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princesssarisa · 3 years

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How "Cinderella Monogatari" Could Have Been Better

I've just finished watching the 1996 anime series Cinderella Monogatari ("The Story of Cinderella"). I'll share my overall thoughts on it later, after I've overviewed a few other versions of the fairy tale. But for now, I'll say that I liked it very much. That said, it does have its flaws. Below are the handful of changes I would make to improve it.

1. Have Cinderella's father be presumed dead through most of the series.

It's awkward to have Cinderella's father still be alive, and not a weak henpecked husband, but merely away on business. Why would Duchess Dalbin so extensively abuse and degrade her stepdaughter knowing that the girl's devoted father will eventually come back? I would have preferred for the Duke to leave on his business trip, and then, a few weeks later, have the family receive the news that his ship was wrecked in a storm and that he's missing and presumably drowned. Only at this point would the Duchess start to abuse Cinderella. This could also add a layer of depth to the Duchess's character. She could be portrayed as genuinely in love with her husband and distraught by his "death," and afterwards she would exclude Cinderella from the family because Cinderella reminds her too much of him, similar to what the 1997 version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical implies. But in the final episode, the Duke would come back and reveal that he survived after all: he's just taken this long to recover from his injuries and find a ship home. So we'd still have the blissful family reunion the actual series gives us, but with even more emotional weight.

2. Give Duke Zaral consistent motivation.

I like the series' addition of a "Greater Scope Villain" (to quote TVTropes) in Duke Zaral. But at least in the English dub, his motive seems to change completely at random from "Marry his daughter Isabel to Prince Charles and become the real power behind the throne" to "Murder Charles and force his parents to surrender the kingdom." This could be easily solved, though. Simply place the episode "The Disturbing Painter" (his first real attempt to kill Charles, when he tries to have his portrait painted by an artist who traps his subjects' souls in the painting) after the episode "Traveling Toward Happiness" (where his daughter Isabel runs away with her true love) instead of before. Since the series makes it clear that Zaral really does love his daughter, it would make much more sense for his murderous turn to be caused by losing her, especially if he found out that Charles had helped her elope. To quote TVTropes again, it would be his Villainous Breakdown, and it would give him a real character arc.

3. Cut the episode "Prince Charles's Secret," where Cinderella and her stepsisters are forced to work as maids in the castle.

While of course it's funny to see the stepsisters forced to do the same chores they usually heap on Cinderella, the context is ridiculous. If a wealthy duke like Zaral wants maidservants to spy on Prince Charles, why doesn't he just pay real working-class girls to do it? Why on earth would he insult a family of his own social class by tricking a duchess's daughters into visiting the castle only to have them forced into servitude? And afterwards, why does no one ever mention it again? Realistically, wouldn't a trick like that cause a scandal? The whole scenario is contrived and would be better off cut.

4. Make Cinderella less of a damsel in distress.

Now there's no shame in a heroine not being a fighter or needing to be rescued. But it's still a tiny bit tedious to see Cinderella repeatedly being captured or endangered and Charles repeatedly being the strong one who rescues her. Even after he teaches her how to swordfight in "Lets Get Rid of Those Bandits," she never uses the skills she learned in that episode again, particularly not in the finale when she's captured by Zaral. I say remove Charles from some of the episodes where she's endangered and have her rescue herself instead. Have her use the fencing skills Charles taught her throughout the rest of the series, particularly when she's kidnapped in the finale. Not that she needs to use a sword, but at least she could defend herself with a stick or some other improvised weapon. In the climactic battle with Zaral on the clock tower, I'd have Cinderella and Charles fighting him together rather than just Charles. Again, I'm not saying there's any shame in being a damsel in destress, but it would be more interesting to see Cinderella defend herself at least a little bit more.

5. Have the stepfamily rip Cinderella's dress before the ball, as in the Disney version.

The scene where they rip up her invitation to the ball is already a blatant knockoff of the Disney dress-ripping scene, but without the same power. So why not take the imitation all the way and have them rip her dress as well as the invitation? This would also enhance the next scene where Fairy Godmother Paulette works her magic. In the actual series, the fact that Cinderella is already wearing a fancy gown and Paulette's magic just brings its style more up-to-date is slightly underwhelming. We lose the sheer magic of the dress transformation that other versions of Cinderella have. If her dress were in tatters, this would be rectified.

6. Don't have Charles fall in love with the "mystery girl."

Cinderella retellings that give Cinderella and the Prince most of their romance arc before the ball always have a dilemma: what to do with the plot point of the Prince not knowing his beloved's name or where to find her after the ball? Some versions have found good solutions; this one is mediocre. After his series-long slow-burn romance arc with Cinderella, it's awkward to see Charles become enamored in one night with the girl at the ball, whom he doesn't know is Cinderella. Even if it is just because she "reminds him" of Cinderella, whom he thinks will never speak to him again because he lied about his identity, it still seems ever-so-slightly fickle. I'd prefer to have him only regard her as a friend with whom he can confide about Cinderella. Then, after the ball, instead of being depressed about her disappearance, he'd be depressed because Cinderella "never showed up" even though he invited her. But Alex and Hans would mistakenly think he was moping over the mystery girl and set out to use the glass slipper to find her.

7. Give the stepfamily a gradual redemption arc.

Maybe this is what the series was trying to go for, because there are assorted episodes where Cinderella does especially valuable things for her stepfamily (saving Jeanne's life when they're lost in the woods, learning to swordfight and guarding the house against the bandits, risking her life to find healing herbs for her dangerously ill stepmother, etc.) and momentarily earns their respect. But in every new episode, they're back to abusing her. So in the last episode, it feels very abrupt when they start being nice to her after she's betrothed to Prince Charles. If it were played for laughs like in the 1957 version of the Rodgers and Hammertein musical, and they were clearly only sucking up to her because she was the princess-to-be, it would feel less awkward, but it's not played for laughs. It feels as if we're supposed to see it as a genuine, heartfelt family reconciliation, which is completely unearned. And then when Cinderella's father the Duke comes home, they all reunite as one big happy family and the Duke never even learns that his wife and stepdaughters abused his daughter while he was away!

My solution? Put much more emphasis on Cinderella's gradually earning her stepfamily's respect over the course of the series. Don't have them forget the great things she does for them; have call-backs to the fact that she saved their lives, risked her own safety for them etc. Show them increasingly torn between their jealousy of her and their growing respect and gratitude toward her. While they would still have a final "Kick the Dog" moment by tearing up her mother's dress and her invitation to the ball, I'd show them feeling very guilty as they ride away in their carriage afterward. Maybe Jeanne could ask Catherine if what they did was right, and Catherine would reply that they had no choice, Cinderella looked too pretty, the Prince would have ignored them if he had seen her, etc.; but clearly she wouldn't be so sure. Then, after Cinderella reunites with Prince Charles, there could be a scene similar to the opera La Cenerentola, where Charles would publicly berate the Duchess and her daughters for their treatment of Cinderella and threaten to punish them somehow, only for Cinderella to declare that she forgives them and beg her fiancé to pardon them. This would move them to tears and they would finally, profusely apologize to her for all they had done. And when the Duke comes home, Cinderella's choice not to tell him about their abuse could be emphasized as her way of showing faith in their repentance and giving them a second chance.

I realize that all this would probably take up more than just a few minutes of the final episode. So because we've already cut the earlier episode where the stepsisters work as maids at the palace, I suggest we add a new Episode 23, in-between the actual series' second-to-last and final episodes. This entire episode would take place between the slipper-fitting and the royal wedding, and it would open with her reunion with Charles and end with her reunion with her father. Everything in between would be devoted to her reconciliation with the stepfamily. This would be a much more believable, satisfactory conclusion for them than what the actual series gives us.

It's a good series, but with these changes, in my personal opinion, it would be even stronger.

#anime #cinderella monogatari #fairy tale #cinderella #the story of cinderella #animated series #my opinion #how it could be better #rewriting

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janicho88 · 4 years

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Come Back Part 3

Paring- Dean x Reader

Word Count-3810

Summary- After everything you and Dean have been through to get together you deserve some happiness right?

Warnings-Smidge of angst, fluff, some language, maybe just a couple words. Implied smut

A/N As of right now this is the final part. There is a chance someday there will be a fourth. There are a few more pictures in this one, I like to visualize things, was trying to help you see what I was. Pictures found on google.

Part 1 Part 2

Three months later

Chaos, mayhem and craziness, that was what surrounded you.�� Currently you were hiding in your old room in the bunker trying to get away. Unfortunately the knock at the door told you that they found you again. Charlie, Donna, and Jody, all of whom you had renamed in your head, hurried in. They were trying to help get everything ready for the wedding in a few days. They all had an opinion on how it should be, the problem was, their opinion didn’t match yours.

Chaos, I mean Charlie thought you should do a Star Wars theme. They women could all dress like Princess Leia and the guys Jedi, with the robes and hoods. You think you just about had her talked out of it. You had told her if that was what she wanted to wear, go right ahead, but she would be the only one.

Mayhem, oh miss Donna wanted you to learn square dancing. She was also hoping for big dresses with these crazy bows, and so so many ruffles. You told her she was more than welcome to have one herself. At this rate it was going to be more like a costume party than a wedding. You mentioned to Donna you didn’t think Dean was going to learn square dancing this week for the wedding, but if she wanted to show people that night it was fine.

Craziness, bless her heart. Jody’s ideas were probably the closest to what you were thinking. After you lost your parents you spent most of your time at Bobby’s before going off hunting with Dean. You saw Jody as a mom figure, and she knew the inner girl you kept hidden. You just didn’t want to make things as grand as she did. You appreciated everyone’s help, they were just a bit overwhelming when you had them all at once.

You weren’t expecting too many attendees. Besides the three ladies, Alex and Claire would of course be joining. Garth and his family would be here, a few other hunters the guys kept in constant contact with also coming. You expected, but weren’t completely sure Crowely and Rowena would also make an appearance. Rowena liked you, and the two of you had become friends over the years, even if Dean wasn’t thrilled about it. Sam was Dean’s best man, Donna your maid of honor. Since Dean was legally dead, and also wanted for numerous federal crimes a marriage license was out of the question. Cas was officiating, both you and Dean figured married by an angel would make it legal and binding for the two of you.

Turning your attention back to the three ladies in front of you, you figured it would be wise to see what questions they had this time.

“What are you doing for decorations?”

“Where is the caterer going?”

“Where is your dress”

Jody’s question was the easiest so you started there. “My dress still needs to be picked up, they finished the last alteration yesterday.” While hunters don’t often get normal things, one thing you always dreamed about watching chick flicks was a beautiful wedding dress. When you told Dean you were just going to get a simple dress or wear one you had, he encouraged you to go after your dream one. He joked about wanting to see you in a big fancy dress in your real wedding pictures, not just your fake ones Sam had made.

As for the decorations, “Dean and I talked, we will move the tables aside in the library and rearrange the chairs for people to sit. I don’t have any decorations.”

“What nothing? No fancy lights or even flowers?” Charlie wanted to know.

“No, we figured simpler was easier.” Charlie just rolled her eyes.

“There aren’t that many of us, we didn’t exactly get a caterer. There is a restaurant in town we’ve gone to a few times that does party size orders. We ordered a few dishes to serve 30 that should give us plenty. Sam or Dean are picking them up the day before the wedding, we just need to reheat it the next day. Dean joked that we can order pizza later if people are hungry. Honestly, I don’t care much about any of those things, well other than the dress, but it still isn’t as important as Dean. End of the day what matters most is actually being together with Dean. I want to be able to truthfully say he’s my husband.”

They all chuckled at that. You still had to humor them with a few more answers before they left you alone. You had about two minutes to yourself when there was a knock on the door. Turning your head toward the door you saw Dean walking in.

“How’s it going with your wedding army?”

“Not funny, they are driving me nuts. I know I said I didn’t want to go to Vegas before, but is that completely off the table now?”

“Personally, I wouldn’t want to face the wrath of those 3 if they found out we eloped now, but if you really want to Baby is gassed and ready to go.”

“UGGHH, you’re right, we would never hear the end of it now.”

“I’ll talk to them, see if I can get them to calm down.”

“Thank you, Honey, you're the best.”

After giving you a kiss your fiance left to try and wrangle in your help. Fiance, what a crazy year you two have had. It started with the fight that had you leaving the bunker and Dean. Followed by the amnesia and being Dean’s fake wife. They two of you had been together since the memories returned, you had officially moved into his room. He didn’t say anything else about a wedding after the comment about getting real pictures so you didn’t push. A month after all of Dean’s memories of you came back he took you out to dinner then a walk by a nearby lake. It was by the lake he dropped down on one knee and asked you to be his wife. With tears in your eyes you had said yes. Dean didn't want to ever lose you again, hunter’s don’t always have the longest lives so he wasn’t going to waste any more time making you his actual wife.

The next month and half had kept you all pretty busy with hunts, you had not had much time to do anything for the wedding. One of the few things you two finished was picking out your rings while gone on a case.

Your lack of completed tasks is why the girls are here now trying to help you. You appreciated the help because honestly the last couple of weeks you hadn’t had a lot of extra energy. You were thankful Dean hadn’t noticed that yet though.

Dean talked to your three friends and got them to tone everything down a bit. It made the next few days so much easier for you. The night before your wedding they took you out for your bachelorette party. You mentioned to them you didn’t want a hangover the next day so you wanted to avoid the alcohol. They took you out for dinner, and still ended up with a trip to the bar after. Things went pretty well though, and it was a fun night with the girls. You weren’t sure what the guys were doing for Dean, but you knew they were hanging around the bunker. When you made your way from the garage to your old room, you could still hear them in the library.

You know those days where everything that can go wrong will? That was your wedding day. It was now 11:30 and the wedding was supposed to be starting at 1, if it ever did. You could not believe the morning you had had. Dean and Sam had picked up the food yesterday from the reception. Everything was sealed and labeled just how you had ordered it. The guys brought it home and put it in the fridge. This morning when you, Jody and Donna were in the kitchen talking about when to reheat everything and what goes where you took it all out of the fridge, good thing. What was supposed to be an alfredo pasta was, well you weren’t really sure. It was something slimy. In the container labeled chicken breasts, raw vegetables, at least those were edible. They would work too since Sam forgot to grab anything to make a salad. Instead of mashed potatoes you got yams. The cornbread Dean wanted, just cream corn.

Jody called the restaurant to see if they could fix it and get you the right things. They were extremely sorry, but could not fix it right now. Apparently your food got mixed up with another catering they had today for a bigger group. They were working on fixing that one right now, and it would take a few hours to start on yours. They told Jody they would be giving you a refund though. Looks like you’ll be ordering pizza after all.

Leaving the kitchen after that mess you headed up to the library. The site that met you had you closing your eyes hoping it was all a nightmare. The guys little bachelor party the night before looks like it got out of hand. For some reason there were books everywhere, the tables and chairs all over and as soon as your shoe hit the library floor it stuck to it. They apparently spilled a bit of alcohol, you could smell it now. That had you running for the bathroom. You carefully made your way back to the library, Sam looking around the corner when he heard your approach.

“Hey we were going to come clean this up before you woke up. Guess we overslept. Don’t worry about this. It will straighten up in no time.”

“What about the smell Sam?”

“We’ll find something.”

“What happened in here anyways?”

“Cas might have had a bit too much to drink and he was trying to show off some of his powers. Didn’t go well as you can tell. Used too much energy and passed out before we could get him to fix it.”

As you were talking you didn’t notice Charlie and Donna coming behind you. They were going to finish the cake table and chose to bring the cake out now. Charlie hit the sticky floor and stumbled. She held her balance until she hit an out of place chair and the cake went flying. Now you had another mess and no cake. At least you had bought Dean a pie, which Donna was carrying. Never mind it met the same fate as the cake. What else could go wrong?

You should not have asked. After trying to help clean up some of the mess, Jody sent you to shower. She was going to start your hair after. You two had practiced your updo a few times and she knew exactly how you wanted it. Problem was today your hair didn’t realize it was supposed to cooperate. The half up half down with curls you wanted was mostly down, and extremely limp. Oh well, it was just hair you told yourself. While looking in the mirror at the flop on your head someone knocked on the door. It was Sam.

“What’s up Sam”

“Is anyone here any good with alterations?”

“What kind, to what and why?” You asked with your eyes narrowing in the mirror.

“Slight problem with the tuxes. Um how do you feel about purple?”

‘What’s wrong with the tuxes? What’s purple that I need to feel something about? Again why?”

“Cas’ tux apparently came in purple. Now is the first time he’s opened it. He must have hit the wrong box. The alterations are for Dean and I. My tux is a bit too big, and his is too small. He can’t even get the coat on.”

“Didn’t you get measured for your tuxes? Why didn’t you try them on before?”

“We sent in our measurements and they sent us things to try on and we told them what fit. Things have been hectic. We all thought they would be fine.”

You didn’t say anything just stared straight ahead for a minute. “I guess your Fed suits will have to work.”

You were hoping to do a few pictures outside before people came, that way you weren’t holding up the reception after. You had figured if everyone here was ready by 11:30 it gave you time for pictures and to get back to your room before anyone else arrived.

Shortly after 11 Donna and Charlie were helping you into your dress while Jody looked for your shoes.

“I can’t find them anywhere Y/N do you know what they were in?”

They were in a white box. They were on the counter, I grabbed the dress and Charlie grabbed my shoes.”

“I didn’t carry anything out of the shop.” The redhead behind you spoke up.

“Did anyone carry the white box out?”

Silence great, you left without your shoes. You had white flip flops guess that will have to do. Donna started to zip the back of your dress with Charlie helping when you heard a ripping noise.

“What is that?”

“OH NO! Y/N, I am so sorry!” Charlie exclaimed. Apparently she had ended up standing on the dress while they were pulling the zipper and it was enough to tear the fabric in the back. They unzipped it, while Jody left to see if there was any thread in the bunker to try and sew it up. Charlie kept apologizing, but you told her accidents happen, and ushered them both out for a few minutes of quiet for yourself.

There was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Babe it’s me. Jody told me about all the problems, are you okay? Can I come in”

“NO! If the only thing that goes right today is the tradition of not seeing the bride then so be it. You can open the door a smidge, but don’t peak in.”

“Okay, okay. How are you holding up.”

“I’m beginning to think someone cursed us today. Who did we piss off now?”

“Just a rough morning, we aren’t cursed this time. I’m sorry about the mess we made in the library. We got the spills cleaned up.”

“Does it still smell like beer?”

“Eh, maybe some.”

“Okay. Thank you for getting the rest ready.”

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry this isn’t the day of your dreams.”

“It’s okay, I’ll survive. At the end of the day the most important thing is I have you by my side.”

“Always, Sweetheart. We’re in this together.”

As you and Dean were talking you heard the clank of heels coming down the hall. “Is that Jody coming back?”

“No, it’s Rowena. Hello Rowena, can I help you?”

“Hello Dean. No, you cannot, I just fancied a word with the bride to be.”

“Dean, be nice.” You whispered out to him

“Fine, I’ll see you out there Sweetheart everything will be fine.”

As Dean walked away you opened the door and let Rowena in.

“I heard from Samual, it’s been a bit of a rough morning for you? That library smells like a brewery.”

“That’s one way to put it. Not much is going right, the food is wrong, the cake hit the floor, along with Dean’s pie. The library was a mess this morning. They cleaned it, but like you said it still smells. The guy's tuxes don’t fit, Cas’ is the wrong color, I forgot my shoes and my dress ripped. My hair has decided this will be the day it does it’s own thing. This isn’t exactly how I thought this day would go. I guess I should just be happy we haven’t been called for a hunt yet.”

“Sit here and let Rowena see what she can do Lass.”

You had been sitting in your room for about five minutes when Jody and Donna came back. They took your wedding dress and an old pair of shoes and left again. They must have found some thread, not sure what they are doing with the shoes though. Five minutes later they returned again, much too quickly to have actually sewn the dress.

“Okay, let’s get you dressed,” Jody said.

“Wait, what about the dress? Did you fix it already?”

“We did not. Your witchy godmother did. She fixed your dress, shoes, the tuxes, cleaned up the library a bit.”

“Oh my.” You were speechless.

As they were finishing closing your dress there was another knock at the door. Rowena entered a moment later.

“You look just about perfect deary. One more little thing.”

Rowena spoke a few words and you could suddenly feel your hair moving around. She was fixing that too.

“Rowena, I’m going to cry thank you so much!”

“No tears today, it’s a happy day. Even if you are marrying that Winchester.”

“Thank you so much.” You gave her a hug and she went back out to the library.

You had just enough time to get a few pictures finished before you needed to come back inside. While Dean was outside getting his pictures with the guys, and ladies, you went to the library. You could not believe your eyes, Rowena had worked her magic in here also. It was no longer the library you knew, but a ballroom. Gone were the bookcases, tables and chairs. White Chairs were set up for the guests and a beautiful wedding arch where you would say your vows.

“This is amazing Rowena, I can’t believe you did all this thank you!”

“You are more than welcome. Alas I can’t take all the credit in here, your fiance made the arch as a surprise for you.”

You couldn’t believe Dean had done that. It was perfect. The door opened and Jody came in to see where you were, so Dean wouldn’t see you when he came in. She ushered him to the hall, then helped you up the stairs. When your pictures were done, she went inside and looked for Dean, to keep him out of the way. Sam came over to talk to you.

“You look stunning, my brother is one lucky guy. I’m glad you both came to senses. I’m glad you decided to come back here.”

“I am too. Mostly I’m thankful we got our Dean back.” Sam gave you a hug as you both headed back inside.

Soon it was time for the ceremony to start. You had asked Jody to walk you down the aisle, being the closest thing you had to a parent. Dean actually had a tear in his eye when you reached him, and he told you how beautiful you looked. You told him how dashing he was. The ceremony went much quicker than you imagined. Both you and Dean reciting traditional vows. When Cas pronounced you husband and wife Dean grabbed you to him in a longer kiss than you thought he would. After you walked back down the aisle and people were getting up from their seats, Rowena changed the room to a different setting again.

The white chairs were now around tables, a buffet line was set up that smelled delicious. In the corner a beautiful wedding cake, with smaller circles surrounding it on the table. Upon closer inspection they were mini pies. You were going to need to hide some of those from Dean so he didn’t get sick. This was incredible and more than you could imagine, you were going to owe her big for this.

You and Dean spent the afternoon and even talking with guests, dancing and enjoying the wonderful food Rowena provided. When it came time to cut the cake, you told Dean if he made a mess it would be a long time before you made him another pie. He took that warning to heart and did his best not to smear it on your face. You doing the same with the piece of pie you cut him. Dean picked your first dance song, Aerosmith’s "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." He said he wasn’t missing anymore of your life together. Most of your guests were crashing at the bunker tonight so it was one long party. At one point you caught up to Sam.

“Think Rowena could have helped us with Dean a few months ago?”

“Probably, wish we had thought to ask her back then.” You nodded your agreement before going to find your new husband.

You and Dean finally decided to call it a night and head back to your shared room for a little alone time. There was something you wanted to share with Dean tonight. Opening the door and turning back to pick you up Dean carried you in and placed you on the bed. You were staying in the bunker tonight before heading off to your honeymoon. Dean had actually rented a house on the beach, but far enough away from others you would have some privacy.

“I missed you in my arms last night wife”

“I missed being held close to you, husband. I like being able to honestly call you that now.”

“I love hearing it. I like the idea of filling those frames with pictures I actually remember.”

“Dean I have something for you.”

“Yeah, is it under your dress”

“Not in the way you're thinking.”

Getting off the bed you went to your dresser and pulled out a gift wrapped box. As you handed it to him, he told you he didn’t get you anything. You told him he already did, and just open the box. He tore the paper off and when his eyes shot up to you when he removed the lid. He looked at you and then back to what you had made for him in the box.

“Really… are you?.. Am I?” With tears in his eyes he could finish his sentences.

“Yes, we are going to have a baby, you're going to be daddy.” He grabbed you and pulled you in for a tight hug before he thought better of it and loosened his grip. Leaning down his lips met yours in a slow sweet kiss.

“How far along are you?”

“Just about 6 weeks I found out this past week. Cas told me and I swore him to secrecy.”

“You know this means no more hunting for you right?”

“Yes, I kind of figured that.”

Dean leaned down to kiss you again. It didn’t take long till you were working the buttons on his shirt and he was trying to figure out your dress. You had to break apart to deal with clothes before coming back together and finishing your wedding night wrapped up in one another.

Tags @flamencodiva @deanwanddamons @katehuntington @winchest09 @emoryhemsworth @waywardbeanie @malfoysqueen14 @talesmaniac89 @whatareyousearchingfordean @superfanficnatural

@fantasydevil2002 @vicmc624 @lilballofemotions @sandlee44 @multi-fan-lover

#Dean x reader #Supernatural #Dean Winchester

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ktlsyrtis · 3 years

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fic asks! 8, 20, and optionally 21 (optional because it seems DEMENTEDLY hard, which is also why i am asking! would also be interested in the version where you discuss how you might hypothetically do it, or what difference it might make, etc)

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“A part of me still can’t believe I’m doing this,” she explains, fiddling a pen between her fingers. “Our mothers insisted that Marcus and I do the whole ‘white wedding’ and it was miserable. I kept trying to convince him that we should just run off to the registry and elope.”

“That’s what Edward and I did,” Serena says, “and believe me, you didn’t miss out on anything. Nothing says romance like having your marriage witnessed by complete strangers, and the groom vomiting in your bouquet.”

Bernie winces in sympathy. “I guess, after the divorce, I didn’t expect to ever get married again. It didn’t go especially well the first time.”

Serena hums in agreement, pushing the ache of Bernie’s words to the back of her mind. They’d never talked about it, really, when they were together, just made jokes about being free of their former spouses. Serena always assumed that Bernie wouldn’t be interested in marriage, and never brought it up with her, not even when she found herself browsing rings online late one night, planning a future with Bernie that would never happen.

The realization that she just wasn’t interested in marriage to her sits in her stomach like a stone.

“If this wasn’t Alex’s first, I doubt we’d be doing it all. I just don’t want to take that away from her, if it’s what she wants.” Bernie glances up cautiously. “Did you ever think about it? Getting married again, I mean?”

Serena’s heart drops sickeningly. She knows she should just lie, make this easier for both of them. But Bernie’s looking back at her with those dark, knowing eyes, and she can only pretend so much.

“I did,” she hears herself say, as if the words are coming from someone else. “Once.”

I’m proud of this bit for a couple reasons. One of them being that I think it sounds like them, at least in my own head. It’s a conversation I can actually picture them having. More importantly, this conversation is intended to be a complete angst sucker punch in the middle of an otherwise light-hearted scenes. Given the comments on that chapter, I’m pretty sure I landed that blow. What can I say? I’m a jerk sometimes 😅

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions. Anytime my brain allows me to just sit down and write tbh. I don’t have any special requirements about where/when/how I write that are must haves. What I have discovered over time is that a change in writing format (via text, handwriting), or a restricted time limit (writing sprints, sneaking in some writing during class), go a long way in helping me get out of my own head

21. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting? This is like a Schrödinger question, because the answer is simultaneously “a thousand times” and “once.”

I’m definitely a person who falls into the terrible trap of endlessly tweaking things while I’m working on them. As such I don’t really have definitive drafts, more living documents that are in a constant state of flux. The once comes in when I think I’m done and I send it to my beta for review, at which point I make corrections and post as fast as possible because I have absolutely no self control lol.

I do think that a more formalized drafting process might be helpful for me in terms of outcome and growth, but I worry that putting something like that in place would end up being just another barrier to actually getting anything done. So, here we are 🤷🏻

[40 questions: fic writer edition]

#replies #writer memes #little-brisk

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wonder-kid-pugh · 4 years

Text

In the line of Fire (Christen Press x reader)

Hey guys! Back again with another imagine. This one is a continuation from my other Press imagine, "The death of Preath". So I hope you enjoy!

Y/n's Pov

I was checking all the all the equipment in the fire engine with Dylan in case we got another call today. "Are all the tanks full?" Dylan asks loading the hose onto the truck. "Yup" I grunt as I lift the oxygen tanks into the truck before closing the door. "Here's hoping we don't have another call today" she laughs. "Fingers crossed. I just have to finish today and then I have time off to spend with Chris" I say crossing my fingers. "How is the fiancée? Any wedding planning done yet?" Dylan wiggles her eyebrows at me. I laugh, "She's good. The team is actually here for a match tomorrow against Ireland. So I think she is on media today. So I finish today, I go watch the match tomorrow and then we finally get time off. Might go on vacation somewhere get a bit of wedding planning done". "That's great. You deserve some time off with how many lives you save. People get to live their lives because of you, you should be allow live yours" Dylan claps me on the back. "Thanks Dyl, it means a lot" I thank him. "Your my best friend Y/n, all I want in return is an invite, so no eloping!" He jokes. It's my turn to make lunch for the station, so I go up to the kitchen and start to make spaghetti Bolognese while Dylan sets the table.

When it's done the team gathers around the table and starts to eat. We were half way through dinner when the alarm sounded. Immediately we all jolt up and rush to get ready. I slide down the pole and grab my protective gear and rush to engine one. Dylan and I jump in the back while our captain drives. "What's the story cap?" I shout through the coms. "A building downtown is after exploding and a fires broken out. People are still trapped inside" he responds. I turn to Dylan, "I had a few more hour and then I was off. I blame you, you jinx us" I joke. He chuckled and shake his head at me. When we get there, we hop out if the engine and get our gear on. The police already had people sectioned off a safe distance away from the fire. I turn to the nearest police officer, "Do you know how many are still inside?". "No! But we can see people on the 2 floor at the windows". Dylan's and I nod. We both burst through leaping through the fire. We cautiously make our way to the second floor. We get to the room and see a little girl crouching down beside a man on the ground, "Daddy? Daddy! Wake up!". I reach the girl first, "Hey we're going to help you and your Daddy okay?".

I pick up the little girl while Dylan takes her father throwing him over his shoulder. I hug the girl into my chest trying my best to protect her as best as I could. We run out if the house and get the two to the ambulance. I look and see reporters and people at the boundary trying to see what's happening. The rest of the team are trying to control the fire spraying water onto the building. I see the building is ready to collapse, it's barely staying standing. "Do you think we got everyone?" Dylan asks. I shake my head, "I don't know". As if someone heard us, your question is answered,

"HELP! HELP!"

I turn to the building. There's someone still inside. Part of the building collapses on the right hand side and a scream follow. We hear the girl behind us struggle after the paramedics, "That's my sister! Reagan! Someone help her". The building starts to crumble, the doorway was engulfed with flames and was seconds from falling. Without even thinking I take off in a dead sprint back into the flames. "Y/N DON'T" Dylan calls from behind me. But it's too late, just as I get through the door it collapses behind me. Gotta find another way out now. "Reagan! Reagan where are you?" I call out throughout the house. "I'm here! Help please!". I try to navigate my way through the dense smoke. I stumble through and find a the girl pinned down under some debris. "Okay Reagan, when I lift the wood off your leg, I need you to move your leg okay sweetie?". She nods and starts coughing. There just be a lot of smoke in her lungs

I need to get her out if here now.

"Okay one the count of 3 okay? One...two...three!" I use all my strength to lift the burning wood up. The debris burned my hands and they were in excruciating pain but I held it up. She pulled her leg away and I dropped the wood. It was clear she was struggling to breath. I looked around trying to find an exit point. The door was blocked after it collapsing so that was a no go. There was no other way but up. I remember seeing a window on the second floor. If I get to the window I can get the girl down to the team. I quickly make my way up the stairs not trust the stability of it for much longer. When I get to the top, I see a line of fire blocking us from the window. I unzip my protective jacket and wrap it around the girls as best as I could trying to cover both of us as I hold her close to my chest, "I'm going to need to to hold on really tight okay". I run and jump through the flames and make my way to the window. I use the my axe to break the window. I stand in the window and call down to them, "Get the parachute! You need to catch her!". The team quickly get the parachute and spread out in front of the window. Once they were ready I'm about to throw her down for them to catch her using the parachute but she clings onto me, "No don't drop me!". I look at the little girl, "Listen to me okay. They are going to catch you. I promise, but you need to go now". She slowly nods. I toss her out the window and she lands in the middle of the parachute. The team gets her out of the parachute and to the paramedics quickly. "Cmon Y/n!" Dylan shouts up. But before I can jump, the ground underneath me collapses. My body hits the ground hard and I can feel more debris land on top of me. All I can hear is yelling and screams before everything goes black.

Christen's Pov

The team were gathered in Kelley's and I's room going team bonding. Some were playing cards on the floor while other were talking or playing on their switches. I was looking up ideas for the wedding when I hear Allie shout, "Is that Y/n?". I look up at the TV and see Y/n jump out if the fire engine and scan the building. "Kelley turn up the TV" I say. She nods and turns up the volume and hear the report talking, "We're here in downtown LA as firefighters arrive on the scene as there are still people trapped inside. A gas line explosion started a fire and had engulfed the building in flames". The camera pans to the building. And we watch Y/n run into the building. "I never knew Y/n was a firefighter" Alex says. People nods along with Alex. We continue watching the news report and we see Y/n carry out a little girl of the house and hand her off for he paramedics. "Go Y/n! She just saved that little girl" Emily shouts. I breath a sigh of relief realising that she's safe now.

That is until there's an update.

"We've just got news that firefighter have rescued two from the fire." The reporter was cut off by a scream. The camera turns to the building, part of the building collapses. And all you can see is the blur of a firefighter's uniform sprint into the house just as the door collapses.

Please don't be Y/n. Please don't be her

I feel Tobin grab my hand and I squeeze back. "We've just got an update that there is still someone trapped inside, but it seems a firefighter has rushed back inside. The other firefighters have been fighting the fire and seem to be getting the fire under control but part of the house is still heavily engulfed in flames" the reports answers. After what feels like eternity, we see the firefighter with another little girl at a window on the second floor. The firefighter breaks the window and throws the girl down to where the other firefighters caught her using a big sheet. But before the firefighter could jump down the house collapsed as the firefighter disappeared for sight. My breath caught as the building fell in on itself reducing it to a pile of rumble. The whole room is silent and I feel feel my eyes water thinking the worst. Thinking that it was Y/n that was now trapped in the building. We could see firefighters immediately rush to put out the last of the fire. Finally the fire is put out and the firefighters start to dig through the debris.

My heart breaks when it turns back to the reporter, "It appears that firefighter Y/n L/n is now buried under the collapsed house after saving a little girl in the house. The rest of station 23 is searching for her. But at this very moment there is no updated on her condition". I let out a sob as it hits me.

Please be okay. I don't know what I'll do if she isn't okay

I start to break down crying. I feel someone wrap me in a hug as I try to buried myself into them. Praying that Y/n will be okay. I don't know how long it's been when I pull myself together enough to stop crying for a bit. I pull away to see it was Kelley hugging me and that the rest of the team left the room. "It's okay Christen. She's going to be okay you just got to have faith" she whispers to me. "She better be because I can't imagine life without her Kel" I rasp out.

Just then there's a knock on the door. I look at Kelley before going to answer the door. When I open the door I see Y/n's captain standing there still in uniform. I shake my head, "No this can't be real". I don't believe this, she's can't be gone.

"Chris"

I turn down the hallway and see Y/n leaning up against Dylan. Her face is covered in soot and her hair is all stuck to her face. Her hands are wrapped in bandages and she seems to be putting all her weight on her left leg as she uses Dylan as her human crutch. Once I snap out of my daze I run to her wrapping her a bone crushing hug. "It's okay. I'm okay. Everything's fine" she whispers to me. "How did you-". "The team pulled me out if the rubble quickly. I have a few bruised ribs and I'm a bit battered but I'll live" she interrupts me."I was so scared" I cry into her shoulder. "Hey you proposed to me. You ain't getting rid of me for a long time"she says before pulling me into a kiss. When she pulls away she wipes away my tears,

"I'll always come back to you"

There we go! Hope you guys enjoyed this imagine. If you have any prompts or requests feel free to message me or leave them in the comments. I also have a new book out so go and check it out if you like. Updates might be a bit slow for a bit cause I still have to finish school and Christmas is always manic in our house. So until next time, bye!

#woso #uswnt imagines #christen press imagines #christen press #christen press imagine #christen press x reader #kelley o'hara #tobin heath #allie long #uswntsoccer #uswnt #uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #uswnt woso

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deansmyapplepie · 4 years

Text

Plus One - Part 2

Pairing: Dean Winchester x reader

Tags: wedding, sweet!Dean, anxious!reader, wedding planning

Word Count: 1,114

A/N: I wasn’t expecting to do a part two for this, but it was requested, and I love how it turned out!

(Gif not mine)

You groaned loudly, allowing your head to fall onto the wooden table with a loud thunk. This was ridiculous.

"You okay over there?" You peered up through the curtain of your hair to see Sam gazing over at you in amusement. You gave another groan, and he set down his book, giving you his full attention. "Wedding planning not all it's cracked up to be?" Setting the magazine catalog you had been searching through aside, you reached up to massage your temples.

"So many flowers," you said in bewilderment. "Why the hell are there so many flowers? I don't even know if I want flowers!" Somehow, you had literally wasted the day away leafing through pictures of lilies, hydrangeas, baby's breath, and, of course, roses. Sam reached over to squeeze your hand reassuringly, drawing you out of your thoughts.

"Y/N, you know you don't have to have flowers, right? It's your wedding," he reminded you. "You can have as much or as little as you want." You let out a breath. It wasn't like that thought hadn't already crossed your mind.

"I guess I didn't realize doing this all on my own would be so..." You waved your hand through the air, not quite sure what word you were looking for.

"Stressful?" Sam filled in. You pointed at him enthusiastically.

"Exactly! I mean, I've seen The Wedding Planner, I just thought they were exaggerating that it takes a miracle worker for everything to go right, you know?" Sam chuckled.

"Well, if it comes down to it, you and Dean could always elope." A smile made its way onto your lips as you took a look around you. Now, there was an idea.

"I guess we could just do our vows in here and call it a day, huh?" You shook your head as you leaned back in your chair. It would certainly make everything a lot easier. But then again, you wouldn't get your ceremony. "I don't want to do that, though," you admitted. "I know we don't even have that many people we could invite-"

"Jody," Sam interrupted. "Claire, Alex, Donna," he listed off. You rolled up your magazine and whacked him playfully.

"I didn't say we didn't have anyone to invite, you dork." Sam held up his hands in defense to block your attacks, grinning. "I just..." The moment of half-assed joking was over when you sighed. "I want it to be special." He gave you a sympathetic look.

"I wouldn't stress about it too much, Y/N. When it's all said and done, I know you won't have any regrets about what you and Dean decided to do." Once again, he was right. At the end of the day, all that really mattered was that you and Dean got to say, "I do." The bunker door opened, and the two of you looked up to see none other than your soon-to-be husband coming in.

"Speak of the Devil," Sam joked. When Dean peered over the railing and saw you, his face lit up.

"Hey, you two," he greeted. Grocery bags rustled in his hands as he came down the staircase. "I got pie." You couldn't help but snort. As if he even needed to say it at this point.

"Your fiancèe is having some pre-wedding jitters," Sam pointed out. Dean glanced at you, eyebrows raised in question.

"Is she, now? No cold feet, I hope." You stood and brushed a strand of hair behind your ear.

"She is right here," you said. "And not a chance." He smiled down at you sweetly.

"Good. I like the way 'fiancèe' sounds. And I'm gonna life 'wife' even better. Hi, baby." He leaned down to press his lips against yours.

"Hi." Your impressive spread of wedding catalogs and magazines caught his attention, and his eyes went wide.

"Wow," he mused. "That's a lot of stuff."

"I know, right?" Dean gave a small shake of his head.

"Sammy, you feel like taking care of groceries?" Although he looked less than thrilled, the younger Winchester took the bags from his brother and headed toward the kitchen. "How long you been workin' on all this?" he questioned. Sighing, you ran a hand through your hair with a shrug.

"Since right after you left, I think." Again, Dean raised his eyebrows at you.

"Seriously? I've been gone all day."

"Yeah." You nodded. "There's tons to choose from. To be honest, it's stressing me out a little bit." Your fiancè held out his arms for a hug, which you gratefully accepted.

"Sweetheart, I know I said I would leave the picking up to you," he murmured into your hair, "but that doesn't mean I don't want to help." You smiled. Although he had been nervous about the wedding at first, his anxiousness had faded much faster than yours had. Actually, he had been fine right after the two of you bought the ring. "This is a big project," Dean continued, "so, you tell me what you need me to do, and I'll do it." You had a whole list of things that needed doing, but the pressure of it all made even the most simple of tasks get so jumbled in your head.

"I don't know," you admitted miserably. "I know we're hunters, and I know it seems stupid to get this upset over wanting our wedding to be perfect, but-" Dean cut you off with a shake of his head.

"Baby, it's not stupid at all," he reassured you as he traced comforting circles into your arms with his thumbs.

"It's not?"

"Of course, not. I want it to be perfect, too. You're right: we are hunters. Sure, we don't have a ton of money to spend on a ceremony, and there won't be tons of people there," he said, "but Sam, Cas, and Jack'll be there. I'll be there." He cupped your cheek in his palm, looking you in the eyes tenderly. "You’ll be there. And I don't know what type of dress you have picked out because you won't let me see-" You snorted. "-but I do know that you'll outshine every other bride in the world because you're my bride." Damn, did he ever have a way with words. Standing on your tiptoes, you gave him a small peck on the lips.

"I love you."

"Love you too, babe. Now, what do you say we make a dent in this, huh?" You nodded.

"I say, let's do it."

"All right." Dean took a seat at the table, positioning himself right in the middle of all the chaos. "Let's start with flowers." You groaned loudly, tilting your head back.

"Dear God, please, anything but the fucking flowers."

Thank you so much for reading!

As always, links to my taglist, masterlist, and inbox (requests are open!) are in my bio! <3

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#Supernatural #fanfiction #Supernatural fanfiction #Dean Winchester #Sam Winchester #reader #female reader #original female character #Dean Winchester x reader #Dean Winchester x female reader #Dean Winchester x original female character #weddings #wedding planning #anxious!reader #sweet!Dean #unexpected part 2 #:)

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spaceskam · 5 years

Text

i’ve only kissed out of fear (2/4)

Summary: michael and alex drive to santa fe to elope

part one - part two

ao3

Anxious fingertips tapped against the steering wheel.

Michael barely slept the night before even though he knew he had a long drive ahead of him. He had made up his mind about telling Alex and he’d gone over a million different ways on how to say it without it upsetting him. Well, there was no stopping the probability of him getting upset. He was telling Alex something really, really serious. He might get upset, he might leave, he might go tell his military dad, and Michael might end up cut open on a table with five guys in masks poking and prodding at his intestines.

But there was a chance he wouldn’t care and that chance made it worth it.

Alex threw open the car door and climbed inside at 6:30, not wasting a moment before he leaned over and caught Michael in a kiss. The sun was still making its way to the sky but shined brightly enough. No one was really around, so there was no shame in their slightly overwhelming good morning kiss.

“You’re early.” Alex mused as he rested his forehead against Michael’s. Michael grinned helplessly, tracing his finger across Alex’s jaw slowly. His hair laid flat against his forehead and there wasn’t a trace of makeup on his face, the imprint of his pillow still lining his cheek. He clearly had jumped straight out of bed and ran here. Was it possible to love him more?

“So are you,” he whispered, slowly moving in for another kiss. He made sure to make it good, just in case, it was the last. By the time Alex pulled away, his face was red and he looked dazed as hell. Michael ran his thumb over the other boy’s lips.

“We get to do that all the time, huh?” Alex grinned, nudging their noses together.

“Alex,” Michael began softly, cupping his cheeks in his hands as he kept their foreheads together. It was now or never. “I gotta tell you something.”

His face dropped, “You-you don’t wanna get married?”

“No! No, I do, I really, really do, that’s not it.” Michael promised, not moving from their close proximity. He never wanted to. “I just… I want you to know everything. You deserve it, I trust you. I trust you with… my biggest secret ever.” Well, the second biggest. He wasn’t ready to admit to murder. “If, if it ever came out and you didn’t know, I’d hate myself. I don’t want you thinking I, like, betrayed you or lied to you or something. You deserve to know.”

“Okay, what is it?” Alex said softly, his sweet face full of concern. Michael closed his eyes, taking slow breaths as Alex moved to hold his face right back. “It’s okay.”

“I-I’m… not from here,” he said softly. Alex gave a soft laugh as his thumb rubbed over his cheek.

“I know, you were found in the desert,” Alex said. Michael shook his head, trying to remember how to breathe properly.

“Promise you won’t freak out.” Michael pleaded softly, opening his eyes. Alex’s eyebrows slowly pulling together. He gripped Michael a little tighter. “I… I’m not human.”

“That… that’s a really weird joke, Guerin,” he said softly, his grip loosening. Michael moved his hands to overlap Alex’s, holding them in place against his face.

“It’s not a joke. I… I don’t actually know where I came from, but I’m not human. I’m… an alien, I guess.” Michael whispered his voice more than a little shaky. Emotions shifted through Alex’s eyes at high speed as he tried to process what he was being told. He gave Alex’s wrists a little squeeze. “You-you can ask me anything and I’ll do whatever I can to answer them.”

“I’m confused. I don’t get what you’re saying.” Alex said, his hands going limp against his face. Michael tried hard to keep them in place, but eventually, let him go. Alex leaned back, staring forward as he processed the new information. Michael tried really hard not to take it personally. “So… you’re not Michael?”

“No, no, I’m Michael. Everything I’ve ever told you, everything I feel about you is 100% real. Everything is real. I just… I’m not human.” Michael tried, watching Alex run his hands through his hair. He didn’t run. That has to be a good sign.

“Are you, like, a lizard in a human suit or something?” Alex asked. Michael cracked a smile, shaking his head.

“No, this is how I actually look. I promise you, everything is real.” Michael explained. Alex paused for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip as staring out the windshield.

“Okay, then how do you know that you’re not human? I mean, you look human, you feel human, you said you don’t know where exactly you come from, so how do you know?” Alex asked, finally looking back at him. Michael thought about reaching out but decided he’d let Alex make that move. If he wanted to make that move.

“Well, my earliest memory is hatching out of a stasis pod,” Michael admitted, watching Alex’s eyes widen, “But mainly, I have powers.”

”Powers?”

“Well, one power. I can…” Michael trailed over, slowly leading a water bottle from the backseat and opening it without touching it.

“Holy shit.” Alex breathed, staring at the bottle before staring at Michael. “Who all knows?”

“No one,” Michael said softly, still trying to gauge Alex’s reaction. He hadn’t left, but he still seemed at least a little freaked out. It was going as well as he could’ve rationally hoped. “I can’t tell anyone because I don’t want to become some government experiment and it’s really hard to find people to trust. But I trust you and I love you and I would feel so, so bad if you found out some other way.”

“How else would I find out?” Alex asked softly. He’d seemed to relax more in the front seat, fully facing Michael again. It gave him a bit more hope.

“When I was younger, I used to kinda… lose control whenever I got angry. I’m really good now, I’m not dangerous. I-I never was, but, you know, just so you know… I’m not dangerous.” Michael said. Alex nodded slowly, still taking it all in. “If you don’t wanna get married anymore, I totally get it. Seriously, I get it. That’s why I wanted to tell you, so you had all the facts before… making it all official.”

Alex eyed him carefully, “You still love me?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

“And everything you told me was real? Down to even the small stuff, like why you left the group home and your favorite food?”

“Down to even that.”

“Then,” Alex said, reaching across and grabbing Michael’s hand in his. Michael was pretty sure Alex had actually punched him in the face and this was a dream. “I still wanna be with you.”

“Really?” Michael breathed, squeezing Alex’s hand tightly. Alex smiled, leaning across the console and pressing his lips to Michael’s. He felt like he could breathe again. “Oh, dude, I was so scared you were gonna freak out.” Alex snorted a soft laugh, pressing a kiss to his nose and his cheek before sitting back in the seat.

“Guerin, you are the one thing in my life that gives me a little hope that shit gets better. I don’t care of you’re an alien or a fucking vampire, as long as you were telling me the truth about everything. And I think you were because you really did risk a lot by telling me with all my military connections.” Alex joked. Michael knew it was a joke, but it definitely made him a little nervous. That idea was scary. He’d just given the perfect, horrific weapon to destroy him if things go bad.

He hoped things never got bad.

“So, you still wanna be my husband?”

“Yeah, Michael,” Alex laughed, giving him a smile that melted away all his nerves.

“Then let’s go.”

The drive was relatively quiet for a while as Alex messed with the radio until he found a solid station. Michael looked over every once in a while as Alex hummed and carefully did his makeup in the sun visor while humming along to a song Michael had never heard before. It felt so normal as if Michael hadn’t just admitted he was an alien and they weren’t on their way to get married.

“Okay, so let’s talk,” Alex said after he’d managed to do his eyeliner nicely while Michael was driving on the shitty Roswell roads. “Got a lot of stuff to discuss before we’re lawfully wed.”

Excited chills ran down Michael’s spine at the playful tone in Alex’s voice, “Like what?”

“Like… how we should have an open marriage.” Alex said. It took a lot to make sure he didn’t swerve off the road.

“What? Alex‒”

“No, look, I don’t know when I’m gonna be able to even talk to you, much less see you again. I don’t want you forcing yourself to be lonely because of me. I’m not saying go start a whole second relationship, but… if you want to sleep with someone else, I’m not going to be angry.” Alex promised, his socked foot slinging over and landing in Michael’s lap. He let his hand drop onto it, rubbing small circles into his ankle.

“Okay, fine. Guess the same applies to you. But don’t, like, fall in love with some buff Marine or some shit.” Michael said, pulling Alex’s leg up and placing a kiss over his sock all while never taking his eyes off the road. Alex bubbled with laughter, the soft kind that made Michael feel weak.

“I’m not even joining the Marines! If anything, it’ll be an Airman,” he teased.

“Hey! That’s not funny!” Michael yelled, the smile staying plastered on his face the whole time. Alex leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his head before settling back. “Okay, so, my turn. When you do get to come back home, are you gonna stay with me? Or are we gonna have to keep up appearances of us not being together and you stay with your dad? Because I am gonna get a place and stuff. For us, if you want.”

“Yeah, I want that. Look, I know this is just so you’ll know if I get hurt, but I really want to come home to you. I want to write you or call you when I know my dad isn’t gonna hurt you for it. I want a life with you, Guerin, so of course, I want to live with you.” Alex insisted and Michael held his leg a little closer.

Michael didn’t want to admit how much he dreamed of living with Alex. There were so many unspoken promises that came with a marriage, like having a sink with two toothbrushes in the same cup or setting a place for two at the table or doing the dishes together or cuddling up together to watch a movie and falling asleep on the couch without any worries of being caught. They were small, but Michael had never had anything like that before. There were a million little intimate things that made Michael excited for a life with Alex. His excitement stayed as long as he ignored that Alex would be gone for most of it.

“So, uh, straying a little bit from the marriage topic, you said I could ask anything about you being a fuckin’ Xenomorph,” Alex said lightly, nudging his foot against Michael’s stomach. Each time Alex spoke about it like it wasn’t a big deal made him feel a little more loved, a little more wanted. “Are you the only one?” his tone had taken a more serious turn and Michael but his lip.

“Uh,” Michael paused, debating if he should out Max and Isobel. He had been the one to break their pact, it felt a little wrong to put them on the line too. However, he found it hard to lie to Alex. He’d have to compromise. “No, it wasn’t just me.”

“Let me guess: Isobel Evans?” Alex said. Michael’s lack of response proved to give him his answer. “Yeah, thought so.”

Michael snorted, “What do you mean, ’thought so’?”

“Well, it was either that or you’re fucking because there’s no way a girl like that hangs out with a guy like you unless you’re related or you’re banging,” Alex said as if that wasn’t the grossest thing he’d ever said. Michael screwed up his face in disgust.

“Dude, why are those the only options?!”

“You give off bad boy vibes and pretty rich girls like that. I really just assumed you were screwing for a long time, it’s why I kept my distance.” Alex admitted. Michael glanced over at him with a wild smile.

“Seriously? You’re telling me I could’ve had more time with you but you thought I was screwing my sister?”

“In my defense, literally no one knows you’re siblings,” Alex laughed, “But yeah, I was really convinced you were straight. You don’t exactly seem gay, Guerin.”

“‘Cause I’m not.” He didn’t have to look over at Alex to know he was raising an accusing eyebrow. “Been doing some research. Bisexual is the word.”

“Ah, okay. But I didn’t know that either, thought you were straight.” Alex said. Michael hummed in response, wishing he wasn’t going 75 MPH down the interstate so he could be giving Alex more attention. Holding his foot didn’t feel like enough.

“What helped convince you I wasn’t? Was it the kiss or the sex? Or did you still think we were just buds until I agreed to marry you?” Michael asked.

“Oh, shut up!” Alex teased, scooting closer and peppering kisses down his neck and over his shoulder. How was he supposed to focus on the road when that was happening? That was hard as hell.

Eventually, Alex stopped with the kisses and just rested his head on his shoulder. It was a sweet reminder that they got to have a whole 24 or so hours of this. They were headed to a city where no one knew them, they could hold hands walking down the street and they could eat out and play footsie beneath the table. Sure, they might garner some negative attention, but honestly, anything was better than worrying about his dad. Besides, even if they couldn’t find the courage to hold hands, they could spend the whole night cuddle up and doing whatever they wanted in the privacy of their own room. That sounded so good. Their room.

“So what about last names?” Michael said after a moment of silence, “I don’t know how I feel about being a Manes Man, but it’d piss your dad off and I’d be down for that.” Alex snorted, pressing another kiss to his shoulder.

“As great as that sounds, we can’t change our names because my dad’ll find out and that’s exactly what I don’t want,” Alex said. Michael squeezed his leg again and tried not to think too much about the position Alex was slumped in. He was a little too cute for the average man to handle.

“We don’t have to do it legally, it can be just between us. And I know the Manes family name has a whole lot of history, so I’m assuming you wouldn’t want to change it.” Michael said simply. However, Alex let his fingertips walk down his arm and led down to where it laid against his leg, wrapping his hand over Michael’s.

“I’d prefer to take yours, actually.”

“Why? Guerin doesn’t mean shit. It’s what they gave me when no one wanted me.” Michael scoffed, letting his head tilt to rest against Alex’s.

“To me, the name Manes just ties me to a group of people I don’t want to be associated with. I hate that I’m supposed to be a Manes Man, I hate that I’m expected to join the military. I just want to be Alex, I don’t want all the shit that comes with the name Manes.” Michael didn’t fail to notice that he cleverly left out that the name was also conveniently tied to the people who hurt him the worst. “You’re right that the name Guerin doesn’t mean much. But it means you and it means hope and it means something we can turn into meaning family and love. It’s a starting point with no expectations but the ones we want.”

Michael’s heart swelled with adoration. He’d made the right decision. Marrying Alex, trusting Alex, deciding to build a slightly unconventional life with Alex. No one else could make him feel like that, no one in the world. He didn’t know how to handle it.

“Okay, we can do that,” Michael said softly, clearing his throat as he tried to suppress the urge to pull over to make out with him. He didn’t know how else to respond to what Alex had just said. “But Alex Guerin sounds kinda weird. Alexander Guerin, however.” Teasing worked.

“I swear to God, if you start calling me Alexander, I’m going to divorce you.” Alex laughed. Michael took a slow breath as he smiled uncontrollably.

He got to have this. This was all his. No one could take it from him. Even if they wouldn’t be able to speak, it didn’t matter. Alex would come home to him. This was it. Fuck whoever was in the sky that had yet to come back for him, they didn’t matter anymore. He had Alex. He didn’t need anything else.

“Guess you’re gonna have to divorce me then.”

#it's really hard to write actions whenever they're driving #malex #malex fic #michael guerin #michael guerin fic #alex manes #alex manes fic #roswell new mexico #roswell new mexico fic #rnm #rnm fic #secret marriage au #multipart fic #part 2

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loose-cannon-aka-mark-barber · 4 years

Text

My How a Wedding Changed

Hello my friend who is reading this in the midnight or early morning .. I don't know you not really but I wish you joyful and happy life full of good things and i wanted to tell you this big world is still beautiful and full of hope .. just look into that horizon and take a deep breath, we are all in this together, from the alter to the grave

Believe in what is meant to be... even if you cannot see.. whenever you start losing hope, always remember the words god spoke..."I've paved the road.. now it's your energy that must evoke.."Trust in your creations, trust in divine time. Stay in the now because you can't go forward or behind.. Only in your mind..Can you travel such time. Make it a stellar one.

Weddingwire- The largest study of today's wedding planning journey in the U.S. based on data from over 18,000 newlyweds married in 2018.

58% Marry someone with a different background

22% Grew up in different regions

18% Have different religious beliefs

17% Have different ethnicities

15% Are of different races

23% MET THROUGH FRIENDS

55% DATED 2+ YEARS

72% LIVED TOGETHER

35% OWNED A PET TOGETHER

Whether it's getting engaged around the holidays when family is coming together (19% of proposals happen in December) or inviting loved ones to witness the actual proposal or party with you after, today's millennial couples are opting to make their engagement a highly shared experience. And even if the moment is a private one (nearly 1 in 3 engagements take place at home) the reality is a picture, story, view of the ring – or all the above – will be shared on social media for all to see within a few hours.

TOP ENGAGEMENT DATES

Christmas Day continues to be the most popular day to get engaged, with 7 out of the top 10 most popular days to get engaged taking place in December.

Did you know? The majority of couples are engaged for over a year, with the average engagement length lasting 14 months.

75% get down on one knee when proposing

64% share their engagement on social media within a few hours before sharing with family.

Couples' love affair with fall continues, as nearly 40% of all weddings take place during these three months, September and May. October (the 19th day was the day for most) In looking at couples who got engaged in 2018, September and set a date to get married in 2019, October is looking to be another popular month to tie the knot.

On average, couples spend nearly 2 hours a week planning their wedding and spend 80% of their time planning online. When looking at online planning behaviors based on time of day, mobile usage peaks from 9PM – midnight after couples are home from work and often multi-tasking, though Sunday is also a popular planning day on mobile.

TODAY'S COUPLES BY THE NUMBERS

Although every couple has its own identity, we see that race, sexual orientation and/or cultural roots can create similarities among newlyweds of similar backgrounds. For instance, Asian brides are less likely to wear white than the national average, and while the size of LGBTQ weddings continues to increase (now 110), the number of wedding party members remains a bit smaller than the average wedding.

AVERAGE WEDDING COST BY

CATEGORY,2018,2017,2016,CEREMONY/RECEPTION

VENUE$9,000

CATERING$6,700

BAND$3,900

PHOTOGRAPHY$2,400

WEDDING RINGS$1,900

WEDDING PLANNER$1,850

REHEARSAL DINNER +

ADDITIONAL MEALS$1,800

VIDEOGRAPHY$1,800

FLOWERS$1,800

EVENT RENTALS AND PHOTOBOOTHS$1,700

DRESS$1,700

LIGHTING AND DÉCOR$1,400

DJ$1,200

TRANSPORTATION$1,050

WEDDING PARTY ATTIRE$800

HAIR AND MAKEUP$650

CEREMONY MUSIC/MUSICIAN$600

WEDDING PARTY GIFTS$600

INVITATIONS/STATIONERY$550

CAKE/DESSERTS$550

BEAUTY AND HEALTH$550

FAVORS AND GIFTS$450

GROOM'S ATTIRE$400

JEWELRY$300

OFFICIANT$300

ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGEMENT RINGS$5,000

HONEYMOON

HONEYMOON$4,500

WoW..... There are many reasons why couples decide to elope. One of the more common is because their parents or families don't approve of the union. Typically, weddings are an occasion when the family comes together. ... If a couple does not have the funds, they may choose to elope to reduce the stress and financial burden.Oct 17, 2019

For Alex and Lacy

Loose Cannon

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callibop · 6 years

Note

How does Olivier tell he family about the baby? How does Alex feel about it? Do they know about her and miles?? Ahhhhh I gotta know all the things!

Title: Family Fallout

Rating: G

Ship: Olivier/Scar/Miles

Word Count: 1174

Summary: A visit to Central leaves Olivier faced with the prospect of introducing her son (and her lovers) to her family. How does her family react?

Read it on Ao3: Here!

“Olivier, it would behoove you to come see Mother and Father while you are visiting Central, and I know Catherine Elle would love to see you!” Alex’s voice boomed through the telephone receiver. Olivier groaned. It had barely gone nine in the morning, but between Husam’s crying and Basir and Fadi complaining that they “never saw her anymore,” she had barely gotten any sleep.

“We’ll see, Alex. Now shut up. I’m trying to sleep.”

“But sister! It’s already well past when you should have woken! Is something troubling you?”

“I had three needy men demanding my attention all night. I don’t need you making more demands on my time now.”

“Th-three?? Olivier--” She slammed the receiver down, silencing her brother. The satisfying ding of the bell inside brought a smile to her face.

“Liv,” a voice called, still gruff with sleep. She turned, surprised to see that it was Fadi sitting up, a still-sleeping Basir curled up against him. “Liv, please. Come back to bed.”

“Husam will get fussy soon if I’m not there.”

“But we miss you.”

“Your son is important too, isn’t he?”

Fadi huffed, and laid back down, settling against Basir’s warm frame. “When you’re done, come back to bed.”

“Of course,” she replied, her usually harsh exterior fading away as she smiled at her husbands. She waited until she heard Fadi’s gently rumbling snores before she walked to the crib she had requested be placed in the hotel room.

Husam was nearly six months old now, and getting bigger every day. He certainly was an Armstrong. She stroked his hair, the color having changed, lightening to be almost as white as Basir and Fadi’s, though it still held some of the Amestrian blond pigmentation. She smiled as she felt the strands, as soft as her own. It was nothing like her husbands’, all stiff and coarse from years of living in the desert.

She hummed softly as her son opened his eyes, the striking red of the Ishvallan people staring back at her. She picked him up as soon as his hands reached for her, walking slowly around the room while she cradled him, speaking to him in her stilted Ishvallan. She was making progress with the language.

“Such a good boy,” she murmured, pressing her lips to his forehead. She could deal with Alex later. For now, she wanted to take care of her son.

***

“I don’t want to go, Miles.”

“They’re your family, Olivier. They should at least have the chance to meet him.”

“And what do I do when they ask questions? His eyes are Ishvallan, and no matter how much I love him and you, my family doesn’t know. They wouldn’t understand.”

“Then we make them. Fadi and I will come with with you.”

“I… I just don’t know.”

“Let us come with you. The whole family. You trust us, don’t you?”

“Well… Well yes, but--”

“But nothing. We face this together.”

“And what do we do when my family throws us out??”

“It’s your house, isn’t it, Olivier?” They both turned as Fadi walked toward them, Husam in his arms, the baby giggling.

Olivier sighed, taking their son into her arms. “You won’t let it go, will you?”

“Not a chance,” Miles replied, a grin plastered on his face.

***

“Olivier!” Alex boomed as she stood in the doorway. Basir and Fadi flanked her, and Husam was wrapped securely in a blanket, and attached to her back. “It’s good to see you! And Major Miles too!”

“Lieutenant Colonel, actually,” Miles corrected gently.

“Oh, of course. I had quite forgotten. Please, do come in.”

“You’re quite the welcoming host, all things considered,” Olivier growled, stalking past her brother. She noticed the way Alex reacted when he realized it wasn’t a backpack she was wearing.

“And who is this handsome fellow?”

“Husam Alexei Armstrong. My son.”

“A fine name for a fine boy,” Alex agreed. “Now come along! Catherine Elle has been expecting you, and she’s quite ready for tea.”

They walked through the mansion, Alex narrating their trip as though he was leading a tour. Olivier sighed. Alex had no idea that both Lieutenant Colonel Basir Miles and the man formerly known as Scar had already been here, and for quite some time as well. However, Alex had yet to comment on Fadi’s presence, and so she relaxed just a bit.

Catherine Elle was waiting for them in the parlor, her dress a lovely pastel pink. Olivier’s eyes narrowed. Her baby sister had an innocent smile, and Olivier settled herself on one of the couches, removing Husam from his sling.

“Olivier! Who is this adorable munchkin?”

“My son.”

“I have a nephew! Oh he’s adorable! Can I hold him? Please, Olivier?” Catherine’s eyes were so big, the blue seeming to shine with the trademark Armstrong sparkle. Olivier looked to Basir and Fadi for help, but they were busy chatting with Alex in another corner of the room. Hesitantly, Olivier held her son out to Catherine.

“Just be careful,” Olivier warned, nerves evident on her face.

“Oh I will be don’t worry. But he’s just the cutest thing! What’s his name? I bet it’s something fierce, isn’t it?” Catherine cooed over her nephew, smiling at his grabby hands and red eyes. “Is it Major Miles who’s the father?”

Olivier spluttered. “L-lieutenant Colonel Miles’ relationship with me is st-strictly professional and that you would--”

“I’m not an idiot, Olivier. Look at him. He’s adorable. And clearly has Ishvallan parentage. So? Is it Miles?” When Olivier didn’t respond right away, Catherine clapped her hands. “Oh it’s so wonderful you found someone! When’s the wedding? Or did you elope? You know mother won’t be happy when she finds out--”

“She won’t. Find out.” Olivier gritted, her hands reaching for her child. “And if you ever want to see Husam again, you won’t mention his parentage to her.”

“O-of course, Olivier.” Catherine didn’t fight, handing Husam back to his mother. “But I don’t think she or father will mind. They’ve always thought you and the Lieutenant Colonel would be a good match if one of you ever left the Military.”

“What?”

“Oh yes, they talk about it all the time. You and Miles are such good friends, after all, and you’re already so close. They like to bring up the time you brought him to that Yule party the one year.”

“Mother and Father… Like Basir?”

“Yes, they do! I’m sure, if you talked to Fuhrer Grumman about it, there’s no reason it couldn’t be made official. After all, isn’t he working for Brigadier General Mustang?”

“Well…” Olivier turned to look at Miles. “It would be nice but…”

“But you love the Scar-Faced handsome man over there too, don’t you?”

Olivier nodded. “He’s a good man, and he’s changed.”

“Well, perhaps you should tell them. Things have changed, you know. Amestris is a new nation.”

Olivier nodded, leaning back and continuing to let Catherine Elle play with her nephew. Perhaps things had changed enough that… somethings could be brought into the open.

#fullmetal alchemist #fanfiction #olivier mira armstrong/scar/miles #meet the family #sorry this took so long!#hope you enjoy the fluff!#fluffmonger

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kcookendrick · 6 years

Text

to build a home

Who: Adam Levine and Anna Kendrick (anam)

When: October 5th 2018 around 1am

Where: Adam and Annas home in California

What: Adam and Anna are trying to clean up after their house welcoming party but get a little distracted.

trigger warnings: small nswf

trigger warnings: small talk about ivf and fertility issues

Anna: The party had finally ended, it started at 7:30PM and ended around 1AM. She was exhuasted, she was still sick but Anna was wide awake. It overall was successful, and even though Anna wasn't a party person the women wouldn't mind doing this every once in a while. She liked hosting and putting every thing together, in another life Anna would probably be an event planner. Finally kicking her heels off in her own home, Anna walked into the kitchen to start cleaning up the food and anything that was left behind. The playlist she had put on was still playing, but it was low and Anna was wondering where Adam was. "Hey babe.." She called out, and started to wrap up the left over food from the catering place.

Adam: He wouldn't necessarily call himself sick anymore more than he just had the left over bits of a cough, but he was hoping to feel completely better by later on that morning. Their house-warming party had just ended, and it was a little later than Adam had expected but he had a good time. Most and if not all of their friends had showed up to welcome them into their new place, and now, Adam was exhausted. He'd have to go to this IVF appointment with Anna after just a short few hours of sleep, and then jump right back on a plane for a show later that night. It was a miracle that he hadn't burnt /himself/ out yet, with everything that he thought that he could manage and what he was doing. Adam walked down the stairs from their bedroom upstairs just as he heard Anna calling his name, and he lets out a yawn as he makes his way into the kitchen. "What's up?" He asks, watching her for a moment. "I wanted to change."

Anna: She knew how tired he was, and Anna didn't blame him. She was wide awake, and wasn't ready for bed yet but Anna figured she'd let him go to sleep and she could clean up. They did have to wake up early for a doctors appointment though, and the women couldn't tell if she was nervous or scared about it or both. Taking a breath, Anna continued to wrap up the food but continued to pick at it as well. She was hungry, considering she didn't eat much tonight. When Anna heard his voice, she smiled softly to herself and then looked at him "Do we keep all this food,or throw it out?" Ann questioned, and then looked at him "I'm wide awake, so you can sleep while I finish cleaning okay?" She questioned "I'm glad that your mom and siblings came tonight. It was nice seeing Sam and Liza. I haven't seen them since Dusty's party. Well I barley saw them there but it was nice."

Adam: "Depends, do you want it?" Adam asked, letting out a small laugh. He still didn't understand why they had even hired a caterer in the first place for things little like they had gotten, but he didn't mind it. There was just too much of it left over. "I'm not gonna make you clean up by yourself." He says, shaking his head. "Just keep a little bit of whatever you want and then we can throw the rest of it out, alright? I'm pretty sure everyone cared more about the alcohol than they did the food anyway." He kisses her cheek and then moves around the kitchen to help her clean up. "I know. Sam's reaching my height and it's scary, I don't like it. I think it's time to knock him down off his high horse a little bit." He teases, "Liza loves hanging out with you, you know."

Anna: "I do, since I don't cook. I should probably learn though." Anna laughed a little, and then closed her eyes for a few moments after taking a bite of a piece of bread. "Baby you're exhuasted, I'm fine. You need to leave again tomorrow right after the appointment." Anna said, and then looked at him "That's true, I think everyone loved the fact that we had a little bar." She laughed, and then closed her eyes once again as he kissed her cheek "He's not the youngest,right, isn't Liza?" Anna questioned, and then smiled softly "Does she? Cause I like her a lot, Sam's cool too."

Adam: “You can cook pancakes. Breakfast is a good start.” He grins, letting out a small laugh before shaking his head again. “No, don’t worry about it babe. The quicker we clean up, the quicker we get to go to bed.” He teases, his eyebrows raising playfully for a moment before he chuckles. “It’s always the bar that wins out before the food. Next time should be a bring your own booze party.” He nods, “Liza is, yeah. She’s still kind of not over the fact that you and I are dating. Wait until we finally tell them that we’re engaged.”

Anna: "Breakfast food is the only thing I know how to cook." Nodding her head, she rolled her eyebrows and then smiled softly "Yeah yeah. Wait, I actually like the sound of that. Do you.., do you think it was too obvious that I didn't have one thing to drink tonight? Considering tomorrow is our appointment.." Anna asked, and then looked at him "I.., about that when do you want to tell them we're engaged? Cause I think Liza already knows I can't have kids.., or well might not be able too." Taking a breath, she looked at him and continued to eat the sushi that was left over from the appetizer platter. "Please don't leave tomorrow, I don't want you to go back."

Adam: “You act like that’s a bad thing. It’s not.” He can’t help but to chuckle when she rolls her eyes at him, and then shakes his head. “No, I...I don’t think so.” He says, clearing his throat. “You were off and mingling around with everyone and everything, so I don’t really think anyone was paying much attention to it.” He sighs, “I...I don’t know, babe. She knows, I think, yeah, but the only person who knows we’re engaged right now in my family is my mom. I didn’t know what you wanted to do about that.” He watches her for a moment and then moved to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. “You know it’s only a few more days, right? I’m home on the 15th. For good.”

Anna: "I mean, I wish I can cook other things I'm just too lazy to do that though." Anna said, and leaned in to kiss him softly. When he cleared his throat, Anna let out a small breath and chewed her lips "I.., I mean only Zac and Aubrey know that I'm trying to get pregnant and Meryl. No one else, but Aubrey wasn't here so it was just Zac and Meryl but they wouldn't say anything." Anna said, beginning to feel her eyes close, she didn't realize /how/ tired she was until now. She thought she was wide awake but she wasn't "Well, she was there when your mom found out what I had just found out, and I think she overheard our conversation maybe." Shrugging her shoulders, Anna sighed "It doesn't bother me, if Liza knows." Finishing up the sushi, Anna headed for the crackers and cheeses platter, she didn't realize how hungry she was. "We can tell them baby, they're your siblings. I mean I want them to like me, but I.., are you ready to tell them and other people that we're engaged?" Anna questioned, and then looked at him "I know, but I hate it when youre gone. The house is too quiet, and too lonely." Taking a sip of water from the cup she had earlier, Anna moved over to him and wrapped her arms around her neck "Have I told you that I love you recently?"

Adam: “Has Aubrey talked to you at all yet? I talked to her a few days ago for a bit, she said she was sorry that she couldn’t make it but that she was sending us a gift.” He says, “I don’t think so. Speaking of Zac, we should think about how we want to or when we want to ask him and Alex to be the witnesses for our wedding.” He sighs. “Yeah, I...You’re right.” Pausing for a moment, he looks at her and then nods his head. “I am, yeah. If you are. You’re the one wearing the ring.” He teases, “I know. I miss you too much when I’m gone.” He whispers. Putting his bottle of water down on the counter, he begins to smile a little as he looks down at her. “Mm...not since this morning, I don’t think.” He whispers. “I love hearing it.”

Anna: "No." She said, looking down Anna stopped herself and took a breath "I feel like I haven't talked to her in months, /since/ I broke down in front of you about me and her. I.., I don't think I've fully talked to her since the first pregnancy test was negative. I didn't.., I didn't even talk to her then." Anna wasn't sure if she was making sense, but she missed her best friend. Swallowing hard, Anna sighed ant then looked up at him when he mentioned Zac "I'm not sure, I think you and I need to sit down and talk at least a little bit about this whole eloping thing. Are we waiting for the right moment, or are we just going to run back to Fiji in a few weeks and actually do it?" She questioned, Anna didn't know how this whole eloping/getting married thing worked. At least Adam knew a little bit about it since he /was/ married before. Chewing her lips, Anna pressed her forehead against hers and she smiled "And it's a beautiful ring." Anna said, and kissed him softly once more "Well I love you, very much and thank you for tonight."

Adam: “Baby...” Adam starts, voice quiet as he begins to frown now. He had told Aubrey when they were texting for a little bit the other night that it wasn’t his place to comment on her friendship with Anna. It never would be, but Anna missed her and he could tell. “I know you miss her,” He says, frown deepening. “She...she’s gonna try and make it up to you, I think.” He leans in to kiss her forehead once more. “I think we should figure it out. I don’t know when we want to do it but I know I want to do it at...some point soon, anyway.” As she smiled, he brings his hand up to her face and moves her hair away as he kisses her back. “Why are you thanking me?” He asks, chuckling. “I love you too, babe. Can the rest of the cleaning wait?”

Anna: When his voice becomes quiet, Anna swallowed hard again. It bothered her, it bothered her that Aubrey wasn't here tonight to help her celebrate her new home like she has every other home the women had purchased, since they've known each other. At times, it just felt like they were drifting apart and it upset her. "I know she's with Chris, and she's happy and they're in Italy but sometimes I just need my best friend you know? I mean she's my best friend here in LA, anyway. My real best friend is Meg, maybe you can meet her when we go to Maine. I miss her too, a lot" Anna felt like most of her friends were guys, and the women didn't mind that but at times she wished she had a few other friends that were girls. As he kisses her forehead once more, Anna closes her eyes and rests her head on his chest "I want to do it soon, please. Because I love you, and I can't wait to marry you and be a Levine.." And just when he pushes her hair away, Anna kisses him softly again an then looks at him "Becuase, I don't know. I just.. I surprisingly had fun tonight. I usually don't at parties." Anna shrugged her shoulders "I.., I mean I guess so."

Adam: “I know you do. I feel like that a lot too...” It’s all he says and his voice is still quiet. He hadn’t heard a lot from Jake these days, aside from the little bit of time that he had popped in and out for Dusty’s party before quickly leaving afterwards. The two weren’t as close as they were over the last couple of years and Adam would be lying if he said that it still didn’t bother him up to this day. “Oh yeah? I’d love to, babe.” He says. As she mentions his last name, he finally begins to smile again as he kisses her back once more. “Mm...I love that. That you’re gonna be a Levine...” He teases, wrapping his arms around her to pull her closer into him. “I wanna cuddle,” He whispers. “We have to get up early.”

Anna: Looking up at him, Anna had almost forgot that his best friend was Jake and Anna still felt guilty about everything that had happened between the three, but also happy since she had fallen in love with Adam. She knew that Jake had showed up at Dusty's party, but the man obviously didn't say hi to her or come find her anyway. Anna chewed her lips and then buried her head in his chest "I'm sorry baby." She whispered, and then looked at him "Yeah Meg, she's been through literally /everything/ with me. I was her maid of honor, and that's the /only/ wedding I'll ever be apart of because I hate them but since it was Meg, I had too." Anna said, and then looked at him "Do you think, do you think Dusty will like Maine?" The brunette was a little nervous bringing the two year old, but her mother was excited on the other hand. "Anna Levine.." Anna mumbled to herself, and then smiled softly "I like the sound of that.." When he pulls her closer, Anna whines "But.. I.., I have to clean it can't just lay out."

Adam: “It’s okay. I’m here...he’s doing his own thing. I can’t really fault him for it. I mean—he’s...he’s Dusty’s godfather, so he can’t really stay away for long, can he?” He’s asking a rhetorical question because he doesn’t expect Anna to answer it. “That’s cute, babe. It shows that you really care.” He chuckles. “I do...yeah. I’m a little worried about the paparazzi and stuff, if there’s any, finding us. She doesn’t really like it and I usually try to make her feel comfortable.” He gently runs his hand over her lower back and lets out a playful whine. “Okay, okay...but you’re mine after.”

Anna: "Wait he is? I didn't know that." Anna said, now feeling even more guilty. Taking a breath, she listened to him speak and then smiled softly "Shes basically my sister, she was the person I cried too when I first ever got hurt by a guy, she was the person I told I wanted to continued with the whole acting thing. She's been there, you know? And I've been there for her, and I don't know." Shrugging her shoulders, Anna sighed "I know, there were a few paparazzi's the last time we were there, but we'll go spots and restaurants that's hard to find in Portland. I know my way around babe, I think we'll be okay." Anna presses her forehead against his, and looks at him "I'm scared for tomorrow." She whispered, and finally admitted.

Adam: “He is...I never told you that?” He frowns at the fact that he had left out such an important factor until this moment, and now he begins to feel bad as she takes a breath. “I get that. I think it’s sweet that you were her maid of honor. You should show me pictures.” He teases, running his hand over her back as he nods his head and presses it back against hers. His eyes find her own and he looks at her for a few moments. “You sure you wanna do this all over again?” He whispers, “You took all the...meds and stuff?”

Anna: “No you didnt.” Anna said and chewed her lips, the brunette swallowed hard and looked at him “Oh no, that was fetus Kendrick Im not showing you pictures of me with curly hair.” Anna said and then looked at him “Yes. I mean sex obviously isn’t working so... and yeah i’ve been taking all the medicine and stuff like that.”

Adam: He lets out a small breath. It’s not a sigh as much as it is a breath from his left over thoughts of feeling bad, but he can’t help but to chuckle at her words afterwards. “No? That’s not fair. You know I think you were cute either way.” He teases, “Mm...Yeah, sex isn’t working...but that doesn’t mean we should stop doing it.” He grins, then nods his head. “Okay, so...maybe we’ll have some better luck this time around.”

Anna: "Baby no, me with curly hair is /not/ cute. They're not Kerri Russell curls, it's Winifred Sanderson curly hair and it's not nice." Anna said, and kissed him softly one more time. "No I know, but it's just a little frustrating." Anna said taking a breath, and then looked at him "Maybe." Was all she could say, Anna kissed his neck and then looked down "What if it does work, and our kid isn't cute?"

Adam: “Babe!” Adam can’t help it, he’s laughing again. He picks up on the reference from Hocus Pocus right away and he’s laughing to himself as he shakes his head. “I don’t care, I wanna see it.” He teases, against her lips for a moment before kissing her back gently, his lips gliding over her own. “I know it is,” He whispers, tilting his head slightly with a sigh as she kisses his neck, “Let’s finish cleaning so I can take you upstairs...” He mutters. “Have you seen us?” He joked, “Our kid /is/ going to be cute.”

Anna: Shoving him playfully since he's laughing, Anna shakes her head "Nope." Anna said, and smiled within the kiss "We have sex all the time, it's not happening." Anna rolled her eyes, but then closed them and moaned a little when he kisses her neck "Okay." Anna said, and she tilted her head, then moved her hair so he can continue to kiss her neck. "She will be." Anna whispered

Adam: “Stop!” He’s still laughing, but the sound seizes when she mentions sex and he begins to grin. “Oh please, like I’m gonna stop having sex with you over something silly like that. You’re hot. You’ll always be hot to me, and I’m always gonna want to have sex with you.” He says. Pressing his lips further into her neck, Adam gently backs Anna up against a counter in their kitchen and moves his hands down to her hips, lifting her onto the counter to stand between her legs instead. “She, hm?”

Anna: Seeing his grin, Anna smirked a little and laughed "I'm hot?" Anna questioned, she never considered herself to be hot /but/ she did have an award that told her otherwise. "I'm always going to want to have sex with you. I've wanted to have sex with you the moment you walked into my door that night." Anna said, she always loved thinking about that night. With his lips going further into her neck, Anna moaned a little louder and she squealed when he lifted her up onto the counter. Wrapping her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist Anna nodded "I think we'll have a girl, if I get pregnant."

Adam: “Yes, you’re hot. I know that you hate being called those things...but you are. You’re so hot. To me, at least. You always will be.” He says, stepping closer as her legs wrap around his waist. He chuckles against the skin of her neck and the kisses continue until his lips close around her skin instead to gently suck on the places he was kissing, now intent to leave a mark on her. “Hm...” He whispers, “I think so too. I think...I think I want another girl, more than I would a boy. I’ll be happy either way.”

Anna: "I know I'm hot, I have an award that says hot&funny." Anna said, smirking and then laughed again. "I think you're hot, especially when you grow that full on beard." She said, and then Anna closed her eyes and licked her lips when he laughed against her skin. The breath on her skin sent chills all up and down her body. "I.." Moaning again, she took a breath "Try and give me a girl right now.." Anna whispered, she knew that wasn't sexy at all but the women was now turned on and didn't even care about the cleaning.

Adam: “The full beard still turns you on? Does what I have now get me anywhere?” He asks, whispering tone in his breath as he continues to suck on the skin of her neck, and he can’t help but to smirk at the sound of her moaned words. “What about...” He starts, “What about the cleaning...”

&*END

#&*para's #&*adam levine #&*anam #&*to build a home

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quicksilversquared · 7 years

Text

How to Fake a Marriage (Chapter 3)

Adrien Agreste is excited to go to London to get a degree in Physics- but he’s less excited about the ridiculous list of rules his father keeps giving him, especially since it’s clear that his father doesn’t trust his judgement at all. So what better way to rebel than to fake a wedding with one of his friends as soon as he gets to London?

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(AO3) (FF.net)

Nino let out a groan as he stumbled to the kitchen table. He hated Mondays, mostly because he hadn't yet broken his habit of staying up far too late on the weekends and so his sleeping schedule got thrown off. He was basically sleepwalking as he slumped into his chair and opened his laptop to peruse his Facebook feed while Alya toasted bread for their breakfast.

"What's new?" Alya called over her shoulder as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Anything interesting?"

Nino scanned the page with sleepy eyes, brain not quite comprehending the words in front of him yet. He needed his coffee first. "Uh. Ivan and Mylène posted new photos, Alex challenged Kim to a race, Nathaniel shared a drawing, Adrien changed his status to 'Married to Marinette Dupain-Cheng', Rose joined a scrapbooking club, Marinette-"

Alya choked and spat out her coffee all over the counter. "WHAT?"

Nino blinked up, puzzled at the scene in front of him. Coffee was dripping from the kitchen counter and had drenched the toast Alya had already made. "Huh?"

"What was that last one?" Alya demanded.

Nino consulted his computer, puzzled. "Rose joined a scrapbooking club?"

"No, before that!"

Nino looked again. "'Adrien changed his status to 'Married to Marinette Dupain-Cheng'- WHAT?" Nino exclaimed, suddenly awake as he jolted in his seat and stared at his computer screen in shock. "He did what?"

"He must just be kidding," Alya said as she hurried over to Nino's side. "What does Mari's profile say?"

Nino clicked on a few links as he maneuvered to Marinette's page and then he squinted at it. "Her status says...Married to Adrien Agreste. She changed her photo, too. Look."

Alya gaped as she plopped down in the seat next to Nino. Marinette's Facebook page had changed drastically from the previous day. Her cover photo, previously of the London skyline, had changed to a photo with her, Adrien, and three other girls and three guys. Marinette was wearing a blue wedding dress and Adrien wore a tux, and the others were just as dressed up. Marinette had a bouquet of white flowers in one hand. Her profile picture was a close-up of her and Adrien in their wedding attire.

That was definitely not photoshopped.

Adrien's page looked almost exactly the same as Marinette's. He used slightly different photos, though, and his profile photo was of him dipping Marinette into what was possibly the most romantic kiss they had ever seen.

"Bro," Nino said in absolute disbelief as Alya clicked through Adrien's posted photos. There were photos that had clearly been taken throughout the wedding, including one that had him and Marinette signing something and looking very cuddly as they did so.

"I can't believe it," Alya said, pausing on the photo. She looked like she was about to murder someone. "They actually got married. They signed a wedding license. What were they thinking? And why couldn't they even wait long enough to invite us and Marinette's parents?"

"Babe-"

"I DID NOT BUST MY BUTT TRYING TO SET THEM UP FOR YEARS ON END JUST FOR THEM TO ELOPE AND NOT INVITE ME TO THEIR WEDDING!"

Gabriel didn't check in on his son until two o'clock on Monday. He pulled up Adrien's Facebook page, expecting to see a couple new pictures of the apartment, maybe a status update on how the move went.

He was not expecting to see Adrien dressed in a tuxedo, standing next to a girl in a wedding dress and with the rest of a wedding party around them.

Gabriel gaped at the pictures as his brain shut down and refused to work. After a second, he scrolled down frantically, looking for some sort of explanation that would tell him that Adrien had gotten caught up in some elaborate ruse of some sort.

Instead, Adrien's most recent post read, "Just ran into her yesterday and we decided we had to get married! 3"

Gabriel's jaw dropped and he stared, mind stalling out. No. No way. There was absolutely no way.

"Are you okay, sir?" Nathalie asked as she entered the room with a pile of papers. She frowned when she saw Gabriel's mouth hanging open as he stared blankly at his computer screen. "Sir?"

"He got married," Gabriel said in disbelief after a long pause. "He got married to someone he hadn't even known for twenty-four hours."

That got Nathalie's attention and she hurried over to join Gabriel, dropping the forms on her desk as she did. "Who did?"

"Adrien did!" Gabriel gestured to the computer, tone starting to turn just a bit hysterical. "Look, he posted the photos! He didn't even said anything to me first, or I would have put a stop to it!"

"Tha...that was probably why he didn't say anything, sir," Nathalie managed. She was absolutely stunned as well. She had known Adrien for years and he had never seemed the impulsive type. His escapes, from everything from going to public school to slipping away from his bodyguard to go to a movie, were planned out in advance. He had a plan for everything, and he almost always considered the possible long-term consequences for his actions.

Getting married the day after moving to another country to a girl that he had only just met was decidedly out of character, to say the least.

"I need to get over there now," Gabriel decided, slapping the desk and bringing her attention back to him. "Nathalie, find plane tickets for both of us. We're going to go over there, figure out what's going on, and bring Adrien back. Oh, I knew this was a bad idea..."

Nathalie watched as Gabriel clutched at his hair, launching himself out of his desk chair and pacing back and forth across the room. As he started spinning in panicked circles, Nathalie turned her attention to Adrien's Facebook page. She couldn't spot any obvious signs of Photoshop having been used on the photos, and there were enough pictures that Nathalie strongly doubted that they were fake. The same photos were on the girl's page, and a dive a little deeper into her archives showed that the account wasn't at all new and that it was the same girl in both the wedding photos and in the earlier photos.

Nathalie bit her lip as her stomach filled with nerves. She had been hoping to find some sort of evidence that the photos were faked, but the evidence was piling up that Adrien had, in fact, gotten married after being in London for not even a day. The photos showed absolutely no evidence of photoshopping (and after years of working as Gabriel's personal assistant, Nathalie knew full well what to look for), the girl's account wasn't a fake either.

This was bad. This was very bad. Even ignoring how out of character this seemed for Adrien- was there some sort of blackmail involved? Coercion?- this was bad. The wedding would have all sorts of consequences that Nathalie was positive that Adrien wouldn't be able to handle. The cost to put it all together so quickly must have been absolutely staggering. The dresses and tuxes by themselves must have cost a pretty penny, considering that they were obviously designer, and what were the chances that Adrien had thought to rent the pieces instead of buying them? And on top of that they would have had to rush order the minister, the flowers the cake, the photographer, and reserve the clearly private garden.

Last minute rush orders for things like that did not come cheap. Nathalie knew that well after arranging for far too many last-minute changes for Gabriel photoshoots. And she doubted that Adrien's new wife had paid for any of it. Adrien had probably just volunteered to cover everything, bleeding heart that he was, and the little gold-digger had probably just happily accepted it.

Nathalie groaned as she returned to Adrien's page and saw a brand new post on the top. This one had a video and a caption of "Some wonderful people took a video of our special day so we could share it with everyone who wasn't there! Apologies for not inviting friends and family back in Paris, but we just couldn't wait! 3".

Nathalie was tempted to strangle Adrien the next time she saw him. Of all the irresponsible things...

She could already foresee the headaches sorting out this whole mess would cause.

The Dupain-Chengs had not been expecting their daughter to call them up Sunday morning with the news that she was getting married to her collège crush. She had explained that it was fake right off the bat, of course, but still. Unexpected.

And also very, very amusing.

Marinette had sent them updates via text all day Sunday as their little 'fake wedding at the courthouse' turned into 'impromptu ceremony in a garden complete with wedding dress'. Her parents had become more and more amused as things got more and more complicated.

"Ooh, they got some really nice photos," Sabine said gleefully as she opened the folder of photos Marinette had uploaded to her Facebook Monday morning. "Ooh, look at her dress! I can't believe her boss let her borrow that. It's gorgeous."

"She should ask if she can borrow it in the future when she and the boy get married for real," Tom said with a grin, leaning over Sabine's shoulder to get a better look at the photos. "It looks good on her. Are you texting her? Tell her I send my compliments to whoever did her hair."

"It does look really nice," Sabine agreed, sending the message. "And her makeup as well! Of course Marinette did say that her boss called in some of the company's hair and makeup people."

"Mmm." Tom grinned at the series of photos of Adrien and Marinette's dip kiss. "Aww, so cute!"

"I'm downloading all of these," Sabine claimed with a grin. "All of them. And my phone background is going to be this picture, right here. They look so into that kiss."

"I'm posting my congratulations," Tom said, grin spreading even further across his face as he reached for the computer. "Be the proud dad that doesn't question his daughter's decisions at all. It'll confuse everyone."

Sabine giggled as she gave up the computer so Tom could type comments for each of the photos. He started with the cover photo and Marinette's profile photo before putting little proud comments on every photo in the wedding album. With another mischievous grin, Tom headed over to Adrien's profile and posted a few "I can't wait to meet my son-in-law!" comments on his page as well for good measure.

"So how long do you give them before they get married for real?" Sabine asked as they closed the computer and washed their hands before heading back into the bakery. "Two years? Three?"

"You really think it'll take that long?"

Marinette and Adrien were having a very amusing day.

Texts, emails, and phone calls had been pouring from friends and family alike all day, ever since they posted the photos and changed their Facebook status. They gleefully ignored them, letting the confusion increase in favor of pretending they were too busy "honeymooning" to respond.

Of course, they were actually both working for Madam Rosalie- Marinette as an intern, and Adrien in the office filing paperwork as thanks for all of the help Madam Rosalie had supplied- but no one needed to know that.

"Oh, I got a comment from your dad!" Adrien said with a grin when they checked their Facebooks over lunch. "He said, 'I can't wait to meet my son-in-law! Lovely photos!' Nice man. I'm glad I have him as a fake father-in-law."

Marinette giggled. "Ooh, I wonder what Alya and Nino made of that."

Adrien grinned. "Oh, I bet their faces would be precious." He let out a snort at another comment and continued scrolling down. "I'm actually kind of concerned how many people I know actually think I would up and get married to a random person I supposedly met not even a day prior. I mean, I can kind of understand some of our friends from collège and lycée believing us since they know that we knew each other, but I'm getting congratulations from my photographer and a bunch of the models I work with, too...and from the Gorilla? Seriously? I thought he would know me better than that. I thought that he would recognize you for sure."

Marinette peered over his shoulder at his phone. "Any word from your father yet?"

Adrien shook his head. "Nope. I'm guessing that he's been too busy to check my Facebook yet. I'm sure I'll know the minute he sees it."

"What have you been doing for Madam Rosalie?" Marinette asked, changing the subject. "I haven't seen you all morning!"

"Oh, I've been neglecting you, my princess!" Adrien exclaimed grandly with a wide grin, grasping Marinette's hand and planting a kiss on her knuckles with a deep bow. "What kind of man does that to his brand-new fake wife?"

Marinette snickered.

"I've been putting my business degree to work and doing some paperwork for her," Adrien said with a little wince, releasing her hand and straightening back up again. "It's not my favorite thing ever, but it's not particularly difficult either. I'm just glad that she's letting me do something for in return for all the help she gave us yesterday. I'm sure she lost a bit of time getting that all set up for us."

"That was insane," Marinette agreed with a groan. "Everything really looked fantastic, though. I'm glad she helped out, even if it did take up several more hours of my weekend than I had planned for it to."

"I'm really sorry about dragging you into all of this," Adrien apologized immediately with a grimace. "I didn't expect for it to take so long either-"

"Really, it's fine," Marinette said hurriedly, before Adrien could get too far into his apologies. She had learned long ago that he had a tendency to overthink and get too worried about offending or inconveniencing others, and it was best to make sure that he didn't get too caught up in his (often unnecessary) concern. "I had fun, I really did. I would've just watched cooking show reruns all afternoon if I hadn't run into you."

"And quite literally as well," Adrien said, grinning and pressing his lips to Marinette's hand again. She groaned at the joke and pushed his face away with a finger on his nose. "Shall we get back to work?"

"I suppose."

Shortly after two, Adrien's phone lit up again. He glanced at it briefly before going back to his work sorting through the pile of forms on Marinette's desk, certain that it was probably just Nino or Alya again. And then it lit up again.

And again.

"Ah, I think Father maybe has noticed my Facebook post," Adrien said mildly as the texts continued to pile up, along with several missed calls. "And Nathalie has as well, it seems."

"Oh, great," Marinette said, appearing in the doorway. She set a fresh stack of papers down at the end of the desk. "Did the trick work?"

"It did. I'm almost a little offended that he honestly thinks that I would be stupid enough to marry someone I just met," Adrien said, watching his phone as the string of texts kept piling up. "And Nathalie believes me as well! Do none of my father's staff actually know me well enough to know that I would never do that? And never mind that, don't any of them remember you? I could understand my dad not recognizing you, but Nathalie and the Gorilla both met all of my friends loads of times."

Marinette giggled. "Are you still getting texts from Nino and Alya as well?"

"I don't even know. Father is burying everything in his freak-out texts and I had stopped checking earlier. If I looked at my messages every time I got a new one, I wouldn't get anything done." Adrien grinned as he set the phone aside and pulled Marinette down into his lap for a hug. "How long should we let him simmer before we let him know we were kidding?"

Marinette bit her lip, thinking for a long second. "A day? I feel like any longer and he would freak out enough that the tabloids would catch on."

Adrien snickered. Marinette gave him a look.

"We don't need the tabloids trying to report on our nonexistent marriage," Marinette scolded him, though her lips were twitching in amusement. "They would never leave us alone again and I'd like to be able to complete my internship in peace, thank you very much."

"Ah, fair enough." Adrien checked his phone again before tucking it away out of sight. Really, this was the best reaction he could have hoped for. He had been a bit worried that his father would see right through him and render the whole effort useless, but it seemed that his concerns had been completely unfounded. "So, do you think my father will be able to get a plane over today, or is it late enough in the day that he won't be able to get a flight until tomorrow?"

"What on earth could he have been thinking?" Gabriel exclaimed for the millionth time the next morning, more frustrated and impatient now that he was stuck on a plane and couldn't pace and shout without attracting attention from the other passengers. Gabriel Agreste didn't do attracting judging stares from strangers. He gestured to the photos filling Adrien's Facebook page yet again, as though Nathalie hadn't seen them a dozen times before. "He only knew her for a few hours! Oh, I knew I shouldn't have let him go off on his own..."

Nathalie, who had recognized Marinette Dupain-Cheng quite easily after the initial shock had finally worn off (several hours after initially seeing the post, but she wasn't about to admit that), didn't bother to correct Gabriel. She had analyzed the photos and Adrien's post again once her head was clearer (and then she headed back over to Marinette's Facebook page to check it against Adrien's again) and come to the conclusion that it was simply an elaborately staged prank. Adrien's wording was a little too perfect at suggesting he hadn't known Marinette for long when in reality they had known each other for years, and Marinette's page said nothing about only knowing Adrien for a few hours. Still, Nathalie wasn't going to alert Gabriel to her suspicions. She might be wrong, after all.

(Besides, Gabriel had gone a little overboard in his list of Do's and Do Not's for his son and watching his cool demeanor melt to pieces was amusing. As long as this was a prank, Nathalie heartily approved.)

(And, well, even if it wasn't…Miss Dupain-Cheng seemed to be quite a nice young lady, and she and Adrien had known each other for a while. It would be weird for them to skip over dating to go straight to marriage, but it wouldn't be the disaster Nathalie had initially assumed it would be.)

"I should have checked his page earlier in the day yesterday," Gabriel groaned, falling back in his seat with a thud. Thankfully the other passengers in first class had long since decided to ignore them. "Then we could have actually gotten a flight yesterday instead of having to wait."

Nathalie didn't respond. She personally didn't think the twenty hour delay would really make that much of a difference- after all, if Adrien was in fact married, there was nothing they could do about it now; if not, they had wasted money on airline tickets for nothing but it wasn't as though Gabriel's budget couldn't handle the cost. Adrien hadn't responded to the texts she had sent before they boarded the plane, giving him a heads-up that she and his father were coming.

Of course, Adrien could have responded while they were stuck in the plane. Nathalie wouldn't know for sure until the plane landed and she could turn her phone back on. Not having service was making her twitchy.

"Or we could have driven to London instead," Gabriel said, shifting anxiously in his seat and tapping his fingers restlessly against the armrest. "It would have been, what? Five hours, six hours?"

"Slightly over six with good traffic," Nathalie said without looking up. "And no offense, sir, but you get impatient enough on a one-hour plane ride even when Adrien isn't doing stupid things. You hate car rides longer than half an hour."

Gabriel grumbled under his breath and slumped in his seat. He corrected his posture a moment later and pulled out a notebook, stress doodling on a blank page. He didn't say much for the rest of the flight, though he did mutter under his breath quite a bit. As soon as they landed and had stopped at the gate, Gabriel was up and headed for the door, leaving Nathalie to snag their bags from the overhead bins before hurrying after him.

Gabriel powerwalked through the airport, sending people scattering to get out of his way. He summoned a cab with a couple sharp words (because Gabriel Agreste did not take public transportation, no matter how much cabs cost), and soon they were zipping off towards the neighborhood Adrien's apartment was in. Nathalie turned on her phone as soon as she was settled in her seat and frantically flipped through the messages that had piled up. All of them were work-related, most from having to reschedule the few meetings that Gabriel absolutely had to attend and that had been abruptly canceled and a few other messages from the inters that she had selected to attend other meetings and take notes for Gabriel to review later. With a sign, Nathalie finished scanning through them and stuck her phone back in her pocket. The meetings could wait; after all, she didn't know for sure how soon they would be able to head back to Paris.

Nathalie pulled her phone back out as it let out another chime, the custom one she had set up just for messages from Adrien. She raised her eyebrows at the dual texts from Adrien- 'Just made new Facebook post' and 'At Madam Rosalie's fashion business'- before setting the phone aside and navigating to Adrien's page on her tablet. He had posted another photo, set in the same park as before, and with the same wedding party as before. This time, there were more people in the photo, including quite a few in streetwear, and a woman Nathalie recognized as Madam Rosalie. The caption read: 'Thanks to everyone who helped us pull off the impromptu wedding! In case you haven't already guessed, it was completely fake. I'm slightly concerned by how many people thought we weren't kidding though! :D'.

Nathalie was torn between letting out a huff of exasperation and a relieved sigh at the confirmation that Adrien had not lost all of his common sense after all. She suspected that the timing of the prank reveal probably wasn't coincidental; after all, the best way to stop Gabriel from going on a rampage through London looking for his son was to come clean. She suspected that Adrien probably had anticipated this exact reaction from his father and had pulled the prank with the intention of provoking him, but she wasn't about to admit that to Gabriel.

"Adrien has posted something new on Facebook, sir," Nathalie said, holding out her tablet a bit gingerly. Mr. Agreste probably wouldn't break it in frustration. Probably. Hopefully. "You might want to read it."

"More photos with his new wife?" Still, Gabriel took the tablet without complaint, though there was a deep scowl on his face. "He should know better, she's probably some gold-digging floozy- oh."

Nathalie allowed her lips to twitch upwards before resuming her professionally blank expression.

"Ha-ha, very funny." Gabriel sounded completely unamused. "Very mature."

"They did a really good job setting it up," Nathalie said. It was impressive, really, even if it did look like most of the crew involved were involved in fashion and were probably used to staging things for photoshoots and runway shows. They were probably used to setting things up and making them look convincing on short notice.

"I suppose." Gabriel still didn't sound impressed and the scowl was still in place, though it was somewhat diminished. "I still fail to see why it was necessary."

Nathalie really didn't think it was that difficult to figure out. "Adrien probably decided to rebel against all of the rules you set for him. Technically, you didn't forbid him from getting married. Or from pretending to get married." She glanced back down at her phone and leaned forward to tap the cab driver's shoulder. "Change of destination to Rosalie Fashions. Adrien sent me a text," she explained to Gabriel.

"Right." Gabriel handed her tablet back over to her and settled back into his seat, displeased expression still firmly in place. "Let's go talk to my son."

It was shortly after noon on Tuesday when Nino picked Alya up from work for a quick picnic in the park. As expected, Alya immediately dove back into their discussion about Adrien and Marinette, picking up right where they had left off that morning.

"I wish we could have gone over to Tom and Sabine's bakery," Alya grumbled as Nino spread out their blanket on the grass. "Did you see Tom's comments on Marinette's page? He was totally fine with Marinette getting married in a foreign country with absolutely no warning!"

"I'm guessing that either Marinette called him beforehand or he already had words with her but wanted to put up a positive front in public view," Nino said reassuringly, hoping to get Alya to calm down. The surprise marriage was all Alya had talked about ever since they had seen the post, and Tom Dupain's comments had only served to add fuel to the fire. Alya was absolutely speechless that Marinette's parents didn't seem to have any problem with it, as was Nino. It was just weird. "Or he didn't want to create bad blood with them. Maybe they'll have another ceremony in Paris so we can actually go in person and see them instead of watching a video."

The video, which had dispelled all doubts about the legitimacy of the photos. It had been a lovely ceremony, no doubt, which made Nino wonder how on earth they had pulled that off on such short notice. Adrien didn't know anyone there besides Marinette and Marinette had only been there for a short while, so they couldn't have possibly made that many connections already. Maybe they had gone to a wedding planner. Nino wouldn't put it past Adrien; his best friend was a romantic at heart and would no doubt want the best for his bride, even if he had to pay a ton to get things done on such short notice.

Also, Nino wasn't completely convinced that Adrien was used to being concerned about money. Since Adrien came from such a rich family, he never seemed to flinch at the cost of anything. Hopefully Marinette could help him get better at managing his money before Adrien accidentally spent himself into a hole.

"And he posted on Adrien's page, too! Calling him his son-in-law! Did you see that?" Alya was on a roll. "And a bunch of models from Gabriel were commenting and congratulating him! For eloping! Some of them thought that he had only known Marinette for a day and they still thought it was super cool!"

"Models are cray-cray." Nino had thought that was weird, too, but maybe eloping with people they just met was normal behavior in the model world. He wouldn't know. He had only accompanied Adrien to a couple photoshoots before, and they had been ages ago. He hadn't really talked to many on the models there besides Adrien either.

"And I still can't get a response out of either of them!" Alya finished indignantly. "What are they doing?"

"Do you really want to know?" Nino asked dryly. If Marinette and Adrien had just gotten married, they could very well have decided to have an express staycation honeymoon before Adrien's orientation for classes started on Wednesday. He would rather not think about it. After all, it was their best friends that they were talking about. He didn't want to know what they were or weren't getting up to.

"I want to know what's going on! How on earth could they go for years and years knowing each other and not dating and then they just happen to bump into each other in London and decide to get married right off the bat? It's absolutely crazy!"

Nino's phone beeped with an alert and he pulled it out as Alya continued to grumble. A new Facebook post had shown up on his feed, so he clicked on it as Alya snarled about the injustices of the shotgun wedding. Another photo of Marinette and Adrien's wedding came up, filled with the whole wedding party and a handful of other people, including...Marinette's boss?

Confused, Nino scrolled down to see the caption.

"'Thanks to everyone who helped us pull off the impromptu wedding! In case you haven't already guessed, it was completely fake. I'm slightly concerned by how many people thought we weren't kidding though!' Smiley face. What the hell, Adrien?" Nino exclaimed, cutting across whatever Alya was saying. "What made him think that that was a good idea?"

Alya froze mid-sentence, her hands paused mid-gesture. "What?"

"It was a fake! Adrien just made a post about it." Nino passed his phone over to her. "That jerk! That's a crazy prank."

"Ooh! I can't believe them!" Alya was still steaming, even as Nino chuckled over the prank. It was really clever, now that he thought about it, and wow had they ever executed it well. He had absolutely zero idea how Adrien had managed to pull that off within 24 hours of getting to London. There were just so many details, from the dress and tux and flowers to the cleric and the flower gardens, all without alerting the press. Alya had figured out the previous night that the wedding party was made up of assorted people that Marinette worked with (a fact that irritated Alya to no end, since she should have been the Maid of Honor), so they probably had been easy to get a hold of, but the cleric? The garden? The designer dresses?

Absolutely insane. Nino wasn't believing anything Adrien ever said ever again. Or anything Marinette said either, the jerk.

"And I can't believe I fell for it!" Alya stormed. "Ugh, those jerks!"

"They were probably primarily trying to prank Adrien's father," Nino pointed out. Now that he knew that the wedding wasn't real, it hadn't taken him long at all to put the pieces together. Adrien had been grumbling about his father's crazy restrictions for forever, so of course he would probably take the opportunity to pretend that he had smashed those restrictions into pieces the second he was gone. It was completely hilarious.

….well, okay, he was still a little concerned about how much Adrien had spent on the fake wedding, but other than that it was completely hilarious.

That helped diffuse some of Alya's anger. A grin lit up her face. "Oh, man. What I would give to have been in the room when Gabriel saw that first post. He must have flipped, oh my god."

Nino snickered at the mental picture.

"I can't actually believe that they pranked Adrien's father," Alya snorted. "Oh, that's hilarious. But they're still not completely forgiven," she added. "They pranked us, too. They could have at least given us a heads up like they clearly did for Marinette's parents!"

Nino shrugged, still cackling away. As far as he was concerned, the whole thing was completely hilarious. There was no harm, no foul-

"Oh, shoot," Alya said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts as she suddenly lunged across the blanket for her phone, eyes wide and a slightly panicked expression on her face. "Oh shoot oh shoot oh shoot oh no-"

"What's wrong?" Nino asked, completely baffled as Alya brought up her text messenger on her phone and frantically started scrolling through the messages she had sent. "I'm sure if you said anything rude, Marinette and Adrien will understand it was just said in the heat of the moment."

"No, no- I mean, yeah, I said a couple rude things, but that's not what I'm worried about." Alya tapped Adrien's contact and scrolled up the wall of texts she had sent. "I, uh, might have sent a text to Adrien earlier on basically saying that I had tried to set the two of them up for years, so I was very offended that they didn't even invite me or let me know what was going on. And, uh, if they didn't actually get married, then Marinette probably didn't confess at all and, uh, I just outed her to Adrien by accident."

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #How to Fake a Marriage

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prettylittlefolkmore1997 · 7 years

Text

132 Thoughts I Had While Watching the PLL Finale

OMG Bridget Woo LOL nice throwback

This is like a dream sequence or someone’s imagination, right?

Definitely has to be Mona’s imagination.

Lucas WTF

Ha the girls don’t seem the least bit enthused with him “Hey Lucas”

"Remember when we used to look up murder weapons, indistinctive traits of psychopaths exhibiting signs of hyper-reality disorder” IM YELLING

JENNA! BITCH YOU IS BLIND WHY ARE YOU RIDING A HORSE?

I low-key love all of the truth tea they’re spilling, even though it’s not real

HA I KNEW IT WAS MONA’S CRAZY ASS

So Mona gets to know who A.D. is first?

OMG THEY ALL DID THE SHHHH

Aw Ezria y’all are cute.

YASSS ARIA OWN THAT UGLY CRY

OMG EMISON TWINS FUCK THEY’RE SO CUTE

Lily and Grace are such sweet names

DOMESTIC EMISON!!! HEY NOW HEY NOW THIS IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF

MAMA PAM YES

Melissa and Spencer getting along? Ehhhh idk about that

OW MY SPOBY HEART

Oh my god she re-bought his truck? I love Spencer so much.

Hey that’s Marlene’s son!

ADDISON YOU BITCH STFU

Alison would END YOU

Who bullies someone just because they’re deaf?

And there’s Jenna tapping along…

OH YES END HER JENNA

Lolololol she became a life skills teacher I love it

Haleb is still cute even when they’re fighting

MONA’S BACK YES

Of course she would be obsessed with game shows

Spencer’s love for interior design making an appearance, I love it!

SPALISON IS SO CUTE

Aria’s dress here is really cute!

"Wait for it”

Lol but I could so see them all going on a group honeymoon to Paris together

Oh shit where’s Mona?

"That’s exactly why we eloped." Only in Rosewood y'all

This scene was all Ian haha

They’re such a cute family OWW MY HEART

MELISSA???

Ella could take down Diane in a SECOND

Love me some Spanna!

EMISON IS ABOUT TO GET THEIR SEXY ON

LOL everyone casually sneaks off to go have sex and then there’s just Spencer and Toby

THEY’RE PLAYING SCRABBLE FUCKKKKK

Damn Ezria get it. Nice throwback to 5x05 with Aria pulling the sheets over her!

JESUS EMISON LET ME BREATHE

Emily has that sex hair right now!

"I’m trying to get pregnant” “You’re scaring my ovaries” Oh Hanna.

MELISSA STOP BEING CREEPY

OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING. SPOBY PARALLELS TO 1x19 OMG

Aria baby what’s wrong?

OF COURSE IT’S MONA UNDER THERE

So now Mona’s working for A.D.?

Aria I’m so heartbroken for you baby!!! (ALSO IS THAT THE SONG FROM THAT SUPER SAD SCENE IN SEASON ONE AHHH THE FEELS)

LOL Mona you sly bitch

Uhhh Spencer what are you doing?

ARIA APOLOGIZING FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO HAVE KIDS IM SOBBING

HOPE BREEDS ETERNAL MISERY OMG

Oh Hanna baby what is you doing?

Byron you big softie!

Poor Ella, but THE WINE MOMS ARE BACK YASSSS

OH MY GOD THEY’RE DISCUSSING HOW THEY GOT OUT OF THE BASEMENT LOLOLOL

Toby and Emily are such an underrated friendship

WOAH WAIT that girl is Maya’s niece? HOW SWEET

Spoby I miss you so much

LIMERANCE

Ah looks like the Wine Moms had a fun night

Ezria stop fighting right this second YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED

THIS EMISON PROPOSAL GOT ME CRYING AGAIN

“You wanna make a baby?” OMG STOP THEY'RE SO CUTE

SHIRTLESS TOBY MAKING A COMEBACK

FUCK ME UP this is so hot!!!!

UH SPENCER, weren’t you just with Toby doing the sex?

Oooh that’s the song that played when Spencer was sitting outside of Toby’s apartment crying her eyes out back in season 3!

MONA OMG. I do love the parallel to 2x25 though with that slap

FUCK FUCK FUCK I KNEW IT!!!! TWINCER IS REAL BITCHES!!!!

Emison is 500% done with Mary’s shit lol

Ohhhh this is how Wren is connected to this shit show

ALEX DRAKE

Of course he ordered a vodka soda

“It’s a lot to process, would you like a sedative?” YES PLEASE

Spencer wants to fuck this bitch up so badly lololol

Oh jesus she’s going to become Spencer? What a twisted sister!

I KNEW THAT SCENE WITH HANNA AND THE ONE WITH EZRA AT THE AIRPORT WAS OFF. I didn’t catch the one where she was looking through the family album though and GOD DAMN IT THAT WAS HER KISSING TOBY IN 6x20 AND HAVING SEX WITH TOBY IN 7x18

Like Mother Like Daughter BROOOO

Damn Alex is just batshit crazy and I’m kinda loving it.

I do feel bad for her though.

Woah hold up this bitch had Wren shoot her so she’d look EXACTLY LIKE SPENCER, like down to the scars she has. Damn she’s committed, I’ll give her that.

SHIT SHE REALLY IS INSANE SHE TURNED WREN INTO A DIAMOND

Awwww Aria looks so beautiful! GIRL I’M CRYING TOO

I’m gonna just pretend like that’s all of our girls taking that selfie

HOLY SHIT WREN IS THE BABY DADDY

NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR LUNCH MARY

That’s actually so sad about what Alex’s parents did to her. I get why she’s so angry, she’s had a miserable life.

Mary really does love Spencer

OH GOOD SHE REMEMBERS THAT SPENCER CAN PICK LOCKS

Aria baby noooo don’t cry

I figured that Alex had Ezra…

Do-it-yourself dungeon I’M YELLING

Lol the look on Spencer’s face says “Bitch stop copying me”

Ezra must feel like a dumb dumb now

Oh so Alex shot Spencer, intending to kill her and take over her life but Mary saved her. Alright.

Alright that’s kinda cute how Alex and Charlotte bonded

Alex, Wren, Charlotte, and Archer were a SQUAD

Uh Charlotte, the only really terrible one is Peter Hastings!

No wonder Alex was so pissed when Charlotte was murdered, she was the only real family she had ever known.

UGH I’m just gonna pretend this is Team Sparia

Uh-Oh the horse knows it’s not really Spencer

Of course Jenna could SMELL that Spencer wasn’t really Spencer

Alright so these dummies have been trying to figure out who A is after all these years and they just immediately get it right now? That was so easy and ironic thing is that they didn’t have Spencer to help them figure it out.

Mary ships Spoby and I’m living for it

Damn Alex, psychotic much?

I always figured it was A.D. who bought Toby’s house

RUN BITCHES

Alex with that hatchet is giving me “The Shining” vibes lol

HOLY SHIT IT’S THE DOLLHOUSE 2.0

EZRA YOU GOOD THERE HOMEBOY?!

Oh my god Alex copying Spencer like that gives me the creeps

TWIN FIGHT

God dammit WHICH ONE IS SPENCER?

AWW TOBY YASSS BABY YOU REMEMBER HER FAVORITE POEM

OH MY GOD THIS WEDDING IS SO CUTE I CAN’T BREATHE

Look at the babies!

MARLENE KING OMG she did the Shhh and everything

My babies happy… I LOVE THIS SONG

Aww Hanna’s pregnant!!!

STOP THIS LAST OT5 SCENE IS TOO MUCH FOR MY HEART TO HANDLE RIGHT NOW

Ok Mona having a doll shop in France is literally the cutest thing ever

She totally should’ve ended up with Mike though TBH

BROOO Mona literally won the game I’m so proud of my child

YOOOO THIS IS SOME SHIT OUT OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE. HAVEN’T YOUNG GIRLS IN ROSEWOOD LEARNED NOT TO HAVE SLEEPOVERS ON STORMY NIGHTS?

#pll #pretty little liars #pll thoughts #I loved the episode TBH #it was so lit

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valeriemperez · 7 years

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Personally I think that WA getting married in the xover is extremely unlikely. Not just because the Flash part happens on a Tuesday or because Error is the last show, but because narratively it makes the least sense. Barry gets out of the SF in 4x01, has issues with Iris in 4x02-4x03 that might mean they want to strengthen their rl until they get married...4x08 is too soon. B+I will be busy with their new equilibrium, the new team, and getting back to normal, so to me having them get married (1)

in 4x08 would be squeezing an awful lot into very few episodes. Plus they'll probably want to have a fun episode with a bachelor/ette party to lighten the mood, Barry and Iris actually planning the wedding etc. Not saying its impossible, but unlikely imo. It would feel a tad overwhelming to have it all in the first half. What I think is likely to happen is something happening (like Blackest Night, great minds, anon) and then everyone losing their minds trying to deal with it, and then when (2)everything is finally dealt with, OF decide to impulsively get married because they've realised how much they mean to each other after the drama. OF seem like the kind of couple to do that, plus Barry wouldn't suggest getting hitched randomly when Iris doesn't want to be an afterthought in decision-making (unless he asks and she says yes lol) and that's been their issue. I kind of think the writers want the WA wedding to be all about WA with guests, so I'm thinking/hoping 13-14.

I don’t think it makes the least sense, because O/F are much further from a wedding than WA. Barry and Iris already planned for a November wedding, so this wouldn’t be decisions being made without Iris. But I do agree that it would be a bit rushed for us fans - whereas it’s “okay” for S*nvers to be rushed because neither of them are the main character of their show and Maggie is no longer a regular. I think O/F deciding to elope or have a quick marriage at the end of the crossover fits their characters, but doesn’t fit with the hints we’ve gotten of the heroes gathering for a positive reason.

As for Blackest Night, I love it, but my only issue is that we have no Lanterns or Guardians. Obviously they can adapt it to take that element away, but it’s still a little sad.

At first I was a little worried about the whole "trust issues" storyline (not because I don't think it's totally legitimate for Iris and Barry to have a conversation when he gets back about communication, etc. but because I was concerned that might be used to significantly delay the wedding and I want one in S4) but then it occurred to me that I was also worried about Iris and Joe's relationship being messed up by FP and that was resolved in, like, an episode. LOL. So I think WA will be fine.

Exactly! You and I are on the same wavelength.

What if the "happy event" in the crossover isn't a double wedding, but like a wedding and a birth? Maybe Lyla is pregnant with the next Diggle baby and her water breaks at/on the way to/after the Westallen baby, and she gives birth while evading some villains with the help of Team Flarrow + Supergirl?

I would be happy to see Sara Diggle reborn, lol, so I’m all for it!

the actresses that play Maggie and Alex were seen with rings on the set, so either those are their engagement rings, or they're already married. The rings looked more like bands than traditional engagement rings, but idk about which kind of rings are for what.

It would suck if Maggie and Alex got married offscreen, so I hope it’s mutual engagement rings. That being said, if and when one of the shows films a wedding, I think we’ll know it’s happened and can decipher which couple it is from there.

#the flash #the flash spoilers #minute42 #tatiana's thoughts #anonymous #more asks under the cut #long post for ts

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spaceskam · 5 years

Text

i’ve only kissed out of fear (3/4)

Summary: a ceremony and a wedding night warning: mentions of abuse, a painfully long description of a wedding

part one - part two - part three

ao3

Michael looked good. Like ‘holy fuck how am I supposed to keep my hands to myself’ good.

Alex had always known Michael was attractive, it was a hard thing to miss, but it was usually in a rugged way. Unkempt hair, torn up clothes, the strong smell of must that was just made tolerable by deodorant if he’d gone without a shower too many days in a row. But today, their wedding day, he’d gone all out.

They’d checked into the motel room, courtesy of Jesse Manes, at around noon after they’d had lunch together for the first time in public. They didn’t work up the courage to hold hands, there were too many people around, but their knees touching beneath the table felt like a big enough step.

Regardless, they’d taken some time to get a little bit dressy before heading to the courthouse. That was when Michael had strolled out of the bathroom looking so good with his hair all tamed and his button up shirt all the way up tucked into tight jeans with a bawdy belt buckle, all tied up with a black cowboy hat. Alex had never really imagined himself with a cowboy, but Michael pulled it off so well that he proved to be an exception.

That being said, it took a little bit longer than planned to get to the courthouse due to one or both of them seriously lacking self-control, but they eventually made it. Now, they stood across from each other in front of a justice of the peace.

Alex watched as Michael mindlessly bounced on his toes, adoration filling every inch of his body. That was the man he got to marry. The hyper, giddy telekinetic alien cowboy of his clearly oddly specific dreams. Alex couldn’t be more satisfied.

Ideally, all their friends would’ve been there and they would’ve gotten a proper honeymoon and then gotten to go home together to wake up each morning in the same bed forever. That fantasy, however, included them actually planning a wedding and being a bit older. This would have to suffice. And it did. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this happy, this carefree. All because of him.

“You boys ready?” the JP asked. They hadn’t actually gotten her name. Or maybe they had and Alex just had been too focused on his future husband’s tight jeans. Did he mention Michael looked great?

“Yeah,” Alex said at the same time Michael had promised an “absolutely”.

And, with heavy breaths, they joined hands.

Alex admitted struggled to keep up with what the woman was saying. He’d always struggled with paying attention. Every movement and sound would steal his attention, usually driven by paranoia. His father would be loud with threats and slamming things, or he could be silent with swift aggression. Alex had become so accustomed to unwarranted attacks that he was strikingly aware of his surroundings at all times. It never bothered Michael when mid-conversation he would look off into the distance. He’d just sit quietly until he came back.

The woman officiating their wedding, however, didn’t have that practice.

“Alex,” Michael whispered as he squeezed his hand, amused eyes meeting his as he was dragged back into reality.

She was speaking, “…will take responsibility for the quality of your life together, abundance and delight will mark it.” Alex felt his face burn as he realized he’d almost zoned out during one of the most important parts. “Alex, please repeat after me. I, Alexander Manes, take you, Michael Guerin, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you all the days of my life.”

Alex repeated her words line by line even though he felt a little sick having to go first. It was like being the first one to present a project in class, only it was saying literal marriage vows. What if he fumbled? What if he embarrassed himself? What if Michael laughed at him and said it was all a joke? Of course, that’s not what happened. Michael spent the whole time smiling so wide it had to be painful, squeezing Alex’s hand, and bouncing up and down on his toes. It was the whole package that made it easier.

Once it was Michael’s turn, Alex was seconds away from exploding. Michael had given Alex countless heartfelt confessions, but hearing the simplistic vows made him feel gooey inside. It didn’t feel real, it felt more like a daydream he’d probably had when doodling his name into the margins of his notebook during AP Gov. But here he was, saying those things and making it even harder to think about when they would have to say goodbye.

“Alexander, do you have any special words you’d like to say?” she asked. Alex glanced at Michael and thought of all the romantic things he’d ever said and decided now was a better time than any to get his own piece.

“Uh, yeah,” Alex said, gulping softly as he looked Michael in the eye. Michael raised his eyebrows and traced his bottom lip with his tongue, settling his bouncing toes long enough to give Alex his full attention. Time to pull some romantic shit out of your ass. “Uh, I’m not really good at the romantic proclamations, that’s more your forte, but… Okay, so when I was little I wasn’t really allowed to watch TV because my dad was one of those people who thought it was rotting your brain, but I did watch it when I got to visit my grandma. She basically only watched, like, soap operas and really old movies that were boring as hell. Well, most of them were boring, but every once in awhile West Side Story would come on. I remember the first time I ever watched it because it was just, just a lot. It was so inspiring to me musically and artistically and I just loved it. So, so much.”

Michael grinned, “Didn’t know that.”

“Shut up, it’s still my turn,” Alex insisted, his face heating up even more as he gently kicked Michael’s leg and let his eyes focus more on the floor, “There’s this scene in it, the One Hand, One Heart scene and from the first time I saw it, I was captivated. Like, it’s easily the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life. I knew right then that that was what I wanted. I dreamed of having a love that was that encompassing, a love that made it so hard to be apart that you’d resort to having a wedding in a bridal shop in the dark as long as it meant being together. A love that was so strong that there was no silencing it, you had to tell that person regardless of the consequences. I never thought I’d ever actually find it. But then I met you. You make me feel so loved and wanted and cared for and hopeful. Every time I’m not with you, I want to be. I want to sing songs about you in the streets no matter what anyone says. It’s why I’m here right now with you because I’d rather elope with you than ever have to lose you. The lyrics of it say it, ’now it begins, now we start, one hand, one heart. Even death won’t part us now’. And that’s it. That’s us. You’re my dream, my future, my heart, no matter what.” Alex finished with a deep breath, finally looking back up to Michael. His cocky face had softened into something sweeter than he’d ever seen, his confidence placed to the side as he let a shy smile take over his red-tinted face. “Was that okay?”

Alex was a little lightheaded. Admitting something so personal was physically draining and nerve-wracking and almost embarrassing. He grew a greater appreciation for Michael and his willingness to be so open and honest. Honestly, he found himself loving him more just talking about it. Maybe that’s why Michael did it so often. It amplified things once they were taken well‒it felt good. Exhausting, but good.

“That was great,” the JP said with a smile, “Michael? Do you have any words?”

“Well, nothin’ I say’s gonna top that, but I’ll try to find something,” Michael said, rocking up onto his toes as he tried to gather his confidence. He shot Alex a wink and that charming little smile. Self-control played her part at keeping Alex from stepping closer. “Alex, you know me. You know things about me that absolutely no one else in the world knows. I am open and bare when it comes to you. It scared me at first because I didn’t get it. I didn’t get why I felt that way around you like I was just drawn to you. I needed your attention all the damn time and even when things got… bad, I still just wanted you around me. I don’t have much to offer, I’m not rich and I’m annoying which is a bad pair, but you take it. You take what I have with nothing but love. I never really had a family until I met you. You’re my family. Just like you said, you’re my future and my heart and you’re everything. Just… everything.” He ended up with a sigh, looking over to the JP with a wild smile. Alex rolled his eyes as fondly as possible.

“You’re absolutely my family,” Alex added softly, squeezing his hand once more. Again, that sweet smile. Could it be kissing time already?

“Do you boys have rings?” she asked. Alex didn’t expect anything in the form of a ring from Michael. They hadn’t actually talked about rings and they had decided so last minute that there hadn’t been much time to worry about that. Alex did, however, think about it and the fact that Michael’s left hand wasn’t exactly in a good shape for rings. In lieu of a ring, he’d taken the key that had been for his locker during school and put it on one of his chains.

Alex was digging in his pocket for it only to be shocked to see Michael doing the same thing.

“I don’t really have money, so I just made you one. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll fix it.” Michael said, that same mischievous glint in his eye as he pulled out a silver band. Something burst in Alex’s chest, tuning out everything else as fireworks sang in his ears. He made him a ring. Alex couldn’t even fathom how he managed to do that and make it look that good. God, he made him a ring!

It was something he would have to take with him when he left.

“Uh, I-I figured you couldn’t wear one, so I have this,” Alex said, pulling the chain from his pocket. It felt minuscule in comparison. Yet, regardless of how lame it was, Michael’s entire face lit up. Alex had to wonder if anyone had given him anything before, or put in enough consideration to know he couldn’t wear rings. He made a personal note to dote on Michael as often as he could.

The JP began speaking again, “…and the unending circle symbolizes that your love may never cease. Alexander, as you place the ri‒necklace on Michael, please repeat after me: Michael, I give you this ring, as a symbol of my love. I ask you to wear it as a sign to the world that you are my husband. With this necklace, I thee wed.”

Michael took off his hat, pressing it to his chest and he bowed his head to let Alex slip the chain onto him. His heart thudded hard against his chest as did so, Michael turning his head just enough to graze a soft kiss against his arm. “I thee wed.”

When it was his turn, Michael repeated the same words and slipped the ring onto Alex’s finger. His hands were shaky and he almost dropped it twice which had filled the room with their laughter, but he eventually slipped it on.

The rest of the ceremony could not move fast enough. Alex didn’t really want it to be over, but he did want to get his husband naked. They had even stripped the motel room from its gross sheets and blankets and replaced it with the newly clean blankets from Michael’s truck that he’d washed sometime during the night. He couldn’t wait to be wrapped up with him all night with no worries.

Their ‘I do’s came and went. When Alex heard ‘kiss the groom’, he thought he’d died and gone to heaven. That was the only phrase that mattered. They kept their kiss quick and signed the few papers they had to sign to make it all official even quicker. They barely made it back to the truck before they slammed into each other, frantically happy kisses being shared.

“I can’t fucking believe I have a husband,” Michael laughed against his lips, cradling his face like it was the only thing that mattered. Alex’s hands were admittedly wandering and he really wanted to get back to the motel room. He had fully intended to memorize every inch of Michael Guerin’s body along with the way he smelled and the way he spoke. He refused to forget anything about this man who he loved more than anything.

“Me neither.”

The motel was only fifteen minutes away, but it felt like an eternity. None of it felt real. Alex Manes: eighteen, future Airman, husband. Who the fuck would’ve thought that would describe him?

He hadn’t lied during his vows, he had genuinely spent his entire life idolizing an undying love that was as overwhelming as it was for Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria. He never thought he’d actually get it. He had a little hope until he started realizing that actually couldn’t happen. His father had tried to beat the gay out of him before he even knew that’s what it was. It took him too long to realize it, a good few years spent in denial and trying to conform to his dad’s wishes.

It wasn’t until the summer after ninth grade when he’d been shipped off to a military summer camp that he realized there was no turning back. A gorgeous 16-year-old future Marine named Emmett had spent most of the time he could trying to catch Alex’s attention. Alex thought it was weird at first, he couldn’t figure out why some guy wouldn’t leave him alone. His mind had been warped into thinking that it wasn’t okay, that it was something perverse. But eventually, he found himself wanting to spend all of his free time with Emmett as well, laughing and talking and standing closer than they really should’ve. It wasn’t until Emmett had pulled him to the side on the last night of camp that all the fuzziness in Alex’s mind had cleared up. Something about another boy’s mouth against his made him feel alive for the first time in a long time.

That feeling had mulled in his mind for weeks until he realized that wasn’t wrong. His dad was the wrong one in this situation. There was nothing gross about how he felt, there was nothing perverse about having a crush, there was nothing morally corrupt about being in love. And now, now that he was absolutely lost in love with a man who was smart and special and beautiful, there was no doubt in his mind that this was right. This was so, so right.

“Alexander Guerin, what a fuckin’ name.” Michael cooed, holding Alex close by his waistband as he fumbled to unlock the door to their room. It was a little too bright outside for Alex to go in for a kiss, but he still let his fingers mess with the belt around Michael’s waist. “My husband Alexander Guerin. Fuck me.” Michael laughed his disbelief as he finally got into the room.

Still, Alex smiled, “I will gladly.”

Alex was once again reminded just how right he was whenever he found himself hovering over Michael’s naked body. Michael looked good all dolled up, but he looked best when he was comfortable and bare. It made it that much better whenever Alex realized he had stripped off everything but the chain around his neck. When he eventually rolled over, the imprint of the key had pressed itself into his chest. Alex would be lying if he said that didn’t make him love him a little bit more.

“I liked your vows, Alexander. Don’t know if I mentioned that.” Michael said softly as he pulled Alex’s sweaty body against his. Alex draped his leg over Michael’s thighs, allowing himself to snuggle close. He didn’t plan to let go of Michael until he was forced to. He needed to soak in every minute he could get.

He was leaving way too soon.

“Please stop calling me Alexander,” Alex argued, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he witnessed Michael floating the remote to the TV into his hand. That was going to take some getting used to.

“Maybe.”

“So, is that all you can do?” Alex asked, getting distracted. Well, not completely distracted, his hands were still rubbing up and down the man he could now call his husband.

“Uh, I mean, I have a weird, kinda psychic-y bond with Max and Izzy, but pretty much it, yeah,” Michael said, not even bothering to turn the TV on as he moved to face Alex. The fingers of his good hand ran through his hair and Alex was sure the sweat in it was helping it stick straight up. He didn’t mind.

“They can do the same thing?”

“No, it’s kinda like we have specialties. Izzy can, like, get in people’s head, reads their minds. Like they don’t know when she’s there, but they can’t lie. She can even influence them to do something if she tries really hard,” Michael murmured, his eyes avoiding Alex’s just long enough to be concerning. Alex went to ask if she ever did something bad with it, but Michael was already speaking again. “Max’s thing is with electricity, but he has literally no control. He gets one strong feeling and he causes a fucking power outage.”

“Wait, is he the one that caused the power outage in school a couple years ago?” Alex asked, the amusement of it all taking over any negativity that came from speaking about Isobel. The amusement amped up to laughter whenever Michael nodded.

“Liz Ortecho touched his hair and he fucking lost it,” Michael laughed, moving his hand down to pull Alex closer. If Alex had a choice, he’d have Michael’s grip burned into his skin. “Nah, but he also can heal which is cool when dumb shit happens like that time I almost lost my foot to farm equipment.”

Alex smiled, but it didn’t last long. Especially when he caught sight of the gauze wrapped hand that was laying against his chest. His eyes focused on it. He knew how bad it was. Michael never talked much about it and he definitely didn’t go without it being covered in some way, but Alex knew it was bad. Sometimes when they were making out, he could feel the spasms that it had. Other times he’d seen Michael just flinch in pain that it caused him if he moved it a certain way or too often. Alex knew that it was his fault that Michael was suffering. Yet, now he was hearing there was a way to stop it and that Michael hadn’t taken it.

“Wait, he has healing hands?” Alex asked softly. Michael nodded simply, letting his eyes close as he leaned in for a kiss. Alex didn’t reciprocate. “Okay, so why didn’t he heal your hand? Why is it still messed up? If he can heal you, why is he letting you suffer?” Alex sat up, his stomach tied in knots. For a moment he felt almost as bad as he did that night.

“Alex,” Michael began softly, sitting up with him, “He offered to, I told him no.” Alex couldn’t see his own face, but he was sure it portrayed just how horrified he felt from hearing that.

“Why? Why would you tell him no to fix that?” Alex demanded, his voice coming out shaky. Tears burned at his eyes and his chest began to burn too. He couldn’t get a good breath. “Why do you want to look at that? I hate it. I hate looking at it. I-I hate it. I did that to you. Oh my god, why did you marry me?” Michael’s hand went to his shoulder.

“Alex, c’mon, you‒” Alex pushed him off, climbing out of the bed.

“No, stop trying to comfort me! Why didn’t you let him heal you? Why do you want that on you? Why-why are you with me if you want that on you? Why did you marry me knowing I’m the reason you’re mutilated?”

Sometime during his pacing and rambling, Michael grabbed his hips and made him stop and look at him. Alex wanted to tell him to let go, to stop comforting him when he didn’t deserve it, but Michael looked more serious than he’d ever seen him. He let him speak.

“Alex, too many people have seen the hand already. If he fixes it, it’ll get attention that I don’t want. I’m not risking getting found out because of something that I can handle just fine,” Michael said softly, moving his hands up to cup Alex’s face, “And it’s not your fault. It is completely on your father, not you. I don’t blame you. I will never, ever, ever blame you for that. Alex, you are not your father.” The words were said with such sincerity that he almost believed it.

“Okay,” Alex whispered as Michael rested his forehead on his own. Alex let out a slow breath, letting himself completely trust this boy. This man.

“I married you because I love you. Because I want to be able to see you and love you and be told if you’re hurt. I want the dedication that comes with it, with you. You are my family, Alex. and I will love you until I die. You can yell, you can try to push me away, you can hurt me. None of it will make me stop loving you. It’s you, Alex, it’s always gonna be you.” Michael promised. Alex let his eyes flutter closed, closing the little space left between them.

This kiss was a little different from the other ones they shared today. It was slower and filled with a little less giddiness from before. Instead, it was confirmation. It was sealing his words, his promises with a kiss. A kiss that made him forget his name and that he was upset.

It was admittedly jarring to really register that Alex had his own family now. Not one that hurt him, not one that he had to lie to, but one built on honesty and trust. He never wanted to lose it and it scared him to think that all the time they’d be spending apart in their future might cause exactly that to happen.

Michael eventually pulled out of the kiss, ending it with a soft peck on his nose and resting his head on Alex’s. He was still holding his face and Alex leaned into it, absorbing the positive energy that was coming off of Michael. That’s what he wanted to remember.

“I got us somethin’,” Michael said softly. Alex eyed him wearily which caused one of that take-out-the-sun smiles. “Don’t look at me like that, Guerin.”

Usually, when Michael let go, Alex would be left feeling cold, but this time he was too fuzzy with joy from the name to notice. He sat back on the bed. Michael went to the table where his bag that held basically everything he owned sat. He pulled out something wrapped in his shirt, unraveling it to reveal a bottle of wine.

Alex raised an eyebrow, “Uh huh, and where did you get that from?” Mischief doused Michael’s boyish features as he approached Alex again. His knees went on either side of Alex’s bare thighs as he sat on his lap, the bottle of wine grazing his back as Michael draped his arms around his neck.

Alex was scared he was going to run out of space with all the things he needed to remember about Michael Guerin whenever he left. This went to the top of the list.

“The Evans’ cellar.”

Alex’s eyes went wide as he laughed, “Dude, you can’t just steal shit.” He grabbed Michael’s hips, holding him in place.

“Says the guy who took how much from his father, hmm?” Micahel teased, bumping Alex’s nose with his own and resting their foreheads together. “No, but I really just wanted to celebrate with you since we don’t get a real honeymoon and they have a whole cellar, they really won’t notice. I even took the cheapest bottle they had, I checked.” Alex pecked his lips.

“Sounds good to me.”

Michael grinned and hopped off his lap. That time it did leave him feeling cold. Still, he watched as Michael grabbed the little plastic cups beside the sink. Alex smiled helplessly as Michael hummed and moved his hips as he poured the wine into the cups. If this was a glimpse of what it would be like when they lived together, Alex couldn’t wait.

Alex took one of the cups from his hands as Michael placed a kiss to the top of his head. An involuntary hum vibrated in his throat, his eyes lingering on Michael’s bare ass as he took a sip of the wine. Michael went back to his bag which was really a let down since Alex was hoping for more kisses. That let down was replaced with confusion when he pulled out a bottle of nail polish remover and that confusion quickly morphed into momentary horror when he began trying to pour it into the wine.

“What are you doing?” Alex demanded. Michael looked over his shoulder at him and it seemed to take him a minute before he even realized that what he was doing was weird.

“Oh! My bad, I’m not used to drinking with people who are, like, human,” Michael laughed which did nothing to soothe Alex’s concern. “Acetone is like a drug, I guess, to us. Kills our pain and stuff, but it’s easy to use it a little more recreationally. Usually, I drink it straight, but mixed with alcohol isn’t bad either.” he explained. Alex nodded slowly. Somehow, that was the weirdest alien fact he’d discovered in the last day.

“So, as many questions that I will ask about that later, I just want you to know I will actually not kiss you if you drink that,” Alex said, pointing a finger at him. Michael had the audacity to look insulted. “Don’t look at me like that, Guerin, I’m not about to make out with nail polish remover. You drink that and you’re not getting near my face until you brush your teeth, like, 20 times.”

Michael seemed to weigh his options, but, after a minute, he sighed and screwed the top back on. Alex rolled his eyes when his husband sulked back to him, dropping dramatically on the bed and miraculously not spilling a drop of the drink in his hand.

“You’re no fun.”

“I don’t want you fucked up anyway, so I don’t feel bad,” Alex laughed, sipping on the wine before placing it on the side table and moving to lay against Michael’s chest. He liked how easy it was to get comfortable against his body. It was like he was meant to be there.

Michael let it go with a soft smile, pushing his damaged hand through Alex’s hair. “I meant what I said in my vows, I hope you know that. Well, hope you believe it. You are my family.”

“I believe everything you say to me.” Alex insisted, feeling Michael physically relax at his words. “You’re my family too, no matter what happens. Even if we divorce or go a million years without speaking, you’re my family. You’re it, Michael Guerin.” Alex wasn’t even phased when his back hit the bed and Michael’s cup floated to the table.

Suddenly, he really knew what happy felt like.

#jesus christ this is longer than i thought #whoops #5k word #malex #malex fic #michael guerin #michael guerin fic #alex manes #alex manes fic #roswell new mexico #roswell new mexico fic #rnm #rnm fic #secret marriage au #multipart fic #part 3

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