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princecharmingmendes · 3 years

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Best Friend's Brother | Raul Mendes

Growing up with your best friend is amazing, having this loving and caring relationship is fantastic, planning your lives together seemed natural, what Y/N didn’t include in her plans was falling in love with Raul Mendes, Peter’s brother.

Hi hi, lovies! I know, I know, I disappeared, but I’m back with a Raul piece! It’s been ages since the last time I posted something and I missed it so much! I had a really hard time writing for the past few weeks and I’m really happy that I was finally able to finish it. So I’m so sorry it took me way too long and thank you so much for being so patient, really 💘 I’ll stop rambling now! I hope you enjoy it!

*Word Count: 8.5k+

*Warnings: a few curse words, drinking, injure (sprained ankle in case this triggering), and I guess that’s it!

*Posted: October 5th, 2020.

-*-

You could say Y/N was in trouble.

Growing up with someone right beside you will always create that invisible string that’ll keep you two together for, what some say, the rest of your life. It forms a bond so strong you can tell what they’re feeling just by a single look in their eyes and you just know exactly what to do. And if life allows you, you’ll keep them around for a long time and have them around you for every occasion, being it good or bad, but always near you to support you. And thankfully, that were the triplets for her. She met them in High School, Shawn was obsessed with music, Peter was the cute nerd that took amazing pictures and Raul was the typical bad boy and Y/N was a sweet and quiet bookworm. They met when she was asked to tutor Raul and he ended up asking her to meet him at his place, and that’s how she ended up with three best friends and a crush.

She was a bit closer to Peter since they had similar interests in general and also had similar plans on Friday nights, and they’re basically glued to the hip and everyone outside from their little bubble were one hundred percent sure they’re together somehow. And the fact that the three of them (Shawn was too busy touring the world) went to the same college didn’t exactly helped with the rumors. But in reality, the triplet that makes her heart skip a bit, her stomach to do flips and her breath to get caught on her throat was Raul. And if she was honest, how could someone honestly resist him? Girls who didn’t even know him normally wanted him, and Y/N knew him like the back of her hand and knew that behind the bad boy exterior there was the softest and biggest heart on the planet, was almost impossible to resist.

And even though she had all this feelings and felt all warm inside when he playfully winked at her, she never acted on them. Peter obviously knew about it, but she never told anyone else. Hell, she didn’t even tell him, he somehow managed to notice it.

Peter tried encouraging her to talk to him about it or do something about the whole thing, mostly because he was tired of seeing her suffering every single time she saw him with another girl, which wasn’t very uncommon. But she never did. Y/N doesn’t like comparing girls, that’s just mean, because everyone is different, and just because you don’t look like someone doesn’t mean you’re not enough or good at all, just makes you unique, but she can’t help thinking she’s not his ‘type’. Not that she noticed he has a specific body type or something, she’s just not the kind of person who would catch his eye.

It’s just he literally models on the side, goes to med school and has amazing grades, while still going on parties, having hook ups and living his best life while getting tattoos and having fun. While Y/N likes to light up a candle and read a good book on her couch, maybe with Peter while they eat some pizza and discuss from the latest thing that happened on campus to the theory of wormholes. They are close, they are friends, but they are polar opposites.

And the worst part? He acts as if she was the reason the sun rose every single day and treats her as if she’s the reason he’s capable of breathing, but in a “you’re my best friend and I love you like you are family” type of thing, not in a “I am hopelessly in love with you”. He was very touchy and big on pet names, specially when Peter went to sleep and it was just the two of them watching stuff on his living room, but never did anything to lead her into thinking he likes her more than a friend. It’s all her fault for looking too much into it and having her heart broken whenever he had a girl over when she was there (which wasn’t that common since he wasn’t big into having a serious relationship, at least not enough to bring someone to their flat) or when she saw him all heart eyes or making out with someone.

Y/N swears she tried burying those feelings down, even going as far as hanging out less with him and avoiding going to his place, taking way too long to reply to his texts and dodging him everywhere she could like the plague. He wasn’t having it, so he randomly showed up at her dorm room at midnight, looking like an abandoned puppy and begging her to forgive him for whatever he had done that upset her so badly. And that’s when she decided that maybe that wasn’t her greatest idea. That maybe all she needed to do was just to forget those stupid feelings and butterflies that felt like ripping out of her body whenever he smiled at her. Well, that didn’t work either. So, to sum it all up, Y/N was in trouble.

In a big, big, gigantic trouble.

-*-

So it was a Friday night when Peter called her to crash at his place so they could watch the last season of How to Get Away with Murder while he worked on a project for his class or something like that, and she agreed almost immediately, it’s not like she planned on doing much better. Y/N gathered what she considered to be important in a few seconds cause he told her he was going to pick her up since he was still on campus and ran to the entrance of her building, already seeing his car parked outside. The ride to his place was quiet and consisted on them basically talking about what theories they had for the end of the season since they met for lunch.

“I don’t think Raul’s home yet, his bike wasn’t on his usual parking space” Peter hummed as he opened the door to his apartment.

“Yeah, I didn’t see it either” was all she could answer. And Y/N didn’t know how to feel about it, it’s been a week since she had the chance to talk to him and she missed it, but at the same time, she wasn’t going to end up a blushing mess around his natural flirty persona.

“Let me just grab my camera and computer, you can drop your stuff on the guest room if you want”

“Okay, don’t start the show without me” she said before starting to walk away and all she could hear was a ‘don’t take too long then’ Peter muttered under his breath.

She giggled to herself from his silliness as she placed her backpack on the bed and took off her shoes, getting rid of her jacket and pulling her hair in a loose ponytail, only grabbing her phone as she got back to meet Peter on the living room, already on the couch with his stuff around him as he let out a frustrated groan.

“What’s wrong, grumpy?”

“Raul’s an idiot, he took the remote to his room since he stepped on his or something like that and he’s too lazy to get his fixed or return the other one to its place”

“But is it in his room?”

“Probably, could you please grab it for me?”

“Wouldn’t he get mad I got into his room without him being around?”

“Oh please, Y/N, Raul mad at you? He’d probably get mad at me for making you go in there to grab it for us”

“It’s not like that”

“Of course it is, Raul could never even look at you slightly pissed, and even if he did, he’d feel guilty”

“If he gets mad I’ll tell him it was your fault”

“He won’t, honey, he’s not even home yet”

“Fine” she ended up giving up, arguing with Peter was always pointless.

So Y/N turned around and headed for Raul’s room, knocking tentatively and without response, she just got in and tried to find the control without looking at his stuff for too long, she didn’t want to be nosy. Since she was busy with the task of finding it, she didn’t notice the soft sounds coming from the bathroom or the gentle click of the door when someone opened it. Her attention was finally brought the other side of the room, when she hear someone clearing their throat. Her eyes widened as she looked up only to find Raul standing across from her, with his hair damp and naked apart from the fluffy towel hanging low on his hips.

He had a little smirk on his lips and a funny expression, but that didn’t stop from almost giving Y/N a heart attack. She started mumbling a string of apologies as she covered eyes with both hands, walking backward until she hit her head on a shelf and tripped over something, falling right on her butt.

“Ouch!” she said reaching one of her hands on the back of her head to try and relive some of the throbbing, still covering her eyes “I’m so so so incredibly sorry, I didn’t mean to simply walk in here, but we thought you weren’t home, and I knocked, and Peter told me to come in here to grab the remote, and said you wouldn’t mind, and...”

“Hey, no, it’s okay” Raul said hurriedly, walking towards her a crouching down in front of her, lightly wrapping his fingers around her wrists “Y/N, it’s okay, look at me, love”

And with the gentle tug on her hands she decided to let go, opening her eyes to be met with his honey orbs “I’m so so sorry, I really didn’t mean to invade your privacy, if I knew you’d be here I wouldn’t- I would never come in, please don’t be mad at me, please”

“Oh, sweetheart, there’s no reason for you to apologize, really, I’m not even naked, or completely naked at least, and even if I was? wouldn’t have minded, yeah?” Raul said gently cupping her face “and I’m not mad at you, how could I ever be mad at you? You’re the sweetest person I know and you didn’t do anything wrong”

“I’m sorry” Y/N mumbled softly and he just chuckled, leaning in and pressing a kiss at the top of her head.

“It’s okay, are you staying the night?”

She nodded “we’re having a marathon, we’re rewatching How to Get Away with Murder”

“Oh, do you mind if I join?”

“You’re not busy?”

“Not at all, but it’s okay if you want to watch just the two of you”

“No, of course not, you can join us if you want”

“Are you ordering food or do you want me to make us something?”

“We didn’t order anything, and I don’t want to bother you with cooking”

“I’d gladly do it, I can make us something quick so it won’t get in the middle of your shows

“I really don’t want to bother you, Raul”

“It’s not a bother, come on, the remote is over there, I’ll change real quick and make us something to eat, and you two can start the show, I’ll meet you guys in the middle, yeah? Sounds good?”

“Sounds amazing”

“Now go, you pervert, I need to change” he said trying to hold back a laugh.

“Oh, sure” she mumbled as she scrambled to get back at her feet.

“Or you can just stay and enjoy the show" Raul threw a wink at her direction as she was already by the door.

Y/N only closed his door a bit harsher than she should, feeling her whole body heating up, she just couldn’t decide if it was of embarrassment or... something else. She shook her head to get rid of the dirty thoughts about her best friend’s brother out of her head and got back to Peter at the leaving room. Seeing he was sitting at the armchair, with all of his stuff around him for him to work comfortably, leaving her the loveseat.

“Oh hey, is Raul at home?!”

“Yeah, he was at the shower, so thank you for putting me in that position”

“Was he mad at you?”

“No”

“Told ya, got the remote?”

“Yeah, by the way, he’s going to make us dinner and join us later”

“Oh, thought he was going out tonight” Peter said opening his computer “do you want to arrange the show?”

“Don’t you think we should wait for him?”

“Nah, don’t think so”

“Wait for who?” Raul asked coming out of the hallway wearing a pair of sweatpants and thin white T-shirt.

“You, to start the show” Peter answered without looking up from the screen.

“Oh no, go ahead, I’ll make us some food and I’ll bring you guys some, okay?”

“Do you need help?”

“No, it’s okay, sweetheart, it’ll be pretty basic”

Y/N hummed in response as she started the first episode and things were as normal as every Friday she spent watching anything with Peter. Only this time, he was a bit less focused on the show and more on his work, but still was able to make comments about the all the scenes. They would both laugh and joke around a lot more than actually watch anything, specially since this wasn’t the first time they watched this. Almost at the end of the first episode, Raul showed up with plates of a very appetizing looking pasta, placing one in front of Peter and one on Y/N’s lap. He went back into the kitchen and coming back with his own, plopping down beside Y/N.

“This is the first, right?”

“Yeah, the end of it”

“Oh, it’s been a while since the last time I watched it, I don’t think I’ve ever finished it”

“Really?”

“I kind of forgot it, I was watching another one at the time, but I remember liking it a lot”

“Well it’s a great thing we decided to follow the episodes and not just jump into our favorites, and by the way, this is amazing”

“Oh, thanks, it’s really simple actually”

“Don’t even start, you always make the most basic stuff like grilled cheese taste like gourmet food”

“He just likes to be praised” Peter said with a chuckle.

“Fuck off, Peter” Raul chuckled and before he could throw a pillow at him, Y/N grabbed his wrist “hey!”

“His camera is there”

“Oh”

“Thanks, Y/N, but this pasta is actually amazing, I have to give you that”

“Was that too hard?” Raul asked and Peter just shrugged with a laugh.

“Maybe we should focus on the show” Y/N said pressing the next episode before they both decided to start something.

Peter got up after they finished dinner to place everyone’s dishes in the sink, going back to his place and work silently. As they watched the episodes, Peter was getting silent as he focused more on his work and Raul was the one commenting on the episodes and talking to Y/N. Which she didn’t mind at all. He was always pretty funny and manage to make her laugh at the silliest jokes.

Maybe that’s the reason so many people were attracted to him. He had a mysterious vibe going on, since he was pretty close with people in general, but could be a sweetheart with the close ones, he had the looks that had everyone’s head turning, he was funny and intelligent. He’s just so good and she hates to admit that even her fell for his charming smile and golden heart. And when he leaned a bit closer to her as the episodes went by, she hated to admit that her body felt a bit warmer and she was itching to lean into him as well. But what made it worse was him laying his head on her lap as he wrapped himself in a throw blanket, giving her a sheepish smile and turning back to the TV. That had her fingers practically moving to its own accord to tangle on his curls, and she couldn’t help but brush them out of his face. And just as she was about to mumble an apology, he let out a content sigh and leaned into her hand.

After a few moments Peter looked up at them and just chuckled softly, and as Y/N looked up at him he just shook his head and pointed towards Raul “He fell asleep with you playing with his hair, just like a puppy”

“Do you think he’ll mind when he wakes up?” she said barely above a whisper.

“Not at all, he loves you, he can never be upset with you”

“That’s not true”

“It is, ask Shawn or Aaliyah, they’ll agree, he’s got a soft spot only for you”

“Shut it, Peter, we’ve known each other for years, he’s just nice because I’m your best friend”

“That’s not true, but I’ll drop it, I think I might go to bed now”

“Okay, I think I’m going to finish this episode”

“You know you can wake him up, right?”

“I know, I just don’t know if I feel like doing it”

“I can do it for you” Peter offered as he gathered his stuff.

“No, it’s okay, I’m going to finish this episode first”

“Do you want me to roll out the sofa and make it more comfortable for you? You don’t have to move”

“Yes please”

“Okay” he answered as he leaned down to extend the couch into a kind of makeshift bed as carefully as he could to not disturb his brother “call me if you need anything”

“Okay, thanks, Peter” she said smiling at him as he shook his head and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead.

“Goodnight, dummy”

“Night, Peter”

He grabbed his stuff and threw one last look at her direction, but she was far too distracted with Raul’s curls to have noticed, and he caught a glimpse of his brother slowly opening his eyes, only to close them again and nuzzle closer to Y/N. Peter hold back a laugh as he went back to his room, he would never figure out how the most brilliant people he knew could be so oblivious.

-*-

Y/N didn’t intend to fall asleep, but the warmth radiating from his body, the soft light coming from the TV and the soft cushions lulled her to sleep without her even noticing. She only noticed she fell asleep when she woke up to rushed whispers in the living room and the soft click of the front door closing.

She was a bit confused, but the strong Raul’s strong scent and the comfortable position she was currently at made it hard for her to come back into consciousness. But as soon as she opened her eyes, Y/N noticed she had her face nuzzled into Raul’s neck, with her body partially on top of him and cuddled close with his arm around her waist. Her immediate thought was to pretend to be asleep so she could come up with a better plan of getting rid of the embarrassment. But before she could do anything, she heard Raul’s warm chuckle.

“Morning, sweetheart” he said combing his fingers through her hair gently, almost making her melt back into his chest.

“Hi” she said sitting up and knuckling at his eyes softly “I didn’t even notice when I fell asleep”

“Me neither, I was completely drained”

“I’m sorry for -you know, being on top of you”

“Oh, it’s okay, I woke up in the middle of the night and I didn’t feel like waking you up, cause you seemed so peaceful, so I just rearranged us, and I guess we ended up cuddled”

“Yeah” Y/N said brushing her hair out of her face.

“You know I don’t mind, right?”

“Mind what?”

Raul gave her a knowing look and she could feel her face beating up “It happens, sweetheart, and there’s no reason to be ashamed, I slept like a baby with you”

“Oh, I slept well too, is Peter gone already?”

“Yeah, he said something about having to buy something for his camera or something like it”

“He saw us?”

“You make it seem like we were doing something so scandalous, he found it cute actually” he said with a chuckle.

“Oh, okay”

Raul gently grabbed her hand and placed a kiss at the back of it “Relax, darling, hungry?”

“A bit, yeah”

“Want to go and grab breakfast? I can drop you home after if you want”

“That’d be amazing, but only if you’re available”

“Of course I am, I always have time for you, now let’s go, I’m starving”

“Already?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up for a while now”

“Why?!”

“Didn’t want to disturb you, you needed to rest, sweetheart”

“You’re too sweet”

“Only for you” he said throwing a little wink on her direction.

He had no idea how much that affected her.

-*-

Aaliyah’s birthday was always an amazing event. The triplets always committed to provide her the best birthday they could every single year and they never let her down. It has always been like this since the triplets parties were always nice for the three boys, they felt like they needed to give her the best time possible. She was their little baby after all.

This year was no different.

Her seventeenth birthday party was beautiful and she was literally gleaming, surrounded by her closest friends and family. Raul had a tough week and was feeling a bit off for a few days, there were many reasons to it but he could never ruin his sister’s birthday, so he put on his best smile and went smoothly along with his siblings. He tried his best having fun and forgetting about everything else, but he about half an hour into the party he sat down by the bar and decided just to sit there and drink until he felt lightheaded. Raul just sat there and watched everyone, sometimes having a small talk with anyone who sat down beside him, but mostly, his gaze was constantly searching for Y/N. He didn’t mean to act like a thirteen year old boy with a school crush, he didn’t even mean to keep on searching for her, but she looked so damn adorable he couldn’t help it. She was wearing a beautiful summer dress, in a peachy color that accentuated her gorgeous curves and of a silky kind of material, urging him to run his hands through it. But he knew better, he knew her since they’re kids and he knew he wasn’t what she needed or wanted, or at least, that’s what seemed. So he just stood there, watching from a safe distance and from time to time, but as soon as he started feeling tipsier than he desired, he decided to move away from the bar and take a breath of fresh air.

As soon as he got in the balcony, he let out a sigh of relief as he noticed no one was around, so he would have a least a little bit of peace. He placed both of his hands on the stone railing, feeling his footing not the most balanced one, maybe he had too many drinks for the night and maybe he should go back and grab a bottle of water and something to eat. But before he could actually really think about it, Raul heard a pair of heels clicking behind him, and since no one called him or made a noise to call his attention he just ignored. He felt the person coming closer and he saw on his peripheral the same coloured dress he’d been staring all night. As he turned his face slightly on the person’s direction, he saw Y/N standing beside him, mimicking his position and looking down at the city. Neither of them felt like breaking the silence, so they just enjoyed each other’s company in a comfortable silence. At least until he saw her body shivering from the colder temperature it was outside, which led him to taking out his leather jacket for her and handing it to her.

“It’s okay, I don’t want you to be cold” Y/N mumbled as if not to disturb the peaceful environment.

“I’m okay, sweetheart, but you’re visibly cold”

“Thank you” she said giving him a soft smile that made his whole body warm up as she put on his jacket, wrapping her arms around her own body “but let me know if you need it back”

Raul chuckled “Fine”

“So… Are you going to pretend everything’s okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Raul, I’ve known you all my life, you don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, you just don’t have to act as if you’re fine around me”

“It’s silly and nothing to worry about, really, you should go and enjoy the party”

“I’m okay here, actually, ’m a bit tired”

“Oh” he said with a nod and looked forward at nothing in particular.

“And I also didn’t want to leave you all alone, and I want you to know that I’m here in case you want to talk”

“Thank you” he said turning to face her and she looked up at him ‘’you’re beautiful, but tonight you look just perfect”

“Oh, thanks” Y/N brushed the hair out of her face “you look gorgeous, as always”

“Yeah, I do, right?” he joked as she giggled, making a smirk appear on his lips.

“Yeah, right” she said looking down at the city.

Raul spoke up after a few moments of silence, regretting almost immediately “I saw you with Mike yesterday”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, you’re leaving the movies at the mall, Peter asked me to buy his new lens and I saw the both of you, was it nice?”

“What?”

“The date”

“Oh, no, it wasn’t like that, he’s actually into Jeff and we go to the same classes since I got in college, he needed to vent and to get distracted, so we went to see a movie”

“Sorry, I had no idea”

“No need to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong”

And back to the silence. Raul was embarrassed for bringing it up and relieved in a very selfish way she wasn’t going out with him. And he was also afraid he was going to blurt another inappropriate question or comment, the alcohol normally tended to make him lose his filter.

“Was it a shitty week?”

“Huh?” Raul hummed looking back at her.

“Was it a shitty week? That left you like this”

“Yeah, I guess you can say that”

“Is it about the girl you were seeing?”

“Anna? No, we’re not going out anymore, I haven’t even seen her in a while” He answered taking a deep breath “It’s just, sometimes I wish I had someone that understood me, that was there for me, that cared about me besides my family, I don’t know, and I had so much work to do this week was insane, I’m sorry for rambling, I’m just- I don’t even know, I’m sorry”

“Hey, it’s okay, you can ramble as much as you want, sometimes it gets hard, and you should know by now that I’m here for you and that I care for you, yeah?” Y/N said reaching for his hand and squeezing it lightly and he nodded, pulling her into a hug.

“Thank you” he mumbled against her hair as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“Now come on, let’s sober you up a bit for the cake, okay?” she said placing her chin on his sternum to look up at him and he nodded chuckling lightly.

“Whatever you want, sweetheart”

“Don’t give me this amount of power, Raul, I might regret it”

“Would never regret it, ’sides, I’m already yours for you to do whatever you want” he said and her heart did a flip, but she only giggled.

“Oh, darling, you have no idea of the mistake you just made” she said grabbing his hand as he slotted their fingers together, letting her drag him back inside.

And to be honest? The party was much better after she showed up to talk to him, specially since she was practically glued to his side making sure he was having a good time.

-*-

To say Y/N and Raul got closer was an understatement. Since his sister’s birthday, they were hanging out pretty much every single day they could, Peter was involved almost all of the time, but something that didn’t happen before was only Y/N and Raul going out alone just for the sake of hanging out. And even though it was completely new, it felt completely natural as if they’re the closest for years. So, for the past month she felt really connected to him and she also felt her crush multiplying like crazy, which could end up pretty bad, but she couldn’t stop herself from being closer and wanting to be around him. And when Shawn called Raul on FaceTime one night and who picked up was Y/N he was delighted. He was coming home on the next weekend and he suggested they went camping, like they did when they’re younger, renting cabins, bonfire, guitar and marshmallows type of thing.

And of course the triples were instantly excited and planning everything and Y/N was included on the camping trip from the moment she picked up the phone, her wanting or not. Not that she was opposed.

So they rented the cabins, one for Peter and Y/N, one for Shawn, Brian and Raul, and one for Mark, one of the guys’ friend and his girlfriend. Raul took her to the market the night before of the trip to buy supplies and food (mostly snacks, but Raul insisted on buying at least some stuff to make a real meal).ul insisted on buying at least a few things to make a real meal for them “we can’t survive two days with cookies and marshmallows, baby”). He even went to her place to help her pack and offered her to stay the night and his flat with Peter so she could sleep a bit more before they hit the road the next day. She couldn’t deny, specially when Peter was complaining Raul was stealing her from him and that he missed her, and since Raul was pouting and begging while using the silliest pet names he could come up with, and he was pretty creative.

When the time to wake up and get ready to leave, she was awaken by rowdy boys on the hallway, clearly too excited to go camping, just like children as they practically bounced on their feet. The ride was pretty nice, she even took a nap on Shawn’s shoulder as Raul and Peter listened to something on the radio softly and chattered about random stuff. Arriving there brought back that nostalgic feeling of when they’re young and came here twice a month on summer days. They quickly dropped their bags on their respective cabins and went out the explore, going to the lake until it was lunchtime and everyone was starving.

After resting a bit, they decided to go on a hike up the hill to watch the sunset from the top of it. Which was clearly filled with jokes, laughs and a bunch of random pranks they pulled off. If anyone was to tell their age, they’d never say anything over 15 years old. Sarah, the only girl on the group apart from Y/N was pretty nice and was walking side by side with her, laughing at the boys and just talking about everything when Raul came back, face flushed from laughing too hard and grabbing Y/N’s hand.

“I was informed your boyfriend misses you and I’m here to keep miss Y/N company”

“Very well then” she said giggling and throwing Y/N a knowing look and a little wink, walking a bit faster to reach John.

“What?” Y/N asked as she heard Raul laughing “what did you do?”

“Hey! I didn’t do anything”

“Oh really?”

“I did not! Brian did though”

“Oh God, what is it then?”

“He might’ve pushed John into the mud” Raul said sheepishly and Y/N laughed.

“And why do you seem so guilty?”

“Cause I was the one who saw it”

“Of course you did” she said slightly bumping her shoulder into him.

“I wasn’t the one who pushed him though”

“That’s true, but doesn’t make you completely innocent”

“It’s not my fault I pay attention to stuff”

“No, but it is your fault telling Brian you saw it”

“You got me there” he said bumping her shoulder back as he chuckled and she laughed shaking her head.

“Hey, lovebirds, come on, it’s almost staring!” Shawn shouted a few feet away already at the top.

Y/N felt her cheeks heating up and Raul just laughed, walking to where everyone was already waiting for the sunset.

They sat down to watch the process, and since they’re both the last ones to reach the top, they sat down in the end of the semicircle they formed. Y/N leaned her head on his shoulder and he did the same, laying his head on top of hers as they chattered watching the sun to set on the horizon. Y/N’s heart felt a bit warmer being so close to Raul and having such a beautiful view. He grabbed one of her hands and placed it on his lap, carefully playing with her fingers and tracing random patterns at the back of her hand.

“Maybe we should go back before if gets too dark” Peter suggested as everyone got up and grabbed their stuff.

On the way back the guys were trying to make it as an obstacle course, always making fun of every situation as Y/N and Sarah laughed leading the way. At least until Brian called out Y/N when she started roaring with laughter as he fell face first on the mud.

“That’s what I call Karma”

“It’s easy to laugh and not do anything princess, bet I can get to the cabin before you do”

“Well, I was on the tracking team”

“Well, I’m better than you”

“First one to get there is free from all the chores?”

“Deal” Brian said “on three, who’s counting?”

“I am!” John chirped in.

“This is not the greatest ide-” Peter was cut off by John”

“3... 2... 1 and GO!”

That was all it took for both of them to start running down the hill as they laughed, the others hurrying their steps to follow them. The cabins weren’t that far and as soon as Y/N got there, she tripped in one of the firewoods the guys placed there sooner, falling down and feeling the pain crawling up her leg in a burning sensation.

“Fuck, Y/N!” Brian was the first to arrive, kneeling down beside her “are you okay?! Are you hurt?! What the hell?! Who let this shit in here?!”

“It’s okay, I-“ her words got caught in her throat as she tried to move her feet to get up, feeling her eyes welling up with tears from the burning sensation.

“Y/N!” Raul shouted rushing towards her, flopping down beside her “what happened?”

“She tripped on the damn firewood someone left here early”

“It’s not their fault” she let out with her voice a bit strained.

“It doesn’t matter right now, what’s hurting, baby?”

“My foot”

“Which one?”

“Left”

“Can I see it?” he asked and she just nodded, knowing that if she spoke another word her voice would break and she would start crying for real.

“Holy shit, what’s going on?” Shawn was the first to ask.

“She tripped and now she’s hurt”

“Do you need me to get you something?!” Peter was the first to offer.

“Yeah, I brought an aid kit in case something happened, it’s in the car, also, grab me a bottle of water” Raul said almost robotically as he carefully worked on taking her shoe off “it’s swelling, it looks like a sprained ankle, but it doesn’t seem like you feared any ligaments for now”

“Should we go back?” Shawn asked.

“No! Please don’t!” Y/N barely chocked out as Raul looked up at her and she focused on looking at him because it was calming her a bit “I don’t want you guys to miss all the fun due to my clumsiness”

“Honey, we don’t mind, we ca-”

“Please, Shawn, I- no, okay? I want to stay, and it’s dangerous to drive at night” Y/N cut him off, still looking directly at Raul.

“Here!” Peter said coming back with a bag.

“Thanks, I don’t think it’s too bad” Raul finally said “I’ll keep on checking it through the night, if the swelling gets too bad or if there are any signs that she might have tore or stretched a ligament I’ll take her back, is that okay?” he asked and she just nodded, looking down at her lap.

“You should stay with her tonight, I can spend the night with Shawn and Brian if she doesn’t mind” Peter offered.

“I’d appreciate it, do you mind, Y/N?” Raul asked and she nodded “okay, I’ll take her to her cabin so we can have a better look at it and shower, can you guys take care of the bonfire?”

“Sure, do whatever you need to” John said.

“Okay, can I pick you up, sweetheart?” and again she just nodded, so he picked her from the ground bridal style and carried her back to (now) their cabin.

“I’m okay, you don’t have to do this”

“Of course I do, and it’s okay, we need to put some ice on it, where do you want to sit?”

“Not on the bed, I’m probably too dirty to sit there”

“Okay” he replied placing her down on an armchair, with her feet up “wait just a sec” he said before going through the mini fridge to retrieve an icepack “here”

“Thank you”

“It’s okay, sweetheart” Raul said kneeling down beside her on the floor “is it hurting?”

“A bit, it was worse before”

“Okay, good, you can’t put much weight on it, yeah? Or it’ll only get worse” Raul softly grabbed her hand, lightly thumbing at her knuckles “if you need anything, just let me know and I’ll do it for you, yeah?”

“You don’t have to do this, I don’t want to bother you”

“You won’t, don’t worry about it”

“Raul, you’re literally going to have to babysit me, I’m ruining your weekend”

“You’re not ruining my weekend”

“Of course I am, this is what you do every single day, you’re supposed to be free to relax and not take care of people all the time”

“This is different, this is you we’re talking about and I really don’t mind spoiling you and caring you around the whole campsite if it need be, besides, I like doing what I do, so it’s no bother at all, you’re not ruining everything, now try to relax a bit, you don’t need sore muscles to appear too”

“Okay” Y/N squeezed his hand lightly.

“Good, I’m going to grab my stuff and hand Peter his, is it okay?”

“Yeah, sure”

“Be right back” he said placing a kiss to her forehead and leaving.

Y/N reached into her bag to grab a book to pass the time, Raul quickly came in and said we was going to shower so she would be free to do the same when the ice was done. She got so deep into reading it, that she barely noticed when he got out of the shower, only realized he was in the room when she her gentle humming to a song. Looking up from behind her book, only to find Raul with only a towel wrapped around his hips, looking through his duffle bag for something to wear. Y/N really tried to look away quickly, but maybe her brain was too clouded by him to actually make a quick move, and since he was literally standing in front of a mirror he caught her glimpsing at him, causing his famous smirk to appear on his lips as he got back into the bathroom to get dressed.

“Don’t” Y/N warned before he could even say a word when he came out with a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie.

“What?”

“Just don’t, I know you”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to be shy, you can look, I don’t mind, I actually like it”

Y/N scoffed and threw the pillow that was behind her at him as he laughed “Fuck off, Raul”

“Okay, stinky lady, let’s get you to the bathroom, I got a little plastic chair for you to sit instead of being on your feet”

“Hey! I’m not stinky”

“Oh really? How can you be so sure?”

“Shut up, Raul, I hate you”

“Fine, then you won’t be taken to the bathroom”

“Okay, then I’ll walk!” Y/N said standing up and before she could put her feet to the floor, Raul was swiping her off her feet (quite literally) and she let out a squeak as he chuckled “put me down!”

‘’Nope, you can’t simply walk without a cast or something, so I’ll be your knight and shining armour”

“My saviour” she mumbled rolling her eyes and he laughed, pressing a kiss to her cheek and placing her seated on the little plastic chair for her shower.

“Okay, smelly girl, do you need help with anything?”

“I think I’m good, can you just grab me something to wear?”

“Sure, ma’am”

And with that he left, only to come back with a similar look to his and left her to shower. It wasn’t the easiest event of her life, but she managed it just fine, trying to get out to the door by jumping in only on foot, and as soon she opened the door to the bedroom, Raul was already there by her side with furrowed brows, hands on her waist to steady her and helping her to the bed as he informed her they had a bonfire ready and food as well outside. And they decided to grab some shoes and meet the rest of the group outside, Raul tried wrapping her foot the best he could to imobilize it with what he had there, and he did a pretty great job. So they sat down on the little wood kind of benches already on the ground with everyone, and they started talking about the most random stuff and Brian was trying to convince everyone to tell creepy stories like the movies, which quickly turned into a huge joke cause they couldn’t be serious for a long time. The environment was pretty light and filled with laughs as they ate the burgers Peter was making, Shawn even grabbed the guitar and played some songs, that were quickly ruined by everyone else shouting atop of his voice and messing up the lyrics. As they started to roas the marshmallows and calm down a bit, acting like civilized humans again, Y/N started to feel a bit sleepy.

She was wrapped up in a cozy blanket with Raul, making her just absolutely toasty and comfy, a bit drowsy from the painkillers she took and all the food, feeling just delighted to be surrounded by this people. She loved to be around the triplets, and Brian and John have been around long enough that she was completely used to them and liked them very much. They always made sure she was okay and having fun, the whole Mendes Family if she’s honest, she always felt very welcomed and glad to have them around, specially since she grew up with them. Maybe it was all of that great feeling, associated with the medicine and the that comforting feeling, she felt herself leaning into Raul a bit as Y/N struggled to stay awake, and instead of pushing her softly or saying something about her falling asleep too soon, he wrapped his arm around her welcoming her in his arms as she laid her head on his chest. She heard his warm chuckle as he placed a kiss on the top of her hair.

“Do you want to go to bed?” he asked softly rubbing intricate shapes on her back in a gentle way and she shook her head “let me know whenever you’re ready, yeah?”

She just nodded, nuzzling closer to him and without even noticing, she fell asleep.

-*-

She woke up what felt only moments later feeling her body moving and when she opened her eyes, she noticed that Raul was placing her on the bed for the night.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you” Raul whispered, pulling the covers up her body.

“It’s okay, I didn’t mean to fall asleep”

“It was a long day, sweetheart, it’s only natural” he said going to grab them each a bottle of water and flopping down beside her and she giggled.

“Thank you”

“For what?”

“For taking care of me and being the sweetest person”

“You don’t have to thank me for anything, you deserve it”

“But I do” Y/N said knuckling at her eye and reaching out for his hand, slotting their fingers together and squeeze it gently “thank you”

Raul smiled and leaned in to place a kiss at her forehead “you’re so beautiful, you know that, right?”

“Stop being silly” she laughed as he feigned an insulted expression.

“I’m not, you’re just the prettiest girl I’ve ever met and I’ve always thought this”

“Oh really? Aren’t you just trying to butter me up?”

“Me? I would never do that!” Raul scoffed and she just chuckled giving him a knowing look “okay, okay, you caught me, I’m just trying to steal your heart”

Y/N gasped “why would you do that to me?”

“Because I want it”

“For what? I’m not an athlete anymore, it’s a poor heart, and I love junk food, you won’t be able to sell it”

“You’re ridiculous, you know?”

“Look, you have to decide if I’m pretty, smelly or ridiculous, can’t be all of them” she said and he laughed.

“You’re impossible”

“Oh great, thanks, can you elaborate?”

“Don’t feel like doing it, no” he said and she rolled her eyes, turning away from him on the bed.

“Fine, then goodnight” Y/N turned off the lamp from her side of the bed and he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back flush against his chest “Hey! I-“

“Do you really want to know?” he said taking a deep sigh and burying his face on her neck.

“Well, if there’s an explanation to it, then yeah, but I was just being dramatic and-“

Raul cut her off trying to gather all the courage possible “There is and I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while, I was just trying to find the best timing and not ruin our friendship”

“You won’t end our friendship, yeah? You can just tell me” she said trying to turn in his arms but he had a vice grip on her, so she just gave up, interlacing their fingers together.

“We’ve known each other for years now, and even though you are closer to Peter most of the time, I couldn’t help it but want you closer. You’re always the cutest and sweetest little thing, always caring about the people around you and taking care of others, and being this funny smart person that always make the environment better around you, so I felt drawn to you. And for years I pushed it aside cause you’re always shy around me and I thought you just weren’t interested so I never made a move or something, but recently that was proven to be impossible, since that night you spent over and we slept on the couch I’ve been wanting to ask you about it or just do something about it“ Raul slowly loosened the grip on her and she decided to turn around to face him “You’re not impossible, maybe sometimes when you really want something, but what was really impossible was not falling for you, and you don’t have to say anything, I just thought you should know”

And Y/N couldn’t even speak and she wanted to. She was just speechless. The guy she had a crush on for years just told her he liked her, what the hell was she supposed to say?! She truly wanted to shout that she liked him too, that she wanted him too and that she felt like this for years, but the only thing she could do instead of gaping him like a fish was lean forward and press their lips together, and that’s what she did.

Raul was completely shocked at first and didn’t react at all, which made Y/N instantly regret her decision starting to pull back, but before she could completely pull away, Raul cradled her face in his hand and smeared their lips together in a sweet yet passionate kiss, pulling her closer as she wrapped her fingers in his hair, tangling on his curls. Y/N couldn’t believe this was actually real, the only thing that made her understand this wasn’t a dream, was the warmth and butterflies spreading through her body as he swept his tongue on her bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth genlty. Her head was spinning when they finally parted for air without actually leaning away. Raul rested his forehead on hers as they both panted softly, a bright smile spreading on his lips and Y/N just chuckled, making him do the same.

“I’ve had a crush on you for years now, you idiot” she said and he laughed.

“So sweet” he retorted and she laughed.

“But it’s true! I thought I was so obvious!”

“If I knew I wanted me too I would’ve done it sooner” he said before leaning in and pressing another kiss to her lips.

“Well maybe I should’ve said it sooner”

“Well, we can change that now, but I can take you on a date as soon as we get back and your feet is a bit better”

“Or we can just ignore my feet and go!”

“Not a chance, we can hang out at my place or yours and then go out”

“Sounds pretty nice”

“Then it’s settled”

“Oh, we have to deal with Peter”

“Hm, we can deal with him tomorrow, yeah? Really don’t want to think about my brother right now” he said pulling her to his chest and she giggled.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t completely fucked as she thought a month ago.

-*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

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buckysforeverprincess · 4 years

Text

Can Our Love Survive? Ch. 3

Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson

Words: 1103

Warnings: Angst, not so nice words

A/N: Welcome to Chapter 3! Thanks for sticking with me and I hope you guys are enjoying this so far. I said this was a slow burn but I promise there will be some Bucky/Reader interaction to come. There is a method to the madness and all will be explained. Feedback is always welcome. I love to hear what you think. Enjoy!

**TAG LIST IS OPEN UNTIL CH 15 JUST SEND AN ASK**

Bucky didn't know what to do. He knew he liked you, but you never talked to him, so he thought you weren't interested. You never looked his way and even made it a point to stay away from him whenever all of you were hanging out together. He truly was at a loss and ready to give up hope something could ever comes from the crush he had developed on you.

“Man, why the face?” Steve sits down next to him, opening his science book.

“Just thinking.” Bucky shrugs, not wanting Steve to know he'd been thinking about his sister.

“Care to elaborate?” The blond questions, giving Bucky an opportunity to open up to him.

Bucky contemplates for a moment, deciding if it’s a subject he wants to broach. “Can I ask you something Steve?”

“Free country, shoot.”

Taking the opening, he asks the one thing that’s been clouding his thoughts as of late. “What's up with your sister?”

Steve glares at his friend, wondering what could bring on such a direct question. “What do you mean?” Steve answers a little harshly.

Bucky resigns himself to his fate and looks at Steve nervously. “I mean, she doesn't talk to me or even really look at me. I'd like to get to know her, since I spend a lot of time at your house, but I feel like she wants nothing to do with me, like I have the plague or something. Did I do something wrong?”

Sighing, he relaxes his features and sits back in the chair choosing his next words carefully, so he doesn’t divulge things that are not ready to be told. “No Buck, it's not you. For the past year, Y/N has been dealing with some personal stuff. I can't tell you what, but just know that’s why she seems closed off. She was so full of life, once. Carefree, outgoing, happy. She's now a shell of the person she was before. Give her time. I’m sure she'll come around.”

Bucky had heard talk about Y/N and a senior named Brock. He tried not to listen, but the pieces he’d heard weren't good. Bucky knew who Brock was and he was not impressed. The boy was very arrogant and looked down at everyone else, wanting people to fear him. The guy was a grade a douche canoe and Bucky couldn't understand how you had gotten mixed up with a shitbag like him. Bucky wanted to stomp the life out of him for hurting someone as precious as you.

“Steve, I…” was all Bucky was able to get out before he felt a pain in his arm and the laugh of the man that was Sam Wilson. “What the fuck Sam! What the hell’d I ever do to you?” Bucky rubs his left arm, hoping the hard punch wouldn’t leave a mark.

“It's not what you've done, but what you will do. I heard you ask about my girl.” Sam grins at Steve.

“Your girl?” Steve looks puzzled. “Since when is my sister your girl, and does Nat know about this?”

“Since last year,” Sam replies, looking very much like this is just another day and pointless conversation, “…and yes, Nat knows. It called polyamory Steve. Google it. The last thing Y/N needs is the mess you are Barnes.” Sam’s eyes have moved to Bucky in a challenge.

“Who said I was a mess?” Bucky’s quick to defend himself.

“Please, I can read you like a book. The last thing she needs is to get hurt and I will make damn sure you stay away.” Sam’s words sound like a threat. “You're a lady’s man, Barnes. I've seen the way you flirt with the girls. No way you're breaking her heart.”

Bucky can’t believe what he’s hearing, especially from someone he thought was his friend. He looks to Steve, not knowing just what he can say without upsetting their mass of friend and sees anger in the blonde’s eyes.

“Sam, thank you very much for the concern, but she's my sister. I'll take care of her. Go take a seat and chill.” Steve’s teeth are gritted and he’s doing a fantastic job of holding himself back. “And Sam… if it really was polyamory, you'd be out a girlfriend. Nat loves Y/N more than you. You'd be single.”

Bucky watches as Sam looks at Steve and decides to save this fight for another day. He scoffs and turns to leave, but not before getting a parting shot at Bucky. “See ‘ya later...James.” Sam walks away and back to his seat at the back of class.

“Enhance your calm, John Spartan. Don't let him get to you. He's known us since first grade, so she's like a sister to him.” Steve is doing his best to calm himself from the almost altercation that just took place, and Bucky can only smile for Steve’s interference. “So… how about you come over for movie night tomorrow?” Steve offers trying to get Bucky’s mind off the last few minutes.

Bucky shrugs, coming back to the here and now. “Depends. Who's all coming over? I’d kinda like my face to stay the way it is and if Sam’s coming, I'm not sure I'll leave the way I came.” Bucky responds dryly but the concern is very real.

“Yeah, he'll be there, but I promise he'll behave. Nat will keep him in check, and I know he won’t cross her. Pepper, Clint, Tony and of course my sister. You should come and have some fun.”

“Fine…,” Bucky sighs and shakes his head, “but if he pisses me off, I'm out!”, Bucky says sternly, not wanting to start anything in the Rogers home.

“I understand. Maybe you can even talk to my sister. It’ll be the perfect opportunity.”

Bucky looks at Steve quizzing his choice of words. “You giving me the brotherly seal of approval?”

Steve chuckles, “Let's just say I'm not opposed to it. Just take it slow.” Steve says right before the teacher calls the classes attention, leaving Bucky no time to respond.

“Take it slow” Bucky thinks as the teacher begins to talk. Can't get any slower than how it's been. He’s gotta to find a way to talk to her and maybe movie night would finally give him that chance. As long as Sam doesn't go all Mr. T on him before hand, maybe he can get her to look at him for more than three seconds and they can build on that interaction.

Tomorrow night is the night he tries to get the girl. He's waited this long. One more day won't hurt, right?

COLS Tags:

@ellallheart @nerdy-bookworm-1998 @bookgirlunicorn

Forever Tags:

@caplanreads @the-real-kellymonster @jamesbarnesappreciationclub @kruscht @v-2bucky @palaiasaurus64 @breezy1415 @amandaoftherosemire @sarahp879 @supernaturaldean67 @averyrogers83 @winters-beauty @scarlettsoldier @lovely-geek @titty-teetee @suz-123 @malfoysqueen14 @callmebucky-doll @ronnie248-blog @alyssaj23 @drakelover78 @thisismysecrethappyplace @geeksareunique @childishhoebinoo @thesassmisstress @brieannakeogh @peaceinourtime82 @theoneanna @leosandbuckysgirl @coal000 @the-goddess-of-mischief @mychemicalimagines @awkwardfangirl2014 @strangenerdsstuff @sea040561 @marvelobsessedteen @capnbuck-tiltheend-oftheline @thefandomplace @collette04 @nishanki1 @notyourtypicalrose @jamielea81 @onebatch--twobatch @courtmr @emelody @miraclesoflove @kcd15 @clarysthing @crist1216 @yknott81 @babypink224221 @xxloki81xx @death-unbecomes-you @ellaprime68 @littlemarvelfics @thatfanficstuff @hotoffthepressfics @chuuulip @dj-lowkey @shield-agent78 @unlikelygalaxygiver @viarogers @dtftheavengers @firstangeldragonranch @southernbell91 @lancetuckershairgel

#can our love survive #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #james bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes x reader #james buchanan barnes x reader #steve rogers #steven rogers #steven grant rogers #steve rogers x reader sister #siblings #slow burn #natasha romanoff #bffs #sam wilson #marvel au #marvel characters #angst

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neptunevasilias · 3 years

Note

Neptune?

Oh boy...... this dude. Buckle the fuck in

Favorite thing about them

Gay bitch! *does a gay little run that pisses you off* also he is trans

Serious answer: what a fucking nerd. Same hat! Seriously though, I love how for all he tries to seem “cool,” he’s just a nerd. Also, I think he’s very analytical! I really liked his chapter in btd because of that. And same hat to that as well. Just in general, he’s super fun to play with, and he’s really compelling to me because of how much he Tries but ultimately does not succeed.

Least favorite thing about them

Apart from the Everything(aka the playboy attitude)? I actually hate that he’s treated as a joke for acting “gay” in rwby chibi. Like ok, yeah, I’ll take my crumbs, but make it canon fuckers

Favorite line

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

brOTP

*gets out my metaphorical spreadsheet* ruby and here’s why

They’re both bookworms! Ruby loves fiction, Neptune loves nonfiction. Together, they tackle the whole library. But at the same time, Ruby absolutely grew up watching remnant’s bill nye the science guy and also is smart enough to make crescent rose, and also I think she’d read a lot about any topic that interested her. And Neptune would be such a romantic and secretly read YA romance novels. Just. Bookworms bonding, yes. Also they’re both autistic don’t @ me. Also also, iirc lindsay said her favorite character(besides ruby of course) is neptune, so yeah.

OTP

Seamonkeys but this is where I actually Talk About It

So. The fall of beacon wasn’t actually the first time Sun left his team, and he says this himself. He did this in volume 1, when he ditched them to leave for vale early. So the thing about not just seamonkeys, but the whole team dynamic, is that this isn’t the first time sun fucked up like this. But what makes the fall of beacon the more important and gut-wrenching and dynamic-altering one, apart from what I just said, is how long he’s gone. He’s gone for months. And right after the fall of beacon no less, which was traumatic for everyone, these boys included. So while they’re recovering and trying to get things back to “normal,” they don’t even have their team leader there to help them or even just be with them.

Neptune of course is in love with him. Obviously. Who do you take me for, this is a seamonkeys blog. Honestly I think he was in love with sun the whole time and has been pining since the beginning of their friendship. Anyway, he’s got all these conflicting emotions about what’s happening. Obviously they’re all mad, him included, but most of all he just misses sun. And his absence is noticeable. Who’s there to rally them into doing dumb shit anymore?

The worst part is that they can’t contact him, because the CCT network is down. But can you imagine, the day that sun finally showed up again in his contacts once he went back to haven? God.

So once they’re reunited, neptune clings to him. He doesn’t want to lose him for a third time, and he also wants to make up for lost time, and also he wants to be able to pretend like none of it ever happened, that they can go back to their normal routine now that he’s back. That’s what they did last time, right? And between sage and scarlet not wanting anything to do with sun, neptune trying so hard to pretend things are how they’ve “always” been, and sun wanting to just get on with it all without putting in any of the emotional work to reconcile with his team, nothing is getting done.

I have my own version of events that goes down after that because before the dawn is my playground that I can do whatever I want with, but basically what needs to happen is that neptune needs to basically get a life outside of his team. And honestly the reinitiation was the perfect way of doing that. I have him bond with team BYRN(especially Rae, wink wink nudge at my followers who’ve seen me talk about her before). And being around new people helps boost his self-confidence, and then he’s ready for a romantic relationship with sun.

Sun though? Just needs someone to put him in his place and wake him the fuck up. And blake did give this to him, at the start of before the dawn he’s leaps and bounds better than he was in volume 4. But there’s still more work he needs to put in. He needs to actually commit to his team, so btd is about that.

Basically, sun fucks up, and both of them need to put in the effort to make their relationship work. Mostly though, it’s about the pining. You cannot even begin to imagine the pining. Surprisingly I didn’t tallk about it much during these several paragraphs, but that’s because it can really be summed up in one sentence llksdjfdlksfj. Also as a subset of that, JEALOUS NEPTUNE good god

nOTP

Him and yang sorry for anyone who ships them but she just finds him so fucking annoying god bless good for her

Random headcanon

Buddy...... buddy. You have no idea. There is one in particular that i’ll tallk about though: him and pyrrha used to be friends at Sanctum.

Not best friends. Not even close friends. But they were the only friend the other had. They were the loners that sat at the same lunch table and did group projects together, but didn’t hang out or know each other that well. But they were in this situation for opposite reasons. With pyrrha, it’s the same as when she’s at beacon: everyone sees pyrrha nikos the champion fighter, the celebrity, someone they shouldn’t talk to, or get to know. She was isolated from everyone. With neptune.... well, he canonically has “about the presence of a chair.” And one of my biggest headcanons for him is that before he met the rest of team sssn, he didn’t put effort into trying to look “cool,” he was just a nerd. So yeah, no one really noticed him either.

So him and pyrrha only really had each other, and even then it wasn’t that deep of a friendship. They were both academic, though; like, invested in their studies and stuff, so I think that commonality did make them more comfortable with each other. And maybe near their graduation, pyrrha invited neptune to study with her, but then they went off to different academies and never got any closer than that. Maybe neptune started crushing on pyrrha, but again nothing would have come of it and he would’ve just tried to hide it.

Actually, now that I think about it, I bet they danced with each other at school dances, very awkwardly of course. Pyrrha would ask him once the dance had started and they had been standing there a while bc he was the only one she was comfortable with. Hmmmm actually writing this made me even more invested in these two than I was ten minutes ago. Welp. And they’re not a ship for me, but brotp doesn’t really fit either, I just think they were really important to each other at that point in their lives.

Unpopular opinion

Ok so this is complicated. I guess my unpopular opinion is “he actually has the possibility to have so much fucking depth if the writers could just SEE it” *loses my mind*

Song I associate with them

The song from that album is Ewing

But uh lskdjflkdfjd I have a (more or less) carefully cultivated neptune playist and I could show you everything here individually, and explain exactly why it’s on there, but I won’t. I will say though, Drops of Jupiter by Train perfecty captures the seamonkeys feel, although Sleepless Nights by ayokay has been THE seamonkeys/neptune song for me for over a year now so nothing can take its place. Here’s the full playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ZulwB4hWIdZ3LxxQ5QuvQ?si=-XiW2VUeRVacrMs23vYlnw

There’s everything ranging from serious songs(i wanna get better) to joke songs(santa baby) to otter pop which is on there because of ottertune(if you remember ottertune you’re entitled to a rwby senior discount)

Favorite picture of them

So fucking many but here take this yes it is my current pfp

#ask #anon #chris post #OOPS it was a lot #*delibrates over whether to post this for like an hour*#team season

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stenbrozier · 4 years

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Modern Losers’ Club Headcanons

Plot: Individual headcanons of the modern Loser’ about different things they’d do and love (mostly during high school)

Warnings: slight Reddie, shit ton of Stenburough, drug use + mentions of sex + swearing

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Bill Denbrough:

~ He’s the artist, everyone knew that.

~Typical art kid who won all the awards and participated in every art class his school offered.

~ He just didn’t take choir or band because we know this boy has no musical abilities at all.

~ Bill would save up all his allowance and holiday money so that he could buy that really good drawing app that he could use on his IPad.

~ After he got it, there was no way to get him to look up at you for more than ten seconds. He would fall in love with digital art.

~ Remember he took all of the art classes? Well, creative writing and poetry we’re considered arts at Derry High School, so that’s where he fell in love with writing.

~ Suprisingly, he would be really into heavy metal. Bands like Bring Me the Horizon and Of Mice and Men would blare in his headphones while he drew in his room late at night.

~ Bill would also really love watching indie movies on Netflix and other platforms. He’s lowkey a movie buff, but he doesn’t tell people too much.

~ His favorite movie from the past decade would probably be Moonrise Kingdom (good movie!!) or The Skeleton Twins (also good movie!!)

~ Bill’s favorite book would 10000% be Turtles All The Way Down by John Green because of the main character and her battle with anxiety.

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Mike Hanlon:

~ He runs a cooking YouTube channel, you can’t fight me on this one.

~ Mike would definitely have one of those motorized scooters, idk seems like a Mike thing

~ He’s in love with video games but only the ones that are based on a lot of skill. He doesn’t like first person shooters, nor does he like any games with violence at all. Tbh, Papa’s Pizzeria is right up his alley.

~ Mike would be a gym try hard, most definitely. But in every other class he’d just sit on his phone.

~ But he’s so smart that he’d pass all the tests anyway.

~ He’d work a lot just so he could afford the newest phone because he thinks it gives people less of a reason to pick on him and bully him. (News flash: it doesn’t)

~ Whenever Mike isn’t working, he volunteers at the animal shelter in Derry. He runs the Instagram account :)

~ Probably one of the guys who posts shirtless pics on Instagram because he likes the attention the girls give him in the comments.

~ Will answer any of Bill’s texts at 3am when he wants feedback on a new piece of art.

~ A secret theatre kid, no doubt. Not really a musical kid, but he loves acting and just being on stage with everyone’s attention on him.

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Richie Tozier:

~ Speaking of theatre kids, Richie is the BIGGEST fucking one. He has been in every musical and play that his school has done since 6th grade, and he was one of the best kids they had.

~ He wears Pierce the Veil and Sleeping with Sirens shirts, but Richie mostly listens to softer bands like Arctic Monkeys and The Neighbourhood.

~ He has a bi pride pin on his backpack. Kids will sometimes pull it off and throw it around, but he just pulls another one out of a ziploc bag full of them in the tiny front pouch of his bag and sticks it on there.

~ Richie unapologetically owns a Juul and will sometimes let Bev borrow it as long as she pays him “25 cents a hit”, which she never does.

~ Posts music on SoundCloud. He’s not much of a singer outside of the musicals because he’s mostly shy with his talent; however, he does a lot of instrumentals.

~ Richie shops are thrift stores most of the time. He’ll take Eddie with him and though Eddie won’t touch anything until it’s been washed twice, Richie will buy him anything he likes.

~ He LOVES Harry Potter. He found the first book when he was younger and he just fell in love with the story. He owns all the first editions and all of the movies.

~ Goes to small venues to see bands that no one knows. Richie will go to so many concerts because he likes the escape it brings for him. He’s in his element when he goes to concerts.

~ Despite what many people think, he isn’t a whore :0 He just flirts a lot and he actually didn’t lose his virginity till he was 17 at a party. He regrets it, though, cause he was drunk off his ass.

~ He was also in the color guard for his high school’s marching band. A lot of the girls from the theatre stuff begged him to be apart of it because he could dance really well, and he ended up being in it for both the indoor and outdoor seasons all throughout high school.

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Eddie Kaspbrak:

~ BOOKWORM, BOOKWORM, B O O K W O R M!!! This boy would spend every second he could just browsing the books that his school library had.

~ After he yelled at his mom for his pills, he started to kind of overcome his germaphobe tendencies, but he still was very iffy about touching things in places he’d never been.

~ For example, Richie took him to the park one time and he had never been there before, so the whole time he was holding his noses and steering clear of the snot nosed little kids.

~ Him and Richie definitely dated at some point or another. Whether to get a feel for guys or just for each other, but it did happen. Beverly was the only one who ever knew.

~ Eddie fell in love with engineering at school. He would always call one of the Losers at an ungodly hour in the morning and rant about how all of the buildings in town were built and with what materials. Honestly, Ben was the only one who shared this interest with him.

~ Eddie was the first to get his own car so all of the Losers would pile into his Jeep. Richie always tried to convince him to take off the doors, but Eddie thought that that was the biggest goddamn safety hazard he’d ever heard.

~ As they all got older, obviously him and Richie stayed close, but he also got surprisingly close with Ben and Ben would gush about Beverly to him after Eddie would excitedly explain how a car’s engine works or something like that.

~ Eddie was the one to convince Beverly to go after Ben and stop pining over Bill.

~ Eddie went to concerts with Richie all the time, and even if the sweaty roadies grossed him out, he fell in love with the bass killing his eardrums and the way the mic static could transform someone’s voice.

~ He also joined his school’s marching band (mainly cause Richie begged him) and was fucking AMAZING at playing snare drums.

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Stanley Uris:

~ He was the last one to enter high school, everyone a year ahead of him, but he was ironically the most popular among the lower class men.

~ Stan was a very private person, but his willingness to do other’s homework for $5 a page made him infamous.

~ Because of all this money he’d been making, he’d buy the Losers presents all the time. He would treat them to their favorite snacks whenever they went to Keene’s or to a new shirt whenever they went to the mall over in Bangor. And he never went over budget because he’s a goddamn accountant by nature.

~ He had a massive crush on Bill and asked him to homecoming his freshman year. Yeah, they were bullied, but Stan couldn’t have been more happier.

~ Bill convinced him to tryout for the baseball team. He tried out for pitcher and got it immediately. He was also one of the sports kids who would post on his Snapchat whenever they had a game.

~ Him and Bill ended up dating up until junior year, when Bill admitted that he wanted to date at least one girl before college and Stan wasn’t mad because he honestly wasn’t feeling it anymore. Afterwards, they both started dating cheerleaders.

~ Stan was in Calculus his sophomore year of high school, which was the class that all of the AP seniors took. Many people called him a genius, he just thanked the internet.

~ Stan fell in love with indie bands like R.O.A.R and Florence + The Machines. Richie did, however, convince him to go to concerts with him and Eds. He might’ve not enjoyed the music, but he still loved being with his best friends since diapers.

~ He didn’t like movies too much but would watch them with Bill. He enjoyed TV shows a lot more. He’s definitely a true crime baby.

~ Stan also fell in love with photography because he was forced to take the class. He begged his parents to buy him a camera for his birthday, and his many cork boards were filled with pictures of his friends and birds.

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Ben Hanscom:

~ Was a track start in high school. He ran off all of his fat and just fell in love with the high of running (tbh this is my favorite part about Ben’s character. like such a determined boy 🥺)

~ Ben enjoyed sitting at the library with Eddie and just watching him peruse books, usually pointing a few that he had read and liked. He also just loved the fact that him and Eddie were able to get so close as they got older.

~ Ben was in all the engineering courses his school offered. He was just so happy that he could take classes that pertained to the career path he wanted to go down.

~ He was able to finally get Beverly their senior year. He had been in love with her for the longest time, and she asked him to homecoming.

~ Ben also considered trying out for the football team, but it conflicted with the winter track season so he wasn’t able to; however, him, Mike, and Bill would always play their own small games in the field by Mike’s house.

~ While Stan helped everything with their math homework, Ben helped everyone with their history homework. He was a big history nerd, and everyone knew he paid attention the most.

~ He lost a bet one time and Richie was able to give him a stick and poke tattoo anywhere of his choosing. So now on the inside of his left ring finger he has R.T. written messily.

~ Ben loves pop music. He had always liked it, and some of his favorite artists were Katy Perry and Sia.

~ He rode his bike to school everyday. He was a very big proponent for the environment and hated the idea of driving, so he’d pass up the rides from Eddie or Richie and just bike with his headphones in.

~ Ben was apart of the school’s Green Team and protested climate change and the use of fossil fuels. When he had free time, he’d study ways that he could benefit the environment when he became an architect.

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Beverly Marsh:

~ She was an English wiz. It was her favorite subject, and she fell in love with analyzing poetry and other forms of literary work.

~ Beverly started to let her hair grow out again and she was relieved to see that it started to grow out straight. She hated her curly hair.

~ She bleached her hair a few times throughout high school; she hated the red because it reminded her too much of her mother.

~ Her and Richie’s friendship fell off big time, but she got super close with Bill, Ben, and Mike. Her crush in Bill didn’t deplete for a while, even after him and Stan started dating. She still had hope.

~ Eddie told her about Ben and it really changed her whole perspective on everything. But that wasn’t until junior year.

~ Though she didn’t have too good of a singing voice, she loved being in choir. The angelic reverberations throughout the auditorium whenever they performed always gave her chills and she wanted so desperately to be a part of it.

~ Beverly wrote a lot of poetry. She wrote some to her friends, to her dead mom, to her asshole dad. Just to whoever she was focused on in that moment.

~ She helped Mike after school at the animal shelter and actually ended up adopting a kitten for herself.

~ Luckily, her dad didn’t mind the cat too much as long as Bev took care of it and didn’t bother him for a single thing.

~ Beverly didn’t get her license until she was well into her twenties, but she loved hanging her arm out of the passenger’s side window of Richie’s car and listen to the bands that he’d blast with closed eyes.

#it chapter two #it chapter one imagines #it imagines #stanley uris #stanley uris headcanons #mike hanlon #mike hanlon headcanons #beverly marsh #beverly marsh headcanons #richie tozier #richie tozier headcanons #eddie kaspbrak #eddie kaspbrak headcanons #bill denbrough #bill denbrough headcanons #ben hanscom #ben hanscom headcanons #masterlist

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languidbones · 5 years

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Scorose Shipping Challenge

Just a bit of random fun. Stole this from @samesanegirl - apparently it’s really old but I thought, well why the hell not. If you’re into Scorose, feel free to answer these too – would love to read your response :D

1. When did you start shipping Scorose?

Early 2015, which is late af! But I was very on-and-off with the pairing (was into other fandoms at the time). I believe Cursed Child was released a year after I started to ship Scorose.

2. Favorite ship name: Scorose or Rosius?

Scorose. Nothing against Rosius – though it does sound like it could be the name of another Slytherin boy, doesn’t it?

3. Would you like J.K. Rowling to write a book about the next generation?

No. I did like Cursed Child for what it was, but based on what’s happening with Fantastic Beasts, I do think she should leave the magnificent HP universe alone now.

4. What is your favorite Scorose fan fiction, and what is it about?

I actually stopped reading Scorose fanfiction the moment I started writing them, because I have the tendency of not writing at all once I go on a reading binge. I just regret not bookmarking the ones I really loved, because I read too many to count! The one that still stands out in my mind in the sea of fic I did read is The Hospital Bed Monologue by Graeliars. It’s absolutely wonderful.

5. Which Houses do you believe that Scorpius and Rose would be sorted into? The same or different ones?

Slytherin Scorpius and Gryffindor Rose is a classic combination. But it’s interesting to imagine them in different houses for the fun of it, just to see what unexpected stories can come from those.

6. How do you think their relationship would evolve? Would they start off as friends, or start off as enemies?

I apologise for being a borefest, but I actually quite like the traditional friends-to-lovers trope, though this pairing is definitely capable of a compelling love/hate dynamic. In my mind, however, it’s not the starting point that matters; the story is always found in their differences. I’ve always loved the thought of them being completely indifferent to each other at the start, before friendship somehow happens... and then the attraction just hits them over the head like a Bludger! On the other hand, I’m also partial to the simple idea of Scorpius obsessing over Rose for a long time ala Cursed Child, before finding some (either hilarious or romantic) way of letting her know properly.

7. Say one of your personal headcanons.

Delinquent Scorpius has a crush on bookworm Rose, and she’s literally the only reason he goes to the library. It’s completely unoriginal and a total cliche... I hope to write it eventually rofl.

For some reason, I have the impression that Rose is an uncommonly sincere person, and that Scorpius – no matter what his behaviour – was raised to have beautiful manners.

8. Do you have a favorite Scorose video?

Ah, no. I much prefer the fan art.

9. Name a few songs that remind you of Scorose.

Old Fashioned by Bruno Major perfectly conveys the type of romance I see Scorose evolving into. Four Walls by Broods was also one of the first songs I associated with the pairing :)

10. Name some of your pet peeves in Scorose fan fictions.

- Pointless miscommunication. Or a character being obtuse even if something is blatantly obvious. If a matter can be easily solved with a conversation, solve it with a conversation and move on!

- Lack of female friendships for Rose, and showcasing other girls as unreasonably jealous, mean or bitchy.

- Sex without intimacy. Though this can definitely be hot if written well.

- One-dimensional Albus :( And in the same vein, unreasonable!Ron or cheerful!Draco.

- I hate the idea of Scorpius dating anyone else in the Potter-Weasley clan in a Scorose fic, ie. Lily or Dominique or whoever else.

- Constant focus on “Who are you dating??” in a fic gets old really quick, for me at least. I like it when we learn about Rose and Scorpius’ lives beyond their love lives.

- Rose being described as ‘one of the boys’ or ‘not like other girls’ – this saddens me the most, probably. She comes from a family full of strong, brilliant women. Of course she respects her own gender, and absolutely proud to be ‘one of the girls’.

11. Who do you think they were friends with?

Rose is definitely best friends with Albus and close to Lily. She and Hugo are cutely protective of each other. She’s really social, and is happy to have a large circle of friends beyond family.

An Albus/Scorpius friendship is practically a requisite. I do also like the idea of loner!Scorpius, or generally him just being choosey af about who he associates with. #standards

12. What personality do you reckon Rose would have?

Rose is wildly intelligent, but she isn’t book-smart the way Hermione is – rather, it’s her imagination and curiosity that defines her. She might fail a subject she has zero interest in, yet be the go-to expert on some hilariously obscure topic. Ron definitely treats her like the centre of his world, and Hermione will teach her well – as a result, Rose is affectionate, warm-hearted and well aware of her own worth. Her parents’ constant verbal sparring may also see Rose playing peacemaker from childhood, which makes her a bit of a supporting character in her own household... a role I see her accepting with grace and good humour.

13. What personality do you reckon Scorpius would have?

Scorpius’ childhood is fraught with opposing socio-political views from his parents and grandparents, and therefore he learns early on that he has to be vocal in order to defend what he believes in. Has the temper of a mad man, and the most tender of hearts. Thanks to Astoria, he has lovely manners; thanks to Draco, he does have a taste for the finer things in life. He’s deeply intriguing to others, but is reserved and hard to know – possibly his way of avoiding misunderstandings, as others aren’t likely to give Malfoys the benefit of the doubt. But once you win his friendship or love, he is loyal to a fault... and would move entire worlds to protect you. Also, as random as this is – I just see Scorpius as the sort who has a thing for expensive cars, and has zero qualms walking into a Ferrari showroom to buy something he doesn’t yet know how to drive.

14. Is Scorose a ship you’d typically ship (do you have ships that are similar to Scorose?) or are they unique to you?

This is so embarrassing but I literally die for the Bad Boy and Good Girl trope, which sometimes seeps into the way I write Scorose... I also ship Rey/Kylo Ren (Star Wars), for example. I used to adore Lily/James, but that was before we got to know James better in canon (and I’m not such a huge fan of that portrayal). I did also like Harry/Ginny a lot when I was younger. Maybe because I relate to her type of anxieties around a long-time crush.

15. Recommend a good Scorose blog (if you know one).

@scorpiusrose for sure. She’s like an encyclopaedia of Scorose fic, and half the reason I always give up on making reccs... just visit her lol.

#scorose #scorpius malfoy #rose weasley #scorpius x rose #harry potter #hp next gen #hp headcanon #rambles #hp fanfic

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that-bookworm-guy · 5 years

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Character Creation Tag (Alexander)

@pens-swords-stuff did this and this looked cool so I thought I’d do it with my baby Alexander

1) What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.?)

The name. I knew he would be a bookworm too

2) Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

Nope, he was the first character and everyone else was built around him.

3) How did you choose their name?

always loved the name, since I was tiny. I never knew anyone called Alexander so I have no idea where I got the name from, but it was also a name I was considering when I came out as trans but it didn’t suit me, so my character’s name was born.

His last name is Fawn, which just came to mind and seemed to fit.

4) In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

Oooo so in the first book he loses his family. I wanted to really concentrate on his backstory at the start to show how normal his life was and how unprepared he was for everything to go tits up. Everyone has a special power and his is enhanced intelligence and he experiences everything from being able to read minds (Not a lot), to having visions about the future and hearing his powers voice. He wants to get rid of it, so I really wanted to show how much it affected him.

He has ADHD so I wanted to show that through his every day life and I made sure it was mentioned in passing. I wanted to show how he was in school because there are some important characters that come back from there.

His family were well off with house staff and technology because I wanted a clear contrast between his old life and his new life on the run.

5) Is there any significance behind their hair colour?

Nope

6) Is there any significance behind their eye colour?

Nope

7) Is there any significance behind their height?

Nope, he is average

8) What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

He has bad anxiety and depression. I didn’t want to hide it and I’ve had it all my life so I wanted to write a hero who had a mental illness and although it does slow him down, it doesnt stop him.

9) Are they based off of you, in some way?

The whole story came to be because I had a dream where my sister was taken and I had some kind of powers that helped me to get her back. This is basically the outline to the whole of book 1. So in a way yes.

Same with the anxiety and depression, a lot I wrote about it true and was how I was feeling at the time. I feel it made it more realistic to a reader that way.

I can be quite cheeky and was often got told off for it when I was younger, so I really wanted to include that element of fun into his character.

10) Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

I knew he wasn’t going to be straight. Whether he knew that about himself yet was another story. But it’s turning out to read like he is bi, so I will definitely be sticking with that.

11) What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: Writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

So there was a scene where he got caught and basically got beaten up but a police officer (They are all working for a corrupt government and know it). I knew I wanted him to get caught and I knew he was going to get treated like a mini adult (He is 13) and that it was going to be a massive shock to him.

But when I wrote that part, it seemed too light. He was basically being interrogated in a cell where they police have no rules.

Then it was too harsh, like way too harsh.

And he didn’t care if he died at this point, he thought he lost everything and in this situation he would have given up. I needed to give him a reason to fight, to be brave and not quit. He needed to get his sister back but thought there was no chance.

So I thought back to my anxiety. If i want something I can’t do it (like ask for sauce in a restaurant) but if my friend with anxiety wants it and can’t ask, you bet I’m going to try to ask for some.

So I put in his best friend (and the guy he may or may not have a crush on) with him, but he was beaten up worse. So he could find some will to fight again.

12) How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Oh god I have planned this so much. SO basically I had it so well planned out that me @izzytheheartbrekker and @lantern-keeper had a half hour convo about how I could get my characters to break into this one building. All the reasons they gave couldn’t work because I basically wrote myself into a corner that made it so the ideas would not work at all. They needed to break into this building to find files. The files can only be found in this building, I tried to move them but they just didn’t make sense to be anywhere else because of how I wrote the first book and the characters. But they are on the run and trying to lay low so have no reason to enter this building at all.

They can’t just walk in. It’s guarded because of how I wrote the building in the first story. It was basically a suicide mission. But the character’s traits also held an issue. They wouldn’t break in for fun or a dare.

I did work it out in the end.

But their story is always going and I have ideas that will never get put into the story. I have everyone’s back stories wrote that I could form another book on

13) If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

Anxiety. Anxiety controls his life. He wouldn’t do certain things or act certain way because of it.

He loves his sister, in the book I’m currently writing (book 2) I know the first few chapters are missing their interactions. Everything that happened in book 1 was because he was trying to get his sister back, I need to remember that.

14) What is something about your OC that can make you laugh?

His cheekiness, he always answers back, and he doesn’t always mean to.

15) What is something about your OC can make you cry?

His love for people. I cried when I wrote the scene his sister got taken, because I know how much his life revolves around her.

‘“Trust me.”

These were the last words that Alexander said to his little sister before… well you’ll see.’ - start of chapter 9

‘Rosia didn’t look so sure. She ran towards her brother and leant against his chest. He wrapped his arms around his little sister and lent over her like a shield. Protecting her from the world outside of his warmth. If he could take all the pain away from her, he would in a heartbeat. She didn’t deserve this, she didn’t deserve any of this. His shirt felt wet against his skin and he realised they were the tears of his sister. He bent down and rested his hands on the side of her shoulders, before leaning forwards and gently kissed her forehead. Looking into her watery eyes, he tried to smile bravely. He couldn’t bare to see his sister so scared. He wiped away her tears with his sleeve and held her against his chest once again.

“We’ll be alright Rosia. We’ll make it somewhere safe tonight and then we will get away from all of this.”

Rosia lifted her head and looked at her protector. With her face red, eyes puffy and gently sobbing, she opened her mouth and gently whispered one word.

“Promise?”

Alexander stood up and held out his hand.

“Trust me.”’ - end of chapter 9, book 1

WHY DO I DO THIS?

16) Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

I want him to be an arsehole sometimes, like it would be easier to write, but he is just so darn nice and lovable.

17) What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

He doesnt want to burden anyone, he is struggling and didn’t tell his best friend. His talent has grown out of control.

“He’s been repressing his power which means he isn’t focusing it, which means it’s growing and every time he relaxes the hold even a tiny bit, that will happen” He pointed to Alex. “and it’s only going to get worse the longer he does it. And by longer I don’t mean days, I mean hours. His mind is developing at a fast pace just as teenagers brains do, except quicker. Christ Alex we’ve spoke about this and you didn’t listen.” Theo was becoming clearly more and more agitated by the second.

“You spoke about this, without me.”

Theo looked at Alex, who looked like he was about to blackout again any second. He calmed down a bit, feeling sympathy for him. “He didn't want to worry you.”

Jathan turned to Alex, “You’re my best friend, I want to know if you’re suffering I want to help Alex.” He turned back to Theo “Isn’t this why we placed the seal in the first place so he wouldn’t lose control. Can't we just do that again?”

“You saw what happened the first time we can’t risk that again.”

“What will happen if he continues to repress it?”

“Worse case scenario, it takes over, he can’t take it, his brain shuts down. But that’s if he doesn’t give up first”

“He dies? Shit, Okay, okay and best case?” He inhaled deeply.

“It takes over, it leads his life for him until he goes mad.” He paused. “Then his brain shuts down.”

“That’s exactly the same just worded differently.”

“It’s exactly the same apart from one takes longer.”

“I am still here, and I can hear you.”

Jathan turned to Alex quickly “Shut it, you don’t get a say in this after you didn’t listen the first time.” He turned back to Theo. “So what do we do?” (First draft)

18) What is your favourite fact about your OC?

“I think the scars showed that you survived, you fought and you won. They show you were brave, that you’re stronger than you think. You got these scars so Haylan and Leo didn’t get any. That’s incredibly brave.You’re incredible…. bly brave.”

Alex looked back up and saw tears running down his face. He lunged forwards awkwardly and hugged him, succeeding in knocking him over. Jathan laughed in between sobs as Alex laid on top of Jathan.

He thinks he is smooth, but boy is he not.

I tag @immzies-adventures-through-books and anyone else who wants to do this because I have been lacking on the writeblr side so I’m not sure who writes anymore and I also tag @phantom-solitaire because they are reading my first book currently so I want to show them more of my baby

#writing #writer

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darling-blurbs · 5 years

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Marvel OC

I came up with this and now I’m writing it down. Also, did you know that Death is a character in the mcu universe. Thanos and Deadpool feel in love with her. The things I do.

Using rinmarugames.com for outfits and other things. Check it out >.<

Name: Fear Age: Older than Time itself Gender: Female Accent: British Height: 5′5″ OC's Appearance Skin Color: Pale Hair: Black Hairstyles: High Ponytail, Messy Bun, and braids Eye Color(s): Red and Black Unique Feature(s): Freckles, Little fangs, and Black Hands that fade towards elbow. OC's Clothing Style Swimwear: Black Two Piece Fancy:

Normal:

OC's Personality Social: Only talks when needed Bravery: They are Fear itself. The only thing it fears is herself. Rebellious: Never follows her brother’s, God’s, rules Tidy: Clean but not a neat freak. She just doesn’t have a lot of stuff. Daredevil: Yes. So much. She loves new challenges cause she gets bored a lot. Bookworm: READING! She loves to read. But she is disappointed there is nothing about her in any myths or legends, like, she helped God create the universe for Lord’s sake. Personality: Little bundle of anger. She is sarcastic and has a weird frenemy thing with Death. But they still love each other. OC's Likes/Dislikes Favorite Food: Weirdly, she loves Pineapple Pizza, but she has never had it until she got to earth. Favorite Drink: Blood. >_> Favorite Movies: She has never seen a movie but if she did it would be Frozen. Favorite Music: Billie Eilish-Bad Guy or Grandson- Blood//Water Favorite Tv Show: Criminal Minds but she never finished it. Favorite Book: All of them. She doesn’t hate any books other than the Bible. >->

Favorite Holiday: Halloween cause Fear is the highest then and COSTUMES + CANDY IS AWESOME. Favorite Season: Winter... No reason ;) Favorite Place: Purgatory because Monsters are adorable to her. Also, the place where lost Souls go. Favorite Color: Black and Red Least Favorite Food: Salad... I don’t like Salad. Least Favorite Drink: Water. She doesn’t need it because she isn’t human. Least Favorite Movies: Oddly enough she hates Horror movies. She thinks they are tacky. Least Favorite Music: Country Music of any Kind. Least Favorite Tv Show: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (On Netflix) Least Favorite Book: The Bible because they got everything wrong and there is nothing about her anywhere in there. Least Favorite Holiday: Christmas but she doesn’t hate it. It’s just her least favorite. Least Favorite Season: Summer and Spring because there is Sun and more bugs. (As I type that, an ant just crawled on me -.-) Least Favorite Place: Heaven. All the angels stare at her like she is a small fly that just hit their window while driving. Disgusted. A little Pity depending on who you are. Least Favorite Color: Yellow not Gold. OC's Habits Overeating: Eats in small amounts. Smoking: Tried once, never again. Spending Money: Sometimes overspends because she just loves spending things. She loves trading things in general. Gossiping: Never is one to do it unless it’s to her own fun or benefit. Lying: Always. It’s in her nature. Drinking: Never has touched alchol in her life. Cheating: Not on a lover (If she ever has one). OC's Personal Life Occupation/Job: The embodiment of Fear. Later becomes Avenger. Education: She has more knowledge than God since she is older than him. Family: God: (Younger Brother): Eternity, Infinity, Oblivion, Galan, Death (Distant Relations) Friends: Her Family, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, Nick Fury, Thor, Loki, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Spiderman/Peter Parker, Bucky Barnes/Winter Solder, Deadpool, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Thanos, and many more... Allies: Avengers, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, Assorted Heros (The Heros that aren’t in Avengers), Some Villans. Best Friends: Loki, Thor, Death, God, Bucky Barnes, Spiderman, Deadpool, and Thanos. Crush: Loki; Spiderman (>~<); Bucky Barnes (>-<) Rival: Death but it’s more playful. History: Fear is the oldest living being in the entire universe. She was created by nothing. She just drifted around in a void of black until she found her footing. She walked around for awhile and used her powers to create different things such as shadowy animals and fields of flowers. She tried to created a human and instead created a monster that she named Ghost. Then a light came down in her void of nothing and created a figure. He told her that his name was god. She helped God and showed him how to create things until he got the hang of it. Fear was happy with herself for helping a being in need. God created lots of things until he created Earth and Humans. Fear watched as the humans worshipped him and not her but she didn’t care. They still felt Fear no matter what they did so she was happy. She later comes by in multiple comics to help heros and villians alike. She is a neutral Character. She appears in Endgame to bring back the fallen with her Death powers, since Death is one of her many powers and Death is a fear to many. Obsessions: Humans and Gods. She loves what humans and other beings creates and will read in her spare time. Fears: She is fear itself. -.- OC's Abilities Power/Skills:

Fear: Making other people fear things is her specialty. There isn’t much to say here.

Manipulation: She can easily manipulate even the coldest, meanest, or people who trust no one. Anything that comes out her mouth makes people believe her. Wether she is lying or not.

Manipulation of the Mind: It’s not mind reading or mind control. She can put something in someones head. Example is when someone has to go to Stop and Shop to get Fat-free Milk with Sugar since they need sugar, she can manipulate the mind to think that they are going to Target to get grape juice with no sugar in it. She doesn’t brainwash them, she just reroutes the brain.

Manipulation of DNA: This is a fun one. She can reprogram someones DNA so they look different or act different. Maybe they were a business man with brown hair and blue eyes who is cold to everyone, she can turn him into a women who is black with white hair and black eyes and is kind to people. She can also manipulate her own appearence but can’t grow apperently.

Shadows: She can create shadow creatures, humans, plants, and a lot of other things. She can also blend in with shadows and make shadows appear but manipulating the weather. She has two main shadow boys who basically swarm around her when she is very, very angry.

Moon Powers: Gets stronger when the moon is out. Not Much.

Manipulation of Objects: She can make objects turn into living things such as a living doll (Just got a shiver up my spine), a living Corpse, a living anything really. It can be a computer or a blanket.

Bender of Reality: Just Like the reality Stone.

Death: Has the same powers as Lady Death, Death, or Mistress Death.

Strengths: Darkness, Fears, Her Black Jeweled Necklace. Weaknesses: None Really. Equipment: Scythe, Daggers, Black Jeweled Necklace, Tiara/Crown.

Alias: Bringer of Death; Auntie Fear; Lady Fear; Kitty; Queen Fear; Mad Hatter; Cheshire Cat; Goddess of Fear; Allison Waterson; “Midtown Princess”; Tigerlily; Rosie Ashley; “Queen’s Queen”; Shortie; Black Rose; “Demon Child”; Fallen Angel; Sister of God; “Creepy Girl”, “Small Woman”, Stronger Avenger, “Manipulative B*tch”, Death’s Aunt;

Name: Rosie Ashley (Used Undercover); Allison Waterson (Used while attended Midtown High).

Costume: Her Fancy clothes.

#marvel oc #marvel #ocs #OC stuff #my oc #my ocs #my ocs stuff

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missjackil · 6 years

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A Dose of SPN Positivity!

For those who know me, they know I love this show.... flaws and all! im critical sometimes, but not overly. Bottom line, I am addicted to the story and Im in love with Sam and Dean. With Season 14 about to start, and we’re all getting antsy, too much negativity has been flying around, so I want to share some things i love most about the show, and maybe make some of you reflect for a moment and think “Yeah, that is pretty great” and smile. Supernatural has been referred to as “The Little Show That Could” and to me, its such a fitting description. Logically, on the surface, it looks like it just can’t. I mean, how can a fantasy/horror show, survive with such a low budget, light special effects, and not very scary most of the time. I mean hell, they dont even have that many monsters that look like monsters, so why has it lasted longer than a season or 2? Let alone, 14 seasons with no signs of stopping yet. First and foremost is obvious. Sam and Dean and the actors who play them. This essay will be full of gushing about these boys, so if you dont feel like enduring such a hardship, scroll on past. if that interests you.....

Yes these 2 fabulous men are the life blood of this show. Without them, we’d have nothing. THEY are the reason, this little show can, and does. Even those who like one and not the other, even if they dont realize it, the one they prefer is who they are because of the other. Both of their qualities and flaws can be directly linked to their influence on each other. If for some reason the other was gone for good, the one left will change drastically. As we see when one is dead or in grave danger, albeit temporarily, the other changes. Sam is no longer sweet, laid back and practical, and Dean is no longer funny, charming, and nurturing. In fact, they both seem to become an amplified version of their brother. When Sam dies, Dean gets quiet, sometimes too quiet. He also gets methodical and focused. You may get lucky and just get shot in the back, but if he chooses to speak, he chooses his words to let you know shits gonna hit the fan. “You have my brother, and you have one chance, just one, to hand him over, and if he isnt in one peice, when I find you, and I WILL find you, I will take you apart” Sam on the other hand is boiling over with emotion. My boy becomes savage. He doesnt always choose a lot of words to say, he gets his whole point across most of the time with “WHERES MY BROTHER???!!!!” This... my friends, is good stuff! These things couldnt be done with such beauty without Jared and Jensen. Their offscreen relationship, whatever it may be, is wonderful. Theres no denying the love and respect they have for each other. They are very supportive of each other, and help make the other better at their job. They’re not typical actors who have a work relationship but otherwise spend time with each other. They genuinely enjoy being together, and this shows on screen. When two people are this good at their jobs, and with each other, you just have to keep watching. Other things I love about the show, are kinda small. Some maybe youve never noticed, but maybe now you will and enjoy them too, like... Brains vs Brawn: At first glance, we all go Sam=brains, Dean=brawn right? But thats not actually the case. Dean is far from stupid, and Sam is nowheres near a wimp. Dean teases Sam about being a nerd, and Sam doesnt mind, he kinda wears his nerdiness like a badge of honor. Dean will never admit to being a nerd, but he is. He’s read Vonnegut, knows every old west cowboy statistic, and likes LARPing. Sam, though a bookworm, is one tough mofo. hes tall and muscular and has shown to be a little freakishly strong. He can also take a great deal of pain. And though Dean is known more to be the fighter, he can be very warm and nurturing. And nerdy Sam can make you shit your pants with just a look if you piss him off just right. I absolutely LOVE this balance!! Its one of my favorite things! Old school vs New; A lot has changed in 14 seasons. The brothers have grown, as well as the story, but their roots are never forgotten. They’re still driving around in the same car. Hell. Baby has become the 3rd lead! Even though they have mom back, they never forgot her, or dad, and both were spoken of often throughout the series. They refer back to old days often, so we can all get a feel of nostalgia when we remember too. Most episodes bring the deep past up in one way or another, I love this! Loss and Death: I know so many of us complain that they die and come back too much, but I have a real appreciation for it, The circumstances are always different, and so are the methonds of coming back. Sometimes the death isnt serious, or they dont “seem” dead, like in First Blood or Dark Side of the Moon, when there may have been an initial “wtf?” we got to see them in heaven, and in first blood, they came right back. However there was deep seriousness in All Hell Breaks Loose, No Rest for the Wicked, Do You Believe in Miracles, Swan Song, Red Meat and Beat The Devil that you felt the dying brother’s physical pain, and then the emotional pain of the surviving brother. No matter how many times they die, they still hit these types of episodes out of the park. WE may know theyre coming back, but they dont. it still crushes them and I love this! Sam and Dean’s Sexuality: I love that their sexual natures are different, but theyre both okay. Dean is sexually active, enjoys porn and vocalizes some fantasies, Though Sam can tease him a little, its just brotherly ribbing, its not judgemental or trying to make Dean feel bad. Sam isnt overly sexual, he’s gone many seasons without sex at all. He doesnt appear to enjoy porn, we know he doesnt like strip clubs, and its NOT because he’s unattractive!! Dean teases him but he doesnt try to make him feel bad. When he has heavily suggested that Sam get laid, its just because he wants him to have fun. Dean even said he appreciated that Sam wanted to stay pure and waited. Otherwise, its okay that Sam is (at least kinda) asexual. Neither are shunned or judged because of their sexuality. Winsync: This is one of the greatest things. if they didnt do this, we wouldnt care, we would never say “It would be a much better show if the brothers mirrored each other, or did the same thing at the same time” but for whatever reason, TPTB wanted this, and it works so well! Its an intimacy we can see without the show going OTT bromantic. Its the connection, the closeness, and being soulmates. I LOVE this! Soulmates and Brothers: Normally a show will make soulmates out of lovers. It’s not often they do it with siblings. It helps justify their deep love and devotion. It adds an additional layer to their relationship. It makes them so tied together that they will share eternity in heaven together, and not just in their memories. This was a very good decision made by Kripke and crew, so we will all know they cant live without each other, even if they just lived in different homes. I love this! Meta Madness: Though I dont like all the meta episodes, I do love the fact they can do them, and DO do them. Because the whole premise is the supernatural, nothing is impossible, even AUs and cartoon worlds. Sometimes I might roll my eyes, but its awesome to me that they can experiment this way and see how it goes. I Love this!! The Bros are Oblivious: Sam and Dean have been through basically everything, and have seen and done everything, yet they seem shocked when people say theyre famous, or when they heard people tell stories about them. Occasionally they grasp their importance, like when they tell people they save the world, but they were impressed that Asa fixed killed 5 Wendigo, and had an Angel Blade, and Father Luca met the Pope. I mean God hung out at the bunker and made them pancakes! Their Heads Dont Get Too Big: Every once in a while, TPTB make sure we, and the boys, remember that they are only human. Even if they lock away Satan, kill Death, save God’s life, they’re just men. Remember when Bobby died and Dean was sure he wouldnt because “its just one bullet!” ? I can see how it would seem so silly to Dean, and even to us, that someone who has lived through so much, could die from a stupid little bullet. I think that one of the smartest things the show has done in ages, was to have Sam tortured by Toni and friend. Sam was so bold and cocky (and need I say sexy?) telling Toni he’d been tortured by the devil himself, and what could she do to him... He soon learned Hell torture or not, cold showers still suck, blow torches to the feet still hurt like hell, and a mortal human can still fuck with his head. And Dean, well he can still be put on the injured reserve list from a jacked up leg. IMO S12 was great for re-humanizing the Winchesters. I love this! Comedy to Tragedy: Some of the best episodes, started out funny and ended in a tear jerker. Mystery Spot, Just My Imagination, and Beat The Devil top my list. I love the emotional rollar coaster, Coming away exhausted from an episode is the bestthing I can ask for! They havent tried it the other way around, tragedy to comedy, and thats good. If you are crying at the beginning and laughing later, it doesnt justify the grief and you may feel let down and hollow after. SPN is great with having some humor in even the most depressing episodes, but they know when using it and leaving it out is best. I love this! Brohugs: My #1 favorite thing, aside from the hug in 6.1, they have all been beautiful. Not once, have the boys lost the love, or even repeated the same hug. Each one conveys a different message, a different emotion, but all say “I love you more than everything” and I wont ever get tired of them! I would do anything for a single hug in my whole life that had such love in it, as any Winchester bro hug! I.LOVE.THIS!! Now I hope if you read this far, you got to smile a few times, and a spark was added to the fire that you fell in love with 14 seasons ago. Here’s to S14, i hope its filled with all of these wonderful things!

#supernatural #show positive #sam winchester #dean winchester #spn forever

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keishajay · 5 years

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I meant for this whole review to go in one post, but damn, I had a lot of complaints, way more than I thought once I started writing them down. Some are nitpicky; most are related to characters and writing choices. For the fans of this series, I did enjoy this series for what it is, but I’ll never defend it as great literature. It’s Sharknado levels of fun, and I live for stupid shit like that. For the haters, enjoy. Oh, and spoilers ahead.

Now, on to the cons, and hoo boy, are there a lot of them. First, I was shocked to see this was labeled book 7 and not 6. I had no interest in reading Tower of Dawn, as it was marketed as a side story novella. Kingdom of Ash expects you to have read it and spends little to no time explaining who all these new characters are. It’s not confusing, just annoying for those of us not invested in Chaol’s story enough to read the novella. If you like Chaol, more power to you. I just didn’t care enough about what was a sure outcome to waste my time reading a novella about him and only him. Nesryn goes with him as well, but she was barely a character in the fifth (fourth? I don’t know anymore) book, more a cool background piece than a real person. That’s not nearly enough for me to pick up an entire book.

Maas brings in four new “personalities” from Tower of Dawn that really just take up space and fawn over Aelin, just like everyone else. Hasar is just a crabbier version of Aelin; Sartaq loves Nesryn and that’s it; Yrene is Chaol’s wife who’s a healer and that’s it; and Borte likes arguing with her fiance. They might be more interesting in ToD, but here, they just read like cardboard cutouts. They’re unnecessary and boring.

And speaking of unnecessary, there are WAY too many POV characters in these books. What started with a handful of mostly essential characters has now become a library’s worth of them. Even Lysandra’s ward, Evangeline, gets a couple POV bits to herself. Why? They added nothing to the story aside from remind us that she was there and still alive. More POVs should only ever be added to further the story or themes. I kid you not, Elide and Lorchan are together for 90% of the last two books, and for some reason, they both have POV chapters. Elide was already established and should’ve been the only one necessary, but you know, Lorchan’s hot so we should hear him angst too. And that is all he does, by the way, angsts over Elide. Hell, by the end, I was a little surprised Abraxos didn’t have his own POV chapter.

Maas also adds nonsensical things in to ramp up the drama. The worst offender is the character Darrow. He and TWO other old men boss Aedion around throughout this entire book, because... reasons, I guess. They don’t recognize Aelin as queen, fine. But they’re three old dudes against Aedion, who literally commands their entire army and the fire-bringer all the people in their whole country rally to. If anyone can give me a logical reason why Aedion didn’t just ignore every order they attempted to give him, I’m all ears. Instead, he tiptoes around them constantly and outright steals his own army from under their noses to do what he wants anyway. Why? They all know damn well Aelin is the rightful queen and they wouldn’t even have an army without her and Aedion. She could crush them under her thumb, and they all know that too. Hell, Aedion’s treason would even be forgiven in moments when she took her throne back from... no one. Darrow isn’t even trying to be king of Terrasen. He just doesn’t like the idea of this bratty teenager being his queen, and who can blame him? Yeah, I know she wants her country to be different, but she can’t change anything from the sidelines when the old rules are the only things keeping those men in power over her. There is no good reason for Aedion to obey any of their orders. They can do nothing to stop him, and they all know it. They are literally only there so Aedion has someone besides Lysandra to be pissed off at.

Speaking of Aedion being pissed off at Lysandra. For the haters out there, yes, he has every right to be mad at her. She may not have been the one to come up with this insanity, sure, but she knew Aelin suspected it might be necessary. Telling the one person who foams at the mouth anytime someone gets within spitting distance of his cousin that maybe something terrible could happen to her, making this plan necessary, should be at the top of your to-do list. She knew damn well what she was doing and how he would react the entire time Aelin was teaching her to play pretend. He should be angry with her for not telling him what was going through Aelin’s head, not for following the orders of their queen. Yes, him throwing he naked out in the snow was a major dick move, and I’m glad that she didn’t let him forget it. What I don’t condone is his reaction to seeing Aelin again. He just hugs her like nothing ever happened. He’s an asshole to Lysandra for months, but he just forgives Aelin for everything as soon as he sees her. I’m sorry but no. I would’ve forgiven the entire conflict between him and Lysandra being tedious if he had just punched her in the face before he hugged her. God knows she deserves it for all the shit she’s pulled over the course of six books.

So, I hate Aelin Galathynius. Like straight up hate her. She went from being a brat in the first few books to being the worst case of Mary Sueitis I have ever seen outside of self-insert fanfiction. First, she’s a secret princess, a “twist” anyone with a brain could see coming. She’s also somehow the best at everything she does, even though she shows no evidence of any of it. How does the country’s best assassin get caught? On top of that, how does anyone even know who the country’s best assassin is? Shouldn’t hiding your identity be rule number one in the assassin handbook? This shit-licker could’ve been any happy-ass teenager with a knife pretending to be this famous assassin when they caught her. How would they know? Answer, they shouldn’t have any idea (that would’ve also made for a much more interesting story). So, not only is she the best at everything she tries for reasons, she’s also the only one in the whole damn world with fire magic, the only thing that can hurt the demons for a majority of the series. And she doesn’t just have regular old everyday fire magic. No, she has fire to rival fifteen suns going supernova at the same time. She’s also the prettiest and smartest and nicest and snarkiest and funniest girl in the world. She outsmarts someone thousands of years old who could’ve snapped her neck or dropped her in to a literal Hell with a flick of her wrist. But no, Princess Mary Sue wants her new boytoy free, so the villainess has to get tricked into letting him go. Now, let’s not forget she’s also the Chosen One who deus ex machinas her way out of sacrificing herself because no one can do anything without her there to save the day. Seriously, no one ever wins anything unless she’s there. It happens more than once in this book. Her boytoy and company show up to rescue her from aforementioned villainess just as she’s breaking herself out, and they can’t get her chains off until she somehow shows them how to unlock them. She then proceeds to get them out of the country through her magic of summoning deus ex machinas whenever she needs one, and they arrive just in time to rescue Chaol and Nesryn from certain doom. She stops a cascading river with fire because science, and when all hope is lost back home, she shows up on a magical white deer with the Rohir- oops, I mean her army. She also somehow holds off two of the most powerful creatures in the world with her assassin skills and barely any magic, because... villains have to lose, I guess. You know what Aelin loses by the end of the book? Her humanity, which she suddenly cares about ten pages before it’s gone. Aedion lost his father and at least half an army at his command. Manon lost the only people she really cared about in the whole world, and she could do nothing but watch them sacrifice themselves. And Aelin lost her humanity when she’s already been living as a fae since book 3. Oh God, how will she ever survive such a loss? She is actually the worst.

These books, this one in particular, are clearly written with a younger audience in mind (much younger than me at least, and I’m 30), and I strongly believe the target audience is girls. There is so much description of how beautiful the men in this series are that it almost borders on obscene. I do appreciate having a clear picture of what characters look like, but I do not need to know about all the rippling muscles and long fingers that all the men in this series seem to have. Even bookworm Dorian is described as being oh-so-sexy even though he doesn’t appear to have ever handled a weapon in his life. There is a lot of pandering to the female audience, especially with the sex scenes. In a YA novel, these are pretty inappropriate. She started with sex scenes being a fade-to-black kind of event, and now, almost every single one is described in disgusting detail. I like romance as much as the next girl, but if I wanted soft-core porn, I’d read romance novels. To top that shift off, she still insists on using “rutting” as a substitute for “fucking,” and I think that’s what bothers me the most about the whole change here. They are completely interchangeable in every context, to the point where I just read “rutting” as “fucking” every single time. This isn’t Brandon Sanderson’s silly but story-appropriate swearing. It’s just lazy writing. And detailed descriptions of sex are okay, but swearing? Someone call Takamata. We need to start the Inquisition. (History of the World reference for anyone confused.)

This story ends exactly as you should expect it to, with a happily ever after. None of the main characters die, and those with names go out as sacrifices, which is honestly consistent with the rest of the deaths in this series. The deaths we do get are mostly to make the main characters feel bad for no real reason. Aedion even flat-out states that Gavriel could’ve stayed inside the walls, and there is no argument, author or characters, as to why he had to go outside. At least the Thirteen’s sacrifice makes more sense. It was still pretty dumb to have them go out at all, but I don’t know if I could come up with a better way to destroy those witch towers. What they did was noble and understandable in context, though there were probably any number of ways it could’ve been avoided. I’ve seen Desolation of Smaug. Just drop a dragon/whale/elephant-Lysandra on top of the tower before they even get it fixed up to move again.

One last complaint that I have regarding the ending is largely the villains. There are three of them, and all three kind of go out like bitches. Erawan, the dickhead pulling the strings since book 1, gets tricked and healed to death. There are a lot of millennia-old creatures getting tricked into doing stupid things in these books. Manon’s grandmother (who never gets a name by the way) gets blown up by Asterin. Honestly, hers was probably the most satisfying end of the three because Asterin got the vengeance she deserved for her hunter and child. Maeve somehow became the biggest threat halfway through the series, and she meets her end in the most extravagant fashion, impaled by Fenrys and then decapitated by Aelin and burned to ash. What irritates me most about Maeve is she could’ve been great. If anyone has read the manga, Magi, you know what I’m talking about. Maeve is discount Gyokuen with half the threat and less than a quarter the sense. Where Gyokuen is highly capable, both as a fighter and a politician, Maeve is kind of a pushover who gets tricked by our “heroes” numerous times. She’s shown preparing for all sorts of unlikely eventualities, but she somehow can’t handle the plucky teenagers. Give me a break. From the moment you meet her, you know Gyokuen is going to be one of those bad guys that will require some clever thinking to defeat. I felt like Maeve could just be snuck up on and murdered by anyone who knew her schedule. Her last ditch effort against Aelin was clever, but other than that, she barely puts up a fight despite all the fear and hype she gets from almost every character in the book.

Now, like I said above, I did enjoy these books. I don’t feel like my time was wasted or that I was manipulated by them at all. I had fun with them the same way that I have fun with SyFy channel original movies. The characters and story had so much more potential than what this amounted to, but I don’t hate this series at all. Yes, the subplot with the gods was idiotic and unnecessary, but the valg were interesting as an enemy type. Yes, the romance shoved down my throat could be awful at times, but some of the relationships were genuinely sweet. Chaol and Dorian are the best bros, and I love Lysandra taking it upon herself to protect this little girl when she could’ve looked the other way. Manon’s relationship with Asterin was great as well. Do I wish it was better? Absolutely. Should it be boycotted by everyone? Of course not. Despite their problems, these books are fun, fluffy, popcorn movie fun, and sometimes, that’s just fine.

#kingdom of ash #throne of glass #spoilers #complaints #honest review

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worryinglyinnocent · 6 years

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Fic: Reunion

Summary: Three friends – Belle, Ruby and Emma – attend their ten-year high school reunion, each wondering if her life has taken the course that she was expecting it to take after she graduated. Throughout the evening friendships are strengthened, and relationships are tentatively kindled. One thing is for certain – this reunion will be far from boring… Rumbelle, Red Warrior, Mad Swan.

This fic was started a very, very long time ago – mid-season 2. I’ve updated it to reflect the characters better, IE introducing Mulan and Zelena, for example, but there are still a few small discrepancies that date it, the main one being Neal. At the time this was originally written we’d not had the Neal-is-Bae reveal, so for the purposes of this fic, Neal and Bae are two separate people.

Rated: T

Content warning: Flashback to sexual harassment and attempted assault.

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Reunion

Belle turned the card over and over between her fingers, looking at but not reading the words printed thereon. They were already indelibly burned onto her brain.

Belle French is cordially invited to the Storybrooke High School class of 2008 ten-year reunion.

She was in two minds about it. On the one hand, she was very much looking forward to seeing where everyone had gone after school, what everyone had been doing, whether or not the yearbook predictions had come true. On the other hand, when she remembered her final moments at the school, all she wanted to do was to run a hundred miles in the opposite direction. Presently the phone rang, jerking her out of her reverie. She put the card under the issue desk with her handbag and picked up the receiver.

“Storybrooke Lending Library, Belle speaking, how may I help?”

“Have you got one too?”

“Hello to you too, Emma.”

“Hello. Well? Have you?”

“I take it we’re talking about high school reunion invitations,” Belle said dryly.

“What else would it be?” Emma replied. “I highly doubt that some anonymous benefactor’s started sending out million-dollar cheques.”

“You never know,” Belle said. “But to answer your question, yes, I have received an invitation.”

“This is a major crisis,” Emma said bluntly. “We need a plan of action for surviving this. We need to talk to Ruby. Granny’s, half an hour.”

“I don’t go on lunch till one o’clock,” Belle pointed out.

“Granny’s at one then,” Emma said. “Belle, this is a catastrophe waiting to happen and I know just who’s behind this.”

“Emma, the last time I looked, planning a high school reunion wasn’t against the law.”

“Huh.” Emma did not sound at all convinced. “We shall see.”

By the time Belle arrived at Granny’s diner, Emma was already there, and Ruby was hovering by their usual booth, waiting to take their order and then join them on her own lunch break. Of all their graduating year, Belle, Emma and Ruby were amongst the minority in staying in Storybrooke and staying in touch. They had come together by accident in school, three loners seeking company in other misfits, but they had fast become close friends, and so they had remained.

Belle had been the archetypical bookworm, liked enough, but nowhere near popular and privately seen as a boring good girl. Ruby had been the opposite, hanging around with the gaggle of biker boys known as the ‘wolf pack’, in trouble every other week and a force to be reckoned with. Emma on the other hand was different again. Although Belle could never recall an occasion on which she had spoken about it in school, everyone knew Emma as ‘that foster kid’. She’d only started at Storybrooke High halfway through junior year when the cliques had already been established. It was clear to all that Emma wasn’t interested in trying to fit in, and so no-one had tried to accommodate her.

The three girls had first met in detention one evening. Belle had been late too many times in one week thanks to getting engrossed in a book at the breakfast table. Emma had given Sidney Glass a black eye for calling her an unloved dustbin baby and Ruby had had detention so many times that she couldn’t remember what that particular one was for. They’d been practically inseparable since then, and the notion of ‘Granny’s, half an hour’ to solve all their problems remained.

“It’s Zelena West,” Emma said, once all three were seated. “This is her doing, I swear.” She jabbed the piled of invitations on the table in front of them. “She was so tired of coming second to everyone in high school that she’s decided to get us all back together to show us how mediocre we are compared to her now. I heard she’s some corporate lawyer hotshot now. And what are we doing? A librarian, a waitress, and a small-town sheriff only got the job after her predecessor died and no-one else wanted it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a librarian, a waitress or a small-town sheriff,” Belle protested. “And who did Zelena come second to in high school anyway? She was always the queen bee as far as I can remember.”

“Mary Margaret Blanchard was crowned prom queen instead of her,” Ruby said. “Ashley Boyd was made flyer on the cheer squad instead of her.”

“Well, that’s because she was the smallest,” Belle said. “Zelena could never be the flyer, she’s too tall.”

“Belle, I know that seeing the best in everyone is normally a good trait,” Emma said, her voice exasperated, “but don’t forget that she gave you evils for a week when you graduated top in English lit.”

“She dipped Tara Punzel’s ponytail in glue after she won her scholarship to the beauty college. Tara had to cut off two feet of her hair,” Ruby said absently. “And Zelena was only valedictorian because Regina Mills mysteriously got food poisoning on graduation day.” She wrinkled her nose. “She’s determined to make our lives a misery again, I know it.”

“We won’t go then,” Belle said, trying to bring some common sense to the table. “If you’re that upset about it, I’m not going to let Zelena make you any more miserable, so we’ll have a nice night in at mine instead.”

“No!” Ruby exclaimed. “I want to go! I want to show the bitch she doesn’t own me. By not going, all we’re doing is letting her win.”

“We’ve got two weeks to make up our minds and RSVP and then another three weeks to change our minds back again,” Belle said. “Has anyone been online to see where it’s being held?”

“The Palace Hotel,” Emma said.

Belle’s heart sank.

“The same place as senior prom,” she said. Emma nodded, and Belle bit her lip. None of the women said anything, but it was plain to see that they were all thinking the same thing. Belle’s memories of the senior prom were somewhat sour.

She pulled up all her courage. Do the brave thing and bravery will follow.

“I say we go,” she said. “It’ll be nice to see everyone again; and if Zelena wants to try and make us feel bad about ourselves, well, we won’t let her. We are all perfectly respectable human beings and we have a right to be proud of what we have achieved.”

Emma thought for a moment and finally gave a slow nod.

“Ok, I’m in. But if Sidney Glass or anyone from the cheerleading clique makes a comment about me being an unwanted foster kid, I will deck them one, and you are providing me with an alibi.”

The three friends linked hands across the table.

“Agreed.”

It was the eve of the reunion, and Belle couldn’t sleep. She’d spent the entire day leading up to this moment painfully reliving everything that had happened during her senior year, and now, the catalogue was culminating in the prom. She didn’t want to think about it, but her mind was in freefall and there was no stopping her now.

She’d been surprised when Gaston Chevalier had asked her to the prom. She had been perfectly happy to go on her own, take a book and find a quiet corner, chat to anyone who happened to pass. Belle wasn’t the life and soul of the party, anyone could tell that. But still, Gaston had asked her, and he was cute even if he was an arrogant jerk at times. Well, who on the football team wasn’t an arrogant jerk at times?

So, she’d said yes, and he’d been the perfect gentleman, picking her up from her dad’s house, giving her a corsage, getting her punch once they arrived. But now, he’d suggested they get some fresh air, away from the crush in the ballroom, and Belle was beginning to feel ever so slightly uneasy.

“Gaston, where are we going?”

“Oh, I just thought it would be nice to get away from everyone. Get some time to ourselves. Get to know each other a bit better.”

They were in the hotel gardens, separated off from the building by wide hedges, and Gaston brought them to the stop in front of a spluttering fountain, pulling her down onto a bench next to him.

“It’s nice here, isn’t it?” Gaston said, inching closer to her. “Just the two of us.”

“Lovely,” Belle replied coolly. She looked around for signs of anyone else from the prom, but all she could see was the flicker of a cigarette end outside the entrance to the hotel kitchens. She shivered involuntarily. “Can we go back now, Gaston? I’m getting cold.”

“I’ll warm you up, babydoll” He put his arm around her and Belle’s jaw clenched. Of all the epithets she had heard the jocks call their dates, ‘babydoll’ was the one that grated the most. She was eighteen, an adult, and she deserved to be respected as one, and she was not a doll, an ornament made to look pretty, stay silent and be dressed up and stripped off as the whim arose. But before she could ask Gaston not to call her that please, she had a name she’d appreciate him using, his mouth was pressing insistently against hers, his tongue forcing its way between her lips.

Belle froze. She had not expected her first kiss to be quite like this. Her books had always spoken of a soft meeting of lips, something warm and delicate, seeking permission to go further rather than assuming. But then again, her books were fiction, and maybe this was fact.

She felt Gaston’s hand on her thigh, moving higher and bunching up the skirt of her golden gown. She pulled away from him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t sound so wobbly. A quavering voice could be a sign of lust or fear and she knew that Gaston would take it the wrong way. He just raised an eyebrow and squeezed her thigh. Belle knew what he was doing, of course she knew.

“Move your hand, please,” she said, more firmly this time.

Gaston just snaked his hand further up her thigh. Belle gritted her teeth.

“That’s not what I meant.” She picked up his wrist with thumb and forefinger and moved it off her thigh, standing up quickly, but Gaston grabbed a handful of skirt and pulled her back down.

“I know you want to really,” he purred in her ear. She tried to push him away, but Belle was the little class bookworm, and Gaston was a fullback on the football team. “You wouldn’t have said yes when I asked you out if you didn’t.”

“I thought it might be nice to have a date for the night,” she said. “Get off, Gaston!”

“But everyone knows what happens on prom night.”

“Gaston, I don’t want to, let go of me!”

Gaston narrowed his eyes, and his hold on her tightened.

“You’re not a lesbian, are you? Or are you one of those who’s ‘saving herself’? Come on Belle, it’ll be fun.”

Belle scrabbled at him. “Get off! Get away from me!” She was almost pinned flat on the bench, and she could taste blood in her mouth where she’d bitten her lip in the struggle. There was only one thing for it. She brought her knees up and kicked him in the crotch as hard as she could.

That had the desired effect, and she kicked him off and got off the bench.

“Bitch!” Gaston roared. He grabbed the beaded drop shoulder of her dress to pull her back, yanking so hard that the fabric broke. “Frigid bitch!”

“She told you no!”

There was a waft of cigarette smoke and a fist made contact with the side of Gaston’s head. Belle, mute with fear, looked at her saviour. He was too old to be one of the boys from the school, and the name badge on his lapel showed that he was hotel staff. She only saw his face for a moment before he ducked to avoid Gaston returning the punch. “Go,” the man mouthed, and Belle turned on her heel and ran back towards the hotel without a second glance over her shoulder. She had to get out, go home, but she’d come in Gaston’s car. Hopefully Ruby could help her.

“Ruby!” she called, pushing through the crowds in the ballroom. She knew she must look a sight, her dress torn, her makeup running and her hair a passable bird’s nest, but she didn’t care. “Ruby!”

Ruby’s red-streaked head jerked up from where it had been resting on Peter’s shoulder during the slow dance.

“Cripes, Belle, what happened?”

“Gaston,” Belle choked out. Thankfully, Ruby didn’t need any further explanation.

“Come on sweetie, let’s get you home.”

Peter had driven them home and waited in his car whilst Ruby got Belle cleaned up and tucked up in her pyjamas. Her friend had offered to stay, but Belle had declined, wanting to be alone with her thoughts. Her dad had threatened to go out there and then and take his secateurs to Gaston’s nether regions, and Belle had almost taken him up on the offer.

Ten years later, Belle blinked back tears. A decade later and it still cut like a knife. How could she have been so stupid? Of course Gaston had just wanted to get in her knickers. She’d been so naïve, so trusting… She knew it wasn’t her fault, but it had made her guarded and wary around men for a long time afterwards.

She picked up the phone and dialled Emma’s number.

“Belle! I was just about to ring you.”

“Emma, what if Gaston’s there tomorrow?” she asked, at the same time as Emma continued.

“Belle, what if Neal’s there tomorrow?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone and Emma knew that they were both thinking almost exactly the same thing.

Emma’s experiences with Neal were not the same as Belle’s with Gaston, in fact, they were pretty polarised – and they hadn’t waited till prom night. Emma had been ready to lose her virginity. What Emma hadn’t been ready for was finding out she was pregnant two weeks after graduation. What Emma really hadn’t been ready for was Neal vanishing into the ether before she could tell him that she was pregnant. She’d always known that he wanted to get out of Storybrooke as soon as he could, but she hadn’t anticipated it being quite so soon.

In hindsight she wasn’t really all that surprised. She had known that she and Neal were never going to be together forever. Emma had never really held with the idea of marrying your high school sweetheart straight out of school and having a bunch of kids with them, a picture-perfect life that involved growing up far too fast and not having any chance to find out who you really are. She couldn’t really blame Neal for taking off so quickly, wanting to get away from the town he had always found so stifling. Whenever he had talked of his plans, Emma had never really featured in them, her involvement was always more nebulous. Even before he left, it had been clear to Emma that he would have been leaving, with or without her, no matter what.

She could have tracked him down if she’d had the inclination, but in the end, she knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea. Their relationship would not have survived. She liked to think that Neal would have been receptive to the idea of fatherhood, but she didn’t want to take that risk. She knew how important Neal’s future was to him, and she didn’t want to run the risk of him discovering that he was going to be a father and then still thinking that his future was more important. She would far rather that he never knew, than that he knew and was resentful and bitter about the fact.

Having been through everything that she had been through in the foster system, Emma had known that she was going to have to make a difficult choice when it came to her child. She really didn’t want to put him through what she had been through herself, but as she had no experience of anything that could be constituted as proper parenthood and family life, she had been terrified of doing something wrong.

“We’ll get through it,” she said to Belle on the other end of the phone, aware that she was caught up in her own reminiscences and not actually speaking. “We’ve got this far in our lives without them, and we’ve both come out stronger in the end. They don’t have any claim over our happiness anymore.”

She got up from her bed where she had been sitting stewing over the reunion the next day and made her way through the apartment to Henry’s room, risking a peep inside. He was ten years old now, but she still liked to check in on him when he was sleeping and see him looking so peaceful, just as much as when he had been a baby.

“Yeah,” Belle said on the other end of the phone, her words enveloped in a heavy sigh. “Yeah. But all the same, I can’t help fearing that if I see him, I’m just going to go back ten years and I’ll be frozen to the spot. I’ve done so much healing and growing up since then, and I don’t want it all to just fade when faced with him.”

Emma closed Henry’s door again and returned to her own room.

“We’ll be strong for each other,” she said. “We’ve got each other’s backs, and Ruby has our backs as well. I mean, Neal’s probably not even going to be there, I don’t think that anyone kept in touch with him after he left Storybrooke and I don’t think that Zelena would have gone to such great lengths to track him down.”

“Yeah, same for Gaston,” Belle said. “That incident did put a bit of a cloud over his college football career. But you’re right. We’ve got each other. We’ll get through this.” There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Belle. We’re going to kick this reunion’s ass.”

Belle laughed, and they said their goodbyes. Emma lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and knowing that she wasn’t going to get to sleep any time soon.

She could never regret Henry. She had been in two minds about whether or not to give him up for adoption throughout her pregnancy, and she had almost been set upon it up until the moment of his birth. She was only eighteen, she didn’t have any college prospects and she was stuck in a low-paying waitressing job in a backwater Maine town; there was no way that she could give her child the life that he or she deserved.

But then she had held her son for the first time, and she knew deep down that she didn’t really want to let go of him. She wanted to give him his best chance, but she knew from experience just how the foster system could be, and she did not want to give him that. She might not be able to give him a fantastic life with every luxury that a child could dream of, but she knew that she could give him the love that she herself had never experienced.

She’d called him Henry after the obstetrician who’d delivered him, and they’d been inseparable ever since. Emma would never change her relationship with Henry for the world, and although there were many things in her life that she wished she could have done differently, her son was not one of them. No matter what anyone else at the reunion might say about her career path or the turn that her life had taken after she had graduated, Emma was fiercely proud of her son and she wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from her.

And if Neal was there at the reunion, and if the news of his fatherhood was broken to him then, then so be it. Emma was a proud single mother and whilst she might not have been the best at raising her child, she had done her best, and that was all anyone could ask of her. She’d put up with a lot throughout her school years, and she was not going to let anyone taint the years that had come since, the years with Henry that were, despite all the trials and tribulations that she had gone through, the best years of her life.

She just hoped that she would still have the same mindset when she actually got to the reunion the next day.

“God, I hate high school reunions.”

Gold looked up from the stock lists to find Cara Mallory sitting at the bar. Actually, slumped on the bar would be a better description. The Palace Hotel catering manager gave an emphatic groan and lifted her head an inch or so off the polished wood to speak.

“I need a triple vodka and tonic.”

Gold merely raised an eyebrow in response and continued ticking off stock, something that really should not have been his job. Something that had not been his job for fifteen years, ever since he had risen to the role of bar manager. Someone was going to have to explain to him how he kept hiring bartenders with such lousy timekeeping and stock-taking skills. Sometimes he was of a mind to fire the lot of them and run the entire show himself.

Cara lifted her head a couple more inches and fixed him with a glare. “Now, Gold!”

Gold rolled his eyes, put down his pen and leaned on the bar opposite Cara.

“What’s the magic word, dearie?”

Cara gave him a withering look.

“Gold, please get me a triple vodka and tonic before I expire.”

“Just for you, Cara.”

He hooked his cane over the bar and mixed Cara her drink. “Now tell me, Miss Mallory, why do you loathe high school reunions so much?”

“Because they’re just an excuse for a hundred people to come together and try to one up each other for a couple of hours. You can almost taste the sense of failure, depression and smugness. It cloys on the tongue.”

“Now now, Mal, it’s not all bad.” Jefferson came in and perched on a bar stool beside Cara, patting her shoulder. “At least you weren’t working at the Palace when the Storybrooke High class of 2008 had their first grand gathering here like some of us were, right Gold?”

Gold narrowed his eyes.

“You weren’t, you pipsqueak. You were barely out of short trousers. I, on the other hand, do not need reminding that I am, as you so delicately put it the other day, ‘getting on a bit’.”

“You must admit, Mr Gold, that you are not as young as you used to be.”

“Oh, go and event co-ordinate, Mr Events Co-ordinator,” Gold said. “You’ve got a hundred guests about to arrive to be thoroughly depressed, and there’s the woman who’s about to depress them.”

He nodded over Jefferson’s shoulder through the ballroom doors towards the main entrance of the hotel, where Zelena West had just walked in.

“Oh crumbs. I’d better get moving.”

Jefferson hopped off his bar stool and went to greet the reunion’s host. Cara just groaned and downed her drink.

“Wake up and smell the misery.” She paused and looked at Gold a little blearily. “That was way more than a triple.” Gold shrugged, and Cara continued to speak. “Must be interesting for you, seeing how they’ve all grown up.”

“Cara, I have seen so many proms and reunions in this ballroom, I lose track.”

He put down the stock lists and checked his watch. “We’ve got an hour for my errant bar staff to turn up, or they’re all fired. I’m going for a smoke. You’re welcome to join me.”

Cara declined and returned to the kitchens, and Gold left the ballroom, limping through the hotel grounds to find his favourite haunt. His hands were shaking as he lit up and took a long drag to calm his nerves. The problem was, he did remember the Storybrooke High 2008 prom.

He looked down at the cigarette between his fingers. If it hadn’t been for his vice he wouldn’t have got involved at all; it would have blended in with all the others. He looked out over the gardens towards the fountain and the benches there. He’d been in this exact same position ten years prior when he’d seen her, so beautiful and innocent in her golden gown, smiling and laughing.

She’d been with her date of course, and he’d assumed he was her boyfriend. He wouldn’t have stayed out there watching them – Gold knew only too well what happened on prom nights. He remembered his own. But something about her had made him stay, because she didn’t seem comfortable. Events had happened rather quickly after that. He remembered running as fast as his ankle could carry him, he remembered the resounding thump with which he had landed the blow against her lecherous date; he remembered the grim satisfaction with which he had thrown the boy out of the hotel.

He hadn’t seen her again after that. Working the long hours that he did at the hotel, he didn’t really get out and about in Storybrooke all that much, and he was certain that someone as bright and lovely as she was would have got out of the town as quickly as she could. It was a dead end for most people, and she had definitely had potential.

All the same, he still couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to her after that night, and whether she was all right after her ordeal. He wondered whether he would see her again tonight, or whether she had decided not to return to the scene of what had occurred. He wondered whether he would even recognise her, all these years later. Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, but Gold knew from his own growing son just how much people could change over the course of a decade.

He finished his cigarette and tossed the butt aside, blowing out the last lungful of calming smoke and looking at his reflection in the glass of the kitchen door. He’d changed a lot himself in the last ten years, and he hadn’t exactly been young when he had first seen her. It wasn’t good for him to be standing out here wondering about a girl so much younger than him. Whatever happened, there was a gap between them and it was something that could not be bridged or ignored.

Gold sighed. Whether she was here tonight or not, whether he recognised her or not, there was no hope that she would recognise him. Their eyes had met for all of a second before she had fled the gardens, and there was a lot on her mind. For now, he would be content just to see that she was all right and had moved on from the events of that fateful night in the garden. That was all he could hope for, and to ask for more would be folly.

He took a deep breath and went back inside the hotel, making his way back towards the ballroom ready for service to begin. A couple of the bar staff had turned up, and he wasted no time in letting them know his ire at their tardiness, but it was still clear that he was going to have to get stuck in to serving as well if they were going to keep the bar running at peak capacity and avoid long and unruly queues for drinks. Gold sighed. He really needed a new job, one that didn’t require him to do a bunch of other people’s jobs as well, and one that allowed him more time at home with Bae, but there was something in the back of his mind that had always kept him here.

He knew what it was, and he didn’t want to admit to it.

Guests started arriving in dribs and drabs, with Zelena greeting them all cordially, but with barely disguised glee as she caught up with their lives for the past decade and realised that she was doing far better than all the rest of them were. Gold just watched her antics with a practised eye; he had seen it happen all before and he could quite understand Cara’s sentiment of hating high school reunions. With someone people, bitchiness wasn’t something that was outgrown, it was simply something that was tamped down and kept simmering in the background until it was given the chance to rage into life once more.

Zelena was definitely one of those people, and Gold was quite glad that he was not among the reunion guests tonight. He had to give a little laugh as he thought of the poor sods that she was talking to; he had every sympathy for them but at the same time, it was morbidly entertaining to watch, and at least it made for very good bar trade, with everyone needing some kind of alcoholic refreshment to get them through an evening of veiled insults and white lies regarding how perfect their lives were now. For all the downsides to his job, he really couldn’t fault the opportunities for people-watching.

He was very thankful that he’d never been to his own school reunion.

Gold didn’t see her the moment that she walked in. It wasn’t an instant recognition by any manner or means. He’d registered that she was there, just as he registered whenever someone walked into the ballroom. He could see it filling up, and he was interested to see the new faces. She’d come in with a couple of friends, and he had thought nothing of it. Blue eyes, chestnut brown hair curling around her face. There hadn’t been anything familiar about her at first sight. It was only when she came over the bar that something in the back of Gold’s mind began setting off fireworks and alarm bells, telling him that this was someone whom he really should remember.

“I’ll have a glass of Pinot Blush, please,” she said, and it was the accent that did it. And accent you wouldn’t soon forget. For a moment, Gold was back ten years in the gardens, and he could definitely see the young woman whom she had been in her features now. She glanced over her shoulder to see Zelena approaching her, and she wrinkled her nose as she turned back to the bar. “Better make that a large one.”

Gold couldn’t help a laugh as he gave her the wine, and she looked at him for a moment, her brow furrowing. Could it be that she recognised him from a decade ago as well?

The moment was gone, and she left the bar, visibly steeling herself to go and speak to Zelena, and Gold continued to watch her for a few seconds until one of her friends came over to order a drink. She seemed to be happy and flourishing, and that was all he needed to know.

Ruby had been prepared for quite a lot of things to happen at this high school reunion, but she was beginning to think that the reunions shown on TV and in films were highly fictionalised and not at all indicative of reality. She had been prepared for thrown drinks and food fights, for real fights and hair-pulling. She had been prepared for terrific revelations that would send the entire room reeling into silence. She had been prepared for everyone in the class’s dirty laundry being aired, including her own. She had been prepared for pretty much every cliched scenario that could have happened at this reunion, but she was absolutely not prepared for sheer boredom.

It was clear that everyone was on their best behaviour, and that there were no chances of any catfights on the horizon despite the utter loathing with which everyone was looking at everyone else. Neither Neal nor Gaston were at the reunion; either they hadn’t come, or they hadn’t been invited. There was no need for her to stay on her guard to possibly sweep in and rescue either of her friends from uncomfortable situations, and so Ruby had found herself at a loss.

The problem was that despite being a naturally outgoing and sociable person who enjoyed talking to everyone who crossed her path in the diner, Ruby didn’t actually want to talk to anyone at that moment. She was very aware that of all the people here in the ballroom, she had probably made the least progress in her life, and despite her usual attitude, and the attitude that had carried her all the way through her school years, she really didn’t want anyone to know that.

Up until she had received the invitation to the reunion, Ruby had been happy with her lot. She had always had vague ambitions of travelling the world and seeing new things, they’d all had those, but she’d accepted that it wasn’t going to be possible. With Granny as her only remaining family, she knew that she had to stay close to help her out. The diner wouldn’t run itself, and Granny wasn’t going to get any younger. Just as Belle had stayed in Storybrooke to help out her father, and Emma had stayed in Storybrooke because of Henry, Ruby had stayed because of her family, and she could never bring herself to regret that. Granny had supported her through some difficult times, and Ruby had caused more than enough trouble to make her grandmother’s hair prematurely grey. After she’d graduated it was time to give back, and Ruby was happy with how she was giving back and what she was doing with her grandmother. There would be time for adventures in the great wide somewhere later.

It was just that sitting here at the bar looking at all these wildly successful people that she’d gone to school with, Ruby couldn’t help feeling distinctly inferior, and at the same time bitter that they’d had all the opportunities that simply hadn’t been open to her. She didn’t have the money for college, she didn’t have the money to move out of Storybrooke and start fresh somewhere, and a small fiery part of her was angry that everyone else seemed to have had it so much better in their lives.

She ordered another rum and coke, staring at it glumly so as to avoid having to look at everyone else in the ballroom.

“Hey.”

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like the ballroom was going to leave her alone. She turned minutely to see Mulan taking a seat at the bar beside her. Despite the years, she looked almost no different to how she had looked in high school, and that fact made Ruby smile.

“It took a long time to track you down, you know,” Mulan said. “I was certain that I’d said hello to everyone except you, and I was certain that I’d seen you come in with Belle and Emma, but I was beginning to think that maybe I’d imagined you.”

Ruby laughed and shook her head. “No, I’ve just been hiding.”

“Yeah, can’t say that I blame you.” Mulan took a sip of her own drink. “Why did we come here again?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Ruby said. “Because we felt that we had something to prove? Or because we thought we had nothing to prove? I don’t know. Maybe I’ve had too much rum on too few canapes.”

“I think it’s morbid fascination in part,” Mulan mused. “We really want to see if anything weird and wonderful has happened to our former classmates. Maybe someone’s become a world-renowned scuba diver or something like that.”

Ruby snorted. “Are you a world-renowned scuba diver?”

“No, I’m a gym teacher. But I’ve always wanted to try scuba diving. What about you? Any hidden talents that have emerged since we last saw each other?”

Ruby shook her head. “No. Still just waitressing at Granny’s, so I think I probably win the award for least successful person here.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Mulan shrugged. “There are different measures of success. If you’re happy, then that’s what matters. Don’t think yourself as any lesser than anyone else. What you do is valuable, no matter what anyone else might say.”

Ruby scoffed.

“No, I mean it.” Ruby looked over at her, but Mulan was completely in earnest, and she had to wonder at the vehement defence.

They had always been on each other’s periphery during high school; Mulan was an aloof loner in much the same way as Emma had been, with just a small group of friends around her. She was an odd one out because she was athletic, and sports had always been the domain of the boys, meaning most of the girls shunned her. Whilst Mulan could definitely be described as tomboyish, she was never ‘one of the boys’. She’d never lost her femininity despite the cattier girls being determined to take it from her.

Although Mulan had never been in with Ruby’s more trouble-making crowd, they’d definitely been on each other’s radars until graduation had happened and people started drifting away. Now, it seemed that they were back on each other’s radars again. Mulan had certainly not forgotten her, and the thought made Ruby smile.

The desire to talk to people had returned, and she shuffled her bar stool a little closer to Mulan’s.

“So, what have you been up to since high school then?”

Emma could tell that something was troubling Belle. She kept glancing over at the man behind the bar who had served them when they had first come into the reunion. He wasn’t serving now, he appeared to be berating the other two bartenders for reasons still unknown. He was obviously their boss, and she wondered how come he had become seconded into helping serve. Probably for the same reason he was now having serious words with them.

Belle was still staring intently at him as Emma approached her, and she only shook herself and looked away when she heard Emma’s voice.

“Are you all right? You seem kind of spaced out.”

“Yeah, just got a weird sense of déjà vu, that’s all.”

Emma laughed. “Well, we’re in a room with a bunch of people who we were at school with and we’re all doing our best to hide the fact that we still hate each other with a passion; I would say that was a memory of any normal day from your teenage years.”

Belle shook her head, the quip falling completely flat.

“No, it’s not that. It’s that guy behind the bar. I feel like I ought to know him from somewhere. He looks really familiar. It’s like there’s a hole that he fits perfectly in my memory, but I don’t know where it’s from.”

Emma looked over at the man again; there was nothing about him that was touching any chords in her own memory.

“Well, if he works here at the hotel then he’s probably local to Storybrooke,” she said. “Maybe you’ve just been standing behind him in line at the drugstore or something, or you see him on your morning running route.”

“Yeah.” Belle didn’t seem particularly convinced by that explanation, but Emma didn’t have another one to offer her. She pulled out of her little daydream and sighed again. “I’m going over to say hi to Regina, I think she’s the only person whom I haven’t said hello to and even though we never saw eye to eye, you can bet that if I miss someone out then it’ll be all over social media once everything’s over.”

“Belle, we’re hardly linked to any of the old school crowd on social media. That’s why it’s been so alien coming here and seeing people again. The only friends from school I have on Facebook are Mary Margaret and Aurora and that’s because they’re just too nice not to be friends with. Unfriending them would be like kicking a puppy.”

“I know that, but I still feel like I ought to make an effort. I’ll see you in a bit, provided Zelena doesn’t collar me again to tell me all about her world travels.”

Emma wrinkled her nose. “That’s in very poor taste.”

“I know. I told her that I never went travelling because I needed to look after my dad after my mum died, but I honestly think it went in one ear and out of the other.”

“No, no, I think she understood perfectly, she’s just that kind of a person.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I think I do always see the good in people too much.”

Belle left her then, and Emma was left looking down at her empty glass. She’d got through that whiskey remarkably quickly and she wondered if her going up again to get another one would be noticed.

“Emma Swan.”

Emma would recognise that voice anywhere. Although Zelena West was the orchestrator of this entire event, Ashley Boyd - well, Ashley Herman now - was definitely the other person whom Emma had not been looking forward to meeting here.

On the face of it, she and Ashley should have got on very well. They’d both been pregnant straight out of high school, after all, and one would have thought that young mothers would have stuck together in the face of the trials and tribulations that were coming their way. Unfortunately, things had not worked out in quite the same way. Whilst Neal had disappeared, Sean had stuck around - forcibly, some might say. And whilst Emma had stayed in Storybrooke, a windfall from Mr Herman Senior had allowed Ashley to get out of the town and not look back - and when she did look back, it was with that sweet and insincere smile that said look how lucky I am, my children have a father and we live in a beautiful house off millions made in the canned fish industry, what do you do, Emma?

“Hello Ashley.”

“I’m sure you remember Sean, of course.”

“Of course. How are you, Sean?”

“Can’t complain. Business is doing well.”

“So how have you been keeping, Emma? How’s your son? He’d be in the same year as our Alexandra, wouldn’t he? Of course, Alexandra goes to the private school at Newport. Having a proper education is really so important, don’t you think?”

Emma looked around the group of old classmates in the ballroom. “Well, I don’t think public school did us any harm.”

Ashley’s eyes narrowed. “Well, of course, growing up in a stable family environment is just as crucial, although I suppose you and your son wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

It was in that moment that Emma realised that she had two choices, and that her brain had made the choice without any input from herself. She could either lose her temper and drag Ashley out of the building by the hair, or she could be calm and composed and collected.

For some reason unknown to Emma, her brain decided to take the third option, and she found herself sprouting a lie of enormous proportions that she had never even given thought to before, let alone had time to work on and make consistent.

“Well, since I got married I like to think that I managed to provide a very stable environment for Henry.”

Ashley’s eyebrows raised to her hairline, and Emma began to flounder. Where the hell had that come from? Hadn’t she, Belle and Ruby all determined that they weren’t going to lie, and they were going to be proud of what their lives had accomplished in the years since high school?

Yes, her brain told her, but at the same time, she just really wanted to wipe that smirk off Ashley’s face without the threat of physical violence.

Still, she was stuck in the lie now, and there was no choice but to run with it.

If Gold was alarmed when Jefferson grabbed him by the sleeve and steered him roughly into the stock room, he didn’t show it, and merely raised one eyebrow, brushing down his jacket when the younger man finally released him.

“Gold, I need to borrow your clothes,” Jefferson said.

“All of them?” Gold asked drily.

“No, no, just some of them,” Jefferson said, pulling off his suit jacket. “And your cane. Quick, give me your waistcoat and your tie.”

“Jefferson, is there a reason for your sudden desire to inhabit my wardrobe?” Gold asked, beginning to unbutton his waistcoat.

“I need to look like an eccentric billionaire and to do that I need cane. Because right now I look like a harassed event co-ordinator…”

“You are a harassed event co-ordinator,” Gold pointed out.

“I know, but eccentric billionaires don’t look like harassed event co-ordinators – they wear ties and they don’t have asparagus stains on their shirts from where a waitress walked into them with some canapés so please Gold, I need your waistcoat to hide the damage. Please, it’s an emergency!”

“An emergency,” Gold repeated, removing his jacket and waistcoat and handing the latter to Jefferson, his tie following shortly after. “What sort of emergency could possibly require you to dress up as an eccentric billionaire? In my best suit, no less.”

“Jeff? Gold?”

Jefferson looked up from tying Gold’s tie round his neck to see Cara Mallory standing in the doorway to the stock cupboard, no doubt on her way back to the kitchens to supervise the restocking of the buffet.

“I’m not even going to ask what you two are doing,” she said, looking them up and down.

“Impromptu striptease,” Gold said. He made to undo his belt buckle. “Private show?”

Cara rolled her eyes and left the room, closing the door after her with a wry ‘whatever floats your lilo, gents…’

“I need to rescue a damsel in distress,” Jefferson said. He finished tying Gold’s tie and its owner rolled his eyes.

“That is the worst Full Windsor I’ve ever seen. Let me.” He pulled the tie loose and started again, working the fabric deftly. “I’d fire you if you turned up to work one of my bars with a tie like that. Right, go on and rescue your damsel.”

“Thank you, Gold. I owe you one!”

He grabbed the bar manager’s cane, ignoring the older man’s shout of protest at being rendered unable to walk, and legged it back to the bar.

Emma was getting desperate. The lie had been a spur of the moment panic, and now it was most definitely coming back to bite her in the behind.

“What precisely is it that your husband does, Emma?” Ashley asked pleasantly, her voice benign but her eyes revelling in every moment of Emma’s now hopelessly obvious discomfort.

“Oh, you know, this and that… He’s very entrepreneurial, dabbles in all sorts of new ideas that need investments…”

“Really,” Ashley said. “How fascinating. Is he not here tonight?”

“I didn’t think that spouses were invited,” Emma said. “Unless they were also in the class, of course,” she added, looking at Sean, who didn’t seem to be taking in any of their barbed comments towards each other at all.

“Darling!”

Emma was startled by the arrival of a complete stranger by her side, linking his arm through hers and pressing a glass into her hand. She was half-tempted to upend the gin and tonic over him and unleash her taser.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, poppet, something came up at the office. There was a problem with a shipment from Sicily, pistachio nuts all over the eastern seaboard, utter nightmare… Look at the coaster…” he hissed under his breath to her on the pretext of kissing her cheek without actually making contact.

Emma did so, raising the glass to take a sip of the clear liquid and looking through the bottom at the white paper coast stuck to the bottom of it, reading the scrawled message.

Pleased to meet you. My name’s Jefferson. Play along for as long as you need to.

Emma grinned, as she remembered seeing the man – minus tie, cane and neatly slicked back hair – talking to Zelena at the hotel entrance and ticking things off on a clipboard just before they entered. On closer inspection, she could see the pin pricks on his jacket lapel where his name badge should sit, and there was a staff key-card on a lanyard stuffed hastily into his inside pocket. It was the event manager, come to her aid.

“Jeff, darling,” she said, deciding that playing along was better than breaking the illusion. “I didn’t think you’d come. This is Ashley and Sean Herman. They were together in high school and they’re married now, how long is it again?”

“Ten years,” Ashley said proudly.

“My word, that must have been very quick after graduation,” Jefferson said, and Ashley’s smug smile began to falter. “Still, I must congratulate you on the longevity of your union, and on the forthcoming pitter patter of tiny feet, I see. Is it your first?”

“No,” Emma said. “Ashley was just telling me that she and Sean have two children already.”

“Really? How fascinating. Emma and I don’t have any together yet, sadly, but I am blessed with a wonderful stepson. Do you have any pictures?”

“Sure.” Sean, obviously always happy to talk about his kids, pulled out his wallet and showed Jefferson and Emma the pictures therein.

“Ah two girls. How old are they? Eight and four?”

“Ten and six,” Sean corrected, before Ashley smacked his arm.

“Sean!” she hissed. “Don’t tell him that!”

“Ten? My word, that must have happened very soon after graduation. Still, absolutely charming to meet you both; Emma, shall we get some canapés? I’m absolutely famished.”

He steered her off towards the buffet table, leaving Ashley to moan at her husband, and Emma couldn’t stop herself from giggling.

“Thank you,” she said. “How did you know that I needed a prop?”

“I happened to overhear your conversation. I wasn’t eavesdropping, I swear. I’m very good at telling when people are lying, and I could tell that she was baiting you. I have to say, it was a bit obvious.”

“Yeah. I’m usually really good at spotting liars as well; maybe that’s what makes me a bad one.” Emma gave another laugh as she remembered Ashley’s priceless expression. “Thank you, anyway. But you really shouldn’t bait her for getting pregnant in high school,” she said eventually once composure had returned and Jefferson had snaffled four smoked salmon canapés. “I did the same.”

“I gathered,” Jefferson said. “And she had no right to look down on you for it when she did exactly the same thing herself.” He sighed. “It’s Sean that I feel sorry for really. If it hadn’t been for the other kids and the fact he was no doubt on the wrong end of a shotgun barrel at some point, do you think he would have stuck around?”

Emma snorted. “I don’t know. He seems happy enough, but it does make you wonder. I know I wouldn’t want to be in a relationship just for the sake of being with the father of my child. That kind of thing can affect a kid growing up.”

“And that is the difference between you and her.”

“What is?”

“You raising your child alone, not settling for getting into a relationship you didn’t want to be a part of or running off to your parents to get them to make it all better.”

“No parents to run to,” Emma muttered.

Jefferson smiled and handed her a canapé.

“Which makes you all the more remarkable, Emma Swan.”

Emma returned his smile, and as she ate the asparagus morsel in one clean bite, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. For the first time since she had entered the reunion, she felt proud of herself, the same pride she felt when she looked at Henry and realised that she hadn’t done badly, all things considered. Despite everything, she still had every right to feel triumphant.

“So, what is it that you and your significant other really do?” Jefferson asked her.

“Storybrooke Sheriff,” Emma said. “I was deputy until four months ago, then elected unopposed when Graham died. And there is no significant other.” She paused. “Just me and Henry. The dynamic duo.”

Jefferson smiled. “That’s what my Grace and I call ourselves.”

“So, what is it that you really do, billionaire husband?” Emma asked. “I know you work for the hotel, I saw you talking to Zelena earlier.”

“Events co-ordinator,” Jefferson said. “You can blame me for this entire spectacle. You might not want to introduce me to Zelena West as your husband; I know I look slightly different to before, but I doubt it’ll fool her.”

Emma laughed. “No, it’s ok, I should be going now anyway. I need to pick up Henry; a friend’s looking after him tonight.”

“Same for Grace, I should be making a move as well. I guess you too know the pitfalls of being a single parent who often has to work evenings. Besides…” Jefferson cast a glance over his shoulder at the bar. “I borrowed half of my outfit from a colleague and he looks pretty keen to get it back. The clothes I think he could live without, but I’ve borrowed his cane as well and unlike me, his need for it is rather more than simply ornamental.”

Emma looked in the same direction and saw a tieless man in a suit that matched Jefferson’s waistcoat leaning heavily on the bar and glaring at her companion.

“Yes… He looks a little murderous right now.”

“Well, I shall return his possessions and mobilise him once more – I’m impressed he got to the bar, actually, I left him in the stock cupboard – and let you on your way. Unless you’d like me to call you a cab?”

“It’s all right, I’ll walk. I’m only going to Granny’s diner, and I don’t live far from there. And I have a taser.”

Jefferson gave her an astonished look.

“You’re joking.”

“No, I really have a taser.” Emma pulled it out of her bag and showed it to him.

“No, not that, Granny’s diner. Granny Lucas is looking after Henry?”

“Yes… Is there a problem with that?”

“She’s looking after my daughter,” Jefferson said faintly. “She’s my go-to babysitter.”

The two parents looked at each other for a moment, before bursting into fresh laughter.

“Go and give your colleague his clothes back,” Emma finally managed. “Come on, you can walk me home, eccentric billionaire husband of mine.”

She watched him make his way across the ballroom towards the bar, and she startled when a familiar voice spoke in her ear.

“What were you and Jefferson giggling about then?”

Emma twisted round to see Ruby standing behind her, arms folded and patented ‘tell all’ expression firmly in place.

“You know him?” she spluttered.

“Of course,” Ruby said airily. “Granny and I babysit his daughter all the time. Her name’s Grace; she’s in Henry’s class at school.”

Emma shook her head in disbelief. She’d heard Henry talk about Grace, but she’d never met the girl before, much less her father. It really was a small world. Ruby was just giggling her head off, and she patted Emma’s arm.

“He’s a great guy, Em. I can vouch for him. If you want to pursue that course, I would say to go for it. What have you got to lose?”

Emma thought about it for a few moments and gave a decisive nod.

“Nothing to lose,” she agreed.

Ruby grinned. “That’s the spirit. I’m going to head out soon too; go somewhere a bit quieter where I’m not going to be mobbed by old friends who were never really friends in the first place.”

Emma looked over Ruby’s shoulder. “Will Mulan be going with you to that place where it’s a bit quieter?” she asked sagely.

“Maybe.” There was a playful smirk in Ruby’s words, and Emma had to laugh again. She was glad that Ruby had found some happiness here as well. The only person who didn’t appear to have made any new connections and turned the evening around into one that could be celebrated was Belle; considering the fears that had plagued her before the reunion, Emma felt a pang of disappointment on her friend’s behalf. Glancing around the room, she found her friend chatting animatedly to Mary Margaret Nolan-née-Blanchard and managed to catch her attention, mouthing ‘Henry’ and indicating that she’d call her tomorrow. Belle nodded and waved goodbye, and Emma went to wait for her fake husband in the lobby.

About ten minutes later, Jefferson reappeared, and they left the hotel, heading away in the direction of the diner. The conversation flowed freely and easily, talking about all the things that they had never known they had in common. Even though Storybrooke was a comparatively small town and Emma knew most of the people in it thanks to her job as sheriff, it just went to show that even small towns could still be surprising. For all she had been complaining at the lack of excitement in her life since graduating high school, Emma knew that this was exactly where she wanted to be. She had a fantastic son, she lived in a great town, and she had a good job that she was proud of doing. It didn’t matter what the rest of her classmates might be doing now. Emma was happy where she was, and she wouldn’t change it for the world.

As they walked along, she kept glancing over at Jefferson. Even in Storybrooke, there was still a wealth of possibility to be had.

The party was coming to a close, winding down, but Belle couldn’t help thinking that there was something missing somehow. There was something still nagging at the back of her mind, something that she needed to come to terms with before she could truly let this experience fall behind her and say that she was done with high school forever and could move on.

Gaston hadn’t been at the reunion and Belle was very glad about that, but all through the evening, she had been in this place and continually reminded of what had happened the last time that she was here. When she looked around at her fellow ex-students and looked at how far they had all come since that night, she found herself looking at herself in a different light too. So, she may not have moved far out of the town and created a new life for herself in the big city, and she might not be in a high-flying career like Zelena West or Regina Mills, but she was happy with her life. She didn’t yearn for something more. She was content with the small things. Right now, Belle could confidently say to anyone who asked her that she was living her best life.

The only thing she wanted was someone that she could share it with, and perhaps tonight was the time that she could finally make steps towards that.

She glanced over at the bar, but the man had vanished. Belle wasn’t exactly surprised; it was clear that he was the manager in charge of it all and therefore shouldn’t be doing the serving on a regular basis, but all the same, she felt a little disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to speak to him again. There was something so familiar about him. Maybe it was because she was seeing so many familiar faces among her old classmates that she was now thinking that everyone was familiar, but all the same, that hint of recognition was going to bug her for a long time after tonight. She usually had a good memory for people, so the fact that this man eluded her was annoying.

Still. Even if she did meet him and strike up a conversation and work out that he was standing in line behind her in the drugstore one time, or some other equally inane conversation, there was something that she wanted to do first.

Belle left the ballroom where the reunion was taking place and made her way out of the back of the hotel through the gardens, up towards the roses and the fountain and the bench where the events of the prom were still there at the back of her mind, and she looked down at the stone for a long time.

It was just a bench, an inanimate object, and it was not the bench that had hurt her. Looking at it now, and looking around at the garden, she could see the beauty in it. She sat down, looking around at the foliage in the twilight and taking it all in. She had felt apprehensive when she had first walked up here to this spot, but now there was a sense of release and catharsis. It was just a bench, just a garden, a beautiful garden. Gaston wasn’t here, he was gone from her life, and as she sat, Belle knew that she was not going to let him ruin whatever might happen next.

“Hello.”

Belle turned to see someone coming up the gardens towards her. It was the man from the bar, and she smiled, waving him closer when he stopped a good distance short from the bench.

“Hello again. Catching a break from all the drunken revellers in the ballroom?”

The man laughed, sitting at the other end of the bench.

“Well, they’re not exactly revelling, but several of them are well on their way to being very drunk, including the hostess.”

Belle had to laugh at that. “When we first got the invitation, a lot of us were certain that this would be an event of snarking and bitching and one-upping each other.”

“Much like being back at high school then?”

“Yes, now that I think about it. I don’t think that we were expecting Zelena to be among those of us drowning their sorrows because they haven’t been as successful as their peers.”

“You’re not drowning your sorrows though, I hope?”

Belle shook her head. “No. I’m happy with my life. I don’t have that sort of chip on my shoulder. Everyone has a different measure of success, and the problem occurs when we try to measure ourselves against other people’s. I know my own worth, I don’t need anyone else to define it for me.”

The man nodded. “That’s very astute.”

Feeling bold, Belle held out a hand. “Belle French.” She looked down at the name tag that Zelena had given her when she had first walked in. “Of course, you probably knew that already.”

The man shook her hand. “Raymond Gold. And likewise.” He pointed to the hotel staff badge on his lapel. “Most people just call me Gold, though.”

“You look familiar, but I can’t place you,” Belle said. “Have we met?”

Gold gave a tired half-smile. “In a manner.” He offered her a cigarette and Belle declined with a shake of her head. He took one out himself and was about to light it when he paused and put it back in the packet, stowing the heavy gold lighter in his inside pocket but leaving the packet on the bench between them. “My son keeps telling me to quit. No time like the present to give it another go again.” He sighed. “I should’ve put more effort into it sooner, really, but there was always something in the back of my mind keeping me from really trying.”

Belle looked at him, her head tipped on one side as she continued to try and place the face in front of her, framed with greying hair and the faint scent of tobacco. “What was that?” she asked.

“Just the whim of a foolish old man, my dear,” Gold said.

“No, I want to hear it,” Belle said.

Gold smiled.

“I’ve been working in this hotel for a long time, I’ve been smoking outside the kitchens for a long time, and I’ve been witnessing high school proms for a long time. And sometimes you see more important things outside the ballroom than you do inside it. I always wonder, if I hadn’t been sneaking a smoke that night, at that moment, I wouldn’t have seen her. She was something special, not part of the popular crowd, not the prom queen, but still something special. Her date took her outside and was trying to get some in the garden, and she fought him off like a little lion cub; brave and utterly ferocious but just not big enough. And if I hadn’t been outside, I wouldn’t have been able to lend a hand.”

And suddenly, Belle realised where she knew him from.

Gold watched as recognition dawned on Belle’s face, and he wondered what her reaction would be.

“I knew I knew you from somewhere,” she said. “Thank you.”

Gold shrugged. Her response had surprised him. He hadn’t expected her to take it so calmly. What kind of a man remembers the face of a woman whose date he punched at her prom ten years earlier?

“I was only doing what any decent person would do in the circumstances.” He sighed, he was in too deep now and he might as well give her the full story. That was what she had asked for, after all. “But that’s why I never quit.”

“Because you were worried about what might have happened to me if you hadn’t been there?” Belle asked. Gold nodded.

“And… On the off-chance I might see you again,” he murmured, then looked away, embarrassed. If she hadn’t thought him a mad stalker before, then she would definitely think so now. He felt her small hand on his shoulder, a friendly, relaxed grip, and he turned back towards her. Belle was smiling.

“Well, it worked,” she said. “So maybe now is the time to quit.” She took his cigarettes. “You shouldn’t be needing these anymore.”

Gold gave a weak laugh. “It’s hard to break the habit of a lifetime, Miss French.”

Belle smiled and stood up, leaning in close to him.

“Maybe you just need to find something else to do with your mouth,” she whispered in his ear, before pressing a light kiss to his cheek. Gold felt the weight of something drop into his jacket breast pocket and Belle flashed him another brilliant grin and left him sitting on the bench, as she began walking back down the garden towards the ballroom.

Gold looked down and saw that she’d returned his cigarettes. He pulled out the packet and was about to take one out, from habit more than real desire, when he saw it, there on the side of the packet in neat, rounded hand.

She’d given him her phone number.

There was a definite spring in his step as he followed the path she had taken back down to the bar.

#rumbelle fic #rumbelle #Belle French #Mr Gold #Emma Swan #Mad Swan #red warrior #Ruby Lucas #Jefferson #Fic: Reunion #one-shot weekends

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