a vet-” you whined and hoping you wouldn’t cry because you promised yourself you wouldn’t.

“y/n you’re marrying jaehyun solely for that reason!” he whisper-yelled, making your heart squeeze tight because you could see how your complaints have pissed him off. “he seemed to be agreeing with me after i invited him for tea.” he fixed his hair.

w-what did he just say?..

he loosened the top button of his shirt; his gaze still scared you like it did that night. he held his temples to reason out with you. “discipline yourself tonight. i do not want hear anything from you about this matter ever again.” the impact of his tone shattered you. not only your mood but with how you perceived jaehyun as a whole.

you couldn’t remember much afterwards, anger roamed around your head and as much you kept your composure, jaehyun has a sharp eye. you’ve been quiet since coming from the hallway, hours have passed too since your father called you upstairs.

“are you alright?” jaehyun leaned on the refrigerator while you took some fruits from it. figured that you were completely ignoring him, he grabbed your favourite sweater to snap you out of your clouded feelings. “are we doing the pact now?”

it was getting suffocating being next to him. the audacity of what he did disgusted you. “hey tell me-”

you shut the fridge’s door with much force, held your breath and went to the sink to wash them. “i’m not doing it. and what’s there to tell you? just because i opened up to you that doesn’t mean we’re already close.” you coldly answered with a irritated look.

jaehyun was abruptly taken back, his hand let go of your clothes. “why are you’re suddenly like this?”

you began washing the apples as well as peeling their skin. “you’re not born yesterday, jaehyun. this is my usual self.”

“no y/n, i’m not talking about-”

“what the hell is your deal?” jaehyun could hear you mumble even with the loud blasting of holiday playlists.

“i just want to know if we’re starting the argument,. it seems like you’re doing your part-”

“you knew all along, didn’t you?” the sound of peeling almost excruciating to your ears but nothing more than his reaction to your question. ‘that my dad would refuse my plead.”

painful as it was, his expression changed. he was colder than the snow outside, heartless as a predator and unresponsive like a dead man. he just stared at you straight, acknowledging it with soft wavers of his brown orbs.

and that alone was enough to break you to pieces.

#jung jaehyun #jung yoonoh #nct jaehyun #nct 127 #jaehyun #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun au #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun fanfic #jaehyun angsy

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church-history · 3 years

Text

Our Lady’s Message At La Salette - Sep 19th 1846

Near this little fountain the two children layed down on the grass and fell asleep. How long their slumber lasted is not certain – half an hour perhaps, or three quarters of an hour or possibly more. In any case Melanie suddenly awoke and called Maximin: “Memin, Memin, let us go and find our cows, I cannot see them anywhere.” Of course, being at the bottom of the little ravine, they could not see the meadow where they had left them. Quickly they climbed the slope opposite Mount Gargas (hence they were standing on what is now the esplanade in front of the basilica). Turning around they could view the entire alpine pasture land and were greatly relieved to see that their cows had remained where they had been left, peaceably chewing the cud. Reassured, Melanie began to redescend towards the dried-up fountain to recover her little sack of provisions before once again watering the cows. Half-way down the grassy slope she paused immobilized, frozen with fear. “Memin”, she called out, “look at that great light over there”. “Where is it?”, the boy replied, as he ran and stood at her side. (At the place of the Apparition two statues represent the children on the slope of the ravine, in the first stage of the Event.) At the very spot where they had slept was a globe of fire, as if, in the children's words, “the sun had fallen there”.

The light swirled, then grew in size and, opening, disclosed within it a woman, seated, her head in her hands, her elbows on her knees, in the attitude of one oppressed with grief. Melanie, in her fright, raised her hands and dropped her shepherd's staff. Maximin thought only of defending himself. “Keep your stick”, he said to her, “I will keep mine and will give it a good whack if it does anything to us” ...Even after she conversed with them, the children could not identify their heavenly Visitor. They would simply call her “the Beautiful Lady”.

The Beautiful Lady:

The beautiful Lady now stood up while the children remained transfixed where they were. She said to them in French: “Come near, my children, be not afraid. I am here to tell you great news”. Fully reassured by these words the children hurried to meet her. Her voice, they said, was like music. They approached so near her that, as they later expressed it, another person could not have passed between them and her. The Lady also took a few steps towards them. They looked at her and noticed that she did not cease weeping all the time she spoke to them. As Maximin put it, “She was like a mama whom her own children had beaten and who had escaped to the mountain to weep.” The beautiful Lady was tall and seemed to be made of light. She was dressed like women of the region with a long dress, an apron nearly as long as the dress, a shawl that crossed over her breast and was knotted in the back, and a cap or bonnet similar to the ones worn by peasant women. Roses crowned her head while another wreath of roses adorned the edges of her white shawl and a third garland surrounded her shoes. Over her brow shone a light in the form of a diadem. On her shoulders shone a heavy chain and from a smaller golden chain hung a resplendent crucifix with a hammer and pincers placed on each side of the Cross, a little beyond the nailed hands.

The Message:

The unknown Lady now spoke to the children. “We were drinking her words”, they would say later, adding, “she wept all the time she spoke to us”. “Come near, my children, be not afraid; I am here to tell you great news. “If my people will not submit, I shall be forced to let fall the arm of my Son. It is so strong, so heavy, that I can no longer withhold it. “For how long a time do I suffer for you! If I would not have my Son abandon you, I am compelled to pray to him without ceasing; and as to you, you take not heed of it. “However much you pray, however much you do, you will never recompense the pains I have taken for you. “Six days I have given you to labor, the seventh I have kept for myself; and they will not give it to me. It is this which makes the arm of my Son so heavy. “Those who drive the carts cannot swear without introducing the name of my Son. These are the two things which make the arm of my Son so heavy. “If the harvest is spoilt, it is all on your account. I gave you warning last year with the potatoes (‘pommes de terre’) but you did not heed it. On the contrary, when you found the potatoes spoilt, you swore, you took the name of my Son in vain. They will continue to decay, so that by Christmas there will be none left.” The French expression “pommes de terre” intrigued Melanie. In the local dialect the word for potatoes was “las truffas”, whereas “pommes” for Melanie meant the fruit of the apple tree. Hence she instinctively turned towards Maximin to ask for an explanation, but the Beautiful Lady forestalled her. “Ah, my children, you do not understand? Well, wait, I shall say it otherwise”.

And she continued her discourse in the local dialect of their region. “If you have wheat, it is no good to sow it; all you sow the insects will eat, and what comes up will fall into dust when you thresh it.” “There will come a great famine. Before the famine comes, the children under seven years of age will be seized with trembling and will die in the hands of those who hold them; the others will do penance by the famine. The walnuts will become bad, and the grapes will rot.” Here the Beautiful Lady addressed the children separately, confiding to each a secret. She spoke first to Maximin, and though the little shepherd did not perceive that her tone of voice had changed, Melanie at his side could not hear a word, though she still saw the Beautiful Lady's lips moving. Then came Melanie's turn to receive her secret under like conditions. Both secrets were given in French. Again addressing the two children in the idiom familiar to them, the Lady continued: “If they are converted, the stones and rocks will change into mounds of wheat, and the potatoes will be self-sown in the land. “Do you say your prayers well, my children?”, she asked the shepherds. Both answered with complete frankness: “Not very well, Madam”. “Ah, my children”, she exhorted them, “you must be sure to say them well morning and evening. When you cannot do better, say at least an Our Father and a Hail Mary; but when you have time, say more.” “There are none who go to Mass except a few aged women. The rest work on Sunday all summer; then in the winter, when they know not what to do, they go to Mass only to mock at religion. During Lent, they go to the meat-market like dogs.” “Have you never seen wheat that is spoilt, my children?”, the Beautiful Lady then asked them. “No, Madam”, they replied. “But you, my child”, she insisted, addressing the little boy in particular, “you must surely have seen some once when you were at the farm of Coin with your father. (Coin was a hamlet near the town of Corps). The owner of the field told your father to go and see his ruined wheat. You went together. You took two or three ears of wheat into your hands and rubbed them, and they fell into dust. Then you continued home. When you were still half an hour's distance from Corps, your father gave you a piece of bread and said to you: ‘Here, my child, eat some bread this year at least; I don't know who will eat any next year, if the wheat goes on like that’”. Confronted with such precise details, Maximin eagerly replied: “Oh yes, Madam, I remember now; just at this moment I did not remember”.

Then the Lady, again speaking French as at the beginning of her discourse and when giving the secrets, said to them: “Well, my children, you will make this known to all my people.” Now she turned slightly to her left, passed in front of the children, crossed the brook Sezia, stepping on stones emerging from it, and when she was about ten feet from the opposite bank repeated her final request, without turning around or stopping: “Well, my children, you will make this well known to all my people.” These were her last words. Meanwhile the two witnesses were still standing motionless at the spot where the conversation had taken place, when suddenly they realized that the heavenly Visitor was already some steps away from them. In their eagerness to join her again, they ran across the brook and were with her in a moment. Thus, in the company of Maximin and Melanie, the Lady moved along, gliding over the tips of the grass without touching it, until she reached the top of the hillock where the children, after their sleep, had gone to look after their cows. Melanie preceded her by a few steps, and Maximin was at her right. On reaching the summit the Lady paused for a few seconds, then slowly rose up to a height of a meter and a half. She remained suspended in the air for a moment, raised her eyes to Heaven, then glanced in the direction of the southeast. At that moment, Melanie, who had been standing at the left of the Lady, came in front in order to see her better. Only then did she notice that the celestial Visitor had ceased weeping, although her features remained very sad. The radiant vision now began to disappear. “We saw her head no more, then the rest of the body no more; she seemed to melt away. There remained a great light”, related Maximin, “as well as the roses at her feet which I tried to catch with my hands; but there was nothing more”. “We looked for a long time”, added Melanie, “to see if we could not have another glimpse of her”, but the Beautiful Lady had disappeared forever. The little shepherdess then remarked to her companion: “Perhaps it was a great Saint”. “If we had known it was a great Saint”, said Maximin, “we would have asked her to take us with her”.

The Great News Spreads:

At dusk, a little earlier than usual, the children brought back their herds to the hamlet of Ablandins nestling on the mountainside below. Pierre Selme had been impatiently awaiting Maximin's return to the farm house. “Well, Memin”, he asked him, “why did you not come back to me in my field, as I told you?” “Oh”, Maximin replied, “You do not know what happened? We found by the spring a beautiful lady who entertained us a long time and talked with Melanie and myself. At first I was afraid and did not dare to go and fetch my bread which was near her, but she said to us: ‘Come near, my children, do not be afraid, I am here to tell you great news��”. The boy then related the story of the Apparition, hardly pausing for breath. He was very surprised that the people of the valley had not noticed the bright light in the ravine. He then scampered lightheartedly over to the home of Melanie's master, Baptiste Pra. The girl, busy in the stable, had as yet said nothing. Maximin, more communicative, spoke at once to the assembled Pra family about the Beautiful Lady. He was immediately surrounded and questioned. On hearing the story, the old mother of Baptiste Pra began to cry, and with the intuition her simple faith gave her exclaimed: “This beautiful Lady can be none other than the Blessed Virgin”. The others were not so sure and waited for Melanie. As she did not hurry, her mistress, old Mother Pra, ran to the cow barn to fetch her. “Come quickly and tell us what you saw with Maximin”. “I saw as he did,” the girl replied, “and since he has told you, you must know it by now.” But all insisted, so back in the kitchen of the humble cottage she stood before them and related, for the first time, the wonderful event. All were amazed to hear both children, while reciting the Lady's discourse, speaking French fluently, for that same morning neither of them knew anything or very little of that language. The pious old grandmother, more and more moved, repeated her conviction: “She is certainly the Blessed Virgin, for there is no other person in Heaven whose Son governs”. Then she turned reproachfully to her young son James: “You have heard what the Blessed Virgin said - go now and work again on Sunday!” “Bah”, came the retort, “you will make me believe that this little one has seen the Blessed Virgin, she who does not even say her prayers!” “But that night”, declared Melanie later, “I remained a long time on my knees although I hardly knew any prayers by heart”. It was eventually decided that this affair was something to be submitted to the Church. Hence, first thing in the morning, the two children descended to the village of La Salette to tell their story to the pastor, Father Jacques Perrin. A knock at the rectory door brought the priest’s housekeeper, a kind but inquisitive spinster. They said they must see the priest. Must they, indeed? And why? They had something of great importance to tell him. They could tell it to her, Francoise insisted; it was the same thing. Seeing that she was immovable, the children began their recital. Father Perrin, in the next room, heard them and as they continued, he lay down his pen (he was writing his sermon). For a while he sat motionless, then moved noiselessly toward the kitchen. When the account was complete, he stepped into the kitchen and with tears in his eyes said to the children: “How fortunate you are, my children, for it must have been the Blessed Virgin whom you saw!” It was time for Mass and when Father Perrin mounted the pulpit he began telling the people of the children’s strange experience on the mountain. But his voice was choked with emotion and his words were unintelligible save by someone who already knew the story. The people looked at each other, mystified. But there was one who understood him - Monsieur Peytard, the mayor of La Salette. In the afternoon Peytard was on his way to the hamlet of Ablandins. He did not advertise his real purpose but would casually drop in at the Pra’s house for a friendly visit. He spoke to Melanie and asked to hear again the story she had been telling (by this time Maximin was already back in Corps). When she was through, he said: “Be careful, my child, to add or suppress nothing.” “I have said everything the beautiful lady told me to say”, was her reply. Then he began to cross-examine her mercilessly, passing back and forth from threats to bribes. It was fruitless. He could not shake Melanie or get her to vary her account by a word or persuade her to say no more about it. The lengthy interview, however, did induce Pra to abandon his attitude of disbelief. There must be something to this affair. He must put the story down on paper, with the help of his friends Selme and Moussier. So, that evening Melanie was made to tell the story one more time, but now very slowly, so that Pra could get every word down on paper. How right was his instinct in giving documentary form, as quickly as possible, to what the unforgettable voice had said on the mountain just the day before! Monday morning M. Peytard descended to Corps to question Maximin. He returned to La Salette, won over by the amazing self-assurance, candor and tenacity of the boy. His account accorded perfectly, down to the last detail, with that of Melanie. Now the news spread rapidly. Pilgrims, unbelievers, skeptics, took turn in questioning the two young witnesses, trying in every way to cause them to contradict each other. Among them were journalists, delegates from the civil authorities, but most importantly ecclesiastics commissioned by Monseigneur de Bruillard, the bishop of Grenoble. For, according to Canon Law, the ultimate decision rested with the bishop in whose diocese a reported miracle or apparition had taken place.

The Judgment:

After five long years of diligent inquiries, Bishop Philibert de Bruillard of Grenoble, published his longawaited decision, on September 19, 1851: “We judge that the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin to the two cowherds on the 19th of September, 1846, on a mountain of the chain of Alps, situated in the parish of La Salette, in the archpresbytery of Corps, bears within itself all the characteristics of truth, and that the faithful have grounds for believing it indubitable and certain.” The mission assigned by Our Lady to Maximin and Melanie was now ended. On September 19, 1855, Monseigneur Ginoulhiac, the new bishop of Grenoble, thus assessed the situation: “The mission of the children is now ended, that of the Church begins.” Innumerable today are the men and women of all races and countries who have found in the message of La Salette the road to conversion, a deepening of their faith, the needed dynamism for their everyday lives, and the motives for their commitment with and in Christ to the service of all peoples.

Read more at: https://www.lasalette.org/about-la-salette/apparition/the-story/705-the-message-of-la-salette.html

#catholic #Catholic History #la salette #our lady of la salette #Christian #blessed virgin mary #mary the mother of god #france #september 19th

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cybertronian-cupid · 3 years

Text

💙Valveplug TFP AUTOBOTS💙:

Lingerie Headcanons

............................. ....................... ............................

Optimus

Any and all things that you can find to fuel his religion kink.

You could wear the normal nun costumes, but where’s the fun in that? You go out of your way to find the lingerie, and he is n o t disappointed.

Demons and succubus style lingerie also mildly fuels this religion kink of his, bot in the same way that nuns do, but boi, they still do.

And, of course, we can't forget angel style~

Doc Bot never believed he would like sexy nurse attire, but you manage to change his mind.

............................. ....................... ............................

Ratchet

Only a little (No, it’s a lot, he just refuses to admit it)

The closer to his color scheme, the better.

He’s sad to find that most lingerie in his colors is Christmas themed.

He finds he likes ribbons, though.

No matter the color, there’s something so satisfying about unwrapping you~

There’s something so cute about seeing you in cat lingerie.

Is it the cat shaped keyhole? The little paw pads on the strings keeping your bottoms tied to your waist? The bell?

Aprons. Just an apron. He will fluster x10, he will question the safety of cooking while mostly nude… he’ll probably fuck you on the counter if you tease him enough like that.

Likes something that’s more strings than fabric

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Arcee

Things that are practically too small to cover anything

Micro bikinis and g-strings

She also likes boxer shorts

Leather is nice, she especially likes seeing her s/o wearing biker gloves, but also leather corsets and gloves.

Leather pants, at least once, p l e a s e, she at least wants to see it.

Is it weird that seeing you in a cow-print lingerie set revs his engines? He doesn’t think so.

............................. ....................... ............................

Cliffjumper

He gets a bit of a laugh out of playing with the bell around your neck the first time, but after hearing how it jingles when he’s ramming into you… He can’t hear any bells without thinking about it.

There are consequences to this, for him at least.

Christmas is a very hard time of year…

No matter what his s/o wears, he’s flustered about it.

............................. ....................... ............................

Bulkhead

That being said, he’s especially flustered about liking the cow lingerie. He can’t explain why.

Virgin killer sweaters? Yes please. They’re so soft, and yet so scandalous.

There’s also something so sweet and domestic feeling about his s/o wearing just an apron.

Also likes cow lingerie, he thinks it’s cute how little it covers.

............................. ....................... ............................

Wheeljack

He loves when his s/o is a sweet lil kitty for him, too~

Maybe he just has a thing for bells…

Virgin killer sweaters are also g r e a t he will likely tease you with touches to your very exposed back

Same goes for his s/o only wearing an apron at any given time, though he'll likely be a lot more handsy given how much more of you is exposed like this.

He’s a fan of teddies and chemise/babydoll sets. They’re cute, decently modest (some of them, anyway), and he has absolutely mistaken them for pajamas more than once.

............................. ....................... ............................

Ultra Magnus

The first time his s/o wears one of these in a sheer and/or lacey style, he gets way too flustered. This never changes.

There’s something so so scandalous about uniform lingerie, especially those that are a bad, sexy parody of school uniforms.

He’s ashamed to admit that the first time his s/o wore the tiny skirt with the sheer, far too tight to ever be approved by any school faculty shirt, he couldn’t take his eyes off of them.

#tfp valveplug #valveplug #tfp optimus prime #tfp ratchet #tfp arcee #tfp bulkhead #tfp cliffjumper #tfp wheeljack #tfp ultra magnus #Lingerie headcanons

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elexica · 3 years

Text

Second Chance Christmas: {{ December 25 }}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27832405/chapters/69387498

Christmas Day. *not the last chapter*

Merry Christmas y'all! Thank you for your readership, your comments, your kindness. It means so much to me. Last chapter will be up within 24 hours.

Full chapter after the read more.

Joey was rudely awakened by the thump of his entire son against his chest. Aforementioned son was practically vibrating as he and his sister continued their complete attack, disrupting the significant quantity of pillows around. The duvet was bouncing from the combined child-energy.

“It’s Christmaaaaaassss!!!” Atticus shouted before burying his head in a pillow.

Kaiba loomed in the doorway, sipping from a branded mug with a smug look on his face as Joey tried to calm the chaos that was Alexis jumping up and down on their bed. Kaiba was already dressed for the day in yet another black turtleneck, and was completely devoid of any festive costume.

Shit, Joey thought. Half the presents weren’t wrapped and should be on full display on his desk… None of them had been placed under the tree when he and Kaiba had gotten distracted and…

“Shall we see if Santa visited?” Kaiba offered. Joey leveled a frustrated glare before his eyes managed to fix on the desk in the room which was… devoid of any trace. The wrapping paper and remaining presents were gone. Even the tape had been restored to its position in the caddy.

It was enough for Joey to believe, for a second, in Christmas magic.

The kids accepted their victory gracefully, scampering from the bed to the stairs and rushing down towards the stockings and the tree.

“Did you…” Joey asked, morning grogginess still sticking to him like sweet molasses.

Kaiba tossed Joey’s bathrobe onto the bed, and smirked into his mug as he stalked out.

The tree was illuminated and so thoroughly surrounded by presents, the kids couldn’t get within a three-foot radius of the base of the tree. Still, like monsters, they ripped through the presents with alarming speed. A hurricane of wrapping paper flew across the living room—with no regard for the delicate job of some of them, or the pretty fluffy bows affixed to the gifts.

“A yo-yo?!” Atticus announced, unwrapping a box containing a competition grade yo-yo. Joey looked on in horror as Kaiba’s smile grew more devious. “The string isn’t even on?!”

Atticus handed it to Joey, intuitively knowing that it wasn’t the sort of thing Kaiba was going to respond to.

Joey’s face blanched at the weight of the device in his hand. Like everything else that had happened that week, it was intimately familiar, buried deep in the recesses of his memory, and slightly nausea-inducing.

It was a high quality yo-yo, matte jet black and from the feel of it in his hand, the ball bearings were perfectly aligned. The crimson string was just waiting to be looped on, which Joey expertly did—carefully unwinding the twists enough to slip them over the yo-yo. And then, balancing the yo-yo on the string, he rewound the yo-yo by sliding it along the thread.

In his mind, the process took forever, even if only a few seconds had passed.

“Thanks Dad!” Atticus chirped, retrieving the yo-yo from his hand to begin playing with it.

Joey slowly returned to the present, where Kaiba commented, “You should ask your dad to some you some tricks.”

Eventually they had shredded all of the wrappings and the kids were completely occupied with their gifts. Alexis was tearing open the booster packs and struggling her way through the more complex words on some of the cards. Atticus had his deck out, too, and he leaned over her shoulder and explained some of the text and card effects patiently.

Joey glanced over at Kaiba, who was smiling the same smile from Mokuba’s wedding photos.

“Remembering what it was like to be a big brother?” Joey prodded.

Kaiba nodded. “Things were rarely this peaceful, but when they were… I did not always know how to appreciate it.”

Joey reached a hand to Kaiba’s back and stroked over the soft cashmere of the black turtleneck reassuringly. “I wish things had been different too.” And Joey leaned his head onto Kaiba’s shoulder. “But they’re pretty good right now, huh?”

Kaiba nodded, hair shifting against Joey’s.

Atticus fired up the latest model of the Duel Disk, and the hologram took over half of the room, consuming the Christmas tree and the better part of his sister, who screamed.

Kaiba and Joey were on their feet in an instant—Kaiba showing Atticus how to adjust the settings on the Duel Disk and Joey to rescue Alexis from the belly of a dragon.

. . .

As Kaiba flipped a chocolate chip pancake, he spared a quick glance to a shiny Rolex watch. Another one of the treasures that Kaiba had left behind years ago, and Joey hadn’t had the nerve to mail back or pawn off.

“What time will your sister be coming by?”

The question was said in an innocent tone of voice, overshadowed by the sizzle of the pancake against the cast iron. But Joey knew what it meant—the timer on their holiday magic was running low.

The snow of the snow globe was settling on the fantasy of a happy family. Joey would have to either shake it up again or accept that time had sucked out the hope, like glitter and plastic pooling at the bottom.

Kaiba would do anything to avoid having to face Joey’s sister. Even after moving to New York, Joey’s mother was not really a part of his life due to a mixture of built up resentment and a genuine lack of connection. But Serenity was a frequent visitor, and a huge source of love and support—especially during and after the divorce.

As much as it bothered Joey, Kaiba was probably right to try to avoid her. Serenity wasn’t very pleased with Kaiba after the divorce—or before it—and frankly it was a reasonable act of self-preservation to try and dodge. Joey considered lying, trapping Kaiba right there, letting Serenity lay into him.

Anything to make him stay a little longer.

But Joey had grown into an honest man, unfortunately for him, and he answered with the truth: “She gets off shift at noon.”

Kaiba nodded, plating up the pancakes. There was something a little magic to seeing Kaiba in the apron, making breakfast. Joey thought he might be getting used to the sight of Kaiba, surrounded by ingredients, carefully putting together meals.

Joey was inclined to agree with Mokuba, Kaiba was pretty good at the staples. It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate chip pancakes, but sometimes the chips can get too burnt, and the chocolate chips can get stuck to the pan.

Atticus and Alexis seemed to share the sentiment, as Kaiba continued to flip pancakes for another forty-five minutes to make enough for the family.

Just as Kaiba sat down to his own pancake, his eyes darted away.

Kaiba had a preternatural sense for trouble, honed through the nonstop turmoil of his youth. Like Spiderman’s extra-sensory perception, Kaiba stared at his untouched breakfast plate and immediately announced, “I’ve got to go,” popping up from the breakfast table.

He didn’t seem to have much packed up, other than a briefcase with his work laptop. Joey wondered if he was going to keep leaving all of the other shit here. The traces of Kaiba that the other man hadn’t managed to take back with him, the books, the whiskey, the scar cream, the turtlenecks…

Reminders that Kaiba was here, little touches of his ghost clinging to the bookcase, the end tables, the closets. Just like dust, Kaiba had settled into the hard-to-reach crevices of his life.

Joey feigned ignorance. “What?” he asked, “It’s still Christmas.” As if he didn’t know that whatever magic they had between them had to disappear before another adult saw. The great Seto Kaiba learning and growing? No outsiders were allowed to see a travesty like that.

The man was already headed to the door, and Joey had to pursue him. Serenity’s car was visible from the front hallway. She had gotten off shift about a half an hour ago, and had made a beeline for the family home.

“As far as the children are concerned, the main events of the holiday have concluded.” Kaiba pulled out the Mercedes keys. He had obviously been thinking about his getaway. The schemer.

“That doesn’t mean you have to go now,” Joey positioned himself between Kaiba and the door.

“Don’t.” Kaiba said it like a warning, low and serious. There was a note in his voice that was too harsh.

The entire week had felt like he had been rifling through different versions of Kaiba. The savage man he used to know, the love of his life, the impermeable shadow who lurked in his study, the father of his kids.

Now, once again, Joey was facing the most intense version of Kaiba—determined, cornered, cruel.

“Come on, it doesn’t have to be, you can just…” Joey didn’t know what to say, but he did spread his arms out, making a better barrier between his ex-husband and the exit.

Kaiba bowed his head, more threatening, more looming. “I don’t know what this is, you don’t know what this is. It’s not fair to the children to have us… so undetermined. Unstable. Whatever this armistice was, it was above all temporary.”

Joey was never that easily cowed. “I don’t remember having that conversation?!” He spat back.

Kaiba stood taller again, reaching past Joey to undo the deadbolt. “Can you, for once, not make this harder for me than it has to be?”

Joey hesitated. Maybe Kaiba was right, maybe this was too unstable. Maybe it just wasn’t fair to the kids. Darting back and forth from a loving family to practically strangers. From the soreness in his chest, the anxiety he felt at the thought that Kaiba would vanish from his life again—all that presence, gone in a flash—he knew it wasn’t fair to himself to play the game either.

“If you really want to go that bad, I won’t stop you,” Joey said, finally.

Kaiba passed by Serenity in the driveway. She wished him a Merry Christmas but he just kept walking.

. . .

“You did what?!” Serenity choked on her eggnog. They were watching Atticus and Alexis duel in the snow, holograms bouncing and leaping through the wintry landscape. The snowflakes disappeared as soon as the reached the holograms, hidden by the solidvision programming.

Joey remembered, somewhat, when Kaiba was first trying to get the software to play nice with foreign particles. And Joey hated that he was impressed with the result.

“Look, he as here for a week and… he’s different. I really think he, y’know, he got it. He understood what he was missing,” Joey said, more into his own eggnog than to his sister.

She shook her head. “I saw him, he didn’t seem all that different to me,” she paused to sip her eggnog. “But that’s none of my business.”

“That was… he’s not great with…” Joey could hear himself, hear the excuses rolling off of his tongue. He hated being in the position of defending the other man’s frustrating decisions and bad attitude.

She put her hand on his shoulder. “I get it. I’ve know him a long time, right? I get that he can be… I don’t know, he has to be warmer with you, right?”

Joey nodded, realizing that tears were pooling in his eyes, the beautiful snowy backyard dissolving into a soft watery mess.

“But I also know he’s driving to the airport now. And I highly doubt Seto Kaiba waits on the tarmac for long. If you’ve got something to say to him, maybe you should get out there. I can watch the kids.”

. . .

Joey flashed whatever fancy looking crap he found in the top drawer of Kaiba’s desk in the study to the airport security checkpoint. He had no idea which ones went to what at the airport, but no one had stopped him when he had driven, perhaps recklessly, very close to the tarmac. He only had to jump on fence to be on the asphalt—and it was never difficult to tell which plane belonged to his ex-husband.

No one else who parked their private jets at the Westchester airport had the same fondness for the Blue Eyes White Dragon, that was for sure.

Joey had never felt as insignificant as he did on the tarmac. Even though Kaiba was only in the jet, the distance between them made him feel like Kaiba was already airborne, and he was the size of an ant—a speck in the map, a pixel.

“Hey. I got something to say to you!” Joey shouted at the plane. He assumed Kaiba couldn’t hear him, but the body language would have to be enough—waving his arms, clothed in his bathrobe, thick fabric flapping in the chilling wind. From his peripheral vision, he could see the airport staff already streaming out to take the civilian off of the dangerous runway.

But instead the stairway descended, and the door opened. Kaiba’s imposing silhouette cut a nerve-wracking shadow. Joey was taken back to the days when the man would hang off of helicopter ladders and yell about card games.

“Jounouchi, it is not safe for you to stand in the tarmac!” The outline yelled back.

“Well, I got something to say to you!” Joey screamed over the sounds of another airplane taking off.

Kaiba descended a few steps, but not all the way. He couldn’t be bothered to touch the same ground as Joey. Kaiba extended a hand gracefully, wordlessly gesturing for Joey to continue.

“Do you wanna stay?” Joey asked. It was a simple question, honest, and more sincerely curious that even he had expected.

“I have work, Jounouchi,” Kaiba turned around and ascended again.

“What do you want?!” Joey yelled at his back.

Kaiba spun back, with a shocking amount of frustration pulling at his face.

“What do you want?” Kaiba shouted down with absolute vitriol.

What did Joey want? He wanted him to change, he’d said that in the past, and Kaiba had answered that he couldn’t.

And then he did.

Joey just wanted that—what Kaiba had already become. All he had to do was say that, right? Stay. That’s what he wanted. And, keep trying. And, I want you to want to keep trying.

But that would be giving in to Kaiba’s demands, right? Letting him win, letting him off the hook. All the shitty days, all the half-assed affection, all the last priority moves. There was a little block there, a clot in the artery between his feelings and a reality that he could accept. Kaiba never apologized, so he didn’t deserve forgiveness, did he? Had Kaiba ever even figured out what he had done wrong?

The guards were closing in.

“I want you to apologize.”

If Kaiba could say he was sorry, Joey could say that he wanted him to stay. To come back for real.

Kaiba looked at him, and all the anger that had made it to his face evaporated. It melted away to his old mask—a casual disdain for everyone else in the world.

“I will not apologize for who I am. You should know better than that. Good bye, Jounouchi.” He disappeared from Joey’s vision and returned to the cockpit.

Joey could have taken the five security guards, in his heyday. But he found himself passively wandering back into the airport under their glares.

That wasn’t quite not what he wanted an apology for. He didn’t need Kaiba to apologize for being a mess of a man, an impatient man, at times uncaring, frequently distant and harsh. He just wanted Kaiba to apologize for the way he had made Joey feel, and for leaving without even trying. For leaving again. For being so criminally unwilling to admit his own happiness, capitulate to his own fulfillment.

Really, Joey didn’t want much. He just wanted enough that he could bear to drive Kaiba back home.

But, maybe Kaiba was right about himself. Maybe he really didn’t change. Not enough, maybe even not at all.

#Violetshipping #puppyshipping #seto kaiba #Kaiba Seto #Jounouchi Katsuya #Joey Wheeler #my fic #GOD Y'ALL I FELT GUILTY AS I POSTED IT

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abused-sides · 4 years

Text

Two Stars [Supernatural AU]

On ao3

Synopsis: Roman and Remus work a vampire case on their twenty-second birthday, and fight the entire time.

Ship & Genre: Platonic, creativitwins

Trigger warnings: Arguing, cursing, porn mention, animal death mention, vampire mention, accident misgendering, let me know if I missed anything

Word count: 1255

A/N: I watched “A Very Supernatural Christmas” and it had me feeling a kind of way. Also, if you’re wondering why this au is on this blog and not one of my many others, it’s all in the backstory.

Remus threw the door open with a flourish. “Ta-da!”

Roman raised an eyebrow. He stepped inside and dropped their bags, looking around. He wasn’t impressed. “What is this, three stars?”

Remus grinned. “Four!”

He sighed heavily as Remus’ grin faded. “Remus, we can’t afford a four star hotel. Come on, go get our money back while I look for something else.”

Remus flopped onto one of the beds with a stubborn pout. “It’s your birthday present!”

“That’s…” He shook his head. “That’s sweet, but I don’t need a present. Especially not one this expensive.”

Remus hesitated. “Does that mean I’m not getting one?”

“Remus. Get our money back.”

Remus slammed the car door with a huff as he settled into the passenger’s seat. He stuffed the cash in his wallet and tossed his feet onto the dashboard.

“What’s the damage?” Roman pulled out of the parking lot and swatted at Remus’ boots.

Remus kicked his hands away. “Twenty bucks.”

“Jesus Christ.”

Remus leaned over and flicked on the radio. Roman flinched as death metal screamed through the speakers. Roman shut it off.

“Tell me,” he said flatly.

Remus threw his hands in the air. “You’re being a dick! We wouldn’t be out twenty if you just let us keep the room.”

He snorted. “Right. We’d be out one-twenty.”

“It wasn’t one-twenty,” Remus grumbled.

“How much?”

“One-fourty.”

Roman laughed bitterly.

Remus scowled at him. “Well, what’d you find?”

“A motel on the outside of town, thirty bucks a night.”

His gaze slipped out the window. “Great, another one star for our birthday,” he grumbled.

“It’s two stars, actually. Stop whining. Why do you always get like this? It’s just another day, Remus, we still have work to do.”

Remus flipped the radio on.

They lugged their bags into the motel room and Remus threw himself onto one of the beds, finding the remote. Roman twirled the car keys around his finger.

He leaned against the wall by the door. “Are you hungry?”

“Nope.” Remus flicked through the channels.

He smiled a little. “Come on. You’re always hungry. I’ll pay.”

Remus rolled his eyes. “You’re just trying to stake out the diner for the vampires. I’m not stupid. You wanna work so bad on our birthday, go ahead.”

Roman grimaced as Remus stopped the T.V. on the first porn channel he came across. “You want me to work this one by myself?”

“I didn’t say that. Is it so wrong that I don’t want to work today?”

Roman stomped over and shut off the T.V. Remus sat up with a huff. “Yes. It is. What the hell does it matter what today is? We still have shit to do. The vampires are still going to hurt someone. You want to let that happen just because, what, we’re twenty-two today?”

“They haven’t even hurt anybody!” Remus cried. “If they’re even here. You dragged us over two states for some dead cows, Roman. If there are vampires here, they haven’t done shit. They probably just want to be left alone.”

Roman crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you?”

He met Roman’s eyes. “Yes,” he lied.

Roman stared at him, then laughed incredulously. “I’ll be at the diner,” he grumbled. The door slammed behind him.

Remus flicked the T.V. back on and settled into the sheets. His eyes watered.

xxx

Roman had planned on eating, but when the server arrived, nothing but coffee seemed appetizing. “And, actually, can you put two slices of cake in a to-go box?”

The server tucked her unused notepad into her apron pocket. “Sure. A little late for coffee, though. You want decaf?”

He shook his head. “No, I’ll be here a while. You’re twenty-four hours, right?”

“Mhm,” she hummed. Her faded purple bangs fell in her pale face. “Well, my shift just started, so I should be here until three a.m.”

Roman smiled weakly. “I don’t care if you have to switch servers on me. Don’t let me keep you.”

She smiled back. Roman tilted his head in confusion. Her nametag read Virgil.

“Virgil,” he cleared his throat, “that’s an interesting name.”

She chuckled, leaning against the table. “Yeah, well I like it.”

He nodded slowly. “So it’s a… Chosen name?”

“Mhm.”

“Oh.” Roman kicked himself. They’re not a vampire, they’re trans. “What made you choose Virgil?”

They shrugged a little. “I guess I just liked it. Let me go get that coffee.”

They started to leave, when Roman called after them. They looked back at him curiously. “Uh- Pronouns?”

They smiled. “He/him.”

“Me, too.”

Roman spent hours at the diner, biding his time with his sketchbook. Virgil wandered over between the handful of other customers, complimenting his art and refilling his coffee. Around one a.m., after everyone but Roman had long since left, a handful of kids their age burst inside, half of them engulfed in conversation. They sat around the bar, everyone talking to Virgil at once.

“Alright, everybody shut up,” he laughed. For the first time, he used his notepad. He pointed at one of them with a pen. “Janus, you first.”

After putting in all their orders, Virgil came back to Roman with the coffee pot. “Regulars?” Roman asked.

“Friends,” Virgil corrected.

Roman watched them suspiciously, humming. One of the girls looked back and caught his gaze. “Hey, you’re staying in the Great Pine Inn, right?” When Roman nodded, she clicked her tongue. “Bad choice. You guys should get your money back. You know they have roaches, right?”

Roman sighed. “Figures.”

Virgil gave a sympathetic smile and went to refill his friends. Roman downed his coffee and laid a twenty on the table. He packed away his sketchbook, slung his bag over his shoulder, and grabbed his to-go box before heading out.

Remus was asleep when Roman got back. He closed the door quietly and put the box in their mini-fridge, before stripping his jeans and climbing into bed.

“Is that cake?” Remus asked groggily.

Roman sat up. “Are you a blood hound?”

He felt around sleepily for the box and sat up, flipping it open. He picked up one of the slices with his bare hand and bit into it like a pizza. “I just know you,” he said with his mouth full. He hummed happily. “You’re forgiven. Vampires?”

Roman settled against the headboard and laughed. “I think I’ve got a line on them, but I’m not certain.”

He raised an eyebrow and shoved the rest of the cake in his mouth. He held the box out. “You really think there’s some here?”

Roman found a fork to attack his slice with. “Maybe. This big group came in right before I left, had all the subtle signs. And the waiter, his name is Virgil. What is that, 19th century?”

“Is he trans?”

Roman hesitated. “Yes.” Remus blew out a laugh and rolled his eyes. “There are trans vampires!”

“I’m not saying there are no trans vampires, I’m saying his name being ‘Virgil’ doesn’t mean anything. Sure, it’s a weird, old name, but did you forget who I named myself after?”

“I still think you stole my name,” Roman grumbled. He shut off the lights. “Go to sleep, Rem. You’re helping me tail some of them tomorrow.”

They laid down, backs to each other. Roman pulled the covers up to his chin and burrowed into the blankets.

“Happy birthday, Rem.”

He smiled. “Happy birthday, fucker.”

Kofi and Commissions: Each coffee equals 300 words for a prompt of your choosing. General kofi, nsfw kofi.

#roman sanders #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #virgil sanders #creativitwins #idc if you tag this as remrom but for the record it isn't written that way #but go crazy #roman #remus #virgil #virgil writes #supernatural au #hurt/comfort

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thehopefuldandelion · 4 years

Text

Not Him

part 3

part 1 and 2 and 3 on ao3. part 1 and 2 and 3 on ff.net.

thanks to all who have supported me on this journey!

*sends kisses and hugs*

also I'm sorry this has taken me weeks. life has been hectic.

***

Peeta

My god. Holy frickin cow. Katniss kissed me. Well, my cheek but still! The burning sensation from her soft kiss is still present. She may have run from me but at least I have a chance with her, the most beautiful goddess there is. I sound like a fuckin’ love sick teenager.

That fateful day that the stars aligned and she interviewed, I knew the universe was sending me a message. I’ve known Katniss since forever. Those putrid yellow swings’ memory still burns a hole in the back of my mind. The little girl with the red checkered dress and two braids moving with the wind, she was absolutely breathtaking, and, well, she still is. I may have been 5, but hey, the heart wants what it wants.

Graduation, class of 2009. It was sunset, the most vivid sunset I think I’ve ever seen. The sky was painted with indigo, orange, and rose colored pink. Katniss Everdeen, the star of my wet dreams, became more than I ever thought a person could. She not only stole my heart but gained a new title, the girl on fire. The subtle reds and vibrant oranges mixed behind her while she gave her eloquent valedictorian speech. My heart only had room for her and I could barely breath she was just that alluringly, gorgeous. I thought of her as my Katniss even though every interaction with her ended with insults. She loathed me and I wasn't sure why. I’m still confused as to what changed.

I watch her long, wavy raven hair flutter behind her as she runs to her car. I bring my fingers up to touch my cheek, savoring the memory of her soft lips.

Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

***

Katniss

As I drive home, I begin to question my barely there sanity. I-why did I kiss him? Not only is he my boss but I hated him. No, hate not hated. What’s wrong with me? I feel as if everything in my life is changing so fast I can’t see the path in front of me like a car on a foggy morning. My lungs fill with air that can’t seem to release and before I know it, I’m hyperventilating. Blindly, I shove the key in my apartment door, unlock, lock, and sink to my knees with my back against the door.

I can’t explain these rampant feelings that are blindsiding me. Do I actually like Peeta Mellark? He does cause butterflies to erupt in my stomach and warmth to flow throughout my body when he walks in a room. Our past 2 “dates” awakened my soul more than it has been in years. He was flustered and shy after I kissed his cheek. What could that mean. Does he like me? Wait, he hated it didn't he. God, I’m such a dickhead and I don’t even have one.

As the days pass into weeks and weeks into months, I do my best to avoid Peeta at all costs. He seems to be doing the same which is fine with me. I still have erotic thoughts and memories of that fateful night at the movies but as times moves on, it pushes to the back of my mind. He and I aren’t a thing. Right?

It was Christmas time in Panem. Rosy cheeks and runny noses with melodious laughter fill every coffee shop, street, and home in this little town. Snow banks pile up on the edges of roads. I decided to come home for my Christmas vacation, not that there is really a home to come back for. While the neighbors would hang boughs of holly and red ribboned wreaths with colorful lights, my house was bland. It wasn’t always like this. When my father was alive, there never was a dreary day. Of course that all changed when he passed and my mom became a recluse. She moved away shortly after, but I couldn’t bring myself to sell the house. Memories of sweet hot cocoa and Eskimo kisses flood into my mind. A slice of my heart died with my father.

Shaking those troubled thoughts away, I climb the steps of the rickety wood porch and open the front door. Because I never visit, it has fallen apart, literally. Oh, father I’m so sorry. Roughly all the window panes are broken and rat droppings are scattered around. The kitchen faucet is loose and dust clouds.= every surface. I have my work cut out for me.

I spot some firewood outside and lay it in the hearth, lighting a match and setting the wood ablaze. Warmth. Love. Home. I missed this. The smell of wilderness and smoke waft into nose. I curl up and fall into a deep sleep, rat droppings and all.

Tap. Tap. Tap. I awake to a sharp knock at the door. Peeta? What is he doing here all handsome and muscular. My god, his arms. I want to lick the sweat that glistens on his forehead.

“Peeta? What are you doing here?” I ask confused and slightly drowsy from sleep.

“Katniss,” Peeta says breathlessly. “I-I can’t keep doing this. Why did you stop speaking to me?”

Taken back by his words, I hesitate before saying, “I thought you hated the kiss, I mean, me.”

“Hate you, no, never Katniss. I love you, completely and incandescently,” he says while stepping into the house and brushing a strand of hair behind my ear.

He...loves me? Me? How was I so stupid. Without thinking, I gently press my lips against his. He is hesitant at first but adds pressure to my lips, lightly kissing back. He then wraps his arms around my waist, as I bite his lip, sucking it to relieve pain. He tentatively tangles his tongue with mine causing a moan to bubble up in my throat. We break for air, the tension sizzling between us. His baby blue eyes are darker and filled with lust.

I forcefully latch my lips on his and he pushes me against the now closed door. Through our bruising, loving, tender kisses, I feel an underlying urge for more. To initiate this, I jump into his arms with my legs wrapping around his waist. I hear a “Fuck Katniss” and I groan loudly.

‘Do’. Kiss. ‘You’. Kiss. ‘Know’. Kiss. ‘How’. Kiss. ‘Long’. Kiss. ‘I’ve’. Kiss. ‘Wanted this,’ Peeta says shakily. He makes his way to the stairs and I point him in the direction of my bedroom. He grins and gently lowers me to the bed. He gently unbuttons my shirt while I push down his jeans.

“Peeta,” I moan excited for what’s about to happen. I can’t believe-

Bang. I sit up looking around me. My hair sticks to my forehead as my whole body is drenched in sweat. Shit. The handle of the sink in the kitchen fell off. The fire is nothing but embers and ashes at this point with the sun streaming though a crack in the curtains. Disorientedly, I walk to my bag and pull out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. I am in definite need of a shower.

I decide to go into town once I’ve showered and changed. A quick glance outside of the kitchen window shows evidence of powdery snow dusting every surface. It’s a winter wonderland, literally. I wonder what Peeta would think of this. He always had an eye for beauty. Thoughts of him brings me back to my dream. It was so realistic and I-I wish it could be real. What am I thinking? Even though it's not exactly right, I don’t regret any of these thoughts.

***

As I walk around the narrow brick streets, stopping briefly in each store, my stomach lightly grumbles. In the distance, a bakery can be seen. Warm light spills out the clear windows, illuminating the snow in gold. My fingers itch to open the heavy, wood door and feel the heat tingle my cheeks and toes. The aroma of freshly baked pastries and bread waft into my nose, leading me to the door.

The wooden floor is worn but homely and the countertops have just been cleaned. Surprisingly, the cozy bakery is empty, not a soul can be seen. Eh, their loss. More pastries for me.

I bend down to look at all the mouth watering cookies, mini cakes, and breads. and spot something that I remember from my childhood. When I was younger, my dad would take me to the bakery every Sunday after hunting. He would buy a cheese bun and spilt half of it with me. The curly haired baker’s son would walk from the back with a fresh bun and hand it to me with a shy grin on his face. That all stopped when my father passed and I never saw the baker or his kind son ever again.

A man’s voice shakes me out of that memory.

“Would you like to buy something, miss?”

I stand up slowly and look the man on the eye and say, “Yes, definitely.”

The man is an older gentleman with crinkles around his bright blue eyes when he smiles. His hair is golden with gray mixed in. He is also tall with broad shoulders, he seems like an older version of Peeta almost.

“Can I get 1 cheese bun please?” I ask politely to the man.

“Yes of course, Katniss,”he responds.

“What-wh-how do you know my name?” I reply in a shocked tone.

“Why Katniss, it's me. Peeta’s father.”

“Oh my gosh. Mr. Mellark? It’s been years.”

“Yes indeed it has. I sold this bakery about a decade ago and moved closer to the city to be near Peeta. He helped me open a bakery there, which he owns now, and it is very successful,” he says with pride in his voice. “I moved back to Panem about a year ago and bought this bakery back and it has been my love ever since.”

I nod at this and realize that Peeta works for a huge corporation he started up and owns a bakery. What else can he do?

Mr. Mellark walks to the back, I’m guessing to pick up a fresh cheese bun, and discusses something with someone. I’m slightly craning my ears to hear what is being said when the last person I expected to be here walks out.

Peeta.

Fucking.

Mellark.

“K-Katniss. What are you doing here,” he says, slightly flustered.

My cheeks blush as I remember my erotic dream of last night. Peeta’s hair is unruly as if it has been brushed through by his hands one too many times. He is wearing a tight fitting white shirt with a similarly colored apron around his muscular waist. A bit of flour lines his upper cheek and icing trails down his shirt. He is hot.

“Uh, I decided to come home for Christmas. What about you?”

How ironic is it that the girl who always had something rude to spat out at Peeta, can barely make a comprehensible sentence.

“Same. So, um, here is your cheese bun,” Peeta replies while handing me the gooey and delicious pastry with a crooked grin.

Oh my God.

Peeta is that boy. The boy with the bread. My boy with the bread.

“Th-tha-thank you,” I stutter out.

I quickly turn on my heel and find a table to eat at. The daisies and flickering candles create a sweet ambiance that distracts me from the weather outside. Speaking of which, the snow is heavily falling, to the point where you can’t see your own hand in front of your face. On top of that, it's dark, the sunset having already set, and I realize that getting home will not be easy.

Shit.

The cheese bun, which was delicious, is gone in a flash and I start towards the door. I push with all my might but realize it won’t open because of the packed snow in front of it. Dang it.

“Katniss, do you need help?” Peeta asks, watching my struggle.

“No, I don’t need help,” I grumble. I then turn back around, back facing Peeta, and push some more.

After a couple more attempts and badly held in giggles from Peeta, I give up and resignedly walk back to the table I had preciously occupied. Damn him.

I come to the conclusion that I will not be leaving this bakery until at least morning. Might as well get prepared for a long night.

Peeta comes towards the table and says, “Seeing as the snow won’t let up any time soon, I guess we are stuck here.” No duh.

I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly at this and lay my head on my arms.

“Well, the table can’t be comfortable, Katniss.”

“It’s fine, Peeta. Perfectly okay,” I mumble to him in my sweater.

“I-I have a loft above the bakery with a bed and bathroom if you want to use it. I don’t mind, honestly,” he rubs the back of his neck while blushing causing me to fluster. Why am I so weird around this man?

“Uh-well, if y-you don’t mind,” I respond while standing up and gathering my stuff.

“Follow me.”

Peeta leads me through what seems a maze of a kitchen in the back and farther into the building until we reach a flight of stairs.

“Ladies first,” he tells me.

I blush, again, and walk quickly up the stairs. At the top, is a large oak door which I can only guess was from a large tree that soars into the air. Peeta steps around me and unlocks the door, cracking it open. I cautiously peer at him and he nods his head in a manner of telling me to enter.

Whoa. That is my first reaction to the professional kitchen with metal countertops and floor to ceiling window on the south wall. In one corner is a mini office, complete with a desk and chair with stacks of paper, bills I'm guessing, laid on top. The opposite side of the loft holds a worn, blue couch and small tv. Outdoor lights brighten the place and can be found hanging from almost every high surface. The bathroom is directly across from the front door and the spacious bedroom is next to it. Who new a loft could have this much character with its brick walls and worn orange wood floors.

“My father has a house about a mile from here and we rent this place out when I’m not home. It helps during slow times at the bakery and I don’t get down here much so its rented almost all year round. This is home for me, I guess.” Peeta says timidly.

“I’m speechless. This loft is beautiful,” I say in awe.

I drop my belongings and follow Peeta as he gives me a quick tour.

“Thank you for this, truly,” I address him.

“Of course, Katniss. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he smiles back at me.

“Could I use a toothbrush and tooth paste by chance?”

“Yes, I will go get them for you,” Peeta says as he walks to a small hall closet. “I also have some sweats and a t-shirt you can borrow if you would be more comfortable.”

“U-uh yes. Thank you,” I say quickly, stumbling on my words. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about changing but Peeta offered so I couldn't refuse.

He returns with clothes and basic toiletries for me to use tonight and I take them and smile shyly.

“I’ll be back.”

He nods his head and walks over to the kitchen, I presume to bake.

Closing the bathroom door softly, I realize the awkward predicament I am currently stuck in. What does it mean that I’m wearing my boss’ clothes? I wore his shirt before. This isn't that different. What about sleeping arrangements? Surely, he will want to sleep in his bed and I’ll take the couch. Yes, right, that’s perfect.

The shirt’s scent was, well, Peeta. Dill and cinnamon with a hint of detergent wafting to my nose. It was a couple sizes too big and hung off my shoulders. The sweatpants were a different matter altogether. They too, slipped off my body, causing me to tighten the strings. It will have to do. I kinda loved being in his clothes, Peeta’s scent radiating around me and his warmth enveloping me.

Tonight is going to be a long night.

***

Peeta

As soon as I saw Katniss sitting quietly at the wooden table, munching on a cheese bun that I made, I knew I had to talk to her. Through her struggles to open the door and my giggling which wasn't hidden well, I couldn't be more in love with her. I never thought for a second that she would say yes to my proposal of coming upstairs and spending the night. The tinted blush on her cheeks is so adorable causing me to think of things I shouldn't.

I offered her my clothes and didn't even think of how irresistible she might look with them on. Well, shit.

I decided to cook Chicken Alfredo, seeing as she only ate a meager cheese bun and must be starving.

“Thank you again, Peeta,” I turn as I hear her say this, “for the clothes and letting me stay tonight and uh everything else,” she smiles.

God, I love that smile. It’s directed at me too. Can this day get any better?

That’s when I notice my oversized clothes on her slender body. The sight will never fade from my memory. She is sexy and breathtaking. I feel a sense of ownership because she is wearing my clothes. My Katniss. I feel a playful growl wander its way up into my throat and I quickly swallow it down. No need to scare her off, Peeta. Don’t be stupid.

“Y-yeah of course. I don’t mind one bit.”

She hops on the counter next to the stove as if it is an everyday occurrence. “Whatcha cooking? It smells divine,” she asks while her stomach rumbles.

I let out a snort, “Hungry are we?”

“Duh, I may be small but I will never pass up food.”

“Chicken Alfredo. I hope you enjoy it,” I respond. Then, I reach for the wooden spoon and dip it into the soft noodles wrapping them around it. I swerve it towards her mouth, a risky move, I know, and see a look of surprise spread across her elegant face. She opens her mouth slowly and sucks off every noodle playfully causing a twitch in my pants and a hunger in my stomach to form.

Katniss leans her head back and moans in delight from its taste.

“Peeta, this is delicious. Can you cook for me everyday?” she remarks with a glint in her eye.

“You wish,” laughter erupts from deep in my belly. I meant it, though. I would, Katniss, I would cook for you forever if I could. If only she knew.

Later, after dinner has been devoured and dishes are being washed, I hear a slight humming noise. It sounds like a distant memory embedded in my mind. That song, I know it. Katniss is washing dishes and I bump my shoulder against hers.

“That song. I’ve heard it before. What is it?”

“The Valley Song,” she turns the water off and gazes at me softly. Before I can respond she asks a follow up question. “Why did you push me off those yellow swings when we were younger?”

I racked my brain for the situation she was indicating. Oh, that day.

“Long story short, I have-had a slight crush on you and may have been trying to show off with my super strength.” At this, I lift my arms in a front double bicep position, showing off my “strength”. I kiss each bicep and hear a giggle slip out of Katniss. I turn my head and give her an inquisitive look. Neither of us can hold a straight face causing laughter to erupt between us like a volcano.

When she finally can breathe after laughing so terribly much, she responds, “I guess that makes sense, body builder.”

“Yeah right, if only.”

Instead of laughing, she peers at me silently, with an unreadable look on her face.

Later into the night on the couch with almost one season of Ozark under our belts and the popcorn bucket empty, I realize Katniss has dozed off on my shoulder. Her forehead isn't creased like it usually is during the day and that scowl that I have come to love has seamlessly disappeared. A tiny flicker of hope floods my senses. Many nights of Katniss curled up against me, me tucking her in our bed with a peck to her forehead, little feet pattering on the hardwood, maybe even the click of a dog's paws. If only this could come true, I sigh internally.

Resolute to enjoy this moment, I fulfill one of my imaginations. Carefully, wrapping my arms under her knees and her back I walk to the bedroom. She is laid down gently on the bed and I notice her plump red limps. Tiny puffs of hair escape her mouth causing tendrils and wisps of her long locks to float. I couldn’t imagine not loving this woman. She has turned my life upside down, for good.

What would it be like to memorize every facial expression she forms or to hug her large round belly filled with my kin, an Everdeen-Mellark. As I tuck her in, pondering these unrealistic thoughts, she stirs.

“Peeta?” the goddess faintly asks.

“Yes, my lov-Katniss,” I respond, almost slipping up, still overwhelmed by those dreamy thoughts.

She reached for my wrist and wraps her slender hand around it.

“Stay?”she murmurs, drowsily.

There is one, singular answer that can fulfill this question.

“Always,” I tell her.

Wrapping my arms around her in bed and kissing the top of her head lightly I realize something I could never let slip from my memory.

Even if Katniss and I are never what I wish, as long as she is in my life, a part of my heart and soul, I shall not want again. My love, my beauty, my Katniss flower.

***

Katniss

A kiss on the forehead and a warm man next to me. Who knew that would make me feel like I’m home. No, not just any man, Peeta. I couldn’t comprehend loving another man. Oh. My. God. I love him. I don’t know when, I certainly don’t know how, but I just do. A sleepy grin crosses my face as I slip into a soft sleep with the man I love by my side. Home isn't always a place but sometimes a person. People may enter your life unexpectedly and flip it upside down. You may even hate the person but one thing is for sure, forever and always, I’m glad it's him.

***

So that’s it? I can do an epilogue if you want it just let me know. It probably seems rushed but I don’t really care. This has been such a joy to write and I’m so so thankful to each and everyone of you for sticking around to the end. Also, did you enjoy Peeta’s perspective?

-xoxo Clara

#nothim #everlark #the hunger games #fic #its over #unless there is an epilogue #ahhh #thanks all #enemies to lovers

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bonebreakjack · 4 years

Text

Winter Warmth

Knuckles doesn't like the cold, he grew up on tropical island for cry out loud!

But maybe winter ain't all bad.

Genre:friendship

Rating: G

Knuckles let out a sneeze as he shivered in his thick scarf, he didn't like visiting everyone during winter he was always sleepy, cold, and freakin wet! But Amy invited everyone over to her house for Christmas this year and even he for all his responsibility ....can't deny eating his friend’s food around this time of year, especially when she's offering.

Plus Chaos and Tikal insisted he go take a break.

(As well as bring some back for them. Sneaky gluttons, how does a ghost and being made of water even eat?)

Amy always made a lot of food around this time to give and help them through their semi hibernations. It was hard being hibernating mammals, your body ached with the ancient need to stuff yourself till you pop and sleep until you started to see flowers again.

Very annoying when you have to guard an ancient sacred relic with the power to destroy the world 24/7. That does not even mention the water deity of destruction that lived within it.

Their bodies may have evolved the automatic knockout out but they still are slower, sleepier, and much heavier than any other part of the year. It was amazing Eggman didn't attack them more often during this time when their at their weakest but he guesses not even Eggman likes working in this hellish cold.

Hearing voices he moved his head and nearly stopped cold at the crowd that was surrounding Amy's house pushing and shoving at each other. Feeling his hackles rise he let anger burn him warm. If these assholes came to start trouble he will give them a reason to start it!

Stomping his way over Knuckles was going to start laying into them when and even louder high pitched voice did it for him.

"I. SAID. GET IN LINE!!!"

Like obedient and scared school children the people got into a neat in orderly line(even if there was an almost stampede quality to it in an effort to quickly do as they were told.)

Knuckles raised a brow as he saw Amy having come outside her house armed with her hammer huffing pissed off and annoyed. She had her apron and bandana on covered in all sorts of food stains.

"You all are going to wait for your turn! You didn't want to wait for the deliveries? Well then unfortunately you're gonna have to wait in line like proper people." Resting her hammer on her shoulder she turned to Knuckles looking ready to go into another row before she stopped realizing who it was. Squealing, she made the ever so feared weapon disappear to hug him.

"Knuckles! You're early." She pulled him into the house and Knuckles tried to ignore the glares of death as he was allowed entry into the house. He was feeling petty and stuck his tongue out at them not helping their ire.

"Sorry, for that, after the whole thing with the Resistance, a lot of people were left without jobs. So I made this program to help get food around this year to those who can't afford it." Amy took him into the kitchen and he had to blink a couple a time to take in what he was seeing.

Food, so much FOOD.

Miss Vanilla was currently manning the stove and giving people directions like she was a head chef in a restaurant, not a movement out of place as she cooked and fluttered around to check everyone's progress. Beside her, and Knuckle’s was guessing is her assistant Shadow who was cutting the meats and veggies at lightning speed.

Cream, Chocola, and Cheese were doing the wrapping of aluminum and plastic to keep the food warm before fitting them in the bags already stuffed to the brim. The back door was open for some reason and just as Knuckles was going to bring a voice to his question a familiar blue blur came in and at least half the bags were gone.

At a much slower pace Silver and Big came to take the rest thus starting the process all over again.

"I was cooking but there were too many orders for my area and everyone was already here so I asked them for help. But the deliverers were having trouble with directions so i was delegated to calling and directing the deliveries instead and that fuss outside isn't helping." Amy huffed and rubbed her head as the familiar rustling of unhappy people outside made Knuckles narrow his eyes before it turned into a smirk.

It seems Amy went overboard with trying to help again and is getting stressed. That's a big no in Knuckles book especially at this time of the year where everyone is supposed to be slowing down and resting more. Even on the others, he can see the tiredness seeping into the bodies not wanting to fight nature’s call.

Amy had enough delivery dogs, and he doesn't think his cooking skills will be much help since Vanilla and Shadow seemed to be a well-oiled machine.

So that leaves only one thing to do to help ease his friend’s burden.

"Hey! Knuckles where are you going?"Amy called out to him as he marched back to the front door.

"I'm going to remind the people outside about *manners*. You already got your army working overtime, I can help by reducing the noise level." Knuckles cracked his namesakes but was stopped as something warm was thrown on his head. He took it into his hand and realized it was a thick warm pink jacket, he turned to Amy confused.

She just smiled gratefully and Knuckles felt happy as he already saw some tension leave her.

"I don't know why you don't get yourself a jacket. It was way too cold to have just a scarf. Take mine and don't be too persuasive now."

They both laughed as he put it on, giving her a salute as he closed the door behind him. The crowd from before were already yapping their complaints but they stopped cold at Knuckles glare.

"Listen here you bunch of ungrateful brats, they are working very hard in there to get you all fed. And behaving like jerks won't help you get it any faster. So, you’re going to sit here, shut up, and behave."

Someone in the middle of the line let out a disrespectful PFFFT before sticking their head out. A kind of turtle teenager who gave Knuckles an unimpressed look.

"Oooo, I'm so scared-"He shut up very quickly as Knuckles got into his face.

"You will be if you keep causing trouble."

A loud swallow and the teenager was shaking in his spot, and for extra measure Knuckles glared at the rest of them before nodding in satisfaction as the now cowed group. Going back to the front he played guard as everyone inside got work in a much more peaceful environment. Slowly but surely the people diminished as they got their promised food and apologies were given without Knuckles needing to do anything.

A tap to his shoulder woke him up and he looked around to see it was already dark and somehow he had fallen asleep at the door.

"Hey come inside we're all done Mr. Guardian." Knuckles shivered slowly as Amy took him in and lead him to the living room. Inside there were a lot more people than there was earlier, it made him chuckle a bit as he realized Amy really did put EVERYONE to work today. Guess they earned their winter foods today.

Vanilla was on the couch and while her posture was as perfect as ever she looked ready to slouch and take a nap. Young Cream curled into her mother with her Cheese and Chocola in her lap. Gemeral stood next to them not looking fazed but would occasionally pat Cream on the head. Vector sitting next to her with Espio resting against him knocked out and Charmy splayed across his lap.

Shadow was in the corner of the eyes closed and arms crossed leaning on Omega who had found the only space that didn't have anything breakable near him. Rogue had lost all her decorum and rested shamelessly on top of his metal head letting soft snores.

Big the cat was on the recliner and Froggy rested on his stomach. Even Sonic was asleep with a blanket thrown over him and Tails as they slept. Silver took the other couch and that’s where Amy led him to lay down and dropped a blanket on him.

"Here everyone is staying here tonight and we're going to work together to make our winter meals tomorrow."She said softly as she gave him a pillow and Knuckles didn't realize how tired he was until his head hit it. The warmth and companionship in the room was making him sleepy.

"Thanks for the help Knuckles."

"No problem Amy, now you got to sleep too you ever relentless meddler."

"Meddler; he calls me." It got him a tired giggle but he finally heard the girl leave to rest as she had thrown blankets on everyone. He was happy he was able to help even a little bit, hopefully, he can help more than just guard tomorrow.

As much as he hated winter, this is one benefit he will give it. An excuse to see his friends more often. Yes, he had Tikal and Chaos now, but Tikal was an ancient ghost who hasn't been in touch with the modern world for a long time and Chaos....well was Chaos. It felt lonely up there sometimes even if he did prefer his privacy and space.

It was good to see everyone, checking in on them and seeing how they were. He may not be able to verbally admit it but he had grown close with this strange group of misfits who somehow become friends from saving the world over and over.

He hated winter but Knuckles can admit it’s not all bad.

#amy rose #knuckles the echidna #sonic the hedgehog #sonic forces #idw sonic #bonebreakjackwrites #i need more Amy and Knuckles bonding #knuckles is that big bro that comes out his gave once every thousand years to check on his friends and give out an ass whoopings that needed

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holyfuckthisfishcandrive · 4 years

Text

Broken Glass Diamonds; Chapter Three

Word count: 2184

Warnings:

Summary: The year at the hotel continues.

AO3 Chapter One Two

Roman studied the large blackboard. On the plan of the week, they always wrote down not only the date but also how many weeks it had been since the beginning.

Now it read 46.

Forty-six weeks of physical training, first aid, lessons in controlling powers and finding ways out of all kinds of theoretical predicaments. Later the situations would be training simulations and then, maybe one day, they would be real.

They had started out with 200 people and true to what Thomas had announced at the very beginning it had been watered down to 75.

"Are you coming?" Patton's voice startled Roman out of his thoughts. "I already checked. We have free time till lunch."

They wore a dress and had a frog clip in their hair.

The elevator had gotten stuck just a few days ago and had been closed off completely since then so they had to take the stairs up from the basement.

Not-Julian, who still refused to tell Roman his real name, didn't look up from his laptop as they passed him and just gave them a quick wave. The kid looked sickly pale lately but Roman hadn't asked what was wrong. He had been busy and he was pretty sure that the kid wouldn't come to 'work' if he was actually ill.

"I heard there's a shopping mall somewhere around here," Roman mentioned as they stepped outside. "I don't have much money but we could just look around and stuff."

"Sounds great! I'd like to be around other people again," Patton beamed. "I mean - civilian people."

"Yeah, I get it," Roman smiled back at them. "Plus, I haven't seen the news or read a paper in forever. What even happened since we got here? Has the world been taken over by corn - wielding cows in astronaut helmets?"

Patton giggled at his theatrics.

"Why astronaut helmets?" they asked.

"I don't know. Maybe they're alien cows. They came from a galaxy far, far away to conquer Earth because someone send a TV signal out into the Universe and they saw all the alien invasion movies. So they thought it was a party. An invasion party," Roman shrugged.

Patton laughed. "And who send the signal?"

"Mhm. Good question," Roman stroked an imaginary goatee. "NASA? Nah, too obvious. Maybe it was Netflix and they somehow got someone's password?"

They went on like this, Patton asking questions and Roman building out the story of the corn - wielding alien cows in astronaut helmets. Which, by the time they got to the mall, apparently also had a burning hatred for Justin Bieber and an undying love for beagles.

The mall had big windows but a solid roof, much to Roman's relief.

They walked around aimlessly for a while, just looking around and trying on a few things here and there. It was the kind of stuff Roman's friends had tried to get him to do when he was younger but he had never had the time for. But now, as a legal adult, he found that it was actually kinda fun. Especially with Patton, who switched the green 'they' wristband for the blue 'she' one at about ten o'clock.

"Hey, let's get some ice cream!" Patton suggested and pulled Roman towards the food court.

"I told you I don't really have money," Roman said but let her pull him along anyway. Mostly because he was pretty sure that he couldn't escape Patton's grasp unless she let him.

"I do. I can just pay for you!"

Roman went to protest but Patton didn't let him.

"It's not that much! I really have more than enough to invite my best friend out for ice cream!" she smiled at him over her shoulder and Roman knew that he had lost.

"You can be so stubborn sometimes," he muttered with no real malice behind it, shaking his head and Patton laughed again.

There was no queue by the ice cream parlour since it was still before noon and most people were either still at work or getting actual meals for lunch.

There were a lot more flavours than Roman remembered from when he had been younger. He did his best to ignore both chocolate and banana even if they were the only ones he actually knew.

"What can I get you?" the man behind the counter asked in the most deadpan voice Roman had ever heard. His nametag read Chad.

"Er, I'll take a scoop of cookies with rainbow sprinkles... and what do you want?" Patton played with her wristband.

"The same," Roman blurted out. If Patton ordered it, it couldn't be bad.

"That'll be 3.60$," the cashier said, still without any inflexion and put the first ice onto the counter.

"Hey, we have the same glasses!" Patton noticed excitedly as she pulled out her money.

The cashier looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Roman could tell that the guy was getting feed up with them so he quickly took both ice creams and gently pushed Patton away, only stopping to tell the man to have a nice day. He didn't respond.

The ice was good. Roman closed his eyes and could perfectly picture the small kitchen back at home where he and Remus would steal some of the dough on the rare occasions that Mamá baked. It tasted just like that raw dough and even had some chocolate pieces inside.

"Let's head back," Roman suggested. "So we're not late for lunch."

Patton stopped abruptly.

"Wait! I forgot something!" she handed Roman her cone. "I'll be right back!"

With that, she vanished into the crowd.

Roman stared after her for a moment. She hadn't had a bag with her that she could have left anywhere as far as he could remember and he had no idea what she could have possibly forgotten. Had she wanted to buy anything that she just hadn't mentioned?

With nothing better to do Roman licked off some of his sprinkles and chewed on them.

A few minutes later Patton appeared again with a small paper bag under her arm.

"Sorry I made you wait," she smiled apologetically and took her own cone back.

"It's fine," Roman shrugged. The question of what was in the bag burned on his tongue but he didn't ask.

Patton took ahold of his now free hand and together they walked towards the exit they had come in from.

The walk back was mostly silent and Roman finished up his cone just as they arrived outside the hotel. Patton had eaten a bit faster than him.

Someone had apparently oiled the door while they had been gone because it opened easily and quietly. Roman wondered if they had repaired more than that but the one neon light was still broken so he guessed that they hadn't. Baby steps.

Not-Julian didn't look up as they came in. He looked even paler now. Maybe he was sick and just too stubborn to stay at home. It sounded like something Roman would do and - if he was honest - had done multiple times. Except that he had done it because he couldn't afford days off. He was pretty sure that Not-Julian didn't have the same problem.

The next time they got a day off was on Christmas.

They were allowed to go home over the holidays or stay at the hotel if they didn't want that. Naturally Roman chose to go home.

He had enough money for two tickets with him, one to get home and one to get back to the hotel, and Patton had insisted to loan him some to get his Mamá a small present. They had also given him one, with the strict instructions to not open it before Christmas morning.

Roman took the first possible train. It was foggy and smelled like snow. While waiting at the platform he made a small ball fire between his hands to keep himself warm. It had become so much easier to control his flames over the past months.

He wondered if Remus would be there. Most likely he would. Would come back from somewhere and for just a few days they would all be together again and would catch up with each other about everything that had happened while they had been apart.

They train came, Roman got on and just a few minutes later fell asleep.

He woke up just barely before his stop but at least he was awake now. Well, more or less.

The walk from the train station to the apartment building they lived in wasn't very long but as soon as he turned the first corner Roman was made aware of how long he had been gone.

The place where the rundown cinema was supposed to be was empty. Something new was being built in its place but the constructions had barely started with the fundaments.

Roman hadn't know that the cinema would close, let also be torn down. A poster by the sidewalk showed an apartment building with prices. One of the flats that hadn't even been built yet was already sold.

With a heavy feeling in his, stomach Roman continued on.

There were new graffitis on the walls. A new store, selling cigarettes, alcohol and lottery tickets. Too many new things.

The apartment building was the same.

Roman slid his key into the lock and turned it and the door sprung open. The elevator was still full of the same writings and scribbles. The tenth floor, where Roman got out looked as grey as ever.

He pocketed his key and knocked. They had a doorbell but the sound of it gave Mamá headaches.

He heard shuffling and then the door opened.

Mamá wore her old apron, her hair was up in her usual bun and held back by a blue headband with polka dots on it.

"Hola, Mamá," Roman smiled and opened his arms.

"Estás en casa," she enveloped him in a tight hug.

In the kitchen, a timer beeped loudly and demanding and Mamá ushered him inside.

"Your brother will be here in just a few hours," she informed him in Spanish and went to put on her baking gloves. But Roman beat her to it and pulled out the tray barehanded. Another thing he had discovered through the program; he wasn't immune to only his own flames.

For the next hours Roman told Mamá everything while they made dinner.

He told her about the hotel, Patton and how they had become friends, Thomas and the other instructors, Not-Julian and his weird family and everything he had learned.

Mamá listened, asking questions from time to time and smiling at him almost the entire time.

It was already getting dark when Remus came.

He had grown a moustache and a patch of his hair was grey. He grinned at Roman and one of his teeth was missing.

But he didn't talk about where he'd been.

He stuck a toothpick into his gap to find a way that it would stay there but he didn't tell them how he had gotten it.

He joked that now he and Roman finally didn't look the same anymore but didn't give a real answer when Mamá asked why he had dyed his hair, other than claiming that he hadn't.

So Roman continued to carry the conversation during dinner and after until they wished each other goodnight and went to bed.

Christmas itself was almost normal. They exchanged gifts, ate cookies they had baked yesterday and lit candles.

Still, something felt off.

Roman couldn't figure out what was wrong until he stood on the train station again and hugged Mamá goodbye.

The promise of departure.

The fact that no matter what happened they'd have to leave again.

Not-Julian sat on his counter when Roman arrived late in the evening. There was a plate of sweets next to him and a lonely string of Christmas lights had been hung up over the key wall. It looked sad in the otherwise grey environment.

"How were your holidays?" Roman asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Alright, I guess," the teen shrugged. Roman noticed that his voice had gotten a lot deeper. "Babushka couldn't make it because she was the main suspect for the murder of her fourth husband, so that was kinda disappointing. But otherwise, it was okay. Uncail Ronan introduced us to his new partners and they are pretty cool."

Roman stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out whether he was supposed to ask or not.

"How was yours?" Not-Julian asked before he could decide.

"It was nice. I got to see Ma and my brother again," Roman shrugged.

"That's nice," Not-Julian said in a way that Roman couldn't tell whether he meant it or not. "By the way, your friend is here too. Same room as before."

"Really? Thanks," Roman smiled and swiped a chocolate bar in passing. The elevator was still out of commission so he jogged up the stairs and dropped off his bag in his room before going back to visit Patton. He had missed them.

---

So, I'm not completely sure yet, but this might be the last chapter of Broken Glass Diamonds. I might write one more but likely not.

I am not done with the story tho (by far). But since it'd probably get boring to only have Roman's view for the entirety of this story I want you to please comment or send in asks about who's PoV you want to see. Whether to see the story continued from their view (for that only Roman and Patton would currently be options) or to get some more information about them (basically everyone mentioned so far except for the people that die in the first chapter and Remus). Depending on the person some parts might be a bit shorter tho.

Have a nice day!

#sanders sides #roman sanders #patton sanders #background virgil sanders #background logan sanders #my writing #remus sanders #mention of past trauma #christmas #i know its june and not december #but i don't care #i write what i want #all the world will bow down series

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presents-n-pistols · 4 years

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𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 … Jessica Claus / Jessie Kringle was known as the friendly & exciteable sheriff of the North Pole with a reputation for being a Alexandra Breckenridge doppelganger . but now , under the stress of the war on the horizon , the natural born hero light practicing witch has become widely known for being rather mild-tempered & rambunctious. let’s see how long the seasonal realms native will last during this war . after all they’re only forty / one thousand, seven hundred and forty-nine years old . + she/her & cismale , oc

Hey guys it’s jer again. Third character incoming, and surely not the last. I’ve got the fever for more cowbell. Below you can find Mrs. North’s full extensive bio, but I’ll go ahead and sum it up above the cut unless no one chooses to read:

It’s Jessica Claus Kringle North, but Ma’am works great. She also responds well to gumdrop depending on how ryan reynolds the voice sounds.

She’s spitfire in a glass mug, served with a splash of milk and warm cookies

She was born with the biggest motherly bone that just so happens to be the heart that she wears on her sleeve.

She’s a witch farm girl, entirely scared of her powers..

She’s the sheriff of the North Pole, and will literally whip out a pistol to protect her husband. Sometimes, she’s a little hasty about this and knows this, so she’ll apologize with a warm plate of cookies.

PERSONALITY

She’s a friendly, excitable cowgirl, and thrives on love. She is sassy, sweet, cute, athletic, and has a habit of speaking loudly when she is happy or excited. She is a philanthropist and humanitarian who is deeply concerned for the children of the world. Her broad outlook on life has always allowed her to see the bigger picture and too often has caused her to stubbornly shy away from minute details. She has a romantic personality that focuses more on her dreams and ambitions instead.

She cam become timid, uncertain, and ungrateful putting the blame for her troubles on others instead of realizing that they are her own. She is extremely stubborn and never backs down from a fight. She is always right, even when she’s wrong and she’ll refuse to speak to you until you tell her you were wrong. She can be quite argumentative when she’s passionate about things, and she’s not afraid to threaten anyone twice her size.

POWERS

Species: Light Practicing Pagan Witch. Pagan witches were known to have worshipped the old gods and derived their power from them. Jessie’s hometown was known to

Abilities:

Enchantment: The power to imbue a person or object with a magical capability.

Spell Casting: The power to change, manipulate and control objects, events, actions and phenomena through the use of incantations, commands, rituals, gestures or pure sheer force of will.

Warding: The power to place protection spells and wards on places and people, shielding them from harm or danger.

Portal Opening: The power to open a portal to another dimension.

AESTHETICS

a toasty winter fire in a cozy cabin on the ranch

snow flurries atop a warm bundle of fiery red hair

the smells of cinnamon, sugar, and

chocolate coming from three separate ovens in a kitchen.

fancy doily aprons clashing with leather cowboy boots

the prettiest handwriting you've ever seen on letters stamped with love

sugar coated kisses, and chesnut roasted hugs

convienently placed mistletoe around every corner of the house

the lights of christmas spirit all year round

rosey cheeks and red tipped noses to match a perfectly placed red bandana

messages of devotion written in snow

a single barrel pointed at you if you forget your manners

a snow fort to protect the cattle just in case the snowball fight gets to rowdy

sounds of jingle bells from studds in boots

friendship that lasts longer than a cow hitch

a sheriff's badge a Colt Dragoon a spellbook and a cookbook all resting on the same shelf

HCS

She's the world's biggest pen pal, because sometimes she writes letters to children in Santa's name.

She’s the Sheriff of the North Pole and wears that badge proudly.

She’s an excellent homemaker, and big on superfoods. This year it’s Kale, last year it was quinoa, and the year before? Beets.

She doesn’t trust the elves, and often blames anything she can on them.

She is constantly bringing reindeer home to their ranch that’s nearly overrun with cattle.

She tried teaching in the North Pole, for only a few years, though she didn’t have the patience for her students, the Yeti’s.

She’s still scared of her magic, and only uses it when her husband is in close proximity.

She exudes toughness and is one to lay out the law plainly, but breaks her own rules for her loved ones.

She is horribly claustrophobic

She always wears bandanas.

BIOGRAPHY

Her father was a religious man with a prodigal daughter.

She was born with a mark that she was forced to cover up since she could remember. It was an 8 pointed star splattered on her skin in a gray ash color just below her jaw on the right side of her face. Even as a toddler the bandanas and scarves she went through irritated her skin, and made her mark feel bigger than it was.

The first time Jessie ever used magic, she was in her late teens. It was on accident. It felt suppressed. It surprised her and everyone around her. It scared her. It felt both unnatural, yet oddly familiar, as if it was something she had within all along. It was something she felt in her heart. It was a secret guilt hidden behind every smile that was reflected towards her father.

When his wife passed away, he thought his family would slip apart. He didn’t mean to make it so that his 8 year old daughter would piece them back together. She tried her hardest to tend to the stables, when her father drank his pain away. She tried her best at sewing and knitting when her brothers outgrew of their clothes. She cooked nice and warm home cooked meals for the men in her family so they wouldn’t starve over the last piece of bread from the bakery. She learned to bake for survival. She learned to pick frowns from chins and turn them upside down. She learned how to hold a pistol to any intruder, and often did so when her father would come home in drunken fits without a penny to his name. She quit school, and became the conglomerate of every household task her late mother left behind. Despite trying so hard, she feared that she was never good enough to take that role.

She feared leaving her family, and their small little farm.

At the tiny age of 17, those ideals had all changed. She was in love, well, she had been in love ( since, well, she couldn’t hecking remember when ) but she’d declared that it was the love she could finally accept. It was a love she would return despite the guilt of leaving her siblings behind with their abusive father.

She was in love with the strange boy with pointy ears, fairy wings, and a magical smile that only she was able to see, and she wanted to do as he asked and spend the rest of her life with him and their unborn child. She wanted to protect that boy, she wanted to laugh with him, and she wanted to feel safe with him always. She made a promise to him, to always be there when he needed catching even if it was from the highest tree.

So she’d tucked her brothers into bed, told them one final story about the nice man who wold leave them presents under the pine tree if they said their final prayers every night before bed.

She thought her father was oblivious to her escape, but that was a tender dream that turned into a horrible reality. Her father had his own opinions about the boy. Her father protested. He believed Kris Kringle was a product of evil, and he thought that the boy was poisoning his little girl. He didn’t ever conclude that they’d fallen in love, were on their way to elope, nor would he ever wrap his head around a grandchild that he could never want.

Jessie faced betrayal for the first time that night, in herself.

She didn’t mean for it to happen. She could have sworn that she’d placed the single barrel Colt revolver on the highest shelf out of reach. She could have sworn it was unloaded, even as it was pointed at Kris. She tried to reason on his behalf, and she tried to remain calm. She thought she was protecting her new family, but instead wounded her old one. Her father pulled the trigger, aimed it between her lover’s eyes, yet received the bullet in his own shoulder. It was magic, and for once, her father knew it wasn’t fae magic.

Jessie’s arm extended before him, a magical barrier caused the bullet to ricochet and hit her father instead. They were all stunned as the scarlet billows painted the snow at her father’s boots.

The couple made their escape as her father’s bicep bled out, but it was the final choice she’d have to choose in picking her husband over her family. She could hear her father’s calls in the dead of the night, “ Witch” days after.

They found a cabin. They lived happily.

She gave birth to their little girl, Noelle, and with the help of her new husband she learned to control her magic. Kris taught her how to love the ugly, and scary parts of herself, and she returned the favor. Noelle’s laughter was the hope and warmth they needed to survive those harsh winters in their cozy new home. All was right and bright until it wasn’t.

The hardest winter came with a mob three years later. Her husband hadn’t come home. Noelle lay fast asleep as Jessie peaked through heavily curtained windows in the cabin. Until she saw the pitchforks and torches. The familiar faces of her brothers and father led the angered group of citizens into her home. She watched them tear about her new belongings, as she clutched onto her daughter for safety. She pressed soft palms into her daughter’s ears as they’d explained what they did to her husband. She covered Noelle’s eyes, as they let her burn to a crisp. She squeezed her daughter in her arms as they took away what was left of her hope. She cried tears of grief as Noelle suggested she’d seen Daddy on the way to her old home.

She was locked away for months.

Jessie’s father thought that if she repented in her darkness she would be cured and cleansed from the evil that lurked in her blood. He locked her away, and kept her child from her. He prayed with his daughter, for her and to her until Jessie found herself mindlessly muttering those same prayers back. It was working, her father would explain with a smile on his face in between supervised visits with Noelle.

Jessie would smile and nod, though, she knew in her heart they were silent prayers for her daughter’s safety and peace for her late husband. It was working well in her mind too, in an odd way. Tucking her daughter’s red locks behind her hair, she agreed to the baptism.

It was a hot summer. She remembered feeling as if her hair had set fire. Despite how thin her garment was she felt as if she were sweating. Her red haired braids felt frizzy against the hot dry air. She was told would rise from the waters a clean and pure woman. Her soul, along with baby Noelle’s would be cleansed, but she was hardly given a chance.

When she floated in the water everything changed. Eyes of horror witnessed and accused her of renouncing her baptism and entering the Devil’s service. She was held down by her arms, and sentenced by her own father to drown in that lake. She yelled for her daughter, she yelled for Kris. She shrieked in fear as her life was taken from her. Her final sight, however, was a blessing from the god’s. She watched her daughter turn away from the horror’s lead by her husband.

The man in the moon saved her.

Or at least that’s what she’s lead to believe. He’d saved her husband, Kris. He’d saved many others. And while she couldn’t feel fully saved without any knowledge of her daughter’s whereabouts it was good enough. She didn’t have any memory of an afterlife. She had no recollection of how much time she’d spent in that water. She didn’t know where her daughter was, but she knew to follow a star that matched her birthmark, north.

She found her husband by following a trail of wooden carved toys. She found her light, her happiness, and her meaning.

The North Star led her way to that ranch. She was shivering, cold, and nearly discarded, but she’d felt more alive than ever as she ran into her husband’s arms.

She lives comfortably in her home, on her ranch, with plenty of reindeer, yetis and elves. She helps spread the Christmas cheer with North. She wishes to protect her new family, find her daughter, and make sure everyone still has that hope in their hearts.

RESOURCES

https://riverdale.fandom.com/wiki/Witch

https://christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Jessica_Claus

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/annie-oakley

ADDITIONAL LINKS

https://www.pinterest.com/latinkesha/ch-bazooka-jane/

#tales.intro

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