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jennamacaroni · 2 years

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hacks paleyfest s2 ep1 recap SPOILERS ABOUND AHEAD UNDER THE CUT like as much as i could remember, nearly five google doc pages of truly deranged shit, so if you dont want to know anything about what happened DO NOT GO FURTHER you’ve been warned. for those thirsty for the deets... ENJOY :D

(ty to @mmbopjen and @tarynlatx for their help)

they showed the episode first before the panel, made clear it was not a finished copy and there were still some tweaks/edits/visual effects to add in, etc

the sound in the theater was INSANE like the bass was so loud it was overwhelming and ridiculous

EPISODE

picks up right from the finale, they’re on the PJ and deborah is asleep and ava is just freaking the fuck out. they actually pipe in a really loud heartbeat (which with the sound setup was literally shaking the theater omg it was A Lot) and she’s just looking over and over at deborah panicking then there’s this turbulence that wakes deb up and so she starts looking at her phone and suddenly all these notifications are coming in. and ava’s like oh fuck “uhh you’re kinda blowing up there?” and deborah is frowning down at the phone, then she’s like “WHAT DID YOU DO” and ava’s like “okay let me–” but then the camera cuts to the dogs and barry is eating a grape. deborah to ava: “stick your hand into his mouth and get it!” ava: “uhhh what” deborah: “REACH INTO HIS MOUTH” and ava does bc of course she does

then they’re landed and coming down off the plane and greeted by someone from deborah’s staff, “welcome home ms vance” and you can tell deborah is happy to be home. they walk off the plane BOTH CARRYING A DOG like literally one in each of their arms i fucking lost my mind. they pass off the dogs to the staff dude then deb is like “lets go get in the car” and ava is like “ya kno im just going to call an uber. i want to go to the palmetto and pick up some of my stuff” or whatever and deborah is just like “um no we are going home right now we have a LOT of work and planning to do for this tour”. deborah has this energy and fire about her, you can tell she’s ready to put in the work and do the damn thing.

okay there are a bunch of scenes in the ep re: jimmy and kayla and having to deal with HR and the sexual harassment shenanigans but i dont remember the timing or frankly much of the detail bc lbr not what im here for but they are funny as fuck as usual. but that’s all i’ll really say on them.

there’s a scene in the car from the airport to the mansion. ava and deb see deborah’s giant posters for her residency are literally being white-washed and painted over in real time and they’re just looking at it happen. ava: “wow that was fast”. then jimmy calls thinking he’s only talking to ava but ava puts him on speaker so he knows not to say anything about the email. awkward convo about nothing takes place, then deborah is just like “PLANNING MEETING ABOUT THE TOUR WHEN WE GET HOME,” reaches across ava to her phone and and hangs up on him.

title screen is a close up of deb’s giant face being painted over.

meeting at the mansion with marcus, josefina, damien, and ava (that promo pic of deborah standing by the fireplace and everyone gathered in the study). marcus says basically all big national venues are already booked and deborah is like fuck it we’ll do the tiny dumpy comedy clubs im not above that. but also the nice tour bus she wants isn't available, the tour manager she wants died (deb: “did we send flowers?” marcus and damien: “yes”). ava was basically silent the whole time. deb: “well does anyone have anything positive to add? anyone???” and josefina chimes in: “you know what this will be a great time for? re-painting the molding” and deborah is like “YES COOL great”

scene of ava in the christmas room, first she calls the british writer chick, asking “as a friend” for them not to use anything she said in the email because she was upset and deborah had just slapped her (foot in mouth). writer: “she SLAPPED you???” and ava is like oh fuck def just made that worse. the writer is basically like “sorry girlie we’ve already passed it all onto our bosses its too late” and then she’s like “not to mention the last line of the email was ‘i release all my rights to this do whatever you want with it’” oops

then she turns around and calls jimmy: “i really think i should just tell deborah,” jimmy “DONT SHE WILL KILL YOU and then ME just dont say anything” and ava is like well actually i just called the british chick and made it worse sorry? Jimmy asks her to do him a favor and throw her phone in the ocean

NEXT DAY:

ava and deborah having breakfast together, paper is missing the arts section (josefina pulled it out so deborah couldn’t see the review of her 2500th show) and deborah is like oh i dont give two fucks about reviews (lol okay deb, sure)

scene of ava at the palmetto in the luggage storage room with ray. she can’t access her room anymore since deb no longer has a comp’ed room so her stuff was packed up for her, ray put a bunch of it into a black trashbag. ray: “oh also this came for you” and hands her a bright shoebox. she opens it and pulls out a tennis ball can full of dust. ray: “are those… ashes?” yep they are half of her father’s ASHES. ava immediately calls nina, who picks up and is on the exercise bike in ava’s old room. ava: “why did you send me his ASHES mom?” nina: “well i have half” so clearly ava needs the other half like it was the most obvious thing in the world. ava: but why in a TENNIS BALL CONTAINER??? nina: well i know you’d call me complaining about whatever urn i sent them in so… and ava just ends up hanging up on her and is clearly emotional / trying not to cry. she apologizes to ray, tells him her dad just died and he’s like “ah yeah i get that, my dad died last year. sorry.” then they share this really lovely hug and ava’s like “man all this time and we could’ve been.. friends?” and he’s like “yeah, maybe” and it was just really a sweet and unexpected empathetic moment of human connection.

deborah coming into the breakfast area of the mansion and finding dj eating breakfast alone (josefina’s chicken pot pie, “forgot the peas so it tastes like shit”). deborah is like, “you’re eating pot pie at 10am i know something is up” so DJ tells her that she and aiden have been doing IVF and the second try just failed. it was news to deborah that they were doing IVF, DJ is there basically hiding. she doesn’t want to tell aidan that it didn’t work bc she doesn’t want to mess him up before his fight. deborah then is basically like “uhhh what are you doing you cant have children with this man you barely know and just only married like a second ago” like she is still so clearly distrustful of both men AND DJ’s decision making and obviously DJ gets upset and is pissed that once again deborah is not supporting her in the way she is hoping for.

prob more jimmy/kayla here? idk

scene with marcus showing up at wilson’s to ‘return some of his stuff’ and some other dude answers (roommate possibly? wasn’t clear). turns out the box contains just half a bag of granola and an almost brand new flonase. marcus is then like “uh yeah tell him im… going to a party”... “no tell him im going on a date”... “no party’s good” then just sort of runs away. poor bud misses his water cop.

deb goes to DJ to apologize for the way that she reacted to the IVF news. DJ to deborah at her apartment “you know my rule,” then they say in unison, “don’t open any closed cabinets.” it’s cramped because aiden moved in and DJ compares herself to a military wife bc he is literally in combat all the time. there’s a rifle on the coffee table and deb is like “oh FINALLY you got a gun!” and DJ is like uh HELL NO that’s aiden’s paintball shit. anyways aiden is there and is so excited to see her and hugs her (awkward af from deb) and keeps calling her mom and you can tell he’s really trying to get on deborah’s good side and desperately wants her approval which he’s clearly NOT getting. after he leaves she tells DJ “the mom stuff has to stop.” DJ: “i know, but he’s from ohio.” DJ asks deb to go to the fight because it means so much to aiden (and her), but deb is hesitant. first because “you know i hate seeing men’s bare feet” (lol) but also “you know when i show up to these things the spotlight is always on me, so it’s better if i don’t go” but finally agrees because she really is trying, ya kno?

at the fight: deb and ava show up but because deb is no longer employed at the palmetto, the bouncer she has known for years turns her away and tells her she has to go to the public entrance. even ava to the bouncer guy is like, serious bro? deb is obviously miffed. starts the night off on a bad foot. deb is wearing a navy sequin jacket because of course she is

deb runs into wayne newton, greet each other as “mr las vegas, mrs. las vegas”

deb then goes up to marty and the mayor and marty is like “wow didn’t expect to see you here” because ya know bad feelings or whatever and also marty: “i know you don’t like seeing men’s bare feet” with this gross smirk. but deb is like “i’m here to support my son in law” and marty sincerely says “its good to see you”. then they mention his new girlfriend and they look around for her then she’s coming down the aisle and she’s actually age appropriate??? so obviously that really pisses deborah off bc how the fuck dare he finally date someone older and its not her? so she’s all pissed going back to her seat and is just staring daggers at him.

kiki is next to ava and just pulls out her purse and it’s fucking full of popcorn

DJ tells ava to tickle her arm and just holds out her bare forearm and ava is like uh wtf but okay bc of course she does. “no, scratch my arm, really use your nails.” DJ notices that deb is sweaty, actually from walking around from the employee entrance to the regs in the heat, but dj thinks it’s because she’s nervous for aiden and that’s *bonding*

deb thinks the in-fight host/emcee is going to come over and interview her/spotlight her (bc he mentions a palmetto residency) and she fluffs her hair in anticipation. but the host goes over and talks to the guy that is taking over her residency instead. deb obviously gets even MORE upset and gets up to go to the bathroom to take a moment. ava immediately gets up and follows because she knows that must've been hard for deb and she needs to be there for her.

bathroom scene, deborah is putzing in front of the mirror (i remember surprisingly little about this i clearly must've blacked out sry - thanks to my wife who remembered). ava: “are you okay?” and deborah then admits that she read the review in the vegas sun and basically it said it’s no longer “her time” anymore and basically she was obsolete and that she wasn’t sure about doing the tour and ava is like “you cant possibly care about what they say in the local paper do you?” and deborah sort of looks at her and is like “its my hometown paper” and she looked so heartbroken?? then ava is like “i think you’ll feel different once we’re out on tour”

cue the fight itself: (which was really well done??? jen made a comment on the panel about how good lucia is at directing. “she directed that fight scene and it was like straight out of rocky”). aidan is getting the shit kicked out of him like totally being owned just taking hit after punishing hit. DJ makes a similar comment parallelling the newspaper re deb that it’s not “his time” because he’s new to MMA and clearly he is not going to win the fight. plus the guy he’s fighting is like really really good, his nickname is the ‘maimer’. aidan gets pinned so there’s a break in the fight and deborah is just like *OH FUCK THIS* and just gets up out of her seat, walks determinedly right down the aisle, through the barricades and right up to the corner of the octagon where aidan is recovering. and his coach is like uh what the fuck get this lady outta here and aidan is like no, let her stay. and deborah is just like [very paraphrased here clearly] “listen. i know this is is the fucking climb but what you have to do is find his weakness. you find that weakness and you fucking hit it. and then you hit it again. and again and again and again until you win this bitch” and she’s clearly talking to herself but he’s clearly listening and nodding and then she’s like fuck it. “YOU’RE A VANCE NOW so go fucking DO IT” and she just stays there while he jumps up and hops back out into the ring and SHOCKER he starts winning and landing blow after crushing blow, backing this dude up right up to where deb is standing. one final shot to the face and we just see this huge blood stream fly and splatter right across deborah’s face and she has this huge maniacal grin on her face. there will be blood, indeed. end scene.

more kayla/jimmy here?

leaving the fight deborah tells ava to pack her stuff they’re starting the tour tonight. ava is like uhhhh what? “none of the stuff is ready” or whatever and deborah just says “just you and me, they’ll meet up with us in a few weeks” (A FEW WEEKS???? LADIES WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ON YOUR OWN FOR WEEKS like are you just going to head out in the rolls????)

goes to DJ’s apartment and DJ answers. deb: “sorry if i woke you?” DJ is like “oh nah i have to stay awake to make sure aidan doesn’t fall asleep and slip into a coma, we’re reading harry potter.” deb tells DJ that she’s leaving to go on tour, and holds out the keys to the mansion, telling her that she should use her house while she is gone, you know, just until they find a place of their own. DJ tries to brush it off. deb: “please, DJ. all those times you should have been at home and not in comedy clubs.” (fuck me up why dont you) DJ finally agrees and is clearly touched: “is there anything you want me to do while you’re gone?” Deb: “i’d rather you not touch anything”

deb goes back out to the car and climbs in, turns to ava and is like “we gotta make a stop”. they stop at the newly painted massive residency poster for dudebro who took over deb’s slots at the palmetto, and deborah shoulders that paintball gun like a fucking pro, and shoots red paintballs all across his massive face. ava is clearly very scared considering the email is still v much the guillotine blade hanging over her head. anyways deb was very ‘betty draper with the shotgun energy’ if yall know that scene in mad men RIP to all of us fangirls.

end of ep.

they really emphasized throughout the ep deborah struggling with becoming obsolete and no longer being the queen of las vegas. the massive posters advertising her show are being painted over right in front of her, marty has a new girlfriend who is actually age appropriate for the first time (and its not deborah how dare he), at the fight they spotlight the new dude who took over deborah’s residency rather than deb, she’s upset about the review in her hometown paper, etc. “no longer her time” and you know, she took that personally.

#hacks #hacks hbo #please note i did NOT read this over so typos etc are prob abound #hacks spoilers #its so good yall so so good #will make a separate spoiler free post about the panel

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jiilys · 3 years

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warm front

featuring The Line, also on ao3 here

“You’re a lot better at this than Ron.” Harry said into the phone.

“Well that’s not hard,” Ginny said, not mentioning how she still occasionally picked up the receiver upside down. “Speaking of, he’s started growing a moustache since you left. It’s ghastly.”

“Oi!” Ron’s voice, annoyed, in the background. Harry grinned.

“Oh yeah?”

“It looks like he’s got biscuit crumbs on his upper lip.” Harry laughed, and Millie glared at him from behind the post office counter, “Oh, lovely, he’s giving me the finger.”

“I’ve started growing a bit of a beard actually.”

“Come off it.”

“Feeling left out?” Harry joked

Ginny snorted. “Yes, desperately. Isn’t it hot?”

“Well I think so.”

She laughed, clear and quick, and Harry could imagine her, all limb, leaning against the kitchen cupboard curling the phone wire around her wrist. He’d bought the phone as a bit of joke before he’d left, and then as a joke she’d installed it, and then for a joke he’d rung her, and then this was how they talked now. Arthur had apparently worn a suit when the electrician came to install the power plug.

“Isn’t it hot though? Bill says Australian summers are killers”

Harry looked at Teddy, sat on the post office floor in nothing but shorts sucking an ice-pop. “I’ve been sunburnt in places I never have been before, but it’s mostly fine.”

“Wow, sexy.”

“Bet Ron loved hearing you say that to me.”

“I’m sorry Harry, you want to do what to me? Put that where?”

“Gin-“

“No, we couldn’t in my room, there’s not enough room. Lounge is better, more space. On the dining table.”

Harry could hardly talk. “Stop,” he choked, “He’ll never speak to me again.”

“He left when I said the bit about the lounge, said I was being ‘very immature.’”

Andromeda, desperate to get out, away, gone, bought the land in Australia six months after the war ended. She’d said it was because she’d always liked the heat, but when Harry got there he knew why. He’d never seen anywhere so unlike England, the Australian countryside was all scorched earth, red dirt, dry trees. It could have been a different planet entirely.

He’d followed her six months later to be with Teddy, who at almost a year had hair permanently sunshine yellow, except when it rained it went as grey as concrete. Harry liked the spiders, sand, sunburn of it all. Sometimes, dumbly, he found himself missing sheets of rain, but only when it was so hot he could barely see straight.

Mostly he liked how there was nothing to do there, nowhere he had to be. He was teaching himself how to drive, burying things for Teddy to sniff out (dog nose), going into the tiny town to talk to Ginny on the post office phone, and helping Andromeda build a shed out the back. He’d never used magic less. The days were long and the nights were longer, but it was so different here that that too felt right.

He didn’t know when he’d go home. He kept meaning to set a date and then just didn’t, and then everyone stopped asking. It was stupid, but he felt like he’d know when he was done.

“Dad won’t let me see the phone bill,” Ginny said, picking up on the third ring and not saying hello, “It arrived this morning and he’s been locked in his office all morning with it.”

“Oh, God, I can-“

“Don’t you dare offer to pay for it. I don’t even think it’s that much, I think he’s just trying to recreate the logo at the top or something.”

“I-“

“Stop trying to pay for it- “

“I’m not– “ Harry, who had been, was silent. Then: “Gin, please-“

“No- “

“But- “

“Shut up-“ she said, unbothered, “Mum asked if you got the stuff she sent.”

“I did, the biscuits were excellent. And the tea bags” Harry had cleaned out the tin so Teddy could use it as a hat, which he had been wearing for two days now.

“I told her they already had tea in Australia but she didn’t believe me.”

Harry smiled, “I didn’t mind.”

“She said that even if they did have tea they wouldn’t have English Breakfast, or they would call it something crazy like ‘Australian Outback Breakfast’.”

“How thoughtful of her.”

“Stop being nice about it, it’s ridiculous.”

“It was nice of her.”

“Australian Outback Breakfast, Harry”

“I hate tea and hate that it was graciously sent to me by your mum.” Harry obliged.

“There we go. Killed any snakes yet?”

“Oh yeah, loads. Bears too.”

He could hear her smiling, “Bears, huh?”

“All in your honour.”

“Naturally. Still no success in seducing Millie?”

Harry looked around to the post office reception desk, a stones-throw away from the phone, to where Millie– middle-aged, cardiganed, glasses– was pretending to read the paper and not hate him.

“Haven’t you heard? Wedding’s in the Spring.”

“Damn. Well, we had it good there for a while but true love always wins.”

He laughed, and Millie gave him a look. He waved. She ignored him and went back to the paper.

Ron sent letters, barely legible, by owls that had to be nursed back to health in the bath.

Harry,

Sorry for the writing but I’m on the muggle train because we’re going to Ireland for a few days to stay with her Hermione’s Aunt because she’s ‘dying to meet me’ (???). Anyway, Hermione also says to tell you that Ginny is thinking of cutting a fringe, because apparently that’s important. Apparently girls do that in a crisis, or whatever, she’ll write and explain it.

Ginny is basically living at ours now. The other day she put a Hollyhead Harpies poster up in the living room and when I tried to charm it off all the players screaming at me like Sirius’s fucking mum, so I just moved the cabinet in front of it. Bloody nightmare.

Honestly it isn’t even half bad having her around, she knows all these drinking games and set up your room and sometimes has a go reading over Hermione’s policy reports to the Ministry when I’ve sworn off them. Do not tell her I don’t mind her being round she’ll be annoying about it. I’m getting that Harpies poster off the wall.

Hope Teddy is good and everyone is demanding more photos as usual. All Victorie has to do is chew the carpet around here and everyone gets a bit teary, including me. George jinxed Perce’s glasses into binonoulars the other day and for a weird second everything felt like before and Vic giggled and then George looked like he’d been hit the fucking nightbus. I don’t even know how to explain it– kids really just have no idea about any of it.

Hope Andromeda is good and that the driving is going better. Dad’s framing all of the phone bills he gets which Gin probably already mentioned but I can’t tell you how weird it is to go into my old room and it’s just a bunch of framed bills. Hermione says hello which I’ve already written but she said I didn’t make it clear enough.

We miss you mate. Home soon yeah?

Ron

Often, he thought of the week he’d told them he was leaving. Hermione, drunk, talking to Ginny on the patio of the burrow when she thought everyone was inside. It makes sense, really, she’d said, He’s never been anywhere he wasn’t hunted too. Ron had looked at him and then loudly dropped his firewhiskey and the girls had jumped, turned around, stopped talking, but still. He’s never been anywhere he wasn’t hunted too. Huh.

“How’s driving?”

“Oh, fine. I killed a swan.” Harry said, demoralised. Ginny laughed for a good two minutes.

“What?”

“I hit the wrong pedal and speed up instead of slowing down. I didn’t know what to do so I just moved it off to the side of the road.”

“Ah, the Boy who Lived strikes again.”

“Stop,” He was smiling, “What if Teddy had seen it?”

“He’s not even two. He probably would have thought it was, like, having a lie down or something.”

Harry was laughing now, “A lie down?”

“Yeah, a spontaneous, truck-induced–“

“–Permanent–“

“–Permanent, lie-down. I’m almost jealous now actually.”

Andromeda was in her garden a lot. Getting anything to grow was near impossible, but she wouldn’t stop working at it. She kept saying that soon they’d be able to have a green beans salad, so Harry just drove to a market and stuck a few green beans in the ground to make her laugh. As a sort of joke they’d started calling the land ‘the farm’ even though nothing ever grew here.

They took Teddy to the ocean for the first time and his eyes went blue the second he saw it. The beach where they’d buried Dobby was overcast, water as grey as dishwater, but here the it glittered like glass, blue light come alive. Teddy sat in the shallows, trying to flatten waves with his fists, laughing.

Andromeda sat on a towel by the dunes under an enormous hat, tears running down her face, abruptly laughing when Teddy tried to eat sand or fell over a sandcastle. Harry knew how she felt. Impossible, how two years ago Teddy had two living parents and Harry had been seventeen, dead and walking, and now they were sat on the beach, people they loved dead for real, as Harry and Teddy lined up shells on the shore.

It was three in the morning but Harry snuck in through a backdoor, cloak on, having to jimmy the lock because he forgot his wand. The streets were pitch black, only three streetlights in the whole main street, with two of them not working anyway.

“Why’re you awake?” Ginny said lightning quick, knowing the time difference by heart, and Harry’s chest unlocked. It was stupidly comforting, Ginny’s voice, how she never said hello on the phone because she never learned, how if he really made her laugh she’d hold the receiver away from her, like he wasn’t desperate to hear it.

“I thought I saw Sirius today,” he couldn’t stop himself, “There was a dog on the farm and it was huge and I thought– I forgot he was dead. Isn’t that stupid?”

There was only Ginny’s breath down the phone. Picture: her in the kitchen, gripping the receiver, still. The memory looped in his brain, how Sirius’ name had risen in his throat, how odd it felt there, how long it had been since he’d said it aloud.

“No.” He almost didn’t hear her it’s so quiet, “I went to the shop yesterday and asked Ron if Fred was in the back. I forget too.”

His heart slowed, the memory of the shop: solid and real, running again, made for laughing, rose up, only then he shut his eyes and saw everyone laid out in rows, glassy eyes, and somehow he was walking through the forest again, going to die, but not soon enough–

“Harry.” Ginny’s voice, dragging him back to earth, “You did everything you could. Sirius knew. Everyone knew. No one could have done better.” She sounded so sure, voice as clear as glass, he’d be a fool not to believe her, “It hurts because they loved us. They loved us. That’s the part to remember.”

“You are kidding-!” This time Harry didn’t say hello.

“I’m sorry, who is this?”

“Harpies reserve!” Harry was yelling in the post office and Millie looked appalled, “They’ll promote you in two weeks, you genius, I knew it– “

“I’m sorry I really have no idea who this is.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.”

“I sent the letter!” Ginny dropped the joke, indignant.

“We spoke two days ago! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me then–”

“–I sent our fastest owl.”

“Marius is currently passed out in the sink–“

Ginny laughed, “I wanted you to get the letter,” she said, finally, “I wanted you to see it. Did you see Madeline McKinnon signed it?”

She sounded like a kid. He grinned. “I did.”

“Best beater this century sent a letter to my house, asking me to be on her team. Madness. The English team are after her you know, it’s all over the Prophet.”

“I hope you’re not expecting me to send the letter back because I think that really will finish Marius off.”

“Please, you think I sent the real thing? Dad made twenty copies. He hung two on Ron and Hermione’s fridge and sent one to Aunty Muriel.”

Harry grinned, “You’re brilliant, I’m hanging my copy on the front door, framed.”

“The moving logo may cause problems for the muggles”

“Who cares? I want to tell everyone about this. Chaser for the Harpies–“

“I’m a reserve.”

“For now.” He could hear her smile through the phone, “What did everyone say?”

“Ron said I was a traitor and that he was also proud. Mum cried. Hermione promised to actually watch a game, George reminded me about nicking his broom all that time so technically he was also partly on the team, Bill bought a season pass, Charlie hung a giant Harpies poster in his shite apartment and sent a photo, Luna sent me awful flowers that won’t stop smoking, and Percy called to congratulate me on my admission to the ‘Hollygrove Harps.’”

Harry laughed, “Incredible.”

“Yeah, Perce’s was particularly heartfelt.”

Harry,

I’m sat at the dining table and everyone’s still here, but Mum wanted me to recap Charlie’s birthday dinner right now because she doesn’t want you to miss anything. Hermione also agreed with this mental idea.

Dinner Summary:

Food was good

Hermione tried to explain the electric collage or whatever decides American elections to Dad, it was stupid.

Hermione says it was electoral college not the eccentric cage or whatever I wrote

George got Charlie a life-size model of the Horntail that he almost opened in the house. Mum had a fit.

Dad told a story about how the Muggle Foreign Minister ended up with a bathtub cursed to drown anyone in it.

Ginny wants me to say Percy is wearing a cardigan Millie would be proud of. I do not know what this means. Better not be a sex thing.

Hermione says hello (again she insisted I write this down like it isn’t obvious)

Mum wants me to say we all miss you still (again, obvious)

She also wants to know if you need her to make you any shorts (do not answer this)

Charlie wants to say cheers for the gift – apparently they only do that burn cream in Australia and it’s hard to come by

George doesn’t have anything to say he just wanted to be involved so I’ve written this so he’ll bugger off.

I’m bloody sending this now, I feel like a quick quotes quill (Fleur asks how you are). Have a good one mate.

Home soon yeah?

Ron.

Sometimes, when he was driving home from the post-office just after the sunset, everything sat in the new-dark, he’d remember when he used to be on watch, sat in front of the tent holding Hermione’s wand with everything going wrong, and how only then he’d let himself think about Ginny. Her voice, long laugh, longer legs, telling him to move over, pass the milk, look left, met her later, skip that flashcard, relax, put Luna in as chaser if it all goes arse up– she’s Ravenclaw but I’ll vouch for her. Dumb hours spent on the Quidditch pitch, sun going down, watching her get shot after shot past him like she even needed the practise. C’mon Potter at least try to save these, you’re making Ron look like Wood. Her hair everywhere, laughing, head back, both of them impossibly far from the ground

I really don’t want to die, Harry would think in the dark, wand out, ready for it, I really don’t want to die and miss out on you

Harry,

Sorry I couldn’t call but everything’s been nuts here and I wasn’t sure when I’d get to talk to you. Malcotti’s fucked her ankle so I may actually get put in for a game?? She’s been told to take it easy for a week and we play the Magpies in four days, so?? I’ll let you know when I can call. I’m currently writing this at the post-office desk and running late for practise.

Sidenote: this express owl cost me four galleons so I hope it does a dance on its arrival or at least arrives within the day. Tell Andromeda hello and that I’m still rooting for the green beans. Also, good luck for the driving test!! I’m sure you won’t hit anything living or dead and/or drive into a lake, but also if you do just confund the instructor. I solemnly swear not to tell Hermione.

Thinking of you. Kiss Teddy for me,

Gin

The click of the receiver: “I only have five minutes, we’re about to eat.”

Harry smiled, “How’s home?”

“Absolutely nothing to note. Victorie threw up on Bill yesterday, so that was a joy.”

“Supportive as usual.”

“Hey, I am supportive.” Harry could tell the phone was jammed between her shoulder and her ear, heard a knife on a cutting board, “Supportive of Victorie’s right to throw up on Bill whenever she wants.”

“Are you cooking?”

“I’m cutting potatoes by hand to avoid the lounge because Fleur and Mum are talking about how to discipline children.”

“Sounds tense.”

“You don’t know the half of it. Ron had to pretend to be on the phone with you earlier for ten minutes just to get out of there. He says hi– fuck!”

Harry heard the phone fall, “Ginny?”

A scrambling on the other end, distantly: “You’re bleeding on the potatoes!”

“Hi,” Ginny’s voice, a little breathless, “I cut myself.”

“You alright?” Harry asked, quick-shot.

“Oh, yeah. Just blood. Admirably everyone is showing a lot of concern” (Percy’s voice, distant and mournfully, “well there’s no way we can eat these now”)

He thought about going home sometimes, about the flat with Ron and Hermione he was currently paying for that he’d never lived in, what he’d do back in England. No one had ever come out to visit him here, some unspoken agreement they’d all made to give him space. Except, knowing Ron and Hermione and Mrs Weasley and he’s never been anywhere he wasn’t hunted to it probably was very much spoken, it’s just he wasn’t there for it.

The thing is, if he went home that meant no more seeing Teddy every day, sitting around eating cereal, watching him walk into walls or turn his nails pink, giving him ice cream for lunch and strap him into the truck, driving around the farm doing spins just to make him laugh. Even after all this time Australia was so far from the familiar, every night him and Andromeda sat on the deck lazily casting cooling charms, looking at all the stars.

On full moons Teddy got in bed with all the curtains open, blinds up, just to look at the moon. He couldn’t sleep unless he saw it. Harry wondered if he ever did anything like that, got pulled towards something of his parents without realising it. Quidditch, probably. Looking for something without knowing, not sure what you were really missing. Teddy’s huge eyes, the moon, and that familiar feeling: Stop, wait, I can’t believe I’ll never see you again. Come back, I wasn’t done yet. I don’t know how to do it without you.

It was pitch-black, four in the morning Queensland time, but it had been the only time she’d had free. Harry was leaning against the booth wall, letting the cloak slip, exhausted. Ginny cleared her throat in an odd way.

“So, you know I hate asking about this. It makes me– I don’t want to be that person” She sounded, wrong, uncomfortable, like white knuckles gripping the receiver, “But everyone’s been asking and I want– when do you think you’ll be coming home?”

Harry was quiet. All this time away– almost a year, eleven months, it occurred to him– and she’d never asked. She was the only one who hadn’t. “Oh, I don’t know. Soon, I guess.”

“Yeah.” She said, unreadable. A beat went past, and Harry could feel the shift, how that was the wrong thing. He could hear her breathing. “Do you want– if you want, we could take a break-“

“No” Harry said, so fast, “No, no I don’t want that. Do you want that?”

“No. No. I just– I don’t want this to be difficult. I don’t want you to feel, like– obligated. If you want like room away from everything I get it. Just tell me– I don’t want– Just tell me.”

Harry’s heart was going into his chest like an endlessly slamming door. How to explain it? You wouldn’t believe the space here, all this room, all this time I have. I didn’t think I’d get it. I want space but never from you.

“I’m not with you because I feel obligated. I’m– That isn’t how I feel. I don’t want space or a break or anything.”

Silence, endless, pouring down the phone. He could be sick. Then, Ginny’s voice: “Okay.”

“I’m coming back to England, Gin. I’m coming back, just, when I’m– when I’m done. I’m coming home. Soon.”

“Okay. I just wanted to make sure that this– that this is still good.”

“It is.” He was so stupid. A war ends and everything finally works out, everyone safe for real, and he goes running to the other side of the world and doesn’t say when he’s coming home. Ginny, at home, getting a phone wired up just to call him. He had no luck for seventeen years and then it all came at once, and now he doesn’t know what to do with it.

“I love you,” he said, which he never said because it felt heavy, full of gravity, and he spent all his time trying to make her laugh.

Deep breath. He could hear her shoulders unknotting through the phone. “I love you too.”

“Harry?”

“Ron?”

“Can you hear me? Is this?– how do I know if this is on?”

“It’s on,” Harry said, hurriedly, “Is everything alright?”

“I tried to give Pig a letter for you this morning and he bit me and flew into the window.” Harry started laughing, “So I thought I’d try give him a break.”

Harry pulled himself together, “Yeah maybe that’s for the best. How are you?”

“Oh, the usual. The shop is still nuts so Hermione stopped by to help out on Saturday and ate half a Bile Biscuit thinking it was shortbread– hilarious. George threatened to charge her. If Ginny’s not at a practise she’s at our place drinking all the milk, and Luna came by the other day and threw all the stuff in the fridge out because she said it was infected with ‘Mimilice’. You?”

“The same. Teddy turned his leg into the end of a snake the other day and I had a fit. Andromeda put him in the sink so he couldn’t slither away before phasing back. It’s currently 39 degrees.” Ron laughed.

“God, even your voice sounds hot.”

“Woah, mate. I’m seeing someone and so are you.”

“Ha ha.” Ron said sarcastically, “I wish I could turn this up so everyone in the empty living room could have heard that.”

“Please don’t try to use the speaker phone, you’ll accidentally dial the embassy or something.”

“’Speaker phone’? What could the phone have to say?”

Teddy turned two and Andromeda make him a cake by hand with a spider on it that moved. He blew out the candles and looked bemused, sat in a top Hermione had sent, still holding onto a scrap of ribbon. Harry took him outside and sat him on his Nimbus Seven Series, entirely too long, and Teddy did slow circles while Harry held the end, watching him laugh, tiny hands grasping the handle. Suddenly, like being thrown through a window, Remus was in front of him, standing in the Hogwarts Hallway, breathless and happy, saying his sons name.

The post office has been closing for a good fifteen minutes, but Harry brought the cloak, pretended to leave, then snuck back and picked up the phone again.

“I think I just saw Millie’s husband.”

“You’re kidding.”

“A guy came to pick her up, he had a hat on, she got in the front seat–“

“What kind of hat?”

“I don’t know, normal. Like a normal old-person hat.”

“You didn’t say he was old.”

Harry grinned, “You really thought Millie seemed the type to be with a 25-year-old?”

“Hey, you’re going out with me after all–“

Harry spluttered, “I’m a year older!”

“Year and a half–“

“You’re unbelievable. That is not the same.”

“Just because you like younger women–“

“I don’t like younger women, I like you, or I did until a few minutes ago. I’m now reconsidering.”

“You like me.” Ginny said, not really serious but also deadly so.

Harry smiled, said dryly, “What gave me away?”

Harry had started dreaming of home, the staring in the street, dishes washing themselves in the Burrow, Hogwarts lake dark and silky as eels. He couldn’t tell what had brought this on, only that he was now driving into town every day to talk to Ginny, and now Ron, Hermione, even Neville were coming to the phone.

“They miss you” Andromeda said, unprompted, drinking muggle wine on the deck one night after dinner, “Molly wrote last week asking if you mentioned when you’d be coming back.”

“Oh,” Harry said, because he couldn’t think of anything else. “Do you think you’ll come back?”

The question hung between them. Terrible thought: Teddy never back in England, Teddy growing up where Harry couldn’t see him.

“I will.” She looked back at him, unbearably, and it was everything that went unsaid.

“How?” Harry asked, unthinking.

Andromeda looked back out the window, the pressing dark, the unbearable heat. Even after all this time, making dinner, sitting on the dark deck, weeding the garden, she was still unreadable. Grief undid you in layers.

“Because Nymphadora would want me to.” She said, simply. “Because I want her to think I’m brave.”

The post office shuts for a week because Millie goes out of town, and the place is small enough that that means it’s not open till she gets back. Harry makes it four days before apparating hundreds of miles away, almost splinching himself in the heat, dizzy from lack of practise, and stumbling to a payphone at the side of a highway.

Click. “Didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

“Yeah, I went out of town to call.”

“Out of town huh? Miss me that much?” Ginny’s voice, joking.

Unbelievably, Harry thought. “Yeah well, Teddy isn’t much of a conversationalist.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that, you’ll knock his confidence.”

“He’ll get past it. How are you?”

“Fine. Well– actually, you won’t believe what happened at practise on Thursday, I hope you’re sitting down–“

“I’m not–” Harry grinned

“Squat then,” Ginny said blithely, “because Jacqueline has actually gone full bonkers–“

“My parents say its incredible “ Hermione’s voice, the only person in his life who spoke in a normal tone on the phone

“Yeah, we’ve been actually.” Harry didn’t have the heart to tell her that Teddy had found the Great Ocean Road blindingly boring and had only made it an hour in before him and Andromeda had decided it wasn’t worth the screaming anymore.

“Yeah, Mum and Dad were thinking of coming down, doing it again.”

Harry played along, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She was endearingly fake-casual, “Maybe Ron and I would come too.”

“Ron wants to drive 150 miles along a stretch of boring road with your parents?”

“You didn’t say it was boring.”

“Slip of the tongue,” Harry smiled, “What about the Ministry? And the shop?”

“We’re thinking about doing travelling.”

“The year we spent in a tent in various country-sides not enough?”

“Funnily enough seeing the sights wasn’t top of mind then.”

Harry smiled darkly, “If we’re going travelling let’s do Italy, or America, or something. Soon. Somewhere none of us have ever been.”

Hermione left it a beat too long for it to be a normal silence, “I heard Italy is beautiful, the history there is incredible…”

Harry could almost hear talking to Ron later: “and then he said if we’re going travelling, ‘we’re’, Ron! And ‘soon’! he thinks he’ll be travelling with us ‘soon’!. And Ron, “so you didn’t ask when he’s coming back then?, and then Hermione: “didn’t you hear? soon! He said soon!”

He was walking back to the car from the post office one day, Teddy plodding beside him infatuated with a passing goose, with Ginny’s voice still swimming around him, the sound of Ron telling her to shut up, pass the receiver, I’ve got to tell him the Cannons score, and he walked into the travel agents and booked one-way ticket to England for next week. Just like that.

Stupid, really, how he heard their voices all the time (walking in the street, making a sandwich, fixing the plumbing) but had never made the connection. He was in the street like always, hearing the call all again, and thought I wish they were here for real, and then walked into the air-conditioning and pulled out his chequebook. It really was that easy. The goose was still outside when he left holding his ticket, Teddy squirming to get closer to it with a full-on beak that Harry was trying to hide with one hand.

Home soon Harry thought the whole drive home, the thought expanding in his chest, the window open, his hair blowing everywhere– longer than it had ever been. Even when he got back to the farm, told Andromeda (who promised to follow in a year), made dinner, went to bed, he imagined he would feel different. Something huge and unfelt before, but really everything was the the same as ever. He just missed them, is all. He was learning that sometimes love really was that simple, that it was reason enough.

“I read that people sometimes make signs at airports.”

Harry smiled, phone cord wrapped around his palm. “Saying what?”

“Guess you’ll find out tomorrow.”

“Oh, God.”

“Don’t worry, no magic involved. We don’t want to alarm the muggles. Luna asked if she could bring her lion hat but Hermione got intervened.”

“Luna’s coming?”

“Yes, duh. Everyone is. It’s been a year a half.”

Harry, who had had visions of kissing Ginny ridiculously for an hour in front of the plane, adjusted his expectations.

Ginny, as usual, reading his mind: “Don’t worry. I’ve briefed Ron that I’ll still be kissing you senseless so he had better start getting over it.”

Harry grinned, “Bet he loved that.”

“He called me a cocksucker, and then I pointed out that actually I hadn’t been in a year and a half–“

“Gin!”

“–and he said my name exactly like that, yeah.”

Harry couldn’t stop laughing, bright red in the post office for the last time as Millie shushed him, “You are unbelievable.”

“Well, believe me.” she said, dryly, “I’ll be seeing you in 29 hours.”

Harry, also counting, ducked his head, grinning. It turned out all his best luck was waiting at this part of his life, who knew. Thank God, Thank God, Thank God.

“I’m going to be totally unusable, you know. The flight’s twenty-one hours.”

“Yeah, you’re an idiot. I know you’re on a whole no-magic kick but this really is the limit. What are you going to eat?”

“Hermione says they serve eggs and stuff.”

“Wow, really? How?”

Harry considered. “I actually have no idea. Maybe please bring some chips or something to the airport.”

Ginny laughed, the best sound in the world, “Only if you bring me some eggs.”

#sorry this is late sorry to all my unanswered messages i had to post this today i had to get it away from me!!!#hinny #hinny fic #harry potter #ginny weasley #otp: several sunlit days #i have to run everyone is waiting on me sorry everyone i love you all lots i turn 21 in three days who could believe it!!!#carolineswritingtag

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youvebeenlivingfictional · 3 years

Text

Odd Hours//Getting Even

Pairing: Marcus Pike x Reader Rating: T Warnings: Cursing; Fluff; slow burn but not nearly as slow as my usual slow burns. Notes: This is uh... I don’t know, I’ve had the idea kicking around in my head for a while. Also please excuse the film trivia. I will take any excuse to talk about The Man Who Came to Dinner. I couldn’t decide on which title would suit better so I named it both. Not beta-read. Summary: You’d never spoken to the your new neighbor before, just traded friendly waves… At the oddest times.

Your new neighbor looked very put together all of the time. Well… The couple of times that you’d seen him in passing. He was always in a suit, his tie was always straight, and his hair was always coiffed so neatly. You just assumed that he looked that good all the time. You’d seen him with a beard once, and then the next time you’d seen him, he was clean-shaven. He was gorgeous both ways, but that beard… Fuck, it had looked good. You’d never spoken to the guy before, just traded friendly waves… At the oddest times.

-- The first time you spoke to him was evidence of that. It was almost three in the morning. You’d just gotten off of work at one of your jobs at a bar. You stifled a yawn as you stepped off of the elevator and fished into your pocket for your keys. You managed to dislodge something on your way, but you didn’t notice. At least, not until you heard: “You dropped this.” You turned to see your neighbor holding out the foldable reusable bag you tended to keep in your pocket. “Oh!” You reached out, smiling, “Thank you-- I didn’t even notice.” “Sure,” He nodded, “We haven’t met, I’m in 5B.” “5A,” You jerked your thumb over your shoulder to your door. “Marcus Pike,” He held his hand out to you, and you shook it, giving him your name. “Long night?” You asked, and he chuckled, nodding. “Very.” The two of you linger for a moment longer before you nod over your shoulder, “I’ve got a couple of hungry cats to get to, so.” “Right,” Marcus nodded. “Nice to meet you.” “You, too.” You ducked into your apartment, shutting and locking the door behind yourself. You flicked the living room light on and tossed your keys into the bowl beside the door. You stepped further inside, smiling at the sight of your two Siamese cats, Princess and Pyewacket. They lifted their heads from where they were both lounging on the couch. “I met our neighbor,” You told them. Pyewacket got up, stretching before jumping off of the couch and following you into the kitchen. “Yes, he seemed very nice,” You answered the cat’s unasked question as you reached down, scratching his chin above the black moon and star patterned collar he had on. Princess slinked into the kitchen behind him, a matching pink collar around her neck. “And hello to you, too,” You murmured, “Let’s get you fed.” -- The next run-in was almost two weeks later. It was nearly noon, and you were coming off of your other job at a bookstore nearby. You ran into Marcus as he was leaving his apartment, and your brows rose. “Hi there,” he greeted, smiling. “Hey,” You shift your bag on your shoulder as you twirl your keys around your finger. “How are the cats?” You laughed a little, nodding, “They’re good. I won’t say they were happy to see me, but I fed them, so they tolerated my existence for another day.” You eyed his pristine-as-usual-suit. “Heading to work?” “Yeah, just came off of a late night. I actually just kinda...Came back to shower and change,” He absently swept his hand over his tie. “Oh, yikes,” Your brow furrowed, “What do you do?” “I work for the FBI, International Art Theft.” Your brows rose. “Wow.” “Surprised?”

“A little,” You admitted as you walked to your door, “I had my money on your being a lawyer.”

“Really?”

You lean back against your door, waving at him, “It was the suits.”

He chuckled, “I should get going-- as long as you don’t have any stolen art in there.”

“If I did, I wouldn’t tell you, now would I?” You teased, shooting him a wink, “Have a good day, Agent, and uh-- try to get some sleep at some point.”

It wasn’t every day that you got a knock on your door at two in the morning. Your hackles were immediately up, and you were quiet and careful as you crept toward your door. You peered through the peephole, frowning at the sight of Agent Pike-- And one of your cats. You hurriedly flicked your light on and opened the door. “Is, uh, this one of yours?”

“Pye,” You groaned, reaching out to take Pyewacket out of Marcus’ arms, “I’m sorry-- sometimes he slips out when I come in, and-- He’s such a weirdo, he always waits right out here.” You cuddled him close to your chest, smiling a little as Pyewacket pushed his head up against your chin. “Thank you,” You added, scratching Pye under the chin, “I hope he didn’t bug you.” “No, he was pretty friendly.” Your brows rose. That was rather unlike Pyewacket. “I’ll be honest, I was a little surprised to see you holding him-- Though that was more because, you know.” “It’s like two in the morning?” Marcus asked. You laughed, nodding. “Another late night for you, Agent?” “Slightly,” Marcus admitted before reaching out and scratching Pyewacket under the chin, “But I appreciated the welcoming committee.” You smiled, glancing down at the cat as Marcus’ fingers brushed yours. “Well, I’m glad Pye could be of assistance.” “‘Pye’?” Marcus repeated, leaning in your doorway, “Like the food?” “Oh, no. It’s short for Pyewacket,” You explained, shifting the cat in your arms. “Like in Bell, Book and Candle with uh-- Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart?” He asked. You blinked up at Marcus in surprise. “Uh… Yeah,” You nodded, and laughed, “Sorry, just-- Most people don’t know that.” “I’m a fan of classic movies. --Who’s this?” Marcus looked down.

You followed his gaze, laughing, “Someone that was feeling left out. That’s Princess,” You smiled. You took a little bit of a step back as Marcus crouched down to pet her. You were suddenly acutely aware that you were in your pajamas and Marcus was still very...very suited. You couldn’t help but grin as he cooed over Princess, though. “I’m not gonna lie, you strike me as a dog guy,” You admitted. “Oh,” Marcus scooped Princess up, cradling her against his chest, “I do like dogs, don’t get me wrong, but my grandmother had a cat-- big fluffy Persian named Chester.” You were quiet for a moment, watching Marcus and Princess before you glanced into your apartment. “Do um--” You hesitated, “Do you wanna come in for a drink or something?” Frankly, standing across from a cute guy as you each held one of your cats had to be the weirdest way you had ever asked a man into your place. But it wound up with you and Marcus on your couch with a beer each having a shockingly nice conversation. You didn’t keep him long - you could tell it had been a long night for him and you didn’t want to keep him late - not to mention you had come off of a shift at the bar and you were pretty tired yourself.

Pike was out of there by 2:45 (though you’d gotten his number in your phone and yours in his by 2:42). Pyewacket trotted after him to the door. Marcus gave him one last scratch under his chin, one last look at you before he murmured, “Goodnight.”

Smitten was not the word you would use. It was what you were, but you wouldn’t admit it. Hell, you barely knew the guy, had only met him a couple of times. But he seemed sweet-- and your cats liked him, that was a good sign.

You tried not to reflect on the fact that that thought made you sound like your Great-Aunt Cecily.

You held off on using Pike’s phone number for about two weeks. Then one night, around 10:30, in the middle of a William Powell marathon on TCM, Pyewacket jumped off of your couch and trotted over to the front door. You frowned, watching him and muttering, “What the fuck, dude?” before you heard the jingling of keys. You smiled when you realized why he’d gotten up - and went out on a limb as you pulled your phone out and texted Pike:

-Either you just got home or the ghosts in the hallway are bothering my cat again

You raised your phone, snapping a quick picture of Pyewacket at the door before sending it off. You glanced down at the lone messages in the chat before you closed it, tossing your phone onto the couch cushion beside you. It didn’t stay there long, though-- it buzzed a moment later.

5B: You’ve got a great alarm cat

5B: Just how often do the ghosts in the hallway bother Pyewacket?

5B: And how many ghosts are we talking?

-Like once a week, they’re very mean to him.

-And at least two ghosts, I’m convinced

You put your phone down, figuring that that would be the end of it. You were wrong. 5B: They bug Princess, too?

-Nope, they don’t dare. No one fucks with Princess

-How’s work?

5B: Busy. -Long day?

5B: Excruciatingly

-Sorry 😞

You winced, resting your head on your hand and considering. Why did you use an emoji? You raised your phone and snapped a picture of Princess where she was curled up on your lap.

-You could take Princess with you next time if it’ll help?

5B: Might take you up on that. I’d prefer not to be fucked with tomorrow

You smiled. -I’ll see what I can do about a leash

5B: Very kind of you

-Anytime

5B: Okay, I don’t wanna be weird, but I feel like almost every time I come in around dinner time, whatever you get or are making smells delicious

You looked down at your phone as it buzzed and chuckled, picking it up from where you’d left it on the counter.

-Not weird. Not to brag but I’m kinda the slow-cooker queen

You glanced at the slow-cooker, and the timer reading fifteen minutes left on the food you were making. It was a large batch - you’d wanted to have enough so that you could bring lunch to work at the bookstore. But there was enough to spare. You hesitated before texting,

-Hungry?

Marcus brought wine, and stayed for three hours. The two of you ate dinner, did the washing up, and wound up on your couch watching It Happened One Night. Conversation flowed over most of it - you’d both seen it several times. The movie gave the two of you the chance to watch and weave in and out of conversation and film trivia without pressure. Pye and Princess curled up on the couch between you like sleepy little chaperones.

By the time he left, the bottle of wine that he’d brought was empty, and he had cat hair all over his pant legs.

“Thanks for dinner,” He turned around to face you as he stopped in the hall.

“Sure,” You leaned in your doorway, tucking your hands into the pockets of your sweatpants.

“I’ll have to have you over sometime, make us even.”

Your stomach flipped at the offer and you nodded, “I’d like that.”

“What’s got you out so late?”

“Work.”

“I’m guessing it’s the bar and not the bookshop?” Marcus asked as he watched you slouch against the wall of the elevator. You smiled a little tiredly. “I see those sharp skills aren’t just reserved for art thieves, Agent Pike.” He chuckled as the two of you stepped off at your floor. “What about you?” You asked. “Grabbed drinks with the team after work. We closed a case.” “Congratulations,” You smiled, “What happened?”

“It’s a slightly long story,” Marcus shrugged, “...Would you like to come in and hear about it?” “Gimme half an hour to shower and feed the babies and I’ll be right over.” -- “...Shit.” “What?” You lifted your head from his shoulder. Considering the last two times Marcus had been to yours, you hadn’t had any reservations about going over to Marcus’ in your comfy clothes. You’d shuffled over in your slippers, and when Marcus had opened the door, you’d held up a bottle of white wine. He’d grinned and told you it would pair well with the grilled cheese he was planning on making for the two of you. Without the cats between you, you and Marcus had settled close together on the couch. As the late night wore into early morning, you’d wound up tucked into his side as you talked. “It’s almost four,” He chuckled, looking away from his watch. “Oh,” You yawned widely, “I should let you get to bed.” “I’m the boss, I can get in a little late.” You smiled, tipping your head up and finding him watching you. “You don’t seem the type to abuse that power,” You teased. “Long as it doesn’t become a habit.” “Mm-mm,” You shook your head a little bit and sat up, “I don’t wanna be a bad influence. I save that for Pye and Princess.” “Can I walk you home?” You laughed and nodded as you and Marcus got up from the couch. You missed the warmth of him as soon as you were up, and you were so tempted to turn back toward him and cuddle into his chest-- if only to warm back up. You chatted a little more on your way to the door, and you tried not to overthink the way Marcus put his hand on your lower back as he opened the door for you. -- “Can you recommend a good book?” You didn’t look away from what you’re shelving, but you couldn’t help the slight flurry of butterflies in your stomach at the question. “That depends on what you’re looking for.” “Oh...Maybe something on classic film.” “That’s gonna be two aisles that way,” You nodded over your shoulder, “Back wall.” “Could you show me?” “You really don’t have anything better to do today, Agent Pike?” You teased. There was a pause before you heard him drifting closer to you. He peered over your shoulder, his breath brushing against the shell of your ear as he murmured, “Well, I was hoping I could take you to lunch, if you’ve got time.” “You trying to even out our meal score?”

You glanced up as he leaned against the shelf beside you and met your eyes. “I’m trying to spend more time with you,” He admitted, “If you’re interested.” You lowered your eyes to the books you were shelving, unable to help the smile that grew on your lips at his bluntness. “I’m interested.”

Lunch ended with plans for Marcus to come over after your shift at the bar the following night. He dropped you back off at the bookstore and left you with a kiss on the corner of your mouth that you thought about for the rest of your shift. --

TCM was airing a Bette Davis marathon. By the time you got home, it was nearly 10:30. You showered, neatened up the apartment, cleaned as much cat hair off of the couch as you possibly could, and told Princess and Pyewacket to behave themselves. Princess blinked at you; Pyewacket flicked his tail. You texted Marcus that he could come over whenever he was ready, and there was a knock on the door ten minutes later. Marcus looked cozy in a way you hadn’t seen before - sweatpants and a t-shirt that accentuated his broad shoulders and strong arms. You stepped back and nodded him in, and grinned as he crouched down, immediately scooping up Pyewacket as he came over. --

“You know, Bette Davis wanted John Barrymore to play Whiteside,” You were cuddled against Marcus’ chest; his arm was curled around your shoulders, fingers skimming along the strap of your tank top, “But he was drinking so heavily he couldn’t remember his lines. They wound up going with Monty Wooley-- he played Whiteside on Broadway, too.” “Really?” Marcus’ question was mumbled against your temple. You nodded a little. “Mhm. Cary Grant was set to play the role at one point, but Davis was so against it that he withdrew.” “Something tells me you like this movie.” You laughed, reaching out and absently picking off a piece of cat hair off of his sweatpants. When you’d disposed of it, you rested your hand on his knee lightly, giving him a chance to shake it off. Marcus just gave your shoulder a squeeze, and you gave his knee one in turn.

The two of you watched The Man Who Came to Dinner and All About Eve. “I’m worried that I’m setting a dangerous precedent for your sleep pattern,” You sighed as the credits rolled. It was almost half past three. “Mm, don’t worry about me,” He murmured, nuzzling into your neck. You closed your eyes, shivering a little bit. “...Do you wanna stay over?” You offered, raising your hand and lightly running your fingers along Marcus’ arm. “I’d like that.” You could hear the smile in his voice. “C’mon,” You urged, patting his thigh and standing. “Should we clean up?” Marcus stood with you, looking at the empty popcorn bowl and discarded cans of beer on the coffee table. “Nah, we can deal with it in the morning,” You took hold of his hand, leading him back to your room. Marcus glanced back toward your cats, to where Princess and Pyewacket were still settled on the couch. “Do the cats sleep with you?” He asked. “Sometimes.” “They gonna be mad if I shut your door?” “They’ll get over it.”

-- It was your alarm that woke you up. You leaned across Marcus, mumbling your ‘sorry’s and shutting it off. Once you did, you leaned back down, resting your head on his shoulder and closing your eyes again. You smiled as his arm curled around your waist. “You need to go?” He mumbled. “No, just-- Forgot I had it set.” “Good.” You smiled, turning your head and nuzzling against his shoulder. “You sleep okay?” “Mhm,” He hummed, sliding his thumb along the hem of your shirt, “You should stay over at mine next time.” “So we’re even?” You blinked up at him as his fingers curled under your jaw, tipping your head up to look at him. “Things aren’t always about getting even,” He smiled sleepily down at you. “What’s it about then?” “...Why’d you ask me to stay over?” You hesitated before you pushed yourself up to lean over him, “I thought you’d look good in my bed. And whaddaya know? I was right.” Marcus laughed, using the arm wrapped around you to draw you against his chest. “You know what I’ve been thinking about?” He asked. “Mm?” “Kissing you.” Heat curls in your stomach, tingling and pleasant. “Something stopping you?” You asked. The hand on your jaw slipped down to rest on the back of your neck. His eyes darted between your eyes and your lips for a few moments before he leaned up, brushing his lips against yours. You felt that spark grow in your stomach, and you dipped your head a little closer, chasing the chaste touch. You shifted, leaning more heavily against him and resting your hand on his chest, fingers curling in the fabric of his shirt, hooking in his collar. When he pulled you closer and turned, settling you down on your back, you went easily, letting your thighs splay so that he could lay between them. You moaned quietly as your kisses became warmer, more insistent. You wrapped an arm around Marcus’ shoulders, sighing as he slipped a hand under your shirt. And then you heard a yowl at your door. You groaned quietly, dropping your head back as Marcus laughed, resting his forehead against your neck. “I told them to behave,” You whined. “Don't blame them, this is on me. I should’ve kissed you last night,” Marcus murmured against your throat. You shivered, chuckling a little. “I should feed them before they do something rude like continue to yell... or throw up in your shoes.” “Would they do that?” “Oh, god yeah. I love Princess, but she’s an asshole.” --

You reached down, setting Pye’s food dish down for him and scratching him behind the ears as he began to eat. Princess was already halfway through her food. You glanced over at your phone as it buzzed on the counter and grinned when you saw who it was.

❤️5B: How’s unpacking?

-Nearly finished. A couple of boxes left. Pye was sleeping on a stack, so I couldn’t touch it.

❤️5B: No worries, baby. On my way home. Need anything?

-Cat food and popcorn. Humphrey Boggart marathon starts at 8

❤️5B: Takeout?

-Nope, got dinner covered. ❤️5B: You’re my favorite. -Don’t let Pyewacket hear you saying that. ❤️5B: Favorite human.

-Better. Btw some couple moved in across the hall. I think they have a dog?

❤️5B: I’ll make sure Pye doesn’t get out when I come in

Tag list: @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo; @fantasticcopeaglepasta; @paintballkid711

#Marcus Pike x Reader #Marcus Pike x You #Marcus Pike/You #Marcus Pike/Reader #Marcus Pike Imagine #Odd Hours//Getting Even #Tumblr was doing WEIRD formatting things so i'm sorry if anything looks wonky??#Marcus Pike

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sxnnimoon · 3 years

Text

Sebastian Stan x Reader

“You’re on in five Miss Y/L/N.” the stage director told you.

You took a deep breath before hearing your name called to stage.

Nerves set in with the sound of the crowd cheering. Most importantly, you were on edge because he was going to be there.

Walking on stage you see all your castmates, new and old. And there he was next to Scarlett and the only other seat available,the fans were to have a field day with this. This being the first time seeing each other since your breakup almost a year ago. And not to mention the song you were going to perform was about him. You were screwed.

“Welcome Y/n!” Jimmy said.

“Thank you for having me.” you smiled sitting down next to Sebastian trying not to look at him.

“So tell me, what’s life been like since your character disappeared.” he asked.

“Now Jimmy, you know i can’t tell any secrets.” you smirked.

“Oh come on, just one.” he pouted,

“There is no getting her to spill anything.” Evans said,

“She’s not Tom.” Mackie said.

“Hey!” Tom said, hand to his heart.

Everyone laughed.

The interview went smoothly, but you could feel his eyes on you anytime you spoke. It was nice having his attention even when you weren’t trying.

“Now Y/n.” Jimmy began. “I hear you are performing a new song that is to be on the Charlie's Angels soundtrack.”

“New to you all, not to me.” you smiled. “This song wasn’t about anything to begin with, but I went through a rough time half way through the making and it just all went perfect.”

“Well we will look forward to it once we come back.” Jimmy said before going to commercial.

You walked off stage to change outfits. Waiting to be called out made your nerves even more high. Not only was this your first time performing the song, you were scared as to how he was going to react.

“Y/n L/n, everybody!” Jimmy called.

Here it goes.

The music began.

Say you want me anyway, do ya?

You can handle all this fame, can ya?

Like me just the way I are

You flipped your hair looking around while singing. You were in your element but at the back of your mind you knew shit would more than likely hit the fan.

I don’t believe no one no more

Boy, show me what you’re in it for

Been on the low when it comes to love

Said, “Do you like how I look or just how I look on you?”

You could feel his eyes trailing you. Your emotions were rising and all the memories were resurfacing, you needed to keep calm to finish out the performance. You moved your body along with the music really feeling it, your favorite part was coming up.

Cover on a magazine in just two weeks

“Boy to watch”, ain't he just, just too sweet?

Now he ain’t even got time for me

I only see him on the big screen

Woke up at like five, and boy, you wasn’t here

When it’s my fault, she even knows that you’re there

Was I just a transition?

Boy, remember where you come from

You turned and saw him shifting in his seat, everyone looking back at him then to you. It’s like they know it’s about him. You finished out the song with a pose. You bow, blow a kiss to the crowd and wave as they cheer.

“Y/n, that was amazing. Wow.” Jimmy said coming over.

You thanked him.

Jimmy called everyone over before closing out the show. He was behind you.

“We need to talk.” he whispered in your ear.

You tried to keep a smile, but knew it had to be done.

You were walking to your car when Sebastian followed you.

“Mind if I ride with?” he asked.

“Sure.” you said not looking at him.

“Yours or mine?” he asked.

“Mine.” you said softly.

The car ride back to your place was extremely painful. Nothing but tension and silence. It was unbearable, but you knew it wasn’t the place to have the talk you needed. You released the breath you had been holding in as soon as you pulled into your driveway. You got out very slow, trying to drag this out longer. You definitely weren’t ready for this. Walking into your home you were met by your dog, Moony. She immediately jumped into Sebastian's arms, they really bonded when you were together, the break up took a toll on her as much as it did you.

“Let me let her out and then we can talk.” you gave a small smile.

He nodded, returning the smile.

You let her out and made your way to the living room where Sebastian was.

“Still know your way I see.” you giggled.

“Surprised myself too.” he smiled, sitting down.

You sat opposite him on your couch.

There was a moment of silence, neither knowing what to say or who should start first.

“Where to begin.” he mumbled.

You bit your lip, not liking how he said that.

“If this is about the song, then in all honesty,” you began. “It wasn’t intended to be about you, just at the time of writing is when we split up and I was just so angry. I’m sorry.”

You looked away out of fear of a tear falling from looking at him.

“I’m not mad,” he started. “actually, I kind of expected something way worse.”

You giggled.

“I am sorry though.” you said, finally looking at him.

“It’s okay, really. If anything I should be apologizing.” he scooted closer to you.

You went to speak but he shushed you.

“Let me finish.” he was serious.

You motioned for him to continue.

“I know I fucked up by her being there but nothing happened. She means nothing to me. If it means anything, she was there to help.” he stopped to dig around his jacket pocket.

“Help with what Seb?” you rushed out, you were growing impatient not out of anger or annoyance but because you were intrigued with what he meant.

“Now, with everything that's happened. I’m ok with whatever you throw at me.” he said as he pulled out a box.

Your hand came up to your mouth instantly knowing what it was. You wanted to cry.

“Say something..” he said softly.

“I don’t know what to say.” you said not looking at him.

“Whatever you want to do, I am ok with it,” he said, moving closer to you.

You stood up to walk around the area thinking of what to do.

“II-I love you, I still love you but I’m so conflicted with what I want but also what I need.” you stopped and looked at him.

He was already looking at you. He got up and walked towards you.

You turned away not wanting him to see your tears.

“We take it slow then.” he finally said as he grabbed your chin so you could look at him.

He wiped your tears.

“Is that ok?” he asked once again.

You looked up, but nodded.

“Okay.” he gave a small smile.

“I’ve missed you.” you said as you engulfed him in a hug taking in his scent, you sighed.

“I’ve missed you too.” he kissed the top of your head.

#imagines #marvel x reader #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #marvel #marvel imagine #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #mcu x reader

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halorocks1214 · 3 years

Text

it was fun while it l-aha-sted

The burning of metaphorical bridges. As well as literal walls.

The charred remains of their once-base still exuded smoke days later.

It was the worst kept secret: the Ahalliance eventually going on their separate paths. It was pretty damn obvious with the way Martyn kept sneaking off at odd moments of the day. Grian and Mumbo openly talking about how willingly they would ditch everyone probably didn't help either. The trial they gave Jimmy was a waste of time, literally any of them could have been in his place at that point.

Grian would get comments from non-members about the burnt pile of wood and crumbled stone sometimes. Our alliance is down a member, you know; we have an open spot or possibly it looks even prettier now from the players that were slightly more antagonistic towards them. Grian still wasn't sure how deserved the comments were.

He knew what he was doing right now was stupid, but it didn't stop him for some reason. This wasn't the first time he had come back since picking up that flint and steel. Back to the residue they dared to call home once upon a time. He would say that it was only because he regretted burning down the pretty build he worked so hard on, but everyone including him would see right through the excuse as soon as it left his lips.

"Grian?" a voice softly questioned from behind him.

He swiftly responded by pulling out his crossbow and turning around, the two wolves he brought with him for extra defense growling and standing at attention in the same direction. The owner of the voice yelped, which made Grian double-take. Once he saw who approached him, he lowered his weapon, "Oh, hey Jimmy."

The newest Red had his hands in front of his face and was reluctant to lower them, but once he heard Grian's soft voice, he did so with a sigh, "Hey. Not gonna lie, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that comes back here from time to time. Well, outside of Impulse, but he's arguably a bigger bleeding heart than me, so it's not saying a lot."

Grian blinked, "Impulse?"

As Jimmy walked over to stand closer, Grian had to shush the dog's snarls. Jimmy paid no mind to the hostility, though, probably immune after Grian made a dozen of them chase him, "Look at those flowers down there. You think they grew by themselves?"

Grian snapped his head back to look at their camp’s corpse to notice that there were indeed patches of flowers scattered around. It was very hard for natural vegetation to sprout up so soon after an area got blazed into smithereens, so something else had to come in and help it out.

Like another player wanting to pay their respects to the place in question.

That made Grian feel things. He wasn't exactly sure what those 'things' were, "Oh."

Jimmy let out a chuckle and shoved his hands into his pockets, "I know right. Only him."

The two stood there in comfortable silence, a mutual understanding of what had been lost so far, both inside and outside their little group. Sometimes Grian wondered if he played the Red Way Of Life incorrectly. Of course, he’s not without faults; he was downright a menace with the way he and Joel did everything to mess with Pearl and Scott. But when compared to Jimmy’s pitfall trap that got Lizzie or how Mumbo was currently trying to nuke the whole fucking server, well… his lack of murder stood out.

“Do you think…” Jimmy stared quietly, like he didn’t actually want to hear the answer to the question. “Do you think we really cared about one another? Or was all of it fake?”

Wow, Jimmy was going for all the gut punches tonight it seemed. Grian’s immediate response was something along the lines of probably.

But then he thought about their stupid puns. He thought about Jimmy groaning every time they ‘lost’ a spyglass. He thought about Mumbo and Impulse hugging him when he was finally Yellow again; Martyn even gave him a hearty pat on the back. He thought about their beds in the cave that were shoved a little closer together than they needed to be.

He thought about what Jimmy said to him during the first week.

If he’s on your list now, he’s on our list.

"Yeah…" Grian answered sincerely. "I think we really did."

Jimmy swallowed spit in his mouth, like he should know better than to believe those words.

Grian thought the same thing about himself.

With sagged shoulders, Jimmy turned in a way that signaled he was about to leave, “Welp, we better get going. The sun’s coming down and my hut is pretty far away. Be sure to watch yourself out there, Grian, as well as your dogs. They may have bitten me, but… I don’t know. I don’t wanna see any more death of innocent things in this stupid place.”

Grian smiled despite the emotion clogging his throat, “It’s not like you’re the only person they’ve attacked so far. I’d hardly call that ‘innocent’.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes as suspicious liquid filled them, “Man, you always have to be on top, don't you?”

"I think you know the answer by now," Grian shook his head fondly, the last thing Jimmy hearing being his tiny giggles.

Then it was completely quiet, the wind whistling as it rustled his hair. He slowly breathed out, taking a few steps away with the intent to get back to his new base before a split-second decision overcame him.

His wolves tilted their heads as they watched him suddenly stop and walk back to where he was standing previously while pulling a gold and brown cylinder out of his inventory. Kneeling, he placed the object down on the ground, letting out a tiny “Aha” voluntarily and a tear involuntarily.

It was time to move on.

#mcyt #traffic series #last life fanfic #grian #solidaritygaming #jimmy solidarity #ahalliance #the southlands #my post #my fic

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chrisevansonly · 3 years

Note

Hii can I request a cevansxfemale reader where you're not famous and your relationship is secret but he accidentally reveals it during a game like spill your guts with corden or something similiar with fallon? Love your writing and happy new year!

Slip Up

Chris Evans x female reader

Warnings: none, just pure adorableness and soft chris

Word Count: 760

A/N: This is an old fic I forgot existed to it's been added to my master list! Enjoy!

“Chris Evans everybody, welcome back, its so great to see you again”

Chris smiled widely, taking a seat across from Jimmy Fallon, crossing a leg over the other

“Hey Jimmy, thanks for having me back on, its great to be here, and nice to see you as well”

You watched their interview live from the couch at home, Dodger curled up comfortably beside you. You and Chris had been dating for two years now, but kept everything private, Chris never wanting to throw the spotlight at you, keeping you as safe as he could.

“So, I wanted to talk to you about your new show on Apple TV, Defending Jacob, wow man, congrats, the directing is amazing, and Im pretty sure my wife and I have watched that show about three times now”

Chris laughed, sitting up straighter, smoothing his tie out, an anxious habit of his

“yeah, it was an amazing show to get to direct, and the cast and everybody working on the show was so amazing. It was such a fun project and the suspense and constant twists and turns even had my family hooked on it pretty quick”

Jimmy laughed, tapping his pen against the table, pulling up a video from one of the first episodes. Chris sitting at the desk in the school interviewing a couples kids, the audience clapping loudly when it had finished.

“So good, and the acting is just incredible, you're a man of many talents”

“Thanks Jimmy, it was definitely an amazing experience, and getting to work so close to home was nice as well”

Jimmy nodded following along as Chris was speaking

“My next question I guess, were you able to go sleep at home instead of a trailer or hotel? How did dodger take to you being gone during the day”

Chris ran his hand through his freshly trimmed beard, something you had grown to absolutely fall in love with

“Yeah, I was able to go sleep at home and drive to set each day, Dodger was actually fine at home, my girlfriend is always there to watch him and help out whenever i’m away”

You almost choked on your coffee, the word ‘girlfriend’ spilling out, on live television

“Wait hold on, girlfriend? Is this a Jimmy Fallon first?!”

Jimmy laughed clapping his hands as the audience lost it

“shit, yeah well that really wasn't supposed to come out”

Chris’s hands went up to cover his face, you knew he was probably hating himself for letting that come out

“I know she's watching at home so, sorry honey. Yeah she's amazing, we've been together for over 2 years now, she's super supportive, and is always there after a long day, I couldn’t ask for anyone else to do life with, she’s incredible”

Jimmy smiled, faking a pout, meanwhile you had the absolute biggest smile across your face, Chris always speaking so fondly of you, every word filled with love

“She sounds amazing, and I suppose that was not supposed to just be aired out like that?”

“Yeah no, y/n and I keep our relationship extremely private, she's not used to fame, the spotlight and I never wanted to throw her into that, but now I guess that's out the window”

---------

The front door opened a few hours later, you walked over to meet Chris at the door, a soft smile on your face, he gave you the biggest puppy dog eyes, pulling you into a hug right away

“i’m so sorry sweetheart, it just slipped out, i’m so incredibly sorry”

You pulled back to look up at him, his arms still tightly around your midsection

“don't be silly Chris, i’m not upset, trust me, it was bound to come out eventually, besides I don't mind the world knowing I bagged Hollywoods hottest actor”

Chris let out a laugh, leaning down to press his lips to yours

“You sure you’re okay with the world knowing who you are, i’m just worried about you”

“Im perfectly fine with it Chris, Im happy with us, I know someday I want to marry you, have a family, and that will all be in the tabloids im sure, might as well start out with the world knowing who I am right?”

He pulled you back into his chest, rubbing his hands gently along your back

“I love you so much, please promise me you’ll tell me if people start to bother you or send you shit?”

“I promise I will, I love you too”

He hummed in response

“Now lets order pizza i’m starving”

Dodger barked sitting at your feet, wagging his tail eagerly

“You and Dodge are always starving, pizza night it is!”

#Chris Evans x reader #chris evans fluff #Chris Evans x female reader #Chris x reader #chris evans characters #Chris Evans imagines #rueswrites #chris evans x girlfriend!reader

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tumbleweed-palmer · 3 years

Text

Big Dumb Mouth: Jimmy Palmer X Reader

Jimmy has been dreaming of her lips pressed to his for so long now and it's finally happening. What happens when his big mouth and the words that fall out of it lead to a misunderstanding though?

===========================

Jimmy wasn’t sure how it ended up like this, but his lips were pressed to hers and her arms were wrapped around him pulling him close against her.

He guessed he should have seen this coming. There had been months and months of subtle flirty glances and exchanges between them that weren’t all that subtle. Or he guessed they weren’t subtle given Dr. Mallard’s casual hints that Jimmy should just bite the bullet and in Ducky’s words “ask Young Miss. Y/L/N out for coffee”

Jimmy was pretty sure this current activity went far beyond just asking her out for coffee or to see a movie. Not that he was complaining.

She was a gorgeous woman, that was an understatement. He’d been nursing a crush on her from the moment they’d been introduced months ago when Y/N had been hired as a technical analyst by Director Vance. She was great at her job; brilliant enough that McGee and Abby had quickly gotten over their annoyance that someone had been hired to do a job they were perfectly capable of managing on their own.

Jimmy had been a big fan of Y/N from the start. It wasn’t just her brilliance or her beauty that had drawn him in. It was everything about her.

She was so sweet and so gentle. She held a serene sense of calm and warmth that made Jimmy think of a kindergarten teacher. Much like him she had to see so many horrible things each and every day. She had to dig into the depths of people’s lives and find all their secrets. She was forced to see disturbing images daily, but she never let it dull her kindness.

Jimmy had been drawn to Y/N from the moment he met her. It had been love at first sight he was convinced. How could he not be utterly devoted to her? She’d walked in with Director Vance, Vance making introductions to everyone she might find herself working with, and Jimmy’s eyes had landed on her. He’d been overtaken with how she looked so sweet in that pretty mint green dress and had been even more entranced by her even prettier eyes. She’d given him one little smile and he’d been head over heels for her.

He’d learned so much about her in her time here mostly from overheard conversations she’d had with Ziva or Abby. He learned that she did yoga on Sundays and she loved matcha tea. She had pink hair in high school and she missed it dearly but understood it wasn’t exactly work appropriate. She’d actually had quite a rebellious phase in her youth which was how she’d gotten so good with computers. She’d only hinted at the trouble she’d found herself in hacking into something she shouldn’t have which had earned her a bit of a reputation and had earned her enough credibility to be recruited for this job. She was a dog person and Jimmy had heard her discussing corgis with Dr. Mallard given his mother had quite a few and Y/N herself was considering getting one. She hated caramel. She loved Halloween and had been excited when Abby had invited her to a costume party. She loved wearing heels even though she complained they killed her feet. She always seemed so put together. It was something Jimmy admired about her; how elegant she always seemed. She was from a tiny mining town down south and she still had a hint of an accent that honestly made Jimmy melt just the slightest. She hated it when people called her a southern belle though or made condescending comments about her accent.

There were so many things he adored about her.

They were only friends though. They’d built up a friendship sharing lunch breaks and coffee breaks at times. They were close enough in age that they’d found they had a little in common as far as childhood memories went. Their friendship had been mostly filled with those shared coffee breaks and lunches and the occasional time spent together when everyone wanted to go grab a drink after work.

Neither Jimmy nor her were big in the bar scene and they seemed to find that they liked one another’s company over any of the more enthusiastic bar patrons. Y/N didn’t even judge Jimmy when he ordered a more stereotypically feminine sugary cocktail instead of beer or hard liquor like their coworkers. In fact, Y/N would usually pipe up that Jimmy’s order sounded good so she might try it too. Jimmy had always appreciated that about her. She could recognize when was feeling self conscious and seemed to have a way of reassuring him without it coming across as condescending or patronizing.

She just had a way of making him feel at ease. He felt like he could really be himself around her without judgement or anxiety rearing its ugly head in.

Jimmy had always told himself that friendship was enough. He would rather have her as his friend than risk losing her as a possible lover.

It seemed though that perhaps this was more than friendship. At least it seemed that way given their current activity.

He still wasn’t sure how this was happening. All he knew was that they were both working late and she’d come downstairs to Autopsy to see if he wanted to take a coffee break with her. One thing had led to another and now here they were, their lips pressed together, their hands roaming one another’s still clothed bodies.

He’d looked down at her and she’d been staring up at him and their lips had just met. There had been no words exchanged. This seemed to be months of flirting and shared gazes and sexual tension finally exploding between them.

Jimmy easily managed to dominate the kisses, a situation he was unaccustomed to when it came to his intimate encounters. He was usually the one who took a more submissive role when it came to his romantic partners. He had to like this newfound role though. He had to like that she seemed to trust him enough to let him take the reins so to speak.

They walked backwards towards the desk their lips not leaving one another as he backed her against the desk relieved that it seemed to be free of paperwork for once. He was sure Dr. Mallard would kill him if he pushed any case files or documents from the desk. Actually he was more than certain Dr. Mallard would kill him for this entire situation. He was the one who always insisted that Autopsy was a sacred place of respect. Jimmy was pretty sure this wasn’t exactly a respectful activity.

He couldn’t find it in him to care too much though. Besides this wasn’t the first time he’d found himself in this situation.

He pressed his lips down her neck the soft moan she let out encouraging his actions her fingers threading through his hair making a mess out of his curls.

He nipped and sucked at her neck not caring if he left a mark in his wake. The idea of leaving signs of what they’d done littered across their skin made him moan.

She pulled back from his touch their breathing so heavy their eyes dark with lust his hands not pulling from her. She spoke her cheeks flushing from more than arousal. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“It’s okay. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this.” Jimmy blurted out his heart dropping the second he realized just what he’d said and saw just how she reacted.

She pulled from him as though his touch burned her brow furrowing. “What do you mean?”

Jimmy cringed the word dancing around in the back of his brain taunting him Idiot, idiot, idiot. Now You’ve gone and done it. Look at the idiot and his big mouth!

He parted his lips stammering as he struggled to explain himself. “I’ve uh..I’ve I-I’ve hooked up at wor-work before with a coworker... You see I uh, I…”

Y/N felt her heart sink her mind automatically jumping to the worst possible conclusion. Wow, was this just something he did with girls around work? She hadn’t ever thought it was possible that Jimmy Palmer had a habit of doing this? Maybe she was just another notch in his bedpost.

She’d never suspected that Jimmy Palmer could be some kind of office manwhore. She would have thought that Tony DiNozzo was the one who had a habit of hooking up with girls around the office like it was some sort of game. Was Jimmy seriously just a love them and leave them type?

She spoke, not allowing him to continue not being able to stop herself from voicing her concerns. “So is this a habit for you? Hooking up with coworkers? Am I just a flavor of the week for you?”

Jimmy parted his lips, his throat tightening up his words failing to come. How could she think that? A little voice in the back of his brain told him had no right to be offended. He knew how this sounded.

His mouth opened and closed a few times, he looking like a fish gasping for water on land, Jimmy struggling to find the words to explain the entire story. He felt as though all the words he wanted to say were getting jumbled up at the tip of his tongue and he couldn’t work a thing out.

Y/N felt her temper rise at his loss for words. She took his silence as her answer.

She felt her heart sink. How could she have been so dumb? Of course this didn’t mean anything to him. Why was she like this? She got so over sentimental and over romantic about guys and they always let her down. She’d thought that Jimmy was different from every other guy who pursued her. He seemed so sweet and gentle. He was so cheerful and polite that it was hard not to adore him. He had almost a boyish charm to him that had made him endearing to her. Not to mention the fact that he was so passionate and determined when it came to his career choice. She’d always liked passion and motivation in a man.

She’d never imagined he was the kind of guy to be into just hooking up without it meaning a thing especially with someone he worked with. She’d let her heart get carried away and imagine that this was the beginning to their love story. She’d let herself believe that this meant that they would run away into the sunset together. She’d let herself get caught up in a dumb crush and had assumed he felt the same. Jimmy clearly was only thinking with his dick at the moment. Why were men so disappointing?

She felt like an idiot. She pushed him back standing up from the desk straightening her clothing, her voice harsh. “Just forget it Jimmy. Clearly we aren’t on the same page. I don’t even think we’re in the same book. I’m not the kind of girl who’s okay with just hooking up with no strings attached. I don’t judge you for being into anything casual, but it's not for me.”

Jimmy finally forced himself to speak, his hands reaching for her as she headed towards the door. “Wait Y/N, please.”

“Forget it Jimmy. Just forget it ever happened.” She snapped storming from the room, Jimmy feeling his heart sink.

How could things go so wrong so fast?

He felt a self deprecating voice in the back of his head speak up “Nice going. She hates your guts. You finally got to kiss the girl you’re crazy about only to fuck everything up. Just typical for you. James Palmer the king of self sabotage.”

He groaned, unsure if he should follow her and try to explain it all. She seemed so angry. He had never done well with confrontation, especially when that confrontation came from an angry woman.

He felt his heart sink all the more hating that he was such a coward. He couldn’t go after her. She probably hated him. He’d ruined everything once again.

He felt himself begin to wallow in self-pity cursing his big fat mouth.

He took a deep breath a sense of determination washing over him. No, no he wasn’t just giving up. He wasn’t going to lose her over his big mouth.

He just had to figure out how to fix this all. There had to be a way to fix this.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Y/N cringed, feeling her eyes on her. She tried to pretend that she was too invested in her computer to pay any mind to Ziva standing over her. She knew she meant well, but Y/N couldn’t help but to find Ziva standing over her like this to be a little unnerving.

She cleared her throat her voice tight. “I won’t have the background check done any time soon. This guy has like a million aliases. So you can go if you have something better to do.”

She spoke again trying to make a joke hoping she could use humor to deflect the crushing sense of heartbreak that was still hanging over her from last night’s disastrous events. “If you keep looming over me staring at me like that I’m gonna start thinking you’ve got a crush on me.”

Ziva was fast to speak, still eyeing Y/N with a knowing glance. “You are not my type and I am quite sure I am not yours.”

She paused, not afraid to be blunt about it. “Why are you so grouchy today? You are crappy.”

“Crabby, you mean? Crappies are fish, crabs are shellfish.” Y/N responded more than accustomed to Ziva’s occasional mistakes when it came to American figures of speech.

“Yes, the little sea creature with the pinchers. It’s a word that means you are irritable right?” Ziva remarked not at all minding Y/N’s correction.

Y/N sighed trying to pretend that the truth wasn’t so obvious. “I’m fine, just tired.”

“There is more to this than being tired. You seem sad. You are not you.” Ziva insisted making it clear she wasn’t just going to let this go.

Y/N sighed knowing that it was obvious she was a little out of sorts. She hadn’t been looking forward to coming into work this morning. She’d dreaded running into Jimmy after what had happened last night.

She still felt so humiliated. She’d liked him so much and he was clearly just looking to get laid. She felt dumb for feeling so disappointed and heartbroken. Jimmy was just another guy she’d have to add to the list of disappointing men in her life.

She’d been foolish enough to hope that Jimmy was different. Wasn’t that the mistake she always made though; believing that it was different this time. She always mistakenly believed that this guy was different only to be crushed when she realized they were all the same as the others.

She had done her best to hide her heartbreak at least as far as her appearance went. She’d picked out a pretty red dress that matched her nails and had fixed her hair and painstakingly done her makeup. She had put together one of her usual favorite outfits and walked into work with her head held up high. She’d sat in her office and got to work. On the outside she appeared to be just as put together as she always was. It was obvious to those who knew her well though that there was something off. She wasn’t filled with bright smiles and she wasn’t even drinking her favorite tea or softly humming her favorite songs as she worked.

She let out a heavy sigh knowing that Ziva wasn’t going to let this go. She was the type to keep poking the proverbial bear until she got an answer. “Jimmy and I kissed last night.”

“Is that a bad thing? I was under the assumption that you wanted to kiss him.” Ziva replied a frown crossing her features as she tried to find the problem.

Y/N felt her cheeks flush knowing that to Ziva and Abby the little crush she was nursing for Jimmy Palmer was so obvious. She had spent quite a bit of time with Ziva and Abby it feeling nice to hang out with the only other two women she worked so closely with. She’d been unable to hide her affection for Jimmy given that she tended to talk about him more often than not without even realizing. They’d tried to encourage her to pursue Jimmy, but Y/N was always hesitant fearing ruining the friendship they’d developed.

Y/N sighed knowing that she had to tell the truth. “We were getting pretty into it...like really hot and heavy and it was obvious that it was headed...you know in that direction... I was trying to tell him that I’ve never gotten intimate at work before, I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea...and then he blurted out that this isn’t the first time he’s done this with a coworker. It was pretty obvious that he thought of it as a hook up and nothing more.”

“Did he say that exactly to you?” Ziva asked her frown deepening understanding exactly who Jimmy had been talking about when he spoke of the coworker he’d done this with before. She knew it wasn’t her story to tell though. That was on Jimmy.

Y/N rolled her eyes as she replied. “He didn’t have to. His silence when I questioned him about it said it all.”

“I am sure that his silence was not an answer. Jimmy really does not seem to be the love them and leave them type of man. Perhaps you should talk to him about it, clear it up.” Ziva offered knowing it was all she could do.

Y/N shook her head a heavy huff leaving her. “There’s no point. He made it pretty clear what his intentions were. It’s just...super disappointing. I really liked him, you know? I thought he might be different, that things might be different with him. It’s...whatever though. I just need some time to mope and then I’ll get over him.”

Ziva frowned all the more wanting to point out that Y/N just needed to woman up and confront Jimmy. She was so stubborn and it was bordering on immature. Just leaving it be and jumping to conclusions would only cause her more heartache.

She kept her lips sealed though knowing that Y/N was a grown woman and Ziva wasn’t her mother. She couldn’t force her to do anything.

It turned out Ziva might not have to worry about forcing it as a soft knock sounded out at the door frame Ziva and Y/N turning to see the very man they’d been discussing.

Y/N felt her stomach turn at the sight of him her eyes narrowing. What part of forget it didn’t he get?

Jimmy shifted in place having to wonder if the bouquet of pink and yellow tulips he was holding was a bad idea. The florist had told him that tulips represented a hope for a new beginning, peace, and forgiveness. That seemed to be all the things Jimmy was hoping for.

Jimmy spoke his voice soft he looking like a kicked puppy at the moment he clearly losing confidence by the second. “Is this a bad time?”

Y/N parted her lips to say Yes but Ziva spoke answering for her. “Not at all, I’ll leave you two to it.”

Y/N shot Ziva a glare ignoring her knowing smile and her soft words to Jimmy as she passed him. “Don’t mess this up Jimmy. Good luck.”

Jimmy furrowed his brow wondering just how much Ziva knew?

He shifted in place holding the flowers out the words leaving him. “These are for you.”

Y/N sighed a little bit of fury swirling in her gut. Did he seriously think buying her flowers would make up for the fact that he’d been perfectly willing to use her as a quick lay the night before? Did he really think he could buy her flowers and she’d forget he planned on making her yet another hookup to add to his apparent list?

He spoke again, his heart sinking realizing she wasn’t taking them. “I just..I-I wanted to apologize for last night.”

Y/N spoke, her voice still sounding harsh. “I told you to forget it Jimmy. It was a mistake. We aren’t on the same page.”

“It wasn’t a mistake though...or I don’t think it was a mistake.” Jimmy insisted.

He sighed knowing he had to just be honest with her and hope that she could accept it. “I always say the wrong thing. It’s a curse. I have a big fat mouth and I ruin every good thing in my life. My job is the only thing my mouth hasn’t totally ruined for me.”

He let out a soft sigh finding the words he should have said last night. “I don’t want my big mouth to ruin us. I think we need to talk.”

He paused relieved that her face had softened a little bit she seeming less closed off. He took a deep breath as he spoke up explaining it all. “When I mentioned it not being my first experience with uh...that...last night. I didn’t mean that I make a habit of you know…”

“Fucking your coworkers.” Y/N responded being blunt about it.

Jimmy felt his cheeks flush nodding his head as he replied. “I don’t just sleep with people without it meaning something. I promise you I wouldn’t sleep with you or even kiss you if it didn’t mean something to me. I swear on my life. I did a really poor job of explaining myself last night.”

He cleared his throat deciding to just be transparent about it all. “I had a relationship with someone who used to work here...it wasn’t much of a relationship really. It was more focused on sex than anything. We had a tendency to uh...have encounters at work. Michelle and I...it was complicated.”

He paused knowing it did no good to get into the secrets that had been exposed about Michelle Lee or her treason or the story behind it. He was sure that was confidential information that wasn’t meant to be shared.

He spoke again knowing the best way he could explain it. “It’s a long complicated story. All I can say though is that we really weren’t good for each other. I felt used to be honest. It felt like she was only interested in sleeping with me but not anything else that went into a relationship. We were sexually compatible but she wasn’t there for me in the way I needed her to be. So, I broke up with her.”

Y/N felt the words leave her soaking up this information. Part of her wanted to think that there had to be more to the story than what he was telling her, but he seemed so genuine. “So, that’s what you meant by this isn’t the first time I’ve done this?”

Jimmy nodded his head his cheeks flushing this entire conversation feeling somewhat awkward. What if she judged him for it? What if she was disgusted by it? Then again did she have a reason to be, after all they’d been clearly headed towards getting intimate at work last night.

He spoke the words still sounding so genuine. “The break up was rough but it needed to happen. Like I said, we were bad for each other. There were a lot of secrets on her end that I can’t even get into.”

She furrowed her brow wondering just why he couldn’t get into it. He spoke again struggling to explain himself. “Trust me it’s complicated.”

He paused, taking a deep breath. “I would never use you as a means to get laid. When I kissed you last night it’s because I wanted to. I’ve wanted to do it for a while actually. It’s all I can think about when I see you. I am pretty crazy for you to be honest. I think I’ve made that pretty clear.”

“I think you have.” She replied knowing he’d been so quick to always shoot her flirty smiles and attempt to tell her jokes no matter how truly awful they were. Then again she was always fast to return those smiles and laugh at those bad jokes.

She gave him a soft smile, his heart lifting as she spoke. “I think I’ve been pretty clear about how I feel as well.”

Jimmy took a deep breath holding the flowers out again. “Do you think I can ask for another chance? I’ll try not to let my big mouth ruin anything this time.”

Y/N gave him her answer she standing up from her desk and leaning up her lips pressing to his. He embraced her, still somehow keeping a tight grip on the bouquet he was holding. This kiss was much more innocent than the passionate kisses they’d shared the night before but somehow this kiss seemed all the better.

She parted her lips from his her voice soft. “I think I can give you a second chance. I don’t mind your big mouth.”

He pressed his lips to hers again as she spoke. “I should have heard you out last night. I jumped to the worst conclusion like an asshole.”

“It’s okay, I mean...I froze up and didn’t explain myself at all.” He replied refusing to let her take all the blame.

They shared another kiss before he spoke the words falling out of him, his big mouth striking again. “Do you think we could try for a repeat of last night?”

He felt his stomach drop fearing the worst. His fears evaporated though as she spoke. “Maybe the next time we work late we can give that another shot...maybe in my office this time though...Autopsy isn’t exactly a romantic destination for me. Before that though I think I’d like a dinner date and maybe trying it out in a bed first.”

He felt a lovesick smile cross his lips at her words.

For once his big mouth was working in his favor.

#Jimmy Palmer #NCIS #NCIS fanfic #Jimmy Palmer fanfic #Jimmy Palmer X Reader #Jimmy Palmer imagine #jimmy palmer fanfiction #ncis fanfiction

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softlass27 · 4 years

Text

a wee fic based on the chas/al affair rumours :)

AO3 link here

(obviously robert never went to prison in this universe)

“No, Nicola, I don’t know what your anniversary plans are – nor do I wish to know – and Jimmy really needs to be in that meeting so just tell him… ” Robert trails off when he spots Aaron trudge through the front door looking like someone had just run over his dog.

“Gotta go, tell Jimmy to be ready first thing tomorrow.” He hangs up the call, indifferent to the sound of Nicola’s indignant shrieks on the other end.

“Hey,” he calls tentatively as Aaron kicks his shoes off and enters the kitchen. “What’s up?”

“Just come from the pub… ”

“And?”

Aaron slumps down into the chair next to him and sighs heavily. “My mum’s been havin’ an affair.”

“What, seriously?”

“Yeah.”

Robert’s mouth curls into a sly grin before he can stop it. Oh, how the tables turn.

Aaron catches the look on his face and gives him a light smack on the arm. “Oi, this isn’t funny!”

“No, sorry, course it isn’t,” Robert clears his throat and schools his face into a more sympathetic expression. It’s not like they hadn’t thought something was coming – Aaron had been convinced Chas was acting suspiciously for weeks now – but it’s probably still a bit of a shock for his husband. “What happened, then?”

“Dunno how it all came out, I got there just in time to see the whole thing kicking off in front of everyone. Mum crying, Paddy storming out, the works. Half the village probably knows by now.”

“God. Who’s she been carrying on with, then?”

“Al.”

“Al?”

“Yep.”

“Al who slept with Marlon’s wife and still goes out of his way to make him miserable at every opportunity? That Al?”

“I just said so, didn’t I?”

“Wow, after all the grief she’s been giving Belle about family loyalty these last few months… I’m shocked. Shocked and appalled.”

“Right, if you’re not gonna take this seriously, I’m gonna walk right back out that door.” Aaron scowls and rises from his seat, only for Robert to grab his arm and pull him down again.

“No, wait, I’m sorry. I’m listening, I swear. You have to admit, though, it’s a bit ironic.”

Aaron rolls his eyes, but gives a reluctant nod.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Aaron shrugs, though his eyes look sad. “Just… sucks that they’re breaking up like this.”

“Well… it’s been on the cards for a while, I suppose.”

“What’re you on about?” Robert winces when Aaron frowns at him. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. “Okay, yeah, they’ve had a rough go of things but they’ve been alright. They’ve got Eve now and I thought – I thought they were doin' better.”

“Aaron,” Robert gently takes his hand, feeling his heart give a painful tug at his husband’s downcast expression. “You remember what they were like on lockdown, right? The endless calls you got from your mum ranting about how Paddy was driving her mad. Or vice versa, if he was feeling brave enough to dare complain. Frankly, I’m amazed the pub didn’t turn into a crime scene.”

The longer lockdown had dragged on, the more phone calls and texts Aaron had received from Chas, to the point where Robert had seriously considered chucking his phone into the stream on their daily walk. Hour after hour Aaron – and by extension Robert – had to listen to the same complaints; another day of arguments, another day of silent treatment, another day of disagreeing about Eve, another day where Paddy’s very presence seemed to drive her over the edge.

Not that Robert could blame her, but hey, she was the one who chose to be with the man. He can’t imagine ever speaking about Aaron like that. Hell, he never would’ve spoken about Chrissie like that, not when they were together.

“That’s not how it’s supposed to be. I think this year… has put some things into perspective for people. Divorce rates are sky high, apparently, loads of couples have realised they’re not as compatible as they thought. And maybe Chas and Paddy are one of those couples.”

Personally Robert’s always thought of Chas and Paddy as the least compatible couple he’d ever been unfortunate enough to know, but he decides to keep that to himself for now. Probably not helpful.

“Mum and Paddy aren’t actually married,” is all Aaron says, chewing his thumbnail. “Never got round to it, remember?”

“Doesn’t that tell you something?”

No response.

“Look, I’m not saying she should’ve cheated on him – again,” he can’t resist adding, which has Aaron pinching his hand warningly. “But surely them splitting up is better in the long run, rather than staying together when they just make each other miserable? Which would probably make Eve miserable when she got old enough to notice?”

“Yeah… ” Aaron sighed. “Suppose you’re right.”

“Wow, can I get that in writing?”

Aaron huffs a laugh and shoves Robert’s hand away. “You can piss off.”

“Okay, you want me to make us a brew while I do that?”

“Please.”

Robert presses a kiss to Aaron’s forehead and goes to fill the kettle. As he pulls out the mugs and drops a couple of tea bags in them, he notices Aaron checking his phone.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, just… maybe I should track Paddy down, check he’s alright.”

“He’s probably gone to Marlon’s or somethin’.”

Aaron just hums in response.

“He’ll be okay, y’know,” Robert smiles reassuringly as he returns to the table and sets Aaron’s mug in front of him, giving him another kiss just because he can. “Yeah, it’ll hurt for a while, but he’ll come out the other end. It’s not like he hasn’t been through it before. From both sides, I might add.”

“Alright,” Aaron shakes his head in exasperation. “You got all your digs in now?”

Robert hums thoughtfully and takes a slow sip of his brew. “Give me a minute, another one might come to me.”

He grins when Aaron chuckles despite himself. They sit in silence for a few moments, drinking their teas, when Aaron eventually speaks quietly.

“I’m so glad that we’re not like… ”

“Your mum and Paddy?”

“I was going to say those couples you mentioned. The ones who couldn’t make it through this year.”

“Oh.” Robert has to agree, he can’t imagine ever getting sick of spending time with his husband. “Me too. I loved having you to myself.”

Aaron’s eyes turn soft. “Yeah, it wasn’t bad, was it?”

“Guess we’re just superior.”

“Guess so.”

“Although if I’d had to watch you play Call of Duty in your pants for one more hour, that might’ve been the breaking point, so it’s probably a good thing lockdown ended when it did.”

“Oh I’m sorry, d’you wanna talk about the mess you made in the kitchen every other day? Trying out another recipe for somethin’ we’d literally never eat.”

“Now hang on a sec – ”

“’Cause I think the garlic sourdough incident might count as grounds for divorce.”

“Whatever,” Robert huffs, before raising an eyebrow. “I made that up to you, didn’t I?”

Aaron pauses, before grinning sheepishly when the memory of how that night had ended comes back to him.

“Fair enough,” he leans forwards in his chair and smirks at Robert. “I suppose we did alright on that front.”

A wave of sudden desire washes over Robert, memories of exactly how they’d passed most of their blissfully uninterrupted time during those months hitting him vividly.

“I’d say we managed, yeah,” his voice drops an octave, gaze drifting down to Aaron’s mouth. “So you fancy… reliving some of lockdown now? Upstairs?”

“You read my mind.”

The unfinished mugs of tea sit abandoned on the table.

#catch me ignoring canon completely :)#aaron and robert are superior in every way #and they know it #my writing #robron #anti-chaddy

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highfunctioningflailgirl · 4 years

Text

My notes on Lethal White episode 3

As usual, my poorly sorted and not-really-filtered thoughts on “Lethal White”, episode 3. Continued under the cut because ALL THE SPOILERS!

We’re back with Robin and cling-wrapped Chiswell. Holliday plays Robin’s tenuously controlled panic very well. The subtle trembling, the tears she forces back. She’s so good. 👏🏼

A two-week jump. These always jar me. Did that happen in the book?🤨

Another mention of Strike talking with Wardle, and again we don’t get to see him. Dang. I really miss his leather-jacketed wry humour. 😔

Of course they’re meeting at “The White Horse”. Where else? *Rosmersholm vibes*

The reveal about the bones was a bit anti-climactic, wasn’t it? It had a better effect with the skull, in the book. And how do you “accidentally” shoot a horse, even when it’s a small one? How much more are we supposed to hate Freddie? (This episode is just full of terribly behaving men)

Who are the kids playing with the dog? Pringle and Pong? Were those their ridiculous nicknames?

And here comes the “Knives Out” scene. 🔪The Chiswell family is such a loving bunch. *coughs*

Did you see the playful tension between Raff and Robin? And that little disconcerted look Cormoran casts them? Bit jealous, Corm? 😏

Raff’s sarcastic little throw-in remarks are really making this scene more fun. Gotta give him that: he adds a bit of “black sheep” dash to the family!

“KEYS!” 😁 Cormoran is like the adult stepping between a bunch of fist-throwing kids.

Cormoran and Robin are staring at the Chiswell’s bickering as if waiting for one of them to actually start spitting and biting.

Raff: “I’m sure our charming hostess means to offer you tea at some point.” 🤣

Cormoran: “I’m thinking it might be suicide after all. He couldn’t face another family gathering.” 😂

*grunts* We’ve all been there, haven’t we? (And I don’t even want to start thinking about Cormoran’s family gatherings…)

Hah! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I guessed right from the leaked stills: it is the hospital Billy’s in! (Cookie points for me!)

That staff woman gives off very sensible and caring vibes. They picked the actress well.

And, god, Billy carved the horse into his own chest? 😟 Good god…

Vanessa! And she looks good! And - unlike in the first series - she smiles! And is really NICE! (Wow, what a beautiful woman.) 😍

That little lounge corner in Cormoran’s office is new, isn’t it? Very cozy. ☕️🍪

Goth Robin! She looks awesome! 😍 (Excuse me, but have we traveled back into the 80s? She looks like half the people in my school back then.) And look at Holliday playing her: she even moves differently! This season must have been a lot of fun for her as an actress.

I love the Wiccan shop. I had one of those salt lamps (and a lava lamp too), but don’t tell anybody… ☺️

Cormoran’s FACE when he sees goth Robin! 🥰The double take, the pleased surprise, that touch of awe… He is so proud of her! (What a contrast to Matt the Twat’s derogatory reactions to her disguises).

Cormoran: “You liking Raff then?” Are we a teensy bit jealous again, Corm? ☺️

When he asked Robin what she was doing this evening, I held my breath. WAS HE GOING TO ASK HER OUT? 🤗 He wasn’t. 😔 Everybody calm down. It’s not happening yet. Unfortunately. And probably never will. *very long sigh*

It’s so cute how he can’t stop looking at her! 🥰I love her confidence. And his twinkle-eyed, soft grin that doesn’t seem to want to fade. He truly admires her, for her competence AND for her looks. ASK HER OUT YOU FOOL! *headdesk*

Lorelei. With coffee. Apologizing for saying “I love you”. Ack. And then Corm says “I was gonna call you.” (You weren’t, admit it!). I didn’t know what to feel when seeing this scene for the first time: shocked that they were still together? Sympathy for Lorelei? Mad at Cormoran’s lackluster ‘yeah, alright, whatever’ attitude? Very mixed emotions.

Cormoran following Aamir along the South Bank. Watch me pointing excitedly at the screen because I’ve strolled down that same boardwalk way back when traveling was still a thing. *flails* *misses London*

Aamir’s place. Why is Cormoran talking about food again? Robin hasn’t fed him biscuits today yet, has she?

Cormoran’s always a bit unnerving when interrogating someone. He uses friendly words, but there is that tiny bit of menace about him, an intensity and pressure… SIB Corm. Tom does that so well. 😎

“You gonna butter me?” Smooth moves, ex-Sergeant Strike! 🥋 Oh, I love seeing him in action! 🤗

Robin hides the phone, and I am a nervous wreck worrying someone’s going to call and her phone isn’t in silent mode! (enneagram type 6 here, hello…) 😬

I was waiting for Matt to be an absolute prick when he sees goth Robin, but he’s actually not. And he’s had the Green Dress mended. I like how the show gives him a few shades and doesn’t paint him as outrageously hateful as the book does. (jftr, we all still hate you, Matt!)

But then, the way he rushes at her with his “That’s not true” - why does it somehow feel like a physical threat? And wow, Robin is COLD. Dude, your marriage is over. You just haven’t been notified yet.

So we’re ignoring Lorelei’s calls again, Cormoran? *eyebrow lift* Is that what we do as a gentleman? And then he calls off dinner and has no more than a lame “Sounds good, I’ll call you” when she mentions breakfast? If he’s not invested at the mention of food, something is clearly wrong…

Della Winn, and they picked a blind actress for the role. Good for them! ✔️

So, help me out here, native speakers: Della says she can hear the West Country in Cormoran’s vowels, but to me he doesn’t sound Cornish. Am I wrong? To my ears, Tom is speaking in some sort of self-made accent that I can’t place, but it doesn’t sound anything like the Cornish burr Robert Glenister gives him in the audiobooks. Opinions? 🤔

Rhiannon’s story touched me in the book, and it touches me deeply here. A revenge murder would’ve made perfect sense to me.

The party. We’ve apparently time-traveled again.

“What’s ‘Becca’ short for?” 🙄

Ah! The note was hidden in the maxipads box! I seem to recall that, in the book, Robin hid the Houses of Parliament bugging device in a tampon box. Cool parallel.

VANESSA! HURRY UP! 😨

The chase. Good thing this goth girl wears sensible shoes! Nice trick with the crouching and tripping. Take THAT, Jimmy! Robin’s learned from past experience, and I love the addition of the chase that wasn’t in the book. Robin’s no longer a helpless victim. She is a FIGHTER! And - BAM! Perfect timing, patrol car! 🚔

Cormoran: “How did you guess where she hid it?” (Because that’s where girls hide stuff, darling. ONE good thing all the menstruating is good for at least.)

Quick shout-out to Tom Burke’s freckles. They really should be credited as supporting actors. 🥰

Btw, the navy jumper is not a jumper but a cardigan! I bet Tom was pleased. (And my shippy brain can imagine him wrapping a freezing Robin in it 💙)

Enter Lorelei. Here be dragons.

“You know, if you want a hot meal and a shag with no human emotions involved, there are restaurants. And brothels.”

Oooohhhh... 😳

Need ointment for that burn, Corm?

And she’s entitled! Cormoran’s old school gallantry seems to have gone MIA when it comes to treating Lorelei with the respect she deserved. Especially since he had his chance at ending it decently and respectfully at their earlier little talk over coffee. I still don’t think he meant to hurt her. It was thoughtlessness. Which is no redeeming factor at all. He deserved this, even in front of Robin. #TeamLorelei

Well, at least he didn’t get smacked with an ashtray this time.

I LOLed when Robin simply went straight back to business without commenting. A real pro. 😎

Cormoran: “That was a bit awkward.” Was it, Corm? We barely noticed. *snorts*

And although Robin defends him a little bit, her suppressed smirk and her work-life balance remark tell us she’s enjoyed this a bit. And not just because Cormoran is single again.

Matthew calls: “Sorry, it’s a work thing.” (NO IT ISN’T AND YOU’RE A LYING, CHEATING [REDACTED] !!!) 🤬

Robin steps on Sarah Shaglock’s earring, and now starts a scene that makes me want to shower Holliday in BAFTAs. 🏆🏆🏆 Heart wrenching, painful, powerful. And Matthew finally shows his true colours. (And Kerr Logan deserves a nod for his acting too).

On a completely irrelevant side note: Matt stole that coat from Darius Tanz, only that Santi looked hot as hell in it whereas Matt just looks like an accountant who pretends to look hot. (Go and watch “Salvation” if you have no clue what I’m talking about)

Robin is so bravely holding it together, and - wow - her coldness towards Matt is pretty impressive, and at the same time she’s forcing herself not to cry and fights down a panic attack. It’s amazing how she puts every emotion and train of thought from the books onto the table and we can read it in her face and in her voice and body language. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼Best scene of the season, if you ask me. (Not that anyone ever asks me, but here it is.)

“I’m not gonna let you fail again!” 😡 Aaaand Matt tries to put her down again. To make her feel weak and in need of help. BUT IT’S NO LONGER WORKING. She’s got this. Oh, she’s got this!

They left out Robin saying that he “doesn’t even have a knife”, and I’m actually glad they did. This didn’t need to be about physical assault again. Matt wouldn’t go that far, and it wasn’t necessary to go there. They clearly showed how manipulative he is and how strong Robin has to be to walk away from him, and that is enough.

The minicab driver. I remember the actress as Mrs. Fitz from “Outlander”, and she’s the perfect motherly tough love type to crack that marriage joke. And to get our girl out of there with no further fuss.

Whoa. I had high expectations. And they were met 10/10.

What did you guys think?

#lethal white #lethal white episode 3 #cormoran strike #cb strike #bbc strike #recap #🚨 spoiler alert

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along-the-devils-backbone · 3 years

Text

Tw: ED, Tw: Weight loss, tw: self-harm (?)

I'm tired of being huge. I'm tired of being the "wrong shape". I look at other girls that are my size and bigger -- beautiful people that I admire and have helped me so much in my self-love journey... and I see them and realize we're not even shaped the same.

I feel like I would give anything to be a pear-shape. A decent waist, and round hips... but instead, I have a fucking "B" belly, where it looks like I wore my jeans too tight & all my fat deformed into two bellies instead of one... Shirts cling to my upper belly and make me look like i'm smuggling two pool noodles around my waist at all times. High-waisted pants make me look like Tweedle-Dee. If i turn sideways, I look like a really sad floppy caramel apple with the stick shoved all the way through both sides.

I hate it. I hate me.

I've been trying so so hard lately to not hate myself. To work on my confidence and love my body. Some days I can look down and think "wow, i'm so soft. I'm so warm. I can't wait for Adrian to lay his head on my belly and nap." but more often that not lately, I see myself in mirrors and think "Holy fuck, what the fuck was I thinking?? This looks bad. REALLY bad."

And this week... This week got REALLY bad.

We're house-sitting for my MIL and in the 17 years i've been with Jim, her bathroom has been the bane of my existence. Floor-to-Ceiling mirrors line 3 out of 4 walls. BRIGHT fucking lights. I get to see every bad angle of myself in fucking hi-def 4d 1080p. Every roll, every imperfection, every weird dimple... And you can't just... NOT look. It's everywhere. I spend my entire time using the toilet/shower staring at her ugly pink flooring wishing I was literally anywhere else. I can't even walk PAST the bathroom, because the door is always open (so the dog can use her potty pads bc she's old) and i'll catch myself in the mirror, not thinking.

It feels like being drop-kicked by surprise every time I have to fetch something from the bedroom or go pee...

It's gotten so bad though, I feel like every step i've taken towards loving myself, has been undone. Like a bigass house of cards, it just came tumbling the fuck down and i've no idea how to begin rebuilding it.

I tried today, to dress up. To challenge myself & wear something I hadn't worn in public yet, because I saw so many plus-sized goddesses on tiktok trying it, and i thought "I'm going to do that. I'm going to dress up in this expensive dress i bought, and i'm going to do my makeup, wear fishnets & heels, and get gorgeous, then go to a park & do a photoshoot to PROVE how good I look!"

It backfired so hard.

I cried on a park bench.

I felt like a sad, sweaty apple in a sausage-casing that shouldn't have tried to be something other than a gross rotting apple. I came home & immediately changed into shorts and a tanktop and refused to look in the mirrors. I wiped all my makeup off to hide that i'd been crying. I faked being okay to Jimmy because I know he'd just tell me he doesn't care & loves me any way I look... but what's it matter if someone else loves you, if you don't love yourself? When you can't see what they possibly love about your body when they won't even touch it?

On top of all of this, i'm in pain. Literal physical pain. I can't get jack-shit done IRL because of it. I'm always holed up on a couch or in bed crying because it hurts so much. My doctors just shrug and tell me "Well if you lost weight, it probably wouldn't hurt so bad." as if there's not a knot of nerves that if you barely graze my back, i crumple into a heap because of the fucking pain. But let's not see a neurologist -- that's obviously just me being too fat :) right? :)

It makes me not want to eat. I want to starve myself and eat only coffee and boiled eggs for months on end until I lose enough weight for my doctors to go "holy shit, we were wrong! it's NOT your weight! Let's actually get you tested for things NOT related to your weight!!" But I don't do that. Instead, I sit here and eat, because food = happiness. It doesn't need me to rely on somebody to leave the house. It doesn't need me to spend forever walking and standing. It makes me happy, in a life where the only happiness I get comes from my partners. So i fucking eat. And it's not that I eat a lot. I eat maybe 3x a day. 4 if i have an extra snack. My portions aren't crazy huge. I have vegetables & cut out a lot of carbs & dairy whenever I can. I fucking went Keto for 3 months before I got fed up making everything out of cauliflower & spending fortunes on alt flours because i'm allergic to fucking coconut everything...

If i'm not eating to make myself happy, i'm starving myself. Because the idea of food makes me sick. Food = weight gain, and while i know i need nutrients to survive, I'd rather not eat & hope I lose the weight, than eat & have a chance of just gaining more and more...

Is it healthy? fuck no. Is it an eating disorder? oh hell yeah. Do I want to do something about it? fucking of course. Do i know what to do? Not one fucking bit.

I just know i'm not happy. I hate my body. I hate looking at myself from the fucking shoulders on down, and I've no idea how to change it without having surgery -- and i've come to the realization that i'm beginning to be okay with that.

I'm sitting on a park bench today, crying, thinking "It can't be that bad... right?" to want to be cut open & have my stomach stapled, or be rubber-banded so small that all i can eat is a boiled egg and half a coffee, because obviously I can't do it myself.

I'm lying in bed last night, picturing what would happen if I just took a butcher knife and hacked off my "upper" belly, so maybe i'd start to look like a "normal" fat person, instead of this B-belly bullshit that nature so graciously gifted me...

I'm sitting here, remembering every time my mother calls herself fucking ugly, horrendous, disgusting, because she's fat... and she weighs almost 100lbs less than me. Or the time my German Teacher joked about hating her body so much, she mentioned wanting to take a shotgun & position it so it would only catch her belly fat, and nothing else, so they'd be FORCED to liposuction all of the buckshot out & she'd be "normal"...

I know my gyno prescribed a lap-band surgery once. My fucking OBGYN... I ended up cancelling the appointment because I thought I could do it on my own.

I can't.

I know my insurance would cover it. I know i'd be stuck with flabby gross skin afterward & not have any money to get the tummy-tuck needed to make me look normal...

I'm thinking of going through with it anyway though... because i fucking hate my body, and i hate the pain I'm in, and I just want to be done with it all.

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johnsbleu · 4 years

Text

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 70

warnings: a quick nsfw moment hmh masterlist

The last few days have been filled with a lot of food, belly laughs, and way more walking than you’d like. John took you to his favorite restaurant, then he made sure Tess got the gondola ride she’s been dying to have. Jimmy tried his best to sing, but the man knows absolutely no Italian, and that resulted in Tess being incredibly mortified. Everywhere you went, you took pictures, and you can’t wait to get home so you can fill an entire scrap book with them.

You don’t know what John has planned for your last day here, but you’re excited to find out. You told him you didn’t mind just hanging out in the hotel, but John, of course, didn’t want to do that. He’s still trying to make up for coming home all bloody.

Since you’ve been so busy during the day and drained from the sun, you’ve crashed every night that you’ve gotten back to the hotel, and you haven’t bothered to get up until almost 10 every morning. It’s not shocking that you’re sleeping in so late, the shocking part is that John has been as well.

The washer buzzing jolts you awake, and you brush the hair away from your face to check the clock. Seeing that it’s only 9:32, you bury your face in the bed and squirm around as you stretch your legs. Reaching your right arm out, you feel around the bed for John, but the sheets are cold and empty.

“John?” you sit up and look around the room, then reach over for your phone and see a folded up note, “Oh, no…”

You take the note from the side table and sit back in bed to read it: Peach, don’t freak out. I’m fine. I just needed to do a few things this morning and needed help from Tess. Jimmy should still be in his room, and if he is, head down for some breakfast. That is if you haven’t slept through breakfast. That was a joke. It’s hard to make a joke in a letter. I should be back in a few hours. Eat a piece of bacon for me. Yours, Jonathan.

Sighing, you tilt your head back against the headboard and frown dramatically. You don’t know what John and Tess could be doing, but you shrug and reach for your phone. You scroll through your Instagram feed, looking at all the comments on your pictures from the past few days, and you smile to yourself when you see the pictures John has posted of you on his account.

John isn’t one to brag, but when it comes to you, he loves showing you off. You can’t pretend it isn’t flattering. It’s flattering as hell to see the way people look at John, and knowing that he only has eyes for you is honestly one of the best feelings in the world.

You take a deep breath and get up from the bed to stand on the balcony. The sun is so warm already, so today is going to be warmer than yesterday. The sounds of the city are echoing throughout the streets, and you look down to see people walking along the sidewalks.

Rome has been everything you could’ve dreamed of -- even more, to be honest. John has made this trip so memorable, and part of you hates knowing that it’s coming to an end. If only you could stay a little longer, but you know Jimmy and Tess need some time to themselves.

You yawn into your hand and tilt your head back, feeling the sun on your face. You hate to leave the balcony, but you’re in desperate need of a shower, so you reluctantly drag yourself to the bathroom.

You’re in the bathroom curling your hair when you hear shuffling in your room, and you're hoping that it's John to explain why he left this morning. You open the door and see Jimmy shuffling in place with his back to you.

He waves his hand and stammers, “Hey, uh, you dressed?”

“Yeah, I’m dressed.” you laugh and tap him on the shoulder, “You can turn around.”

Jimmy turns around with his eyes closed and slowly opens them, then he laughs when he sees you’re fully dressed. He holds up a note and hands it to you.

James, I’m out with John. We’ll be back in a few hours. Hang out with Goose, get some breakfast. I’ll see you later. - xoxo Tess.

“I’m guessing you’re Goose?”

You shake your head and laugh, “Unfortunately. I was hoping that nickname had been forgotten, but apparently it hasn’t been.”

“We’re supposed to go grab some breakfast it seems.” he says, folding the note back up and tucking it away in his wallet for safe keeping.

“Yeah! Let me finish curling my hair.”

Jimmy leans against the door frame as you finish getting ready, and the two of you talk about the most random of things. You tell Jimmy about the time you and John went bowling and how he got a strike every time, and about the time you caught John looking at baby clothes when you were at the mall.

Jimmy tells you all about his baseball collection, how it started when he found a crumpled up baseball card in the schoolyard playground when he was 8, and how it turned into something bigger for him and his dad. He hopes that Finn will like baseball as well, but if doesn’t, he’s fine picking up whatever hobby he’s into.

“You’re going to be a great dad, Jimmy.” you say as the two of you head for the elevator. “Tess is really lucky, and Finn will be too.”

Jimmy smiles wide and shuffles in place a little as you get into the elevator, “Thanks, that means a lot to me. John is lucky, too. You’re going to be a great mom, and he’s going to be a great dad.”

“Yeah, he’d like that to happen sooner rather than later.” you laugh and lean back against the wall.

“This might not be my business, actually, never mind, it’s not my business.” Jimmy says and shakes his head. You look over at Jimmy and give him a smile, silently letting him know it’s okay to ask you. He clears his throat and takes a deep breath, “Um, are you planning on having kids anytime soon?”

“Well, I guess we kind of talked about it, but we haven’t like…set a plan in motion or anything. I guess as of right now, we’re just kind of letting it be, but honestly, I don’t really want Finn and our baby to be far apart in age. So hopefully, we’ll get pregnant within the next year or so.”

“Really?” Jimmy smiles wide, “That’s great!”

You laugh, “Yeah, plus with Finn, it’ll give John a bit of practice before he has his own baby.”

“He’ll be great.” Jimmy nods.

“Yeah, and John is stuck on this whole thing about how he’s so old lately.” you lean closer to Jimmy and whisper, “Between you and me, I think he’s just trying to get me to feel sorry so that I get pregnant sooner.”

“Is it working?”

You smile and let out a small laugh, “I have to admit, I think it is.”

The elevator tings and you and Jimmy get off, heading for the lounge. Since you’ve been here, the four of you have ordered breakfast and had it delivered to your room every morning, so you have no idea what you’re walking into. Before you can open the door to the lounge, a man pulls it open and greets you just as Jimmy’s phone starts to ring.

“Sorry, it’s my mom, I…I don’t know why she’s calling.” Jimmy says and points at his phone, “I’m gonna take this.”

“Go! I’ll grab our table.” you say, waving him off.

“Hello, Mrs. Wick.” a man says, and you turn around to see a waiter. He gestures to a table in the far back corner and smiles, “Just for you.”

“Oh,” you look over your shoulder to see Jimmy talking away on his phone, then you look back at the man and shrug, “Um, I didn’t make a reservation or anything, I don’t think my fiance did either.”

“No reservation needed. Anything for Mr. Wick.” he says and gestures to the table again.

“Uh, thank you.” you give the man a small wave and smile as you walk past and head for the table in the back corner.

A smile is spreading across your face as you think about someone referring to you as Mrs. Wick, and you reach into your purse to pull out your phone as you sit down at the table. John still hasn’t texted or called you, and you’re starting to get a little frustrated with him.

You prop your head up and look around the lounge, and you see there’s a large banquet table in the middle of the room. It’s covered in vases with flowers that are incredibly beautiful, and they’re overflowing in every vase. There are countless amounts of food, and you spot a cream cheese danish that is making your mouth drool at the sight of it.

Just as you start to get up from the table, your phone begins to ring and you look down to see John calling to FaceTime.

“Hi!” you whisper and wave.

John smiles, “Wow, you look…stunning today.”

“Let me see!” Tess says, and you see her trying to get a look at you, “Oh, you do. God, I hate you.”

“Where are you?” you say, whispering. “I’m lonely.”

Tess grabs the phone from John and furrows her brow, “Where is Jimmy?”

You look around the lounge for Jimmy, but you don’t see him so you assume he’s still on the phone. “He got a call. His mom, I guess.”

Tess widens her eyes, and you see her reach into her purse for her phone, “I don’t have a call from her, so hopefully it’s nothing major with the dogs or anything. I told her to call me if something happened with them.”

John takes his phone back from Tess and smiles, “How are you, baby?”

“I’m fine. I’m just sitting here at the table, waiting for Jimmy to get back here. I’m starving, but I don’t want to make a plate by myself and look like a loser. I know everyone's watching me.”

John laughs and stops walking to open a door for Tess. He smiles wide and gasps, “Wow, I see a really beautiful woman, and she’s just sitting at a table all by herself. She looks kind of hungry, too.”

You look up and see John standing in the door of the lounge. “Oh, well, how beautiful is she?”

“Definitely the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Think I should go talk to her?” he walks closer to the table and smiles as you nod. “Okay, wish me luck.”

You reach up to cup John’s face and you smile as he leans in to kiss you, “Hi, baby.”

“Hey.” John plops down next to you in the booth and wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to him. His stomach rumbles from hunger and the two of you laugh as he presses his hand to it.

“I didn’t get to eat a piece of bacon for you yet.”

John stands up from the table and reaches for your hand to help you out, “Well, let’s go eat bacon.”

Jimmy walks over, clapping his hands together and grabs a plate, “I want to eat all of this, oh, hey, John.”

“Hey, Jimmy.”

Jimmy looks over at the table, then around the lounge, “Where’s Tess?”

“Oh,” John places some bacon on your plate and looks up at Jimmy, “She had to run up the room for something, should be back any minute.”

“Is she not feeling well?” you ask and point at the danish you spotted earlier.

John shakes his head, “No, she just said she…needed to grab something.”

You look at Jimmy and shrug in confusion, then you head back to the table with your plate. You forgot to get something to drink and before you can even open your mouth, John sets a glass of pink lemonade in front of you.

“Your favorite.” he says, pressing a kiss to your temple, “So what have you two been up to?”

Jimmy laughs and takes a bite of his omelet, “Just got down here when my mom called. She was so proud because she took Bleu and Sadie to the dog park. Said how well behaved Bleu is. Sadie, not so much.”

“Oh, I bet Bleu loved that.” you laugh, “I wish we had a dog park in Mill Neck. I mean, our yard is big enough for Bleu to run around, but I think he’d like to play with other dogs.”

“Petition the city council or something.” Jimmy says, then takes a drink of his orange juice, “Oyster Bay has a really nice dog park, it’s obviously about a 20 minute drive, but it’s worth it.”

“Hello.” Tess sings as she walks to the table, “Did you miss me?”

Jimmy scoots over and Tess slides in next to him, then he presses a kiss to her cheek and smiles, “I missed you this morning. Didn’t like waking up without you next to me.”

Tess looks over at you and you smile wide, nearly melting at Jimmy’s words. She takes a piece of bacon from Jimmy’s plate, then she looks over at the banquet table, almost drooling.

“Are those…waffles?”

“Yeah.” Jimmy nods, “Let me go make you a plate.”

Jimmy and Tess swap spots, and he quickly heads over to the table to get her some food. You’re looking around the lounge and you look up at the ceiling, and it almost takes your breath away when you see the gold flecks in the tiles. You look back down at your plate, then up at Tess as she winks at John. From the corner of your eye, you see John nod his head and smile.

You look away quickly before Tess looks at you, and you prop your head up on your hand as Jimmy comes back to the table. He’s talking away to John and Tess, and you’re sitting in silence wondering what the fuck is going on with John and Tess.

John’s hand creeps onto your leg and you look over at him, smiling sweetly as you rub his back gently. You’re trying to figure out what him and Tess could have been up to this morning, and you know he won’t tell you if you ask him. Maybe it has something to do with Tess and Jimmy staying a few days more after you leave.

John feels the goosebumps under his hand and squeezes your thigh, “Cold?”

“It’s kinda chilly in here, yeah.” you nod and scoot closer to him. “I shouldn’t have worn shorts.”

John sits up a little and pulls his blazer off, then drapes it over your shoulders. He pulls you closer to him and kisses the top of your head as he rubs your arm to warm you up.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” you ask, playing with a button on John’s blazer.

“Well, it’s going to be hot as fuck out.” Tess says, “So I say either we stay in the hotel all day, find something to do inside, or maybe we should go to the beach. That’s one thing we haven’t done yet.”

“Actually…” John sits up and pulls out his phone. After a few moments, he looks up at Tess, “I know of a really cool place. Might be a bit of a drive though. Definitely worth it.”

Tess looks at you and smiles, “Wanna go?”

You sit up and smile, “Yeah, I bought so many new swimsuits, yet I haven’t stepped foot in the water since I’ve been here.”

You’ve packed about three different swimsuits and four different cover ups since you can’t decide. Tess has been squealing nearly the whole car ride, you’d think she’d never gone swimming before in her life. John, surprisingly, is driving and he’s holding your hand tight in his lap. You were a little shocked that he hadn’t ordered a car for the four of you like he’s done all week when you weren’t in walking distance from your destination.

He brings your hand to his mouth and presses a kiss to it, “Are you excited?”

“Yeah.” you shift in your seat to see him better and lean your head against the head rest, “I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous.”

“What? Why?” John laughs.

“I don’t know, I haven’t gone swimming in a lake in a long time. You will literally have to hold me. I don’t want my feet to touch the bottom.”

“Baby.” Tess teases from the backseat, “All because she was bit by a fish.”

“It--”

“It left a mark, we know.” she laughs and leans forward to see you, “We know.”

“You know, I have a question.” Jimmy says, and you see John perk up a little. “This nickname, Goose…where did that come from?”

“Oh, I was wondering that as well.” John says and looks at you, “Goose.”

“Well, Goose can explain this one.” Tess says and laughs loudly.

You shake your head as you roll your eyes, “I swear it’s nothing interesting. She just called me Goose because you know, Mother Goose. Because I’m so maternal and all.”

“Bullshit.” Tess laughs, and you cover your face with your hands. “This goof tried to feed a goose when we were…what, twelve years old, and the damn thing attacked her. You know that scar that she has on her knee? A goose took a chunk right out of her, nearly died.”

“Nearly died?” John laughs loudly and looks over at you, “First a fish, now a goose. You don’t have good luck with animals.”

“She’s lying.” you say quietly, “It’s actually a much worse story than that, and we won’t be going into it today, will we, Tessica?”

“Tessica?” John laughs, “Like Jessica, but Tess.”

You laugh and nod, “Yup.”

“Wait,” Jimmy leans up, “So you didn’t get bit by a goose and nearly die?”

“I did not.” you shake your head.

“Huh, that would have been a cool story though.”

Tess smiles when you look back at her, and you roll your eyes as you shake your head. You see John looking at you from the corner of your eye, and you look over at him as he quickly glances away.

“She was having sex and she sounded like a goose!” Tess blurts out.

“It wasn’t me!” you pinch the bridge of your nose, “It was not me. It was him, and you know it.”

“Wait!” Jimmy yells from the backseat, “It was John?”

Tess is on the verge of tears from laughing so hard, and it’s making you laugh even harder when you see John’s mouth open in shock. John shakes his head and looks at Jimmy in the rear view mirror.

You wipe away the tears in your eyes from laughing and turn around to look at Jimmy, “No, definitely not John. And Tess, can you stop being so mean to me? You always pick on me.”

“I know, but I can’t help but make fun of you. I’m your big sister, it’s what we do.”

John pulls the car onto a dirt road and looks at you, “Hold on to something.”

“It’s about to get bumpy.” Jimmy says, leaning forward to see your face, “Huh? Get it?”

“We got it. We all got it, babe.” Tess sighs, patting his shoulder, “A natural comedian I got here.”

The sun is shining through the trees, almost guiding the car through the woods, and you look out the window at all the trees and birds. John pats your leg to get your attention, and he smiles as he rolls the car to a stop. You furrow your brow a little and sit up to look around. You’re in the middle of the woods, and you don’t see water anywhere.

“Uh, John…” Tess leans forward and looks at him, “You’re not planning on murdering us, are you?”

John furrows his brow as he starts to laugh, “What? No! I just can’t get the car any further, so we’ll have to walk.”

Tess sits back in her seat and exhales, “Oh, thank god.”

You gesture to Tess and roll your eyes as you look at John, “She’s ridiculous. I know you’re not going to murder us.”

John pops the trunk to the car and grabs out your backpack, and you sling it over your shoulders, then you grab Tess’ bag. John and Jimmy grab the coolers, then the four of you start your way to the beach.

You stop walking down the path, and John turns around to look at you, “What?”

“I should have put my swimsuit on before we left. How am I going to change with people around?” you say, and John waves you over. “Is there a little restroom or something here?”

John laughs and shakes his head, “No, it’ll be okay. I’ll hold up a towel while you change, but I don’t think we’ll have to worry about anyone seeing us.”

You look at John quizzically and continue walking with him down the path when you hear Tess scream loudly.

“Oh, my god!” Tess flails her arms and turns around to look at you, “Oh, my fucking god!”

You’re in awe when you see secluded beach with its untouched sand and clear water. The sand is perfect, almost like no one has stepped in it in years. The water is crystal clear, and you can see the bottom perfectly. Off to the left, there’s a small waterfall cascading down and the water hangs in the air like little rain drops, and when the wind blows, it moistens your face.

Before you can even say anything, Tess and Jimmy jump into the water and splash around. John looks over his shoulder at you as he walks down to the beach, and he smiles when he sees you’re still in shock.

“You coming?”

“Uh, I…” you stammer and blink a few times, still trying to take in the view, “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming, I’m…”

“Speechless, I see.”

You drop your bag to the ground and look up at John, then reach out to wrap your arms around his neck, “What…the fuck?”

John nods and looks over at the waterfall, “Beautiful.”

“It is.”

He looks back at you and smiles, “View isn’t bad either.”

Rolling your eyes, you lean in closer to John’s face and press your lips to his, “This place is incredible. They obviously like it.”

John looks over at Jimmy and Tess and laughs, “Yeah. Hey, you wanna change into your swimsuit? We can go back in the trees a little and I can hold up a towel for you.”

You grab your bag from the ground and walk with John through bushes, flowers, and trees. He stops and pulls out a large turquoise towel, then he holds it up and nods, letting you know it’s okay for you to change.

“So, how did you know about this place?” you ask as you pull your shorts off, “I mean, it’s pretty secluded.”

John closes his eyes to keep himself from looking, and when you laugh, he opens them, “Sorry, I don’t want to be rude.”

You stand on your tiptoes to kiss John and you smile, “You’re my fiance, it’s not rude. Not to me anyway. Oh, and also…uh, it wasn’t me moaning like a goose. Tess just loves to embarrass me.”

“Oh, I know it wasn’t you.” John says, cupping your face in his hand. He rubs his thumb against your bottom lip, and you open your mouth to suck on it. “You always sound so pretty moaning for me.”

Looking up to meet John’s gaze, his eyes are slowly rolling shut as you suck on the tip of his thumb. You slowly tilt your head back, and John’s finger slides out of your mouth as he opens his eyes. He smiles as he leans in to kiss you, keeping his lips pressed against yours for a few seconds longer than usual.

“So, this place…”

“Oh, uh, well I’ve been to Rome a lot...” he says and watches you pull your shirt over your head. He stares at your chest when you pull off your bra and he’s at a loss for words. “Uh, I...”

A smile is growing across your face, and you look down at your breasts, then back up at John. His gaze doesn’t fall from your chest, and he licks his lips as he stares at your breasts. You stand on your tiptoes in front of John and pull him down a little so he can suck on your nipple. He wraps his arm around you to pull you closer, then he caresses your breast in his hand.

Since you’ve been exhausted the past few days, neither of you have been up for sex. It hasn’t even been on your mind, and same with John. Every night when you get back to the hotel, you’re fast asleep the moment your head hits the pillow.

“It’s so nice to know the affect I have on you.” you laugh and turn around so John can tie your bikini top. He wraps his arms around you and you feel him hard against your ass, “Ooh…”

“I’m sorry.” he laughs, and you tilt your head back to look at him. “Now is not the time.”

“We’ve been so tired lately.” you say, turning back around. You grab your clothes and stuff them in your bag and head back down the path with John, “Obviously once we’re home, everything will be back to normal, and we’ll probably be like ‘so what now?’ and then we’ll just fight because we’re bored or something.”

“You really think that?” John asks as he pulls his shirt over his head. He has a large bruise on his right pec and another on his left bicep, and you reach out to touch them. “Because I don’t. We didn’t fight because we were bored before.”

“Are you going to be able to swim? Is your leg bothering you?”

John shakes his head, “No, it’s been pretty good. Healing really well. Thanks to my new doctor.”

“Yeah,” you nod and watch John fold his shirt neatly and places it on top of his bag. He’s still wearing his jeans and shoes, and you raise your eyebrows when you look up at him, “You’re going to swim in your pants?”

“No, I’m going to change in the woods.” he says and reaches into his bag, pulling out the swim trunks that you bought for him. “I’ll meet you in the water, okay?”

“Mhm.”

Yeah, of course, no big deal. Just getting in the water where fish are. Fish that probably bite. You ball your hands into fists and exhale as you walk closer to the water. Tess and Jimmy are laughing loudly, and he has her in his arms as he spins in the water.

“Okay, we got this. We can be brave, it’s just water, right?” you say to yourself as you walk closer, “I can see the bottom, so it’s no biggie. You have to be brave, you can’t let John see you like this. It’s just water.”

The water is warmer than you thought, and you step in a little further to feel the sand squishing between your toes. You tilt your head back to look at the sky, and you put your hand up to shield the sun from your eyes, which reminds you that you left your sunglasses on the table in your room. You take another step into the water and feel confident enough to go further when John wraps his arms around you and runs deeper as you scream.

“No! Jonathan, no, please. Please put me down!” you wiggle in his arms and try your best to escape his grasp as the two of you laugh, “I know I’m laughing but this is terrifying.”

“Hey,” John leans forward to see your face and smiles, “I’m right here, so what could happen to you?”

You relax your legs and finally stand in the water. It comes up to your ribs, but for John, it’s only up to his waist. You turn around to face John and wrap your arms around his waist, then you tilt your head back to kiss him.

“You look very cute in your swim trunks.”

“Thank you.” he smiles and looks down at your bikini, “This is new.”

You take a step back and flaunt around John as he laughs. He reaches out for your hands and turns around for you to get on his back, then he walks over to Tess and Jimmy.

“John, you know what? I’m gonna say it, I think I love you.” Tess says, still in Jimmy’s arms with her eyes closed.

“Thanks.” John laughs quietly and hoists you up further on his back as you all head for the waterfall.

“Hey, Jimmy, I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you jump off that cliff.” you say, pointing at the cliff, and Jimmy nearly drops Tess to head over to it.

The water is up to Tess’ shoulders, and she reaches out for John to help keep her above the water. The three of you watch Jimmy as he climbs up the cliff as carefully as he can, and Tess takes a big breath when he teeters a little.

“Is this safe?” she asks and looks up at John, “Will he be okay?”

“Cannonball!” Jimmy yells, jumping close enough to the three of you to splash water in your faces. He comes up after a few moments and laughs, “Whew! That was fun!”

Tess reaches out for Jimmy and wraps her legs around his waist, “I was so worried about you. I thought you were going to slip and fall, then you’d crack your head open and…and then I wouldn’t have a husband, and Finn wouldn’t have a dad.”

You lean forward to look at John and laugh, “And you thought I was bad.”

With you on his back, John starts to swim over to the cliff, and he looks over his shoulder at you when he gets to it, “Wanna?”

You look up at the cliff, then at John, “Only if you do it with me.”

“Of course.” John climbs out of the water, then he reaches out to help you up. He holds tight to your hand to keep you from falling, and he takes a deep breath as he looks over at you, “I won’t lie, this is…”

“Is John Wick scared?” you gasp loudly, causing Tess to look up at you. You look down at her and grimace, “Sorry.”

“Don’t do that!” she yells from Jimmy’s arms.

John laughs as he leans over to kiss you, “Ready?”

“Is this like…a metaphor for being with you? Like we’re jumping off this cliff or…something? Never mind. GO!”

You plug your nose and take a deep breath, and holding tight to John’s hand, the two of you jump into the water. You come up for air, and John laughs loudly when he sees your hair stuck in your face.

“You’re a mess.” he laughs, pulling your legs around his waist.

Wrapping your arms around John’s neck, you crash your lips to his, and he puts his hand in your hair and wraps his left arm around your waist.

“I love you.”

John opens his eyes and nods his head, “I love you.”

“Was that a metaphor though?”

He shrugs and laughs, “I mean, if you want it to be.”

You’re leaning against John’s shoulder in the elevator, trying your best to stay awake. He tried to carry you to the elevator, but you knew that John Wick carrying his fiancee to his room would be the talk of the hotel. Not that you aren’t already.

“Mouse, just let me carry you.” he says, and before you can stop him, he lifts you into his arms.

You look over John’s shoulder and see Jimmy carrying Tess, and he presses a kiss to her forehead as he whispers to her. He says something that makes her smile, and she opens her eyes to look at him, then she leans up to kiss him on the lips.

“They’re so cute.” you say quietly to yourself, but John hears you and looks down at you. “Jimmy and Tess. I’m so glad you introduced them.”

“Well, we did.” he says, leaning down to kiss you, “We’re a great team.”

“Yeah,” you nod and yawn loudly, “I’m sleepy.”

John laughs and carefully sets you back down on the ground, holding you for a moment so you can get your footing. He digs in his pocket for the room key and opens the door for you, then holds it open as Jimmy carries Tess in.

“Hey, we’re going to take a nap for about an hour or so.” Jimmy says, heading for their room, “We’ll shower, then head out for dinner. Is that cool?”

“Sounds perfect to me.” John says, and as soon as Jimmy closes their door, John lifts you into his arms, carrying you to the bed. He sets you down and laughs when you flop back on the bed.

“I’m so sleepy!”

“I know, peach, you’ve said that about five times now. We gotta get your clothes off first. I know you hate sleeping in your clothes.” he starts to unbutton your pants, but he waits for you to look at him.

“You can undress me, John.” you say with your eyes closed.

He quickly pulls your shorts off, then he pulls off your bikini bottoms and you sit up a little to pull your shirt over your head. His fingers on your neck make you giggle, and you squirm a little as he unties your swimsuit top. You peek one eye open as he pulls his shirt off, and he lays down on top of you.

“Hi.”

John smiles and kisses your nose, “Hi, I just wanted to feel your skin on mine.”

You frown dramatically, “That is so romantic.”

John laughs as he gets up, and he moves you back in the bed and tucks you in. Your feet are dry from being in the sand all day, so you stick it up in front of John’s face.

“Lotion?” he asks, and you peek one eye open as you nod your head. “Okay.”

John quickly rubs the lotion on your feet and legs, then he tucks you back into bed. He takes a deep breath and grabs his shirt from the floor to put it back on.

“Wait…” you scratch your nails over his back, and he looks over his shoulder at you, “Aren’t you going to nap with me?”

He lounges out next to you and wraps his arm around you to pull you closer to him, “Do you want me to?”

“Please.” you snuggle into his chest and press a soothing kiss to his bruise. “Kinda missing your arms around me, and missing our bodies against one another.”

John sits up to pull off his pants and his boxers, then he gets under the covers with you. He lifts up his arm for you to cuddle into his side, and he lightly rubs your arm as you try your best to fight your eyes from fluttering closed.

Stretching out on the bed, you expect your hand to hit John’s chest, but when it doesn’t, you sit up to find the bed empty. You look over at the time and see another note waiting for you.

“Damn it! Not again!” you grab the note and rip it open, “What is it this time?”

Peach, I already know you’re pissed that I’m gone.

“Yeah, you bet your ass I’m pissed.” you huff loudly and roll your eyes.

I also already know that you just rolled your eyes and huffed. So, take a moment to remember how much I love you.

“God, why does he know me so well?” you laugh and look down to finish reading.

Hop in the shower, get ready, and I’ll see you in a little bit. I love you. Yours, Jonathan.

You quickly get off the bed and head for the bathroom to start the shower while you rack your brain to figure out what John could be up to. He was gone this morning and now he’s gone again. You hop in the shower and think about all the endless possibilities of what John could be doing.

“He could be setting up accommodations for Jimmy and Tess? Oh yeah, the tree house. They’re going to need a car to get there.” you say to yourself as you wash your hair, “Probably getting the fridge stocked with food, oh, and money, they’ll need some money while they’re staying there.”

You step out of the shower and wrap a towel around yourself, then grab another towel to dry your hair. You don’t know where the four of you are going for dinner, so you don’t know what to wear. You remember you still have a dress left that you haven’t worn yet, so you head out to your room to pull it out. When you look at your bed, you see a black garment bag and a box waiting for you. It has another note on top, and you immediately laugh loudly.

“Oh, my god.” you walk over to it and grab the note, “He is something else.”

Put this on. There will be a car waiting for you and Tess in two hours. Don’t keep us waiting.

“Oh, my fucking god!” Tess yells from her room, and you run in her room to see her looking at a gorgeous lilac colored gown. She holds it up to herself in the mirror and laughs, “What is he doing?”

“You got one too?” you say, holding up your note, “I got a note from John and a garment bag, but I haven’t looked at it.”

Tess looks up at you and smiles, “I’m in shock, I can’t believe this. Look how beautiful this dress is. Can you imagine how much this probably cost him?”

“Get used to it.” you scoff as you walk back to your room. Tess is following behind you, and she hops on the bed as you unzip the garment bag. There’s a champagne colored dress in it, and you run your fingers down it, feeling the material under your fingertips. Tulle and beads – beading that looks it probably took hours upon hours to perfect.

“Wow.” Tess pulls it out of the bag and holds it up against you, “You’re going to look like a princess.”

“What is he doing?”

“I have no idea.” she says, and you squint your eyes at her.

“Where were you two this morning?”

Tess gets off the bed and opens the box, pulling out beautiful heels and jewelry. She looks up at you and you gesture to her.

“Oh! This morning we just went for a walk, we just talked about you two going home, and where Jimmy and I will be staying and stuff.” She smiles and walks backwards to her room as she laughs, “Look, get your hair dried, put on your dress, then I’ll do your make up.”

“I’m so nervous.” you say as you and Tess walk with your arms linked.

“Me, too.” Tess sees a mirror on the wall and stops to look at herself, “But damn, I must say, we look so good!”

“Do you know where we’re supposed to even go?”

Tess exhales and shakes her head, then she perks up at little. She points at a guy holding a sign that says, ‘Mrs. Wick & Mrs. Hendricks’ and she smiles, “I’m assuming we follow that guy.”

“Mrs. Wick?” the man says, looking at you and smiling.

You nod your head and link arms with Tess again, “Yeah, that’s…uh, that’s me.”

“Follow me please.” he says, and Tess grips your arm even tighter.

You have no idea where you’re going, and you don’t know whether or not to trust this guy. Surely he’d know better than to…mess with you. You’re John Wick’s fiancee. No one is that dumb.

There’s a nice car waiting for you and Tess, and the man opens the door and helps you and Tess in. Tess is looking at a note, and you look over at her as she reads it. She starts to laugh and she closes the note, holding it to her heart.

“He’s so cute.”

You look at Tess and smile, “Jimmy?”

“Yeah,” she nods and opens the note again to read it. She folds it up and puts it in her clutch, exhaling contently. She looks over at you and frowns, “You didn’t get one?”

You look around the car, moving your dress and Tess’ to see the car seat. You open your clutch to see if maybe John stuffed it in there, but it’s empty aside from a tube of lipstick, a few sticks of gum, your ID, and your phone.

“No, I guess I didn’t.” you say, sounding much sadder than intended. You sit back in your seat a little and pout. It’s just a note, but you were expecting to get one as well.

“I mean, Jimmy just wrote lyrics to a cheesy 80s song that we love. It’s not like it’s some massive love letter.” she reaches for your hand and tugs it to get your attention, “Look at the jewelry, shoes, and the fucking dress you’re wearing. Just because you didn’t get a cheesy little note doesn’t mean anything.”

“I’d rather have a cheesy letter than all of this.” you say, gesturing to yourself.

“Yeah, okay, same though.” Tess says and laughs, “But I mean, come on, look at us. Did you ever think we’d be in Rome? Let alone married and engaged to two…incredible men.”

You let out a laugh and look at Tess, “Definitely not. I always knew you’d find someone great. I was always jealous of how much attention you got, not that…angry kind of jealous though. Don’t get me wrong, you deserved every bit of the attention you got. But I kind of always just sat back and…waited my turn. Then when we moved to Mill Neck, you adapted so quickly, but I was still the weird girl who followed you around. I mean, we literally work at the same shop.”

“Well, I work for you now.” she says, and you roll your eyes. She reaches out for your hand and smiles, “You’re not the weird girl who follows me around. You never were.”

“I guess I didn’t mean it like that. I just…I think it took me a little longer to get used to living there. You were dating so many people, and I was just sulking because I wasn’t home anymore, I was out of my comfort zone. I never thought of Mill Neck as my home until I met John.”

“Ooh, I knew it was going there.” Tess says, teasing you.

“He didn’t know anything about me.” you start to tear up and let out a small laugh, “But for some reason, he so badly wanted me in his life.”

“Because you’re sweet! Look at you!” Tess reaches for both of your hands and smiles, “You’re so good for him, you have no idea. You have no idea the way he talks about you. I’m sure he says shit to you that makes you want to melt, but the shit he says to me about you literally…I could turn into a puddle of mush right now just thinking about it.”

“You got a good one yourself, Tess. This morning he was telling me how excited he is to have a baby, how happy he is that he met you.” you start to laugh and wipe away the tear on your cheek, “He is so in love with you, and I really don’t know anyone more deserving of a man like him. You really deserve him, and he deserves you.”

Tess reaches out to hug you, and she sniffles a little when she sits back, “Okay, now look at us. What a mess.”

The car rolls to a stop and the driver opens your door to help you out. Tess links arms with you again, and you look up at the building you’re in front of. It’s a stone building and for a moment, you think you’re back at The Continental.

“This way, ladies.”

You follow behind the man as he leads you to a balcony overlooking Rome, and Tess gasps loudly as she walks over to the ledge. The table next to you has a bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, and another note.

“Hey, you got another note. It has your name on it.” you hand it to Tess, and she quickly unfolds it to read it.

She folds it up and puts it back on the table, “Hmm, well, I guess we’re just supposed to wait. Didn’t they tell us to not keep them waiting? Yet here we are, waiting on them.”

“Men.” you joke, pouring yourself something to drink. You hand Tess a glass and pour some sparking water into it and smile, “I know you’re dying to eat a strawberry.”

“I’m starving.” she laughs.

It’s your last night in Italy, and you’re trying to savor it as much as possible. Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath and feel the sun warm on your skin. It’s nearly 8 PM, so the sun is starting to set already and it’s giving everything the most beautiful soft orange glow. You kick yourself for not bringing your camera, but you hope that maybe Tess brought hers.

“Hey, Tess…” you turn around to find the balcony empty, and you stand there frozen for a moment as you look around. You walk back over to the table for your phone, but it’s gone. “Damn it.”

Tess definitely took it. You knew she was in on this. Of course she was. The note that was for Tess is still on the table, and you open it to see that it’s blank and you toss it back on the table. Sighing, you walk back over to the ledge and look out across the city. You didn’t think your last night in Italy would consist of you being left alone more than you’d like, or that you’d be left out of all of the surprises.

“Wow, that’s a nice view.”

You smile when you hear John, and you keep your back turned to him, “Hi, baby.”

“Hi, sweetheart,” he wraps his arms around you from behind and moves your hair off your shoulder, “Let me look at you.”

John backs away as you turn around to look at him. He’s in a crisp new suit, and even though you’ve seen him in a suit a few times lately, you still can’t get over how handsome he is. His hair isn’t completely slicked back, but it’s pushed away from his face unlike how he usually has it. The cuts on his face have started to heal so they’re nearly gone, and the sun shining on his face makes his eyes so warm, you want to dive in them.

“Give me a spin.” he says and smiles when you spin around, “Wow.”

“This is a great dress for spinning. Felt like princess all day – don’t say it.” you put your hand up, and John laughs.

He wraps his arms around waist to pull you closer, then he leans in to kiss you, “Mmm, what’s it been? Two hours? And I already missed that; your lips on mine.”

You and John sway back and forth, and you lay your head against his chest as he rubs your back. Closing your eyes, you smile to yourself and try your best to soak in this moment before it’s spoiled by something.

“Hey,” John leans back to see your face, “You look beautiful.”

“You look very handsome, Jonathan.” you rub your thumb over his bottom lip and he presses a kiss to it. You look back out at the view from the balcony, and you sigh contently. There’s a loud boom in the distance that catches you off guard, and you jump a little.

“Fireworks.” John says, and you chuckle a little as you look at him.

“I haven't seen fireworks in so long.”

John cocks up his eyebrow and smirks, “You wanna see fireworks? I'll take you home and show you some fireworks.”

You burst out laughing, bending over at the waist and leaning against John to keep yourself from falling over, “Oh, man. That's it. That's the best thing you've ever said to me.”

John laughs quietly for a moment, then he looks up at you, and you can see him growing a little nervous.

You stand on your tiptoes to kiss John, and he exhales shakily when you pull away. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” he shakes his head and looks at the table, “Dinner is going to be served soon.”

“John, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.” he says again, laughing this time, “You’re just making me nervous.”

He gestures to the table and pulls out your chair for you to sit down, then before he sits in his, he presses a kiss to the top of your head. You play with your engagement ring on your finger and watch John closely as he fidgets with his napkin. You don’t know why he’d be so nervous, but you’re starting to get worried.

“Baby, you know you can tell me anything, right? I think I’ve made that pretty clear by now.” you reach across the table for his hand and squeeze it, “Is there another job or something?”

John lets out a laugh, “No, no, it’s not that. I’m just nervous for some reason. You still make me really nervous.”

You prop your head up on your fists and smile at John, “So, nothing is going on? No impromptu wedding?”

“What?” John looks up at you and shakes his head, “No. I wouldn’t do that to you. I know you said you don’t care what we do, but I want your mom to be there and I know you do too.”

“That’s true.” you say and look over to see waiters with your food, “Where are Jimmy and Tess?”

“Other side of the hotel.” he says, and just by the look on his face, you can tell he’s starving. When the waiters close to the door to the balcony, he claps his hands and rubs them together.

“This is another Continental hotel?”

John cuts into his steak and watches as you struggle to cut into yours. He gets up from the table and walks over to help you cut into yours.

“Feel like a child, I can’t even cut my own steak.”

John scrunches up his face and uses your knife on his steak, “No, this knife is just really dull. And no, this isn’t another hotel. It’s just a different hotel. You’ll see why after we eat.”

You let out a little chuckle, and you look up at John as you smirk, “I don’t know exactly what that means, but I like the sound of it.”

He leans down to kiss you, lingering for moment as he runs his fingers through your hair and pulling you closer to deepen the kiss. He hums against your lips and kneels down next to you so he’s closer to you.

You press your lips to John’s one last time and point to his side of the table, “You’re hungry, baby. Go eat.”

John is staring at you from across the elevator, and he shakes his head as he looks up and down. He licks his lips and smiles when his gaze meets yours again, and you blush a little. The elevator dings, and he reaches out for your hand as you head down the hallway.

“Okay.” he stops in front of you and holds your hands, “You have to promise me that you’ll keep your eyes closed.”

“I promise!” you smile and put your hands over your eyes, “I got my eyes squeezed closed.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Uh,” you tilt your head from side to side and laugh, “Four?”

John laughs, “Nope. Okay, walk forward. Keep going, I’ll tell you when to stop.”

You cautiously walk forward with your hands over your eyes, and you feel John’s hands on your waist guiding you. His grips tightens on your waist to stop you, and he moves in closer to you. You hear a door beep, so you know you’re heading into a hotel room, and John reaches out for your waist again and stands behind to help guide you.

“Take two steps to the right.” he says, and you do. “Okay, you can open your eyes.”

You open your eyes, blinking a few times and letting them adjust for a moment. The room is darker, only lit with candles and the sun setting. Music starts to play quietly, and you look over your shoulder to see John leaning back against the wall and watching you.

Looking back at the bed, you see a black silk robe and you let out a small laugh, “Am I supposed to change into this?”

John wraps his arms around you and begins to kiss your neck, “Yeah, Tess said you wouldn’t want to stay in your dress all night. She said, uh…what did she say again? Oh! It’s a lot of dress.”

“It is.” you nod and look down at it, “It’s beautiful though, and I haven’t had the chance to thank you for it yet. So thank you, I love it.”

“Of course.” he smiles against your neck, then starts to unzip the back of your dress, “Fits you perfectly.”

“That it does.” you say, shimmying out of it and holding John’s hand so you don’t fall. You sit down on the bed to unhook your heels and drop them to the floor as you rotate your ankles. “Oh, and thank you for this lovely lingerie as well.”

John looks down at the lace bra and panties you’re wearing and smiles, “Yeah, I was really bad at picking it all out, but Tess helped.”

“Of course she did.” you laugh and fix the strap of your bra, “I didn’t wear the stockings or garter belt obviously, since this isn’t the type of dress you wear stockings with, but…I’m more than happy to show you what it looks later.”

“Can’t wait.” he smiles, then leans down to kiss you.

You grab the robe and close your eyes, feeling the soft cool silk against your skin, then you grab a hanger to hang up your dress. You turn around as John pulls off his suit jacket and lays it on the bed. “What now?”

“Well, we have champagne, and we also have…” John walks over to the balcony door and slowly opens it to reveal The Colosseum, “This.”

Your eyes begin to water and you try to choke back tears, “John, oh, my god.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he says, reaching for your hand, “Just wait, I have another surprise for you.”

“More? How could you possibly top this?”

John laughs as he leans over and kisses you, “You’ll see.”

John wraps his arms around your shoulders, pulling you closer, “You’ve been staring over there for about an hour now.”

“It’s beautiful.” you whisper, tilting your head back to look at John, “You’ve absolutely blown my mind this past week.”

“Wanna see something cool?” John chuckles, pressing a kiss to your forehead. You nod your head, and John points up at the sky, “Look up there.”

The sky is dark, but you see a faint orange glow flying through the sky and moments later, the sky explodes with bright blues, yellows, reds, and greens. The booms from the fireworks vibrate through your body along with your laughter.

“You’re kidding me?” you look at John and laugh, “Fireworks? Just for me? Because I said I hadn't seen them in a long time?”

“Just for you.” he smiles, and his face glows from the fireworks exploding in the sky, “Just for you.”

taglist: @tnu-ree @dangerouslystrangecrown @weird-civilian @ladiesofamidala @callmeglenncoco @ficsnroses @sanctuarygirl @meetmeinthematinee @jessicajones616 @cheekybluefox @jazzyboo2001 @starsstripesandthesouth @a-small-independent-princess @thepastrecedes01 @rubywantsafuitgummy @lostandfaceless @sweetgoodangel @star017 @ladyren33

btw i’m just tagging people from my last list, so if you don’t want to be tagged anymore or you DO want to be tagged, just let me know!

#john wick x you #john wick x reader #john wick imagine #fic: hold my hand #i do have some ig edits for this one but i'll probably post them later tonight or tomorrow

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honeycombme · 4 years

Text

Easy As Breathing pt. 3

Ladies and gentleman, does the fluff ever end? I fucking hope not.

You looked to Clyde as Lauren stumbled back towards you, drunk and adventurous. At the same time, Jimmy sauntered back with his towel slung over his left shoulder. As everyone reappeared, Clyde cleared his throat and took a quick swig of his beer.

You threw him a knowing glance, each of you returning the greetings from everyone around you. Lauren, positively tipsy, insisted that you break open the s'mores kit and dig in. You had no objections, s'mores were the next best option to kissing Clyde. Actually. No they weren't.

You all snacked and continued to have some laughs until Lauren and Jimmy's friend decided to go on...another...walk? You threw Lauren your small flashlight and she winked to you as she disappeared through the campsite. Was this about to become a horror film?

Jimmy cleared his throat and announced that he was heading to bed. You weren't certain if you were supposed to up and go to bed as well because Clyde remained still. He kept looking between you and the fire, messing around with some sticks near his feet. Once Jimmy walked a ways towards his tent, Clyde spoke up.

"Don't be feelin like ya need to stay up on account'a me, I'll wait up til Lauren gets back for ya," he smiled sheepishly.

"Not really feeling too tired yet," you sighed, "plus I need to get this fire smell off me before I stink up the tent...think the water is warm?

You looked to the lakes edge, fireflies passing through small shrubs along the water.

"If you want, you can borrow my shampoo and go rinse off," he offered politely.

"Honestly, not a bad idea. I'm just gonna go put on a swimsuit and be right back," you stood. You stumbled a bit towards your tent, snaking inside and closing it. You rummaged through the bag Lauren packed looking for the swimsuit she grabbed you. You stumbled upon a store bag and pulled out the contents.

Dear God.

The straps. The cut outs. The color. The mesh.

You pulled it on begrudgingly, grabbing your towel and wrapping it around yourself. You were painfully aware of how far this thing was between your butt cheeks.

Here's to praying I don't look like a busted can of biscuits.

You shuffled out, closing the tent behind you. Clyde was kneeling by the water, running his hands through the glassy lake.

"S'not too chilly, but I wouldn't wanna be in the for long," he declared. He turned to you, standing to his full height. "Skinny dippin'?"

You laughed, seriously praying he'd turn and leave. "not necessarily...though I think Lauren might as well have left me that option.."

"Can't be that bad, darlin'. If you want, I can put it on after you," he chuckled. He shook the bottle in his hand. "Oh, right, brought this for you. Don't go givin away my secrets now!"

His shampoo was in his hand, waiting for you to take it. You dropped your towel and took the shampoo from him, brushing some hair behind your ear. The moon cast diamonds onto the lake surface as a breeze rolled through. The chill of it racked your nerves, perking your nipples. You were aware of their presence through the thin fabric. His eyes glanced you over, smiling shyly.

"My my miss y/n, I think Lauren knew just what she was doin."

A shiver ran through your spine. You clutched the shampoo to yourself, feeling slightly bolder. "I don't think it's quite right for me to be like this all by myself though, what do you think?"

He grinned, hand gripping the hem of his t-shirt and pulling it over his head.

Wow.

He was full. Wide. Muscular. Soft. Hard. Speckled in gorgeous freckles. He looked like a god in this lighting. You hoped you looked even an ounce as good, begging that your ass would provide an equally tasty sight. You smiled from ear to ear, looking from Clyde to the ground. Your shyness had crept back into your bloodstream, feeling blush blooming in your cheeks and nerves finding your hands.

"Well that certainly is better," you said quietly.

You turned to the water, testing the temperature with your toes.

"I might as well wash up too, no point in delayin the shock," he muttered as you heard something thud to the ground and felt him sprint past you into the water. You looked back and it was his prosthetic.

You felt a jolt of wildness and followed his lead, feet betraying your senses. The water was both shockingly cold and warm at the same time. Your breath came in spurts as your blood accepted this new environment. You dipped your head below the water, the muffled sound of movement underneath playing at your eardrums. When you surfaced, Clyde was floating on his back. You held tight to the bottle he gave you, opening the lid to test the scent. It was heaven. Clyde looked to you when he heard the bottle open. Soon, though, he dove underwater and out of sight.

Then, you felt the wake of his movements immediately followed by his hand grabbing your ankles. You kicked back in laughter, attempting to escape him. He surfaced, gasping for air and flipping his hair out of his face. You both laughed as he floated towards you, flipping back onto his back as he got close.

"I'll hold the bottle if you're feelin generous...I'm a sucker for people playin with ma hair," he stated, throwing big puppy dog eyes your way. You melted.

"Only condition is that I'm next," you laughed.

He righted himself, kneeling so you could reach his head. He relaxed against the soft waves of the water as you put a dollop of shampoo into your palm. Dutifully, he took the bottle for you. You began to lather, working at his scalp and running your hand through his silken hair. His eyes relaxed, heavy lids closing at your touch. You ran your nails carefully through, creating suds and a sweet, spicy aroma in the water. You breathed deep, and he sighed.

"I could be gettin used ta this," he grinned with his eyes still closed.

You took some extra bubbles and placed a small amount on the tip of his nose. "There. This is my masterpiece." His hand came to meet the hairstyle youd given him, hair standing straight up and twisted at the top. You laughed hard and he chuckled, dipping his head under to rinse off. The water still smelled incredible.

When he came back up, he rubbed his eyes and walked towards you. "ok deals a deal."

You took the bottle and he took you by surprise; scooping you under your knees with his good arm and gently held onto your back with his injured one, your hair floating in the water. His arm surfaced, hand out for some shampoo. Your hands were a little shaky, but you obliged. He began working small circles into your scalp, one massive hand lathering up your entire crown as you relaxed into his embrace. His hair dripped onto your exposed skin, breasts perking at the temperature of it. You attempted to control your chest as your breath deepened. His hands felt so good, so genuine.

You imagined what they would feel like, elsewhere. After what seemed like half an hour of silence and scalp massages he released your back leaving the coldest water to assault the skin there. You opened your eyes as you dipped your neck back a little further, belly on fire. You breathed. You were still holding onto the bottle of shampoo, moonlight playing at the beads of water on both of your skin.

He looked at you, down to the water, then to your breasts. You waded backwards through the water, never breaking eye contact with him. Once you were close enough to the edge, you ditched the bottle of shampoo and dove under. The water assaulted your eardrums as you maneuvered your way towards him. You Rose to the surface, mere inches away from his body. You wiped the water from your face, looking to his. His chest was heaving, hand curled into a ball.

Your small hand closed the distance between the two of you, placing it sweetly on his chest. He relinquished his hellish grip as his hand came to meet the small of your back. You bobbed in the water, silence and tension like lighting between the two of you. And just like thunder, his mouth crashed into yours, lips rolling over and over causing your body to tremor and quake. His body was on fire beneath the cool water and almost reflexively, your legs came to wrap around his hips. There you felt an unfamiliar sensation at his waistband, his hand holding your back steady now gripping your ass.

You leaned into his kisses, pressure from both ends causing your necks to crane and twist, but it was fluid. You forgot to breathe; needy and forceful you drank air in through your nose and exhaled as slowly as you could. You felt so wet, too wet, even for being underwater.

His arm came to support your entire back, hand caressing your neck as he bobbed in the water with you, fully attached at the lips. They were plush, warm, and sweet; the taste of apple pie moonshine ghosting your taste buds. He pulled away softly, nuzzling his nose into yours and taking a shaky breath, when you opened your eyes, his smile was brighter than the moon itself.

#clyde logan x you #clyde is so sweet #clyde logan x reader #clyde logan #jimmy logan #logan lucky #camping #lake #shampoo #mutual pining #easy as breathing #fanfic #fandom #fanfiction #fantasy #clyde is my love

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katcadecascade · 4 years

Text

A Late Atlas Ball prompt fic

Title: They Dance Across the Darling Rooftop Wreck

Summary: An Atlas ball isn't something Qrow is prepared for. He wants to go to spend time with his kids and Clover, really he does.It's just that none of his wardrobe is fancy-schmancy due to the fact all his shirts have an opening cut in the back.Cause yah know, wings and all that jazz.

Ao3

Chapter One: everything you do

When James announced that they’ll have a ball to celebrate the Amity satellite’s completion, Qrow honestly thought he was joking. But no, good old Jimmy doesn’t joke about coordinated events at Atlas’ elite standards.

The kids’ high enthusiasm and giddiness is expected, immediately making plans to get new outfits but Qrow can’t quite share their feelings.

He’s a bit of a mess of anxiety as he tries to move away from his kids’ happiness filling up their lounge and media room. The furthest couch seemed like the best place for Qrow to just huddle into his wings and quietly sip his tea, wallow in a festering scramble of thoughts believing that this dance will be terrible idea for him.

Before more misery could snatch his will, the couch’s weight dipped as Clover sits next to him.

“Hey,” he begins gently, “I don’t think your tea’s doing its job right. May I?”

Already he reads Qrow too well, something that Qrow actually appreciates. Qrow sets his mug on the side table and scoots closer to his boyfriend, arranging his large wings carefully. Much to his embarrassment, Clover ends up wrapping his muscly arms around Qrow’s small waist to bring him into his lap.

After a bit of shifting to get comfortable, Qrow leans his head against Clover’s face.

“What’s wrong, baby bird?”

“I don’t really do dances or balls,” he admits.

Sure there were a few Beacon dances but back then his wings were smaller, easier to manage under his cape but unfortunately these feathery appendages decided to get bigger. It was hard enough to constantly alter his shirts to have a gap for his wing bones back then.

His huntsman outfits were always specially tailored to protect his back while also leaving an opening for his wings. Yet that detail is also prioritized for the sake of him being in the field. Off missions, it was always up to Qrow to patch up casual shirts or go bare.

Since this is Solitas, the second option isn’t recommended. Well only for Clover in their bedroom but aside from that Qrow’s been wearing shirts where the buttons line up his back. It’s simple and practical but not at all the standard for a ballroom.

So it’s understandable that Qrow does not own any sort of fancy ass outfit that takes account of his faunus traits.

Black feathers ruffle at the thought, basically projecting the root of his issues to Clover.

“Dances can be lame,” Clover assured. His warm hands soothing Qrow’s lower back. “Don’t tell James but the last party he hosted wasn’t too smooth.”

“Then it’s a good thing that Weiss and Winter are in charge,” he mumbled, letting himself relax into Clover. His wings fold inwards, reminding Qrow of what’s been clouding his mind. “I don’t really have anything to wear compared to whatever they got.”

One of Clover’s hands travels up to trace at Qrow’s jaw, “You don’t have to force yourself to go.”

“I know but,” his eyes flicker over to the kids and their commotion, “I want to be there with them. It would be nice right?”

His hesitation rang out with the tiny budding hope inside of him. For years he missed out on Ruby’s and Yang’s childhood for missions or hangovers. Now with a few months of sobriety under his belt, Qrow has a better conscious to make efforts in spending time with his family.

He prefers video game nights or cooking lessons over ballroom dances but still, it sounds like a good time.

“It will be,” Clover promises, “and maybe I can even sweep you off your feet.”

Qrow flicks Clover’ ear and tried not to scoff or laugh, “In your dreams, lucky charm.”

That only makes Clover hold onto Qrow tighter, brushing his fingers through his dark hair, “Too late, you’ve already stepped out of my dreams and into my life. No way am I letting you go.”

The way Clover trails kisses down Qrow’s neck sends his feather fluffing uncontrollably.

“Sap,” he huffed before digging his hands underneath Clover’s shirt, wandering his nails across the taunt skin.

Right as Qrow kissed the crown of soft brown hair, one of his kids shout, “Really? Right in front of my salad?”

“Nora, this is my salad.”

Nora rephrases, “Really? Right in front of Blake’s salad?”

“Alright we get it,” Clover got a secure grip on Qrow’s back and his thigh before he stood up.

Qrow had to loop his arms around Clover’s neck and warp his legs around the torso too. “Geeze, give me a warning, Cloves.”

His wings flapped once to regain balance but Clover had practice on picking up Qrow by now.

Clover winked, “I told you, Qrow, I wanted to sweep you off your feet.” As he carefully walks them out, Clover whispers to his ear, “I also look forward to dancing with you too.”

Dancing, right, that’s something that happens in a ballroom.

Oh gods, what has Qrow signed up for?

That night he decides to procrastinate on thinking on solutions or dwelling on failure. Clover is a helpful distraction, the best by how tenderly he holds Qrow, how intense his lips and devoted words are. It’s all something Qrow never thought he’d ever want, passion without consequences, commitment without pity.

It’s just Qrow and Clover and he will do whatever he can to keep each other.

And that includes going to some dance.

He still doesn’t have a plan on what to wear so Qrow doesn’t know what to think when Marrow shows up at his door later in the week and announces, “Come on Qrow, we’re going shopping.”

There was no time to argue because Marrow was giving him puppy dog eyes.

It wasn’t as effective as Ruby’s but the results were the same. Qrow was helpless against bright eyed kiddos.

Marrow takes them down the humble business streets of midtown Mantle. The entire place has been newly constructed after the Grimm invasions that preluded the elections.

Long story short and one corrupted elitist CEO arrested later, Robyn got her council seat and finally got a real talk with James to truly fix the issues between Mantle and Atlas. Sure there’s still a shit ton of problems that can’t be solved in a few days but apparently this ball is to celebrate the achievements so far.

Qrow still can’t imagine Robyn agreeing to this. Flaunting money doesn’t seem like her style. Then again, it’s a party where the doors of Atlas academy are open to everyone in Atlas and Mantle. Maybe this is more than a dance, a peace offering or proof that things are changing here for the better.

Perhaps Qrow’s issues are minor to it all, that his silly worries are nothing to the whole political agenda or whatever.

“Are you okay?” He snaps his faraway attention off of the sidewalk to Marrow. The younger man gives him a nostalgic smile, “Your wings are drooping.”

Just like with Marrow, Qrow’s faunus traits would often emote what he’s really feeling. He quickly flexes his shoulder blades, fixing the wings back up.

“I’m just…” Qrow doesn’t want to admit something so blatantly obvious but he has to ask, “This ball is going to be a big deal, isn’t it?”

Marrow blinks at Qrow like he’s dumb, “Well duh, everyone wants it to be real.”

Now that wording makes Qrow even more confuse, “Be real?”

“Yeah,” he nods, “We all need something big and finite to finally get that this is really happening.”

“Okay, so this dance is big and finite.”

Marrow rolls his eyes, “Atlas loves a good party.”

“You’re right about that.”

The dog faunus huffed, “It was the best way to supplicate the masses, yah know?” Something serious and thoughtful eludes from Marrow, his past sarcasm or immaturity gone as he says, “Smile big for the cameras, really show off that things are alright now and that we won’t fall apart because we are finally in a better place than ever before.”

Qrow’s lack of response makes the silence deflate whatever energy Marrow had just now. He buries his face in his scarf out of embarrassment for venting.

“Wow kid,” Qrow manages to say, “You’re right.”

A smile peeks out of the brown scarf, “I know.”

“Were you always so…”

“Sage like? Wise? Academic?” All suggestions and baits for his ego by the looks of his wagging tail.

“I was going to say worried,” Qrow shrugged, “but yeah, all those things too.”

Marrow scratched his neck, “I try not to worry too much but it comes with this life doesn’t it?”

He’s not talking about his career, Qrow instantly knows.

Life as a faunus in a high end society is nothing to brag or shrug about. Qrow only got his popularity through his huntsman skill and even his teaching job if that’s not hard to believe. But that was in Beacon where Qrow had his sister and friends and even Ozpin.

Here in both Atlas and Mantle, it must have been a wild story for Marrow to become an Ace Operative. Constantly observed in and out of the uniform and with a faunus trait he can’t hide, Marrow must have dealt with a lot of scrutiny in his years.

Unintentionally or not, Qrow walked Marrow’s pace and brushed his wing against Marrow’s back. Where words fail him, he hopes that this gesture would be a comfort.

Marrow sends him a wryly grin, far too similar to Clover’s. “Huh, you do have your cute, touching moments.”

A wing flap aimed at Marrow’s head.

“Hey!”

“Oops.”

“Ugh, whatever,” Marrow waves off, “We’re here.”

They stopped at a store front decorated with reds, whites, and greens. On the glass windows reads the shop’s name, Northern Hyrule Designs and Seamstress.

Upon entering with the door’s little bell, Qrow tries not to groan at the sight of a fancy dress and suit shop. One side has racks of dresses, the other suits, the back is an entrance way leading to the dressing rooms where Qrow sees a three paneled mirror in the back. But smacked dap in the middle of the shop is a raised circle platform he hopes he doesn’t end up modeling on.

So far there’s only one employee in attendant or behind a door labeled for the staff.

“Hello, welcome!” A woman behind the front register greets them. She waves a clawed hand, sharp black talons matching the feathers blanketing her forearm. Near her elbow, the feathers have an orange hue.

“Hi Pito,” Marrow greeted and then whipped his head around the room searchingly, “Is Maddie here?”

As if summoned, a blur of pink and black jumps out of a circular clothing rack to latch onto Marrow’s leg, tugging at his winter coat.

“Mar!” A little girl chirped, her shiny grey beak nuzzles against the young man’s knee.

“Hey, Maddie,” he pats her brown hair, careful for the pink bow framing her face. It’s pretty cute how it matches her dress. “You dressed up for a party?”

“No, felt like being pretty in pink,” she trills and easily slides her hands into Marrow’s big ones. The kid has no personal space as she stands on his boots to physically walk her over to Pito.

The woman has a loving and aspirating look that only a parent has, something too relatable to Qrow, as she claps her talons, “Madeleine, you can’t tackle all of our clients.”

Maddie’s shoulders slumped, “Okay Mama.” She then peers up to Qrow and shouts, “Uncle!”

An undignified squawk betrays his composure while Marrow laughs sharply.

“Hah,” Pito smiles reassuringly, “my brother also has wings, greyer but that doesn’t stop Madeleine now does it?”

“Uncle,” she insists again, moving over with grabby hands but her mother guides her off that path, likely used to this habit.

“Maddie, sometimes you can’t surprise someone with a hug,” Pito lectured. She turns to Qrow with an offered claw, “Hi, I’m Pitohui and this is my daughter, Madeleine.”

“I’m Qrow,” he shakes her hand, “so, um, I’m guessing Marrow brought me here for your expertise?”

Qrow glanced over to some of the models at the window, noticing all had a defining faunus trait and wore a classy outfit.

The seamstress begins to explain, “I design and make alternations for outfits according to any faunus’ needs. Personally half of my business profits from my brother’s vanity but I make it a goal to make every faunus in Mantle feel as glamorous as any other Atlesian.”

“That’s a nice goal.”

Madeleine exclaims, “My goal is to sing like my uncle!” She looks to Qrow expectedly, batting her eyelashes.

Geeze, too many kids are good at melting his heart.

Qrow quirks a smile, “I’m sure you’ll be the best singer in Atlas.”

“I’m telling Weiss you said that,” Marrow teased.

“She won’t believe you.”

“So,” Pito cuts in, as a parental authority tends to do before two idiots start bicker, “what are you both looking for?”

“We’re here to get some new suits,” Marrow answered, already sliding hangers on their racks to examine the suits.

“Speak for yourself,” Qrow said, “I think a dress would be better for me.”

The younger man stared at him for a few seconds before confirming, “You’re not joking.”

“Nope.”

“In that case,” Pito has a kind smile as she leads Qrow to a rack of dresses, “let’s get started.”

They spend a good while looking around. Qrow would occasionally look at the suits but truly a dress is more to his preferences. Marrow sticks to the suits but sometimes Qrow would catch him peeking over to the prettiness of the skirts.

Eventually it occurs to Qrow that some of these clothes are pricy. Right, this is a business aimed towards fancy events.

“How are we paying for this?” He asks and ties to do math in his head regarding his paychecks.

“Oh right, the General saw me this morning,” Marrow reaches into his coat and hands Qrow an envelope. “This is for you.”

Flipping it open, what falls into his hand is a credit card under James’ name.

Huh, he could get used to getting spoiled with money but right now he’s not. Qrow was never a big spender, only got the bare necessities since he had to travel light. The tiny card feels too golden and clean to be in his hands.

“Don’t worry,” Pito winks at him, “I’ll give you a family discount.”

“Uncle!” Agreed Madeleine.

The little bird girl has an armful of suits and takes Marrow’s hand to pull him to the dressing rooms. That just leaves him and Pito to talk shop.

It’s kind of obvious that whatever Qrow’s going to wear it’s gonna be backless.

Cause yah know, wings and that jazz.

Plus, Qrow looks good in a backless dress.

He tries on a few different styles, from gown-like to modern. Because of he’s seeking professional help Pito had him on the raised platform and rolled over a full body mirror.

With each dress, Qrow gets more and more comfortable to seeing his reflection.

If clothes make the person then Qrow is practically ethereal and awing even to his own eyes. The skirts he wore in Beacon are child’s play compared to Pitohui’s designs. Each one is soothing to the touch, quickly adjusted for his wings and all are beautiful in their own right.

This current dress in particular is a bright shade of red that goes more into Ruby’s palette than Qrow’s but all over there are black threads weaving in looping designs into the fabric.

The collar is snug against his neck, thankfully not itchy like he hoped. The material is soft to the touch, connected to the collar and it dips over his chest in a pentagon-like shape. It wraps around his back to tie a large ribbon underneath the base of his wings. As for the skirt part, it’s a slanted cut to show off his left leg thigh and its ends nearly touch the floor.

Half of his mind is wondering what’s gonna be Clover’s reaction. Likely praises and kisses. Okay now more than half of his mind is thinking about that.

Qrow is unintentionally successful at making his cheeks match the dress.

“Ooh,” Pito cooed, “I take it that this is the one?”

He finds himself nodding before a chance to reconsider but he doesn’t dare to have second thoughts.

“Well,” he ends up saying, holding up the tail end the dress, “Can you shorten this part? I don’t want to risk tripping over it.”

“No problem.”

Marrow exits a dressing stall, a flattering blue suit vest emphases his waistline but he keeps fixing the rolled sleeves of the white undercoat.

He hums an impressed tune to the bird, “Wow, I honestly didn’t think you’d look good in a dress. I just never thought it would work.”

“What kind of teacher would I be if I didn’t make you learn new things,” Qrow said. He studied his figure in the mirror as Pito worked with a measuring tape for the skirt.

The red dress shows off his silhouette, curves and dips in a smooth wave that he vaguely acknowledged with his regular clothes. His muscles add to his features, a strong contrast that brings a depth of both beauty and power in him.

His wings flair out and he can’t help but shift around, see the different angles on how the large things work with the dress. Everything looks too good to be true, elegant even or graceful. Qrow spent years not caring too much on his appearance, just shucked on whatever shirt he could around his wings. Now in this dress, it feels more than okay around his wings because it was literally made with people like him in mind.

It’s kind of refreshing to dress up like this.

Marrow’s curious gaze gets Qrow thinking out loud, “Wait, did the others not tell you about when Jaune wore a dress?”

Blinking, Marrow asked, “He did what?”

“Yeah, did it to cheer up a friend.” That’s one way to describe a memory coated with both joy and grief.

“Huh.”

A dazed off look enters Marrow’s eyes until they wander off to the dress section. His hesitant feet leads them over to the frills and silk and lace. Little Madeleine is instantly by his side, piling dresses in her arms. Qrow picks up the wary curiosity in the unsure movement in the younger man.

Taking a page out of Clover’s book, he says, “You don’t have to force yourself to do this, Marrow.”

“I’m just trying stuff out,” Marrow said, more for himself.

The guy does look a little clueless. After all, simply picking a dress and wearing it is not as easy as it sounds. For skirts, that’s only a matter of hipbones or whatever. As for dresses, Qrow knows from experience how most dresses are designed for slimmer bodies or narrow shoulders.

Thankfully Madeleine is here with a keen eye. She double-checks on the sizes for each dress from hem line to sleeves before handing Marrow the appropriate size. The kid gives him a thumb’s up in approval, assuring Marrow as he goes back to the dressing stall.

“Maddie knows what she’s doing,” Pito proudly states, “she loves helping everyone with their dresses.”

“So I’m not the only guy around here that likes dressing up?” Qrow meant for a lighthearted tone but apparently Pito got a faraway look as she smiled at the sight of her daughter reorganizing the clothing racks.

She needed a stepstool but nonetheless, Madeleine worked diligently.

“My little girl wants to make the world be as pretty as she believes it to be,” Pito said.

There was a small hitch in her throat at the ‘little girl’ part. It paired with the watery eyes Pito attempted to brush away.

“She sounds a lot like my kids,” Qrow shared.

The mother sends him a knowing look, something that Summer once had when the girls were cradled in her arms. That sweet security and peace and Qrow is slowly learning that feeling too.

They wrap things up. Qrow returns to his regular clothes, an overcoat where the entire back section is gone so that his wings don’t have any troubles.

Marrow hasn’t come out when Qrow finishes paying. Pito has a worried look but Qrow gestures to let him handle this.

Knocking gently on the door, he calls out, “Hey, Marrow, how’re you doing?”

“Okay,” is said too fast, too caught off guard but Marrow tries again with a calmer tone, “They actually do fit, well most of them I think but…”

“I’m not asking about the clothes, kid.”

There a pause and while Qrow is worrying, he also realizes that oh.

So this is what’s like to be Clover in these conversations. But Marrow is not Qrow. Perhaps they have similar experiences, but the dog faunus eventually opens up.

“I’ve never really wore anything that was for me. It was always a uniform and that was safe because at first glance, I belonged to a group.”

“I get that, kid,” he said, “Blake too.”

“I know that,” Marrow’s voice is a bit muffled but a twinge of exhaustion is there. “I just want to be confident in all of me. Like how you wear dresses or like how Blake cut her hair.” His words get softer but they make it through the door, “And May… You’re all so proud being yourselves.”

Again, words fail him. Qrow has those old gut instincts to argue against Marrow’s claim. The rooted knots in his stomach would actually hurt at someone else’s belief in him.

But those tangled threads aren’t holding strength as Qrow thinks of his pride.

Sure he has pride in his skill, in earning the two month chip of his sobriety, and most of all, pride in his kids.

As for self-pride, huh, is that’s what Qrow’s been walking with? Has that been intertwining with his acceptance and eagerness to be happy again?

Unfortunately now is not the time to have a revelation or self-reflection, Marrow is spiraling and Qrow doesn’t have much familiarity on this. He always thought as Marrow as a faunus with a strong sense of identity but Qrow should’ve know better, after all he hid behind thinly veiled self-loathing thoughts.

Qrow can’t get another word out, any idea of comforting Marrow is unsure when he hears the shop’s entrance chime.

It must be luck, good or bad, it doesn’t matter because guess who’s here.

Fiona Thyme is occupied with talking to Pito while May Marigold meets his gaze.

‘And May,’ Marrow had trailed off with, as if she’s the most important person to think about.

Without a second thought, Qrow walks up to the ladies.

“Hi Qrow,” begins Fiona. She’s the most familiar with him sense they’re the ones who had to keep Robyn and Clover from sassing each other when they meet up. She tilts her head, reading into his quiet turmoil, “Is something wrong?”

His frown isn’t reassuring as he turns to May, “Marrow’s in there.”

All he did was point to the dressing rooms and then May was already speed walking there, a panicked and vulnerable expression on her face.

The shop may have that idle instrumental music playing lowly in the background but he hears May gently say, “Marrow, it’s me, will you let me in?”

Five seconds of stasis and holding their breaths, the door opens and May is let in.

Qrow usually doesn’t look too deep into his kids’ relationships, usually because none of them are subtle about their fluffy affection or bad pickup lines. But for Marrow, he was Clover’s kid so Qrow had that innate urge to get on the good side of his boyfriend’s friends.

The other Ace Operatives still claim their acquaintances at best but that’s an utterly proven wrong at the end of the day. Each one of them cares about Clover in their own way and expressed their varying degree of enthusiasm and care for the Beacon hunters.

As for the rookie, Marrow got quite comfortable with Qrow’s flock, specifically Jaune. That is what Qrow is trying to wrap up to, Marrow and Jaune had that coffee thing and then suddenly Marrow’s joining them in game night.

So in shorter words, Qrow cares about Marrow but also wondering what the kid’s gonna do about his feelings for two people. Well according to Fiona who’s here to pick up her dress, the Happy Huntresses are all going so Marrow’s gonna be in a room with two of his crushes.

Just a normal day in Atlas.

They spend an hour longer in the shop helping Marrow decide on an outfit. Well, mostly May and Madeleine because the dog faunus trusts them. Although if Qrow guided the little bird away from the red dresses then that’s the least he can do to prevent Jaune from getting bittersweet flashbacks.

Actually, now that he thinks about it, Jaune wouldn’t be the only one reminiscing about the fallen warrior of reds and golds.

By the time they finish shopping and thanking James’ credit card that either May or Fiona tried to steal, the two huntsmen were back at the academy as the sun sinks into the horizon.

Marrow wasn’t too elated to hang out with anyone so he retreated to his room hugging his garment bag tightly, a relieved smile on his face.

That leaves Qrow to handle his usual amount of rambunctious kids who demand his attention.

The moment they spy the garment bag carefully tucked under his arm, they turned into vultures.

“You got an outfit? Put it on, put it on!” Ruby demanded, bouncing in her feet and just like Madeleine, made grabby hands at him.

Weiss, the opposite of childish joy, pouted, “We were all supposed to go to my tailor together!”

“But we did that other day,” Jaune complained, slumped over the couch with Nora. He’s on warren duty, keeping the thunderbolt out of the kitchen while Ren and Oscar prepare dinner.

“It’s called final fittings.”

“Is that what you call taking three hours making sure your gear is lit free?” Blake teases.

Her eyes are still glued to her book as her fuzzy socked feet are swung over the couch’s arm. Her toes tap the air, meaning she’s at a good part. Blake’s head is rested upon Yang’s lap whose idly combing her hands in the cat faunus’ hair while Yang watches the superhero movie marathon Jaune has been raving about.

“Ha, nice one,” Nora grinned and while Jaune is snickering, she tries to escape his hold.

Nora could easily threaten to hurt Jaune or actually hurt Jaune but she loves handholding too much to do that to her leader. That and Qrow has given her the parental disapproving lecture about throwing threats around.

So far her escape plan is to slitter away but from pure instinct or insight, Ren looks away from his work to just stare at her with a raised brow. Nora sinks back to the couch, just in time to watch the superhero with slow motion powers use his powers for the greater good.

“Food’s almost ready,” Oscar announces and turns off the stove, “I don’t think Qrow should risk his suit against the curry.”

“Dress actually,” he corrects, walking pass his starry eyed niece and his grinning niece and a bunch of other children that have decided to look up to him. “You four,” he points to the couch potatoes, “go set the table.”

He feels a little vindicated when they listen.

Only Weiss and Ruby follow him to his room, the one originally assigned to him but some of his clothes have migrated to Clover’s room. Still, it’s nice to have a place close to the kids. It was also a hassle to be too near to the kids’ dorms simply due to how they are in the mornings.

The two coffee machines and one tea kettle are not enough for the eight youths.

Qrow gently places the dress bag in his closet, Weiss and Ruby instantly drawn to it while he searches for some more casual clothes. Look, Nora can be a messy eater, there’s a good chance curry will be flying thanks to his semblance.

When he’s trying to find a matching set of socks, a futile mission, he hears his niece and her girlfriend unzip the bag and start to wow about his dress.

“It’s so pretty!”

“Definitely a lot more tasteful than I expected.”

“You’re just jealous that your dress doesn’t have this much detail.”

“I’ve worn countless of dresses, Ruby, and a good number of them are up to this quality. I am not jealous.”

“Nice to hear your approval then,” Qrow said. Weiss quirks a smile at him, glad that her intentions are known. “Hey, can you help me with this thing too?”

His left wing hasn’t been feeling great against the cold evening air. Maybe a feather or two were misaligned during his dressing and left a patch of rough wing skin exposed to the chills. The wing wasn’t cooperating when he tried to remove his coat.

“Of course,” Weiss stepped behind him. The first time he asked for her help, her hands shook a bit, too nervous to mess up but determined to do the task. This time there isn’t any jitter or nerves, just helpful and careful.

Once the heavy coat is off, he reaches over to find the ruffled feathers.

“Thanks,” he said to the ice princess who ironically has a soft expression that’s melting his heart.

“You’re welcome, Uncle Qrow,” Weiss replies.

A high pitch squeal exits Ruby’s mouth despite the fact that her hands are clasped over, like that can tamper her excitement. The giddiness radiating off of her matches the squishiness in Qrow.

That squishy feeling always happens whenever his kids, aside from Yang and Ruby, call him uncle.

The first time each one said it was a total shock and it’s even more heartfelt knowing they still continue to do so.

Weiss rolls her eyes, like that can downplay the emotional impact she caused to the family.

“Come on Ruby,” she reminds, “there’s dinner waiting for us.”

She grabs Ruby’s hand and whisks her away. Ruby gives her uncle a parting thumb’s up.

“Clover’s going to love it!”

…oh boy, Qrow needs to mentally prepare for that.

#fair game #qrow branwen #clover ebi #faunus qrow #atlas ball #my fic #rwby fic #rwby

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