#also for the love of god stop fridging wives | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

floydsmuse · 4 months

Note

Meggy m'dear......the thoughts/thots have returned.......and this time it's with Rhett (lol).

So we've seen how Calvin and Miles are with their beloved wifey when the little ones begin putting in appearance, but what about Rhett?? (lol, Bob is soon to come and so aren't Harrison and Major Major so be on the lookout.

Rhett would be over the moon when you tell him you're pregnant. He'd probably be worried from all the bull riding fiascos whether or not you could conceive after you guys adopted Amy, but when you tell him you're pregnant, he'd be yelling out the open window, "IT WORKS!!!! MY GOD IT STILL WORKS!!!!! MA BALLS AND MA DICK STILL WORK!!!" Of course, Royal and Cecelia would be absolutely thrilled but I guarantee you that Royal would be yelling right back at him, "Son, I'm happy as hell for ya, but we don't need to hear ya'll shoutin to high heaven about your junk at two in the morning!!" (lol).

Rhett's always rubbing his face against your belly even though you're not showing yet and you can't help but be tickled by his sandpaper cheeks. The morning sickness isn't too bad but when it does hit, the first thing Rhett does is grab a Gatorade from the fridge before coming to help you.

"Baby, I'm so sorry you have to see me like this."

"Darlin it ain't no big deal," he assures you. "Besides, when we were in college and ya'll came to our frat house for a Friday night rager, ya'll held everybody and their mother's hair while they puked. This ain't nothin."

Speaking of which, you guys end up telling many of his buddies who were in the Delta Tau Epsilon Frat with Rhett (Rhett was president and you were first lady when you all were attending college up in Montana, lol) and who stuck by him all the way after college including Rip, Kayce and Wes. All of them freaked out and were excited that they and their wives were gonna be aunties and uncles.

Amy is double excited that she's gonna be a big sister and so isn't your oldest daughter Hannah even though she's only two. Rhett, Royal and the other guys are always hard at work in the woodshed making the furniture for the nursery, but you and Rhett both got a little teary eyed when Royal had brought down an old timberframe crib from the attic which used to belong to Rhett.

You soon find out that you're expecting not one but TWO little babies and they're both boys!!!! You guys were excited beyond words and so weren't Royal and Cecelia but Royal couldn't stop laughing.

"Dad? The hell are ya'll laughin at?" Rhett asked him.

"Your ma and I knew ya'll were trouble the minute you flashed your lil dinger at us," Royal laughed. "You're gonna have your hands full with two of'em Rhett, just sayin."

Rhett literally would not be able to keep his hands off you either. You thought he was horny when you were trying? You ain't seen nothin yet (lol). He'll come up to you in the morning and rub his hard-on against the back of your thigh and at night when you're in your loose sexy bedslip, he'll try and sneak a playful little nibble at your boobs.

Right around month six, Rhett gets an idea in his head to take some pics of you to keep in a personal photo album of his. His favorite is one of you standing near the horse pasture in your favorite summer dress, wearing his cowboy hat and the horse is nudging your belly. His other favorite is a black and white photo of you with the girls and their little hands are all over your bump along with one of you walking barefoot through the back garden.

As the months roll on, it gets a little harder for you to be on your feet. Rhett is the master of the foot, back and neck massage and will gladly rub your swollen feet with cinnamon, ginger and clove oil you keep in the medicine kit. He'll even run you a bath and help you wash and loves running the washcloth over all your curves. He'll even help you put your socks and shoes on as fall turns to winter and will also pick you up from work because he doesn't want you traveling those icy, snowy roads to get home.

It's finally the last month and the doc tells you that everything looks good and your best bet will probably be to have the babies at home since the closest hospital is well over forty five minutes away (lol). Luckily for you, Cecelia comes from a long line of female midwives (her own mother even delivered Rhett the night he was born and Cecelia did the same for Hannah) and offered to deliver the boys.

During a snowy blizzard, Tatum Royal and Tanner James Abbott are both born at the house. Royal is both shocked and happy to learn that one of his grandsons was named after him. They're the tiniest little babies you've ever seen, both snuggled in their blankies and nested in the timberframe crib at the foot at the bed.

You absolutely love how soft your family members are with them. You laugh when you overhear Cecelia snuggling one of them, telling them that they're gonna get all the girls just like their daddy used to (lol). Sometimes you catch Royal singing to the boys and you and Rhett both swear he sounds like Johnny Cash (he even sang "The Wanderer" which Johnny Cash sang with U2 and it put the both of them right to sleep). You let Amy and Hannah hold the both of them and you bet everybody's taking pictures of the girls holding their brothers.

But you absolutely love when Rhett holds one or both of them at the same time. When he's doing skin-to-skin with the boys, he'll have them nested in Amy's Peter Rabbit quilt and when he brings the babies to meet the animals for the first time he does wear a baby wrap made from an old flannel shirt (lol).

Meggy there will definitely be more of this to come, I can't wait to share this little thing about Lew's other characters (lol).

Welcome back my darling! YAY i can’t wait to read these thoughts/thots you sent in for Rhett! 🥰 im also looking forward to the ones you’re going to send in for Bobby, Harrison, & Major Major too :))

~ YES !! Rhett would be super giddy & excited when he finds out you’re pregnant! i could even picture him getting emotional over the fact 🥹 because like you mentioned of course, with Rhett’s years of bull riding you both were unsure if it were even possible!

“IT WORKS!!!! MY GOD IT STILL WORKS!!!!! MA BALLS AND MA DICK STILL WORK!!!"

MARY!! this is SENDING MEEE😂 i could seriously picture Rhett saying this & i actually read it in his voice too. omg Royals response back!!! pleaseee😭 i’m dying over here just thinking about this!!

~ aww :,) Rhett rubbing his face on your belly is just sooo! i could also see him talking to your belly too! he’s so in love with the baby, even when they haven’t been born yet🥹 he’s constantly gushing on & on about how excited he is to be a dad to anyone who will listen to him hehe! AWEEE! it wouldn’t even phase Rhett to see you in your morning sickness states. he would love you no matter what & find you absolutely breathtaking throughout all of your stages of pregnancy! even when you’re feeling self-conscious, Rhett is always there to pick you up & shower you with so much love & little praises :,)

~ just the thought of Amy being a big sister is so so sweet! i love the guys making furniture for the baby out of wood for the nursery! it’s so much more personal that way. aww Rhett’s crib being passed down to baby🥹 Mary! please this is the cutest thing ever & the fact that Rhett gets all teary eyed cause of it!! i cannot right now :,) ughh i love this idea soo much!

TWINS?! both boys?! oh man, wifey is gonna have her hands full! Rhett was already enough, but bring in two more mini Rhett’s & you got yourself a crazy but fun time ! haha!

"Your ma and I knew ya'll were trouble the minute you flashed your lil dinger at us.”

~ HELP!!! this is such a Royal thing to say😂 like !! im rolling on the floor at this! OMG YES!!! YES!! Rhett would be especially touchy feely with you at all times during your pregnancy! him rubbing his hard on onto the back of your thigh in the mornings & sneaking little nibbles onto your nipple at night before bed…😵‍💫 MARY ARE YOU TRYING TO END ME HERE ?! THATS SO HOT!!! the pictures !!! yes! that couldn’t be more perfect! Rhett would absolutely make you do a little photo shoot with your protruding belly out on full display, or just in the nude! he’d be hyping you up the whole time, telling you how gorgeous & sexy you look ;) where can i find myself a Rhett?? seriously!!

~ oohh! i’m not even pregnant & i need Rhett to give me a message haha 🥰 sounds so soothing! him helping you wash up in the bath & helping you put on your socks/shoes in time for the winter is just soooo! this cowboy is a big softie & wants to help you out in anyway he can! especially when you’re carrying his baby. he’s just utterly & hopelessly in love with you :,)

~ Cecilia being the midwife just seems so fitting! Tatum & Tanner are such great names too!! love Royal being the middle name for Tatum & knowing that James is Lew’s middle name is just amazing! i also was funnily enough born in a snowstorm, so i like that you included that little part hehe :) aweee! Cecilia snuggling with the babies is so sweet & Royal singing to them?! oh my goodness! my heart can’t take much more!! omg i’m just imagining how small the babies look while being held by Rhett :,) he is the most gentle & nurturing daddy there is! the peter rabbit quilt & the skin-to-skin is just so precious! the baby wrap!! ahh! Rhett would sink right into the dad role & would be an absolute natural at it 🥹🥹

Mary! you have outdone yourself with these thoughts/thots! you had me smiling, giggling, & getting all hot during certain parts! i absolutely loved this, thank you for sending them in! until next time angel 🥰💕

#rhett abbott #rhett thoughts/thots <3 #rhett abbott x reader #outer range

12 notes · View notes

luci-in-trenchcoats · 3 years

Text

If I Fell For You (Part 2) - Baseball Caps & Stroller Naps

Summary: The reader gets into the swing of things around the Ackles household and starts having more one on one time with Jensen. He even offers to set her up with a friend of his. When he invites her to a family outing as a friend though, she gets another glimpse that he might not be as put together as he appears...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x nanny!reader

Square: Daddy!Jensen

Word Count: 5,900ish

Warnings: language, mention of death of a spouse/death of a parent

A/N: Things are starting to happen! This was also written for @supernatural-jackles Tell Me A Story Bingo!

________

“Good morning,” you said the next day as Jensen walked into the kitchen covered in sweaty workout clothes.

“Morning,” he said, going to the fridge to grab a drink. “Get the kids to school okay?”

“Yup,” you said, Jensen sniffing the air and humming as he walked over to where a loaf of banana bread was cooling in the rack. “Ah, it’s still too hot. Wait another half hour.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. “It smells amazing by the way. I don’t think anything’s been baked in this house in six months.”

“I’ve always enjoyed it,” you said, Jensen taking a seat on top of the counter. He chugged down the cold bottle of water, some of it dripping down the corners of his mouth. “Enjoy sleeping in today?”

“You don’t know the half of it. I feel amazing.”

“You look rested for the first time since I’ve met you,” you said. “You should sleep in on the weekends more too. The kids don’t need to be up at dawn.”

“No, they don’t,” he said. “I do love sleep too. You do okay with getting the three of them going on your own today?”

“Yeah. JJ’s old enough to get herself dressed and make her bed and do a few things on her own. The twins are a balancing act but the trick is to give yourself double the amount of time you think you need and you’ll never be late.”

“Not a bad tip,” he said as you finished wiping off a glass and picked up a pad and pen. “Whatcha working on?”

“Ideas for crafts and that sort of thing. You guys have a lot of supplies already so I was thinking of some ideas to do this week,” you said.

“You know...you can stick them in front of a TV too. They have their shows they like. We aren’t big on tracking screen time,” he said. “As long as they play and do some kind of creative thing everyday they can watch TV for a few hours in a row if they want. Our parents didn’t worry about that shit when we were kids, you know?”

“No, they didn’t do that,” you said. He lifted up the bottom of his muscle tank and wiped off his face, your eyes going straight down to the pad so you wouldn’t risk staring. “Any work scheduled for today?”

“I gotta wash up, head to the brewery for a few to check on things. I have some voice acting work I’m doing right now so I go to a place downtown and record that. That’ll be my afternoon. I can handle making dinner tonight. I should be back around four thirty, maybe a hair after,” he said.

“Alright,” you said. “Anything you need at the store today?”

“Nah, we got plenty here,” he said. He wiped off his face with his shirt again, using his collar this time. You handed him a dish towel and he smiled, rubbing it over his neck and head. “Sorry. I’m dripping aren’t I.”

“A little. Do you work out a lot?” you asked.

“No more than the average person. Try to do thirty minutes in the morning most days of the week. It’s sort of been my only alone time lately,” he said.

“Are you a runner?”

“God no. I’m not built for that. I like boxing and HIIT, weights, that sort of stuff. Part of my job is to look a certain way so if I’m gonna be the tough guy…”

“You gotta look like a tough guy?” you asked. He smiled and you looked him up and down. “Don’t get me wrong. You’re a strong guy, that’s pretty obvious. But you’re not a tough guy.”

“Oh I’m not?” he asked but there was a lightness to his voice.

“Tough guys tend to be assholes. You’re too nice for that,” you said.

“I suppose you have a point,” he said, sliding off the counter. He stepped over to the banana bread and picked up the knife nearby, slicing off a piece for himself and popping it in his mouth. “Hot. Hot.”

“I told you so,” you said with a small laugh.

“Tastes delicious though,” he said with his mouth full. You shook your head as he ate another piece and turned to go upstairs.

“Jensen,” you said, pointing at the sweaty dish towel.

“Ugh, yes mom,” he said, swiping it away with a smile.

“Thank you,” you said, tapping on your notepad. You felt his presence beside you, not to mention the smell, and turned your head up, Jensen smiling back. “Yes?”

“Aren’t you due for a break?” he asked.

“You don’t really get how this nanny thing works yet, do you.”

“Yeah well...I’m not a shitty boss so I guess you’ll have to get used to that too. Take a break Y/N. Have some coffee on the balcony. It’s a sunny January day. Enjoy it,” he said. You rolled your eyes and he pointed at the back door before he headed upstairs. You bit your bottom lip and glanced at the clock. You had been going for over three hours non-stop and one of those had been spent trying to convince a four year old he had to wear pants to daycare.

You turned to leave the kitchen when you heard a tsk. You jumped and slipped on the rug in front of the sink, falling backwards straight down to the hardwood floor.

“Sorry! Sorry!” he said as he rushed over. “I’m always tripping over that thing.”

“I’m fine,” you said as you sat up with his help. Your ass hurt but you knew you’d be alright. “Maybe we move the rug from the very trippable area?”

He swallowed and stared at you for a long moment before you smiled.

“How about we put it outside your office?” you asked softly. He nodded and you picked up one end of the long strip of fabric. He went to the other end and picked it up, backing up as you walked it over to the other side of the house. You laid it out in front of his closed door, smiling as you straightened it up. “There we go. Safe and sound.”

You headed back to the kitchen, Jensen lingering behind you.

“I was...gonna say you can make...you can use my coffee machine,” he said quietly.

“Okay,” you said quietly. “Jensen.”

“Hm?”

“Stuff is stuff. This isn’t a museum. It’s a home. It’s gonna change over time.”

“I know. It’s just that rug...it is so damn ugly and I hate it,” he said with a smile. “I wanted to get rid of it the day she brought it home.”

“Wives have a way of getting the last word in,” you said. He chuckled and you got out a mug for yourself. “Tell me to shove it if this is too personal but are you sure you want to get back out into the dating world? It’s rough out there.”

“It is. Until it isn’t,” he said.

“You’re a hopeless romantic, aren’t you.”

“Guilty as charged.” He rubbed the back of his neck and his cheeks flushed for a brief moment.

“Women like hopeless romantics,” you said. “Just don’t get taken advantage of for that. There’s some not so nice women out there too.”

“Afraid I’ll fall for some ditz?” he asked.

“No, I don’t think you’d do that. But someone might hurt you and you’ve been through enough. Maybe just...don’t fall in love at first sight or something like that,” you said. “Alright?”

“Never was much good at that,” he said to himself while you grabbed your coffee mug. “You believe in that sort of thing?”

“I’d like to. But you’re more of the expert on falling in love than I am,” you said.

“Maybe it’s not first sight but within a few days, a week, yeah I knew I was in love,” he said.

“Well if that happens again let me know and I’ll make sure this chick is good for you,” you said.

“I didn’t know my nanny came with bodyguard services,” he chuckled.

“That was under special skills on my resume,” you said as you headed over to the door to the balcony. “You should wash up. Don’t want to be late.”

“No I better not be,” he said. He turned to head upstairs, pausing on the first step. “You know, no one’s an expert at falling in love. Even those of us who were once married.”

“Oh don’t be a hopeless romantic for me getting my shit together too. We’ll be here for years,” you laughed.

“Just sayin’...maybe we’ll both find somebody. Not that we need anyone to be happy but...you know what I mean,” he said.

“Men don’t really talk about love like that you know.”

“I do,” he said. You smiled and he returned it.

“That’s why all the good men get taken early, the ones that talk like that,” you said.

“I was older than you when I got married. Maybe I’ll get married again someday. We’re out there. I promise.”

“Go shower,” you said, waving him off. You slipped outside, closing the door behind you. You leaned over the railing with your mug and let out a sigh. “You have to a be a fucking hopeless romantic too don’t you. Fucking perfect at everything.”

You lowered your head and took a deep breath.

“It’s a crush, it’s a crush,” you said, closing your eyes. “Just a crush. He’s your boss and a widow and he bought a birthday cake for me.”

You opened your eyes and glanced into the mug, taking another deep breath.

“He’s just nice. That’s it. Even if he’s…” you trailed off. You took a long sip of the hot liquid, not caring you were burning your tongue. Jensen was simply a nice person and that was that. You had a crush on the attractive single dad you were nannying for. There was nothing wrong with that and you knew for a fact it’d be gone by the end of the week tops.

“Ow,” you groaned a few days later. You opened your eyes and heard a knock at the door to your suite. “Yeah?”

“You okay in there? I thought I heard a crash,” said Jensen.

“I’m fine,” you said, sitting up with a grunt, leaning back against your bed. “Shit.”

“Y/N, are you sure you’re alright?” he asked again.

“No,” you said with a sigh. “The door’s open.”

You peaked through your open door down the hall, Jensen opening the one to the suite and offering a friendly smile. You nodded and he walked inside, frowning at your cut up knee.

“I got blood on the rug,” you said. “Do we have bleach?”

“I thought we agreed earlier this week a rug is just a rug,” he said, squatting down and looking at your knee. He looked up and saw your overturned garbage can in your closet where you’d been trying to reorganize a few clothes. “Next time use the step stool in the garage?”

“Yeah,” you said, your face hot. “I’m fine really. Just want to clean up the blood before it sets in.”

“It’s a few drops,” he said, helping you stand with a wince. “You got any first aid stuff?”

“Yeah,” you said, Jensen crossing his arms. “No.”

“Come on,” he said, putting his hands on your shoulders and walking you down the hall. “Scraped up knees are my specialty.”

“Jensen,” you said, stopping at the kitchenette island and bending your leg a few times.

“I’ll be right back,” he said. He left and you hopped over to the couch, stretching your leg out. The bleeding had stopped, just a thin cut on your knee cap where you’d hit it, but you knew you were in for a nasty bruise. He returned with a bottle and cotton ball in one hand, a bandage and ice pack in the other.

“Sorry,” you said, Jensen setting the items down on the coffee table.

“Why would you apologize for getting hurt?” he said.

“I should have my own first aid supplies,” you said.

“Ah. So you’re as stubborn as I am when you’re not feeling great,” he said. You looked down at your lap and took a deep breath.

“Am I fired?” you asked.

“No? Why the fuck would I fire you?” he said.

“I don’t know,” you said, picking up the bottle of rubbing alcohol.

“Have you been fired for getting hurt before?” he asked, watching you hold the cotton ball against the open bottle top and tip it over, soaking the liquid in. You pretended to not hear him and put the bottle back, wiping the ball over the cut, a deep red mark already on your skin. “Y/N.”

“Yes, I have,” you said. You set the ball on the table and picked up the bandage, trying to angle it over your knee. He rolled his eyes and took it out of your hand, bending down and turning it around, pressing it gently over your skin.

“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal,” he said as he looked up at you.

“Do I look like I have an HR department I can go to? They were dicks anyways,” you said.

“If you’re ever hurt, big or small, just tell me,” he said. He rested the ice pack over your knee and you sat back, throwing it up on the couch for you to lay there. “Promise I won’t fire you for it.”

“Well if I can’t do my job I’m not much use to you,” you said.

“Are all wealthy people assholes that act like that?” he asked. You shook your head and smiled. “Good.”

“I’ve nannied for eight different families, nine counting yours. Some were very good people,” you said.

“But you were just the help to them, even the good ones,” he said.

“I am the help. That’s the whole point of me being there,” you said.

“Do me a favor? Don’t assume just because you’re someone’s employee that they think of you as just the help,” he said, picking up the first aid supplies.

“Sorry.”

“Why do you apologize for…” he said, muttering to himself as you looked down. “If I ever make you feel like that, smack me in the head, alright?”

“Alright,” you said quietly. He nodded and left with the items, returning a moment later with some cleaning spray, ducking into your room for only a moment before exiting.

“It’s all clean,” he said. He lingered at the door and put a hand on it. “Leave that ice pack on for fifteen minutes and pop it back in the freezer. Put it back on for a bit before bed.”

“Thanks,” you said.

“It’s no problem,” he said. He still lingered and you took a deep breath.

“You should call someone, talk to them,” you said. He looked over his shoulder and you smiled. “You seem like you want to talk to somebody tonight is all.”

“I think I’m gonna go for a drive, maybe stop at a friend’s. The kids are all in bed,” he said. “If that’s cool.”

“Yeah go take a second for yourself,” you said. “I got everything here.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Night, Jensen.”

One Week Later

“Y/N,” said Jensen as you washed your car in the driveway on a Saturday morning. You dropped the soapy sponge in the bucket and straightened yourself out. “Got plans today?”

“Uh, I was gonna run to the grocery store in a minute but other than that, no. Need me to watch the kids?”

“No. We were going out to lunch and then going to a little car show was all and we were wondering if you’d like to join us. Totally up to you. My treat.”

“You don’t want me to watch the kids?” you asked. He laughed and crossed his arms at you. “I’m confused.”

“Do you want to hang out with us today? For fun?” he asked.

“Oh,” you said. “That’s okay. You enjoy your time with the kids.”

“How do I make this clearer,” he said, walking over to you and looking down. “I want you to come with us, as a friend, to do something fun, like friends do. This is not work. Come if you want to.”

“You sure you want me to come?” you asked. He rolled his eyes and plopped his baseball cap on your head as he walked away.

“Yes. And wear sunscreen,” he said. “We’re leaving at eleven thirty.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll see you guys then.”

“There’s something about a burger that’s been cooked in a greasy pop up kitchen that just adds to the flavor,” you said as you took a bite of your cheese burger at the car show.

“It’s probably the grease,” he said, walking one hand on his burger, the other holding Arrow’s hand. She wiped her own little hand on his leg and he sighed as he looked down. “Arrow. I got napkins in my pocket.”

“Oh,” she said, wiping her face against him.

“No one mentions this part,” he chuckled. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulders once he was done with his food, humming as he pushed the stroller with a sleeping Zeppelin inside.

“Dad, I gotta go to the bathroom,” said JJ.

“I’ll take her and we can catch up with you guys?” you said. He mouthed a thank you to you as you headed over to the women’s room. You used the bathroom as well, finishing before her and waiting outside for her. “All set?”

“Yeah. Can we get fried dough?” she asked.

“Sure,” you said. You let her lead the way in line and got a plate for the two of you, taking a seat at a picnic table so she could dig in. “Taste yummy?”

“Oh yeah,” she said. “Dad likes fried dough a lot too.”

“Everybody does,” you said, taking a piece off the corner.

“Y/N, you don’t have a mom either right?” she said. “That’s what dad said.”

“Well that’s a funny question. I got a mom and so do you. They just aren’t around anymore is all,” you said. “What’s up?”

“I’m happy you stay with us I guess is all. I know you’re not mom and you work for dad but you kinda are and I like it when dad’s happy again,” she said.

“Me too. You doing okay, kiddo?” you asked. “It’s okay if you still miss your mom.”

“I do but I’m not sad anymore. Dad says when I get real old I can see her again so that’s cool,” she said, taking a big bite.

“It definitely is cool,” you said. “Maybe our mom’s are hanging out right now.”

“You think so?” she asked.

“Maybe. I bet they get up to some fun stuff up there,” you said.

“Me too,” she said. “Dad’s really happy you came with us. He’s been cranky lately.”

“Your dad’s gonna be just fine,” you said as she finished off her food. “So do you like having a nanny? I know that’s kinda new and funny, huh.”

“Yeah but I really like you being home. Dad gets flustered sometimes.”

“Flustered?” you asked with a little laugh.

“He works on a lot of stuff and he didn’t pick me up on time from school and stuff a few weeks ago. Too many chickens in a basket,” she said.

“Too many eggs in one basket,” you said.

“Isn’t an egg gonna be a chicken though?”

“I...never thought of it that way,” you said. You nearly jumped when you felt some hands on your shoulders but JJ was smiling as Arrow climbed up next to you.

“Ah. I see you ladies found the fried dough. Twins you want some?” asked Jensen.

“Yes please,” they said and he chuckled as he went off to buy some more.

“Look at her,” said Jensen twenty minutes later, pausing at a deep blue Impala, the twins both conked out in their stroller.

“Isn’t that the same car you have?” you asked, lifting up the brim of your baseball cap to get a better look.

“Mine’s a 67. That’s a 63. I love that color though,” he said. “Blue’s my favorite but it looks good on that car.”

“I think it looks good in black,” you said, walking again when you saw JJ a few cars ahead of the two of you. “Where’d you get your car?”

“Work,” he said with a quick smile, hiding behind his sunglasses and hat.

“Aren’t you an actor?” you asked.

“You have very obviously never seen an episode of my show,” he chuckled. “Which is totally cool by the way. I drove that car in the show for well over a decade. She’s one of my true loves.”

“Ah, gotcha,” you said. “So you’re a car guy.”

“Kinda. I don’t know everything but I enjoy them. What about you, you like-JJ! Stay closer,” he called out when she kept walking ahead. “So do you like cars?”

“I guess so. This is kinda neat, walking around and looking at the old ones. They had more style back then,” you said, walking past a pair of guys your age, one of them looking you up and down as you went by. “Did that guy-”

“Yup,” he said, glancing back over his shoulder, throwing his arm over yours for a few moments. “Looks like he got the message.”

“Jensen,” you laughed. “I wasn’t offended. It’s not like he was gonna come up and ask for my number.”

“I don’t like the look of him,” he said.

“Neither did I,” you chuckled, Jensen dropping his arm from around you. “You’re that guy friend girls have that will do shit like pretend to be a boyfriend and all that stuff, aren’t you.”

“At your service,” he said with a mini curtesy. You giggled and he straightened up, JJ rushing over.

“Dad can I get an ice cream?” she asked.

“How about some apple slices,” he said, reaching under the stroller and grabbing a cooler. He pulled out a little baggie and handed it to her, JJ shrugging and walking ahead of the stroller again. “Shit, that probably means I can’t get ice cream now too.”

“We can always get some on the way home for later,” you said. “I won’t tell on you.”

“I’m putting this on your performance review,” he said. You shot him a side glance and he smirked. “I’m joking. I don’t want to do that as much as you don’t.”

“Thank you for that,” you said, stopping and looking at a red challenger for a moment.

“You like that one?” he asked.

“It’s nice,” you said before you started walking again. You fixed your hat and caught back up with him, Jensen slowing down as JJ took her time ahead of you. “So I should probably know this but what show were you in where you were driving around a muscle car?”

“You really haven’t looked me up online yet?” he chuckled. You shrugged and he laughed to himself.

“I may have peeked at your IMDB page but that was it. Was it that show you were on a long time? Super something?”

“Supernatural,” he said, a big smile on his face. “Yeah, I drove it for that.”

“Oh yeah, that was the really scary show, wasn’t it,” you said.

“You’re too sweet,” he said, chuckling to himself. “It’s not that scary. I promise. Give it a try sometime. You might like it.”

“I’m sure someday I will. If I’m brave enough.”

“I think you are,” he said, JJ running up ahead again before he called for her to hang back. He sighed and threw his head back. “It never ends, does it?”

“I’m sure someday when she’s older you won’t have to worry so much.”

“I’m gonna worry about that kid when she’s forty years old,” he said.

“That’s cause you’re a good dad,” you said.

“You haven’t known me that long,” he said.

“Do you love her? Worry about her?” you asked and he nodded. “Well any dad that does that and tells his kid that someday they’ll get to see their mom again to help her grieve when he well and truly doesn’t know the answer to that...you get the picture Ackles?”

“I could be better,” he said.

“Everyone could be better. They don’t need the best dad ever. They just need the best dad for them and you seem like you’re doing a good job of that from what I’ve seen so far,” you said. “You’re gonna screw up but so does everyone. Try to just enjoy it and not be too hard on yourself.”

“You’ve spent a lot of time with kids haven’t you,” he said.

“I’ve been in the mom role more than once as a nanny,” you said. You kicked at the dirt and shrugged. “It’s how I know the difference Jensen. You don’t need me or want me to be their mother. You just need help sometimes. That’s an important difference. Asking for help, especially when you don’t want it but need it, that’s a good dad move.”

He was quiet as he walked, stopping at a yellow mustang. He stared for a moment and swallowed.

“Thanks, Y/N. That means a lot. Really.”

“Come on dad,” you said, walking away and up towards where JJ was. “Let’s go see if we can find one this one’s gonna be asking for on her sixteenth birthday.”

“Those three are finally down and out for the count,” said Jensen as he walked downstairs to catch you in the kitchen wiping up the pan from dinner. “Thanks for eating with us tonight.”

“Thanks for inviting me,” you said, putting the pan away. He looked out the back window and bit his bottom lip. “Everything alright?”

“You’re not like, hanging out with us cause you think you have to right?” he asked.

“Trust me. If I didn’t want to, I’d be down in my room,” you said. “Besides, I’ve thought about it and you know what, why don’t you set me up with that friend of yours.”

“Really?” he asked, a little alarmed.

“Why not? The age thing doesn’t bother me at all. Unless you think it’d be a problem for him?”

“No, he doesn’t really care about that sort of thing. I think he’d prefer it’s just someone he clicked with, had a connection, you know?” he said.

“Perfect. Why don’t you set us up for next Saturday night then?” you asked.

“I need you to watch the kids next Saturday night. I have-”

“The gala. Sorry, I forgot. Um, just, I’m free whenever. You know my schedule so you can set something up and just let me know?” you said. He smiled and nodded. As you were starting to leave he grunted. “Yeah?”

“I have some friends coming over for a drink in a bit. Small backyard fire. Whiskey and smores. You’re welcome to join.”

“Jensen. You’re not asking because you feel like you have to right?”

“No, not at all. I like hanging out with you. I’m sure whatever you’re binging on TV will be there if we bore you too much,” he said.

“Alright. I’ll be out in half an hour or so. Just wanted to freshen up from the show earlier,” you said. You ducked back to your room, taking a quick shower and changing into some leggings and a flannel. By the time you were out you could hear a slight mumbling and walked downstairs, catching Jensen with some guys on the patio pouring some drinks.

“Hey,” said Jensen when you stepped out of the slider door. “Guys this is Y/N.”

“Ah we get to meet the world’s best nanny,” said the tallest one. “I’m Jared.”

“Rich.”

“Rob.”

“Hi!” said a redhead that slipped out of the door behind you. “I’m Ruth.”

“Y/N. Your hair is kinda amazing by the way,” you said.

“This is what happens when you invite the girls,” said Rich.

“Normally we just talk about Jared’s hair,” chuckled Jensen. You grabbed a chair and helped gather up some snacks to bring over to his firepit, Ruth hanging back to help you.

“Jensen said you live here with him and the munchkins?”

“Yeah. He works so much it makes things easier on him. Are you an actress?” you asked.

“We all are. Only Jared lives close by. The rest of us haven’t been down here since…” she said and you nodded. “I really am happy you’re here. It’s nice to see a smile on our boys face again.”

“He’s a great boss. He’s very kind. We’re becoming friends,” you said. “He’s trying to set me up with his friend actually.”

“Oh which one?”

“Dunno. He just said he’s 42, an actor and is single. Age stuff doesn’t bother me.”

“Rob is a bit older than myself. It really doesn’t matter in the slightest, especially when you’re a little older,” she said. “Jensen says you’re great with the kids.”

“They’re pretty easy going. Normally the parents are the hard part of my job but he’s been great. He really loves his kids,” you said.

“Yes he certainly does,” she said.

By the end of the night you found yourself really enjoying Jensen’s friends. It was clear they cared for him at more than a surface level, especially Jared. You’d heard Jensen speak to him on the phone a few times and call him his brother but it really was apparent they had a special bond that went beyond a typical friendship.

“I’ll catch you guys for brunch before you head home,” said Jensen, waving night to them all as you helped pick up. You were just about finished and heading back for your room when Jensen caught you in the kitchen. “You have fun tonight?”

“Yeah. Your friends are great,” you said, a small pair of footsteps coming down the stairs. You both turned and saw Zeppelin there with tears in his eyes.

“What’s wrong, honey?” asked Jensen as he walked over and squatted down.

“I had a bad dream and I want mommy but she’s gone,” he whined. Jensen instantly scooped him up and held onto him tight, kissing his head. “I want mommy.”

“I want mommy too, baby,” said Jensen quietly. You mouthed go and he nodded, taking Zeppelin upstairs while you finished cleaning up.

You got up early the next morning and made a big batch of chocolate chip pancakes, plenty leftover for breakfast the next morning. Jensen padded over from the hall where you knew the home gym was, sweaty and tired but a smile came onto his face when he saw you.

“What’s all this,” he asked, getting a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Chocolate chip pancakes make everything better,” you said. He put a few on a plate for himself and sat down at the counter as you made up some more, stealing a few for yourself.

“These are delicious,” he said. You stored away some for when the kids got up, making up your own plate before you dug in. “Sorry about last night. I feel like I ruined the fun.”

“Not at all. He’s a toddler. I literally can’t imagine being in your position. I’d have fallen apart instantly,” you said.

“No you wouldn’t. You care about those kids,” he said. “You push on for them.”

“I know it’s not really my place to say so but-”

“Y/N. I’d prefer if you just talk to me like a friend, really,” he said.

“You made it sound like you were ready to try dating again. Last night you seemed kind of...maybe not so ready.”

“I’m ready. I will always miss her. I’ll always love her. But that doesn’t mean I can’t love anyone else ever again like that too, you know? I don’t believe there is a limit on how much love a person can give,” he said.

“Your wife was a very lucky woman,” you said.

“I was lucky. She was patient with me,” he chuckled. “You guys would have gotten along really well.”

“Can I offer a bit of advice?” you asked.

“What’s that?”

“Keep telling your kids about her, all throughout their lives. They’ll still get to know her that way, you know?” you said. “Tell your future girlfriend too. That’s how you’ll know if they’re a good one for you.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked.

“You’re a kind soul. I would expect your partner would be as well,” you said.

“I hope so. Mine kinda has a permanent handle with care warning label on it,” he chuckled.

“I don’t think so. Just need somebody that understands, not try to fix you. There’s nothing wrong with you in the first place,” you said, taking a bite of your pancake.

“Thanks, kiddo,” he said.

“You’re not that much older, bucko,” you chuckled.

“Nah, I’m keeping kiddo,” he laughed. “You good to watch the kids for a few hours around eleven?”

“Sounds good. Go have a mimosa with your friends for me,” you said.

“Will do, Y/N. Will do.”

______

A/N: Read Part 3 here!

#spn #supernatural #jensen x reader #jensen ackles #jensen ackles au #rpf #jensen series #rpf series #jensen ackles x reader #spn fanfic #jensen fanfic #jensen ackles fanfic #supernatural fanfic

616 notes · View notes

bqstqnbruin · 4 years

Text

Come back to me part 3

I actually finished this today and then they won (to my Flyer’s fans please do not hate me I love you all) so here I am posting part three much quicker than I posted part 2.

I hope you like this!

Update! Read the entire series: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7

________________

“Y/N, guess what?” you hear Kyle yelling as soon as he hears you come in the door. You were incredibly late getting out of work, stepping in your apartment at almost nine pm. You follow his voice to the kitchen to see him standing at the stove, stirring something in a pot, which means he waited to have dinner with you. Either that, or he got tired of waiting and decided to start cooking anyway. Before you can answer, he kisses you on the cheek and starts bouncing on the balls of his feet like a child. “I got a job.”

“Oh, my god! Kye, that’s awesome!” you say, truly excited for him. “Where?”

“With you!” he exclaims, clearly not noticing the shock on your face. He got a job at your company? Oh god, that means you would have to spend your entire day with him. “I’m doing stuff with the finance department.”

Not your department, thankfully. “Kye, that’s amazing! We should celebrate!” you say, going into your pantry to see if you had any wine on hand.

“Can we invite Mat?” you hear him say as you stick your head in the fridge, hoping to find an open bottle there instead.

“After what you said to him at the restaurant the other night? That we still haven’t talked about?” you ask, not removing your head from the fridge.

“I need to apologize to him.”

“And me.”

“Yeah.” You close the fridge, no wine, which you suddenly desperately wished you had. You cock your eyebrow at him waiting for an actual apology. “Oh,” he says, when he looks at you, seeing the annoyance in your face, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten mad. And then I shouldn’t have stormed off.”

“Thank you,” you say, going behind him and wrapping him in a hug. “You really want me to call Mat and ask him to come here?”

“Yeah.”

You go off to get your phone, dialing Mat. “Hey, what’s up?” you hear him ask.

“Hey, what are you doing tonight? We wanted to have you over.”

“Uh, the guys and I are fucking celebrating!” he yells, commotion going on behind him. You can make out Anthony and Kieffer yelling, too, screaming in Mat’s ear about who knows what. “Come celebrate with us,” he says, clearly already drunk. “I’ll text you the address.”

“Uh, sure. Is it alright if Kyle comes, too? We had planned to celebrate a little anyway.”

“Yes! Bring your boyfriend,” he hiccups, you can’t help but smile and roll your eyes, “Fuck, sorry. Bring your fiance! Let’s all celebrate together!” he says, hanging up.

“I guess we’re going to someone’s house? Is that alright?” you ask, plugging the address into your phone. You could feel your heart start to race at the thought of going to see Mat, even with your fiance right there.

Even with your fiance right there. “Yeah, I’m down,” he shrugs, handing you a plate of food.

----------

“If that was Mona, I’m going to kill you,” Tito says once Mat hangs up his phone. All of them were already way too wasted for their own good. But they had reason to celebrate: they not only broke their losing streak, but they broke it with a shutout against the Rangers. None of them cared that they were going to regret their partying in the morning.

“No, it was Y/N, her and Kyle are coming,” he says, probably too chipper considering you would be flaunting your fiance in front of him.

‘Stupid Kyle,’ he thought to himself, ‘Kyle gave you that ring on your finger as if you belonged with him. Y/N belongs with me. Fuck am I drunk.’ He knew he had to sober up fast if he was going to see you and Kyle, but part of him didn’t really care. They won a game for what felt like the first time in forever.

“How are you letting the wife bring her fiance here?” Tito asks.

“She is Kyle’s wife, not mine,” Mat slurs, praying it was enough for Tito to stop that. He didn’t need a reminder that the love of his life was with someone else.

Holy shit. Love of his life? Since when did he think you were that? Was he only thinking that because he was drunk?

“I’m going to get some water,” he says, navigating his way through his teammates and their wives and girlfriends. He chugs the cup, quickly getting another in hopes that he could sober up enough to see you. Given his thoughts, he wasn’t sure what word vomit would spill out of his mouth when he saw you walk in with Kyle.

“Mat!” he hears Tito yell. “Come here!” Mat rolls his eyes, filling up his cup with water one more time. Going back to where he left his two teammates, he sees two more people have joined them.

His heart starts racing as he approaches you and Kyle, both of your backs to him. You were intently listening to something Kieffer was telling you, seemingly unaware that Mat was even approaching. He stops and almost turns around when he sees Kyle put his hand at the same of your back, rubbing his hand in small, circular motions. You look at him, a smile on your face, one that doesn’t quite reach our eyes.

“There he is!” Tito says, clearly needing the water more than Mat did. “Look who it is! Y/N and Kyle!”

His breath stops when you turn to look at him, yours doing the same. Your eyes light up at the sight of him, feeling excited that he was there. You couldn’t remember the last time you felt like this about Kyle. ‘No, stop that,’ you tell yourself, ‘you’re just excited over seeing an old friend.’

“Hey, do you guys want something to drink?” He offers, hoping that a drunk Tito and Kieffer wouldn’t follow and start rambling about you being with Mat.

“I’ll have water,” Kyle says, waving his keys in the air.

“I’ll take whatever you have,” you say, smiling at Mat.

He returns the smile, leading you and Kyle into the kitchen to get you drinks. A bunch of the girls had congregated around the island in the center, guarding the drinks like it was their only mission for the night.

“Mathew! Who’s your friend?” one of them squeals as he tries to weasel his way between them for whatever was left to drink.

He introduces you and Kyle, only getting a few seconds in of conversation with you before one of the girls yells, “Ok, boys out. Leave, now,” pushing Mat and Kyle out of the room, leaving you to fend for yourself in a group of drunk and giggling girls.

“I’m Lauren,” one of the girls introduces herself to you, “Jordan’s wife.” You nod along, pretending to know who that is while the girls lose themselves in conversation. “So you’re engaged? Did Mat not tell us he had a fiance?” Lauren asks you, quiet enough that the other girls couldn’t hear you.

“Oh, yeah I’m engaged, but no not to Mat,” you explain, telling her the other guy with you was your fiance. “What’s married life like?”

Her face gets soft, thinking about her husband, the same type of expression you get when you think about Mat. Wait, no. When you think about Kyle. Wow, this alcohol hit fast. “It’s hard, but it’s still blissful. I mean, we’ve been together since high school. It’s like, ok well, picture this,” she says, taking a sip of whatever was in her cup, “Like imagine you’re sitting there on a rainy day on your place. You’re reading by the window, and he comes over and brings you a cup of tea, then lifts your legs so that he can sit with them in your lap. He’ll watch something on his phone with ear buds because he doesn’t want to disturb you, but he doesn’t want to be away from you. It’s sweet moments like that where you know he loves you without you having to ask him why.”

You close your eyes, picturing the scene she just described. You aren’t in your home, though, you’re somewhere else, you just can’t figure out where. You’re sitting there reading, the rain falling against the window. He comes over, gives you your favorite tea in your favorite mug, you not even having to ask for it. He gives you a quick kiss on the cheek before settling into the couch, this phone ready to watch whatever show he wants to.

But it isn’t Kyle. His blonde hair was no where to be seen in your thoughts. You saw a brunette, and you knew exactly which one it was.

You open your eyes, Lauren staring at you with a smile, knowing you were thinking about your future. “You and Kyle?”

You force a small smile. “Yeah,” you lie, “Me and Kyle.”

------------

You know when you see her blonde ponytail that you were going to regret what was going to happen next. You knew exactly what was going to happen, since the same thing seemed to happen daily. Thank god Kyle didn’t work in your department, because something tells you he wouldn’t like to see your reaction to this.

“I need to see it!” Rachel squeals, standing in your cubicle when both of you were supposed to be working.

You can’t help but roll your eyes at her, more of your friends surrounding your chair. God, why did they like the ring so much? “You’ve seen it every day since I started.”

“And? It’s fucking gorgeous. That kind of stone belongs in a museum,” Ally adds, obviously exaggerating.

It wasn’t that the ring wasn’t beautiful, it just wasn’t your style. There was also no way it belonged in a museum, but whatever. You extend your hand, the girls gushing over it as you fake a smile. Once they get it out of their system, they start to file away, hopefully going back to work. One of the girls stays around, Jessica.

“Ok, what’s up,” she asks, plopping herself down on your desk.

“What are you talking about?”

“Call me crazy, but shouldn’t you be excited to show off your engagement ring? I mean, you’re planning a wedding, it’s supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life.”

“We haven’t even started planning it, actually. Honestly, it’s never even on my mind,” you admit. And you’re telling her the truth. You have no plans, and part of you isn’t sure you want to start making any.

“Well, why do you think that is?” Jessica asks. She’s probably your closest friend at the office: she knows the most about you, she already knows about Mat, but she doesn’t know everything.

“When I see myself married, I don’t see Kyle as my husband. And I want to, I do. I love him. I mean, he moved here from Vancouver for me, we’ve been together since we were in high school. How could I not love him?”

Jessica looks at you. She has to know you mean what you say. You really do love Kyle: he’s sweet, he’s caring, yeah he forgets shit, but you don’t remember everything about him, either. But, there’s just something missing. Maybe you were with him because it was just easy? “It sounds like you’re engaged to your boyfriend, not your future husband.”

“What do you mean?”

Around the corner, Kyle was coming to surprise you with lunch. He knows you were planning on going out anyway, so he figured he might as well get you something and the two of you could eat together. He hears his name, stopping in his tracks.

“I think that Kyle is at most going to be your boyfriend. I don’t think he’s the right man for you to be your husband, and that’s not fair to either of you.”

“What do I do?” you ask, burying your face in your hands. You had to call it off with Kyle, but could you tell him that?

“You can’t let your boyfriend get in the way of finding your husband. But, I think your husband is closer than you think,” she says, getting up to leave. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Kyle had heard that entire thing. Were you going to break up with him? He couldn’t lose you: for him, you were everything. He loved you, he wanted to marry you. He couldn’t see his life without you in it. He watches Jessica walk away, hearing you sigh and mutter something under your breath. He can’t let you know that he heard everything.

You get out your phone, texting Mat that you wanted to catch up with him tonight, just the two of you. You felt like you had to talk to him and him only.

“Hey, babe,” you hear, startling you as you press send slightly prematurely on your text to Mat. You see Kyle standing in front of you, two to go containers in hand. “Want to have lunch together? We can go sit outside since it’s still nice out.” He’s trying to hide the sadness that he was feeling. Who was your husband then, if it wasn’t him?

“Uh, yeah, sure! Let me just send this and then we can go?” you ask, pointing to your phone.

“Who are ya texting?” he asks, in a sing song voice, the only tone he can get out without sounding mean or hostile in anyway.

“Mat.”

Mat. Mathew. He couldn’t be the husband, could he?

---------

Mat’s phone starts buzzing on his counter, an involuntary groan leaving his lips. He had been avoiding Mona since the game, telling her that he was going right to sleep after the win instead of to Cal’s house like they actually did. That, of course, meant that Paxton and Mona decided to leave his phone constantly buzzing.

Another text from Paxton shows up on his screen, in addition to the many that he had already ignored. ‘You have a date with Mona tonight.’ Not asking him, telling him. He rolls his eyes, putting his phone down and tries to make lunch for himself. Another vibration: ‘so text her and tell her you’re taking her out.’

He could easily pretend that he was working out when these messages came in, or just said he was at practice, something, anything that would mean that he wouldn’t have to answer Paxton and Mona’s constant complaints.

His phone starts buzzing again. “Mother fucker, do you ever rest?” he nearly screams, picking up the phone to see what Satan or Satan’s keeper wanted. Instead it was a text from you, immediately followed by another one.

‘Hey, can we get together to’

‘Fuck, sorry, got distracted. Can we get together tonight?’

He smiles at the thought of you asking him out. No, wait. You were just hanging out as friends, it’s not like you could date him or anything. He immediately starts laying out a plan with you, where what time, stuff like that.

As soon as he hits send, Paxton’s name pops up on his phone. “So where are you taking Mona tonight?”

“Hello to you, too,” Mat huffs, clearly annoyed.

“Where. Are. You. Taking. Mona. Tonight.” Paxton repeats, pausing between each word so that he could be as dramatic as possible.

“I have plans with a friend who’s in town from home. They leave tomorrow and this is my only chance to see them. I’ll see her tomorrow,” Mat fibs. He was going to be out with you, a friend from home. You just weren’t leaving tomorrow.

“If you wait until tomorrow then Mona will have no choice but to break up with you,” Paxton says calmly on the other end, as if that were actually a threat.

“Is that a promise?” Mat snaps, picturing Paxton’s shocked reaction at his outburst as he gasps, “Have you really not figured out that I do not care? She’s a sweet girl, but she’s far from being my girlfriend.”

“Then tomorrow, Mona will dump you, and she will be made out to look like the one who needs pity. You will never date someone from this agency again.”

“Another promise? Wanna go for three?” Mat asks before hanging up his phone, not letting Paxton get another word in. He could be rid of Mona tomorrow. What an amazing thought.

----------

You were meeting Mat at his place, ordering dinner, watching a movie, having wine, pretty much having a girls night, expect for the fact that Mat wasn’t a girl. You had to really talk this out with someone, and he was the only one you could before facing Kyle.

The two of you were half way through the large pizza you had ordered, a movie on that you weren’t paying attention to, your feet in Mat’s lap while he focused on the TV.

“Hey Mat?” you ask him, looking at his profile.

“What’s up? Do you need another piece? It’s so much easier for you to reach than for me to stretch over your big feet,” he teases, a smile growing on his face even without looking away from the TV.

“Asshole, no. I wanted to talk to you.” You take in a deep breath as he pauses the movie. “It’s about me and Kyle.”

“What about it?” he asks, finally turning to look at you.

“Well, you know both of us before we were together, and you know us now. So I guess, what do you think of us?”

“You’re not you when you’re with him,” Mat says, studying your face. “You’re cold, you’re closed off. You’re not like you were when we,” he stops, sucking in a breath. Neither of you had outright mentioned your past to each other, even though you knew it was there. “When we were together.”

“Mat, we were together between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. I’ve been with Kyle since we were eighteen. People change. You have,” you say, trying to make a point.

“How?”

“You’re,” you start, wishing you hadn’t. You don’t know how he’s changed. If anything, he was just a better version of what you loved when you were young: he wasn’t afraid to act like an idiot, but knew when to tone it down and get to work on something. He was sweet, paying attention to every detail of the people he cared about. He dove right into everything he was passionate about, never letting anyone tell him it was ridiculous or letting people talk him out of whatever it was he wanted to do. “You haven’t. You’re high school Mat 2.0.”

“You have changed, though,” Mat says, looking down at his hands. Even though he was hiding his face, you could see the frown forming on it, reaching to his eyes and dulling the spark that was normally there.

“What was I like then?” you ask, wondering who he saw you as.

He swallows, “You were chaotic perfection,” he looks up at you, a smile on his face, “You were somehow all over the place and perfectly composed at the same time. You would always have the loudest laugh, the widest smile, never afraid to be spontaneous, like that time we decided to drive to Seattle, but you were always planning everything. No detail would go unnoticed, but you could never pull away to see the bigger picture. I think that part of your high school self you’ve kept, but I don’t know about everything else.”

He stops, waiting for you to say something. When you don’t, he continues, “When you’re with Kyle, it’s almost like you don’t want to declare to the world that he was yours and you were his. Like you don’t want people to know that part of your identity is him. You’re careful about what you say, and what you do say is the bare minimum. When we were together, and this might just be because we were younger and more obnoxious, we would be proud of each other. Fuck, every time you tell someone you’re engaged, your ears get red, you tuck your hair behind your ear and you don’t look the person in the eye. You just look at the ring, but not like you’re admiring it. It’s like you’re questioning it.”

You can feel the tears in your eyes start to slide down your cheeks. He was right. Every word he said, he was right. “Y/N?” he says, putting his hand on yours. “Can I ask something?” You nod, not sure if you can get words out without sobbing. “Why did you say yes to him? To Kyle?”

“I don’t know,” you let out quickly.

“Do you love him?”

“I don’t know,” you admit. You think you do, but something was telling you that what you felt wasn’t the love you wanted. “Can I ask something now?”

“Always.”

“Do you love Mona?”

“No,” he says, point blank. “I don’t. I do not love her.”

“Then why are you with her?”

Without missing a beat, because he’s told this to Tito and Kieffer, he starts, “Right now it’s just easy. It’ll be over soon, though. Tito keeps telling me I need to find my wife, but I don’t know where to look.” That was a lie. Tito called it from the start: you are the wife. Mat knew it, the entire team knew it.

“My friend from work told me don’t let my boyfriend get in the way of finding my husband,” you admit. You sit there for a moment, just staring at each other in silence. “Kyle isn’t the one I’m meant to be with,” you say, shocked that you even just said that out loud. Part of you always knew that, but you never thought you would say it.

Mat laughs, running his hand through his hair, “Looks like we’re both gonna be looking for our spouses, then?” he asks, adding a slightly disgusted tone to the word ‘spouse.’

You look down at the ring that’s still sitting on your finger. “Fuck. I need to look for a different husband.” You look up at Mat, who’s looking off to the side at something. Maybe you didn’t need to look too hard.

#mat barzal #mat barzal imagines #mathew barzal #mathew barzal imagines #new york islanders #new york islanders imagines #islanders #islanders imagines #isles #isles imagines #nhl #nhl imagines #hockey #hockey imagines

140 notes · View notes

ballblock05 · 3 years

Text

A Vital Information To The Nightlife In Tokyos Notorious Kabukichō District, Japan

Once the purchasing malls shut for the night time, the many restaurants and pubs within the Ginza neighborhood take their turn within the spotlight. While there are nightclubs in the area, many of these bars and pubs have a more casual environment. Shinjuku – With many restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs, Shinjuku can also be a top nightlife choice in Tokyo. It is understood for its LGBT-friendly atmosphere, with quite a few institutions that cater to the group. I arrange conferences between the government and the membership owners, party organisers and nightlife representatives to come up with concepts to reinforce the industry. Right now, we’re targeted on amending restrictions on the scale and space of golf equipment. I additionally characterize the club and membership culture conference in Tokyo, a platform that brings the city’s artists and DJ neighborhood collectively. Geisha get their roots from female entertainers, such as the Saburuku of 7th century Japan and the Shirabyoshi in the 13th century. In the early 1600’s a selected section of Edo was designated completely for brothels. This seems paradoxical, however after a few years of civil warfare in Japan the wives and daughters of samurai in the defeated Toyotomi clan had been displaced within society. To make a residing, these ladies had been forced to show to prostitution. During this time, rising prosperity boosted the incomes of the merchant class and the demand for artists, as well as courtesans. A hierarchy of courtesans developed with totally different expectations for every class. This place supplies great music, swimming pools and there is even a pool situated on the dancefloor. There are 3 dancefloors and there are a number of spots the place you presumably can sit back and enjoy the music. Even although it's situated outdoors of the city, they provide shuttle buses that move from town and to this middle. So there’s no need to fret about getting again residence the subsequent day or even if you’ve had a little an extreme amount of to drink should you go clubbing in Japan at night. Karaoke is a big part of Japanese tradition normally, but in addition an enormous part of nightlife culture. Many Japanese folks enjoy a night of karaoke and drinks after work for a little bit of unwinding. Unlike many western type karaoke locations where singing is completed publicly on stage in a bar scene, Japanese karaoke is finished in little cubicles or rooms that are usually rented out per hour. In conclusion, the Tokyo Nightlife is considered one of world's best however often travelers have no idea the place to go or the place to begin. The most bizarre after celebration restaurant is certainly 24/7 Cafe Eight in Roppongi, ensure to order the crispy peking duck and pay your respects to the most awkward shrine I've ever seen at a restaurant. The bar with the crazy flame spewing bartender, I have never seen something like it. You will more than likely visit this place in the course of the Tokyo Pub Crawl. Seven Of Japan's Most Celebrated Occasions & Festivals On the extra modern facet, you’ll also discover people out cosplaying at this festival, and even a automotive show. The Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Culture Festival, April 24-26, is a free occasion that’s open to the public, celebrating both Japanese and Japanese-American tradition. The authentic aim of this festival was to strengthen cultural bonds between Japan and the United States, and it's timed with the blossoming of the sakura in Seattle, Washington. The competition celebrates Japanese style, artwork, and music, with performances of taiko drumming and martial arts. When a nationwide holiday falls on Sunday, the following Monday becomes a vacation. Kyoto and Tokyo are especially well-known for his or her colorful festivals however each area in Japan can boast some exceptional and often quirky occasions. See beneath for an inventory of Japanese festivals by month. Autumn is the time for a selection of harvest festivals because the rice is collected and the first sake of the year is made and celebrated. Japanese festivals are sometimes linked with particular historical occasions, fertility rites or prayers to the gods for good well being. A later New Year's celebration, Koshōgatsu, actually means "Small New Year" and begins with the first full moon of the year . They usually depict gods, historical or legendary figures from both Japanese and Chinese history. Held within the historic suburb of Asakusa, thus occasion features one of many largest mikoshi parades within the country. Read this web page to know more about this well-known Japanese summer time festival. They are made of painted washi paper over a wire body. They depict a variety of scenes and figures from Japanese culture, Chinese tradition, kabuki actors, and extra. The festivals until follows many traditions set at its starting, together with choosing a local boy to be a divine messenger. Touring With Youngsters In Japan AQUAS Aquarium in Hamada, a large aquarium featuring aquatic life from all over the world. The highlight of the aquarium are the famous beluga whale reveals in which the belugas blow bubble rings and then swim by way of them. And it’s one of many safest international locations in the world, which is a wonderful feeling when you have children, and also as a woman. It was the first time in my life I didn’t feel the necessity to watch my again. It’s price calculating the prices of your itinerary to Japan with and with out the rail cross to see which option is best for you. In retrospect, I don’t assume Japan is the most effective place for a single father or mother. There simply actually aren’t sufficient resources within the smaller cities. Perhaps in Tokyo one would be OK, especially with good Japanese. Prime 10 Fantastic Japanese Gardens If you stop by the Japanese Tea House for a cup of tea, you can even catch sight of this attraction when peering beyond the pond. The Sasebo Japanese Garden is a synthesis between New Mexico and a traditional Japanese garden. Along with native Japanese fauna and flora onsite, the backyard additionally has native New Mexican trees which are pruned and sculpted within the Japanese aesthetic. If these gardens encourage you to convey a piece of Japanese artwork and design into your home, make certain you have the proper tools. But first, maintain scrolling for a quantity of of our favourite Japanese gardens. The park is the most effective locations to go for a peaceable stroll within the area. The lovely backyard has a historic and cultural significance within the country. Well situated within the Sumida Ward district, this visitor home is set 2.6 km from Sensoji Temple. The property is three.4 km from Edo Tokyo Museum and seven km from Marunouchi Building. The guest home is equipped with a kitchenette with an electric kettle, microwave, toaster and fridge. An easy Japanese breakfast with rice balls and miso soup or a simple cereal is out there every day on the property upon prior reservation. For many, a visit to a conventional Japanese stroll-garden proves a highlight to a visit to Japan. But the good news is, due to their worldwide and inspiring reputation, these gardens can be visited all round the world. It does not have many cherry timber, however it's still good for viewing cherry blossoms within the spring. The front backyard has a villa and tea home, and the again is a strolling backyard centered around a pond. But more importantly, it’s an inviting and very needed escape from the crowds nearby. The purple arch bridge, meanwhile, is of typical Japanese design and contains eight bronze lotus flower bud finials. Weddings, celebrations of life, professional pictures or movies/commercials, you can hire considered one of Los Angeles' most lovely locations. We are celebrating this special anniversary all 12 months long with commemorative activities. While our programming is all virtual for now, we look ahead to welcoming you again into the backyard to have fun with us quickly. Open to the public since June 1960, Seattle Japanese Garden is amongst the most extremely regarded Japanese-style gardens in North America. For extra info on the historical past of the Japanese Garden, click right here to visit the Houston Parks and Recreation Department's web page. The entrance to the Japanese Garden is near the Pioneer Memorial obelisk simply off Molly Ann Smith Plaza near the Heart of the Park. The Worlds Of Japanese Popular Culture When the trend first appeared, it was meet with a unfavorable perception; however, since the 2000s, cosplay has become an accepted phenomenon. Kawaii – which means “cute” and “beautiful”, this may be a main visual component in Japanese pop culture. Kawaii describes individuals and animals, and it’s applied to figures or mascots of corporations to strengthen public relations. For occasion, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has a mascot known as “Pipo-kun” that looks like an cute orange creature with a blue antenna on its head. Whether a delicate energy supply must be value-laden is a crucial query. Given the essay’s definition, an object of soppy power needn't be value-laden for it to be ‘powerful’. Nonetheless, the attractiveness of a soft power useful resource could additionally be augmented by the source’s implicit values; Nye stresses potent soft power sources ought to maintain “cultural and ideological appeal”. Off-Campus Access & Technical Support Using library sources from off-campus and different technical suggestions. Open Scholarship Commons One-stop store for knowledge creation and dissemination companies. A historical past of promoting in Japan from the Edo period to the current as introduced by the Advertising Museum in Tokyo. Available in each Japanese and English, and illustrated with digitized gadgets from the museum's collection. Includes articles, information about manufacturers, features, and street photographs, in addition to a "fashion map." Japan Private Tours Journey to the land that gave us sushi, kimonos, geisha, anime, Nintendo, the original karate youngsters and a lot extra with our range of tours that include all the best places and experiences. Admire Mount Fuji and explore the open-air museum in Hakone, certainly one of Japan's most popular national parks. Hakuba Known as certainly one of Japan’s premier alpine resorts, Hakuba provides winter skiing, snowboarding, and sizzling springs, with mountain trails, lakes, and more, in the summer. Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion is probably the best-known temple in Kyoto . It is legendary for its high two floors which are utterly coated in gold leaf. One of the most iconic sights in Kyoto, Fushimi Inari Taisha is the top shrine of the Kami Inari, Deity of Rice. Trails going up mount Inari move many smaller shrines, with a panoramic view of Kyoto on top. Shinjuku types the western outskirts of Tokyo and makes for a fun day trip from the town's bustling downtown core (it's an easy 10-kilometer journey by subway). In addition to its vibrant buying and leisure districts, Shinjuku is well-liked for the stunning Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. "The view was breathtaking. It was an ideal tour for me. Also our information was not simply a wonderful tour however but in addition a excellent photographer! The lunch was additionally great with a perfect view of Mt. Fuji. It was perfect." "This Sumo practice was a highlight of our journey to Tokyo. 空間 was pretty, gave us plenty of information about the visit before we walked to the steady. We recommend this tour to anybody visiting Tokyo." Sightsee through Kansai’s most scenic areas, seeing iconic landmarks in Nara and Kyoto in in the future, with out the trouble of changing trains or getting misplaced. With pickup instances in both Osaka or Kyoto, board a handy tour bus to visit the one thousand vermilion gates of Fushimi-Inari Shrine, scenic Nara Park, lovely Arashiyama, and extra. Japans Markets Are Dirt Low Cost Nicholas Smith The webcomic SAKANA by Madeline "Mad" Rupert is ready primarily within the Tsukiji fish market and follows the lives of the employees within the retail sector. The travel show Globe Trekker featured the Tsukiji market during host Ian Wright's trip to Tokyo. It confirmed a fish public sale, then a brief tour through its surroundings and completed with Wright eating sushi in a close-by sushi parlor. The 2005 PlayStation 2 online game Gran Turismo four featured the fish market as one of many Photo Mode areas in the game. And then, smaller department markets have been opened one after the other in succession. The land on which the fish market sat was created during the Edo period by the Tokugawa shogunate after the Great hearth of Meireki of 1657. We love this a half of Tokyo that has so much to supply and felt it deserved a mention. Back at Tsukiji enthusiastic foodies would stand up before 4 am to queue for the restricted spots obtainable to view the tuna public sale from out on the auction floor. Front Retailing, and apparel company Tokyo Base, as nicely as Tokyo Disney Resort operator Oriental Land. The majority of Japan’s nuclear power plants remain offline after the 3.eleven catastrophe, and the GOJ intends to increase the share of renewable power era. Japan started to liberalize its estimated eight trillion yen ($67 billion) household electricity market in April 2016. Since then, non-public sector firms, together with regional fuel companies, are in a place to more simply enter the market and Hokkaido has ranked third amongst areas in Japan for customers selecting to change electricity suppliers. The quality of universities within the region is excessive, with many establishments engaged in technological and energy-related research tasks. Agriculture and fisheries are predominant in central and southern Kyushu, with many Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and smaller manufacturing industries. The 10 Greatest Out Of Doors Activities In Japan You can see issues like old temples, royal palaces, breathtaking gardens, and even quirky enjoyable points of interest like actual life Mario Kart. Japan is a rustic with a captivating heritage and attention-grabbing history – it’s just so much fun visiting its many points of interest. To take part in this expertise you will want an International Drivers License, bought in your personal nation earlier than journey. Apart from that, you simply strap yourself in and follow the guides across the busy metropolis streets. For these huge kids at coronary heart, or ones after slightly pleasure, action, or lots of fun. The prints depict landscapes, common lifetime of ordinary individuals, and popular kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, and geisha from the world of leisure or “floating world”. Some have their very own onsens and usually embrace a pass to visit the other onsens on the town. After putting on the provided yukata and geta , you head out to hop from one onsen to another and chill out within the steaming waters. In winter kimonos at Kinosaki OnsenIf you need the full onsen experience, head to an onsen city. These small resort towns are normally in rural settings and have many alternative onsens. So are the Japanese food excursions within the pleasant neighborhoods of Japan! No trip to this land is full and not utilizing a trip within the bullet trains, and a go to to the shrines and temples in Kyoto. Combine the cultural delights and delectable bites of Tokyo on this 3-hour food tour of Japan’s capital. Visiting Shrines & Temples In Japan It is amongst the few jingūji nonetheless in existence after the forcible separation of Shinto and Buddhism operated by the Japanese government during the Meiji restoration. For particulars of the subject of shrine-temples, see the article Shinbutsu shūgō. Niōmon (仁王門 or 二王門) – a two-storied or high gate guarded by two wood guardians called Niō. The goal of the separation was to offer a non secular foundation for the nationalism that had to be fostered among the many individuals if Japan was to succeed as a modern state. However, the truth that the Buddhist temples have been immensely rich and powerful institutions at the moment, with big land holdings, was one other issue. The Buddhist establishment might properly have been seen as a threat to the brand new authorities. As part of this modernization, the Kami and Buddhas Separation Order was issued in 1868, kami being the Shinto gods, which have been recognized as being essentially separate from the Buddha. Until this time, Buddhism and Shinto had been virtually indistinguishable, sharing the same compounds and buildings, and the kami being seen as manifestations of the Buddha. Located in Tokyo and constructed on 645, Sensoji Temple is the oldest and one of the in style temples in Japan; it attracts hundreds of thousands of vacation makers every year. This Buddhist temple is devoted to Kannon, the goddess of mercy and is also called Asakusa Kannon Temple. Featuring an elaborate wood veranda perched atop a hillside, Kiyomizu commands an exalted spot with a view over Kyoto. The pathway leading to the shrine is lined with pottery and souvenir outlets, and the temple grounds have open-air pavilions, the place you'll be able to drink beer or eat noodles. 白蟻 miss a go to to Jishu-jinja shrine, proper on the grounds—it’s devoted to the god of love. In the Japanese language, the Buddhist temple is referred to by the word dera (Kiyomizu-dera) or will obtain the suffix - ji (Horyu-ji). Art Museums And Galleries Among the buildings and collections featured are the Nezu Museum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Museum, Nagi MOCA, the Hiroshige Museum, the George Nakashima Memorial Museum, and the Hokkaido Historical Village. The Printing Museum focuses on the history, approach, and tradition of printing. A small however considerate tribute to the works of Japan’s most beloved animation studio, the Ghibli Museum's design is as quirky as its assortment. Director Hayao Miyazaki lent his personal touch to the constructing, which loosely echoes a grand Italian villa. A dense layer of greenery covers the outside of the mansion and a 16-foot-tall robot soldier from the classic movie Castle within the Sky peers morosely down from the rooftop backyard. The Bunkyo Historical Museum has two floors of exhibits starting from pottery and different artifacts from the Jomon and Yayoi intervals of Japanese history to post-war electronics and diverse household items from 1950's and 1960's Tokyo. Advertising Museum Tokyo is positioned in the Caretta Shiodome Building close to Shimbashi and options shows of outstanding Japanese and overseas advertising in various formats from the mid-18th century onwards. Art, historical past, science, sake, trains, subways, manga, intercourse, vinegar, tobacco - even sand and torture - museums could be found in Japan. With Tokyo’s cultural buzz being similar to the metropolises of New York, London and Paris, Japan is an enthralling vacation spot for artwork lovers. Discover 10 of essentially the most vital art museums in Japan, which offer a diverse display of world-class exhibitions and collections. In addition to up to date fantastic arts, the gallery also presents numerous and well-put-together reveals covering fashion, architecture and design. 59 Loopy Japanese Restaurants

Dining out is usual in Japan, particularly in metropolitan areas, which give an abundance of choices for customers. Enjoying the local gastronomy is, to a certain extent, a part of the work-life culture, as visitingizakaya is a standard method in some corporations to socialize with colleagues. Reportedly, a good amount of enterprise offers and political choices are made inizakayaandryotei(high-end entertainment restaurants) whereas practicingnomunication. Before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 40 p.c of men and 25 % of girls frequented restaurants weekly. The rate and frequency of utilization differ throughout demographic layers. In basic, figures show men consuming extra typically out than women, whereas the frequentation price of restaurants drops with growing age. The tendencies are somewhat comparable for take-out and bento providers. Many restaurants are situated in the basements or in excessive flooring, especially within the main cities. Hot springs have a really lengthy historical past in Japan, and they're an intimate a part of Japanese tradition. This ramen place is partly run by one of many chefs from Tokyo's prime ramen eating places, so that you already know their food is going to be good. Come right here to try the yuzu shoyu ramen, a lighter ramen that is onerous to search out here in the US. The most affordable of the Japanese restaurants, especially the ramen places. In reality, some of the finest ramen places in NYC are fairly inexpensive. Sixty One Incredible Souvenirs From Japan A great spot to search out quality conventional Japanese crafts, yow will discover ceramics, conventional toys, lacquerware and fabric products here. The dated design of the interior nearly appears to take you back to a past time, enhancing the purchasing experience even more. A famous franchise boasting several creative lifestyle products, this is a great spot to get belongings you by no means know you needed. Kintsugi kits, high quality stationery and craft materials, and wonder products can be bought right here, among the long record of issues. You can discover Tokyu Hands at major locations such as Shibuya, Shinjuku and beside Tokyo Station. Hello Kitty and her lovable companions are in these outlets everywhere. Whatever your pores and skin type, oily, mixture, dry, or mature, getting began with a good skincare regime will repay in dividends, and Japanese skincare is amongst the best. Japanese cosmetics and devices have been admired the world over for his or her ingenuity and delicate approach to your skin and hair. A print, a collector's merchandise, a gourmand present, a gadget, some manga, the latest high-tech product, or a jazz CD not found in Europe are positive to please followers of Japanese tradition. Less of an precise retailer and more of a digital shopping area, Mercari is a telephone app where customers sell their pre-loved items. If you may have a specific merchandise that you’re looking for that can’t be simply discovered and have a quantity of days to spare in Japan, you'll be able to try finding them on Mercari. As gadgets can come from anyplace in Japan, supply will rely upon where the merchandise is being delivered from. If bargain looking is your thing, this could be a flea market to verify out. For the final word daruma purchasing experience, take a day journey from Tokyo to Takasaki. This relaxed city is residence to Shorinzan Daruma-ji Temple, the place the lucky daruma figure originated. Both Kyoto and Osaka also have Daruma-dera a.k.a. daruma temples. You’ll find chopsticks in pretty much each souvenir shop, although the nicer more sturdy ones are sold in department stores and kitchen supply shops. One Of The Best Sizzling Springs Destinations In Japan Takaragawa Onsen in Gunma just isn't solely tattoo-friendly however presents open-air mixed-gender baths overlooking a scenic river for those looking for a unique expertise. For those with more obvious tattoos, there are some great user-friendly Japanese-language websites that present complete lists of tattoo-friendly onsen and sento. Friends of mine with smaller tattoos have gotten away with masking them with bandages or even utilizing their small onsen towel to obscure them. For these with back tattoos, leaning towards the wall while in the water has labored. A guide to experiencing Japan's hot springs - even if you're inked. In Japan yow will discover thousands of sizzling springs and you may enjoy them in lots of types, from natural hot springs to man-made ones, from public baths to non-public ones. In the popular onsen resort areas, you can get pleasure from many scorching spring services and a particular ambiance. Before moving into the bathtub, rinse your body off with bathwater, which is known as kakeyu. You may usually see people put their towel or tenugui on their heads; that is related to the etiquette of not soaking your towel it within the bathtub. Open-air baths are referred to as Roten-buro (露天風呂) and are often embedded in beautiful landscapes. This hot spring is correct next to the sea on the grounds of the Furusato Kanko Hotel. It occurs every single day in sizzling springs across Japan because it has for hundreds of years. Bathing together is a healthy, stress-free, and bonding experience.

#20211004-PBN-Home-18

3 notes · View notes

searchingwardrobes · 4 years

Text

The Convenient Groom: 9/14

Here we are - the double date on Liam’s boat! Will Emma pass Liam's "test"? I know, the chapter count went up. I was originally going to put more in this chapter, but then I surpassed 3,000 words. Plus, I just felt like I hit the perfect sweet spot of a chapter ending. I also promised some green eyed jealousy a couple of chapters ago, but I ended up moving that to a different place in my outline. It felt like Emma and Killian needed to get closer before that could be believable. So let's commence with some hurt/comfort in this chapter, shall we?

Summary: Killian Jones just happens to be there when Emma Swan gets the phone call that changes everything: her fiance is leaving her at the altar. The thing is, it could also mean the end of her career. Convenient that Killian has nothing better to do that day. Convenient that he’s secretly in love with her. Not that Emma has to know that. Written for @spartanguard .

Rating: M

Words: 3,500 and some change

Also on Ao3

Tagging:@snowbellewells @whimsicallyenchantedrose @kmomof4 @let-it-raines @teamhook @bethacaciakay @xhookswenchx @tiganasummertree @shireness-says @stahlop @scientificapricot @welllpthisishappening @resident-of-storybrooke @thislassishooked @ilovemesomekillianjones @kday426 @ekr032-blog-blog @lfh1226-linda @ultraluckycatnd @nikkiemms @distant-rose @optomisticgirl @profdanglaisstuff @carpedzem @ohmakemeahercules @branlovestowrite @superchocovian @sherlockianwhovian @vvbooklady1256 @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @delirious-latenight-laughs @jennjenn615 @snidgetsafan

“Ask me another one,” Emma called out from the bathroom, her words garbled by the toothpaste in her mouth. The words were followed by the sound of her spitting into the sink, and Killian winced. Emma Swan was a mess - literally. She left dirty clothes all over her bedroom floor, left wet towels in a heap in the bathroom, had a bad habit of kicking off her shoes wherever she happened to sit down, and at this very moment he knew there was toothpaste flying all over the sink and the mirror above it.

And God help him, he loved her more now than he had when he first agreed to this charade.

“Okay,” he called back, clearing the emotion from his throat with a short cough, “port and starboard.”

Killian grabbed a bag of pretzels from the pantry and tossed them into the waterproof tote with the rest of their food. He could hear Emma gargling down the hall, then spitting again. He shook his head thinking of all the little splashes he’d soon have to scrub from the mirror.

“Um . . . okay, port is the . . . left side of the boat. Right - I mean, correct?”

“When facing which way?” He turned to the fridge as he spoke, gathering up a six pack of sodas and another of beer.

“Facing . . . the bow. Which is the front of the boat?” Her face was scrunched up in a hesitant expression as she walked into the kitchen, her arms above her head as she twisted her hair up into a messy bun.

An adorable hesitant expression.

“Good job, love!”

Emma beamed even as she gave him a nonchalant shrug. “So that means starboard is the right side of the boat when you’re facing the bow.”

“You got it!”

“I don’t know . . . “ she trailed off hesitantly. “Ask me another one?”

Killian closed the lid on the cooler and stepped close to her, resting both hands on her shoulders. “You’ll be fine. Liam isn’t going to be giving you a pop quiz.”

Emma arched both brows. “You sure about that?”

He couldn’t stop his jaw from clenching, but he forced a smile upon his face nevertheless. “It’ll be fine.”

“You sound so convincing,” Emma muttered as she slipped into a pair of flip flops that she had kicked off underneath the coffee table.

“I wouldn’t wear those.”

“Why not?”

“They aren’t safe for the boat, plus you could easily lose them in the water.”

Emma sighed like a teenager. “Fine, I’ll wear my BOBS.”

She shuffled down the hall, and Killian shook his head. Her voice floated back to him with a muffled sound, and he could hear a clunking sound as shoes hit the floor.

“Ummm, Killian! Have you seen my BOBS? The navy ones?”

“The back porch, love!”

Emma scurried past him as he hoisted up the tote and the cooler. He followed her out the back door, and Emma grabbed his bicep as she hopped into one shoe and then the other.

“How did I ever find my shoes without you?” she asked him with an innocent smile.

She turned away from him to snap Smee’s leash onto his collar and then grab the second tote filled with their towels and sunscreen. Killian felt frozen in place at her words, though he knew she meant nothing by them. He watched her jog down the back steps, the sea breeze tugging at her hair, and smiles for the dog whose tail wagged in adoration at the newest member of the household. The only thing he could think was that he would gladly spend the rest of his life helping Emma Swan find her shoes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma felt slightly dizzy, her stomach churned a bit, and she wasn’t even on the boat yet. She was tough and adaptable, so she wasn’t really worried about not having sea legs. The nerves in her stomach were all about the captain of this vessel - a very overprotective and suspicious big brother named Liam Jones.

She would feel a lot better if she and Killian had been able to take the Jolly Roger out a few times before today. But between work and several July thunderstorms, it had never happened. Oh, and there was the one Sunday that her menstrual cramps had her in the fetal position with a heating pad. Oh well, there wasn’t anything she could do about it now but hope that sailing101.com was sufficient to pass Liam’s test because despite what Killian claimed, that’s what this was - a test.

The August sun was so hot and bright that Emma squinted even behind her sunglasses. She looked over at Killian’s boat which was sleeker and smaller. It was also a sailboat as opposed to the trawler motor boat that Liam owned. Emma would have called it a yacht before sailing101.com, a mistake Killian assured her would not have gone over well with his brother.

It sure looked like a yacht to her.

“Ready to come aboard?”

Emma tilted her head up. Liam stood at the boat’s edge with his hand out to help her up. She chewed on her lower lip as she eyed the edge of the dock nervously. She’d sort of been expecting a ramp or something, and that looked like a pretty big gap she had to cross. Thankfully, Killian appeared at her side and put one hand firmly at her waist and the other at her elbow. She tried not to wobble as the brothers helped her onto the boat. Smee jumped up without preamble after her, and she had to grasp the railing as the dog almost knocked her off her feet.

“We’re so excited you’re here!” Elsa exclaimed as she hurried down from the boat’s upper level. Emma felt herself relax slightly as the other woman embraced her. “Here, let me take that,” she continued, reaching for the bag looped around Emma’s shoulder.

Elsa took Emma to the bow off the ship where there were comfortable padded benches for sunbathing. She lifted one to reveal a storage area and tucked their swimming gear inside. Smee came bounding up, sniffing at the opposite bench.

“Oh no you don’t,” Elsa laughed, “that’s not for you.”

She pulled Smee away by the back of his doggie life vest, which Emma couldn’t deny was adorable in a funny sort of way.

“I’m guessing there are treats in there?” Emma asked. “Of the human variety?”

Elsa nodded. “There’s a cooler in there with drinks and a tote with munchies. There’s a kitchen in the cabin, and all the lunch stuff is in there, but it’s nice to have snacks up here.”

“Where are Anna and Kristoff?”

“Oh, Anna hasn’t exactly been a fan of the boat since she got pregnant. I don’t know if it’s physical or psychological, though. The day she put two and two together was on the boat. She never gets seasick or motion sick of any kind, but that day she spent most of her time bent over the railing.”

Emma wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t sound fun.”

Elsa laughed. “Agreed.” She plopped down on the padded seat and patted the spot next to her. “Relax, Emma, and enjoy the sun.”

Emma glanced nervously over her shoulder. Killian was untying the ropes from the dock while Liam steered the boat and shouted instructions.

“Should we be helping?”

Elsa shook her head. “Those two enjoy pretending they’re sailing the seven seas. I only help Liam when it’s just the two of us.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s the only time I want to strangle the man. He takes being captain way too seriously.”

Emma sank down onto the seat next to her. “Then I’m glad we could come along.”

“You have no idea!” She glanced up at her husband, then leaned closer to Emma and lowered her voice. “And don’t take Liam’s gruffness too seriously. He’ll figure out how good you are for Killian sooner rather than later. Admitting it, however, may take a bit longer. If you haven’t noticed, stubbornness runs in the family.”

Emma shrugged her shoulders. “That’s okay, I’m pretty stubborn myself.”

Elsa grinned as she reached over and fished two beers out of the cooler. “So am I, Emma. Liam needed someone stubborn to put him in his place.” She handed one of the beers to Emma. “So here’s to stubborn Jones wives.”

Emma grinned back as she clinked her bottle with Elsa’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma reached into the mini fridge in the boat’s small kitchen and pulled out a bottle of water. She then pressed the cold plastic first to her forehead, then both cheeks. Her hand trembled slightly, and she took several deep, slow breaths. Everything had been fine at first. She’d enjoyed drinks at the bow with Elsa, talking and laughing together. The sea breeze in their hair and the sun on their faces had been exhilarating. The men had stayed by the controls talking about whatever boat lovers talked about as they skimmed over the waves.

After laying anchor, the four of them had jumped into the water. Emma had tired out more quickly than was normal for her, but she still had a great time. The ocean water was a pleasant and refreshing change after all of the sun. She’d gotten out and toweled off before anyone else, and she had braced herself for criticism from Liam. Surprisingly, it never came.

It wasn’t until lunch that Emma felt that churning in her stomach again. She thought at first she just needed air and had convinced everyone to take lunch up on the bow. It had helped, even though her stomach had still protested a bit at the food. She’d ended up nibbling at her sandwich and only grabbing three or four grapes. Luckily, everyone was so busy talking, no one really noticed her lack of appetite.

Emma leaned over the sink to steady herself as the boat swayed a bit more than it had been a moment ago. She unfortunately didn’t hear Killian making his way below until it was too late.

“Are you okay, love?” he asked with concern as he came up behind her. He placed his hand on the middle of her back and started to rub gently.

“I’m fine.”

“You look pale, Swan, maybe we should head back to shore a bit early.”

“You know we can’t do that,” she hissed under her breath.

“If you’re not feeling well, I really don’t give a shit about what my brother thinks.”

Emma straightened and pushed her hair back from her forehead. “Well I do. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction. Besides, I’ll be fine. I took some Dramamine with my lunch when no one was looking.”

Killian’s face was still lined with concern but he nodded. “Okay, but if you don’t get any better, let me know.”

Emma fanned her face. “I think I need some air.”

She rushed for the ladder to get back up above, her stomach lurching and heat flaming along her cheeks. Things didn’t improve once the cool ocean breeze hit her face. If anything, her equilibrium was even worse on deck, and she knew immediately that what little she’d eaten at lunch was about to come back up. She ignored Elsa’s concerned inquiries and raced to the railing. She leaned as far over as she could, retching violently. She moaned, her arms shaking as she continued to vomit.

“Killian, get up here,” Elsa shouted below. She rushed over to Emma’s side and rubbed her back much like Killian had done. Emma moaned again, this time in embarrassment. At least she’d worn her hair up so she wasn’t vomiting in her hair.

Killian was at her side quickly, pressing a cool cloth to her forehead. She pushed him away, not because she wasn’t touched by his kindness, but because she was retching again. God, she hadn’t eaten that much today. How could she still be puking?

“Motion sickness,” Liam said flatly, “well, that’s strange. I thought you said you two were out on the water all the time?”

“Shut your trap, Liam before I shut it for you,” Killian growled, “and this seems way too severe to be motion sickness.”

“Maybe you’re pregnant,” Elsa teased.

That only made Emma dry heave until she remembered her period from two weeks ago. God, that would suck if she was knocked up by Walsh. Emma reached out a shaky hand for the cool cloth Killian had brought her and used it to wipe her mouth.

“I think it’s passed,” she whispered, her strength completely drained. If Elsa and Killian hadn’t been there, she would have collapsed to the deck. Blessedly, Liam had already moved to pull up the anchor. She couldn’t help a whimper escaping when she thought about how long they had sailed before stopping. All she wanted was her bed.

“Would you feel better up here or down below?” Killian asked her.

“Up here I think. The breeze helps.”

Elsa helped her to the benches on the bow while Killian assisted his brother in preparing the boat for the return trip. Emma laid out on the bench with the damp cloth over her eyes. She must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing she knew, Killian was gently shaking her.

“Emma,” he said softly. He pressed a hand to her forehead, then gasped. “Darling, you’re burning up!”

The next thing Emma knew, Killian had scooped her up into his arms. The sun made her head pound, so she closed her eyes and pressed her face into Killian’s collarbone. She could hear Smee’s excited breathing and the tinkling of his tags as he bounded around Killian’s legs. Despite the dog and the unsteadiness of the boat, Killian carried her smoothly to the deck. He didn’t seem winded in the least as he headed across the sandy path to their house, nor did his arms shake beneath her weight. She wasn’t really surprised at his strength and stamina considering he spent all day doing physical labor. What surprised her was how much she liked it. She let herself relax against his warm chest, telling herself it was just because she was sick.

Sooner than she had expected, she heard the screen door squeak open.

“We’re home,” she whispered thankfully.

“I should have done this sooner,” Killian told her as he shifted her weight so he could open the kitchen door.

“Do what?” she asked, looking up into his face.

He grinned down at her. “Carry you over the threshold.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she turned her face into the crook of his neck. He smelled like a mixture of sea salt, sunscreen, and sweat. It was a great smell. Yankee Candle Company would make a fortune if they made that into a candle. The sexy sailor candle. Emma chuckled into Killian’s skin.

“What’s so funny, love?”

“Nothing.” He started to carry her to the bedroom. “No, the couch.”

“I can’t let you do that, Swan, you’re sick.”

“But the tv will take my mind off feeling like shit.”

Her logic seemed to satisfy him, and he turned around and deposited her gently onto the couch. He covered her with a blanket and handed her the remote. Emma leaned back on the pillows, thankful to be off the boat, even though her stomach still rolled like the waves.

Killian returned with a thermometer in his hand and a pot under his arm. He set the pot in Emma’s lap. “This is for if you get sick and don’t think you can make it to the bathroom.”

Emma looked first at the pot, then back up at him. “Please tell me you don’t cook with this.”

He chuckled and palmed the back of his neck. “Um, no, it’s the puke pot.”

“Puke pot?”

“I know, it sounds disgusting. When Liam and I were kids, our mom bought a dirt cheap soup pot at a discount store for when we got sick. It got dubbed the puke pot.”

Emma wrinkled her nose and looked down into the empty pot. “You don’t keep this in the kitchen, do you? Like, I don’t want to accidentally make pasta in the puke pot.”

“Of course not, love, I keep it under the sink in the bathroom.”

“Thank God,” she muttered.

Over the next forty-eight hours, Emma would come to understand the beauty of the puke pot. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever been so violently sick in all her life, and not having to leave the couch when the nausea hit was a blessing. There was also something about being able to grasp the handles as she hugged it to her chest. She just felt awful for Killian, who had to clean it. Awful and humiliated.

She kept telling him how sorry she was. She apologized when he held her hair back while she retched. She apologized when he pressed cool cloths to her forehead. She apologized every time he helped her sit up and sip Gatorade. He kept telling her she had no reason to be sorry, but she kept saying it anyway.

Killian never left the house once in forty-eight hours. He was always there when she needed him. She’d never had anyone take care of her like that before, and on the second evening, as he pressed yet another cool cloth to her forehead, she suddenly began to cry.

“Are you alright?” he asked in alarm, pressing the back of his hand to each of her cheeks to check for a fever.

“Why are you doing this?”

His brow furrowed. “We’re married.”

“Not really.”

“Emma, listen to me,” he said, his voice serious, “regardless of what our relationship is

or isn’t, I care about you. I won’t stand by and watch you suffer alone.”

Emma nodded, unsure how to respond to his sincerity. As she so often did, Emma deflected by changing the subject.

“So, um . . . I’ve been wondering. You and Liam have British accents, but you said mom and you called it a puke pot. Aren’t those American words?”

Killian gave a soft laugh and nodded his head. “Aye, they are. My mother was American. Dad hated some of the American words we picked up from her. Puke being the worst, in his opinion.”

“Well, puke pot does have nice alliteration.”

He laughed even harder at that. “Yes, it does.”

She searched his eyes, and realized how much she wanted to ask him about his childhood. He spoke of his mother with affection in the rare moments he mentioned her. His father, on the other hand, rarely came up. Yet asking him about that opened the door to questions on her beginnings, and she wasn’t sure she was ready.

“Thank you,” she finally said, “for taking care of me.”

He brushed a strand of hair gently away from her damp forehead. “I’ll accept a thank you, but no more of this I’m sorry business, okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered softly. She buried herself in the blanket he had brought her earlier, her stomach settling just enough so that she hopefully could sleep. Killian took the pot off her lap and set it within reach on the coffee table. Then he tucked the blanket under her chin before flipping off the lights. As she drifted off, her last thought was that a girl could get used to this.

Whatever virus Emma had caught was evidently a 48 hour bug, because the next morning she woke up with an appetite for the first time since before the trip on the Jewel. Killian shooed her out of the kitchen, however, reminding her that she was still weak. When he brought her breakfast, it was plain toast and more Gatorade. She pouted up at him.

“Dry toast? Can I at least have a bagel?”

He frowned down at her, his arms crossed at his chest. “You need to ease slowly back into eating, Swan. Just see if you keep that down okay, and we’ll go from there.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, reaching for the remote. She had rescheduled all of her sessions for the rest of the week, wanting to be sure she wasn’t contagious. She was relieved since her short walk to the kitchen and back to the couch had left her surprisingly winded.

Killian came back in with a mug of coffee in his hands. The smell of it made her crave some, but she doubted Killian would go for that. “So,” he said after taking a sip, “would you be alright on your own here today?”

“Absolutely,” Emma said as she nibbled on her toast, “I feel so much better - you have no idea. And I know you’ve got to be behind on work at the shop.”

“Good,” he told her with a genuine smile, but then he narrowed his eyes at her. “Can I trust you to take it easy and not to eat anything heavy?”

“Yes, Dad,” she assured him with a roll of her eyes.

“Okay,” he said, “I’m off then.”

He bent and brushed a kiss to her cheek before heading out the door. It wasn’t until he was already gone that Emma dropped her toast, paused the episode of Gilmore Girls, and cried out, “What the hell was that?”

#cs ff #cs modern au #marriage of convenience #slow burn #humor #and some angst #for spartanguard

49 notes · View notes

cicici03 · 4 years

Text

Conform or Change- Chapter 2

“Now Shy, I told you that you don’t have to help me cook. Now you go on somewhere!” Anna Mae cried out to Shy while pushing her out.

Ms. Anna Mae was the Munteanu’s house keeper. Just like Shy, she was from the south, Alabama to be extact. She moved up here with her son and his family because The Jim Crow Laws that incite violence and mobs against black people. Ms.Anna Mae didn’t take crap from nobody, black or white, and she defitnely didn’t like when you was in the kitchen.

Shy laughed at Ms. Anna Mae as she tried to get her out of the kitchen. However, Shy still standed at the counter cutting the collard greens. Ms. Anna Mae shooked her head and turn around back to the stove.

“ Now you must really want that boy to fire me now! You over there fixin them good collard greens.” Ms. Anna Mae said in her Southern accent.

Shy smiled to herself as she kept cutting the collard greens. She look to see out of the window into the backyard. The kids were playing around in the mud with Elena.

“ Oh God!” Shy said in a quiet hush tone. She wasn’t upset about them playing, but she was upset about how Florian would react to their clothes. On Sunday afternoons, some of Florian close friends from the mafia come to eat lunch.

Shy quickly wipe her hands onto her apron. As she was bout to go out to the back door, Florian walked into the kitchen. Ms. Anna Mae could feel the room get cold as Florian walked in.

Shy turn all the way around to see Florian looking outside the window. He looks back to her and shook his head.

Florian turn to the fridge to get him a brew. Shy turn back around to the collard greens and went back cooking.

“ Boy, why are you shaking your head at that girl?” Ms. Anna Mae looks towards Florian.

“ It’s nothing to worry your brain about Ms. Anna.” Florian lied as he took a big gulp of the brew.

Ms. Anna Mae looked at him like he had two heads on him.

“ Well, butter my damn biscuit! Now, I wouldn’t have ask that question if Ms. Shy wouldn’t cry right as you left this kitchen!” Ms. Anna Mae voice rose an octove as she looked at Shy.

Shy was quietly whimpering as she cut the greens.

“ Shy, baby, turn around.” Ms. Anna Mae said while Florian was looking on to. Shy quickly put down the knife and wipe her eyes. As she was doing that, Ms. Anna Mae look at Florian watching his wife.

Nothing.

Florian seem like it was nothing wrong with his wife. Now if ge made Shy cry a few years ago, he be comforting her.Ms. Anna Mae knew them since the twins was two years old. She seen them when they were happy and they use to make her yelled at them when they need to go to a bedroom.

Now, Ms. Anna Mae saw two broken spirits that don’t know what to do no more.

As Shy turn around, she looked at the floor. Florian turn to Ms. Anna Mae and then turn back and walked out the kitchen.

“ Now, Shy, I know you shy. However, you need to take up for yourself honey!” Ms. Anna Mae looked at Shy.

Shy all of sudden just broke down crying.

Ms. Anna Mae rushed over to her and went to hugging her. To Shy, Ms. Anna Mae was the mother she never had.

“ I know. I know.” Ms. Anna Mae held her as she cried along with her. Even though, Ms. Anna Mae didn’t know exactly that was bothering Shy.

She did know that when somebody was hurting.

As they stood their for a moment, they was interrupted by the kids running in with Elena. The kids ran through the kitchen and into the living room. Elena saw the tear-filled eye of Shy.

“ Shy what’s wrong!” Elena run over to Shy.

Shy shooked her head, and just turn back around to cutting the greens. Shy wasn’t mad at Elena, but she didn’t like when there was so much attention on her.

Elena look at Ms. Anna Mae.

Ms. Anna Mae walked over to the stove while pushing Elena over there too.

Ms. Anna Mae said in hush tone what happen.

Elena really wanted to slap her cousin. She didn’t only want to slap him, but herself too. She should’ve told the kids to stop playing and shouldn’t have even join them.

“ Should I tell him that it was my fought?” Elena asked Ms.Anna Mae.

“ He is still going to say it is my fault.” Shy spoke quietly, but loudly enough for Elena and Ms. Anna Mae to hear.

As Elena was about to say something,the door bell interrupted her.

Everybody knew, that the semi quiet house was about to interrupt into chaos. Elena went to the door and open it to see many of the mafia members, their significant others, and kids.

Soon the house was in chaos.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

As everybody mingle, Shy stayed in the kitchen as per usual. Shy really didn’t talk to any of the wives.They were all genuinely nice to her.Even though, the wives range in many different race and nationalities, Shy just could never talked to them.

Shy had extreme social anxiety and with sheltering herself as a child. She made her social anxiety even worst.

As Shy kept cooking, the door bell rang again. As the door open, the room erupted in cheers.

Shy wondering whom could it be.

She finish stirring the pot of Cabbege Rolls for Mr. Alexundru that loves his home country food. With that, she tooked the apron off and headed to the living room.

Everbody was around the person that walked in. Soon as Shy could see the person, she grin from ear to ear.

“ Now where is my Shy!” the ringing voice yelled.

Everbody started to seprate and Shy eyes land on her.

“ Marilyn!” Shy ran to hug her sister.

“Majorie!” Marilyn said while hugging her sister even tighter.

At the tender age of 23, Marilyn have been everywhere. From, Milan, Paris, Barcelona, England. Marilyn is an NYU graduated and have been working and organzing for The Black Femnist Movement since then.

As the sisters kept hugging, a small voice spoked up.

“ Aunt Mar, did you bring presents?” Florian Jr asked with his siblings behind him.

Marilyn smiled, “ Of course I do! I actually got presents for everyone!”

Marilyn open the suitcase by her feet and let everyone at them.

Shy and Marilyn walked back to the kitchen where Elena, Ms. Anna Mae, and David was at.

“ Well, look a here. I didn’t know they let sleazy night walkers back into the U.S!”Ms. Anna Mae sassed at Marilyn.

“ Well, I don’t know why Shy still have a country pumpkin of a hag still working for her!” Marilyn devilishly smiled.

Shy popped Marilyn on the head.

“ What, she started with me first!” Marilyn shouted back at Shy.

Marilyn walked over to Elena and gave her a hug. Just not any old hug, but a hug that lasted for a minute.

Even though David and Ms. Anna Mae was finishing the food. Shy looked at the two.

She knew that hug just wasn’t a friendly hug, but a hug that meant more.

The two let go and stare at each other for a minute, before Marilyn saw out of the corner of her eye to see her sister staring.

“ Well, where is that no good husband of yours?” Marilyn scoffed out her lips while walking over to Shy.

Shy, whom was fixing Mr.Alexundru plate, looked at her sister with pleading eyes.

“ What, he is no good!” Marilyn said in a matter to fact voice.

“ Little girl, stay out of them folks business. You need to find you a man of your own instead of opening up your legs so wide!” Ms. Anna Mae spoke up.

“ You need get like David here!”, Ms.Anna Mae tap David on the shoulder, “ Be a virgin!”

Elena, Marilyn, and Shy snickered under their breath.

Of course Ms. Anna Mae thought David was a virgin. He was of course, to women, however men was another thing.

“ Well thank you Ms. Anna Mae for putting my business out there!” David stuttered with embarrassment.

“ Of course honey!” Ms.Anna Mae smile while walking with a dish to the dining room.

All the girls start laughing at Ms. Anna Mae.

As they all calm down, Marilyn spoke.

“ Shy, I got you some good news!” Marilyn smiled.

As she was bout to come out with it, Ms.Anna Mae yelled, “ It is time to eat everyone!”

“ Oh tell me later Marilyn! I got to get the kids to wash their hands!” Shy quickly washed her hands in the sink.

“ Can you also get all the men from out of Florian’s office!” Shy left the kitchen to get the kids.

Marilyn rolled her eyes as she realize that she was going to see the man that made her blood boil.

Florian and Marilyn use to be cool with each other, but as Marilyn went to school and started to learn more about female empowerment. She realize that Florian was a man with a big ego.

Along side, that he blame her sister for something that happen two years ago. However, how Marilyn saw it, it was his fault.

As Marilyn got to the door, she just listen for a bit of the conversation.

In the room, Florian and many of the younger men in the mafia talk about their wives and lives. While the older men spilt up from them and talk about their youth.

“ Florian, how are you and the Mrs. I heard that Anna Marie came to the church!” Oscar said with his thick Puerto-Rican accent. Everybody quiet down when they heard what Oscar said.

“ Nothing happen.” Florian said in a cold tone.

“ Well Mr. Bossman, that is not what I heard,” Oscar went on, “ I heard that Anna Marie was basically saying all of the out of the box things. With that, you let her say them things!” Oscar finish up.

Florian glared at Oscar.

“ Damn Boss, the downstairs not that good anymore?” Brian spoked to Florian.

Florian was listening, but was in his own thoughts about Anna Marie. He was thinking about her in way that would not be pleasing.

“ You see it is true! You having an affair with Anna Marie!” Oscar said in a shocked voice.

Everybody look at Florian.

He didn’t say anything.

“ We haven’t done nothing, but whenever I am on top of Shy, I think about her!” Florian confirmed anybody suspicion of his relations to Anna Marie.

Everybody was quiet.

When Marilyn heard that, she was anger personified. She wanted to go in there and choke Florian.

Marilyn still with anger, put on her award winning smiled and barge in. All the men glance and saw her.

“ Oh Mamcita, you look more beautiful than ever!” Oscar glided over to Marilyn. All the men, except Florian, looked at her with goo goo eyes.

“ If you are not single, I will tell your wives that y’all are looking at me crazy. With that, the food is ready!” Marilyn said with a nonchalant tone.

All the men walked towards the dining room table. With that, Florian was the last one to leave.

Marilyn looked at him up and down. She knew something was wrong with her sister when she first came in, but Shy would always brush under the rug.

Marilyn knew she needed to say something.

With that, the wheels was turning as she headed to the dining room

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4 hours later...

Everybody was having a good time mingling and eating. The kids were outside playing in the back yard with some of the elders of the mafia watching them.

Then all the adults were sitting at the table. Florian and Shy sat at the ends of the table, with everyone else in the middle.

Marilyn thought this was a perfect time to tell everyone her good news.

She stood up and tap her class to get everyone attention. She looks around, seeing everyone smiling but Florian.

“ Well, I have some good news for myself and my sister,” Marilyn smiled, “ Well I got a job as a professor for Women Studies at NYU!” Marilyn screamed with joy.

Everybody cheer, excepted for Florian.

“ With that, that means I am staying back in the New York full time!” Marilyn scream once again with joy.

Marilyn looked at her sister and could see the happiness beam off her.

“ I also said that I had a surprise for my sister.” Marilyn smiled to Shy. Marilyn took the big envelope off her seat and hand it to her.

All the wives knew what it was, and they all ran over to surround her.

Shy looked at her sister with Marilyn giving her a nodded.

She read whom it was from:

New York University Admissions

Shy open it and took out the paper.

“ Marjorie Munteanu, we will like to officially accepted you into the The Betterment Program!” Shy yelled out with excitement.

She ran over to her sister and hug her tightly.

“ Plus, it’s free since I work there!” Marilyn yelled out.

Even though, Marilyn wanted to travel more . Whenever reading letters from her sister, she felt so much sadness behind them.

Marilyn might be the youngest sister, but she is the big sister in some sense.

So when, one of her friends recommend her for the professor tenure. Marilyn thought about Shy and how much this could help her.

Shy is always doing for others, but not doing something for herself.

As the women where celebrating, all the men looked at Florian.

Florian was furious.

“No.” Florian snapped while slamming his hand on the table.

Everything turn very quiet in the dining room, and even outside where the kids were due to the door being open.

One of the elders close the door knowing it was about to be bad.

Marilyn looked at Florian.

“ Well she is! It’s not like you paying for it!”Marilyn exclaimed while looking at Florian.

“ She is not going.” Florian assured while looking at Shy. Florian went back eating his pasta.

“ It’s fine. We can talk about it later.” Shy stuttered out.

Florian looked back up and said, “ There is nothing else that needs to be talk about, and that is final.”

“Shy you really going to let him talk to you like that. For bloody hell Shy, this your chance to leave him!” Marilyn yelped out. When Marilyn realized what she said, she regret it.

All you could hear was Florian’s fork drop on the plate.

Shy didn’t dare look up.

Florian was shocked by hearing that.

Shy wouldn’t do that.

Florian looked at Shy and knew that Marilyn was telling the truth. Shy always start scratching her left arm whenever she was nervous.

Everybody look at Florian, and they never seen him shock like how he was.

“ Shy, get her out this house.” Florian voice tremble with anger.

“ No I am not going to get out of this house. Cause if you remember, Shy holds 80 percent ownership of this house. Plus I wouldn’t dare leave my sister with you like this. You don’t love her! You think about that slut, Anna-Marie, whenever you are on top of my sister!” Marilyn scream with tears coming down her eyes.

All the men looked at Marilyn.

“ Yeah, I heard everyone and what they had to say! So please don’t test me!” Marilyn blurted out.

As everything has been thrown out there, Mr. Alexundru, whom was sitting by Shy, looked at her.

Shy was heart-broken.

She knew that things were bad, but not this bad.

Shy was holding in the tears, but she couldn’t hold them anymore.

She left the dining room, and went quickly up the stairs. Florian followed right behind her.

As Marilyn was trying to go and follow them, Ms. Anna Mae held her back.

“ You already done cause WWII to happen. We are not ready for a Hirshomia!” Ms. Anna Mae whispered with much authority.

Everybody just sat there to listen, what was going on upstairs.

All they heard was a slam of a door.

Florian walked back downstairs and left the house.

Nobody didn’t know what to do.

“ Well I guess that means we are not going to eat cake.” Oscar looked around.

Marilyn smacked upside the head and went back to drinking her wine.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well.......

How do we feel about that chapter?

What is Florian blaming Shy for that may be his fault after all?

How do you like Marilyn?

Marilyn and Elena?

Shy?

Florian?

Ms.Anna Mae?

Oscor?

Y’all there are to many questions and I need answers!

So please LIKE,COMMENT,AND REBLOG!

Taglist: @19jammmy @twistedcharismaaa @designerwriterchic @queen-zelieonna @amethyst09 @champagnesugamama @natashacoco @cocobutterqwueen @bvssmob

#florian big nasty munteanu #florian munteanu x black reader #florian munteanu

29 notes · View notes

atzbabyy · 4 years

Text

Gherkins | CJH ~ Jiyoung

genre: fluff

phrase(s): 9; “i’m pregnant” & 14; “better get your dad jokes ready”

age: Jiyoung = fetus / Aurora = 5 / Ophelia = 1

warnings: pregnant!reader

___________

“Ya, Choi Jongho,” you said, answering the phone.

“Ya, Choi Y/N,” Jongho chuckled, “you alright?”

You laughed, “I’m not Choi yet! But I’m good, why’d you call?”

“I’m in the store right now, what do you want for dinner?” Jongho asked.

“Ooh! Can we have something spicy?” you asked, heading to the kitchen cupboards to see if there’s anything else you needed, “oh, yeah, we also ran out of gherkins. Can you get some more?”

“Gherkins?” Jongho asked, “strange, we never eat those. Are you sure you want them?”

“God yes, I’ve been living off them recently!” you exclaimed, “I don’t know, been wanting lots of food recently.”

Jongho hummed, “well, whatever, I’ll be home soon.”

“Really? I thought you were Jongho! Are you changing your name?” you joked.

Jongho laughed, “shut up. Love you.”

You laughed, “love you too. I’ll see you soon.”

“Really? I thought you were Y/N—”

“Goodbye!”

You hung up upon hearing Jongho’s laughs, sighing as you looked at the empty jar of pickles. It’s so strange, why had you been eating so many of them recently? You literally felt as though you could eat a whole jar without being sick.

Oh god.

You scrambled for your phone, calling Hongjoong’s wife. Just as Hongjoong was the reliable eldest for the boys, his wife was the reliable eldest for all of Ateez’s wives. Her and Hongjoong had been together since they were young, and she basically knew everything.

“Y/N!” she cheered, “you guys alright? Jongho home safe?”

“Um, he’s just at the store right now, but listen um... I seem to remember you telling me that you had a lot of strange cravings. During... during pregnancy,” you said, closing the fridge and going over to the calender.

She chuckled, “yeah I did, especially for Ophelia. Why?”

“Well, wha-what were they? Specifically,” you said.

“Non-foods,” she said, “but early on, maybe spicy food? Gherkins? Ice-cream? They’re the big ones.”

“Shit, shit, shit,” you said, beginning to walk to the bathroom.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, “you sound panicked.”

“C-Can you stay on the line?” you asked, “I don’t want to explain, but I need someone right now.”

“Of course, I’m just cooking dinner though, so I’ll put you on speaker,” she said before you heard the sound of the phone being put down, and then Hongjoong’s voice and the two girls’ giggles.

You couldn’t help but smile, you could hear Hongjoong’s cooing and the sound of children laughing was so infectious, it just made you smile. But getting the pregnancy test out the box, you stopped, sighing. If this turned out to be positive, how would you feel?

You loved Jongho, that was clear in the way you’d agreed to marry him in just two months time. But were either of you ready for a child? Your own living, breathing, walking, talking, responsibility of a baby?

“Aurora! Hongjoong! Dinner!” Hongjoong’s wife called, “and you’re going to bed, Missy.”

You smiled at the sound of whining coming from her youngest daughter.

“Do you want to be here or come with me?” she asked, her voice but a whisper.

You sighed, smiling, “you can go now, thank you.”

She chuckled, “don’t worry. Always here.”

The line went dead and you took a deep breath, placing the small stick on the side and setting a timer for five minutes before washing your hands.

“Honey, I’m home!” Jongho called.

“Hey home, I’m honey!” you called back, Jongho shaking his head and chuckling slightly.

“Where are you?”

“Bathroom,” you responded, walking out and shutting the door behind you as Jongho came and greeted you.

You rested your hands on his cheeks as his went down to your waist, kissing you gently before walking across your flat to the kitchen and setting down the bag of groceries.

“You’re really enjoying your dad jokes, aren’t you?” Jongho chuckled.

“No, I’m Y/N,” you said, biting your lip, “sorry, that was a bad one.”

Jongho laughed, shaking his head, “I’m not great at them, I can’t judge you.”

“Well,” you shrugged, “better get your dad jokes ready, I guess.”

“Hmm?” Jongho asked, glancing up at you, “babe, what are you talking about?”

“Well maybe,” you breathed.

“Wh-What?”

The timer went off on your phone and you stopped, looking at Jongho for a second before walking into the bathroom and picking up the stick off the side.

positive

“Jongho,” you breathed, “I’m pregnant.”

“What?!” he exclaimed, turning to you with a shocked look on his face, “wh-what?!”

You turned the stick so he could see, “I’m pregnant. You’re really gonna need those dad jokes.”

Jongho’s mouth hung open, nothing but a slight laugh coming out.

“What?”

“You’ve already said that,” you chuckled, trying not to let the tears spill from your eyes as you walked up to your fiancé, “this is good, right?”

“Y/N,” Jongho breathed, pulling you into a tight hug, his face buried in your hair, “god, this– this is amazing! Y/N, I love you so much.”

A stray tear fell from your eye, followed by a tide of others as you buried your face in Jongho’s shoulder, breathing in the familiar, comforting scent.

“Oh god, Jongho I was so scared,” you breathed, “I mean, I am so scared, this is a scary thing but jesus christ I love you.”

Jongho chuckled, pulling away ever-so-slightly so he could press kisses against your face, “is that why you wanted gherkins?”

You laughed, nodding, “I think so.”

“Have all the gherkins you want, babe,” Jongho said, “as long as our baby’s healthy.”

He paused, “oh my god.”

“What?”

“Our baby,” he said, pulling away and staring at you in disbelief, “that’s a real thing. We have a baby. Y/N, we have a baby. Our baby. I have to tell everyone! Oh my god!”

141 notes · View notes

coffeeandcalligraphy · 4 years

Note

👀

send me a 👀 and i’ll post a snippet of art/writing that i never got around to finishing this year (r.i.p)

okay so here’s the tea on all the things that didn’t get finished in 2019!

2019 was the year of abandoning short stories lol oops! Here’s the hit list: :’(

1. Growing Season

This is such a hard hit because who doesn’t want to read a story about a woman replacing her boyfriend with a cactus, narrated BY the cactus?? I’d love to revisit this story because a) it’s told in my fave POV (first person directed to “you”) and b) “you” is an apathetic college dropout who goes for the hard dRAG after a bad breakup with her boyfriend, and c) because a cactus NARRATES it.

I’m at a little over 800 words in this story (it def gives me Sea Life by Eliza Robertson vibes).

2. Phantom Limbs in D Minor

Biggest hit! I’ve been working on this story since March, made good progress in the beginning, and slowly began drifting from it. I’ve chipped away at it sporadically over the last few months, and I’ve made it my goal to finish it over break! I don’t see myself hitting this goal, but I do hope to actually finish this story because I feel like it contains some of the best prose I’ve written and I love the vibe! I’m at over 2k words with a scene of about 1k floating around. I’ve actually toyed with making this story a novel because the scope seems quite large, but I definitely want to finish the short story before I think about that more! We follow chaotic Linda as she stress renovates her childhood home (a past! commune!) after her mother’s death. Linda is so precious to me, and I’d love to give her a story! If New York by Ex:Re was a person, it would be Linda lol.

3. Anatomy of a Swinging Door

I’m making a statement, and my statement is that this is my designated cult story which means it must happen in the future. This was originally my “test out first person retrospective” story, though I think the point of view isn’t working super well here, but we’ll see! I conveniently wrote a logline for this story when I was trying to narrow down the scope, so here you go: A young woman visits her childhood home on the one-year anniversary of her brother’s disappearance and meets the new (and strange) family who lives there.

(cult!)

So the second round of tragedies goes toward novels, AKA Houses With Teeth (which I can share excerpts from!).

4. Houses With Teeth

I really struggled with this book this year, because it came to be in a time where my writing was getting an overhaul (though I didn’t realize it at the time)! I’ve learned a lot about intention in writing over the last year, something the Fostered series has lacked (oops). This led to me being very unsure about where I wanted to go with this book in particular--the same route as all the others (weird contemporary with dystopian elements that haven’t fully gone away yet) orrrr plan out something a bit more literary! I’ve fought with myself over this since April, and still don’t know where I’m going, but I’m missing my chaotic diva narrator Reeve and would love to get back into her head!

This book has gone through about 3 openings, and I haven’t fully landed on any yet. I’m rethinking how I want to start this book, but taking my time with Moth Work to work me up to the timeline in HWT (which takes place about 8 months after the end of Rewired). I think I’ve shared most of this!

Some excerpts of first person retrospective Reeve (AKA Rachel trying to be Emma Cline looool):

Though the church was only a fifteen minute walk from the apartment, I packed a picnic basket of cha siu bao and a bottle of red wine and wore heels so they would know I wasn’t Christian. The basket wasn’t mine and neither were the bao—these were both things I’d taken from Liu. This wasn’t the first time I’d stolen from her. I’d once taken her fifty-dollar jar of saffron from the pantry because I’d heard it was the most expensive spice and wanted to feel rich. I took her jade Buddha necklace because she’d left it in the back and I wanted to feel cultured in her city, I wanted to become her history. The saffron jar was replaced. She didn’t comment when I wore the necklace at my next shift. This was why Liu and I worked well together. She pitied me so would never fire me, even when I skipped shifts and cussed at the customers. I felt entitled to her things because she was kind to me. I felt entitled to her kindness.

lol I haven’t read this in months and it made me laugh #valid:

I crossed the street before the streetlight changed because this is how I lived in New York City. The world was unfair and lightless and I was an atheist who believed in God, walking in five inch heels on a busted road in the ghetto so I could get enough holy water to drown the ghost out of my apartment.

When all else fails, add a dash of mother:

The air that summer was always the same: dense and wet, even on the good days. It clung to my arms and threatened to erode the skin there, even when it wasn’t sunny. I remembered my mother’s insistence of sunscreen when I was a child; before the pool, in the pool, out of the pool, when we weren’t even at the pool. Her hands were always cold and the sunscreen was always liquid—Izzy was never good at temperature or putting things in the right places. She’d put the instant coffee in the fridge and the cream on the counter. She’d cook the eggs too long and the ice too little. My father would criticize her as a joke and she’d threaten a divorce. This was the only thing I knew was true about my mother. Sunscreen was expensive, so I never bought it.

Reeve bringing out the drag:

“Grab me a pack of cigarettes?” I shifted the picnic basket so it rested in the crook of my elbow.

“ID?”

“You don’t need my ID.”

“I ID every customer. You’re nothing special, baby.”

The man’s mustache wilted in the tungsten light of the variety store, spindly like loose threads. My father had grown a mustache like that once, and it took only two nights before my mother cut it off in his sleep. Izzy was brash like that, and I wanted that too; to find a pair of scissors in one of the aisles and chip at that flaccid mustache. There was nothing special about this man, either. All men in New York City tried to look like that; facial hair like coiled up leeches, a gut they pretended wasn’t a gut, but the fault of an unflattering polo from their wives. I imagined the snip of the kitchen scissors on my father’s upper lip, the same snip I heard the next day when he clipped the evergreens lining the walkup. There was something coarse about how similar it all was—pruning trees, grooming facial hair. I had turned twenty that spring—it would’ve taken only a minute for him to pass me a pack, but this was too easy. I wasn’t biological in New York City; I shouldn’t have been.

5. Fostered But It’s Magic

So this was never meant to be a full project, though I had hoped to write a bit of it just for fun and never got around to it! FBIM (obvi working title lol) is exactly what it sounds like: the Fostered series but with a magical twist! I don’t write very much genre fiction, nor have I ever written fantasy, but a few months ago, felt drawn to the idea of putting Fostered in a magical world (my comp titles are SHREK 4 meets HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE).

I don’t have any of this written, but I do have a few notes which I can share!

I didn’t realize I’d made a tag yourself writing these notes but (I’m Lonan):

Reeve is a magical con artist who runs her own business selling bootleg magic.

Lonan is absent and part bird

Harrison *believes* he is #magic free but has been recently getting hot flashes during nightmares.

Foster has an in-home herbalism business where he helps mostly the elderly and children. He has a cart that he wheels monthly into town. Kind of a failing business.

The gist is that Harrison (who we’d be following) can’t sleep due to hot flashes and nightmares of his ex (@ Lonan) and is referred to a small business run by a clairvoyant who promises to make all psychological problems disappear—relationship issues, sleep issues, life issues. This clairvoyant is actually Reeve who is telikinetic of some sorts, and doesn’t actually provide magic, but manipulates (usually weak) brains, AKA tricks people into paying her large sums of money when she gives them no magical help in return. We ALSO have a “past” plotline, and this is the very loose logline I’d written down (tho if I ever write any of this, is subject to change):

After being tormented by nightmares of his ex lover resulting in violent hot flashes and an inability to keep up employment, Harrison seeks a magical intervention. When the clairvoyant he hopes will cure his strange ailment turns out to be a con woman—and his old friend—he is thrown back into the past and forced to rekindle relationships he thought he’d left behind.

Some dialogue I wrote down ft. clairvoyant Reeve being Reeve:

H: Why are you doing this?

R (reapplying lip colour): Is my lipstick distracting you? The colour is dazzling.

H: It’s bullshit.

R (abruptly stops drawing on lip colour): The lipstick?

H: Your work.

My fave interaction tho has to be this bit I’d noted down with pure Foster comforting Harrison after a nightmare:

Foster *reading on couch when Harrison wakes up in #panique*: What happened? Harrison? Do you need some eucalyptus?

*do u need some eucalyptus*

That’s basically all the writing related things I didn’t finish in 2019! I’d love to explore them all in 2020 though! Thanks for asking. :)

--Rachel

#writing #fostered #amwriting #writeblr #writerblr

19 notes · View notes

laughing-with-god · 5 years

Text

Pandemonium X

Words: 3.2k

“We loved each other with a premature love, marked by a fierceness that so often destroys adult lives.” ~ Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita.

You have always upheld yourself to a certain code of ethics.

Never have you considered lying to those closest to you.

However, justice was not something that can easily be weighed out by a simple Libra scale. Should you risk telling the truth at the major risk (not even a risk really, when you know for certain that it will happen) that utter mayhem will occur in response? Or do you keep a secret in hopes of trading off your friends’ comfort for the trade of your -now- guilty conscious?

Should you tell her about Jungkook?

But, as you thought harder about it, you realised YOU didn’t even know what you would tell Kat. Even if you admitted to some sort of relationship with Jungkook, what would she say if she ever caught you with the other brothers? And if you became official in the eyes of Kat, would the whole school also have to know that you’ve entered a relationship with him? Not to mention, you were certain that the issue between Kat and Jimin was far from ever being water under the bridge. You cringed as an image of those two meeting once again popped inside your mind’s eye. No. Just….no.

Many people have lived double lives before, why can’t you be one of them? Besides, this was a temporary solution to the conundrum that was your student debt. You just needed your tuition to be paid off and then you’d drop all seven of them in a blink of an eye. And with seven grand a week, you’d be a lot closer to the departure than most other sugar babies could dream of.

You sighed and set your phone aside.

“Who is it?” Jungkook asked while shuffling your body a bit closer to his. You took a deep breath and put on a facade of an unbothered persona. If lying husbands who had affairs for years on end with illegitimate children can lie to their wives, why can’t you give it a go?

His lithe form felt hard against your much softer one as his muscular arms pulled you closer, as if you weighed nothing.

“Nothing.” You answered. Jungkook ‘tssk-ed’ and pushed his face closer to yours, eyes wide and peering intensely at you with disbelief, face innocently prodding at you for answers. You rolled your eyes at this attempted puppy face. “No one of importance, anyway. Just my roommate asking about some humus in the fridge and if it expired.” You shrugged.

Jungkook just giggled at this utterly boring detail and got a dreamy look on his face. “I wonder what it’s like to be roomates with you.” His musical tone purred.

“Not that great.” You admitted, “I have constant meltdowns and she’s always on my ass for my habits.”

“Like what?” Jungkook asked with his interest peaked.

“I’m just messy, and I play my music too loud and I sleep in too much and I forget to lock the door and silly shit like that.” You listed off.

“What a god awful roommate to be.” Kook chuckled. “I should offer your roommate a deal and pay her to kick you out so you can live with me.”

You laughed.

“I feel like I couldn’t put up with your habits, my sweet little boy of a man.” You cackled, picturing it so vividly in your head. Said manchild raised a brow in signal for you to clarify. “You probably use axe spray as febreeze or use paper towels as toilet paper when you run out.”

Jungkook rolled those big brown eyes before grumbling. “I’m not that hopeless.”

“Yeah, you probably just pay a poor little old maid to do all your bidding.” How could you forget that this dork of a man was the heir to a wealthy business chain and probably had a whole staff waiting on him hand and foot since before he was able to even crawl?

“I have you know, that Maria is more than just a maid to me. She’s like a mother,” Jungkook snobbishly defended. You snorted.

“Puh-lease. What’s her birthday?” You interrogated.

“........why does it matter?” Jungkook gave up at the revelation of his lack of knowledge towards the beloved ‘Maria’.

You snickered at the poor rich kid before opening your mouth to rebuttal, however before you got the chance to say anything, you were interrupted by the waitress dumping a large amount of breakfast food onto your table.

You pulled away from Jungkook (as much as he would allow) in order to stuff your face. And with that your brunch was continued in a comfortable silence, his toned arm never letting you pull too far away from him.

Much to his dismay, Jungkook had to drop you off.

He had wanted so badly to continue the day with you, but you had protested as you had many things to do.

Even now, he was pouting like a child denied candy as he pulled into your dorm parking lot. The overly expensive car groaned to a stop and thus began the awkward goodbyes.

All was silent in the vehicle as you clicked off your seatbelt.

Jungkook was stoic in his stubborn act of silence and glaring through the windshield, all the while still pouting.

“You act like I’m never going to see you again.” You chuckled before leaning over the passenger seat to violate his personal space, hovering an inch by his face. Ever so childish, the manchild refused to turn to even face you. “Baby, I’m not off to war.”

“You still could’ve hung out with me for a few more hours .” He whined, the sound weirdly intimate to your ears and a noise that you doubt you’ve heard the last of.

You plopped an overly loud kiss on his cheek, before leaning back and opening your door to exit. “Still more than what your brothers got.”

You stepped out and straightened up before leaning down the opened door to say one last thing to the now attentive fuckboy.

“By the way, let’s keep what happened last night to ourselves. We both know your brothers will go batshit if they find out.” You winked cheekily as Jungkook stuttered, right before you slammed the door shut.

“If you tell me that you didn’t get dicked down last night, I want you to turn around and exit right away.”

These were the words that welcomed you as you stepped into your cozy and under-sized dorm. You laughed and pulled your shoes off before joining your gloomy roommate on the sofa.

Kat shoveled in some more soggy cheerios into her mouth while glaring at you with those icy blue eyes.

“Last night was a blur Kat. But I swear nothing happened.” You attempted to brush it off as you leaned back into the lumpily-cushioned couch.

“Bitch! I call foul! I see a picture of you kissing one of the many fuckboys at our school, you don’t return at all last night and you come in early afternoon wearing a hoodie that I know for damn sure that you don’t own.” You laughed at how fucked you were. There was no way that you could get anything past the observant eye of Kat. But to your credit; it wasn’t like your cover-ups were that elaborate. You were still in Jungkook’s hoodie for god’s sake and you still haven’t offered an explanation to the picture that Kat saw. It didn’t take much detective work on your roommate’s part.

“Okay fine, I had a few drinks and kissed him. Then I went to his house and we just watched a movie and fell asleep. I swear nothing happened and I doubt I’ll ever see him again.”

“Feel free to walk right out that door. You seriously didn’t take up the opportunity to get some dick?!” Kat was flabbergasted and you just laughed at her half offended and humored expression.

“Kat, I would pull out my eyes before I let a fuckboy inside this tight ass pussy. Shit is reserved for worthy candidates, okay?” It was Kat’s turn to laugh boisterously and you mentally patted yourself on the back for averting the questioning with humor. You were a pro at it. “Listen, I’m going to jump in the shower real quick and try to wash off any axe spray lingering on me. Afterwards lets watch a movie or something, sound good?”

Kat just nodded and slurped up the last of the milk in her bowl while you retreated to the bathroom to wash up.

Before you can even strip or start the water, your phone rang with an onslaught of numerous notifications all at once. You flipped your phone over from its’ place on the bathroom counter to see whom was harassing you. It was the group chat. The hoes didn’t forget about their pimp.

‘......what were you doing last night, (Y/n)?’ Taehyung.

‘What’s with the creepy questions, Tae?’ Hoseok.

‘...oh….you know…..just wondering’ Taehyung.

‘(Y/n), did you still want to have brunch?’ Jimin.

‘It would be more of a lunch now.’ Jin.

‘I didn’t want to annoy her since she could’ve been sleeping, so I figured I’d wait till she woke up and texted to the chat. You know….LIKE A GENTLEMAN.’ Jimin

‘And what is it that you’re doing now, exactly?’ Yoongi

‘This chat is a pain in my ass.’ Namjoon.

You giggled while reading the brothers interaction with each other. It was humorous when you could observe it from behind the safety of your screen, immaginging Yoongi’s sarcastic voice or Namjoon’s montone and brooding voice.

‘I second that notion, Namjoon.’ You sent.

‘Baby! You’re up! Let me take you out, okay?’Jimin.

‘Yeah….about that….I kinda forgot about brunch all together and already ate….?’ You feebly lied.

‘....Oh really?’ Taehyung asked.

A sinking feeling came to you. Why is it that Taehyung could bring the most absurd reactions to you without even being there in person? You could even picture his stupid grin. From behind a

phone screen you still got the feeling that he knew something that you did not. And with that stunt he pulled earlier with your mother, you learned real quick not to underestimate the fucker.

‘Yuppers.’ You blandly answered.

What came next to the group chat was a picture sent from Taehyung.

It was a screenshot from someone’s snapchat story. It was slightly blurry and you clicked on it to enlargen the image to observe it closer.

It was of you and Jungkook, kissing behind the house where the party took place and it had the caption of ‘Lmao Kookie getting some!’

You were fucked.

Your phone buzzed more and more with what you were certain would be enraged texts from the others.

‘I swear to god, I’ll kill you Jungkook.’ Yoongi.

‘Why wouldn’t you tell us that she was at a college party?!’ Jin.

‘Baby! You shouldn’t be at parties like that! Something bad could happen to a young thing like you!” Jimin.

“Yeah, something like Jungkook’s fukboy tendencies….’ Yoongi.

“Hey! I’m not a fuckboy!” Jungkook.

‘Lmao, (Y/n) you’re not the first innocent girl to get tongue harassed by Jungkook. I’m SO sorry you had to experience that.’ Jin.

‘I heard his technique was sloppy.’ Taehyung.

‘Fuck you all in the ass. For the record, (Y/n) kissed me! And spent the night at my place AND we got brunch this morning. Suck on that, I win.’ Jungkook.

Your jaw dropped in horror.

Didn’t you tell him not to inform his brothers?! He might as well have said, ‘fuck you, i’m the shit, (Y/n).’

You were regretting the whole night with Jungkook. You should’ve known that the testosterone would’ve gotten to his pea-sized brain. All men really were useless.

‘Why tf would u kiss a boy when you could have a man?’ Namjoon.

Revenge reared it’s ugly head as you thought of a way to get back at the manchild who so easily went against his word after just sheer moments of you telling him NOT to tell.

‘Idk Namjoon. Perhaps you can take me out for dinner tonight and show me how a REAL man acts?’

‘Wait is she serious?’ Taehyung.

‘What is that supposed to mean, baby? Am I not man enough for you? Did our night mean nothing to you?’ Jungkook.

‘It did UNTIL YOU BETRAYED ME! Wtf! YOU UTTER STEROID HEAD ASS I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL AND NOW ALL YOUR BROTHERS ARE GONNA BE ON OUR ASS!’

‘....Tae already found a picture tho?’ Jungkook.

‘DID HE FIND EVIDENCE THAT I SPENT THE NIGHT AT YOUR HOUSE AND HAD BRUNCH? NO! ISTG YOU’D BE THE WORST PARTNER IN CRIME!’

‘......What time should I pick you up?’ Namjoon.

Intensity didn’t even begin to explain the aura that Namjoon gave off.

Although you were a grown woman who never backed down from anyone, somehow Namjoon had the power to make you feel anxious. A thing you rarely felt towards a person.

You had invited the older man in a burst of anger, a desire to irritate Jungkook and had thought little about what it would be like to even share a meal with the male. But now that the time of his arrival was nearing, you just couldn’t help but have an internal panic attack at the doom of being one-one-one with him.

Brief your interacting with him may be, he never failed to leave a lasting impression. He stood out from his brothers. Even that day when they were fighting in the conference room, he had stayed back and observed the chaos with those calculating eyes of his. His deep baritone voice and his instant habit of calling you ‘Lolita’ when you first met. The nickname made you feel odd. Not in a bad nor a good way, just...odd. It was almost belittling you, like calling you a child. As from the novel, the character was a child. But it was also a child whom the main character was obsessed with. Enchanted, even. Was it insulting or degrading? Or was it just a unorthodox way he showed fondness?

‘I’m outside.’

You heart dropped and a tingling feeling dawned upon you.

Reluctantly, you left your dorm and went to meet your own personal ‘Mr. Humbert’.

It was rather easy to spot the Audi in the sea of crappy college student’s cars.

As you approached the car, you saw the tall and broad shouldered man get out from his side of the car. He was dressed in a nice suit without the tie and the first three buttons of his top undone, honey skin peaking out from underneath. His hair was still cold silver, but put together rather nicely, although a few strands were standing our freely in the front.

He smirked, one dimple making an appearance as he rounded to the other side of the luxury vehicle to open the passenger door for you.

The smell of another fancy cologne hit your nostrils and the closer you got to him, the size difference between you two became more apparent. You felt utterly small next to him. It wasn’t so much his size, as much as it was about his domineering vibe.

“Good evening, Nympet.” His bottomless voice pierced your ears.

“Listen, let’s keep this dinner short. I may or may not have a presentation due that I haven’t even begun.” You tried to play it off aloof, and even rude in a pathetic effort to not give him the upperhand in the power dynamic. You just nodded at him and slipped into the car after telling him of your ‘presentation’.

“My nymphet is a brat.” He muttered before shutting the door or giving you the chance to holler at him.

The restaurant was fancy and you never felt as inadequate as you did then; standing next to Namjoon in a cheap Forever 21 dress as your date of the night ordered the staff to take you two to the ‘private lounge’.

Have you ever seen a 1920’s gangster movie?

You know those scenes in those bars/restaurants where the booths are u-shaped and red while the lighting was dim and smoke from peoples cigars would fog up the room?

This was apparently the theme of this ‘private lounge’.

It looked straight out of a scene from the Godfather or something.

Namjoon guided you to one of the booths, with you sitting on one side and him on the other.

With a snap of his large fingers, Namjoon ordered the waiter to get you two the best red wine they had, his dark chocolate voice was commanding and you got the sense that even if the waiter wasn’t getting paid for this, he would still obey Namjoon’s orders.

And thus you were left alone as the waiter disappeared, leaving you in the lion’s den.

His almond eyes were very dark and bored into yours, the intensity almost leaving you breathless. You got the sense that he was analyzing you. You didn’t want to give him the impression that he was scaring you so you just stared right back with what bravery you could muster.

His face was oval shaped and reminded you of those statues or carvings that you would see at museums. His skin was olive-toned and he shared one thing in common with his brother Taehyung; they both had strong, Romanian features.

“You know, I should punish you for attempting to lie to me.” Namjoon purred, deep within his throat. The sound caused shivers but you quickly regained your composure and straightened up.

“Punish? Mr. Kim, I think we need to address your obvious control problem.” You snarked.

“It’s natural for a guy like myself to want to control a girl like you.”

You snorted, the noise completely breaking whatever ‘mafia-vibe’ the booth had going on.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

Namjoon leaned back in his seat and the waiter magically materialized to pour wine into both of your guys’ glasses. Namjoon licked his lip and waited for the nuisance to leave, before picking up his glass and snapping his eyes back up to meet yours.

“Well, your obviously a submissive person. And I’m a dominant person.” He stated very colorless, before taking a sip of his drink.

Insulted you screeched, “I’m not a submissive! What are you on? Leave that weird BDSM stuff in the bedroom.”

“But, my little nymphet….you know it’s true.” His eyes bored so heavily into yours, making you unable to look away as the only thing that pierced your ears was the sound of his animalistic voice that unraveled your nerves, “ Behind your humorous act of aggression and sheer defiance, I know that there’s a submissive side that’s just begging to be taken care of. No one puts up such a character unless they have such an opposite persona lingering unconsciously inside them. Let me take care of you. Let me do it baby. You must be so tired of acting so headstrong all the time. With me, you’ll never have to do that again. I’ll be aggressive for you. I’ll take care of every little thing. Like a good dom does.” He paused to take another sip. “I’m quite offended on your little BDSM comment, by the way. A sub and dom relationship is quite sacred actually. We thrive off each other. The trust you will put onto me is exhilarating and the care I will put onto you will be addicting. It’s a give and take.”

You gulped.

In no way was your time with Namjoon going to be like the time spent with Jungkook.

(Author’s Note; GANG GANG! IM SO SORRY IV’E BEEN DEAD FOR SO LONG WRITERS, BLOCK SUCKS. Also thanks so much for 600 followers! the gif choice is a bit weird but I’m a huge Clark Gable fan (Nam even reminds me a bit of him lmao) and its kinda the mood that the boys have to Y/n when Kook kissed her. Let me know what you think of this chapter and Nam’s philosophy on dom/sub dynamics.)

1K notes · View notes

msjr0119 · 5 years

Text

Cordonian Wags

Part 7 - Mystery person

In a world full of Professional footballers and their demanding wives- can their football team nicknamed the ‘Cordonian Apples’ succeed? An American female physiotherapist joins the club. Will this cause issues with the footballers wives?

*This series is based on The Royal Romance characters who belong to Pixelberry - AU Plot switch*

Catch up on the previous chapter

Tags: @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @ibldw-main @texaskitten30 @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @whenyourheartskipsabeat @jovialyouthmusic @nz1091 @yukinagato2012 @indiacater

******

“So this is your place. It’s not what you’re used to.” The persons eyes scrutinised the tiny apartment- shocked that Riley would choose such a small scaled place to live in for the next nine months.

“Having a mansion isn’t all what it’s cracked up to be. It can make you miserable and lonely.”

“So what’s going off?”

“The first night I was here, I kissed one of the footballers. The next two nights I stupidly slept with him. His girlfriend did all this damage- I deserved it.” Riley showed the person, her ribs. Shaking her head she knew she was about to be lectured on the matter.

“It takes two to tango Ri. Don’t just blame yourself. I’m starving, shall we order some pizza?”

*****

Leo had contacted Maxwell and after constantly begging, he finally got Riley’s address out of him. Maxwell felt a sting to his heart that she would leave without informing him. Did she not trust him?

Arriving at the block, Leo had hoped that his suspicions were correct. A light is on- I knew it. About to knock on the door, a young spotty teenager arrived just gawking at Leo.

“Can I help you?”

“Oh my god. You’re.. you’re Leo Rhys. You’re my favourite player for the apples. Can I have your autograph?” The teenager said, his mouth was still agape. It was fate that he would stumble across his favourite sports person. He wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not.

“Kid you can have my autograph, if you allow me to deliver this pizza for you. Could I steal your hat too?”

“Erm... I don’t think my manager would approve of that.” Biting his lip, he would do anything to brag to his friends that he had met Leo Rhys but he also needed this job.

Rolling his eyes back, Leo whipped out his wallet.

“Will an autograph, a selfie and €100 make you reconsider?” This was the second time Leo had to beg someone this day.

“Yes sir.”

******

Leo put on the tight cap- not quite believing that he was degrading himself to do this. Holding the heavy bag full of piping hot food he had wondered exactly what Riley had ordered. Surely she couldn’t eat all of that to herself.

“Leo!” Riley moved closer to him and closed the door behind her.

“Care to explain?”

“Would you believe me if I said that the flight got cancelled?”

“And I’m the Virgin Mary! What’s going on? Who have you got in there? Walker?”

“I haven’t spoken to him. To be honest I don’t think I should speak to him.”

“Well then who?”

“Leo, you really don’t want to go in there.” Riley attempted to pull him away from the door, but he was too strong and eager to figure out what secret she was hiding.

“Watch me Riley! We took you to the airport behind Olivia’s back. You owe me that.”

“Leo, please!”

Leo forced his way through the door, shit Riley thought. Leo froze, he didn’t know what to expect when he stormed through the door into the quaint apartment. Sighing, Riley knew she had to do the introductions.

“This is my older sister, Lindsey. She came to visit. I didn’t want anyone to disturb us so that’s why I made it look like I was leaving. I’m so sorry Leo, I just needed her here with me after everything that has happened.”

Leo was just staring at Lindsey, she was just as attractive as Riley. Gulping he went to introduce himself to her.

“Well seen as though I’ve ended up paying over the odds for your take out, I’m inviting myself to stay.”

“What about Madeleine?”

“Fuck her. I’ll have better company here.” Winking at Lindsey.

******

Savannah was awoken, hearing screaming from the spare room. Drake!

Jumping out of bed, she immediately rushed to Drake. Opening the door, her eyes widened at him having a nightmare.

“Drake! Wake up. It’s me, Savannah.”

“Sorry Sav.”

“You were having a nightmare. Are you okay?”

“I have them every so often. I haven’t had one for a while. I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologising. What was it about?”

Drake stumbled out of the taxi outside his log cabin- it was his first night out after becoming injured. He had been on bed rest, Kiara being the doting girlfriend attended to his every need. Finally relieved to have had the all clear and to play football again- his team mates arranged a night out to celebrate that their midfielder attacker was back in action.

Falling over as he reached the front door- he heard it swing open with a force and more louder than usual. Kiara was stood there arms folded, shaking her head.

“You’re a disgrace! And you look scruffy! You need a haircut Drake.”

“I thought you liked the long hair and beard?”

“I said that to make you feel better about yourself. Get to bed Drake. I hope you haven’t spent a lot!”

“I will spend what I want. I earn the money Ki.”

“Well. Don’t ever go out with them again. You don’t need them to have fun. You have me and only me.”

“I have my family too- Savannah and Bartie.”

“No you don’t. I am your family Drake. She doesn’t care about you. She disappeared for god knows how long.”

“She does care about me, she had no choice.”

“As I said I’m all you need.”

Drake tried to walk to his bed, instead he crawled. He lacked the energy- the room was spinning, as if he was riding a waltzer.

“Drake! Walk will you? You’re useless.”

kicking him in the head attempting to get him to move, Drake was shook up with this unexpected move. If it didn’t have such force, as if she was taking a penalty- he could have believed that this was an accident. Kiara then dragged him up by his shirt into a sitting position leaning him against the wall. Experiencing extreme dizziness- he wasn’t sure if it was due to the alcohol or Kiara’s kick. Every step closer she made towards him, he cowered whilst she just laughed in his face. Seeing flashing lights in front of him - he felt like his brain was bumping against the back of his skull. He didn’t know who this person was- this wasn’t the Kiara he fell in love with.

“Kiara! I’m sorry. Please. I won’t ever go out with the team again. Please don’t hurt me again.”

Flinching as she came near him, he protected his face with his hands. She kissed him on his forehead- leaving him surrounded in a puddle of blood as if nothing had happened.

The morning after, Drake felt the pain due to his facial injuries. Every muscle in his body had seized up- every movement he made was jerky. He was laid in bed wearing the clothes he was wearing the previous night. Noticing a rip in his shirt, he needed to force himself to a mirror to see what other damage there could be. The top of his head was slightly bruised from where she kicked him with an almighty force, and his face contained spots of dried up blood. Drake began crying, possibly more than when dad passed away. The sadness in his eyes, slowed his speech down.

“I hope you learnt your lesson Drake. I love you. It’s just you and me, remember.”

“That was the first time she became someone I didn’t know. I keep having flashbacks from different situations. I’m sorry.” Savannah had tears in her eyes, thinking about how Kiara could potentially abuse him in so many different ways in such a short time.

“How about you and I watch a rom com, pig out on Ben and Jerry’s? Who needs sleep anyway?”

“Rom com? Where everyone’s love life is perfect. No, thank you.”

“Tv series then? I’ll let you choose.”

Savannah cuddled up next to Drake after raiding her fridge freezer for junk food. They stayed awake laughing at the tv, Drake was grateful for his baby sister helping him feel loved again.

****

The morning after Riley was knackered, Leo did infact invite himself to stay- Riley assumed it was just for food. Instead he stayed and got laid, Riley would never be able to look at him or her sister straight again. Both Riley and Leo was included in a group text.

“Do not respond! Please. I don’t want anymore shit occurring before the match tomorrow. Please Leo.”

“Well I tell you what, why don’t we do something today- just the three of us?”

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but I need sleep. You two kept me up all night.” She shuddered.

“Sorry Ri.”

“You do know he’s married right?”

“You do know you fucked someone who’s practically married too?”

“Yes. Biggest mistake of my life. Get out of here you two, I need sleep!” Riley dramatically faked yawned pushing them both out of the door.

*****

Riley caught up on her sleep, too many notifications were on her phone. Sighing, she didn’t want to read them. Leo and Lindsey had invited her to a restaurant in the capitol for a late lunch. Why not?

Quickly getting dressed she decided to stay t total for the big match tomorrow. Driving into the capitol she parked up. She wasn’t sure where the location of the restaurant was- thank god for google maps.

****

Leo and Lindsey held hands as they walked towards the restaurant. He didn’t care if the press was following him and snapped them. Turning her around he cupped her cheeks and kissed her passionately.

Savannah, Maxwell, Hana and Drake had decided to go shopping and for a lunch date. Drake had bought a new phone, along with a new number so Kiara couldn’t contact him. With the help of Savannah, he had seeked some advice of how to get Kiara out of his house. The locksmith was going to change the locks when they knew she was out, and if she returned he was going to gain an injunction. It was the least he could do- he could potentially press charges. Turning the corner, they saw Leo locking his lips with a brunette. The friends all paused- all assuming it was Riley. Savannah, held Drake back. She knew this would break his heart.

“Leo!”

Leo removed himself from Lindsey, and hid her behind him.

“Hey guys. What are you all doing?”

“What are you doing with Riley? I thought she had left?” Leo let out a little laugh.

“Why are you laughing?” Savannah narrowed her eyes. The mystery woman, stood at the side of Leo.

“I’m not Riley. At times, I wish I was. I’m Lindsey. Lindsey Brooks. Riley is my kid sister.”

Savannah felt Drake become less tense. Relieved that the captain hadn’t stolen the one thing that was positive in his life.

“We are going for lunch. Are you all going to tag along?”

They all declined, still in shock at how affectionate Leo was in public with Lindsey. He used to be so careful. Maybe now with Madeleine’s affair exposed he didn’t give a damn what the press said about him as he could use that against her.

*****

Riley eventually found the restaurant, she was useless with directions. Possibly due to having limos transport her in the past, or Xavier driving them in his Lamborghini. The three of them had a quiet meal, Riley narrowed her eyes at Leo with the amount of alcohol he had been drinking- she advised him to slow down.

“Yes ma’am! Last one I promise.”

The trio got in Riley’s car, and she drove them back to her flat. Playing the third wheel again, Riley knew she wasn’t going to get much sleep.

*****

The morning after was the first match the team was playing this season. It was a home match, against their neighbour rivals. The men all got changed into their kits, they all seemed nervous due to it being the first match.

Sitting on the dressing room benches, they all wondered why their captain wasn’t present. Constantine walked in with Bertrand who was acting as care taker manager and head coach. They was still awaiting for the new manager to confirm the position- hoping it wouldn’t be too long.

“Where’s Leo? And has anyone heard from Riley?” Bertrand snapped.

The men all looked at each other not knowing how to answer this question.

“Due to Miss Brooks not being here, I’m glad I brought your old physio back to help her out. By the looks of things Bastien will be your physio for today.” Constantine said whilst smirking at Drake who was holding his head in his hands. Just the mention of her name and her disappearance broke his heart. He was blaming himself.

*****

Riley felt exhausted, waking up she actually wondered how much sleep she had. Every time her eyes shut, her two guests would wake her up. I must invest in some ear muffs.

With the lack of energy, she reached over for her phone, her eyes squinted as she was still half asleep. 11am- shit!

The match kicked off in an hour and half. She thought her mind was playing tricks on her. Rubbing her eyes, removing the remainder of sleep away- she realised it was in fact the correct time. Falling off the sofa, she had to wake Leo up. Running into her room, wearing skimpy shorts and a crop top- she hoped Leo and Lindsey were more covered up than she was.

“Leo! Get up now!”

“Where’s the fire? Nice tattoo by the way.”

“Erm.. it was a drunk decision to have it. Get up! It’s 11am!”

“Shit!”

Leo stumbled out of bed, struggling to get dressed- losing his balance. Riley made them all a strong coffee. The three of them quickly drank the black liquid, and headed straight towards the stadium.

******

Bastien walked into the dressing room. He had retired after last season, but was loyal to Constantine and said he would still be around to help if need be.

The men were just finishing their prep talk. They could hear fans enter the stadium, chanting- all feeling excited for the new season to begin.

The door swung open, nearly taking it off its hinges.

“Leo, Riley. So nice of both to finally greet us with your presence.” The two of them entered the room out of breath, ignoring Constantine’s sarcasm. Riley’s eyes fixated on Drake, who softly smiled at her. Lindsey slowly followed the two into the room.

“Oh it’s so nice to see my two favourite girls here together.” Bastien said as he hugged Riley and Lindsey tightly.

#theroyalromance #choices trr #riley brooks #drakewalker #maxwell beaumont #hanalee #olivia nevrakis #bertrand beaumont #leo rhys #liam rhys #trr bastien #trr constantine #trr au cordonian wags

39 notes · View notes

bluebrine · 4 years

Text

ask meme time

tagged in by @a-humble-goblin! C:

name: i go by Blue here!

nickname: ..... well, Blue again! (or whatever shorthand of my URLs ppl have used in the past... i never was enough of an active poster anywhere to get real nicknames given to me lol)

zodiac: as piscean as a pisces could be! 🐟

height: 5′8 (the shorty of the family.... curse you, 6′5 brother!!)

languages: monolingual english speaker here. shoulda kept up with spanish from high school, but alas :( looking to learn latin for taxonomic purposes someday though!

nationality: american- but more specifically, tennessean! ⛰️ ~good ol’ rocky top...

favorite season: the cool seasons! ^^ fall and winter are the best. the rain and wind of spring is also nice though! (basically anything except the sweaty-ass days of southern summers are alright with me lol)

favorite flower: oh boy. uh. i like a lot of plants... this one’s a toughie! it changes depending on what’s in season tbh. right now its the sweet little things we call ‘field pansies’ around here. they’re one of the first things to catch my attention on these early, sunny spring days

proper name is Veronica peduncularis, or ‘creeping speedwell’. sadly its not native to my area though :(

favorite scent: literally nothing on earth smells better than onions & garlic frying on the stovetop. full-stop. a fool-proof way to lure me into any trap, would 100% work in any situation

favorite fictional character: this changes depending on what i’m fixating on atm, but i’m on a dishonored kick rn, so it’s my girl lizzie stride! B) i’m always a sucker for mean-ass, violent gang ladies and she checks every box on my list tbh (and those TEETH. woof)

coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: hot chocolate babey!! B) i’m just here for tasty sweet drinks- i don’t care for tea or coffee at all. i have to add an ungodly amount of cream & sugar anyway to make ‘em drinkable. (also, caffeine literally does nothing to wake me up. its a cruel fate for my eternally tired self)

average sleep: i’m on a senior citizen’s sleep schedule... usually in bed by 9:30-11:00, & up at 5:00-6:00. a big leap from my early days of bed at 4 am, and pulling all-nighters..... i don’t think i could physically do that nowadays lmao

dogs or cats: hmm, cats slightly more probably? they’re more relaxing to be around, which is nice. love both though! (i have no pets atm, but looking to adopt some pigeons in the future! 🕊)

my old cat louie was my baby though. not sure any other cat can one-up his grumpy ass, but one day i’d like to have another cat with me. (he looks polite here but he was a total butthole, don’t be fooled!!)

number of blankets: 1 (one) big-ass weighted comforter (20 lbs)

dream trip: i would love to see the pacific ocean some day! 🌊

blog established: uh, i know it was the summer before i started high school...? oh god. i was a baby. who let me on here

random fact: the american persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is a tree with fruit so popular in its native ecosystem, that it also goes by such delightful names as possum apples, deer candy, or sugar plums!

(bonus tmi fact: most of the seeds i’m propagating this year were found as the aftermath to some happy possum or coyote’s fall meal. but hey, according to this paper, the digestive process of these mammals actually boosts germination rates! go nature)

current time: 3:30 pm! a lovely overcast afternoon on this fine weekend of mine

favorite musical artists: Ulvesang, Black Hill, The Crane Wives, The Oh Hellos (... my favs are really just what i’ve been listening to recently lmao)

stuck in my head: gimme gimme gimme! by ABBA :y

last movie i saw: hmm... that would have to be knives out! saw it with em after we were gonna go laugh at cats, but missed it by like 2 days :( knives out was fun tho! hadn’t been to an actual theatre for a while, so the experience was nice. got to split one of those giant buckets of grease-corn, which was amazing

last thing i googled: .... technically, it was ‘fish emoji’ for this post. before that it was ‘american wild persimmon seed germination’ because i just got mine outta the fridge and into the pots for the spring! hope to have an ok amount sprout... i’d like to see these guys fruiting in a few years! (2 seeds per section- assuming a success rate of 25%, i might get 12 trees out of these! we will see)

lucky number: don’t really have one? i like the evenness of 8, but i don’t take any real stock in lucky numbers

currently wearing: the usual- tank top with comfy shorts!

dream job: working on my paleontology degree right now- trying to make this dream real soon! 🦕

favorite foods: pasta with cream sauces. literally anything that fits that definition is my fav. best combo i’ve made so far is something with grilled chicken, sautéed mushrooms + onions + garlic, and a cream sauce with spinach /chef’s kiss/

instruments: none! ain’t got a musical bone in my entire body

favorite song: i possibly can’t pick this, but i’m listening to Curses by The Crane Wives right now!

#personal #mutual tag #i don't do enough ask things.... feel free to tag me in more of these folks #(i may or may not answer them though. can be stressful to talk about myself lol)#long post #tagging..... whoever else would like to do this! :> twas a lot of fun

5 notes · View notes

somethinginthewayiam · 5 years

Text

PRESSing matters (Part 9)

Pairing: Ben x reader

Warnings: none

Words: 2058

Summary: Joe brings you and Ben to 7Eleven and it is heaven to your empty stomach. Then it’s time to party your asses off at the Vanity Fair afterparty and Pam has a little reminder for you at midnight...

Previous chapter: Part 8

“Welcome to 7Eleven”, Joe said as the automatic doors opened and the three of you stepped inside. You had never been to one and in your hungry, slightly drunk state, it was heaven. “Joe, you have taken me to heaven”, you gasped and held on to his arm.

“Alright children, spread out, get what you want. Daddy’s paying”, he offered and gestured towards the aisles. “Hold my purse”, you said and pushed your clutch into his hands before you started your run for food. You immediately spotted the snack aisle and went there as fast as your heels would take you.

You were so hungry, you opened a bag of Doritos right there and started basically inhaling them while looking over the other items. You found some pretzels for Gwil and took a pack of gum to get the Doritos off your breath later.

While strolling through the aisles, you stacked package upon package on your arms, holding the little tower with your chin to keep it from falling over. You lost track of the guys and apparently of time as well.

“Oi, Y/N, are you done yet? We wanna go”, Ben called out for you over the aisles. “Don’t oi me, Ben”, you said as you came around the corner.

“Y/N, what are you doing? Are you really planning on eating all of this?”, Joe asked as he spotted you coming towards him in the aisle. “Listen, you don't know all of the food and joy I had to deny myself to fit in this dress, okay?”, you could barely look at him as you were trying to balance all the packets in your arms. “And you're planning to eat, all that you've missed out on, tonight?”, he asked in disbelief. “If that was true, we would have to stop at a pizza joint on the way back”, you joked, but actually, it wasn’t the worst idea.

“Hey, grab me a Coke too”, you said to Ben as you saw a bottle in his hand. He huffed, but turned around to get another one out of the fridge on the other end of the store. Beat it by Michael Jackson started playing over the speakers and you started bouncing your head to the beat.

You unloaded your snacks onto the counter. When Ben came back, he put the two bottles to the pile and the cashier started scanning the items. You kept eating the Doritos and just held it forward for a moment so the cashier could scan it too. You held the package up to Ben and he grabbed a few and put them in his mouth. “Oh wait, you got a few…there”, you said and automatically reached up to wipe away a few crumbs without thinking. Ben froze for a second and put his hand up as well. You quickly pulled your hand back. You felt your cheeks blushing.

“So, how’s 7Eleven?”, Joe asked and as you turned your head you found him recording a video on Instagram. “Not bad, huh?”, he asked as he turned to look at you. “Honestly, it’s the best”, you said while holding up your open bag of Doritos, playing over the fear that Joe might caught that wipe-away-moment on camera.

“You wanna say hi?”, Joe turned to the cashier, who just shook his head while packing your stuff into a plastic bag. “No? Okay”, Joe shrugged his shoulders. “Didn’t think so”, he said directly into the camera. Ben got out his credit card and paid. “You come from the Oscars?”, the cashier asked. You just nodded because you had your mouth full. “The Oscars, yeah”, Joe confirmed. “Was it good?”, was the man’s follow-up question. “Pretty good”, Joe nodded his head and looked at Ben. “Pretty good”, he agreed with a smile. If you could call four out of five Oscars just pretty good, then yeah, the night was pretty good so far, you thought to yourself.

“Thanks, cheers”, Joe said as the cashier handed over the bag. You mumbled a thanks as well and happily took the bag full of snacks. Joe was still filming when you walked away and Ben started dancing to Beat it, but Joe cut the video way too soon.

“Hey, I thought daddy was paying?”, you asked him as you reached for the last few Doritos in your bag. “Who’s your daddy now?”, Ben asked behind you, chuckling. Although it sounded odd to you, you had to laugh out loud. “Well, there’s a kink for you”, you just said the first thing that popped in your head and blushed immediately as your own words got to you.

Outside, you threw away the empty bag and took a sip of your Coke. You felt already better and were ready for the afterparty.

A cab brought you to the Vanity Fair afterparty and while Ben and Joe walked the red carpet, you somehow managed to smuggle the bag of snacks into the venue. There was a booth reserved for the cast and team of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie. You met up again with the others and Lucy and Rami had arrived as well. Lucy was now wearing a silver, shining dress and looked better than ever. “I come baring gifts”, you said and put the snacks on the little table. Everyone immediately put their hands on it and ripped the packages open. Gwil smiling happily as he ate his pretzels.

A little later, Brian May and Roger Taylor came with their wives and also the director of the movie and you would all have drinks together, congratulations flying all over the place. “Let’s do shots for every Oscar we’ve won”, Roger announced. “I don’t know, babe”, his wife put a hand on his shoulder. “Love, this is the Oscars, we’ll never win another one. Live a little”, he said to her and handed her a shot from a trey that seemed to have magically appeared in your booth.

“Alright, what the hell”, she took it and the next moment, Roger Taylor himself handed you a shot and you took it without hesitation. Even Brian May and his wife had a shot in their hand and the next moment you all threw your heads back and knocked one down.

Ben was standing next to you as you turned to him. “Oh my god, I’m doing shots with Roger Taylor and Brian May”, you sort of whisper-screamed towards him, but freaking out mostly internally. Ben just laughed at you and handed you another shot. Thank god, you had the full bag of Doritos before or otherwise you might already be lying under the table.

Soon, Roger and Brian and the director left with their wives and it was back to just the cast, Jessica, Pam and you. You were impressed by Pam’s party stamina despite the fact that she was over fifty years old and you had never seen her drink that much.

As soon as it struck midnight, Pam handed you a glass of champagne. “This is it, darling. We’re done with the movie, done with the press tour. I think we did an incredible job and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner”, she told you and clinked glasses. You felt sad that this magical time had now come to an end. You really liked Pam, you had never had a boss as nice and as great as her. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol or just the fact that you had to say goodbye now, but you felt tears rushing to your eyes and one even making its way down your cheek. “No tears, darling. This is a time to celebrate”, she wiped it away with her finger. She then hugged you tightly. “I’m sure we will work together in the future and you know, if you don’t want to do that freelance thing anymore, you will always have a place at my agency”, she said as she let go of you. You just nodded, not able to speak at the moment.

Pam then walked around, saying goodbye to everybody as she was tired and knew when to stop drinking but the youngsters, as she called you, should have more fun, booze and a lot of dancing. Before she finally left, she gave you another hug. “You know that as ten minutes ago, you are no longer working for the studio. Which means you can have fun with whoever you fancy, darling”, she said and her head lightly motioned over to Ben, standing a few feet away, talking to Allen and Joe. She didn’t say it openly, but she wiggled her eyebrows and said it with a special tone in her voice.

At first, you freaked internally. She knew, oh god, she knew! But then you realized that she was right and it didn’t seem like she was going to tell anyone or reprehend you for anything.

When Pam was gone, you looked over at Ben, who, right at that moment, looked over to you and gave you a loving smile. You swallowed hard. You drank the rest of your champagne and put the empty glass down.

You motioned him with your head that he should come over to you. You quickly checked if everyone was occupied with talking, drinking and dancing, then you just took Ben’s hand and without saying anything, led him out of the booth. He followed you, but looked a bit confused. Of course, he didn’t know what Pam had said to you.

You walked away a few feet from the group and pulled him behind a giant plant in the corner. You walked backwards until you felt the wall in your back, a hand in his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. You tasted the alcohol on his breath, but most all you tasted him. Pictures from the weekend flashed through your mind as you felt his hands on your hips and his tongue in your mouth. This was the best weekend you ever had and probably ever will.

“Woah, not that I’m complaining, but where is that mood change coming from?”, he asked as you broke the kiss after a few moments. “I just had to, you look so good”, you said with a dirty grin on your lips. “Well, then I should get an Oscar for restraining myself all evening because you look absolutely stunning in that dress and I behaved”, he countered and licked his lips. You bit down on your bottom lip as you pulled him back down for another kiss.

The alcohol helped you in thinking that tonight hadn’t to be the end of whatever it was that was going on between you two, but the last part of your brain that wasn’t drunk, and it was a little part, reminded you that this was far from reality. And reality would hit you as soon as the plane touched down in London.

But now you were still on the Vanity Fair Oscar afterparty, not a thing you thought you would ever be able to say, and you would enjoy every single second of it.

You walked back first as you didn’t want anyone to see you two coming back together. You found Joe dancing with Lucy and joined them.

Purple Rain came on and you and Joe immediately looked at each other, remembering that night of karaoke in Japan. “Oh my god, are you okay?”, you asked overly dramatic. “I’m…okay, but I’m on the edge”, he said in a whiny tone and held on to your arm. You both looked over to Ben, who had no idea what was going on. Back in Japan, Joe had sung that sung, completely drunk, for Ben because he missed him so much and “invented” Cardboard Ben as a compensatory friend. Which still lived with Joe in his house.

It was an amazing night. You were taking pictures of each other, danced together and tried to drink away the fact that this was the end to the movie and the press tour. They would all still be friends of course, but would not be able to travel and be together in that capacity and for those long periods of time that were behind you. And you mostly drank over the fact that you didn’t know if you had any place in there at all.

Next chapter: Part 10

tag list:

@valentineash @the-limit-doesnt-exist @rogerspoison @rogermeddowstayl0r @i-am-sarah @unbound-chaos @goodiebluebox @the-borhap-boys @leeezie @kimberliinabox @anikatcmh

#ben hardy #pressing matters #part 9 #fanfiction #smut #ben hardy smut #ben x reader #bohemian rhapsody #bohemian rhapsody cast

42 notes · View notes

twohearts-hs · 5 years

Text

‘Apples’ - Shawn Mendes Imagine

Words: 1,818

Pairing: Shawn Mendes & (Y/N) (Y/L/N)

Warnings: Severe angst, divorce, alcohol

|| Masterlist in bio ||

She sat down. A huff left her lips as she plopped herself on her new couch. She didn’t know whether she was happy or tired. But Y/N looked around her new place and smiled, bringing her glass of Merlot to her lips. Her kids were in bed and now she could finally relax after the moving day.

But, she felt alone. This was all new to her, being by herself and being a single mum. Yet, she had to do it. She had to get the divorce. They were both miserable.

She laughed at the memories of Shawn. They flooded back. She remembered it all, from the first day she saw him and the gentle smile adorning his lips to his tear covered face as she whispered the ‘d’ word. But, she laughed only at the good memories. They all came back as she looked at her fireplace and slowly got drunk off her cheap-ass boxed wine.

Y/N giggled, watching him shake his hips to her playlist in her flat. She laughed as he danced horribly towards her, kissing her and shaking away from her younger self. They’d only known each other for about three months now, but her whole life had changed.

She only wore a tank and underwear as the aftermath their morning rendezvous, but she enjoyed small moments like these. She leant over, grabbing a pack of cigarettes that she only smoked every so often; a treat for good times. Shawn crashed down on her old mattress that was close to broken and grabbed a smoke as well. She brought the stick to her mouth, breathed in the intoxicating air, and smiled.

This was their normal weekends at this point of the relationship. They’d stay in bed all day, having sex and smoking fags. It was so informal, so perfect and lively. And she constantly wondered what’d changed.

Of course, she felt a load of pity when their relationship went off the tracks. But she couldn’t sit and look at him across the table when signing the documents while spilling the worst excuse ever: ‘I never meant to break your heart’. Such a stupid answer she told when she requested them to split or, ‘I’m to blame for all your pain’. Too cliché, she realised, too pathetic. But, she had to do it. She had to break it off, as they were both to the point of depression with each other.

Y/n remembers how they no longer spoke when he came home. If they were to chat, it was horrible, dry chatter. ‘How was your day?’, ‘fine’, ‘ok’. That was it. She would never regret each other. Shawn was still a fantastic father, but he wasn’t a fantastic husband anymore. Towards the end of it, they weren’t even having sex.

She came out to him and was honest. Y/N really loved him, too much, to the point that she’d die for him. But, she was raised with certain standards. A guy was only good for writing the cheque. Later on, she realised a relationship was way more than that, but they went from being lively to dull. It was a routine and a boring one at that. So, when Shawn was off conquering the countries with his music, she filled her nights with shit telly and hard liquor.

Everyone she loved saw this and thought she was a wreck, but she simply believed that she was an adventurer waiting for another journey. Y/N was never a settler, a person to give up. And, with Shawn, she couldn’t be her twenty-year-old self anymore. After saying her vows and pushing out two babies, she wasn’t herself.

Her memories of the early days were perfect. Cheeky dinner dates and hidden tattoos, the hotel minibar shazam, daydreaming out loud ‘till sunrise overtook the stars, private planes, and non-stop living; that was her life. Not housewifing and baking brownies for her six years old’s bake sale on a Sunday night. She wanted to go back to having sex in the janitor’s closet and getting so drunk you don’t even know your own name. She wanted her old life back. But with Shawn, he couldn’t give that to her. He grew up; she didn’t.

Y/n knew what type of man Shawn was. He was the ‘Playboy, but I want kids’ type of guy. She just fell too hard and gave up everything for him.

One year in, he gave her a set of keys. Two years and he bent down on one knee. Three years and they’re living out in the country. Four years and he’d given her her beautiful babies. It was all too much for her. She freaked out and said ‘yes’ to it all.

Y/N didn’t regret her lovies; she loved her babies to bits. She didn’t regret Shawn. She just wished she’d balanced and figured everything out better.

Now, she sat in her living room, looking at her new life, crying from the mistake she’d made.

“I’m just like my mummy and daddy.” She whispered, staring off into the distance. Rubbing her tear-laced eye.

“I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” She smiled, raising her cup up to her dog across her. What a fucking mess she is now.

She closed the door to the townhouse in a puff. The first day of truly being a single mum had yet to finish, and all she needed was a gin and tonic and a huff of a smoke. She hadn’t smoked since she met Shawn, but the obsession cultivated her veins at the moment.

She laughed pathetically and went to her fridge. Her kids were dropped off at school and now she was left with her own thoughts. The calendar was attached on the fridge and she eyed the red ink circling her ex-husband’s name. He was back that day and it was his turn with the kids.

She was willing enough to give them to him. Y/n believed that Shawn should be in her kids’ life. She wasn’t one of those ex-wives that held a grudge, reminding herself that she was the one that walked out.

Man, she felt stupid. She couldn’t even go to the grocery store without seeing the headlines, ‘Shawn Mendes divorcing wife’.

Y/N took a swig of whatever was in her house and internally screamed. Shawn still loved her. She knew that. She knew it to the fullest potential.

“God, I’m so wild and ruthless.” She mumbled, walking towards the door of her home after hearing a knock.

“What the fuck do you want?” She pulled the door and seeing someone she didn’t want to see at the moment, “Shit…”

Shawn raised his eyebrows, eyeing the bottle of rum in Y/n’s hands.

“Can I come in?”

She nodded way too enthusiastically and opened the door fully. She began walking away, shaking her hips to whatever was on the radio she turned on.

“Want a drink?”

Shawn took a breather and followed his ex-wife. “It’s ten a.m., Y/n.”

She turned around and laughed. “Five o’clock somewhere.”

He nodded, not picking up her joking matter. He sat down at her kitchen table as she worked to get him a coffee.

“I thought you weren’t home till the twenty-third.” She told him, handing over the mug.

“Baileys?” She nodded, “Meetings and shit ended early. I wanted to see my bubs.”

She rolled her eyes, “You’re out of luck. They’re at school.”

“I know. I wanted to see you. See how you’re holding up...and I don’t think you are.” He mumbled the last bit.

“I’m holding perfectly fine. Still alive, ey? Noah and Ivy are still alive as well.”

He took a sip of his coffee. She was always good at making coffee and baileys. Y/n taught him, but it was never like hers.

“All else aside, how are you?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m fine, you?”

He huffed. “No, you’re not. You’re a wreck and selfish.”

“So, I’m a little selfish.” She mumbled, grabbing his coffee and taking a sip of it after abandoning the bottle.

“You’re a drunk.”

She shook her head. “No. I can’t believe you would say that. You can deal with this far differently than I am, Shawn.” She chugged down the coffee that she made for him and which she stole for herself.

“I get it, you’re a family man. You get over things and doing what you need to do to get by; so am I. Don’t come to my house and judge and cause a fight. If I had the time of day, I would give all of it to that, but I am a busy woman, Shawn. I am tired, and helpless because of everything; give me time to heal. Fuck off.”

He got up from the chair and walked towards the door, shaking his head. “I’m picking up the kids because you’re drunk and miserable. Figure out your shit or else I’m taking them. Grow the fuck up, Y/n.” He stared her down.

She scoffed. “Fuck you.” And he left without even looking back.

That night she sat in her own thoughts. Her humble home wasn’t filled with children’s laughter or the soft snoring of her babies. It was just her, the dog, and some sitcom.

She looked at her dog, raising her coffee mug of wine in a cheers matter; she didn’t have any glasses left clean.

“Cheers to being a fucking mess, eh?” She only got that dog so Shawn couldn’t be in her home; he’s allergic to them. Also the fact that the kids constantly begged for one, so she got one...to win them over. It was always a competition with him.

The competition wasn’t like this before. It was sweet competitions: who made the better pancakes and loser does the laundry sort of thing. But, her impossible self of being an Aries overruled and took it one step higher.

But, she got better. Every day was challenge after challenge as a new one arose. She let loose but wasn’t ashamed of who she originally was. She was lost but found herself. What she regretted the most out of everything was herself.

He saw her as evil, but she wasn’t evil, just scared. Scared of growing up and maturing. She regrets the way she acted towards him because she still fucking loved him. She loved him more than life itself. But, she just needed time away to heal.

#shawn mendes #shawn #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes imagines #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes oneshot #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes preferences #shawn mendes one shot

125 notes · View notes

captaincanarygotmelike · 5 years

Text

Fic: FMK

Yeah so this is the most risqué thing I ever have and probably ever will write. Also it’s inspired by something someone said on the Jenna Julien podcast.

Read on AO3

Read on Fanfiction.net

“Le-en,” Sara feigned a whine as she poked Leonard’s side. It was clear by his expression how much effort it was taking him to not respond to her.

“What?” Mick asked, looking between the pair. Sara raised her eyebrows expectantly at Leonard, but when he didn’t respond, she looked back to Mick.

“Leonard is mad at me because of a game Zari and I were playing,” she told him.

“God, he’s still mad about that?” Zari said as she walked into the mess hall with Ray.

“What game?” Ray asked.

“Fuck, Marry, Kill,” Zari replied as she opened the fridge.

“Fun!” he said as Mick let out a short, appreciative laugh, “Wait, Snart’s mad at you because you played Fuck, Marry, Kill?”

“I’m not mad at her because she played the game—”

“So he speaks,” Sara commented drily. Leonard pretended to ignore her as he continued.

“—I’m mad because of her answers.”

Then he stopped, so Mick and Ray looked back at Sara for more.

“So Zari asked me fuck, marry, kill: Len, Tom Cruise, and Louis the sixteenth, and I said I’d kill Len, fuck Louis the sixteenth, and marry Tom Cruise. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

Leonard rolled his eyes, looking away again.

“Sara,” Ray said, “don’t people think Tom Cruise is gay?”

“Yep,” Sara replied.

“Huh?” Mick said

“There’s all sorts of conspiracies about him,” Zari said before Ray had even opened his mouth, “He’s into scientology or something, but they don’t like gay people, and he’s had a couple of wives who acted really weird while they were with him and then normal again after they got divorced—”

“—so people think he’s gay, but the church of scientology is paying these famous women to marry him to cover up for it,” Ray nodded.

“Sara,” Mick guffawed, “You’d marry a gay guy over Len!”

Sara let out a frustrated sigh.

“In the scenario,” she said emphatically, “Yeah, I’d marry him because of all that stuff. I wanna know if it’s true.”

“Really?” Leonard asked skeptically, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

“Yes,” she replied, “Hey — you aren’t into conspiracy theories. You don’t get it. They get it.”

She tipped her head towards Ray and Zari.

“Yeah,” Ray said seriously as Zari nodded, “I’d choose to marry Tom Cruise too.”

“Ehh,” Zari shrugged, ignoring Ray when he looked at her wide-eyed, “But I still don’t get why you’d choose to fuck Louis the sixteenth.”

“He’s the dude who couldn’t get it with the Queen even with all those people watching, right?” Mick asked.

“Hey, you were paying attention to that documentary!” Ray exclaimed, “Yeah, he had issues…consummating the marriage.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sara replied, “That’s why I chose him. I wanted to see if I could…you know.”

The other four were silent for a moment, but then Leonard snorted.

Sara looked over to him, a smile growing on her face as she saw him trying to contain his laughter.

“What?” she asked him.

He shook his head, still smiling.

“I…actually get that,” he told her.

Sara stood, walking over to him and winding her arms around his shoulders.

“See!” she said, planting a kiss on his cheek, “I love you so much, but if it’s between you and Tom Cruise and King Louis the Sixteenth, I’d definitely kill you.”

“I can accept that,” he nodded, smiling.

“Wow, relationship goals,” Zari said through a mouthful of potato chips.

#legends of tomorrow #captain canary #sara lance #leonard snart #lot #cc ff #mine

14 notes · View notes

aboysbestfriendishismum · 6 years

Text

Chapter 50 - Xanadu, Donna Summer and Dave Gahan in leather pants (Part One)

The chapter is finally here and it wouldn’t if it wasn’t for my lovely friend and fellow writer and probably future wife in Rome @stars-open-among-the-lilies

THANK YOU BABY, I OWE YOU FROM HERE TO ETERNITY <3

***

In the previous chapter: as Meg suggested, Angie calls Susan and explains her problem, asking about the San Diego gig. Angie finds out Mookie Blaylock are now called Pearl Jam. Susan assures her she’s gonna call someone from Alice in Chains to come and pick her up and of all of them she calls Jerry Cantrell. Jerry goes where Angie is and doesn’t recognize her immediately since she has a new hairstyle, which by the way he doesn’t like. He takes her to the hotel where all the guys are staying, the whole gang is happy and surprised, the winners of the infamous bet are particularly happy. Angie asks about Eddie because he’s not with the others, Jerry walks her to the nearby beach where he’s surfing with his friend Craig. Angie and Eddie finally meet and from their behaviour towards each other Jerry has a sort of epiphany and figures out they’re more than friends. He leaves, hurt, while Ed and Angie can’t take their eyes off each other. Craig finally meets Angie and makes fun of Eddie in front of her, suggesting his friend should have the girl crash at his place since the whole mistake was his fault. Eddie accepts, of course, and the two of them leave for Eddie’s house, while Craig goes home by himself giving them some alone time.

***

“Don’t stare, don’t stare, don’t stare…” the good half of my conscience repeats as I sit in the car and Eddie works on fixing the board to the baggage rack.

“Nipples, nipples, nipples…” retorts the sick part as I bring myself to take another quick look through the car window to enjoy the view of the surfer, who’s rolled down his wetsuit down to his waist, thus wearing only the bottom part of it.

Needless to say which of the two parts of me is taking over right now. If I don’t chill right now, I’ll end up answering his next question by yelling Nipples! at his face. It’s not like those were the only things to look at, I mean, there’s absolutely no lack of interesting details here, from his abs to the other muscles that… well, you know, look very well distributed, with small droplets of water trickling down from his wet hair, from the small moles on his chest to that narrow almost invisible path of hair that starts from the belly button and goes down down… Maybe I should have taken a refreshening dip in the ocean too.

“We’ll leave in a minute, ok? I’m almost done. Sorry again for all the troubles I caused” Eddie draws my attention and as I turn around I instantly thank god for my shades that are strategically hiding my most likely googly eyes, as I watch him leaning back against the car hood to take his wetsuit off completely. What did I do so wrong, or so right, to deserve this?

“Nip… No problem, I mean, where the fuck is the problem? Two extra days in San Diego, room and board and concert included, I’m the unluckiest person in the world!” I half shout across the window.

“No doubts about room and concert, don’t know about the board, it’ll probably disappoint you, I’ve got basically nothing at home” he chuckles embarrassed for his empty fridge, whereas he doesn’t show any trace of shyness as he pulls down the wetsuit, partially dragging down the shorts he’s wearing underneath within too, then slowly pulling them back up.

“Well, at least you’ve got a phone to order a pizza for delivery, right?” and to call for the ambulance I’ll soon need if he goes on like that.

Eddie nods as he takes off one leg of the wetsuit and awkwardly jumps on one foot, just like any other person would do, like I’d do, totally unconcerned or unaware, or both, of his overwhelming beauty and the effects it’s having on me.

“After we make things right with tickets and everything I’m gonna take you on a turistic tour, how would you like that?” he suggests, finally free from the wetsuit that is now in his hands and is promptly thrown in the trunk. From here I can see him grabbing a towel and dabbing his body and his hair with it and in a second I find myself with conclusive evidence to refute all theories about karma, reincarnation and past lives, bullshit I never believed in anyway. Because if it’s true that the soul migrates from one body do another to ascend on a higher plane of consciousness, how can it be that the lowest level is occupied by rocks and other so called inanimate objects? There are people out there living lives that are much more insignificant than Eddie’s towel’s right now. Eddie’s towel looks like the perfect end point once we’re free from our karmic debt, the best way to transcend existence. My spiritual thoughts, that are actually very earthly, stop when Eddie joins me in the car taking the driver’s seat, unlaced Chuck Taylors at his feet and towel temporarily resting on his knees as he’s putting on a grey Dead Kennedys t-shirt. “You don’t want to?”

“Huh? No, yes! Yeah, sure, I want to. I just, I don’t want you to change your plans anyway…”

“No plans to change really, I didn’t make plans for today” he reassures me as he towels off his hair some more.

“Are you sure?”

“Sure. But thank god you’re here and now I’ve got one: you are my plan” he half pinches my cheek and throws the towel on the backseat, right before starting the car and leaving.

“Whose car is this?”

“It’s my friend Jamie’s car, he’s lent it to me as long as I’m here, since I left my truck in Seattle”

“You left your surfboard in Seattle too, didn’t you? This doesn’t look like yours” I ask and he turns around and looks at me surprised, as if it sounded strange to him that I could remember such a thing.

“Yep, that’s Jamie’s too” he answers as he flicks down the visor to shield himself from the sun, that’s not in his eyes anymore, but is now shining on his curls revealing the lighter and slightly drier tips. I’ve never seen him so beautiful and that’s got nothing to do with the fact he was almost naked five minutes ago. He’s beautiful, of a glowing and delicate beauty, but lively, warm and somewhat wild and fiery. Maybe it’s because I’ve never seen him under California sun before.

“If you borrowed the wetsuit from him as well you got the whole Jamie set haha” the fuck am I laughing for?

“No, that’s mine, I had left it here. Also because Jamie’s 6'2’’, I’d lose his wetsuit at the first wave” he explains giggling but I honestly think there’s nothing to laugh about that image, I mean… C'MON, ANGIE, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!

“I ni… ehm, I see hehe” what have I just said?! You’re acting like you never saw a good looking guy before. Like you never saw Eddie. I mean, you’ve been friends for a while now, you even slept together, you’ve known for a while he’s hot for fuck’s sake!

“Didn’t you notice anything?” he inquires minutes later and I look at him like some husbands look at their wives who’ve just come back from the hairdresser’s and can’t see any difference. But I’m the one who changed hairstyle and I can’t see anything different in him now, except for being even hotter than usual but I seriously doubt this is what Eddie’s trying to tell me.

“Uhm… no. What?” Eddie takes his hands off the wheel and flails them around as if he was pointing at something really evident, but I still can’t understand. I try to guess: “Is it something in the car?”

Eddie shakes his head and turns up the stereo volume.

As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset, I am in paradise…

“AH! The song! Is it my tape?”

“Did you think they were casually playing Kinks on the radio?”

“It could be… You like it then!”

“Sure I do, I think I already told you”

“Yes, I mean you really like it”

“And what would the difference be?”

“That you like it so much you keep it in the car. And you didn’t even know we’d meet”

“Hehe no, it wasn’t a planned out move to impress you” he admits as we stop at traffic lights, keeping his eyes on the coast on his right. Impress me? For what?

Eddie parks his car along the coastal avenue, takes his surf board first then his wetsuit from the trunk and leads the way towards the beach. We follow a trail that dissolves in the sand and as I look down to observe once again how unsuitable my shoes are and considering taking them off, I’m almost run over by a couple of girls jogging on the beach, who immediately apologize, still running on without missing a beat. The trail starts again right behind a line of benches placed around to form an L shape under a short sycomore tree with a very wide crown. Eddie’s house is very close along the way, hidden behind other trees, some variety of pines I don’t know, a few steps from the ocean and from the coast, which I picture crawling with surfers and beachgoers during the summer, but at the same time is partially isolated, almost disguised, hidden behind this tipical sea vegetation. His house is really just like I expected it to be, maybe a little smaller, a one storey sea green house, surrounded by an unvarnished wooden fence, a not very tall hedge on the front, five steps leading to the porch and the entrance.

“Please, after you, my princess” Eddie invites me in and I focus back and see his hands are busy with wetsuit, board and keys and he’s keeping the gate open for me with his foot and I realize I should have helped him maybe? It’s too late now though… I quickly get in and walk up the stairs, while Eddie places his board down on the ground in the yard and hangs the wetsuit on the porch. His house may be hidden out but you can see the beach and the ocean very clearly from here.

“Nice view!” I exclaim as I place my hands on the porch railing and take a deep breath of the salty air of the Pacific, which is dry and light though.

“Yeah. And it’s even nicer now.” I turn around and see Eddie leaning against the door frame, hands in the pockets of his shorts, staring at the ground with a half smile on his face. He looks up soon after “Come on, get in”

“Hello…” I say as if there was someone else beside the two of us and I immediately feel stupid for that.

“We’re alone, Angie, no one else’s here.” Eddie smiles and tosses his keys on a round metal table beside the couch. As he does, he notices two pairs of boxers towering over a pile of apparently dirty laundry stacked right on the sofa and grabs them, leaving to another room. He comes back with an empty basket, quickly filling it up as he awkwardly apologizes “Fuck. Sorry for the mess, I wasn’t expecting any guests”

I don’t care that much, I’m more focused on examining the inside of the house. Blue is the dominant color, on the two sofas, the pillows, the living room forniture, the fridge, a couple of abstract paintings hanging on the walls, even the kettle on the small stove and the cover of the sports magazine on the other square small table between the couch and the tv set. Ok, Eddie having a tv seems quite strange, but sure he needs something to watch baseball and basketball, right? Not to mention infomercials. Maybe he should move the tv into his bedroom.

“No problem, really. And I can’t see any mess. It’s a really nice house”

“Thank you. It’ll be mine until the end of the month, since I’m here I thought I could make use of it a little longer, after all I already paid for it” he remarks, walking out of the room once again with the laundry basket in his hands.

“Good idea” I walk into the kitchenette and notice the chairs around the big table are not all the same, two are made of wood painted in black, the other two are folding chairs, still black, like camping chairs.

“Wanna take a shower?” he innocently asks turning back up in the living room, once again shirtless and with another towel around his neck.

“Mmh?”

“I should take one too”

“Huh” it looks like I lost my ability to speak and started expressing myself through guttural and vowel-like sounds only.

“You can go first if you want, I’ll take one after you” he points out fiving me a perplexed look.

Sure, after.

“Oh no, don’t worry, you can go first, I don’t need a shower”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, go and take your shower, I’ll just freshen up a little after you’re done”

“Look, I can wait”

“I can wait too! And well, actually I have another favor to ask you”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I should make a phone call, actually two. First call to Meg to tell her I’m fine and second call to my friend Dina”

“The girl who studies in L.A.?”

“Yep! I told her I’d have come here to California to see some friends play one of these days and we agreed to arrange a meeting on the phone”

“Ok, no problem. The phone must be somewhere behind the couch pillows”

“I’ll be quick, I promise”

“Take your time, Angie. Oh give it to me, I’m gonna go put it in my bedroom,” he’s about to go but then walks back to me and gestures for me to give him my backpack “and of course just make yourself at home: watch tv, drink something, read a book, rest a little… You can do whatever you want, ok?”

“Ok, thank you. But I’m gonna sleep on the couch tonight, it’s quite big and looks comfortable” I suggest as I point at the corner sofa against the wall.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. I’m going now” Eddie leans down right over that sofa, slips his hand between the pillows and takes out the phone, placing it on the coffee table before leaving the room.

By the way, I’m doing better and better, I didn’t even risked to say nipples this time.

****************************************************************************************************************************

As I thought, finding a parking spot at the airport has proven to be an impossible mission. After I’ve let Angie get out of the car, I tried to stop in front of the terminal’s entrance, but soon after I’ve been invited to move from there. I’ve found a parking space on a side road near the Coast Guard – it takes twenty minutes on foot from there to the airport, and I’ve been walking for the past ten minutes. Or, better to say, I’ve been running. What’s twenty fuckin’ minutes when I still have two days ahead of me to spend with her? Two fuckin’ days. I laugh by myself like the perfect moron I am. On the one hand I knew that she would have come here, well, let’s just say that I hoped so, but on the other hand I didn’t want to have such high expectations in case she wouldn’t have. And yet she did and, thanks to me telling her the wrong dates, we have one more day to spend together. Well played, Eddie! Had I done it on purpose, it wouldn’t have come out in such a brilliant way. While I’m walking down North Harbor I look right and left to see if by any chance Angie’s among the people that are heading on the opposite direction, even though I have told her to wait for me at the entrance, if once she had finished she wouldn’t have seen me outside. And probably she’s following my instructions, because I don’t see her, and with her new hair color it couldn’t be that difficult to recognize her even in the middle of a crowd. I like her hair – it’s like she has finally let something out that, until now, she had kept hidden… her most intimate and truest colors. And then it’s known that changing hairstyle more or less drastically often mirrors also a general change, the will to pull the plug on a past situation and start anew and, considering the unpleasant events of recent times, I think it’s an excellent sign. And, besides all that, this hairstyle really suits her. She’s gorgeous, free, on holiday, far from the duties and constrictions of everyday. The whole concept of seeing her outside the usual surroundings really intrigues me. I wait my turn to cross the street while thinking that this seems like too good an opportunity to pass up – I must do something about it, I’ve already lost too much time. I have to tell her how I really feel about her once and for all, no matter what happens after. If she rejected me I’d feel bad, but then she would go back to Seattle and after twenty days or so I’d come back too, and once back to our everyday lives maybe it would be easier to go on as if nothing has happened. Maybe.

I get to the airport and I see her sort of right where I left her but sitting on the sidewalk, her shades pulled up on her head, her chin resting on the backpack she's holding and an irresistible pouty face. She must be mad because I kept her waiting. I know how to make up for that...

“Hey, I'm here! Sorry, parking is so fucking expensive here and I'm broke, I parked like at the fuckin' end of the world.” I jog towards her and she just stares at me without talking, still that sweet little pout on her face. God, this is a big one, I'll have to use all my weapons “Have you been waiting for long?”

“No, I was inside with the girl at the desk until five minutes ago, trying to find a solution but... nothing doing” she sighs and I understand she's not mad at me.

“What do you mean?” I ask as I sit next to her.

“I can't change the return ticket”

“What does it mean you can't? Why not? I did so many times from Chicago, when my boss kept changing my shift at the last minute”

“Chicago?” she asks, her face still sad but also puzzled after my statement.

“That's where I was born, most of my family on my mom's side and friends live there. I lived there for years too”

“I thought you came from San Diego”

“I moved here when I was a baby with my parents... well, yeah, you know, with my mom and that guy, together with my little brothers. I lived here until my senior year in high school, then went back to Chicago. And then came back here once again, something like sid... seven years ago, more or less”

“So who do you root for more, Cubs or Padres?” a quick smile and worries go away from her face for a moment.

“What do you think?”

“Well you're a loser in both cases but I think it's the Cubs. You look like you've got a flair for tragedy” she twists the knife but I gladly let her.

“At least we won something”

“Not in the last 82 years” she retorts with some nerve and I want to punish her so badly. With an unexpected kiss maybe.

“We'll go back to win one day... we just have to wait for 2015, don't we? Against Miami, right?” my movie reference melts her sneering grin into sweet laughter.

“Hahaha yeah, when Miami will actually have a team”

“Anyway I can't see why you can't change the date of your flight”

“'Cause I bought the flight with a special ultra-cheap offer and I didn't pay attention to all the conditions and terms. Basically I could have changed date and destination until seven days before, only the date three days before. And it's not even refundable”

“Aw come on, fuck, just for one day! Couldn't the employee at the desk just turn a blind eye this time?” I angrily reply .

“Actually I had to change the destination too...” she explains taking off her shades from her head.

“Why?”

“Well because... you know, since I was leaving I thought I could take a few more days off and... well, I thought I could go and visit my mother... and my father” Angie fumbles with her sunglasses, opening and closing the temples repeatedly.

“Destination Boise then?”

“Yes, exactly!” she answers before I finish talking.

“And you bought another ticket from Boise to Seattle I guess”

“Non refundable as well” she adds dejected, bringing one end of her glasses to her mouth and chewing on it. And this is the umpteenth image of her I'd love to take a picture of, so I can freeze it in time and carry it with me always and not forget it. Anyway forgetting about anything about her would appear quite unlikely.

“Quite a mess”

“Basically I wanted to spare some money but I actually ended up spending a fucking lot”

“So you had to book another flight”

“No”

“Huh so you did find a solution in the end?” I ask confused.

“No, I didn't, but I didn't buy another ticket either, I can't afford it” she shakes her head, the end of her sunglasses still between her lips.

“I can lend you something”

“You?” she gives me a skeptical look and I insinctively look down at myself without a reason.

“Yes, why?”

“The same person who parked two miles away from here not to pay for a parking place?”

“Oh well, 'cause that'd have been an unnecessary expense. But you have to go back to Seattle” but do you really have to go back? You could as well stay.

“Yes, I have to”

“So? What will you do?” you can stay here with me and then follow us for what's left of the tour until we'll go back home to Seattle together. Together in all senses maybe, as a couple, why not.

“There's only one way to go back to Seattle”

“You're crazy”

“What else could I do?” although she's wearing sunglasses, I know she's rolling her eyes now as we leave the bus station.

“It's a one day long drive, even more. I know because I did. Well, by car and not by bus but it's basically the same. Except I was kinda angry and pushed a lot on the gas so it probably took me a few hours less”

“In return, you got lost afterwards in Seattle”

“Hehe yeah... anyway, don't try and change the subject, San Diego-Seattle by bus is like a hammer blow. You even have to change”

“Well, only in L.A., from there on it's all straight through”

“All straight through, on a bus, an uncomfortable and confined space. And you're even claustrophobic!” I go on as I walk beside her along sunny North Harbor Drive.

“Thank you, Ed, you really know how to be comforting. An airplane is a confined space too but the bus costs one third of the flight so...”

“But the flight lasts one third than the bus drive”

“I'm used to long journeys, it's not a problem” she shrugs and starts pulling her still long hair back into a ponytail with a scrunchie.

“I can't forget it's all my fault. To make up for that I'm gonna take you out for lunch, then we can tour San Diego”

“Didn't we tour already? You basically had to drive all through the town because of me”

“But that was a necessity, you didn't see anything nice”

“That's not true! I saw... well, first of all I saw your house”

“Ha!”

“Well, I saw the coast, the beach, the ocean, I took a lot of pictures. Oh and the Simon&Simon bridge!”

“The what of who?!”

“The bridge! As we went back to the car from the airport...” she points at the place where the bridge is supposed to be from here as the crow flies, behind the buildings “I took pictures of that too”

“Coronado Bridge”

“Yes! The one you see during the opening credits of Simon&Simon, the tv series”

“Hehe yeah. But I didn't take you to Coronado. Actually there's not that much to see there apart from luxury hotels and naval stations” I think out loud as I open the car door for her and let her in.

“Where are you taking me then?” she asks as I get in the car too and her enthusiasm is so genuine I'd take her to the moon and back. We go get something to eat instead.

“Subway?” she asks with an amused smirk as we park in front of it “A true symbol of San Diego”

“Jack in the box is kinda far from here, I'm gonna take you there tomorrow” I reply as she snaps a picture of the restaurant's facade.

“Admit it, you actually wanted to show me the Padres stadium” she jokes pointing at the entrance of Petco Park at the end of the road.

“No, I really wanted to take you to a luxury fish restaurant in Little Italy but, you know, I'm a broke slacker musician who can't afford a parking place, so...” I joke as we get in.

“I didn't offend you, did I? I was just kid-”

“No no, I was kidding too” I slip my arm around her shoulders as we walk up towards the counter to order our food.

As we devour our burgers, a veggie one for me and fish for her, she tells me about college, about the new Soundgarden songs Chris played to her and that seem to be great, about Hannigan who drives everyone crazy at work changing his mind about the mini mart set up once every ten minutes, about the croissants she bought at the French bakery in Pike Place where she went back and ate on the observation deck, without me. I'm in San Diego, at home, but I can't help having a fit of nostalgia for what has by now become my new home and for Angie herself. She's right here, sitting in front of me, closer than she's ever been, but I miss her, still, terribly.

“So... Pearl Jam, huh?”

“Yeah”

“Where does that come from? How did you come out with that name?” she inquires as she steals from my tray one of the French fries she swore she didn't want to when we ordered.

“Well, there's not only one reason and it was a gradual thing, I mean, we slowly got there”

“How?”

“We liked Pearl, Stone really liked it and sounded good to me too, also for some coincidences, but not just for that”

“What coincidences?”

“It's my great-grandmother's name”

“Really?”

“Yep”

“And she made jam?” she adds laughing and taking a sip of her coke.

“Hehehe no, at least, I don't think so”

“It's also a very cool album by Janis Joplin”

“True. And in surfing slang it's when you bury the nose of your board in the wave and either fall down or get sucked up by the motion of the wave, over and back down, spinning like you're in a washing machine””

“Hahahaha really? I was thinking it was because Earl The Pearl Monroe”

“Also”

“From a Nets player to a Knicks player, such imagination”

“And then there's the literal meaning, that I find quite interesting. Do you know where pearls come from?”

“A foreign substance like sand enters enters the oyster and to protect itself from irritation the oyster produces mineral layers to isolate it. More or less”

“Exactly. It's basically turning pain into something beautiful, an emotional/creative conflict turning a grain of sand into a precious gem”

“That's a really powerful image. And delicate at the same time”

“Something precious and delicate, born from grief”

“That's a good metaphor for art”

“Yes, that's so true” I love talking to her, I love the fact she totally gets me and what I mean every time and being able to talk about anything with her, from stupid falls when surfing to art, from the manic arrangement of gum packets at the mini mart to Cubs' bad luck, and none of these conversations sounds more corny and banal than the others. Every single subject is particular and interesting with her, every word sounds more charming and true if she says it. Food tastes better when I share it with Angie and Subway too looks nicer, the chairs are more comfy, the lamps are brighter and the peppers drawn on the counter look greener. Even Mr Big on the radio sound less boring than usual.

“Eric Martin, what a voice” she remarks as if she could read my mind.

“Yeah, uhm, not bad, not really my thing, but he's good”

“And what about Jam?”

“What?”

“I know the reasons behind Pearl now but where does Jam come from?”

“From a show by Neil Young with Crazy Horse”

“When? Where?!”

“At Los Angeles Sports Arena, last week, we all went”

“And why didn't you tell me before?? That's cool but why Jam?”

“'Cause every fuckin' single song ended up in an endless jam. And we didn't mind, I mean, it was great. As we were driving back from the concert, while we were discussing it, Jeff came out with 'what do you think about Pearl Jam' and everybody liked the idea.

“You mean Stone liked it and he gave you the permission to like it too”

“That's right, I see you know how it goes”

After lunch we get back in the car, even though this time the trip is short. “Are you takin’ me to a park so I can jog and digest Subway’s sandwich?” she asks me when she reads the sign that indicates Balboa Park.

“No, I’m takin’ ya to a park because it’s one of the most beautiful places of the city and you’ll have somethin’ decent to take pictures of”

Basically, we visit all the museums, from the anthropological one to the Timken Museum of Art: I love seeing her eyes literally shine both when she admires a painting by Guercino and while we’re visiting the exhibition about mythological creatures. I also take her to the botanical garden, where she gives me further evidence of her deep knowledge of plants, and we both agree about avoiding the zoo, because animals in captivity make both of us feel sad. After the exhausting tour I finally convince her to buy some ice cream that we end up eating sitting on a bench in front of the California Bell Tower. Angie asks me to keep her cone while she takes a picture of the building.

“Thanks” she quickly puts away her camera and takes back her ice cream.

“No problem. So, what do you think of everything you’ve seen?” I ask her in the exact moment the park’s streetlamps light up one after the other.

“It was so cool! And full of really unique buildings, each one of a different style: Baroque, Romanesque, Gothic… there’s basically everything. And the vegetation is incredible”

“… Buildings that, by the way, you already knew” I mention in a casual way, already looking forward to her reaction when she’ll finally understand where I’m going with this.

“No, I told ya that’s the first time I come here” she goes on, biting a piece of waffle.

“I know, but you knew them all the same, trust me”

“What do you mean?”

“That you already saw them, although not in person”

“And where?”

“Probably in the same place you’ve seen the Coronado Bridge”

“Huh?”

“Upon a screen” I explain, drawing a square with my fingers in mid-air.

“Wait a minute… are you really sayin’ that this park has been the set for something?”

“More or less”

“What do you mean ‘more or less’?? It’s simple, yes or no!” Angie becomes more and more curious and I love to keep her on pins and needles.

“Yes – well, let’s just say that they shot here some scenes for a movie. A really important movie”

“A movie”

“… that you’ve watched, I know it for sure”

“Oh, fuck! Which movie?”

“Guess it”

“C’mon, just spit it out!” she begs me, shifting closer and closer to me on the bench.

“To tell the truth, I’m quite surprised that you haven’t already guessed it yourself”

“Black-and-white or Technicolor?”

“Black and white”

“Hmm… It’s difficult to guess, right away… gimme a hint” Angie finally realizes she has ignored her ice cream for too long and tries to save the little drops of cream that are running down her hand. Obviously with her tongue. So now it’s her who’s having me on pins and needles.

“Xanadu” I give up and give her her precious hint.

“Like Olivia Newton John’s song?” she asks, not understanding the connection-

“Eheh no, like someone’s estate”

“FUCK, NO” she jumps on her feet and stares again at the California Tower.

“Sure it is”

“KANE’S ESTATE!”

“Well done, the answer’s correct” I finish to eat my ice cream and give her a warm applause.

“CITIZEN KANE! They shot it here?” she finally calms herself and sits down again.

“Not all of it, just the newscast scene, you remember it? There are some exterior shootings of Xanadu. Well, they did ‘em here”

“News on the march…”

“The tower, the equestrian statue of El Cid, the art museum and the anthropological one, the Prado theater and the botanical garden with the pond too” I list all the places, counting them on my fingers.

“You took me here on purpose”

“I was thinking about doing it ever since you mentioned Citizen Kane the evening of our RKCNDY’s gig. In San Diego everybody knows that they shot here some of its scenes. I remember that, when you talked to me about it, I immediately thought that, well, if someday you had come in San Diego, I absolutely would have taken you t-” I try to explain her how the idea came to me without coming out as a psycho that gets fixated on stupid details, when suddenly I get swept away by a hug, unexpected yet pleasant. Angie’s not someone who gives many hugs, she’s not physical with her displays of affection – let’s just say that I saw her displaying her affection with something that wasn’t a pat or a slap for only a couple of times, and that has never happened with me.

“You gave me a fantastic present” she mumbles in the crook of my neck, while her camera’s zoom is drilling my sternum, but I absolutely don’t intend to push her away.

“Eheh, no problem, it’s just a silly little thing”

“It’s not a silly little thing”

“San Diego’s no Hollywood, but we defend ourselves. If you had stayed here a couple of days more, I would have taken you to the Universal Studios”

“Do you wanna see me dead?” she slightly moves away from me to look me in the eyes, but still keeping me in her arms, and this moment would be perfect for a kiss. If only I weren’t a wanker.

“Nope – at least, not before tomorrow’s gig. But especially not before tonight”

“Well, am I allowed to know what’s going to happen tonight?” Angie finally lets me go and studies my face, trying to elicit some information.

“Hmmm, I can give you some hints” I answer, standing up – the bench has made my ass like a waffle.

“Ok, I’m listening”

“We’re goin’ to a club”

“A club, ok. Which one?”

“A really ugly club, I must say”

“Ok, so the bet consists in going to a shitty place?”

“Exactly, but it’s a shitty place that requires appropriate clothing. That’s why we should swing by Value Village before dinner” I extend a hand to her, as an invitation to stand up.

“Value Village? We have to wear something vintage? Oh my God, is it a themed club??”

“In a way…”

*************************************************************************************************************************

“What’s going on, Stone? Already tired?” says our Dancing Queen, no longer seventeen, when I signal her that I’m about to leave her alone on the dancefloor, preferring the bar to her.

“Nope, you should know that for me Saturday Night Fever’s soundtrack is the lowest point in the entire career of the Bee Gees guys!” I retort, referring to the song that the DJ has just put on after basically butchering Boogie Wonderland.

Eddie wasn’t kidding at all when he proposed us to come here: the Yates club is seriously the worst San Diego disco, or better still, it’s probably the ugliest club in the U.S. and I’m saying this just because I haven’t visited the rest of the world yet; starting with the entrance in a dark and chilling alley, where you’re forced to stay in line on a creaky spiral staircase for what seems like an eternity and where your expectations grow like crazy because outside there are lots of people waiting to get in, but then the inside sucks even more than the outside: it’s a hole where only one strobe light out of three actually works and the most lit area is the one surrounding the bar. The disco ball in the middle of the so-called dancefloor lacks a few mirrors, the ceiling is so low that if you jump on a table to dance and you’re not as short as Angie you risk to head-butt every spotlight in sight, the go-go dancers dance way worse than me (and I could easily be their son), the DJ puts the music on using CDs that constantly skip and, when they don’t it’s his mission in life to create infinite pauses in between tracks. Buuut I must admit that there’s also a positive thing: the bar is supercheap – as it should be, Jesus. On the other hand Angie’s having a lot of fun, with her giant earrings, the glasses with their red, heart-shaped lenses and an optical shirt with the most flared sleeves I’ve ever seen. And, after all, I’m having fun too, but I truly believe that I’m gonna enjoy myself even more when all the Macho Men who have lost the bet finally show up. The first of them – G.I. Dave – has come with me and Angie, and now I find him again at the bar, in the company of Jerry the Cowboy.

“Hey Stone, what are you dressed as? No, wait, you’re just like any other day” Jerry jokes, tipping his hat in the exact moment he sees me.

“Shut up, I know you’ve been having your eyes on this leopard-print vest for years, just forget it!”

It all ends up with us buying each other drinks and I can’t ignore the furtive glances that Cantrell throws in Angie’s direction, now that she’s dancing with a guy dressed in leather with a motorcycle helmet on his head. I know he’s one of the gang, but only when he spins for the second time I realize it’s McCready. Anyway, I find it unbelievable that Angie could be embarrassed for a fake slow-dance she had with Cornell in front of a couple of friends during her birthday party, but at the same time not showing the tiniest hint of shyness when she has to dance in a disco full of people. I have to admit she dances really well, but I think the vodka shots she had with us in Krusen’s room have largely contributed to this dissolution of her inhibitions. Dave and I go to have a seat on the puke-colored booths at the edge of the dancefloor, leaving Jerry intent on moping about Angie, and we meet Layne – dressed like any other day, who has decided not to yield himself to the rules of this ‘70s evening offered by this awful place – and Sean, who’s basically dressed in his usual way, with jeans and a checkered shirt opened on his chest, that however has a helmet on his head that signals his will to be the construction worker. But we didn’t know that the best had yet to come, and it has been gently provided after a couple of minutes by the trio that has appeared at the entrance of the club: on the left Eddie flaunts a light-blue suit consisting of a vest and flared trousers, with a flowered shirt underneath it and light ankle boots that unfortunately lack platforms, seeing as he seems at his usual height; on the right we have Mike Starr, with suede trousers, boots, a naked chest slightly covered by an imprecise quantity of necklaces, black eyeliner around his eyes and a colorful hairband – I can’t grasp its color because these fuckin’ disco lights make it seem like it’s rainbow-patterned; but the real treat is him, my soulmate, my Jeffrey that, besides having picked up a pair of leather trousers – maybe from the same questionable store where Starr did his shopping – has also dusted off a precious relic… his historic pink tank-top with San Francisco written in purple letters that almost got us killed that time we opened for Sahmain, when we were still playing in Green River. Is it possible to show up at a punk rock gig dressed like that? Yes, if your name’s Jeff Ament and you have massive balls.

He was also wearing dance shoes and, if my sight doesn’t trick me, I think he’s wearing them even now.

“Oh my God, Jeff! I didn’t think this tank-top still existed! I believed Danzig’s fans shredded it” I welcome him doubled over laughing when the magical trio finally approaches me and the others.

“You thought I had lost it for good, but no, it has come out untouched… unlike my face. But you wouldn’t know it, you and Bruce cut and ran!” the bass player retorts, still with a chip on his shoulder for that old story.

“Jeff, I know you love me, but take a look at me. What else could I have done? Protect you with my sarcasm?”

“What are you two talkin’ about?” asks Eddie, looking around himself in a less disgusted way than all of us, because he already knows this place but, most of all, because he’s looking for someone.

“We’re talkin’ about a nice, little story of our Green River times – there are a lot of ‘em that deserve to be passed down through the generations” I explain him while making room for Jeff on the most uncomfortable booth of the entire California.

“Neither Mark Arm is a body builder, but he took my defense anyway”

“… and he got beat up as much as you, I was just provident”

“But why did you dress up? Didn’t you bet she would have come actually?” Dave asks a fair question to Starr, who answers with a raised eyebrow.

“Dressed up? What do you mean?” he adds in a confused way and we all burst out laughing in his face “Well? Anybody cares to explain?”

“He thought – well, we all thought – you were the Native American of the Village People” Jeff shreds some light on the little mystery.

“The Native guy? Don’t think so! And it would be cultural appropriation, I’d never do it” Mike adds, making all of us immediately stop laughing because, from a guy like him that is 95% half-drunk or stoned, you don’t expect a criticism about oppression and pillaging by members of the dominant culture.

“You’re right, Mike, I didn’t think you-” Layne’s about to start a conversation, but he gets interrupted by the Pimp-err!, by the impatient Prince Charming.

“But talkin’ about the bet… where’s Angie?”

“She’s over there, near the bar, where there’s all those green and blue lights that seem floating seaweed”

“Wait… you mean over there, where there’s that girl who’s dancing on the table?” he asks me, and I’m already looking forward to the thud his jaw’s about to do on this cheap floor.

“No, Angie is the girl who’s dancing on the table”

25 notes · View notes