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cherrycocaineee · 3 years

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6. Draco Malfoy - Rainy Nights, Warm Drinks

*Warning - smut*

“I want you.”

“Keep your eyes open, look at me, baby.”

Draco’s p.o.v

Loud chatter filled the jam-packed dining hall as students discussed their Christmas plans while their grubby hands reached for the feast laid out before each house. My gray-blue eyes stared blankly at the turkey and sides that touched my plate, my fork picking at whatever it could reach without me moving too much. I was counting down the moments that led up to Dumbledore clinking his fork against his glass that would dismiss everyone from Hogwarts, sending them home. Each single tick drove me crazy as I shook my leg, desperately pleading for time to move faster. At the end of this feast, everyone would be on the train heading to their families, while I would finally get to see the one person that I couldn’t get off my mind. Even now, the only thing I could think about was seeing her beautiful face and hearing her soothing, angelic voice, tuning out the voices of my friends.

“Draco? Earth to Draco!”

Pansy’s voice sliced right through my current thoughts involving my plans after school. Blinking a few times, I turned my head to see Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Pike, and Nott staring at me. While Pansy stared at me with concern, the guys stared at me skeptically.

“What?” I muttered, dully.

“Pansy asked you what you were doing during the break,” Blaise informed, taking a sip from his cup.

“Yeah,” Pansy agreed, “I was thinking you and I could go on a date since we won’t be in school.”

A date? I had broken up with Pansy a year ago with the excuse that dating her had become boring, which it had, however, the real reason I left Pansy was because I had fallen in love with another girl. The whole thing had torn me up since day one because I hadn’t believed that I, the Slytherin Prince, could have fallen for a muggle, and yet I did. After a whole week of thinking about it and running everything carefully through my mind, I finally decided that I didn’t love Pansy and needed to end it with her before things got too serious.

“I won’t be returning home this Christmas,” I stated, “Dumbledore has asked me to stay and help tutor some second years in potions.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Pansy sneered, “it isn’t your job to teach those brats.”

“You’re dad’s okay with that?” Nott asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

“He wasn’t at first but once Dumbledore told him that I was the highest ranking student when it came to potions, he settled down and decided that I’d make a great leader for those snot nose brats,” I spoke, pride dripping from my lying tongue.

Of course, staying at Hogwarts wasn’t a complete lie, it was just not the full truth. For the first four days of break, I’d be staying with Maggie and her Grandmother then I’d come back to Hogwarts to help out with tutoring, and it’ll keep going like that until school starts again. It was an agreement that I had worked out with Dumbledore after he found out about Maggie, which if I’m being honest, I’m not even sure how he found out.

“And you’re okay with it?” Blaise asked, amused.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” I muttered.

I looked back down at my plate, feeling their eyes still watching me but not paying attention to it. Eventually, Dumbledore stood up from his seat and clinked his silverware against his wine glass. The chatter stopped immediately as everyone turned their impatient attention to the headmaster. Excitement was bursting through my chest, something I never thought I’d ever feel for a girl like Maggie. Dumbledore started by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holiday, then proceeded in telling everyone what to expect when they got back from break. We were expected to practice and prepare for our O.W.Ls that were coming up, which Umbridge decided to announce after interrupting Dumbledore. I may have pretended to like Umbridge and do as she said to appease my friends, but in all honesty, I hated her more than I hated anyone else.

After all of Dumbledore and Umbridge’s talking, the feast disappeared from our tables and it was time for everyone to head to the train. I saw my friends on the train. Pansy turned around.

“Well maybe I can stay here with you, so you aren’t alone,” she offered.

Annoyance broke out across my face, “I’ll be fine, Pansy. I’m not interested in spending time with you anyway, so you’ll just be alone.”

She started pouting while the other snickered behind her back. Scoffing, she stormed past everyone onto the train. I waved goodbye to the others and they followed after Pansy to the cart. Those leaving for the Christmas holiday were finally headed towards the platform and those who would be staying at Hogwarts for the vacation headed back towards the school.

As I was approaching the entrance, I saw Dumbledore standing there waiting for me, a smile on his face.

“Good evening, Mr. Malfoy,” he stated, “have you gotten your belongings together?”

“My bag is sitting in my room,” I replied.

“Once you collect it, go to Hagrid’s. He’ll be waiting for you there to help you get to the muggle world. Have a safe trip.”

With that, Dumbledore walked away allowing me to go fetch my belongings.

I grabbed my trunk out of my dorm room and carried it all the way towards Hagrid’s small hut just a little ways from the school. Hagrid was outside playing fetch with his large hound as I finished walking towards him. Immediately, he looked up after tossing the rather large stick across the field.

“Malfoy,” Hagrid said, “what brings you here?”

I raised an eyebrow. He was kidding, right?

The big oaf laughed heartily and patted my shoulder with his gorilla sized hand.

“I’m messing, is all,” he bellowed, “let’s get a move on it before anyone notices.”

Hagrid opened the door to his home and gestured me inside. Sitting on the table when he opened the door was a thick, black bag filled with dark, gray powder. Hagrid scooted around me and picked up the black bag before meeting my gaze. This was awkward for me, and I knew he could tell but fortunately he didn’t say anything to make it worse. Instead, he told me that the floo network would take us to Diagon Alley and we’d have to walk through another entrance into the muggle world. From there we’d take a wizard bus, which I found odd, straight to Maggie’s farmhouse just on the outskirts of London. However, I grew bored with being explained the plan and just wanted to get there already.

I went through the floo network first and waited for Hagrid patiently for a moment. Once he was standing by my side, he took my luggage and walked with me through Diagon Alley. We both walked through the less populated parts of Diagon Alley until the two of us reached a dead end. Hagrid tapped his umbrella against the wall in a pattern and they started pulling apart revealing the empty alley of the muggle world. The smell was different from the one back in the wizarding world. I could definitely smell freshly mown grass, but there was an oil smell mixed in too. As Hagrid and I walked past all of the people and shops that adorn the streets, I could smell pastries, coffees, and other foods that I recognized. I could feel the inside of my mouth water.

We waited on the sidewalk near a coffee shop for what seemed like forever before a bus came to a sudden stop in front of us. No one seemed to notice its incredible speed.

“Why hello there, Hagrid,” said a frail, stubbled face man wearing a purple suit.

“Hello to you too, Stan Shunpike,” Hagrid laughed, “starting work a bit early, aren’t you?”

Shunpike gave a crooked smile and nodded his head before gesturing us on. I went to grab my trunk when Shunpike grabbed it instead, pushing me inside. The smell was something to gag at. It smelled worse than anything I could imagine. Hagrid took a seat.

“Aren’t you going to have a seat, Malfoy?” He questioned.

“No, I’d rather stand,” I muttered, disgust lacing my voice.

“Where to?” Shunpike asked.

Hagrid gave the address and Shunpike looked at us confused.

“That’s a muggle household.”

“Not completely,” Hagrid said, “Loral Belle is the homeowner, Dumbledore’s friend.”

A slow nod bounced off his thin shoulders and sat down.

“Ernie, you know where to go.”

As soon as the knight bus took off, the speed pushed me back. Not even my grip was strong enough to keep me in place and I ended stumbling backwards until Hagrid’s large hand grabbed ahold of me. I pretty much clung to Hagrid’s large arm as we whirlwind through the busy streets of London. Two trucks stood in the way of the bus and I thought we’d slow down. However, we didn’t. Instead, the bus warfed itself so that it was thinner and we slid right through the small crack separating the two muggle vehicles. It wasn’t long before we reached the dirt road that led to Maggie’s farmhouse. Hagrid paid Shunpike and told him that there was extra in it for him if he waited for him and kept this visit a secret. Shunpike agreed with a large smile on his face.

Hagrid grabbed my trunk and led the way to Maggie’s. He tried to make small talk with me as we hiked down the dirt road, but neither one of us knew what to say to each other.

“How did you meet her?” He finally asked, catching my attention.

“My father had some work to do with an old, retired friend,” I said, all of the memories flooding back to my mind, “I saw her sitting by the fountain reading a book when a group of guys started harassing her. I watched her try to get away from them, failing miserably, so I stepped in despite her being a muggle. A gentleman never lets a woman get pushed around. She already knew I was a wizard when I helped her, she said that her Grandmother had taught her to tell the difference from a young age. The more I talked to her, the more I liked being around her.”

A goofy smile appeared on his face, “she sounds like an amazing young woman.”

“She is.”

Sitting on the porch when we got there was Grandma Loral rocking back and forth while a red scarf was being knitted next to her in the air. When she saw us, a smile appeared on her face and she climbed to her feet, approaching us at the edge of her porch.

“Hagrid,” she greeted, “it’s been years.”

“Nice to see you too, Loral,” Hagrid said, “I wish I could stay long, but I’m only here to drop off Mr. Malfoy. I’ll see you in four day.”

I looked up at Hagrid, “thank you, Hagrid.”

If I didn’t know any better, which I didn’t, I could have sworn I saw tears in Hagrid’s eyes. He tried to push it away and claimed that dirt had gotten in his eye, but I knew the truth. No one was use to me being so nice, and seeing me do so meant to them that I was finally deciding things on my own and not because my father wanted them. Just like my decision to continue seeing a muggle. Grandma Loral and I waved goodbye to Hagrid, once he was gone, Grandma Loral sat back in her seat.

“Maggie’s in the garden out back,” she said smiling, “thank you for coming, Draco. I know that the decision couldn’t have been easy.”

“Actually,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck, “it was the easiest choice I’ve ever had to make in my life.”

Grandma Loral told me to head back there and she’d take care of my trunk. Nodding, I walked down the steps and headed down the cobblestone path to find Maggie sitting underneath a tree reading a book. Dozens of flowers of all shapes and colors surrounded her and blew in the breeze. Her brown, curled locks of hair brushed delicately against her freckled face. She was as beautiful as the day I first saw her. I walked over to her and smiled at how deeply invested she was in her novel.

“Mind if I sit?” I asked.

Her body jerked and her head whipped around to see me standing there with a smirk on my face. A large grin stretched against her face from ear to ear before nodding eagerly. As soon as my body was positioned next to her, she threw her arms around me and squeezed tightly.

“I’m so happy to see you,” she said, releasing me from her tight grip.

“I’m happy to see you too, Maggie,” I said, “how have you been?”

“I’ve been fine. Things have been a little difficult lately.”

When I asked her why, a sad expression came to her face. I thought maybe she was being bullied more, but as she explained, I realized that it wasn’t that. Grandma Loral was getting sick and it was getting worse and worse. Maggie was worried that she’d lose her grandmother and have no one once she’s gone. I touched her hand and told her it was going to be okay. She looked up at me.

“How have you been?” She asked, her smile trying to distract me from her growing tears.

I told her about Umbridge and my family, she never looked away from me and held on to my hand the way I held on to her’s when she told me about her Grandma. It seemed we were both going through some stuff right now and all we wanted was for someone to talk and relate to.

The remainder of the day moved quicker than I had hoped. Maggie was now in the kitchen cooking up some soup for dinner while I set up the dining table. From the kitchen, the two of us could hear Grandma Loral coughing up a storm. Maggie grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and brought it to her grandma before returning to finish dinner.

After supper, Maggie helped her grandma to bed before joining me in the living room with two glasses of hoto cocoa. Rain started to drum against the roof of the farmhouse, lightning slashing against the darkened sky and thunder rolling across the heavy clouds. With each passing second, the rain got harder and louder. I sipped on my warm beverage and looked at Maggie. She had whipped cream sitting above her lip and I laughed causing her to look at me.

“What?” She asked, an innocent smile dancing on her face.

“You’ve got some whipped cream on your lip,” I chuckled, leaning forward and wiping it away with my thumb.

A small red tint appeared on her face as she tried to avoid eye contact with me. I could tell she was embarrassed and I found it to be more attractive than ever. I scooted closer to her and she looked at me.

“Draco, is everything okay?” She asked.

“I love you,” I blurted out.

Her bright green orbs widened in shock and I started to regret saying anything to her. I looked away from her, but she grabbed my shoulder, pulling it to face her.

“I love you too,” she hummed.

Before I could stop myself, I smashed our lips together, saying a silent prayer that neither of us were holding that hot beverage. The kiss deepened and I pulled her into my lap, gripping her waist tightly to keep her in place. When we pulled away, she was panting from the lack of air, her lips red and slightly swollen from the heated kiss. I leaned down and started nibbling on her neck, earning a small whimper from her.

“D-Draco,” she gasped.

I unattached my lips from her warm flesh and peppered her jaw with kisses before reaching her ear.

“I want you, Maggie.”

Her body shivered at my words and I smirked. Maggie was gripping onto my blazer tightly.

“But I-”

“Shh,” I cooed, “I’ll be gentle.”

I waited for her to give me the signal to continue. When her head nodded, I laid her down on the cushioned couch and began kissing her again. I traced my tongue against her bottom lip and tasted the cherry lip gloss she had coated her plump lips with after dinner. My fingers squeezed her thigh and she gasped, giving me full entrance to the inside of her mouth. I slipped my tongue into her warm, wet mouth and our tongues fought over dominance, however, Maggie’s submissive side kicked in and she let me take control easily. Quiet moans spilled from her muffled mouth. When I pulled away from her, a small string of saliva pulled from both of our lips. A rosy tint illuminated off her face and her green eyes were hazy, her floral shirt was pulled up, revealing her black, laced bra.

“Fuck,” I hissed, my pants growing tighter at the sight of her coming undone from my touch.

Pulling myself up, I removed my blazer and tie before unbuttoning my white, dress-up shirt. Her glistening eyes watched my every move, widening at the sight of my bare chest. She started nibbling on her bottom lip as I pulled at the hem of her shirt.

“Let's get this off,” I muttered, my voice husky and dripping with arousal.

Maggie didn’t argue, she just pulled her shirt above her head revealing more of herself to me. I groaned as I leaned down and started sucking on her exposed skin, leaving wet kisses against her porcelain skin. Her heartbeat was pounding against her chest, her skin was heating up, and her fingers gripped the couch cushion. I reached behind her and unclipped her bra clasp. Immediately, her hands moved to cover herself up. I lifted her chin.

“Don’t hide yourself, baby girl,” I whispered, “let me see you, please.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

She allowed me to remove her bra from her small body and I tossed it to the side with the rest of our clothes that littered the living room floor. I pressed my lips against hers once again, my left hand gripped her left breast and I almost melted at the feeling of her perfectly soft, fleshy breast. Her pink, peachy nipples hardened from both the cold air and my calloused hands pinching at them. Her moans were becoming louder, but not too loud since her grandmother was sleeping.

“Draco, please,” she moaned, her hips moving against my own.

“What is it?” I moaned back, “what do you need, baby girl? Tell me.”

“I-I need you. Please.”

Those words turned me on even more. I unbuttoned her shorts and pulled them off, her black matching panties hugged her hips. I hooked my fingers to her lacy panties, pulling them down and revealing her perfect pink cunt. My pants were becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second, so I quickly removed them from my body, discarding them to the floor with the rest of the pile. I started kissing her breast, sucking on her nipples, and tracing open mouth kisses against her body until I reached her lower area. The sweet aroma coming from her was intoxicating and I felt drunk from the scent alone.

I traced my tongue against her already soaking slit causing her to shiver and moan. My tastebuds were coated with her delicious nectar and I couldn’t help but dive in quickly. Her small fingers tangled themselves into my gelled hair, messing up every strand. A list of moans echoed off the walls as I flicked my tongue hungrily over her clit. Maggie tried to close her legs, but I pinned them back down. My gray-blue eyes flickered up, meeting her lustful orbs. She was covering her mouth because she was becoming too loud. Careful not to hurt her, I slipped a single finger between her folds and she flinched. I stopped.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, “do you want me to stop?”

“N-no, it’s okay,” she panted, “i-it’s all just a n-new experience.”

Nodding, I went back to lapping up her flowing juices and started entering my finger again. This time it slipped in with ease. A few seconds passed and I added another finger, moving them slowly in and out of her.

“D-Draco, faster.”

I didn’t waste time and started moving my fingers faster and faster into her sex. Her back arched off the couch, I could feel her clenching around my fingers and I could tell she was getting closer and closer to her release. I started sucking on her swollen clit and she yelped out before cumming all over my fingers. I removed them from her then placed them in my mouth, sucking every last drop off of them. Groaning against my fingers, I pulled them out with a pop.

“Delicious,” I hummed, watching her chest move rapidly as she caught her breath, “have a taste.”

I captured her lips with mine and rummaged my tongue around her warm mouth. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head making me smile at how undone she looked for me. I pulled away.

“Doesn’t that taste amazing, sweetheart?” I whispered in her ear.

All she could do was nod her head. Sweat was beaded against her forehead and her hair was starting to cling to her face, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“Ready?” I asked, “and use your words for me.”

“I-I am,” she muttered, “I-I’m ready.”

Climbing on top of her, I aligned my hardened member with her entrance before pushing it, peppering kisses against her face as she cried out in pain. Once I was finally nestled inside of her aching cunt, I stayed there to let her adjust to my size. A minute passed by when she gave me the okay to move, then I started moving my hips at a slow pace. Every time I pulled out and pushed back in, I felt myself get squeezed around.

“God damnit!” I groaned quietly, “so fucking tight. It feels amazing, Maggie.”

“D-Draco, you’re s-so…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence.

I started moving faster and harder with each stroke and both of our moans filled the room along with the sound of our sweaty skin slapping against each other. Despite the noise coming from us, we remained quiet enough so we didn’t wake up Grandma Loral.

Maggie squeezed her eyes shut as I started snapping my hips harder to meet hers. I grabbed her chin with my right hand and pulled her head to meet mine, my lips feathering over her. Her warm breath fanning over my chapped, slightly parted lips.

“Keep your eyes open. Look at me, baby,” I said strictly.

Maggie’s eyes opened and our eyes stared at one another as I drilled into her repeatedly. Her nails raked into my back causing me to growl at the stinging pain. I lifted one of her legs over my shoulder for a better position, my cock now going deeper into her sweet sex.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I moaned, resting my forehead against her, never tearing my eyes away from hers.

“Oh my God,” she said.

“Feel good, huh sweetheart,” I praised, “you love being fucked like this.”

I didn’t want to take it too far, afraid that me being rough or even degrading her would cause her to push me away. She was sensitive. But Maggie seemed to love my words and nodded her head furiously as she started meeting my thrust.

“Yeah you do, fucking slut.”

Her moans were like music to my ears and I could feel her tightening around my throbbing cock. I wrapped my hand around her throat, not too tightly, her free hand gripping my arm as I practically slammed into her with inhuman speed. I didn’t know what came over me, but everything felt intoxicating and I felt energy rushing through me.

“I-I’m going to cum,” she whimpered.

“Then do it,” I growled against her lips, “cum.”

Her body started shaking as pure pleasure rushed over her small form. I watched her emerald eyes roll to the back of her head as I continued to slam into her, riding out her high. Our moans got louder, and we didn’t care that we were being loud. If we got caught, we got caught. All that mattered to me was watching her, being with her, loving her.

My thrust started getting sloppy as I felt myself coming to my end. I removed my hand from her throat, letting her lungs collect the well needed air, and buried my head into her sweaty neck. With a few final, strong thrust, I came inside her dripping cunt and moaned in her ear, or more like growled with pleasure. Her body shivered at the sound as she knotted her fingers in my hair. My body collapsed onto her, our chest heaving up and down as we tried to settle down. Once our breathing returned to normal, I pulled myself out of Maggie and laid next to her. I looked at her.

“Sorry,” I whispered, as I tiredly chuckled, “I didn’t mean to finish inside you.”

She giggled and shook her head, “it’s okay. I’m on birth control, so it’ll be fine.”

I smiled at her and leaned down to pick up my dress-up shirt. It was cool to the touch and as I cleaned up the mess on Maggie, she closed her eyes enjoying the welcoming, cold cloth. After I cleaned the both of us up with my shirt, I laid back down. Lightning flashed against the sky once again as a loud rumble of thunder hit the clouds. Maggie sat up and cracked the window open, the cool breeze washing over our sweaty bodies. I pulled her into my arms and nuzzled against her.

“I love you, Maggie,” I whispered.

“I love you too, Draco,” she said, “now and forever.”

Forever, huh?

A smile appeared on my face as I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep next to the one girl I would sacrifice everything for. All of the thoughts that once invaded my mind, the unsureness of being with a muggle, how my father would act once he found out, all of it, disappeared. The only thought left was how I would protect her from Voldemort, and if she would still be by my side when she found out I was destined to be a death eater. But all of that could wait. I wanted nothing more than to enjoy the next four days with her.

I’ve never felt so relaxed before.

Forever sounds nice.

#draco malfoy #draco smut #draco imagine #draco lucius malfoy #draco malfoy smut #draco #malfoy #muggle #harry potter #harry potter smut #smut #dm stories #hp smut #draco fluff #draco fanfiction

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redrisingsun · 3 years

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Swedish Holidays for all your Young Royals needs

Due to popular demand (by like five people) here’s a brief description of all the major Swedish holidays and how they’re celebrated because I can’t stand here and pretend as if we really celebrate Christmas the 25th. We have more holidays, I've only written about the ones we celebrate in my family. I come from a working class family and live in Southern Sweden, however I do have family in Stockholm. I'm not religious in any way and as far as I know, most families don't celebrate these holidays because they're religious, but because it's tradition.

yall better appreciate this, it took me literal hours

January

1: Dubbed as one of the collective pizza days in my household. It's the day after New Year, and most people either order in or eat leftovers.

Week 2 or 3: Most people return to their jobs, schools and other daily activities.

February/March

Fettisdagen ("Fat Tuesday"): celebrated 47 days before Easter. The actual date varies, all from early February to early March. It's an old Christian tradition where you'd eat fatty foods before the "before Easter"-fast and is supposedly a thing in other Christian countries as well. These days, most people celebrate by eating semlor with their family, and most don't fast before Easter.

The semla is a sweet bun with whipped cream and almond paste.

Våffeldagen (Waffle Day, 25th of March): I think this day stems from a Christian tradition, but these days the day is mostly to get together with family and eat waffles.

April

Påsk (Easter): Again, the date varies, but Easter is usually in April. Easter stems from Christianity and is celebrated to remember Jesus' death and resurrection. Easter spans over a week, but I personally only celebrate one of those days.

Påskafton (direct translation: Easter Eve, English translation: Holy Saturday) is the Saturday of the Easter week. In my family, the children get to look for Easter eggs (often filled with candy).

Some children also dress up as Påskkärringar (Easter crones) and I think this tradition has to do with the Witch Trials in Sweden, but I'm not sure. Chances are you won't need to know anything about this for your Young Royal fics, because mostly girls dress up.

Sometimes, we decorate eggs.

Later, we sit down to eat together and spend time with our families. Common things to eat for Easter is potatoes, eggs, herring and meatballs.

Valborgsmässoafton (Walpurgis Night, 30th): We burn a big bonfire in the evening to celebrate that spring is here. I live in a fairly small town, so mostly everyone gathers at one spot and burns the fire together. When the bonfire is burned, most people go home and that's it. It's also seen as a reason to have a party (mostly for teenagers and young adults, I think) and get drunk as fuck.

May/June

Sveriges Nationaldagen (Sweden's National Day, 6th of June): Most people are home from school and work. We hoist the Swedish flag. Idk. However, the Royal Family celebrates by getting dressed up in Swedish costumes. This year, the King held a speech and the family went to Skansen (which is an amusement park/zoo. You can read more about it here). There's music and the military does their weird little thing. You can watch the National Day Celebration on Skansen from 2014 here.

Midsommarafton (Midsummer): date varies, but is celebrated a Friday in late June. I'm sure there's a Christian explanation for this one, but I don't personally know it.

Midsommar (midsummer) means middle of the summer.

Again, this is a day to eat and spend time with your family (or drink, depending on who you are). We eat pretty much the same things for Midsummer as we do for Easter.

For Midsummer we also dance around a Midsommarstång (direct translation: Midsummer Pole, English translation: Maypole) and make flower crowns.

How Midsummer is celebrated depends a lot on your age (most teenagers and young adults again see this as a reason to party), where you're from and a million other things.

My personal favorite Midsummer tradition is probably more common in the country than in the city, for example. You're supposed to pick seven different flowers without saying a word. Then, you sleep with the flowers under your pillow. Supposedly, you'll dream of your future husband (or wife! But I think it's more common that women and girls do this). This tradition also varies. Some people say you need nine flowers and some people say you have to climb over fencing for it to count.

Some teenagers or young adults spend time with their friends to party, instead!

You can watch part of a Midsummer celebration at Skansen here.

The Royal Family usually celebrate Midsummer privately, but I think there's usually new pictures of the entire family around this time.

Day after Midsummer: Collective Pizza Day 2. Everyone either eats takeout or leftovers because no one can be bothered to make anything and like half of the population has the worst hangover they've had since New Year.

Summer Holiday Note: most people in Sweden have four weeks of paid leave each summer.

July/August

Kräftpremiär (Crayfish party) - date varies, normally early August. Basically people get together to eat crayfish and drink. You can usually get paper plates and plastic cups and whatever with ugly crayfish motives (which is fun), but I've never done this.

October

Halloween (30th): Halloween is nowhere near as big in Sweden as it is in the States. We just buy some lösgodis ("loose candy", where you can throw whatever kind of candy you want in a bag. See pictures). Trick or treat is so unusual in the town I grew up I've only ever had one kid ask for candy and when I celebrated Halloween with my grandparents (in a city not far from Stockholm), it was the same. I usually buy some candy and watch a horror movie, but that's about it.

However, Halloween is (again) a reason for teenagers and young adults to drink and party.

November

Alla Helgons Dag (All Saints' Day): Date varies, usually early November. It's a day to remember the dead and we usually light a candle at the grave yard.

December

Första Advent (First Advent): Date varies. Sunday four weeks from Christmas Eve. We mostly just light a candle, honestly. Then, each Sunday for the next four weeks, we light a candle. Here's actually the Crown Princess wishing Happy First Advent with her family! Unfortunately without English subtitles, but here's the translation: "Today is the First Advent. Advent means arrival and hope, something that feels extra important this year. (her husband lights the candle) We want to wish everyone a happy first advent!"

Andra Advent (Second Advent): date varies. We light the second candle.

Tredje Advent (Third Advent): date varies. We light the third candle.

Fjärde Advent (Fourth Advent): date varies. We light the fourth candle. In my family we usually decorate the tree this Sunday.

Julafton (Christmas Eve): Celebrated the 24th. YES, THE 24TH. Christmas Eve obviously varies from family to family, but there's a few things most people have in common. Usually, we get one gift in our sock (which hangs on our bedroom doors in my home, because we don't have a mantle) when we wake up. As kids me and my brother almost always got a movie or something to keep us busy until it was time to leave for our grandparents house.

For lunch we eat the Christmas dinner. It's the same damned food as our other holidays. Herring, meatballs, potatoes, sausages etc, but now, we also have julskinka (Christmas ham). Some people eat ham even for Easter, but we only really eat it for Christmas in my family. Obviously the food varies a little from season to season, but as a picky eater I always just eat potatoes, meatballs and ham.

At 3, Kalle Anka (Donald Duck) is on. Yeah, we watch the same damned stuff every year. It's tradition, alright? Anyway, Donald Duck lasts for an hour or so, and first you get to see Santa work in his workshop, then Disney characters wish you a Merry Christmas with scenes from their movies (original, I know). There's Lady and the Tramp, Donald Duck (obviously) and a million other things. Then there's also one or two trailers for movies Disney will release the coming year. I really couldn't be bothered to find everything on YouTube for you to watch, sorry!

After Donald Duck, we open the Christmas gifts in my family. Normally we just rip out gifts open lmao.

After opening the gifts, we usually eat a second time. This time it's time for porridge. Tomtegröt (Santa porridge) is sweet and often served with cinnamon. Usually, everyone is so stuffed at this point that you only eat because you "have" to eat porridge for Christmas (again, at least in my family).

The last thing we do in my family, is to get a puzzle out. My grandpa almost always gets a new puzzle for Christmas, so we'll put that on the dining table and work on it together until it's getting too late for us to stay.

The Royal Family usually release new pictures of the family for Christmas and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Day after Christmas: Not a collective pizza day! There's usually too much Christmas food left to be able to order pizza. Usually, we have Christmas food to eat for four-ish days after Christmas, and by then you're getting really tired of it.

Sometimes we watch something on television, but for the most part we just sit around and spend time together. I think the Crown Princess read something from the Bible this year? I'm not actually sure if the Royal Family go to the Christmas Service, but I don't think so.

Nyårsafton (New Year's Eve): last day of the year. We shoot fireworks, eat food and dessert and spend time with family. This day we normally eat something "fancy" or something you we don't usually eat.

At twelve, we go out to light some fireworks (or just watch fireworks). When that dies down, it's time for the cheese platter. My dad wants it, no one else ever eats from it, we still do it every single year because "it's not New Year's without it". When we've had the cheese platter, everyone go to sleep and that's that.

People obviously celebrate this differently, as well. It's not uncommon to go see your friends or have guests over, and some people party rather than have fancy dinner with their parents. I personally prefer spending time with my parents, because that's what New Year's is for me.

Some people give resolutions, but I think it's more common in the States.

Christmas Holiday Note: It's common for people to not work between Christmas and New Year's Eve where I'm from.

Some things you might want to know about the Swedish Royal Family and Sweden overall:

The Royal Family in Young Royals is not the real Royal Family (obviously).

The Royal Family usually spends time on Öland during the summers.

Chances are Wilhelm and his family live at Drottningholm Slott (Drottningholm Palace) and not Stockholm Slott (Stockholm Palace). Drottningholm is used as a home for the current King and Queen and is located west of Stockholm. However, the scenes where Wilhelm is home is shot at a palace called Stora Sundby Slott. I doubt Wilhelm and his family would live here if they were the actual Royal Family since it's used as a place for people to gather when they want to hunt for sport. However, if they truly live at Stora Sundby, it takes almost two hours to drive from Stockholm to the castle.

Bjärstad is AT LEAST two hours away from Stockholm.

Bjärstad to Stora Sundby Castle takes approximately an hour and a half by car, and between nine and twelve hours by bus. Which means these two boys can't just take a twenty minute bus to see each other.

Bjärstad to Drottningholm takes a little over two hours by car and four-ish hours by bus.

Bjärstad to Stockholm Slott takes over two hours by car and three and a half hours by bus.

Hillerska is shot at Kaggeholms Slott (Kaggeholm Palace), and is a hotel.

The age of consent in Sweden is 15, HOWEVER it's illegal to have sex with someone four or more years younger than you if you're not both over the age of 18. Let me illustrate: -Person A is 15 and Person B is 15. It's legal because both are 15. -Person A is 15 and Person B is 20. It's illegal, because there's a five year old gap between them. -Person A is 15 and Person B is 18. It's legal (but probably frowned upon), because they're both 15 or older and there's not a four year gap between them. -Person A is 18 and Person B is 30. It's legal, because both are 18 or older. Idk if this makes sense or if this is what it looks like anymore, but this is what it was like when I still went to school. Obviously people aren't going to run around and call you names if you happen to date someone four years younger than you (I know a girl who met a guy when she was 14 and he was over 20), but please, be mindful of this. Our age of consent doesn't give you a right to be weird and nasty to teenagers (yes, I'm talking about Edvin).

Also, the Royal Family have their own website, which you can find here. As far as I can see, there's more information on the Swedish page, but there's plenty translated to English. You can also read of the Swedish Royal Family and its history on the palaces's website, here.

All pictures have been taken straight from Google. I haven't used any sources, because this is shit I do every single year with my family. Feel free to correct me or add things you do, but keep it respectful, please!

Friendly reminder that I've simplified some parts of this to make sense, specifically the dates of the Advent celebrations.

If there's anything you don't understand or want more information on, you're welcome to contact me! I take pretty long to reply, but I'll definitely try to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!

#young royals #young royals netflix #yr netflix #yr #wilmon #please im begging you love this

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wagner-fell · 3 years

Text

“Hey whore. Can I ask you a question?”

“Excuse me?” the shocked voice of Tessa Gray asked. “That is no way to anyone, let alone your mother.”

Kit’s eyes widened in horror. “I, er, um. Haha, wrong number. Bye. Love you.”

“Christopher Jonathan Herondale, don’t you dare hang up on-” He hung up.

Kit placed his phone onto the cold, stone bench, case facing up. He took a quick look at the two photos wedged between the thick plastic of his Otterbox and the hard copper of his literal lifeline.

The first one was of himself, Jem, Tessa and Mina in front of a Christmas tree. It had been taken last year by a begrudging Mari. She grumbled away the entire time about ‘why in the world was she willingly being the angel bitches servant’ but in the end she was the one who had printed it for him in the first place.

Mina was clutching Church for dear life, a euphoric smile spread across her tiny face. It never ceased to amaze Kit how quickly she was growing up.

The second photo was of all the Merry Hoes in Blessica’s basement just a few weeks ago. They all sported their matching jackets. It was slightly off center as Blessica’s brother was blind and therefore had no way of seeing what he shot on the old Polaroid. But it was perfect.

Blessica’s brother is the only person in her family who knows she is a werewolf. Her parents and two sisters just think she sleeps over at Maria’s a lot.

Kit drug his hands down his face and sighed deeply . He was definitely going to pay for that later. He would have been surprised Tessa was still awake at three am if he weren’t too mortified to feel any other emotion.

With another sigh, he picked up the phone and scrolled through his contacts once more. He took extra care to click on the right name.

“Hey whore. Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, daddy,” answered his intended target immediately. Astrid Yang may have been a lesbian, but she was also a kinky bitch.

“What would you do if your ex-crush who you're still sorta kinda not over liked a post with you and your girlfriend.”

The line went dead for several minutes before she responded. “In this hypothetical scenario, who has the bigger mommy milkers?”

Kit scratched his head and held the photo closer to his ear. “Well the first one doesn’t even have tits so..”

“So what was I doing simping over her? I obviously stay with my current girlfriend. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.”

He could have told Astrid about a million things, ranging from asking her if she was really that shallow to reminding her that she has literally almost passed out because a hot girl winked at her (she’s not as picky with her crushes as she thinks she is) but instead he sputtered out, “this isn’t about leaving Mari or not.”

Several things crashed on the other side of the phone. “You're leaving Mari?!”

“No! I just said-“ Kit took a long breath and sighed for the third time. “You know how when I’m bored I keep updating Insta?”

“Yeah, we all know that you’re a massive narcissist, go on.”

“Well I was doing that because I couldn’t sleep and Ty liked one of my posts with Mari. You know, the one where we’re doing that Tik Tok dance.”

“No I don’t know. You guys do like a million Tik Tok dances.” There was a rustling noise on Astrid’s end. It sounded like she was picking up the stuff that clattered to the floor.

“The one where she calls me an ‘uncultured slut’. Which I blame you for.”

“Oh, yeah. I did say that. Haha.” A small grin made its way into Kit’s face, despite the dire situation.

“But when I refreshed it again, it was gone. So now I’m wondering if he deleted it or I imagined it.”

“Hmmm. If Mitski’s ex-girlfriend, with equally big boobies, liked her post with the girl she was seeing now, what would she do?”

“Ast, what does Mitski have anything to do with my struggles?” Kit could practically hear his friend rolling her eyes.

“My parents always used to say,” she cleared her throat and imitated her dad’s gruff voice. “’If in trouble, ask yourself, what would our lord and savior Jesus Christ do?’ But Mitski is my lord and saviour. Besides, Mitski is always relevant in some way.”

“First of all, agreed. Second of all, I told you, Ty isn’t my ex-boyfriend. He’s my ex-crush.”

Astrid was the only one out of the Merry Hoes who knew about Ty. It wasn’t that he was purposely trying to exclude everyone else. Astrid had just happened to be the one who was nearest the day of the anniversary he left Los Angeles.

“Wait, for real? Why not? You’re a total babe!”

“Thanks. But we didn’t really get the chance to go on a date as I may have confused my love for him than ran away to a different country. Lol!”

“Kit, my dude. This is way too juicy, I mean serious, a topic to discuss over the phone. Wanna come over? I have crisps and a Stranger Things binge calling your name.”

Kit was fully aware that he went to her house, they weren’t going to talk more about the insistent. They were going to laugh so hard water would come out of their noses. And see how many candies could fit on their tongues. And Kit appreciated that.

“That would be great. I- hold on. My dad’s calling me. See ya soon.” Kit switched lines. “Hey, I’m really sorry for-”

“Greeting whore,” Jem said in the most monotone voice possible. There was silence for moments before Kit’s parents started laughing.

Kit has never been more confused in his life. Okay, that is a total lie. But this is definitely up there.

“We looked it up on this website called Urban Dictionary,” Tessa reported gleefully. “It’s a compliment now!”

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

@the-wckd-powers This fic is like an aftermath to your fic ‘Your Doing Great Out There Without Me, Baby’. I love your writing and it made my cry :) (I know there is a eight hour time difference from LA to England but shhhhh)

@adoravel-fenomeno @im-not-ruined-im-ruination @thechangeling @thomas-gaypanic-lightwood @sofiatheskeleton @cncnbr @its-taff @ithurielkeepsgettingkidnapped @noah-herondale-lightwood @maxboythedog @arangiajoan @shelvesofgold @jo-herondale

Tèłł mè if you want to bè addèd or rèmovèd from thè tag łist!

#Mari thè werewolf #Maria Santana-Rèèvès #Astrid Yang #kevin chu #Blessica Rèyès #Kit Rook #Kit Herondale #Tessa gray #tessa grey #Jem carastairs #Mina Carstairs #the secrets of blackthorn hall #the wicked powers

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ithinkthereforeidread · 3 years

Text

the collected poems of todd anderson

christmas day of 1959.

ao3 link here

He knew this day would come. He’s been dreading it, sure, he’d never really enjoyed Christmas much beforehand, his multiple unopened desk sets epitomised such. At his house, fires weren’t warm, hugs were stiff and silence was punctured by the sounds of laughing children in the house next door. It’d always been this way for the Anderson family. Todd grew to accept it.

But this year was supposed to be different.

He was supposed to spend his Christmas at Welton, with all the Dead Poets.

Usually, the boys would go home to their families for Christmas, but through the efforts of Neil he assembled a complex string of falsities about a gargantuan Latin group project that all the Dead Poets needed to finish.

“Serious business, I care about my education father, why else would have you sent me here?” said Neil over the phone, holding his index finger to his mouth to silence Todd from his chuckling, although all Todd really saw was the wide grin that hid behind it, and the way Neil’s eyes crinkled up all the way, a complete oxymoronic action when Neil was usually on the phone to his father. Todd stifles back laughter and Neil smacks him lightly, only causing him to laugh more.

“Well, that was quicker AND easier than I expected...” Neil states after placing the phone back on it’s cradle and ending the call. “But hey!” Neil squeaks, “We’re all spending Christmas together! The biggest concern was just getting my father to agree, everyone else’s parents seemed fine with it.”

Todd and Neil start to walk, side by side, Neil bumps him playfully. “I’m so glad you told me, Todd.” Neil turns his head and looks towards the shorter boy. “My Christmases at home aren’t that great either, I’ve always wanted to spend them here, but I could never work up the courage to ask my father, ask Charlie, in our first year he almost called up my father himself. It was hilarious, he had to look up at the phone, he was so short.”

“You and Charlie have been friends for ages then?” Todd queries “Oh yeah, we met in our last year of preparatory school, he was a pretty mischievous kid, obviously not much has changed.” Neil laughs, “he was just always so confident and sure of himself… I always wanted to be like that, nothing ever got to him.”

“Has that changed?” Todd’s questions were always short and straight to the point. Startling upfrontness in the most unexpected of moments. It was something Todd was known for.

“Not really… I mean, I try to get him to open up… he just isn’t an emotions type of person, I think?” Neil scratches the back of his head. “During our 9th year he went through something really big and not great, but he didn’t tell me a single word about it. To this day I have no idea wahat happened. I tried asking but it didn’t lead anywhere… all I know is some kid had been expelled but it didn’t look like him and Charlie fought or anything because they spent so much time together ....” Neil trails off.

“You know people stare at us sometimes.” Todd blankly states, an unconscious switch being flicked immediately. “When we’re walking to classes, when we go into our dorm, when we exchange smiles in classes… They bump their friends with their shoulders and snicker under their breaths… Have you noticed that Neil?”

Neil’s walking pace slows slightly, “Uh… no, I-uh I didn’t… Do they think we’re-“ “-Maybe.” Todd interrupts before Neil can say The Word. “Bu-but we aren’t, I mean, you were talking about that girl from-“ “-Yeah! Ginny, from the play, wow, I mean, she’s just great.” “Yeah, I’m sure she is.”

God.

This got awkward.

Nice one Todd.

Did it again.

Ink splatters dried on the paper he cradled so delicately, he stares at the contents once more.

“what wouldn't i give to love myself as feverishly as I love you? what is the opposite of amnesia? that is what you are. sometimes i cant find my way around my memories. i have to take detours… i think you were the best one.

little fragments of joy pepper my vacancy i didn't know that i should want to be hopeful or that being hopeful meant giving up some intrinsic part of me.

last night i had a dream that we were breathing underwater flying high in the sky, arms outstretched, laughing, smiling, hugging, bodies pressed onto one another. it didn’t last long. piece by wretched, fragile piece i throw out every hated qualm of thee your impenetrable stare fixed onto me

i have hoped for love that is beyond you being caught by me or me trying to slip through the cracks. they read me, you, us, with their glacial eyes and think they know but they don't

and it seems neither do we.”

“Wow, Todd. This is so… different. But good! It’s just, I’ve never seen anything like this in our English class, in the poems we’ve studied… I just… wow.” Neil looks up at Todd, eyes so soft, Neil knows how big of a deal this is to Todd. He doesn’t just share his work with anyone.

“I-I’m glad you liked it.” Todd smiles, it’s almost as if he’s had to completely remove himself from himself in order to let Neil observe and compliment this part of him, he takes the page out of Neil’s hands and places it in his book. “What-er, who was it about?” Neil gingerly queries. “I- uh, well.” Todd’s heating up now, he should’ve expected Neil to ask him this question. Dammit. Why was he so stupid for letting him read it. “Well, I-I don’t think you necessarily have to go through something to write a-about it, it-it’s fiction for a reason.”

Neil’s lips downturn slightly, “I guess, but everything that we produce in art- whether that be acting, or poetry writing, painting- whatever… it… subconsciously shows something that you might not necessarily want to show or see, right? Like how Keating got us the other day to choose a poem we liked and recite it… It tells you so much about a person. When Charlie was reading his poem… wasn't all you could think about was how bleak it was?” Neil continues, “The academically and poetically rigorous selection made by Cameron or Knox’s complete devotion and enamoration with the simplest emotion of the human being, love? We hide these parts of ourselves, maybe we view them as flaws and faults of our cognitive machine, but art reveals them all.” Neil delivered a love poem to the class himself. He takes a big breath and lets the words he just spoke sit in the air of their dorm for a while.

“Into the meadows dawn..” Todd clicks his fingers, a vague ritual to jog his memory. “flashes my faun.” Todd recites “O Hunter, snare me his shadow… O Nightingale catch me his strain. Else moonstruck with music and madness, I track him in vain” all they’re doing is staring at each other.

“You- you remembered my poem?” Neil questions. “Yeah- I went to the library after you said it- wanted to see if there was more… Oscar Wilde…” “Yeah.” “I notice them staring now that you mentioned it.” Neil breaks the trajectory of the conversation, “God, they’re all so stupid, it’s as if Judy Garland and President Eisenhower just strutted into the school, arms interlocked!” Todd chuckles. Then more silence.

“Has anything changed, Neil?” “What do you mean?” “Between us. What this is. Our comradely bond, as Keating puts it.” Todd chuckles, “ Our co-dependence, attachment at the hip.”

More silence…

“I-I think…” Neil finally states, “that it was never anything it wasn’t already… perhaps we ignored it, suppressed the feeling… but… it was always there.”

“For me, at least.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

~~~

The wind pierced Todd’s skin in tiny microscopic ways, embedding itself under the protection of his coat and completely evading the rest of his physical form, though perhaps the wind wasn’t the cause of the spine-curdling ache he felt, but simply an additional symptom.

Bells rang, green and red Christmas themed paraphernalia adorned the streets he’d previously been driving through, staring out the window at lights and snow that trickled onto an already naturally bleached layer of the ground. His footprints leave indents and obtain a slippery consistency to the outer sole and toe cap. He treads more carefully.

His hands clutch the leather cover of the journal he is hiding underneath his jacket, minimising any further damage that may soon come its way, finally, through minutes of soul-searching and carefully treading through stones and flowers, he makes his way to Neil.

He looks at him with a certain sense of fragility, his stone head protruding from the ground and covered in snow. Todd wipes some away to see the carvings made into him. His full name. Aged 17. Dutiful son of Tom and Susan Perry.

The newness of it all sends a pang to Todd’s stomach as he looks at the other stones weathered with age and the constant bombardment of the elements. That’ll be Neil one day. Flowers not fresh and carvings unreadable. Forgotten to the world and all its inhabitants, rotting in satin lining and cherry oak wood. Todd stifles back a sob and covers his mouth, forcing himself to get it together for just this moment.

“Merry Christmas Neil.” Todd whispers, the words can barely come out. “You-you’re not here physically but you’re here with me, and Charlie, and-and all the other Dead Poets.” he continues, “though- though Charlie isn’t here technically either. He left. Had to. He’s not graduating, at least he’s not at Welton” Todd looks down, brushes his emerging tears away with his shoulder

“I just wanted to come here and give you your gift, I’ve had it in the making for a while now, you’ve seen some of it already. I wish I could’ve given it to you earlier… if I had known this would happen.” he pulls out the journal, and opens it up.

“Here, I’ll read you some.” Todd, though already cold and miserable, situates himself next to Neil’s cold headstone and leans his head on it, opening the journal's contents to its first page.

“Dear Neil,” Todd’s starts, but adds an offside, “It’s dated on the 7th of a while back, my-my birthday.”

“I hope this book finds you well,” Todd’s breath hitches, “especially considering that I’m probably too anxious to deliver it to you. What you’ll see here is what we spoke about the night we first kissed. About freeing ourselves from any subconscious fear or dichotomous dread of both working with and against the grain or being liked or disliked. The people I look up to the most are inspirationally unpopular. So, here’s a suite of poems by yours truly. Hopefully you’ll find your own meaning and reverence in the words my brain has conjured up, words mostly pertaining to you. Every inch of your being alive has me transfixed and enamoured, and I’m truly gobsmacked on the good deed I must’ve committed to have deserved having you in my life.” Todd’s face is red and stuffy from the cold and his breathing is short and punctured.

“You’re sleeping right near me at this moment, and as a sweaty toothed madman once said. We were together. I forgot the rest. Consider this journal a detachable limb of my own self, something you can always carry around and know that I am with you, always. You can suck the life force, the bone marrow out of the words I have written in here and I would applaud and encourage you to do so. Without you, I have no idea where I’d be right now. I owe you so much Neil, you’ve taught me that sometimes the world can be good. That a person’s smile can brighten an entire room. A performance perfectly acted can be a person’s ultimate achievement and their triumph. You are the word phenomenal incarnate Neil, I hope my words do you some sort of justice.

You deserve the world, Neil. I’m brainstorming ways to give it to you.

With love, Todd.”

——————————————————————————

i hope you guys enjoyed!! its fucking brutal honestly but needed some angst and tragedy in my fictional life to reflect my own.

just a preface that some of the poem todd read's is borrowed from pete wentz old emo livejournal posts because i need to somehow tie my two big interests together and MAN does that man write some gay ass shit. hope your heart doesnt hurt too much <3

creds to @neilscrown on tiktok for posting the headcanon "Todd definitely bought Neil a Christmas present and he never got the chance to give it to him so he would sit in his once shared room and stare at it" it tore my HEART OUT and inspired this rambling

#dead poets society #dead poets #dead poets honour #dead poets fanfiction #anderperry #anderperry fanfic #todd anderson #neil perry #todd and neil

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silkybullets · 3 years

Text

“Death Call”

Midland Hotel, 1925, sitting alone at a table the evening before Christmas, Tommy's icy eyes met with a face he never had ever thought of seeing again, not whilst being alive at least. Which lead us back to Birmingham, 1914, after he volunteered in Small Heath rifles, he spent his last couple of months home holding your hand in the hospital, watching your colours fade as dying of an unknown disease.

Warnings: English is my second language.

Words: around 2k

Tommy just ordered a drink, adding to that a whore, a brand new one in honor of Christmas when he initially went to light his cigarette. His eyes drifted to a table further away where a woman was already sitting down. He did recognize her, remembering the sweet touch of an old lover. His stiffened body didn’t receive the orders to continue moving sent by his brain, his mind too occupied playing memories of before the war. Before it all begins, or all ends, depending which side you’re looking.

One the other side of the room, you were searching the pockets of your woolen coat. When you finally found your cigarette case, you got one out, sliding it in between your soft lips. After pushing a strand of hair behind your ear, you hassled lightening up your cig and welcomed the poison in your lungs as if it was the purest thing.

The waiter came closer to you, putting down your rhum, which you drank in one go and ordered another one. It’s been a couple months you didn’t drink and, after this first shot you don’t remember why. When doctors failed to diagnose you and closed your file with a lung disease you were young and never tasted the flavor of the liquid poison. But at the cliff of death, God granted you the wish to live.

Too bad that’s when your memories of endless & lonely drinking nights happened.

Coming from a christian family, it was no question for them you had been chosen by God to do something great in this world. Pushing their luck they sent you to an orphanage run by nuns to pay your debts to God. When their initial idea was to keep you pure for as long as you were to be alive, you chose a different path for yourself, bounged down into alcohol, drugs and whatever came with it.

Saying you were a non-believer would be too much, but the idea of being some kind of “chosen one” was nonsense to you, that just meant death was right under your nose or waiting for you at the corner of the street. What happened next was logical consequence, your depraved self was sent back home after the nuns numerous warnings were ignored. You did not change, and decided not to.

When being saved or witnessing a miracle helps people get their life in order, it had the reverse effect on you and you had yet to get your shit together.

When they recommended you to drastically change your ways for the sake of your family if not for you, you gave in. You had siblings, and knowing how hard your family could be on them at times, you didn’t want to leave them alone. But your good will ended tonight.

You looked at the filled glass in front of you for what seemed like an eternity, weighting the pros and cons of getting drunk tonight and all the other after that one. You being dead or alive it’ll be okay for your family, you assured yourself to avoid feeling guilty for choosing not to fight.

Ten minutes and three empty cups later, you were ordering another one. The waiter was intently looking at you, concerned, while you were ignoring his pout.

“You sure you want rhum, ma’m, Can I bring you something else, gin perhaps?” He was as smooth as one could, but the implicit meaning behind his words irritated you the most.

“Do I look like I’m sad, eh? Tell me ‘cause I don’t look at meself in mirrors these days.” You begin, agitating your fingers that were holding another cigarette.

“Gin’s for sad women, whiskey for big boys crying, rhum for people like me: We are not sad enough for trying to drown our pain in gin, not hopeless alcoholics enough to to get drunk with something as tasteless as whisky. We simply enjoy a slow death with a sweet and spicy flavor. Please bring me the whole bottle this time.”

Without realizing it, you offered the man the warmest smile he had seen tonight and he gave one back even if still quite taken aback by your confusing revelation.

Tommy had seen enough, he got up throwing a bill near his drink and cleared his throat for lack of clearing his head. He walked to the table, the woman he once knew was seated, his voice already reaching her ears before their eyes would meet.

“Is this seat taken?” He motioned to the second chair around the table. Finishing another glass she invited him to sit down with a move of hand. Her cigarette in between her lips, she poured some rhum into her glass and ultimately lifted her eyes to his face.

“Are you sick of the hotel whore, Thomas? Am not one if this is your question.” She blinked as puffing on her cig.

“Merry Christmas to you too, Y/N” He coughed. “See you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Nor did you.”

Lies, it was all lies, if it wasn’t her eyes he hadn’t recognized her. The woman he was in love with was long gone and so was the boy who loved her.

“So OBE it is, now?” She looked up to him.

He stayed in her eyes before daring to speak, and break the eye contact.

“You were always used to call me Tommy, we can stick to that.”

She didn’t respond nor look at him, keeping for herself any emotions his words had unleashed into her, if they did.

“What happened to you?” He spoke in a more vibrant ton. An attempt to ease the heavy atmosphere.

“War happened to us, Tom.”

His eyes snapped open on her.

“What France did to you, remaining alive did to me.” She offered him a fair smile, looking straight at him with the same piercing gleam hiding behind her iris than when they were younger.

“We all came back alive. John, Arthur, Freddie... Although they are now some missing pieces.”

“Yeah, fucking pieces spilled everywhere. It’s looking like the puzzles we used to play when we were younger, huh? Does that ring any bell?” She giggles.

It was hard for him to read her, he didn’t know what he felt either.

He stayed at the hospital three months straight holding her hand as her colors were fading. He remembers vividly how difficult it was for her to breath, speak, even keeping her eyes open was a huge sacrifice. But she’d never compromised to keep them shut as he told her to, his face gave him the strength of an army, as she used to say. And that had him laugh, even though now he doesn’t remember the last time something as close as a laugh came out his throat.

“Don’t get fucking lost in memories, Thomas. Just ask for it.”

She poured some liquor into her glass and slowly slid it to Tommy as if anticipating him telling her he didn’t want it.

He watched her moves with amusement, it was odd to him to find her here, but even more peculiar was the fact it seems like she knew him still. Like those ten years that separated them weren’t there, like there wasn’t a day they didn’t think about the other fondly. Her gaze didn’t leave his, and he knew exactly where her mind was because his own was at the same place. She was getting all the information she could to try to match his now tired face with the one she had been picturing in her head all those years.

“Okay then.” he nodded. “ Where have you been?”

A smile appeared at the corner of his lips, they were playing a game he couldn’t only play with her, she was the one girl before France, everyone got their advantages.

“Fucking dying of being alive after I got strunk by some miracle.” She raised a brow as if to voice the displeasure of missing the boat.

“I thought you were dead.”

“I wish I was, Tommy.”

He let out a long sigh. Once again he failed at keeping a light atmosphere. It was to be said she wasn’t any help.

That’s when he realized no matter how it felt like they were still the same teenagers, back in 1914 before everybody got fucked up, no matter how hard the memories were hitting him this exact same instant with their first kiss, their first touch and the first time they exchanged their desire to live a life together, they were not the same. Nothing was.

She was only a mere shadow of herself, and he? He couldn’t even look at her in the eyes for more than five minutes, too afraid it would dig out things that must be kept where they were nowhere to be found for his own sake.

Every little thing about before France hurt him. Even the happy throwbacks, especially the happy throwbacks. Knowing he would never feel those feelings again, never get silly about the breeze meeting with his skin or the rising of the sun at the top of a hill killed him most. That’s why he didn’t want to ask more about what happened to her. But at the same time, the questions came naturally to him, as if he waited all along to throw them out, taking off his chest a weight he never realized to initially be there.

“Have you done better after I left?”

“I did. For a time. Some years, in fact, even though my parents sent me to a nunnery to thank God for his mercy.”

He snorted at her words.

“Why doesn’t it surprise me? They were always about keeping you saint, even asked me to fucking give up on taking you running in the fields to watch the night sky until sun rised, they never thought it could be the other way around, you leading me.”

She laughed at this thought.

“Don’t you dare say this as if you disliked me being the lead, Tommy Shelby.” She sneered.

“No, I indeed liked it.” He shook his head without hesitation.

“If only they knew what we did, in those nights.” They both spoke, their voice overlapping along with their minds.

“Tommy you got to follow me, or else we’ll be too late.”

“Let me catch a breath, we got all the time to come up the hill some other nights.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s tonight the fireballs are going to be running in the sky!”

“You aware it’s not called “fireball” and that they are not ‘running’ in the sky?”

The girl stuck her tongue out, turning to him, her eyes mechanically squinted at the move. She did not realize he was right behind her and faked all along still behind at the feet of the hill to annoy her. His body strongly collided with her, making her stagger but Tommy’s arms locked her waist firmly, avoiding her body from meeting the ground, and his lips dropped on her mouth in a second, she couldn’t even close her eyes during the kiss.

“Stop it!” Her suave voice worded as one of her hands went hitting his chest, even if her deepest desire was for him not to let go of her lips.

“I’m thinking about that one night we first fucked. Bodies wet both by sweat and dew“ She muttered.

He was sitting but naked on the grass, his fingers intertwined in her hair that was falling at her back as holding her tightly. She was the type of flowers you thought were beautiful but couldn’t help but rip off the ground, dooming them to die in your hands.

Her legs were strongly wrapped around his hips, she was carefully grounding down on him, making sure every of her moves were slow to make the pleasure last. She turned loose the grip of her arms around his neck and leaned backward so he’d hit her from another angle, this one allowing him to reach the bottom.

Her screams filled his ears and soon enough his mouth as she straightened back up, seeking his eyes, wanting to connect even more. The darkness he ignited in her eyes that night never left, always leading him to always want her, even in the most inappropriate places.

“I was thinking about that time at the local church.” He admitted.

“Every-fucking-body heard the screams--” She proudly stated.

“The priest was more than disturb” He added. “But they never found out who that was.”

“Well, we know.” She handed him her cigarette. He gladly took it and smoked as much as he could, clouding his lungs as well as his mind.

She giggled some more, shaking her head both sides, she couldn’t believe they did such a thing, but knowing as mad they were when together, it was all figured out.

“It came back, Tommy.”

“What did?” He gained his serious tone back, eyes locking with hers.

“The disease, they say it’s even more violent this time, but I know it just never left. It has been lurking in the dark to come back when I’ll be happy again. But seeing I figured out its plan, it decided it was time to finish me off.” She sang. Her voice was devoid of any sadness, and he noticed it. “I think it’s a curse, Tommy. Run in our blood. Me grandma’ had that too, it passed a generation, leaving my mother and little sister alone. But I fear for the others.”

Old reflexes leading the way, Tommy’s hand fondled hers in the most natural way. He leaned forward to her as she took off his lips her cigarette, filling her lungs with that poison in hope it would kill the one that resided in her since way too long.

#peaky blinders #Thomas Shelby x Reader #Tommy Shelby x Reader

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sweetbettycooper · 3 years

Text

The INXS Life Chpt 19 Sneak peek

Smutty Christmas Edition....

“Congratulations Betty and Jughead!” FP cheered proudly, holding his glass to the sky in a joyes toast.

“Yeahhhh!! Wooooo!” The crowd of Serpents yelled, holding up their glasses and clinking them together. Their voices echoing around the cleared out SouthSide Auto Repairs and Mechanics shop while the first snow of winter fell outside.

After Betty and Jughead told their close friends and family about their engagement, Jughead couldn’t talk FP out of throwing them an engagement party. It also doubled as their annual Serpent Christmas Eve bash but it was more fun that way.

Jughead and Betty raised their glasses with everyone. Beer for him and Water for Betty. Their eyes met with delight as they gazed lovingly at each other forgetting they were surrounded by a mob of people. Betty tightly tucked into Jughead's side. Jughead could see Betty’s eyes twinkling as a wide smile spread across her lips. A moment he would never forget. A moment he would replay over and over in his mind for years to come. Betty couldn’t wait to be his wife and she was so glad she had everyone’s support. This was it. Their real life, the one they were always meant to have together, had begun.

“And Merry Christmas to everyone! Drink up big!!” FP laughed, bringing his speech to an end.

Jughead leaned in close, scooping the back of Betty’s head into his hand and moulding her lips into his. He didn’t care who was watching or how many catcalls and whistles they got, kissing Betty made all the white noise disappear. Although this time, the smile on Betty’s lips made it a lot harder for him to dip his tongue into her mouth and taste how sweet she always was. She just wouldn’t stop smiling and neither could he.

As soon as they parted Betty laughed and fell into Jughead’s chest, her cheeks hurting from how much she was grinning. She’d always imagined what this would feel like one day, but it paled in comparison to how ecstatic she felt now. Being engaged, pregnant, surrounded by friends and family.

Finally she had a normal life. It felt fucking amazing.

The night passed by in a wintery Christmas blur with Jughead always by her side. Always finding little ways to touch her and make her blush. Later Betty found herself slow dancing in Jughead's arms to soft christmas music as everyone else drank and danced around them.

“How long do you want to stay before we blow this joint and head home?” Jughead purred into Bettys ear, brushing his lips over her sensitive skin. He was trying to hide the fact that he was slightly drunk but his dancing was a dead give away.

“I thought the Serpent tradition was to see Christmas in at midnight?” Betty teased him, lifting an eyebrow at him sheepishly. She knew what he meant just by the tone of his voice.

“Oh don’t worry about that, I'm not planning on going home to sleep,” he Kissed her neck with more tongue than lips, making Betty giggle at his neediness. She really hoped Jughead would still be this desperate for her when she was the size of a whale in the months to come.

Betty could only concentrate on making sure she was breathing as Jughead ran one of his hands over her stomach while the other still stayed firm around her waist. He did that a lot now, feeling their baby. Letting him know that his dad was close, keeping his mom safe. Loving and protecting them.

Betty smiled as they swayed together to the soft music. She loved it when he did that. It made her insides curl and twist, turning her on to no end. Giving her a primal urge to jump his bones every time. But these days everything Jughead did turned Betty on.

“This is the best fucking Christmas gift I could ask for,” Jughead whispered with such love Betty wished the baby could hear him. His lips tickling her cheek as he spoke sending goosebumps down her spine.

“You're both more than I ever wished for Jug. I don’t know how I got so lucky.” Fisting his leather jacket she kissed him desperately. Teasing his lips and diving deeper the second he gave her access.

They left soon after, sneaking away when no one was looking. Their impatience making the walk home seem a lot longer than it was. It was freezing cold with the Christmas snow getting thicker but that just made Jughead hold Betty tighter to his side as they walked.

Eventually Betty led a Tipsy Jughead into their trailer and straight to their bedroom, her heart racing with every step. She turned to face him when she reached their bed, giggling as he stumbled right into her and he fell on top of her in a Clumsy playful mess.

They both laughed together hysterically between attempts at sealing their lips together. But their playful antics soon turned heated when Jughead trailed his lips down Betty's neck and lower over her bulging tits, leaving harsh deep marks in his wake. Biting and sucking like a hungry animal. Betty’s breathing turned ragged, her body shivering with delight when she rolled on top of him finally winning the battle for power and pressed her mouth against his in a messy kiss.

She straddled his lap, grinding hard against him. The weight of his hooded eyes looking up at her as their bodies rolled together instantly made her soaking wet. Her pussy was throbbing against his hard dick the friction not enough. Betty moaned helplessly needing to be inside him. There was no time for games or teasing tonight.

She leaned back, holding his gaze as she tugged her sweater and bra off throwing them aside. His hands gripped her waist painfully moving her back and forth across his crotch faster and faster.

“You want my dick baby?” Jugheads eyes watching Bettys tits bounce.

“Ahuh,” Betty whimpered, fisting jugheads hair tightly as she leant her body down and pressed her mouth to his. Frantically fiddling to undo his jeans and belt.

“Then fucking take it,” he taunted in her ear pulling her panties to the side under her skirt. Jughead knew he was tipping her further over the edge with each word he spoke. “I want to make you come.”

Jughead looked up at Betty as she eased down onto his dick. Betty’s face contorting with pain and pleasure. “FUCK!” They both groaned when Jughead suddenly thrusted up, impaling Betty harshly on his thick cock. He was pressed so deep inside her he almost came there and then and they hadn’t even started yet.

“Shit your pussy always feels so good Betts. Every goddamn time.”

Jughead started to move then. Greedy for his climax. Greedy to make Betty come undone. Growling like an animal he pounded up into her pulling her down at the same time driving into her.

“I need it deeper Jug.” Betty wailed knowing that there was no physical way he could possibly go deeper but she needed more of him. Every time he hit her cervix her adrenaline spiked.

Jughead sat up so they were both in a sitting position rolling together “I can’t Betts Fuck I’m already balls deep.” He took one nipple in his mouth and bit down desperately trying to hold on longer.

She cried and moaned against him, even louder when Jughead fingered her clit. Teasing and touching it just the way she liked it. Betty could feel his eyes on her watching her build and Betty slowly looked to him focusing on him through her pleasure haze.

“What?”

But Jughead didn’t answer. He just removed his hand from her clit and placed it over her swollen belly with his other hand. Smoothing over her skin. Gently Betty placed her hands on top of his in a loving embrace of their unborn child.

“I didn’t think I could love something else as much as you Betts but I fucking love my son.”

Betty almost broke down. She was so close to coming all over his dick and frustrated as hell that they had suddenly stopped but how could she be mad when Jughead spoke those perfect words.

“If you weren’t pregnant right now I would pump you so full of my cum over and over until you couldn’t fucking take it and my kid was inside you,” Jughead suddenly flipped them so he hovered over Betty now on her back. Bettys was too far gone to even speak.

“And you know what baby once we have our son that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Jughead growled pounding into her again. Both of them needed release. “You said you wanted a big family righ?”

“Mmmmhuh,” Betty cried her insides shaking, clenching around Jughead. Quivering at his relentless pace.

“Then let me give it to you. Because I fucking love seeing you pregnant. It fucking turns me on.”

“GOD -,” breathless and out of her mind Betty could barely register Jugheads hand creeping around her neck, starting to squeeze. “Get me pregnant again Jughhh-,”

“God I’m going to use your beautiful fucking pussy so much.” Jughead had lost control. Using his position on her neck as an anchor to hit inside her over and over, making Betty come undone. Struggling for air as her release racked over her body. Pulsing and shaking she clenched so tightly around Jughead he let her go only to fist the bed head and shoot his own warm come deep inside her.

“Merry Fucking Christmas Baby.”

#bughead fanfiction #bughead #bughead fanfic #betty x jughead #betty cooper #riverdale #jughead jones #fanfiction #fanfic #jughead x betty

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cutie1365 · 3 years

Text

A Kid from Queens Part 21

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Info: CA: Civil War Era. Tony Stark enlists his daughter to find the web slinging spider in Queens.

Word count: 5.4k

Warnings: 18+ content, smut, language. (I had aged up Peter so he’s 18.)

A/N: Flashbacks in italics as usual :) I know it’s been forever, motivation is hard to come by these days. This is the longest thing I’ve ever written, it’s long enough to break into two chapters but I know I haven’t uploaded in a while so Merry Christmas lol.

Any and all feedback is much appreciated! Please please if you could just leave a little message of things you like or what you want to see in the future it really helps.

Masterlist linked in my bio. Taglist in the reblog.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Y/N! Y/N! Over here!” You heard your name called as Happy opens the limo door. He extends his hand to help you to your feet.

“Stark, look over here!” The paparazzi screams were almost deafening as Peter exited the car after you. His mask hid more of his features while yours left little to the imagination, they knew who you were already, so no point in trying to hide it.

“Behave.” Happy pointed a stern finger at you.

“Don’t I always.” You feigned offense as your hand clapped over your heart, he raised a brow as your mouth turned up into a smirk.

“Goodnight Happy.” You chuckled, turning and stepping onto the red carpet leading to the venue.

“Who are you wearing?” You heard different questions screamed in your direction. This was a charity gala after all, not the fucking Oscars. Who cares who made your dress?

You slipped your hand into Peters, trying to calm him. This had to be overwhelming, all the cameras in your face, screaming anything they can to get you to look their way.

“Dr. Stark!” One voice called, gaining your attention. Few people addressed you with your appropriate title. You turned to see a young woman, who didn’t look like she’s been on the job for very long. She was holding her own though, against all these ruthless reporters. You thought you saw The Bugle among them.

“Dr. Stark, Glory Grant from the Times.” She smiled once you looked her way. You took a step closer to her, nodding at her to let her know you were listening and she could continue, “Can you tell us why this cause is important to you?”

“Of course, every child’s life we can save is like an investment into our and their future. They’re going to be the ones to take over the world someday. Who knows who will be the next Einstein, or Madam Curie...” You began with a smile.

“Or Y/N Stark,” She smiled. You laughed, shaking your head humbly.

“If we can do our part in donating and relieving some of the financial burdens off of their parents then it’s worth it. This organization not only helps families and children currently fighting cancer, but it helps look for a cure. A permanent solution to help end this disease.” You spoke from your heart.

“Thank you so much Dr. Stark.” She smiled as she scribbled the last of your words onto her notepad.

“Are you new at the Times Ms. Grant?” You asked, taking another step closer to her and the barrier between the two of you.

“Yeah, I just started.” She smiled nervously.

“Can I borrow your pen?” You asked, and she handed you her pen and pad.

“That’s my work number. If you’d like to be added to the Stark Industries press board, give me a call. They’re the first ones we call about press releases and announcements.” You spoke as you scribbled it down, handing it back to her with a smile.

“Thank you so much Dr. Stark, but why are you helping me?” She furrowed her brows.

“Because it's a man's world, and we can help change that, one woman at a time,” You said, causing her to laugh, “You’re the only one here to actually address me by my title and not ask me about my outfit. I see a bright career ahead of you.” You nodded to her as you took a step back towards the middle of the carpet.

“Enjoy tonight,” she smiled, beaming at the new opportunity. You winked at her as you took Peter’s hand and led him along the carpet and up the stairs towards the venue.

“That was nice of you,” He squeezed your hand.

“I mean it’s effortless for me, but it will help kick start her career. I got this kinda third eye about people.” You smirked.

“That’s not a real thing.” He shook his head with a laugh.

“Sure it is. It’s not always perfect, but sometimes I can just tell when people are destined for something great. Like you, from the moment I met you I knew.” You turned towards him, taking his other hand in yours.

“You knew what?” He titled his head in confusion.

You leaned in to press a chaste kiss to his lips, forgetting you were at the top of the stairs and still in full sight of all the photographers. You saw the flashes but you didn’t care. Peter’s identity was safe with his mask, and you wanted the whole work to know how happy he made you.

“That you’re a good person, and you’re gonna do big things.” You beamed up at him as you pulled away from the kiss, turning to lead him inside.

“So what else can this third eye tell you?” He asked curiously.

“It’s kinda like a gut feeling, to trust someone or not trust them. Like fight or flight, something’s not right kinda feeling. I just trust my gut, ya know.” You shrugged.

“I think I know exactly what you mean.” He said, and you turned to him with a raised brow before remembering your conversation from a week ago.

“Oh that’s right, like your spidey senses.” You chuckled, making sure to keep your voice low.

“My what?” His eyes went wide.

“You said you can sense when something bad's gonna happen. Although mine isn’t as specific and can’t be attributed to a radioactive spider.” You chuckled, walking to a secluded corner of the ballroom.

“Shh someone could hear you.” He whispered, you smiled, shaking your head, knowing everyone’s always drunk at these sorts of things.

Turning to face Peter, you raised your hands to straighten his bow tie. Your mind wandered to how great he looked in his suit. The feeling of butterflies swirling in your belly from the moment you saw him step through your door a few hours ago had barely worn off.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Wow,” you both muttered as your eyes landed on each other. You’d never seen him all dressed up like this. He looked good, really good. You gulped, trying to push the dirty thoughts from your mind.

His hair was slicked back, not the mess of curls you were used to. He looked so grown up. You could almost picture him commanding a Stark Industries board meeting or standing at the end of an isle. Wait- slow down Y/N, jesus.

He looked so natural, so dapper, and then he turns and gives you that signature goofy smile- there he is. It brought a smile to your face. How did you get so lucky? How could you have landed a guy as great and handsome as Peter Parker. Were the girls at his school brain dead? You would think everyone would want him. Kind, sweet, intelligent, respectful, and Christ he cleans up well. He was everything you’d ever dreamed of.

Have you just been staring this whole time? Jesus, Y/N say something, he’ll think you’re crazy, you thought.

“Are you ready to go?” You asked, trying to compose yourself. He only nodded, still not able to formulate words.

You were wearing red. His red. No- not his red obviously, but the same color of his suit. And god he loved it. He felt like you were wearing a piece of him. Like he had marked you, you were his.

“You look...” He trailed off, his eyes still wide. He cleared his throat and smiled, trying to compose himself. You could almost hear his internal monologue urging him on - Come on Peter, keep it together..., “You look... God Y/N. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” You blushed. Of course that wasn’t the first time someone had told you that, but coming from Peter it felt different, “You look so handsome. Not your usual kind of suit, huh?” You smirked, causing him to chuckle as he pulled on his sleeves.

“I have your mask.” You smiled, still admiring him, holding the mask out to him.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Why doesn’t your mask hide your identity?” Peter asked, as the two of you watched more and more people file into the ballroom.

“Because people will know who I am anyway, and I’m not hiding.” You explained.

“How will they know?” He furrowed his brows, you shook your wrist in response.

“I don’t know anyone else with a custom blaster built into a bracelet. I’m also on the younger side, and pulled up in a ride with Stark Industries plates, so it wouldn’t take a genius.” You smiled, starting to recognize a few faces of regulars as you people watched.

“Do you always wear that thing?” He asked, holding up your wrist and examining it.

“No, I’ve got a watch for day to day wear that does the same thing. Dad may not give me a suit, but he won’t leave me completely defenseless. And it has come in handy.” You trailed off, remembering the not so fond memories of the last time you used it. Your ribs still ached if you thought about it long enough.

“Let’s hope you don’t have to use it tonight.” Peter said, craving one normal night without having to be a hero.

“Someone would have to be very ambitious to attack this place, they’ve got security out the wazoo.” You brushed off, praying tonight would go well.

A hush fell over the crowd as the charity president walked onto the stage and welcomed everyone. You felt Peter’s hand slip around your waist protectively as everyone pushed a little closer to the stage to hear. This part was pretty standard, basically a little speech to kick off the night, a thank you for coming, and who to make all checks out to. Music filled the ballroom as the band began playing after the applause for the speaker died down.

“I’ll get us something to drink.” Peter nodded off towards the open bar.

You nod as he walks off and turn to admire the ballroom. Your eyes soon land on a familiar face.

“Dr. Strange,” You smile, greeting him.

“Dr. Stark,” He nods. You’d met a few times at these sorts of events. You hadn’t seen him for a while though, and there were rumors of an accident.

“How are you Stephen? I haven’t seen you since...” You paused to trying and remember, “Was it that benefit for the hospital a year ago?”

“Had to be, I’ve been... traveling.” He stated ominously. You glanced down to see the long thin scars along his fingers.

“Well it’s nice to have you back.” You smiled.

Peter now rejoined you at your side, slipping a drink into your hands- non-alcoholic of course, per May’s request. His other hand found its way to the small of your back.

“Peter, this is Dr. Stephen Strange.” You introduced him.

“Peter Parker,” He smiled, shaking the doctor’s hand. Something you couldn’t describe flashed over Peter’s eyes as they shook hands. Like a gut feeling he couldn’t quite place. For some reason his spidey senses were going off.

“Enjoy your evening, I need to check in at work.” Strange gave a curt nod and smile as he said his goodbyes. As he walked past you he dropped his voice to a whisper and spoke into your ear, “I like this one much better than the last.”

“Me too,” You whispered back with a smirk.

“So... how do you know him?” Peter asked curiously as the doctor excused himself to call the hospital.

“We run in the same circles, it’s a lot of the same people that come to these sorts of things. His hospital donates a lot of money to these causes and when he pisses off the board they send him to represent them as punishment.” You explained.

“This is a punishment?” Peter asked, dumbfounded.

“For a neurosurgeon it might just be,” You laughed, shaking your head, “I’m surprised he’s here.”

“Why?” He furrowed his brows.

“I heard he was in an accident not too far back. A bad one. I didn’t know he had gone back to work. Hmm...” You looked off to where the man had disappeared to.

“Care to dance, Parker?” You changed the subject, taking his hand into yours and placing your drinks onto the nearest table.

As the song changed to I Only Have Eyes For You by The Flamingos, he held you in his arms, swaying slowly. You were lost in him, hours could have passed, or seconds. As your bodies were pressed together you felt a sensation you could only describe as home.

“So has it been everything you dreamed it would be? These stuffy formalities for rich people to get drunk and spend money.” You chuckled as you looked up at him.

“It’s beautiful, but I guess, I mean it seems so glamorous from the outside.” He shook his head.

“Sorry to burst the bubble for you. It’s a little less Gatsby, and a little more, middle aged businessman doing coke in the bathroom.” You quipped.

Peter’s head immediately whipped towards the bathroom door where two men were emerging, one rubbing his nose.

“No way...” He looked back to you with wide eyes.

“You’d be surprised.” You chuckled.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

After a little more dancing and mingling you and Peter made your way out onto the deserted balcony.

“Are you cold?” He asked, as he leaned onto the railing next to you. You were hiding it well but he still sensed it.

“A little.” You chuckled, cursing those spidey senses for giving you away.

Peter slipped off his coat and placed it over your shoulders. You thanked him as you turned to admire the moonlit lake below you. It was so quiet and peaceful, untouched by the party going on just on the other side of the glass doors.

“Did you have a good day?” Peter asked.

“Perfect.” You looked up to him and smiled, and you meant it.

“Um, so, Happy told me that you don’t like to celebrate your birthday but,” Peter began to speak, nervously. Your eyes grew wide, how in the world did he know it was your birthday? That was the one day you liked to keep private and out of the press. Only the Avengers, Pepper and Happy knew when it was. “I wanted to give you this. Everyone deserves at least one present on their birthday.”

“Peter you didn’t-” You shook your head, before he cut you off.

“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. And don’t worry, Mr. Stark swore me to secrecy so I won’t go announcing it to the world.” He reassured you as he reached into his pocket to pull out a little box.

“I know it’s not much, and I’m sure you have a million other fancy things, but I wanted you to have this.” Peter opened the box nervously, revealing a necklace. It was a single pearl and diamond dangling from a silver chain. Simple, but beautiful. “It was my mothers. Aunt May said that my dad gave it to her on their wedding day.”

Your jaw dropped slightly and your hand went over your heart.

“Peter, I-” How could you accept this? It was probably one of the last bits he had of his mother and he was just giving it away? You knew how much they meant to him, and he’d been through so much. With losing both parents so young and then his Uncle Ben not that long ago. Tears began to pool up in your eyes. Did he really care about you that much to part with something this important?

“Are you sure?” You asked softly.

“Of course I am. She would have loved you. She would have wanted you to have it.” Peter spoke, slipping the necklace on you as a single tear slipped down your cheek.

You turned back to him with a smile, he gently rubbed his thumb across your cheek to wipe the tear away. He didn’t know what to say- actually that’s a lie. He knew exactly what three words he wanted to say, but he thought it might be too soon and he might scare you. He absolutely didn’t want that. So he just smiled at you as you leaned in to kiss him.

You pulled away and wiped your tears, trying your best not to mess up your makeup.

“Thank you Peter.” You sniffled, chuckling at how silly you were being.

“Happy birthday.” He beamed as you heard the band strike up a slow song inside. He extended his hand to you, “Y/N Stark, can I have this dance?”

There was that goofy smile again, causing you to giggle as you placed your hand in his. He pulled you close, you rest your head on his shoulder as you both sway to the music. And for once in your life, everything was perfect.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

After everyone had said their goodbyes and they ushered you out of the venue, you and Peter began your short walk through the park to the Plaza Hotel across the street.

“Tonight was like a dream,” You said, as you swung your intertwined hands slightly.

“Haven’t you been to a million of these things.” Peter chuckled and shook his head.

“Yes, but I’ve never been to one with someone I love and it’s a very different experience I’ve learned.” You spoke, causing Peter to stop.

You turned to face him as you noticed his wide eyes, not believing the words that just came out of your mouth. It took him a minute to process. One, that meant you loved him. And two, that meant you were never in love with Thomas, since you’d been to these events with him before.

“Ok, you’re kinda scaring me now Peter,” You laughed nervously at his awestruck state.

“You love me?” He asked, and you answered with a nod and a smile.

He placed his hands on either side of your face and pulled you into a sweeping kiss.

“Am I dreaming?” Peter asks, pulling away, looking for any sign on your face that this was all some sort of joke.

“I sure hope not,” You chuckle.

“I love you too,” Peter beams at you, pulling you into another kiss.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Woah...” You and Peter both mutter as you push open the door to your hotel room. Now this was fancy. You felt like you were in a room in Buckingham Palace.

You both walked around, inspecting the room as you dropped your coats. You saw your bags in the corner that had already been brought up. You ran your hand over one of the pillows on the huge California King sized bed as your lips morphed into a smirk and an idea popped into your head. You clutched onto the pillow with one of your perfectly manicured hands as you spun around, whacking Peter with it.

“Hey!” He yelped, eyes growing wide at what you’d just done.

“Come on Parker, let’s see what you’ve got.” You tossed him another pillow from the bed with a smirk.

“O you’re gonna regret this,” He stalked towards you. You kicked off your heels and jumped onto the bed, standing up on your knees.

He swung his pillow as you ducked, it just missed you. You took the opportunity to whack him again. He looked at you with wide eyes, thinking, How had he missed?

“What? Couldn’t see that coming, bug boy?” You laughed. Taking those few seconds to gloat had proved fatal as you felt his pillow attack your side.

“Oof,” You feigned pain as you dropped backwards until your back hit the bed.

“Are you ok?” Peter asked, worried, thinking he’d really hurt you. With his super strength he was never sure.

You waited until he was kneeling next to you to jump into action, according to your plan. You jumped up, pushing him back onto the bed as you straddle him, grabbing your pillow and smacking him a few times.

“Ok, ok, you win!” Peter cried out, forfeiting.

“Yes!” You threw your pillow up in the air in victory. Peter looked up at you, still on top of him with your hair now a mess, hanging all around your face. He cherished the genuine smile on your face. All he wanted to do was kiss you, you looked so happy.

You crawled off of him and back onto the floor where you extended your hand to help him up. As he placed his hand into yours and rose to his feet, you didn’t notice his left hand reach for the pillow. Before you knew it, there was a pillow lightly thrown in your face.

“Peter!” You squealed through laughter. He knew you were about to retaliate when you reached for your own pillow on the bed. But he was faster, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you away.

“Come on, truce?” He asked as you struggled against his arms.

“Fine, truce.” You said, shaking his extended hand as he let you go.

“Hungry?” You asked, reaching for the room service menu on the desk and flipping through it.

“Starving.” He said, reading it over your shoulder.

After you had called in the food, you walked over to explore the rest of the room.

“They said it will be about an hour.” You told Peter, as you pushed open the door to the bathroom.

“So what do we do til then?” He asked, but you didn’t hear him.

“Jesus, look at the size of that tub.” You exclaimed, and Peter came over to your side to get a look at it too.

“Wow,” He said when his eyes landed on the giant clawfoot tub, “Um we definitely have to use that.”

You turned to face him with a smile.

“Really? You’d wanna do that?” You asked, who knew Peter Parker was a sucker for bubble baths.

“Absolutely. And do they have those big fluffy robes like in the movies?” He asked, excitedly, like a kid on Christmas.

You walked over to the closet and pulled the doors open, revealing two robes as described. You pulled them out and presented them to him.

“Cool...” His eyes lit up as he felt the material between his fingers.

You started to run the water, adding bath salts and bubbles, knowing it would take a while to fill the whole thing. Your things had already been brought to the room before you got there, so you got to work taking off your makeup and letting your now messy hair down.

You tried to reach for your zipper, as your body cried to be released from this skin tight dress.

“Hey Pete,” You called, and he strolled in the bathroom, now only wearing his dress pants and no shirt... and the butterflies were back. God how could he look that good, you stared shamelessly.

“You called?” He smirked, breaking your train of thought.

“Oh um, can you help me with my zipper?” You blushed, knowing you’d been caught.

“Mhm, turn around.” He instructed, before his fingers found the metal pull tab and he slowly worked it down, revealing more and more skin.

“There you go.” He smiled, placing a kiss on your shoulder, his gentle action nearly making you swoon. “I think the water’s ready if you want me to turn off the tap.”

“Yeah, yeah go ahead.” You nodded. You watched him turn off the spout and slip off his dress pants until he was just in his boxers. He folded them and set them aside before looking up to you. You were still holding your dress against your chest to keep it up, as the back gaped open and the thin straps slipped down your arms.

“Do you need help with that?” Peter asked, pointing to your dress, thinking you might need help taking it off. You thought you could manage, but on second thought you might need help. It was a tight dress and your stylist had helped you into it. You only nodded in response as Peter moved behind you. He gently helped you slip your arms through the straps and pulled the fabric down your body. He gave the fabric a quick tug as it struggled to get past your hips. You were now exposed in front of him. The dress was too tight for you to wear any sort of undergarments. He took you in for a moment before shifting his attention respectfully to the red indentations down your side from where the seams of the dress dug into you.

“Does this hurt?” He asked, gently rubbing his fingers down them.

“Not really,” You shook your head. He reached out his hand to help you into the tub without slipping.

You sank into the warm water as Peter dropped his boxers and joined you. Your eyes went wide at the size of him, and you looked away, a blush slowly crept onto your cheeks.

He must have noticed because the next thing you knew, a splash of water was hitting your face. You looked back to him in shock, he was sitting back laughing. You flicked your hand through the water, splashing him back.

You moved to do it again, but he grabbed your wrist, stopping you. You knew it was a good idea, if the two of you started going at it again like in the pillow fight, it would lead to a mess and an expensive clean up bill.

“Do they always book rooms this fancy for the galas?” Peter asked, taking in the room once more.

“I don’t know, this was the first time I’ve accepted it.” You shrugged, following his gaze up to the gold crown molding and chandelier.

“Really? I thought you did this all the time.” Peter assumed.

“No, I don’t make it a habit of jumping into tubs with strange men.” You joked.

“That’s not what I meant, and I’m not a strange man, I’m your boyfriend.” He teased as he pulled you towards him. You chuckled and placed your lips onto his quickly before pulling away.

“Say it again.” You smiled. He furrowed his brows for a moment before smiling.

“I’m... your... boyfriend.” He said slowly, placing a kiss on either cheek between words, his lips landing on yours after his last word.

He now had his arms around your waist, pulling you close as your lips collided. When you broke apart for air, he looked down at the necklace around your neck and smiled.

“This is a dream right? I’m dreaming.” Peter shook his head with a goofy grin, not being able to believe his eyes.

“Does this feel like a dream?” You asked, taking both of his hands and placing them onto your breasts. He responded by crashing his lips onto yours, he groaned against your mouth as he pulled you closer.

“It’s nice to know you dream about me Parker.” You quipped with a smirk as you broke apart for air. He chuckled at your cockiness.

“All the time, baby.” He replied, and the pet name rolled off his tongue before he even realized what he said. God you almost melted at the sound. It was your turn to crash your lips against his and let out a moan as his hand traveled down to squeeze your ass.

A knock at the door pulled you both apart as you stared at each other with wide eyes.

“Room service!” A voice called, causing you both to let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding in.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

The two of you sat at the dining table, both in your white fluffy robes with nearly dripping wet hair.

“God this is so good.” Peter said, stuffing his mouth.

“Mm, I know, I didn’t realize I was this hungry.” You said, doing the same. Who knew fancy hotels made burgers and fries this good.

You picked up a fry from your plate, waving it at Peter.

“Ready? Catch.” You said as you threw it across the table as Peter caught it in his mouth.

“Ok your turn,” Peter said, tossing one of his. You leaned to the side, nearly missing it, but catching it in your mouth. You thrust your fists in the air in celebration, causing Peter to chuckle.

The two of you ate and talked, before cleaning up.

“Ugh, I’m so full.” You groaned, falling back onto the bed, rubbing your full stomach, causing Peter to laugh.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Peter asked.

“Oo yeah, we should probably get out of these robes though.” You said, moving from the bed, not wanting to get it all wet.

“Here,” Peter said, moving to his duffle bag and tossing you one of his t-shirts. You slipped it on as he slipped on some boxers and hung up your robes. You glanced down at the Midtown Tech logo and smiled. The fabric fell down to the middle of your thigh.

“I like seeing you in my clothes.” Peter smiled as he approached you sitting on the edge of the bed and pulled you into a chaste kiss.

“Cafeul, soon all your sweatshirts are gonna go missing.” You said, making him laugh.

Peter sat with his back against the headboard, and motioned you over to him. You crawled across the bed and laid into his side as he wrapped an arm around your waist, keeping you close. He held the remote in his other hand, scrolling through options on the large screen.

“Have you seen this?” Peter motioned towards the screen.

“That’s my favorite movie.” You chuckled, smiling up at him as he immediately pressed start.

Peter absentmindedly played with your hair as the movie went on. As the credits rolled a few hours later you leaned up to face Peter.

“Thank you for today. As birthdays go, I gotta say this may be my best yet.” You spoke genuinely.

“Well it’s not over yet.” He stated after glancing at the clock on the bedside table.

“It’s not?” You smirk, as he pulls you closer.

“I think we were interrupted earlier.” He said slowly, a blush returning to your cheeks as you remembered the events that took place, or almost took place in the bathtub a few hours earlier.

“I think you’re right.” You whispered back, as you climbed onto his lap as his lips intertwined with yours.

You’ve kissed him before, that wasn’t new, but this time something was different. There was a hunger you couldn’t quite describe. His hands began to roam your body, trying to take in every inch of you. A strong arm wrapped around your waist, lifted you, and laid you down onto the bed as Peter now hovered over you.

You gasped at the sudden movement before smiling as Peter lowered his lips to yours once more.

“Y/N,” He said, making you stop and open your eyes, worriedly. Was he ok? Was this too much?

“I’ve never...” He began, nervously.

“That’s ok Peter, we don’t have to-” You tried to reassure him, but he shook his head.

“I want to, God I want to. I want to make you feel good.” He said, his hand traveling up your shirt and resting on your waist.

“Are you sure?” You asked, not wanting to push him into something he wasn’t ready for.

He nodded, muttering a yes as he brought his lips down to you once more, before pulling away.

“Are you?” He asked, making sure this wasn’t one sided.

“Absolutely.” You smiled, taking in the sight of him above you, reaching up to gently move a curl that was falling onto his face, brushing his hair back with your fingers.

And for the first time in your life, you realized why it was called ‘making love’. As much as the phrase made you cringe. As much as you hated when people said that, that was the only way you could think to describe what you and Peter just did. It was sweet but passionate. Peter was gentle yet ruthless in all the right ways. You figured it out together, through the giggles and moans. And as first times go, it was perfect.

For one night you got to be kids. Of course you were adults, just barely. But the two of you had more weight on your shoulders than most adults would ever have. You had responsibilities, that the safety of the city and the world depended on. But for one night, you got to be normal, you got to be kids. For one night you were free, and you cherished it, because neither of you knew how long it would last.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

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thepaperpanda · 3 years

Text

DEATH STRANDING CHRISTMAS

Summary: It's Christmas time and love is in the air. What will happen when everyone will be reunited that day?

Warnings: None

Words: 6637

Authors: Cass & Rouge

A/N: Merry Christmas! Wishing you all the happiness your holiday can hold!

Allured by the peace and quietness and the scent of freshly baked Christmas cake coming from a canteen, you took your lingering gaze off of the enormous Christmas tree adorned with glistening ornaments and glowing fairy lights draped around it that stood in the middle of the huge chamber that was usually serving as a dayroom.

As the evening sky faded away, the pink and orange hues were replaced with dark shades of blue.

The festively designed decorations, illuminated with blinking Christmas lights, vibrant ornaments and brightly colored signs, were lined up along either side of the corridor.

As you entered the canteen, the loud, spirited laughter of people could be heard over the continuous chatter surrounding the vivacious atmosphere; it brought a wide smile to your lips.

It's been a great time without Christmas, and you truly couldn't understand how it was possible that no one has ever tried to bring the magnificent spirit of Christmas back.

This year it'll be different, you told yourself half a month prior when you visited Die-Hardman with a plan for Christmas arrangements.

In the canteen you made sure that everything was going well.

There it was, as clear as the sky on a scorching summer day, that particular aroma, that perfect blend of spicy and sweet - gingerbreads were baked.

Die-Hardman stepped into the canteen as well, he wore his best suit and tie; he looked as festive as if this were a normal family reunion. "Y/N," he nodded at you a little. "As I can see, everything's in place, my sincere congratulations, the truth is I didn't think you'll be able to set all this."

With a grin playing in the corners of your lips you gave the bid back. "Yes, sir, apparently I made everything, with the little help of Sam who, just between us, wasn't a fan of the idea though."

"Little help? I had to bring the whole tree in, you think it was easy?," Sam walked in looking up at the Christmas tree, while holding his BB pod. "Not to mention I had to run to get all of the trinkets you placed on that poor tree. What is it for anyway?"

"Y/N found old records about Christmas. She decided to organize some on her own, for us all," Dead man explained. "I think she did it nicely. Like in some old photos."

"Yeah, sure." Sam muttered. "At least it looks like Lou likes it."

"Of course I did nicely! I did my best!," You claimed happily and Die-Hardman chuckled deeply.

"So... You did all of that for five of us? Kinda excessive if you ask me," Sam said and walked closer to the tree to show colorful light to Lou.

"Not only for five, there will be more. That's what Y/N promised, isn't it Y/N?," Deadman said looking at you.

You nodded and walked to him. He wore a sweatshirt with reindeer dressed in a Christmas hat. "Correct. Also let me tell ya that I love your sweatshirt!"

Die-Hardman led everyone closer to the Christmas tree. "Okay, I hope that rest will join us…” His sentence was cut off by Cliff who appeared out of nowhere.

He was having a red hat with pompom and was dressed like Santa Claus. "Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas everyone! Hope I didn't get late! My men, it took them too much time to get dressed properly!," He chuckled and few of his comrades appeared right behind him. This time they weren't having rifles with them but a lot of bags with presents wrapped in colorful paper.

Sam blinked a few times, he turned to you. "How... How did you do that?," He asked quietly.

"We are here finally!," Mama said happily as she and Lockne joined the party. Both sisters dressed in colors perfect for christmas. "Mama couldn't find her glasses," Lockne added.

You hugged them both. "It's so good to see you again!," You claimed and clapped your hands.

Soon, there was a cracking sound and Amelie joined you. As always she wore a red, fitted dress and she was holding a few packages in her hands. She put them under the Christmas tree and gave a smile to Sam. "Merry Christmas, Sam. Merry Christmas to everyone!"

Sam gave a flat smile and nodded. "Merry Christmas, Amelie," he said, turning Lou to all the guests. "Look how many people are here."

Another cracking sound filled the room and Fragile showed up. "Merry Christmas to everyone?"

"It looks like your plan worked out perfectly, Y/N. How did you do that?," Deadman asked. "It's a lot of people in one place."

"I messaged everyone, and if it comes to Amelie, let's just skip this though," you chuckled. "I asked them to come, and I told them that we can't simply give upon our traditions just because Death Stranding is on. They agreed," you replied.

After a few minutes the door to the dayroom slid open and Heartman entered with dancing moves. "Hey, guys! Oh, Mama! Good to see you! Magnificent! Wow! You also have a Christmas tree! And decorations! Hmm, am I correct?! Is this true?! Do I sense gingerbreads?!," He almost sang.

"Someone had too much Christmas, maybe it wasn't a good idea to pull him out of the lab... His heart... Ya know the deal, right?," Sam asked you quietly with a frown.

"Sam grumpy as ever," Fragile said, walking up to the two of you. "This was an amazing idea Y/N. Oh! Sam I have gift for little one."

Sam raised his eyebrow and handed the pod to Fragile. "Hi there, Lou. Merry Christmas," she said before pulling out a little sweater and putting it around the pod. "Oh! Look at this!"

"Lou looks like a little candy! How cute is that!," You clapped hands and walked to Heartman to place a brief kiss to his cheek as a greeting. "Hey there handsome, I'm so glad you've accepted my invitation."

"How could I not?," he chuckled. "For this special occasion I turned the AED off."

"Let's just hope he won't suddenly drop dead during the supper... Or whatever Y/N prepared," Sam said and looked at the pod in Fragile hands.

She only giggled and raised the pod. "Cliff! What do you think? It's cute, right?"

Both Mama and Lockne let out a loud aww sound at the sight of BB wearing the sweater.

"So Y/N. You are the head of this whole thing. What should we do now, the truth is not everyone knows what to do during Christmas," Deadman said, looking around.

Cliff approached Fragile who held Lou and tapped the glass with his finger. "Hey, BB, you're the cutest BB of all time!"

"Okay, guys!," You whistled loudly to get their attention. "First, I want to say something," you announced happily. "I'm so glad to see you all here, in this place. It has a very symbolic meaning to me, we're one, just like our beautiful country will be when Sam will finish connecting all cities to the chiral network," you smiled at them, tugging on the dress you wore. "It means a lot as we all are one. We are one in our mutual experiences, in our closeness and understanding..."

You slipped your glance along everyone in the room. "Merry Christmas! You can have a snack, they're on the table," you nodded in the direction of the table where a lot of dishes were awaiting to be consumed, including huge roasted turkey. "Later, after dinner, we will have a very important encounter with Santa Claus!," You winked at Cliff who nodded slightly.

A loud cracking sound filled the room. "HELLO THERE BRIDGES! Merry fucking Christmas, guys!," Higgs yelled loudly, not bothered by all the looks he got. "Why do you look at me like that? Oh yes, yes, I know. I should bring a gift but I didn't have enough parts to build another nuke," he rolled his eyes, waving his hand around.

You shook your head as Heartman instinctively shielded you with his body. "Who is he?," You asked with curiosity in your tone.

"That's Higgs. The man who blew a few cities out of America's map," Heartman informed you quietly.

Amelie put hands to her hips. "I wasn't aware you're going to be here as well, Higgs," she almost snorted.

Die-Hardman gave the newcomer a mean glance. "Seriously? Even on such a day you need to destroy everything?"

Meantime, your glance was still on the man in the hood.

"Wooooooow, I feel so welcomed here," Higgs said, removing his hood off his head. "I destroy stuff, it's just my thing but I see something else I can destroy."

Higgs suddenly vanished and then appeared right behind you.

"Well, well, well! What do we have here? Thanks, heartboy," he said picking you up to take a look at you. "Ain't ya a beauty that is worth to be taken under the mistletoe?"

Sam facepalmed. "There is no day with break."

You blinked but being taken completely aback by stranger's action, you had to wrap arms around his neck to support yourself. "Uhm, hi there, sir. Can you consider putting me down though? I feel pretty intimidated," you whispered, your eyes fixed on his, and dear Beach, his eyes were so magnetising!

Amelie sighed. "It's Christmas after all, guys. I think we should let him stay. In such a time no one should be alone."

Die-Hardman agreed with the lady in red. "Amelie's right."

Sam blinked. "Seriously? He nuked two cities and planned to nuke the third one. “You can't be serious!"

Higgs giggled, patting your hips. "Being intimidating is my second name, sugar," he pretended to think about your request. "Well I don't know. I love little sweet girls like you, maybe I will take you as my gift."

"To be fair, director, Higgs is a highly dangerous man. He proved this many times," Deadman added.

"I like this guy. He makes me blush," Higgs said and then looked at you. "I think I may have a gift for you, sugar,” he added before giving you a golden mask.

You took it in hand and fitted it to your face. "Gangsta!," You chuckled and ran to the nearest mirror to have a look. "Ha! This is so cool!"

You waited for him to approach you. "My name's Y/N. And you're Higgs, that's what Heartman told me."

Heartman looked after you and blinked. "She's impossible. Jumping like a puppy but this is what happens when a young girl is alone for too long, am I right, Mama?"

Amelie walked to Deadman and put hand on his shoulder. "Trust me. I know what he did but maybe by showing him kindness we'll get more than by following his game."

Die-Hardman cleared his throat. "Okay. Let's take the seats and have a meal. This is a special day, everyone deserves kindness, just like Amelie said."

Cliff took BB from Sam and set it on the chair right next to him. "Can someone pass me the knife? I forgot my army knife and someone has to cut the turkey!"

BB rolled in the pod and giggled waving at Sam.

Mama and her sister frowned looking at Heartman.

"What was that supposed to mean?," Mama asked, offended.

"Yes, what was that supposed to mean?," Lockne repeated after her sister.

Deadman nodded at Amelie's comment. "Maybe you are right."

"Oh! I have a knife, army-man!," Higgs said loudly, presenting his own knife. "I never leave it. Maybe you should learn this too," he chuckled before being pulled away by Fragile.

"You better behave if you want to stay here. Be normal for one single day," she growled and Higgs nodded. "Okay! Okay! Noted! I wouldn't dear to fuck up Y/N's day. I bet she worked her ass off for all of this."

You took your seat at the table, right between Sam and Fragile.

Cliff took the golden knife from Higgs' hands, offering the tall man a suspicious glance. "I hope you're not the guy who's bothering my son and Lou. Otherwise, I'd have to kill you," he informed with a cold grimace in his face which quickly vanished and was replaced by a grin. "Okay! Who wants the chicken?! Hey!," He got up and glanced at his comrades who were trying to sneak to the tree and gifts located under. "Behave! Get back to the table! No turkey, no presents! For fuck's sake, I asked you all to behave! How many times did we train the entire thing?!"

One of the army men quickly got back to the table. "Uhm, few," he admitted and took the helmet off, placing it on the polished floor.

"And what did I say?," Cliff asked while cutting the turkey.

"We get in, we greet living beings, we have a meal, we behave, we get presents and we have a party."

Heartman laughed loudly. "Cliff, I have to say you're having a huge authority among them. What a situation!"

Amelie offered everyone a grin. "Does anyone want some potatoes?"

Higgs sat right next to Sam and gave Cliff an innocent smile.

"Oh no, Mr Sam's dad. I am a good boy, my twin brother bothers Sam. Besides, Sam bothers me too! He keeps destroying my plans! And BTs!," He whimpered dramatically.

Sam only rolled his eyes and moved a little closer to you to get away from the terrorist.

"I’ve seen them before yet they still freak the fuck out of me," he whispered to you, looking at the soldiers.

"I can say the same…," Fragile said quietly

"I am so surprised they are so…," Mama said, thinking about the right word.

"Obedient," Lockne added quickly. “We expected them to be... How to name it?"

"Creatures of chaos," Mama finished.

You smiled at Sam and quickly turned head to face Lockne and Mama. "It's called discipline, right, Mr Unger?"

Cliff offered you a bright grin. "The girl's smart. I like her. If my son wouldn't have this phobia of his, I bet he would take a chance on you."

BB rolled in the pod.

Amelie chuckled and covered her lips with a curled hand. "Actually, Cliff, Sam would be her father if he made an effort..."

Heartman laughed loudly before he stopped his outburst, he also raised his thumb up. "And 20 likes go to Lady Strand! What a beautiful, honest summary!"

Higgs laughed and patted Sam's back. "Well! Ya know guys, some men like younger girls. Honestly I would love to get Y/N in my hands. To pin her down and just…," Higgs didn't finish his sentence because he got smacked on the back of the head by Fragile.

"Behave," she growled after getting back in her seat.

"To be fair, since we got on that topic. I don't think the age difference should be a taboo any longer," Deadman said before digging into his meal. "World is shattered, we should do what we can to make sure humanity doesn't die. Of course while keeping some moral boundaries."

"Do we really have to talk about such stuff now?," Sam groaned, rolling his eyes. "I don't like this topic."

"Oh, why? Because you can't get laid, Sammy boy?," Higgs almost sang, teasing Sam.

Cliff rose from his seat and threw a glance to Higgs who quickly shut his mouth. "That's way better," Cliff said and pretended that he rose only to get the corn salad.

Die-Hardman took his mask off and started eating the turkey that Cliff handled to him. "I need to agree with Deadman. Humanity is on the edge of destruction and extinction..."

"... Thanks to terrorists like Higgs," Heartman added, his eyes fixed on the uninvited guest.

"That's not what I meant... However you're not wrong on this," Die-Hardman agreed. "What I meant is that we should take care of reproduction, to make sure that the human race will survive and will be able to rebuild our world. To make it great again."

You blushed hearing Higgs' words about him liking younger girls, so to hide it you grabbed the glass and drank the wine that was poured by Mama.

Amelie nodded as she was cutting her piece of turkey into little slices. "We all are sober yet the topics are getting interesting already. I'm curious what will be next."

BB swam a little and moved closer to Sam.

"Oh, BB, granddaddy is here too, look, look," Clifford waved hand to get Lou's attention and then he put the Santa Claus hat on, playing with the pompon. "Look, little one! Granddad is Santa Claus!"

"To be fair, Y/N and Sam would look cute together. Imagine the cute kids they would have!" Mama said excited and Lockne nodded eagerly. "I want to be an aunt!"

Fragile noticed your red face and smiled gently rubbing your shoulder. "It's okay Y/N. Family is like this. They will talk and then they will stop."

Higgs frowned looking at Heartman. "Hey! Heart boy! I don't see the world getting better thanks to science boys like you," he growled resting his elbow on Sam's shoulder.

Sam quickly pushed it off his shoulder with an annoyed sound.

Higgs rolled his eyes before digging into his food. "Oh, fucking shit! This shit is good! Fucking better than a pizza! Oh! By the way, Sam! Lately you started to bring it cold. I don't like it."

Sam let out a loud sigh. "Then start to move your ass. You can jump and grab it yourself."

"Naaah! Making you visit me is more fun!," Higgs giggled.

You were covered in a blush after Mama and Lockne's words. You tugged on Sam's sleeve. "I swear, this is my first and last Christmas Eve ever."

You also giggled hearing complaints made by Higgs.

Heartman got up to get another piece of mashed potatoes. "To your information, Higgs, we build, not destroy, and that's the difference you'll never understand, you little devil's spawn."

Clifford clapped his hands. "Come on, guys, eat, eat or we won't get to presents this year!"

Die-Hardman smiled at his friend. "It's good to see you among us, Clifford."

Unger grinned and turned head to you. "Hey, Y/N, what drinks do we have except wine? I don't say it's bad but as for a real man, like me or my son, we could have something stronger. Cognac or whiskey."

Heartman chuckled. "You can always get Monster with vodka. Pretty dangerous mix but tasty. Tried a few times."

Sam chuckled at your comment. "At least next year I will have less work to do," he joked.

"Now I know why your heart is so fucked up. Since you drink such a mixes," Higgs commented before licking his plate completely clean. "I ask for more!"

Lockne, Mama and Fragile followed Cliff's order and started to eat as well.

"Well... For me some beer is enough," Sam said checking on Lou.

"I'll go get the drinks," you offered and politely excused yourself before getting off the table.

Heartman quickly got up too. "I'll help Y/N."

Amelie offered mashed potatoes to Higgs. "You're pretty hungry, aren't you?"

"Hell fucking yeah I am! Sitting in the bunker or camp and eating cold pizza ain't easy, sweetheart," Highs nodded and started to eat as soon as he got more food on his plate.

"Such a diet isn't good. You should eat more healthy stuff," Deadman said.

Higgs only shrugged, being too busy with his food.

Fragile sighed and shook her head. "No manners. You should spend some time with Clif to learn something, Higgs."

"Oh, I'd gladly train you, young man," Clifford said. "With me above you, you'd be running smoothly."

"I'm sorry, I know that thing I'll say is totally wrong but I imagined some other things, Clifford. With Monaghan beneath... Oh, dear God, forgive me for I have sinned," Heartman added before he left the room with you.

Die-Hardman spat himself with the wine he was drinking.

BB started chuckling.

Amelie blinked and facepalmed. "Maybe extinction is not a bad idea?"

Meantime, you and Heartman were in the pantry, collecting bottles of alcohol and cans of Monster and beer.

"I think that this little party is great, Y/N," Heartman stated. "Thank you for this opportunity of having some substitute for normal life, it's been a while since I felt truly happy," his voice broke a little, so you put the bottle of Jack Daniels and simply gave him a bear hug.

Sam choked on his food.

Mama and Lockne laughed loudly. "Not to offend anyone, that would be something nice to watch," Lockne said with a giggle.

Higgs hummed. "Sorry, ladies! I am more of a top but if any of you are interested, I am single as a pringle and ready to mingle. Just I am not into man, sorry, Mr Sam's papa."

Sam blinked, taking in what just happened and after a moment he groaned. It was a bit too much for him.

Soon, you and Heartman returned. You walked to Cliff and handed him a bottle of whiskey.

Heartman poured some vodka to everyone who wanted and handled Sam a can of beer.

"So, Y/N, are you enjoying the fest you threw?," Amelie asked with her soft glance on you.

"Yes, I do, even if I cringe from time to time, I think it's cute to have you all in one place."

You then turned to Fragile. "Hey, do you know something more about that Higgs guy who got here on blackballed? I need to think about something for him. I prepared gifts for everyone but him. I didn't expect anyone else to join," you whispered leaning to the woman.

Die-Hardman looked at Mama. "How is your research? Did you fix Sam's qupid?"

Mama nodded. "We did actually. Everything should be more than good once he is out again."

"It wasn't a hard fix. Just a few updates and it's working perfectly again," Lockne said before taking a sip of her wine.

"Uuuu! Smart ladies! I like it!," Higgs nudged Sam with elbow. "I need to get to know them. Twins are like two in one deal!"

"I am not doing that," Sam muttered with a frown.

Fragile looked at you. "Oh trust me, I know him a bit too much. He shouldn't get a gift for being a bad person," Fragile stated quietly.

"Yeah, I understand, but it will be in a bad tone to not gift one person... Ok, I'll think of something."

An hour passed on many talks, the atmosphere was filled with laughter.

"Dears, did anyone see Cliff?," Die-Hardman asked as he spotted his friend was missing.

You also vanished from the room.

BB was already sleeping and Amelie was sitting with Heartman, chatting like there was no tomorrow.

"I think Y/N took him to the other room," Sam said, looking at sleeping Lou.

"Maybe she decided to extend the human kind with him!," Higgs said quickly. "Since his son didn't want her, daddy decided to try it. I can't blame her," he shrugged.

"Just shut your mouth, Higgs," Sam growled.

Higgs giggled and continued to drink his beer.

"Hey, wait a minute, Lockne and Mama are gone, too," Heartman said as he was pulled from deep conversation with Amelie.

"Foursome?," Higgs purred while Sam facepalmed together with Fragile.

"Y/N probably planned something special. She prepared Christmas in smaller details," Deadman nodded his head a little. "The food was great."

"That's true!," Sam added.

Suddenly, the music came out of speakers.

Last Christmas I gave you my heart

But the very next day you gave it away

This year, to save me from tears

I'll give it to someone special

"HO-HO-HO!," The main door slid open and Clifford dressed as Santa Claus entered the room. He was having a huge bag thrown over his shoulder, his hat with pompom was tilted slightly.

His four comrades were having reindeer hats on.

You, Lockne and Mama entered the room right behind him, all three of you dressed in white, short dresses with wings made of silky material and snowflake patterns on your dresses, rocking to the music.

"Come here, children! I hope you all were good for the last year, ho-ho-ho!," Clifford took a seat in a huge armchair you borrowed from Die-Hardman. "It's time for presents!"

"So maybe Lou first, he is the youngest one, huh? What do you say?," Sam said softly, tapping on the glass gently to wake up the BB.

"I can go a second round! I am the most important bad guy here," Higgs said full of pride.

"Today my little, beautiful helpers will set the order, ho-ho-ho!," Clifford laughed deeply.

In the tact of music, Mama danced toward Sam and picked the pod with Lou from him.

"So, young gentleman, I know you've been a good, little bean, so I need to get inside my bag of presents to get yours! Aha! I have it!," Clifford pulled a new pod out, with the ribbon wrapped around it. "More space for dance, huh?"

Meantime, the song ended and the next one was on.

I sing this song

To pass the time away

Driving in my car

Driving home for Christmas

"Deadman for sure will move you into it as soon as possible. You should like it," Mama said with a smile.

"And Now back to papa," Lockne took BB and his gift to bring them back to Sam.

"Me now!," Higgs got up from his place and sat on Cliff's laps.

"So! Mr Santa-Sam's dad, what do you have for me, huh?," He smiled. "I was the best fucking boy the whole year!"

Cliff gently nudged Higgs' side to make him get off his lap. Clifford rubbed his long, white, fake beard. "We all know you've been the baddest but thankfully the beautiful lady over there," he pointed at you, "decided that you also deserved the gift. Let me find it in my bag of miracles."

Clifford reached into his bag and pulled the nicely wrapped box, he handled it to Monaghan. "Merry fucking Christmas, asshole."

It was nothing but a book about Egyptian mythology and a handmade cloak that was originally meant to be for Heartman.

"Thank you fucking much!," Higgs said excited and quickly returned to his seat to look at the stuff he got. He already loved them.

"So? Who's next... Maybe our Director." Mama said and walked to Die-hardman. "C'mon. Everyone gets something today."

Die-Hardman chuckled but let the lady scientist lead him to Clifford.

"And you!," Fake Santa Claus said, "You've been good, too. Here's your gift, merry Christmas!"

Die-Hardman was gifted with the themed tie with reindeers and with a polishing paste.

"It's for your mask, so it will always look classy," you smiled at him and as he returned to his seat, you walked to Heartman and grabbed him by palm.

"Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas, Heartman!," Clifford grinned widely and gave the man a heart-shaped box, in which Heartman found a pair of gloves with heart motiv on each and a CD with classical music.

"Thank you, Y/N," he smiled brightly at you and kissed your cheek. "It's the best gift."

Sam looked at Fragile. "Go on. I am sure Santa also got something for you."

Woman nodded and got up from her seat to walk closer to Santa. "Well, I was a good girl. I think at least. I tried," Fragile said slowly.

"Dear Fragile, and your gift is in my bag, that's for sure! Just be patient as the old man will find it!," Clifford chuckled and soon gifted the woman with a new umbrella with Fragile logo.

Then it was time for Deadman who got new glasses.

Amelie was gifted with a golden necklace that fit her dress perfectly.

Lockne and Mama also got the present, it was a little blanket with an admixture of chiral matter. "This will help your sweet daughter to sleep in a cradle, she won't be drifting up under the ceiling," you smiled at them. "It was my project with Heartman's execution," you explained.

Clifford got new night-vision goggles.

In the end, Sam was gifted with a new suit.

Everyone was enjoying their gifts, talking about them and enjoying whatever time left.

"Y/N?," Sam looked at you. "What with your gift? Everyone got something and you?," He frowned.

"Yeah! Exactly! Where is the gift for our beautiful host?," Higgs looked at you over Sam's shoulder, he was already wearing the new cape.

"My gift is everywhere. It's the atmosphere you all created and this is more than I could dream about. My heart's beating faster when I see you enjoy the meals, the gifts," you smiled at Sam and Higgs.

Higgs sighed placing his chin on Sam's shoulder. "Isn't she adorable! But it's not fair. You did so much."

"I hate to say that but Higgs is right," Sam sighed.

"I need to agree with both of them. You did so much, in such a short time. You gathered all of us here," Deadman added. "Who else agree?"

All you could do was to smile at everyone. "I mean it, guys. I don't need gifts. You all are the greatest gift to me."

Heartman walked to you from behind. "We kinda predicted you will think of everyone but yourself. So here's the gift from us," he handed you a box.

Unwrapping it with shaking hands, you felt the heart racing in your chest. In the box you found a notebook in a leather cover and a few pencils.

"We've heard you like to draw," Die-Hardman smiled.

"Guys... Thank you! So much!!," You cried quietly while hugging the gift to your chest.

"We are in this together, Y/N. If everyone gets a gift it means you get one too," Sam shrugged Higgs off earning a groan from Monaghan.

Party continued.

People talked and laughed, simply enjoyed the company, while finishing whatever food left.

Die-Hardman was having so much fun that now he was dancing with Lockne to one of the christmas songs.

Higgs was sitting in his seat looking through the book you gave him. It's not like he had people to interact with here.

You definitely had too many drinks. After almost half an hour of dancing with Heartman, you had to rest at the table. You flopped on the first free seat which was the place next to America's most wanted terrorist. You clicked your high heels off and groaned. "How much I hate these shoes!," You muttered while stretching like a cat.

"Why did you put them on? If they are uncomfortable just never wear them again," Higgs shrugged. "End of the problem."

You blinked at the comment and chuckled. "Fair point though. You'll never understand this though as you're the man and I'm the woman. Our brains are different," you hiccuped.

"I know when to stop drinking. You'll never understand this though as you're the woman and I am the man. Our brains are different," He giggled, teasing you.

You laughed at his comment; this man was about to be a death of yours.

You got up from your chair and reached out to him. "Hey, vamos a bailar!," You asked him with a little smile dancing in the corners of your mouth. "Pretty please?"

"No idea what you’ve just said but yea, sure, I agree on anything, sugar," Higgs said, returning a smile. "Lead the way."

You grabbed his palm firmly, without hesitation, and led him right into the dancefloor which was just the free space on the floor, next to the Christmas tree.

Heartman followed you with a frown. "I don't like it," he whispered to Fragile.

You climbed on your tiptoes to wrap your arms around a man's neck, both to get a bit intimidated and to support yourself from falling.

Fragile looked at you and Higgs, she shrugged.

"Since we have Death Stranding free day, let them enjoy it. After it's over, they will be mortal enemies again," she said and smiled. "Why? Are you jealous?"

Higgs chuckled. "Holy me, you are so small when I keep you close! I fucking love it."

Heartman blushed a little, rolled his eyes and lowered his thumb, taking 5 likes from Fragile before he moved aways with dancing moves, to join Mama.

You chuckled nervously at Higgs comment. "Thanks, I take it as a compliment," you simply rested your forehead against his chest.

She only laughed and nodded. "Thank you for confirming this, Heartman!," Fragile said a bit louder.

Higgs wrapped arms around your waist and nodded. "Oh yes, you indeed should take it as a compliment. Maybe I really should kidnap you as my christmas gift."

You giggled at his words while rocking into the rhythm of the music with him. "Maybe," you teased. "But I think that Sam and his dad would twist your neck after."

You suddenly raised a head to look at him, and you noticed a mistletoe above his head.

Higgs thought, looking at both men before his gaze returned to you. "Hmm... I honestly think it would be worth it," he noticed that you looked up and followed you. "Oh, fucking finally!,” Higgs said excited and pressed his lips against yours in a messy kiss.

You blinked when his lips crushed on yours but soon closed your eyes and enjoyed the kiss. You take the attempt to dominate him in the kiss but you fail so finally you give up your tries and simply wrap your arms around his neck.

Higgs pulled way after a moment and winked at you.

He reached up to take a small part of the mistletoe and then sneaked to Sam.

"Oh! Sammy boy!," Higgs sang.

Sam sighed deeply and turned to look at him. "What?," He frowned, seeing the mistletoe. "You kidding?"

Higgs gave him a wide smile and suddenly licked Sam's nose, making the other man froze.

Like nothing ever happened Higgs returned to you.

You started laughing hysterically which resulted in you losing the balance and almost falling on the floor, thankfully Higgs was faster and caught you in his arms.

Clifford spat all the whiskey he was about to swallow on Die-Hardman's shirt.

Heartman turned head around to see what happened but he lost his balance and fell on Lockne who spilled her wine right onto the electronic device on his chest.

Heartman's AED turned on and kicked him with an electric glitch, causing him to die on the spot.

"Higgs, you killed Heartman!," Amelie screamed.

"Nooot first and not the last death!" Higgs said with a shrug before kissing your lips quickly. "It's getting late and I have nukes to build! See you maybe next year!" He winked at you before vanishing.

As you lost Higgs as your frame, you fell right onto the floor and rolled on your back, still laughing.

"Or maybe not! It can wait!," Higgs said after returning. "Besides I didn't take my gifts."

"You really need to turn everything upside down?," Sam sighed, shaking his head.

"That's my job!," Higgs shrugged. "Who wants a drink?!"

You raised your hand up, still laying on the floor. You discovered it was a pretty comfortable place to rest. Or maybe you were just too drunk?

After 3 minutes another electric shock made Heartman's heart work properly again, and the man woke up, sitting on the floor. "What the fuck!"

Clifford was helping Die-Hardman to clean his shirt. "Monaghan! Stop being a douche-bag to everyone! If you won't listen, I'll have to shoot you," he warned, almost growling.

Amelie helped Heartman back on his feet. "You okay?"

"Yes, it's fine."

BB started crying.

Higgs quickly helped you up and smiled. "Oh, c'mon, Clifford! Everyone is well and alive. Even the heart boi. Practically, I did nothing wrong," he shrugged.

Sam let out a deep sigh. "It's Higgs after all. What else we can expect."

Higgs agreed with Sam, hugging you tightly.

You felt squeezed by his arms. "Can't... Breathe...," you whispered quietly hoping for him to lose his grasp.

Heartman smoothened his suit. "I almost forgot! I borrowed a camera from my friend's geologist. I want to take a picture of our pack, except you," he pointed his index finger at Higgs.

"Heartman, let him. He spent the entire evening with us, one photo won't affect anyone," Amelie nudged the man's chest.

"I fucking love photos!," Higgs jumped happily. "The host should have the honor of setting us for a photo!," He said excitedly.

You smiled at Higgs and squeezed his palm that you were still holding. "Okay, fellas. Clifford and Mama, you two go on left. Yes, just like that. Amelie, you with Fragile and Sam can take a seat on the couch."

"Sam, maybe you can be in the middle?," Amelie smiled at her stepbrother.

You pecked your lips as you were thinking. "Okay, Die-Hardman, would you be so kind to take a seat here, on the pouffe? Yes, just like that, thank you. Deadman, you can take our lovely Lou and stand next to the pouffe a little. Hmmm, and Heartman, my lovely friend, you can stand behind Die-Hardman. That's it! Perfect! Lockne, can you stand right next to your sister?"

Sam wasn't too happy he wasn't holding Lou but nodding he followed your little orders.

Mama and Lockne stood exactly where you wanted them, just like a Deadman.

"I see a perfect place for myself!," Higgs claimed excitedly and lied down on the floor. He turned on his side and propped up his head on a hand. "Perfect!"

You facepalmed a little but chuckled at the villain's idea. "Actually, you fit there perfectly, Higgs!"

You quickly set the camera on the shelf and made sure to turn the timer on, then you quickly ran to take a seat next to the Die-Hardman.

The flash lit the room and the picture was taken.

"Cool! Can I get one? I will have a nice souvenir from that nice day," Higgs asked from the floor. "I had so much fun!"

"Yes, of course you can!," You smiled at him and ran to the camera to set it again to take a second pic.

When the dawn was about to knock at the door, and when almost everyone was sleeping in weird positions where they could, you led Higgs to the exit. "I never thought I'd have so much fun with them all. And, though I didn't expect you, I'm grateful you came," you smiled at him and handled him his gifts to make sure he won't forget to take them along. "I put the picture into the book."

Higgs nodded, taking the book.

"Yeah, It was fucking fun. I enjoyed it," He sighed, looking at the gift from you. "Too bad that as soon as I leave we'll become a mortal enemies again,"

"Maybe you'll but not to me," assuring him, you grabbed his palm and squeezed it lightly. "No matter what you'd do, you gained a friend," you smiled.

Higgs took your palm and kissed the top of it. "Thank you, sugar. I will remember that."

"Take care of yourself as we need to meet next year for another Christmas party," you chuckled softly and blushed a bit at his sudden gesture.

Then, like he was one of the good guys, you wrapped your arms around his waist and hugged him. "Please, stay safe and see you in a year. Remember, you have to pop up! No excuse as it won't feel like Christmas without you."

Higgs hugged you, being totally confused but he nodded with a soft chuckle.

"Okay, I will try my best. See you in a year," He slowly pulled away and winked at you before vanishing.

You smiled to yourself while observing the flipped rainbow on the sky and hearing the thunder.

Despite your efforts, the Death Stranding still was on.

#sam porter bridges #higgs monaghan #clifford unger #heartman #mama #lockne #die-hardman #deadman #amelie strand #sam porter bridges x reader #heartman x reader #higgs monaghan x reader #death stranding #higgs monaghan fic #sam porter bridges fic

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kipscorner · 3 years

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Headernotes:

- THIS IS A LONG POST! - Anything in Parenthesis, feel free to change or remove - Feel free to change pronouns to match - Thank you for reblogging and using! <3

“(Name), can you explain again what we're doing?”

We're kicking off our fun, old-fashioned family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh...to embrace the majesty of the winter landscape...and select that most important of Christmas symbols.”

“We're not driving all the way here so you can get one of those stupid ties with the Santa Clauses on it, are we?”

“Some jackass is riding my tail.”

“(Name)! Don't provoke them!”

“Burn some dust here. Eat my rubber.”

“Eat my road grit, liver lips!”

“(Name), stop it! I don't want to spend the holidays dead!”

“Will you just take it easy, (Name)? I'm in complete control.”

“(Name), we're stuck under a truck!”

“Do you think I don't know that?”

“For Christ sake, I didn't do this on purpose!”

“My toes are numb.”

“I can't feel my leg.”

“(Name), that thing wouldn't fit in our yard.”

“It's not going in our yard, (Name). It's going in our living room.”

“She'll see it later, (Name). Her eyes are frozen.”

“Hey, (Name)! Where do you think you're gonna put a tree that big?”

“You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that.”

“I wasn't talking to you.”

“It looks great. A little full. A lot of sap.”

“Did I tell you I talked to my mother?”

“They've decided they're coming for Christmas too.”

“You're forgetting how difficult it's gonna be having everybody in the house.”

“(Name), they're family. They're not strangers off the street.”

“Yeah. And about my mother accusing your mother of buying cheap hot dogs. And your mother accusing my mother of waxing her upper lip.”

“I want to have Christmas here in our house. It means a lot to me. All my life I've wanted to have a big family Christmas.”

“The question is, what will you do with that bonus? Gonna blow it on yourself, I hope.”

“Oh, my God, you're putting in a pool.”

“Layman's terms. None of that inside bullshit jargon nobody understands.”

“Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Kiss my ass. Kiss his ass. Kiss your ass.Happy Hanukkah.”

“Wouldn't be the Christmas shopping season if stores were less hooter--Hotter than they are.”

“You have your coat on.”

“There is a nip in the air though.”

“Can I take something out for you?”

“'Tis the season to be merry.”

“Folks! Folks! Folks! Merry Christmas!”

“Look at how big you've gotten!”

“They're not sleeping in my room. I'm gonna go crazy.”

“We're gonna have the best-looking house in town.”

“Come on, unravel these. You have to check every bulb. Got a little knot here. You work on that. I'll get the other box.”

“Would it be indecent to ask the grandparents to stay at a hotel?”

“We're all making sacrifices, (Name).”

“Well, I don't know what to say except it's Christmas and we're all in misery.”

“And why is the carpet all wet, (Name)?”

I don't know, (Name)!”

“I hope nobody I know drives by and sees me standing in the yard, staring at the house in my pajamas.”

“Talk about pissing your money away.”

“Let's get in where it's warm.”

“Now, look, if you need any help...give me a holler. I'll be asleep.”

“Where the hell is that cold coming from?”

“I want to take off these clothes, sit with a glass of wine and kiss your body.”

“Are you out here for a reason, or are you just avoiding the family?”

“Do you honestly think I would check thousands of lights if the extension cord wasn't plugged in?”

“You deserve a home like this to spend Christmas in.”

“You taught me everything I know about exterior illumination.”

“I hope this adds to your enjoyment of the holidays.”

“You got a kiss for me?”

“Better take a rain check on that. (pronouns) got a lip fungus they ain't identified yet.”

“We named him that because he's got this sinus condition.”

“You pet him and he'll love you till the day you die.”

“If I woke up with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised then I am right now.”

“After that long drive, we could use a little private time together.”

“(Name), help me get some hot chocolate. It's cold.”

“A little tree water ain't gonna hurt him. Before we left, he drank a half a quart of Pennzoil. Boy, when he lifted his leg the next morning…”

“It's a crying shame the older kids couldn't make it.”

“She's got these big horns growing right out above her ears. Yeah, she's ugly as sin, but a sweet gal. And a hell of a good cook.”

“Can I refill your eggnog? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to nowhere and leave you for dead?”

“Oh, that there? That's an RV.”

“Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of an important call. Get me somebody. Anybody. And get me somebody while I wait.”

“We're gonna fly down the hill with this stuff.”

“You know that metal plate in my head? I had to have it replaced because every time (Name) revved up the microwave...I'd piss my pants and forget who I was for a half-hour or so.”

“Nothing like waiting till the last minute, huh?”

“What are you doing up, sweetheart?”

“You shouldn't use that word.”

“I don't think he should be nervous and you shouldn't be either. Because if you're good, Santa knows it. If you believe in him and you believe in your mom and you believe in your...Your dad. If you've been good all year round, Santa is gonna bring you something.”

“Well, I happen to know for a fact that Santa Claus is real. And in the next couple of days… somehow I'm gonna prove it to you.”

“It's good you came to stay with us.”

“I think you'd better go back to bed now.”

“Aren't you having any breakfast?”

“Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn. The clean, cool chill of the holiday air.

And an asshole in his bathrobe emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer.”

“It's a sewer. If it fills with gas, I pity the person who lights a match near it.”

“Merry Christmas. Shitter was full!”

“In seven years he couldn't find a job?”

“(Name) and I want to help you give the kids a nice Christmas.”

“This isn't charity. It's family.”

“If you don't tell me what they want, I'll go out and get it on my own.”

“Is your house on fire, (Name)?”

“No, those are Christmas lights.”

“Don't throw me down, (Name).”

“Oh, that was fun. I love riding in cars.”

“Oh, dear. Did I break wind?”

“You shouldn't have brought presents.”

“This box is meowing.”

“(Name)? (pronoun) passed away 30 years ago.”

“They want you to say grace. The blessing!”

“I told you we put it in too early.”

“I heard on the news that a pilot spotted Santa's sled on its way from New York.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you, (Name)?”

“If he keeps it up, it will be his last Christmas.”

“Look what you've done to my tree!”

“It was an ugly tree, anyway.”

“I'm sorry if I've been a little short with everyone lately.”

“...I didn't have enough in my account to cover the check.”

“I can't swim, (Name).”

“(Name), that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.”

“If this isn't the biggest punch in the face I ever got. Goddamn it!”

“I wanna look him straight in the eye and tell him what a cheap, lying, no good, rotten, four-flushing low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed ignorant, bloodsucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless ignorant, bloodsucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless heartless, fat-assed, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?”

“He's got that crazed look in his eye.”

“Turn that thing off and get in the house!”

“Aren't you a bit sorry we didn't get a Christmas tree?”

“Well, where you gonna find a tree at this hour on Christmas Eve?”

“Could you just keep it in mind the next time you go berserk?”

“I didn't go berserk. I simply solved a problem.”

“You couldn't hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant.”

“I'm gonna catch it in the coat and smack it with the hammer.”

“I'm going in with him.”

“You just march right over there and slug that creep in the face.”

“I can't just attack someone.”

“Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm

holiday emergency here.”

“We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fuckin’ Kaye.”

“And when Santa squeezes his ass down that chimney tonight he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nut house.”

“Worse? How could they get any worse? Take a look around you, (Name). We're at the threshold of hell!”

“You losing your temper with the whole family only makes things worse.”

“Are you gonna recite The Night Before Christmas?”

“No. It's your house. It's your Christmas.”

“You about ready to do some kissing?”

“I'm sorry. This is our family's first kidnapping.”

“I'll be more than happy to take the rap on this.”

“If you wanna come in, you are gonna have to break down the goddamn door!”

“Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!”

“I did something I shouldn't have, and these people called me on it.”

“It's Santa Claus!”

“She thinks she sees Santa.”

“No, it's the Christmas star. And that's all that matters tonight. Not bonuses or gifts or turkeys or trees. See, kids...it means something different to everybody. Now I know what it means to me.”

“That ain't the frigging Christmas star. It's a light on the sewage treatment plant.”

“Merry Christmas, honey.”

#Christmas Meme #christmas inbox meme #christmas vacation #national lampoons christmas vacation #sentence starters

111 notes · View notes

troped-fanfic-challenge · 3 years

Text

Chopped: Holiday Trope Exchange 2020 Masterlist!

A huge thanks to every person who signed up for our fic exchange, we got 21 really wonderful fics! We’re sorry it took us so long to get this out to you all! For anyone who isn’t sure what this was all about, this was a double blind gift exchange where each of our twenty-one (21!!!) writers were assigned four tropes from an anonymous recipient, and were tasked with writing a fic that fit our holiday theme, and included all the tropes. The only guidance from their recipient were a couple of brief notes they included during the sign up, and both the writer and recipient were revealed when we shared all the fics! A big thanks to the Tropesters who stepped up to write a second fic when we needed them! These fics, as with all our TROPED fics, were creative and unique, and found ways to utilise tropes that may seem so simple but were transformed in really spectacular ways! Please enjoy these wonderful holiday fics!

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roots in my dreamland (my house of stone, your ivy grows) (Rated M) [Bellarke]

Written by @captaindaddykru for @thelittlefanpire. The four assigned tropes were 1) Doppelgängers, 2) one character is a dancer, 3) first snow, and 4) kissing to keep a cover/a secret.

Summary: Clarke really wants it to work out with Bellamy, but as an A-list Hollywood actress there’s a lot of contractual obligations she can hide behind instead of confronting her own insecurities and past mistakes. Luckily, this Christmas she’s lucked out, and her stand-in Josie is more than willing to (completely selflessly of course) take her place.

Now comes the hard part.

brighter than moonbeams (Rated T) [Memori]

Written by @the-most-beautiful-broom for @thedefinitionofendgame. The four assigned tropes were 1) The characters play a game,2) Secret Santa, 3) Exes to Lovers, and 4) Surprise kiss.

Summary: Murphy and Emori fall in love fast, and then talk themselves out of it. Years later, their paths will cross again, and they realize that their might be parts of their story that are yet to be written.

What a way to start the year (Rated T) [Bellarke]

Written by @bellarkeshoe for @bellamysgriffin. The four assigned tropes were 1) Law enforcement partners, 2) Character gets BADLY injured and they hide it somehow only to reveal later that they are mortally wounded, 3) Characters hugging after they’ve been through hell, and 4) Kissing in the snow.

Summary: It’s New Years Eve, and Bellamy and Clarke got stuck working.

It’s Alright, It’s Okay (Rated M) [Clurphy]

Written by @sailawaymayday for @wwjacksparrowd. The four assigned tropes were 1) Found Family, 2) Groundhog Day/timeloop, 3) Character gets shot/stabbed/BADLY injured and hides the wound somehow, only to accidentally (someone else touches them and their bleeding, they collapse, etc.) reveal later that they are mortally wounded, and 4) Hurt/Comfort.

Summary: Clarke makes it onto the Ring with the rest of Spacekru. What happens when New Years Eve keeps repeating itself? And what does Murphy have to do with it?

Dancing in Graveyards: An Arkadia Anthology (Rated T) [Gen Fic]

Written by @justbecauseyoubelievesomething for @kinetic-elaboration. The four assigned tropes were 1) Small town gothic, 2) Christmas Lights, 3) First snow, and 4) Sneaking someone in/out of your window.

Summary: Three small town gothic stories intertwine as old friends reunite and try to make the best out of their lives. Raven returns home after her foster father’s death and is pulled like a magnet to her enigmatic highschool sweetheart. Jasper seeks solace from a tragedy and desperately attempts to outrun the ghosts of the past. Bellamy battles his inner demons and prays not to tear himself and his loved ones apart in the process. And all of them come to realize that they belong together, even if the place they call home is shadowed by sorrow.

do or die, you’ll never make me (because the world will never take my heart) (Rated T) [Bellarke]

Written by @shen-gong-oops for @probably-voldemort. The four assigned tropes were 1) Fake dating, 2) Amnesia AU, 3) Enemies to Friends to Lovers, and 4) Superhero AU.

Summary: As the youngest member of the Guard and the daughter of the Guard former leader, there are high expectations set for Clarke. The Marketing and PR teams at Ark expecting her to be prim and proper during any conferences, while simultaneously performing their well-rehearsed fight choreography to a T.

But when four unknown supes challenge the juggernaut that is Ark Industries, Clarke wonders if herodom isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Merry Christmas, Lovebirds (Rated G) [Murven]

Written by @kinetic-elaboration for @shen-gong-oops. The four assigned tropes were 1) One character cautiously says “i’m going to kiss you now, okay?” or some variation of that, 2) Mutual pining, 3) A misunderstanding, and 4) Tattoos.

Summary: There’s never snow for Christmas on the beach, Murphy is a culinary genius, Raven has a boyfriend, and other presumed facts, too obvious to mention.

Once Upon Our Story (Rated G) [Bellarke]

Written by @andthelightbulbclicks for @bellamythology. The four assigned tropes were 1) break-up/make-up, 2) Did they or didn’t they, 3) Extremely biased flashbacks of the same event, and 4) Bookstore or library AU.

Summary: Bellamy returns with as much fanfare as one can imagine when driving a school bus decorated as Santa Claus through town, leaving Clarke shocked and all of their friends confused given he hasn’t been home in months.

(Or: Six months ago, Bellamy left Arkadia.

Six months ago, Clarke didn’t.

Six months ago, their friends knew the relationship ended, even came up with their own versions of what really happened. But the question that they all want to know for certain– is why?)

Dream A Little Dream of Me (Rated T) [Clurphy]

Written by @queenemori for @vmreed. The four assigned tropes were 1) One character has a child, 2) Protectiveness, 3) Only one bed, and 4) Soulmates.

Summary: It was just Murphy’s luck that right as he was starting to enjoy Earth, he had to leave. But he’d rather that than succumb to a fiery death wave. He and the other residents of the Ring remembered Clarke every year during their New Year’s Eve celebration. But even when they weren’t celebrating Clarke, Murphy couldn’t seem to get her off his mind. He wished his brain would stop playing tricks on him by making him think she was alive. Clarke was dead. Wasn’t she?

i don’t wanna burn out, so wont you please set me on fire again? (Rated M) [Murven]

Written by @kuklash for @sparklyfairymira. The four assigned tropes were 1) Protectiveness, 2) Exes and Lovers, 3) Small Town AU, and 4) Characters fall on each other and have a moment.

Summary: The wind nipped at Murphy’s nose as he stood in the doorway of the gas station on the edge of town. Work was slow, as it always was after sundown, especially in the mid-December cold, but someone had to make sure the good townsfolk of Arkadia could get their milk and gas after the small general store closed. All 800 of them. He watched the cars drive by throughout the day, recognizing each and everyone of them. Bellamy’s beat up truck he worked all highschool to afford, Clarke’s clean new sedan, even that jerk Finn’s loud ass motorcycle. He watched them all pass one by one, his old classmates returning home after another semester of college at the University of Polis. The only sign that time was passing at all.

The phone inside rang, breaking him out of his melancholy, at least for now.

“Great,” he thought, sarcastically. “A phone call 10 minutes before we close.”

He walked back inside and put on the most cheerful customer service voice he could muster.

“Dropship Gas, this is Murphy. How can I he-”

A familiar female voice cut him off, leaving him cold.

“Murphy? Thank god!”

It was his ex.

Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you (Rated M) [Bellarke]

Written by @sparklyfairymira for @captaindaddykru. The four assigned tropes were 1) Celebrity AU, 2) Meet Ugly, 3) Characters must share something, and 4) Characters aren’t together but are mistaken to be.

Summary: Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin are household names thanks to their music. They belong to the same label so they often work together on duets—even though they can’t stand one another. Their first meeting is disastrous and six years later they still can’t get along.

toward brighter days (Rated T) [Sea Mechanic]

Written by @reggieshamster for @/ashplana. The four assigned tropes were 1) Apocalyptic Log, 2) bed sharing, 3) road trip au, and 4) mythical creatures.

Summary: Dear Harper,

I am ridiculously out of it this morning. Last night, when we reached the campsite, Luna suggested we give Echo her own bedroll, since she gave hers up the night before.

Which meant Luna was sleeping with me.

Beside me.

Excerpts from Raven’s journal as she travels to Polis for the Winter Solstice Festival

three words, two hearts, one maybe (Rated G) [Bellarke]

Written by @bellamysgriffin for @bellarkeshoe. The four assigned tropes were 1) Youtuber AU, 2) best friend’s sibling, 3) frikdreina, and 4) miscommunication.

Summary: After an accident blinds Clarke, Octavia’s been encouraging her best friend to keep up with her artwork. In order to inspire her, she recruits the help of her older brother, Bellamy, who’s recently launched a new exhibition at his museum, to feature her work. Bellamy likes Clarke’s work, and he’s more than happy to help. But when she doesn’t show on the big day, he takes matters into his own hands. With an old video camera, he records people’s reactions to Clarke’s artwork so that she’ll know just how talented she is. But when he sends it to his sister, he doesn’t expect her to upload it to YouTube. And he definitely doesn’t expect to go viral.

Something Beautiful, Simple, and Bright (Rated T) [Clurphy]

Written by @wwjacksparrowd for @queenemori. The four assigned tropes were 1) Friends with Benefits AU, 2) Prank war, 3) characters are not together but are mistaken for a couple, and 4) Based on a Song.

Summary: Six months after Wonkru and Eligius manage to establish peace and divide Eden between themselves (with a little slice shaved off for Spacekru, of course), Clarke has a mission: plan a New Year’s Eve party for fifteen hundred people within three weeks.

Murphy’s mission? Stop her from burning out in the process. Oh, and if he could just get Monty to quit it with the freaking noisemakers, that would be great, too.

(…Okay, yeah, he’d also like to date Clarke for real instead of just sleeping with her. But that’s a pipe dream, right?)

put your faith in the devil and the deep blue sea (Rated M) [Clurphy]

Written by @probably-voldemort for @kuklash. The four assigned tropes were 1) Time Loop AU, 2) Characters fall on top of one another and have a “moment”, 3) Enemies to Lovers, and 4) Superhero AU.

Summary: Twenty years ago, when the clocks changed from 11:59pm on December 31st, 1999, to 12:00am on January 1st, 2000, the world ended, exactly as the doomsdayers had predicted. Now, there are only a few livable months left on Earth, and the privileged are evacuating for a life in space, abandoning the planet.

But not everyone has given up.

Clarke was only three when the world ended, and she’s spent most of her life in her mother’s lab. Now, as the last space ships are preparing to leave, her mother’s machine is finally ready, and Clarke and her mother are heading back in time to try to stop the apocalypse from happening in the first place.

An attack on the lab leads to Clarke heading back to 1995 on her own, and the past isn’t quite how Clarke’s vague memories from the beginning of her life paint it. Clarke soon discovers that not only did the machine do more than just send her back in time, but she wasn’t, in fact, sent back alone.

Will she be able to stop the apocalypse before the clock strikes midnight? Or are some parts of history unchangeable?

All I Want For Christmas (Rated T) [Memori]

Written by @thedefinitionofendgame for @the-most-beautiful-broom. The four assigned tropes were 1) Fake dating, 2) Joke kiss turned real kiss, 3) One character is sleeping and the other character is watching them totally in love, and 4) Blanket fort.

Summary: Tired of being single, Murphy decides to take matters into his own hands and get himself a girlfriend before the annual Christmas Day dinner with his friends. Having had bad luck in the past with girls - all twenty four of them - Murphy is determined to make the twenty-fifth, the “Christmas Day” number, his forever.

Of course, this is easier said than done. When his fellow coworker, Emori, seems to be having similar problems and suggests them being each other’s “fake dates” to their Christmas parties in December, Murphy jumps at the chance. Fake dating is better than being totally alone, right? It appears that way, at least until Murphy starts to catch feelings; the ones that make you question everything you think you know. As their “fake feelings” start to become more real, Murphy realizes that Emori’s the one he wants for Christmas. But she’s got walls up and even though his heart doesn’t stand a chance, Murphy’s determined to break them down and show her what falling in love really means, maybe with the help of a little December magic thrown in.

As long as we’re together, no I can’t get much higher (Rated T) [Murven]

Written by @dylanobrienisbatman for @andthelightbulbclicks. The four assigned tropes were 1) Zookeeper AU, 2) Treasure Hunt, 3) secret places, and 4) Secret Santa.

Summary: Murphy has only known Raven for a little while, but the longer he spends getting to know her, the more he realises that there’s no hope of him not falling in love with her.

So when he gets her for Secret Santa, he makes it his mission to nail it.

before i knew you (Rated G) [Clexa]

Written by @dylanobrienisbatman for @sailawaymayday. The four assigned tropes were: (1) Pen Pals, (2) 3+1, 4+1, 5+1, etc., (3) surprise kiss, and (4) character meets another characters ex.

Summary: What do you do when your penpal, the person you know the best in the world, who you love, turns out to be the rather rude (if also rather pretty) sales girl from downstairs? Lexa is about to find out. or - 3 times lexa and clarke meet without knowing they’ve been penpals since childhood, and the 1 time Lexa figures it out.

when life gives you shit, you make kool-aid (Rated M) [Becho]

Written by @reggieshamster for @dylanobrienisbatman. The four assigned tropes were: (1) Bodyguard AU, (2) Bed Sharing, (3) Kissing to Keep Cover/a Secret, and (4) a Character gets shot/stabbed/badly injured and they collapse, being caught by their loved one.

Summary: Bellamy used to have it all, and then one screw-up cost him his career and his fancy life. Now, working as a bodyguard for alcoholic businessmen and their families, he gets a call from his sister for a job… escorting a hitwoman to testify against a man convicted of crimes against humanity. What could possibly go wrong?

and left the secret at the grave (Rated T) [Clurphy]

Written by @probably-voldemort for @justbecauseyoubelievesomething. The four assigned tropes were: (1) Murder Mystery, (2) Partners in Crime, (3) Exes to Lovers, and (4) Snowed In.

Summary: At 8:57 on the morning of December 23rd, eight year old Jordan Green discovered the body of Skybox Inn owner Vera Kane on the floor of the lobby. His screams woke up the other guests of the inn, as well as the live-in butler.

The discovery of the body was followed shortly by two more discoveries. The first was that the storm the night before had knocked out the phones and the internet, and the second was that the inn was completely snowed in with no hopes of escape anytime soon.

Thirteen people trapped in an inn.

Uncountable secrets.

One murderer.

One question.

Who killed Vera Kane?

what a tangled string of Christmas lights we weave (Rated T) [Linctavia]

Written by @thelittlefanpire for @reggieshamster. The four assigned tropes were: (1) Royalty AU, (2) Cyrano AU, (3) Characters fall and end up landing on top of each other and have a “moment”, and (4) Hair brushing and/or braiding.

Summary: When the royal family loses their beloved Prince Wells, the future king of Arkadia, all eyes are on them. The Queen remains as stoic as ever, the Spare grapples with his new responsibilities, the Princess drowns in her grief, and the King is threatening to abolish the monarchy forever.

At Christmastime, as tensions in the palace rise with the vicious tabloids outside, the royal family makes an escape to a castle in the mountains, hoping to find solace and reconcile with their loss.

Princess Octavia will try to mend her broken heart back together as she becomes entranced with the letters sent back and forth between herself and another. But when it’s revealed who the true penman is, will she rise above her sorrow or sink further into it?

—————————————————————————

Take a read! Leave a kudos/comment! Our Tropesters worked so hard on creating some unique, festive fun fics from all the amazing tropes that were sent in. Thanks again!

#TROPED: masterlist #chopped: holiday gift exchange #chopped: holiday trope exchange #chte 2.0 #chte2020 #masterlist #the 100 fanfiction

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rons-hermiones · 3 years

Text

Come Find Me

by rons-hermiones

Summary: Unplanned, Hermione is forced to spend Christmas at the Burrow due to her grandmother falling very ill. After being ignored by Hermione for weeks, Ron is determined to show her how much she means to him. Just before he gets the chance to tell her, Bellatrix Lestrange shows up with other plans for Hermione. Can Ron get to her before it's too late? (Ron/Hermione Half-Blood Prince AU)

Rating: M for language & dark themes in later chapters.

Chapter Thirteen

With unsure nods, the pair vacated the kitchen and back into the living room. There was a mix of weeping family members and those out doing something. Searching the area, thinking of where Hermione could’ve gone.

Ron soon decides he’s done being in the mourning category. He needs to remain strong and vigilant, for no one else but Hermione.

“Someone needs to get Dumbledore here.” Ron’s shaky voice says, commanding all eyes to him.

“Albus?” Arthur asks curiously, his eyes a little glassed over as he rubs Molly’s back.

The youngest Weasley brother nods, “You-Know-Who he wanted,” he inhaled, trying to keep his voice leveled, “he wanted Hermione.”

Eyes widened in shock. Bill’s mouth hangs open as Lupin furiously paces the room, tapping at his temple.

“What would that bastard want with Hermione?” George grumbles lowly, but it’s loud enough for everyone to hear.

“We don’t know,” Harry finally spoke, “that’s why we need Dumbledore. Now.” His tone left no room for argument.

“I’ll do it.” Lupin tells the group, stalking off to the kitchen.

Everyone was rather astounded by the proclamation, they were expecting Remus to push Ron or Harry to divulge what happened.

“I got it.” Tonks announced, suddenly appearing from the back door.

Everyone whirled around to face her, “her wand, I have it. It’s Hermione, isn’t it?” The woman’s voice became softer.

Ron stepped forward and gently took it from Tonks hand.

‘Not so brave without our wand, are we muddy?’

He shivers as the cold wood caresses his hand.

“She hasn’t got a wand,” Ginny moaned behind the veil of hair she had been hiding behind, “she’ll die.”

“Oi Ginny!” Ron said angrily, no one had ever seen him this mad before, his sister flinched.

“Don’t you say things like that.” Molly told her daughter, hugging her to her chest.

They were all interrupted by a soft rapping on a nearby window.

“Dumbledore already?” Charlie said aloud.

Instinctively, Ron pocketed Hermione’s vine wood wand and drew his own. Arthur lurched to the window, ready to strike, when he stopped.

Breathing a sigh of relief he turned, “it’s your owl Harry.”

“Hedwig?” He asked suspiciously as he stalked toward the bird.

Tied to her leg was a rolled up piece of parchment. Giving her a nice pet first, he soon untied the contents and noticed it was addressed to Hermione.

“Who is it?” Bill asked.

He sucked in a breath, “it’s for Hermione, it’s from her parents.” His voice dropped at this.

Molly suddenly let out a small cry, completely forgetting that her own parents were to be told that their child, their only child, was gone.

“What’s it say?” Fred piped up from his spot on the arm chair.

Harry’s eyes fell on Ron’s, “I’m not sure if it’s my place to open it.”

Wordlessly, he passed the envelope over to Ron, whose mouth was agape at being trusted with such a thing.

Ignoring the gazes from his family, he peeled open the thing and let his eyes fix on the page. He skimmed every other line as certain sentences stuck out.

Merry Christmas!

We’ll send your gifts as soon as we’re home.

I hope you’re being kind to the Weasley’s.

We’re sorry to tell you this way, please don’t be too upset.

Grandma Jean passed last night, on Christmas Eve.

It was peaceful.

She thought of your grandpa.

She thought of you.

Don’t disappear on the Weasley’s.

Stay where you are.

We’re fine.

You have Ron and Harry.

We love you.

See you soon.

He let the parchment flutter to the ground. He hadn’t had it in him to read the entirety of it, but what he read was enough.

The phrases like ‘don’t disappear’, ‘stay where you are’, and ‘see you soon’ reverberated around in his head.

“Ronnie, what is it?” Bill probed gently from his spot next to Fleur.

He swallowed the bile in his throat, “her grandmother, she passed. She’s gone.” A few gasps filled the room, “their daughter, she’s, she’s gone too. How are we gonna tell them? How am I gonna tell them? It’s all my fault.”

Despite not knowing what entailed, no one, besides Ron himself, blamed him for what happened.

“Ron,” his mother swiftly budged in, ready to console her son.

However, he was having none of it, he didn’t deserve it, “her parents they don’t know about any of this.”

Late at night in fifth year, he found Hermione in the common room. She was working mercilessly over a piece of parchment as tears pooled on the pages. When he asked what was wrong, she finally let it out and admitted she’d been living a lie. Telling her parents Hogwarts was lovely and the only thing on her mind were exams. No dark lord, no death eaters.

For a brief moment, he wondered if Harry knew too.

“Not about You-Know-Who, not about Cedric, the department of mysteries, not even about prejudices against Muggleborns.” He admitted to everyone in the room.

And by the look on Harry’s face, this was news to him.

“Did you know?” Ginny dared to ask Harry.

At this, the chosen one shook his head. Suddenly feeling guilty, Harry had been wallowing so much in his own problems he failed to be there for Hermione, who was fiercely loyal to him.

“Why would she lie about that?” Fleur butted in, not judgmental, but just trying to understand.

“She was scared they’d take her out of Hogwarts.” He told everyone, Tonks nods in understanding, her dad being a Muggle.

“Because of me.” Harry said without missing a beat.

“No,” Ron protested.

“Yes, she wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for me. She wouldn’t be gone, she wouldn’t be lying to her parents.” He stated, sure that was the case.

“You’d also be dead without her.” His best friend stated with conviction. Ron was already lost in self wallowing, the last thing he needed was for Harry to drown in it too. “We both would be.” He couldn’t help but add, despite the situation being so close to home.

“Ronnie,” Fred’s voice, sounding the most gentle he’s ever heard, broke through the air, “can you tell us what happened? Please.” He pleaded. After all, everyone here cared for Hermione too.

A few times Ron opened and closed his mouth, not really knowing what to say. After fumbling like a fish for two minutes, he settled for something, “I’m not-“ I’m not strong enough.

But, the words never came, a crack sounded outside, and for a sickening moment he imagined Bellatrix Lestrange to waltz through the door.

Instead, he was meant by his fathers shouts, “it’s Dumbledore!” He exclaimed, opening the back door.

In a moment's notice the Headmaster's looming six foot frame is towering in his doorway and at the sight, Ron knows somewhere within him he has to manage to be strong enough.

“Albus.” Molly said, relieved at the sight of him, “we’re sorry to do this to you on Christmas and all.” She stood wiping at her eyes.

The old man didn’t have the heart to tell everyone here that Christmas had long gone, it was nearing two in the morning.

“Of course Molly. I’ve had Remus go collect Alastor and Kingsley. Nymphadora, do you mind getting Minerva for me?” He asked kindly, annoyingly calm if you ask Ron.

Dumbledore, being one of the only people to get away with calling her that, Tonks just nodded to him as she stalked out to the backyard.

Ron gulps, it’s just now hitting him how serious this all is. The Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful Wizard living, someone with their own bloody chocolate frog card is in his living room. But there’s no time to marvel at it or even feel shocked, because he knows why he’s here.

He’s here because Hermione’s gone.

Next, the white haired man found a spot on the sofa and surprisingly plopped down. “Now, I need to know everything if I am to help.”

Ron’s still reeling from telling Harry and because of the owl from Hermione’s parents. And by the looks of it, Harry’s feeling the same as he stands stock still and paler than usual.

Thankfully, Bill notices the boys expression and takes over as much as he can, “it all started we were all in here, opening gifts, and then,”

“I was in the garden, we-,” he swallows the lump in his throat, “we were in the garden.” Ron almost whispers.

A little awkwardly, unsure what to say, Bill just nods and goes on, “we were opening gifts and we heard a crack, apparition.” Dumbledore nods at this.

“Two cracks.” Charlie interrupts, earning a slanted look from Bill.

Doing his best to not get frustrated by the multitude of people butting in, he ignores it. “So we went outside. We heard her first...” he trailed, not wanting to say it.

“It is crucial you tell me everything that happened, everything that was said.” Dumbledore reminded at his uncertainty.

“Bellatrix,” Harry’s shaky voice said, “she was saying how she killed Sirius.”

Everyone, Bill included, waits for Harry to continue the story on, but instead the dark haired boy offers the eldest Weasley a nod.

“Greyback was with her too.” Bill added, “She didn’t say much honestly, nothing out of the ordinary. Recognized the lot of us, Tonks, Lupin, Harry, called us blood traitors, remembered Hermione from the ministry.” At the mention of her name the room tensed, “then she casted incendio around the Burrow and skipped away, literally.”

Neither Ron or Harry made a move to fill in the gaps.

Bill sighed, “Harry, he ran after her, Hermione followed, so did Ronnie. By the time they were all gone, the fire, it blocked the path.”

At the admission, the chosen one's eyes bulged, “it’s all my fault. She ran after me.”

“Harry,” Ron tried weakly.

Sensing the lack of energy, Fred surprisingly jumped in, “if one of you went all three one of you would’ve. You know that just as well as I do.”

“Mr.Weasley is correct, now I know this may be difficult but I’m going to need one of you to please tell me what occurred. This is the only way I’m able to help your friend.” The old man eyed Ron and Harry who had found themselves standing side by side against the window.

“I can’t say much, I was running before I stunned Greyback. Hermione and Ron were with them longer.” Harry was able to speak, mustering any courage he had left.

Ron stared blankly at his headmaster.

“Ron.” His mother said gently, “please.” She sounded like she was crying.

Sucking in a shaky breath, he hoped to some higher power this would be the last time he ever told this story. He knew he would be reliving it for the rest of his nights, whenever he fell asleep.

“I didn’t hear Bellatrix say much, not the first time at least,” this made the room shudder, “all I could see was her wand pressed to Hermione’s throat, Greyback was eying her like a meal, so I tried to disarm her.” His voice dropped, “it didn’t do anything, I couldn’t use any spells, I couldn’t hurt Hermione.” Ron’s eyes grew glassy, “then Harry came.”

Seeing Ron needed a minute, the dark haired boy jumped in, “I stunned Greyback. He fell to the ground. It surprised Bellatrix, Hermione was able to get away. Next thing I knew, I was running.” His eyes flicked back to blue ones.

“So were Hermione and I. She started going-going,” he’s stuttering, “going on about how Lestrange told her that You-Know-Who, he’s been talking about her.”

Small gasps filled the room, even Dumbledore’s eyes grew wide, “about Miss Granger?”

Ron nodded stiffly, “she was certain they wouldn’t kill her, said they needed her for-for something. Bellatrix, she said she wasn’t here for Harry.”

It was Harry’s turn for answers. His eyes pleaded with Dumbledore for any piece of wisdom, practically begging to know what game they were playing at. However, for once, the old man didn’t seem to know any answers now, they laid with Ron.

The youngest Weasley brother sensed his responsibility and thought of Hermione, using her to be strong.

“We stopped by the old oak tree to catch our breaths, we knew we had to go after Harry, but before we could we heard the two of them. She thought we were Harry, when she said as much, Greyback asked why it had mattered, they were on strict orders not to kill him.”

“Why?” Harry’s voice broke, he needed to know. Bellatrix had ample opportunities to end it but she hadn’t.

Dumbledore shook his head, “I can’t say for certain Harry. It sounds as if Voldemort,” the Weasley family shivered at the name, “wants you for himself. Tom has always been one for theatrics, anything for an act of defiance. What I can’t understand is why they didn’t attempt to apparate you.” He voiced aloud.

Slowly, the Boy-Who-Lived nodded in acknowledgment, but certainly not in understanding.

“What happened next Ron?” The man asked softly.

He cleared his throat nervously, “Bellatrix, she said if she found me, that she’d-she’d kill me.” Nearby, Molly moaned in pain, falling into Ginny, “that I was just another blood traitor. But for Hermione, she said-” he shut his eyes tightly, “said she’d be a perfect gift for him.”

They all knew who ‘he’ was. Fleur was trembling as the story continued, Ginny had the urge to clamp her hands over her ears, Charlie was fully engaged, and the twins nervously eyed the floor.

“Said she was the brilliant one and all that, that she must know something and they’d get it out of her.” He released a breath, “Merlin, she’s so stupid, so stupid.” He began to cry.

“Ron, you need to tell them. For her.” Harry reminded in an equally as broken whisper, clapping a hand on his shoulder to give him strength.

“She knew they wanted to kill me and she knew they didn’t wanna kill her...” he trailed, wiping at his eyes.

“No.” Fred said aloud, before he could help it, dropping his head in his hands, putting together what happened.

“She casted the stunning spell on me and a disillusionment charm, there was a crack and she was gone.” Ron said it rushed, sloppily, unable to even get through it before collapsing against the wall.

Molly stood up, sat down and embraced her son.

“Did Bellatrix perform any spells or curses on Hermione?” Dumbledore asked the sobbing boy.

“Albus.” Missus Weasley scolded.

Ron shook his head numbly, “expelliarmus, that was it.”

The old man paced around the room before directing his attention to Harry and Ron, the latter now calming in his mother’s embrace.

“Did she know something?” He asked flustered. Harry’s never heard the professor sound so rushed, so panicked. It worried him to the core.

Frantically, Potter shook his head, “I don't know, maybe, no? I don't know.” He’s panicking now too.

The white haired man turns his attention to Ron, “she wouldn’t have to me anything, she wouldn’t.” It broke his heart even more, it’s just now hitting him that Hermione’s gone and he can’t remember the last thing he said to her. Just what he wanted to say.

“Has she been fixated on anything? Talking, asking, reading?” He lists off, Harry hasn’t heard him use this tone since his name was pulled from the goblet of fire.

The boys look at each other and think, but nothing comes up, they can’t even see straight.

“That book.” Ginny states in a crisp voice, “she’s been reading the same book for weeks. Writing notes on it.”

He rounded to the young girl, “what book?”

Ginny shook her head unknowingly, “I don’t know. She puts it away whenever anyone comes around.” Her voice is uneven, but it’s evident she wants to help anyway she can.

“The cover is black, there’s gold trim. There’s no title, very old looking.” Fleur speaks for the first time, recalling their time under the tree.

“Do you know where it is?” He seemed determined to find it, Harry sensed realization in his eyes.

Fleur shook her infadictly, Ginny shrugged, “her trunk?” She suggested.

“Please take me there.” He said to no one in particular.

Over his large frame, Ginny’s eyes found Harry’s, she nodded at him, signaling it was his duty.

“Follow me.” Harry stood from the floor and rushed to the steps.

Dumbledore’s robes flew behind him as the old man climbed the steps with fervor. When he reached Hermione’s trunk, he flung it open unceremoniously and ripped through its contents like a mad man.

Harry had half the heart to scold him and be more gentle with her things. And he was just about to say as much, until the headmaster stopped moving.

In his old, shaking hands, was that old thing that had been attached to Hermione for weeks.

Harry had asked her about it a few times, she just said it was for ‘light reading’ and brushed him off. He chose not to mention it, reading was ordinary for her.

Next, a brown journal was being pried open by Dumbledore. By the looks of it, the pages were spelled as he whispered a counter incantation to it as the witches neat scrawl filled the pages.

“Hey, it’s just her diary! That’s private.” He scolded.

And for the first time since they got up here, Dumbledore turned to him, eyes wide as saucers.

“This is no diary Harry.”

#ron x hermione #ron weasley #ron and hermione #rons-hermiones come find me #hermione granger #romione #romione fanfic #hp #hp fanfic #sixth year

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inkedstarlight · 3 years

Text

Bittersweet: Chapter Ten

Summary: It's the first Christmas in six years where the three Archeron sisters will all be celebrating together, and Nesta struggles with feelings of guilt. Also her new neighbor gets on her nerves, making things a little awkward during their Christmas celebration. Notes: Read it here on AO3! Warnings: brief mentions of self-harm and depression, PTSD Bittersweet Masterlist

She stared into the water’s depths. Most pools were crystal blue, lapping quietly under the sunshine. This one was different. The water seemed to be thicker, like it was heavy. Dark like an ocean during a storm. Violent, unceasing. But confined neatly in the underground walls of the pool.

Nesta’s toes were at the edge as she stared into the water with a contemplative stare. She could barely see her reflection on the pool’s surface, for it was distorted and translucent and almost ceasing to exist. No matter how hard she squinted her eyes, she couldn’t tell what she looked like to everyone else.

It was silent around her. So quiet that the only audible sound was her shallow breaths. Just Nesta and the water and the night. She closed her eyes.

But all serenity was lost when hands pushed her from behind, launching her into the pool face first.

She had been right. The water was heavy. That was the first thing she noticed as she sunk lower and lower into the pool, struggling to keep afloat. Nesta squinted her eyes open but it was dark, as if she were alone in space among nothing but stars.

Except there were no stars below the surface. There was nothing down here.

Nesta tried to use her arms to propel herself upward, to no avail. Her limbs were moving in slow motion, her kicking legs barely moving an inch. She tried and tried and tried, but she only kept sinking downward instead.

Her throat constricted with terror as she realized she wasn’t going to make it.

Nesta’s feet hit the bottom of the pool. She raised her eyes skyward. Somehow, she could now see what awaited above the water’s surface. The water above was no longer opaque; she could easily see through it as if it were a normal pool. But she knew it was anything but. Nesta noticed that, despite the transparent surface, the black water that directly surrounded her still remained. It was like she was trapped in a bubble of her own darkness, light unable to protrude within.

A shadow reflected off the pool's surface as a figure approached the edge. Her mother stared down at her. She looked so far away, but Nesta could see every pore of her being. A twisted smile played at the curve of her mother's lips.

“I told you no one would ever love you.” Her voice was muffled, but Nesta heard it as if it had been shouted into her ears. The words rang in her head, echoing what her mother had said over and over again.

Nesta clutched her wrist instinctively, squeezing tight and feeling nothing. Her lower lip trembled, but no tears escaped her eyes.

You were right, Nesta tried to say. But when she opened her mouth, she only inhaled water. Nesta choked as she felt it drip into her lungs.

A dark figure stepped beside her mother.

“It was your fault,” Tomas sneered down at her. An empty bottle of whiskey was in his hand.

I know, she tried again, only allowing more water into her mouth. Nesta clawed at her throat as if she could release the water that was burning in her lungs.

Her father appeared next.

“You're the most selfish person I know,” he accused. Disappointment was written all over his face. “You are useless to this family."

Nesta agreed. She choked on another mouthful of water.

Then, she came to the edge of the pool. Her hair was a mousy brown. It could have been beautiful if it weren’t twisted in knots full of neglect. Nesta could nearly see every bone in her body. Her teeth rotting from starvation, her skin bumpy with acne. She was fragile, but her eyes could destroy. Her arms were exposed, red crisscrossed cuts visible all over. It was like looking at Death itself.

“You don’t deserve to live," the girl's voice - Nesta's voice - was cold and unforgiving.

This time, Nesta didn’t say anything. She didn't have to.

She just opened her mouth and invited the water to fill her lungs. A small, haunted smile played at her lips as she drowned.

Everything turned black.

The water went still.

Nesta awoke with a gasp only to be blinded by the bright light of the morning. Sunlight peered through the half-closed blinds and into her dusty bedroom. She looked down to see that the sheets were tangled up around her sweaty body, the comforter thrown completely off the bed. A quick glance at the clock told her it was just past eleven.

She noticed Iroh staring at her from the foot of her bed as if he were waiting for her to wake up. She patted the empty space next to her and he immediately slinked his way closer to her. With a quick nose-boop and a lick on her chin, he purred as Nesta gently stroked his impossibly soft fur. She tried to control her breathing as she comforted Iroh.

Her night terrors were getting worse. She’d always had them, sure, but they’d never been this frequent - nor this vivid - since her undergraduate years in college. Now, they were happening nearly every night. Often enough that Nesta didn’t even bother to try to sleep some nights. She was scared to see what her consciousness had in store for her when she conceded to sleep.

Nesta wiped off the sweat on her forehead and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her head ached painfully, most likely due to the millions of thoughts that were constantly circling in her head. She checked her phone and groaned when she noticed the date. She’d completely forgotten today was Christmas.

With a heavy sigh, Nesta managed to heave herself off the messily made bed. With a quick look at the sheets, she noticed the wet spot on the pillow, most likely from tears that were shed throughout the night.

Pathetic.

Opening her door and padding to the kitchen, Nesta noticed the wreath Elain must've hung on their door. It looked like a massive flower crown rather than a wreath. It screamed "Elain."

Before Nesta could make her way to the fridge to take a couple sips of whatever the fuck kind of alcohol they had, something else caught her eye as she passed the front door.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

“Elain!” she called out for her sister, her eyes still on the door, unwavering.

Elain popped her head from the kitchen archway. Her cheeks were covered in flour, and she was wearing her chef hat. She looked adorable. “Merry Christmas, sleepyhead! What's up?”

Nesta pointed to the very obvious new locks that were now on their door frame. “Did you install new locks on our door?”

Elain followed her gesture and seemed to hesitate. “Er, no... not exactly.”

Nesta tapped her foot on the floor and waited for her to finish.

Elain raised her hands in surrender and sighed. “Okay, okay. Cassian may have come by early this morning.” Nesta’s mouth dropped to the floor. “I tried to pay him but he said it was a Christmas gift.”

Elain must've seen the anger on Nesta's face. She knew – both from what Nesta had told her and the behavior she’d noticed – that Nesta wasn’t exactly a huge fan of Cassian. Sensing that Nesta was seconds away from stomping her way to Cassian's apartment, Elain called out, "Nesta, just wait - "

But she was unable to finish her sentence. Nesta was already storming out the door and up the stairs to the third floor.

Air whooshed in her ears as she climbed up the stairs. She was pissed. No, that was an understatement. She was livid.

Why the fuck did Cassian find the need to insert himself into their lives beyond the “family” dinners they attended? She had no interest in seeing his face outside of Feyre's house. She didn't want him to interfere with her and Elain's lives. It wasn't like they needed help - she certainly didn't need his help.

What’s he playing at?

As she approached Cassian's door, a thought wiggled its way through the angry cloud in her head.

Nesta wondered... wondered if she would have been this bothered if she hadn't awoken to that nightmare this morning. Would she even pay Cassian any mind? Would she perhaps be thankful for what he did?

She scoffed inwardly. No, her moodiness was Cassian's doing. He was responsible. And he was going to pay for pissing her off.

She banged loudly on the door, not a care in the world if she woke up his neighbors.

A few seconds passed before the door opened, revealing Cassian. He was wearing a white tee and low-hanging, grey sweatpants, hair sticking out in every which way. His eyes were red with exhaustion as if he’d only gotten an hour or two of sleep. Dark purple shadows were under his eyes. Gods, he looked horrible.

It was then that Nesta remembered what she’d overheard from Rhys and Feyre’s conversation the other night.

He's not the same.

Do you even notice how lost your own fucking brother is?

I don't want to lose him.

In all honesty, Nesta forgot that Cassian had been in the Marines for five months. Maybe it was because he - along with everyone else - hadn't even mentioned it since meeting Nesta.

On the other hand, his physique was certainly a reminder of the time he served.

But Nesta blocked out her sister and Rhysand's conversation. She wouldn't allow herself to have an ounce of sympathy for this man.

Nesta didn’t waste a second as she shoved a twenty-dollar bill in his face. “Here.”

She was prepared to storm away from him right after, but she paused as he looked down at the money with a puzzled expression. “Uh, what –“

“For the locks,” Nesta explained impatiently. You dumb oaf, she wanted to add.

Cassian looked up from the money and raised a brow at her. Shaking his head, he extended it back to her. “I don’t want it.”

“It’s not a request,” Nesta seethed. “Take the damn money. I don’t want your charity.”

“Charity?” he repeated, baffled. She noticed that his hand tightened around the money he held.

Nesta only narrowed her eyes in response.

He sighed and leaned on the doorframe, realizing that this wasn’t going to be an amicable conversation. “It’s not charity.”

“Isn’t it though?”

“No,” Cassian told her, finality in his tone. He was getting frustrated. Good. “It’s a friendly gesture because I was the one who broke them in the first place.”

They both glared at each other.

“I don’t want to be your friend,” Nesta spat, craning her neck just to be able to glare into his eyes. Gods, he was tall.

“I never asked you to be my friend,” he growled impatiently. His voice was getting louder. Sighing, Cassian tried to compose himself. “Rhys – who will more than likely become your brother-in-law – is my brother. That means we,” he gestured between them, “are going to see a lot of each other, whether you like it or not.”

Nesta chewed her bottom lip in contemplation. She wasn’t quite sure what it was about Cassian, but there was something that just… irked her. Maybe it was his arrogant attitude or the way he taunted her or the way he reminded her of herself. Either way, he was a thorn on her side and she wanted him out of her life. But she knew that wasn’t quite a possibility, unless she decided to up and leave her family again.

That wasn’t an option though. Not this time. Not again.

“If I could get your brother out of my sister's damn life, I wouldn't hesitate for a second," Nesta snapped. "But for some reason, Feyre likes your fucked up family. So just stay out of my fucking way, okay?”

She didn't care how cruel it was. She wanted to get a reaction out of him.

She wanted him to hate her.

Cassian stared at her speechlessly for a moment. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the words, but decided against it. He turned away to close the door in her face.

Nesta scoffed at his back, just loud enough for him to hear.

Cassian stopped in his tracks, turning slowly to face her once more.

“You know, I thought maybe we could be friends,” he laughed humorlessly. “I thought the locks could be a peace offering. But then you opened your mouth and Gods, was that just a fucking treat,” he spat out before taking a step closer to her. "Insult me, that's fine. But insult my family again, and I'll make the time we spend together a living hell."

Nesta’s fists clenched tightly at his words. "You've already done that."

Cassian shot her a smirk. "What can I say? It's pretty entertaining to watch you lose control."

Ugh!

“Gods, you’re insufferable!”

“Merry Christmas to you too, Nesta," he sang before slamming the door in her face.

“Fuck you," she told him, but it was too late. Cassian had already gotten the last word in.

It wasn’t until she got back to her apartment did she realize that the twenty-dollar bill had been slipped into the pocket of her jacket.

She cursed Cassian all the way to hell.

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It was about five o’clock in the evening when Elain and Nesta drove to Mor and Aurra’s house; they took turns hosting every once in a while. It was dark outside, the lampposts on the side of the street providing a soft, yellow glow. In its light, the flurries of snow were visible as they floated down, down, down. The radio was on, a Christmas tune playing quietly in the background. Elain was staring out the window, dessert in lap, as Nesta drove.

Nesta was tapping her thumb on the steering wheel when Elain turned to her.

“You know, we haven’t spent a Christmas together in…” Elain trailed off as she tried to count.

“Six years,” Nesta finished quietly. She didn’t need to do the math. No, she knew exactly how many years ago she’d lost her family.

A contemplative silence grew between them. Nesta shifted uncomfortably, her words hanging in the air.

“Well,” Elain murmured, turning to look at Nesta. She reached across the center console and took the hand that was resting on Nesta’s lap. “I’m happy we’re together. I… I hope we spend the holidays together even after this year.”

We will, Nesta promised silently. She wasn’t sure if it was a promise to herself or to Elain. It didn't matter because she had every intention of keeping it.

They turned onto Mor and Aurra’s street and pulled up to their driveway. There were several cars parked next to each other. Nesta recognized Feyre and Amren’s car. Her eyes slid to the one next to Amren’s. She recognized it from her building’s parking garage. Cassian.

Elain began unbuckling her seatbelt when Nesta stopped her. “I, uh… I actually wanted to give you your gift here,” she explained, biting her lip. “Privately.”

Elain smiled. “Okay.”

Nesta handed her a poorly wrapped box. “I suck at giving gifts, as I’m sure you remember,” she prefaced.

Elain giggled. “How could I forget? That was the best part of every Christmas,” Elain remembered fondly. “Feyre and I would always look forward to getting your gift. Remember that one year you captured all those fireflies in a jar, but when we opened them on Christmas Day, they were all dead?”

Nesta nodded with a little smile "You thought I did it on purpose. You kept screaming 'How could you?!'"

Elain burst out laughing. "I was quite the dramatic."

"No," Nesta murmured. "You're an empath, and I love that about you."

Elain's eyes widened in surprise, but it was quickly replaced by a smile that could melt hearts. "Nesta, I - "

"Just open the damn gift," Nesta joked. Elain conceded, but not before leaning over to plant a small kiss on Nesta's cheek.

Anxiety filled Nesta's stomach as she watched her unwrap the box with a delicacy only Elain could possess.

“It’s…” Elain’s brow twisted as she inspected it. "Cookie cutters?"

Nesta nodded in confirmation. She'd found them online the other week. They were pink plastic formed into different kinds of flowers and very clearly made for kids. But Elain loved pink and flowers, so Nesta was quick to add them to her shopping cart.

"I know that you don't bake cookies that often, and I know they look like they're made for kindergartners, but - "

"I love it!" Elain squealed, clutching them to her chest. "I've never had cookie cutters before!"

Nesta held her breath. "You don't have to pretend like you like them. I have the receipt."

Elain turned her body to her and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm not pretending. They're from you, and I love them."

The sisters hugged each other before gathering their things and heading to the house.

It was boisterous inside. Christmas music played on the speakers as everyone chatted and laughed with each other. Right as Elain hung her jacket in the closet, Azriel approached her with a smile. She grinned up at him, cheeks flushed as if she'd had a few drinks. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the living room.

As Nesta walked past the foyer, she saw Cassian talking with Azriel at the bar area. He seemed to sense her stare, because his eyes met hers in just a matter of seconds. She quickly looked away and approached Amren.

"You're looking cute," Amren complimented her as a greeting. Nesta was just wearing a grey knit sweater and dark jeans, her golden hair flowing down her shoulders. She didn't often wear it down.

"You look hot," Nesta shot back with a grin. Amren was always stylish in her clothing. Tonight, she had on a long-sleeved black velvet dress, adorned with a ruby necklace and earrings. "Cute" didn't quite do her justice.

Amren reached behind her and grabbed a full wine glass to hand to Nesta. "Here. You're going to need this."

Nesta gratefully accepted, taking a gulp or two before leveling a stare at her friend. "What does that mean?"

Amren shrugged. "There's always some sort of drama on the holidays. Especially with you and Rhysand in the same room. What's with that?"

Nesta snorted. "I have a feeling my dear sister shared a little too much information about me to her wonderful boyfriend."

"Rhysand can be difficult," Amren agreed, taking a sip from her wine glass. "He just wants to protect people he loves. But with that being said..." Amren leaned in closer and whispered, "He's being a fucking asshole, in my personal opinion."

"Cheers to that."

Just as Nesta was about to tell Amren about her interaction with Cassian that morning, a loud shattering noise interrupted them. Nesta looked to the other side of the room where Elain was staring down at her broken wine glass that had fallen on the floor. Mor came over with a broom and paper towels, and Elain apologized over and over again. Mor just laughed it off and reassured her it was okay.

Everyone resumed their conversations, but Nesta noticed Cassian was frozen in place, his eyes still on the shards of glass that were pooled in dark red wine. He didn't look as though he was breathing, and she saw his hands shaking at his sides. His face was pale like a ghost. He looked... haunted.

Nesta took a step forward but stopped when Rhys walked up to Cassian. He leaned in close and whispered something. Cassian's stare didn't falter, but he nodded absentmindedly at what Rhysand had said. Then, Rhysand guided him into the hallway. And although they disappeared from her view, Nesta found herself continuing to stare in their direction.

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

Nesta was sitting on the couch after dinner, her third glass of wine in hand, when the cushion next to her sunk with someone’s weight. She looked to the left to see Cassian sitting beside her.

Rhysand and Cassian were gone for about fifteen minutes before returning to the festivities. They both came back looking better, though Cassian remained quieter for the rest of the night. No one mentioned their brief absence.

"I know you saw."

Nesta barely heard his whisper as everyone gathered around the tree in the living room. No one was paying attention to them.

"I don't want your pity."

She didn't even look over to him as she responded. "Good. You don't have it, asshole."

Nesta could have sworn she saw him smile out of the corner of her eye.

As everyone began opening gifts, Nesta moved to the armchair that sat in the corner. It had been a long night, and she was utterly exhausted. She observed as everyone traded gifts. Since Nesta had already given Elain her gift, the only other person she needed to give a present to was Feyre. Luckily, Elain's present for her was arriving late so Nesta didn't have to worry about opening that in front of everyone. She'd assumed that no one else would be expecting a gift from her, nor would they give her something. She'd assumed correctly.

It was nearing nine o'clock when only a few gifts remained under the tree. Nesta's heart stopped when Rhysand handed a present to Elain. She knew he hadn't gotten her one, and that was fine. She didn't give a fuck if Rhysand liked her or not, much less if he gave her a Christmas present. But to make it so apparent in front of everyone? To deliberately not give her a gift? Could he be more of a dick?

Nesta willed herself not to turn red with embarrassment as Elain began opening the gift. She didn't even want to know if anyone noticed.

Elain thanked Rhysand after unwrapping the customized cookbook stand. It was fucking engraved with Elain's name on it. Engraved.

After the final gifts were given out, Nesta looked down at her lap to see what she'd received. Feyre had gotten her a $20 gift card for gas. And that was it.

She didn’t belong here. It was like they were sending the message to her in all caps.

But then Amren threw something at her. And it wasn’t a softball toss – no, she chucked it at Nesta. Caught off by surprise, Nesta just barely caught the neatly wrapped package. She merely looked down at it before raising her eyes to where Amren sat.

Her friend was smirking and tilted her chin at the gift, silently demanding Nesta to open the damn thing.

Everyone watched with curiosity as Nesta opened her gift. She held up what was inside and inspected it.

It was a homemade bracelet. The kind that six-years make for their friends. Only, instead of multi-colored beads, they were just black. And instead of the words "BFFs Forever" or some shit, it said, "Amren is my best fucking friend."

Nesta stared at it. Then she laughed. Not a fake one. A real, loud laugh. A sound she hadn't made in months. It was brief, but it took everyone by surprise.

She grinned across the room at Amren, whose eyes were full of mischief.

Thank you, Nesta mouthed.

Whatever, bitch, Amren responded with a wink.

Everyone around them began to clean up the wrapping paper that littered the floor. Nesta remained seated. She put the bracelet on and admired it.

If Nesta had looked to where Cassian was sitting quietly on the other couch, she would have seen the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

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

tag list (let me know if you want to be added/removed):

@sjmships @sleeping-and-books @sirgwaines @books-for-sure @blowing-mikey @b00kworm @wineywitch202 @drielecarla @liquifyme @gisellefigue08 @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @loysydark @stardelia @sayosdreams @maastrash @superspiritfestival @courtofjurdan @ireallyshouldsleeprn @thewayshedreamed @booksstorm @laylaameer01 @rainbowcheetah512

#nessian #bittersweet #fanfiction #Fic #my writing #acotar #acomaf #acosf #a court of thorns and roses #cassian x nesta #nesta archeron

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kinakoscenario · 3 years

Text

Alastor x Demon! Reader ( SCENARIO ) Christmas Miracles.

꒰Alastor ♡ Reader. ꒱ ゝ Hazbin Hotel

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘

New to Hell and struggling to let go of your mortality, you decide to convince your boyfriend to celebrate Christmas in Hell.

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Request status in bio! Please check it before dropping something in my inbox. ♡

Thank you in advance for hearts, comments & reblogs on my work (◍＞◡＜◍) it’s always super appreciated.

› Alastor | © Vivziepop ╱ I am in no way affiliated with Vivziepop & do not own the characters in this work unless stated otherwise.

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𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄. ↷

Hey, hey! Merry Christmas to those that celebrate it, I really wanted to do something with Alastor being soft and sappy with a Christmas-loving reader ;; w ;; i hope you enjoy this!

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◍ To most everyone in Hell, Christmas was nothing more than an afterthought. Once you were dead, time was barely something that was monitored at all ━ It’s not like anyone was going anywhere. It was already over, what did you have to look forward to? What was the point? The only countdown that really mattered was the annual purge. Not really a holiday, not really something to celebrate. Hell didn’t have many (if any) holidays.

◍ You were a new arrival down here, just scraping a year now ━ It felt like no time at all since your last Christmas. No one would have thought it would have been the last one you celebrated with your family, alive and well. Not even you.

◍ Each day you felt your humanity slipping further and further away from you. You were no longer a human and that was difficult to face. It wasn’t actually like you even deserved to be here! Wrong place, wrong time some may say. You were sacrificed by a cult. The leader of which… Well, it wasn’t something you liked to think about.

◍ Maybe… Celebrating a human holiday, even in Hell, might make you feel a little less, you know, dead? It was clear to those around you that you were having trouble adapting to your new life and were still desperately clinging to the life you once had. You still wished to celebrate birthdays, you were afraid of the dark / bugs / spiders, and you would find yourself breathing out of habit. You didn’t need to, none of your friends did… they all said it would be a habit you would drop with time.

◍ They all kept preaching to you that with acceptance, it would get easier.

◍ During your time down here, you had become particularly fond of a certain overlord that was sniffing around the hotel. To your surprise (and everyone else’s) it seemed he had become rather fond of you too. It wasn’t an official relationship, he just seemed to tolerate you more than he tolerated the others. With the occasional romantic gesture.

◍ You were the first person that made him feel something he didn’t quite understand — like a squeeze in his chest. Emotional intimacy was not something he was at all used to! But he was trying to get there. Have mercy on anyone who thought they could upset you and get away with it… Alastor had made it apparent that he would show no mercy to anyone who dared upset you.

◍ With these newfound emotions, Alastor also had a hard time letting you down or saying no. So when you had brought up to him that you wanted a Christmas, as much as you had expected him to laugh in your face and flat out give “no” for an answer, he considered it for a few moments. His hand outstretched and took your face between his thumb and forefingers, crimson orbs focusing on your very best puppy look. The fact you felt like you needed to give him that look amused him. At least you didn’t see him as a push over just because he had made life in Hell a little easier for you, and you were still very much putting some effort and thought into the things you requested of him.

◍ “Dear, does our setting not take away from the entire meaning of Christmas?”

◍ He had tried to understand your request. Alastor could only remember one time he had celebrated Christmas, and it wasn’t in Hell. It was as a boy with his mother, sat by the fire on the 25th, the two of them bed-headed and still in pyjamas. A fond memory of his, though he didn’t remember the day well other than those few moments. He couldn’t even remember what laid within the decorative paper once he’d torn it open.

◍ You knew Alastor wasn’t a demon who had ever had much interest in ANY holiday, whether it be celebrated in Hell or not, and even though many referred to him as “a mortal soul”, you found it hard to believe the demon you had grown to love was EVER human. Perhaps wielding a human body… but you doubted he truly understood what it meant to be alive.

◍ After a few whimpers spilled from your lips, your small hands gently clasping against the wrist of the hand that held your chin, you noted that his shoulders bounced in a chuckle — perhaps in a frequency too low for your ears to pick up on.

◍ How could he say no to you, to that face? That adorable little whimper. He let go of your chin and returned his hand to its place atop his microphone. You could practically hear the gears turning in his brain, weighing up the options. Should he let you have this? Would it be something beneficial for you?

◍ That was usually how he decided what demands of yours he would give into, and which ones he wouldn’t. Would it be beneficial for you, would it help you adapt more to THIS life?

◍ “I just want to feel like me. Every day I feel my humanity, the person I used to be, slipping further and further away from my grasp. Like if I reached a little farther I could hold onto it just a little longer. I��m not ready to let go of it all yet, Alastor… This all feels like a horrible nightmare. The only silver lining to his dark cloud has been you…”

◍ You were practically biting back tears as you spoke, explaining why you desperately wanted to celebrate such a holiday. He was quiet once again, perhaps revaluating his first decision.

◍ He hated seeing you upset. He hated seeing you cry. Not that you liked throwing a little pity party to get your own way, he was very susceptible to what we’re real tears and which were crocodile tears because he hadn’t given into you. He said yes. Yes to your very own Christmas in hell.

◍ A flick of his wrist was all it took, a flash of green melting away, leaving behind heaps of perfectly placed faux snow, twinkling Christmas lights and reefs hung on every door. It was like something from a Christmas movie, the very scene before you unlocking some childhood memory you had forgotten you even had — the time you went to the Christmas light gardens at the snowy park with your parent(/s).

◍ You twirled around, the awe clear on your face as you took in the picture perfect sight. “Perfect” was really the only word to describe the scene before you… you felt your grin falter ever so slightly. Of course he noticed.

◍ “ You do not like it. “

◍ You felt yourself wince at the comment, a comment you were sure was supposed to come out a question. But he was right … you didn’t like it. There was nothing comforting or homely, loving, about this.

◍ In a desperate attempt to prove yourself wrong you spun around once again, searching for the smallest piece of misplaced snow, a reef without a candy striped bow, a light that was out of sync with the rest or that didn’t work at all — you couldn’t find a single fault with it.

◍ “ It’s not that I don’t like it!”

◍ “Then what is it?”

◍ “I was just hoping that the Christmas would feel a little more homely, and not as much magic would be involved. The fun part is putting UP the Christmas decorations! Sure they won’t be as perfect as this… but that’s what makes Christmas special. It’s a holiday you build together.”

◍ The smile on his mouth never faltered. Never, ever. Not even when you were rambling about the Christmas you wanted to put together yourself — with him. With the Hotel staff, your friends. The demons you had come to love over the last few months of residing there…

◍ Another flash of green, the hotel walls were bare with nothing but Charlie’s family portraits littering the walls once more. However, the same decorations were crammed into boxes, red, green and white spewing out of the bursting cardboard.

◍ You seemed happier at the sight of the tearing boxes than you did at the Christmas wonderland he had created for you in mere seconds. Some things just couldn’t be reached with magic.

◍ It wasn’t long before the word had gotten around to the rest of the gang that you and Alastor were putting up Christmas decorations — They decided to join you. Charlie seemed the most enthusiastic about it!

◍ In order, they joined Charlie & Vaggie ( together, coming back from business elsewhere ), Angel, Nifty and the last to join was Husk, who had earned himself the nickname of “Hinch” ( Husk / Grinch ). He was not in the Christmas spirit, however Nifty couldn’t reach the top of the portraits to hang tinsel from them! He enjoyed watching her struggle for a few moments, then it got sad. So he decided to step in and help! You think he liked it really.

◍ And what good would Christmas be without Christmas music, Santa hats and funky hair accessories, and ugly sweaters?

◍ Alastor was not a fan of the itchy, red sweater. He also wasn’t a fan of the jingling reindeer horns that were placed on his head and the light - up red nose clipped to the tip of his, courtesy of Angel. But… he tolerated it for an hour or two.

◍ He thought you looked rather adorable in a sparkly Santa hat …

◍ It took hours to decorate the seemingly endless floors of the Happy Hotel, and by the end it was getting worse and worse. Even you were putting less effort into your own plan! It looked nothing, nowhere near, anything like what Alastor had created for you. The faux snow was too sparse in some places and over flowing in others, tinsel was messily draped and thrown everywhere and on every string of lights you could spot at least one that didn’t work. It was perfect!

◍ Having left with Angel about an hour before you guys finished up the last few floors remaining, Nifty had baked Gingerbread demons. They were like gingerbread men, only some of these had limbs missing, extra appendages, and funny faces drawn on with icing. Angel was having fun drawing boobs on them.

◍ You decided to watch horror movies in place of Christmas movies, since finding Christmas movies for rental in Hell was like looking for a needle in a Haystack. Hot cocoa, gingerbread demons, you were content on the lap of your love, one arm lazily holding your waist.

◍ None of you had gotten each other gifts, due to none of it being expected or plans, so instead you shared the happy memories you had! Happy memories in Hell were few and far between, but you were glad everyone could think of at least one to share. Even Husk joined in with this one!

◍ The night drew in, it got later and one by one the Hotel Staff retreated to their own rooms. It was just you and Alastor now… still perched on his lap, the cold dregs of once-hot cocoa remaining in your cup, you nestled your back into him. His arm tightened around your middle protectively, a purr sounding against your right ear. It always made you shudder.

◍ “Thank you for making today special, Alastor.”

◍ You turned on his thighs to face him, smiling pink-cheeked up at him. He pressed a claw to your lips, his other arm leaving your waist momentarily. A flick of his wrist, a small flash of green — he was holding a piece of mistletoe.

◍ You swore you felt your heart leap in your chest, whether that was even possible or not, you felt something. You felt a twinge of excitement and anxiety. You knew what he was after, and you had been hoping for this for a while too.

◍ “May I?”

◍ His voice was much softer, a hand cupping the side of your face gently. Lips parted and ready for him, you gave a single nod before his mouth was pressed to yours. The kiss was slightly clumsy, yet it was passionate and needy. One hand on your face, the other half-heartedly holding up the piece of mistletoe as he melted against your mouth with a purr of pleasure.

◍ That was the first time he had kissed you, and for someone who didn’t know what he was doing too much, you had loved every second.

◍ “Merry Christmas, my sweet.”

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