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pokeexehasstoppedworking · 3 years

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Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch9 Travels To Hulbury

(This chapter will contain a small time skip of events as well as a past fight between y/n and her mother in the story.)

You swore you needed both a doctor and a nice bed to sleep away the pains of soreness racking your body.

Ever since you four left Turffield it had been like the time you left Motostoke except a bit longer. Walking, camping at night, taking time out for resting between walks and gathering food. Mostly from berry trees or snacking from whatever nonperishable foods Leon had given you. Some night Victor managed to make one form of curry or another. Mostly bean or apple curry which you didn't mind too much but the apples tasted a bit strange in the curry sauce, so you fed them to your sobble which you noticed had now taken a habit of laying in your lap any chance you were sitting and expected to be fed whenever you held any kind of food. Oops. You might have ended up spoiling it a bit. Oh well. You didn't mind too much. It's smiles and noises were pretty cute, and at least Gloria was able to add a few more curry entries to her book. After what had happened at the pokemon Nursery back in Truffield you decided to fill in Gloria and Hop about the mysterious band of rock star wannabes, but they seemed to be as confused as you were about who they might've been working for and who they were. Hop even suggested that maybe the eccentric costumes were disguises to they're real identities, which seemed a bit farfetched but hey. You were transported into the video game world of pokemon, traveling along with a few of the characters, and for all you knew could still wake up at any moment to your mother scolding you for being late for college. It wasn't really too out there to rule out yet. While you four traveled every so often you'd rest and Hop and Gloria would scamper off to have a battle or more likely try to catch some new pokemon from where you were at. So you weren't all too surprised to find out Gloria caught herself a wild Dottler and Hop's Grookey evolving from the....seventh or eighth day now as you four traveled. You lost count or couldn't remember how many days had past after seven or eight. You were mostly tired now a days with a heaping dab of soreness in your back and neck from your uneasy sleeping scheduale and the rocky ground poking you from the floor of the test. Or the fact the only thing you had for a pillow was your backpack, but you never complained. If it meant getting to Hulbury faster then you could deal with it. It was like when your mother insisted you stay up a few extra hours to study or when you had to work late at the radio station after that. You yawned more, movements slowing a bit, and you had gotten noticable bags under your eyes. Buuut the three teens must've noticed because on what was the ninth day Gloria decided to point it out to you.

"Hey, Y/n. I really didn't want to say anything but are you feeling ok?" She pointed at your face. "You've been yawnin' ever since we left Turffield like a week ago. And you've gotten bags under your eyes big enough to carry luggage for a full week's vacation. "

In response you yawned again before looking to her. "M' fine. Jus a bit tired I guess." You stretched out your back as you walked making it pop. "Haven't really gotten much sleep just laying on the ground like a rock."

"Hey. I have good news." Victor all of a sudden held up his phone. When did he pull that out? And held it up to all of you. "There's a small town up ahead about another day's walk. It has a convenience store, hotel, and a few other things." He looked at you. "I think we should stop by. We can restock up on supplies and rest for the night at the hotel. That might help out Y/n's situation and prevent her from dropping from exhaustion anytime soon."

"Hey. I-I'm not that tired," you lied stiffling another yawn....But the promise of a bed tho- "But you're right about needing some more supplies. I don't know how much food and necessities we have left, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to stop by and restock."

The food Leon lent would only last so long anyways. It was best for all parties involved. So it was decided the four of you would stop by the upcoming small town. It took another day and night of walking and resting (giving you another night of uncomfortable sleep) and then shoving off he next morning for the town. It took half the day but the four of you managed to happen upon the small town. And you do mean small. It couldn't have been much bigger than Postwick actually. There was around maybe twenty buildings and most of them were homes or doubled as homes as well as stores. As the four of you walked through the small town a few people walked by or waved, and you could hear a few children laughing. It certainly was very peaceful wasn't it? The peace made you even more tired- You were shaken awake when your sobble chirped loudly and smacked you with it's tail, making you stumble as you walk and if it weren't for the two boys catching you you would've faceplanted the road again. Which ended up in the three kids making up a decision for you.

"Let's go find the Inn first."

The inn turns out was one of the first buildings you came across when you took the small side road off of Route 5 here and the only building in the town that had three stories. It was more like a tall house than an Inn when the three of you entered, Gloria helping to steady your sleepy self. The inside looked very similar to Professor Magnolia's house. Very homey and welcoming. The elderly lady looked lightly surprised when the four of you came in with you fighting to keep awake for a little longer. Ok. So maybe the little sleep over nine or ten days was starting to get to you a little bit you haven't been this tired since studying for college entry exams in highschool.

"Oh my. Are you children alright?," she ended up asking lightly standing from her seat seeing you lightly sway a bit.

You waved her off. "I'm fine. Just really tired."

"We'd like to book two rooms please with double beds," Victor explained to the lady throwing you a worried look. "Do you have any available?"

"Oh. Yes, we do. Come. I'll show you to your rooms. By the looks of your friend there, she's in dire need of a good rest." Whelp. No arguement there. Luckily the rooms she had the four of you follow her towards a long hallway a little aways from the front desk before stopping and opening one door. "Here's the young mens. Bathroom's through the door on the left. And as for the two young ladies." She turned to a door right across from Hop and Victor's room and opened it. The room was pretty much as you suspected. A simple large room with two beds on each side of it, a shelf, window looking out onto a field, Tv, and a white door that you supposed led to a closet. "This'll be yours." She pointed at the door. "The bathroom is through there. We also have a laundry mat attatchment in the adjacent building to the left if you youngsters need it. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask."

"Uh yes actually. Do you happen to know where your town's convenience store is?,'' you heard Victor ask but you were too busy to deduce what else was said.

You managed to stay awake enough to take a quick shower and change before walking to the closest bed to you and just flopping face first on it. The soft cushions hugging your tired and sore body, and it was natural for you to fall asleep almost as soon as you hit the mattress. So it was no wonder that by the next time you woke up it was night time. Confused and dazed you managed to sit up blinking confused at the darkness around you, the only source of light coming from the moon shining through the window outside. Vaugely in the dark you could just barely make out Gloria's sleeping form on the other bed on the other side of the room. Her baby toxel at the foot of her bed. Your body was still tired with it being night so it was easy for you to fall back into slumber when you slowly laid your tired self back down, barely registering your sobble squirming next to you as you fell back asleep. And came to a strange sight. A sight you witnessed before in your life. One you were all too familiar with too. ....You...You were back in your room. Well a younger you at least. You were about sixteen then just minding your own business sitting there and playing games. Couldn't remember which one just that you were enjoying yourself playing and sitting on your bed playing the day away. Until younger you looked up at footsteps approuched your room, the next thing your younger self knew your door flew open with a bang and it started the younger you so much you ended up dropping your old switch on your bed jumping from the sound. And there she was. Your mother standing there with an angry scowl on her face.

"You're playing those stupid games again!?," she snapped at younger you, stomping over and quickly wretching the switch from your bed.

In an instant your hand was reaching out for it. "HEY! Give that back."

But instead of that, your mother only held it up higher with her angry face. "Is THIS what I work to provide for you!?"

You had stopped. Frozen in surprise at the words foaming at your mother's mouth and the game she waved at your face.

"Is THIS what you think is fair to me!? I work day and night to provide a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and clean running water for all you do is to sit on your behind and play these mind rotting things!? To make the electricity bill higher than Mount Everest with you staying up all night playing this day in and out!?"

"M-Mom! C'mon! I'm sorry," younger you backpeddled.

"You should be! I'm not raising you to be lazy and unresponsible!" The game was tossed back onto the bed with a small thump before she pointed at you. "Work and studies should be your number one priority right now! I don't want to catch you slacking off wasting time again! Do I make myself clear?"

Younger you looked at your mother's angry face for a long moment before looking away and nodding. "Yes, Mom."

"That's good. Make sure it doesn't happen again. Alright, Y/n?"

.....

...........

"Hey, Y/n!," a distant girl's voice called, "Are you awake?"

"I dunno. Maybe we should just let her sleep? She was really tired when we got here yesterday," a young boy's voice said worried.

"Hop's gotta point, Glory. Let her sleep in. She'll need all the rest she can get for traveling."

"Ah. You guys are no fun."

Silently the world of younger days faded away to black and the voices became murmers in the dark abyss that was sleep until you finally woke up from your now dreamless slumber. Which wasn't too long. You slowly woke from your sleep and was greeted with the sunlight making your tired eyes blink as you rubbed them and blinked at the surroundings around yourself at the simple room that wasn't your younger self's from the dream. What the-....Where were you? Did you finally wake up from the pokemon world dreamland you formed up? Were you back home? Did you move into the college dorms and forgot you did? Is that why this room looked strange to you? That hope was all but dashed in a moment when movement under the blanket next to you caught your attention and you looked. A small lump under the blanket the size of a small cat moved around until it moved towards the end of it near your arm and your sobble poked it's head out blinking tiredly and gave out a yawn crawling the rest of the way out. You gave a sigh, shaking your head before smiling and holding out your arm and letting the sobble crawl into your hands. You were still tired but rather than go back to sleep, you opted to tossing the blanket off yourself and got up with your sobble in your hands holding him up to your face.

"Well, I guess it's time to start the day huh?"

You managed to get a few things done. Morning shower, got dressed, and made your first stop the laundry mat across from the hotel after asking the elderly woman at the front desk for directions. Just something to do to help take your mind off the strange dream that had happened. You had started to wonder where the three children had run off to now but it was only after you were coming back with your now cleaned clothes and your sobble curled upon your shoulders did you run into them. Or Hop at least. He was just walking past the door when you opened it and almost ran into him. Thankfully stopping at just the right moment as he paused and blinked.

"Oh. Hey, Y/n!," he greeted with a smiling and shifting the box in his hands, "Glad to see you're awake now."

"Hi," you greeted back before raising a brow at the box he held. "What's that you're carrying?"

"Oh this?," he asked holding up the box and you nodded. "The old lady needed help clearing out her old storage room. She offered to pay me to help out so Im taking this to the broom closet down the hall here. Glory and Vick are doing some Pokejobs too." The confusion must've doubled on your face because he seemed to take notice. pokejobs?? What the heck are pokejobs?! "OH! Right. There's no possible way you could've known what those are. I keep forgetting you're not native to Galar. Pokejobs are jobs people upload into the rotomis."

".....Say what?," you asked still totally confused to what Hop was even saying.

He sighed. "Pokejobs. How do I describe them?....It's kinda like how newspapers have ads. If someone has a job they need help with they send a post to their rotomi profile, then if someone wants to make some money they can look on the Pokejobs Rotomi Forum for a job in their specific area. There was a few listed in the Rotomi at the town's covience store." He held up the box again. "Like this one. We figured it wouldn't hurt to make a little bit of money in case of emergencies too."

"That...sounds like a great idea. But where are the other two now?"

He shrugged. "Glory took a job that involved babysitting and I think Victor's helping someone here with a garden."

Well that sounded like a good way to earn a bit of money while you were waiting. As to pass the time you decided to help Hop once you had finished returning your clothes to your bag. The elderly woman seemed rather grateful for the help provided. In the manner of speaking it wasn't too difficult work. Most of the boxes were pretty light mostly filled with cleaning supplies or old blankets. That explains why she was having Hop move them to the big supply closet down the hall. When you asked about it she explained she had wanted to turn it into another bedroom for the busier traveling seasons, makes sense. One extra room to rent means one extra way to make some money. You helped rehome the boxes and cleaned it out by dusting and sweeping to pass the time away. When it came to paying you declined the money offered and made sure Hop received it instead. After all it was originally his job, you just helped to pass time, and it'd be wrong to piggyback on his hard earned money after all. But you did however accept the free room service for later when she offered instead. Free food was a reward you had no trouble accepting, especially considering you hadn't eaten anything since you woke up and all the exercise you had done in helping to clean out the room. Hop though was thankful for your help and expressed so as much. It was when the two of you were heading out did you finally bump into said twins. Gloria was carrying two large paper bags but you had to do a double take when you noticed Victor looked....well remember how dirty you were after being bowled over by Milo's wooloo? Victor looked like he got ran over by ten wooloo during a sand storm.

"Whoa. What happened to you?"

He grabbed his hat and shook the grey beanie out letting dirt fall to the ground. "Well. As it turns out the ad for 'helping to remove unwanted weeds and debry from the garden' also happened to include a wild munchlax who didn't want to leave. I had to half wrestle half chase the thing out."

"Oh wow. Glad to see you got paid tho."

He huffed but Gloria smiled holding up the bags in her hands. "But on the bright side we managed to stock up enough for the rest of our trip to Hulbury! Glad to see you're up and feeling better too, Y/n!"

You nodded. "Yeah. Feeling better thanks-"

"OH! That reminds me!" You were cut off when Gloria suddenly shoved one of the bags into your arms as you blinked. The inside held food and other things you'd have to use in order to get to Hulbury. She went digging through the other bag, eventually pulling out a rolled up, sleeping bag looking thing that must've made up half that bag's weight. "Here! I noticed you probably weren't sleeping well cuz you didn't have one of these here. Turns out the convience store is also a supply store, so I was able to get you one of these."

You slowly took the rolled up sleeping bag from Gloria and gave it a look over before looking back to her. "I-...Thank you. But you didn't have to get me this. I would've been fine without it."

"I know but you would've just kept getting bad sleep if I didn't, and it won't hurt me from what I earned from winning against Milo's anyways. Besides, I can now call it even from when you saved our hides back in Postwick."

You smiled and decided to accept this gift with a nod. "Alright. We're even. But have you decided when you wanted to leave yet?"

"First thing tomorrow morning. After seeing you stumble 'round like a zombie with a headache, we decided to let ya sleep in since you were so tired. But since it's getting later anyways, we figured we'd spend one more night here and leave early in the morning."

"Oh that's a great plan cuz Y/n got us some free room service from helpin' out around here."

Gloria's eyes widened at her friend's words. "Wait. REALLY!?"

"How about we let Victor get cleaned up first before we do anything?"

The four of you did just that for the night. Packed away all the goods they brought back with them. Hopefully it'll last enough for the rest of the very long walk to Hulbury. And after everyone was done packing their share and Victor was cleaned up, you ate. No surprise it was more curry but you chose to accept that at this point that curry was a very important part of Galar's culture and hey. Free food was free food. Nothing to complain about here. And if Gloria could fill in more of her Curry Dex book then it was good enough for you too. Luckily it seemed with the new sleeping bag things might get easier for you when you all start traveling again. Which is exactly what happened. The very next morning the four of you set off as soon as Victor paid for the two day stay at the front desk, and it was back onto Route 5 the four of you went walking. And walking and walking. It was basically the same as before until night came and the four of you set up camp in a small clearing, giving you the chance to use the new sleeping bag Gloria had gotten you. And it worked like a charm. You still had to use your arms as a pillow but otherwise it was much more comfortable to sleep now. And then the next day the four of you were at it again. This time listening to Victor's adventures traveling around since he had started his own journey at least a year before Gloria's. Mentioning of all the different places and events around Galar he had been so far and you were impressed at his tales of capturing so many wild shiny pokemon in his photos, going so far to show you all a few places he took photos of. One being the giant clock tower back in Motostoke.

"So does that mean you've been to Halbury before?," you asked curiously glancing at the pictures in his hands.

He nodded. "I've been there once, but not for long. I did see the Hulbury Water-Type Aquarium and Research Center. They have every water type pokemon you could imagine, some of them are from different regions as well. That's where I got most of the photo's of water type pokemon I gave to Glory. Nessa was a huge sponsor for it's development. It's also a research department to study water-types as well as their environments and biology." He hummed and looked up. "I think it's also where most Professors get their sobbles for starting trainers."

You gave a look to your sobble. "You hear that? Looks like we're heading to your home town." In response it smiled and gave a small chirp. "Does that mean you've seen Nessa before?"

He shook his with a sigh as you all walked. "Sadly no. But I've heard she's so busy between her modeling and gym leader duties she'll only do one gym battle a day due to her busy schedules, and that's considering if there's nothing important going on for her."

"So depending on the time and amount of trainers heading for Hulbury right now, we could end up waiting longer than we did for Milo's gym battle."

"Ah man!" Hop leaned back putting both arms behind his head. A habit you learnt he did whenever he was annoyed or thinking about something. "That could take forever then....but considering Nessa's Gym would've been one of the farthest from the Turffield Stadium, I'd like to bet not a lot of people would go for hers first and instead went back to Motostoke to challenge Kabu or someone else who was closer....Hm. I wonder if that's why Mr. Milo suggested we go see Nessa after our battle with him. We haven't run into any other Gym Challengers yet. Route 5 is less trafficked."

"Or those rockstar blokes," you thought as you gave another look around at the half field half forested areas you four were traveling past. But that was probably a good thing you hadn't seen them. You wouldn't want them causing you more trouble.

"There Hop goes all smart again!"

"H-Hey! Im just makin' an observation!"

"Well make an observation on that map. How much longer until we get there?"

Hop answered that after pulling out his phone and turning it on, pressing a few buttons. "...About two and a half weeks left."

This...Was going to be a long trip.

And you weren't wrong. Most of the trip was the same day in and day out. Eat, sleep, make camp, walk lots, stop for breaks, maybe a battle would happen every once and a while between Hop and Gloria or maybe they'd try to catch a pokemon every now and then. And you watched her start to carry around that baby Toxel more, usually in her arms like a cat but sometimes in her bag too with his little head poking out looking around. Victor making the comment that now the both of you would be pokemon taxis. It took quite a while of this old routine before you four even got to another town, with a train station. Breaking out of a small wooded area there was clearings now of flat land and Route 5 lead you all to a crossing across the railroad tracks and lead into a small town...Well you weren't sure if you could call it a town persay. It was more like a few homes a little bit a ways from the obvious train station the four of you took refuge in for a break. In the mean time Victor took out his phone once more and decided to flip through the rotom phone he had on your four's location.

"......Hey!," he shouted making you all look at him as he held up the phone all towards you. You leaned closer to get a better look at the screen he pointed to. "According to the map we're a four day walk away from Hulbury. Nearly there!"

"Oh thank Arceus!," Gloria sighed, "I was getting so tired of just walking around like a migrating murkrow."

"And you wonder why I was worried about you rushing into your journey."

"Hey!"

The next few days weren't very eventful or memorable. Just the same rinse and repeat scenarios your small group had been experiencing for the past month or so, until you FINALLY saw it. Well smelt it first would be more accurate. You all were walking up a steep hill that the path was connected too and that's when you smelt something like salt air. You had only been to a beach a few times but there was no mistaking it. Saltwater. And then you heard a very loud horn. It was loud enough to startle your Sobble into ducking behind your head and you perk up. If one had to guess, you would've said it sounded either like a train's whistle or a boat horn. Blinking as shadows flew overheard, you realized they were wild wingulls. ...Wait. Weren't those bird pokemon always like close to water?? You blinked. Shaking your head and hurrying your pace up the hill until the four of you finally made it. From the high point the view was high enough to let the four of you look a good ways ahead and still far but much closer now, maybe a day's travel. What was unmistakenly the glistening blue of the ocean as far on the horizon as you could see, that lead to the coast that clashed with the beginnings of it. The horn you heard was most likely one of the many boats you could faintly make out on the glistening blue and the unmistakable town that was nestled up against it all. It wasn't too big by the looks of it. Definately not Motostoke size, but it was definately bigger than Turffield and Postwick and you could make out the unmistakable structure of a stadium way over there.

Victor pointed with a smile towards the faint town. "There's Hulbury! We're nearly there!"

"Good. Let's get stepping before it gets too dark. If we hurry we'll be there by tomorrow."

And indeed you all were. Traveling until it was sundown, and you decided to set up camp for the night, only to pack up quickly and leave at the first sign of light the very next morning. It was somewhere around ten in the morning when you all finally made it. Seeing the town and beautiful ocean coming into view and getting closer, and closer the more and more you walked. Until you all finally arrived. First walking under a bridge connecting between two large hills, on top of one hill leading to a train station, the familiar pink building of the pokemon center greeted you next as the dirt path of Route 5 changed into concrete streets. Another loud horn shot off to the right of you and as you all looked over there was a giant port with as you suspected lots of ships and boats. Bigger than in game you imagined too. You inhaled a long sigh, the taste of salt on your tongue. If it wasn't for the many boats near the port and other people, you wouldn't have minded just standing there for a moment in the road. But since you didn't want to waste anymore time you sighed and turned to Gloria.

"So." She looked at you and blinked. "What's the plan here?"

"We go to the gym-"

"We head to the hotel-"

Both twins looked at each other for a moment, before Victor cleared his throat.

"I think we should head to the Hulbury's residential hotel first. Just in case one of you have to wait for a gym battle to open we'd have somewhere to stay tonight."

"Well I think we should head to the gym before anyone else gets here," she countered back one arm holding her Toxel and the other placed onto her hip. "It's still pretty early in the morning. If there's a chance no one got there yet one of us could get a spot! Right Hop?"

"Actually, personally I'm kinda hungry and wanted to check out that famous resturaunt Hulbury's supposed to have." he mumbled but got ignored by the scowling twins.

You sighed again shaking your head. Teenagers. "How about this?" You held up a hand catching the three's attention. "We'll split up." You suggested. "If we do that we can get things done faster. You two can check out the gym and your brother can get us situated for the night because personally I'd like to take a break from camping. Then we can meet back up and get some breakfast..." You looked up towards the sky. "Or lunch depending when we're done."

Victor hummed. "...That doesn't sound like a bad idea actually and it could actually save us time. Now that I think about it, we're probably low on supplies anyways. While we're doing that Y/N can take a list of what we need and get it from the local super market here."

"I like that plan! We can meet up at the Light house."

And so it was agreed. After going through your invintory, and having Victor quickly scribble down a list of things you all needed, the four of you split off. Victor heading in the same direction as the other two with his phone's map out (you guessed the hotel and the stadium must've been down the same road) and you towards the docks list and borrowed money in hand. In all honestly you were just as hungry as the others but that could wait. It didn't take you too long to find Hulbury's local convenience store, it didn't take you all long as well to fill up the considerably large bags of travel foods and start carrying them off back off towards the direction of the light house. ....Only...there was one problem. You had absolutely no idea which direction the lighthouse was in, and with the giant bags of supplies to be split between the four of you obstructing your view, it made it harder to see by all accounts as you tried peeking around and over the large bags. Stumbling a bit and almost bumping into a few people walking past you, they gave you an odd look before carrying on. Certainly didn't help when your sobble gave a small chirp before literally climbing into one of the bags to which you panicked a little. The last thing you needed was him eating the food you just bought especially since it wasn't bought with your money!

"Hey! Bad pokemon!," you shouted jiggling the bags a bit, "You get out of there right now! You're not supposed to be in there!" The sobble peeked itself out over the edge of one of the bag's hearing it's master's voice as you frowned, and you didn't see where you were walking as you walked. "I'm serious! You can't just crawl in there! Out no- Oof!?"

"HEY!?," shouted a woman's voice.

You rammed into something or someone solid and you stumbled back, by some miracle not dropping the bags, and up righted yourself for a moment. Blinking you turned sideways to look at who you bumped into and were met with another woman who was looking at you with a bewildered look like everyone else who saw you walking around like this. The woman had a dark skin complextion with dark black hair with pretty blue streaks and eyes that were bluer than the ocean. What looked like a sports uniform adorned her bodyShe blinked at you as you stared before you seemed to blink and shake your head.

"Oh. Sorry about that, Miss," You apologised shifting two off the four bags in your arms. "I didn't see you there."

"Uh..Yes, I could tell." She ran an eye over the two bags in your arms and the other two hanging off your elbows. "That's a lot of groceries you're carrying there." Her eyes stopped at the little blue pokemon poking out of the top of one of the bags as it shoved a blue berry into it's mouth.

"Oh. It's not just for me actually. I'm traveling with some others and we needed this stuff." You followed her gaze and you gained a frown when you saw the sobble shove another berry into it's mouth. "HEY!" It fell back into the bag startled with a chirp....but slowly peeked the top of it's head and eyes back over to look at your scowl. "I said NO. Now you get out of there right now! If you're hungry I'll get you something else."

"Oh. Is this little one yours?," both of you looked over as the woman attempted to reach out and pet the sobble. Which resulted in your sobble giving off a sound of fright and immediately scuttle out from the bag in a hurry.

"HEY-" You leaned your head back as it jumped on your head and clung to your hair giving the other woman wide eyes of worry. You grumbled...but sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. He's not used to strangers I guess."

With a smile, the woman placed a hand on her hip and studied the two of you. "Most sobble are, but it seems this one has become very attatched to you."

You blew the sobble's tail from your face. "Believe me you don't know the half of it. Say. Could you tell me where I can find the lighthouse? I'm supposed to meet my friends there."

"Sure. I was actually heading towards the stadium actually. The light house is right next to it," she gestured to your bags. "I could even help you if you'd like."

You gave a relieved sigh. "Really?! Yes, thank you. That'd be a huge help."

You happily let the woman take two of the bags you were carrying and you followed her as she motioned for you to follow her. Gloria and Hop were most likely already waiting for you as they had first gone to the stadium and possibly Victor if he hadn't gotten side tracked or anything. As the two of you walked you took the chance to look around at the town. Seemed like the beach down you had gone to before the few times you went to the beach. As you glanced at the woman helping you out you couldn't help but...notice something. Did she seem familiar to you somehow?....You shook your head. Nah. Must've just been your imagination. She must've just looked like someone you've seen before. That's all. The both of you walked from the docks, past what looked like a resturaunt of some sort, back towards the Pokemon Center before taking a right and heading down the same path the teens took when the four of you parted ways. From that point the two of you walked down a road with houses on one side and a fence overseeing the ocean on the other. There was a LOT more houses than you remembered in game so it took a good twenty minutes before you even saw the stadium as both of you passed a flight of concrete stairs leading up the hill towards the train station. You looked up and at the stadium as it's shadow loomed over you as you both walked past it. Unlike Milo's stadium this one seemed rather quiet right now even if it was as HUGE as his was. The gym leader mustn't be battling anyone right now where ever she was. As you two continued to walk past it, you blinked seeing a tall structure up ahead which was unmistakably a light house, letting you sigh in relief. FINALLY!! You sighed in relief at seeing the structure and sped up your pacing a bit as the two of you rounding the corner the path lead towards the lighthouse and that's when you noticed the figures standing there. One or two strangers were there taking a picture next to the statues or the ocean view, but there was three you recognized easily as the twins and Hop. They all seemed happy to see you at first. But soon those happy faces turned into suprised and shocked ones the closer you walked. Victor even shaking his head and blinking as you approuched.

"Uh...Hey, Y/n. Whatcha got there?"

"Our supplies," you replied arms all sore and tired from the long walk over. Victor blinked as you shoved the two bags you were holding into his arms. "Here. Take these. Im beat." They continued to stare at you even as you turned to the woman and take the other two heavy bags from her. Your brow rising as you turned and saw their wide eyed looks. "....Are you three alright? You all look like you've seen a ghost."

"...Y/n. Do you even know WHO that is?!," Gloria asked pointed towards the woman and you turned to look at her again..before shrugging.

"She helped me out. Thanks by the way."

She nodded. "It was my pleasure."

"Don't you even know who that is!?" Gloria groaned at your utterly confused face as you blankly stared and as a result pointed right at the smiling woman next to you. "You literally don't know!? THAT'S NESSA!! Like the Gym Leader Nessa! The person we traveled all the way here to see!"

You blinked before looking back to Nessa as she glanced at you. "...Oh. Thanks for the help again. It was very nice of you."

She nodded again. "Your welcome. And you." She glanced over to Gloria who still stared in disbelief at her. "You must be a gym challenger right? You're one of the ones endorsed by Leon right?"

Gloria stared at her a little longer before Hop nudged her making her flinch. "HUH!? I mean- Y-Yeah! O-One of them." She gestured to Hop next to her. "And he's the other one."

"Hello, Ma'am." Hop smiled and waved. "I'm Hop and this is Gloria. You uh...Weren't at the stadium when we went there."

"My apologies," Nessa apoligized as you turned back to her. OH! Now you could recognize her easily. She was on the cover of that magazine Gloria showed you and you vaugely rememebered seeing her back at the entrance ceremony. "But I just got back from a boating shoot and I've already promised someone else a battle for later today. But I must say, you've become something of a hot topic among the gym leaders."

"Wait. We are?"

She chuckled. "Are you kidding me? Leon never stops talking about how awesome his little brother is and how he's just the smartest kid ever to come out of Postwick."

Hop coughed and scratched at his head in embarrassment. "Well...I wouldn't say that."

"I mean. He's not wrong. You're pretty smart."

"Glory! Don't embarrass me like Mum please!," he begged red faced.

You decided to help give him a break. "I had no idea he spoke so highly of Hop." You spoke to Nessa. Although you wouldn't be surprised considering how hyped up Hop got about Leon, and how loving Leon was to them.

She chuckled again before reaching behind her and pulling something out of her pocket. Well two somethings. "Here you go, Ms. Famous. I already heard about you, so you should learn more about me too." She held out what you made out as cards to Hop and Gloria as the two wide eyed teens took them in disbelief.

"OMG! Another League Card!! Thank you so much, Ms. Nessa! Does this mean you'll be able to battle one of us tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Sure. Just speak to one of my staff at the stadium and we can schedule a battle in the next two days for you guys." She then pointed behind her. "But I had better head to the stadium. I can't delay my sheduled battle anymore than I've already had."

You nodded in understanding. "We understanding completely, Miss. Thanks again for the help."

She nodded towards you. "I love fishing, but I love pokemon battles even more and I'm itching for a battle with you. Hopefully we'll get to battle real soon." With a wave towards Hop and Gloria Nessa turned on her heel and began to walk away.

You waved back before turning back to the three teens staring back at you. ".....What?"

"HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW WHO THAT WAS WITH YOU!?,'' Gloria shouted gesturing to where Nessa walked off to which you shrugged again.

"Sorry? I was a little busy with something more important at the moment and I guess I wasn't paying too much attention to her. But she seemed very nice. But how did your guys' lil trip go?"

"I managed to book us a hotel here for a couple nights," Victor answered before gesturing his head over towards the other two. "And they're all set up to fight, but someone already beat 'em for a spot today."

"Oh. Who?"

"The Mareep Head!," Gloria huffed one hand one her hip and the other waving the small League Card in the air. Mareep Head- OH! She must've been referring to Bede. He must've been the one Nessa was rushing off to battle then. "We just waltzed on in and there he was acting all smug like he jus' won the whole challenge already. He even asked if I "Got Hatenna's good side' on camera. Psh! He's such a stuck up mudbray!"

You could only nod juggling the groceries in your arms. "I...see. Well since there's nothing we can do right now for the moment, why don't we just go back to the hotel Victor mentioned and take care of these?"

Victor nodded in agreement tugging his own bags along as you both turned with Gloria mumbling behind you all the way to the hotel.

#pokemon swsh #pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon piers #pokemon sword and shield #piers x reader #pokemon piers x reader #reader x piers #Reader

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kelyon · 3 years

Text

Golden Rings 17: A Name

The Storybrooke sequel to Golden Cuffs

Mrs. Gold revisits her past

Read on AO3

Mrs. Gold looked on in mute horror as Hunter Duke dumped more hot sauce on his triple bacon hamburger. He’d asked Ruby to give him three meat patties with no bun and steamed broccoli instead of fries. When Mrs. Gold had questioned that lunch choice, he had explained his new diet to her.

At length.

Hunter had always been the kind of boy who thought meat and spicy food were substitutes for a personality. He’d been the star athlete at Storybrooke High, taking home championships in football and wrestling. He’d been popular with everyone--except for the one girl he’d arbitrarily decided was the hottest girl in school. That girl, the valedictorian, hadn’t given the quarterback the time of day. Not until she lost her scholarship and suddenly dating the son of a lawyer sounded like the way to the best future she would ever get.

“They do the burgers way too overdone here,” Hunter said with his mouth full. “You don’t get enough protein if it isn’t bloody.”

Mrs. Gold shrugged and took a bite of her own burger. It needed more pickles, but it was still amazing. Toasted bun, crisp lettuce, a patty that was juicy but not messy. She hadn’t had a Granny’s burger in forever. When she was a kid, her parents had taken her out for burgers every Friday night after their shop closed. Mom would bring her own supply of extra-zesty mustard and Dad…

She set her bun on her plate. On those idyllic, bygone Friday nights, her father would spend the whole meal grumbling about money and expenses and couldn’t they have eaten at home? Mom had always told him to stop worrying and enjoy the moment. It was the end of another week and they were together, happy and healthy. She’d calmed him down and kept him focused, every time there was a crisis.

Until they faced the biggest crisis of their lives.

Mrs. Gold blinked out of her thoughts. For some reason, Hunter was still talking. Maybe it looked like she was listening. She’d gotten good at that when they had dated. Now that she was listening for real, she tried to catch up.

“I keep telling my dad he needs to just change the sign. ‘Duke & Duke & Duke’ has a great ring to it, right? Or he could for ‘Duke & Sons.’ I don’t mind sharing the spotlight with Steven. Or he could leave the sign as it is and retire! ‘Duke & Duke’ is classic, everyone knows we’re the best bankruptcy lawyers in town. Just let my brother be the first Duke and I’ll be second Duke and we’ll take this firm into the future! But Dad keeps brushing me off for some reason.”

Mrs. Gold took a sip of iced tea and desperately wished it was something stronger. “Did you… go to law school?”

She had the oddest feeling that she couldn’t remember how long they had been out of high school. All she knew for sure was that Hunter had enrolled at Storybrooke Community College--and she hadn’t. It was possible that he had gotten his bachelor’s. As Hunter was fond of saying, “Cs get degrees.” But SCC didn’t have a graduate program. Had he taken more classes on the internet? Or correspondence courses? It boggled her mind to think of Hunter of all people had gotten a law degree during the years she’d been Mr. Gold’s stupid slut.

“Well actually,” he explained, “you don’t need to go to law school to take the bar exam. I’ve got a bachelor’s in poli-sci and I’ve been around lawyers all my life. My dad knows everyone at the state bar. He’ll pull some strings and I’ll be all set.”

Mrs. Gold stabbed her straw at the ice cubes in her glass. It was so fucking unfair. Hunter was an idiot child who had never worked for anything in his life. His father--Richard “Big Dick” Duke--had bought him a Humvee when he turned sixteen, a speedboat when he graduated high school, and a college education just because no son of his wasn’t going to go to college. Now he would give his son the bar exam and a ready job and everything he would need for a future, without Hunter ever having to grow up past the maturity level of a toddler.

She’d lost her virginity to this boy. One summer night after senior year, in the back seat of that gas-guzzling monstrosity. They’d been dating for a while and Hunter had been perfectly content with her amateurish attempts at blowing him. But for her, the novelty had begun to wear off. So she’d suggested that he “put it in” instead. It was mostly a way for him to get his rocks off while she could just lie back and think of something more interesting.

Her memories of that night were dark and cramped and disappointing. She kept her shoes and her bra on the whole time. When Hunter was done, she had been more confused than anything else. This is what people made such a big deal about? Wasn’t sex supposed to be better than that?

It wasn’t until later, with Mr. Gold, that she had understood what people were talking about in romance novels.

But now that things were so strained with her husband, she found herself thinking back to the only other sexual partner she’d ever had. Looking at Hunter now, she had to remind herself of how bad things had been that summer, when he had been a welcome distraction. Hunter hadn’t wanted to talk about doctors’ appointments or shop inventory or arguing with financial aid departments--every fight a losing battle. All he wanted to do was drink, screw around, and have fun, and he welcomed her along for the ride.

I thought he would help us. I was wrong. He wasn’t what I needed.

Mrs. Gold shook the thought out of her head. The thought was true, but she recognized it as not being her own, so she talked over it.

“Have you been hanging out with any of the old gang? Sean or Jesse or anyone?”

It had been exciting to be included with the rich kids, to feel like she belonged in the world of the young and the reckless--people who didn’t have to worry about things because their parents would always be around to bail them out. They could do whatever they wanted because the world belonged to them.

Hunter shrugged. “Jesse’s an idiot, so no change there. But Sean’s been such a pussy ever since Ashley had her baby.”

Ashely Boyd had been in that group with her. Rich boys liked running around with poor girls because they were easier to impress than the rich girls. New Town young ladies also had parents who bought them cars for their sixteenth birthdays. They didn’t need to rely on spoiled boys to pay their way every time they went out, so they didn’t have to go along with whatever stupidity the boys came up with. Mrs. Gold had taken a lot of risks just so Hunter would keep thinking she was interesting.

But Ashley had loved Sean for more than his money and toys. All she ever wanted was for him to love her back and stay with her. Once, Mrs. Gold had thought Ashley was stupid for pining so hard after a boy who would never commit. But now she had a little more sympathy.

“What happened with Sean?”

“Mr. Herman kicked him out, cut him off. Now he’s living at Ashley’s place, working his ass off at the fish factory.”

“The cannery,” Mrs. Gold corrected quietly. Fish King Canned Foods was always hiring. It was always looking for people who could stand waist-deep in ice and fish guts for twelve hour shifts, operating machinery that could cut through a human hand as easily as it did a whole herring. Her cousin Andrew had gotten a job right out of high school. Her Uncle Peter had worked there for twenty years before he died.

“Like I said, he’s a total pussy now. All he does is work and hang out with Ashley, work and take care of the baby, work and sleep. You know he asked her to marry him a couple days ago? Utterly whipped.”

“Wow,” she said.

She had never respected Sean Herman, so it was weird to think of him actually growing up. People didn’t usually change around Storybrooke. But now the spoiled party boy was taking responsibility for his child and the woman who loved him. He had given up his own wealth and family status because he loved a penniless girl from Old Town.

It was impressive.

She finished her burger while Hunter started another monologue, this time about all the fat, lazy, poor people who came to his father’s office to declare bankruptcy. Forget being a lawyer, he should go into talk radio.

“I did ask you to lunch for a reason.” She grabbed her chance to talk while he was taking a breath.

“Oh yeah?” Hunter wiped hot sauce off his face with the back of his hand. “What’s up?”

“You know a lot of people,” Mrs. Gold said. “I was wondering if you might know somebody that I don’t.”

He slurped up the dregs of his diet soda. “Yeah? Who?”

Mrs. Gold gripped the edge of the table and desperately hoped he wouldn’t notice how hard it was for her to say this. The gold of her wedding ring was dull on this cloudy afternoon. “I… just have a name right now. I think it’s a woman named Belle.”

She could see the wheels in his head turning as he thought. “Belle? Hmm. I don’t know.”

“She’s probably young. Maybe our age. Maybe younger. Or older? Maybe she’s one of your mom’s friends or something?”

A woman as old as Karen Duke would still be younger than Mr. Gold. Maybe he was looking for more maturity now. In the days since she found out about Belle, Mrs. Gold had been racking her brain to try to imagine what kind of person she was. She was only moderately sure that Belle even was a woman. If Mr. Gold wanted this Belle person more than he wanted his own wife, she was probably the opposite of her in some crucial way.

Hunter made a face and scratched the back of his head. “Nah, I got nothing. Sorry.”

“Yeah,” Mrs. Gold looked down at her empty plate. “I’m not surprised.”

Seeing that they were both done with their food, Ruby came up to the table. “Now is this gonna be one check or two?”

It was almost funny how quickly Hunter looked to Mrs. Gold. He panicked at the thought of paying for his own lunch. Daddy must not be giving him an allowance anymore.

“You invited me,” he said, almost chiding her with the reminder of how things worked.

“Yeah, that was my first mistake.” Mrs. Gold took the check from Ruby and pulled out her purse.

A fifty would be enough to pay for two hamburgers and Ruby’s discretion. Not that Mrs. Gold was being particularly sneaky, arranging lunch with her ex-boyfriend at the most popular restaurant in town. But that didn’t matter either. She could take Hunter to the pawn shop and bang him in front of the cash register and Mr. Gold wouldn’t give a fuck.

And neither would she.

****

Wandering listlessly up and down Main Street, Mrs. Gold tried to keep warm. The clouds were dark and heavy with more snow. The sidewalks were shoveled, but there was always a residue of dirty slush. It was the time of year when trash kept showing up in the streets, no matter how many anti-littering signs Mayor Mills put up.

Mrs. Gold’s suede boots were more fashionable than sturdy. The same could be said for her coat, scarf, and hat. The cold seeped through her flimsy layers, until she was nothing but numb and damp, until it was hard to breathe, until she was so desperate to be warm again she resolved to go into the next open store, no matter which one it was.

Sugar’n’Spice was always warm and it always smelled good. Mara Trudine burned a different scented candle every day the shop was open. Today the candle was cinnamon and cloves. The whole place smelled like cider.

Mrs. Gold entered as quietly as she could. She hadn’t been in the store since before Christmas. And she had never walked through that door without strutting proudly, loudly announcing her intentions to buy whatever lingerie it would take to drive Mr. Gold wild.

Was Mr. Gold even capable of going wild for her anymore? Or did the sight of her just turn his stomach? He thought she was trash, she disgusted him, he didn’t want her and he never would again.

Ducking behind a rack of silky robes, Mrs. Gold took a breath to calm herself down. It was a bad habit she’d developed lately, thinking of the worst-case scenario just to make herself feel something. Her mind kept poking and prodding at her pain, pulling out her darkest fears and putting them front and center. She could push it away if she concentrated. If she tried to act normal, she could almost feel normal. Sometimes.

“Oh hey.” Mara had spotted her from the sales counter in the back of the shop. “Mrs. Gold, I didn’t see you come in.”

Steeling herself, Mrs. Gold walked out from behind the robes. “That’s me.” She tried to smile.

Mara stayed where she was. Bits of fabric were spread out over the counter. It looked like she was sewing something.

Mrs. Gold’s heart skipped a beat. The fabric was a shiny yellow-gold. Sometimes, when Mr. Gold was really pleased with her, he liked her to wear that color. Without thinking about what she was doing, she began to walk towards the counter.

“What are you working on?”

Mara looked up from her needle. Even after all these years, she had the same face she’d had as a kid--sharp brown eyes, adorably crooked smile, freckles all over her round cheeks. She looked so innocent. You’d never think she made a living off of unmentionables.

“Custom order,” she said proudly. “I’ve been trying to get tailor-made lingerie off the ground for as long as I can remember. Got my first order in October and more have been coming in.” She held up the fabric and Mrs. Gold saw a pair of panties that would go up to a person’s rib cage.

“Somebody wants that?”

Mara’s excitement dimmed in the face of Mrs. Gold’s skepticism, but she did her best to explain. “It’s shapewear,” she said. “See the reinforced panels? The idea is to smooth out tummy rolls and make a more flattering silhouette.”

Mrs. Gold looked over at the rack of Spanx. “Don’t you already sell that?”

“Yeah, but the stuff I make is sturdier than the mass-produced product. Better for people with non-standard bodies. And prettier too. Nothing over there comes in straw yellow.”

It was true. Most of the stuff in that section was nude or black. Mrs. Gold knew a thing or two about wearing corsets, but she had never actually needed one. She had thought Mr. Gold liked her to be skinny.

“That is a pretty color,” she said. “Who’s it for?”

Mara looked at her dubiously. “I can’t talk about a client, it’s confidential.”

“How are you planning on getting more orders without word of mouth?”

“Well, normally word of mouth comes from customers talking about the product, not a creator talking about their customers.”

Falling into old habits, Mrs. Gold tilted her head back as her voice went up an octave. “I know, but it’s just such a pretty shade of gold, I was wondering if someone special might have ordered it...?”

She let the question hang. Mara just frowned and shook her head.

“Come on, you’re smarter than that.” She held up the garment again. “This is for a plus-sized woman. Two of you could fit in here without straining the elastic. Mr. Gold didn’t order this for you.”

Without thinking, she leaned over the counter and got in her friend’s face. “Did he order it for someone else?”

Mara’s eyes went wide. Her mouth transformed into a tiny little O of surprise. Mrs. Gold pulled away and kept her eyes on the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Gold said. “That was out of line.”

“Wow,” Mara said softly. “I, uh, I’d heard that something had happened. But I didn’t know it was that bad. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.” She turned around, pretended to look at something lacy until the urge to scream had passed. When she glanced at Mara, her brown eyes were trained on her.

“It’s not from him,” she said simply. “I’ll even tell you that my client paid with a credit card, so it was definitely her own money.”

Or maybe Mr. Gold was just covering his tracks. But at least he hadn’t called in the order himself. At least he wasn’t flaunting his disregard for her.

“Does he… Have you ever heard from him? Is he buying anybody lingerie?”

Mara shook her head. “I only see him on Rent Day.”

With nothing left to lose, she asked her old friend the same question she’d asked her ex-boyfriend. “Do you know anybody named Belle?”

Mara blinked. “I don’t… think so. The name sounds familiar, but I’m probably thinking of a character from a book or a movie. It’s not the sort of name you hear around Storybrooke.”

“No,” Mrs. Gold agreed.

“But I’ll keep my ears open, if you want.”

Mrs. Gold raised her eyebrows. “What about client confidentiality?”

“Well, whoever Belle is, she’s definitely not a client. And until Mr. Gold pays me himself, neither is he.”

You’re a good friend.

This time, Mrs. Gold didn’t swat at the thought that intruded into her head. She let it rest over her brain like a blanket. She let the thought warm her up.

She leaned against the counter and watched Mara work. The shapewear was fully constructed, and she was embroidering stalks of straw in a pattern along the sides. It was really pretty. The sort of thing that would give a girl a boost in confidence and excitement about her own body, her own clothes. Mrs. Gold remembered how fancy she’d felt the first time she wore something as simple as a bra and panties that were the same color. That sort of energy could get people through interviews or contract negotiations, any time you needed to feel powerful. Mara was helping people here, she was good at it, and it seemed to make her happy.

“So, business is good?”

“Yeah, it’s picking up. Valentine’s Day was a madhouse, but you know how that goes.”

Mrs. Gold nodded. Lingerie could be as popular as flowers when it came to last-minute gifts that men always thought would be cheaper than they were.

“Did you spend the day with anyone?”

Mara scrunched her nose. “I’m working too hard for that. Besides, I don’t meet a lot of single men in this business.”

She was able to snicker at the joke, and she was able to mean it. “Yeah, I guess not.”

They were quiet together for a minute, then Mrs. Gold asked a more personal question: “How’s your mom?”

Mara looked up from her embroidery for a second, but then went back to work. “She’s fine. I think she’s bored, now that the preschool is only open for half-days. She keeps asking me to move in with her.”

“I take it you don’t want to?”

A halfhearted shrug. “I don’t have a good reason not to. It would make sense, we could split the bills and keep each other company. But there is also something really nice about living by yourself. Even if it’s just a one bedroom apartment on top of your store.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Mrs. Gold drummed her fingers against the counter. She had gone from living with her father to living with Mr. Gold. The night after their anniversary had been the first time she had slept in any building by herself.

But she understood what Mara meant. When you lived with your parents, it was hard to feel like an adult. To make matters worse, Irma Trudine--Mara’s mother--had been a preschool teacher for as long as anyone could remember. She tended to treat everyone she talked to like they were a four-year-old whining for more juice and crackers.

Mama’s closest friend.

Now the voice was annoying her again. It was true that Irma and Mom had been good friends. That was why she had grown up with Mara as much as she had grown up with her cousin Janine. The three girls were inseparable, just like their mothers had been.

Until…

Mrs. Gold sighed. She was warmer now. She should probably buy something before she moved along.

“Do you have anything comfy around here?”

“What, like no underwire?”

“No, like pajamas, I guess. Or loungewear? I think I need to get a pair of sweatpants.”

Mara grinned. “The last time I saw you wear sweatpants, they had dinosaurs on them.”

“And they were fucking awesome.”

She had gotten those pants for her eighth birthday and worn them until the knees gave out. Even after that, Mom had cut them up for shorts and she’d worn them for another six months. If she could find sweatpants that had dinosaurs on them now, she wouldn’t think the mere act of wearing sweatpants was a sign of the end of her life.

But Sugar’n’Spice only had pajama sets with flowers on them--or hearts, but Mrs. Gold couldn’t bring herself to buy anything that looked like love. It was enough to buy comfort, something that would make it a little easier to be in her own skin.

Mara rang her up and gracefully accepted the extra fifty Mrs. Gold handed her.

“How about I call this a down payment on a custom order for you?”

Taking her bag, Mrs. Gold shrugged. “I don’t think Mr. Gold will want me in lingerie for a long time.”

“I didn’t say it was for Mr. Gold, I said it was for you.” Mara looked her steadily in the eye. “Come back some time and we can talk about what you need. Okay?”

She opened her mouth, and then closed it. “Yeah,” she said at last. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Good.”

****

The day wasn’t over. Mr. Gold was still in his shop. She could go there for a few hours of awkward silence. Or she could go back to the house, for a few hours of lonely silence. Then he would come home and make dinner. They would eat together and make stilted small talk. And then she would go to her bedroom, and he would go to his.

That was their life now.

He said he wanted her to stay. He said he wanted to take care of her. He said he loved somebody else.

It didn’t make sense. It was wrong. They were supposed to be together. Being near him, but not being with him, trying to act like everything was fine, trying to act like he didn’t matter to her as much as she obviously didn’t matter to him…

It was tearing her apart.

So she walked. Like a circling shark, she kept moving so she wouldn’t drown. She was trapped. Storybrooke was a small town, there were only so many places you could go in one day. And she had lots of days ahead of her. Mrs. Gold had the image of the rest of her life, stretching out to the horizon. She would have to keep walking, she would never be able to rest. She would never have a home again.

She was in Old Town now. The flower shop was behind her. Aunt Teri’s yellow and purple house was on this street. How many times had she walked the route between those two places? Her whole childhood, her whole life until she married Mr. Gold and moved into his house. She used to belong in this neighborhood.

Was there a way she could belong here again?

Turning at the plastic sign that said Hair Today! she went to the side door of the yellow house and knocked. Then she stepped away from the door and waited for an answer. She held herself against the cold.

Janine came up from the basement salon. Her mouth opened when she saw Mrs. Gold.

“Oh hi,” she said. “Mrs. Gold, you don’t… usually knock.”

“Yeah, I’m usually a bitch to you and I’m sorry.” She hadn’t meant to start that way, but she couldn’t avoid the truth anymore.

Janine’s eyebrows raised and her sky-blue eyes--a family trait--went wide. “O...kay,” she said slowly. Stepping outside, she shut the door behind her. The cold made her keep her arms crossed over her chest. “What’s going on?”

“I…” She didn’t know what to say. She had started, but what was the next step? “Things suck, right now, for me. And I kind of suck too. And I realized…”

What had she realized? That no one in her family would help her in an emergency? That she had built her whole identity around one relationship and without that she had nothing? That she had spent years intentionally, maliciously, pushing away all the people that had loved her in exchange for a man who only paid her? That all of those things were really fucking shitty? None of that was a realization. Mrs. Gold had always known what her life was. But she was just now starting to care.

“I realized I’m sorry,” she said. “For as long as I’ve been with Mr. Gold, I’ve been so caught up in him and it made me a worse person. And I want to be better.” She looked at Janine. “You deserve a better cousin.”

Janine sighed, her breath visible in the twilight. “So the honeymoon is finally over, huh? Are you tired of him or is he tired of you?”

Mrs. Gold pressed her lips together. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. At the same time, she didn’t begrudge her cousin the snark.

“He’s tired of me,” she admitted softly. “And I’m kind of tired of me too.”

Now Janine looked more sympathetic. “What happened?”

“You didn’t hear? I thought everyone in Storybrooke knew by now.”

“Yeah, no, I’ve heard a lot of rumors. But I’m asking you what happened. What’s the truth?”

“He loves someone else.” The words slipped from her mouth like a burden off her shoulders. “Some Belle person. And like, like he loves her, Janine. More than he ever loved me.”

“Oof,” Janine let out a long breath. “Oh honey, that’s terrible. I’m sorry.”

Until now, Janine had been standing in the doorway, and Mrs. Gold had been in the driveway, with about five feet between them. Janine stepped out first, one arm open in invitation. The two cousins met in the middle. They didn’t hug, exactly, but they huddled together for warmth and comfort.

“Do you need to stay with us?” Janine asked. “We never did anything with Andrew’s room after--”

“No,” she shook her head. Mr. Gold asked her to stay with him, and even that had to be better than sleeping in her dead cousin’s bedroom. “I’m fine, I… He’s taking care of me.”

“What, like alimony?”

“No, we’re not… I’m not leaving him.”

Janine pulled away. “But you said he loved someone else.”

She nodded. “He does, but he doesn’t want the marriage to be over.”

There was a moment of silence while Janine’s face twisted in anger and disbelief. Then she burst out: “Oh screw him! Does he really get to decide that? That man is cheating on you and you don’t even get the satisfaction of walking away? Come on!”

Mrs. Gold couldn’t look her in the face. “It’s not as simple as that,” she said. “I--I married him, I need him, I…” The next words were small and soft: “I don’t want the marriage to be over either.”

Closing her eyes, Janine pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. “I don’t know what to say,” she said. “I mean, the sanctity of marriage is great and all, but Mr. Gold has been nothing but bad to you for so long. And now you have a reason to get out, but you’re not taking it? Why?”

“Because this is different,” she said the words before she knew what they meant. “He’s different than he was when we got married. There’s something… good about him now. Something kind and gentle. Something that wasn’t there before.”

Janine rolled her eyes. “So now you have feelings for the monster?”

“He’s not a monster now. Maybe he was before--I can see that more clearly now. But now the only thing he’s doing wrong is… not wanting me. And it hurts, but it’s not an evil thing.”

He’s my husband and I love him. Can you understand that?

Shifting her weight back and forth, Janine kept her arms over her chest. “And he’s not… hurting you anymore?”

She shook her head. “Not even in a way I like.”

“Gross,” Janine said, matter-of-factly. “I mean, good for you that it used to be something you liked, but it is very gross for me to think about. Too much information is a very real thing.”

Both of them snickered at that. The years of lingering tension eased a little more.

“Can you at least stay for dinner? We’re having Spaghetti-Os a la Chloe.”

“Chloe’s cooking?” How old was she now?

“It was her idea. Under careful supervision, she is going to dump a can of Spaghetti-Os into a pot and warm it up. Mom might even let her into the spice cabinet for some basil.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun.” She shuffled her feet. “But I should get going. I still eat with Mr. Gold. It’s… weird.”

“I bet.” Janine put her hands in the pockets of her work smock. “Listen, I… I’m sorry. All this time… I could have been a better cousin too. We--I think the general idea was that… we were waiting for you to meet us halfway.”

“I get that,” she said. “And I never came close to halfway. Not with anybody.”

“Well, you did today. And I’m glad. We missed you.”

Nodding, she tried to keep the tears out of her eyes. All this time, she could have had her family. If she had just eased up on being Mrs. Gold, she could have been the same girl everyone had loved.

“I’m trying to make things better now, you know?”

Janine nodded. “I know.” They were quiet for a minute, then she asked. “Have you talked to your dad lately?”

“Not yet,” she shook her head. “Not him or Uncle Manny. I… I kinda thought I’d start easy.”

Janine half-smiled, half-winced. “Manny will be happy to see you. You’re the only niece he’s got.”

She snorted. “I’m the only daughter my dad has and that didn’t make anything any easier.”

“He loves you, Lacey,” Janine said. It was the first time Mrs. Gold had heard her first name in as long as she could remember. “We all do.”

#golden rings #rumbelle #rumbelle fic #ouat #you like ocs? I've got so many ocs

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mako-and-tails-and-stuff · 3 years

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Day 6 - Mermaid AU (but seeing as they’re already Mermaids we’re doing Human AU)

(Sorry it’s a little late)

Pairing: Rita/Veridia

Words: 1,634

Rating: T

Moving to a new school is hard. Moving to a new high school, even harder. She should know. She’d done both.

When Rita and her family first moved to the Gold Coast at the age of six she hated it. She knew no one and her parents were too busy to take her out so they left her with some woman she didn’t know and it was boring. All the lady wanted to do was read her books or tidy the house.

There wasn’t even a proper garden, just concrete. There was grass outside between the houses but she wasn’t allowed out there without supervision.

It was only marginally better when she started school a few days later. At least she made a friend - Nerissa. They bonded over both being new to Miami Primary School and spent break times and lunch together.

School was fun but home was boring. All Rita was really allowed to do was read and a lot of her books had yet to arrive.

They’d been in Brakes Crescent just over a week when the next door neighbour came round to introduce himself. A single man on his own, about the same age as Rita’s parents, who had a young daughter the same age as her, Veridia. They invited Rita round to their house to play while her parents were out.

The very first day Rita officially met Veridia they became best friends. Every spare moment they had was spent together, usually at Veridia’s house but sometimes they managed to sneak to hers. They had a really cool ‘secret room’ that was technically the basement but the previous owners had put in a cool hidden door that was disguised as a bookshelf.

It was dull and dusty down there but there was lots of cool little alcoves and even an actual pool of sea water. They never went in the pool in case a great white shark sneaked in somehow, but were both fine with swimming in the actual sea at the beach.

Veridia’s dad took them to the beach on Sunday’s where they would play in the waves for hours. They saw dolphins once, grey fins glinting in the sun as the dolphins dove and splashed around. It was always Veridia’s dad that took them places, the beach, the cafes, and let Rita stay over.

That first sleepover had neither of them could sleep. They bundled up in Veridia’s bed, a bunk bed and turned the bottom bunk into a blanket fort lit up with fairy lights. Veridia’s dad had brought the hot chocolate with marshmallows and let them eat biscuits and go without brushing their teeth. The last one was especially big for six year olds.

As six turned into seven, Rita was spending every weekend at each Veridia’s house. Veridia went to a different school than her so during the week time together was rare. Veridia’s dad was rather strict on keeping school nights for school work and making sure Veridia actually went to bed. Which was fair enough, they usually didn’t sleep much over the weekend.

As the years went on, it stayed the same. Weekend sleepovers, swimming at the beach, drinking hot chocolate in a blanket fort. Things changed when they moved up to high school. Like with primary school they both ended up in separate schools. Veridia went to Suncoast High, a private school not too far from their street while Rita went to Miami State High School with Nerissa.

After that neither had much time to meet up. They tried to but time became scarer.

It didn’t really come as any surprise to Rita when her parents split up. It was just after she moved into her second year at high school. Her mum moved up, moved back down to Sydney where Rita’s aunt and cousins lived while Rita stayed with her dad in the Gold Coast. She’d never lived in Brisbane, moving there would mean starting over. Again. And moving away from Veridia, even if she had hardly seen her. Sometimes she’d see Veridia through the window, they’d wave at each other and pull faces.

Rita ended up having to start over again anyways when she moved from Miami State to Suncoast High. Her heart fluttered when her dad suggested the move. That was the school Veridia went to.

On her first day, instead of trailing in alone, Veridia walked with her, chatting away about all the classes and the different teachers and who to watch out for and who was pretty nice. She felt bad about leaving Nerissa, but she’d be fine - Nerissa was one of those people that people loved to be around. She had tons of friends aside from Rita.

In all, Suncoast High wasn’t that bad, and her and Veridia became fast friends again, like that year with minimal contact had never happened. Veridia came round to Rita’s house most nights after school for ‘study sessions’. Over the summer before Rita started high school her and her dad had given the secret cave a proper clean out and turned it into a sort of study/hang out area with cushioned seatings, bean bags and all of the different treasures the family had collected over the years.

Her dad had a lot of stuff that her mum never liked him having on display. Parts of a real life pirate ship, animals bones - mainly skulls, and a lot of shells. Rita had a lot of shells too, many collected on her weekends at the beach with Veridia.

The study sessions down in ‘The Grotto’ has her dad had dubbed it, were mostly just Rita and Veridia lounging on the bean bags, eating crisps and sneaking cans of juice from the fridge all while pretending to study.

Sometimes they went swimming the pool, the irrational childhood fear of the shark in the swimming pool, long gone. There was one night when Rita’s dad was off on a business trip and Rita was left home alone, Veridia came over to stay and they spent the night seeing who could do the best dive into the pool and who could hold their breath the longest.

Those days spent with Veridia just hanging out in the Grotto were the best times. Rita looked forward to the next day every time Veridia left. Even after she left they’d usually make a point of seeing each other through the window.

Rita was sixteen when she finally let herself admit that she liked girls the same way she liked boys. She was seventeen when she finally let herself admit that she had a crush on Veridia. It was hard not too, she was so pretty. And she was really nice. To Rita at least, Veridia could be very cold towards people, a lot of the boys in particular. Which was a good thing, to say the least, it kept her hope up that maybe Veridia could be open to returning her feelings. If she ever told Veridia that was. Right now school was more important than dating. She was top of almost all of her classes and intended to keep it that way so she could ace her exams and get into Griffiths Uni. It was one of the best for teaching and that’s all she wanted to do - be a teacher.

Veridia meanwhile was leaning more towards working within politics or nursing. She kept changing her mind.

Rita soon learned that just because her head said one thing didn’t mean her heart would listen. She was good at ignoring problems though, why would this be any different?

It worked. For about a month after she decided to ignore her feelings; she got by but pretending she felt nothing when Veridia’s hand accidentally brushed her’s, or when Veridia asked her to braid her hair for her before trying to do the same for Rita. Until finally she couldn’t any longer.

Rita’s dad was away again, off to Brisbane for some client so Veridia came over, armed with crisps, sweets, and enough fizzy drinks for their entire class.

“We having a party?” Rita joked as Veridia piled her supplies on the kitchen counter.

“Hell no. I don’t like enough people to have a party. I was thinking we could try something we’ve always wanted to do.”

“And what would that be?” Rita raised an eyebrow.

“See if that tunnel in the pool really does lead out the sea.”

The pool in the Grotto had an open tunnel at one end. They’d swum a little ways into it but never the full length of it, just in case it lead to nowhere and they both drowned. The tunnel was dark, but wide enough for two people to swim through easily.

“Okay,” Rita agreed.

“Really? I thought you’d say no.”

“I still might.”

Veridia laughed and slipped her arm in Rita’s.

“We should go now before it gets dark.”

The swim out was terrifying. The tunnel was dark, Rita hit her arm against the side and her lungs were burning by the time they both made it out in the sea. At least they were right about that part.

Veridia took her hand and Rita kicked up to the surface. They both surfaced laughing, salt water in their eyes and hands still in each other’s.

“We made it!” Veridia cheered.

Veridia slung her arm over Rita’s shoulder and pulled her in closer.

“I almost died.”

“No you didn’t.”

“I could’ve been dead right -”

Rita swore her heart stopped when Veridia kissed her. It took her brain a second to process that this was actually happening. That Veridia was really kissing her. When her brain finally kicked in she closed her eyes and leaned into it. Veridia tasted like the salt from the sea and very faintly of strawberry lip balm.

#mako mermaids #FemslashFeb2021 #mako mermaids femslash february #rita x veridia #verita

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syms-things-5 · 4 years

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Clear The Area - Chapter Sixteen

Previous Chapter Here

Warnings: Language, scenes that are NSFW, angst, slightly annoying people

Tags: @kelbabyblue @jennmurawski13

Notes: I am so sorry for being rubbish in posting this. I started writing it weeks ago and then work took over my life. Thanks for sticking with me and I hope this was worth the wait (somewhat).

Chapter Sixteen

“So, what do you want to do now?” Audrey asked, hands firmly planted on the Diner table in front of her. She had the same careful posture and look on her face as when she had to relay bad news to a family. It certainly wasn’t providing much comfort now.

She tilted her head to one side and offered a soft smile to try and assuage Sarah’s anxiety but it was no use. This kind of information wasn’t deserving of a casual reaction. She’d pretty much dropped a bomb on her friend and she was expected to deal with the fall out. To Audrey’s credit, though, she appeared to be taking it in her stride which was a bit surprising to say the least.

“Honestly? I have no idea.” Sarah shook her head despondently before her forehead connected with the table.

Three Days Earlier…

The convenient thing about being a nurse and working long and tiring hours, Sarah found, was that you almost always had the perfect excuse for getting out of plans. Or not replying to messages you were deliberately avoiding. “Sorry I didn’t reply earlier, I lost track of time” quickly becomes an acceptable code for “Sorry I didn’t reply earlier, I didn’t have a clue what to say.”

No one would ever dare call you out on it.

It had been almost a week since Sarah had arrived home and the questions from her family had yet to subside. For someone quiet and relatively lacking in a desire for attention, people sure did have a vested interest in her whereabouts. They wanted to know about the exam and when she was likely to hear the outcome. They wanted to know what would happen next and whether she could appeal it if she didn’t like the results. They wanted to know whether she would try again or if she was just happy doing what she was doing now, and please can you call your grandmother because she wants to hear about it, too.

She was exhausted.

But dealing with those messages was an absolute dream compared to messages Chris was sending her. She could copy and paste generic responses to all of the above but with Chris? That was going to take some more thought.

Chris: You’re so pretty. I miss your face so much x

Chris: …..And so many other things x

Chris: It’s not the same waking up without you x Chris: Do you remember me waking you up last week………?

Chris: Did you pick up my sunglasses?? I cant find them anywhere……..

Chris: Just found them! Duh!

Chris: Have you seen the Last Week Tonight? I think you’d love this one……. X

Chris: I’m thinking of getting a dog x

Chris: Can you just tell me ur OK so I can stop worrying?

After coming home late one evening following a long shift, she found herself face-to-face with the most beautiful array of flowers she had ever seen. Sunflowers, glorious white roses, gerberas, tulips, peonies… Truly, indescribably beautiful.

“Someone sure is popular.” Shanna called from where she was sat at the dining table. “They got delivered earlier today. I don’t mean to be a bad feminist but you should probably think about putting out for Greg ‘cos if you don’t, you can let him know that I am definitely up for it.”

Sarah side-eyed her friend and tried to locate the card in amongst the substantial spray. “I can’t remember the last time someone bought me flowers that wasn’t my Dad.” Shanna barked out a laugh as Sarah pulled the card out, recognising the handwriting instantly.

I really miss you x

Now she felt bad for her lazy response to him earlier that afternoon. The second-hand embarrassment was creeping up on her after she tried to casually allay his concerns with an “All good!! x” and regretted the double exclamation marks. That was bound to give the game away.

She regarded the flowers standing proudly on ceremony and waiting for her to smile at them in utter joy so they knew they had done their job. They deserved that at least, but all she could manage was a sigh and a somewhat reluctant smile at their glowing beauty.

“I mean there’s certainly no denying he likes you a lot.” Shanna crept up behind her and narrowly missed Sarah scrunching up the card in her hands. “You don’t buy flowers like this without making your intentions clear.”

“Who says he has intentions?” Sarah playfully jostled with Shanna. “This isn’t Downton Abbey.”

“Oh, come on!” Shanna regaled in disbelief, running her fingers over the large, open sunflowers. “You can’t fool me, Bernette. These are statement flowers if ever I saw them. He wants you baaaad.”

She walked back into the kitchen and Sarah could hear her locate and clang the only two vases they owned in the apartment. Neither of them had much need for vases and even if they did, one thing that made them good flatmates was their mutual distaste for needless crockery lying around the place. Neither appreciated dusting as a chore; it was much easier this way.

“Fuck. I’ll have to ask Mom to bring one over.” Shanna said. “We’re gonna need more to cope with that.”

As expected, Chris was pretty proud of himself. She couldn’t deny him that as he saw the flowers blossom in and around her apartment. He had popped by under the premise of annoying his sister for the evening but flirtatious glances across the lounge gave away his true intentions.

“You should be flattered, I don’t normally do flowers.” He joked when he sidled up next to her in the kitchen, tossing an apple back and forth between his hands.

“You don’t “normally” do anything.”

“Not true. I once sent a girl a peace lily that came in that nice, tall glass vase. That big blue thing.”

“Wasn’t that just to replace the one you smashed at her mom’s place when you were trying to sneak out?”

Chris froze on the spot, staring at her. “I actually can’t remember now, was it? Scott ordered it for me.”

Sarah rolled her eyes before continuing to tidy around him, Chris evidently deciding not to make her job any easier by moving out of her way. It was the equivalent of him lazily lifting his feet off the floor while she tried to vacuum underneath.

“Seriously, though, did you like them?”

“They’re lovely, thank you." Sarah moved to the other side of the kitchen as she continued to dry and place back some wine glasses in the cupboard. “You really didn’t need to do that. It was kinda hard to explain them away.”

“What did you say?” He rubbed at the back of his neck, turning serious for a second.

“I didn’t really say anything. She just assumed they were from Greg.” She leaned against the counter across the room from him. He could make out the worry in her eyes. “Which makes me feel like I’ve lied to her twice.”

It was hard to sleep that night. Chris had somehow got her to agree to meeting him the next day so they could talk some more but she refrained from agreeing to meet him at his place after work. She knew how that was likely to end and she couldn’t face being with him in that way right now so he had finally relented and agreed to a simple coffee at lunch instead. He was less than pleased when he left and Shanna spent half an hour complaining through the bathroom door about his “issues” as Sarah was trying to clean up before heading to bed.

“He’s always been an entitled asshole.” She started before ending with a one-two punch of “He’s not happy unless he’s in control” and “I wish for once he would experience being told ‘no’” She wasn’t wrong but she also didn’t need to hear just how right she was in this moment either.

A couple of things happened in relatively quick succession.

The coffee was every bit as awkward as she knew it would be, only not exactly for the reasons she had anticipated. It was times like this she relished Chris’s ability to have it all figured out and to be able to express himself clearly and succinctly, but she should have known better. As a result, Sarah was left more anxious and unsure of what it was she was feeling. Guilt she figured, not just for the knowledge that she was lying to her best friend but also for leaving the man sat in front of her looking like he had not slept properly in days.

He cleared his throat and shifted to sit up straighter in his seat. They were sat in the corner of the diner, as always, and barring a couple of people having a relatively animated conversation a few booths away from them – relatives of patients, she figured – it was pretty quiet for this time of the day.

“So, time to be honest but there was a reason I sent those flowers.” He had the look of someone who had just been told off by a teacher. “I sort of thought you might have seen something but I guess it went away. I think Matt dealt with it OK.”

Sarah put her cup down and looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“OK, don’t get mad but there may have been a photograph.” He barely looked up as he spoke. “Of us at the hotel.”

Her eyes widened at him and she was about to panic out loud until she realised where she was. “A photograph?”

“Well, technically a photo of me and an ‘unidentified female companion’.” He deadpanned making air quotes like it was nothing before finally making eye contact with her. He frowned but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. He looked down at the table again and then back at her when he realised she hadn’t said anything. “Don’t worry. It’s sorted. I explained things. I just figured someone might have put it on social media or something but I guess I owe him one this time, which he’ll love no doubt.”

“Oh.” She knew it was a pathetic response. “What do you mean you explained things?”

“It looks like a fan spotted me and took a picture at the right time. For them, obviously, not for me. Or us. A magazine picked it up. You actually look a little blurry so technically it could be anyone.”

“Unless you know me. It’ll probably be really obvious then.”

“Well now you don’t need to worry because it’s gone away. We’ll call it one of our nine lives.” He sipped his coffee again, slowly regaining his confidence now that he knew she wasn’t mad with him. She began rubbing her temple, a predictable move for when she was feeling stressed out and he realised he’d crossed a line. “Sorry.”

“Maybe I should seek a career in espionage. Clearly I can hide in plain sight.” She finally spoke and he smiled softly at her in a way that would unnerve her under certain circumstances but for obvious reasons wasn’t having that same effect right in this moment.

“Trust me, OK? I know how these things play out and people forget quickly. I’ve done this hundreds of times.” He was about to sip his coffee again until he was met with a sterner look from across the table. “That was supposed to sound reassuring but I, er, misjudged it.”

“Does Matt know about me?”

A few seconds of silence passed between them, Chris looking slightly to his left before making eye contact with her and pursing his lips, giving her the answer.

He leaned in and spoke as quietly as he could manage. “But he won’t say anything. He’s a good guy and he looks out for me.” \

“Yeh, I know.” She nodded. “Just doesn’t feel great at the moment.”

“You know I would love it if you talked to me about this.” He lowered his head so much he was now practically touching the table with his chin. “I feel like ever since we got back from New York things have been really weird and normally I would think I was overthinking things but I don’t think I am, am I?”

She turned her cup a few times before she felt his hand connect with hers. She saw how small she looked in his and when she looked back up at him, she was met with his doe-eyed expression. The expression which all you could do was smile back, which she did, and she was glad she did because he seemed to lose some weight from his shoulders at that point. His fingers lightly rubbed across hers and she enjoyed the warmth spreading across her skin and up her forearms.

“I’m sorry,” She spoke after a minute. “I didn’t mean to cause you any stress.”

Surprised by her apology, he leaned back in his chair. “You don’t need to apologise to me, Bernette. I get it. It’s strange.”

“I guess I just didn’t know where things would go after, y’know, everything. I wasn’t sure what to say.”

“Well, I know where I want things to go but something tells me we’re not on the same page.”

More silence.

“Look, I get it, OK? Nothing about this is straight-forward.” He rubbed a hand over his beard and over the back of his hair. “But we’re doing OK, right? I mean, I don’t think this needs to end any time soon. We don’t need to make any rash decisions just yet.”

“But how do you see this ending?”

She missed his hands when he pulled them back and let them rest on the table in front of him. “Umm…”

“Because truthfully, I figured it would have ended as soon as it started. You might have got bored or maybe you got a job and you left for months and we’d just…forget about it.” She shrugged back at him.

“Forget?” He tried to mask the disbelief creeping into his tone. “I don’t think either of us could forget about this.”

“But you think about our lives and how different we are and even if we take the family out of the equation, like, it was always going to be tough, right? We would have to figure these things out eventually. It would be naïve to think we could carry on as we have done without feeling guilty and…”

“I don’t feel guilty. Do you feel guilty?”

“Well, yeh. From time to time. It’s not so bad when we’re at yours because it feels like it’s out of sight, out of mind, and-”

“-then we’ll just have to stay at mine more.” He raised his eyebrow at her in an attempt to bring some playfulness back to their conversation.

“That’s not what I’m getting at.” She shook her head at him. Now it was her time to pull back as her head connected with the headrest. “This isn’t gonna last forever, is it? We need to be more rational.”

“Well…”

“And it’s only going to get harder and feel more…stressful.”

Chris narrowed his eyes at her. “Why now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, where is this coming from?” he asked. “We seemed to be OK and I thought we had a good time in New York. Then it’s days of near silence and now I think you’re trying to end this but you don’t have the guts to say it out loud.”

He had her there. She didn’t feel particularly offended or caught off guard by his assumption and he saw that because, truthfully, he’d finally put a name to her thoughts. He wasn’t giving her a way out as such but he was at least addressing the elephant she had planted between them.

He looked away from her and took in a sharp breath. “Look, I don’t want to have this conversation here, OK? I think we should have taken up my idea and spoken about this later at mine and in private. Will you please just come and see me later?”

He didn’t give her the softer, more pleading tone she was normally used to when he was trying to make an appeal to her. She wasn’t expecting it given the circumstances but…it would have been nice. How was she going to get through the next few hours of work if she had this struggle to look forward to?

“Because if you’re gonna dump me, I’d rather have a whiskey in me than whatever crap this is.” He flicked his cup away from him on the table and smoothed his hand over his beard again, still not making eye contact. “I’m gonna go. Just text me when you’re on the way, yeh?”

So that was that, then.

She could have cried, it felt so good.

She didn’t intend to let things get as far as they did. She was trying to figure out what to say to him. She spent a good portion of time standing outside his front door building up just enough nerve to knock. When she saw him, in a slightly-too-tight sweater, sweatpants hanging loose on his hips, eyes glossy from the alcohol she suspected he had started drinking as soon as he had arrived home, she couldn’t help herself.

He looked gorgeous. He looked warm and comforting and soft and hot and…all the things that had become so familiar to her now. And when he held his hand out to pull her in, she willingly went to him.

One thing that struck her as he was entering her over and over again was how tightly he held on to her. After she had finally managed to catch her breath from the onslaught of kisses and touches all over her body. His hands held hers firmly above her head as they fell onto his bed. God knows how they managed to make it that far.

He hadn’t let her up for air as soon as his lips connected with hers. He pulled her inside his apartment and pushed her towards his bedroom. She knew the layout of his home like the back of her hand, knowing exactly when they passed his kitchen as he dragged her jacket from her shoulders and left it by the table. She felt the curtains in his hallway brush passed her hair and the breeze from the skylight in his bathroom reach the base of her spine, his hands having pushed up her t-shirt and exposed her skin to the brief chill. His arms wrapped around her and held her like he was scared she was going to fall away from his grasp. She can’t remember connecting with anything else after that point; she was focussed solely on the way he was loving her. \

Clumsily, he used to his leg to kick the bedroom open so she wouldn’t bang into it and he got her flat on the bed with minimal effort. He carefully removed clothes until she felt his hot skin smother hers and she realised she made the right decision in just going with it. There was a sweet hint of whiskey to his breath but she didn’t much care. As he looked into her eyes, resting deep inside her, she didn’t much care for anything. This was the power he held over her.

She could tell he was thinking of something to say. Something he had probably practiced in the few hours since they last saw each other but now was coming up short. She instinctively placed her hand gently over his mouth, an acknowledgement of sorts, and asked him to move again, slower this time as he made sure she could feel all of him moving inside her.

She was on the edge of her orgasm for a long time. His breathing grew laboured, his hot breath fanning over her face and surrounding her before, without warning, he shifted them both in one fluid move so she was lying on top of him.

“Ride me,” he whispered, a softness belying his request, and she complied.

She gripped at his upper arms so they would hold her weight as she moved purposefully on top of him. It was bliss. She couldn’t look away from him as he struggled to keep his eyes open, taking in everything she was giving him. They had experienced a few moments like this, moments that felt so tender if it wasn’t for the way his hands were gripping her hips to keep her going.

After they had both come together, she collapsed down over him, her head resting over the top of his chest, him still inside her. She felt sure she had accidently bumped his chin but couldn’t quite manage the energy to vocalise an apology. He wrapped his arms securely around her to hold her in place when he thought she would try and move away from him. They’d slept like this in New York and he had decided he liked it more than the alternative.

“If that’s the last time we do this, at least we went out on a high.” he sighed.

“True.” She replied, equally as breathless.

He turned his head to look down at her, stroking a hand over her hair and the side of her face. “It doesn’t feel fair, though. Life’s gonna be a little bit shitter without you to look forward to.”

“We’ll still see each other. We’ll find a way to make it work.” She shifted her legs from off his before turning slightly to take the rest of her body away from his and he reluctantly let her go.

“Do you think we can?” He asked as he stared up at the ceiling. He already knew the answer in his mind but he wanted to hear her try and convince him.

“We have to.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

She sighed heavily and rubbed a hand across her forehead, letting it rest it in her hair. “She’s my best friend. You guys are my family. We have to at least try.”

Chris turned to look at her just in time to see a tear form in her eyes. She gently blinked and sniffed it away not realising he had already seen.

“You’re gonna be a hard act to follow, Bernette.”

“So you slept with him again?” Audrey worried.

Sarah nodded carefully, holding one hand in the other. “I know, I know…but when I saw him I just couldn’t help it. I couldn’t pull away from him, it’s like he-”

“Oh honey, listen, I get it. Completely.” Audrey’s eyes widened and she had to stop herself laughing. “I can imagine he’s been very supportive to you with everything that’s been going on but I think when all is said and done, maybe you both needed this?”

“I wish it was that simple, Audrey. It’s not just the two of us that needs to consider things. Y’know, Shan actually apologised to me, saying she’d been a bad friend and that she would try to be more supportive from now on and…it hit me. It just knocked me for six that I’ve betrayed her completely and I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t know how to go back.”

“It’s obvious this isn’t just sex. I mean, he drove to see you in New York and fucking…” She waved her hand around at nothing in particular. “…fucking tested you on fucking blood diseases and ECGs. Michael doesn’t even do that and I fucking married that guy! Come on, Sarah. If this was just sex, it wouldn’t be an issue, would it? You’d be able to close the book and move on. End of story. The only reason this is causing you strife is because you have feelings for each other. And very serious ones at that I might add.”

“Ah well, that’s easy. You don’t go back. You don’t just forget the last few months. What’s done is done now and maybe there’s a better way out of this.”

“How?”

“Oh Sarah, I love you but you really are friggin’ naïve sometimes.” Audrey pointedly rolled her eyes for the tenth time since they sat down. It wasn’t something Sarah was appreciating right now, this feeling that she was continuously missing the damn point.

If this was Oprah, the audience would be clapping and whooping loudly right now and Audrey would do her finger-snap that she reserved for drunken arguments in bars with ladies that pushed in line for the toilets. Instead, she took a sip from her sparkling water and raised an eyebrow at her, content in her response. Your move, she was saying.

Sarah rubbed her eyes and painfully pulled at the skin on her eyelids. “I should have told you about this sooner. I’m sorry, Audrey. I’m sorry I’m landing this on your now.”

“Well, while we’re being honest, I guess I should tell you that I kind of already knew.”

Sarah looked at her incredulously. Audrey didn’t bat an eye and just sat looking back at her.

“How long? When did you…?”

“It’s not every day a movie star wanders into the reception of a crumbling ER department.” She said, matter-of-factly. “Plus, I saw you both outside the diner. Aaand I’m guessing the accident you had recently was because of him as well?”

Sarah awkwardly bit at her bottom lip. She didn’t need to confirm anything; Audrey knew full well. She was astute as hell and while it didn’t feel like it right in this moment, Sarah was quietly relieved.

“What do I do, Audrey?”

She sipped her water again. “If you insist on being serious about this, you can’t let yourself be in a room with him alone. You know that much, hun. The rest is day by day. Maybe he’ll make it easy on you.”

She nodded in understanding. Audrey took that at face value, giving her a sympathetic smile in return while mentally making a bet with herself about how well things would turn out.

#chris evans #chris evans fic #fanfiction #evans fic #clear the area #sarah bernette #chris evans x original female character

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asklaytonandwright · 3 years

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I suppose I won’t take a break. I want to get done with it. I suspected it might have been Olive... At least they didn’t make her turn out to be horrible... The end of the case was still bittersweet. I love dark chocolate, but still... I cried physical tears about that part of the story and they had to go and ruin it!

I really want cases to end on satisfying notes. The only one so far out of both was Gina’s case. Rei’s was alright, but there’s still the unsolved mystery and the fact that no one who knows anything is willing to trust us with the info... This is going to get long in the tooth...

I’m also a bit upset about something else. I’m docking imaginary points any time the game unnecessarily reuses characters. They made the Great Ace Attorney so they would have a whole new world or setting to work with... what have they done so far?

You have so much potential, but you reuse so many of the characters and gimmicks. (Like summation exams every half hour) It’s like its own little pocket instead of a whole new world.

Let’s see, new characters in GAA 2, not counting anyone who so much as showed their face in the first one, one way or another. Who do we have?

Rei Membami- Lovely girl, took a few bites out of Maya. She’s really just a Maya clone though. Maybe an afterthought because the developers realized that Susato wasn’t “Maya” enough. Which, Susato < Maya, sooo yeah. (Not saying I don’t like Susato in her own way. But I’m head over heals for Maya for reasons.)

She so wants Susato now that she’s seen her cross-dressing though, and I am in full support.

Menimemo - Another racist name, good job. Claims he attempted murder for justice, but didn’t actually kill. Passes it off on a sixteen-year-old girl, but pretends it would have been far less heroic for her to do it. When it’s pointed out he’s just as bad as the murderer he killed, he just says, “I guess.” Yeah, he definitely believes that (not).

Mrs Altamont - Gorgeous and fairly reasonable as a juror, honestly. I love her queen bee motif and really she could be my queen. Ahem, moving on.

Duncan Ross - Really sad to have died so young. He was about to start his career and his marriage. Honestly, if I meet the love of my life now after waiting for so long (about fifteen years I suppose) and lose them just like that... I probably WOULD go out like Olive wanted to. Taking their killer down with me.

Selden - Pretty much like Cece Yew or Deid Mann. One of those characters you forget about not long after because the writers practically did too. Okay, next....

Oh, is that it? Brand new setting, you can use all the new characters you want, no obligations to reuse any, and in the first two cases, you use 5 new characters? Two of which barely count because they’re already dead and have very little characterization. Really, AA franchise, I thought you could do better.

Seems like they try to make up for it by having like 75 percent of them be loony toons. I get it, AA has eccentric characters, it’s like their seal of authenticity. But they still need normies to make the wackos stand out! Like all the rest of AA did!

Like, every other character not only is at least a little eccentric, but they practically have to LIVE that silliness 24/7 in this game! Painters have to paint on the stand (I really thought there would be some purpose, like a reveal of her painting), actors have to prance, dance and quote like that’s the only thing that matters, like lunatics! If your job is radio transmissions you do that constantly, you can’t even take a day to, IDK, pay attention on a jury!!! The doctor has to come to court still wearing the gloves from his latest operation, and might I add, not hear half of the GD trial! The list just goes on and on!

Honestly, I really just want them to go back to Phoenix. I really hope they haven’t abandoned him and all the lose ends they left behind, five years ago at this point. And wasn’t it the original creator, Shu Takumi who made GAA? After not working on it since Trials and Tribulations? I have no idea how he worked on Spirit of Justice slightly after the first GAA, getting SoJ right, but GAA wrong. I know a lot of people hate SoJ, as well as DD, but I love them. The people who say that are probably like the gen wunners of the series.

Either way, I don’t know what to think. Just as long as none of the bad elements make it from GAA to the main series. I guess he wanted to try something new with it. Honestly, the music makes it feel like Prof Layton, but with all the charm of Mystery Journey. Maybe he liked what he saw in PLvsAA. I don’t know what it is, but they just can’t make the story work. Not even for individual cases. Aside from a handful of good things (*AHEM* Iris, Gina, Holmes) I’ve been thoroughly let down with this side series. It doesn’t look like there’s going to be a third and I’m actually glad.

Now where the heck is AA7? It’s been five years! I think we all want Apollo and Trucy to find out they’re related already! I mean, it was mentioned at the end! You can’t not finish that!

#great ace attorney #great ace attorney 2 #manager #rant

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etherealwaifgoddess · 4 years

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Run To You - Chpt.1

Summary: Bucky has had the day from hell and all he wants is to buy what he needs and get home to his sick kid. Enter Steve Rogers in the wrong place at the wrong time and Bucky’s day goes from bad to mortifying. Master list is HERE :)

Content Warnings: A smidge of bad language, but really ya’ll should expect that from me by now lol

Word Count: 2.3k

Author’s Note: Hello lovelies! Who’s ready to start a new adventure with me? I knew I wanted to write a kid!fic with Bucky and Steve but I didn’t expect it to go quite this way until I jokingly called a friend “Captain Clueless” and then couldn’t get that name out of my head in relation to Steve. I fell completely in love with this little universe as I went and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. XOXO - Ash

Chapter One

Bucky Barnes is not at his finest. He just got off a sixteen hour shift from his job as an ER nurse and can barely keep his eyes open. The shift should have ended four hours earlier, but a tour bus accident had them overwhelmed on what had already been a busy night. Bucky was looking forward to catching a few hours of sleep while Becca was at preschool but nope, he came home to a frazzled best friend/ babysitter and a sick four year old. It was always something with Becca, her immune system just wasn’t what it needed to be. Bucky couldn’t fault her for that, she had been born premature and that unfortunately resulted in a whole host of health issues for the little girl. He would never regret adopting her, it was the best decision he’d ever made, but some days parenthood wore on him.

Bucky moves the load of laundry Natasha had started for him into the dryer. It smells clean but there will forever be a slight stain from puke on the ladybug print sheets. He can try his heavy duty stain remover on it later, but he knows there is only so much that can be done for white fabric and bodily fluids. There’s a reason most of his scrubs are black. After checking in on Becca, Bucky begs Natasha to stay a little longer so he can run down to the bodega to pick up a few things for when Becca wakes up. He would have sworn they had an extra bottle of Pedialyte, but apparently they’d used it up during Becca’s last bout with the flu.

Natasha waits patiently, listening to Bucky complain about his shift while he quickly changes out of his scrubs into a pair of soft grey sweats and an old Blink 182 tshirt. She’s been his best friend since their first year of college when they met in Intro to Biology. The two of them have been inseparable ever since, both even choosing to stay in Brooklyn after college instead of going back to where they were from. Natasha’s family was from Russia but traveled a lot so she was happy staying in the city that felt like home to her, and Bucky would have done just about anything to avoid going back to the tiny town in Indiana where his parents were still selling drugs out of their trailer and making each other miserable.

Bucky had thought he was free of his family forever when NYU accepted him into their nursing program. It was his way out of a poverty stricken little town that people rarely escaped from. Bucky had left home at eighteen with no intentions of returning, and he probably never would have, but during his last year of nursing school he found out through Facebook that his thirty eight year old mother was pregnant. To no one’s surprise, his mom was still dealing, still with his deadbeat dad, and was too far along when she found out she was pregnant to have any other option than having the baby. It was a repeat of the situation she’d found herself in at sixteen when she had Bucky. Knowing what it was like to grow up in that house, Bucky couldn’t allow another child to be brought into such a toxic environment. As soon as his mom confirmed the news was true, he hopped on the next flight out to Indiana and started the process to legally adopt his sister once she was born.

When Rebecca Grace Barnes came into the world nine weeks early the doctors said it was a miracle she survived. She was so small, just barely three pounds, and needed to stay in the NICU for just over a month. Bucky had made arrangements with his professors to turn in exams and papers online, barely managing to finish up his nursing degree while biding his time before he could go back to Brooklyn with his baby sister. It had been a wild ride trying to get his nursing career started while caring for a newborn but Natasha had been a life saver. She and their other friend Clint had stepped up in a huge way, helping to watch Becca when he needed to work and daycare wasn’t open. Their schedules had gotten even messier recently when Becca started preschool. Bucky is counting down the days until kindergarten starts so their schedules will align enough for him to only lean on Nat and Clint one or two days a week at most.

“Are you even listening to me?” Natasha throws a balled up Minnie Mouse sock at Bucky who’s too tired to dodge and instead gets a face full of pink fleece.

“Yeah, Nat,” Bucky sighs, wishing he could take off his aching prosthetic but knowing he’ll need both hands for shopping bags. “I’m getting you a choco taco and a red bull this time. I got you.”

Natasha nods happily, completely unphased by Bucky’s eye roll. She’s getting her wake up juice and her crunchy chocolatey sugar, and that is all that matters.

Bucky rushes around the bodega grabbing everything he’ll need to deal with a sick kid, throwing things in the basket without even bothering to check price tags. His bank account will hate him, but he doesn’t exactly have time or options to find the best deals. Grabbing Nat’s items and an iced coffee for himself, he waits in line as an older man chats with the clerk while the teenager rings up his order. The television in the corner is playing the local news, apparently Captain America visited a rec center in Brooklyn recently. There are sound bites from elderly residents and young kids fawning over him, and one of the Captain himself extolling the importance of community and keeping kids off the streets.

Bucky thinks his eyes will get stuck in the back of his head with how hard he rolls them. “This fucking guy.” Bucky grumbles as he places his basket on the counter, unloading his stuff.

The clerk nods in silent agreement.

“I’m sure he was a ‘bright shining beacon of hope’ back in WWII but he has no clue what’s going on in the real word nowadays.” Bucky continues.

The clerk nods once again and Bucky, feeling particularly exhausted and grumpy, yells over at the TV, “It’s not all rainbows and sunshine Captain Clueless!”

“Captain Clueless?” A deep voice rumbles from behind him, “I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, but that’s a new one.”

Bucky sees the clerk's face go pale and the kid freezes, confirming what Bucky feared when he heard that rich baritone behind him. Oh fuck.

Turning around, Bucky prepares himself for the worst. Instead, he finds an extremely amused looking Captain America holding a bottle of water and a bag of swedish fish.

“I’m… I… I didn’t mean…” Bucky stammers. He doesn’t know how to politely explain I meant every word but never meant for you to hear it.

The register pings as the clerk frantically finishes ringing up Bucky’s order, trying to get both men out of the shop before the situation can get any worse. The sound startles Bucky and he turns around to see the green blinking $58.79 on the little box. His stomach sinks, there went grocery shopping for the week. But, he reasons, Becca won’t want much for a few days while she recovers and he’s no stranger to a ramen-only diet. They’ll get by, just like they always do.

Before Bucky can hand over his last three twenties, a sleek black card taps against the card reader and the machine starts blinking, processing it. Bucky spins around in surprise only to literally face plant into a solid wall of muscle. Muscle that smells like tea tree and mint, yum. Bucky moves backwards in surprise, bumping into the counter but getting himself away from the giant of man who’s also moving backwards after their collision.

“It’s on me.” Steve tells him with a shrug.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Bucky insists, “I insulted you.”

“You were just being honest.” Steve reasons, “I don’t get to hear people’s honest opinions all that much.”

“That has to be weird.”

Steve chuckles, “Pal, you got no idea.”

“Well, thank you. And I am sorry you heard that.” Bucky collects his bags, still dumbfounded by the whole experience.

“I’d like to hear more about why you said it. Whatever you think it is I’m missing about the twenty-first century. I’m just out for a run so if you don’t mind company on your way back to wherever, maybe we could talk?”

Bucky shakes his head. The man actually wants to learn how to be a better person after being insulted by a random grungey stranger in a bodega. “You really are Captain America.” Bucky murmurs, still stunned.

Steve chuckles again; a deep, throaty sound. “Yeah, guilty as charged. But you can just call me Steve.” Steve winks conspiratorially and Bucky thinks he might actually combust. No one should be allowed to be that good looking.

Bucky waits as the cashier rings Steve up for his things and Steve taps his card again to pay. “I thought it was weird enough getting a card that swiped when I came out of the ice, but now this one doesn’t even swipe. It just taps and poof, done.” Steve says with a faint tone of awe.

Bucky can’t imagine how many things Steve needed to adjust to after waking up from the ice. “Far cry from what you were used to, huh?”

“Well, it sure beats keeping coins in old coffee cans.”

Bucky glances over at Steve as they leave the bodega together, “You do that whole ‘awe shucks, man out of time’ thing really well. Is it real though? No offense, you can’t really be that well adjusted. You’re still human.”

Steve meets Bucky’s eyes for a moment, crystalline blue piercing into smoke grey-blue, assessing him. After a few beats he decides Bucky is someone who can handle the truth. “It’s a lot easier to do that than to curse up a storm every time some piece of tech pisses me off. Plays out a lot better with the whole Captain America image too.”

“I didn’t think Captain America even knew how to swear.” Bucky teases.

“He doesn’t, but Steve Rogers does. I grew up in Brooklyn, I know how to curse.”

Bucky laughs, swinging his bags idly as they walk in silence for a few steps.

Steve breaks the silence, reminding him of why they’re walking down the street together in the first place, “So really, why do you think I’m so out of touch? Because I thought SHIELD did a bang up job teaching me about the world and what I missed while I was out.”

“I’m sure they did, but SHIELD is still an agency with their own ideas and agendas. I promise you, you got a watered down version of real life. Do me a favor; when you get home look up what they say about The Great Depression and WWII. Do a little research on how we look back at those times. Then think about how it really was back then when you were living it. I would bet you lunch that the two don’t line up.”

“I never thought about it that way.” Steve admits. “I’ll look it up today, promise.”

They arrive on Bucky’s stoop and he climbs up a step, looking down at Steve instead of up at him. He wants to know what Steve thinks once he does some research but doesn’t know how to ask. Luckily, Steve beats him to it.

“I’m going to need your number if you’re taking me out to lunch.” Steve says casually, a light hint of teasing.

Bucky blushes, trying to remind himself that he was the one who threw the lunch bet out there. Steve Rogers would never just ask him out like that. “I… uh… um…” he fumbles anyway.

Steve takes a step back in retreat, his own cheeks flaming. “I’m sorry, that was. I’m sorry. You clearly have a sick kid to get back to, and I’m sure a lovely wife waiting for you too.” he motions at Bucky’s bags. “Thank you, for being honest with me.” Steve turns to hurry off and, thankfully, Bucky’s brain catches up with him.

“Steve, no.” he blurts out. “No wife. Sick kid, yes. But no, um, no one else. If you want my number, I’ll give it to you. My schedule is a little weird because of my job but I do want to know what you think when you get done looking things up.”

Steve smiles up at Bucky, soft and hopeful and genuine. It isn’t the All American facade grin he uses for the cameras, and it feels all the more special to Bucky because of it. Steve hands over his phone to Bucky so he can enter in his contact info and then sends him a quick text so Bucky has his number too. “So, I’ll call you later then?” Steve tries, sounding a little unsure still.

“Yeah, I’ll look forward to it, Steve.” Bucky looks up at his doorway, knowing he needs to get back to Becca but not wanting Steve to leave quite yet.

Steve takes the hint and gives him another soft smile and a small wave as he turns and heads off down the bustling city sidewalk.

Bucky stands there a moment, collecting himself and trying to process it all, before hurrying back upstairs to his little apartment to relieve Natasha of babysitting duty.

*** New chapters will be posted on Sunday and Wednesday nights until the fic is complete ***

#stucky #stucky fanfic #shrunkyclunks #modern au #modern day au #steve rogers #captain america #non winter soldier bucky barnes #nurse!bucky #parent!bucky #becca barnes #kid!becca barnes #adopted child #marvel #steve rogers x bucky barnes

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twoidiotwriters1 · 4 years

Text

Written In The Stars LVII (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: I’m IN LOVE with this gif -Danny

Words: 3,044

Warnings: None.

Series’ Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: Love Somebody -Maroon 5

Chapter Sixteen: Buckbeak's Appeal.

Mel had been pacing around the dormitory for five minutes, unable to put into words what she was going through.

She sort of did it, but Hermione didn't understand, how did she know she was falling in love?

"Can you at least tell me what happened?" Hermione stood up in exasperation, interrupting her pacing.

Mel was originally going to say 'I don't know!' but her mouth blurted out something completely different.

"I almost kissed Harry!"

Hermione's frown grew.

"That's it?"

"What do you mean that's it?" She widened her eyes. "That's everything!"

"Mel, if you could see the way you're always ogling at him you'd think you're always trying to kiss him."

"What?! No! Not always– Not ever... Or do I? I mean, sometimes when... and he's so clever... Wait, no! I almost kissed Harry for real, I leaned in to hug him and he turned and I..." She felt the shivers running down her spine. "Our lips sort of touched, but not really..."

Her friend snorted, going back to her seat on the bed.

"What's so funny?" Mel huffed. "I'm in the middle of a crisis and you decide to have a laugh!"

"What'd you want me to say?" Hermione giggled. "Everyone knows you like him, and he likes you back– We're just waiting to see who's the first to give up and say you've got it bad for the other."

"That's the problem, 'Mione," Mel's lip quivered. "I don't know if I want to 'have it bad' for him..."

"Why? He's your best friend, so far one of the most decent boys at school."

"Precisely," Mel sat on her own bed, hiding her face behind both hands. "He's my best friend– What if I'm just confused? What if I ruin a perfectly good friendship because I think there might be something and everything gets complicated–"

"You're overthinking," Hermione moved to sit on her bed, patting her knee lightly. "You and Harry have something special, I think it'd be worth the risks..."

"We're too young!"

"I'm not telling you to ask him to marry you!" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, we're still children but it wouldn't hurt to talk it out– at least let him know that if he thinks there's a possibility in the future... well, you're more than disposed to try."

Mel hugged her legs close to her chest and sighed. Was she ready to try? She's not even sure she's falling! This could be a new level of platonic appreciation, he's the oldest friend she has, maybe what she's feeling is normal?

Right, wanting to kiss your best friend is a clear sign that you love having him as your best friend.

She shook her head, tired of the uncertainty.

"What if he doesn't want the same?" She asked quietly. "What if then he steps back and then I'm just another of his lovesick fans?"

"You could never be that," Hermione assured her. "Not with the way he talks about you."

"He talks about me?" Mel inquired with the smallest glimmer of hope.

"Yes," The girl smiled. "He rambles– Ron has to shut him up because he could pass a whole hour talking about the new lessons you completed, or that funny thing you told him during lunch... when you're either with Dumbledore or... Erick," The name slipped easier out of her mouth, but still bitter on her tongue.

This could mean many things, but all of them concluded on the same little thought: He thinks about me.

Although this helped her a great deal with her embarrassment, she was incapable of spending time alone with him now, Mel would make up an excuse to walk the other way or Harry would mumble something about forgetting his quill. She didn't know if he was doing it out of kindness, maybe he could sense she was on edge.

Or perhaps, he was just as confused as her.

Harry was the normal amount of talkative with others on the daily, but there wasn't a day where they didn't share inner jokes or spend time ranting about something that annoyed them that day (usually Malfoy). However, after her mistake during the Quidditch final, things simply couldn't move forward with them.

The exams were right around the corner, and the common room was deadly quiet most days, with Fred and George finally deciding to take their studies seriously, the only distraction she had from time to time was Erick. Unfortunately, his friends were almost always accompanying him to the library to study, which had him in an awful mood and unable to join her table. With the arrival of their exams schedules, the realization that Mel was yet to find out how on earth was Hermione taking two tests every hour hit her. She didn't want to explain it to her, which made her terribly suspicious.

"Hermione?" Ron said cautiously, because she was liable to explode when interrupted these days. "Er — are you sure you've copied down these times right?"

"What?" snapped Hermione, picking up the exam schedule and examining it. "Yes, of course I have."

"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit for two exams at once?" said Harry.

"No," said Hermione shortly. "Have either of you seen my copy of Numerology and Gramatica?"

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," said Ron.

Mel let out a tiny giggle, locking eyes with Harry.

Both kids snapped their heads in opposite directions, clearing their throats and pretending to be busy with something else. Luckily, Hedwig arrived immediately after.

"It's from Hagrid," said Harry, walking towards the window and taking the note his owl was offering to him. "Buckbeak's appeal — it's set for the sixth."

"That's the day we finish our exams," said Hermione.

"And they're coming up here to do it," Harry continued. "Someone from the Ministry of Magic and — and an executioner."

Mel's thoughts of unrequited feelings disappeared, her outrage bigger than her shame.

"They what?!"

"They're bringing the executioner to the appeal! But that sounds as though they've already decided!"

"Yeah, it does," said Harry bitterly.

"They can't!" Ron replied just as angry. "I've spent ages reading up on stuff for him; they can't just ignore it all!"

They were ignoring all, though. The last day of their exams they run into the minister himself, the executioner, and the representative of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. It was endearing and all.

Mel had the feeling that she'd done well enough in all her exams, even Potions. Her favorite was Defense Against the Dark Arts, a whole obstacle thingy– Her uncle made sure to tell her she'd made the full marks of it. She was quite proud of herself.

Their last test was Divination, and she had a jolly time throughout the whole fifteen minutes Trelawney forced her to sit down and stare into a crystal ball, decks of cards, a teacup, and her own hand.

Not.

She stayed around to wait for the boys, but she'd forgotten that their Professor was alternating the names, so instead of being Harry the first one to pass, it was Ron.

They stood there awkwardly for about ten seconds in which Mel pondered what she should do. She could either be a child and run away from her own feelings, or she could move past them and take care of the actual important things they were dealing with, like Buckbeak's trial.

Mel let out a defeated sigh and walked over to her best friend, she leaned on the wall and slid to the floor, tired of not being able to act normal around him.

"Everything'll be all right," Harry tried to cheer her up, sitting down next to her.

"I hope so, it's the first time I see Ron reading thousands of books so passionately," She chuckled lowly. "They still have one last chance."

She looked up and locked eyes with the boy, his stare was just as welcoming as always, even eager, it had been quite a while since they started avoiding each other.

"Glasses," She cleared her throat anxiously. "What I did during the Quidditch final..."

"You don't have–"

"I was euphoric and I acted out of impulse," She pressed on, ignoring him. "I am so sorry for making you uncomfortable– Please don't be upset, I promise it won't happen again."

She braced herself for the impact, hoping to see him visibly sigh and thank her for the apology, maybe even saying that he was afraid she was trying something when he clearly didn't want it.

Harry's chest deflated and his brows knitted together when his mouth opened to speak. He didn't get to talk though, not at first, but when he saw the worried expression on her face he cleared his throat, nodding shortly.

"It's okay, Mellow," He said with a small -was it sad?- smile. "I wasn't upset, just wondering why were you acting so oddly..."

"I thought I had stepped out of boundaries..."

"That must be the first time you care about those," Harry snorted.

Mel let out a tiny laugh, this time more comfortable.

"Shut up," She shook her head. "We're still friends?"

"Always," Harry smiled. "You won't get rid of me that easily, remember?"

Mel smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder and missing the look of mild pain in his eyes.

"Hey," She said, remembering something. "Why was Snape so pissed about the map? What did it do?"

"Why are you asking me about it?"

"Just curious, I've been meaning to ask you for a while now..."

"Well, at first nothing came up, but then words started to appear– they were insults towards Snape, all coming from the people that made the map: Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail, Prongs, Ruddy..."

"Hmm," Mel's eyes narrowed. "I feel like I've heard those before..."

"Fred and George had the map first, maybe they told you about them?" The boy offered.

"Yeah," She yawned.

Harry told them to go once their friend climbed down the stairs. Ron was so eager to start relaxing that he happily obliged, dragging Mel with him. Harry promised to join them after his examination.

"Let's play chess!"

"I'm awful at it," Mel huffed. "You'll win!"

"Gobstones?

"The winner gets to ask whatever they want from Hogsmeade the next time we go?"

They found Hermione in the common room, way more relaxed than before.

"I'm so proud of you!" Mel sat down next to her, giving her the biggest hug.

"I told you I could do it!" Hermione groaned, pushing her away lightly. "I told you!"

"It's different said than done," Mel grinned.

One of the School's owls tapped on the window and she got up to open it, the owl dropped a piece of paper on Ron's lap and left just as soon as it had appeared.

"What does it say?" Mel rushed over to them, reading above Ron's head.

'Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it

Hagrid.'

"No!" Hermione gasped.

"I can't believe it!" Mel flopped on the armrest, completely devastated. "Poor Buckbeak, poor Hagrid!"

Harry arrived at that moment, he was breathing harshly, for some reason he'd run all the way over to the tower.

"Professor Trelawney," He gasped, "just told me—"

But he stopped once he noticed their expressions.

"Buckbeak lost," Ron sounded deeply affected. "Hagrid's just sent this."

Harry took the note and read quickly, his face fell.

"We've got to go," He said. "He can't just sit there on his own, waiting for the executioner!"

"Sunset, though," Ron looked out the window. "We'd never be allowed... 'specially you, Harry..."

Harry ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"If we only had the Invisibility Cloak..."

"Where is it?" Hermione asked.

"Under the one-eyed witch– there's a passageway, but if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious trouble."

"That's true, if he sees you..." She quietly got up. "How do you open the witch's hump again?"

"You — you tap it and say, 'Dissendium,' " said Harry. "But —"

Hermione held Mel's wrist and dragged her out of the common room.

"All right– Sure, I'll help," She said with amusement. "Are we seriously going to get Harry's cloak?"

"Shhh!" Hermione replied. "We ought to be with Hagrid, he needs us!"

"Merlin," Mel continued, jumping lightly. "Why so eager to break the rules, Miss Granger?"

"I'm not trying to break anything," She scoffed. "But they have been terribly injust to Hagrid, the least we can do is be there, besides I remember someone telling me I could do both, relax and be the best student?"

"That's true," She grinned. "You're a fast learner."

"Oh, bugger off," Hermione blushed.

Ten minutes later they found themselves standing in front of the witch. Mel kept an eye on the hall for any unwelcomed visitors while Hermione entered the passageway and quietly retrieved the cloak.

"All done?"

"The cloak's safe," Hermione grunted, cleaning the dust off her hands as she stepped out of the statue.

"Cool, let's go!" She turned around only to see Faustus and another Slytherin boy coming their way. "Oh no! – Go back, go back!"

"Look!" She heard an unfamiliar voice say. "It's the nutt-head!"

"And the Know-it-all," Faustus replied with a nasty smirk. "Alone."

"Unlike you, we don't need to be guarded," Mel frowned. "Leave us alone–"

"We don't enjoy the company of scumb," He sneered. "But we got matters to attend with you..."

She heard Hermione gulped next to her, but both girls (tiny compared to the boys' height and size) stood their ground.

"What?"

"You haven't apologized."

"Oh, sod off! Your friend didn't care, you're just looking for an excuse. Now, if that's the best your bird-brain can do, we've more important things to–"

"You're staying," The other boy pulled out his wand.

Mel felt her blood run cold, she had forgotten her wand back in the tower and she wasn't allowed to used wandless magic at all. Hermione raised hers, but against two older Slytherin... they had very slim chances to get out of there unharmed. That, until Erick appeared around the corner the Slytherins had come from.

"Griffin," He frowned, not noticing who were they talking to. "Isn't it a bit late to be tormenting first yea–"

His eyes landed on Mel and Hermione, he stopped four feet behind his housemates. His eyebrows raised ever so lightly, as if his interest had increased, but barely.

"Hello?" He looked at the boys. "Are you guys planning a double date?"

His voice sounded casual and controlled, the other two boys snickered at this.

"We found them here on their own, thought you might appreciate to get a proper apology out of this nut-head's mouth," The boy, who now Mel knew as Griffin, explained.

Erick's eyebrows fell into a frown.

"Apologize?"

"She crashed into you the first day of school, remember?" Faustus made a face. "That Potter tried to fight you because of it."

"If my memory doesn't fail me, he was trying to fight you, not me."

"All the same, we have them cornered!"

"We're standing in the middle of a hall," He stated.

"You want payback or not?" Griffin spat.

"I don't," Erick tilted his head, his frown never leaving his expression. "Are you twelve? I couldn't care less about what a pair of Gryffindor girls did to me by accident months ago."

Faustus' eyes widened, he wasn't expecting that reaction.

"But– She's... She's the Dumbledore girl."

"Yeah, and you're the Gibbon boy," He raised a brow. "Griffin is a Singh boy– I'll say it again, I don't care who she is, I won't risk my Prefect badge just because you're bloody bored, Faustus. Let. Them. Go."

Faustus and Griffin lowered their wands, grumbling and walking past them, pushing harshly on Hermione's shoulder. Mel held her in place.

Erick stayed behind. He seemed to be struggling between asking them if they were fine or just walking away. Mel was about to talk when Griffin yelled from the other side of the hall.

"Flint, what're you doing?"

Erick jumped lightly, his frown increasing as he looked over to the boys.

"Nothing! – Just checking you didn't do anything stupid like hurting the Headmaster's grandaughter!–"

"Niece..." Mel grumbled.

"I know," Erick whispered without looking at her, his frown never disappearing.

He left after that, hurrying to catch up with his housemates. The girls stood there in stunned silence until Mel turned to Hermione.

"Was that enough proof of his loyalty?"

"Please," Hermione huffed, starting to walk towards their tower. "I don't doubt him since our last session– No person would sit for hours and weeks to hear us talk about how muggles' lives just to hurt someone. I'm yet to find out why he needs to know all that, though..."

"You can ask him later, if he trusts you he'll tell you," Mel shrugged. "But see? He's a good boy! He wasn't hiding anything!"

"What about you?" Hermione asked while walking through the tapestry.

"What about me?" She frowned

"I don't worry about Erick's loyalty, but I worry about yours..."

"What?" Mel laughed. "What are you saying?"

"You haven't told Harry about Erick," She retorted. "You promised months ago, but you haven't. You don't trust Erick enough to let him meet Harry, or you don't trust Harry– I don't know which one's worse."

"That's not it," Mel replied calmly, though she could feel her heartbeat racing. "I trust them, I just..."

Hermione didn't pressure her to speak, she waited until they were climbing the stairs towards the Fat Lady.

"They'll get upset– It's been three years, I promised I'd keep our friendship a secret and then I go out of my way to tell you– it's not fair to hide things from my best friend, and it's not fair to talk without Erick's consent either..."

They walked into the common room concluding their discussion, Hermione handed the cloak back to Harry, Ron was beyond amazed.

"Hermione, I don't know what's gotten into you lately! First you hit Malfoy, then you walk out on Professor Trelawney —"

"Best Gryffindor in our year," Mel smirked, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders.

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

@tiphareth2018 @vampiregirl1797 @siriuslysirius1107 @celestialhayi @mikariell95 @omiwashere @thesuitelifeofafangirl @reverse-hxlland @steve-thotgers @kylosleftbuttcheek @tomshollandz

#twoidiots writing #Harry Potter #harry potter fanfiction #hp fanfic #harry potter xoc #hermione granger #ron weasley #WITT fic

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rocksandrobots · 4 years

Text

Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 6 - The Beach

Saturday had come and Varian and the rest of his new friends were all crowded in Wasabi's car. Wasabi had precisely enough room to fit six people, though perhaps a bit uncomfortably. He and Varian rode in the front seat, with Varian carrying Ruddiger in his carrying cage, while Hiro, Gogo, Honey Lemon, and Fred were squished together in the back seat. The robot, Baymax, was folded up inside his battery pack and tucked away in the trunk to make room.

Apparently today was a holiday and they were all heading to the beach. Well in truth the actual holiday was on Monday, but Americans spent the whole weekend in celebration. Said holiday was Memorial Day and was meant to honor warriors who fell in battle. However, despite this somber origin, most considered the weekend to be the official start of summer and would mark the occasion with picnics, parties, and public swimming.

For Varian and his friends though, this was the end of spring break. Starting on Tuesday, the university they now all attended would open back up and the summer semester would begin. The thought of which sent Varian's stomach churning with butterflies. He'd never been to school before and didn't know what to expect. He was filled with anxious excitement and to calm his nerves he looked out the car window to admire the scenery.

He'd been in this strange new world for a week now but he'd had little chance to admire it. For the past five days he'd been busy studying for his entrance exams for college. Passing the 'graduation' test in particular was important for gaining admittance into the school and Varian had to do some serious cramming to prepare for it. Squeezing twelve years worth of educational knowledge into his brain in less than a week.

Fortunately Varian was very good at memorizing facts and all his new friends were on hand to help him. On Monday, Hiro had helped him gather up the study materials he'd needed and told him what to expect. Wasabi gave him practice tests throughout the week and helped him pinpoint the areas he was weakest in. He was pretty good with math and grasped most of the science quickly, with Wasabi being on hand to fill in the gaps, but he needed help in other less familiar subjects.

Gogo had swung by on Tuesday and spent the whole day giving Varian a crash course in Social Studies, which was a combination of history, geography, and civics.

Varian took a special interest in America's founding and it's chosen form of government, which was unlike anything he had heard of before. They had no king nor royalty of any kind. In fact the country was founded by people who committed treason and fought a war to overthrow their ruler, and who then put into place a democracy made up of elected representatives instead. It most closely resembled the government of ancient Rome, before Julius Caesar had taken over, but was expanded upon to encompass a vast kingdom, larger than even most empires.

Varian had already thought San Fansokyo was an impressively large city, but was completely flabbergasted to know that not only was it not the largest city in the country, it wasn't even the biggest within its own providence; and there were fifty of these states that stretched across the continent from coast to coast with similarly massive metropolises in each.

It was mind boggling and it took him sometime to wrap his brain around the concept. And that was just the tip of the iceberg, he also had to catch up with some four hundred odd years worth of world events on top of that. But Gogo was a patient teacher and she carefully broke down everything into manageable chunks, giving him timelines, charts, and maps for him to refer back to. By the end of the day he had perhaps learned more in those eight hours spent with her than he had in his whole sixteen years.

On Wednesday, Fred had showed up to help Varian practice for the writing portion of the tests. He would have to complete two essays on any given subject for each of the two exams. Fred himself had actually completed one of the same tests, the S.A.T, just a few months ago and knew what the graders were looking for when it came to such essays.

Mainly, they just wanted to know if Varian could follow the basic guidelines of writing; paragraphs and sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and his overall ability to form an argument on paper. All things Varian felt pretty comfortable with, but it was nevertheless a good refresher of those basics. Essay writing and thesis statements were apparently expected of any student attending higher education and he would have to write many during the course of his studies.

Thursday, Honey Lemon stopped by to help Varian with Language Arts. Both tests would cover reading comprehension and even more grammar. Once again Varian was pretty comfortable with those two subjects, especially given the writing practice from the day before, and so they finished pretty quickly. Even with Honey Lemon adding in extra information about various important books and plays that had been written in the past four centuries, just in case any of them made it into the reading part of the exam. Though Shakespeare was still deemed the most influential even in this modern age. A fact which disappointed Varian; he personally thought Marlowe to be superior to the bard.

"You don't even like Romeo and Juliet?" Honey Lemon asked aghast, "But it's sooo romantic."

"But it's sooo stupid," Varian mockingly admonished with a laugh. Which in turn made Honey Lemon give him a not-so-serious pout.

"Look, what was stopping them from just leaving together in the first place?" Varian explained his point.

Honey Lemon opened her mouth to retort back but just as soon closed it again; she had never considered that question before. She screwed up her mouth in thought as she searched for a better answer.

"Weeelll, sometimes it's hard to leave the only home you've ever known. Isn't that why you want to get back to your world?" She asked him.

Varian just stared at her for a moment, thinking of an answer to give that didn't allow him to explain his past in detail. Finally he said, "I wanna get back because my dad is there. I couldn’t care less about Corona itself."

"You don't care at all?"

"It's just a bunch of buildings." He mumbled with a shrug, then he added, more assuredly, "What matters is the people in your life."

"I guess," She replied, "all I know is that I had a hard enough time just leaving Sacramento. Even though it's only an hour and a half away and I can still see my family whenever. I can't imagine what it's like to be lost in a whole other world."

Varian ignored her attempts to sympathize, not because he didn't appreciate the effort, but because he was ready to move on from the conversation. Instead he shut his eyes tightly and tilted his head back, trying to recall some of the new information he had recently learned. "Sacramento; that's the capital of California, right?"

"Yeah. But don't worry, no one actually memorizes all fifty states and their capitals. I only know like twenty or so." She admitted.

"Oh, good." Varian breathed in relief. Soon both he and Honey Lemon were just giggling, happy to relieve the tension in the room.

"Oooh, you know what? I brought my make-up bag with me!" Honey Lemon suddenly exclaimed, and just like that all previous talk about literature and writing gave away to other subjects, mostly chemistry.

Honey Lemon made her own cosmetics. It was a passion of hers to find new, safe, and 'biodegradable' chemical compounds to replace some of the more toxic stuff on the market.

"And absolutely no animal testing." She added in all seriousness.

She even sold her wares over the internet, shipping them to customers as they ordered them, as a means of making money on the side.

She poured out the contents of a rather large tote bag onto the floor and walked Varian through each item, what it was for, and how she had made it. Varian listened intently and even tried some of the stuff himself.

He found he didn’t care much for lipstick nor cakey foundation, the texture was off putting to him. He also didn’t like anything with a heavy perfume. However, he did like the eyeliner and the black fingernail polish he had previously bought. He was still fascinated by the concept of synthesized polymers.

They were both sitting on the floor, makeup strewn everywhere, laughing over nothing in particular, when Wasabi came home from his part-time job. Honey Lemon was in the middle of applying mascara to Varian’s eyes and he was trying his best not to blink but failing at it, which only sent both of them into more fits of giggles. Meanwhile, unnoticed by them both, Ruddgier had gotten into the powered blush and was making a mess in another corner of the room.

“I thought you two were studying.” Wasabi said with a hint of annoyance to his voice. He was tired from work and none too happy to find makeup scattered about his dorm room.

“Sorry,” Honey Lemon tried to say through her laughter, “but we finished early and I’d promise to teach Varian how to paint his nails.” Varian held up his hand to show Wasabi his newly painted nails as a way of response.

“That’s nice.” Wasabi replied back in a sarcastic tone. “Did you also teach the raccoon how to put on foundation?”

That’s when they both finally noticed Ruddiger. Varian got onto his pet and went to clean up the mess, effectively ending the study/make-up session.

The next day, Wasabi gave him two final practice tests and then it was time for him to take the real thing. He met Professor Granville at the school and, alongside a few other hopeful students, took the two tests.

The first test, the S.A.T., went smoothly, but he wouldn’t know his actual scores until his answer sheet and essay were sent off to be graded. The graduation test however was taken over the computer and it took several hours to complete with a few breaks between parts. He felt he could have finished sooner had he had the chance to take the test using a pencil and paper instead, as he found the mouse and keyboard awkward. But the positive thing about using the new technology was that he got his scores back sooner. He managed to pass all the parts, even with him just barely scraping by on the Social Studies section. His official certification would come in the mail, the professor told him, but for all intents and purposes he now had a high school diploma.

Which was apparently a big deal in this world. Earning a diploma was considered to be something of a rite of passage. Obtaining one meant you were ready to start entering the adult world and with it you could gain full time employment or seek higher education, like college. According to his friends, he should’ve been extra proud of this accomplishment since gaining a high school diploma at his age, while not unheard of, was unusual, and he had done it in less than a week when most took years to achieve it.

To signify just how important this was, all his new friends threw him a party at the Lucky Cat. Even Aunt Cass had pitched in and made him a special dinner. It was something called ‘sushi’ and she typically prepared it for celebrations like this one; having cooked similar dinners for both Tadashi and Hiro when they had graduated high school as well.

Varian was appreciative of her efforts, though he didn’t quite know what to make of the food itself. The ‘sushi’ consisted mostly of rice topped with raw fish wrapped in seaweed. The taste wasn’t bad but the texture of the uncooked seafood was weird to Varian. Fortunately, not everything was raw. There were different kinds to be had and Varian was able to pick out some that he did enjoy; ones stuffed with crab, egg, or just veggies. He especially liked the ‘dessert sushi’ made with tropical fruit.

He’d just finished recalling last night, when Wasabi loudly proclaimed, “We're here!”

There were whoops and joyous yells in response from the various passengers and Varian looked out the front windshield to see the familiar blue streak that was the ocean just up ahead. Wasabi parked the car in the designated parking lot and then they all piled out of said vehicle and made their way down to the beachfront.

The sandy beach was tucked in between two rocky cliffs and you had to walk down a wooden stairway to get to it. As he made his way down the stairwell, Varian could look out and see the expanse of dark blue ocean and lighter blue sky go on forever. It didn't look much different from Corona's coast. What did look different were the inhabitants. Corona's coastline was usually deserted save for the ports and the occasional fishing boat off in the distance, but here the beach was a mass of half naked bodies and swarms of vacationers enjoying the summer sun. Spread out along the sandy tolls were towels, blankets, folding chairs, and umbrellas of all sizes with scantily clad people lounging upon or underneath.

Varian tried to remember Gogo's words from a week ago, about how this was deemed normal and not to bring himself to attention by starring. But everywhere Varian looked he was met with the sight of a lovely lady's long legs or a handsome lad's toned chest. Not looking was very much like asking a small child in a pastry shop to hold their nose and ignore the sweet smells of pies and cakes surrounding them. Fortunately, he was able to keep his composure long enough for them to reach the shore and find a spot to set up camp for the day; managing not to hold his gaze for too long on any one person or thing.

They had brought a variety of towels and folding chairs of their own, along with a large parasol and ice chest full of food and drink for the day. Varian and Wasabi had spent that morning making sandwiches for everyone; tuna fish salad, sliced cucumbers with butter, jam mixed with a spread made from ground nuts, and some sort of mystery meat called 'baloney' paired with cheese. Varian couldn't figure out if said baloney was made from ham or chicken, as it didn't really taste like either, though it also didn't taste bad per-say. They also stored small bags of crispy fried potatoes, individually wrapped miniature cakes, and bottles of some sort of fizzy drink called 'soda' in the chest as well. Varian found the carbonated sugary drink to be odd but surprisingly tasty.

While everyone was setting up Hiro unpacked Baymax from his portable charger, the robot inflated to full size again before stepping out, and Varian released Ruddiger from his carrier. The raccoon was grateful to be let out of the small cage at last and promptly snuggled up on one of the folding chairs under the sun to catnap. Varian didn't think the leash necessary as there really wasn't any place for his pet to run off to.

Once done with setting up, the gang then proceeded to unpack the various toys and games they had brought along as well. There was a game you played with a net, like tennis, only you used your hands to pass a 'volleyball' over said net instead of a racket and you didn't want the larger ball to touch the ground at any point. They also brought a flat discus called a 'frisbee' which you threw from person to person. Gogo had with her a flat wooden board used to ride the waves that broke along the shore. Which she let Varian and her other friends try out for themselves.

Varian however was not very good at any of these new sports. While he was fairly athletic, capable of running, climbing, and whatnot, he had never been the best at coordination. More often than not he'd simply trip and fall in his efforts to keep up with the ball or maintain his balance on the surfboard.

Instead Varian found himself wandering off occasionally to try and strike up conversations with new people. He'd hadn't had a lot of social interaction while growing up, especially with others his age, and he wanted some practice before he started school in a few days. Hopefully to ease the awkwardness of being dumped in a world that he knew next to nothing about.

However every time he'd smile at a pretty girl or make eye contact with a cute boy his age, his efforts to make small talk were sabotaged by some mishap or other. Either his own clumsiness would get in the way or he'd put his foot in mouth, as the saying goes. One particularly unfortunate incident involved him getting beaned in the back of the head from a misthrown volleyball while trying to chat up a couple of vacationing teens. Fortunately, his embarrassing failures at flirting would be followed by one of his new friends trying to engage him with some other activity so he was never left alone with his awkwardness for long.

Swimming, sand castle building, more games; like 'chicken', where you tried to push one person off another person's shoulders into the water, or 'Marco Polo' where one person had to find the others with their eyes closed, using the ancient explorer's name as a call and response, digging for seashells, and other similar actives were to be had to pass the time away.

Finally, the sun started to hang low in the sky and they all headed back to the car. They were wet, tired and covered in sand. They tried to knock the irritating substance off their shoes and things before all squeezing back into the ill fitting vehicle in order to head back home. They all sat on towels so as not to get the seats wet and their bathing suits and cover up clothes all clung to them dripping with sea water.

Varian sat again in the front seat, only this time Honey Lemon had asked to hold Ruddiger on the ride back. She, Gogo, Fred, and Hiro were all fast asleep in the backseat with Baymax once again tucked away in his battery case. Wasabi had the radio on in order to keep himself awake as he drove (and to drown out Honey Lemon's snoring if he was being honest). The music that filtered out of the speakers was called 'classical' music, which just meant it was mostly orchestral music from ages past. To Varian it sounded very modern and sophisticated to his ears, like chamber music played for royal courts, not the more rustic folk music he grew up on.

Right now a gentle suite with piano and strings was playing and it along with the steady motion of the car moving was beginning to lull Varian to sleep as well. He looked out again at the houses and scenery that passed by and thought of the day's events and the fun he had had as his eyes grew heavy. This world was so much more inviting and nicer than his own, it was a shame he'd have to leave it soon, but his Dad needed him and that was that. And with that final resolve Varian drifted off to dreamland.

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#varian #tangled the series #BH6 the series #Hiro Hamada #Honey lemon #ruddiger #Wasabi #GoGo #Fred Frederickson IV #rapunzel's tangled adventure

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catalinaroleplay · 3 years

Photo

Gender & Pronouns: Cis man, he/him

Date of Birth: July 12th, 1988 (32)

Place of Birth: Westchester, New York

Neighborhood: Ventura

Length of Residency: Since August 2020

Occupation: Senior Investment Strategist at Astor Group

Face Claim: Adam Huber

BIOGRAPHY

TRIGGERS: Domestic Violence, Parental Abuse, Gun Mention, Drug Abuse, Death.

Not all stories can be magical fairytales to make us forget the dark side of the world, the cruel reality in which we live. Happily ever after are meant for the books because, in real life, there’s no such thing. In life, the books go on and the only thing left to do is survive the twists thrown at you, take the punch, wipe off the blood and carry on with another scar to remind you that life is anything but a fairytale.

Born Thomas Cornelius Conyngham, is a member of one of the most influential and oldest families in the United States. Although his father was just a small-town boy, driven by dreams and greed to become more than his old man, a veteran of the Vietnam war and former special agent on the FBI. His mother, Lilian, is the only daughter of Howard Astor, a New Yorker political businessman and socialite that could only be described as the good old American man, one of the last ones standing on the Astor Dynasty whose fortune was well-known by Conrad when he met Lilian at Yale University. The encounter was not an accident, no, there are no accidents when it comes to Conrad. Not only was Lilian beautiful, she was his golden ticket to a life he knew he deserved — she was his way in and to her own disgrace, Lilian fell for his undeniable charm and was, at first, swap off by his ambitious dreams. Yet, she knew it would not be an easy road to travel when Howard was not fond of his daughter’s choice for a boyfriend. Conrad did not fill the requirements to earn a place in the family.

But, you tell a young woman she cannot be with the boy she loves, the first love she has ever known, is the same as giving her your seal of approval.

Two years into dating and they were married, moving to Scarsdale to start their lives together. Lillian was the newly appointed journalist, writing for a local newspaper and Conrad an associate lawyer. The firsts years of marriage and life were not one to complain, they were working non-stop and barely had any time for arguments, it was a well-oiled machine that worked for both, at first. Conrad’s greediness, could not accept Lilian not wanting to have her father’s help. He did not want to be stuck with an associate paycheck when he could jump right into a partner position with just a phone call by his father-in-law. When the fights began, they only stopped (or pressed pause) to welcome their first son — Thomas. A charming, loving kid with the prettiest eyes you have seen.

Thomas was his mother’s pride and joy and his father’s greatest prize. The only time he and Howard agreed on something was that Tom was fated to greatness and greatness only, anything less than that was not acceptable. From the minute the boy came into the world, his destiny was sealed. Raised to be nothing less than extraordinary, the golden boy, an exceptional athlete, and top of his class at one of the best private schools in America. It was even ridiculous to think that someone’s life could be so perfect. Indeed, it wasn’t, imagine having your whole life planned for you and not having a say in any aspect of it — must drive anyone to madness. Still, Tom could not complain, he could not show weakness because his father would not tolerate it. He’d wake up at five in the morning to run before school, come home from practice to do his homework, and then get to work out some more with his dad, or spend time in the pool. Thomas was a robot, nurturing his father’s dreams and desires while bottling his will and feeding his frustration for not having the control of his own choices. As the years passed, he started to look at his father with other lenses. He saw him for the bully he actually was; Controlling his life for his own pleasure, complaining, playing games with Thomas’ mind to make him believe that it was just his way to show affection, love. But nothing was ever good enough for the man, there was no right because it didn’t matter what Thomas did, still wasn’t enough to satisfy Conrad. He always needed more, to the point where his greed almost killed his family, twice.

First, when Thomas collapsed during a swimming competition after hitting his head at the edge of the pool. His body was too exhausted, seeking for rest, one Thomas did not give because he always needed that extra hour. An extra hour provided by the use of Adderall. The first time he took, six months prior to the accident, to prevent the fatigue he was fighting off and then, again, and again till it became a problem. However, the fights between his parents made the problem pass unnoticed, until the doctors came with the result of his exams and his mother took over, standing for Thomas’ defense when it came to his father. He was sent for a two week treatment in a private facility away from home with the excuse of emotional exhaustion. Of course, the family paid to make everything go away and not stain Thomas’ record. Yet, as soon as he came home, the fights did not decrease but it became worse instead. And just like that, Thomas was gone. Started with minor crimes that were always covered by his father and grandfather’s influence. Countless hookups and parties at the Astors’ Estate all over the country. Thomas almost got expelled from high school, if it wasn’t from his grandfather buying the school a whole new library. One night, when he came home after leaving for God knows why, the fight between Conrad and Lilian became physical and Thomas jumped into his father. The years of abuse blinded him, he was a tic-tac bomb with nuclear power, fed with the years of abuse in the hands of his own father, that exploded. He could hear his mother screaming in the back, but it was a distant sound and not enough to make him stop. When his father took a swing back, knocking Thomas down, he ran for the gun he knew was hidden inside the house and he would have shot, he wanted to, but the moment of hesitation looking at his mother’s eye as she put herself in front of it made the boy pull the weapon down. His father took the moment to run and it was the last time Thomas saw him. After that fateful night, his parents signed a confidential deal, one to help with all the ammunition it needed to make Conrad’s life a living hell in case he breaks it, to keep the episode under the carpet. Howard made him sign away any right he had over Lilian’s money and more important, sign Thomas and the twins away. He no longer had any right over the children and his name was wiped from their birth certification.

At sixteen, Thomas Cornelius Conyngham was now: Thomas Cornelius Astor. Son of Lillian Astor and grandson of Howard Astor. Against Howard’s will, they moved to Catalina with the excuse of visiting old friends and Lilian’s new job in Los Angeles.

It was a fresh start to say the least, for both of them, but how do you carry on after something like that has happened to you? You don’t. You need to reframe life as you have known till it becomes normal. Eventually, things start to adjust, little by little. Lilian found love, one that is kind and generous, one that is unfeigned. The twins grew free from an abusive father. Thomas graduated with a summa cum laude degree in Global Affairs and Economics by Columbia University and a Masters in Project Management and International Business by Oxford. As much as his grandfather still held lots of expectations, he was taught what it meant to have the respect and the love of his grandchild and that meant more to him. They rebuilt their relationship, became closer and along with Oliver, Lilian’s new husband, Thomas found the support of a father figure and love. Whatever that means and Oliver’s name is the one in their birth certificate now, he legally adopted the children.

Life carried on as it always does. The boy was now a man, back in Manhattan and assuming more responsibilities at the Astor Group he is meant to, one day, command. He has been working his way up, besides what anyone thinks, he earned a PhD in Columbia to only increase his knowledge to help the business grow. He is passionate about the work he does, reformulating the Astor Group to be what he stands for and to hold the values of more than just an Real-Estate and Investment Group, but one that offers fair opportunities to whoever seeks them and does not discriminate. Thomas is a very key player in the work they do, to give the company a new aspect and a chance to continue the work as the world changes. On the side, founding the Boreal Group, the primary philanthropic and charitable vehicle for the Astor family. His mother is chairman, in charge of and owning 51% of the shareholders while Thomas and his siblings are the equal owners of the remaining.

Notorious playboy with a good heart became New York’s most eligible bachelor, Thomas Astor was successful, rich and not bad to look at, but very skeptical about relationships because he already met the love of his life a long time ago but the life twists made that, only a few chapters in the book. Still, time was moving and so was the pressure of his family and peers to ‘settle’ down and produce heirs. Thomas decided to take the easy route and got engaged to someone his grandfather approved and his mother was happy with, but it wasn’t love. At the night of their engagement party, Thomas received a phone call from his father’s attorney to inform Conrad passed away and, not only that, but named Thomas on his will as the only rightful heir. He hasn’t spoken or seen his father since the night he left and the only information he had was that Conrad became a partner to a firm in San Francisco and remarried. However, to Thomas’s surprise not only was Conrad married but Thomas had another sibling, a brother younger than his half-sister that was left with nothing. He flew to San Francisco the same night, not to the funeral but to speak with his father’s widow and half-brother, explain he wanted nothing to do with the money left and would happily sign it away back to them. Instead, he wanted a chance to meet his brother because if there’s one thing Thomas knows, is how scar one can become growing under the influence of Conrad Conyngham. It was a moment of clarity for the man, work was taking a lot of his life, he barely had the time to see his family in California, the twins were having lives of their own and Thomas was isolating himself inside a penthouse. Almost getting married just for the sake of everyone else. He was giving up the control of his life again and he could, again, hear the constant presence of his father’s voice in the back of his head telling him he wasn’t good enough. This was the only thing he could do to please others, be what they expected you to be.

Before he could be sent into a spiral, down back to a dark place of his mind, he ended the engagement with Amelia, packed his bag and moved his operation to the West Coast to try and reconnect with another part of his life and try to find the balance he seeks. It has been a long time since he has known love or friendship.

PERSONALITY

Positive: Courageous | Genuine | Protective

Negative: Destructive | Pompous | Competitive

Thomas Astor is portrayed by Carol.

#all #male #ventura #domestic violence tw #parental abuse tw #gun mention tw #drug abuse tw #death tw #adam huber

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kariachi · 4 years

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Oh look, more of the first pass au, this time focused on the work going in to creating Monett’s Home for Queers, Whers, and Other People Who Think the Main Colony Can Fuck Off, featuring her and my Mari, because I said so.

Mari had never been so tired in her life. Not even when she was taking her exams. Or sitting up excited about the upcoming trip to Pern. What had she been thinking, all those years she spent dreaming of when her grandmother would stop having those bad feelings and decide the time was right for the family to go claim their own stake?

Certainly not of long workdays spent helping with the livestock at Fort, all crammed in too tightly together out of necessity, and free time filled with trips back and forth from the Southern Continent. Surveying the populations of feral wildlife, weighing options, and participating in large arguments with the farmers over what land who should have rights to. She was essentially working two jobs as they tried to get this new stakehold put together.

Her and everybody else, she was reminded as she shouldered open Monett’s door to find her asleep on a pile of paperwork. It wasn’t uncommon, among those of them working on eventually leaving the main colony. Everyone had their jobs at Fort, and everyone had their jobs at the stakehold. It was possible nobody would get adequate sleep until they were all moved into the Catherine Caves.

“Is out hunting,” Monett murmured as Mari gazed around the room wondering where her wher had gotten off to. The younger woman blinked blearily, but grinned up at her. Mari smiled back.

“Lucky someone is having some fun,” she said, and waved her report. “Good news, we’ve managed to find some decent fowl numbers. If nothing else we’ll should be able to manage poultry.”

“Fantastic!” Leaning back in her chair, Monett gestured for Mari to take a seat on the bed, which she did gladly. She’d been on her feet for what felt like days and any chance to recline on something soft was more than welcome. “Any other news, or are we just celebrating having eggs we don’t have to forage?”

“The eggs, mostly,” Mari laughed, “but I do have a few more thoughts I wanted to run by you.”

“I’m all ears.”

“We’ve also found feral sheep, but I think we should either leave them for the whers to wipe out or gather them and ship them back here in exchange for more from the colony.” Monett nodded. “They do better in this sort’ve terrain anyway, I was never happy with how they were doing in the area around Landing. Besides, they’re far more delicate than I’m comfortable with.” Them and horses. There were still debates going on about horses.

“And?”

“And the cattle we brought over really weren’t doing well in the weather either. Further south, yes, but up where we’re settling? There’s some feral herds that we may want to leave as wild fodder and for future expansions, but I don’t think, at this point, bringing them back into our care is a good idea.”

“So,” Monett said, crossing her arms over the back of her chair and resting her chin on them, “you want us to cut out a fiber producer and a dairy producer.” Mari nodded.

“Anata and I are in agreement that dedicating crop space to fiber probably won’t be viable for at least another decade, especially since our population is liable only to grow as more of our generation get old enough to leave Fort. I think instead our focus should be on llamas, who I think will be more reliable fiber producers in the long run, and goats as a primary dairy producer. Of course we’d have to take precautions to prevent our intact male llamas from trying to breed the does, but that’s for me and the other animal people to worry about and shouldn’t be too much trouble.”

“Uh-huh.” Somewhere along the line Monett’s grin had softened into an amused smirk. “Why, Miss Mari, do I get the feeling you’re leading me in the direction of ‘pigs should be our main meat animal’?”

“Because they’re incredibly efficient,” Mari declared with a snort of laughter. “Besides, I’ve been working on these bloodlines since I was sixteen, I’m not just leaving them behind. And the whers will need a steady food source.” Monett just laughed at her and nodded.

“Alright,” she said, “I’ll make sure all this is on the roster for the next meeting. Then all you smart people can argue about it to your hearts’ content.”

“Thank you. I always worry if I don’t get these things on the docket Triesa will take things over before I get the chance to say anything.”

“And neither of us wants to have to threaten to lock her in the hall again.” With a stretch, Monett reached out to take the report from Mari’s hand. “Kick back and take a breather, love. You look like you haven’t slept in a week.”

Mari could’ve said the same, but rather than go through the rigmarole of trying to get the other woman to admit to not being an actual machine, she merely kicked off her boots, laid back and shut her eyes. She woke three hours later to Monett crammed against her side and the forehalf of her wher in their laps.

Apparently, she was going to get the sleep she needed, one way or another.

#fanfic #first pass au

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j--halstead · 5 years

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This has been a long time coming (no seriously like over a month at this point. my b) @ohmyolicity sent me this request literally weeks ago and I’ve been swamped with job interviews and exams and practicals and everything under the sun that I finally finished it before I start by end of senior year bender (: this is also 5K words and it got out of hand because I forgot there were going to be 5 of the little one shots

PROMPT: Four times Magnum was on a date with Abby but had to leave because of Higgins and the One time Abby leaves

one

Business for Magnum had actually been booming lately, which he wasn't sure was a good thing or a bad one but he wasn't complaining. Neither was Higgins, considering he paid her his bills and got the Ferrari detailed at that place she said Robin prefers. Tonight he had brought Abby to a new restaurant right on the water that she had mentioned a couple weeks ago, back when his wallet was pretty thin.

"Thomas, I still don't know how you got these reservations. I've tried and they're booked for weeks."

"Oh you know how it works on this island. You know a guy who knows a guy." Actually, the owner was an old client. He hired Magnum to prove his wife was cheating, and well, Magnum nearly got his head blown off with a shotgun when he got caught.

Magnum picked at the plate of calamari between them, watching Abby take in the atmosphere. This was their fourth date and it's been going great in his opinion. Being a lawyer, she's busy just as much as he is so, unlike other women he's met, she understands the crazy hours.

After he apologized for pretending to be Dr. Tomas Caballo, Magnum and Abby realized they actually have a lot in common. Obviously he knew, from her little speech ending their fake first date. But once he told her who the real Thomas Magnum was, she was quick to give him a second chance at a first date.

"Did you wrap up your case? The one with the twins?"

Magnum sipped his wine. "Yeah, it was a happy ending for once. Always like when that happens." He reached over and held her hand. "What about your case?"

"My case actually settled out of court, so I guess also a happy ending." She popped a piece of calamari into her mouth, eyes dancing over Magnum's face. It may be a small island, but there are over 350,000 people here. And Abby was happy that she managed to run into him. The restaurant around them buzzed, but it seemed like they were in their own little world. "Since we've both had some crazy weeks I thought it would be nice if we spent some time together and I took the a couple days off."

They both paused when the server brought their meals out. Magnum thought over what she was saying. Spending a couple days together might be a slightly bigger step, but it might be what they needed. "Yeah, yeah that sounds amazing." Just as the words came out of his mouth, Magnum's phone started barking.

Abby laughed at the ringtone. "Seriously? Dogs barking?"

"It's Higgins, I thought it was appropriate because of the lads." He stood up and pushed his chair in. "I'm sorry I'll only be a minute" he said as he bent down to kiss her cheek.

Walking outside, Magnum answered the call after getting some looks about the barking. "Higgins, what's up?"

"Sorry to interrupt your date but your clients are here. And they don't seem happy. They mentioned something about you needing to look into another photo they received. I guess your case was not closed."

Magnum ran a hand down his face and sighed. "Did you tell them I'm not around?"

"I did. They're demanding to see you." Juliet hesitated before she spoke again. "Thomas, I can handle this for you if you'd like, but they do seem adamant on speaking with you tonight."

"Thanks Higgy, but I should wrap it up." He looked into the restaurant at Abby. He felt awful, but he had to finish the job. "Just- can you let them in the guest house to wait til I get back?"

Magnum heard Juliet apologize again before he hung-up and walked back to the table. His hand brushed against Abby's shoulder before he sat down. She looked up at him smiling, but the smile slowly dropped when she noticed he didn't move to pick up his napkin or fork or knife.

"You have you go, don't you. That's why Higgins called?"

His eyes dropped to the table as he spoke. "I am so sorry, Abby. I know how much you were looking forward to this." He scratched his beard as he continued. "And it looks like my case isn't over, so our couple days together might have to wait."

Abby reached out for his hand. "Thomas, I understand how this goes. Go, do your thing, help people." Magnum pressed his lips in a thin line. Finally, he nodded and stood up, pulling Abby up by the hand. He kissed her cheek before slipping out, leaving enough cash with the server to cover the bill.

two

It was rare that Magnum's cases went to court. Even rarer that Magnum himself had to go to court for it. But ever since he started seeing Abby, he didn't mind being in court. She was typically in the courthouse. And when she wasn't, her office was close enough that if Thomas had court, they could meet up.

A father had hired Magnum to find the drunk driver that killed his son and fled the scene. But once Thomas let the name slip, the father found him and beat him beyond recognition and got himself arrested for aggravated assault. And that is how Thomas found himself standing outside the court house. His phone was buzzing with notifications from TC and Rick, but he ignored them all and waited for Abby to answer.

Walking towards her office, Magnum pulled his phone out and silenced all the texts, calling Abby instead. It rang out to voicemail so he figured she was in a meeting or on another call. "Hey, uh, it's me. Thomas. I just got out of court if you still wanted to meet up for lunch. I'm going to walk to your office just incase you don't see this."

While he waited for the crosswalk sign, he checked his texts and saw the guys asking about his case. He had one from Kumu, reminding him that she's on the mainland for the week at a family event, and to check in with Higgins every now and then.

Higgins told him the other day that she had business to deal with. Something about the estate and meeting with people. Honestly, he stopped paying attention after a few minutes and couldn't remember. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time that he had actually spoken to Higgins. She hadn't been around the estate in the morning when he was walking back from his row on the beach, and Thomas can't remember seeing her last night either.

Whether she was just in the main house, or completely of the estate, Thomas felt like he should at least try to call her. If not for anything else other than he hates when Kumu gets mad.

As Thomas pulled his phone back out of his pocket, Katsumoto's contact popped up. The two weren't involved in a case recently so Thomas stepped to the edge of the sidewalk and stopped to take the call.

"Detective Katsumoto, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Magnum. When was the last time you heard from Miss. Higgins?"

With that, Thomas' stomach dropped. "Yesterday morning I think. But I was just about to call her so if you let me call you back, I'll find out where she is." He heard the detective sigh. "Okay that's not a good sound so why don't you tell me what's going on? Preferably before Kumu or Robin comes after me for not looking out for her?"

"Uniforms found the Range Rover, crashed into a telephone pole. Her weapon was still under the seat, phone and wallet both still inside. CSU found a good amount of blood inside the car."

"Higgins is O+ if you're trying to match it." At the sound of his name being called, Thomas' head snapped up. Abby was walking right towards him. He managed a tight smile before giving his attention back to the phone call. "I'm coming down to the station. I know her better than anyone else on this island and you know if you don't let me help then I'm just going to go off on my own."

A groan came through the phone. "Fine. But only because I don't need you going all cowboy trying to find her."

Abby stepped closer when she noticed Thomas put the phone away. Taking in the regretful look on his face, Abby could already make a guess. "You have to go."

"Higgins is missing. I've gotta find her, Abby." He watched Abby sigh reluctantly, but nonetheless, she was okay with it. She kissed his cheek and gave him a light shove before watching him jog towards the Ferrari.

Sixteen grueling hours later, Thomas and Katsumoto found Higgins, hands and feet secured to the legs and arms of a chair. An old colleague of Ian's tracked her down and brought her to an abandoned warehouse. Thomas was the first through the door. Two shots brought down the man responsible and, without pausing for a moment, he was on his knees by her side in seconds.

"Magnum, EMS is only a couple minutes out." From his experience, Thomas knows her injuries were solely to cause pain. Broken ribs and fingers, her face severely bruised, and a deep cut to the side of her head that would explain how she was grabbed and the blood in the car.

"Thomas?" The warmth from his hands resting on her cheeks brought her back to consciousness.

"You're alright, I got you." He watched her try to stand which caused her to collapse in pain. "Yeah, no. Don't do that." Thomas kept his hands resting on Higgins. One laid on top of her knee, his thumb dragging soft circles against the fabric of her jeans. The other slid into her hair. He was trying to get a better look at the gash and see if it was still bleeding. Once Katsumoto cut off the zip ties, Juliet's hand moved to cover Thomas'. She caught his attention and Juliet breathed a sigh of relief seeing his eyes. Her head leaned into his hand more, finally letting her guard down and relax knowing she was safe with Thomas.

three

Thomas had been staying at Abby's place a couple nights a week and that's how he knew this was getting serious. The first few nights he didn't truly plan on it. They had gone out and she invited him inside after and he did the walk of shame in the same clothes the next morning. Recently, he started keeping a go bag in the Ferrari just in case. Tonight though, tonight Abby had other plans.

He had just finished brushing his teeth and went to put it back in the travel case when Abby walked into the bathroom. "What are you doing?"

"Uh-" Thomas hesitated, not knowing what he was doing wrong. "I was just brushing my teeth?"

She walked up to him and grabbed the hand that was holding said toothbrush. "You do this every time you stay over. Why not just leave it here?" Oh, hm, ya that's what was wrong.

Thomas really liked Abby, seriously he did. But he really didn't do the whole serious, live-in relationship thing. Not since Hannah. The only woman he's sort of lived with is Juliet. But even then, they each have their own house. Even if they do wander into each other's almost everyday, and eat most meals together, and work together.

"Just, like to keep my bag complete. You know, in case I need to stay over somewhere else." He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and tossed the brush in the bag, zipping it up, and tossing it in the corner of the room. He noticed Abby walk in the bedroom behind him. "You have court early right? We should probably catch some sleep."

In the nights that Thomas has been there, they created somewhat a routine. He climbed in 'his' side of the bed, waited for her to climb in, and shut the lights off. Thomas leaned over and kissed her forehead gently. "How about I cook breakfast in the morning? Higgins always says a good breakfast can change your entire day." His lips trailed kisses down the side of her face with a smile.

"Yeah, I think that sounds good." She inhaled deeply, trying not to get annoyed, and turned to kiss him back.

Lately, it seemed like every time they were together, every conversation Thomas mentioned Juliet Higgins. In a way, Abby gets it. They live at the estate together and she helps him on his cases sometimes. And Juliet's nice, but she can't help but get annoyed. No matter how many times Thomas denies there was ever anything between the two of them, Abby is convinced there is something. But she pushes it to the back of her mind because he's here with her, and he seems happy to be. She leaned towards the warmth coming from his bare chest and let his arms pull her closer and within minutes she was asleep.

The mellow sound of a Hawaiian song filled the room. With how dark it still was, Thomas knew that it can't be an alarm. After rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and waking himself up to be a little more aware, Thomas realized that the song is his ringtone for Kumu. But picking up the phone showed that it's almost three in the morning. His mother always told him nothing good happens after two am.

"Kumu?" Thomas' voice was barely a whisper in hopes that Abby didn't wake up.

"Thomas, I'm so sorry to call so late."

"No it’s okay. I know you would only call if it were important." Thomas heard shuffling and mumbles in the background. Then he heard a loud speaker and some beeping. "Kumu are you in a hospital?"

Within seconds, all the worst scenarios began running through his head. Someone was badly hurt, or dead. Someone close enough that Kumu was calling him and not HPD. Higgins, most likely, but maybe Rick or TC. But that would only happen if they were both in there and that would be the-

"Did you hear me Thomas?" He hadn't. He had been so wrapped up in his head that he didn't realize Kumu was speaking, or that his breathing was getting very rattled, or that Abby had woken up and turn on a lamp. "I said it's Juliet. They think she'll be okay but she's still in surgery."

"Wait, what? Surgery?" Thomas could feel Abby's eyes burning into him. "I'll be there in ten." Hanging up without letting Kumu get another word in, he got out of bed and grabbed his clothes out of his go bag. "That was Kumu, she's at the hospital with Higgins." He pulled a pair of jeans on and slid a gray tee over his head as he walked over to where she now sat up in bed. "I'm sorry I woke you. You should get some sleep." Thomas took her face in his hands and kissed the top of her head. And with that, he was out the door.

Kumu sat at Juliet's bedside when Thomas came bursting in. She watched as his eyes immediately landed on the woman in the bed and then watched him inhale so deeply it was as if he was reminding his body to breathe.

"They were just coming out to tell me they were done when you hung up on me." His eyes snapped to the older woman. She motioned to the chair on the other side of the bed for him to sit. "Appendicitis. She called me and said she was in excruciating pain and couldn't walk or drive herself. The doctors said she's lucky she made it here just before it burst."

Thomas reached out and picked up Juliet's hand in his own. She was colder than anyone should be in Hawaii, and paler than usual. Kumu walked behind Thomas and stopped for a moment to put a hand on his shoulder. She knew that he was at Abby's tonight, or else he would have been the one to drive Juliet in. And the fact the he left her in bed to come here says a lot. She just doesn't think either of the young couple knows what they mean to each other.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, people were moving in and out of the room without bothering him. Kumu came back with a coffee and took her seat on the other side of the bed. She was engrossed in a magazine when she noticed Thomas sit up slightly. She watched his hand move to caress the side of Juliet’s face and within seconds the other woman’s eyes started to flutter open. Kumu said something about getting the doctor, giving them a moment.

“Hey, you’re alright. It’s just me.” He watched her eyes scrunch shut before they opened again, fully and focusing on him. He felt her lean into his hand as she started to wake up. ”You know,” Thomas’ voice was soft as he spoke. “I really hate getting calls that someone’s in the hospital. Let alone someone I- I’m friends with.” Juliet caught his slip but was too tired to do anything other than push it to the back of her mind. She just smiled as much as she could at him. And if neither of them let go of their joined hands resting on the bed when Kumu returned, well then no one mentioned it after that.

four

"Thomas!" He had pulled Abby under a wave, sputtering a laugh when they both surfaced.

"Come on! The water's perfect and you wouldn't even go past your knees." He floated back, hands brushing against rocks in the sand. "Don't tell me you can't swim."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Thomas, why would I move to an island in the middle of the ocean if I couldn't swim?"

A grin spread across Thomas' face. "To find a charming, handsome man who just happens to be an ex-Navy SEAL to teach you to swim."

The two had been rescheduling for weeks. Between his cases, her cases, and just crazy things not lining up, they needed a day to themselves. One of the perks of living at Robin's Nest is the stretch of private beach on the property. Kumu was swamped with tour's all day and Higgins was dealing with some things for the property, so he was sure they would be the only ones around.

"I came here for a fresh start" Abby's words were whispered. She waded through the water until she was waist deep. "And I just happened to find a very charming, very handsome man. And this man just happens to live on one of the largest estates on the island.

Thomas made his way over and stood, wrapping his arms around her. "A fresh start? Picked hell of a place for it." He peppered kisses down her cheek before stopping on her lips. Abby's hand threaded through his short hair, deepening the kiss.

Thomas' phone could be heard barking from back on the beach. "Just let it ring out" she whispered against his lips. She nipped at his jaw, moving down his neck and feeling his fingers dig into her waist. The barking continued for a few moments until it finally silenced. He wrapped both arms around Abby's waist and whispered in her ear, "Hold your breath." In the next moment, he fell backwards and pulled her with him underwater where he pressed his lips against hers.

Pushing against his chest gently, Abby stood up for some air. Her head tossed back with a laugh when Thomas stood and seaweed was in his hair. Another voice cut through the air and caught their attention. Higgins was standing where the sand met the grass of the yard yelling for Thomas.

"Higgy!" Both Abby and Thomas began shuffling towards the sand. Abby had never seen the other woman anything but calm and right now she definitely was not. Thomas was visibly worried as he began to jog through the water. Abby slowed, watching as he ran through the shallows and up the sand. "What's wrong? What happened?" He watched Higgins' eyes scan over him as if checking for injuries, her hands were shaking.

Abby continued until she was close enough to hear, but not too close to feel as if she were invading their space. After the first few times being at the estate, or just around Thomas and Higgins, Abby had realized that the two had a special bond. Going through horrible things can bring people together.

"You didn't answer your phone. I've been calling and you weren't answering and I thought-" Juliet trailed off. She ran her hands through her blonde hair trying to calm herself. Her chest was heaving with each quick breath and her eyes were shut tight.

"Higgins." Thomas reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "Hey, Juliet. Slow down. What happened?" He can honestly say that she had never been this shaken up about anything in the time he's known her, except for once. And he hoped it wasn't related.

When her eyes opened he saw tears threatening to fall. "I thought something happened to you." She saw a protest building on his lips, or more likely more questions. "An old friend at MI6 just called. Ian escaped and they believe he's coming back here. So when I called and you didn't answer I thought about Richard and I thought the worst had happened."

Juliet's words were piling up in Thomas' mind and she wasn't even aware. He knew that the only thing that could get her to react like this was Ian. Without even thinking he pulled her into a hug. His hand rubbed her back while the other rested against the back of her neck, trying to calm her down. He could feel her hot breath against his bare chest. Thomas honestly forgot that Abby was feet away, back on the beach. All he was concerned about in that moment was keeping Juliet safe.

"I'm right here, I'm fine Juliet, I'm okay." Thomas felt her nod against his neck. "We'll find him, and I'll double check all of the security cameras and sensors and the gate when I get back up there. But I promise you," his lips dropped to brush against the shell of her ear. "This time, I'll let you put the bullet in him."

She took in a shaky breath and put both hands against his chest. Looking over his shoulder quickly, Juliet noticed that Thomas wasn't at the beach alone. "Right, well, let me know if you need anything regarding the security measures and I’ll let you get back to your date." She watched as his eyebrows pulled together. "Abby, she's down at the beach. Or did you already forget her name?" Juliet meant it teasingly, but neither were in the joking mood and Thomas wasn't budging.

"I'll drive her home, I should get to work on the security system." Neither had moved in minutes. Thomas' hands were now loosely around her waist, keeping her closer than he probably should with his girlfriend standing feet away. Juliet had left her hands on his chest, fingers pressing into his chest.

Juliet sighed "Thomas, he's not on the island, it's okay. Go back to her." Giving him a gentle push, Juliet tried (and failed) to smile. Thomas copied her sigh when both of his hands dropped. He watched her walk back towards the main house for a moment before going back to Abby.

plus one

Thomas had started cooking dinner almost an hour ago. Abby was coming over soon and he kept messing up the fish he bought. He wasn't usually a big fish person, but she had opened him up to trying new things and he wanted to do something nice for her.

The past couple of days he could tell that something was off. Whether it was just him overthinking, or if there was something going on, he wasn't sure. But Thomas knew that having her over to the guest house would be just what they needed. The views, the breeze off the water, and the peace and quiet, as long as the dogs behaved themselves and stayed away from the guest house.

His phone beeped with a text from Higgins letting him know she let Abby through the gate. That was another thing that was weird. Every since he and Abby started getting serious, Higgins was rarely around to berate him about anything. She still helped Thomas with his cases, but she was popping over less and less and she kept the dogs away from bothering him.

Women were always a confusing area in Thomas' life.

Hearing the car door shut, Thomas tossed a piece of fish on the grill and turned the oven to low to keep the vegetables warmed. He left the beers in the fridge for now, knowing that this wasn't a wine meal or night.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. My meeting with a client ran late and then traffic and-" Thomas cut her rambling off, cupping her face and pressing his lips against hers gently. "I meant to call." Her words were whispered against his lips as she pulled away.

"Don't worry about it." Thomas grabbed her bag and placed it on a chair in the living room. "I've got some of that fish you like on the grill, and asparagus in the oven." He started scuffling around between the kitchen and the grill out back.

Abby's been to the estate before, and she's been in the guest house before so she's seen the few personal items that Thomas has placed around. A few pictures of him with Rick, TC, and Nuzo. One of him and his dad when he was little at a Tigers game. And one of him and his mom at his BUD/S graduation. But there was one she'd never seen before. It was of Thomas and Juliet Higgins. It looked like they were somewhere on the property, but it was how they looked in the picture that struck Abby. It was a candid photo, Juliet was laughing with her head tipped backwards while Thomas stared at her, a smile on his face, almost in awe.

While she understood that Juliet was a part of Thomas' life, she didn't know how big. Abby turned to watch him, mumbling to himself while he checked out the fish. He brings Juliet up in conversation almost every night they've been together, and she's never been the jealous type but there was something about his tone and the look on his face. He's in love with Juliet Higgins and he doesn't even know it. And from what Abby has seen between the two's interactions, Juliet feels the same.

"Abby?"

"Sorry, what did you say?"

Thomas laughed softly. "I said you might want to check the fish, I still don't think I'm cooking it right." He stood at the grill, but his eyes wandered out to the grass. Over his shoulder, she could make out Juliet walking after the dogs. His eyes never left her.

Thomas is a good man, one of the best she's ever met. And Abby knows that he would never intentionally hurt her, but if she's being honest: Thomas was never hers to begin with.

"Thomas." Abby slowly moved to where he stood at the grill and closed the lid on it, getting his attention back. "Just come sit," she saw a protest on his lips, probably about the fish. "It needs to cook and the smoke will help."

She led him to the couch and sat to face him, holding his hand between her two in her lap. "I'm not staying for dinner tonight. Thomas, I've had this feeling, like a voice in the back of my head. It keeps telling me that this isn't right." His brow pulled together. "You are such an amazing man. You have the biggest heart, and you can't cook for your life but you tried anyway because you know I like fish, and you watch the Dodgers with me even when they play the same time as the Tigers."

"I don't understand."

"You do everything you can to make me happy. But you deserve someone who can make you just as happy. And I don’t think that’s me." Looking down at their hands, Abby took a deep breath. "I think that this needs to end because your heart is already someone else's."

As if on cue, the dogs started barking at each other and Juliet's voice drifted into the guest house.

"I'm not upset, I truthfully saw it in the beginning and tried pushing it out of my head. But the way you look at each other, that's something special." Abby leaned over, squeezing his hand between hers while she kissed his cheek. "She loves you, Thomas. And I think you already know you love her. So just take the leap."

And with that, Abby grabbed her bag and walked out the front door. This left Thomas with his thoughts, and so many questions. He'd always known Juliet was attractive, and they just click because they've both been through a lot. But they fight all the time. But then again, they've never truly been mad at each other. And maybe he did have feelings for her, but she couldn't have them for him. Could she? Thomas always thought that she didn't date because she closed herself off after Richard's death. But she'd been flirty with him, which never happened ever before. And he truthfully couldn't picture his life without her in it.

So that was it. He had to act on it now before he got too scared. Abby's words hung heavily in his head, he had to take the leap. And if Thomas' didn't know, he would've thought he had been speaking out loud. Because the next thing he knew, there were footsteps out by the grill.

"Magnum are you aware that your grill is smoking?" His eyes snapped up to her and taking one deep breath, he took the ten steps to outside. "Are you trying to burn the guest house down?"

Thomas stopped inches away from her, and he knew she had to think he was crazy at this point. And if she didn't, well she might in a couple seconds. Slowly, he lifted one hand and threaded it in her hair, pulling her against him within seconds and closed the gap between them. He caught her bottom lip between his and held his breath. Waiting three seconds, Thomas pulled away.

"Thomas." Within seconds, Juliet pulled Thomas by his shirt and sealed their lips again. His hands dropped to her waist, fingers flexing against her hips and eliminating any space that was between them. Juliet's hands gripped the ridiculous floral shirt he was wearing, leaving wrinkles in it when she finally let go. Seconds passed like hours and by the time they both caught their breath, neither knew what to say. Until Thomas did.

"Juliet," his breath tickled her skin as he let the words she never expected to hear tumble out. "I'm in love with you."

#magnum PI #Thomas Magnum #juliet higgins #Kumu #Gordon Kastumoto #higgins x magnum #my fics #miggins #idk if thats a thing #these are all ridiuclously long #should've all been posted seperately but w.e

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parkernotes · 5 years

Text

better together

also available on ao3

post-endgame / fix-it / family bonding / irondad

word count: 2541

It's something out of need, at first; after a few weeks of insistence, Pepper finally convinces him it will be a good idea to send Morgan to an actual kindergarten - where she can make friends and play with people less than ten years older than her for a change - instead of keeping her at home to be homeschooled by her overprotective dad. After a few more weeks of intense research and debate, they decide on a local kindergarten where Pepper will be able to drop Morgan off when heading to the city for work, and that Tony can easily drive to in the mornings she can't - it's the perfect choice. However, they only realize Morgan will need proper school supplies a few days before the start of her first official school year.

“Instead of ordering everything online, you could go on a little trip downtown,” Pepper suggests on Thursday. “You know she loves the city. It could be fun.”

Shopping in New York can be a real struggle sometimes, especially when people tend to recognize Tony and make sure he's aware of that, but as soon as the idea of going to the city pops into his mind, a certain sixteen-year-old superhero does too, and that's basically enough to convince him it wouldn't be that bad.

“Hey, Mo,” he calls, looking down at the little girl who's playing with her action figures on the living room’s rug. “You wanna see Petey this weekend?”

Morgan’s head shots up and she nods excitingly. “Yes!”

Pepper rolls her eyes, but she's smiling. “You act like he doesn’t sleep over practically every weekend.”

Tony shrugs. “Kid probably needs a new backpack, anyways.”

“True,” Pepper laughs, then hums thoughtfully. “You know, you could take them for a little trip around the city after shopping, too. Pete’s been stressed about his midterms, it’d be good for him to distract himself a little bit, don’t you think?”

Tony ponders on it for a few seconds, while simultaneously trying - but failing - to avoid thinking of how Peter truly managed to occupy a special space in their domestic life, to the point that even Pepper Potts knows about his exam calendar. He holds back a smile, then nods. “I guess so. If the kid has the time, I don’t see why not.”

“Daddy, can we go to the zoo?” Morgan asks sweetly from the floor, having heard the entirety of the conversation until that point. “Please?”

Tony’s perfect idea of a day out with the kids didn’t include the zoo, but he finds he can't say no to Morgan’s hopeful little face. He smiles in response, fishing his phone from his pocket while leaning forwards to brush her hair from her face at the same time.

“Let’s see what Petey thinks,” he says.

Me [19:46]

Hey kiddo, Morgan and I are going downtown for some shopping this Saturday, wanna join? We’ll turn it into a little trip afterwards too, if you have time. Might do your head some good.

The answers come a few minutes later, when Tony’s transferred himself to the floor, back against the couch as Morgan explains him the rules of her make-believe world with the action figures. He's trying to understand its politics and why the Thor figurine became enemies with the Captain America one when his phone buzzes.

Pete [19:58]

ofc mr. stark i’d love to!! where are we going?

Me [20:00]

First we’re buying some school supplies, but the rest of the day is still undecided.

Pete [20:01]

have you thought of visiting the zoo??

Tony sighs down at his phone. He then turns to Morgan, “You’re too much like him.”

The little girl looks a bit confused by the statement, but she smiles sweetly at him nonetheless.

“Look!”

Tony turns around to watch Morgan sprint all the way down the aisle where a few kids' backpacks are on display. Peter reaches her first and laughs, and Tony only gets what’s so funny when he actually has a look at the products.

“You want a Spider-Man backpack?” he deadpans. “The Iron Man ones are down there, you know. In case you missed them.”

Peter sniggers. “I think they’re cool.”

“Me too,” Morgan agrees solemnly. She turns around and looks up at Tony, pointing a chubby finger at one of them. “Can I have this one? Pretty please?”

Tony sighs, grabbing the backpack she’s pointing at. "If you insist," he says, forcing a grumpy tone because he doesn't really want to admit that the thought of Morgan going to school with a Spider-Man backpack is actually extremely adorable. He then reaches to grasp her hand in his, “No more running, ‘kay? Stay close to me and Peter.”

Morgan nods, but she already looks rather distracted, glancing around at the colorful products as they start walking down the aisle – at a civil pace, thank you very much – again. Tony nudges Peter, gesturing with the hand holding the backpack to the section of normal-sized bags with neutral colors.

“Grab one for you, I know you’ve ripped the last one."

Peter has the decency to look a bit embarrassed. Tony doesn't mind buying him stuff at all, but it's the third one in the last two months - one would expect that a smart kid like him would've already found a proper hiding place for his belongings when he goes to patrol right after school, but no luck so far.

"Come on, or I'll buy you a Hello Kitty one."

They make it to the cashier - Peter hands him a navy blue backpack, and Tony has a look at all of Morgan's supplies before turning to the boy, "Don't you need anything else, kiddo? You always need new pens. Go grab some, we can wait."

"It's okay, Mr. Stark," Peter reassures him with a grin, patting Morgan on the back when she throws herself against his legs dramatically because it's taking too long, I want to go to the zoo. "I went on a stationary haul with May last month, so I'm fully stocked on pens!"

Tony hums, but he grabs a pack of ballpoint black pens hanging near the cashier and throws in with their stuff about to be rung up, just to make sure.

Happy's still waiting outside with the car once that's done, and soon enough the kids are on the backseat, with a over-excited Morgan securely strapped in, and Tony's sitting on the passenger seat while Happy pulls off to drop them at the zoo.

Due to traffic, after what seems to be like the forty longest minutes of Tony's life, during which he endured Peter practicing random animal sounds with Morgan on the backseat (he's pretty sure they don't have whales at the Central Park's Zoo, so their practice wasn't making a whole lot of sense) while trying to estimate how long they will take so that Happy can be there to pick them up on time, they finally arrive.

"See you in three hours, Boss," Happy tells him through the window as they disembark. He takes a look at Tony and the kids, who have already started making their way towards the entrance without him. "Good luck."

He pays for the tickets and soon enough they're inside; it's a Saturday but still early, right before lunchtime, so it isn't crowded as Tony feared. Still, he makes sure to buy himself a cheap cap together with lion-shaped balloon Morgan begs for right at the entrance, and together with his shades that's enough to keep his identity just a slightly bit more intact.

The first stop is the Tropic Zone, and Tony has to pick Morgan up so she can have a look above the railings at the colorful birds and other animals Tony can't really name, but Peter fills in and does it for him. With his free hand, Tony keeps said boy from toppling over into the fake rainforest with a hand clenched on the material of the back of his jacket, heart skipping a beat every time Peter points a finger excitingly at something and leans forwards even more.

They have a walk around the Temperate Territory and spend a ridiculous amount of time looking at the snow leopards. As any other five-year-old, Morgan is just excited to wave at the animals and see if they react in any way - even if said reaction is the slight turn of their heads the other way - but Tony can sometimes see something flash in Peter's still youthful but more mature eyes, like a little bit of pity for the ones in the other side of the cages. Still, Tony smiles to himself when the boy forgets about it for a while, eyes sparkling and his jaw dropping as he observes the animals move around. It feels nice to see him act his age, for once.

It is a really nice day. He never would've thought that spending time with two children - his kids - would be this fun, and he can't wait to go back home and tell Pepper how the day went by smoothly despite her worries.

However, it seems like good things never last indeed, for his hopeful thinking quickly changes when they arrive at the place where they kept the sea lions, right when the animals' feeding and training session is about to begin. Looking down, he sees that Morgan is holding hands with Peter, so he doesn't bother to uncross his arms and he gets distracted with the little show going on in front of them - it's not his fault, it's actually quite impressive what those little guys can do.

Right when the audience explodes in a round of applause after a particular impressive trick, he smiles down at Morgan only to realize she's gone. No, actually, both kids are gone, and Tony immediately makes a complete turn to inspect the place around him but they're nowhere to be seen.

He doesn't want to attract attention to himself, so he escapes to the back of the crowd, looking around worriedly all around him as he does so. When there's still no sight of Peter's green hoodie or Morgan's obnoxious bright yellow rompers, Tony curses quietly to himself, clenching and unclenching his fists anxiously. He knows nothing bad could happen to them - especially since his little girl is with Spider-Man, not a regular teen - but losing sight of them when the only thing he's supposed to do all day is look after them makes him feel weirdly concerned.

After a few more moments inspecting his surroundings, he approaches a guy standing a little bit further away from the crowd wearing the zoo's guide uniform - he looks up puzzledly as soon as he notices someone is approaching him in quick strides.

"Listen, I'm looking for my kids," Tony blurts out right away, just as the guy's eyes start to widen. "It's a boy about this tall," he says, raising his hand up to the height of his shoulder. "And a tiny girl wearing ugly yellow rompers? Have you seen them?"

"U-Um, I," the guy stutters, squints at Tony a little bit. "Are- are you by any chance-"

"Nope, not who you think I am," he dismisses briskly, chancing a quick look around just in case the kids decide to sprout out of nowhere and end his suffering. "But I need you to focus, have you seen them?"

The guy reluctantly look away from him to point to his right. "I think I, um, saw some kids that match your description heading that-"

"Thanks!"

Tony makes a beeline to the direction pointed, and he makes a turn into a more isolated area of the zoo, where he can spot a gift shop and the doors leading to the restrooms. He mumbles a curse, looking around frantically until a tiny little yellow spot catches his eye a few feet ahead.

"Mo!" he calls, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Daddy!" Morgan answers, pointing at something above her. "You hav'ta help Petey!"

"What-" he begins, but doesn't need to finish the sentence once he shifts his gaze up.

There, balancing himself on top of a thick tree branch is Peter; he's using one of his arms to support himself by hugging the trunk, but the other one is reaching up to something Tony recognizes as Morgan's lion-shaped balloon stuck among some thinner branches and leaves.

"What the- Peter!" he hisses, loud enough for the boy to hear. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Mo lost her balloon!" Peter answers matter-of-factly, not bothering to look down at them. He grunts, repositioning himself to try and get closer to said object, feet shifting dangerously against the wood beneath him. "I'm just trying to-"

"Get down, now," Tony hisses again, looking both ways to see if there's anyone coming. Thankfully the area remains deserted, the visitors being distracted by the show which is still going on, just like they were supposed to.

"But I just need to-"

"Right now, Peter!" he raises his voice, heart racing when Peter almost slips. "I'll buy another balloon, just get down!"

Peter grunts and then sighs in defeat. "Fine," he says, starting to climb down the tree, but still not as carefully as Tony would've wanted.

"You," he starts once the boy is standing right in front of him, not even a drop of sweat on his skin as if that whole stunt didn't tire him at all - and it probably didn't. Tony points an accusatory finger at him. "You are going to drive me crazy."

Peter frowns, "But it was going to be easy, I just had to-"

"No, I know you didn't think this through-"

"I did think this through, Mo just asked me-"

"I know you felt inspired by the monkey exhibit back there but you can't just go around climbing trees without wearing your-"

"You're over exaggerating! It's just a tree, not the Empire State Building-"

"You-"

"Daddy," Morgan interrupts, tugging at the hem of his jacket. "Can I get a bear this time?"

Tony sighs, running a hand up and down his face once before smiling. "'Course, baby," he says. He's about to lead them forwards towards the gift shop but as a second thought he stops, looking down at her, mockingly serious. "Promise me you'll never follow your brother's example. Repeat after me: climbing trees is dangerous."

"C-Climb- Climing trees is dangerous," she repeats dutifully, but already has an eye on her desired balloon being displayed just outside the gift shop.

Tony looks up when he hears Peter choke on a laugh, and the smile the boy shoots him is enough to make him forget about the whole ordeal.

"Just kidding, Mo, you can climb how many trees you want," he says, picking her up to place a smooch on her cheek. "Just let me know first, okay?" he says, then nods with satisfaction when Morgan hums in agreement. He then glares at Peter. "The same goes for you, monkey wannabe, or else I'll make Karen tattletale on everything you-"

"Yes, I get it," the boy rolls his eyes, but he's still smiling. Like always, he accepts the arm Tony places around his shoulders easily, and soon enough they fall into step again.

#avengers endgame spoilers #endgame fix it #irondad #tony stark #peter parker #fic #fanfic #mine #ao3 #morgan stark

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wellhellotragic · 6 years

Text

No Handlebars 1/2

Summary: Before moving to the city he’d thought his days back at school in London had been wild, but American’s put the British to shame in their attempts at debauchery.

Or that fic where Killian and the guys rent a barcycle for the night and everything goes wrong…but there's this blonde he keeps seeing, and she's an angel

Rating: Probably Teen but let’s just go with M to be safe

A/N: So one of my favorite fandom people was feeling down and I wanted to do something to cheer her up. @pirateherokillian, a little birdie (cough @xemmaloveskillianx cough) told me that you like your fics with a certain pirate acting a little drunk and a whole lot goofy. I hope this brightens your day a some!

“A barcycle. What the hell is a bloody barcycle?”

Killian Jones had heard of all sorts of strange things since he’d moved to Boston three years before for college. He’d been completely taken aback when Victor Whale had scored them all an invitation to the Alpha Tau’s annual ‘pimps and hoes back to school’ party their freshman year. Then there had been spring break. He’d thought his days back at school in London had been wild, but American’s put the British to shame with their attempts at debauchery.

So he really shouldn’t have been surprised at the idea of a mobile method of imbibing, yet he was.

“What part is tripping you up mate? The bar part or the cycle part?”

Will Scarlet, Wanker of Willington, had moved to the states at roughly the same time as Killian, but as the less studious of the two, armed with much lower standards that Killian, Will had found himself with more free time to explore the city.

“I got that much, mate.” Killian made sure to pop the t just has his hand made contact with the back of Will’s head. “I just can’t fathom people actually drinking while on bicycles. I thought this place had laws against that sort of thing.”

“Well for starters,” David cut in, “you won’t be on a bicycle. It’s more like sitting at a table that has pedals.”

Robin, who’d been oddly quiet during the discussion had scrunched up his face.

“And secondly, it’s not illegal. They have a liquor license. As long as your butt is in the seat, you can drink. Once you get off, you have to wait until you’re in the bar to have more.”

“Wait. If I’m already sitting at the bar, why on earth are we stopping at other bars?”

Killian was glad to see someone else just as perplexed by the entire thing as he was.

“Look, I have to run. You’ll see it when you get there. Just be at The Frog’s Pond at nine sharp.”

With that David grabbed his book-bag and headed out for his final exam of their junior year. Killian had taken his last one that morning, on very little sleep thanks to the base thumping from the apartment next door. If it kept up much longer, he was going to find a way to convince Dave and Rob that they’d all need to find a new place after their lease was up the next month.

Killian grumbled as his head hit the back of the couch, earning him a chuckle from Robin.

“Come on. It’s not as bad as all of that is it?”

Killian grumbled once more and the grin his friend had been sporting fell.

“It’s one night, and to be honest, I think it’s time you started getting out again. It’s been three months since Milah broke up with you.”

“Oi, I didn’t know we were allowed to start using her name again!”

Killian rolled his eyes at Will’s flippant remark. The guys had actually all been pretty good about not mentioning her in recent months. Not since she dumped him for a much older medieval history professor. His only solace had been the rumors that he’d dumped her a few weeks earlier so he could pursue one of the literary grad students instead.

“You know what? You’re absolutely right, and I’m going to start with getting out of here right now.”

Killian grabbed his coat and left for the coffee house around the corner, ignoring his friend’s groans as he did so. The coffee shop had always been his little haven. His roommates tended to shy away from any establishment that didn’t serve alcohol or greasy food, and the shop afforded him a quiet atmosphere to study in. Now, it was just as escape from his well meaning but overbearing friends.

The whole night had started off as just one of those vague ideas that he never expected to actually come to fruition. Graham’s birthday had been two weeks earlier and they’d been knee deep in the books studying for finals (or at least most of them had) so Victor had suggested just waiting until the end of term and doing something special to celebrate both occasions.

His mates had been a little tipsy at the time and he’d expected them to have forgotten about it, but low and behold, they hadn’t. Whale had even gone so far as to book the barcycle for the entire evening.

Killian made his way to the counter, ready to order his usual, when he stopped short. There, ordering the last vanilla cupcake and a hot cocoa with cinnamon was a blonde goddess. He’d been so taken with her that he’d missed the barista calling for him to place his order, and when the woman turned back to see what all of the fuss was about, he’d realized that he’d been staring and started to blush furiously.

To spare himself any further embarrassment he stepped up to the counter to order his latte, but when he turned back she was gone. He stayed there for a few hours just watching people and thinking about the woman he’d missed.

Back at his apartment he’d been pleasantly surprised to find it empty and quiet. The neighbor next door must have finally left for his own exams. Well that or he’d stroked out from the constant noise. Either way, Killian was glad for it as he toppled over into his bed to nap.

The pounding was back, a photo frame on his wall nearly falling off as the beat bombarded him once more. He looked at his watch. Seven. Not quite early enough to head to the bar, but not late enough to hope he could tough it out either. He shot a text off to Graham, whose apartment was only a few blocks away to let him know he was heading over.

They watched the tail end of Back to the Future, cheering as Marty McFly and his girlfriend crammed into the delorean with the Doc and took off. By the time the final credits played, it was almost nine and time to head down to the bar. When he and Graham arrived though, it was to find and aggravated Victor yelling at a random guy while David, Robin, and a few other guys they knew sat and watched.

“What’s wrong with Victor?”

“Apparently they accidentally gave our barcycle out to another group?” Will didn’t sound entirely sure.

“No,” interrupted Victor, who was apparently finished dressing down one of the employees. “They actually just double booked us. From what I understand though there is another one coming in about twenty minutes though.”

Killian watched as the guy disappeared into the bar and reappeared carrying a small cardboard box.

“Look, man. I’m really sorry about the mix up, but to make it up to you we have some free beer koozies for all of you.”

Victor scoffed, taking the proffered koozie.

Tonight I was a hero. I found a beer that was trapped inside a bottle and I rescued it.

Cleaver.

With twenty minutes to kill, the guys all headed inside bar, coined The Frog Pond for their drink staple. A blue concoction made with eight different rums and god knew what else. The bartender had warned them that they were large drinks meant for sharing, but being the manly men that they were, sharing was out of the question. Instead each guy ordered their own, all cheersing and taking a gulp at the same time.

It was disgusting. Possibly the worst drink Killian had ever had in his life, and judging by the grimaces on his compatriots faces, they all agreed as well. At sixteen bucks a pop though, Killian had refused to not finish it. The rest of the guys had managed to chug theirs down as well, all except Robin who was struggling with each gulp he took. Finally, he conceded defeat and set the still half full bowl back on the table. Remised to waste alcohol, Killian downed the rest of Robin’s drink in one go.

Killian was starting to feel the buzz as their barcycle pulled up looking worse for the wear. Three of the seats were missing pedals and the music coming through the speaker system was more static than anything.

“You’re kidding me right? This is the joke bike you bring out to get the crowd laughing before the real one shows up, right?”

Victor had a point. Graham had looked up the rental agency and Whale was splashing out a few hundred dollars.

“Again, I’m sorry. One of the owners is in New York and he approved a booking over the phone for a bunch of girls without looking at the schedule first. It’s this guy or nothing.”

Whale grumbled and David tried to tell him it would be okay. As the three men attempted to bargain for a new price, Will and some other blokes loaded a large cooler full of beer into the center of the death mobile and climbed on board, ready to continue their drinking endeavors.

Eventually the three men came to an understanding and joined them on the barcycle. The driver explained to the them the premise. They had three hours to hit as many bars as possible, but that would all depend on them. On how hard they rode and how long they wanted to stay at each place.

“Wait a sec. I thought these things had motors on them.”

“Ya, about that. This is actually one of our older carts. It’s a little old school as in they didn’t start putting engines on them until about two years ago.”

Killian could see Victor’s patience slipping with each passing minute, and while he hadn’t been all that intrigued by the entire idea in the beginning, he reminded himself that it was, in part, to celebrate Graham’s birthday, and he didn’t want the occasion to be ruined before it even started.

He bent over the bar and reached into the cooler grabbing our a beer for each man.

“Well lads, to long nights and the drinks that get us through!”

All of the men cheered, including Whale and began drinking.

Since three of the seats where basically useless, they’d agreed to change seats each time they stopped at a new bar. The driver called out for them to pedal harder and each man took it as his own personal challenge to get them up the hill. A test for sure, but Killian Jones was never one to turn down a challenge.

His legs were burning the entire way around the block to the next bar and when he stepped down from his seat, they almost gave out underneath him. The others seemed a little less wobbly. It was only made worse when he looked over and saw that they had parked right next to another cart, a much newer and nicer cart.

“Okay, gentleman. Henry’s is our first stop. Make sure the show them your wrist bands if you want the discounts on the special drinks.”

“Wait.” Will had stopped dead in his tracts halfway down the sidewalk. “What wristbands?”

“Oh, shit. Sorry guys. I totally forgot.”

“Bloody wanker. The man’s already toasted.”

Will had a point. The driver had been out of sorts back at their starting point, but Killian had just assumed he was overwhelmed from the change in plans, but now it was clear as day. The man had obviously been drinking on his last tour.

The driver ran back up to the cart and thumbed around in an overhead compartment for a while before returning with a sheet of red wristbands. He tore them apart one by one and attached them to each man’s right wrist.

“Ok, so like I was saying, show your wrist band and you’ll get three dollar shots or five dollar shots with a beer chaser.”

The only upside so far had been that the driver seemed to know the bouncer and the men were all allowed to skip the incredibly long line that had formed out front. Killian was just about to step through the door after showing the man his ID when he stopped short, catching a flash of flaxen hair. His breath caught as she passed by him, but she was gone just as quickly as she’d appeared and he’d never actually caught a glimpse of her face.

“Oi, earth to Killian. You coming?”

Killian shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts of the woman from the coffee shop. There was no way it had been her. Boston was a huge city filled with blondes. The probability of see her was next to nothing, but still, he couldn’t ignore the way his heart has started beating just a little bit harder.

“Uh, ya, coming.”

The men stayed there for about thirty minutes. The driver knew the bartenders well enough and had secured a drink for himself easily enough, but the rest of the group had been left to fend for themselves. The two bartenders on hand were both male and clearly more pressed with serving the gaggle of girls waiting. It wasn’t until a female bartender reemerged from the back that they received any service.

They threw back their shots and chugged their beers. He wasn’t quite drunk yet, but he was beginning to feel the effects of his libations on the walk back to the cart. The three broken seats filled up quickly and Killian was once again forced to pedal for his life as Robin took his turn in handing out drinks to all of the men.

The next bar was luckily just at the opposite end of the block and only took about two minutes to arrive at. The White Rabbit. Killian had been there once before in his sophomore year, but that had been the night he’d met Milah. He’d taken so many shots to build up the courage to talk to her that he’d actually blacked out later on, waking up the next day back in his bathroom huddled naked in the bathtub. It had taken three more meetings before Milah had even given him the time of day after that. He should have known then how fickle her love could be.

Bad memories of all of their fights flooded through his head and he wasted no time in ordered a double rum, throwing it back and then ordering another.

“I heard she got kicked out.”

Killian’s head snapped up to meet Arthur King’s eyes.

“You were with Milah, right?”

“Aye.”

Arthur had always seemed like a good enough guy based on the little Killian knew about him, if not a little pompous. But David had vouched for him.

“I know what happened with you two. Dave told me.”

“And what of it?”

“I just thought it might help you to know she got kicked out of school last week.”

Killian’s brow rose as he took in Arthur’s words.

“Ya, she uh, wasn’t doing too well in Dr. Hopper’s class and she tried to offer him the same deal she gave Gold.”

He couldn’t help the way the laugh barked out of him at the image of Milah attempted to seduce an ethics professor. It shouldn’t have given him the pleasure it did, knowing that Milah had been kicked out of school so close to graduation, but a part of him felt pleased. Arthur walked away to rejoin David as Killian sat at the bar smiling.

The third bar was called Pub Parliament, in what most would think as a call back to British culture, but in actuality the place was anything but. It was filled with girls grinding to dirty music that left your eardrums crying for days. Killian had been ready to leave the moment they stepped inside, not even bothering to grab a drink. He was already pleasantly tippsy from the previous bars and from Arthur’s revelation. He just wanted to move on before his mood could be spoiled.

But then he caught a glimpse of golden tresses again, swaying in the crowd on the dance floor and his legs compelled him to move closer. As she jumped up and down to the music, her hair rose and fell like like the sun rising and setting each day. And then she turned around, catching his gaze with her stunning green eyes and Killian melted. It was her, his coffee house goddess.

He smiled, giving her the goofiest grin his could manage thanks to all ot the alcohol in his system. And then his bliss was over thanks to Victor and Victor’s raging hormones.

“Oh gentlemen, what do we have here? Has the universe seen fit to smile upon us?”

The group of guys all rushed towards the woman as Killian stood back, his view of her blocked. Aggravated once more, Killian made his way to the bar to order a shot of tequila. Not his favorite by any means but he needed something with a kick if he was going to have to hear about how some girl’s ass felt pressed against Victor’s crotch while they danced. Especially if that girl was the one he’d been fawning over all day.

He felt a warm body crash into his at the bar and was just about to tell them off but then it spoke up with an angelic voice.

“Make that two.”

She gave him a wry grin, one that rivaled the most stunning of sights.

“Emma.”

“Killian.”

He couldn’t stop smiling.

“Killian, huh? That’s not one you hear every day.”

“No, I, uh, guess not.”

God, he was a fool.

The bartender returned with their shots.

“So what’s up with the big guys night out?”

Kilian tilted his head questioningly at her.

“Well normally when guys go out, it’s just two or three of them. I guess it’s easier to score that way or something.” She’d leaned considerably closer as she spoke above the music on the dance floor. “But there's got to be at least ten of you out here, so what is it? Bachelor party?”

Killian nearly choked at the idea of any of the guys he was with getting married. Aside from David’s brief relationship with Kathryn freshman year, not of them had ever been in a serious relationship has far as he’d known.

“No. It’s one of the guys birthday. Or it was two weeks ago but with finals we’re just not getting around to celebrating.”

“Good to know.”

Killian was vexed by the entire conversation. She wasn’t flirty with him, that much he’d determined, but she seemed content to linger with him by the bar.

“Would you like another drink?”

She looked back to the wall of alcohol and shook her head instead.

“No, I should probably get back to my friends.”

“Ah,” disappointment seeping into every bit of his being. “And what are you fine ladies celebrating?”

“Bachelorette party.”

Killian’s eyes widened as he looked down to both of her hands, praying not to find a ring there. He wasn’t sure if he could handle the idea of her already being taken.

“My friend Anna just got engaged.”

He followed her line of sight, seeing a young girl with two braids dancing around with another girl.

“She’s so young though.”

He hadn’t even meant to say it out loud, but Emma just giggled.

“Don’t worry. It won’t last. This is her second engagement this year.”

When Killian looked back he noticed that the group of girls was much closer that time, walking towards him.

“Emma!” one of them screamed. “It’s time to blow this popsicle stand!”

Emma shook her head at her friend.

“Guess I’ll see you around, Jones.”

Killian turned and watched her leave, too awestruck the realize he he hadn’t even asked for her phone number or last name even. Too dumbstruck to realize she’d used his last name. She turned at the door and gave him a wink before slipping outside.

He was fucked.

Turning around he ordered one more shot and downed it immediately before finding the rest of the guys still on the dance floor.

#wellhellotragic #pirateherokillian #no handlebars #cs ff au #captain swan

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elixirsoflife · 6 years

Text

across seasons and seas

@inekepp

HAPPY BIRTHDAY INEKE!!

i’ve actually been planning this present for a while... i got the idea a few months ago, started it, stopped it when my muse flaked out on me and recently completed it (as of 23rd sept) just in time to spring it upon you. to my soulmate and the person who hyped dormitory 2.6a to a whole new level, here is a brand new novus one shot for you ^.^ <333

(i can’t guarantee it’s any good lmao)

(also bc you are a beast at validating on hpft, i had to upload it onto tumblr first)

"It can only be true love when you enable your other half to be better, to be the person they're destined to be." - Michelle Yeoh

PRÓLOGOS

It starts like this.

With a party in a cosy common room. The lights are dim, and the music is loud, and there are bodies everywhere, too many to count. There's a brief parting of the crowd, a glimpse of one tipsy girl's heartfelt laughter, and a momentary appreciation for the more beautiful things in life.

(Al stops. He stares.)

It starts with the party and then it stutters as the school year gives way to the summer holidays and Al forgets all about Nova Hale and her pretty little laugh.

(Elijah tackles him without warning. The trance he's in shatters as he hits the ground.)

♥

In sixth year, the engine groans to life again, hesitant at first - and then as the Scottish air rapidly chills, everything switches into fifth gear. Whatever is slowly blooming to life between the pair picks up speed, hurtles through the corridors of Hogwarts like drag racers along lamp-lit streets. One moment, Nova Hale is a mere classmate and the next, she's the star of his dreams.

(He's sixteen years old, months shy of his birthday, and he thinks he's in love.)

Loving Nova Hale is easy.

Granted, her friends are without a doubt her immediate concern at all times and she shies away when his hands are a little too familiar in public. But the smiles she offers are soft and sweet, like he's her entire world, and the way her cheeks darken makes his heart sing. Her laughter comes easily and her kindness quickly follows suit and her pinkie links delicately with his whenever they stroll through the courtyard.

They argue over each other's priorities and they're in love.

Exams drive them to the edges of their sanity and they're in love.

The wizarding world barges into their personal bubble the second they leave Hogwarts and they're still in love -

But sometimes love simply isn't enough. And the fact is that Nova has never been great with attention in the first place while Al's surname and dream career greedily sucks it all up like a black hole. Their regrets are countless and their tears are earnest, but in the end, they agree –

It ends like this.

♥

(Months earlier, one hundred and sixty seventh years loitered on the grass near the Black Lake, reluctant to clamber into the boats that first brought them there. Al remembers looking at the girl beside him, the way she tugged on the tassles of her graduation cap, and thinking that, though things will inevitably change, he knows she will always be a constant in his life.

He thought wrong.)

EPISODE ONE

Life without Nova Hale isn't necessarily life without Nova Hale.

There are a couple of months that immediately succeed the break up and though it wasn't messy, it still hurts. He sees her in Diagon Alley, snowflakes melting on her cheeks, and he wants. It's intense and sharp, far more powerful than the puppy adoration from those early days in sixth year when he didn't know the sweetness of her mouth or the press of her arm against his. And quite frankly, it’s…

It hurts.

Strictly speaking, their lives do not intersect much. Without him, there's no reason for Elijah or Adam the Puff or even Scorpius to go out of their way to contact her so there's little risk of Nova tumbling into his life without warning. But Al’s also good friends with Alice and good… something or the other with Dahlia, who both carry with them a constant reminder of everything he's lost whenever he sees them. So life without Nova Hale isn't necessarily life without Nova Hale, even when she abruptly leaves England with a backpack choking with clothes and a pouchful of Galleons, off to travel the world.

(Even when she's somewhere in the middle of Asia, sun on her back and skin darkening to honey, she remains in the peripheries of his existence. Sometimes he thinks that'll never change.)

Life without Nova Hale is –

Gruelling practices where he's run into the ground, thighs sore from clamping around a broomstick for hours on end. Days begin with the sun rising over Montrose and a quick trip to The Harpy for a coffee to wake him up. They end with a hot shower, maybe a night out to the pub with the boys, or crashing at someone's place for the evening. Life is a crappy flat he shares with the reserve Keeper, Ahmad, and Al’s brother – who technically doesn't live with them but can never be found elsewhere. It’s downing chocolate quaffles straight from the cereal box in lieu of an actual breakfast and then having his dad pinch his waist and reprimand him for not eating more.

It’s waking up one day and realising that it's getting a lot easier to breathe again.

(He's pissed out of his head on Firewhiskey when he realises he is no longer in love with Nova Hale. Nothing will scrub away the fondness he regards her with or make her less beautiful in his eyes, but he can accept that. He's moved on. He's moved on.)

♥

Months fly by and his career takes off with them.

Sure, Al's young and inexperienced compared to the big stars of the league, but he's also somewhat of a prodigy when it comes to Quidditch. Passion meets a keen eye when he circles the pitch on his broom; enthusiasm collides with his natural Slytherin instinct to strategise down to every last possibility. He complements this by training furiously and it shows.

Quidditch magazines all over Britain and Western Europe note his performance, the way he elevates the Magpies to even higher ranks. In the meantime, gossip rags note his blossoming relationship with enemy Seeker of the Falcons, Briar James, when they’re seen together a handful of times over the duration of several weeks before they go finally public.

RIVALRY FOR THE SNITCH, ROMANCE OFF THE PITCH, screams Witch Weekly when the news breaks out.

("I will honestly murder you," screams Dahlia Darzi instead.

Alice helpfully points out that it's been nearly a year since the Incident and that Nova herself is in the midst of a whirlwind romance somewhere in the depths of St Petersburg. Dahlia tells her to fuck herself.)

So for a time, life without Nova Hale is a life with Briar James, with her tight afro and her big doe eyes. It's impromptu matches of football in a half-empty Muggle park and pancakes on Sunday mornings and being labelled Briabus by their adoring fans. It's beer on Friday evenings and sex on Saturday mornings and accented English venomously spitting his name over an intense game of Mario Kart.

It’s being moonstruck and happy again.

But then that too fades away and Al is left - well, not heartbroken, not really, but certainly rather upset because he really did like Briar. She was relaxed and easy-going, just as down to re-enact her favourite WWE wrestling moves as she was to tug Al’s jumpers over his head. Time with her was like a hall full of floating candles: bright and pretty. It's a shame they eventually snuffed out.

STASIMON

Nova Hale returns from Europe on a slow Sunday afternoon. They meet in The Harpy, Al walking out of the bathroom to find her on his seat at the counter, sipping on his white chocolate mocha. A million disjointed thoughts fly through his head when he sees her, but he settles for a quirk of his lips and clears his throat.

"Shouldn't you ask me out before you steal my coffee?"

She chokes on it, eyes blown wide as she turns sharply in his direction. There's an eased slant to her shoulders and a new air of confidence that clings to her, scavenged all the way from the far reaches of China, but her cheeks burn as red as always.

"I - I," she stammers, glancing between Al and the drink in her hands. Finally, her eyes settle on the smug smirk of her friend behind the counter. "You said this was for me!"

Dahlia shrugs without care. "Oops."

"Oh my god." Nova closes her eyes, mortified. "I honestly hate you."

"My life is complete."

"Good, now I won't feel bad about ending it," comes the retort before Nova turns to Al with a much gentler expression. Sheepish, she holds out the white chocolate mocha. "Sorry about that, I genuinely didn't realise. Here you go – or, never mind that, I'll buy you a new one if you'd like?"

He's already shaking his head. "No, I'm alright," he says not unkindly. Indulging in a small smile, he adds, "You probably need it more than me anyways. I hear travelling to half the countries in the world takes a lot out of you."

Nova returns the smile with one of her own. It's not nearly as lovestruck as it once was, but it's pretty all the same. "Not nearly as much as winning the Quidditch League," she replies and takes a fresh sip. The slant of her eyebrows is friendly and teasing over the lid.

"Ah. So you heard about that."

"Kind of hard not to," she confesses. "You're pretty big news, Albus Potter. The leagues love you."

On the surface, he preens under her compliments, pleased as ever to hear them. He's worked damn hard to get where he is, alright, and he deserves to accept some praise sometimes. But underneath that, beyond his teasingly arrogant response that of course he's big news and what else did you expect, Hale?, there's a moment of understanding between them.

Once they fell apart because of camera flashes and Quidditch robes. It was a struggle between wanting forever together and wanting their dreams - and now, over a year later, they can admit that they chose and chased the right option.

No matter how much it hurt at the time.

EPISODE TWO

Their story starts in a common room with Firewhiskey clouding their minds and the very edges of their worlds brushing. Then it hiccups, takes a quick detour over the summer, before hurtling down the motorway at ninety miles an hour. And then half a year after their childhood has drawn to an end, it stalls.

A season shy of two years later, it hums back to life again.

It happens like this.

♥

Italy's night sky is a dark blue overhead when Al sneaks out of his hotel. The past handful of days have been spent on Asinara as the wizarding world clamours around a glorious Quidditch stadium far from prying Muggle eyes. Country after country has played passionately, losing or rising to glory. And for the first time in a long time, England is storming ahead towards the World Cup.

The feeling is heady and exhilarating. Somewhere in the past, a twelve-year-old Albus Potter gazes at him in awe, trailing a wondrous finger over the number on the back of his robes. He's here; he's made it. He's finally reached the distant goal he set the second he made it onto the Slytherin Quidditch team.

There's a thrumming in his veins, faint and electric, a restlessness that begs to be dispelled. He apparates hundreds of miles away from the team’s accommodation to a fountain in the Eternal City and recalls a memory from years ago. Remembers the solidness of Nova Hale in his arms, the grandeur of the Trevi Fountain, the coin they tossed in for good measure.

He remembers being so wholeheartedly in love with this one girl.

It's been a little under two years since they went their separate ways. In that time, they've loved and known other partners, stitched together the hurts that lingered on their skin. They've avoided each other, ran away to different continents entirely, and then stood face to face and finally accepted that things have changed.

(The tricky thing about first loves, however, is that they never truly go away. As much as Al tries to kid himself, there's always a part of him that yearns to tuck himself into Nova's side and hide away.

As the months after her return draw on, that part of him grows.)

But here, here in front of this massive monument, the days of his youth burned into the back of his eyes, the acceptance of their situation seems to unravel. The night whispers of regression, of old things rising anew. He looks at the Trevi fountain and once more wants with a ferocity he hasn’t felt in a long while. Not since that winter they broke up.

He hears her footsteps before he sees her face. Hears her voice before she shifts out of the shadows and into view.

"Al?" Nova calls out softly across the courtyard. When their eyes meet, she breaks out into a hesitant smile, slowly drawing closer. "Fancy seeing you here."

Perhaps her presence there should be a little more jarring, a tad bit questionable. After all, as of a few weeks ago, Nova was still in England, scribbling away at the Quibbler. At most a month before that, she was in South America with his Aunt Luna, describing the sublime with words and painting a compelling picture with her articles. And now she's here in little old Italy by his side as they gaze up at the fountain once more.

It isn't.

Jarring, that is.

The last time he was here, it was with her. Back then, his arms were around her waist, fingers interlocking where they met - his chin on the top of her head, eyes drowsy as he absorbed the sight. Something in the quiet air whispered that there were far greater things than them at work here. Such intimacy can therefore only be shared with her; it makes sense for her to appear now.

"I couldn't sleep," he replies at last. His hands bury deep into his pockets. "Figured I should take a trip down memory lane."

Nova mimics his position and stuffs her hands into the silk depths of her coat with a sigh. It's not a particularly sad sigh, but Al struggles to place the emotions that lace it. Longing, maybe? Wistfulness? Or maybe that’s just him.

"Me too," she admits quietly. Her eyes are bright with soft gold lights and distant memories. "Luna brought me along to do a piece on Italy since the World Cup's here and I thought I might as well come here for old times' sake?" Her voice rises in a question at the end as if she's not sure whether it's okay for her to be there while he is. As if she’s an intruder on a private moment when the truth is, she’s the star of it all.

"I guess the coin worked then,” is what Al voices instead.

It takes her a moment to understand his words, but when she does, Nova lets out a surprised laugh. "I forgot about that!" She bats softly at his arm. "Maybe there really is magic going on here then, like all the rumours say. Sure feels like it, don’t you think?"

Al can't help but smile at her. No matter how many years it's been since their last visit, Nova's joy in the face of such grandeur has never diminished in its loveliness. A poet could write sonnets about it, he thinks. An artist could immortalise it in vivid sunsets. The sound of it, the sight - it makes him feel so, so warm.

"Since we're already here," he murmurs, "do you wanna see if anywhere's still open?"

When Nova looks at him, it's with very shrewd eyes. He can see puzzle pieces slot into place in her mind, conclusions being drawn in white chalk against midnight boards, decisions being made. But at last, she offers him her own smile - gentle and indulgent, a little nostalgic too - and cocks her head to one side.

"Lead the way."

♥

High school sweethearts rarely ever stay together. Did you know that? Hogwarts is not a microcosm of the wider world – and so, Al and Nova did not know how to function without the crutch of those castle walls. Life commanded them in different ways, tugged them to separate directions. Al flew up to Montrose, a stadium full of magpies calling his name, and Nova? Well, she travelled everywhere in the end.

Even when she officially returned to England, several countries under her belt and a year after they split ways, she was restless. A true child of wanderlust, she eventually signed up for a job that meant she was always on her feet, returning to town only to Portkey back out again. The Quibbler was more than happy to take her on as Luna’s travelling companion, her vivid descriptions of exotic locations partnered with the older woman’s magizoological finds. Both parties have never looked back since.

Such busy schedules have meant that neither Al nor Nova have had the proper chance to rebuild a genuine relationship beyond standard niceties. Meant that their conversations have always hovered on the strange edge between polite warmth and flirty friendliness, enough attraction lingering between the exes to charge their interactions with an indefinable energy that is never addressed.

That night in Italy quickly unravels into much more.

A catch-up over Butterbeer dissolves into a conversation about old memories, happiness pouring from their tongues and shoulders shaking with its force. As they talk, their ankles are familiar underneath the table, brushing up against each other every so often. And the spark of tension that hovers between them, even years later, rapidly flickers into something much less tentative.

They're not drunk.

Not when Nova laughs so hard she collapses against his arm. Not when they stay in the bar long after their glasses are drained to the last drop. Not when they leave their seats and linger on the cobblestones outside, reluctant to leave for their beds. Not when Al's fingers trace along her wrist and then flutter against the curve of her waist inquiringly – and not when she steps into his embrace as the world blurs around them.

They're not drunk. At least, not on alcohol.

Maybe on this feeling though. This oblivion that wipes all comprehension from Al's mind save the sweetness of honeysuckle kisses from Nova's mouth. Maybe off the pressure of ten fingers on his shoulders and sweat sticking to his back and his heartbeat racing, racing, racing behind the safety of his ribs. Maybe on the way he breathes her name and she murmurs his and how the world seems to align perfectly once again.

♥

(The next morning, his coach’s thunderous knock on his hotel room door startles Al out of his sated slumber. He jerks awake to see Nova still there, face puffy and eyelashes clamped tight. She flips over, a pout pressed against the base of his throat.

"Do we have to get up?" she whines. "Because if so, I think we should stage a protest."

Butterflies swoop in his stomach when she says we instead of you. His fingers intertwine with hers. She holds his hands like she doesn't plan on letting go.)

STASIMON II.

This is a story, did you know?

In the beginning, it starts like this: at a party in a common room underground. A boy sees a girl laugh across the room and for a moment, he forgets how to breathe. That summer, he forgets that he forgot how to do that - until sixth year arrives and he falls in love with that laugh again in a way that'll never really leave him, even when he tries for years.

Of course, all great stories must have conflict. They must have the readers on their edges of their seats, teeth worrying away at the crescents of their nails, desperate to know if their protagonists will make it through their turmoil. And so our story has a hiccup and the hiccup is - tragic, bittersweet - tainted with dreams that are too big and a love that weeps for it. There are Quidditch practices that demand all of Al's attention and cameras that gobble up some more until there is very little left for Nova.

So, she leaves.

Kisses him goodbye, sheds a few hundred tears and packs her bags for a town in France (and then Germany and Europe and then the rest of the world. It’s not running away if she meant to do it eventually, after all.)

They stay this way for years, seemingly for forever. For some tales, this would be where the story draws to a close, the final words stained with melancholy and regret. Others, however - the best ones some might say - have a happy ending. Here, the happy ending looks a lot like:

Italy in the late hours of the day with its silk skies and hidden stars, a sliver of a silver moon hanging low against the night.

Nova's skin when it's kissed by golden light, soft and lovely as a fountain spills magic mere metres away.

Al's pulse juddering under a hot, velvet coat.

Skin on skin and small hands tracing blazing trails along his freckles.

Lazy smiles on sunlit mornings and private meals in the evening

Aa promise made over neat hotel napkins.

(The promise agreed that things between them feel different. That they think they might have grown up since two winters ago. That perhaps this means they can grab the second chance they’ve been offered with both hands - and this time, they can hold on tight.)

EXODE

"Albus Potter, you've just won England the Quidditch World Cup final! How does it feel to bring the trophy home for the first time in half a century?" "It feels great, mate. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go kiss my girlfriend."

#hp #harry potter #hp next gen #harry potter next generation #dormitory 2.6a #albus potter #nova hale #scorpius malfoy??#well he's mentioned once #so is james potter #and adam the puff #dahlia darzi #alice longbottom #novus #extras

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lacewrites · 6 years

Text

LOST DOG - tom holland imagine

Your dog disappeared after a rushed morning and you’ve been wandering the streets of the outside boroughs of london for a few days with your friend by your side when your house phone gets a call from a male voice you immediately become infatuated with. [this very much includes harrison bc best friends being friends and hanging out is my favourite thing in life]

Info (pls read):

i’ll refer to the pupper as ‘they' bc it’s easier for me lol

y/m/n - your mother’s name (unless it’s your dad or carer or older siblings idk guys sorry i went with one)

y/l/n - your last name

y/f/n - your friend’s name

british spelling of mum bc hi hello i’m from this tiny island off Europe and yes finally i can write about brits whoo

^ is this not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen

warnings: none, this is pretty much just fluff. i’m more used to writing longer fics, this may not be personal enough? please send feedback!

For the past week, the weather had pretty much been scorching. You swore every time you left the house you rented a room in that the concrete was smoking, the cars in the not-too-far off distance appearing like in funhouse mirrors, wavy and distorted. Although you would have been enjoying the weather, there was a very important problem that had rained on the beautiful past few days.

You were alone in the house, having come back after hours of searching for your dog who had disappeared one night. The garden gate was left open after your parents went out the back to catch their flight. During their rush, the door wasn’t bolted and a breeze had opened it, shutting your dog out. You hadn’t heard anything from anyone in the past three days that you’d been putting up posters. You were back from school and all you had to do was look after the four legged family member, but before your responsibilities could start, they had ended with the bad news.

“Still no sign?” your friend, Y/F/N, asked as you opened the front door for her, letting her in. You went into the kitchen as you told her about how many posters you had printed and how many houses’ doors you’d knocked on, only to come back without your pet.

“I have no idea where they could be,” you sighed, offering her the box of prepackaged ice lollies, Y/F/N reaching in to take one. She’d been helping you look, driving you around to different parks and your frequently visited places before and after her work.

“Is there anywhere else we could check? Maybe there’s a few houses you go by often?” she asked.

“It’s been three days, I doubt they’re around here somewhere by now. They could be in any London borough at this point,” you shook your head. “We’ve literally checked every walking place, the only others are too many miles away.”

“Maybe we could go for another walk? Go a bit further this time?” she offered, taking out the footpath map your mum had kept in the kitchen newspaper stand.

“I’m so exhausted,” you whispered, dropping your head onto the cool counter. “I can’t sleep, I cried and managed to have about an hour, but I kept thinking of places we went to, what if we just passed them?”

“Well, what if-“ she cut off at the shrill ring of the telephone mounted on the wall beside the fridge, your legs carrying you over numbly. Reaching up, your fingers curled around the receiver of the vintage looking device, lifting it off and putting it to your ear.

“Hello, (y/l/n),” you spoke as the loud ring cut off, the sound of cars speeding by coming through a little garbled through the phone.

“Hi, is this (Y/m/n)?” the masculine voice gave your postcode and recited the phone number back to you as your ears and expression perked up.

“Yeah, that’s my mum, how can I help?” you asked, much more interested now that you knew it wasn’t an insurance call.

“Uh, I think my friend and I have found your dog?” he asked, a dog’s bark audible in the background.

“Oh my god,” you suddenly spoke, Y/F/N starting to listen in. After he gave an accurate description of the four-legged canine, you confirmed that he had indeed found your lost dog who you’d been very worried about finding.

“We’ve taken them to the local vet’s, do you want us to drop them off somewhere, or do you want to meet us here?” he asked. “We’re just waiting on results from a check-up on them."

“We’ll come and meet you, where are we going?” you asked, picking the pen off from the wall and writing the address he gave you onto the whiteboard on the wall beside the phone. Y/F/N copied it into her maps application on her phone and you thanked him a thousand times before you hung up after telling him a time when they could expect you.

You were the one driving this time, following your friend’s directions as you pushed the speed limit, finally pulling into the parking lot where you quickly pulled up the handbrake, put the car in neutral and sped into the office, leaving your friend behind by tossing her the keys to lock the car. Bursting through the doors, you immediately spotted the rich coat of the dog you’d had for years as they bounded over to you, jumping up onto your legs. You lowered yourself onto your knees, letting them sniff all around you and lick your hands as you grinned from ear to ear, your friend lowering herself to allow the dog to do the same to her as well as you both cooed in celebration.

“Hi,” you looked up at the voice you’d recognised from the phone, your smile still wide on your face as you stood up and threw your arms round the first boy, thanking him over and over again for finding your dog.

“I’m sorry, but thank you so so much, I can’t believe how far they went! We live like half an hour away by car, I don’t know how they managed to make their way here,” you babbled, thanking the other boy with a hug as well, who just chuckled, both smiling at your over the top gratitude from the excitement of finding the four-legged family member.

“It’s okay, just saw them wondering around and thought we’d bring them here,” the second boy shrugged, making you smile.

“I genuinely can’t believe that actual nice people found them, thank you so much guys,” you said with a smile.

“Honestly, no worries,” they were still smiling wide, though their eyes occasionally flitted down to the dog at your feet. “What’s their name?” they asked, crouching down to scratch at the dog’s fur. Once you’d told them, they affectionately started to refer to them by name as they continued to pet them, your dog reacting very favourably. Even when your friend’s phone rang and she had to rush off to pick up her siblings, you felt comfortable to stay with the two boys - Tom and Harrison as they’d introduced themselves - while you waited for the results from the vet.

“How long have you had them?” Tom asked, the three of your sitting on the floor with your dog.

“About two years, she was part of a box of puppies who were given to a shelter,” you explained, stroking your hand through the mid length fur as they lay by your guys’ feet.

“They’re a really good, well behaved dog,” Harrison also contributed, his hand scratching at the top of the almost sleeping canine’s head.

“Hey, guys, I’m happy to see you’ve got the owner,” the vet came out, smiling at the three of you.

“Hi, nice to meet you, is everything okay?” you asked, standing up and shaking the vet’s hand.

“They definitely need some food and water, nothing harmful ingested, they’ll be fine, right as rain. Just let them sleep a little bit more, and make sure you keep them fed and watered for the next week. They may be a little sluggish, but after meeting them I doubt it,” she chuckled, the dog nudging her leg with their nose as the boy and they also got up.

“That’s cool, thank you so much, do you need insurance details?” you asked, pulling out your phone to bring up the details your mother had emailed over when you caught her up through a phone call.

“I’ve sent everything over to your local vet’s. We’ll deal with it, but our time was for free, so don’t worry. Thank these boys instead, they took very good care of them, they did the right thing,” she smiled, the boys thanking her for her time and offering to shake her hand before the three of you left, detaching the belt the boys had used as a lead to instead attach your dog’s lead you brought from home.

“You guys need a lift home or something?” Tom asked, the three of you - well, four - standing in front of the clinic.

“Uh, no, we might just walk home or something,” you shrugged, Harrison looking at you a bit weirdly.

“In the thirty degree heat, walking a distance that’d take you half an hour to drive?” he asked, “Don’t be silly,” he chuckled. “You’re over eighteen, right?” he asked, and you felt yourself nod before you could even think about it. It was weird having passed that age, really.

“Where do you live?” Tom asked.

“North west London,” you replied.

“Cool, we’ll drive to the Queen’s head, beer garden, really nice food,” he shrugged, making you chuckle.

“I should be thanking you guys, I was thinking more like fast food, I can’t afford much else right now,” you said, smiling a little at their offer. Pretty much the most British thing ever.

“Okay, so buy us a coke,” Harrison shrugged, turning to walk, looking over his shoulder to check you were following. Once Tom had also turned, of course you were.

The three of you walked over to where Harrison lived. He disappeared inside to get his keys for his car, driving the three of you as he followed the sat nav to the pub you knew all too well. It was where you’d celebrated finishing school, exams, birthdays, whether you were of the legal age to drink or not. The food was delicious, had a great atmosphere, but it was also a hidden gem, somewhere pretty much only the immediate locals visited, which made you wonder how the two boys from West London knew of it. Most of the local kids, once they turned sixteen, got jobs there are servers, as did you, which you quit just last year to pursue further education.

“Y/n! How are you, babe?” one of the girls from the bar, her name was Millie, rushed around to the front of the bar, throwing her arms around your neck to hug you as you chuckled and hugged her back. She also reached down to pet your dog. It was one of the now more trendy dog friendly pubs, much to the workers’ delight.

“Hey guys!” Y/f/n exclaimed, wearing her working uniform and apron, rushing to you guys and throwing her arms around you with a light squeak, making you laugh again. “I’m so glad you’re here, things going good?” she asked.

“We're good, thank you, can we take a seat on the patio? I’ve got one designated driver,” you told her, your friend leaning behind the bar to pick up a roll of stickers, peeling one off. “This lovely guy, right here,” you gave Harrison’s shoulder a pat, your friend grinning wide as she stuck the sticker to his chest, making the boys laugh at her forward attitude.

“Thanks? I guess?”

“Tells all of us to look out and keep you guys safe,” Millie explained, finding the situation a little comical. You knew Y/f/n's ways, her eyes already wandering his face as if she wanted to memories every inch of his features. She was pretty much his height, something she always complained about, being tall, but you knew it worked in her favour instead of against her. “All right,” she whirled on her converse clad heels, going behind the bar with Millie as she pulled at her ponytail to tighten it. “What’s you two’s poison, and what can I get you other than a tall drink of water?” she flirted, making you chuckle.

“What’s the recommendation?” Tom asked you, leaning against the bar, lowering his voice a little as he stared at the beers and lagers on the blackboard as you left Y/f/n to flirt with his friend.

“Other than the obvious,” you pointed to the blackboard you knew he was eyeing mostly, “If you’re after some sweet cider, I recommend Lilley’s Mango, it’s an absolutely delicious 4% fruity still cider. They stock a lot of West country products, because the owner is from Gloucester,” you explained. “As for beers, Frontier Uk Craft lager is lush,” you said with a small smile.

“What are you going for?” he asked.

“I’m not telling you, but I advise you tell me so I can pay for it and thank you for finding my long lost family member?” you smiled, not realising how much he was admiring the crinkles by your eyes as you did so. He was hooked by your love for the four legged pet by your feet, but the way you smiled and managed to joke around, now that you were much more calm and comfortable, kept him captivated.

“All right, then, surprise me,” he shrugged, your face distorting in a grimace.

“What if it’s something you don’t like?” you asked.

“I promise it’ll be fine,” he chuckled, his elbow lightly nudging yours.

“Y/n, you want to order for both?” Millie asked.

“All three, actually,” you corrected, grinning your head off, the girl nodding with a chuckle. “Okay, so, because you both found my dog, you get a Gypsy Hill Beatnik Pale Ale,” Millie nodded, turning to take out a 330ml bottle from the fridge, “A Stella and a Peroni, to keep it safe,” you added, your friend picking up a glass to pour the chosen beer, “And I’ll take a Desperados and a Lilleys Mango, please guys,” you finished, the girls behind the counter chuckling. “Can I get an extra glass, and a bottle of water as well?” you asked, Millie nodding to get it for you. “What non alcoholic drink do you want, Harrison?” you asked, opening your phone case to take out your bank card.

“Y/f/n’s told me about the homemade lemonade,” he said, glancing to the girl to check he was correct.

“We’ve got peach and raspberry and an appletiser and elderflower one today,” she offered.

“A glass of elderflower,” he nodded.

“Awesome, all together, I’ll cap that at twenty quid, Y/n,” Millie said, lining up the glasses and bottles in front of you. “You want a tray?”

“Nah, I’ve still got the carrying skills,” you grinned, handing over your card. “Twenty five for a tip?” you bargained.

“All right, fine,” she rolled her eyes. “You realise that it would come to about 26 anyway, right?” she asked, putting the order through the till before she pressed card payment, handing you the machine, letting you sort out your payment.

“I can’t have my best student live without tips from her teacher,” you teased, making her chuckle. You were the one that had trained Millie, who was only about six months younger than you, but you’d worked there almost a year more, and now it was your friend’s turn to keep her doing the best job behind the bar. The three of you were quite good work friends.

“Fair enough. Would you guys like any food at all?” she asked, you leaving the decision up to the boys.

“What’s good to eat?” Tom asked, shrugging as you put the Stella and craft ale in front of him, letting Harrison take the peroni and lemonade. You slipped the lead up your arm into the crook of your elbow, picking up the unopened bottle of Desperados, cider and the bottle of water and glass in one hand. Y/f/n listed off the popular offers, the boys asking for a plate of some snacks before you also spoke up, getting a bit more hungry as they talked about it.

“A plate of nachos? Everything separate please?” you asked Millie.

“You got it, babe,” she disappeared into the kitchen after she gave Harrison a number on a stick, letting you guys walk outside to find a seat.

You sat right outside, in the shade, but it was so warm that the only purpose the shadow of the bushes had was that the sun wasn’t directly shining onto you. It was a nice change, and the three of you sat down at the table, you winding the lead around your leg to not let your dog escape, those a few of the dogs outside came to greet you guys, sniffing at your feet and clothes.

“I used to work here, by the way, I wasn’t being weird by knowing everything,” you said as you guys got comfy, leaning back in the padded chairs.

“Hey, it’s all good, the guys at my local pub pretty much know my order by heart,” Harrison shrugged, making you chuckle.

“Y/F/N is one hundred percent single by the way, not that it’s any of my business,” you said, smiling a little as you dug into your bag that you’d quickly picked up as you rushed out of the door, for some sunglasses.

The first round of drinks went down well, not too fast or too slow. Your time was spent drinking the cool, slightly bitter, alcohol - later very sweet lemonade for Harrison - in a comfortable atmosphere. You let your pet off their lead after a little while, letting them run around and make friends. While they did that, you got to know the boys a little better, expressing your gratitude a few more times, explaining how your few days passed without having the ecstatic pet running and lounging around at all times of the day.

“No, I just know that if Tessa would disappear I’d be distraught as well,” Tom shrugged, thoroughly understanding your situation. Harrison had gone back inside to put the now empty glasses and bottles back - and also to most likely catch a bit of time with your friend, but you didn’t want to ruin that by commenting on it.

“Yeah, it was a bit tough. Definitely weird not having them around,” you said, looking out at the playing dogs in the sun. “Thank you so much, you’ve genuinely just, like, saved my life,” you said with a relieved laugh.

“It’s honestly fine, happy to help,” he grinned, making you look back at him with a soft smile.

“It was really lucky that you guys found them, I’m not sure anyone else would have been so lovely,” you said, feeling your cheeks get a bit hot.

“We do our best, just what I would have wanted someone else to do if it was Tessa,” he shrugged, picking up the glass that you’d poured some Desperados in once he expressed interest in it. “That craft lager wasn’t bad, you know,” he added, changing the subject a little.

“Yeah? Good, I’m glad,” you grinned. “I definitely recommend this place, it’s really homely, and they switch the craft stuff around a little every month. Always something new to try,” you smiled, reaching forward to take a nacho chip and took some dip. “Plus when you’re actually here to have lunch, they make some really good food,” you added, Tom smiling at it. You’d gotten on really well during the afternoon, talking about everything and anything, getting onto jobs and childhoods even. It was like the three of you had known each other all your lives, and he knew that even Harrison would like to repeat something like this again. If even just to see your best friend again.

“How about you get some lunch with us this weekend, then? Actually eat food?” he offered, turning to you a little more to show that you had all of his attention.

“Only if I can invite Y/F/N,” you bargained, smiling a little at what you thought he was asking. You weren’t entirely sure about his intentions, but if it was going the way you were hoping, you would cancel anything on the earth for it.

“Yeah, that’s okay with me. You sure you’d want to double date?” Tom asked, surprising the both of you with how forward he managed to be.

“I guess I should maybe leave my dog at home for this date?” you asked, smiling a little wider, now that his intentions were revealed.

“I’ll just bring Tessa,” he shrugged, grinning from ear to ear. Shaking your head, you let out a laugh.

“Saturday, half past one, I’ll book a table,” you offered, Tom immediately nodding, pulling out his phone to offer it to you to put your number in.

“Hey,” Y/F/N walked out, holding a tray of partially filled glasses. “I brought you guys some cider tasters, they’re what’s going to be on the menu from next week, thought you’d want to try them,” she offered, putting one each in front of you.

“Thanks,” you grinned. “You free Saturday?” you asked, grinning cheekily at her as Tom chuckled.

“As always,” she nodded.

“How would you feel about coming back to work, but with a date?" you asked, seeing Harrison right behind her, holding another glass of lemonade.

“You guys work fast,” he joked, Tom reaching over to hit his shoulder playfully. “I beat you, though,” he added, Tom laughing and shaking his head as he threw back the taster cider.

“That one’s great,” he said, pointing to it, after having actually tasted the sweet alcohol.

“Uh, in answer to your question, I guess next Saturday can be a thing.”

“Next Saturday it is."

#tom holland imagine #tom holland one shot #tom holland fluff #open requests #one shot requests #i actually need help in feedback pls #this tag is callie apologising for not reading through properly #i was busy with life and this is cute and cheesy and i want a second part #first imagine

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