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spencersawkward · 3 years

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switchblade faith//spencer reid - chapter 8

summary: one month after joining the BAU, Clea is still settling in. between solving murders and getting acclimated to DC, the only comfortable thing in her life is her friendship with Dr. Spencer Reid.

pairing: Fem!OC/Spencer

word count: 3.9k

content warnings: discussion of a dead body (for a case), discussion of sensory overload (idk if that's a warning but just in case).

A/N: sorry this took so long! i've had a lot of writer's block with this series, but i'm feeling a lot more motivated with it, now. anyway enjoy!

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my feet slam into the pavement at a rate that makes me wonder if my heart can take it. I can feel the air in my lungs, stinging, and the way it never seems like enough. I can't stop. my arms are pumping and my legs burn.

I'm sure I look like a mess right now, exhausted and sweaty as I make my way up the biggest hill by my apartment. I haven't been running in a while, and this incline is even more daunting than it was before.

I use the momentum I've built from before now and force myself up. every breath rips through me violently until I'm sure that if I stop running, I'll collapse. but I keep pushing, knowing it'll be worth it.

I hated running until college. just absolutely despised the thought of getting outside and forcing myself to move quickly. the older I get, though, the more refreshing it's gotten. it helped me escape from midterms, from the pressure that constantly seemed to mount with every passing day. sometimes it feels like all of it keeps piling on, and it's never going to stop.

of course, that's not really the way to look at life. I've had things to balance out the work, friends to call and ways to let out the hammering violence that always seem to fill the spaces between my ribs. running clears my head when nothing else does.

once I get to the top, I bend over and rest my palms on my knees so that I can relax. I can hear my heart beating in my ears and can feel my pulse thudding against my throat. it's good, though. I needed to do this again, to get exercise.

I resist the urge to lay down flat on the pavement. DC isn't really a good place to do that; everyone around me is on a morning stroll with their partner or they're out for a jog themselves. I pass several enthusiastic-looking dogs out for a walk. the sheer number of people around me should make me feel normal.

it doesn't.

I straighten and stretch out my muscles, wincing at the way my calves feel if I move them funny. I don’t want to get called in for a case today, but that's naive. there will always be another case because there will always be people we need to stop. maybe I'm just not jaded enough to not care. I like to think that's a good thing, though.

...

when I head into the office a couple hours later, there's a to-go cup of coffee resting on my desk. I smile to myself, set my bag down and shrug off my coat, then peek over the divider to see Spencer with a case file open and an identical to-go cup a couple inches away.

"is this your doing?" I refer to the coffee. he nods and smiles at me, seemingly not in the mood to talk.

"thanks, Reid."

sitting down to do some work, I sneak a peek at him. Spencer is acting different from last weekend. more shy. I'm not really sure the reason, unless he just felt particularly outgoing at the party and is now back to his default self.

we get a case before the hour is up, and then my mind is occupied by the details.

jet rides, though now a familiar routine, are probably my favorite part of the job. I don't feel totally unproductive, but I still have time to unwind and talk to people on our way. Emily and I have gotten much closer within the past few weeks and sometimes she tells me stories about her old job that keep me on the edge of my seat.

there's something so mysterious about her that I just appreciate; she's like a cool older cousin to me. and she's great at making fun of Morgan, which is something that I've found enjoyable as well. sometimes he needs to be knocked down a peg-- she's the woman to do it.

"how many?" I trace my finger down the smooth skin of Derek's arm, where he's lifted his sleeve just enough to show the inked lion. it's a big tattoo, and I'm somewhat surprised he has one at all. he just doesn't really seem the type.

"five right now." he flexes his bicep flirtatiously, and I immediately remove my hand with a repulsed expression, rolling my eyes at the chuckle he lets out.

"don't feed his ego like that." Emily warns from across the table. she's flipping through one of the plant magazines that we've stashed in the snack cupboards (much to Hotch's disapproval). I turn to see Morgan's reaction.

"you a little jealous, Prentiss?" he teases. her only response is a glance that dares him to push further. they both know that Emily has absolutely no interest in him, which I suppose adds to their friendship. Morgan leans down by my ear, but he makes no effort to quiet his voice. "you should ask about her tattoos."

"you have tattoos?" my eyes widen at this, voice a little louder than usual. Hotch glances over at us from his seat a ways away, but doesn't say anything. Reid is passed out on the couch, strangely tired for the middle of the day; Rossi's writing something in his miniature journal.

"that's not anyone's business." she says more to Morgan than to me.

"I wanna see!" I set my glass of ice water down on the table and straighten up. Emily pretends to be exhausted by the persistence, but she closes her magazine momentarily.

"look, I can't show them all here." she raises a suggestive eyebrow.

"then how does Derek know?" I smirk. Emily makes a face, but Morgan is the one who replies.

"this one gets a little loose-lipped when she drinks too much." he teases. I snort and glance at Emily. I've seen her tipsy before, but never drunk. at most, she gets affectionate with all of us and calls us her best friends in the whole world. which, honestly, isn't an unwelcome sentiment.

"I do not." she argues.

"yeah, you do." Reid mumbles from the couch cushion where he's been resting his head. I jump at the sudden noise, and we all turn to him.

"look who's up." Emily smiles. Reid stretches his legs out, limbs so long that his feet hang off the end of the couch. he's wearing mismatched socks again today, one with bananas and one covered in sushi rolls. I smile to myself.

"I'm not," he argues. "someone had to correct you."

Morgan and I let out an amused laugh. my eyes dart between Spencer and the two other agents. "I feel like I'm the only one here who hasn't seen Prentiss drunk."

"yes, you have." she frowns.

"no. not, like, plastered."

"don't let Garcia hear you say that." Morgan laughs. I snort.

"why?"

"any excuse to party, and she'll take it." he shakes his head affectionately.

"she'd just call it bonding." Prentiss adds in. I have a soft spot in my heart for Pen. for all of the darkness we see here, she makes it a little bit brighter with her quips and sparkly pens and neon glasses. she's a blessing.

"what's so bad about that?" I defend for her sake.

"nothing's wrong with it, per se," Emily shrugs. "it just means we aren't as professional as we should be."

"I'd argue that our job actually means we get to let loose more when we have the time." I shrug. Morgan offers his fist to pound, and I oblige with a satisfied smile.

"you two are children, you know that?" Emily gestures between Derek and me. I shrug, about to return to my crossword when she speaks again. "how many tattoos do you have, Clea?"

I blink for a second, deciding whether or not to lie. it would be kind of cool to sound badass, but I don't know if I even have the mental capability to fib to a bunch of profilers. "none."

"what?" Morgan looks at me with confusion.

"yeah, none. why is that such a big surprise?" I laugh at their reactions. Prentiss is alarmed, too.

"I don't know-- you seem like the kind of person to get a heart tattooed on your thigh or something." Morgan shrugs. I make a face, silent.

"that's offensive."

Prentiss snorts and finishes her drink. I peek over and see Reid with his eyes closed but a slightly amused smile on his face. by the couch, I can see through the window. we're slipping through gray clouds that are saturated with rain, and the weather change causes the jet to shake a bit.

my fingertips wrap around the arm of the seat and Emily eyes me warily.

"you okay?"

"don't like flying." I answer, nostrils flaring slightly. usually with these trips, I've been able to hide my apprehension for flying by holding onto my knee below the table or something, but the sudden jerks are putting me off.

it's stupid-- plane anxiety is ridiculously common, and I don't think it's necessarily unwarranted. the problem is that to a bunch of people trained in behavioral analysis, it shows a blatant fear of not having control.

which is true, but it's not like I need that plastered all over my face every time we board a flight.

"would you get a tattoo if you could?" Emily changes the subject, thankfully, and I bite down on my bottom lip.

"I think so, yeah." it's said without much thought; all that's on my mind right now is wondering what our ETA is. Morgan shifts in his seat to smirk.

"really."

"sure."

he nods appreciatively before turning to look back out the window. droplets of moisture are collecting there, but they only distort the image of Portland stretched out below. the water is steel gray and rippled with wind.

I've never been here. for some reason, I find myself wondering what it smells like. that mingling of city scent and ocean, if they meet in the middle to form their own distinct identity. if it will settle on my tongue and in my clothes.

it's funny to me that when I go to different places and return, I don't notice how different it all smells until I breathe it in through the fabric of my shirts, and from there it all comes rushing back. Spencer mentioned during a case once that scent creates the most powerful memory reaction out of all our senses-- and I believe it.

DC smells like humidity and rain-slicked streets, Montana like dust. even the jet has a particular one that I don't associate with anything right now, but I know I will in the future. like I'm standing in the formation of a memory.

half-baked.

...

we've got the hoods of our raincoats up as we make our way into the office of our latest victim. Morgan holds the door and I wander in, staring up at the enormous glass walls of the place. a stray droplet falls from the hood of my jacket and onto my nose, rolling down the bridge and causing me to sniffle.

her boss is surprisingly dismissive of us when we get to his office, reluctantly getting off a phone call and giving me something of a dead-fish handshake. as we take a seat at his desk, I can smell the overbearing stench of his expensive cologne.

he's got exactly the kind of look that I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole: taut, judgmental face with a stiff mustache and slicked-back black hair that honestly is probably dyed. his eyes linger on me for a bit longer than I appreciate, but I clear my throat and try to brush off the discomfort.

Winona's body was found in a ditch off the side of a highway, dumped like trash. based on the ME report, she was alive when he threw her in, but died shortly after from her wounds. the whole thing is gruesome and as her employer notes her tendency to daydream and occasional tardiness, I want to reach across the table to smack him.

Morgan is able to keep his cool better than I can, nodding. I know it's important to know her behaviors in order to build our profile, but I still don't like the way this guy is talking about her.

"she wasn't really the strongest employee we've got, but she was nice enough around the office." he shrugs. I notice the gold wedding band that glints on his ring finger, the way he leans back in his swivel chair. he's got evaluative eyes.

by the time we're done, I'm practically flying out the door of his office and hurrying to the elevator. we got what we needed to know from him, if not through a somewhat convoluted method.

"nice guy." I note sarcastically after punching the down button. Morgan tucks his hands into his jeans pockets and looks at our warped reflections in the elevator doors.

"we talk to a lot of people like that. you get used to it."

"didn't seem too concerned about her at all."

"I don't think guys like that are concerned about much more than themselves."

"you should have mentioned a tax evasion investigation happening around here," I smirk. "that would probably put the fear of God into him."

Morgan chuckles and looks over at me. it would be unprofessional to fist bump with so many people around, although the smile we share is definitely a great equivalent.

as we pack into the metal box with a bunch of employees, they look at us curiously. the enormous FBI label on the back of our jackets probably doesn't help, but I pretend to look like I know what I'm doing as we step out into the lobby.

in all reality, faking it until I make it is the only thing I know how to do.

...

the late night cravings come as a surprise as I stand over a map of Portland. my eyes are starting to cross from staring at all the minuscule details for so long, and my fingers are twitching from a mixture of hunger and overloaded caffeine.

we were supposed to go to bed about two hours ago, but I know for a fact that I'm not the only one sitting in my motel room with open files and a determined expression. I do happen to be the only person rooming alone, however, and the silence has been helpful.

Reid's been working on a geographic profile, but there's something missing. I'm not sure what it is. all I know is that if I don't figure it out soon, it's going to eat away at me. based on his activity patterns, there are only a few more days before this guy abducts another woman.

except now I'm just thinking about how much time we don't have, and that sort of sends me into a spiral, too. I'm prepared to always be running against a clock for this job, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I'm going to lose it if I stare at any more tiny lines indicating roads or side streets or whatever else demands attention.

I need to get out of my head.

before taking time to really consider anything else, I grab my phone and look up pizza places nearby. what I need right now is some sustenance and tv-- or at least something to distract me enough to recharge.

I change into my pjs and wash my face while I wait for the delivery person to arrive, try to ease the day out of my bones. there used to be a whole process for me after work every day, where I'd shut off my brain. The Real Housewives of Atlanta provided ample help for this, along with fuzzy socks and glasses of red wine. I can make do with this.

once the pizza guy comes and I pay for my food, I don't even make way to my room; instead, I go to the person I know who needs this more than I do.

"Clea?" Spencer rubs his eyes as he swings open the door, glasses held in the other hand.

"hi." I smile brightly.

"what are you doing here?" his soft tone and the dim light from a motel lamp in the corner tells me that Morgan is asleep right now in the other bed.

in response to his question, I hold up the box of pizza with a grin. his eyes widen.

"I can't eat all this alone." definitely a lie, but saying that he needs to take a break probably wouldn't sway him enough.

for a second, Spencer seems to debate this in his head. when he runs a shaky hand through his hair, I roll my eyes. "it's pizza, dude. not a wedding proposal. you can go back to the case in twenty minutes."

he nods this time and looks up at me as I turn and start toward my room. closing the door gently behind him, I don't miss the way he increases his pace a little to catch up with me.

"did you get mushrooms?" he asks. I throw him a disgusted look before realizing what he's talking about and breaking into a grin.

"you remembered!" I reference my hatred of the fungus. Spencer smiles with pride, turns his gaze to the carpeted floors. I unlock the door and let us in.

"of course I remember," he snorts. "it's hard to forget."

I giggle at the way he immediately uses the sink to wash his hands, and I join him after setting the box on the bed.

"favorite soap scent?" I ask absently. suds cover my fingers as he rinses the water from his. normally, this isn't a question I'd ask, but Spencer seems like he would have a response.

"you know, I really enjoy anything fresh-smelling," he thinks about it. "like waterfall smell."

"I like those, too."

"what's your favorite?"

"there's this brand that I love that specializes in antibacterial soaps, and they have a lavender one that literally makes me ascend." I laugh. Spencer is drying his hands with a folded towel and his face lights up.

"Ravi's Organics?" he suggests. my heart leaps with recognition.

"yes! oh my god, have you used their cracked cinnamon one?"

"I have the hand sanitizer in my bag." Reid's eyes are so pretty. they sparkle with a hazel color, almost chocolatey in the cheap motel light.

"they have a hand sanitizer for it?" my jaw drops. he nods and I shake my head slowly. we walk over to the bed to eat the pizza. he seems hesitant, though, and pauses.

it takes me a second to remember that Spencer has different boundaries and is just kind of awkward in general. even though there's no obvious tension between us, I don't want to make him uncomfortable, so I plop down on the floor.

"you like Ravi's Organics." he states it back to himself more than to me, and as I pop open the box to reveal a beautiful pepperoni pizza, I nod vigorously.

"yeah, it's actually kind of a funny story," we start to dig in immediately. I lift an enormous slice to my lips and bite into the perfection. it's so good. "when I was little, my parents used to call me Rascal."

"Rascal?" he laughs through a bite of food.

"like the raccoon? from that book?" it's a kid's story.

"why?" he snorts. I take a second to chew before replying.

"I just get really overwhelmed by certain sensory things-- like, I hate being sticky or having any kind of weird texture on my hands. so whenever we went out to eat or anything, I would always sit on the outside of the booth so I could run to the bathroom and wash my hands as I pleased." I explain all of this with a slight frown on my face. it's true, I've just never really thought about it.

"I don't like sticky stuff, either." he offers.

"yeah, it got pretty bad. but I guess I just grew out of it. I'm not sure when." I pluck a piece of pepperoni off the top and slide it into my mouth.

Spencer takes in this information for a second while he eats, and I'm momentarily worried that I've overshared. he came for some food and now I've served up a weird childhood memory to accompany it.

but then he does something funny and altogether endearing.

"actually, raccoons are very cleanly creatures, despite their dietary habits." he tells me.

frankly, it makes me feel better than anything else that he could have said. "fastidious little things, right?"

"exactly." he chuckles. his shoulders are hunched, elbows leaning on his knees.

"fix your posture." I say gently, noticing the way his spine curves abysmally when he's sitting across from me. his cheeks turn a pretty pink, but he follows directions.

"is it that bad?" he's a bit embarrassed. immediately, I soften and do what comes easily, making a joke.

"if you don't work on it, you're gonna be living in a French cathedral by the age of thirty."

Spencer snorts-- genuinely almost chokes on his food-- and looks at me with his almost childlike eyes. there's something in them that I can't decipher at all, almost so obvious that it completely goes over my head.

"that was mean." he's still trying to recover from the onset of giggles, and I lean forward to grab another slice, suppressing a proud grin myself.

"your future straight-backed self will thank me."

"I'll remember that." he nods dutifully.

"I'm sure you will."

we share a secretive smile before I bite into my pizza and launch into a different subject. the more I learn about Spencer, the more I want to know. I feel like there are things beneath every new surface that would be fascinating to understand.

"what's it like having an eidetic memory?"

he frowns like he isn't sure how to answer. I thought he'd already have something locked and loaded, a prepared response for a question he definitely gets frequently. when he opens his mouth, I find myself hanging on every word. "it's... interesting."

"blessing or a curse?"

"both."

"would you ever give it up if given the option?" I narrow my eyes a bit. I'm especially curious about this.

"no." this is delivered with certainty. for a second, I stare at him with about a million more questions in my head. of course, they're completely out-of-bounds and way too personal, but they're still there.

"hm." I say instead. as usual, delivering thrilling commentary at every turn.

Spencer peeks at me over his pizza for a second, seeming to want to say something else, but decides against it. our eyes meet; I'm not sure what it is, maybe a silent agreement or something else that's unspoken, but we decide not to press further on either end.

whatever he's got tucked away in that big brain of his, he's not ready to talk about it with anyone-- much less a new colleague in a dumpy motel. there's a time and place for certain things, and boundaries to respect.

I change the subject before he can make some lame excuse to leave. for some reason, I just don't want him to leave me here in this room.

taglist (lmk if you wanna be added/removed for this series): @reidsconverse @voidsfilm

#spencer reid #spencer reid fic #criminal minds fic #criminal minds #best friends to lovers #fanfic #mgg #matthew gray gubler #baby spencer #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x oc #spencer reid x reader

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onomonopetabread · 4 years

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Declawing the Cat- Chapter 2

“ Can you believe that nerve of that jerk?”

Marinette was absolutely furious. Tikki watched her from the bed as she paced from wall to wall. It was really getting concerning; she’s been ranting for the past three hours. School ended about five hours ago, but Marinette’s little encounter with Felix never left her mind.

“What, did he think that a few thoughtless compliments would get me to trust him? Who does he think he is, the MaYOR?”

That last part was a particularly loud shriek, and if Tikki had eardrums, they would be completely shattered by now. It was time to stop this madness.

“Mari, I know that you’re upset, and trust me, I am too. But… don’t you think that you should calm down? You’ve been at this for a really long time.”

Marinette hardly heard her. “I really tried. I tried to just leave it alone. But nooo, he just had to go and rock the boat! Can’t the guy take a hint? I mean, if someone didn’t talk to ME after giving the third fakest apology given ever, I would know that they hated MY guts.”

“Why should we trust anything he has to say? He hasn’t exactly given us any reason to like him.”

“Yeah, how can you expect us to just become friends with us after what he did? He’s a liar!”

The group gathered around Felix. He’d just been introduced to the class by Adrien, and it didn’t seem as though they were very happy to see him. They were making so much noise that no one had noticed the lack of a certain blue-eyed class president. Unbeknownst to them, Marinette was crouched behind a pillar near the courtyard, watching and listening to the entire thing.

She had been uncharacteristically early to school and was chatting with Tikki in the locker room when she heard Adrien’s voice outside. Naturally, she'd begun to walk outside to greet him. The fact that she had decided to try to get over him out of respect for Kagami doesn’t make it illegal for her to talk to him; he is her friend.

When Marinette first stepped out of the room, her first thought was that there were somehow two Adriens. Then she realized that one Adrien looked like...Adrien, and the other looked like a sad old man somehow ended up in a teen’s body. In about 0.2 seconds, she was absolutely seething. What was he doing here? Why wasn’t he at his comfortable home in the ninth circle of hell?

“Guys, this is my cousin Felix. He’s going to be attending school with us for now on. I know you guys will take him in with open arms.”

Open arms? This clown? Marinette scoffed. She’d sooner swallow a cup of tacks than let that prick into her life. Her classmates however, aren’t as strong-minded as she was. It’d probably be better if she stayed silent and invisible for this and let them make up their own minds about this, just to see what they would do.

“Why should we trust anything he has to say? He hasn’t exactly given us any reason to like him.”

“Yeah, how can you expect us to just become friends with us after what he did? He’s a liar!”

Okay, so far so good. Maybe this time around, she wouldn’t be (almost) the only person that didn’t trust a liar. Oh, how great it will be to openly loathe for once! One by one, more and more voices were protesting letting the rat into their friend group. The entirety of the class was hanging Formally-Dressed Draco to dry, and Marinette was in ecstasy.

‘Yes,’ she thought. ‘Tear him to pieces!’

Just when things were really starting to escalate, the sound of someone clearing their throats cut through the noise.

“Hello, everyone. As Adrien just told you, my name is Felix Graham de Vanily. To answer your question, Mr. Le Chein, yes, I’m the cousin of Adrien’s that impersonated him and sent you a cruel response to your heartfelt videos. For that, I am deeply sorry. I have no excuse for wha-”

What. In. The. World. If Marinette was furious before, she was positively incandescent now. He really was another Lila! Not to mention the fact that he didn’t even have the decency to make the apology seem even slightly convincing. Anyone with an EQ of 3 could see that those puppy-eyes were rehearsed and don’t even get Mari STARTED on that pout. There was no way that her class would buy this, but by the looks on their faces…

“If you’re really sorry...”

…Of course. Of-freaking-course they would believe him. Marinette sighed and walked into the classroom. Once again, she was left to hold the class’ single brain cell, by herself this time since there was no chance in Adrien distrusting his own cousin. Now how was she going to go about this was the question. If he really is Lila 2.0, then her initial plan to outright hate him will boomerang her right in the eye. No, it’s better to just avoid him at all costs; you can’t hate what you never come into contact with.

“Are you really sure that’s going to work, Marinette?” Tikki asked once they were safe inside the room. “You can’t stay away from him forever, you know. He may be a nuthead, but he’s smart enough to notice when you aren’t fawning over him like the others.”

“I know Tikki, but I think I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, I’m going to go above and beyond to make sure our paths never cross.”

“That’s a relief. I thought for a moment there that you were going to do the rational thing for once.”

“Really, Tikki? Sarcasm? That’s beneath you.”

“If you’re looking for a finger to point, blame Plagg. You pick it up after being with him for a few thousand years.”

Marinette stayed true to her word and made it her mission to never be in the same room as the Great Disturbance unless it was class time. Even then, she kept a compact with her so that she could see if he was coming up behind her. Whenever someone began to bring him up into a conversation, she would quickly but subtly change the subject.

After a few days of this, she seemed to really be getting the hang of it. Avoiding him was becoming second nature to Mari. It actually would have been way easier for her if the demon hadn’t kept trying to collect her soul. Like always, Tikki had been right. The little son-of-a caught on to her really quickly and didn’t hesitate to try to reach out to her. In fact, the other classmates would often tell her that he had been looking for her, and she’d had to act as though she didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. That part hadn’t been so easy.

“So, what are you going to make for the big competition, Mari? A dress maybe?” asked Alya.

“Actually, I was thinking about sewing up a pair of suits. I’m not sure what they’ll look like yet, but I really want to try something new this time.”

“Well, I know whatever you’ll make will blow their socks off, girl. Speaking of designers, Felix told me to ask you to meet him after school . He said he wants to talk to you.”

“Is that so?” Marinette asked, feigning surprise (see bane-of-existence, you’re not the only person who can act here).

“Yeah, he really seemed to have taken an interest in you. All he ever asks us is what you're up to. It’s almost an obsession. Do I sense a little romance here? Another blond-haired green-eyed love interest?”

“Not very likely, Alya. Anyways, I guess I’ll have to talk to him later. So, are you going to tell me about your new reporting piece or what?”

What? Don’t give me that face, it’s technically not a lie; Mari did end up talking to him later, didn’t she? Though, to be fair, she wasn’t planning on actually interacting with him until they both passed. No, not passing class. The other pass.

One thing that she had learned about the knock-off Five Hargreeves was that she had greatly overestimated him. For the love, the kid wasn’t fit to kiss Lila’s feet. At least her schemes were clever and thought-through; this amaetur just existed and everything was handed to him on a silver platter. The rest of the class has spoiled him into thinking that it would be easy to capture her attention with a tense grimace of a smile and two ounces of ‘charm’. Unfortunately for him, Marinette Dupain-Cheng wasn’t so easily bought.

So, that’s the way it went for a few weeks; a classic game of cat and mouse. He would try to catch her, and she would slip out of reach at the last minute. If she had to admit it, it was very fun, especially sneaking peeks at the frustrated faces the devil makes when he thinks no one is looking; the coward can’t be emotionally vulnerable for a second.

That’s why she felt so sure that he wouldn’t follow her to the park; the place was way too open for a stand-offish guy like him. She was very safe in the great outdoors with nothing but her sketchpad, a sharpened pencil, and a sleeping Tikki in her purse. She had been working on that design that she was talking about with Alya. Marinette really needed this design to be perfect. Perhaps a double-breasted suit would work? How many buttons would she have to buy? If she was any deeper into her work, she might not have noticed the distinct smell of leather and the tears of the innocents approaching her. She just barely retained her composure.

‘What is he doing here? Whatever, perhaps if I just stay completely still, he’ll go away.”

“Ah, Ms. Dupain-Cheng! How lovely it is to see you. We never seem to talk, do we? It is quite a shame really.”

‘It would also be a shame if you were to get punched where the sun doesn’t shine, Mr. Pied Piper’, Marinette thought. Alas, no matter how much she wanted to move her hand like so, she couldn’t let him win this fight. No, just silent-treatment it out and pray he either leaves or gets struck with a lightning bolt.

“I must say, that is a lovely suit you’re designing there. I love the use of gold thread on the pants. If I may make a few suggestions-”

Him? Give fashion advice? Marinette would rather NOT learn how to dress like an off-brand Crowly, thank you very much. Good grief, he really wasn’t going to stop trying, was he? Alright, no more Nice Marinette.

That’s when she finally snapped and, well, you know how that went. Had it been ANYbody else, she probably would feel guilty for talking to someone so blatantly, but it turns out that she left that situation with zero regrets. If she didn’t put a stop to this whole ordeal, she’ll probably have to carry around a tiny halberd with her for the rest of her life, and as much as she would like to use it, he really wasn’t worth the trouble. Ugh, he makes her absolutely Sick. He’s so slimy, terrible, arrogant, deceitful-

“MARINETTE JOSEPHINE DUPAIN-CHENG BE QUIET!!!!”

Marinette was so startled she tripped over her chaise and fell onto her bed.

“Geez, Tikki! Couldn’t give a girl a warning before you scream like that?”

“You’re one to talk, Ms. The Mayor. And for the record, I did give you a warning; I’ve been calling your name since for the past hour. Are you really going to get all worked up over this, Mari? You said it yourself, he’s just another Lila.”

“I know Tikki, and I’m sorry I’ve been rambling on for so long. It’s just- yeah, he’s a liar, a fake, and way too stoic to be real, but he’s different from Lila. I don't know what it is about him, but I can’t help but wholeheartedly loathe him. Just the thought of him makes a shiver run down my spine.”

“Loathing. Right. That’s it, totally. Is that why you haven’t said his name this entire time.”

“As a matter of fact, yes. I’m very happy you noticed, Tikki. I spent a lot of time thinking up all of those insult names.”

“I’m sure you did, Marinette,” Tikki sighed. “You really don’t like this kid, do you?”

“No, I definitely do not, and not a fiber of my being will ever so much as be happy in his presence for as long as I live.”

@ceres-zephyr here u go!

Chapter 3’s up!

https://qualityladybread.tumblr.com/post/632447827994411008/declawing-the-cat-chapter-3

#felinette #felix x marinette #marinette x felix #felix graham de vanily #marinette dupain cheng #declawing the cat #chapter 2 #PLEASE COMMENT AND INTERACT IM SO BORED

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borkthemork · 3 years

Text

Got tagged by @calamity-unlocked for the procrastinating writer ask, and might as well! Always fun to get away from the pains of editing, RIP to Falling Down Dry’s eighth chapter.

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

26.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

220,000.

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

A lot. Just...a lot before I got into Ao3 so let’s keep it at that. But mainly I wrote for SU, Amphibia, and FMA.

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

-Death of the Ego

I would say this happened because I wrote this at the right place at the right time. People had been theorizing that Steven would get corrupted ever since the trailer to SUF, and I originally made this as a one-shot...until people encouraged me to start exploring it.

Wouldn’t say it was my best work, but every time I wrote something it meant I improved slowly, and I would always appreciate that no matter the weather.

-Doesn’t Have to be Solo

Oh man, I loved this one! Just a series of connected events with Steven going on his road trip, and learning more about himself and who he was along the way. It also was the fic where I needed a lot of beta readers as time went on, so it made me learn a lot about grammar, prose, and overall the internal rules I developed while writing in general.

-Beyond the Music Box

This was the surprising one! This fic was originally a place where I could archive all the drabbles I written on Tumblr, and y’all really wanted it due to how chaotic my tag format is for this stuff.

It’s surprising for me because I didn’t expect a lot of love when it came to my casual writings since they take I don’t know an hour or so in creating, so thank you everyone who encouraged me to do this.

Just ignore the fact I’ve been lazy at updating the drabbles, shhhh.

-Building One Up

Marcanne, my beloved. Me and my friend kept talking about how Anne was a buff dork and this was at a time where no one really focused on that except mainly on Sasha when it came to strength (for obvious reasons).

I found this slander (I’m joking, by the way) and decided that I needed to write my feelings out on the topic.

And y’all agreed with me so dthdfthtfhtfht.

This also was the first time I had to hone in on a new form of characterization entirely, being that I infused the character’s thoughts and feelings into the way the prose flowed out itself. For Marcy, I went on a pretty analytical front with this piece, and it helped me get into the groove for people like Anne and Sasha and many others over the course of writing.

-Late Night Talks

I didn’t expect this one to blow up at all. I wrote this at one a.m. and y’all just grabbed this fic and ran, I am still confused.

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I respond to comments all the time because comments just give a lot of serotonin, you know? Someone took their time out of their day to remark on things I did in the work itself, and it’s just very validating to see. It also creates this environment that says, “Yes, I see you, and you can interact with me anytime you want.” so it’s all about that friendliness unless you’re rude to me back.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Pizza for One. Had an angst kick when SUF occurred so I milked it whenever my motivation got the best of me.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t write crossovers unless you mean a crossover of characters to a new environment and set of rules. I would gladly write characters into the FMA world, oh my Lord!

But I guess the craziest stuff I’d written would just be comedy sketches? Best example would be Joe and Bessie having kids and Marcy having a conniption over it, so take that what you will.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I don’t believe so? I did get one person on my old SU fic asking me to continue while giving me unsolicited advice but they apologized not soon after.

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do write smut. I write it privately but I adore characterization and intimacy, and so I try to make rather domestic pieces that connect to the characters themselves. If it has a certain kink, I make sure to research it so I could understand why the character finds the act rather arousing, and I just want to pay respects to the act itself.

Even with our current day and age, there’s still a lot of conservative anti-sex rhetoric going around, and I always try to view the act of physical intimacy in the same lens as one who adores love in all its different facets and forms.

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope to that either!

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sadly, no. I do art trades with people and those are lovely to do since we get to brainstorm and make art together, but I’ve never co-written work with someone. If anyone wants to do that, then sure, just hit me up.

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

It changes every season, every morning tide, every peace loving hour on the Planet Earth.

It’s Marcanne, right now.

When it comes to ships I always go with the Friends-to-Lovers dynamic, but a lot of the ships I have come from seeing the amount of intrigue in how that type of ship would play out. That could be with Kannao and the amount of commentary over Japanese gender biases, or Royai with their very complicated but extensive adoration and loyalty to one another.

For Marcanne, it’s all about that playful banter that could definitely bubble out of the surface if you just (bangs table) allow them to communicate and be transparent fully. (cries)

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Sadly, that Anne fic with her confiding in Hop Pop after they get settled in her house. After what happened with the sneak peek, I realized that this fic would need a lot of build-up to be satisfying and I didn’t have the strength to do a 10k build-up to Anne crying.

Maybe I’ll finish it, we’ll see.

15) What are your writing strengths?

Writing strengths would be concise prose and characterization. I am a worry wart, I worry over the importance of each paragraph and how it all forms and transitions together, it’s just a part of how I work a great deal of the time. And man, characterization is the big one for me, if I don’t understand how the people work and could theoretically function in the story itself, I feel absolutely lost.

Which is also the reason why I’m struggling right now with FDD Chapter Eight, because Marcy’s reaction to Yunan keeps eluding my grasp!

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

I overthink a lot. Concise prose is great but I force myself to get all fancy and massive with details since I’ve got to unless I want a specific part to be so quick and unmeaningful, and this leads to pacing issues or just not enough intended time for people to breathe in the fic itself.

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I need to get a beta to make sure I don’t sound like an asshole, haha. I do love other languages, they are beautiful and can add a lot towards an audience who does know the language itself, but it depends on the work I’m doing.

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

That would be uhhhhh, my memory is lacking but Minecraft. The whole videogame had a wish fulfillment atmosphere to it, and since I got rather obsessed by how anything could happen in the engine itself I went with it.

19) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

When it comes to me, my own perception of my art changes day to day. Back when I first posted the Lapidot fic I thought it was the best thing I’ve ever done even though now, with the knowledge I have from workshops and betas, that the style I drafted had a lot of grammar and prose mistakes that I wouldn’t make in the future. It is pretty subjective, but for now I think the best fic I could look at right now would be amestrian catcher (set something ablaze).

Thank you Calamity once again for this! And I’ll be tagging @resplendent-chungus, @aanau, and @golddragon387!

#tag game #personal

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stylesgalaxy · 5 years

Text

mastermind; chapter 18

I'm back at the art shop. Since I'm ahead in all my classes (and starting to keep it like that), there wasn't much for me to do.

In the day, I would attend my classes, then come home and cook or clean. Julia and I were slowly getting back in our usual routine. She did a lot to show me how sorry she was, by helping me cook or even boldly trying to do it all on her own. She wasn't talking to Harry anymore unless it was about something unrelated to the situation and she needed to. She turned down Shelley's requests to go out many times just to stay in with me. And she even let me choose what to watch on TV.

I went out for drinks with Niall and Louis one day. They filled me on how Harry was doing despite my specific request that I did not want to know.

"I know he was cold before," Louis says, extra loudly now that he was slightly tipsy. "But he's less cold now. I think he knows he's being a dick."

I don't comment because I don't know how much I can say on the subject, considering how much I hurt him. One could say I had it coming, and I would agree.

On Wednesday, Zayn and I went to class we sat at the far right corner in the first row. Opposite to the door, and opposite to where Harry and I used to sit. I feel hollow inside, without Harry's curls tickling my cheek as he leans in to read my notes. Zayn doesn't look at my notes at all so anything I copied down wrong, stays wrong without Harry correcting it.

I sneak a peek over at Harry to see him sitting alone and writing furiously. I wonder if he misses my presence too. When our eyes meet, I snap my gaze back to front.

---

Another painstaking week passes. Julia and Harry have officially moved on from each other and are on better terms. Julia looks happier then I've seen her in months. She comes home giddy and spends more time texting and giggling then she does watching TV.

"Who's got you acting like a middle school girl again?" I ask one morning as I make my coffee and she laughs reading a text.

"Oh, um, no one," she blushes.

I turn with my coffee mug in hand and lean back against the counter. "Spill."

"Okay, but don't judge me."

"Is it Niall?"

"What no? Why would it be Niall?" she laughs.

"You said not to judge you, and I would have judged you if it was Niall."

"What's wrong with Niall?"

"I mean, nothing, I guess. I was just trying to make a joke," I shrug, ignoring the awkwardness that set in me.

It's been a couple weeks since that fight and I still can't get back into the same routine I had with everyone. I think there's something off about me and I think it has so do with someone who's name starts with 'H' and ends with 'Y'.

"Well, no, it's not Niall."

"Who is it?"

"... Liam."

"Liam?! You're dad's personal assistant?"

"Aria, you said you wouldn't judge me!"

"I'm not! So why Liam?"

"I don't know," she smiles widely. "He just... makes me happy, I guess."

"That's fair," I say. "Are you guys still in the talking phase or dating?"

"We're sort of dating, I guess? I'm going to tell my dad soon, I think."

"Whoa, really?" I ask in shock. "Liam won't get trouble?"

"I don't think so..." Julia says nervously. "At least I hope not? Maybe if I say it gently."

"Why the sudden want to tell your father? You didn't even tell him about Harry."

"Well that's why. Harry felt very underappreciated a lot in our relationship, so I'm trying to do it differently with Liam. And I don't want to keep things from my father anymore. Besides, if our relationship escalates and then he finds out, it could be worse for Liam."

"That's true," I say. I'm very proud of Julia for recognizing her mistakes in her relationship with Harry and trying to fix them with Liam.

For the next hour, Julia tells me everything she knows about Liam.

"And his brother, you remember him right? We went to his New Year's party? He's asked me out a lot before but I turned him down each time. So it'll be quite funny when he sees me with Liam."

"He takes me to the best restaurants! It's like he knows all the great ones. We went to this cute French restaurant the other day and he was such a gentleman! He looked like a... hot rich sugar daddy! He was dressed so nice and he got me the prettiest charm bracelet!"

"Liam is nothing like Harry. I mean not that that's a bad thing! Harry was amazing! But the things Harry got mad at me for, Liam doesn't. I guess it's because Liam is more logical where Harry was more emotional? I don't know, but he understands me better I think. And he's more mature in a way? I mean that's probably because he's older than us."

And on and on it went. I tried not to wince when she mentioned Harry, and it didn't look like she noticed.

"And you know," she continues. "I think there was always this... energy or connection between us. But he's a very respectful guy and never acted on anything. After that day you came back home and saw me and Harry having sex, I felt horrible. I knew I couldn't dump all my problems on you especially considering the situation, so I called Liam and he picked me up and I cried to him. He was very kind and to get me to feel better, he took me out. He kept spending time with me until I completely forgot about Harry and that's when he asked me out."

"Jules, I'm really happy for you, I truly am," I tell her sincerely. "I hope Liam is a better match for you."

"Thanks, Aria, I really hope things work out for you and Harry, as well."

I pause.

"Me and Harry? What do you mean?"

"Well, it's obvious there was something between you guys."

"No, Julia, there never was!" I say panicking. "I swear to you we never had anything going on. I mean there was one time—"

"Relax, Aria, I meant like in general," she talks over me, before registering what I said. "Wait what do you mean there was 'one time'?"

"Uh," I say, freaking out. There was no backing out now, and I might as well be honest. "Okay, please don't be mad. We were both really really drunk."

Julia's face turns stoic ands she slowly stands.

"When?"

"His birthday party..."

"What happened?"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I hate myself for it okay?! Because if it wasn't for Zayn, I don't think it would have stopped—"

"What happened?" she repeats.

"We almost kissed," I whisper.

"That's it?!" she squeals.

"Well—yeah... but it didn't happen! Because I saw someone and pulled away and he doesn't even remember it because he was so drunk! He probably had no idea what he was doing—"

"Jesus, Aria, I thought you two fucked."

"No, I would never!"

"It's okay that you almost kissed, don't worry," she laughs it off. "I mean if I found out then, I'd probably be livid because I was so jealous of you, but I'm over him now and I'm happier with Liam."

"You were jealous of me?"

"Pfft. Of course! You and Harry got along so well, I hated it! I wished I never pushed you to be nicer to him when I realized how much more in common you two had, and how close you got."

"Oh," I say, quietly. "Well, regardless of that... I don't think there's any future for me and Harry. He completely hates me."

"He doesn't. The only person I can think of who he's ever hated was his dad but he's over that, and the other person was Zayn. And he only hates Zayn because he's jealous of how close you are to him."

"No way," I shake my head. "He hates Zayn because he slept with you."

"No that was before we dated. I've slept with other guys before we dated and he's fine with them. It's just Zayn. And I know this because remember when I told you he came here drunk off his ass?"

I nod, eager to hear what they talked about.

"We talked and he asked where you were. I said you've been staying at Zayn's and he nearly burst a vein. He was mad and that's what led to us having sex—and don't ever tell him I said this—but he cried while we were having sex. And I know you don't want to hear about me having sex with him but you should know, it was never as personal as before. He hardly looked at me! I would have been offended that he was probably imagining I'm someone else if I wasn't also imagining he was Liam."

"Oh my God, Julia," I shake my head at her. "This is too much information," I say, my head feeling like it'll explode. "But that doesn't make sense! Why won't he let me talk to him?"

"I don't know... I never understood Harry as well as you did. Maybe he feels bad?"

As I ponder this, a headache forms. Rubbing my forehead, I decide to change the subject.

"So when are you going to tell your father about Liam?"

"Today."

"Today?!"

"Yeah, he's in town. I'm actually leaving in an hour so I should get ready."

I sit at the small table and think about everything Julia's told me about Harry. It's too much information and it changes everything. But there's nothing I can possibly do about it!

Julia leaves and I'm left all alone with my thoughts again, so I go to get some more homework done. I've been so productive lately in everything that doesn't involve actually making an art piece. I've completed all the readings and reports I had to write for two of my classes, that I should be good for the rest of the semester. To be fair, they were easy weekly assignments. I've written out all my essay outlines for my other classes, and I'm onto doing the last bit of reading I have left. It's for the second last week of the semester for one of my art classes (we don't have a lot of readings in art, it's more practical work). The only thing I didn't touch was my art history. I'm a week ahead in that class now, I wasn't able to do more because it reminds me of Harry which makes me sad.

---

"Jules," I whine. "Hurry up."

"Okay, just wait! There's still some left. I have to take pictures too," she replies from behind inside the fitting room. We were shopping and as usual Julia takes forever.

She was badgering me to go out because apparently I looked like a zombie. I don't know how shopping helps with that but she wouldn't take no for an answer so I had to come.

"'Kay, fine. I'm gonna go look around," I say to her. The store policy says she can't take more than five items in the room with her, and Julia had sixteen she wanted to try, so she keeps having to switch them out and I'm bored out of my mind.

I look around the store to see if there's anything I'd like but this is way over my budget. A single top is $80, and that's all the money I made the other day working at the art shop.

I decide to venture out, Julia won't even notice.

I get a few bath bombs from Lush and walk around a bit more until I see there's a Links of London store. Julia's gushed about their charm bracelets being the best so I wanted to check them out to see if there's anything I could get for my mom for her birthday or something.

Everything is so shiny and pretty but the second my eyes on the prices, they bug out. I knew it would be expensive but not this expensive. I push away from the counter and head out.

"Aria?" a voice calls behind me. I spin around to see Gemma jogging out after me. She's wearing a striped shirt with denim overalls and a scarf wrapped around her head.

"Oh, Gemma, hey," I smile and step closer. She smiles wider and pulls me in for an unexpected hug.

"How are you? You don't look so well."

Fuck, is there anything else people can talk about? I blink and give her a tight smile.

"Yeah, just school and stuff. Had a few all-nighters so Julia forced me to come shopping."

"Oh... is Julia around too?"

"She's in another shop, trying clothes on."

"I see. I heard about her and Harry's break up..."

"Oh?" I say. I don't know why I expect Harry to keep that from his family. They'll find out eventually.

"Yeah. He told me everything," she says sheepishly.

"Like everything everything?" I ask, looking down.

"Yeah..."

"Well, that's my cue to leave then," I say awkward and give a humourless laugh. "I better get back to Julia."

"Aria—" she stops me by clutching my arm. "Talk to him, please. He's so miserable. And he was the happiest I've ever seen with you."

"He was never with me."

"He was the happiest I ever seen him around you."

My eyes brim and I rub my nose with my index finger.

"Everyone says that... literally everyone is telling me to go talk to him. But he doesn't want to see me," I chuckle through tears. "I went to see him but he didn't want to talk to me. Then one day I saw him coming out of our apartment after he and Julia... you know..." it occurs to me that maybe Harry doesn't want his sister to know all this, so I stop. "He wouldn't even look at me. I don't get him."

"Maybe if you tell him how you really feel...?"

"He knows how I feel. He knows everything and yet he keeps hurting me like this when I just want to fix everything."

"Aria," Gemma soothes, rubbing my arm as a few tears slip out.

"It's okay. I'm fine. I deserve it."

She watches me for a while before taking a deep breath. "You know I had a massive fight with Michal once."

I glance up at her attentively.

"He hurt me really badly and I didn't talk to him or answer his calls or texts for a week. Eventually he left me to give me my space, and God I hated it. I hated not having him around me and not talking to him. It was very confusing because I knew I didn't want to be around him, but I also did? Two weeks after our fight, he came to my house and said his basement flooded and he needed somewhere to stay. Probably lying. I let him in because I missed him, but I acted like he was literal scum under my shoes. Michal didn't let it faze him. He showered me with gifts and presents everyday. He woke up before me to make breakfast and went to bed only after everything was cleaned like I liked it. Have you ever seen that Friends episode where Rachel makes that trifle?"

"Yeah," I answer.

"Well," she giggles. "I made that for him as a test, and I swear to you Aria, he entire the entire plate and even licked it saying it was the most delicious dessert he's ever had. It took him kissing the ground on I walked on for me to realize how much he loves me. Oftentimes, when we're angry with people we forget that there is no one else like them. We seethe in silence and distance ourselves from them to be petty. That's wrong. Harry's going to realize it soon. There is no one like you Aria, and if you go talk to him and remind him of that, he'll come around."

I think about it, and the urge to go see Harry strengthens.

"I-I don't know how I should..." I shrug awkwardly.

"He has this Sunday free. Told me his friends are going to see a game and he doesn't feel like going so we made plans. I'll cancel them and you can go visit him."

"Are you sure? I don't want to—"

"Yes. Please, Aria, please I'm begging you to see him," she laughs. I laugh too and nod.

---

Every day leading up to Sunday, I stopped by Harry's. I couldn't shower him with gifts and presents like Michal did to Gemma considering my bank account, but I could make him things.

On Wednesday I make a white cheddar mac and cheese. I put it in two dishes, a small one for me and Julia and a big one for the boys. It's technically for Harry, but I know the boys will want some too so I make enough for all of them. I watercolour a slice of cheese on card and on the back I write, Just in queso you didn't know, I am really sorry. –A. Harry always enjoyed bad puns.

I leave it outside their house and ring the doorbell before hurrying back in Julia's car and driving away. I park behind some trees and see Harry open the door (I textes Louis and Niall specific instructions to not open the door when the bell rings. Harry glances around in confusion before picking the container up. I see him flip the notes before his expression straightens up and he goes inside the house taking the mac and cheese with him.

On Thursday, I made macarons like the ones we had at his birthday and put them in a box with a card. I watercoloured two macarons on the front of the card and drew smiling faces on them. On the other side I wrote, I hope I didn't mac-a-ron turn and take this to the wrong house...

On Friday, I put a ticket to Shakespeare's King Lear for next week in an envelope and with another card that said, To forgive or not to forgive? That is entirely up to you, but I urge you to see this play with or without me.

On Saturday, I made an apple pie. I paint a pie broken in half with a sad face and on the flip side, I'm pie-ning for you.

Sunday is a busy day. I'm really not trying to fatten Harry up, but I tend to stress bake/cook. I can't just waltz into any store and buy him fancy things, so I have to make him stuff. And the fastest thing to make is food. So today I'm make a chicken and dumplings soup as well as red velvet cupcakes.

I make the cupcakes first so that while they're cooling I can make the soup. While it's simmering, I quickly mix the cream cheese frosting and pipe some on all of the cupcakes. I pour the soup in a dish and pack the cupcakes before checking to make sure my makeup and hair still looks fine. Julia let me use her car today since she'll be with Liam.

I carry the pot in a sturdy reusable bag in one hand, and the cupcakes in a container on the other. Unfortunately, I can't put them together because the soup is hot and will melt the frosting.

Seven minutes later, I'm pulling into Harry's driveway. He's home, I can tell by his car being the only one in the driveway. Gathering up my courage, I pull the food out of the back and carefully trudge up to his door. I ring the doorbell with the hand holding the cupcakes and wait to see if he'll answer.

He opens the door, shirtless, his eyes immediately searching the ground but when they see my feet, they slowly travel up to meet mine.

"Hey," I smile nervously. "No card today, just me. And the cupcakes and soup."

Harry frowns at me and I falter, preparing for him to slam the door in my face. I hope he would at least take the food because if I went back and had to eat it all myself, that would be really sad.

Harry surprises me by stepping aside and wordlessly holding the door open for me. My eyes widen and I step in slowly. I take off my shoes and walk straight to the kitchen to set the food on the counter and relieve my arms. I twist my wrist and rub it, while Harry leans at the doorway (still shirtless) and watches me with a scowl on his face.

"Um, thank you for not slamming the door in my face," I say uncertainly. How am I supposed to talk to him like this? Harry's expression softens slightly before he pushes himself off the door and walks to the fridge behind me. He takes out a bottle of water out for himself and turns to offer me one. "Th-thank you," I stutter, accepting it.

I take huge gulps of water to wash away my nervousness. Harry rests his hip against the island, beside me and reaches for the bag with the soup.

"Look, Harry," I begin, not being able to stand the tension. "I'm so so so sorry, okay? I know what I did was not right and believe me I wanted to stop—but it was hard, you know?"

Harry gulps and stares at me. His hands rest on the edge of island and his body faces me, letting me explain. I look away from him because his bare chest is really distracting.

"I'm—I'm just gonna explain everything okay?" I say. He doesn't say anything in response, so I just continue to speak to the granite. "I guess it starts with Julia and I... we've been best friends for years as you know. She isn't good at relationships... she doesn't have any siblings, all the friends she had before only stuck because she was rich, and boys only dated her so they could brag about it. I've always given her advice and pointers when it came to her relationships because I've always wanted the best for her. When we started university... I was ashamed with how little experience I had in dating. No one was holding me back from dating except myself and my insecurity being next to Julia. I've watched countless crushes' eyes move from me to Julia and stay there. Its just how it was. But I was determined to find someone for myself.

"I saw you for the first time at the orientation party in first year and... it was like in movies when everything slows down and stops and it's just you I see," my face starts to burn in humiliation but I continue on, without looking up at him. "So I tried to keep her away from you long enough until I set her up with Zayn. I went to look for you and I saw those girls putting a blindfold around your eyes to see who's the best kisser. I literally said 'fuck it' and pushed into their circle to kiss you too," I admit, my face absolutely burning.

"When we were pulled apart, I saw you taking your blindfold off and I panicked. My insecurities hit me and I was worried you'd be disappointed that I wasn't some gorgeous girl with long blonde hair or whatever. So I left, but I didn't realize you had kept the scrunchie. A week later and you two start talking because she found you with the scrunchie. I knew it was the universe's way of telling me 'Hah! You thought?'" I sigh deeply. "You two were very similar. You were both loud and extroverts, confidence radiating off of you. Both of you were were really smart, both business majors, both from wealthy families... the list goes on. There were so many things Julia had that I could never compete with, so I didn't try. I never told her about my feelings for you, and I willed them to go away.

"All those 'phases' I had? Being shy, being weird, being a bitch... those were all to shake you off. I didn't want us to be friends, I wanted nothing to do with you. Because the more I got to know you, the more I dreamed of how perfect we'd be together. I didn't want us to be friends because at the end of the day when you choose Julia over me, it would hurt me. There was no good outcome.

"A couple months into the relationship and Julia didn't know what to get you for Christmas. So I helped her find a nice gift based on everything I learned about you so far. Everything about you amazed me and it constantly blew my mind how it was all flowing right past Julia. She never knew what kind of thing you needed at the moment, and I always had the best guess. I wanted to help her keep you, thinking that over time she'll start to get better at being a girlfriend. But that didn't happen, instead she got too reliant on me. Next thing I know, she only has a card for your birthday! I couldn't let her do her own thing, because how awful would you feel to just get a card from your girlfriend?!

"She started to get lazy putting effort in your relationship and would ask me to step in. And I'm not gonna stand here and pretend like I was held at gunpoint to do it. I admit, I wanted to do it because... it was the closest I'd come to know what it's like being in a relationship with you. As pathetic as that sounds, it was easy for me to step in Julia's shoes and pretend to be this beautiful girl who has the most amazing boyfriend.

"Things got more personal when you started texting about your father. She completely freaked out and didn't know what to do so she gave me her phone, and I was mad that she would leave you mid-conversation so I stepped in. When you said the L word, it got too much for me and I yelled at Julia. That's when I realized that I needed to back off. But we were already in so deep? There were so many lies... when we cooked and made brownies that day, I didn't know how to tell you Julia can't cook, because there was no innocent way to explain why we lied. I don't know why at the beginning of the relationship we never anticipated this coming up again. So I said more lies. Then me and you got closer, and I selfishly held onto our friendship with a tight grip. I loved spending time with you and there was only a matter of time before it escalated.

"I truly thought it could stay platonic between us. We leaned on each other in lectures, we shared food at lunch, we studied together, we hung out without even letting Julia know. And I didn't bat an eye because I didn't think it would ever go anywhere anyway. Until it got too much and I didn't know what to do. That's when it all came out to Julia and she was livid and said awful things and you walked in and saw us crying and she told you about my feelings. And then you didn't want anything to do with me," my voice gets wet with tears. "And I hate this because I can't blame anyone except myself! But I only did it because I thought I was doing the right thing! But I can't live without you Harry—I can't! That's why I sent you all these things hoping you'd warm up to me speaking with you again so I can explain all this," I wave my hands around.

Braving a glance up at him I see Harry still scowling at me, but now with his arms crossed across his chest. I open my mouth to say more when he speaks.

"Aria, are you done?" his deep voice rasps, sending shivers through me. I blink and nod sadly. I should have known my sob story wasn't going to work. It was everything he already knew anyway—

My back hits the fridge behind me, roughly but not enough to hurt me. I look at Harry in confusion, his hands move from their tight grip on my arms to cup my face. My eyes widen and his lips come crashing down on mine.

Every thought I had leaves my brain the second his lips touch mine. They mold into mine perfect, just as soft as I remember them. My breaths stop as I shakily tangle my fingers in Harry's hair. Harry kisses me rough and fast, and I respond just as fiercely. Air isn't what's keeping me going right now, it's Harry. As long as his lips are against mine, I don't need anything else.

Loud smacking noises fill the room as he presses his body closer against me. Every nerve in me is lit on fire right now. I'm aware of every inch of his being on mine and I moan out in ecstasy. That's all Harry needs as encouragement. One hand leaves the side of my face to grip my hip. His hand moves down my thigh and lifts it slight so my leg is wrapping around him.

He pulls away for a moment to breathe, pinning me with such an intense and wildly passionate look. His eyes flick down from my eyes to my mouth and he bites his lower lip. Unable to resist, I lean again and press my mouth against his. His tongue grazes mine ever so slightly and I open my mouth, craving more.

Harry's other hand reaches for my other leg and I wrap my hands around his neck tightly before jumping slightly so I can wrap both legs around his waist. He holds me against the fridge, kissing me harder. One of my hands slide down his neck and over his chest, so happy I can finally touch him.

I don't know how long we've been kissing but all too soon, he pulls his lips away from mine forcefully and fear rushes through me.

"Please, no, please," I whimper, closing my eyes. Harry's thumb brushes over my cheek. "Please don't leave me, please... I just want you to be mine," I whisper.

Harry tilts my head up and I open my eyes, gazing at him nervously. He kisses my forehead and says, "I won't leave you."

The relief and excitement hit me at once, making me let out a breathy laugh when I realize the implication and pause. "Do you—do you mean—"

"God, I've wanted to do this for so long," Harry moans, kissing my lips again.

"Really?" I ask, still struggling to believe that this is actually happening. "Since when?"

"Since the orientation party... since my birthday... I don't know... always?"

"Your bir—wait," I push him off me. Harry realizes what he says and his eyes widen. "Your birthday? You remember that?!"

"I-I've, um, yes. I remember..." he admits sheepishly.

"But you told me you didn't remember! How could you not say anything?!"

"I didn't remember it right away! Just a couples days later. And by then I was too freaked out to say anything, I'm sorry!"

"I can't believe you! Do you know how upset and worried I was?"

"I'm sorry, baby," he says, pressing soft kisses all over my face. "Let's not fight so soon, our relationship just started minutes ago..."

"Our what?" I smile with my eyes closed as Harry reaches my neck.

"Our relationship," he replies with a smile of his own.

"I don't remember agreeing to start a relationship with you," I tease, feeling elated that my Harry was back and I could talk to him again.

"Mmm, don't even try," Harry mumbles against my neck, sending warmth through me. "Did you forget the monologue you just gave? You subtly confessed your love for me about seventeen times."

"Fuck off," I push him away. We laugh and he leans his head on my shoulder before turning and looking at me with a goofy smile. His smile drops slightly.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," he whispers.

"It's fine don't worry about it."

"No, it's not," he insists. My eyes rake his face as he pushes me higher on the fridge and looks up at me. I brush his curls away from his face. "I feel awful for driving away that day, but I just wasn't ready to see you."

"I understand."

"And that day when you caught me and Julia," he shakes his head and looks away. "God, the look on your face killed me. I don't know what that whole thing was about... I think I was just confused? I'm sorry. Julia told me how you felt about it after and I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I understand now how much you put yourself before me and I hate that I failed to do that for you."

"Harry..."

"And I lied to you about not remembering the kiss, and I threatened to seriously harm Zayn when he said you were at his house..."

"Wait you what? When was this?"

"When he came to art history and you didn't. I was really angry that it was his house you were staying at. Angry that I drove you to stay there."

"You should probably apologize to him then," I suggest. Harry glares at me through his lashes and I laugh.

"No, I hate him," Harry says, pulling me off the fridge and sitting me down on the island.

"Still?"

"Mhm, but let's stop talking about him and talk more about what you brought. What is it this time?"

I throw my head back and laugh loudly as I hear his stomach grumble. Harry has a huge smile on his face as he watches me.

"Chicken and dumplings soup with red velvet cupcakes."

"No more beef barely and brownies?"

"Well I can always make that if you want, but I figured we should start fresh and new."

Harry's arms run up my back, grinning goofily, "I can't wait."

***

Guys that was the last chapter :'(

Sooo many of you sent me messages telling me how excited you were for the next few chapters, or to see where the story was going , a few even gave suggestions of they think should happen and I didn't know how to tell you guys there was only 1 chapter left 😂

I've been writing on and off (for multiple fandoms) for years but I rarely ever posted most of my writing mainly because I could never stay committed to them to finish them. Mastermind is the FIRST fanfiction I've EVER completed and I'm so happy it was this one. Thank you to everyone who read, voted, commented, messaged me and shared their thoughts with me! Thank you to Jeanie for reviving this story (and for the constant support) haha I had about 9 chapters written and only 6 posted and gave up on it once again when she found it and told me she couldn't wait for the next chapter so I began posting them again.

This fic really wrote itself not gonna lie, I had a vague idea of what I wanted and who the characters were and everything just put itself in place like puzzle pieces. I'm sad this fic is over but it's been a fun ride, thank you to everyone!

OH AND THERE'S GONNA BE AN EPILOGUE SKFJLKDKFJS I havent written the epilogue yet so feel free to offer suggestions.

I also love when authors do a Q and A at the end, so if there was any event or incident that you wanted explained, or anything you had questions about (what the characters were thinking, what their intentions were) then send me and ask and I will answer them when I post the epilogue! (Next Saturday, as usual).

Thanks again, love you all! See you next week :)

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#mastermind #harry styles fanfic #1dff #im so sad this is done :(#but there will be an epilogue so theres that i guess :)#and i'm thinking of doing a drabble series of random moments after this chapter #if anyone's interested let me know #thank you all for the love and support tho I love each and every single one of you :')

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kaiser-dracon · 4 years

Text

Alternative Berseria The X: Chapter 42 - The Valley of Kings Sneak Peek

Flash forward one thousand years later, Emperor Dorian’s Mansion, Pendrago the Blessed Capital

The air was tense with suspense around Sorey and Mikleo, no one batting an eye in anticipation. What felt like an exciting notion a few minutes ago, it was now a lump in their throat, preventing them to breath until they know the answer. The moment passed like an eternity.

The emperor's expression was unchanging in spite of the weight of his words. “That person’s name was Avernus Diphda.”

Sorey’s mind raced as it tried to comprehend the emperor’s response. He and Mikleo both had the same reaction. “Avernus… Diphda?!” Sorey released a pent up breath, narrowing his eyes as he focused further. “As in the Hyland’s royal lineage?”

The emperor let out a faint hum, closing his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again and seemingly avoiding Sorey’s question. “Shepherd, in truth, all I wanted was to put an end to the conflict. It doesn’t matter how many wars you win, there is always one that follows. But they are also two sides of the same coin; for every action, there is an opposite reaction. Every lasting peace will inevitably be challenged by a new conflict.”

Sorey’s eyes widened in confusion as he glanced quickly at Mikleo before turning back to the emperor. “But what this has to do with the legend?”

The emperor picked up where he left, again dodging what Sorey wanted to hear. “Both war and peace situations must be dealt with when they come around, but the actions we take are going to be different each time. That’s what we’ve learned from history.” Emperor Dorian slowly rose up, sighing as he shot a thoughtful glance over the window into the rainy weather.

Sorey and Mikleo’s gazes followed the emperor, expecting a more relevant answer, but at the same time, they felt it would be rude to push the matter.

“I think you know the sensitivity of the subject. I’m afraid this is all I have to offer.”

Sorey stood up, bowing at the Emperor. “Thank you for your hospitality, your majesty.”

The emperor raised his brow slightly, turning to Sorey. “Leaving so soon?”

“Yes. We have to gain access to the church and meet with the Cardinal. The situation in Pendrago must be resolved as quickly as possible.” Sorey insisted.

Emperor Dorian beckoned at the door. “Then let me offer you transportation. It is only fair that we’d provide means for cleansing malevolence for the Shepherd, especially in this weather.”

Sorey and Mikleo nodded, following the emperor through the exit. Lailah, Edna, Rose, and Dezel joined them mid-way in the hallway. Sorey and Lailah exchanged a heavy and meaningful glance, before resuming their walk. Lailah merged with Sorey and he followed the emperor to the carriage.

As they got on the wagon, Rose spent a few moments probing Sorey’s face. For her, staying in her ex-fiance’s mansion was one thing, watching her friends’ silence was another uncomfortable feeling.

“Alright, what did the Emperor tell you?” Rose asked Sorey, breaking the stillness.

Sorey shifted his attention to her for a slight moment before returning his gaze to the window. “The emperor knew of malevolence and an old legend from a Mayvin.”

“A storyteller spilled some beans?” Rose leaned back against the seat. “You know how I hated to be blind to everything. That’s why I decided to be your squire. So tell me the whole story.”

Sorey put up his determined face and explained what the emperor told him in full detail. After that, Rose trailed off, staring into the rainy weather. “A Diphda, huh? I don’t know if I wanted to lose my emotions, but it’s understandable why he chose the girl instead of the savior.” Rose grinned.

Sorey darted his brows in surprise and confusion. “What do you mean?”

“It is simple; Justice for the boy and the girl,” Rose waved her hand. “Witnessing such an act would want me to put the savior down too. He was a Shepherd after all, wasn’t he? And most importantly, just look at Alisha; that’s expected from a Diphda.”

Mikleo shot as a blue orb from Sorey’s body and materialized beside him. He looked annoyed and frowning. “How can you easily say that? Didn’t you hear what Sorey said? He took the side of a Lord of Calamity. Who knows if he did the right thing or not?” Mikleo argued, uncertainty clear in his tone.

Suddenly, Lailah’s fiery orb exited Sorey and appeared next to Mikleo. “Rose is right, he was moved by the sense of justice at first,” Lailah said, prompting the rest to turn to her in shock. “Why and what he decided to do to, was not easily relatable. At that time, that was the right thing to do.”

“You’re saying that you knew him?!” Sorey inquired, now every piece of the puzzle was falling into their place in his mind. “But I thought you swore an oath.”

Lailah unexpectedly smiled. “For me, it was just a promise.” The fire seraph cocked her head proudly which was totally unexpected of her. “He wasn’t going to put his sister through an oath.”

Rose, Sorey, and Mikleo all jolted in their places, eyes widening in surprise.

“Sister…?!” Sorey mumbled, seeing Lailah associating herself this close to a human was odd but seemed amazing.

Lailah nodded, wearing a kind smile and eyes beaming with joy as a flood of heartening memories washed over her mind. “Yes. Avernus was the first human I encountered and he was the one who gave me my true name. Like you, he was also raised by a seraph.”

The moody atmosphere changed drastically. Now, Sorey, Mikleo, and Rose leaned in towards the fire seraph. Sorey scratched the back of his head. “I feel like I’m kind of left out a lot of things when you put it that way, Lailah.”

Lailah raised a few of her guardian cards and hid her smile behind them, cheeks turning pink. “It’s nothing to worry about. Avernus and his struggle is something that belonged to a different time and place.”

For a brief moment, the moon shone through a batch of clouds, flaring up old memories in Lailah and encouraging her to glance at it through the window. Her face radiated with hope as the ageless moon watched over her. “Know this, Sorey; war and conflict have existed since the world came to be.” Lailah’s face toned down to seriousness but still had that calm expression. “...For land, for resources, for social status, for love, and even for happiness. Doing your best to live is a fight, however, how you and others conduct conflict is all another matter and what’s left in the wake of that conflict will end up defining your legacy.”

Mikleo leaned back, absorbing Lailah’s sentences. “The shepherd’s legacy…”

Lailah titled her head to the side slightly and faintly giggled. “No, it wasn’t purely his legacy all alone. In fact, without her, none of it was possible.”

Sorey’s sharp wit caught her intention. “The lord of calamity,” he said confidently. “There is definitely more to it, isn’t it?”

Lailah nodded, turning to Sorey. “Yes. But before I tell you about them, you need to know a lot more, Sorey; just because you want to be a perfect Shepherd, doesn’t mean that’s all you have to be.”

Sorey remained intrigued, focusing on the Lailah as she continued. “Humans hold beliefs. There is no room for progress when you fanatically believe in something. The nature of it is black and white, rigid, sound and unchangeable. Yet because humans learn through experience, the beliefs they hold will inevitably change as well. What was once the right thing to do doesn’t always stay that way or applies to every single situation.”

Sorey heaved a breath. “Laws don’t always suit every scenario…”

Rose crossed her arms, closing her eyes as she dwelled on Lailah’s remarks. “And what you hold to be true can mean nothing to another person who doesn’t adhere or conform to your perspective. Ignoring that will make you…” Rose opened her eyes, glancing at Lailah. “... a fanatic.”

“Correct.” Lailah acknowledged. “You cannot solve a lot of issues if you’re not willing to go far. That’s the burden I told you at first about being a shepherd. Even though, you thought that you can’t be two opposing things at once, a pacifist and a warrior.” Lailah turned to Sorey once more. “Because shepherds labeled themselves as one or the other and these labels, had been confirmed by others, the burden of upholding them became heavy for them to bear. However, many people had to make sacrifices, and the hardest part for the shepherds was realizing when their turn had arrived. Ultimately, how they conduct themselves afterward, would inevitably define them.”

“But there is an element of choice in all things,” Sorey added, which in turn, Lailah nodded.

“It’s the most important assurance in times of struggle. It is inevitable; no matter how dark things become, something good will eventually be around the corner.”

Rose chuckled, seemingly eager to hear more. “Alright, I hope you have a good story after sprinkling all these philosophies around.”

“Not now,” Lailah said, turning into her fiery orb and melting back into Sorey. “Alisha needs to hear this too. Besides, it is a little bit soon for you, guys.”

Rose scowled and rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on!”

Mikleo grunted in irritation. “Then why did you go through all that just to keep us waiting?”

They heard the disembodied voice of Lailah giggling as it echoed in their minds. “Patience. Good things are worth waiting for.”

Sorey intuitively smiled. If Lailah was happy, then it was indeed a good thing.

Sorey could not wait to hear more.

#toz #tales of zestiria #tales of berseria #lailah (toz)#fanfiction #fanfic #story

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thatsabae · 5 years

Text

Salus - Chanyeol (mafia!au) | Chapter 3

genre: romance/drama/angst

summary: The thought of being back home always tormented you, ever since you left. You thought about all possibilities, but not one where your ex-boyfriend would want to be your friend again, just like before all that mess, as if it would be easy to ignore how your heart still races just by seeing him.

prologue | chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4

Chanyeol made clear that he wanted to be friends again, but you were clueless how he would do it. Half of your heart was expecting him to say that just because he felt bad and not give it attention, but the other half was expecting him to come around and make effort. Do what he promised, at least once.

Jude was always on your mind before her father finally decided to show up and prove you that he was sticking to his words, a few days later. You thought it would feel like being thrown back at the moment that Meri told you about her pregnancy but it felt nothing like that at all.

When Minseok came knocking your door, telling you that Chanyeol was there, you took the longest you could, mentally preparing yourself. What would you both even talk about? About those years apart? Maybe something random? Each subjecting terrifying you even more. You didn’t even know him anymore, just like he didn’t know you.

Arriving at the living room, you regretted wasting so much time locked up in that room. Sitting beside Chanyeol on the sofa was Jongdae. Your friend, that was not that friendly to you anymore, but still was there.

“Dae?” The surprise is clear in your voice. He only nods at you, still upset but not enough to ignore you.

You were relieved. If Chanyeol managed to bring Jongdae to your apartment, that could only mean that there was a chance of fixing things in your friendship. Knowing Jongdae for so long, you knew he was stubborn. Way too stubborn. Once he made up his mind, no one else could change it, it didn’t matter that the person proved him wrong, it would actually make everything worse.

“Let’s go?” He asked the other friend, still not looking in your eyes. “The others are waiting, already”.

It was not enough, you still felt too distant from him, but it was a beginning. At that moment, you decided to not let it affect you even more than it was already doing, and instead of focusing on dealing with Chanyeol, you would worry only about saving your old friendships. That would be your goal before leaving again and a good distraction.

When you arrived at the pizza place, a smile took over your face when you saw Yixing sitting there, chatting with Baekhyun and Sehun, alongside a woman, dressed formally.

“That is Yixing’s girlfriend.” Chanyeol murmurs, walking to the table.

“And what about Liao?” You remember his girlfriend, that moved with him from China when he exchanged places with Minseok, ten years ago. Something that was supposed to happen for only a year, but turned out better for both.

“They broke up years ago, a little after they came. It was bad.” Jongdae starts, forgetting for a moment that he’s not talking to you. “He’s dating Karlie for… I don’t know, maybe six, seven years now. I think he will propose after Junmyeon’s marriage, at least that’s what I picked on our bet”.

“I see.” You decide to make a joke. “I guess you forgot to mention it in our calls”.

He stops walking, making Chanyeol and you, that were behind him, stop too.

“It’s not like you were sharing news too”.

You stay quiet, not really knowing how to answer that. You felt red in the face. Chanyeol gives you a wink, encouraging you to not let Jongdae intimidate you. Your heart aches when you remember that he would always do that when you felt insecure. Maybe they were the same, after all.

Dealing with Jongdae would be harder than Chanyeol, you realize.

“Hey, finally!” Sehun was the first to notice your arrival. “We’re over here”.

Everyone got up and started to greet each other, and Yixing introduced you to Karlie, his new long-term girlfriend.

“What took so long?” Baekhyun question Jongdae. “We’ve been feeling like a third-wheel over here”.

“We can finally chat, Y/N.” Yixing started, ignoring the other one. “How was your trip?”

You shrug.

“I don’t really remember. When I realized, the plane was already landing, I slept through it all.” Except for Jongdae, they all chuckle and the conversation change topics.

After the first slice is served, you stare your old friend, unable to eat. He was talking to everyone else, normally, even laughing, but no word directed to you. You never expected Jongdae to be so childish.

“We gotta go now.” The lawyer announces before you could finish the second slice, with Karlie by his side, already saying bye. “I have a trial tomorrow morning”.

“And I need to bring you safe, or else Minseok will kill me.” Chanyeol jokes with you. “Not that he doesn’t want me dead, already. It would just legitimate him to do it”.

You chuckle, hiding your mouth.

Baekhyun shrugs at him. “He’s just waiting for a good reason to punch your face again”.

“Again?” Your question is ignored in the middle of laughs.

You can see the interest in Jongdae’s eyes change suddenly. Oh no. He’s looking, back and forth, from Baekhyun to you.

You know you’re in more trouble.

“Do you all want to leave already?” Chanyeol breaks the silence, looking unsure. “It’s still soon”.

“I need to get going too. I have a flight early in the morning”.

“You gotta solve that contract?” Jongdae wonders, looking at Sehun, that just nod, but you know his focus is not totally on the youngest.

“Which one?” Chanyeol seemed interested, and so did Yixing. You were bored, not even knowing what they’ve been working now.

“That beach house. The owner is just giving me headaches. Always changing his prices and… Now even his daughter is involved.” He looks at you, not saying any other word. Was that a secret? You felt left out.

“Sehun was hired to mediate a sale, but since its value increased so much these last months, the owner is always increasing its price too” Chanyeol explained to you, seeing how confused you were.

“If it’s too high, just don’t buy it. Costumers make the price”.

“The thing is… " Sehun started explaining, very quickly. “That’s the only house left in that block, and they need that space”.

So pay what they are asking, you wanted to say, but you hold your tongue back, not allowing to show how ignorant about this topic you were. You barely knew how to calculate the taxes, Minseok would always help you when it came that time.

“It looks like they don’t want to sell it, they are just wasting your time. Probably testing how long is your patience.” The moment you said it, you could see Sehun’s face turning red. Being so young, you could imagine how many times people didn’t take him seriously.

Chanyeol’s attention changed, looking at his cellphone like it was the only thing in the room. Baekhyun got closer to him, trying to sneak peek.

“Uh, I need to go to Junmyeon’s before going home.” He murmurs, more to himself than to you. “Dae, do you mind taking Y/N?”

Oh. No.

“No problem.” He crossed his arms, but he seemed worried about Chanyeol too, letting his childish behavior go for a second. “Something happened?”

“Yeah. I mean, no. That’s Kyungsoo. He needs help with something”.

“I thought you said you need to see Junmyeon?” You can’t help yourself. If he was ditching you, at least do it properly.

You feel how tense he was, but you don’t let this pass. Why can’t they just tell what’s wrong? Even Yixing and his girlfriend seemed to be worried, and for the little, you know the lawyer, he’s way too calm.

“I did? Uh. That’s because I do need to pass there, and then I’ll go to Kyungsoo”.

You were not satisfied with that answer, something felt off, everyone was tense. You were being excluded by your friends. But you let it go, there was no use to ask about something they didn’t want to share. Especially with Jongdae and Chanyeol. And your friendship wasn’t strong enough to push both. You didn’t have a place in their life to do it.

“Can we leave, Dae?”

You knew Chanyeol was feeling conflicted on letting you leave like that, but you couldn’t care less. You hated feeling outside, especially around people that were supposed to be friends with you.

Jongdae and you went silent to the car. His mind was going wild, a lot of things going on, you could see that by the way he gesticulated his hands, talking to himself.

“Dae?” You call him, suddenly, when he stops at a sign. “What was that when we were leaving?”

“With Kyungsoo?”

You nod, waiting for him to kill your curiosity. These years you spent away, Jongdae has become more and more silent, holding back information, sharing only what he thought that was interesting to you, or worthy saying, at least that’s what you thought. You felt his change, but you wished that he wouldn’t do the same when in front of you.

He seemed… Like he was doing the same you did before. He didn’t trust you like you didn’t trust him.

“It’s just. Chanyeol did something, years ago, something that wasn’t really legal… Something really bad. We all kinda did.”

“What? He tried drugs?” You interrupt him, joking, but regret the same moment, seeing his face. That look he gave you, it chilled you. “Why is Kyungsoo taking care of it instead of Yixing or Minseok?”

You hoped that Minseok wasn’t denying help because of you.

“It’s a mess. As long as we can take care of it without lawyers, it’s better. Believe me. ” His grip on the wheel got tighter. You could see how white his knuckles got. “Let’s not talk about what happened, it doesn’t matter, we can’t go back. Focus on now. Someone knows what happened.” He starts gesticulating while driving. “If this person spills the beans, she will get in trouble too, but nothing compared to what Chanyeol could face. Kyungsoo was negotiating with her. Chanyeol is going there to know the news”.

You wonder who she could be. A lover that now changed her mind? That made you sick, still jealous of a man who did not belong to you.

“So, someone is blackmailing Chanyeol?”

“No, not him. It’s blackmailing Junmyeon. Everyone. Us all. We knew it. Shit, I even helped. But Chanyeol is this person’s target. He did the ugly part. Metaphorically speaking, he pulled the trigger.” Jongdae sighs, before continuing. He’s getting angry. You wonder if that was really just a metaphor. “Just please, don’t think too much about it. It’s been so long, doesn’t matter anymore, anyway. We will take care of it”.

“It seemed like it does matter”.

“You know what matters?” His grip on the steering wheel got tighter as if that was possible. “Baekhyun seems to know the reason why Minseok was so furious at Chanyeol because of you, and I don’t”.

“Can’t we leave Chanyeol out of a topic for once? It seems like he’s the only subject we have to talk about.”

When Jongdae kept silent, you give up ignoring it.

“Ugh. Baekhyun wasn't supposed to know. Chanyeol probably told him, you know how annoying he can get when he’s curious”.

“So Chanyeol does know the real reason. What is it?”

“It’s something that happened so long ago. I never expected Minseok to behave that way. So unnecessary, but it’s my fault. I should have kept silent”.

You knew that changing the subject was not going to help you, and Jongdae wasn’t going to let you do it, but trying was still an option. Just talking about it made your chest ache, for many different reasons. Jongdae could end up being more angry at you than he already was! Thinking about it all, was so silly.

He stayed silent, still waiting for your explanation.

“Sorry I lied to you. I do know why Minseok was angry, sorry, Dae.” You pause for a moment, thinking carefully on your next words. “Before Chanyeol and Meri were a thing, things were different”.

“How different?” You could feel the softness on his voice now. You didn’t have to voice it, he already understood.

“It was a secret. Chanyeol and I.” Tears were forming on your eyes. All you didn’t cry on your best friend’s shoulder were here now, ready to embarrass you. “For two years”.

Jongdae kept silent, thinking about what you just confessed.

You felt relieved. Your best friend was no longer in the shadow, there was no reason to not tell everything now. You felt lighter. Except you wouldn’t tell him everything, just most part of it.

“When he came to break whatever it was that we had, he was already seeing her. For months. Chanyeol told me that. He didn’t care how I felt about it. He asked me to stay friends with him. And I stayed, for a year.” The tingle sensation got you, remembering that even years later Chanyeol would ask you that.

After a few minutes staring the road without looking at it, you realize that Jongdae already parked in front of the building. Your heart asked you to tell the whole truth but things were so ugly… You were not ready to have Jongdae knowing this side of you.

“You’re quiet, but you don’t seem to be shocked”.

“If we’re being honest here, it’s not really a surprise that something was going on between you two. Baekhyun and I… We kinda knew it, never knowing. We even guessed it once, before he was with Meri.” He pressed his forehead, looking stressed. “I always knew you felt something different when it came to Chanyeol. It was really obvious”.

You sighed, recognizing the truth in his words. That was absolute truth. Everyone knew. Even kids at school used to joke about it. You always denied, and so did Chanyeol, but deep in your heart, you wanted him to stop kids from joking about your friendship and tell everyone he liked you, so you could finally assume your feelings.

Except he never did that. It felt like you were still expecting it. For years you thought he was just shy about it, but when he declared his love for Meri on his birthday, the truth came. He probably never even realized you had feelings for him. Child’s dream.

“Baekhyun once mentioned that he thought Chanyeol looked different at you. That he commented something that piqued his interest, but I didn’t really believe. You know how Baekhyun is. Even Junmyeon said something once. Knowing it was true is not really that shocking now”.

Junmyeon? Your heart raced. That could explain so many things.

He turned to you, but still not looking into your eyes.

“But then he made all that scene for Meri. The guys even admitted they were wrong”.

“You mean Chanyeol confessing his feelings for her at his birthday party? That was when it all started”.

“What? How? I slept at his house that day”.

You chuckle at his innocence. He really slept there, so did Baekhyun and Jongin, but not the owner of the house. They stayed for an after-party, that was what they called, and to mend Chanyeol’s broken heart, picking its pieces.

“Boys got so drunk that you all passed away in the living room. He was bored, wide awake, Chanyeol didn’t want to sleep yet, so he came to see if I was still awake. My parents didn’t see him coming in, but they caught him leaving. Didn’t you always wondered why dad still looks weird at Chanyeol?” You try to make a joke, but you only earn a smile from Jongdae. It looked almost like pity.

“Please, don’t look at me like that. I loved him so much that I didn’t care about his silly crush on Meri. It was just it. A crush. We were friends for so long that I never thought he would leave me so easily, breaking my heart. I’m fine now”.

You expected Jongdae to call you a liar. He didn’t, but you knew he knew.

His expression wasn’t changing, and anxiety was consummating you. It was hard to breathe, so you tried to open the car’s window, but that wasn’t enough, so you opened the car’s door.

You turned your whole body for outside, to catch air easily, and felt when his hands were caressing your hair, just like he'd done back then, whenever you needed someone to just… Just be there.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Softness was back at his voice and you felt like going back on time. Maybe he was still the same Jongdae and you were still the same Y/N.

“He wanted to keep it a secret. Always delaying it. Only when he told me about her that I understood his reasons. He never planned to stay”.

At this point, there was no reason to hold your tears. You just let them fall, not able to endure the pain in your throat.

“I guess that’s why it still fucking hurts. I thought that since we were friends, he would care for me”.

He never planned on staying because his place was by her side. You cried harder, unsure if they were for your first heartbreak or guilty.

Guilty was consummating you since you got back at the city. Even before that, but now things were worst. You couldn’t walk the street without remembering that she walked that before, too.

“I know I’m an idiot but, even if I could, I wouldn’t change that. I would change many things that I’ve done, but not loving him. But I hate him. Being friends again is almost killing me, Dae”.

After calming down, you seat straight again and close the door.

“I called off my engagement. I had to tell Minseok why I didn’t want Alec here. I like him, but I don’t feel like I deserve him. Not when I still have feelings for someone else”.

“Is that why Minseok was so mad at Chanyeol?”

You wanted to scream the whole truth, but that was enough for now. Not even you understood what happened all those years ago. That would always be your secret. Your and…

“I had to tell him why to explain what I couldn’t explain to Alec. I just didn’t think he would take it to his heart. Do you think I did wrong?”

He stood silent, just staring you.

That was even more difficult than when you told Minseok. Your cousin got really angry at Chanyeol, but that was it. You were spared. Jongdae no. Jongdae was just silent, not showing any reaction. He was almost numb.

“If you miss him, or think of giving him a real chance, call him. Invite him, so we can meet the guy. You already said you've engaged anyway. You’re worried that you may realize that you don’t like him at all?” Then you finally feel his eyes staring you. “Or you think on trying something with Chanyeol?”

“I didn’t break up with Alec because of that. I just want to make sure that I’m not doing to him the same that Chanyeol did to me”.

“Y/N.” Jongdae calls for your attention. “If you feel like that, maybe you like him way more than you think. And people don’t deserve people. We can’t control feelings. If he likes you, there’s no such thing as deserving. Understand your heart and fight for what you love”.

Yes. Maybe you did like Alec more than you thought.

You entered the apartment, determined. You were going to call Alec and be nice to him. You wouldn’t rush and tell him to come already, but talking to Jongdae made you soften your heart and want to be nicer with him.

“Were you crying?” Minseok surprises you, when you enter the kitchen, making you even forgot what you were going to pick.

Your cousin is sitting in front of his laptop, wearing his work glasses. Carla nowhere to be seen.

“It was nothing. I was talking to Jongdae”.

“You’re really fine?”

“Minseok, I think I’m gonna call Alec and tell him that I don’t want to break up with him. At least not yet”.

The only other time you saw Minseok smiling so big was on his wedding day. Your heart felt warm, maybe you were finally doing things right.

“I’m glad you’re giving it a second thought”.

You were going back to your room when you remembered.

"Why did you punch Chanyeol the first time?"

A laugh crossed his face, seeming to be a good memory. "That was a long time ago. Let's just say that at that time I also had a crush on Meri".

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thinkingaboutyoungroyals · 5 years

Text

Who Waits For Love? (Chapter 9)

Summary: T.J. Kippen lost his chance to tell Cyrus Goodman how he felt when they were in the 8th grade. Now, they are in their junior year of high school and Cyrus is on his 3rd relationship. Is it time to give up… or continue to wait for love?

A/N: Apologies for the lateness! This was a super important and emotional chapter so I really wanted to get it right!

This is the last chapter and next will be the Epilogue. Thank you so much to everyone who liked, commented, and supported this story all the way! It wouldn’t have been possible without you!

Enjoy!

His alarm was blaring, pounding through his head like a hammer. Blindly, he reached out to his bedside table, fumbled for his phone, and managed to turn it off. Then, groaning, he rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head.

T.J. had never gotten drunk before but he wondered if this was what a hangover felt like. His eyes felt dry and so did his throat. There was a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach and he felt like throwing up.

Did all broken hearts feel like a hangover?

He laid in bed for several more minutes, wondering if he could pass off having a fever or something.

“T.J.?! Time to get up or you’ll be late!”

He really didn’t want to go to school today.

Nevertheless, he forced himself to sit up and stretch.

He went through his morning routine in a daze – showering, getting dressed, and packing his things. (He skipped the hair gel for the day, he didn’t feel like looking at himself in the mirror. He looked awful!)

At the breakfast table, he sat down, picked at his cereal before giving up on it, and downed a glass of juice. Pretending not to see his mother’s concerned looks, he kissed her cheek goodbye and headed off.

He was already halfway when he realized that he was driving his usual route to Cyrus’ house. But, he had texted Cyrus the night before that he wasn’t picking him up, lying about doing an errand.

He just wasn’t sure if he could face him yet after that disaster that was the Spring Formal. He had walked out on the other boy, not letting him explain his side. And because of that, he was wracked with guilt the entire weekend.

Pulling over, T.J. sighed and leaned his head back against his seat, closing his eyes.

“Get it together, Kippen,” he scolded himself.

He made this bed. He would lie in it.

The silence as he drove to school by himself was overpowering. He didn’t like it. He missed Cyrus’ chatter.

He missed Cyrus.

When he arrived, he headed straight for his locker. His body felt heavy as he dragged himself down the hall, weaving through chatting classmates. He was pretty sure he bumped into a few and hoped that his soft “sorry” was heard.

As he was swapping his books, he spotted Marty from the corner of his eye.

“Morning, Kippen,” the other boy greeted.

T.J. managed a small smile. “Hey, Mr. Driscoll.”

Marty looked like he was about to protest but decided against it. Instead, he tiled his head to the side, flashing T.J. a pointed look.

Confused, T.J. turned around.

His eyes widened to see Cyrus standing there, clutching the strap of his book bag like a lifeline.

“Hey.”

The brunette looked utterly exhausted, as if he, too, spent the weekend crying like T.J. did.

Maybe he did. T.J. hated himself for making Cyrus cry.

He swallowed and looked down at his worn-out old sneakers. “Hey.”

Turning back to his locker, he shut it. “Sorry about this morning.” He wanted to apologize for his behavior last Friday, but instead, what came out was, “And I have tutoring this afternoon so I can’t take you home. Marty, you can give him a ride, right?”

Not waiting for the track star to answer, T.J. turned on his heels and hurriedly sped down the hall to homeroom.

“T.J., wait!”

It took every fiber of his being not to slow down.

“T.J., please. I know you’re mad but hear me out.”

That stopped him in his tracks.

He could feel Cyrus almost bump into him and kind of wished that he did. If only to be given an excuse to look at him.

“I’m not mad,” he managed, forcing his voice to be steady. “I just… I need space.”

“But we need to talk,” Cyrus insisted.

He sighed. “Cyrus-”

“Please.”

It took everything in him not to turn around, hug him close, and give in.

“I… uh…need to get to homeroom.”

“T.J.-.”

Before his resolve fully waned, T.J. forced his feet to move.

He knew he was being a coward by running away. But, he couldn’t help it. He was so ashamed.

Cyrus told him that he liked him. He should be overjoyed. He should be asking him out and finally be happy. But, knowing that Cyrus had liked him all this time but never said a word… knowing that Cyrus dated other guys while having feelings for him… it made him feel like crap.

Those old insecurities flared. He wasn’t good enough. He wasn’t smart enough. He wasn’t enough for Cyrus to even try.

T.J. knew he was being ridiculous. Cyrus was his best friend and he had always cared for him and accepted him.

But, he couldn’t help feeling that way.

He was too ashamed to face Cyrus, again.

All morning, he tried to forget about everything. Even when Aidan asked if he was okay during homeroom, he brushed him off, insisting that he was fine.

At lunch, he debated sitting with his friends or the basketball team. Sitting with his friends meant that he and Cyrus would be sitting fairly close. And, not to mention, he might be subject to some confrontational glares from Buffy and Andi (he had received angry and questioning texts from them over the weekend). Then, sitting with his basketball team might raise some questions because it wasn’t his usual day to sit with them. And, he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist looking at Cyrus from the team’s table and his resolve might weaken and he would end up saying more things he shouldn’t say.

So, he decided to skip lunch.

“Dude.”

He jumped up, almost slamming his hand against his locker.

“Jeez, Marty! Stop sneaking up on me like that!” He tried to glare at his friend, who simply shook his head.

“Are you going to ignore Cyrus all day?” Marty scolded, instead.

T.J. felt his chest twitch with guilt. “I’m just… figuring things out.”

“Well, figure things out sooner cause Cyrus is miserable.”

The guilt multiplied tenfold. “How is he doing?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“How do you think he’s doing?”

Touché.

T.J. sighed. “I’ll talk to him, eventually, okay? I just need a little more time.”

Marty leaned against the locker beside his. “You had an entire weekend, dude. And you keep running away from him. If you waste any more time and keep him waiting, he might think you didn’t mean it when you told him you liked him. Unless…” He flashed T.J. a pointed look. “Your feelings changed?”

“No!” T.J. answered, immediately, feeling scandalized and somewhat offended. “Of course not! Cyrus is the most important person to me right now!”

Marty didn’t look too impressed. “Yeah? Maybe you should start showing it.”

“Marty-.”

“Just come to lunch, bro.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’re running away.”

“I’m not,” T.J. insisted, following it up with a deep sigh. “I’ll talk to him. I swear.”

Marty pursed his lips. “Okay. But, I suggest you do it soon. Or you’ll really lose him. For real this time.”

Those words swirled in T.J.’s mind, embedding into his heart. Losing Cyrus was the last thing he wanted.

Marty clapped him on the shoulder. “You sure you don’t want to go to lunch?”

Absentmindedly, T.J. nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’ll grab something from the vending machine.”

Marty nodded and walked off towards the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, T.J. stayed rooted in front of his locker, staring at the photo he had of him and Cyrus taped on there. It was taken back in Middle School during costume day. Cyrus was dressed as a salt shaker and T.J. had on board shorts and a sleeveless shirt (they went as “Somersault”. It was T.J.’s idea. Cyrus thought it was clever. They didn’t win against Andi’s Mt. Rushmore but it was still fun). Sometimes, he wished he could back. Life seemed simpler back then. Crushing on Cyrus and just being his friend… it was simple.

He knew he messed up – big time. And he had to make up for it, somehow.

Sighing again, he shut his locker and made his way to the nearest vending machine.

…………..

After school, he lingered a little too long at his locker, his mind still pre-occupied with thoughts of Cyrus.

He knew Marty was right and he couldn’t run away forever. He didn’t want to run away from Cyrus. He wanted to fix things between them. But, he couldn’t help but be apprehensive.

After the way he reacted to Cyrus’ confession, did he still like him? Or did it further prove to him that T.J. wasn’t really worth his time?

Shaking his head, he shut his locker and headed to the second floor for tutoring. He already missed a couple of sessions and he was sure Miss Hart was really going to let him have it.

When he neared the classroom, he spotted a familiar figure peeking through the glass window.

T.J. slowed down as he got closer. “Cyrus?”

The other boy jumped, looking like a dear in headlights. “T.J.! Hi!” He smiled, faintly.

“What are you doing here?” he tried to sound nonchalant.

Cyrus bit his lip. “We need to talk.”

Anxiety pooled in his stomach so he looked away. “I have tutoring,” he lamely excused.

“I know. That’s why I’m here. I’ll wait until after you’re done.”

T.J. tried to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat. “Cy-.”

“I’ll do my homework out here so I won’t disturb you, guys.” Cyrus bit his lip again. “There’s a lot we need to talk about. I have to explain my side. And so do you.”

T.J. couldn’t find his voice.

“T.J., please,” Cyrus pleaded. “I don’t like it when we’re like this. We need to talk. Please, basketball guy.”

That did it.

He looked up, his eyes meeting Cyrus’ brown ones. As always, he could never deny him.

Closing his eyes, T.J. sighed before opening them again. “Okay. I’ll be done in two hours. You sure you can wait until then?”

Finally breaking into a wide smile, Cyrus nodded. “I’ll wait. As long as it takes.”

T.J.’s heart skipped a beat again. “Okay.”

Giving him one last nod, T.J. entered the classroom and shut the door. He took a deep, calming breath, heading for an empty seat.

Miss Hart greeted him and told him to get his homework out. Strangely, she didn’t say a word about him missing some of the sessions. He was grateful for that.

T.J. was determined, for the next two hours, to try and concentrate on the lesson in front of him so he could do his homework and leave sooner.

Since the other three students were in different grades (one was a freshman and the other two were seniors), Miss Hart had to jump from one to the other.

“Do the first three problems while I take care of Kate and Sam,” she instructed.

T.J. nodded and focused all his concentration on the problems. He took his time, carefully reading and re-reading the numbers and re-checking his steps.

He tried not to think of Cyrus outside, sitting on the floor, waiting for him.

Seeing that Cyrus had taken it upon himself to approach him, never giving up despite T.J.’s pathetic attempts to ignore him, how could he turn him away?

He really wanted to get this session over with so they could talk.

“T.J.? Are you finished?”

His head shot up. “Um… I did the first one.” He gestured to his notebook.

“Do you need more time?”

“Yes, please.”

“Alright.”

Miss Hart went to check on the freshman next.

Meanwhile, T.J. couldn’t help but look towards the closed door.

Swallowing, he shook his head and went back to work.

The two hours flew by, to his relief.

While the others and Miss Hart started getting ready to leave, T.J. stayed rooted to his seat, trying to calm his rising nerves and anxiety by taking deep breaths.

It was time.

“T.J.?”

He looked up to see Cyrus poke his head through the door.

Damnit, he was so cute.

“I’ll be right there,” he said, looking away and packing his things.

Cyrus patiently waited for him. When T.J. was done, they both made their way out of the school.

The walk to the car was silent – almost tense. T.J. was afraid that if he uttered a word, something would break. Cyrus seemed to have the same fear as he simply fell into step beside him.

Sometimes, when they walked side-by-side, their hands would brush. It was a normal occurrence for the two of them ever since they met and neither of them ever brought it up. It just became their thing. T.J. had been tempted many times to reach out and hold that hand.

Right now was no different.

They got to the car and slid in and buckled their seatbelts. Now, in this enclosed space, the silence was even louder.

T.J. cleared his throat. “Um… so… where to?”

Cyrus jumped, probably not expecting him to talk first. “Um… park?”

Of course. It was their place. They had many memories at the park as well as many important conversations.

T.J. started his car and began to drive.

The radio played the newest song from Arianna Grande. Under normal circumstances, Cyrus would probably turn it up and sing along.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a normal circumstance. So, T.J. reached out and turned the volume up a little.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted a little smile playing on Cyrus’ lips.

They made it to the park. This time, Cyrus led the way. He seemed to know where he wanted this talk to happen and T.J. followed closely behind him.

The brunette led them to one of the man-made ponds. He settled on the stone edge and T.J. sat beside him, a little gap in between them.

It reminded him of the time they made up after their fight back in middle school, involving a gun and one of T.J.’s ex-friends. That was probably one of the most important turning points of their friendship. That was when T.J. realized exactly how important Cyrus was to his life.

“I’m sorry,” T.J. said, softly.

Cyrus flashed him a confused look. “Why are you sorry?”

T.J. swallowed. “For the way I acted back then. At the Formal. I just…” He clenched his fists. “I know I should be happy ‘cause… well… you like me back.”

Cyrus sheepishly lowered his head, blushing.

“But… I was… just…” T.J. sighed. “I don’t know why but I felt like I wasn’t worthy enough for you.”

Cyrus’ eyes widened in alarm. “T.J., that’s not it! That’s not why I didn’t say anything.” He swallowed. “I didn’t want to lose you. You’re so important to me. You’re my best friend and I was scared that if something went wrong between us, I’d lose you forever. I don’t want to lose you, Teej.”

Cyrus said the exact same words as before, but this time, T.J.’s thoughts weren’t clouded by his insecurity. He could hear Cyrus loud and clear. This time, his heart warmed and fluttered.

“I started dating other guys, thinking I could get over my feelings for you. And, I guess it worked for a little while, but in the end, I just… I can’t seem to stop wanting to be with you because I…” Cyrus bit his lip. “I love you too much, T.J.”

This time, his heart soared along with his entire being. Cyrus loved him. He loved him!!!

“But why didn’t you tell me about your feelings?” Cyrus asked, looking distressed.

T.J. swallowed. “Same reason you didn’t. I didn’t want to lose you. I was afraid that… I wasn’t good enough for you. Or maybe I’d mess up so badly that you wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore. And… it just seemed that every time I tried, I was always too late. You were already with someone else and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

Cyrus’ lip wobbled. “I-I’m sorry,�� he whispered. “I’m really sorry, T.J. I didn’t know. I was hurting you, wasn’t I? For so long, I’ve been hurting you and I didn’t even realize. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

The tears started gathering around Cyrus’ eyes. Quickly, T.J. scooted over, closing the gap between them, and pulled Cyrus into his arms.

“Hey, it’s okay. Cyrus, I’m fine, okay? I just wanted you to be happy.”

“I-I didn’t know.” Cyrus’ voice was muffled against his shoulder as he clung to T.J. “I-I’m sorry, T.J. I-I’m so so sorry.”

They stayed like that for several minutes. T.J. held back his own tears, knowing that he needed to be strong. If he cried, Cyrus would cry harder. Then, where would they be?

With a sniffle, Cyrus pulled away from his hold, tears tracking his red cheeks. Green eyes met brown ones and they gazed at each other for what felt like hours. He always felt like he could drown in those pools, as cheesy as that sounded.

Placing a hand on his cheek, Cyrus brought his face closer to T.J.’s. “I won’t make you wait anymore, Teej. I’m sorry I took so long.”

His heart skipped a beat.

“Cyrus… I…” T.J. tried not to get choked up on his tears. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

The other boy smiled. “If you’ll still have me… despite everything that happened… I’d like to be with you… please.”

All of a sudden, the world seemed brighter. The air seemed fresher. All the weight in his mind seemed to float away, leaving nothing but lightness.

Was this what being on cloud nine felt like?

T.J. felt himself smile. “I’m done waiting for you, Cyrus.”

The other boy’s eyes widened, looking fearful. “O-Oh…”

He must have misinterpreted what T.J. was trying to say. That seemed to be a common issue with them. But, they could work on it. What mattered now was that they were finally on the same page.

Chuckling, T.J. leaned his head down until their noses were touching. “I’m going to make a move now. If that’s okay?”

Cyrus appeared to breathe in relief, releasing a soft laugh. “Y-Yeah…”

“You’re so cute, you know that?” T.J. breathed, his eyes drifting down to Cyrus’ slightly chapped lips.

“So are you,” the brunette replied, softly.

T.J. brought his eyes back to meet Cyrus’ gaze. “Can I kiss you now?”

“Please.”

Cyrus barely got the word out before T.J. was already leaning in. His eyes fluttering close, he captured the other boy’s lips.

Finally.

A soft gasp was heard from Cyrus.

T.J. kept the kiss light and chaste, not wanting to scare him or push further than what he may be comfortable with. But, as Cyrus placed his hands around the back of his neck, pulling him closer, T.J.’s resolve weakened.

Arms around Cyrus’ waist, he deepened the kiss.

His senses were full of Cyrus. His skin. His scent. The way his fingers played with his hair at the back of his head.

Everything was Cyrus and everything was finally... finally... perfect.

When they broke apart for air, they remained entwined, foreheads pressed against each other’s as they breathed heavily.

“Wow,” Cyrus whispered.

“Yeah,” T.J. agreed.

“We should have done that sooner.”

“Like three years ago.”

Cyrus chuckled, shyly nudging his nose against his. “Better late than never.”

“True.” T.J. pecked his nose. “We were idiots, weren’t we?”

“Yeah…” Cyrus smiled. “I love you, T.J.”

His heart continued to soar. “I love you too, Cyrus.”

This time, it was Cyrus who leaned in to kiss him, taking T.J.’s breath away and holding his heart in his hands.

The wait was long… but so worth it.

A/N: Was it worth the wait? I hope it was!

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@just-fic-me-up

@tjskipping

@completelysterling @theobligatedklutz

@literally-just-for-fanfics

@turtle0verl0rd

@angel28716

@tjlikedhimfirst

@tyrus-endgayme-confirmed

@breadisticks

#tyrus #tyrus who waits for love

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starryeyedkoo · 6 years

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Behind those chocolate eyes - Chapter 1

(credits to @sweetopiaa for the header<3)

Genre: Vampire!Jungkook, Vampire!BTS, High School!AU, fluff, angst

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Warnings: hints of alcoholism

Summary: When some new boys move to town and start at your uneventful high school, one of them catches your eye, but you can’t seem to figure out exactly why. Others think that you’ve caught his eye as well, but his distant personality says otherwise. You decide you want to know him, but the closer the two of you get the more you get the feeling that there’s something he’s not telling you.

Word Count: 2.2k

you can find other chapters and my other works by going to my masterlist in my bio! i would link it on this post, but tumblr killed links, so i can’t do that anymore :)

Another person has come forth to the police reporting to have been attacked and left bleeding at the scene with no recollection of their attacker or what had happened to them. Animal Control units are on the watch thinking it may be a rabid animal loose somewhere on the border of the city. The voice from your car radio gave you shivers as you drove to school. Recently, strange things had been going on in this relatively small, quiet town, and it was all anyone would talk about. You decide to change the radio to a different station in hopes of finding some music to listen to, hoping to calm your nerves before you arrive to school. Just being in a car itself gives you anxiety ever since the accident. You shake your head to clear it of thoughts you wish not to bring up before arriving in the parking lot to meet your friend who had been waiting for you, like she does every morning.

“(Y/n)!” she calls for you with her signature bright smile. Mina had been your friend for years now. You probably wouldn’t have survived middle school without her actually. She had always been the type that everyone liked. She was charismatic, athletic, smart, and not to mention pretty enough for all the guys to fall for her at some point. You had always been the quiet type, but when she first befriended you in sixth grade, she gave all her efforts to break you out of your shell. And it actually worked. You both got along with everyone, well almost everyone, but you two didn’t care who didn’t like you because you had each other.

“Mina, what’s with all the excitement? It’s not like we didn’t see each other yesterday,” you let out a soft laugh at her always-uplifting attitude, present even on early Monday mornings.

“I’m excited because I heard that there are three- that’s right, not one, three- new guys transferring here, and apparently they are all extremely attractive,” she looks at you expectantly to which you reply with a raise of your eyebrow. Yes, you love your best friend, but you had to admit that she could definitely be a bit boy crazy. She immediately notices what you’re thinking and looks at you with an over-dramatic offended expression. “(Y/n)! You cannot tell me that you aren’t at least a little bit excited or curious! Come on, we’re going to see if we can sneak a peek.” She grabs you arm and drags you along as you smile at her determination but still let out an exasperated sigh.

As the two of you walk down towards your first period classes, you can’t help but voice your thoughts aloud. “Don’t you think it’s weird that three new students are transferring here all on the same day?”

“Maybe they’re brothers?” she speculates as she looks at her phone not thinking too much about the subject. You give another small sigh which catches her attention and she turns to you. “Stop acting like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you can’t be bothered.”

“To be honest, Mina, I really can’t. I have a lot more important things to focus on other than boys. Like school. And work after school. And dance. I really don’t have time for anything else right now.” It was true. School kept you busy, and then you had a part time job on top of that to help you father provide for the both of you. He worked, but not nearly as much as he needed to in order to feed the both of you when he was constantly stocking up on alcohol. It was a miracle you even had time for dance outside of school and work. Honestly, sometimes you thought you really didn’t have time, but you knew that you had to keep dancing. It was your outlet and your stress-relief. You would be a mess if you gave it up.

“I know.” She gave you a look of sympathy. “I just worry about you sometimes. You give yourself no time to relax.” This was the side of Mina you hated to see. You loved her and you loved the fact that she cares about you, but sometimes you wish she would understand that you were perfectly okay with the way you were living. The warning bell rings throughout the hallways of the school signaling one minute left to get to class.

“Thank you, Mina, but really, I am perfectly fine.” You gave her a reassuring smile as you turned in the opposite direction headed toward your classroom down the hall. You exchanged ‘See you later’s and parted ways.

You walked into your AP Chemistry classroom, briefly and politely greeted your teacher, and went to your normal seat to make conversation with a few friends that sit beside you. Yuna, a friend of both you and Mina, suddenly stops telling the story of her partying adventures over the weekend as she looks over your shoulder towards the door. She gasps and quickly looks around the group of girls as she whispers, “That’s them. Those are two of the new transfer students.”

Another girl chimes in and says, “Woah, it was definitely not a lie when people were saying they were stunning. Look at them!” You turn around to look towards the door to finally see what is causing everyone to stop and stare. As soon as you find the subject of conversation you see exactly why everyone was acting this way, and, much to your dismay, you find yourself mirroring their actions, not being able to look away. Something about them is immediately so captivating.

The first of the two that walks into the room is the shorter of the two, with blonde hair and plump lips. Something about him makes it hard to look away. You can’t quite pin the reason but there’s something about him that causes you to feel uneasy but so fascinated at the same time. Suddenly, your heart skips a beat as he turns his head to make eye contact with you, eyes scanning over you and the rest of the girls that can’t turn away. He smirks and gives a light chuckle as if he has seen this reaction to him entering a room literally thousands of times before. You’re attention is finally pulled away from the boy when the other new student walks in. He’s taller than the other boy, with dark brown hair and a sharp jawline. You were definitely not the type to think this way too often but this would have to be an exception because he seemed... unreal. There was no other way to describe it. His presence drew you in and had you at a loss for words, thoughts... just at a loss in general. Then your breath gets caught in your throat as he turns and looks into your eyes. Except unlike the first of the two boys, he pays no attention to the other girls in the room. His eyes are fixed solely on you. The only thing on your mind are his deep chocolate brown eyes.

Your attention is finally taken away from the mysterious new student when the teacher announces to the class that there are two new students joining us, although it was pointless because everyone had already noticed. The teacher continues to say that he would be reassigning lab partners due to having new students in the class along with moving onto a new unit. He calls out the new pairs and gives them assigned tables. You’re hoping that maybe this time you will get partnered with Yuna, but those hopes were diminished when he calls out, “(Y/n) and Jungkook,” as he points to your assigned table. You had never heard that name before... meaning it was one of the new students. You walk over to your table and turn to see what you had secretly been hoping would not be the case. It was the taller of the two boys who had joined you at your table, meaning he would be your new lab partner. Jungkook is his name? You looked to him and gave a small smile and attempted to introduce yourself, but you get cut short when your eyes meet his once again. At first glance the chocolate color of his eyes give a warm, welcoming feeling, but the longer you look into them, the more that feeling disappears. You must be insane for thinking this, but it almost feels as if there is something... dark that’s hidden behind them.

That was the longest Chemistry class you had ever had to sit through. Jungkook must already think you’re crazy because of how fidgety you were the entire class. You still had no idea why you even felt this way, but there was something that didn’t seem right about him. You wanted to talk to someone about this- that someone being Mina most likely- but you knew that if you said anything about this sudden “bad feeling,” she would think you had completely lost it.

After a few more classes, it was finally time for lunch, which thankfully, you had at the same time as Mina. You entered the lunchroom towards the table where you, Mina, and a few other friends usually sit only to find that your table had been taken. In particular, it had been taken by the same two boys from AP Chem and a third boy you had never met, presumably the third transfer student. “(Y/n), have you- oh!” Mina came behind you about to start up a conversation when she spotted the exact scene you had spotted moments ago. A smirk crept onto her face, “Hm, that’s a shame. I guess we’ll have to share our table with them for today.” She turned to the other girls and me and motioned us forward.

Unfortunately, it seemed you were the only one to have an objection to this. “Mina, let’s not. I don’t think we should interrupt.” You tried your best to come up with an excuse to do anything but go sit and have an awkward lunch with them.

“Why not?” she responded with a slight frown.

“Just because... Don’t you think it might make them feel weird for all of us to go crowd their table while their trying to have lunch together peacefully?”

“They’re new here and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind to have a few friendly faces to talk to on their first day.” There she goes again being perfect and nice and everything you loved and hated about her at the same time. You were finally about to give in until Yuna continued the conversation.

“Yeah, I think Jungkook would really like to see (Y/n)’s friendly face again.” She gave a bit of a sly smirk as she said that, earning a gasp from Mina.

“What? What are you talking about? (Y/n), you’ve met one of them before?” Mina questions.

“Yuna, what are you talking about?” you try to interject but go unheard as Yuna informs Mina.

“Yeah, Jungkook and Jimin are in (Y/n) and I’s AP Chem class. And Jungkook is (Y/n)’s partner.” You laughed and rolled your eyes.

“Yuna, that doesn’t mean anything,” you try to reason with her, thinking that was all that she had in mind, but she continued.

“You should have seen the way they looked at each other when Jungkook first entered the room. You could literally see the sparks flying.” You felt a bit of heat rise to your face after she had said that. You knew, however, that inside your own mind, there was anything but sparks.

Mina studied your face and let out a cross between a giggle and a shriek as she said, “Oh my god, (Y/n), you’re completely crushing on him!”

You let out an awkward laugh. “That is definitely not true. You guys are thinking way too hard about this.”

“Whatever you say, (Y/n), but as your best friend, I can read you like a book and I know exactly how you feel about this guy.” Mina replied and gave a joking wink, but at the same time, you knew she really wasn’t joking. But you also knew that you were’t lying. You had just met Jungkook, so there was absolutely no way you felt something for him.

By the time you all had turned your attention back to the table, however, another group of girls gathered at the table in an attempt to talk to these apparently ever-so-fascinating boys. You couldn’t help but scoff at the fact that people really couldn’t get enough of them. You all decided to go sit at another table instead, much to Mina and Yuna’s disappointment. For some reason though, throughout the entire lunch period, you found yourself looking over at the girls who were so obviously trying to flirt with Jungkook. Watching it gave you a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach. A bad feeling. Bad as in it made you upset. But what exactly was the feeling? It couldn’t be jealousy... could it? Could Mina be right about you actually feeling something for Jungkook? You mentally slapped yourself for even considering that possibility. You literally just met the guy, there’s no way.

But there was one thing for certain. There was something so fascinating to you about this boy you couldn’t take your mind off of. You had to know more about him, Jeon Jungkook.

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kokina-kizoku · 6 years

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Noblesse fic: His last wish -Chapter 1-

His last wish, by Kokina-Kizoku

Summary: Raizel disappeared, leaving his servant devastated by loneliness and mourning, slowly sinking into madness. But it seems that someone in this world still wants Frankenstein to get up. (Rating: K+. Relationship of friendship between Frankenstein and Ragar Kertia.)

Author’s note: Here is the first chapter! I recommend going to read the prologue before for a better understanding. It can be found here:https://kokina-kizoku.tumblr.com/post/174870899004/noblesse-fic-his-last-wish-prologue The prologue takes place in the past, and this chapter in the '' present '', after the fight with the First Old and before the one with Crombell. I thank @foggymagic for correcting my horrible English grammar. I am really grateful!

The laboratory was plunged into darkness, with a few lights flashing faintly on experimental machines. Stifled murmurs and muffled entreaties were heard in the other room as M-21, Tao, and Takeo cautiously advanced in his direction.

"Please, let me live, I won't ask for anything else, just my life... argh! Please!" A shiver ran down the spines of the modified humans. The scary atmosphere and the piercing shouts were more than enough to call forward horrible, bloody memories. Frankenstein had decided to investigate in this abandoned Union base, see if he could find data on Doctor Crombell and the experiments he had led here. The'd chosen to follow him discreetly at the last moment, just in case he met with some ill-intentioned enemies. The scientist was in no condition to fight after his duel with the former First Elder, they all knew, but no one dared say this aloud.

They had mentally prepared for this anxiety, especially M-21. However, they had forgotten the extent. Atrocious, the feeling of suffocation pressing on them, rooms stagnant and putrid, filled with corpses of subjects…. He had seen enough to chill his soul there and the three friends looked at one another anxiously, trying to reassure each other.

"Ha ha, I expected it." Said Tao, laughing nervously. "I can't believe, all the same, that we were able to spend most of our lives in a place so horrifying. We've gotten used to living in a bright and reassuring house now…." "It's true," answered Takeo, peeking though the cracked door where the shouts came from. "Frankenstein can handle himself, but it is strange that he so strongly insisted on coming alone.... We did well to follow him. Apparently this laboratory is still used by the Union." M-21 steeled himself, moving towards the door and opened it with a hesitant push, entering the room, followed by his two companions. Nothing would have been able to prepare them for what waited for them inside. Walls were splashed with fresh blood, the smell of death floated in the air, and Frankenstein stood, his expression terrifying and glinting with hatred, his white fingers squeezed around the throat of an unfortunate scientist who begged for his life, the face contorted with fear. He tried to speak, but the more he attempted, the more the blond man tightened his hand, his jaw clenched and mauve flashes of lightning radiated off his body. "I beg you, just let me live!" "What? Live? What makes you think you deserve it? WHY WOULD A PERSON LIKE YOU DESERVE TO LIVE?" M-21, Tao and Takeo were paralyzed with horror and bewilderment. They knew that Frankenstein tended to be wild and impulsive, but never they had seen him act... so cruel. Finally, M-21 leaped forward and grabbed his arm, ignoring his instincts roaring at him to run away as fast as possible. It was Frankenstein, he would not hurt him, right? The man tensed when he touched him, without looking him. All his attention was concentrated towards the object of his hatred. "STOP THAT!" Shouted M-21. Frankenstein's eyes widened upon hearing the voice of the modified human. His fingers relaxed slightly around the neck of his victim. "You are a good person." He pursued in a lower voice, "You cannot become like them…. Stop, please, this man is clearly weaker than you." The scientist released him with abrupt movement, letting his arm fall along his body. He turned the head slowly and looked at M-21. The murderous light in his blue eyes vacillated then disappeared. "What are you doing here?" "We... we followed you. We wanted to be certain that you would be safe." Frankenstein did not answer. He his eyes blankly stared into space, his tightened fists trembling with frustration. There was no more anger in his eyes, only despair. "Are you OK?" Asked M-21 as he slowly approached. "Someone told you bad news?" "Yes," he murmured. Another moment of silence followed, broken only by the moaned of the Union scientist who crawled as far as possible away from Frankenstein. He spared the scientist a contemptuous glance, then turned around by throwing to the trio. "There is somebody whom I have to go save. Leave, and warn master that I shall not return home before sundown." "But," tried to object Tao, still worried about him, "we should not..." "No. Leave me alone." "... Good. Come on, guys." The three modified humans left the room after a last look at Frankenstein. "I have never seen him so upset. What do you think is going on? Who does he have to rescue?" Questioned M-21, quickly walking to leave the base as fast as possible. "I don't know." Retorted Takeo. "Normally, for him to lose control of himself so much, it'd be because his master is in danger or something of the like... Let's hurry to warn Raizel-nim, I have a bad feeling about this." They left the base and flew away in the setting sun, in the direction of Seoul. Remaining in the laboratory, Frankenstein did his best to calm down. He had seen well that his attitude had shocked his children. Under normal circumstances, he would have explained to them what was happening, but nothing was normal, exactly. He squeezed the USB key Lunark had given him a few hours ago in his hand. "Frankenstein, it is very important that you are alone when you view its contents", she had said. "I advise you to go to the Union laboratory in the Seoul suburbs, because the message it contains is bound to it. You can take advantage of it to research Crombell." He had followed the instructions of the she-wolf, reluctantly. She had strongly insisted that it was important that he see the contents of the key alone, and he had understood why from the first minute of the video. As he thought about it again, he felt the hate coming back to goad him and he had to restrain himself so as not to attack the Union scientist who writhed on the floor in a corner of the room again.

Frankenstein entered the USB key the reader of the computer and opened the only file which it contained. The face of Lunark appeared to the screen by sizzling. The she-wolf seemed disturbed, and when she began to speak, it was in a trembling tone that he had never heard from her before. "Hello. I preferred to tell you this information by video, it will be easier at the same time for you and for me... I... I would have probably had to speak you about it earlier but it was not the right time, he would have been too dangerous for you to try to invade a Union base while they were still active." Lunark closed eyes a few moments and continued slowly, as if she planned that the next sentence would change everything: "I learnt that you... had been the friend of Ragar Kertia." From those words, dozens of questions, some crazier than others flooded the mind of the fair haired human. How had she known? Why mention it now? It seemed completely absurd that Lunark appeared so distressed simply talking about a person of the past… "A person of the past?" He realized the thought with a pang in his heart. "Since when do I consider him like that?" "When I was in the Union," continued Lunark, "I had access to certain secret information. This is the way I discovered that the former Leader of the Kertia Clan had not entered eternal sleep as everybody had believed..." Frankenstein's hands began to tremble."It's not possible, it can't ..." "I made certain searches on this matter. Apparently, he would have asked to the Previous Lord for permission to stay in this world... because..." He stopped breathing when she kept silent, camera showing her eyes clearly downcast. "Because what?" And the recorded, mechanical voice of the she-wolf, started again, sending his emotions into turmoil. "...because he worried about you. He was afraid that you would do something out of desperation after your master departed... He abandoned his Soul Weapon and decided to exile himself some time before going to meet you." "Why? Why didn't you ever come? What happened, Ragar?'' "And that is when the Union came into play." A chilling and crawling fear began to sneak like poison Frankenstein's mind. He had already felt it before, this human feeling that he normally characterized as weakness. The terror of losing his master, of seeing his die. The paralysis which seizes our senses when we are afraid for somebody that we care for. He began to glimpse the truth between Lunark's awkward sentences and it was abominable. "Frankenstein, I am sincerely sorry... they... beat him easily given that he did not have his weapon. You can probably suspect that happened...they looked long time for a noble to conduct experiments on and... finally, he should be in here somewhere, in this base. Officially, it's been abandoned, but Crombell wanted to keep the secret on this particular case, I found out accidentally by searching archives. He is still alive, I'm absolutely certain, but who knows in what state…. You should hurry. Goodbye, and good luck." The saddened face of the she-wolf flashed on the screen then disappeared. The next moment, the experimental machines, medical instruments and the laboratory's windows flew into pieces, electric purple flashes of lightning radiating everywhere. No scream in the world would have known how to describe the extent of the hatred which burned Frankenstein's heart. His imagination ran wild, images, growing ever horrifying, following one after another in his head. Ragar's thin body attached to a torture chair, blood flowing from his mouth and wounds, a severe pain glittering in his eyes which had formerly looked at him with so much friendship. His desperate roarings resounding between the walls of a laboratory, Ragar twisting in suffering, humiliated and used as an object, calling him, cursing him…. "I curse you, Frankenstein! All this is of your fault!" Frankenstein dug his nails into his palms, a crazed expression etched into his face. He did not feel physical pain anymore. His anguish had become too powerful. "I curse you... We curse you! Frankenstein, why is a monster like you is alive?" "ENOUGH!" He fell on his knees, his throat tightening. Dangerous. He began to hyperventilate... Suddenly, the door opened with crash and a scientist penetrated the room. "Hey! Who are you? What are you here for... URGH!" Frankenstein's eyes glowed purple as he squeezed the throat of the man, murmuring in a choked, rabid voice: "What did you do with my friend?" Frankenstein slid the USB key in his pocket. He had lived difficult times in his life, but this one was terrible and destabilizing. Ragar, whom he had always assumed as having entered eternal sleep had suffered for centuries... "Is it my fault?" He wondered, an even more potent sadness invading him. "Not, it's not me," he decided. "It's are them. Fortunately, M-21 had stopped me, or I probably would have killed this wretch without giving him time to explain where Ragar is." "Where is he?" He asked with an semblance of calm. "The noble you've been using for your experiments," he added after receiving a confused and terrified look.

"In...in room B-71...the cellar…."

He hid his face in his hands when Frankenstein advanced slowly towards him, but he only crossed and left through the door which led to the cellar, much to his relief. The blond human went down the stairs, descending them as quickly as possible. He met nobody on his way and reached the room B-71, breaking the lock with his foot. The wall cracked when he entered, slowly this time, afraid of what he was going to discover. That Ragar lived sent him into a whirlwind of avenging fury. The walls of the room and the lights disappeared from his vision, the only still clear thing which he could see was a tank filled with medicinal water, where the body of his friend floated. His hair, fine, fair, and loose, tousled around his slightly tilted forwards head and caught on an oxygen mask. Lacerations in the process to healing over stretched across his torso and arms. His eyes were closed, and his face was peaceful, as if he slept. It had been years since Frankenstein had seen him and he stopped, shocked. He still looked like the Ragar he remembered, but his body was clearly in poor condition. As for his mind, he preferred not to think of it…. He had seen people lose their sanity and become seriously traumatized due to undergoing experiments. "Ragar is stronger than that," he tried to reassure himself. "He will be fine, but his wounds are deep. How dare they use him like that…." He squeezed his fists before releasing them, feeling powerless. Getting angry would be of no use, and the murderous desire abandoned him completely, leaving only sadness, a heavy and oppressive sorrow.

He rested his hand on the glass and slowly, his shoulders sagged and he fell to his knees. The words of Lunark resounded in his head. ''He remained in this world because he worried about you.''

Frankenstein recovered with a jump, breaking the glass all at once with a single punch. Flashes of blue light ignited at the bottom of the tank, an alarm probably, and the glass crumbled off in a deafening crackle, water rushing between cracks. It splashed the human in passage, taking the body of the former clan leader into arms of his friend with its steam. Without paying attention to the unpleasant coolness of the medicinal water, he stooped gently, supporting Ragar on the floor and holding him with one hand.

Frankenstein took the Ragar's wrist to verify his pulse. His hand fell limp and his body was motionless, but a beating remained, in the big relief of the scientist which removed carefully the oxygen mask of the face of the noble. His head fell again against Frankenstein's shoulder a jerky breath shaking him. His body twitched and he caught the his friend's arm with surprising strength. "Who ...?" The syllable springs from his lips only to be interrupted by a groan of pain. The human removed his jacket in a fast movement, covering Ragar's shoulders, his fingers trembling slightly. "You are... Fran...ken...stein?" He murmured, hoarse and low. "Yes. Try to breathe slowly, you are safe." "Are you... real?" Frankenstein choked on his words seeing his friend's broken look. "I am here." He answered, masking his concern. "I'll find you something to wear, don't move." He set Ragar slowly down on the ground and got ready to leave when he felt a hand grabbing his wrist. "Do not leave... not…. You seem so real this time. You are not still going to leave again..." He felt his heart tighten. His friend was clearly delusional. His whole body trembled, his breath shaky from cramps of pain and he clung on to him with the strength of a drowning man. To see the proud head of the family reduced to this condition ached and incited fury and once again, Frankenstein silently curses the Union for all the atrocities which they had made Ragar Kertia endure. "I stay, I promise it to you. I'm only going to get clothes. I will take you away from this place. Do you understand?" He nodded as a sign of approval and released Frankenstein's wrist, who went to a cupboard to try to find something to dress him. His sight fell on a bundle of papers and he frowned. The series of figures and notations seemed familiarity him... His breath halted when he figured out why. "This is... my data." He murmured, his lips bloodless. "They used my experimental data for..." He lowered his head abruptly and forced back the violent emotions forming in his stomach. Guilt, hatred, sadness. It was not the moment let feelings overcome him. He moved on with an air of indifference, he withdrew a spotless scientist's coat. He returned to Ragar and helped him dress in it, then he wrapped an arm around his waist and another one around his shoulders. "If you are too weak to walk, let yourself be carried, it's nothing. I... know it's embarrassing, but it'll be over soon... Ragar?" The noble didn't react. His front was slowly tilted against the shoulder of Frankenstein and his entire body was relaxed. "He fainted," Realized the human with concern. "I will have to move fast." He lifted him in his arms, careful not to touch his wounds and rushed outside the laboratory, leaving the base as fast as he could. As soon as they were outside, the fresh air and the intoxicating sensation of freedom partially calmed his restless spirit. The night was dark and the wild wind rustled leaves of the tall trees that surrounded the isolated building. The lights of the city shone far off and Frankenstein flew away in its direction, carrying the inanimate body of his dearest friend. To be continued...

#noblesse #fic #frankenstein #hislastwish #lunark #kertia #ragarkertia #friendship #hurt #myfic #manhwa #story #fanfiction.net #noble #cadis etrama di raizel #myart

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samingtonwilson · 7 years

Text

Marriage Material - Part 15

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14

Summary: in this chapter, you’ve changed.

Warnings: language

A/N: we’re going from a jim chapter to, like, the exact opposite.

You wanted to jam a scalpel into something. Not someone, thankfully, but something. Like a pillow, or a biobed mattress, or a CPR dummy. You wanted to dig the scalpel into an inanimate something and tug, and rip, and tear. You wanted to dig the cotton from the pillows, the sorry lack of cotton from the mattresses, and you wanted to pull the rubber covering the CPR dummy apart.

It wasn’t common for you to have such violent urges. You weren’t the most gentle, feather-like person in the least, but you certainly never felt like ripping sheets and thick rubber apart. You usually fought the urge to scream if you were angry— a lot of the time you gave in, too. You screamed into pillows, screamed in the shower, screamed in the confines of your quarters back when you lived solo.

Now that you lived with Jim, your space was his space, your pillow was his pillow, your shower was his shower. Unfortunately, you two would be in that space, near that pillow, and in that shower at the same time frequently. That meant you couldn’t scream non-sexually, you couldn’t release non-sexually.

All of that build-up, all of that clutter, all of that sudden spike in reason for said clutter, it just gave you the strongest frustration you’d ever felt. Your hands itched, your head ached, your chest felt weirdly contradictory.

You didn’t understand the feeling— the strange full but empty, too fast but too slow, anxious but calm feeling that you got each time you saw Jim, you heard Jim, you were near Jim. You hate it— all the clutter, all the feeling.

You were frustrated and angry and tired. You wanted to rip a goddamn pillow with a scalpel and scream while doing it.

You hopped off the biobed you were seated atop, your boot almost slipping on the deck plating you’d spilled a little water onto earlier. You caught yourself on the edge of the adjacent counter, laughing in relief and mild embarrassment. “Fuck.”

“Maybe don’t consider acrobatics as an alternative career, sugar.”

You made a face— eyes narrowed, single eyebrow raised, lips turned down in a frown. “We’re all good here? I can leave?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Leonard answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You’re healthy, whatever.”

“A little dissatisfied you could find nothing wrong with me, Len?”

He clicked his tongue with a single shake of his head. “Sweetheart, it’s a doctor’s dream to one day find every patient healed, every patient healthy, every nonpatient the same— you should know that.”

He set his PADD down and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m dissatisfied because of that,” he added with a flourished motion towards your face.

Your smile was sarcastic and a little outraged. “Don’t boost my self-esteem too much now.”

“You’re lookin’ a little troubled is all.”

You shook your head. “Not troubled.”

“Yeah? Could’ve had me fooled with all the frownin’ and sighin’.”

A sigh, a wave of your hand, and a shrug later, you replied, “Just tired, Bones.”

“Bones?” he repeated, eyebrows skyrocketing. “Good fucking lord, darlin’. You’re turnin’ into your damn husband.”

“It just came out,” you laughed, shaking your head again. “Holy shit, he’s really— That man’s changing everything.”

“We need to be gettin’ you out of those quarters of yours more often.”

“Are you insinuating that I’m having too much sex?”

He snorted. “Only your mind went there.”

“It’s because I genuinely think I am having too much sex.” You laughed and nodded when he shot you a look of disgust. “You’re my doctor! I should be able to tell you these things!”

“I trust you’re bein’ responsible about it.”

You nodded. “I’m keeping up with my birth control and we’re safe. Also, I haven’t slept with anyone else since my drunken wedding, I’m hoping he hasn’t slept with anyone else since my drunken wedding— he was clean before it, I was clean before it. We’re good.”

“Assuming? You know better than anyone that man hasn’t so much as looked at anyone else since your drunken wedding.”

You smiled wider. “Yeah, you’re right. Turned a new leaf, that one.”

“He’s turned an entire fuckin’ tree.”

Laughing as you walked toward the door, you nodded in agreement. “Tell him I can’t stand him when you see him tonight. Tell him the sight of his ugly mug brings me so much devastation, I feel like my insides set themselves on fire.”

“Tell him you’re deeply in love with him and that the sight of him brings you so much joy, your insides feel like they’re jumpin’. Got it.”

He wasn’t far from the mark.

“Something here was lost in translation,” you mumbled, rolling your eyes as you left the exam room and started down the empty, plain white corridor to leave the medbay.

You hissed through gritted teeth and wore your most apologetic expression as you strolled through the medbay doors and saw the disappointed look over Uhura’s features. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Physical ran late! Len thought he saw something in my ear— Batman, or something.”

She scoffed. “What?”

You nodded toward the hall so she’d follow you. “Your pediatrician never did that? Look in your ear and tell you some weird cartoon character or superhero was in there.”

“She did, I just didn’t think my grown ass friend would use that in a joke.”

“Listen, I could have been a comedian.”

“And audiences everywhere thank their lucky stars you decided against it.”

You mouthed her words imitatively, leaning against the back wall of the turbolift you were now occupying, calling out for the deck of your quarters. “I’ll ignore that and pretend to be interested now when I ask you how everything’s going. So, how’s everything going?”

“Oh, incredible,” Uhura laughed with a roll of her dark eyes. She smoothed her hand over the top of her tied hair, her fingers trailing back to her ponytail and tightening the elastic band there. “Not overworked, not tired at all.”

“Ah, yes. The Enterprise is home to the most well-rested officers in the fleet.”

She laughed again, walking down the corridor beside you once the lift doors slid open. “What about you, starlight?”

You stuck your tongue out at her playfully. “Everything is stellar. I’m living the fucking dream.”

“I know you’re being sarcastic but I’d kill for this little dream you’re living.”

“Yeah?” you asked, entering the code on the control panel beside your door. “Is that why you decided not to marry your green-blooded, pointy-eared—”

She pushed at your shoulder and you laughed, amending your words with a quick, “Spock. Is that why you decided not to marry Spock?”

“That decision was made based less upon living a potentially wonderful life where you and the one you love are committed to one another and based more upon not wanting to get married in the same place that one popstar married her sixty-six minute third husband.”

Once the door slid open, Uhura slipped through and plopped onto the couch less than gracefully. She dramatically draped her arm over her eyes, lying back as you sat on the floor. “No offense, of course.”

You threw your boots aside, stretching your legs before you. “None taken, Ny. Marriage isn’t a huge dream, though. I mean, look at my parents— they can’t stand each other.”

“Yes, but look at you and Jim.”

“We’ve been married for seventeen seconds and look at me.” You pointed at your frown. “Do I look happy?”

She frowned in consideration, setting her arm at her side again. “Everyone has their problems.”

You snorted. “Right. According to literature on the subject, we’re still in our honeymoon phase. Me walking around angry isn’t—” you sighed and shook your head. “It’s not how I’m supposed to feel.”

“How are you supposed to feel?”

“I’m supposed to be happier, I’m supposed to run around telling everyone how much I love him, I’m supposed to tell him how much I love him.” You bit down on your tongue for a second. “I mean, I obviously tell him that— we wouldn’t be married if I’d never told him I love him.”

“I get what you’re saying. You feel like you don’t say it enough.”

You nodded slowly. “Sure.”

“Why are you angry anyway?” she asked, sighing dramatically as she rose from the couch and walked to the replicator in the kitchen. She set the first plate she could find under the machine and called for something you didn’t pay attention to, leaning her hip against the edge of the counter. “He do something?”

You shrugged a shoulder. “It’s stupid.”

“Doesn’t matter, I want to know.”

“He just—” you shook your head again, clicking your tongue. “Nothing, eat your…” you craned your neck to sneak a peek at her plate as she passed you with it. You were unsuccessful in your attempts. “What is that?”

“Mango.”

“Give me some!”

She shook her head and sat cross-legged atop the couch. “Not until you tell me what he’s doing to make you angry.”

“You know, there’s more to our lives than just the men in them,” you said, pushing yourself off the ground and sitting beside her. You tried to take a piece of the cut fruit, growling when she pulled the plate away.

“No one knows that better than I do. But your marriage is a big part of your life— it’s supposed to be.” She set her hand on both of yours, her eyes meeting yours as she smiled a little. “Plus, I want you to smile again. You were doing that a lot just a few weeks ago.”

“I was younger then. More naïve.”

Uhura snorted, rolling her eyes. She set the plate between the two of you. “Now tell me.”

You took a deep breath. You picked up a perfectly ripe, slippery piece of peeled mango and took a bite— it could never be as good as the mango you got on Earth, but it was an adequate replacement. “He just— He looks me in the eyes all the time.”

“And?”

“It’s just—” you groaned when you felt like the words wouldn’t make sense, shaking your head. “I don’t make eye contact usually. You know that! I almost passed you yesterday when you said hi because I was busy looking at my damn boots. And he— He’s always making eye contact with me. When we’re talking, when we’re fighting, when we’re having sex. He just keeps his eyes, like, in mine all the time.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

You shrugged. “Nothing, I’ve just never had that before. No one’s ever wanted me to keep my eyes on them, no one’s ever been that interested in how I feel nonverbally. Which isn’t even that bad but he looks at me like he really sees me, not like he’s looking past me like my parents do and not like he’s looking through me like most guys do.”

“All of that sounds amazing,” she laughed. “But I do understand it being a little uncomfortable if it’s new to you.”

“Exactly. And he’s one of those people, you know? The ones that always want to touch you, or hold you, or kiss you, or just be around you. And, God, it’s so nice that he’s like that because it’s all I want, too, I just suck at actually doing it.”

You tipped your nose to the ceiling, your eyes sliding shut as a small smile pulled at your lips. There was warmth in your fingertips, in your stomach, on your eyelids— you felt as if the sun was shining on you just from thoughts of Jim. “And there’s a lot inside of him. A lot of love, a lot of light and he just wants to give it away. Obviously you don’t grow up the way he did without a touch of the opposite filled in you but he channels it so well and he just— Fuck, he’s so good. Everything about him is so good.”

Uhura was smiling at you. “Still not getting what there is to be mad at here.”

Your eyes opened. “I’m not that good. There isn’t that much inside of me and, if there is, I’ve never acknowledged it. I’m also scared of all of this— of everything in him, of how good he is, of how he just never looks away. Because I—” you shook your head and took another deep breath. “Nyota, I’m so in love with him I don’t even know what to do with myself anymore. I hate him for making me fall so deeply in love with him, I hate myself for marrying him, I hate all of this because it’s scary, and I don’t deserve it, and it’s so real. I’m not playing house with my best friend, I’m married to him, and I’m in love with him, and I’m admitting to myself that I’m in love with him.”

She was still smiling when you brought your eyes back to hers. “You’ve changed.”

“What? No, I haven’t,” you scoffed. “Say something else, I’ll say something snarky back. Watch.”

“You really have changed. A few months ago you were barely able to admit you loved your favorite movie because you were embarrassed that you felt so strongly about it,” she said, her smile hurting your cheeks just to look at. “Now look at you. Marriage suits you.”

You couldn’t help your own smile. “Everything suits me.”

The two of you were a good ten minutes into a discussion about a medical journal you’d just read suggesting the potential end to the common cold on Earth when the door chimed and slid open. Your eyes immediately flitted in its direction, heat spreading over you almost insultingly so. You looked away when blue eyes met your own.

“Captain,” Uhura said simply, a nod in his direction and a sly smile in yours. “We were just talking about you.”

Jim raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Someone once told me if you talk bad about another person, you’re actually wiping out their bad karma.”

“Who said it was something bad?”

He snorted, walking to kitchen but taking a detour to press his lips to the top of your head. “It’s the two of you, Lieutenant. Of course it’s something bad.”

You shook your head. “We stopped talking about you ages ago and it was nothing bad, soțul meu. I can’t believe you’d think so little of me— your actual wife.”

“I know you too well to fall for that,” he told you, motioning towards your widened eyes and pouted lips. “Might’ve worked on me when we first met but not anymore.”

“I’m serious, you know. I was being very nice. I said you’re only mildly irritating.”

“Can you hear that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes before he lifted a glass of ice water from under the replicator. “It’s the sound of my ego inflating.”

“I’m surprised it hasn’t burst yet.”

Uhura nodded to herself, handing you the empty plate that was in her lap as she stood. “That’s my cue to leave. All of this married banter is disgusting.”

“You’re only leaving because Jim being here means Spock’s free now,” you pointed out, hopping off the couch plate-in-hand.

She gasped playfully, walking out of the door with a shouted, “How dare you!”

You set the plate in the sink, laughing quietly until you noticed Jim watching you. You turned to face him. “What?”

“Nothing,” he answered with the hint of the smirk. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Bones told me something.”

“God, if he told you looking at you brings me so much joy that my insides feel like they’re jumping—”

He snorted. “He didn’t tell me that. He told me you called him ‘Bones.’”

You shook your head. “I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“I didn’t. You’re going off what Bones told you, that’s hearsay.”

“You just called him ‘Bones’ again!” he laughed, reaching for you and wrapping his arm around your waist to pull you closer.

“It’s your fault! He’s all you talk about and that’s how you refer to him.”

“He isn’t all I talk about.”

“Yeah? You sure about that? You even talk about him in your sleep. Last night you told him to stop chasing you around the ship with a hypo.”

Jim’s eyes widened. “Wh— I didn’t—”

Laughing, you grabbed a fistful of his uniform and tugged him even closer. “You didn’t, but the fear in your eyes was real, sunshine. You knew it was a possibility.”

PART 16

lil tag list: (tell me if you’d like to be tagged): @feelmyroarrrr @to-pick-ourselves-up-7@star-trekkin-across-theuniverse @webhoard @dirajunara @the-space-goddess-16@whiteandblackkeys @sugarshai @goodnightwife @anyakinamidala @iwillstaywiththemforever @majisean @bbparker @heyjess-marie@kirkaholic123@thepjofanqueen@buckybuckling @da1120@dudahmautner@purelittleblueberry @insposcollective @our-chaoticwhispers @procrastinace @misbehaving146 @thenextdoorangel @equineaddictx @sarkastodon @20th-centu-fairy-girl @arrowswithwifi

#anyway here it is #don't mind the typos!!!#jim #jim kirk #jim kirk imagine #kirk imagine #jim kirk x reader #kirk x reader #star trek #star trek imagine #captain kirk #captain kirk imagine #captain kirk x reader #whooooooooooo we out

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glindalovesshoes · 7 years

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Pearls Of Time II (Sneak Peek)

DAY 6 of @oqpromptparty here prompt 104: Sex on the kitchen table (counter). It’s a sneak peek of the new chapter of my Pearl Harbor AU that will be posted fully tomorrow! So be on the lookout for more :)

"Hello, Lieutenant Locksley."

Ever since he got promoted she calls him Lieutenant and damn, it does things to him. She knows, he can tell from the smirk on her face she knows what she's doing to him and she's severely enjoying the power she knows she holds over him.

"Hello, Mrs. Locksley. You're home early today. I wasn't expecting you until later this evening."

"Well, the hospital has more than enough nurses to coddle that poor officer who's still not feeling better. I thought I should use the time more wisely and prepare the lasagna for dinner tomorrow." Regina entwines herself from his embrace and is ready to tug her apron back on. "One for us and one for David on Friday."

Robin hums appreciatively. "I already told him he's welcome to come over on Friday… He's going to love you. My wife bewitching my fellow comrades with her magical cooking skills. Should I be worried?"

"Never!" Laughing, Regina tiptoes once again to press a hiss onto his cheek, this time not bothering to wipe away the lipstick. He doesn't care. When they're at home, she can leave her marks on him as much as she wants. "I might bake my lasagna for my friends, but my apple-raisin pie is only for you."

"Because I'm the only one who likes to have raisins in it," Robin counters, making her laugh. She bites her lip, ready to throw a comment back at him, but instead Robin kisses her again, this time a bit longer. Carefully he reaches behind her, making sure the counter is clear of any chopping boards and knives before he walks her two steps backward and lifts her up onto the surface. Regina giggles into the kiss, moans when he does that thing with his tongue and leaves her lips in order to pepper kisses and licks onto her skin all the way down to her neck.

"Mmmh, Robin… h… how about you go… go get changed while I… finish… mmmh, yes there."

He's close to her ear now, nibbling at her earlobe before he grins. "How about I finish you first…" It's not what he should be doing right now. He should ask her to sit down with him because he has to tell her something, but there's this selfish little voice in his head that insists he should cherish the moment, the easiness that's still between them, which will be destroyed the moment he opens his mouth about the subject. Pretense is easy, and right now that he has the choice between pretending everything is fine and feasting off his wife or telling her he is leaving to fight in the war three days from now, he would be stupid to pick the latter.

Regina seems more than eager to follow through with his plan, spreads her legs and grasps his uniform in order to find some balance. Brushing up the skirt of her dress, Robin makes quick work of unclasping the garter from the nylon stockings which he let slip down to her feet, careful not to rip them. There is a shortage due to the war and he won't have her throw another tantrum because he ripped one of her precious pair of stockings because he's just always a little too overeager when it comes to sex with her. The appreciative hum she gives him shows that he's right. The underpants turn out to be more of a challenge and in moments like this he just wishes she wouldn't wear anything underneath.

Robin presses his hand against her core, can feel the warmth but not the expected slickness just yet. It's fine, they've just started. In teasing little twirls, he rolls his thumb over the fabric, earning a gasped 'Robin!'. Teasing her is fun, but not very much so when he feels himself grow hard in his uniform. It's not like he wants to make this a quick affair, he's promised himself to always finish her off properly, but he needs to… wants to… One finger slips underneath her underwear and damn, she’s much wetter than he expected already.

“I need these off immediately!”

“Not stopping you,” she breathes out heavily and fuck, he loves the deep tingle her voice gets whenever she’s aroused. Robin draws away from her with one last lingering kiss, waiting for Regina to find support with her own hands before she pushes herself up slightly so he can pull down her garments in one swift practiced move. Everything below her waistline is bare now. Regina’s skin is smooth, and once again he’s amazed at how much time and care she invests to keep her body perfect like this. He never asked her to do that… though he’d be lying if he said her beauty wasn’t one of the things he fell in love with the first time he saw her.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” Robin whispers, his voice lined with obvious need. Regina doesn’t hesitate but pulls his face back on hers, catching his lower lip between her teeth and pulling lightly at it. Robin’s on her within seconds, sucking at her already sweet swollen lips until she finally opens up and he can devour her with his mouth. His forefinger traces up her inner thigh until he reaches her middle, pressing down gently and making her hips buckle forward in response.

Even though he knows all she wants is a quick release, Robin teases her clit with his thumb, swiping from the top right down to her soaked entrance. She’s hot, how and pounding and she’ll probably hate him for having scrub the counter clean with alcohol once their done, but now he enjoys her being putty in his hands, aching for him. He sucks at her tongue the moment his middle finger slips into her, earning a surprised moan from her that strikes him right down to the core. While his cock is twitching in his pants, eager to be let out, he tries to ignore his own needs and make this about her. Maybe later, when she’s mad at him she will remember… but please, none of that now.

Regina seems to catch up on his mind’s distraction, breaking the kiss. “What’s wrong?”

Robin shakes his head as if the movement is going to erase his thoughts before a seductive smiles pulls up on his lips. “Just thinking of all the things I want to do to you.”

She bites her lower lip again and what did he ever do to be blessed with a wife that was Regina former Mills now Locksley.

“How about instead of thinking about them, you actually start doing the… eeeeh...mmmmmh!” Regina goes when he curls his middle finger and presses up, hitting the spot that makes her almost see stars.

“You were saying…?”

“Yes, Robin… More… Please!” Who is he to let his wife beg? While he continues the play with his middle finger, he slowly sinks down, adjusting his knees on the cold tile floor, not caring they're going to hurt like hell come morning. He's at just the right height now, breathing in the significant smell of her juices. For a second he considers licking his finger, but when he looks up he sees how far gone she is, with her head leaned back against the hanging cupboards behind her, eyes closed and mouth slightly open. Later then.

"I love you," is all he mumbles before he spreads her folds with his free hand and leans forward, taking first one, then a second tentative lick. Fuck. Delicious. Who needs dinner when he can have her? She's the best thing to ever happen to him, he's one lucky bloody bastard.

The sound Regina makes the moment he licks through her folds, sucks at her clit just a moment before curling his finger to hit the spot inside her is anything but meant for public. Robin loves that he can make her feel like this, make her feel so damn good about herself. She's gorgeous, perfect and thinking that come Sunday he might never…

"Robin… I need you, please!"

With his head back in the game, he dips forward, his tongue wrapping around her, licking, sucking, while his finger pumps in and out of her, making sure to curl every time at just the right moment. Regina is close, he can feel it, can see her thighs trembling and hands shaking. Her breathing is down to quick short breaths, only interrupted by small moans and groans and it's only a matter of seconds before she comes right here, right there…

The second finger he adds is her undoing. She half gasps, half yelps, hands now firmly manifested in Robin's hair while her orgasm overcomes her. Robin doesn't pull back even though it hurts, licks and sucks and pounds through it, until her shaking body has slipped so close to the edge she actually threatens to fall down. It's too much for him, pleasuring her, making sure she won't fall off the counter, his own cock that's pressing violently against the fabric of his pants. So he stops pumping his fingers, only licks at her clit until she's quieted down.

The moment he finally decides to look up, he sees her smiling down at him, lipstick slightly smudged and hair tousled, but gorgeous and satisfied nonetheless. Robin lifts his fingers to his mouth, sucking her juices off while looking at her and the love in her eyes is clear. Slowly, he gets up, knees slightly hurting from the floor but he won't complain, not when she's looking at him like this.

"I love you," Regina whispers back, drawing him in for a soft kiss which she hopes expresses her gratitude.

"I love you more," he answers chuckling, burying his head against her neck, breathing her in.

#glinda writes #oq fic #oq ff #outlaw queen #oq prompt party #regina mills #robin locksley #pot #pearl harbor au #pearls of time

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c-rankin93 · 7 years

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SHE'S NO YOU - Ch.3

A/N: This chapter is more about family as you soon will tell. And you get to see a sneak peek into Finns head. --- CHAPTER THREE: SMILE FOR THE CAMERA --- RAE POV: "He did what!" I was currently at my parents house in Hoboken, New Jersey lounging out in the family room with my eldest brother Robert. My parents were playing in the backyard with the grandkids except my eldest nephew Tomas who was in the kitchen with his mother Maria- Robert's wife of 20 years. Robert was the only one of my three brothers that still resided in New York, as a Family Lawyer he took his job very seriously. He help me with my divorce and the custody battle I had to endure during Finn and I's separation. He was (and still is) overly protective of me. He and Finn had been great friends, and over the years we took family vacations together. But the moment I finally revealed what happened between Finn and I, he became even more overbearing, and even vengeful towards a certain someone. I guess he was hurt, a friendship destroyed and a little sister broken. It was a beautiful disaster. Julian the second oldest is currently living in San Francisco with his four year old son Parker. He went through a nasty breakup from his ex-wife Becca 6 months ago after finding out she was embezzling money into an off sore account of her estranged lover. His small doctors practice nearly went bankrupt due to the money loss but our parents stepped in and helped him financially to stay afloat. Becca was currently serving an 8 Year sentence in prison and her mysterious lover disappeared with nearly $500,000. He decided to stay in San Francisco and continue on with the life he built with his son, but frequently visited New York. Mark, the youngest of my brothers was also over the other side of America as well, pursuing his dream in Los Angeles. He packed up and left straight after high-school with the families support to become an actor. Over the years he has done well for himself, after staring in small commercials, then he moved on to TV drama, before getting his big break at 26. He stared as the supporting roll in one of Hollywood's greatest movies. He got noticed, then got famous. He kept to his bachelor life style, and I didn't ask him about the different women he was photographed with. I had just explained to Robert what had happened this morning over breakfast and what Olivia had said to me. To say he was mad was an understatement, he had practically choked on his beer the moment I told him about my uninvited guests. "Yeah well I can't stop him from seeing Josh on his birthday can I? But did he really need to bring her?" Robert understood my emotions. He was the only one out of my entire family that knew what really happened, between Finn and I. "Yes you damn well can Rae! That is your house, your property and if you don't want someone there you can tell them to leave. Invite Finn in sure but kindly remind him to leave his baggage at the door" Robert fumed and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. "I'm seriously Rae, don't let him walk all over you! That asshole needs to be taken down a peg or two" I sighed knowing that the more I talked about the situation, the more angry my brother would get. So in true Rae fashion I changed the subject. "So anyways! Are you excited about Tomas starting collage next year?" My eighteen year old nephew was a prodigy of his old man. I knew one day he would be a brilliant lawyer and husband, it was just a matter of time. Robert beamed and the mention of his eldest boy. "Of course! The kid got into Harvard for fuck sakes" he laughed, "not even I did that well. I tell you what, I can't wait to see him successfully one day". That was just typical Robert, he was the kindest man you would ever meet but if you messed with his family he would back hand you quicker then a women at a black Friday sale. "You know Elissa and Emery are going to be artist just like there momma" his daughters Elissa, 15, and Emery, 10, were splitting images of there beautiful mother Maria. Both had dark chocolate hair and golden brown eyes, they could never do anything wrong in Robert's eyes because they looked to much like their mother. Who was a pretty well known artist in New York, both girls had talent but in different areas. Elissa enjoyed painting faces and was brilliant at it, she has won numerous awards at school. And Emery loves mixing colour, some would call it abstract but to her it was just pure fun. "I've got my work cut out with them don't I?" Robert mused taking a long swig from his beer bottle before sitting it down on the coffee table. "No, more like you've got your work cut out with Robert junior over there" I pointed wards the glass doors that looked out into the backyard just as the Feisty little 7 year old crash tackled his grandpa with the help of Ruby who was laughing along. "Military school" he mumbled. I laughed, little Robert had always been upto no good, but he did it in the most innocent way. "Come on" I slapped Robert's leg then stood up to stretch, "we better go join the others instead of having our bitch and moan session. I'm sure mom is running around out there with her new camera trying to take photos". Laughing, we reminst about the first few weeks after Karim had brought her the camera, let's just say she went through two 16 gig memory cards, and hundreds of dollars worth of prints. -- I kissed the top of ruby's head, her eyes were already fluttering shut which didn't surprise me. Flicking off the light, then walked out of the room. Goodnight my princess. I walked down the hallway to Josh's room and poked my head in. He had already passed out, soft snores echoed in the room. I quickly tucked him in, kissing his soft brown hair. Goodnight my little man. Today was a big day, after the little spat I had with Finn the rest of the day went off without a hitch. Ice skating was a blast with Chloe, and her kids, Harry and Stephen. It was the first time in years I had stepped foot on ice and having two little humans depend on me to keep them upright was quite amusing. After that we had a nice long walk through central park before dinner and cake at mom and Karim's house. They kids had enjoyed the company of their 4 cousins, and I couldn't help but smile at how close they were. It made me wonder if they were as close with Finn's family as they were mine, especially Finn's 4 year old neice Sophia. I grabbed an ice cold beer out of the refrigerator and possistioned my rear end nicely on my plush couch. I chose to leave on whatever TV show that was already on, and continued watching without paying attention to what was happening. As the credits rolled by I heard a loud knock on the door. Sighing, I took the last few sips of my beer and shuffled towards the door. Gregory was standing there with a dopey smile on his face and a large blue box in his hand. He bent over and gave me a peck on the lips. A smile curved on my face the moment he wrapped his arms around me. We walked back toward the couch, not leaving an inch of space between us. He bent forward placing the blue box on the table quickly and wound is arms back around me. "How was your day beautiful?" Gregory whispered nibbling on my ear lobe. "It was good! Joshua had a great day and passed out as soon as he got back home. How was your day?" I replied choosing to keep my encounter with Finn out of it. "Oh it was fine, sold a penthouse in Manhattan today. It came with a nice fat commission to which I plan on spending on you. Maybe a weekend to Hawaii?" He continued to kiss my neck. "Oohh... well maybe one day we can enjoy that lovely vacation. And thank you again for today! I know you wanted to enjoy Joshua's birthday with us but thank you for letting me have this time with th-". He kissed me softly on the lips to shut me up, no doubt I was rambling on once again. "Its fine sweetheart. I got a sale and you got time with your kids, Plus we have tomorrow. And tonight..." he wiggled his eyebrows and licked his lips. My body was dragged upon his and our lips crashed together. It had been weeks since we had last had sex and I was more then ready for him. I needed him right now, I needed to forget for a moment, I needed to feel that earth shattering orgasm. I needed to feel human again. -- FINN POV: I had dragged myself from the comfort of my silk sheets at 5am this morning. Olivia had managed to stick to her side of the bed last night thank God, I hated waking up with her short blonde hair tickling my face. Putting on my joggers and a t-shirt I laced up my sneakers and walked towards the kitchen to have a quick shake before heading to the gym down stairs in my apartment. This was my Daily accurance, I needed to exercise before I sat in my office all day behind paper work and my laptop. Running my own company was hard work, long hours and no sleep. I had been living this way since I graduated college, the only balance I once had in my life were my kids and wife. But now that had all changed because of Rachel. We had just gotten back from Aspen Monday night after I had taken Olivia and her God awful family away for her birthday. I had nearly cancelled after the ruckus Olivia had caused with Rae in front of my kids on my son's birthday, but I knew if I did that the nagging would increase and i wasn't in the mood for that. I stepped onto the treadmill and started off at a walking pace, letting my muscles warm. Her beautiful face flashed though my head, her creamy skin, the hairpin curve of her plump lips, her button nose, her silk like hair- fuck! My body tumbled to the ground hard, I had missed a step which caused me to trip all because I was thinking about her. Not my girlfriend that laid asleep in my sheets, but my ex-wife. Pulling my legs to my body in frustration and leading my elbows on my knees I looked to the ceiling still thinking about her. Over two years since I had touched her intimately, kissed her lips... My heart still ached everytime I saw her, but I couldn't show her how much she ruined me. No, instead I channelled that built up frustration into pure hate towards Rae. I couldn't help it, she took away my kids, my life, my fucking air. I groaned picking myself up of the hard floor and turned off the treadmill. I made my way over towards the boxing bag, forgoing the gloves I collided my fist hard into the bag. Memories of the night my world came apart washed over me, it was a disease I couldn't fight. 'Rae, honey. I'm home' Smack! My fist collided with the solid leather. I felt nothing. 'Rae?' Smack! 'Kids?' Smack! 'Hello? Anyone home?' Smack! Smack! Smack! Then I distinctly remember the words scribbled on a yellow post-it note in Rae's hand writing, along with the divorce papers. 'Fuck you' Smack! --- Grimacing I looked at the paperwork that had piled up in front of me, red tags with sign here scribbled across them poked out. It would take me all day just to read all the new contracts I was taking on in the new year and according to Olivia my deadline was only 4 hours away. "Olivia" I buzzed through the intercom. "Can you ring Archie and tell him to come to my office immediately". "Of course Finny" she replied. A grimace shuttered through me. It was a nickname she had picked up just after we started dating, it was a habit I thought she would break but I was beginning to loose hope. No more then 15 minutes later Archie lazily strolled through the door not even bothering to knock. "I was summoned" he announced grinning. "Yeah, clear your schedule. I need you to help me read through these contracts so I can sign them off. Apparently Liv decided to leave this to the last minute and I have-" I looked towards my watch. "3 hours and 44 minutes to get them done before they are sent to your department to be organised into financial groups" I signed. It was only 9am and I was already exhausted, I had no idea how I was going to finish this in the time frame I had. There was atleast 40 small business contracts to sort through, but if there was anyone I knew that could help me it would be my brother, Archie. "Fuck man! Why do you let her do this shit?" He groaned typing away on his phone, no doubt messaging his assistant Charleene about the turn of events. "Don't start" I growled flipping a page before signing. "I'm just sayin-" "Enough!" I yelled slamming my hands down on my desk. "Christ Arch, I know Ohkay... I know". "Look I'm sorry I shouldn't of said it, but your not happy man. You haven't been since-" he stopped before he finished, no doubt he saw the pain flash through my eyes. Archie picked up a contract and started to flick through it, awkward tension permeated the air. To say my family where welcoming of Olivia was an understatement. They had all adored Rae, especially my parents who treated her like a daughter. When they asked me what caused the divorce all I could do was shrug, I had no fucking idea so what was I to tell them. They took my silence as an admission that I had fucked up somewhere, that I had wronged her but all I did was love and cherish that women. Of course Ma and Archie had tried to contact Rae but she had obviously blocked their numbers, after 4 months they gave up trying just like I did, when bent Olivia over my desk and fucked her. That was the night I finally understood that my marriage was over, the life I knew before was gone and the women I loved more then life itself had left. "Since my wife left me?" "Finn" my brother sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair. "Have you even asked her why she left?". I shook my head in honesty. I had tried to talk to her but my pain turned into misery, my grief turned into anger and the only way i could express myself was by yelling at her. "Maybe you should" Archie replied, picking up another contract. "You don't think I have? I tried for months to get her to talk to me. The most I got was a slap to the face and her repeating how vile I am. Fuck, I don't know what happened. I-... It been 2 years and I still love her..." "You have the kids tonight right?" I nodded. "Well when you drop them off talk to her..." Thats better said then done I thought. --- @i-dream-of-emus @milllott @eveerez @lily-pop-2 @arathewallflower @hey1tskat1e @I88cym @mmfdfanfic

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