#anyway important to note that its very rough but she is supposed to have arm hair here this is very important to me!!

[casstars]

@citnamora I am sooo sorry this took me very long to get to because well umm I forgor. So as a consolation you get both of them in a lil doodle page. Hope u enjoy ^^

#I havent read the aa manga in so long but I do love Russi shes a sweetheart. She reminds me of Sebby but more confident #maybe it's just the hair #anyway important to note that its very rough but she is supposed to have arm hair here this is very important to me!! #my art #ace attorney #phoenix wright ace attorney #aa trilogy #ace attorney manga #trials and tribulations #russi clover #jean armstrong #requests

[cloud9in]

Promises (Poppy x MC) Part (2/?)

Read Part ONE (summary for fic is there)

ITS BEEN A MINUTE. @iamsimpforpoppy I hope you’re still around to read :P I love this story lol. Hope you guys do too!!!

Word Count (2.8k)

Bea and Poppy’s relationship became official a month after their initial meeting. One would say they moved quickly, too quickly. But every love story is different. This one in particular seemed to have little to none flaws, if you ignored the fact that Bea was promoted to Carter’s right hand woman in the Southside Spades.

 They did end up having that conversation after all.

 “…Are you sure Carter? I mean this is a huge deal and a special role-“

 “If I didn’t think you were capable you wouldn’t be here right now Goldilocks.”

 Carter winked and clinked his half empty beer bottle against Bea’s, who surprisingly had a nearly full bottle. He took note of the abnormality. 

 The blonde instinctively rolled her eyes at the nickname, “Okay but that name has to go. We need codenames……ooooh how about bimbo and himbo.” 

 “I’m guessing…..no, hoping I’m the himbo?!” Carter comments as he promptly tries to stop the laugh escaping from his lips.

 “Mmmmmmm, I’ll get back to you on that.”

 They share a laugh and Bea feels Carter’s gaze latch onto her in her peripherals. She could sense the shift of energy in the space between them, it almost felt uncomfortable, and that was something she never felt with Carter. “I never asked you if you were okay with such a role. If you aren't, I understand completely, I just want the best for you.”

 The blonde eyes soften at his comment and she looks at him, “never doubted that, where is this going though because you never express your feelings like a normal human being.”

 He pulls on the strings of her hoodie until it completely caves around her face, burying her whole.

 “Hey asshole!” 

 “That’s for talking too much.”

 Bea yanks her hoodie open and sticks her tongue out in a mock expression. “Oh boohoo. Poppy literally says the same thing, I don’t get it. I talk, it’s a problem. I don’t talk, it’s an even BIGGER problem. Damn a girl can’t ever exist in peace.”

 Carter places his bottle flat on the table and studies the blonde’s face. 

 She kept rambling on about her new girlfriend and the gang leader didn’t know it was possible to feel happy yet anxious at the same time. He was aware of when they entered the talking stage, went on their first date, and finally became official, because Bea told him everything. As much as the experience of being in a real relationship was new to her, Bea looked up to him and somehow she knew Carter would give her the best guidance possible. 

 It didn’t stop him from worrying. Like an older brother would. He feared the two would mix, and everyone knows that love and crime will eventually combust. He is no stranger to it.  

 “Bea.”

 “Did you know she stole one of my hoodies and actually won’t give it back?? What am I supposed to do, just take it? No she’d murder me.”

 “Jackson.”

 Her voice slowly dies down after sensing the seriousness in his tone. She takes a sip of her beer to ease the silence that sat in the air, and Carter responds shortly after.

 “You know I trust you with my life right? You’re very important to me, kid.” 

 “I know.”

 Guilt was a feeling he chose to lock away in an unbreakable box and bury six feet deep. There couldn’t be guilt in a lifestyle like this. But Bea was his only exception. And she was slowly bringing that box back up to the surface. 

 “I need you to promise me that you won’t let these two worlds collide.”

 “Carter….”

 “One of you will get hurt. And I won’t forgive myself if it’s you.”

 He leaves Bea at the table, the remnants of his comment still replaying in her head. She pulls out her phone and sees a text from Poppy on her lockscreen. 

 Other Half 💗❤️‍🔥- Can’t wait to see you tomorrow 😘 

 The blonde smiles unconsciously and opens the message to respond.

 I’m missing you like crazy. I have a special surprise for you.

 Other Half 💗❤️‍🔥- You know I highly dislike surprises, just tell me. 

 And ruin the surprise? You must be crazier than I thought. 

 Other Half 💗❤️‍🔥- Jackson.

 Patience babe…tomorrow it is. 

 Bea clicks her phone shut and slips it back into her pocket before downing the rest of the beer. 

***

“You know your hand on my ass only makes them stare even more Jackson?”

 Bea bites her lips and gropes the blonde’s plump backside shamelessly while slowly whispering into her ear.

 “That’s the point, princess.”

 Poppy shivers almost instantly at the boldness. “Is this the surprise you were talking about?” Bea doesn’t answer, instead trailing her hand up Poppy’s skirt. This was definitely not the time and place for such behavior but she was clearly still learning everything about her girlfriend. 

 And it definitely felt good to call her that.

 “Since when did you get so brazen? You know you’re exactly the type of person my daddy told me to stay away from.”

 Bea laughs at that statement and wraps her arm around the blonde’s waist, “yeah? And why’s that?”

 “Well I can’t ask him now, he might rough you up and that’s my job.” 

 Poppy could feel the stares of everyone burning into them, but she could only focus on the blonde cuddled up against her. The shorter girl wouldn’t call herself an attention whore, but she sure loved the PDA that Bea projected without a care. It felt nice to be genuinely admired in public rather than putting on a mask everyday. 

 But it’s safe to say that Poppy preferred all the handsy stuff to happen in private. 

 “Do you want to grab dinner with me tonight Pops?”

 “Am I picking the place?”

 “…Yes.”

 “Then yes.”

 Bea rolls her eyes at the blonde’s downright shady self but smiles nevertheless. 

 “Now don’t cancel on me out of the blue. I will not be thrilled about it.”

 “Shouldn’t I be telling you this? Your dad always has something going on in his business that somehow has to involve you too.”

 Poppy sighs and glances over at Bea, “well you know I’ll have to take over eventually. Especially since I’m legally allowed to handle deals now.”

 “I hate that word. Legal. Ugh.” 

 The shorter girl scoffs and plants her hands on her hips, “yeah I bet you do.”

***

Bea dragged open her closet in search of clothes for dinner tonight but the dinging noise of a text distracts her. 

 C-Dog🖤- Need you tonight. Something came up, meet us at the garage.

Bea wanted to thank the gods up above that she didn’t promise Poppy that she’d show up for dinner. But that wasn’t going to save her from the fury of the blonde. Good thing it can’t get worse than that, right….?

Only it was. And Poppy will probably beat her up herself, if she wasn’t dead by the next day. 

Bea’s mind and heart races as she digs her brain for a proper excuse to tell her girlfriend, but is very unsuccessful. She’s good at drug dealing though. 

 Going with the good ole truth never really hurt right?

 Baby I’m so sorry I won’t be able to make it tonight. Got held up with the gang. I know I’m an asshole, I’ll keep in touch I swear. 

 Other Half 💗❤️‍🔥- What else could I expect from my gang banger girlfriend 🙄 please stay safe..

 You know I always do.

 Other Half 💗❤️‍🔥- Do I? We need to talk about this tomorrow.

 Of course Pops.

 Other Half 💗❤️‍🔥- Call me every chance you get or I swear I’ll track you and trust me you do not want me to do that.

 Yeah she definitely doesn’t. Especially since Carter sounded frantic over the phone. The last thing Bea needed was a paranoid girlfriend, so she played it cool like always. 

 Just simple stuff baby girl, talk soon.

 ***

“…What do you mean it’s gone?! So where is it? Do you know what this means Carter??”

 The gang leader sighs frustratingly, rubbing his eyes in efforts to gain some stability. “The product was here, and now it is not. Which can only mean it was stolen. And when I find out which son of a bitch did it, they’re dead.”

 “In the meantime, we are dead”, Bea emphasizes wildly. “This is the Red Raven gang we’re talking about. If they get any inclination that we lost their drugs, they’ll kill and replace us. No mercy. None.”

The blonde paces back and forth trying not to think about buying a plane ticket to Timbuktu. 

Carter approaches Bea and plants his hands on her shoulder, “breathe Jackson. You are my partner. The leader of this gang. So get it out of your system and start being rational.”

 The blonde lets her shoulders sag as she inhales and exhales in place for a while. The minute she’s grounded she catches Carter’s gaze and her eyes light up. “List. I need a list of whoever went in the room with all of the product. We need to narrow it down.”

***

“Jackson you’re a fucking genius.”

 “It’s called having common sense but I’ll take the praise. It’s the only one I’m getting from you anyways.”

 Carter resisted the urge to pick a fight with the younger girl, because finding stolen drugs and not getting killed seemed like a much better idea. 

 Bea figured out that Henry, one of the newly recruited members of SS was a thief, or maybe just a crackhead. Same thing. He was the last to be in that room so all eyes were on him, and guns.

 “Heyyy buddy. Henry right?”

 The shorter man trembled at the sight of a gun lodged right into his mouth. “Mmmm!”

 “Oh I’m sorry, did you want to say something? Here let me just”, Bea clicks the gun which only causes the thief to panic even more. It was almost pitiful. 

 “Alright lay off the poor sucker.” 

 Bea pulls the gun out of his mouth and sits down on a stool in front of Henry with a grin. “So…where is the stash darling?” 

 He points almost immediately to a built in storage locker with a shaky finger. 

 “Ohhh well that was so easy Henry! Glad you could comply. You should tell your friends to be more like you. But…between me and you, they might already be dead”, Bea whispers that last part slowly, smirking when Henry’s lip quivers violently. 

 “Please just do it already! Why are you guys waiting?”

 Bea raised an eyebrow in surprise and glanced over at Carter who scanned the man’s face intensely. “I guess he wants to die? Talk about kinks I mean come on”

 “No.”

 Carter reaches his arm out towards Bea but never takes his eyes off Henry. The blonde watches in confusion until she realizes the thief is looking behind her, and so is Carter.

 “It’s a setup Bea, duck!”

 She dived for the ground quicker than lightning as a bullet flies through the air, leaving a trail of dust behind. Carter ducks for cover as well and starts firing rounds towards the men who snuck up on them. He managed to hit three of them but one grabs Bea by the leg and drags her against the rough concrete. 

 “Son of a- get your dirty hands off of my Dr. Martens. My girlfriend bought me these!”

 A swift kick to the face shut the blonde up real quick but she manages to recoil and send the man sprawling backwards into a row of barrels. 

 Carter guns him down and Bea finds her footing, pistol in hand and a thirst for revenge. But they never stopped coming. 

 Her and Carter were left battered and bruised, but alive. Their product was gone again though. But atleast they were alive. Carter told her that it was a theft mission primarily and neither of them were meant to die. But it only made Bea wonder who those people were.

 And why were they kept alive?

***

“Beatriz Naomi Jackson what the actual fuck?!”

 “Oh not the middle name…”

 Bea tries to avoid Poppy’s killer gaze as she surveys the damage that had been done to her girlfriend’s torso, legs, and face. 

 The strawberry blonde could barely mutter a word. Her mouth opened and closed in brief shock before collapsing next to the injured girl. 

 Bea could see the tears flowing down her rosy cheeks, which contrasted her porcelain skin. “Poppy…are you crying? I..please don’t..”

 “What do you expect me to do Bea? It kills me to see you hurt like this. Who did it? Tell me!” The blonde chokes on her own words as her hands hovers cautiously over Bea’s wounds, afraid to make her feel pain.

 “No I can’t tell you. I mean…I didn’t expect this to happen. It was a setup and we were outnumbered-“

 “We need to get you to a hospital Bea oh my god.”

 The blonde knew that she couldn’t go there. Not with the cops on the scene of the shootout, and actively looking for the people involved. Aka her and Carter. He told her to lay low and heal up, but she didn’t expect Poppy to be sitting on her bed waiting for her when she got home. The initial look on her face made Bea regret ever choosing this life. 

 She regrets it ever since being with Poppy. But it’s like a drug, once you start it’s hard to stop. 

 “I’ll call my father, he has the best doctors available and we’re gonna get your the right treatment and-“ 

 Poppy immediately cuts off, her eyebrows scrunching up until she realizes something. “Wait…what do you mean you were outnumbered Bea?” 

 Bea swallows heavily, praying that this conversation couldn’t escalate further, but that isn’t the case. 

 “Bea, answer me”

 “It..it was just me and Carter. We didn’t think there would be an ambush. We had just gone there to get goods we lost.”

 “And where is Carter? Does he know you’re like this right now? Did he leave you, I swear to god Bea if he left you…” Poppy’s voice cracks as her whole body shivers in violent waves. 

 Bea pulls her girlfriend in for a hug even though it causes every inch of her body to sting harshly. It was the comfort that she needed though. Watching Poppy breakdown over the sight of her was too much, and she began to contemplate everything. 

 “Pops listen to me, I cannot go to the hospital right now. There are cops looking for us.” The strawberry blonde stares at her until she understands the velocity of Bea’s words. 

 “Fine. But there will be a doctor that will come to treat you at my house. And you’re coming, I don’t want to hear it.” 

 Bea knew not to protest that. It was quite obvious this whole incident has left both parties distraught and she didn’t want to try and tell Poppy how to feel. 

 “Just tell me something. Are you in immediate danger? Is someone trying to harm you right now.”

 The blonde chose her words carefully. Because even after coming home beaten to a pulp, she still couldn’t tell the love of her life the full truth. 

 “No Poppy, they just wanted the drugs. They got what they wanted. I’m not in danger.”

 For now.

 “I will be okay.”

 I hope.

 “Don’t lie to me Jackson. I can’t do this if you lie. You promised me you wouldn’t get to the point where you’d have to choose between me and the gang.”

 “I know Poppy…I-“

 “You promised.”

 “And I’m going to keep that promise-“

 “Yeah the hell you are. And you’re going to promise me that you won’t ever come home like this again. You’re going to get yourself killed before we even start our life together. Our future.”

 Bea sucks in a breath which punctures her chest. She couldn’t tell if the injuries or Poppy’s words had caused that terrible ache. “Our…Wait I..”

 “I love you Jackson. I…don’t care if you think it’s too early to say that. I don’t care if I sound too cheesy for a mean girl. I love kissing you and feeling the laughter run through your body when we hug. I love being the reason you smile. I love you. And you don’t have to say it back. I just..I needed you to know-“

 “I love you too. Probably maybe from the moment I met you.”

 Poppy’s eyes seemed to glisten once again and this time there was no sadness etched into the shape. She smiled a pure smile and wrapped her arms around Bea in a tight hug. 

 She captures her lips in a searing kiss that leads to a trail of kisses down the strawberry blonde’s neck, dip of her collarbone, and chest. Bea kisses her until her chest gives out from exhaustion and pain.

 “Then you have to promise that this won’t happen again.” 

 “I promise.”

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

NOTES: They’re gonna be fineeeee, right guys??? Graduation next chapter woooo.

Tags: @samanthadalton @somewillwin @clowneryme  @baexpoppy @poppysmc @doey-eyes8 @veenast @straightlikewetspaghetti @phoennixxsblog

#i came up with that middle name on the spot lmaooo #no bug motivation this time just pepsi #poppy min sinclair #queen b #playchoices #mc x poppy

[clonewarslover55]

I'm so sorry but can I request some more Boba love? Perhaps him reuniting with his Riduur after all those years?? Maybe some sweet fluff and then them getting back to their usual activities? 😏

Headcanons or blurb, whatever you're up for!! I'm just happy to see all the Thicc Boba™ love!!

Yes!!!! I loved this request!!! Have a drabble lol 

An old lover  Boba Fett X GN!Reader 

Notes: It isn’t exactly like that scene in chapter 14 because I tried to be creative. So don’t expect too much. 

Warnings: Canon violence, sadness, fluff, mentions of smut but no smut sorry, 

Have a gif because he’s hot 

You worked with Din temporarily, till you could get back on your feet as a bounty hunter again. You used to be one of the best, but when Boba Fett died you went downhill very fast. Din helped you get a roof over your head after a few years of being homeless and broken hearted. 

Din didn’t need to know that you used to be in a relationship with the galaxy's most famous bounty hunter.

+++++++

When the ship came in through orbit you gasped loudly, Din looking at you. “Do you know that ship?” He spoke while looking back at the kid nervously. “I-I.” You felt years and years of memories rushing back to you. Slave I was Boba’s ship. If she was here…..does that mean??

No it couldn’t be. You had his armor…...which was probably the only thing that survived the Sarlacc. But Boba Fett was hard to kill…….so maybe? You felt tears in your eyes, kriff you missed him.

Din yelled your name and you jumped, “We need to move!” You shook your head, “Watch the kid! I’ll go check it out!” You ran down the hill, pulling out your blaster. Din watched, looking nervously between you and the kid on the rock. 

You froze when you saw the ship, Slave I looked the same as always. Her paint was peeling and she was older than Boba’s late father, but damn she was beautiful.  Your eyes weren’t open for long when the butt of a rifle hit you in the temple. 

The last thing you saw was a Storm Trooper, then everything went black. 

When you woke up you were in the middle of a fucking blaster fight. Din was practically standing on you, shooting down storm troopers. You screamed and sat up, screaming even louder when you saw someone very familiar. Thankfully you were behind Din, so you didn’t get shot. 

Boba Fett was fucking fighting the Storm Troopers along side Din Djarin. You scrambled to your feet, hardly registering anything but the fact that Boba was alive. He had put on the armor, and was beating the shit out of some Storm Troopers with a Tusken Raider staff. 

When the last few fled Boba walked after them, watching the ships take off. Boba Fett didn’t like to leave survivors. He shot one ship, which blew up and crashed into the other. “Nice shot.” You heard Din speak, Boba’s reply nearly making you sob. “I was aiming for the other one.” 

The child was gone, which broke your heart. You couldn’t really feel that pain though, the past coming back and hurting much worse. You put a hand over your mouth, tears threatening to spill. 

After the Razor Crest blew up you couldn’t even feel anything else but shock.The explosion was the last thing on your mind, Boba being alive was far more important than a piece of shit ship.  Din had walked to the rubble, which gave you the perfect time to talk to Fett. 

You walked over, “B-Boba?” Your voice was shaky, but your past lover heard you anyway. His head whipped around and he froze for a moment, “You-.......You’re alive!” You ran to him, Boba catching you and hugging you tightly. 

You cried into his cloth covered neck, “You survived.” You whispered. Boba stroked your back and sighed through his helmet. You sobbed, but you didn’t exactly know for what reason. 

Din and Fennec watched, both having no idea that you and Boba were close. 

You stepped back and cupped the cheeks of his helmet. Before you could pull it off he put his hands over yours, “Wait. I was in the Sarlacc for two days…..I don’t look the same.” You shrugged and rubbed some of the chipped paint off with your thumb, “Boba I don’t care. I just want to see you.” 

He let you remove his helmet, and he was just as handsome as he was the day you lost him. “You’re still a handsome man Fett.” You smiled, kissing him deeply. His lips were the same as they used to be, rough and chapped but perfect. 

Din walked over, his voice sounding shaky from the loss of the child. “Care to explain?” Boba gave him the usual bemused Fett look, clearly not giving enough fucks to tell him. “Boba and I used to be an item. We worked together and all that.” You smiled like an idiot. 

“When I was swallowed by a Sarlacc everyone thought I died. My recovery took me so long that I hadn’t found them yet.” Boba speaks, his fingers entangling with yours. You felt tears well up in your eyes at the thought of him alone. 

~The next day~ 

Slave I was on autopilot, making its way to the next destination that Din had told Boba. You sat in the cockpit with Boba, watching him repaint his armor. You held the small tins of old paint as he worked silently, his strokes steady. 

“You’re staring.” He muttered, not looking up from the Fett family farm mark on the chest plate. “Oh I’m not allowed to stare?” Boba narrowed his eyes, his lips twitching a little. “I missed you Boba, I think I’m allowed to stare.” 

Boba glanced at you and smiled, “I suppose.” He said sarcastically. You rolled your eyes and took the finished chest plate from his hands, setting it by the others to dry. He was working on his knee plates now, the last pieces to do. 

You were nearly asleep in the seat when Boba put the last piece down with the others, “All done.” He muttered, pressing a kiss to your forehead. 

He sat back down in the pilots seat, pulling you into his lap. “I missed you.” You kissed him deeply, Boba happily kissing you back. You ran your hands down his arms and grinned, “You somehow got even sexier you know.” You muttered against his lips as you straddled him. 

Boba rolled his eyes and kissed you again, he was never one for accepting compliments. “Too bad we’ll never be alone on this ship again.” You sighed. “When we stop he’s getting off to find a friend, we’ll be able to do some things then.”

Boba kissed your neck, the feeling sending lightning bolts down your spine. “Then I’ll show you just how much I missed you.” 

Tags: @leias-left-hair-bun @iamassbuttkingofhell @catsnkooks @mxndalorians @colorfulloverbatturkey @ahsokatano-thetogruta @jedi-mando @peacefulwizardfox @julyzaa @feathersforclones @chr0nicbackpain @strangebroadwaykinks @jedi-nila-rhyn @fyrepen33 @valkyrieofthehighfae @commanderrivercc-3628 @my-awakened-ghost

#boba fett #boba fett x reader #bobafett #Old Man Boba #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #fennec shand #din djarin

[15-dogs]

can you write about sirus (you’re dating) and you get the death mark even thougjt you didn’t want to (a draco-like situation) and she pulls away from everyone because shes scared and sirius finds out and helps her

fixing a hole |s.b.|

pairing: young!sirius black x fem!reader

summary: you realize that things for sirius black don’t always work out the same for you

warnings: food mention, implied depression, isolation (if there’s anything you want me to add don’t hesitate to message me!)

guide: (Y/N) = your name, (Y/L/N) = your last name, (Y/N/N) = your nickname, italics = flashback

word count: 2.6K

a/n: I wanted to give a little context so I started a little earlier than you and him dating I hope that’s ok!! this is a little like fluff to angst to hurt/comfort ish?? it does have some topics that could be difficult so be mindful of the warnings and I hope you like it!!

Everyone in your family talked about Sirius and Regulus Black. It was a well known fact that Sirius had run away from the family to live with those blood traitor Potters, deserting his position as a soldier to the Dark Lord. Sirius’s name was a dirty word in your family, like poison that dripped from the tongues of your predecessors. 

Regulus was a godsend. Your parents would constantly talk about him. They had even mentioned you marrying into his family a few times. The command would send shivers down your spine and you weren’t sure why. This is what you wanted, this is what you’ve always wanted.

Then why couldn’t you stop thinking about Sirius Black?

You’d get distracted during classes just staring at his simple elegance. He had these strong hands that you would study as he wrote an essay in class, wondering if they were soft or rough, if they were firm or gentle, if they would fit perfectly in yours. Your eyes would glaze over as you would divulge into your imagination, imagining his arms wrapping around you and pulling you tight against him.

“Control your perverted fantasies, (Y/L/N),” Severus scolded. His eyes never once left his paper as he continued to reprimand your behavior. “Don’t deny the fact that you were staring at Black. Learn to manage those feelings.”

You scowled at the boy who you had once considered a close friend. He had no right to talk to you the way he did, seeing as he was the one who was in love with Lily Evans. He was simply bitter. Bitter at Evans, and Potter, and Black. Bitter at the lot of them just because he made bad decisions.

The more you thought about his actions, the more you feared you were to become him. But that wasn’t it. Not really, anyway. You were more concerned that everyone thought that you were like him. And by everyone, you really meant Sirius Black.

You chanced a look at the raven haired boy, until to find him staring back at you. Your heart froze over as his gray eyes were trained on your body. But then a fleet of butterflies occupied your stomach as he gave you a kind and genuine smile, waving gently at you. Potter knocked his hand down a moment later, whispering something to his friend. You took the small opportunity to stray your eyes from the boy that you undoubtedly fancied, hoping your cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.

In Divination later that day, you and Sirius were partnered up to read each other’s palms. Your hands were sweating, you were sure of it. You debated the consequences of wiping your hands off on your robes but decided against it, fearing it would lead to a risky line of questioning from the boy across from you.

“I have to be entirely honest with you, (Y/N),” Sirius began. Your heart sped in your chest as you stared at him with wide eyes. “I haven’t been doing the notes. What exactly is...palmistry?”

You cleared your throat awkwardly and shifted in your seat to avoid his piercing gaze. “Palm reading.”

A wicked grin crept onto his face. “And I get to read your palm?”

“Yes.”

“Finally, an opportunity to hold your hand.”

Your heart leapt into your throat. Sirius could see it, too. He could see how flustered his comment made you. But the longer you thought about it, the more you recalled how he always acted like that towards you.

Before Sirius left his family, you used to spend time with him. Not in a friendly way, but in a we’re-the-same-age-at-this-dinner-party-that-our-parents-made-us-go-to kind of way. He would always make gentle comments like that one. Nothing too crude, just enough to make your stomach turn. Although, the idea of him being crude to you thrilled you a little, but you’d never admit it to him.

“Hand, princess.” Sirius outstretched a hand to you, yanking yours by the wrist into his field of vision.

You always blushed when he called you princess. You were an only child, and most pureblood families lived in a sea of boys so Sirius knew you as one of the very few pureblood girls (that he wasn’t related to) he used to spend time with. He’d call you princess because that’s what you were: a pureblood princess.

You rolled your eyes at his gruffness, pretending that you were affected by it. Sirius flipped open the textbook and spotted a diagram of a hand, glancing between that and your palm in front of him.

“This looks like your...head line.” He traced a finger across your palm which had you shivering; his hands were most definitely rough.

“And?”

His eyes snapped up to yours. “And what?”

“What does it say, Black?” Your tone was borderline irritated but you knew you couldn’t be mad at Sirius. Not when he looked at you like a wounded puppy.

“What do you mean what does it say? Aren’t we supposed to be identifying the parts of the palm?”

You stifled a laugh and playfully kicked the boy in the shins. “No, you idiot, read my palm!”

“Alright, alright, okay!”

You furrowed your brow slightly, a smile still on your face; you were positive that Sirius Black was blushing. It was a good look on him.

“Your head line” —he looked up at you for confirmation, to which you nodded— “says you can’t get me out of your head.”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “It does not-”

He silenced you with another stroke across your palm. “Your life line says you want to spend the rest of your life with me— how romantic.”

“That’s just cheesy-”

“Your heart line says you desperately, desperately want me.”

“Impossible-”

“And your fate line says that we’re destined to go on a date to Hogsmeade this weekend.”

You blinked in shock. Your eyes darted around the room, expecting to hear someone gossiping about what Sirius had been saying. But you were simply being paranoid, and you knew it, too.

You leaned in slightly towards him, faltering as his musky cologne hit your senses. “Is that a joke? If it is, it isn’t very funny.”

You tried to lean away when he didn’t respond, feeling shame boil up in your stomach when he utilized the grip on your wrist, yanking you towards him so his breath was hot on your ear.

“No, princess,” he growled lowly in your ear, a devilish smirk on his lips, “I’m serious.”

—

From that point forward, Sirius and you were inseparable. Well, to an extent. Your relationship was a secret, the only people having known were James, Remus, and Peter at Sirius’s request. He understood the importance of hiding your relationship, seeing how he was the trademark blood traitor and all. So that was that, no one could know that you were falling in love with Sirius Black.

One of the very few places you convened for dates— or even just to spend some time together— was the illusive Room of Requirement. It opened for you one day as you wandered the halls, head cloudy with decisions that needed to be made about yours and Sirius’s relationship. Ultimately, it convinced you that you and Sirius could work together as a hidden couple, so you decided to continue things with the boy that you had admittedly grown quite fond of.

The door appeared and the room was slightly different this time, that of which had you on edge because you knew that you had come to talk to Sirius about a certain decision that he had made. So that’s exactly where you were, the room that fostered it all, cuddling up against your boyfriend’s chest as he recounted the memories of leaving his home.

Sirius’s hand ran its course up and down the side of your arm as he talked about showing up at the Potter’s familial home. “I was scared, of course, that they wouldn’t take me in. But they did, and I should’ve known that they would-”

What you said next was purely accidental. You didn’t mean to tell him in this hurried way, but you did. It was like the hours of listening could only fit in your head if you let one piece of information go; an eye for an eye. That was the sentiment that propelled you to say, “I’m thinking of moving out.”

Sirius’ movements stopped instantly. He craned his neck to meet your watery eyes, almost to check if what you said was sincere. He knew how much you hated your family, and how that hatred had bloomed and blossomed throughout the years but never did he expect you to say such definitive words.

“Do you know what you’re saying?” he asked carefully like his words would shatter you, if not drive the chisel further through your cracks.

“I do.” You sat up out of his grasp, leaning against the armrest on the couch which you two sat upon. “You did it, and I want out. I’m going to do it, too.”

He reached up to cup your cheeks, directing your line of sight to align with his. “Love, what’s going on?” You noticed his eyes flicker towards your wrist, sending your stomach tumbling. “Did they…?”

You jerked away from him. “They want to, so I want out.”

Sirius took a few sobering breaths before settling back onto the other end of the couch. He ran his hands over the worn fabric as he studied you like it was the last time he’d be able to see you. He ran a hand over his face as he sighed, “How can I help?”

—

Things did not go according to plan. You and Sirius had figured that you would escape in the middle of the night during winter break and meet him at the Potter’s home. But things went sour quickly.

You rarely showed strong emotions, feeling that you could keep them intact. But right then, you couldn’t. All the fear and anger had sat inside you for too long and you couldn’t help but cry and rage and scream and sob in the comforts of the Room of Requirement.

“I’m asking you to be quiet, Ebbol!”

“Master Veritas! Master Treagar! I fear that Master (Y/N) is attempting to escape! Masters? Masters!”

You felt that you were flush out of tears, but that emptiness still sat inside you. As you sat on the couch, your eyes unfocusing as your mind narrowed in on that hole. The emptiness hurt. You wanted it gone, or at least wanted something to fill it. Even a temporary fix would do. Just something to stop the pain.

“No, no! Please, mother, please! I swear, I wasn’t…”

You stood up a moment later, clenching your eyes shut as if that would hide the horrors that replayed relentlessly in your head. You wiped your tears away, taking out your wand to place a glamour charm that would hide your puffy eyes and pale lips.

You snuck out and walked to your first class, skipping breakfast because you truly didn’t think that you could stomach it. Your eyes could only focus on what was ahead of you, which is why you didn’t see Sirius jogging up beside you.

“Hey...hey! (Y/N/N), are you okay?”

His words were dull in your ears. You blinked slightly before shrugging out of his grasp on your arm, walking into the classroom ahead.

“You didn’t show up,” Sirius continued as he followed you in. “Are you okay?”

You felt sick bubbling up in your throat and you couldn’t continue talking to him any longer. Every second that you did, you were reminded of who you were: a pureblood princess.

“Go away,” you sneered shakily.

Sirius knew better than to argue with you so he shuffled back to his seat, stealing hurt glances at you every few seconds. Not that you could notice with that ache on your wrist. That was too powerful to focus on anything else.

—

You spent most of your time in the Room of Requirement. It became a second home to you if it wasn’t before. You knew that you couldn’t go back to your common room, knowing that all the eyes on you would make you feel sicker than you had before.

Your emptiness had swallowed you whole. You would stare, you would sleep, you would wake. Nightmares had taken a toll on that cycle, removing the sleeping portion. For a while you had debated brewing your own sleeping draught but you soon realized you couldn’t, barely having enough energy to get out of bed and attend classes each day. Some days, you skipped classes all together.

Sirius noticed your gaunt face and sunken eyes. He had seen you pull away and seal yourself off from everyone— especially him. He wasn’t really sure what your relationship was anymore, but it didn’t matter. He cared about you. Deeply, at that. Lover or friend.

You didn’t turn around as you heard the groaning of the old stones moving to welcome the familiar door. The door opened slowly and quiet footsteps padded in. The couch sunk slightly beside you, and it was only then that you looked up. Sirius jumped at the sight of your face without all the protective beauty charms covering it.

“Merlin, (Y/N), you look ill. When was the last time you ate something?”

You slowly turned away from him. “I...I don’t remember.” You didn’t have the energy to be mad at him, or feel anything towards him, for that matter.

“I brought some chocolate,” he explained as she rifled through the pockets of his leather jacket. “It’s from Moony’s stash. He let me take some for you.”

You absentmindedly took the chocolate, peeling away at the wrapper and biting down gently. As you chewed on the chocolate, Sirius patiently waited for you to speak up. You knew why he was there. You had dreamt about it going quite badly, but you had dreamt about it, nonetheless. You had to tell him. You had no choice.

So, without speaking, you set the chocolate bar down and raised your sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark on your left forearm. He jumped up from the couch, running his hands through his hair.

“I knew it, I knew it,” he mumbled to himself. “Those sick bastards.”

“I can’t get it off, Sirius. I tried charms to hide it, even muggle makeup. Nothing works.” Your voice turned shaky as you looked up at Sirius.

His pacing stopped and he sank down to your level, cupping your jaw. “How did they do it?”

“My house-elf caught me on the way out. He called my parents in and they just...mother said they couldn’t wait any longer...that I was to be a blood traitor if I didn’t get it.”

Sirius mentally scolded himself for allowing you to do such a reckless thing without backup. He helped you plan your escape, and now he was responsible for your downfall. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes but he fought them back as he looked at you.

“I can’t go back,” you whispered.

“You’re not going to,” he said decisively.

“I can’t just leave, you know that didn’t work last time.”

He took a careful breath to calm his nerves as his hands trailed down from your face to your hands. “When someone I love gets hurt, I get involved.”

You jumped into his arms. As he tugged you closer to his chest, you felt that emptiness slowly start to fill up with...something. It was a warmth you had never felt. A warmth that made you tear up. Sirius started to tear up as well as he ran his hands over you like he hadn’t seen in you in years. Maybe he felt that emptiness, too. And maybe you filled that emptiness, too. And maybe, just maybe, you filled that emptiness with love as he did for you.

#cw food mention #tw food mention #cw implied depression #tw implied depression #cw isolation #tw isolation #sirius black #sirius black x reader #sirius black x you #sirius black headcanon #sirius black imagine #young sirius black #young sirius imagine #young sirius x reader #young!sirius black #fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction

[jay-and-dean]

Winter Cabin / Dean

By Roonyxx and Jay-and-dean

Pairings : Dean x Reader

Summary :  Dean is tired and grumpy lately, maybe the magic of a winter cabin and love can make him relax ?

Warnings : Fluff and Smut. A hint of angst and adult laguage.

Note : This is our third collaboration.

This is how it works : 

We wrote the same story, and we did together. I wrote Dean’s Pov and @roonyxx​ wrote reader’s Pov.

We both worked as much on this story and it’s the result of both our brains but also both our hearts.

Please, if you want to show love for this story, don’t forget we were together in this.

Wordcount : 5465

READ READER’S POV HERE

Jay’s Masterlist

Roonyxx Masterlist

——————————————————————

DEAN’S POV

I look at the road, holding the wheel tight with both hands, a frown on my face.

           I’m tired. I’m actually exhausted but I won’t show it. My body can wait, and my mind should just learn to get silent.

           So when the woman I love asked me to get in the car, I just did, with little grunts and probably not much enthusiasm. But I did. 

           North. That’s where she wants me to go. North… Like it wasn’t cold enough in Lebanon right now, or grey enough.

           I have been driving for a few hours now, in that specific blinding white light of snowy weather, and several times I had to wipe the tears of a yawn off my face.

“You know I could have driven, Dean, right ?” she says, bending to see my face.

“And risking damages on baby” I groan. “No thank you.”

I know I shouldn’t talk to her like that, she doesn’t deserve it. Actually she’s the only one to never deserve it.

“I do have my driving licence” she says with a little smile.

How can she smile when I’m so mean ? Something is on her mind, it’s like she had been walking on eggs all day.

“Yes but the road is frozen, and she only listens to me.”

Saying that, I give her a look, and a faint smile, to apologize for my abrupt and unfair answer.

           Nothing goes right lately, nothing ends up right either. Nothing important goes as planned, and even the little things are going wrong anyway. Bacon burns, Baby has had a leak, glasses escape from my hands, I even hit my toe like an idiot this morning.

           Just a bad day in a long succession of even worse days.

“Turn left” she says pointing at the road I’m supposed to follow. 

“I know my right and left” I grunt again, pushing her hand from before my face. 

“Maybe, but you have the reflexes of a sloth today” she mocks me like she does when she’s trying not to get mad. “So I prefer making sure.”

Y/n doesn’t let me be mean to her, and she can get really impressive when she decides that something is worth getting angry, but she has such a knowledge of me, that she always knows how to defuse my gloomy moods.

           I turn left and wonder : Where are we going ? She told me not to ask, so I won’t insist, because I know that in the end, I will only find out when she decides so. 

“We’re almost there” Y/n looks around with an enchanted look. “Look at those giant pine trees covered in snow !”

“Mh.”

“Look at this lake !” she keeps going into raptures. “It’s like a giant mirror.”

“Mh” I grunt again. 

I would love to give her more than that, but honestly, it feels like my soul is sore.

           Nothing seems to ruin her joyful humor, she seems eager to find the place she’s looking for, kneeling on the seat to look everywhere, sometimes taking my cheeks in her hands to make me turn my head toward something, or putting an amused little kiss on my temple when one more growl leaves my throat.

“Yes ! It’s there ! Look !” she almost screams when a wooden house appears in the middle of the infinite white forest. 

“Finally !”

Getting out of the car, I look up to the little cabin. Its dark wood contrasts sharply with the blinding white of the snow, and I have to say, it’s pretty. 

           My eyes go from the place to her, wondering what she planned, but she doesn’t say a word, and just starts to take our bags out of the tunk, so I follow her, hoping I will find out soon.

           When I enter the place, I immediately have my answer. The room is so warm, so calm, that the air itself seems quilted with the softest pillows. The slightly orange lightning gives the place a mellow atmosphere and everything seems made to cuddle or out of cuddles.

           My tired eyes adjust willingly to the new, way softer, light, and I look around, impressed.

“Oh wow, where did you find this place ?” I ask Y/n, fond of the wide smile on her face.

“I have connections” she states, her enthusiasm radiating from her and finally getting to me.

I smile tenderly, not believing my luck. 

           She takes my hand and guides me upstairs, leading with a soft sway of her hips in the narrow wooden stairs.

           My breath gets stuck in my lungs when the little fairy lights decorating the place hit my eyes, the tiny room is almost entirely made of a giant thick and fluffy bed. It’s calling me, like a promise that the soreness of my body could be sucked up by the softness of this place.

           I walk to the bed and let myself fall in the middle of it, letting the silky covers hug me. Y/n joins me, her beloved smell perfecting my little nest. The light citrus in her hair and the comfortably familiar smell of her delicious skin make me hum slightly.

“Do you like it ?” she asks, turning to me to touch my chest like she always does.

“Yes” I answer with a little grateful smile. “It’s cute. Thank you, baby. I Think we both really needed a break.”

I take her soft hand and kiss it. 

“Yeah we did” she nods with her smooth relaxing voice. “We’re both tired, you more than me because you always insist on doing most of the work” she cups my cheek to feel the rough hair of my beard on her fingers.

I should shave. I didn’t even take the time to take care of me lately, and I have too, for her.

“You go change into something comfier baby” she says when I feel like I could fall asleep already. “I packed your robe and your hotdog pants” I can’t help but let my tired eyes linger on her bottom lip. “I’ll get the cocoa heated up downstairs, okay ?”

My smile grows. She, alone, can erase all the horrors with her love and her beautiful keenness to live.

           A few weeks ago, she talked about her love for winter comfort and laziness, I was too stressed out and told her I never had time for this… And here she takes me.

“You’re the best. I’ll be right down to help you” I say, forcing my body out of this mattress that is begging me to stay still, but she kisses my head tenderly.

“No need, baby, I got it under control” she assures me, getting up to leave.

Once in my pajamas and robe, I stand in the door frame watching her. She’s humming absent-mindedly while preparing this hot chocolate she only makes when she needs comfort, spreading the sugary smell in the whole cabin. 

           Unable to stay away, I walk to her and wrap my arms around her body to take a little more of this adorable smell that is so perfectly her and kiss her neck.

           I want her, I want to lay her down on that couch and ask her to welcome me between her thighs, but there is no rush, for once, and I should let her do her calming magic that is already working.

“You didn’t have to do all of this baby” I murmur against her skin. “But still thank you. I already feel a little more relaxed.”

She lifts her arms to touch my hair and I nuzzle more in her neck, hungry for her touch. How could I be so engrossed by everything going on that I forgot to cherish the more angelic than angel woman in my life.

“I know I didn’t have to but I wanted to do it” she says. “Do you want marshmallows, cinnamon, whipped cream or sprinkles on yours ?” She turns to see me and a wide smile appears on my face. “Okay all of them it is” she understands. “Get comfy on the sofa, I put a bag with Dr. Sexy MD DVD’s on the floor by the tv, you can choose which one you want to watch.”

Of course she brought this tv show to watch. I was always my no worry moments, and with all that stress lately, I’m two seasons late. I kiss her cheek and let her go.

“God I love you.”

When she joins me on the couch with a tray full of wonders, she takes one of the fluffy blankets and wraps me cautiously in it, like she wanted to overprotect me, then gives me the mug before snuggling on my side. I can’t stop watching her with an amused smile and, I don’t doubt it, all the love in my eyes.

“Are you comfy ?” she asks.

“Very comfy baby” I chuckle at how adorably caring she is and pull her closer.

Blowing softly on the too hot beverage, I dip my lips in a hum, eager to feel its taste. And when I turn to her to tell her how good it is, she laughs.

“What ?”

“You’ve got whipped cream on your nose” she chuckles.

My hands are taken, one holding the mug, the other around her, but now that she says that, I guess I can see a white spot on my nose.

“Wait, let me help” she says, sitting up a little to kiss the stain away in a soft moan.. “Mhh delicious.”

I want her. I want to hear that moan when I lick her nipple, but now is not the time to get a boner so I look away.

“Oh you got twizzlers !” I widen my eyes. “When I was little, Sam and I used to do a competition of who could push it the furthest in their nose.”

I laugh at the memory of one staying half stuck in my brother’s nose. 

“Oh my God, and you ate it afterwards ?” she asks, I nod. “Oh that’s disgusting!”

“Hey!” I protest, unable to erase my smile. “You try to keep a seven years old entertained 24/7, you come up with some weird stuff!”

A little shadow crosses her face, I know that shadow by heart : My baby is always a little sad when I talk about my childhood. I told her a thousand times, that I didn’t mind anymore because I was happy now, thanks to her, and that was all that matters. But she always tries to give more, just like now, even if with her I already have it all.

She suddenly gets up and takes back my still burning chocolate, making me pout. 

“Come on !” she says, impatient.

“What are we doing ?” I try, but she doesn’t answer.

She’s putting on her coat, gloves and shoes in a hurry, so I look down at myself, wondering if I should change to actual clothes but as she already opens the door, I decide to only put on my jacket and my shoes.

She tugs at my sleeve until I end up outside of the cabin, boots planted in the untouched snow, freezing slow wind going through my thin pajama pants, right to my crotch.

“Why are we outsi-“ I start, but a snowball hits my chest. 

She wants to play…

“Oh you’re in for it now !” I scream, trying to look scary but her face is radiant with joy.

I gather the more snow I can in my bare hands and hit her chest, making her take a step back at the impact.

“Hey ! No booby shots !” she points her adorable gloved finger at me.

She squats to take more snow and close an eye to aim, right to my crotch. I cover it with cold redden hands and feel my cock protest at the feeling.

“Oh no need to get nasty sweetheart” I wink. “You’ll be needing this body part later on.”

“Okay, you’re right” she says and my impatience grows.

I will have her, I… A snowball hits my face while my mind was lost. She’s laughing hard, with this kind of laugh that’s a little frightened like children have when you run after them.

I wipe my face, tasting the clear water on my lips and feeling the snowflakes melt on my skin, then before she can move, I chase her, catching her with only three running steps. My arms carry her to put her on my shoulder and I quickly, but careful to not hurt her, spank her giggling butt.

“Hahahaha ! And you always say I can’t throw !” she says, strangled by a laugh.

I look around, wondering what to do with her, and decide to put her under the tree branches, shaking her to make everything fall on her.

“Aaaahh Deaaaaan !” she screams, now covered in white, but she grabs a handful of snow and crushes it to my head, making me hiss. “Karma !”

The snow slides down my neck and a piece of it falls on the curve of my back.

“It got in my coat !” I laugh, a little tense, shaking my body to try and get rid of the freezing feeling sticking to my skin.

She wiggles and her pretty eyes widen.

“AH oh me too !” she screams childishly. “Abort mission ! Go inside !”

She runs inside cutely, making me laugh even more, and throws away her coats and gloves. Her lips are a little pale and I can see she’s shaking. I take off my coat, but I’m frozen underneath it.

“I’ll get the fire started baby” I say, knowing we will need more to get warm again. “Take off your wet clothes if you wanna speed up the process” I say with a smile, walking to the fireplace.

While lighting a fire with the perfect wood already dried and prepared next to the fireplace, I listen to her saying the mugs are still very hot. It is a good thing, because I am freezing. 

She gives me the chocolate and I drink almost all of it in one go, humming at the sweet soft beverage covering the inside of my throat and making the constant lump in it disappear. 

The fire is quick to take and the beautiful flames add even more warmth to the room. My shaking and redden hands open closer to the fireplace and I moan in relief. 

I take off my robe, wet from the snow, and look down at the soaked fabric of my hotdogs pants.

“Underwear it is” I mumble, taking it off too.

“Come here, Dean” she calls me. 

When I turn to her, she’s wearing the grey sweater she stole from me a long time ago, even before we got together. It’s way too big for her and I smile at how cute she looks in it. She takes several huge fluffy covers and opens one for me.

“Let me burrito you” she smiles.

“Burrito me ?” I chuckle and walk to her to let her wrap it around me.

She doesn’t just put a blanket on me, she totally swaddles me in all the covers, tucking it in everywhere carefully. Once totally swathed in blankets and surrounded by pillows, I barely can move.

“My arms are stuck” I say with an amused smile, but all she does is create a hood with the blanket on my head.

“Burritos have no arms, baby” she states cupping my face to kiss me. “Your nose is all red, my poor Deanie.”

I try to get another kiss from her soft lips but she put them on the tip of my nose.

“I’m not a poor Deanie” I say with a low and deep voice. “I’m a hunter. I’m a warrior !”

She chuckles, taking a step back to look at me. That woman could do anything to me, I would let her shave my head if that could make her laugh.

“I need to take a pic, you’re incredibly cute like this” she says making me wiggle in my prison of comfort.

“No no. Don’t keep ridiculous photos of me” I protest.

She takes a pic, laughing at my exaggerated grumpy face, and comes sit next to me, snuggling close and wrapping her arms on top of all the rest around me.

“My baby… You’re not ridiculous” she states calmly. “Seeing you like this makes me happy.”

I don’t answer, but just shake my toes -the only thing coming out of the cover- toward the fire in a grunt, to make her understand I really can’t move. That makes her chuckle, and that’s exactly what I intended.

Then silence falls on the room. The cracking of the fire and the wood are so relaxing, just like the smell of her hair… 

After a few minutes, the cold disappears, and I even start to burn inside of the cocoon she made for me. I push the hood out of my head without using my hands and try to focus on the softness surrounding me. 

But my usual thoughts come back, and the second they do, they start to become louder than the calming sounds of her breathing and the fireplace, louder and louder, until I forget where I am for a second. Questions and regrets turn in my head, worry and reproaches I have for myself. 

And the exhausting stomach ache comes back. 

“Dean, you’re tensing again” she notices right away, putting a hand just where the hurt is like she was magic. 

“I’m sorry.”

I sigh, looking at the ceiling.

Outside, the weather changed, the blue sky became darker and snow started to fall heavily.

“You know you can talk to me right ?” she says with her head still on my shoulder.

I know I can, Y/n understands me so well, but bad habits are hard to get rid of. I’m just used to keeping everything inside until it eats me alive…. But I want to enjoy winter and cuddle with her, I want to learn how to let go. That’s the progress I made in my time with the woman I love : I’m willing to be better, to let her magic work on me.

“I’m not over Mary’s death” I exhale, terrified by the words but already feeling a relief.

Y/n lifts her head and looks at me deeply, pushing the covers a little to free my moves, and puts a hand on my heart.

“I know, baby. No one asks you to be over your mother’s death so soon, or ever” she says.

“I’m just… so angry” saying that, I feel my eyes burn with tears instantly, and try to swallow everything back.

“You have every right to be angry, Dean. Furious even” she won’t let me close that door now. “It is unfair. She was given back just to be taken again.”

“Why ?” I let a tear fall. “F-first dad has to leave again after only one day and now…”

She closes her eyes for a second, and I can see she feels at least a part of my pain. Her hand goes to my hair to stroke it.

“I… I just have so much a-anger” I repeat, feeling the painful lump in my stomach grow and grow like it was going to explode, but I can’t stop talking now. “I feel responsible, I feel h-helpless and… and… abandoned.”

The lump suddenly breaks and it feels like I can breath again.

“You’re not” she says, wiping her own wet eyes with the back of her hand.

She opens the covers and slips her body inside, against mine. I put my head in the crook of her neck, like I needed to hide after what I said, or just be as close to her as possible.

“It’s okay to be angry” her hand holds my head tenderly against her skin. “It’s okay to be sad. It’s not your fault, Dean. It was cruel to make them come back only to take them again, but you’re not abandoned. I’m here, Sam is here, Cas too…”

“You’re here” I whisper, squeezing her in my arms. “Yes, you’re always here.” 

“Look outside” she says after a minute.

I turn my head to the little window, nothing can really be seen through it because of the snow. I have no idea why, but there is something comforting about it, like the cabin itself was wrapped in a thick coat.

Her hand comes to my face to wipe the tears there.

“There is nowhere we can go for now “she states. “Sam is safe and Cas promised to stay in the bunker to keep an eye on everything. No hunt planned, just the snow and me.”

I search her face.

“You had checked the weather, right ?” I ask, looking around, still amazed by the magic of this place.

“I did…” she admits. “Just to be sure you would have no regret to be here, because you can’t leave anyway. But you’re not locked forever !” she chuckles. “I’m not a psycho. The snow will only fall like that tonight, and if we really want to leave tomorrow, we can. But the place is ours for a week…”

“I like being your prisoner” I smile.

“Now Dean” she pecks my lips tenderly. “We have all this time to talk about anything, or binge Dr Sexy MD, we have nothing else to do than relax. No one is waiting for you.”

I grab her thigh and tug at it to make her straddle me. She sits on my lap in her very oversized hoodie, her hair messy and her eyes a little red from crying. She’s perfect and she agreed to be mine.

I’m not abandoned. In fact, I never really felt understood by Mary or by John… I love them and their death is not something I will recover totally. But I have Y/n. She understands, she is my best friend and the love of my life ; and I wouldn’t feel so lonely if I just took the time to look deep in her eyes more often. 

“How do we do that ?” I ask. “How do we enjoy winter ?”

A wide smile grows on her face.

“It’s all about laziness” she states like she was explaining something serious. “About being warm when it’s so cold outside, about doing silly things, eating like kids and never looking at your watch. Anything that makes us feel comfy actually”

I take some candies from the tray.

“Can we watch an animated movie ?” I ask, remembering the good time we had going to the theater to watch Finding Dory together.

“Yup” she nods. “I have Big Hero 6, The Lion King of course, Madagascar, Totoro, Hotel Transylvania and uhm… Kung Fu panda !”

“You packed all that ?” I smile.

“Of course, I took a little of everything.”

I take a deep breath and peck her lips, earning a satisfied hum from her. I think I can do that, with her I can.

My hand dives in the bag of gummy bears, and I grab a fistful of it, making some fall on the floor. 

“Whoops” I bend to try and get them but she catches most of the little bears.

“So” she says with her mouth full of candies. “Besides getting diabetes while watching animated movies ? Do you have plans ?”

“Yeah” I smile, putting the bag of gummy bears between us on my lap to stuff more in my mouth. “Broiling marshmallows in the fireplace.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s in the diabetes category, baby” she nods.

“Building a pillow fort definitely, and cuddling” I add and her face lights up. “Come up with a new mac and cheese recipe. Making love everywhere and sleeping, I obviously need sleep. But I’m struggling to rest lately…” 

A mischievous smile appears on her pretty face.

“Maybe if I tire you enough…” she licks her lips. “Then you will fall asleep more easily.”

“I like the way you think” I groan, putting the candy bag to the side.

She bends to kiss me, her warm lips crushing on mine before she slips her tongue in my mouth. My hands slide on her body, enjoying every curve, turning on my burning desire again. And while I slip under her hoodie to feel her skin, she starts moving her hips against my crotch.

My body reacts to hers instantly, cock growing with hunger for her, the woman that owes me, the woman that makes me the infinite honor of loving every damaged part of me.

She runs her fingers through my hair, her short nails scratching my scalp. She grabs my bottom lip between her teeth and I shift on the couch. I need to be inside of her so much.

“You’re perfect Dean” she says with her lust voice.

She sits back to push my shirt up and I help her get it out of the way. I love when she gets like that, when her love for me shows in her moves, in the way she wants me. 

Her lips meet the shivering skin of my chest, and when her wet tongue finds my nipple, a jolt of electricity runs to my crotch, making my already hard cock twitch against her pants covered core. I moan loud, grasping her hair.

“Fuck Y/n baby… I need to see you.”

She undresses with a smile, revealing her naked body under the sweater she took from me. She looks like a present, all ready under just a single wrapping…

I bend to devour her breasts, taking a nipple to suck at it like a starving man, desperate to earn moans and gasps from her pretty mouth. 

“F-fuck Dean” she breathes out, her head falling back, her nipple hardening against my tongue.

Her body gets lost in mine, I know how to trigger her like a freaking gun. Her back rolls like a snake and her pussy pushes harder against me, I can now feel a wet spot going through our clothes.

I will never get over the effect I have on her.

I open her pajama pants, and eagerly push it down, licking at her neck.

“I need to come home baby… please” I almost whine, with that voice only she can get from me.

She shivers when I start sucking at her pulse point, knowing exactly that it will leave a purple mark that yells mine, the kind of signature I love to let on her. 

“Y-yes Dean…” she begs now, her hips desperately trying to get more friction. “T-take me.” 

An animalistic growl comes out of my chest and I turn to push her down on the couch, hovering her. With one hand, I take off her pants and spread her legs again to sit between them.

“Fuck…” I groan. “You soaked me through your pants baby” my fingers go down to brush her folds, spreading her wetness all over. “So wet for me.”

“A-always” she gasps.

She is already far, already quivering under my touch and it’s beautiful.

My fingers push at her entrance, welcomed by throbbings of her walls and moans on her lips. I became an expert at her body, and nothing is better than to see her part her lips that way. 

I start thrusting my fingers slowly inside her so soft body, taking my time to feel her, to watch her bottom lip tremble. My thumb gently grazes her clit once and that’s when she whines, grabbing my wrist like she wanted to control my hand.

“What baby ?” I whisper in her ear. “You want something ?”

“M-more, p-please Dean” she moans. 

So I give her what she asks. I sink deeper, stopping only when my other curled fingers bump her entrance, and start working her, teasing her sweet spot.

“F-fuck yes…” she spreads her legs more, allowing me to move just a little deeper inside of her.

She lets my hand go, now satisfied by the treatment I’m administering, and she grabs her breasts, squeezing them. My cock twitches again, I know I could come just watching her if it lasted a little too long. 

“I’m gonna come, Dean” she moans, arching her back a little in her bliss.

I move my fingers faster, delighting in the wet sounds coming from her soaked sex. She’s close, really close, and I want her to fall off that cliff.

“Yes baby, come for me, clench my fingers” I pant, totally mesmerized by my desire for her.

I kiss her and suddenly feel it, she shakes, and squeezes my fingers very hard.

“D-DEAN YES”

I put little kisses on her face while she comes down slowly, in little moans and groans that make me crazy. I withdraw my fingers and look down at them : they are gleaming with her sweet juice. 

I lift my fingers, sliding them on each other to look closer, and smell. Finally tasting her on them, I hum.

“You taste so good, baby.”

She grabs my neck to pull me down for a kiss, almost making me fall on her, and press my body harder on hers.

“Take me Dean” she moans. “Come home.”

I push my underwear down, not able to wait a second more, I grab my aching cock and position it at her entrance. I feel her hands on my face, and her eyes on me but I’m too engrossed by the sight of me sinking inside of her.

When I look up, she’s staring at me with her lips parted.

“I love you Dean” she says, the last syllable a little strangled by me bottoming out.

“I love you too, Y/n.”

I gently grind onto her, giving her time to adjust before I start trusting, holding back to not just pound into her like I know I would if I let go. I need to be deep, I need to own her, to make her scream, but I roll my hips and moan.

She starts joining my moves and I groan in her neck. 

“Feel so good, baby” I let out in a growl, involuntarily snapping my hips a little harder.

And before I can gain my cool again, she wraps her legs around me, pushing me deeper, caging me against her. 

“Yes ! L-Let go Dean… Take me !”

So I do.

I let go totally, trusting her, she wouldn’t let me hurt her, I know she wouldn’t. So I hold her body and pound into her almost brutally, earning gasps and moans from her perfect mouth.

Her whole body moves with each of my trusts. She’s mine. It’s all I can think of : My baby, my Y/n. My love.  

Her inner walls clench me, adding the most overwhelming sensation and I feel my thighs contracting.

“Yes yes yes yes yes yes !” she moans over and over again, encouraging me to go harder, deeper.

“C-come Y/n” I order, losing the rhythm I had until now. “Come on my cock.”

A sharp burning hits my back, she’s digging her nails in my skin. But all I can focus on is her orgasm milking my cock. She arches her back and screams.

“DEAN ! YES!”

I bury myself the deepest possible and come hard, an intense relief roaming through my body as I empty myself inside of her in little convulsion of my legs.

“FUCK Y/N ! GRAAH !”

I lose control of my body for a second, just shaking in pleasure above her, out of breath. I know I’m probably crushing her a little as my weight can’t really hold itself anymore, but she doesn’t push me, only strokes my wet hair.

“I love you so much Y/n” I say, holding her protectively.

“I love you too Dean” I can hear a smile in her voice. “So so much.”

I lift my head to see her, searching her red sweaty face. I know I can do this, I can enjoy this cabin, and winter and life… Because the love of my life loves me back. 

“I want to stay the whole week” I admit, already thinking of making love in that incredible bed upstairs, about cuddling next to the fireplace and watching one of the movies she brought.

“Then we stay a whole week, baby” she answers simply, still stroking my hair in the most delicious way.

That’s when I feel it : I will sleep like a baby. As soon as I close my eyes, I will just drift off and dream of her.

“Thank you baby” I smile lazily. “For everything.”

I can feel her pretty smile against my lips.

“Everything for you, baby” she whispers.

_______________________________

FEEDBACK IS MY FUEL

Tags : @parinarain @mogaruke @masterof-agony @rainflowermoon @tftumblin @deans-baby-momma @roonyxx @thefaithfulwriter @vicariouslythruspn @emeow1496 @daryldixonandfrogs @holylulusworld  @cocklesbelli @sandlee44 @screenchingartisancashbailiff @donnaintx @stormchasingchick32 @akshi8278 @magssteenkamp @sister-winchesters99 @neii3n  @lyss-dw79 @im-a-shrub @sadwaywardkid@hopelesslydevotedtoyou1912 @slyqueenj @i-love-superhero @waywardsisterandpie @sunsetsandbooks​ @fangirlxwritesx67 @mrspeacem1nusone​ @stylesismyhubs​ @deanwanddamons​ @jawritter​ @peridottea91​ @chelsea072498 @chocolateheart​ @vicmc624​ @teresa-67​ @jessie-michael​ @doctor-hp-mcu​ @hawkerz12​ @mariaenchanted​

#supernatural #Supernatural Dean Winchester #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester #dean winchester fic #dean winchester fanfiction #dean x reader #spn dean x reader #dean x y/n #Smut #dean winchester smut #fluff #dean winchester fluff #winter #comfort #roonyxx #jay and dean

[gumnut-logic]

The Cane (Part 4)

@flyboytracy​​​ asked:

Steampunk AU: five uses for a cane and one time Scott used it for its intended purpose 😘

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Aaargh, those migraines messed with my muse on this one. Had to fight it the entire way and the cane reference is tiny. Hope you enjoy it anyway ::hugs to all::

Many thanks to @janetm74​​​ @tsarinatorment​​​ and @scribbles97​​​ for all their help and amazing support of my crazy. And to @flyboytracy​​​ for asking in the first place.

This be Steampunk AU with a mix of John snark, a little bit of wee!Tracys in a little bit of peril, some selfless Scott, and a reason you don’t want to mess with Five or her pilot.

-o-o-o-

4.

“This is very inconvenient.”

Scott stared at his brother in the dim light. “Is that an attempt at impersonating Lady Penelope?”

John stared back, dust drifting haphazardly off his hard helmet and goggles. “As you’ve said many times yourself, there is no use in panicking.”

He had to give his brother that. A sigh and he assessed their situation yet again, shining his torch about the space they found themselves in.

They were in a basement. It was likely that they were lucky, as all indications were that if they had been in any other part of the building, they would not be having this conversation or any other any time in the future. The basement had a wall of solid bedrock on one side, the building having been constructed with that in mind with half the plumbing bolted into the rock. Unfortunately, the rest of the structure had been built on sand, which promptly liquified when the earthquake hit.

Speaking of earthquake. “How long do you think before the next aftershock?”

John pulled out his notebook, took a note of the time on the watch he had strapped to his wrist, and scribbled down some math. “They are very unpredictable, but I’m hoping this last big one will give us some time. Or at least, Virgil some time to dig us out.”

Scott fiddled with his transmitter unit. There was no response on any frequency he attempted. Either the equipment was broken or something was stopping the signal from reaching his brothers. John had already pulled his apart and attempted a signal boost with no success.

They were both covered in dust, but fortunately uninjured.

But, for the moment, they were stuck.

Scott was not very good at sitting still.

“We may as well rest so we can be ready when needed.”

Scott grunted.

His brother ignored him and wiped off a large chunk of masonry with one leather-gloved hand and sat down. “You know Virgil will find us.”

Another grunt.

“Sit down, Scott. You can afford to take a minute to rest.”

He let out a breath and bit his lip, but with a sigh, he did as his brother asked.

There was silence for a moment, broken only by the sound of dust and rock settling.

“Why did you come back in?” John’s voice was crisp, clear and calm.

“You were in here.” Obviously.

“But now both of us are trapped, whereas if you had run like you should have, you could be assisting Virgil to dig me out.”

Scott’s lips thinned. What had been his line of thinking? Had there been a line of thinking? To be honest, all he could recall was the thought that John was under a building that was about to collapse and he needed saving.

His voice was a little rough. “Virgil will get us out.”

“Hmm.” John was not looking at him.

“What did you expect me to do? Leave you here to die?”

Aquamarine turned calmly to catch his eyes. “Better than both of us.”

“We’re not dead.”

“Pure chance.”

John was always ever so direct.

“But important nonetheless.”

John sighed. “Reminds me of the well.”

Scott eyed him. “Really? You’re going to bring that up again?”

“Eternally, my dear brother.” John’s smirk was exceedingly annoying. “Besides, it passes the time.”

“I would rather spend time finding a way out of here.” Scott shot to his feet and began pacing around the space they were stuck in.

“If you disturb something that brings the rest of the building down on us, I’m haunting you until the end of time.”

Scott slumped a little. His brother was right. Messing with the fragile pile was just asking for trouble. They were lucky to have room to breathe, much less walk around.

“This is the reason why you ended up in the well, Scott. You haven’t changed in twenty odd years.”

Scott glared at him. His little brother had been six at the time, Scott only ten. The two of them had gone beyond the borders of the Tracy farm in Kansas and into land they shouldn’t have. They were exploring. John, as always, was a little more cautious, but Scott was ever running ahead.

It was rather ironic that it was John who fell in the well.

It wasn’t long dug, but the planks covering it were flimsy and the winds from the previous day had obscured them. John had gone through them as if the planet had eaten him.

“John!”

Scott found his little brother clutching his leg at the bottom of the hole.

It wasn’t a very deep well, but it was deep enough to put his brother out of the reach of a ten-year-old.

“Scotty, my leg hurts.”

“I’ll get you out.” He looked around for something to help John.

Perhaps he knew in some part of his mind that this could be the wrong decision. He had no rope and no real way to reach his little brother. He should get help.

But he couldn’t leave Johnny here on his own.

The thought was terrifying from both of their perspectives.

Perhaps he would have thought it a little less terrifying if he realised what could happen if he didn’t fetch help. Because once he found a long enough stick, he reached over the edge and while doing his best to add to the length John couldn’t quite reach, he fell in the hole on top of his brother.

There were groans and tears after that.

Scott didn’t hurt himself. John had been heard to comment on multiple occasions thereafter that it was because he landed on a cushion he called brother.

Scott countered that by saying he was lucky he hadn’t been impaled by a bony limb of said scrawny brother.

In any case, they huddled together for warmth for thirty-six freezing hours until someone finally found them.

By then, both brothers were dehydrated and starving.

The lecture from their father was almost as long as their time in the well.

Their mother, pregnant with Gordon at the time, took ill with the fright and there was some seriously scary time until the little fish was born a month later…a touch early.

Virgil wouldn’t let either of his brothers out of his sight for a good year after the incident. The nine-year-old obviously terrified they would disappear again.

It became legendary in the Tracy household for good or bad.

“So, you’re saying, I should have gone for help?”

Something clunked in the pile of rubble.

John arched an eyebrow. “As I said, you haven’t learnt. Yes, Scott, you should not have dashed back into the collapsing building. When Virgil finds out, he’s going to scalp you.”

“I’m sorry that my first instinct is to protect my brothers.”

John rolled his eyes, both original and artificial. “Your first instinct should be to protect yourself so you can protect your brothers.”

Folding his arms across his chest, Scott shifted his weight onto one foot, cocking his hip. “Fine. Then explain Bermuda.”

“That was different. That was saving lives.”

“You rammed a twenty-eight gunned frigate with Five!”

“It was firing on a sinking civilian target full of over two hundred passengers, including my four brothers. Grandma was not aboard. It was a fair decision.”

Scott had to admit it had been spectacular, the huge, blue-grey, manta-ray-shaped Five had reared out of the ocean and sliced the pirate vessel in half.

International Rescue had fished the survivors out of the water and there had been minimal casualties, considering.

Five had taken damage, but her cahelium superstructure was designed to withstand something as simple as a mostly wooden hull. Some gentle care from Virgil, an assessment from Hiram, and she was declared fit and well.

They had disappeared for a while after that as the rumours ran riot. Lady Penelope managed to smooth any ruffled feathers at government level.

Scott had both commended and roasted John alive.

“You could have been killed.”

“So could have you, and Virgil and Gordon and little Allie. Was I supposed to sit back and watch?”

Another clunk from somewhere in the rubble.

Scott arched an eyebrow. “Perhaps, you know how I feel.”

“Of course, I know how you feel. We all do.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“Scott-“

But John was interrupted by another clank, this time clearly from one of the pipes against the wall.

“Virgil?” They both said it at once and hurried over to the rock face.

The clunk repeated itself and then started on a very familiar dot dot dot…

S C O T T

He reached behind and pulled his folded cane out of its sleeve on his back. Its metal tip shone dull brass in the yellow light.

He only had to tap one letter. Dot dot dot dash.

V.

Three letters came back in a hurried jumble of excited hammering. F A B.

Then…S T A T U S?

J  A N D  S   W E L L  A N D  M O B I L E.

S T A N D  B A C K ?

F A B.

Assuming Virgil was referring to the rock wall as the point of origin, the two brothers stepped as far back from it as they could.

Moments later a rumble and hiss of gears, the crash of breaking masonry and daylight suddenly shot through part of the rubble. This was quickly followed by a massive but familiar brass claw reaching in and grabbing a large chunk of rock, disappearing with it. A crunch of gravel, shove of rock…a shout. “Scott, are you in here? John?” Their goggled and fully armour-suited brother pushed the rest of the way through the pile of broken building, both claws fully extended.

“Over here, Virgil.”

Their brother’s head turned in their direction and metal shoulders sank in relief. “Oh, thank god.”

Something shifted in the rubble pile and Virgil reacted, his right claw slamming into the chunk of masonry threatening to fall. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Scott didn’t need to be told twice as the remains of the building creaked around them in warning. Grabbing John’s arm, he hustled his brother out through the gap past Virgil.

The engineer’s eyes on the both of them.

No doubt there would be a medical examination in their near future.

Shoving John gently ahead of him, Scott turned to keep an eye on Virgil.

His metal clad brother stepped back carefully, letting rock fall in his wake.

Then, as if the final domino had been tipped, the entire pile began collapsing in on itself.

Scott took a step towards Virgil only to have his arm yanked on from behind.

“Damnit, Scott protect yourself!” John dragged him through the remains of the rubble as a cloud of dust roared behind them.

“Virgil!” He dug his heels in, fighting John’s hold.

“He’s wearing his armour, Scott. You are not! Move!”

It went against everything. He had to protect his brothers first. But John was right. Neither of them was wearing enough protection. Virgil was.

He had to trust.

Trust that Virgil knew what he was doing.

When put in those terms the answer was simple. Of course, he trusted Virgil.

Perhaps it was fate he had issues with.

John dragged him clear of the building and the cloud of dust. Two, nestled on her landing struts, was a wonderful sight.

And then Gordon was grabbing at him. Alan was yelling his name and there were dusty hugs and clunking helmets.

But still the cloud…

“Virgil?”

As if summoned, his brother strode out of the haze, cogs whirring and pneumatic systems hissing, metal glinting in the sun. His goggled eyes searching until they latched onto his brothers.

Thank god.

A matter of strides and he enveloped his engineer brother in a hug, metal suit and all. “Thanks, Virg.”

His brother exhaled in a huff. “What on Earth were you thinking?” And so began the rant about worrying about a brother encased in metal when a building is falling when he wasn’t and could have been killed with a single rock. You idiot.

It went on for some time.

John smirked at him for the entire tirade.

-o-o-o-

Next

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #John Tracy #Virgil Tracy #where there be dragons au #an attempt at Steampunk

[carewyncromwell]

“I think that somehow, somewhere inside of us, We must be similar, if not the same, So I continue to be wanting you, Left of center, against the grain... And if you want me, you can find me Left of center, off of the strip, In the outskirts and in the fringes, In the corner, out of the grip...” ~“Left of Center,” by Suzanne Vega

x~x~x~x

I BLAME THAT OTP AU ASK FOR THIS COMPLETELY. Once I got the image of Hipster!Barista!Orion in my head, I just had to slap it down on paper to get it out of my head. 

A few notes on his tattoos: on his neck, you might just barely make out a hamsa, or Hand of Fatima, which can protect against the evil eye and bring good fortune; on the outside of Orion’s arm closest to us, we have a magpie surrounding by flowing ocean waves, and finally, on the inside of his other arm that you can’t see as well is the Orion constellation. And he has multiple piercings because of course he does. 

So yes. Orion Amari is a senior barista at a coffee shop called the Jam City Cafe (LOL) who’s best known for his wonderfully chill attitude and for his tendency to dispense oddly wise advice to his more regular patrons. It wouldn’t be unlikely to see him in a supporting role in some Hollywood hopeful’s screenplay as this odd sage that helps the leading lady with her romantic turmoil in the third act and then disappears into the void, never to be seen again. And honestly, as much of a fixture as Orion is at the coffee shop and therefore in many people’s day-to-day existence, not a lot of people know him very well. Most people don’t know that he was a philosophy major in college, or that he was the captain and second striker of his high school football team, or that he was raised exclusively in foster care, with no permanent home to call his own. But Orion isn’t troubled by this -- he’s always been sort of on the outside looking in and he’s more than used to people not understanding his thought process. As long as his life remains interesting and he’s able to eventually get where he wants to go, that’s all that really matters. And in the meantime, he’ll keep on making orders for his regular customers -- “Doppio with extra foam,” “Iced White Caffe Mocha,” “Cafe au Lait spiked with Kahlua” -- he knows them by their orders more than their names. 

One regular customer in particular, who Orion is rather fond of, is the one he calls “Salted Caramel Macchiato,” or just “Caramel,” casually. She’s always the first customer to pick up a cup of coffee every morning when the shop opens at 4:00, and she almost always sweeps back in the evening so as to work on her laptop for a few hours while sipping another. She’ll often have music playing in her earbuds while she’s working at her laptop, meaning Orion wasn’t able to talk to her for the longest time for fear of disrupting her focus -- so instead he would merely watch her curiously. From watching, Orion sussed out that she worked in a law office -- he noticed a logo letterhead featuring a set of scales on one of the documents she was editing on her laptop one day. And admittedly, she did dress the part too: every time he saw Caramel, she always wore sharp tailored jackets, colorful blouses, and vintage A-line skirts or wide-leg trousers, her ginger hair was always combed into a neat bob, and her lips were painted a daring red. Despite her conservative and very put-together look and the meticulous regularity of her schedule, however, Caramel did possess some interesting quirks. For one, her music didn’t match her look at all -- there were times Orion could hear the faintest sounds of rock and roll blaring out of her earbuds. Other times she actually would absently sing some of the songs aloud, and her half-hearted voice actually sounded kind of pretty. Her laptop wallpaper was a family picture with her standing with what looked like an older brother and her mother outside their lit-up house at Christmas with snow in their hair and trying desperately not to laugh while the older brother dances about, wearing his Christmas scarf like a feather boa. Whenever she’d turn on her laptop, Caramel would always take a minute to look over the picture and smile fondly before getting to work. Then there was the fact that she wasn’t the least bit stuck-up -- even if she didn’t really have time to socialize, she always looked every employee, from the baristas to the cleaning staff, straight in the eye and thanked them, rather than just treat them like automatons like a lot of the other customers that would stroll through. She also always tipped. 

And so, the one evening that Orion was closing and he saw Caramel not wearing her earbuds, he approached her. Apparently someone snatched the earbuds out of her desk at work that day, and so she decided not to play any music while she worked, so as not to disrupt anyone. Since Orion and Caramel were the only ones in the shop that night, Orion said he wouldn’t mind if she wanted to play something. 

“Preferably something softer than what you were playing yesterday, however,” he added with a wry smile. 

Caramel had to laugh behind her hand, her almond-shaped blue eyes creasing slightly. “Oh -- I’m sorry, did it bother you?”

“Not at all,” said Orion. “But it did make for an entertaining image, seeing someone so poised fighting back the urge to headbang to the beat in her ears.”

Caramel smiled. “What can I say? Queen is iconic.”

Turning her focus back to her laptop, she then proceeded to turn on some slightly quieter soft rock, including a song about butterflies that she said was by Michael Jackson. She couldn’t help but sing along to the chorus once or twice under her breath -- the second time when she caught herself, Caramel quickly glanced up at Orion as if to apologize, only to meet his eyes.

“You have a lovely voice,” he complimented her. 

Caramel glanced away, smiling modestly. “...Thank you.” 

“I liked the song you were singing last Tuesday,” he pressed on, as he brought his cleaning rag along the espresso machine behind the counter. “I would’ve said so at the time, but you looked to be in no state to have a conversation.”

Carewyn gave something of a grimace. “Mm...yeah, Tuesday was a bit rough.”

Orion placed his arms on the counter and leaned forward, clearly ready to listen. Caramel, however, shook her head dismissively. 

“Work drama. Nothing that exciting, just exhausting enough that you want an escape from it, when the workday is done...”

She typed away at her laptop as the next song in her playlist started. 

“Which artist sings this?” asked Orion, as he shifted himself back up off the counter so he could continue cleaning. 

“Suzanne Vega.”

Orion listened for a moment, closing his eyes absently. “...This is her, I think. The musician you were singing along to on Tuesday. There is a similar aura, to the lyrics -- detached and understated, and yet rhythmic in its poetry.”

Caramel’s almond-shaped blue eyes lit up. “Oh, I know which song you mean now...hold on...”

She opened her music directory and browsed the songs until she found what she was looking for and double-clicked on it. Once it started, Orion’s mouth spread into a full smile. 

“That’s the one,” he said.

He spritzed the counter with some cleaner and started to wipe it down.

“Sing as loud as you’d like,” he added without looking up. “Calming music can be very helpful in finding one’s center of balance.”

Caramel cocked an eyebrow. “‘Finding one’s center of balance?’”

“Certainly. One always does their best work when one’s mind is at peace, their spirit focused, and their aura balanced, wouldn’t you say?”

“I suppose so. I just don’t know if I would’ve phrased it that way.”

“As to be expected,” said Orion. “You seem like the sort of person who never is at a loss for how to phrase things in your own way.”

Caramel blinked. Then her lips spread into a full, wry white smile of her own. 

“And you seem like the sort of person who anyone would be foolish to underestimate.”

Orion’s black eyes glittered with something oddly like mischief as Caramel once again returned to typing away on her laptop. Not long after, he caught her singing along to the song in a fuller voice: the perfect accompaniment for him while he finished bussing the counter. 

Caramel’s voice was really quite pretty -- like a robin’s. 

From that day on, Caramel would take out her earbuds if she and Orion were the only ones in the cafe during closing hours. Sometimes they’d chat about philosophy, or animals, or the Olympic games -- once they even had a deep, meandering conversation about the movie Labyrinth being a metaphor for a young woman coming of age and the importance of fantasy stories to a child’s developing mind. And on those nights that were more crowded and Caramel had her earbuds in her ears, Orion couldn’t help but “reach out” anyway by drawing little custom designs in the foam of her Salted Caramel Macchiatos. One of his very first was a Michael-Jackson-worthy butterfly. 

#'football' meaning soccer to us americans XD; #because really could you see orion playing american football?? uh no #I think this'll just be a one-shot guys #I actually know nothing about coffee shops I don't drink coffee LMAO #but I did think the image was cute #<3 #hphm #hogwarts mystery #my art #au #coffee shop au #orion amari #carewyn cromwell #my writing

[the-chick-of-the-air]

A Quiet Kind Of Sad

Summary: Cardan is feeling a bit neglected and it makes him sad. Jude is there to make him feel better. Rating: G

Cardan was sad

That may sound ridiculous, even silly. But the truth was, even the High King of Elfhame felt blue every now and again.

Especially when the cause for such feelings were brought on by those closest to him.

It had started with The Roach.

The spy had arranged for an early sly-footing lesson with the King when out of no where he had to “reschedule”. Normally this wouldn’t have bothered Cardan, but he had been slightly anxious that morning (Jude hadn’t been in bed when he woke. Rather a flimsy piece of parchment stating she’d gone with The Bomb to scout out a potential threat lay in her stead. He very much loved waking up to the warmth of his wife next to him, thank you very much.) and he’d been looking forward to distracting himself with some lessons. Alas, that fell through.

In an even worse mood then normal, Cardan decided to show up to the council meeting scheduled for that afternoon. He still detested the things, but Jude was out (which made it even worse, the only reprieve he found during meetings such as these were when he had his wife firmly by his side) and she would want him to go for the both of them.

This brought on a whole new level of irritation, as none of the council members took him seriously in the first place. Without Jude to steer the ship that was this mess of a meeting, things had quickly spiraled out of hand and ended in a wreck. And of course, no one had deigned to listen to anything the High King had to say, which only further upset him.

He left the council room fuming, with no recollection of anything that was said- it had all been useless pecking anyway, but still- and Cardan had found himself in desperate need of two things, a breather and his Queen.

Thankfully, she had returned sometime during the meeting. She would need a break after all that sleuthing as well, right?

Wrong, apparently.

Cardan had all but burst into his wife’s study, intent in asking-begging, if need be- her to take a walk with him around the gardens. Surely she wouldn’t deny him that? Usually when they were separated for more then half a day they would get agitated without one another. Cardan would dare say it vital to all those who lived in Elfhame to ensure their rulers spent as much time together as possible.

Confidant that he would finally find some solace with his favorite person, he finally got to her and reached out to pull her into himself.

And she immediately moved away from him.

A sharp pang-that he would never admit to…probably- tore into Cardan’s chest. Why had she done that?

Though, he supposed, she had looked distracted, probably didn’t even notice his presence, so caught up in whatever document she was reading as she was. And maybe he’d gotten to good at sly-footing and she hadn’t heard him?

Geared with this hope, Cardan had moved in again, this time aiming to kiss her cheek. That would for sure get her attention-he was proud to say he was the only one allowed to kiss her face without consequences!- however as soon as he got close enough to brush his lips to her skin, she turned from him, murmuring, “Hi. Sorry, busy.”

Bus- what?

Cardan had practically deflated. Normally he’d simply grab her head and press kiss after kiss to her face until he got a laugh or a good natured scowl or something out of her.

But he was always in a good mood when he did that.

Now, he’d felt the final blow of the long beating that this day has doled out to him. And he couldn’t take it anymore. He found himself wilting as he thought back over every interaction he’d had that day. Thought of how The Roach had given no explanation as to his sudden disappearing act. Thought of how the Living Council had argued over his orders and drowned out his words until he had no choice but to remain silent. Thought of how even some servants had been eyeing him with an air of cool distrust that day.

And now his own wife, the one person, the one love he was certain he would be freely granted, especially when everyone else pushed him away, was shutting him out.

With a start, Cardan wondered if this was his doing. He frantically wracked his own mind, searching through his memory of the last few days, trying to find his mistake, his misstep. What had he done to incite such cold reactions from his closest company? What did he do to deserve this?

He came up short, but surely he’d done something wrong, at least in their eyes?

Almost too afraid of the answer he would receive, Cardan decided to ask what he’d originally set out to ask Jude for, desperately hoping this was all in his head, “I simply thought I would request a few moments of your time, dear Jude,” he’d bit out against his growing hurt, “A walk around the gardens, perhaps? I find myself in sore need of a break. Surely you would like a moment to yourself as well?”

Jude hadn’t even looked up, “I’m fine but you can go. I’ll see you later.”

Right, then. It appeared his time had been wasted in pursuit of trying to spend it with those who obviously didn’t want his company.

Nodding once, Cardan turned as quickly and as gracefully as he could and all but ran from the room.

He ignored the stares he revived from servants and loitering courtiers alike as he fled to the safety of his chambers-of their chambers. Once inside, he slammed the doors shut and willed a few throned vines to grow tightly over them.

And without further fanfare, he flung himself onto the oversized bed and cried.

So yes. Cardan was sad. And lonely. He could only assume that his closest companions aversion to spending time with him stemmed from their joint displeasure with him. Though what they were displeased about was a horrible mystery to him.

Perhaps he just wasn’t interesting enough for them any longer. Maybe he had done something to elicit subtle anger from everyone-well, the council wasn’t very subtle in their feelings, but The Roach and his lovely Jude had mastered the art of silent seething- it could be that everyone was just tired of him, he did have the remarkable ability to drive people away very quickly. Even those loyal to him eventually found cause for abandoning him.

He cried a little harder.

Rather then further trying to puzzle out why everyone hated him that day, Cardan simply allowed himself the small luxury of just feeling. Just accepting the tears as they slipped down his cheeks. He found it was ok to be sad, so long as you had a sound reason.

He was a bit lost in his own sorrows-mainly trying to ward off harsh memories of a mother who never wanted him and didn’t bother to hide it- so he didn’t immediately notice when someone entered the room.

After the footsteps registered, it wasn’t hard to figure out just who had been able to get through those vines.

Jude frowned when she entered their chambers. She’d had trouble remembering Cardan’s demeanor when he’d attempted to…what had he been in her study for? She had been so caught up in correspondence that she’d failed to really register what he had wanted. She’d figured if he hadn’t pressed the matter then it must not have been that important.

That pretense flew out the window when she reached the chamber doors.

They were bolted shut from the inside. It’d taken her a few moments and the use of her power-which she was still learning to use in its full capacity- to realize that the object blocking the doors was a thick group of thorny vines. She willed them to wither and made her way inside.

Pointless to say, she was slightly stunned when she heard sniffling coming from their bed. Was…was her husband crying?

Despite it not being very loud, nor dramatic-which was concerning, as drama was his go-to emotion- the sound tugged at something in her chest. She found herself hurting for her love, even though she’d had yet to find what ailed him.

She was about to ask-softly and sweetly because he was upset enough to be weeping- what was wrong when she caught herself.

She remembered his question. The way he’d asked her to take a break with him. It was as if the sound of him breaking down slapped the memory back into her.

He’d sounded agitated, upset, even. And didn’t he usually latch onto her as a way of greeting? He hadn’t- …yes. Yes he had. He’d reached out for her and she’d absentmindedly brushed him away, focused on her work as she was.

And, when trying to figure out why else he would be moved to tears-surely her unintentional rejection alone hadn’t pushed him over the edge- she recalled The Roach offhandedly mentioning he’d had to cancel her husband’s sly-footing lesson that morning due to a personal matter. Cardan must have taken it the wrong way.

Randalin had also stopped her in the hall, snidely commenting that her presence at the council meeting had been missed. Cardan hated those things on a good day.

She was an idiot. Her husband had been having a rough day and she’d ignored him in favor of work. Normally he would be fine with that-he always told her he adored the way she got lost in ruling the kingdom now and again- but he’d obviously been upset from the very start of the day.

Jude wasn’t one to coddle, normally. But the High King so rarely showed his vulnerability like this. And the fact that there wasn’t a single flask of alcohol in sight proved how serious this was. It may have not seemed big, but his feelings were valid, at least to her.

A sigh escaped her as she quickly made her way over to her husband. His eyes were open but staring blankly at the wall. A pillow-hers, she noted- was tucked in the crook of his arm, hiding half his face since he was laying on his stomach. Tears streaked his cheeks and dampened her pillow.

She said nothing, knowing words wouldn’t fix this. Mortals could lie, and if he was this down, he’d surely believe anything that came out of her mouth was nothing but false. Actions would have to speak for her.

She leaned over and kissed his bare shoulder. Her fingers found their way into his hair and she gently tugged at his curls when he buried his face in the pillow.

I’m sorry. She hoped the potency of that one thought seeped into his skin where her lips touched, hoped he could feel her asking for forgiveness for making him feel like this. Long past were the days where they derived any sort of pleasure for hurting each other emotionally. Now, any pain one felt was shared with the other, in sync and in love as they were.

Silently she slipped into the bed with him and wrapped her arms securely around him, leaving no room for doubt about how badly she wanted to be near him.

He shuddered, silent cries still wracking his body, and burrowed closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her chest. His tail wrapped tightly around her calf. Her shirt was wet in seconds. That was ok though, because her face was wet with her own tears.

She hadn’t meant to hurt him. And she desperately hoped he knew that, could sense her regret for neglecting him when he was obviously going through a tough time.

After a moment, his tears finally subsided. And Jude spoke before he had the chance to feel embarrassed or ridiculous about showing a normal emotion. Placing a kiss to his head she whispered,

“We can go on that walk now”.

His only response was to pull her closer.

Might do a part two where Jude knows from the beggining that he’s upset and we get a bit more insight to how they spend their time together while they are just comforting each other. As always, let me know what you guys think ❤️

Tag-list: (please let me know if you would like to be added to my tag list and I’ll be happy to add you🥰)

@maleckanejnessianjurdansolangelo @woodsbeyond1 @cardan-greenbriar-tcp @thewickedkings @aneurwin @snusbandxknifewife @jurdanhell @andromeddea @dressedindustandshadows @thesirenwashere @b00kworm @hizqueen4life @unidentifiedblackthorn @iminsanenotobsessed

❤️

#cardan greenbriar #jude duarte #jurdan #the cruel prince #tcp #tqon #twk #jude x cardan #fluff #angst #likeonlyalilbittho

[kakatenzo]

kkyam royalty au 1

okay I have two fic ideas that are centred around a royalty au and i wanted to post both on here and see which ones ppl preferred!

here’s royalty au 1 i’ll post the second one tomorrow

(ps this is un beta’d and it is 2:40am so i have not looked over it at all. just typed and hit send)

“You come here often?” Kakashi ask sleazily.

             It’s a cheap shot. He knows that, he’s sure he’s had better one liners at the tavern after one too many drinks but Kakashi can’t bring himself to care. The entire night has been occupied by stuck up nobility and empty conversations that carried across the ballroom. He’s just surprised he has managed to survive the entire night despite not coming from a royal lineage himself, it seems that all that condescending behaviour blocks all common sense and Kakashi tries not to be too smug about it. It’s a good thing he’s an excellent liar and charming if he really put his mind to it, and now he’s putting all his effort into trying to swoon this doe-eyed brunette. Kakashi hasn’t seen him before unlike the other parties of the monarchy who often were presented during ceremonies and announcements, so he assumes he is visiting from another kingdom. It’s perfect, Kakashi thinks, he’ll bag a noble for one night and never see them again.

             “Yes actually,” the brunette answers frowning and it catches Kakashi by surprise. “Konoha’s been my home since I was born. I suppose you are visiting?”

             Well, that’s one idea out the window so Kakashi replies dumbfoundedly, “Uh, yes.”

             It seems to jerk the brunette awake. “I apologise for I have misplaced my manners, good sir.” he says before straightening his shoulders and giving a bow. “I am Yamato, nobleman of Konoha.”

             Kakashi quickly dips into a bow. “Kakashi, crown prince of the Hatake kingdom.”

             Yamato raises a brow. “I don’t recall the Hatake family mentioning a visit to the kingdom.”

             The crown prince disguise had worked well the whole evening and if Kakashi is going to be honest with himself, it also gave his ego a small nudge but now his ego is deflating because it seems like he decided to try to court one of the only smart people in this ballroom.

             “It was all very last minute, so I apologise for the short notice.”

             The back of Kakashi’s neck prickles with heat and he resists the urge to ease the collar from his throat. The tavern is going to have a ball when they find out he got kicked out from the ball because he found a guy attractive.

             A small, almost bashful smile encompasses Yamato’s face instead and he amicably says. “I apologise I did not mean to doubt your presence. How are you finding the ball?”

             “Eh,” Kakashi says loosening up and his shoulders return to their usual hunched position. “Everyone here is on their high horse.”

             For a moment, Yamato looks horrified but then he laughs. Gentle and warm, and it invites Kakashi to relax further. “You’re very honest, do they allow the crown prince of your kingdom such brash honesty?”

             Kakashi returns a laugh because he is the opposite of honest. He is conning this poor man with his endless spindle of lies from the moment he had opened his mouth. “I’m only honest to people that I like,” he winks, “but I’m sure there are more honest people than me.”

             Yamato shakes his head. “I’ve been attending these royal balls since I was a child. Everybody treats you like you’re below them and make you feel small over the silliest things.”

             “Why do you keep attending them?” Kakashi asks and tries to ignore the sincerity that pools in his chest. “Can you not decline the invitation? It would save you from a lot of misery and hassle.”

             “I seldom do,” Yamato’s eyes slide to the side and breaks their eye contact. “My aunt she—she’s very high up and it’s pertinent I attend these events to create connections with other kingdoms.”

             Kakashi squashes the warmth of sincerity and replaces it with the hot rush of want. “Do you want to make a connection with me?” he offers haughtily and Yamato rewards him with a scandalised expression and a wonderful flush that disappears under his collar.

             His smile is timid but Yamato’s voice is firm when he says, “I’m not opposed to the idea of making connections with you.”

             “Let’s go make our connection somewhere less crowded.” Kakashi says and offers his arm.

             Yamato quietly latches onto the crook of Kakashi’s elbows and Kakashi escorts him out to the courtyard. They are greeted by the cool air of the evening and the luminescent glow of the moon who casts a soft spotlight on the shrubbery below her. The roses sleep gently under the calm glow of the moon, they rest because they are tired after dancing with the sun all morning. The rest of the greenery follows suit, all the branches hang low, the leaves don’t dance as they sleep to the orchestra of chirping crickets. The courtyard is large and paves a quarter of the unending garden, its stones are smooth and even unlike the rough cobbled pavements in the centre of town. The courtyard is fenced off by a low stone wall which Kakashi hops onto and pats the space next to him, offering Yamato to do the same.

             They’re both facing away from the large doors of the ballroom and Yamato tilts his head back as if he’s drinking in the light of the moon. “This is my favourite place in the palace.” He says quietly like a confession.

             “I can see why. It’s peaceful out here.” Kakashi says in agreement. “What do you like to do for fun, Yamato?”

             “What do you mean?” Yamato answers. His head snaps down to look at Kakashi and he almost looks baffled.

             Kakashi quirks a brow. “You know, when you’re not doing these parties or your duties? What do you do in your spare time?”

             Yamato bites his lip drawing Kakashi’s attention. “I like to tend this garden.” He decides after a moment.

             “Is that all?” Kakashi presses. He’s not a royal but he’s sure Yamato has at least some hobbies that don’t involve standing around and looking pretty all day.

             Even under the moonlight Kakashi can see the deep blush that spreads on Yamato’s face. “Well,” he starts. “I like sword fighting and I used to practice with the knights until they found—well, let’s just say nobody really liked to challenge me. The knights were all frightened they’d accidentally hurt me and then would get executed.”

             Kakashi can’t help the laugh that escapes his mouth. “Really?” he says gleefully. “I never expected you to be invested in combat.”

             Yamato looks away then. “I was interested in a lot of different things, but I had to whittle it down because it didn’t seem right, for someone like me to do them.”

             Someone like Yamato? “I thought noblemen could do whatever they wanted as long as it didn’t betray the kingdom.” Kakashi frowns. He’s sure he had seen the duke wandering around doing activities that Kakashi wouldn’t crown ‘duke-ly’.

             “I guess they just have high expectations,” Yamato shrugs. “Enough about me, you’re the crown prince! I’m sure you have much more exciting things to share than me.”

             “Where do I start?” Kakashi says coolly as he rapidly searches through all his memories. How the hell was he going to fabricate a royal story? He had many in the town and in the countryside, but they all consisted of him working or training and neither seemed princely. He then forces himself to remember all those conversations he had with those prudish Lords and Ladies in hopes of bringing up a hobby that was vaguely plausible.

             “If you don’t mind,” Yamato breaks his rapid-fire train of thought. “Can I ask how you received your scar?”

             Kakashi’s fingers find the line that staggers under his eye before it disappears into his mask. “It was from an attack,” he answers honestly for the first time that evening. “My friend and I were out where we weren’t meant to be, and we had been ambushed. This was from a knife.”

             He brushes his hair from his brow and slowly follows the ridge of his brow, over the curve of his eyelid and then over the soft fabric of the mask. Yamato’s eyes follow the path carefully, his eyes bright under the moonlight and his mouth slightly open in awe. “Is that why you wear the mask? For your safety?”

             Kakashi nods quickly in agreement.

             “You’re lucky to have survived, Prince Kakashi.” Yamato quips and hearing his name in Yamato’s mouth makes his heart jump.

             “It was a fair fight.” Kakashi says easily. “I won in the end anyway.”

             Yamato’s eyes widen and he sits up eagerly. “Do you get to train at your palace?”

             Kakashi thinks of the field. It is by no means a training room nor the mighty barracks that housed the knights. During winter, when the ground froze over, was when he would accumulate the most bruises after a spar and during summer, the soil would be so dry that it would kick up everywhere. It ended in his eyes, his hair, under his nails and he always came home dirty. He thinks of his makeshift targets and dummy, the way they’ve been branded with marks since he was a child and how they’re worn and yellowed with age. He wonders if Yamato had managed to brandish a shiny sword at all and practice his footing on even ground.

             “Yes, all the time.” Kakashi answers and he can’t look into Yamato’s eyes. “I begged my father so I could protect myself and it proved worthy.”

             Suddenly his hands are engulfed with Yamato’s own warm ones. “Could you teach me something?” he asks earnestly.

             Yamato is smiling so widely and Kakashi realises that Yamato may be the only genuine face he has encountered tonight. “Sure,” Kakashi says and leaps to his feet with Yamato following suit. “We have no swords, so we’ll focus on hand to hand combat.”

             Kakashi begins with stances, he notes the importance of the stance and how to make sure there are no openings that make Yamato vulnerable. He then moved onto basic attacks, how to disarm your opponent and the weakest points of the human body.

             “You’re a quick learner,” Kakashi comments nonchalantly and gently fixes Yamato’s arms by raising his elbow slightly.

             “Can I fight now?” Yamato asks with a glint in his eyes.

             Kakashi splutters. “I’m not going to fight you, Yamato.”

             The nobleman drops his stance. “How am I going to learn if I don’t fight someone?”

             “Your practice stances will kick in.” Kakashi lies. He had always made his students fight him.

             “Don’t lie to me. The knights spar all the time!” Yamato protests and Kakashi bites back on a grin.

             “I’ll go easy on you,” Kakashi offers. “I wouldn’t want to hurt your pretty face.”

             The deep flush invites itself again on Yamato’s face as he enters his first stance. They both move shift around in a circle, waiting for the other to make a move, arms and hands close to their face and chests, and their eyes locked onto each other intensely. Kakashi throws the first attack to which Yamato quickly parries and it leaves his neck exposed. Kakashi hooks his arm over the crook of Yamato’s neck but Yamato grabs his arm with both hands and throws Kakashi off. He stumbles back and Yamato follows with two quick punches, Kakashi ducks and before Yamato can throw a jab, he rises quickly, years of agility drilled into him and knocks Yamato back onto the grass.

             He lands with a soft ooft and leans back on his hands, he looks up at Kakashi with bright eyes, a ruddy face and a wide grin. His hair is ruffled but his shoulders are much more relaxed. “You’re very skilled, Kakashi.” Yamato compliments catching his breath.

             Kakashi stretches his arm out to offer a hand and pulls Yamato up. He jumps to his feet and ends up nearer to Kakashi than he had anticipated. “You’re a quick learner,” Kakashi parrots from earlier. He’s distracted by their vicinity. “You did well.”

             Their hands are still conjoined and Kakashi’s eyes drop to their clasped hands before dragging his eyes back up to Yamato’s dark gaze. Something snaps in the heavy silence between them, and Kakashi finds himself leaning in but Yamato stops him with a gentle press of his free hand to Kakashi’s chest.

             “Kakashi,” he says warily but his brows furrow with determination. “I have something to tell you.”

             Before either of them can get a word in the doors to the ballroom burst open and they both break apart from each other as if they’d been shocked. Queen Tsunade steps onto the courtyard and they both bow to greet her. Kakashi’s head swims as he straightens back up because Queen Tsunade is not a force to be reckoned with. He’s sure she’s caught him, she knows that he’s not a royal at all and has been parading around as a fraud all evening, and the mere thought of her punishment sends an awful bout of guttural anxiety.

             “Ah, there you are Tenzo!” Queen Tsunade bellows across the courtyard and approaches the duo. “I thought you had disappeared before the ceremony and I was getting worried. Come along now, you know we can’t start it without you and the people are waiting.”

             The relief that Queen Tsunade isn’t here for Kakashi doesn’t take the edge off his nerves. She’s even more powerful in person and this is the closest Kakashi has gotten to her. She’s shorter than he had expected, but her stoic glare and booming voice has commanded many rooms. Her blonde hair is loose over her shoulders, they fall gracefully frown the crown atop her head, and she places her hands on her hips, crinkling the jade green dress she’s often seen in. Kakashi is glad he no longer has Yamato’s hand in his grasp because he’s sure his hand would slip out with how much his palms are sweating.

             Yamato shoots him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry I’m afraid I have to go. Where can I find you later?”

             “Let’s meet here.” Kakashi says with the intention to bid Yamato goodbye before he returns to his regular civilian life. He had told enough lies tonight to last a lifetime.

             “I look forward to it.” Yamato says sweetly before turning to follow Queen Tsunade back inside.

             Kakashi lets out a sigh of relief and steals one long glance around the garden that Yamato had tended himself. He cranes his head to the moon, she had been the only audience to their dance, if you could call it such and turns on his heel to return to the ballroom.

             Gai is easy to find in the crowded ballroom because he is impressing a small crowd with handstands. Kakashi joins the crowd in watching Gai perform and remembers when he had challenged Kakashi to see who could hold a handstand for the longest. Unfortunately, it had been winter and the ground was damp with rain that left their hands muddy, cold and unmoveable.

             Towards the centre of the room, a servant calls for the audience’s attention so Kakashi steps forward. “I’m so sorry to interrupt the entertainment, but I believe there is a royal announcement.”

             Gai fixes himself back onto his feet with unyielding control and the small crowd reward him with a short round of applause before they all usher each other to the centre of the room.

             “Kakashi!” Gai booms. “It has been the most wonderful evening!”

             “I’m glad you’ve been enjoying it,” Kakashi says while Gai swings an arm around his shoulders. “Would you like to watch the ceremony?”

             “Why, of course!” Gai exclaims. “It would be of our best interest to make the most of our stay.”

             Truth be told, Kakashi really could not care for the ceremony because all he can think of is Yamato’s ruddy grinning face under the moonlight. How his eyes glittered even in the dark shawl of the night sky. (How dark his gaze had been when they were all but pressed close to each other with the moon as their only witness.)

             Although they are on the outskirts of the crowd, Queen Tsunade’s voice doesn’t fail to reach them from across the room. “Foremost, I would like to thank those who have attended today. It is always a pleasant sight to see, the unity of the kingdoms and our people, especially for an occasion such as this.” She pauses and the room waits with bated breath. “I am here tonight to proudly announce my heir and who will be next in line to the throne.”

             Her speech sends the room to a stifled but frenzied whisper. Heir? Queen Tsunade had no children. Her husband passed away before she could bear any heirs. Who is this heir? Has she passed the lineage of Konoha to a neighbouring kingdom’s prince? How are we to trust this new heir to rule Konoha?

             Queen Tsunade continues resiliently. “I apologise for hiding him from his people, he was too young to be exposed to the masses but I assure you he has been in this kingdom the entire time and I am confident that he will serve you, our people, very well. That’s why he is here today, because he has come of age and has grown into a splendid young man.” She smiles softly, pride shines in her eyes and she steps aside. “I would like to introduce my dear nephew, Prince Tenzo Senju, as your next ruler.”

             The room bursts into a cacophony of applause as Tenzo emerges and joins his aunt, Queen Tsunade, at the front of the crowd. He gives an obligatory bow, back straight as if he’s rehearsed it a lifetime and just like the one he gave Kakashi earlier that night. Except it’s not exact because his hair is ruffled from their short spar. Gai is clapping wildly next to him but it seems as if Kakashi can’t move his arms. The noise is far too loud—no, it is far too quiet and Kakashi drowns in the rushing noise of his thoughts filling his head. Realisation sinks in, like the first chill of winter that sinks deep into your bones, but you’ve not prepared a coat and you’re left shivering in the early rays of the sun.

             Then Tenzo turns and catches his eyes. He spares Kakashi a tight lipped smile, empty of the mirth from earlier that evening. No wonder why the knights didn’t allow Yamato to train, because they would have been fighting the crown prince of Konoha. He had little hobbies to do because he’s spent his entire life preparing to be the next ruler. With each piece that clicks into place the sinking feeling in his stomach only tightens.

             “—Kakashi,” Gai says and it shakes Kakashi out of his trance. There is a firm but grounding grip on his shoulder. “What’s the matter?”

             “Nothing. I’m just looking forward to meeting someone in the courtyard later tonight.”

#kakayama #my writing #WHEW this ended up longer than expected #kakashi #yamato #yamato tenzo #tenzo #kakashi hatake #naruto fic

[shan2-d2]

As the garbage fire year of 2020 continues, I have been struggling to find something to fill the Schitt’s-Creek-sized hole in my heart.

Which, come to think of it, replaced the Parks-and-Rec-sized hole in my heart prior to that.  I’ve always been a sucker for “soft” television, but with everything going on the world, whatever tolerance I had for heavier fare has disappeared completely.  Like, yeah, I’d love to catch I May Destroy You or I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, but I just. Can’t. Handle. Them. Right now, anyway.  

I do have some old standards to fall back on-- Bob’s Burgers, The Good Place, The Great British Baking Show, and Kim’s Convenience (bless you, Canada) work just fine.  But with so much time at home, I’ve been getting antsy for new, soft, comforting content.

Then I watched Julie and the Phantoms on Netflix.

And I loved it SO. MUCH. 

(Warning, since this is a family-friendly show: profanity ahead.)

Which, I have to admit, I’m kind of embarrassed about.  Like, look: I fully own up to the fact that my tastes aren’t exactly refined or mature.  I’m one of those contemptible “childless millennials”, after all.  There are things on my Netflix and Spotify lists that would make film buffs and hipsters cry.

But what I will give myself a pat on the back for is that I’m extremely open-minded when it comes to any sort of art consumption.  My tastes are super-varied, and I don’t have the burden of worrying about what is “socially acceptable” for me to watch.  I can watch Barry and Fleabag just as happily as I can watch Sarah & Duck (literally, a show for preschoolers that works better than any anti-anxiety medication I’ve tried) and old episodes of Tiny Toon Adventures.

Regardless, there’s embarrassment. Which is not about the fact that it’s a cheesy, High-School-Musical-esque, pre-teen friendly series, actually (... okay, maybe a little), but because the aging freakout is real, my friends.  Hitting the “Oh-My-God, I’d-Have-To-Play-the-PARENT” period of your life is fucking rough.  

Basically, in the words of Roger Murtaugh... I’m too old for this shit.

But I’m trying to tell myself that 1) Generation Z is delightful and I refuse to feel guilt for appreciating them, 2) god knows we’re all watching Stranger Things without embarrassment, and those kids are, like, twelve, and 3) now that I’m apparently ANCIENT, I’m supposed to stop caring about what other people think.

So: Julie and the Phantoms made my heart grow three sizes and I loved it a whole lot.

Quick synopsis: Julie, our hero, is a performing arts school student who is grieving the death of her mom and unable to continue making/playing music because of it.  One day, three ghosts of teenage boys who were in a mid-90’s rock band show up in her garage.  They form a new band (insert title of show here) and help Julie rediscover her love of music, while she helps them navigate the afterlife.  Bonding occurs, lessons are learned, the power of friendship is discovered, you get the idea.

And okay-- at its surface, it’s family-friendly entertainment, you know? Cute story, funny moments, the music is catchy, the whole cast is super talented (and, hey, can actually play their instruments! Whaddaya know!).

But the CHARACTERS!  THE SOFTNESS! THE REPRESENTATION!  If this is how young adults are going to written from now on, sign me the fuck up.

First of all, the two female leads of the show are women of color-- Julie (Madison Reyes) is Latinx and her best friend, Flynn (Jadah Marie), is Black.  That alone is (sadly, STILL) noteworthy, but I literally wanted to stand on my couch and yell about how wonderfully self-assured, smart, mature, strong, and competent these girls are.  Julie, in particular, is just… she’s just so cool, you guys. She never once has to rely on anyone else but herself to get shit done, and she takes responsibility for her own actions.  The girl very clearly knows her talent, capabilities, and worth, and PHEW, do we need to see more young women like her on our screens!  Like, yes, the boys support her, but they’re complete equals.  Julie doesn’t need any male saviors up in this business. She’s got this.  I LOVE HER. I SOMEHOW WANT TO BE HER WHEN I GROW UP, EVEN THOUGH SHE’S LIKE HALF MY AGE (oh GOD. I’m so OLD).

In fact, throughout the series, the importance of honesty, respect, and healthy support is repeatedly emphasized.  There’s no dependency issues here, and lying of any kind is clearly forbidden.  Which I loved, because the whole “teen lying to everyone” storyline has been done to death.

Then there’s the three boys of Sunset Curve-- Luke (Charlie Gillespie), Alex (Owen Joyner), and Reggie (Jeremy Shada), i.e. the messengers of destruction for toxic masculinity.  THIS IS THE MALE FRIENDSHIP PORTRAYAL WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, PEOPLE.  They’re so nice to each other! They’re so supportive! They’re tactile, openly emotional, and completely devoid of judgment of any interests or behaviors that don’t follow male social standards.  Bless the Age of the Soft Boys, may their reign be unbreakable and everlasting.

Oh, and Alex is openly gay.  It’s not just hinted at-- he’s out and proud, with an adorable crush/pre-relationship with a skater boy named Willie (Booboo Stewart).  And, apart from a quick mention about Alex’s parents being homophobic, the show pretty much takes the Schitt’s Creek route-- all love and acceptance, with not much of a thing made of his sexuality at all (in fact, there’s enough evidence that none of the boys are completely straight, and I’m here for that, too).

And if all of that isn’t enough of a cuddle to the heart for you, THERE’S MORE:

Julie’s supportive, soft dad

Reggie’s immediate, one-sided bond with Julie’s supportive, soft dad and her brother

Julie and Luke totally have crushes on each other and it’s SO SWEET but completely age-appropriate, good job guys

I’m a sucker for good harmonies and the band HAS ‘EM IN SPADES

Flynn being HBIC the entire series

Julie’s crush Nick being very realistically awkward and dopey in the shadow of Luke’s arms (Nick, dude, lose that HAT, I beg of you)

A surprisingly moving side-plot/song about Luke’s parents

Alex just wanting to dance, and also being a high-key feminist and calling out the others when they slip up

EVERYONE’S JUST SO FUCKING NICE, OKAY

So yeah. Shut up. It’s wonderful and pure, and I WILL TAKE ANY SOFTNESS I CAN GET IN THIS HELL YEAR, WHEREVER I CAN GET IT.

In conclusion, Kenny Ortega can have my entire soul if he wants it, for not only this but also Hocus Pocus and Newsies.

Completely Unnecessary Afterword:

Being old enough to remember 1995-- and, specifically, what was popular that year-- has brought up some important questions regarding the Sunset Curve boys:

We know they died in ‘95, but like… when? Did they get to see Empire Records, for Christ’s sake?! Did they see Casper, because, I mean, they’re basically the Devon Sawas of 2020?  Were they spared their contemporaries’ fate of constantly over-quoting Billy Madison and Tommy Boy?  

OH MY GOD, DID THEY HAVE AOL SCREEN NAMES, AND WHAT WERE THEY??

What are each of the guys’ favorite song off of Boyz II Men’s “II”? This is possibly the MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION.

Did they die before Jagged Little Pill came out?  That would kind of break my heart.  Not that I expect Julie to start portraying Alanis-levels of anger/angst, but ‘95 was a YEAR for women in rock.  Garbage, Hole, No Doubt, PJ Harvey, The Cranberries, Veruca Salt, Bjork, and countless others-- they all had massive hits that year.  I love the idea of Julie and the guys sitting around the garage listening to all of those women for inspiration.  Can we have a resurgence of female-led rock bands taking over the charts, please?

On a much more serious note, given where the AIDS crisis was in ‘95, it’s no wonder Alex is a nervous wreck. It’s not really something I expect the show to delve into, but man… getting transported to 2020 might’ve been a bit of a blessing (not that things are great now, but y’know, medical progress).

How in the world did none of them fall victim to the whole “white boys dressing hip-hop” trend back in ‘95? I mean… Clueless got it right. (Wait, did they make it to Clueless??)

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #blog #netflix #I am old

[maddrmatt]

Kairi’s Epic Journey: The Quest for Sora

New to this fanfic? Click here to properly begin!

Chapter 20: To the North Mountain

Arendelle

A short while later, after getting herself dressed, Kairi paced back and forth around the room, racking her brain for any possible explanation for last night’s unexpected show. Pluto watched from his spot on the bed.

“I just can’t understand it, Pluto.  How was I able to see one of Sora’s memories?  I mean, I’ve had many dreams about him since he was lost.  But none of them were about things that actually happened. Why am I having them now?” she asked.

Pluto just gave a shrug of his shoulders and a whimper to indicate he had no idea either.  Kairi sighed and sat down on the bed next to him.

“Do you think maybe I was supposed to learn something from that memory?  But if so, then what was it?  When I returned to the Islands, Chirithy filled all of us in about what happened in that world when Sora was trying to save me.  So, if there was nothing in that memory that I didn’t already know, then what was the point of even showing it to me?” asked Kairi holding her head in her hands.

Pluto whimpered and pawed at her shoulder.  Kairi gave a small smile while she put her arm around her canine companion and stroked his back.

“I know you can’t possibly have the answers, Pluto.  But thanks for listening anyway.  It’s just not easy having so many unanswered questions while we’re on this quest. Between the Wayfinder, the woman in my dreams who gave it to me, and the Memento Card from Never Land, I just don’t think I can handle any more mysteries.”

‘It’s times like these I wish I could go to someone wiser than me like Master Yen Sid, Merlin or Ansem the Wise.  But, besides the fact that I can’t get to their worlds from here, they’d probably just tell Riku and the others and then I’d be dragged back home to the Islands.  I really am on my own here.’

Just then, there was a knock on the door followed by an elderly female voice who said, “Miss Kairi?  The queen and the princess were wondering if you’ve awoken yet. They’re awaiting you in the dining hall for breakfast.”

“I have, Gerda.  Please tell them I’ll be there soon,” responded Kairi.

“Of course,” said Gerda’s voice as the sound of her footsteps walking away were heard outside the door.

Kairi let out a large sigh.  “Actually Pluto, watching that memory did get me thinking about something regarding Anna and Elsa.  In fact, it’s actually something that’s been on my mind ever since we were preparing to face Xehanort.”

Pluto looked at her in confusion.  But he gestured for her to continue.

Kairi rose to her feet and faced the dog.  “In the memory, Sora mentioned that we fought against Xehanort and the Organization even though it was what he wanted to happen in order to keep them from going after Anna, Elsa and the other new Princesses of Heart.  But I’ve been wondering for the longest time if we could’ve done a little more than that. Like maybe warning them about the danger they could be in.  Or even gathering them all together and bringing them to somewhere they might be safe.”

Pluto gave a yelp of surprise in response. Kairi gestured for him to be quiet.

“I know.  I know.  If the others were here, they’d probably give me a big lecture about how those ideas would be a major violation of the world order.  And yes, I admit I did say differently to you last night after Elsa left. But I can’t help it.  It just doesn’t seem right to keep the other Princesses in the dark like this.  There could be others like Maleficent and Xehanort out there and I hate to think of what might happen to the Princesses and their worlds if they come after them especially since they would have no idea why.  Personally, after everything I’ve been through, I’d certainly want to know of any potential threats that might come after me regardless of the rules,” stated Kairi.

Kairi let out another sigh before she continued, “I don’t know, Pluto.  If it were truly up to me, I’d tell Anna, Elsa and the rest of the new Princesses of Heart everything.  And I’m sure if Sora was here, he’d probably agree with me.  Do you think I’m wrong for wanting to do this?”

Pluto considered Kairi’s words.  Ever since his master had taken up the Keyblade, he too knew how important preserving the world order was.  But, at the same time, he had to concede that Kairi was making some good points.  Unable to give a definite answer to his friend, he simply gave an uncertain shrug.

Suddenly, a loud roar rang through the room causing Kairi and Pluto to jump.  It sounded as if it was coming from outside.  Kairi rushed to the window and parted the curtains.  She gasped in shock.

Her window looked out into the courtyard. And currently squeezing through the gates was a giant monster that looked like it was made of snow.  It had claws made of ice and protrusions of ice coming out from its knees.  Its face was composed of two empty holes for eyes and a large wide mouth that was the source of the roars.

“Pluto!  There’s some kind of monster outside!  It might be a Heartless after Anna and Elsa!  We’ve got to fight it off!”

Quickly, she opened the window and climbed onto the sill.  She quickly leapt to the ground with Pluto landing shortly beside her.

The snow monster had just finished pushing through the gates.  It was now lumbering across the courtyard towards the doors.  So far, it hadn’t noticed Kairi and Pluto

‘I may have failed with Sora.  But I will not fail to keep Anna and Elsa safe!’ Kairi thought as she summoned her Keyblade and pointed it at a spot on the ground between the snow monster and the doors.

“Fire!” shouted Kairi as she shot a fireball from her Keyblade.  It struck the ground right in front of the snow monster.  It roared in fright.

Taking advantage, Kairi and Pluto charged in and stood in front of the doors.  They struck defensive poses before the snow monster.

“Back off, you beast!  If you’re looking to hurt Anna and Elsa, then you’re going to have to go through us first!” she yelled with Pluto barking in accompaniment.

The snow monster let out an enraged roar as it raised it’s claw in preparation to swipe it at Kairi and Pluto.  The girl raised her Keyblade to meet the oncoming attack.

But just as the snow monster was about to attack, it stopped.  Its empty eyes gazed at Kairi’s Keyblade.  A look of what seemed to be recognition crossed its face.

“Sora?” it bellowed.

Kairi’s eyes opened wide in surprise upon hearing what the snow monster had just said.  She lowered her Keyblade as she and Pluto both glanced up to the snow monster in confusion.

“What did you say?” asked Kairi.

“Kairi, if you wanted to play with Marshmallow, you could’ve waited until after breakfast.  That way, we could all play together.”

Kairi looked behind her right to see Olaf walking toward them.  Oddly, he didn’t seem too concerned that there was a giant monster in their presence.

As he walked past her, the snowman’s eyes fell on Kairi’s Keyblade and he gasped in surprise.  “Oh!  Sora has one of those too!  Only not as flowery.”

Olaf walked up to the snow monster and hugged its leg.  Kairi’s and Pluto’s jaws dropped in surprise.

“So good to see you here, little brother!” Olaf said joyfully.

Kairi’s surprise increased.  “Little brother?!” she exclaimed in disbelief.

“Oh, I guess you two must’ve started playing with each other so quickly, you didn’t properly introduce yourselves.  Allow me,” said Olaf as he clutched onto one of the snow monster’s claws and led him up to Kairi.  The snow monster hesitantly walked alongside him.

“Kairi, Pluto, I’d like you to meet my little brother, Marshmallow.  Marshmallow, this is Kairi and her dog Pluto,” said Olaf.

Kairi unsummoned her Keyblade and hesitantly held out her hand to Marshmallow’s claw.  “Uh, nice to meet you, Marshmallow,” she said unsurely.

Much to her surprise, Marshmallow regarded her with uncertainty.  ‘I guess I can’t really blame him.  I did almost attack him.’

“Now don’t be shy, Marshmallow.  Kairi’s very nice.  She’s actually a very close friend of Sora’s,” said the smaller snowman whispering the last sentence.

A small smile came to the giant’s face.  He placed the tip of his claw into Kairi’s palm allowing her to shake it.

Kairi returned his smile before it was replaced by concern.  “Olaf, doesn’t he feel a little moist?”

Olaf glanced at his stick hand and took note of the moisture now on it.  “Not to worry, Kairi.  All Elsa needs to do is give him a flurry of his own and he’ll be okay for his visit.”

Kairi gazed at the giant snowman.  Now that he wasn’t creating an uproar, he looked like he was a pretty gentle giant.

Although, there was one feature of Marshmallow that disconcerted her.  She noticed several holes scattered around his body.  They almost looked like battle scars.

“Olaf!  Kairi!” exclaimed Anna’s voice.

Kairi turned and saw Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Sven approaching.  Behind them was a crowd composed of the castle staff.  All of them seemed to be concerned with Marshmallow’s presence.

“Anna!  Elsa! Marshmallow came to visit us!” exclaimed Olaf.

Anna looked at all the holes over Marshmallow’s body and gasped.  “What happened to him?  Why does he look so roughed up?”

“You mean he doesn’t look like that normally?” asked Kairi causing Anna to shake her head in response.

Olaf finally noticed the holes himself and his eyes opened wide.  “Oh! I’m sorry, little brother!  I was so happy to see you; I didn’t notice you were hurt.  Elsa, can you help him?” he asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, Olaf.  I’ll take care of this,” said Elsa as she waved her hands.  Her ice magic travelled from her hands and flowed around Marshmallow. The holes filled up with new snow as he let out a sigh of relief.

“And just to make sure he doesn’t melt while he’s down here,” said Elsa as she conjured a larger version of Olaf’s snow flurry above the giant snowman.

“There!  That’s better!  Now you’ll be nice and cool for your visit down here,” said Olaf.

“Something tells me he didn’t come here for a visit, Olaf. Look how distressed he looks,” said Kairi.

“Kairi’s right.  And even if he wanted to visit, Marshmallow knows that shouldn’t come down from the North Mountain when it’s not winter,” said Kristoff.

Before any of them could press the matter further, they heard from behind them say, “I heard the uproar and saw everyone running out. What ever is the matter?”

Everyone turned behind them to see the Duke of Weselton making his way through the crowd.  Upon seeing Marshmallow, he gasped in surprise.

“Oh my!  Erik and Francis told me of your larger snowman that guarded your ice palace, Queen Elsa.  But to see it in person is quite a sight indeed.  But why on earth has it come here?” inquired the Duke.

“Marshmallow is not an ‘it’, Your Grace.  He is a he and I’m sure he would prefer that you referred to him as such,” snapped Anna causing the Duke to back off in surprise.

“Anna, don’t be rude,” chided Elsa before turning to the Duke.  “You’ll have to forgive my sister, Your Grace.  Marshmallow’s unexpected appearance is causing all of us a little concern.”

“Oh no.  It was an error on my behalf.  I meant no offense to er Marshmallow.  Please accept my apology, Princess Anna,” said the Duke.

Anna looked as if she was ready to lash out again at the Duke.  But a look of warning from both Elsa and Kristoff made her reconsider.

She took a deep breath and said, “It’s fine, Your Grace.  Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to find out why Marshmallow is here.  You may continue on your returning home.”

Elsa, in the meantime, addressed the rest of the crowd.  “You can all return to your duties.  My sister and I will attend to this matter,” she said as the crowd heeded her words and returned to the palace.

Anna turned her attention back to Marshmallow. “Marshmallow, not that we don’t like seeing you, but why are you here?  You know Arendelle isn’t safe for you during the spring.”

Marshmallow gave an apologetic look.  “Chased!  From palace!” he cried causing everyone’s eyes to open up in surprise.

“Chased? What on earth would an immense creature such as him run away from?” asked the Duke’s voice.

Anna turned back to the Duke who had stopped shortly of entering the palace.  She shot him a deadly glare causing him to cower slightly.

“Uh right.  You were probably about to find that out.  I’ll just return to my preparations to leave.  Forgive my interruption,” said the Duke as he turned around and walked quickly back into the palace finally leaving the group alone in the courtyard.

‘Boy, if looks could kills, the Duke would be dead right where he stood.  But as much as I hate to agree with him, he is right.  Marshmallow looks like something others would run from, not the other way around,’ thought Kairi.

“Marshmallow, who chased you?” asked Elsa.

“People!  With fire!” groaned Marshmallow who looked almost traumatized just mentioning it.

“Oh no.  No wonder you ran,” said Olaf as he hugged his brother’s leg.

Kairi regarded the giant snowman with sympathy. ‘The poor thing!  He must’ve been terrified!  And I just had to shoot a Fire spell to get his attention,’ she thought with regret.

Kairi approached the giant snowman and grabbed onto one of his giant hands.  She gave it a reassuring rub.  “I’m really sorry, Marshmallow.  If I knew who you were, I wouldn’t have tried to attack you.”

Marshmallow was surprised at the sudden gesture of comfort. But he gave a grunt of thanks.

“Why would anyone chase Marshmallow out of the ice palace?” asked Anna.

“I don’t know.  Maybe they were seeking shelter in the mountain and found the ice palace.  They may have assumed he was dangerous, and they ended up in a fight.  A fight that they apparently won,” said Kristoff.

“That’s not very nice. Marshmallow would’ve probably let them stay with him if they had just asked nicely,” said Olaf.

“Yes.  But unfortunately, Olaf, not everyone knows Marshmallow as well as we do,” said Kristoff.

“Well, whoever they are, we can’t let them get away with treating him like this.  I say we march right up to the North Mountain and demand an explanation from them,” said Anna pounding a fist into her palm.

“Now, Anna, let’s not do anything too rash.  We have to think this through,” said Elsa.

“What’s there to think about?  There’s a group of people in your ice palace who attacked our friend.  He was probably lucky to get out of there alive.  We can’t just do nothing,” said Anna.

“I never said we were going to do nothing.  I’ll travel up to the North Mountain and try to negotiate with them.  It may just be a misunderstanding and we can resolve this peacefully,” said the queen.

“But what if it’s not a misunderstanding?  What if these people are dangerous?  I’m not letting you go up there alone if they are.  Certainly not without me or the boys,” said Anna with Kristoff, Sven and Olaf nodding in agreement.  Marshmallow nodded too although he looked a little hesitant.

“Anna, no.  With my powers, I can protect myself from whatever might happen up there.  Besides, if we all go, then no one’s going to be able to help Kairi search for Sora,” Elsa said.

Anna gasped in realization.  She turned around to face Kairi.  “Oh, Kairi! I’m so sorry!  We’re supposed to be helping you today,” said the princess apologetically.

“You know what, Anna?  It can wait,” said Kairi bluntly to everyone’s surprise.  

“But Kairi, what about Sora?  Don’t you want to start looking for him?” asked Olaf.

“More than anything.  But who knows how long it will be before we actually find anything? We should deal with this right now,” said Kairi.

Anna’s surprise increased.  “We?  You mean…”

“Yes.  If you’re going up to this ice palace, then you can count on me to help you out,” stated Kairi as Pluto barked to show his desire to help as well.

“I don’t know, Kairi.  I don’t want to put you in danger,” said Elsa.

Kairi held out her hand and summoned Destiny’s Embrace.  “I think I can handle any kind of danger.”

Everyone gasped in surprise.  “You have one of those giant keys too!  Just like Sora!” exclaimed Anna.

“Yes, she does.  I saw it earlier before all of you came into the courtyard.  You know, there must be some pretty big doors somewhere for these big keys,” said Olaf.

“I watched Sora use his to fight off the Heartless with Donald and Goofy.  It was amazing what he could do with it,” said Elsa as she looked at the Keyblade.

“If you’ve seen what he can do with his, Elsa, then you know that like him, I’m not going to stay behind when there’s a wrong to be righted,” said Kairi.

“Kairi, are you sure?” asked Elsa.

Kairi smiled at the queen.  “I am. The most important thing that we do right now is get Marshmallow his home back.  Sora would do the same thing if he were here now.”

“I can see why you and Sora are such good friends.  You’re both so helpful,” said Olaf.

“Indeed.  Thank you, Kairi,” said Anna gratefully before turning to her sister.  “Elsa, we know you just want to keep us all safe.  It’s always been one of your best qualities.  But that doesn’t mean you have to do everything by yourself.  I believe that with all we have to offer, we can pull this off.  And if Kairi’s willing to put her search for Sora on hold to help out, the least you can do is accept it.”

Elsa gazed at everyone around her hesitantly.  Throughout most of her life, she dreaded any harm coming to the people she loved especially Anna.  But she had to admit that her sister was right.  With so many willing to help, including their newest friend, it would be wrong to decline.

Finally, the queen let out a sigh and smiled at her sister.  “I guess I’m really outnumbered on this one.  You win.  Kristoff, can you get your sled ready to go?”

“Right away, Elsa. Let’s go, Sven,” said Kristoff as he and the reindeer dashed off to the stable.

“Come on, Kairi.  If we’re going up to the North Mountain, you’re going to need some warmer clothes,” said Anna.

“Do you think you have anything that’ll fit me?” asked Kairi.

“I’m sure we can find something,” said Anna as she took Kairi by the hand and led her back into the palace with Pluto following behind leaving Elsa and Olaf alone with Marshmallow.

“Don’t worry, Marshmallow.  We’ll get your home back.  Right, Elsa?” asked Olaf as he petted his brother’s hand.

“We’ll see, Olaf. Hopefully, whoever chased him out can be reasoned with,” said Elsa worriedly.

________________________________________________________________

A short while later, everyone who was going up to the North Mountain was gathered around Kristoff’s sled to which Sven was hitched up.  Anna was dressed in the winter clothes that she had got at Oaken’s during Elsa’s winter. Kristoff was in his ice harvesting outfit and Elsa remained in her snow gown.

“Are those clothes you found comfortable for you, Kairi?” Elsa asked the princess of heart who was now dressed in a brown winter outfit complete with boots and gloves.

“They are a little big, but it’ll do.  I will admit, I’m not used to wearing something like this.  Where I come from, the weather doesn’t usually require clothing this warm,” said Kairi.

“Well, at least you’re better dressed for cold weather than Sora was when he was here,” said Elsa.

“Yeah.  I can imagine he probably was pretty vocal in his complaints about freezing.  But Elsa, don’t you want to dress a little more warmly?” asked Kairi gesturing to the queen’s apparently flimsy gown that one probably wouldn’t normally wear in the cold.

“You don’t need to worry about me.  The cold never bothered me anyway,” said Elsa.

“Yes.  And you won’t believe how many times she’s made that point,” said Anna causing Elsa to chuckle.

Kairi smiled.  It looked like Anna and Elsa were on their way to getting over their conflict.

“We’d better get going if we want to make it up to the North Mountain and back before dark,” said Kristoff.

“Can Sven make it in that time, Kristoff?” asked Kairi.

“Oh yes.  I’m pretty strong and you will not believe how fast I can go,” said Kristoff in his Sven voice causing Kairi to laugh.

“At least you won’t have to carry Marshmallow with us in the sled.  He’d definitely slow you down,” said the Princess of Heart gazing up at the giant snowman who had Olaf sitting on top of his head.

“Oh, he doesn’t mind walking.  And I’ll be right up here so he won’t get lonely,” said Olaf giving his brother a pat on the head to which he let out a grunt.

“Let’s get going, everyone.  We’ve got some bad guys to chase out of the ice palace so we can get Marshmallow his home back!” exclaimed Anna.

Everyone boarded the sled.  Kristoff sat up front at the reins with Anna at his side.  Kairi climbed into the back with Elsa and Pluto.

But just as Kristoff was about to command Sven to leave, a voice from the palace called out, “Queen Elsa!  Princess Anna!”

Everyone turned toward the doors.  To their surprise, the Duke of Weselton was running toward them with a pair of guards following close behind.

‘Now what does he want?’ thought Kairi.

Once the trio had reached the sled and stopped, one of the guards said, “I’m sorry, Your Majesties. We were about to escort him back to his ship.  But he ran away from us.”

Elsa rose to her feet, walked to the edge of the sled and gazed at the Duke.  “Your Grace, one of the terms of your visit was that you were to be escorted by the guards at all times and only go where you were supposed to,” she said sternly.

“I know and forgive my violation, Your Highness.  But in light of the circumstances, there is something I feel I need to ask you,” pleaded the Duke.

Anna was about to say something until Kristoff gently grabbed her by the arm.  “Let Elsa handle this,” he whispered.

“Very well.  What is it?” asked the queen.

“I know this may be too much to ask of you and I know I have no right to ask in the first place. But I humbly request to accompany you on your journey to the North Mountain,” said the Duke causing everyone’s to shoot open with shock.

‘Why would he want to come with us?’ thought Kairi.

It seemed Elsa shared the same train of thought with Kairi.  “Your Grace, why do you wish to come along?”

“Because if those ruffians that chased your giant are anything like I used to be, then perhaps I could be of assistance to you in persuading them of their error.  You both could consider it part of my atonement for my offenses against you.”

“Your Grace, the best way you can atone to both of us for your offenses is to let the guards escort you to your ship and return to Weselton.  We are all perfectly capable of dealing with whoever is in the ice palace without any need for your assistance.  Right, Elsa?” asked Anna.

Much to Anna’s surprise, Elsa didn’t seem to agree.  In fact, it almost looked like she was actually taking the Duke’s request into consideration.

Anna gasped in horror as she rose to her feet and faced her sister.  “Elsa, no!  Letting him come along is going way too far!” she exclaimed.

“Anna, please think about this.  He’s abided by all our conditions during his visit here and up to now, he hasn’t asked anything of us.  In light of that, I think maybe we should allow him to come with us,” said Elsa before leaning toward Anna and whispering to her sister, “This is still about keeping things civil between our homelands.  It would be foolish to jeopardize that now.”

Anna looked like she wanted to scream.  She looked over to Kristoff who held up his hands indicating he didn’t want to get involved in this.

Anna looked to Kairi. All the Princess of Heart could do was give a shrug showing she had no idea of what to do either.

“Errgh!  Fine!  You can come along, Your Grace,” said Anna begrudgingly before shooting her sister a glare.  ‘But if you’re waiting for me to like it, you’ll be waiting for a very long time.’

“Oh, thank you so much, Princess.  I promise you that you will not regret this, and I will do everything I can to assist you all in your endeavor.  I also look forward to seeing this fabulous ice palace of yours,” said the Duke.

“Oh, you’re going to love seeing it.  It’s quite a work of art, Mr. Weasel Town,” said Olaf.

The Duke’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.  “It’s Wesel…,” he nearly shouted before catching himself and clearing his throat. “I mean, I’m sure it is.”

“Well, if you’re coming with us, then climb on in,” said Anna as she climbed off the sled.

“Anna, where are you going?” asked Elsa.

“To ride with Olaf,” she said curtly.

Kairi watched Anna walk up to the giant snowman.  Marshmallow gently picked up Anna in his hand and raised her up to his shoulder allowing her to climb on top of him.

Kairi let out a sigh.  ‘Just when it seemed that everything was about to be fixed between them, this had to happen.’

“Elsa, I’m going to ride with her and Olaf.  Maybe I can calm her down,” said Kairi.

“Thank you, Kairi,” said Elsa as she climbed up front to sit next to Kristoff.

Kairi was about to climb out of the sled just as the Duke entered through the back.  “Oh!  I don’t believe we’ve had a proper introduction, young lady.  The Duke of Weselton, at your service,” said the Duke with a bow causing the rear half of his wig to flop forward.

“Uh, nice to meet you, Your Grace.  My name is Kairi, and this is my dog Pluto,” said Kairi as she bowed back while Pluto eyed the Duke with suspicion.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both, Miss Kairi.  Am I correct in assuming you are a newcomer to the queen’s circle of friends?” asked the Duke.

“You could say that. We all have a mutual friend who has gone missing.  We were supposed to begin our search for him today before this problem came up,” said Kairi awkwardly.

“I’m very sorry to hear that.  I do hope you find him,” said the Duke sympathetically.

“So do I,” said Kairi as she walked past the Duke and hopped off the end of the sled.

“Pluto!” she whispered as the dog came over to her.  “I know the Duke seems like he’s not up to no good.  But keep an eye on him just the same.”

Pluto gave a salute with one of his ears.  He then turned around and kept his eyes on the Duke who was now seated behind Elsa.

‘Having the Duke come along is going to complicate things especially since I don’t know how he’s going to react if he sees me and my Keyblade in action.  I guess I’ll just have to trust Elsa that he really is trying to turn over a new leaf.’

Kairi then walked over to Marshmallow.  Knowing what she wanted, the giant snowman picked her up like he did with Anna and raised her high enough that she could climb up to where Anna and Olaf were.

“Nice of you to join us, Kairi,” said Olaf pleasantly.

“Glad to see you didn’t want to be around the Duke either,” said Anna bluntly.

Having overheard her sister, Elsa sighed and turned to Kristoff.  “It’s time we got started.  Go ahead, Kristoff.”

The ice harvester nodded and snapped the reins.  Taking the signal, Sven began to pull the sled toward the gates of the castle. Marshmallow trudged close behind at a similar pace.

Their trip to the North Mountain and Elsa’s ice palace had begun.

________________________________________________________________

A few hours later, the party had travelled far away from the village.   The signs of getting closer to the mountain were beginning to be seen as they entered an area of snow-covered ground.

As Kairi rode atop Marshmallow, she mulled over how the trip had gone so far.  ‘According to what we learned when we stopped at Oaken’s trading post earlier, neither he nor any of his family heard anything come past them last night.  So, whoever these people in the ice palace are, they must’ve come from outside Arendelle.’

Kairi then glanced over to Anna who was shooting a hostile look at the Duke in the sled. She had been doing it throughout the whole trip.

‘There’s got to be something I can do to help Anna end this hostility towards not only the Duke, but her sister as well.’

Suddenly, Marshmallow halted.  Kairi, Anna and Olaf looked ahead and saw that the sled had stopped as well.

“Okay, everyone out,” said Kristoff.

“What on earth for?” asked the Duke.

“I need to take the wheels off and replace them with the runners.  Otherwise, we can’t go any further, Your Grace,” said Kristoff.

“Oh.  Well, carry on then,” said the Duke as he, Elsa and Pluto disembarked the sled.

But just as Kristoff was about to get to work, he saw something up ahead.  He rushed toward it.

“Kristoff, what is it?” asked Anna from on top of Marshmallow.

“There’s a trail of tracks over there.  They’re heading in the direction of the ice palace.  I’m going to take a closer look,” he said as he pointed ahead.

Once the ice harvester reached the tracks, he kneeled down.  He studied them closely.

“Does he know what he’s doing?” the Duke whispered to Elsa.

“Kristoff grew up in these wilds, Your Grace.  So, if he thinks there’s anything that can be learned from those tracks, we have to trust him,” said Elsa as Sven grunted in agreement.

“If you say so.  But I do hope we get to our destination very soon.  The way this dog has been looking at me is making me rather uncomfortable,” said the Duke pointing over his shoulder at Pluto who was still keeping a close eye on him.

After a few minutes, Kristoff returned to the sled. “What did they look like, Kristoff?” asked Kairi.

“From what I saw, there’s footprints, hoofmarks and sled tracks which means there may be a lot of them.  But I can’t tell how many exactly,” said Kristoff as he resumed work on swapping the wheels for the runners.

Elsa gazed up toward the mountains ‘What kind of people are we dealing with and what could they be doing up there?’

“Do you think it would be a good idea to turn back and resume this journey with reinforcements?” asked the Duke.

“No.  We’ve come too far already to turn back now.  Besides, we have everything and everybody who can handle this, Your Grace,” said Anna sourly.

Elsa glanced up at to Marshmallow.  Her heart sank as she saw the persistent unpleasant look on her sister’s face.

Seeing the Duke was on the opposite side of the sled and out of earshot, she walked up to Kristoff and asked quietly, “Kristoff, do you think I made a mistake in bringing the Duke along?”

“I know you’re just trying to keep things good between you and him, Elsa.  But I won’t deny that it is a bit of a setback to things getting back to normal around here,” said Kristoff as he worked.

Elsa’s frown deepened and Kristoff offered her a comforting smile.  “Don’t worry. I have a feeling that the other feisty redhead up there can talk some sense into her.”

In spite of herself, Elsa managed to smile a little as she recalled her conversation with Kairi the evening before. ‘Kairi does seem like the type of person who could do that.  It’s no wonder she and Sora are good friends.”

“I think there may even be a little more than friendship between them,” said Kristoff causing Elsa to give a look of surprise.  

“He did grow up with love experts so he can recognize it when he sees it,” Kristoff said in his Sven voice to which Sven nodded.

Elsa thought about it some more.  ‘Kristoff may be right.  The way we’ve heard Kairi talk about Sora, even though it’s tainted by sadness, is very similar to how Anna talks about Kristoff.’

Then a small frown came to her face.  ‘I can only hope after this, we can find some way to bring the two of them back together.’

________________________________________________________________

Much later, after the wheels had been swapped out for the runners, the trip had resumed.  The party was now travelling even higher into the mountains.

Ever since the earlier stop, things had been pretty quiet between Elsa, Kristoff and the Duke.  None of them was willing to start a conversation.  They sat in silence in the sled.

On top of Marshmallow, however, Olaf was as vocal as usual.  He was laying on his back and pointing out the shapes in the clouds.

“Look, Anna and Kairi! There’s a cloud that looks like a fluffy bunny!  It’s so cute!” exclaimed the snowman pointing upward.

Kairi looked at the cloud in question and smiled.  “You’re right, Olaf!  It does look like a rabbit.  Don’t you see it, Anna?”

Anna said nothing. She just continued to glare at the Duke in the sled.

‘Okay. Peacemaker time,’ thought Kairi. “Anna, I know you’re not too… enthused about having the Duke with us.”

“Now there’s the biggest understatement ever, Kairi.  Any second now, I know he’s going to turn on us and hurt Elsa,” said Anna.

“Anna, I doubt he’s going to try anything especially since we outnumber him eight to one.  If we’re going to deal with this problem, we’re all going to need to work together and this frosty attitude towards your sister isn’t helping things,” said Kairi.

“Anna?” Olaf asked causing her to turn to him.  “Kairi’s right. I don’t like it that you’ve been making Elsa feel so badly,” he said sadly.

A flash of regret shot across Anna’s features.  “I’m sorry, Olaf.  I don’t like making Elsa feel bad either.  It’s just so hard being around the Duke after everything he did.”

“I understand, Anna. I’ve actually been in a position similar to this one before,” said Kairi.

Anna turned to the other redheaded princess.  “You have?”

“Yes.  Very recently, I had to train and fight alongside someone that I wasn’t on very good terms with,” said Kairi.

“What exactly did this person do to you?” asked Anna.

“He tried to kidnap me in order to force Sora to do what he wanted,” said Kairi.

Anna’s eyes opened wide. “He did?  And you had to work with him?  How did you manage to even be in the same room with him?”

“Believe me, I was asking myself the same question.  But after some time, I realized that though his methods were wrong, his reasons weren’t and just because he did bad things in the past didn’t mean that he was incapable of doing good.  And what also helped was the fact that he ended up helping to save Sora from a very terrible fate.”

“Saving Sora does sound like a good reason to be friends with this person,” said Olaf.

“That was the biggest reason I decided to forgive him, Olaf,” said Kairi.

Anna seemed to consider Kairi’s story.  But she still didn’t look one hundred percent convinced.

“You don’t have to become best friends with the Duke, Anna.  But don’t rule out the possibility that he may have turned over a new leaf because I have seen it happen,” said Kairi.

Anna let out a sigh. “I get what you’re saying, Kairi. And I guess it is pretty admirable that Elsa is willing to give the Duke a chance.  It’s just…”

“Just what, Anna?” asked Olaf.

“It’s just that every time I see the Duke, I’m reminded of all the danger Elsa was in after the coronation.  Especially since it was all because of me,” Anna said remorsefully.

The last sentence of Anna’s struck Kairi and Olaf by surprise.  “Anna, what do you mean?” asked Kairi.

“If I hadn’t been so desperate for love and accepted a marriage proposal from someone who never loved me, Elsa’s powers wouldn’t have been revealed in the worst possible way. Then the Duke would never have tried to kill her.  I caused so much trouble for her and having him around is just a painful reminder of it,” said Anna who looked like she was about to cry.

‘So, a lot of the anger Anna’s been showing has actually been at herself.  I certainly know how that feels.  Sora ended up in so much danger because of me in the past that that all I ever wished more than anything was that it would never happen again,’ thought Kairi.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” said Olaf patting her hand.

“Me too,” said Kairi.

“It’s okay, Olaf and Kairi.  You didn’t know.  But you are right that I haven’t been very fair to Elsa during all this.  The Duke has behaved himself during his visit so maybe if he does manage to help us out at the ice palace in some way, I guess I could consider letting bygones be bygones a little,” said Anna.

“That’s the spirit, Anna. If he can help get my little brother his home back, then I’m sure we can all be friends,” said Olaf.

“Well, I don’t think I’d go that far, Olaf,” said Anna with a small chuckle causing Kairi to smile. It was good to see Anna taking her words to heart.

“Anna, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you: does Olaf know what the word ‘little’ actually means?  Because that really isn’t the word I’d use to describe Marshmallow,” said Kairi.

Anna chuckled. “When Olaf calls Marshmallow his little brother, he’s not actually referring to his size, Kairi.”

“That’s right. Marshmallow is my little brother because Elsa made him after she made me with her powers,” said Olaf.

“Oh, so it’s matter of who was ‘born’ first.  Now I get it,” said Kairi with a laugh.

“Glad we could clear that up for you, Kairi.  Oh look! We’re nearly there!  The ice palace is just up ahead,” exclaimed the little snowman pointing ahead to a bend in the path.

“Oh, you’re just going to love it when you see it, Kairi.  Elsa’s ice palace is one of the most wonderful, amazing, beautiful…” Olaf stopped just as they rounded the bend.

Everyone’s eyes widened and their jaws dropped.  But not in awe.

“Oh no,” said Anna in a tone of shock and despair.

________________________________________________________________

Onto the next chapter!

#kingdom hearts #kh fanfiction #sokai #kairi #pluto #marshmallow #olaf #anna #elsa #kristoff #sven #duke of weselton #maddrmatt

[hiddles-evans-hallucinations]

How Did We Get Here? - 2

Summary: A famous young actress is paired with one of America’s hottest man. The closeness between (Y/N) and Chris sparks as they work together. Chris noticed that (Y/N) is more than just an eye candy.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Famous Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: AGE GAP.

Note: Part 2 in one day?! I AM ON FIRE LOL 

*gif are not mine*

PART 3

The paparazzi was outside the set, there's pictures of me and Chris hugging outside of the set when we're having dinner with the other co-stars. It has only been 5-weeks but pictures are already been out of where and what we're filming. Chris and I have gotten close over the past weeks, since we'll be romantically linked, and we have to get up early every morning for the physical practice, we've gotten closer than I thought we'd be. 

"Good morning, (Y/L/N)." "Morning, Evans, rough night?" I joked. 

He knits his brows together making a face at me as I sat down to get my makeup done. We were also told to spend a lot of time together to be comfortable of the scenes together, there's gonna be sex scenes and a lot of kissing. 

I pull my knees closer to my chin as we're about to shoot the house scene, I'm gonna wear the yellow floral dress, it was V neck dress, very pretty dress that I keep on telling everyone on how beautiful it is even though it was vintage. 

"Yes, it's very pwetty." Chris places his chin on my shoulder as I hold up my phone and take picture of us. "That is so going on Instagram." I laughed at Chris. 

"Mine or yours?" I asked as I open the app. "Yours would be okay for a first, we'll take a different one on mine." 

'Benji and Nala getting ready. Gonna wear the prettiest dress today, so excited I got a heartburm from it.' 

Chris laughed as he rests his hand on my knees.

"Okay, I'm gonna go, bye, baby." I laughed. "Bye, baby!" 

I fell asleep during the makeup and hair session that Pammy had to wake me up by placing a cold smoothie on my hand. "Oh wow, I can't seem to stop hating waking you up." Pammy rolled her eyes, I laughed as I take the smoothie out of her hand. 

"Thank you, momager, but I'm awake now." 

I grab my phone and found dozns of notifications from Instagram and Twitter, but more from Twitter. 

'Should I just tell him to bark? Wake up @(Y/N/L/N) we have work to do.' 

Its a picture of me sleeping with Dodger sitting like the goodest boy ever looking at me. I laughed as I type my response. 

'@chrisevans game on dude.' 

I can hear him laugh outside of my trailer before he walks in wearing a white shirt and a jeans, his hair is made, his face is better than before I see him when he wakes up. "What is with detectives? They can wear anything?" he pulls me into his arms. 

"You smell nice."

He looks down at me as I can feel his heart beating faster.

"Do I?" he said, trying to smell himself causing me to laugh.

We were only given 4-months to shoot the film and I think from the time we spend together, we can only say that we enjoy it as much as we shoot the shots. The scene where Nala was followed by a couple of armed men with Ben at a parking lot of a mini market and Nala surprised Ben with her fighting abilities. 

Throwing punches and unloading the gun in her hand while the guy still had it in his hand.

Me and Chris watch the playback. "What... was that?" she was breathless as she looks at the two men who were asking her about a necklace.

"What do you mean? Let's go." she said as she fixes her dress and hair causing me and Chris to laugh.

"That's funny." I said.

“I know, and by the way did Pammy told you that Ellen’s crew gonna be here to ask you some question?” 

I look at Judd and shook my head now, Chris wrapped his arms around my waist, I can feel my cheeks turns red but play it cool anyways. 

What is it with this guy? 

This is more than we signed up for or told to do for the movie. 

Pammy walks in with Ellen’s crew, Chris laughed at her. “Right about time.” he kisses my cheeks. 

“Mmm.. are we supposed to do this to be comfortable with each other during the shoot or what?” I joked as I rest my head back to his chest as he tightens his grip around me. 

I can hear him slightly laugh but before he can say anything, we got interrupted by Andy from Ellen Show. “Hi, guys,” 

“Hi!” I give Andy a hug.

“Hey, bro.” Chris laughed at him. 

. . . .

“And we’re rolling!” 

Andy awkwardly stand next to us as I try so hard not to laugh because we all know that Ellen pranks Andy to interview us, the movie isn’t out yet so we can’t really say anything but our physical training. 

“Okay, Ellen can you hear us?” Andy said to the camera, I smile widely as Ellen says yes on our ears. 

Andy was asking about a bunch of stuffs, physical training and how we get comfortable on set for the shoots. “I just feel like you need to get to know of your co-star, and it’s very important.” Chris said. 

“Can you show us a little bit of the Jackie Chan move?”

Chris and I shift away from each other as I did a move a stunt where I had both legs on his head and throw him down to the mat with the yellow dress. The scene we just did before the interview. 

“What’s your favorite scene?” 

“Andy, you can’t ask that.” Ellen said. 

“Why? You told me to.” 

“I told you because this is a prank, you can’t ask them yet.” she laughed as me and Chris burst out in laughter so hard that I lounge on Chris’ body. “Ellen, that is so fucked up.” Andy said before wrapping the interview up. 

We said our goodbye so is for today’s shoot, we’re going to continue at dawn for the next shoots. 

“Dodger wants to see you.” he said to me as he walks me to my trailer. 

“What? How did you know?” 

“Actually, I lied, I want you to watch Coco with us.” 

I bit my lower lip, there’s no one else but us. I feel my heart beats faster and my cheeks flustered. 

“Coco? Remember me?” 

He nodded his head. “Okay, but after that I’m going back to my trailer.” 

“Dodger won’t let you.” 

I rolled my eyes at him. “You mean, you won’t let me.” 

“You’re right, I won’t let you.”

#chris evans fanfiction #chris evans imagine #chris evans #chris evans fluff #chris evans x you #chris

[tamakiamajikistentacles]

Disappearance 3: The Captive {Katsuki Bakugo}

A/N: Please be sure to reblog, comment, review, and like if you enjoy! Feedback is what keeps me motivated! Thank you all for your kind comments and support for this story so far! We’ve got a bit of a shorter chapter today but I hope you like it!

Disappearance Masterlist

Forty-six minutes of footage had been his life for the past several weeks. He’d poured over it trying to see any possible clue he could from every angle the shopping center could offer him.

He watched the woman and the child shop for little boy’s clothing haphazardly, the woman holding shirts and pants up to him for a rough estimate of size and if acceptable draping it over her arm; nothing was ever tried on in the dressing room. The boy didn’t fuss and as far as he could tell didn’t speak at all. The only thing he did was scratch different areas of his body, darker pixels making it look like he had a rash that were just growing darker the more he scratched.

The woman paid with a card he easily found out was reported stolen later that night after the owner found unauthorized charges. It didn’t surprise him. Identity theft was clearly something they were used to.

Upon his first watch through of the footage he knew it wasn’t really Chiasa on the screen. The gait was too loose, as if she were floating through the crosswalk instead of taking careful, controlled steps. It was like he was watching her imitate Mina walking if he had to make a comparison.

The way she trailed so far ahead of the child was suspect too as Chiasa was always very warm and protective around children. She checked on them constantly with glances and questions unlike the woman he watched look straight head while her eyes darted sharply around the area, her lips pursed in silence. The vigilance was more for herself, not the safety of the small boy.

Even over four years later he couldn’t believe that she would change so drastically in the ways he was seeing—this was an imposter. When he brought these findings to the rest of his agency they agreed, remembering a much different woman when questioned by Katsuki in one of their early morning meetings.

“Can we even investigate this?” Sero asked in that same meeting at Katsuki began to explain the new concentration on that patrol route. “If she’s a missing person and there’s also potential child endangerment, wouldn’t the police be responsible?”

“They stepped out of a suspected villain hotspot in our agency’s territory; it’s all ours. Hikari made sure of that,” he smirked. She could be just as threatening as him but she knew how to word it perfectly that no one ever noticed. Combined with the ability to throw his name around, she wasn’t someone to underestimate.

With the official word that the investigation was theirs, he set his plan into motion for a heavier presence in the area of the tea shop and shopping mall. He had given that route three of the heroes on any given day to ensure that no matter what there were going to be plenty of eyes on the situation at all times. Even though he wanted to keep himself on the route constantly, he understood the importance of keeping himself visible in all the neighborhoods and areas that his agency was responsible for keeping safe.

A side bonus of rearranging the heroes allowed both the sidekicks and interns see more action on the routes that were left. Nothing extreme had occurred for sidekicks and the interns would still always be paired with a hero, but the responsibilities were upped and they were rising to the occasion. He wasn’t surprised, though. He only chose the best to represent the agency he’d worked so hard to build from the ground up.

In the time since he’d remade the patrol schedules there hadn’t been any sighting of the woman or the child. The increased presence allowed more notes for the tea shop at least, resulting in a slew of individuals being identified as having ties to prominent villain organizations. That included whispers of dealings with what remained of the League of Villains. Out of respect for Deku’s issues with Shigaraki and the past they shared he kept him in the loop with information as it came in, scarce and vague as it was.

He tried to remain hopeful even though it seemed that this path may not lead much further than Kaminari’s first sighting in the early days of September. After years of nothing, this something deserved his full attention.

The blonde bounced excitedly through the shadowed hallway with a fanged smile as she considered which shops she would visit this time. She didn’t get to go out without necessity as often nowadays so it was an event when she did.

Passing by the blue glow from their television, she paused as she heard her name.

“Toga,” called the raspy voice, “take the kid with you, he needs new clothes.”

The blonde stepped back into the doorway of the makeshift family room to meet the red eyes of Shigaraki, the blinking PAUSE on the small screen behind him illuminating his pale skin eerily. The sight didn’t disturb her but the order made her pout.

“He seriously ruined them again?” she huffed. The kid went through clothing faster than any of them and he wasn’t even the one with bloodstains to scrub out.

“Yes, but we also need to expose him to sunlight more. That’s where his mother gets her power and he could be the same way once he gets his quirk. At his age he could be getting it at any time. We need to start trying to jumpstart his power.”

Toga crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “Tomura, its October, the sun is setting in an hour. He ain’t gonna get any rays in the dark!”

He hummed. “Go tomorrow then. Early. I kept him as a weapon and we need to test what he can do, make sure he works.”

She sighed in frustration, upset that her trip out of the safehouse would have to be postponed. As if her life didn’t revolve around the kid enough in the past few years. But she would listen to Shigaraki—he wasn’t being unreasonable. She could still leave for a while even if she had to take the kid too.

In the meantime, there were other things she had to do if she wasn’t going out and looking at the dim face of her watch she continued down the hallway.

As she went into the kitchen she saw Spinner and the boy sitting together with empty bowls that surely once held noodles and building blocks between them. While Spinner played on an old handheld console the boy meticulously moved the blocks and built them higher.

She watched him for a moment from where she stood at the counter.

He didn’t look like a weapon, but she supposed he never really had. The kid had been all big eyes and dark hair since the moment he was born and that hadn’t changed one bit. He was still small with too much hair and big eyes that unnerved even her when they stayed fixed on her for too long. Maybe it’s because she knew that his parents’ quirks were destructive enough on their own but considering the possible mutations? The kid could level out a city block just as easily as they could once his quirk came in.

She kept an eye on the boy as she made a small bowl of ramen, noticing the focus in his red eyes as he continued to build the blocks into a large castle. Plopping the bowl onto a tray she grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with water to set next to the bowl.

Scooping up the tray, she moved out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards the small locked room at the very end of the hall. It was the safehouse’s bunker hidden behind a deceptively thick iron door, the walls within solid, windowless concrete. It was the perfect prison cell for their most dangerous captive.

When she opened the door she stepped inside and set the tray down in the middle of the dark room. “Food time, missy!”

The curled-up figure in the corner shifted slightly, tired eyes blinking slowly against the harsh light from the hallway. She recognized the shape of Toga’s hair as she squinted and the faint scent of ramen hit her nose. It made her a little sick to smell it but she knew she needed to eat.

“Gotta get some more blood for tomorrow!” Toga chirped as she pulled one of her knives from her skirt. “You know the drill, hold still!”

She didn’t exactly have the energy to do anything else, without sunlight to charge her quirk and the malnutrition and poor living conditions she could barely stand for more than a few minutes. Besides, she didn’t care what happened anyway. If she died in a concrete room from blood loss or starvation all the better. It meant that the villains couldn’t be graced with a well-executed plan.

Chiasa could faintly remember waking up surrounded by darkness in the cold room, but she would always remember the chilling threat from Shigaraki.

“When the time comes, Katsuki Bakugo is going to watch the woman he loves decay into dust.”

If it was her last act on earth, she was going to spare Katsuki that sight. That had been her goal for as long as they had kept her in this room, however long that was.

She just didn’t understand why Shigaraki hadn’t made a move yet.

The next morning was calm in contrast to what the afternoon and coming days would bring.

As Katsuki secured his gauntlets over his bracers in his office, Toga tugged a stained shirt over the little boy’s head several cities away. One of the three held hope in their heart, another chaos, and the last, hollow despair.

A/N: Please be sure to reblog, comment, review, and like if you enjoy! Feedback is what keeps me motivated!

Disappearance Masterlist

#bakugou imagine #bakugo imagine #katsuki bakugou #katsuki bakugo #bnha imagine #bnha imagines #bakugou katsuki #bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugo imagine #katsuki bakugou imagine #bakugo katsuki imagine #bakugou katsuki imagine #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #mha imagine #mha imagines #boku no hero academia imagine #boku no hero academia imagines #my hero academia imagine #my hero academia imagines

[tsarisfanfiction]

Grounded pt4

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Family Characters: Scott, Tracy Family

7k words later and this thing that was supposed to be a short explanation for what I saw as a plot hole in Venom is finally at an end. Got rather out of hand but since when is that unusual with fics? This’ll be proof read, edited, and then posted on AO3/FFN soon; I’m still undecided if I should chapter split it or have it all as a oneshot but it won’t be exactly as it’s been split here because I’ve posted this as I wrote it.

Someone mentioned ‘what if the ep was really like this’ so I’ll reiterate some of my earlier notes: this fic is a reaction to the lack of TB1 or Scott doing any sort of piloting in the S3 Venom despite it being a rescue where speed was important.  All the events in part 2 fit around the events we see in the episode seamlessly (I literally watched it in 5 sec bursts as I was writing to make sure of that), so to them and everyone else who thought that: this fic is designed to be that episode, just viewed through a different lens.  And then I made it worse after the episode was over because why not.

The reaction to this has been fantastic so far, way beyond anything I expected!  Thanks for that, and I hope you enjoy this last installment as much as the rest of it.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

There was a steady beeping, calm and methodical.  Beep… beep… beep… it went, more of a reassurance than an irritant to the dregs of his consciousness.  Scott recognised it, but couldn’t place it, and found himself more interested in the fresh air flowing around his mouth and nose.  That was more immediately familiar, a constant from his last bout of consciousness, and it didn’t take his stirring brain long to label it as a rebreather.

Was that really necessary? Frowning slightly, he lifted a hand to his face and tugged the machine away, fresh air replaced with warmer air that had just the faintest tang.  The air of the sea.  He’d been on Thunderbird Two, but Thunderbird Two’s air didn’t taste of warmth and salt, rather the recycled air of an enclosed plane in flight, crisp and just a little bit off.  If this wasn’t Thunderbird Two and he was tasting sea air, there was only one place he could possibly be.

He smiled, hand still holding the rebreather falling to his side limply.  He was home.

Opening his eyes was a little more of a challenge, eyelids still heavy and eyelashes catching on each other, but as he blinked his way into awareness, beads of moisture forming in the corners of his eyes but not falling, he realised that he was almost sitting upright, the bed raised to its full extent so he was facing the wall with its fake holographic window rather than the plain and boring ceiling.

Scott appreciated that, letting the rebreather fall from his fingers as he wiped the sleep and moisture from his eyes.  He’d spent far too many hours staring at the ceiling that never changed, and at least the hologram could change.  The actual reasoning behind his positioning was more likely his rib, which Scott would worry about later.  It wasn’t his rib that had tried to kill him, and he looked down at his left arm.

A neat band-aid – a childish one, decorated with bright red biplanes soaring across a blue background that he’d always fought for as a kid – stood out against his bare skin, just below the elbow, and he smiled, wondering which of his brothers was responsible for that one.  On that same forearm he also saw a cannula, attached to tubing with translucent liquid passing through, and grimaced.  He never liked being on a drip.

He was no longer in his uniform.  Part of him – the part that contained his pride – bristled at that, wondering who had stripped him while he was unconscious and why, but the clothes he was wearing were comfortable, well-worn, and unmistakable as his favourite pyjamas even without him looking at them.  His comfort-pyjamas, although he was fairly certain he’d never made the mistake of letting that slip to anyone.  The ones he turned to whenever things got particularly rough, a plain unassuming dark grey with worn patches from the times he’d needed all the support he could get.

It could just be a coincidence, although Scott was uncomfortably aware that if there was one person he couldn’t keep anything truly secret from it was John, but whatever the reason, he was glad of them now.  There was nothing like comfort clothes after a near-death experience.

Considering he’d just had a near-death experience, the lack of anyone in the room with him was somewhat unusual.  Virgil in particular he’d expected to see, his younger brother blaming himself for bringing him out on the mission even before he’d been bitten, let alone afterwards. Kayo hovering unassumedly in the corner, sharp eyes full of concern.  John flickering by his side, watching him for the slightest change. Grandma, retired from caring for strangers but never too old to stay up all night with her family.

Scott eyed the drip. If none of his family were with him, physically or virtually, then that meant something else was going on that trumped his condition.  In their family, there was very little that trumped an unconscious brother or grandson. And if they weren’t with him, he had no intentions of staying put.

He’d removed drips hundreds of times – his own and other peoples’.  By this point, he had it down to an art, even if his sneaky family had tried to make it harder on him by putting it in his dominant arm; there were benefits to being ambidextrous.  He reached across with his right hand, fingers gently probing the needle, and had just found the sweet spot when there was the unmistakable hsss of the door sliding open.

“What do you think you’re doing, young man?” Grandma demanded, striding in and gently but firmly forcing him to release his grip.  “That’s there for a reason.”

“Hey, Grandma,” he greeted, grinning at her and ignoring that she’d just caught him trying to escape. “How long was I asleep?”

“Your siblings brought you back four and a half hours ago,” she told him, picking up the discarded rebreather and placing it on the bedside table before perching on the bed.  Scott watched her carefully, accepting the hand cupping his cheek as a thumb swiped at what was presumably some sleep he’d missed.  “Trust you to wake up the one time I have to use the toilet.  This old bladder can’t hold it in like it used to.”

Scott grimaced good-naturedly at the tmi and she chuckled at him, patting his cheek lightly twice before letting her hand rest.

“You gave us all a scare there, Scott,” she said softly, eyes running over him once before meeting his own.  “You don’t have to try and beat Gordon on that score, you know.  It’s okay to let someone else have that crown.”

“I’d appreciate it if he never gave me another scare in my life,” Scott admitted, before glancing around the room again.  “Where are they, anyway?  Not to sound self-centred, but I don’t usually wake up here alone.”

“Alan and Kayo are dealing with a stalled freighter just outside of orbit and Gordon and Virgil are responding to a sinking cargo ship,” Grandma told him.  “They’ll all be back soon, and delighted to know you’ve decided to re-join the land of the living.”  She tangled her fingers with his, pressing them to her chest with a hand that was almost trembling.  “It was a close call, Scott.  Your brother almost didn’t make it in time.”

His brother? Virgil?  John?  John had had a plan, he remembered that much, although he wasn’t sure he’d ever heard the details.  Wait…

“I heard Thunderbird One,” he said, recalling the roar that had soothed him to sleep like a purr.  It could have been a figment of his imagination, but he didn’t think so.  A smile spread across his grandmother’s face.

“Of course you did,” she laughed.  “You boys and your machines.  Well on your way to see your mother and you still recognised your ‘bird.”  The smile was bright for a moment before it dimmed again. “Alan flew all the way to a lab in China to collect a dose of the antivenom before rendezvousing with Thunderbird Two to deliver it.  I’ve never seen that ‘bird fly so fast without you in the hotseat.”

Alan.  Scott could well imagine his youngest brother, face screwed up in concentration and fear, sat in the pilot’s seat.  The idea tied a knot in his chest, but at the same time there was pride, and an unexpected thankfulness for the rib injury that had kept him grounded and subsequently given Alan more flight hours in his ‘bird. Without that…

Without that, he might well have died.  The realisation doused him like cold water, his eyes leaving his grandmother’s to stare blindly at his lap.  He’d known he was dying, remembered a desperate fight against whispered promises of the stars and seeing his Mom again, but sitting in the infirmary, home and safe, it carried a different weight.

“Oh, Scott,” Grandma whispered, releasing his hand and cheek only to draw him in to a careful hug around his shoulders.  “It’s okay. It’s over.”  After a moment his hands found the back of her always there purple onesie, fisting around the fabric as his head rested in the crook of her neck.  “It’s okay.”

There was the slightest of cracks in her voice, a reminder that no matter how much steel she was made of, she wasn’t immune to the idea of loss.  Her parents, long ago, before Scott’s memories began.  Her husband, daughter in law.  Her son, who might still be alive and waiting for them.

“I’m okay,” he repeated, as much for her benefit as his.  “I’m okay.”

Her hand found the back of his head, fingers threading through his hair softly as though he was a young boy woken from a nightmare again.  It was the sort of treatment she didn’t give him in front of his brothers, knowing that he preferred to keep up the illusion of strength in front of them, no matter what.

“I want you to take it easy,” she told him after a minute or so, releasing him and instead gripping his hands in hers.  One pair was trembling, but he didn’t know if it was his or hers.  “I know that’s not in your vocabulary, but I refuse to let you throw yourself back in harms’ way until you’re fully recovered after what happened today.”

“But-” Scott protested, complaints and reasons why he shouldn’t be bedbound queuing up one after the other on the tongue.  A single look from his grandmother quelled them all before he could vocalise any.

“If you can’t do it for the sake of your own recovery,” she said, something in her voice implying that she thought he should treat himself better – he treated himself fine! – “then do it for our peace of mind, Scott.  We were all terrified when we heard what happened. Virgil was stuck watching you slip away with no way of stopping it.  That fear doesn’t magically go away, Scott.  We all know that.”

He was saved from answering by the swish of the door opening again.  He glanced over, wondering who it could be when he hadn’t heard any Thunderbirds come in to land.  Brains and the Mechanic were the only others on the island, and while it wasn’t unusual for Brains to check up on the infirmary, Scott didn’t want the Mechanic near him in his current condition.

It wasn’t the Mechanic. It wasn’t Brains, either – or MAX, for that matter.

“h’Oh, you’re h’awake!” Parker said with a surprised but delighted grin as he fumbled his way into the room carrying a tray laden with food.  “h’I was just bringing food for Mrs Tracy…” he trailed off, but continued to approach the bed.

“Parker, you shouldn’t have,” Grandma smiled, releasing one of Scott’s hands to move the rebreather off of the bedside table.  The older man set the tray down before stepping up to Scott’s side.  He didn’t reach for him, keeping his hands loosely behind his back, but sharp blue eyes raked him up and down.

“’Ow are you feeling?” he asked after a moment.

“I’m fine,” Scott replied, ignoring the eye roll from his grandmother, who clearly didn’t agree with his assessment.  Aside from some token weariness, which he knew was normal after a spell of time unconscious, he really did feel perfectly fine.  Even his rib wasn’t bothering him.

“h’I suppose that’s because you’re h’on the good stuff,” Parker shrugged, making Scott pause.  He should have realised that, especially after all the trouble his ribs had given him on the mission.  The temptation was there to ask how badly his recovery had been set back, but that would have just given Grandma even more ammunition to stay in bed. Besides, he’d be told eventually. Of more immediate interest was Parker’s unexpected visit.

“What brings you to the island, Parker?” he asked, glancing around the room again.  “I don’t see Lady Penelope around?”

“M’Lady’s in the lounge,” Parker told him.  “We came ‘ere to drop off the Centurion-21 fuel for Brains, but ‘eard h’about you and M’Lady requested to stay h’a while.”

“You’re always welcome here,” Grandma reminded him, and Scott smiled in agreement.  “Is she making any progress?”

“h’I couldn’t say for sure,” Parker shrugged.  “But I know M’Lady and Master John won’t stop h’until they get their way.”

Scott frowned.  Combined, John and Lady Penelope were an almost unstoppable force, but he couldn’t think of any reason for that tag-team, not right now.

“What are they doing?” he asked, because anything that big, he needed to know about.  Especially if working on that was a higher priority for John than checking in on him – John, the brother who was too used to sitting out of the loop and firmly inserted himself virtually into any situation with a brother operating at less than one hundred percent.  Scott knew he wasn’t at one hundred percent, not even by his own standards.

“Making sure today’s events never happen again,” Grandma answered, curling her hand back around his again.

Today’s events. The rescue?  Him being bitten?  That was all bad luck, how could they possibly ensure it never happened again? Although, he supposed, if anyone could, it would be the duo currently working on it.

His confusion must have shown on his face, because Parker took it upon himself to explain.  “h’It transpires that the reason the ‘ospital ran h’out of h’antivenom was a funding problem,” he said, sounding somewhat unimpressed.  Scott didn’t blame him – whenever money was the problem, he found himself wanting to strangle whoever had decided lining their pockets was more important than human lives. “M’Lady h’is setting up a charity to make sure all ‘ospitals can ‘ave all the h’antivenoms they need.”  Admirable and welcome, but that didn’t explain John’s involvement.  He certainly hadn’t been needed in any of her past charity ventures.

“So what’s John doing?” he asked, hoping his brother was not ruining whoever had decided money was more important than lives.  It wouldn’t be the first time, and while Scott agreed that they deserved it, sometimes John could go a little too far.

“Arranging for International Rescue to have our own stock of all known antivenoms,” Grandma told him, squeezing his hands gently.  “We might not be able to stop spiders sneaking into our Thunderbirds, or you boys throwing yourselves in front of each other, but there is no reason why you should have had to suffer for an hour because you didn’t have the right antivenom on hand.”

That made sense, and Scott nodded his approval.  International Rescue did have a stock of common antivenoms, as well as everything they needed to deal with the local fauna on Tracy Island, but if they could broaden that, at least to the most dangerous venoms, it would only be a good thing.

It was also a typical John reaction – finding out why something had gone wrong and immediately finding a way to stop it happening again.  That, at least, told Scott that John was okay.  If he’d found a solution to the problem then he would be satisfied. No doubt Scott would find himself under close holographic scrutiny in the near future so John could see for himself that he really was fine, but with a solution the what-ifs wouldn’t be playing on his mind.

His other siblings would be less easily pacified.  He had no idea what Gordon knew, having not seen his water-loving brother at all that day thanks to a fishing trawler in trouble, but Virgil and Kayo would be kicking themselves black and blue, and Alan would be stuck in the what if I’d been too late loop.  Scott knew that feeling very well indeed.

He hadn’t yet decided if the fact that it had launched rather than exploded made the fact that he’d reached the Zero-X too late better or worse.  He wasn’t sure he’d ever decide.

“Still, I think we’d better let them know you’ve woken up,” Grandma said, releasing his hands.  “I won’t be long, so don’t even think about getting out of that bed, young man.”  She shared a look with Parker.  “If you’re hungry, see if you can eat some of that food Parker’s brought in.”  A gentle hand touched his cheek lightly before she stood up and left the room.

One look at Parker told him he wasn’t going to be going anywhere, especially when the man perched on the section of bed Grandma had just vacated.  Parker was the one he’d learnt many of his escaping tricks from – if there was one person that would see through them all, it was the butler.

“h’I wouldn’t be in too much of a ‘urry to h’escape, Master Scott,” the older man said, and Scott found himself relaxing back against the bed.  Master Scott.  It was his favourite of Parker’s ways of referring to him, but also the rarest.  He’d graduated to ‘Mr Scott’ after the Zero-X, the man’s acknowledgement that he was now the head of the family without using the dreaded Mr Tracy.  Parker never called him that, not even in public when the rest of the world insisted. Sir was a substitute when society demanded, and Scott always appreciated that.

Master Scott only came out when Parker was being fussy, and never with an audience.  Just like Grandma, he knew and accepted there was a front to be held in front of younger siblings – even if neither of them approved.  If he was Master Scott, he wasn’t expected to make any decisions or take on any of his father’s responsibilities.

“Some food?” the butler asked, gesturing to the tray.  It was homemade, but not by Grandma, and Scott would have to be far worse off to even consider declining that.  In answer, he reached for the toast, only for Parker to lightly touch his wrist and stop him. “You’ll get crumbs h’everywhere if you h’eat like that,” the older man scolded lightly.  “Stay still, there’s a good lad.”

The tray was relocated to his lap, and Scott tore into the offering as soon as Parker retracted his hands, to an amused chuckle from his companion.

“h’It’s not going anywhere, Master Scott,” Parker reminded him.

“He’s just trying to finish it before the others get home and want to share,” John commented, and Scott’s head jerked up to see his brother’s hologram materialise alongside him. He looked tired, not that that was an unusual occurrence over the past few weeks.  “You’re looking better, Scott.”

“I can’t imagine that’s hard,” he managed through a mouthful of food.  The last time he’d been aware of John’s presence, he’d been deep in the clutches of deadly venom.  If he’d looked half as had as he’d felt, it would have been an awful sight.  “How’s the campaign going?”

John pulled a face.  “They’re asking for money, which by itself isn’t a problem because I expected that, but they’re trying to charge us triple what they charge hospitals, and as Lady P’s working to get those rates reduced because they’re extortionate, I’m not letting them use our lives to line their pockets.”

Scott grimaced along with him.  Money grabbers were the worst.

“So what’s your plan?” he asked, because there was no way John was letting that slide.

“Persuading them that it’s better in their interest long-term to not try and bankrupt us,” John offered, a bemused look on his face.  “We could afford it, but if they think that they’ll be driving the prices up with every new shipment.  More realistically, I’m talking to Colonel Casey to see if the GDF can’t pull some weight. As they’re military and not private, the companies couldn’t charge them as much.  It would leave us needing the GDF’s good will for access, but we already know the GDF don’t dare put us out of business.”

It was Scott’s turn to pull a face.  He hated getting the GDF involved in anything; for as long as Colonel Casey was a dominant figure in the organisation International Rescue wouldn’t have any issues, but in the longer term he was brutally aware that she was their father’s generation.  At some point, she would be forced to retire and then they’d – he’d – have to handle the full force of the GDF without inside help.

Still, he trusted John and Colonel Casey.  Anything they implemented would be beneficial to International Rescue.

“Let me know what you come up with,” he requested, and John nodded, turquoise eyes briefly scanning across him.

“Alan and Kayo will be returning home in five minutes,” he told him.  “Do you want me to tell them you’re awake or let them find out for themselves when they check in?”

“Tell them once they’ve landed,” Scott decided.  “Virgil and Gordon, too – what’s their ETA?”

“They’re racing Thunderbird Three home,” John shrugged.  “But Thunderbird Three will win.”  Scott chuckled.  Alan somehow always won their races home, no matter how much further away he’d been.

“What are they betting this time?” he asked, and John grinned.

“Loser gets to be your slave for the week,” he said.

“Mine?”

“Well you’re not doing much on your own any time soon,” John told him matter-of-factly.  “Has Grandma given you the rundown?”  Scott blinked, pausing mid-bite.

“I thought I was supposed to be walking around with the ribs,” he ventured tentatively.  “But no, I haven’t been told what the damage is yet. Care to fill me in?”

John glanced away at something Scott couldn’t see.

“Your rib re-broke,” he started bluntly.  “Which I’m sure you’ve realised.  So that’s another six weeks grounded, and this time no-one’s sneaking you onto a Thunderbird before that’s up.”

“Six weeks?” Scott groaned.  John raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“Well what did you expect?” he asked.  “Kayo filled us in on the mission details once you were stable.  You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.”

“But-” Scott protested. “What about the mission to find Dad?” John shook his head.

“The new Zero-X will take longer that to construct,” he told him.  “Brains and the Mechanic finished the T-Drive while you were out in Brazil and we’ve got the fuel, so they’re going to test fire it tomorrow to make sure it’s all working before they start on the craft itself.”

“Tomorrow?” Scott asked. “If it’s ready why not today?”

“Even engineers need breaks sometimes, Scott,” John scolded lightly.  “They’ve been working almost non-stop for the past five weeks, which I know you know.”  There was a slightly accusatory tone at the end of his sentence, and Scott realised John knew how closely he’d started watching the two engineers.  “Besides, Grandma and Virgil won’t let you out of that bed for at least twenty four hours, and we all know you won’t be happy unless you see it for yourself.”

Well, they weren’t wrong.

“You still haven’t told me why I’m getting a slave for a week over a broken rib,” Scott realised, and John once again raised an eyebrow at him.

“You haven’t tried to get out of bed yet?”

“Don’t h’encourage ‘im, Master John,” Parker groaned.  “Mrs Tracy ‘ad to stop ‘im h’earlier and ‘e ‘asn’t ‘ad h’a chance since.”

“It was an hour before the antivenom reached you, Scott.  The damage doesn’t get miraculously fixed just because the venom’s gone,” John continued.  “Your blood pressure is still low so I’d wager you’ll probably pass out if you try to stand right now, no matter how ‘fine’ you feel, and we don’t yet know for sure if it’s done any damage to your heart.”

“My heart?”  The soft background beeping caught Scott’s attention and he turned his head to the EKG.  It was on, signalling that it was receiving data from wireless transmitters.  He put a hand to his chest; underneath the pyjamas he felt the tell-tale patches, leaving him with no doubt that it was his own heartbeat it was recording.  “Oh.” That was low.  Not dramatically so, but lower than his normal resting rate.

“It’s recovered reasonably well, but Grandma and Virgil still aren’t happy with it,” John told him. From his tone, it wasn’t only the family medics unhappy.  “I know you don’t like staying in bed, but unless you want to fall over and make your ribs worse, I would suggest you stay put.”

Scott scowled.

“You’re also recovering from dehydration, so drink up and leave that drip in,” Grandma added, walking back in with a large cup, complete with straw.  “I see there’s nothing wrong with your appetite,” she observed. Parker obligingly removed the now-empty tray away from Scott’s lap and stood so that she could sit back on the side of the bed.  “Drink.”

Obediently, he took the cup with both hands and sipped at the liquid, which revealed itself to be simply water.  A dull rumbling even through the soundproofing of the infirmary told him Thunderbird Three was back.  John confirmed that before signing off to talk to their returning siblings.

Scott made a note of the time, wondering how long it would take before he had visitors.

Three minutes later and the door slammed open to find Kayo and Alan shoulder-to-shoulder, clearly racing each other.

“No running in the house!” Grandma barked, but neither of them looked the least apologetic.  They did at least walk the distance from the door to his bed, where Grandma had slipped off to let them get closer.  Both stopped short, Alan fidgeting from foot to foot at he stared at him with open relief, and Scott rolled his eyes.

“Come here,” he told his youngest brother, spreading his arms in demand of a hug.  As always, Alan needed no further invitation, crashing into him and wrapping his arms around him tightly, although it didn’t miss Scott’s attention that it wasn’t Alan’s usual rib-squeezing hug.  He appreciated that, curling his own arms around his brother’s shoulders.

Alan was trembling.  “I thought I was going to lose you,” he mumbled into Scott’s neck.  “I thought-”

“I’m still here, kid,” he interrupted quietly.  “And I hear I have you to thank for that.”  The sniffle he got in response told him it was Alan, the baby brother, rather than Alan the emergency responder he was dealing with.  “You did good.”

“I thought I was too late,” Alan mumbled, and there were tears against Scott’s skin.  He tightened his grip on his brother.  “You looked d-dead.  I d-didn’t think you were breathing.”

“I’m here and breathing,” Scott reminded him, letting him sob on his shoulder as long as he needed, rubbing the neoprene – both siblings were still in uniform – underneath his hand reassuringly.  He remembered the same reaction after EOS had first made herself known to them, only that time it had been John Alan had clung to in tears, post-adrenaline rush. They needed to stop putting their lives in Alan’s hands like that.

But Alan would settle, barring the new nightmare fuel that never went away, once he’d let out the initial emotions.  It was either a blessing of youth, or a coping strategy he’d been forced to employ too young. Kayo, who was watching with unguarded relief across her face, was like John; pragmatic and level-headed.  A serious conversation would settle her, although when she met his eyes, he linked his hands together behind Alan’s back and made them flutter, shooting her a quick grin.

The resulting glower she sent him didn’t hide the softening in her eyes, or the way her shoulders slumped. Satisfied for the moment, he returned his attention to his youngest brother, who seemed content to stay where he was.  Scott let him, nodding at Parker when the older man gestured that he was going to leave the room.

No sooner was Parker gone than Gordon burst through the door, Virgil hot on his heels.

“Scott!”  Gordon skidded to a stop just behind Alan, reaching out to put a hand on Scott’s shoulder where he could.  “Don’t do that again,” he demanded, amber eyes flicking to the EKG for a split second before he found some space to perch on the bed behind Alan.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Scott shot back.  Gordon grinned.

“I won’t if you don’t,” he said.  “Deal?”

“Deal.”

They couldn’t really promise that, not in their profession, but Scott saw something lift behind Gordon’s eyes, the banter regardless doing something to reassure him.  Gordon had always used humour to cope.

Four siblings down, or at least addressed, and one to go.  Somehow, Scott didn’t think a hug or joke would work quite so well on Virgil. Guilt was deep-set in brown eyes, but Virgil didn’t look at him directly, focusing on the EKG and drip as he bustled around.

“Virgil,” he said, pulling one hand away from Alan to catch his brother’s arm the moment Virgil got in reach. It was the arm with the needle in it, bright band aid stark against his skin.  Virgil’s eyes focussed on it and Scott sighed, tightening his grip on the neoprene beneath his fingers.  “Look at me.” He couldn’t do much, not while Alan was still clinging to him, but hell if he was going to let Virgil shut himself away and stew in a self-inflicted puddle of misplaced guilt.

Virgil stilled, but didn’t obey.  Scott closed his eyes and sighed again, squeezing Alan lightly.  The blond snuffled but didn’t otherwise move.

“Virgil.”  That was John’s voice, his final brother reappearing holographically at the foot of Scott’s bed.  The middle brother ignored him, too.

“Kid, your brother’s talking to you,” Grandma chipped in.  “At least have the manners to look at him.”  Despite the words, there was no scolding in her tone, just a quiet encouragement.  Virgil glanced up at her, and a look passed between them that Scott couldn’t see before Virgil slowly turned to face him.

“Thank you,” he said before Virgil could apologise, or say something else nonsensical.  Whatever his brother had been gearing up for, it clearly wasn’t that; he blinked, startled, before opening his mouth to probably-protest. “I know it was Alan that got the antivenom, but you’re the one that kept me alive long enough to get it.”

“I’m the reason you needed it in the first place!” Virgil snapped, looking away again.  “If I’d paid more attention… if I-”

“If nothing,” Scott interrupted, conscious that they had an audience but unable to ask anyone to leave.  He wanted his family there, with him, and knew they were all busy reassuring themselves that he was going to be fine.  “You’d have done the same thing if our positions were reversed, except I’m not as good as you with all the medical stuff.”

“You’d have done enough,” Virgil mumbled, and Scott rolled his eyes.

“And you did enough,” he returned.  “No what-ifs, Virgil.”  Hell knew he’d told himself that enough through the years, with varying levels of success.

Virgil at least met his eyes again, even though Scott could see it wasn’t enough to lift the guilt. That would take much longer, including him making a full recovery and a conversation without the rest of the family listening in, intentionally or not.

“You’re staying in that bed,” he said instead, and Scott made a grumbling noise of protest.

“So I’ve been told,” he replied.  “I can’t say I’m happy about it, but John made quite the compelling argument.”

“Does this mean you’ll listen to me for once?” John asked disbelievingly, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

“What do you mean, for once?” Scott asked.  “I listen to you!”

“When it suits you,” John rebuked.  “I have a list, if you’d care to hear it.”

Scott wouldn’t put it past John to actually have a list.  He turned his attention back to his other brothers without responding, to an amused noise from the space monitor, and gave Alan a grin as the youngest finally pulled back from his shoulder, eyeing him with teary blue eyes.

“I’ll sit on you if you try and get up,” the youngest told him firmly, look somewhat ruined by those eyes. Gordon laughed.

“Alan, you’re a twig.”

“Am not, fishboy!”

“Are, too!”

“Not!”

“Boys,” Kayo interrupted, taking a few steps closer to the cluster on the bed.  With one arm now free, Scott reached for her and got a light hug at his silent request.  It didn’t last long, but it was enough for the rest of the tension to leave her shoulders before she stepped back, out of his reach again.

“Hey, where’s my hug?” Gordon demanded, and Scott raised an eyebrow at him.

“You want a hug, you’ve got to come get it yourself,” he said.  “I’m not moving.”

Permission gained, Gordon shoved Alan out of the way, the younger falling off the bed with a squawk of indignation, and wrapped himself around Scott.  It was far looser than his usual hugs, but out of all his brothers, Gordon was best at gauging what an injured person could take.  Scott rested his chin on his shoulder, feeling the dampness of the neoprene that betrayed that Gordon had been in the water during his mission.

Tension drained out of his aquanaut brother’s powerful shoulders and Scott found himself relaxing as well.  He’d always found it easiest to relax and wind down when his brothers were okay, and with three out of four openly reassured, his own nerves were less on edge.

“I’m still sorry,” Virgil said after a moment.  Scott still had hold of his bicep, and glanced up at him as he spoke.  That pain and guilt was still there in brown eyes, but it was Gordon and Alan that Virgil was looking at.  A big brother himself, he too was being drawn into some sort of reassurance by the youngest two calming down.

There were many responses Scott could give, and maybe later once it was just the two of them he’d dive deeper in if Virgil hadn’t managed to settle himself and needed a stronger release, but in that moment, with his family around him and the knowledge that whatever happened next, they’d survived this hurdle, there was only one thing to say.

“I know.”

Surprised brown eyes met his, as though Virgil had expected another rebuke, another it’s not your fault, but Scott knew better.  He didn’t blame Virgil at all, but it wasn’t his forgiveness Virgil needed; his brother needed to forgive himself for his perceived transgressions, and that he couldn’t do as long as Scott stayed stubborn.  He tugged at the bicep in his grip, coaxing Virgil closer with an inviting smile.

Virgil hesitated, understanding but unsure.  Scott didn’t say anything else, didn’t push harder, but then Grandma put a hand on Virgil’s other arm and whatever remaining fight there was seeped away.

It was Gordon’s turn to squawk as he found himself nudged out of the way, but he went willingly, surrendering the space to Virgil as Scott’s dark-haired brother wrapped his arms around him cautiously.

“I’m okay,” Scott murmured into his brother’s ear, returning the hug as fiercely as he could.  Like Alan before him, Virgil shook ever so slightly under his touch, but unlike the youngest, no tears were shed.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Virgil mumbled.  “You stopped breathing for a minute just before Alan arrived and I thought that was it.”

“I heard you,” Scott admitted, just as quietly.  “I don’t think I’d have had the strength to keep fighting without you.  Alan might have got the antivenom, but you saved me, too.”

Virgil gave a shuddering breath and his arms tightened, just a little.

They stayed like that for several minutes, Scott managing to relax further now that was the fifth and final sibling’s immediate concerns addressed, but eventually Virgil pulled back, the ghost of a smile on his face.  He looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, Gordon crashed into him.

“Group hug!” he declared, reaching out to snag Alan and pinning an unprotesting Virgil in place as Scott’s three youngest brothers gathered as close as they could for a tangle of arms and bodies on Scott’s bed.  Alan flailed in Kayo’s direction and the woman stepped closer, slipping an arm delicately around the back of Scott’s neck and more tightly around Alan.  Scott grinned at her before looking past the mass of brothers to lock eyes with the one he couldn’t reach.  John grinned back at him, and even though he wasn’t physically there, Scott didn’t need it to know his immediate brother was just as relieved.

The hug lasted until Grandma intervened, suggesting that they let him have a little bit of space. He didn’t need space, but they all heard the underlying reminder that he was in that bed for a reason.  After that, it was back to business as usual, his on-Earth siblings scattering to change on Grandma’s order and reconvening later in their civvies with various forms of entertainment while John went back to his latest project.

Lady Penelope poked her head in later, but he didn’t see Brains – or the Mechanic – until the next day.

“I-it’s time to t-test the T-Drive e-engine,” the engineer told him the next morning, after checking him over in his own desire for reassurance; there was some guilt there as well, for pushing him out on the rescue, but thankfully Brains was much easier to calm than his brothers – the fact that Brains hadn’t seen him almost dead helped.

“Give me five,” he said, reaching for the drip stuck in his arm.

“Make that ten, Brains,” Virgil rumbled, catching Scott’s hand.  “Scott’s not up to walking even if he thinks he is.”

Scott groaned, but Virgil raised an eyebrow at him.

“I thought John made a convincing argument for you to stay in bed?” he challenged, and Scott shrugged.

“That was yesterday.”

“And your heart rate still isn’t back to normal, so it’s the hoverchair or nothing,” Virgil rebuked, rolling his eyes.

Scott sighed but dutifully held out his arm for Virgil to remove the drip instead.

“No, that’s coming with you,” Virgil corrected, gently pushing it down to his side again.  “Just the EKG.”  The machine was turned off, but Virgil made no move to relieve him of the transmitters, telling Scott that it was being linked back up later. Wonderful.  “Now then, let’s get you out of this bed-”

Scott leaned forwards and swung his legs around, placing them on the floor and pushing himself to his feet.

“Woah!”  Virgil sprinted around the bed and caught him as his vision fuzzed.  “John’s compelling argument?”  Scott was vaguely aware of being shifted around as the world spun around him, but it was a surprise to find himself in the hoverchair by the time he was fully aware of his surroundings again.  Usually, Virgil would dump him straight back in bed.

“Okay, John’s compelling argument still holds,” he admitted, leaning against the back of the chair and closing his eyes briefly as the world tried to spin a little more.

“Let’s get going,” Virgil sighed.  “Hands off the controls; I’m steering.”  Scott grumbled, but had no doubt that the controls had actually been disabled.  “As soon as the test is over, you’re coming straight back.”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” he asked, and Virgil chuckled.

“Not at all.”

They were last to the balcony; it didn’t escape Scott’s notice that the Mechanic was the other end to the rest of them, talking quietly to Brains but otherwise ignoring the Tracys. That suited Scott just fine; if the test worked, he was well aware he owed the man an apology for his accusations of sabotage.  Although maybe he’d keep that back until the Zero-X2 launched successfully and Dad was home. Just in case.

“You look pale,” Grandma commented.  “Did he try to stand up?” she asked Virgil.  Scott glowered as Virgil rolled his eyes in answer.

“What do you think?” he asked rhetorically.  “He didn’t pass out entirely, otherwise the test would be happening without him, whether he liked it or not, but it was close.”

“He is right here,” Scott grumbled.

“And he’s going to keep his mouth shut and drink this up,” Grandma informed him, pressing a cup of water, complete with straw, into his hands.  “You shouldn’t be out of bed at all, young man.”

“T-test is ready,” Brains announced before Scott could find a retort that wouldn’t get him taken straight back to the infirmary.  “I-igniting T-Drive in three, two, one.”

Without binoculars, it was difficult to see what was happening on the platform, but nothing exploded and after several moments all that could be seen or heard was the whining of an engine.  It was higher pitched than the engines Scott was used to, but there were none of the warning noises suggesting that something was wrong.

Beside him, Virgil sighed in relief while Gordon and Alan whooped.

“C-cutting engine,” Brains called, and it powered down easily.  Smooth as any of the best plane engines Scott had piloted – and he’d piloted many.

It had worked.  They had a T-Drive engine.

They could go find Dad.

“Scott?”  Virgil sounded worried, and he opened his eyes – when he had closed them? – to look up at his worried brother.  Alan and Gordon hovered nearby, and he looked at them all in turn, even John’s silent hologram – his ginger brother hadn’t been there when the test had started, hadn’t been expected after he pointed out their holotech’s range didn’t reach that far.  “Are you okay?”

Was he okay?  He had a broken rib, was recovering from a near-fatal spider bite and its side effects of dehydration, bradycardia and hypotension, and the man who had almost killed his brothers multiple times was standing the other end of the same balcony.

But they were one step, one significant step closer to Dad.

“Yeah,” he said, staring out past them, at the platform cradling the most important engine International Rescue had ever created.  For the first time since that horrid trash mine day five weeks earlier, he could honestly say, “I’m okay.”

Fin

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #tsari writes fanfiction #scott tracy #john tracy #virgil tracy #gordon tracy #alan tracy #grandma tracy #aloysius parker #lady penelope creighton-ward #brains #the mechanic #kayo kyrano #grounded

[torestoreamends]

Just the way you look tonight – a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Fic

1.7k words, G rated

Scorpius will never forget watching his parents dance to his mum’s favourite song. So one night, when he catches his dad dancing alone, he asks if he can join in.

Inspired by this gorgeous art by @scorpiusdraco.

Read the fic on AO3

*

The record crackles into life and vibrant music croons through the ballroom. Scorpius immediately drops the toy he’s playing with and looks up. Music can only mean one thing – his parents are going to dance, and there’s nothing he loves more than watching them dance.

He watches enrapt as his mother waltzes across the room on her own, her skirt flaring out, hair flying. A broad grin stretches across her face and she closes her eyes. Lost in her own little world for a moment.

In the corner, his father is still reclining in his big, carved wooden throne. Although he hasn’t moved, Scorpius can see his gaze is completely focused on Astoria. The corners of his lips twitch up into a soft, soppy little smile. His fingers tap the arm of the chair in time to the music, the emerald facets of his rings glittering in the candlelight.

Halfway across the room, Astoria opens her eyes. She never stops dancing, but she fixes her eyes on Draco and stretches a hand out towards him.

“Come and dance with me, dear.”

Draco’s smile widens and he settles himself deeper into his chair. “But I’m quite content just watching you.”

Astoria switches her gaze to Scorpius. “Do you think Daddy should dance with me? Is he being lazy?”

Scorpius nods enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, yes! Dance, Daddy, dance!”

Draco sighs, but Scorpius can see that he’s only pretending to hesitate. “It’s been a very long day, and...”

Astoria twirls over, and takes his hand. “And... this is my favourite song. Come on.”

“Fine, but only because it’s your favourite.”

He lets her pull him to his feet and Scorpius applauds very briefly before clasping his hands together and falling silent to watch.

Draco settles a hand on Astoria’s waist, and she beams as she alights her hand gently on his shoulder. They turn their bodies in towards one another, resting their foreheads together.

The rest of the world might as well not matter to them. They’re gazing into each other’s eyes, and it’s the most amazing thing Scorpius has ever seen. Better than any book he’s ever read, or any picture he’s examined. So much love. Intense, focused, beautiful. Just knowing something like that exists in the world makes him feel safer and warmer.

He melts against the wall and hugs himself as he watches them. Feet moving in perfect rhythmic precision. Fingers twined together. At one point, Draco twirls Astoria round and dips her. She tightens her grip on his shoulder, but he lifts her smoothly back to her feet and starts to sing along to the music as they move off again.

His voice is deep, breathless from the dancing and a little off key, but Astoria doesn’t seem to care as she blushes and giggles.

“With each word your tenderness grows, Tearing my fear apart, And that laugh that wrinkles your nose, Touches my foolish heart...”

Scorpius gazes at his parents with stars in his eyes and a heart of molten gold, and he knows he’s going to remember this moment – this night, this song – forever.

*

Scorpius sneaks down the stairs, footsteps feather light, breath held, making for the door down to the kitchen. It’s almost midnight, which means it’s snack time. His dad doesn’t seem to be around, so mission Pepper Imp is a go.

As he tiptoes towards the ballroom, however, a record crackles into life that makes him stop in his tracks.

Some day, when I'm awfully low, When the world is cold, I will feel a glow, Just thinking of you, And the way you look tonight.

The door is open and golden light spills out into the hall. Scorpius had been planning to run straight past, but now he’s frozen in the doorway, staring.

His dad has a glass of wine in his hand and is dancing on his own. He holds his arms outstretched as if he’s waiting for someone to waltz into them, and he hums softly along with the music. As he dances and sings, he rotates on the spot. Scorpius knows he should move, that he’s not supposed to be out of bed and he’s definitely not supposed to be witnessing this, but he’s transfixed.

So when his dad turns to face him, he’s stuck on the spot, and all he can do is swallows give a cheerful little wave.

“Um... h-hi, Dad!”

Draco drops his arms and takes a sip of his wine. He never blushes, but there’s a hint of colour on his cheeks all of a sudden.

“I thought you were in bed.”

Scorpius gestures over his shoulder towards the kitchen. “I needed a snack.”

“I see.”

They look at each other, at an awkward stalemate. Scorpius knows he should leave his dad to it and go and get his Imps, but he can’t. He’s tethered in place by the song that’s wound its way through his heart and into his memories.

“This was Mum’s favourite song.” He steps cautiously into the room. “You used to dance to it together.”

Draco hesitates, then sets his wine glass down on the wooden seat of the throne he used to in. “I thought you might have been too young to remember that.”

Scorpius shakes his head. “No. No, I remember! You would dip her and make her laugh. And you were so... so in love.” He looks down at his hands, heart wilting. This is too dangerous a topic for midnight on a Tuesday, even if it is the Christmas holidays.

“Yes,” Draco says simply.

For a moment, Scorpius thinks that’s all he’s going to get, and he starts planning his escape to the kitchen. He might be needing more than just Pepper Imps to cope with this.

But then Draco draws in a breath and twists one of his rings round his finger. “She was a beautiful dancer, wasn’t she?”

Scorpius looks up and nods eagerly. “She was. You both were. I...” He dares another step into the room. “Dad? C-can I, um... can I dance? With you? Would you mind?”

His dad blinks at him. “You want to dance?”

Scorpius nods. “Yes please. If it’s alright...” He trails off as the music finishes, leaving behind crackling silence and the uplifting memory of a love song.

His dad walks away, over to the record player. Scorpius watches his retreating back, pin straight and impenetrable. It feels like a dismissal.

“Never mind,” he murmurs, stepping back. “It’s not important. I should probably go back to bed anyway. Sorry I interrupted.”

He turns to flee, straight back up the stairs to the safety of his room, but before he can move an inch further, the music hums back into life. The bright beat and brassy chords ring out through the ballroom as Draco turns on his heel with a swoosh of his robes and holds his hand out to Scorpius.

“I hope you can keep up.”

Scorpius doesn’t grin. He’s so surprised that his emotions haven’t caught up. While his brain knows his dad is offering him a dance, the pieces of his heart are still scattered somewhere out in the dark hallway.

His feet carry him across the room and he takes his dad’s hand.

“You’re an old man,” he hears himself say, “of course I can keep up.”

“We’ll see.”

And then he’s flying. His dad spins him round so fast that he’s not sure if he’s dancing or falling. The room is a kaleidoscope blur of light. A bubble of laughter carries over the music and he thinks it belongs to him.

When the spinning stops he clings to his dad for dear life so he doesn’t fall, and his dad grins at him. At some point Scorpius’s heart catches up, beating in time to the music, soaring with every step across the ballroom floor.

It’s been so long since they last danced that he’s amazed he can still remember the steps, but they’re there. His feet find their mark, his shoulders relax, he stops gripping his dad’s hand, and when he remembers to stop panicking and look up, he finds his dad beaming at him.

It’s the sort of bright, fond smile that Scorpius always assumed was reserved for Astoria, but here it is, directed at him. He’s briefly dazzled by it, like he’s looked right at the sun on a summer day. What it means, he has no idea. But it makes him feel...

It makes him feel like he did as a child, watching his parents dance. Safe and warm. Full up inside. Like his heart is a rich pool of molten gold.

His dad squeezes his hand and sings along with the music, in his pitchy, imprecise voice.

“Lovely... Never ever change, Keep that breathless charm, Won’t you please arrange it, Cause I love you, Just the way you look tonight.”

Scorpius can’t say why, but the fact that it’s such a mess, off key and rough around the edges, makes it better. Maybe because it’s his dad, and it’s real, and raw, and means something.

He clings to the dying moments of the song like he clung to the memory of his parents dancing. When the last note fades, he hesitates to let go of his dad, and his dad must feel the same, because all of a sudden Scorpius finds himself wrapped up in an enormous, tight hug.

“I love you,” Draco murmurs. “I hope you know that.”

Scorpius thinks of his dad beaming at him as they danced, and he finally understands. It’s overwhelming and amazing and he thinks his heart might burst from it. He buries his face in his dad’s chest and nods.

“Love you too,” he mumbles.

This time he can practically feel his dad smiling. His grip tightens around Scorpius and a contented sigh resonates through him. He ducks down and presses a kiss to the top of Scorpius’s head, as Scorpius closes his eyes and focuses on storing this memory forever too. Two matching snap shots of love. Side by side and connected by a dance, and a song that was once his mother’s favourite.

#Scorpius Malfoy #Draco Malfoy #Astoria Malfoy #Drastoria #Harry Potter and the Cursed Child #Cursed Child #Cursed Child Fic #HPCC Fic #Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Fic #Malfoy family feels #My writing #Keep The Secrets #honestly this idea is the most painful thing I've seen in ages #I love it

[threeletterslife]

Cuss Out

→ summary: As a senior in an old, cockroach-infested school, you’d honestly rather die than take a zero period class at the asscrack of dawn. But there’s a quiet boy who sits next to you that keeps you from ditching. He’s kinda cute (although you’ve never really seen his face). Yikes. But as they say, actions speak louder than words, right? 

→ pairing/rating: jungkook x reader | PG-13

→ genre: this was supposed to be fluff until i realized how fucking funny this whole situation is so now the majority of it is crack | high school!au

→ warnings: profanity as always

→ wordcount: 2.3k

→ a/n: inspiration hit because i hate my physics class and guys this is like my FIRST crack fic on tumblr after having a depressing fic streak 🤭 i hope you laugh as much as i cackled when i wrote this shit 

Say you're on your deathbed. Your right leg is already crossing the thin line that divides life and the afterlife; you begin to feel your body succumb to death. But an angel appears. She sparkles, glimmers, and asks if you would like a second chance. You nod your head frantically. Anything to see another day, another sunrise. But the angel says there is a price to pay. She twirls her long, curly blonde hair with a perfectly manicured, dainty finger.

She leans in and you catch a whiff of Bath and Body Works' Beautiful Day perfume. It makes you feel uneasy. You don't trust that smell.

"If you want a second chance, my dear Y/N," she sings, her voice light and feathery. "Then you must retake AP Physics C."

I what???

Your daydream skids to a complete stop and you jerk awake, hands flying to steady yourself and eyes wide in confusion.

You look around your stupid zero period AP Physics C class to see if anyone had witnessed your embarrassing actions. But it looks like everyone else is half asleep—except those crazy kids who are actually taking notes. You breathe a sigh of relief before turning towards your uptight teacher, Mr. Chung. He's droning on about magnetism again, his posture annoyingly straight and voice fairly high-pitched—like he never went through puberty. Honestly, if you hear him say 'right-hand rule' one more time, you might just raise your own right hand and slap the shit out of the nearest person. And that person happens to deserve a good slapping, in your opinion.

She's the pesky girl in front of you that won't stop spritzing her stupid perfume in ten-minute intervals. You swear to the heavens you used to like the scent of Beautiful Day. But now, it makes you want to throw up.

Yes, AP Physics C is the epitome of a hellhole.

What's more, you don't know anyone in the class, which makes everything worse than it already is. You wouldn't be surprised if some kids in the period thought you were mute—rightfully, too, because you've never spoken a single word. Frankly, you don't feel the need to.

God, lecture days are the worst. Mr. Chung yaps on and on about a subject that frankly, you don't give two shits about. You're only taking this to fill up your schedule, anyway. Besides, the only unit you enjoy in physics (electric circuits) is over, which means everything else is tedious and stupid.

You don't know how you're going to survive another few months of this.

Then again, you suppose something does keep you coming to your zero period class every day. It's the only thing that actually keeps you from ditching.

There's this quiet boy that sits right next to you. As a fairly reclusive person yourself, you know shy people don't really catch people's attention. But he does.

Well, you barely even know what he looks like since he wears a cap covering his face or pulls a hood over his head every day. So you can safely say the boy doesn't interest you because of his good looks. He piques your interest because he is weirdly considerate.

You're a zero period class, which means when you come into the classroom, the stupid chairs are set on top of the stupid tables so the janitors can clean the stupid floor. It's such a fucking pain in the ass to have to haul your rather heavy chair back down at seven a.m. in the morning so you can sit on it for fifty-seven instructional minutes.

You've embarrassingly struggled over putting your chair back down for the first month of school. But after that first month, magically, your chair would be put down for you.

The boy who sits next to you would be the only one near your seating row. So you know it's his doing. But strangely enough, your seating row consists of four seats. He only puts down the chair for you and himself.

It's an awfully sweet gesture that doesn't go unnoticed.

And he's been doing that every day without fail since last year.

Honestly, it's your senior year and you wouldn't be too against ditching your zero period class, but he keeps you grounded. You need to come every day to see if he puts down your chair. It's the only interesting thing going on in your life, anyway. College decisions are out, you're completely stress-free and you're only coming to school so the office doesn't report you to your parents.

Come to think of it, you're not even sure what the boy's name is. Jeon... Junook? Joonuk? You've only heard his friends call him by his last name, so that's what you've been calling him in your head.

Jeon.

It sounds kinda dreamy.

Yikes. I cannot be possibly falling for a boy I haven't spoken a word to.

But even the way he makes sweater paws with his oversized hoodies is fucking adorable. And sometimes, his head droops a bit, which means he's dosing off again. See? You have that in common with him. Both of you can't stay awake during Mr. Chung's lecture.

You applaud anyone who can stay awake through Mr. Chung's monotonous lectures, actually. Okay, back on track, though.

You've been keeping your little crush on Jeon to yourself for months. You're sure your secret will stay with you when you graduate this stupid hellhole that they call a school. You can't wait to leave this cockroach-infested high school. Well, you'll miss your friends, a couple of teachers, of course. And you'll miss Jeon too... But other than that, you can't wait to leave.

The sound of Mr. Chung yelling at a fellow student makes your daydreaming come to a halt. You sigh. Every week, that man gives out at least one detention. You figured your best bet to not get one is to not talk at all. It's been working so far, too.

You look over at Jeon to see how he's faring. But his head is on his desk, his arms covering his face entirely.

Must've had a rough night.

You're contemplating whether to wake him or not. Mr. Chung might go on a serious rampage if he catches someone so blatantly ignoring his oh-so-important lecture. You're just about to muster up all your courage to speak your very first word to Jeon—and your first word in the class—when something scuttles beneath your feet.

You freeze.

Oh, fucking hell no.

It is what you think it is.

A big, fat, ugly, winged-ass roach.

It twitches its antennas almost sinisterly, and you scream silently, mouth open in shock. If it flies straight at you, it's game over. You're logging out of the group chat of life.

Ohmygod. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.

Okay, if you're smart about this, you'll get out of it without a major heart attack. You slowly tug your feet up to your chest, hands shaking and eyes glued onto the disgusting insect.

Apparently, the cockroach does not like being called disgusting in your thoughts. It twitches its antennas again as if to give you a warning signal.

Bitch, you curse at it.

You regret doing that.

The fucking cockroach hears you. And the next thing you know, it's flying straight at you with what you assume is blind rage.

You have no time to think. You scream the first words that come to your brain, "FUCKING SHIT," before nearly falling out of your chair to escape the terror of the fugly cockroach.

The roach manifests itself on your backpack, probably smug about the terror he'd just caused you.

Meanwhile, the whole class is staring at you. You, the quiet, shy girl that some people didn't know existed.

And for the first time, you're able to get a clear look at Jeon's face. His hood had fallen off of his head from the force he had jerked awake when he had heard your vulgar cussing. He's beautiful. His slightly long, curly hair brushes against his wide, doe eyes, and he's staring you down with a shocked look on his face. Your lips part as you examine his features. Oh fuck. I didn't expect that to be under the caps and hoods. And the fact that he's intensely meeting your gaze... You flush, unable to take his blatant stare, you turn away to see your teacher shaking his head at you.

"Y/N. That was unacceptable behavior," Mr. Chung's stern voice yells at you from across the classroom. Your teacher looks a bit shocked at your outburst as everyone else in the room. "We do not... partake in such profanity."

Your eyes grow larger as you stutter, pointing at the cockroach on your backpack. "I-I! Mr. Chung—"

"Detention, Y/N. I'll see you after school."

"I—" you start, fists clenched and eyes watering up with frustration. "I'm sorry, but there was a—"

"WHAT THE FUCK?! THERE'S A BIG ASS FUCKING COCKROACH. HOLY SHIT!"

Your eyes bulge out as you see Jeon of all people yell at the top of his lungs. His voice is surprisingly soft even when he's using it to shriek vulgar profanities. He turns back to grin at you, knocking the breath out of your lungs. Before you can even react to his unthinkable gesture, Mr. Chung begins to yell:

"Jungkook! That is absolutely unacceptable. Profanity will not be tolerated in this classroom! Both of you! Detention after school!" Your teacher huffs. Jungkook. You perk up at the sound of Jeon's actual name, a stupid smile blossoming on your face. Bad timing, though. "What are you smiling about? You know what, both of you leave the class until you are able to behave yourselves."

Humiliation tinges your ears red as you hang your head low. God forbid you were being chided by your teacher like you were back in freshman year.

"There's a cockroach on her backpack, Mr. Chung," Jungkook protests, crossing his arms.

Warmth floods through your cheeks as Jungkook defends you.

"Did I ask?" Mr. Chung counters to your utmost disbelief. "Leave your backpacks and get out of class. We'll talk when the period ends."

Fuck.

Jungkook looks over at you, shrugging. He mouths, Oh, well, we tried. Let's go.

Wait, alone time with Jeon Jungkook outside of class? Maybe the cockroach was a sign of luck. Even so, you shudder as you look at the disgusting piece of shit sitting on your backpack. The ugliest luck on Earth, that is.

You maneuver your way around your bag, quickly following behind Jungkook as he struts out of class as if nothing had happened. You feel the eyes of all of your classmates on your back and you would be lying if you said you weren't sweating up a storm.

The moment you're out of the class and away from the windows and door of the room, Jungkook lets out a large sigh of relief.

"That was one hell of a cockroach," he laughs, his nose scrunching up cutely and bangs falling in front of his eyes.

"Y-Yeah," you manage to answer. "Sorry. I think I might've gotten you in trouble..."

Jungkook grins. "Pity. Guess I'll have to spend time with you in detention."

"Do you think Mr. Chung will kill us?"

The boy snorts, casually leaning against the wall and gives you a sideways glance, tilting his head curiously to look at you. "That man's all talk and no action. He hasn't put a student in detention in thirty years... Although he seems like he does every week. I think we'll be fine."

You nod, cheeks turning red as Jungkook stares you down.

"You know, I've been meaning to talk to you for a while," he confesses, smiling softly at you. "But I'm always drowsy zero period, so I didn't want to say something stupid. You really woke me up today. Thanks, honestly."

"O-Oh," you mumble, "yeah, um, no problem. Oh, and thanks for putting my chair down for me every day."

"No biggie," Jungkook grins. "Oh, and by the way, you free this weekend?"

"Uh, yeah," you say, nodding, heart beating as you realize what this is going to lead to.

"Good!" Jungkook exclaims. "I've always wanted to take you out sometime... Is this Saturday okay?"

You nod, too shell-shocked to speak. Turns out the shy boy isn't so shy at all. He'd been quiet because he was tired.

"Great!" he says, clasping his hands together.

The rest of the conversation flowing nicely. The two of you are really getting to know each other. And you find that your instincts had been very accurate—this boy is godsent.

When the bell rings to signalize the end of zero period, you're honestly a bit disappointed. For the first time, you wish your zero period dragged on longer.

"Well, it was so nice getting to you know," Jungkook says as he waves his phone. "I'll text you the details about our date later!" He begins to walk backward away from you, waving.

You watch him like you're entranced in a deep, magical spell.

"Y/N?" he calls when he's several feet away from you.

"Yeah?" you answer.

"You know, I didn't know you were such a cuss out!" he says, winking at you. "Would've never pinned you as the type!"

You giggle, shaking your head. "Speak for yourself!" you call back, making Jungkook grin wider. "And Jungkook?" God, his name sounds so right, rolling off your tongue.

"Yeah?"

"You forgot your backpack, silly. It's still in the classroom."

"Oh shit!"

masterlist

#jungkook fanfic #jungkook crack #jungkook fluff #jungkook #bts fanfction #cuss out #i imagined this whole story line in my chem class #this was originally supposed to take place in an ap chem class but then physics whipped my ass more than chem so #i kinda laughed writing this #i'm kinda lame