#at the end of this night everyone sits and eats their pancakes together in silence | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

spinchip · 3 years

Note

Prompt:

Zane has a nightmare about his time as the E.M. & lashes out, how do the other ninja deal with this?

Wordcount: 1300

The wail rends the night in two, agonized screaming slicing the dusk into a before and an after. Consciousness slams into Jay like a bullet to the head, his heart jack-rabbiting in his chest as fear and adrenaline flood his veins. His eyes open to the peacefulness of his room, the honey-yellow glow of his night light casting everything in warm tones as the scream ends abruptly. Jay's ears ring in afterimage and he scrambles out of bed- he’s barely conscious enough to form thoughts, but what little he can come up with is a litany of curses as he fights the grip of his bed sheets until he falls to the floor in a tangled heap. Wiggling free, he stumbles to his feet and has the presence of mind to tug on a pair of pajama pants. Shirtless and still half asleep, he throws open his door and goes careening out into the hall to find he’s late to the party.

Lloyd and Nya are at the end of the hallway next to Lloyd bedroom door, both looking pale and frightened. Hand in hand, they lean into each other, and while Lloyds eyes are dry Nya is fighting tears. Jay blinks, waking up fully and he swings around to look down the hall. Kai is standing in the doorway of Zanes room with his right hand white-knuckling the frame, utterly still. Now that Jay's blood isn’t roaring in his ears, he can make out Zane’s voice, his words are muffled and strung together.

The familiar rumble of Cole's voice cuts into the near franticness of Zanes, and Jay approaches the room with one hand on the wall for support. At Kais shoulder, he peeks into the room.

The light from the hallway bounces off Pixals hair, silver strands reflecting it over the room in tiny star-like pinpricks of light nearly too soft to be seen. She’s got her back to Kai and Jay, her arms bent to press her hands over her mouth, and she’s shaking. Past her, on the floor next to Zanes bed, are Zane and Cole.

Bent over on his knees, Cole presses his lips to Zanes temple and shushes him softly, rocking back and forth. In his arms, Zane sobs. He’s clinging to Cole in a way that looks nearly painful- hands wound around his shoulders to fist at his sleep-shirt and face pressed bruisingly hard into his collarbone as he shakes. He’s splayed across the floor in an imitation of Jay earlier, legs tangled in his blanket and drawn up to his chest as much as physically possible. There’s a slash of ice across the wall as if Zane had lashed out in his sleep, broken glass from his window glittering on the floor. Jay's mouth is painfully dry, his heart squeezing in his chest.

Now that he can see the full picture, now that he understands, he can piece together what Zane is saying, “I’m going to hurt you,” He repeats like a promise, but there’s no pride that lives there. It’s a gutted, agonized sort of confession when he says, “I’ll kill you, I’ll kill everyone-” He tries to breathe but it catches raw and painful in his chest and devolves into another set of painful sounding sobs.

“Shhh,” Cole soothes, powerful arms looped under Zane's armpits to support him. One hand scratches the base of his neck, catching on the short hair there, “It was just a dream. You were dreaming.”

This only seems to set him off more as he cries harder, “Go away,” He begs, “Leave me alone, I don’t want to hurt you. Go away.” But he still holds onto Cole like an anchor, seems to cling even tighter as if afraid Cole really will leave. Cole doesn’t even entertain the thought of letting go while Zane so obviously needs him.

Cole looks up, turns to face them- Jay heart pings painfully in his chest. Cole is crying. He meets Jay's eye for a moment before looking at Kai. They share a long moment before Cole jerks his head and Kai nods, spurring into action. He reaches out and takes Pixals upper arm and she immediately turns into it, spinning around at his coaxing and burying her face in his chest. He wraps his arms around her and walks backwards, rubbing her back as he leads her out of the room.

Close the door he mouths to Jay, and Jay takes one last look at the two huddled in the room before he clicks the door shut. Kai hugs Pixal tightly as she calms down, holding her until she stops shaking, until she moves away first.

“Thank you,” Pixal whispers. She turns and stares hard and Zanes door again, her fingers bunching up Kais pajama top. Her face screws up in unreadable emotion.

“They don’t need an audience.” Kai says softly, placing his hands on top of hers. She relaxes and nods. The silence is broken by muffled voices from the other side of the door, Cole and Zane talking quietly, desperation and fear and comfort leaden in their voices.

No one moves to go back to their room. With a sigh, Kai turns and walks down the hall. Pixal follows him, and Jay only looks away from Zanes door when Nyas hand lands on his elbow and tugs him along. He follows absently, allowing her to sit him down in a chair at the table in the kitchen. It’s early enough that breakfast is absurd but not out of the question, and Kai busys himself by pulling down the pancake batter. Nya offers to help. Lloyd brings Jay a glass of water and sits next to him, sliding his chair closer so he can rest his head on Jay's shoulder. At the head of the table, Pixal is sitting with her head in her hands.

Jay thinks about before this all happened, when he’d come into Zanes room and woken him from his nap. Zane had been scared then, too. He’d told Jay exactly what was going to happen, and Jay hadn’t listened, hadn’t even- when he blinks he sees Cole hugging Zane close, trying to reassure him, trying to ground him.

What did Jay do?

Nothing.

A plate of pancakes breaks his ruminating thoughts, the clink of the plate bringing him out of his head. He’s not hungry, but he eats anyway. This is the ninja way. He drowns it in syrup and uses a fork and a knife. Next to him, Lloyd tears his pancakes into pieces with his hands and dips them in the syrup. Breakfast is a silent, forlorn affair.

Dawn filters through the kitchen window and Jay's friend is broken. It’s a fact of the universe. Like the sun will rise, Zane will sacrifice himself and deal with unimaginable consequences. Like the sun will set, the ninja won’t be good enough, and Zane will pay the price. In Jay's failure, Zane will suffer.

He stands from the table. It's a screeching drag of his chair legs, the others stop to watch him, wondering what he’s about to do. He leaves, cutting through the kitchen into the courtyard, stalking out into the center while fighting tears. When he turns around, they’ve follow him, worried. He won’t fall apart.

He squats into a familiar stance, moving through the steps confidently, running his first training drill of the day.

“What are you doing?” Kai asks.

“It won’t happen again.” He says instead, “I’ll be stronger. I’ll protect him.” He jumps up and kicks, flipping backwards to land the move perfectly. He shifts into stance again.

He runs the move twice more before Kai steps onto the dirt and joins him. In the end, they all join him.

Cole and Zane skip breakfast.

#zane julien #ns11 #cole ninjago #jay walker #kai ninjago #ninjago #spinchip fic

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morizoras-cave · 4 years

Text

Persistent (Request)

Marvel cast x f!teen!co-star!reader

Genre: angst-ish, fluff

Request Description: Hellooo! Could you write a all the marvel cast men x teen! reader? Like they all go out to eat and hangout at a mall or something and when she goes in the women’s part of a store while they are all on the men’s side, some creepy dude keeps on hitting on her and like after she tries to politely decline his attempts and stuff rdj and the rest are like nuh uh this ain’t happening lol

Warnings: language, hints at smexual stuff, harassment, persistent asshole

(A/N): this story includes anthony mackie, winston duke, sebastian stan, chris evans, robert downey jr and mark ruffalo. im sorry i didnt include alllll of the marvel dudes, but i just find it hard to cram them all into one fic :((( ALSO sorry if the ending is shitty hgssghsgsh

“You don’t have to bring me with you.”

“It’s too late, we’re bringing you.”

“But-”

“Y/n, you are not spending your birthday alone!”

You and Anthony were bickering like always. There was a short break in filming the next marvel movie, and while many people, including you, were planning on going home for the week, Sebastian, Anthony, Winston, Chris and Tom and arranged a ‘guys night out’, if you will.

You were going to enjoy your birthday that day with your family, but a couple of days before your family had cancelled, because of exams and overloading work. They promised you’d celebrate some other day, but you were still bummed out.

Anyway, Anthony had somehow reluctantly made you admit that you were celebrating alone, and had decided to instead drag you with him and the guys to their ‘night out’.

“I don’t wanna come and just be a bother to everyone,” you mumbled. Anthony sighed and looked at you. He then diverted his eyes back to the road.

“You’re not bothering anyone, N/n.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to cancel your plans to the strip club or whatever you were gonna do!” You stressed. Anthony gasped like a TV mean girl.

“Did you really think we were gonna go to a strip club? Y/n, that’s private business, you don’t do that with your guys.”

“Well, what then?”

The mall, apparently.

You and Anthony both stood with your necks craned to look at the proud and boasting sign, ‘mall of America’. He’d shut up after your question and just parked the car, leading you to stand exactly there, in front of that famous mall.

“You’re gonna go shopping?” you looked at him.

“Yeah, and what about it?”

Before you could start another argument with Anthony, you heard a familiar ‘hey!’ and snapped your head in the direction of the caller. Winston, Sebastian, Chris, Robert and Mark were all gathered together, seemingly waiting for you two.

“Hey, there you are! We were waiting for you,” Chris said with his usual big, dorky smile on his lips. Him and Anthony hugged and then he pulled back to look at you.

“Y/n, you okay with spending your birthday with us?”

“Whatever, man,” was all you could say, making the group burst into laughter.

You would never admit it to Anthony, or any of the others for that matter, but it was actually a lot of fun. You went into many stores for no apparent reason. The guys bought and helped you make a Build-A-Bear, which you named Svenbjorn, and he had a little detective suit and a little bag.

You ate at a Denny’s, where Mark unfortunately, but rather predictably, spilled maple syrup on himself. Then you looked around stores for fancy suits and clothes and gifts for their loved ones. Your mood was brightened, and the guys sure didn’t seem to be displeased that you were there.

“Let’s go in here real quick,” Sebastian had said, and everyone walked with him into the clothing store. You hadn’t actually bought anything that day, so you decided that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to look around a bit.

“I’m gonna go to the women’s section,” you said, pointing to the area at the other end of the store.

“Sure,” Robert waved you off, as him and the others crowded around a blue suit. You rolled your eyes and bounded off to the women’s area.

Your eyes found a pretty yellow shirt hanging on a rack near the back. You quickly made your way to it, standing and admiring it, checking the fabric and the price.

“Hey, babygirl,” a cocky voice sounded beside you. You turned your head to see a boy around your age, an ugly smirk on his lips. His words almost made you vomit the Denny’s pancakes you’d just eaten, but you shook off the feeling.

“Uh, hey,” you mumbled, turning back to the shirt. Now you fiddled with it nervously.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing here alone, huh?” his voice was strangely predatory, something about it just didn’t sit right with you. It made you feel alerted and uncomfortable.

“Looking at shirts..”

“I bet you’d look good in this one,” he said. You didn’t have to look to know he’d found some sheer-ass, see through, titty exposer. You did however peep, and, yes.. You were right.

“Look, I’m not interested,” you sighed.

“That’s too bad, girlie, I could make you feel real good.”

You scrunched up your nose in disgust. Your fingers gave up their grasp on the shirt, deciding that it would be best to just get out of there. The sound of your boots hitting the shiny floor sounded, as you began padding away.

“Hey, wait, where are you going?” you heard him walking behind you, the action of persistence making your heartbeat speed up. You were now panicking.

“Hey! Why are you following her?” you breathed out in relief. Winston was standing not too far away, Sebastian and Anthony behind him. He had lowered his voice to sound more threatening, which you normally would laugh at, but considering the situation, you were pretty relieved he did it.

All the three men looked pretty damn angry. You didn’t know how much of the conversation they’d heard, but obviously enough. Hearing another set of boots, you snapped your head to see Chris, Mark and Robert jogging towards the scene. You made eye contact with Chris, who furrowed his brows in confusion.

The boy was now looking at the six angry and buff men, swallowing fearfully. He was shaking and surely starting to sweat. You smirked. Asshole. You walked over to stand between Sebastian and Chris.

“Are you okay?” they both murmured, searching your eyes worriedly. The fact that they were so protective of you made you smile a bit. Although, the thought that you needed several men with you to the mall to protect you kind of sucked.

“I’m alright,” you said. Meanwhile, Winston, Anthony and Robert were approaching the kid with disapproving looks.

“Didn’t your mom ever tell you to respect women? Huh?”

“What’s your issue, kid? You had such a big mouth just a moment ago?”

“Don’t ever talk to any woman like that ever again, you hear me?”

They didn’t even touch him, just the anger and seriousness in their voices and on their faces was enough to get the message into the kids head. He nodded, breath shaking. Then, he dashed off between Winston and Anthony, running out of the store, like a dog with its tail between its hind legs.

When the other three turned back to you, they were still angry.

“I can’t believe him! I can’t believe that asshole!” Anthony muttered, disbelief ridden in his voice. Winston had grown softer, looking down at you in concern.

“Are you okay, N/n? He didn’t touch you, did he?” You could tell he was actually worried.

“No, no, nothing like that. It’s okay, guys, it really wasn’t that serious,” you explained, wanting them to calm down. You couldn’t be the reason why their ‘guys night’ was ruined.

“Not that serious? Y/n, he wasn’t backing off when you told him to!” Robert seemed even angrier that you were denying the severity of the issue. You just shrugged.

“This kind of stuff happens all the time, this time I just had you guys with me,” you explained. By the looks on their faces, that wasn’t the most reassuring answer. In fact, even Chris and Sebastian and Mark (the sweetest human being ever, theoretically incapable of feeling anger) were angry now, scoffing.

“That’s not- That’s-” Chris put his hands on his hips like an angry mom. Sebastian squeezed your shoulder, making you look at him, to see his jaw clenched.

“Y/n, if that ever happens to you, no matter how big or small, just call us, please,” Anthony said, eyes catching yours to express how serious he was. You nodded. “I mean that shit.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll call you.”

There was a moment of silence where everyone just basked in their anger, before Mark spoke up.

“Hey, how about we just continue as planned and go watch a movie at the cinema?”

Reluctantly, everyone started walking to the cinema. You noticed how your walking formation had changed, almost caging you in, protecting you. Although you, Mark and Winston kept a pretty solid conversation, you couldn’t help but overhear the other’s talking about how angry they still were. Of course, they had every right to.

The night turned out alright again, as they slowly shook off their anger. The movie was great, and it created something new to talk about other than the ‘disrespectful little shit from earlier’.

When Anthony drove you both back to the hotel you were both staying at, he had another serious conversation with you. He talked about staying safe and keeping a backup weapon and such.

He wasn’t usually serious, so you listened carefully. You were thankful that they had been there that day. So were they. And from that day on they all were a little bit more protective with you - whether it was in interviews or just in daily life - they kept you close and was always slightly suspicious of anyone talking to you.

It meant a lot to you, and you thanked them, both for their protection, for an awesome birthday, and for one bitchin’ build-a-bear :)

___________________________

Tag List:

@hera-the-writer @marvel-madness @40srogcrs @whatthefuckimbisexual @snarky–starky @garbage-potato @eviemarvel @lozzypoz321 @allthecreativeonesaretaken @missamericana713 @rororo06 @shady80smusicsingercolor @ireadfanficforfun

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clairdelunelove · 3 years

Text

AOT Valentine’s Day Headcanons

eren jaeger x reader, jean kirschstein x reader, armin arlert x reader, levi ackerman x reader, erwin smith x reader, porco galliard x reader, genderneutral!reader

genre: insane amounts of fluff, comfort

warnings: slight cursing, insane amounts of fluff

synopsis: small scenarios of what some aot boys would do for you during valentine’s day.

a.n: enjoy the lovely day with some of these cuties! remember to take care of yourselves and know you’re all loved <3

eren jaeger

this man would definitely try to cook a nice dinner for you

especially if you’re having a hard week

expect him to be researching the best recipe a couple days beforehand

“what are you doing, eren?”

he’ll glance up and nonchalantly mutter, “nothing, babe” while scrolling through fancy recipes

on valentine’s day it’s his time to shine

waits for you to leave the house and go to work before leaving to pick up the necessary ingredients

gets in a verbal argument with a store clerk if he doesn’t find the exact name of what he’s searching for

“are you deaf? I said I needed a bag of shrimp”

“and we have that, sir. you said you needed a bag of prawns right?”

“it’s shrimp! how many goddamn times do I need to repeat myself?”

gets home with bags full of groceries and gets to work

slowly chops all the vegetables and curses when he nicks his finger with the edge of the knife

puts too much oil in the frying pan and tosses everything in there

scrolls through his phone while waiting

spends fifteen minutes ogling at his screensaver

of course it’s a pic of you

ends up burning everything he made

orders takeout, plates it real nice, and attempts to brush off that it was his cooking once you’re home

“this is so good, babe!” you exclaim while lifting the fork to your mouth, “tastes like the order we usually get at that one French restaurant.”

“glad you like it, baby”

cue his nervous sweating

jean kirschstein

simp energy!

makes previous reservations to take a painting class with you

tells you to dress warm before the two of you head out

so! happy!

has the goofiest smile on the actual date

tucks your hand in his pocket while walking to the art studio

spends the whole time checking over at your easel

audibly approves of everything you do, even if you’re drawing a line

“wow, it looks great sweetheart”

scrunches up his brows while concentrating

listens to the art instructor say to paint something that they love

takes it quite literally

paints you

tries to get each pretty feature about you

swipes his hand over his cheek and gets paint on it

literally sweats out of pure focus and won’t want to leave until he’s done

“jean, babe, we gotta go”

“five more minutes please. almost done”

five min turns into five hours

jean’s painting of you is surprisingly amazing and he’s even lowkey impressed

has a random stranger take a pic of you and him together while holding up the paintings

treats you to an expensive restaurant afterwards and pays

full stomachs = happy couple

pulls you close while walking through the downtown streets

whispers cheeky pickup lines into your ear and presses a kiss against your head

best. day. ever.

connie springer

did you say it was valentine’s day?

shit

definitely forgets about the whole holiday but is quick enough to put something together for you

you both aren’t super invested in sappy holidays but connie tries each time

the morning of, he’ll run to the nearest shops and try to pick out a bouquet of flowers for you

everything’s sold out

will curse his luck and literally sprint out of there

kicks himself for not planning in advance as he’s walking up the driveway of your house

notices the neighbor’s beautiful flowers

idea!

he will dash through each neighbor’s yard and pick their flowers so a mismatched bouquet rests in his hand

“happy valentine’s day, my favorite goofball!”

“thanks, babe,” your wide eyes stare at the uncoordinated bouquet in your hands, “I love it”

cue the mud that falls to the floorboards

you scold connie about the dirt that’s still stuck on the roots since it dirties the floors

he’ll take you out to watch a comedy show too!

whole evening of laughter while his arm is wrapped around your shoulder

you were both glowing in happiness (along with having a sore stomach) afterwards

wraps his sweater around you since the evening was getting chilly

drives you home and gives you the sweetest kiss

he’ll pull away with a, “wow” while being completely dazed out

let’s you take his jacket home and texts you corny jokes the whole night

Maro Bott

desperately! wants you to be his valentine

almost cries tears of joy when you accept his confession which only makes you confused

“Marco, sweetie, we’ve been dating for two years”

“doesn’t matter, love”

shows up extra early with a bouquet of roses

“happy valentine’s day!”

expect him to walk inside the house and look through all your cabinets for a vase

helps you pick out an outfit because he has the “perfect date” planned

causes you to be wrapped in bundles of clothing

won’t tell you where he’s taking you once the two of you are in the car

“an,” you tilt your head and albeit a bit puzzled, “ice rink?”

“time for some ice skating!”

laces up your skates before he even does his own so he makes sure it’s secure

will ask multiple times if your feet are comfortable

once he has his skates on, it’s game over

can’t walk without holding onto your hand for a couple moments

“this is harder than I thought,” he confesses with a nervous grin

gets on the ice and falls

hard

the thump causes everyone to look at the two of you and he only responds with, “oh look (Y/n)! I’ve fallen for you! Get it?”

undoubtedly makes you giggle and onlookers awe

gets the hang of ice skating and teaches you how if you’re scared of falling

makes excuses to pull you close and sweetly kiss your cheek

“it’s part of the learning process”

the day was as sweet as Marco is

Armin Arlert

bookstore date!

will definitely plan in advance because he wants everything to be perfect

expect a good morning text that’s a whole paragraph long <3

still asks you, “can I be your valentine?” even if you are both dating

plan on wearing matching outfits for the day

light academia style of white turtlenecks, beige pants, and cardigans

will take a selfie with you and set it as his lock screen so he can awe at it every second

“you’re breathtaking”

intertwines your fingers with his when you’re holding hands

swings it while walking

lots of attention once the two of you step inside the bookstore

constant whispering about the matching outfits and innocent affection

he’ll lead you to the back of the store and spend the entire day there

sits on the floor, leaning against the wooden bookcase, and stroking your hair while you’re laying on his lap

silence = peace

piles of books around you both

“how’s the plot, love?”

will ask that when his head is resting on your thigh and inwardly loves how comfy you are

buys all the books you want and waves away your credit card when you try to pay

“consider it repayment for spending the day with me”

holds the tote bag of books the whole time despite it being heavy

stops by the cafe to buy cups of hot chocolate

notices a small amount of whipped cream on the corner of your mouth

chuckles and stops to literally lean down to press his lips against yours in order to wipe it off

whispers, “you’re so lovely, angel”

both of you will pull away with flushed faces and lovesick smiles

Levi Ackerman

“what’s this for, brat?”

frowns once he opens his front door and you’re standing there with a wide grin

“happy valentine’s day, dear! I wanted to watch a movie then-”

“yeah, yeah”

lets you in anyways

takes the large basket full of movies, snacks, and skincare out of your hands

sets it on the kitchen counter and you immediately pop a bag of popcorn into the microwave

your movements are quick as you’re scurrying around the kitchen retrieving bowls, plates, and napkins

levi watches you from the couch, inwardly pleased that you’re able to memorize the layout of his house since you’ve been over so many times

he’d never tell a soul though

movies with levi!

he won’t pay attention to the movie at all but still comments film mistakes

“he wasn’t even wearing that sweater in the previous scene”

“levi, honey, who even pays attention to that”

“people with eyes”

allows you to cuddle close to him but his fingers itch to bring you even closer

audibly groans when you move away to fetch something

“self care time!” you exclaim while holding up a pack of face masks

will not let you put one on him once he sees how silly they look

“please?”

“no,” he states, “they look fucking ridiculous”

does it anyways once your puppy dog eyes are on display

curses as you slick his hair back and put one on him

hates it and voices his opinion

but at the end of the day, he agrees with the saying, ‘happy wife, happy life’

and oh yes, you were going to be his wife one day

Erwin Smith

imagine sleeping in and waking up to breakfast in bed

pancakes, waffles, bagels, raspberry streusel muffins

and everything’s like

in the shape of a heart <3

turns on some classical, romance music

sweet candles that smell like vanilla = burning

that’s what this man would do

wakes up super early

determined to whip everything up pronto

folded all the laundry, cleaned the dishes, vacuumed the house

amazing

10/10 gentleman

“good morning, love”

edges the bedroom door open with his shoulder while holding a tray of delicious food

definitely still in casual wear clothes

a sweater and grey joggers that he wore to sleep

loves the smile on your face

says “happy valentine’s day” and presses a kiss on the back of your hand

sits on the edge of the bed while you eat

chuckles when you feed him

lets you though

brushes your hair back each time you take a bite to eat

amusingly shakes his head whenever you over-exaggerate a hum in delight

pleased smirks!

definitely tried to swipe whip cream over your cheek just to hear you giggle

it’s beautiful

watches the way the sunlight pours through the window and creates a glow on your face

serenity, calmness, and adoration

discreetly pinches himself to make sure he isn’t dreaming

wouldn’t want this day to end

Porco Galliard

“you doin’ anything today or what?”

will be the first text you get from him in the early morning

after a second passes, the little dots show up to indicate he’s typing again

“nvm. lemme take you out today”

shows up to your place unannounced and immediately notices what you’re wearing

“you’re wearing that? like for real?”

“is there something wrong with it?”

notices the panic in your eyes and immediately stutters

“nah, just,” he’ll bring his hand up to swipe at his noise while avoiding your gaze, “think you’ll be cold but you can wear my jacket or whatever.”

leads you to his muscle car and opens up the passenger door for you

surprisingly chivalrous for the day

drives throughout town to pick up stuff like a blanket, picnic basket, pre-made food, drinks

pays for it, of course, because he claims he’s the better man like that

“only scummy men let their partners pay”

spends the whole day driving around, hand on your thigh, while blasting your fav songs”

rolls the windows down so other drivers look your way

will also flip off anyone that suggestively gazes at you

loves when you belt out the lyrics and eagerly want him to join your singing session

rolls his eyes, “me? singing? gross.”

will sing 100% but only if you don’t call his bluff

pulls to the side of the road and sets up a romantic picnic spot nestled in an open field

drapes his jacket over your smaller physique and only mutters, “wear it before you catch a cold”

spends the evening star gazing, letting you rest your head on his chest while his hands are folded behind his neck

carries you back to the car once you’re asleep, snaps on your seatbelt, presses a kiss on your forehead, and mumbles, “thanks for lettin’ me take you out today, idiot.”

#eren x reader #eren jaeger #eren jaeger headcanons #jean kirschstein #jean x reader #jean kirschtein headcanons #armin aot #armin arlert #armin x reader #levi ackerman #erwin smith #porco headcanons #porco galliard #connie springer #connie x reader

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pinkja · 3 years

Text

Comfort (Dina x Reader x Ellie) Modern AU

In which an uncomfortable family visit leaves Ellie and Dina picking up the pieces.

(Quick note, this was just suppose to be a request but it got personal really quickly and it’s… a lot like it’s a lot. But hey! I’m back writing again!)

Tw for some implied abuse and childhood trauma

—

The smell of pancakes overwhelmed your senses as you shifted awake. You could feel the sunlight on your skin as your arms peeked out from under the covers, stretching above you as you sat up. With a yawn that lasted way too long, and your eyes barely opening, you fought the signs to go back to sleep and slipped out of bed, socks protecting your feet from the cold floor.

Your king sized bed was empty that morning, two of it’s usual patrons starting their day earlier, leaving you with a small feeling of emptiness without them. Scratching your stomach, you walked to the bathroom to brush your teeth, stepping on one of your girlfriend’s pants that you would make sure to scold them for later if you cared enough to figure out who the pants belonged to. After brushing your teeth and washing your face, you were finally able to see clearly and be somewhat present in reality. You didn’t bother changing out of your nightclothes, your day off being a perfect excuse to ignore appearances. As you got closer to the kitchen, the smell of food got stronger, reminding you that you hadn’t eaten a while, stomach growling at the prospects of being filled.

Must be Dina, you thought as you opened the kitchen door, suspicions proving correct as you were met with the back of your girlfriend, ponytail swishing as she hummed a tune while putting freshly cooked pancakes on a plate. She turned around slightly, brown eyes meeting yours and a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Overcome with the sudden urge to hold her, you wrapped your arms around her waist and mushed your cheek against hers. Dina let out a little giggle, leaning into you as well.

“Well hello to you too, (y/n).” There was amusement in her voice as she took in your sleepy form. You sagged against her with a huff before smiling.

“Morning, Dina.” You let go of Dina and turned around, coming face to face with your girl Ellie.

A pout formed on her face when your eyes met hers. “Damn! I was trying to scare you.” Auburn hair fell in front of her eyes as she deflated dramatically. You laughed, allowing Ellie to pull you into her as an apology.

“I’m sorry, babe. You gotta be quicker than that.” You said into her neck, kissing her on the cheek. She tickled your sides a bit before leaning on the counter, although she never let you go.

“Ellie and I were about to come and check your pulse.” Dina joked, bringing three plates of pancakes towards the kitchen island before continuing, “What time did you come in last night?” You scratched your cheek, digging through hazy memories.

“I didn’t leave the office until 12 because I was checking Annie’s manuscript for her.” You didn’t miss Dina’s scowl or the way Ellie’s grip got a little bit tighter. Whether it was from the mention of Annie or the fact that you got off so late, you didn’t know. “So I didn’t go to bed till 1:30-ish.”

“Annie’s always asking something from you. I don’t know why you keep indulging her.” Dina said with a roll of her eyes. Ah so it was the former.

“She’s just busy, Dina.” You tried to defend your friend, but no matter what you could or would say, she was no good in their eyes.

“And so are you, babe.” Ellie piped up. “You have your own work to do, and the longer your fixing everybody else’s mistakes and yours, the longer you’re away from us.” Ellie let go of you, grabbing utensils from a drawer and sitting two chairs away from Dina, leaving the middle open for you, like always. “All we’re saying, babe, is that you’re too nice.” You furrowed your eyebrows at the statement.

“Me being ‘too nice’ got you two a girlfriend so I don’t understand what’s the issue.” You quipped. Ellie held her hands up in defense, shrugging you off. You sat in between them, Dina wrapping her arm around your shoulder once you were comfortable.

“Ok, baby. We’re sorry. Just make sure you get enough rest today, hm?” You nodded, your good mood returning once your girls planted a kiss on your cheeks.

Once you all were done eating, Dina spoke again. “Ellie and I are gonna be out pretty late tonight,” she said while you were collecting everyone’s plates, “but Ellie should be back earlier than me. Do you think you can handle dinner tonight.” Dina asked you. You looked down at the plates, frowning a bit as you put them into the sink.

Your change in demeanor wasn’t lost on the pair, who looked at you in worry once your attention wasn’t on them.

Ellie spoke up, “I got it, Dina. I shouldn’t be too long anyways.” Dina nodded, sparing you one last glance before getting up from her seat.

“Wish me luck you two. Jesse’s hounding me about turning in these pictures on time even though I only have half of them ready.” Dina said playfully, kissing Ellie before walking up to you and kissing you on your temple. You gave her a small smile and started to wash the dishes, the jingle of Dina’s keys ringing in your ears as she left. Usually Dina and Ellie would drive to work together, but you told Ellie she could have your car since you weren’t going anywhere.

Once the door to the apartment closed shut, Ellie stood up and walked over to you, grabbing a dry rag from the stove and going to dry the clean, wet dishes. Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but hesistated on her words. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” You spoke low, and Ellie could tell you were becoming uncomfortable.

“When Dina asked you about dinner you kinda… I don’t know… froze up.” You turned off the water, handing coming up to brush the hair out of your face. You didn’t answer her. Ellie continued. “And it’s not the first time it happened. You do the same thing when we ask you about –“ Ellie stopped mid-sentence, watching as you gripped the edges of the sink and your palms turned white.

“It’s nothing, Ellie.” You said curtly, effectively ending the subject. “I’m fine.” You whispered, moving to walk away from her. Ellie grabbed you by your wrist and pulled you back towards her, in the same position as earlier. She started to sway the both of you side to side.

“Look, I’m sorry ok. I just wanted to see if you were alright… We just notice things sometimes and I hope you’ll be able to talk with us about it in the future.” Ellie kissed you on the cheek, letting you go and walking around you. “I’ll be back soon, ok? Get some rest, baby.” Ellie ordered, calling out a quick I love you, as she walked out the door.

Letting out a sigh, you rubbed your right temple and walked out to the living room, deciding to listen to Ellie and relax for a bit. Sitting on the couch, you practically buried yourself into one of the corners and brought your knees to your chest, curling yourself into a ball and grabbing a cover left there from the previous night to put over you. You turned on the TV, hoping to find something to watch and occupy your time. You soon found yourself, however, flipping through all of the channels, realizing that all of the sounds started to blend into one monotonous tone, letting your focus slip away from the screen.

After a third look through the channels and a trip through Netflix’s entire catalogue, you decided to shut off the TV and try reading. There were always series that you always wanted to check out but were too busy with work to start. So you grabbed the first book you laid eyes on in the bookshelf next to the TV, sat down in the same spot as before, and opened the book to the first page. As you went through the pages, you realized that you were looking at the words, but weren’t registering a thing, causing you to reread the pages again and again, but to no avail. Something in the back of your mind told you to stop this. Stop this and find something useful to do. So you did.

You shut the book with a huff and neatly placed it back where you found it, just like you were always taught to do. You looked around, eyes trying to spot something to do to occupy yourself. They landed on a basket of laundry in the hallway, small, but enough to last for thirty minutes or so. You grabbed it and sat on the couch, taking your time in making sure the corners were perfectly aligned, and there wasn’t a wrinkle shown. This process, when not completed properly, activated this deeply instilled instinct to start the entire basket over and over, unfolding the clothes and folding them again and again. Once you were done and your fingers were numb, you put the folded clothes back into the basket and dragged it to your bedroom to put them into the dressers.

Once you were done with laundry, you tried to find something to silence the voice in the back of your mind that was telling you to find something to do. You looked around your bedroom, trying to find any little thing out of place. You picked up the pants that you stepped on earlier, replaced dirty cloths and towels with clean ones, cleaned the tub and the toilet and the bathroom sink, and even made the bed three times over. And as you stared at your newly made bed, you felt the urge to sleep again compelling you. But that little voice in the back of your head told you that sleep wasn’t necessary, that you need to do something useful.

So you continued cleaning. You cleaned dust that wasn’t there. You organized books that looked fine from the outside. You picked up little papers that no one would notice and swept imaginary dirt off the floor. You even wiped the tables and walls and organized your pantries. And no matter how much you cleaned, you told yourself that it wasn’t enough, that you were just–

Wait… why did this feel so familiar?

You scratched the back of your head, trying to figure out why you felt like you’ve done this before. Were you always this… picky?

No, you weren’t. But something must’ve happened to make you feel like you weren’t doing anything right, and that everything had to be perfect. You chewed on your nail and walked back to the kitchen, ignoring the voice screaming at you to get back to work. Eyes darted all over, landing on the clock that read 5:30. Damn, you said to yourself, how long was I cleaning for?

“Ok, (y/n). I know you can find something to do. Anything.” You muttered, catching yourself before you can start biting your nails again. You looked at the fridge and froze. “I could always make dinner…” You tried to tell yourself, but your body wouldn’t move. “Come on, (y/n). Try and be a good girlfriend for once.” You willed your body to move, your need to be considerate after your girlfriends worked hard overpowering the fear of doing something wrong. You opened the fridge, peering inside to see what you could make. You decided to make some beef stew, finding it such a simple task that even you couldn’t possibly mess this up.

Getting out the meat, some carrots, onions, potatoes and peas, you cleaned the meat first, washed the sink thoroughly afterwards, and cleaned the vegetables after that. You spent about five minutes deciding what pans to bring out and use, and after gaining your confidence again and deciding, you sautéed the beef in some oil first, then added some seasoning to the beef, put water and beef broth in a larger pot before putting the beef in the pot.

Ok, you told yourself, the first and hardest part is over. Now all you needed to do was just put the stove on medium and leave it for the next hour or so.

Your nerves were calming down just a bit as you walked back into the living room, fidgeting in place as you sat down on the couch. The serenity didn’t last long, however, as you began to feel like something was nagging at you. Goodness gracious, you had never been this on edge before.

Well… that’s not true, you retracted.

Truth is, the only time you ever got this worked up was when a family member visited you, and it always got worse when your mother graced you with her presence. But that’s absurd! Your mother was across town, too busy with her own things to ever visit you. Hell, you didn’t even know if your mother even remembered where you lived, not like you were complaining. A part of you hoped that she did forget. You chewed on the pad of your thumb absentmindedly, a habit you’d thought you kicked after leaving for college, nervous.

You’re fine, you tried to reason with yourself, you’re ok. She’s not even near you. She’s probably at home, watching the news or chastising someone on the tiniest things and you’re probably just overreact–

There was a knock at the door.

You had never snapped your head up so fast before, eyes wide and thumb starting to bleed. The knocking continued, more frequent this time. You peeked at the door from your place on the couch, fear locking your body in place.

It’s probably just the mail, you told yourself.

“(Y/n)? I know you’re in there!” It was not. Every nerve in your body felt like it had been broken and set on fire, body burning incredibly hot and going numb at the same time.

“No, no, no, no, no! Why is she here?” You whispered, wrapping your arms around yourself in a feeble attempt to hide from the newcomer. The knocking continued despite your efforts.

“(Y/n)!” You jumped at the change in tone, an all too familiar one that caused you to get up from the couch and walk to the door despite everything telling you not to. Your breath hitched at the click of the door as you turned the lock, opening it to reveal your mother standing there, smiling.

You finally found your voice after a few seconds, stuttering out a, “Hi…Hi, mama. What’re you doing he–” You were cut off by the burning gaze of your mother. You stepped to the side without another word, absentmindedly straightening your shirt and fixing your hair.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to leave guests waiting so long? I thought I raised you better than that.” You bowed your head at the scolding, muttering out a small apology.

“H-How’d you find me, mama?” You didn’t mean for it to sound like that, you really didn’t, but you knew it was too late to take it back.

“Your sister told me you had today off so I thought I’d stop by.” Her hair swished as she set her sights on different things in your home, allowing herself to walk into your living room and sit down on the couch. You followed her, hoping that everything was to her liking. Your mother crossed her legs as she sat, and you mirrored her, sitting on the other end of the couch. “When was the last time you vacuumed the floor?” Your mother stared down with a frown as she lifted her foot up to look at imaginary dirt. You didn’t bother giving her an answer, knowing that now that she’s started, she won’t stop finding things to nitpick.

You tried to change the subject. “I… I appreciate you visiting, mama. Would you like something to drink?” You stood as soon as she said yes, feeling uncomfortable with how quickly her eyes settled on your entire form.

“Hold on now.” Her words stopped you from moving to the kitchen. “It’s almost six and you’re still in your nightclothes. You should know better by now.”

You bowed your head once again, wanting so badly to go back to biting your thumb and cry. “I-I wasn’t expecting anybody, mama. I–”

She didn’t let you finish, saying, “Why don’t you wear that dress I sent you last month. Oh that would look so pretty on you!” You fidgeted with your shirt once again, wiping your sweaty hand on the back of your shorts.

“I can’t fit that mama. It’s too… small…” You whispered the last word and hoped that she wouldn’t hear you, but she did. Your mother let out a scoff, rolling her eyes and dismissing you with a wave of her hand.

“Goodness gracious, (y/n)! I just bought you that dress and you’ve already gained weight? Maybe you need to cut down a bit, yeah? You’ve always had a problem with eating all day.” You just nodded, turning and walking into the kitchen to fix her some water. As soon as the door shut behind you, you placed your head in your hands and let out a shaky breath, heart beating fast and a ringing in your ears. You wanted to curl up and cry like a fucking baby.

Was this a punishment of some sorts? Have you done something wrong lately and this was just a fucked up attempt to get you back for it? What the hell did you do to deserve this, huh?

Dragging your hands down your face, you wiped your eyes and moved to fix your mother a cup of water. Unfortunately, your hands wouldn’t stop shaking as you fixed it, and you had to set the cup on the counter and take a breather. Ok, you told yourself, breathe. You can make it through this. She’ll be here for at most an hour, right? By that time Ellie and Dina would be home and–

But they’re working late today…

Your heart dropped at the fact, foot tapping on the ground as you tried to find a way out of this. If they’re working late you don’t have an excuse to make her leave, meaning she could torment you for hours on end, judging and nitpicking every little thing you do. You considered calling them, but the voice in your mind told you that you were pathetic for not being able to take care of your problems on your own.

It’s just your mother after all.

You didn’t register that your mother was coming until the kitchen door opened, and you straightened yourself before grabbing the cup of water off of the counter.

“What’re you cooking?” Your mother asked, peering into the covered pot on the stove.

“B-Beef stew.” You stuttered as she took the lid off the pot and looked inside.

“You don’t even have any celery in here.” She said as she closed the pot. “And are you sure you put enough seasoning in there? Your stew has no scent to it. No one wants bland stew, (y/n).” She looked around again, trying to find something to pick on.

“Ellie doesn’t like celery, mama…” You mentioned, although you could’ve sworn you didn’t say anything at all, as the woman had no reaction to your statement.

“Make sure you wipe off this counter. You’ve been at home all day and yet your house still looks a mess. Just lazy…” Your mother shook her head as she grabbed the cup from your grip and walked out of the kitchen. You watched as the door slammed behind her, a lump in your throat and your body tingling all over. Your nose made an ugly sound as you sniffed, grabbing a rag off the counter and vigorously wiping it. Your eyes darted to the now boiling stew on the stove, all your fears from earlier resurfacing.

What if you weren’t doing this correctly? What if Ellie and Dina didn’t like the food? Would they chastise you for wasting ingredients on something so horrible? Will they think of you as ungrateful for this? For knowing that they worked long hours every day only for you to treat them like this? If they think your cooking is terrible, who knows what else they think you do wrong. Maybe they don’t like the way you talk or dress or carry yourself or the dates you bring them on. Maybe they don’t like the way that you love them. Did they think that you loved them at all if your love was so horrible?

Did they love you?

That question caused you to shake. You didn’t notice your breathing picking up speed as you dwelled on the question more and more. You could feel the panic set in and you tried to find something to focus on. You tried focusing on the ticking of the clock, your foot tapping against the floor, the steam coming out of the pot. Something, anything to bring you back down to Earth.

“(Y/n)! What’s taking you so long?” Your mother’s voice snapped you out of your panic, although momentarily. In a pathetic display of sadness, your lip started quivering and you let out a whine, not wanting to go back into the living room and let her judge you again. You tried to speak, tried to say something to stall her for a few seconds, but nothing came out. You found yourself wiping your eyes, your feet dragging across the floor into the living room, your body willing itself to move despite your mind’s screams of protests. You peeked your head around the corner, not meeting your mother’s eyes.

“Yes, mama?” God your voice was awful.

“Come sit down.” It was an order, not a suggestion, that much you knew. Your mother wasted no time in speaking again as soon as you set down. “Do you remember that neighbor we had when you were in middle school? Mr. Allen?” You remembered, yes. The man was around your aunt’s age, older than your mother with grey hair and a pot belly. He lived several states away though. Your mother started up again before you could respond. “Well his son, Will, is looking to move up here in the Fall, and I told him you’d be happy to show him around the city when he comes up in a couple of weeks.” Your eyes widened as you stared at her.

“Mama I don’t even know Will like that. I can’t show him around–”

“Nonsense, (y/n)! You two were always hanging out and playing together. I’m sure he’ll love to see you.”

“Mama–”

“And since that dress I bought you doesn’t fit I’ll buy you a new one. And you’ll also have to get your hair done. You look like you haven’t washed it in weeks.” She took a strand of your hair in between her fingertips and pulled. Your head moved even if she didn’t use much force.

“Mama, please. I don’t wanna–”

“Shut up, will you. You’re a grown woman and I think it’s time you settle down already. Will is a nice man and you should be happy he wants to go out with you.”

You pulled away from her, tears pooling up in your eyes. “Mama, I’m already in a relationship and you know that!” She grabbed and pulled on your hair again. Her eyes narrowed at you, and suddenly you were a child again, being stared down by her as she scolded you for something, anything.

“Stop complaining, dammit. This is happening whether you like it or not. And I expect you to be on your best behavior.” Another pull of your hair, less forceful this time, but enough to get the message across. She let you go and stood up, wiping imaginary dirt off of her skirt. “I’ll give him your number later. I expect you to answer him.” And with that your mother was gone, door slamming behind her. You were left on the couch, scalp stinging and a ringing in your ears.

You thought you had escaped this. Escaped from her. Is this really how your life was going to go? You would get a tiny sliver of freedom and happiness and it would be taken away from you every time your mother finds you again? Would you able to even call your life yours?

You didn’t notice you weren’t breathing until you found yourself choking back a sob, hunching over as you tried so hard not to throw up. Soon you were crying, tears falling down your lap as you wrapped your arms around yourself for comfort. You don’t know how long you sat there crying, cradling yourself like a sick baby. You even missed the whistling of the pot of beef stew in the kitchen and the turn of the door knob that came later.

“Babe, why is the door unlocked?” It was Ellie. Her voice was faint and you didn’t even register her presence.

Ellie’s eyebrows furrowed together when she didn’t get a response. She shut the door behind her, locking it afterwards. She was sure she locked the door this morning. Did (y/n) go out earlier and forget? Ellie placed her keys on the hook by the door and kicked her shoes off. “Babe?” She called out again, walking to the living room. She was met with your shaking form, cradling yourself and mouth screwed shut in an attempt to silence your cries. Ellie ran to you and grabbed you by the shoulders, sadness and confusion in her eyes as you recoiled from her touch. Ellie crouched in front of you, not knowing what to do with her hands. “(Y/n), baby, what’s wrong? What happened to you?” Your head snapped up once you registered her voice, tears streaming down your face.

You pulled Ellie down by her shoulders and wrapped your arms around her, practically screaming, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry,” like a mantra. Ellie didn’t know what you were apologizing for, and she was certain you didn’t know either. Ellie reluctantly wrapped her arms around you, allowing you to plant your face in the crook of her neck. “I tried, I tried to, I tried–” You stammered, grip on Ellie getting tighter and tighter.

“(Y/n), what happened to you?” Ellie pulled you away from her and cradled your face in her hands.

“I tried to–…I tried to do right, I really did but I couldn’t stop her I’m so sorry.” Your words slurred together as Ellie wiped your face with her thumbs.

Ellie couldn’t tell who you were talking about but tried to calm you down as best as she could.

“Baby, take deep breaths, ok. Can you do that for me?” You shook your head no, another sob leaving your mouth. “Please try at least. Please.” You let out a shaky breath, gripping Ellie’s shirt in your hands. “Ok, that’s a start. Now breathe in. Just a little bit, ok?” You followed her instructions as best as you could, throat making a weird sound as you inhaled. Ellie continued to wipe the tears from your eyes, as you repeated the steps until your breathing was in sync. “Ok, that’s good, (y/n). You’re doing so good.” The worry never left Ellie’s eyes. She was about to say something else when the whistling of the pot on the stove grabbed her attention. “I’m gonna be right back, ok.” You didn’t acknowledge her speaking as your eyes glazed over, staring right past her.

Ellie walked briskly to the kitchen and peeked inside, seeing a pot with the lid slightly ajar, steam rushing out of the opening after who-knows-how-long of being unchecked. Ellie grabbed a few rags off the side of the counter and moved the pot to a different stovetop, turning the stove off afterwards. She returned to you and sat next to you on the couch. She called your name a few times, but you didn’t answer her, not until she shook your shoulder and squeezed your arm a bit. Your head snapped up, and Ellie swore she could see fear in your eyes. “Did you forget that you had something on the stove? It’s not like you to forget something like–” Ellie stopped speaking as you burst into tears again, apologizing over and over again, for the food, for the house, for yourself even. Ellie didn’t know why you were apologizing, but she wrapped her arms around you anyways for comfort that you so desperately needed. God, Ellie didn’t know what to say, or really what to do at this moment. She felt useless for that.

“Baby, I’m gonna call Dina, ok?” You only continued to cry, tears staining Ellie’s paint-covered shirt. Ellie reached into her pocket for her phone, finding Dina’s contact and tapped her foot as she waited for Dina to pick up. Dina answered on the third ring, sounding exhausted after a long day.

“Hey, Ellie–” Ellie didn’t give her time to speak.

“It’s (y/n), Dina. She’s freaking out and I need you to come home. Now.” Ellie placed her free hand under your shirt, finding your skin to be burning up as she rubbed your back.

“Freaking out? What happened?” Ellie could hear the shuffling of papers as Dina collected herself.

“I-I don’t know. She can barely get a word out without crying, and she had left the door unlocked and something on the stove and–” Ellie caught herself rambling and took a breath. “Every time I try and ask her about it she breaks down again and I don’t know what to do. Just… come home, please.”

“Give me 15 minutes, ok.” Dina’s voice was muffled a bit as she yelled to Jesse about an emergency. Ellie hung up soon thereafter, dropping her phone on the couch and cradling you in her arms. She started humming a song that you had always liked, hoping it would calm you down a bit. You cries soon turned into whimpers, and she lets you wipe your tears on her shirt. Ellie spoke up after a few more minutes.

“(Y/n)?” You hummed, sniffling and unable to speak. “Let’s go lay down, ok. Dina’s going to be home soon.” You could only nod. Ellie got up and pulled you up with her, leading you to your bedroom. Ellie laid down near the wall, opening her arms for you. You crawled into her arms, burying your face into her neck. Ellie continued to hum that song, her mind coming up with a million scenarios as to what could’ve happened. She wanted to ask you so badly, but she didn’t want to say the wrong thing and cause you to cry again. She wasn’t good with words, that was more of Dina’s specialty. But she hated seeing you cry. She hated seeing you sad at all. Your smile was the best thing to her, to Dina as well. And to see your smile go away because of… because of something, pissed Ellie off.

A few minutes later, Ellie registered the squeaking of the bedroom door as it opened and shut. Looking up, Ellie met Dina’s gaze as she carefully walked over to the bed and sat down beside you. Ellie could see the hesitation on Dina’s face as she raised a hand to touch you. Ellie gave her a little nod when Dina’s eyes met hers again, and felt you flinch when Dina placed her fingers on the nape of your neck, an action that you had usually found comforting.

“It’s just me, honey.” Dina tried to hide the hurt in her voice at your rejection of her touch. Dina placed her free hand on your shoulder and turned you on your back. Dina’s heart shattered at the utter helplessness on your face. You looked so… broken, and Dina prayed that she would be able to fix it. “Baby… baby what’s wrong?” Dina talked slowly and softly, rubbing your temple with her thumb. Goodness, your skin burned. You didn’t speak yet, only letting a few tears out of your eyes. Ellie and Dina quickly wiped them away. “Take your time, sweetheart.” Dina added, taking a hand in yours. Ellie placed her hand over Dina’s. The shared contact was comforting.

“I… I–” You took a deep breath, closing your red eyes. “I’m sorry…” You finally whispered. Dina furrowed her eyebrows, a frown forming on her face.

“What for, hun?” Dina spoke again. You opened your eyes but didn’t look at them, keeping your gaze on the ceiling.

“For me.” They had almost missed it. You had said it so quietly. Ellie was about to protest, Dina could sense it. Dina shot her a look, not wanting her to scare you into another outburst. Ellie pursed her lips, grip on Dina and your hands tightening just a bit. You continued speaking after a bit of silence. “I wish I could do better for you guys.” They could see the tears well up in your eyes again.

“What brought this on, (y/n)?” It was Ellie who spoke this time. There was a tinge of anger in her voice.

“My mother.” You had finally let out, blinking your tears away. “She, she came over and–” You looked at Dina. “She found me, and I don’t know how. I really, really don’t.” You sounded like a child who’s about to break down. “And I–I… she told me that I had to um, I had to go out with this old neighbor of mine and I felt like a child again because she made me question myself and doubt everything I do again and I couldn’t do anything to stop her and–” You were talking quickly through tears and a cracking voice, free hand gripping the sheets below you. “I’m so sorry I can’t be a better girlfriend for you. I’m so awful. I couldn’t even make dinner because I was so caught up in everything! And I know how hard you both work and yet I–” You took a deep breath as your tears blurred your vision. “I can’t even make a simple fucking meal and I couldn’t even say no to my fucking mama.” You said the word with such contempt despite your crying, and you turned and buried your face in Ellie’s chest. Probably to hide yourself from the world. You were crying again, and your girls quickly wrapped their arms around you for comfort. Both of their grips tightened on you, angry at the woman for making you feel so broken, angry at the world for being so cruel to you.

“My sweet, sweet girl.” Dina cooed, rubbing her nose into your cheek. “You aren’t awful, or a bad girlfriend. You’re the best thing that could’ve ever happened to us. Whatever that, that woman,” Dina wanted to call her much, much worse, “said or did to make you feel this way will never, ever be true, and I promise you that I will never let her speak to you or even come near you ever again.”

“Besides, I’ll burn this whole world down before I let some stranger or that bitch touch you again.” Ellie did not give her that same generosity. Ellie removed your face from her chest and gently wiped your tears away. Dina placed her hand on the back of your neck and gently scratched your nape. “Do you believe that?” Ellie asked softly. You nodded, although with some hesitation.

“We’re so sorry that we weren’t here for you when you needed us, baby.” Dina said as she turned you on your back. Her hand danced across your stomach to grab at your waist. “I promise you, baby, we won’t let anyone hurt you again, ever.” Your girl said it with such conviction and her eyes held so much love for you. It overwhelmed you and you could only nod once again.

“Th–Thank you. The both of you… I’m sorry I worried you–”

“You don’t have to apologize, (y/n).” Ellie interrupted, tracing patterns on your jaw.

“I know, but I never told you about her because,” you paused, and they waited patiently, “she’s a part of my life that I tried to forget, and with her everything had to be so perfect, and in the long run it just wasn’t good for me, you know?” You rubbed at your left eye in an attempt to prevent more tears from flowing. Ah, it’s clicking now. Why you were so adamant about making dinner earlier. Why you could be so worried about every chore you did or constantly doubted yourself over the simplest things.

After so long of picking up the pieces of your broken childhood, your mother had tipped you over and shattered every piece of resolve you had.

Your girls swore to put you back together again.

“Baby, we won’t ever put you through something like that again, ok? You don’t have to worry about us nitpicking at every little thing you do because it doesn’t matter.” Ellie told you. She rubbed her thumb in circles right below your ear, helping you unclench your jaw.

“If you’re ever uncomfortable with doing something just tell us. We won’t be mad or upset at you for not wanting to do something, because we love you. Something as simple as not making dinner won’t change that.” Dina kissed you on your forehead, giving you a small smile. “You believe that right, that we love you?”

For a moment your doubts from earlier arose, but seeing no type of contemp from them towards you pushed those thoughts away.

“Yeah, I believe it.” If possible they smiled even wider, peppering kisses all over you until you let out a laugh, giving them a shove until they settled beside you.

You felt secure in their embrace, knowing that they would do everything in their power to protect you, and would kill someone before letting anyone hurt you.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

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englishstrawbie · 2 years

Text

A Very Montana Christmas (3/ 4)

Fandom: Station 19, Grey’s Anatomy

Characters: Maya Bishop & Carina DeLuca

Summary: AU. When her flight to Seattle gets diverted because of a snow storm, Carina Deluca unexpectedly finds herself in Billings, Montana. Just a few days before Christmas and with no way of getting to Seattle for a family Christmas with her brother, she ends up being thrown together with fellow passenger, Maya Bishop. Surrounded by snow and fairy lights, the two women end up rediscovering the magic of the holidays. Spoiler: there’s only one bed!

Also @ AO3.

* * * * * * * * * *

25th December

Carina moves a slice of pancake around the plate, knowing that her belly is too full for any more but not wanting to be rude. The chef had, rather sweetly, designed their breakfast pancakes in the shape of reindeer, the remains of a tall stack sitting between them with a bowl of winter berries and a jug of maple syrup on the side – another on-the-house thank you gift for Maya’s heroics with the Christmas tree.

Except after a three course meal last night and several bottles of wine between them, Carina doesn’t have a big appetite.

On the other side of the table, Maya stares at her plate with a look of steely determination, and Carina guesses she is thinking the same thing. Breakfast has been a muted affair, not just because of their shared wine hangovers, but also because they have been walking on eggshells since waking up together. After a boozy dinner, they had both been happy to fall into their respective sides of the bed and sleep. Somehow, during the course of the night, the pillow wall that Maya insisted on had been discarded, and they had awoken with legs tangled and hands resting next to each other. The smiles they wore as they slept had quickly faded into awkwardness, and they had been avoiding each other’s eyes ever since.

“I don’t think I can eat any more,” Maya breaks the silence, leaning back in her chair as she admits defeat.

Carina pushes her plate away from her. “Me too,” she says, picking up her coffee mug and taking a swig, before cradling the warm mug in her hands. She looks around the room, the air full of excitement for Christmas Day. There are couples of all ages and several families enjoying the same stack of stencilled pancakes, some who travelled to Billings for the holidays and some who have found themselves here unexpectedly. It seems that, no matter why they are here, everyone is looking forward to the day.

Carina remembers that feeling. She loved Christmas growing up, especially once Andrew was born and she had someone to share it with other than their parents. They had so many Christmas traditions – making their own Christmas decorations under the watchful eye of their Mama, nativity plays and performances of A Christmas Carol, trying to create the perfect panettone, carols in the local piazza, and always midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day would start early. Andrew would always come bouncing into her room before sun rise and they would exchange the gifts they had bought each other, much too the chagrin of their Nonna who always demanded that presents should wait until the whole family had gathered for lunch.

Even as they got older and their belief in Babbo Natale was gone, and Christmas morning would start later and later, Carina’s bedroom was always Andrew’s first stop on his way downstairs.

And then, one year, there was no quiet knock waking her up and no cheeky face appearing at the door. Andrew was in Wisconsin with their Mama, and it was just Carina and Papa. He had tried to make Christmas joyful for her, making sure that she was surrounded by family during the holiday season, but it wasn’t the same.

She hadn’t spent another holiday with them again. Mama refused to come home to Italy, not while Papa was there, and Carina couldn’t leave her father alone at Christmas time. There were occasional visits to the States in the summer holidays but their relationship was mostly kept alive through phone conversations and video calls.

Ten years later, Mama died and there was nothing joyful about anything for a while. Slowly, over time, life got better and Carina found happiness again, but Christmas was never the same. She just couldn’t find the joy in it any more.

This year was supposed to be different. She had thought her Christmas Day would start with Andrew poking his face around her door to wake her up, just like when they were younger.

“Thinking about your brother?” Maya’s voice interrupts her thoughts.

Carina looks across the table at her, surprised that Maya can read her mind so easily. “It was going to be our first Christmas together since we were children.”

“You never visited them in the States for Christmas?”

Carina shakes her head. “Families are complicated,” she says with a small shrug.

Maya seems to accept her explanation easily and doesn’t push her to talk more about it. Silence falls between them as a flustered waitress comes over to clear their plates, clearly overwhelmed by the number of guests they were not expecting at the inn today.

“Well, I know it’s a poor consolation prize,” Maya says, “but the manager told me that there’ll be Christmas carols round the tree later. They’ve called in a favour and they’re getting a new one delivered this morning. He invited us to help decorate it. I know it sounds like a cliché…”

Carina finds herself cheered up by the idea and she smiles. “I think it sounds great.”

Maya returns her smile. “So, it’s Christmas morning and you insisted that we should have a present to open this morning.” She leans down underneath her chair and picks up her gift for Carina, wrapped up in white tissue paper decorated in candy canes and tied together with a red ribbon. “Merry Christmas, Carina.”

Carina’s smile gets wider as she reaches for the square box that she had placed on the spare chair at their table earlier. She places it on the table between them. “Buon Natale, Maya.”

“You first,” Maya insists.

Carina pulls the ribbon and carefully pulls back the tissue paper to reveal a pair of flannel pyjamas.

“I figured that if you’re gonna move to New York, you’ll need some warmer pyjamas for the winter months,” Maya says with a teasing smile.

Carina runs her hand over the soft material. “They’re lovely, thank you,” she gushes.

She looks up and nods at her gift that is in front of Maya. “Your turn.”

She feels her heart flutter in anticipation as Maya opens the box and peers inside. Her face breaks out into a smile as she pulls out a snow globe. Inside is a quaint little brick building that looks a bit like their inn, the roof white with snow, and Santa’s sleigh parked up outside, overflowing with gifts.

“A memory,” Carina says, “of our unexpected vacation here.”

“It’s going to be a Christmas to remember, for sure,” Maya says, chuckling. She tips it upside down until all of the glitter pools at the top, then turns it the right way up and watches as the snow falls over the scene below. “I love it, thank you.”

Carina is pleased that her gift has been received well. Maya hasn’t given much away about herself, so finding a gift she might like had been tricky.

Carina becomes aware of a commotion out in the reception area and her eyes wander to the door where she sees a Douglas fir carried into the foyer. Maya follows her gaze and looks over her shoulder.

“I guess the tree just arrived.” She turns back and looks at Carina. “Want to go help?”

Carina grins. “Let’s do it.”

They make their way out of the restaurant where they are greeted fondly by the manager.

“Ms Bishop, Ms Deluca – please, come and help us decorate the tree!”

Maya takes charge of the lights, of course; checking them carefully before she starts to wrap them around the branches, starting from the bottom and carefully making her way to the top. She has to use a stepladder to get to the highest branches. Carina finds herself watching as Maya stretches forwards, the bottom of her sweater lifting and exposing her toned abs, Carina’s own body shivering in delight at the sight.

“Are you cold, Ms Deluca?” one of the reception staff asks her. “Would you like me to turn up the heating?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine,” Carina says, blushing with embarrassment, although it seems that Maya hasn’t noticed.

She picks up an assortment of baubles from one of the boxes and hangs them neatly on the branches. She works alongside some of the hotel’s staff as they each take a box of tree decorations and hang them on the tree.

“Pass me a box and I’ll hang some up here,” Maya says.

Carina hands her a box of smaller decorations that suit the higher, shorter branches. Maya hangs them a little haphazardly, with no discernible pattern, and Carina has to stop herself from saying anything. Her Mama’s Christmas tree was always immaculate and Carina has always tried to replicate it. There would be no place for mismatched decorations on the family tree.

Carina reaches up just as Maya leans down and their hands brush against each other as they try to hang their ornaments on the same branch.

“Sorry.”

“Scusa.”

They talk over each other as they apologise, and Carina feels her body shiver again. Their eyes meet just as Maya steps down to the next rung on the ladder, her foot slipping while she is distracted by Carina’s deep brown eyes. She falls, her quick reflexes meaning that she lands on one foot, only she wobbles precariously. Her hands flail and Carina leaps forwards, grabbing her hips before she falls into the tree and pulling her backwards until she falls against Carina’s body.

Carina smiles as she watches Maya’s cheeks flush pink.

“Now who’s saving a damsel in distress,” she teases.

Their eyes stay locked on each other and Carina feels her heart start to beat a little faster in her chest. Maya has a way of doing that to her, just like last night under the mistletoe, when Carina had wondered if Maya might kiss her. The fire had interrupted the moment and Carina has been wondering ever since what would have happened next. She thinks about kissing Maya right then and there, hoping that she hasn’t misinterpreted the chemistry between them, but there are too many people around.

“Is everyone okay?” comes a voice from behind them.

Maya shuffles backwards, her eyes shifting their focus to the hotel manager. “We’re fine.” She picks up another box and turns her attention back to the tree, avoiding Carina’s gaze as she starts to hand more ornaments.

It is not long before the tree is full and they all step back to appreciate their work.

“It needs something on top,” Maya notices.

The bellboy rummages around in a box and pulls out a bright, silver star. He runs up the staircase and leans over the handrail to place it on top of the tree, looking down proudly at the majestic tree.

The hotel manager kneels down to the right side of the tree and clicks the switch to turn on the lights. There is a murmur of appreciation amongst the crowd that has gathered and Carina feels a little bit of joy creeping in at how happy something so simple can make people.

The rest of the day is chaotic, even by Carina’s standards and she grew up in a big family made up of four generations. There are carols in the lobby as people gather around the tree to sing. At lunch time, they all pile into the restaurant. The tables have been rearranged into a large square and guests occupy every side, tucking into the feast that has been cooked up for everyone.

Carina sits in between Maya and an elderly gentleman who tells her all about his family back home in Florida. He and his wife had travelled to Montana to experience a white Christmas, much to the disappointment of their grandchildren who were apparently missing them around the dinner table today.

Maya is caught up in conversation with a woman on her left who was trying to get home to Seattle for Christmas, a social worker with a penchant for serial killer documentaries apparently. They move on to happier topics and Carina hears them sharing stories about afternoons at the science center and trips on the ferries when they were children.

Lunch is a long affair, taking several hours to get through the multiple courses on offer.

Carina’s mind wanders to the moment she shared with Maya by the Christmas tree. If someone had told her that the woman she bumped into – literally – forty-eight hours ago would be playing on her mind so much, she would have laughed. Maybe it is the craziness of the situation they find themselves in or maybe it is the Christmas spirit that is everywhere in this little city, but Carina is enjoying the festivities and she is pretty sure that Maya’s company is the reason why.

She misses Andrew, of course, but this isn’t a bad way to spend her Christmas.

The hotel residents are a little more sombre after lunch, too full of food to do much. The children run around playing with their new toys while the adults take refuge in the comfortable chairs in the hotel lounge. Someone tinkles on the piano but no-one has the energy to sing along.

Carina lingers by one of the windows that overlooks the street below. It is just starting to snow, a light sprinkling of snowflakes landing on the trees and bushes, but it doesn’t settle on the sidewalk. She has never seen a white Christmas; the winters in southern Italy are mild and Milan rarely drops below freezing.

Maya appears next to her. “Your first white Christmas?” she asks, as if reading her mind again.

Carina smile. “It’s pretty. Like a Christmas card.”

“Yeah, it is,” Maya says. She leans against the wall. “So the hotel manager was telling me that people go all out with their decorations here. He showed me where the best houses are. I could do with some fresh air, do you feel like coming for a walk with me?”

Carina has heard of people going crazy with decorating their houses around here and she agrees enthusiastically. Ten minutes later and they are bundled up in their thick coats, following the route they have been given. It is late afternoon and there are a few people out for a post-lunch walk. The sun is going down, so they rely on the strings of fairy lights that hang over the road to guide their way, while the snow continues to fall, making everything look magical.

Pretty soon into their walk, they reach a street that shines bright with so many Christmas decorations that it is almost blinding.

All of the houses are covered in lights, some with white lights and some choosing multi-coloured ones that dance and twinkle. The front lawns are packed with Christmas trees and illuminations. There are snowmen and Santas and reindeers pulling the sleigh. One has gone all out with an animal theme, boasting penguins and polar bears and seals. Another has recreated the North Pole, Santa sitting proudly on his chair to greet the children, surrounded by elves carrying presents.

“Oh wow!” Carina exclaims when she sees it. “This is…”

“A fire hazard,” Maya says.

Her pragmatism makes Carina laugh and Maya shrugs. “It’s part of the job.”

They fall into step together as they walk down the street.

“Your family didn’t decorate your house when you were younger?” Carina asks.

“My mom used to hang a few lights, nothing like this,” Maya says. “We’d have a wreath on the door and my brother made a sign once that said ‘Santa, please stop here’ which my Dad would hammer into the front lawn.”

It is the first time Maya has mentioned her family and Carina is interested to know more. “You have a brother too?” She feels Maya’s body tense next to her and remembers the way Maya’s walls had gone up yesterday when they had talked about their Christmas Day plans. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, it’s… it’s okay,” Maya says. She hesitates, as if wondering whether to let those walls down or not. “I have a younger brother, Mason. But we’re not close. I haven’t seen him for over two years.”

Carina twists her lips, curious to know more. “Why not?” she asks eventually.

“I used to run competitively. I started in High School and I was good at it, so I worked with a trainer for a while and then, when I was fifteen, my dad took over as my coach.” She speaks slowly and Carina listens silently as she talks. “My dad was so focussed on me and my running that Mason got forgotten. And, in time, that led to substance abuse problems.”

Maya digs her hands deeper into her pockets. “When I was twenty-two, I competed in the Olympics in London. My parents came with me and we left Mason at home.” She takes a deep breath as she gets to the hard part of her story. “On the day of my race, he overdosed. It was only because he had friends staying with him in the house that anyone even knew. I won my race and was on the platform getting my gold medal when my dad got the call… so, of course, we all jumped on the first plane home. Except, instead of wrapping him up and taking care of him, my dad practically threw him out on the street. And I… I wasn’t a very good sister. I didn’t look out for him like I should’ve. The last time I saw him, he was living under a bridge in the park in Seattle. I tried to persuade him to come and live with me, but he pretty much told me to go to hell.”

“I’m sorry,” is all Carina can think to say, knowing it is an empty platitude. Maya’s family sounds just as complicated as hers.

“I went to New York because a hospital called me, said that they had a patient who’d been beaten up pretty badly. He had Mason’s ID on him but they couldn’t tell if it was him because his face was too bruised and swollen from the attack,” Maya says. “So I went to New York to find out.”

“Was it?”

Maya shakes her head. “No. Mason has a tattoo on his wrist, a compass pointing north. Whoever that guy is, he is didn’t have it.”

Carina can see the conflict in her face. “How did that make you feel?”

“Relieved,” Maya admits. “And disappointed. I mean, of course I’m glad that he wasn’t the one in a hospital bed. But there was a part of me that hoped that I’d find him and that this would be a turning point in our relationship. That maybe I could persuade him to trust me.”

Maya sighs.

“But that was just stupid and now I still have no idea where he is or if he’s okay.”

As if suddenly aware of how much she has been talking, Maya lowers her eyes to the ground, her face flushing with embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the Christmas spirit.”

“No, it’s okay,” Carina says, reaching out and wrapping her hand around Maya’s wrist. She tugs at it gently until Maya pulls her hand out of her pocket and Carina can wrap hers around it.

“I’m glad you told me.”

Maya pulls a face that Carina can’t read.

“What?”

“I don’t normally tell people about it,” Maya admits. “And especially not people I’ve only known for a couple of days.” She looks towards Carina as they walk. “You know, I was watching all those families at lunch today, and how much fun they were having together even though they had somewhere else they were supposed to be. And I was thinking about you and Andrew, and how you live thousands of miles apart, and you travelled all this way to spend Christmas with him. I wish I had that with my brother.” She squares her shoulders resolutely. “I want to find him. I want to find Mason so that next year he’s sat at the table with me for Christmas.”

Maya suddenly laughs sadly.

“I mean, I have no idea how I’m going to do that. But I wanna try.”

Carina tightens her grip of Maya’s hand. “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. I think…” She pauses for a moment as she feels herself becoming emotional. “I think we should have the people we love around the table at Christmas because we never know when they might not be there any more.”

“Your mom?”

Carina nods, thinking back in time to their last Christmas together as a family before Mama and Andrew moved to America. She thinks about them decorating the tree while her Mama hummed along to the Christmas songs on the radio, and how Papa was the only one tall enough to reach the highest branches to put the angel on top, and how Andrea had eaten the cookies that they were supposed to leave out for Santa.

“Christmas lost its magic once my Mama and Andrea moved to America. You see all these movies with families round the dinner table or singing songs by the piano or playing games by the fire, and I didn’t have that any more. I just had my Papa, and he was lost in his work most of the time, even at Christmas. And, ten years ago, Mama died and the holidays became even more hard.”

She feels Maya squeeze her hand a little and smiles at the gesture.

“I didn’t think that I would ever find any joy in Christmas again. And then we ended up here, and the Christmas spirit is everywhere. For the first time in years, I sat round a big table for Christmas dinner, and okay it wasn’t with my family, and I’m sorry that I didn’t get to spend it with Andrea, but it was the happiest Christmas I’ve had in years. I feel like I’ve got a little bit of that Christmas spirit back.”

Carina stops suddenly, next to a house with an archway leading to the front door that is covered in lights and sprigs of holly. She turns towards Maya. “I know that this trip was unexpected,” she says with a small smile, “and it’s not exactly what either of us had planned, but I’ve really enjoyed spending Christmas with you.”

Maya smiles. “Me too. I’m gonna be sad when it’s over.”

The snow is clearing in Seattle, and they know that it could be any time that the airport opens up and they are notified of their rescheduled flight. Carina tries to ignore that reality. Instead, she tugs Maya’s hand and pulls her closer.

“Well, we don’t need to think about that right now,” she says softly.

She follows Maya’s eyes as they travel upwards and sees the mistletoe that hangs from the arch. The snow starts to fall a little heavier, landing on their hair and eyelashes and shoulders.

“I really am in a Hallmark movie,” Maya comments with a wry smile.

Carina doesn’t get it. “Hmm?”

“Never mind,” Maya says.

Carina lifts one hand and runs the tip of her gloved finger along Maya’s jawline, guiding her face to look at her.

“Baciami,” she murmurs.

“I don’t know what that means,” Maya says.

Carina doesn’t bother to translate it, but shows Maya exactly what she means by dropping her chin and pressing her lips against Maya’s, kissing her hard. The snow continues to fall around them but Carina doesn’t feel the cold; she only feels a warmth that starts in her chest and slowly spreads through her body as it connects with Maya’s.

#station 19 #grey's anatomy #maya bishop #carina deluca #station 19 fanfiction #my fanfiction #a very montana christmas

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scones-and-texting-and-murder · 3 years

Text

Bookends

(This story was originally written for and published in the DeanCas Anthology back in 2018. )

Word Count: 2223 Rating: General ao3 link

Cas pulls as close to the door as he can, checking the rearview mirror to make sure he isn’t blocking traffic as he waits for Dean to get out of the car. Before heading inside, Dean ducks his head back in to smile at him. “I’ll get us some coffee.”

Instead of driving away, Cas stays there, watching until Dean pulls open the diner door. Leaning heavily on his cane, he shuffles more than walks, his bow-legged gait made stiff by the arthritis that wracks his joints. Cas waits until he’s safely inside, then pulls past the open handicapped space Dean stubbornly refuses to use, and finds an empty parking spot.

Cas’s car is boxy and utilitarian, and Dean often proclaims that he wouldn’t be caught dead behind the wheel of something so ugly. Cas plays along because giving up driving had been Dean’s toughest concession to age, but as his vision deteriorated and his reflexes slowed, it had become an unavoidable sacrifice. With replacement parts for the Impala harder and harder to come by, Dean had finally agreed to keep her stored safely away in their garage. Cas knew it pained him to see her shrouded under a tarp, her motor idle and useless, but Dean would rather enshrine her in pristine condition than risk one more run-in with a light pole or curb.

With his ugly car parked, Cas crosses the lot to join Dean inside. While he’s aged as well, aged to the point that nobody questions the two of them together, he’s been spared many of the maladies that Dean’s combat-wrecked body has endured, and he moves with relative ease. The best they can figure is that the grace he’d had on and off over the years left his body with a certain resilience to the passage of time. Cas can’t cure Dean as he once could, can’t ease the aches or slow the aging process, but he can use his own comparatively good health and mobility to take care of him.

Inside, Cas navigates past the hostess stand to find Dean at their usual booth, chatting with their usual waitress. The two of them go to this diner religiously each Sunday morning, where the pews are scuffed burgundy vinyl booths and the altar is the breakfast buffet with the generous senior discount. As always, Dean has maneuvered himself across the bench seat to make room for Cas to sit beside him. His cane rests against the wall in easy reach, the simple carved wooden handle belying the fact that the base unscrews to reveal a bayonet-like tip. It’s never been wielded as a weapon (although Dean uses it, still sheathed, to poke at aggressive pigeons who muscle in around their favorite park bench), but that potential made it “badass” enough to overcome Dean’s resistance to using it.

To Sam’s everlasting chagrin, Dean has kept all of his hair, and it’s turned a stunning silver. The crinkles around his eyes have deepened, meeting the roadmap of lines that cross his face. His shoulders are stooped, his joints are stiff, and Cas thinks he’s never been more beautiful. After so many seemingly certain ends, so many years assuming Dean would die young and bloodied, the fact that he’s living out a full, lengthy life is an unparallelled blessing. Cas marvels at the gift of days that have unfolded into decades, granting them time he never dreamed they’d have together here on earth.

As Cas settles into the booth, he smiles and greets their waitress.

“Two for the buffet?” she confirms as she pours their coffee. Cas doesn’t even have to check to know that she’ll leave Dean’s at a little more than half-full so he can lift it without the tremor in his hands sloshing it over the brim.

They drink their coffee quietly, simply enjoying the ritual of being here. Dean peers at the laminated card that lists the specials, even though he never orders off the menu.

“Shall I?” When Dean nods, Cas gets to his feet. “Any requests?”

“You know what I like,” Dean says, leaning over to swat at Cas’s butt.

Picking up two plates from the warmer, Cas slides them along the metal counter, filling them in tandem as he traverses the buffet. Pancakes are too difficult for Dean to get on a fork, but the crisp waffles are good. Bacon he can pick up and eat, and Cas uses the tongs to place precisely two strips on his plate. If Dean wants more, he can get up and get it himself.

Dean can argue with Cas’s choices, but they’d had a hell of a scare a few years back. Cas will never forget the look on Dean’s face when their phone rang in the middle of the night, alerting them that Sam had been taken to the hospital in an ambulance. They’d rushed there themselves, Cas driving in silence, knowing that nothing short of seeing Sam with his own two eyes could reassure Dean. Thankfully, it had been a mild heart attack and, after spending a few days in the hospital, the discharge plan called for cardiac rehab and an appointment with a nutritionist. With Sam’s release imminent, Dean had relaxed enough to crow at the irony. “Don’t either of you try to tell me what to eat ever again. Mr. Organic Produce is the one lying in the hospital bed while my pork-rind-fueled ticker is going strong.”

Still pale, Sam’s brow furrowed with resignation. “I’m beginning to think you can’t die.”

Dean jabbed a finger in his direction. “You don’t get to go first. We have a deal.”

“Yes, sir.” Sam lifted the hand without the IV in a mock salute.

“That’s more like it,” Dean said. “Speaking of which, I need a snack.”

Cas helped him up and they walked to the elevator that would take them to the cafeteria. As they waited for it to arrive, Dean pulled Cas into a hug. Cas left a hand on his shoulder when they stepped apart again. “All right?”

Dean nodded, his green eyes shining with tears. “I’m glad you’re here.” Cas started to respond, to remind him that there was nowhere else he would be, but Dean cut him off. “I know you know. But I wanted to say it anyhow.”

Cas noticed a change after that. Dean was still the same stubborn mule Cas had fallen in love with, but he gradually became more willing to let Cas help. And somehow, Cas loved him even more for it. He loved seeing the slow-blossoming acceptance that came when Dean stopped seeing Cas’s help as a sign of weakness.

Now, standing in front of the steaming trays of food, Cas considers what else to add to their plates. He bypasses the cauldron of oatmeal (they eat that at home most mornings) and continues along the buffet. There’s a tremendous satisfaction in being allowed to care for this man who has done so much for so many and asked for so little in return. In fact, Dean has now embraced this new role so fully—no longer questioning what he deserves, or grudgingly accepting help, but full-on enjoyment of being doted on—that Cas has to be careful he doesn’t get lazy. There’s nothing Cas would rather do than settle Dean in front of a sunny window, snug in the recliner for Cas to wait on like a pampered cat, but he knows that sort of inactivity would do Dean’s joints and his heart no favors. So he watches Dean’s diet and insists on them taking slow walks after breakfast when his energy is highest.

Their neighborhood is a mix of young and old and everyone knows the two Mr. Winchesters who circle the block on days when the weather permits. The kids on bikes and scooters know to give them a wide berth, their parents warning them that the old men need the entire sidewalk, but they call out their hellos as they go by. They’re friendly with everyone except the woman who lives on the corner. Dean is convinced she’s a demon, but Cas suspects his distrust of her stems more from the fact that she seems immune to his charm. (Whatever the reason, he’s had to talk Dean out of chalking a devil’s trap inside her mailbox more than once.) They chat with their neighbors about the weather and the score of last night’s ballgame, and it’s so painfully normal that Cas sometimes feels his throat tighten up at the wonder of it all.

When Cas returns to their booth, Dean examines his plate. “They outta bacon?”

Cas cuts the waffle into manageable pieces and peels the wrapper from the muffin before sliding Dean’s plate over. “You know the deal.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean says. “You just like to look at my ass when I get up.”

They eat in congenial silence with Dean methodically working his way around his plate, eating everything heartily, even the fruit. Sitting next to him, Cas can easily scoop up any bites that miss his mouth, plucking them from Dean’s lap or his shirt.

“You two good?” The waitress asks when she comes to refill their coffees. “Need anything?”

Dean swallows the bite of muffin he’s working on, and rests his hand on top of Cas’s. “I’ve got everything I need right here. An actual angel, this one.”

She nods agreeably. “I can almost see his halo.”

Cas has learned that an old man can say just about anything and receive an indulgent smile in return. When Dean references angels or demons or the apocalypse, people assume he’s speaking in metaphor and they’ll nod pleasantly. Sometimes he’ll do it purely for effect, telling rambling tales from their past for the sheer enjoyment of being able to speak openly. He can’t always keep the details straight, but Cas is there to remind him. Some days, though, he seems to lose where he is in time, and there’s nothing Cas can do for that. Cas has taken to keeping a watchful eye on him in the late afternoons when he likes to doze on the couch with their one-eyed black cat curled up on his chest. Cas stays close in case he wakes from his nap agitated, calling for Cas, wanting to know where Sam is. Cas helps him to sit up as the cat springs down and scurries away.

“Don’t go,” he says again and again, and Cas takes him in his arms, assuring Dean that he’s here and reminding him that Sam is safe at his own home. He holds him until Dean shakily dismisses it all as just a bad dream.

The unfairness of it overwhelms Cas, and each time he’s left filled with wrath. These final years should be spent in well-earned peace, but instead Dean seems cursed with reliving his most frightening memories, traumatized anew by old, familiar fears. If Dean’s mind is destined to slip, why can’t it be toward blissful forgetting? What Dean has endured goes beyond what any human should; to ask him to bear it again is nothing short of cruel. But it’s a torture chamber created in his own mind, and all Cas can do is sit helplessly by, doing his best to ground Dean and bring him back to the present.

Cas looks at Dean’s empty plate. “Did you want to get some more?”

“Nah.” He’s full and happy and it’s time for their walk.

The waitress arrives to clear their plates. As he does every week, Dean asks if she needs to see his ID for the senior discount. As she does every week, she pretends to consider it before leaving the check. “You boys take your time.”

“Tip her well,” Dean says, leaning in to supervise Cas as he signs the bill.

“I always do,” Cas assures him.

When they’re ready to leave, Cas stands next to the banquette, waiting for Dean to retrieve his cane and slide himself to the edge. Using a combination of the cane and Cas’s extended arm, Dean hoists himself upright, groaning a little. Cas keeps a firm hold on him until he’s steady on his feet. Dean still dresses in layers, but these days it’s because he gets chilled easily. He favors heavy knit cardigans and as long as Cas gets the zipper started for him he can tug it up or down as needed. Cas checks him for crumbs then together they walk through the other tables crowded with families. They continue by the hostess station where a woman is wiping down menus. “See you next week,” she calls as they pass.

Cas steps forward to push open the door, and stands holding it. “Watch your step,” he says as he always does, pointing toward the raised metal threshold of the doorway.

Using his cane to steady himself, Dean shuffles his way over it, then stops to lay his hand on Cas’s cheek. His knuckles are gnarled, the skin of his palm is dry and warm, and Cas feels the same flare of awe go through him as he has since the moment he first found this glorious soul in the depths of hell.

“I am the luckiest man who has ever lived,” Dean says.

Cas kisses his palm, then takes his arm to help him on his way.

#deancas #destiel #my writing #growing old together #this came well before the finale #but it feels like a fix it fic nonetheless

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buterflies-and-ladybugs · 2 years

Text

Round the Seder Table

I have been planning to write a series of timari celebrating the Jewish holidays because I want to. I just want to mention that all of these head canons are based on my own experiences of these holidays and are not accurate to everyone. People celebrate things differently. I will do my best to explain the traditions and happenings, but if you have any questions feel free to ask. So, sit back, relax, and please enjoy the first part of this series.

Marinette and Tim get a special part of the kitchen dedicated to Passover by Alfred, so they can keep all of their kosher for Passover stuff separate.

Kosher - A dietary restriction (Prevents things like pork, shellfish, and mixing milk and meat)

During Passover there are extra restrictions

Ex. not eating breads and other leavened foods

Marinette does most of the cooking, but over the years they have adopted certain foods and learned how to make them together.

Alfred was there to supervise Tim of course.

No one realized that the two were even celebrating the holiday (except for Cass because Cass knows all) until a family dinner happened to fall on the first seder and the two were not in attendance.

Seders take place on the first two nights of Passover. A seder is a meal in which a family as well as friends gather to study, discuss, and celebrate the escape from slavery in Egypt by the jewish people.

The family of course went to Alfred the omnipresent being he is and asked about where they were after which he told them they were busy, but they could ask tomorrow at breakfast.

So it was decided that they would be having family breakfast and dinner.

The next morning they gathered for breakfast and Alfred handed out pancakes to everyone right before Tim and Marinette walked in with their own pancakes.

The scene went a little like this:

“Where were you two last night? It was a Family Dinner.” asked Bruce as the others went quiet, not so subtly listening in.

“I was with Marinette. We were very busy.”

“Eww Replacement I don’t need to hear about your sex life.” chimed in Jason prompting uproar around the table.

Turning to Alfred, Marinette decided to ignore the chaos as usual and to just thank him for the recipe, and in order to stop the chaos invited him and everyone else to the seder that night at six, before dragging Tim off claiming they had to “prepare for unexpected guests that should have told them yesterday” because “this shit takes long enough to cook without unexpected guests” - real quotes from family

Arriving at the secondary dining room that very few even knew existed, the batfam were met with a table covered in full place settings, decorative plates of olives, beets, and other foods, a large plate at one head of the table, two bags or other cloth containers, and two covered plates at each end. Tim and Marinette sat together at the head of the table before getting up to hand each of them a book and ushering them to their seats in stunned silence.

After everyone was settled, Marinette and Tim explained that they, in fact, had been busy with the Passover seder and had been doing it for years.

And so, the batfam began their first seder together, starting with the Kiddish, or first of four cups of wine or grape juice. Before the rest of the family could even move to pour out their first glass, Tim and Marinette hopped up and filled everyone’s glass to the brim before filling each other's glasses.

This follows the idea that as the Jewish people are no longer slaves and they are dinning like royalty they shouldn’t pour their own glasses of wine/grape juice.

Marinette led the prayer over the first glass in a mix of Hebrew and English answering questions as she went along.

The second part of the seder is Urchats or the washing of the hands without the blessing. The family followed Tim and Marinette through the handwashing, asking questions about things as they went along.

This pattern continued throughout the seder until the fifth part of the seder, Maggid - the telling of the story of Passover and the escape from Egypt. During Maggid Tim pulled out a bag of toys representing each of the plagues before pulling them out as Marinette spoke of them.

Blood - Water and food dye in a clear glass

Frogs - Small toys that can jump in the air (which Tim totally didn’t intentionally launch at his brothers)

Lice - Small lice finger puppets hand sown by Marinette

Wild Beasts - Small animal figurines of tigers, bears, and other animals

Pestilence - A mask with little imagery of sickness

Boils - A matching mask covered in boils

Hail - Small plastic clear dice that looked like they contained fire in ice

Locusts - A small wind-up locust that jumps an inch in the air

Darkness - Sunglasses

Death of the Firstborn - No toy

The family enjoyed the toys while the telling of the story and the seder continued.

After benching or ending the meal and thanking God (similar to grace) and ending the seder with other prayers the family sang a few additional songs including Chad Gaddya, a song about a goat which is a metaphor for the Passover story. The song includes various characters which the batfam created sound effects for enjoying themselves and ending off the night on a high note with laughter in the air.

If you would like to hear more specific stories from during the seder, have questions (I am no rabbi, but I will do my best), want to see more in this same world, or just want to say hi please let me know. I love all comments and hearing from all of you, and I promise a new chapter of Up-Grade will be out soon.

#maribat #tim x marinette #timinette #timari #passover #seder #jewish holidays #i hope you enjoy

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cursestothemoon · 3 years

Note

Hey lovely! Is it ok if i ask for a blurb or hc (whatever suits you the best) with fred? Like after the war and everyone makes it (as well as freddie) and the people from the order and the weasleys (with their partners) have Sunday meetings at the burrow, like them having dinner and playing quidditch or outside having like a bonfire night and everyone tells stories 🥺

All Of Us

F.W. X READER

Warnings: mentions of war/battle, mentions of past injury , kind of sAD WOW I WASN’T EXPECTING THAT, mentions of people who had died, one curse word, mentions of being nauseous

The wind swept through the tall blades of grass, each haulm moving balletically in the hills that rolled behind the warm, brown, slightly askew, home. During the months of war the Burrow had been a symbol of safety, for you, the Weasley children- old and young- and members of the order.

The second Wizarding War was a dark time for most people, trust dissolved into code words and relentless questioning. Remus Lupin sat with a plate half full of pancakes absolutely bathing in sticky sweet syrup- breakfast had ended thirty minutes ago- as he tickled his son, bouncing the small boy on his knee. It seemed to have been a lifetime ago when he had begged Harry to let him join the hunt for horcrux, begged to free his wife and unborn child of his self.

“Uncle Pads is here!” The voice followed a familiar pop.

Sirius Black waltzed through the room greeting everyone, his head of healthy hair-ever since the war was won Sirius seemed to glow- bounced around his face. A dark veil had followed Sirius around most of his life, growing up with the cruciatus curse as a guiding hand and the cracking of human bone morphing into that of a canine was a sound he knew would ring in his ears for lifetimes to come.

You walked over to Sirius with a soft smile, “Hi, Sirius.”

The quiet buzz of the group had grown into a rowdy rumble of voices and laughs as Bill and Charlie Weasley joined in, coming from the backyard. You made your way to the bottom of the stairs, waiting to hear Fred start to descend the stairs. A stumble sounded from the top of the steps, followed by a few grunts as someone went down the stairs one step at a time. You moved to watch Fred slowly make his way down.

Fred was laughing, eyes crinkled, an honest chuckle passing his lips made the crumbling of the wall behind him almost unnoticeable. What was noticeable was the weight of the rubble hitting him, it had knocked the air out of his lungs and he was sure that was it. He thought of you when it happened, he hadn’t told you, but he thought of you and he thought of never seeing you again. Fred decided he just couldn’t allow that.

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders, yours going around his waist, as you two walked into the kitchen. Fred now walked with a limp, the wall had caused him to lose feeling in a little less than half of his right leg and injured it beyond magical mending. His new gait was something he worked to get used to, the pain slowly but surely fading with each day.

“Thanks, love.” He smirked, leaning down to give you a quick peck on the lips before walking over to his brothers.

Your time to admire Fred was cut short as Ginny and Tonks apparated next to you, Ginny on your right and Tonks on your left.

“I hope one day it won’t be so nauseating catching you eye fucking my brother like that.” Ginny said with her face screwing into one of disgust.

You gave her shoulder a playful shove, “Shut it.”

Tonks laughed at the both of you before suggesting to get lunch ready, a tall feat when there were over ten people starting to get hungry.

The day passed with the same lightness of the morning and noon, and more people made an appearance for the traditional Sunday at the Weasley’s. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Minerva Mcgonagall had even decided to attend dinner, showing up just as the sun started to set.

McGonagall usually had to fight the urge to shed a few tears when she arrived to these dinners. Little Remus Lupin sat with his wife and son, a blinding, boyish, smile making the scars on his face disappear completely. Charming Sirius, who had suffered through so much, now holding a newborn baby-Bill’s first- with such gentility you could barely tell he only learned such care at age fifteen when James Potter took him into his home and held a crying boy with the same gentleness. Harry looking over his godfather’s shoulder was almost too much for poor Minerva to take in, he looked just like James.

“Where do you think you’re going, poppet?” Fred asked as you removed yourself from his lap, stretching as you stood up.

The older woman watched with a smile as you pressed a loving kiss to your boyfriend’s forehead before walking into the kitchen, presumably to help Molly. She remembers when you two had gotten together, flamboyant as it was, who could forget it? It was your sixth year, and Fred had walked into the Transfiguration classroom with so much vigor he hadn’t seen you trying to leave. The force at which he knocked into you had knocked you to the ground and caused Minerva to let out a gasp. From that point on Fred had made sure to turn the charm up to one hundred and you two were dating in no time.

Seeing the way Fred looked at you made Mcgonagall sure that she’d be receiving a wedding invitation soon.

“Alright dinner’s ready! Bill! Charlie! Put that quaffle down and come help the others bring the second table out.” Molly called, her head sticking out from the kitchen window.

Bill and Charlie landed on the ground and tossed the quaffle they had been playing with onto the ground along with their brooms. The brothers jogged into the house, only to come out holding up the end of a table helping Sirius, Remus, and Ron.

You helped set the table along with George and Ginny. The napkins were folded, utensils placed uniformly near each plate, and strings of lights strung up around the dining area- curtesy of you, George, and your wands.

Everyone sat down to eat, Bill pulled out Fleur’s chair before sitting next to her and placing a hand on her growing bump- Molly cradling her first grandchild to her chest. Remus, Tonks, and Teddy sat next to each other, Remus helping cut up his sons food into manageable pieces as Tonk’s morphed her face into that of different animals to keep the toddler entertained. George sat on the right of Professor Mcgonagall and Sirius on her left, both talking their former head of house’s ear off- Angelina Johnson was a hot topic for George, she had noticed. Harry and Ginny sat at the end of the table, Ginny talking animatedly about something as Harry listened with a lovesick gaze.

“Seems like I haven’t seen you for ages.” Fred smirked, sitting down in his usual chair- the one right next to yours.

You turned to look at him with eyes that clearly had tiredness weighing them down, “I’m sorry, helping kept me busy, there are more people here today.”

Fred brought his hand to rest on your thigh, his thumb caressing the skin with a calming back and forth motion as his other hand cupped your jaw. He brought your face towards his, your lips met in a tender kiss before he pulled away not before giving your nose another soft kiss.

“Tomorrow I’m keeping you all to myself.” He lowered his voice, hand gripping your thigh now.

You rubbed your foot against his shin, “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Fred gave you a wink before turning to his food, you following suit, giggling into your mashed potatoes.

Dinner progressed with stories shared and gentle smiles passed between the close knit group. Sirius talked theatrically, his hands flailing wildly as he told the story of the time the ‘Marauders’ had pranked the entire house of Salazar Slytherin with a rogue stag in the common room.

“We barely got Prongs out of there in time, Filch was hot on our trail.” Sirius grinned along with a giggling Remus.

Silence fell over the group as Sirius’ eyes started to water, Remus not far behind. Suddenly, heavy emotion had blanketed over everyone as they thought about everyone they had lost to get to where they were. You gripped Fred’s hand under the table, hoping to ground yourself for a moment.

Sirius raised his glass of fire whiskey slowly, a tearfully smile painting itself onto his handsome features.

“To us... all of us.”

tags:

@siriusement

@amourtentiaa

@vsawyer1989

@lifeofkaze

@theorangedrummer

@maraudersgirlxx

@famdomhideout

@raabya

@an2402lths

@escapingrealitybyreading

@readyg0erge (it wont tag i am sorry)

#Fred Weasley #Fred Weasley imagine #fred weasley headcanons #fred weasley x reader

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spencessmile · 3 years

Text

Mi Amour

Pairing - Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Summary - Spencer finds out what Valentine's day actually means to you.

Warnings - Slight mentions of death, but mostly fluff.

Word Count - 1,791

And all imagines/fanfics/blurbs are written solely by me so please don't steal my work and/or post it without my consent. Feedback and Comments are welcome. Happy reading!

A/N - HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

Requests are CLOSED!

“Spencer!” You kicked the door with your foot, “Come on, I can’t feel my damn arms,” You were juggling 4 bags of food on one arm as the other held enough alcohol to serve 100 people. “Spen-” The door flew open, revealing Spencer as he fixed his hair. “Help me!” You shoved past him, handing him the alcohol. You set down the food on the table, pulling out the chair and having a seat.

“We could have just ordered this stuff, you know?”

“We could have but I haven’t left my apartment in four days and I needed some fresh air.”

“How much food did you buy?”

“Oh, you’ll probably have loads of leftovers. Like Papa Rossi always says more food is better than less food.”

“Did you happen to go to the grocery store and buy -”

“Double stuffed Oreos and whipped cream? Yeah, the first thing I crossed off my list.”

“You’re the best,” He beamed, skimming through the bags.

“Oh,” You chuckle. “I know.”

“How were the grocery stores?” He asked.

You shake your head as Spencer looks at you in amusement “Everyone is so giddy and full of fluff.”

“Fluff?” Spencer laughed at your choice of word.

“Yeah, holding hands, kissing in public, smiling with their teeth, being extra freaking nice, buying all the damn chocolate and different colored flowers in the world. Don’t even get me started on the damn stuffed teddy bears.”

“Who did you buy these for?” He pulls a nice yellow bouquet out of the bag alongside a vase.

“For you.”

“Why?”

“Because you need some colour in your life besides this were half off and I felt so ridiculous standing in that damn aisle. So, make sure they live longer than a week.”

“On it,” You watched Spencer fill the case with water, adding the flower food, mixing it up, cutting off the ends of the stems, adding the flowers in the vase as he placed it in the middle of his small dining table.

“Mmm,” Spencer stood behind your chair. “They do look nice.”

“Yeah, they do.” You nod.

“Did you bring the movies?”

“Oh yes!” You reach for the bag on the far end. “It’s Disney night.”

“101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Bambi and Bambi II, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Dumbo, Finding Dory, Finding Nemo, Lion King, and Coco,” Spencer reads out all the movies.

“Just some of my favorites.”

“These are just some?” Spencer raises his eyebrow at you.

“Disney and Disney Pixar have the best movies. Hands down. Don’t even argue with me on this.” Spencer nods, “Listen, I could have rented out the whole shelf at the shop but I controlled myself.”

“I bet.” He nods. “Alright, which one should we watch first?”

“I picked last time so your turn,” You watched Spencer flip through the movies until he landed on Coco.

“I’ve never watched this one,” You looked at him shocked. “What?”

“Oh my god, where do you keep your tissues?”

“What why?”

“Trust me, you're going to need them. You're going to need lots of them.”

Spencer and you sat on the couch, after watching the movie, boxes of sushi in both of your laps, eating in comfortable silence. You could feel Spencer’s eyes on every once in a while.

“What is it, Spencer?” You asked.

Spencer set down his drink and rubbing his neck. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot,” You replied.

“Why don't you like Valentine’s day?”

You had a feeling that Spencer would ask this question but you weren’t quite sure how you were going to answer it without breaking down, you didn't expect yourself to.

“You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to but I just always wondered. I’ve known you for 6 years and every year we do the same thing. You come over to my house with way too much food and alcohol. We sit here together and watch movies.”

“Are you saying that you don’t like my company?” You pretended to play hurt, just to pull Spencer’s leg. He immediately set down his sushi box and faced you.

“N-No. That n-not what I meant. I didn-t mean to hu-hurt your feelin-” You laughed at how quick he panicked at your words. “Why are you laughing?”

“No reason,” You set aside your box, grabbing your wine glass and settling down on the sofa again. "When I was younger my mom would love celebrating Valentine's day and she would celebrate it with everyone, not just my dad. I would wake up to the smell of bacon, pancakes, her famous buttery and cheese eggs, and cherry pie. My siblings and I would help her set up the table. Once everything used to be set, we'd make our way to their room and wake up my dad. We'd have a tickle war and jus-" You feel the tears pressing as you take a deep breath before continuing. "I remember laying there for several minutes, taking in the comfortable and peaceful silence of our little family. We'd have breakfast, play games, and simply spent the day with one another. We did the tradition every year growing up. When I was young, I asked my mom why she always celebrated Valentine's with us and never just our dad and she said 'Valentine's day isn't meant to be spent with just one person you love, it's meant to be shared with everyone you love. That there is always enough love within you to want to share it with others.' I mean, they could have dropped my siblings and me off at my grandma's and left to celebrate the day on their own, but she never did. She always chose to include us."

Spencer was intently listening as you continued. "Every year I used to look forward to this stupid day, but one morning I woke up and my life changed forever." Spencer grabbed onto your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I was at my grandmother's the night before Valentine's, my parents and siblings were coming to pick me up but when I woke up in the morning I remember my grandma looking at me and without her saying anything, I just knew. It has never been the same since then."

"Y/n," Spencer moved closer. "First off, I'm sorry about your family," You nod, you never once mentioned them to anyone on the team, it was far too painful for you. "Secondly, even though you're not going to believe me, what happened to your family isn't your fault."

"Isn't it?"

"No," Spencer shakes his head as the tears come streaming down your face.

"They still would have been alive Spencer! If it weren't for me, they'd still be here. They'd be here with me, today. I would have been at home but now I don-" Spencer wraps his arms around you, rubbing your back. You stay like for a minute before pulling back. "Sorry, I did-"

"You don't have to apologize."

"The following year on this day I remember being so upset because I woke up to nothing. It was just quiet. I felt so empty and it just hurt so much. I just hated the fact that the one day that bought us together as a family was the same day that ripped them away from my hands. Ever since then, I've had this love-hate relationship with this day."

Even after all these years of you convincing yourself that what happened to your family wasn't your fault, you couldn't help but think it was your fault. If they weren't on the road that morning, then you'd still have them.

"I sulked around every year on Valentine's day until one day, I realized that my mom would have been so upset to see me doing that. She always celebrated that day with music, food, movies, and love. So, I decided to celebrate it just like she would have. Before I joined the team, I used to go out buy loads of takeout, grab a couple of my parent's favorite red wine bottles," You raise your glass. "I'd play our favorite music, watch the same movies we'd watch together, and stuff my face with food. It sort of became my tradition, my thing."

Spencer's inside exploded as he noticed your smile getting bigger as you talked about your family. "I like that."

"What?"

"That you kept the tradition alive."

"Me too." You beamed.

"But why did you decided to share your sole tradition with me?"

"I know that you and your mom probably spent loads of holidays and special days together up until you had to make the tough decision to put her in a care home. After that you probably didn't spend many special days with her," Spencer remains silent at your words. "So I took it upon myself to share the love with you because if my parents knew you, they'd love you. Even though it was rarely said I knew that my parents and sibling loved me a lot, so I decided to share some of that love with you because god Spencer, you deserve it."

Spencer's heart was bursting at your words, he never heard anyone say anything sweeter. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For sharing your love with me," You smiled.

"They're proud of you, you know that?"

"I hope," You chuckle.

"They should be because they raised one hell of a human being. Going through what you did and still having love to share, that's a difficult thing to do."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Let's toast," Spencer raised his glass.

"To what?"

"You shared your love with me so now I'm going to share my love with you," You looked at Spencer confused, he put down both glasses and leaned forward, your faces inches away from one another. He rubbed the tip of his nose with yours, giving you enough time to pull away, but you don't, instead, you wrap your hands around his neck. Soon after, his lips clash with yours as he pulls you closer. You wrap your legs around his waist. Pulling back you rest your forehead against his, "What was that?" Your heart was racing, eyes a little blurry as your mind was a little fuzzy from the wine.

"Just sharing the love, mi amour."

All you have to do now, is listen to your soul - Seeker

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid blurb #spencer reid angst #spencer reid x fluff #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #bau #bau x you #bau x y/n #criminal minds #criminal minds masterlist #spencessmiles fanfics

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drawlfoy · 3 years

Text

Wonders of Ohio P.10

masterlist request guidelines

pairing: draco x reader

request: no way

summary: american high school senior y/n y/l/n is in for a surprise when her british exchange student is a little...odd.

warnings (AYO please pay attention to these this time it’s not just swearing): swearing, underage drinking (no i do not condone this ig), beginning elements of smut but def not too explicit, i think you can consider it dubcon ?? if both people are drunk bc i don’t think you can actually consent if youre drunk (plz rest assured tho they are both 18 hehe)

a/n: “hey where did this come from” yeah so hey yall ive never written such an intense scene before but i’ve spent so much time w these characters that i decided i kind of had to. there’s no like...real sex in this and i don’t imagine that i’d describe it in this much detail if i ever decided to write it but um.. anyways. i hope y’all enjoy. thanks for suffering for this long ! i hope i’ve made it worth it

word count: 4k

music recs:

cloud 9 -- beach bunny

the adults are talking -- the strokes

anything from the strokes tbh

tags ! :) @gruffle1 @missmulti @cleopatera @hahaboop @accio-rogers @geeksareunique @eltanin-malfoy @war-sword @cams-lynn @itsivyberry @ayo-cowbelly @nerd-domland @yesnerdsblog @shizarianathania @evanstanfanatic @strawberriesonsummer @hariosborn @night-ving @straightzoinked @imintoodeeptostop @naiomimoonshard @jejegu @ophelia-enthusiast @alwaysbeanunknownfan @nearly-memories @litty-dumb @callieclearwater @malfoy-wife15 @charlenasaxen @belladaises @fiantomartell @writeandtranslate @erisdogwood @loveissupernatural @sycathorn-slush @big-galaxy-chaos

“Thank fucking god for the generator,” said Y/N as she flew around the kitchen, banging pots and pans together in her quest to make New Year’s Eve breakfast. Draco was sitting, unamused and completely silent, at the table. They’d been snowed in for a few days now with her parents nowhere near able to make it to the suburbs. For some reason, the entire city of Cincinnati had decided that the day before Christmas was the best time to schedule maintenance on literally every single one of their plows. “Can you imagine living here without heat? Or power? I’d die.”

Draco hummed in response. A glance over confirmed that he was deep in thought, a scarlet colored letter clutched firmly in his hand (hello, Nathaniel Hawthorne). Jealousy curdled inside of her as her thoughts turned to a dark place--it was Pansy, that Pansy Parkinson.

Knowing her intuition, she was probably his grandmother or something. Why else would she have written so many letters?

After she finished plating all of the pancakes, she allowed herself to sneak a peek at the envelope.

Astoria Greengrass

She frowned. Astoria? She’d never seen that name before.

“What is this?” asked Draco as he picked up his fork to poke at the pancake on his plate.

Y/N’s jaw dropped. “Have you never had a pancake before?”

“A pancake?” He gave his plate a stern look. “It looks...like a soggy pastry.”

“Fuck you, I made that,” responded Y/N. “Try it with butter and maple syrup. And then tell me it’s a soggy pastry.”

She took out her fork and knife, demonstrating very clearly what she meant as she spread butter over the top of her pancake. She’d learned that Draco was too proud to ask what she meant when she introduced him to American/muggle foods--the last time he tried to deduce something himself, he ended up pouring ketchup over the top of his hamburger bun instead of actually putting it on the patty.

A sense of satisfaction flowed into her as she saw him follow suit, spreading the warmed butter and dipping a cut piece in syrup. He raised it to his lips, taking a delicate bite.

“Americans really have this for breakfast?”

“Yeah…is something wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just…” He grimaced. “This isn’t breakfast. This is dessert food.”

“God, your life must be so sad back home,” said Y/N. “What does your family make you eat--just straight unbuttered bread under the guise of it being a real breakfast food? Do they let you dip it in your unsweetened, weak tea if you’re good?”

He scoffed. “You have no idea how I live back at home.”

“And, judging from this conversation, I don’t have any desire to know any more.”

They ate in silence for the next few minutes. Y/N smiled when she saw Draco reach for a second pancake.

“Two desserts? Draco, I know it’s New Year’s, but don’t get too off the hinges,” she teased.

He rolled his eyes, but she could tell her was fighting back a smile. “Speaking of which, how do you celebrate New Year’s?”

Draco looked up and met her eyes. “Sorry?”

“How do you celebrate tonight? With your family or your friends, or your...whatever.” The cold reality of the fact that she did not really know if he was dating someone back home set in.

“Oh, I don’t usually. It’s not really a big thing in the magical community,” he mused, unaware of her sudden panic.

“Well,” she said. “I always celebrate New Year’s with my friends. I didn’t tell you this sooner because I didn’t think that you were going to be here, but I’m kind of hosting a party here tonight. With anyone who can walk here.”

“Oh.” He took a sip of his tea. “Will it be like the Halloween party at Sylvia’s?”

“What do you mean?” She smiled. “Do you mean, will there be drinking?”

He shrugged in response, avoiding eye contact.

“There definitely can be,” she continued, her smile widening. “Last year we played this dumb drinking game over this card game--if you lost, you took a shot. It was fun. We could do that again.”

She settled down to eat, digging into two of the pancakes. They were really good--she wasn’t Gordon Ramsay by any means, but she did breakfast food pretty well. But at the mention of her friends, a realization hit her. “Oh. Draco?”

He raised an eyebrow and met her eyes.

“Um, can I tell you something?”

He dipped his head in recognition while Y/N cleared her throat.

“So, um, I forgot about this,” she began, “but while you were gone, I kind of had to scramble to figure out what to tell everyone about why we were avoiding each other before you left. And why you left so suddenly and why I didn’t know.”

He was still watching her in curious silence.

“So, I really didn’t want to slip up or say anything about...you.” Y/N paused to take a sip of her tea, deciding to not try to look at Draco again. “So I decided to tell Sylvia and Lizzy that I told you my feelings for you and you didn’t return them.”

A clang startled her enough to look up. Draco was staring, completely frozen. His fork had fallen into the syrup on his plate, handle and all.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

“I mean, oh, fuck. Um.” She smiled at him, hoping it was going to distract from her audible stumble. “Obviously, I made it all up. I mean, both sides! But what’s important is that they bought it, and now they’re probably going to give you a little shit for not liking me ‘back’. So I’m sorry about that.”

“Made it all up, huh?” His voice had a surprisingly teasing lilt.

“Yes, that is in fact what I said,” she responded, hoping that her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt hot.

“Is it really now?”

“Draco!”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll be back. I need a new fork.”

“Just wipe off the handle of the one you have now--Draco, why are you getting up? Stop!”

To her disappointment, none of her friends were able to show. Sylvia and Lizzy made a concerted effort to try and convince their family to let them brave the walk, but once another flurry started up outside, it was hopeless. Her face turned pink whenever she thought about the fact that she hadn’t even needed to tell Draco the thing that made her slip up in the first place.

Y/N, disappointed but not surprised, told Draco that she still wanted to celebrate, even if it was just with him. He’d snorted at this--asking her why she made it seem like such a burden--but once she produced a yellow glass bottle and a deck of cards and told him she bet that she was going to beat his sorry ass, he caved.

She started with a heavy lead, but once Draco learned the rules and strategies of the slightly convoluted Go Fish game, he proved to be a worthy match. They played until around 11:45 when the bottle was about 3/4 full and Y/N was feeling the pleasant warmth of being slightly intoxicated. Once she noticed the time, she threw her cards on the table.

“Let’s watch the ball drop,” Y/N said with no further explanation, even when Draco looked to her for one. She grabbed the bottle and his hand, pulling him up the stairs to her room. The remote control for her TV was a struggle to find--it was all the way tucked back in her nightstand drawer--but thankfully the channel was already set.

“You forgot the cups,” Draco said, staring down at the opened bottle held in his hand.

“You can get them if you want,” she managed.

“You should! You forgot them.”

“Too far,” she whined, flopping to lean back on her pillows while Draco followed suit. His hair smelled like peppermint. Without much more thought, she moved close enough that their shoulders were touching. He didn’t move away--instead, he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a drink directly.

“Your New Year’s traditions are weird as fuck,” he murmured as he watched Savannah Guthrie on the screen. He didn’t have to speak very loud for her to hear him, and it seemed like he knew this.

“Oh, you haven’t even heard it all yet,” said Y/N. “We’ve got a tradition to kiss someone going into the New Year. New Year’s kiss, I guess. I’m sure you can imagine the kind of drama that creates.”

“What d’you mean?”

“You don’t have to be dating to kiss someone, sometimes people just...do it. As friends.” Y/N reached over to the bottle and took a swig herself, feeling the warmth trickle down her throat.

“Take it easy,” he tutted, pulling the bottle away from her before taking another drink himself.

“Hey! Says you!”

“Because I can actually hold my liquor well,” he teased, giving her a shove.

“The fuck are you talking about?”

“You just kept getting worse and worse at whatever that game was,” he told her matter-of-factly.

“Give it here,” she said, reaching across his chest to where he was holding the bottle, out and above his head. She hoped he couldn’t tell how much this side of him filled her with glee. “That’s not fair!”

“Not fair, huh?” He raised an eyebrow and met her eyes as he held it up even further into the air. His voice was startlingly low. “So what are you gonna do about it?”

Before she could muster up a response, the TV began playing the audio for the New Year’s Countdown.

10!

Y/N wasn’t sure if she was supposed to answer--or if he was just...flirting?

He managed to set the bottle on her nightstand without taking his eyes off of her.

The hand she had used to reach across him with was now pressed into his side of the bed, supporting her as she hovered over him.

Without moving any part of her body, she dared to glance at his parted lips.

Maybe telling him about the kiss tradition was a stupid idea.

His hand, warm and soft, reached up to brush a piece of hair away from her cheekbone.

His fingers lingered on the outline of her jaw.

He was kissing her before the cheers from the TV even had the chance to bounce around the room, both hands cupping her face and pulling her in so desperately that it took her breath away.

Her hands found his shoulders, then the back of his neck, and then, eventually his hair. It was just as soft as she imagined it to be. They started out innocently enough--closed mouth kisses and only their hands touching each other above the shoulders--but once she tugged on his hair (mostly by accident) something...shifted.

Suddenly he was on top of her, and suddenly her leg was wrapped around him as he tilted his head, deepening the kiss. It occurred to her that this was no longer just a New Year’s kiss. He tasted of lemon and sugar--and was notably better at what he was doing than any of the people she’d kissed before. Or maybe it was the alcohol clouding her judgement. Regardless, she liked whatever was going on. His hands had drifted from her face to her neck to her hair to her shoulder, gently tracing the outline of her bra strap. She brushed her hand down his chest, pulling gently at the collar on his shirt. Only when his leg pressed up into her and her breath hitched did she realize the weight of their situation.

The way he pulled away to hover over her signaled that he’d had the same revelation, his eyes wide as he stared down at her. “Um…”

“Yeah?” Dread crept into her despite the pleasant haze she was in.

He swallowed, hard. “I can’t believe I did that.”

Draco was on the other side of the bed in seconds, wringing his hands and keeping his eyes fixed on her floor. “Oh, my god, I can’t believe I did that. I’m sorry. I’m drunk and I’m not thinking straight. I’m so sorry.”

“Is something wrong?” She didn’t know if he wanted her to touch him, but she wanted so badly to place a steadying hand on his shoulder. “Did you not want...it?”

He scoffed and turned his gaze up to the ceiling. “I had too much to drink. I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” Y/N felt the blood drain from her face as she fell back on the bed.

That’s all it was. A drunken mistake.

Tears pricked at her eyes as she surveyed her options. Despite the fact that she was drunk off her ass, she knew she couldn’t just tell him to leave without making her feelings clear. She never explicitly told him that she wanted him and it wasn’t like she moaned his name or anything--thank god--but what other option did she have? She didn’t want to cry in front of him, and if he stayed in her room any longer he would without a doubt witness her alcohol induced cry fest.

NBC finally switched to ads, and Y/N granted herself permission to mourn the fact that Flo from Progressive would forever be ruined for her.

It was dark enough for her to quickly reach up and wipe her eyes undetected, granting her enough confidence to sit up and look at him directly. “You don’t get to just...kiss me like that. I hope you know that.”

“I know,” he said. His hands were clasped tightly together and rested on his nose. “Fuck. Of course I know.”

“But you can tell me you meant it to be just as friends,” she told him, hoping he couldn’t see how hard she was fighting back a new wave of tears.

“As friends,” he repeated, his tone flat.

“As friends,” she said.

“I don’t think either of us are daft enough to believe that.”

Her stomach twisted. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe things are different in America, but I don’t see you doing that sort of thing with Lizzy.”

“We can forget about this. It’s fine. I know you regret it.”

He exhaled, his breath long and shaky. “I didn’t stop because I regretted it.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because…”

“Is it because I’m a muggle?” His silence was everything she needed for an answer. “Okay. I had a feeling.”

“Y/N, it’s not like...I don’t know how to explain it.” He still wouldn’t make eye contact with her. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“About what?”

“About this!” he said, dramatically gesturing to her. “About everything!”

“I don’t understand.” The tears began pricking in the corners of her eyes again despite her best efforts.

Draco finally looked at her. She was shocked by how genuinely distressed he looked--the last time he looked at her like this, she’d been laying on the ground outside of the antique sore. “I don’t expect you to.”

His tone was low, careful. He was holding back.

“Can you just tell me how you feel about me, then? Just so I know?”

“It’s not that--” He stopped himself, sucking in another breath before he continued. “I shouldn’t. It’s not right of me.” He groaned, flopping onto his back and covering his face. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Hey,” Y/N said, reaching out to awkwardly pat his shoulder. “I meant it when I said that we could just forget about it. We’re friends, Draco. Just friends. I know you didn’t mean it. Let’s just pretend this never happened, ok?”

He was quiet for a bit before responding. “Did you...want me to kiss you? Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“Uncomfortable?”

“As in, did you want me to stop?”

“Oh.” Y/N cracked her knuckles. “You didn’t violate me if you’re asking to gauge how guilty you should be.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but that’s not why I’m asking.”

“Okay,” she said simply. He was still laying in her bed, and she hated the fact that her bed was going to smell like him until she washed everything.

“So?” He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t answer.”

“We’re friends, Draco.” She sent him a weak smile as she repeated her previous sentiment. “I trust you, so you didn’t make me uncomfortable.”

She was aware of the fact that her sentence didn’t exactly track, but she wasn’t particularly concerned with the literary quality of her speech.

“That still doesn’t answer my other question.”

“I…” She felt her throat dry up. “I want--I wanted you to kiss me. I’ve wanted you to kiss me for a while now.”

At this, he finally sat up and looked her in the eyes. She thought she could see the briefest glint of relief pass over his face before he managed to rein it back to a neutral expression.

“Did you want to kiss me?”

“I was the one who kissed you, not the other way around, yeah?”

“That still doesn’t answer my question,” she snipped, hoping he caught on to her mocking. She’d missed sparring with him.

“Yes, I kissed you because I wanted to, not for some weird ulterior motive,” he responded, rolling his eyes despite the fact that his cheeks were clearly very pink, even in her dimly lit room. “Though I agree it’s best if we just stayed friends.”

“Yeah.” She felt her face fall, but she managed to catch it before she looked too devastated. “It’s all water under the bridge. Now we know not to drink together again.”

“That too.” He shifted, clearing his throat before making eye contact with her again with an uncharacteristically soft expression. “But the damage is already done, I suppose?”

“I suppose,” she echoed. “You wanted to kiss me? Actually?”

“Should we really talk about this? After what we just said about staying friends?”

“We’re going to feel regret tomorrow morning no matter what we do now, “ said Y/N. “Might as well.”

He smiled one of his rare smiles--the ones where his eyes went all soft and he dipped his head to hide it. “Yes. I really do. Want to kiss you, that is.”

“I really want you to kiss me,” she blurted out before slapping her hand over her mouth in shock. “Fuck. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

His smile morphed into more of a smirk as he crept closer, his hand resting on top of her knee. “So can I do it again?”

“Draco…” She sighed.

“The damage is already done,” he repeated as he reached his hand up to brush a lock of her hair behind her ear, his fingers dragging down her neck. The smug look that formed on his face after she drew a quick breath in confirmed that he knew what he was doing, that fucker. “You said it yourself--we’re just friends.”

“I’m going to hate myself in the morning if I say yes.”

Draco’s hand drifted over her jaw, his thumb pausing to trace over her bottom lip. “You can hate me instead.”

This time, it didn’t surprise her so much when he leaned in. He was notably less desperate, taking time to draw breaths in between kisses and lacing his fingers through hers, squeezing. Once he seemed satisfied, he lifted her chin and brushed the hair away from her neck, kissing down from her jaw to her collarbone. She shivered, and he drew her closer by wrapping his arms around her until she was sitting on his lap.

“Wow, you’re such a good friend, Draco,” she managed to joke. She could feel the smirk that formed on his lips as it passed over her clavicle.

“Shut up.” His teeth grazed over her delicate skin before he sucked, eliciting a gasp from her. She could feel him smile again.

His hands teased the bottom hemline of her sweater, his fingers tangling in the fabric but not moving it. She sucked in a breath, feeling his hands ghost over her skin.

“Are you okay with…”

“Yes!” The answer came out much quicker than she would’ve liked, but the grin on Draco’s face made it completely worth the momentary embarrassment as he helped her out of the thick cable-knit sweater. “Now is your chance to dote on me and tell me how beautiful I am. As a friend, of course.”

“You stole the words right out of my mouth,” he said. He looked like he was positively glowing as she smiled and leaned in to kiss him, slow and deep. His hands found her back and hesitated over her bra clasp.

Before he had a chance to do anything, Y/N started fiddling with the buttons on his white shirt, successfully undoing the first two before she noticed that Draco had frozen completely.

“Is something wrong?”

“Kind of,” he said. “Maybe...not now, okay?”

“I had a feeling that was too much,” she admitted, reaching for her top before realizing he’d tossed it across her bedroom floor and suddenly feeling very exposed.

“It’s not that…” he said, trailing off. “I just...should probably tell you some things before my shirt comes off. And I don’t think tonight is the best time for that.”

“Oh.” Y/N tried to make herself look like she understood whatever he was on about. “Yeah, of course. Oh! Is it about that tattoo you tried to gaslight me into believing didn’t exist?”

“Y/N!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t gaslight you!”

“Here you go again,” she huffed. “I rest my case.”

“And I am not getting into that now,” he said. “I didn’t want to talk about it for very good reason.”

She reached up to his shoulders, dragging her fingertips over his collarbones and watching as he gazed up at her. “That’s okay. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

The corners of his lips turned up at this, and she took the opportunity to press a chaste kiss on the edge of his mouth. “I think we should go to sleep. We have enough material to regret for tomorrow at this point. Any more and I think we’ll be getting greedy, so--”

Draco cut her off with one last kiss, his fingers splayed out across her back, pulling her impossibly close before finally releasing her.

“Agreed.” He let out a sigh before sliding her off him and standing up to grab her runaway sweater. “Do you want to sleep in this? Or do you want me to get you something else from your dresser while I’m up?”

“Um…” She was frozen at the prospect of him watching her change clothes. “Probably something else. Top left drawer--just pick whatever.”

He sifted through her piles of random T-shirts before settling on one with the UChicago logo and tossing it to her.

Y/N pulled it over her head, grateful for the fact that he wasn’t staring at her with only a black lace bra that barely did its job.

“So, uh, I think I should probably go then,” he said.

She fought the urge to ask him to stay. “Yeah, that’d be best.”

His mouth opened like he was about to say something, but he closed it and frowned. “So I guess this is goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Draco,” she replied. “I’ll look forward to agonizing over this in the morning.”

Once the sounds of his footsteps heading down the hall faded, she finally allowed herself to flop back onto her now Draco-scented sheets.

What the fuck just happened.

final a/n: hellooooooo ! it finally happened! i hope this didn’t seem rushed or unnatural to you guys but like. it’s been over 30k words and i thought you guys deserved something. yes i am going to be leaning into the whole “we’re just friends” trope while definitely not being just friends. yes i am going to drag astoria into this i’m excited i hope yall enjoyed

#draco x reader #draco malfoy x reader #draco imagine #draco malfoy imagine #draco x you #draco malfoy x you #draco #draco malfoy #draco fic #draco fanfiction #draco x y/n #draco malfoy x y/n #draco x oc #draco malfoy x oc

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maadorii · 3 years

Text

taste my disaster— i. matsukawa x gn! reader

max.note’s: i really thought about not posting this and just keeping this in my dungeon to never see the light of day but i really like this concept so here it is, mattsun romcom hehe

synopsis: where a supposed “one time fling” during iwaizumi’s bachelor trip turns into something more. somehow.

warnings/tags: strangers to lovers, fluff, implied sexual content, suggestive themes, slow-burnish, mutual pining, recreational drug-use, food mention, pancakes

w.count— 3.8k

if there was one thing matsukawa was expecting to do on this trip, it was to get drunk while speeding down the strip at 2am from a night of gambling from the most expensive casinos las vegas had to offer. right? it was iwaizumi’s 2-week bachelor trip that oikawa had so meticulously planned mostly because he didn’t want to throw some measly little party like everyone else. he was getting married, why wouldn’t they all go out for him this one time.

but, if there was one thing matsukawa was not expecting to do on this trip, was somehow end up black out drunk; the only thing he could remember was hanamaki losing a game of black jack at caesar’s palace–– and wake up in a unfamiliar bed, naked, with a unfamiliar warm body next to him still sound asleep. who was just as naked as he was.

it took him a minute, but when everything clicked together in his brain, matsukawa let out the deepest sigh he could muster. sinking deeper into the plush bed below him, dragging his hands across his face, pulling at the skin. his head was pounding, unbearably so, the luminous rays of the sun that filter through the curtain drapes making it worse. he looked over to you, your back turned towards him as you slept away peacefully. matsukawa’s indolent eyes leisurely scanned the expanse of your back, how it bloomed with hickeys and teeth marks. your muffled snores were the only thing that filled the stark silence of the room.

matsukawa didn’t know what to fear more, the fact that he had sex with a random stranger last night and is now laying in their bed or iwaizumi’s wrath when he eventually gets back to the hotel.

iwaizumi’s wrath, he chooses. definitely.

peering over the bedside to the floor, he sees the clothes he had on yesterday strew haphazardly along with your own clothes. in the mess he finds his phone just barley alive and about several hundred text messages and missed phone calls. most of them were from oikawa, unsurprisingly. a lot of “where are you’s” and “please call us” and even a “did you die on us bro?” but that’s when he noticed the time.

[12:42 pm]

“aw fuck.” matsukawa cursed as he flopped back on the bed, his arm lifting up to cover his eyes in annoyance. as he contemplated his options on potentially surviving this fuck up of his, you shifted next to him which caught his attention. he watched as your body turned to face him and how your eyes slowly fluttered open, the way your pupils dilated to welcome the grating sunlight.

and when your eyes met his, you stared for a moment before closing your eyes again and snuggled back into your pillow. “––mornin’ random person in my bed...”

matsukawa looked back confusingly, opening his mouth to say something back, when your eyes shot back wide open and jolted out the bed, dragging the duvet with you.

“random person in my bed?! how–– how did get into my room,” you paused as matsukawa’s naked and lean body was on full display for you to gaze upon, inevitably resulting in your face burning up like a sauna.

“and why are you naked, why am i naked?!” you screeched, wrapping your duvet around yourself, completely drowning yourself in the material. and then it sunk in for you.

“oh no, don’t tell me––”

“that we fucked? yes.” if any more possible, you could feel your face grew hotter at his... extremely blunt statement at your predicament. you watched as matsukawa reached over the bed and slipped his legs through his boxers. at least he had the decency to cover up you thought to yourself as he shifted his way towards you on the other side of the bed.

“look... i- i’m just as surprised and quite frankly, embarrassed about this too. i’m really sorry about all this. i’ll... just grab my stuff and i’ll be out of your hair in no time.” you didn’t get the chance to say anything as he backed away to start pulling on the clothes he had on the night before, watching him silently as he did so. you couldn’t help but feel bad as he took his time to dress himself. your gaze lingered on his eyes, and how they droop in remorse.

just as he was pulling on his right sock, you stepped closer into his field of vision. “can i... at least know your name?” you take note of how the dark umber in his eyes seemed to glow for a split second, his gaze shifting over to you. still draped in that damn duvet like a fucking burrito.

“it’s issei, issei matsukawa.”

you nodded your head, jutting your chin out confidently.

“well then, issei matsukawa. i, (y/n) (l/n), kindly ask you to join me for breakfast–– wait time is it... brunch? lunch? ahhh, fuck it. just come get something to eat with me. please?”

––

matsukawa watched as you shoved half of your omelette in your mouth, your eyes gleaming as you chewed happily, savoring the flavor.

the table was loaded with an assortment of all kinds of food, mostly breakfast food. from sweet honeyed pastries to smoky, charred sausages. in front of him was a stack of warm and fluffy buttery pancakes, dripping in warm gooey syrup. matsukawa could feel his mouth water just simply staring at it, his fingers twitching to inch towards the fork next to the plate, dying to have a bite.

you noticed his tentative actions towards the plate in front of him, the way his teeth pulled on his bottom lip in slight anticipation. swallowing the mouthful of food, you nudge him with foot, catching his attention.

“eat, i know you’re hungry. you don’t need my permission to eat,” you chastised, returning to your omelette.

matsukawa didn’t waste any time digging into his food, practically shoving the whole pancake in mouth. his nostrils flared out as he chewed, moaning at the flavor bursting on his tongue. you chuckled as he quickly shoveled another one in his mouth.

“woah, slow down there tiger. good aren’t they?”

he nodded frantically and continued to shovel bite after bite. and you smiled at that. it still was kinda crazy how you’re out eating with someone that you... just had sex with last night. a one night stand? can you even call it that? was this even a normal thing? you weren’t entirely sure considering you couldn’t remember a single damn thing from last night.

when you both finished most of the food, tummies full and satisfied, a slightly uncomfortable silence fell between you two.

“so...” you started, tapping your fingers against the mug as you looked anywhere but the man in front of you.

“so...” matsukawa copied your actions. you sunk lower in your chair, blowing the hair that landed on your face. why was this so hard? oh wait...

“since we...we, well you know where i’m going with this––”

“since we had sex? fucked?” his eyebrow twitched upward.

“well shit, you didn’t have to put it so... bluntly, issei.” you remarked.

“shit, i was just simply stating what we’re both thinking, (y/n).” the corner of his lips tugged with mirth at your annoyed face, his eyes crinkling at the corner.

you couldn’t help your own lips tug the same as his, your body shaking as laughter struck between the two of you. as you both laughed, the waiter brought over the check, clearing some plates out the way while doing so. matsukawa was about to reached out to grab the bill before you snatched it out of his reach. he was about to argue but you pulled out your card, already handing it to the waiter as he returned.

––

“oh, so you’re from new york?” you asked as you both weaved through the heavily dense sidewalks of the vegas strip, an assortment of performers and tourist, big and small accompanied you. nothing new you haven't seen before. all while dying in the blistering heat that did nothing but sit on your backs.

“well technically, i was born in a small town in japan, but moved when my parents decided to immigrate here when i was about, ahhh i don’t know 4 or 5 years old.” matsukawa explained, wiping the sweat beaded at his brows. “what about you?”

“me? i was born and raised here in good ole' nevada. but i didn’t move here to vegas until high school.” you cheered unenthusiastically with just as unenthusiastic jazz hands. "it's nothing really special, vegas i mean."

“really? well, i guess that makes sense. you did take me a hole in the wall restaurant with damn near the best pancakes on the fucking earth. ” you chortled at his statement, hanging off matsukawa’s arm as you laughed loudly, catching the attention of a few bystanders.

“oh god, you’re still on about those damn pancakes?”

“yes i am! those beautiful, golden brown cakes of pure buttery fluffiness that just basically melt in your mouth at the first bite?” he rambled, basically foaming at the mouth. conversation was light between the two of you, it felt natural. not forced. matsukawa didn’t make things awkward. it felt so carefree talking to him, almost as if you’re floating.

but it was when you came to, that you realized that you made it to the hotel that matsukawa was supposed to be staying at. a part of you grew glum at the thought of having to separate from the man next to you. within the last few hours that you spent with matsukawa, you came to the conclusion that you really, really liked him. what wasn’t there to like about him? he had a great sense of humor, he was charming and gentlemen like. and, that fact he was incredibly attractive was just the cherry on top of the sundae.

you didn’t want to leave, in fact, you can bathe in the attention he showered you in.

“welp, i guess it’s time to die.” he said dryly as he turned to you, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

“good luck with that. i hope your friend doesn't kill you, but based on the description of him you gave, it seems likely.”

“yes, highly.”

a silence fell over the both of you again for the second time that day, avoiding each other's lingering gazes. why was this shit still hard?

“can- can i have your number?” he blurted out randomly, voicing your thoughts out loud for the both of you. staring into his umber eyes, you broke contact first to pull out your phone from your back pocket to hand it to him.

“i’ll be honored.”

––

surprisingly, matsukawa wasn’t murdered by iwaizumi when he walked into the hotel room ten minutes later. though, he did get a hard scolding from not only iwaizumi but oikawa as well while hanamaki snickered in the background.

“i feel like a five year old who's been caught with sticky fingers.” matsukawa slumped, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“as you should! what the hell were you thinking last night? getting drunk and having a one night stand with someone else, jesus mattsun, and i thought maki was bad.” oikawa grumbled frowning, but it didn’t last long when hanamaki threw a dirty sock at the back of his head. matsukawa rolled his eyes at the two childish adults began fighting with each other, wrapping each other up in headlocks of the sorts.

he sighed again, lifting himself up from the so called “interrogation” chair as hanamaki called it to head towards the shower. “hey, mattsun.”

perking up at the nickname, he turned around to see iwaizumi standing behind him with an unreadable face. earlier when he walked in, his face definitely was the face of anger and rightfully so. but now...

“just be careful next time, okay?”

and matsukawa knew exactly what he meant.

“yea, okay.”

––

later that evening, after contemplating whether or not you should send a “hi!” or a simple “hey,” you finally texted matsukawa. and almost immediately you got a text back from him. you bounced up and down in your room, feeling like an excited teenager who just talked to their crush for the first time all over again. is this what it was? a crush? maybe, and you should be mad at yourself for feeling like this, but you didn’t have the heart to do so.

and over the span of the next week, the messages never seemed to end. on some nights, he would call you instead of texting you to tell you about his day. what attractions he went to see that day, what places he went to eat at that day and how much money he lost playing poker at the casinos. and he would ask you about your day, about your day at work. did you eat today, are you taking care of yourself?

your heart melted at the sweet messages he would send you throughout the day, reminding you to care of yourself and heck, maybe even be a little selfish if need be. some of your coworkers caught onto your starstruck gaze when you looked at your phone and few even tried to ask why but you’ll brush them off. oikawa, hanamaki and iwaizumi even noticed matsukawa’s sudden interest in his phone recently. and even when they're all laughing at oikawa losing again for the third time at russian roulette, matsukawa wasn’t entirely in the moment.

because he’s waiting for a text from you.

they noticed the way his eyes glowed when his phone ping, indicating that you texted him back finally. the way his ears perked like dog. although they were suspicious, they didn’t say anything, knowing he’ll come around eventually.

–

it was the friday before they all had to fly back to new york, the cool desert night air filled his lungs as matsukawa perched himself on the balcony of the hotel room. the gleaming lights of the vegas strip below illuminated the curves of his face in a soft glow of blue, magenta and gold.

suddenly, his phone started ringing in his back pocket. he smiled when he saw it was your contact lightening the screen of his phone. answering, he brought the phone towards his ear, “well hello my dear (y/n). nice of you to call me on this fine evening we’re having here.”

he hears you snort on the other end over the slight static of the phone. there was muffle shuffling before you replied, “nothing much my dear issei, just sitting here bored as hell so i thought, why not give you a call.”

matsukawa felt his heart skip a beat at your statement, trying to contain the smile that was tugging on his lips.

“haha, how thoughtful of you...” and then it was quiet again, save for the occasional horns of cars stuck in traffic.

“hey, uh… issei?” you interrupted.

“yeah?”

“can i… can i see you tonight?”

––

matsukawa stood outside the place you asked him to meet at 30 minutes ago on the phone, which just so happen to be a very crowded and loud nightclub not far from the hotel he was staying at. he could hear the bass of the music thump against inside of his bones, the rhythm sending chills up his spine. he watched as people filed into the building like a swarm of files.

it was another 5 minutes until he heard your voice call out to him from behind. and when he turned around to say hi back, his jaw dropped to the floor at the sight of you. but he quickly contained himself as you approached him, trying to blow away the rouge that tinted his cheeks in the slightest.

“hey, ready to go inside?” you questioned, reaching out to hold his hand, pulling him slightly towards the entrance of the club. and he nodded dumbly behind you, cursing himself inside his head for acting like a hormonal teenage boy in front of you. he couldn’t help it, especially when you’re holding his hand. you can blame it on being touch-starved.

when finally inside, bulbs of black light were hung overhead on the ceiling, making everything brighter, making the sea of club goers nothing more than blobs of fuchsia, tangerine, and aqua. you and matsukawa wormed your way through the swarm of adults, bodies sweaty, sticky and hot, shaking and bobbing their heads to the music that blasted in the overhead speakers. finding two available seats at the bar, you both situated yourselves onto the stools overlooking the crowd.

“this is an interesting place you’ve brought me here, i honestly wasn’t expecting it.” you hear matsukawa say next to you, turning his attention to you.

“yeah, this is one of the few clubs here in vegas that i actually go to from time to time. plus security is pretty tight here, so hopefully you won’t end up fucking someone else.” you gave him a thumbs up, a dorky smile making its way onto your lips. matsukawa’s shoulders shook as he laughed, turning towards the bartender, ordering two old fashioned’s.

“an old fashioned? wow, i didn’t take you for a rye whiskey type of guy.” you teased, reaching out to grab your drinks when the bartender placed them in front of you. matsukawa shrugged nonchalantly, taking a sip of his own drink.

“well, i’m always full of surprises, they say.” and when he looked at you from the corner of his eye, you could’ve sworn a you felt a chill borrow itself into your bones from the predatory gaze he sent your way. that, mixed with the half-buttoned up shirt with the gold chain he wore exposing so much skin–– much to your own liking; the way his inky curls were slicked back away from face. you swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling incredibly hot under the neon lights.

this was simply a recipe for absolute disaster, but you didn’t mind at all.

an hour later, after several drinks later, you found yourself being dragged onto the dance floor by a slightly tipsy matsukawa leading the way. reaching the center, the lights dimmed down even lower, the neon lights appear more luminescent in the room. The nerves you felt moments ago seemed to vanish as your body began moving to the beat of music along with matsukawa, feeling lighter than the air around you. matsukawa started doing these stupid dance moves to the song currently playing, getting a rise out of you. and at some point, the mini circle formed around the two of you as you danced the night away together, encouraged by the cheers and whistles of the crowd.

matsukawa didn’t want this to end.

the way you’ll cling to him whether it was from laughing too hard or when you danced together to another song.

then this one song started crooning over the speakers, catching his attention.

almost instantly, it was like time stopped around him, bleeding into a colorful flurry of fireworks. illuminating your face even more so with explosions of lavender and magenta, hints of quinacridone gold and phthalo blue.

his body relaxed seemingly watching you jump around without a care in the world. the beaming smile that radiated on your face that could argue the sun. your eyes glittering with such mirth. he hasn’t even known you for very long, but was really going to admit to himself that he… that he was possibly in love with you?

no, no, no, it’s too early to say something as... drastic as something like that. but was it?

he’s never felt like this with anyone before at all, but with you, he felt at ease. like he could be himself without having to worry about what’ll think. but there was no denying that he felt something for you.

“issei? hey, are you okay?” it was you who snapped out of his daze.

“oh yea, i’m fine… say, how about we get out of here?”

––

you drove yourselves just outside the strip to the open desert, gazing up the phosphorescence of stars in the pitch black sky on the hood of your car. no words were shared between the two of you as you let the alcohol sink into your systems. And it was like that for a while, until you interrupted that silence.

“you have to go back to new york on monday, right?”

matsukawa didn’t answer right away, letting your question digest in his mind, word by word. he wanted to say no, he really did, but y’all both knew that’ll be a lie.

“yes…”

at his answer, you sat up from your lying position on the hood, matsukawa following right behind you. your eyebrows were scrunched in distress, and he was about to say something before you beat him to the punch line.

“issei, i… i know this whole thing is really out of the ordinary for both of us, but i can’t get these feelings off my chest. i’ve only known you for what–– two weeks? but it feels like i’ve known you my entire life and i don’t know what to do— a-and you’re leaving and i don’t want you to leave and—” you rambled on before matsukawa leaned forward to press his lips against yours, ultimately shutting you up. you didn’t waste any time returning the kiss. the same fireworks from before were going off like crazy around you like it was new year’s or the fourth of july. the moment was too surreal for any of you to believe it was real.

and when he pulled just enough where your lips barely met, he the corner his lips twitched upwards, his hand coming around to cup the supple roundness of your cheek, his thumb gently grazing the warm skin, “it’s okay, (y/n). i feel the same way.”

“then, promise me you’ll come back.”

“for you and those pancakes? a thousand times over.”

smiling, your lips dove to meet his again, this time harder, steamier. matsukawa slowly pulled himself on top of you, trapping you as you lie back down on the hood of the car, intensifying the kiss. he moved his lips away from yours to latched them onto your cheek, leaving a trail of glowing kisses, trailing down to your jaw as a small mewl slipping past your teeth. you weaved your fingers through the ringlets of curls of his hair, gently tugging on the strands.

matsukawa’s hands felt up and down your torso underneath your shirt, feeling the expanse of skin beneath the pad of his finger tips, leaving burning trails in its foot.

“issei, p-please…”

“with pleasure.”

turns out he wasn’t wrong, he was certainly always full of surprises.

#haikyuu!!#hq #haikyuu x reader #hq!! x reader #issei matsukawa #matsukawa x reader #matsukawa fluff #mattsun x reader #haikyuu x gender neutral reader #haikyuu fluff #hq imagines #mattsun fluff

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deadontheinsidebut · 4 years

Note

Hi angel!! I just wanted to say that I just found you today and I think you’re really talented! But I was wondering if I could have hc’s for suga, oikawa, and kuroo where you’re best friends with them but one day you wake up with them in your bed and ur like wait we just had a one night stand 😳. I hope this is okay and if you aren’t comfortable writing this I def understand!! Thank you!! 💞

HI ANON!!! That’s literally so nice of you wtf😳✨💗 Im sending you all the positive vibes and I’m hoping you have a wonderful day/night. 😌💗✨💗✨💗

— Waking up from a one night stand w/ Suga, Oikawa, and Kuroo

a/n: all the characters are aged up!! And there are mentions of alcohol and protective friends and siblings but it’s all cute and fun :))

—Sugawara Koshi

The two of you met in high school and immediately hit it off when you decided to become the manager for Karasuno’s volleyball team

Together, you, Daichi, and Suga formed the parent trio and looked over your little crows with pure dedication

But you and Suga had always been a little closer than the rest with your hidden sassiness and love for everyone around you

So five years after your graduation, it’s not a surprise that you two have managed to keep the bond alive

It’s been a long night at the karaoke bar with you crying over your ex dumping you and Suga doing everything in his power to comfort you

You’re definitely not in the best mindset right now as you sing your heart out to the boy who broke your heart and take shot after shot with your bestfriend

The sloshing of the alcohol in your stomach is burning and Suga tries his best to keep the two of you afloat as he calls an Uber

But he’s so out of it that he forgets your address??? So you two just end up at his house??? And the night is now fair game

You wake up with a killer headache and the smell of pancakes in the room next door

The clothes you’re wearing looks nothing like the ones from last night

Instead, you’re wearing an oversized gray sweater that smells like warm vanilla and laundry detergent

You step out of the strange bed only to notice the framed picture of you and Suga on his desk and you immediately knew where you were

As you make your way through the familiar hallway to the kitchen, you groan and whimper from the pain in your head

Suga is standing there in his pjs making breakfast??

And you stand there in shock as he turns his head to you and ask if you had a good sleep

You’re sputtering as you ask him why you’re here and what happened

And he sheepishly starts to explain the situation and how you two had ended up getting it on while drunk as hell

So you’re sitting on his chair trying to process the night as he serves you the pancakes and you go “what the actual fuck???”

You two eat breakfast in confused silence until you choke on a piece of the pancake and Suga is rushing to get you water and you two are laughing at how awkward you are

The laughing eases the tension and you two are back to just talking and teasing. He starts to apologize for last night but you reassure him that it’s definitely something to cross off the bucket list

And who knows; maybe it’s something you might want to happen twice

—Oikawa Tooru

You’re Iwaizumi’s little sister and you’ve known Oikawa since you were children

You were always by his side and watching every game of his up until he left for Brazil to pursue his dreams of volleyball

You’ve always had a crush on him and your friendship has always been strong, but maybe a future with him was too much to hope for?

Until he came to visit

You two were catching up at a local bar and laughing as if you had never been separated at all

He begins to order drinks for you and you start to blush at his familiar chivalry

You two have basically caught up on everything when you start to feel your eyes droop and your body lose its normal functions

Surprisingly, even Oikawa is a lightweight and almost passes out until he feels you tug at his sleeve and he mans up just enough to call you both a taxi to his hotel room

The smell of alcohol on Oikawa’s breath was the last thing you remembered before your eyes drifted shut

You wake up to the blinding light of the sun coming from the windows and peek open an eye to see a tuffle of dark brown hair

‘omfg...’ is all you think before you let out an ear-shattering shriek

Oikawa’s head shoots up and is darting his head side to side before registering your terrified face as you gather the blankets to cover your naked body

“Oh god... Iwa-chan is going to kill me,” Oikawa let’s out before gulping nervously

As you two begin to put together the pieces of last night, you let out a little giggle

Oikawa is actually horrified and is slightly shaking as he asks you what’s so funny

“Isn’t it so funny how I haven’t seen you in over a year and this is the first thing we do when you come back?”

He’s scratching the back of his head and turns a dark shade of red

And that’s when you had a brilliant idea

You pick up the phone and dial Iwaizumi’s number, eagerly awaiting his answer to tell him everything that happened

“Hey y/n, what’s up? You do realize our timezones are hours apart and I should be sleeping right now.”

“OIKAWA AND I HAD S*X!!!” You shout excitedly

You put him on speaker when he didn’t speak for a couple seconds

“YOU AND SHITTYKAWA DID WHAT???”

Oikawa is literally shivering in the corner with no clothes on and you’re roaring with laughter

“THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIS ASS, IM BEATING HIM ALL THE WAY TO ANOTHER PLANET-“

“P-please spare me!” Oikawa interrupts meekly

“But... just tell him to take good care of you since I can’t be there. You hear me shittykawa? Take good care of my little sister. Part of her belongs to you now.”

Oikawa looks from you to the phone and back to you before giving you a firm nod and a “yes sir” to the phone

Well, I guess that’s one way to start a relationship

—Kuroo Tetsurou

You met Kuroo the same time he met Kenma

The three of you went to the same middle school and Kuroo is the reason why you decided to play volleyball

Your job as the libero was full of diving so of course you would go hang out with Kuroo and Kenma full of fresh bruises and scrapes

Kuroo was always super protective of you from the get go and never wanted you to feel any sort of pain so it wasn’t a surprise when he was the first to help you clean up your wounds

He likes to tease you from time to time about how a pretty girl like you shouldn’t be hurting herself like that but has always supported you whenever you lost a game and encouraged you to carry on

So when you decided to go pro after highschool, he was right by your side

And it was even better since he worked with the Japan Volleyball Association

But after a devastating loss against one of the best teams in the league, you were a crying mess in Kuroo’s arms

He held you tighter than he’s ever held you and whispered words of encouragement as you two sat on your bedroom floor

And you two did the regular ritual for a depressing night where you down shot after shot while letting out every worry and doubt you’ve ever had

You were lost in the alcohol and the room was swirling more than you’ve ever experienced

You woke up to a pair of familiar biceps around your body

As you turn your body to face him, you’re met with a sly grin and beaming eyes

“GET OFF OF ME YOU BAFFOON” you cry out as you try to shove the beautiful man off your bed

“That’s not what you were saying last night,” Kuroo responds while cocking a brow

“Oh shut it you Cheshire Cat,” you mumble half-heartedly

He snakes his arm back around you and inhales the sweet scent of your neck before continuing to talk

“You know princess, if I had known you would be this good, I would’ve hit on you a looong time ago.”

You roll your eyes at his comment before surprising him by cuddling him back

“It’s not like I would’ve let you,” you mumble back

You feel him press a soft kiss on your head before holding you even closer

The day after, you two met up with Kenma for dinner and he immediately picked up on your guys’ suspicious behaviour

“You guys had s*x didn’t you,” he deadpans

“KENMA AJAOSNOSKS” was literally your reaction

Kuroo just sat there like a sly kitty cat

“You told him didn’t you?” You basically sneer

“Ah ah ah, a man never kisses and tells. Or in this case, smashes and tells?”

“No y/n, you just happen to smell like trash today so I assumed Kuroo left his mark on you.”

“HEY I’m not trash!” Kuroo barks back with a slight pout on his face

He pulls you closer until you were basically one nose apart

“Although, I don’t mind leaving my mark on you to make sure everyone knows you’re mine.”

Kenma: get me out of here

Taglist:

@janellion @darkdinosaurpeanut @personality-still-downloading

People who may enjoy hcs of their lovers:

@herakosmos @myhaikyuuhq @shrimpyblog @sugacookiies @anianimol @spicyricerice @sstardusty

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dr-addieramsey · 3 years

Text

Movie Night

Book : Open Heart - Post book 3 (A few weeks after they said their ' I love you's ')

Pairing : Ethan Ramsey X F!MC(Adelaide Nicholson)

Category : Fluff

Rating : Teen+

Summary : It' s just a simple movie night with zero plot....

A/N : This is my first fic so I'm sorry if it turns out to be trashy. English is not my first language so I'm sorry for any mistakes........

It was Friday night and Ethan was sitting in his living room, a medical journal in his one hand and a glass of scotch in another. His apartment was quiet and he was really grateful for the silence. It had been a hectic week. Being the Chief of Medicine was not an easy job and all he really wanted to do was enjoy his night and the next day off. Jenner was sitting by his feet.

Although he was really enjoying the silence a part of him wished that his girlfriend was there with him. Girlfriend. Although the term seemed juvenile he still couldn't believe he got to call her his. The beautiful Head of Diagnostics always soothed his mind and felt like home. He had no idea how she did that but he was grateful that he had her in his life. Ever since he had told her a few weeks back that he loved her and she - to his relief - had said those words back they both were over-the-moon happy.

This week although she had been really busy. The Diagnostics team had a really tough case assigned to them two days back and being the head of the team she had the responsibility to solve it as soon as possible before the patient got worse. On top of that she also had to review resumes and select a new member for the team. After Ethan left the team there was one spot on the team which needed to be filled. This meant extra work for her. Ethan had offered to help her with the interviews but everyone she just said "You already have so much on your plate being the chief of medicine and anyways it's the part of the job so I have to do it. Right?" He was proud of her as her mentor and boyfriend.

But tonight he just wished she could be with him. Although he had seen her in the evening before leaving the hospital he really missed her. His train of thought was interrupted by his phone that started buzzing. He looked at the caller ID and saw Tobias' name. He was in no mood to pickup the call yet he hit the 'accept call' option.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ethan! We just diagnosed the case we got two days back and we were about to go for some drinks to Donahue's. You wanna come?"

"Is Addie with you?" If she was with them and going for drinks, Ethan would go there no matter how strongly he wanted to avoid drunk interns and idiots who wanted to talk to him.

"No. We asked her to come with us but she said she had paperwork to complete. Last I saw her she was in the office. Now, answer my question. You're coming or not?"

"Thanks for asking but I'd rather sit at home and enjoy the peace of my apartment. You enjoy. Congratulations on the solve. Bye." Ethan immediately end the call before Tobias could say another word. He placed his phone on the table and picked up his journal. His phone started buzzing again. This time he picked it up without checking who it was expecting it to be Tobias again.

"Tobias I told you I don't want to go!"

"You should really stop treating him like that babe." Addie said in her melodious voice. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips when he heard her voice at the other side of the line.

"Addie! Sorry I thought it was Tobias again. So, are you still at the hospital?"

"Nope! I just left. I was really missing you. What are you doing?"

"Reading a medical journal, drinking scotch and missing you."

"Yeah? You're missing me?"

"Ofcourse..." Before Ethan could finish his sentence he was interrupted by the doorbell.

"Just a second, love. There is someone at the door." He started moving towards the door."Who could be there so late?" he muttered to himself. As soon as he opened the door he was delighted to see who was at the door. Adelaide stood at the door. She looked exhausted yet beautiful. A smile made its way on her face when she saw him.

"Hi!"

"Hello, baby!" He immediately pulled her in for a kiss. Both of them let a contended sigh when the broke the kiss. Jenner came to the door wiggling his tail. She scratched him behind his ear a few times. She took of her shoes and and coat. He immediately guided her in the living room towards the couch.

"You want something to eat or drink?"

"Yes please! Can you order some pizza or maybe make some popcorn? I would like to watch a movie with you after I take a shower, only if you want to ofcourse."

"Okay, I'll make popcorn and order pizza. You go take a shower."

She made her way to the bedroom and Ethan headed to the kitchen to make popcorn

~15 minutes later ~

Ethan was on the couch ready with blankets and popcorn. Pizza had arrived a few minutes back. Everything was set up.

Adelaide walked out of the bedroom. She was wearing his black hoodie and she had her blonde hair braided. How does she manage to look beautiful in everything, he thought to himself. She smelled lilies and vanilla because of her body wash. He loved spending his nights with her in his arms.

She snuggled next to him on the couch, her head on his chest. His arm immediately went around her shoulders as if it was second nature. Everything felt right.

"So rom-com or horror?" she asked him

"What the hell is rom-com Rookie?"

"Oh my god, Ethan you are ancient. Rom-com means romantic comedy!" She started laughing and he swore it was one of his favourite sounds.

"You're not subjecting me to that kind of stuff. Let's watch horror."

"Okay! But fair warning, I scream a lot. Your ears may start to bleed. Also save me if in have a heart attack."

"Nothing will happen to you. I'll protect you." he said laughing.

"Okay Mr. Knight in shining Armor. I'm starting the movie now."

~Half-way into the movie~

Addie was practically sitting in Ethan's lap by now. Everytime she suspected a horror scene coming up she closed her eyes and buried her head in his shoulder. She was screaming at the actors to not go in that direction or to ignore the sounds and Ethan couldn't control his laughter. As much as he would've enjoyed to just sit in silence and cuddle he couldn't say he wasn't enjoying this.

"NO! NO! NO! DON'T GO THERE YOU FOOL! HE WILL KILL YOU! OH MY GOD, ETHAN HE IS GOING TO DIE!"

"Scream a little louder and maybe he'll listen to you Rookie. Don't worry as I said I'll protect you." Ethan said laughing loudly this time. The next thing that Ethan's mind registered was a bunch of popcorn hitting his face.

"First you protect yourself!" He was not the type of person to start food fights while watching movies, but she brought out a side of him that he didn't know he had. He also picked a few popcorn and threw them at her. She filled her hands with popcorn and got up from the couch. Ethan aslo took the bowl.

"You sir, have started a fight." She threw more popcorn at him. He reacted immediately throwing popcorn at her.

"Ethan stop! It'll get stuck in my hair!"

"You're the one who started it Rookie." He got up and wrapped his arms around her. They both were looking in each other's eyes. Blue and green met and both were filled with adoration.

"I love you, Addie"

"I love you too, Ethan"

Their lips met in a kiss. It was soft and gentle at first and then it grew passionate. Their mouths danced together. She put her hands on his chest and he put his and on the small of his back. They broke the kiss and looked into each other's eyes filled with desire.

"I think we have had enough of the movie. I have better ideas."

"Well I never say no to 'better ideas.' "

He lifted her and she started giggling. He carried her to the bedroom and shut the door.

~The next morning~

Ethan woke up when the sunshine entered the room. He moved his hand to the other side of the bed and it was cold. He groaned and got up. He started looking for Addie around the apartment.

When Ethan entered the kitchen he saw some pancakes and a cup of coffee on the table. It looked like it was freshly made. He smiled when he saw the sight. He moved towards the table he saw a note beside the plate. He picked it up and started reading.

Good morning,

I had to leave early for my shift. I made you breakfast. I'll come back in the evening. I'll have my break 10 a.m. Call me if you're free. Enjoy your day off. I'll miss you all day long. Love you.

Addie❤️

P.S. : I gave Jenner his food

Ethan was filled with love for this woman. He considered himself the luckiest man in the universe and promised to never let her go.

I know it was wierd 😂. Again I'm sorry for any mistakes.......

@openheartfanfics

#open heart fanfiction #open heart #ethan jonah ramsey #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc

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spine-buster · 3 years

Text

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 34

A/N: Soooo this is the penultimate chapter. This feels very bittersweet to post because we all know how the series turned out. Anyway, other stuff happens to, but the series...🥺

August 8th, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom was thinking about last night. Again.

And she shouldn’t be. She was having breakfast with the team for God’s sake. Everyone was eating pancakes or waffles or avocado toast and she was fantasizing about William fucking her raw from behind and watching him through the mirror. She could swear she still felt his slick and hard cock inside of her. She could swear she still felt him pounding her from behind and grabbing on to her mouth to silence her and—

“Aberdeen.”

—her whimpering and trying to be quiet and the same time—

“Aberdeen.”

—and his low, guttural grunts as he fucked her and made her be quiet and—

“Aberdeen!”

She snapped out of it. She looked to her right to see Jason looking at her like she was crazy. “Your phone is ringing,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world – because it was. The thing was blaring out for God knows how long and she was just sitting there.

She grabbed it, not bothering to look at the number, and brought it to her ear. “Hello?”

“So what did the boys get up to last night?” Alec Young’s voice asked from the other end.

That brought her back down to earth. She got up out of her seat and made her way towards the doorway, where it would be much quieter. “What did they get up to?” she feigned ignorance.

“You can’t tell me that after a win like that all they did was go to bed,” he said in a tone of voice that made Aberdeen want to punch him through the phone. She couldn’t believe he was the one responsible for editing her piece, that it was him who was a deciding factor on whether or not she got a job with the magazine. “Did they sneak girls into the hotel? Prostitutes? Did they get one for Matthews for scoring the overtime winner?”

Aberdeen sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. William Nylander fucked the president’s assistant. They’ve been carrying on a secret affair for the better part of a year now and nobody has a fucking clue. They were so desperate for each other that they broke every bubble guideline so he could fuck her raw in her bathroom as she bent over the marble vanity. How’s that for a scoop? “With all due respect, Alec…”

“Aberdeen, come on.”

“I’m trying to take the more balanced approach, the more human side, the—”

“There’s gotta be something!”

She sighed again. She knew he was more or less her editor and all, and her job depended on him, but she was on her last nerve. “You want something? Okay, here’s something. Two days ago Courtney Muzzin and her daughter Luna stood outside of the Royal York Hotel with a giant sign on Bristol board that said ‘We love you, Dada’ and aimed it directly at Jake’s window,” she said, the edge very evident in her voice. “I can’t lie, Alec. I can’t just make up stories about drugs and prostitutes and whatever else you think is going on here. They can fucking sue me.”

“Aberdeen, we need a story. If you don’t give us the story, you’re not working at Toronto Life. That’s it,” he said, hanging up.

Aberdeen felt her chest tighten. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t go back on her morals. She couldn’t just…betray her friends. Her family. Her work family, but her family nonetheless. She had to stay resolute. She was going to get this job, and she was going to get it whether Alec approved of her story or not. She was going to get it whether Alec wanted her there or not. She was going to get it whether he liked her writing or not. She was going to prove him wrong. She was going to do it on her own terms, with her own talent. She was going to bank on herself.

When she got back to her seat, Jason was still eating his breakfast. She picked up her fork and ate a piece of watermelon before moving on to her yogurt parfait. “Who was that?” he asked.

She shook her head slightly, signaling that she didn’t want to talk about it. But when Jason continued looking at her, she knew he wasn’t going to let it pass. “The guy that’s responsible for editing that article I’m submitting to Toronto Life,” she said.

“What did he want?” Jason asked.

She sighed. “He wants a story filled with booze and drugs and women, because he’s convinced so many of you are still like that,” she began. “He thought we would have ordered a stripper or something for Auston last night for scoring his overtime goal. He doesn’t think Courtney and Luna Muzzin standing outside with a sign about loving daddy is going to sell magazines.”

Jason nodded his head in understanding. He’d been around hockey for such a long time – he understood completely where Alec got his mentality from. “And you refuse to write that.”

“It’s not just that I refuse to write it. I can’t write it. None of it would be true. Imagine me writing about you guys with hookers and blow? I’d get sued!”

Jason chuckled. “And he doesn’t get that? How’s this guy an editor for a prominent city magazine?”

“Beats the shit out of me,” Aberdeen shrugged, fiddling around with her spoon. “But…that’s my issue. I’ll figure it out. I’ll write something that will blow his mind and make him wonder why he ever thought he wanted me to write about hookers and blow in the first place.”

Jason smiled. “Atta girl.”

Jason continued to eat as Aberdeen continued to fiddle with her spoon. She looked across the room briefly to see William chowing down on some avocado and a piece of toast. He was scrolling through his phone and, periodically, would look at something Pierre would show him one-third of space away at the table. Less than ten hours ago his body was pressed up against hers. Now they were separated by a sea of tables and hockey players.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asked Jason suddenly.

“Anything,” he didn’t even look at her when he answered.

She hesitated for a second. “If…I mean…if things don’t go the way we want them to go tomorrow…” she began.

“You mean if we lose,” he interrupted, finally staring her dead in the eye. “You can say the words Aberdeen. It’s okay.”

“If we lose tomorrow…I…what should I do? Like, how should I act? What should I say? I don’t want to make you guys even more upset by saying the wrong thing.”

“I doubt you can make anyone on this team upset—”

“Jason.”

He sighed. He set down his flatware and brought his hands together. “I think being there physically is good,” he began. “Like, just being a presence. Telling the guys you’re there if they want to talk. Don’t bring it up unless we do. Some guys are more open. Others bottle it inside and never want to talk about it. You have to figure out who’s who in that sense.”

“I just want to be a good…support. I don’t want to be that person that seems apathetic because I don’t care about hockey as much as you guys. I know how important this is for all of you. I know how hard you guys are working to get it done. I just want to make sure everybody, like…knows that, you know?”

“They know, Aberdeen,” Jason said confidently. “And I’m not just saying that. Trust me. They know.”

***

“How many words do you have now?” William asked through the FaceTime call. They were lying in bed together. Virtually. As always, he was less than 50 feet away in his own bed. Aberdeen felt cold without his touch, now that she had felt it in the bubble. It took every ounce of strength and willpower within her not to sneak into his room and beg him to fuck her again.

“I’m at five thousand right now,” she answered. “I got a call from Alec today. He’s such a dick.”

“It sucks that you’ll have to work under him. I mean, if he’s even your editor at the magazine. He might work in a different department or whatever.”

Aberdeen shuddered at the thought. Him becoming her boss would be a nightmare. Beth Zadakis – who Aberdeen originally met with – would be the much better choice in her eyes. “Here’s hoping he is in another department,” she bit her lip. “But enough about me, Willy. How are you feeling about tomorrow?”

“I don’t know…” he said, giving his own shrug. “I’m not nervous or anything. I just…I know what I need to do. I know what we need to do. We just gotta do it.”

“D’you remember what I told you before we got in here? That I’ll love you whatever happens?” she asked. William nodded his head. “That still stands. Whatever happens tomorrow, I love you.”

William nodded his head gingerly. “If we lose…” he began softly, “it’s gotta be, like, a media blackout for at least a week. Until they make us do those exit interviews or whatever.”

“Deal,” Aberdeen nodded.

“It’s gonna be bad if we lose, Aberdeen,” he warned her. “You’ve never experienced it before because you don’t watch or whatever, but they’ll be saying a whole bunch of shit—”

“—I won’t listen to any of it—”

“—No, Aberdeen, listen,” he cautioned, his tone of voice more serious. “They’ll be saying a whole bunch of shit about me. I didn’t produce, I didn’t perform, I should get traded, blah blah blah. Same shit, different day. I’m always the scapegoat. I just…I know how emotional you got when you read up on everything near my birthday. I just don’t want you getting upset. I’ll never forgive them anyways, like in general, but I’ll really never forgive them if they make you cry again.”

“I won’t, Willy. I don’t – you don’t have to worry about me.”

“I just want to protect you, minskatt.”

“I know you do,” she smiled softly. “But none of that matters. All that matters is that I love you.”

“I love you too.”

***

August 9th, 2020

In the end, it wasn’t shitty play. It wasn’t a patented Leafs Meltdown™. It wasn’t that they weren’t trying. It wasn’t even anything bad.

It was just a hot goalie.

That was the most Aberdeen could have asked for, she guessed. She didn’t really know, because at this point, she was devoid of emotion. Everything in her was just…empty. She couldn’t feel a thing. That was, until, the camera showed a close up of the bench, and she saw Jason hunched over, his head down.

That was when the tears started. She couldn’t care less about Kasperi beside him. It was Jason that she cared about. Here he was, near the end of his career, signed with his hometown team for league minimum trying to chase his dream of winning a Stanley Cup with the team he grew up watching. And now, in this wonky season of benched home openers and valued leadership to a stopped and re-started season due to a global pandemic, everything around him came crashing down. Having to leave his family, his wife, his four daughters, all to chase the dream, all for it to disappear.

“Stop crying,” Brendan said from beside her. She couldn’t discern his voice. He wasn’t giving a command. He wasn’t mad. He wasn’t angry. But it was obvious that he wasn’t happy. He barely blinked as he looked down at the ice, hands shoved in his pockets.

Aberdeen wiped her tears quickly with the back of her hand. “Sorry,” she said meekly, knowing she was offering absolutely nothing.

When the buzzer rang and the teams lined up to shake hands, she made her way out of the box, waiting for Brendan and Kyle to follow. But they didn’t. She waited and waited and waited but they weren’t coming. She peeked back into the room and watched as they stood still, looking down at the ice until the last of the team made their way through the tunnel. Aberdeen realized then that they were staying because the camera was on them. Of course it was. The media was going to squeeze every emotion out of the boys until they were shells of themselves. She bet two of them were being forced into media interviews right now, barely out of their hockey gear.

When they finally made their way down to the locker room, it was eerily quiet. That’s the first thing Aberdeen noticed – the lack of noise. It was so different from just two nights ago when they were all screaming and hugging her. When she walked in behind Brendan and Kyle, and finally saw their faces, she immediately looked for William’s. He looked so defeated. So broken. For a guy who was very apathetic in front of the camera, making it looked like nothing phased him, he was definitely showing his emotion now. Her breath hitched in her throat as more tears threatened to spill. After William, she looked for Jason – then she really had to stop the sob.

She didn’t know if Sheldon had already given his post-game speech. She was almost sure he did, because Kyle and Brendan took so long, and because she absolutely knew he wouldn’t end the night with what he ended up saying, the only thing she heard him say. “Pack your bags tonight. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

They’d been through a hell of a season. A wonky start. A shitty coach. A coaching change. A loss to their own Zamboni driver. A fucking worldwide pandemic. A bubble. The media was never on their side. And—

“Go to the media room, see how the conversations are going,” Brendan said, his voice low. “Send Morgan and John out as soon as possible, then make sure the media know about their future availability. We have to speak to the team.”

She furrowed her brows at him. Why would he banish her from the locker room so he could talk to the team? “What are you gonna say?”

“What’s it to you?”

He heart froze. So he was angry. And he was taking it out on her. “Fine,” she huffed. “I thought we were a team, but I guess not.”

***

Nobody ate when they got back to the hotel. There was no point. Everybody just disappeared back into their rooms, probably to pack, probably to wallow in their own self-pity for the night until they had to leave tomorrow and face the world, probably to just lie in bed and stare at the ceiling for hours. Aberdeen knew that’s what she would be doing.

Well, after she got to the bottom of one thing.

“What did Brendan and Kyle say to you guys?” she asked William on the phone.

“I can’t tell you.”

She furrowed her brows – not like he could see her. “What? You can’t tell me?”

“I can’t tell you,” he repeated. “It stays between us. In the locker room.”

“I…you’re being serious.”

“Of course I am. It’s…I can’t tell you.”

Aberdeen knew she wasn’t going to get it out of him. She’d have to give up. Not that she wanted to. “Well, I love you. I’ll always love you,” she said instead, changing the subject. “I’m sorry things didn’t go the way we all wanted them to.”

“I am too. This fucking sucks.”

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. She rose up immediately from her bed. “Please tell me that’s not you,” she said. “We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

“What’s not me?” William asked, confused.

Aberdeen stopped. She took her phone off her ear. “Who is it?” she asked out loud.

“It’s me,” she heard Brendan’s voice from the hallway.

She threw her phone dramatically across the room and onto her bed. She threw it so violently it almost hit the wall. “Let me get my mask!” she called out, grabbing one from the dresser before hooking it onto her ears. She took a deep breath before she opened the door. When she did, Brendan walked straight into her room. She was shocked. “You’re coming into my hotel room?”

“Oh fuck it, we’re leaving tomorrow morning,” he mumbled, waving off her concern. The door shut behind her as she walked into her own room gingerly, watching Brendan pace back and forth. He stopped when he noticed her. “I want to apologize for what I said to you today after the game,” he said. “It was out of line.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“There are just some things that need to be said to the team only Aberdeen. Meaning the players. You’re part of the team but it’s—it’s—”

“Don’t worry. I get it.”

Brendan stopped, taking a deep breath to steady himself. “For my entire life I’ve wanted this team to be successful. My entire life. I was born two years after their last Stanley Cup win. And growing up, I adored this team. And when I was a player – it didn’t matter that I was a Red Wing. I love them, too, but in a different way. Not the way I love the Toronto Maple Leafs. And when I was given the opportunity to be the president, I made sure I would never take it for granted. And I made sure – I made a promise to myself – that I would be the one to see this team to victory. And every time that we don’t get to that victory, I break that promise,” he said. Aberdeen understood completely. “None of…this is about you, of course. This is about the team. This is about promises that we make to each other. Promises that we make to ourselves. Promises we make to get better, to succeed, to climb that mountain and get to the promised land. This is about the integrity of our character. The pride we have in this hockey club, to put on that Maple Leaf every night.”

Aberdeen stayed silent. Brendan was bearing his soul to her. Every word he was saying was impassioned and coming directly from his heart. She didn’t want to speak, because there was nothing she could say. She watched as he took a few steps forward and put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re part of this team, Aberdeen. I think you always will be to these boys. You were the soul of this team this year.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe that.”

“I do,” he said confidently. “I know so.”

“How do you know?”

“Because their soul is hurt right now, but it hasn’t died,” he said. “It’s still there. They still have it in them. Just like you have it in you.”

***

August 10th, 2020

Aberdeen stood absent-mindedly off to the side, the bus being loaded with the team’s bags. Some of the boys had already gotten on the bus. She should have gotten on too, but her feet were planted firmly in place for some reason.

Fifteen days in the bubble. And now it was all over.

“Hey Aberdeen?” she heard Auston’s voice from behind her. She spun around to face him. “I’m sorry we couldn’t do it for you. Like, for your story.”

***

Kasha came to pick up Aberdeen. She brought Minerva in her carrier, who kept meowing at the sight of Aberdeen. Aberdeen took her out and cuddled her against her chest, giving her tons of kisses.

She watched Tyson do the same to Ralph, wondering if he’d still be on the team next year.

***

When she and Kasha got back into her apartment, Aberdeen went straight to her bed. She plopped down dramatically and only moved when she felt Kasha standing in the doorway. “D’you want to go out? You finally have some freedom,” Kasha suggested. “We can go for tacos, for brunch…”

Aberdeen perched herself up on her elbows. “Do you think I’m the soul of someone? Or something?”

Kasha looked at her strangely, but answered the question nonetheless. “I definitely think you have the capacity to be for someone. You know I believe in the concept of soulmates. Why do you ask?”

“For who?”

Kasha shrugged, but a small smile appeared on her face. “For William.”

“Why William?”

“Because from the few times I’ve seen you to interact together – like last year, and then at the Halloween party – he looks at you like you already are his soul.”

***

“You should come over for lunch one of these days,” Jason said to her on the phone. “Jen would love to have you over. I’m sure the girls would love to see you too.”

Aberdeen smiled into the phone. Jason Spezza was deflecting. This was not part of their original conversation. “When you’re okay, maybe I will.”

“I’m always okay,” he defended.

“You’re not right now,” she said definitively. There was no beating around the bush. “But you will be. At your own pace. And when you’re good to go, I’ll come over. And you better cook and let me and Jen sip margaritas in the backyard.”

Jason laughed his infamous laugh. “Deal.”

***

August 11th, 2020

“Media blackout?” Aberdeen asked William on the phone.

William nodded his head on the FaceTime call. “Media blackout.”

“I’ll come over tomorrow when Kasha’s back at the office,” she said. “We can cuddle.”

“That’s all I want to do right now, to be honest.”

***

August 12th, 2020

With Kasha going into the office, Aberdeen was able to sneak away to William’s. He let her in easily, without much fanfare, and he enveloped her in a hug and brought her down with him on the couch as they lay their together, every limb wrapped around the other. Aberdeen was running her fingers through William’s hair soothingly as his head lay on her chest. Hockey was still on in the background. Alex was still playing, and William wanted to support him. Aberdeen already knew he’d be calling his brother after the game.

“I love you so much,” she whispered out of nowhere. She just felt the need to say it.

William looked up at her. “I love you too.”

“That last night at the hotel, Brendan told me I was the soul of the team this year,” she said. His comments were still on her mind. “Do you think that’s true?”

William nodded his head. “I do. I think you’re my soul, too.”

***

The kisses were slow at first. Needy. William needed her. He needed to be comforted. His brother wasn’t around to talk to, and it was the middle of the night in Sweden so he couldn’t call his parents, although Aberdeen was sure they would have picked up the phone if they saw it was William calling in the middle of the night. So until he could speak to his brother and his parents, Aberdeen would be there for him, kissing him as they lay facing each other side-by-side on his couch. There to console him. There to comfort him.

They kissed for a long time. Such a long time. It told Aberdeen that William needed that intimate physical contact, not just flat-out sex, and that he was savouring his time with her as much as she was with him. But who was she kidding? He always did. He always savoured his time with her. It didn’t matter where, or when, or how, or how much they’d lied to the people around them to get some alone time. By the end of it she was sure her lips here swollen and red, and when she opened her eyes to look at his, his were too. So puffy. So soft. In their glory.

She felt his hand dip beneath the hem of her pants and grab the flesh of her ass to squeeze it. She hooked a leg over his torso and could feel his growing erection graze her thigh. She shivered at the feeling, digging her nails into his bicep.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled against her lips.

“Sorry for what?”

“Sorry we couldn’t do it for you and your story. I won’t forgive myself if you don’t get that job,” he revealed.

“Shhhhh…” she cooed, cupping his face and kissing him. “What did I tell you before we got into the bubble, hmm? I love you no matter what happens in there. I love you Willy. I always have and always will.”

“I love you too, minskatt. I need you. Do you need me?”

Aberdeen’s heart fluttered at his question. She nodded her head automatically and gave him a quick kiss. “I need you. I’ll always need you.”

With their pants and underwear pushed down their legs, William slipped himself into her slowly, watching the look on her face change and hearing the long sigh escape her mouth. This is what he loved most about their physical relationship. They could do anything and it would feel like the best time every time. They could have regular sex. They could explore a new position. They could have rough, passionate sex like that night in the bubble. They could have close, intimate sex like right now. Each time was incredible. Each time he loved more than the last.

Each time, William realized how much he needed Aberdeen, and how much Aberdeen needed him. They needed each other.

“You feel so good, Willy,” Aberdeen’s voice brought him back down to earth. The pure euphoria in her voice was music to his ears. “I need you, Willy. I need you.”

He moved his hips to thrust into her, and so did she. Their bodies moved together as they always did, and the pleasure they experienced together was paramount to absolutely anything and everything.

After they both came together, William squeezed his arms around Aberdeen and pressed her against his body even closer than they were before. He nestled his face into the crook of her neck, dragging his lips along her skin until he got to her ear. “I need you more than anything,” he whispered. “You’re my entire life. You’re my entire soul.”

She believed him.

***

August 25th, 2020

Aberdeen was with Camden when the news broke. She was spending the day at her parent’s house because Camden had admitted he missed her, so Aberdeen decided to spend the day. They played video games. They watched Brooklyn 9-9. They went on a bike ride around the neighbourhood with masks on and stopped at a local shop to grab some smoothies. It was perfect sibling bonding time while Siena slaved away in their bedroom studying God knows what for God knows which course come September.

“Did you see the news?!” Camden asked as he emerged from the smoothie shop with both their smoothies.

“See what?” Aberdeen asked, thinking the worst.

“Kasperi was traded!” he announced as he handed her the mango smoothie she requested.

“What?!” she shrieked, grabbing her phone out of her back pocket. She hadn’t looked at it since they went on the bike ride about an hour ago, because she wanted to spend actual quality time with her brother. Now, she saw that she missed the alert from the Leafs app on her phone, and a slew of texts from Willy.

“Yeah. He got traded to Pittsburgh—”

kappy just called me he got traded to pittsburgh just got told r u around? can i come see u? ok so ur not at ur place… ur not at Scotiabank r u?

“—for a first-round pick.”

“A first?!” she shrieked again. She was shocked. Shocked. She didn’t know how Kyle was able to finesse a first-round pick for Kasperi fucking Kapanen. Her mind was in three places at once as she thought about the trade, her brother standing in front of her, and William’s texts. For all his faults and questionable judgement in girlfriends, Kasperi was one of William’s best friends. She knew it would hurt William to see him leave. That’s probably why he was trying to find her.

I’m at my parents hanging with Cam today. He missed me.

i know

You know?????

“Cam, I think we should head home,” she said, hopping back onto her bike.

Camden’s eyes lit up. “Why? Do you think Brendan Shanahan will want to call you?”

He was so cute. To think she was important enough that Brendan Shanahan would call her about a trade. She let him think so. “He might…” she said, opening the Leafs app on her phone. “Let’s just go. You lead the way.”

It wasn’t the smartest choice, but as they biked through their neighbourhood back to their house, Aberdeen read the statement on her phone. PRESS RELEASE -- -- -- The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has completed a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, acquiring the Penguins' first round selection in the 2020 NHL Draft (15th overall), forward Evan Rodrigues, forward Filip Hallander and defenceman David Warsofsky in exchange for forward Kasperi Kapanen, forward Pontus Aberg and defenceman Jesper Lindgren.

So Pontus was leaving too. Another Swede. Aberdeen wondered if William had a strong opinion on him leaving as well, but she doubted it. She thought about what was going through William’s head as she and Cam continued their bike ride home, but as they turned on their street and they got closer to their house, she noticed a car parked on the street. A very familiar looking car.

“Oh Jesus fucking Christ…” she mumbled to herself.

“Whose car is that?” Camden asked, speeding up. “Don’t people know they’re not allowed over houses anymore?!”

Aberdeen mentally prepared herself as she and Camden walked through their front door. And that’s when Aberdeen saw him: William sitting on her couch with her mom, mask dangling from his wrist as he held a mug of tea. “There you two are,” her mom smiled.

“WILLIAM!” Camden screamed as he kicked off his shoes.

“Hey buddy,” William smiled as he watched Camden’s face light up. He watched as Camden readied himself to run over to him for a hug but then stopped himself. It made William sad, knowing Camden couldn’t do what he wanted to do. “How are you?”

“I’m good! I’m – do I have to get my mask? – are you staying for dinner – are you going back to Sweden? – are you—”

“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down young man,” Orla smiled at her son. “I don’t think you’ll be needing your mask. And yes William will be staying for dinner—”

“—YES!—”

“And no, I’m not going back to Sweden. I don’t want to have to quarantine again. I’m done with quarantining,” William added.

“Me too!” Camden said, exasperated, as he plopped himself down on the couch next to him, sipping dramatically on his smoothie. “I haven’t seen anybody besides these guys since March!”

***

Aberdeen was sure William was a near-perfect human being when it came to interacting with Cam. That afternoon saw them playing street hockey and video games, with Aberdeen even leaving them alone together while she helped her mom make dinner. When Mirza came home from work and saw William, his face lit up. Even Siena was happy to see him, despite her stress from studying.

Maybe this would make it easier for when she had to tell everyone that they were dating…eventually.

William promised to drive Aberdeen home, which meant Orla and Mirza could escape into their room to sleep and not worry. They gave Cam special permission to stay up well over an hour passed his bed time. It was only when Aberdeen told Cam that he needed to get ready for bed that she and William had their first moments of alone time the entire day he spent at the house.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t talk about the trade. I know you’re probably feeling like shit right now seeing your best friends being shipped off. Are you okay?” she asked as they lay on opposite ends of the couch.

“Much better now,” he said, his voice soft. “I love your family. They make everything better.”

She smiled. “I think Cam just has so much energy and asks so many questions that it takes your mind off of it,” she giggled slightly.

“That’s part of it, but it’s more than that,” he said. “It’s your mom’s cooking and your dad’s smile and Siena’s, like, stares. It’s Cam being so cute. It’s this house and the vibe, like at Christmas. It’s everything.”

Aberdeen couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “For what it’s worth, they love you too.”

“Do you think we’ll have a family like this?”

Aberdeen would have frozen if she was uncomfortable with the line of questioning and what William was insinuating. But she didn’t, because she wasn’t. She nodded her head before reaching between their bodies to tickle his fingers with her own in a small, unnoticeable sign of intimacy. “I do,” she said softly.

“I love you, Aberdeen.”

“I love you too, Willy.”

“Aberdeen?” Cam’s voice suddenly rang out as he walked back into the living room with his pajamas on.

Their hands separated quickly. “What is it, Cam?” she asked.

“I saw your name all over hockey Twitter.”

Both Aberdeen and William shot up. “What do you mean?” William asked.

“What the hell are you doing on hockey Twitter, Camden?” Aberdeen asked sternly. “You’re twelve.”

“Joey at school has an account and he shares it with me!” he said, as if that would make Aberdeen calm. It just fuelled her anger and made her want to punch a twelve year old boy named Joey. “It was because Saylor Greene talked about you. Who’s Saylor Greene? Does she work with you?” Camden asked.

Aberdeen’s heart fell into the pit of her stomach. William jolted off the couch and typed something into his phone as he walked outside. “Give me your phone,” she held her hand out at her brother.

“But Aberdeen—” he watched William leave to go outside.

“I said give me your phone now,” she repeated.

Camden handed it over. She began to scroll through the screen to see the tweets he saw, and read what he’d just read.

@leafsbabe34: saylor greene is having a meltdown on her twitter about the leafs. she’s a psycho

@coolcoolcool: good luck to kasperi Kapanen and his psycho girlfriend in pittsburgh. Pens PR never ever puts up with this type of bullshit so it will be interesting to see what happens to her. Good riddance.

@amandaaalove44: she brought so much drama to Toronto…bye bye saylor!

Okay…innocent enough. Aberdeen still didn’t like Camden reading all of this but she didn’t see any mention of her name. How the hell was she being dragged into this? She scrolled some more, reading much of the same tweets, and then she saw it.

Aberdeen’s stomach was in knots as she read all the tweets, all the insinuations, and all the outright accusations. Saylor was naming her without naming her. Any hardcore fan would probably know who she was talking about. Hockey twitter would definitely know thanks to the Blueprint birthday video. She felt sick. She felt sick as she saw Saylor’s replies to everyone’s tweets, calling them out and being downright rude to people she didn’t even know. She was sick as she saw fans commenting on the situation and bringing her name up because they knew it was her.

“Aberdeen?” Camden’s voice was soft, confused, as he watched his sister furrowing her brows at his phone screen. She looked at him. “I’m sorry I was on hockey Twitter.”

“You have to promise me to never go on there again,” she said. “I mean it Cam.”

He nodded his head. “I was just trying to see what they were saying about William.”

She inhaled. “Now you really can’t go on there again. Not until you’re thirty.”

“Sixteen.”

“Deal. Now come here,” she extended her arms.

Camden went in for a hug. “Where’d William go?”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Let me hug you in silence because you’re gonna become a teenager one day and you won’t let me do this anymore.”

Her phone buzzed from beside her. Brendan’s name flashed atop of a text message. I’m taking care of it. And as she continued to hug Cam, she could hear William’s voice vaguely from outside on the deck. “This is twice now with a girl you’ve dated. TWICE!!!!!”

***

August 26th, 2020

“How many words do you have left?” William asked as he massaged Aberdeen’s shoulders.

“I’m just editing,” she said, reaching her hand over and placing it on one of his. “I’ll be done within the hour. I promise.”

William bent down to give her a quick kiss. “You got this.”

***

To: Alec Young [[email protected]] Cc: Beth Zadakis [[email protected]] Bcc: From: Aberdeen Bloom [[email protected]] 23:15 08/25/2020

Hello Alec and Beth,

As requested, here is my 10,000-word report on the NHL Bubble experience. Please note that I have also included photos to accompany the text. I have received express approval from those in the photos that they can be used for this article. If you would like me to send proof of permission, please let me know.

I hope you enjoy my work and choose it for publication in Toronto Life. I understand that the article may, perhaps, be a departure from what was expected. However, I believe the work speaks for itself.

Best, Aberdeen Bloom

***

August 27th, 2020

“So what happens now?” William asked.

“We wait,” Aberdeen said, her breath shaky.

186 notes · View notes