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hops-hunny · 3 years

Text

Distance Makes the Heart Grow

CHAPTER 1

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Mafia Boss!Neville Longbottom x Reader

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 1.8k

Summary: (Y/n) lives a normal life. But that’s the issue, it’s normal, it’s plain, and it’s growing boring. Everyday she wishes for something, anything to spice up her life. But, when her old school friend (and crush) shows up at her bakery with a new look (and what looks like a new life), what will it bring for her? Will their puppy love grow? Will his big secret lead to the end of them or will it spark a new beginning?

Warnings: None for this chapter!

A/N: Nothing major happens in this chapter, this is sorta just like the beginning stages.

(Y/n) let out a load groan, hand searching aimlessly for the alarm clock on her side table. “Where is it?!” she continued to slap her hand around on her table, many objects falling to the floor before her hand finally landed on the right one, the rooster noises ceasing as her hand collided with the big snooze button. She rolled over, sighing as she stared at her speckled ceiling. “Perhaps I really should take the time to learn how to use the alarm on my phone.” it wasn’t that she was bad with technology persay. It’s just if it was produced after the year of 2008 you could forget it. Could you really blame her though? During all her years at Hogwarts, she had never made the switch her fellow classmates made with modern technology. Sure she had a smart phone but the only thing she could manage to do with it is call, text, and make notes in the notes app (something she had just recently learned as well).

Unwillingly, she crawled out of bed, stretching as she let out a large yawn, bones snapping and cracking like a New Year’s firework. She made her way to the bathroom, looking into the same mirror she always did, watching the light in the center flicker the same way as always. Life for (Y/n) was seemingly unchanging. Day after day, month after month, was spent exactly the same. She’d wake up, get ready for work, and then travel a few blocks down the street to open the bakery. Her bakery.

It wasn’t that (Y/n) didn’t enjoy what she did. She happened to enjoy her job very much. All her friends at Hogwart’s had encouraged her, giving her the push she need to travel the journey of opening her own business. It was something she had always wanted to do but her parents begged her not to. In their words they didn’t want ‘an over zealous and unrealistic’ daughter on ther hands. However, their rude words simply were fuel to the fire. During her 5th year, she began to busk tables at various shops in Hogsmeade. It was hard work, balancing long shifts at 3 different shops and still maintaining decent scores in each class. But, she knew if she couldn’t handle that then there was no way she’d be able to handle running a bakery. So day in and day out she’d work, and work, and work and by the end of her 7th year she had a decent amount of money saved up!

The first issue had been finding a place in a good area that would gain traction and attention while the second one was finding someone willing to sell to someone fresh out of school with no prior business experience. She’d spoken to many people in various different places, some good, and some bad before she finally had been blessed with the chance of meeting Mary and her wife Denise. It was a miracle really. (Y/n) was short on the money, exponentially so however, Mary had sold to her anyways. She said she saw a passion in the girl that she hadn’t seen for a very long time and that it was something she wanted to help foster considering she had had her time to live her dreams and explore passions of her own. So with that, a handshape was exchanged for a beat up envolope filled with the entirety of the girl’s life savings. She had invested every nickel and dime she had ever earned into the place and she prayed it wouldn’t blow up in her face.

Which brought her to where she was today: a proud owner of a highly successful business. And of course, with great business comes a nice chunk of money which caught her parents’ attention. They had began to call her everyday but when that they didn’t work, they showed up at her shop unannounced. At first, she had felt warm inside. Her usual cold and distant parents had come to visit her! However, when they started crunching out numbers and percentages, that short lived happiness was replaced by irritation in which she quickly kicked them out, placing a charm on the building that when they’d attempt to enter (if they really, truly, had the balls to come back), their bodies would be flung right back onto the sidewalk into the heaping piles of trash on the city side walks. Now, (Y/n) was by no means wealthy, but she made a nice amount of money to be engaging in something she enjoyed so heavily, which is why she was confused where they had gotten the idea she had money to share with the main two people who were the cause of her insecurities. Plus, every extra dollar she had she put right back into the shop. Paying her workers, building maintenance, ingredients. She wasn’t a fan of having too much money, her family had shown her what that could cause (and how easily you could lose it all).

Yet still sometimes she found herself wishing she could live the lavish lifestyle her parents once did. She mainly dreamed more so of the more engaging parts instead of the status and power that came with it. As she frosted various different cakes with thick buttercream, her mind would wonder to vivid imagery of beautiful hotel rooms, with breath taking views. Michelin five star meals, coated in delicious cream sauces. Endless adventure waiting to be discovered.

And yet here she was, sitting at a table as she stuffed her face with a raspberry marzipan cupcake. It was a Wednesday, first one of the month and as per usual, her and Twyla were set together, sampling cakes, chocolates, and other treats for the upcoming days. Wednesday had been the official day they had chosen due to the slowed flow of people that would come in. (Y/n) liked to have a different theme each day of the week. The customers lived for it and she had massed a group of frequenters who came each day, wondering what the theme would be that day.

“You know boss, I’ve gotta say it. Working here and sampling all these cakes with you is giving me quite the ass!” Twyla said, turning around as she wiggled her ass in the girl’s face for emphasis. (Y/n) giggled, rolling her eyes as she swatted at the girl, missing as she jumped away from her last minute. “Hey! You gotta take me out to dinner first for that.”

“Just because we’re sampling cakes doesn’t mean that the store is closed! Anyone could walk in at any moment and would you really want that to be their first experience here?” she asked, eyes scanning the silver platter in front of them. She decided on the new dessert flavored chocolates she had been working on. Popping it into her mouth, she let out a moan of approval.

“I mean, I dont’ see why not! We’d definitely make a lot more money with a cake like mine!” the blue haired girl said, sitting down as she grabbed a chocolate as well. “Besides, I don’t think those little noises you’re making would help the scene.” she stated, snickering as the girl across from her tensed up.

“It-it’s not like that! The chocolate- it just- I just- ugh!” she stuttered out, huffing as she crossed her arms over her chest, pouting at the girl. “If you’re gonna keep being mean we can end this process. Just tell me what you think of the blueberry pie chocolate so I can know if we’re adding it to tomorrow’s spread.”

“Oh come on (Y/n) it’s good! Every first Wednesday we sit here, you overly critique yourself, then me and Tiana end up picking out our favorites for the next day!” Twyla was right, even their patterns for trying new things remained the same. (Y/n) wiped her messy hand on her aprons, sighing as she stood up to go back to her position behind the counter. Her employee followed, grabbing the platter to put back into the kitchen before joining her boss behind the counter.

“You’re right. I swear everyday is beginning to feel the same.” She opened her notepad, beginning to take inventory of the sweets they had in the display counter. “I’m grateful for everything I have, I really am. But sometimes I just wish I could have something, anything….”

“New?” the green eyed girl added, catching the (h/c) haired girl’s attention. She nodded, looking at the girl who had snuck a cookie out of the glass case. “I feel ya, girl. Everyday feels the same. Sometimes even when new people come in, I can already tell how they’re going to be. How they’ll act, what they’ll order, what method of payment they’ll use.” (Y/n) eyed the girl up, raising a brow.

“Are you sure you’re not just using legilimens?” she questioned, watching as the girl shifted on her feet, scratching the back of her neck.

“Okay so maybe I do sometimes. But a lot of the times I don’t! Like the other day this weird guy came in and- woah. (Y/n) I don’t wanna freak you out but I have a feeling those hotties in suits across the street are going to be walking in here soon.” Twyla said, in an uncharacteristically quiet tone. The shorter girl followed her friend’s gaze, looking out the glass doors across the street. Three unfamiliar men were crossing over, all in suits that she could only assume cost as much as four months of rent. However, the one in the middle really caught her eye.

Before she knew it, the bell chimed and the three of them made their way in. They looked very out of place in the brightly decorated shop. The one in the middle looked the most important, towering over the other two men. He had dark slicked back hair, an eyebrow piercing, and tattoos that were visible on his neck and hands (which had a few beautiful looking rings on them (none of which were a wedding band…)), yet his hazel eyes held a soft look to them. To his left was a redhead boy, freckles danced all along his face. His eyes were bloodshot from god knows what. He had tattoos as well (not as many as the middle man) and a few unique ear piercings. The guy to the hot tall guy’s right was attractive too but not nearly as serious looking as the other two. In fact, he was humming a song under his breath, a smile causing the tattoo on the right side of his face to crease.

As she went to open her mouth to greet them, the man in the middle eye’s grew wide, his mouth gaping as he stared at her. He walked closer, examining her face closely which caused her to grow confused.

“I’m...I’m sorry. Do I know you?” she asked.

“(Y/n)?” she gasped at the sound of the familiar voice, her notepad and pen dropping from her hands. She made her way around the counter, staring up at the tall man.

“Neville?!”

NEXT||

TAGSLIST: @vayeya11 @pink-hufflepuff @clancyscookies @beewitchedlou @nevillelongbottomsgirlfriend @redpanda-poetry @vibingaesthetically

#neville x reader #neville longbottom x reader #Neville Longbottom #neville x you #neville longbottom x you #Harry Potter #harry potter x reader #harry potter imagines #harry potter imagine #mafia #mafia!neville #mafia!au

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themadlostgirl · 3 years

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When It’s Cold

*Felix simps come get y’all juice!

The hyperfixation hit me hard and because I just have to add backstory and character development to every single request I get, this one shot request is another mini-fic. I do not know how long it is going to be but I am hoping to keep it under ten. I already have like 5 chapters written now. Also, Felix deserves some multi-chapter love dang it!*

Prompt: Reader and Felix are stuck in Storybrooke together. What will happen next? Spoilers: it’s feelings and fluff and a horny teenagers being stupid.

Requested by: anon

~~~

“I blame you.” Felix said.

“How is this my fault?” I retorted. Felix and I sat on the docks of Storybrooke overlooking the water.

“You’re the one that convinced me to come to Storybrooke with you. Now look what’s happened! Pan is dead and we have no way to get back to Neverland.”

“We’ll find a way back to Neverland.”

“And how do you figure that? There is no more shadow to ferry us, we have no magic bean, or any pixie dust to fly us back. We are stuck here!”

“Will you calm down?”

“You want me to be calm? How can you expect me to be calm after everything that has happened?”

“I don’t know but you panicking is not going to help us any. Storybrooke is the only town in this realm with magic. If there is a way to cross realms we will find it here so stop worrying so much and start brainstorming. Like you said, there is no more shadow so our reliable way of getting back is gone. Magic beans are scarce if any even still exist. So our only option is to find some method of transportation that can either fly us back or we become mermaids and swim through the realms. So we gotta sprout wings or gills. Ideas?”

“Well I can’t swim worth a damn so I guess we’ll need to find a way to fly.”

“No point staying here.” I got up, “We were fine camping in the woods but that’s not going to serve us well much longer. Winter is rolling in and neither of us have ever lived somewhere that wasn’t tropical and humid all the time so I don’t think we’ll survive long on our own out in the wilderness. We need to start looking into different housing options.”

“You sound like an adult.” Felix groaned.

“I hate it too but there’s not much else we can do unless we want to freeze to death. Come on,” I held a hand out to him, “The sooner we find someplace the sooner we can start dedicating our time to finding a way out of here.”

“I’m coming,” Felix stood up, ignoring my hand. We walked all around Storybrooke looking for someplace to hole up in. My main concern was having a place with heat which left a lot of the vacant houses out since their utilities were shut off. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that there were no fireplaces so starting a fire to keep warm was also out of the question.

It was getting late and our search had yielded nothing. I had a bad feeling that if we couldn’t find somewhere suitable through our own means we would have to resort to actually paying for housing somewhere. Which meant we would need money which also meant we would need to have jobs. Paying bills, having jobs, this was a nightmare!

We shuffled back to our camp and checked the traps we had laid for any game but only caught a small rabbit. Barely big enough for one person. Better than nothing at least.

As Felix roasted the rabbit over our fire I sighed, rubbing my arms to keep off the chill of the late autumn.

“You know what I’ve noticed these past couple days?” I said.

“Hm?” Felix hummed not bothering to look up.

“This is the first time in all the years we’ve known each other that we’ve ever really hung out.”

“Guess so.” Felix shrugged.

“Is that not strange to you? We’ve known each other for decades on Neverland. We hunted together, played together, fought together with the boys but this is the first time us two have ever been alone together. How do you not find that strange?”

“It’s not like I was close to everybody on the island.” He took the rabbit off the spit and cut it in two, “Besides, you were always off galavanting with Artie and Frank. What’s it matter if we ever hung out?”

“I guess it’s just making me wonder.”

“Wonder what?”

“Why you followed me here?” I answered as he handed me my half of our dinner. “You didn’t know that Pan had switched consciousness with that Henry kid until after we left Neverland. You could have stayed on Neverland with the other boys. You didn’t need to come with me when I asked you to. So why did you?”

“Let me ask you something,” Felix dodged around the question, “Why is it that you asked me to come with you in the first place? You had your friends on that ship already. Why take me along? Why is it that you’re roughing it in the woods with me when you have friends that are snug and cozy in that fairy monastery? Answer me that.”

“I--I--” The words were caught in my throat. Why had I asked Felix to come with me? I knew the answer lay deep in my gut but I couldn’t for the life of me bear to bring it to the surface. I bit into my rabbit with a small scowl.

Felix gave a small exhale before diving into his dinner as well. The conversation thoroughly ended. I curled up to go to sleep near the fire. Our only source of heat. I really did miss Neverland. I would deal with a million humid heat waves if it meant that I could be warm again.

Sometime during the night a gust of cold wind snapped me awake. I huddled in closer to myself trying to retain some warmth when I felt something being draped over me. I peeked an eye open and saw Felix lay down again and curled more into himself. I looked to see what he had done and realized he had draped his cloak over me. His only form of heat, thin as it was. I decided at that moment as I watched him violently shivering on the cold ground that I would gladly grow up a little and get a job if it meant we would have somewhere warm to sleep tomorrow night.

The morning came and as casually as I could gave Feilx back his cloak. I made no mention of his generosity. I knew he wouldn’t appreciate you pointing out his selflessness for whatever reason. Too proud to accept my thanks.

We went back into town and I sent Felix off to find some cheap accommodations for us while I walked along main street and hopped into every store that I could looking for work. Unfortunately it looked like no one was hiring. Dejected and pissed after the tenth shop owner denied to even let me fill out one of their ridiculous applications I stole a handful of dollars from their tip jar. At the very least I could buy us a decent meal tonight.

We met up again outside of the diner. Felix had no luck finding a place to stay either. Everyone just shrugged him off. To my delight though he had the same idea as me and produced a wallet he had pickpocketed off the landlord he had spoken to. A couple of twenties tucked safely into the worn leather. We may not have anywhere warm to sleep tonight but at least we could get a hot meal.

We entered into the diner and immediately were met with stares. It was the same stare I got from everyone I asked a job from. I tried to shrug it off and sat down with Felix at the counter. We ordered two plates of the lasagna. The waitress was kind enough but everyone else at the counter moved away from us when it was evident that we were staying.

“Felix,” I whispered, “Is it just me or is everyone--”

“They don’t want us here,” he whispered back, “They’re not saying anything but they’re making it obvious enough. The reason no one will give us a job or let us live anywhere is all for the same reason. We were here for Pan and even though he’s gone they still don’t trust us. Just eat your food and we’ll go back to camp.”

“Do you think we have enough money to maybe spend just one night at the bed and breakfast?” I asked, hopeful.

Felix shook his head. “Even if we did I think we should be saving this for food since game is proving difficult to come by.”

“You’re right,” I stabbed into my lasagna. “It just gets so cold…”

We finished our meals quickly and left just as fast. At least I was more full than yesterday. We started on our way back to camp when I noticed a trail I hadn’t seen before.

“Where are you going? Camp is that way?”

“I know but I need to see something.” I told him as I started running down the other trail.

“Wait!” Felix ran after me. I kept huffing and puffing down the trail until it opened into a large field. In the distance was a huge house. A mansion by the looks of it.

“Whoa,” Felix said as he took in the sight of the mansion. “How did we miss this?”

“I don’t know. Let’s get a closer look.” We ran across the neatly trimmed lawn and hopped over the fence onto the mansion grounds. The lights were off inside. Whoever lived here was either gone or asleep. We checked the garage and found no car. Peeking in as many windows as we could it didn’t look like anyone was home.

“Should we?” I asked Felix. The temptation was too great. “Even if someone does live here it’s so big I doubt that they would even notice us staying here as well.”

“Let’s take a look.” Felix grinned. Strangely enough the front door was left unlocked. I tried the lights and was delighted when I realized that the electricity was working, there was running water too. Even better was that there was heat! Heat and dozens of bedrooms.

The place was so clean and orderly but yet there were no signs of it being lived in. No pictures on the walls. No food in the fridge. All the doors and windows were unlocked. There was a large kitchen, dining room, multiple rooms just for sitting in, a dozen bedrooms, and even a ballroom with a beautiful crystal chandelier. All the windows had the most spectacular views of the ocean or the mansion’s garden.

“This place is amazing!” I picked up a strange cylindrical paperweight with stars painted on top of it and tossed it in the air. “Felix, I don’t want to get our hopes up but I think we found a place for us to stay.”

“And you’re sure no one lives here?” Felix gazed around the room we were standing in.

“We searched all the rooms we came across and found no one. The place has been cleaned out of food or toiletries. Either whoever lives here desperately needs to go shopping or they just don’t exist.”

“You think we’re really that lucky?”

“I think we’re owed a bit of luck. Even if someone still does live here do you really want to spend the night shivering outside or spend a night wrapped up warm in a bed and run the risk of someone chasing us out in the morning?”

“You make a compelling argument.” Felix grinned, “Race you for the master bedroom!”

“Felix!” I chased after him as he went flying up the stairs. He got to the room first and flopped down on the large king-sized bed.

“I win! Go take one of the lesser bedrooms.”

“You only won cause you have those long lanky legs.” I flopped down beside him and sighed as I sunk into the soft mattress. “I don’t think I can move from here. It’s way too comfortable.”

“Too bad. My room.” He pushed me off.

“Hey!” I laughed as I stood back up. “Fine, you can have the master bedroom but only on the condition that you find us more money to buy food and toiletries. Got it?”

“Sounds good to me,” Felix stood too, eyeing the bathroom attached to the bedroom. “Soap or not I think I am going to indulge in a hot bath.”

“That does sound heavenly.” I haven’t had a hot bath in decades. “Have a goodnight, Felix. We go grocery shopping tomorrow.”

“Night,” Felix gave a wave as he closed the bathroom door behind him.

I left the room and wandered around the hall looking for a space of my own. I found a nice bedroom that felt just as grand as the master bedroom. I went into the bathroom and drew myself a piping hot bath. I nearly moaned when I sunk down into the water. Even if this lasts for only a night I’ll be happy. One night of warmth.

After my bath I wrapped myself in a large fluffy towel and went back into the bedroom. I really didn’t want to put my old dirty clothes on my clean body. I opened the dresser drawers hoping maybe the resident left behind some old clothes but they were all empty. I crept out of my room and checked the other guest rooms surrounding me but all their drawers were empty too. There was one place I hadn’t checked. If the owner did leave something behind it would probably be in the master bedroom. I glanced down at my towel with a grimace. It covers everything at least. I tentatively knocked on the door but was met with no answer. I cracked it open and sighed with relief when I saw no Felix in sight. He must still be in the bath.

I went to the dressers and, “Nothing? Really?!” I slammed the dresser shut again. How is it that there isn’t so much as a single shirt in this house?

“Why are you making so much noise?” Felix stepped out of the bathroom in a billow of steam. My throat went dry when I caught sight of him. Completely naked except for the towel hanging from his hips and still dripping went. His blonde hair that usually hung in his face was brushed back opening his face up more. His torso had an array of scars I never knew he had before. That wet chest that was impressively chiseled…

I shot to my feet clutching to the towel covering me. “Sorry! I was just looking for some clean clothes.”

Felix gaze swept me up and down. He took a deep breath and grabbed something from inside the bathroom and tossed it to me. It was a fluffy white robe with a monogrammed M on the breast. “There.”

“Thanks.” I slid the robe on over my towel. “Anything else in there?”

“Nope. Just that one.” Felix turned away from me. His face looked red and I could only guess he was angry at me for barging in. “Now scurry back to your own room.”

“Right. Thanks.” I rushed back to my room, my heart hammering in my chest. That was certainly new. I never thought I would see that much of Felix. I mean why would I ever want to see his wet, practically naked, and not so shockingly buff body? No! Bad! Impure thoughts I should not be having about my...my…

Huh. What was Felix to me? On Neverland we were Lost Ones but that didn’t really fit here. I don’t know if I could exactly call us friends either. Roommates? Was that what we were now? We have been living together at our crappy camp all this time and now we’re staying in this mansion together. I guess that’s what we would call one another. Roommates.

I dropped my towel and pulled the clean robe tighter around me. My thumb traced over the M stitched on the breast. This house has no food, no toiletries, no clothes, not a single photo on any wall but yet there was a single monogrammed robe. Who was M? Who had lived here?

Those were questions for the morning. I sunk into bed and this time I did moan as I cuddled under the many thick blankets. Finally warm at last.

---

(Next)

#felix imagine #felix x reader #ouat felix #ouat #neverland #request #peter pan ouat #roommate au #i'm just gonna put this in the tags since it doesn't actually matter to the story but #they are in the sorcerer's mansion introduced at the start of season 4 #the place where they find all the blank story books and rumple and belle have their honeymoon #that's it. just let my kiddos have a warm place to sleep. they deserve it.

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lovely-necromancy · 3 years

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A Cure for Insomnia CH.12

It's late Friday night or very early Saturday morning depending on how you want to look at it. You're just laying on your couch playing Stardew Valley when your phone goes off. Without looking you answer it.

“Why are you even up?” comes Kirby's exhausted voice from across the line.

“Medical condition, wbu?” you place the phone in between you ear and shoulder but don't really change your position as you continue with your game.

“Jesus fucking Christ you did not just pronounce 'wbu' like 'wah-bah-u'.” he's ranting a bit and you know from experience this is the tired slap happy ranting where he sets himself off every five minutes on new topics. So, you wait it out and continue your quest in learning the wizard's secrets.

Kirby finally calms down after a few moments to get to the point of why he called. To remind you that Saturday Night Dead was canceled tonight due to the Pride Picnic tomorrow.

“I know.” you said plainly barely paying attention to the ginger on the line.

“You're a little shit.”

“I know that too.” a smirk graces your lips and you pause your game.

You listen to Kirby's rant for three minutes before asking if anyone else still “needed” a reminder. And when he said 'no' you sent him off to bed and said you'd see him Sunday morning. With a cranky man toddler dealt with you went back to your game.

Contrary to what you had originally thought, this week had been pretty chill. Everything had been going great, no drama in the town, no set backs with the picnic, your stalker had been keeping a low profile, and sure you were on day three of no sleep but that's just a you issue really. You didn't even have a foreboding feeling about the picnic. Everything was going great...at least it would be had Jo not specifically requested you wear something red, to her recital in a few weeks.

It's going to be so hard to thrift something school appropriate, red, and in your size. You thankfully have three weeks but unfortunately you're limited to weekend trips since you work during the week and wouldn't be able to go a few hours out to larger thrift stores to drive a few hours back home.

Your do nothing day is turning into a do something day. And you definitely can't get any sleep tonight because now you know you have something to do at five AM and you just wouldn't be able to rest peacefully at all. Scared that you'd fuck up the shopping trip you had planned. God you hate executive dysfunction and the anxiety it gives you, even for something like sleeping.

Thursday evening you spent all night googling the towns within a five hour radius and their second hand shops, after Jo had made her request to you. Your big ticket shops were two closer to the border of Pennsylvania. They were in pretty medium to high income neighborhoods so were the most likely to have formal wear on hand. Your plan was to drive there and get to the closer one by eight maybe get some breakfast while you waited for the shop to open. Then go to the second, and if you still hadn't met the requirements for an outfit you'd go to the town an hour away from there. Just to rinse and repeat until you went to all eight locations on your list. Making one big circle back to Kepler.

You really hoped you find something to wear at the first two. Seriously you don't want to be out shopping all day but you'd rather have a buffer of looking for things now than rushing the night before her recital.

Checking the time you see it's just a little after one in the morning. You've been playing Stardew for a few hours and are starting to get bored. Maybe you should switch games? Exiting out you ruin any progress you've made for the day, but you couldn't remember so it probably wasn't important progress. And you are now scrolling through your games looking for something to play.

Spiritfarer? No you don't feel like crying right now. Undertale? No you really don't feel like crying right now. Onion Boy Commits Tax Evasion? Hmm, possible...but it's a quick game and you'd be done and back here in thirty minutes. Sally Face? Yea! You've been meaning to replay it for a while now and this seems as good a time as any.

Loading the game you settle deeper into the couch to become a teenage ghost detective. And you stay like that for the rest of the night until your alarm goes off mid way through chapter two. You'd been so focused on trying to get secrets that you hardly noticed the time going by. Okay, you were looking at Gizmo and taking pictures of the silly furball.

Stretching you get up and make your way to your room to grab a change of clothes, neck snapping to the side as you went. When you enter your room you're met with a white face with blocks of black for the eyes and black lipstick as its only facial features looking at you from the corner just feet away from the door. Even though your heart jumps into your throat at the sight you notice the figure doesn't get closer to you. Noting that and its immobility you figure it's a really weird and specific hallucination.

'Fucking weird?' you think as you ignore the hallucination and start rummaging through your closet.

It wouldn't be the first time a source of media has either triggered or inspired one of your hallucinations. But the face isn't exactly Sal's mask but it is mask like. Maybe Sal mixed with a panda. That's a fun thought. But overall nothing you need to worry about. Just have to get sleep tonight so you could enjoy the picnic tomorrow without any issues.

When you turn back around with your clothes in hand the hallucination is gone. You shrug before going to your bathroom to change. In a blink you are out the door and on the road by five after five. You hope you pass a Dunkin' in an hour or so, you'll need a little energy boost to get your day started. But pushing that thought aside you turn up your radio and turn off your thoughts.

Just vibes for right now, just you and the empty road.

Making it to the first thrift shop you are pleasantly surprised to see a string of old ladies shopping today. Wonderful, they'll look at knick knacks and you'll look at clothes. Looks like there won't be a need to guard clothing with your life. However when you get into the store it becomes incredibly apparent that the only thing to look at here are in fact the knick knacks.

Sighing you figure it'll at least be worth it to comb through skirts and shoes. Skirts are very limited to paisley prints that give you middle school dance flash backs, and long khakis. Neither are really what you're looking for right now so you leave them be. They'll find their homes with some home schooled kid eventually. Shoes are a bit more promising as you find a pair of red kitten pumps in your size immediately, they're a little worn but nothing a little shoe polish and leather paint can't fix.

That is until you think you see something grab at your wrist.

When you jerk back a shoe drops from your hand and the heel pops off. Again a very easy fix, plus this may get you a discount. Dropping to your knees you try to grab the heel from under the rack and when you do you notice a pair of boots that look like they've been hidden behind several pair of knee high riding boots. You grab them, they're reddish brown suede heeled boots. They're in pretty good condition and the price tag says thirteen, not bad. And they're in your size! Best find of the day, calling it now. You quickly collect your shoes and make your way to the register. While you may not wear the kitten pumps often you for sure have just found your new favorite boots.

Getting back in the car with one of three pieces for your outfit and one store down you make your way to the next town over for its store. The second store had a much wider selection of clothing however you didn't find much of anything this time. But there was a cute mini pencil skirt that had a tiny orange heart on the left side hem. You couldn't resist it when it was only two dollars.

Third times a charm or so they say. But as you're looking through the racks of dresses and skirts you start hearing whispers. Briefly looking up to see if anyone was actually around to where you'd be able to hear them you see no one. It's weird that you'd get auditory hallucinations without a visible one or without being asleep. That puts you on edge but you ignore the feeling to continue your shopping.

You've just turned to go have a look at the blazers when a voice pops into your head.

'He's here.' there's an edge of static following the words and the buzzing is enough to cloud your own thoughts.

Neck snapping to the side twice before cracking on the third time, “There we go” you say as you look around only see families with kids in the store with you. No one is on their own or even looking your way.

'That you can see.'

Your heart is pounding harshly against your chest and while every fiber of your being is saying run. You can't it'd be obvious or it'd make you look like a whack job. So with a sharp intake of air you steady yourself and being to walk calmly to your car.

It's broad daylight and you would definitely be making a scene if your stalker tried anything. If anyone even came near you right now you'd probably scream in self preservation.

But it turns out you didn't need to worry as you got into your car, locking the doors without hassle. You didn't bother turning your radio on as you drove to the forth store. There wouldn't be a point not like you could focus with your nerves so frazzled. And that frazzled feeling doesn't go away as you arrive at the store.

Staying in the car a moment you wait to see if any other car near by seems familiar. Or any persons exiting seem familiar, like you've seen their faces in passing. No one does, and while that puts you at ease you'll still be vigilant of your surroundings.

The store's much smaller than the previous three and you decide to start with the blazer section this time. It seems like a good choice, even though it looked like a sea of black ¾ sleeve blazers and jackets you caught a glimpse of red from inside one coat. Pulling the hanger off you notice it isn't a richly colored lining but that someone shoved a red Chinese inspired silk skirt into the blazer. You aren't sure if they were judging the compatibility of the items as an outfit or if they were trying to hide it, but either way it's ended up in your hands. It's beautifully decorated in golden swirls and a dragon pattern embroidery. Putting it up to you it curls around your waist. Could mean it'd be a bit big for you, but nothing a little sewing couldn't fix.

You're pretty sure you had a black turtleneck tank top that would look great with this, and still be appropriate for hot late July weather. But maybe an additional red blazer or shawl would be a good idea. Looking at the sea of black before you you think it'd be best to continue this hunt another week.

Right now your nerves are fried and the sun is already starting to set. With thoughts of getting caught alone in the dark with your stalker you can't help but want to get home as soon as possible or at least get to a town where people would know you if your body showed up in a ditch.

Checking out with your skirt you once again find yourself in your car driving along the highway.

You get back to Kepler a little after nine, gas tank near empty so you drive on to the mini mart rather than stopping at home. You notice another car, which isn't strange for a gas station but very rare that more than two customers are here at the same time. Getting in to pay for gas you're stopped by Ronnie's pissed off voice.

“Leave Dave or I'll ban you from the shop!” she seems to seethe at the man in front of her.

“You don't have that kind of power Veronica.” gross it's David.

Whatever feeling of uncertainty you had before vanishes instantly at seeing the slime ball try to “flirt” with Ronnie. He continues to pester her and the two don't even register your entrance. Unfortunately for Ronnie she really can't do anything to stop these advances without getting in trouble. Fortunately for you, you have no such qualms.

“She said fuck off.” you push past the man shoulder checking him as you get to the counter to start talking with Ronnie.

David stumbles away not expecting the rough push. He glares down at you and you ignore him now that you're in a setting with another person. A person who has access to a silent emergency police button if things go sideways. You have back up this time and an escape plan, there's no way David can harm you right now.

“Hey, I'm gonna need thirty on pump four.” you said hoping you could just ignore the man and stall by talking about useless merchandise in the store to get him to leave. But that was before you're interrupted.

“Oh did someone grow a back bone while I was away?” you roll your eyes and pause before you lie.

“...anyway is Tim on break yet?” hoping she caught the look in your eyes to play along.

Tim was a new hire that David probably didn't know since he just got back into town. Easiest one to lie about and make excuses for why there wasn't a fourth car in the lot. The boys only seemed to have the RV and the sedan so perfectly reasonable that he got dropped off because one of his roommates needed the car.

The way Ronnie's eyes widen at you aren't out of relief but more out of realization. She shakes her head slightly, and you want to smack her for being an idiot and ruining your attempt to scare David off when she turns and yells towards the back.

“Hey Tim! You have a visitor!” you jump a bit at her volume and notice that David tenses by your side as well.

'...is she bluffing...' if she is this is the dumbest fucking bluff in the world and so easy to catch on to. You'll have to get her acquainted with true crime podcasts and shows so she can be better prepared in the future.

It isn't until you hear muffled swears and the sound of thudding from the back room of the store. It isn't long before the door to the back opens and you hear Tim's hushed voice speaking to Marigold for a second, “can you please not walk in front of me.”, and you see Tim walk through the door.

Tim's brown eyes scan the store clearly trying to find either Brian or Toby. His gaze barely passes over David but when it settles on your form leaning away from said creep and Ronnie shifting from one foot to the other the situation seems to click.

It was such a subtle change in his eyes, something you're sure that had you not been trying to catch his gaze to get your message across you would have missed. The way the highlight died before picking back up. It was probably just a trick of the over head lights, maybe he shifted a bit and it caused the light to hit differently. Something you could brush off...something you would have brushed off had you not heard a different voice speak when he opened his mouth.

“YN hey, did'ya need somethin'?” it was a notch lower than normal and somehow the tone was smoother than his usual rumble. For a moment you think he put on a voice for bravado.

Something inside tells you that's not Tim. But right now you need someone who looks like Tim. Someone who despite their “short” stature has an obvious muscle mass to them. One that confidently says “authority” to scare off the creep next to you.

You wrack your brain for something anything to say that would seem normal in this situation while you could try to assert the discomfort of Ronnie and yourself in your current situation. Just as you go to speak David begins to talk over you as he greets the man in the room.

“Hey there, name's David. Nice to see a new face in this place, how long you been here?”

Tim slides his eyes away from you and back over to David. He seems to straighten out his posture and looks over you and Ronnie before staring back at David.

“A while, is there a problem up here?”

“Oh no 's nothing like that!” David says jovially as he wraps an arm around your shoulders. You jerk from the contact. “Just talking to these nice ladies.”

'Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting' plays over and over as you squirm out of his arm.

There's an emotion you can't quite place running through you as you heart rate picks up. You feel sick as if you can feel the bile rising to your throat. Are you having a panic attack? No that's not it you're too conscious and your thoughts aren't a jumbled mess. You're probably just over stimulated. You want to calm down.

'Do you' the whispered voice is back, 'Do you really?'

It's mocking you and the strange emotion from before spikes. Is this...is this rage? Are you so upset at being touched that you're experiencing genuine rage? One with such a burning passion that you can feel your body grow warm all over.

But what did the voice ask 'do you?' do you what? Do you want to calm down?

….no....

No you didn't you can feel it in your veins, in your bones, in your entire being. You didn't want to calm down you wanted to hurt David. You want to tear him to pieces. You wanted him to give you a reason...any reason at all. Any reason to fucking destroy him.

You aren't entirely sure where these thoughts are coming from. Maybe you're just overstimulated, your nerves fried from the weird feeling at the thrift shop today and then paired with someone you hated very much, touching you out of no where seemed to be your ultimate breaking point.

It's Tim who brings you out of your thoughts.

When did he get so close to you?

“I think you should leave. I know for a fact YN's boyfriend won't take kindly to you upsetting them like this.” he stresses the 'them' and it seems you've missed a few key points...like when the hell you got a boyfriend?

“Oh right, what's that scrawny kid gonna do twitch at me.” when did David start taking that tone with Tim and why was he talking about Toby? What did Toby have to do with this? How did David even know about Toby?

Seems David's taunt and knowledge of Toby unsettled Tim as well, if the hand on your shoulder gripping tightly had anything to say. Has that been there this whole time? When did he put it there?

“Trust me the kid's bite 's lot worse than his bark.” there's humor in Tim's voice as he says that but it's like an old joke no one else has context for.

'Fuckin' dick...is that suppose to be a joke about his mutilated mouth?' it really does sound like it. Maybe you're reading the clues wrong...maybe you heard Tim wrong.

Thankfully whatever the fuck is building up comes to an end when Pigeon walks through the doors. Oh she's on duty, Deputy Pigeon. She looks at the four of you and your positions. And although she has a pretty good idea what's happened from Ronnie's texts she can't help but ask.

“Al'ight, what's going on here?” it's clearly been a long day for her.

“Harassment. We've asked him to leave the store but he's refused and keeps bothering our customer and us.” Tim's fast response had you and Ronnie stumped.

Did a white cis male actually come to the aid of two decidedly not male people...instead of the other white cis male? Has Hell frozen over?

It's like he knew just what to say to the officer. And he didn't try to tiptoe around it to save the other man. Tim clearly didn't want this dragging out any longer than it already has. Even David himself seems a bit taken aback by Tim's, accurate, claims. Meanwhile Pigeon looks around the room and sighs. While she knows her younger sister wouldn't have texted if this wasn't serious she was the only one on duty tonight and would only be able to take the other three's statements.

“Al'ight I'll grab y'all's statements starting with you Nychn c'mon.” the tired looking woman took David outside so he could tell his side of the story. But even with two against one he'll probably end up getting a ban from the store. Especially since he did harass a customer and not just an employee.

After getting his statement and watching him drive off from the establishment Pigeon returned back inside.

“I swear tha' boy's head has never been on right.” shaking her head.

Pigeon asked for both your and Tim's sides of the story taking you a little ways away from each other to “prevent compromising the other's story”.

“So... looks like I've got everything, I'll have the station call Monty in the mornin' and let 'im know that he's got a new ban.”

“What about Ronnie's statement?” Tim asks as Pigeon put away her pocket pal.

“Oh Tim, Pigeon's my sister.” it's the first time Ronnie's said something since calling for Tim.

At least you think it is after all you did have a little spell after being touched.

Tim nods and Pigeon heads off after warning the three of you to stay out of trouble. Now with just the three of you in the shop you turn to Tim.

“Thanks for the save Tim.” He just nods again.

“No problem, but you really should'a said somethin' sooner.”

“I don't know what happened I like blanked and forgot you went on break before he came in.” Ronnie pipes up looking flustered.

Weird. You've noticed that does tend to happen when David's around. Maybe you should look into memory stealers. Might be why David's vibes are all off. That or he's a fucking serial killer and your instincts are trying to warn you but there are so many red flags your brain glitches instead. Whatever the reason may be you'll have to keep your guard up when he's around. It's super sketchy he left when Bambi went missing and it's a strange time to come back to town after “helping” your sister after her divorce. Two months isn't enough time to find a new routine or settle court battles.

Tim leaves to clock in and continue his break for another twenty minutes. You aren't sure that's right but Ronnie doesn't seem to complain and you've got to admit he did save you guys from that creep unpaid so he kinda deserves it. You go to pay Ronnie for gas and for some of the frozen taquitos that they normally have on the rotation cooker. But she puts thirty dollars on your pump and then just hands you a pack of the taquitos.

“Thanks for...y'know.” she might be a bitch but Ronnie can be nice if the situation calls for it.

Plus you can see by the expiration date that she'd have to just toss these out at the end of the night anyway. Who are you to turn down free food?

You head home and take your clothes and taquitos inside. You toss the clothes in an arm chair in your living room. And fall asleep on your couch shortly after eating. You are thoroughly exhausted and you had actually been tired last night. Had it not been for errands you'd have slept last night. Now you definitely have to sleep early to wake up early to finish cooking for the picnic.

#ticci tobyx reader #timothy wright x reader #ticci toby #ticcitoby #timothy wright #timothy wright x brian thomas #brian thomas x reader #brian thomas #masky #masky x reader #creepypasta fanfic

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addercharmer · 3 years

Text

The mall was oddly empty for a Friday afternoon, Izumi was stupidly glad.

Making her way to the center fountain, Izumi keeps her eyes searching for one of her friends' hair colors.

Sky blue was the first she saw already standing by the fountain. Kayama had walked up to the blue haired boy at the same time as Izumi did.

"Hiya!" She chirped once she was within hearing range.

"Hey, thanks for the help. I have no idea what to get a six year old boy." Izumi greets and thanks them again.

"Six?" Shirakumo asks, he looks deep in thought.

"Un, six. He has wings so I figure he needs a full sized bed at least, and if he has any bird-like instincts a lot of blankets." Izumi explains a little more.

"Yo, yo, yo." Yamada announces his arrival in his new favorite fashion, Izumi is just waiting for him to start calling everyone 'listeners'.

Aizawa is right behind Yamada, his eyes zero in on Izumi's empty hands. "I thought I said bring coffee." He grumbles.

"I figured you would want fresh hot coffee, we can get that first." Izumi plasates her hands raised in a sign of surrender.

The glare she gets in return would have made her shrink in on herself if not for the uptick of the corner of Aizawa's mouth.

With a sigh Izumi looks around quickly and starts making her was to the coffee house she sees just to the left of where they are.

"So coffee, then a furniture store, a home store for the blankets and pillows, then maybe a toy store?" Izumi asks her friends.

"No clothes?" Kayama asks.

"I've never seen him so I will have to go out for those tomorrow, maybe you could come again?" Izumi half asks. "I have terrible fashion sense, like most of my clothes are bought by dad." She admits.

Behind her Izumi can hear Shirakumo and Aizawa snort.

"You aren't much better." Yamada tells the pair as he passes them to walk next to Izumi.

"I can help tomorrow." He tells her as they cross into the coffee house.

Izumi is the first to the counter, she orders herself a caramel frozen coffee and indicates to the barista that she was paying for the rest of the group.

Drinks in hand the five teens make there way to a furniture store that advertised that they specialized in physical mutation needs.

Izumi was a little awed at what she saw, there were nests, and wet beds, and beds made extra sturdy.

She automatically made her way over to the beds that looked like giant shallow bowls. It took a few moments for a salesperson to make their way over.

"Can I help you?" A woman who had large horns that curled at the side of her head much like a mountain goats' asked.

"My dad is adopting a boy with wings. We need a bed." She tells the salesperson bluntly. "I just want to see what each mattress is made of before I choose."

Izumi steps away from the woman and reaches for the information card of the first bowl like bed. She takes time to read the ten options as her friends lay in each of them to judge which feels better.

It's the first one she had seen that she picked had an inside made of gel and memory foam, it would be best to offer support no matter Hawks preferred sleeping position.

Aizawa and Kayama both agreed that it was the most comfortable, where Yamada and Shirakumo both argued that the one that was simply weaved fabric was the most comfortable.

Taking the ordering card she stops by a dark cherry wood bed frame and matching desk, picking up the cards for those as well. Izumi makes her way to the check out.

"Can I have these rush delivered before seven tonight?" Izumi asks as the three items are being rung up.

"It will be an extra charge of one hundred dollars." The horned woman tells her.

"Okay." Izumi agrees, Nezu hadn't given her a limit, he had just said not to go overboard.

Izumi takes the delivery form and fills it out quickly, she then swipes Nezu's credit card with a pleased hum.

As she's gathering with the others to leave she spots an ash wood dining table, quickly she grabs the information cards and runs back to the check out.

The transaction complete without the rush delivery Izumi makes her way out of the store to where the others are waiting.

"Sorry, we didn't have a dining room at the old house." She tells them.

"Old house? Did you move?" Shirakumo asks and Izumi looks at him before she remembers that she hadn't told them yet.

"Yeah, dad had our stuff moved during the festival. He bought this huge place on Sakura Ave." She shares the news. "Us getting the baby bird was riding on my being a medalist in the festival."

The three boys' faces suddenly look horror stricken at the revelation, and Kayama looks extremely sad.

"The commission is evil." Izumi deadpans, before she grabs Kayama's wrist to link their arms at the elbow.

"So, are we close enough to use first names now that you know I'm getting a little brother?" She asks the group, using their last names asked he feel a little like they are her teachers still.

"Izumi-chan!" Nemuri and Oboro both shout at the same time.

"I was already using it, Izumi-chan." Hizashi points out.

Shōta grumbles under his breath but his cheeks are pink and he nods.

Izumi bounces as she walks into the home store, she's happy she's got friends.

Looking around the entrance of the store Izumi spots signs hanging over their heads and pointing to where they should be able to find what they are looking for.

Arm still linked with Nemuri she starts off towards the bedroom designated area.

"I think we should split up." She suggests. "Nemuri and Oboro, would you guys look for some pillows, I think maybe two regular sized, one body sized, and maybe four smaller ones in fun shapes?"

The two of them link their own arms and skip off towards where the pillows are. "Don't forget to grab sheets and pillow cases." Izumi shouts after them.

Feeling bold, Izumi links arms with both Hizashi and Shōta Izumi all but drags them over to the blankets.

The three of them spend half an hour testing each blanket for softness, and weight. By the end they had seven blankets picked out, two were weighted blankets that weren't supposed to hold heat but still give the needed weight, Izumi had selected one for herself as well. The other five blankets were a variety Of different fluffiness and thickness, Izumi's favorite was a pastel green that was the second softest thing she had ever held.

Nemuri and Oboro still hadn't found them so Izumi was quick to text and ask where they were.

The group of three found the two sitting in the middle of an isle debating the best fabrics for the sheets, Izumi laughed at them as Shōta joined in arguing for and against them both.

Looking at what they had pulled off the shelves Izumi grabbed two that were a high thread count, one black and one gray, then she picked up a jersey knit set in a sky blue.

Holding the packages tight to her chest she picked up one of the small pillows on the ground and tossed it at Shōta hitting him in the chest with a thump.

"Come on guys, toy store next, you can each pick out two things for him." She tells them, trying not to feel like a parent negotiating with children.

With Hizashi carrying one weighted blanket and five fluffy ones, Shōta carrying her weighted blanket and the body pillow, it left Nemuri and Oboro to gather up the six smaller pillows makes for a comical sight as they make their way to the registers.

Choosing to buy reusable fabric bags for the purchase, Izumi let's the boys in their group carry everything to the last stop of the day, once there they grab two carts to give everyone free hands, and a place to put their choices.

Each broke off in seperate directions at first, but then all of the gravitated to the area that held the stuffed animals.

Izumi herself had chosen a pack of puzzles that would hopefully be fun but challenge Hawks mind before she went and selected a green bunny that's fur was surprisingly close to her hair, and a white bear that looked the closest she could find to Nezu.

The others had all grabbed games that could be played with others, but the stuffed animal choices were what had Izumi grinning. Shōta had chosen a black cat, Nemuri had chosen a classic brown otter, Oboro and chosen a purple octopus, and Hizashi had chosen a bright eye searing yellow bird.

After paying Izumi checked the time, it was only five-thirty.

Looking back at her friend she quickly asked. "Wanna come over for dinner? Maybe help me build the bed?"

Four agreements later of different levels of energy had Izumi grabbing three of the six bags of toys, leaving the others to sort the rest out themselves until they got outside and called a taxi. She made her way to the entrance of the mall that she had originally come from.

Against Izumi's usual luck there is a taxi large enough for all of them already sitting curb side, knocking on the window with her free hand she catches the driver's attention. They open the back of the van once they catch sight of Izumi and unlocks the doors as the others load up the back.

"Thank you, we are going to seven-two-eight Sakura Ave South." Izumi says as she climbs into the front seat.

The four teens in the back are all arguing loudly with each other on what they should order for dinner, Izumi figures that in the end they will order pizza.

"Damn." Oboro says as they pull up to the house.

Silently Izumi agrees, outwardly she says. "It's big because we have some people that are going to need a new place to live soon."

Unloading everything from the back of the taxi goes just about as well as loading did, each of the boys fighting over who would take the heaviest things, Izumi just rolled her eyes as she paid the driver.

Izumi is the first to make it to the door and opens it only to stop and carefully listen for any noise that would let her know if someone is home.

It's all quiet, and Izumi is pretty happy that she still has a little time, she knows that the commission is in Tokyo, and it's about an hour and a half drive from UA where Nezu had to stop to get his specially designed car.

That alone meant three hours of travel time, and Izumi thought that the commission was going to drag their feet as long as they possibly could. She would need to order enough food for Nezu and 'Keigo'.

All four teens finally in the house Izumi led them to the second level and into the empty room.

Earlier when she had noted the dimensions of the room she hadn't paid attention to the wall or carpet color, but she was happy to see that the carpet was a dark chocolate brown, and that three of the four walls were such a light brown they almost looked cream, the fourth wall was a dark green that without a light on Izumi guess it would look black.

They all piled the bags in one corner of the room to keep it mostly out of the way to get the furniture set up.

Half way down the stairs Izumi felt like hitting herself.

"We forgot a desk chair and curtains." She said and brought her hand to slap her forehead.

"Shit." Nemuri said and pouted.

"Get them tomorrow." Shōta told her as he pinched his nose. "You promised food."

Getting everyone situated in the living room took some shuffling, Izumi had asked the boys to move the couches into Nezu's prefered position of ninety degrees of each other with the one that looked more used facing the window. Izumi then pushed the coffee table parallel to the window as well.

"Sorry no T.V but we do have my laptop and a project." She told them preemptively, ash she dug around in the box labeled electronics.

Making a squeak of triumph when she pulled out the box that they always kept the projector and all its cables in.

She drops it carefully on the coffee table and then runs up the stairs again to grab her laptop out of the same lockbox that her phone was in.

Back in the living room again she hears the same argument from in the taxi about food, with a sigh of resignation she sits herself infront of the coffee table, situates her laptop on its serface and opens it up to load.

Once the password window opens she has Nemuri looking over her shoulder, she's greatful that it's a current hero's quirk that she needs to match the name with and not the name of someone from her original hero class.

"What's that?" The other girl asks.

"Oh, dad had me write my own password program, it shows a picture related to a hero's quirk and then I have to put in the hero name for the password." Izumi explains simply.

"Huh, can you do that on anything?" Shōta asks from where he is now leaning over Nemuri to see better.

"Yea, I have something similar to it on my phone, that one makes me put in the date and time according to the twenty-four hour clock." Izumi explains and shows them what she means.

All of them look interested in the program on her phone and if they ask Izumi is willing to put the program on their devices.

"Anyway, food. I want to make sure we have enough for dad and the baby bird. Dad likes cheese pizza when we order out, and I think the profile I saw said that Keigo likes fried chicken." Izumi says as she pulls up the webpage for Nezu's prefered pizza place.

"Oh, I'll eat cheese pizza!" Nemuri says with a happy smile on her lips.

"Pepperoni." Is Shōta input.

"Cheese!" Hizashi almost slips into his quirk but Shōta quickly looks at the blond with his own active.

"Pepperoni." Oboro yells, throwing his hands in the air.

"So two large cheese, two large pepperoni, and sixty boneless wings sauce on the side." Izumi says as she clicks on their chosen meals adding sauces all in the mild range. "It will be here soon."

"So what movie are we watching?" Hizashi asks the group.

"Prequirk or post quirk?" Izumi asks them, she personally preferred prequirk, especially when it came to thrillers or animated movies.

"Prequirk." Shōta demands when the others are silent. Izumi grins at the boy, she's going to put on a thriller.

"Kiss the girls, it is!" She announces not giving them any choice.

A few clicks later she has the movie ready to play, and she's connecting the projector and linking it up against the wall kiddy corner to the window.

Looking over her shoulder she then skips over to the window to cover the half closest to the wall.

Getting back to where she was originally sitting, Izumi started the movie.

"You want to know all about me don't you?"

The voice of a male actor filled the room.

It didn't take long for the four others in the room to lose themselves in the movie, all of them silent.

It was eight when the others left, giving themselves enough time to reach their own homes before it was dark.

And it was around nine when Nezu and Keigo got to the house, the bed and desk had been delivered and assembled by the delivery team at six-thirty leaving the small group of teens with nothing to assemble.

"Izumi, we're home." Nezu calls as he opens the door.

"Welcome home!" Izumi calls back from the living room where she is working on unpacking all their books after she did her best to set up Keigo's room, even using one of her own sheets as a makeshift curtain.

When Nezu makes his way into the room he is trailed by the most adorable little boy she had ever seen.

"Keigo, this is Izumi." Nezu says gently.

Izumi dropped to her knees to be at eye level. "Hi Keigo, it's nice to meet you." She says slowly and carefully.

"H-hi." The little blond whispers, she sounds scared but oh so hopeful.

Izumi opens her arms slowly and carefully before asking. "Can I ha:?"

Keigo doesn't wait for her to finish the question before he throws himself in her arms. Izumi rubs one hand in slow circles on his lower back as her other cards through his hair.

"Welcome home Keigo." Izumi says again just to make the boy understand in some way that this is his home now.

Keigo refuses to let go of her even as he eats the chicken she had ordered for him, his eyes light up with pure glee on the first bite and he inhales the rest one handed, the other tangled in Izumi's shirt with a healthy helping of hair as well.

Izumi smiles at the boy as he falls asleep, she's careful when she lifts him and carries him up the stairs. The only problem was that he had a death grip on her shirt and hair, no matter how she tried he wouldn't let go.

With a sigh Izumi gave up and picked the winged little boy back up and took him to her room. It was an awkward ten minutes as she balanced Keigo in one arm and wiggled out of her jeans and then into a pair of pajama pants.

Izumi felt another flash or rage at the commission at the same time she was also grateful, the only clothes that Keigo had arrived with was two sets of child sized white scrubs. They would be comfortable to sleep in but they were not something she would ever put a child in daily.

With more careful maneuvering Izumi crawled into bed and the shifted Keigo so he was laying with his chest diagonally across her own, his wings spread out making a blanket of their own for Izumi, even as she pulled one over his back as well.

"Sleep well my rosefinch." She whispered into the mess of blond fluff that was Keigo's hair.

#rewound #dad nedzu #female midoriya izuku #time travel #takami keigo #aizawa shouta #yamada hizashi #kayama nemuri #shirakumo oboro #chapter15 #bnha #mha #my hero academy fanfiction #boku no hero academia

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dopescotlandwarrior · 4 years

Text

Bluegrass-Chapter 24

Much love to @Statell for making my stories flow.

Previous chapter on AO3

Chapter Twenty-Four

The shop owner bent over his worktable and pried the stones out of the gold setting. The ring was fourteen karat gold and would fetch a nice price. When the bell above the door tinkled, he looked up at a lady coming to the counter. She tossed a large ring on the counter.

“Sell or pawn?”

“Sell.”

He looked at her and reached for his loop. She looked like a street person so how did she come by this, he wondered. To his amazement the diamonds were real, and the gold tested to eighteen karat. His heart was ramming.

“Who’d you steal this from lady?”

“It’s mine, you ignorant asshole.”

“Sorry, I can’t help you. Try down the street.”

She grabbed the ring and looked at the man with her one good eye. “Fuck you.”

He watched her carry her bulk toward the door and waved his hand in the air to chase away her body odor.

The woman tried two more pawn shops and the third was owned by someone with fewer scruples. He bought the ring for one thousand dollars plus a gun. It was a lady Smith and Wesson five-shooter. She grabbed a box of shells on her way out, looking at the man defiantly. He ran to lock his door and start making calls. This ring would sell quickly for ten thousand. If it wasn’t hot, he could ask fifty thousand easily. He flipped open his phone book and started dialing.

The sweaty woman stumbled into Walmart and felt the cool air inside provide a little more energy for the last item she needed. Twenty minutes later she held her new phone to her ear and ordered a taxi to take her to the Motel 6. She paid the driver without a tip and heaved herself out of the car. There were working girls and ugly people all around the place. She would fit right in.

Walking up to the desk, she pulled her shirt down over the roll of fat that bulged from her tight waistband. The clothes she was arrested in were now three sizes too small. Prison food is created to keep hundreds of people full for a few hours. Not much thought went into the caloric intake or a balanced meal. Carbohydrates and fat were the main ingredients of her diet for eleven months and she tipped the scale at two-hundred and fifty pounds. The clothes she wore were donated by the prison and they were cutting her in half.

Pulling her coach wallet out of her bag she pulled her license and scooted it toward the clerk. Ten minutes later she was locking her door and scowling at the traffic noise right outside her window. It would have to do.

She was exhausted. It took all night to get processed out of jail and then shown the door to freedom at five o’clock in the morning. She would sleep a bit and then call her father. He will want her to come home because there was nothing for her in Kentucky. He would put her mother on the phone who would beg and cry for her daughter to come back to Scotland. That could wait as well, she decided.

For eleven months she has thought of little else then Jamie Fraser, the man who stole millions of dollars from her by denying her any rights to the business or his new horse. Word went around the prison that Midnight Runner won the Triple Crown and that meant an extraordinary life was now his to live while she was shipped back to Scotland like yesterday’s trash. God she hated him.

Isobel laid down on the bed but thinking about Jamie got her so riled up she couldn’t sleep. Maybe a hot shower would help. The rundown hotel had a small mirror in the bathroom, the first clear mirror in eleven months. She looked at her face and tears rolled down her fat cheeks. One of her eyelids opened only a slit after she was punched in the forehead during a prison fight. The nerve damage was permanent. She looked at her hair cut almost to her scalp. A going-away present from the bitches who hated her and kept her in solitary much of the time. She recalled being held on the ground while the meanest of them cut off her hair. It stuck out in all directions and she tried to smooth it down with water, but nothing helped. She was raging inside at what he did to her. This was all his fault.

Isobel’s father kept money on her books, the maximum allowable at the insistence of her mother. Isobel had nothing but disdain for other women making it quite impossible to make friends who could help her. She bargained her commissary for favors and finally found someone with a relative who would look up Chad’s whereabouts. He was in the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville and she wrote to him every day and couldn’t wait to hear back. Months went by with no word and she became hurt, and then mad. She sent another letter and on the outside of the envelope in small letters, she wrote “you little puke of a man why won’t you answer me?” She didn’t expect a response and when one came it was short and to the point.

‘Enduring your disgusting presence and vomit worthy sex was a means to an end. You self-absorbed cow. You never figured out I was gay because you were busy looking at yourself, with or without a mirror. It made it easy to manipulate you. Happy now?’

That was Jamie’s fault as well, she stormed in her head. He deserves to be skinned alive and forced to watch. She wouldn’t risk him getting the upper hand, so she had to settle for a bullet in his head.

She picked up her purse and left. There was a liquor store on the corner and she needed whisky, and a lot of it.

Claire woke up in an empty bed and noticed a note on her side table. She smiled as she read it.

“It is a perfect day to sit on the sundeck and read. There is nothin you need to do today, and I won’t be long with Michael.”

They had purchased a new double-wide ergonomic chase and had not tried it out yet. Maybe they could read the book together. While she waited for Jamie, she chose pages throughout the book to read and was very impressed with Michael’s writing. The theme running throughout the book was about kindness to the horse through various means, particularly the whip. He advocated the elimination of pain as a motivator. It would change horse racing completely because the competitors would be running because they wanted to win. The horse had to love running and it could be done, according to Michael, but training and reward had to change.

Claire wondered how this book would differ from Nosh’s. He was coming to Kentucky the following week and would spend the day with them. She was excited to fulfill her promise to finish her story, whether he believed her or not.

Jamie dropped Michael at his hotel just after noon. He would be joining them for dinner tonight and would UBER back around seven o’clock. Jamie looked forward to an afternoon lounging with his best girl.

For the rest of the day, Jamie and Claire took turns reading the book and powered through half of it before cuddling on the chase to nap a bit.

“Sassenach.” Jamie ran his hand down her arm until she opened her eyes. “Will ye come with me to bring the horses in?”

She smiled up at him and nodded yes before pulling her jeans and boots on. They walked to the barn and discussed the book, both commenting on how much they had forgotten about those crazy days. They brought fifteen horses in, two at a time, then went to bring in the mares and babies. Claire laughed at the antics of the foals, running ahead and then freezing with fear when they couldn’t see their mothers. When all were put away for the night, they made one more trip for Runner and Porcelain. When Jamie watched them running to the gate, he looked at Claire with a big smile.

“I’d like to bring Porcelain into season early and breed her in February.”

“To him?”

It was settled. Porcelain would be Runner’s first cover and Claire was thrilled. A touch of romance in an otherwise clinical setting of the breeding room. They would be each other’s first.

As they walked home, Jamie threw up his arms and announced he had finished the repairs on Runner’s stall, and they could move them back to their larger accommodations. Claire held his hand and told him tomorrow would be soon enough. She had a shower and cooking to do.

It was a delightful time to sit with their old friend, spoil him with steak, roasted vegetables, and copious amounts of whisky. Claire considered inviting others to dinner but decided she didn’t want to share Michael’s time. They ate at the table outside and simply moved to more comfortable seats to continue the discussion.

Jamie answered the doorbell and spoke to a neighbor before announcing he would be back in ten minutes. The neighbor needed a jump. Michael offered to come and help but Jamie told him to relax, he had this.

Michael had Claire in giggle overload reminding her of times they were on the road. Claire got up to grab the coffee pot and stopped in her tracks.

“Michael, do you smell something burning.”

He stood up and said he smelled it too. When Claire opened the front door, she screamed for Michael. It was definitely a fire and somewhere close. They started running and a quarter-mile never seemed so far. The closer they got; they were more convinced it was the barn on fire. Claire punched numbers into the keypad, and Michael opened the roll away doors as smoke poured out.

“Chase them all out, Michael!”

Claire ran down the aisle pulling stall doors open until she got to Runner and Porcelain and they were not moving. None of the horses were running outside. She slapped Porcelain hard on the rump knowing Runner would follow. The mare whinnied loudly and took off for the big doors.

Claire looked at the smoke filling the barn and coughed into her shirt. She saw horses running by but could not see Michael. She continued to work her way down the aisle smacking horses so they would run to safety. She looked up and saw babies running alongside their mothers and knew Michael had gone to the dams’ wing to set them free.

Jamie waved to the neighbor as he drove down their shared road. He caught the scent of burning wood and jumped into the bed of his truck to look for smoke. Finally, he saw the embers rising into the air on his own property! With a hammering heart, he drove through the gate and saw horses scattered all over. He knew someone was at the barn and drove as fast as possible, ever watchful for a horse running across the road.

Jamie ran to the barn. His heart rate was in the stroke zone and he started coughing the second he was inside. He called for Claire as he ran down the aisle looking for any stuck horses. The dams’ wing was empty, where the hell was Claire and Michael? Or whoever let the horses out. He turned the turbines on that pulled air from the interior. They were all over the roof so he ran as fast as he could flipping them on high.

He called the fire department as he ran for Runner’s wing. The door was open and something inside him told him to proceed with caution. He could hear Claire and Michael coughing. Why were they in there? When he heard Isobel’s voice his blood turned to ice. He forced himself not to cough and give away his presence. He searched frantically for a way to get the drop on her. He had to do something before Claire and Michael died from asphyxiation.

He ran to the back of the barn where the smoke was too thick to see. He ran his hand along the wall until he felt the switches for the turbines. Filling his lungs with air he ran into the equipment room and pulled out a ten-foot length of steel pipe, very relieved it wasn’t burning hot and ran back.

Claire wasn’t coughing any more and Jamie knew she passed out with death coming for her. Without another second to think he rammed the door open and kept running as Isobel’s startled face came into view. She raised the gun just as he rammed the pipe into her stomach, impaling her on the back wall. He threw Claire over his shoulder and helped Michael to his feet pulling them outside to safety.

The fire engines were coming in slowly with no siren because Jamie explained there were horses scattered all over the property. Michael was bent over coughing and Claire was silent, unconscious. Jamie lowered her to the ground feeling more terrified than he had been in his life.

“Claire! Claire!”

The EMT’s pulled him away to render lifesaving aid to his wife, his soulmate, his whole world. Fire hydrants were installed on the land according to zoning rules and the men soon had two flows of water directed at the fire. Jamie heard more sirens coming only to go silent as they negotiated the gate and keypad.

The ambulance EMT’s were given instructions to open the gate and wait for it to close to make sure no horses escaped. The driver knew there were critical injuries and it took all his training and willpower not to barrel ahead to the injured. Jamie was covered with soot and sweat as he gripped his wife’s hand.

“Please Claire, ye must fight yer way back to me or I will surely die with ye.”

He was pulled away as they wheeled the gurney into the ambulance, Michael was loaded into a second vehicle. Jamie sank to his knees as a great crash came from the barn and a plume of embers rose into the night sky. Jamie didn’t flinch. He couldn’t move as he was locked into his pleading prayers to God.

A great fireball exploded into the dark sky and men were yelling about a secondary fire. Jamie heard none of it and continued to pray.

The captain pulled Jamie up and brought him under the light spreading out a schematic of the barn interior.

“Is there anyone else in the building?”

Jamie pointed to Runner’s wing. The fire captain pulled him to the large engine and told him to sit down. The huge fire engines took up all the space available in front of the barn and police cruisers were lined up behind them. Officers were standing by a short distance away and the captain went to speak with them.

Jamie felt the tears fall off his face, he knew his business was in ruins, his prize horse chased into the darkness, but none of that mattered as much as Claire’s pale, soot-stained face. He looked up at the commanding voice above him and stared at the officer with blank eyes.

“You identified an area where someone was left inside. I am sorry to inform you that the roof caved in above that wing about five minutes ago. Did anyone go back inside to pull the person out?”

“No. I impaled her against the wall with a ten-foot length of steel pipe.”

Jamie stood up and walked toward his vehicle but never made it. It took five officers to hold him back and he was finally cuffed and dropped into a cruiser. He had no comprehension of what was happening, and he fought against the restraints until he felt a blinding pain as his wrist separated. He slumped forward choking through this added suffering.

“Mister Fraser! Stop struggling I have news of your wife. She is in intensive care, so is the other man, but they are expected to pull through. They are gonna be fine. You have confessed to a capital crime. You belong to the Lexington police force now so you might as well cooperate and sit still. You’re a big man and tasers hurt, so walk when you’re told, sit where you’re told and answer our questions. It’s the best advice I can give you.”

Jamie did as told and explained who Isobel was, how she tried to kill his horses before. He did not know she was released on parole. She had set fire to the barn and held Claire and Michael at gunpoint as they slowly choked to death in front of her. She wore an elaborate gas mask and just stood by as they struggled to breathe. She had raised her gun to Jamie’s head as he rammed the pipe into her stomach. He did not bother to go back in to save her because he was too busy with his wife and friend.

“I didn’t know if she was alive or dead. I didn’t care.”

Jamie was a pillar of the community and the officers made quick work of releasing him with the warning to not leave the state. There was an officer waiting to take him to the hospital. Jamie sat in the back seat holding his throbbing wrist. The officer decided to break the rules for the poor man and turned on his siren as he raced to the hospital.

Jamie piled out of the car and ran into the emergency department. He approached Claire slowly with tears streaking through the grime on his face. He was so overcome at the sight of her his whole body started to shake.

The nurse taking her blood pressure almost fainted at the sight of Jamie but recovered quickly as his face softened looking at his wife.

“She has been asking for you if your name is Jamie that is.” She had a warm smile and a concerned face.

“It is… my name is Jamie.”

The nurse ran for the chair that was shared among the visitors because it looked like he would fall any minute. She pushed Jamie into it and asked if he was alright.

“As soon as this lass opens her eyes, I will be fine.”

“She is doing really well physically. Her doctor may keep her tonight, not sure yet.”

Jamie looked down at Claire’s open eyes, looking at him. She seemed to look at everything she could see and then he watched her dissolve in tears. She was fighting to stop crying but she just couldn’t. She tried to speak to him, but no sound came out.

“Her voice will come back. Two or three days.”

Claire was asleep again and Jamie felt lost suddenly. She just closed her eyes to the pain that was making her cry, leaving Jamie alone. He picked up the phone and called Jason, then Angus. He knew he had to leave her and get back to what was left of their barn. He kissed her face and walked toward the entrance, there lingering at the doorway was the officer who drove him to the hospital.

“Mister Fraser, I waited to take you home, sir.”

Jamie looked battle-scarred and fatigued at the moment, so they headed for his home without further comment. The fire was out, and firemen continued to crawl through the haylofts and roof structure looking for live embers. They had done an excellent job limiting the damage. The fire marshal approached Jaime and shook his hand. His voice was commanding yet tempered with understanding that Jamie appreciated.

“Mister Fraser, it’s a tragedy to be sure, but we minimized the damage and found all the clues, I think. The fire was set on the north-facing side, right here.” He pointed to Runner’s wing on the barn schematic. Gasoline was used as an accelerant that was provided by your fuel tower. The perpetrator used your five-gallon buckets that were stacked at the hose in back, filled them with your fuel, and left the nozzle open to drain the fuel into the ground. When embers landed there it all went up in a fireball. You will have an ugly reminder for a while I’m afraid. It’s safe to bring the horses in except for this area. The roof caved in and it’s burned badly. It is where we found the body of a woman, but I hear you have given a statement to the police already and believe her to be responsible. The coroner has removed the body. I will be in touch as the investigation progresses. He walked toward his vehicle throwing his clipboard on the seat before getting in.

Jamie looked around feeling lost until he saw Rupert and Angus walk out of the barn with two leads each and lariats attached to their belt loops. They looked at Jamie’s haunted eyes and simply nodded as they made their way to the pastures. The horses were tied to a fence once caught so they could be identified and counted. Jason and Lulu pulled up looking shell shocked. Lulu was crying and asking about Claire. Jason ran to the barn for halters and leads and handed a lead to Lulu as they left to search for more horses.

Molly and her fiancé were next, followed by two of the vets that Claire had befriended. They would check the horses that were brought in and treat any issues. As word spread, neighbors and owners came in to join the search and by afternoon, all but two horses had been rounded up. The missing horses, Porcelain and Runner.

The horses were split up into groups and led to graze in the multiple pastures. They would stay outside for the day and let the barn air out. Jamie continued to call Claire, to say I love you and give progress reports. Jamie’s voice cracked when he said they had not found Runner or Porcelain and Claire sobbed for the lost horses but mostly for Jamie. Michael had fared better and was released to rest in his hotel room. Jamie wandered through the pastures calling for Runner until dark.

Jamie stayed with Claire overnight. She was moved out of critical care and there was a fat Lazyboy right next to the bed. He had full trust in his crew, so he stayed until she was released the next day. She mostly cried when she was awake, and Jamie couldn’t wait until he could hold her and give her comfort.

Driving into the compound was very hard on Claire as visions of Isobel taunting her, saying she would shoot Jamie in front of her and then let them die, came back to haunt her. Jamie explained that he had killed Isobel, but Claire expected her to jump out from every corner.

Claire couldn’t yell for Runner, but she insisted on walking the far pastures to help look for him. To no avail, the two of them were gone. Jamie held Claire through the night, waking up every few hours because she was crying and shaking. He eased her back to sleep much quicker than he was able to follow her. By the next day, he had deep circles under his eyes as he drove the property in search of his horses.

The other horses were returned to the barn, back in their original stalls because there was very little damage to anything but Runner’s wing. Jamie shivered to think he wanted to go back to the barn and move Runner and Porcelain back to their original stalls. He closed the wing off with plans to rebuild once the insurance was settled. Not one of the owners moved their horse to another barn. They knew Jamie was honest and ethical. This was not his fault and he had taken care of the problem.

Jamie sat down hard on his office chair in the early evening. The silence was such a relief after playing hero for the past two days. He wasn’t a hero. He was terrified about what could have happened and what will happen next. Could his business recover, could Claire feel safe again, could they find a new normal without Runner? Picking up his ringing phone he heard the deep voice of Dunsany, and he lost it.

“Jamie, it's going to be alright. You aren’t hurt, you will repair the damage and go on. Now listen to me son, get it out, and then get back to work. That’s a good lad, I’m here for ye, depend on that.”

Dunsany waited, speaking quietly to encourage Jamie, trying to infuse him with the will to start over. They talked for almost an hour and Dunsany told him arrangements had been made to bring Isobel’s body back to Scotland. She could never threaten them again. The older man worried deeply about Jamie pulling out of this nightmare and his anger at Isobel kept him secluded from his family for several days. It wasn’t right for a father to hate his own daughter and he would keep that to himself.

Jamie walked the pastures as the sun was coming up. He had a distinctive whistle that all the horses were used to. It always brought them in, no matter how far they had roamed. He heard a whinny and turned his head, heart beating like thunder in his chest he watched the pasture turning in all directions and finally saw her. Porcelain ran toward him crying out her fear in loud whinnies. She came to him and snorted while he slipped the halter on her and snapped a lead. He started walking back expecting Runner to run up on them any second. When he closed the door to Porcelain’s stall, he dropped his head in defeat.

“Where have ye gone laddie?”

Jason, Lulu, Rupert and Angus put the barn back together, ordered supplies, rented stalls, answered calls from worried owners, and assisted whoever and whatever was needed in the moment. Their fearless leader searched for Runner day and night and Claire was not often seen. She looked shattered and they didn’t know how to approach her, so they didn’t.

Michael came on the fourth day and took Claire to drive the property boundaries. Claire searched the pastures through field glasses as they continued to drive for two hours. He was just gone. He jumped a fence and just kept running she assumed. There were thousands of acres of forest that bordered their land and he was lost in that forest somewhere, starving to death. Claire’s sobbing broke Michael’s heart. He stopped the car and pulled her out to hold her to him. He promised her they would find him.

“We need to walk the land, Claire. He’s scared and hiding somewhere in the trees. Let him see us walking.” He pushed a lead in her hand, and they ducked between the white slats of the fence to walk the endless acres of Bluegrass.

Runner watched them from behind the trees. He watched her mostly and wanted to go to her. He could hear in her yell, something foreboding and fearful. If she would just get on his back, he could ride her to safety. He tried a couple of times to break out of the tree line, only to retreat in fear. They were getting closer to him. He was about to turn toward the forest and run but he saw images in his mind of Claire hugging him. It made him so happy. She was telling him she needed a hug. In the next second, he bolted toward the fence boundary and jumped it with ease running toward her, happier than he had ever been.

“Stop Claire. Turn around.”

Claire turned to see Runner galloping toward them. She started to giggle and then she held her arms out like she always did, for him to run into. He stopped ten feet from her and showed her images of being hugged. She kept her arms out and walked to him until she could wrap them around his neck. She put her hands on his cheeks and Michael could swear they were having a conversation as Runner would nicker at times and drop his head on her shoulder.

Are you hurt?

I do not hurt.

Where you afraid?

I was afraid.

She kissed his face a dozen times and asked him to walk back to the barn, assuring him the smoke was gone and he would be safe. She dug a handful of sugar cubes out of her pocket and he feasted on them.

Very hungry.

Let’s go home.

Michael called Jamie to tell him they were walking back, with Runner, and he started running to meet them. Runner nickered and lifted his head when he saw Jamie running toward them. Claire unsnapped the lead and Runner took off stopping right in front of Jamie’s beaming smile. They were still hugging when Claire and Michael caught up to them.

Porcelain whinnied loudly in the air and stomped all over her stall. Rupert looked at her and wondered what got into the lass when he saw the movement in his peripheral vision. He was almost in tears when he saw the three of them with a giant black horse behind them. Runner went to Porcelain for a make-out session and Claire could see images of Rupert pouring grain into his feeder. She laughed quietly to herself.

“Cheeky bastard.”

They said goodbye to Michael at the airport and made him promise to visit soon. Claire hugged him and cried while Michael complained she would surely melt with any more tears. Once on the road home, Claire leaned against Jamie and wrapped her arm around his middle. They had not made love since the fire and the feel of him was suddenly intoxicating. She kissed his neck until she was breathless and when she pulled his belt away and grabbed his zipper Jamie pulled onto a logging road into the forest where he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.

They were frantic to join their hungry bodies after a long hiatus from passion. Jamie pulled her shirt over her head and reached around to unclasp her bra setting her breasts free to bounce with their efforts. When she finally pulled him into her body, they both moaned loudly before the rhythm of arousal took them to a new plane of existence.

Officer Josh Baker was heading back to the station while he daydreamed in heavy traffic. When he saw Jamie’s pickup truck veer off the road, he shook his head and blinked several times. It couldn’t be, he told himself. What are the odds of finding them in the same predicament as before? Some people never learn he thought. He pulled off onto the logging road to wait.

Traffic along the four lanes where Jamie took the detour slowed way down due to the cruiser parked along the side of the road, presumably for radar speed checking. The officer pointed his radar gun out the window and waited. When he heard Jamie’s engine start he pulled into traffic, and they were none the wiser about his protection.

Slowly, life at Highland Brothers returned to normal and Jason, the new custodian of Claire's truck, would pick her up for a day of medical treatments and do his best to remember any of the details when she asked him. On long rides she would describe the lab assays they would run to get him used to the terminology and procedure. From February to June, she would reduce her hours away to ten hours per week so she could take care of the breeding operation. She was anxious to be working with Jamie again.

Claire sat across from Nosh at the kitchen table and looked at the sheets of pictures. There had to be at least five-hundred pictures of her and runner. She answered Nosh’s questions thoughtfully and held nothing back. Nosh recovered quickly from the declaration that she can talk to animals. He always knew there was a major component of the story missing.

“I have wondered how an untrained jockey could ride that horse through all those races.”

“It was my yoga training. My balance was very good and if you hadn’t noticed, I didn’t move at all, once the race started, I just hung on to is mane for dear life. He told me what to do, when to do it, and I felt safe after a while.”

“How could he hear you during the race, there’s too much noise?”

“Are you saying you believe me?”

“You are an educated woman Claire, a veterinarian, and you won the Triple Crown as a novice jockey. I’ve been on the track all my adult life, so I knew there was a secret to your success. What I wouldn’t give for photo evidence of you racing him on foot.”

“Oh! I have photo evidence. Jamie took loads of pictures from the equipment barn where he hid for the first month. They are amateur at best, but I will be happy to show you..”

Nosh was on his feet in seconds, “please, yes I would love to see them.”

Claire settled Nosh in a chair close to the computer monitor and brought up the pictures. There was a perfect sequence of them at the starting line, Claire running full speed around the track, and Runner staying on the rail to pass her. Claire bent over panting and Runner circling her with his head and tail in the air. In the last picture, Claire is scowling at the horse with her hands in the air.

Nosh laughed so hard and sputtered “pure gold!” when he could catch a breath. “Good God, I haven’t laughed like that since I was a kid. Name your price, I’m sure the magazine will pay it.”

“Certainly not! You can have them with my thanks.”

This was the icing on the cake to Nosh. The book he had dreamed of for the last year would be better than he could have imagined.

Claire told Nosh everything from cutting Runner out of his dam to winning the Triple Crown and all the baiting and psychological tricks she used to keep him wanting to win. The story was told, and she sat back and took a deep breath.

“How would you like to spend some time with Runner?”

They walked out to the pasture and the two horses made a bee-line for them. Claire stood in front of Nosh and opened her arms for two frothy-mouthed horses to assault her with smells and snorts. She stepped aside pulling her phone out of her pocket and launching the camera app. Nosh seemed frozen as he watched Runner come toward him. Claire moved farther away and started snapping pictures. Nosh, nose to nose with Runner, the colt draping his head over Nosh’s shoulder from behind, stroking his neck, laughing at the assault on his pockets looking for treats. Claire kept snapping until she had sixty-five pictures of Nosh and Runner. She would transfer all the pictures of Runner including these to a thumb drive and send it to Nosh. It made her happy inside to give something back.

Claire walked the reporter out to his rental car and hugged him, thanking him for everything. Nosh saw no reason they might meet again so he made his words count.

“You feel like the daughter I never had. I am so proud of what you’ve done. If your actions with Runner are any indication of motherhood, I hope to live long enough to see your kids cure cancer and win the Nobel prize. Goodbye Claire, and thank you for the interview.”

Motherhood? What an odd thing to say, she decided and waved goodbye.

Claire walked back into the house feeling her mood turn dark when she looked at the ugly furniture she and Jamie had failed to replace. She wished for a happy feeling when she opened the door to their home and hated this furniture even more after the fire. A call to the Salvation Army to pick up a high-end living room set pushed her to the front of the line. They would pick it up this afternoon. When the living room was empty, she called Jamie and asked if he could finish early because there wasn’t a chair or couch to sit on anymore. They needed to visit the furniture stores in town.

Claire got dressed up with straight hair and makeup because it felt like a special trip, something to be remembered. They would finally take ownership of their space and rid the memory of the most heinous woman on earth. With only one week until Christmas, she was excited.

Jamie watched a beautiful, confident woman walk toward him when he came home. He looked at her long pretty hair, short dress, and high heels, feeling his stomach do flips.

“Yer beautiful Sassenach, and our living room is empty sure enough.”

“You have ten minutes James Fraser.”

73 notes · View notes

deeeelightfuldee · 3 years

Text

Are you better at cooking dinners or making cakes/biscuits/sweets? baking definitely. I want to get more comfortable cooking.

Have you ever cut someone else’s hair? yes. I used to be pretty good at doing my brothers hair-- even the fading. But I’m sure I’ve forgotten it all by now.

Who was the last guest in your house and what were they staying for? probably my sister or my nephews.

How many long term relationships have you been in? blegh. not many. Whenever I’d know that it didnt have long term potential, id drop it. no sense dragging out the inevitable.

Do you sleep with all the lights out, or do you leave a lamp or even the television on? so for the longest time I kept my room super dark. I slept well. once miller died and kile broke my heart, I couldn’t sleep without the tv playing. I needed to hear something calming and voices talking so I wouldn’t be left with my thoughts. I still can’t turn it off.

Who is one person you have forgiven, but still have not “forgotten” what they have done? i think its easy to say “forgive and forget” but the reality is that once we have endured trauma we don’t easily forget. I think its kind of unrealistic. I’m trying to forgive kile but thats going to take.. i dont know how long. As for what it was... it was just betrayal.. lying. for six+ years. lots of laughing at me.

Are you a fan of Lana Del Rey? I like some of her songs.

Do you know your blood type? o+

Do you know your mother’s birthday? Yes. its coming up.

Have you ever been pregnant? I dont think so. I was really late after my assault but who knows.

How old were you when you first went on a plane? like 7ish

Have you ever had to take out a loan for anything? Yeah, student loans. 15k feels so daunting right now.

Are both of your blood parents still in your life? One is. My mom.

When was the last time you went apple picking? highschool maybe?

Someone asked you what you wanted, what would you say? money.. or a trip.

Have you ever been drunk at school or work? definitely not.

How many bedrooms are in your house? four.

Are you smart about computers? I know some stuff.

Have you ever played Just Dance for Wii? oh heck’n yeah

Do you own a Xbox 360? I had one from my brother for a little while but I traded it for the gamecube since Kile was going to send me one of the 15 he had lol. That didn’t end up happening, but its OK i really dont need more gaming.

Would you ever do a sex tape for a million dollars? oooooooo.. probably not.

So, do you need a nap? all day is full of naps to try and get over this.

What would you rather be doing? school

What sport are you the best at? maybe volleyball or swimming

Do you have a little sister? What’s her name? Nope, im the baby.

Do you complain a lot? no, i try not to. I find complaining to be the most unattractive and yet common human trait and while there are definitely situations worthy of complaining, most of the time it just makes a situation worse than it actually was.

Would you rather go to an authentic haunted house or an ancient temple? temple

Do you like fruity or minty gum? definitely minty

Are you looking forward to any day of this month? i was really looking forward to Kile’s birthday on monday, but since we arent talking anymore then there is no joy in that. all the other special dates have been ruined by covid.

Have you ever gotten detention? Nope. homeschoolers and detention arent a thing.

Is there a traumatic event that you’ve experienced that’s changed your life? oh sure. heartbreak, deaths, assaults, etc.

Do you buy a majority of your clothes from a certain store, or do you just pick out items of clothing you could see yourself wearing, not caring about the store it came from? no, i can’t be super picky because not every store carries clothing long enough for me.

Have any of the artists you’re fond of released new albums recently? i havent got a clue

Would you ever keep your favorite animal as a pet? I mean I’m very fond of cats & dogs

Ever cried so much you threw up? this is what happened the whole 2-3 weeks following finding out about Kile.

Who is your best guy friend? I suppose now that would be Nathan

What do you two do when you hang out? drives, game nights, get food/drinks, or just talk.

What is a movie that you thought you would hate but you ended up loving? Her

Do you even like horror movies? not particularly. I’ll watch them if someone else wants to but its not my preference.

Do you live in the country? i live in the suburbs i suppose.

What is your favorite accent? Some southern and British accents. <same ... i have no idea how I made the font like this.

Have you ever had a boyfriend your parents didn’t like? Not that I can think of.

Do you drink Pepsi or Coke? diet coke

What do you plan to do on your 21st birthday? my family celebrated during the day and then I think nathan took me out on the town

Do you have any person in your family with an addiction to beer? nope.

Do you take a lot of pictures? man. this question is hard. I used to love taking pictures of myself. I had much more self confidence and some of it was because kile LOVED my selfies -- or so he said. and I just had so much fun doing that. Since the heartbreak, I’ve maybe taken 10 selfies. I just don’t have any self confidence in my looks anymore. its so different now. most of my pictures now are of other people or scenery.

What kind of face wash do you use? cerave when I want to. otherwise i use water and a very particular type of fabric.

Does drama always seem to follow you? No, i dont think so.

Does anybody in your family race? like cars? running? no.

Are you closer to your mom or dad? My mom.

How much money did you used to get from the ”tooth fairy?” I think i got it like 2x and it was a dollar.

Do you have a laptop or desktop? Laptop.

Do you like your parents? i love my mom.

Do you secretly like someone? No.

Would you ever date your best male friend? I don’t see any romantic feelings developing between nathan and I

What are you currently listening to? I have gilmore girls on.

Do you want to be single? oooof. Um. I am torn on this subject. On the one hand, i really am ready to be loved, held, protected, cared for, etc. I love the idea of building a life together with someone and us both protecting our unit. I miss supporting, cherishing, loving on someone. Yet on the other hand, im fine being single. I have so much insecurity about myself lately that I dk that anyone else needs to deal with that baggage. Idk

Did you go out or stay in last night? I stayed in. ill be staying in for some time.

Have you pretended to like someone? romantically, no. professionally, yes.

How is your heart lately? Sad. heavy.

Are you wearing socks? not at the moment.

What do people call you? Di, diana, dee, ana, di-nan-na, dine-uh, deenah.

Do you get stressed out easily? no, I really dont

Have you ever been taken to the emergency room in an ambulance? yes

What is wrong with you right now? im sick. im heartbroken.

Do you own something from Hot Topic? not that I know of. if I do, it’d be from like middle school. I never shopped there but people tended to give gifts from there.

Would you rather sleep with someone else or alone? Alone. maybe I havent found the right sort of person to share a bed with.

Do you still talk to the person you last made out with? No.

Have you ever seen your best friend cry? Yes, several times.

Did you get any compliments today? No.

Have you ever gone to a beach? many many many times.

What would you say if someone asked you to get high right now? not my thing. at all.

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason? Yes.

Have you ever done volunteer work just because you wanted to? Yes.

Do you have long nails? they are healthy length. I want to grow them out a bit more.

Do you like the gender you are? Yeah.

Do you generally look nice in photos? Not anymore

Have you ever had a stick insect as a pet? no haha

What colour are your father’s eyes? Blue.

If I handed you a concert ticket right now, who would you want to be the performer? uhhhhm, blue october

Would you ever get into a long distance relationship? maybe not anymore.

What’s your favorite hot beverage? hot chocolate from dunkin

Did you ever play an instrument? If so what? i did. no comment.

Would you rather carve pumpkins or wrap presents? oooooohhhhhhhhh man i love both.

Do you think you’re important? I mean i offer some importance to this world but eh.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received? Hmm no idea.

Have you been diagnosed with any mental disorders? no

Have you ever moved to another state or country? If so, how did it feel to be new? No.

Do you know how to properly eat food with chopsticks? Nope.

What was the first thing you ate today? I haven’t eaten since breakfast yesterday

If you could spend the day, doing absolutely anything, with anyone, anywhere, what would it be like? for the longest time it was to spend the day driving aimlessly and getting food and talking about everything and nothing with Kile. now, its just.. idunno. blank.

If I were to ask you how you are doing, and you were only able to answer completely honestly, what would come out? I’m not doing well.

What is the one thing that you have been avoiding that you should do? There’s a few things related to school.

Is there anything that you wish you could take back? not really, no.

What, in your mind, could make you truly happy? this whole covid nonsense going away, heartbreak to soothe, and my miller back.

If you could change one conversation in your life, what would you say differently? Would it have REALLY made any difference? i dont know.

When is the next time you’ll change your hairstyle? Will you color it? I just changed it up so itll be a bit.

Do people normally say you’re a fast typist, or are you rather slow? Fast.

Have you ever been considered the ‘smartest person in school?’ yes. several times.

How many drugs are in your system? lol lots of meds rn to kick this. usually none.

What’s on your schedule for tomorrow? the same as today.

Do you currently have any bite marks/hickeys on your body? No. i dont like the idea of bite marks but hickeys were fun for a time. in not visible areas tho.

Do you call anyone baby? Not anymore.

What’s your current mood? Bleh.

What were you doing before filling out this survey? Watching gilmore girls

How late did you stay up last night? I took PM meds at i wanna say 8? maybe 7? I don’t remember.

When was the last time you cried really hard? its been a few weeks since ive cried about Kile. I’m in the numb stage.

Is your hair longer than your shoulders? hahahahahahah

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atths--twice · 4 years

Link

And now for the final of the Family Life Series.. for now anyway. I wrote this one in August, but did not post it here, being in the middle of posting the stories from the beginning. I didn’t want to confuse anyone and so I saved it until now.

During quarantine, I was home for two months. I thought I would get so much writing done, as I had literally nothing else to do.

Well... plans don’t always go the way we want and soon I was simply watching videos on Facebook every day. I happened to see one and then saw it again recently and I loved it.

It was of a little girl jumping in puddles and then asking her dad to join her. He jumped in happily, bouncing around her, and as cute as it is on its own, as a fic writer, all I could see was Mulder doing the same.

Jumping in puddles, building forts, telling tall tales... yeah, he would be into all of it.

Hope you enjoy this fun little story.

Mud Monsters 5/5

During the same summer break from school, we find a precocious little girl patiently waiting for it to rain so she can use her new rain boots and jump in as many mud puddles as possible. ❤️

July 2022

“Doctor Scully? Did we lose you?”

“I’m sorry. No, I’m here,” Scully said, mentally shaking herself from her thoughts and looking at the computer. “Actually, I think it did cut out on my end. Could you repeat the last thing that was said?” She smiled kindly, knowing full well it was a lie, but knowing that the others on the teleconference call did not.

Paying better attention this time as Doctor Snyder began to speak again, she still found her mind drifting away, as she wondered how Mulder and Faith were getting along. If they had found enough mud puddles for Faith, who had been so excited to jump in them.

She had new rain boots she had been dying to try out. Her old ones were “too pinchy on my toes, Mama,” something Scully had learned only when they had seen the current pair in a shop window and Faith had said how much she loved them.

Scully was sure she was not being completely honest and simply wanted the boots because they were cute and had planets, spaceships, and rockets on them, and also had sky blue rubber soles.

“Just like my raincoat, Mama! It’s my favoritest color. Look how pretty they are,” Faith had said excitedly, looking up at Scully with her blue eyes shining.

With a smile, they had walked into the shop, inquiring if they had a pair in her size. Seeing the true happiness the rain boots brought her, as she had walked around the store, Scully had smiled and nodded. What was twenty five dollars, really, in the grand scheme of things? She had remembered the feeling of wanting something as a child and knowing the probability of getting it was slim, so the boots had been purchased and carried home in a big rainbow colored bag.

Faith had been so pleased with them, she wore them inside incessantly, even going so far as to sleep with them on the floor beside her bed. Every morning she had woken up, hoping it had rained overnight, but it had been dry recently, with no puddles to jump in, something she dearly loved to do.

She had taken to sitting on the porch, Bella beside her as she stared at the sky, waiting for clouds to appear, and sighing as she shook her head when they did not.

“Is it going to rain soon?” she had asked at night when they tucked her in and kissed her goodnight, looking longingly at her boots. “Can you check your phone and see if it says it will?”

“I can, but you know it’s not always correct,” Mulder had told her.

“I know, Daddy,” she said as she sighed deeply and nodded.

“God,” Mulder had said quietly when they left her room. “I feel like letting the hose run to create some puddles for her, the poor kid.”

“Mulder,” Scully had said, shaking her head with a smile. “She needs to just wait. It will rain soon. It’s only been a few days now.”

“But those sighs, Scully,” he had said with a sigh of his own as he shook his head. “It’s like they come from the depths of her soul.”

“Mulder,” she had said with a soft chuckle, putting her hands on his chest, holding onto his shirt, and pulling gently to bring his lips down to hers. “She’ll be okay.” Kissing him again, he sighed against her lips and she smiled.

Another day had gone by with no rain and Mulder looked at Scully, shaking his head as they left Faith’s bedroom. She had seemed near tears tonight and Scully knew how much it hurt Mulder to see her upset.

“I know you want to give her everything she wants, and you want her to have a belief in the fantastic and love of nature,” Scully had said, touching his arms and smiling. “But, think about it, wouldn’t you rather it be real? ”

“Like Santa?” he had asked sarcastically, raising his eyebrows at her.

“And whose idea was it to tell her about him?” she had asked pointedly, raising her eyebrows back at him. He stared at her before sighing and nodding. “Mulder, it will rain. You both just have to be patient.” She smiled and gripped his upper arms, her thumbs rubbing gently.

“It’s just so hard,” he had groaned with a frown and she chuckled softly. He had smiled and she shook her head, letting go of his arms and turning to go downstairs.

“Maybe if you wish really hard, it will come true,” she had said and he hummed, following her down the stairs.

“You want to watch a movie? Rain Man maybe?” he had teased and she laughed.

“I have that call tomorrow, I need to go over my notes again, but maybe in a bit we could watch something, but not Rain Man.” She had smiled at him and he nodded with a smile of his own, as she disappeared into what was now her office.

In the last year, it had been converted into a workspace for her, allowing her to work from home some days, when a simple conference call was more than sufficient. They had tackled it one week, standing and staring at the room with heavy sighs, knowing what a large task it would be.

Papers, books, photos, videotapes… things that no longer meant everything to Mulder, had either been placed in plastic bins or thrown out. They had laughed over some of it and kept quiet over others, his hand grazing hers as he walked by, the past alive, but not needing to be spoken of again.

When it had been cleaned, everything was moved out and the walls were repainted a sage green, except for one that was painted with black chalkboard paint. That wall was left empty of any furniture so Faith could draw on it to her heart's content.

She drew rainbows, butterflies, clouds, animals, the letters and numbers she knew, and stick figures of them as a family; including Bella, Grey, and the fish. Mulder had drawn pictures as well, telling her stories as she had sat riveted in the old overstuffed chair, as Scully smiled as she had typed away at the computer, researching information for a patient.

The room still held books and photos, but now the… less mainstream ones… were on the bottom shelves, out of view of the webcam's vision. Medical journals, and children’s books were on the higher shelves along with photos and knickknacks they had collected over the years.

Her desk was clear of any clutter, and while the bottom drawer still held Mulder’s most important papers, it had all been organized and placed into folders. Different lights and a cozy throw on the chair, gave the room a warm, inviting, and open feel. It was now a happy space, much different than it had been in the past.

As Scully had sat working at the computer, preparing for her call, with Grey lying curled up in the chair, she heard a low rumble and looked up, holding her breath. She could hear the television playing softly in the living room when the first raindrop hit the window. Then another. And then another.

Hearing a gasp from Mulder, she had smiled, knowing he would soon be coming into the room. Turning around and facing the door, she waited with her hands clasped in her lap. She heard him get up and then he had been there in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear.

“It’s raining,” he had said and she nodded, with her eyebrows raised.

“I heard,” she had answered and he walked past her to open the door and look outside. She had watched him with a smile, until he came back to her and took her hand, pulling her to her feet.

They had stood on the porch, watching as the rain began to build, lightning flashing and thunder rumbling in the distance. Shaking his head, he had grinned when it poured even harder.

“She’s going to be so excited,” he had said and squeezed Scully’s hand as she had nodded with a smile.

Faith’s eyes had been huge when she had come downstairs the next morning, her beloved boots in hand, and looked outside. The grass was wet, there were puddles in the driveway, and thick gray clouds remained hanging overhead.

She would have run straight outside if Mulder had not insisted she eat her breakfast first. She had pouted, but this time it did not work on him as he had raised his eyebrows and pointed to the kitchen table.

“That was so tough,” he had whispered to Scully, shaking his head as they had watched her sit at the table with a frown, her arms crossed.

“She’ll get over it,” Scully had said with a scoff, shaking her own head. “You can’t always be the fun parent.” Patting his arm, she had smiled and walked to the cupboard to get Faith her breakfast.

Forty five minutes later, bellies full, they were dressed and ready to go. The coveted boots were on, along with her sky blue raincoat, even though it was warm and muggy out, despite the dark gray of the day. Her hair was in two braids to keep it from covering her face as the wind blew.

“Will there be lots of puddles?” she had asked as Mulder clipped on Bella’s leash.

“Gobs of them. Heaps. A plethora,” he had said with a grin.

“What’s a plefora?”

“A plethora,” he had corrected her with a laugh. “It means a lot. Like a lot a lot. I’m sure your new boots will see plenty of mud and fun today.”

“Yay!” she had cheered and he tweaked her nose with a laugh.

“You adventurers have fun,” Scully had said, pulling Faith in for a hug. “Jump in as many puddles as you can, but please don’t get dirty.” Faith had pulled back and stared at her, her brow furrowed.

“Mama, we're gonna jump in mud puddles. We can’t stay clean and jump in puddles,” she had stated, touching Scully’s arm and shaking her head. “It would be inpossible.”

“Impossible, my love. And you think so? Hmm…” Scully had pretended to think about it and then nodded her head. “You know what, I think you may be right.”

“I am,” Faith had said seriously, nodding her head. “I really am, Mama.”

“Okay,” Scully had said with a smile and a kiss to her forehead. “Have a wonderful time, my love, and I’ll see you when you get back, okay?”

“Okay.”

She had kissed Mulder and given Bella a pat, as they walked onto the porch and she watched them walk down the driveway. At the end of it, Faith had turned around and waved, yelling goodbye and that she loved her. Waving goodbye with a smile, Scully had gone inside, cleaning the kitchen quickly as she awaited her phone call.

Now, the call was almost over, well, in about twenty minutes anyway. She sighed as she focused her attention on the call, inquiring after patients and taking notes to look up more information later.

Grey came into the room just as the call was due to end, rubbing around her ankles under the desk, and purring loudly. Glancing down, Scully smiled at her as she looked up and meowed softly. Scully cleared her throat to cover the sound and tried to ignore her, but Grey would have none of it. She jumped up into her lap and laid down, rubbing her head against Scully’s hand, her purrs growing even louder.

“You’re a stinker,” Scully said under breath, scratching at Grey’s ear, and shaking her head. Glancing back up at the computer screen, she smiled, her fingers running slowly through Grey’s soft fur.

“So, I think that does it for today. I appreciate you all being here and sharing your expertise. We will be in touch in the next couple of days and if there are any questions, please feel free to get in touch with me or Doctor Reid,” Doctor Snyder said with a smile. “I thank you all for taking the time to share information.”

Everyone said goodbye and logged off, and Scully sighed as she closed the laptop and leaned back. Grey purred and stood up, stretching her legs up onto Scully’s shoulder, rubbing her head against her chin. Scully chuckled, petting her back and scratching at her head.

“You feeling lonely without Faith here to play with you? Needing some extra love?” she asked, closing her eyes and kissing Grey’s head. “Should we go see if they are heading back?”

Standing up, she carried Grey out onto the porch, looking to see if her mud monsters were making their way back yet. Finding nothing but dark clouds, the smell of rain heavy in the air, she set Grey down on the porch railing. She pet her as Grey pressed into her hand and Scully looked further to the left and right, keeping her eyes out for them.

“I guess they aren’t ready to come home yet, sweet Grey. Hopefully it will be soon because it’s definitely going to rain. Hard.” Looking up at the sky again, she shook her head. “I think I’ll get some lunch ready. You wanna stay out here or come inside?”

She looked at Grey who stared back with her head tilted, but obviously did not answer. Scully smiled, petting her once more and stepping inside. As the door closed, she heard her meow and she turned around.

“Well, say something next time, Miss Grey. I did ask you, if you remember correctly,” she stated with a smile, opening the door to let her inside and she bounded in, heading to her scratching post

Walking to the kitchen, Scully took out items for lunch. She made sandwiches, cut vegetables and fruit, and set some yogurt aside. Everything was placed in the fridge, ready for their return, no doubt covered in mud and in need of a shower.

Deciding on another cup of coffee, she made one and took it out onto the porch. Sitting down in the porch swing, she took a deep breath, breathing in the aroma of coffee as she closed her eyes.

She heard a bark and opened her eyes. Looking to the left, she saw them at the end of the driveway and she smiled. She could hear Faith talking, but could not understand what she was saying. Mulder’s laughter floated on the wind and she smiled as she stood up, setting her cup on the railing.

They opened the gate and walked inside, closing it behind them and at that moment, two things happened: she saw how truly muddy they all were and the rain once again began to fall.

Faith shrieked happily and started running toward the house. Bella barked, pulling on the leash and Mulder let it go, allowing her to chase after Faith, her tail wagging. He laughed again and Scully shook her head with a smile.

“Mama! Mama! It’s raining again!” Faith shouted, pushing her hair out of her face, which had somehow had come free of her braids. “Look, it’s raining!” She put her arms out and spun around, her face up to the sky.

Mulder caught up to them and took Bella’s leash off, tossing it up onto the porch. He shook his head at Scully and smiled, his clothes and face covered in mud. She shook her head again and laughed as she stared at them.

“Did you fall in a puddle?” she asked, seeing Bella’s black fur covered in mud and Faith’s clothes nearly devoid of color.

“I’d say… that’s a rather fair assessment,” he laughed, the rain beginning to fall harder. He looked up at her and tilted his head, silently asking her to join them.

Watching Faith spin around, knowing she had missed out on their fun adventure, she nodded and walked down the stairs, the rain cool as it hit her skin, despite the warmth of the day.

“Mama!” Faith yelled and flung herself at Scully. “Isn’t the rain so beautiful?” Scully lifted her and laughed, smelling the mud she could not see; she was truly a mess.

“Yes, my love, the rain is beautiful,” she answered, kissing behind her ear, possibly the only clean spot showing on her body.

“We had so much fun! My boots are… out of this world!” Scully laughed and hugged her muddy girl even tighter. No doubt Mulder had said that to her and she was now parroting it back.

Thunder rumbled as Mulder grabbed them both in a big hug and Faith squealed. Bella barked, jumping up in excitement, to see what was happening. They all laughed and played in the rain, until the lightning flashed close to them, and they went inside.

Scully stripped Faith, leaving her filthy wet clothes on the porch. Taking off her own wet things, down to her undergarments, they made their way upstairs and into the shower, while Mulder stayed behind to straighten up and clean off Bella.

Faith needed two washings before she was completely clean. After drying her off and putting on her robe, Scully stepped into the shower, washing quickly as Faith told her about their day. When she was finished, she put on her own robe, and ushered Faith into her room to get dressed.

Coming back into their bedroom, Scully got dressed, and then brought Faith back into the bathroom to blow dry their hair. Mulder came into the bathroom, a towel around his waist and his hair damp, having showered downstairs. Scully looked over Faith’s head, her eyes traveling up and down his body, her thoughts definitely not child friendly.

“Later, Miss Scully,” he all but growled, kissing her neck quickly, as he grabbed his hair gel. Her stomach fluttered and she knew that when Faith went down for a nap, they would be having some “adult time.”

Once they were all dressed, brushed, and ready, they went downstairs. Bella was sound asleep on her bed, Grey sniffing at her curiously, before she ran to the top of her scratching post and began to clean herself, as though even the close proximity to Bella had been enough to soil her fur.

Over lunch, she heard again how their day had gone. About the HUGE puddles and how the mud had been “so squidgy.” How Faith had lost a boot momentarily and then cried as she thought it was gone forever.

“But Daddy got it for me, Mama. He saved the day, just like a superhero.” She looked at Mulder and he struck a superhero pose, causing both of them to giggle.

“So, was it worth waiting for it to rain? Was it enough puddles for you, Miss Faith?” Scully asked with a smile. “Did your boots get dirty enough?” Mulder scoffed and nodded.

“They were very dirty, full of mud all the way through. How did you even wear those home, Faithy my love? Did you have pruney toes when you took a shower?” He reached for her foot, tickling her toes, and she laughed.

“It was muddy, but not as bad as Daddy’s. His shoes made squeaky sounds when we walked, Mama!” She giggled again and Scully looked at Mulder for confirmation and he nodded.

“Squidgy, squishy shoes. I definitely had pruney toes.” He winked at them and Faith laughed, getting up from her seat, and climbing into his lap.

“I had so much fun with you, Daddy, and I’m happy I got to wear my new boots.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and he hugged her tightly, patting her bottom as he smiled happily at Scully.

“I had fun with you too, Squatchy. I’m glad Mama bought you those new boots because they are…” He pulled back and looked at her expectantly. She smiled and held his face in her hands.

“Out of this world!” They said together and Scully laughed, as he hugged Faith again, laughing as he stroked her hair. He whispered something into her ear and she nodded.

Climbing down from his lap, she came over to Scully and got into hers, wrapping her arms around her neck. Scully held her close and closed her eyes.

“Thank you for my boots, Mama. I love them,” Faith whispered and Scully hummed.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I’m glad you had fun with Daddy. Maybe if it keeps raining, we can all go out tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to help anybody tomorrow?” Faith asked as she pulled back to look at Scully.

“Nope,” Scully answered, shaking her head with a smile. “Not tomorrow. I’m free as a bird.”

“Yay!” she said, throwing her arms around her neck again. Scully hugged her close, smiling as she looked at Mulder and he winked at her.

As she held her, she thanked God once more for the second chance they had been given, and the little things they got to celebrate and experience.

Like the excitement over new rain boots, and coming home covered in mud from the puddles that had been jumped in, after waiting so patiently for it to finally rain.

#The X Files #XF Fanfic #Post MSIV #Family Life: The Story Beyond the Series #New Rain Boots #Jumping in Puddles #Happiness #Love #Family Fluff #Making changes for the better #Dancing in the Rain

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mysticwhore · 5 years

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Babysitter

Steve x Reader

Notes: This originally started as a Kylo fic, but I'm in a super big Steve rut, so, here you go. I started on this ages ago- think June- and I had the urge to finish it.

Warnings: NSFW (Daddy kink, vaginal sex, oral sex, vaginal fingering, squirting), age difference, slight underage (where I live, the reader is over the age of consent, so nothing illegal happens). Cursing. Do not read is any of the following warnings offend you.

Word Count: 5,334

Whenever you had started babysitting, it was only for neighbors or family friends. It was only with the older kids- roughly 6 to 9- and you’d pick them up after school and take them to their house, watch them until one of their parents came back, get paid, and go home. Apparently, people were impressed with how well you handled the children since you had parents reaching out to you, and not the other way around.

One particular client that stuck out was Steve. He was a single father, and he’d have you babysit his son, James, whenever he had to work nights, which required you staying at his house until the early hours of the morning. Originally you'd thought that your mother wouldn’t approve; he’s a grown man after all, and you would be over at his house until the sun came up, but she didn’t seem to think twice about it since he was her boss. You weren’t complaining though; how most clients paid a measly five dollars an hour, Steve would hand you a hundred dollar bill as you walked out the door and to your car. He’d always stand in the doorway and watch as you drove off, and he had requested you text him whenever you get home, so he would know you got home safe.

His son was by far your favorite child to watch over. He was named after one of Steve’s friends- James. He was a big kid for his age, only 6 years old and standing three inches over four feet, but it wasn’t surprising considering his father was a giant of a man. His hair was the same dirty blond hair as Steve's, but his face shared little to no resemblance to Steve’s. His eyes weren’t the endless blue pools, and his skin lacked the signature moles, so you figured he took mostly after his mother.

When it came to James’ mom, she was a neat mystery. You knew her name, which was Peggy, but other than that there was no sign of her being present in either of their lives. There were no pictures of her within his house, Steve didn’t wear a ring, and James rarely mentioned her; the only time he did was when he told you her name. You were curious about her but had half a mind to keep your curiosity to yourself. James didn’t seem to know much, and Steve? He was a sweet man, but you didn't want to overstep any boundaries.

You scraped the dirt out from under your nails as you waited for the final bell to ring; you were babysitting James tonight and had to pick him up from school. He had told you that some of the kids in his class had a crush on you, which you found comical. You had never thought yourself to be the prettiest girl; you didn’t have perfect hair or completely clear skin, or the never-ending legs that only models seem to have, but you did feel a bit flattered knowing that first graders thought you were cute.

You were pulled from your thoughts when someone tapped on your shoulder. You turned to see Mason, one of your friends, sitting behind you with a grin on his face.

“What?” You turned the rest of your body so you were sideways in your seat.

“Are you doing anything later tonight? I was thinking maybe we could play some Minecraft or something.”

You shook your head. “Sorry, I’m babysitting again tonight. Steve’s working late again, so I have to stay until late.” The bell rang, and you started to pack up your things when Mason scoffed.

“Babysitting? On the weekend? That’s tragic.” He patted your shoulder in mocked sympathy.

“Oh please, I’m getting paid to watch one of the sweetest kids and have access to practically unlimited food. It’s not that bad,” you said as the two of you walked down the hallway. “Besides, Steve’s house is so nice. It looks like something out of a movie.”

Mason rolled his eyes and adjusted the strap of his bag. “This guy sounds kinda creepy. He’s loaded, and his baby mama is nowhere to be seen? The only known person from his personal life is his friend, who he named his kid after. Only sketchy guys do that.”

You smacked his arm with a decent amount of force. “Just because he’s got money and doesn’t have many personal ties doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. Maybe he’s just a loner type.”

“You say that now, but just wait until you find a body in his basement.”

He pushed open the door for you and walked with you to your car. “Look, I’ve got to hurry; I’m picking up Han from school.”

“Oh, I see. A six-year-old is more deserving of your time than I am. We’ve been friends longer than he’s been alive.” Mason held a smug smirk on his face as he crossed his arms.

It was your turn to roll your eyes at him. “You know it. Maybe we’ll get to play tomorrow, but I’ll text you in a bit.”

You got into your car and began to pull away when Mason called out, “Let me know when you find the body!”

“Hey, bud! How was school?”

You held open the door for James as he climbed into the backseat. He flashed you a smile, his lack of one front tooth on display.

“Good! We played kickball during recess, and my team won.”

You pulled out of the parking lot and began the drive to his house. “Well, I’m glad. Anything else happen?”

He unzipped his bag and pulled out a piece of paper. “In art class, we were painting with watercolors, and I made this.” He held out the paper for you to look at.

You glanced down at it for a second, since you had to pay attention to the road, but you smiled at what you saw. He had drawn himself, Steve, and you.

“That’s really good, James. Did you choose to paint that for a certain reason?”

He put the painting back in his bag. “We were supposed to paint our family, so I did.”

You looked up at him through the rearview mirror. He had his cute little smile on his face, and you felt one beginning to mirror on your own.

“That was very kind of you.”

The rest of the ride was pretty much uneventful. You stopped by the grocery store and picked up some drinks and some frozen pizza. Currently, you were popping the pizza into the oven as James babbled about the rest of his day.

“-and there’s this new boy at school- his name is Lucas- and he’s really cute. I’m thinking about asking him to be my boyfriend.” James didn’t even look up from his coloring book as he gushed about how cute this boy was.

“I think I’ll have to meet this boy first. I’m not sure if he’s worthy of the glorious James himself.” You sat down next to James and looked at what he was doing.

He looked up at you and handed you a few crayons. “Want to help me?”

“And ruin your masterpiece? I think you should handle this one.” You rested your head against your hand as you watched him color.

“I can give you a piece to color!” Before you could say otherwise, he ripped out the next page and handed it to you. You chuckled and picked up a blue crayon.

“You just want to prove that you’re a better colorer than me, don’t you?” You looked up to see James struggling to suppress a smile.

“Maybe.”

“I’m afraid it is time for bed, buddy.”

He let out an exaggerated whine. “Just a little longer, please?”

You rolled your eyes. “You said that fifteen minutes ago. Come on, let’s get you to bed.” You placed your hand on his back and ushered him to his room. Once he was all settled in, you began to stand when he grabbed your wrist.

“What is it, bud?”

He had a mischievous smile on his face. “I think my dad likes you.”

You gave him a small smile. “Yeah, I hope he does. He’s paying me to watch you.”

James shook his head. “I mean, likes like you. He thinks you’re pretty, and you are.”

You felt your cheeks heat up. Sure, you thought that Steve was attractive, who didn’t? The fact was that you were still a minor; granted, almost eighteen but not for a few more months, and this man was at least in his mid-thirties.

“What makes you say that?”

“Sometimes I hear him say your name when he thinks I’m sleeping. He sounds like he’s running or something. It’s weird, but I think it means he likes you.”

Your heart began to pump wildly. This man gets off thinking about you? The logical part of your brain told you that you should leave, find this disgusting, but a part deep inside you felt heat begin to simmer at your core.

“Well, regardless if he likes me or not, you need to go to bed.” You turn on his nightlight before kissing his forehead. “Goodnight, buddy.”

You couldn’t get James’ words out of your head.

Steve liked you? It was wrong, but it felt good, too.

God, listen to you ramble about your client. He probably doesn’t even look at you that way. Even if he did, he definitely wouldn’t go around telling his son about it.

You groaned and flopped down on the couch. What were you supposed to do now? Usually, you’d sleep, but your core was too warm and tingly for that. You need to get over this crush. You grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and turned on the TV, hoping that the noise would distract you from your aching arousal.

It didn’t.

Halfway through the episode of Criminal Minds, you gave in and slipped your hand down the front of your shorts and underwear. Your fingertips skimmed over your moist folds, and you held back a small moan. Your index finger slipped down to your clit, and you made small, soft circles around it, before moving your middle finger down to your entrance.

You ceased the attention on your clit as you sank your finger into your pussy, and you gasped. You were imagining Steve slipping his long, thick fingers deep inside you. Your walls clenched down on your finger, and then you slipped in a second.

"Steve..." You couldn't stop his name from slipping out, but it felt so right.

You sped up your fingers, but your shorts were restricting your movements, so with your free hand, you reached down and pushed them off your hips along with your underwear.

You lied on Steve's sofa naked from the waist down, the only thing covering you is a small throw blanket.

In your daydream, Steve had you pinned down as he pounded into you while whispering filthy things in your ear, calling you his little girl.

"Daddy!" you gasped as your fingers curled into a spot deep inside you, causing you to see stars. The knot in your stomach was threatening to snap. "Daddy, Steve, I'm gonna-"

"Cum?" At the sound of Steve's voice, you screeched and yanked your hand away from your core.

"Oh! Um, Steve, hi?" You didn't need a mirror to know your face was beet red- from being so close to release and being caught. "I didn't expect you back so early." God, why do you have to sound so out of breath?!

"I'm not early. I'm late if anything." Steve pointed at the large clock on the wall, and he was right; it was almost one in the morning. "But I see you were too distracted to notice."

You didn't think your face could get any hotter, but it did. There was no denying that he caught you knuckle-deep in your cunt.

"I-I'm so sorry you had to see-"

"Do you do this every time?" His face was intense, but you couldn't read it.

Your heart was in your throat. He thought that you've done this before? Fuck, he's probably going to make you leave. He'll probably tell your mom, too.

"N-no, sir! I swear! I don't-"

"Sir? I thought you preferred Daddy." Steve began to stalk towards you, his eyes more intense than his face. They were almost completely black with lust, and the crotch of his pants was pulled tight.

"Wha-what are you doing?" you squeaked as he stopped before you. You clutched the blanket with dear life- you still were completely bottomless.

"What does it look like I'm doing, little one?" He grasped the edge of the blanket and ripped it off your body.

You yelped in and attempted to grab it, but it was too late. He had already thrown it to the other side of the room and left you exposed. With a whimper, you crossed your legs to cover your exposed sex, but Steve tutted.

"Now, now, little one, you don't get to fingerfuck yourself in my house and then act innocent. Spread your legs; Daddy wants to see how naughty you've been."

You whimpered again and hesitated. When Steve noticed you weren't making any move to uncross your legs, he sighed.

"If you don't do as Daddy says, he'll have to take you over his knee and spank that pretty little ass until it's nice and red. Do you want that, little one?"

You couldn't fight the wanton moan at the thought of him spanking you, and Steve chuckled.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" His voice was velvet and thick- it made your cunt ache.

You uncrossed your ankles and let your knees fall open. You watched Steve lift one of your ankles to his mouth and press a kiss to the inside of it.

"Such a good little kitten. Now let's see how bad you've been." Steve rested your ankle against his shoulder while the other stayed dangling off the side of the couch. he shifted so his face was closer to your cunt, and with his free hand, he slowly spread your slick folds.

You felt erotic spread before him. He could see everything, and his expression was hard to read.

"You're fucking soaked, little one. You're such a dirty little girl." You met Steve's eyes and watched as he lowered his head to your cunt. He pressed a gentle kiss to your mound before sitting back on his heels.

One of the fingers he used to spread your lips slipped down to your entrance and slowly dipped inside. You gasped as the thick digit spread your walls, and you mewled when he curled it.

"Feel good, little one? Does Daddy's finger feel good in your pretty little cunt?" He slipped another inside and you cried out. "Answer me, kitten. How do my fingers feel in your tight pussy?"

"S-so good, Daddy!" you moaned as he slowly pumped them into your slick opening.

After a particularly loud moan, you remembered where you were, and who you were with. You gasped and tried to sit up, but Steve pressed a hand to your lower stomach and held you down.

"Steve, we can't-"

"No, no, kitten. You call me Daddy, okay? Now, try again like a good girl." He stood up, and braced himself over you with the hand he had used to hold you down on the back of the couch. His fingers quickened their pace to were they were practically pulsing inside you.

"Daddy, plea-please!" You knew what an orgasm felt like, and this feeling was similar but much more intense. You could feel a pressure building in your bladder.

"Please, what, little one? Tell me what you want. Ask like a good girl." His voice was pure sin, and his impossibly fast fingers sped up.

The pumping of his digits created the slick sound, and your cunt felt like it was on fire. The pressure was almost unbearable. "I wanna cum! Please, Daddy, let me cum!" You didn't even sound like yourself anymore; your voice was airy and thin to the point where your words were just moans.

Steve chuckled darkly. "Cum, little one. Be a good little girl and cum for Daddy." As if he had spoken your climax into existence, you came. Hard. Harder than you ever had before.

Your eyes fluttered shut as your orgasm crested, and the pressure released. Fluids soaked your shirt and Steve's hand, and you would have gasped in horror if you were crashing from your high.

When your climax faded, you opened your eyes to Steve sticking his fingers in his mouth and moaning at the taste of you. When he caught your eyes, he smirked and sat down on the couch beside you.

When Steve began pulling you to his lap, you tried to shove him away, but he grabbed your wrist and tugged you to his chest.

"Good girl, you're such a good girl, baby. You did so well." He cradled you in his arms and rocked you back and forth.

You gently pushed yourself from his embrace and looked at him with round eyes. "Steve..."

"Hush, kitten. Let me hold you." His fingers traced invisible lines under your shirt, causing you to shiver. He gently gripped the bottom of your shirt and tugged. "Up, little one."

You slowly stretched your shaky arms above your head and let Steve pull your top over your head. He tossed the clothing aside and grasped you by the forearms.

"You're so beautiful, little one." His eyes skimmed over your body before meeting your gaze. They burned with such intensity that you had to look away.

You shifted in his lap and accidentally brushed your knee against his crotch, and he hissed. For a split second, you'd thought you'd hurt him, but the look in his eyes told you otherwise.

"Steve..."

He shushed you by placing a small kiss on your lips. His lips were soft and tasted vaguely of mint and something else unknown. He cupped the back of your head and tugged your hair, deepening the kiss. His tongue brushed against your bottom lip, and you barely opened your mouth to let him in.

His tongue caressed yours, and you moaned. Steve echoed you, before parting himself from your lips. A shiny string of spit kept the two of you connected but broke when he leaned back.

"Here is what's going to happen, little one. I'm going to take you to my room, and I'm going to fuck you until your legs are numb. I'm going to fill your sweet little cunt up so you'll feel me for days. But, if you don't want that, you have to tell me. Once I start, I'm not going to stop until your belly is swollen with my cum." His eyes were intense, and you gulped. His hand snaked between your legs and thumbed your clit.

You whined at the overstimulation, and he chuckled and added more pressure.

"Answer me, kitten. Do you want me to stop?"

A part of you wanted to give in, let him fuck your brains out, but you hesitated. This wasn't entirely legal, and you were entirely comfortable with the idea of sleeping with him. You were still a virgin, and though you would say you were saving it for someone special, you weren't eager to have sex- especially with someone who was over two decades older than you.

"I... I don't..." Your cheeks flushed as you stumbled over your words, and Steve chuckled.

"You're thinking too much, little one. It's yes or no. Don't think, just feel." Steve's hand fell from your scalp to your cheek as he looked at you with such a tenderness that your heart melted.

Don't think.

Just feel.

Your eyes fluttered closed as you leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. In less than a second, Steve wrapped his arms around your waist and devoured your mouth with his.

Steve lifted you off of the couch, and you cupped his face in between your hands as he began to move towards the stairs. He stopped halfway to press your back against the wall. He gripped your ass with such strength you wouldn't doubt bruises being there tomorrow. His tongue slipped down your throat, and you timidly began to suckle on the warm muscle. He groaned and continued his ascent to his room.

You were too caught up in his kisses to notice him throwing his bedroom door open, for the next thing you knew was being tossed on his bed. You squeaked as you bounced, but watched Steve with half-lidded eyes and heated cheeks as he ripped off his shirt; his abdominal muscles shifted as he moved.

Steve undid the buckle of his belt and let his pants fall, leaving him in only his boxers as he crawled over you. His broad shoulders made you feel so small as they boxed you underneath him. He grabbed your wrists and pinned them above your head.

"I can't get over how beautiful you are, kitten. So fucking beautiful." Lust practically dripped off of his words. He pressed a quick kiss on your lips before he descended down your jaw and throat.

Your mewls of pleasure were soft but grew in volume the farther he went down your neck.

He stopped at the swell of your breasts, and you waited with bated breath for his next move. His teeth sunk into the tender flesh, and you cried out at the pain. Steve sucked harshly against the skin, groaning at the sounds you made.

He repeated the process three more times, each hickey just as large and dark as the first.

"You look even better with my mark on you," Steve growled as he pressed gentle kisses on your breasts. His tongue began to draw little circles over your right nipple before he closed his mouth over the pebble. His tongue lapped over your peak, suckling and nipping softly before switching to the other.

Your legs shook at the stimuli, and your cries began to grow louder. Steve let go of your nipple with a 'pop' and left open-mouthed kisses up to your lips.

"You need to be quiet, little girl. Don't want to wake up James, do we?"

At the mention of his son, you attempted to sit up, but Steve pushed you back down to the bed.

"No, no, baby. Daddy isn't done with you." He pressed a deep, sloppy kiss on your lips before he began to slide down your body. He let go of your wrists in favor of your knees. He pushed them to the sides and slid down in between the space. Your breath caught in your throat as his hands slid up your thighs and inched closer to your core.

"I'm dying to taste you, kitten. Will you let Daddy eat your pretty cunt?" Steve punctuated the request with a brush of his lips over your folds.

You nodded, but Steve just stared at you expectingly.

"Use your words, little one."

You gulped. "Please, Daddy."

He shook his head and started to back away from the center of your thighs. "Please, what? You're a smart little girl. Tell me what you want."

"Daddy, please..." Your voice shook as you watched him. His eyes lit up encouragingly, so you continued. "Please, taste me."

Steve inched back towards your pussy. His fingers slid up and parted your folds. "Taste you where, baby girl?"

You dropped your head down to the pillow and whimpered. "My cunt! Daddy, please, I can't-"

He cut you off by licking a long strip between your folds. You squealed when the tip of his tongue flicked your clit, and he wrapped his lips around it as he suckled. Two of his fingers plunged into you, stretching your walls. They curled into a rough patch over and over again.

Your hands tangled themselves in his hair and pulled him closer, and he groaned.

"You taste divine, little one. Absolutely delicious," Steve growled, the vibrations going straight to your bundle of nerves.

The pressure building was becoming overwhelming, and Steve could feel you clenching around his fingers.

"No-!" You gasped as Steve pulled his fingers out of you and sat up. He smirked as he licked your slick off of his fingers, all the while keeping eye contact with you.

"I want to feel you come with me inside you," he whispered and proceeded to shed his underwear.

Your eyes widened at the sheer size of his cock; you didn't even think you could fully wrap your fingers around him.

He smirked when he saw your expression. "Don't worry; it'll fit, kitten." He lowered himself back between your legs and wrapped them around his hips. Steve looked down between your bodies and positioned his tip at your entrance.

He pushed in, the head settling firmly inside you, and you gasped. You'd never felt this full, and you'd barely taken any of him.

Steve pushed even further, and he groaned. "Fuck, baby girl. You feel so fucking good." His head dropped down to your shoulder as he panted.

You whimpered with each inch that slipped inside, and your fingernails dug into the fleshy muscles of his shoulders.

Steve finally settled to the hilt, and your thighs quaked at the stretch. He shifted your legs from his hips and pulled them over his shoulders as he sat up.

"I want to see you, little one. Fuck, you're gorgeous." He sounded winded and breathless, and you mewled.

"Please, Daddy, fuck me!" you begged, and he chuckled.

"Anything for you, kitten." He slowly shifted his hips backward, but slammed them back down on yours a second later.

The sudden movement jostled you, and you cried when the tip of his cock brushed deeper and deeper with each thrust.

Steve dropped down to his elbows and pounded down into you. With your knees were pushed up against your chest, he reached even deeper than before.

"You're taking me so fucking deep, little one. I'm going to fill you up so fucking good," he panted as he brushed a strand of hair out of your face. The gentle kiss he placed on your lips was a sharp contrast of the brutal pace of his hips.

The pressure building in your core grew stronger and stronger, and your heart fluttered. Your moans turned into cries, and Steve went even harder.

"Don't you cum, baby girl. Don't you fucking cum without asking," Steve growled in your ear before he flipped you over.

You didn't have time to react before he slid his cock back into you. His pace was tenfold of what it was earlier.

Steve grabbed your neck and pulled you back to his chest. "Your little cunt is clenching around me, sweetheart. Are you going to cum?" His voice was mockingly sweet, and you nodded blindly.

"Daddy, please! I wanna cum!" If you were in your right mind, you would have scolded yourself for sounding so whiny, but you were so close to orgasm that you didn't- or couldn't- care.

"Oh, you'll get to cum, little girl." His free hand snaked down to your pussy, and he pinched and tugged at your clit.

Your hands latched on to his wrist, your body shaking at the stimulation. Your loins tingled and burned the higher your climax built.

"Cum, little one. Cum on Daddy's cock."

You cried out, and if it weren't for Steve holding you up, you would have fallen face-first in the bed. Your thighs quivered, your lungs squeezed, and your eyes threatened to roll back into your skull. You threw your head back against his shoulder, and as you were coming down from your high, you heard Steve growl before an unnatural heat filled your belly.

As Steve gently laid the two of you on the bed- him on his back, and you lying on his chest, you could feel a slickness pooling in between your thighs. He wrapped you up in his arms, and your ear rested over his heart. It was still fast, but with each deep breath he took, you could feel it begin to slow down.

The two of you sat in soft silence, and you looked up at him when he began stroking your hair.

His eyes were full of adoration, and you felt your heart clench. His hair was wild, and you assumed yours wasn't much better.

"What?" you asked quietly, your voice conveying your curiosity.

"Nothing, kitten. Just appreciating your beauty." Steve smiled and leaned down towards you. You shifted to meet his lips in a deep kiss, his tongue stroking yours slowly.

When he pulled away, your eyes slipped shut as you rested your head back over his heart.

"How was that for your first time?"

You snapped your eyes open at his words and your head popped up. You furrowed your brows, and he smiled.

"You're a dead giveaway, kitten. It doesn't take a genius to know that I just popped your cherry."

You couldn't help the giggle that bubbled in your throat. Steve looked at you with a sweet curiosity.

"What, baby?" Steve pressed another gentle kiss to your lips.

"It's just no one says that anymore." Your giggles grew louder, and his smile turned into a smirk.

"Is that so, little one?" He pressed another kiss to your mouth.

"You're not mad?" you asked quietly, and his eyes softened.

"Why would I be mad?" He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. "There's nothing wrong with being a virgin, little one. I was one, too, at one point."

You couldn't fight the laugh. "It's hard to imagine you being a virgin."

He looked puzzled. "How so?"

You shook your head and smirked. "Seriously? You look like a walking sex god, and as far as I'm concerned, you are."

Steve threw his head back in a hearty laugh. His chest vibrated under your hands, and you joined in.

Your cheeks burned from laughing so much, but you stopped when reality hit you.

What now?

Steve noticed that you'd grown quiet, and sighed. "What's wrong, baby?"

You slowly met his eyes, and you gulped. Your fingers toyed with the hair on his chest. "What happens now?"

He shrugged, and you huffed. You removed yourself from his arms and shifted to the end of the bed.

"What're you doing?"

You didn't even look back at him as you grabbed his shirt and pulled it over your head. "What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're upset. So, sit down and we can talk about it." You heard Steve shift, and a second later his arms snaked around your waist.

You leaned back into his chest and sighed. "It's just... what do we do know? Where do we go from here?" You twisted around in his arms to face him and grasped his face. "I'm really interested in you, Steve. I don't want this to be a one-time thing, but I also don't want to do this if you're just in it for my body."

Steve shook his head and gave you a sad smile. "I'm sorry that I gave you the impression I was using you, 'cause I'm interested in you, too. I know this isn't the most legal thing I've ever done, but I want to be with you, sweetheart." Steve pressed a kiss to your forehead and sighed. "As for now? Well, the metaphorical now is that we're going to see where this relationship goes. If you're okay with that, of course."

Steve gave you a cheeky smile, one that you returned with a blush.

"As for the actual now, I still have a promise to fulfill." A mischievous grin stretched over his face and you gulped.

"What promise?"

He hesitated, and his smirk grew. "To fuck you 'till your legs are numb."

#Steve Rogers #steve #steve is hot #captain america #steve x reader #steve x you #alternate universe #original character #au #age difference #size difference #babysitting #oneshot #reader insert #steve rogers x reader #fanfiction #fan fic

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wrongfullythinking · 3 years

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Twitter and the “Public Forum”

There is a very large looming legal question about whether or not social media sites, such as Twitter, are “Public Forums.” Most would agree that they are not... at least... not yet. But the question is... should they be?

First, a look into why it matters.

In a public forum, all First Amendment protections apply. So you can say any number of very objectionable things (https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12634874511090553174) and be protected. In a private forum, this is not so. I can kick you out of my house for wearing an Abercrombie shirt, and you have no Free Speech/Expression reason to contest my staggeringly good decision-making.

Second, the public forum cannot be policed for any content that may be stated. This is why if you go to reserve time at a public park, you don’t have to tell the Parks and Rec department what your event is for. Just things like how many people, how long the event will last, etc. This is well-established and well-backed by many years of precedent.

Finally, there is the very serious matter of personal liability. In certain circumstances, officials can be held personally liable if their policies deliberately and knowingly infringe upon Bill of Rights protections (most often First Amendment protections). This means that you could literally sue for the property and assets of a person. (Also, this is why those of us who own either physical property [like a house] or intellectual property [like a book] buy “Umbrella Coverage” from insurances... I recommend State Farm, but that’s totally irrelevant and I’m not getting any kickbacks for that shill =P.)

But hang on... so if the government owns a billboard and rents it out to whomever can pay, can I rent it and post a naked lady?

You could try, and you might win! What you can’t do is post something obscene. And yes, whether or not a naked person is obscene is staggeringly controversial. There’s a 3-part test from the Burger court, a host of vague terms like “average person” and “contemporary community standards,” and “lacks serious artistic/literary/political/scientific value.” And then there are protections for children, a whole separate piece, as well as child pornography, which is always classified as obscene... except when it is not, like in the cases of naked cherubs in church windows. So, confused yet? We’re off topic, but I make this point to explain that even in public forums, where First Amendment rights are fiercely protected, there are still outstanding issues of content censorship.

So, is Twitter / Facebook / Tumblr a public forum?

At this point, the answer is no. They are privately controlled by companies, not owned by the feds or states or local municipalities, and thus can make almost any policy they want. The idea here is that the free market dictates the life or death of these platforms... and that idea tends to hold true! Tumblr itself is a good case-in-point, because it has lost millions of dollars in value due to bad leadership decisions, and at least partially because of censorship. There are countless examples of others... I remember when Yahoo! was the primary search engine of the internet and Xanga was the biggest blogging platform. While you can still Yahoo, I’m not sure there are more than a few hundred people on Xanga, if it still exists in any useful format. So, since places like this are subject to the free market, and thus can die... they should be allowed to make all the good or bad decisions they want about their content. Or at least, that is how the theory runs.

But really... ARE they subject to the market? Now we’re getting into the really interesting territory. If Facebook shut down tomorrow, would it be a problem? Maybe, but life would continue. But if Google shut down tomorrow? Well, millions of schoolchildren are in GoogleClassrooms right now, so that would certainly be a problem. It would at least cause massive disruption... and Facebook shutting down would cause some disruption. Likewise, Twitter controls so much speech that instead of publishing headlines from Newspapers, newspapers publish headlines from Twitter! The 14-year-old looks at that line like “well, duh” and the 44-year old reads that line like “wow, we’ve come a long way,” and the 84-year-old reads that line with just a sad headshake.

So, now we’ve joined one of the most controversial points of the last 20 years... the Fannie Mae “Too Big to Fail” problem. Basically, a set of banks and big mortgage companies (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) made a bunch of bad decisions in about 1995 - 2008. [As an aside, whether or not Fannie Mae {technically, the “Federal National Mortgage Association”} is actually a company comes up as an issue... it originated as a government program, but is today a publicly-traded company and has been since the late 60s, though it was delisted from NYSE and is only traded off-exchange]. And the government had to step in. You can read all about that issue at another time, the bottom line is that actually Fannie Mae has paid back more than it borrowed, but there was a ballooning of the debt ceiling by over 800 billion. Some people care about the national debt, some don’t, and again, not the subject of this commentary. The point is that it set a very odd precedent, whereas a company could make extremely bad decisions and then the burden would be placed on the taxpayers to fix their decision, because the company itself was a part of so many people’s lives. Would social media fall under this guidance? Unlikely, and I think we would all run from state-sponsored social media... but hey, what do I know.

So... get to the point. Should they be public forums, or not?

My two cents always comes down against censorship, especially censorship by entities that don’t have my best interests at heart... so basically, everybody else. I think that it is so easy to self-censor the internet at the personal end (for example, by installing filters and blocking services for objectionable content), that companies should not be unilaterally making these decisions, especially if those companies want to be venues for mass public communication.

Let’s go with another example... let’s say you wanted to call up your buddy and have a nice long phonesex session. Good for you. Or just chat with them about the latest Dr. Doe video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXgT8WXaPUY), because enthusiasm is important. Would you be okay with Verizon telling a robot to monitor your call, and then automatically hang up if you said “penis” too much? Or “Trump”? Or “Black Lives Matter?” What about “Nazi,” “Rohypnol,” “Mary Jane,” “negritos” [I’ve got your back, Mr. Cavani], “snowbunny,” or “Insane Clown Posse”? I think most people would be upset about any of those, and they would rightfully tell Verizon that they will find another provider. So Verizon doesn’t do that, although it could. But Twitter does do that. And the availability of another Twitter is in question. Will something succeed Twitter? Absolutely. But right now, Twitter is under no market pressure, so it is succeeding at taking off its platform any number of conversations that it probably should not be policing.

There’s also a social-justice side of this. So, let’s say that we all decide Twitter is a bad platform and move to something else. And that something else costs us 10$ a month. I wouldn’t notice this fee. Others would. So that’s an access issue. Or, let’s say that some people start migrating to a new platform, and they only tell their friends about it. That’s okay, right? Absolutely... but imagine that college student who is trapped at home in a pandemic right now who cannot get any viewpoints outside of what her parents approved of, and previously used Twitter to explore and challenge her upbringing. If she doesn’t get an invite to the new platform, is she just lost?

And that brings up the Pandemic. Many, many common public forums have been shut down due to the pandemic. This alone has caused serious controversy (see: BLM protests on crowded streets where state governors participated, while those same governors implemented executive orders enforcing 6-foot distancing in churches and stores), so the argument for Twitter censorship “but you have many other public forums!” is tough to substantiate during the COVID-era. And this is a HUGE problem. Historically, taking away public forums is always an early move of totalitarian regimes. Taking away rights to assembly and speech follows soon after. We’re now in Phase 2 there... and our governors keep assuring us it is temporary... while at the same time, encouraging Twitter to take off any viewpoints they don’t like, under the guise of “false or misleading information.” Soon, they start moving into the schools, and that leads to...

SCIENCE!!!

So, to talk about what rigorous debate means, we need to understand a bit about Science. And specifically, the philosophy of science, what scientific discourse looks like, and why review and critique are parts of the scientific process.

Point 1: “Scientific consensus” is hogwash. Yes, we all agree that the Earth orbits the Sun, and the Sun itself moves, but beyond that, there isn’t much scientific consensus. If you see an article that starts with the phrase “Expert say,” you can go ahead and close your browser window right there. The rest is bull****.

Point 2: The limits of science are boundless. Any specific scientific paper is, by necessity and the peer review process, very strictly bounded. “Whether or not a vaccine is efficient” is an entirely different paper than one titled “Whether or not 80-year-olds with lung cancer should get the vaccine,” and both of those are different than “How the US should achieve herd immunity, and if it is even possible for COVID-19 before significant mutations cause current immunizations to be ineffective,” and all three of those are different from “Do we need to vaccinate our cats from COVID in order to reach herd immunity?”

Point 3: There is no “finalized” science. The answers are never finished. What is “cutting edge” science today is out-of-date tomorrow, barbaric and backwards by the end of the year, and grounds for an abuse lawsuit by the end of the decade. The best examples of this are from Psych treatments.

Point 4: I get very worried when anybody starts to censor scientific content... especially those without any qualifications. Okay, so this one is a personal sentence (note the “I”), but I’m going to go ahead and guess that Twitter robots and interns flagging posts don’t have any idea the difference between sensitivity and specificity, the background as to why the FDA has never approved an mRNA vaccine previously, the difference between statistical and clinical significance, and how to read a limitations section. The people who are qualified to do so are peer reviewers... and in the case where those fail (which happens!), the rest of the writer’s peers. And we do that. Anything published is open to critique, which leads to the final point, that...

Point 5: Critique and Review are THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS of scientific publishing. If a piece is published without review, it is called an “opinion” and not science. Even more worrisome than the censoring of unpopular papers is the censoring of the opinions of scientists on the papers of their peers. Should someone publish a paper where I believe they overstretched their claims, it is a HUGE part of my job to call that out. For an agency like Twitter to be able to say “you don’t have the right to say that they overstated their claim, because expressing a concern about a vaccine is against our Terms of Use” is a very big problem for science.

The flipside is that you get into the part where now a company can, through its policy, dictate what science gets done. For example, lets say I wanted to examine an unpopular question... and I’m a social scientist, so there are plenty of those, but say I wanted to do something semi-controversial but apolitical. I’ll say my research question is “How do the happiness of those in committed multi-year polyamorous relationships compare to the happiness of people in similar economic and social situations but in closed marriages where additional intimate partnerships would be viewed as grounds for relationship termination?” There are plenty of ways I could conduct this study and I’ll spare you my methodological musings, but safe to say there are platforms who would not want me to publish my results. And that’s fine.

But let’s say that I did publish my results, and a commenter took to Twitter. And their response was “I read your paper, and I see your conclusion that those in committed multi-year polyamorous relationships score no differently on a happiness scale than those in the closed marriages. However, I disagree with your use of this scale, because it was tested on populations of retirees, and most of the people in your sample are in their late 20s or early 30s.”

That is an EXCELLENT and VALID critique. And let’s say that Twitter was heavily into the social justice and had a policy that said “you can’t say negative things about polyamory.” And they deleted this person’s comment. Now, Twitter has interfered with the scientific process. That comment IS PART of the dialogue and that dialogue is part of Science. Yes, there are other places that those comments could be made, and not be censored... but we should not be encouraging that censorship ANYWHERE. And Twitter has vastly overstepped the line on this point. Random Twitter employees have no business removing professional critiques about a study, even if there are other platforms for those critiques.

Other Thoughts

1) Generally, you can’t prohibit meetings in a public forum based on prior behavior. Thus, “X group was violent in the past” is not a reason to prohibit X group from accessing a public forum for speech. So there’s no saying “Proud Boys were violent once, so no Proud Boys on Twitter” if it were to be declared a public forum.

2) I’m really not aware of any large precedents for taking a private company and declaring it a public forum. That may seem redundant (obviously, if there was precedent, this wouldn’t be such a hot-button issue), but it bears specific mention.

#twitter #public forum #legal #science

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clownsgobeepbeep · 3 years

Note

Did you eat all of the chocolate

Phew, this was a bit longer than planned ^^ But have a hopefully nice fic about Jelly and Lennie taking their latest grandkids to Disney huehue

One could have said it was just another one of those days for the three siblings Cordelia had brought into her family months back, but it really was not just one of those days.

As they came into the family, the three learned that the family was actually rich. Perhaps a bit influential as well. And with money and very caring and generous relatives came the spoiling.

“Is there a third park we could go to!?”

“In this area, there’s only two. There are other parks, but they’re for different companies.”

“Can we go to those too!?”

“How about we enjoy these for now? We are going to be here for three days. We can go back on the rapids ride tomorrow, and without ponchos this time.~”

“Yes!”

Margaux, Felix, and Damian walked down the brick pathway that was placed between the two entrances leading to the parks their grandparents Jelly and Lennie offered to bring them to, to spend some quality time and have fun. To Jelly, one park was not enough, so they were now hopping on over to the titular one.

“Does this one also have a water ride?”

“Yes it does.” Jelly nodded, letting go of Felix’s hand so that she could present all of the tickets before everybody was allowed into the park. “It’s called Splash Mountain and it’s a thrill ride. Pretty sure you’d enjoy it.”

“Great!” Felix jumped in the air, the only thing preventing him from jumping high being Jelly’s hand that he once again held. On Jelly’s other side was Margaux’s, the little one tightly holding her plush mouse in her other arm.

“Calm down partner.” Jelly chuckled to herself, finding Felix absolutely adorable in his Woody costume. She would have never expected that to be his Hallowen costume, but she loved it just like the ones his siblings wore.

“Can we go to that one!?” Felix continued before Jelly looked over at the pair that was beside Felix, her husband who was dressed in a bear onesie and the eldest of the siblings who was dressed like a gangster. A gangster weasel to be exact.

“What do you guys think? Splash Mountain is a tad bit far.” Jelly commented.

“Whatever the kids want really.” Lennie shrugged, then looking up at Damian who held a map of the park.

“Maybe we should go to...Tomorrowland…” he blinked at the name, then darting his eyes down at Lennie who was quite occupied with a colorful concha in his hands. “What kind of a name is that?”

“It’s the land of tomorrow. The future.” Jelly shrugged with a smile before motioning over to the left after they had all walked through Main Street. “Any ride catches your eye?”

“Pick a rollercoaster! There has to be a rollercoaster!” Felix exclaimed, watching his brother continue to read the map. “Damian!”

“Okay, okay.” Damian shushed him, then turning his attention up as he noticed there was a ride his brother would enjoy despite not being full-on thrilling. “How about that one?”

The rest of the group led their gaze to the side where Damian was pointing, a corner with a sort of antenna with rings around it. On both sides that made up the corner read BUZZ LIGHTYEAR Astro Blasters.

“Buzz Lightyear!?” Felix gasped at the sight, his eyes merely out of control as he scanned every inch of the building that even had a large sign featuring the mentioned character. “Is Buzz Lightyear in there!?”

“Kind of.” Jelly made sure to hold his hand tight enough so that he wouldn’t run off. “But, you probably won’t like him very much.”

“Wha-” Felix’s expression dropped, now looking at Jelly in pure disbelief before she leaned down to whisper.

“Won’t like him as much as the real Buzz Lightyear who walks around here.~”

Immediately, Felix’s eyes widened as did his smile.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s get on the ride so we can meet Buzz afterwards!” Jelly tugged on Felix’s arm, practically watching him vibrate with excitement before he attempted to run off to the queue line. “Hold up little cowboy, remember we have the fast passes.”

“Right!” Felix jumped around, allowing Jelly to talk to the employee before everybody was allowed in. However, Lennie stopped Jelly before going any further.

“Jelly-Bean, how about I hold Margaux’s hand for now?” he offered.

“Oh I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“I insist.” Lennie quietly laughed as he looked over at the jumping cowboy. “You might need the help.”

“Okay, okay.” Jelly giggled. “Margaux, come on over here and have some time with your grandpa. You guys are sitting on the ship together.”

Margaux briefly nodded, eventually being startled by a loud gasp from Felix.

“It’s Buzz!” he pointed at the animatronic that was apparently giving instructions for the mission on a giant Etch-A-Sketch.

“Settle down Felix.” Damian called from behind, seeing that others in line were giving Felix a few looks.

“Damian, let him have fun. It’s okay.” Jelly pet Felix’s head after his cowboy hat flew off. “It’s Disneyland.”

“I guess.” Damian shrugged as he followed behind Lennie and Margaux, Felix and Jelly being right at the very front as they did a bit of line before soon enough finding themselves at the loading station.

They watched as the “ships” constantly moved in their line, Felix becoming more excited as he and Jelly were led to one. He immediately hopped inside and made space for Jelly, the latter turning around to see Damian in the ship behind them so that Lennie could keep an eye on him from behind as he sat with Margaux.

“So what do we do!?” Felix clenched his fists in thrill, soon feeling as the front part of their ship came forwards and he got a closer look at the galactic looking guns.

“Take one and shoot the bad guys.” Jelly grinned, taking one of her own before showing him how to hit a target, immediately getting points. “Let’s see who can get the most points in the end.~”

“I’m gonna beat you Damian!” Felix laughed behind himself, his brother slightly smiling while rolling his eyes at the comment.

“Whatever you say Felix.”

And after taking a ride through the galaxy with Buzz Lightyear, Felix could say that he did beat his brother Damian. But that didn’t make him the one with the highest score.

“Wow! Ranger first class!?” Felix exclaimed at the scoreboard he and his family looked at after his sister had told him the total score of points she got after shooting all the bad guys. “That’s awesome Margaux!”

“Thank you.” the child played with her feet, hugging Mr. Jingles close.

“Me and Damian are…”Felix examined the board. “Planetary Pilots! So close to Space Scout! I still beat Damian though.~”

“You sure did.” Lennnie pat Felix’s back as they all made their way out through the exit of the ride, already having collected the codes to buy pictures of them on it later. “Where to now?”

“There was...a ride I noticed.” Damian commented. “The white one-”

Damian was soon interrupted by yet another gasp from his brother, his boots clicking against the ground as he managed to escape from Jelly’s hand and ran over to what was revealed to be the store.

“It’s Buzz! And a Buzz jacket! A-And the little green men! And Zurg! And an actual Astro Blaster!” Felix fawned over all of the merchandise, especially the Buzz Lightyear toy. “Aww! I wish I had this guy…”

“Felix, honey.” Jelly carefully took the box, looking down at the price. “The toy costs thirty-five dollars.”

“Oh…”Felix’s smile dropped, disappointment filling him.

“That leaves more than enough money to get something else. Do you want the jacket too? What size are you? I can even get you a pin or we can look at other things throughout the day.”

“Are you serious nana!?” Felix immediately lit up as he watched Jelly pick out a hooded sweater that made the wearer look like they were dressed as Buzz.

“Is she serious?” Damian blinked at the sight, having asked Lennie who gave a shrug and laugh.

“She loves to spoil the grandkids, and she said she never wanted to become a grandmother.” Lennie turned to look up at Damian. “What was the ride you wanted to go on?”

“Oh. It doesn’t matter.”

“If you don’t tell me right now, your Mama Coral’s gonna ask you and you don’t want that.”

Damian stared at Lennie for a moment, then darting his eyes over at Margaux who gave a shrug.

“It’s the white building next to the rocket, I think that’s a pizza place. The ride seemed interesting. Space or Galaxy something.”

“Oh, Ghost Galaxy.” Lennie nodded. “Yeah, it’s actually called Space Mountain but it’s Ghost Galaxy during the Halloween season. That one’s an indoor rollercoaster. It’s nice.”

“R-Rollercoaster?” Margaux hugged her mouse tighter.

“You don’t have to go on it. Either me or Coral can stay outside with you, don’t worry.” Lennie reassured her, giving her hand a comforting squeeze before they all looked at Jelly and Felix. “We can go on it after we meet Buzz Lightyear.”

_____________

“Man, false advertisement!”

“What do you mean?”

“I barely got wet!”

Jelly and Lennie laughed to themselves as they all walked out of a ride that was not in Tomorrowland, for they had moved away from that area and into New Orlean’s Square. Here, they had decided to go on a rather tame ride despite having a bit of a drop that was tolerable even by Margaux.

“You still got a few drops. Nothing in your boots, right?”

“Not even a snake in here.” Felix joked, eventually giving a loud laugh at the thought of it and his costume. “That was good.”

“Do you really want to be getting your costume wet though?” Jelly tugged at one of Felix’s sleeves.

“I don’t mind!”

“I mean, if you really want to get wet, have I got the place for you.” Jelly waved around the park map. “Unless you want to eat first.”

“I could really go for some nachos right now.” Felix stated, until he heard terrified screams that made him look past some tall trees that surrounded a mansion he currently did not care for. “What was that?”

“Come over here.” Lennie motioned to the three kids, bringing them over to an area where there was a fence, and beyond it was a pile of scary-looking thorns. “That’s what it is.”

All three of them looked up at what was a funny-looking mountain, right in it was a black hole from which a stream of water fell. Watching intently, they saw as a log slowly appeared, and then a person sitting in it. Soon enough, the entire log came into full view before it slid down the water stream at full speed as screams were heard at the same time.

“Oh my god.” Felix started. “Punpa. Nana. We HAVE to go on that!”

“We don’t have to go on that.” Margaux shook her head.

“That is true, we don’t have to.” Jelly rubbed her shoulders. “Lennie, how about you take the boys on Splash?”

“You sure? I don’t mind staying with Margaux.”

“You stayed out for Space Mountain, it’s my turn.” Jelly nodded. “We can always come back here and to Space Mountain and take turns.”

“Well, if you say so.” Lennie let go of Margaux’s hand, Jelly now taking it before she handed a backpack over to Damian.

“The ponchos are in here, just in case you don’t want to be getting wet.” Jelly pat his arm. “And make sure you don’t let go on that ride. Especially you Felix.”

“Thanks.”

“But why not!?”

“Okay, okay. You can let your hands up if you sit in the front.”

“That’s exactly where I planned on sitting!” Felix stated as he got into a marching position, ready to head off before he was followed by his brother and grandpa after exchanging a few more words with Jelly.

“So Margaux, what would you like to do now?” Jelly rubbed her thumb over Margaux’s knuckles with a warm smile. “Maybe go on another ride while we wait?”

Margaux pondered to herself for a moment, glancing over at Mr. Jingles before placing a hand on her stomach. As if on command, her stomach gave a growl that made Jelly give a bit of a giggle.

“So, first we eat, huh?”

_____________

Lennie had called Jelly, telling her that he and the boys were done with Splash Mountain, Felix speaking loud in the back of course. Considering how Jelly had decided she wanted to take Margaux over to Fantasyland and already having reached the location, she suggested that he and the boys go on the ride again or at least the nearest roller coaster which was another mountain.

“W-What’s the name of the o-one they’re on?”

“It’s Big Thunder Mountain. Cowboy-style stuff.” Jelly informed her as she playfully swung around her hand that held onto Margaux’s. “But let’s let go of that stuff for now and talk about princesses, yeah?”

“I like princesses.” Margaux nodded, the tiniest smile present on her features as she looked around the area that was filled with cottage-looking buildings. “Where are they?”

“They’re over at the fair, but we can meet them later. Would you like that?”

Margaux replied with a nod of her head, soon taking a good look at Jelly who noticed.

“Everything okay?”

“Yes.” Margaux whispered, her eyes fixated on Jelly’s dress.

“Margaux…”

“I j-just really think your dress is pretty…”she let go of Jelly’s hand to softly run a hand over the dress which was half blue and half pink. “My Gam Gam is a Disney princess.”

“Oh Margaux, it’s just a cos-” Jelly spoke but then stopped herself, then twirling a lock of her golden hair. “I mean, I do sleep a lot. And I have little fairies, except there’s twenty-three of them.”

“What?” Margaux silently gasped.

“Uh huh, and they’re all pink. They look like little jellyfish who float all over the place.”

“Even around Grampy? Like the fairies and Prince Philip?”

“Oh definitely.” Jelly nodded as she led Margaux through the crowd, bringing her over to a building near the carousel. “Your Grampy even defeated a big bad dragon that took me away.”

“He did?”

“Of course. He’s so brave and courageous.” Jelly giggled to herself. “Then he gave me a big kiss.”

“And he woke you up?”

“Yup!” Jelly gave another nod, eventually stopping as they now stood in front of the building that read Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

“What’s this?” Margaux blinked up at the building, heart racing at the sight of beautiful crowns carefully placed on display behind the large window near the entrance.

“This is where princesses get their outfits.” Jelly released Margaux’s hand, now placing both of hers on the child’s shoulders. “So what dress does the princess want?”

“Dress?” Margaux examined the area after she was brought inside by Jelly, looking around at the displays of princess dresses that were all on small mannequins. “Oh my.”

She hugged Mr. Jingles against her chest, shifting as she looked at all of the dresses and crowns, a small smile forming on her lips.

_____________

“Nana! That ride was insane! Well, both of them were! And the second one was so crazy it basically dried our clothes up after Splash Mountain!” Felix ran towards Jelly and Margaux, soon gasping as he skid to a stop so as to not crash into them. “Is that a churro!?”

“Yes.” Margaux responded before taking a bite out of her churro, letting Mr. Jingles take a bite out of it.

“Just got a churro and some gingerbreads for Margaux and Mr. Jingles. I bought some chocolates for everyone too.”

“Gam-Gam even got a little Mickey Mouse hat for Mr. Jingles.” Margaux mentioned as she showed off the tiny hat. “Now he’s the Doormouse and Mickey.”

“Hey! That’s like the ones Dami-wait! Did you eat all of the chocolate!?” Felix cried out before feeling Jelly pat his head.

“No sweetheart, we haven’t opened up the chocolates yet. Would you like one?”

“Totally!” Felix made a grabby motion with his hands, immediately taking one of the squares Jelly offered. “What’s this one have?”

“It’s a s’mores flavored one.” Jelly replied before offering some to Lennie and Damian, the latter shaking his head no thank you before the box of chocolates was put away.

“So! What are your guys’ plans now?” Jelly asked the three kids, the brothers looking at each other before Margaux tugged at Jelly’s dress. Jelly turned to look down at her, seeing as Margaux motioned for her to come down. So, the former kneeled down before having Margaux whisper into her ear.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.~”

“Which one?” Felix poked his head into the conversation, watching Jelly stand up before looking over to the side where there was a good amount of line behind some victorian-esque fences.

“Margaux wants to go on the Haunted Mansion Holiday.” Jelly pointed to the building where a music box was heard. “You guys wanna go? It’s usually just a Haunted Mansion, but now it has characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

“Let’s go! Let’s go right now! Right now!”

“Okay, just don’t run off.” Lennie advised as he trailed behind Felix, turning around to take a quietly excited Margaux’s hand. That was when he noticed that Damian had stayed behind. “You okay, bud?”

“Yeah. I just thought I could take a break.” Damian looked between Jelly and Lennie.

“Oh, sure. We can all take a break.”

“No, you guys go ahead. I can stay and sit outside.” Damian slightly shook his head, then hearing as Jelly approached him.

“Jelly, you go on ahead and take the kids. I’ll stay with Damian.”

“I can-”

“Nuh uh young man, you are not staying out here by yourself.” Jelly lifted a finger, then waving her hand at Lennie. “Just go ahead. I’m still full from eating and wouldn’t want the motions getting me nauseous.”

“If you say so.” Lennie chuckled as he waved to his wife, leading Felix and Margaux to the line of the Haunted Mansion Holiday.

“You...didn’t have to stay.” Damian turned to Jelly who shrugged. “You could have gone in with them. I’m old enough to take care of myself.”

“I know, but sometimes people need someone with them.” Jelly ruffled his hair. “Not that I don’t trust you, I had a few of my escapades when I was your age.”

“I wasn’t-”

“I know you weren’t. I honestly just wanted to spend some time with you Damian.” Jelly admitted. “Now, how about I buy you a pretzel of some popcorn? Maybe some fries?”

“I...a pretzel sounds nice.” Damian shrugged, then following Jelly as she took him to a stand with a variety of salty snacks.

Once purchased, Damian was handed the pretzel which he began to eat, still walking behind Jelly before feeling his free hand be held. In that moment, he froze, panicked. My god, he was shaking with wide eyes at the realization of his hand being held by Jelly’s.

“You okay?” Jelly stopped walking, looking behind at Damian who swallowed the bit of pretzel in his mouth as he stared down at the ground. “Damian?”

She blinked at Damian who nearly squeezed the life out of his Mickey-shaped pretzel, vibrating as his eyes refused to move from the ground.

“Damian? Are you okay?” Jelly let go of his hand, realizing that the boy’s face had become flushed. “Damian?”

“Mmm?” he finally lifted his head to look at Jelly, meeting up with her concerned expression. “Yes?”

“Are you...did I do something wrong?”

“No.” Damian quickly replied, the color ever so slowly draining from his face as he blinked quite awkwardly. “Cold.”

“You’re cold?” Jelly made a weird face at him, knowing that that clearly wasn’t the issue.. “Because you turned red. I don’t think that means it’s cold.”

“Hot?” Damian practically wheezed, his mind either a mixture of panic or absolutely blank.

“How about we go into this store? Maybe that’ll help with your...temperature.” Jelly gave a bit of a chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood before being followed by a stiff Damian. “Look, there’s even a blanket in here. Do you want it?”

“No.” spoke Damian, finally clearing his throat. “N-No thank you...mémé…”

In an instant, Jelly turned around at the sound of that name. Knowing French, she already knew what it meant, and it no doubt delighted her on the inside despite being the word she did not want to be called. For some reason, it being in a different language just sounded better.

“Okay. That’s okay.” Jelly nodded before gasping and taking a nearby item, soon removing Damian’s gangster hat to replace it with what she had found. “What about this then?”

Damian, finally back to his normal self, felt Jelly’s hands on his shoulders as she turned him so he could face a mirror. Once he saw his reflection, he realized that he was wearing one of the popular Mickey Mouse ear hats.

“I...it’s…”

“Aw, you look so adorable Damian!” Jelly nearly squealed as she popped her head from behind to get a better look at the mirror. “Such a dashing, young man with Mickey ears.”

Once again, Damian felt as a heat rushed up to his cheeks. Thankfully, he hadn’t reacted the same as he did the last time when Jelly held his hand.

“It’s..it’s fine.” Damian slowly removed the hat, turning in place to hand it back to Jelly. “I don’t need it.”

“Maybe, but you want it.” Jelly spoke in a singing tone. “So I’m buying it.~”

“Wait-” Damian whipped around, seeing as Jelly stood in place and gave him a sly smile, so he decided not to protest it.

“Is there anything else you’d like? There’s this zip-up hoodie that had Jack Skellington on it. All black. It seems like something you’d wear.” Jelly made a motion with her hand so that Damian could follow as she brought him over to a section with Nightmare Before Christmas clothes. “Surprises me they don’t have any of the costumes, but then again, this is Disney.”

“I mean, I’d rather get a Roger Rabbit shirt. With, Jessica.” Damian cleared his throat as he averted his gaze.

“Aw, shoot.” Jelly’s smile fell. “Damian, I’m sorry to say this, but they don’t sell Roger Rabbit merchandise here anymore.”

“I...oh.”

“I mean, we can definitely go on the ride later though. That’s a promise.” Jelly patted his shoulder as she grabbed one of the hoods she had mentioned before, trying one on in front of Damian to check for the right size. “Just as I promise to find you the perfect shirt when we get back home. I know people sell those things online and if I don’t find something, I’ll talk to my brother Pepper. He’s the real life Roger Rabbit and is bound to have something in his house.”

“I noticed.” Damian gave a nod. “And…”

Jelly’s eyes left the hood, glancing over at Damian.

“I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem, kelpcake.”

“Kelpcake?” Damian lifted his head at Jelly.

“You’re my kelpcake.” Jelly ever so softly pinched Damian’s cheek. “Speaking of real life characters, did I ever tell you that your Uncle Davey is basically a real life Jack Skellington? That boy never noticed his feelings for your aunt, or her own of course.”

“You’re joking.” Damian squinted his eyes at Jelly who laughed with a shake of her head.

“Harper and Benjamin literally told him to his face after he saw Ally go on a date with another guy.”

“That’s...hilarious.” Damian looked around the store.

“Oh yeah, your aunt Lily even suggested that they dress up as them. They did one time, even had Peggy dressed as Zero. It was adorable.”

“Huh.” Damian walked behind Jelly as she looked at a section with plush toys from the Haunted Mansion and Nightmare Before Christmas. “Speaking of Peggy, and the axolotls, where did they come from?”

Jelly’s hands stopped searching through the plush toys as she froze for a moment, eventually turning to Damian with a smile.

“Well, we have a rehabilitation center, your grandpa and I, and we’re constantly on the lookout for new species or at least ones that need help.” Jelly resumed her searching. “The axolotls happened to be one of those discoveries.”

“From where?”

“The sea.” Jelly answered in a heartbeat. “We have some boats. Even your uncle Davey has a ship of his own. We’re constantly on the sea, and we just happened to come upon the axolotls. Mana and Kala at least, and then they eventually had their pups and on.”

“How long do they live?”

“That’s something we haven’t quite figured out just yet. Your grandpa has an idea though, it’s best you ask him.” Jelly faced Damian now, holding a funny looking plush that was meant to be a vampire teddy bear. “How do you like this little guy?”

“They look funny.” Damian poked the toy’s large and toothy grin.

“Great. They’re going home with you.” Jelly grinned before heading off to the cash register. “If there’s anything else you want, tell me now. Or you can tell me if anything catches your eye later.”

“Alright.” Damian now stood behind Jelly, watching as she paid for the three items she was getting just for him. “I wanted to ask, how are things with you and Pop?”

“Oh, as perfect as ever.” Jelly then received a bag with the merchandise, taking out the plush before handing it over to Damian who accepted it and took a better look at it. “I mean, we’re obviously here taking you and siblings to Disney and California Adventures. Other than that, just been working at my aquarium like usual, the park. Spend as much as time with all of you kids as much as possible, especially with Davey and Ally popping out more grandkids.”

“How many do they have now? I don’t see them too much, but I thought it was four.”

“Four indeed. Your aunt Ula and her husbands have six in total. Though Dahlia makes it feel like more.” Jelly laughed, taking notice of the funny face Damian made at the thought of his troublemaking cousin. “Speaking of your cousins, how have you been getting along with your cousins?”

“It’s going well.” Damian sighed at the thought of everyone he had met. All different from the other. “But Flora,”

“What about Flora?”

“She’s, really welcoming.” Damian squeezed his plush as she and Jelly continued walking, now finding an empty spot to sit at as it started to grow dark. “I really appreciate it. She tries to help me a lot and she’s very sweet.”

“Flora is like that, she just knows things.” Jelly placed a hand on Damian’s back, rubbing circles on it as he slightly shivered at the touch. “I’ve been meaning to ask, how are things with Basil?”

“Basil?” Damian rapidly brought his head up. “Well. It’s all well and okay.”

“Yeah? He’s not causing you any problems?”

“No, no. Of course not.”

“What?” a loud laugh was heard from behind the pair, both turning to see none other than Felix who was waving around a paper. “Basil always scares you!”

“Shut up Felix.” Damian glared at his brother.

“You guys are back.” Jelly felt as Felix slipped in between her and Damian, then seeing Lennie and Margaux stand in front of them. “How was it?”

“It was fun.” Margaux turned to Lennie who agreed. “And kind of cold.”

“They do that on purpose.” Jelly laughed before looking at Felix. “Sweetheart, don’t interrupt your brother, okay?”

“Okaaaay.” Felix slumped his body, but immediately jumped back into a straight pose to show off the paper he had received. “I got this though! Punpa asked for me and Margaux and we got Death Certificates!”

“That’s so nice.”

“Can we go again!? The ride got stuck like two times.”

“Yeah.” Margaux agreed before glancing over at Damian. “And Damian should come with us too.”

Jelly turned to Damian who remained quiet.

“Come on Damian, let’s go see Sandy Claws.” Jelly rubbed his shoulder after Felix hopped off his seat, Damian now looking at Jelly. “Then we can go on the Roger Rabbit ride right after. I promise.”

“I guess.” Damian nodded before he and Jelly stood up, soon turning red as Jelly linked her arm with his.

“But you have to promise to sit in the Doombuggie with your mémé.” Jelly smiled, then giggling as Damian gave a shaky nod while squeezing his vampire teddy bear.

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dimensionwriter · 5 years

Text

My Little Buddy

Part 2

Part 1

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Male orc x Female Reader

Warning: (Future) PTSD, mention of depression, lots of fluff

Description: As you're closing up shop, the get a surprise visit from the orc from across the street. And he brought cookies.

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Closing time. The holiest of moments for any business owner, especially after a busy day. You were so ready to flip that sign around and go home.

Until a little deer centaur came bursting through your doors, you were expecting the night to go a little more smoothly. Luckily, you recognized her as bakery owner two shops down.

She was quite short, barely reaching 5 feet. Her skin was a beautiful soft tan that was emphasized by white short hair. The pitch black eyes were gleaming with excitement as she trotted towards you behind the counter.

"I saw you went to the new shop across the street," she whispered to you, even though the two of you were alone. You grabbed the binder with new fabric order for the week. "Did you meet the owner?"

Quickly, you walked to the back of the store in order to put the binder in your office. It's weird that she brought up the owner. The only time she brings up a shop owner this early in a conversation is unless she wants to gossip. Oh gosh.

"Yeah, I met him," you yelled from your office as you file the binder away. You look to your left to see all the animals you brought a couple of days ago sitting on top of a free table. "He's really nice."

You walked of your office and looked down the hall. You were met with a shocked expression from the deer centaur.

"Are we thinking of the same guy? The big buff orc! The man looks like he could break me in half with his pinkie alone. And not to mention all those scars-"

You cut her off with a harsh glare. She closed her mouth and took a step back from you. Her light brown ears flopped down and folded into her bouncy hair.

"Are you really judging based on looks, because you can look pretty freakish from a human's view point," you said calmly. You tore your eyes away from her and begin to check the register. "Seriously, don't judge him. Have you even tried to talk to him?"

Her head dropped down in embarrassment. She didn't have to say no, but her actions spoke clearly. You felt bad for Vyzer for having to deal with such judgement, especially with that type of personality.

"I know you're a nice person, but please don't go around trying to convince people that he's a bad person just because of his looks. I'm nice to anyone, no matter the gender or species, and I know you're grateful for that. You had your own experiences of being discriminated against because of what you are, so how do you think he feels knowing that he looks scarier?" you extolled holding her pitch black eyes in a meaningful gaze. A sigh came out of her as she ran her hands through her hair.

"Ugh, now I feel bad. First thing in the morning, I'll run over to his shop and actually talk to him. Then, I'll come over to gossip," she said back in that excited voice. You playfully rolled at how quickly she was able to jump back to being happy, but it was because of her naturally happy personality.

"Don't forget you have to open your shop on time too. Don't think anyone didn't notice you opening up late yesterday," you teased as you grabbed the broom. You slowly begin to sweep behind the counter and made a note of getting the hall. You can do the main store tomorrow before you open up.

"I was still asleep. And I was only late like 2 hours," she whined leaning her human half onto your counter. You scoff at the statement and gave her a look over your shoulder. "Speaking of sleep, I better go now if I plan on visiting that shop in the morning."

She began trotting towards the door with a giant smile on her face. You wave goodbye to her before you grab the broom to continue sweeping.

When Vyzer mention people not coming into his shop, you never expected it to be other shop owners on this street. Almost everyone on this street was pretty welcoming of any species.

But now that you think about it, there hasn't been any huge creatures to come in. And almost everyone appears harmless at first glance. No wonder he's standing out, in a bad way. Well, you can help him with that.

You weren't phase when you heard a ting of a bell alerting you of someone's presence. You continue to sweep the hall with your back turned. "Sorry, I am close for the night. If you can come bright in the morning, I will be sure to help you."

"Ah, um. Sorry," the voice said softly. You froze up in recognition of that deep, but soft voice. That unique voice only belongs to one unique person

Quick to fix your hair and outfit, you turned around with your most flattering smile. Your gaze met those beautiful brown and white eyes. The long black hair was styled in a way that went across his face in a way that almost covered the major scar going from his right temple to his left cheek.

"Vyzer," you said walking towards the counter with a bounce in your step. He was wearing his bright pink work shirt with a pair of black jeans. In his giant hands sat a container with unknown content.

"You know my name? I -um- I forgot to introduce myself last time we met. I apologize," he mumbled looking down. His hair slide over his nose causing his scar to be revealed.

"Yeah, it's on your shirt," you joked playfully. His head bopped up with a small blue blush coming onto his cheeks. His hand reached up and moved the piece of hair back across his face. He was putting it there himself?

"Oh, forgot about that. Anyway, I had some free time today, so I-I baked some cookies. And, you know, I was like, 'Hey my neighboring shop may want some.' So, here I am," he rambled turning more blue with each stumble of words. It was so adorable. The way his thumbs played with the end of the container. Or the way his eyes drifted away from you before slowly moving back and then snapping away.

"Well," you leaned across the counter and brushed that strand of hair from his face into the back curve of his right cut ear," I would love to have some cookies from my cute neighbor orc.

You would pay 100 dollars to see his reaction over and over again. First, his eyes widen at your proximity then at your action. Next, the blush intensified so much that the green parts of his skin was a dark blue and his white sections turned into a light blue. And finally, he reached his hands up to cover his face as he turned away from you. He pretended to be interested in your fabric.

"How about I run to the back to get the designs I have for the animals? I can finally show you," you said excitedly while tilting your head to look at his blushing face more. His blunt teeth sank into his plush lips as he gave you a quick slide look. He nodded his head as he continued to 'gaze' over your fabric.

"I love them," he spoke flipping through your sketch book for the fifth time. You could say the same thing for his baking skills. Taking a bite out of his cookies felt like a blessing to your taste buds.

A man that is this adorable and knows how to bake. This really isn't helping your crush on him at all. In fact, it feels like it has tripled in size.

"It amazes me how someone's mind can be so creative that you can envision something and bring it to life. You truly are something…amazing," he said with this dazed look on his face. His eyes came up and you were able to see all the stars held within his eyes.

Make that quadrupled in size.

"Says you," you said trying to quickly turn this around before the blush settles in. "You work with different textured fabrics and sew them to look like an animal. Not to include you make them seem so unique, like they are their own singular being. Now that is truly amazing."

His giant palms slowly rubbed themselves into his knees as he looked down. "Yeah, but my sewing skills aren't the best. And I would like to make them outfits that I feel would match their personalities, but I don't know how," he mumbled sadly. Those stars seem to be dwindling out as he sulked more into himself.

"I can teach you," you said so quickly that you made the same face Vyzer did when his head snapped up. But you liked the idea. "When I close up shop, you can come over to get some lessons on sewing. Or if you aren't busy during the day and are comfortable with it, some days I hold workshops on clothes designing that you are welcome to come to, free of charge."

You felt like you were indirectly begging him to come see you, but it was a nice disguise. Maybe if you kept seeing him and getting the right signals, you can gain enough guts to ask him on a date.

"I-I-I," he stuttered harshly before ending with a cough. "I'm going to need to bake a lot to pay you back."

You started to laugh as he gave this giant goofy smile that make his face seem a lot softer, even with all those scars. His tusk bucked out with the smile making the golden cap on his left tusk gleam under the fluorescent lights

"The offer goes both ways. If you want, I can teach you about making stuff animals. Even though I feel you might pick it up quickly and I might have to deal with some competitions," he teased raising his left eyebrow at you. You let out a slightly unattractive laugh that made you scared for a second for his reaction. But from the stars burning brighter in his eyes made your worries melt away.

"I can say the same about you. I feel like your talent may be endless," you flirted back. The laugh that came out of him made you feel like you were on Cloud 9. The way his head tilted back slightly, allowing his hair to dangle more freely, made his face light up in a new way. Oh you were falling hard, and your parachute wasn't looking like it was going to be opening soon.

"I guess we will see," he said softly looking at you with a dazzling smile. His atmosphere seem to be a lot more relaxed than when he walked in.

You tried to hide your smile by looking down, but you knew he saw. He didn't comment it on it as he excused himself out.

You were a nice host and walked him to the door with a smile on your face. You were so tempted to pull out anything to make him stay, but the two of you had a business to run.

However, it seems like he plans on seeing you a lot in the future, hopefully very soon.

Part 3

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I'm trying my best to hold back from writing 6k words per fic, so I can get more out. So, yeah, this fic is small, but it has some good content. Anyway, please LIKE and REBLOG, so I can see that you guys actually enjoy this series. You can COMMENT on this story on your favorite part of this story or what else you want to see from this series or just anything in general. My asks are open if you want to ask about a character or have any questions for me. I will try my best to answer them as fast as possible. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.

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potterandpromises · 4 years

Text

Plague Times: Chapter 1

Lucy downs a shot of vodka, her ration. It’s the amount she allows herself as a sleep aid, no more and only when needed. A rule she created years ago, within weeks of Rufus’ death. Anything else must be consumed in a social setting. Or at least with other people— meaning Flynn, mostly. But he’s not here, because she left him.

One mouth, almost exactly. Perhaps current events lead the dates to be emphasized. December 6th though January 4th they lived together in his new and decrepit ex-safe house, sold to him for one dollar by the United States Government after the war’s supposed end. That decision, as Lucy understands it, was half laziness, half embarrassment. An excellent outcome, and she barely had to threaten anybody.

[Read the rest on AO3]

#timeless #garcy #timeless ff #garcy ff #Fic: Plague Times #lucy preston #garcia flynn #fanfiction #my fanfic tag #tw alcohol #trying something new with just a preview #let me know if you prefer complete cross posting

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loserholland · 5 years

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𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝

𝟎𝟎𝟐 ➺ 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫

Pairing ➺ Teacher!Tom Holland x Single mom!Reader

Warning ➺ fluff, talks about reader’s ex

Word Count ➺ 1,549

Summary ➺ What happens when your five year old tries to set you up with her kindergarten teacher?

A/N ➺ So, I watched far from home today and i want to write some ANGSTY peter x reader imagine where the reader and peter are dating but slowly peter begins to have feelings for Mj. I want to do it based off of Out of love by Alessia Cara but idk would you guys like that?? Send me an ask or reply if I should do this angsty piece, i really want to lol.

✿ 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓣𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽 ✿ - @loveyathreethousand, @taronxfiction, @killerqueen-gunpowdergelatine, @spideyyypeter @lou-la-lou @babebenhardy @rivervixenbaby @acklesholland @zabdisamor @keepingupwiththehollands@sweet666pea @sspider-parker @jackiehollanderr

❤ 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ❤ @luvborhap @asianravenpuff @agusdoti @meg-holland @silverreading

☞ Masterlist ☜

Family fun fairs. They’re always fun to attend to, mini carnival rides to enjoy along with the food and drinks. Everyone had a good time, making fun memories with their kids.

The moment Tom had told his class full of five year olds that he’d like some of their parents to bake some yummy goodies for the fair, Audrey was quick to sign her mother up.

Audrey happily walked into her mother’s office with a smile on her face. This wasn’t any typical smile, this was the ‘Mommy I’m about to ask you something you can’t say no to’ smile.

“Hi mommy! Could you make your special cupcakes for the family fun fair this Saturday?” and there it was, something she couldn’t say no to. It’s been a while since she used that smile. The last time she did, she convinced (Y/N) that she wanted to spend her last day of summer at disneyland even though it was hot and busy.

“Hm, bubs did you sign me up to sell your favorite cupcakes at the family fair?” Audrey nodded hopping around her mother’s desk to stand in front of her with a huge toothy grin spread across her face.

“I also signed you up to help Mr.Holland sell the yummy goodies!” Audrey wanted her mom to have a special someone, because everyone should have a special someone.

She figured since Mr.Holland didn’t have a special someone and her mother didn’t have a special someone, why not have them be each other’s special someone?

Yeah, this five year old is pretty damn smart.

(Y/N) chuckled lightly picking Audrey up and setting her on her lap, “Did you now? Did you think mommy would say yes?” She always said yes to Audrey, she was her little princess never could she say no to her, except when she’s being very bratty.

Audrey nodded with a big smile on her face, of course she knew her mother would say yes.

“Alright bubs we’ll go to the store right after I get this paperwork done.”

(Y/N) pushed the cart around the store gathering all the necessary ingredients for her cupcakes, Audrey was held her attention to her ipad playing on some learning app that taught colors and shapes.

As (Y/N) looked down at her notes to check off the ingredients she had in her cart she was unaware of the cart she had just bumped into. Immediately she placed her phone back in her purse and looked up ready to apologize to the stranger.

“I’m so sor-Tom?”

“You di-(Y/N)!”

Audrey turned around and smiled from ear to ear before saying, “Hi Mr.Holland!” she clicked the lock button on the side of her ipad handing it to her mom to place back in her purse.

“My mommy is going to make cupcakes for the family fun fair!” Tom smiled at the five year old looking between her and her mother, Audrey had her mother’s hair and eyes. Audrey was basically her mini her, (Y/N) had been told many times that Audrey looked like her.

“That’s great! I’m really glad you could help, also sorry I really wasn’t paying attention early.” Tom apologized which caused (Y/N) to shake her head lightly, “I wasn’t paying attention I should be the one to apologize.” Audrey looked between the two adults giggling to herself as they just stood there staring at one another.

Truth was, Audrey was doing this for a reason. There are nights when she can hear her mother crying. She never questioned what it was but she also thought it was because she didn’t have a special someone. All she wants is for her mom to be happy.

“Well, it was nice seeing you! I’ll see you on Saturday, Audrey bubs tell Mr.Holland you’ll see him tomorrow.”

"Bye Mr.Holland! See you tomorrow!”

Tom smiled waving at the five year old before proceeding out of the aisle, he did have thoughts about maybe asking (Y/N) out to dinner but was unsure if that would be highly inappropriate. Maybe he could get to know her more this Saturday.

Kids ran freely though the open school play yard, dragging their parents to buy tickets to then drag them to the rides and smaller game stands that was out on the field.

(Y/N) rearranged the desserts onto the table as Tom fixed the e-z up. Earlier that morning she had dropped Audrey off to her parent’s house so they could bring her once the fair started at nine. She didn’t want Audrey to be grouchy at seven when setup was happening.

“Mommy!” an all too familiar voice called which pulled (Y/N) attention to look up watching as Audrey ran at full speed towards the tent. (Y/N) walked around the table crouching down as she took Audrey into her arms, “Hey bubs.” she pulled away lightly brushing the wild baby hairs they fell atop her forehead.

“Go on with papa and gma okay?” Audrey nodded giving her mom a kiss on the cheek before running back.

Tom had brought two chairs for them to sit on not wanting to stand for the next five hours. The two sat next to each other in silence watching as a few guest come and go, some stopping for a sweet treat.

“So, your from London?” (Y/N) questioned, the awkward silence between them was not cutting it for her.

“Southwest London, Kingston upon Thames to be exact.” Tom watched as she fiddled with her fingers picking at fabric of her jeans.

“When did you have Audrey?” This was a common question for (Y/N), usually when she’d see family from either her mom or dad’s side they’d ask ‘When did you have Audrey?’.

“I was nineteen. Two years into college.”

During those two years of college she barely made it through with the grades she had, and the crowd she was hanging around with. Wanting nothing but to party. I guess you could say she hung out with the rich kids. Yes, (Y/N) was also one of those kids but, her parents taught her to be humble and to work for what she wants.

Tom wanted to ask the question that has been in the back of his mind for a while, from the moment he saw Audrey’s drawing that question has been on his mind for a while.

“I-if you don’t mind me asking, um what happened to Audrey’s dad?”

(Y/N) tensed lightly remembering the night he had placed twenty-thousand dollars into her hands and said “Get an abortion, and we can go our separate ways.” When she had disagreed and said she was keeping the baby, he walked right out the door and didn’t turn back.

“Well, he didn’t want me to keep Audrey. He had placed twenty-thousand dollars in my hand and said ‘Get an abortion, and we can go our separate ways.-”

(Y/N) paused for a moment as she scanned the field to see Audrey was playing at one of the mini game booths, she never regrets keeping Audrey. It was one of the best blessings in the world.

“-so I kept Audrey. I’m glad I did, she’s one of the most amazing kid with a huge heart.”

Tom couldn’t help but agree more, he would notice how she would share her crayons with whoever didn’t have crayons. Or when she’d comfort one of her classmates who accidentally skinned their knee during recess.

Just then Audrey came running back to the booth with a huge grin, “Mommy! There’s a dunk tank!” (Y/N) placed Audrey onto her lap “Did you try it?” her daughter shook her head no.

“Why not?”

“I have to choose one of my favorite teachers to dunk, I dunno if Mr.Holland want’s to do it.”

(Y/N) glanced at Tom who was obviously listening in on their conversation, “Why don’t you go ask him?” Audrey hopped off her mother’s lap and to stand right in front of Tom.

“Mr.Holland, can I dunk you?”

Tom smiled “Sure sweetheart.” Audrey squealed loudly jumping around the booth before saying “If I dunk you can you and my mommy go on date?” (Y/N) mouth fell open at the question as Tom’s eyes widened.

“Bubs, that’s only if you hit the target.” (Y/N) reminded, causing her daughter to glance between her mother and Tom.

“I won’t miss mommy, now come on!”

(Y/N) watched as Tom climbed the mini ladder and sat on the ledge watching as he lightly tapped the surface of the water that was a bit cold. Audrey held three bean bags in her hand standing behind the line.

Audrey threw the first bean bag a little too far to the right, as a bit of relief washed over (Y/N) body. The second bean bag was a few inches off but still nonetheless, she missed again. Now for the moment of truth, she did say ‘I won’t miss mommy’

It all happened so quickly the sound of Audrey screaming with glee as she watched Tom fall into the water before quickly standing back up, as for (Y/N) who stood there in complete shock. She’s going to go on a date with her daughter’s kindergarten teacher.

Audrey walked over to her mother with a huge smile on her face along with victory written across her forehead.

“See mommy? I told you I never miss.”

#tom holland au #tom holland #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland imagine #tom holland smut #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n #loserholland

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jaehyun-eclipsed · 4 years

Text

Before I Met You | Six

Updates: Sundays, 8 PM EST

Pairing: NCT (Jaehyun, Lucas…) X Reader/OC

Genre: Romance, Angst, Coming of Age

Summary: Four. There were four people before I fell in love with you… Here are their stories.

Warnings: Contains some swearing

Before I Met You Masterlist

Prev | Next

After several weeks of constant stress and endless studying, high school was finally coming to an end. I was never one to take many photos, but I knew there were people that I’d likely never see again. So on the last day of class, I decided to ask some of them to take a picture. My first and only class with Lucas was biology.

“Hey,” I say to Lucas, Seulgi, and Yang Yang. “Take a picture with me.”

“Okay!” Lucas responds.

“Oh, so you’ll take a picture for Y/N but not for me?” Seulgi snaps.

Oh shit.

Lucas doesn’t say anything, but I decide to put my foot in my mouth. “I’m just special,” I say with a smile.

Seulgi doesn’t respond, her face attempting to smile in order to hide the bitterness she actually felt.

Oh my God, Y/N. You’re such an idiot.

“Let’s take the picture!” Lucas says. “Yang Yang, you take it!”

Graduation came and went. It was weird. It hadn’t really hit me yet that I had graduated from high school. The ceremony was rather uneventful. Doyoung, Taeyeon, Hyojin, Hana, and I were all being honored as part of the top twenty in our class. This meant that we were set to walk the stage first and then after that, we sat in the audience, glancing back at the crowd every so often to see how many more rows of students had to walk. Quite honestly, we were bored.

The ceremonial cap tossing was followed by many hugs, selfies, and promises to hang out during the summer before truly needing to say goodbye to those who would be leaving for college. For a moment, it felt like time stopped. Bright lights shone down on everyone, providing a spotlight as if it was our last moment on stage.

“Y/N! We’re done!” Lucas shouts as he runs towards me, picking me up and spinning me around as confetti falls around us.

“Congratulations, Lucas!”

His eyes are sparkling when he sets me down, his hands still holding onto my arms. We smile at each other for a moment before he realizes he’s still holding me.

“Oh!” he remarks, dropping his hands and nervously rubbing one of them behind his neck. “Good luck at Berkeley, Y/N. Make sure you come back and visit.”

“Thank you, I definitely will.”

“Maybe we can hang out this summer?”

My heart jumps at the suggestion and the naïve thought of a first date and first kiss during my last summer before college. The fantasy was a heartbreaking cliché with the word ‘BAD’ written all over it in capital letters. There was something so appealing about it. The summer fling with the boy from high school; falling in love too fast after a passionate kiss at the beach; an emotional goodbye and shattering heartbreak as one had to leave because real life got in the way. This kind of situation never ends well. It’s indulging in the forbidden fruit only to realize it was poisoned from the very beginning.

“Yeah.” I smile. “I’d like that.”

I was quick to learn of Lucas’s new job at a clothing store at the mall. He was notorious for posting every little thing he did on social media and had a poor habit of posting on Snapchat while he was driving. It made it easy to figure out where he was all the time. Plus, the store he worked at was a place I often shopped at already.

“When did you start working here?”

Lucas folds a shirt, placing it on the shelf before turning around to face me. “Right after school got out. I like the clothes here.”

“Yeah, I do too.”

“If you want anything, just let me know. They give me forty percent off everything except clearance,” he says. “I’ll buy it for you and you can pay me back. Like, I just bought a bunch of jewelry for Sooyoung.”

Well that’s nice of him.

“Thanks!” I hold up a beige scarf. “I think I’m going to buy this, but it’s on clearance.”

He smiles. “It looks nice. Let me know when you’re ready to check out!”

“Oh, I’m ready now. This is all I’m getting today.”

He nods and leads me over to the cash register. I hand him the scarf and he begins to palm through it to look for any security tags.

“Hey, so we should hang out.” He keeps his gaze on the scarf. “Maybe grab lunch or something?”

The temptation to take a bite into the fruit returns. Yes, we were just getting lunch, but it was still something. He wants to hang out one-on-one. Who says this can’t turn into something more after that?

“Yeah! That would be great!” I say with a wide grin.

He taps several keys on the register before telling me to swipe my card. “Okay, you can just text me and we’ll hang out!”

An alarm sounds off in my head. It’s brief, but nevertheless, it’s still there. Why do I have to text you if you want to go? Maybe this is an open-ended thing so that I can ask him if I actually want to go and it’s not a full blown rejection if he asks and I say ‘no’.

I force a smile before my perplexed feeling can be expressed on my face. “Okay… Maybe next week because I’m supposed to go to orientation for school this weekend.”

“Yeah! That sounds good!”

I look up at the clock tower as my orientation group walks by. Wouldn’t it be nice for Lucas to come visit me and we could take walks around campus? The sun is about to set, glowing a blazing gold and orange over the horizon. A new beginning. This is where I’m going to spend the next four years of my life, supposedly making new friends and memories to last a lifetime.

“It’s going to be completely different.”

“You’re going to have so much fun.”

“You’re going to meet so many smart and interesting people!”

“You’re going to meet someone much better than Lucas.”

“You’re going to love it!”

This was the collage of phrases I’d heard over the past few months since I had chosen a school. I had good faith it would be true. I liked the people I had met in my orientation group; we all had the same goal and everyone was relatively nice with the exception of one of my roommates for the night. She was tall and blonde and seemed to be rather arrogant. From the way she looked at me, I took it that she just thought I was a typical nerd. Fortunately, I didn’t have to spend much time with her since she wasn’t in my orientation group. If I wasn’t with my group, I was exploring on my own.

“Hey! Let’s all take a picture on the steps!”

But being here… actually being here… terrified me to no end. Aside from coming here to tour the campus and make some initial contacts, we were supposed to meet with college counselors and select our first semester classes.

I discovered that selecting the classes you needed to take wasn’t even the hard part; it was signing up for the classes that was a challenge. My orientation date was in the middle, so by the time I was able to sign up, the sections I had wanted were already full.

I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. Prior to arriving, we were instructed to fill out a questionnaire to determine what classes we would need to take for our intended majors. You didn’t have to declare a major until sophomore year, but you at least had to start working towards it so that you could graduate on time. It’s a terrible system. At eighteen, you’re expected to have an idea of what you supposedly want to commit to for the rest of your life. The system even lets you determine that you’re responsible enough to make a decision that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And now, even while taking a commemorative photo with the sun suggesting a brighter future, all I wanted to do was cry. I’m not ready for college. I’m not ready to leave home. I’m just not ready. And suddenly, I’m left wondering if this whole time, my perceived independence and confidence, was just me pretending…

After returning from orientation, I was trying to find ways to distract myself from my inevitable future that I wasn’t ready for. I had made attempts to find things I enjoyed as I realized this may be the only summer for the next several years that would be completely free of responsibility. No summer homework, no internship – I was free to be self-indulgent. So I spent a lot of my time doing things I didn’t allow myself to have time for while in high school. I’d read, watch movies, and take walks at the mall. I’d even go to parties held by my former high school classmates. But of course, I also spent a lot of that time thinking about Lucas.

Maybe I’ll ask him today. It’s been a week since I’ve seen him… That seems like enough time.

Me to Lucas [4:15 PM] Hey! You busy tomorrow? Wanna get lunch?

I place my phone down, twiddling with my thumbs and waiting for my phone screen to light up.

He’s definitely going to want to go. And then we’ll get to have lunch and maybe we can hang out some more before I have to leave! And maybe… just maybe, he’ll tell me he likes me!

I smile at the thought. It’s a last hurrah before having to leave everything. I’d get my happy, sad summer ending.

But of course, that thought quickly drifts out of reach again as time creeps by. Fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, an hour…

It was my birthday and biology all over again. When Hana invited him to go to my birthday dinner, he took hours to respond, never directly saying he couldn’t come, just that he was preoccupied. He did the same thing with our biology project, never directly saying he hadn’t finished it, just that he was busy with something else that apparently took precedent.

Lucas [5:45 PM] I have work tomorrow

I roll my eyes. He’s lying again. And you just had so much hope that you would get your chance even though you knew. I only had one word for him.

Me [6:00 PM] Okay.

This is a pattern.

This is a trait.

And I was dumb enough to fall for it three times.

Later that night, while festering in my annoyance, I receive a text from Siwoo.

Siwoo [8:09 PM] I overheard Lucas talking about you

My eyes widen. Lucas was talking about me?

Me [8:15 PM] What? Where?

Siwoo [8:17 PM] At the mall. Sicheng and Yang Yang were waiting for him to get off work and I was in the store looking at something

Me [8:18 PM] What did they say?

Siwoo [8:21 PM] Sicheng asked Lucas if he was still thinking about asking you out and Lucas didn’t say anything. So Sicheng guessed that Lucas already did and Lucas was like “I asked her to get lunch but I have to work tomorrow.” Then Sicheng was like “I thought you said you didn’t have to go to work tomorrow? You should just go with Y/N. Who cares about Seulgi?”

Wow, so he was lying. And he has absolutely no idea that I have people looking out for me to give me confirmation about these things.

It definitely pays to have friends in all circles. I can have eyes everywhere.

Me [8:22 PM] So he was lying! Wtf. What does Seulgi have to do with this?

Me [8:23 PM] What did they say after that?

Siwoo [8:24 PM] Lying? About what?

Me [8:26 PM] I asked him to get lunch tomorrow and he just said he had to work. No rescheduling, no nothing

Siwoo [8:27 PM] Jackass. I guess Seulgi doesn’t want Lucas dating you

Siwoo [8:29 PM] Yang Yang said that Seulgi would get really pissed and then asked if he really wanted to go. Lucas said he did but also was afraid because Seulgi would get mad because she’s jealous of you and he’s been friends with her longer

Seulgi… always getting in the way.

Me [8:32 PM] Jfc. She won’t date him and when he wants to go after someone else, she gets mad. What does she want??

Siwoo [8:34 PM] Idk... that’s all I heard

One of my favorite things to do is have late night chats. There’s something so intoxicating about the night – it brings out honesty despite its purpose of making everything dark… hidden… mysterious. The comfort of the night allows us to reveal our deepest secrets in confidence. It gives a false sense of safety. You trade your ability to hide your body language, thinking that’s what you need to keep secret when voluntarily speaking words you’d thought you’d never say aloud.

The night is an oxymoron.

Yet, it is when I thrive. My best thinking is done at night. My best conversations occur at night.

I had a habit of keeping my dad up at late hours into the night, pitching my ideas, revealing my thoughts, running through an endless list of scenarios. I could’ve chosen any other time of day to do this, but night was always my preferred time. That’s when I was the best at being honest to myself about Lucas. There were fewer distractions and I could kick more sense into myself when the temptation was unusually strong.

“How come he said he wanted to hang out and then when I ask him, he lies and says he has to work?” I ask angrily, pacing in my dad’s room.

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s scared,” my dad responds. “But you know, he appears to have a habit of doing this.”

“So he’s just flakey,” I say, making more of a statement than asking a question.

“Yes.”

“He didn’t even say ‘no’! He just said he had to work and didn’t say anything about rescheduling.” I frown. “Does that mean he doesn’t actually want to go?”

“You mentioned earlier that Siwoo overheard him talking about Seulgi?”

“Yeah?”

“I do think Seulgi is jealous of you.”

I stop pacing and huff, putting my hands on my hips. “That’s ridiculous! She has all of these guys all over her! She gets way more attention than I do! Why would she ever be jealous of me?!”

“People don’t like it when others do better than they do,” he says. “I’m sure she thinks you’re a lot smarter than her. And even if she doesn’t think you’re prettier than she is, she can’t deny that you’re not attractive.”

Gnawing on my bottom lip, I contemplate what he tells me. It is possible, but I can’t imagine anyone feeling that way about me. I’m the quiet one that no one pays attention to except when they want answers on their homework. That’s not entirely true, but I honestly thought that no one really cared about what I did. I just did my schoolwork and minded my own business. The most people would ever really talk to me about was college. Long story short, my conclusion was that everyone thought I was boring. Granted, Siwoo did mention all of those other comments from Ara and Yunji. I guess I had more confirmation of some of these statements than I would have liked to admit or was able to believe.

“So if I go to the mall and see him again, he’s probably going to bring up hanging out again.” My face sours, disgusted at how easily Lucas could say things he doesn’t mean over and over again. “What should I say to him?”

“What you should do, is next time you see him, make him pick the time and date. Just tell him, ‘If you’re so busy, then why don’t you pick the time and the date? Then let me know.’ Flip it back onto him.”

Even though I knew any attempts to hang out with Lucas were probably nonexistent – and definitely nonexistent if I flipped the decision back onto him – I didn’t want to give up like that. But the rational part of me knew this would be the best thing to do. Summer was more than half gone already. What could we possibly do in that time even if we did hang out once or twice? I was onto bigger and better things with completely different people. Who cares about some idiot from high school?

This shirt looks nice. I pull the hanger from the rack, admiring the red, sleeveless blouse. It would be nicely paired with some blue denim shorts.

“Hey!”

When I hear Lucas’s voice, something kicks in… likely my rationality because suddenly, I’m angry.

I glance over my shoulder, seeing him leaning against a wall next to me. “Hey.”

“So school starts soon, huh?”

I continue admiring the blouse, holding it up to my body to estimate the fit. “Yeah, I’m leaving in a few weeks.”

“Oh! We should hang out before then!”

Here we go…

I internally roll my eyes, completely exasperated as I had mentally prepared myself for this moment. I was not going to give in again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I’m an idiot. Fool me four times? Yeah, not going to happen.

“I think you tried to hit me up, right?” he continues, crossing one foot over the other and pulling his phone out. “But I think I was busy that week.”

Yeah, you were “working”.

“Yeah, well, since you’re so busy,” I say. “How about you decide?” I cross my arms. “Pick the date, pick the time, let me know.”

He keeps his gaze on his phone, scrolling with his thumb, probably pretending to filter through his “completely booked” calendar.

“Okay,” he agrees. “So just text you?”

I can feel the sharpness of my tongue as I respond, “Yep.”

“When are you leaving?”

“On the fifteenth.”

He smiles at me, uncrossing his legs and placing his phone back in his pocket. “All right, well, my shift is over so I’ll hit you up later.”

Right… I’m sure you will.

A couple days later, I opted to go to a coffee shop that my high school classmates would frequent after class. I had brought a book along with me and was going to spend the next hour or so reading while sipping on a lavender latte before going to meet Hana for dinner.

“Y/N?”

I lift my head from my book and turn in the direction of the voice.

“Oh, hey Sicheng!”

Sicheng and I weren’t really friends, but we could always have conversations. We were acquaintances at best, but he was best friends with Lucas and Kibum. And all throughout high school, he was always kind and respectful towards me. Despite him becoming ‘one of the guys’ when he was around his friends, he was one of the nicer ones of the group and he knew how to flip off that switch when he would talk to anyone else outside of his posse.

He smiles at me and walks over to my table. “Just reading?”

“Yeah, I thought I’d get a lavender latte before meeting Hana for dinner.”

“Oh nice.”

I look at his hand that’s gripping onto the backpack slung over his shoulder. “Are you here to work on something?”

“Hm?” He follows my gaze to his backpack. “Oh, yeah, I have some scholarship essays I need to work on. When are you leaving for school?”

“In a couple weeks.”

“Congratulations, Y/N! That’s really exciting!”

“Thanks! I’m excited… though, I’m quite nervous too.”

“Yeah, I bet…” he trails off.

He looks down at my book, continuing to linger at my table. His mouth opens slightly and he smiles, like he’s contemplating on saying something. I raise an eyebrow up at him, silently asking what’s on his mind.

Suddenly, he says something that’s somewhat out of left field. “Hey, do you talk to Lucas?”

My eyes narrow. “I see him at the mall sometimes,” I say. “I buy a lot of my clothes at the store he works at. Why?”

“Oh, uh, I was just wondering if you guys hang out…”

What are you fishing for?

“Did he say something?”

“No… no, not really.” Sicheng presses his lips together. “Did he ask you out?”

Well that was forward.

I swallow and narrow my eyes again, wondering what on earth Sicheng could be getting at. “Like, on a date?”

“Yeah.”

“No, he did ask me to hang out though…” I shake my head, trying to dismiss all of the fluff. Sicheng just needs to get to the point. “Why are you asking?”

He sighs in frustration. “Okay, to tell you the truth, he likes you.”

I raise an eyebrow, questioning both the truth of the statement and his reasons for telling me. “Really…” I say skeptically. “It doesn’t seem like it.”

“He wants to go out with you, Y/N.”

“What?” I ask, incredulity lacing my tone. “I – I don’t understand. Why are you even telling me this?”

He clicks his tongue. “Look, I –” He sighs again, shifting his gaze to a far corner of the room before turning to look back at me. “Lucas is my best friend and I’m just tryin’ to help him out because – as much as I like Seulgi, she’s being a bitch.”

Of all the things for Sicheng to do, I never thought he would do this. He’s always been nice, but why would he ever confess that Lucas likes me? Why would he out his best friend?

My expression is perplexed, confused at his confession. I don’t say anything and let him continue.

“She knows Lucas likes you, but she doesn’t even like, want him to talk to you.” His face turns sour. “So, I’m just – I’m just seeing how you feel because he’s my friend and Seulgi’s just being…” he trails off, waving his hand in dismissal.

I shrug, making a gesture with my hands to express frustration. At this point, telling him the truth doesn’t really seem to make any difference. “Well, I’d go out with him if he asked, but –”

“Yeah, I know…” he interjects, offering me a small smile. “I know you’re leaving soon, but I don’t know… I just thought I’d see what’s up with you and try to help Lucas out before then.”

This was a strange revelation. I never expected Sicheng to do this. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel all giddy inside having confirmation that Lucas did like me. Unfortunately, my opinion of Seulgi had deteriorated even further and gave me confirmation that what she did at Winter Ball was, in fact, on purpose. She couldn’t stand having a different girl having (in her eyes, steal) Lucas’s attention. That was too great of a hit to her ego. On the other hand, all this told me was that Lucas had little to no backbone. He was easily influenced by someone that wasn’t good for him and would never fully return his affections. Yet, he couldn’t stand not having her in his life even if all she would end up doing is crushing him. I guess we both have something else in common – at least for the next few weeks.

I was a fool. The temptation to bite into the forbidden fruit was too great and the truth of the matter was that I didn’t even get to bite into it. It was always within reach, on a branch that was just a smidge too high. But then a gust of wind blew and the fruit fell and hit me in the head.

Lucas never did text me.

And I never heard from him after that.

Perhaps the first dance really was the last.

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Not Alone - Gerard Way x Reader

Request: Hello! I was wondering if you could do a Gerard x fem!Reader where she was bullied in the past and years later she encounters with the bullies and they start bothering her again and Gerard saves her? Tysm💜 Warnings: bullying, violence (shoving) Word count: 1 746

If you were being honest, being back in your hometown was not nearly as traumatizing as you had assumed it would be. Christmas had pulled you back into this tiny town in which your family still lived. For years you had managed to avoid it, always finding an excuse for your parents to come visit you instead, but this year you had finally decided to face the demons of your past.

The resentment about your hometown was not, as for many other people, grounded in a bad relationship with your family, but rather the unpleasant time of high school. Everyone, literally everyone in the whole town, had always known that you were the involuntary social outcast, the favourite victim of the bullies at school, and too weak (you preferred the word gentle) to save yourself. Even though everyone had known, nobody had ever made a move to help you, and your parents had been shut down by the school’s director, saying you had no prove for what you claimed the other students to have done. And since there was no other school in town and your parents could not afford to home school you, you somehow had learned to survive.

So there was a very good reason indeed why you had never been keen on returning here. As mentioned, the town was small, and chances were that you would stumble into some of your former bullies, or at least a cheering bystander as soon as you left the house. But when you had come home for Christmas, you had not come alone.

During your time away, you had started working for the cartoon network in New York, where you had gotten to know your adorable co-worker Gerard, who you now dated. That he wanted to stay in the relationship, even after he and the band, which he had founded a couple of years back, had made it big, was still a miracle to you, but you definitely did not complain; you loved him.

Now, against all better judgement, you had agreed to do the grocery shopping for your mother. She was already busy decorating, and sending out last minute cards, while simultaneously stressing out over getting the house clean before your grandparents arrived tomorrow morning. So you had figured taking that burden off her shoulders would be the least you could do, especially since the main Christmas grocery shopping was already done, and you only needed to get food for the following days, making sure you would not have to bother with going to the supermarket while you would rather have a peaceful time together.

Of course you had immediately told Gerard he would have to accompany you, which he enthusiastically did. Right now he had disappeared to the section of cereal, eager to choose something for your whole family, while you had continued to the snacks.

Slowly walking along the shelves, you once again wondered why one company produced three different kinds of crisps all with the same flavour. Rummaging through your memories you tried to recall the brand name your brother had mentioned as his favourite yesterday evening, when suddenly you heard someone walk up to you. Assuming it was just a person looking for a specific kind of food, like people do in supermarkets, you took a small step to the side to let them pass, but did not look up.

From the corner of your eye you saw the person had stopped right next to you, leaving not even a dozen inches between you. Normally you would have felt a little uncomfortable due to a lack of personal space, and continued your day, but now the person did not turn to the shelf, the tips of their shoes pointing straight at you. And these were not Gerard’s shoes.

A feeling, which you had not felt in years, overcame you, your instincts telling you to run as fast as possible, but instead you slowly looked up.

“That’s not the way to greet your old friends, (y/n).”

The voice had gotten deeper, but the snarling and dripping venom were the same as back in school. Looking up completely, you found a group of four men blocking the aisle. Their faces looked older, more grown up, more dangerous than what they had looked a couple of years back when you had last seen them. But there was no doubt; these were the same people who had made your life hell.

“You just left without saying goodbye,” said the one standing directly behind Hunter, who was their leader.

“We thought we could give you a proper send off on prom night, but you never showed up,” Hunter added, making the men behind him laugh.

Truth be told, you did not want to know what they had had in mind for you back then.

“But there’s plenty of time for that now, right?”

As if they were remote controlled, they all took a step towards you at the same time, but you did not step back. Never mind Hunter was almost standing chest to chest with you now, you were sick of their stupid games, terribly scared too, but most of all pissed off.

“Leave me alone,” you hissed at them, surprised by how confident you sounded.

“Oh, what’s this, little (y/n) got feisty while away,” Rick, who stood further in the back, laughed, “you should learn to shut your mouth.”

“Fuck off,” you just mumbled, and turned your back to them, trying to walk away from them.

But of course that did not work. It might have worked with normal people, but not with guys as fucked up as these four.

You had not even taken three steps, when a hand landed on your shoulder, and pulled you pack, forcefully slamming you into the packed shelf, causing several bags of snacks to tumble to the floor. Instinctively you curled into a small ball, immediately protecting face and stomach, as years of their torment had taught you; but before the first painful kick, which you expected to hit, found you, a voice sounded through the aisle, and your heart immediately jumped to your throat.

“Touch them, and you’ll regret it.”

Gerard’s voice usually was not very impressive, but years of screaming around on stage had given him the skill to sound dangerous, and luckily only you and him knew that he was bluffing.

On the one hand you were incredibly happy that he was there, by your side to help and protect you, but on the other hand you were scared what these men would do to him. He was great with words and all, but if he would have to defend himself he would probably be even worse off than you; he was just a gigantic teddy bear, and today he even almost looked like one, wearing the hand knitted sweater his grandma had made for him.

“What d’you want?”

“I want you to fuck off, unless you want the police to pick you up here. They’re on their way.”

Gerard sounded calm, as his steps approached you, making your bullies move away from you simultaneously.

“Seriously dude?”

“You heard me, they’re on their way.”

Calmly he knelt down next to you, carefully placing his hand on your back, and only then you felt that he was shaking.

“Why’d you call them, what’d you tell them?”

Hunter was almost shouting, not out of anger, but out of what sounded like fear, and made you even take a careful glance at them.

“That my partner is being violently attacked by four men in the supermarket…”

The only sounds that followed Gerard’s pretty relaxed statement were those of shoes rapidly clacking against the tiles of the floor as the men ran away.

“Did you really call the police,” you wondered, slowly allowing yourself to relax.

“I tried, but the line is occupied,” Gerard admitted, grinning gently at you. “Did they hurt you?”

Helping you up, he worriedly glanced up, and down your body.

“I’m fine I think,” you answered. Your back hurt a little from where you had been slammed into the shelf, but your thick winter jacket had blocked the worst. “They gave me a good scare though.”

“Me too,” Gerard agreed, “I always thought you were being a bit overdramatic with all the bullying, you know, distorted perception due to trauma or something, but hell, this is worse than what you ever told me!”

“Everything alright lovelies?”

An elderly lady, dressed in the uniform of the supermarket, peeked around the corner into the aisle.

“Yeah, we just-“

“Oh, don’t think I don’t know. These boys have been terrorizing the town for years.” Quickly she hurried over, and Gerard and you helped her collect the bags with crisps, which had fallen out of the shelf, off the floor. “They are well known to the sheriff, and that Hunter is on probation, so if he gets into trouble again, he’s going to jail for a while.”

Gerard and you exchanged glances, obvious that neither of you minded if Hunter would be locked away.

After the lady had helped you find the brand of snacks your brother liked so much, and had recommended some of her favourite post-Christmas crisps, you headed back to your shopping cart, and soon made your way over to the register, where the lady, who had introduced herself as Maggie, helped you check out.

“Here, for you,” you handed her a five dollar bill after you had paid, “Merry Christmas.”

Not waiting for her to break in a huge smile you turned, and started walking away, only seeing Gerard smile widely, and wave good bye at the lady.

“She sometimes gave us lollies for free,” you explained, once you had walked up to your car, “I don’t think she remembers me, but I sure remember her. Also five dollars probably won’t make up for all the lollies she gave me.”

Gerard chuckled, and helped you load the groceries into the car.

“People like that are the backbone of our nation,” he agreed, and both of you laughed.

After everything was stored away, you got into the car, and turned on radio and heating. Slowly you drove off the parking lot, careful not to slip in the snow that had started falling. Maybe the incident in the store had not been necessary, but at least you were not afraid of coming back home now, knowing that Gerard would always be by your side to help you.

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