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relivd · 2 years

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Gorgeous — Dreamnotfound

warnings — alcohol and cigarettes

word count - 4913

summary - Long time friends are trying to work out their current relationship after something what happened in the past while being at a party.

Based on Gorgeous by Taylor Swift

Sultry room, exactly as the whole house, loud music not letting anyone to think peacefully even for a second and at the very end, countless amounts of people. This scenario didn’t seem like a perfect Friday night, especially for Dream who came here just because his friend made him. A deep sigh had left his lips before he bounced off the wall, wanting to find a place with more space to breathe. He put down his cup of alcohol a long time ago, knowing that he came here in his car and now he needed to face the consequences. If he could, he would simply leave the party, sending just a short apology message to Sapnap who was busy right now anyway.

He knew that he was bumping into strangers’ shoulders, but at this point he didn’t even care. His head was dizzy, everything was a bit overwhelming and every single bad feeling he had got its climax when he heard a way too familiar voice. Blonde’s head turned rapidly, looking for a person that this voice belonged to. It didn’t take him too much time to spot a short man holding a cup, with this awfully contagious smile, being busy with talking and laughing. He could recognise this british accent that he grew up with literally everywhere. Dream didn’t even realise when he stopped in the middle of the room with people dancing right next to him, like he was invisible. But he was shamelessly staring at the person in front of him.

It was actually hard to stop looking, turn around and ignore the fact that he spotted exactly him. Just a brief moment was needed to make Dream’s head even dizzier and his posture weakened. Short breath, which was supposed to calm him down, did nothing. Probably turning around and stopping staring at George’s profile, perfectly shaped nose and plump lips which were opening in closing during a conversation. But somehow it seemed impossible. It shouldn’t be, he was aware of the fact why it came to this point where his childhood best friend became almost a stranger. He wasn’t sure when was their last normal talk, without any weird tension nor looks making his guts twist unpleasantly.

It was probably a long moment before the Brit turned his face and their eyes met in a short second, broken by Dream. He definitely should’ve gone away earlier instead of staring at his face, which was awfully gorgeous and was making him feel in this weirdly warm way. The magnetic field that appeared between them made him walk out of here, finally making his decision to get some fresh air that was probably his last resort for now. Apparently he was able to sneak next to all those, probably sweaty people who were focused on dancing and getting drunk. Blonde had genuinely no idea if he caught his attention enough for him to follow him, but deeply he didn’t want that.

Everything he felt was colliding with itself, his will to pretend that he didn’t spot George, just still being bored at this party was contradicting with the fact that he missed the other man so much and all he wanted to do was explain himself.

Finally he opened the glass door and fresh air hit him, making him feel more sober. Thoughts in his head started to bump on each other even more now, in the opposite to Dream’s expectations. Another couple steps were made by the man, finally finishing his way on a big bench that surprisingly was empty. Usually it’d be filled with drunk people with cigarettes, but since Quackity didn’t mind smoking inside, guests used that, especially when the weather wasn’t the hottest one. After a second of hesitation he sat on cold wood, leaning back, stopping on benches back. The contrast between his warm body and coldness coming from the furniture calmed him for a moment.

Luckily, it actually helped him to cool down a little. With more steady hands he reached into his pocket and took out one cigarette and lit it up with a lighter. He didn’t like to smoke, but even though sometimes he just needed that, especially when stress was all over him. He dragged on a cigarette at the same exact moment when he heard the door being opened. He didn’t look there, just kept on staring at something in front of him. A long lull hung between them, like both men were too scared to make a move. Exactly as they were shy kids again, not being able to be brave enough. Dream hoped that both of them would stay silent. It would be much easier than facing a person who was the reason for his recent bad mood, because of the knowledge that everything was definitely messed up.

“Since when are you smoking?”

Of course it was him. Of course the person that he didn't want to come here was standing behind him, saying something after such a long break. The question was left unanswered by Dream, who just dragged on a cigarette again. He hoped that visible ignorance would make George go away, not overwhelming him with his stunning presence that was too hard to handle for him. But he didn’t hear that sound again, assuming that his friend was still there and nothing could be done about it. He kept on smoking and after a while he heard quiet steps after finally feeling the warmth of the other person next to him. Dream had no idea what he would do. They both knew what happened, they were aware of the consequences which were caused by this one event that was still so alive in his mind. There was no day that he could just stop thinking about what happened and probably it’ll just last like this.

“Y’know you can’t ignore me.” Another sentence said with that soft voice, with an audible accent. He couldn’t in fact ignore him, but even though he tried. Most willingly he would get up, pass people inside and go to his car. But he didn’t. Dream was still in his place, finishing the cigarette which was the centre of attention of the other one.

“Yeah.” A response was said with a raspy voice caused by being silent for a longer moment and not really drinking anything.

Going out with a person who's been your best friend since being just a small kid was completely normal. Having a common group of friends just made them spend even more time together. It was natural and good. The bond was strong enough for Dream, that he barely realised when the line was crossed and he left the territorium of friendship to replace it with crush and ending on blooming love. The worst part was, that the man was pretty sure that this feeling was unrequired, like George was fine with having him as a friend, exactly as it always used to be and there was no need in changing established stuff.

And honestly Dream would be able to live like this. He could have him just as a friend, losing someone important would hurt more. Everything seemed to stay like this, even when all alone moments started to be more intimate, blonde trying to pretend that his feelings simply didn't exist. But seemingly, every time when everything is perfectly fine something needs to crash.

Dream remembered that brief moment in which he knew he felt more than just a friendship towards the older one. This thought stuck in his head earlier, but something was needed, something that would make him perfectly sure about what was the reason for his guts squeezing in his company. It was one of their long walks along the sea line, but somehow it was a reason for everything changing. Being a couple steps behind George who was laughing at his own story, looking at his silhouette before he turned his head around and smiled widely, looking even more gorgeous than usual thanks to the sunset rays. At this exact moment Dream’s heart twitched harder and he couldn’t do anything else than stop and stare at his best friend who laughed again, hopefully not seeing the abrupt change in his posture.

The said feeling was growing inside him for almost three years, when they got dragged to a party that was organised by one of their friends. Usually it was George who wanted to hang out with people and Dream just was there, wanting to spend time with people he liked. Nothing special, they’ve been on similar events quite often after all.

It started as usual, Dream was sitting on a long couch, laughing from time to time on his friends’ comments about anything. He was holding a cup with some kind of alcohol that Quackity gave him without any redundant comment. Thanks to this, he got more comfortable than he would be normally, but he didn’t mind it at all. Even the fact that George was sitting next to him and at some point his hand found its place on his thigh, which didn’t seem to disturbed the Brit. Atmosphere loosened up really quickly and not so much time had passed when he felt cold fingertips drawing circles on his big palm. It was a moment when Dream for a second completely zoned out and that soft touch was everything he could focus on. Just George’s laugh made him come back to reality and look at his profile. He couldn’t focus on his jawline or cheekbones for too long because not even a second later, the latter also looked at him, making their stares cross.

Dream just looked away again, feeling the familiar heart twitch that he technically got used to, but still made him somehow warm inside. With that movement he also had taken away his head, not being able to feel those cold fingers on it.

“Gotta go to the bathroom.” He said finally, getting up, making George even more confused, but the man didn’t seem to realise.

His steps were quick and steady, he needed to cool down again, knowing that being too exposed to George's touch and voice would be too much to handle. At the end of the day, he was a person too, and some of his feelings were able to control him more than he could. Finally, a familiar door was spotted by a man who opened them rapidly, coming inside and just then breathed out all his stress and stiffness. If he would spend too much time, would they realise? Dream couldn’t even tell if he’ll be alright after coming back to his friends, to George.

His hand quickly reached a tap to get some cold water. His head got wetted, hopefully giving him some results. Couple deep breaths and seemingly it got better, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Blonde grabbed a collar of his shirt to get rid of the water on his skin, before he looked at the mirror again. His look didn’t say that was madly in love with his best friend and every touch that he got was making him blatantly react and that was the whole point after all. Maybe he was ready to go back, which would be less suspicious than spending time in a bathroom.

He put both hands on a cold sink, again looking at his own eyes, trying to calm him down just for sure. The focus swallowed hip up completely and when he heard the quiet sound of opening the door he almost jumped in place. His head rapidly snapped towards the source of noise and when he saw George he wanted to bellow.

“Uh, I knocked but I didn’t hear a response.” He explained, coming in without any invitation and closing doors behind him. “You were here for a long time, so I wanted to check if you’re fine.”

“I am.” he said a bit louder than he planned to. And probably a bit too aggressive, assuming the latter’s confused reaction. “Sorry, I just don’t feel too good.” he lied. Well, maybe not completely. But it was still better than saying that he got scared of his own feelings which were caused by the brown-haired man.

The lull hangs between them, letting them stare at the other one shamelessly. Just now, in this better light, Dream could see like subtle blush showed up on George’s pale cheeks as it always did in a warm room or after drinking any amount of alcohol. He hated to admit it, but was making him even prettier than usually, which should be impossible. No one gave him permission to look this gorgeous, even or rather especially with ruffled, a bit too long hair, pinkish cheeks and dreamy stare. And every little aspect of his presence completely took Dream over. Unfair.

“We can come back to the rest.” Dream finally spoke up, and George looked directly at him, like was just snapped out from some kind of trans. Another moment of silence, that seemed weird, uncomfortable even. Dream could tell that his friend was thinking about something. He knew this face and he got scared of what could be on his mind.

“Yeah, let’s go”

The cigarette was already finished. Dream lazily flattened it on a bench, throwing it on the ground, still not saying a word to his friend. Maybe back then, if he knew what was on George’s mind everything could go differently. Dream felt like he was about to well up. Not everything was yet so clear to him. He knew what happened that made their relationship look like that, he was perfectly aware, but he didn’t understand. Nothing in his life could ever prepare him to know that the most important person in his life will become someone that he can’t recognise anymore.

“Dream?” This soft voice rang in his ears again. His presence was obvious for him, to say even more, the blonde knew that George knows that is too hard. Knowing that his love is still burning his guts and it won’t probably ever stop. Why would it? He got a sign already. To give up, that’s too much. Even though he could live without this information. Only if he decided to stay in that damned car, and not be a good friend for once.

“You don’t have to say anything, George. You already said enough. You let me know what you wanted and I couldn’t give it to you.” He said and in every word pain was easily hearible. For the first time he looked at his face, but he expected to see just the side of it, not looking just into his eyes. George’s lips were subtly parted, like was onto saying something, but invisible power was stopping him somehow. But Dream didn’t wait. He did that enough, he gave everything from himself and as a reward he got almost a month of total silence which got broken at a random party, like nothing ever happened. He thought that he knew George, but this time his behaviour was simply too confusing, even for him.

The man got up and went back inside. The older one this time was left alone, he didn’t go back after Dream and the said man couldn’t say if he was glad or disappointed that he left him again. Now, time seemed to be more nice for him. The blonde quickly found Sapnap, who was chatting with visibly drunk Quackity, who brought up some random topic. Dream simply joined them, trying to focus on Alex’s explanation of his plan to become a president, laughing at Sap’s comments.

It was exactly what he needed. Company of friends that still were with him. In fact, Sap was the only person who knew why Dream and George stopped spending so much time together. He was also the first one to know about the feeling that Dream discovered that day on a beach. It was a brief moment that the man thought it could actually work out and then the world decided to play with all of them. At some point, Dream finally got comfortable, even adding something to the conversation. And even this had to break with a moment when Sapnap stopped laughing and wanted to say something, but he didn’t have time.

It was just a second when the tallest one felt touch on his wrist and without turning his head, he remembered the soft touch and the electrifying feeling.

“Ohh, c’mon Dream come with me, you wouldn’t let me go alone in the rain, would you?” George grabbed his wrist trying to pull him out of the car, while laughing. Dream loved the sound of his loud, maniac laugh.

“God, you’re such an idiot. Your house is literally a few steps away.” The blonde laughed in a response, trying to get rid of the surprisingly tight and strong grip.

They were sitting inside of his car, the rain was loud and they were coming back from the party. and of course George didn’t want to get wet alone and tried to convince Dream to escort him. After long minutes of fighting and laughing, Dream finally agreed and slowly opened the door, feeling the cold wind on his skin and hearing how the rain intensified.

“I hate you.” He says, while getting up.

“Lies”

Lies, he agreed in his mind.

He didn’t even fully stand up, while George grabs his wrist again and drags him to get under the small roof faster. They both got wet anyway, but it wasn’t a good enough reason to stop laughing softly when stopped in front of Geroge’s doors. Dream adores that sound, it can be melodic sometimes, exactly as now. He could even find it somehow calming. Soft smile shows up on his face, while he’s waiting for his friend to disappear behind his doors, making Dream sure that he’s safe and warm in his own apartment.

And this was supposed to happen. Nothing more. So why when he heard the familiar sound of closing doors and he turned back, he felt touch on his wrist and before realising what’s even going on got turned around by the shorter man. His lips had parted, as he wanted to ask if something happened, but time was the only thing he didn’t get.

He could swear that George wanted to say something more, to not let him leave without his last word. So he just raised his eyebrow, awaiting the mentioned words, but they never came. Last thing he realised was George standing on his tiptoes, grabbing the back of the blonde's neck and pulling him down just to after a second connect their lips. Everything inside of him started burning, but he would never say that it was bad. It was this type of warmness that he wanted to feel just always, just thanks to George. Was this real? Did the whole world in sake’s Dream’s will make this moment longer and longer? He couldn’t say, it was maybe a couple of seconds before he was again staring at his friend’s face, still being able to feel his soft lips on his own. Exactly as if they were meant for each other.

Next event happened quickly. The taller man grabbed his pale face, cupping George’s cheeks, just to repeat that kiss, not being able to see that it was real. A feeling of George kissing him back made his heart twitch once again during that night. But it was never expected that the cause of it would be a kiss, and to be even more specific - initiated by George himself. Dream never expected him to do such a thing, but now he felt his soft skin under his fingers, slowly moving them across his wet, yet hot skin. It was everything that the man could ever want. He was keeping all his feelings towards his best friend for so long, just to have him like this? He wanted to scream and laugh. It made his guts flip pleasantly at the touch on his own lips, like it was something he was supposed to never get. And he was even good with it, like he taught himself how to live like that.

Time stopped. Dream felt like in an awful cliche movie while kissing his best friend in the rain, but no matter how cinematographic this seemed to be, it was real, it was his, it was their. Maybe chances of the older man liking him back were real, achievable just like that. The kiss broke after a minute when both of them ran out of breath. Dream’s eyes were full of merrily rays, still not really being sure if that actually happened, while his fingers were still letting themselves discover skin under them. And probably if not the fact that his brain was absolutely hazy he would somehow stop himself.

“Goodnight.” He heard the soft voice and smiled at it, watching George turning around and opening the doors again.

“I love you.” Dream whispered, feeling like it was the only good moment to say those words out loud. He kept them for himself for way too long and now, after saying this he felt like breathing got easier. At least just for now, before the door just closed and to his realisation came one fact, that George probably heard that.

At this very moment he couldn’t care less. He got kissed by his best friend, obviously taking it as some kind of showing feelings. Maybe if not those words, everything would go differently, not breaking his heart which was about to shatter in a really close future.

The blonde came back to his car, not caring about the fact that he wetted his seat, he was too happy to care. His now shaky hands reached the telephone, almost immediately opening his conversation with George. Should he write something? Say anything about the thing that just happened and got left without any word? or all of those were just another day's problem? Well, apparently the next day was just a foreshadow for a long month of silence that he wasn’t ready for.

“We should talk.” He just heard a statement, when Dream felt a sudden urge to laugh. Now he wanted to talk? After all those days of leaving him alone, letting him know that everything that happened was on Dream and no one else. The blonde was standing in front of the shorter man, knowing that both of his friends are still here, probably really uncomfortable, while he was just staring right at George’s eyes, which still seemed eerily similar. If he could, he would well up, letting himself get all the burden off him, but it wasn’t the good moment. So instead, he was staring incredulously at him, feeling like any moment he could simply drown.

Frankly saying, Dream was exasperated, furious even, but there was no chance in the whole world that he would actually react this way, he still was a big part of Dream’s life, even when it should be the end of it. At the same time, he hated him, but the feeling of love was unfortunately way stronger than he wanted to. After getting the information that nothing else will ever happen, he really should just get up. But did he really want that? Maybe Dream just liked the fondness that existed only towards George.

“Now you want to talk?” he asked, almost laughing pathetically. Maybe George just felt pitiness for him, at this point it wouldn’t even be a surprise for him. At the end of the day he was the only one who couldn’t move on, still living by the past memories. “I think everything was pretty clear when you said that we should end up… everything.” Those words sounded like a venom on his tongue. He still remembered the late night call when George said that was a mistake and preferably they should stop talking to themselves, since Dream’s confession was too much to handle. Like the kiss was nothing, like that kiss wasn’t a reason for Dream to finally say it out loud after all those years of keeping it inside.

The blonde realised how the latter’s jaw clenched visibly. He was stressed, nervous rather and that made zero sense to him. Why would he act like this since everything ended up as he wanted to. Dream stepped back and even if all of it hurt so badly, he didn’t call, didn’t text, just pretended that their friendship never existed and somehow, the feeling was still there.

Just now he realised that George’s hand was still on his wrist and he hated that, but it felt almost domestic, like it was supposed to be there. But it was unsteady, like George felt too scared to actually stay like that. As he almost predicted, the sudden breeze of air covered the place where he had his hand a literal second ago.

“Can we don’t to this here?” Dream furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding him. Do what? Did he forget that he was the one to cut him off. His lower lip trembled and he didn’t actually think what he’s doing when he turned back and returned to the exit doors. He promised to Sapnap that they’ll come back together, but he definitely did not predict the reunion with George.

At this moment he couldn’t care less if George was coming again, even if he wanted him to do this, to explain himself and give them the chance. Pathetic, the hope that lasts in him even if he knew that George doesn’t want anything from him. Finally, he was outside again, ready to leave everything behind. So why the hell his heart twitched when he heard his voice again.

“Dream.” He said and it was enough for him to stop again and look at him. He was a weak man when it came to probably the love of his life. There was no chance for anyone making his guts squeeze like the latter did and he learnt how to live with it, or he thought he did. “You don’t understand-”

“No George, I think that you’re the one who doesn't understand.” Dream finally raised his voice a little, seemingly making George panic. “When, when you kissed me and on the next day-” he stopped, taking a second to look at the man, who now looked guilty. “You said we can’t continue anything between us.” Now his voice sounded more soft and shaky, he finally said something to his face, which was actually true, letting him know that he was hurt. “You've ruined my life, by not being mine.” He finished, knowing that George is aware of everything that happened and to say even more, he knew that it should be on him. But Dream definitely didn’t want him to take the whole guilt on his shoulders and leave him like that. The feeling of being left on his own at this point was awfully familiar and he didn’t want anyone to feel it.

But the response wasn’t there. George was looking at him bluntly, the lull started to be overwhelming, the blonde’s foot was nervously hitting the ground. Was there any sense for him to wait for any reaction? After a whole month he didn’t get any so what would change now? A short laugh had left his lips, this kind which wasn’t the happy one, it was almost pathetic, like an official admitting that he has nothing to count on. “I’m coming home, George. Alone.” He said and it almost felt like a goodbye.

He turned around as his thoughts collided again. He wanted to hide in his car, actually go back and at least try to forget about his feelings, which seemed impossible at this point. But most of him was yelling that he should give him a chance, wait as long as his friend needed, hoping that maybe the memorable kiss actually changed something. Maybe those years meant something to the shorter man, who hopefully will change Dream’s mind again. So when his hand touched his car’s door, he turned his head around once more, seeing that the latter actually came closer, like he was looking for some kind of a permission that would let him speak up or do something.

Dream was about to well up for another time this night, but this time his heart was full of hope and actual positives about this whole situation. But somehow his lips still stayed closed and his mind was left unchanged. He couldn’t be the only one making any move, reaching, knowing that would have no impact. And then, when George finally reached, he saw him making a few steps, ending on closing the bigger one in a shy embrace, not waiting for permission, hiding his head between Dream’s shoulder and jawline. A warm breath touched his neck and the blonde felt like his heart glued itself again.

There was no cinematographic rain, no other people and worries about tomorrow. Just the two of them, finally reaching and understanding. There still was a lot, but at least they got this. Dream finally embraced him as well, slowly touching his back like he was about to disappear, finally ending on putting his chin on George’s head. It was their chance, to work it out, to see what they really want and finally make it happen.

“Unless you wanna come along?”

#dream #dream smp #dreamnotfound #dnf #dnf brainrot #mcyt dnf #getting together implied #gnf #georgenotfound #mcyt #mcyt fanfiction #taylor swift #inspired by a song

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princessbettina · 1 year

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Vampire Love-Legacies-Sebastian x OC reader: Chapter 4: “Because It’s Fun, Mackenzie.”

Summary of the story episode: It's the school's Spring formal dance. With the festivities of getting set up for that, MG,Lizzie, and Kenzie help Sebastian on a mission and new discoveries maybe found about Sebastian.

(A/N: This is NOT a remake or copy of the Legacies Season 2 episode, “Screw Endgame” 02x5. This chapter is inspired / heavily inspired by that episode.)

Somehow I found myself outside in the local town area near the Salvatore school. It's another bright and sunny day and I'm enjoying the nice weather. I was sitting down in the grass underneath a green leafy tree as the wind whooshed through it.

Just as I was getting relaxed, I felt a presence hover over me. I looked up and saw that it was Lizzie. I smiled at her as she did too. "Hey sis! What's up?" I asked curiously.

"Kind of big news. Apparently the school's spring formal is happening tonight and I somehow forgot all about it. I have nothing to wear! It's a nightmare" I giggled softly and covered my mouth with my hand for a moment.

"Aw, it's okay, Liz! I'm sure you'll find something to wear. I can help you with that if you want me to." I nodded at her with a smile.

She smiled brightly at me and then told me that she loved that idea and would love my help.

We then came up with a plan to get ready for the dance and decided to head back to the school and see what everyone else is doing.

When Lizzie and I arrived at the school, the main lobby area was busy, busy, busy! Students were chattering with each other as they helped place the proper furniture and decorations that were needed for the dance.

We watched and saw our other twin sister, Josie give some students directions and orders to help put the dance's atmosphere together.

We love how Josie's always in charge of things! She's a great leader.

Go sis! She came over to Lizzie and I and told us that she was in charge of putting the dance together.

Everything was off to a groovy start. I followed Lizzie to our room and helped her pick out an outfit for the dance. She did the same for me.

After a long time of searching, Lizzie found an outfit and then I did too. As we were cleaning up our clothing mess, MG walked into the room.

"Hey girls! Kenzie, I really want to apologize about what happened yesterday. I didn't mean to hurt you and if I could restart that day over and treat you better then I most definitely would. And with the amazing help of your twin sister, Lizzie helped show me that Sebastian is real and I should have believed you two from the start. I hope you can forgive me" I smiled softly at him and hugged MG as he returned it.

"Aw, I forgive you MG. Let's just pretend that everything between us yesterday didn't happen. More like a clean slate if you will." MG nodded his head in agreement and that made me really happy.

After that, Lizzie and MG hung out in our room as I went to go see the progress being made in the main lobby. Josie was busy still and I didn't want to bother her.

I turned around and started to head back to my bedroom where Lizzie and MG were.

As I was walking, I was looking down at my phone as I was walking through the hallway and suddenly I bumped into someone.

I stumbled back a little bit and apologized to who I ran into. As I looked up, I could feel my eyes widening and my cheeks burning from blushing.

Meanwhile, back at my room with MG and Lizzie, the two of them were discussing the plan on how to make Sebastian visible to everyone.

"There's gotta be a spell that we could do. Maybe a visibility spell?" MG asked in a suggesting tone. Lizzie crossed her arms and shook her head.

"That sounds like a good idea but come on MG, we aren't at Hogwarts. There is no visibility spell, even if there was I doubt it'll work. We need to think deeper." MG nodded his head in agreement and looked down to the floor as did Lizzie.

"I don't think you'll have to dig too hard, sis" I mentioned right when entering the bedroom.

I was holding Sebastian's hand and saw the smiles on my best friend and MG's faces.

Sebastian smirked at me when he heard me talk. "We have our answer right here." I admitted as I looked at Sebastian for a moment and smiled at him and then to Lizzie and MG.

Sebastian and I walked more into our room and continued to stand while holding hands. Lizzie and MG explained the plan and so far we still had nothing.

The two of them were sitting down as Sebastain and I stood right in front of them. He stood a little bit behind me and kept leaning towards me each time I spoke.

"Sis, we gotta find a way for this to work out. I'm not going to give up on this so soon. Isn't there something we could find, maybe in a book or something?"

Lizzie liked that idea, she nodded her head a little.

"Yeah, you know that's not a bad idea, sis. We could look in some of them but I'm not sure which ones exactly." Hearing that made me frown a little.

MG suggested maybe having Hope's help but I didn't want a lot of people's help on this.

And plus, she was busy helping Josie with the dance decorations and getting it ready.

I tried not to worry but fear was starting to take over me. Sebastian could feel my emotions, which I had no idea that vampires could feel but it honestly was really cool and helpful.

When I was lost in my thoughts, I felt him gently touch my shoulder.

Feeling that made me snap out of my mind and back into reality.

I looked back at him with a smile on my face and blush again. He giggled and smiled at me after seeing my reaction.

The discussion plan went on for a few minutes more.

"This might be a wild rhetorical question to think about but was anyone near blood of any sort recently? Within the past few days?" Lizzie brought up and hearing what she asked made me look up at her and MG widened his eyes a little.

He started to speak.

"I think so. The other day Kaleb and I were downstairs at the school and saw this fountain that had blood around it. On the inside the blood was dried up. We honestly thought it was a decoration. Kaleb and I moved it out of its place to bring it up just in case we needed it for anything, like the dance or whatever."

As MG was explaining everything, I was pulled out of my listening mode to him when I felt tapping on my upper body like my shoulders and in my hair a little bit.

I gasped softly and turned around and saw Sebastian playing with my hair and touching my shoulders. He smiled at me.

"Sebastian, stop! This is no time to get distracted." I smiled and giggled.

He then nodded his head and turned away from me for a second as I tried to listen more to MG but felt something tickle up and down my arms and elbows.

Sebastian chuckled to himself and continued to tickle my elbows more which made me blush even more and even squeal a little bit.

Sebastian and I's fluffiness session caused both Lizzie and MG to look at us. They both giggled at us.

"Okay, okay easy you two!" MG chuckled as he shook his head in a funny way and Lizzie kept giggling too.

Hearing MG say that made me a blushing mess all over my face. Sebastian kept smiling to himself and then he sat down in a chair right behind me and next to Lizzie and MG.

"This might be a weird question, Sebastian but is there a reason you're here?" Lizzie asked curiously.

My eyes widened a little and turned to Sebastian. "Is there anything that you want from us?"

He nodded his head and then got up from his chair to stand next to me like before.

I looked at him with wandering eyes, my brain thinking about all the possible things that he was going to say.

Both Lizzie and MG were looking at Sebastian too.

"I want you three to find my body. You see, a long time ago, an incident happened to me, which led to this witch casting a spell on me without me fully knowing it and that's where I fell into a deep sleep. My body is somewhere in this box but I think you can find it. I may know where it is."

Sebastian explained and when he was done he began to play with my hair a little bit.

"No, yeah that makes sense. If we're able to find his body then maybe that way everyone will be able to see Sebastian for good?" MG suggested as Lizzie agreed.

"That will definitely work. But what could we use to wake him up?" As Lizzie was talking,my focus was on Sebastian.

I giggled and then tried to move his hand away from my hair. I started to do the same thing with him, by touching his hair too.

"What is your obsession with playing with my hair, Sebastian?" He giggled to himself and continued to play with my hair.

"Because it's fun, Mackenzie" Hearing him say that made me blush and then I started to play with his hair which then turned into a tickle fight between him and I for about a minute.

I squealed and giggled a lot as did Sebastian which made my best friend and MG to look at us.

They watched the even more fluffy moment unravel in front of them and then Sebastian and I stopped and I apologized for that to Lizzie and MG, who kept giggling after.

"I'll jump right in and say that I came into contact with a small amount of blood, just enough to reach your mind of yours and now your twin sister and your vampire friend. This only happens with weak minded people." Sebastian admitted.

I widened my eyes and gasped softly. I looked at him with a little bit of tears in my eyes.

"I'm weak minded, Sebastian?" Lizzie stood up and shook her head, disagreeing with what I asked.

"No, you're not Kenz! I can promise you that's not true." I smiled softly at her and Sebastian wrapped his arm around me, causing me to blush once again.

Eee! I love it!!!

"The blood that was near was disgusting, but it still managed to work its magic on me." I raised my eyebrow in a flirty way and booped his nose.

"We'll find your body and wake you up, Sebastian" I then turned my head to face Lizzie and MG.

"Can't we?" Lizzie and MG looked at me and then looked at each other for a second.

Meanwhile, back at the main lobby of the school. Josie was able to get Hope and Landon's help with the spring formal preparations.

Josie and Hope were carrying a table and moving it to a spot in the room. They put it down and giggled to themselves.

"Great work, Hope. Can you tell Landon that he needs to find those balloons and get them ready? They should be in the supply room" Josie asked and Hope nodded her head yes in agreement.

A few minutes later, Landon appeared and was carrying the balloons and asked Josie where she wanted those to go.

"You can put them right over there, thanks Landon" They continued to get ready for a little bit longer.

"Have you heard anything about Kenzie and the others?' Hope asked curiously as Josie shook her head no.

"Not since this morning. I have a feeling that Kenzie's busy with Sebastian. But they should be here soon, to the dance I mean" Josie said as Hope nodded her head.

"That's exciting! Sebastian sounds very interesting and it's cute how your sister is all into him" Hope smiled and continued to help Josie and everyone else get ready for the party.

"Aw, right! I've never seen Kenzie so in love with anyone before. I think she has too much of Lizzie in her. Lizzie's also boy crazy too. I think it's cute that both my twin sisters have that in common. Anyways, let's not get distracted. We have a party to get ready for!" Josie exclaimed and Hope smiled and nodded her head.

They smiled at each other and continued on with their busyness.

We went back to the school's basement and surprisingly found Sebastian's real body in this old casket type box that had cobwebs and spider webs on it.

The smell of his body in the casket was horrible and I felt bad but it's what happens when you've been put under a deep sleep for years.

Seeing Sebastian's body in the casket was a little intimidating because he wasn't like himself.

His skin was grayish black with lines spreading across all over his face and body. Sebastian was sitting down on a crate a little bit away from his actual body's coffin.

I stood right next to him as Lizzie was standing next to MG who was also standing next to Kaleb. He was the one who opened Sebastian's casket.

"Looks like I found his body, he's real alright. And boy does it smell bad" Kaleb said as he held his hands up in the air a little bit. Sebastian chuckled to himself.

"Oh, would you relax? You're a weakling when it comes to smells and odors." MG disagreed and shot back at Sebastian.

"Shut up, your face looks like beef jerky in that state." I giggled to myself and playfully hit MG, signaling him to be nice.

Kaleb heard MG talk but apparently couldn't see Sebastian.

Oh no! Not again.

Either Kaleb really couldn't see Sebastian or Lizzie didn't tell him either.

Kaleb heard our plan and wanted to help us, which was nice but he had no idea who Sebastian and I had hoped that he would soon.

"Oh, is Sebastian here? Can you tell him to talk to me?" Sebastian watched and listened to what Kaleb asked and then looked at MG.

"As much as I would love to do that, but in my state I can only appear to fragile minded people, like you. Remember?" I shook my head after hearing what Sebastian said.

"I don't like how you said that, Seb" Just then MG continued to talk to Kaleb.

"He says that you have to be on the same spiritual wavelength to communicate.

"Oh this is maddening. The disgusting blood that you two turnips..." Sebastian began to talk then immediately paused and glanced over at Lizzie and I.

"Except for you two, you two girls aren't turnips." He chirped and then faced back to both MG and Kaleb.

Lizzie and I raised our eyebrows when we heard Sebastian call our friend's vegetable names.

"...Moved on me was poor. But with enough fresh blood, I will most definitely be awake." Sebastian finished as he glanced down at his deep sleeping body.

MG laughed softly and shook his head in disagreement.

"Yeah, no way we're doing that, sorry Kenzie." I frowned at him and then looked at my best friend.

Kaleb became confused again. "Doing what, MG?"

"Please can you wake him up?" I begged them both as Lizzie began to talk.

"Don't worry, sis. We will wake him up. This isn't up to MG, it's up to us and we will do that." Lizzie comforted me as she gently rubbed my shoulder.

I smiled at her softly and our attention was brought back at Kaleb, who was still mega confused as to what was happening.

"Come on you three, what's he saying?" MG looked at Kaleb and held his finger out a little bit towards him.

"Hold on. We're still figuring that out." Kaleb agreed and nodded his head as he took a seat in front of Lizzie and I.

Sebastian began to explain that if we wake him up from his deep sleep then he would be set free and the spell would be broken.

MG doesn't like the sound of that but explained to Kaleb that we need to wake Sebastian up.

Kaleb nodded his head in agreement to that and Lizzie chimed in quickly.

"Which is what we most definitely are doing, you guys." I smiled softly at her and then smiled at Sebastian who smiled back at me.

A few minutes later, we're found in dad's office of the school because MG and Kaleb thought the whole Sebastian thing was suspicious so they wanted to get his opinion on it.

I really hope dad allows me to date a really old vampire. Fingers crossed.

My dad was sitting at his desk chair and raised his eyebrow.

"Let me get this straight. A vampire from another decade contacted one of my daughters and he has a plan on coming back from his "deep sleep" and that's having all of you try and wake him up?"

Lizzie and I's dad laughed for a second as I shook my head as Lizzie, MG, and Kaleb looked to the ground.

"Unless there's more proof to the story, more evidence. I just say let him sleep for a bit longer." I covered my eyes with my hand for a moment and then shot up out of my chair.

"Aw, please come on dad! We have no idea why he was put under that sleeping spell in the first place."

My dad was quick to respond back to me. "Neither do I, Kenz. but you have to understand that no one's put under a sleeping spell for being innocent or too nice for no reason."

My best friend and sister was quick to chime in. "But this doesn't mean or show that he's guilty of doing anything wrong. And so what if he is? What crime equals that kind of time?"

Our dad nodded his head but it still seemed like he was against Sebastian. NO!!!

"Maybe in terms of possibly feeding on a couple thousand people? He is a vampire after all. Who knows what he could have done?" My dad mentioned to all of us.

MG had a sudden turn around on this. First he was against Sebastain, and now he wants to help?

I mean I'm happy with that but that's a little odd. I won't question it though.

MG, Lizzie, and I said that we were all with Kaleb and on his side with everything that he said and my dad basically told us that he wouldn't do anything yet and just wait until you find out more about him.

"Would you be mad at me if I went against what you said and did that anyway, dad?" I asked in a soft tone, making him widen his eyes a little.

He took a deep breath and shook his head and then looked at me. "You've always been rebellious. I just want you to be safe but at the same time I wouldn't be too mad if you did that, Kenzie. Just be careful, alright?"

Hearing my dad say that to me made me smile my big smile and then smiled at Lizzie, who was also smiling at me.

I then nodded my head in agreement with what my dad said.

"Yes. I will definitely do that, don't worry, dad" I smiled more and hugged my dad right before leaving the room with Lizzie, MG, and Kaleb.

As we all exit the room, I pull my best friend aside and slowly walk with her in the hallway.

"Thank you for helping me get dad's approval on this whole thing, sis." Lizzie looked down at me and smiled.

"But part of me is still nervous. What if we aren't able to wake Sebastian up. What if what we do doesn't work?" I went on in an anxious rant.

Lizzie calmed me down by resting her hand on my shoulder. "Kenz. Relax. Trust the process and leave everything to me, your best friend and wonderful sister. I will help figure everything out, and so will everyone else. It will work. Trust me."

Listening to everything that my sister said really helped me calm down. I smiled softly at her and nodded my head again.

I thanked her for her help and she and I both shared a sisterly hug. We then traveled to our bedroom dorm room and found our other twin sister, Josie getting ready for the dance.

She was looking at herself in the mirror in the room with the dress she planned on wearing in front of her.

When she saw the both of us, Josie turned around and smiled. We smiled back at her and got ready for the dance. I pulled out my dress that I planned on wearing and laid it down on my bed.

I then began to tell Joise about all of the updates on what's been going on with Sebastian.

I told her that we're going to wake him up out of that deep sleeping spell and by doing that it will hopefully wake him up and have him be back to life for good. Josie was surprised to hear that.

She didn't expect to have all of that happen. "Woah. A deep sleeping spell? Did Sebastian explain why?" I shook my head no.

"Not really. He didn't explain the full details but I think it's kind of suspicious that he was put under that spell for no reason. He probably didn't deserve that." Josie agreed with me and nodded her head and then started to put on some earrings.

Lizzie was doing the same thing too.

"Well, whatever the outcome, I wish you and Sebastian nothing but the best in your relationship and if you need my help, please let me know and I'll come running. I promise." Josie said with a smile and winked.

I smiled at her too and her, Lizzie, and I shared a group hug and giggled and continued to get ready for the dance.

A few minutes later, MG came around and knocked on the bedroom dorm room frame.

The three of us turned our heads and looked at MG. He smiled for a second and then motioned to Lizzie and I.

"Hey girls. You all look beautiful. If it's alright, Kenzie and Lizzie are needed for a few moments. Kaleb needs your help with something regarding Sebastian. It shouldn't take too long and we should be back in time for the dance." I widened my eyes a little and nodded my head as did Lizzie.

The two of us began to walk out of the room, quickly following MG. Josie nodded her head and waved and watched us leave.

When we arrived back to the downstairs part of the school again, the room was dark but had a little bit of light from the torches in the corners of the room.

Kaleb had opened Sebastian's real body casket back up again and began to spread out all of the fresh blood that he got and spread it all around and near Sebastian's casket.

It was kind of hard to see what Kaleb was doing but I had a feeling it was going to be very interesting in the end.

"Rise and shine, brother vampire." Kaleb said as continued to move the blood around.

He then put the straw that connected to the blood bag near Sebastian's actual mouth and began to wait for the result, if anything right away.

Lizzie and MG were silent as was I. "I hope you know what you're doing, Kaleb" I softly whispered to him.

He told me that there's nothing for me to worry about and began to call out more to Sebastian.

"We're all here to talk to you, if you show yourself then all of us will listen to you." I looked down at the floor in silence and then a few minutes later, I felt my head shoot up and look back at one of the corners in the room behind me and listened to my heartbeat getting louder by the second.

I gently tapped Lizzie's arm quickly and whispered to her.

"Holy crap! It worked! He's here sis. Sebastian's here." Lizzie looked at me and then looked at where Sebastian was as did MG. Sebastian began to talk.

"Hello, Mackenzie! And the rest of you. What are you all doing here again?" I couldn't speak.

Kaleb took charge. "We're here because we want you to tell us what we want to hear/ find out"

"Is that so? What do you wish to know?"Sebastian mysteriously replied softly and with curiosity echoing through his voice.

"Well first off, what kind of vampire you are. Are you the one who feeds on animals or humans?" Kaleb confidently asked.

At first, Sebastian stood in the shadows and began to walk more, stepping out of the shadows, making it easier for everyone to see him.

Kaleb was amazed because now he can see Sebastian for real this time, as can everyone else.

Sebastian walked more towards Kaleb and then sat down a little bit.

"I am a man who has made mistakes, but if you can wake me up fully, I promise I won't make them again."

Kaleb had a confused look on his face. He then shook his head and started to kneel down and try to close the casket.

All of a sudden, I feel Sebastian's arm resting on my shoulder. I gasped softly as he looked at me while raising his eyebrow.

"Isn't that what he wanted to hear, Mackenzie?" I tried speaking but the closer Sebastian got to me, the love effects became stronger than ever.

Kaleb shook his head and said that he wasn't interested anymore in waking Sebastian up, and how he had this small suspicion that he was lying about who he is.

I got up and shook my head in disagreement. I was going to say something to Kaleb but then Sebastian giggled to himself which caught my attention.

"I don't think you know the full story. Allow me to explain and that is that I fed on many humans back in my day and one day I lost my way and couldn't control it anymore. Apparently, this witch found out what I was doing, and told everyone that I was a danger, threat to the village and put a stop to what I was doing and that was by putting me under a deep sleeping spell for years and years." Hearing Sebastian explain more about what happened started to worry me again.

Was Sebastian being truthful? Could we trust him? I really hope he was and that we could.

Sebastian heard my heartbeat again, stronger, faster, and louder than before. He gently rested his hand on my arm and squeezed it softly.

Showing me that he was comforting me. I saw what he was doing and smiled softly at him while gently resting my hand on top of his.

His eye contact with me was strong to the core, once I felt it I couldn't look away, the way his glowing ocean eyes sparkled and the way he smiled at me really had me hooked :)

"Love, I can hear your heartbeat. Are you alright?"He asked softly.

I nodded my head and continued to look at him some more.

"Yes, I just want to make sure I know that you're telling the truth and that I can fully trust you, Sebastian."

He chuckled softly to himself and continued to smile at me as his hand continued to rest on my arm.

"That was the past. I can fully confirm that I am not like that anymore, please believe me, Mackenzie. You have nothing to worry about." Hearing him say that put me at a calmer state and smiled more at him.

"I believe you. And I'll always believe you. Thank you for confirming that. Now, come on. We have a dance to attend to." I exclaimed with a bright smile as Lizzie and MG giggled at me and before I knew it, my face burned from blushing after feeling Sebastain kiss my cheek.

I didn't expect him to do that but honestly I LOVED it haha. I looked at him as my eyes widened a little and continued to blush and smile at him and he did the same.

We then said bye to Sebastian, even though he said he would see me later at the dance.

I wonder what he was going to do and where he was going?

Lizzie, MG, Kaleb, and I arrived at the dance. There were people everywhere throughout the room.

Music playing from speakers and a table of food and drinks. Josie and her team did a fantastic job.

I was really proud of her and everything she did. MG and Kaleb had a mini dance battle with each other, which was very entertaining to watch.

I hung out with Lizzie the entire time and chatted with her and a few other of our friends.

We even told Hope,Landon, and Josie that Sebastain is one hundred percent real and are definitely going to continue our research on him as the days go on. Hope and everyone thought that was very cool and exciting.

They told us that if we need any help with any of that to let them know and they would definitely help.

We continued on with the dance even more.

Meanwhile, back in another area of the school, our good friend Wade had finished with something and was finally able to head to the dance.

As he was walking to the school dance area, he felt a presence behind him so he stopped to turn around and saw Sebastain looking at him.

"Is your name Wade?" Sebastian asked softly. Wade raised his eyebrow and then nodded his head in agreement.

"Who are you? Do you need anything for the party or something?" Wade asked as he looked at Sebastian. The sly and mischievous vampire shook his head and began to walk towards Wade a little bit.

"No, no, no. Not what I need. What I do need Wade is, a friend"

Not really sure what that meant, Wade slowly nodded his head and told Sebastian that he would be his friend.

Seb, I love you and I'm watching you. Don't do anything silly!

As that was all happening, Lizzie and I had a great and wonderful time during the dance.

Dancing, singing and laughing the entire time, making memories that would last forever.

The dance was slowly winding down and a couple people left and went their own ways, like Hope and Landon and even MG and Kaleb. Lizzie, Josie, and I got a call from one of our closest friends in another part of town.

They knew about our school dance and wanted us to give them a school tour as all of the partying was going on still.

We used this magic mirror that allowed you to call anyone and they would see you and what was happening.

Pretty cool, right? I held the mirror as both my beautiful twin sisters followed behind and next to me as we laughed and showed them our school.

Our friend had a big smile on her face and laughed along with us.

"Don't mind everyone here! I think the party got to them a little bit too much haha." I said to our friend through the mirror and then showed her what was going on.

Our friend was in awe. She loved our school and wished that she could attend. "Do you have wild parties like this at your school, Greta?" Lizzie asked and Greta laughed and shook her head.

"No, our parties never get this wild. But it seems fun. I should come visit one day." She exclaimed as we all smiled and agreed with what Greta said.

"You know we most definitely will have you do that, don't you worry." Josie said as she smiled at Greta.

We continued to walk around and showed Greta more of our school. "You do realize you three go to the coolest school of all time, right you guys?"

We smiled at what she said to us and then all of a sudden she noticed something off a little bit behind us.

It was a person standing a few feet away from me and my two twin sisters, but we failed to notice him until Greta said something.

"You should probably tell that to the mysterious good looking guy in the black coat behind you."

As soon as I heard what Greta was saying, I turned the magic mirror around to face me and raised my eyebrow at her, as did Lizzie and Josie.

"Who are you talking about, Greta?" Lizzie asked with a confused tone of voice.

"The guy staring at Kenzie." Greta said as she continued to look and as soon as we heard what she said, I gave the magic mirror to Lizzie to hold and I started to turn around to see who the guy was, as did Lizzie and Josie.

Low and behold, it was my future soon to be vampire boyfriend, I hope lol Sebastian.

His eye contact with me was strong. I couldn't look away from him but was really confused as to what he was doing and what he did.

As soon as he saw me, and my two twin sisters, he smirked this romantic smirk at me as he was wiping away what looked to be blood off of his lips.

I didn't know what to say. I was speechless but not in a romantic way this time, even though Sebastian looked smoking hot, he always does haha.

After he licked his fingers and lips, he continued to look at me and then blew me a kiss and then used his vamp speed and whooshed away into the night.

When he left, I looked up at Lizzie and then to Josie. Our friend Greta said that she would call us back later.

Lizzie and Josie rested their hands on my shoulders as I was still processing everything that just happened with Sebastian.

Did someone wake him up fully? Did he attack one of our friends?

Oh no... Not Wade! He might have woken him up or Sebastian must have fed on him.

Either way, I need to get to the bottom of this. I need answers now and I'm going to get them. All I need to do first is figure out what to do now.

Let's see how this goes.

-End of story episode 4 :)

This was one of my favorite episodes to write! It was so much fun playing around with this episode and you can expect a lot more like this in the future upcoming episode stories. I hope you enjoy this and I'll see you in the next one :)

#Legacies #legacies fanfiction #sebastian legacies #sizzie #lizzie saltzman #hope mikaelson #thomas doherty

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c-e-d-dreamer · 3 years

Text

For AU Day for @nessianweek I thought I’d test out this College AU that’s been bouncing around my brain because I’m College AU trash that I’m considering writing a proper/chaptered fic for. Hope you enjoy! :)

Most days, University of Prythian feels like every other public college. All brooding brick buildings and precisely placed green spaces and students loudly milling about in droves. A group of frat boys throwing around a frisbee on the common. A group of girls in bikinis tops taking advantage of the late August sun. Shouts of “oh my god, hey” and “how was your summer” just barely drowning out crying parents dropping their kids off. It’s migraine inducing.

Nesta throws the car into park, the old Chevy only groaning slightly as it settles after the trek up to campus. She hears the doors open and close, but she just grips the wheel and closes her eyes, taking in three steadying breaths and hoping the oxygen can find a way to calm her spiking blood. In through the nose, out through the mouth. It’s a new year. After everything that happened last year, technically up should be the only direction. She hopes. Once Nesta feels like she has a hold of her frayed nerves, she slides out of the driver’s seat to find Feyre already excitedly pulling her bags from the trunk, settling them on the pavement next to the car. Elain comes up beside their youngest sister, pulling her own suitcases out.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off closer to your dorm, Elain?”

“I’m in Oakwood this year. It’s not that far a walk.”

Nesta nods, grabbing the last of Feyre’s bags and closing the trunk. Before Elain can wheel off with her bags, Feyre’s wrapping an arm around each of her sisters’ shoulders, a wide smile plastered across her face under her U of P baseball cap.

“The Archeron sisters are back together again!”

“Well, until Nesta graduates,” Elain reminds Feyre.

“Maybe she’ll do a fifth year, just for us.”

Nesta just raises an eyebrow at her sisters’ antics. A fifth year? Impossible. Not only because she takes her studies very seriously, keeping her GPA well above the average, but because the idea of spending an extra, unnecessary year in this place sounds like her own personal circle of hell. The sooner she can finish her degree and get on with the rest of her life, the better.

“Alright,” Feyre concedes. “Bad suggestion.”

With a wave and a promise to meet up for dinner later, Elain is off towards Oakwood Hall. Nesta hoists one of Feyre’s duffle bags onto her shoulder, following her youngest sister toward her own dorm hall. As she steps up onto the sidewalk, though, her shoulder collides with a firm body, Feyre’s bag almost falling out of her grip.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going,” Nesta seethes.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” a voice calls in return, already swallowed up by the groups of students moving in and out of the dorm hall.

Nesta rolls her eyes at the saccharine nickname, resettling the duffle on her shoulder and catching up to Feyre. Her sister’s dorm reminds Nesta of her own freshmen dorm from back in the day, simple and small, all white walls and plain wood furniture. Despite the things already in the room, Feyre’s roommate is nowhere to be seen.

“Do you need help with anything else?” Nesta asks, dropping the bag she had been holding onto Feyre’s bed.

“I should be good. Orientation starts in a few hours.”

A moment passes as the two sisters stare at one another. They aren’t exactly the most affectionate of families, hugging and that sort of thing. So with a small nod and smile, Nesta is on her way, back out of the dorm hall and to her car.

Luckily, the off campus apartment she’s staying in this year isn’t that long a drive, and when she walks through the door, Emerie is already inside, leaning against their kitchen counter, a fork poised between her fingers and what looks like a slice of chocolate cake perched on a plate.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Emerie drawls, but the smile tugging at the corner of her lips gives away the teasing nature.

“Hope you brought enough to share,” Nesta replies, eying up Emerie’s plate.

“Do I look like I’m made of money? Go to the dining hall and get your own.”

“When’s Gwyn meant to get in?”

“Not until later this week. I’m surprised you’re on campus this early.”

“Feyre has orientation this week. Plus I need to hit up the bookstore. I have Williams this semester.”

“That man seriously needs to get that stick out of his ass when it comes to having the “right edition” for his class.”

“Tell me about it,” Nesta sighs, sneaking her hand into the utensils drawer and then snagging a bite of Emerie’s cake before the female has a chance to react.

“Hey!” Emerie calls after Nesta as she retreats to her room. “You’re lucky I like you, Nesta Archeron!”

~ * * * ~

The campus bookstore is mostly filled with parents and baby-faced freshmen trying to decide which University of Prythian gear to spend all their money on, but once Nesta pushes back to where the shelves of textbooks live, the throngs of bodies thin out. She can’t help but run her finger along the spines of the books, all lined perfectly along the shelves. Each spine is a different color, a different texture, bold or curvy font declaring its title to the world, and while many are textbooks, that feel under her fingers is still a comfort. Like a heartbeat lives between the soft linen pages and beats in time with her own.

A turn around the corner and Nesta finds the section of books she needs. She scans the different titles, and when her eyes finally land on the one she needs, she can’t help the long sigh that looses from her lungs. Of course, it’s on the very top shelf. Nesta reaches her arm up, stretching up onto her tip-toes until the pads of her fingers just brush the spine of the book, trying to inch the book closer to the edge where she could get it down.

“Need some help, sweetheart?”

Nesta falls back on her heels in surprise, the voice and nickname snagging on her memory. She whips her head around to find a guy leaning against the shelf, arms crossed casually across his chest and a smug smile plastered across his face. He’s tall with broad shoulders, dark curls pulled into a bun at the back of his head. Nesta’s eyes can’t help but snag on the lines of ink dancing across the skin of his arms and peeking out of the open cuts of his bro-tank. When her eyes dance back to his face, his hazel eyes are alight like he had clocked and was delighted in what she had been doing. It makes her brain crash back into action, a scowl settling easily across her features.

“You were the one who bumped into me earlier. Outside of Somerset Hall.”

“That was you?” the guy asks, not even being subtle as he checks Nesta out. “My apologies. Let me make it up to you by taking you out to dinner.”

Nesta doesn’t even deen that with a response. With a scoff, she turns back toward the front of the bookstore. She can come back later for the book she needs, ideally when this insufferable man with his cocky grins and overconfidence is nowhere to be seen. As she weaves her way through the shelves and toward the exit, she pointedly ignores the heavy set of footsteps she can hear trailing behind her.

“At least tell me your name.”

“No.”

“No? Well that’s definitely an interesting name. My name’s Cassian by the way.”

“I don’t recall asking.”

“You didn’t have to. Your eyes were asking for you.”

That has Nesta halting in her steps. She whirls around and clearly her sudden stop has this Cassian thrown off, his own steps stumbling. Good. She likes having the upperhand.

“Does that line actually work for you?”

“Actually, I usually have to use less words. My ruggedly handsome looks do all the talking.”

“Rugged? Sure. But handsome?” Nesta pointedly rakes her eyes down his figure, and when they meet back with hazel, Cassian’s cock-sure grin slips the barest hint at the corner. “I don’t think so. You looked like you crawled out of a dumpster.”

Nesta expects his smile to fall fully at the jab, and she hopes it’s enough for him to leave her alone, but instead that smile is still stubbornly there. Even worse, it twists and shifts into a smirk, like this is all some kind of fun game. It makes Nesta’s heart give an extra kick in her chest, and before she can even think about dwelling on what that means, she turns on her heel.

“Goodbye, Cassian.”

“Goodbye, sweetheart.”

~ * * * ~

On Thursday, Nesta finds herself at the dining hall. It’s a little late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so luckily the place is blessedly not too crowded, just a few pockets of students talking and laughing at various tables. She’s standing in front of the pastry display when her phone starts buzzing incessantly, and she slides it out of her pocket to find Feyre going off in their sister group chat.

I just met the most attractive man I have ever seen

I’m not fucking around. HIS FACE

And he called me darling

He asked me to drinks tomorrow night!

“I personally prefer the blueberry muffins.”

Nesta snaps her attention to her left to find Cassian standing there, that same wide and cocky grin from the bookstore settled across his face. His hair is down today, soft curls framing his face and brushing against his cotton tee covered shoulders.

“You again,” Nesta sighs.

“Isn’t it funny how we keep meeting?”

“Funny isn’t the word I would use.”

“It’s almost like the Universe keeps pushing us together.”

“Or you’re stalking me.”

“Maybe you’re stalking me,” Cassian says, tossing a wink Nesta’s way.

“And why would I do that?”

“I thought we already established the fact I’m ruggedly handsome?”

“Pretty sure the only thing we’ve established is that you’re full of yourself.”

Nesta turns and snags one of the wrapped chocolate chip muffins out of the display case, fully prepared to end this conversation and enjoy her snack in peace.

“You forgot something the other day, you know.”

Nesta looks back toward Cassian where he has an outstretched hand between them. There, clutched between his fingers, is the book she went to the campus bookstore to pick up. She blinks a few times at the wide script proclaiming Art Through the Ages, the cogs in her brain tripping over one another and trying to comprehend the sight before her. Her hand begins to reach out to take the book before she snaps it back to her side, her eyes locking back on Cassian’s face.

“You got the book I needed?”

“The perfect excuse to find and talk to you again.”

“Well, I can’t accept it.”

“Then you can Venmo me,” Cassian says, leaning into Nesta’s space and pressing the book into her hands. “And your Venmo will have your name, won’t it? So it’s a win-win.”

This close up, Nesta can see all the green vines and gold flecks that make up his hazel eyes. The way his nose sits just off kilter like it’s been broken and set not quite right and the stubble pushing through along his jawline. She can feel the warmth that seems to radiate off his person in rolling waves. It’s a bit overwhelming.

“It’s Nesta,” she offers, taking a step back.

“Nesta,” Cassian says, like he’s testing the weight of her name on his tongue. “Well, Nesta, how about that dinner? The offer still stands. Or we could skip straight to dessert.”

Nesta lets out a snort at the comment. She’s sure the sound isn’t particularly attractive, but she can’t help it. The audacity of this man.

“Only in your dreams,” Nesta quips, turning on her heel and heading toward the register to pay for her muffin.

“Is that a promise?”

She pretends she doesn’t hear him as she swipes her meal card and makes for the dining hall exit. She can feel Cassian’s eyes tracking her the whole way.

Later, when Nesta gets back to her room and is thumbing through Art Through the Ages, she finds a note folded up between the pages. She opens up the paper to find an unfamiliar scrawl, simple black lines spelling out ‘Cassian’ and ten digits. She hesitates for only a moment before crumbling it up and tossing it in the trash.

~ * * * ~

Classes start up on Monday, and Nesta is ready to throw herself back into her books, notes, and work. She has a jammed packed schedule this semester, knocking out the rest of her general education credit requirements needed to graduate on time. The perfect distraction to keep her mind busy. At least, she was able to squeeze in enough classes that actually interest her, including a course on Early Women Writers.

On Tuesday, she walks into the science building and her chemistry class. She finds a lab table a few spots back from the front, settling onto one of the stools. She pulls her textbook and laptop from her bag and is just typing in her laptop password when she feels a presence behind her.

“I guess I should thank you for coming through on your promise. The best dreams I’ve ever had.”

Nesta can’t stop the pained sigh that pulls its way out her lungs. She rubs a hand down her face before turning to the right, just in time to find Cassian sliding into the stool beside her. He has another cotton tee on, his hair once again pulled up into a bun style.

“Please don’t tell me you’re taking this class.”

Cassian reaches into his backpack and pulls out his own chemistry textbook, holding it up as some sort of proof.

“The Universe strikes again.”

“So you keep saying, but clearly the Universe has bad taste.”

Cassian throws his head back and laughs at the comment, surprising Nesta with his reaction and earning them a few curious looks from the rest of the class. The sound is deep and warm, seeming to radiate from deep within his chest. His shoulders shake like his large frame isn’t enough to contain the sound, and Nesta finds herself staring at the crinkles that appear beside his eyes.

“Alright, class. Welcome to chemistry.”

A hush falls over the whole room as the professor strides in the door and to the front of the room. She hands a small stack of syllabus sheets to each person sitting at the front to be passed back and a blank seating chart to fill in is passed between the tables. The professor goes through the syllabus for much of the allotted class time, and Nesta makes notes in the margins of hers about the grading system and circles the important deadlines she’ll need to remember.

“I hope you’re comfortable with where you’re sitting and who you’re sitting with,” the professor addresses the class an hour later. “They’ll be your lab partner for the rest of the semester.”

Nesta wants to groan as she buries her face in her hands. How did this become her life? As if simply seeing Cassian’s insufferable face three times a week for this class isn’t enough, now they actually have to interact and work with one another. If Cassian’s theory about this being the Universe's doing is correct, Nesta is pretty sure the Universe is just laughing in her face now.

“Well, would you look at that, Nes,” Cassian drawls from beside her. “Another point for the Universe.”

“I’m going to murder you in your sleep,” Nesta mutters from between her fingers.

“As long as we get to cuddle a little beforehand.”

“Cute,” Nesta says, putting as much dry sarcasm as she can behind the single word.

“You know, lab partner,” Cassian offers while he stands up and slings his backpack across his shoulders. “I think it’s going to be a great semester.”

#my fic #acotar #nessianweek2021 #nessian #nesta x cassian #nesta archeron #cassian

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idnek83 · 3 years

Text

By Your Side - chapter 2/3

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham

Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, No Game Spoilers, Coming Out, Hurt/Comfort, Verbal and Physical Abuse, Homophobia, Other Tags To Be Added

Summary: The epilogue of Aid, in which Soda finally comes out to those around him, and accomplishes a goal he’s had ever since that fateful day in the beach house.

Chapter: 1, 2

Read on Ao3

This Chapter: Soda comes out to his father and things go about as poorly as one would expect. But maybe he hasn't lost nearly as much as he thinks.

Please mind the tags. This chapter contains non-graphic depictions of verbal and physical abuse. If you don’t want to read it but would like to know what happened, please read the summary in the ending notes on AO3

_____________________

Coming out to his friends had been so easy that he had almost convinced himself that coming out to his dad could be easy too.

It wasn’t that bad really, he only hit him a few times, he’d been beaten worse for breaking things in the garage.

He was glad he told Gundham not to come though.

“You’re already such a useless fuckin’ disappointment-”

Really, watching how Gundham would react to his father’s abuse would probably have been way harder to take.

“Now you ain’t even gonna have a kid and continue the family? Too busy suckin’ dick like a disgusting-”

At this point his dad was pretty much just repeating himself. Earlier, Soda had tried to appease his father by pointing out that he was actually still interested in women, so technically he might still have a kid someday.

But his father wasn’t listening, so he gave up.

He didn’t really want kids anyways.

He was too scared he’d end up like his dad.

“-outta my house before I throw you out!”

Oh, that was new. He probably should have been listening better. He really was useless.

“What?”

“I said you best get your ass outta my house real quick, or I’m gonna throw ya out, and don’t even think ‘bout coming back unless you’re ready to put this gay shit behind you.”

His father’s entire face was red, a few ugly veins stood out on his forehead, and he looked cartoonishly angry.

Soda couldn’t help but think it was almost funny.

“Can I, um, can I grab some of my stuff first?”

Soda wasn’t really sure how he was acting so calm, it always happened when things with his dad got really bad. Calm didn’t stop his father from hitting him, but it usually stopped him from hitting harder.

His father’s eyes narrowed and his shoulders tensed in a way Soda had learned meant he should start preparing to be hit again, but to his surprise his father just turned and stormed away after mumbling “Ya got 15 fucking minutes,” followed by a string of insults Soda knew were supposed to be hurtful, but hardly affected him anymore.

It’s hard to feel rain drops when you’re already soaked.

He walked to his room an sat on the bed.

He just stared.

What was he supposed to do? Pack? Most his stuff was already in his dorm at Hope’s Peak. Why had he asked to get his stuff when there wasn’t even anything important here?

He looked vacantly around his room.

It was pretty sparse. Just some dirty clothes thrown around on old worn-out furniture. There was a picture of him and his dad on the nightstand.

Maybe he should take that? People always take photos with them in movies and shit, so that’s probably what he’s supposed to do, right?

He threw it out the window instead.

It probably should have made him feel something, but he just felt numb.

He grabbed a pillowcase and stared filling it with his clothes and some of the random junk he had sitting around, not really paying attention to what he was doing.

Was this the last time he would ever be in this room? In this house?

The thought made him freeze.

He was about to lose the only home he’d ever had.

He swallowed a lump in his throat and laid down on his bed, tried to remember the feeling of it and the image of his ceiling.

It was stupid, but he felt like he would miss staring at that ceiling, suddenly every little bump and scratch felt like an important part of who he was. He had stared at it his whole life and now he just… wouldn’t be able to ever again.

He felt like he was upset about the wrong thing, but he couldn’t stop the tears from coming to his eyes anyway.

He was definitely going to miss that ceiling.

There was a knock at the door.

Shit, had it been 15 minutes already?

He stood and grabbed his sack of stuff, wiped his face, and opened the door to his room for what was probably the last time.

No one was there.

He checked his phone to see if his time was actually up, maybe he was just hearing things.

He had 12 missed calls from Gundham and twice as many unanswered texts.

There was another knock at the door.

Not his room door.

The front door.

Oh god, no.

He ran to the front door and pulled it open. He wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Gundham standing there looking both incredibly concerned and incredibly angry.

He was surprised when he didn’t immediately shove both himself and his boyfriend out the door like he had been planning to though.

Something about seeing Gundham just then, seeing the man he felt so safe around right as he was losing his home broke him, and instead of pushing Gundham back and away from the building like he should, he wrapped his arms around him and choked a sob into his chest.

Gundham held him tightly, and for a moment Soda didn’t feel so lost.

And then his dad found them.

“And this is the fucking guy? Really went with the fruitiest fucker you could, huh? Couldn’t pick one that at least looks like a girl could ya, ya little-”

He couldn’t take it if his father and Gundham started fighting. He needed to leave. Now.

He tried to nudge Gundham back, but Gundham just held him tighter.

“Cease your barking, foul beast.”

No.

Gundham shifted, partially shielding Soda from his father. He was definitely getting ready to fight.

No no no.

“I will not allow you to-”

The venom in Gundham’s raised voice sent a chill down Soda’s spine that he wished wasn’t so familiar.

He needed to stop this before it got bad, before he started fearing Gundham’s voice the same way he feared his father’s.

“Gundham, please, don’t.”

It was quiet, pathetic, and mumbled into Gundham’s chest. If his father had heard it he would have laughed and mocked him more, there’s not way it would have stopped him.

But it stopped Gundham.

He felt Gundham tense for a moment, before stroking Soda’s hair and muttering an apology against his temple. It was the exact kind of tender comfort Soda had never dared dream of receiving during one of his father’s episodes.

It made him cling to Gundham harder.

Yeah, his dad really didn’t appreciate that.

Soda was pretty sure Gundham was literally biting his tongue as the two of them walked away from the house, trailed by every insult and threat his father could think to utter. Only once they made it to the sidewalk did Gundham pause and look back. Soda could see him seething, knew Gundham needed to say something, and just pressed his head against Gundham’s shoulder, allowing him to finally speak up.

He didn’t have the energy to stop him anyways.

Gundham locked eyes with Soda’s father and tightened his arm protectively around Soda’s back.

He just hoped Gundham wouldn’t yell again.

“May you one day find enough love to know your actions were wrong.”

It was hardly any louder than Gundham’s usual speaking voice, but the moment of silence that followed it told Soda that his father had indeed heard it.

The renewed vigor of his threats after, however, told him his father didn’t care for the words.

–

Soda wasn’t 100% sure how they got back to campus.

He vaguely remembers being on a bus and hiding his face against Gundham’s neck, doing his best not to cry in public.

He didn’t need more people seeing how pathetic he was.

He remembers the warmth of Gundham’s hand on his back and the soothing sound of his voice, though he can’t really remember anything he said.

He was so useless he couldn’t even pay attention when someone was trying to comfort him.

It wasn’t until they were walking through the doors of their dorm building that he really felt like he was able to focus again. Something about being in a familiar place just made his mind come back from… wherever it had been.

The first thing he noticed was that he didn’t have the pillowcase he had shoved all his shit in.

He didn’t have the pillowcase.

His heartbeat picked up.

He didn’t have his stuff.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

He didn’t have a house,

His knees buckled.

He didn’t have a home.

He fell. He felt sick. He felt like he was dying.

Gundham was saying something. He couldn’t hear him. He couldn’t hear anything but his own too loud heartbeat and his brain’s assurance that he had lost everything and that he might as well just die.

Suddenly he was being carried. He wanted to protest but he couldn’t catch his breath, so he just gasped and choked pathetically in Gundham’s arms until he was slowly lowered onto a bed.

His bed.

His bed in his dorm room, covered in his dirty clothes and his unwashed blankets.

Soda gripped the sheets, his sheets, and something about it made the knot in his chest loosen.

He could breathe again.

He opened his eyes, unsure when he had closed them, and looked down at Gundham, who was crouched down before him holding his limp hands in his own.

A small smile graced Gundham’s face when Soda met his eyes.

“Have you returned to me, my love?”

Soda’s mouth felt dry, so he just nodded.

Gundham stood, slowly, the same way Soda knew he would around a frightened animal, and lifted one of Soda’s hands to gently press his lips to his knuckles.

“Do you keep ice in your fridge, dear consort?”

The question felt bizarre. Ice? Was this an overlord thing? He really wasn’t in the mood for that crap…

He managed to choke out a confused “Huh?”

“Ice, my dearest, is there any in your fridge? We must treat your wounds.”

Soda blinked slowly, waiting for his mind to process what was happening.

His wounds?

Oh.

He must have a blackeye.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll get it.”

When he stood Gundham moved as if to stop him, and he felt anger bubble up in his stomach.

“I said I’ll fucking get it! I’m not that fucking useless!”

He regretted it the second he finished speaking. Gundham’s shocked face hurt him more than anything else that night had.

In his mind his raised voice echoed and distorted until he couldn’t tell it from his father’s.

He was on his knees again, sobbing an apology, as gentle arms slowly wrapped around him and a deep voice offered forgiveness he didn’t deserve.

They must have been close enough to his minifridge for Gundham to reach it, as he suddenly felt something cold being lightly pressed into his hands.

It was an icepack he nearly forgot he owned, Mikan had handed them out to everyone in class on a particularly hot day that summer.

He pressed it to his eye, only then did he notice the dull throbbing pain of it.

He let himself fall forward into Gundham’s chest again.

“‘m sorry.” He mumbled again.

“My beloved consort, I can hardly imagine the pain you are feeling at this moment.” A soft kiss to his forehead. “I will remain by your side as you fight the demons which plague you, however unpleasant they may be.”

The words struck fear in Soda’s heart.

“No.”

“My dear?”

“I don’t want that, Gundham.” He took a shaky breath “I don’t want you to be with me if I’m treating you like shit. I don’t care if I’m hurt or whatever, if I treat you like shit you leave, okay?”

“It’s understandable that-”

“No. Gundham, please, I just-” another shaky breath as he pulled far enough away from Gundham that he could meet his eyes “- I don’t want to end up like him, okay? So you can’t… you can’t just let me get away with this shit. E-even when I’m upset.”

Gundham took a moment to consider his words, looking unconvinced.

“Please Gundham. I couldn’t… I couldn’t take it if I hurt you.”

Gundham stroked his cheek and finally nodded.

“Then I will do my best to keep your behavior in check, and in return I will ask only one thing.”

Soda smiled and cocked his head.

“Yeah?”

“You must be kind to yourself as well, dearest.”

It caught him off-guard.

“You have made a habit of speaking of yourself in a depreciating manner. I will not allow you to speak to me in such a way, and I will not allow you to speak to yourself in such a way either.” Gundham smiled and cupped Soda’s chin. “You are the consort of the great Overlord of Ice, my love, all must treat you with respect.”

Soda couldn’t help but laugh a little. It made his face hurt even worse, but it was worth it.

Gundham pulled him close again and quietly chuckled along with him.

Eventually they stood, and Soda looked around his room until he found a mostly clean face cloth to wrap the icepack in, before pressing it back to his swollen eye.

Gundham simply stood in the middle of the room, seemingly uncharacteristically unsure of himself.

“Um, Gundham? What’s, uh, what’s up?” Gundham looking nervous made Soda feel nervous, it was just too unlike him.

“I am… simply unsure if I should stay.”

“Huh?”

Gundham hadn’t once hesitated to spend the night in Soda’s room since they had returned from their vacation.

“I would be happy to stay with you this night, my dear consort, but…you have gone through so much so quickly, I would understand if you wished to have some time alone, or simply some time away from me, as I am .”

Soda was about to protest, of course he wanted Gundham around right now, having the person you love around in a crisis was like the number one thing you were supposed to want, right?

But the more he thought about it the more he realized Gundham had a point. Maybe he felt calm for the moment, but he was sure he’d have another outburst soon, and as much as he appreciated Gundham’s comfort and reassurance, sometimes a guy really just needs to let himself have a good long ugly cry in private, just to get it all out.

“Actually, yeah… I think, um, I think maybe I’ll sleep alone tonight? If that’s alright?”

“Of course it is alright, dearest.”

Gundham smiled for a second before it faltered.

“But please, do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything, my love. Truly anything, big or small, I will do my best to accommodate you.”

Soda smiled a little but could already feel his emotions welling up again at Gundham’s hesitance.

“I will, Gundham. Or? I won’t I guess? Uh, I mean, I’ll text you if I need anything, okay? Just, uh, try not to worry about me to much for now, alright? I’ll… be okay.”

He’d probably be okay, right?

“Of course, I’ll do my best.” Gundham moved to the door as Soda opened it, turning back as he walked through it. “I love you, my dear Soda.”

Soda felt his throat tightening again.

“L-love you too, Gundham.” Maybe it was a little choked, maybe he closed the door a little too fast, but maybe he just didn’t want Gundham to have to deal with any more of his crying that night.

He waited a moment for Gundham’s shadow to disappear from below the door, before once again sliding to his knees.

He expected to sob, the way he had before, but to his surprise he just breathed out a few more shaky breaths.

Maybe he had had enough of his own crying for one night too.

Maybe he just needed another minute.

He decided he might as well get ready for bed. He looked around his room for some cleanish pajamas and found a shirt Gundham had forgotten at some point. It passed the sniff test, smelling only mildly like BO but mostly like Gundham, so he threw it on along with some loose shorts he was mostly certain he had only slept in a few times that week.

He still didn’t feel like crying.

Soda sat on his bed and pulled out his phone, maybe he should just ask Gundham to come back if he wasn’t going to have another breakdown…

He felt guilty when he saw all the still unread messages from Gundham, but he’d deal with those later. For now, he was more interested in some of the other texts he had.

He had told most his friends that he was planning to come out to his father today, so there were a decent number of texts asking how things went.

As he scrolled through his various messages he began to feel guilty, many of his classmates had not only asked how things went but had followed up a while later with concerned messages. Fuyuhiko had even threatened to send some of “his guys” to Soda’s house - to Soda’s Father’s house - if he didn’t respond soon.

Luckily it seemed like Gundham had done some damage control while Soda had been out of it, as there were also a few messages saying things like “Gundham says you’re safe, but I’m here to talk if you need it!” and offering various words of support and love.

So, turns out he wasn’t done crying.

What had he done to deserve such good friends? He was just a stupid fuck-up and yet there were so many people ruining their nights by worrying about him. The worst part was he couldn’t even find the energy to respond to them. These people were making the effort to try to reach out to him and he couldn’t even do them the courtesy of responding.

His dad was right, he was useless.

He opened the rest of his messages without reading them, just to clear the notifications, then fell face first onto his pillow and tried not to sob. His throat was starting to feel sore, and all the crying really wasn’t helping.

His phone vibrated and he ignored it.

It vibrated again.

And again.

He grabbed it to put it on silent, but the most recent message caught his eye.

I swear dude if you don’t respond in the next five minute I’m coming back and kicking your ass.

It was Hajime. He and Nagito had decided to go camping for the weekend, and he had been pretty upset when Soda had told him he was going to talk to his dad while Hajime was out of town. Soda had insisted it would be fine and that Hajime should still go, and Hajime had only agreed on the condition that Soda would keep him updated with how things went.

Something he very much did not do.

He shot off a quick “I’m fine,” and almost immediately after he hit send his phone began ringing.

The bastard had tricked him, he couldn’t say he hadn’t noticed Hajime calling now.

He sighed and answered his phone.

“Yeah?” His voice was kind of scratchy, but he didn’t think he sounded like he was crying at least.

To his surprise, instead of the snarky response he had been expecting, he simply heard a relieved sigh and a slightly distant sounding “He’s okay,” before a louder “You had me really worried man.”

Soda choked back another sob. Hajime sounded so genuinely relieved, he could only imagine how worried he must have been.

And he had been planning on just letting him worry…

God he was an asshole.

“I…” Soda really didn’t know what to say.

“It’s okay, I heard from Gundham so I know I should have just dropped it but… I dunno, man, I just really needed to hear your voice I guess? Like to be sure you’re alive?”

Soda let out a deep, shaky breath. He knew Hajime would be able to hear it over the phone, but he needed to calm himself down.

“S-sorry Haj. I shoulda just texted you. It’s my fault for being such a fuck up.”

“Soda, shut the fuck up right now or I actually am going to come back there and kick your ass. You’re not a fuck up, your dad’s a piece of shit, and you 100% are not allowed to feel shitty about not responding to people while you’re in the middle of a fucking crisis, got it?”

Soda froze before laughing at Hajime’s outburst.

“Weren’t you the one g-getting mad at me for not responding, d-dude?” He did his best to keep his voice light, but he couldn’t quite manage it.

“Yeah I know, I shouldn’t have. I probably just made you feel worse, huh?”

Soda paused for a moment.

“Yes and no?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, dude?”

“L-like… yeah seeing your messages and shit made me feel… really shitty, but… now that we’re talking I feel… I dunno, man, just... less shitty?”

There was a quick burst of static that Soda assumed must have been an amused huff from Hajime.

“Soda?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, man, okay? Don’t forget that.”

Tears welled up in his eyes and he had to swallow around a lump in his throat before responding.

“I love you too, Haj…”

There was a brief pause, both of them feeling a little awkward about being so open, but enjoying the feeling none the less, then-

“No homo.”

They said it at the same time.

Soda’s body shook with laughter, he could hear Hajime howling on the other end of the call and could just barely make out Nagito asking what was so funny in the background. His face hurt so bad, but he couldn’t really make himself care just then.

When their laughter died down Soda sighed.

“Thanks for this, Haj. I… I think I really needed to hear some of that shit…”

“Anytime, Soda.”

There was a brief pause and Soda knew Hajime was debating whether he should end the call or not.

He didn’t want to cut into Hajime’s camping date for too long, so he made the choice for him.

“Anyways, I’m feeling pretty tired, so I’m gonna head to bed now.”

“Okay, man, just… call me if you need to talk more, okay?”

“And risk catching you while you’re in the bone zone? No thanks, dude.”

“First off, never call it that again, second, I’m serious, Soda, call me.”

“Yeah, yeah, dude.”

“Soda.”

“I will. I promise! If I need to talk I’ll call you, even if I think you’re probably fucking, okay? Happy?”

“Yes. Now get some sleep.”

“Okay, mom. Good night.”

Soda heard Hajime’s faint chuckle as he hung-up, and found himself genuinely smiling for what felt like the first time that night.

Sure, maybe him and Hajime weren’t great at actually talking about heavy shit with each other without making it all into some kind of joke, but maybe jokes were the exact kind of thing he needed right then.

Jokes and something to fucking drink.

All the crying he had done that night had really killed his throat, and while the laughing had felt better, it had still just made him that much more aware of how dry his mouth was.

His phone buzzed as he stood to look for a drink. He picked it up expecting to find some snarky message from Hajime, only to see Sonia’s name on his screen instead.

Hello Soda, I do not mean to bother you, but I have made too much tea, and was wondering if you would like some.

Soda smiled at the message. ‘Made too much tea,’ as if Sonia wasn’t a master when it came to all things tea related.

I can leave some at your door if you are not in the mood to chat! I don’t mind!

Was he in the mood to chat? Talking with Hajime had been great, exactly what he needed probably, but would talking with Sonia be the same?

Their relationship had significantly improved over the past few months, the two of them would even sometimes hangout without Gundham around now, but they had never really talked about serious stuff before, they always just kept things light.

But he could really go for some tea, and maybe letting someone other than Gundham see that he was alive and in one piece would help him stop feeling so guilty about ignoring his friends.

Tea sounds good, thanks. I wouldn’t mind a quick chat either.

Great! I’ll be right over! ヾ(^▽^*)

Less than a minute passed before Soda heard light footsteps coming down the hall. He did his best to throw most of the dirty clothes scattered around into the laundry basket and hide some of the clutter before Sonia made it to his door.

“Soda? It’s me, I’d knock but my hands are full.”

“Be right there.” He lanced around his room and deemed it acceptable before pressing his icepack back against his eye and opening the door.

Sonia smiled brightly at him, and he pretended not to notice the way her smile faltered when she first registered the icepack as he invited her in.

There was a small, low table in the middle of the room and Soda gestured for Sonia to set the tea down there. They both sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment, maybe this had been a bad idea after all, Soda wasn’t really in the mood to stumble through an awkward conversation right now.

Sonia reached for a cup at the same moment Soda did, and the strange mirrored movement caused them both to giggle a little, breaking some of the tension.

“I am sorry for coming over like this, I admit I simply wanted to check that you were okay and didn’t prepare a topic for conversations.”

“It’s alright, Sonia. I mean, I kind of knew, you never mess up tea.” Soda smiled at her as best he could while holding the icepack to his eye.

“I apologize for being deceitful.” She smiled back. “I simply couldn’t think of-”

Soda shifted the icepack in his hand, pulling it back from his face to readjust the cloth wrapped around it, only for Sonia to abruptly stop talking and cover her mouth.

Oh right, his eye probably looked pretty messed up right now.

He covered it back up quickly.

“Sorry Sonia, it’s-”

Sonia stood, and Soda assumed she was about to excuse herself, but instead she stepped around the table, knelt beside him, and pulled him into one of the tightest hugs he had ever experienced.

“I’m so sorry Soda. You d-don’t deserve any of this.” Was she… crying? “Your… the man who did this doesn’t deserve you as a son.” He could hear it for sure now, she was definitely crying. The lump in his throat came back in full force, and he had to fight not to sob along with her.

“S-Sonia, it’s alright, d-don’t cry…” God now he was crying.

“It’s not alright!” She yelled and pulled him further against her. Soda hid his face against her shoulder. “It’s really not alright, Soda…”

Sonia rubbed Soda’s back gently with one hand, while stroking his hair and keeping him close with the other, while he sobbed against her and did his best not to get any snot on her clothes.

She was soft and warm and comforting, and he couldn’t help but remember being held in much the same way by his mother, years ago before she had passed.

It made him sob harder, but Sonia just kept holding him.

They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other and crying together while their tea got cold.

Eventually, after they had both calmed down a little, Sonia released him, shifting her hand from Soda’s head and back to hold his free hand instead.

“Soda, I…” she looked up, into his good eye, “I think you’re very brave.”

He couldn’t help but blush.

“N-not really, I mean I was pretty scared…”

“But you are!” Sonia lifted his hand and clasped it between her own, holding it between her chest and his. “I don’t believe I would ever have been able to speak to my parents of my preferences had I not know before hand that they would be supportive! But you did! I think that makes you extremely brave!”

He didn’t feel brave, but maybe she had a point…

Wait.

“Your preferences?”

Sonia blinked and tilted her head.

“Gundham didn’t tell you?”

“N-no?” Wait, was the girl he had spent so long being creepily obsessed with not even into guys to begin with? “Sonia, are you, uh, not into dudes?”

“Oh, no I am, but I like women as well.” She blushed a little, but smiled. “I believe we are the same in that regard, correct?”

He just nodded.

Damn, first Hajime and now Sonia? He really needed to stop assuming all his friends were straight.

“But, uh, doesn’t that get complicated? Like with you being a princess and all?”

Why the fuck had he said that. That was like the opposite of the right thing to say.

He was definitely 2 for 2 with fucking up when his friends came out to him.

“Oh, a little. I am expected to produce an heir one day, but there are ways to do that even if my partner and I are not able to do so on our own.”

“Ah, right, that makes sense.”

Soda nodded and decided to chug his cold tea to stop himself from saying anything else dumb.

Sonia visibly cringed as he drank but didn’t stop him.

“You know I don’t mind making you some more, Soda.” She spoke as he lowered his now empty cup.

“N-no thanks, it’s good. Even cold it tastes fine.” He did his best to smile convincingly.

Sonia quirked an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, instead smoothing out her skirt and giving her own cold cup of tea a disdainful look.

There was another slightly awkward silence before she stood once more.

“Then I think… If you would not like any more tea, I shall leave and allow you to rest for the night.”

“Ah, yeah. Thank you… for the tea and… thank you.” Soda stood as he spoke, and Sonia reached out to squeeze his hand once more before gathering her things and heading for the door.

“Good night Soda, sleep well!”

“You too, Sonia.”

“Oh, and…” Sonia smiled and paused for a moment, flicking he eyes down to Soda’s chest. “You look very good in that shirt. It’s cute on you.”

With that she left, letting Soda close the door behind her.

His shirt is cute? What shirt was he even wearing?

He looked down.

He felt his whole face heat with embarrassment as he remembered he had thrown on one of Gundham’s shirts earlier.

Oh.

“It looks cute on you.”

So Sonia had definitely recognized it.

He covered his face with both hands and laughed at himself. Why was he even this embarrassed? Sonia had been one of the first people to know him and Gundham were dating. He was just being dumb.

He pulled the shirt up to his nose and inhaled, smiling.

He was pretty sure he knew the exact night the shirt had ended up in his room. They had both been a little drunk and giggly, happy in each other’s arms as they had collapsed onto Soda’s bed.

Soda’s heart throbbed at the memory.

He wanted to see Gundham.

It had gotten pretty late though, maybe sending a text first would be a good idea.

Soda picked up his phone and clicked on Gundham’s name to open the messaging tab, pausing once he did.

Three little dots appeared at the bottom of the conversation, then disappeared, then appeared again.

Soda waited, but a message never came through.

Was Gundham… unsure? Soda watched the dots and imagined his boyfriend typing and erasing messages, unsure what to say or even if he should say anything, and the thought made him smile.

He decided to put Gundham out of his misery.

I’m coming over. Let’s watch a movie

He grabbed a random movie off his shelf, he didn’t really care what they watched. His phone buzzed, then buzzed again.

Dearest, I know you need space right now, but I just wanted to remind you that I love you and that you may call on me for anyt

Ignore that! I did not mean to send it!

I am happy to hear you are coming to my abode, my consort, I will ensure it is ready for you.

So he really had been sitting there trying to come up with the perfect message to send Soda, huh?

God, Gundham was such a dork.

Soda loved him for it.

–

He wasn’t really sure what time it was. Movie credits were scrolling across the little TV screen on the other side of the room, playing gentle music over Gundham’s quiet snores.

Soda rolled himself over, leaving his head on Gundham’s chest but shifting from his side to his back, and stared at the ceiling.

He had spent a good many nights in this room over the past few months, but the ceiling wasn’t familiar the way the one back in his father’s house had been. He didn’t think he’d cry if he never saw this one again.

Gundham grunted in his sleep and wrapped an arm around Soda’s back.

But he’d cry if he never got to see Gundham again. Or Sonia, or Hajime, or any of his friends. Even Nagito.

He’d cry if he lost them, he’d cry if they got hurt, and he’d cry if they cried.

Because he loved them.

Because they loved him.

Because even if he had lost the home he had known all his life, many of his own possessions, and even the man he had called father, he realized he hadn’t lost everything.

His home was with Hajime, while they laughed and made jokes at each other’s expense.

His home was with Sonia, making polite conversation and sipping tea so good he could hardly believe it was store bought.

His home was here, in Gundham’s arms late at night, feeling safe and secure even as his whole world was being turned on its head.

His home was with the people he loved.

All he had lost that night was a house.

#Soudam #Soda kazuichi #kazuichi soda #gundham tanaka #fic #My writing #Fic Aid

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cocochannel00 · 4 years

Text

Don’t Leave Me Alone

This is so long overdue and I apologize for such a long wait but here it is!! I hope you guys enjoy and as always requests are slow, but always open!

Description: over 6k words, dad!Harry, husband!Harry, Pregnant Y/n, Angst, Fluff.

Masterlist can be found here!

Sometimes when you’re pregnant all you need is a little break...

Kids: Connor (2), Rebecca (1)

You felt like a whale, and not one of those cute baby whales you see at the aquarium. No, you felt like a fat Blue Whale that was about to explode. You were six months pregnant and it had not been as glamorous as Beyonce made it seem. So far you had spent the first trimester throwing up at least twice a day and your second trimester going through insane hot flashes that left you contemplating whether going to the grocery store nude would be that bad of an idea. You were hoping your last trimester would be somewhat more bearable but seeing as the two devils inside you were currently competing to see who could break your rib first, you had a feeling it wasn't going to get better.

You weren't usually one to complain out loud or at least about your own personal problems, but this pregnancy, unlike your last two, was starting to get on your last nerve and so was Harry. You admit you were a bit more agitated than normal but Harry was definitely not helping. He had taken his own form of paternity leave a little over three weeks ago after a small scare you had with one of the twins. You thought that having him home so much would be amazing and you could use the extra help with Connor and Rebecca, especially since your baby girl was just learning how to properly walk. So far she had nearly cracked her head against the edge of the shoe rack in your mudroom which had led you to bubble wrap nearly every corner of your house. You were nearly at your wit's end and there seemed to be no end in sight.

Luckily today was Sunday so you let yourself indulge in a few extra hours of sleep while Harry watched the kids. You had kicked him out of bed last night because his body was like a furnace and in between the hot flashes you were having and the fact that you were feeling too insecure to lay naked next to him, you had sent him to the guest room. At 3 a.m. Harry thought nothing of it and since he was sleep deprived as well he probably jumped at the chance to get away from you and get some sleep without all of her moaning and groaning. You and Harry had spent the last week snapping at each other constantly over little things, but you hoped with a couple of more hours of sleep your hormones would cool down a bit even if your body couldn't.

The sun was already shining through the window as you rolled around to check your alarm clock that read 10:30 a.m. Well, at least you had gotten to sleep in a bit before the twins started their kickboxing match. You had just finished the ever-challenging task of sitting up on your bed when you heard two piercing cries come from downstairs. You carefully pushed off the bed and leaned against the nightstand to gain your balance before heading to your closet to get dressed. The only thing you were willing to wear these days were dresses. They were elastic, lightweight, and the only thing that you wouldn't sweat through 30 seconds after putting it on. You decided that you would try and be optimistic about the day so you wore Harry's favorite blue dress with sunflowers. You should have thrown it out after your first pregnancy but it held so many memories that you couldn't get yourself to part with it. You were just walking out of the room when a crying Connor came barreling towards your legs.

"Mama" he cried as he buried his face in your dress. You could barely see him under your belly but you wrapped your arms around his back and stroked his brown curls softly.

"What happened baby?" you asked quietly as he scrunched the end of your dress in his tiny fists and wiped his eyes.

"I play with Becca... and fell... and dada mad...and I cry" he mumbled.

"Oh, baby I'm sure it was an accident. Is Becca okay?" you asked as you grabbed his hand and started carefully walking down the stairs with Connor.

"Uh-huh mama accident" he mumbled with a slight lisp.

"That's okay, baby. I'm sure daddy was just worried and that's why he got mad. Let's go make sure Becca's okay" you replied back as you made it down the last steps of the stairs.

You waddle passed the kitchen door to find Harry sitting on a kitchen stool with your daughter in his arms, an ice pack placed on your baby girl's lip as big crocodile tears fell down her face.

"Connor I think Becca would feel so much better if you drew her one of your special pictures. Do you think you could draw her one?" you asked your baby boy as you rubbed his back.

"Yes, mama I draw. Stickers too" he mumbled as he ran into the adjacent living room.

Once your baby boy was cheerful again you made your way to your daughter and picked her up from your husband's arms.

"And what happened to you, my love? I leave you with your dada for five minutes and you get a boo-boo on your lip" you whispered to her as she tucked her face into her neck.

"Dada turned around for 2 seconds and this is what happened" Harry grumbled as he leaned against the granite countertop.

"Two seconds?" you questioned as you bounced your little girl softly. Harry groaned.

"Ok, it was like 5 minutes. Jeff called me and we were trying to figure out when would be a good time to get into the studio before you give birth and I was distracted and I heard her scream and there was blood and I yelled and Connor started to cry and..."

"Harry I told you already that you can't leave her alone. She's just figuring out how to walk and she bumps into everything. What did she even hit her lip on? Every sharp edge of the furniture is wrapped in bubble wrap." you replied harsher than you wanted too.

"I don't know (y/n). I was talking and she must have bumped her lip on the floor or maybe the bottom leg of the table? It wasn't my fault, it was an accident" He exclaimed defensively as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Harry, it is your fault though. You should have been watching her while you were on the phone. You watch tv while on the phone all the time! The least you could do is watch your own children" you replied back in frustration. You weren't sure if it was your hormones or the fact that you were hungry that was causing the wave of anxiety and anger, but you had a feeling this conversation wasn't going to end well.

"I get it (y/n) I should have been watching her, but maybe if I wasn't getting kicked out of my own bed at 3 am because of your moods. I'll make you some breakfast, maybe it will make you less cranky" he grumbled as he made his way to the toaster.

"I don't want your stupid breakfast and I'm sorry if the two children you helped create make my body feel like it's burning. Maybe we should get you pregnant and see what happens" You repeat harshly as you cradle your baby and went to put her down in her highchair with some cheerios.

"Love, I want to help you... I know this pregnancy has been much harder than the others but I can't help if you kick me out of our bed. You need to tell me what you want me to do" Harry pleaded as he placed some bread in the toaster and turned to face you.

"I want these babies out. I want to not be the size of a whale. I want to sneeze without peeing myself and I want to walk more than five feet without getting heartburn. I want..." you started before the tears began to fall.

"Oh baby, no" Harry mumbled before he ran around the counter to engulf you in a hug. "I know this has been hard and I'm sorry I haven't been as helpful as I should have. I'll make more time for our family and I'll-"

"But I need you to actually do those things, H. You promised me when we got pregnant that you'd be finished with everything by the time the babies got fussy" You mumbled as you put your hands on his chest

"I know, love, and I am, I promise. Once the band and I record a couple more songs in the studio next week I'm all yours," he whispered as you shook your head violently.

"No! You won't be all mine. You'll find something else you'll need to do and then I'll have to watch the kids alone and I can barely walk and you're just going to leave"you all but yelled as you turned your back to Harry.

"(y/n)... what? What are you talking about? Of course, I'm going to be here. I've been home for weeks helping out" he replied back confused.

"Harry every day you've been home you're always locked away in your office or the studio downstairs. You bath the kids, you feed them lunch, great! That's the bare minimum. Who's the one that has to stop their tantrums or bubble wrap the house so they won't get hurt or even try and run around the garden with them while being the size of cow cause it sure as heck isn't you. And then once you're done with the album, you'll be on tour and I'll be alone again." you grumbled angrily.

"(Y/n) you are not the size of a cow and you know I'll give up my music the minute you tell me" he replied.

"I don't want you to give up your music" you stated stubbornly as Harry groaned.

"(Y/n), what is this really about then?" Harry asked tiredly.

"I need a break, Harry... I need to get away from here. The stress and the kids and the babies, I just... I need to go" you cried softly as you wrapped your arms around your bump and watched your baby girl play happily with her food, oblivious to the meltdown happening a few feet away from her.

"Baby, you're scaring me. What do you mean by go away? Do you want to head up north together? We can take the kids up to the cottage or visit my mum" he said quietly trying to hug you, but you stepped away.

"No Harry I need to get away from here... from you" you mumbled just as Connor walked into the room with his drawing.

"Mama look finish," he said with a squeal as you quickly wiped your tears and slowly crouched down to look at his drawing.

"It's beautiful, my love! Why don't we hang it on the fridge so Becca can see it every morning?" You replied back with a small smile as you used all of your strength to stand up again.

Harry saw you wobble slightly and quickly went to help you up from your crouched position. You leaned on his body as he steadied you from falling. You mumbled a quick thanks before going to the fridge with your little boy and helping him place his drawing on the fridge door with some magnets.

"Mommy's very tired baby, why don't you ask daddy and see if he'll make you mac and cheese for lunch while I take your sister up for her nap," you spoke to your son as he nodded with excitement. You carefully went and picked up your daughter from her high chair as Harry grabbed your elbow.

"(Y/n) come on, we're not done talking about all of this. You haven't eaten either. You've got me worried" Harry whispered as he looked at you expectantly.

"I'm not hungry now, thank you. It was a long night and I'm not feeling the best. Go make Connor's lunch, please" You replied as you began to make your way up the stairs.

You finally made it up the stairs with only a bit of heartburn to show for it. You carefully placed your baby girl in her crib and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. You whispered a quick goodbye and started packing a bag. As you threw some dresses and a couple of sweaters into a duffle bag you called Anne who thankfully picked up on the first ring.

"Hello (y/n), how are you? How are the babies" she spoke cheerfully.

"Hi, Anne. I'm doing okay, the twins are definitely fighters. They're going to be a handful" you sniffled softly.

"Oh, sweetheart what's going on?" Anne asked, concern laced in her voice.

"I need to get away for awhile. Harry and the kids and the babies it's just all too much right now. I feel like I'm losing my mind and my hormones are all over the place and it's just so overwhelming and all Harry and I do is fight and I..." you said as you began to hyperventilate.

"(Y/n), I need you to breathe sweetheart, Okay? Stress isn't good for the babies and you already had that scare a couple of weeks back. Breathe love. Pregnancy can very hard and i know these twins haven't made it easy. Do you want me to yell at Harry for you?" she asked softly.

"No, no, it's okay. I just... I need to go somewhere for a couple of days. Just to get myself together before I say something or do something that I..." you started but you couldn't think straight.

"Okay love, that's okay. Everyone needs a little break every once in a while. Why don't you pack some clothes and your pregnancy pillow and come spend a couple of days here in Cheshire with me? I'll call Harry right now to tell him and he can stay and watch the kids for a bit. Why don't you call Gary and ask if he can drive you?" Anne asked.

"Yes, that sounds good" you mumbled as you began looking for your pillow.

"Ok, my love. I'll call Harry and tell him what's going on so he doesn't worry. You just message Gary, ok?"

"Yes, thank you, Anne. See you soon," you replied as Anne said her goodbyes.

After hanging up on Anne you texted Gary to ask if he could pick you up and drive you to Anne's. He agreed and told you he would be there in 15 minutes, giving you enough time to finish packing and say goodbye to your babies.

You were mid-way through packing your toiletries when you heard Harry's footsteps running up the stairs. He walked past your room and towards Connor's before making his way back to you.

"Mom just called me" he spoke softly as he approached you.

"Yes. Gary will be here soon to drive me up to her house" you replied as you placed your toothbrush in your bag and zipped it close.

"I'm glad he's driving you up... (Y/n) what's... what's going on baby. I need to know what's going through your head right now" he whispered as he wrapped his arms around your body tightly.

"My hormones have been all over the place and then I think the scare a couple of weeks ago has made me even more anxious because I don't want anything to happen to our babies and... I can't sleep well at night and I just..." you stammered as you forced yourself to take deep breaths while Harry rubbed circles into your lower back.

"Shhh, love... I know. I think staying with Mum for a couple of days will be good for you, give you some time to relax. I'll make sure the kids are okay and you just message me when you're ready to come back. I'll be just a call away if you need anything" He replied back as he continued to hug you tightly.

"You're not mad at me?" you asked as you looked him in the eye for the first time since your breakdown in the kitchen.

"Of course not, love. I know this pregnancy has been hell for you and I haven't been the best support these past couple of days so I think it will be good for you to have some time to yourself. I'll make sure the kids are ok and if I need I'll call up Gemma. Now, come on, Gary's waiting outside for you. I'll bring your bag and your pillow while you say goodbye to Connor and Becca" he stated as he placed a soft kiss to your forehead before grabbing your bags and heading down the stairs.

Carefully you slipped on your Dr.Scholls flip flops and made your way to Connor's room to say goodbye. Connor was playing with his blocks on the floor happily as you quietly called out his name as you went to take a seat on the rocking chair in his room. Connor stared up at you with a smile and ran over to hug you.

"Mama look blocks," he said excitedly as he pointed at the tower he had abandoned.

"Yes, baby it's a beautiful tower. Listen, love, mommy has to tell you something, ok? I want you to listen to mommy, ok? Can you listen to mommy?" you asked your little boy as he shook his head vigorously.

"Mommy's going to go spend a couple of days with Grandma Anne while you and Becca stay with daddy. You guys are going to have so much fun together! You're going to play lots of games together and maybe in a couple of days, you can come to visit." You spoke as the little boy frowned.

"I no go grandmas?" He asked quietly as he frowned.

"No baby, not yet. You have to stay and help daddy with Becca. Can you do that for me?" you explained to Connor as he nodded his head and hugged you tighter.

"Thank you, Connor. You're getting to be such a big boy. Thank you for watching your sister for me. Why don't you come with me so I can say bye to Becca and we can meet daddy downstairs" you mumbled as you stood up while taking your son's hand and slowly made your way to Becca's room.

Becca was peacefully sleeping in her crib when you walked in. You didn't want to wake her up and make Harry's day more difficult than it already was so you gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and made your way downstairs. Harry was at the door talking with Gary, most likely giving him instructions on getting me safe to Anne's. Harry saw you from the corner of his eye and quickly came to help you down the last few steps. Once you had made it to the bottom, Harry went to grab a lunchbox from the kitchen and passed it to you.

"Packed you a couple of snacks and a sandwich for the road and some of those weird gummies you've been craving," he stated, a small smile on his face as he crouched down to pick up your two-year-old in his arms.

"Say bye-bye to mamma, Connor. We'll see her in a couple of days." Harry mumbled to the little boy that pouted as he waved his little hand goodbye.

"Bye mama" Connor whispered as you kissed his forehead. You smiled with watery eyes as you said goodbye to your little boy before looking at Harry.

"I love you (y/n)" He told you as you whispered a soft 'I love you" back. You gave him a chaste kiss on the lips before walking outside to meet Gary.

You greeted Gary and got into the back seat of the black suburban that would be driving you to Anne's. By the time you rounded the end of your street you were fast asleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Harry's POV:

I was officially going to lose it. I had been close over the years, but if either one of my kids cries one more time today I was going to have a mental breakdown. It had been four days since (Y/n) had gone to my mum's house and I had been left to watch the kids by myself. If there's anything I've learned from the last couple of days it's that my wife is fucking Wonder woman. I don't know how she managed to keep it together for so long because I was falling apart at the seams already.

It's not like I hadn't taken care of the two of them by myself before. I had numerous times when (Y/n) had worked late shifts at the hospital or had taken a weekend trip with her friends but for some reason, these past couple of days have been far worse than any of the previous ones. Becca had made it her absolute mission to try and run herself into every corner she could. So far she had managed to fall at least four times, all ending with a minimum three-hour cry afterward. Connor tried to help calm down Becca but most of the time he would just get upset because she was and they both end up crying. Yesterday had been the breakpoint for me though.

I had managed to keep Becca and Connor from crying all afternoon which was quite a miracle and just as I was putting them to bed, Becca saw a picture of (Y/n) in the hallway and began to scream for (y/n). This consequently woke Connor up who also cried because he could go to sleep so the three of us ended up in (y/n) and I's bed cuddled in the sheets as both of my kids cried through the night. The only person I knew that could fix this situation besides (Y/n) was Gemma and after practically begging her and promising to not be a dick when she came she said yes to helping me out.

After giving up on trying to get the kids out of their pajamas, I grabbed them both in my arms and walked them downstairs to start on some breakfast. They seemed to have tired themselves out with all of their crying so for the time being, they sat down quietly in their respective chairs and munched on their cheerios. I had just finished up making some Oatmeal when the doorbell rang, signaling that Gemma had arrived.

"Mama" Connor mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

"No baby not mama yet, but aunty Gemma came to visit. Should we go open the door?" I asked as he nodded excitedly.

I grabbed Becca out of her high chair and held Connor's hand as we made our way to the door. As soon as I opened it Connor sprinted into Gemma's arms in a fit of giggles. It was nice to hear him laugh after all the crying that had been going on these past couple of days. I gave Gemma a quick kiss on the cheek before letting her in and walking back into the kitchen.

"Looking a little rough there Har. When's the last time you shaved those whiskers on your lip" Gemma laughed as she grabbed Becca from my arms and held her.

"Shut it. I haven't slept in days. Feel like I'm losing my mind" I mumbled as I poured the oatmeal into two bowls.

"You want anything to eat? Can make some toast and scrambled eggs" I asked as Gemma shook her head.

"Mama mama" Becca mumbled as she clawed at Gemma's shirt.

"I might have boobs like mama but mine, unfortunately, can't give you what you want little one" Gemma replied back as I laughed.

"Lot's of missing mama this week from all of us. Have you gotten a chance to check in with mom yet? See how (y/n)'s doing? Didn't want to be annoying so I haven't called since the first day" I stated as I placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of Connor and gave the other to Gemma to start feeding Becca.

"Mom said she's been okay. I think the fresh air is helping but her hormones are still all over. Mom said she was feeling a bit insecure about her size the other day but was starting to get better about it." Gemma replied as she fed Becca a spoonful of oatmeal.

"Insecure? She's pregnant. I think she's glowing. Nothing more beautiful than a pregnant lady" I said with a frown think about (Y/n).

"I know but Tracey always says that being the pregnant one is different. It feels like everyone's always watching you and now that she has twins she feels even bigger. One baby is bad enough but two of them with your big head inside at once can't be at all comfortable" Gemma said.

"I know but she's big because she has two of my babies and I think she looks breathtaking."

"Did you tell her that recently?" Gemma asked.

"Well... no ... maybe I- I think so" I mumbled as Gemma glared at me.

"I know I know I should have told her more often but I got busy and then Jeff kept calling and she'd kick me out of bed and-"

"Harry everything you just said is why (Y/n) needed a break. You hadn't been paying attention to her at all or the kids because you were so caught up in work. Now that you've realized that as a parent of two and two on the way you need to step it up because your wife can't do it by herself. You can't overwhelm yourself with work especially with the scare (Y/n) had a couple of weeks back."

"I know I know, but I don't know how to help her if she pushes me away" I replied back in frustration.

"Why don't you start by calling Jeff and canceling all those recording sessions you have planned. I know your job and your music is important but you need to put your family first and the health of your wife and your babies" Gemma stated as she wiped some oatmeal off of Becca's cheek.

"I already did! Once (Y/n) left I canceled all of the sessions and interviews and meetings that I couldn't do from home. Told Jeff that after this week I was officially going on a break until after the twins are born and we're all settled." I replied as I passed Connor a napkin for his sticky hands.

"Well did you tell (Y/n) or mom any of this cause (Y/n) is so stressed you'll miss the birth of the babies cause of your work!" Gemma said sternly as she looked at me.

"Bu-but why would she think I'd miss it! Haven't missed any of the births or her appointments?" I groaned.

"I think she's just scared. You were out of town when the bleeding started and she was an absolute wreck when I took her to the hospital. Doctors said they had to give her a sedative because she nearly had a panic attack in the ER and her blood pressure skyrocketed. Mom said she was panicking on the phone when she called her" Gemma replied as she bounced Becca up and down on her lap.

"Careful, she'll vomit. God, I wish I could just see (Y/n) but I don't want to make things worse"

"I think both of you suffered enough with this time apart so why don't you call mom and tell her you and these little rascals are coming up today. Once you called me I texted mom to let her know you'd probably make an appearance today" Gemma replied as she tickled Becca's tummy.

"You're right, I should. I'm going to call mom and let her know. Can you pack Becca a bag and maybe change her diaper?" I asked as I made my way to go find my phone upstairs.

"Bag, yes. Diaper, hell no" Gemma mumbled as I laughed.

-------------------------------------------------------------

(Y/N) POV:

Today was a good day. You had managed to make it the entire morning without crying which is more than you can say for the other three days you had spent at Anne's house. It looked like you had finally managed to get your hormones under control and were even excited to spend the day in town with Anne. You had promised her that after moping around her house since you got there that you would spend today with her in town as long as you could stop to get one of those chocolate croissants Harry always brought from the bakery.

You waddled down the stairs in the navy blue Gucci dress Harry bought you for Christmas that cinched just above your belly, making you look all the more pregnant. You didn't necessarily like it the first couple of times you tried it on but every time you wore it Harry's face would light up with a smile and that was enough for you to wear it a bit more often.

"Good morning (Y/n), how did you sleep last night? Did the ice pack behind your neck help with the hot flashes?" Anne asked as she sipped her cup of coffee at the kitchen table.

"It was a miracle worker, first time in months that I haven't woken up in a puddle of my own sweat" you replied back as you gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and sat down next to her.

"I'm glad. I know you're not a tea drinker but can I get you some decaf or maybe some hot chocolate? I think I have some from the last time you guys were over" Anne replied as she got up to get her a mug.

"Hot chocolate sounds wonderful. I can make it though don't worry" you said as Anne waved you away and began taking out the chocolate mix.

"So how are you feeling today? Better with the hormones and such?" Anne asked cautiously as she stirred the hot chocolate and placed it in front of you.

"I've gotten them under control for the most time, I usually only feel like crying when I to miss Harry and my other babies. Wish they could have come up for a bit but it's been nice to spend some time with you and away from the chaos."

"It's been very nice having you here and I can't wait to meet two more of my grandbabies. Speaking of Harry, he called me this morning?" Anne mumbled into her coffee.

"Is he ok? Are my babies ok? Is someone hurt?" You questioned with a jump.

"Everyone's fine don't worry. Just wanted to see how you were doing." Anne replied. You relaxed back into your seat knowing that everyone was ok at home.

"Thank god. I was worried about leaving them with Harry. He's a great dad, but they can be a handful especially if they tag team you with the crying. It's enough to pull your hair out" you mumble as Anne laughs.

"I can only imagine. Gemma was pretty calm as a child, but Harry was my little attention seeker, couldn't put him down without the tears starting"

"Becca's the same way. If you leave her alone more than a quick bathroom break she'll start screaming her head off. I miss them..." you stated as you grabbed a biscuit and shoved it in your mouth.

"Well a little birdy might have mentioned that someone special could be coming up later today" Anne mumbled trying to hide her grin behind her mug.

"What? What do you mean? Is Harry coming up here?!" You asked excitedly as you nearly drop your coffee mug on the floor.

Anne nodded as you crushed her into bear hug and placed a kiss to her cheek.

"Thank you thank you" you whispered as you held her tight.

"It was all Gemma, dear. And besides, I think you both could really use it. From what I hear my grandkids aren't making it the easiest time. They should be here within the next half hour so why don't you go get dressed and I'll get the kids room all set up for them?" Anne replied as she carefully helped you stand and walked you up the stairs.

Once upstairs, you could help but let out a small squeal at the idea of finally seeing Harry and your kids again. It had only been a couple of days and even though you always love spending some girl time alone with Anne, it was time to see all of your babies (Harry included). You decided to take a quick shower before throwing on a coral pink wrap dress that cut off just above the knee. Just as you were putting on your sneakers (probably the most comfortable shoes you own tbh) Anne knocked on the door to tell you that Harry's car had just pulled into the drive way. You smiled and quickly finished tying your shoes before carefully, but quickly, made your way down the stairs and to the front door.

The sight in front of you was almost too much for you to handle. Connor stood at the side of the car staring at the birds playing the bird feeder. His foot pajamas were covered in what you could only assume was banana stains and the shoe laces on his Gucci sneakers were untied. Your husband stood with his back to you as he wrestled with the fussy one year old in the car street. His pajama pants were riding low on his hips and the white cotton t shirt he sometimes wears to bed had a large stain on his right shoulder, most likely from burping Becca. Just as you were about to approach your little family when suddenly you son came running towards you.

"Mama mama... I here" Connor called out as he hurled himself towards you.

"I see that baby! How are you? Were you good for dada?" You asked him as you carefully lifted him up in your arms and nodded his head.

"I good mama. I good" he stated enthusiastically as you placed a kiss to his cheek.

"How is my favorite grandbaby boy doing? Come with me so your mommy can go help daddy with Becca" Anne stated as Connor all but launched himself at his grandma with a squeal.

You gave Anne a smile before walking over to Harry. You tapped on his shoulder and watched as his shoulders relaxed and he carefully turned around to see you. The weeks could be seen right on his face. His hair was shooting out every which way, a curl follow over his eyes every now and then. There was also a slight hint of stubble across his chin which you knew only appeared after he had gone a couple of days without shaving. The stain on the shoulder of his pajama shirt wasn't the only one on his shirt as you saw a couple splatters of green which you could only assume was peas. He was mess all over, but he was your mess. He gave you the soft smile that you fell in love with all those years ago and you practically tumbled into his arms.

"Hello my love" he mumbled into your hair as he brushed a strand of it behind your ear while rubbing his other hand up and down your back.

"Hi H" you whispered as tears began to prick your eyes.

"I missed you so much, the kids and I were a mess without you but I hope you got to relax a bit" Harry whispered into your ear.

"It was nice, but I missed you all a lot. I hope they weren't to much trouble" you mumbled into his neck.

"Let's just say it's a miracle we didn't get a noise complaint from all of the crying but we survived... barely." Harry replied as you laughed.

The two of you stood there for a bit before you began to hear your daughter's soft whines coming from the open car door. You carefully detached yourself from Harry and made your way to your daughter who sat in her car seat, eyes wide looking at the two of you.

"Hello baby. How is my precious girl doing? Did you make daddy's life difficult?" you mumbled in a baby voice as you picked her up from her car seat and cradled her into your neck.

She let out a soft whine before snuggling into your chest and closing her eyes again.

"All she needed was her mama" Harry replied as he wrapped his arms around you from behind and placed a kiss to your temple.

"All I needed was you" you whispered back as you placed a soft kiss to his lips.

"I love you (Y/n)"

"I love you too, H"

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mistaeq · 3 years

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Saturday, 26th December

Romeo!Don Giovanna x Juliet!Reader: The Masque

TW // mafia is mentioned, please don't take it lightly. Mista x Trish is implied, but I've aged her up.

Today I offer you this, which I'm proud of, and it doesn't happen often. So I hope you all enjoy this.

A darker point of view on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

WORD COUNT: 3.5k

Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Naples, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Do with their death bury their ancient strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,

Is now the two hours' traffic of my fic;

The which if you with patient eyes attend,

What here shall miss, my toil shall strive to mend.

"I will be honest to thee, if thou do not mind me saying so, Don Giovanna. But I am still struggling to understand why thou wanted to show up to the event." the golden haired signore slightly chuckled, after his councilor's words, who was now helping him with fixing the bow which perfectly fit his elegant braid. He never gave up on styling his hair the same way, and now that he was showing up to an event out of pure spite, he was not going to change that.

"It is not that I wanted it, my dear Guido." the Don said, fixing his cream colored jacket's sleeves, an amused grin animating his relaxed features. "They don't expect me to show up at all, all they did was inviting me, thinking I would have chosen to not to go. And make fun of thy lord's attitude. It would be rude of mine, to not to let them know how good I am doing, despite their several attempts to push me down."

"Indeed, signore. Thy reasonment sounds just right." the young councilor Guido Mista agreed with the Don, crouching to give a better look at the lord's image in the mirror and nodding in satisfaction when he made sure the bow was symmetrical as he wanted. "In addition to this, I am pleased to inform thee about my choice of asking Lord Diavolo's daughter's hand in marriage, as soon as she will turn eighteen. Lady Trish." Giorno's grin, if possibly, widened. His councilor marrying his worst enemy's daughter? Sounded just perfect, since she was gonna move in their mansion. By her own choice. She hated her father, and had agreed to the marriage. Great to hear.

"Thou spoke music to my ears, Guido. And I thank thee for thou fixed my bow properly." the golden haired Don stood up, and started walking towards the door, eyeing at his councilor's outfit. "Get ready, we are going." Believe me, he was about to touch the door handle, when a rough voice, who always allowed itself to speak too much, interrupted his actions.

"What about thy heart, signore? No love story nor marriage for thee?" The gunslinger dared to say, perfectly knowing his Don thought he had to keep on being focused on his own affairs, rather than have love related ones. He just liked to drop the question every now and then, but started being genuinely worried. Guido know how romantic Don Giovanna could get, and the thought of him getting old without getting married, weirded him out. At first, he used to think Giorno needed time to get used to his role as a boss in the neapolitan mafia - the biggest reason of his strife against Diavolo -, but now, years had passed, and it was getting worse.

"Tender is the way love might make this man change. Thy lord is not ready to face such a thing. Unless it is really worth a try." Don Giovanna's hand lingered around the doorknob, caressing it in an attempt to examinate a thin layer of dust. "Do me the favor to tell Ghirga that cleaning up every little thing, even the most insignificant one, is definitely not optional." the blonde said, finally tightening his grip on the door handle and exiting the room. Left in the whistling silence of the place, the councilor proceeded to get ready for the event himself. He knew his signore didn't like to make someone wait.

As soon as he came in the hall, everyone turned around him and his councilor, Guido Mista, who soon blended into the crowd, for his betrothed Trish Una gripped on his arm and pulled him somewhere else. "Bothering thy councilor is not my intention, Don Giovanna. I am asking for thy permission, to take him for a while." What else could the blonde man even answer, if not agreeing with it happening. Without any doubt, he was left alone so fast, he had now nobody to cover him, as his golden hair didn't blend at all into the crowd.

A pleasant smell of cooked food and wooden furniture penetrated the Don's nose, as he gripped a glass of wine from the servant who was walking around with a tray holding some. The man shook the crystal glass a little, before he smelled the alcoholic liquid, and took a sip from it. Then, he quietly snorted. "And this would be wine. I consider myself lucky, being these people's foe. This truly doth be terrible."

Giorno mentally commented almost everything in the hall, judging the furniture... "Outdated.", the people... "Seeing them stare at me pleases me. If they are willing to criticize my appearance and attitude, I will be even more pleased.", and the service as well. "These servants are just what Lord Diavolo likes. Being so useless, it pains me." he took the last sip from his crystal glass of wine. "Let me see how much will it take for some servant to notice."

No wonder, the signore was really full of himself, and he was right, for all the people's voices murmuring when he passed by, were coming from pure envy. Diavolo staring at him, from the top of a huge flight of stairs. Don Giovanna had not noticed him, for he didn't consider necessary the action of looking above his own head. Giorno knew he was the one to be already at the top. If so, it were others who had too look up to him. He had learnt he had to stand up to ferocious beasts too, and he managed, in his life, to dominate the worst out of all the beasts. Humanity.

Plus, he was extremely focused on what was happening in front of himself, for he could see, in the middle of the hall, several couples dancing. No need to specify, that was the place where Lady Trish had brought the councilor Mista. Don Giovanna couldn't help but slightly smirk. That man had always been so loyal to him, and he was genuinely proud of him for he had found a wife and helped his affairs at the same time. He watched at the curly, dark haired councilor moving his betrother around with grace, until they accidentally bumped into another couple who was dancing beside them. The Don was now elegantly chuckling, he was amused, he was...

...Love-struck. The couple who Mista and Una had bumped into, consisted in a young lord and a beautiful creature who probably came from heavens above. The angel apologized to the pink haired Lady with a laughter, and bowed to Guido in apology. The angel... were you. Diavolo's niece/nephew had made the impenetrable heart of Don Giovanna fall in love. Could he talk about love? He wanted to. All in a matter of two seconds, the golden haired man imagined you dressed up for a luxurious wedding. What he did not know, was that there would have also been Diavolo in the crowd, watching his archenemy marry you. He had no idea you were related to him. As the same servant he had taken a glass from before passed by, Giorno gripped her arm, and pulled her closer.

"What angel is that, which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?" he frantically asked, his tone was serious and imposing, as if he was ready to squeeze the information out of the poor servant. But she knew nothing about you, it was not like she was a family servant. She was just there to serve for the event. "I know not, sir", the poor waitress said, holding the tray on her chest and trying to go back into the kitchen. "I apologize. Uh. More wine?" The girl also asked, as Don Giovanna remembered he had ran out of wine. But he shook his head and left the empty glass in the servant's hand, moving towards you to have a better look, not noticing he was right under the flight of stairs where Diavolo and a follower of his were standing. Then, he started to talk to himself, contemplating you.

"O, they doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems they hangs upon the cheek of night." he moved his hands together, in a similar motion as one of a prayer. "Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear. Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, as yonder angel o'er their fellows shows." Don Giovanna's fingers intertwined with each other as he spoke. "The measure done, I'll watch their place of stand, and, touching theirs, make blessed my rude hand." with his intense gaze, Giorno's left hand moved to slide on the side of his body, as the right hand touched his chest. "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."

He made the mistake to melt right under the sight of Diavolo, who smirked in seeing him so vulnerable for such a thing. Nobody was there to tell him that falling in love with you would have been his end. The pink haired lord was not irritated, for even if Giorno had tried to humiliate him, the golden haired boss was humiliating himself now, over a fleeting love. The man on the stairs wouldn't even have needed to do anything. Not that he wanted it in the first place. He would have behaved, to show his superiority off.

But Diavolo's loyal servant, lord Cioccolata, had other ideas. "This, by his voice, should be Giovanna. Fetch me my rapier, boy. What dares the slave come hither, cover'd with an antic face, to fleer and scorn at our solemnity?" the green haired man bent over the banister to take a better look to the supercilious Giorno, who, again, had no clue of what was right above him. "Now, by the stock and honour of my kin, to strike him dead, I hold it not a sin." Cioccolata murmured, but felt his arm get gripped from his boss.

"Why, how now, kinsman. Wherefore storm you so?" the servant's jaw dropped.

"Signore, this is literally Don Giovanna, our foe, a villain that is hither come in spite, to scorn at our solemnity this night." as the same servant who Giorno had talked to approached Diavolo and offered him a glass of wine, the pink haired boss smelled it and took a little sip from it. Then, grinned. He was not in the mood for violence. For now. So he had to keep Cioccolata back from every kind of bad decision. It wasn't easy, to keep such a man from murder. Out of pure honesty.

"Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone, Cioccolata. He bears him like a portly gentleman, and, to say truth, Naples brags of him to be a virtuous and well-govern'd youth." Diavolo explained. It would not have been good if something happened to that man in his mansion. He was part of Naples' pride. "I would not for the wealth of all the town, here in my house do him disparagement: therefore be patient, take no note of him. It is my will, the which if thou respect, show a fair presence and put off these frowns, and ill-beseeming semblance for a feast." was he asking his most violent servant to have... patience over his archenemy? Yes, he was, and Cioccolata was speechless.

"It fits, when such a villain is a guest. I'll not endure him." the angered man replied, trying once again to get his signore to reasonate and realize they could get rid of him so easily if they wished so. The councilor Mista was even too distracted by Diavolo's daughter to keep an eye on his boss. It could have been so simple, for Cioccolata, to...

"Am I the master here, or you? You'll not endure him? God shall mend my soul! You'll make a mutiny among my guests! You will set cock-a-hoop! You'll be the man!" the pink haired man slightly raised his voice - not enough for Giorno to hear - and made himself clear, so that if the green haired made any possible mess during his feast, he would have had to take his own responsibility.

"I will withdraw, then." the servant gave up on his ideas, but rudely. His one almost felt like a poisonous gaze. "But this intrusion shall now seeming sweet convert to bitter gall." he said, indirectly threatening an oblivious Giorno. Talking about him, during their conversation between the two men on the stairs, he turned unnoticed until Cioccolata left. When Diavolo looked down on him again, the golden haired boss was now in the middle of a crowded mess of people who was dancing, people who was eating and conversing. He was with you. Finally.

Giorno Giovanna approached you in a way you couldn't help but notice. He looked like the sun, a golden being, it caught your heart as well. Neverending seconds of staring at each other followed, until... "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this." he gently took your hand in his. It felt warm. "My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." as the man said so, he leaned in to leave a soft kiss on the back of your hand. His sweet scent overwhelming you as he moved. How gentle.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this." you withdrew your hand and slightly chuckled, reassuring him it was fine. Someway, the two of you found yourself moving away from the crowd. In a more intimate spot. Diavolo couldn't even find you. "For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch..." your sweet voice was soothing the man more than you would realize. "...and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

Giorno bit his lip in anticipation, and gently exhaled. "Have not saints lips... and holy palmers too?" he asked, leaning down right towards your soft mouth, before you moved aside and, chuckling like an angel playing in a field, avoided the gentleman's kiss, jokingly scolding his mind with a mischievous smile.

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." You provoked him. Where had Giorno Giovanna's temperance gone? He had swore to his councilor, just before leaving his house, that he wouldn't have let love blind his senses. And there he was. Plus, you did not know each other. You did not know who you were. You did not know you should have not been there together. Due to this, he gladly accepted your game, and chuckled back. God, he was so ethereal and he did not even realize it.

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do." he begged, looking almost afraid of touching you, or your waist, or your own hand. How can someone fall so deep in love after having just met someone? Does love at first sight even exist? "They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." Don Giovanna's tone sounded impatient.

But you had accepted to play his game, and now you would have played it until the very end. You smirked, staring at the blonde man's trembling lips. "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." you said, implying the fact that you wouldn't have made the first step. It made sense, though. It was him, who had compared you to a saint first. Little did you know, you were playing with fire, for that man you felt love at first sight for, was your uncle's archenemy.

Giorno grinned, and hid you more against the wall, as your hands automatically wrapped around his figure. Though you didn't move in for a kiss. Until... "Then move not... while my prayer's effect I take.", said the man, grazing with his lips against yours, and finally pressing. You felt all your senses relieve and relax, as your hands grasped on the fabric of the Don's jacket. You didn't like your uncle's crimes. You wouldn't have liked Giorno's ones too. But you had no clue. And he had no clue you were Diavolo's niece/nephew. And you were in love.

His sugary sweet lips clicked against yours a last, neverending time, when he pulled back and thought staring right in your eyes was a good idea. "Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged." Don Giovanna whispered, breathing hard against your giggling mouth. He hadn't stopped playing, you noticed with a pleasant feeling.

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took...?" you slyly asked him, clearly wanting the kiss to continue, clearly wanting more, having no idea of how wrong it was. Having no idea of how dangerous is was. Though his eyes widened, and got even closer, so close to giving you what you wanted for the second time. You felt yourself growing so enamored.

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!" he paused for a second, before he bit his own lower lip. "Give me my sin again." Giorno whispered, grabbing your waist with his hand and kissing you, almost desperately, but romantically, against the wall. He had been so focused on anything else, that he had forgotten the true flavor of love, and living it all again after he had swore he wouldn't have done it, was way too intense. Way too beautiful. Better than the art he'd been collecting the latest years.

When he pulled back, you instictively smiled and raised an eyebrow, silently chuckling a little. "You kiss by the book..." you told him, caressing his neck gently and carefully. If it were for him and you, that beautiful moment could go on for hours, days, even an eternity. But beautiful things never last. The two of you almost had a heart attack, when the arm of a blonde, long haired man grabbed your right wrist, ripping your dream in half.

"Madam/sir, your uncle craves a word with you." he almost managed to get you away from Giorno, when the Don grabbed your left wrist, and pulled you towards him, not letting the man, Tiziano to be precise, bring you away.

"What's their uncle?"

At that question, the almond eyed man smirked, as if he was ready to drop a heavy bomb on the snooty Don. "Marry, bachelor, their uncle is the lord of the house, and a good man, wise and virtuous. I nursed his niece/nephew, that you talk'd withal." as if Tiziano had read into Don Giovanna's mind, he added something else, just for the sake of making it even heavier. "I tell you, he that can lay hold of them, shall have the chinks."

Then the blonde haired Don followed the two of you around the hall, until he saw you get pulled upstairs by Tiziano, and connected his brains to what he saw. Diavolo, waiting for you upstairs, and Tiziano holding your arm so that you wouldn't have been able to run away. Four painful words formed on Giorno's whispering lips. "Are they an enemy...?" he asked to himself, looking at you up there, until Trish didn't appear as well behind you.

Trish wasn't happy to be there, she loved Guido Mista, but apparently Diavolo had called all his family back. And your presence there, only confirmed his fear. You were about to step back towards him and say something, but Tiziano caught your shoulder just in time, and pulled you close enough to whisper you the words you would have never wanted to hear. "His name is Giorno." he added more details. "Giorno Giovanna. The only appearance you should match to your great enemy."

You stood there. Empty. You and your forbidden lover had understood what was going on. And both your hearts clenched. And both your hearts suffered. How could love be so beautiful yet so evil, to make a man live and die on the same evening. How...

We all know how this story ends, we know about the pain, we know about the sorrow. But what if this time it made sense. One of the lovers is dirty with criminal blood, running through his veins, and you accept him, in the good and in the bad. Is this right...?

Or is death the punishment, for the sin that in reality your lips hadn't purged at all?

#jojo's bizarre adventure #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jojo part five #vento aureo #jjba au #jojo au #giorno giovanna #giorno x reader #diavolo #tiziano #cioccolata #trish una #guido mista #narancia ghirga #jojo fic #christmas time #don giorno giovanna #don giovanna

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rfamess · 3 years

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RFA + V and Saeran at a party!!

alright friends. picture this: a party. what kind of party? that is for you to think about. i’ll give my 2 cents on what they prefer, but their behaviors still stand. If you’ve ever been to a party, (and I consider just hanging w friends a party as well... literally anything is a party if you want it to be a party) you know DAMN WELL you can find a specific type of person at every single function. we’ve got the corner standers, we got the emotional rollercoaster, the bitches getting crossed, the couch chillers, the flirt, the table dancer. you get the vibe.

in short, this is a (very) drunk rfa at a party.

Jumin

- you already know this guy only drinks wine.

- two bottles; one red, one white (very bold) double fisting them.

- wine drunk is the best drunk lemme tell ya.

- he is just so relaxed. GODDAMN he’s chill

- he’s so chill that he could walk up to zen and take a drag of a cig. shocking. why would he do that? he would never do that! (he’s drunk bby)

- personal morals have left the chat

- definetly happy and very social. Likes to tell very good stories— and they are good. very funny guy

- total opposite from his work self, which many people know. it’s refreshing to see him let loose

- and when i say let loose i mean let loose

- oh, the function? he owns it. not only is he the life of the party, it’s actually in his penthouse. he literally owns it.

- he has the potential to throw a gatsby-like party, but he likes to stick with his close friends and colleagues. people are allowed to bring a plus one. the more the merrier. but not too many lol

Zen

- oh this guy? he’s a professional partier. balls to the wall type drinker.

- shotgunning beer, pong master, stack cup, ride the bus, shots, up jenkins. he plays them allllll

- very competitive. VERY. he gets really into it, but he’s not like a competitive jock type, he’s just very passionate.

- he will accept his losses with grace and dignity, as well as with a nice handshake with his opponent.

- his passion sometimes causes him some accidents. will probably bump into you, apologize and call you some sweet pet name, and then return back to his zone.

- everyone loves to talk to him. not just bc he’s handsome, but he is just so genuinely nice and can hold a great conversation, even while completely obliterated.

- he’s the kind of guy that goes around and makes sure everyone is having fun

- smooth moves. very flirtatious, duh. can literally charm anyone.

- ngl he’s probably also a horny drunk. he’s not creepy or anything. he is definitely very courteous and respectful, but sometimes he has a lot on his mind...

- you can probably find him at one of jumins gatherings, at a work friends house, clubs, etc.

- he also loves themed parties. he really gets into it

Saeyoung/Seven

- he goes so hard.

- another themed party lover. especially costume parties.

- would probably show up in a costume even if it in fact was not a costume party.

- sorry, have you ever listened to tik tok by kesha? seven literally IS the party. “the party don’t start til I walk in”

- freestyle dances literally any chance he gets. definetly starts a dance circle— everyone loves a good dance circle

- he’s not a good dancer. he’s not bad either. but dancing with the stars is not in his future

- he’s wasted, but even if he wasn’t, he’d still be the life of the party. it just becomes magnified by however many drinks he’s had.

- very much parks and rec tom haverford vibes. snake juice episode. classic.

- he gets antsy to build things for no reason. tries to do small physics balancing things or maybe just do something productive, like cooking. he never cooks so he has no idea what he’s doing. will probably set the smoke alarm off, sprinklers will be going and people will be partying with INDOOR RAIN.

- that’s his legacy— the guy who set off the sprinklers at that party that one time

- you could probably find him crashing random peoples parties. he hears one going on in some apartment on the street and somehow he gets in and nobody questions it.

Yoosung

- you already know he gets DRANK.

- he doesn’t drink alcohol, the alcohol drinks HIM.

- he always goes over his limit. not bad enough where he’s incapacitated, but he for sure blacks out a lot of the time

- he’s kind of like a mix of his two besties ;) zen and seven. he’s a dancer, but he’s a COMPETETIVE DANCER. lol he probably challenges people to a dance off or contest. also likes table top games.

- he is prone to.... emotion. which is okay! but it happens

- once in a blue moon he’ll cry over something minor, but then start crying-laughing over it 2 seconds later.

- he finds a wii console buried tucked away in a drawer somewhere. he really brings it together when mario kart or wii sports resort gets pulled out. especially if it’s the sword play one. his find gets him clout at the party lol

- probably sees someone he thinks he wants to talk to... he overthinks how to approach them a little too much. but he’ll take a shot and go do it

- it always works out, he’s very friendly and likeable.

- he attends his college parties and always ends up making friends but he’s also hammered so he might not remember it much.

- probably wakes up in a random field somewhere the next morning. he is very confused.

Jaehee

- she goes to town on hard liqour. she can handle it alright.

- genuinely wants to fight everyone. not in a bad way, more of a “let me show you how fucking strong i am” way. it sure brings an audience

- people accept her challenges— she always beats them. probably turns them into drinking competitions too.

- like zen, she’s very competitive. she might lose her composure a little bit, but always self soothes and gets right back into it.

- 2 words: HYPE. WOMAN.

- she can get ANYONE excited about ANYTHING. always cheering others on and having them break out of their comfort zone (if they choose to do so).

- very big emotions. fangirls a lot. flirts a lot. a little dramatic, but she’s very entertaining.

- another great story teller— she loves to talk to people about the things she loves or crazy things that have happened to her.

- once she sobers up a little more, she is quite the helper. she helps clean up, helps people who might be throwing up. she’s a gentle care taker and welcoming presence :)

- she attends house parties a lot. usually her office friends, but sometimes zen brings her to his friends parties.

- she doesn’t party a lot since she works so much but when she does, she goes DUMMY!!

- very creative guy. he’ll have a conversation with someone and midway through he goes HOLD THAT THOUGHT!! because he’s had a little intrusive lightbulb moment. runs to go write it down or do a quick sketch then return to said conversation.

- if there’s a hot tub, he’s in it. he’s so in it. he has a glass of champagne and just sits. a lot of the time he never changes he just keeps his clothes on in the water. people question his judgement

- he’s not super animated like a lot of others, he’s more chill, but he’s also very excitable.

- he’s very giggly. anything could make him laugh.

- he really stays true to his hobbies while drunk too.

- photographer/videographer. but since he’s at a party and he’s drunk, they aren’t professional photos. a lot of them end up blurry. but a lot of them turn out great!

- he leaves disposable cameras everywhere so people can just pick them up and take their own photos— he sends out all the pics after they get developed.

- he’s definetly the type to go around making sure everyone is safe and helping them whenever possible. he doesn’t take a lot of time for himself :(

- he parties with jumin at his penthouse. they have a lot of the same friends and it’s a familiar place.

- he doesn’t go to giant parties either, mostly just friends in the comfort of his or someone else’s home.

Saeran

- I don’t think Saeran drinks very much, to be honest. But hypothetically….

- he’s obsessed with making fancy cocktails. they are so beautiful. but they get infinitely worse the more he drinks them lol

- his parties are always with his close friends, probably at his own house. he’s more of a homebody. and the presence of his friends is very grounding

- he really likes to play tabletop-turned drinking games

- he also likes to make games up! kind of like true american in new girl. he’s actually really really good at making up rules on the spot and they always turn out super fun.

- he’s definitely the kind of guy you want at your party if you want to have a lot of fun just doing random shit.

- speaking of random shit, just like his brother he also gets spikes of energy to just go do something. he makes homemade ice cream in a plastic bag. he rearranges the furniture. he will learn magic tricks in about 2 minutes and then show everyone he knows.

- will try and flirt with you. like a lot. he’s incredibly endearing and gets kind of handsy. and by handsy i mean he wants to hold your hand briefly. both of his hands clasped around one of yours.

- he likes to do really harmless pranks. like so harmless that they’re just hilarious. he’ll take someone’s phone and sign them up for mailing lists they don’t want. he might replace a family photo with something else. or maybe just hide behind a wall and jump out and scare someone when they walk by!! PRANK CALLS. classic.

- he’s really funny. like really fucking funny. without even trying. and boy does he love to make people laugh. he’s comedy gold and a pro with the one-liners.

- after drinking he will fall asleep ANYWHERE. on the floor, in a chair, under a desk, on top of a desk, he could fall asleep standing up. all his friends have pictures of him just sleeping in strange places.

#mystic messenger #zen mystic messenger #hyun ryu #yoosung kim #jaehee kang #jihyun kim #v mystic messenger #mysme #saeran choi #saeyoung choi #mysme 707 #seven mystic messenger #jumin han

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holykillercake · 3 years

Text

Hazy Justice - 02

01 03

pairing: Cop!Smoker x MilitaryDoctor!Reader

word count: 2k

summary: After eight years serving your country in a war, you returned to your hometown as the new head of Trauma Surgery in one of the best hospitals in the country. You were expecting a calmer life now, but suddenly you see yourself choosing between your brain and your heart, light and dark, justice and evil.

notes: I guess you saw the gif already! We have the introduction of a new character!

𝕷𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘, 𝖗𝖊𝖖𝖚𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖘, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊!

Stiff neck and a headache. This is what you get for sleeping on your living room floor.

You took a quick shower and some painkillers before heading for another day of work. On your silent drive towards the hospital, your mind ran through various things.

The first being the list of your patients, the ones you had to check upon first, their conditions, and find out the attending who took care of them during the night, ask them about possible complications and current situation.

The second subject hovered your head as more of a question, though. Had you finally met your neighbor, or was it just a dream, the result of your exhausted state?

You spotted a cute restaurant when you stopped at the red light, perhaps you´d have lunch there today, it was near the hospital, and the place gave you a ¨good food¨ vibe.

The image of the man you dreamed about wandered its way back into your thoughts, despite your difficulty of seeing a perfect picture. His hair was actually the only thing you were sure about. White, a single lock was falling on his forehead, but it didn´t look like it was meant to be there. Maybe it was just ¨end of the day¨ hairstyle.

You parked your car on your designated spot and looked around the parking lot. It was the first time you´ve seen it so crowded. It made sense, though.

A yellow Jaguar drove in a couple of minutes after you did, and since that was the only yellow car you had seen so far, and you spot the small white stuffed bear hanging on the mirror, you knew it was Law.

He left his car and walked over to you with a strange expression.

¨Y/N-ya, what are you doing here?¨ always so straight to the point.

¨Well, good morning, Law. How are you?¨ the man rolled his eyes, but you refused to answer until he learned how to talk to people properly.

¨Morning, Y/N-ya. I´m good. What are you doing here?¨

¨What do you mean? I work here.¨ you gave him a duh face.

¨Yeah, but not today.¨ your head tilted to the side ¨Today is your day off.¨

¨My day off?¨ you were so used to not having days off that it didn´t even cross your mind. You asked the HR person everything but days off. ¨What am I supposed to do on my day off?¨

¨I don´t know, Y/N-ya. Go explore the city or have some rest. Today you only get inside this hospital wounded or dead.¨ he said bitterly, patted your shoulder, and entered the building.

The only thing besides work you had planned for the day was paying a visit to that cute restaurant, so it took you some good thinking to come up with a plan. Maybe Tashigi was free, and you two could do something together.

<Mornin´ Tashigi! U free today?>

<Morning, Y/N-san! I just need to take somethings to the office then I´m free!>

Tashigi´s station was inside the Justice District, so it didn´t take long for you to reach it. The journey was peaceful, and the view was something to take note of. Beautiful leafy trees were strategically planted on the sidewalks, offering shadows for those who preferred to walk, no scratched paint in any house, store, or building. They all looked recently finished. The asphalt was shiny and without bumps or holes, making every car trip smooth.

You entered the Police Department and couldn´t help but feel a bit lost.

¨The new Commissioner made quite a few changes in the place.¨ you mumbled to yourself.

Back in the day when Sengoku was the Chief of the Police Headquarters, the halls were lighter and brighter, the furniture was softer, and it smelled like spring - if that is possible. After he retired, a man named Sakazuki took his place, and to be honest, he seemed pretty decent, but he deals with justice differently, and the place shows.

First, it was damn cold; the AC was making his money worth it; the smell was the second thing that hit you. The strong odor of bleach, the freezing temperature, and the morbid LEDs on the bleak grey ceiling made you feel like you were in a morgue. Everything else was made out of either leather or metal.

This Sakazuki guy was definitely on the list of the people you didn´t want to meet.

¨Hi, can you help me? I´m looking for-¨

¨Y/N-san!¨ Tashigi yelled, almost losing balance and falling on her face.

¨Hey, careful there!¨ you hugged her. ¨You´re good to go?¨

¨Yeah, I just...¨ she turned her head around a couple of times, looking for something. She smiled and waved at someone ¨Smoker-san! Here!¨

The man was getting out of a room, sunglasses on and a cigar on his mouth. He was tall and seemed muscular under the leather jacket, but what caught your attention was his hair, the same white hair you remembered from last night. Only this time it was completely put back, no loose locks.

The change in his expression made you think he had recognized you as well, and the thought of Tashigi´s boss being your front-door neighbor made you chuckle.

¨That´s what I call a coincidence.¨ he said and took off the shades. You struggled not to gasp when his light-brown eyes met yours.

¨Right? I was so tired last night that I thought you were a dream.¨ you giggled, and he broke a smile.

¨You know each other?¨ Tashigi asked.

¨We´re neighbors! It took a while for us to meet, though.¨

¨Tough week.¨ he touched the nape of his neck.

¨Yeah, it was. We even saw you yesterday, Y/N-san!¨ the young officer said, confusing you ¨The Sora park, we were there too! But since you looked so busy, I didn´t want to interrupt.¨

So much happened, but you couldn´t recall anything.

You just focused on starting the triage process. Determining the severity of the patient´s condition, assign a priority level, taking care of those who could be assisted in the local, and having the severely injured ones being sent to the hospital where you knew Marco would take good care of them.

You were immensely wrong when you guessed that the triage process would be easier, thinking that the majority of the victims were fatalities.

Apparently, the park was celebrating its 5th anniversary, so people from not only the different districts but other cities were all gathered in the park.

¨Sorry, I didn´t... see you guys.¨ you said a little apologetic and lost.

¨No apologies needed.¨ Smoker said ¨It was pretty intense. Although we were not supposed to spread knowledge of our presence in the scene.¨ he gave her a disguised rebuke, and you watched your friend get redder than a bell pepper, apologizing.

You stared at each other for two seconds before you burst into laughter.

¨You´re still as clumsy as I remember, Tashigi.¨ you wiped a few tears ¨But don´t worry, this information dies with me.¨ you turned to Smoker, and he nodded, trusting you as a military.

¨S-Should we go, Y/N-san?¨

¨Yes, of course! Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Smoker.¨

¨Pleasure is all mine, Y/N.¨ you shook hands again, staring each other in the eyes.

His eyes slowly traveled to your lips, and you noticed that you were biting it, blushing more than Tashigi.

¨Well, see you, then!¨ you let go of his hand and rushed to the door.

¨Y/N,¨ you turned with an audible hm? and raised brows ¨knock if you need anything.¨ you nodded and smiled.

¨Will do.¨

¨I´ll have the Kenafa, please.¨ Tashigi told the waiter with so much of a look in the menu.

The cute restaurant you drove by earlier was called Terracota, and it was specialized in foreign cuisine. Even with the names and ingredients, you couldn´t figure out something you´d like, so you decided to order the same thing as the officer.

¨That´s what eight years of ration do to you.¨ you joked.

¨What have you been eating these days?¨

¨Whatever they have on the menu at the hospital. Sandwiches, pasta, sandwiches, sandwiches, chocolate bars, sandwiches...¨ you laughed ¨Haven´t had time to think about cooking yet.¨

¨Take outs are simpler, right?¨ you nodded ¨So, what do you think about Smoker-san?¨

¨Looks decent, polite, hard worker-¨

¨Aw, come on, Y/N-san! That´s not what I asked!¨ she gave you a suggestive look ¨He´s not taken, you know.¨

You open and closed your mouth a couple of times, words refusing to come out.

¨What? Tashigi!¨

¨I´m just saying!¨ she held her hands up, defending herself in the middle of giggles ¨But seriously, Y/N-san, I think he liked you too.¨

¨Ok, first, I never said I liked him, and second, I just got here. Can´t really think about this stuff.¨

¨Well, you should consider, at least. He doesn´t go out a lot, so...¨ she prolonged the last word ¨...maybe it was fate that put you two as neighbors.¨ you scoffed.

¨You believe in this stuff?¨

¨I do. Sometimes we see some crazy things...¨ her expression frowned ¨...it helps if I believe in fate. And the reason behind things... you know?¨ you nodded when she looked at you, even though you didn´t.

For your salvation, the waiter came back with the amuse-bouche, breaking the uncomfortable moment.

You didn´t want to tell her that you stopped believing that everything happens for a reason a long time ago.

¨But you said you have a brother here, right? Have you seen him already?¨

¨Unfortunately, no. He´s out of town now, so I´ll have to wait. God, I miss him so much!¨ a smile grew on your lips with the idea of seeing him again.

¨Oh yeah, you told me he runs businesses. Do you know the names? Maybe I know or visited before, or even know him!¨

¨Of course! There´s the Casino Verde, the Hotel Verde and a restaurant called Suna. I´ve never be-¨

The girl in front of you turned purple as she choked on her food, a raucous cough called everyone´s attention while one hand covered her mouth and the other smacked her chest.

¨Y-Your brother is C-Crocodile?¨ she asked with a hushed voice, still trying to fight her food from coming out.

You were expecting her to know him, but the explosive noodle reaction caught you a little off guard.

¨Yeah... are you ok?¨ you offered her a napkin which she gladly accepted.

¨I´m sorry about this, it´s just...¨ she paused a bit, brows furrowing while her fingers tore the napkin you gave her. Then she took a deep breath and recomposed herself ¨... he´s very famous, you know? He basically runs the Light District!¨

You knew he was rich and powerful, but to say that he ran the most extravagant district was a surprise. A good one, though. You couldn't help but feel proud of him.

You remember all the sacrifices he made when you were two just kids lost in this world. All the humiliating jobs he´d work at to buy you food. The pain of having his childhood taken from him at such young age.

He became a man to protect you. He never let anything or anyone hurt you, he never let you starve even if that meant he´d be going to sleep with nothing but a glass of tap water in his stomach.

You felt a burning sensation on your nose, and your eyes started to water, bringing a genuine smile to rise on your lips and tears roll down your cheeks. You didn´t mind it, though. You were too happy.

¨Yeah... he is my brother.¨

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weloveharrypotter · 3 years

Text

Father Figure Pt. 8

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Student! Orphan! Reader

Summary: Y/n, Albus, James, and Teddy all pull the prank, and Y/n seems to only drift closer to Teddy and away from Kat. (This is an Au where Fred lived. It takes place in current time, cursed child doesn’t happen. Also I know Teddy Lupin is supposed to be 6 years older than the reader and James Sirius but for the sake of the fic I’m making him a year older)

Warnings: Cussing, prank

Y/n, Albus, James, and Teddy were all waiting outside the potions room.

“Why am I the one that has to distract the charms professor?” Albus asked.

“Beacuse that’s what we voted on.” James replied quickly.

Albus sighed and leaned against the wall while we all looked. Soon enough the charms professor turned the corner.

Albus, James, and Teddy ducked behind walls and furniture, and took up all the spots, and Y/n was stuck with no cover.

Teddy saw this and before the charms professor saw this, he gently grabbed Y/n and pulled her over with him.

His back was to the wall. He held his right arm around her waist as her back pressed against his torso.

They both blushed a bit before pulling themselves together. The professor passed by. The group of three made their way into the potions room.

Albus sat down outside the door pretending to read a book, and keep look out. Teddy, James, and Y/n started to work.

Sooner or later the dungbomb and fireworks system was set up. That’s when they heard the signal, four knocks.

The signal was for when Albus was about to distract the professor. The four stood quietly. They heard mumbling voices from the door.

They only caught a few word here and there. That’s when they caught wind of the conversation, and how badly Albus was failing at his job.

“Why are you acting suspicious?” They heard the charms professor ask.

“I’m not.” Albus said too quickly.

Y/n rolled her eyes and rubbed her head, James face palmed, and Teddy sighed disappointedly.

They all now knew how bad of a liar he was, and took note to make sure he isn’t allowed to be the distraction anymore.

They heard a few mumbling words before there was a jiggle at the door knob.

All of their eyes widened as they looked at each other.

“What do we do?” James asked.

“Window.” Y/n said. They all ran over.

“Wait the grounds keeper.” Teddy said as James climbed out.

“Just run!” Y/n said.

James and Teddy helped Y/n out. The shut the window after she had gotten out.

“Hey!” The groundskeeper yelled. They all looked at each other and all had the same thought.

At the same time they broke out running. The groundskeeper was audibly running after them. Luckily they all kept about the same pace.

“Get back here!” The groundskeeper yelled.

“Where do we go?” James asked.

“We’ll all split up, and meet back at the lake in about five to ten.” Y/n said.

“Sounds good.” Teddy agreed and James nodded.

They ran their separate ways and of course the groundskeeper chose to follow Y/n. She ran past the trees and bushes, occasionally getting hit in the face.

She made her way to the lake, but knew she couldn’t let the groundskeeper follow her. She managed to get ahead of him, and then turned a corner.

She saw a tree that was definitely climbable. She ran up and climbed her way pretty high up. She sat on the branch as she watched as the groundskeeper turned the corner.

She watched as he looked around and huffed angrily. He turned around and made his way back to he way they came.

Y/n had waited a minute or two before climbing back down. Than she made her way to the lake.

As she walked up to the lake, she could see Teddy and James sitting on the dock, waiting.

“Glad to see you two made it.” Y/n said as she walked over.

“Glad to see you you made it too. I was starting to think you got caught.” James said.

“I don’t get caught.” Y/n replied.

“You did a minute ago.” James said as she sat down next to them. They sat in a triangle position all facing inward.

“I... did.” Y/n said.

“I got... caught.” Y/n restated.

“What? Never been caught before?” James asked.

“Nope never.” She replied.

“Are you serious?” Teddy asked.

“Yup. I mean some people knew it was me but couldn’t prove it so, no punishment.” Y/n explained as she brushed her hair in the right side of her face, behind her ear.

“Your bleeding.” Teddy said as he sat up.

Y/n touched where he was looking at and then looked at her hands. She was indeed bleeding.

“I’ll be fine. Probably just got hit by a thorn bush.” Y/n explained.

Teddy scooted closer and grabbed her face gently. He moved it slightly to see better.

“We should get back and clean it up.” He said.

“I’ll be fine.” Y/n insisted.

“Better safe than sorry.” James chimed in.

“Alright than.” Y/n gave in after a moment.

They all stood up and made their way back to the school. Once they got there they made their way to the Gryffindor boys dormitory.

When they walked in they were relived to see they were the only ones. Teddy made Y/n sat on the bed as James got the first aid kid.

James soon came out with the kit and handed it to Teddy. He opened it and dampened the cotton swab with rubbing alcohol.

He then rubbed it on Y/n’s cut. It stung a little but not enough to make Y/n do anymore that a small hiss.

“Sorry.” Teddy apologized.

“It’s alright.” Y/n replied.

Teddy finished up cleaning her cut and pulled out a band aide. He opened it and stuck it on her face.

“Thank you.” Y/n said.

“No problem.” Teddy replied.

“Do you have a bathroom?” Y/n asked.

“Yeah right there.” James answered.

Y/n gave him a quick thanks and she walked over, and into the bathroom. Once the door closed Teddy turned around.

He looked up at James’ face, and he rolled his eyes.

“When are you going to tell her?” James asked.

“We’re not starting this tonight.” Teddy replied.

A minute or two later Y/n walked out and walked back to the bed.

“Despite being caught and everything, that was fun.” Y/n said.

“Right. Being caught can be fun sometimes too. The thrill of the chase and everything.” James said.

The trio talked for a while before Teddy and Y/n thought it was best to head out, seeing as it was almost dinner.

Teddy and Y/n got to the common room and said their goodbyes. Than Y/n made her way to the girls dormitory.

Y/n got to the dorm room and changed into some casual clothes. Luckily the schools dress code had gotten less strict after the battle.

The kids not longer had to wear their uniform during dinner, and could wear what they wanted as long as it was appropriate.

After Y/n had gotten dressed she put her phone in her pocket and hid her wand. Once she was done she made her way out of the dorm, and to the dining hall.

When she walked up to the arch way she saw Kat and Taylor making out, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

She can’t believe Kat would go back to him. He cheated. She sighed as she shook her head and stepped in.

She didn’t have anywhere to sit. Kat was her only friend. She went to go turn around and than bumped into someone.

She looked up and saw Teddy.

“Sorry.” She said.

“It’s fine, love.” He replied.

“Where were you going?” He asked.

“Oh uh, I don’t... really have anywhere to sit.” Y/n informed.

“Bullshit.” Teddy said as he grabbed her hand.

Teddy pulled her over to the gryffindor table, and was leading her to someone. He looked around before spotting someone.

He continued to drag Y/n over to the person he was looking at. Once he stopped Y/n looked up and saw James. Teddy tapped him on the shoulder.

James turned around.

“What?” He asked.

“Can Y/n sit with you?” He asked.

“Of course, yeah.” James said.

Teddy pulled her over and she took a seat next to James. Teddy leaned down and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“There now you have a place to sit.” He said before standing up, and walking away.

—————

James and Y/n were talking when they heard someone clear their throat behind them.

The pair turned around and saw the Gryffindor prefect behind them.

“The headmaster wants to see you.” They said before walking off.

James and Y/n looked at each other with an ‘oh shit’ face.

They stood up and hesitantly made their way to the headmasters office.

——————

Once they got there they saw a nervous Teddy and Albus.

The headmaster appeared from around the corner.

“Now do you know why your here?” They asked.

“No.” James replied after a moment.

“Really?” Headmaster asked knowing he was lying.

There was silence.

“That prank you pulled was dangerous despite the intentions behind it.” He said.

“Next time report the professor behavior to me, and I’ll handle it.” Headmaster added.

“And the punishment?” Albus asked.

“15 points from Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. You’ll all have detention with the charms professor for the incoming week. You homes will be notified.” He explained.

They all nodded.

“Now, head back to the dining hall.” He said.

The four of them headed out of the office and stoped for a second.

They were notifying her home. This was the reason she could never get caught. This was the literal worst case scenario for her.

Y/n sighed shakily.

“It could’ve been worse.” James said.

Teddy hummed in agreement. Y/n quickly walked off despite Teddy, Albus, and James calling her.

She needed to be away from the school. With someone who knew and understood.

——————

Y/n had gotten to diagon alley and a few tears slipped. She wiped them away the second they fell. She got to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.

She pushed the door opened and spotted Fred looking at a sheet of paper behind the counter. She walked over to him.

“Hey, Fred.” She said shakily. He looked up and smiled but dropped when he noticed her shaking a bit.

“What’s wrong darling?” He asked.

“C-can we go to your office?” She asked. He nodded.

The pair made their way up to his office, and he closed the door behind him. Y/n walked over to his desk, and sat cris cross on top of it.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I pulled a prank with James, Albus, and Teddy.” Y/n informed.

“And we got caught.” Y/n explained.

“Darling it’s ok to be caught-.” “And they’re going to inform our homes.” She said cutting him off.

“They’re going to tell the orphanage what I did.” Y/n admitted with tears brimming her eyes.

Fred stood shocked.

“Yeah, that’s not good.” Fred said quietly.

He walked over. He stoped in front of her.

“How bad of a prank was it?” He asked.

“Not the worst I’ve done but, I’m me so... probably bad.” Y/n admitted.

Fred sighed one again, and brought his hand up to brush his fingers through his hair. However, when he brought his hand up Y/n couldn’t help but flinch.

Fred stood shocked not knowing what to do.

“I-I wasn’t going to hit you.” Fred said softly.

“I’m sorry.” Y/n mumbled before getting up and attempting to leave.

Fred, however, caught her wrist and kept her from leaving.

“Hey, look at me.” Fred said.

Y/n sighed and turned around.

Fred squatted down and looked up at Y/n.

“It’s ok. I know you couldn’t help it. It’s not your fault.” Fred said.

Y/n unintentionally let a tear slip. Before she could wipe it Fred did.

“It’s going to be ok. I don’t know how, but I’m not going to let them hurt you again, ok?” He asked.

After a moment, Y/n nodded. He stood up and pulled her into a hug. Of course, Y/n hugged back.

———————

Y/n had gotten back to Hogwarts and was walking into the Gryffindor common room.

She stepped in and the portrait had closed behind her. She started to walk over to the couches.

“There you are.” Y/n heard a familiar voice say very relived.

She looked up and saw Teddy getting up quickly, and James getting up but not as fast.

“How have you not been caught?” Y/n asked.

“The head of house hasn’t made her rounds yet. Curfew is in thirty minutes.” Teddy explained.

“How long have you been waiting?” Y/n asked.

“Since you left.” James answered.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Y/n replied.

“Yes, we did.” James retorted.

“That’s what you do for friends.” James added.

“Friends?” Y/n asked.

“Yeah. I mean, unless you don’t want to be-.” “No it’s not that... it’s just, I’ve never really had one of those, or at least not real ones.” She explained the second he finished as she looked down.

James and Teddy shared a look. They both wrapped a shoulder around her and she looked up.

“Well, you do now.” They both said.

Y/n smiled and chuckled.

“Thanks.” Y/n said.

“No need to thank us.” James said.

“The pleasure is ours.” Teddy finished.

“Now, you two off to bed.” Teddy said.

James and Y/n said their goodbyes to one another, and to Teddy, before going their seperate ways.

Y/n made her way up to her dorm room, and walked in. Most of the girls were asleep, but Y/n took notice that Kat wasn’t there. She was probably staying at Taylor’s dorm.

She walked over to her bed and laid down. The events of today played through her head. Her mind was racing but still somehow managed to eventually drift to sleep.

——————

(A/N): Thank you for reading. I hope y’all enjoyed this. There will be more parts. 😊

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orange-meringue · 4 years

Text

Lost And Found Q & A

(The Q&A is here! Yeah, I’m not sure exactly how many of you ended up coming over from AO3, but I’ve decided to do the Q&A for my fic here -sorry to those of you who are uninterested in my writing life, I’ve been really invested in Lost And Found lately.

The first question was submitted here on Tumblr, and the rest are all from AO3. I hope you’re satisfied with my answers, and if you have any more questions after this or just want some elaboration, please feel free to ask! I’ll add them on in a reblog!

Anyway, enjoy! I’ll put everything beneath the cut)

How does Donnie adjust to physical touch/affection in the future?

-Donnie is definitely touch-starved. No way around it. As mentioned in the fic, Draxum, Huginn, and Muninn never really gave him more than a few one-sided hugs, fist-bumps or handshakes. He’d never been fully hugged or held until he met his brothers, and it’s still very weird and new to him. But obviously his brothers (as well as April and Splinter, once you get to know them) are pretty touchy, but a few of them are better at picking up on Donnie’s thing with touch than others. Overtime I feel like they would be able to get him more and more acquainted with things like casual hugs and friendly touch, and the more he gets used to these things, the less they startle him every time. Though I do imagine he has a few relapses in the future (which I do plan to write about) where touch goes back to being startling and scary, and it takes him a day or so to warm back up to it. Mostly good things, though! Donnie truly does love the familial affection, though he’s not likely to admit it

When did the boys prepare Donnie’s room?

I imagine they made his room during the last chapter, after Splinter’s apology and after April and Mayhem left, when everyone began to split up to do their own things. The timeline is a little questionable, but I like to think they had a good hour in there, and most of the materials were already there and ready -the room was likely empty, too, and was acting as some sort of storage room that they never knew what to do with. I tried to make it obvious that they’d been pressed for time and hadn’t been able to do much, hence the hastily made bed frame and why there were only two other pieces of furniture

Will Donnie ever feel comfortable enough to remove his tech around the lair in the future?

I feel that, much like canon Donnie, wearing his tech is a bit of a habitual thing. He doesn’t really see a reason to take it off, even if he’s technically safe in the lair, especially because it was ingrained in him via Draxum that his tech is everything keeping him safe. His tech is his armor and his safety blanket, and even if he knows, logically, he’s not going to be ambushed in the middle of the lair, it’s hard to take it off. Eventually, though, I feel like his brothers help with that. At one point Raph probably starts trying to train him to build strength and muscle on his own so he doesn’t have to rely on his limb clamps, and, as Donnie gets more comfortable with his brothers, he starts feeling relaxed enough to remove his battle shell when lounging around with them

Would Splinter try to bond with Donnie and attempt to form a better connection with him?

Splinter really does love his son and wants to spend time with him! But...uh...as of the story’s ending...he doesn’t know very much about him. He knows he was raised by Draxum to be a soldier and is very good with technology, but other than that...next to nothing. But it’s a great motivator! Splinter 100% wants to know Donnie as well as he knows his other boys, so he pulls out every stop to try and bond with him, making sure not to rush him despite his curiosity and family-oriented nature, because Donnie is currently pretty skeptical of adults (even Splinter) for...obvious reasons. But he wants to get to know Splinter, too, and, yeah, he’s willing to sit through his 5+ hour Lou Jitsu monologues to let that happen

How does Donnie feel about the boys’ future plans to capture oozesquitos and sabotage Draxum? Does he still have conflicted feelings about humans?

After the initial adrenaline and shock of everything subsides, I feel like it was Donnie’s idea to go after the oozesquitos. He probably wakes up in a cold sweat one night remembering oh yeah, Draxum and I unleashed a swarm of carrier bugs upon New York that are set on turning people into mutants and immediately feels the need to remedy his past mistake. So he builds a device to track the oozesquitos, which leads the boys to Big Mama’s hotel, and the rest is history (though slightly different than it was in canon, considering Donnie’s knowledge of Big Mama’s schemes and the Battle Nexus). But in terms of Draxum, Donnie would definitely be far more hesitant about trying to sabotage him. Donnie is still afraid of Draxum, after all -a small part of him feels like everything with his brothers is only temporary, and eventually he’s going to be stuck with Draxum again, and the further on his bad side he gets now, the worse it’s going to be when that does happen. He never directly challenges or fights Draxum whenever they run into him, and if there’s a way to avoid clashing with him altogether, he’ll take it

As for humans, Donnie’s definitely still conflicted about them. It’s been ingrained in him his whole life that humans are evil and selfish- that they forced his whole race underground and that’s the reason they now live in secrecy. And honestly, not even Splinter actually knows if that’s true. So Donnie remains skeptical, but overtime he’s able to do a lot more things around the city without fear of humans. They’re not actually that dangerous, he discovers, and maybe -just maybe- they’re alright. But there’s only one human Donnie grows to fully trust, and that’s April. In his eyes, she’s already proved her loyalty and compassion and, y’know, desire not to out him and his brothers to all of human-kind, not to mention she’s super badass and someone Donnie does not want on his bad side again. She’s a good friend, he realizes. He can definitely understand why she’s part of the family

How much does Donnie know about the Hidden City? Does he know about Big Mama and her hotel? How would the boys’ interactions with Big Mama change with this version of Donnie?

Considering he was raised with Draxum (who is apparently a well-known public figure in the Hidden City) he definitely has a fair amount of knowledge about the place, as well as a few ins and yōkai to go to when he needs something done. He’s very well-known himself, and actually has a reputation as a very intimidating soldier. He’s also well-versed in Big Mama’s tricks, because she and Draxum have done business before and she’s 100% tried to kidnap him for the Battle Nexus (emphasis on tried). Harking back to the question about Donnie’s oozesquito-capturing plan, the episode would definitely go differently with him there. It would be a great Leo and Donnie bonding episode, because neither of them trust Big Mama in the slightest, and Raph and Mikey would be far more cautious around her, though still intrigued by the concept of a mutant hotel and her apparent interest in helping them. But I think Donnie would manage to slip out with Leo before their brothers are captured, then it would be a race with a hilarious amount of arguing until they rescue Raph and Mikey, then everything would likely proceed as normal for the rest of the episode

Is Donnie jealous that April gets to attend school? What would his relationships with the Purple Dragons be like?

Donnie has no idea what school is. He’s heard mention of it in shows he’s pirated, but it isn’t until April comes to him one day complaining about her workload that he asks what she’s talking about. Once she explains it, he’s ecstatic! A place you can go to learn about math, science, history, and any other subject you could ever want? How much does it cost? ...It’s free?! He’s begging April to smuggle him in. She absolutely does not want to deal with that, but Donnie did make her a whole laptop and upgrade her phone a whole bunch, so how can she say no? She agrees to take him the next day, but it doesn’t fully occur to Donnie that the school is crowded with humans until he gets there. He’s on-edge the entire day, and it doesn’t help that he’s a weird green-skinned new kid no one’s ever seen before. I imagine it would be a great chapter for some good old fashioned Donnie and April bonding, and I’m 100% going to write it now, so anything else would be considered a spoiler

As for the Purple Dragons, I imagine their relationship wouldn’t be too different. The Purple Jacket episode would go relatively the same way, though I imagine Donnie would be a little more reluctant to actually join the Dragons, and way more irritating throughout the rest of the episode. But the plot and their feelings toward each other would likely remain the same

Does Donnie still eat bugs?

The whole thing with the bugs is basically...Draxum didn’t know what to feed Donnie as a baby, so he went to a local animal expert who recommended things like fruits, veggies, bugs, etc. So, considering that Draxum’s main priority was rebuilding his lab and he didn’t really have the resources to get food for anyone but himself (and maybe Huginn and Muninn- though they probably stuck to dumpster diving), Donnie’s appetite ended up consisting completely of typical turtle food, and only when he got older did Draxum started adding in things like nutrient bars and protein shakes, just to help him build more strength and muscle. So Donnie never really had anything else before he met his brothers, and it feels weird to him to jump straight from turtle to human food, so he slowly incorporates more of the latter into his diet overtime. He does still eat bugs, though. Splinter started getting him things like bug chips and seasoned bugs to make it less unsettling, but now he just eats those all the time and none of the others care for it. If a live bug happens to get in his way, he definitely won’t hesitate to eat it, and, yeah, sometimes it’s startling and almost made Leo throw up once, but it’s also really helpful if there’s a bug in the lair and none of the others want to deal with it. Donnie has eaten a spider before. The others just pretend it never happened

#rottmnt fic #rottmnt separated au #these were fun to write! Hope I gave you guys the answers you were looking for #special shoutout to lizwuzthere for asking literally 7/8 of the Q&A questions thank you so much alsdkfjhas #Lost And Found

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red-0ak-tree · 3 years

Note

For the Joplittle drabbles:

2. First kisses + 17. "What do we do now?"

Can't say my eyebrow didn't raise at basically every prompt in this list.

I went modern AU with this one for some reason?? ¯\_( ͠° ͟ʖ ͠° )_/¯

Blood Flow

{READ ON AO3}

Thomas Jopson was flirting with him. Edward was slow on the uptake, sure, but it was getting rather difficult to deny the fact that he was definitely being flirted with.

It was easy to overlook, at first. Thomas laughed at his bad jokes. Well, he was a nice guy. Maybe he was just trying to make sure Edward didn’t feel embarrassed when the entire table went quiet at his poorly timed quip.

Thomas bought Edward a drink. Well, they were at a bar, weren’t they? Friends bought each other drinks all the time.

Thomas placed a hand on Edward’s thigh beneath the table and said, “Well, I think your coat is cute.” It wasn’t. The windbreaker was bright orange, Hartnell was right that he looked like a construction worker. Or a biohazard. But, well, Thomas had always been too kind for his own good, he certainly wasn’t going to make fun of Edward’s outfit along with the rest of the guys.

But then Thomas wrapped his fingers around Edward’s wrist outside the bar, everyone dispersing for the night, and leaned in close to speak directly in Edward’s ear. “You’re rather cute, you know,” Thomas’s breath was warm on Edward’s cheek. “If you wanted, we could go back to my place for a drink.” That was harder to ignore. Edward wasn’t exactly experienced in these matters (in fact, he was decidedly inexperienced), but even he couldn’t mistake that for the proposition it was.

Edward said yes. It was a fit of madness, truly. He liked Thomas, quite a lot, and had imagined a night like this many times before. He wanted to kiss Thomas. He wanted to take Thomas to his bed. That wasn’t the problem.

The problem was this: Hartnell heard it from Tozer who heard it from Gore that Thomas had spent a few salacious nights with Henry Le Vesconte. Well, nobody made it to Le Vesconte’s bed if they weren’t at least a passably good lover. Le Vesconte was selective. Thomas was probably selective, too. And practiced. Not that Edward minded, he wasn’t a prude, but he had to admit the differences in their experience was enough to send a spike of anxiety into his throat.

Thomas’s flat was lovely. Small and homely, tidy and decorated with paintings from the thrift store. Edward knew that for a fact. He’d been out with Thomas to the thrift stores before, pilfering through piles of homegoods until Thomas found a mug that suited him or a vase he liked. They went out a lot, actually. They were friends. They did friend things together, like going to dinner and theaters and thrift stores.

And now they were on Thomas’s sofa together, the lights in the flat dim, their thighs pressed close together. It didn’t feel like the type of things friends did together, not anymore.

Thomas didn’t even offer a drink. It had been a false pretense at best. Thomas gestured towards the tv, said, “Should I put something on?” and then Edward was kissing him. He figured it was best to act fast, act like he knew how these types of things went. It wasn’t his first kiss, not ever, but it’d been a while.

Thomas gasped, then laughed, the sound spilling over his lips and on to Edward’s. Warm, like the rest of Thomas. The kiss was messy, wet, and only lasted a few seconds.

“Oh,” Thomas pulled back and smiled, light eyes fluttering over Edward’s face. “Right to it, then?”

“I’m sorry--” Edward stuttered, pulling back. He wasn’t even touching Thomas, no hands on wrists or elbows. Perhaps he hadn’t handled this exactly right. “I thought-- I only thought that’s what you wanted.”

“Oh, I do,” Thomas reached forward to take Edward’s hand, bringing it forward to rest on his waist, pressing it there. Instructing Edward where to touch him. “I just didn’t expect you to be so forward.”

Thomas leaned in again and kissed at the corner of Edward’s mouth, bumping his nose softly against Edward’s before diving in for his mouth again. This felt better. Slower, exploratory. Thomas was good at this. Edward thought it was probably better to let him take the lead.

It didn’t stay a slow kiss. As Edward acclimated to the taste and feel of Thomas he felt confident deepening the kiss, licking at Thomas’s bottom lip and sucking it into his own mouth. Thomas responded with sweet, needful noises. He pressed his fingers to Edward’s ribcage, twisted them in Edward’s shirt and tugged him closer.

Thomas pressed Edward backward until he was leaning against the arm of the sofa. He leaned over Edward, pulling himself more fully on the couch and Edward could feel the press of his erection against his thigh. It made him painfully aware of his own.

It all dawned on Edward then that they were snogging on Thomas’s couch, and that they were entirely alone in the flat, and that any moment Thomas might expect Edward to… To do something. To suck him off? To spread his legs and let Thomas take him? Edward didn’t know. He’d never been with another man before, and the fumbling, uncomfortable experiences he’d had with women in college hardly made him knowledgeable of the subject.

Thomas pulled away and leaned back. He was smiling. His lips were cherry red and spit slick. Edward felt sick with nerves. He ought to tell Thomas. To make it clear that he had no clue what he was doing, and that if Thomas wanted to turn him out now, he could. Just as Thomas moved to swing his leg over Edward’s hips, to straddle his waist and rejoin his mouth to Edward’s, Edward sat up, ready to lay the facts plain.

They met in the middle. It was not a pleasant meeting. Thomas’s knee crashed straight into Edward’s face as he sat up, and he was immediately knocked back into the arm of the sofa. His face was warm. Pain shot through his nose, and when he reached a reflexive hand to check it his fingers came away red.

“Oh, Edward,” Thomas fretted, moving quickly to climb off Edward’s lap. “Oh, Hell, are you okay?”

Edward blinked at Thomas in bewilderment. He was only there a moment, then he disappeared. Edward felt like he was moving in slow motion as he sat up and swung his feet back to the floor. He reached to his nose again, felt the blood there, felt at the bridge to make sure it was still the same shape as it had been at the start of the night. It felt fine. Sore, and gushing blood, but not broken.

“Here,” Thomas said, pressing a towel to Edward’s face. He held it there a moment, eyes darting over Edward’s face. “Hold it, I’ll be back.”

Lights were flicked on through the flat. Thomas turned on a lamp close to the sofa and returned with a wet hand towel and a cold compress.

“Let me see it,” Thomas said, coaxing Edward’s hands away and taking the bloodied rag back. He pressed a finger lightly to the bridge of Edward’s nose. “Does it feel okay?”

“It’s fine.” Edward’s words were thick, slurred and muffled by the towel and the blood coating his lips.

Thomas used the wet towel to wipe blood from Edward’s chin. “Tip back,” he instructed gently, wiping the cloth along Edward’s neck. Thomas wiped the blood from the arm of the sofa as well, which was thankfully faux leather. At least Edward’s hadn’t stained Thomas’s furniture. He didn’t think Thomas would thank him for that.

“I’m so sorry,” Thomas said, but there was laughter in his voice. “I didn’t know you were sitting up.”

“It’s s’okay.” Edward pinched at the bridge of his nose, head tipped back to slow the blood flow. “Doesn’t hurt.”

Thomas sat back on his heels. He was kneeling on the floor between Edward’s legs. Edward could hardly see him from his angle, eyes tipped toward the ceiling, but he could feel the heat of Thomas’s presence.

“Sorry,” Edward said to the ceiling.

Thomas laughed. He rested a hand on Edward’s knee, sweeping his thumb back and forth once before saying, “What are you apologizing for?”

Edward chanced a glance toward Thomas, but it was risky. It was a dangerous sight, him there, looking prim and proper, knelt between Edward’s knees.

“Uh.” Edward gestured toward his own face and tipped it back again. “Bleeding. I guess.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too. I don’t usually knee all my dates in the face. Kind of kills the mood.”

Edward wasn’t sure about that. Sure it hadn’t helped matters along, but the sight of Thomas between his knees had gotten things stirring again.

“Not all?” Edward said. “Just some?”

“Just the cute ones, apparently.”

Edward smiled. He took the towel away from his face and pressed two fingers to his nose. There didn’t seem to be any new blood there. He leaned forward a bit and raised an eyebrow at Thomas.

“Is it still bleeding?”

Thomas sat up on his knees and took Edward’s chin in his hand, tipping it toward the light. The color of his eyes was very clear in the lamplight. Green, but not any type Edward knew the name of. Not sage green, or forest green, or anything else Edward had ever heard of. They were unique to Thomas.

“No, it looks to have stopped. Here, let me just--” Thomas wiped at Edward’s face, clearing away the blood. He was very gentle, his fingers light against Edward’s skin. “There. Put the ice pack on it, you don’t want it to bruise.”

Edward did as he was told, then met Thomas’s gaze.

“What do we do now?” Edward asked. If he felt unpracticed before, he was hopeless now. At least with sex he had movies to go from, books, porn. He could at least guess how things were meant to progress. This stuff didn’t happen in movies though. Edward was lost.

Thomas laughed and shrugged.

“Not a clue.” Thomas patted Edward’s knees and stood up. “I guess I should get you that drink.”

Edward took the drink. They fell back into the sofa, sipped their wine, and laughed. There wasn’t anything else to do, really. Then they kissed, soft and gentle at first, then fast and needy. They made it to Thomas’s bed after all that night, and it wasn’t so bad as Edward had imagined it would be. It was difficult to feel embarrassed about not knowing where to put his hands when he’d already bled all over Thomas’s sofa. Besides, Thomas made things easy. He guided Edward where he was needed, and asked for permission before each new touch.

When they fell into the sheets together, sweating and breathless, Edward laughed. Thomas tipped his head sideways and raised an eyebrow.

“That’s not exactly what a man likes to hear after sex, you know?.”

“No, no, it’s not you, you were great,” Edward rolled on his side and grinned at Thomas. “I just-- Well, next time, maybe we try it without the physical violence?”

“Mmm,” Thomas hummed, rolling close to Edward and placing a delicate kiss to his nose. “Next time, we’ll at least negotiate it first.”

Edward grinned, and accepted the kiss Thomas bestowed upon his lips.

Next time. Bloody noses or not, at least there would be a next time.

#here's a secret guys #every time I write modern edward I just picture McNulty from The Bay #and apparently that always means dressed in ugly windbreakers and bloody #whoops #joplittle #the terror fic #my fics

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frodos-bizarre-adventure · 3 years

Text

@gingerreggg ooo the lore deepens

Heads Up- Part 10 (Joseph x Bust! Caesar)

▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪

With Joseph going to university every couple of days, and Suzi visiting often but still usually sleeping at her own home, there were days that Caesar was left home alone.

Joseph had invested in extra door locks to keep him safe, makeshift mini-elevators to help the bodiless bust get up and down the kitchen and living room tables, and put up canvasses and customized paint holders to encourage his fondness for painting to pass the time.

Caesar was a great painter-- especially for someone with no hands.

With much practice in holding a paintbrush in his mouth, something that Caesar found much easier as opposed to colored pencils that broke when pressed too hard, Joseph's artistic masterpieces had begun producing masterpieces of his own. Simple, abstract scribbles at first, but over time began to make art of the things he saw around the house. Still lifes of tables, furniture, windows, in his own crude, mouth-scribbly style.

Today was one such day. Joseph was away at the art school, working on projects of his own. And Suzi hadn't called for today, and probably wasn't coming for a while.

And so Caesar spent his time painting. But he was tired of the things within the confines of the apartment, and opted for a new medium.

Pulling the blinds of the window open with his teeth, Caesar exposed the view of the vacant lot behind Joseph's house. One that was somewhat still a wild region, overgrown with grasses, with a few sparse trees, and further into the horizon, the skyline of the big city with towering skyscrapers that seemed like mere toys from such a distance.

A smile crept across Caesar's face. This seemed like a perfect muse for another painting.

And as Joseph created art with a purpose, he wondered if this was his.

---------

Suzi looked over at the bag Joseph had given her.

She was in her own home, an apartment somewhat smaller than Joseph's. The post-graduate artist hadn't really done very much in the past year, and her house reflected it: it was quite a mess, with many boxes, items and inexplicable odds and ends cluttering every tabletop and shelf, a problem compounded by the artist's somewhat scatterbrained nature at times.

She sat on her couch, typing away at her laptop. She'd been very curious about the past few days about where exactly that design on the bag came from-- definitely a Mesoamerican influence, perhaps some sort of mystical trinket from long ago.

It had been the bag that Joseph had found in his attic, that had contained the lump of clay that had become Caesar. As Joseph had said before, it didn't seem like a particularly special material at first: yet now, given that it literally was alive, there certainly was something unique about it. Especially given that all other clay they attached to Caesar, in their failed attempts to give him a body, had invariably remained lifeless and cold.

And as she scrolled through pictures on her laptop, she happened upon something extraordinary.

A site cataloguing local folklore, with details that seemed oddly familiar.

Legends told in ancient Central America about sacred soils that could channel strange energies. One myth, in particular, caught her attention: a tale of a talented artist who, in her sheer devotion to detail in her work, managed to usher in spirits of inspiration to take new life into her work.

Idols that harbored the souls of the ancestors that led them to convene with their successors generations on.

Suzi scoffed. This seemed like strange superstitious magic, wasn't it?

Yet deep down, as much of a mature, rational woman as she was, a small part deep within her had always believed in magic, wished to believe. Perhaps it was the hopeful, wide-eyed child within her now enveloped in the shell of a responsible adult, that sometimes shone through when she was around people she was comfortable, like Joseph, and now, Caesar too.

Perhaps that was why she wasn't too surprised about Caesar when she first met the living sculpture in Joseph's apartment a couple of weeks earlier.

Because a bit of her had always believed in magic-- and Caesar's very existence served only to confirm it.

---------

Joseph strolled around the art gallery of the university, beholding in wonder at the vast, museum-like halls bearing the works of its many previous students.

Statues, sculptures, paintings and murals of all shapes and styles adorned the walls, platforms and shelves of nearly every corner of the building's interior. Everything was art, they said, and the masterpieces certainly reflected it.

And as much as Joseph was in awe of the beauty of the gallery, something made him uneasy, as he looked at them, especially the sculpted statues that resided in glass cases, carved in eternal repose with their lifeless eyes gazing blankly into empty space.

Would this have been Caesar's fate?

Joseph couldn't bear the thought of Caesar, his roommate, his friend and companion, spending the rest of his existence like this.

What kind of life would that be?

Joseph's disturbed thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into somebody, as he was too preoccupied with the art to look where he was going.

"Oh, I'm sorry, young man," said an old, throaty voice, with a prominent Italian accent. "You need to be careful around here too."

"Apologies, Mr. Zeppeli," Joseph said awkwardly, with an uncertain scratch of his head.

Mr. William Zeppeli was one of the oldest professors in the university, and had long taught the class on the subject of three-dimensional art. Instantly recognizable by his trademark moustache and top hat, Mr. Zeppeli had mentored Joseph in his first year in the university, and was quite familiar with him.

"I'm glad to see you've come so far, Mr. Joestar," Mr. Zeppeli said with a pat on Joseph's back. "I believe you would be graduating this year, are you not?"

Joseph smiled proudly. "I sure will be, sir!"

Mr. Zeppeli gave a warm chuckle. "That's the spirit!" he said. "So, the final project is due next month. What is your grand masterpiece?"

"A bust sculpture," Joseph said impulsively, before realizing he probably shouldn't have said it out loud.

A proud, yet solemn smile emerged on Mr. Zeppeli's weathered features. "Come with me," he told Joseph.

He led Joseph towards the hall of statues, where Joseph was amazed to see a vast array of clay figures, of people, objects and places, all impressively detailed even for him. Sculptures of birds in flight, each feather intricately carved in astonishing perfection. Miniature models of famous landmarks around the world, such as a replica of the Colosseum in Rome. Faces of people molded in clay, so expressive they seemed they almost could speak.

Something that, at this point, wouldn't have surprised Joseph anymore.

"He would have loved to meet you," Mr. Zeppeli said woefully. "I've seen some of the sculptures you've made before and they remind me of him so much."

"W-who?" Joseph asked, curious at the person Mr. Zeppeli had referred to.

"My grandson," replied the old teacher with a bittersweet note in his voice.

"He went to this school a decade ago, and was one of the best students this institution had ever known. All these, the figures you see before you, are his creations, and I...I am proud to call him my grandson," said Mr. Zeppeli, as he wiped away a tear.

The old professor gestured to a small sign next to the case displaying his grandson's masterpieces. "He was a jolly fellow, if not without a strange sense of humor. You two might have become friends."

Joseph looked closely at the sign. There was something very familiar.

And as its contents sank in, his heart nearly stopped.

"IN MEMORY OF ANTHONIO ZEPPELI (1983-2008), GONE BUT FOREVER REMEMBERED," said the caption.

But what captured his attention, and struck him to the very center of his being, was the picture of the late artist displayed on the sign.

He had no pink cheek marks, and he, of course, had a body.

But he was, unmistakably and otherwise identically, Caesar.

"Is--is this him?" gasped Joseph in disbelief.

"I guess you'd recognize that face," Mr. Zeppeli gave a faint laugh. "Remember that statue of Julius Caesar displayed here, several years ago? He based it off himself. That isn't even remotely close to what the real Julius Caesar looked like, he was a talented, if strange, boy who found it amusing to stick his own likeness onto his art."

Julius Caesar, Joseph thought. His reference.

He felt a strange sensation, as if his whole world was suddenly shattered, and was slowly piecing itself back together like a jigsaw puzzle, into a new reality that seemed way too fateful for his peace of mind.

"Uh...uh...I just suddenly remembered I have a class to go to," said a flustered Joseph, quickly conjuring up an alibi. "See you later, Mr. Zeppeli!" he said, and promptly dashed off in a hurry.

-------

"Jojo? You would not believe what I just found," Suzi said, as she entered Joseph's house later that evening.

"Well, you wouldn't believe what I found out today," Joseph replied, with a shell-shocked look on his face.

Suzi was taken aback. "Looks like you've seen some serious stuff," she gasped. "Y-you go first."

"Do you know a certain Anthonio Zeppeli?" Joseph asked her.

"As in...the student who died a while back?" she said. "I've...I've heard of him, he was talked about a couple of times by my friends one year ahead of your batch. And about...what happened to him."

Caesar, who at just the right moment, had been bouncing by, was intrigued. "Happened to who?" he asked, pausing in his tracks.

Suzi sat down on the sofa. "They say he was a student from a few batches prior. He was a talented sculptor who was great at working with clay, marble, concrete..."

"Yeah, I've seen his stuff," interjected Joseph.

"Well, the thing is, they told he had been commissioned to carve a mural into a hotel's front lobby, nearly ten years ago," she told. "He was perched up on a ladder, chipping away at the wall, when suddenly, he broke a support on a stone ornament, shaped like a cross--"

"--and he was so startled when it began to topple, that he stumbled right off his ladder, fell to his death...and then the stone cross fell and landed right on top of him."

Joseph winced. That sounded like a terrible way to go.

"Well, there's something you wouldn't believe," Joseph said, pulling out a yearbook he'd borrowed from the library. Look at his face."

Suzi leaned closer for a look, and gasped in shock.

"I'd never seen what he'd looked like, but...but..."

"Caesar. It's you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Caesar exclaimed. "I can't see anything from down here!"

Suzi picked up the bust with some effort and rested him onto the tabletop. He hopped over to the book to check out what all the commotion was about--

--and was silent for an uncomfortably long time.

"See, this is what I was gonna tell you," Suzi said. "I'd been reading on the design on the bag that you found Caesar's clay in. There were legends in ancient Mesoamerica that artists who were talented enough would be able to usher in spirits of predescessors into idols of a special sacred clay to serve as inspiration," she said.

"And maybe, just maybe, Caesar is alive-- because he is Anthonio Zeppeli's soul."

"So am I a ghost?!" Caesar screamed in terrified confusion, hopping backwards a few bounces from sheer terror. "I'm a dead man in a clay head?!" he cried, disturbed by the revelation.

"More like a reincarnation," Suzi explained. "The legends told that they became spirit guides to their creators, that they held the wisdom and knowledge of the past, but remembered little of their past lives-- rather, they carried over some traits, but were their own, unique person."

"Did they have bodies?" Joseph asked right off the bat.

"Yes... you were just unlucky to not have enough clay," she added.

Caesar groaned in frustration.

"You know, I honestly wouldn't have believed some ancient mythology," Joseph said, "but given I've been living with a talking, walking sculpture--"

"Not exactly walking," Caesar corrected.

"...er, bouncing, sculpture for the last couple of weeks, I'd take any explanation at this point." he admitted.

"I think he chose you, Joseph," Suzi said with a smile.

Caesar looked at Anthonio's picture in the yearbook, and saw only himself. The same green eyes, blond hair, unmistakable face. He lacked the pink cheek patches, however, which Joseph admitted he'd tacked on to Caesar just for kicks. Anthonio had a body.

Could he really be Anthonio Zeppeli returned from the dead? Caesar pondered. If that was true, he remembered nothing of being Anthonio.

The idea of having once been a living human unsettled Caesar.

But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel oddly vindicated.

He'd wondered often recently why he even existed, as just another of Joseph's art. What use did he serve?

But now he wondered, upon hearing of Suzi's tale-- maybe this was his purpose.

--------

(Previous Chapter)

(Next Chapter)

#jjba #battle tendency #jojo's bizarre adventure #caejose #caesar x joseph #gingerregg #hands of life au #bust!caesar #sculptor!joseph

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lov3nerdstuff · 4 years

Text

Echo

*Tom Hiddleston x OFC*

~Part 2~

Part: 1 / 2

Words: 3.4k

Warnings: don't be scared by the ofc :) you'll be fine, I promise. Also, deep thoughts

Request: Could you do a story of a woman who is in a relationship with someone who doesn’t have their relationship as a priority and when they are at a cafe or bar, Tom notices her and how beautiful she is and strikes up a conversation while her boyfriend went outside to answer his call from work. Not sure how you want to end it but I’ll leave that up to you! :) By @fkmaldonado

Summary: Tom rescues a young woman from an abusive relationship by doing nothing more and nothing less than falling in love with her.

A.N.: This is the first part of two 💗✨ prepare for some deep thoughts, big questions and fluff to make it all better 💚 enjoy!

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It is odd, really… how you go about your day, mindless, a creature of habit. How you pass people, look at faces, hear voices and turn strangers into acquaintances and into strangers yet again. And all that really stays is the dull ache of isolation, the feeling of being utterly alone in a crowded world. But sometimes, rare times, there will be moments when you wake up. You remember. You remember a time when you were inherently curious, fascinated by the wonders of the world for the very first time. And suddenly you see the world through the eyes of a creature lost from the moment we were doomed to grow up. You experience the world with a sudden intensity, the intensity it has always held but we have grown too numb to notice. The intensity of the calm after a storm. The first smile after tearful moments of despair. The silence when great music ends. And finally, you come alive.

_______________

Tom walked down the street with long steps, in no hurry. His hands dug deep into the pockets of his coat, his lips a straight line, his eyebrows a gentle frown. The cold November weather coloured London a deep shade of grey, a wet concrete jungle that slowly fell into darkness as the afternoon light vanished. Tom sighed. The haste, the dreadful speed of life around him… It was always the same.

He was heading towards his favorite coffee shop, both looking for some liquid warmth and some background noise for a little casual reading. Or maybe he would just sit down with a cup of steaming brew and watch the people around him, how they stressed about everything, hurried to nowhere and talked about nothing. Watching people was delightful usually, and most definitely always interesting.

Just when he was about to reach out to open the heavy glass door, it was pushed towards him forcefully, almost hitting him straight in the chest. A bulky man with slicked back brown hair, holding a phone to his ear with an annoyed frown, came walking out, bumping into Tom's shoulder hard and glaring at him immediately.

"Watch out where you walk!" He hissed at Tom, before turning back to his call with a roll of his eyes. The cheap suit he wore was a size too large, creasing in all the wrong places while the wrinkles from previous days of wearing left dark shadows on the fabric, so obvious to Tom's watchful eye that he didn't even need to look closely.

"I'm sorry." Tom replied quietly, even though he knew that it hadn't been his fault at all. And honestly, he wasn't as much apologizing as feeling honestly sorry for whatever had made this man into what he was now. A stressed, impolite shadow of a shallow man who deemed it necessary to find an outlet for his however inflicted anger in a stranger. A sad figure, really.

Tom let it go as soon as the breath of warm air met his chilled skin once he stepped into the coffee shop, door closing behind him with a gentle thud. The atmospheric chattering that mingled with the soft tunes of whatever songs were currently in the charts created a music of its own kind, a perfect soundtrack to the busyness of everyday life.

Sighing softly, Tom opened his jacket as he lined up to order, patiently awaiting his turn with a gentle smile. He asked for a tea for now, intending to warm up a little from the inside before moving on to the intended coffee. But there was something about a nice cup of tea, a crispness in its taste and a delicacy in the flavors that no coffee he's had could compare to. Maybe he simply hadn't tried the right coffee yet. After thanking the barista, he took his large, white porcelain cup over to a free window seat, placing his jacket over the backrest of his chair and his book onto the table. Outside, it was starting to rain in gentle pebbles of water, then in larger droplets and finally increasing to turn into a wall of rain that blurred the city lights in their contrasting sharpness. Yes, Tom was glad to be sitting inside now. Having a warm place to protect oneself against the pouring rain was a luxury, if one really thought about it.

As he lifted the porcelain to his chilled lips, he took a small sip of his steaming tea and inevitably had to smile at the liquid comfort.

Quietly, he let his eyes wander over the many people at the other tables, watching how most of them stared at their laptops or tablets instead of talking to each other. What had become of conversations? Of deep thoughts and opinions?

Sighing, Tom looked back to his tea for a moment, then let his eyes wander over the world that lay outside of the protective glass barrier he was situated behind. The man who had bumped into him was standing under a small roof on the opposite side of the street, still talking on his phone. It was hard to see him through the blur of the rain, yet Tom couldn't help but watch him rambling angrily for a moment.

However once the man looked back into his direction, Tom quickly looked back towards his tea with a deep frown. He didn't specifically like getting caught while observing, but he liked his own reaction of backing away even less.

Taking another sip of his tea, he went back to studying the people in the room around him, letting his eyes trail over their faces, their hands, their mindless actions… only to yet again come to the conclusion that human nature was truly ineffable. At that very thought, his gaze fell upon a young woman, sitting in an armchair close to a fireplace in the back of the shop. For a moment he wondered what had caught his eye, what had made him halt… Because her striking differentness, the intriguing intricacy of her features, only caught his eye now the he was staring already.

What had made Tom's eyes stay with her in the first place was her actions, he realized. How she sat in that big armchair with her legs crossed, a newspaper on the table in front of her and a ballpoint pen in her hand, drawing on the page while looking at the people in the room with an intent intensity from time to time, just like Tom was. His lips curled into a small smile as he leaned back in his chair, watching her with a growing sense of curiosity. What was she drawing, and why did she look at the people like he was?

He had to admit that he observed her for quite some time, sipping on his tea as his only interest remained to find out what this mysterious woman was doing. And for reasons beyond him, he felt like both her and him were living in a different world that existed solemnly within the walls of this cafe. She was living, and alive, just like him, while everyone else, to Tom, seemed stuck in a blur of time and space, a place between reality and virtuality. They were living, but not alive.

Her gaze met his as he resurfaced from his thoughts, drawn out of his mind by her eyes that seemed to swallow his soul. Tom blushed as a cold bolt of lightning struck him, and she smiled. The spatial distance between them that couldn't have been larger seemed to shrink out of existence in an interchanged gaze of curious consideration.

She smiled at him, biting her bottom lip for a short moment before motioning towards the armchair across from her, a signal for Tom to come over. Subtle and inviting, yet not flirtatious or foul natured. He found himself rising to his feet as he carried his jacket over his arm, the book under it and the saucer between three slender fingers of his right hand.

"May I?" He asked politely as he stood in front of her table, motioning towards the armchair.

"You may." She replied gently, with a smile that could've broken down barricades. Maybe it had indeed.

Tom placed the book on the table and the cup on the book, himself in the armchair and the jacket over his lap. "You asked me to come over…?" He smiled softly, wondering to himself why usually beautiful creatures disappointed the upclose spectator while enchanting the distant one. And why she was doing it the other way round.

"You were watching me." She smiled a little more widely, as her voice reminded him of his tea. A crispness in its sound, a delicacy in its tone.

"And you were watching everyone else." Tom replied smoothly, causing her to smirk ever so slightly.

"Touche." She chuckled. "It is rare to find people truly conscious of their surroundings. Curious about it even."

"It is indeed." His smile widened as his initial curiosity turned to fascination. "What are you drawing?"

"What are you reading?" She asked right back, intrigued, but not demanding. With a smile, Tom lifted the cup off the book and handed it to her, while she held out the newspaper to him.

He took it out of her hand, looking down at the immensely detailed drawing that was well visible above the black printed letters with a smile and a frown. It was an accurate representation of the coffee shop, perfect in perspective and light, while yet every drawn person was faceless. Their clothing was deeply textured as it was for real, the furniture so realistic it left Tom impressed. But no faces, not even on the person supposed to be himself.

"Your name is Thomas?" She asked gently, pulling him out of his thoughts yet again with her words, as she placed the book back on the table in front of him.

"Yes, but most people simply call me Tom." He replied once he had found his own voice, his own words. "I assume you read that on the first page of the book? And who are you, if I may ask in return?"

"I did indeed." She smiled brightly and Tom's heart skipped a beat, reminding him that he was most definitely alive, present in this very moment. "My name is Echo."

Tom's face showed his surprise before he could will his body to perform a less honest reaction, but he was relieved that his being was stronger in its honesty than his social habitus in its appropriateness. "I'm truly delighted to meet you." He finally smiled as his eyes searched for hers once more. "I love your name, really… I assume it found its origin in Greek mythology?"

"You assume a lot of things, Thomas." She smiled in amusement, as the small leaps of the fire's flames reflected in her eyes.

"Please, just call me Tom." He replied in the same amusement. "And I'm sorry if I overstepped my boundaries."

"Oh, you really didn't." She laughed, taking her newspaper out of his hands. "My name does come from Greek mythology indeed. But most people wouldn't know that."

"Most people wouldn't leave out the faces in such a detailed drawing." He replied quickly, watching her reaction intently.

"Correct yet again." She smirked ever so slightly, studying his face as if evaluating him on something he didn't know about. "I don't think they deserve to have faces. They don't intrigue me."

"They don't seem to be alive at all, do they?"

"In my drawing or in reality?"

"Exactly." He returned the same small smirk that was currently playing on Echo's lips.

"You are quite a peculiar one, Thomas…" She grinned at him, twisting her pen between her fingers elegantly. It looked like it had turned liquid, softly wrapping around her slender digits like a black band of silk.

"Will you keep calling me that?" He laughed.

"Only until I know who you are." She mused. "Are you worth getting to know?"

"Everyone is worth getting to know, but only few are worth to remember."

"I could not agree more." Echo smiled, taking a sip of her coffee. "What brought you here today?"

"I like the atmosphere. All the haste and vanity around me reminds me to value things. To take the time to live." He sighed. Honesty was always a good way to go, the only way… the deepest form of intimacy.

"You seem like someone who spends a lot of time thinking. Contemplating…"

"Don't you?"

"Oh, I most definitely do. But most people are repelled by depth. A good life today means a shallow life. No one reads a Shakespearean tragedy when they can have the newest gossip in colourful pictures."

"I read Shakespeare."

"I can see that." Echo motioned to the book on the table with a small smile. "What draws you to his works?"

"His way of showing the complexity of the human mind and society as a whole. He does it remarkably well, so does Ballard, or Pinter…" Tom shrugged a little, smiling to himself.

"And yet everyone in this room seems to hold the complexity of a mere tabloid." Echo sighed dramatically, and Tom had to chuckle a little.

"Indifference is the inherent enemy of knowledge."

"Indifference is the inherent enemy of the curious." Echo returned, rising an eyebrow at Tom. "Knowledge is their tool."

"A tool to what?"

"A tool to everything. To depth, to meaning… to intensity and to passion. To come alive." She shrugged with a smile. "Isn't that what we all want?"

"In a way, I believe it is." He smiled, looking down at his almost empty tea. "But I'm afraid intensity and passion aren't always appreciated."

"Care to elaborate?" Echo asked curiously, eyes fixed on Tom so intently that his skin started tingling. He knew that she knew what he was saying, but it intrigued him that she wanted him to talk on.

"Haven't you ever been told to talk less about something, to care less, or to just let it go?"

"Oh I most definitely have. People complain that I talk to much all the time, and that I talk about things they don't understand."

"See, and that's entirely their problem. You can't simply let go of something you're passionate about and people who expect it of you have absolutely no right to. They don't understand your passion, and they can't handle your intensity."

"Can they handle yours?" She asked softly, still looking like she was able to see right through him.

"Not remotely." He laughed. "You know, I think people are wrong about one essential thing. They think intimacy is entirely about the body. But really, the deepest level of intimacy you can reach is raw honesty of the mind. It's being your truest self with someone."

"And are you your truest self right now, Thomas?" She smiled, eyes sparkling as she took another sip of her coffee while Tom's throat dried up in return.

"I believe I am." He smiled, slightly flustered, but yet certain about his answer.

"Yeah… me too." She smirked. "Most people would be repelled by honesty, you know."

"Most people would be repelled by the idea of having a casual conversation about the meaning of life."

"Well, what are they doing with their time then?" Echo smirked at Tom and his heart skipped yet another beat. "What do you like best about this place?"

"The tea." He replied immediately and without having to think much about the question.

"You go to a coffee shop to drink tea?"

"Anything wrong with that?"

"Not at all." She laughed, shaking her head to herself. "I might have ordered tea if I'd had a choice."

"You didn't get to choose what you want to drink?" He frowned, leaning his head to the side.

"Unfortunately not." She returned a sad smile, and Tom's heart dropped immediately. He didn't want to see her sad. Ever.

"May I get you some tea now?" He inquired carefully, offering her a half smile in return.

"I would love that, but I'm afraid it might not be entirely possible." She replied quietly, looking down at the newspaper on the table. Then her whole posture changed, she uncrossed her legs, sat up straight and scooted her armchair closer to the table.

"Is… Is everything alright?" Tom asked with a deep frown, sitting up straight in return. "Echo?"

She nodded ever so slightly, a second before heavy footsteps approached her table.

"Hey babe." A scratchy male voice made Tom frown a little and look at the new arrival, the intruder in their little world. How could it be any different, it was the cheap suit. Tom's heart sank even more.

"What's that guy doing here?!" Cheap suit snapped, looking at Echo who was back to doodling quietly on her newspaper. "I am talking to you!"

Tom jumped at the sudden loudness of the man's voice, and so did Echo.

"This is Thomas. He's a friend." She replied quietly, nothing of the sparkle left in her eyes and nothing of the light that seemed to have radiated off her only moments before. Nothing of the intensity that had drawn Tom in so incredibly much that he missed it now with a gaping ache.

"Well, tell him to fuck off or I will. We gotta go. I have a meeting tonight and you need to look presentable by eight. Might land me a job if they see you in that one skimpy dress." He sighed, looking first at his phone and then at the newspaper on the table, groaning. "Did you ruin my newspaper like that? God, babe, why can't you just sit still for a moment without ruining my day?!"

"Sorry." She replied quietly, setting her pen down only after adding another few strokes to the drawing.

Tom wanted to say something, wanted to tell this man to fuck off in return… to leave Echo alone. But it wasn't his place, and it wouldn't have been appropriate, even if it felt like a punch in the stomach to hear him talk to her like this. He was her boyfriend, or maybe her husband even, and Tom had no right to intervene in their relationship. Even if he wanted to, very much so right now.

"Echo?" He asked quietly, uncertain of what to do or even what to say. The last thing he wanted was to get her into trouble.

"Geez, I hate that name." The man groaned with a roll of his eyes. "Why can't you have a normal name, like Lisa or Anna maybe? Would that have been too much to ask for?"

Now Tom felt straight out angry, inappropriately protective over something that wasn't his to protect. Yet… But he wouldn't dare to act on it. "I'm sorry if I caused you trouble." He finally said to Echo, giving her a small half smile.

"Don't worry about it." She replied in a breath, rising to her feet with a not unexpected elegance while picking up her bag.

Tom rose to his feet too, if only to show her the very much due respect nobody else was giving her. She gave him a small but grateful smile in return, allowing him to quickly help her into her jacket while her boyfriend rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Dude, keep your hands to yourself, alright?" He sighed, glaring at Tom in pure hostility.

Tom took a quick step backwards, holding his hands up in defeat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be disrespectful." Yet, everything within him screamed to do something about this… to make something right that clearly wasn't on its own. He didn't know just how bad this really was, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to find out.

"Yeah, whatever. Babe…" Cheap suit sighed, motioning for Echo to get going.

"Your newspaper…?" Tom asked, picking up the folded pages and holding them out to Echo.

"Keep it, man…" The guy sighed before Echo could reply. "She ruined the sports part anyway."

"Goodbye Tom. It was a true pleasure." She smiled at him as brightly as the situation would allow, a small spark of fire back in her gaze. But everything else just broke Tom's heart.

"Goodbye..." He could only give a small wave in return, a second before the cheap suit ushered her out of the coffee shop and into the dark, cold world behind the heavy glass door.

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General Tags:

@its-remy-not-ratatouille @wegingerangelica @thidls12333 @tomstoobeautiful @dreary-skies-stuff @averyhill4445 @wiczer @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @theweirdlunatic @caretheunicorn @kthemarsian @lady-of-lies @sadly-falling-through-wonderland @strawberrysandcream @noplacelikehome77 @theoneanna

If you'd like to be tagged in the next part OR be added to the general tag list, tell me in the comments 💗✨ hope everyone enjoys! (Especially dearest @beenthroughalot and @kthemarsian)

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston x ofc #loki fanfic #loki odinson #loki of asgard #loki (marvel)#loki

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myhockeyworld87 · 4 years

Text

Nervous Regrets -Tyler Seguin _ Part 21

Word Count: 3737

POV: Reader

Warnings: Language, because I think that I least use one cuss word a story

Notes: We’re prepping for the big proposal guys! Hope you enjoy! Peace, Love and Hugs all!

The decision to leave your job, ended up being one of the best you ever made; you realized this over the next couple of days. You tried to keep up a normal routine. So some mornings when Tyler would get up and workout; you’d get up and join him, by doing yoga. Other mornings, you didn’t mind cuddling with the dogs while he went to morning skate. Tyler convinced you, that you didn’t need to start looking into new charities until he was on the road again. In fact, his exact words were something like, ‘as your new boss, I’m making your working hours, only when I’m on road trips.’ You literally just shook your head at him and laughed, to which he chased you around the house until he caught you carried you off to bed where you showed him who the real boss of the family was.

It was like that pretty much everyday, while he was home. By day four you’d christened every room in the new house, some of them twice. On day five, the two of you decided to actually head out in public and start doing some shopping for the baby’s room. The designer had given you some great ideas for the room, so you knew that you wanted it to be in shades of grey and white. That way once you found out if it was a boy or a girl you could add in pinks or blues for pops of color. The hardest decision was picking out either a grey or white crib, but in the end Tyler won out with the white he said you had to have. The two of you spent the whole day buying furniture and necessities for the baby. It was definitely going to go down as one of the best days you’d had in a long time.

Tyler insisted upon purchasing a huge stuffed puppy for the room, as well as several other animals. But you drew the line when he started trying out the breast pumps; finally calling it a day before he started trying out pacifiers or diaper genies. You’d save that for another time. All in all, the two of you got a good chunk of the baby’s room done in your day of shopping. You had a definite picture of what the room would look like when you brought your little one home.

The following day, you were standing in the baby’s room, picturing how everything would be laid out when your phone rang. “Hey mom, how was your trip?” She spent the next several minutes telling you all about Alaska and how much your dad loved going fishing. Though she threw you for a loop when she mentioned they weren’t going to be having Thanksgiving at the house this year. Apparently, your brother Sean decided to host, but he lived down in Houston; which meant that if you and Tyler decided to go, you’d spend more time driving there and back then you would with your family. Besides, Tyler’s schedule really wouldn’t allow for you to make the journey anyway, as he would be getting back in from Pittsburgh late the night before, then had a game the following day. It was kind of disheartening, you’d hoped to see your parents over the holiday or even host the dinner yourself; since you and Tyler were in the new house, but it wasn’t meant to be. Which is why Tyler found you in the baby’s room, crying.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked, as he drew your body into his. When you didn’t answer right away, he tried again. “Why are you crying (Y/N)? Is it the baby?” You shook your head no, and held onto him a little tighter.

“I don’t know.” You sniffed rather loudly. “I just found out my family is going to Sean’s for Thanksgiving.”

“And you thought, they’d be here this year.” Nodding yes, you buried your head back into his chest. “Well why don’t you go down and be with them baby.”

Pulling back, you looked at him as if he’d gone crazy. “I’m not leaving you for the holiday. Besides, isn’t your family coming in?”

He looked a little sheepish. “Umm...well actually no they aren’t going to make it either.”

“But Cass and Candace are coming tomorrow aren’t they?”

“They are, but they’re only staying for a few days; then heading back home.” Tears started to flow down your cheeks again. It wasn’t that you minded spending the holiday alone with Tyler, it was just going to be your first holiday together and you wanted both of your families with you. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal babe. Maybe I can call my mom and see if they can make it.” His face took on a guilty look, but you couldn’t figure out why.

“No, I don’t want them to change their plans. It’s just my stupid hormones. I suppose we can just have chicken or something.” It wouldn’t be the same as a turkey but you’d make it work.

He pulled you back into him. “Awe sweetheart, we can still have turkey. I’ll eat the whole damn bird if you want.” That made you laugh. Sadly, you could picture Tyler stuffing himself trying to make you happy. “Actually, I have a great idea. I’m sure some of the guys don’t have any plans or family coming in. We could host Thanksgiving for them.” Before you could agree to anything he continued. “Hear me out, I don’t want you in the kitchen cooking all day; so we could cater it or something.”

“But I want to cook. We don’t need to have food brought in. I’ll have a couple days to get everything ready while you’re on the road. It will be perfect.”

“Babe, that’s a lot to undertake. Remember you’re pregnant.”

You looked down at your growing belly. “Kinda hard to forget.” A chuckle escaped your throat. “It will be fine, remember I’m unemployed at the moment.”

“You’re not unemployed.” He protested. “You have the best boss in the world, who is very flexible with your hours.” His hands started to wander all over your body and he started to pepper you with kisses. “In fact, I do believe he told you not to start working right away. So, maybe we should head back to bed.”

He kissed the sensitive skin between your neck and shoulder, and you felt your body relax. “Is this sexual harassment?” Tyler murmured something you couldn’t comprehend as he continued to trail kisses up your neck. “If that was a yes, then I could get used to it.” He picked you up and carried you off to your bedroom, for some reason Tyler had declared the baby’s room off limits, when it came to your sexual escapades. The two of you spent the rest of the day alternating between lounging around the house and making love. You had to admit, that this part of your new job was definitely a perk.

While Tyler, was at the rink for practice; you headed off to the airport the next morning to meet his sisters. The three of you quickly hugged in the pick-up line, then threw the luggage in the car before heading back to the house. “I can’t believe how great you look (Y/N).” Candace remarked. “Your little bump is so adorable.”

“You’re way too sweet, because somedays this little one doesn’t seem small by any means.”

“Oh please, you barely look pregnant. I think I’ve had a food baby bigger than your actual child.” Cassidy chimed in, causing you all to laugh.

“I’m so excited you guys are finally visiting us in the new place. I wish your mom could’ve joined you.” They exchanged a weird look with one another, which you wouldn’t have caught had you not been looking in the rearview mirror to switch lanes. You let it slide, figuring they would let you know if something was wrong.

“She wanted to come, but just couldn’t get away.”

It was Candace who answered you. “Well hopefully she’ll make it here soon, if not I’m sure you’ll all be here for Christmas.” Both of the girls nodded agreement. “I was hoping that you guys would make it for Thanksgiving as well, but Tyler said you guys had other plans.” Again, a strange look passed between them, there was definitely something going on that you didn’t know about.

“It’s just…” Candace started to say, right before Cassidy blurted out.

“We’re not American.”

“What does that have to do with it?” Came tumbling out of your mouth before you even had a chance to think about what you were saying. Candace fully turned around and glared at Cassidy in the backseat, which gave you a moment to recover. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to question you on that. I’m sure you guys have more important things going on.”

It was Cassidy who decided to expand on her initial answer. “Don’t apologize, it was a stupid answer. You can obviously tell that we’re trying to hide something.” Again Candace gave her the death glare. “Candace doesn’t want me to tell you, but…and promise you won’t tell Tyler.” She was waiting for you to respond.

“Of course, I won’t say a word.” “Candace has a new boyfriend, and she wants to spend time with him.”

“Cassidy!” She yelled back at her sister.

“She’s afraid Tyler’s going to go all ape shit or something and not approve of him. Which is why we were being so secretive about everything.”

“Well, I’m not going to say a word to him; though you know he only wants you both to be happy.” While you were certain he would totally give this guy a hard time, if Candace liked him, Tyler would as well. “So tell me more about this guy. Is it serious?”

“It’s really…new. In fact, it’s so new…I don’t want to jinx it or anything.” Candace answered you hesitantly. You didn’t want to prod too much, she obviously seemed nervous about it. Making a mental note, you wanted to make sure you told Tyler not to give her a hard time if the conversation came up.

“Well if you ever want to talk about him, I’m all ears.” They quickly changed the subject back to the baby, as the three of you continued the trek back to the house.

Tyler was waiting for you, when you got there. He literally started to give them a hard time the minute they walked through the door, but it was just that brotherly, sisterly comradery that you shared with your siblings as well. Though he did give you a funny look when you hit him on the shoulder, when he asked about their love lives. It felt odd giving them a tour of the house, but since this was their first time here it was kind of expected.

You were all relaxing in the living room, having an easy conversation before Tyler had to leave for the game. “Hey babe, I forgot to tell you the Stars Foundation is having a gala on December 4th , that we need to attend.”

“I thought they only did Boots and Blades? And didn’t they just have that?”

“Umm…Yeah they did. This is a new one they’re having this year. Something about Fire and Ice. It’s super fancy, apparently.”

Great, you were several months pregnant and now you needed to attend some gala and try and look like a million bucks. “Can we just skip it? I don’t really have anything elaborate to wear that’s going to fit me at the moment. Besides, the foundation never called me to help with anything for it; so it must not be super important.”

Tyler’s eyes got extremely wide, and he seemed at a loss for words. “We could go shopping tomorrow and find you something.” Cassidy said filling the void.

Tyler nodded his head in agreement. “That’s a great idea Cass.” He pulled out his wallet and scrambled through it finding his credit card and handing it over to you. “Buy the works. I want you to look amazing.”

“I’m not going to look amazing in anything. We missed Boots and Blades and it was fine. Seriously, I don’t think anyone will notice our absence.”

“Babe, I was able to get out of the other one because of the accident; but I don’t think there’s any way I can miss this second one.”

“Besides, we’ll totally have fun shopping for a gown for you.” Candace added.

“A gown?” Either your brain wasn’t processing things fast enough, or you were still in denial about having to go to this event; for it didn’t occur to you that you’d need an actual long gown and not just a really nice dress.

“Babe, it’s a gala; of course you need a gown.” It wasn’t that you had an aversion to dressing up; in fact you usually enjoyed it. It was just lately you hadn’t felt like all dolled up. “Come on (Y/N) it’ll be fun.” He grabbed your hand and gave you those puppy dog eyes, which you couldn’t resist. “And don’t tell me you won’t look beautiful, you already know how gorgeous I think you are.”

“Ugh…fine. Though I hope you girls are ready to shop tomorrow; because I have a feeling it’ll take a miracle to find something.”

“Oh stop! You’re barely showing, I’m sure we’ll find you a stunning gown to wear.” It was Candace who was giving you a little boost of confidence; that you definitely needed to hear.

“Well now that that’s settled. I’m going to go get ready for the game.” He kissed you quick before getting up and heading to your bedroom. The three of you sat around laughing and joking until game time, then headed to the arena to watch Tyler play. The game against the Blue Jackets was hard fought, and in the end it was a tough loss for the Stars. Thankfully Tyler was in a good mood though as you all headed out for a late dinner and drinks, before calling it a night.

The next day you tried to convince Tyler to come shopping with you and his sisters, but he was having no parts of it; even though he was the reason you needed the gown in the first place. He claimed that he had a ton of errands to do, though he couldn’t name one of them when you asked. It seemed weird that he didn’t want to spend time with his sisters.

At the first store, it seemed like every gown was form fitting; which accentuated your baby bump in the worst way. Though Candace and Cassidy insisted it was all the trend, if you saw any celebrity that was currently pregnant. You knew they were right, but when you looked in the mirror you didn’t feel glamourous, you just felt…well there was no other word for it but fat. Which you knew deep down you weren’t. In the second shop, you thought you found the winner. A black capped sleeve dress with an empire waist, which totally made you look not pregnant at all. However, when you stepped out of the dressing room, both Candace and Cassidy gave it two thumbs down; so back to the drawing board you went. Cassidy brought you in a white strapless A-line gown, that felt more bridal than gala when you tried it on, though the A-line still did seem to flatter your figure. Truth be told, when you looked in the mirror you could totally see yourself walking down the aisle to Tyler in this dress, but you weren’t quite sure your relationship was ready for that step yet. So when you showed it to them you said. “I feel like I’m supposed to get married to Tyler in this, not go to some foundation event. Besides, I’m not sure we’re ready for that step just yet.” They both looked at each other curiously before agreeing that this wasn’t the dress.

There were pale pink ones that made your complexion look a little sallow, a dark navy one that made you feel more like a pregnant seductress than the girlfriend of a hockey player; and even a bright yellow one, that once you tried it on, you knew sun yellow was not your color. You were just about to declare the day a disaster when the owner of the shop came back with a beautiful silver sparkling gown. It fit like a glove when you tried it on, and barely showed that you were carrying a baby inside you. It was the A-line design that favored your body, set off with a deep plunging bodice. Spaghetti straps crisscrossed behind you to reveal an open back. Jewels and crystals adorn the entire dress, and made you feel as if you were glowing as beams of light from overhead struck you. The multi-layered skirt with its sparkle, flowed freely as you turned. As you gave a twirl in the mirror, you almost felt like a princess. This had to be the one, but you wanted Tyler’s sisters opinions on it as well.

The smiles on their faces gave away their feelings about the dress, as you walked out. “Oh that’s definitely it.” Candace exclaimed.

“Oh my god, you look stunning. You have to get that one.” Cassidy added.

“You don’t think it’s too much with all the sparkle?”

“No! It’s perfect!” They both said.

“You guys aren’t just saying that because I’ve tried on a million dresses already?”

It was Candace, who always seemed to be the voice of reason that answered. “First off, you can go try on another million if you want, because this is actually a lot of fun. Secondly, this dress is simply amazing on you. I honestly will probably borrow it from you if I’m lucky enough to get asked to an event to wear it to. You look like a Disney princess.”

A blush rose to your cheeks. “I thought the same thing in the dressing room.”

“Tyler is going to love it.” Cassidy added. “Though I don’t think we should show him. You need to do a big reveal or something.” “Oh Cass is right, you totally need to do that.” She stepped up beside you, suddenly fussing with your hair. She pulled back several strands, then swept some off to the side. “There you should totally wear your hair like that, with soft curls all around.”

The reflection in the mirror was almost unrecognizable, between the dress and your hair; you truly felt like another person. “Now if you were only going to be here to fix it like that.”

She frowned slightly, before adding. “You can always go to that salon we go to for facials and stuff.”

“Oh I almost forgot, I made us all appointments there for tomorrow. My treat of course, for putting up with me today.”

“Please, it’s not like we have to put up with you. You’re like the sister I always wanted.”

Candace swatted Cassidy on the shoulder. “Hello, I’m right here. You know the sister you have.” All of you were laughing at this point.

“Oh I know. I said (Y/N) was the sister I wanted.” With that she ran out of the dressing room into the store so Candace wouldn’t attack her again.

“She’s a little shit sometimes but I love her all the same.” You knew how she felt, for you too felt that way about your own brothers. “Though I gotta say I can’t wait till you’re officially my sister.”

You felt yourself tearing up a bit, for you loved both Candace and Cassidy just like they were your own sisters. “Well that might not be for a while. Especially with this little one coming. We might be doing things a little backwards, but at least we’re taking our time and making sure things are right.”

“You never know, maybe it’ll be sooner than you think.” Candace had a twinkle in her eye, as if she knew something you didn’t, but you were pretty sure you and Tyler were on the same page when it came to waiting.

Eventually, you took the dress off and paid for it; then the three of you headed to some other shops, where, as per Tyler’s wishes, you bought a few things the girls liked. Then headed home, so that you could all enjoy a meal together. The last two days with Tyler flew by and before you knew, he was back on the road again. At least this time Candace and Cassidy stayed a couple extra days to fill the void. By the time they left, it gave you two days to get Thanksgiving dinner ready. It was an easy decision to bake all the pies and desserts first, and then move on to all the rest. There would be about twenty of the players, along with their significant others coming over for dinner. You decided to get two of the largest turkey’s you could find, roasting one of them early so that you would have oven space the day of. Your mom had used the technique numerous times over the years, and people always seemed to never notice.

When Tyler came home from Pittsburgh, in the wee hours of the morning, most of the dinner was prepared. He couldn’t believe all that you’d done in the short amount of time. It was about noon when everyone started to arrive. Tyler had got a few hours of sleep, but insisted on helping you in the kitchen as much as he could. The booze flowed freely all afternoon, as they watched football and talked about everything under the sun.

As you sat at the table, an enormous feast in front of you, two things struck you about family. The first being that it wasn’t the celebration you thought you’d have with your family. The second, was that sometimes you find family in other places. For as you looked at all the people surrounding you it was like your own little hockey family. In their faces you saw not only friends, but people who would become aunts and uncles to the little one you carried. Everything seemed right in that moment, and you hoped that it would stay that way forever.

#nervous regrets #tyler seguin #tyler seguin imagine #tyler seguin imagines #dallas stars #dallas stars imagine #dallas stars imagines #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #nhl fanfic #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction

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billyhargrovesbabe · 5 years

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bump in the night

This is the response to a submission I received, and I absolutely loved it. I honestly had such a great time writing this. I didn’t realize sweet cuddly Billy was what I needed in my life like this until this submission. Or as sweet and cuddly as Billy can be. Thank you to @420keep-dreaming666 for the phenomenal prompt! I hope this lives up to what you were hoping for. Also, this gif is 100% what I believe a hungover Billy would act like.

Ask:

Hey! I was wondering if you could do a Billy x fem!reader where her brother (it can be an oc or someone from the show) throws a party and billy ends up falling asleep in her room, but she doesn’t notice because she’s out with her friends so she gets home and finds Billy just asleep in her room and they’re kinda rude to each other but then it gets really fluffy because Billy’s drunk and opens up to liking the reader for a while. Sry this is all over the place. Thx!

Words: 3,201

Warnings: Lots of swearing, lots of fluff. Do these really even count as warnings?

“Fuck,” you hissed, almost face-planting on the stairs as you tried to creep up in the dark. Your brother, Tommy, had apparently taken advantage of the fact that your parents were out of town for the weekend. Well, you had both taken advantage of that. But your version of taking advantage of it was staying out past curfew, drinking and watching b-rated horror movies with your girlfriends. Tommy’s version was throwing a rager that left your house absolutely trashed. One you had no doubt you’d be left cleaning up tomorrow, scrambling to hide the evidence before your parents got home while he and Carol slept off whatever hangovers they had earned. Sometimes, being the younger sibling sucked. The jackass might’ve only had a year on you, but boy did he milk it for all it was worth.

You managed to make it up the stairs without busting your ass which was honestly a miracle and ducked into the bathroom to take your makeup off. You tried to be speedy, avoiding spending too much time in front of the mirror as that familiar paranoia set in when you spent an evening watching spooky movies. Fuck if you didn’t love them, but they did not love you. Making quick work of your makeup, you crept out into the hallway and left the lights in the bathroom on as long as possible. You tried to ignore the long shadows in the hallway, cast by the window at the other end near Tommy’s room. You could hear a faint, but very rhythmic and very telling, thud thud thud of furniture hitting a wall coming from your brother’s room. Used to that sound by now, you paused just long enough to make sure there weren’t any other creepy sounds lingering in the house before dashing across the hallway. Getting drunk and watching cheesy scary movies seemed like a great idea when you and your girls had been giggling and making fun of the victims in the movies. Now, being tipsy and having to deal with the lingering paranoia, you regretted not pushing for a chick flick instead.

You made quick work of it once you got to your room. You gingerly opened your door, quietly shut it, and practically stripped in your rush to take off everything but your underwear and your oversized t-shirt. You dove into bed, snuggling under your comforter, and sighing at the sense of safety that washed over you. After all, nothing could get you when you were under the protection of your comforter. No creepy crawly would dare disturb the sanctity of the bed.

That was when an arm wrapped around your waist.

Said arm pulled you snugly against a body that definitely should not have been there. Naturally, you did what any rational drunk teen alone in her room after a night of watching other drunken teens get brutally slaughtered on camera would do. You screamed and dove for the closest weapon you could think of in your room. Your hand wrapped around the curling iron on top of your dresser which you always left plugged in not that you were paranoid or anything but this was exactly why. You flicked the lights on, switched on the iron, and turned to face who—or what—ever had dared to ruin your clearly false sense of security.

You watched as a drowsy— and noticeably drunk— Billy Hargrove sat up from your bed. A cold wave of shock and disbelief and a little bit of excitement washed over you as his clouded blue eyes met yours. It was almost surreal, seeing his curly head popping up from where he was snuggly swathed in your blankets. You had no idea how you had missed him before; he was so clearly out of place wrapped up in your pastel bedspread. The two of you sat there, blinking at one another until he finally decided to break the spell in true Billy Hargrove fashion.

“What the fuck, y/n?”

You lowered the curling iron from where you had been wielding holding it out between the two of you, ready to defend yourself should any threat dare to come in reach of the cord. Where the hell did he get off, acting like you had interrupted his night?

“I think that’s my line,” you grumbled at him, finally switching off the curling iron and replacing it on your dresser. “What the hell are you doing in my bed, Hargrove?” His only response was a shrug. One that had you narrowing your eyes at him. You and Billy had never really been close. Once upon a time, when he had first come to Hawkins and didn’t seem to know what he was doing, you had tried to befriend him. But you two had come a long way since then.

You found him trying to pretend he wasn’t lost on his first day, walked right on up to him, and introduced yourself. Your friends had all thought you were insane, just going up to the hot and mysterious new kid like that. Honestly, you weren’t sure why you had. You just felt something in your gut nudging you to do it. You had shown him around that first day, helped him find all his classes, and sat with him at lunch. You even introduced him to your brother, knowing it’d be good for Billy to have a friend in his own year, but not thinking Tommy would demand all the attention of your new friend. He had left Billy alone for the most part in his first day or two in Hawkins. And while you and Billy weren’t exactly attached at the hip or anything, he was pretty nice towards you for the most part and not in that I-only-doing-this-to-get-in-your-pants kind of way. You had hoped maybe you could get to know him. That hope didn’t last long. It was crushed the second the California boy beat out Steve Harrington’s keg stand record. You saw the admiration and basic hero-worship in your dumbass older brother’s eyes as he trailed Billy around for the rest of the party and really the rest of the year like a lost little puppy. Whatever friendship you had with Billy was quickly thrown aside as Tommy countered you at every turn.

Where you’d call Billy out on his shit, Tommy ate it up and cackled at it. Where you tried to have intelligent conversations with Billy, Tommy and Carol brought up all the gossip and bullshit school politics with him. Where you tried to ask him about his life and world before Hawkins, Tommy was happy to just get wasted. You got that it was easier, but fuck if it didn’t sting every time Billy would pick Tommy over you. It made you feel like the annoying kid sister again, trailing along after your cruel older brother and Carol who had always been kind of a bitch to you. You really got fed up with it when they started making jokes at your expense, playing pranks on you and making fun of you for “being in love with the new King of Hawkins.” You weren’t going to put up with that shit even if it was sort of true. So, you cut Billy off. You stopped hanging around the three of them. There was some small part of you that hoped he’d miss you, realize he cared about you when you weren’t hanging around and taking their shit. But it never happened. The jokes started to let up after a while, which was honestly almost worst. It meant when the three of them got a prank in their head, it was especially cruel. And it would be exactly like the three of them to let you find Billy in your bed like he was waiting for you after the party of the year, “hoping to confess his feelings” or some bullshit like that, only for them to make fun of you for falling for it later.

Well. It wasn’t going to work this time. You might like the guy, but you weren’t just going to take this shit lying down.

“You guys really think you’re so fucking funny, don’t you?” The exhaustion hit you all at once as you leaned against the dresser, staring the blond in your bed down. You saw the confusion wash over his face, and you assumed his drunken brain hadn’t realized he’d obviously been caught. “What, did Carol and Tommy put you up to it? I bet the three of you are just dying to get something good to hold over me. Maybe you want a juicy piece of gossip about how I gave in to the King of Hawkins, or you're hoping to get blackmail material as I confess some feelings for you in a pathetic way. Well, it’s not going to happen Hargrove. I don’t give a fuck why you’re in my room. I just want you out. Now.”

“What the hell? You’re buggin’.” He slurred a bit as he tried to shoot back at you, but it lacked the usual bite he’d direct your way. Not that it helped. You still snapped back at him with the regular amount of venom you would. You had a fire that could rival Billy’s. All of Hawkins knew it. And you were one of the only people who didn’t back down when it came to him.

“Right.” You took pleasure in the dangerous edge to your voice. It was the kind that had sent underclassmen running the other way before. It was the kind that made Tommy listen to you, Carol worry about the rumors you might spread, and your friends apologize immediately for whatever they had done to upset. You rarely used it, hating the way it made you feel like a bitch, but when you did take advantage of it, people listened. And you were tired of this boy thinking he could walk all over you. Your voice was low, and cold, and controlled. And you milked it. “Because you three never act so casually cruel that I’d have a reason to be suspicious. You’ve never made my day suck just for the hell of it. You don’t make fun of me at every turn for just being a decent person and actually daring to genuinely care about you, do you?”

You didn’t need an answer, but you still waited. You waited until he cut his eyes away, clearly uncomfortable with the situation and knowing there was truth to your words. You relished in it. “That’s what I thought. Bite me, Hargrove.”

Some kind of thought or emotion flickered over his face. His eyes were still murky and clouded, but the self-righteous expression he had worn was gone. He suddenly looked like the young, seventeen-year-old kid he was. Gone was the macho man bravado and badass bluster. Instead, you were left with a Billy you had never seen before. He almost looked... well, vulnerable. His expression was so open as tried to think of what to say next, his eyes so wide as they settled on you, and his hair unruly in a way that definitely wasn’t intentional. He muttered something as his eyes cut away from yours, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

“What was that?” You tried to distract yourself. The scare had killed whatever buzz you had left from your evening, but you were still tipsy enough that it was dangerous to focus on your feelings for him too much. Feelings lead to confessions, and you refused to give him and your brother anything else to hold over you. You had tried to make your voice hard and sharp, nagging even. You had a feeling it came out far softer than you cared to admit.

“Used to call me Billy,” he mumbled. You barely made it out this time. You stepped closer when you saw him open his mouth to speak again, not wanting to miss what he was about to say. “You. You used to call me Billy. None of this Hargrove bullshit.”

You laughed in disbelief. “Well, it’s not exactly like we’re friends. You’ve made that painfully clear. Besides, you call Steve by his surname so I figured why not give you a taste of your own medicine.”

“You friends with that asshole?” Billy hissed, suddenly tensing. You could feel the fury slowly begin to boil. It was odd to see someone wrapped in a pastel blanket look threatening, but his quick flare to anger wasn’t anything new.

“No,” you tried to reassure him. Why were you reassuring him? Why should you care? “But he’s friendlier to me than you are. Never made fun of me when he and Tommy were best friends. Not that it’s any of your business.” You hoped that one stung him to hear as much as it stung you to admit. You were all over the place, and you knew it. You didn’t have your normal control around him, the safeguards that protected you from that look in his eyes. The one he was giving you now. The one that was protective, and demanding, and curious all at once. The two of you sat in tense, uncomfortable silence for a while. Your eyes locked with his, and the two of you were left staring at one another. You suddenly registered you were in nothing but your t-shirt and underwear, and you rushed to find some shorts to throw on while covering your chest in the process.

“ ’S not a trick.” You almost missed it as you quickly pulled the shorts off the floor and up your legs. You almost didn’t hear him at all. Almost. “Got sleepy. Didn’t wanna go home. Tommy said I could sleep on the couch downstairs, but...” You waited for him to continue. You hoped the silence would encourage him. When he didn’t finish the rest of the thought, you mentally counted to ten and then finally turned to face him.

“But?” You tried to prompt him as gently as you could. He shrugged, avoiding your eyes.

“Got distracted.” You held your breath, hoping, praying, that wasn’t all he had left to say. You waited and watched as his eyes cut to yours, then away again. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve sworn a blush had spread across his cheeks. You let the silence linger a little longer this time, filling the empty space by letting your eyes trace his face. As the silence drew on, Billy finally grew uncomfortable enough in his drunken state to break. “I found your room. Was kinda hoping I’d find you in it.”

This time, you really didn’t breathe. Your heart raced, and you were so tempted to go to him. You so badly wanted to be next to him, and you were just a few inches from the bed now. It’d be so easy to just lounge next to him and let yourself just settle with that answer. But you owed it to yourself to hear more. Hell, he owed it to you after all the shit he had put you through.

“Why?” This time, instead of just avoiding your eyes, he huffed and scooted himself to the edge of the bed. He looked away from you and set his jaw in that stubborn way of his that said no way in hell am I saying anymore. You were having none of that. “Billy, why?”

He finally turned to you at the use of his first name, just like you knew he would. He swallowed, and you searched his eyes as he seemed to debate with himself over whether or not he should tell you. You implored him with your eyes, desperately and silently asking him to say what you needed to hear.

“Fuck, I can’t say it. I’m not some little bitch.” His gruff response shattered the spell, and he got up from your bed. He moved so quickly, throwing the comforter down and practically sprinting from your room, that you barely managed to grab his hand on his way to the door. He stiffened at your touch.

“Please, Billy. I know you’re not. But I still need to hear it.” Your voice was just a whisper, but it filled the room. You pulled him gently by the hand, and he turned to face you. He kept his head down until he took a deep, cleansing breath. When he lifted his head to face you, you could see the guarded expression on his face. You could see the fear of rejection in his eyes. And once again, he set his jaw in determination.

“I like you, sweetheart.” It wasn’t sweet. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t the blushing or heartfelt confession you used to dream as a little girl about when you imagined a guy telling you he liked you. “I like you a lot. Have for a while now, believe it or not. I know I’ve put you through a lot of bullshit or whatever, but you’re pretty cool. And you’ve got way more going for you than Tommy, or Carol, or anyone else in this shithole of a town. And yeah, I can be a dick, or an asshole, or whatever but--” But it would do. After all, it was Billy.

You didn’t let him finish.

You quickly pressed your lips against his, cutting off his sentence, trying to calm him down, and finally living the moment you’ve been dreaming of for months now. His lips were soft, and he pressed them against yours without missing a beat. You could taste the cheap whiskey he had been drinking and the cigarettes he had undoubtedly bummed that night. It made your heart beat faster. You sighed into him, stepping closer and grasping his shirt desperately with your hands. You worked your lips against his until his arm came up to wrap around your waist. That was when it all came crashing back to you.

“You promise this isn’t a trick?” You rasped the question, out of breath from the kiss but desperate to ask it. You had to be sure. “Billy, if this is some joke or prank, I’m not going to be able to handle it. I can’t just laugh this one off or let it slide. Not after this.”

“Y/N.” His voice was the gentlest you had ever heard it before. “I promise. Now do us both a favor and shut up.” His hand came up to cradle the back of your head as his lips dipped down to meet yours once again. You sighed into it, enjoying the feel of being wrapped in his arms. He walked you back until the two of you collapsed back onto the bed, only breaking to breathe when you desperately needed air.

You let Billy stay in your room, citing the horror movies you had watched earlier as the reason why. After all, you had to take advantage of your parents being gone for the weekend. And you had a feeling Tommy wouldn’t be able to make you clean up the mess from his party tomorrow if Billy was there. Plus, you had always wanted to have a little fun in the back of the blond’s Camaro...

#Billy Hargrove #billy #billy hargrove fluff #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove headcanon #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove reader insert #fluffy fluff fluff #babe's writings #billysbabe #stranger things #stranger things headcanon #stranger things reader insert #stranger things fluff #stranger things billy hargrove #stranger things season 2 reader insert

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resurrectedhippo · 4 years

Text

post-endgame stevetony fic: down in lonesome town

Summary: After the universe is restored, Steve finds himself at a loss without any direction. Retiring from the Avengers, he moves across the country and ends up building a house by a lake. Across the misty blue lake is Tony Stark’s new workshop.

Tags: Tony Stark Lives, Pining Steve, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Lake Tahoe, Post-Endgame fix-it, Angst with a Happy Ending

Chapter 4:

Eidetic memory is a son of a bitch. Sometimes, when Steve gets distracted, he remembers Tony’s face in the Siberian bunker. The look of betrayal haunts him and he’s spent the following years documenting Tony’s expression in scrap pieces of paper in an effort to get it out of his head. He recalls the piercing scream in the Compound as Tony snapped the gauntlet and saved the rest of their asses. Steve continues to think about it early mornings just as the sun rises and in restless evenings.

Steve’s too stubborn to apologize, even though all he wants is for Tony to forgive him. Beg him to love him back. Because Steve knows now, fucking finally; he figures out his feelings after a decade.

No, he’s always known, in the deepest parts of his mind, where Steve pushed down his feelings in favor of focusing on the mission. Then the next mission. Then there’s another crisis. A war. A battle. Until now. He’s in the same spot, rooted, yearning.

There’s this saying he heard from Augusto, who tells him this every time he sees Steve moping around the shop looking for wood varnish or screws. “Sometimes you just gotta swallow it down.”

He’s not sure what Augusto meant, whether it’s better to just repress it all or accept it. Steve’s not sure there’s a difference between letting something go and enduring it quietly.

But Steve is sure of one thing, Tony would have given Augusto a sarcastic reply if he was there.

Meeting again is wishful thinking, but in the center of it all, one thing was constant: Tony.

Steve sits on the now complete veranda, sipping black tea, sketching the dock. He’s always finding something new to draw. And his house is mostly finished. All that’s left is to fill it with furniture.

But he’s still holding off on that. Just yesterday, he installed a dishwasher, so he counts that as a win. He even purchased a set of cutlery and pots and pans. He’s still partial to Natasha’s chipped tea cup, though.

He was doing something with his life. Everyday was still a struggle; a battle of getting up and putting in labor for something that would be his. But seeing the house often reminds him of being alone and he doubts his decisions all over again–from taking the serum, to joining the Avengers, to Tony.

There’s always Tony. Like an unyielding weed in his rocky driveway, Tony takes root in Steve’s life and stays there, even when he’s not actually present. He doesn’t even know when it began, not really. But Tony’s always been there. Always. Even before Steve really knew him.

Steve sits on his veranda, overlooking the lake, and sketches the outline of the oak tree in front of him, following the shape of a cluster of branches and leaves. As always, he wonders what his neighbor is doing. Steve’s been in the property for nearly a year now, and there’s still no one in sight. He supposes that it’s a summer home. If that’s so, then, perhaps, the family will move in soon.

He’ll walk through the bridge connecting their property, say hello, talk about the lake, then maybe about the northside beaches, and then he’ll return home, alone, and watching a happy family from across the way.

Sometimes he just wants to get up and leave this house. Forget the way he built it like he was hoping for repentance. It’s given him a mission, sure, but it’s nearly complete, and Steve will be lost once more.

Idly, he wonders what’s next for him, feeling agitated over the lack of conflict, the absence of missions. It’s not like when he woke from ice and there were missions, briefs, crises.

Steve’s been told by Clint and Natasha that he needed a life. He supposes he’s had some, many years over as the asmathetic kid from Brooklyn, a science experiment, an artist, Captain America, and now finally, his life unfolds as Steve Rogers. He has no idea what that means. For a man of over a hundred, he still doesn’t have his shit together.

He fills in the drawing, taking care to capture the low hanging branch. It’s the perfect place for a hummingbird feeder.

So yeah, eidetic memory is a son of a bitch. Well, it’s useful in the field, but now, all Steve can do is repeat every single memory he’s made since waking up from the ice.

Now, he’s recalling the forsaken bird feeder Tony placed in the Tower. Only, Steve never had the chance to see it. Steve thinks of this memory often, carries it the way people hold onto pretty, precious things they no longer have.

They’re on Tower's rooftop, sitting side by side with their arms behind them to support their weight. It’s late afternoon when Tony finds Steve with the day’s newspaper in hand. Tony’s coming out of the workshop, getting some sun after a day indoors.

They talk about nonsensical things, gossip about Clint and Thor, talk smack about the Knicks, and snootily critique the new exhibit in the Met.

Then, Tony, pointing at a pair of birds resting twittering, says, “Ah the songs that the song birds sing.”

“That’s not a songbird, Tony,” Steve counters.

Tony snorts, then sticks out his tongue, “I’m aware. I wanted to say it anyway.”

“Why do you do that?”

“Do what? Say what I want to say?” Tony raises an eyebrow. He isn’t wearing his famous Tom Fords. It’s just Tony. No gear, no suit, just Tony with his workshop clothes and grease on the side of his left cheekbone.

“Yeah,” Steve says. He isn’t like Tony, unabashed in opinion as long as it's of the intellectual trajectory. Steve finds that Tony’s feelings are not vocalized often. Steve wants to crawl inside him and dig at his bones and find the parts that ache, the sore parts, and mend it.

Tony shrugs. “What’s the point in hiding?” He pauses, moving forward to examine the little birds swinging back and forth the Tower’s crabapple tree.

“It’s a hummingbird.”

“No, it’s not.” Tony says, the snob he is, nose upturned with a grin. He’s always handsome. But there’s something else that happens when Tony knows he’s right–he smiles with glee. Steve finds it completely irritating. “That’s an eastern bluebird.”

“Well, the one beside it is definitely a hummingbird.” Steve points out just because it’s part of their song and dance.

Then Steve says, “We should get a feeder.” Steve follows Tony towards the birds. They stand close to the tree, but not near enough to startle the birds. “They remind me of you. They’re just like you. Moving, always moving.”

Each time Steve’s come close to the birds feeding from the nectar tree, it glances at Steve then flies away. He can only observe it from a distance. Ember in color, with a splash of white wrapping around its neck like a scarf. It reminds Steve of the Iron Man suit.

“Huh. Is it because they’re attracted to the color red?” Tony tilts his head, eyes alight with mischief. “So, what, you’ll think of me each time you see a bird?”

Steve nods, willing himself to shut up before he says something stupid, like I’m always thinking of you. Instead, he says, “Sure, why not? Little red hummingbird, what was it you said, Tony? The hummingbird that keeps humming. It sounds just like you. Always chittering in the comms and flying around in that suit.”

“Idiot, it’s the songbird.” Tony chuckles, eyes lighting up in delight. “And, I’m going to pass the size joke. I’m assuming you’re the bald eagle in this scenario. The face of American society. There you go.”

“That’s not how I’d describe myself.” Steve snorts, setting himself down the lawn. Strength, freedom, courage, that’s what the bald eagle represents, Captain America in a different form. It isn’t Steve.

Tony settles beside him, stretching his arms up in the air before setting it down, close to Steve’s fingers. Maybe if he was brave, courageous and strong, soaring high without fear, he’d settle his palm over Tony’s. Intertwine their fingers. Instead, Steve flexes his fingers, rearranges himself to settle his hands on his lap. Pulling away.

Unfazed by Steve retracting from the touch, Tony bumps Steve’s shoulders and says, “Well, they mate for life.”

Steve never did see that humming feeder.

Apparently, it’s red.

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