#also if any of this is wrong let me live ok I’ve watched nearly ten seasons in like 3 weeks

[smokestarrules]

something about how the first creatures Bonnie created were at the same level of intelligence as herself and how the first truly dumb creation was made by Gumbald. something about how he introduces the concept of safe stupidity to her and threatens her with it. something about how Bonnie starts calling herself a Princess after she's been betrayed; it's not safe to make people like her, she's learned that now, and it's much better for everyone for them all to be dumb. after all, they're happier this way. Bonnie is safer this way. her vision is protected, this way.

and surely, she's strong enough to protect them all. right?

#this isnt anything im just talking rly #I just love her a lot. thats MY war criminal overlord #adventure time #princess bubblegum #bonnibel bubblegum #uncle gumbald #smokey speaks #also if any of this is wrong let me live ok I’ve watched nearly ten seasons in like 3 weeks #shhhhhhhhh

[wreckofawriter]

Colorful Fish

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: a bit angst, deals with religious trauma and abortions

A/n: Ok so I strated this a while ago when @coffee--writes gave me a song to write a fic about, the song hinted at helping a girl who had very religious parents andgot pregnant so here is this fic.

Important notice: This deals with religious trauma and some hard-core Catholic beliefs, if that makes you uncomfortable don't read it. Also if you are anti-choice first get tf off my blog, second this deals with abortion it will probably make you uncomfy

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Pain was something everyone lived with. It was scrapes on your knees and cuts in your fingers. It was priced for ears and breakups. Pain kept us alive, it kept us breathing. It told us to eat, to not touch this, or be careful around that. 

That's why the numbness was so terrifying.

You wanted to cry but the just tears wouldn't come so your eyes were dry, lids heavy. You didn't feel the ache in your back from the position you had pulled yourself into, the hard tile of the bathroom wall going unnoticed.

You felt like you had been thrust into some sort of thick fog. Your movements were slow and heavy, the rising and falling of your chest happening in half speed.

Your fingers shook as you fumbled with your phone, you typed in your password twice, both times your phone vibrated telling you to try again. You dropped it to the floor where it landed too loudly. 

Suddenly you felt sick again, your stomach churning, throwing a fit as you pushed yourself forward, one hand gathering your hair to keep it from your face as the other clutched the cool porcine of the toilet. 

You vomited twice, heaving for breaths before letting your head fall back to the wall again. 

You stretched to reach the handle flushing the tainted water. You tried your phone again finally opening it on the fourth try and found the desired contact at the top of your recents. You pressed call holding the device to your ear. 

A gravelly voice picked up on the third ring. 

"Princess do you have any idea what time it is?" Sirius asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his spare hand. 

You tried to speak your head feeling far away. 

Sirius paused another moment, "Baby are you okay?" 

"I'm pregnant." your voice was hollow.

The line dropped, nothing but silence responding. 

Sirius felt his heart fall into his stomach "I'm sorry, what?" 

You sighed, your mouth still thick with bile, "I'm pregnant." you repeated. 

It was quiet for a while, the small sounds of Sirius's breaths the only thing telling you he hadn't hung up.

"Well what do you want to do?" he finally asked, bewilderment stinging his tone. 

You paused squeezing your eyes shut, teeth gritted, "I don't fucking know." you finally responded, "I just threw up like four times and I'm exhausted. All I want to do right now is sleep." 

"Then do that." Sirius replied, "Do you want me to come over?" 

You shook your head, "No, my mom already hates you enough she would throw a fit if she found you in my bed." 

Sirius licked his lips hand running through his hair "Okay, I'll talk to you in a few hours. Sleep well." 

"Bye Siri," you mumbled.

"I love you princess." 

"Love you too." 

He was gone with a click.

You pulled yourself to your feet by the edge of your sink, pushed open the door slowly, and padded to your bedroom. You fell asleep only minutes after your head hit the pillow. 

You had never had too much of a problem growing up Catholic. The sure church was boring and prayers could be a pain but it hadn't had that much of an effect on your life until you grew older. 

Your first boyfriend had shown you the ugly colors your mother painted your religion with.

At fifteen you were sat down and told you would be going to hell if you did anything more than kiss the young boy you were with. 

At sixteen you were told not to be friends with that girl because she was a queer and not that boy because he never went to church. 

By seventeen you lived in fear of your mother and her God. Your respect for both deteriorating as you realized that God wasn’t nearly as kind as everyone else seemed to believe he was. Crosses started to look like knives as you struggled to figure out what the hell you were supposed to be.

When you met Sirius- a long-haired pagan with a pentagram tattooed on his ankle everything changed. He made things easy, he told you to believe what you wanted to, not what you were told. So you did. 

But that didn’t change the whispers of your neighbors and the hatred in your mother’s eyes when Sirius picked you up. 

Your mother had begged you to break things off with Sirius more times than you could count on one hand. It was one of the few things you didn’t let her convince you to do. Her words were sweet but the aftertaste was always bitter. 

So instead she ignored his existence, pretending you were single as she shoved your neighbor’s son's down your throat. You learned to live with it just as she learned to turn a blind eye to the roar of your boyfriend’s motorcycle. 

Out of all the ways you expected to wake a shrill scream was not one. Your heart launched and you popped upwards just as your mother slammed your door open. Its knob hit your wall so hard she would find chipped paint behind it later that night. 

“Mom, what’s wrong?” You asked in a mild panic half expecting Micheal Myers to come crashing in after her. 

But no one followed and instead, she stared at you in a way you had never seen before, her eyes narrowed her mouth in a tight scowl that reminded you of cracked leather, “You little slut.” she hissed.

Your eyes widened, “Mom?” 

“You whore!” She shrieked and you flinched, knees coming to your chest, “I always knew you would embarrass our family like this.”

    Your vision blurred, “What are you talking about?”

The pregnancy test hit you in the cheek hard enough to sting and your stomach churned.

“Get out.” your mother snarled. 

“Mom, I swear I never meant for you to find out.” You whimpered.

She stiffened, “So you were just gonna kill the baby then?” 

You weren’t sure how to respond.

“I will not have any sluts in my house let alone murders.” She heaved, “Call your satanist boyfriend and get out of my house.” With that, she turned on her heels and slammed your door shut behind her. 

    Sirius woke to the sound of his phone ringing again, he groaned, his eyes opening slowly as he tried to process the bright world around him. His phone was on its last ring when he finally picked up. 

    “Hey y/n/n what's-” He stopped as a broken sob met him.

    You spoke no actual words, only nonsense cut by sniffles and whimpers.

    Sirius was shocked awake already out of bed, phone pressed to his ear by his shoulder. “Baby, I need you to calm down.” He spoke slowly, “What’s going on, where are you?”

    “I-I,” another sob, “She kicked me out Siri.” you cried. 

    “What? Who? Your mom?” He asked, trying to wrap his mind around what was going on. 

    You nodded only realizing he couldn’t hear you a couple of seconds after, “Yeah, She-” You hiccuped, “She found the pregnancy test a-and,” You broke into sobs again. 

    Sirius stopped in his tracks. Right. You’re pregnant, “I'll be there in ten minutes okay?” 

    You nodded again, “Okay.” 

    “Do you want me to stay on the line?” Sirius asked as he attempted to put jeans on with one hand. 

    “No, it's not safe to dive on the phone.” You croaked, “I gotta pack anyway.” 

    “Okay, I love you y/n.” 

    “Love you too.” 

    The line clicked and Sirius swore throwing his phone onto his unmade bed just go pick it up again and call Remus. 

    His friend picked up after two rings, “Jeez Sirius did someone die? You’re never up this early.”

    Sirius wished he found that funny, “Y/n’s pregnant.” 

    Silence greeted him back, “You’re kidding.” 

    “I really wish I was,” He sighed, “Her bitch mother found out and kicked her out too.”

    A pause, “Oh shit.”

    “Yeah. Look I’ve gotta go pick her up but I’m gonna call you back later okay?” 

    ”Got it.”

    When the tears finally died the numbness came back like the effects of some sort of drug. You packed in silence shoving everything you could fit into a backpack you had from a trip you took in the 10th grade and a duffle bag, which still smelled like your field hockey socks. 

    The doorbell didn’t even ring, instead, you heard a shriek followed by heavy footsteps. Sirius entered your room and slammed your door on your mother who was chasing him down the hall. 

    Neither of you spoke as he drew you into a hug, your chin on his shoulder watching the door which never opened. 

    “You packed?” He asked and you nodded gesturing at the bags on your bed. 

    As you exited your room your mother just glared at you. You hung your head, tears landing on your sneakers. 

    Sirius felt his anger grow hot, it was never easy to tame and it roared loud in his ears. He stopped just inside the house watching as you descend the porch before turning to your mother who stared at him from the living room. 

    He scowled at her sneer, “Go fuck yourself, you bitch.” he spat, middle finger in the air. 

    You pretend nothing happened as you climbed onto his motorcycle tightening your backpack straps and whipping your tears. 

   

    You found yourself over Sirius’s toilet vomiting as you sobbed. He could do nothing but hold your hair away from your face and rub circles on your back, his own vision clouded by tears. You passed out not but twenty minutes later, crying yourself to sleep on his chest. After about an hour of watching you sleep, Sirius heard a knock on the door. He got up carefully, you didn’t even stir. 

    He opened the door to see Remus, his hands shoved into the pockets of his denim jacket. Sirius welcomed him in and he sat at the coffee table as Sirius got them each a beer. 

    “Is y/n here?” Remus asked.

    “Yeah, she’s sleeping,” Sirius responded. 

    Remus nodded, taking note of the red tinge around his friend’s eyes, “Do you guys have any idea what you’re going to do?” 

    Sirius shook his head, “We haven’t even talked about it yet, when she got here she started throwing up and then passed out.” 

    Remus waited a moment, “Do you want to keep it?” 

    Sirius wasn’t surprised by the question, he had been asking himself the same for hours now, “I don’t fucking know, I mean, we’re nineteen, we haven’t even talked about marriage yet, let alone kids.” His thoughts swirled, “And I haven’t even spoken to my parents since I was sixteen and now her mom practically disowned her I mean,” He sighed, “I just don’t know.”

    “Whatever you guys decide you know James, Lily, and I will be here for you,” Remus said patting Sirius on the shoulder. 

    He nodded, “I just can’t believe her mother kicked her out. I mean she’s her only daughter ya know and I just- I knew they hated me but I never thought she would do this to her.” 

    “Parents do terrible things Pads, you should know that.” Remus sighed.

    “Yeah, but you should have seen the way her mother looked at her. It was like she had committed some unforgivable crime or something, it was like she actually hated her.” 

    “It’s cuz she does.” You murmured dully from the hallway. 

    Sirius froze and Remus shifted uncomfortably. 

    You gave them both a battered smile, “It’s fine, it’s not like I don’t know.” 

    “Y/n I-,”

    “Really, it’s fine Sirius.” You said taking a seat beside him, “I’m over it.” That was a blatant lie. 

The three of you talked about meaningless things for a while, the distraction feeling like a breath of fresh air amongst the garbage you had been shoved into. You ordered Chinese takeout offering for Remus to stay for dinner but he explained he had classes in the morning and should probably be studying. 

    The easy atmosphere only lasted for a bit after he left and by the time dinner had arrived you felt like crying again. 

    Finally, Sirius brought it up, “So what do you want to do?” he spoke solemnly.

    You paused a shuddering sigh leaving your lips, “We can’t have a kid Sirius.” 

    “If you wanted to we could make it work.” Sirius countered.

    “We can’t have one Siri.” You repeated.

    “Listen y/n I could make it work, I would propose and-” 

    You scoffed.

    Sirius furrowed his brows, “What?”

    “Nothing.” 

    Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t slept even 5 hours the night before or maybe it was because he was stressed but for some reason that hurt, his thoughts spiraling, “You wouldn’t marry me?” 

    You looked confused, “What? I never said that.” 

    “You don’t have to.” He glared at you.

    “What are you talking about Sirius?” You asked.

    “I’m talking about the idea of me proposing to you being so laughable.” He snapped.

    Your face contorted in anger, “First of all I didn’t laugh at you, second it’s ridiculous because we are NINETEEN!” 

    More hurt, his thoughts went darker, “So you are admitting you wouldn’t marry me?” 

    “Right now I wouldn’t.” you respond. 

    Your words stung, “Why not?”

    “I just told you!” You yelled, “We’re too young!” 

    Sirius paused, you were right, you were too young, “You’re right I’m sorry.” he sighed, “I’m just kind of tired right now.” 

    “I know Siri,” You mumbled, “I am too.” 

    Silence fell as you both found yourself trying to pull together a piece of your sanity. The clock ticked and the wind shuddered the windows in their frames. 

    “I don’t want a kid Sirius.” You sighed, “I know you don’t either.” 

    He didn’t protest, you were right yet again.

    “I’m going to go to the clinic tomorrow.” You spoke, “It’s definitely the best option.”

    “What about your mom.” Sirius asked, “You know she would never forgive you.” 

    There was another moment of quiet, “I think I’m okay with that.”  you spoke and you were telling the truth. 

    A strange sense of relief filled you as you sat in the clinic's parking lot, you were finally putting this behind you, your life could go somewhat back to normal. Except for the fact that you were going back to your house in two days when you knew your mom was gone to clean out your room of course. It felt good to be out of that house, the eggshells you were so used to walking on being replaced by Sirius hardwood floors and patterned rugs. Something about all of this felt right, like you had taken that leap and instead of hitting the harsh rock you expected, you hit warm water filled with colorful fish. 

   

    Your mother didn’t try to contact you for years, sometimes you forget she even existed. You kept yourself busy, finally deciding on a major for college and helping Lily and James with a wedding and then a child. 

    Living with Sirius was like a dream, sometimes when you got up early you would just watch him sleep, his hair always hanging in front of his eyes as he took slowed, heavy breaths. You taught him how to properly cook food, something he had been incapable of doing for far too long. You were truly happy for the first time in a while. 

    When you were twenty-two Sirius got on one knee and you could not have said yes faster. You were ready then. 

Three weeks before the wedding you got a call from your mother. You damn near dropped the phone when you heard her voice. Part of you expected an apology the other part knew she was far too stubborn. And she was, you didn’t even listen to her lecture on how you were marrying a nobody, instead, you hung up and blocked the number. 

    You had the wedding in late spring, just before the flowers began to wilt and turn to leaves, Remus got himself ordained and you sealed it all with a kiss under a cherry tree. You and Sirius were okay with having no relatives at your wedding because while no blood of yours was in the audience your true family was and that was all that mattered. 

Taglist:

@songforhema @wangmangagavroche @evyiione @atomicpunkrock @fairywriter-oracle @moon-zodiac @accio-rogers @roslea @k3nz-doodl3 @theseuscmander @sleepingalaska @chloe-geoghegan1 @obsessedwithrandomthings-deacti @coldlilheart @susceptible-but-siriusexual @inglorious-imagines

strike through means tumblr wouldn't tag u

Masterlist

#harry potter #harry potter imagines #harry potter au #harry potter imagine #sirius black x reader #harry potter x reader #marauders imagines #marauders au #hp marauders #harry potter marauders #sirius black imagines #sirius black x oc #sirius black #marauders imagine #marauders era #religous trauma

[nooneelsecomesclose17]

I’ll leave what I’m chasing - Part 2

I hope people like the name (and that my research was right)

(AO3 link)

“How long did she say she’d be?” It’s not the first or even the second time Robert’s asked that since they stopped talking and he’s been pacing ever since Aaron had told him Sarah was bringing them home.

“An hour, but knowing Seb he’s conned her into buying ‘just one more cookie Ganma’ or an extra go on the swings. He’s got her wrapped round his little finger and she loves it. Why don’t you sit down.” He does, replacing the pacing with twisting the corner of the cushion in his fingers. “Robert, it’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that. What if Seb doesn’t remember me, or the baby hates me.”

“Now you’re being daft. Seb knows exactly who you are, he has a photo right beside his bed, and your Mum has our wedding photos on nearly every surface. We talk about you loads. As for Ana she doesn’t have it in her to hate you.”

“He calls her Ganma? Mum?”

“Oh. Yeah, we were going with Grandma weren’t we, and my Mum was Nana. R’s were a bit of a struggle for a while so Ganma it is.”

“Speaking of your Mum, I thought there’d be a welcoming committee or something. A few pitchforks maybe.” He tries to smile, but Robert really doesn’t know how he’s hit the nail on the head. Thankfully he’s saved by the sound of Sarah’s key in the lock, and Robert jumping to attention at the sound.

“Later.” He rests a hand on Robert’s shoulder as he heads to the door to see Sarah struggling with the pushchair and a bouncing Seb. “Just how much of a sugar rush are we going to be suffering later?”

“Oh hush.” She glances past his shoulder. “Everything ok?”

“Getting there.”

“Good. Right, well I’ll leave you to it. Robert, come round later, we’ll have a chat, ok?” With that she’s gone, leaving Aaron to lift Ana from the buggy.

“Seb, mate, stop jumping a sec, you’re making me dizzy.” He glances over his shoulder to see Robert frozen into place, just staring at the three of them. “There’s someone here to see you. Do you remember we talked about Daddy Robert coming home?”

Robert’s still just standing there and Seb’s pulling back on his hand as he tries to convince him to go closer. Seb’s shy with anyone new and as much as they’ve talked about him, it’s still strange for him that he’s stood in front of him and Aaron’s willing him to actually move and speak to his son.

“You want to say hello? It’s ok mate.”

“You said he was far ‘way.”

“I know and he was but he’s home now, see, and I think he would really like a hug because he’s missed you so much.”

“And Ana?”

“Yeah. So what do you say?” Seb looks between him and Robert a few times before all but launching himself at Robert who barely manages to catch him as he barrels into his legs. He watches them for a bit, pressing a kiss to Ana’s head.

It still felt slightly surreal, that Robert was here, that they were all together and he feels the tears start to run down his cheeks, Ana’s little hands patting them. “It’s ok sweetheart, I’m not sad. You want to meet your Daddy, huh?”

Robert’s got Seb on his hip, the little boy babbling away in his ear, trying to tell him everything he knows in ten seconds flat.

“Seb, can I borrow Daddy a minute? So he can say hi to Ana?”

“Ok, but he has to watch my ‘toons with me.”

“I would love to.” Seb nods, satisfied and runs off to switch on the TV. Robert’s staring at Aaron, a slightly bemused look on his face. “He’s amazing.”

“Yeah. He’s got over everything so well, better than I thought. Better than me on some things.” It’s stupid, but he feels nervous, introducing Robert to his daughter. He’d not said much as he’d told him all the little things about her before they came home, has no idea what he’s thinking. “And this is Ana. Sweetheart, this is your Daddy Robert. I’ve told you all about him eh?”

“Ba!”

“Hi.” His eyes are shining with tears as he takes her in his arms and the tension seems to fall out of him. “Hi little Ana. Aaron she’s gorgeous.”

“Eh, she’s alright I suppose.”

“Where did her name come from? I expected...well with your lot I wasn’t really sure what to expect.”

“I didn’t want the usual biblical name, although apparently it’s a hebrew name, but that’s not why I chose it. It’s also the Spanish form of Anna which was as close to Annie as I could get without actually taking your Gran’s name.” He, Vic and Sarah had gone to Spain when news came of Annie’s death and he was a little stunned to find one of their wedding photos on her mantelpiece. He’d known Robert had kept in touch but he’d never mentioned telling her about them, but clearly he had.

“Aaron...I…”

“You weren’t here, but she deserved to have part of you.” Robert doesn’t say anything for a few moments, just staring at her before he hands her back to Aaron and makes his way to the door. “Robert, wait!”

*****

“Robert! What are you doing? You can’t do that!” He catches up with him halfway up the hill behind the village, the wind swirling round them making him wish he’d thought to grab his coat as he’d hurriedly knocked on Sarah’s door asking her to watch the kids.

“Go home Aaron.”

“No! You’re not doing this again. Eighteen months I’ve waited for you. I accepted you cutting me off, I put up with it, but you’re not doing it again. Talk to me!”

“I don’t deserve it. Any of it.” He slumps down onto one of the rocks jutting out of the earth, still wet from the rain and Aaron can’t help but wince a little.

“What are you talking about, of course you do.”

“I don’t. I have a little girl Aaron and she doesn’t know who I am, because I was so stupid. I let her down. I let Seb down. The one thing I promised I would never do to my children.”

“So, what? The solution to that is to let them down again by running away?”

“No I...I just wanted some air. It’s all just...a lot I guess.” He smiles that little half smile of his that always drives Aaron a little crazy.

“Yeah, it is. It was for me and I didn’t have a daughter to meet. Maybe I should’ve waited, let them stay with your Mum for the night, let you get yourself used to being out a bit more.”

“No. I wanted to see them. I s’pose it just hit me how stupid I was. I let myself get caught up in everything even when you told me to stop. I should’ve listened, I should’ve…” He covers his face with his hands and all Aaron can do is hold him as he cries. “I’m sorry.”

“I know, and we’ll talk some more, but it doesn’t have to be right now. Hey, come on, it’s over now. You’re home, with me, and your family.” He shivers in the wind. “You had to find the coldest bit of the village to come to didn’t you.”

“Gotta keep you on your toes.”

“Want to head back? Don’t want to be late for Seb’s cartoons.” Robert nods and Aaron gets to his feet, grimacing at the state of his jeans. “I will warn you that you won’t hear any of them because he’ll talk all the way through about everything and anything. Remember when you were worried that he wasn’t talking? He got over that and then some.”

“I can’t wait.” He still seems hesitant though, a little lost.

“You know, it’s ok if you need to go off, be on your own or whatever, but just tell me. When you ran out, it scared me.”

“I promise.” He takes hold of Aaron’s hand, grip firm, and smiles as they start to make their way back to the village. “You still haven’t told me how Mum came to be living in our other flat. Last I knew she was happy up in Whitby.”

“She was, but when Ana arrived I struggled a bit and needed some help. She was early and I wanted to stay with her so your Mum came up to help with Seb. I think she was having so much fun she didn’t want to go home. She was staying with Vic, but they had a few disagreements about Luke which made things difficult so when Liv moved back to Dublin it just made sense for her to move in.”

“And she hasn’t taken over? Because I know she has trouble taking no for an answer when it comes to family.”

“No. We’re getting on fine. I wouldn’t have coped without her.” The truth was he’d asked her to stay but he can’t get into that without telling Robert everything that’s been going on with his family, and he doesn’t want to get into that right now. He’d felt so alone, a new baby to cope with and making sure Seb didn’t feel left out, without any help. Sarah had been a godsend.

“Sure you would. Your lot must’ve been there. A new baby, they’d be over the moon.”

“Yeah, well, they’ve all had a lot on.”

“Aaron, what’s going on. That’s the second time you’ve blown off my question about your family. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy my Mum’s here and that the two of you are getting on so well but there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“Not today, eh? Today I just want to enjoy having my husband back.”

“And you definitely want that? Me, I mean.”

“I don’t trek all the way up here for just anybody you know. I never wanted anything else you know that.” Robert looks away, guilt all over his face. “Hey stop looking like that. I know why you did it, and I understood, I’m just saying that there was never a question whether I’d want you back.”

“So what now?”

“Now we go home, watch cartoons with our son and play with our daughter. Everything else can wait.”

#Robron fic

[cocochannel00]

Divorce Papers

Sometimes it can all get a little too much being the wife of Harry Styles... 

Kids: Connor (2), Rebecca/Becca (1)

You couldn't lie to yourself anymore. Harry had been touring for the last 5 month and you were at home with two kids under the age of 3. He rarely called, barley visited home, and was always being photographed and big glitzy parties with a bunch of supermodels. At first, you didn't worry, you and Harry were married after all so there really was no worry, but as time went by you became more and more anxious about the situation. His calls went from daily to once a week at most. At first, you thought it was just the jet lag or the time zones that made it difficult but after hearing from him once in a matter of weeks and being forced to text Jeff to get updates on your husband’s whereabouts, you there was a problem.

You understood it was his job to go tour across the world wherever they sent him but you also knew that Harry was responsible for being a father to your children and that was one thing he was not fulfilling. It was always hard to raise toddlers so close in age but when you have to raise them alone because your husband is MIA, the situation could only get worse from there. Luckily Connor always slept through the night, but Becca would start screaming every few hours with no one to help you, it was starting to take a toll on you. Gemma, Harry's sister, tried to make up for her brother’s absence but it wasn't the same.

You were starting to think your marriage was crumbling. Your friends always said it was going to be hard as marrying a celebrity always came with a high price but you had always believed that love conquers all, although this idea was starting to slip away. You had spent the last 5 months thinking strongly on how to fix this problem but you soon realized that Harry had put in zero effort and went on as if nothing was wrong. This always led to the question, Is it even worth fixing at this point? You didn't know but you would soon find out.

After waking up to your alarm clock going off at 8:00 a.m. you rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up an pee. Becca had just begun teething and you were nearly at your wits end having to cuddle her to bed every 2 hours. You manage to avoid waking her up as you crept downstairs to make yourself some breakfast peacefully before Gemma came over to spend the day with you and your kids. You started brewing some coffee as you desperately tried to keep your eyes open. Putting some bread in the toaster you sat at your island in silence, contemplating moving whether to move at all from that spot all day. As you sat there you suddenly heard feet hitting the floor upstairs as your son slowly made his way down the stair.

"Connor, what are you doing up buddy?" You asked as you picked him up in your arms, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"breakfast mama," he said in his broken English as he pointed at his high chair.

"Ok buddy let's get you something to eat," you said as you grabbed a box of Cheerios and some milk, pouring it all into a bowl. Your doorbell rang just as you finished finding him a spoon and placing a bib around his neck.

Slowly you walk over to the door revealing Gemma standing there with a bag of pastries and chocolate donut (Connor’s favorite).

"Well you look like shit," she said as she walked past you. You rolled your eyes and followed her, closing the door on the way in.

She removed the bowl of cheerios from his table and placed the donut down in-front of Connor as he clapped happily.

Gemma placed a kiss on his forehead before turning around to look at you, "still no call?" She asked quietly. 

That had been the million-dollar question for the past two and a half weeks. No call, no text, no word from Harry. You heard nothing about how the tour was going or when he would have his next break. He had essentially cut off all communications and it was ruining you slowly.

You shook your head looking away, trying not to cry about Harry's lack of presence. Gemma swore under her breath and came up to you, giving you a tight hug.

"(Y/n) I know how bad this is and I know how much you love Harry but you can't keep going like this. You've reached your breaking point and this has become an unhealthy relationship. I love my brother with all my heart and I don’t know why he’s doing this but as your friend, I can’t see you like this"

She was right. You had lost at least 10 pounds from the stress and anxiety that Harry was causing you and you knew it needed to come to an end.

"I know but I don't know what to do. I love him, but I can't reach him. I'm basically losing my mind and I don't know how to stop it all" you stated.

She stayed quiet for a minute before quietly asking, "have you thought about a divorce at all?"

In truth you had a couple of times before when it was three in the morning and Becca would scream out for her daddy and you knew there was nothing you could do, but it always felt too extreme.

"Yeah it's crossed my mind a couple times...... but I could never do it I don't think. I love him so much and I can't be alone again, I really can't." You whispered as your eyes began to gloss over.

Gemma wrapped her arms around you tightly. "Shhh, it's going to be ok. Tell you what why don't you come with the kids to my house for a bit and stay there so you’re not alone. I can talk to Michal and see if his friend John can draft up some divorce papers with you... nothing to sign but just to see what it would entail. Did you guys sign a prenup at all? " she asked as you wipe your tears with the edge of your sleeves.

You shook your head, “No, I offered to sign one for him but he refused. Regardless, I don’t want his money, that’s not why I married him”

“I know love, I know. It complicates the situation a bit but nothing that can’t be dealt with later. Besides, you know Harry is going to give you at least half of his earnings if not more regardless of if you want it. He worries about you.” Gemma adds.

“I wish he would at least talk to me if he’s so worried” you mumbled as you heard cries come from the baby monitor sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Let’s take it one step at a time. I’ll call Michal and why don’t you go get Becca” Gemma stated as you went over to wipe the chocolate off of Connor's giddy face as you made your way up the stairs. 

You slowly entered Becca’s room and greeted her with a soft ‘good morning’ as you reached her arms out to you from her crib. You smiled at your baby girl who had seemed to have woken up in a better mood than yesterday. You battle with Becca down the stairs as she attempts to take off your shirt by swatting at your boob (a sign that she’s hungry). 

"Connor says he wants to have a sleepover with me so it has been decided that you’re all staying over at my house” Gemma cheered as Connor giggled in her arms. 

“Gemma, really it’s ok. I don’t want to burden you or Michal” you replied

"Nonsense! Michal loves having these little gremlins and you around. I’ll take Connor up with me and we’ll start packing a bag for him while you feed Rebecca. We have the crib from when Michal’s godson stayed with us a couple of weeks ago so we can move that into the guestroom for you. I'll go call Michal and tell him to come help and we'll be ready in no time!" she said began to make her way upstairs.

"Ok, thanks Gem” you replied as you sat down on the couch with your fussy baby, getting ready to feed her. 

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

*6 hours later*

After changing Becca and double-checking that you had your purse, you and Gemma got into your car and made the 20-minute drive to Gemma and Michal’s house. Michal being the angel that he is had offered to bring all the bags in his car and drive them over. By the time you got to their house, all your bags were set up in the guest room and the crib Rebecca would be sleeping in was set up in the corner of the room. 

After you had all settled in, Gemma took Connor outside to play in the sprinkler while Becca took a nap upstairs. You sat in the living room with Michal as he began to explain the papers his friend had drafted for you. 

"I'm not gonna lie, this is going to be a long process that will bring out the worst in both of you. Custody will be a major part as well as splitting of assets and money."

You shook your head "I don't want any money. I didn't marry him for money so I'm not going to divorce him for any" you stated

He nodded as he began correcting the forms and continued to explain the legal process as well as the custody procedures. After almost two hours of staring at twenty pages of legal papers, you were finally starting to understanding it all (sort of). Rebecca had woken up ten minutes ago and was now sitting on your lap moving her head every time her name was mentioned. Gemma had brought Connor inside and helped him take a bath and they were watching a movie in her room as you and Michal finished up. You were going over the final details when the doorbell rang. Gemma got up from the couch and went to open it when you suddenly heard some shouting and a pair of rough footsteps heading towards the living room.

You looked up to see none other the Harry who looked both worried and furious at the same time.

"I came home expecting to see my children and wife but I come home to an empty house and a note saying you were gone" he shouted as you sat there in shock, seeing your husband for the first time in months. 

Rebecca whined softly as she became irritated from the loud boom of Harry's voice. Michal quickly stood and rested his hand on your shoulder signaling that he would take Becca upstairs so we could talk. You carefully passed Rebecca off to Michal as Connor came barreling towards Harry. 

“Dada Dada” Connor shouted as his chubby body knocked right into Harry’s legs. 

“Hi baby, I’ve missed you” he replied as he picked up Connor in his arms and showered him with kisses. 

“You should be ashamed of yourself Harry Edward Styles. If mom were here right now she’d have an absolute fit at your behavior. You’re so lucky (Y/n) won’t let me tell her because she would have flown out to whoop your ass. Come on Connor want to go watch the wiggles upstairs” Gemma stated as she grabs Connor from Harry’s arms. 

“wiggles wiggles” Connor cheered as Gemma and Michal carried your kids upstairs.

“If you so much as yell at her Harry I will murder you” Gemma yelled from the top of the stairs. 

Once they were gone you slowly got up from the couch and cleaned up all the papers scattered around the coffee table. As you began placing them in a folder Harry snatched them and began reading through them.

"Divorce papers? Are you serious? I've been gone for my job, a job I have to support you and the kids, and you want to divorce me for it?" He questioned as his anger started to bubble up.

You sighed, "that's not the reason Harry and you know it. It was just an idea Gemma had mentioned so I was looking into it. Besides, I would be divorcing you for neglecting not only me but our family for the last 5 months. Harry, I love you but this isn’t right"

"I had to work (Y/n), what part of that did you not understand?" he shouted as he dropped the papers on the floor. 

"The part where you stop calling your family for months and spend your spare time on yachts with supermodels instead of coming to see your children. I shouldn’t have to ask your manager how you’re doing, you should be telling me" you yell back

He chuckles angrily, "Is that what this is about, you think I cheated? I didn't, but if that’s what you want I'll get right on it? Would that solve your problems?" He replied sarcastically.

Your eyes began to water at the idea Harry described and you pressed your fingers to your eyes as to prevent yourself from crying in front of him. " Harry I love you but if that's how you truly feel then maybe we shouldn't have gotten married in the first place" you stated

"Maybe you're right" he stated as he turns around and stomps towards the kitchen. You let out a shaky breath as you watch him leave. This was not the way you thought your day was going to turn out. 

You began picking up the divorce papers as you hear a cry come from upstairs. Carefully you wipe the tears from your eyes and started to make your way up to go get Becca. You walked into the master bedroom to find Connor fast asleep on Michal’s lap while Gemma attempts to calm Becca down by rocking her back and forth in the corner.

When they spot you in the doorway, Michal gives you a sympathetic smile while Gemma’s frown deepens. You smile in return and pick up Becca from Gemma's arms and walk out of the room. You go to the guest room quickly to grab her favorite blanket and walked downstairs. You can hear Harry pacing in the kitchen, the pile of divorce papers missing from the floor most likely with him. You cautiously made your way to the glass door in the back of the living room and stepped outside into the slightly chilly night, bundling yourself and Becca up in the plush purple blanket Harry had bought Becca when she was born. You turned on the patio light and made your way to Gemma's garden to the small swing standing in the middle of it. 

You stay there crying as you rock Becca to sleep in your arms. A while later you heard footsteps slowly approach the garden and feel the weight of the swing shift as someone sits next to you. You don't dare look up as the smell of cologne gives away that it's Harry. He clears his throat a couple of times before speaking.

"Why wouldn't you take any of my money?" He asked quietly as he folded the divorces papers

You wiped your tears slowly and took a deep breath before responding, "because I didn't marry you for your money so why should I divorce you and get it. I married you because I love you"

"You need the support. I would give you all the money in a heartbeat you know that" he mumbled back

"I have a job and some savings, I could support myself and our kids" you stated. You heard him grunt as he flipped through the pages.

"Custody battle? Do you think it would come to that?" He asked quietly as you saw his shoulders shake.

"My babies are my everything....... I can't lose them like I already lost you" you stated as you caressed Becca's cheek.

"You didn’t lose- were you actually going to sign these?" He asked, voice cracking as you watched his hands begin to shake. 

"No" you replied back, barely louder than a whisper. 

Harry let out a breath and timidly let's go of the papers placing them on the ground before wrapping his arm around you carefully.

The minute your head hit his chest you began to cry. Harry quickly took Becca out of your arms and into his chest as you clung to him, sobbing into his shirt. He caressed his free hand up and down your back and placed chase kisses onto your forehead as he whispered sweet words and apologies to you.

You sobs slowly became sniffles as you wrapped your arms around yourself, leaving your head to lean on Harry's shoulders.

"Baby I’m so unbelievably sorry. I didn’t know it had gotten this bad. Why didn't you tell me you felt this way? With all the shows and starting to record the new album, I forgot about the most important thing in my life." He asked as he rubbed circles into your back.

You twiddled with your fingers, "I could never reach you. Every time I tried to call you were busy so I thought, ok he can just call me, but then your calls just got shorter and then they just stopped. I took it as you were busy but even when you had a couple days off you wouldn't come visit. You had basically broken off from us, Harry. I didn't know what to do. I spent most days with Gemma and most nights with a crying Becca keeping me up because all she wanted was her Dada singing her to sleep. I had to play your albums every night to try and get her to calm down and every time your voice played through the speaker, I died inside. It was all too much for me. I was alone Harry and you were nowhere to be found. I want my husband back. I want the man I fell in love with four years ago that use to wake up at 5 am halfway across the globe just to wish me goodnight. I want the man that cried at our wedding as I walked down the aisle. I want the man that tries to sneak chocolate chips into Connor’s pancakes while I’m not watching just to make his baby boy smile. I want my Harry back." you replied as you stared at the ground.

Harry stiffened as you finished speaking. He slowly lifted your chin up to meet your eyes. You could see tears falling down from his eyes as he looked straight at you. You could tell he was hurting and just the thought of him breakdown was making you shatter into a million pieces. You carefully got up from the swing a grabbed Becca from his arms before tucking her head into the nook of your neck as you cautiously sat down on Harry's laps. Harry let out a loud breath before he carefully wrapped his arms around your frame and staring straight into your eyes. 

"I’m right here baby, I’m still your Harry. I love you so much and just the thought of losing you and my babies hurts me more than a bullet ever could. I'm sorry I didn't call but I was so homesick that I figured it would be easier on both of us if I just kept my distance. I figured the check-ins with Jeff would be enough. I know that’s no excuse but I promise baby I’ll be better.  I love you so so much you have no idea (Y/n). I promise I'll be better for you and for our kids just please don't leave me" he said as he hugged you tighter causing a sob to escape your lips.

"I love you too H" you state in between sobs. You both sat there for a while until you had stopped crying. Cautiously Harry lifted your face to look at him.

"Can I rip up those papers when we get back?" He asked timidly as he stared at you.

You nodded furiously and quickly pulled him into a deep kiss. You pulled away breathless as you lean your forehead against his.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken it that far. I should have just waited to talk with you before asking Michal about them and I..." you tried to continue but Harry stopped you with a kiss.

"Shhh we're going to get through this baby” He whispered as he caressed your hair. 

“We need to go to therapy, Harry. This was a big deal and I don’t think we can slip this under the rug and get back to where we were without it” You mumbled into his neck. 

“Of course (Y/n). I’ll go to therapy every day for the next thirty years if it means I get to keep you and my babies with me. I'm going to be better for you and for the kids. I'm going to take you all on tour with me from today on and were going to work through this. Now, why don't we head in it starting to get pretty cold." He stated as carefully helped you up while making sure Becca was wrapped up tightly in her blanket. You snuggled deeper into Harry's side and nodded your head as the two of you walked into the house once more.

Gemma and Michal sat on the couch talking quietly to each other as the tv played in the background They looked up at the two of you cautiously. Harry quickly kissed your head and grabbed Becca before taking her upstairs to bed.

You carefully grabbed one of the four full wine glasses on the coffee table and sat on the love seat next to the fire hoping to warm up a bit. Gemma starred at you as you sat there. You knew she was dying to know what happened outside, but she was too kind to ask.

"I think we're going to be ok" you state as you wrap the blanket closer to your chest. Gemma gets up and gives you a big hug.

“You’re not letting him off the hook are you?” she asked sternly.

“No, he’s not off the hook. We’re going to start therapy and we’re going to take things slow. He said he’s going to be home more and that he’s going to take us on tour with him from now on but we’ll see. One day at a time” you mumbled as you took a sip from your glass

"I'm glad it all worked out but if he hurts you again, family or not, I'll kick his ass. No one disrespects my (Y/n)" she said seriously. You laughed and simply nodded your head as you heard Harry's footsteps down the stairs.

"Thanks for watching Connor," Harry said as he shook Michal's hand and kissed the top of Gemma's head as she made her way to the spot next to her husband.

"Anytime. He is so adorable and quiet" Michal gushed.

You smiled softly and moved over slightly in your seat, making room for Harry. Harry carefully picked you up from the love seat and sat down, placing you on his lap and wrapping his arms tightly around you, burying his head into your neck. 

The four of you spent the rest of the night watching tv quietly as you cuddled in the loveseat, Harry stealing sips from your wine glass as you try your hardest not to fall asleep. After a while, Gemma and Michal said their goodnights and headed up to their room as Harry carefully picked you up and carried you to the guest room. He slowly laid you on the bed and removed all of your clothes except your underwear before taking off his shirt and helping you place your arms in the sleeves. He tucked you into bed and quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants before grabbing a pillow and getting ready to spend the night on the floor. He didn’t want to overstep and end the day on the wrong note but the minute he heard you call his name he smiled. He quickly checked on Becca that was fast asleep in her crib while Connor slept peacefully in the small bed laid out next to your bed. He gave both of them a quick kiss on the cheek before carefully sliding into bed behind you.

 You curled your body into Harry's and sighed contently as he wrapped his arms around you. You heard a faint "I love you, baby, so much" from Harry as you drifted off to sleep. For the first time in months, you were able to sleep through the night and you couldn't be happier.

Wow, it’s been a long time but I hope ya’ll enjoyed this one!!

Masterlist

#harry styles imagine #harry styles blurb #harry styles x reader #harry styles #harry styles masterlist #harry styles family #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles one shot

[ificanthaveu]

Big Dipper || Shawn Mendes

Description: After the worst few months of your life, you spend your summer at your family’s cottage. There you meet Shawn Mendes who is there for his own reasons. In search of a break, the two of you begin to find something more than that. 

A/N: OH BOY this is.....so long. BUT it’s honestly so cute and I really like how it turned out. I love a good “summer love” and I feel like it’s the perfect time of year for that. At first I genuinely just wanted this to be soft fluffy summer cabin life...but then i decided reader had some issues she had to overcome. SO ENJOY.

Word Count: 12.6k 

“Is that everything?” Your uncle George asked as he leaned your suitcase against the wall and walked towards the door to lock his car. 

You glanced around at the bags the two of you had just brought in and nodded your head. 

“Yeah, I think that’s it. Thanks again. You really didn’t have to help,” you said with a slight head shake. 

He shrugged his shoulders as he brushed some dust off one of the counters. 

“Well, you’ll be doing a lot this summer. I just wanted to make sure you got in ok,” he said as he checked the time. “I guess I’ll leave you to it. The list is on the fridge, and if you need absolutely anything, just call me or your aunt or Lyla. It’s just a short two hours.”

“Sounds great. Do you know if any of the neighbors are around anymore?” You asked, gesturing to the two cottages on the other sides of you through the woods.

“The Henderson’s sold their cottage at the end of last summer, and it’s still up for sale. You might see some people stopping by to look at it occasionally. And then someone’s renting the other one from the Everett family for the summer, but I don’t know who it is. I saw some guy around your age wandering around before,” he said. 

“Alright, well that’s all I need,” you said with a sigh. 

He gave you a quick hug goodbye before leaving. You heard his truck driving up the driveway shortly after. 

You sighed and looked around at the place you’d spending your summer at. Your bags were littered everywhere with everything you’d need for the next three months, and you figured that was the first step of anything. So you grabbed your bags with clothes and brought them into the main bedroom to start putting your clothes in the drawers. 

After your hardest year of college yet, you honestly didn’t want to live with your parents this summer. You loved seeing them for weekends, but a whole summer wasn’t something you were sure you could handle. So when your uncle mentioned his cottage in Michigan would be empty and needed some cleaning up this summer, you jumped at the chance. 

Your uncle was glad to let you stay here as long as you started tackling the list of things that had to be done to the place. Nothing too serious, just a lot of cleaning, some painting, and a few basic repairs. No one in your family came here as much as you did when you were young, so the place stayed pretty vacant for almost a year. 

So you got a part-time job at the restaurant down the road and decided to spend your summer here. 

You finished putting your clothes away and started with your toiletries before moving to the groceries. 

After you were done, you grabbed your book and went out the back door, following the brick stairs down to your dock. You knew the paddleboat was in the shed which was something you planned on pulling out as soon as possible.

But for now, you just wanted to lay outside in the sun and peace and quiet and read your book. 

“Hey!” You heard someone yell from behind you before you even had a chance to open your book.

You sighed and turned around to see a man at the dock next to yours, just far enough away that he had to yell for you to hear him, with a guitar perched up on his lap and a notebook in front of him. 

“Hi,” you yelled back. 

“Do you live there?” He asked as he pointed back to your cottage. 

“For the summer. It’s my uncle’s place,” you responded. 

“George?” He questioned. 

“Yep. That’s him,” you yelled. 

You watched the man set his guitar down and stand up, walking along the cut path between the two docks. You stayed seated, just turning around to see him walking to meet you at the beginning of your dock. 

You stood up as he neared, and he stuck his hand out to shake. 

“I’m Shawn,” he said with a gentle smile.

“[Y/N],” you responded and mirrored his smile. 

“Figured we should know each other, you know, in case of emergency,” he said with a shrug. 

“Of course,” you agreed. “The storms can get bad around here.”

“Can they?” He questioned with a cocked eyebrow. 

“Yeah, are you not from around here?” You asked. 

“No, not at all,” he said through a gentle laugh as he moved to sit down on the edge of the dock, his feet barely grazing the water. 

“Me neither,” you said, following to sit next to him. “Well, I used to be, but my parents moved to North Carolina when I was 13.”

“Have you been here since?” He asked. 

You shook your head, “We visit my family, but they’re two hours south of here. This is my first time being here since I was 13.”

“Wow,” he said with a nod. 

“What brought you here?” You asked him. 

“Needed some space I guess,” he said quietly. “Life just got too quick, and I just wanted to be able to relax and focus on me and writing music.”

“How long have you played?” You asked as you gestured to his abandoned guitar. 

“Probably ten years now,” he said after a moment of thinking. 

“And you write, too?”

He nodded his head at that. 

“What brought you here? Why Michigan for the summer instead of North Carolina? Why the lake over the ocean?” He asked as he looked at you. 

You shrugged your shoulders and kicked your feet for a moment. 

“This last semester was my hardest one I’ve had yet, and I genuinely did not think I’d be able to live with my parents for a summer and have to work for the family business. Uncle George mentioned he was meaning to clean this place up, so I told him I’d do it,” you paused. “North Carolina is great, but I just needed a change of pace for a while. Something slower.”

“Looks like we’re on the same page,” he said. 

You nodded your head, glancing down the canal.

“Have you explored at all?” You asked him, not wanting to talk about your family any longer

“Not at all,” he said through a gentle laugh. “I got here yesterday, and all I’ve done is unpack.”

“Well, there’s not much to figure out anyway. This town is pretty small,” you said. 

“Any town secrets? Good suggestions?” He asked. 

“Well, I’ll be working at Goldie’s a mile down the street. They have great breakfast. The downtown area is small, but they do have a farmer’s market every other week on Tuesdays. There’s a convenience store down there if you need anything and little family-owned shops, but the nearest box store is probably a half-hour away,” you paused to think of anything else. “There are some really good trails down past your cottage if you like to run or hike or anything.”

“Thanks,” he said as he took a mental note of some of the places you rattled off. 

“And as for town secrets,” you said through a sigh. “Someone did die in the cottage you’re renting.”

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he whipped around to look at you. 

“What?” He said loudly. 

You couldn’t help the smile that came upon your cheeks as he rolled his eyes and let out a small chuckle. 

“That’s not funny. You scared me,” he said as he rested his hand on his chest. 

“Well, someone could have, I wouldn’t know,” you said with a shrug. 

“Don’t say that,” he mumbled. 

“Well, if you get too scared, I have a spare bedroom,” you offered a little too quickly. 

“How generous of you,” you said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “Scare the shit out of me and then offer me your guest room. Classy.”

“That’s how we do it around here,” you said with a smile. 

“Great.”

Silence filled the two of you as you could hear the birds chirp and the gentle noise of the water lapping against the poles that held up the dock. You laid back to look at the clouds above you, the edges of the tree branches reaching out to touch them. 

You felt Shawn lay down next to you, also looking at the sky. 

“I think this is going to be just what I needed,” he said as he turned his head to look at you. 

You turned your head towards him as well, squinting at the sun. 

“Me, too.”

—

You were up by 7:00 the next morning, hoping to get a chunk of the list done today before you started working tomorrow. You turned on your music and started scrubbing out the cupboards in the kitchen, temporarily stacking everything on the counters. 

A knock sounded as you glanced over to see Shawn standing there. You motioned to him that the door was open before continuing scrubbing. 

“What are you doing?” He asked as he looked up at you.

“Scrubbing these disgusting cupboards,” you said as you sat down on the counter. “What’s up?” 

“I think the combination I was given for the shed is the wrong one,” he said as he handed you the crumpled note. “I can’t get into it.”

“32-24-08?” You said out loud. 

“Tried that,” he said. 

“I can try,” you said as you hopped off the counter and made your way over to Shawn’s and grabbed the lock dangling off the shed, putting the combination in and tugging. 

“See?” He said. 

You tried tugging on it harder, thinking it might just be stuck, but to no luck. 

You looked down at the note again and tried 29 instead of 24, and it popped open. 

“How the hell did you do that?” He asked as he threw his hands up in frustration. 

You leaned towards him and pointed to the number, “That’s a 9, not a 4.”

“Well, shit,” he said as he took the note out of your hand. “That’s some bad handwriting.”

You patted his shoulder as you walked past him to make your way back to your place. 

“I’ll be in my cupboards,” you said as you turned around briefly. “You know where to find me for all your lock needs.” You bowed before turning back around. 

You could hear him chuckle from behind you as you smiled your whole way back. 

You finished off the cupboards by 1:00 and then wiped the counters spotless until 2:00. You stopped to eat a quick lunch before working on the microwave and hoping to finish the oven and stove today while having time to walk to the other side of the lake to watch the sunset from the park. 

You completed everything on time and took a quick shower before throwing on shorts and a sweatshirt to start your walk. 

It wasn’t any more than a mile to the other side of the lake where there was a boat landing with a beach and a small park. You laid out a blanket on the beach and sat down, releasing the tension in your body from a day of scrubbing and cleaning. 

You scanned the perimeter of the lake, seeing a few boats out and mentally reminding yourself that you still hadn’t taken out the paddleboat. 

As you continued to look around, you could see Shawn sitting at the end of his dock, this time on a chair, but still with his guitar. 

You had to squint to really see him. You wished you were over there, so you could actually hear him play and sing. 

The sky turned darker as you watched the sun slowly disappear, leaving the lake and sky to be dark shades of blue that made it look a little ominous as the boats made their way back their docks. 

Shawn was long gone when you looked across the lake again. 

You stood up with a sigh and grabbed your blanket to make the walk back. You didn’t mind it since the stars were out and gave all the light you needed. You even saw a few shooting stars which always made your heart leap.

You heard soft guitar strumming and a fire crackling and saw the flames through the trees as you walked by Shawn’s driveway. You turned down his instead of yours and watched him come into view as he hummed along to whatever he was playing. 

“Hey,” you said softly as you got closer. 

He looked up to see you and smiled, moving to set his guitar down. 

“Don’t,” you said a little too harshly. “I want to hear you play.”

“That’s the worst thing to say to a musician,” he said through a laugh. 

“Just continue playing whatever you were playing,” you responded. 

You sat down next to him on the swing he was on, his foot gently pushing it back and forth. 

With a sigh, he started strumming the tune again as you leaned your head back and watched the fire. The soft sounds of his playing, the crickets, the soft wind and the fire were enough to almost lull you to sleep. 

You turned your head to watch him as he played. He seemed to get lost in it as he also watched the fire. 

“You don’t have to keep playing if you don’t want to,” you whispered. 

He turned to look at you, offering the same soft smile. 

“Good,” he said just as quiet as he set his guitar down next to him. “I’ve had that melody stuck in my head with no lyrics to go with it, and I think I’ll go crazy if I play it anymore.”

“It’s really pretty,” you offered. 

“Thank you.”

It went silent as you both watched the fire dance. 

“Why Michigan?” you asked after a moment. 

“Why not Michigan?” he asked back. 

“I’m just saying it’s usually not the first place people think of when they need time away.”

“I had some friends who used to live around here,” he said. “I wanted to be secluded. Somewhere different. When I googled places for the summer, this was the first one that popped up.”

“My parents are ruthless, so that’s my excuse. What’s yours? And you can’t just say you needed to slow down,” you asked. 

“I guess ever since I started doing music, everyone wants the newest thing as soon as possible, and I’m out of ideas,” he said slowly. “I thought if I got away, completely by myself, and was able to find myself again, I’d be able to write something real, not rushed.”

“Yeah, I get that,” you said with a nod. 

“And I don’t think ruthless parents is enough of an excuse,” he said as a sly smile came across his face. “I’m going to need a little more.”

You sighed and leaned your head back on the swing, feeling the pole dig into the back of your neck. 

“They own a law firm in North Carolina. They’re both lawyers,” you paused. “I’m an English major.”

“Oh,” he said, everything clicking into place. 

“I declared my major before this last semester, and they found out while I was at school. I knew if I went home, they’d do everything in their power to try to change my mind.”

“And your mind does not want to be changed.”

“Not at all.”

“Damn, so you decided a thousand miles would be a better distance?” He asked. 

“The perfect distance,” you said with a smile. 

“Just your parents? Nothing else tick you off about North Carolina?” He asked. 

You turned towards the fire, watching it slowly die out. You stood up and wrapped your blanket tighter around yourself. 

“Another time,” you said with a nod as you stood in front of him. 

“Leaving me on a cliff hanger,” he said as he shook his head. 

“You just know there’s more. It’s not really a cliff hanger,” you said with a scrunched face. 

“That’s the definition of a cliff hanger,” he said with a laugh. 

“I can give you a hint and make you even more mad,” you tested. 

He waved his hands in front of him, shoeing you away. 

“I don’t want to hear anything else. It’ll just bug me because I know you won’t finish it,” he said with a smirk. 

“Looks like you’ve already got me figured out,” you said with a head shake, and your arms crossed across your chest. 

“Yeah,” he said with that same soft smile that was starting to make your heart flutter. “Now get outta here.”

You giggled as you walked away from him and towards the path back to your place. 

“Hey,” you heard him call. 

You turned around for a moment to look back at him. 

“I think I thought of some lyrics.”

“You going to play it for me sometime?” You asked. 

“I’ll play it for you once you tell me your whole story,” he said. It was dark, but you just knew he was smirking. 

“Touche.”

—

Your first shift at the diner the next morning went off without a hitch as you followed another waitress to learn the ropes. Goldie’s was a fairly casual place. No uniforms or oddly specific policies and mostly just regulars coming in to eat. 

You rode your bike back to your cabin and leaned it against the side. You took a quick shower before slipping into running shorts and a sports bra, hoping to get a long hike in before finishing the cleaning in the kitchen. 

You marched up your driveway in long strides, stretching your hips as you turned left, just to run into Shawn.

“Where are you headed?” You asked him. 

“I was going to hike on one of the trails up there,” he said as he pointed down the road. “I’m guessing you’re doing the same thing?”

“You bet,” you said. “Want some company?”

“Of course,” he said with that charming smile as he followed your direction, claiming you knew which trail was the best. 

You hiked in silence for a while as you followed the twists and turns of the path, Shawn following whichever way you turned. 

“So, when are you going to finish your story?” He asked casually. 

You crinkled your nose as you ducked underneath a branch. 

“I’ll take that as a ‘not now,’” Shawn said through a laugh. 

“Deep stories are hard to tell on hikes,” you said as you caught your breath. 

“So it is deep?” He asked. 

“I thought I made that clear.”

“Well, yeah, I guess you did.”

“What about you, huh?” You asked. “What’s holding you back from writing the music you want to write?”

“Time,” he reminded you. 

“And?” You tested. 

“And what? That’s literally it,” he said through a laugh. 

You gave him a side-eye before you looked away. 

“Says the guy who now has all the time in the world, but still couldn’t think of lyrics last night?” 

“Busted,” he said as he hung his head low. 

“Spill.”

“It’s complicated,” he said after a moment of silence. 

“That’s what everyone says.”

“Yeah, but I mean it,” he said gently. “I guess I’ve just felt really uninspired. Like everything I’ve experienced as of lately has been surface level. It’s been nothing worth writing about.”

“But you came up with ideas last night? After I left?” You asked, noticing you were nearing the end of the path. 

“Yeah,” he said simply. 

“Why?” You tested. 

You rounded the corner to the opening on top of the hill, showing off the lake and the rolling hills surrounding you. 

“Wow,” he whispered as he leaned against a tree. 

“Told you this is the best one,” you whispered back. 

The two of you sat in silence as you admired the view. 

“You didn’t answer my question,” you said after a few minutes. 

“You really don’t give up, do you?” He asked as he turned to look at you, a smile still gracing his face. 

“Never,” you returned. 

“You inspired me,” he said, his eyes looking directly into yours. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Silence surrounded you again, this one a little more uncomfortable than the last. 

“How?” You tested once more. 

“It wasn’t surface level,” he said. “When we talked last night, it was real. I didn’t feel like I had to be fake around you.”

“I get that,” you said with a nod. “I felt the same way.”

Without another word, Shawn turned around to start making his way back down the hill, and you followed behind him. 

“You know, this means I’m going to have to keep hanging out with you a ton if I actually want to write some good music this summer,” he teased. 

“I’m not complaining,” you said as you mockingly put your hands up. “I like talking to you.”

“Good.”

—

Your conversation with Shawn stayed in the back of your mind every time you two saw each other, which was turning out to be every day, all day. 

Shawn started helping you clean your cabin, so the two of you could keep talking and getting to know each other while still knocking things off your to-do list. 

“Favorite movie?” He asked as the two of you moved a dresser out of the spare room. 

“Clueless. Favorite book?”

“The Alchemist. Most embarrassing moment?”

“Freshman year of high school I spilled water down the hallway on my first day of school,” you paused after that one as you recounted the memory. 

Shawn laughed as he took down the framed pictures on the walls. 

“That’s bad,” he said. 

“I know,” you grumbled, stacking the pictures as he handed them to you. “I will truly never forget it.”

“So, just washing the walls today and then painting tomorrow?” He asked. 

“Yep, I work the morning shift tomorrow, so does noon work?”

“Perfect,” he said with a smile. 

You grabbed a pail of water, two sponges, and two rags. You handed one to Shawn and the two of you worked on scrubbing the walls that were dirtier than you thought. 

“This is gross,” Shawn said as he rang his dirty rag out. 

“I know,” you mumbled, scrubbing at a mystery substance on the wall. 

“Favorite memory?” You asked. 

“Christmas morning with my family. Biggest regret?”

“Not speaking my mind sooner. Biggest accomplishment?”

“Being myself,” he said in the softest voice you’d ever heard. 

“Aw,” you let out before you could stop it. 

You saw the blush creep up on his cheeks from the corner of your eye as you prayed he didn’t see yours. 

“I like that,” you said simply. 

“Well, nothing else would have happened if I wasn’t genuinely me. I think everything else that has happened just stemmed from me being me,” he said, swiping across the wall. 

“Yeah, I think the same thing. We manifest our own successes and failures. The minute we know who we are, the minute the good things start happening.”

“Are your good things happening?” He asked as he turned to you. 

You nodded, meeting his eyes. 

“They’re starting to,” you said with a smile. 

You spent the next few hours finishing washing the walls before making mac n cheese for the two of you for dinner. Once you were done eating, you made a fire and waited for Shawn to come back, going to grab a sweatshirt. 

You heard the leaves crunching before you saw him. He sat next to you on the blanket you had set down, having not found your lawn chairs yet. 

“Alright, I think a fire is the perfect place for you to finally explain what else went wrong In North Carolina. Besides your ruthless parents,” he said, crossing one ankle over the other as he leaned back on his arms, looking at you as you watched the fire. 

“You really won’t give this up,” you said through a small laugh, hoping to distract him a little bit. 

“Come on! I’ve spilled most of my life to you. You can trust me. What is it?” He fired back at you. “Boyfriend? Falling out with a friend?”

You gave him a look with a cocked eyebrow before you said, “Ex-boyfriend, ex-best friend.”

“I guessed it?” He said with a little too much excitement. 

“It’s not that hard to guess,” you said with an eye roll. “It’s the first thing people guess.”

“So what happened?” He asked, this time softly, his tone causing you to relax.

“Well, I’d known her since freshman orientation. We clicked instantly. I met him on our first day back from winter break. He was in my creative writing class. We also just clicked, and we were dating by Valentine’s Day,” you began. 

You pulled your ankles in as you sat cross-legged, leaning back on your hands. 

“We dated for over a year. Everything was great. I was roommates with her that year, and he was over by our place more than he wasn’t during our sophomore year. I thought I had it all,” you said quietly. “And then this last March, I went home for the weekend for my dad’s birthday. I came home Saturday night instead of Sunday morning. I forgot to tell her.”

“Oh no,” he said quietly. 

“Yeah,” you said just barely loud enough for Shawn to hear. “I walked in on the two of them making out, both of them half-naked.”

“Wow,” he said, still whispering. “What did you do?”

You let out an uncomfortable laugh and shrugged your shoulders. “I left.”

“Just left? Didn’t say anything?” He asked. 

“I told you,” you paused. “My biggest regret is not speaking my mind sooner.”

“Wow,” he said again. 

“I went straight to the housing person and requested a room switch. I was in a single room the next day,” you said. 

“Did they ever say anything about it?” 

“They were both waiting for me in the room when I started moving out the next day. She did everything in her power to get me to stay, but I couldn’t even look at her. He tried every excuse in the book, but I wasn’t having it. I just told them both I never wanted to speak to them again, and so far, I haven’t,” you finished. 

“So that’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Ouch,” he said, shifting so one of his legs was perched up with his arms wrapped around it. “I would’ve killed them.”

“I wish I would’ve,” you said through a forced laugh. 

Silence filled the air as you heard the wind whistle around the trees and you crossed your arms gently around your chest. 

Shawn laid back on the blanket to look at the stars. You turned to look at him before doing the same. You shifted uncomfortably as something dug into your back.

“Here,” he mumbled as he nudged your shoulder and held his arm out for you. 

You hesitated before moving into his welcoming arms, leaning your head on his shoulder and instantly feeling yourself relax in his embrace. 

Your eyes traced along the sky, finding constellations quickly. 

“I don’t blame you for wanting to get out of North Carolina,” he whispered. You felt his chest rise and fall with every word. “I’d do the same thing.”

“Thanks,” you said. “At least you understand.”

“Big Dipper,” Shawn said as he pointed with his free hand. 

“I found that one a while ago,” he said through a laugh. 

“And you didn’t point it out?” He asked with offense. 

“It’s the most obvious one!” You replied. “And there’s Little Dipper.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled. 

You found yourself curling tighter into Shawn’s side as the temperature dropped as it got later and later. Every movement you made, Shawn’s arm curled tighter around you. 

You didn’t even know what time it was anymore as moments passed by, the two of you pointing out constellations and laughing and talking like you’d known each other for years. You wanted to sit out here all night, but knew you’d regret it in the morning when your alarm goes off at 5:00. 

“I should get going to bed,” you whispered, not moving from Shawn’s side. 

“No,” he said simply, also not moving. 

Your arm slid around his middle before you could think about it too much, resting your head farther onto his chest. 

You felt his breath hitch before his chin rested on top of your head. 

“I don’t think it’ll look too good if I’m sleeping through my shift,” you mumbled into his chest. 

“Promise we’ll do this again?” He asked softly. 

“Look at the stars?”

“Well, yeah, but-um, I meant…” Shawn trained off as you understood what he meant as his arm tightened against you. 

“Yeah,” you said. “Of course.”

—

The next morning was brutal as you chugged coffee to stay awake during your shift. You worked behind the breakfast bar, helping and talking to mostly customers who were there alone. 

You heard a chair screech, and you turned around to help the newest customer. 

“Can I get you some coffee?” You asked, still looking down at your note pad. 

“Sure,” he said as you looked up to see Shawn smiling back at you. 

You smiled before setting your notepad down and leaning forward on the counter. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” You asked. 

“You said they had the best breakfast food, and I had to try it,” he said as he picked up the menu next to him. 

You poured him his cup of coffee and set it in front of him as he skimmed the menu. 

“Any recommendations?” He asked. 

“Our waffles are really good,” you started. “So are our breakfast skillets, if you’re looking for something more savory.”

“You know what, surprise me,” he said as he set his menu down. 

Your eyebrows raised as you just stared at him. 

“Really?” You asked. 

“Yeah, I trust you,” he said, sipping at the coffee. 

“Ok,” you said hesitantly as you wrote down one of your favorites and handed it back to the kitchen. “Don’t blame me if you hate it.”

“I would never,” he said, crossing his arms and leaning forward on the counter. “How’d you sleep?”

“Well, I only got 4 hours of sleep last night,” you said as a yawn washed through you at perfect timing. 

“Whoops.”

“Yeah, whoops,” you mocked, taking a drink of your coffee. “I’m blaming this one on you.”

“Nope, this was partially your fault. I will not take the fall,” he said through a smile. 

“Yeah, yeah, ok,” you said sarcastically. 

“I’m just way too great to be around,” he said with a shake of his head. 

“Keep telling yourself that,” you said as you grabbed a plate from the window and set it in front of a woman a few seats down from Shawn. 

“Come on, you like spending time with me,” he said with a smile. 

You leaned forward on the counter again, eyeing him as he looked back at you. 

“I wouldn’t still be talking to you if I didn’t,” you said. 

A bell rang and you grabbed the plate that was done, setting it in front of Shawn. 

“Ham and cheese breakfast skillet,” you said, handing him silverware. 

Without another word, Shawn took a bite and chewed it slowly. 

“This is really good,” he said, taking a drink. 

“Told you,” you said. 

Shawn hung out and drank coffee at the bar as you finished your shift. He jotted away at his notebook he had brought along and shoed you away anytime you tried to look at what he was writing. 

Shawn drove you back to your cabin and gave you time to get ready before you had to start painting. He met you by your car to bring the paint in you picked up from the store a few days ago. 

The two of you stood in the middle of the room and discussed how you’d do the painting before Shawn plugged his phone into a speaker and you got to work. 

After a few hours, you were almost done painting the room a light grey color. You and Shawn were working on the same wall, rolling the paint on in large strokes, occasionally bumping into each other. 

Shawn took a step back as he finished his section and watched you finish up a few missed patches. 

“Did I miss anything?” You asked as you took a small step back. 

“Actually, yes, right there,” he went to point to a spot near the top with his paintbrush still in hand, accidentally splattering you with paint. 

You flinched as you felt the drops of paint hit your hair. You heard Shawn gasp as you turned around to glare at him. 

“Really?” You said, trying not to laugh and hold your angry face steady. 

“I am so sorry. I completely forgot I hadn’t cleaned the brush yet. Holy shit,” he said as he stepped towards you and turned you around, trying to pick out the drying pieces from your hair. 

“Shawn, it’s fine,” you said as you took the brush in your hand, reaching back and painting a strip against the top of his head without looking. 

You heard the gasp once again as you slowly turned around to see Shawn looking at you with the top of his hair matted down with paint and his jaw dropped. 

“That was not an accident!” He said as he pulled at his hair. 

“Oops,” you said with a shrug as you turned back around, reaching for the spot near the top. 

You felt drips of paint hit your head before one drop rolled down your nose. You whipped around to look at Shawn who was smirking as he watched the paint drip down your face. 

You pulled your brush back and sprayed the paint left onto him, covering his t-shirt with spots of paint. He went to do the same to you as you covered your face and moved to the other side of the room. 

“That was your biggest mistake,” he said as he shook his head. “Because the bucket of paint is right here.” He pointed at the bucket at his feet. 

You glanced between him and the bucket, knowing there was no way out of this. 

“I think we’re done,” you said quickly. “You started it, I ended it. That’s fair.”

“But mine was on accident,” he said slowly as he reached down and dipped his paintbrush into the bucket. “Yours were very wet and very on purpose.”

You backed into the corner as far as you could without hitting the wet walls as Shawn moved closer to you, the wet brush gripped tightly in his hand. 

He aimed to fling the paint at you, but you ducked at the last minute, trying to dodge past him and out the door. However, you ran along his left side, so his free hand wrapped around your waist before you had a chance to run out. He lifted you up with one arm and held you against him, your feet inches from the ground. 

“You made me do this,” he whispered in your ear before dragging the paintbrush down your side. 

“I hate you,” you whispered back, trying to steady your shaking voice. 

“Doubt it.”

He set you down on your feet, his arm still wrapped tightly around your waist, your back still pressed against his chest. You could feel him breathing as you stayed still. You wrapped your hand around the top of his brush before quickly turning around and leaving a handprint on his cheek and smearing the excess down the front of his shirt. 

He shook his head as he tried to wipe it off as you laughed at him from just a few inches away. 

“Whoops,” you said simply. 

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “Whoops.”

“Truce?” You said sticking your hand out. 

“I’m not shaking your hand. That’s literally the hand with paint on it,” he pointed out. 

You switched your hands so your other one was stuck out for him to shake. Shawn gripped your hand with one quick shake. 

“Well, the walls are painted. And so are the tarps,” he said as you looked down at the, now wet, tarps you had set out before you began. 

“Want to watch the sunset?” You asked as you looked out the window, seeing the sun was beginning to set already. 

“Of course,” he said as he wiped his face off with a rag. 

“We can take the paddle boat out to the middle of the lake?” You suggested. 

“Sounds perfect,” he said with a soft smile. 

You ignored the butterflies that erupted in your stomach as you left the room. You changed out of your paint covered t-shirt and into a sweatshirt as Shawn did the same with one he had left there a few days ago. 

“So we’re just going to leave our hair with paint dried in it?” He said as he picked at a strand of hair. 

You shrugged as you opened your fridge, grabbing two wine coolers and handing one to Shawn. 

“It’ll wash out.”

The two of you walked down to your dock, and Shawn helped you flip the paddleboat into the lake and held your hand as you climbed in, him sitting next to you before you both paddled to the center of the lake. 

You stopped paddling once you found the spot where you knew you could see the sun the best. You pulled your feet up underneath you, and you sat in silence as the boat slowly moved up and down with each ripple of the water. 

“I had fun today,” Shawn said after a few minutes. 

You leaned your head on the back of the seat as you slouched down. 

“Me too,” you replied. 

Shawn’s hand made its way to your hair as he picked out a piece of paint that was dangling in front of your face. 

Your breath hitched as he tucked the hair behind your ear, his hand lingering by your cheek. 

You felt your heartbeat loudly, and you were even scared he could hear it. 

“Better?” He whispered. 

You gulped before nodding your head, his hand still lingering. 

You felt him lean in, and you did the same. As his lips were just a breath away from yours, a particularly big wave splashed against your boat, causing you to stumble back, catching yourself on the edge as Shawn hovered over you, his hand pressed against your lower back. 

“Are you ok?” He said through a laugh before pulling you to sit upright again. 

“Yeah, just scared the shit out of me,” you mumbled, your heart calming down as the moment was ruined. 

Shawn leaned back into his spot, and you stayed in yours, praying that didn’t ruin anything from happening in the future. You tried to pretend that wasn’t a sign and instead focused on the colors of the sky as the sun neared the ground. 

Neither of you said anything, and you honestly didn’t know what was left to say that wouldn’t sound forced after the moment that was almost shared. So you stayed quiet. 

Once it got near dark, you paddled back to your dock and tied up your boat to the edge. Shawn got out first before taking your empty cans and helping you out. 

“Are you feeling a fire tonight?” He asked as you walked up to your door. 

You thought about the weight your answer would carry, no matter which one you chose. 

“Yeah, why not?” You said with a smile, trusting your gut with this one. 

Shawn smiled back and let out a sigh of relief. 

“Mine or yours?” you asked. 

“Mine, I am not laying on the ground again because you can’t find chairs,” he said. 

You feigned offense as you pushed your door open. 

“Fine, I’m going to shower, and I’ll meet you up there in twenty minutes.”

Shawn nodded in response before turning to walk up to his cabin. 

You shut the door behind you and leaned against it, hitting your head a few times for good measure. 

You could practically still feel his lips dangling dangerously close to yours as you tried to shake the feeling as you made your way to the shower to try to scrub the paint out of your hair. 

You took your time getting dressed, still trying to calm yourself down before making your way to Shawn’s. 

Shawn had already started the fire and was strumming on his guitar and softly singing along. You walked up carefully, wanting to hear as much as you could before he inevitably stopped. 

After a moment, you crunched a leaf, and Shawn turned around. 

“Took you long enough,” he said before turning back around. 

“It’s much more difficult to get paint out of long hair,” you mumbled as you sat next to him on the swing. You pulled your feet up and wrapped your arms around your knees, resting your chin on top as you watched the fire dance. 

“No morning shift tomorrow?” He asked as he turned to face you, one leg on the ground to swing the two of you and one leaning against the back of the swing. 

“Nope. Maybe I’ll get more than four hours of sleep,” you said with a shrug. 

“We can only hope,” he said, leaning his head against the back of the swing. 

“You know this swing leans back?” You said as you noticed the latches on the side. 

“What?” 

“Stand up.”

You unclasped the two latches and laid the swing down flat. 

“How the hell did I not notice that?” he mumbled.

You went to flip the swing back up into a sitting position, but Shawn laid down on it before you had a chance. 

“Now we can look at the stars and not have rocks digging into our backs,” he said. 

You stayed standing with your hands on your hips, not knowing what you were supposed to do. 

Shawn noticed and opened his arms up like he had the night before. 

You sighed before laying down next to him and resting your head on his shoulder. 

“Big Dipper,” he said. 

“Little Dipper,” you replied. 

The four hours of sleep from the night before caught up to you as you dozed off, curling yourself into Shawn’s side. 

Shawn was talking to himself without even realizing it. Once he realized you weren’t responding, he looked down to see you sound asleep, your hand curled into his sweatshirt, and your head buried in his chest. 

He begged his heart not to beat out of his chest and wake you up. 

He stopped staring at the stars and instead watched how comfortable you were entangling yourself with him. One of your legs was underneath one of Shawn’s as the other was draped on top. 

He didn’t want to move, scared the slightest movement would ruin the moment and wake you up. He hesitated before he leaned his head against yours, causing you to tuck yourself further into him. 

Before he knew it, he was also falling asleep. 

You groaned as you woke up, rubbing your eyes and blinking a few times, confused as to where you were. Once you felt the arm wrapped tightly around your waist, you remembered you were still with Shawn by the fire. 

“Shawn,” you mumbled. 

“What?” He mumbled back as he pulled you against him again. 

“We fell asleep,” you whispered, looking down at your watch and letting out a quiet laugh. “It’s 3:00 am.”

He draped his free arm over his eyes and let out a breath. 

“Please tell me you’re joking,” he said as he peaked at you from underneath his arm. 

You tilted your watch, so he could see the screen light up. 

“Oh, God,” he groaned, turning on his side as you did the same. He looked over the top of you to see the dead fire. He looked at you next, the moon illuminating your features perfectly. 

“We can’t stay out here,” you whispered. 

“I know,” he said through a sigh. 

“I’m going to go,” you said as you began to stand up. 

“You’re not walking back right now,” he said quickly. 

“Come on, Shawn, nothing is going to happen,” you said, sitting up and looking down at him. 

“It’s already 3:00 am, just stay at mine for the night. What if you trip and fall, and I don’t find you until the next morning and by then you’re already dead?” He rambled. 

You scoffed and rubbed your eyes once more. 

“Fine,” you finally said. 

You both stood up and made your way into Shawn’s cabin. 

You walked over to the couch and fell onto it, immediately curling up into a ball. 

“You are not sleeping there,” you heard Shawn say. 

“Yes, I am,” you mumbled.

“No, you’re not. Come on,” he said as he held his hand out for you. 

You hesitated before grabbing it and letting him pull you towards the single bedroom. 

You crawled underneath the sheets and faced Shawn as he did the same. Once he settled in, he lifted the sheets up and held his arm out. 

You gave him a look as he returned the look, still not moving. You rolled your eyes before giving in. 

You curled up against him and instantly relaxed as his hand traced along your back. 

You could feel his heartbeat steadily as you rested your head on his chest. 

“Hey,” you whispered. 

“Mhm,” he mumbled. 

“About what happened before…”

You paused, waiting for a response. 

You looked up to see him sound asleep. 

Maybe that was for the best. 

—

“Do you think I should transfer schools?” You asked Shawn as you leaned against the counter as he flipped pancakes some morning towards the end of June. 

“Do you think you should transfer schools?” He turned the question back. 

“I mean I went there because it was close to home, and I genuinely don’t want to be close to home anymore. And I don’t really have anyone there either,” you explained. 

“That’s up to you,” he said simply. “Where would you go?”

“University of Michigan,” you said out loud for the first time. 

Shawn stopped for a minute and looked at you. 

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Then do it,” he said. 

“Should I?”

“Stop asking me. This decision is one you have to do on your own.”

You stayed silent as Shawn handed you your plate of pancakes. You didn’t move from the counter. 

“Just apply and see what happens,” he said. “You don’t have to make the decision right now.”

“I’ve been thinking about this for the past three months,” you said. “Hell, even longer. The only thing keeping me there was the two of them and my family.”

“What about a completely different state? Different country?” Shawn suggested. “I’m impartial, but perhaps Canada?” He offered with a smile.

“I’m not moving to Canada.”

“It was worth a shot.”

You ate in silence as you thought about your countless options. 

“What about online schooling?” You thought out loud.

“Where would you live?” He asked. 

“Anywhere. That’s the best part,” you said. “I could live here. I could live at home. My grandparents in Texas. My friend in Washington. I could go wherever I want.”

“It’s definitely an option,” he said. “Plus you can come to visit me.”

“You want me to visit you?” You said through a quiet laugh. 

He looked at you like you were crazy. 

“No, I’m going to spend every day with you for three months, and then never see you again,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his words. 

“I guess I didn’t think that far,” you said quietly. 

“Yeah, I haven’t either.”

“Summer is going to end,” you said. 

“Don’t remind me.”

So you didn’t. The two of you finished your pancakes as you switched the subject to something else. 

You helped Shawn clean up the dishes before going back to your cabin. 

You grabbed your laptop and started looking at schools you could transfer to. You started a small list of your options and requested information from the websites. 

Online school was looking more and more appealing. 

The daunting reminder that summer would end hung over your head as you did more research. You tried to shake it, but it was hard when you were literally looking at schools to go to in the fall. 

Shawn walked into your cabin without knocking and sat down next to you on your couch. 

“University of Toronto?” He said as he looked over your shoulder to see you on the home page of their website. 

“I’m weighing all my options,” you said as you pulled up the list you had compiled. 

He reached over and shut your laptop before taking it from you. 

“That’s enough for today,” he said as he set it on the end table. 

“What about California?” You asked. 

“Also an option. Every city in the world is an option,” he said. 

“Those are way too many options.”

“The world is your oyster.”

“Don’t ever say that again.”

“Yeah, that was bad.”

— 

July 4 crept up on you much quicker than expected. The cabin was nearly half-finished, much to the help of Shawn as he even did cleaning when you were working, and your aunt, uncle, and cousins were coming to stay for the holiday. 

Your cousin Lyla, who was just a year younger than you, came running up from the parked car first, enveloping you in a big bug. 

“Hanging in there?” she asked as she pulled away. 

You smiled a genuine smile, one she hadn’t seen on you in a while, and nodded your head. 

“Yeah, I’m doing really good,” you responded. 

Your aunt Penelope and your uncle George said quick hellos before going inside. Your other cousin Lucas, who was two years older than you, gave you a high five before also going inside. 

You saw Shawn coming down from the hill, his hands buried in his pockets as he slowly made his way. 

“Well, well, well,” Lyla whispered as she looked at him. 

“Stop that,” you said with a laugh as the two of you sat at the picnic table in front. 

“Hello,” Shawn said as he leaned against the table. 

“This is Lyla. Lyla, this is Shawn,” you said quickly. 

“Nice to meet you,” Lyla said with a sparkling smile as you rolled your eyes. 

“[Y/N]!” You heard your aunt yell from the cabin as she and George leaned out the door. “The place looks fantastic!”

“Thanks! You can thank Shawn here for helping me a bunch, too,” you said as the two of them walked out by you. 

“This is my uncle George and my aunt Penelope. This is Shawn. He’s renting the Everett’s,” you introduced them. 

“Well, thanks to you, too. I knew [Y/N] would get lonely, so I’m glad you were here to help,” George said as he shook Shawn’s hand. 

“Hey, I thrive when I’m alone,” you defended yourself. 

“You were alone for over four hours the other day and came to my cabin just because you were lonely,” Shawn said. 

“Why would you betray me like this?” You said, a hurt expression across your face. 

“We’re going to situate a little bit. Red Desert for dinner?” Penelope asked. 

“Sounds great,” you said. 

“And Shawn, you are also coming. Dinner on us for everything you’ve helped with,” George chimed in. 

“No, no, I don’t want to intrude,” Shawn quickly said. 

“No, no, I insist.”

Shawn gave you a side-eye, waiting for you to say something. 

“He’ll be coming,” you said with a smile as your family left you alone with Shawn. 

“I feel like an afterthought,” Shawn mumbled as he sat across from you. 

“Oh, come on. You saw how happy my aunt was with the cabin. I think they’ll really like you,” you said. 

“Are they just here for the weekend?” Shawn asked. 

You nodded your head as Shawn’s eyes met yours. 

“And before you say you’re going to get lonely, you know you are invited with us for everything we do this weekend. They’re so chill when they’re up here that you’ll fit in just fine,” you said. 

“I don’t want to intrude,” he groaned again as he rested his head in his hand. 

“You’re not spending the fourth alone.”

“It honestly means nothing to me. I’m not even from here.”

“Oh, shut up.”

You were right as Shawn fit right in with your family. He and Lucas clicked instantly, and he couldn’t stop talking Penelope’s ear off. Dinner went by seamlessly before you made your way back to have a fire. 

You went with Penelope to dig out the lawn chairs in the back of the shed that you had yet to discover. 

“I like him,” she said as she opened up the door. 

“Yeah, he’s pretty nice, isn’t he?” You responded. 

“Anything else…?” She trailed off. 

“Nope,” you said simply. “Just friends.”

“Mhm, sounds like that,” she said, her sarcasm evident. 

“He’s from Canada,” you finally say. “I don’t even want to entertain it.”

“But you’ll stay friends right?” She said. 

“He thinks we will,” you said softly. 

Penelope stood up straight and looked at you. 

“What does that mean?” She asked. 

“It means that he’s always in a million different places, and why would he want to stay friends with his neighbor from a cabin he rented?” You said out loud for the first time, your insecurity of this whole thing showing. 

“[Y/N], it’s not up to you if this guy wants to keep in touch with you. Based on how he’s acting around you and around us, I know he’ll want to stay friends with you at the very least,” she said, finally finding the chairs and starting to hand them to you. 

“And at the most…” she started. 

“Don’t finish that,” you cut her off. “I really don’t want to get my hopes up. 

She sighed as she handed you the last of the chairs, looking at you with her hands on her hips. 

“Not everyone is like that asshole from North Carolina,” she said softly. 

“It’s hard to remember that sometimes,” you whispered. 

She pulled you in for a quick hug before the two of you started picking up the chairs to bring to the fire. 

“When did you decide you were going to transfer?” She asked. 

Your head snapped to look at her. 

“How did you know that?”

“You left your laptop open in the kitchen. NYU?” She questioned. 

“You can’t tell my mom,” you said. 

“You know I’d never do that. This choice is yours, and whatever it is, it’ll be good because you made it,” she said as you set the chairs down.  

You nodded, your conversation cut short as Shawn walked up. 

“You’re out of marshmallows,” Shawn said simply. 

“Shit, I knew we forgot something when shopping,” you said. 

“I have some left, don’t worry,” Shawn said, briefly resting his hand on your back. 

The look on Penelope’s face didn’t go unnoticed. 

“Why don’t you go with?” Penelope said. “I’ll set up the chairs.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

You followed Shawn up the hill, the two of you weirdly quiet. 

“Did I hear your aunt say NYU?” Shawn finally said. 

You looked away, instead focusing on your feet hitting the leaves. 

“I got accepted last night,” you said simply. 

“That’s amazing,” Shawn said, the mixture of excitement and disappointment evident. 

“I don’t know if I’m going there,” you said quickly. “I have options.”

“Too many options?”

“Way too many.”

Shawn grabbed his marshmallows out of the cupboard and handed them to you before you walked back down the hill. 

Shawn stopped and looked at you as you did the same. 

“I know I already mentioned this, and I don’t want to push, but if you do decide online schooling or University of Toronto, my home is your home and I wholeheartedly mean that,” he said seriously. 

“Shawn…” you started. 

“You don’t have to say anything now. I’m just saying that I know how stressful living situations can be, so if those are options you’re thinking of, I have plenty of room for you. And I’d love for you to be there with me.”

You nodded before moving to walk back down, Shawn following suit. 

The tension was evident as the two of you joined your family at the fire pit. 

“Everything OK?” George asked, Lyla shooting him a look for his bad timing. 

“Perfect,” you said with a plastered on smile. 

—

“NYU?” Lyla asked as she turned towards you. 

“Yeah, I got the email last night,” you said, resting your head against the headboard as she pulled the covers back on the other side. 

“It’s an amazing school,” she said with no emotion. 

“You want to say more,” you pointed out. 

She shrugged, resting her head on her pillow and glancing up at you. 

“It just doesn’t really seem like you,” she said. “Did you apply anywhere else?”

“Yeah, a bunch of places,” you said. 

“You gonna tell me which ones?”

“Nope.”

“Does Shawn know?”

“Yep.”

You heard her sigh as she reached over to turn off the lamp. 

“If you could pick any school in the world for me to go to, what would you pick?” You asked her as you laid back. 

“Honestly?”

“Honestly.”

“Online,” she said quickly. “You always loved to travel. You could live wherever you wanted with no strings to stop you from moving to the next place.”

“Yeah,” you said simply. “University of Phoenix has an online program.”

“So you have thought of it?” You heard her say. 

“A lot.”

“I know you too well.”

—

You forgot how much you loved July 4th up at your cabin. You spent the entire day on the water with your family and Shawn before grilling out hot dogs and having ice cream. 

You packed into your uncle’s truck to drive to a beach a few miles down the road that held fireworks. You spread out a blanket near the shore as your aunt and uncle set up chairs. 

“Want to go for a walk?” You asked Shawn. “There’s a really short trail that loops around.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Your family stayed back as you lead Shawn to the gravel trail that went along the lake. 

“Thanks again for including me in everything. Your family is pretty damn cool,” he said. 

“Shawn, it’s no problem at all. I love them, but I don’t think I’d be able to handle them without you being there as a buffer.”

“How bad can they be?” he asked. 

“Before last year, Lyla was incredibly sheltered. She’s great to be around now that she’s in college, but before that, she was horrible. Same with Lucas, but that changed like three years ago. George can definitely be judgy, so I’m shocked he likes you,” you explained. 

Shawn feigned offense before he said, “Not like me?”

“It’s nothing against you,” you recovered. “He just has a hard time letting new people into his life.”

“I get it,” Shawn said simply. 

You stopped once you reached the part of the trail that dipped close to the shore. You took a few steps forward, watching the water as it lapped up just inches away from your feet. Shawn did the same. The sun was beginning to set, and you could see them setting up the fireworks across the lake. 

You could feel Shawn looking at you as you turned your head to look at him, his shoulder brushing against yours. 

You felt your heart rate increase and your legs start to shake as his eyes flicked from your eyes to your lips. He began to lean in, his hand gently resting on the side of your neck as you also followed his lead. 

“Hey!” 

You quickly stepped back as you looked behind Shawn to see Lyla elbowing Lucas in the ribs. 

You breathed out slowly and smiled at the two of them as Shawn turned around to see them. 

“Hey, guys,” you said quietly. 

“Great view, huh?” Lucas asked, completely oblivious to what was just happening. 

“Yeah, it’s gorgeous,” Shawn responded, his eyes moving to you briefly. 

The four of you finished walking the trail as the sun finished setting before making your way to sit by your aunt and uncle again. 

Shawn didn’t say anything as the two of you sat closely. Again, you were scared to speak, not wanting him to get the wrong impression of what just happened. You didn’t know if you could handle one more “almost.”

The boom of the first firework snapped you out of your trance as you laid back to watch them. Shawn glanced back at you, seeing the reflection of the lights flash in your eyes. The smile on your face was bigger than anything he had seen on you all summer. 

Shawn laid back as well, his shoulder pressed against your own. He contemplated putting his arm out for you but knew that wasn’t the best idea since your aunt and uncle were right next to you. 

You felt his hand bump against yours and ignored it at first, blaming it on him getting situated. 

Until you felt it again. 

His pinky poked at yours before you hooked your pinky through his, neither of you looking at the other. 

A feeling of calmness rushed across you as you watched the fireworks and felt his hand against yours. 

They ended just as quickly as they began. Everyone on the beach clapping as people started packing up. You reluctantly pulled your hand away from Shawn’s as he stood up before helping you up and folding the blanket. 

The truck ride home was quiet, everyone tired after a long day. Your uncle dropped Shawn off at the top of the hill, and you simply waved goodbye after George made him promise he’d be at your cabin for breakfast the next morning. 

The rest of you got out of the truck after your uncle parked it. 

“Is this Shawn’s?” Lyla said as she held up a hat. 

You sighed and took it from her. 

“Yeah, I’ll just give it to him tomorrow.”

“Or,” she paused. “You can go right now.” She gave you a suggestive look. 

“No.”

“Oh, come on, don’t act like I didn’t see what was happening before Lucas fucked it up.”

You toyed with the hat in your hand before nodding your head and letting a breath out.

“Hey, I’m going to run this up to Shawn. I’ll be back in a few,” you yelled to your aunt and uncle as Lyla smiled. 

You slowly walked up the hill before knocking on Shawn’s door, something you didn’t do that often anymore. 

Shawn opened it up with a questioning look before noticing the hat in your hand. He let you in before you leaned against the counter in his kitchen. 

“You left this,” you said, handing him the hat. 

He looked at the hat and then back up at you. He grabbed the hat out of your hand before tossing it on the ground. His hands enveloped the sides of your face as his lips crashed into yours. You quickly kissed him back as your hands balled his shirt in your fists. One of his hands rested against your lower back, pulling you closer against him. Your shoulders dropped, and you relaxed into him, your lips molding perfectly against his. You couldn’t help the smile tugging at the edges of your lips. 

Shawn pulled away slowly, his eyes still closed as he rested his forehead against yours and his hands stayed set on your hips. 

“I don’t know what to say,” you whispered. 

“Neither do I,” he replied. 

Your hand wrapped around the back of his neck, pulling him in again, both of you smiling in between kisses. 

After a half-hour of doing just that, you finally left Shawn’s with a peck on his lips. You practically skipped down the hill, almost tripping a few times but nothing wiping the smile off your face. 

You opened the door slowly. The cabin was dark as you knew your aunt and uncle were probably sleeping already. You tiptoed to your bedroom door and opened it slowly. The lamp was still on. Lyla was sitting up with her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised as she watched you walk in before closing the door behind you. 

“Hm, didn’t realize it took 32 minutes to drop a hat off.”

“Well, it does,” you said as you changed and crawled into bed. 

Neither of you said anything as she turned off her lamp and laid down. 

“It does if he kisses you,” you mumbled.

“I fucking knew it.”

Shawn walked down the hill the next morning around 8:00 with the same skip in his step you had the night before. You were by the shed grabbing a case of water to bring inside while your uncle was loading some things into his truck. 

“Good morning, Shawn!” George exclaimed before you looked up to see him. 

“Good morning, George. What time are you guys heading out?” He asked. 

“Well, we’ll eat breakfast and clean up and then hit the road,” he said. 

“Sounds great,” Shawn replied. 

George shut the trunk and walked inside. 

Shawn waited until he was out of sight before he wrapped an arm around your waist from behind. 

“Morning,” he mumbled in your ear, pressing a kiss to the side of your head. 

The butterflies in your stomach erupted as you leaned into him. 

“Good morning,” you replied. “Want to grab that case of water?”

“Anything for you,” he said before reaching for the case and picking it up. 

You joined your family for pancakes, ignoring Lyla as she constantly looked between you and Shawn, waiting for one of you to slip up. 

They cleaned up before all hugging you and getting ready to leave. 

“It was so great to meet you, Shawn, and I really hope this isn’t the last we’ll see you,” Penelope said as she gave him a hug. 

“I hope that, too,” Shawn said before glancing at you. “And I don’t think it will be.”

You hoped your aunt didn’t catch on, but you were wrong as she shot you a look with her eyebrows raised. 

“Well, see you soon, bye!” Your family yelled as they climbed in their truck and drove away. 

Shawn’s arm draped over your shoulder the minute they were out of sight. You laid your head against his shoulder, neither of you moving. 

“Do you wanna talk?” You asked. 

“Not really,” Shawn replied, resting his head against your own. 

“Shawn…” you started as you pulled away. 

“Don’t,” he said quickly. “The minute we talk, the minute we have to remember that this isn’t forever and we both leave. We’ll deal with that later.”

You nodded your head as he pressed a kiss to your forehead and wrapped his arms tightly around you. 

You tried to forget the impending end, and for the most part, you did. 

You didn’t spend a night alone after that. You switched off between yours and Shawn’s with no rhyme or reason to the order other than that’s where you happened to be for the night. Your things were strewn between the two cabins, and you had a hard time remembering what was where. 

But other than that, everything felt perfect. 

You paddled the boat out to the middle of the lake with Shawn, a book, and his guitar. You draped your legs over his lap and laid on the seat as he strummed along to whatever he thought of while you read. 

“Have you even written anything this summer?” You asked as you closed your book and looked up at him. 

“Yeah,” Shawn said hesitantly.

“What have you written?”

“I’ve written a lot more than I thought I would,” he said. 

“That sounds good to me,” you said. 

He shrugged his shoulders before playing again. 

“I mean, I do have some pretty good inspiration to take with me. And if that’s all I have, that’s more than enough,” he said as he looked down at you. 

Your heart swelled as you sat back up and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. 

“You make this whole songwriting thing pretty damn easy,” he mumbled. 

You nodded your head and pressed a few more kisses to his lips before leaning back again. 

—

Your acceptance and denial letters rolled in the weeks following. As the beginning of August approached, you read over the list of schools you could go to starting the beginning of September. You had to make a decision soon, and it stressed you out more than you could even comprehend. 

You sat in the middle of the floor of the living room with your laptop as Shawn hung shelves in your bathroom. You didn’t even notice he finished until he was sitting across from you. 

“You’re thinking too hard,” he said as he ran his hand up and down your calf. 

“This isn’t what I’m having for dinner. This is the school I’m going to spend the rest of my college career at,” you said as you looked up at him. 

“Still,” he said. “Deep down, you know what the right choice is. You just have to find that part of you.”

You nodded your head before glancing down at your list again. You deleted a few more off that you knew you didn’t want to go to. 

“What are you thinking about?” Shawn asked.

“I have it narrowed down to three,” you said before looking up at him. 

“Are you going to tell me what the three are?” He said with a smile. 

“Nope,” you said, returning the smile. “I’m not going to let you influence me.”

“I would never,” Shawn said quickly. “You know that right?”

You nodded your head, shutting your laptop and setting it aside before curling up in Shawn’s lap as he rubbed his hand up and down your back. 

“This is all you. We’ll figure out the technicalities when we have to. Right now, this is about what choice is best for you. Not me. Not your parents. Just you,” he reminded you. 

“And you really wanna stay with me?” You asked quietly as you played with his hand. 

“I’m not just going to do this for a summer and then forget about it,” he said, his head leaning against yours. “I really fucking like you, and I’ll do whatever I can to continue this once we leave.”

You felt your heart leap out of your chest before you pressed a kiss to his chest, reassuring him that you felt the same way. 

“When do you leave?” You asked carefully, realizing he never told you. 

“August 15.”

“That’s two and a half weeks,” you pointed out. 

You felt him sigh. 

“Yeah,” he said. “And when do you start school?”

“Depends,” you said, pulling out your phone to look at the start dates. “Anywhere from August 25 to September 5.”

“So come with me,” he said. 

You leaned back to look him in the eyes. 

“What?”

“August 15, come with me. Come back to Toronto and spend a week there,” he rambled. “Sure it’s last minute but whatever school you decide, it doesn’t matter because we’ll have another week just the two of us.”

“And you don’t have to go see your family,” he reminded you. “And if you choose University of Toronto or online, I can show you around. And if you chose whatever else, then we can just spend as much time as we possibly can before you have to go.”

“I’d like that,” you said, a soft smile spreading across your face. “But that also cuts a week off my time here, so we have other things to finish.”

He nodded his head and pressed a kiss to your forehead. 

“No problem at all.”

Most of your mornings following that were spent in the diner. You were home by noon where Shawn was usually already starting that day’s tasks. You kept a strict schedule, not allowing for much outside of cleaning and repairs, but you still had a fire almost every night where you could just relax. 

It was early August when you stared at your computer screen, your finger hovering over the accept button. 

Shawn was at his own cabin to change as you took the few moments to make your final decision. 

In the rare moment of silence you had, you took the minute to breathe, knowing this was what you wanted. You wanted a fresh start, and you were going to get it. 

You deserved this. 

So you hit accept, sending an email to the registration office to sign up for classes and any other arrangements that had to be made. 

You set your laptop aside as Shawn walked in and smiled at you. 

“You look happy,” he said before leaning down and pressing a kiss to your lips. 

You breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. 

“I am. I really am.”

—

Shawn knew you had made a decision. 

He overheard you on the phone, discussing classes with someone. He tried to google the names you said, praying a school would come up, but it wasn’t really working. 

He knew you’d tell him when everything was set and you were ready, but it was killing him. 

It was August 14 when the two of you completed the final chores on your list. The two of you stood in the middle of the living room and looked around proudly at the work you had accomplished. It looked as good as new. 

“I’d buy this place,” Shawn said turning around. “We did pretty fucking good.”

“You bet we did,” you replied as Shawn gave you a high five. 

It went quiet again as you faced Shawn, resting your head on his chest before he pressed a kiss to your head and rubbed his hand up and down your back. 

“I have to tell you something,” you whispered. 

Shawn felt his heart drop to his stomach as he nodded his head and you pulled away. 

“I’m going to the University of Phoenix,” you said. 

Shawn tried to hide his disappointment as he plastered on a smile. 

“That’s fantastic,” he said quietly. 

“You didn’t let me finish,” you said with a small smile and your eyebrows knit together. 

He nodded at you to continue.

“University of Phoenix online program,” you finished. 

Shawn breathed a sigh of relief before pulling you into his arms and rocking you back and forth. 

“You can’t scare me like that,” he said through a breathy laugh. 

“Well maybe you should let me finish talking,” you said as you leaned back and rested your hands on the sides of his face. 

“I think this is going to be really good for me,” you said with a genuine smile on your face. “I can live with Meg in Washington for a while. My grandparents have a guest house in Texas. Maybe a week here and there in North Carolina.”

“And me in Toronto,” he added. 

“And you in Toronto, of course,” you said. 

“And wherever I may end up in the next few years, you’re always welcome,” he whispered as he pressed his forehead against yours. 

“You planning on keeping me around that long?” You teased. 

“I plan on keeping you around much longer,” he suggested. 

You finally pressed your lips against his as he held you tightly against him. 

You spent your final night packing up your things before you and Shawn had one last fire. 

You were tucked against him on the swing as you relaxed into him. 

You had never felt this way before. 

After a few minutes of serene silence, Shawn finally spoke up. 

“Big Dipper.”

“Little Dipper.”

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[imanativeofswlondondahling]

Becoming A Stark? (2) Peter Parker x Stark! femReader

A/N: In celebration of finishing a class that has literally been six weeks of hell, I thought why not post chapter two. I had a blast writing this chapter because I love Natasha. Anyway, enjoy, and as always, let me know if you want to be tagged or your thoughts:)

Word count: 4596

Warnings: swearing, think that’s it

Chapter One (If You Missed It) || Master List 

You’ve been staring at the ceiling for hours. You had told Tony you were heading to bed at ten, mainly because you couldn’t stand him looking at you any more, especially since he looked at you like you were going to disappear most of the time. It was straight up creepy. Add to everything, you’re starving. A grumbly stomach and a mind that doesn’t want to shut off makes it impossible to go to sleep. You check Wallace and you’re sitting at 136, which isn’t surprising since you didn’t really eat anything but veggies at dinner since Tony didn’t realize that you were vegetarian so there wasn’t much besides veggies that you could eat of the food that Steve had made. You need real food though or you’re never going to sleep. In your mind you trace through how to get to the kitchen and you think you can get there without getting lost or waking up the other Avengers. 

Opening your door, you peak your head out just to see if you spy anyone down the hallway. Seeing the coast is clear, you step softly onto the floor outside your door, almost waiting for an alarm to go off yelling that you’re leaving your room. But after a few heartbeats thudding in your ears and nothing happening, you decide to make your way down the steps to the kitchen. “Jarvis?” You whisper.

“Yes, Miss Y/N?” The voice booms over the speakers that you haven’t seen.

“Shhhh. Take it down a few levels. And turn the lights on in the kitchen.”

“Certainly Miss Y/N.” The lights are blinding after being in your room in the dark for so long.

“Jarvis, dim the lights by uh 75%.”

“Certainly Miss Y/N.” The lights drop drastically and you feel more comfortable. Walking to the pantry, you look for something easy to make. There are ingredients for fancier dishes that you have no patience to make, so instead you reach for a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and then make your way to the fridge to look for jelly. Setting your ingredients on the counter, you grab a paper towel to make your sandwich on before setting on your way of making your sandwich. 

“Midnight snack? Or well two am snack?” A voice suddenly comes from the other side of the island and you nearly jump out of your skin.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Your hand slams to your chest as you knife clatters to the counter. “Do you try to scare people to death?”

“To be fair you did move in with an ex-assassin.” Natasha says with a soft smile as she sits down on the bar stool across from where you stand. 

“It wasn’t by choice.”

“I had a feeling.” Natasha’s red hair is pulled into a low ponytail. Her eyes rome over you, seeing the bits of Tony that are in you even though you didn’t know you were related until this morning.

“Want a sandwich?” You offer, trying not to be rude. The other Avengers, you don’t have anything against personally. Just the one who stripped you from your house with his fatherly claim.

“If your sugars are low, I’m not taking your food away from you.” Natasha holds up her hands, trying to show she comes in peace.

“Is there anyone he didn’t tell I’m diabetic to?” You roll your eyes as you slide the sandwich in her direction, grabbing another paper towel to make another. “Wallace says I’m fine for now. I can make another.”

“Wallace?”

“My blood sugar monitor. It’s actually called a Dexcom, but I named it Wallace so that I can say things like Goddamn it Wallace when he wakes me up in the middle of the night. My pump is named Queenie. I think it’s more personal when they have names.”

“I like it.” Natasha lets a small smile escape her as she takes a bite of the sandwich you made. “And to answer your question, he told us all the emergency information about it that your grandmother shared with him. He just wanted all of us to be prepared in case we’re here and he’s not. But if you feel better we can not mention it.”

“It’s fine. It’s been a part of my life as long as I can remember.”

“He’ll probably try to invent something to make your life easier.”

“Seeing as his last thing to make my life easier stripped me of everything I’ve ever known, I’ll turn down that option.” You say with a sneer.

“He means well. Tony just doesn’t always think everything through before he acts.”

“That doesn’t make it any better.” You finish making your sandwich and after throwing the knife in the sink, you enter the carbs into Queenie.

“It doesn’t, but don’t hate him just yet ok?” 

“Fine.” Natasha leads you to the couch, where you and her sit, talking for what feels like hours about trivial things until you fall asleep. She wraps a blanket around you, then falls asleep next to you. 

Waking up in the morning feels different for Tony. For starters, it’s his first full day of being a dad, even if said kid hates him. True yesterday was probably his first full day, but today is the first full day of having you under his roof. Leaving his room, he makes his way towards the kitchen, thinking he’ll check in on you on his way to get coffee. However when he finds an open door and an empty bed, his heart starts racing. Not even 24 hours into this and he’s lost his kid. “JARVIS find Y/N.”

“Miss Y/N is in the living room.” Are you that early of a riser that you are up at 6:30 on a summer day? Like he himself is only up because he has an idea for your pump that he wants to work on. Bypassing the kitchen and coffee, he makes his way to the living room, needing to calm his heart down. What he finds is not what he’s expecting. The sight in front of him is you, wrapped in a white knitted blanket curled into the side of the deadliest assassin in the world. But you were asleep and safe, that’s what matters. He tries to steady his heart before turning back towards the kitchen, not wanting to wake you yet, since he wasn’t sure when you actually went to sleep. Looking in the sink as he passed to grab a coffee mug, he spies a knife with peanut butter and jelly smeared along the tip. He’s going to have to figure out what you eat since you don’t eat meat. Steve has been cooking for everyone a lot, but with you not eating animals and him cooking a lot of meat and potato meals, there needs to be a compromise. Tony will figure something out, it’s the fatherly thing to do.

Filling a coffee cup up with the liquid he was craving, he starts to type up some of the ideas he had on his Stark Phone so that he can get the ideas down without having to go all the way down to the lab. With you sleeping on the couch, this is the closest you’ve been to him without a grimace plastered on your face since he met you.

“Sir, you said to alert you if Miss Y/N went below 100.” JARVIS’s voice speaks out. 

“The actual fuck.” Your voice fills the kitchen as you pad into it from the living room. Tony spins around to look at his daughter, the knit blanket wrapped around your shoulders.

“What?”

“You have your AI monitoring my blood sugar?” You spat out before Tony can respond.

“JARVIS monitors a lot of things for me.”

“That’s fucking creepy. And also you have it set way too high. There’s nothing to do if it’s at 100. That’s a good blood sugar. Have Dexcom send you alerts to your phone like a fucking normal person.” You turn and storm out of the kitchen. You had been used to constant monitoring when you were a kid. But you had been allowed to be the person watching your sugars for years. Having an AI watching your sugars was too much.

You throw your book, your headphones and your wallet into your backpack before pulling on a pair of ripped jean shorts and a black graphic t-shirt that says ‘Sorry I’m Late I Didn’t Want To Come’. Slipping on a pair of galaxy high top converse that you love and sliding a pair of black and gold could have been Ray Bans if you had the money into your hair, you figure that if you slip out the back end of the hallway, Tony won’t see you leave. Checking Queenie before you walk out the door, you have plenty of insulin so you’ll spend the day out of the eye of your overbearing father and in the city you love. Peaking your head out you see no one out in the hall, not even Natasha. So you slink down the hallway towards the elevator and get on it without anyone noticing. “Jarvis, take me to the ground floor.” You wait for him to say no, but are surprised.

“Certainly Miss Y/N.” Once on the ground floor you pull the sunglasses down, already seeing that there are a few vultures waiting with cameras outside. But when they see it’s just a kid and not one of the Avengers, they let you walk on by without snapping anything. Taking your phone out of your pocket you type a quick message in your group chat to your two best friends, letting them know you’re taking a day off of social media and texting before flipping your phone to airplane mode. No creepy AIs for you today. 

Taking your metro card and headphones out of your backpack, you make your way towards the closest station. If you hop the four or the five train you could head to your favorite coffee shop and even hit up The Strand before making a next move. Swiping your card, you hear the sounds of a train pulling into the station.

Tony throws the screw drive across the bench in frustration. Maybe Y/N was right. Maybe having JARVIS monitoring your sugars was too much, but he doesn’t know how to be any other way. Especially when his child that he’s only known about for two days has a life or death condition. “JARVIS what’s Y/N’s blood sugar?” 

“I don’t know sir. I can’t read it.”

“What?” His project is forgotten, his child the only though in his mind.

“Her phone isn’t connected to the internet.” And your monitor has to link through the internet to connect to JARVIS.

“Is there something wrong with the internet?”

“No. Internet is functioning at 100%.”

“So why is her phone not connected to it?”

“I can not say sir.” Tony pushes away from the bench and makes his way up the stairs to see why your phone isn’t connected to the internet. He looks in the kitchen for you before looking in the living room. He finds only Clint on the couch.

“Have you seen Y/N?”

“Not today. Maybe she’s in her room?” Tony turns and moves quickly through the kitchen and up the stairs, finding your door open. He moves down the hallway to Natasha’s room, hoping she might know where you are. He pounds on the door. 

“What?” The response is short as the door is pried open.

“Y/N, have you seen her?”

“Not since this morning. Why?” Ignoring her, Tony calls out for JARVIS. 

“JARVIS, where is Y/N?”

“Miss Y/N left the tower at 9:46 this morning.”

“Why was I not told?”

“You didn’t ask to be told.”

“Tony, do you think she went home?”

“Maybe? I don’t know. I can’t get a reading on her blood sugars though.” Tony is pacing in the hallway. “What if she’s hurt?” 

“JARVIS can you override her phone?” Natasha asks, not counting on it.

“No I can not. It is not a Stark Phone.”

“That changes immediately.” Tony mutters, but Natasha ignores him. Instead she pulls out her laptop.

“JARVIS can you pull up the security camera footage from the front door from when Y/N left?”

“Of course. I’ll send it to your computer.” The images of Y/N sauntering past the paparazzi, smirking as she pulls her sunglasses on makes Natasha let go of a breathy laugh. She watches as you walk towards the downtown subway station.

“She’s not heading home?” Tony says looking at the screen.

“She’s not?” Natasha asks.

“Her grandparents live in Queens. She wouldn’t take a downtown train to go home.” Natasha hits some keys and runs your face through some camera recognition until she finds where you get off, but shuts the laptop before Tony can see where you got off. “Natasha-”

“If I let you see where she went, you two will get in a screaming match in the middle of the street. Is that really how you want the world to find out that Tony Stark has a child?”

“At least get her to turn her phone on so I can see she’s not dying?”

“I’ll try.”

When you read, you fall so deeply into a book that you don’t have to even think about it. Hours pass, coffee is drunk, and the day rolls away from you. The argument, if you could even call it, with Tony seems days ago now. You’ve always loved the atmosphere of The Bean and would stay there for days if they didn’t have to lock up at times. Turning the page, you push Tony from your head, and just focus on your music. You could live in this moment forever, but out of the corner of your eye you notice a redhead sitting down at your table. Glancing up, you shouldn’t be totally surprised that Natasha found you. “I know you’re an assassin, but like stalking is a crime,” You say as you pull the earbuds from your ears.

“Tracking a runaway here, not stalking.” Natasha says softly as she places fresh coffee in front of the two of you. 

“I didn’t run away. I just needed to get out of that tower. It was suffocating me.” You say as you pick up the cup sitting in front of you.

“You turned your phone off.”

“I didn’t turn it off. I put it on airplane mode.” You can’t help but smile.

“Tony thinks you’re lying passed out on the side of the road because he can’t read your blood sugars.”

“Well let him live like that for a bit. He deserves it after programming his AI to shout my BGs all over the tower.”

“You know Tony doesn’t check his phone right? JARVIS is his phone essentially. So telling him to just send notifications to his phone wouldn’t do much different than having JARVIS tell him stuff.” Natasha reaches a hand across the table to grasp yours. “He’s trying.”

“He’s suffocating me.”

“It’s going to take him a few tries before he gets this right. He could have flown out here in his Iron Man suit to make sure you were still alive. Pretty sure that’s what he wanted to do.”

“Ugh, no! That’s worse than having you stalking me here.”

“Again, not stalking. This was a recovery mission.” Natasha takes a sip from her own mug. “So you going to come home or am I going to have to kidnap you to bring you home?”

“I still have things to get done today.” You say with a non committal shrug.

“Y/N, you’re fourteen. You have to at least tell your guardian when you’re going to run around New York City.”

“He doesn’t even-”

“Don’t say he didn’t care before yesterday, because that’s not fair to either of you. He didn’t know about you before forty eight hours ago. I was there when he got the call.” You think back to last night when Tony introduced Natasha as Nat and things start to make a lot more sense. 

“If you were there, tell me about it.” You say, finally marking your page in the book and setting it aside.

“He was pretty shocked to say the least. He was confused on why a school was calling him, but then to be told it was his daughter’s school, well he basically went into shock. He was listening to them talk about you while I tried to find out what I could about you. When we hung up he shot into a Tony rant about needing to find you and know you. To not be like Howard and to show you that he was going to be there for you.”

“Who’s Howard?” You ask, not following.

“Your grandfather, Tony’s dad. But if you want to know more about him, you’ll have to talk to him.” Natasha takes another sip of her coffee.

“What happened after his rant?”

“He spent most of the night on the phone with his lawyers. Trying to figure out the best plan of attack and what to do for you. Also spent a fair amount of time talking with Pepper about the situation.”

“Who’s Pepper?”

“His girlfriend, but also the CEO of SI.”

“He’s dating his CEO?”

“Technically they were dating before she became CEO. She’s put up with a lot of his shit before and after being placed in the position.”

“Why?”

“Because she loves him.” Natasha says it like it’s an easy answer. “Maybe you should talk with her when you have a chance. She knows that Tony isn’t easy to talk to but he’s worth it more than any of us.”

“Maybe.” You take a sip from your coffee, not wanting to admit that meeting your new to you father’s girlfriend wasn’t something that you were all that interested in.

“You don’t have to decide right now, but you’ll probably meet her eventually.”

“If it happens, it happens I guess.”

“You’d like her I think.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because she doesn’t put up with Tony’s shit either.” Not wanting to hear about Tony much more you shrug. 

“Do you want to see my favorite place in the whole city?” Natasha doesn’t ignore the fact that you’re changing the topic, but nods. You throw your book in your backpack, along with your earbuds, before swallowing the last bit of your coffee. “Come on! It’s right over here.” You motion for her to follow. Across the street, the red banner awaits you. You ignore the carts sitting by the door, wanting to show Natasha the inside beauty of The Strand.

“Wow, you know who would love this place? Steve.” Natasha says as she looks at the shelves that line the walls. Thousands of books fill the store and you could take hours looking at each and everyone.

“My Pops brought me here when I was like six and I’ve been coming here ever since. It’s the best place to find amazing books.” 

“Where do you start looking?”

“Queer YA, always.” You answer without a second thought. “They always have something I haven’t read waiting there for me.”

“Lead the way.” Natasha motions forward, towards the rest of the store, not knowing where that would be, but is willing to follow you.

“Really? I’m not going to force you into seeing what I look at-”

“I want to see the things you’re interested in.” Natasha lets off a soft smile, similar to the ones she had given you last night when talking with you on the couch and you decide to just trust her.

“It’s upstairs.”

“Let’s go.” She follows you up the winding staircase towards the YA section. Even though both of you could have easily made jokes about the Avenger end cap that was meant to inspire reading about ‘Heroes Just Like You’, neither of you point it out as you walk towards the Queer YA table. Looking at the table, it’s easy to fall into the habit of looking at books and picking up ones that interest you- Love Simon, Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe, The Disasters, More Happy Than Not, Every Day, Darius The Great Is Not Ok,and so many others. Natasha eventually takes the books from your arms so you can pick up more.

“I need to pair down. I can’t afford all of these.” You say looking at the pile that has accumulated in her arms.

“Tony can. It’s fine. Ready to pay and head home?” Natasha asks.

“Wait what? I’m not letting him buy these.” You say defensively.

“It’s ok Y/N. You’re his kid and the price of these are pocket change to him.” She starts to make her way towards the staircase to head downstairs to pay.

“Natasha, no. I’ve known him for less than twenty four hours.

“He honestly would demand to pay for them if he was here. I promise, it’s ok.” Natasha steps down the first couple of stairs. “You coming? Or are there more books you want?”

“I’m done.” You say, not wanting her to purchase more stuff in Tony’s name. During the checkout process, you find yourself unable to find your voice as the total just climbs. The number is higher than you’ve ever seen it. Nana and Pops never would have let you spend this much money, but Natasha swipes a black credit card without second thought. You have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach because of it. That much money could have paid for your Nana’s medicine for a month. And as much as you want the books, you know so many other people it could have actually helped and to Tony it was no big deal to drop this amount of money on this stack of books. 

Walking outside of the Strand, you turn to make your way back to the four train when Natasha catches your arm. “This way Y/N.”

“The subway’s this way.” You point down the street.

“Happy’s picking us up.” You don’t say anything, but follow her. Private chauffeur when you have a perfectly working metro card makes no sense. You’ve been using the metro since you were a child, so stopping now makes no sense to you. Honestly, even though there can be weirdos on the subway, you love the feeling of the train moving beneath you. It’s a part of being at home. But maybe this is part of Tony’s whole not touching things that he doesn’t like public transportation? All you have to do is make it through the next two weeks of summer and then you’ll be back at school and hopefully he’ll cool off.

“Romanoff, Y/N.” Happy opens the door for the two of you to slide into the back seat. Natasha gives him that tight smile. And before you know it you’re in the elevator headed back up to the suffocating hellhole that is the tower. You shouldn’t be surprised to see that Tony is waiting for you when you step off the elevator.

“Never, ever shut your phone off like that again.” You roll your eyes, but start to walk away from him. “We’re not done talking Y/N.”

“I’m going to my room. Or is that not allowed now?”

“We’re having a conversation about the fact that you left without telling anyone and that you shut off a major communication device, so no you may not leave right now.” Tony’s face gets red as his anger enters his voice.

“I’ll put these in your room.  I think you and Tony need to talk Y/N.” Natasha lifts the bag of books as well as takes the backpack from you. Instead of running to your room like you want to, you slam onto the couch, knowing that even if you did leave to go to your room, Tony would probably follow you.

“I know you’re not ecstatic about this new living situation, but we have to put some ground rules in place.”

“Ecstatic is the last word I would use to describe this.” You motion between Tony and yourself. “You’re treating me like I have no clue how to deal with the disease that I have been dealing with since I was four on top of the fact that you won’t let me walk around the city that I have lived in and traveled in since I was a child. You’re treating me like I’m new to all of this when really the only new thing here is you to my life.”

“Ok maybe I’m not handling your diabetes well. And I’ll work on that. But what you’re not understanding is that you are no longer Y/N Y/L/N. You’re Y/N Stark and there are a lot of people who would do anything to get their hands on you. Which means you can’t just wander the streets of New York without at least telling us where you went and shutting your phone off because it’s a safety issue. If you get hurt, that’s on me. And I’m not letting that happen.”

“People don’t want to get their hands on me. I’m a nobody.” You scoff.

“You’re the heir of Stark Industries. That doesn’t make you a nobody.” Tony runs a hand through his hair. “I didn’t explain that well enough but on your eighteenth birthday you come into a large fortune and then on your twenty first birthday or on the completion of college, whichever comes first, you have the opportunity to take over SI. That puts a large target on your back and I’m sorry about that, but I’m not sorry that I’m going to put your safety first.”

“I don’t want to run Stark Industries.” You say, the disgust at the idea filling your mouth.

“Then we will figure something out, but right now, keeping you safe is my number one concern. So you can not leave the tower without Happy. No more metro hopping, no teenage angsty storming out of the building, and 1000% no turning off your phone so I can’t read your blood sugars. Also your new phone will be here tomorrow.”

“What new phone? My phone works fine.” You casually don’t mention that you’ve had the same phone for three years, but that it’s worked just fine that whole time.

“I can’t have you using competitors’ products. You’re getting a Stark Phone tomorrow.”

“You just want it so your tech can override my settings.” You imply with a scoff.

“Not at all. I can’t have you running around with competitors’ products, especially when it’s being announced on Monday that I have a daughter.”

“What? Why?”

“Because there’s only so many times you can be seen leaving the Tower before people get suspicious. Plus Monday gives Pepper and the legal team to pull together an official statement from SI too.” You drop your head into your hands. “Talk to me kiddo. What’s with the defeated look?”

“We can’t wait until school at least starts?”

“Pep thinks the sooner we announce it the better.”

“Yeah well she never had to go to high school a week after it was announced that she was Tony Stark’s kid and the supposed to be inheritor of SI. I’ll never have a life again. I haven’t even told my friends yet.”

“You have time. Invite them over. They can come over for dinner tomorrow or something.”

“Ugh, fine.”

tags:  @persephonehemingway  @iamaunicorn4704  @furiouspockettoad  @daughter-of-stark  @eternalharry  @huntective-kyeo

#peter parker #peter parker x stark!reader #peter parker x reader #peter parker fan fiction #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker fanfic #peter parker fan fic #Tony Stark #Stark Industries #stark!reader #tony stark can't be dead if you just don't let yourself believe it #peter parker x you #tony stark x daughter!reader #tony stark x daughter!you #imanativeofswlondondahling #becoming a stark?

[imagine-loki]

Atlas: Space, Mercury

TITLE: Atlas: Space

CHAPTER NO./ONE-SHOT: 2/12

AUTHOR: fanfictrashdump

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine narrating episodes of Loki’s life with the Avengers based on the songs from Sleeping At Last’s “Atlas: Space” album. 

RATING: T-M

NOTES/WARNINGS: Welcome to my Sleeping At Last’s Atlas: Space challenge, aka Another writing project I do not have time for, but my brain insisted on doing.

This series will be less like a multichapter fic and more of a one-shot compendium, but that they all interconnect in one way or another. It will revolve around Loki and Becca’s relationship (Taking Turns, Glow, Helmet Heists–don’t worry, more Loki-Charlie stuff will be along) and I will use those one-shots as reference to the timeline. Each chapter will be one song, used as inspiration for the story.

Warnings include: language, maybe, and morally grey debates about killing bad guys, angst (so much angst), and a thoroughly confused Loki.

Chapter 2: Mercury

Summary: Becca did not expect to feel this way after her first official mission. Loki did not expect to care how she felt, one way or another. Takes place after Helmet Heists.

=

“Heya, Lokes. How’s it going?”

Loki looked up, brow furrowed in a calculating expression. Tony Stark was not one to casually strike up a conversation with him unless it was of the utmost importance and he had no other choice. Therefore, the almost cheery way he had plopped himself down beside him on the couch was a matter of extreme curiousness.

Loki was having none of it.

“What is this?”

“I only asked how you were?” Tony sounded unsure, put looked all around innocent until he let out a long puff of air that made his cheeks inflate. “OK, I wanted to ask you how Becks was.”

Loki rolled his eyes and turned the page on his book, his attention now on the tight script before him. “I daresay she’s your employee, Stark, not mine. Why would I know?”

“Maybe because she’s the only person you talk to, and you’d be able to tell if she were OK. And the fact that you’ve been sticking to her like glue since we got back from the Hellhole. I don’t know, it gives me the inkling that you do, indeed, know.”

Stark wasn’t wrong.

Rebecca was the only human that Loki seemed to find bearable most of the time. She wasn’t loud or brash or mindless. Her taste in literature wasn’t half bad, either.

But she was human. And mortal. And beneath him.

For the longest time, he had tried not to get too attached, but this last mission certainly became a turning point in their relationship. It wasn’t bad, per se. They understood each other’s body language in a way that only two introverts could, and they worked together well as a team, but… she was so soft and innocent and everything he was most certainly not. Loki tended to scoff and ridicule humans such as this, not attempt to ensure their safety and their ongoing wellbeing, even after the fact.

Those eyes, though…

“Lokes?” Apparently Loki had been silent for much longer than was considered normal. He tended to do that a lot, as of late, always in relation to that dreary mortal.

Loki shifted uncomfortably at the memory of Becca’s eyes on the jet ride back. “I would say she takes issue with the moral ambiguity of killing an enemy. Regardless of whether or not they deserved it.”

Rows of houses Sound asleep Only streetlights Notice me

He nearly wanted to laugh at himself. Taking issue was probably the understatement of the year.

More than once, while he was doing his nightly walks, he would find Becca on the roof, staring at the world below–at the forests, the darkness, at the nothingness. She would stand, shivering in the night air, as she tried to make out shapes in the inky black abyss. It would take him two or three mentions of her name to rouse her from contemplative stupor. And, even then, Loki could tell she was not all there.

She always smiled, pushing through the oppressive chaos in her head and ask him about his day. As if she had not been fixing to fall apart a second before.

Damn her and her empathy.

I am desperate If nothing else In a holding pattern To find myself

I talk in circles I talk in circles I watch for signals For a clue

More than once he had swallowed whatever irritation would bubble to the surface in an effort to get her talking. Instead of his usually acidic demands for her to get on with it, he simply nodded in what he hoped was an encouraging manner and waited for her to spill her thoughts, as repetitive as they were. Not that he could blame her.

He remembered the first time he had killed something. He was seven. It had been a rabbit while on a hunt. He cried for three days, afterwards, until an Einherjar had scoffed and told him that was how life worked and he needed to accept it. Loki hadn’t cried when that particular soldier did not come home from a siege in Vanaheim a hundred years later. Nor for the hundreds that had been lost in battles, since. What was the point? Creatures lived and died, sometimes by his blade. That was life.

How to feel different How to feel new Like science fiction Bending truth

“Why do you keep asking that, Loki?” She had whined, pulling the edges of his cloak, which he had laid over her bare shoulders to shield her against the wind. He had asked if she was doing alright. “You know I’m physically fine. You made sure of that.”

He had not meant to inquire after her physical well-being, and Becca very well knew that. She also knew that he would die a fiery death before insisting “but, how do you feel?” Loki had made an annoyed noise and stormed off with the intention to hide in his room. He had doubled back, halfway there, only to watch her wipe away tears from the corners of her eyes when she thought herself alone. He still went back to his room, but he felt like a rock was lodged in his stomach all the way there.

“Could you do me a favor and keep an eye on her? She’s been really jumpy and anxious at work, but she keeps telling me she’s fine.” Tony sighed. “I just worry about her, man.”

Loki offered a sympathetic look, despite his initial reaction to sneer back at the Iron Man. Breaking old habits was hard. “I know. I will.”

No one can unring this bell Unsound this alarm, unbreak my heart new God knows I am dissonance Waiting to be swiftly pulled into tune

The Asgardian prince had found his friend in a hidden corner of the library. It looked like she had started to read one of the many tomes on Asgardian technology he had lent her, before her mind betrayed her. Becca was staring straight in front of her, brown eyes empty of any emotion yet full of doubts and insecurities.

“Rebecca.” His whisper clapped like thunder in the eerie silence of the library.

She snapped out of her trance and offered him a smile. “Sorry, did you say something, Lo?”

Gods above, help me.

Loki sighed, pulling a chair beside her and sinking down. Even seated, he was still significantly taller than her, but she found that she felt a little less nervous when he tried to get on her level. It was a kindness, she knew, but the concern buried deep in his gaze did little to make her feel better. If anything, she felt worse. If she had stayed in the jet, if she had followed directions, who would she be today? Could she be able to sleep? Could she stop waking up in cold sweats at all hours of the morning?

“Dearest, talk to me.” The use of pet names were few and far between with Loki. He much preferred calling anyone “hey, you” or “imbecile come here”. So the use of a term of endearment…

Did she really look in that dire a state?

“Tony sent you, huh?” Becca thought she might as well deflect until he felt uncomfortable. That usually worked.

“No, I sent myself,” he assured, frowning. The expression he received in exchange screamed you’ve gotta be kidding me. “Though Tony expressed interest in also knowing how you were,” he admitted and Becca rolled her eyes. Swallowing whatever shard of emotion that was attempting to convince him to let the whole thing go, he craned his neck until his gaze  could easily fix on hers. “You cannot go on like this, you know it. You cannot keep replaying scenarios in hopes of finding a loophole to villainize yourself with.”

I know the further I go The harder I try, only keeps my eyes closed And somehow I’ve fallen in love With this middle ground at the cost of my soul

Becca groaned, the sincerity in his voice making the pit in her stomach grow larger. The edges of her perfectly crafted calmness began to fray and she was sure that the god could easily feel it unraveling under his stare. “It can’t be this simple, Loki.” She couldn’t live her life without feeling guilty, she meant. Surely, she had to spend the rest of eternity purging herself of these demons before she could allow herself even a morsel of comfort. If not, was she not just a monster? 

Loki chuckled drily, placing a hand on her shoulder and its weight felt like a welcome balm to her shot nerves. “Who said anything about simple? You took lives. Nothing about that is simple. Believe me, I understand. But, on rare occasions, the ends do justify the means.”

Her head fell, hanging between her shoulders in a sign of defeat she should have never had to deal with. Stark shouldn’t have asked her to come on the mission, but she saved ten of the two dozen from dying in battle due to faults in their equipment. She saved him from what she thought was certain death (and might have been). Her heart was too good for this dark, sludgy world of his, he knew.

He wanted to hate it, to scoff at her naivety, at her hopefulness for the rotting lump that was her world. He couldn’t. He craved it, instead, and wondered how he had ever lived his thousand plus years without that little beacon of hope.

His chest hurt. Loki supposed that was the place his heart was meant to be, and the phantom organ had clenched at her tears, once she had managed to face him again.

She sniffed. “I don’t know if I can live with that.”

Yet I know, if I stepped aside Released the controls you would open my eyes That somehow, all of this mess Is just my attempt to know the worth of my life In precious metals

“I can,” he said simply. The surety of his voice and the clear lack of remorse made her something inside her feel warm like lava, rather than a fireplace’s hearth. She shuddered at his set expression and the glimmer of bloodlust in his stare. “I would have killed a hundredfold more, if it meant bringing you back safe. I will never live to regret that.” Loki was surprised to find that none of these words were a lie. He didn’t want her dead. He wanted her to thrive. He wanted her not to feel this gnawing emptiness that followed the taking of life. “You are my friend and you’re worth many more than that.”

“I don’t think that’s true, but thanks, anyway,” she muttered.

“Would I lie to you?” Never in his life had he wished for someone to ignore his nature and reply in the negative, than he did right now.

Becca’s mouth twisted in a reluctant smile. “Absolutely.” His heart clenched again, and this time there was no doubt about it. “But I don’t think you are.”

A long stretch of silence encompassed them.

“I want to return.”

“Return?” He frowned.

“To the field.” She sighed, pulling her shoulders back and sitting up straight. He had seen that pose before, when she was resolute to solve an issue or dissect a conundrum. He saw it when she had run from the jet and skidded to a stop beside him. “The reason I’ve been feeling so miserable is that fact that I feel awful about what I’ve done, but I can’t ever leave you guys out there alone, again. Not after what I’ve seen. And I’ve never felt this conflicted.”

“It’s what we signed up for, dove,” he assured, tucking a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear with incredible gentleness. “You needn’t worry about us. We’ll be perfectly fine as long as you’re there to greet us back.”

“That’s like telling me I don’t have to worry about the sky suddenly turning green. I’m going to do it, anyway.” Becca wasn’t sure why, but she followed up his silent question. “I’m going to get my training certifications back up-to-date, log in some time on local raids, and I’m joining missions.”

“Darling, you don't–”

“I’m going back! That’s final!” Becca snapped so loudly that Loki jumped, startled, and leaned back ever so slightly.

He blinked a few times to live down his surprise and offered her a nod. “Then, I will dutifully follow.” He smirked, nudging her side playfully. “Someone has to keep you alive.” Lest I attempt to destroy this pathetic planet, once more. 

He hated that this was his first thought, but he knew he would follow her to Helheim and back to see her through. He needed to protect that light, that shine, that glow. 

I’ll go anywhere you want me

#Loki #Angst #Others #Submitted fic #submission #atlas space #mercury #Fanfictrashdump #chapter 2

[ninjagoat]

Orange

Winn was sure she hadn't meant to stand him up. It wasn't like her.

But yet, he'd spent half an hour, alone, sitting in a restaurant he couldn't hope to afford; and it had gotten to him.

So he'd sent her a text. Read 8:32pm. No reply. He waited some more. Still no reply.

Then he read the text back to himself. And then hurriedly sent a clarification.

Still nothing.

So he'd gone home, panicking the whole time. Oh God. What if she never spoke to him again?

He'd tried to pass the time with one of the many projects he needed to do, but it was no use. He wasn't even hungry. He was just... wound, tight as a guitar string.

No, don't build James a jet-pack, Winslow. That's just asking for trouble.

There was a knock at the door.

Please be her, please be her...

He opened the door. It was her. It was Lena.

In a magnificent overcoat, one that probably cost more than his rent.

She'd probably come straight from the office.

Winn found he had nothing to say.

"Winn," she said, a slight tone of anger in her voice.

"Lena," was all he could respond with. Great job, genius.

"Have you eaten?" she asked, in the same clipped tone.

"No, I-" Barely was the first syllable out of his mouth, when Lena looked out into the hallway, and stepped to the apartment, away from the door; follwoed by a team of uniformed waitstaff who filed into Winn's apartment with a portable table and two chairs, moving Winn's things out of the middle of the living room to make way, then setting them up with a silver service.

Winn looked at the flurry of activity, then back to Lena, whose eyes were boring into him.

A thought occurred to him.

"If you even *think* of humming the Imperial March right now, you will have seriously misjudged the mood of your audience."

Ok then, maybe not.

The wait staff filed out, dinner for two by candlelight, under silver platters, set up right in the middle of Winn's living room.

"Thank you. Be ready with dessert," she addressed one of the staff.

"Of course, Ma'am," he replied, and closed the door behind him.

Silence hung in the air.

"So...hi?" Winn began.

"I know when I am late, Winn."

"Ok, I get that," he said, not sure where she was going with this.

"I do not need multiple messages telling me."

"Right, that was just because I thought you'd taken the first one the wrong way," Winn replied, anxious.

"I hadn't."

"I did not know that," he said, cautiously, "I am sorry if it made you feel like you needed to hurry."

"It didn't. If anything, it made me take my time."

Winn had long since accepted Lena was a complicated woman; but surely there were limits.

"That being said, I accept your apology; and for my part, I am sorry I made you wait in the restaurant for so long, and it won't happen again. Were they rude to you?"

"A little bit," he confessed, "But they're supposed to be, I think. Don't get anyone fired or anything."

"Very well, I won't," she said, with a finality that suggested the matter was closed. "Are you planning on taking my coat?"

"Oh, please-" Winn turned to the closet, to grab a coathanger so he could hang up the beautiful garment, then turn back to see-

GadZOOKS.

"That's... that's a very lovely dress you're wearing," he said, through the greatest case of drymouth he'd ever experienced, as she handed him her coat.

"Yes, I thought you might think that. I chose it especially. Are you hungry?"

Suddenly, he was starved. But he couldn't seem to answer. Hell, he couldn't even figure out how to hang her coat.

Who would ever have thought blood orange would be her colour?

Yes, Winn, because it's the *colour* that's making you like this.

"Uh," he managed, struggling with the coat problem in front of him, "What are we having?"

Lena lifted up a cover from one of the serving plates dramatically.

"Macaroni and Cheese."

"Gourmet?" he asked, finally getting it on the hanger.

"Kraft."

He hung the coat up in the closet.

"You did that especially?"

"You don't like it?" she said, picking up on his hesitance, "You have boxes of it in your cupboard."

"I do. And I appreciate the gesture, it's just- may I?"

She stepped aside, and Winn pulled out her chair like a proper gentleman.

"Do you think me having it in my kitchen means I have an unsophisticated palate, or something? I mean, I do eat grown-up food, on occasion."

"So, you *don't* like it?" she asked, confused, as he lifted the other plate cover, and then tried to figure out where to put them both. He paused, preparing his next sentence very carefully.

"It's more a comfort food, you know? You move from foster home to foster home, not a lot of stability in your life. But at least the blue box is consistent wherever you end up, right?"

He finally sat in front of his plate.

"This is amazing, by the way. All of this. Thank you."

He picked up his wine glass, and raised it. Lena responded in kind.

He sipped, and saw her look at her own plate nervously.

"You're not familiar with this as a food, are you?"

She sipped her wine. "Is it supposed to be this orange?"

"It is. They dye it that colour on purpose. Don't worry, it won't kill you."

"I'll admit, I was hoping for a slightly more optimistic worst case scenario than death," she replied.

"Well, I've eaten it before, and I'm okay," he told her, "I'm not dying, at any rate. Come on, count of three."

He picked up his fork, as he watched her investigate a macaroni elbow suspiciously with her own.

"One." She nodded along with his count.

"Two." He picked up a forkful, as did she; she sniffed it, more curious than reviled.

"Three." And, after a moment's pause, she put the forkful in her mouth, and chewed.

Winn did the same, and watched her. She looked a little grossed out, but also confused. She was trying to figure something out.

She quickly scooped up another forkful, putting it into her mouth before swallowing the first one, and chewed.

Still trying to work the problem. This was fascinating. Winn could have watched this all day.

She swallowed, finally; still pondering the dubious concoction.

"How is it?" he asked. She gestured at it with her fork.

"Turns out I *have* had this before," she said, quietly.

"Really? When?"

She avoided his gaze, and took a deep breath. "My mother used to make this for me."

Winn laughed. "Wow. You know, I would never have guessed that..." his voice trailing off as he realised her true meaning, "You're not talking about Lillian, are you?"

She shook her head, still unwilling to look at him. He quickly got out of his chair, and kneeled next to her chair; taking her cheek in his hand.

"Heyheyhey-"

"Please," she began, "I can't look at you right now."

"Why-"

"Because if I look at you, I'm going to see those big sympathy eyes of yours because you're making way too much out of this, and if I see them I'm going to start making too much out of this and then I'm going to cry."

He pulled himself into her, resting his forehead against hers. She still wouldn't look at him.

"Lena. Look at me."

She took another deep, and finally brought her eyes up to meet Winn's; and she took in his hopeful gaze and joyful smile. She held it for a moment, then spluttered out a laughing sob.

"Goddammit," she said, sniffing through her tears.

"No, no," he said, wrapping his hands behind her neck, fingers into her hair, carefully fitting her ears between thumb and forefinger, and kissed her wet cheek. "This is a good thing. An *important* thing."

"It's just a snack food, Winn-"

"-That *she* used to make for you," he reinforced, "That's allowed to mean something. You're allowed to let if affect you."

"Not like this."

"*Exactly* like this," he finished, and leaned in; placing his lips on hers, waiting that brief moment for her to respond, squeezing his bottom lip between her own just once before completing with a brief peck, and pulling away, just a little.

"Winn?" she breathed, interrupting his second approach.

"Yeah," he said, giant smile on his face.

"This is lovely... but I actually haven't eaten in nearly ten hours, and the food itself isn't too bad; so, if we could put this on pause for a little-"

"Oh, totally-" he said, planting a kiss on her forehead before getting to his feet and heading back to his seat, to find Lena shovelling the next forkful of yellow-orange goo into her mouth accompanied by a breath of relief through her nose; the kind from when at least a part of you genuinely thought you might never taste food ever again.

"Hey, slow down, you should save room for dessert."

"That's not really a problem right now," she said, garbled by food, hand covering her mouth, "There will definitely be room."

"What are we having anyway?"

She swallowed quickly. "Selection of Hostess Snack Cakes."

"Score!" Winn said, happily.

"Damn right."

#winn x lena #sorry everyone i have no idea how to do cuts on mobile

[captainchocolatesstuff]

Swimming with the Sandbar Shark

Merfolk! Eijiro Kirishima x Reader

As a child, you were told many stories about the people who lived within the sea. “They traded their legs for a tail of a fish!”, one of the older fishermen would say, telling stories of other fishermen meeting these alluring beings. Some said they lured away people to kill them, and occasionally there were times when they said the opposite, saying that they saved people from shipwrecks. When you were still a child you used to believe in them, you lived with your parents on the beach where you were able to exhaust your energy as your parents watched, and sometimes, occasionally join in on your games. You all lived so happily.

They were called overseas for their job one day, you could remember saying good night to them as they set off, leaving you in your grandparents’ care. The next day you heard your grandma crying as your grandpa hugged her with glossy eyes, you didn’t know what was going on until you saw the TV that was on the news channel, there was a sunken ship that had several survivors, and there were images being shown of the ones last lost their lives. Your parents were among them.

 In a fit of denial, you stormed your way to the beach and called for your parents, even going as far as to plead and beg to the merfolk to bring back your parents. Nothing ever happened, and you were left crying at the beach until your grandparents came for you, they could only hug you as you cried for your parents.

Now as a young woman you never let yourself believe in old fairy tales, and you moved on with your life by helping your grandpa with his aquarium, you enjoyed helping out in whatever way you can, the place was also a rehabilitation center for any aquatic life that needed to recover. Still, while you were happy with your life now you couldn’t help but wonder what your life would’ve been like if your parents were still around.

Right now though, you laughed as you threw fish at a sea lion that you knew too well, “Terry you already ate buddy, let Bandit and Mellow eat!”, you playfully scold as Terry snatched another fish from his fellow sea lions. You shook your head as you grabbed another bucket full of fish and tried to have Bandit and Mellow.

“Hey (Y/n)!”, your co-worker called you, looking back you saw Sierra, a nice woman in her thirties who taught you how to handle any of the rowdier animals. 

“Oh, Sierra! Hi! Did you need something?”, you ask.

“I am fine but your grandpa is calling you, he said it was for something really important, don’t worry I’ll handle our water puppies”, she winks as she takes the bucket from you.

You could only laugh, “Alright, I’ll head out, oh just a FYI; Terry has been eating most of the fishes again”, you inform as you jog to the door.

“Really? Oooh, Terry~ are you being greedy again?”, she begins to scold the sea lion, you could only laugh as you made your way to your grandpa’s office. 

Once there you opened the door only to see the room empty, “Grandpa? Hello~”, you call him only to see the sticky note on his desk. Picking it up you read;

“(Y/n), I want you to meet me in building 1-A, you’ll never believe what I’ve discovered”. You furrowed your brows, your grandpa always told you about surprises in person, but if he left a note then it must’ve been really important.

So with a sigh, you went to the building he wanted you to be in, and once there you saw him waiting by the door, “Hey grandpa-”

“(Y/n)! You’re here, that is good, I am sorry to be so pushy but I need you to get inside, quickly now”, he cut you off, leaving you flabbergasted. Now you knew something was up, for your grandpa to cut you off the way he did it was something very important, so you quickly went inside the building and looked around, inside was a large tank that was enough to fit in ten whales and several sharks, it even had a stairway that leads to the opening of the tank.

“So, what is it, grandpa? Must be important…”, you trail off as you face your grandpa as he secured the door before looking at you.

“(Y/n) I know you’re a young lady now and are still planning things for your future, but I need you to stay calm and well, try to understand that what you’re going to see is 100% real”, he explains cryptically.

“Uhh~ grandpa are you okay? Do you need me to call grandma or something”, you ask in worry, he only sighed as a tired smile crossed his lips.

“Turn around dear, you’ll see what I mean”, he says, and you do exactly that only for your jaw to drop at what you saw.

There were a few merfolk on the other side of the glass, one of them caught your attention the most though as you locked eyes, his hair was somehow spiked up in the water and was red in color, a small scar just above his right eyebrow, his tail was red and from what you could tell from it, it resembled that of a Sandbar Shark. He seemed to be observing you just as you observed him, curiosity and awe written clearly on his face, what nearly surprised you the most was when he gave you a smile, his teeth were sharp like a shark’s.

Other merfolk were there too, one had ash blonde hair and his tail looked like a lionfish. There was another blonde but he had a black lightning streak and his tail definitely resembles one of a tiger stingray. The last male with them had black hair, his tail was one of a black and white snapper. And finally, there was a girl there too, she was pink all over but her eyes certainly caught you off guard, she clearly was a Pascalus Anthias.

To say you were shocked was a severe understatement, you looked back at your grandfather as you gestured towards them with a shaky hand, “Th-they- um- Mer-… They’re real?”, your voice sounded small as you glanced back at them.

Your grandpa gave you a soft smile as he placed a hand on your shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze, “They are real, a family friend found twelve of them, two girls, two grown men, and the rest are boys, though from what I observed the younger ones seem to be around your age (Y/n)”, he explained.

You suddenly felt lightheaded at the information, still trying to process the situation as you looked at the mers before you, “Hey now take it easy, deep breaths (Y/n)”, you hear your grandpa say as he holds your back. You didn’t notice that you were tipping back until his hand pressed between your shoulder blades. 

“A-ah, right- um”, you steady yourself as you spot one of the older merfolk that your grandpa mentioned, he had shoulder-length black hair, a stubble, and a scar just beneath his right eye, the lower portion of his body was that of a moray eel. He seemed to be informing his… pod? School? Guppies? Well, whatever they were to him, he was talking to them before you looked at you and your grandpa, he gave a curt nod to your grandpa, who tipped his head in return, before looking at you. He rose a brow at your still gobsmacked expression, you didn’t know what to do other than give him and the younger mers a weak wave, he looked amused as the young mers returned your gesture eagerly (except for the lionfish mer, he was glaring daggers at you).

He then made a “follow me” motion, leading the young ones away as your eyes followed them, but the sandbar shark stayed behind for a moment as he looked at you, he then gave you a toothy grin as he waved at you and you returned the gesture until you saw his head perk up as if he was being called. He gave you one last smile before he swam off.

‘I wonder what that was about?’, you think as your grandpa let out a hearty chuckle. Looking at him you ask, “You said that a family friend found them, what exactly happened that landed them here?”, you ask.

“Well…”, your grandfather sighed, “you already know Samuel, one of the fishermen we know that practically guards our beach, veteran, and ex-veterinarian? Yeah, he was coming back to shore after patrolling the waters and found a poaching ship, the crew also happened to have the merfolk onboard, he was able to steal the ship poachers had but several of the merfolk were injured”, he explained.

“So he brought them to me, of course since this building was the one closest to the ocean I thought it would be a nice idea to let them stay here until their injured were up and ready to leave back into their home, I was also able to get their names through the older mers, course, they were skittish at first but everything went smoothly as soon as I told them they were at a rehabilitation aquarium”, he smiles down at you.

“No wonder grandma told me you’d be staying here last night, I was worried that something was wrong with the animals”, you give a soft pout as your grandpa leads you up the stairs to the second platform that looks over the tank. 

Looking down at the huge tank from the platform you took notice of the large rocks and sea flora that was there, but recalling the mers’ appearances you noted the few bandages that you overlooked in your state of shock when you first saw them.

“(Y/n), we’re going to have to keep this a big secret you know that right?”, your grandpa looked over you, a soft look on his face.

“I know, so are you going to be looking after them?”, you asked.

“As much as I would like to, I am going to have to leave that you (Y/n)”, he reveals.

“Oh ok- wait what?”, you snap your head towards him with a flabbergasted look. 

He only chuckled, “Well I am always going to be busy with the things that go on in the aquarium, you are the only grandchild that is often here, I could ask Samuel but the man is too busy patrolling our waters”, he explained. 

“M-me? Are you sure?”, you ask as you point at yourself, your grandpa gave a hearty laugh as he patted your head.

“I have no doubt that you would do a great job, besides I’m sure that the older Mers wouldn’t mind helping ya”, he says before his phone rings, “heh, duty calls (Y/n) I’ll come cheek on you once I’m done with the papers”, he waves before walking back downstairs and exiting the building.

You stared at the direction your grandpa left before you heard a sudden splash making you whip your head around to see the shandbar shark mer again, he rested both his elbows on the edge of the platform as he waved at you, “Hiya! I’m Eijiro Kirishima! You must be Mr. (L/n) granddaughter!”, he chirps.

You blink at him before giving him a shy smile, “I am, my name is (Y/n)”, you introduce.

When he flashed you that friendly smile, and when you returned the gesture, you both felt a spark between you in that moment not knowing that it would sprout into something more. 

~~~

You laughed when you heard Katsuki cursing after a beach ball was thrown at his face. Denki, Mina, Eijiro, and Hanta were up against Izuku, Tenya, Ochaco, and Shoto in a game of water polo, Shinso and Katsuki sat out while the adults of the group swam bay and watched. 

Mr. Aizawa -you called him by his surname out of respect- let you brush his hair as Mr. Yagi laid back on the wall of the tank, elbows resting on the edge of the platform.

“What the hell Deku!”, Katsuki roars.

“Ah! Sorry Kacchan!”, Izuku frantically apologizes until he squeaked when Katsuki went diving after him, Izuku dashed off making Mr. Aizawa sigh.

“Yagi”, he grunts, “it’s your turn to deal with them”

“A-ah, right-”, Mr. Yagi chuckles half-heartedly before going after them.

You humed as you stroked your fingers through Aizawa’s hair, deciding to give him a low bun with two loose braids holding the rest of his hair back, “Hey! (Y/n)!”, you hear Eijiro call out to you.

When you finished styling Aizawa’s hair you perked up, “Oh, hey Eijiro, what’s up?”, you ask, hardly noticing the older mer slipping away with a huff.

“I was wondering if you could bring something to eat, like the kind of stuff you humans eat, since well tomorrow is our last day and…”, he trailed, a light pink hue tinting his cheeks as he looked up at you, “I wanna know how they taste, y’know something with meat preferably, ah- you know what, never mind-”, Eijiro began rambling as you laughed.

“Kiri it’s okay, I’ll bring you something okay, you guys told me about your mer things, it’s about time I share something of ours”, you smile at him.

“In that case can I have what you humans call ‘hamburgers’!”, Denki pipped in with a cheer.

“Kaminari~!”, Eijiro lightly scolds until he saw you pull out a notepad and pen.

You scribbled some of the listed things as some of the mers soon gathered around you, smiling at them you chip, “Anything else you guys wish to order.

“I’m up for some of that fruit stuff!”

“Mochi sounds nice!”

“Can you add Natto!”

“Cold soba”

“AH~ Then, maybe that ‘beef stew’ would be interesting to try”

You kept smiling as you wrote down their “orders” while Eijiro stared at you for a while longer, he let a smile form on his lips as he stared at you for a while longer. When it was time to go home the mers went down to their water caves to rest up for tomorrow, Eijiro took this chance to reach out to you as you packed your stuff, “(Y/n)!”, he calls.

You turn around and walk to the edge of the platform before kneeling down, “Hey Eiji, I thought you’d be with the others by now”, you absently point out, he only chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

“Well, I was but I just wanted to spend a little more of my time with you before we leave this place”, he softly says.

“Yeah, I hear that Mr. Yagi is healed up nicely, Sero and Uraraka too if I recall, are you excited to go back home soon”, you ask, smiling despite the weird pull in your chest.

“Yeah! Yeah, I am… but I’m gonna miss this place too, you and Mr. (L/n) were a big help to us, and we had a lot of fun here… is it selfish of me to want to stay a little longer?”, he suddenly asks.

You blinked before giving Eijiro a reassuring smile, “No, I don’t think it is Kiri, you see many people grow attached to things, whether it be a person or place, it just means that you made good memories from the place that brought you joy, as for being selfish, well… someone once said that it is okay to be a little selfish sometimes”, you explain to him.

Eijiro suddenly intertwined his fingers with yours making you stare at him with mild confusion, he looks up at you with a toothy grin, “Thanks for being our friend (Y/n)”.

You smile back at him, “And thank you for being mine”

~~~

Just as you promised you brought all of the things the mers wanted to try, and they all made so many sounds as they ate, from chirps to hums as you enjoyed your meal alongside Eijiro who was eating bacon after finishing his chicken, beef, and pork meals.

“Wow, I didn’t know that you humans did this with your meals, I can taste so many flavors yet it makes a pretty neat combination!”, Eijiro chips as you laughed.

“Well, it is the most preferable way we eat our food, we don’t entirely eat our food raw, but I know some cuisines that are raw”, you explain.

“Really? What raw foods do your can eat?” he asked

“I know sushi is one, steak as well depending on how you order it…”, you trail off as you listed several more meals while Eijiro listened, a smile on his face as he finished his meal. 

And soon enough, you found yourself running your fingers through his hair when he rested his head on your lap, passing the time by talking. Both of you were so distracted by each other you didn’t notice other mers swimming around, but a specific pair of mers watched as you and Eijiro seemingly clung to one another knowing today was the last day, Mina let out a weak smile as she spoke to Katsuki.

“It’s kind of sad don’t you think, they don’t even notice how deeply they care for one another”, she pouts.

Katsuki scoffed as he glared at his shark friend, “Hair-for-brains better hurry up with his choice then, the idiot is likely to lose something if he keeps dancing around the obvious problem he’s having”, his eye twitched when he saw Eijiro’s gills fluttered, “he better do it quick, tch! This shit is annoying!”.

Mina laughed as Katsuki dove into the water and disappeared before looking back at her friend, knowing that some of what Katsuki said was true.

As the time came closer for the mers to go back home, you felt your chest ache as you rode in the truck, looking out the window you saw the beach draw near. A shiver shook your spine when your grandpa rolled down the window, talking to your grandmother on the phone while you were left to your thoughts, you felt sad and admittedly you already figured out the reason as to why. Your thoughts trailed to Eijiro eventually, thinking about all the things you would miss about him once he left, you scolded yourself for your selfish thoughts because you knew he had a home to go back to.

Once at a secluded area at the beach you helped your grandfather assist the mers in reaching the shores, and once they were in they all happily swam in the area as you and your grandfather walked to the end of the pier while the mers swam under and around it. Your grandfather laughed as you sat down letting your bare feet touch the waters as you smiled weakly.

“Ya hoo~! Home sweet home!”, Deki cheered.

“I wonder how mom is handling this”, you hear Izuku say as they all swim before you.

Aizawa and Yagi looked back at you and your grandfather, “We thank you for helping us recover Mr. (L/n), young (Y/n), you have been a great help to us”, Yagi smiles.

“It was no problem at all, just make sure to stay safe yes?”, your grandfather laughed, as did the rest of the others, you managed a weak giggle.

“Come on, it time we go”, Aizawa sighed before giving a final wave of his hand, soon the rest of the pod pack followed, also saying their goodbyes.

“Bye! Thank you for caring for us!”

“Yeah! You guys are awesome!”

“Take care!!”

You and your grandfather waved back as they all dove in the water until Eijiro was the last one left, he looked back at you with a smile that almost looked forced but when you waved to him with your own smile, he waved back before diving into the water.

You finally felt your tears fall when he left.

“(Y/n)? What’s wrong?”, you hear your grandpa softly ask, looking up at him with mild surprise you were about to ask what he meant until he reached down and whiled a tear from your eye, “You’re crying”.

Eijiro felt his shoulders slump with weight, occasionally looking back at the pier where he left you, his brows furrowed when he felt more weight on his body. He stopped swimming abruptly when he felt a hard fist slam itself atop his head, making him yelp.

“OW!”

“You really are dense aren’t you hair- for- brains”, Katsuki growled.

“Wha-?! Bakugo!? The hell man-”, Eijiro winced as he rubbed his head tenderly, before being cut off by the explosive lionfish.

“Go back to the land dweller already, you obviously like her more than a friend, but apparently your hair muddled brain couldn’t understand that”, Katsuki huffed as Eijiro stared at him in awe before giving him a toothy grin.

“Thanks, Bakubro, you’re the manliest man ever!”, Eijiro gave Katsuki a tight hug before swimming off before Katsuki could do anything.

Katsuki was frozen before cursing up a storm, “Get back here hair-for-brains! I’m gonna kill you!”

“Awe~ you really do care Bakugo~”, Mina teased as Katsuki roared while Aizawa went to check on them to see what was going on.

“(Y/n), you can tell me when you’re ready okay?”, your grandpa gently squeezes your shoulder as you sniff and wipe your tears.

“I- I’m gonna miss Eiji-ro grandpa”, you whimper as you look down at the water.

Your grandpa smiled at you kindly before he lightly ruffled your hair, “Ah~ I see now, your heart is troubled isn’t it (Y/n)? Hm, the love of youth”, he softly chuckled, as you looked up at him.

“H-how?”

“(Y/n), I’m an old fellow, and I know that you love the shark boy dearly, your only showing your pain because you didn’t say anything to him, a common mistake for the young that falls in love”, he says with closed eyes, helping you stand he smiled at you. “You were afraid of telling him because you didn’t want to be selfish, you didn’t want to take him away from his home, but (Y/n), have you ever thought that he could feel that same way you do?”, he asked kindly as he wiped away your stray tears, you stared at him for a bit before frowning.

“But, it wouldn’t work, even if I tried to be with him”, you say.

“Love and life has its obstacles and miracles, anything could happen when you’re willing enough to try”, he smiled before giving you a hug, one you eagerly returned with a smile of your own.

“Now let’s go home, I heard your grandma made a nice meal back home”, he laughed as you grinned and walked with him.

“(Y/N)!!!”, you hear your name being called. Looking back at the ocean you saw Eijiro rapidly swimming towards you, pushing passed his usual speed as he continued to shout, “I’m sorry! I should’ve told you, how much I really cared for you!”, he shouts, panting as he dove underwater from crashing waves as he continued to yell.

“You’re more than a podmate! More than a friend!”, he grunts as he comes closer, voice louder than the waves that collided, “(Y/n)! I LOVE YOU, AS A PEARLMATE!”

Your eyes widened at his declaration, you looked back at your grandfather, who smiled in turn as he took your shoes from you, “Go to him (Y/n)”, he says, your heart leapt as you smiled with tears blurring your vision.

You ran down the pier, yelling to the shrak mer, “EIJIROOO!”.

His head perked up, a large grin spread on his face as he called back to you, “(Y/N)!!”.

Jumping into the water you swam to him and gasped when your head emerged from the water, and once you two met in the middle, your laughter mixed and overlapped the other as you clung to one another. Leaning your heads together you gazed into each other’s eyes.

“I love you Eijiro”

“I love you too, (Y/n), my lovely pearlmate”, he sighed.

You both stayed in the water for a while, and you enjoyed the moment as you swam with the sandbar shark.

#bnha x reader #bnha #bnha eijiro kirishima #kirishima eijiro x reader #kirishima eijirou #mha eijirou #mermaid!eijiro #mermaid au #this is also on my AO3

[let-it-raines]

Catch Me If You Can (35/40)

298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.

But then he came back and won the World Series.

It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.

Asking her out live on-air will do that.

Rating: Mature

a/n: I’ve exercised, showered and blow-dried my hair, cleaned the house, and have both girls asleep. So that means, you know, that the rest of the afternoon will probably be some kind of disaster. At least I’m getting this chapter up for you guys now! 

An absolutely GIGANTIC thank you to @imagnifika​ for making this cover. I mean, seriously. Look at Emma! And look at number 29! And all of it really ahhhhh ❤️ And thanks to @resident-of-storybrooke​ for helping me bring this story to life! Also, there’s a line in here specifically for @captainsjedi​ and any other botb fans 😘

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

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-/-

Emma types a big, fat “L” into the stat sheet on her phone for the beginning of the Championship series, and she is undeniably bitter about it.

Like, seriously so bitter that she couldn’t have typed it in last night when it happened and saved it for this morning.

Damn the Red Sox.

How many times a season does she say that? It’s probably far too many times, but it’s something that needs to be said over and over again until it’s tattooed on her forehead so that everyone knows that she hates the Red Sox.

The games are simply different than against anyone else. Tension runs through everyone’s veins, and mistakes that aren’t usually made are made with frequency. The volume of the crowd is this constant rumble with a persistent murmur of excitement, and depending on if they’re in New York or in Boston, that crowd noise completely and totally changes how the players feel out there.

It changes how she feels simply watching from whatever seat the network has given her that day.

So the fact that they lost by one run yesterday afternoon on home turf has left a bitter taste in Emma’s mouth.

She’s not even a player, and she’s never been this nervous. There’s obviously time to make up for the loss. It’s best of seven games here, and a loss doesn’t mean anything. Except that, well, it can mean everything. It’s hard to come from behind if they get too far behind, and dammit, Emma wants the Yankees to play in the World Series again.

She wants to cover it and come up with those obnoxious think pieces about a team’s legacy and a player’s legacy. She wants to hype the team up and talk about the match-up with who they’re playing and everything that Killian hates about commentators and reporters.

Seriously. He hates it a lot. And yet he watches all of the shows like some kind of glutton for punishment.

He kind of is.

He’s also playing his first game in forty days today, and Emma’s nerves are nearly frayed as she has to keep her leg from bouncing up and down and her fingers from fidgeting against every single surface that she can find.

Killian is playing again.

Killian is playing again.

Killian is playing again.  

It never sounds quite real no matter how many times she thinks it, so obviously Emma is going to think it over and over again until the words don’t have any meaning.

Except they have every meaning.

“Why are you working right now?” Killian mumbles into her stomach before shifting up her body so that his cheek rests on her breast. He totally shifted that way on purpose. Such a man.

“Because I was awake, you were asleep, and I felt like you would wake up if I shifted away.”

“Probably.” His lips wrap around the peak of her nipple through the thin material of her camisole, and Emma sighs contently as she puts her phone down on her bedside table and reaches forward to gentle run her hands through Killian’s hair so that she can feel the soft strands slipping through her fingers. “You’re a very good pillow.”

“And you were extremely tired. What time did you fall asleep last night?”

His tongue runs in a circle, and she nearly melts right then and there. Then Killian is looking up at her through those long, thick lashes of his, and she nearly melts for an entirely different reason. Along the same guidelines, though. “Late. Or early depending on how you want to look at things. I wouldn’t check your closet if I were you. It may be organized.”

“Killian – ”

He grunts and moves back to paying attention to her breasts, his nose nudging away her shirt until warm breath is making direct contact with skin and even warmer lips are wrapping around her and making her hips arch in the air looking for friction they absolutely will not be getting this morning. They don’t have the time or the privacy.

But Killian’s lips feel really, really good, little sparks of fire flickering across her skin as heat pools between her thighs, and maybe, just maybe they can…

“Emma,” Ruby yells through the bedroom door as her knuckles collide with it, “I am leaving in ten minutes. Do you want to come with?”

“No,” Emma shouts back, but Ruby doesn’t know the definition of privacy and opens the door anyways before Emma can pulls her shirt back up or Killian can even move away. The bastard doesn’t even try. He just bites down on her in the way that he knows she likes and smiles into her skin all the while Ruby stands there with an arched brow. “Oh my God, Rubes. Privacy.”

“What? It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. There’s usually not a man attached to it, though. Hi, Killian. Nice to see you here. I’m glad you guys remembered that Emma has an apartment.”

Killian chuckles, and Emma swears it makes her entire body vibrate, before he’s grabbing the covers and pulling it up over her so that he can move away from her boob and look at Ruby in all of his ruffled glory.

“Hello, love,” he smiles, reaching up to stretch his arms behind his head as he winks. She swears he is the cockiest man alive. “We do stay here on occasion. It’s just at my place nobody walks in when I’m trying to tell my girlfriend good morning.”

“I think your mouth was in the wrong place to be telling her good morning.”

“Depends on the good morning I was thinking on giving her.”

Emma reaches down to grab a pillow before smacking Killian in the back of the head with it and then throwing it at Ruby who simply catches it and cradles it to her chest. “I hate that I brought the two of you together. There’s too many dirty jokes in your heads for you guys to share the same air.”

“These are thin walls, Emma dear,” Ruby teases as her knuckles rap on the walls. “I know for a fact that you’ve got some dirty jokes too.”

“Oh my God,” she groans again as she sinks further into the mattress and pulls her comforter up over her head. Her cheeks have to be as red as tomatoes right now, and Emma is going to hide under here until they calm down. She is not easily embarrassed, but the thought of Ruby hearing her the way that she’s heard Ruby and Graham before is too much.

Maybe moving out is beginning to sound like a good idea.

“I think we’ve embarrassed her, Lucas.”

“I think we have, Jones. To think, seeing your foreplay in action wasn’t enough to send her under the covers but making a joke about her bedroom humor was.”

Emma throws the covers down and peeks up at Ruby, completely ignoring Killian. “Go to work. I will see you when I get there and maybe I won’t ignore you as you talk into my ear.”

“Love you too,” Ruby teases before blowing Emma a kiss and walking away, her heels clicking down the hallway.

“Ugh.”

“What?” Killian asks, turning over to his side and reaching over to her to toy with her ring as it rests on her stomach.

“For one,” she starts, “I’m now super sexually frustrated, but we don’t have time to do anything about it. And, also, I seriously regret letting you guys become friends. You’re far too chummy with each other.”

“That’s how I feel about you and Elsa and Anna. I’m attacked every time the three of you get together.”

“Oh, speaking of Elsa, I need to text her back and tell her that I can come up to the suite today at the beginning of the game. I’m only going on to interview you when you’re finished and to do post-game stuff.”

Killian grumbles something she can’t here before he’s wrapping his fingers around her waist and pulling her closer to him so that he can pepper his lips across her jaw and ghost them over her mouth.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Seriously.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Killian.”

“Well, you see, my darling, love of my life, sweet Emma,” he overdramatically sighs as he kisses her, “I’m just a little worried that you won’t be able to handle interviewing me now that we’re dating. I’ve found that women are incapable of keeping a professional workspace, and I’m afraid that things might get a little murky for us.”

“I have never hated you more than I hate you right now.”

“It’s funny because I swear you just told me you’d never loved me more than you had right then.”

“Right. And now I hate you as much as I’ve ever hated you, and I used to actually hate you.”

“Yeah,” he sighs, the tone in his voice quickly switching from playful to melancholy, “you did.”

“You okay?”

He shifts against her until his cheek is resting on her breast again, and Emma runs her hands through his hair to soothe both him and her. “I’m fine, love. Simply a little nervous. I haven’t played a game in a good bit, and this is an important one. I can’t believe Al is trusting me with it.”

“It’s to get you back in the rotation. They may only keep you in for an inning depending on how you do.”

“I hope I bloody well do better than one inning.”

“You’re going to kick ass today, okay? Like you always do.”

“I do not always kick ass,” he grumbles, twisting his head to look back up at her. “In fact, I often don’t kick ass. I don’t know how I’m going to handle today.”

Emma brushes his hair back, and not for the first time she notices how boyish he can look in the mornings when the day’s stress hasn’t gotten to him. The stress is starting to creep in, however, and she wishes that she could take it all away from him.

“One pitch at a time, twenty-nine. They’re not going to be perfect, and you’re going to struggle. But it’s one pitch at a time. You’ve been doing this for a long time. You know how to be a baseball player.”

“What if we lose?”

“You’re not going to.”

“But what if we do? I’ve already let so many people down. I can’t…I don’t want to do it again.”

Her heart breaks the tiniest bit, and Emma simply keeps brushing his hair back as his eyes flutter closed. “You’re not letting anyone down. You try so hard for this team, and they know that. If you lose, it’s not your fault. You know that. You guys are a team, and you’re not standing up on that mound alone.”

“I literally am.”

“Figuratively, you are not.”

A slow smile curves from one side of his lips to the next even if his eyes stay closed. Killian’s hand searches for hers and in his hair, and he squeezes her wrist. “Thank you, Swan. I love you.”

“I love you too,” she sighs. “We’ve got to get out of bed. It might take me a little while to find something to wear since you apparently organized my closet last night.”

“It was messy.”

“But I knew where everything was.”

Killian grins before sitting up. “I know where everything is now. I’ll help. Team work makes the dream work.”

Emma hits his head with a pillow. “I take back saying that’s the most I’d ever hated you because this is the most I’ve ever hated you.”

“That’s because you haven’t seen your closet yet.”

-/-

When Emma wraps up her pre-game filming, talking back and forth with Isaac and James who miraculously only make two mentions to her dating Killian when talking about his return to the game today and only one mention of Arthur getting a pretty hefty fine for his treatment of an “anonymous” reporter in the locker room, she quickly walks back into the tunnel behind the dugout and down the hallways until she’s getting in the elevator that takes her up to the suites. Emma doesn’t have that long to be up there, only an inning or two depending on how the game goes, and she’s supposed to keep her earpiece in so she can be contacted no matter where she is. So she’s hurrying to meet Elsa and Liam in the suite like she said she would.

Her life was a lot less hectic when fewer people liked her.

She wouldn’t change it for a thing.

Except maybe she’d give herself some more time to accomplish more things. And possibly also speed up time a little bit so that she can stop worrying about Killian and Killian can stop worrying altogether.

Those two things are contradictory, but it works.

Kind of. She guesses. She really has no idea, and all she can really focus on his how much she absolutely feels like she’s going to vomit with all of the nerves that are ferociously swirling through her stomach.

Killian is going to make her sick.

Why is love so painful? Literally and figuratively.

Emma flashes her ID when she gets up to the suites, and after she’s let in, she walks through the door. Everyone is standing out on the little balcony, so she takes the chance to grab a glass of lemon water and take a deep breath.

She really needs a deep breath. Or five.

Why has she never been this nervous before? Why is this different now?

Because everything is different now.

Everything.

Elsa turns around and sees her, reaching up her hand to wave, and it calms down Emma’s nerves as she walks out the sliding glass door and takes back in the sound of the stadium as people still filter in and all of the players begin to take their spots out on the field.

“Hey,” Elsa greets her, wrapping her arm around Emma’s waist in a half hug. “How are you?”

“Nervous as hell.”

“You’re telling me,” she sighs, not letting go of Emma’s waist. “I swear I wore down the wood floor in our kitchen pacing.”

“If Killian hadn’t been with me this morning, I would have done the same thing too.” Emma leans over to look at Liam, Kris, and Anna. “Hey guys.”

They all wave back at her with bright smiles on their faces that quickly fade back into frowns. Nerves are very obviously a present factor for everyone this afternoon.

“Where are the girls?” Emma asks.

“They are with my parents today. I’m sure Addy has the TV turned on and is watching the game. That girl is serious about her baseball.”

“Well, she does have a pretty cool uncle who plays.”

“This is true. How is he doing? I tried texting him earlier, but I didn’t get a text back.”

“He’s anxious. Like, hardcore Killian level anxious. In the locker room, I’m sure he was fine, you know? He always puts up the façade for the guys, but this morning he was really nervous. I don’t know if me talking to him did any good or if he just faked it for me.”

“Men have a harder time faking it than women, but it is possible,” Liam adds in with a cheeky smile before going back to paying attention to what Kris is saying and what’s going on down at the field as music booms out of the speakers.

Elsa playfully rolls her eyes at her husband before releasing Emma’s waist and sitting down in her chair. Emma follows suit while static moves through her earpiece.

“Ignore him,” she insists, still smiling at his bad joke. “I’m sure your talk helped. If anyone can calm him down, it’s one of the people sitting out here.”

“I hope so. I’m just…he wants this so badly, you know? And I want him to have it.”

“I know,” Elsa whispers as Killian takes his place on the mound and the murmur of the crowd quiets down. “I know.”

And then Killian is winding up and releasing a ball from his hand and Emma intakes a sharp breath.

It’s a ball. Not the best pitch in the world but not the worst. At least it wasn’t a homerun hit off of Killian’s first pitch back. That would have been demoralizing.

One pitch at a time. That’s what she told him earlier, and she’s going to stand by that.

Emma hopes that Killian can too.

Another wind-up, another pitch, and then there’s the thwack of a woodenmetal bat against the ball as it flies into the outfield and curves far enough left that it ends up being a foul.

One pitch at a time.

The next pitch flies right inside of the batter’s strike zone, and he smacks a line drive down past third, and he manages to get on first base.

Dammit.

Emma’s hand clutches for the ring around her neck, and she bunches up the chain, holding tightly onto it while she watches the video of Killian on the jumbotron and tries to see if there’s any inclination as to how he’s feeling.

There’s not. Killian looks like he always does out there, and not being able to tell what’s going on in his mind is driving her crazy.

Suddenly, there’s a slight pressure on her left hand, and Emma looks down to see Elsa’s hand covering hers while Elsa’s gaze stays out on the field.

“You’re going to give yourself a heart attack worrying like that.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Elsa looks over at her and smiles. “I have been with Liam for as long as Killian has had a professional career, and it does get easier, most of the time at least. There have been times when he has done things to make me nearly throw up, but I never have. No matter what happens, he’s going to be okay. That’s what we told him when he came back from injury last time, and he knows it even if he has trouble remembering it.”

“He may know it, but I certainly don’t.”

Elsa squeezes her hand again. “You’re in love with him. It makes sense. As much as we all love him, it’s not the same for you.”

Emma huffs. “So, can I have my heart attack in peace?”

“Not a chance in hell,” Liam scoffs before leaning over so she can see his face. “We have our heart attacks together up here. It’s a team effort.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense,” Anna teases.

“It makes perfect sense.”

“Why would we all have a heart attack instead of just one of us?”

“Solidarity.”

“That sounds like a great way for all of us to end up dead, and then I promise you that Killian will not care what happens on the field.”

“Exactly. It’s going to keep his mind off of things.”

“It’s his job to stay focused on things.”

“You’ll get used to their bickering too,” Elsa laughs, and Emma swears that she is the very definition of an ice queen with how calm that she is. “It’s all part of the process. Kris will pipe in about three sentences too late since he focuses on the game better than anyone.”

“Wait,” Kris starts, “why are we having heart attacks?”

Elsa raises her brow as if to say “I told you so”, and all Emma can do is laugh as Killian throws his first strike of the day to the appreciation of the crowd.

Good. He’s getting there.

It’s a slow start, undoubtedly, and while Killian isn’t at his best, everyone else on the team is. Where he falls short, they pick up the slack, and Emma knows that while Killian will feel guilty about it, he’ll also be appreciative of the fact that he’s not out there ruining everything for everyone.

If there’s anyone who knows who to place guilt on himself when there’s no reason to, it’s Killian Jones.

By the time the bottom of the third rolls around, the Yankees are up three runs to one, and while it’s not the most convincing lead, it’s still a lead. And there’s a lot of game to go.

Not for Killian, though. Al pulls him when the third inning is over, and Emma and Jeff wait for him in the tunnels behind the locker room so that she can give him an interview without disrupting any part of the game.

His brows are furrowed when he first walks into the tunnel, but then he sees her and forces a smile onto his face. It’s fake and far too forced, and all she wants is to hug him and tell him that it’s okay. She can’t do that, though. Not right now. They’ve talked about this, and they’re going to be professional when on camera. It’s how it has to work.

“Hey, Swan,” Killian sighs as he steps into space.

“Hey, you did good, Killian.”

He shrugs his shoulders and then nods at the camera. Jeff motions to them that they’re about to roll, and Emma forces her own smile before beginning the introduction to her interview by talking about Killian’s stats for the game and reminding everybody that he’s coming back after forty days away.

As if they don’t know.

“How does it feel to be back?” she finally asks Killian as he lifts his hat from his head and pushes his sweaty hair back before placing it back down and scratching behind his ear.

Why is he nervous? 

“Fantastic,” he answers with a cocky grin that shows all of his perfectly white teeth. “There’s nothing that can replicate being out there. Absolutely nothing. I’m so thankful to be back and to feel that crowd support. We’re in a critical part of our season if we want to make it all the way to that final game, and I’m glad to be a part of it once more. You can only be a benchwarmer for so long before you go a little stir crazy.”

The smile he flashes there is a bit more genuine, and that relaxes her the slightest bit. “Are you nervous about the future when it comes to your arm?”

His hand reaches up to rub at his right shoulder, and Emma wonders if he even knows that he does it. But then he’s tilting his head and smiling at her like he does with every interview he’s ever been in before something changeschanges, and his lips become a little less curved and his eyes the little bit softer.

“The future’s nothing to be afraid of, love. Not when you’re happy with your life regardless of if things don’t always work out the way that you hope. My arm may mess up again. It may not. I can’t know. But I have to be okay with whatever happens and know that my life is pretty damn great no matter what happens on that field. Even if I damn well want to win.”

Emma’s breath hitches, and her brain has suddenly forgotten words.

Like, all words except for the actual word “word.”

Shit.

“Wrap it up, Emma,” Ruby speaks into the earpiece. “You’re staring at him like he just told you that he loves you for the first time. Wrap it up.”

So she does, mumbling something that she’s sure makes no sense, but then Jeff is turning off the camera and lowering it from his shoulder so that Emma can take a deep breath and try to compose herself. She doesn’t really get a chance to before Killian is wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into him while he buries his face into her neck, the sweat from his body and his uniform clinging to her clothes. It takes her by surprise at first, honestly and truly, but then she’s wrapping her arms around him too and simply breathing him in, sweat and all.

There are probably twenty people in this tunnel right now who can see the two of them, but Emma doesn’t care. The world knows, and everyone can think what they want about she and Killian’s relationship. None of their opinions matter when the two of them know the truth behind the smokescreen of lies the world is putting in front of them.

She may not be ready for them to hug or kiss on National television, but she can do this.

People have tried to tell her who she is her entire life, and she’s punching back and saying no. She is who she wants to be.

“You did it,” she whispers to him. “You’re back.”

“I would not have gotten off of my couch and back out onto that field without you, Swan.”

“You would have.”

“No,” he murmurs, his scruff scratching at her neck. “I wouldn’t have. You don’t know how much you’ve changed things for me. When I was out there and felt like I was about to pass out on the mound, I thought of you and how I knew that you were cheering me on. It’s a hell of a lot better than thinking about thousands of people I don’t know cheering me on when the only person who really matters is you.”

“What about your family?” Emma teases, the words rolling off of her tongue immediately. There are still times when she’s not good with affection, when she can’t take a compliment like that without freaking out, and sometimes words escape her before she can stop them.

Killian pulls back from the hug then, just a little bit, and rests his forehead against hers, his hat long since toppled to the ground, while his hands run up and down her biceps. “They obviously matter, love. Don’t go telling them what I said because they will give me shit about it, but you know that it’s different between you and me.”

“I would hope so. I don’t want to be treated in the same way as Liam.”

Killian laughs and softly pecks her lips. “Am I freaking you out making big declarations like this?”

“Not at all.”

“You’re a liar.”

“Only a little bit.”

He smiles, and her heart settles back in its regular spot while there’s the sound of cheers outside. “You’ve got a game to cover, and I best let you back to it. Pull them through.”

“Sounds like a plan, Stan.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” Emma laughs as she pulls back from him. “It’s just a little phrase I heard. I thought I’d try it out, but I don’t think it quite works for us.”

“Maybe it’ll catch on.”

“Or we’ll have to come up with a better phrase.”

“What about ‘you’re looking fine, twenty-nine?’”

“A little egotistical for my taste, darling, but I think it’s got potential.”

Emma pushes at his shoulder and shakes her head. “Go get that shoulder massaged and take a shower. You smell horrible.”

“All for you, my love.”

An absolute dork.

-/-

They win that night, and Killian’s spirits are at what has to be an all-time high.

The fact that they lose two nights later when they’re in Boston only tampers those spirits the slightest bit.

They’re behind two games to one, but there’s still time to come back from it and survive this series.

And if Emma knows anything, Killian Jones is a hell of a survivor.

-/-

-/-

Tag list: @authorarsinoe​ @stunningswan​ @eala-captian @galaxyzxstark @xellewoods @mariakov81 @ultraluckycatnd @royalswan @shey-starsfury​ @superchocovian​ @sals86 @iam2307 @ashley-knightingale @karenfrommisthaven @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @notoriouscs @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog​ @cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @qualitycoffeethings​ @carpedzem​ @tornadoamy​

#catch me if you can #cs fic #cs ff #captain swan ff #captain swan fanfic #captain swan fic #captain swan

[homesweetsewer]

Saturday Morning (Michelangelo x Reader)

I know...I need to finish the last part of Consolation Prize—I swear, I’m working on it! I also have a MASSIVE Transformers fanfic I’m working on on another site that needs my attention desperately. I’ve been so scatter brained lately that it’s hard for me to concentrate on any one thing. It sucks! So, I’ve drummed up some Mikey angst. I’m sorry!

P.S. Not sure why I always make April the bad guy, lol. Guess she’s just an easy target.

Saturday mornings were the best.

They’d always been Michelangelo’s favorite ever since he’d been very young. It was the one time out of the week their dad and Leo let them sleep in. No morning training. No hurry to get up and get ready. No battle over who got to use the bathroom first. There was no rush and nowhere he had to be. Saturday mornings were slow paced and lazy, full of pancakes and morning cartoon marathons. Of course, that wasn’t Michelangelo’s favorite part of the Saturday morning routine...at least, not anymore. He’d found a much more fulfilling way to spend those early morning hours.

A sleepy smile found its way onto the turtle’s face as he burrowed deeper into the warmth of his blankets. Thoughts of you...his baby, his angel...filled his mind. You always stopped by the lair on Saturday mornings, a bright smile on your beautiful face, arms laden with fresh pastries and hot coffee or cocoa from your favorite local cafe. You’d greet his father and brothers, all of whom were much earlier risers than himself, before making your way to his room.

“Mikeeeey,” you’d practically sing his name as you’d plop down onto the bed, nearly collapsing on top of him. Working your way under his mound of covers, your small, slim fingers would seek out his unprotected sides, knowing just where to dig into the sensitive skin to send him into a fit of giggles. “Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty! I brought goodies...”

He’d capture your arms, pulling you further down into his cozy, little nest and hold you close. “Just five more minutes, sweetness!”

Five minutes would turn into ten. Ten minutes would turn into fifteen. Fifteen would turn into twenty as the two of you cuddled and laughed. Your fingers would trace nonsensical patterns on his plastron while his own busied themselves playing with your hair. He’d nuzzle into your neck, breathing in your scent, and steal a kiss or two—still amazed that he was allowed to do so, and dreaming of doing so much more—as the two of you made plans for the rest of the day...and, oh, Mikey had plans. Yes, he wanted to cook breakfast with you this morning, play video games, teach you to skateboard, snuggle on the couch and watch a movie or two, but he was also thinking about next week. Next month. Next year!

Michelangelo may have been the jokester, the free spirit, but he was 100% serious where you were concerned. Honestly, he still couldn’t believe you’d agreed to be his girl. He was a turtle, a mutant. He lived in the sewer and you...You were the most beautiful and amazing creature on the face of the Earth in his eyes and he was certain you could have had any man you wanted, but you’d chosen him. Him!

He hadn’t said the words yet, not out loud, but he loved you so much that it hurt in the most wonderful way. Oh, but he wanted to tell you. He had for a while now...even before you’d made the transition from friends to something more just a short month ago. He wanted to hold you close and smother you with kisses and pour his little turtle heart out to you and tell you how wonderful and perfect he thought you were, but was afraid it was too soon and the last thing he wanted to do was scare you away. He couldn’t imagine loving anyone the way he loved you. He may not have been the most fearless, the strongest, or the smartest of his brothers, but he was definitely the most in love.

As if his thoughts had summoned you, he heard his bedroom door ease open and close just as quietly, followed by the padding of feet drawing closer to where he lay. He didn’t open his eyes or roll over, but his smile grew and his skin tingled in anticipation of getting to hold you again. He heard the soft rustling of fabric and felt the bed dip down as a slight weight settled in behind him and curled against his shell. A very human, very feminine arm circled around his shoulders and he felt a pair of soft lips press against the back of his neck.

A content churr rumbled up from his chest as he relaxed into the affectionate gesture. “I was just thinking about you, babydoll.”

A giggle was his response followed by a seductively asked, “Oh, really?”

Michelangelo’s eyes snapped open and, shrugging off the intimate embrace, he quickly rolled over to face his bedmate. Surprise registered on his face as he stuttered, “A-April?”

“Mmhmm...” a coy smile played on the woman’s lips as she attempted to wrap her arms around the turtle’s neck and press in close for a proper kiss.

Mikey wasn’t sure he’d ever moved so fast in his life as he scrambled backwards. In doing so, however, he became tangled in the covers, pulling them off the bed with him as he fumbled, and ended up sprawled on his back on the cold concrete floor, rocking slightly side to side on his shell as he tried to right himself. “What-What are you doing?”

“Michelangelo,” April cooed as she rose from the bed. “What do you think I’m doing?”

Mikey managed to push himself up into a sitting position to address his friend, his blue eyes widening for a split second before he hastily slapped a large, three-fingered hand over them. This situation made absolutely no sense in his mind and panic was rapidly setting in. Why him? Why now? Had the world gone mad? “You...you’re naked!”

“Yes, I am,” a breathy laugh left April’s throat as she crawled toward the downed ninja and moved to straddle his lap. She tugged at his arm. “Mikey...you can look. Touch if you want...” She grabbed the hand that wasn’t covering his eyes and pressed her bare breast into it.

“No, no, no...” Michelangelo shook his head rapidly back and forth and tried to jerk his hand back but April clung tightly. “Dudette...you-you need to stop and p-put some clothes on! I don’t...I can’t...”

“It’s okay,” she insisted, pressing herself against his plastron. “I want you to...”

“You don’t understand,” Mikey whined, as close to hyperventilating as he’d ever been. “This isn’t...We can’t....”

“I understand perfectly,” April giggled. “It is and we can...”

“No! I-I have a girlfriend!” Michelangelo managed to blurt the words out and was relieved when April stiffened and pulled slightly away. He quickly removed his hand from her body and peeked cautiously between his fingers to find a look of confusion plastered on her face.

She demanded, “You have a what?”

“A...a girlfriend,” he carefully repeated, slowly lowering his hand as April finally grabbed one of the blankets tangled around them and covered her chest with it.

“A girlfriend?” April repeated the words slowly as if trying to make sense of them. She huffed, “Since when?”

Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Mikey couldn’t help the goofy grin that stretched across his face at the thought of you. Your name left the ninja’s lips in a breathy sigh. “We’ve been together since about a month ago.”

“I...” April struggled to find words. “What? But...” she shook her head. “Then...what’s with all the flirting, Mikey? All the pet names?”

“I didn’t mean it, not like that!” Michelangelo shook his head in denial and raised his hands in defense, “That’s just how I talk. I was just...being friendly!”

“Friendly?” April looked at the turtle in disbelief. “I thought...the way you act, I thought you liked me!”

“I do...as a friend,” Michelangelo quickly insisted. “You’re like...family! Yeah! My sister from another mister!”

“Sister?” April laughed, but there was no humor in it. She shook her head once more, feeling her face redden with both embarrassment and understanding. She should have known. Yes, the youngest turtle was flirty whenever she was around, but he lit up like a damn Christmas tree whenever you walked in the room. With you, he wasn’t so much flirty as he was doting.

Now that he’d mentioned it, it was plain as day how deep the turtle’s feelings for you ran. If it wasn’t the dreamy look in his blue eyes every time someone so much as mentioned your name, the way he constantly talked about how wonderful you were to anyone who would listen should have been enough to clue in even the most dense of observers. She sniffled, “Oh, my God...I’m an idiot. I’m—I’m sorry, Mikey. I don’t know what I thought I was doing...”

Mikey was surprised to see tears welling up in her eyes. “Aww...don’t cry, angel cakes.” He was nothing if not a forgiving guy and he hated to see anyone hurt. This was a misunderstanding—a horrible, awkward, mortifying one—but April was his friend and he figured he was as much to blame for the miscommunication as she was when he thought about it. He’d do better in the future, he promised himself, make it perfectly clear that he was a one woman kind of turtle. He cautiously adjusted the blanket that was tangled around her, carefully covering anything he shouldn’t see, and wrapped the embarrassed woman in a hug as he tried to lighten the mood and dispel the horrible awkwardness between them. “You’re not an idiot. I should be sorry. It’s hard to resist the charms of Magic Mike.”

April did laugh, then. “It really is.” She pulled away from the turtle, sniffled, and wiped her eyes. “I really am sorry. I didn’t know. I-I’m happy for you, truly. You two make a great couple.”

“Thanks, Ape,” the turtle answered sincerely. “I’m a lucky ninja.”

“Well,” the woman sighed, “she’s a lucky girl.” A pause, and then, “think we can forget this ever happened?”

Michelangelo grinned, “Forget what?”

Relief spread over April’s face. “Thanks, Mikey. We’re still ok?”

Mikey nodded in understanding. “Always.”

Some of the tension left her frame. “Guess I should probably get dressed and get out of here, huh? Don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”

“Yeah,” it was Michelangelo’s turn to feel relief. His voice was soft and reassuring as he agreed “I think that would probably be for the best.”

At that very moment, two things happened simultaneously...almost as if in slow motion. April leaned in for one last apologetic hug while at the same time Michelangelo’s bedroom door swung open. It was a perfect storm.

“Mikeeeey!” You bounded into the youngest turtle’s room as always, a bright smile on your face. “You better not still be...sleeping?” You froze completely at the sight that greeted you. It took a moment for your brain to catch up to what your eyes were telling you. A plethora of emotions bombarded you as you tried to process the scene. You blinked, trying to dispel the image, but it remained unchanged. Yes, Michelangelo was still sitting on the floor in a mess of blankets with his arms wrapped around a very naked April O’Neil.

You weren’t smiling anymore.

“Oh, my God!” April let out a gasp of surprise, her face going pale as she quickly clambered off of Mikey’s lap and bundled herself up in his sheets.

A look of sheer panic settled itself on Michelangelo’s face as he quickly thrashed his way out of the tangled covers and jumped to his feet. “Sweetness! This...this isn’t what it looks like! I swear!”

Your mouth opened and closed as you struggled to find your voice, but a large, bitter lump had already formed in your throat making speech impossible. Your eyes burned as they filled with tears that slowly spilled over your cheeks. Never in a million years would you have ever expected something like this, not from Mikey. He wasn’t that kind of guy. At least, you hadn’t thought he was. Had you been wrong? Your gaze flitted between the pair, eventually setting on April who looked slightly nauseous and shaky as she quickly pulled her clothes on. She wouldn’t even look at you. It was like a bad dream that you couldn’t wake up from.

“Babe.”

Your eyes snapped back to your boyfriend. Well, the guy/turtle you’d thought was your boyfriend. The man you loved, and who you’d been pretty sure had loved you, too. You hadn’t spoken the words to each other, but there’d been so many times you’d wanted to tell him. He wasn’t human. He wasn’t the classically good looking jock that so many other girls your age seemed to swoon over, but you’d thought him handsome in a peculiar way the very first time you’d met. It had been his personality that had sold you on him, however, and the two of you had become close friends. It wasn’t until a particularly competitive game of Mario Kart had ended in a tentative kiss that you realized he may have felt the same way about you. He’d made it so easy to love him.

Too easy, perhaps, now that you were faced with the current situation.

“Please, baby, just l-let me explain...” Mikey sounded like he may burst into tears as he took a couple slow steps towards you, as if afraid any sudden movement would send you fleeing. His arms extended as he reached for you. “I-I know this looks b-bad...”

You shook your head, twisting away as he tried to pull you close. Bewilderment blossomed into anger as you snapped, “don’t touch me!”

The turtle flinched as though you’d slapped him. “It’s not what it looks like,” he repeated once more in desperation and looked toward April for help, his eyes pleading for her to back him up, to confirm that this was just a horrible mix-up and miscommunication.

April, now fully clothed, pressed herself against the wall and stared wide eyed at the pair of you. Her eyes brimming with tears...as if she had a reason to cry. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t know.”

With no further preamble, the pretty reporter bolted for the door, scooting by you quickly, not even looking at you as she made her escape. Your fists clinched at your sides as you struggled to resist the impulse to grab her by the hair, drag her back into the room, and beat her skinny ass. You restrained yourself...barely.

The sound of a ragged breath drew your attention back to the room’s other occupant. Michelangelo looked utterly betrayed as he stared at the space April had vacated. His bottom lip quivered and tears pooled in his eyes as he turned his attention back to you. Under normal circumstances, the look of sheer anguish and despair twisting his boyish features would have pulled at your heartstrings now, however, it only made you sick to your stomach.

“Why?” You managed to croak, “why, Mikey?”

“No, no, no,” he denied, the tears finally too much for his eyes to contain and making wet streaks down his green skin. “It’s not like that!”

“She was naked,” you hissed. “You were holding a naked woman!”

“I know,” Mikey sniffled.

“Not just any woman, April fucking O’Neil! What am I supposed to think,” you demanded.

“She came to me,” the ninja babbled, trying hard to get it all out, to make you understand. “I was in bed thinking about you and the next thing I know April’s in here and she’s naked and we’re on the floor and she’s sitting on my lap telling me to touch her.” The turtle shook his head, “but I didn’t want to. I told her to get dressed and leave! I told her I had a girlfriend! I told her about you! She apologized but looked so sad and embarrassed and then she started to cry and I felt so bad and—and, yeah, I hugged her, but that was it! She gonna leave right before you walked in, but then you were here and, and...” he trailed off into a stream of unintelligible gibberish punctuated by sobs.

You scoffed, finding his explanation utterly unbelievable.

“Nothing happened,” he insisted between ragged breaths. “I promise! I would never, never do that to you! I-I don’t even think of April like that! You have to believe me! You’re—you’re my one and only!”

You sniffed, wiping your nose on your sleeve. “You expect me to believe that she just came in here, got naked, and tried to molest you?”

“Yes!” The turtle nodded, hoping you’d understood and that the two of you could put the whole, horrible incident behind yourselves and salvage whatever was left of the morning. “I swear, sweetness, it’s the truth. I wouldn’t lie to you!”

“Do you think I’m stupid, Mikey?”

Michelangelo’s eyes went wide and he shook his head vehemently back and forth. “N-no!”

“I should have known better.” Tears were flowing freely now, down both your faces. You shook your head, a grimace pulling down the corners of your mouth. “I should have seen this coming.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he insisted, his blue eyes pleading for your belief. “Im not a cheater! I’m not that kind of turtle!”

“That’s what I used to think,” you murmured brokenly. “I trusted you, Michelangelo. I loved you!”

The ninja’s breath caught in his throat and a spark of amazement lit inside his eyes, warring with the panic and hysteria already there. “You...you l-love me?” He breathed the words as if he couldn’t quite believe them.

“I thought,” you mused sadly, “I thought maybe you loved me, too.” A look of pain settled itself on your face. “I guess it doesn’t matter now, does it?”

“N-no!” The turtle reached for you again, stopping when you scooted away once more. “It-it matters! I-I love you, too! More than anything! More than pizza! I’ve wanted to tell you for the longest! Please!”

“Save it, Mikey,” You shuffled backwards toward the door. Your fingers gripped the knob, turning your knuckles white as you wrenched it open. “I really thought we had something special. I hope she was worth it.”

“Wait!” Mikey wailed out your name as you turned on your heel to leave. He could feel his heart shattering in his chest as he watched you flee the lair. All his hopes, all his dreams went with you. He fell to his knees, his large hands covering his face as he wept into them. “Come back,” he sobbed. “I love you!”

Saturday mornings were the worst.

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt mikey #tmnt april #tmnt april o'neil #michelangelo x reader #mikey x reader #angst #misunderstanding #cheating? #heartbreak

[sloanerisette]

Jyoumi Challenge Day #17: Parting

I guess writing so many light and easy oneshots meant there had to be a painful one was around the corner! I imagine this stretch would be one of the hardest for them. I hope y’all enjoy it!

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“Are you sure you have to leave tomorrow?”

The sudden words from Mimi brought Joe from his reverie, causing him to look at his girlfriend, who had been nestled into him for the past hour as the two lay in his bed in the Tachikawa’s guest room.

The young man continued to stay silent for a few moment, a frown slowly forming on his face, before a sigh fell from his lips.

“…Yeah.”

His voice was quiet, almost defeated, and Joe truly wished he didn’t have to say the words he just did.

“You can’t stay for a few more days even? Even just one more?” Mimi asked, voice filled with hope, though she knew just as well as Joe that it wouldn’t be possible.

“Trust me, if I could stay here longer, I would, Meems,” he sighed, letting his head rest on the top of hers. “But university starts soon, and I can’t miss the first week.”

“They can’t be that mad, right? If you emailed your professors, they’d understand, right?”

“I don’t think so.”

Silence washed over them again, Joe not knowing what to say to try and offer Mimi any comfort, and Mimi having too many things she wanted to say knowing full well it would just make them both sad.

Being able to come all the way out to New York after graduating was something that mostly lined up through luck, and the two of them relished each and everyday they had together. Now that his graduation trip was coming to an end, though, and they’d be so far apart for a whole year that it was hard to process. Joe would be busy with school and Mimi would be working as hard as she could to get into the University of Tokyo.

“I’m really proud of you, though, you know that, right?” she asked, and he nodded.

“Of course I know,” he smiled softly. Mimi turned into him, letting a hand rest on his chest, looking up at him as she lay her head against him. Joe leaned down to place a soft kiss on the top of her head, before relaxing back against the bed’s headboard.

“And, hey, just think, at least I won’t be going to cram school as much anymore?” he asked, offering an awkward laugh, knowing of course that he would be spending most of his free time studying, in the library, or going to various tutoring sessions.

“But you’re going to be in school for the next, like, ten years,” she sighed.

“…Yeah…” he trailed off. Not to mention all of the work he’d have to do once he actually became a doctor. “But the actual length of time it takes to become a doctor isn’t nearly as long as it is in other places. That’s a good thing, right?” he asked, hoping to cheer her up even a bit. It wasn’t ideal spending the last day they had together moping in bed, but the sudden mood crashes they were experiencing left them wanting to do nothing more than exactly that.

“That’s good… And, I mean, this is just practice for once we have our amazing careers. You being a doctor saving lives daily and me with my cooking show,” she said, smiling softly at the very thought of the future between them that was just around the corner.

“And we’ve already had to deal with distance for years now…”

That wasn’t easy, either, but they had done their best. They kept going, stronger and stronger with each day that passed while they were separated by half the globe, and it was just one more year…

One more year that would drag on longer than all of the others combined.

“And there’s Digital Gates, too…” she added.

Plenty of options, and honestly, they were luckier than most. Phone calls, video chats, emails, texts, the ability to meet up in a world inside the computer or travel from one point in the world to the other with no issue.

Maybe they shouldn’t have complained too much.

But at the same time, neither of them thought they were exactly in the wrong for it.

“Once you’re back in Japan, we can look at getting a place together?” he suggested, which caused Mimi’s eyes to light up, just about sparkling with happiness at the very idea.

“Oh, that would be amazing. A little place just for us. Think how cute we could make it! Our own little space far away from everything else,” she said.

These plans were amazing, but they also reminded Joe that soon he’d be on a plane back home, spending a whole day thinking about Mimi.

“Its going to be so weird, waking up and knowing you aren’t across the hall. That I can’t just drag you out of bed or we can’t cuddle up under a blanket and watch a movie…” she sighed.

“Just think about all the chances you had to drag me around New York, though. Central Park, all those museums and little pizza places… we have enough pictures to make all our friends sick of how coupley we are,” Joe laughed, smiling at the memories of each and every little thing the two of them did this past week. “Trust me, they’re going to be sick of all the pictures I put in the group chat before you even get back home,” she teased, leaving Joe blushing softly.

“I’ll be able to enjoy it when I land, though.”

“That’s the best part,” she said, wrinkling her nose playfully as she looked up at him.

“What do you want to do for the rest of the night?” he asked finally, leaving Mimi recognizing that the two of them had been resting in bed for the past few hours.

“Besides cuddle in bed with you?” she asked, once again leaving Joe feeling awkward, goofy, and light.

“Y-Yeah,” he squeaked out, leaving his girlfriend grinning. He scratched the side of his head, taking a moment to compose himself before he sucked in a breath, “We could go out for dinner, or take a walk around the neighborhood… Honestly, we can do anything,” he shrugged, “I just want to do it with you.”

“That’s funny, because that’s my answer, too,” she smiled, wrapping an arm around his midsection.

“At this rate we’ll be stuck here all night.”

“You say that like its a bad thing,” she teased, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

“W-Well obviously it isn’t…” he trailed off, before looking at her face, “Oh, you’re joking.”

She was really going to miss this. They both were.

“How about… night in? We get some food, relax, and just sit around? I don’t feel like… doing anything,” she said, pausing for a moment, “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever said that.”

Joe chuckled weakly, “No, it’s ok. To be honest, I’d rather just sit around with you.”

With plans in mind, they were quick to go out for the barest minimum amount of time to grab a pizza, before once again retreating back to the Tachikawa’s guest room to eat dinner. Both of her parents had opted to leave the two young adults to themselves as they ate pizza and cuddled up next to each other, remaining silent throughout the night, each knowing they would risk tearing up were they to talk about how Joe would be leaving soon.

That next morning, Mimi, Joe, and Mimi’s parents had made it to the airport for Joe’s early flight, something that Mimi had cursed about under her breath.

“It was good to see you, son,” Mimi’s father said kindly, offering a hand to shake, which Joe quickly took, bowing his head quickly.

“Good to see you, too, sir. Thank you again for letting me stay at your home for the week,” he said.

“We’re going to miss you. Hopefully you’ll have the chance to visit again soon,” her mother cooed sweetly, Joe nodding, smiling now.

“I hope so, too, ma’am. This was probably the best week of my life,” he said, looking to his girlfriend, who was now sniffling.

“We’ll let you two have a little bit of time alone. Don’t want your parents cramping on your style, sweetie,” her father laughed, “We’ll be just outside!”

The two watched her parents walk away, before Mimi immediately turned on her heel to look back at Joe, looking up at him with sad eyes.

“I love you,” she said simply. Seeing how close she was to crying left Joe tearing up, too.

“I love you, too. I was honest when I told your parents that this was the best week of my life,” he said.

“Mine too.”

Silence again, just the din of the busy airport and the people moving past them to sound out between the two of them, but still just a distant sound to the two of them, focused only on each other.

“A year… a year won’t be that long…” Joe said, trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince her.

“The worst part of New York really is gonna be the fact that you aren’t here,” she sighed, and Joe wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Mimi buried her face into his chest, unable to stop herself from crying. He tried to do his best to soothe her, stroking her hair and, though soon his body was shaking with sobs. And once he was sobbing, Mimi was too, gripping onto each other as if they’d be lost forever if they let go.

Eventually, though, Joe pulled away, leaving Mimi already missing his touch, even though he was still holding onto her shoulders.

“You have to leave now, don’t you?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah…” he sighed.

In a swift movement she pulled her phone from her pocket, turning into him. Joe instinctively wrapped an arm around her as she took a quick picture of the two of them, wasting no time in sending it to him.

“Just so you have more cute pictures of us to look at on the plane,” she smiled weakly.

“Thanks… it’ll be harder to miss you like that,” he said, offering a smile, as he reached for her hand, giving it a soft squeeze.

“I’ll talk to you as soon as the plane lands,” he promised.

“You better,” she teased, before moving in to give him one last quick kiss. “Be safe.”

“I will,” he said, giving her a quick kiss back. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

Neither wanted to say they’d miss each other, knowing that it would just make a difficult goodbye that much tougher, and as Joe walked to security, both thought about how they would talk to the other soon. Anything to ease the pain that came from leaving.

#jyoumi challenge #digimon #digimon adventure #jyoumi #joe kido #jyou kido #mimi tachikawa #kido jyou #tachikawa mimi

[ask-de-writer]

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 29 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 29 of 83

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

copyright 2020

written 2007

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users   of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may   reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information   remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in   my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical   compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  PART 1 is here

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“Kurin and I were playmates when we were young,” Silor began earnestly. “We didn’t know what Cat was back then.  She was just someone who was always there.  Cat knew lots of good stories about the First Ships.  That’s where it started.  Kurin started asking for more stories and Cat started teaching her apart from the rest of us.

“One night, Kurin’s father died.  He was only twenty nine or thirty. Kurin found him.  Within a short time, her mother went raving mad, then ceased to move or do anything.  She’s still like that. Afterwards, Kurin and Cat, the Dragon, became inseparable.  I think that her parents were a test of Kurin by the Dragon but I’ll never know for sure.

“A little after that, Kurin beat me out of the boat-shop apprenticeship under Master Juris.  I was two Gatherings older and considered likely for the job.  Then, without any explanation, no other Craft on the Longin would have me either.  Her influence was spreading.

“To be fair, I never heard of Cat doing anything evil.  She wasn’t human, so she may not have realized what kind of person she was teaching.

“I became a deck-hand.  I was a good one.  In only one and a half Gatherings I was made lead deck-hand, the youngest ever on the Longin.  Ask anyone, I was well-thought-of, maybe officer material in a few more Gatherings.

“I admit that I fell asleep on watch.  It was only a nap, and I was on duty in the hold.  How much trouble was that?  I’ll tell you.  They stripped me of my lead deck-hand job!  Only three of her lousy crabs died, and they broke me for it!

“Later, I was in a class,” Silor paused, torn between ingrained loyalty and his tale.  “I can’t tell you what the class was about.  That’s Ship’s Business.  The important thing is this.  She was in the class, too.  Captain Mord told me that I was doing well and then threw me out of the class.”

Huh, she thought, hearing this out, If he believes what he’s saying there’s enough emptiness in his head to make a good float out of it.  I’ve heard some of these tales from other sources.  It’s obvious that he’s left out more than he’s told.  “Ye make a start on yer case but i’ t’is come up in t’e Arrakan fleet, ye’d lose.  Oi need more proof.  Especially about t’e fleet bein’ under ‘er control.  Ye’ve nae even addressed t’at.”

“Tanlin, love, I can attest to at least some of what he says.  He first brought the matter to my attention five Gatherings ago, as a lad of nine.  Since then I have watched the surreptitious machinations of Kurin.  She does far more than make toys!”

“Oi fail t’ see ‘t, Barad, m’ luve.  T’e fleet dinnae revolve about ‘er.  She commands nane, nae is she any but kind.”

Silor started to rise up in protest but Barad waved him down.  “That is true.  She is far too clever to put herself in so exposed a position. Why should she take risks when others will do so for her without even knowing that they serve her?  She has real power — — and no need for the trappings of power.”

He appeared to be hit by inspiration.  “Stand up, Silor!”

Mystified, Silor did so.

“There you are, Tanlin, the proof stands before you.”

“Oi’m now confused.  Enlighten m’.”

“Why was he exiled?”

“‘E slept on wotch, w’ich ‘e admits, an’ gave away Ship’s Business.”

“What business did he give away?  I’ll tell you.  He told amusing stories about their crabbing venture, which I grant is a main business for them.  The deadly revelation?  That they had special nets for crabs and knew where to find them.  Both are obvious to anyone who thinks for ten seconds.”

“Oi’m beginnin’ t’ see.  T’is wa’ a mere pretext.”

“Exactly. Once he was ejected from the Longin, his credentials should have gotten him an immediate berth on almost any ship in the fleet.  It didn’t happen.

“I was at the Captains’ Council.  Everyone agreed, even the Longin, that he had done nothing to die for but no ship would save him.  And they agreed that he was worth saving.  Thus, exile.  She rid herself of a nuisance, and no blood shed, nor clue that it was even her doing — — unless one looks at the whole unlikely chain of events.”

“Wy’d ye nae just take ‘im up t’en, like so many ot’ers ye’ve ‘elped?”

“Yes,” said Silor.  “Why did you let me be sent away?”

“Safety,” said Barad solemnly.  “Yours and mine.  You opposed her openly and she determined to have you removed.  That is why the others would not help you.  

“What would have happened to your only refuge if I had opposed her will by taking you openly?  I play the part of buffoon, many laugh at this ship and myself.  Let them.  It keeps her from taking us seriously. That is the only safety that there is.”

“Now Oi see ‘t.  Wye wa’ ‘t so ‘ard t’ see?”  You do play well to his madness, Barad.  I would not have tried to turn this one to a tool.  I must learn what you plan to do.  This one is dangerous.

Solemnly Barad said, “This is why only she, of all who claim to be Dragon-witches, is dangerous.  She never owns-up to her power.  She never claims it.  She just uses it, hidden from all.”

There was a discrete rap at the door.  They all quieted at once.  Barad went and opened it a narrow slit.  A whispered conversation followed.

“That was the watch officer.  We need to go up on deck.”

As they were going up the companion-ladder to the deck, Barad asked casually, “Have you ever seen your boat before?”

“Yes,” said Silor tightly.  “In the Longin’s boat-shop.”

“Master Juris must have been pleased with it.”

“He was but he didn’t build it …”  A look of fear washed across Silor’s face as the realization hit.  “Kurin did.  It was her journeyman’s submission piece.”  He ran to the rail.  “Where is it?  Where’s the boat?”

“I’m Officer of the Watch, Theld Elon, Sir.  Boat’s at the end of its line.”  The line went down into the water, drawn tight and pulled back at an angle by the Grandalor’s speed.  “Went down sudden a few minutes ago.”

Tanlin looked calmly over the side.  “‘T appears t’at we almost missed pickin’ ye up.  Oi wonder ‘ow t’is ‘appened?” How did you do this, you old dragon?  What a touch!  I would never have thought of this!

“Mister Theld, heave to,” ordered Captain Barad with quiet authority.  “Get a diver on deck now!  We need to secure that boat for lifting.  With the water in her she’ll be heavy when she breaches the surface.”

Theld set to issuing orders, and the tocsin began its tattoo of command, bringing the watch to deck.  A diver, roused from her bunk, came up still yawning and stretching.  A pair of ungainly looking flat things were hung over her shoulder.

“What’s the problem, Captain?”

“We need to retrieve the boat that’s on the end of this line.”

Without any question as to why or if it were urgent, the diver got straight to business.

“What kind of boat is it and how big?”

“Day-sailer. About twenty five feet long, loaded for a month’s voyage.” Captain Barad looked for confirmation to Silor, who nodded.

“How long is this line?”  She had stripped, leaving only a pair of tight fitting shorts.  Sitting on the deck, she began strapping the flat things onto her feet.  She tied her hair into a tight bun.

“About forty feet.”

“OK, I’ll need two fifty foot, number three cables.  Attach the first one to the cargo block of the heavy crane.  Get the portable crane over here and secure it to the mizzen mast.  Put the other cable onto its cargo block.”

There was a lull for Captain Barad, Tanlin and Silor, as the watch crew prepared things to the diver’s satisfaction.

“What are those things on her feet?” Silor asked.

“Arrakan diver’s flips,” Tanlin answered.  “Our divers ‘ave used t’em for Gat’erings past remembering.”

“I thought that you lost your memory,” said Silor curiously.  “Did it come back?”  At her look of distress and Barad’s of rage, he feared that he had made a serious mistake.

“Nae, Luve.  Donnae ‘old ‘t against ‘im.”  She was biting back tears.  The more I do this the easier it is to forget that it’s an act.  “Ye cannae protect m’ from t’e world forever, an’ Oi must learn t’ cope wit’ ‘t.” She turned to Silor.  “Tis like t’is.  Oi lost only ane t’ing from m’ memory.  People. M’sel’ an’ eveyane t’at Oi’ve ever known, until Oi awoke t’ t’e Orca song.

“Oi can draw ye t’e plan an’ lines o’ ever’ ship Oi‘ve lived on.  Oi know all t’at Oi used t’ know.  Oi ‘ave t’e ’ule Arrakan fleet, ‘ts laws, customs, navigation, ever’t’in’s ‘ere,” she tapped her temple.  “But t’ere’s nae ane person t’ere!  Nae even m’sel’!  Tis worse t’an ghosts.  Tis utterly empty an’ never stops ‘urting, unless Oi can focus on somet’in’ new.

“Barad’s precious t’ m’ because ‘e keeps m’ safe at night.  ‘E ‘olds m’ an’ keeps t’e emptiness inside from swallowin’ m’.” Strange, but that’s nearly true.  Even if what we did was wrong, what’s done is done.  We were married before the whole Naral fleet by Arrakan law and, as it was accepted, it’s now legal by the Third Great Law.  I’m being treated like a partner and friend as a wife should be.

“I’m sorry,” said Silor sincerely.  “I have some idea of what you must feel.  I’ve lost my ship, too.  Also, my fleet, all that made home for me.  They’re gone but I remember everything and everyone.  It hurts.”

“Oi donnae t’ink Oi’d like t’ trade places wit’ ye, Silor.”  My act is sailing closer and closer to reality.  Your madness is driving you ever further onto dry land.

TO BE CONTINUED

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#SEA DRAGON’S GIFT #Part 29 of 83 #World of Sea #Written by De Writer

[daydreamingabouthockey]

Rough Day- Tyson Barrie

Plot: Tyson Barrie is having a rough time after being traded to Toronto. Y/n sees him on the TTC and tries to comfort him.

Note: I don’t know the guy or how he feels about the trade.But I guess anyone would be sad about being traded right? I loved him in Colorado so when he got traded from my favourite American team to my favourite Canadian team I was sad but happy. This was totally inspired by the fact I met him on the TTC a few months ago (he wasn’t crying don’t worry) but he was just staring off into space. he was lovely anyway. So thankful I got the subway that night instead of an Uber. Hockey gods were looking down on me!

Word count: 1,747

You stared down the platform, there was only one other person around, he was a a youngish guy. He was just standing there staring into space. You made eye contact but he noticed pretty quickly and turned away. that was awkward, you thought, but then again this was Toronto. You stare back up at the board, another five minutes to go. “Fuck should I should have gotten an Uber,” you mutter under your breathe shuffling your feet to keep warm. At least all of those leaf fans had gone now so the train would be empty. Not that you followed hockey, the fans were just a pain on match days. Finally you hear the hum and clink of the tram. “Finally” you huff.

You watched the tram doors open. It was empty now as a dozen people scurried off. It was nearly ten in the evening.The doors were about to shut when the young guy from earlier dashed through the door. He looked like he was in his mid twenties, with curly dark brown hair.His expensive looking suit and black coat he looked like a business man in the city.He let out a sniff and a laugh before sitting down opposite you. That’s when you realize he’s not laughing, he’s crying or more accurately sobbing. You stand there for a moment wondering what to do. You look around you two are the only people on the TTC. You stand there conflicted, he might be a weirdo crying but then again he sounded super upset. In this situation you’d want someone to check on you. Your mind was racing, if you heard something had happened to his guy tomorrow you would feel terrible you never said anything.

You get up and take the seat next to him. He doesn’t notice at first “Are you ok?” You ask, tapping him on his shoulder. “I mean obviously you're not but,” you say realising asking if he was ok was pretty dumb.

“No, not really I’m sorry I’ve just had a really bad day,” he says looking up at you with his dark brown eyes. His face is red and puffy from crying. “You wanna talk about it? I won’t judge,” you say giving him a simatheic smile

“I can’t,” he says looking down fiddling with his jacket sleeve.

“It’s okay, I’m sorry you're having a bad day…” you pause when you realize you don’t even know the man’s name. “Tyson,” he said sniffing again

“Tyson,” you said with a nod “I’m y/n”

“We all have bad days and that’s ok and there is no shame in crying, I don’t know what you're going through but, bad days and months they pass, I promise, I know it’s cliche, last month my boyfriend of five years out of the blue dumped me, it was hard we’d been engaged over a year, then my job made me redundant, I cried a lot but everyday the pain got less and less day and eventually I got back on my feet” you say, rooting through your bag for a pack of tissues. You finally find them and pass one over. “Really?,” he asked

“Yeah,” you says suddenly wondering why you’d told this stranger your life story. “That’s tough I’m sorry” ,he said dabbing his face.“its’s okay I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it about me, I’ll leave you alone now, I just wanted to make sure you were ok,” you say awkwardly getting up “ no please don’t leave me, I might be getting fired,” Tyson blurts out. “And I really really don’t want to be, that’s why I was upset”

“Oh,” you said, plopping back down on the seat. “Well no- one wants to get fired,” you say slowly.“I’ve only just moved to Toronto in the last few months and that was really hard, leaving my friends in Denver, but I had no choice,”

“I can understand that, I hated leaving my friends and family in LA, what makes you think you're being fired? I mean you don’t know?” You ask gently “I messed up, big style and now my manager wants to get rid of me, I know they do, I’ve heard the whispers and the worst part is I could end up anywhere in another city or town I hate, I just want to go back to Denver, I miss it so much,”

“They can’t fire you for one mistake and come on now Toronto isn’t that bad,” you laugh “No I guess not,” he sighed “it's just like Toronto is the central city for what I do so everyone is looking at me, in Denver it was just easier,”

“Ah okay, are you from Denver then?”

“No Victoria BC, my work means can I move around a lot,I’ve lived in Denver for eight years though” he said you could see his face instantly change and light up when he mentioned Denver“Well now I get why you wouldn’t want to leave Denver, I’ve heard it’s beautiful around there,”

“Oh it is,” he says sadly and you realise you’ve said the wrong thing. “Not that Toronto isn’t great too,it’s just different,” he says.

“I wouldn’t normally do this but, do you want to go out for a drink?” You ask offering your hand to get up just as the subway came to a stop ‘Sure why not,’ he said with a shrug grabbing your hand.

In the end the you ended up at your place. The two of you sat with a glass of red wine. He stretched out on your sofa, his head in your lap. You ran your fingers through the curly locks of hair. He told you all about his friends back in Denver Nate who was a big dumb boy who insisted people called him Nate dog with two g’s. EJ, Josty who she realises is not his real name but a nickname is a loveable pest and then there is the clear leader of the pack, Gabe who in Tyson’s words looked like a Swede god.But had a very big head literally Which Nate and Tyson made fun of all the time. You in turn told him about your weird friends and family and how you ended up coming from sunny La to cold snowy Toronto. It was strange you felt like you had been friends for years. You felt such a sense of ease and peace with this guy, like conversation was never forced yet you knew you had no romantic feelings for this guy and you knew he felt the same. Tyson ended up crashing on your sofa and in the morning you cooked breakfast together before you both had to leave for work. But before you did he said something rather odd. “Can you not tell anyone about this my weird breakdown? Can it be between us?” He said adjusting his tie “Yeah sure,”

The pair of you swapped numbers, you kept in contact texting now and then. Tyson had said his work was a little better his co-workers were supportive of him. Which made you happy although you knew he still wasn’t a hundred percent happy. He had booked a trip to Colorado to see his friends in the summer. You had tried to meet up a couple times but his work kept him busy and you had lots of things going on too. You knew he worked unsocial hours but what he exactly did was still a mystery to you. It wasn’t until two months later, you got that answer, when you saw Tyson’s face again. Except this time it was on tv. You were sat in a bar with your gal pals nursing a glass of red wine. “Toronto Maple leaf Tyson Barrie, has been traded back to the Colorado Avalanche in return for Nazem Kardri, the Victoria born player Barrie spent the year playing for the leafs in a statement he said “I’ve enjoyed playing for the leafs this last year, but I’m excited also to go back to Denver and play again for the avs with my old buddies,” the screen showed Tyson being interview his face beaming with happiness, the same guy but so different from the one you met that night on the train. “Can you turn this up please?” You ask the bartender. He nods. “Y/n I didn’t realize you were this into sports,” your best friend Jan says looking at you surprised “I’m not not really but I’m just interested in this story,” you say signalling to Tyson Barrie who they were showing shots of on the ice, “oh Barrie,” Jan said rolling her eyes. “what?” You ask curious, you’d never really followed hockey before.“He was terrible for the leafs I’m glad we are giving him back,”she says pointing to Tyson. “Poor dude give the guy a break,” you say sympathetically, not taking your eyes off the screen. “Why are you defending him, you don’t even watch hockey,” Jan asks You shrug “I dunno I guess it can’t be easy, being a professional athlete, having all eyes on you,”

“Because you know a lot about that, poor little millionaire,” Jan said taking another sip of her wine and rolling her eyes. You know that you don’t really know what it is like but you got a glimpse into that life when you met Tyson on the train that night. You had no idea he was a millionaire. Wow. Even still millionaires aren’t exempt from mental health problems. Especially when all eyes are on you. Now you understood why he disliked Toronto for his job so much. Toronto media were known in any sense for being ruthless. You excuse yourself to the washroom and once safely in the stall you get out your phone and send a text.

To: Tyson

I’m happy for you. I told you it would all work out eventually. X

To: Y/n

Thanks y/n,

To: Tyson

I’m just a phone call away if you need to talk x

You slip your phone back into your bag. “Who are you texting?” Your best friend asked raising an eyebrow. You give a smile, you weren’t going to tell them about your night with Tyson, you'd promised that night would just be between the two of you. “Just a friend,” you say. Your phone pinged again.

To: y/n

I’ll let you know and next time I’m in town maybe we can grab a drink?

To: Tyson

I’d like that Tys, good luck in Colorado xx

#toronto maple leaf imagine #toronto maple leafs writing #nhl imagine #nhl drabble #nhl fanfiction #tyson barrie fanfic #tyson barrie writing #colorado avalanche imagine #tyson barrie #tyson barrie imagine #maple leafs #hockey fanfic #hockey writing #my writing #toronto maple leafs imagine #toronto maple leafs imagines

[ikenbar]

Mr. Love: Ike’s Choice Ch2 Pt10

Warnings: Guns (that literally are useless), Bombs (that are less useless), Mentions of stalkers, New discoverings, Plot twists, Gavin fluff, Ike fluff, Fluff fluff fluffitty fluff and a pinch of fluff... also a dash of angst but that’s not till the end ;D Oh, and don’t forget the big hEAPING serving of cliffhangers :DD

(Chapter two’s prologue, parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine here :))

((Please read the author’s note (and the beginning of the story) on chapter one part one if you’re new here :D))

Chapter two:

Part ten:

The warehouse was extremely run down. The walls were crawling with vines and cracking in places and the windows were barred and broken. The entire building creaked in against the steady wind as the light of the day steadily fell and was replaced by the night. I leaned against the side of Bart’s car, staring at the building, taking in the breeze, and letting Gavin finish his phone call in the car. As I stood there, I thought over the case.

 Hickman got a letter at his door to go to “Hills, Warehouse, Wall.” After getting the address wrong and going to The Wall by mistake, Hickman spotted a warehouse not too far from the pub. He met the person who sent the letter there, and was promised bail money if he were to out me as an Evolver. But who sent that letter? What did the letter mean by “Wall?” And why, of all Evolvers, did the hitman want to out me?

The car door opened and Gavin stepped out of it with his phone still in his hand. He was looking down at it seriously. “I told the chief about the situation.” Gavin said as he approached me, “The warehouse is abandoned so we don’t need a warrant, but he advised that we wait for backup.”

“Noted.” I nodded and moved from the car. 

“Why am I not surprised that you’re just going to risk it?” Gavin sighed and moved to follow me.

“You don’t have to come, Mr. Goodie Goodie.” I teased, turning to face him, “You can wait for backup.”

“We don’t have any weapons. How do you expect us to fare there?”

I stood a moment in thought. He was right, with Gavin in the condition he was in and no real idea of what we might be facing, charging in without backup wouldn’t be reasonable. Let alone without a weapon. It’s a good thing I had thought about that before. I walked to the back of the car and opened a trunk. I pulled a piece of loose paneling from the floor to reveal a secret compartment. Inside sat a gun.

“You have a gun inside of your dad’s car?” Gavin scoffed as I pulled the gun out from it’s hiding place.

“Did you forget that I used to be a bounty hunter, Birdcop?” I said as I checked the gun to see if it was still loaded, “I have a gun almost everywhere! I thought a cop would be just as careful. Especially when under cover.” I gave Gavin a judgmental glare.

“And where did you think I’d hide it? In my pocket?” Gavin gestured to his tank top and jeans. As he did so he pulled at an injury. He swung his hand to grip his side and grunted. I reached out a hand to steady him but he caught it swiftly. “I’m fine. I’m fine.” He reassured, straightening his posture, “Just, got a little carried away.” I arched an eyebrow, worry obviously written on my face. Gavin knitted his eyebrows and opened his mouth but before he could say anything. I shoved the gun into his hands and walked around him.

“Hey, what about you?” Gavin asked, turning to catch up with me.

“I don’t need it.” I turned to him as he approached my side, “Not when I have these guns.” I flexed. Gavin gave me a look. “Don’t give me that!” I shoved Gavin playfully, “I’m not the one injured here!”

“Whatever.” Gavin smirked, “Let’s just see how your ‘guns’ can get the doors open.”

“What do you-” I stopped at the front for the building. The doors were padlocked and boarded up. I huffed in annoyance, “How long did you know?”

“The chief told me.” Gavin smirked. His voice sounded as if he was holding back a laugh. Though his smile made my cheeks burn, my face was as steely as ever. He kept his grin and gestured to the door. “Well? How is the great Cicatrix going to take care of this-”

I kicked the door down.

The boards became splinters and the chain snapped in multiple places as the kick I threw tore the doors off their hinges. The doors clanked loudly as they hit the ground and the chains and wood soon followed it. The sound radiated through the empty building. I clicked my tongue and looked at Gavin.

“...situation.” Gavin finished, astounded at my action.

“That looks pretty taken care of to me.” I chimed. Gavin snapped out of his trance and glared at me.

“Could you be any more careless?!” He whisper shouted, “What if the perpetrator heard you?!”

“What is he going to do? Jump out the window?” I teased, stepping over some debris, “Come on, we should start looking.”

“Idiot, the doors were locked tight. They probably had a different way in.” Gavin hit the back of my head as he followed me into the warehouse, “The loud noise of the door hitting the floor probably sent them running.”

“Hey, you challenged me!” I protested rubbing the back of my head slightly, “Besides, if they really left in a hurry then they’d leave more evidence behind for us to catch them again. Also, hey, I give you ‘Bird Cop’ and you give me ‘Idiot?!’ Seriously, how long did it take you to think about that?! Two seconds?!”

“Keep it down.” Gavin lifted the gun and prepared it in front of him as we walked, “Did you forget why we came here? We came to stop a potential Evol threat. Some quiet and focus would go a long way.” He was right. I was acting pretty childish since he and I became partners again. It was probably because I had energy to burn after that fight. I must be releasing energy through quips and comebacks. That door also seemed to be nothing compared to the amount of force I have had to use on previous doors. I should be channeling that energy into finding the perp. No funny bus-

“Besides, I wasn’t even trying.” Gavin broke the moment of silence, “Give me an hour to give you a good nickname.” A small smile crept onto my face.

“You’re just trying to hide the fact that it took you all night to come up with ‘idiot.’” I pursed my lips slightly, stopping the smile from spreading.

We came up to a fork in the hallway. In front of us was a giant door made of metal that seemed to lead to the main storage room of the warehouse. On the other side of the door were two hallways, leading to a dead end on the left and the rest of the building on the right. I studied the door in front of us. Though I trusted my Evol to get through the door, I didn’t want to waste my energy trying to bust it down. Besides, it would be much easier to check when backup arrived. The more people the better with a space that big. With that, that only left us with one option. I scanned each hallway quickly and made a decision.

“You take right, I’ll take left.” Gavin and I said at the same time. We stared blankly at each other. I raised my eyebrow. 

“Wait, why do you want left?” I asked.

“There are less doors down left.” Gavin responded, “I could finish sweeping and then help you look.”

“What makes you the superior room-checker?”

“I’m a cop. This isn’t the first time I’ve done a search and clear of a building.”

“What makes you think I haven’t?”

Gavin raised an eyebrow.

“...fine. You take left.” I caved, slumping my shoulders slightly, “But we’ll see who ends up helping who here.”

“Just remember to tell me when a room is empty.” Gavin rolled his eyes but held a slight smile, “So I know you’re ok.”

“Whatever.” I grumbled, heading down the right hallway. Gavin turned down the left hallway and held his gun at the ready. I breathed deeply as I approached the first door. The door was unlocked. I braced myself and thrust the door open. I looked in the room. Empty. Completely empty. Not even a desk or a chair. “Clear.” I called grumpily as I left the room. It was the first door and I was already bored out of my mind.

The room search was going as well as you’d expect in an abandoned warehouse. There was the occasional room with rotting desks and chairs or the random piece of graffiti that strung along the walls. Other than that the rooms were devoid of people or evidence or anything suspicious. Gavin and I cleared each room with the hope of anything pertaining to our case quickly being diminished. 

I cleared yet another empty room and sighed. This was getting us nowhere. What were we expecting to find? A masked man in front of a wall with pictures of Evolvers with Xs on their eyes? Whoever dares to target Evolvers would be smarter than that. 

I huffed and tapped my chin. The words Hickman said echoed in my mind. “Hills, Warehouse, Wall.” My posture straightened. The evidence we were looking for wasn’t in a room, it was in a wall! I hurried down the hallway, ignoring the unopened doors I passed. I kept my eyes glued to the walls surrounding them, hoping to find some sort of evidence of a disturbance or opening.

I somehow found myself in the cafeteria of the warehouse. The room was large and open. Circular tables were thrown haphazardly around the room with a few chairs littered around them. Vending machines sat on the right with it’s contents still inside. I dared not try anything in them. The back wall was completely made of windows, framing perfectly the lake below. The sun had completely set and the night sky reflected perfectly in the water. The sight made me stop in my steps.

“What kind of company would pass up a view like this?” I found myself whispering as I watched the lake ripple in the wind. I sighed and looked down the hallway that I had left behind. Loads of doors had been left unopened and I could see Gavin was nearly finished with his hallway. I sighed. “My theory is coming up cold.” I said aloud to the empty room, hoping it would sympathize with me, “Maybe I shouldn’t have trusted my gut. Ugh, Gavin isn’t going to let me live this down, is he?” Hearing no response, and unwilling to wait for one, I slumped my head to the ground and moved to go back to my fruitless search and clearing adventure. 

I stopped in my tracks as I spotted something by the wall. Trails of scratches seemed to be trailing from it. As if something had been moved from the wall. Continuously. 

“Scuff marks.” I gasped as I looked up at the wall in front of me. All of the walls in that warehouse were cracked and falling apart but the cracks on this wall seemed to differ. They circled the wall and split it in half, like a gate into a foreboding passage. The kind of passage that only belonged in fairy tales. Most of the walls were also covered in moss and dust. Not that wall. That wall looked practically as good as new. I quickly scanned the wall for a way to open it. A place to push it or a hidden key or-... there, in the middle of the wall, was a hole with finger prints ridden all over it. My heart jumped. Evidence. I looked down the hall to Gavin. He seemed like a spec from how far he was from me. He wouldn’t be able to hear me if I called him over… and he wouldn’t be hurt if something dangerous was behind this wall. Making up my mind, I turned back to the wall.

Using my tanktop to stop myself from smudging the fingerprints, I put my hand in the hole. I felt around and found a spot where I could pull at the wall. I braced myself and pulled roughly. The section of the wall that was mapped out by the cracks surrounding it popped out of place, sliding perfectly into the scuff marks on the floor. The noise it made was earsplitting. “Well, at least I don’t have to call for Gavin.”  I cringed. I braced again as I placed my other hand in the newly opened space. I pulled the wall apart, causing the noise to sound again. The strength I had to use was unsettling. I took a mental note of it as I looked in the space I had opened. The blood vanished from my face. I didn’t expect to be so right but so wrong at the same time. The room was just a wall full of pictures of Evolvers, but every picture contained only one person. 

Me. 

The pictures covered the small space of the room. Pictures of me getting off of my bike, me working at my desk, me picking up Sam by the bus station, me at the meeting I held just the other day. That wasn’t all. A map sat behind the pictures. It was riddled with pen, graphing various places in Loveland. My apartment, the office, St. Richards, Bart and Maria’s house, my favorite restaurants, all mapped out by a red pen with the normal routes I used to get to each destination. Sticky notes scattered the wall as well. Chicken scratch filled them, made of handwriting that only a doctor could read. But, above it all hung a large black banner with the words, “Operation Montu” written in neon green and perfect cursive.

I felt my hands shake as my body involuntarily moved backwards, away from the horror show in front of me. The scene was too much. The idea was too much. Whoever was behind all of this didn’t care about destroying Evolvers, they cared about destroying me. They worked so hard to destroy me that they had a full operation behind it. They knew every move I was going to take before I took it.  My eyes frantically searched the wall further, scrounging for clues about who could be behind this. A thin table was crammed in the space between the wall and it’s door. It was mostly empty… except for…

“Ike!” Gavin called me. He was running to me with his gun raised. The shock of the scene in front of me gave me no time to realize how close he had gotten. He was already in the cafeteria and approaching the wall rapidly, “What have you-”

“Stop!” My voice was hoarse as I raised my hand hurriedly. He stopped just short of the door. 

“What is it?!” Gavin’s voice mixed with curiosity and worry. My words held themselves in my throat. Gavin, anxious at my silence, raised his gun and inched closer to me.

“Bomb!” I managed to sputter in fear of his steps. I watched the blood drain from Gavin’s face. I quickly looked back at the device on the desk. Wires portrayed from a piece of hardware on a small black packet that was wrapped in tape. There was no knowing what was hidden inside. A green light was blinking on the hardware. 

It had been activated. 

My heart and head raced as I tried to find solutions but there was only one thing that mattered. I could survive the bomb going off, but Gavin couldn’t.

“Stay put, Ike.” Gavin inched even closer, moving past the door and reached a hand out to me, “Take my hand.”

“No.” I desperately tried to warn him, pushing away his hand, “Gavin, you have to-.” It was too late. A rapid beeping came from the device. Without thinking, I grabbed Gavin’s arm and threw him to the windows of the cafeteria. 

The sound of the windows shattering was drowned out by a bright light and the earsplitting roar of death.

(Next)

#we in the homestretch now folks #did they live #did the die #did i kill my oc after two chapters of a fanfiction because i got tired of writing it #who knows #all i know is tune in next week for the final part of chapter two #it's worth the wait #thank you for your time #mlqc #mlqc fanfiction #mlqc fanfic #mlqc oc #mlqc oc fanfiction #mlqc gavin #mlqc gavin fluff #mlqc gavin angst #ike n bar productions #mr love ikes choice #ikes choice

[fairydust-stuff]

Top Ten reasons to like Claude

Ok, here's the thing I dislike Claude as a person he's slimy, manipulative, emotionally abusive, acts like a perverted creep and he killed Alois then stomped on his poor little heart. That being said he's a great antagonist he's so good in fact it seems the writers had to make him Ciel’s stupid stalker later on in the season and make him too easily defeated by Sebastian dispite the fact, Claude nearly killed him in their first  fight. Also i now I've said this before but i hate when people hate on Claude but then praise Sebastian. They both manipulated and planned the death of children. Claude smashed Alois's head open, but Sebastian stabbed Ciel once he realized serving him isn't beneficial to him anymore. If you prefer Sebastian fine, but stop acting like Sebastian is a pure selfless saint who never does anything wrong. So let's take a look at Claude's less badly written attributes

1 Hobbies Come how many demons can do origami, tap dance and sew. Claude has actual hobbies besides being a butler and their kind of interesting and cool. Honestly i wish we knew how he learned to make origami or how he learned how to do a Spanish Flamengo and who else thinks get getting Alois and Claude as dance partners would of been epic!

2. Goofball For all his stiff upper lip, extreme formality and annoyance and disgust at Alois's immaturity and antics. Claude can be a real goofball he does that weird thing with his glasses to entertain Alois in the OVA. He starts a food fight with Sebastian while they're preparing food for the masters. Then he even dancing around taunting Sebastian going " He saw you! He saw you!" I may dislike Claude x Alois as a romantic pairing, but i have to admit whenever I see flashes of this slightly more silly side of Claude, i can see how Alois might of fallen for him.

3. Patience I've got to admire how easily Claude puts up with everything in comparison to Sebastian. No matter what weird antics or shenanigans Alois gets up to. Claude just goes about his business as usual, even when Alois literary stretches his face into a smile. He continues to not only put up with it but to keep talking. He makes Alois try hard to even get the slightest reaction from him and honestly props to him for that, because as much as I love Alois it must be trying to actually live with someone who goes through constant mood swings, and you have to fight just so you can dress them every morning.

4 Rivalry with Sebastian These two are so petty toward each other two demons got into a food fight, i repeat a food fight! When they're not trying to out demon each other, they're trying to out butler each other. Its hysterical to watch! Claude’s always the one to throw the first taunt and piss the usually arrogant Sebastian off. Anyone who gets that kind of reaction out of Sebastian i can't help but like. Also Claude nearly sliced off Sebastian's head and trapped him in his web in the first half of the season. For the first time in a fight in Black Butler there's actually a stake. Sebastian is matched by an equally powerful and cunning opponent this should of been a bigger plot point then it was. In fact, I wanted to see more of their fights just because they were so childish and Sebastian wasn't guaranteed a win without working for it for once.

5. Manipulative In a antagonist this is key and up until the end when he gets over confident. Claude skillfully played everyone on the chess board. He had Alois snared in his web codependent on him and cut off from everyone else both in the house and in London. According to an old writer roleplay Claude treated Alois like he mattered slowly reeling him in. He also tricked Sebastion by pretending to make a deal with him, that Alois would be sacrificed and they'd fight over ciel. When he wanted to eat them both the whole time. The smirk of smug triumph on Claude's face when he says " I'm afraid my rose decayed." implying he made the deal with a dying rose to make their demon pact not stick. He made Ciel think Alois's memories were his by shoving Alois's soul into his body and using a metal asylum to mess up Ciel's brain. Turned the kid against Sebastian and got him to order Sebastian to never see him again. Honestly he would of won if it wasn't for Hannah. So i have to admire his plan it was actually good as far as evil plans go.

6. Claude is a screw up This may be a weird thing to like but i honestly find Sebastian too good at everything sometimes. Claude who leaves sauce on the plate, doesn't know how to comfort Alois without being creepy, who gets over confident and tells Alois the truth in the maze, when a lie would have helped him more, underestimates Hannah even though she threatened him over Alois's safety is just less perfect and i like that because perfect characters are boring and it's not interesting to see them go up against anyone.

7. Relationship with Alois This twisted dynamic kind of draws me in in fact i don't think we got enough interactions between these two or explored their obsessive relationship. Yana describes Alois feelings for Claude as "addiction" implying a toxic inability to quite Claude. The interesting thing is Claude seems just as addicted to him. At the end of the show Sebastian points out the smell that intoxicated Claude was Alois soul not Ciel’s. That and the OVA Spider's Intention and season 2 flashback suggest Claude finds Alois facinateing " The soul who dances in fire” Claude describes him as. And furthermore Claude is drawn not to Alois’s cruelty like you’d expect from a demon grooming a sinner but his passion. Even when Alois’s is shown crying over the butterfly he acidently killed Claude is fixated on him like he’s something, Claude can't quite figure out. At one point when Alois uses the truth of Luka death to deceive the priest and Alaster. Claude looks visibly surprised and when Alois decides to take Ciel from Sebastian to make the other demon suffer. Claude calls him “ magnificent” and there is a subtext of the two them scheming together rather than Claude just taking orders. There seems to be a kind of twisted intimacy there between predator and prey with these two and their roles constantly swap.

8. His catchphrase People claim he stole it but that's ridiculous Sebastian says " I'm one hell of a Butler." Claude says "that's what makes a Trancy Butler." there's a huge difference. Actually I prefer Claude's catchphrase because it's never exactly the same. " Sugar into salt one moment" and Red into Blue the next." at least Claude keeps it interesting and it's never straightforward its almost a riddle that the viewer has to figure out his meaning.

9. Loyal in the end I'm still mad at him and annoyed all can give Alois is he was a worthy meal after all. I don't think it makes up for him screwing with Alois's head for all those years. However I can't help but notice even when he seemed to hate Alois, Claude never denied being a Trancy Butler it was part of his catchphrase. Actually as much as some fans swoon over how close Sebastian and Ciel are, Sebastion has never once defined himself as the Phantomhive Butler. His catchphrase puts the emphasis on how awesome he is while Claudes is a bit braggy as well, its implies to serve Alois to be a Trancy Butler is an honor. In fact Claude even dies saying " A stray dog into an Earl. " he even with his last breath still remains and is proud to call himself Alois's Butler.

10. Hints of discontentment . Claude mentions that he wanted excitement, something to ease the humdrum of a very long empty life with no purpose but devouring souls. This makes since as it hints Claude’s pursuit of Ciel had less to do with the boy himself and more to do with the fact he wanted danger, flash and a challenge even if it ended in his demise. In the end Claude acknowledges Alois brought excitement into his long boring life which was something he did not expect. This line implies Claude was as bored and apathetic as Hannah used to be and was looking to feel something as a demon through devouring and the thrill of the hunt because it never occured to Claude to try any other way. He's basically a demon haveing a mid life crisis, how can i not enjoy that?

#Black butler #claude faustus #claude appreciation #Claude is basically haveing a midlife crisis and latch's onto abused kids to give his life meaning #This guy is way more interesting then Sebastian in my opinion