#I sit in front of his cage while I sew and he gets excited and begs for attention

[spacetronomyfan]

He likes to watch me sew.

#momo the chinchilla #Chinchillas #Pets #Animals #I sit in front of his cage while I sew and he gets excited and begs for attention #Or snaps at me to go away. It's 50/50

[pbandjesse]

I was very nervous about today. My redo of my workshop that I had to cancel because I was so sick. But I was also excited. It was going to be a good day.

I didn't sleep great. It got really cold over night and the window next to me was open and my skin was super dry when I woke up. And my hair felt weird. I would braid it and try to moisturize my face. Mixed results on both fronts. But it was still a good day.

James drove us to the museum. We stopped for breakfast. And they would help me bring everything inside. Because they are the best.

I got everything set up. Stanley helped me out. We would chat for a bit as well. He's so sweet. His granddaughter was coming to the class today and I was looking forward to having her.

While I was mostly focused on setting up I would go check with James a few times about stuff. Eventually I was just sitting there while they ran to do something before the musuem opened. Where I got to meet the new security guard. Who is very much 'into' conspiracy theories. Not like me and Jordan are though. This guy like actually believes it.

So I decided to put crazy him. Oh there's chemicals in the water? Well all water used to be dinosaur pee. Oh the are poisoning is through the melting glaciers? Well did you know everyone who goes to Antarctica has to get their appendix removed? And that we have a new organ that was discovered in 2017??? Did not let this man get a word in edge wise, just absolutely info dumped on him. It tickled me to death. Bob the blacksmith was there too and was also giggling at me.

Soon though the museum was open and my workshop students were slowly trickling in. I have a great group!! A mom, grandma, and grandson. A mom and daughter and a grandmother and granddaughter. Two sets of couples. And the a single woman around my age and Stanley's granddaughter. And it was so fun.

There was a lot happening in the musuem today. Two different kinds of tours, blacksmith, photography, bread drop off in the parking lot, and a oyster cage workshop on the dock. So Auni was there but pulled all over. She would come and give me a little intro and then I was just in it. A full explanation of the museum and the history and the project. I ran through the tools and supplies. I was a little all over the place because I was so excited. But it was great.

I had gone and grabbed a lamp from the cannery when the first couple participants got there. They had said it was going to be hard to see their needle and with the lamp it wasn't so stupid in there. And that made everyone's lives easier. And when I was showing the first steps. Laying the pattern, Cutting the fabric, sewing a while stitch. Making sure your fabric was facing the right way. And then I had them get started. They jumped right in. And they did great.

I was surprised that a few people didn't want to use the sewing machine. That it totally fine. I did insist on Stanley's granddaughter trying again when she said she couldn't when I was actively watching her do it. I think she was just afraid of the machine. I wasn't going to force anyone though so I asked if she just wanted to hand sew and then I left her to it. She did great in the end.

The two little girls in the class has their own sewing machines so they didn't need much instruction. And it was fun just jumping around and checking on everyone.

When I would start someone on the sewing machine I think everyone though I was silly because I always take my boot off. I see better barefoot. Because I can feel the peddle better. And in the end we didn't break any needles at all.

The program lasted two hours. And I really just had lovely conversations with everyone. It was a beautiful day.

People would slowly leave as they finished their bears. I got pictures of almost all of them. And then it was time to clean up. The little girls had helped collect all my fabric. And I tried to find all my needles. I was in a great mood.

When I went up to the front to bring my machine and bags I saw that it was snowing!! It wasnt sticking but it was beautiful. I know it's going to be March but I wish it would snow. Not having snow this season made me sad.

But this was beautiful. And after I was done putting away the chairs and tables I stood at the window wall and watched it for a while.

Then all of a sudden the fire alarm went off. And there was a lot of people inr the museum today and they all started trying to evacuate!! It was scary cause James made an announcement but we couldn't understand them. But I went to the front and they weren't there. Which is when I realized it wasn't our building it was happening next door. Everything was fine. We got everyone back inside. James came back. It was a false alarm and everything was safe. Startling though!!

I finished getting my stuff together and took it to the car. And then went up to the education office to sit with James for a few minutes. They were exhausted. I gave them many hugs and then I headed home.

It was still flurrying on my drive. And it was so pretty. I love the snow.

I got back here and I was happy to be home. I was a little tired. Eating lunch helped. I also did some cleaning. I vacuumed and did a partial water change on the aquariums. I put some stuff away. I made some outfits. And then I would chill on the couch and decided to jump back into my sticker idea.

I changed into warmer clothes and then I was able to really focus. I want to design stickers sheets. So I started drawing bears and accessories. And it was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

James got home and they were kind of a mess. Coughing and red in the face and sneezing. They were really exhausted and didn't feel great.

They would sit on the couch with me and we brain stormed and came up with a great idea about making the stickers clear so you can design them yourself. And they are going to research that for me. Cost and stuff.

But because they still didn't feel good I encouraged them to take a shower and put on something cozy. And once they did they didn't look so rough.

James would make some bread. Somehow it got off kilter and knocked a whole bunch of stuff off the counter and scared us all. But it was okay. James made us breakfast for dinner and we ate it in bed. And I felt really happy.

I was going to wash my hair tonight but I decided I will do that tomorrow morning. But I still took a shower and now we are in bed. I am feeling good. But man am I tired.

I hope you all had a good day. I have no plans for tomorrow and that feels nice. Sleep well everyone. Take care of each other!!

[blossomkoushi]

truth or dare

Summary: two years after leaving high school and your deep crush on sugawara koushi still hadn’t gone away. a night of hanging out with the current and previous karasuno volleyball players turn interesting with a game of truth or dare.

Warnings: teeny tiny manga spoilers, afab reader (no pronouns used other than reader being called good/silly girl), suga is a little shit and so are the other (former) third years, reader pining, use of “little one” and “good girl”, consent is sexy, reader and suga fuck in the bathroom and in front of a mirror, unprotected sex (always use a condom!!), he puts his hand over the reader’s mouth. i think that’s everything, let me know if i missed something!

Word count: 3.1k

A/N: this fic was based off this prompt i got from an anon! thank you for sending it in, i had so much fun writing this!

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

The semi-annual Karasuno reunion was in full swing. Only the previously known first years were still high school, now in their third year and still in touch with their seniors. It’d been Yamaguchi’s birthday, all the current third years now being 18 and excited to talk to their seniors about adult life and catch up.

“let’s play truth or dare!” Nishinoya suddenly yells, abruptly ending the conversation he’d been having with Hinata and Tanaka. The group agrees, excitedly talking while moving into a circle in Nishinoya’s parents’ living room. You squeeze yourself in between Kiyoko and Asahi.

Having been a manager along with Kiyoko, you’re the closest with the previous third years, but still being friends with the second and first years. You had no problem socializing with them all, happily chatting to Yachi, sitting on the other side of Kiyoko, when Daichi clears his throat. Both you and Asahi snicker, trying to stifle your laughter at his natural instincts kicking in.

“alright, I’ll start. Yamaguchi?” Daichi speaks, sitting up straighter and looking at Yamaguchi.

“yes?” the latter replies, and you note how he doesn’t cower under Daichi’s gaze anymore.

“truth or dare?”

“truth”

Daichi smirks, “what’s it like to be captain?”

Laughter erupts, a blush spreading on Yamaguchi’s cheeks while he smiles.

“it’s the worst. These two,” he points at Tsukishima and Kageyama, “still won’t cooperate and the first years refuse to listen to me. I’m sorry for any trouble we caused you, captain! You too, Ennoshita!”

Yamaguchi bows in apology to both of them, laughter once again filling the room and Nishinoya jumps up to press down on Tsukishima’s and Kageyama’s heads, ruffling their hair.

“still causing trouble for the captain, eh? Ya’ troublemakers” he laughs, walking back to his seat next to Tanaka and nearly flopping down in a fit of giggles. It takes a few minutes of laughter and jokes for everyone to calm down, Yamaguchi eventually speaking up.

“okay! Okay, my turn now!” he looks around the circle, eventually stopping at Tanaka. “truth or dare?”

“dare, of course” Tanaka booms, grinning.

“alright.. hmm… I dare you to… kiss Nishinoya’s cheek”

An echo of oo’s and whistles makes Tanaka blush, looking at Nishinoya before slapping his own cheeks, shaking the nerves out of his body before cupping the back of his best friends’ neck, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. Cheers erupt and both you and Yamaguchi clap while cheering, giggles falling from your lips.

“kiyoko!” the blush still hasn’t left Tanaka’s cheeks, eyes open wide in excitement, “truth or dare?”

“truth”

“will you marry me?”

“no.”

The interaction is over before it began, causing another fit of laughter to fill the room, the blush only growing on Tanaka’s cheeks but he’s still smiling, excited to have gotten to talk to his crush. In a way, you sympathize with him. You know what it’s like to pine after someone for years.

Your own crush sitting at the opposite side of the circle. His gray hair pushed back slightly, crisp white t-shirt hanging off his body beautifully and the soft smile making your heart skip a beat. Despite not seeing Sugawara nearly as often as you’d like, the crush that started in your first year of high school is still as strong as ever. You can’t even count the number of nights you’d spent dreaming of kissing the mole under his eye, tracing your fingers over his soft lips and what it would be like to hold him close. Despite it all, you never made a move and neither did he, so you simply assumed that he wasn’t interested in you and tried to move on. Clearly failing, as you blush and look away when his eyes meet yours.

“Y/N” a push on your shoulder sends you out of your daze, meeting Kiyoko’s eyes. “truth or dare?”

“oh! U-um, dare?” still in the haze of your mind wandering, you spoke before thinking. Kiyoko glances over at both Daichi and Asahi, a small smirk growing on her face.

“I dare you to go sit in Suga’s lap” your eyes shoot open with her words, feeling your body growing hot. Of course. The other third years knew about your crush after all, having caught you staring at the man more than a few times.

Glancing around, you notice everyone staring excitement. Do they all know? Shaking your head, you stand up and slowly walk to the other side of the living room.

“may I?” your voice is surprisingly timid, body still burning just from the idea of sitting in his lap. A grin grows on his face as he moves his legs slightly, crossing his legs under him and patting his lap. Shyly sitting down, your back presses to his chest and he places his hands behind him. Applause smatter in the room along with words of encouragement, but your attention isn’t on that anymore.

The game continues, you dare Tsukishima to give Hinata a hug and zone out after that. Sugawara moves his legs, stretching them out and letting you sit on the floor, still pressed to his chest and his legs come up and nearly cage you in. your legs are over his, his calves and feet nearly pressed to your butt.

All you can smell is him. It’s warm and comforting, feeling his chest rumble and vibrate when he speaks and laughs, the sounds ringing in your ears and send shivers down your spine. His arms come around your waist, pressing you more firmly against his chest.

Your attention goes between Sugawara and the conversations happening around you. they seem to have stopped playing the game, now only happily chatting about their lives and you try to join in, mostly laughing at the other’s jokes and antics. Asahi tells a story of when he managed to sew two pairs of pants together for a class and Hinata excitedly talks about Karasuno’s most recent games. Before you know it, you’ve fully relaxed and wiggled into Sugawara’s hold, sitting impossibly close.

Your attention jolts back to him when his face suddenly presses into your hair, feeling him inhale and squeeze his arms around you. you stiffen, body burning hot once more and nearly igniting when something against your lower back stiffens as well. A soft squeak escapes you, body moving on its own and squirming, trying to move closer.

“suga…” barely a whisper to not alert the others of what’s going on, heat pooling in your stomach.

“mmh?” his humming vibrates against your back, exhale fanning over your exposed neck. A quick kiss to the skin and you gasp. “something wrong?”

“I-“ you begin, stammering when his lips press against your burning skin again, sucking softly and scraping his teeth over the sensitive skin. A moan nearly escapes you when he bites down, feeling the harsh tug of arousal in your stomach, along with wetness pooling in your panties. You feel his grip on you tighten.

“sound so pretty, know you want to make more noises. Why don’t we find somewhere private, hm?” his breath fans against your ear while he whispers, slowly rutting his hips against your back. You nod, whimpering excitedly. “good girl. Stand up and I’ll follow you. if anyone asks, you have a tummy ache and need me to help with it.”

Nodding again, you shyly stand up and look behind you, noticing Sugawara checking out your ass before he stands up as well. The bulge in his pants isn’t that prominent, he must’ve adjusted while you were standing up. As he had predicted, all eyes go to the two of you, suddenly standing in the circle.

“where are you going?” Hinata asks and you silently thank any and all possible higher powers for having it be him asking the question.

“o-oh, um, I have a tummy ache and Suga is just gonna help me with it” you excuse yourself from the group and start walking away, your skin once again burning, feeling all their eyes on you as you walk out the room.

Once out of sight, Sugawara grabs your arm and puts his finger over his lips to signal that you need to be quiet. You nod, just barely able to keep a squeak from escaping when he suddenly tugs you down the hallway and into the bathroom. The door closes behind you, his fingers quickly locking it and his hands push you to the door, leaning in close and smirking.

“you did good, little one” he leans in even closer, studying your face as it heats up, your eyes avoiding his. “can I kiss you?”

“y-yes” you whimper, daring to look in his eyes for a moment, watching him with anticipation. He smiles, cupping the back of your neck and gently pressing his lips against yours.

It’s like you’d always imagined. His lips are soft, gentle and moving against yours slowly, as if you’d done it a hundred times before. His hand on the door moves down to your waist, pushing your hips down and his thigh comes between yours, his body caging you in. he sighs happily against your lips, swiping his tongue over them and your mouth opens as if on command. Arms wrapping around his neck and you kiss. You kiss and kiss and kiss until time seems to have stopped and the only thing that matters is his warm body against yours and his wet lips making you shiver in pleasure.

Desperate whines and whimpers start escaping you, the kisses getting more and more heated until Sugawara is grabbing your thigh and holding it against his hip, grinding his clothed crotch against yours.

“Suga-“

“Koushi.” He cuts you off before you can finish, pulling away and looking at you seriously, “call me Koushi, please”

“Koushi” you try it out, tasting the word and shivering at the intimate feeling it gives you. Smiling at him, you tug his body closer again, “Koushi please, please fuck me”

A smirk grows on his face yet again, “thought you’d never ask”

He moves away slightly, pulling your body with him and pushing you against the sink. His hands rub up and down your waist until you whine in frustration, huffing out a reminder that the others are probably already wondering what’s taking so long. He only chuckles, flashing you his smile through the mirror while his nimble fingers work at the button and zipper of your jeans. He tugs them down, crouching down to prod at your panties.

“so messy” his thumb runs down the length, pressing down on your clit. Rubbing gently, he coos when your hips squirm.

“Koushi- please” trying to push your hips back against his hand, you whine, feeling the years of waiting making you impatient.

“ssh, okay, okay, calm down” he chuckles, patting your butt and standing up, undoing his pants and letting them fall to the floor. You dare to turn your head, peeking behind to see him getting undressed.

In a different situation, you might’ve laughed. Black boxer briefs cling to his body, contrasting from his skin. A faint bulge going straight up, and your eyes move along with it, noticing the head of his cock sitting above the waistband. Flushed pink and leaking precum, Sugawara lifts his shirt up and over his head, giving you a better look at his body. Pale hair, the faintest gray tone, goes from under his belly button and all the way down to his underwear, hidden behind his cock.

Sugawara finally notices your staring, grinning and pulling down his briefs down to his knees, letting his cock stand proudly from his body. From what you can tell, the base is the same shade as his body, the length fading into pink all the way to the head. His gray pubes sit neatly trimmed against his body, curling slightly and framing his cock.

“like what you see?” he teases, sending you a wink before pulling your panties down, stepping closer and nudging your face back towards the mirror. “want you to look at me”

The tip of his cock presses against your pussy lips, making your breath hitch, waiting for the pressure to get deeper. But it doesn’t.

“Koushi, please just-“

“I don’t have a condom.” He cuts you off, sighing and starting to step away, stopped by a loud whine and a hand clawing at his hip.

“I don’t care. I’m on the pill and I assume you haven’t been sleeping around?”

“no, but-“

“so, fuck me. Please.” This time, you cut him off, frustration and arousal rolling off you in waves. You weren’t going to wait any longer, not when he’s here and ready for you. He exhales shakily, nodding and smiling. Finally.

The pressure returns on your pussy, this time pressing in between the lips and against your entrance. He adjusts himself, giving you a grin and wink through the mirror, slowly starting to push in. There’s a bit of a stretch, the overwhelming acknowledgement that Sugawara Koushi was pushing his cock inside you, made your head spin and breathing get heavy. Your head flops down, moaning and cursing under your breath until you feel his hips press against your ass. A hand grips your hair, tugging your head up and Sugawara leans over your body, pressing his lips right up against your ear.

“look at that pretty face. Thought I told you to look at me, didn’t I? silly girl” he smirks, pressing small kisses down your cheek and neck, feeling your flushed skin burn under his lips. He maintains eye contact, watching your expressions carefully when he returns his lips against your ear. “be quiet for me. Don’t want those perverts out there hearing what’s mine”

Before you can respond, his hips pull back and snap against yours, forcing a loud moan to rip from your throat. Sugawara only laughs, shaking his head and putting his hand over your mouth, pinning you up against his chest. His mouth lands on your neck and shoulder, sucking and biting on the skin while his hips start moving again, thrusting quick and deep.

Your moans get muffled by his hand, eyes rolling back in your head from the pleasure, and you can feel his groans against your skin, going raw from his constant attention. His hand on your hip grips you tightly, keeping you in place against his body while his cock pushes, prods and drags against your sensitive walls, clamping down on him tightly and forcing deep moans from him.

“you feel so fucking good, shit” he manages to groan, snaking his hand on your hip towards your cunt, finding your clit and rubbing it slowly. The contrast from his harsh thrusts to gentle touch makes your head spin, moans only getting louder while your hands uselessly claw at the sink, his hips and arms, unable to find a stable purchase to keep your body from toppling over. You never want this to end.

“nngh fuck- koushiii” your muffled whines vibrate against his hand, calling out for him in your fog of pleasure and it makes him faster. The slapping of your skin meeting and the wet squelching from your pussy fills the small bathroom, bouncing off the walls and filling your head. “m gonna cum- gonna cum, koushi, fuck”

“that’s right, cum for me” he pants against your skin, lidded eyes looking at the mirror and seeing your expression. He can feel your burning cheeks through his hand, the wet spit coating his palm and the hot breaths that fan over it. Your eyes rolled back and glossy, body shaking in his hold until everything suddenly snaps. The pressure on his cock gets tighter, thighs shaking against his while another loud moan forces its way out of you. Your body shakes, nearly falling over from the orgasm and his unwavering thrusts.

“k-koushi I-“ you stammer, nearly going cross-eyed from the overwhelming pleasure and stimulation when he doesn’t stop. If anything, he goes harder. His hips slam against yours, rocking your body and he nearly pushes you into the sink, hand still covering your mouth while he groans freely, unable to stop his own noises.

“I’m gonna cum, fuck! Fuckfuckfuck- hhahhh shit, fuck- Y/N” incoherent babbles tumble from his lips, head thrown back while he snaps his hips against yours. The pressure around his cock hasn’t stopped, making his mind fuzzy and laced with pleasure until he stops, bottoming out and leaning over your body. He groans loudly, body shaking and cock jumping while his cum spurts out, painting your walls white. It’s warm, settling deep in your tummy and making you shiver in pleasure.

One of your shaking hands moves back, grabbing his hip and helping him fuck himself dry, clenching around him until he hisses from the sensitivity. Slowly pulling out, the two of you breathe heavily, trying to collect yourselves from the act.

“so…” you finally say, pushing yourself off the sink and wincing, feeling his cum seep out of your cunt. You quickly bend down, pulling up your panties and jeans, hoping they’ll help keep everything inside.

“so…” Sugawara grins, watching you frown and get dressed. He turns around, picking up his clothes and getting dressed as well. “that was fun, right?”

“yeah” you nod, taking his body in, free from the haze of arousal. Suddenly snapping out of it, realizing that it might make him uncomfortable, you whip your head to the side and stare at a wall. “was really fun!”

He notices your flustered state, smirking and stepping to you when he’s fully dressed. His hands land on your hips, pushing your body flush against his and chuckling when you laugh and widen your eyes. “we just had sex; how can you still be so flustered?”

“because!” you yelp, cowering under his soft gaze and shaking your head slightly. “because… I’ve had a crush on you for years now.”

You don’t see the grin widening on his face.

“I know.”

“what?” you nearly yell, snapping your face towards his again and gaping, your body flushing with embarrassment. He only laughs, ruffling your hair and stepping back, moving towards the door.

“I’ve known for a while now. Daichi told me.” He looks back at you, smiling and reaching out his hand. “you coming?”

Smiling and shaking your head, you take his hand. The two of you walk back to the living room, his face flushed, and your hair tousled. Going to sit down again, you wince slightly and he pats your back soothingly. Eyes flicker to the two of you, knowing smirks growing on several of their faces. The silence is deafening, making you shrink into Sugawara’s chest. Nishinoya suddenly pipes up, eyes wide and index finger pointing at the two of you accusingly.

“did you fuck in my bathroom!?”

Laughter erupts. Sugawara receives pats on the back and Kiyoko winks at you, smiling. You smile back. Maybe you should thank her. After all, this was her doing.

#watering.flowers #watering.sugawara #sprout.sugawara #sugawara smut #sugawara koushi #haikyuu!! #haikyuu smut #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader

[awkwardgtace]

Secret Brother Pt2

Continuing Ian and Mikhail gonna keep the same tws unless someone's asked for changes

TW: mentions of abandonment. Later parts will have mentions of a borrower being treated like a pet this is entirely painted in how fuckin wrong it is and how it added to the trauma.

Part 1 Part 3 (Final)

Secret Brother Part 2

Mikhail started living a double life after that. He was making good progress with Ian. He wasn’t sure how Ian had made any kind of home before, he seemed to struggle with basic bits of borrowing. It was becoming the highlight of most days to go home and sneak in to his own house the size of a borrower. Ian seemed almost nervous to be left in a house with a human alone, it didn’t make a ton of sense. The thing that started his move before must have been pretty bad.

The last few months had been a bit stressful too. At least one of his students seemed aware that the dorm ‘ghost’ had left with him. She claimed it was discussing her thesis, but it seemed to be highly focused on borrowers. Although she kept calling it a hypothetical idea of small beings. A study on the folklore of creatures like that which pop up in a lot of cultures. Finding ways to push her to new topics was becoming hard. Mikhail was looking forward to his afternoon with Ian.

“Ian, you around bud?” he called out. Ian rushed at him, covering his mouth. Mikhail looked at him curiously. Ian slowly slid his hand off him, seemingly happy with the silence. “What was that about?”

“I, uh, I thought I heard the human before,” he said nervously. Mikhail had been quiet, he hadn’t even opened his door. “I figured we should be extra quiet today, or just stay here, I have enough supplies for at least a week.”

Mikhail studied him, this wasn’t normal. Even if he made noise on his way, he can’t hear the noise in the walls as a human. Well he couldn’t hear them this far in, he made Ian move to make sure of that. Ian was jumpy, looking around like something would show up out of nowhere. He’d go with it for now, they’d hang out in the walls. He could teach him better sewing and they could work out the paths a little more.

“All right bud,” he said, hoping the smile would calm him. “We can stay in the walls just get some chores done in here, set up some extra paths you may need.”

Ian visibly calmed hearing that. He grabbed Mikhail’s arm and dragged him to the makeshift table. He had plenty of projects he started and needed guidance on. Mikhail was happy to oblige. They worked in a casual silence, Ian showing the parts he struggled with and Mikhail guiding him. It was a pretty normal day as far as life for a borrower is concerned, but Mikhail couldn’t ignore how terrified Ian was. It couldn’t just be that he thought he heard Mikhail, or well the human sized Mikhail, in the house. He was trying to think of how to bring it up when Ian dropped his project.

“Mik,” he started. “You’ve been coming to this house for a long time right?”

“Yeah it’s a normal stop,” he answered. He didn’t think he wanted to know where this was going.

“What do you think of this human?” Ian looked at him, his eyes had something in them he couldn’t read.

“I’m not sure what you mean bud,” he knew the right responses, but didn’t want to give them. He didn’t want to encourage Ian to be afraid of him.

“L-let’s say, there was a human you knew was bad, like really bad. If you had to pick between them and the human here, which would you pick?”

“I mean, as far as I can tell with this human, they wouldn’t do anything bad,” he started slowly. “I don’t know how bad the bad human would be in this scenario, but I’d pick the human who lives here. I’ve known them for an extremely long time, they don’t seem the type to do anything cruel.”

Ian nodded solemnly. Something was going on and he wasn’t telling him. Mikhail was tempted to push, but there wasn’t a good way to ask. He didn’t like leaving like this, but he had some work to get done this weekend, he couldn’t stay. He ruffled Ian’s hair standing to stretch, then started gathering the few things of his he brought with him. Ian grabbed his shoulder tightly.

“Mik, can you stay? For a few days?” his voice was small. Mikhail wanted to stay, to help him with what he wasn’t saying, but he couldn’t. He had to grade assignments and review thesis topics. He turned with a sad smile to Ian.

“I’m sorry Ian, I can’t. Honestly I may be gone for about a week this time. I can’t put off this work much longer. It won’t f-”

“Can I come?”

Mikhail sighed, “Ian I can’t take you with me for these trips. It won’t feel that long promise.”

Ian let go of him. Mikhail turned and saw he looked close to tears. He pulled Ian into a hug, holding tightly. Ian melted into it, seeming to need some sort of reassurance. Mikhail was more reluctant to leave, but he had to work so they could keep this up anyway. He let go and moved towards the exit, relieved to see Ian sitting back down at the table. He’d tell Ian the truth next time, he had to know he wasn’t as alone as he thought when ‘Mik’ wasn’t around.

“We’ll talk about some important stuff when I come back too all right?” he asked. Ian perked up, nodding with a look of relief. Things like that seemed to calm him, promises that meant he’d return without that being the promise. Once outside the house Mikhail waited a few minutes before shifting back. He needed to make sure Ian wasn’t planning to follow him. Once sure he focused and the world returned to its usual view. He took slow steps toward his car, climbing in to move it. Next time he saw Ian wasn’t going to be easy. He pulled the car off to the side, hidden completely from view for the weekend.

He sighed as he walked in, far from excited to deal with the guilt he’d be feeling. He went straight to his desk, if he could make it through the papers fast enough he could talk with Ian sooner. He pulled out the first and got to reading, blocking out the world around him. Ian wouldn’t come out for a while based on how he was acting. Hours passed as he worked through the assignments, a number of which would need to be completely redone. The black ink on white paper getting to him, he walked out to get a drink. The house was dark, he never bothered to turn on any lights when he came in. He reached the kitchen and flicked the light on, nearly screaming.

Sitting at the center of the table was Ian, his hook placed clearly out of reach. Mikhail couldn’t believe his eyes. He decided to act like he saw nothing, continuing on to get his water. He would go back to his desk and then Ian could keep up whatever crazy thing he was planning. Unless this had to do with the question earlier about trusting the human here. Did he know it was Mikhail who lived here? Ian must have figured it out. He turned to leave, trying so hard not to let his concern show.

“H-human!” Ian called out. There went any hope of pretending not to see him. Mikhail locked his eyes on Ian, the boy flinching as he gained the attention he wanted. Mikhail crouched down, getting himself eye level with the borrower. He was barely ready for whatever this meant.

“Hi?” he said. He had no idea how to do this. Wait he called out human, does Ian not know?

“I-I want to make a deal with you.” Ian was trying to be confident. Mikhail felt a lot of pride at that. He was so much more confident than he was a few months ago.

“What do you need?”

“I-if you’ll keep the bad human from me and my friend I’ll stay with you.”

“Wait what? What bad human? What do you mean stay with me?” Mikhail was utterly lost. Ian was here in front of him when he was human. Offering to stay with him in exchange for protection from the bad human. Now he really needed to know what was going on. He leaned down on the table, arms as a pillow, to be a little closer.

“I-I ran away from a human. They were keeping me as a,” he paused a mixture of fear and disgust on his face, “as a pet. I’ll stay with you as one if you’ll keep the bad one from me and my friend.”

“First no to that whole pet thing, you’re clearly a person. Second, I need to know about this bad human to help.”

“I-I can be good. I won’t run from you. I’ll be the project thingy for you they were talking about. I can-”

“Whoa slow down buddy, I just need information.” Mikhail was trying hard to stay calm. This is what scared him so much. Some human kept him as a pet and brought him to the school. Mikhail was going to deal with this, later though for now Ian had to calm down.

“I can do tricks, I won’t complain really. You can go get a cage now and I’ll wait right here. I won’t move at all. I won’t fight if you try to show me off either. I’ll be a good pet just as long as you protect us.”

“Kiddo, I just said the pet thing isn’t happening. I’ll just help you if you talk to me about this bad human.”

“I’m not stupid. I know you’ll want something eventually. I’m giving you something. I know you spend time at the place the bad human had brought me. I’ll be obedient for anything you need just keep the bad one away. I put the only way I can get down far enough away. Just admit you like this idea and-”

“Ian, knock it off! I’m not entertaining you talking about yourself like that’s all you’re good for. You’re a person, damn it!” Mikhail shouted. He hadn’t meant to, but hearing Ian thought he’d like this idea hurt. Over the last few months Ian felt like a younger brother, he’d do anything for him.

“H-How do you know my name?” Ian’s eyes were wide. Mikhail didn’t realize he used his name, he’d gotten lucky until now. Ian seemed far more scared than before hearing the human knew his name, starting to back away. Mikhail stood up and backed off. This wasn’t what he wanted to happen. He was going to have to show him as much as he hated it. He made his way back over to the table gripping the edge with both hands. He focused on them as he willed himself smaller. He pulled himself onto the table then sped up how fast he shifted. Focusing his gaze on Ian once he was done.

“This,” Mikhail gestured to himself, “would be why you couldn’t come with me.”

#gt writing #gt #giant/tiny #gianttiny #g/t #g/t writing #OC:Ian #OC:Mikhail/Mik #OC:Mik/Mikhail

[redgillan]

Under Pastel Skies - 5

Sugar daddy!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Modern!AU Bucky doesn’t need anyone, especially not a sugar baby. He isn’t that desperate… but she smiles so sweetly and she’s endearingly awkward, and he’s so lonely. She’s an artist, a painter, the type of person who always puts others before herself. Throwing caution to the wind Bucky offers her a place to live, a place where she can finally paint whatever her heart desires. He doesn’t need much in return; a friend, a muse.

Word Count: 4,569

Warnings: none

A/N: Let me just thank you for your support, it’s so heartwarming and I love you so much. I’m sorry this chapter is so long, I have no idea how that happened. I hope you enjoy this :’)

Wannabe sugar daddies, don’t interact with this post.

After you agreed to move in with Bucky and become a full time artist, everything started to move incredibly fast. The dinner went well, you worked out the details of your contract with Sam and Nat who didn’t seem surprised that this was happening.

You left your job almost overnight, only giving them two weeks’ notice. They easily found a new breakfast attendant and you even trained your replacement. You emptied your locker, returned your name tag and your master key, and went on your merry way.

Now you were on your way to Bucky’s apartment, a suitcase full of clothes between your legs and another full of administrative papers, beauty products and whatnot between Natasha’s legs. She had insisted on coming with you to help you get settled. You didn’t own furniture or anything that required her help so you figured she just wanted to make sure Bucky was treating you right.

He had already transferred your monthly allowance to your bank account, which prompted your bank to call you. They wanted to know where the 5 thousand dollars came from and you told them it was a gift. “If your friend’s looking for new friends give them my number, yeah?” the man on the phone told you.

The rocking motion of the train had a soothing effect on you, almost lulling you to sleep. You let your head fall against the window and played one of your favourite game –people watching.

There was a man reading a newspaper, standing with his feet apart as if the cart was one giant skateboard. A woman was putting on makeup, another was playing a game on her phone. The woman sitting next to you was wrestling with her toddler who wanted to snatch your scarf. It was a quiet day.

“Are we going to talk about it?” Natasha asked, her face as cold as stone.

“’Bout what?” you replied in a sleepy voice.

“About your crush on James.”

“I don’t have a crush on Bucky.”

As soon as the words passed your lips, a tiny, sticky hand landed on your jaw, making a wet slapping sound. You blinked hard, your eyes trained on Natasha who was now openly smiling at the toddler next to you.

“See? Even the baby knows you’re a liar,” she said, singing the last word.

You turned your head to look at the baby and saw him put his fist in his mouth, his eyes bright and wide. With a happy squeal he launched himself at you again, smacking you in the face. The mother apologized and held her child against her chest, softly admonishing him to stop throwing himself at strangers. You felt that. He spent the rest of the ride looking at you.

“So, really, you’re going to move in with a man you have a massive crush on, and we’re not even going to talk about it,” she pressed on.

You huffed, wiping baby goo from your cheek with your sleeve. “You’re like a dog with a bone.”

“And you’re the bone.”

You got off the train and walked to Bucky’s apartment, your suitcase rolling behind you. Natasha was silent next to you, something that almost never happened. You counted your steps in your head, waiting for her to speak.

“You didn’t have to move out of my apartment.”

22 steps. That’s how long Natasha managed to stay quiet for. “Of course, I had to. I’m not going to do Brooklyn-Chelsea every day.”

When Bucky had offered his guest bedroom, your first reaction had been to politely refuse. Bucky seemed like a nice guy, but what if he had a glass cage in his basement? What if he trapped you there and commissioned paintings to you? Psycho killer, qu'est ce que c'est.

Then he opened up about his past, his insecurities, and it made you long to hold him. There was a vulnerability in his eyes, the kind that only come from an unprotected heart. You realized there was more chance of you hurting him than the opposite.

“You’re the one who organized this whole thing,” you reminded Natasha.

“Yeah, but I didn’t know you had a crush on him. And if someone tells Okoye this was my idea, she’ll kill me.”

You turned to her with a not-sorry smile. “Yup.”

Your big sister was like most big sisters: extremely protective. When your mother had to work late, she was in charge and she took her role very seriously. You were nine when she finally got her driver’s licence, and that day she graduated from sister to mother. Eat your vegetables. Did you do your homework? I know you didn’t brush your teeth.

Okoye was loyal, protective, intimidating, and never afraid to speak her mind. When she decided to join the Dora Milaje, you thought the job was perfect for her –the king’s bodyguard, now that’s something you’d like to put on your resume.

“Do you want me to stay tonight?” Natasha asked as you got inside the elevator.

“Why are you so worried?”

“I don’t know.” She pressed her back against the wall and shrugged. “It’s always been you and me. Since first grade.”

You returned her sad smile with one of your own. “Heckle and Jeckle.”

She barked out a laugh at the memory. It was the nickname her father had for the two of you. It used to be a popular animated cartoon in the 50s. It was the story of two talking magpies who were always getting into some kind of trouble.

You stepped out of the elevator, still arguing about which one of you got to be Jeckle, the less problematic of the two, when you noticed that Bucky was patiently waiting for you by the front door. He didn’t say anything but there was an amused smile on his face.

He let you put your suitcases in the guest room near the kitchen and told you that he had to run a few errands, giving you a little privacy. Natasha hung up your clothes in the wardrobe while you unpacked your other stuff and put them away in the drawers of your dresser.

It didn’t take you long to unpack. When you were done, you threw yourself onto the bed, watching Natasha. You were excited to sleep in a real bed, you couldn’t stop running your hands up and down the comforter.

“Jeckle,” Natasha said, looking at the mostly empty wardrobe. “You need new clothes.”

“Ugh, yes,” you groaned from the bed.

When you were a teenager, you used to spend every weekend at the mall with your sisters and Natasha. Your wardrobe wasn’t big enough to fit all your clothes and your mother often asked you to get rid of the things you didn’t wear anymore. You never did.

Then life happened, and you didn’t have the energy or money to go shopping anymore.

You went to the kitchen to grab something to drink. Bucky’s fridge was even bigger than the one you had at work, and it was full of food in neatly labelled rows of Tupperware containers. The one in front of you was labelled ‘baby carrots’.

“Neat freak alert,” Natasha commented, peering over your shoulder into the refrigerator.

“Stop it.”

You took a bottle of water and sat at the kitchen island while Natasha continued investigating his kitchen. Bucky had several gadgets that few people had in their kitchen like a cutting board with suction cups on the bottom and nails on top to hold the food in place while slicing.

It was obvious that he liked to cook, and for some reason it made you smile. You pictured him cooking for one and your heart squeezed painfully in your chest. It was a sad mental image and you shook your head to get rid of it.

The front door opened and you lifted your head to see what Natasha was doing. She was holding Bucky’s meal plan, perusing it intensely. Bucky entered the room and greeted you with a smile before he made his way over to the fridge.

“Can I help you with anything?” he asked.

Natasha waved the meal plan in your direction mouthing ‘it’s laminated’ while Bucky retrieved a bottle of water for himself. You gestured wildly at her to put it back down.

“No, I’m good,” you replied with a slightly crazed smile. He looked between you and Natasha with a frown. “Natasha was about to leave.”

“Was I?” she replied, tilting her head.

“Yeah, you have stuff to do, remember?” You gave her a pointed stare.

“No.”

You widened your eyes at her and moved your head in the direction of the hallway that led to the front door. You tried to be discreet but you knew you weren’t fooling anyone. She watched you, unfazed.

Luckily, Bucky came to your rescue.

“Thank you for coming all the way out here, Natasha. Do you want me to call you a cab?” His tone left no room for discussion. You hid your grin behind your glass.

“That won’t be necessary,” she replied without looking at him.

You walked Natasha back to the front door and opened it. She glared at something over your shoulder and you turned to see if Bucky was there. He wasn’t.

“Wait, I forgot to tell him that if he hurts you I’ll kill him.”

You grabbed her by the shoulders when she tried to move past you. “I think he got the message. Thanks for coming with me. I’ll call you tonight.”

“You’d better,” she warned with a slow nod.

When you returned to the kitchen, it really dawned on you that you were alone with Bucky. He glanced up at you while he was going through his mail. You took your seat and nervously looked around the room. It was too quiet, you didn’t like it.

“I like your friend,” he said, grinning. “She seems very protective of you.”

“She is,” you sighed.

An uncomfortable and strangely melancholic silence hung between you. You were both afraid to say or do the wrong thing. You felt like you didn’t belong there; like a patch sewed on a worn out pair of jeans, mending holes.

“You ok?”

You looked up at him. “Yeah, I just feel a little awkward. I’m... not sure what you want me to do now.”

“Nothing,” he said, rounding the kitchen island to sit on the stool next to you. His eyebrows were pulled together in concern. “This is your home. You can do whatever you want.”

“It doesn’t really feel like my home.” You shrugged one shoulder. “It kinda feels like I just unloaded my crap in your guest room, which is exactly what happened.”

He observed you a moment. “Well, make it your home. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable here.”

“So,” you glanced at him sideways. “If I bought a few things to make this place more... homey, you wouldn’t be mad?”

The corners of his eyes crinkled up as his smile grew. “I’m begging you to make this place more homey. It’s really boring, isn’t it?” he said, looking around the kitchen with a comical frown.

You chuckled. “No, it’s not. Well, maybe a little.”

“Thank you for your honesty,” he said with a laugh.

Bucky watched you with his cheek in the palm of his hand. Your eyes were moving around the room, making mental notes of the things you wanted to add. He smiled, the sparkle was back in your eyes.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, straightening up.

He left the room for a second and came back with his hand hidden behind his back. You looked at him with a playfully suspicious frown as he approached you. You followed his movements closely, your frown deepening when he placed a little white box on the kitchen counter.

“Open it.”

You removed the lid and pulled out a set of keys, undoubtedly the keys to his apartment. The keychain was gleaming the light; a small silver angel that fit snugly in the palm of your hand.

You barely managed to croak out a thank you before you threw yourself at him, hugging him tight. His body tensed instantly and you were about to apologize when you felt his arm wrap around you.

You felt pressure build in your throat, a tingling sensation in your nose, and tried to hide your face in the crook of his neck. The last thing you wanted was for him to catch you crying over a set of keys. Though deep down it wasn’t about the keys, it was the accumulation of pent-up emotions and the realization that you were now completely free to follow your dreams.

You released him but he was still hanging on to you. Tight. His heart was beating fast against your chest. He was a lonely man craving human interaction. So you closed your eyes and rubbed your hands up and down his back –gently and out of sync. After a few long minutes, he untangled himself from you.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, avoiding your eyes. “C’mon, there’s something else I want to show you.”

“Another gift?” You sighed his name when you noted the guilty expression on his face. “It’s too much.”

“It’s a practical gift, hardly a gift at all.”

He took you upstairs to the room that was now your studio. The room hadn’t changed since your last visit, except for the easel placed in the centre. You entered slowly as if you were approaching a frightened mythological creature. You ran your fingers along the wood, your chest tight with the heft of your emotions.

You hadn’t seen one in a while, and now it was right in front of you, beckoning. “Show me how you feel,” the easel said. “Show the world what you’re made of.”

“Thank you so much,” you said, your voice soft.

“I thought it was the perfect housewarming gift for you.”

You turned to him and smiled. “It is. I already bought everything I need. Paint, knives, brushes, canvases... an easel. Sorry, I didn’t know you were going to buy me one. It’s good to have more than one though. Online shops are a bit impersonal.” You walked toward the door where he was waiting. “I miss the smell of art supply stores. It’s so intoxicating, it really gets the creative juices flowing.”

“What does it smell like?”

You closed your eyes and tried to concentrate. “It’s a mix of paint and paper, a woody pencil-sharpening smell mixed with chemicals and ash.”

“Sounds relaxing.”

“It’s heaven,” you said with a dreamy sigh.

Bucky gave you a fond smile and glanced at the keychain still in your hand. “So that’s where angels come from, uh?”

You laughed and pushed his good shoulder playfully. Ever since that fateful day when Bucky asked you out for coffee and you mistook his business date for a romantic date, you learned not to take the things he said too seriously. Bucky was a nice guy, a bit of a flirt sometimes, but his intentions were clear. He wanted a companion, not a girlfriend.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a flash, you went to your room and rearranged a few things while Bucky stayed in his office. At dinnertime you set the table while he finished cooking. You sat in front of a bowl of homemade soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

After you had practically licked your bowl clean, Bucky leaned back in his chair and watched you with a grin. You felt a little embarrassed. You wiped your mouth with your napkin, trying to look a bit more well-mannered.

“It was really good,” you said.

“Thank you. I gotta say, I was tired of cooking for one. It’s not fun.” He put your empty bowl in his and carried them to the sink. You gathered up plates and utensils and followed him. “You’ll have to tell me what you don’t like.”

“As long as you don’t make me eat broccoli ice cream, I’m good.”

He laughed, remembering your conversation from a couple of week ago. “I don’t think I can stomach it either.” He handed you two small plates and two forks. “I bought a cake. I thought we could celebrate our first day together. Is it creepy? I can’t tell.”

“No, that’s a great idea!” you laughed. “You’re making me feel like it’s my birthday.”

You carried everything to the table while he opened the fridge and retrieved a large pink cardboard box. He balanced the box in his hand, a sharp knife sitting on top. “I’m surprised you didn’t bake it yourself,” you said, picking up the knife.

“Dessert isn’t my forte.” He opened the cardboard box, revealing a three-layer red velvet cake. “I’m too much of a perfectionist. I can make pretty decent pies but sponge cakes are hard to control when you only have one hand.”

“We can bake cakes together if you want. I’m clumsy as hell but I’m willing to learn.”

“That’d be nice,” he replied with a smile.

It was, without a doubt, the best cake you’d ever had in your life. It was incredibly light. The chocolate and vanilla burst in your mouth, mixing perfectly with the bitterness of the buttermilk.

“Red velvet is my favorite,” Bucky said, licking his fork. “Blueberry cheesecakes are good too. And Blackout cakes, umm, so good. Except fruitcakes,” he said, his mouth twisted into a downturned grimace. “Fruitcakes are the devil.”

“You’ve got quite the sweet tooth.”

“You have no idea,” he said, shaking his head like he couldn’t quite believe it himself.

After a minute of silence, you said, “The last time I ate red velvet cake, my sister had put too much white vinegar. It was disgusting but we didn’t want to hurt her feelings so we ate all of it.”

Bucky chuckled. “How many siblings do you have?”

It was a standard get-to-know-you question and you knew he would ask it at some point. Yet, it made your guts twist in pain. It was a question you always dreaded because you didn’t have a clear answer to it. Should you leave Pietro out? He was gone but he was still your brother.

“I, uh,” you mumbled, staring down at your half-eaten slice of cake. “I’m not sure what the answer is.” He frowned at you, confused. “Do you... do you count the ones you lost?”

Understanding flashed in his eyes and he gave you a patient smile. “Yes, I do.”

You met his eyes and tried to smile, though you were pretty sure it looked more like a grimace. “I have four siblings then.” You took a forkful of cake and chewed slowly, allowing yourself a few seconds to clear your thoughts. Without success.

“I was adopted,” you revealed. His eyebrows rose in surprise but he let you continue. “We were all adopted. My mom lost her husband when she was young. They wanted to have a big family but they were too busy working. They both had very demanding jobs.”

“What did they do?”

“He was in the military, and she was the co-founder of an extra-governmental military counter-terrorism and intelligence agency.”

“That’s a mouthful,” Bucky chuckled.

“You should hear their name.” He gave you a ‘go ahead’ look. “It’s the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.”

You watched Bucky process the name, waiting for the moment realization would dawn on him. Then his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and you couldn’t help but chuckle.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.? Your mom’s the co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D.” He stared at you, his mouth wide open. “Your mom’s Peggy Carter!? Jesus Christ,” he sighed, shaking himself out of his stupor. “When we were kids, me, Stevie and a couple of other kids pretended to be secret agents working for S.H.I.E.L.D. We even had a name: the Howling Commandos.”

You screwed your eyes shut, a smile breaking across your face. “That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, embarrassment colouring his face. “I dunno why I’m telling you this. Please, don’t tell your mom.”

Your laughter died down, and you continued smiling at him. He was cute when he was flustered. You smothered that thought as soon as it materialized.

“I didn’t know she had adopted five kids.”

“Yeah, I guess her job as the co-founder of one the most important secret agency gave her the freedom to adopt without having to wait.”

“Do you get along with your siblings?”

“Yeah,” you said. “I mean, kinda. Scott, my older brother, is a few years younger than you. He’s really smart but he’s a big goof. He left for San Francisco when I was a kid. My sister, Okoye, left when I was 19. She’s King T’Chaka’s bodyguard.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” you chucked. “The twins are only three years older than me. We were really close, but then Pietro,” you took a small pause, “he, um, he died and, Wanda, she couldn’t stay anymore. It was too much, y’know. She went to Sokovia -where they were born- and she never came home. Last I heard, she was backpacking through Europe.”

“You still have your mom though,” Bucky said with a warm smile.

“She’s in London,” you said, smiling even though you had to dig your nails into your palm to keep yourself from crying. “She’s in a nursing home. She was diagnosed with a form of dementia, something similar to Alzheimer. She has no idea who I am.”

You tried to speak in a normal, detached tone but your voice wavered and you fought not to cry. Bucky reached for your hand, your nails had left half-moon indentations in your palm. Wordlessly, he smoothed his thumb over your palm, inspecting the damage.

“I’m here,” he said, his voice soft.

Until now it had never occurred to you that you had never said those things out loud before. Natasha knew because she’d been with you through all of it. She was your best friend, the only person who hadn’t abandoned you yet.

You couldn’t remember the last time you’d met someone new, someone you felt comfortable enough to talk to about your family.

You didn’t want to end the day on a sad note, so you pulled yourself together. You straightened up, wiped your eyes and sniffed back the tingling feeling in your nose. Bucky seemed to notice that you wanted to change the subject because he let go of your hand and picked up his fork again.

“So,” you said after clearing your throat. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“It’s a serious question and it’s important that you tell me the truth.”

Bucky flinched, his throat working as he swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I promise.”

You took a deep breath and rotated your head left and right, working the kinks out of your neck and back. Then you levelled him with a direct stare.

“What’s your favourite colour?”

Bucky recoiled as if he had misheard you. He looked momentarily startled by your question before he burst into laughter. When your face remained stoic, he realized you weren’t joking. “Oh? Umm, I don’t know.”

“That’s not an answer.”

He seemed lost in thought for a second. “I like blue.”

“Which blue? Navy? Tiffany blue? Sapphire? Baby blue? Teal? Duck-egg? Turquoise?” you enumerated them quickly.

“Just...blue?” he replied carefully. You took a deep breath and released it slowly, shaking your head. “No, wait,” he added in a hurry. His eyebrows pinched together in concentration while he was trying to come up with a better answer. “The color of the sky when a storm is brewing. That’s my favorite color.”

You smirked. “Poetic.”

“Well, I’m a writer,” he replied with a lopsided grin. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Oh no, you can’t ask me that. I’m a painter, it’s like asking a parent who their favourite child is.”

“Fair enough,” he conceded, waving his hand to dismiss the question. “Let me ask you an equally important question.”

“Oh, boy,” you laughed.

The warmth of his laughter was reassuring. It made you feel at ease, calm. What you hadn’t realized yet was that you weren’t trying to change your personality to please him. You were yourself, flaws and all.

“When you read a book, how do you keep track of your reading?” he asked. “Do you use a bookmark? Receipts? Candy wrappers? Book ribbon? Do you fold the corner of the page? Do you leave the book face down or memorize the page number? I need to know.”

You didn’t have to think about it. “Dog ears.”

“Oh, God, you’re a folder.” He stared up at the ceiling and sighed heavily. “I think I got you all wrong. You’re not an angel, you’re a little demon.” He pressed his lips together in a thin line to hide a smile.

He quickly gathered up the dirty plates and carried them to the sink while you remained seated at the table, laughing. You turned in your chair and saw him fill the sink with hot water and suds. What kind of millionaire doesn’t own a dishwasher?

“I bet you also write in ‘em,” he said, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a hint of a smirk.

“No, I would never,” you said, joining him at the sink. “I like books that look old though. Cracked spines, folded corners, tea or coffee stains.”

“Please, stop I’m going to hyperventilate,” he joked.

You chuckled. “Do you a have a towel?” you asked, giving him a little tap with your hip so he would scoot sideways.

He let go of the knife he was washing and pulled out a towel from the cabinet under the sink. You were a bit in awe of the way he cleaned everything with only one hand but you didn’t want to sound condescending so you kept it to yourself.

“What’s the point of having books if they look like nobody’s ever opened them?” you said. “I want to know my books had a good life before I bought them. I want to know they were loved. Sometimes when you love something, you mess it up a little.” He rinsed a plate and handed it to you. “I bet you have one of those sentence pointer bookmarks.”

He stayed quiet for a moment and you cursed yourself, thinking you might have hurt his feelings with your little teasing. His meal plan was fucking laminated, of course he had a sentence pointer bookmark. When he spoke, you felt like you could breathe again.

“I do have a bookmark. My niece made it for me at school. It’s pink and it has a braided pink and purple ribbon. No sentence pointer.”

His rueful smile and slightly red cheeks made your chest warm. You had to remind yourself that Bucky wasn’t flirting with you. He was just being nice.

“I’m jealous,” you said. “I wish I had one.”

“That can be arranged,” he nodded, his bottom lip jutting out in a pensive pout.

You wondered what this would look like if someone were to enter the room right now. They’d see you and Bucky, standing side by side at the sink as though you were the protagonists of a Norman Rockwell painting called ‘Domestic Bliss’. You wanted more days like this one.

“Yeah?” you breathed out. “You sure?”

“Anything for you, angel.”

Part 6

#bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #marvel #marvel fanfiction #marvel imagines #bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes fanfiction #marvel imagine #bucky barnes imagine #redgillan #redgillanwrites

[andy-loves-corgis]

All of The Lights - Ch 9 (TRR AU)

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: lots of pining.

Rating: M (I can’t make them not curse I guess…).

Word count: ~ 4,000

Notes: I’m a bitch and I have no right to ask for forgiveness, only thank those who are still putting up with my bullshit!

WARNING: Read the Prologue! Every chapter has TWO timelines, Before (about a year before the Prologue) and After (two years after the prologue), if you don’t pay attention to that you might get confused!

Iris

And I would give up forever to touch you

BEFORE

There were voices muffled by the clatter of pans and cutlery at the kitchens, but somehow Savannah’s voice seemed to rise above all the noise pointing at the TV.

“Just look at her.”

Drake did, it was a sequence of pictures from the past couple of weeks, all the royal functions Riley attended alongside Liam, Leo, and Madeleine; the three women on the morning show were analyzing if Riley was there with Liam or just as a maid of honor for Madeleine. In each photo Riley sported her noble grin, he knew it was the fake one because when she smiled fully you could spot the smallest of dimples on her cheeks.

“She looks miserable.” Savannah continued looking for his reaction.

“No, she doesn’t” Drake brushed her off and finished his orange juice in one big gulp before getting up. “Riley is a big girl; she can make her own decisions.”

“Are you going already? I thought you didn’t have classes at all today”

“Well, first…” he kissed the top of her head “… I still work, and Liam texted me to meet him this morning.”

“Oh, because you’re soooooo important!” Savannah laughed rolling her eyes.

Drake pushed another croissant in his mouth and left the kitchens, feeling in the air that the cold was preparing to go away. The competition season would start soon, and he would hate to wake up in the early hours of the morning – as he used to during this events-, to cold weather. He spotted Liam with his black zip-up jacket waiting for him, with a couple of men from the Royal Guard; Drake took his time to pull up the sleeves of his hoodie.

“Hey. Thought you wanted to talk” Drake said greeting his friend.

“I need to blow off some steam, thought it would be good to go for a run. Are you out of shape?” Liam teased.

“As I remember, we did the Army training together, I was the fastest on our squad.”

“Nah, I let you win,” Liam said, and Drake laughed.

“Start running, then. Your highness.” Drake challenged him with a smirk.

After 20 laps, Drake notices signs of fatigue in Liam.

“Come on!” Drake teased, turning on his back but still running ahead of Liam.

“Jesus, what are you made of, Walker?” Liam laughed, throwing his head back almost in exhaustion.

“Whiskey and one-night-stands.” Drake laughed and stopped as soon as they reached their starting point, both leaning on the wall to even their breaths.

“Yeah, about that…” the prince took a big gulp of water from his bottle and turned to his best friend. “What happened at Leo’s bachelor party?”

Drake looked puzzled.

“Did you blackout?”

“No, not at all, actually” Drake knew Liam was trying to keep it cool, but he could see right through him. “You were alone with Riley for some time… did she say anything?”

“Liam, I spend a lot of time alone with Riley, I really can’t see your point…”

“Did something happen?” Liam wasn’t bothering to hide anymore.

Blinking a few times, Drake finally understood where the conversation was heading.

“I won’t bother to answer you, Liam.” Drake stopped leaning on the wall “Riley and I were friends since we were kids.”

“You know she’s completely off-limits, right? Even if we wore broken up, it’s Bro Code.” Liam tried to sound casual.

“Like when you slept with Erika?” the color was drained from Liam’s face when Drake finished his remark.

“You already know what happened” his answer was strained. “She was playing you and took advantage of the fact that I had too much to drink that night after a fight with Riley.”

Drake preferred to believe his longest friend.

“It doesn’t change the fact that I caught both of you naked in bed and never told Riley, that alone could remind you the WE are friends too.” Liam stayed silent after this. “I don’t know if my answer was enough for you, but I have work to do.”

“I… forget what I said, Riley has been weirdly good-behaved, she just makes me unsure…”

“That’s… your problem, Liam.

Drake shrugged and shook his head. He knew he shouldn’t give the literal back to the prince, but it wasn’t like he could handle another minute of awkwardness.

Concentrating was hard in the first hour, he kept reliving the moment where he opened the door of the room Erika was staying, how she was curled up on Liam’s chest. The surprised look on her face, from her to Liam; how she begged for forgiveness.

After three hours he figured he wouldn’t get any work done, so he decided to find Riley and see if she wanted a ride to Valtoria, he was scheduled to select the horses there for the next competition; he wasn’t surprised to find her along with Savannah at the dancing studio.

“I thought I smelled Tiger Balm,” he said as soon as he opened the door. “Should you be doing that already?”

Savannah was sitting on the ground with 3 pairs of ballet shoes and a sewing kit; Riley was right across her in a perfect split.

“You always liked the smell” Riley smiled dodging his question. “See… if you sew an elastic instead of silk, it will allow you more movements.”

“What are all these shoes?” Drake asked.

“Riley gave them to me so I could practice for the presentation” Savannah gave him a toothy grin.

Drake side-eyed Riley, the girl just clenched her jaw, sat back, and got up.

“Oh my, I just forgot I had to meet Maxwell… See you soon, bye!” Savannah exclaimed sensing the change in the atmosphere.

Drake waited until he heard the door closing behind his sister

“We had an agreement on gifts,” he said to her back as she pretended to look for something on her gym bag; he heard the clinking sound of her painkillers shaking in their bottle, she shouldn’t have been training so soon.

A long exhale followed.

“I bought them to myself, but it doesn’t seem like I’m going to wear them anytime soon, does it?” she was in a sour mood grabbing the orange bottle more forcefully than she should.

“I’ll count them as birthday gifts.”

“They are just fucking ballet shoes, Drake!” she turned with her jaw clenched, her blue eyes glimmering. “Helping Savannah is literally the only thing I’m holding onto right now.”

Her fists were balled on the side of her body and her whole frame was slightly shaking.

“Riley” Drake changed to a much softer tone. “Is everything alright?”

She closed her eyes for a second too long.

“Define ‘alright’.”

Drake didn’t say anything else, his hands just circled both of her upper arms and pulled her to his embrace, he felt in his chest as she inhaled and exhaled deeply, containing her tears. Even as a child, Riley hated crying in front of anyone.

“Hey, New York is just around the corner, ok?” Drake said and a sob escaped her mouth. “Soon you’ll be oceans away.”

Her sobbing was uncontrollable now.

“I’m not going.” Her voice was muffled by his chest.

“Wait… what happened?” he took a step back and his heart clenched at the sight of her watery eyes.

“I burned my acceptance letter two weeks ago, it was just bullshit, Drake. Everyone knows I can’t escape this place.” She forcefully wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek.

A small part of him, a part he would hardly acknowledge, was relieved to hear she wasn’t leaving; although, there was another part of him that was dying to see her like that. He always imagined Riley as an exotic bird inside a golden cage.

“You shouldn’t have done that!” he pulled her back to his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Things are going to be fine; I can’t tell you how, but they will, even if I have to make them be, ok?”

She sniffed on his chest.

“´k”

“Hey, let me take you back to Valtoria tonight, I’m headed there anyway” he moved back just a little to see her quickly drying her eyes.

“Yeah, that would be good, thanks.” She gave him a small smile.

“Be ready at 6 pm”

Drake left the room with a strange feeling at the pit of his stomach. Getting back to his office, he tried to concentrate on the paperwork for the next competition; stopping a little early than 6, he scrolled through his Instagram and something caught his attention, a smile spread on his face as he realized how he could lift Riley’s mood.

For some unknown reason, his legs were shaking while he waited for her outside his truck, it got worse once he saw her leaving the castle, wearing just jeans and no makeup on.

“Ready?” she asked, she sounded a little more cheerful than in the afternoon.

“Yeah” he opened the door and helped her hop in his Silverado.

As he drove far from the palace she seemed to relax, even more, concentrated on the changing blue sky as the night fell.

“We’ll need to stop somewhere first…” Drake started uncertain, regretting his words as soon as he said them.

“Where are we going?” she looked at him puzzled. “Are you gonna kill me and dispose of my body in the woods?”

Drake rolled his eyes and threw his cellphone on her lap.

“Sometimes I think I should…” he joked but stopped to study her face as a crease appeared between her brows.

“Are you serious?” she looked at him suspiciously. “Is this a prank? You would NEVER do this…”

“I can head right to Valt…”

“NO NO, we’re going” she reached for the steering wheel.

“You’re a danger even in the passenger seat, York” Drake pretended to slap her hand; he couldn’t help but smile at her excitement.

He parked his truck in front of the Wood Wheel and Riley hopped off the car like a child anxious to get into the park.

“Am I allowed to record?” she asked grinning.

“No” he stated, pulling his guitar from behind his seat. “I’m only doing this because I hate owing you.”

“Whatever you say, Walker…”

Getting inside, they were welcomed by the smell of Al’s greasy fries, loud chatter, and someone finishing a song on the makeshift stage at the right corner.

“Look if it isn’t my favorite costumer and again, he brought his girl that knows how to drink.” Al greeted them from the counter.

“Al doesn’t understand the term ‘friends’” he threw Riley an unapologetic look and she shrugged, making a beeline to the bar and grabbing a glass of wine for her and whisky for him.

“Drake’s gonna sing today!” Riley stated excited sitting on the stool.

“Oh, is he?” Al looked at him puzzled as Drake rested his guitar on the floor.

“I lost a bet” he mumbled grabbing his glass.

Al snorted, cleaning another glass.

“I have a free slot in half an hour, I’ll be waiting” Al mocked him.

After his second glass, he felt more at ease, especially after watching Riley chat cheerfully with Al, the remnants of her sadness not showing anymore.

“Ohhhh, it’s your turn, I’m so excited! I’ll get to check another one of the items on my bucket list for this year!” Riley clapped unable to contain her excitement.

Drake exhaled loudly and turned to grab his guitar when he felt Riley’s small hands on his biceps.

“Hey” her voice was hoarse, maybe for all the wine, she was drinking. “It’s going to be great.”

“It’s pretty packed, isn’t it?” Drake averted his eyes to all the occupied tables in front of the stage.

“It doesn’t matter, pretend it’s just us. Like we’ve done a hundred times”

He nodded and gulped despite all the encouragement from Riley.

Trying not to look at anyone on the tables, he silently sat on the stool with his guitar and adjusted his microphone.

“Hum, hello everyone. My name is Drake and I lost a bet.” The crowd laughed and brown eyes met ocean blue.

With a sigh, his fingers hit the strings.

I've been roaming around Always looking down at all I see Painted faces, fill the places I can't reach

You know that I could use somebody You know that I could use somebody

Someone like you, and all you know, and how you speak

 He tried to focus solely on his fingers hitting the strings, the hot light above him, muffling any sound of the crowd singing along, or the way his heart skipped a beat by his unconscious choice of song.

 Off in the night, while you live it up, I'm off to sleep Waging wars to shape the poet and the beat I hope it's gonna make you notice I hope it's gonna make you notice

Someone like me

 Although it wasn’t a matter of someone, more of a matter of somewhere, some other reality, because, in this one, this was just a song, it had to be just a song.

Drake finished the last notes with everyone in the bar singing along and clapping after he finished, completely flushed, and not from his whiskey.

“You were AMAZING!” Riley almost shrieked in excitement. “this was the best night EVER! God, I want to pee… wait a minute and we can go.”

Riley didn’t let him say anything before rushing to the bathroom.

“Your girlfriend is something else!” Al laughed pouring him some whisky.

“I’ve already told you, she’s not my girlfriend.” He drank half of his shot in a big gulp.

“Ok, but have you told her?” Al looked at him mischievously. “Because she was sitting right there where you are, looking at you like a lost puppy crazy to follow you home.”

“She’s not remotely interest… Hey York! Should we go?”

Riley was back with a half-drunk smile.

“Sure!”

The ride to Valtoria was peaceful, a recomforting silence with the radio buzzing old songs while Riley closed her eyes feeling the chilly night air on her face.

Drake parked his car on the west wing of her estate, where she could get inside by the kitchen door and he would be just a short walk from the staff’s rooms. He made sure to help her out of the car, not prepared to be that close to her.

“Thank you for this night” her voice was above a whisper.

“That’s what best friends are for” he winked and for a split of a second, he thought he saw her smile falter.

“Yeah you’re a great friend” she kissed his cheek for a second too long. “Good night, Drake.”

“Good night, Riley.”

He watched as she moved towards the entrance, turning to glance at him before entering, a pang in his chest hit him heard. He hoped he was having a heart attack.

AFTER

“No! You’re not putting any animal down without me saying so!” Drake almost shouted on the phone, Yanis, one of his assistants pretended he wasn’t witnessing the awkward moment. “You’re going to wait for me to get there then we talk. Bye!”

Drake almost threw his phone on the table and exhaled loudly.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, what happened?”

Yanis fidgeted on his seat.

“Hum, Lady Riley was here a while ago, she said she needed some files”

Shit, he forgot to hand them to her.

“Damn, if you see her, tell her I’ll have them delivered to her quarters today.

“She actually asked you to meet her at 3 pm, somewhere called South Wing.”

“Yeah, ok, anything else?” the boy just shook his head and got up as fast as he could.

Drake exhaled again; he didn’t want to scare the boy. He was one of the good ones sent from the company that now took care of the Royal horses.

He remembered how was to enter his office again after everything happened. Drake actually couldn’t remember how one thing led to another; how coming back from the hospital turned to join the taskforce against The Sons of Earth, then sharing a whiskey with Liam when they finally caught the bastards. Applying again for his job as an official Royal Veterinarian, now to a company, not Liam.

Everything got back to normal. Then she came back.

He gave up on his report and decided to do some handwork to pass the time.

 Riley’s back came into view as soon as his feet reached the grass; she seemed too absorbed by the view in front of her to notice Drake getting closer.

“Hey,” he said, and she was startled by his voice.

“Ohmygod… sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” She shook her head.

He followed her eyes to the window, they were facing the south wing of the castle, right beside the grand ballroom, the wing housed the conservatory and a dance studio, where right now a bunch of noble preteens were having a ballet class.

“Do you still dance?” Drake caught himself asking.

Riley chuckled and shook her head.

“I don’t dance at all.”

“At all? I pretty much saw you waltzing a couple of times since you came back.” She turned her head to face him and gave him half a smile.

“Waltzing is like shaking hands, you do it because you have to.”

“So, you’re telling me that you haven’t gone out clubbing in NY?” Drake questioned almost amused.

“Well, it was considered risky behavior for a person like me” she let the sentence hang in the air. “But yeah, I barely danced two songs in the past two years.” She shrugged like it was no big deal.

Drake stayed silent for long seconds, thinking through the sentence he wanted to say.

“You should do it; I know there’s a part of you dying to.”

He didn’t mean it to sound so personal, he just couldn’t help it; Riley blushed and looked at her feet before clearing her throat.

“Did you get her last address?” she changed the subject.

“Oh yeah, here it is” he offered her a folder with the little information he had gathered on Savannah’s whereabouts. “you’re not paying anything for it, right?”

“No, I beat up a PI at poker in New York and he owed me a favor for letting him go in his car.” She laughed to herself.

“Why does this story sound so much like bullshit?”

“His name is Damien Nazario, he was there with his girlfriend and another weird couple, you can look up for him online.” She smirked, “And for the record, I’m really good at poker.”

“So… poker wasn’t risky behavior?”

“We need to beat our vices one at a time, Walker” she laughed a little more truthfully. “So… that was another thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

Drake tensed.

“I went to the Wood Wheel yesterday and ended up bumping on Cassidy” Drake’s stomach clenched and Riley blushed from the awkwardness of the situation “Sorry, I didn’t know she was your girlfriend, she seems really nice though… hum, I obviously didn’t say anything and…”

She started twisting her fingers.

“And…?”

Riley sighed and leaned on the window,

“Look, I know it’s too much to ask, but no one never knew we were together…” it was almost painful to have the words together thrown at him. “well, aside from some people in the court… but, we could pretend it never happened so I wouldn’t lose my favorite bar.”

“You want me to lie to my girlfriend?” Drake rose a brow to her.

“No, I’m just asking for you not to blatantly tell her” he held his gaze on her shameful eyes. “Look, Wood Wheel is the only place I can drink without being bothered by people knowing me or paparazzi showing up. If she asks you, you do what you want to do, but think for a moment that we can bury whatever happened to us and just move on. This is the perfect chance.”

Whatever happened to us. Ouch.

“Okay… It’s not like I would want her to find out.”

Riley nodded not looking directly at him.

“Well… I got to go and email this stuff to Damien; I’ll tell you as soon as he gives me a lead.” Riley tried to brush off the awkwardness with a half-smile.

“Okay” Drake silently answered.

Returning to his office he got his phone back, noticing there were a couple of calls from Cassidy.

“Hey, Cass,” he said as soon as she picked up.

“Hey, Drake! How’s your day going?”

“Pretty normal, how about you?”

“Well…” she started and he heard the sound of the pans behind her. “the Chef is a little moody today, but the movement is low, not many tourists, so I’m now consuming Cordonian gossip.

“Oh… why?”

“I mean, in Greece we don’t have an ‘active’ Royal Family, sometimes I even forgot they existed, but here they are like celebrities.”

“Hum” Drake huffed not wanting to get to this conversation so soon. “Most of them are just assholes with money.”

“About that… Is ‘Lady Bitch’ related to Riley York?”

There it was.

“Yes, she’s her mother. Why?”

“Oh, I met Lady Riley yesterday… at Wood Wheel.” She finished like it was a surprise to find the noble there. “It seems like Al knows her, he even let her go out for a smoke with a glass on her hands.”

“I saw her there a couple of times in the past, before…. The whole thing”

Before I pulled her half-dead body from the ocean.

“Do you know her? She dated Prince Liam, you’re friends with him, right?”

“Yeah, I know her, everyone kind of know each other, is a small circle.”

That was safe.

“Hope she comes back to the bar when is our night, she looks like she tips well.” She laughed and he tried to follow. “Oh, I gotta go, Matt is calling me. Bye!”

“Bye…”

The rest of his shift was spent reliving the conversation.

He exhaled loudly. Drake didn’t like lying, and it felt like he was lying all the time, even if Cassidy would never think about Riley and him being anything but acquaintances; if he was being true to himself, he had been feeling close to suffocating ever since Riley came back, things were simpler then, now everything was gray, except for one of those exotic blue-ish flowers that always caught his eyes on the way back to his room.

Not even the chilly air of the garden was calming his nerves, then he noticed a light that wasn’t supposed to be there, the south wing was usually dark by that time at night, the only other times he recalled someone using it at was way back…

When Riley still danced.

He stopped dead in tracks near the window, watching as she executed a triple spin, only to stumble on her feet; he could see her frustration, her brows joined as some strands of hair fell from her bun to her face. Giving up, she sat on the floor and started to untie her shoes, she gave a long sigh when the music coming from the speakers changed drastically.

The sweet strings from Dramarama’s cover filled the room; she looked as surprised as him, they used to hear that song at full volume in his car right when he started driving. Now barefoot on the wooden floor, she got up and started to shake her shoulders timidly, then her hips followed… her legs and her arms.

 Do you wanna eat? Do you wanna sleep? Do you wanna drown?

Just settle down, settle down, settle down.

I’ll give you candy, give you diamonds, give you pills

I’ll give you anything you want. Hundred-dollar bills.

The song related morbidly to her, but it seemed to give her strength, totally lost on the beat; jumping around and biting her lips she untied her hair and let it fall loose shaking her head.

It was when a full-blown smile took over her face, with dimples and all.

Seeing those little dimples on the corner of her mouth as she smiled to the roof with her head thrown back, swaying hips and arms, he remembered why storms were named after people.

.

I just love you guys!

@saivilo​; @kimmiedoo5​; @pug-bitch​; @bee1arw​; @laurmillen​; @axwalker​​; @world-of-dreams-and-muse​; @rtinaz​​; @iplaydrake​​; @notoriouscs​​; @mind-reader1​​; @annekebbphotography​​; @walkerismychoice​​;  @tmarie82; @blackwidow2721; @thequeenchoices; @missameliep; @jovialyouthmusic; @perksof-everything; @choicesmacmakes; @carabeth @drakenazario; @drakesensworld; @moneyfordiamonds; @ao719; @lynne1993; @ilovedrakewalker23; @msjpuddleduck; @drakewalkerisreal; @violinist3121; @wannabemc2; @gibbles82; @furiousherringoperatortoad; @jens-diamondchoices; @rainbowsinthestorm​; @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore; @emceesynonymroll; @addictedtodrakefanfic; @texaskitten30; @dcbbw; @i-bloody-love-drake-walker; @mom2000aggie;

#drake x mc #Riley York #liam x mc #all of the lights #trr au #maxwell beaumont #hana lee #the royal romance fan fiction

[stenbrozier]

Adopting a Kitten with the Adult!Losers

Warnings: slight PTSD mention from cat attacks + swearing

——————————————————————————

Bill:

- He’d be a little hesitant about getting a cat

- Not because he doesn’t like them, just because he never had any pets growing up and he didn’t wanna do the wrong thing

- You had found the Calico kitten on the side of the road on the way home from work shaking in the rain storm, and, while he was all for helping the poor thing, he thought that you were going to take it to a shelter after a day or so

- But when you gave him puppy eyes and asked him to keep it, Bill became putty in your hands and immediately ran to the pet store to get the cat a cute lil collar and the other things she needed to live comfortably

- You named her Jupiter and she was very bouncy and energetic, something Bill could simply never get used to

- She’d jump on his desk and slide on the papers or run under his feet when he was coming downstairs for dinner

- But he loved her nonetheless

- Bill didn’t show it, but you could tell he loved whenever she’d curl up in his lap or whenever he heard her little feet running across the hall to come see him in his office

- One time, while he thought you were taking a nap, you heard him playing with her and giggling softly, talking to her in an adorable little baby voice

- He simply loved her, even as she got older and become more relaxed but more clingy

- Jupiter could be most likely found in his lap or in his arms, and it was simply the most adorable thing

Richie:

- He hates cats

- He didn’t have any animals growing up, but he was attacked by the neighborhood stray when he was around 9 or 10, and ever since then, he thought that they were demons

- Richie was walking through LA to get you guys something good for breakfast when he ended up in front of a pet store and he had the crazy urge to walk in

- As soon as he stepped in, there was a cat cage and there was a tiny white kitten with a little pink color on

- Richie didn’t know why but his heart kinda melted and he got all excited

- He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture, sending it to you accompanied by a text that read “please 🥺🥺”

- “Rich I thought you hated cats.” “yeah but this one is pretty” “fine but you better still be getting breakfast”

- He adopted the cat, getting everything she needed and literally going overboard

- After picking up some pancakes at the old diner in the city, he walked back with bags filled with things for her in one hand, your breakfast in the other, and then her sleeping in his shirt pocket

- Richie walked in with a smile on his face and you cooed at the little kitten softly, begging him to name her Marie, like the cat from Aristocats

- “Baby I don’t care as long as she can sit at the table when we eat” “Richie cats sit at the table their food bowl belong on the floor” “No she’s a princess and she should be treated as such”

- And to think that just hours before, Richie refused to let a cat step foot in the house

Eddie:

- When you guys moved into your first house together, he was adamant on no animals

- He grew up believing that he was allergic, despite how many times he went to a friend’s house with a dog or a couple cats and nothing happened

- But one day, as you were exploring the little town you guys moved into, you stumbled upon a pet store and begged him to go in

- Eddie was reluctant but when he saw how excited you got when you saw the little kittens in the cage by the window, he gave in

- “Eddie, they’re so tiny” you reached your hand in and started playing with a solid grey one, the sunlight bouncing off its fur and reflecting a silvery light

- You asked to pick it up out of the cage and when the worker handed it to you, she told you his name was Mushroom

- “Eddie, did you hear” “Yes, Baby, I heard. Mushroom” Eddie had is arms crossed over his chest but when the cat snuggled into your chest his heart melted a little at the face you gave him

- “Ed-“ “What does a cat need”

- You smiled wide and told him the basics: food, bowls, litter box, litter, and you even convinced him to get a couple of quiet toys

- He wanted to get a collar for him, but he decided that he would be a strictly indoor cat and there would be no need

- On the walk home, Mushroom stayed in your arms as you talked to him softly, getting back a few meows in response

- Eddie just smiled and wrapped his hand around your waist, holding everything else in his free hand

Stanley:

- As soon as you guys moved in together after college, he wanted an animal. He was able to work from home with his accounting job, and you couldn’t, so he was always very lonely

- Stanley is a whiner. He whined about you leaving for work every morning or when you were too tired to watch a movie with him at night

- So for his birthday, you decided you were going to get him a lil friend

- You went to the shelter, asking to see all the cats cause he would not like a dog, and you saw this older cat named Margo

- She was about 4, all nice and calm, and she had a pretty black coat with piercing eyes that reminded you of Stanley’s

- You had to get her, and so you did

- You wanted to surprise Stan, obviously so you brought her home through the back door, knowing his was working in his office in the front of the house

- You waited until he had gotten up to go to the bathroom to walk out into main part of your house, letting the cat out to get accustomed

- Stanley walked back in with a glass of water and nearly dropped it when he saw the little fuzzy being sniffing around his wheelie office chair

- “No way” he had tears in his eyes as he calmly went up to the cat, scratching behind her ear “whats her name”

- “Marco” “Holy shit. Hi, Marco, I’m your dad”

- She snuggled right up into his hand causing him to start crying because of how happy he was

- “Now I won’t be lonely ever again. God, (Y/N), I love you”

Mike:

- Since you guys lived so close to the library, you were able to think about getting an animal

- You both worked the same hours together at the library, so a dog was out of the question, but Mike brought the idea of getting a cat

- It just so happened that a few days after you guys talked about it, you found a skinny kitten curled up underneath the awning of the entrance on a hot day

- You took the kitten in, and placed it on the front desk

- “Mikey, we have to keep him” “Okay, he can be our library cat”

- You never really gave him a name, just always called him “Baby”

- You guys bought him everything he needed and got him a collar, knowing that he’d probably be happier as an outdoor cat as well

- You guys attached a little cat door to the front of the library

- You also started taking donations for the local animal shelter in honor of the new kitten

- You guys also got more visitors because they all came to see your kitten

- As he got older, he’d wander a lot and would bring back friends, sometimes pregnant friends

- There were many times that you guys had to replace the pillows of the couches because there were little kittens born on them

- But, since you and Miek had no kids, “Baby” and his friends were always welcome, even if you told them no because they’d get in anyways

Ben:

- Ben always wanted a dog, but it was difficult to get one with your busy schedules

- So you ended up getting a cat from the shelter, a big 5 year old Maine Coon named Ziti

- He was big and cuddly enough for it to seem like there was a dog around the house

- But easy maintenance cause it was still a cat

- Ben would be gone for weeks at a time and you worked 8 hour days, so it was the best option and it was nice on your end to not come home to emptiness some days

- It was really strange having such a small animal in such an expansive house, but you wouldn’t trade it

- He’d lay with you and Ben during movie nights and would beg for attention with harsh, deep mewls

- Ziti would sit on Ben’s lap while he did conference calls, and it was really funny to you because he would have this stern look on his face that would just scream “I’m involved too”

- “Baby, come take Ziti” “Mr. Hanscom...you named him Ziti?” “That was his given name...(Y/N)!”

- Ziti was attached to Ben, like he was always with him and it was so sweet to watch Ben prepare dinner and have Ziti sitting on the counter next to him

Bev:

- She had always wanted a cat. It was you who was hesitant

- While you were both home for work, she still wanted another companion around that would make your small studio apartment feel a little more like home

- You felt bad for keeping an animal cooped in your apartment

- But Bev argued that cats were made for apartment life

- So you went to the shelter and adopted a ginger cat named Rocky

- He was big and tough and liked to cuddle

- He was also severely distracting because he was talkative and it annoyed you to no end

- But Bev wanted him because he would sit with her while she sewed dresses together

- He would sit with you in the couch against your laptop because he liked the heat emitted from it

- But he was very large and it was hard for you to focus because he looked so content and you just wanted to kiss him all the time

- He had that effect on you

- He was your guys’ baby and he knew it

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

[goodgodbean]

East To West - Calum Hood

Hey guys! This is part twoooo!! So excited for this series! Just know that I took creative liberty with the boys in this - i don’t own their brand and i don’t personally know them. I hope you guys enjoy angsty Calum!

+++

Masterlist

Part 1 + Part 3

+++

Part 2. Neptune

Becca stood behind the door to her room, clicking the lock into place. The phone call had scooped out all of her internal organs and had left her hollow. On shaky legs she walks to a shelf on the side of her room and lifts a ceramic box to the top shelf. The box is white, hand painted with flowers with their latin names. She opens the lid on the hinge and sifts through the letters and cards inside the box, until she feels the felt bottom and the picture that sat at the bottom of the stack. 

Two years ago, Becca was lost in her own mind. She drifted across oceans of loneliness while surrounded by people. She had paid a psychic 30 dollars to draw her soulmate. When she got the copy in the mail, she laughed. The face was plastered everywhere in the United States at that time, Calum Hood. He is from the band Five Seconds Of Summer who had just released their 3rd studio album, Youngblood. 

She kept the picture though. The artist had somehow captured a love and hollow loneliness on his face and in his eyes, something that looked just as how she was feeling. 

Becca unfolded the picture for the first time in 6 months. He still took her breath away.

He has a picture of her too, at least according to Benny. 

He hired a Private Investigator to find her. 

He’s trying to find her. 

She sat down on her bed, holding the creased paper. What was he doing now?

Los Angeles parties and clubs are more about who was going home with who at the end of the night. Not that Calum was exactly looking to go home with anybody. Not that anybody else caught that message. Girls hit on him, ones that knew who he was and some that just knew he was remotely somebody. Some girls sat a couple seats away and tried to not look too interested in him, but interesting enough for him to approach them. It didn’t work. 

Calum’s friends are all desperately in love and only had eyes for their significant other’s. Out of the band, Calum was the only one that wasn’t dating or in love. It never stopped girls and guys from hitting on his bandmates. Then, when they couldn’t get anywhere with his bandmates they would move onto Calum. Like he was some second-class member. The thought rubbed harshly against his brain. 

Calum kept his eyes down on his alcohol. Every time he looked at another woman he thought of the drawing. Every time he closed his eyes he was haunted by her. A shadow of the picture would appear behind his eyelids, and look at him. He wanted to rip his heart out every time he saw the drawing. To know that he might have been let on a wild goose chase, but this women, this drawing, left him with so much want every time. It wasn't just how beautiful she was that he wanted. 

He wanted the little moments with somebody - with her - that his bandmates would talk and sing about. That those songs from every artist were about. The free fall of love, the drop of your stomach when you realize just how in deep you were. The rise of breath when you realize that they love you back. He wanted all the little moments too, to learn her quirks and mannerisms, what she likes and hates. The little fights and the big ones that slam doors, but end up in slow sweet kisses and apologies. He wanted the happy moments at restaurants where you can’t take your eyes off of each other and laughing so hard that milk comes out of your nose. The want settles in the pit of his stomach like a rock. 

But, the private investigator would find her. He had to find her. 

“Earth to Calum?” A hand clapped on Calum’s shoulder. Calum’s eyes snapped to the hand, his head slowly following and lifting. 

“Yes?” His voice sounded unfinished, as if he needed that sandpaper to smooth it down. 

“We’re gonna take off - you alright?” Ashton asks, but his eyes are barley looking at Calum. His eyes are trailing his girl who is hugging the rest of the group goodbye and giggling at a girl’s comment. 

Calum, in that moment, wanted to shout what had happened. What insanity he had done, but he sews his mouth closed. A nod would suffice. 

Ashton seemed to accept that answer and he left, an arm around the waist of his girl, tucking her into his chest. She giggled and allowed herself to be pulled closer. Calum’s eyes are on the door long after they leave. 

The rest of his friends trickle out in the the coming hour, all clapping a hand on Calum’s shoulder and wishing him a good night. He didn’t even bother to sit with them tonight. It would be like releasing a guppy into the ocean. His words would be quickly talked over and eaten by some bigger shark. Like Luke. 

Calum shouldn’t have a problem with Luke. Hell, Calum isn’t sure that Luke knows that he has a problem with Luke. Sometimes when Luke talks, or does something and everybody cheers and loves him… Calum just wishes that was him. It was an insane jealousy that pumps through his veins like sickly green blood vessels. 

It wasn’t just the social acceptance that Luke had, it was his charisma. He is just so magnetic, that everybody's eyes just trail to him. He had it when they were children even, thats why he was the frontman. Nobody could take his eyes off him anyways. 

God damn, did Calum want to be magnetic like Luke. He wanted to be able to control a crowd while whispering. Or even Michael, who could stand silent on a stage and they would cheer desperately for him. Or maybe Ashton, who doesn’t have a fraction of Luke’s magnetic energy, but enough confidence to balance it out. 

Calum wished to be anybody but himself most days. He wished he could muster up enough courage around his bandmates to even ask for more singing roles, but he couldn’t and they all went to Luke. It seemed like everything went to Luke sometimes. 

He couldn’t quite pinpoint when it started, but Calum resented his bandmates. It was a gradual thing, where every small snub had made him quieter and quieter. They didn’t really ever mean for it to snub him, but it all left it’s mark on him. Somehow every time they talked to him, it felt more like an insult than any concern.

Calum left money on the bar - probably too much - and leaves. His car is parked in the lot off the side of the building, but Calum walks the other way. The truth was that his secret escape was only a couple blocks away.

He doesn’t remember the exact moment he decided to rent his own get-a-way in the the city that he hates. He could fly to Australia if he really wanted to, to get to his real home, but it seemed like too much hassle. So he slinks through downtown LA in his grey zip up hoodie and thick jeans. 

The doorman, who was payed off for discretion, nods to Calum as he enters. Calum sometimes wonders what would happen if he took the chance and didn’t pay people off often. He also wonders what it would  be like to not have to pay people off to begin with. If he could just live in his little getaway all the time. If he never joined the band. 

These were dangerous thoughts that only made the noose around his neck tighten. They only made him feel more alone and stuck. It only made him feel like a wild animal, caged as an attraction. 

Calum unlocks his door and enters his little apartment. Exposed brick lines one wall, and potted plants lines the adjacent windowsill and the space below it. The ivy had been growing since the last time Calum had been here, crawling onto the brick wall and over the old golden couch that Calum bought second hand. The previous owner had broken one of the couch’s stubby legs, (and superglued it back on) the cushions had sunken in, and the material had faded to a mustard color. The TV shoved into the corner was the old-style with it’s back jutting out. The TV sat on a wonky dark wood table, that was probably a coffee table since it had light rings on it from wet glasses. A couple frames were sitting on coffee tables, inside them were pictures of his family - nothing referring to Calum’s famous lifestyle. Posters from Calum’s old room in Australia were hung on the walls a little crooked. They were such a bitch to put up alone that he never bothered to straighten them. As far as anybody knew, the posters were thrown out by Calum years ago when his parents moved. 

Calum dropped his keys into the ceramic dish by the front door - his sister had made it when they were young and gifted it to him as a joke when she was cleaning out her old room. That, as far as most know was also thrown out by Calum. It just didn’t fit into his supposed lifestyle. 

He goes for the water jug next to water his plants that have been neglected for the past few days. Little does he know that this world, the world that he wishes he could live in, is a mirror to Becca’s world, just under 3,000 miles away.

#calum hood #calum #calum 5sos #calum imagine #calum 5 seconds of summer #5sos #5sos fanfic #5sos fanfiction #luke hemmings #luke #fluff #blurb #luke 5sos #ashton #ashton irwin #ashton 5sos #5sos ashton #ashton imagine #michael imagine #luke imagine #5sos imagine #imagine #michael clifford #micheal clifford #5SOS Michael #michael smut #Smut #luke smut #5sos smut #five seconds of summer

[twoidiotwriters1]

Home- Chapter 2 (Kylo Ren/Ben Solo x F!Oc)

A/n: The force Awakens stuff

Words: 3,415

Warnings: None.

Chapter 1 Chapter 3

Chapter 2. Welcome.

Then

Chewbacca, Han and I enter the bar, where all kinds of creatures drink, eat, negotiate, laugh and fight.

"Charming," I say mockingly.

"Come on, I have a reserved table," Han says, winking at me.

We walk between tables until we reach the bottom, where an armchair with a table in the middle has two pink balloons hanging. I stop in front of the place.

"Is this a joke?" I say laughing. Han and the Wookie sit facing each other.

“It's the best I could get, sweetheart. Happy birthday,” I let out a laugh. "Come on, you have to admit that this is better than your 20th birthday”

“Anything's better than visiting Chewie's family,” We both laugh at Wookie's complaints.

I sit next to the man and take one of the balloons, laughing.

"Thank you," I say, then kiss her cheek. He smiles sideways.

“You're welcome” the waiter arrives and the three of us ask for lunch and beers.

"Well, what do you say if we go to a field and continue your shooting practice?" I look surprised.

“You sure? Last time it didn't turn out very well,” I say with a grimace.

"Come on, Chewie's wound has healed. That's why you should practice, kid." Now I look at the Wookie.

“What do you say, friend? Have you forgiven me? ”He growled, nodding.

I smile. "All right"

They bring us the food and the talk continues smoothly... for only five minutes.

"Long time no see, Solo,” says a creature, I think it is a Rodian. His reptilian eyes watch us closely, while two other Rodians are behind him.

"K’hjan, a long time," Han replies pretending tranquility. "What brings you here, friend?”

"I could smell your human essence since you entered, I saw my opportunity to collect what you owe to me,” the Rodians become defensive and I look at Han, confused.

He raises his hands, "K'hjan, calm down, there is no reason to get aggressive, we can talk like adults, but first, you must understand that we are busy," He puts his arm around my shoulders, "Today is my daughter's birthday and we only come to have a little fun,” Now I'm more confused than ever. Daughter?

The Rodian hits the table “I don't care! You, Han Solo, owe me five thousand credits-”

"According to me, there were only a thousand.”

Oh, no.

That was enough for the Rodian to get even more angry. The three creatures took out their blasters and pointed us. Chewbacca reacted on time and threw the table over them, giving us a chance to escape.

The three of us ran outside the bar towards our ship, avoiding the shots that came from behind.

"Well, what is a good birthday without being chased?" I say without stopping. Han laughs.

"That's the spirit, kid.”

Luckily, we managed to get out of that persecution unscathed.

Already in the Falcon, I sit on the couch and dedicate myself to clean my blaster. Until a small box falls in front of me, on the table. I look up and Han smiles at me. I take the box and open it slowly. I giggle when I see what's inside.

I take out a silver necklace with a two-dice pendant, a small replica of the dice that are hung on the Falcon.

"Very cute" he sits in front of me.

“The balloons weren’t your gift”

"Thanks for clarifying,” I look in detail at the dice.

"It was Chewie's idea,” Obviously, Han Solo can't have a sweet moment, he always ruins it.

"I'll talk to him later,” We both fell silent for a few minutes. I bite my lip. "Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot."

"Why did you tell the Rodian that I was your daughter?" Asked nervous.

He clears his throat and sits in his place a little uncomfortable.

"I thought that with that I could leave, you know, empathy or something like that, it clearly didn't work" I nod ignoring my disappointment.

How could I think that he could see me as his daughter? I've only been here three years... I can't wait that long, can I?

"Well, we should find a place for you to practice, I don't want another accident," He says getting up.

I release a sigh and put on the necklace.

A birthday present.

______________________________

Now

"Well, that was close," I say with difficulty when the ship is finally away from the planet.

I sit on the floor outside the cockpit. My breathing is agitated, I lean my back against the wall.

“The Rahtars are not so worth it when your life depends on that.”

“Come on, kid. We will have enough credits for them, ” Han replies from his chair. I let out a snort.

"They are not worth it,” I let out a groan when I move my right arm and see my wound. “Great."

Chewie approaches and helps me get up with my healthy arm. The Wookie guides me to the chair and takes out what is necessary to heal the wound.

"Thank you, buddy" he growls nodding.

"Well, in short time we will get rid of those things," Han says, sitting in front of me.

“Why did you accept this job? It was easier to catch the outlaw than a Rahtar.” I clench my teeth when Chewie sews my wound.

“More money. Will you be okay?” I nod and he laughs. I look at him confused, "It reminds me of your first mission, it's all.”

Now I laugh.

“It was not my best first day at work”

“It wasn't bad for an 18 year old girl. I've had worse, believe me.”

"Worse than finishing full of a huge worm's drool?" I feel chills from just remembering it. Han and Chewie laugh out loud.

The first day at the Millenium Falcon was a disaster for me. I didn't understand how Han could have done that for years. We had to transport a huge creature, but it was caged. I curse my curious side for wanting to see the creature as I finished full of his drool before arriving with the buyer, who also made fun of me.

“Come on, laugh, alright,” I release an embarrassed chuckle until I feel a stab in my forehead.

"What's going on?" Han asks.

"Nothing, it's just a headache…” Chewie finished the bandage and I get up, “I better sleep a little" I don’t wait for an answer and I go to my room.

The door is opened by the motion sensor and I enter. The space was not very large, but if compared to my room in the Falcon, this looks like a mansion. I sit in my bed and the pain seems to disappear for a moment, but soon enough is replaced.

Kiara

A whisper resonates in my mind. I turn and look everywhere without finding anything. My heart beats harder and the whisper returns.

Kiara

No, not again.

I bring my hands to my ears and close my eyes. Enough.

Then you are a threat.

Another voice whispers.

You'll be fine with them

"Please stop. I will not return to that tricks”

Kiara

The pain returns with more force causing my body to weaken, from one moment to another, everything turns black.

_____________________________

“Kiara, wake up,” I feel someone shake me and open my eyes with difficulty. Han is next to my bed.

“I know you don't like me entering without permission, but you should see this. You'll like it,” He adds to then leave.

I release a sigh and sit on my bed, I see around me, remembering what happened before falling.

That whisper, his voice.

No, they were two different voices.

I shake my head as if with that I could forget it, I get up and go with Han. In the window the three of us can see a rather old ship stranded in space.

My heart leaps with joy, and I can't help smiling.

"Don't tell me that is-“

"Oh, sweetheart, I can recognize my girl anywhere, but you must get ready, I don't think it's empty,” I nod and he starts to control the ship to block any reaction of the Millennium Falcon.

I run to the cargo control where Han will catch the ship, take my blaster and hook it to my belt. My hands tremble with emotion. It's been years since I was last at Falcon.

Finally the ship enters ours, Han approaches and presses the buttons so that the exit ramp opens. The three of us enter and review carefully.

"Kiara, Chewie... we’re home" I smile at the man's words. I go ahead with my blaster and check some cables, several parts are missing.

A sound of something falling interrupts us, I turn to Han and he makes a signal to Chewie, it seems to come from the bottom. The Wookie nods and takes a panel from the floor. A girl, a boy and a droid look at us surprised, the humans wear gas masks.

“Where are the others? Where is the pilot? ”Says Han pointing to them.

"I am the pilot" the girl replies.

I look at her surprised.

“You?"

Chewie growls at her.

"No, it's true, we are the only ones on board.”

"Can you understand him?"

"Do you understand that thing?" The boy and I say at the same time.

Great, so long living with Chewbacca and I hardly understand him, but this girl, who stole our ship, understands it perfectly.

"Yes and that thing can understand you, so be careful, get out of there,” I put my gun away.

"Where did you get the ship?" He asks the girl.

“In the Niima post”

“Jakku? That junk?”

“Ha! I told you, Han. We had to check the western places, but noooo,” I say mockingly,

“How could I be there? Said the hard-headed old man.

Chewie growls as he is on my side.

“Whose was it? Ducain?” He asks ignoring me.

"I stole it," says the girl "to Unkar Plutt, he stole it from the Irving, who stole it from Ducain,” Those are many names, I remember Ducain, the day we lost our ship, it was not pretty.

"The one who stole it from me”

"Well, you can tell him that Han Solo recovered the Millenium Falcon forever," He says and then walk down the aisle of the ship.

“Is this the Millenium Falcon? Are you Han Solo?” Asks the girl.

“I used to be”

"Oh, here we go, drama queen" I add when I see him disappear. The girl turns to see me.

"And you must be Kiara Lang,” I raise my eyebrows in surprise.

"How do you know my name?" This girl is younger than me, but not by much at least.

"Wait, wait," Adds the boy. "Han Solo, the general of the rebellion?"

"No, the smuggler," She replies. “Your name is also mentioned, it's really exciting to meet you” Ok, now I like her.

“Did you hear that, Chewie? I'm famous too,” He growls and gives me a little push making me laugh.

“Wasn’t a war hero?" Chewie shrugs.

“Is this the ship that crossed the Kessel Corridor in 14 parsecs?" Shouts the girl towards where Han went.

“Twelve," Han shouts at the same time as me. The girl looks at me.

“Always tells that story," I walk to the cockpit and I meet Han, admiring the panel and every detail of the ship. By reflex I grab my necklace and smile.

"You're not going to cry, are you?"

"Not this time,” He laughs, but his features change when he notices something.

"Hey!" He says, he gives me a signal and we both go back to where everyone is, "Someone put a compressor in the ignition line."

"It was Unkar Plutt, I think it was a mistake, he added a lot-"

"Load the hyperpropulsor,” say the girl and Han at the same time.

Chewie and I share a look.

"Chewie, throw them in a pod, we'll leave them on the first uninhabited planet."

"What a rude host" I joke.

"I can’t wait. We need your help,” Says the girl. We walk through the aisles of the ship.

"My help?”

"That is not a good idea."

"This droid has to go to the Resistance base as soon as possible," As soon as I hear that, my body tenses and I'm sure Han didn't expect that either.

"He has a map to locate Luke Skywalker," the boy adds. We stop And again the pain in my temple returns.

“You are the Han Solo who fought with the Rebellion,” Han turns and his gaze connects with mine.

I feel a pain in my chest and step back a few steps. I shake my head. Luckily I am behind the boys.

"You know him" Han looked away.

"Yes, I met Luke,” A blow interrupts the conversation.

"Don't tell me a Rahtar is on the loose," I complain and we all leave Falcon.

"What did she say? Rahtars?”

Han goes to the camera panel.

"Did anyone escape?"

“No, something better. They are the Lethal Guavianos. They must have tracked us from Nantoon ”

"Your best friends,” I joke.

"What is a Rahtar?" She asks.

"We must hide them before they arrive," I say, pointing to the boys.

We walk along the ship, I hear others talk about the Rahtars, but I ignore them, until we reach a compartment that overlooks the ship's tunnels.

"Stay down until I tell you and don't even think about taking the Falcon.”

"What about BB-8?" He asks pointing to the small round droid.

“He stays with us until he can get rid of them, then you can continue with your journey.”

“And the Rahtars? Where do you have them? ”Asks the boy, and in response a creature knocks on the door behind them.

“That's one.”

"What will you do?"

“What I always do. Get out of this,” I laugh at his response and Chewie growls. "Yes, I do. Always.”

“Yeah, right."

“Don’t annoy me.”

________________________

The doors open and several soldiers with red armor enter armed, then let their leader through.

"Han Solo, you're a dead man.”

"Bala-Tik, what's the matter?”

“The problem is that we lend you 500,000 credits for this job. I heard you also asked 50,000 from Kanjiklub”

"You know you can't trust those little monsters, how long have we known each other?”

Han is an expert in diverting the subject. Both continue to discuss who owes whom, until another enemy arrives from the other side and... it's basically the same.

I release a sigh, waiting for it to finally end, but something catches my attention.

"Have I ever failed you?" Han says and with that, I can see the end of this plan.

“Yes."

“Twice." Say both buyers.

"That BB unit, the First Order is looking for it,” I put my body in front of BB-8 "and two fugitives.”

“Not here," I say for the first time. In that the lights change to red and a roar is heard in the distance.

"I have a bad feeling.”

“Kill them! And get that droid,” Says one of them, I take out my blaster, but before anyone could do anything, tentacles appear behind them and the Rahtars begin their hunt. One of them comes to us.

"Han!" I took his hand and he grabs Chewie, the four of us fled from the beasts. We run until we reach the exit door.

"I got to the door, Kiara, Chewie, cover me!” While Han takes care of the door, the Wookie and I shoot at the men who survived. But one of them manages to hurt Chewbacca.

"No!" He yelled and I kept shooting until I knock him down.

"Are you all right?" We both nodded.

"What happened to the door?”

"Do you have any idea?" I let out a growl and shot towards the control, getting the door to open.

"Well done, let's go!"

They've held Chewie and we run to the Falcon. Then the two boys arrive.

"You, close the door behind us," He says to the girl. "And you, take care of Chewie." The boy now takes care of Wookie.

We got on the ship, Han goes to the cabin and I can see the girl coming forward to be his co-pilot. I don't question her decision.

"You might need a co-pilot," She says.

"I already have one, it's back there and I have a spare one, this girl.” I hear when I arrive.

"I'll ignore that. This time I'm on her side, she seems to know more about this.”

In that a Rahtar tries to break the ship, the girl and I shout at the attack.

“This day is not going as I expected.”

“It's still the funniest so far.”

“Prepare yourself! Kiara, hold on!”

"Come on, piece of scrap metal," He says.

I sit on the floor holding from where I could. I feel the force when the ship starts at light speed. After a few minutes, the ship fails again.

"I need help with this hairy giant," I get up from the ground and run to the boy.

"If you hurt Chewie, you will deal with me," Han yells. I roll my eyes.

"Hey, calm down" the boy watches me. Chewie continues to growl.

"Chewie, calm down, you know it will be worse if you keep tantrum," the Wookie complains, but stops.

"Well, help me bandage it," I say to the boy and he obeys.

 ________________________

"Rest, you did well," Han tells Chewie.

While I am sitting in a crescent armchair, I hide my face with my hands, the pain returns and disappears from time to time. I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" asks the man, I nod.

"Good job, boy," Han says, who is on the other side of the chair.

"What's your name?" I ask and he watches me. It seems a bit awkward at first.

"I'm Finn," He nods. Then the girl arrives.

"And you are?"

“Rey," She says smiling.

"Runaways?" Asks Han.

“The First Order wants the map. Finn is with the resistance, I'm just a scavenger,” My attention is focused on Rey. Apparently we have things in common.

After a little adventure, I dedicate myself to analyze her.

Her brown hair combed in three buns, her dress reminds me a bit of a Jedi apprentice: twill of different shades, her light brown eyes, there is something special about her, something that…. Don’t! Enough, it’s not true.

Then I focus on Finn, his dark skin, brown jacket and black clothes.

I wonder how they ended up in such a situation.

"Well, let's see what you have,” Han looks at me and I nod.

The fact that Leia is looking for Luke doesn’t surprise me and I suppose that neither should the fact that I got involved in all this.

I will not say who or what is responsible. Noup.

BB-8 transmits a hologram of a map around us. I get up from the armchair.

“This map is not complete, it is only part. Since Luke disappeared, they were looking for him,” I don't understand why.

I tense my body. I feel Han's gaze behind my back.

"Why did he leave?" Rey asks, Han tries to say something, but I interrupt him.

"He was training a new generation of Jedi,” Everyone's attention is focused on me, "An unbelieving child… an apprentice, turned against him, he destroyed... everything”

“Luke felt responsible. He got away from it all,” Han continued.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Asks Finn.

“Just rumors, stories. Those who knew him best thought he went to find the first Jedi Temple. ”

Rey gets up, in her eyes there is surprise and curiosity.

"Are the Jedi real?"

“I used to ask that too. I thought they were just magic tricks. A magical power uniting good and evil, the dark side and the light side. The strange thing is... that everything is true,” He says, turning to us. "The force, the Jedi. Everything is true.”

“Unfortunately," The map disappears and Rey looks at me confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I know that face," I point out, "I know what you think, but not everything is like a fairy tale”

“Kiara," Han warns. I shake my head.

Before he says anything else, an alarm sounds and Han takes care of it.

“Do you want my help? You have it, I'll take you with a friend,” They nod.

Kiara…

I have a bad feeling about this.

#ben solo #kylo ren #star wars fanfic #ben solo x reader #twoidiots writing #star wars #home

[fortunatelyhauntedblackcherry]

Moonshine - A Beetlejuice Fanfiction 05

Warning: Swearing, mention of mental illness, Beetlejuice being smut and creepy... As always.

Ari was sitting on the side of her bed, head in her palms, breathing heavily.

- Either you are telling the truth or I'm going crazy. Or I'm tripping. Even though I don't do drugs. - Beetlejuice rolled his eyes. He was standing before her, with his hands crossed across his chest. His hair was in a light green shade with some light pink streaks in it.

- As I said previously, down in the living room you idiots, on purpose, bought a haunted house. - Ari looked up and nodded sarcastically. He was right, after all. - Seriously, what did you think, that you'll get unicorns?!

- Ghosts! - shouted Ari in a muffled voice. She didn't want her sisters to hear that she was talking to herself... But the hissing and scratching of Minerva before the door surely made a helping white-noise.

- Well I'm the leveled-up version of those suckers. - said Beetlejuice proudly and sat down next to Ari. - You might say I'm the ghost with the most! - the girl chuckled.

- Okay, if you really are the improved version of a ghost... - she shrugged - ...prove it!

- EEEEEH! - out of a sudden Beetlejuice imitated the sound of a siren which made Ari jump a bit. - Can't do that.

- Why?

- I can't interact with the human world. Only ghosts can do that. I can posess electronics and appear as smoke in mirrors, max. - Ari stood up and went to her full-size mirror.

- SHOW MEEEE! - she said in an excited voice. Even though she would really loved to talk to a demon, she thought this action would prove the fact that it's just her consciousness playing games with her and that she had to see a psychiatrist again, but a slightly human-shaped, green-ish white-ish smoke-shape appeared behind her and her lights started twitching.

- Helloouuu... - whispered Beetlejuice into her ear in a funny voice which didn't make her jump at all... No, it actually made her giggle. Beetlejuice raised his eyebrows. That was a first. Someone actually liked his jokes and funny voices. Weird.

- Ohmygodsthisissocool! - Ari was talking very fast and in a very high-pitched voice. She acted like a little girl, excited for her Christmas present. That made Beetlejuice smile. Nobody was that happy for him... Like... Ever. Ari turned around to where the voice came from the last time. - Gee I can't believe I am actually talking to a spectre. What are you doing normally? Just float around the house? Also, most of the time why do you sound like you just swallowed a cheese grater? - she stopped for a moment and continued in a more serious voice. - Also why do I hear you exactly? That bugs me a bit... to be honest.

- First: yeah, mostly I just follow you guys everywhere I can, floating around you. Watching. - he lowered his voice, his lips could almost touch Ari's ear. - I know. Very creepy. - Ari shivered like something just ran across her back. She hated being followed. She had bad experiences with that in the past. She noted to herself that she had to tell this demon not to do that oh so silently. - Second: you can't ask why does somebody sound like that, Karen! - he said sarcastically then went back to normal voice. - Also I'm dead, rotting, lower your expectations to that. Third: I have no idea but it's gonna be so much fun! - now he sounded like a child. He started to run around Ari in circles and clap little claps while he was talking. - It surely is interesting, but eh, who cares, the important thing is that now we can talk properly! And you can answer! And you can sing the songs I request! And react to my lewd comments! And we could have sleepovers and shit since now I can come in! - he changed into a more seductive tone and leaned closer to Ari. - Obviously R rated sleepovers cause I am a very sexual handsome being who you could totally not resist. - the girl blushed a little which made Beetlejuice even more horny than usual. But since he knew he couldn't do anything with her at the moment, he changed back to normal voice. - By the way I like what you did with the room, seeing it for the first time and I am shooketh how many stuff here is relating to the whole being dead thing. Babes, you have a problem. A cherishable, cute problem, but still a problem. - Ari laughed. Very loudly.

No surprise Beetlejuice liked her room. Although she followed her own path, she really liked the whole (kind of mainstream by now) witchy-gothic aesthetic and since horror was her sweet spot since she was a child, she had to decorate her bedroom in a certain way. Starting from the chandelier, which was basically a huge glowing pumpkin with wrought-iron tendrils all over it, the color of the ceiling changed from light orange to a pretty pumpkin colour, then continuing on the walls it slowly turned into a dark coppery reddish-orange. The hardwood floor was fully covered in soft grey carpet with little bats on it. There was a fake bat-skeleton, a fake raven-skeleton and little felted dolls in the form of the three witches from Hocus Pocus hanging from the chandelier. To the right of her door (which, by the way, was painted dark grey and had a "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc" plaque on it), there was a big, wall-to-wall cabinet painted black with a full-size mirror on the right, and a dressing table in the middle embedded in it. Her makeup brushes and eyeshadows were already scattered around it 'cause she was messy. To the left of her door there was a shelf in the shape of the triple moon, with horror-movie figurines, crystals, Funko Pops and random skulls on it. Around it, family photos. Next to that, in the corner, there was a black, coffin-shaped shoe cabinet with pumpkin-coloured insides and leds in it, and with a sign that said "Dracula" on top of it. On the opposite wall, below the window there was Ari's sewing-corner with 2 sewing machines on the table. On the wall, opposing the wall-to-wall cabinet there was a ram skull, engraved with Edgar Allan Poe's s silhouette, with huge black horns curling backwards. Under it, on the wrought-iron bed there was a blanket with the bride of Frankenstein painted on it, and many pillows. On the two sides of the bed, there were little "nightstands" which were basically cages. One worked as a cat-prison for Minerva, padded with a soft mattress, with a night-lamp grabbed by a zombie hand on top of it. The other held Ari's favourite books, and had a little altar on it for her "weird witchcraftsy shit", as Rei said many times before. In front of the bed there was a black chest, filled with random pieces of fabric and patterns for clothes, the top of it covered in soft black and white striped velvet. Next to that, there were 2 Paris dolls, one on each side.

- Thanks, I am the breathing, living version of Halloween. - she sat down before her dressing table, looking directly into the mirror so she could see the shape of the demon again. - And... Yeah, please stop the creeping around. At least when you come into a room where I'm at, just whistle or something so I could know that you're there. - she turned around, facing the middle of the room and blinked sweetly. - Please? - Beetlejuice sighed with resignation. He couldn't say no to those pretty, living eyes.

- If your pets even let me near you, then okay. Your stupid cat always hisses at me and won't let me come into your room... I mean I could float above her but I'm legitimately afraid for my afterlife around her, it's weird, I don't get it either. And your actually scary dog... I'm not even sure that's a dog, that looks like a wolf, so yeah, that mongrel almost ripped my arm off last week! You have to convience them that I'm not trying to hurt you! -  begged Beetlejuice. - I could only come up with you now cause I was faster than those suckers. - Ari stood up and went to the door where Minerva was still scratching the door into pieces.

- You know in many ancient cultures, dogs and cats were considered as guardians of the underworld or bodyguards for their owners against demons. For example in the Aztec religion, dogs were associated with Xolotl, the god of death. Or in Egypt cats were used as protectors against evil spirits.

- Thanks for the history lesson, miss-know-it-all. - said Beetlejuice sarcastically with a snort. Ari rolled her eyes.

- So I suppose they can see you, right?

- Yeah... I thought I'd use them to get you guys' attention but... - he stretched his arms out in Ari's direction. - ...I have you!

Ari smiled. She was still not sure he was not malevolent like those spirits from The Conjuring, but he didn't feel like someone with a super evil plan going down.

- You know maybe they just love me and want to protect me. - she sat back on her chair. - You know, Sirius is a tamascan, a guarddog, a wolf-type. He looks like he could rip you in half but actually he's a sweetheart. Yeah, his teeth are sharp as needles but he only uses them to chew up his toys. - Ari shrugged. - He doesn't even know how enormous he is. He looks very fierce and heisty but mostly he just sits on people's laps. - Beetlejuice floated right next to the girl again. He was so close Ari could feel that icy coldness on her skin again.

- You should sit on MY lap. - he said in an arousing voice. Ari looked the way the voice came from.

- Shut up. - she said in a sharp voice. BJ rolled his eyes and went a bit further. - Minerva would totally kill you though. She should be a very social breed, but she basically hates everybody and wants to kill everything that moves. So yeah, beware of the claws. They hurt more than you can imagine. - Ari held up one of her hands with a huge scratchmark on it. Beetlejuice chuckled.

- I don't feel pain.

- Oh you'd feel that, trust me!

Ari looked at her clock. It was almost 2 in the afternoon.

- Oh shit, man, I gotta go to work. First day, I can't be late. - she went to her bed and started to pack her sheet music rapidly into a red bag. Beetlejuice walked up to her and with hope in his eyes and fully green hair, he asked:

- Before you go... Can't you... Say my name 3 times? - Ari looked at his way with a raised eyebrow.

- Why do you want me to do that?

- Cause that would lift me out of this weird alternate state and I could roam earth while being seen! Now I can't leave this house but once being summoned, I could! And I haven't been out since literal decades! - he sounded so desperate. - Please don't make me beg... I will... I just... Okay you know what, I'm begging. - he threw himself on his knees and tried to grab Ari's trousers, but his hands went right through them. - I'm just so sick and tired of being invisible! - Ari made a weird little sound of shock.

- I don't even know your name, and you seriously think I would let you roam free? I just met ya...

- PLEASE! JUST DO IT!!! I WOULD DO ANYTHING, SCARE ANYONE, JUST PLEASE SAY IT! I SWEAR I'LL LEAVE SOON AFTER!!! - he was nearly crying, his hair started to turn into fully purple. Ari was thinking about her options. She could either let a wild entity roam free, or have someone murder her father or one of her exes and then just leave. That sounded good.

- That's a flattering offer so... Kay, what's your name then?

Beetlejuice stuttered.

- I... - he sighed. - I can't say it. - he said with total hopelessness in his voice and tears in his eyes. He sounded so miserable. Ari squatted down to him. She didn't even know, but she was looking straight into Beetlejuice's eyes. Her warm smile made him feel a bit better, but he was still miserable.

- Then how could I help you, Bug? - he stayed silent. That nickname actually sounded cute. - Yeah, I heard you munching on them. So let's stick with that name until I find out why do I hear you and what is your actual name, shall we? - she would've just pat his head if she could see him. He sounded so alone. She knew exactly how that felt.

- Kay. - said BJ in a repressed voice as he viped his tears and nose in his jacket. Ari wrinkled her nose at his direction, snapped up her bag and headed for the door. Beetlejuice got up quickly and floated before her, if nothing would've happened. - Wait, what am I supposed to do while you're gone? - Ari shrugged her shoulders.

- I don't know, haunt my sisters' electronics? Find out if they can interact with you too? - there was no answer so she just waved goodbye. - I'll be back at 11-ish. - and with that, she went to work.

But Beetlejuice was still there. He rubbed his hands maniacally and talked to himself in a very evil, raspy way.

- Oh I would love to do that. Of course, I might have to get a little... Mean... I might have to get a little... Nasty... But if you want me to act like a demon... Then I'll be a demon 😈

#alex brightman #beetlegeuse #beetlejuice #beetlejuice fanfiction #beetlejuice oc #beetlejuice the musical #fanfic #fanfiction #lawrence beetlejuice shoggoth #musical!beetlejuice

[just-4-xmas-today]

A Gift of Song and Dance

Here is one of my three Christmas presents to you all. I want to thank @timebird84​ for putting on an amazing Phantom Christmas as usual. This is a one-shot for you E/C fans. Read and then watch the video as an extra gift (put on headphones- though I caution it may be loud), All writing art and music is done by me for this one shot. —–

Erik was reading. This was something he often did, as Christine had come to learn. This had in a way, surprised her.  She knew of course he was quite a knowledgeable man, knowing more languages than she could name. She had even seen his library before the mob three years prior. However, when she had first moved in, she simply had not been able to conjure the image of Erik doing anything… remotely quiet. Or distracting. Up until the first time she came across him early one morning, book in hand, quiet in front of the fireplace, she had only seen him being, well, him. Animated and almost always talking to her. At first they were shy rambles, focusing entirely on her and her own well being. ‘Does this stew taste good Christine’, ‘would you like a blanket Christine’, ‘would you like me to sing to you?’, so on so forth.

Eventually however, as he grew more confident she really was here to stay, he simply began to speak almost none stop. Ramblings of a man who had never been allowed to ramble to someone before. Sometimes she found it adorable, other times a bit tiresome, but generally she was simply fascinated. She was one of the few who knew Erik at all, and she had come to know him as a musical genius first and foremost. However, as time went on, she came to realize he was simply brilliant in every regard. History, culture, advance maths and sciences, and while often he would go so in depth that she could not fully comprehend everything he was saying, she loved to hear him talk. To see him so excited and happy.

He could talk about the most abstract nuisances in Greek tragedy until she dozed off late in the evening. Soon she would wake in their bed and there was a comfort in that knowledge, in the little life they shared. So to come across him not playing his organ or talking about advanced academics, had been something of a culture shock.

That had been months years ago however, and now she was quite acquainted to Erik sitting in front of the fire, reading a book. He had slowly cooling lemon tea with honey by him, something he drank regularly to help preserve his voice, and a book in an unknown language in his long thin fingers. Absentmindedly, he was humming a song she had never heard before. It was a waltz, she could tell that, and most likely a new composition she’d hear over the next week until it was utterly perfected and performed for her as his beloved audience, and sometimes Nadir, if she could convince him to crawl out of his shell enough to perform in front of someone besides herself.

She listened, laying next to him, tea dress hiked slightly so she could feel the gracious warmth of the fire on her stockings. It was a beautiful composition naturally, hummed by an even more stunning voice. She had yet to hear a composition of his that she did not like. In fact, she had yet to see or hear any art made by him she did not enjoy.

As she listened, her mind began to imagine a beautiful dance in a ballroom, filled with the colours of rich fabrics swirling with their dark cores, hands in hands, feet in sync as music carried them…  

And suddenly a rather tragic thought occurred to her as she stood and moved to stand behind him. She bent down and nestled her albeit pointed chin on his boney shoulder. She looked blankly at the page as his humming continued, though she could tell he was thoroughly enjoying the contact as his body, always so stiff in posture, sagged slightly. Still she asked in a quiet voice, “Does it ever bother you that you can never dance to your own music? It’s always so beautiful and yet… You’d have to be so focused on really creating it, that you can not even fully enjoy it.”

He stopped humming and answered in a startlingly calm voice “It would if I could dance Christine. But, I can’t. So I am much happier performing so lovely creatures such as yourselves can enjoy.”

This took her by surprise. “There’s… Something you can’t do?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Apart from modeling? Yes. I can’t dance.” He laughed, voice warm and rich. Then he raised a leg that had been resting on a small automan. It ended in a stump, it’s walking prosthetic leaning against the small velvet stool. Part of his leg had been made unusable by the mob years ago, and the sight was so normal to Christine now that she had forgotten about it all together most days.  “At one point I could with a bit of success, but now I can not. My prosthetic allows me to walk, and on a good day without a limp, and my organ one allows me to play but I can not walk on that one at all. However, neither of them could stand doing much more than basic walking and maybe jogging if absolutely necessary. Dancing would certainly break the mechanism I use to make the ankle function properly. So… I don’t dance.”

He did not sound bitter (so very different from his initial reaction to losing part of his leg), only accepting. Which in a way, was more depressing to the blond soprano. “That’s… I never considered that. I’m sorry for bringing it up.” A life without dancing while simultaneously surrounded by the world’s most amazing music sounded in that moment, like cruel mockery.

He turned his head to face her, no nose to hit her own as he did this. His skeletal features only held warmth for her now as she looked into those golden eyes. “Don’t be sorry dear. I encourage curiosity and I am utterly touched you care so much for me that you would want me to dance and enjoy music as you do.”

The smile on his non-existent lips held nothing but warmth and love, and she could not help but kiss him…

—

That was three weeks ago. And now she found herself pacing Meg’s parlour, a serious look on her face as Meg knit, watching her. All around them was Christmas cheer mocking Christine, right down to the last ornament on Megs small Christmas three -which was more ornament than tree at this point.  “Christine… I think you are overthinking this. He’d be happy with a piece of paper you touched once.”

Christine glared at her mousy brown hair friend. “He deserves more than that. And… I don’t know Meg. Last year had been easy, but how am I going to top getting him that bloody cat? He practically picked her out when we passed the pet shop on our Sunday walks. This year he’s been more…”

“Secretive?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No… Relaxed. Like he seems too content with- with everything!” She said, for once wishing he

wanting for something.

“I mean, you could get him some meat on those bones. His deformity would not be nearly as pronounced if he just ate properly.” She snickered.

Christine couldn’t help but giggle a tiny and announce proudly “Actually I have had some success on that front. He actually gained a few kilograms since I started taking over dinner. I mean, I still feel his ribs but I can touch his stomach and actually feel a layer of something I front of his organs.“

Christine could tell it was a mark of how good Meg was as a friend, that she didn’t look disgusted, but instead nodded with approval. "But that still doesn’t answer my issue.” Christine sighed, the victorious moment passing.

“Why not make him something?” Meg asked, returning to her knitting.

“Because I can’t just knit him a sweater- no offense, he’d love it from anyone else- but I as in Christine his girlfriend, can not. It just seems so… lame. In comparison. He’s a genius and anything I do just seems so… insignificant."

Meg rolled her eyes. "I didn’t mean knit. I know you can sew or knit or anything like that without it turning into a tangled mess… but what about… music? You two got together because of it. Why not write him a song for once?"

Christine looked at her and then jumped into the sofa, hugging her friend tightly "oh Meg! You’re a genius!”

—

Across Paris in a small but well cared for flat, Erik slammed his fist on the wall. “I’m an idiot! This-these mere jewels just won’t do! She deserves even more! Angel that she is!"

Nadir rolled his eyes, sipping from his glass of wine and watching his dear friend pace like a caged tiger ready to kill it’s keepers. "you know. Any other woman would be quite happy with these… so why not Christine?” As he spoke he gestured to the table with had several Ruby and diamond necklaces and bracelets. Red was apparently her favourite colour according to Erik.

“Because it’s just- she’s just- too perfect Nadir! Nothing on this Earth seems good enough for that beautiful angel. Nothing.” Erik sulked.

Nadir shook his head fondly. “Well has she mentioned wanting anything recently?"

He sighed "No. Not like last year with the photo- wait… she. She did mentioned something about dancing and us enjoying my music… She wanted to dance with me but I couldn’t becau- Nadir I’ll be back some time- I have to go to the hardware store!” And with that he quickly hurried out, a normal sight for nadir as the man often went on his thoughts the moment they struck him. Regardless of the incoming snow…

—

Christine and Erik had never been more silent or busy.  Erik barely noticed when Christine walked past him with a pile of books from his library, just as she barely noticed him struggling under the weight of a box filled with metal, wood, and rubber piping. She often locked herself in her old room which had been converted into her own office, just as he locked himself in his workshop.

Odd sounds filled the night under the Opera. For Christine, it was a lot of humming and cursing loudly in swedish. A few shattered ink bottles as well. Although when that happened she scrambled to cover her little project before awkwardly walking to Erik’s workshop to ask if he knew of a way to get the ink out of her crimson carpet.

Every time she knocked, she’d hear a loud clang or the sound of several objects falling, as well as Erik’s own fair share of curses, most in Farsi. After some scrambling he’d answer the door and help her without complaint and even offer her more ink.

The days were going to fast for Christine’s sake but Meg insisted she take a small break for dinner with her best friend. Erik encouraged this and right as the door closed he began to pace. His present had three parts two it. And what should have been the easiest part was proving to be his greatest challenge. Not to mention it'd  be the easiest to detect, his paranoid mind had decided.

Still. He sat glaring at his organ, not a single note coming to mind. And after a quarter of an hour had passed, he got up, deciding a small snack could help him think (and Christine had left fresh biscuits out, much to his secret delight).

As he started eating be began thinking of the woman in general, and it occurred to him he had not actually seen her much lately, despite the fact they lived together. And then he realized for some reason she had been cooped up in her study…

Silent as ever, biscuit in mouth, he crept to the study. Slowly he opened the door which had been left open by a crack. And inside was the answer to his prayers…

—

Christmas day came and both people in the small house under the Opera were nervous and jumpy with excitement. They cooked and sang Carol’s together as they made a small feast for two. Tomorrow on Christmas day they would have nadir and Meg over as well but for tonight it was just the happy couple.

    Christine found herself focusing on anything related to baking and Erik anything else just about. And soon the table was set, wine poured. It was all delicious of course and they spent the time discussing the latest news in Paris or in the opera. Christine was a bit of a gossip about Meg and Raoul just as Erik was about Nadir and his servant Darius, who was only two years older.

Then all too soon, it was time. “You first my dear. You look as though you will float away with excitement and I won’t deny when I say I am curious."

She nodded, knowing it was best to get hersbour if the way as she would be too nervous to enjoy Erik’s present. Slowly she pulled out her father’s violin. And with shaky hands adjusted music on a stand. Then she took a deep breath, feeling utterly stupid, and began to play.

Erik of course knew roughly what it’d sound like. But that did not stop his heart from stopping at what would become his favourite piece of musical literature. Sure, it technically had it’s faults. Christine try as she may could not perfectly play or compose. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact it had more love in it than Erik could comprehend, making it imperfectly perfect.

And when she finished, he whipped a few years away before pulling her into a warm hug. No words were spoken. None needed to be.

Then he pulled back to kiss her and grin like the mad man in love that he was. "That has to be one of the sweetest gifts anyone has ever given me. Thank you my dear."

She bent her head and blushed slightly. "I’m glad you like it. Took me a while but … I’m glad I did it."

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. An act that meant just as much if not more to them than a normal kiss on the lips. She pulled back and grinned up at him. "alright Monsieur. I do believe it is your turn.”

He chuckled, this time a bit nervously. “Alright… now you’ll have to forgive me but I had a small peak at my present before but… it allowed me to make you this … and something else."

And from under the tree he pulled out a small box. It was rather heavy as she took it. Surprisingly so. She pulled off the red wrapping to see an exquisite jewelry box. It was red and gold with red rubies all around.  The fold she realized was painted to be the melody to the song she had just played, with the rubies in place of the note heads.

Carefully and still in awe she opened the box, and inside were two still figures of… of herself dancing in a lavish red ball gown and Erik, holding her close.

Carefully Erik picked it up after a moment and twisted the small turn on its base. Inside the figures twirled Ina small dance. Then he sat it down as it started to play and cautiously offered his hand. "I… made a few modifications to my leg… so forgive me if I am out of practice but… care to have this dance?"

Christine looked up into his bright hopeful eyes and took his hand in hers.

They danced far all the notes had disappeared into the silence of one Christmas night, under the Opera.

[zzloch]

You Like Him- Lyredey and Gruvia Double date

Hey people, this is set in a high school au, I hope you like it

A blue-haired girl stood in front of her midnight blue car, nervously waiting for one of her best friends to arrive."Meredy!" Juvia yelled at the pinkette, waving her arm. "Juvi!" Meredy said excitedly. Juvia and Meredy hugged. The best friends had both had been busy, with schoolwork, clubs, and Juvia started had swimming.

"What do you want to do tonight and tomorrow?" Juvia questioned her friend. This was the one night they could meet up and have a sleepover.

"Well, I was thinking we just lounge around." Meredy shrugged.

"Juvia got tickets to the carnival!" Juvia said, holding up two slips of cardstock, with barcodes on them.

Meredy eyes lit up, the carnival was her favorite place to go.

"YES!!!!!!!!" Merdey yelled ecstatically.

Meredy loved the carnival and Juvia knew this, and intended to take advantage of that

"Merds, that's not all."

"Oh, what else? Are we going to the Waterpark?" Meredy's eyes sparkled.

"No, not quite, Juvia had two extra leftover, sooooo."

"So, what?"

"Juvia gave the other two to Lyon-Sama and Gray-sama and told them to meet us there," Juvia said sheepishly

"Juvi!" the pinkette whined.

Juvia just laughed, Meredy had the biggest crush on Lyon and hated it when Juvia tried to set them up.

"Please, Juvia won't force you to be around him," Juvia said.

"Yeah right," Meredy said, rolling her eyes.

They pulled up to Juvia's house and walked inside. Meredy was always amazed at how well decorated her household was. It was always so clean. Contrary to Juvia’s adoptive family, who all looked very messy

The way the house looked and functioned would be considered normal until you saw Juvia’s adoptive family. The Redfoxes were very odd, 'that's a good word for it.' Meredy thought.

As Juvia and Meredy stepped in the living room, a loud crash, followed by a string of curses were heard from the garage.

The door of the garage opened, and a tall tan man stepped inside the house, covered in sweat and soot, and grumbling about how his head hurt.

“Hi, Uncle” 

He nodded at the two girls

“What was that Noise?” Meredy asked cautiously, Metalicana terrified her and she was very nervous around him.

“I was trying a grad a tool, and all my other tools fell down” he grumbled

“Were you standing on something you shouldn't have been” Juvia questioned

“Nooooooo” 

Juvia rolled her eyes at her adoptive father

“Aunty isn’t going to like that there is soot everywhere.”

“Kan isn’t home right now.” 

“Well once she comes home she’s going to be upset.”

Metalicana rolled his eyes at his daughter.

“What are you guys doing tomorrow?” Metalicana changed the topic

"We're going on a double date tomorrow."

"Are you going out with that Fullbuster boy again.”

"Yes, Uncle,”

“Wait, wait. You are going on a date and dragging me along, and I am being forced to hang out with your boyfriend's stepbrother,” Meredy defended herself.

Metalicana looked at the girls confused and shook his head. “Whatever I'm ordering Chinese.”

“We are eating in Juvia’s room,” Juvia said grabbing Meredy’s hand and pulling her up the stairs

Metalicana nodded as the girls went into juvia’s room

The walls were a light blue. Her bed had a white comforter and black sheets underneath, With some midnight blue velvet pillows. She had a TV in her room and even a mini-fridge. Her trophies for swimming had replaced the dolls she used to sew of her crush, Gray, but since they had started dating she had stopped sewing her gray dolls collecting pictures of him, etc.

Juvia jumped on her bed with Meredy and pulled out the remote and turned on the Television. She had put in a fantasy movie that Meredy had never heard of. "Soooo," Juvia said "What," Meredy said gulled to the screen. "Lyon told me something..."

"MmHmm," Meredy said, not looking at her friend, she knew where this was headed.

"He likes a girl..."

"I don't care."

"With pink hair."

"Probably Sherry"

"Nah She's dating Ren."

"Since when?"

"About 3 months ago."

"Doesn’t mean he doesn’t like her."

"The girl Lyon likes he said she was kind."

"Don't care."

"She used to be really rude."

"Sounds like you," Meredy said, not looking away from the T.V

Juvia then shoved her off the bed, Meredy laughed while tumbling off the bed

"Meredy He likes YOU!"

"Don't get my hopes up" Meredy mumbled.

"You like him, you like him," Juvia teased.

After Juvia continuously said this for about 30 minutes, Meredy caved, "OK, I LIKE HIM!"

"Juvia knew it!"

"Ugh, Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"You know it" Juvia giggled at the pinkette.

*Time Skip: 12 hours*

It was around 8, and the girls were getting ready, how they got up so early is a mystery.

"Meredy, can you do Juvia lashes."

"Fine"

"Thanks. I'm horrible at them" Meredy rolled her eyes, Juvia really was terrible at makeup, no matter how many times her “mom” tried to teach her how to do it.

"All right, Done."

"Thanks"

"Which do you think I should wear?" Meredy asked her friend. She held up an oversized pastel pink hoodie with jean shorts and magenta crop top with white jean shorts

"Second, with black sneakers and rose gold hoops."

"Which one?" Juvia proceeded to hold up 2 outfits. A grey crop top with midnight blue jean shorts and Grey tank top with blue skirt

"Grey tank top with shorts and white converse with those cross earrings gray got you that match his necklace."

"Thanks, Meredy" Juvia said running into her room to get changed

*Time skip 1 hour*

Gray and Lyon waited outside the carnival.

"How much longer till we can go in, so I can beat you at some carnival games," Lyon asked Gray, teasingly.

"I don't know it's not like I track my girlfriend."

"What do you mean you have a tracker on her phone." "I do not. Her dad took it off" Gray mumbled the last part, and Lyon stifled a laugh

"Gray-sama, please stop fighting with Lyon-sama," Juvia said, walking towards her boyfriend.

"Hi, Lyon" Meredy waved at the white-haired boy.

When Lyon saw her, his cheeks went pink. Gray elbowed his brother in the rib cage and pushed him towards the pinkette. "Hey you look nice" "Thanks, you too" An Awkward silence rushed over the two flustered students

"Meredy, Let's show these guys we can beat them at any game," Juvia said, knowing that would make Meredy excited, she was very competitive.

"Come on Lyon so I can beat you," Meredy said, grabbing his hand.

Gray Laughed at his blushing stepbrother, getting dragged away by his crush. "Gray-Sama" "MmmHmm," he said, pulling her closer towards him. "Juvia is gonna beat you," Juvia said, running away "Good Luck!" Gray yelled at his girlfriend as he ran after her

*Time Skip 2 hours*

The entire morning was full of the 4 high schoolers playing carnival games, fighting (mostly by Gray and Lyon), Laughter and blushing. "Hey is 12 we should really get something to eat," Lyon commented. "Sure, could you and Meredy go get some pizza, Juvia needs to talk to Gray real quick," Juvia asked Lyon, totally not trying to get Lyon and Meredy alone together. Meredy was about to deny her request, but Lyon jumped in "Sure Juvia." Lyon pulled Meredy towards the food.

"Hey, You're a girl right," Lyon asked

"Last time I checked," Meredy said smiling

"So, there's a girl."

"MmHmm" Meredy tried her best not to feel jealous

"I really like her."

"Then, tell her."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"She's too good for me."

"Lyon if you like her, then just tell her."

"Can I practice on you."

Meredy stopped walking, she should have known he would have asked that Lyon always said 'If you don't practice you can't accomplish most things.' Knowing Lyon wasn't going to give up, why was she friends with such stubborn people, she agreed.

"Okay," Lyon took a breath. "Hey, I like you."

"Now just tell that to the girl you like," Meredy said.

"I just did," Lyon said, scratching his head.

Meredy's eyes went wide. Lyon, one of the most popular boys at Fiore high, liked her, the dorkiest girl at her school. "Why?" was Meredy's response. Lyon could have any girl he wanted, but he chooses a girl who could drag down his reputation in mere seconds.

"Because you aren't like all the other girls at our school, you are passionate about everything you do, you aren't stuck up, and you make me feel like a normal person, you don't treat me like some celebrity, you aren't afraid of teasing me and I need a girl that can do that."

"Lyon, I think I like you too." Lyon sighed, clearly relieved.

"That's a lot better than you not liking me." Lyon smiled.

"We should probably go get the pizza now," Meredy said.

"Yep," Lyon said, grabbing her hand and walking her towards the pizza place.

Elsewhere (totally not sitting at a table so they could overhear Meredy and Lyon) were Gray and Juvia. Juvia was squealing her heart out.

"They like each other, soon they'll start dating."

"Now that you got them together can you stop trying to play matchmaker and focus on us," Gray said, hugging his girlfriend's waist.

“Maybe, only if Mira doesn’t recruit Juvia to do more work.”

"We're back," Lyon said, holding Meredy's hand and the pizza.

Juvia smiled at the new couple

*Time Skip 8 hours*

The rest of the day was spent with Juvia teasing Meredy about her new boyfriend, Gray and Lyon trying to see who can get their respective girl more stuffed animals (Spoiler alert It was a tie, the rivalry continues). They had a lot of fun. Lyon offered to take Meredy home, and Meredy agreed.

"Thanks," Lyon told Meredy as they were driving to the girl's house

"For what" Meredy seemed very confused

"Not rejecting me."

"Why would I, I've liked you since I met you."

"I'm just so happy, I now have a girlfriend who is sweet, kind, not stuck up."

"Thanks, I think," The new couple talked the entire way home.

They pulled up to Meredy's house, Lyon hopped out of the car to open the door for Meredy. He hugged his new girlfriend.

"Bye Meredy"

"Bye Lyon" Meredy quickly ran inside, excited to tell her 'sister/mom' Ultear. Also, to make sure her 'brother' Jellal doesn't kill her new boyfriend.

Gray and Juvia were also on there way home, Juvia was talking to Mira the whole time theme planning the following methods to get their ships together. 'Man' Gray thought to himself, 'I love my girlfriend.'

I love Double Date AU's. Also, Lyredy and Gruvia are two of my favorite ships. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading. BYEEEEEEEE

-Z.Z Loch

#gruvia fanfiction #gruvia #lyredy #lyredy fanfiction #gray #juvia #meredy #lyon #my trash writing #zzloch #jujulock

[hungergames-fanfic]

Half Human, Half Squirrel pt.2

“Littleburg used to have another name before the games. Ms. Gullard told us last year. She says it used to be the Capitol of Texas, one of the previous states formin’ the United States of America, which we now call Panem”, I say. Ari stares at me with her mouth open.

“You ever been to actual Littleburg?”, I ask. She shakes her head. I’m not surprised, this is where all the rich folk live and everything is too expensive. “Our school is right outside of Littleburg. This is the only elementary in all of District 10”, I add. Daddy says that’s how the government keeps track of us but I don’t tell Ari this, I aint tryna explain 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

“that’s why it’s so big?”, Ari jumps off her seat with her hands in the air. Daddy asks her to sit down. That’s cause peacekeepers are really mean here and will stop anybody. Momma Bilmin calls it abuse of power and to never ask them for help.

Cause the peacekeepers usually pick on people who look poor, to go to Littleburg we have to dress nice. Momma Bilmin combed our hair really tight into a braid and put a cowboy hat on Ari. I think it’s to hide how skinny she really looks with her hair tamed. Momma Bilmin then turned one of my yellow dresses inside out, sew it in a couple of places and made it fit Ari. She looks so pretty and hasn’t stopped smiling since. She says I look pretty in my dress too.

Driving past our school, daddy keeps going until we reach local stores. These are old, small and a lot cheaper than those deeper in Littleburg. Passing these we start to see forests and pretty green trees down the long road. He makes a lot of sharp turns I don’t pay attention to the way Ari does. She sits on her knees, looking out the window in awe. I don’t blame her. Bloques is nothing like this, aunt Lucia calls it “one big shantytown” cause the houses are so close together there aren’t that many trees.

“Look Dora”, daddy points at some ruins.

Behind a chain link fence is a completely destroyed building scattered all over a long road. The engines and wings remind me of a plane I once saw in a book about traveling. There were so many versions of planes that I spent a whole week reading just about them. “Airport?”, I gasp excitedly. I jump off my seat and join Ari at the window. “That one!”, I point at a blue and yellow plane underneath a run down hangar. “That’s a Boeing 757, that was the first largest single isle passenger plane for a very long time. Oh!”, I point at a lost wing with a jet engine holding it off the ground, “that must of been an Airbus, those were made in a country named France” I continue.

“Dora”, daddy interrupts. He says I’m not to talk about what I’ve learned beyond Panem. “Won’t do you any good to get smart, these fields are yours, this’s what you need to focus on”, he said once.

Soon, there’s not that many trees surrounding the road, it’s stores all over the area. “Pocco’s Footwear”, “Family Donuts”, “Brie’s Electronics”, and “DDDD Insurance” are some of the names on them. Behind these are neighborhoods of houses like mine. These are made of red brick with backyards. “They’re connected to the poles, they carry electricity throughout the neighborhood”, I point at the power lines.

In no time, the roads get bigger and everyone is driving faster. “These are highways and they take us to different sections of Littleburg”, I continue. Up on one of the ramps we’re able to see a big pretty building out in the distance. “That’s Spring Hills, middle and high school but you gotta be accepted to it. Momma wants me to go there next year”, I whisper to Ari. She doesn’t say anything back but looks sad. I wish I could read her mind. Maybe I could. Maybe there’s a book on reading minds.

“Daddy will there be a book store where we’re goin’?”, I ask.

“No more books, you got enough at home”, he says.

“Momma Bilmin says there can never be enough books”, I say but nothing more when I catch his eyes on me in the rear view mirror.

Off the highway he drives into a big parking lot, surrounding it are stores scattered all around. A gas station at the entrance corner, an ice cream shop in the middle of the lot, stores connected together but with signs that say what they sell. “PBS Pharmacy”, “Make U Smile Dental”, “Petstore”, a huge one named “Bullseye” and more that are too far away to read.

“Wow, can we go there”, Ari asks pointing at the pet store. We look at daddy, he says “no”, and heads for the pharmacy. He looks tired.

“Why does he sleep on the sofa?”, Ari whispers in my ear so he won’t hear. I look at her confused. Daddy doesn’t sleep on the sofa, he sleeps with momma. If he did, was it cause of what happened last night?

I don’t notice how hot it is outside until we walk into the pharmacy. A blast of cold air hits us when the door opens making Ari scream and laugh. Even though her scream scared me a little, it’s still funny and I laugh with her. Daddy looks back at us with a smile on his face. I don’t have to read his mind to know he found it funny too.

Not wanting to lose daddy I take Ari’s hand and pull her along with me. She holds on tighter. He walks a lot faster than us so we practically jog to him. We pass a couple of isles before Ari stops running and pulls on my arm. Not wanting to lose daddy, “go, I’m gonna see where he goes and come back”, I inform.

Daddy stands in the middle of an isle, on the shelves are a lot of plain gray boxes. “Earwax Remover”, “Eye Drops”, “Antiseptic Cream”.

“Lice Remover?”, I ask scratching my head.

Daddy looks down at me with a weird look on his face. He looks mad, confused, I can’t tell and I really wish I could. In his hand are two rectangular boxes that say just that. Without a word, he pushes me and we walk out the isle in search for Ari. We find her on the floor playing with a rubber chicken, making it scream when she presses on it. She giggles every time.

“Stay here, I’m gonna go talk to the pharmacist”, daddy says just before he walks off like he remembered something he’d forgot.

The chicken continues to squeal and Ari screams in giggles. Can’t forget how loud she is when she’s having fun. To keep her company I look around the toy isle until one catches my eye. It’s not really a toy but a board game, to play you need about three people, that could be Efrain, Ari and me. The instructions say that you are given a word and then you have to act it out. Who ever guesses it wins a point. Or something along those lines. I want it and I’m too excited to wait for daddy to come back to tell him. I tell Ari to wait and run around the store looking for daddy, whom I find at the back talking to an old man.

“Good news, the vaccines you ordered will be here in a couple of days”, says the old man looking at his computer screen.

“That ain’t what I’m here for”, daddy chuckles like he’s nervous. Momma says it’s rude to interrupt people when they’re talking so I run back to Ari to see if there’s a toy she’d want too. I’m sure if we beg him just enough he’d get it for us.

When I return to the isle she’s no longer there. I run to the opposite end and spot her jumping in and out the store, playing with the automatic doors. “I leave for one second”, that’s what I wanna say when I catch her and run after her who takes it like a challenge. She spots me and screams, then proceeds to giggle away. If daddy finds out we left the store he’s not gonna let me see tonight.

Outside she runs giggling her heart out past the store fronts until she suddenly stops. I know what she’s looking at, it’s the pet store. That’s where she wanted to go when we got here. She walks inside with a look of awe in her face. I follow her in and take her hand pulling her closer to me. That’s the last time I let her out of my sight.

“Ari, you can’t do that”, I say out of breath.

“Ari? Ari-elle. It’s like you wanna say my name but some stop you”, she swings our hands. I never noticed how short she is. With the hat she looks a little taller but is still obviously short. I put my hand close to her forehead and measure her. She reaches my chin in height. She giggles to this but says nothing.

“You don’t like it? Been callin’ you that in my head for a minute. Not sure when I started”, I admit.

She giggles and gives me a hug, “no one’s ever given me a nickname before. Well momma calls me chipmunk”, “I knew it!”, I scream in her face. She jumps and opens her eyes wide. I ain’t tryna admit I thought of her as a squirrel, “I knew they called you some cute, it suits you cause you’re... cute too” my lie suddenly feels like it turns true and I freeze hoping she doesn’t say anything.

“You think I’m cute?”, Ari asks. She bats her eyes and smiles but it looks made up, like she’s happy and sad at the same time. She’s turning pink. Still holding on to my hand, she barely pulls on me but I still follow.

The isle she walks to is like a bookshelf for fish tanks. Colorful fish swim around in groups with pretty rocks and castles in their tanks. In one there are about a hundred swimming the same direction until Ari knocks the tank making them swim away. The fun is back on her face. In no time we’ve roamed around the entire pet store. From looking at individual colorful fish swim around in a small container to puppies play fighting with each other in a big glass case. We even get to pet a bunny when Ari opens up a cage that hasn’t been locked. The bunny falls asleep while I pet it. I want it, I want all of the animals in here. Daddy would say we’ve got enough animals at home though. Daddy? I gasp catching Ari’s attention.

“Ari, we gotta go”, I say pulling on her hand. By now I’m sure daddy’s stopped talking to the old man and is waiting for us with an unpleased look on his face. To be in trouble scares me and I’m almost too scared to go back.

Hiding my feelings we return to the pharmacy and walk to the back but daddy ain’t there. Quickly I call out for him and run around the entire place. Ari’s close behind still holding on to my hand really tight. I go back to the toy isle, he’s not here. I go back to the isle he got the lice remover from, he’s not here. I walk up to the counter and ask the cashier, she doesn’t look older than Eduardo, she pops her pink bubble gum and leans closer to us, looking at us back and forth.

“Y’all lookin’ for the tall cowboy with the pretty braids?”, she asks twirling her hair with her finger.

“That’s my daddy, you seen him?”, I ask practically screaming at her. She sneers.

“Yeah, I seen him”, she says. I open my eyes wide and extend my arms in confusion. Is she gonna tell me where he went or not?

“He left lookin’ for y’all, almost walked out of here without payin’”, she smiles smacking her gum. “Too fine to pass the opportunity though, called him back“, she giggles still playing with her hair, “went headed to Bullseye”, she says pointing to said direction with her pinky finger.

“We need to make sure he hasn’t left”, I say to Ari running back to momma’s car. Here it looks like he came back and put his bags on the front seat before going out to find us. This makes me nervous. If daddy is actively searching then that means he’s gonna kill me when he finds us. I ain’t tryna look like a wuss though, so I keep my worries to myself.

“Look”, Ari says pointing at the ice cream shop in the middle of the parking lot. Next to it is a white peacekeeper vehicle. “Wanna ask’em?”, she pulls on my arm.

“No”, I say thinking about what momma Bilmin would do. “We should ask inside”, I add.

We actively ignore the peacekeepers, like they aren’t there but a big boring rock in their place. They notice us though and maybe there’s a look of worry in my face, that would explain why Ari hasn’t acted up in a minute. That or she’s just as scared of daddy.

“Aye kid, what’s up?”, one says. They’re both old but not too old, maybe younger than daddy. They wear their peacekeeper uniforms but have taken their helmets off to enjoy their ice cream.

“Y’all seen Mr. Wyetka? Got a cowboy hat on, really tall, really 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 tall, like this”, Ari says on her tip toes tryna draw a line way above her head. The peacekeepers laugh.

“Even the children?”, one says. “Y’all seen Mr. Doodah”, the other one mocks in a silly version of our accent. “Hey kid, look around, everyone’s got a damn cowboy hat on”, this makes the other one laugh and point at Ari and then his head, “It’s like everyone here is born with one”, he says making themselves laugh even harder. I hope they drop their ice cream.

“C’mon”, Ari says pulling me into the ice cream shop. “Hey mister, you seen-“, she’s interrupted by the man behind the counter.

“Hey kid ya daddy was just in here lookin’ for y’all”, he says.

“You seen where he went?”, Ari asks with excitement. The man shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head. This scares me more. What if daddy gives up and goes home without us? What if he finds us and is super angry? How mad is he gonna be at me?

Back outside I can’t hold it anymore and start to cry so much my body moves like I got hiccups every time I gasp. Ari holds my hand the entire time. She hugs, says she’s sorry and begs me to stop crying. I want to but I can’t stop. I’ve lost daddy and he’s out here looking for me too. He’s gonna be so mad when he finds us. “If he ever does”, I think making myself feel worse.

“Maybe we should try Bullseye”, Ari says.

“That’s a really big store, we’d have better luck waitin’ for him outside”, I say through the sobs. Ari agrees and hugs me again, tells me that we’ll find him and when we do she’ll take the blame. I don’t want her to, even if it was her fault I wouldn’t want daddy to be mad at her.

Holding hands, we walk past store fronts asking for daddy but so far no one’s seen him. Back in the petstore the man behind the counter points to the Bullseye store direction. We automatically head there and plan to wait for him outside. Ari calls the plan a smart one.

“Excuse me mister”, Ari approaches a man sitting outside the store. He’s short, bald, and greasy. He sits in front of a table and looks to be selling watches. He doesn’t look too happy to be talked to.

“Go away!”, he snaps, “If you aint buyin’ get the fuck outta here, scarin’ away my customers”, he waves us off like flies.

Ari looks around, inside the store where people are walking in and out ignoring us and him. She turns to the parking lot where cars drive past not noticing us either. She looks at me and then at him, “what customers?”.

“I said get the fuck outta here you freaky little shit before I drop kick you to the moo-, hey-llo there, you tryna buy a nice watch? One for the wife? Present for momma? Friend?”, he goes from screaming his head off to suddenly being really nice.

Ari and me look at each other wide eyed. Slowly we turn around to see the tall man staring at the short bald man selling watches. Daddy stands outside the doors giving him a cold look. His arms folded. There’s no emotion on his face and he doesn’t say anything. Not to him, not to me. My heart beats fast and for a second I think he’s gonna hit me. He puts his hand on my back and pushes Ari and me towards the direction of the car. None of us says anything on our way and I’m trying my best not to cry anymore.

I look at Ari who looks very sad too. She stares at the floor and barely holds my hand. I know why she’s upset. That man back there called her a freak, she says everyone at school calls her that and she doesn’t like it. I tighten my grip on hers and it catches her attention. “You’re not a freak, Ari you’re just different”, I say leaving myself thoughtful, “in a way.. I’m different too”, I say. She gives me a thin lipped smile that look sadder than before. She wants to cry but doesn’t, instead she hugs me while we walk.

“Hey, y’all want some ice cream?”, daddy asks.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”, Ari screams jumping up and down. She smiles wide and dances in place. This makes me laugh and I look at daddy. He looks worn out but he’s not mad. He gives me a smile and pulls me close giving me a tight hug. I hope this means I’m not in trouble.

#isadora wyetka #age 10 #arielle #polomir wyetka

[salexectrian-heir]

Moonlight Sonata

an overdue gift for @hansaera <3 (Solavellan non-explicit nsfw)

Indecision weighed on Athelas like an armor made from lead; instead of protecting her vulnerabilities it latched onto her hesitation, strengthening the influence of her insecurities. Acting alone put her in a dangerous position but she wanted to entrust no one else in this matter, this personal quest. Blood from her kill snaked its way downstream as she rinsed her dual blades beneath the flowing water, moonlight glinting off the sharp steel casting shimmering reflections of light across the rocky bank. She watched as the slender trail of crimson faded its way around the bend in the river, splashing up onto the roots of one of the towering lush trees that spanned most of the Emerald Graves.

Had she made the right decision?

The intrusive thought pushed its way back to the forefront of her mind, rattling loudly against her conscious. It had been a subtle thought at first, when she had plunged her blade deep into her target’s back, just a whisper of a voice in the back of her mind. As the finished him off with a quick blade to the throat and fled the outpost, a small voice in the back of her head. The doubt ate at her, like a parasite, constantly draining her of her courage.  By the time she had made it back to the Inquisition camp it had developed into a full blown scream. No one, not even her guards had even noticed her slip away to extract her hit, return, and leave for the river—or so she thought.

“…Athelas.”

Was this kill worth it? Were more lives saved by ending that man’s…?

Guilt seeped in alongside the doubt, drowning out all other feelings trying to surface. She continued to scrub the blade long after the blood had well washed away, her vision blurring as her movements became harsher. She gasped.

“Athelas!”

The sleek edge of her blade bit her skin, slicing open her palm. Dropping the dagger, she clenched her hand and brought it to her chest, blood leaking from her fist, and twisted sharply to see Solas standing a few hesitant feet away. When he saw the blood his eyes widened and he appeared at her side in a flash.

“Allow me,” he said, extending his right hand.

Athelas complied, letting him take her wounded palm and open it slowly. It was a careless cut, not too deep but just enough to break through the first few layers of skin. Blood rained the down the side of her hand as he spread her fingers open to get a better look. A soft burst of light emerged from his left hand almost immediately, illuminating his face in a swath of blue light. The sharp cut of his cheekbones became exaggerated as he guided the light over her cut, a few sparks of healing magic sunk into her broken sink. The magic sewed her skin back together before her wonderstruck eyes.

Solas lowered her hand back into the stream and she watched as the blood ran off, swirling down the little currents of the river. He turned his attention back to her as he lifted her hand out of the water and brought her knuckles to his lips. He pressed a gentle kiss on it before giving her hand back.

“I’ll never get over how you do that,” she said, a small smile playing on her lips as she stretched her fingers and rolled her wrist, “Sometimes I think you like to show off.”

“I will never pass up the opportunity to impress you,” he said simply.

She let out a small laugh, but her guilt cut it off prematurely. She looked back down at the freshly healed hand and thought back to the way her target’s hands reached out for her in surprise right before she slit his throat. He had no idea what was coming.

Solas noted her shift instantly.

“Athelas, I know you snuck out. Is everything… alright?”

She swallowed thickly. Normally, she’d be able to keep her composure, but around Solas… he had a way of breaking down her walls with just a look, melting her defenses with a simple touch. She knew the guilt was written across her face and that he could read her like an open book. And she felt herself break.

“I couldn’t just let than man live after what he did… those poor children,” she broke, face falling into her hand, “he murdered their parents… leaving them all alone.”

Images flashed behind her eyes despite her best attempts to push them away, the faces of her own parents, their eyes glazed over with far away expressions… the fear that ripped through her… the same fear she saw in the eyes of those two little girls that clung to her legs when she walked into that rebel camp in the Graves a few days ago. Her heart ached for them, for the world of love they were suddenly deprived of just as she had been years ago.

“I couldn’t just… just…” she trailed off, the words she so desperately wanted to voice died on her tongue.

Solas began to rub her back, the firm yet gentle caresses anchored her.

“You did everything in your power to stop more harm from spreading. Those children, they are lucky to have someone like you watching out for them,” he whispered against her silken hair, “no one else will suffer by his hand. You have done the right thing.”

She lifted her head and stared into his eyes, feeling vulnerable. His fingers caught a strand of hair that had fallen across her face and tucked it behind her ear, making her shiver. He continued to comb through her long tresses, the repetitive motion easing some of the tightness in her chest, and she felt some of the tightness in her chest unwind.

“You have suffered enough, ma vhenan. Let the guilt go.”

Tears fell freely down her face as she gazed into his blue eyes, finding only kindness, understanding, and acceptance swirling in their depths. His hands cupped her face and used his thumbs to wipe away the evidence of her sorrow and guilt. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. When he pulled away and looked at her again, his expression changed from loving gaze to shocked concern.

“Did you cut yourself elsewhere?” He reached for the lapel of her shirt, as she glanced down.

“What,” she glanced down, pulling hands off the fabric. There was a dark stain where blood at seeped into the front of her tunic. “Oh no, no!,” she exclaimed, heat rising to her cheeks, “it’s from my hand. I should have been more careful. Now I’ll have to wash the shirt too,” she laughed quietly. Her eyes roved over his own attire, “it looks like you might need to do some washing yourself.”

It was Solas turn to inspect his own mud smeared and sweat stained sweater, also covered in small traces of her blood.

“Ah, I truly am that unwashed apostate now.”

“Unwashed, apostate hobo.”

The subtle tease earned her a half-hearted glare.

“Pardon, I misspoke, my unwashed, apostate hobo,” she corrected, a sly smirk breaking across her face.

She moved closer to the stream, fishing her forgotten dagger from the water and tossing it ashore.

Leaning in, she brushed her nose across his cheek, lips barely touching his skin. She felt his shuddering breath and felt encouraged, leaving a light trail of kisses down his jawline, lingering by the dimple in his chin while gazing up through hooded eyes.

He raised a brow in challenge, his own eyes smoldering down at her. “Perhaps I am in need of a bath.”

The next thing she knew she was falling into the water.

Solas wrapped his arms around her bare torso, dragging her further out into the river. When she began to panic, he halted, just treading calmly as she adjusted. She tremored in his embrace, not letting the sound of the rushing water take her back to a dark place in her mind. There had been a time that even sitting on a riverbank would have sent her into full blown panic attack, but she had been working to conquer her own demons since she left her clan for the conclave. One at a time. And tonight she had laid to rest another, for those children, and for herself.

She focused on the present, the feel of him all around her, the sensation of cool water refreshing her warm skin, soaking into her hair. Her surprise laughter once she realized she was alright was soon swallowed as his mouth found hers. She did not know what kind of magic this was, or if it was even magic at all. The way he could electrify every nerve in her body with a simple kiss excited her. He moved from her lips to her throat, nipping the sensitive skin from her neck to shoulder, peeling away the saturated cloth of her shirt to expose her collarbone. She clutched into his own damp tunic, heart fluttering within her rib cage has his mouth moved lower still, unbuttoning one button at a time. Ripples spread across the water’s surface from their movement glinted in the moonlight that filtered down through the treetops. His wandering hands explored the skin bared to him, tracing the tender lines of the scar than crossed her ribcage, his mouth not far behind.

This feeling, this need… it was all entirely new, and entirely overwhelming. She guided his face back to her own, “The shore.”

She was weightless as he tucked her legs around him once more, gliding through the water. At the riverbank once more, their limbs became entwined as they worked to relieve themselves of the wet fabric, tossed and left in forgotten piles. He resumed his attentive affection to her chest, kneeling before her so that his mouth mouth could graze over the scars that marked her ribcage. She shuddered as his warm breath ghosted over her torso as he made his way to the bones of her hips, and then down her right thigh.  Her sensitive skin came alive has his lips brushed all the tender places that yearned to be touched.

She was a slave to his song, and with his mouth he knew how to make her sing. His caress played into her need in perfect harmony. His tongue held powers she had never known, and his devotion nearly broke her. Tremors rippled through her body as she fought to stand as he conducted every nerve in her body to his will. Her fingers dug into his shoulder as she braced herself for the release that would soon overpower her. Her cry was a foreign voice to her ears as the song came to its finish. It echoed in her mind, taunting and enticing.

This can’t be how the song ends, she thought to herself, gently pushing his shoulders back to lay him down on the soft grass of river bank. She sank unto him, the sweet ache of being filled once more by his presence nearly sent her over again. But this time, she was in control, she was the conductor and he her muse. She set the steady rhythm of their song, their lips singing against one another with soft cries of pleasure and desire, a melody for their ears alone. The crescendo of ecstasy of their passion lit every fiber of her being on fire, with each rock of her hips and tightening of his grip on her thighs. And when finally, when they hit that final note, the rush of the finale had her crying his name once more. She slumped forward, her hair falling in front of her like a curtain around his face. He tucked strands behind her ear as he went to cup her cheek, peppering her with soft kisses.

She laid down atop him, resting her forehead on his, catching her breath as he did the same, their sighs falling over one another as they synced their breathing. Feeling him shift beneath her, reminding her he was real and solid, supporting her.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He smiled, “You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, vhenan.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

He captured her mouth in a kiss once more, feeling the weight of his comfort his words offered.

And she believed him.

#solavellan #solas #solas x lavellan #solavellan fanfiction #Athelas Lavellan #Hansaera #smut #emotional smut

[ladyninjaa]

Melodies

Imagine: Being the younger sister of Daenerys and impressing Jon Snow. (Not apart of the Warmth series.)

With the destruction of the Greyjoy ships and the loss of alliance from Dorne…your older sister wasn’t happy. You did your part by teaming up with Tyrion and trying to plan for future attacks or tragedies’. A few days ago Jon Snow the proclaimed King of the North had arrived with a small group of Northern men and that meeting only served to dampen your sister’s already foul mood.

She had been clearly instructed by her sister to keep her distance because she didn’t quite trust these men yet. You were her treasure, just like her dragons, and she would fight to protect you at any costs.

You were bore though—while these Northern men were allowed to roam the castle while you were stuck in certain rooms deep within the castle. “I want to be out in the fields with the dragons,” You complained to your sister in the strategy room, “Why are you so intent on keeping me in the dark?” Your sister was staring down hard at the wooden table silent as she thought. Tyrion was nearby drinking some wine and watching your sister with curious eyes.

“I don’t trust them completely.” She replied in a quiet voice.

“I’m not some caged bird, you know.” You easily accused.

“You’re a dragon.” She corrects with some hard to hear sarcasm.

You’re eyebrow twitches with irritation. Your sister had some shit timing with her humor. “Are we really going to have this argument?” You coolly demanded with a serious face.

She sighs and finally looks up at you, “Not today.”

You huff and cross your arms over your chest, “I am not some caged beast, Dany. You always say that a dragon is not a slave well, I certainly feel like one. We’re on our home island, the dragons are constantly flying ahead, and we have a rather large army willing to die for the both of us here.”

Dany looks like she will not budge but you know your sister very well. “We are safe here. No one is brave or dumb enough to even come near the island especially with Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal in the air.” You urge her knowing it would be the final push for her to grant you your freedom.

She pursues her lips, deep in thought, and answered back, “Fine, I will grant you your freedom and in return you have to play the piano for me.” She smirks slowly and you try not to groan. You hated playing that bloody thing but Dany loved it. You only did it for her because you liked seeing the peaceful expression on her face whenever you played. Dany always told you that Mother played as well and would always play for her and Viserys.

Viserys had forced you to learn since, well, you looked the most like mother. Dany was a combination of father and mother but you were the spitting image of Rhaella Targaryen. Perhaps that was the reason why Viserys was always gentler to you and preferred you over Dany…so much to the point where Viserys had told Dany that you were meant to marry him to keep the Targaryen blood line alive.

You loved your brother but the idea of marrying him was disgusting.

You often did miss him though.

“Ah, will I finally hear you play?” Tyrion brightened up—the last few weeks had been rough for the Lannister.

He always pestered you to play just a little something for him.

You sigh knowing it was a small sacrifice to pay for your freedom, “Fine.”

Dany smiled and nodded, “Go on and break your fast with Tyrion. I will call you to the throne room after.” She instructed looking very eager to hear you play. It had been a very long time since you last played and you almost felt guilty for not playing earlier to bring some comfort to your sister.

Tyrion was at your side as they both of you made way to the dining room to eat. “Why are you so eager anyway?” Tyrion questioned once the both of you were a safe distance from Daenerys.

“I want to go to the beach and collect sea-shells.” You admit brightly.

Tyrion let out a loud laugh, “Is that what all your fussing is for? You want sea-shells?” He looks greatly amused and even surprised by such an innocent motive. It has been a very long time since he’s seen such innocence and it reminded him a lot of Myrcella.

You nod not feeling offended by his amusement, “I had planned on sewing a new gown for my sister and I wanted to add sea-shells.” You explained vaguely.

Tyrion chuckled shaking his head, Ah, Y/N, you are a rather odd Targaryen.”

You giggled and took that as a compliment.

**

Breaking fast with Tyrion was always enjoyable. It wasn’t long until you were making way towards the throne room. Tyrion matching your step looking extremely eager to hear you play the piano. Even Tyrion knew that a piano was extremely rare and for a woman to play was rarer. Viserys managed to convince some rich lord into giving you piano lessons. It wasn’t long until the lord had been so impressed with your skill that he offered the instrument to you with no strings attached.

“It would only sit here collecting dust and being sad,” You remember him saying with even some woe, “When you play it, it comes alive.”

You always wondered what became of him. He was perhaps dead by now. It had been such a long time since that happened. Dany was sitting on her throne speaking with Varys and the piano that your mother used to play sat elegantly in the middle. Your father had given your mother this as a wedding gift.

Despite the mutual dislike your parents had…Rhaella loved this instrument. You were glad that King Stannis had enough sense not to mess with such a rare instrument. It looked well cared for despite the years it had been since Rhaella last played it.

“I have an audience.” You take note of Missandei walking in hurriedly with a smile of excitement.

“It is not everyday we hear you play.” The former slave smiled gently at you.

You chuckle softly as Tyrion joins Varys and Missandei. You take your seat in front of the piano. You have seen only two pianos before but this one was…the fairest of them all. It was made of white wood with the Targaryen sigil on the top and the keys were of some sort of black and red porcelain.

A lot of gold went into this lovely instrument and it showed.

Your mother sat here…stroke these keys. You weren’t sure what you were feeling…grief? Was it excitement? Or was it some feeling of somberness? “Mother played while she was pregnant with you.” Dany murmured—her voice bouncing off the stone walls.

You nodded though you barely heard her—you were too focused on staring at the black and red keys. It was such a dark contrast against the white wood. You straighten your back and you hover your delicate fingers over the dark keys. You breathed in and out before letting your fingers stroke the keys expertly and with care.

The large room is filled with soft, delicate sounds.

You play Viserys favored melody. Daenerys’s face softened at the sound because she knew. Your brother died in a horrible way but his greed blinded him and bound him to his fate. You remember that night vividly; that night, so long ago, was meant to celebrate that Dany was with child—the future of the tribe and your precious niece or nephew.

You and Dany had thrived with the Dothraki but Viserys didn’t and it showed.

You remember him barging in, Jorah attempting to subdue him, and Viserys pulling his sword. You were terrified because you had never seen him so…crazed and lustful towards something so mundane. You attempted to calm him as he wielded the blade towards your sister and her unborn child but he cut your cheek and threw you to the side yelling that you should learn your place.

“Your place, you whore, is beside me your future husband!”

Your eyes flashed with sorrow as he threatened to take Dany from Drogo and even threaten the unborn child inside of her. You were so disgusted towards him…more then ever. You hated him at that point. How low could he scope to threaten his own flesh and blood?

You remember the fury brewing behind Drogo’s calm façade. You remember one of his blood-riders gently grabbing you and placing you far away from your deranged brother. One of the women had pressed a wet cloth to your cheek and even asked if you were alright.

Even now, you could feel the sting from his blade.

Drogo spoke and his words were directed towards your sister and you—asking for permission for something…you dreaded. Daenerys was staring at your brother and gave her answer to him—that he would get his crown and men would tremble before it.

His face…you mentally shook your head. His face washed with relief and joy. A crown was all he ever wanted. It was then that the great Khal rose to his feet as Viserys lowered his weapon and backed away with a smile.

Drogo and Dany exchanged glances before your sister looked to you.

You had tears in your eyes but inside you just knew it had to be done. You couldn’t risk him having another deranged episode and actually killing the unborn child inside of her. She looked back up at the Khal and it was done.

You would never forget his screams.

Your fingers paused and the melody was broken.

“Do you regret killing Viserys?”

It was Dany who asked. She knew you too well.

You shook your head, “No, it was either him or your child.”

She was quiet because she, too, was haunted by the screams of Viserys dying. You straighten your back and resume the melody that your sister loved. It was a whimsical and gentle melody that always left your sister with a gentle smile on her face—a rare sight.

“She’s a natural.” Tyrion praised letting the angelic melody flood his ears.

“And yet she hates to play.” Dany mused.

“Well, she was forced by your brother to learn.” Varys commented.

When you were finished, you smiled up at your sister. She smiled back at you because she knew you hated to play but only did so for her. It was then that the great room was echoing with the sound of hands clapping. All attention was turned to the entrance of the throne room where Ser Davos stood with his King.

Your eyes landed on this King of the North and you felt your heart stutter at his rugged beauty. He looked so odd to the men you grew up around. You were used to darker, tanned skin not this pale flesh you saw on this man.

His eyes were a dark color—you could not see his pupils or the white in his eyes. He had a scar over his right eye and his hair was pulled up but a few of his curly locks fell around his head. He was the most exquisite man you had ever seen.

He was the one who was clapping.

“Jon.” Your sister’s voice was sharp and you could tell she was tensed. Your existence was always a top priority for your sister. Not many knew of the existence of a younger Targaryen—not even Robert Baratheon or Tywin Lannister.

“Forgive me,” Jon says thickly with an almost awed look on his brooding face, “I know I wasn’t meant to intrude but I just had to see what was making such beautiful noise.”

His words were enough to make you blush.

“My aunt had one,” His eyes jerked to the piano, “Given it was uglier.”

You couldn’t help but to smile and his eyes seem to light up when he saw that radiant smile on your face, “I thought I was hearing angel choir.” His eyes solely on you—he was entranced.

“Thank you, my lord.” You continue to smile and bow your head slightly.

“If I might ask—“ Jon was cut off by your sister.

“Can I trust you, Jon?” Her voice was the calm before the storm and there was no nonsense in her tone.

Jon knew this and looked up at your sister. His eyes rested on hers as he pondered his answer. It didn’t take him long to answer, “Of everything we’ve heard about the Targaryen’s…we never heard of a younger on being born after you. It is easy to see that you’ve done a good job in hiding her existence and very wise.” Jon speaks with a nod of approval, “Yes, you can trust me.”

It wasn’t about the war or about him bending the knee, no; it was about keeping your existence a secret. Daenerys stared at Jon Snow intently, “This is my baby sister, Y/N.” She finally relents.

Jon looks at you—still seated at the piano looking nothing sort of a fallen angel. “Y/N.” He repeats gently.

Your heart almost melted.

Perhaps you would play the piano more often now.  

This was a request made by a anon. There will be no other parts. 

Also, if you are curious to hear the melody that I pictured in my head that the reader was playing for Dany (Dany’s favored melody) listen to BTS Butterfly (Piano cover) by lilyloo it is such an amazing and beautiful cover!

For Viserys favored song…I imagined Abandoned by Lucas King. Listen to both because they are lovely. 

#game of thrones imagine #game of thrones #daenerys targaryen #jon snow imagine #got imagine #viserys targaryen

[brightlycoloredteacups]

Photo

Series: Play Along: Ivar x Reader

Warning: Trigger warning! Stalking, Kidnapping! 

Tag List: @inthenameofodin, @wanderingsorceress27, @ivartheboneme, @skadithegoddess, @ivars-pet, @nothingbuthappydays, @ceridwenofwales, @synnersaint, @blonde-valkyrie, @ivartheheathen, 

           It had been a full month since your capture. Ivar found you more compliant. As a result, he let you out of your cage more often. However, you had yet to see your precious sun. You stopped asking to be release, instead, you focused on conversation. Your willing engagement seemed to net you rewards. It was a waiting game for you, at just the right moment you’ll escape and be free of this madness.  

It seemed you played your part of complacency so well, he was letting you out of the basement entirely. He had come to you early that morning, a camera around his neck, smiling. It had a strange disconnect this morning, didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I figured we’d do something fun today,” He tells you, opening the caged up. He leads you to the top of the basement. “You’re letting me out?” You say, wanting to cry with relief. “Only for a few hours,” he tells you, looking apologetic.

He continues on to lead you up to his room, you want to go slowly, to try an observe the house, but he pushes you onward, clearly excited about today. So far, Ivar hadn’t been too creepy with you. He had kept his hands to himself, given you your space, but as he opened the door to his room, you found out the expression ‘shivers down your spine’ was an actual thing. Everywhere you turned, there you were. Ivar bedroom was entirely plastered in pictures of you. It wasn’t just the walls, it was the dresser tops too, the small desk shoved against a window, there wasn’t a surface that didn’t have you, smiling on it.

           The closer you look, the more horrified you became. These are all intimate pictures, taken without permission, just like you were taken. Some of them border on risqué, but there isn’t a nude in sight. “Do you like them?” Ivar whispered in your ear, you jump, turning to him. “I always enjoyed photography. You were always my favorite subject.” He reaches a hand out to you, but you back away. His face is so full of love, it’s sickening.  “I hate them,” You say. His smile immediately drops.

“The ones with my family,” You quickly ammend, “You know I never got along with my mother.” Ivar’s face takes on a look of relief. “Yes, I remember, I’ll remove them when we’re through.”

“Through with what,” The question is quiet. You’re in Ivar’s bedroom, with no way out. Your eyes dip down to the camera. “Yes,” He says, excitedly. “We’re going to have a photoshoot.” He ushers you to his bed to sit on. You feel sick, as he rummages through his closet. You don’t want to do this, but you can’t say no, you need to play this game to survive. You’re just about to start undressing when Ivar makes a pleased noise, pulling a dress from his closet. “Here,” He says, handing it to you. It’s a deep red color, simple in design. “Where did you even get this thing?” You ask him. “I made it,” he explained excitedly. “I have tons of them for you,”

“You know how to sew?” You ask, holding the dress out in front of you. You can tell it’s going to fit your body perfectly. “I learned,” He says, turning back to his closet, “For you, I had a dream once, you married me in that dress. I had to make it, to see you in it at least once in real life.” He turns around and brings out a pair of shoes. They match the shade of the dress perfectly.

           “I’ll leave you to get dressed,” He tells you, handing you the shoes. “When you’re ready come down stairs. And don’t-”

“If I wanted to try and escape Ivar,” You cut him off, knowing where this was going. “I would’ve tried already.” He seems placated by your answer. He was apparently so emboldened that he leans down to kiss your cheek, it’s so sudden you don’t have time to move away. Your skin crawls as he pulls back. “I love you.” He mutters. You don’t dare respond.

           He eventually leaves you to get dressed. You take your time, poking through all the pictures he has of you. Looking at them all, you could see a timeline of your life start to appear, your freshmen year of high school, sophomore, junior, senior, college. You look at them so long you feel yourself being to go insane.

           You run from Ivar’s room and slam the door shut behind you. You’re terrified of Ivar now more than ever. Until now, you’d hoped that maybe Ivar had been raised wrong, that the sweet boy, your best friend, really just didn’t know any better. But someone who put such an obvious amount of time obsessing over something is not sane. You hear Ivar call your name, concerned with the noise. “Yes?” You respond, not wanting to arouse his suspicion. “Is everything alright? You’re taking an awful long time.” You will your feet to move. Step by agonizing step you manage to make it to the staircase. “I’m sorry, I just,” You gulp, forcing yourself to calm down. “I just wanted to look nice for you,” You lie.

           Ivar appears at the landing, his entire face lit up by the smile. “You always look beautiful,” He tells you. The look he wears as you descend is sickening, you want more than ever to just bolt for the door. He reaches for you again, instead of kissing you, he adjusts the straps of the dress. It’s an excuse to touch you. When he’s finished fidgeting, he rests his hands on your shoulders. “You look just like my dream,” He whispers. “Well, almost,” He grabs your hand, leads you to the living room before you can even ask what he meant.

           The entrance to the basement is through the kitchen, so when you’re lead to the sitting room, you’re surprised to see how normal it looks. It’s all so clean, not a speck of dust anywhere. Ivar leads you to the couch, then brings a tray over to you. “Make-up?” You say. This smile is sheepish. “Yes,” He says. “The lighting will make you look a little odd if I don’t at least powder your nose.” He pulls up a chair in front of you begins working. As he works, he talks, “I’ve always wanted to do this.” He whispers, giggling at the confession.

           Somehow, you find it in you to hold up your side of the conversation. “Why?” It comes out a little too loudly for your liking. “It seemed such an intimate thing to do. There’s a lot I want to do for you. Dress you, bathe you, rub your back after a long day.” You don’t say anything, too busy trying not to freak out. He falls silent, intent on his work. He looks so serene sitting there, focused on his task. Every once and a while, his eye with snap to yours. Such sweet baby blues he has.

           “I always liked touching you,” he continues. “Your skin is so soft.”

“Moisturizer.” You tell him. He chuckles. When his breath washes over yours, you breathe in hints of mint. “I know, you were always fond of smelling like roses.” He winces, “I can’t find the lotion you use though, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright Ivar, you don’t have to try so hard.” His grip becomes painful. “Yes, I do,” He hisses. “I do or it isn’t perfect.” Tears spring to your eyes, there’s crazy Ivar. “You’re hurting me,” You whimper, grabbing onto his wrist. He immediately loosens his grip. “Oh, oh I’m sorry. I’m so sorry love,” He puts his tool down and cups your face in his hands. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, don’t be afraid. Please don’t be afraid? How can I make it up to you?”

“Kiss me,” You say, the moment it’s out of your mouth you regret it. Getting close to Ivar is dangerous. Sell the fantasy, you tell yourself, just sell the fantasy. Ivar leans back from you, getting a good look at your face. He wants to know if you’re lying to him or not. You will him to believe.  

           Ivar’s thumbs brush over the apples of your cheeks, the look in his eyes is pathetically hopeful. “Please?” You urge, putting your hands on his knees. He jumps at the contact. You remember Ivar doesn’t like his legs being touched, but maybe if you pretended you didn’t care about his legs he’d be more susceptible to your deceptions. Ivar decides you actually want this kiss.

           The brush of his lips is soft, brief. He pulls back almost immediately, as though you’ve burned him. “Ivar?” You ask, “Let’s get on with it,” he mutters, turning back to the tray. You don’t push him, too afraid of what he’d do. He’s still gentle with you, but he’s hurried. When he’s done, he throws down the brush and scurries away from you as fast as possible.

           You watch him as he fiddles with the camera’s settings. It takes a long while, which is odd, because Ivar knows his camera inside out. Had you really unnerved him with just a tiny kiss? You grit your teeth, trying to figure it out, did he want to kiss you, or did he just want a fantasy? Did kissing him make it too real? Was Ivar capable of killing you?

           You watch as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He turns to you, characteristic smile on his face once again. “Alright, are you ready?” He asks. You try and smile back, “Sure,” You say. “Where do you want me?”

           It’s sickening how well Ivar has everything planned, he gives you orders off the top of his head. You try not to think about all the fantasies he has of you. The more you think, the more disgusting your thoughts become. He puts you on the couch first, wanting to capture the first rays of light for the day. Then he takes you to the kitchen, then back to the living room, there isn’t a room he doesn’t take a photo of you in. He makes little adjustments, and barely talks to you. You worry that Ivar has come to love his snapshots of you more than he loves you, that might pose a problem later.

           You don’t dare try to talk to him. You’re too frightened, and too busy. Trying to memorize the layout of his house was difficult when you could only focus on the camera. This was on top of the fact that you kept moving from room to room. You found out Ivar had a lot more space that you realized. The living room is large, looking ready to entertain guests as a moment’s notice, a baby grand right in the middle. The dining room is also large, and well put together. A wooden dining table of a beautiful dark grained wood took up most of the space. It had matching chairs, a nice table runner, and placemats. The kitchen is no less dazzling, with state of the art appliances, granite countertop, and an island with a second, albeit smaller stove.

           Ivar is lining up a shot near the stairs when his front door bangs open, you both jump. For a moment, you think you’re rescued, the cops have figured him out and you’re free of this hell. You try and rush past him, but he grabs you, pulling you towards him. You don’t bother struggling, freedom just seconds away. It isn’t until you hear, “Ivar! It’s your father!” That your heart drops into your stomach.

#ivar the boneless #ivars heathen army #ivar ragnarsson #vikings #predator ivar #stalker ivar #reader fic