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ready-to-obeyme · 3 years

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starlight (Lucifer/MC)

For @dazatsu for the Obey Me Secret Santa for 2020. I hope this fic of mine makes you smile at least once! :) I loved thinking up of the prompt for your secret santa, so I hope I did your aesthetics and preferences justice! I tried including both of your faves and ended up focusing on one.

Feel free to message me on discord or on my personal @epiphyllous.

Happy Holidays! :)

Summary: It’s been a few days or so since you’ve returned to the human world to attend your university classes. Missing you, Lucifer decides to give you a visit, (with Belphie tagging along) hopefully without being seen, just to check up on you.

Or so he planned. He never could have anticipated how much he actually misses you.

notes: gn!reader, College Student MC, sfw, (sorta) established relationship, pining

Be patient, Lucifer tells himself. One semester: four months, or even better, fifteen weeks. Lucifer would never admit it to anyone else, but he counts the days until you come back to the House of Lamentations, occupy the room that is now too quiet for comfort, and sit at your seat at the dining table and laugh with all of them again.

The first week after you leave to attend university classes, he keeps his brothers in line, making sure they keep on going to RAD classes instead of spending the entire day moping over your absence. Not that he didn’t miss you, because, of course, he did. At the best of times you were like a buoy in a stormy night, and at others, you were a comforting presence at his side who taught him how to laugh again.

But you had promised to come back, and he had promised that they would be waiting for you when you did. Lucifer prides himself on control, so in control he would be.

Or so he would have been if he had not already planned to ‘check-up’ on you in the human world at the end of this week.

(He tries not to think about the fact he has caved in only one week after you’ve been gone, but demons are weak to temptation-- so he forgives himself, just this once, because it is to see you.)

To anyone else, especially his brothers, he’s visiting the human realm to take care of human exchange student documents. Only Diavolo, and Barbatos by association, knows why he’s actually settling the last piece of his paperwork prior to his trip. Diavolo had only given him a wide smile, but he is embarrassed to be so evidently transparent to his old friend. (It would have been even more embarrassing had Barbatos had been there to receive the news, so Lucifer is thankful for that at least.)

With everything in order, his brothers threatened to do well in class while he was gone and too distracted to notice the real reason he’s so eagerly planning a trip away, Lucifer heads out the door.

Belphie is waiting for him in the doorway.

“You aren’t planning to go by yourself, are you?” Belphie says with a leisurely smile, and Lucifer can only sigh.

“Oh, sorry-- er, Pro-Professor…”

Lucifer watches as another student meekly ducks past him, skittering away with their head ducked low until they merge with their group. He can hear snippets of what they’re saying, and he isn’t sure what to think when all the comments have been on his attire. It didn’t dawn on him when he first walked onto campus grounds with Belphie in tow, but with the glances he’s been given and the attention he’s been garnering despite his attempts to stay hidden, he realizes how strange his outfit must be when compared to the rest of the population.

He sighs and crosses his leg on the wooden bench they’ve perched themselves on, turning towards his youngest brother when he hears him laugh. Belphie gives him a sleepy smile that does not hide any of the amusement behind it. “Those people think you’re a cosplayer,” he says to Lucifer, pointing to a group of students who were looking at the two of them. “From an anime about vampires or butlers.”

Lucifer looks down at his fur-collared coat on his shoulders and gives it a slight tug. “Ah, I suppose the coat is a little bit ill-suited for the weather, isn’t it?” He huffs when Belphie gives him a deadpan. “I jest, Belphie,” he says, crossing his arms (regally, in a way that only convinces everyone who watched him that he was playing in-character). “I understand clearly now that my ‘casual’ attire is not the norm for this university campus.”

“Or any other campus,” Belphie mutters. “People have been saying your vest makes you look like you part-time at Olive Garden… wherever that is. You should have just dressed like me today.” And Lucifer cannot argue with that sentiment, considering how well Belphie fits in with the university atmosphere and environment with his long jacket worn over his tee. If he ignores the comments on his own attire, Lucifer can hear the whispers of awe and even admiration at the cow-printed pillow that Belphie has brought along with him today to ‘comfortably sleep in class while he waits for you,’ or so he has explained to Lucifer.

“I’m not sure how I would pull off the university-look you so excel at,” Lucifer says exasperatedly. “I doubt it would…” Just as quickly as he cut his sentence off, Lucifer jumps to his feet, quickly dragging Belphie by the pillow (much to his complaints) to hide behind a particularly bushy shrub.

“Ugh, let go of my pillow, you’re going to stretch it out--”

“Shh, be quiet,” Lucifer snaps, glaring at his brother who only stubbornly looks back. “I’d rather not be caught sneaking around on campus when we’re not supposed to.”

“Wait, what? Aren’t we here to see them?” Belphie retorts, “Isn’t this the whole point? Wait, unless…”

Lucifer can feel the tell-tale heat on his ears as warnings of an oncoming blush and wills it away with a scowl, daring Belphie to finish his thought. As expected from his free-spirited and equally willful brother, Belphie does anyway.

“You didn’t tell MC you were coming, did you?” Belphie says, and as much as Lucifer is happy to have such a cunning brother, he wished Belphie were otherwise at the moment. “That’s why we’ve been hiding around trying to find them rather than just having them ditch class--”

“I would not make them ditch class--”

“--and spend time with us.” Belphie pauses. “Why didn’t you just tell them we were coming?”

In the corner of his eyes, Lucifer sees you walk down the crackling pavement-- backpack on your shoulders, skin a healthy glow (thank Diavolo), and eyes as bright as ever-- and Lucifer’s thoughts trail to a stop. His gaze follows you as you walk past them without notice, and he thinks to himself that a human like you truly does belong to a place with the sun, because you are as radiant as starlight.

Lucifer looks back towards Belphie who had fallen silent, only to fight back another bout of embarrassment as Belphie stares back at him with a knowing, mischievous gleam.

“Let’s grab a seat in their class,” Belphie says, standing up easily and walking the same direction Lucifer watched you disappear into. Just when Lucifer thinks the gleam is only from the sun, Belphie continues, his voice dripping with saccharine, “Just so you can watch them a little more closely.”

Lucifer sighs, less inclined to argue when they have little time to catch up with you. (Though even if he did have time, there was not much to say when nothing Belphie said was wrong.)

Looking back at the conversation now, Lucifer wishes he did argue, just a little, because maybe then he would feel better upon watching in horror as Belphie sleeps beside him in class only five minutes into lecture.

After following you, they had picked inconspicuous seats in the back row of the lecture hall (with these tiny, little tables-- Lucifer doesn’t understand how anyone could write on these), hoping to remain unseen by you who sat a few rows up in the middle. Based off the scattered, quiet laughter that surrounds them, Lucifer thinks that their choice in seats was a moot point now.

“Belphie. Belphie,” Lucifer hisses, nudging his brother’s leg in hopes of stirring him awake. “Lecture just began. How are you asleep already?”

“S’fine,” Belphie mumbles, waving a flippant hand. “We don’t even take this class.”

From behind them, Lucifer hears someone quietly whisper ‘legend’, and it takes everything in him to not bury his face into his hands and make themselves even more noticeable. He sighs, but regardless, he looks forward, spotting the back of your head almost immediately in a sea of students. Ever so often, he would see your head dip down to look at your laptop and up again to read the slides that were presented. The movement is repetitive, most likely reminiscent to how you would also be in a Devildom RAD class, but for some reason, watching you focus and intently study in your university classes makes it very evident how often he finds himself proud of you.

And he almost feels guilty for following you on campus. After all, he did make a promise to be there when you came back after waiting patiently for you, and it was not as if you left happily. If anything, you had hoped to stay-- but your future awaits, and so you promised to work hard to get back to them as soon as possible. Perhaps he should keep to the promise you had made to each other-- oh.

Lucifer watches as you lean down to rummage through your backpack, and he almost feels his heart stop when he sees your D.D.D in your hand. Your fingers scroll through something: Past texts? Your gallery, perhaps? Regardless of what the reason is, Lucifer feels something warm spread within his chest as he thinks that maybe you had missed them (hopefully even him?) just as much as they missed you.

What he does not expect is to have his phone vibrate with a text from you.

>> Are you busy right now?

Lucifer is thankful that Belphie is asleep because he does not see the way Lucifer fumbles to get his D.D.D out and text with his heart at his throat.

<< Not at the moment.

He pauses.

<< Is something the matter?

The response is quick.

>> No, nothing is wrong!

>> I’m just in class right now and ngl it’s kind of boring.

Lucifer buries his chuckle into his fist.

<< And here I thought you had an emergency.

>> :crying emoji: This IS an emergency. I’m DYING

>> of BOREDOM

>> Save me, Lucifer!!

<< I will not be an accomplice to distracting you during class.

He’s already enabling you by responding, so it’s not exactly the truth, he admits. But he does like the way you tilt your head as you are wont to do when you find something amusing.

>> Darn, okay I tried

>> I just

Lucifer watches as the text bubbles stay on screen, and he waits for your upcoming message when the people around them stand up, putting their laptops into their backpacks at the end of the lecture.

>> I miss you guys

He looks up to see you standing up, D.D.D. in hand, head down and fingers still over the screen. After a moment, you type something else and lock the phone, putting it into your backpack before heading down the aisle to leave the class.

Your last few messages pop up.

>> Class just ended so I’ll have to go study at the library but

>> I just wanted to say I really miss you

>> Hope you’re doing well

>> Love you.

“What are you waiting for?”

Lucifer turns toward Belphie, whose violet eyes are still bleary from sleep but whose words are as clear and succinct as ever. He yawns before continuing, “Go after them. Let me know when their classes are done so we can actually do something together.”

At this, Lucifer feels his gaze soften. “Yes, I’ll let you know,” he says, standing up and walking down the path to the door. “And, ah, Belphie…” He waits until his youngest brother looks up from his pillow before telling him with a small, wry smile, “Be sure not to get locked inside the classroom when all the lectures finish.”

After a few mishaps, Lucifer manages to ask for the directions to the library most commonly used by the student body. The first few times he tried, his language was too formal for anyone to truly believe he was asking for direction. “Who are you cosplaying? Can I take a picture with you?” was thrown at him numerous times. “Am I being pranked right now? Are you a youtuber?” was also asked at him twice-- which was not often, but it was strange that it happened that many times.

Eventually, someone had, after watching him cross his arms indignantly, given him the instructions to the library. It was only when he was walking up the steps to the building that he thought that everything would have gone much faster if he had only demanded directions and hypnotized a random student into telling him. But he imagined that if you ever found out, you would not be pleased, and that-- if anything-- was the one reason why he resisted the urge to.

Lucifer walks into the air-conditioned building and searches for you. It does not take him long until he sees you, sitting at one of the desks in the library, laying your head on your arms, fast asleep.

It is around three in the afternoon, the sunshine filters through the ceiling windows and scatters across your desk, showering you in a flurry of light, and Lucifer thinks he was a fool to ever think he could bear to not see you for a moment longer.

The seat beside you is open, so he sits there, watching the moving sunlight dance across the hand you placed near your face. Your chest rises and falls evenly, and for a moment, you clench your hands but do not wake, seeming to dream of holding onto something instead. It takes all the self-control Lucifer could muster to not take your hand in his. Instead, he drapes his jacket over your shoulders, careful not to let it fall off, and watches as students filter in and out of the library in the hustle of academic life.

Lucifer isn’t sure how long he waited, surrounded by tall shelves of books and aisles of encyclopedias, but you start to stir, waking up and wincing at the sun in your eyes in a way that has him smiling in amusement. You first grab onto the jacket that had started to fall off your shoulders, and upon realizing that it did not belong to you, you look up to see Lucifer, smiling fondly.

“Lucifer?”

Lucifer can feel the side of his eyes crinkle at the sound of your voice still raspy from sleep. He sweeps away the lint on your shoulder as you sleepily gather up his jacket into your lap. “Whatever happened to ‘studying in the library’ as you told me?” He says teasingly, smile widening when you fluster and laugh nervously.

“I-- you know… I was taking a break and,” you start to say, pausing only to look at him accusingly, much to his amusement. “Wait, forget about that! How are you here? Why are you here?”

“I’m the vice-president of the student council-- I’m able to be wherever I please,” he tells you, and you huff at how smug he sounds. “As for why I’m here, it’s to check up on one of our human exchange students, of course… is what I would say.” Lucifer leans forward and gently caresses your cheek with his thumb, unable to push the affection that bubbles forth as he sees your hand press over his. “But I also just wanted to see you.”

Lucifer hears a cough from behind him and feels heat rushing into his cheeks at the (quite frankly) polite reminder that he was in a public space. He retracts his gloved hand and clears his throat, hoping that the moment is enough to clear away the pink that has undoubtedly found its way onto his face. He expects you to tease him, as you often do whenever you have the chance. When it does not come, he glances back to you, only to feel his heart squeeze at the way you look at him: your eyes softened, lips upturned gently, and gaze adoring in a way that made it seem like you believed he had hung the stars.

(If there were any more ‘coughing’ to remind Lucifer that they were, in fact, still in the library instead of their own world, neither of you take notice.)

“I missed you too,” you say, summing up his feelings in the simplest way that only you could do. You take his hand into yours and gently sway it back and forth. “Thank you for coming to visit me.”

It had been a good idea, after all, he thinks, to indulge himself for once and come see you if it meant he could hold your hand like this again. “Belphie was hoping you would give us a tour of your university,” Lucifer says softly, sweeping his thumb over your hand. “If you were done with classes.”

He feels you squeeze his hand in response to his affection, and his heart soars even as he listens to you speak. “Belphie is here?” You ask, surprised. When he nods in confirmation, you laugh. “Did he catch you when you were leaving or something? Threaten to tell your brothers if you didn’t take him along?”

Lucifer doesn’t answer you, preferring to huff instead, though he can’t deny that he is pleased that you can know his brothers’ behavior well enough to hit it right on the money. “He opted to sleep in the last lecture hall you were in rather than go on the wild goose chase I had to find this library. Is nobody at your university unable to fathom that someone would wear something slightly more formal to class?”

“Yup,” you reply easily, grinning at him. “But it’s okay, I like your outfit. It’s very you.” You pause. “Also, we can always go shopping later, though, so people can stop staring at you. And also to buy some souvenirs for your brothers!” Your eyes brighten as you think, and his heart melts at the fact that his brothers are in your thoughts. (For as much as he wants to have your attention, he finds that the love you can give to his brothers is as equally enjoyable to witness.)

You hum thoughtfully, “I think Beel might appreciate some food from this new restaurant that opened up last week. Maybe Levi would like something from the cute Japanese store down the road? Oh, and face masks for Asmo!”

“I’m sure they’ll be happy with anything you purchase for them,” Lucifer says, making you look up at him with a smile. And he wants to reach out to cup your face again.

Ring ring!

The both of you glance at your phone when it plays a tune, and as quickly as the alarm goes off, your hand is there to turn it off. Lucifer looks at you questioningly before you sigh. “I have class in about ten minutes,” you say apologetically.

“Is that so?” Lucifer says, standing up from his seat. “Then I shall accompany you.” He extends a hand in askance for his jacket, only to give a huff of laughter when you only stare at him incredulously. “Is it that much of a surprise that I would like to escort you to your classes? Unless, of course, you would prefer me not to--”

“No!” You duck your head down, looking around quickly, much to Lucifer’s amusement, before lowering your volume. ‘No, I mean,” you fluster, “I’d like that. Thank you.”

Oh, how Lucifer wants to press a kiss to your forehead, but to save you (and himself, though he thinks he no longer has anything to lose) the embarrassment, he settles for easy laughter as he wraps his jacket around himself. You follow after him, pushing in your chair and lugging up your backpack, your laptop securely inside.

“Shall we go then?” he asks, holding out an elbow for you to hook your arms with his. When you slide yourself close to him and walk down the steps outside the library, he realizes that this is the many things he has missed since you've been gone. Your hand is a comfortable presence on his arm and your footsteps are aligned with his as you walk in tandem to your next class. He briefly thinks about his brothers, most particularly how Mammon would bluster about their proximity, or how one of the romance novels Satan would have described this very situation he was in: walking alongside someone dear to him on a campus that does not seem as big when you are together.

Your hand squeezes his arm gently before you guide him through hallways and pathways. When a crowd of students bustles past them at the end of lecture, he feels you inch closer to him.

“It’s a lecture hall, not a discussion class,” you start to tell him, much to his confusion. You laugh. “They won’t notice you’re not part of the class, so you can sit next to me.” You lower your hand and take his hand in yours.

Lucifer squeezes your hand comfortingly as the last of the previous class files out. “Try not to be too distracted by my presence,” he comments and cannot help the upturn of his lips when you shoot him a withering look he does not have to see to know it has no heat behind it.

Among other glances and subtle affection that you provide him the rest of the day convinces him fully that there has never been a better decision than to visit you. When the two of you finally meet up with Belphie, who had been asleep on a nearby bench, the night is spent out following you as you guide them around campus and at the nearest hub of entertainment.

In the end, you do collect enough gifts for all his brothers, even sneaking a small present into his hands with a sly smile on your face.

And when he returns to the Devildom after a long, long farewell where no one wanted to leave, he provides his brothers with their souvenirs (after they stopped complaining to him about going off to the human world with only Belphie). He tugs off the coat that now lingers with your scent and places the gift you had purchased him onto his desk-- a little trinket that he can now look at and remind himself of you, with eyes of starlight and laughter as warm as the sun.

He thinks of the last message that you sent him and sends you a response.

<< I love you too.

<< Until next time.

#happy holidays!! i hope you like the fic!#ObeyMeSecretSanta2020 #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mc #lucifer/mc #fasdfksafdhaskjfd surprise i am alive

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incorrect-ikevamp-quotes · 4 years

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Comte AU Event

Aight because I have Comte brainworms (is this a surprise to anybody I sure hope not), there’s something I’ve just been thinking about a lot ever since completing one of the story events a month ago:

The cover art being very sexy aside, I naturally did Comte’s story event and I have yet to move on. Namely because of one specific line. (Disclaimer: Keep in mind I don’t mean to say I’m an expert, I just translate for fun--I don’t have the same prowess as an official linguist. That being said starts the circus music let the show go on)

"...it amazed me. You never stopped trying, never stopped helping others or gave up on them--even while every day was a living hell for you."

This is the line I want to dive into, but before I can really talk about it, we need proper context.

Event spoilers below:

This event is a little different since it’s an AU, so the mansion and its residents don’t exist. (Comte lives in the mansion on his own, but it’s not the same one we know.) Instead Comte, Leo, and Arthur are stand alone suitors who have turned MC into a vampire. Because MC has no clear memory of how and/or why it happened, MC is seeking vengeance against her paired hottie--and fully intends to end their life one way or another.

Aside from how sexy revenge is and how much I love the enemies to lovers trope, Comte’s entire storyline gave me more life than I can humanly convey. Here goes nothing!

So it begins with MC knocking on his door and Comte answers it and literally just stares at her silently like some kind of Furby. MC starts out by saying she’s been trying to narrow down the bastard that ruined her life and her search has finally brought her to his doorstep. She basically demands the truth from him and he just keeps. Staring owlishly (lmao). He eventually relents and tells her that a conversation is much better held inside, and invites her into his home to talk.

She's sus as hell but enters the house, and he asks if she's had blood. This stops her in her tracks, shook, and her monologue drifts to explain a few things. When she woke up years ago, a new vampire, she had instructions to approach the Rouge/Blanc dispensary for what she needed. The staff there told her that everything was paid for, and she continued to receive support from an unnamed benefactor. She asked them for the identity of this person, but they were beholden to customer confidentiality. As such, she's been searching for information to narrow down her target for years until she finally found him tonight.

Despite the years it doesn't mean she's any more comfortable with her new existence. She notes that she still tends to stick to drinking Blanc--only drinking Rouge (in other words, blood) when she has no other choice. When Comte puts the Rouge on the table, she becomes notably unsettled. She's thirsty, but she won't concede to his request that she drink it; she refuses.

(I feel like he can probably tell because he's her sire/because of his experience with vampires). Comte--naturally--refuses to let her go hungry, so he knocks it back and kisses her to get her to drink it. He lets go as soon as she's swallowed it, and doesn't resist when she shoves him off. She rails at him about how awful he is for doing that, he agrees. She asks if he was the one that killed her parents, he confirms with blasé indifference. She's fuming quietly, but she notes that he doesn't really look happy or triumphant about it. What he's saying isn't reaching his eyes; his gaze is distant and sad. And it's confusing her. Isn't he supposed to be the enemy?

She's lost in her thoughts and unresponsive until there's a loud cry from outside the house, the shriek of a nearby owl. She snaps out of her daze to see that she still has his hand in a vice grip from when she shoved him off, and his skin is blanched--she cut off his circulation from the pressure. She releases him, startled, but he says nothing.

She's trying to sort out what's going on, and doesn't have enough information to really piece anything together. She wants to hate him but things aren't making sense. Why did her parents have to die in the first place? Why does he bother keeping her alive at his own expense? Even just now, what he did felt more like an attempt to get her to eat than anything else. Why isn’t he more malicious? This MC is desperate for answers, and she says as much: "What are you hiding…?"

Comte doesn't answer her, just averts his gaze and remains silent. MC decides she won't do anything until she learns the full extent of what happened the night she was turned. Furthermore, she's well aware of Comte’s status being a problem. If she goes too far without proper motive, the aristocracy could come back to bite her in the ass. (The implication here is that she's more concerned about being wrong and living with that regret, rather than any necessity to protect herself. The state of his gaze--the melancholy there--keeps eating at her. Until she knows why, she won't move forward.)

Comte is shocked that she demands to live alongside him in the mansion, but he doesn't take any issue with it. He says the mansion is pointlessly huge for one person anyway--she's welcome to stay. Either way she wins with this arrangement: either she gets the truth or she finds an effective way to destroy him by the end. And so their little cohabitation begins!

After a timeskip, MC recounts how she's been spending her days in the mansion. She's been tidying around the house, both in the hopes of finding evidence and/or in the hopes of repaying all the years of living on his assistance. He doesn't stop her, letting her do as she pleases and keeping his distance.

One day, she's about to step out into town to grab some groceries. Comte approaches at the front door, cautioning her to be safe--there have been many reports of scuffles/dangerous encounters. MC brushes him off, unsurprised he knows what's going on in town. He's very well connected to the aristocracy, and she notes that he's often at dinner gatherings and parties when he's not home. She insists she can't let her guard down, that he can't be trusted; no matter how kind he is to her face.

Another day, he asks her to attend a ball later in the week. He tells her she's under no obligation to stay with him while they're there, just that he wants her to take some time and relax--to have fun. She tries to insist that going to something like that would be more stressful than fun but he won’t hear of any protest, walking away before she can fully reject the outing. (Comte, an idiot, speed-walking out of the room: and that is what we call finessed). She sighs, thinking she'll be nothing but a burden to him given her lack of knowledge about events like that. She doesn't really know the proper etiquette or how to dance, it’s completely out of her depth.

Surprising no one at all Comte buys MC a dress and accessories to match regardless, and when she comes down the staircase leading to the front door he's awestruck. He tells her she's beautiful and she's miffed by the raw sincerity, trying to remind herself that he is eeeeevil. He knows how to talk to women given his status, he's just smooth talking... (She's trying to convince herself, essentially.)

And so they go, and she's a bit of a wallflower. He leaves her alone--doesn't want to bother her--while she sticks close to one wall. Several men ask her to dance, but she politely declines. Her monologue explains that, given what she is and the fact that she’s only living for revenge, she sees no merit in trying to court human men. She sees it as irresponsible and inevitably disastrous, and…

[Given the nature of what I am I just can't. I can't fall in love with a human man. Besides, the only person I really want to dance with is...as much as I hate it, my line of sight keeps drifting to Comte. Suddenly he looks up and meets my gaze, but I hurriedly look away--my heart pounding in my chest. Why. In a room full to the brim with people, why do my eyes keep looking for him. Whatever, time to go cool off for a bit.]

She leaves the ballroom--mortified at herself--to get some fresh air. Not five minutes into trying to figure out whatever the hell is going on with her shitshow of a life, a man appears asking what she’s doing alone. And da da da d a Zelda treasure chest sound effect he whips out a knife covered in blood and tries to stab MC. Naturally, because I’m an idiot, my first thought was:

TW: knife attack

TW: homicides by serial killer

But it turns out our local serial killer remains nameless in this event, so I can point no fingers. MC is panicking about needing to run and frozen in place from the shock, but Comte appears to pull her out of range--knife sinking into his back. He doesn’t react much to the violence as the attacker runs away, yanking out the knife and focused on checking her for any wounds. She’s still reeling from how quickly he reacted, and he reassures her (probably at the sight of her bewildered/worried look) that law enforcement is on alert in the area. They’ll find him, they’ll arrest him.

She tries to ask him why. Why would he protect her like that? His first instinct was to take the hit and ensure her safety first, and it doesn’t make sense. Comte reassures her again, joking that purebloods are sturdy. See? The wound’s already healed c:

[Even though I've been spending all this time trying to get my revenge on him, my heart stopped when he was attacked. As if to reassure me, frozen and speechless, Comte smiles gently. This person.......I can't do it. I can't kill him without meaning, without being sure of the truth.]

"...Comte, I can tell you're a good person. What happened that night, so many years ago?" Because even now, he's still protecting me. "Please...tell me the truth. I want to know."

[I know this isn't the time or place, but if I don't know I can't worry about him with a clear head.]

TW: human trafficking and drugging unconscious

Comte concedes and goes into what happened that night so many years ago. Apparently he was acquainted with her parents long before the incident, and they fell into debt as a result of gambling. He approached their home in the hopes of paying them a visit, checking up on them, only to encounter tragedy. They intended to sell their daughter off and the man they ended up making a deal with more or less slaughtered them all in cold blood. The reason MC doesn’t remember any of this was because her parents drugged her the night it happened. No consciousness, no resistance.

"In that room suffused in the odor of blood and despair, I found you, MC." Her pained, struggling cry is what led him into that room--and seeing how desperately she was fighting to survive, he turned her against all his better judgement. Feeling certain she would hate him forever for the choice he made compounded by her terrible circumstance, he bailed, leaving her instructions and resources to survive on her own.

"Sold off by your own parents, attacked by a serial killer, seconds from death. I thought....I thought telling you about it would only bring you pain, that it would leave you numb from the shock and despair. That's why I kept it from you.”

"...After turning you, I was consumed by regret. I felt certain you would hate me for the choice I made. So I left." [When I don't know what to say, he keeps talking.] "But I was worried about you even so. I tailed you quietly, making sure you were getting along okay. I was fully aware you wanted to kill me for what I'd done. Even so, I wanted to check on you."

And that is where the line comes in.

"...it amazed me. You never stopped trying, never stopped helping others or gave up on them--even while every day was a living hell for you."

He admits that he fell in love with her after a point. And she’s baffled, considering she’s been looking for every reason to tear him apart--assuming he was the perpetrator when he actually saved her life. She protests immediately, asking how he could possibly feel that way after the level of vitriol and judgement she’s levied against him when he was only trying to help.

"That's not true at all. At heart, you're a very kind young lady. You haven't raised a hand against me all this time. And even when you considered me to be a repulsive presence, you were worried about me."

At this MC is conflicted--because his words are a further extension of his equanimity. He’s well aware that he brought about all the confusion by not being honest, but it’s also clear there was no ill intent involved in that decision. He was concerned; hitting her with that level of misfortune and senseless terror all at once could have been incredibly destructive to her health. (This isn’t to say he made the ‘right’ decision; I don’t think there is any right decision in the face of such a complex situation. Given he takes full responsibility for what happened and does his best to help her, I think that’s a fair response.)

This is essentially where the common rt ends. But because I’m feral for Comte and enjoy talking about him, I’ll finish up the summary and then go on to do my analysis.

After that riveting assault, MC is feeling very lost about how to move forward. Her fury at Comte’s injustice has all but evaporated, which means a complete re-evaluation of how she’s going to move forward from now on. Does she continue with her revenge anyway, still angry for the dishonesty? Or does she try something new?

If you do the premium end that means choosing to forgive Comte and climb him (as he deserves). Therefore I, being an intellectual, chose to ride him into the sunset.

The premium end begins with Comte taking her to another ball because the first one kind of went to shit and he feels bad about it (retraumatization was not in the plan...). And so MC basically does the same thing as the first time, just vibin and taking in the scenery, thinking things over. Comte’s concerned about her not having fun, so he approaches her to ask if she’s feeling okay. He makes it clear that he really doesn’t mind if she dances with someone else--even if he admitted his feelings for her. She doesn’t owe him anything, and he has no intention of imposing on her future.

"Whatever it is you choose to do, I don't mind. I just want you to be happy"

[This person is so, so gentle...His words penetrate deep and settle with warmth over my heart, my chest light.] "Comte I.......I don't want to dance with anyone but you." [I still don't know what to do about the future, but for now I think following what my heart is telling me is the best move]

"!!!....well then, if you insist..."

Comte’s just:

He’s beyond shocked, but accepts her invitation when she confirms it’s what she wants to do. Leading her in all his infinite grace, MC marvels at his ability to dance so elegantly--even with a partner who’s deadweight, like her. She also finds it astounding how easily he makes her forget what they are, how easily she just enjoys the moment; no turmoil, no lingering in the worst of her miseries. She’s just...having fun? For the first time in so very long.

[Comte murmurs in the short distance, clear remorse on his face--as though he can't help it.]

"MC, it's kind of you, honestly. That you'd give me the time of day, that you'd agree to dance with me. But I...I'm the one that turned you. There's no denying or escaping that fact. If it's you, I'm ready to accept any consequence. If you want me gone, you're free to attack me. If you just want to be as far away from me as possible--to live your life in peace and solitude--I will do everything in my power to help you."

[He said it as if he was trying to convince himself. Like he was trying to remember why he couldn't assume more of this single dance together, why he couldn't let hope emerge from this single shared moment.]

[.....I'm not that kind, Comte. I asked because it's you.....Feeling his warmth beneath my hands, I come to a decision.]

There’s a timeskip, and then MC--being the badass that she is--knocks on Comte’s door the night of the crescent moon. He lets her inside more than ready to accept her judgement, whatever it may be. MC asks about his feelings, seeks to confirm that he still loves her before she confesses herself.

"Comte. Comte you said--that you loved me right?"

"Yes that's correct...no matter how much you might hate me, these feelings won't change. I love you."

[Hearing those words again sets my chest on fire. And I decide to tell him my honest feelings.]

"I love you too. But......I've held a misguided grudge against you for so long, is it okay for me to love you now?"

[Can that misunderstanding really be forgiven? Am I allowed to love you? Comte's eyes widen, and the breathtaking gold of his eyes shimmer/waver.]

"...shouldn't that be my line? I mean even despite the circumstances, I still made the choice to turn you :o Can you really forgive me?"

"...If I'm honest, I still have a hard time drinking blood and I'm a little scared of an immortal life. But......I think if I could spend that eternity at your side, I could find the means to smile again. And....the thing is....I also want to see you smile, to make sure you remember how to smile."

".................." [Le Comte stared at me, before extending his hand. And he hugged me so, so tightly.] "MC......."

[In that single word all the raw emotion of ten years can be heard. It was an indescribable sound--one that spoke of an unimaginable, impossible love. This person loves me so very dearly.]

The event ends with them biting each other as proof of their bond, essentially a vow to stay together moving forward. It felt very much like the shared act of biting was a promise of love, how vampires might get married or commit to each other romantically. The summary essentially ends here.

Here’s where the semi-meta comes in, because I literally just can’t stop thinking about the implications of this event.

"...it amazed me. You never stopped trying, never stopped helping others or gave up on them--even while every day was a living hell for you."

I just...I just don’t even know where to begin with how hard this line hits. Comte’s MS conveys this sentiment powerfully too, but there’s just something about them choosing to emphasize it yet again. The reason Comte falls in love every time has to do with his MC’s strength, her ability to surmount remarkable obstacles with so much poise. She’s deeply in tune with her reality, but no less relentlessly positive. She won’t burden others with her problems, and she’ll do everything in her power to move forward in constructive ways.

Even when every day was a living hell. Both Comte and Leonardo perceive eternity to be something of a curse; an endless sentence. Whether it means suffering boredom, reliving tragedy, or going nigh numb from the loneliness--being an immortal creature isn’t always sunshine and rainbows.

And that’s exactly why I think he fell in love with this MC? I don’t think his feelings would have run half as deep if it was just anyone. He doesn’t strike me as the type to get attached easily. Because if he’s going to have a life partner, he needs someone who's going to be able to roll with whatever life throws their way for conceivable lifetimes. Somebody that loses heart quickly or is easily prone to delusion would suffer eternally, and the last thing he wants is to subject a person to that. MC gives him hope certainly, but she’s also emblematic of a kind of fortitude he both needs on a personal level and she would need to be beside him. It’s interesting because it’s a responsible choice on his part, but also just very befitting of his nature. He’s somebody that staunchly believes in the ability of good to prevail, but he’s also realistic about it. He knows doing the right thing isn’t necessarily easy; he does it because he could never live with himself if he did otherwise.

(Think about Comte’s approach with Jeanne. It meant years of being on the receiving end of hatred he didn’t deserve, but he didn’t mind if it meant Jeanne could find a way to heal. It’s not the most practical or immediate solution, but it is the most restorative option. Comte doesn’t care that he spends years living alongside Jeanne’s outspoken displeasure and even violent outbursts. Why? Because it’s all a means to a greater, better end. If he has to suffer a little discomfort, he’s willing to make that sacrifice. That’s the thing with Comte; intentionality is everything. Comte’s intention is to help. Whether that’s a short or long process, a smooth or rough process, he’s going to do what he can within his means.)

That dynamic is reflected in his respect for this MC who is filled with fury on behalf of all the life that she lost unfairly, her relentless pursuit for the truth of what happened to her. Notice, she’s more interested in truth than retaliation. She refuses to lay an intentionally violent hand on Comte until she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was worthy of being on the receiving end of that retribution. Who does that sound like? If you guessed Comte himself, then you see where I’m going with this. What MC and Comte have in common is that they have a sharp emotional fortitude that they keep under tight, rational control. They will react with sizable passion or hurt or warmth--but their externalized reaction will vary depending on the situation. If it’s a minor annoyance, they have the patience to diffuse and try to alleviate the problem. If it’s on a larger scale or it’s an egregious violation of their personhood, then they up the ante accordingly.

Think about it. MC appears on Comte’s doorstep full of righteous rage and even when he confirms what he’s “done,” she hesitates. Her emotional intelligence is telling her something isn’t aligning properly; something isn’t quite right. She forgoes immediate revenge for proper answers instead. MC and Comte have this kind of balance, where they are more than happy to hear people out--but there is a limit to that propensity. Push them too far? They’ll bust your head. I guess I’m particularly interested in the way Comte seems to yearn for that kind of identification with a partner. Somebody who has similar values: not merciless, but also won’t bend when a situation requires confrontation.

All that being said, there was one more aspect of the story that I was endlessly interested in. I’m going to link the post here, in that it’s tangentially related to this meta; it really made me better able to articulate what I mean to say.

“Never let generosity hold hostages; courtesy is an essential tool, but a cruel master.”

I’m gonna let that sink in for a moment.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, because it’s very rare that I read something once and I’m forced to read it several more times before I begin to understand it. My interpretation of that line is to say that benevolence can showcase your good will to others; it can be a reliable proof of good character, and a way to help someone. But the problem comes when people do conventionally/perceived generous things with the explicit intent of repayment by some measure. While it is only responsible to care for others as they care for you, you shouldn’t make impossible sacrifices with the expectation that the other person is indebted to you--especially if the other party had no ability to consent to that sacrifice.

How does this apply to Comte in this event story? Er, in almost every way humanly (vampirely?) possible, in my view. Comte turns MC into a vampire after seeing her plight, largely because he gets the impression that she was fighting for her life--had impossibly survived against all odds. The situation is complicated though. MC wasn’t fully conscious when it happened, so she doesn’t have a proper understanding of how everything went down. So what does Comte do? If he can’t bear to face her or reveal the truth of how horribly she died, he at least gives her every means to survive and makes sure she’s doing okay since she’s technically an orphan now. He doesn’t interfere with her life, or demand recognition for the life he gave her. He fully understands that she wasn’t able to properly consent to his decision in that split second moment, and even if she had he doesn’t see it as a debt she owes him now. He was able to help save her life for at least a little while longer, and so he did. It was as simple as that. He had the ability, she had the need. That’s the end.

But Comte’s emotional acuity doesn’t just end here. Even when she comes after him to kill him, he doesn’t respond with anger because he knows full well he hasn’t explained. Sure he’s sacrificing their relationship (the ability to get along on half-decent terms) but if it means she can find a reason to live, then so be it. He doesn’t lord that sacrifice over her head by any extension; he’s just sad about it because he thinks she’s a wonderful person, and he doesn’t want to be estranged from her. But in his view, her needs supercede his wants.

He doesn’t force her to do chores around the house during her stay, she does it to keep herself busy and search for the truth about his intentions. He even asks her to take breaks and look after herself first, more concerned with her well-being than the state of the mansion. At the ball, he doesn’t force her to linger around him or dance with him despite inviting her there and giving her the dress/jewelry to attend. He leaves her alone as she wishes, only glancing at her to make sure she’s doing okay. When he takes the hit from the violent stranger--a knife straight to the back--he jokes about being s t r o n k, never once blaming her for the wound he sustains no matter how brief.

He explains that he didn’t tell her the truth because it was incredibly traumatic, and it’s only in the safety of the moment--after years of having conceived of her own selfhood beyond the event--that she’s able to take the weight of what happened without falling apart. The premium end just keeps hammering this shit home. He openly tells her she doesn’t have to dance with him at all, that she doesn’t owe him anything just because he likes her. He’s aware it’s unrequited (he thinks) and he doesn’t go on and on about all the sacrifices he made for her with the expectation she’ll reciprocate. He just did what he wanted to do, nothing more. If she feels the same way by some miracle, that’s amazing! If she doesn’t, as it would be valid if not, that’s fair too; no hard feelings.

She has to be the one to invite him to dance and insist. She’s the one that smiles fondly when he’s telling her that she can choose whatever outcome she pleases, even if it means wanting to live as far as possible from him. There is no guilt trip, no expectation, and no pressure. She has the freedom to leave or stay. It is entirely dependent on her own will. For the first time in a lifetime of loss, her agency is restored to her. That’s huge.

She even admits that she feels bad about being so angry when he really was just trying to help, now that she can understand what he’s doing. And he’s openly shocked to hear it. He had no intention of expecting or asking for an apology. He understands it was his own imposition, both biting her and obscuring the truth, that led to her setting her mind on vengeance.

I’ve probably hit it home harder than necessary, but Comte just feels like the epitome of good will in the best way possible. One can argue he’s a little selfish for keeping the truth from her for so long, but honestly? Given the horrific trauma of her situation--and his personal fear of making her miserable for an eternity when all he wanted was to give her a second chance away from all that hurt--I feel like his reaction was closer to considerate and reasonable. Comte doesn’t sacrifice anything he isn’t unwilling to give, or anything that would cripple him to give. Furthermore, he doesn’t make love out to be a kind of 1:1. He recognizes that while he might know her well, she doesn’t know squat about him. And, as such, he doesn’t expect her to trust his intentions or reciprocate his feelings in any capacity. It’s just a delightful surprise when she does. When he tells her that he loves her that first time, it’s an explanation. Not a guilt trip. He knows she won’t be satisfied years of protecting her simply because “he wanted to” and he promised her the truth, so he tells her. Not only that, in the aftermath he repeatedly reminds her she isn’t bound to him. She commits to him before he relies on any kind of active bond between both of them.

I don’t know, maybe I think too hard about it, but I feel like the older I get the more I see a shortage of this kind of fine-tuned caring about the other person in a relationship. I guess I just enjoy seeing a man give a woman her health and agency without treating her wellness/happiness like it’s a burden to his life? First and foremost Comte really is concerned with her self-actualization before his feelings can have any place in their relationship. And even when he does confess his love, it isn’t a way to force her to feel indebted to him; it’s an attempt to erase any false pretenses. MC loves him, not because she has nowhere else to go, but because he’s proven himself time and again a worthy companion. Always putting her first, always worried about her feelings, paying such close attention that he sees her to the core of who she is despite her iron front--kind, beneath all that hurt. They spend so much of this event really listening to each other despite such difficult circumstances, and it leads to a deep and abiding love against all odds. And I find that incredibly moving...

Oh and, before I forget? Let me circle back for a moment:

"...it amazed me. You never stopped trying, never stopped helping others or gave up on them--even while every day was a living hell for you."

The best part about this event is that--while Comte says this about MC--this is also precisely the reason MC falls in love with Comte too, even if it’s never stated outright. Because despite how lonely and tired he may be of eternity, no matter how many troubles he’s facing himself, he never stops trying to help and support others (namely MC) in any way he can.

Drops mic

#ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikevamp comte #ikevamp saint germain #ikevamp jpn spoilers #ikevamp meta #ikevamp au event #comte propaganda #fangdad propaganda #i love him so very dearly #this event just made the feelings come rushing back #can't have five minutes without comte giving me heart palpitations huh #i feel so personally attacked #anywho i hope yall enjoy this wild ride as much as i did #minnie finna peace out and sleep for 70 hrs #**dives into bed beside comte**#rambles #not incorrect quotes

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amysteriousmessenger · 3 years

Note

I love reading your headcanons so much!!!

May I request: rfa with an mc who likes musicals?

anon, if you like any gothic musicals please look into Elisabeth Das Musical! It’s so good, genuinely on the same level as phantom of the opera <3 I’m also throwing V and Saeran in here for my own enjoyment because he dressed as The Phantom for Halloween~ I hope you enjoy!!

Yoosung Kim with an MC who loves musicals Headcanons

Yoosung hadn’t really taken any interest in musicals before meeting you, aside from vaguely knowing what Zen’s job is like and how much he has to work out. He always takes the opportunity to avoid doing his class work, however, so would be more than willing to watch a couple of them with you!

He ends up enjoying upbeat musicals and is particularly fond of Hairspray and Hamilton! Yoosung absolutely has a new appreciation for Zen’s work and is so happy to have something else that he can share with you.

He’s just a student, so he can’t afford extravagant gifts like tickets but he’ll try to get you merch items for your birthday or anniversary such as little posters and badges.

If you’re ever having a bad day, Yoosung will make an extra effort to put on one of your favourite musicals and cook an Omurice with extra love for you. He’ll get under the blanket and cuddle you to make you feel better.

Zen/Hyun Ryu with an MC who loves musicals Headcanons

My god, you’re his dream. He won’t have to worry about you thinking his career choice is unstable or pointless because you get it, you understand the appeal and love for musical theatre and the power it can have as an art form.

He’ll make sure you get the best tickets to his performance, and backstage passes to meet any of his co-stars if you’re a fan of their previous works. He doesn’t mind introducing you to them, as long as he’s still your favourite performer afterwards.

You get first dibs when the merch stall opens, and he’ll even try his best to get you any crew-only merch such as T-shirts or hoodies.

Your Friday nights together are spent on the sofa, watching various musicals and discussing them with Zen and how good he would be in the lead role. As well as singing along. There is a lot of singing involved. They aren’t always musicals that he’s been in because he likes to look around and enjoy different shows, but you can guarantee you will be watching a lot of his own DVDs.

He’ll ask you to help him with his lines, which is something you’d both enjoy, and you’re caught frequently duetting various songs with him. He gets really into it, sweeping you off your feet and into a dip.

He gets extra soft when he hears you singing one of the love songs he’s performed in the shower and will do something embarrassing like singing the other half of the duet with you through the bathroom door.

Jaehee Kang with an MC who loves musicals Headcanons

Like Zen, Jaehee truly thinks she hit the Jackpot with you. She’s so happy to have a partner equally excited over musical theatre as it’s her main interest and form of escapism.

The majority of your time spend unwinding together would be with one of Zen’s musicals on the TV. Jaehee is also interested in musicals from other countries, because then the both of you can talk about how well Zen would perform as certain characters, or how great his voice would sound singing a particular song.

The absolute intensity when it comes to Ticket drops cannot be overstated, you’re both sitting there with a laptop and phone each- ready for the counter to drop and you’re each logging in. Jaehee’s more experienced so she goes for the seats you Want and you go for the seats you’ll settle for assuming that Jaehee didn’t get the priority ones in time.

There aren’t dramatic duets or anything like that because Jaehee isn’t a loud person, but she enjoys quietly singing to herself and having you come up behind her, holding her waist and singing with her.

Jumin Han with an MC who loves musicals Headcanons

Jumin has never really seen the appeal of musical theatre, and any interested that he had in it was entirely dowsed by his annoyance for Zen. He prefers more ‘refined’ forms of live performance so it would take a few attempts before he’s willing to watch a DVD with you.

He doesn’t mind it as much as he initially thought, but he’s not a fan of the more bawdy shows. He prefers melancholic stories with ballads such as Les Misérables. He’s much more interested in you enjoying yourself and him getting to enjoy your company and seeing you happy.

He’d gift you Priority VIP package seating with a Meet and Greet whenever there was a new show touring that you wanted to see: much to Zen’s annoyance that Jumin can just buy anything he wants with money, and then Jumin reminding him that Zen wouldn’t have a job if people didn’t pay to watch actors perform.

He’s a little bit jealous that you have something you can talk to Zen about more than him, so he definitely tries to apply himself more to the shows you’re the most interested in so he can talk to you about it and not feel upstaged.

Bonus: he was initially intrigued about CATS the musical because he thought maybe it would be actual cats, and then was promptly horrified by what he saw.

Saeyoung Choi with an MC who loves musicals Headcanons

Little known fact but Seven does actually enjoy musicals. He doesn’t really have a lot of time to watch things like that, but when you want him to spend time with you and pick one he does he’ll always put a stupid one on. His favourite? Shrek the musical.

He definitely prefers the comedic shows, but if you want to watch something sad then he’s fine with watching that to since he’ll be glancing at you for the most part anyway. He likes watching you enjoy the things you’re passionate about.

Besides, if he can sense a sad part coming up or notices that your lip has started to tremble, he’ll do a big, dramatic but supposedly nonchalant yawn and wrap his arm around your shoulders.

This man absolutely belts out all the songs that he likes, and will also frequently pull you in to duet with him, whether you’re busy or not. he’s also someone that definitely sings to himself in the shower, but has no shame about it, so will just sing Candy Store from Heathers at the top of his lungs.

[GOOD ENDING] Saeran Choi with an MC who loves musicals Headcanons

Saeran had never seen a musical before, the closest thing he’s seen are holiday choirs at the cathedral, but he’s very looking forward to experiencing something new and getting to share in one of your precious hobbies.

You decide to watch Phantom of the Opera together, since it was one of your favourites and a very popular one, so something good to start with. It was also very visually pretty to look at, so you thought Saeran would enjoy it. Which he does! So far, his favourite songs are ‘Think of Me’ and ‘Music of the Night’.

He tells you with a smile that Ray is enjoying himself, even if he is crying for The Phantom. Saeran eyes also water slightly towards the end of the Final Lair scene, so you cuddle a bit closer to him.

Saeran really starts enjoying musicals, and you catch him humming a few songs to various ones he likes whilst he’s cooking or tending to the garden.

He’s not really a fan of big Broadway ones, much preferring ones with softer music that are less in-your-face. He wouldn’t mind going to see a musical in person in the future, if there are any you particularly want to watch or if Zen wants people to come to see his performance.

Jihyun Kim/V with an MC who loves musicals Headcanons

V has a lot of connections in the Art world, and people who feel indebted to him, so he would be able to get you early access to tickets as a gift. He’s so happy that you’re sharing another piece of yourself with him, so he will treat it with upmost respect.

He enjoys musicals, but like Jumin, he doesn’t particularly care for bawdy or overly dramatic ones. He is, however, fond of the ones that Zen’s in from when he used to watch them with Rika. So whilst he’s tentative to watch them again, he wants to replace the negative connotations with ones made entirely of you.

He prefers older shows, since the more modern Broadway and West End ones are a little too much for his taste, but he’ll watch any that you want him to. He appreciates the artistry behind every performance and he feels as though he understands Zen a little bit better again, and he’s thankful for it.

If he hasn’t opted for his eye surgery, he’d prefer a seat close enough that he can still more or less make out what is happening on stage but V can enjoy the music and the atmosphere regardless.

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger x reader #mystic messenger headcanons #mystic messenger self insert #mystic messenger reader insert #jumin han #yoosung kim #saeran choi #saeyoung choi #jaehee kang #zen mystic messenger #hyun ryu #jihyun kim

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pathofcomet · 3 years

Text

my honey, my daisy, my only

fandom: ikemen vampire

pairing: isaac/MC

summary: “Do not fall in love with anyone here,” Sebastian threatens, wiping a glass and carefully placing it to the side, to be moved to the cupboards a little bit down the hall.Written for Isaac week, day 4. Prompt: AU. Hanahaki AU. (AO3)

“Do not fall in love with anyone here,” Sebastian threatens, wiping a glass and carefully placing it to the side, to be moved to the cupboards a little bit down the hall.

She places her trembling hands in her lap: scared and her heart still throbbing in her chest. This place and this time suddenly don’t really feel like a dream anymore, the fear too real. Love is a concept that doesn’t fit in this image that she’s building of the inhabitants of Saint-Germain’s mansion, so his warning is hollow, empty.

“Why?” she still asks, dumbly.

Sebastian stops – and then slowly, he undoes his necktie and the first two buttons at the top of his shirt. With the downwards pull, she can see the small scar sitting at the base of his throat, nothing but a faint line, whiter than the rest of his skin. His finger is just delicately following the path of where there has once been a cut.

“You know what this is, right?”

She nods. It’s not proper to ask more about it, because what’s there left to be said, when you have given up all memories of a loved one for the chance to keep on living? When the flowers start growing in your chest alongside your love, there are only two choices, really: you’re either having your feelings reciprocated, or have them disappear forever, alongside your memories of the person you fell for. Sebastian chuckles, a dry little thing.

“This does not exist here yet.”

And now the warning sinks in, with its whole finality and strength. If you love, and you are not loved back – here the only choice left is to eventually choke on all those feelings. She can feel her throat constricting in painful memory, the ghost of something she will never be able to recall. She nods again, and Sebastian, pleased that he got to her, resumes his work.

***

Love is pain. Love on its own is pure death – it goes as simple as that. But love kills slowly and beautifully, for it is not entirely unkind.

For vampires, the suffering is doubled. Because while sex is the food, love is the appetite.

And Isaac is stuck in the middle, thirst clawing at him, knowing the pain long before the love arrives.

***

Is there a reason for what humans do? Isaac doesn’t feel like he became a vampire a long time ago, but the separation still comes to him naturally. Even more so ever since she joined this place and turned his world upside down.

Isaac opens his door to her small figure in the frame and no matter how much he scrambles for a reason why she’s here, he can find none. By all laws of logic, she should be afraid and hateful. Instead, she smiles and doesn’t pour all the contents of the tray in his lap, which is more than he’d expected.

And Isaac finds himself smile back. Mistake no. 1.

***

Saint-Germain drinks his coffee, watching the exchange between Isaac and his newest visitor, and he calculates inside his mind several possibilities and probabilities. In time travel, just as in love, there are no real certainties, not even for the best out there. But there are more or less twenty days left for their young visitors – certainly not enough to develop any severe forms of the sickness, even if she is to catch it.

Saint-Germain thinks her better than that. But twenty days are more than enough to have her fall in love with a city instead. Cities don’t break hearts. So he clears his throat, passing his cup over to Sebastian, and creates an excuse.

Mistake no. 2 – Isaac didn’t do anything directly about this one, but he still considers himself guilty for it.

***

“Smiling suits you,” Isaac says, and her cheeks bloom red, like flowers.

He is smiling as well, and the two of them are on the side of the road, looking at each other, suddenly transfixed. When not frowning, when not teased, when at ease – Isaac looks like a man entirely enjoying the spring of his life. Full of playfulness and boyish charm.

It is gone in a moment, but she trusts her eyes more than the slip of her mind.

She doubts she’ll make Isaac admit to such a thing, especially when he still seems to have problems keeping his blush at bay even when they brush shoulders accidentally, on the more crowded streets, but… she thinks this might be a date. Or at least that’s how dates in movies look like, since she cannot remember her own ones.

But they walk and talk. He takes her to his favourite café, and she has the best baguette of her life. The coffee sticks to her throat.

***

She reaches out, too much and too willingly. Trusting too much, fearing too little – it drives Isaac a bit crazy. He doesn’t have the bloom to go by. He never experienced love in his past life, focused on his studies as he’s been, and vampires can judge only by their thirsts. But it feels like way more than anyone has tried to do for him in a while, ever since Napoleon, and suddenly Isaac isn’t sure if he wants to call her a friend.

Or something more.

Mistake no. 3. He spends two hours on the kitchen floor, Sebastian stepping gracefully around him, drinking bottle of rouge after bottle of rouge, his lips turning redder and redder, the clawing feeling at his throat not quite disappearing.

***

“Luv,” Arthur says, and she flutters her eyes open, slowly, to him pushing her hair behind her ear.

She went unfocused there for a bit.

“That expression doesn’t suit you,” he continues, sighing.

She tries to scold her features better and focus on the game of chess in-between the two of them in the library. Leonardo is napping on the floor in the corner, a blanket she brought from upstairs over his shoulders. It’s been harder to control the pain, flaring up at random times – and she’s sure it still shows on her face, no matter how much she wants to actually hide it. It’s nothing much but discomfort, thrumming from deep inside her chest, but only for now.

It’s a bit annoying that Arthur somehow already picked it up. She frowns at him, pushing her piece across the table. From his own expression, she can tell it was a bold but completely stupid move. It’s fine; she hasn’t played chess in a long time and she didn’t expect to win in the first place anyway.

“What are you going to do?” he asks.

“You know him better,” she closes her eyes again, turning her neck a bit – Arthur gets a bit distracted staring at the expanse of skin there. “What should I do?”

Arthur grins, his fangs sharp.

“I think you’ve been doing just fine.” He points a finger towards the clock on the wall, already several minutes past the time for Isaac’s meals.

She gets up, technically allowing him the win, leaving the room. Leonardo opens his eyes to peer up at the writer, and although they say nothing out loud, there’s some knowledge passing between the two of them regardless.

***

“Why did you stay until so late, then?” Sebastian asks, grateful that no matter how badly Isaac might need blood, he’s not just grabbing at his shirt and sinking his fangs in his skin, instead ripping from his hands a glass vial.

She’s away now, so his hunger is already slowly fading, as Isaac is trying to do calculus in his head, and more definitely not think about the time spent together, which just keeps adding up.

In the entrance hallway, she’s coughing, delicately trying to cover it up with her handkerchief. When Saint-Germain shows up, she gathers the two small flower buds that she coughed out in her handkerchief, and hides it in her pocket, smiling up at him instead.

The notion of having him as a dance partner staves off the pain, at least for a while, just a bit.

***

She gives and gives. Mistake no. 4: Isaac accepts. He doesn’t know how to say no, even when it hurts. He doesn’t know how to translate her own suffering, when he’s so happy to just have her near.

Isaac’s used with the thirst, nothing else he hasn’t experienced before. The trouble with love is that it feels fresh each and every time.

So while he thinks he has things under control, she most definitely doesn’t. When one chooses to pluck out the flowers growing in their chest, the memories disappear. The one who picks this path, will keep on making the same mistake, not recognizing the patterns, unable to grow with no roots grounding them in place.

So she falls, fast. When Isaac saves her, an upside down mirror of her first night here – not fear thrumming at her wrists this time around, but just the pleasure of having him near, she stumbles, and swears, and the words come out muffled.

She covers her mouth, looking up at Isaac like a deer caught by its hunter. He wants nothing else but – mistake no. 5. Isaac doesn’t stop: then and there, when the doubt starts coiling inside his stomach.

Instead, he offers himself as her company and gentlemanly ignores her when she asks for five minutes to freshen up. In the corner of the room in which she ducked to hide, Vincent pats her back, as petal after petal falls out from between her lips, until she’s left shivering.

And beautiful. Love is pain. Pain is beauty.

Maybe that’s why Isaac cannot look away, cannot keep away: because her cheeks blush with the prettiest of red each time he gets to close. He realizes he maybe pushed too hard simply because, in the fountain where before was only clear water, once he gets up – she’s surrounded by cherry blossoms.

The petals swim all around her, a child leans over to pick a few in her hands. An older lady tuts disappointingly at the two of them. Isaac reaches out a hand, fearful.

But what is he fearing? Why is he so afraid? If this is true –

No.

Mistake no. 6. Isaac cannot believe the obvious signs, because he doesn’t think he’s worthy of them. Men kill more hearts just by not trusting their own.

***

She shivers in the bathtub, the water getting colder, overflowing with flowers and petals. She’ll have to deal with that later – now she is busy counting up to 10, over and over again, trying to calm the thrumming of her heart, the desperate up and down of her chest: her hand pressed over the scar there.

She wonders: how long into these symptoms she got the removal done? How much did she think she could handle, before it all became too much?

Isaac, pushing at Napoleon’s shoulder, bites at his neck, fangs so painful that it makes the other man hiss. The soldier grabs at Isaac’s hair, enough to make eye contact.

“Slowly,” he urges, and Isaac’s grip on him relaxes, though his gulps still ring too loud in his head.

It brings him no pleasure, but his friend calms: with the warmth of another person, the fresh blood, hunger easier to be sated. The tug turns into pets, and Isaac places a kiss where he pierced the skin, lapping at the blood spilling out.

Napoleon sighs. “You’re wet. Let’s change, shall we?”

***

“This room is getting stifling, Toshiko-san,” Dazai says, coming around to check on Isaac.

They’re vampires, they’re supposed to heal and recover fast. Dazai just wants the bragging rights, that he cares the most out of their friends group. And also, maybe, Dazai wants to check the one rumour he has heard, which proves itself quite true.

Isaac is still asleep. Around him, overflowing from his desk and shelves and windowsill: flowers upon flowers, fully bloomed. Dazai sighs. The smell is almost sickeningly sweet – and she looks quite pale.

“I figured I’d be bothering him more if I were to take them out each and every time…”

Each and every time she bends her body over and coughs out flowers in exchange for his love, is the sentence that she doesn’t finish. She is also quite right. And despite it all, she is still here, right next to him.

What a little fool, their Toshiko-san.

***

They dance together, in front of several pairs of eyes, carefully noting each and every small detail, change in them. Like how Isaac’s pupils get the slightest bit more dilated, his fangs sharper, grazing his lips even with his mouth closed. Like how she can’t quite keep her back straight, how she doesn’t really speak.

Sometimes what remains unsaid means more. It is unbearable to hold each other like this, would have been even more unbearable if they didn’t.

Isaac disappears as fast as he appeared, and she’s left on the spot, hands clawing at her throat. She hunches over, clasps her palms to her mouth as she’s trying her damn hardest to stop breathing, to stop feeling. To calm the wave of emotions threatening to spill over, past her lips and in her lap, like a sky decorated with cherry blossoms.

“I believe it is a bit late for that,” Saint-Germain says.

And then they’re out.

***

In the afternoon glow, filtering through the stained glass, she looks beautiful. And Isaac is filled with need: not for her blood, to be fed – but for her love, as a man. His touch against her cheek is tentative and tender and that of someone begging to be held and pushed away at the same time.

Isaac isn’t sure yet which scenario he’s wishing hardest for.

She meets his eyes, and something in him goes even softer. It melts away everything in her.

“W-what is-? Why are you crying…?”

And despite not being hurt, she keeps crying. The tears are just that, in the beginning, and Isaac’s thumb passes over her skin, catching each and every one. She finds she cannot stop, once the dam has been broken: the happiness is suddenly too much. Here he is: just him and her, and he is touching her, and he is caring for her.

Much more than she thought she deserved, much more than she thought she’d get. Way too little compared to how much she still wants. So the tears keep spilling, never stopping. Then they’re not just tears anymore, a petal falling as well each and every time.

Isaac’s hold gets just a bit gentler, and that’s how she knows something is not quite right, before the petals start falling in her lap. Against her cheek, he clenches and unclenches his hands. Slowly, awkwardly, searching her face all along, he reaches out… and pulls her into an embrace.

She sniffles in the material of his shirt, his arms closing around her. The petals are cascading now more rapidly, down his back, and her hands claw at him.

“It’s going to be all right… Please, don’t cry.”

Of course, he can say that because he’s not the one spilling his feelings from his guts, betrayed by his body to show his feelings. He can say that because he is not dying from loving. She trembles in his arms, knowing she doesn’t deserve the comforting, knowing he doesn’t want her.

“… I’m sorry,” she whispers, and her hold on him tightens, and her tears fall even more furiously, accompanied by her pained wailing.

Isaac holds her, gentle as ever, his palms soothingly rubbing down her back. If he were to count the bones he can feel through the thin material of her dress, the numbers would be higher than in a normal human body.

Love taking roots, love taking over.

If she were to see his expression, she would find it pained, his face buried at the crook of her neck. But even when they untangle, Isaac covers his face with his palm, the downward tug at his lips, making his fangs visible, hidden from her.

Mistake no. 7: Isaac cannot tell the truth. Even worse, Isaac hides the truth, even when he knows hers is so painfully obvious, even when that so obviously pains her.

“Do you intend to return home?”

***

“Don’t go back…” Isaac says, laid on his back, her just a bit further to the left.

And while she’s staring at the open night sky in front of her, he can’t stop looking at her.

She shifts, coming up, suddenly coughing up the now familiar flower petals. They’re falling in-between her fingers, overflowing her hold. Isaac’s heart squeezes in his chest at the sight.

“Does it bother you?” she asks, in-between gasps of breath.

He looks at her, taken aback.

“This,” she shakes her hands in the air, the pink flowers falling all around her. “Knowing it’s you.”

Isaac chokes on his next words, and changes the topic. He can hear her, trying to keep in a new wave of coughing. He has accidentally heard her complain to Sebastian about the chest pain, how her muscles are aching with how much she’s been heaving, how her insides don’t feel quite alright anymore.

Her body, so small and frail, holding the weight of her entire, spilling love.

***

Isaac doesn’t like the way he gets when he’s hungry – it’s been worse these days, what with the desperate need of her as well. Sometimes, something alike a fog washes over him.

When he comes back to himself, he’s in a bed made of blood and flowers: scene of an almost-crime. She’s still breathing, and that’s all that really matters, but his head is foggy and there’s nothing to do but wait and pray, and pray and wait – and hate himself for all of it.

Isaac has only words to rely on in this scenario, for his feelings. And words tend to fail him already, so much and so often. And he tends to fail words as well, so obliviously.

If he can hurt her even like this, why does she love him?

If he can hurt her even like this, how is he supposed to hold on to this last piece of his humanity while actually accepting that he loves her?

Mistake no. 8. Isaac pushes her away.

***

“Sebastian,” she whines, because it’s the fourth time he’s brought up to her rooms only a bowl of the blandest soup.

He pushes at her shoulder, gluing her back to the pillow again – as it should be. She’s paler now, weaker, and in the air all around her room, the sweetest of fragrance, the spring back in his home country. Bouquets of flowers sprang from place to place since his last visit, and… he is fearful she might not make it for the door.

“Sick patients don’t get to complain about the schedule of an overworked butler.”

She pouts, even as she picks up the spoon. It hangs in-between her fingers.

“Sebastian?”

A beat.

“Yes?”

“Just… why?”

He sighs. “I don’t think anyone knows, or remembers for that matter. I just think it’s just the heart thinking it doesn’t want to be alone anymore.”

“So you get a person or you get the flowers? They’re pretty, but they’re cruel.”

Sebastian eyes her cracked lips, the petals of her flowers – living and still image of each other.

“So is love.”

A beat.

“Did anyone tell you that you make a terrible emotional support?”

He grins at her, this time flicking her forehead.

“Might have heard it several times before.”

***

“What do you think you’re doing, Newt?” Arthur asks, shoving his friend’s body against the wall, a bit too harshly, holding onto the collar of his shirt.

Isaac covers his hand in his, pushing. Arthur doesn’t let go, just lets out something that is between a growl and a sigh. Isaac, more or less, does the same.

“She’s bad,” Arthur says.

Isaac remains unfazed. “I know.”

“Worse, after all that blood loss.”

And only that – the guilt, makes Isaac actually realize that bad is not just the dull lull in her chest, but something more definite. Arthur would have never gone out of his way like this if that wasn’t the case. Only when the panic settles in, accompanied by a wave of anxiety so forceful Isaac almost feels like throwing up, does Arthur finally let go.

“You can lose her in two ways,” he says. “Pick the one you can live eternity with.”

***

She can’t really speak anymore – words too harsh on her throat, where buds are slowly crawling their way up. Someone comes by to prepare her a new cup of tea regularly, because it’s supposed to soothe the pain. She’s not sure it’s effective at all, but she also cannot complain much anymore, anyway.

Her coughing fits now can keep going for even half an hour at a time, and she cringes with each intake of air, because her muscles are aching so desperately for some kind of relief. She has nothing to give.

Theo comes and reads poetry to her, though she notices him skipping the love poems. Arthur plays chess with her again, though he’s not chiding her for taking too long this time around. Napoleon sits by her side, as they eat crepes together.

She misses a party, stuck in this waiting game, to see what comes first: her demise or her return. Isaac doesn’t – and in the span of a night, he makes a new friend in an old one and loses him too.

He doesn’t want to lose another person. Ever – if possible, or at least not in that way.

His hand trembles around the handle of the door, trying to gather his courage. The familiar scratching at his throat returns, stronger and stronger the longer he hovers.

He enters without knocking, and she looks up from a book she’s trying to read, startled. She immediately starts coughing at the sight of him; this time around, the petals fall freely all around her. Isaac shakes and trembles in the doorway.

“G-gods!” he says, and in two big steps, he’s closer to her bed. “You’re… this is… bad.”

She manages a weak smile at him.

“I know.”

His voice trembles. “How can you be so c-calm about this?”

She shrugs, though it’s just a tiny movement, barely there, so that she doesn’t trigger another coughing fit. She’s had so long to imagine herself at this point – just because it came faster than she expected, doesn’t mean she didn’t expect it at all.

He keeps his distance. Any closer and she’ll just explode in a bouquet of flowers.

“Y-you’ll soon get back and you can get help and-” Isaac is a blabbering mess and a stuttering fool, only for her.

“I won’t.”

“What?”

“Even if I return, I won’t.” She raises a hand to her chest, pressing it to a scar, that Isaac can notice from where her nightgown has slipped down her shoulder. “It would mean forgetting you.”

She raises her gaze, meets his. She’s begging, one last time. She’s telling him, in words this time. And Isaac stands there, stunned into silence, because if she is to have the same fate either way, what is he protecting her from in the first place?

“I love you,” he says, and for a long moment, there’s only silence stretching between them,

Then, he blushes, fidgeting on the spot, the words obviously out without having thought them. She struggles with her bedsheets, but is still fast enough, despite her weak body, to have gotten up on her own feet by the time Isaac is at her side, arms around her waist, to help her.

She licks her lips – chapped and pale things that they are, and looks up at him, exhausted and obviously pushing herself.

“Say it again. Say it and mean it,” her hands, fisted around the material of his shirt, eyes falling down with the request, too much and too late.

“I l-love you. I don’t…. Please don’t just disappear like that.”

His hold tightens around her body and she sighs.

“I love you too,” and she gets up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against him, nothing but a chase gesture.

Isaac closes his eyes, pulling her closer, opening his mouth, his tongue coaxing hers to follow suit. Which she does, so willingly and openly, and something in Isaac’s chest tightens, just the love he has for her. And something in her chest opens up, releasing, just the love she has for him.

When they part, all around them, branches of cherry blossoms surround them. It’s like her chest has been cut open, and everything fell over – and she is smiling, beautifully and honestly for the first time in weeks.

“Thank you,” she murmurs, and Isaac buries his face at her neck, exhausted with the honesty, relieved at her health, so in love that it hurts – and maybe he understands her better than he wanted to admit, maybe he understood her all along.

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oh-boy-me · 4 years

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Alright I'm curious about your take on movie night with the undateables, including Luke since this is non- romance. Snack preferences, what movies they choose, funny stories from movie night. Whatever strikes your fancy with the idea is good with me. Thanks in advance!

Sorry it took a little bit (´ω｀。) It’s my first time working with these characters so I wanted to give it my absolute best

I’m setting this up as individual movie nights so that each character can get the spotlight for a while; I hope that’s ok! Also, a lot of them somehow ended up in a context of it being the first time you’d hung out one on one lol

Simeon:

It feels like Simeon spends just about all of his time with Luke and Solomon, while you spend just about all of yours with the brothers. So, you decide to have a movie night to finally spend some time together without having to divide your attention. Purgatory Hall is the obvious choice of location, since its residents are much more ready to leave you alone when asked.

This angel is a traditional kind of guy, as angels tend to be, so popcorn is the only snack idea that comes to mind. Traditional doesn’t mean close-minded, though, so he’s more than willing to try out any snacks you bring along. Actually, he encourages you to bring a bunch of snacks to try out together! You can have a taste test while you watch the movies!

Simeon likes Hallmark movie-type movies a lot, mainly because they demand little emotional investment. Movies like horror don’t scare him, but they do stress him out because he wants all the protagonists to get their happy ending! Another benefit of Hallmark movies is that it’s fun to try to guess exactly what will happen, since they can be so predictable.

Of course, he doesn’t want to monopolize your movie lineup, so if there’s something you want to see he’s all for it. If you want to go for something more thrilling, he’ll power through it like a champ, but you can see him visibly cringing at some points.

Simeon is lowkey a movie cuddler, but like in a way that still respects your personal space bubble. He won’t spend the film with you in his arms or anything, but the entire couch is fair game.

Simeon apparently likes to talk during movies–he doesn’t mean to, but the thoughts kind of just come out. He’s brutally honest about what he’s thinking, so if you’re down with it, talking about and roasting the movie as it’s happening is a load of fun. “I don’t know MC, I don’t think this guy’s all that great either? Sure maybe he isn’t completely ignoring her, but look, he obviously has commitment issues; at least her ex was just busy all the time. Look, Mr. Lone Wolf’s beard is uneven. Why does she want a man who wants to look rugged but can’t get it right?”

Simeon also will accidentally spoil any movie he’s already seen like this, so you’re best off watching films that are new to both of you.

He knew that you were a nice and fun person, but honestly he’s kind of taken aback by how good you are to be around. Since the only human he’s usually around is Solomon, talking to one and not feeling like you need to second-guess everything you’re told is a new and welcome feeling.

Before you split for the night, he asks if you’d like to do something like this again. As an angel, there’s a lot that he hasn’t experienced–a lot of food, a lot of activities, a lot of media–and you’re someone that he feels like he would be comfortable trying new things with. You can expect lots of texts like, “Hello! I hope you’re doing wellヾ(＾-＾)ノ Are you free tomorrow?”

Luke:

You probably decide to have a movie night after Luke ends up spending way longer than he expected to in the kitchen at the House of Lamentation. On the condition that absolutely no demons are to join you two! Ok maybe Beel and Levi are ok but absolutely no one else! After a call to Simeon explaining that he isn’t coming back to Purgatory Hall tonight you guys are good to go.

He always brings baked goods when he comes over, plus whatever he was working on in the kitchen, so you’re more than covered! The majority of it is things like cookies and fudge bark. They’re easy snacks to grab a handful of.

Luke tries to insist that he wants to watch a movie with lots of violence or a horror film, or any other kind of movie that teenagers sneak into. He’s doing it because he’s so frustrated with everyone calling him a kid when he’s centuries older than a human will ever be, stop making fun of him!! For his sake and yours, you should tell him that you don’t want to watch that sort of movie, because if you let him get away with it he’ll get too freaked out in the first 20 minutes.

Most likely you’ll end up having a Disney marathon. They’re so fun, and since the Celestial Realm is pretty isolated when it comes to cultural exchange, he’s only seen a couple, so you can show him your favorites! Also, he’s not crying. No, you saw that wrong.

He starts off on the other side of the couch, one again trying to be mature and shit, but that won’t last long. Anyone who sees you huddled together like that will be punched in the gut with the sheer level of sibling energy y’all are radiating. Lucifer almost doesn’t want to mock him. Almost.

That thing where immediately after consuming a piece of media, you imagine yourself as part of that universe? Luke loves to talk about that sort of thing. “If I lived there, I’d have given Gaston a piece of my mind!” “Ok but if I was a piece of furniture what do you think I’d be? I can totally see you being a…”

“I think you’d be the footstool that acts like a dog, Luke.” “Hey, Lucifer, you weren’t invited to our party!!”

You might (will) have to fend off a few nosy demon brothers to protect your demon-free movie lair. Luke swears that next time you have to come over to Purgatory Hall, but he’s having way more fun here than he’s willing to admit.

He also learns that most of the brothers will listen to you without complaint. He will definitely keep this in mind.

This kid angel has so much energy, how is he still awake after five movies? You absolutely have to establish a bedtime because he literally will not go to bed until you do.

Solomon:

It’s quite rare for you to have a break from the seven avatars of attention hogging, so if you’re going to have a movie night, Purgatory Hall may as well be a godsend.

You may want to be careful about getting there, because if Asmo catches wind that you and Solomon are having a movie night without him, he’s going to show up unannounced and then refuse to leave. Solomon can come pick you up if you need. Just, he’ll be waiting a block away so Asmo can’t catch up.

Solomon is a “dinner and a show” kinda guy. He will offer to make dinner. Do not let him do this. Either make it yourself or order takeout.

You’ll pretty easily agree on alternating who chooses the movie. You get the first, he gets the second, you get the third, etc. Definitely isn’t letting you choose first to lure you into a false sense of security about the DVD in his hand, what made you think that?

Solomon is the kind of person to lie about what sort of movie he’s put in. “Solomon what is this supposed to be?” “Oh, don’t worry about it.” It’s gonna be a weird movie. You just have to wait and see.

He is going to rip into your movie choices. He liked how they worked with this, and that was impressive, but these bits? Did they think they could get away with that? What was the budget? Rest assured, though, he expects you to do the same for him. In fact, he’ll be quite disappointed if you don’t.

He prefers a setup on his bed rather than on the couch. He’s also one of the ones who keeps to himself in terms of personal space, although that’s not to say that he isn’t relaxed. Some might say he’s too relaxed, but that’s just who he is: too relaxed in any situation. On the surface, at least.

As the only humans in the Devildom, some of the night is probably spent reminiscing on how different things tend to be here. Solomon does feel bad that you in particular have had to make so many changes to your life and habits with no warning. He has his magic to rely on, so he’s glad you have your reputation of “the human that made a pact with the student council” to keep demons from messing with you.

If you want, he’s happy to let you sleep over so that you don’t have to explain why you’re coming home so late. He also encourages you to not say anything to your dorm mates. Wouldn’t it be fun to make them wonder? They’re always breathing down your neck, aren’t they? Make them squirm a little bit. You’re going to get a scolding for sneaking out regardless. It’s incredibly cruel; you know they worry sick about you more than is called for. Will you play along? That’s up to you. I advise you not to.

Like Simeon felt like he needed to second-guess everything around a bunch of demons and Solomon, Solomon sometimes feels like he needs to keep himself guarded around a bunch of demons and two literal angels. You, however, are a human. You have common ground, and Solomon can see how your vulnerability here translates into strength. He’s not quite ready to admit it but, your ability to survive on character and not power is inspiring to him. Shortly before you go home/to sleep, he mentions something about himself, and for once it seems like he’s being honest.

Barbatos:

You have the movie night at the House of Lamentation, under Lucifer’s promise that he’d keep everyone else busy. It’s Barbatos’ first day off in 325 years, and he doesn’t want to take any chances of Diavolo forgetting that fact and giving him an order.

It may come as a surprise, but Barbatos wants nothing more than to order a pizza. If he managed to get enough time off to have a movie night with you, he doesn’t want to have to think about preparing food. A single night where he can just hang out and eat less than perfectly prepared cuisine is exactly what he needs to unwind.

Out of habit, he insists that whatever you want to watch is fine. If you remind him that this is just as much for him as it is for you, he’ll suggest you look up what new psychological thrillers are trending. Whenever a scary scene is playing on the screen, there’s the tiniest smile gracing his face the whole time. It’s a little disconcerting, but something tells you that you shouldn’t bring it up.

If you do bring it up against all better judgement, though, he’ll explain that the villain in the film is being so messy. Given the circumstances, it’d be better for him to do this or that.

“Don’t ask how I know all of this. I’m just saying, if you find yourself with a body to dispose of, alive or not, you know who to call.”

Time spent with an off-duty Barbatos grows more relaxed as the night progresses. You split the sofa 50/50, and over time you can see his posture relax from stiff and straight to leaning against the arm with his feet up.

Oh, yes, he’s also brought along a nice bottle of wine to share. He made sure to get something that should affect demons and humans equally, of course. If he’s going to get inebriated, you’re going down with him.

Turns out, working for the Demon Prince for all eternity gives you a few grievances. Also turns out that the Demon Prince’s butler becomes quite loose lipped and downright snarky when he’s had enough to drink. “‘Which flavor do you think Lucifer would like best?’ I don’t know, My Lord, might I suggest you ask him yourself? No, no, I hear you laughing, MC! This happens every time!”

There’s still a movie playing, but why would you watch a movie when Diavolo’s butler is such a gossip? You definitely know things you shouldn’t by the time the night is over, but you swear an oath of secrecy. And, although he regrets how liberal he was with his stories the next day, it does feel nice to have some of that off his chest.

And, well, he’s already gone this far, so he hopes you aren’t too surprised when you receive a text from him a week later: “Ok SO.”

Diavolo:

You guys decide to do the movie night at the palace, mainly to avoid Lucifer. Diavolo wants to get to know you better, and he knows that if Lucifer is around he’ll end up making you the third-wheel.

Barbatos is going to be around, so Diavolo leaves it up to you whether you want to make it a party of three. (Barbatos is still in on-duty mode, of course, so his time here is much less relaxed than in his solo scenario.)

Diavolo’s read about movie nights in Youthful Fun 101, and he wants to try out the whole snack list. Popcorn, pizza rolls, sodas, you name it, he’s got mountains of it.

If you suggest also making ice cream sundaes, he’ll be the happiest demon in the entire Devildom. It seems that the esteemed Demon Prince really loves chocolate sauce.

Really really wants to watch your favorite movie. What sort of Devildom host would he be if he didn’t get to understand the Human World from his guest’s perspective? Whether it’s something like Gone with the Wind or something like Barbie in a Mermaid Tale 2, he’s enthralled. So this is Human World cinema! There’s something so imaginative about it, even in the driest moments!

After your favorite, he’s got a checklist of iconic movies to get under his belt. Not all of them end up holding your attention, and you develop a voting system–after the first 15 minutes, you hold a vote on whether to keep the movie going or to move on. Since there’s only two of you, only one of you needs to like the movie to keep it going, so you give yourselves one immediate veto each.

Diavolo uses his veto on the first movie he wasn’t super into, and you have to keep reminding him that there’s no secret second veto that he can use. Cut him some slack, this level of democracy is unfamiliar to the future Demon King. He does end up really liking some of the movies he tried to avoid, so he learns to chill pretty quickly.

Also insists on watching the movies in a massive blanket fort. He’s not a movie cuddler, per se, but he is an emotional movie watcher, so you can expect him to grab your arm during an especially sweet or sad scene.

You’re going to have to clarify what’s realistic and what isn’t sometimes. No, that’s not a real animal. Yes, that event really happened. That may or may not be true, we aren’t sure. Diavolo please this is a conspiracy theory.

If you thought that this wouldn’t end up in a sleepover, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe you just tried to watch way too many movies and passed out in the fort. Maybe you tried to call it quits and then he gave you big puppy dog eyes until you agreed to have a slumber party.

Side note, but Lucifer is still recovering from seeing Diavolo’s car appear unannounced at the House of Lamentation and then being told that it’s actually here to pick you up and that he absolutely can’t come along. Has he been replaced?

Masterlist

#obey me #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me swd #swd obey me #obey me shall we date #shall we date obey me #obey me!#obey me headcanons #obey me simeon #obey me luke #obey me solomon #obey me barbatos #obey me diavolo #nerieda

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ravenadottir · 3 years

Note

If you could switch any of the routes, how would you do it? For example, put Noah in super easy mode by giving him Bobby's route. Or make Gary the Unicorn (Kassam's route).

((live footage of me thinking about noah having any other route than his own))

so, let’s see...

i would like noah’s playthrough to still have the flavor of his indecision, and plenty of dialogues so i could fall even more in love with him... but you know, less snakey and painful, soooo, i would give him rahim’s route. we get to be with him since day one, but he switches to someone else because of his insecurity, eventually becoming ours again when the right timing is right.

rahim should’ve had noah’s route. hear me out! he’s the one who cannot deal with confrontation. noah still bickers back when he and hope fight, and gives her some hard time when she says she makes more money than him. the only person who truly doesn’t take confrontation is rahim. he actually lets priya go for noah on operation, and i still don’t understand why he wouldn’t say anything, unless he was scared of calling her out. with that being said, he’s not out there at all, handsome, quiet and timid. that’s much more gentleman-y than noah ever was on those first couple of days! priya going after him on “operation nope” would make more sense than noah, because rahim is exactly her type, not book boy! she says she likes guys that can be cheeky and that’s who rahim is, despite of delivering the lines wrong. noah isn’t throwing pick up lines back and forth, and rahim was the one saying he doesn’t want to be friends with her because something else is on the table. and if we’re all playing the same game here, instead of hope, we put lottie on it. cause you know... cuckoo over a guy... and the fights with priya would stay in that realm of making sense. lottie going for priya’s guts would’ve actually been justified!

as for crane boy, i wanted to see something flavorful in than just lottie pining over him while he’s entirely into mc. it’s just very annoying she calls dibs without ever being with him. lucas’s route would fit gary so well, because he’s still unsure of whether he should trust someone or not, after being burned. and it would make sense for him to switch because he’s conflicted. it makes sense for lucas, but not for henrik (that was ooc), so gary could take that part. after mc is back and alone, he realizes the mistake he made and apologizes. it suits him better than henrik, i’ll tell you that. plus, if they made blake convince him? even better! one more for the “naive gary” for the win.

henrik could’ve been a casa amor guy. he’s the kind of boy you either fall in love right away or never give him a second look. imagine this dumbass of a guy trying to get with you in less than three days, while being confused about everything felix says! getting him so desperately trying to get with you being his confident self would’ve been another level! it also doesn’t make sense for him and lucas to come after the girl they’re with. they’re mates! it needed to be something about the frenemies trope and not the little brother-big brother. if we could put henrik on carl’s place, alien boy would’ve been a bombshell:

carl coming in on day 5, taking henrik’s spot, would have a much richer development. he has a lot to learn about trust and control, and spending more time with us would teach him that. if carl brought someone back from casa amor, it would give sense to what he says later about “ending things before they get serious”. the angst would’ve been far more intense and the compensation of his arc much more satisfying than it is, giving him a full circle of a “awkward and scared” trope and giving us the carl arc we deserved.

rocco can stay put. his arc kind of fits him well and i don’t mind not seeing him again.

lucas could have gary’s route, and i would love to fight marisol over him. bear with me, it will make sense in a bit. lucas being an og boy would actually be cool since he doesn’t make the best first impressions with the guys, only the girls. the friendships would’ve been conditional and i would love to see that! plus, a little of hope’s glances towards him. but back to the marisol thing. she knows this is a place to find love, but also to play a game when it’s needed. once you get the breakfast gate happening, it’s on! marisol would be interested in him because of his looks and background. being so educated, honest, blunt and rude as he is, for once, she would’ve stirred from her usual type, and we could’ve had a little bit of a healthy competition.. imagine the snarky comments but still, the friendship with her being intact if one of us gets the guy. and marisol still being a love interest would only make everything more flavorful. “i thought i was competing for him, but it turns out, i was into you the whole time.”

bobby getting the unicorn route, in casa amor. imagine the players that unlocked him saying “did you know he’s a baker who makes cupcakes for his friends when they’re sad?” it would actually be a unicorn because once you’re on his route, and is sweet just like him, he boops you. PLAYERS POSTING ABOUT THE UNICORN GUY BOOPING THEM. i bet fusebox would’ve fixed that shit already, given he would become quite popular, not only because of his looks (because let’s face it, he’s adorable) but also the things he says and does. plus, if they played the cards right, he would’ve gone down on mc during casa, and OH MY GOD, the stans would lose their shit even more!

kassam would get bobby’s spot, and honestly? he would’ve been a direct competition to mysteryous lucas. he has so much to offer, but after casa amor, all the guys become the same person and that’s honestly a waste! kassam being there since day one would’ve been legitimately the quiet guy. even more so than noah.

elisa coming in from casa amor and staying, instead of shannon. again, hear me out. elisa still being an li it would mean she falls for us after being with a guy, and in this case, noah. elisa being a mean casa girl, but falling for us and having a completely new “enemies to lovers” route? UM, YES! much more interesting than what they gave her. let’s face it, girl was robbed! plus, day 19 is when everything happens, and elisa being jealous of whoever we saved (or brought back) is actually a dream! i still want a cool girl to be jealous of my mc!

shannon coming in later would make much more sense if she foght jo over one of the boys. the betrayal is far superior given they both came in together and were supposed to have each other’s backs. the fight would happen, and because shannon is not with him, it would also be understandable for her to not get the guy involved.

this second part you didn’t ask for, but like, my brain is gonna be scratching if i don’t match them like this:

‘new villa’

‘og boys and girls’

noah + hope become: rahim + lottie (staying together until the end, and it would make sense for lottie to be paranoid about priya and mc)

rahim + marisol become: noah + hope (would split right after hope realized he’s not her type)

gary + hannah become: lucas + hannah (hannah still gets dumped, but lucas is entirely for grabs after day 10)

rocco as rocco // rocco + mc (that could be the obligatory choice until he gets kicked for getting with someone else, and that would interchangeable among the girls depending on who you flirt with)

kassam as bobby kassam + marisol (it looks and feels cursed, but they would’ve mixed and matched once marisol noticed he’s not her type)

‘bombshells’

carl + gary

‘casa amor’

henrik coming in instead of carl, the other boys as themselves.

elisa being brought by rahim, and blake being brought by either carl or gary. much easier to manipulate, let’s face it.

shannon and jo come together and fight over one of the guys (probably)

‘disaster recoupling’

- jakub would choose lottie

- rahim would choose priya or mc (depending on your participation on operation rattie... or lohim)

- bombshell that stayed (gary or carl) chooses mc, stealing her away or staying in a couple as they were after girls’ choice

- noah chooses hope (and the surprise would be just as big, given hope doesn’t think anything of him because he’s too shy)

- lucas chooses chelsea

- kassam goes for marisol

‘stick or switch’

- jakub stays loyal (despite of bedding someone)(lottie going insane over the fact that he did that, regardless of how she feels disgusted by him)

- rahim stays loyal to priya, or brings blake back, if he’s with mc

- bombshell (gary or carl) brings blake back or stays loyal (depending on operation lohim)

- noah brings elisa (even though he’s not a hundred percent sure, and you can choose him the next recoupling)

- lucas stays loyal to chelsea, regardless

- kassam stays single

- marisol still switches to graham (even on her route)

- chelsea brings elijah back if you stayed single, or stays loyal to lucas if you switch

my brain is tired, i’m going night-night after this one.

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lucy-268 · 4 years

Text

Revelations

A/N - This is ‘the talk’ and it takes place a week after Regrets. You can find that on my masterlist. Also, this meets the requirement for the @choicesweeklychallenge. You belong to me can be found in bold.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to PB

Warnings: none? I don’t think even language.

Series/Pairing: Open Heart - Ethan x f!MC (Charley Valentine)

Word count: 4,466

*****Thursday*****

“Has Denver General sent us any more information, or will I just find out when I get there?” June asked.

Consulting his notes, Ethan answered her. “Dr. Morgan said that he would send us the remaining test results as soon as he gets them. He’ll be sending them to all of us, so if you want to discuss the case with any of us we’ll all have the same information.”

June never looked up from the report she was reviewing. “I doubt it will be necessary.”

“Regardless of whether you think it’s a necessity, you will keep me informed of the case.” Ethan reminded her.

“Of course, Ethan.” June said. “If you don’t need me for anything else, I’m going to get ready for my flight?”

“You don’t want to hear about my new patient?” Baz asked her.

June glanced at him. “My flight leaves in less than three hours, so no. At least not right now.” She gathered her files and left saying goodbye to the rest of the team.

“Baz, what is going on with your new patient?” Charley asked.

“Late-onset Chediak-Higashi Syndrome. For me as an immunologist, I find it extremely interesting, especially as the patient is thirty-two and just diagnosed.”

Charley looked between Baz and Ethan. “Is this a team patient?”

“No. This is a patient of Baz’s. We will have a new patient coming in on Monday for which you will be primary.” Ethan held up a folder.

Baz briefed them on his patient, excusing himself when he received a page saying the patient was being admitted.

“And then there were two,” Ethan handed her the folder.

She flipped it open and read through the file. “Twenty-five year old male. Diabetic. Joint pain and muscle weakness.” Charley looked at him. “Do you know what it is and you want me to figure it out?”

Ethan shook his head. “I have a couple of ideas but I don’t know for sure what it is. You should have several ideas right now.”

“The symptoms can be just about anything. You said he gets here on Monday ?”

He nodded. “He’s already been to Mass Kenmore several times. Even though we have sent a release signed by the patient, Terrance hasn’t sent the files to us. So we may start with spinning our wheels testing for things that they have already tested for and eliminated.”

Charley studied the file again. “Did you see the iron levels here? I think the first thing is a liver biopsy?”

“Are you telling me that’s what you are going to do, or asking me if I think that’s the right choice?” Ethan asked her.

Her head snapped up. “That’s what I’m going to order. I’ll even have the order written so the test is run as soon as he’s admitted.” Charley met his eyes. “What?”

Ethan smiled. “There aren’t a lot of doctors who could have figured out to start with that test after reviewing a file for less than fifteen minutes. Let alone a second year resident. So I am impressed.” He reached over and stroked the back of her hand. “You often impress me.”

She turned her hand and laced their fingers. “It’s Thursday.”

“So it is.”

“Last week you texted me and said we would talk on Saturday.”

“Yes. And we decided we’d have dinner at six.”

Charley met his eyes. “You aren’t going to change your mind?”

“We’re meeting at my apartment. I’ll be there. We are long overdue for the talk. And I’m sorry for that.”

Charley smiles. “Will I finally get my chicken?”

“You will not. We’ve made the chicken together,” he held up his hand when she was going to interrupt, “this time, we’ll make something else. You plan the meal.”

“We may have made the chicken together but I never got to try it.”

“I want to see what you come up with. You can create any menu you want. Email me what we need and I’ll go shopping.” Ethan smiled at her.

Charley considered for a minute. “Anything?” When Ethan nodded, she continued, “My grandma had an amazing pot roast recipe. We could roast it in the oven or use a crockpot. It’s always best if it cooks on low in the crockpot, so that would take about seven or so hours. I’ll email you the list, and I guess I’ll be there late morning. I guess we’ll also have lunch together, too. That’s alright, isn’t it Ethan?” She didn’t even wait for his answer before she left the office.

Charley watched the office door to see if he was going to come after her and inform her they would not be spending the entire day together.

Ethan sat at his desk, he smiled as he realized that life would never be boring around Charley Valentine.

*****Saturday*****

Sienna pushed open Charley’s bedroom door. “Are yo-” Sienna stopped mid-sentence. She heard several loud thuds and wanted to ask if Charley was okay, but she did not expect the scene she witnessed. She also didn’t see her roommate. “Charley!”

“I’m here,” Charley called, pushing herself out from under the bed. “I was looking for this shoe. That I can’t wear now. Thank you, Lucy!” The shoe had become a chew toy for their pet.

Lucy, their fennec fox, sat in the middle of Charley’s bed, looking proud of herself.

“Forget the shoe, we understand what happened to it.” Sienna looked around the room. “Was there a bomb? Are you telekinetic? Did your closet and dresser decide to vomit every article of clothing you own into your room?”

“I’m looking for something to wear, and I don’t have anything! I got off at five yesterday, I should have gone shopping!”

Sienna remembered the day a couple weeks ago when Charley got home late clad in someone else’s clothes. Based on her own conversation with a certain someone, Sienna had a pretty good idea who. Now she was frantically trying to find something special to wear. “What’s his name?”

Charley froze. “What’s whose name?”

“Obviously, the guy that you’re spending your day with. The same one you were with when you came home wearing clothes that were way too big for you. So, who is it?”

“No one,” Charley stated. “I’m not spending the day with anyone.”

“Yet you canceled on Bryce and me for today.” Sienna picked up a Columbia t-shirt and a pair of jeans with a rip in the knees. “Here, put these on.” She smiled. “I mean, if you aren’t doing anything special today, it doesn’t matter what you have on.”

Charley looked at the clothes that Sienna tossed on her bed. She had to leave for Ethan’s before Sienna would be leaving to meet Bryce, and she still didn’t know what she was going to wear.

Sienna watched her. “I heard that Dr. Ramsey also has today off. And he did when you had your second day off two weeks ago.”

Charley froze and looked to the door. “Everyone else is working today and they’re gone?”

Sienna nodded and sat down on Charley’s bed. “Uh-huh.”

“You can’t tell anyone.”

“So it wasn’t just the one night when he spent the night here?”

“That day we went to the country club and later I went to his apartment to talk to him? That was the first time, and the night after my hearing was the second. It was also the last time.” Charley sighed. “Then he went to the Amazon so we could ‘reset’ since he would be my director supervisor.” Charley sighed. “Since he’s been back he says we need to stay away from each other, but then he’ll kiss me. Today we’re going to ‘talk.’ We’ve been supposed to talk since right after the softball game, but it kept getting delayed.”

Sienna smirked at her. “You had on his clothes the day you came home.”

Charley's face turned red. “We spent the day together with his dad in Providence. We took his dog for a walk and I fell into a mud puddle.”

“You’ve met his family!”

“His dad. He hadn’t told Alan that he was bringing me with him. Ethan had never taken anyone home with him before, not even Harper Emery.”

“Dr. Ramsey and Dr. Emery were a thing!” Sienna’s mouth dropped open.

“I don’t know if it’s really common knowledge. Aurora probably knows. I saw the two of them talking once and it seemed intimate. It was the day before they announced the opening on the diagnostics team. I did ask him about it later and he said he likes to keep his private life private, but he did say they had an on-again, off-again thing but it ended permanently when she became chief.” Charley rested her head on her hand. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything. Don’t tell anyone.”

Sienna mimed sealing her lips. “I thought that you and Bryce were kind of together.”

“We hooked up a couple of times but we both agreed to be casual.”

“And with Ramsey, you don’t want casual?”

“I don’t.” Charley chewed on her lip. “Sienna, I’m terrified about today. I know that everything is going to change.”

“Well then, let’s get you ready.” Sienna picked up the t-shirt and jeans. “This probably won’t do; we’ll find something else.”

Charley was just getting ready to leave when her phone rang. She looked at the caller id and sighed. “If you’re calling to cancel-” she started.

“I’m not,” she heard his rich baritone as well as a smile in his voice. “I had to go to the hospital to pick up something. If you haven’t left yet you can ride with me. I’m outside your building.”

“I’ll be down in a minute.” Charley disconnected, smiling.

Soon they were in his apartment. She kicked off her shoes at the door and stood there when he walked further into the apartment. He got half way through the living room when he realized she wasn’t with him. He turned to find her at the door. “If we want to make this pot roast we need to go to the kitchen.”

Charley gave a nervous laugh and stepped away from the door. She tossed her purse on the couch as they walked into the kitchen. They washed their hands and Ethan pulled his crockpot out of the pantry while Charley pulled the roast out of the refrigerator. She saw the printout from her email with the image of her grandma’s recipe. Ethan gathered the rest of the ingredients while Charley brewed a pot of coffee.

“Why the crockpot instead of a roasting pan in the oven? I saw the recipe had directions for both with cooking times for either low or high in the slow cooker.”

“It tastes better and is more tender.”

Ethan smirked. “It does not. And we need to use the Dutch oven even if it’s just to brown the roast.”

“Maybe it doesn’t do a lot for the taste, but it is more tender.” Charley watched as the coffee finished brewing, standing with her back to him. “It takes longer to cook in the slow cooker on low and I wanted to spend more time with you.” She gave a short laugh. “Funnily enough, now that I’m here, I’m nervous.”

“Why?”

She turned to face him. “I think that today may change everything, and I’m hopeful but I’m also scared. I’ve been wanting to sit down with you away from the hospital with just the two of us for so long, but now that we’re actually going to do that...” She bit her lip.

“Now you understand why I’ve been putting it off. But I’ve done a lot of thinking. And I talked to Naveen. We are long overdue. Today will change everything but we will be in agreement with it, I think.”

Charley nodded. Ethan turned back to the counter. “Let’s get this set for dinner, fix lunch, and talk.”

Charley browned the roast in the Dutch oven while Ethan chopped the vegetables and herbs. Once the roast was in the crockpot, Charley cooked the onion. Once they started to soften, they added the rest of the ingredients, including the coffee. “Why coffee?” Ethan asked.

Charley smiled, watching the mixture simmer. “Is this a quiz, same as ‘why neat’ that first night at Donahue’s?”

“Genuine curiosity. As much as I love coffee, I’ve never had pot roast cooked in coffee. I found the recipe interesting.”

“It helps to tenderize the meat and gives the gravy a richer flavor.”

Once the gravy and onion mixture was cooked, Ethan poured it over the meat and set the timer. While Charley washed the accumulated dishes, Ethan fixed salads for lunch. They took their plates to the living room and sat side-by-side on his sofa.

“You talked to Naveen about us.” When he nodded, she continued, “I talked to Sienna.”

They fell into a silence while they ate. Charley glanced at him every so often.

He pushed the last piece of lettuce around on his plate before finally setting the plate on the coffee table. He turned to her; she mimicked his moves and faced him.

“Ethan, I’ve said for a while that a relationship with you is an easy decision for me. It’s what I want. I think that we could be good together, amazing even.”

Ethan nodded. “I know. You aren’t the problem, I am. I want to be able to push you to be the best doctor you can be.”

“You can do that professionally, regardless of any personal relationship we have. I can take criticism from Dr. Ramsey and know that it isn’t coming from Ethan.”

“You’re assuming that I can also have that division.”

That got Charley’s attention. “You’re Ethan Freakin’ Ramsey. You can do anything you try to. If you want to make the distinction you will. And if you cross the line, I’ll let you know.”

“Another problem-”

Charley put her hand on his arm. “If you just want to list a lot of potential possible problems, why are we even having a discussion? Earlier you said that today would change everything and you thought we’d be in agreement.” She folded her arms across her chest and focused on a picture hanging on the wall. “If you thought that I’d change my mind about us, you’re wrong. If you thought you could list all the reasons why we can’t be together and why you won’t be with me, I was right to be nervous about this. If that’s-”

Ethan reached over and grabbed her chin, forcing her to face him. “What I want to do is identify the obstacles or potential obstacles we face so we are both aware of them, and to decide how we need to handle them in the future.” He wiped a tear out of her eye. “Because in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I very much do want to be with you.”

Charley grabbed his hand and kissed his palm before lacing their fingers together. She smiled at him. “I’m sorry for my outburst. Continue, please.”

“Another problem is the board. They don’t like interoffice romances. Naveen seems to think this won’t be an issue. He seems to think that as long as it isn’t impacting the care of the patients, or the bottom line of the hospital, they wouldn’t care, nor would they even need to be aware. I disagree with him on this. I think the board makes it their business to know what goes on in the hospital.”

Charley interrupted again. “I know that there are married couples at the hospital. Was it a problem when you and Harper were together?” Ethan drew in a deep breath when she asked that. “If you don’t want to answer that you don’t have to.”

“I will. It was not a problem and the board did not have an issue with it when she was head of neurosurgery and I was a fellow on the diagnostics team. If our relationship would have continued when she was chief or if I had been a surgeon, it would have been a problem. Any other couples at Edenbrook do not work in the same area, and one member of the couple is not another’s supervisor.”

Ethan continued, “I don’t want anyone to think that you got the position on my team because of our relationship. I don’t want anyone to have any doubt about that. You earned it.”

Charley nodded. “I did earn it. You weren’t even the one who put me on the team. Naveen did.”

Ethan agreed that while that was true, many people at the hospital could have thought that he asked Naveen to do that.

“If anyone has doubts, I graduated at the top of my class at Columbia. Not near, I was ranked first. In fact if anyone had ranked all med school graduates my year from around the country, I’d probably be in the top fifty.”

Ethan laughed. “Someone did. And you are higher than that. You are somewhere in the top twenty. I’m not going to narrow it down more than that for you.”

“Based on that, I think I earned the right to be on the team. Not to mention helping to cure Naveen last year. Our relationship had nothing to do with it. Well except for the fact you inspired me to go to med school in the first place. And I wanted to work with you, which is why I came to Edenbrook.”

“We probably don’t want to advertise our personal relationship at work. The hospital has a wonderful gossip network and we’ll need to be careful. That being said it probably won’t be long before everyone knows about us.”

“That sounds okay. But some people will know. I told Sienna and you told Naveen. My roommates will know I’m seeing someone, and will make it their mission to find out who.” Charley wasn’t sure if she should mention the next part, but figured she might as well. “June does, or she thinks she does. At least that was what she implied the day I caught her with my personnelle file.”

Ethan froze. “She had your file?”

Charley nodded. “She said that she reads the files for everyone she works with. She tried to tell me you asked her to get it for you, but I knew you wouldn’t have.”

“I’ll deal with her when she gets back from Denver. Your roommates and Naveen are fine.”

“If my roommates know Bryce will also know; and if Aurora does, Harper might.” Charley looked up at him. “Can we talk about Harper?”

“I thought we already had.”

“You ended things when she became chief. If she wouldn’t have, would you still be together, do you think?”

“We would not. We were together because it was mutually beneficial to the both of us. But we were never going to last.”

She smirked at him. “By ‘mutually beneficial’ do you mean it was convenient and the sex was good?”

“Yes.” Ethan said. “But then last year something happened that I knew would never lead Harper and I together again.” When Charley tipped her head to show she was interested in his answer, he continued. “Last year, an intern showed up and turned my life inside out. And I can’t get her out of my head.”

Charley started to move towards him, and he stopped her. “What about the scalpel jockey?”

Charley lips twitched. “His name is Bryce.”

“I’m aware, and you didn’t answer the question.”

“We hooked up twice, once at our housewarming party and again once after we were at Donahue’s. We almost did the night we researched treating Mrs. Martinez, but you’d already kissed me in Miami. I wasn’t interested in anyone else at that point.” She looked at the ground before meeting his eyes. “Bryce is a friend and a good one. I trust him. I also know if I ever did want a relationship with him, I’d have that choice. I don’t, and Bryce respects that.”

“As long as he knows that you belong to me.” Ethan pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her.

“And you belong to me!” Charley shifted slightly on his lap and felt his hardness under her thigh. “We could continue this in the bedroom.”

“A very good idea.” As Ethan stood and lifted her, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her into the bedroom.

Several hours later, they were laying with their legs tangled together, voices soft in the quiet room when an alarm on her phone beeped.

“Somewhere you need to be?” He kissed the top of her head.

She pushed herself up. “Actually, yes. The kitchen. I need to start the vegetables.”

He walked over to his closet and pulled out a robe that on him would reach mid-thigh. He tossed it to her, before grabbing another for himself. This one hit him at mid-calf. “You could have this one if you wanted.” She indicated the robe she hadn’t yet tied. It fell below her knees.

He snorted. “Be responsible for you tripping in this one? I don’t think so.”

As Charley gathered what she needed for the roasted cauliflower, Ethan grabbed the green beans. Charley explained that sometime they would fix potatoes with the roast, but her grandfather grew up near Idaho and often decided he wanted anything other than potatoes, so they would have cauliflower. “I don’t like raw or steamed, but I really like them roasted with this mustard sauce.”

Charley watched Ethan pull a cake plate out of the refrigerator. “Dessert?” At Ethan's acknowledgment she asked what it was. He wouldn’t tell her, saying he wanted it to be a surprise.

They worked efficiently together in the kitchen, getting dinner ready. Ethan selected a red wine for them and opened it to let it breathe. He carried their plates to the dining room table.

“This is good; the coffee does make the gravy richer.”

“Grandma knows best. My grandfather grew up in Spokane and grandma in Seattle. They had a restaurant in Seattle that my dad and all my aunts and uncles worked in while they were growing up.”

“You have a big family?”

“My dad had three brothers and two sisters. But even though they had six kids, my grandparents only had four grandchildren. There was my brother and me; we grew up in Pennsylvania. My one uncle had two boys and they were in Oregon. All of my dad’s family is in the northwest and we didn’t see them often. My dad moved there after he retired and I started med school.”

Ethan watched her. “Are we going to talk about your mom’s family?”

Charley shrugged. “Not much to tell. Her parents were killed in a car accident when she was in college. She was an only child and you know why I don’t talk to her.”

As they cleared the table and kitchen he asked her what he had been wondering about. “Why did you decide to do your residency in Boston with most of your family now out west?”

“It doesn’t feel like home to me there. I figured I could do my residency anywhere; it wasn’t a commitment to stay somewhere for my life. It’s only three years.” She smiled at him. “Besides coming here let me learn from the best.”

Ethan poured coffee and set the mugs on a tray with two dessert plates. Charley watched as he lifted the cover off the cake.

“Lemon! How did you know lemon was my favorite?” Charley couldn’t resist. She swiped her finger on the edge of the cake to collect a sample of icing. She popped it in her mouth.

“I asked Sienna the other day and she told me.”

Charley stared at him. “She helped me get dressed this morning and she didn’t say anything!”

Ethan laughed. “You need help getting dressed in the mornings?”

She felt her face redden. “I… well… um. I didn’t know what to wear this morning.”

“I would have gone with clothes, but I understand that some people are fussier than others.”

“I wanted to look nice.”

“You always look nice.”

“I thought that I always looked satisfactory.”

Ethan cut two pieces of cake and added them to the tray with the coffees.

“I thought we could take these into the bedroom. If that would be satisfactory to you?”

She nodded and he carried the tray to the bedroom and set it down on the bed. He flipped a switch causing the gas fireplace to spring to life. Charley picked up her cake and snuggled back against Ethan. “I like the fireplace here.”

“I don’t often use it.”

“Why tonight?”

“Must be the company I’m keeping.”

Charley turned and straddled his lap. “You better be careful. This company could end up corrupting you.”

“I look forward to it, if that’s the case.” Ethan rolled her unto her back.

Several hours later, Charley looked at the clock. “I should go home. I have to work tomorrow and my boss can be tough if I’m late.”

“If you stay with me, I’ll be sure you’re not late,” Ethan buried his head in her neck.

“I don’t have clean clothes for tomorrow.”

“You can either grab some scrubs from the locker room or ask your roommate to bring something for you.” Ethan pointed to his dresser. “I cleared both of the bottom drawers for you, if you want them.”

Charley chewed on her bottom lip. “You knew what the outcome of our talk was going to be before we actually talked today. When did you decide you wanted-”

“The night of the softball game, when I kissed you.”

Charley stared at him. “Then why did you keep putting me off when I wanted to talk?”

“Because I kept coming up with all the reasons why we shouldn’t be together. And I decided not to do that anymore. I’m tired of avoiding whatever it is we have.”

“Why do I get the two bottom drawers?”

“You’re shorter than me!” He indicates the drawer on the right. “You actually do have clean clothes in there. What you wore when we went to my dads. You at least have something to wear to the hospital.” Ethan watched her. “Any other concerns for tonight?”

“Do you have an extra toothbrush?”

Ethan shrugged. “Yes, but it’s one of the standard ones dentists hand out. It should be fine until we can get you one to keep here.”

Charley put her head on his pillow. “Then I can’t think of a single reason to get out of the warm bed right now.”

He turned off the light and slipped under the covers with her. “Neither can I.”

Tag list (if you want to be on or off let me know) @oofchoices @openheart12 @jamespotterthefirst @ohchoices @catchinglikekeronsene @aylamreads @nerdydinosaursweets @eramsey28 @txemrn @starrystarrytrouble @queencarb @thegreentwin @lion-ess24 @caseyvalentineramsey

@choicesficwriterscreations @choicesweeklychallenge

#dr ethan ramsey #dr. ethan ramsey x mc #ethan ramsey #ethan jonah ramsey #open heart fanfiction #open heart #choices open heart

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angstymarshmallow · 4 years

Text

My Two First Loves - How Will it All End? - Part 1 Mason Jennings.

This isn’t necessarily a complaint. I’m genuinely curious as to how long this book will be, especially considering we’re 60+ chapters in. Is this going to end when MC graduates? Will it end when she finally choses between three people? I assume it’s the latter.

But here’s some of my thoughts of what I do know while we’re all waiting. The more I wrote about this series, the more I had to say and if I’ve caught your attention so far, indulge me with another few minutes of your time.

Originally when I read the synopsis of the first chapter, I remembered thinking to myself ‘this looks like angstville and I am soooo ready’. I love angstville, hell I vacation there and if you’ve ever read any of my stories or have been in the choices fandom for a while; you may have stumbled across my blog. You’d notice I’m a complete sucker for this type of pain genre. And in terms of angst, the first few chapters didn’t disappoint. The writing, while it never always felt natural – this kind of style sometimes gave me a familiar heavy feeling in the chest I’ve come to associate as a local in angstville.

From the very beginning, the reader is under the impression that MC has a crush on Mason. It’s a crush that’s spun years and the book keeps up this narrative throughout the entire story. (I’m sure there are people who headcanon this differently, but I’m strictly speaking about the intention of the book and for plot-related reasons, I understand why this makes sense). Then we meet Noah cue bad to the bone song, a secondary character MC starts developing feelings for; soon after MC finds out Mason is dating her best friend Ava. The book basically revolves around these four people - MC, Mason Noah and Ava. It’s not a fair representation all around, but I will say this book does a fairly good job of portraying the woes of being a teenager. To MC and everything she goes through feeling larger than life. To Mason struggling to push himself out of his father’s shadow. To Noah proving he’s a good soul that was dealt a bad hand from the deck of cards we call life. To Ava who was trying desperately to be what she thought she had to be and hiding who she truly was.

First and foremost, I wanted to breakdown a list of all my thoughts, and coordinate them accordingly. I’ll be going through the pros and cons in a series of posts, a lot of which deals with identity and character development. Bare with me if you have the patience, I also wanted to make a TLDR version of everything for people who just want to get to the point.

In any case I wanted to cover the main characters and how they’ve changed over the course of the book through these specific topics.

Mason Jennings Character Development Noah Harris Character Development Ava Lawrence Poor Character Development MC’s Development and Family Dynamic

Since Mason is the first topic I’ve written down, let’s start there.

Mason Jennings: The Childhood Crush

Mason and Parents mostly Mr. Jennings

Mason and MC

Mason and Ava

Mason and Noah

Future Mason: Where Does this Leave Us?

The story does a good job of giving you background information about Mason Jennings almost from the very beginning. Although some of his deeper and more meaningful moments with MC are buried in diamonds scenes - you get a pretty good sense of his character. Mason is popular, friendly, albeit the rich kid with undertones of short sightedness as well as father-son issues that hugely impact his character over the course of this book. Because of his upbringing, Mason sees himself as the ‘good guy’ and while we can certainly see moments of this in the story, we also see moments where he’s been insensitive and selfish. Ultimately, Mason’s short sightedness is his Achilles heel.

Growing up with a lot handed to you on a silver platter makes it a little difficult for Mason to be open minded. Like most of the students of (whatever the name of their high school is), he’s quick to write Noah off as a bad influence on MC. Granted, he knows more about Noah than MC at the start, his unwillingness to change his perspective is a hindrance to his growth. It is unclear if Mason was always well off - considering his exchange with MC about his house and the jacuzzi (if memory serves me correctly), however what the reader does know; in comparison to Noah Mason’s parents haven’t struggled to make ends meet. In public, it looks as if they are a happy family but behind closed doors, it doesn’t take much to assume Mason’s life in reality is far from perfect.

Regardless, this cookie-cutter presentation makes it hard for the reader to sympathize with him, especially when comparing him to Noah.

Mason’s Parents

It starts with his upbringing. A lot of his life, Mason was groomed to be like his father; he’s supposed to follow in his footsteps by scoring a football scholarship. He’s supposed to have a full ride into the air force academy. He’s supposed to breeze through school, listen to his parents and survive high school. Though his cookie-cutter life starts falling apart during dinner with his parents and MC. His parents make a lot of comparisons about MC and Ava, when they bring up his new relationship ( much to MC’s discomfort and Mason’s). Because of Ava’s accomplishments they think she’s a perfect match for Mason and uses this to discredit and sort of look down upon his friendship with MC. They think Ava is the best and most optimal choice because they’ve always given him the best and expect the same in return. It’s implied during as this happens that their relationship isn’t perfect, Mason’s uncomfortableness isn’t just on behalf of MC, he’s embarrassed despite a part of him thinking he owes them for everything they’ve ever done.

Another and more obvious example stem from the all-important football game everyone was looking forward to. Scouts are visiting and their school wants to showcase the best of the best. This spurs even more competition between Noah and Mason; not only for MC’s affection but to gain the scouts favour. Regardless of the outcome, Mr. Jennings influence as the principal allows him to pull the strings and guarantee approval for Mason over Noah.

Immediately after Noah confronts him about the entire scenario; Mason is quick to defend himself and his dad; saying it was his talent they cared about and not his father’s connections. Mason spends so much time thinking the best of his father that he doesn’t consider any alternative. Despite it being obvious to the reader that there is more going on here than just Mason’s ability to play football; he doesn’t entertain the thought. And from his perspective why should he? We’ve already established his parents try their absolute best to give him the best chance possible, which doesn’t necessarily mean playing by the same rules as everyone else.

It’s these kinds of examples that shows Mason’s short sightedness. This makes him a lot less likable. His unwillingness to see other people’s perspectives outside of his own makes him fall a little short. He’s so averse to the idea that his father could be the reason why because it would undermine his own confidence in himself and ultimately change the way he sees his father.

Recognizing how important character growth is in young adult stories; this reoccurring issue has started to change. With the help of Noah and MC’s influence, Mason is finally staring to realize his father isn’t infallible after all. They get into a full blown argument over spending time with MC where they don’t see eye to eye, and haven’t for a long time. Ultimately, Mason starts questioning his own future. Does he genuinely want to go to air force academy? Or was that just an idea planted in his head from the very beginning? Is that his dream or his dad’s?

In a more recent chapter; it’s again implied how strained Mason’s relationship with not just his father but Mrs. Jennings as well. He makes a comparison between how his family celebrate the holidays different from the Price family. MC’s family has movie night and this time they’re watching Die Hard because Noah hasn’t seen it before and technically it is a Christmas movie. While this is the first time it’s specifically mentioned to the reader, we get the sense that movie night is a common occurrence around the holidays. Mason mentions how much this means to him; especially when his own parents do not celebrate the same way and he’s always invited over. It’s a special moment that feels a little less special when he sees Noah standing at the front door of their house.

Truth be told, I don’t think Mason has any idea what he really wants, since realizing air force academy isn’t as much his dream as it was his father’s. It is another part of his personality that spills over in other parts of his life. He didn’t know what his own feelings for Ava was, and how deep his feelings for MC truly is. This leads me to point number 2 -

Mason and MC

Whether you’re a fan of their friendship/relationship, the book gives you ample background information to outright say Mason is MC’s childhood crush and it’s the same the other way around.

If you’ve played some of the diamonds scenes like I have, their relationship seems a lot more natural than meets the eye. Although without these scenes, their dynamic feels a little more forced and a lot less like MC has any control over her decisions when it comes to him. I wished some of the diamond content was given for free because they show a lot of good Mason and MC moments. Their inside jokes, the little moments of childhood joy they experienced together like tarot readings with MC’s mother, and reminiscing over other old memories. You could argue its platonic, the small touching gestures; even their concern over each other’s behalf – it’s been this way since they’ve been kids. They’ve always been there for each other – no matter what. It’s that kind of friendship which allows them to be comfortable around each other. And it is that comfortableness that could lead to intimacy. It doesn’t take a lot for a reader to think then; they’ve been in love with each other since childhood.

MC’s influence on Mason has changed his behaviour. From the way he perceives Noah, to his relationship with his father – if it wasn’t for her, I daresay some of his growth would never have happened.

The more softer side MC sees when it comes to Noah, the more she implores that on MC. Noah can’t be all bad. That slowly becomes been her mantra and while Mason doesn’t agree outright; his opinion of him does change.

The trouble is, Mason has a secret about Noah that not even MC knows. He uses it as a reminder in justifying every harsh thing he’s ever said about him. Every harsh thing other people say about him in general. In Mason’s mind – Noah is fooling MC the way he fooled him last year when Noah tried robbing his house with his brother Elijah. Again, this is only half the story and it isn’t until later chapters that the reader starts getting the full picture.

Putting that aside for now and to paint an even clearer picture; during the scene where three of our major players were stuck in the gymnasium together; they’re in a situation where they’re forced to talk when they otherwise wouldn’t. As the reader you’re able to discern from their dialogue to their non-verbal cues; this dynamic is changing and for the first time - they were talking, laughing and being simply friends which before now was unthinkable to Mason.

He did the unthinkable with his father in a much similar manner. Before MC started questioning her own perceptions of what it meant to be a good person and sharing pieces of this would Mason, he would never think to go against his father. At least, not publicly. I think it’s natural for teenagers to disagree and sometimes go against with their parents to some degree, but from MC’s perspective Mason never really did. It wasn’t until MC and Mason were caught being out very late; Mr. Jennings for the second time tells his son MC is not a good influence on him. This is the nicest way I can put it, but with his growing animosity towards MC, this places a strain on their relationship that is too much for Mason to ignore.

This is a turning point in which Mason starts coming to his own conclusions about his dad. They aren’t in a good place; if Mr. Jennings can’t accept MC in his life, if he can’t accept the decision Mason makes – he’s going to lose him. This short sightedness is starting peel away with more and more layers of Mason realizing nothing is black and white, least of all people.

Even if you aren’t convinced of MC’s feelings about Mason, from Mason perspective he’s absolutely head over heels for her. And it is the same feelings which allows MC to influence him, to change him more than he probably realizes.

Mason and Ava

Oh, boy. This was a recipe for disaster, maybe from the very beginning.

When Mason tells MC they’ve started dating over the course of the summer; I’m sure there must have been some meaningful moments to convince themselves they were right for each other and it wasn’t solely because of MC. In part though, I think some of this had to do with MC, probably more than they both realized. Maybe there was an energy about each other that they’ve only felt when they’ve both been around MC. Maybe they were projecting those feelings onto each other because neither of them wanted to threaten their friendship with her. Regardless, by the time MC knew about it - things have started to become more than a little awkward. Ava was being a little heavy on PDA as if to convince them both that this is what she wants; while trying simultaneously telling MC to back off. Mason was being a little awkward in the sense of still being physically and emotionally connected with MC in ways which confused him. And MC was well, confused (and pinning for Mason secretly during their entire relationship).

From Mason’s perspective, I imagine he’s trying to figure out why it doesn’t feel right between them; why Ava is being more possessive than usual and why his feelings for MC are still there. Maybe in his mind, dating Ava meant getting over whatever feelings he might have had. And to his credit; he tried letting MC know over the summer - as if to ask, is this okay because some part of him must realize this could spell trouble for once the school year started. And MC’s answer was very much yes, even though inner MC’s dialogue never sold anyone on this idea.

In a nutshell, Ava and Mason weren’t a good fit because 1 - Ava was at the time trying to figure out her sexuality and 2 - Mason was trying to develop the same feelings he had for MC, onto her. Who is to say if Mason truly had deep feelings for Ava in the first place?

A part of dating is figuring things out, especially at such a young age - you won’t have all the answer. As the reader, it never felt clear why Ava and Mason were dating other than being a plot device for MC’s repressed feelings.

As a reader, I do recognize towards the end things were very bitter between Mason and Ava. After the whole kissing-MC-by-accident fiasco, the energy between them became more strained than ever. This is what I meant by Mason’s short sightedness; he couldn’t see why Ava was so hurt. He couldn’t see how Ava deserved better because from his perspective, he tried everything he could include distancing himself from MC (with mistakes along the way), only to hurt Ava and himself in the end. He doesn’t see himself as the bad guy in this scenario, but his actions had disastrous consequences. Was he the best boyfriend he could be to Ava? Absolutely not. He couldn’t be the person Ava needed him to be, he couldn’t even see how hard it was for her to be what she thought he needed for her to be. What she thought she needed to be to everyone else. Mason was consumed with his own well-being, his own feelings for someone else while juggling what could have been with her. Was he the worst boyfriend? No, he was figuring things out - sorting out his feelings like every other teenager. It was wrong for him to continue dating someone, when he had strong feelings for someone else. It was wrong for him to accidentally but quite publicly admit he had feelings for MC while the kiss was still fresh in everyone’s mind. But most importantly, it was wrong for him not to communicate his feelings with the person who he was with because that’s the number one thing everyone should do in their relationship. But it’s also human nature to not know what you want.

Mason and Noah

During the most recent chapters, Noah’s and Mason’s relationship has become more and more complicated. I actually think this is one of the best relationships in this book. It shows the reader how difficult it is to define their relationship. Something on the surface that seems pretty straight-forward, when in reality it wasn’t.

Take for instance the beginning; it’s very clear they were painting Mason and Noah as total opposites. Mason is the ‘golden boy’ and Noah is ‘the bad boy’ and for MC to ‘choose one’ meant abandoning the other. Mason’s feelings for MC hindered his relationship with Noah, but before her - his father did that all on his own.

Mason and Noah were I daresay friends and even both admitted as much before it all went terribly wrong. They met and stuck together during football, hung out outside of school but Mr. Jennings influence on his son put a dent in their friendship even before things came to a head. During that night -you know the one I briefly mentioned earlier? Yeah, when Noah and Elijah trying to steal from Mason’s house it ruined whatever budding friendship there was between them. Since I’m talking about Mason’s perspective – despite his father’s hindrance, Mason allows his goading for him to make up his mind about Noah. Noah wasn’t his friend, he was just trying to get close to him to steal his stuff. This makes it difficult for Mason to see him as anything else other than a bad person.

In addition this, when you add MC into the mix – it just makes everything worse. Not only is Noah a bad influence – now he’s trying to take MC down with him. To Mason it makes him super protective of her; he has to protect her from how bad he is and even after her insistence – he still has to prove to her that Noah is bad news.

Even now, Mason is still struggling with the idea of Noah being a good person, but at least he is beginning to move past his short sightedness. He’s allowing doubt in his head, because as soon as he stopped placing his father on a pedestal he was able to realize nothing is black and white. People aren’t black and white. Nothing depicts this more than his relationship with Noah.

Future Mason TLDR

Mason Jennings has already started walking along a path of self-improvement. We see bits of this in the latest chapters that we haven’t seen at the start. From sticking up to his father and calling his ideas wrong, to (start) making amends with Noah and MC - he will undoubtedly continue to grow. This isn’t to excuse his past behaviour; (he still hasn’t apologized to Ava when he very much should and I’m still waiting on that ), but its addressing the very real notion that people change. People are always changing. High school is a lot of where that starts, at least it was for me - and at least for all these characters in My Two First Loves. High school is where we start answering that question who am I and its a journey that continues after which really shapes who we are. Personally, I really can’t see future Mason making the same mistakes as past Mason and if I’m wrong - well pixelberry played me.

#playchoices #Mason Jennings #My Two First Loves #MTFL #k's thoughts #Noah Harris #Ava Lawrence #candid essay #PART 1 OF MY VERY LONG RANT #This isn't a super in depth into his character #it's more how his character is changing as the story changes #this is also coming from a Noah stan lmao #I've also decided to put mc's sexuality in the same topic of development since they're apart of each other #i had to really narrow down my list to be specific as I can be #I had way more topics before but keeping it to character development is a lot already tto take on

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dear-mrs-otome · 4 years

Note

Can you spoil more about Theo's route? After reading Vincent's route I can't wait to see his route in English server. I wish I knew Japanese...

I can.

I’ll give you a summary of Theo’s route below the cut, so for those zooming past BE WARNED. SPOILERS FOLLOW.

SPOILERS INCOMING!

STILL DOWN FOR HAVING THE WHOLE ROUTE SPOILED IN DETAIL???

SERIOUSLY - A GIANT WALL OF TEXT EXISTS BEHIND THIS CUT, ALL SPOILERS…

Theo’s route begins as I’ve mentioned before, with Theo convincing MC that her dream is just a dream and vampires aren’t real. She gets roped by Sebastian into taking food to Theo’s room the next day and catches a glimpse through his open door of a horrific scar on Theo’s back. When she tries to leave he catches her and tells her that since she’s seen his ‘secret’ (the scar nobody know about, not even Vincent) he’s going to make her work as his assistant for the month she’ll be staying so that he can keep tabs on her and make sure she isn’t going to blab.

The next chunk of his route is spent with her reluctantly tagging along as his helper as he goes about his business as an art dealer, drumming up interest for Vincent’s paintings and even sussing out a forgery (in a scene carefully crafted to make you go, ‘Wow I had no idea art dealers could be so badass’ - I appreciate the effort at least, Cybird) MC isn’t entirely excited about this arrangement or seeing the appeal of Theo’s work until he takes her to a studio of independent artists and talks a bit more about his mission to help them, and then he has her choose a painting from their works for him to sell, all on her own.

The thrill of doing so and seeing the artist’s situation definitely sparks her interest in his job and at the end of the day, he tells her to keep the painting and hang it in her room to remind her of this.

Things continue in this way, with her spending every day at Theo’s side and coming to understand a bit more of who he is and what he does, when one night he comes home late bloodied and beat up after an altercation with the Royal Academy’s art goons. As she presses him into letting her patch him up, he talks more about his dream for the future of the art world and how badly he wants to make it come true, and MC offers to help him with his vision however she can, clearly touching him.

They land a solo showing for Vincent and spend a lot of time preparing for that, picking out works and setting up the gallery, growing closer. At one point, they witness a robbery and hear a gunshot and Theo has a full-on anxiety attack, passing out, and when he comes to he finally admits some to MC how difficult of a time he’s had his whole life trying not to be envious of his brother having what he wanted - talent.

Eventually, Shakespeare comes around and manages to spill the beans to MC while Theo has stepped out that they actually are indeed vampires. She races home to test Shakespeare’s claims, finding that the rouge she thought was red wine is blood after all - and when Theo comes to find her she confronts him about his lie. He maintains that she didn’t need to know, and they argue, with MC eventually running out in near tears at her perceived lack of trust in the man she’s come to love.

Things are tense for a few days as he avoids her, but she keeps working towards their mutual goal of Vincent’s show. Then one morning, a few days before she’s set to go home, she finds the entire gallery on fire much to her horror. She runs in hoping to save at least something of their dream, and finds and rescues one of the paintings of a wheatfield that had seemed dear to Theo - but the building is engulfed in flames and she can’t get out. Then she sees Theo who has rushed into the fire, and he carries her out to safety and outside he crushes her in a hug and admits how terrified of losing her he was.

As he patches up her burns, they clear the air about their argument, and Theo drops a bombshell - he admits that he lied not just about the vampire thing (to keep her from being afraid) but also about the scar. He used it as a convenient excuse to keep her close and protect her while she was stuck there for a month, because he admits he feels responsible for her presence. He confesses that it was HIM, and not Napoleon, that saw her come through the door to the mansion first - and that he tried to get to her before it closed, so he could send her back home right away, but failed and has blamed himself for this ever since.

Some things about the gallery showing, the number of paintings, and other inconsistencies start to add up for MC though, and she eventually confronts Theo about them, leading to him confessing finally in a very emotional scene how he witnessed his brother’s death at the hands of Paul Gauguin and that he actually came back to life to seek revenge. The gallery showing, the places he disappears to on the weekends alone, all of it has been him trying to lure out the man he suspects is still alive (since this isn’t that long after their own ‘deaths’). They exchange a tearful kiss when MC confesses that she likes him and hopes he can move beyond his vengeance, and Theo admits he wants to as well.

MC and Theo begin dating, and Theo seems determined to try and forget his vendetta, but he can’t quite seem to - and when Shakespeare stirs the pot and tells Theo that Gauguin absolutely is alive and that he can’t have his revenge if he has any regrets, Theo decides to break things off with MC. He comes to her room and tells her she should go home when the door opens in the next couple of days, bluffing about how brief and shallow their relationship was, and she realizes she can’t make him want to be with her - but she asks him for one night together regardless and he sorrowfully agrees. They sleep together, and he tells her he hopes she’ll be happy, and after she’s asleep he leaves - but admits to her sleeping self that he does love her and can’t bring himself to involve her in his terrible plan.

The morning of Vincent’s show (which is now being held in a public park since the gallery was destroyed) MC and Vincent discover Theo is missing, and after seeing a lone painting of Gauguin’s set up, Vincent seems to understand everything. He and MC race to the cliffs where they find Theo murderously confronting a vampiric Gauguin, who gleefully admits to killing Vincent out of envy for his talent - and then accuses Theo of harboring the same horrible emotions. A distraught Theo finally admits to his brother that sometimes he hated him, and how lost he was when Vincent died. Vincent and MC try to talk Theo out of his revenge but it seems futile…and then Gauguin shoots Theo and he collapses, bleeding horrifically.

Vincent begs MC to give Theo some of her blood and she does, cutting her hand and feeding him enough for him to revive in a tearful scene as she berates him for breaking his promises to her. He confronts Gauguin again but this time admits that he doesn’t want to let hate rule his life anymore, and sends the man off. But he’s still grievously wounded, and as Theo tries to tell Vincent and MC how he really feels he collapses again, unconscious.

Shakespeare appears and as thanks for the ‘excellent show’ he helps Vincent carry Theo back to a doctor. As he’s being attended, SG and MC have a long conversation about what she wants to do when the door opens and her feelings for Theo, and after he wakes up Theo asks to see her and Vincent. He and Vincent clear the air after Theo’s heated admissions of envy, and then he sends his brother away to have a conversation with MC where he apologizes formally for breaking his word and lying to her, and begs her forgiveness.

We see Vincent’s show going off as planned with great success, the public setting accomplishing the van Gogh brother’s hopes of letting anyone see art, and Theo even drags himself there with a cane to see the results. Arthur reminds him to tell MC how he feels, before she leaves, and the next morning Theo comes to her room and takes her out to a place special to him (the wheatfields that remind him of where he and Vincent spent time as children) and admits how important she is to him and how he had always lived his life for someone else, never valuing himself until she came along, and that he knows he’s not the easiest person to love but he needs her.

In his romantic ending, MC tells him she plans to stay, and Theo proclaims he can’t let her give up everything important in her life for him just like that. He insists that he will go to the future with her, for her sake and his own to see this brave new art world she lives in, and after an emotional parting between the brothers we see him adapting to the modern world no problem. He works as an art dealer still, and there is a cute smutty scene where MC asks him if he has any regrets about the choice he made and he assures her he doesn’t - he loves her and would always choose her.

In his dramatic ending, she tells him she’ll stay and he is surprised, but accepts. She continues her work as his partner, taking on more responsibility as they run the business together, and even running afoul of the Academy. Theo vows to protect her no matter what hardships they face as they work towards their dream, and compares her to one of the ‘life-altering masterpieces’ he’s searched for his whole life.

#ikemen vampire #ikevamp #ikevamp theo #spoiler #spoilers #ikemen vampire spoilers #ikevamp spoilers #route summary #SERIOUSLY GUYS THIS IS THE ENTIRE ROUTE #DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU WANT THE TWISTS TO STAY IN PLACE #van Bros being van Dumbasses is a theme

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choicesfanatic86 · 4 years

Text

Almost: Chapter 7

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Pixelberry Studios, except characters unique to my story. Those belong to me. ;)

PAIRINGS: Liam x Riley (MC)

SUMMARY: Riley Lawson didn’t believe in second chances, until one night a face from her past makes a shocking reappearance in her life.

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06/08/2020 - Ahhh here it is! A long awaited updated. I’m always so busy, but with summer starting and some much needed vacation days on the horizon, I’m updating everything. If Only & TTS will be coming along shortly. :)

Thank you! As always if you want to be tagged, send me a message!

Chapter 7

It didn’t take long for Riley to jump into action when Liam agreed to her offer to see the Statue of Liberty. She started to text furiously on her phone, and when she wasn’t getting a response quick enough, she resorted to actually calling up the friends she knew would still be up at that hour. After all, she lived in the city that never slept, and a good chunk of her friends were in line with that mentality. At first it seemed like she wouldn’t have any luck making her plan happen, but eventually one of her friends pulled through. Matt Dennison had owed her a favor from ages ago. She had never expected to actually stake a claim on said favor, but here she was at some god awful hour staring at the boy that had stolen (and ultimately broken) her heart eight years ago, and all she wanted to do was make his dream come true. So, desperate times called for desperate measures and she had absolutely no qualms about waking Matt up from his beauty sleep.

Matt was a frequent patron of the bar, and he and Riley had struck up a bit of a friendship. He was a lot nicer than a lot of the regulars, because he never tried to make any sort of pass at her. That in and of itself had won him a bunch of brownie points. One night last October, an out of towner had come into the bar already reeking of alcohol. Daniel had refused to serve him the three tequila shots he had ordered because he couldn’t bring himself to serve the guy any more alcohol when he had already stumbled into the bar clearly intoxicated. The out of towner didn’t take too kindly to being told no and started to scuffle with another patron, sucker-punching the guy in the stomach for no apparent reason. Seeing this, Matt tried to intervene. His Good Samaritan behavior landed him with a black eye and a set of handcuffs. It didn’t matter who did what, when the cops had shown up; everyone got taken in, leaving Matt in a very serious bind. He had no money to post bail, and everyone he thought would come through hadn’t even returned his calls. Riley swung by the jail at the end of her shift in the hopes of explaining things to the arresting officers. She was an eye-witness after all, but no one wanted to take her statement. She couldn’t see Matt spending the night in jail, so she decided to come to his rescue. She bailed him out and posted the thousand dollar fee without even spending a second to think about it. Ever since then, he had been eternally grateful to her. A month later, he paid her back in full plus interest and told her that if she ever needed anything, he’d make it happen for her. She had brushed the comment off, never really intending to take him up on her offer, but tonight . . . tonight she was ready to cash in.

Matt owned a small boating business that offered tours of the harbor. It was a great way to get some pretty nice scenic photographs of the New York City skyline. His business wasn’t at all like the fancy ferry lines that also ran their own tours out of the docks, but Matt’s tours were a whole lot more inspirational and weren’t the cookie-cutter spiels that the other ferries tried to sell. It also helped that he didn’t price gouge the hell out of the tours that he sold. So, although he wouldn’t be a multi-millionaire anytime soon, he did all right for himself. He had always offered to take Riley on a free tour . . . but he probably never meant for it to be well after midnight. Regardless, he had come through for her, and was on his way to the docks to take them to see Lady Liberty in all her glory.

“Ha!” She exclaimed giddily. “You’re in luck,” she beamed, a large grin forming on her lips. “My friend Matt is going to help us out,” she explained. “The thing is . . . we’re going to have to walk . . .” she said hesitantly. “It’s about a twenty minute trek to the docks. Think you can handle that,” she looked down at his dress shoes.

“Perhaps I should be asking you that question,” he motioned to her high heels. “This isn’t the easiest terrain to take a hike on,” he reasoned. “Especially in those,” he pointed out.

“I’ll be fine,” she said confidently, brushing off his concern. “I’m a New Yorker, remember? Walking around in heels is a thing here,” she chuckled.

Liam glanced back briefly at his friends. They were still entirely wrapped up in what they were doing. They didn’t even seem to notice that Liam and Riley had wandered off on their own.

“Do you think they’ll be angry that I left without telling them?” He asked hesitantly.

Riley took a quick peek behind her shoulder. She didn’t know them well enough to say either way, but based off of the earlier conversation that she had with Drake, this was definitely something that Liam needed to do – regardless of whether or not his friends would be angry with him. He needed to put himself first for once in his life, especially if, for whatever reason, he wouldn’t have the opportunity to come to New York again. She shook her head. “I’m pretty sure they’re having a grand old time without you,” she murmured.

Liam’s eyes shifted to their direction once more. Riley could see the hesitation building in his eyes. He was having second thoughts about the whole thing, and she couldn’t let that happen. “Hey . . . don’t look so guilty,” she nudged his shoulder playfully. “You wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, and it’s going to happen,” she assured him. “Besides, if they get antsy and want to head back to the hotel, you left the car with them. You can always meet back with them later if they’re still on the whole party roll,” she reasoned.

Liam nodded, finally pulling his gaze away from them. “You’re right. I should take full advantage of the fact that this is my last night in New York . . . and . . . well I’ll have more responsibilities after I go back, so maybe it won’t be so bad being a little selfish tonight,” he said simply.

Riley pondered his words thoughtfully for a moment. Oh right, he was getting married. He wouldn’t just be able to hop on a plane on a whim. He’d have a wife’s opinion to consider. She thought on his words again, and she couldn’t help but think that he was giving his words served more as a confidence booster for him to actually go through with it he was trying to rationalize his decision to take her up on her offer. The Liam she knew in Germany would never turn down an adventure, so it was a bit surprising to see him behave so cautiously. She supposed getting older and being swamped down with more responsibilities had changed his outlook a bit. It was strange to think that over the years she had become more adventurous and outgoing. She supposed that it was her time with him in Germany that had really allowed her to branch out and experience new things.

“Exactly,” she agreed.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. She could feel his gaze wander over her a few times as they walked, and she briefly wondered what was running through his head as they walked together side by side.

“So, why did you stay in New York?” He asked, trying to engage her in small chit-chat.

“What do you mean?” She looked back at him.

“Well . . . you weren’t always a New Yorker, right? If I remember correctly, you were from Virginia?” He said thoughtfully. “Or was it New Hampshire,” he said uncertainly.

“West Virginia,” she corrected him. She licked her lips anxiously. “It just wasn’t home anymore,” she shrugged. “I made a life for myself here,” she responded simply.

“Right. West Virginia,” he nodded. “How are your parents doing? Did they end up moving out to New York, too?”

Riley stiffened at the mention of her parents. They had a falling out shortly after she came back to the States from Germany. She had been devastated after everything that happened there, and she had hoped that going home and spending time with her family would help her clear her head, pull the shambles of her life together, and figure out where to go from there . . . but it hadn’t. Instead, she came home to judgment and disappointment, and she felt her life fall apart all over again.

“We don’t talk anymore,” she shrugged, becoming a bit uncomfortable.

Liam’s eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t?” He paused for a moment, trying to formulate the right words. “I’m sorry. You were always so close to them,” he said, a look of regret in his eyes. “Did something happen?”

Riley frowned. She hadn’t intended for the conversation to stray in this direction. It wasn’t something she was necessarily ready or willing to talk about. “We had a disagreement about my life choices,” she said vaguely. “I did what I thought was best, and they didn’t agree with me,” she shrugged. “Case closed,” she said coldly.

Liam studied her carefully. She hated the way he was analyzing her. She knew he could probably sense that she was keeping something from him, but in that moment, she just couldn’t bring herself to get into things right then and there.

“I just find it so odd that you wouldn’t be in contact with them,” he frowned. “You spoke with them nearly every single day while we were in Germany . . .” he trailed off.

“Well, Germany was a long time ago, Liam,” she said a bit shortly. She started to feel tears form in her eyes. He was right. She had been exceptionally close to her parents, especially her mother. It killed her to not have a relationship with them, especially after everything she had been through. She just couldn’t bring herself to forgive them after everything that was said and done.

She turned to Liam, ready to tell him to just back off and drop the issue about her parents, but when she met his gaze, she saw the concern in his eyes. She bit her lip. He was worried about her. Even after all this time, there was still a part of him that wanted to make sure she was all right. She debated letting everything that was on her mind flood out from her right then and there, but she knew that once she spilled her heart out to him, there would be no taking the words she said back. She’d likely never see him again after tonight. So why should she bother? What good would it do except to stir up unnecessary pain and heartache of something that had long happened years ago?

He slumped his shoulders a bit, the concern never leaving his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to upset you,” he said quietly.

She shrugged. Her family was a sensitive issue. He was right. They had been exceptionally close. Her parents had always been wonderful . . . until, well, they weren’t. She remembered the screaming battle they had when she had gone back to West Virginia. Her life had changed so much in a few short months, and they couldn’t understand that she was her own person . . . who was able to make her own decisions. The life she had decided to lead didn’t correlate with the live they had envisioned for her.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m at odds with my family as well,” he sighed.

“Not speaking to them?” She asked in surprise. Liam had always spoken very highly of his parents. He admitted that they were a bit overprotective, but she had never gotten the feeling that things were strained between them.

“Oh no, we’re speaking . . . let’s just say that it’s all . . . an act,” he sighed wearily. “I play my part, and hell doesn’t get raised,” he said vaguely.

“That sounds like there’s a story there,” she commented. Her curiosity was piqued. Just moments ago she had wanted him to butt out of her personal affairs, yet here she wanted to know about his own rift with his parents.

“You have no idea,” he sighed as he tried to keep pace with her. “So whatever happened with your parents may be minuscule compared to what I’ve been dealing with my father and Regina,” he sighed in frustration.

Riley snorted. “I doubt that.” She sighed, letting the topic drop. Talking about her parents always put her in a foul mood, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Liam now felt the exact same way about his parents. “We’re here,” she motioned to the rickety dock in front of her.

He looked at her in surprise. “Really? That didn’t take too long . . . this doesn’t really look like an actual dock area,” he said as he looked around.

“That’s because it’s not,” she explained. “Well, it used to be, but no one ever really uses it anymore. This is one of my favorite spots in the city,” she said quietly as they waited for Matt to show up. The dock overlooked he entire city’s skyline. Over time, newer docking areas were built on the opposite side of the river, and boats started to frequent the newer docking stations. The older docks sort of just got left behind. Riley gazed out into the night sky - the different towers were all lit against darkness. There was faint music playing in the background from one of the yachts off in the distance. It was actually a really nice spot to just think. Riley supposed that’s why she had enjoyed it so much. Because no one really used the dock anymore, there wasn’t really all of the hustle and bustle like the main dock areas.

“I can see why you like it so much,” he said, gazing out into the sky. “The view is spectacular.”

She nodded in agreement.

“Now what?” He asked, looking around.

“We wait,” she said simply.

“For?”

“A magical boat I’ve summoned just for you,” she smiled. “Just enjoy the moment, will you? The old Liam would have embraced every second of this adventure so that he could remember everything about it,” she said.

“Yeah, well the old Liam also learned that sometimes being adventurous can lead to loads of trouble,” he sighed. “The new Liam tends to err on the side of caution nowadays.”

“That’s too bad,” she said sullenly. “Old Liam was a pretty fun guy,” she said nostalgically. “So . . . what made you want to see the Statue of Liberty? You talked a lot about it back then, but I don’t think you ever told me why you wanted to visit it so much.”

He shrugged lightly. “You of all people should know why.”

She arched her eyebrow in question. “What do you mean?”

“She represents something that I so desperately want,” he sighed.

She looked at him curiously. “Freedom?” She guessed.

He nodded sullenly.

She furrowed her forehead in confusion. “And why would you want freedom, Liam?”

He stuffed his hands in his pocket, his eyes gazing out onto the skyline. “It’s not easy when your life is under a microscope,” he explained.

“I’m not sure I understand,” Riley said as she stepped closer to him.

“The life I lead is under constant scrutiny. Every decision . . . every action may reflect poorly on myself and my family. Something I’m never allowed to forget no matter how badly I might want to,” he said sadly.

“Liam . . .I’m sorry . . . I didn’t know things were that difficult for you,” she cleared her throat. “That sounds awful,” she reached out placing her hand lightly on his shoulder. “It must be difficult for your fiancé to live that sort of life, too,” she commented.

There eyes meet for a lingering moment, before Liam tears his gaze away. “Riley, I – “

The horn from the boat blares, and a man dressed in worn overalls and a torn up hat waves haphazardly at them from the side. The moment between them wanes as Matt pulls the boat as closely to the dock as possible

“Riley!” He called out to her. “When I said I owe you one, this wasn’t what I had I mind,” Matt chuckles loudly. “Leave it to you to call someone at one o’clock in the morning. I had to refuel and everything,” the man bellowed.

Liam’s words became forgotten as Riley snapped back into high gear remembering the mission set before them. “I know! You’re the only one who picked up,” she shrugged. “I know this is a bit . . . unusual . . . but my friend here leaves tomorrow and he’s never seen Lady Liberty. We’re hoping you can make that happen for him?” She asked.

“Of course I can make it happen,” he smiles broadly. “Just wish we were doing this a tad bit later in the morning than one o’clock,” he laughed. He started to pull down a plank onto the deck so that Riley and Liam could board the ferry.

“Is that?” Liam looked at her with concern.

“Our ride,” she nodded.

Liam looked at the large, rickety ferry, his face turning into a frown. “Are you sure he’s reputable?” He looked at Matt and the ferry with skepticism. “I mean . . . I hear the horror stories about these sorts of situations that go awry,” he whispered. “I have a . . . thing about boats,” he trailed off.

“Beggars can’t be choosy, Liam. Besides, I know Matt looks a bit rough around the edges, but he’s a decent guy . . . Just don’t think about how it all looks . . . push that aside and think about the bigger goal . . . you want to see Lady Liberty don’t you?”

“Well, yes,” he nodded. “I just didn’t imagine it would be on this sort of vessel.”

“It’s now or never, Liam. You leave tomorrow. Who knows if you’ll ever make it back to see her,” she motioned behind her. “Do you really want to live with the regret of not having at least tried? What if your wife doesn’t want to travel to the States? Or if you have kids right away? This could be your last shot to ever see something as grand as the Statue of Liberty. Are you really going to let the shape of Matt’s boat turn you around?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I suppose not,” he admitted.

“Excellent,” she beamed. Hop on. You’re about to see Lady Liberty in all her glory.”

As Riley and Liam boarded, Matt pushed the ferry into high gear. “Hang on, guys. Next stop, the Statue of Liberty.”

They stood on the edge of the ferry, and after ten minutes of not so smooth sailing, they could see the Statue of Liberty gleaming out in the distance.

“Wow,” Liam murmured.

“Aren’t you glad you decided to take a chance?” Riley chuckled as her own gaze lingered over the majestic beauty of the statue.

He nodded, his eyes never straying from the sight of Lady Liberty in all her glory. “She’s amazing,” he murmured.

“Isn’t she?” Riley sighed, she too couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the sight of her.

The boat neared closer and closer to the statute’s base, and Liam’s smile was absolutely blinding. He pulled his cell phone out, snapping different photos at different angles. He was acting as if he’d never see it again.

Riley paused with the thought. That very well could be true. After all, she had said the very words to him only moments ago. What if he never did come back to New York? Let alone back to America? Whatever it was that waited for him back home seemed like an anchor. At least, that’s how he seemed to describe it. Life under a microscope? She couldn’t imagine spending every single day of her life worrying about what other people were thinking about her choices. It made her wonder why Liam’s life was like that. Had he been some sort of celebrity back home? Riley watched him with intrigue as Liam happily gazed up at the towering beauty. For a brief moment, she saw the carefree Liam she had fallen for back in Germany. She didn’t see the boy who broke her heart and left her without even a single word. Instead, she saw a man, so bogged down with secrets and troubles that such a simple thing like seeing the Statue of Liberty brought him so much joy. She almost felt sorry for him. How troubled was his life that he couldn’t even steal a few moments of enjoyment for himself back home?

“I didn’t think you could pull this off. I should have known better,” he let a small chuckle escape as he turned to face her.

Riley snapped out of her thoughts. “What do you mean?” She looked at him a bit puzzled.

“Admittedly, I may have had some skepticism about this whole thing working,” he smirked. “Especially when I saw the state of his . . . . boat,” he cringed looking around.

“It floats,” she chuckled. “And it’s given you the chance to see your life-long dream,” she eyed him. “Be grateful,” she chuckled, nudging his side slightly.

“I am,” he held his hands up. “I just . . . well, I suppose I haven’t done anything this . . . impulsive in quite some time,” he mused. “It feels odd.”

“Yeah . . . tonight is full of impulsivity for you,” she smirked.

Liam burst out in a hearty laugh. “Says the girl who doesn’t have an impulsive bone in her body.” He rolled his eyes jokingly.

The playfulness in his tone caught Riley off guard. Riley feigned offense. “I’ll have you know I’ve done tons of impulsive things in my life. You haven’t seen me in eight years,” she pointed out.

“I suppose . . . I guess I have a hard time reconciling the you now with the you back then,” he shrugged.

She looked up at him, completely understanding what he meant, and nodded.

“Hey . . . “ he said a bit excitedly. “Do you remember back in Germany when you tried to convince me that you were a rebel? You told me about this time when you were in high school and you held a protest against your schools’ science program because one of the teachers scheduled an assignment to dissect a rat?”

Riley’s face flushed in embarrassment. “Of all the things to remember, that is something you bring up?” She sighed heavily. “Hey, don’t judge me for the stupidity of my youth,” she forced a chuckle, but the embarrassment was still going strong. “At that point in my life . . . yeah that had been the craziest, most rebellious thing I had ever done. You were always so worldly and daring . . . I just wanted to impress you,” her blush deepening.

Liam chuckled more. “Oh, you’ve certainly proven to me that you have a rebellious streak, Riley Lawson. You’re certainly a lot more adventurous and fascinating than I remember,” he commented.

“And you’re not,” she mused. “The Liam I knew eight years ago would have dropped everything at the chance for an adventure. He wouldn’t even think about a rough looking boat stop him,” she pointed out.

Liam’s smile and playful demeanor changed suddenly. His back stiffened, and eyes saddened a bit. “I’m afraid that Liam grew up a bit over the years,” he murmured.

The boat began to take a slow u-turn, heading back in the direction they had come from. Riley looked up toward Matt in the captain’s control cabin. “Going back so soon?” she called up to him.

He nodded from the control cabin. “My first tour is at 8 am tomorrow. Don’t want to be out too late so that I sleep through it,” he said. “Don’t worry, next time your friend comes back to New York, I’ll give him the full tour . . . during the waking hours of course,” he laughed.

With Matt’s words, Liam’s shoulders slumped a little.

Riley nodded slowly. “Got it. Thanks for bringing us out here, Matt. Now I feel like I owe you one for waking you up at this hour,” she chuckled lightly. Matt waved her off, before turning his attention back to the wheel.

“Well, I suppose our adventure has come to an end,” Riley sighed. “But at least you got to see her . . . maybe not all up in person, but now you can go back home with a pretty cool story from your bachelor party. It would totally blow to go back home and tell everyone that you sat at a table in a club by yourself all night while your friends partied without you,” she joked.

She turned to face him when he didn’t respond and noticed the forlorn look on his face. “What’s wrong? I was just joking about the whole club thing . . .” she trailed off.

“I just can’t believe its over,” he said quietly. He sighed heavily as he leaned against the boat’s railings. “I always thought I’d have more time.”

“Hey, maybe you can convince your fiancé to come to New York for your honeymoon . . . unless that’s already planned . . . then maybe you guys can plan a vacation or something down the road?” She tried to say cheerily.

“I’m never coming back to New York, Riley. At least not without being on a tight leash,” he raised his voice. There was an underlying sense of anger in his words. It took Riley aback.

She paused, not really understanding the shift. He had been so happy only minutes ago. “Liam, you’re being really cryptic. You sound as if you’re going to be put to death once you return home,” she said concerned. “I mean . . . okay maybe that’s a bit dramatic . . . but still. Do you not want to go back? I know this isn’t my place to say anything, I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but if I were the one getting married, I’d be over the moon with excitement. And it is clear to me that you’re not. I don’t know if it’s cold feet or something else, but it’s not fair to your fiancé if you suddenly don’t want to get married. Tell her. Talk to her about how you’re feeling,” she reasoned.

“If only it were that simple,” he sighed.

Riley’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Why isn’t it simple? I feel like I’m missing something major here, and I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on,” she said angrily.

“Do you remember my brother Leo?”

Riley nodded. “He was a thrill seeker, right? Always bouncing from country to country . . . He was always a bit reckless about it though,” she nodded. “Well, so you told me,” she shrugged. “What has he got to do with anything?”

“Well, let’s just say he hasn’t changed and his recklessness has forced me into a bit of a predicament,” he sighed. “His choices inadvertently solidified mine, if that makes any sense,” Liam murmured.

“It doesn’t,” Riley shook her head.

“My family is important to me, Riley. Our legacy . . . the business that we are in . . . all of it . . . it means the world to me. My brother . . . well, he’s never been one to follow the rules. I envy him a bit. One of us had to become the responsible one, especially after . . . well, let’s just say that my family went through a rough patch and needed all of us to step up and help. Leo couldn’t . . . more appropriately, didn’t want to do it. He enjoyed his adventures too much, and being stuck to one place for the rest of his life would have killed him. So . . . my family turned to me.”

“Liam, that still doesn’t make much sense,” she murmured.

“Getting ready to depart,” Matt yelled from up above, interrupting their conversation.

Riley’s looked up and saw that they were pulling in near to where Matt had picked them up from earlier. Her heart suddenly felt very heavy. She didn’t want this night to end. Not when something was clearly bothering Liam. How crazy was it that after all this time, she still felt something for him? A sense of protectiveness . . . a sense of worry. She paused, was she falling for him again? No. She shook her head, trying to make sense of everything that was happening.

“Forget I mentioned anything,” Liam said, clearing his throat. “I got a bit sentimental back there, and my judgment became clouded. I’ve got a lot on my mind, and shouldn’t have burdened you with my problems,” he explained.

“Liam,” she started before Matt blew the boat’s horn.

“Alright, guys. Back to land,” he called out to them.

Riley looked back up and saw that they had docked, and Matt was already situating the plank to let them off. Liam was waiting patiently and stepped hurriedly off the vessel as soon as the plank was down. She headed toward them, and clasped Matt on the shoulder.

“Thank you, for doing this,” Riley said softly. “I know I mentioned this before, but he has wanted to see the Statue of Liberty for ages . . .” she sighed.

“He got his wish,” Matt nodded toward Liam. “But something tells me he’s wishing for something else now,” Matt nudged Riley’s shoulder.

Riley looked at him puzzled. “What?”

“Uh . . . you and he? Aren’t you a thing?” Matt asked.

“Nope, it’s nothing like that. We just knew each other from way back when. It was purely a coincidence to run into him tonight,” she brushed off his hinting with a wave. She didn’t need another person’s thoughts adding to her own jumbled emotional mess.

“Well, I’m thinking he’s seeing you in a whole new light,” he said, pressing on. “That guy has eyes for you, Riley. The way I saw him looking at you . . .and you looking at him . . . could have fooled me,” he shrugged, patting her on the back.

Riley bit her lip, even more confused than before. She trudged toward the plank shaking her head at him. “I’ll see you around, Matt. I better get this guy back to his friends.”

She walked off the plank toward Liam who was gazing at the New York skyline deep in thought. The worry lines on his forehead were prominent, and his eyes looked deep with sadness.

“Hey . . . we were having a pretty deep conversation on that boat . . . then Matt interrupted and you seemed to close yourself off again. I don’t want to forget it, Liam. We were friends once. More than friends,” she sighed, closing her eyes at the memory. “I don’t want to spend another eight years wondering about you . . . wanting closure . . .” she trailed off.

“Why do you care so much?” He asked.

“Huh?” She questioned.

“Several hours ago you were dumping a pitcher of water over my head. After that, I assumed you never wanted to see me again . . . then I saw you at the club . . . and then you took us to the cove,” he trailed off. “You went through all this trouble to make this happen for me tonight . . . then you tell me you’re worried about me . . . about my happiness,” he shakes his head as if in disbelief. “What changed?”

“I – I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I can say the same about you,” she turned it back on him. “Eight years, Liam. Eight years without a single word. I sent to hell and back after you left, then you waltz back into my life and I’m finally ready to tell you off for leaving me back in Germany,” she sighed. “So yeah, at first . . . well I guess my anger got the best of me. Then,” she trailed off. “I guess I wanted closure,” she said softly. “I mean, back at the cove, you talked about your family obligation, but then something changed. You seemed sad and lost and I don’t know . . . I just wanted to do something for you to make you feel better,” she shrugged. “I suppose talking to Drake may have triggered me being a bit more open-minded about things . . . and well, how you saved me back at the club certainly opened my eyes about a few things,” she reasoned. “I guess I built up this terrible image of you in my head, and you’re just . . . you’re not. You’re not terrible, Liam. You weren’t a terrible guy, then either. There was a reason why I cared about you so deeply . . a reason why you leaving without saying goodbye hurt me so terribly . . . I cared for you,”

She loved him then, but she certainly wasn’t going to admit that to him. Not when he had warned her that they could never be together. It was her own fault. He had told her that they could only have the summer together, that realistically anything beyond that summer would lead to something that could never continue. At the time, she was okay with that, but then, he left before the summer had even ended, then her world turned upside down and she just crumbled.

“We should talk,” Liam said lowly, his gaze turning steely. “You deserve to know the truth . . . about everything. Why I left, why I couldn’t stay in touch . . .” he trailed off, his hand suddenly reached for hers, and she felt a tingle as their skin touched. Her body hummed in anticipation and longing.

Riley looked up at him, tears beginning to form in her eyes. The emotional whirlwind of the night was finally catching up with her. There were so many emotions that she had pushed away for far too long. Now, they were all bubbling back to the surface, and she didn’t know how to feel? What was she doing? He was engaged. He was going to leave her again. This little reunion was exactly as she had told Matt – a pure coincidence. There would be nothing beyond tonight. She wasn’t the type of girl to cheat and she certainly didn’t want to cause any turmoil between Liam and his fiancé. It didn’t matter if she loved him first. It didn’t matter what happened between them. She just wanted to make him happy, and mission accomplished. He saw the Statue of Liberty. Now it was time to part ways and go back to their lives . . . separately. She pulled her hand out of his grasp, shaking her head.

“I can’t do this. I should go home,” she said hesitantly. Here he was offering her everything she had wanted – an explanation. Not some bullshit about some sort of family obligation, but a genuine, honest to God explanation about why he left her shattered in Germany all those years ago. She finally had her opportunity to confront him about everything that had happened, and here she was chickening out. Perhaps not knowing was better? She’d wanted an explanation for so many years, she was suddenly afraid to have it. Or more appropriately, she was afraid of what was now happening between them. Talking to Liam had always been so easy . . . too easy. She remembered being able to tell him anything. She remembered feeling so comfortable around him. She was feeling it again. This thing between them was dangerous. It would hurt too much to fall for him again. That would be the worst thing to happen . . . considering he was emotionally and physically unavailable to her. He was about to be married for God’s sake. It was time for her leave.

She shook her head quickly. “I have to go,” she murmured, taking a few steps back. “I take it you can find your way back to your friends?” She asked, without really waiting for him to answer.

“Riley,” he said softly.

“I’m glad that we saw each other again . . . but maybe it’s better if we just leave things as they were.” She started to wobble down the path, overwhelmed by the surge of feelings that flooded over her. “I am going to call myself an Uber, go home, sleep this night off, and start fresh in the morning,” she rambled on to herself as she walked away.

“Riley James Lawson,” he called after her, she paused, too afraid to turn back.

“Riley James Lawson,” he called out after her again. “I owe you an explanation . . . I owe you a whole lot more, too . . . It might be eight years too late, but I’d still like you to hear it. If you’d like,” he added.

#almostseries #theroyalromance #trr #choices trr #trr fanfic #trr fic #Royal Romance #choices the royal romance #choices fanfiction #liam x riley #trr au fanfic #trr au #choices: stories you play #playchoices #liam x mc #second chances

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magicmoontea · 4 years

Text

Illuminated Fantasies (1/2)

Characters: Beckett Harrington x f!MC (Iris Atwood), Pend Pals

Rating: M, Language and sexual themes, topics of mental health

Word Count: 5760 ~Less than 20 min read (A bit longer, I couldn’t help myself!)

Summary: It’s the Summer Solstice and Iris and the Pend Pals are celebrating! Feeling her Sun magick growing on this day, Iris struggles within herself to keep a balance between her unchecked fears and fantasies from bursting out.

Notes: This takes place after book 2, and ignores Winter’s past. Beckett and Iris (f!MC) remained friends throughout their time at Penderghast and never pushed it further than harmless flirting. I wanted to make Iris feel more relatable as I felt like they gave her too much power, so I ran with it. If angsty reads aren’t your thing, this might not be for you. This is my very first fic posted online, so I’d love to hear what you thought <3

Part two coming soon!

Created for @choicesaprilchallenge - Fantasy day 28

Everything inside of the brilliant Sun-Att hummed beautifully and yet unmistakably powerful and intense at the same time. She could sense the strength of her Sun magick growing stronger and radiating powerfully as it was the early morning of the Summer Solstice. Iris felt the weight of her immense pure Sun magick.

She had woken up before the sunrise, drenched in sweat, even with her air magick spells flowing around her bedroom, and could feel her heart racing against her chest. To Iris’ surprise, she was also glowing a warm golden hue without any effort making light rays dance across the walls. She sat up and wiped the wild platinum blonde strands that clung to her forehead and clutched her heart and tried to slow her breath. The glow eventually faded and ultimately the pressure in her chest went along with it. If she was being honest with herself, it was all starting to wear her thin.

Iris had been spending her time nurturing her newfound relationship with her mom/not intimidating at all Sun Source. There was so much to unpack with all information she was given the last few weeks of her second year at Penderghast. It was overwhelming at times to remember that not that long ago she had no idea magick truly existed, and she built her reality, thought patterns, and idea of herself around the idea that she was unordinary, powerless to change her situation and truly doesn’t belong.

She’d be lying if she said all those feelings disappeared when she found her magick within her, practiced and came to the powerful place she is today. It was incredibly hard for Iris to shake certain thoughts she had about herself since childhood and what her role to other people was supposed to be.

Being half Sun source didn’t change the fact that for a long time she struggled with dark thoughts about herself that shadowed her mind. Sun will bring shade, and her heart definitely carried that darkness that she buried with positivity and hope for a safe place for her to truly belong one day. Her caretakers were good people but she had spent many nights alone in her room in a whole other world in her mind.

Iris grew up a lonely only child, and she couldn’t talk to anyone about how she just felt different and that it kept her up at night. That her emotions were so strong at times that she felt she was going to burst, and that she went through such high and lows with them. She was told consistently that it was part of growing up, and she learned to accept that true happiness and belonging happened to other people, not her. It was just the cards she was dealt in life.

After meeting and finding out about Atlas and developing a quick bond with her to fill the years they were apart made Iris feel truly happy for a while. However, after a while, she clung to the idea that this was her family and so this must be who she really is, and it fed into Iris' terrible habit of codependency. It was so much easier in her head to have people tell you who you are and how to respond because you were never allowed to explore those options on your own.

So needless to say, she was freaking the hell out with the information that she and Atlas were half Source. What did that mean for her future? How did being half Source change the paths she took in life and how her magick looks like in the future? When Iris allowed herself to be truly honest with herself, there were times she felt terrified of the power she possessed.

For a while, she didn’t feel worthy of her magick after finding out she was Attuned to an extremely rare attunement as people have gone their whole lives knowing and practicing magick and not having half the power she does. She didn't feel like she deserved the praises from teachers that either taught her or didn't as she easily combined her natural talent and years of being a tuneless scholar, let alone deserving of or being even capable of being a half Source.

She knew she had no choice but to accept who she was, but it was a difficult journey that caused so much doubt and fear. Iris was still just getting a good grip and control on her refractionary magick’s effect on her body let alone have enough energy to deal with the heavy fact that she was half Source, the responsibility of having Kane's tether, and having every single person looking at your every move wondering what the great Sun-Att will do next when in reality she has no fucking idea what she's doing.

Tonight, she guessed she was only getting 3 hours of sleep as her body was full of adrenaline from it being the most powerful day to be a Sun-Att. Annoyed that she wasn’t able to enjoy the comfort of her own bed as long as she’d like, Iris decided to make the most of her extra Sun magick energy and practice her prescience. She hoped she’d be able to burn some energy off as she wouldn’t be able to sit still with that much magick that wanted to pour out.

Sitting up and crossing her legs in the lotus position, Iris took calming breaths. It didn’t take long to feel the connection to the sun, even as the sun was just starting the early stages of sunrise. Her magick was powerful and strong and she knew from previous prescience practices, that it really isn’t practice at all, prescience will do what it wants when it wants. The more you work with it, the more it becomes more than a gut feeling, but you can’t just pull it whenever you please.

That’s why she was trying to use her prescience this morning of the Summer Solstice to invite that heightened connection and welcome prescience to happen freely to continue a vision she has earlier that week. She had been minding her own business a few days ago prior and felt her entire body flush with goosebumps like she was just exiting a cold movie theater into a warm summer day. With all the advanced practices with her mom, Theia, and Dean Swan, she knew that she was getting a vision.

It wasn’t a long vision, but she was floored with how genuinely happy she felt in it, and how that effect lasted throughout the waking hours. She spent the rest of the day fantasizing about it and being terrified to dissect it further because that would mean thinking about something, she pushed down first year: how she truly felt about her best friend Beckett. And she wasn't sure if she could handle that.

In her vision was Beckett, illuminated by the glow of a magical fire, beamed at her with such tenderness he reserves just for her and brushed her hair behind her ears. Then it faded away no matter how hard she tried to stay with it and focus.

With each thought that took over Iris’ mind over those next days, one thing was becoming more and more clear to her: that she was lying to herself about how she felt about him. She never took the time to challenge the butterflies in her stomach when her fingers grazed his when he handed her an ingredient for a potion or how his freckles dancing on his cheeks when he smiled at her made behind her knees sweaty, or that she felt like he was one of the only people who truly listened to her, and didn’t put any expectation of what she should be regardless of magick potential.

There was a time early in her time at Penderghast that she knew that she was attracted to him and spent many nights allowing herself to fantasize about him and what it would be like to hear him moan and make him feel like he can lose control for one night of ecstasy with her. She always came quickly on her soaking fingers then, biting her lip from crying out his name and as if that would make the situation less awkward tomorrow when she saw him in class. As she learned that she needed him to be there for her emotionally and in her life more than she could have ever guessed, she stopped any thoughts or impulse based on pure lust that would risk losing him.

She knew part of the reason they had such a good bond was that they both had similar struggles. No, Harrington’s wealthy upscale lifestyle and his ability to be such a prick in the beginning definitely didn’t help, but as time went on it became more obvious that he was running from something in himself, too: constant perfection.

If Iris traced back to when she no longer could deny the surge of pure emotion she got when she was by Beckett, it was when he ended up in the hospital creating a ward to save her from Kane. She would have without a doubt died without him. She was beyond grateful. The look he gave her when he asked her if she was okay made her realize that this amazing man truly cared about her.

Even after she put him through a fight with a psychopath killer Raife, cried on his shoulders numerous times and suffered massive panic attacks in front of him before fighting for her life at 19, beat him in magickal competitions revolving topics she just heard about, or after he saw the dustiest parts of her soul and stared back unflinchingly, he still cared.

Iris never thought that Beckett could actually care about her in that way though. She never saw any signs besides his blushing inexperienced geek self-antics whenever she teased him, but always pushed that away so she wouldn’t get hurt. Deep down she had a terrible fear that she would never be good enough for someone as smart and well established as him as she still viewed herself as someone who ungracefully barged herself into a world she knew nothing about and was given a substantial amount of the magickal powers without deserving them.

Pulling herself back into the present moment, Iris took another breath feeling the connection to the sun growing stronger as the sun started to rise more. She desperately wanted to see more of a vision of tonight, as she deduced that the magickal fire she saw in the earlier vision was going to be the ritual Summer Solstice fire from the get together Shreya was having later.

She then focused her attention on thoughts of the party this afternoon, Beckett, and herself. Having a good feeling plus the power of the sun on Summer Solstice sparked that extra confidence Iris needed to make it work.

Then it started to happen. Feeling like she just received amazing news, she felt her whole-body spark with energy. Her body began to hum and tingle as goosebumps danced their way across her freckles and skin. White lights appeared at the corners of her eyes as a vision was starting to come through.

When the vision played out in Iris’ head, her toes curled underneath her legs on the bed and she audibly gasped. Her body temperature rose greatly at what she just saw, and she felt her body become flushed. She has no idea what she has to do to make that vision come true, but she will do whatever it takes.

For starters, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to change her outfit tonight to the black sundress with the mini golden suns, and flowers that she saw laying on the floor of the vision.

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

“Okay, so now who is going to clean this up?” Shreya asked jokingly as she looked around her large kitchen and the mess the Pend Pals had made while baking traditional ginger and cinnamon Summer Solstice cookies. There was more flour on the ground than in the cookies themself, but they couldn’t help but throwing some flour in the air and having each one take turns running their magick through it to create different effects. All for healthy competition of course.

“Oh, I know of an excellent cleaning spell that can clean this mess easily.” Beckett offered to help as he looked around at their mess as well as Atlas currently making a snow flour angel on the ground. Not being in the best mood today since it was the hardest day to be a Moon-Att, Iris smiled at her sister enjoying herself.

“Don’t be silly. My parents said not to worry about cleanup at all after my party. They just wanted me to have fun celebrating with my BFF Sun-Att’s favorite day!” Shreya said happily, feeling the many toasts to the sun, she made the group do earlier.

Iris smiled sheepishly. “I’m glad you’re fine with sharing the day. I know being a Fire-Att gets your magick all pumped up today as well, so it’s about you, too. Besides, I had plenty of time practicing my sun Magick with my Sun Source mom earlier. Which is still so weird to say by the way.”

“She’s the best!!!” Atlas sang from the ground, and everyone gave each other a knowing look and smirk, Atlas was quickly feeling her drinks as well as all ofer energy was used to muster any magick. She got up and waited for Iris to cast an Air spell to clean her off like she had earlier since “Atlas’ energy needed to be saved at all costs”.

Her energy is saved for more drinking, Iris thought. Plus, she was sure she loved having her to boss around.

“I still can’t believe you can hang out with Sources all day!” Zeph proclaimed and Griffin agreed in and expressed their well-known feelings again making Iris’ stomach do flip flops. She didn’t like the kind of attention it brought.

“It’s not all that great, really. Nome and my mom are the ones I see the most and they barely can remember what it’s like to be in a human form half the time. It’s bizarre. But, I appreciate it. I do say though, they are working me to death with training and skill enhancing.” Iris rolled her eyes and welcomed the fresh air as they made their way back outside into the now summer night.

Shreya had really outdone herself with decorating her large, luscious backyard for just her friends to come over. Shreya never did anything half-assed, and of course had magickal snacks, foods, and drinks that cost more than Iris wanted to think about. She had asked for Iris’ help, however, on the finishing decorating touches: hundreds of warm orbs flowing and glowing throughout the air to create the mood.

“You’re planning on sharing that knowledge with me, correct?” Beckett asked with terror clear on his features. Iris couldn’t help but smile at him and for the hundredth time that night already, get flustered by the things she never allowed herself to before. Blaming the extra Sun Magick, her prescience vision, or just her unchecked desires, Iris decided to go with it.

“Of course. Atlas is way too good at the Moon spells already obviously, so I’m going to need someone to compete with. And win against of course.” She bumped her shoulder into his playfully, and she could see the tips of his ears turning pink. Just like the good ole days.

Her vision from this morning came crashing back to her: Beckett kissing in her underwear like his life depended on it, with her sundress on the ground. She knew that not every vision comes true, and that not every vision necessarily is what the future holds. She could have very well thrown off her prescience with her evolving attraction to Beckett that was at the forefront of her mind for the past couple days. But she was going to try to look for any sign that it may happen, and more importantly that he wanted it to happen.

“I actually have a really fun spell for us to try with the fire we make tonight?” Iris spoke and looked at Atlas knowing that she would be for it.

“Are you talking about the spell we were just taught?” Atlas actually looked excited. “I think I should have enough energy for that. But I don’t know, Iris, you might have to be my personal magickal assistant for a bit longer though.”

Iris stuck out her tongue as a response to her twin and continued to the others, “It’s a really fun spell that uses the emotional nature of the Moon and the affirmative nature of the Sun and it actually shows what you fantasize most. So you cast intention onto something gets thrown into water, fire, over a cliff or whatever as long as it disappears and so it can come back to you with what your heart fantasizes.”

“Or you don’t cast intention and the spell only shows you that you fantasize a really good sandwich.” Atlas retorts back laughing on her past experiences.

“That is true.” Iris smiled remembering her first experience. “I didn’t really want to think about anything major the first time, and focused on just practicing the spell, too. It showed me a nice bed with the window open for a slight breeze. I guess my body just needed sleep.” Iris shrugged and continued a bit softer as she spoke, “Then I tried it when I was in a shitty mood, and I fantasized a day where no one knew my name or who I’ve fought and had any expectations of me.”

The group got a little quiet after Iris’ statement and she could feel a pair of grey eyes on her as she sat next to him. She smiled to lighten up the mood scolding herself for being a damper. “So let’s make sure we have a lot of fun before hand, and knowing us that won’t be a problem.”

Shreya’s mouth dropped open in shock and spoke, “A spell that plays out your fantasy in front of you? Um yes! Sign me up. I’ve been thinking about this eye candy that shops near one of my favorite boutiques a lot lately.”

She wiggled her eyes up and down, and Beckett and Zeph sighed poking fun at their friend at the same time, looked at each other and high fived each other laughing.

“I’m SO happy that I won’t be able to see that play before me. I’m already weak as is tonight.” Atlas retorted taking her seat around the bonfire area as well.

Everyone did their part to contribute to the bonfire, and they could feel the warm magickal effect flowing through each of them as it began to blaze brightly. Shreya used her Fire magick to make the fire have beautiful color changing effects, casting a vibrant glow on everyone’s faces.

The group began to bond quickly over the time they hadn’t seen each other and laughed over stupid things each other has done and drank plenty of drinks mixed magickal mood enhancers as the night wore on. They were playing a game of blind enhancements: where basically you take a magickal drink not knowing the magickal effects. Shreya ensured the frantic Beckett multiple times that she wouldn’t put an enhancement in there that ‘wasn’t fun’. Not feeling super comforted with that answer, Beckett still played and even found himself sitting there blazer off, sleeves rolled up and laughing until his stomach hurt at the different situations that arose.

Aster began to speak a different language for a whole turn, Zeph’s skin turned green for 20 minutes, Griffin felt a strong urge to sing loudly and Shreya went through a fit of hysterical laughter. Atlas was even a good sport when her drink made her want to dance wildly and hiccup every other word.

There was one particular drink that Beckett had taken and remained suspiciously quiet for a while after. Iris couldn’t help but notice the fidgeting Attuned next to her and his blushing ear tips when she had pressed her thigh against his for a brief moment. She wouldn’t call him on it until later when they were alone, but she knew that he didn’t get a “bashful” one.

They switched over to playing ‘Never Have I Ever’ and enjoyed embarrassing one another. They had started with easy questions, but leave it to Atlas to break the seal with, “Never have I had sex with the lights on. Having sex in the day doesn’t count”.

Zeph laughed and said, “It’s never been better to be asexual”.

Aster blushed furiously at the topic but didn’t take a drink. Shreya and Griffin took a drink quickly. Iris snuck a quick drink to avoid attention to her and conversations about her sex life, but noticed that Beckett didn’t take a drink.

Iris mind began to wonder again to Beckett’s sex life. A topic they never talked about. Was he a virgin and if not how experienced was he? How many people has he been with? What does he enjoy in bed?

Beckett cleared his throat indicating he has asked a question, and she noticed that everyone stopped talking. Blushing furiously, she realized she hadn’t been paying attention to what was going on.

“I’m sorry, I missed what you said.” She blushed harder even though she tried not to as Beckett looked at her in the eyes.

Then it happened. Her vision came to life. He smiled so wide that his eyes were smiling, too. He showed her such tenderness in his smile that it felt so much better than her vision to be on the receiving end. He leaned forward and tucked the wild strand behind her hair.

“That’s okay. You obviously were having a very important thought. I tend to know a thing or two about those.” His eyes held a little mischief like he knew, and she was worried that he could somehow read her mind. “What I had asked before was, do you think it’s the right time to successfully implement the fantasy spell?”

“Yeah, no time like the present.” Iris felt herself beaming at him and looking at him with her heart on her sleeve, not caring that her intuitive twin would definitely be asking about why she was looking at him like that later. Beckett’s blush reached his cheek at the same time the magickal fire glowed a beautiful magenta hue, illuminating his face and highlighting his blush in a stunning way. She felt her heart skip a beat.

Shreya who was getting more drunk by the minute, spoke loudly interrupting their moment. “I’M SO READY!”

Iris smiled at her best friend enjoying the night and complimenting herself on how great the party she threw was going. Iris wasn’t feeling anything more than buzzed as her Sun Magick was working her energy and metabolism quickly, but she didn’t mind. If she was going to have any part of her vision come true tonight, she wanted to be clear headed.

“Okay, everyone have their stick they’re going to cast their intentions with?” Everyone nodded and grabbed their twig they picked out earlier. “Okay, now take a moment to take a couple deep breaths before I cast the spell to ground yourself.” As everyone closed their eyes, Iris couldn’t help but peek at Beckett before taking her own grounding breaths.

Standing up with Atlas who stood on the other end of the fire, they began to recite the powerful spell. Everyone’s stick began to illuminate a bright magickal golden hue and rise by the energy of the spell. Then each stick flew into the fire one by one, casting a puff of colorful smoke.

Iris felt the corners of her eyes grow blindingly bright as she was pulled into her spell’s fantasy. The vision began to unfold. She found herself sleeping in bed, breeze blowing through a quiet bedroom. The peace and quiet was soon challenged as vision Iris sat straight up in bed gasping, waking from a night terror.

Stirring next to her was another body and to her heart’s pleasure sat up Beckett, tousled hair from sleep, rubbing her shoulders kissing them lazily and softly.

“Bad dream, baby?” His voice thick with sleep asked vision Iris as she leaned into his touch and nodded. He enveloped her into a large hug and slowly brought her back to lay down in bed. She rested her head on his heart, and he stroked her hair.

“I’m here. No one will hurt you as long as I’m here. You’re safe. I’m not going anywhere. Ever.” His gentle voice and soft kisses to her head pulled her back to sleep.

Iris was pulled back to reality gasping trying to get a bearings of her surroundings again. She looked around to her friends who were wearing excited faces and started to chatter about what they saw in their own fantasties. Aster was giddy with delight seeing her excel in Attuned Magick and Zeph had fantasies about being the new Thief captain.

Shreya then began to talk about the love story that folded into her fantasy and that racy novelists should just contact her now, she has a best seller. Iris felt herself fading away more and more from the group as her mind began to unravel.

She felt the ringing in her ears getting louder as a toxic thought kept repeating over and over: “you’ll never be good enough for that fantasy to be real. That happens to other people. Not you. He could never care about someone like you. Someone who doesn’t even deserve to have this immense power circulating through you right now. Someone who can’t even control it properly. Who has no idea what they are doing. You can’t do this.”

Iris stood up abruptly then Sun magick bursting through her as her magick and mind threatened to spiral, shocking her friends slightly at the sudden movement and bright light that briefly casted them.

“I….I...I don’t feel well.” Was the best Iris could make out. Her breaths were becoming staggered and shallow, and she felt the continuous intense rolling pressure in her chest and body that her anxiety brought. “Bathroom.” She bolted her way away from her friends, and could faintly hear Griffin laugh and say, “TMI” as she made her way into Shreya’s house.

She didn’t want anyone to follow her, and she wasn’t particularly sure where anything was in Shreya’s large house. So she just continued to walk down the gorgeous marble hallway down to the other end of the house hoping that the walk will calm her and her mind.

She rounded the corner and made her way down a second hallway to the back of the house. Stopping by the luxurious sunroom, Iris decided that this was a good place to hide and recoup. She admired the bright furniture and enchanted ceiling to have vines and other beautiful floral hanging below gracefully. Her Water magick hummed with delight when she saw the fountain and magickal rain that occurred for the plants every so often. Running her fingers in the fountain and casting little light orbs to follow her magickally started to make her feel at ease already.

Feeling foolish for how she left and having the fantasy affect her this much, Iris chastised herself again. She just wanted to be normal. Funny, she long hated her life before magick, but she envied the simplicity of just wanting to belong. She still didn’t feel like she belonged and now had a world of responsibility and power and everyone telling her where they think she belongs and watching her every move. Maybe she wasn’t able to handle this, and she didn’t know if she could let everyone down. She began to cry softly.

“I’m sorry.” Iris stated out loud to no one in particular feeling pathetic.

“Hey, no need for that.” Beckett spoke softly startling Iris at his entrance to the room. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You had been gone for a bit, and I could tell something was wrong, so I wanted to find you. Don’t worry, the others think I’m admiring the flora in the front garden.”

“How did you find me?” Iris said sniffling and wiping her eyes to compose herself in front of someone who always looked so well kempt.

“It’s funny how you don’t even have to try, but it’s as if you are my magnet. I find myself being able to feel your energy and magick quite easily.” Beckett explained and made his way to sit next to her on the large couch.

“You’re being too sweet because I freaked out back there. You don’t have to baby me. I know I’m crazy.” Iris spoke and hated how self deprecating she sounded. He shifted his body to look at her face forcing her to meet him in the eyes.

“Don’t ever say that about yourself. You’re not crazy. You just spend so much time taking care of others, that when you take care of yourself it feels strange.” He said matter of factly, and she cursed his brilliant brain for being right all the time.

“I hate the attention being on me. I can’t stand the pressure anymore, Beck. It’s all getting to me. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life. Atlas wants to go head first into the whole half-Source life, and I’m sitting here fucking terrified! I don’t deserve this, I don’t deserve all this power.” Iris broke her facade that she was strong and doing well and began to sob into Beckett’s arms.

He took her into his arms and tightened the hug holding her like he was the glue keeping her together. He stroked her hair and let her cry and let out her emotions she desperately needed to release. He gave comforting noises but didn’t try to stop her from feeling. He made her feel validated for being upset.

After she her crying slowed down, she stayed for a while breathing in Beckett’s scent and just feeling his warm strong hand caressing her back soothingly. She reluctantly pulled back after a while, and she was so close to him that she could count all his freckles.

“I’m so-” Iris began to apologize and Beckett gently put his finger to her mouth to silence her. She couldn’t help but feel the electricity that sparked through her as he touched her lips.

“Don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. I want to be here for you, through thick and thin.” He stared at her face as if he was having a long conversation with himself before he continued speaking.

“You deserve everything that makes you happy. It pains me greatly to see you like this. To think that you don’t feel the way you brighten everyone’s lives. That you can’t see that your warmth stays with people for hours and how no one forgets all the times you’ve been there for them. You take on every challenge with everything you have, Iris. You’ve been through terrible situations no one should ever be in, but yet you’re in them again and again with people asking too much of you. And you give to them! You give everything you have to every person, and you’re still able to find the spark in the darkest room because that’s how incredible you are! You’re there for Atlas but she can’t be there for you emotionally. You’re there for Shreya but there is always going to be that distance between you guys because you can’t relate. Iris, when the hell are you there for yourself?”

Knowing that Iris wasn’t actually going to answer that question, Beckett’s cheeks blushed as he spoke, “No matter. I will be there for you whenever you aren’t there for yourself to remind you how amazing you are.”

Iris just stared at her friend in shock that not only did someone think of her that way, but that Beckett thought of her that way. Her lip started to quiver as she was overcome with intense emotion and Beckett cupped her face. They had never shared such an intimate and raw moment, and Iris felt her heart and soul fall even more head over heels in love with the man in front of her. The man who wanted to be her light for her when she couldn’t find her own.

“Thank you.” Was all she could croak out as she took an audible gulp. After a moment of comfortable silence and steadying her breath she continued, “You know, Beck. I couldn’t have made it this far without you. I’m so grateful to have you in my life. You make me feel like I can figure out who I am and be allowed to fail, and I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing that feels.”

She smiled at him and allowed herself to show the person she cared for most just how much she cared in her eyes. She rested her hands against his thigh, and she could hear his breath hitch. She didn’t want to be afraid of rejection and losing him anymore. His thumb brushed against her cheek lightly, and he didn’t make any moves to move apart. She could feel his breath hitting her lips and she enjoyed the way his aroma began to engulf her as well.

“I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. It’s crazy but I’d do just about anything to keep you safe. I can’t pull myself away from you, and I don't think I want to try anymore” Beckett spoke softly blushing lightly at his confession. She felt her chest tighten and her mind wanted to tell her that is was a lie, but a part of her that she was so tired of fighting, wanted it to be true.

“Beckett…” Iris breathed and found herself lost at words, feeling her magick drawing herself even closer to him. He was intoxicating.

“Can you tell me something, Iris?” Beckett asked her and she would just about give him anything he wanted now.

“Of course.”

“Obviously something you saw in the fantasy made you a bit upset. Do you mind telling me what it was?” He sheepishly asked and she could tell this flustered him a bit instantly making her wonder what his was. She tried to control her body temperature, so she didn’t give anything anyway.

“It wasn’t a bad fantasy or vision. It just made me a bit sad because I desperately wanted it to be my future, but I have a terrible fear that it would never happen. It hurts too much to think about that.” Iris took a deep breath and looked down at her lap and thanked all the energy the Summer Solstice brought to give her the courage she needed to say what she wanted out loud.

“What was it, Iris?” The vulnerability in his voice made her tear her gaze from her lap and look into his grey eyes that were heavy with emotion.

“Beckett…” Iris felt her face getting warmer as she spoke, “My fantasy was that you loved me.”

#beckett harrington #the elementalists #play choices #fanfic #choicesaprilchallenge #fanfiction #choices stories you play #beckett x mc #beckett harrington x mc #choices fanfiction

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ready-to-obeyme · 4 years

Text

[OM!] Domestic Ship Meme: Satan/MC

//sure thing Satan-anon ;)

[Domestic Ship Meme]

who reaches out to new neighbors

Satan is your boy-wonder in making connections everywhere he goes. By the time you get home the week after you move into a new neighborhood, your neighbors are cheerfully greeting you and giving you baked goods-- gushing about how adorable the two of you are and how you’re more than welcome to knock on their door to ‘return the favor’ because Satan already invited them once.

When you ask Satan about it, he plays it off as not a big deal. This is just a natural part of his charm-- and well, you get free food from it, so you aren’t about to complain.

who remembers to buy healthy food + junk food

Both of you do! The two of you work together to remember what the other doesn’t. Satan’s big on nutrition facts and you’re well-versed with what you normally need to eat just based off experience. He’s the type to get you to buy a vegetable of every color to get the proper vitamins you need-- you like it when your food has color so it’s a win-win.

For junk food, you’re more likely to buy it, but Satan’s prone to buying junk food for you if you happen to forget.

who fixes the oven when it breaks

Satan does-- he’s probably read up all the possible instructions in a book or online that tells him how to fix the oven, and he has no problems getting down and dirty to fix it when it breaks.

Given, of course, this oven is your shared oven. If this was the House of Lamentation oven, count him out-- unless you ask him to help, of course.

who waters the plants/feeds their pet(s)

You water the plants, and the both of you feed the pets. Satan especially would dote on your pets if they were cats-- to the point you’re a little jealous and slightly concerned about whether you’re spoiling your cats too much with gourmet wet food. You always end up watering the plants because Satan forgets. He’s busy reading his books and, quite frankly, they aren’t cats, so he’s liable to just forget to water them for days on end and end up killing them.

who wakes up earlier

it’s a competition to see who can sleep the latest smh

Regardless of whether you sleep late or stay up with him, chances are Satan can and will go some days without sleeping, or at least stay up until dawn trying to finish a book. I mean, sometimes, it really be like this:

So normally, you’re the one who wakes up earlier-- probably hours later before Satan does, and you always think it’s cute every time he wakes up drowsily, blearily opening his eyes and calling out your name slowly.

who makes the bed

Satan does! He usually doesn’t really care about making his room too neat, but since the two of starting living together, he’s started to care just a bit more. Also, he tends to leave the bed later than you do, so it’s usually up to him.

who makes the coffee

You do, only because Satan doesn’t drink coffee.

If you do prefer tea over coffee like he does, he’ll gladly make a cup for you, choosing your favorites and brewing them. Just don’t expect them in the morning haha he’ll gladly make it for you in the afternoon or evening.

who burns breakfast

Neither or both-- there is no in-between. Satan is pretty attentive when it comes to his cooking duties, and you’re not keen on wasting any food or burning any of it either. When you’re in the kitchen together cooking, there is an immensely greater chance that something will be burnt because the two of you are too busy making conversation or continuing your morning trysts.

Satan’s definitely the type of guy to wrap his arms around you and kiss your neck until you’re unbearably ticklish and entirely focused on him.

A fire probably started on the stove behind the two of you and neither of you noticed earlier because you were too busy making out.

how do they let each other know they’re leaving the house

You can do whatever you’re doing in the house and Satan will never fail to come up to you and press a kiss to your brow. “I’ll be back soon,” he tells you, touching you on your shoulder, elbow, or lower back briefly before leaving the house.

how do they greet each other when one of them gets home

It’s a ritual going out and coming home-- the little kisses you give each other. Satan really does prefer the kisses he gets when he comes home though-- they tend to be more thorough, less rushed, where you can bury your hands into his hair and tilt your head to press a kiss to his lips.

“Hey there, handsome,” you say with a lilt of teasing. “Welcome back.”

“I missed you,” Satan tells you every time, and he means it every time. And he always ends up smiling into his kisses.

who brings home little gifts like flowers/chocolates more often

Satan brings home so many things to you that you’re thinking of installing another bookshelf just to keep all of the memorabilia. Sometimes it’s travel gifts from friends that visit that he thinks is fascinating and tells you all about them. Other times, it’s things he encounters during the day. Maybe a bouquet of roses from a florist he walked past today or little lucky cat trinket that caught his eye when he was talking to a friend. The man is always on a look out for something that you will like or at least amuse you.

It’s endearing how much he’ll do just to see you laugh.

who picks the movie for movie night

The two of you switch off. Satan wouldn’t want to deprive of you of the choice to pick out your favorite movies, especially if they’re of different genres from his favorite ones. Actually kind of likes the days when you get to choose because it gives him a little insight on what you like, what you find important, what themes do you gravitate towards? Movie nights in general give him a chance to discuss these types of things with you.

their favorite kind of movie to watch

Satan looooooves watching mysteries and documentaries of all kinds. Definitely a nerd for Sherlock Holmes (probably his hero) and other variations of them like Detective Conan and Elementary. He also likes crime shows too as long as they’re done right. Documentaries are basically books with a visual and Satan adores being able to learn about all there is about the world.

Very intrigued by thought-provoking movies in general but enjoys the occasional rom-com and horror movie.

who first suggests a pillow fort

You do! Satan doesn’t get it at first, but after the first time you guys make one and spend the night in the dim lights, he’s hooked and he starts suggesting it more on relaxing days.

who builds the pillow fort

The both of you do! Like most of your lives together, it’s a combined effort that the two of you manage to create a pillow fort to an intense scale, possibly using all the pillows in your house. Satan loves it when the two of you just spend time in the fort talking to each other. If you end up sleeping, he has no problems just having your head on his lap, hand absently brushing through your hair and the other hand holding his book.

who tries to distract the other during the move

You do it more often than Satan does because he’s usually more engrossed in the movie than you are. Sometimes you don’t even notice that you’re doing a pretty decent job distracting him, putting your hand on his chest as you lie on his shoulder and curling your fingers against him. Or when you take his hand into your lap and start tracing lines in them, curling up your legs and wrapping them around his.

He’ll look over to you a little confused in the middle of the movie when you do this. If you do it on purpose, he’ll flush and clear his throat and try to focus on the movie... just a little more. (Though, to be honest, there are times where he just does NOT notice.) If he notices that you’re actually invested in the movie but still somewhat distracting... just by being you, he’ll actually be WAY more flustered because what the hell is he that smitten with you?

Probably has a hard time trying to focus on the movie after that and starts to distract YOU instead.

who falls asleep first

You fall asleep first. If it’s in bed, in the pillow fort, in the backyard when you were looking at stars, Satan always lets you sleep. If it’s cold, he’ll take off his jacket to drape it on your shoulders and just enjoy being in the moment with you by his side.

His mind always drifts to how lucky he is to be where he is now.

who is big spoon/little spoon

You’re little spoon more often than not. It just happens that way because you fall asleep first and when Satan climbs into bed with you, he puts his arm around you waist and keeps you there.

If you really want to be big spoon, you’d have to tell him and you’d have to lie in bed together. Doesn’t mean you won’t fall asleep first, but your arms are around HIM first so he stays put because he doesn’t want to wake you up... and also because he kind of likes it. Kinda blushy even when he’s reading his book.

#obey me #obey me satan #domestic ship meme #obey me headcanons #fluff #satan/mc #satan/reader

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tearsofthemis · 4 years

Text

Tears of Themis : Chapter 2 “Unbearable Love“ Part 1

[Previous Chapter] | [Masterlist] | [Next Part]

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▌Location- Mo Yi’s House, Front Porch

(Zuo Ran must have picked up a big case, he’s been spending long hours at the law firm every day. He even asked me for a favor to deliver a document to psychologist Mo Yi for him.)

[Ding dong~ Ding dong~]

(I rang Mo Yi’s doorbell, but no one answered.)

MC: “Didn’t Lawyer Zuo tell him I was coming? Unless, Mr. Mo Yi is out at the moment?”

(I pulled out my phone and was about to dial Zuo Ran’s number to double-check when the front door suddenly opened by itself.)

MC: “I-it’s electric!? A remote-controlled door?!”

(I hesitated at the door and instead peeked inside. Mo Yi’s house was furnished in a British style. An antique pendulum clock hung in the foyer. The pendulum clacked in perpetual motion as if it were waiting to greet guests who may or may not come.)

MC: (Since the door opened by itself, does this mean that I’ve been invited inside?)

(I held ZuoRan’s documents in front of my chest and cautiously stepped inside Mo Yi’s house.)

~~~

▌Location- Mo Yi’s Living Room

MC: “Excuse me, is anyone home?”

(Mo Yi was nowhere to be seen, and the house was quiet. I could faintly hear classical music playing on the second floor.)

MC: (This piece sounds familiar, what is it called?)

MC: “Mr. Mo Yi, is that you upstairs?”

???: “It is. I’m in the second-floor bookroom.”

MC: “!!!”

(The voice came from behind, causing me to jump. Turning toward the source, I noticed a smart home beside the couch. Its panel lit up with the sound of his voice.)

Mo Yi: “Did I scare you? I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”

MC: “I’m alright Mr. Mo Yi. Should I… come up to see you, or...?”

Mo Yi: “Please do. I’m preoccupied at the moment, so I’ll have to trouble you to come upstairs. The bookroom is through the first door to your right.”

(Mo Yi’s voice was pleasant with a suave undertone, and I couldn’t help but be drawn in. A gentle voice, restrained but also calm like still water, brought me comfort as it washed over me. The nervousness felt when meeting someone new was easily brushed off by his demeanor.)

MC: “Alright then, I’m coming up.”

Mo Yi: “There’s no rush.”

(I followed Mo Yi’s instructions and climbed up the stairs. The click of my heels on the hardwood flooring resonated loudly throughout the quiet house. In an attempt to be more considerate, I proceed to tread more lightly. Upon reaching the bookroom, I pushed open the slightly ajar door and finally met him…)

(Mo Yi sat at a desk, a tall house of cards standing before him. His long slender fingers were in the process of placing down the final tier of the house of cards. I watched as he finished placing them steadily and precisely. I then focused on the man who sat behind the house of cards. His elegant and handsome face filled my memory. Once complete, he sat back, proud of his handiwork, his golden eyes filled with warmth as he smiled, like two shooting stars streaming through the northern night skies.)

Mo Yi: “Hello, I am Mo Yi.”

(Giving his creation a final glance, he slightly raised his head and acknowledged me.)

Mo Yi: “A pleasure to meet you, how may I address you?”

MC: “Nice to meet you, Mr. Mo Yi, I am MC, a Themis Law Firm Associate, and I’m here today in place of Lawyer Zuo to deliver this document to you.”

(My attention shifted back toward the house of cards, and I subconsciously lowered my volume as if I would end up knocking it over with my voice alone.)

Mo Yi: “Mr. Mo Yi? Did Zuo Ran tell you that I’m a psychologist?

MC: “He did, is there something wrong?”

Mo Yi: “Labeling me as a psychologist is not fully accurate. My exact profession is that of a psychiatrist [1]. Therefore, you may address me as Mo Yi or Dr. Mo.”

MC: “Alright, Dr. Mo.”

Mo Yi: “MC, may I ask you to do something for me?”

MC: “Hm?”

Mo Yi: “Please remove a single card from this house of cards while making sure that your selection does not cause the tower to collapse.”

MC: “!!!”

(That’s too difficult!)

MC: “This… Dr. Mo, I’m afraid that…”

(Although it’s possible to remove a card in theory, to ask me to…)

MC: “Dr. Mo, if I remove a card, it’s highly likely that the house of cards will collapse…”

Mo Yi: “So, you’re refusing my request?”

MC: “I do not wish to ruin all your hard work.”

Mo Yi: “It’s okay if you do, don’t stress yourself over it.”

MC: “Then I’ll… give it a try?”

(I walked over to his desk, took a deep breath to calm my nerves, and observed the house of cards.)

[Choose anywhere [2]]

MC: “!!!”

(The cards fluttered to the table as I pulled one. That was when I noticed that all of the cards used were ace of hearts.)

Mo Yi: “Your previous hypothesis was correct.”

MC: “I apologize, Dr. Mo, you must have spent a lot of time building this.”

Mo Yi: “There’s no need to apologize. Although… now that you know the result, if you were given a second chance… would you decline my request to draw a card?”

(Mo Yi’s question surprised me.)

MC: “As in, if I knew the outcome, would I make the same decision?”

Mo Yi: “That’s right, your interpretation is entirely correct. If you could predict the result, would you refuse to draw a card?”

(Mo Yi repeated his question.)

MC: “I…”

Mo Yi: “You’re still hesitant to decline me based on respect? It’s not necessary. Many people will choose to decline, it’s only human nature.”

MC: “No, I think I would still accept your request.”

Mo Yi: “Oh? And why is that?”

MC: “The answer resides in the reason why you, Dr. Mo, are listening to this piece.”

(I look around the bookroom and located an antique phonograph sitting in the corner. That was when I finally remembered the name of the piece that was being played on a constant loop. It was Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major, The “Emperor.”)

Mo Yi: “You recognize this piece? Why would you think that the piece holds the answer?”

(Mo Yi walked over to the phonograph and restarted the piece from the beginning.)

MC: “This piece is Haydn’s ‘Emperor,’ the second movement. There are four variations in the movement, but they all share the same thematic melody that encapsulates Haydn’s beautiful and blessed anticipations for the future. Haydn hoped that, regardless of what’s to come, his beloved country would stay forever strong. However, the only thing that’s constant throughout time is change.”

Mo Yi: “And thus?”

MC: “And thus, so what if I already know that the house of cards will collapse? I can always rebuild and try again. Perhaps the outcome will change thanks to my choices. For even if I choose to remove the same card, the angle and force used will always be different. Thus, the outcome will change, won’t it? I firmly believe that with effort, anything is possible.”

(After hearing my explanation, Mo Yi froze for a moment before bursting out in applause.)

Mo Yi: “That has to be the most well thought out response I’ve heard.”

MC: “You’re exaggerating, Dr. Mo.”

Mo Yi: “You’ve done well. I sincerely hope that you will forever remember what you have told me today. Lest there be a day where you must stand against the world, I hope you will still make the same decision.”

——-

T/N: [1] There is a difference between psychologists and psychiatrists, and the biggest separation is that one is a medical doctor, and one is not. “Though many psychologists hold doctorate degrees, they are not medical doctors, and most cannot prescribe medications. Rather, they solely provide psychotherapy, which may involve cognitive and behavioral interventions. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who are able to prescribe medications, which they do in conjunction with providing psychotherapy, though medical and pharmacological interventions are often their focus.” (Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/psychologists-vs-psychiatrists-what-is-the-difference-2795761)

[2] All of the card choices cause the tower to collapse. There’s no right choice. All a part of Mo Yi’s brain games.

——-

[Previous Chapter] | [Masterlist] | [Next Part]

——-

《CREDIT》 Translator: @humi-and-co Editor: @cL QA: @hallowsivy 《未定事件簿》Tears of Themis is a 2020 Chinese otome game by 米哈游Mihoyo. All original credits go to 米哈游Mihoyo.

《 VOICE ACTORS 》 Mo Yi | Jiang GuangTao: https://weibo.com/jiangguangtao

——-

Ivy: Lots of things to say! Sorry for the long pause between chapter 1 and Chapter 2!! But we’re back! And please welcome our new editor, cL! She’ll be taking a huge load off of me so we can post more chapters more often <3 Hope everyone’s excited for Chapter 2~ Also, we stan a MC with brains （*´▽｀*）

#tears of themis #weiding shijian bu #未定事件簿 #otome #tears of themis translations #otome game #otome game translations #tears of themis mo yi #莫弈

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dukedrakes · 5 years

Text

Tell Me

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Rose)

Rating: PG-13??? I guess?? I’ve never rated my work before.

Words: 3.5K

Summary: A little alteration fic where MC confides in Drake.

This is my first ever Choices fic and I’m so nervous to post it but here it is! This was so much fun to write. I haven’t written like this in a long time. It just flowed out of me. This piece is around Book 2 a little before Liam proposes and you’ll see that it deviates from TRR canon for ~reasons~.

Don’t forget to tell me what you think, Reblog and Like! Enjoy!

Rose plastered a smile on her face as she conversed with nobles she couldn’t remember the names of. Delicately holding her champagne flute, she glanced around the room as she nodded absent-mindedly to whatever it was the noble was telling her. She was surprised that she wasn’t used to this. After the lead-up to the Coronation, the Coronation itself and this Engagement Tour, she thought she had grown accustomed to the near constant gatherings and balls where she was required to converse with those in attendance with the utmost poise and politeness, giving everyone the best impression she could to secure theirs and Cordonia’s favour. But it was hard. Exhausting even.

Each time Rose took her leave for the night after hours of socialising, she felt her body sag with fatigue, tired from showing a façade that made her cheeks sore from smiling and head hurt from the too much champagne and idle gossip. She found it so trivial, the things they spoke about. Who wore it better? She said this, he said that, what a scandal! Rose supposed that Cordonian Court was these people’s world. It was all they had and all they would ever know, ignorant to anything of consequence in the real world. She was lucky she had a few good friends in Liam, Drake, Maxwell and Hana. They kept her sane.

But she’d come here, unprepared and out of her comfort zone. Constantly judged for being a commoner, all because of Liam. She’d spent the last months following him around, vying for his hand. Not that it was hard to spend time with him, she knew he favoured her more than the other girls. Everyone knew it. It made her feel guilty. She, a lowly waitress from New York who had never experienced a day of courtly life or princess training, had the favour of the Crown Prince over girls who had worked their whole life for the opportunity to be Cordonia’s Queen. She felt even more guilty knowing of her secret displeasure for every minute of it.

Rose has always been a girl with goals. They were simple and easy to attain. But they were goals. And being Queen of a small country was not one of them. The thought of being a royal was often romanticised beyond end, but Rose considered it with the absence of those rose-coloured glasses that made everything look easy. No, being a royal would be anything but. The constant scrutiny, private life no longer private, making decisions that have consequences for the entire country, and attending a never-ending supply of balls and dinners. It just wasn’t her. Yeah, maybe when she was six when she thought being a princess or queen was about wearing pretty dresses and a crown and being with the handsome prince. But not now. She could barely handle the pressure now after mere months; she couldn’t handle it if she were a Queen when it would be magnified tenfold.

She couldn’t keep up her resolve much longer.

Drake nursed his whiskey at the bar. He loved his whiskey, but he didn’t think he’d drink as much if it wasn’t for the constant need to numb the incessant banter and socialisation that came with these things. Drake had lost count of how many events like this he’s attended throughout nearly three decades of his life. It’s got to be thousands. He tried to add up the numbers in his head but winced as the fog of alcohol prevented him from using the required brain cells.

He turned from the bar and scanned the room. He figured out years ago that the best way to survive these events was with a drink in hand and with a bout of people-watching. He found it interesting, the patterns of conversation and personality quirks. He often predicted how conversations would go or more importantly, what drink people ordered. He’d got quite good at it. He observed everyone; the faces seemed to blur together.

All but one.

Rose.

She stood on the far side of the room, caught in a conversation with a noble he recognised but didn’t care to remember his name. She had a smile on her face, but it wasn’t a real smile. No, it barely resembled the smile that often graced her face when she was relaxed and with him and their friends. It wasn’t the smile that made his stomach flip whenever he saw it. It looked more like a grimace, Drake thought as he observed the conversation. He saw her looking around the room, no doubt for an opportunity to escape.

Despite her obvious distaste for current conversation, she was a natural at the whole court thing. She had a knack for knowing what to say, how to say it and when. She could easily converse with anyone about anything – a valuable skill for Cordonian Court, one he could never seem to master. She practically had the whole court wrapped around her finger save for a few conservatives. It was hard not to, even with her fake smile it was easy to fall for the charms and wiles of Rose Clarke.

He should know.

Regardless of how he presented himself and acted towards Rose and their friends. He knew exactly how he felt. He has never been in denial about his feelings. Not for a while now anyway. Drake has always felt so genuinely and truly, but his almost unwavering will to maintain walls and boundaries to protect himself and those around him often prevented him from acting selfishly. He was so strict on these boundaries, feeling guilty and chastising himself for the slightest bend of will or even the thought of bending will. He couldn’t cross those boundaries. Not with Rose. Not when she wasn’t his to love. He couldn’t do that to himself. But most of all, he couldn’t do that to Liam. Not when he loved her first. Not when she was here for him.

Drake convinced himself that going over there to save her from the dull conversation was not crossing those strict boundaries but was simply in the service of a friend. A friend he happened to love more than he ever thought possible.

“Forgive the intrusion, but may I steal Lady Rose away for a moment? I’m afraid Bertrand is looking for her.” Drake spoke, flawlessly mimicking the proper manners of the nobles that he’d listened to for years.

Rose made eye contact with Drake and gave an expression of relief before plastering on that painful smile. “Of course, excuse me.” She said and followed Drake before anyone could object. She held his arm as she said: “Thank you, I owe you.”

Drake laughed as he led her back to his position at the bar, trying to ignore the feel of her fingers on his blazer. “You looked miserable. I couldn’t leave you in their clutches to be bored to death.”

“You have no idea. I think Sir Franklin? Is that his name? Was talking about all the different types of micro-bugs that live in his lake. Or was he talking about his grandchildren?” Rose pondered with that adorable crease between her brows.

Drake shrugged and scoffed. “What’s the difference?”

“Hilarious. See, why should I listen to pointless blather instead of your entertaining snide remarks?” Rose grinned, a real one this time.

Drake smiled at her fondly, as she ordered a drink. He caught himself as she looked back at him, looking away and taking a sip of his own drink. As Rose received her drink, she held up her glass to Drake who returned the gesture, clinking their glasses together softly as they turned from the bar and looked out into the crowd, a comfortable silence between them.

Drake looked over at Rose as a trembling sigh came from her lips. Her fingers fiddled with the rim of her glass as she looked absently into the crowd.

“You okay, Clarke?” Drake asked tentatively, turning to her.

Rose kept her gaze ahead as she bit her lip before blinking and nodding. “Yes.” She replied, her voice a mere whisper. She continued to nod before the nods turned into shakes, the question of ‘are you okay?’ causing her final resolve to crumble as she looked down.

“Hey, hey, Clarke. What’s wrong? Talk to me.” Drake said gently, placing his now forgotten whiskey on the bar and craning his head a little to look at her face.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Drake.” She said, looking out into the crowd again.

“Do what?” He asked, brows furrowing.

“This. All of this.” Rose said, keeping her head forward, still as he’d ever seen her.

Rose spoke again, and this time she didn’t stop as Drake just listened to every word.

“This isn’t me. It never has been and never will be me. I can’t do the court thing. I can’t attend balls every other night making ridiculous small talk with nobles I don’t care about. I have never wanted this. I did this because Maxwell asked, and I thought it would be an experience of a lifetime. And it was. But I thought it would end. I didn’t know it would last this long. I thought it would just last until Liam chose one of the noble girls and then I would go home. Because there’s no way he would pick me.” Rose rambled.

“And, how could he? I’m a waitress from New York, Drake. I don’t belong here, and I don’t want to. I don’t want to be royalty much less a queen. I have never wanted it. I’m a simple girl from a humble home. Could you imagine if I became queen? I barely know Cordonia and its people. How would I be able to make responsible decisions regarding their welfare and what’s best for the country? An outsider on the throne? What a great idea! Said no one ever.” She laughed but it wasn’t funny.

She paused and took a breath, the next words coming out as a strained whisper. “Why would Liam ask that of me? Why would Liam ask me to give up everything? My freedom? If I marry him, I will never be able to do the things I want to do and achieve the things I want to achieve. I won’t be able to go shopping. Or walk around a park or in the town square, visiting the local café and getting a hot chocolate before going to the bookstore and buying more books, knowing I have a pile 10 books high already at home that I need to read.”

Drake watched her, listening to every word, the world and people around them drowned out like they weren’t even there anymore. He listened to every pause between sentences. Every choked breath. He could see the tears welling in her eyes as she stayed looking at the people in attendance. That façade slowly crumbling before his eyes. His heart ached for her. He hated seeing her so upset. He almost reached out to hold her, but he remembered his boundaries and where he was, clenching his fists so tight his knuckles were white and his fingernails dug into his palm.

“I can’t be here and pretend to be someone I’m not” Rose breathed out, a small tear escaping her eye before she wiped it away as quickly as it came.

Drake stood there; mouth not working. He didn’t know what to say. What could he say? That it would be okay? That Liam would never ask her to give up her freedom for him? He couldn’t. Because she was right. Marrying Liam would mean giving up her life as she knew it. Giving up her freedom to be herself. Yes, Liam would never explicitly ask that of her. But he loved her, and if he chose her and she said yes, she would be signing her life away. And it might be okay, eventually…in a few year’s time, when Rose had fallen into the rhythm of court and knew how to navigate decisions that weighed on Cordonia. But who knows how long that would take or if it would even happen? Why would she give up years of her life hoping for something that may never happen?

But the questions on his mind were ones he didn’t know if he wanted the answers to.

Did she love Liam? Did she love him enough to do this? Or was she just saying this to him as an open ear, to get more of an understanding of herself?

There was silence between them as Drake wondered what to say.

“Clarke…” He started.

“Tell me.” Rose interrupted. She turned her head and looked at him for the first time in minutes or maybe hours? Time had frozen between them. His heart broke at the anguished expression on her face. “Tell me not to say yes to Liam.”

Drake blinked and jerked back slightly in surprise. “What?”

“I know he’s going to choose me. Tell me not to choose him back. Tell me not to say yes. Tell me not to be queen. Tell me.” Rose asked, a desperation in her voice that he hadn’t heard before.

“Clarke…” Drake said again, unable to say anything but her name. “I can’t make this decision for you.” He finally said. “You need to do what is right for you.”

“But you’re the only person who matters.” Rose said bravely but softly, her eyes never leaving Drake’s.

Drake took in a breath and froze. He then cleared his throat. “Clarke…you shouldn’t say things like that.” He shook his head and turned to the bar, seeing his now lukewarm whiskey and taking a sip, his throat suddenly dry.

“But it’s true.” Rose said so quietly he wasn’t sure he heard her. Drake looked at her, she was facing him now, leaning on the bar as she looked at him. Drake’s heart swelled with his love for her. His will and boundaries threatening to break as all he wanted to do was hug her and tell her what she wanted to hear.

“You know I can’t tell you what you want to hear. No matter how much I wish I could.” Drake sighed.

“Why not? What’s stopping you?” Rose asked.

“Everything.” He breathed.

“Tell me.” Rose asked again.

“Why?” Drake flared. “So, if it all goes bad you have someone to blame? So, if you made the wrong decision you can resent and blame me for ruining your opportunity?”

Rose shook her head, unphased by his heated response. “No.” She said simply.

“Then, why?” Drake asked gruffly.

Rose’s breath hitched, she looked down and said quietly – knowing the weight of these words. “So, you can come with me.”

Drake widened his eyes before closing them and sighing, letting his head fall back. “Clarke. You’re killing me.” He shook his head and opened his eyes, looking at her. “We can’t just leave.”

“Why not? We could leave together, live in Cordonia or New York…” She trailed off.

“Clarke, stop. Are you hearing yourself? What makes you think we could do that? Huh?” Drake argued. “I have people here that I care about. I can’t just up and leave like you can. I have Liam. My best friend. Who’s going to do damage control if you leave? Do you even understand the position I am in? I have my best friend, who adores you and would move mountains for you. And I have you, this little stubborn, vibrant and beautiful woman who—”

“Can you shut up and think about yourself for once in your life, Drake?” Rose hissed, ignoring his compliments. “You’re always thinking about Liam and the people around you. How they would feel. How they would be impacted. What about what you want? Huh? What do you want to do? Stop thinking about others and their problems and be selfish for once in your goddamn life.”

Drake blinked at her as she puffed in front of him, the people around them at the bar starting to look at them. He knew she was right. Rose always was. She knew him too well, seeing through every wall he put up like it was glass.

“Clarke…” He started. But she had already placed her drink onto the bar top and was headed out of the ballroom. He watched her go before looking around him, not caring that some people were looking, and ran after her.

He caught up to her down the corridor. “Clarke, wait—”

“I’m sorry.” Rose said when she heard his footsteps to her slow. “I know it was unfair of me to ask that of you.” Rose spun around to face Drake as he skidded to a stop in front of her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put that pressure on you.”

Drake caught his breath softly as she went on. “You’re right, this is my decision and I need to make it for me. I was just upset and overwhelmed, and I shouldn’t have gotten angry at you for not say—”

Drake didn’t let her finish her sentence as he demolished his boundaries, cupped her cheeks and kissed her. He could feel her tense in his hands before she relaxed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Drake deepened the kiss and Rose responded immediately. He trailed his hands from her cheeks to her hips as he gripped them firmly before wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her onto her tiptoes. Rose’s hands threaded through his hair as they kissed, not caring who saw them. They were like two halves of the same soul that had finally found each other after centuries apart.

They pulled away breathless, foreheads leaning against each other. “What was that?” Rose whispered, running her fingertips on the back of his neck.

“That was me being selfish.” Drake breathed. “I love you.”

Rose pulled back to look at him, biting her lip as she grinned. “Then tell me.”

Drake took in a breath, hesitating for a moment before he fulfilled her request, the words flooding out in breaths. “Don’t choose him back. Don’t say yes. Don’t be queen.” Drake brought her forehead to his once more as he spoke. His head screamed at him for what he was doing, but his heart…his heart was full and finally satisfied.

“And what do you want?” Rose asked, bringing her hand to cup his cheek and run her thumb over his cheekbone.

“You. Only you.” Drake smiled. His heart pounding. Pounding, but free.

“Then have me, because I love you more than I have ever loved anyone, and I don’t want to be without you ever.” Rose smiled.

Drake broke out into what Rose thought was the biggest smile she’d ever seen him give as he kissed her again before bringing her close, her arms still around his shoulders and spun her gently. Rose laughed as he set her down.

“How could I resist you for so long, Clarke.” Drake smiled down at her with so much love he thought his heart would burst.

“I could say the same, Drake.” Rose laughed. Drake chuckled along with her before the reality of what’s to come sets in.

“How are we going to tell Liam?” Drake asks, his voice small and vulnerable.

“We’ll work it out.” Rose said gently, her hand coming up to put some of his hair behind his ear.

“He’s going to hate me.” Drake shook his head. “Or worse, you.”

“He could never hate you.” Rose soothed. “Liam loves you like you’re his own flesh and blood. Perhaps more. And I don’t think he has a hateful bone in his body but if him hating me means I get to live freely and with the man I love then I’ll gladly accept it.”

Drake shook his head. “You’re amazing, Clarke…Rose. You’re incredible.”

“So, I’ve been told.” She grins before leaning up to kiss him again, not able to get enough of his lips on hers. Drake relaxed under her kiss. She was his kryptonite. God knows how he resisted for so long. He couldn’t imagine being without her kisses and her warmth ever again.

“Now,” Rose said, back to sounding like she usually did – determined and full of life. “we should probably go back inside, we can deal with all this tomorrow morning, but for now, I believe you owe me a dance.” She grinned.

“Oh, do I?” Drake scoffed as they walked back down the corridor together, the promise of forever lingering in the air.

Tomorrow, everything would change, as he had finally broken those walls and told her, and she, him. But for now, they would dance, knowing it would be the last time they would ever do so here, at the palace where they were mere shells of their real selves. No, tomorrow they would finally be free.

Shall I do a Part 2 anyone?

Also, I haven’t got tags, but if you want to be tagged for the next piece let me know!

I hope you enjoyed!

#playchoices #drake walke x mc #drake walker #the royal romance #the royal heir #larissa's fics #larissa's drabbles #tell me #choices fic #playchoices fic #playchoices oneshot #choices oneshot #canon deviation #choices: stories you play #choices #pixelberry #long post

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zigisadiamond · 5 years

Text

Obsessed

Hello everyone! this is my first story ever. I am not sure how good it is or if anyone will read it but it has been in my head for the longest. I am sure there are several spelling errors, I am sorry in advance.

Pairing: MC x Zig, Zig x OC, MC x Zig x Chris

A large crowd has gathered in the quad area at Hartfeld University. The game is being projected on the big screen. MC almost can’t watch she is beyond nervous. Wearing his #24 Knights jersey she hopes that Zig has a great game. She was so proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone and joining the football team. She can’t help but think back at the beginning of the year and just how skeptical he was about trying out. She gets abruptly brought back to reality by the loud cheering.

Announcer “Here’s the running back” “and they give it to Ortega” “breaking into the secondary” “it’s a foot race!!…” “Ortega will not be touched!!!”

Announcer: “Touchdown by Ortega!!!”…“The Knights dynamic duo does is again”

MC looks up at the screen and sees Zig and Chris celebrating in the end zone. The camera focuses on the “dynamic duo”. Chris hugs Zig and pats him on the helmet they do some type of celebratory handshake and are shortly joined at the end zone by the rest of the team.

With 47 seconds left in the fourth and now 42-37 MC knows that Zig’s touchdown has secured the Knights the National Championship. She was so happy for the entire team but if she was honest with herself she was more excited about Zig being back.

Announcer: “The Knights have capture their fist National Championship. We have the dynamic duo with our correspondent Sharon down on the field”

ESPN correspondent: “ I am here with Hearfeld’s dynamic duo who just captured their first National Championship. How do you feel Chris?”

Chris: “ Wow, I am so proud of my team they all have worked so hard this season and we got it done today! This is an amazing feeling”

ESPN correspondent: “ What does this win mean for you and for Hearfeld?”

Chris: “ I am happy to take this championship back to Heartfeld. I know many people counted us out but we showed determination and heart out there” “I am lucky to be surrounded by so much talent, my guys leave it all out on the field “ “The best example is this guy next to me, he makes my job easy”

ESPN correspondent: “ Congratulations on the big win Chris, Thank you for your time” “Now let’s talk to the other half of the duo, Zig those were great compliments by your QB can you talk about what was going through your mind in the last minutes of the game?”

Zig: “ I knew that Chris was going to be out there looking for me and I was determined to make sure I was at the right place when the time came” “He is a hell of a captain and QB, as soon as I had the ball in my hands I focused on the end zone and I knew nothing could stop me”

ESPN correspondent: “Tell me what is next for you, Chris and the team?”

Zig: “We are taking this championship back to Hearfeld! I am looking forward to celebrating with my team, friends and girlfriend” “After that I am sure coach will put me and Chris back to work so that we can be here again next year”

ESPN correspondent: “ You just broke the nations heart right now. Are you aware?”

Zig: *laughing “ I think they will be fine Chris is still single everyone!”

ESPN correspondent: *laughing “Congratulations! and thank you so much for your time”

MC was now blushing. Now the world knew how incredibly handsome, talented and charismatic Zig was. She was now thinking of a way to surprise him and congratulate him for his win. All that had to wait, MC knew she had to start planning a big welcome home party for Zig, Chris and the rest of the team. She was almost sure that Zack and Becca were two steps ahead of her and had almost everything ready. MC couldn’t wait, she knew it was going to be a memorable night and the beginning to a great rest of the year.

Zig

After the game and celebrating a little with his team Zig was now sitting on the bus on his way back to MC. It was nearly 2am all Zig could think about was MC. He was counting the hours, minutes and seconds until he was able to have her in his arms. He fell for MC fast and hard it was hard to even explain how much she meant to him in such a small amount of time. This was the first time he had ever given himself completely to someone else.

Do you feel me here giving you love?

Do you see me here opening up?

No one's ever gotten to this point

Where we go from here is all your choice

Don't let me down

I told you things about me

Don't let me down

I let you put your arms around me

'Cause love is a waste of time if you and I don't do this right

Can I trust in you if I give you myself?

You're the first to know

And I've had much to tell

-Don’t let me down (Sabrina Claudio ft. Khalid)

As soon as Zig told her the bus bringing them back from Nationals would be arriving in less than an hour MC made sure to get up from bed and get ready to see her man. She wore a Hartfeld hoodie with some leggings and black nikes. Zig was never good at keeping his hands to himself and MC was sure he would appreciate her simple outfit.

As soon as she saw Zig coming out of the bus she ran towards him impulsively leaping into his strong arms and hooking her legs around his waist. Zig holding her tightly by her hips, he was so happy to have her in his arms again. She showered him with brief kisses until eventually Zig captured her lips in a long sensual kiss lowering one of his hands cup her round bottom. She felt herself get lost in the moment until Zack yelled “Get a room!” and started laughing. Zig quickly removed his hand from her bottom but just as quick went back to holding her tightly by her waist.

Zig: “I missed you“

MC:”I missed you more Zig”

Zig: “You know that’s impossible right?”

MC:”Just let me win babe, you’ve done enough winning this weekend”

Zig: *smirking “You are always right but the real question is how will you congratulate me?”

MC:*wispers in Zig’s ear “Trust me I have plans for you” “Now you should put me down so we can celebrate with our friends babe”

Zig puts her down but not before kissing MC’s forehead and heading to the bus to collect his bags. He knows that the faster they get through this party the faster he can be alone with MC and show her just how much he missed her.

After cuddling with Zig for what seem like seconds MC knows she has to make her way down and help set up for the party. Becca was in party planner mode which was always a little scary. MC was used to having big party’s at her house but now the Knights had captured the attention of the schools around and social media. It seemed like everyone wanted a piece of the dynamic duo these days. Regardless MC was ready to look cute, have fun, and spend some quality time with Zig.

After setting up to Becca’s desire, MC was ready to get dress and ready for this party and she had just the outfit for the occasion. MC knew tonight was going to be special but never in her wildest dreams or maybe nightmares did she imagine how the characters she meet tonight would shift her world….

#zig x mc #Zigmund Ortega #Choices #playchoices #choices stories you play #choices the senior #choices the stories we play #fanfic #choices fandom #the freshman #the sophmore #the junior #pixelberry

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