#but jeez I don’t think I sounded like I was prank calling her

[sunny-daysss]

Why are people so mean for no reason :/

#sunny speaks #vent #like #I called a number thinking it was someone trying to get in contact about something cuz I have been sorting out some stuff #and I misread my missed calls and thought they were from the same number #so I called one of them and this lady picks up and asks for my name #she hangs up after I tell her and sends a text accusing me of prank calling her and that I should’ve ‘at least made my number private’ #like keep in mind I have a fucking voicemail from her so I’m like wtf #anyways I listened to it and it was some tts scam caller thing so I think her number got spoofed #it’s my bad for calling random numbers without listening to the voicemail first #but jeez I don’t think I sounded like I was prank calling her #like I said I had a missed call from her #and like ofc my number isn’t private because IM NOT PRANK CALLING ANYONE #my god #anyways #I hate people

[specialagentlokitty]

Beckett x teen!reader - makeshift family

Beckett x teen reader is her next door neighbor prompt 12 - @witchreporter 💜

12: “I got you something.” “Really?!”

You heard the sound of your apartment door open and you grabbed your baseball bat, slowly setting your console controller down.

“Don’t even think about it.”

You tossed it aside and grinned, jumping around and faced the entrance to your living room.

“Detective!”

Beckett laughed a little, walking over to you.

“Hey, I heard you left school early so I came to pick you up come let’s go.”

“Where we going?” You asked.

“Well, I have to finish some paperwork, and while I’m doing that we’re going to talk about why you left school early, then go and get something to eat.”

“I’m not getting out of this am I?”

Beckett shook her head, gesturing towards the door.

“Nope, let’s go kid.”

“Ugh!”

You got up, turning your tv and everything else off, making your way to the door.

“Detective?”

“Yes?”

She stopped in the doorway to look at you.

“I have a parents evening next week, will you go?” You asked.

Beckett nodded her head.

“Yeah, sure. If you want me to.”

You nodded a little.

“Yeah, I’ve never been to one and I kinda wanna go. And I wanna see what my teachers have to say about me.”

Beckett laughed slightly, placing a hand on your head to guide you out of the apartment so she could lock the door for you before handing you your keys.

You ran down the steps, jumping down a few of them.

“Hey! I’m not taking you to the hospital if you get hurt!”

“You’re my legal guardian you have to!”

“I’m your non legal guardian!” She called back.

You grinned, running to her car, jumping in the front and Beckett shook her head as she got into the drivers side.

“Behave at the precinct.”

“I’ll be as good as gold.” You grinned.

“That means no pranks, you leave the guys alone and no running away like last time, I really don’t want to deal with Gates on my ass about you running riot all over the precinct.”

You pouted a little, slumping in your chair.

“Okay…”

Beckett smiled, patting your shoulder.

“Sorry kid.”

Getting to the precinct, you jumped into the elevator, jumping slightly while it was moving.

“(Y/N).” Beckett warned.

You grinned a little, going to run out of the elevator when Beckett grabbed the back of your jacket, holding you in place.

She began to walk, still holding into your jacket while you walked in front of her.

“I’m going to get a set of toddler reins for you.” She said.

Beckett walked over to her desk, sitting you down in a chair and she handed you some papers.

“One of your teachers dropped these off for you.”

“I don’t like homework.”

“Yet you’re going to sit there and do it, otherwise I’m taking your Xbox again.”

“No! Come on!” You whined.

“Tough love kid.”

You pouted, leaning over her desk as you began to work on your homework.

“I need to go out, but Ryan and Esposito will be here.”

“That’s cool.”

Beckett set a cup down in front of you, and she ruffled your hair a little bit.

“No trouble, okay?”

You looked at her.

“Promise.”

“I’m trusting you!”

With that Beckett left, and you picked up your homework, wondering over to another desk and setting it down.

“Ryan!” You yelled.

The man jumped, nearly dropping his cup.

“Jeez (Y/N), I thought Beckett said no trouble.”

“That’s not trouble, I need help.”

“With what?”

You gestured to your homework and he picked it up.

“Sorry kiddo, I don’t know Spanish, Espo is your best shot.”

“Where is he?”

“Try the break room.”

You nodded, taking the papers over the the break room, rolling them up along the way and you smacked the detective in the back.

“Dude seriously?”

Esposito turned around and you grinned a little at him holding the papers up.

“Spanish? Thought you dropped that class last year.”

“Yeah they won’t let me, will you help me?”

“Yeah, sit down.”

You sat down and Esposito went through your homework with you, explain the words, how to say them and what they meant.

While you were doing that, Castle walked in.

Of course your recognised him but you hadn’t fully met him yet, it wasn’t often you were taken to the precinct, so you had no way of meeting him.

“You never said you had a kid!” Castle gasped.

“Not my kid.” Esposito said.

“Ryan? He seems a bit young to have a teenager.”

“And I don’t?”

You snickered a little, checking over your homework.

“(Y/N)!”

“Crap..”

You picked up your papers and grinned at Esposito.

“Thanks!”

With that you wondered away, heading over to Beckett with your homework.

“Will you stop beating my detectives?”

“Nah.”

You handed her your papers and she handed you a shopping bag.

Sitting at her desk, you put the snacks and drinks on the desk and began to eat.

“Good job. I’ll let your teachers know tomorrow you’ve done them, but next week we’re having a meeting with them about this behaviour of yours.”

You nodded a little bit.

“Beckett has a kid!”

“I don’t have a kid!” Beckett yelled back.

You looked up to see Castle, Ryan and Esposito walking over.

“Then who’s that, because that’s a kid.”

“This is a kid who’s gonna throw a pen at your bigass forehead if you call me a kid again.”

“(Y/N)!”

“Sorry detective…”

She smirked a little bit, and sat down on a chair next to you, taking one of your snacks for herself.

“This is (Y/N), my neighbour, (Y/N), this is Richard Castle, you’re not going to throw anything at him.”

“So, you stole your neighbours kid?” Castle asked.

“No.” Beckett sighed.

“So… do their parents know you’ve stolen their kid? Do I need to call the police?”

You glared at him a little, and you got up, grabbing some snacks and a can of pop and made your way out of the room.

“(Y/N) don’t go!” Beckett called.

“Castle you’re an idiot!” Esposito hissed.

“What?! What did I do?!”

Beckett sighed, running a hand down her face.

“Castle family is a touchy subject for (Y/N), they’ve been living on their own for years in that apartment. I just look after them, get shopping for them that kind of stuff.”

“Oh…”

Beckett gave him a look and she packed everything back into the plastic bag and stood up.

“I know you didn’t mean it, I’ll go talk to them.”

Beckett made her way back into your apartment, and you were sitting on the couch playing games again, this time with headphones on.

Beckett set the bag in the kitchen and went back to her own apartment next door before coming back over.

Grabbing the nerf gun by the door, she fired it at you, watching as the rubber bullet bounced off the back of your head.

“Damnit detective.”

You pulled your headphones down, and she grinned as she walked over.

Beckett sat in the table in front of you.

“I want you to know Castle didn’t mean what he said.”

“It’s fine, he didn’t know. It’s just.. a touchy subject…”

“I know kiddo, I know. I also know it’s hard on you.”

“I’m fine by myself, plus I’ve got you. It doesn’t really matter does it? I know you care about me, that’s all that matters.” You grinned.

Beckett laughed a little bit.

“Course I care about you, I’ve watch you grow from just some kid living alone to a near adult navigating life.”

You smiled at her, and she muted your tv.

“I got you something.”

You sat forward with with an excited look on your face.

“Really?!”

Beckett pulled a neatly wrapped box from behind her back.

You looked at her and the box and she gently nodded her head.

“Go ahead, it’s for you.”

You took it, trying to figuring out how to unwrap it, and after a few minutes of struggling you held it out to her.

“Sorry, I forgot you hate wrapping paper.” She laughed.

Beckett tore the paper for you and handed it back, and you saw a photo frame of you and her from a trip you took to the mountains a few months before.

Under it was a game you had been wanting for weeks.

“Woah…”

You set the game, looking to at the photo.

“I thought it was lost…”

“No, we managed to recover it.”

Setting the photo down you leant forward and you hugged her tightly.

Beckett smiled a bit, hugging you back gently.

“Thanks Beckett..”

“Of course, I know it’s not much.”

“No! It’s perfect!”

Beckett smiled, watching you set the photo on the table and you put the game into the console, handing her an extra controller.

Did she know how to play games? No. But even if she sucked at it was worth it to spend some time with you and help you forget how much you hated spending the holidays alone

#castle #castle x reader #castle x you #castle imagine #Kate Beckett #Kate Beckett x reader #Kate Beckett x you #Kate beckett imagine

[imsparky2002]

The Ghoul Squad - Meeting Marinette

2 years ago

(For most kids, the first day of your new school was nerve-wracking. Not for Marinette. She was positively dying to meet new people, to make some new friends, and to put a little scare into her new school. As she got ready for her first day, she cooed at her three spiders, Emma, Louis and Hugo. They were her wonderful children.)

Marinette: Momma will be back soon, my loves, don’t fret! Wish me luck, hopefully this year will go well!

(She hears them chittering sadly.)

Marinette: Oh, I suppose I can keep you hidden in my bag. But you better behave yourselves! 

(She puts them in her bag and heads downstairs for breakfast. Her parents have prepared for her some charred toast and straight lemon juice.)

Xia Bing: I do hope you had bad dreams, darling.

Marinette: Absolutely horrible ones.

Tom: Are you excited for your first day of school? You’re practically trembling! I know you’ve been waiting to see Kim and Nino again!

Marinette: Now I don't just get to send chills down their spines during hangouts, I can do it every day at DuPont!

Xia Bing: Sounds lovely, darling! We do hope you have a fine time!

(As she walked to school, she decided to pull a little prank on her friends. She snuck up behind them, poked them on the neck, and disappeared as they turned around. Then she put two hands on their shoulders.)

Kim: AIEEEEE! (Seeing that it’s her) Jeez, Mari! Give me a heart attack, why don’t you?

(Mari giggles) 

Marinette: Aw, only a heart attack?

Nino: Don't encourage her, Kim. (As classmates walk past them, Marinette gets mixed reactions. Some compliment her on her fashion, with two goth kids (Anthony and Eri) giving her thumbs up, others give her looks of disgust. Marinette looks unbothered.)

Kim: (To some kids giving her bad looks) Yo! You mess with my old pal Marinette, you're gonna regret it!

Nino: You know, dudette, I think you're gonna like this place. After all, I hear there's rumors of monsters watching over this place.

(Kim gulps. He HATES hearing about those rumors. He's scared of it.)

Kim: Dude! You KNOW that stuff freaks me out! Can we not talk about them?

(Marinette gets a wide grin. She's always into freaky things.)

Marinette: Oh, come on, Kim! Being scared is the best part! Tell me more, Nino! (Kim rolls his eyes, before gaining a wide grin as he spots his girlfriend!)

Kim: Whelp, you go on and tell her. I'm gonna hang out with someone who doesn't give me nightmares. (He runs off like a happy puppy to Ondine)

Nino: Well, let's just say this place has some spooks watching it. They're not evil though, since they coulda just taken it over already. We've never seen them, so technically it's "just a rumor" but dude, I'm telling ya it's true!

Marinette: (Smiles) How…fascinating! I do hope the stories are true. Imagine…real life monsters!

Mari: Go on.

Nino: Well, there's more than one. First off, I've seen scarabs crawling around the floors, piles of dust, and even had this really cute voice whispering in my ear when no-one else is around.

Nino: Then, Nathaniel says he's seen a purple bat hanging from the ceiling, with red glowing eyes. Then he found a room full of red mist, and swore he saw a pale girl with fangs complimenting him on his art.

(Mari smiles. Mummies and vampires? How marveously macarbe)

Marinette: (Grins) Classic signs of the presence of a vampire! What else?

Nino: Whelp, the next one has a name. It's a Phantom. Well, the new ghost. See, the Phantom of the Theatre's a DuPont legend, a ghost who protects the school, helps out the actors, and makes sure we're taking care of the auditorium. Seems that the old Phantom moved on or something, and his daughter's taken his place. Ivan's heard her voice, calling him a "Angel of Music" but she hasn't shown her face yet. She likes singing to kids in the mirror, or shooting fireballs at those who wish to harm the school. You'll tell she's near if you hear a pipe organ. I know how much you dig that stuff.

Marinette: How delightful! A protective spirit, this place just keeps sounding better! Are there any more?

Nino: A few more. Kim's been hearing the howls of a wolf a lot. He also sees yellow eyes staring at him in the dark.

(Marinette smiles. So she’s not the only one who enjoys spooking her old friend!)

Nino: Max hears mad laughter and finds tons of little gadgets around the school. He also sees these weird green patchy limbs crawling around, and sparks of electricity. Sabrina sees it sometimes, too, That is... whenever Chloe isn't breathing down her neck.

Marinette: (Glowers) Chloe Bourgeois? That brat who thinks she owns the world, just because of all her daddy’s money and influence?

Nino: Yep. But luckily, there's a monster that likes to deal with her. Based on what people say she looks like, it's a ghost, similar to those things from The Ring? She writes threatening messages to Chloe in the walls, crawls around, whispers in her ear, it's awesome.

Marinette: How wonderful! Sounds like my kind of specter!

Nino: Then there's Nath's boyfriend Marc. He and his class saw some witchy stuff. Anytime they're being bullied or the teacher does something stupid, they get hexed. They also smell potion ingredients and see three ladies flying away on broomsticks. There's a ton of cackling as well.

(This is Marinette's favorite. She's always wanted to be a witch!)

Marinette: Witches?! How marvelous! I’ve always wanted to learn the dark arts!

(Nino gives a "damn girl" smile)

Nino: Uh s-sure? Anyway, I get a feeling they're gonna like you. Hell, you'll probably scare them instead!

(She grins. As her and Nino walk to their first class, the Ghoul Squad have been eagerly watching their conversation from their hiding places with the help of their mothers' magic. Kagami is with them, since her mother allowed her to hang out.)

Alix: Dude, I love this chick! Way better than my human! I didn't think anyone hanging out with that meathead could be cool!

Rose Frankenteen: Can we talk to her? I want her to be our friend, she seems so nice!

Jubella: Of course, dear. Nathaniel is nice to vatch over and hang out vith, but he does not have zhe spooky spark zhat zhis one has!

Mylentasma: How should we make our approach! I feel like she’d like it if we spooked her!

Alynis: Call me crazy, but I'm not even sure if we could. She's clearly an expert.

Kagami: *Blushing* I believe we should wait until the time is right. I... I want it to be perfect, just for her.

(The other girls “Aww” in happiness.)

Winlix: If you love her, then you should do what My and Alya do! Be a coward and speak to them from the shadows!

(She giggles as Alynis and Mylentasma give her death glares)

Mylentasma: Very funny, Alix! I just want to make sure my Angel of music is ready before I present myself!

Alynis: And I need Nino to see the full power of the Pharaoh! (Jubella and Rose Frankenteen just recently started dating.)

Rose Frankenteen: I'm so happy me and Jules were able to share our feelings with each other.

(It was adorable. Both of them knew that the other definitely liked them, but they were both just so scared of saying it.)

Jubella: I’m just glad you felt the same vay! I adore you, my spark of life!

(Rose giggles as Jules gives her a loving bite on the neck, since she has no blood supply)

Jubella: Bleh bleh bleh! I vant to drain your vains!

Rose Frankensteen: Nooo! Save me from the cute vampire!

Winlix: Gross! Yuck!

Jubella: Call it payback for being a smartass, pup!

(Marinette's first day at school had been going splendidly in her eyes. She had discovered that those two alternative kids were named Eri and Anthony. They were a lot better than those needlessly edgy, gatekeepers at her old place. She may have loved gothic culture and fashion, but you didn't need to be a misery guts all the time.)

(She had also pulled off some great scares, some unintentional. It turned out that like Kim, more than a few kids were terrified of spiders, with some even fainting. Oh well, more fun for her.)

(It seemed as though Nino and Kim's buddies liked her well enough, saying she seemed nice even if she scared the hell out of them, which was what Marinette was going for. She felt it was nice having new friends, but made sure to keep them on their toes. Sabrina took a big liking to her as well, and she admitted it was nice to have a girl in the class who respected her.)

Chloe: Figures that a dummy like Le Chien and a loser like Lahiffe would hang around with a freak!

Marinette: I’m sorry, and you are?

(She knows who she is, she’s just being a little gremlin, trying to make Chloe mad)

Chloe: *Squawking* Chloe Bourgeois! Social influencer, daughter of the Mayor, and more popular and pretty than you'll ever be!

Marinette: Ah, yes. Do forgive me, your *majesty*!

(She bows in a mocking fashion)

Chloe: You should know better than to test me, Dupain-Cheng. I'm the alpha of this school, the queen bee! If you think you can steal Sabrina from me, you've got another thing coming!

Marinette: I haven’t stolen anyone. I’m merely showing Sabrina that she has the chance to make real friends who care about her.

Chloe: I gave you a warning, Dupain-Chang. Looks I'll just have to break you down.

(Chloe goes to grab the sketchbook, as she hears terrifying laughter. Six voices to be exact.)

(Ominous organ music plays as thunders cracks. Mylentasma appears before Chloe, with a face cloaked in terrifying shadows as her cape fluttered behind her.)

Mylentasma: I wouldn’t do that if I were you!

(Marinette gets the biggest grin on her face, as Mylentasma winks at her.)

(Chloe feels a bat whoosh behind her, turning into Jubella, who hisses at her, looming over the bully, with her cloak raised behind her head.)

Jubella: You have no power over zhese students, foolish girl.

(A roar is heard as Chloe turns to see Rose Frankenteen stomping towards her, arms out)

Rose Frankenteen: Graaaar! Mean girl back off, or ROSIE SMASH!

(Scarabs crawl around Chloe, as the creepy rotting mummy shambles to her, tilting her head.)

Alynis: Leave Marinette alone, mortal, or face a harrowing curse!

(The Ghoul Squad is so happy to finally find a human worthy of joining them!)

(Chloe jumps two feet in the air as Winlix lands behind her, snarling viciously)

Winlix: Stand down, or we’ll claw you to shreds!

(Mylentasma gives her a quick "too far, Alix" stare. Chloe feels her heart leave her chest as Kagami crawls behind her. She gives her a terrifying grin, showing her face.)

Kagami: Watch out, Chloe. You never know where we might be. We ghouls see eeeverrything.

(As she says that last part, she twists her head around)

Kagami: So play nice.

(Chloe shrieks and runs out of the room)

(Marinette blushes like crazy at the last girl. What a beautifully bonechilling ghost. The girls all rush in to hug her.)

Mylentasma: Are you okay? We’re sorry we couldn’t get here sooner! We wouldn’t want our new friend getting hurt!

Marinette: Okay? I'm positively trembling with joy! As you probably heard before, I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng. My parents run the funeral home next to this school.

Alynis: Ooh, the Blissful Rest? We've heard of that place!

Marinette: Yes! I’ll be inheriting it when I get older.

Jubella: Vonderful, my dear.

Rose Frankenteen: We'll make sure to visit your parents. They're clearly right up our alley!

Marinette: They’d be delighted to meet you! They share the love for the morbid and frightening as myself!

(The monsters grin and begin introducing themselves.)

Jubella: I am Juleka. Mistress of zhe night. Do not vorry, for I only consume animal blood. It's simply fangtastic to be in your prescence.

Winlix: (panting happily) Sup, I’m Alix! Awesome to meet someone who likes creepy stuff as much of us! (Howls)

Rose Frankenteen: Name's Rose! And as you can tell, I'm no hulking brute. In fact, I'm an inventor of gadgets and gizmo's aplenty. Meeting you has brought a spark into our lives. (She cackles madly as Jubella kisses her.)

Mylentasma: (Bows dramatically) I am Mylene, the Phantom of the Theatre! Delighted to make your acquaintance!

(Marinette coos in delight as Alynis introduces herself)

Alynis: (raises her arms) And I am Alya, the mighty pharaoh! Bringer of doom and ruler of the sands!

Alynis: Lol, just kidding. I do rule the sands, but I'm no ruler. I do have a pretty cool blog though. (Finally, Kagami walks up to her new crush, being as romantic as possible. Marinette feels her heart beat like a drum.)

Marinette: H-hello. And you are? (Her cheeks are fire-engine red)

Kagami: Kagami. And may I say, you're the prettiest, most morbidly mesmerizing girl I've ever seen. I want to haunt you... *whispering in her ear* forever.... Marinette: Kagami... can you hug me? I want you to never let me go. (She does so, whispering spookily sweet nothings into her ear.)

Kagami: I understand this may be a bit forward….but would you like to go out sometime?

Marinette: Yes, my lovely ghost. Wanna head over to the cemetery with me after school? I'd just love to introduce you to my parents. (Kagami knows her mother will be mad at her, but screw her.)

Kagami: That sounds wonderful. (She snuggles Marinette happily)

Alynis: We heard that you love witchcraft! Our mothers are witches you know. Rose Frankenteen: But not our biological moms. None of us are related, so don't worry about me and Jules!

(Marinette giggles and jumps up and down.)

Marinette: Do you think they’d be willing to teach me?!

Kagami: Of course they would! In fact, we'll go there to induct you as the newest member of the Ghoul Squad. (Marinette gasps)

Marinette: But, I'm human! And I don't know any magic yet.

Mylentasma: That’s no matter! You’ve already got the *fright* stuff to be one of us!

Marinette: Well, if you say so, then it has to be true!

Mylentasma: And to show that I mean it.

(She dramatically takes off her mask, revealing her burned side of her face.)

Mylentasma: BEHOLD! Gaze upon my true visage!

Marinette: You look as beautifully bonechilling as ever.

(The Phantom smiles and hugs her.)

Mylentasma: I knew you would be so kind. To be truthful, I have no shame in this face, for I was born with it. It’s just… I feel that the mask gives me such a delightfully spooky and mysterious appearance.

Alynis: Same here. We’re born with bandages. We can take them off to show off our skin, but honestly it’s not as fun creeping people out when you’re just a naked corpse.

Winlix: Speaking of creepy, let’s head back home!

(It's a good thing that Chloe cornered Marinette in the bathroom, so no one can see them.)

(The go through an underground passageway connected to the school. They decide to take the slow way there, with Mylentasma happily rowing her gondola through the eerie river, as she and her sisters act as a tour guide, pointing out creepy things as they pass the river.)

Alynis: And over there is the hanging tree! We hung up the ornaments and skeletons ourselves!

Rose Frankenteen: Whenever Alix didn't try chewing on the bones!

Winlix: And over there is where I like to bury all my favorite toys!

Jubella: Ah, here's zhe space vhere Mylentasma and I go to brood.

(Mylentasma nods dramatically)

Mylentasma: One needs a proper space to contemplate the heaviness of life…

Jubella: It is only right for us horrifying creatures of zhe night to fill such a room with sorrow.

Alynis: They get really pissy if you interrupt them being emo.

(The vampire and phantom pout in annoyance.)

(Marinette texts her parents and sends a video, Since she knows vampires don't appear in photos.

Marinette: Mom, Dad, I've got frightfully good news for you. I've already made friends, best friends in fact. In fact, I even met my one true love! Here they are. *They all wave, and she points the camera to Kagami, who's snuggling her.* They can't wait to meet you after school!

Marinette: Oh, and don't worry about the sun, Juleka. We prefer the macarbe and peaceful atmosphere of darkness.

Tom: That’s wonderful, dear! We can’t wait to meet them.

Xia Bing: We’re so glad you had a frightfully good first day!)

(As she waves goodbye, Kagami squeezes her tight. Marinette responds by lightly tickling her nose. The boat stops and Mylentasma smiles sweetly.)

Mylentasma: We've arrived, my sisters!

(Marinette looks up and sees a creepy underground castle, and happily follows her spooky soulmate and her bonechilling besties. There's rooms for each girl, and then some. They first visit Jubella's gothic room, complete with books, a eerie purple coffin, and bats flying around. Jubella takes the time to happily and spookily coo at the bats.)

Jubella: Ah, such vonderful creatures of zhe night. Come, meet our newest member, my babies!

(They happily chirp and swirl around Marinette, who loves bats as well.)

Marinette: Hello, my little lovelies! How darling you all are!

(She gets an idea, and pulls out her wonderful spiders she brought to school, and shows them to the girls, who gasp in delight. They love spiders!)

Marinette: Meet Emma, Hugo, and Louis. Such beautiful beings, are they not? How they creep and crawl, waiting to give you a scare! I wish I could be a fearsome spider, catching up little things in my web.

Winlix: (Holding one of the spiders) Hey little dude! (To Marinette) That would be epic!

Jubella: Vell, ve vould certainly have room for zhem. Ve shall build you a room soon, so zhat you can stay here for sleepovers!

Marinette: It would make my heart scream!

(They then travel to the Phantom's lair. There's a pipe organ, ominous fog, ghostly outfits for disguises, sheet music, gnarly trees, and tons of mirrors. Mylentasma gestures dramatically as she speaks of her spooky yet comforting abode.)

Mylentasma: Ah, my oasis of music! Is it not wonderful! Here is my sanctuary where I sing to my hearts content!

Kagami: Me and Mylene go to each other's rooms sometimes to revel in being spirits. We chase each other around, it's really fun. And I like to listen to her play.

Mylentasma: Ah yes, my beloved organ. I've crafted such heartwarming and horrifying melodies, all to help my fellow thespians of DuPont, and for the simple joy of pleasing myself and my sisters! And sometimes... Ivan, my Angel of Music. We sing such beautiful ballads to each other, I am the voice he hears in his mind.

Marinette: I’m sure you two will make such a lovely pair!

Mylentasma: Soon, I know. It's not that I fear him rejecting me, he has told me that I'm the only one he feels love for. I simply want to wait a little while, find the right moment. I plan on composing an opera for my angel, and students are welcome to join in, though it is not a demand.

(Marinette smiles as she looks at the different ghostly outfits and masks on display.)

Mylentasma: So you’ve noticed. Yes, despite being a spirit, we are able to create and wear different clothes. I like to change it up every now and again. We all do. This outfit is my favorite. My mother wore similar attire, and she had such good taste! But enough about me. Let us continue, my sisters!

(Next up is Rose Frankenteen's lab. There's bubbling vials, gadgets, creepy tools, and tons of other mad sciency stuff. The mad doctor cackles as she dances around the room.)

Rose Frankenteen: Isn’t it just a scream?! I made it all myself! I’m always tampering and tinkering.

Jubella: She vorks vith such ferocity, it brings lovely chills to my spine. Marinette: Ah, and I assume you show off these gadgets to Sabrina and Max? They mention hearing your laughter and you letting them touch your inventions.

(Rose grins at hearing about her human she likes to interact with.)

Rose Frankenteen: Yes, she’s such a lovely girl! So intelligent and curious! She deserves so much better than that dreadful Chloe! And then there's Max, he's so intelligent, especially for a human! I'm planning on collaborating with him in the future. Of course, I still give those two quite the fright at times!

Winlix: Speakin' of frights, my room's up next!

(There was meat, chew toys, workout stuff, a buncha history stuff because of her late parents. It also has a bunch of trees and have rocks to make it like a wolf den. Probably also have moon and star decals on the ceiling)

(Winlix barks with joy and runs around the room.)

Marinette: This place is beautiful! Befitting of a werewolf, might I add.

(Winlix grins, showing off her sharp teeth.)

Winlix: What can I say, It’s my den!

Kagami: If there's one thing she loves doing in this room, it's prepping for a pounce. She's even able to get me and Mylene if she catches us off guard.

Rose Frankenteen: It's a sign of honor if she pounces on you at home. (Winlix grins, realizing she hasn't pounced on Marinette yet.)

Winlix: (Pounces on Marinette, hugging her new friend and she growls happily)

(Marinette giggles as Winlix licks her face)

Winlix: No way you’re getting outta this cuddle, Mar' (The other ghouls join her in the cuddle session.)

Jubella: It is no use, my dear. You are surrounded.

(They giggle and let go, as they head to Alynis's room.)

(Alynis's room is styled after an Egpyptian throne room. There are scarabs everywhere, hieroglyphics, a space for her to blog with a computer and wifi, a sarcophogus, various snacks and posters, and dust. She smiles, putting her hands up dramatically.)

Alynis: Behold, my marvelous tomb. The perfect space for a ruler of the sandy expanse such as myself!

(She smiles as the scarabs begin interacting with the spiders, with the different bugs chatting to each other.)

Alynis: We need to have our babies get together for a playdate. Jules can bring hers as well!

Jubella: Vhat a delightfully fangtastic idea!

Alynis: And this is my sarcophogus. Make sure not to disturb my slumber, or suffer my wrath! Mwahaha!

Marinette: I wouldn’t dream of it, my dear. I wouldn’t wish to incur the curse of the mighty pharaoh!

(Alynis giggles)

Alynis: Of course, here's where I conjure up my sand storms.

(She starts doing exaggerated gestures)

Winlix: Watch out, sis! You don't wanna break a hip.

(Alynis gives her an annoyed look and sticks her tongue out)

Alynis: And of course, here is my blog! I call it "The Wrap". There's entries on me and my sisters, news stories, and sharing the history of monsterkind! Alix helps out with it.

Marinette: I’ll be sure to check it out! It seems quite interesting *Smiling* I've always had a love for the world wide web. And I just can't wait to see your room, 'Gami!

(She blushes and takes her hand.)

(The guest room has plenty of TVs for the ghost to enter, along with headstones, bonsai trees and tons of curtains. There is a deathly chill in the air.

(Kagami floats around her room, so happy that Marinette likes her ghostly safe haven.)

Kagami: I’m so glad you like it! I hope we spend time here together!

Marinette: Come to me in my dreams, love. Then we can spend all the time we want. (As they head to the witches room, the girls explain why the house is so big.)

Rose Frankenteen: This place was designed as a haven for our families. They all got together and made sure we were born in a place where we could be safe from hunters.

Marinette: Hunters?

Mylentasma: While we've been lucky to find some humans willing to protect us, others look at monsters with such hatred, that they were able to kill our parents, and in some cases, our siblings.

Kagami: My mother was able to escape her trap, but was blinded in the process. (Marinette looks with such anguish at this news.)

Marinette: How horrible! I know that saying sorry doesn't fix anything but-

Jubella: It vas painful, yes. Zat is vhy ve protect the school and each other! In zeir honor, and to repay our dear mothers!

Alynis: Who you'll meet soon enough. After all, they'll be present for your induction into our group, as a sister.

(Marinette enters the Witches's room. There's bubbling cauldrons, potions, what else would there be?)

Probably classroom type stuff, as they’re also teachers who educate their ‘daughters’.

(Yep, and decorative skulls as well.) Marinette: I assume this is where you get your education?

Mylentasma: Yes, our mothers have taught us much in the ways of the magical and scholarly!

Alynis: And of course... how to spook the pants off of people.

(The girls all giggle and begin recapping stuff they were taught by the Witches of Wisdom.)

Alynis: For instance, they teach me how to use dark magic not just to save people, but to give 'em nightmares as well.

Winlix: They give me a lot of great pouncing tips!

Mylentasma: I've learned so many ghostly tricks from them. Appearing in mirrors, shooting fireballs, how to make shadows appear in front of my face.

Jubella: Zey have taught me much about utilizing my vampire powers to zhe very highest benefit!

Kagami: I learned how to access and control my psychic abilties because of them. Now I can show off the true power of a spirit.

Rose Frankenteen: They taught me how to hone my terrifying monster angle! GRAAAAH!

Winlix: Yeah, we all made up these characters, and Rose switches between a big hulking brute, and her usual mad scientist self.

Rose Frankenteen: Rosie good actress! GRAAAGGHH!

(They hear three sets of delightfully spooky cackles coming from the shadows.)

Giselle: A human with as frightful a mind as you all. And dare I say, a new sister to join our group?

Olga: Let's see if she has what it takes, my pretties.

Marinette: All my life I've wanted to learn the ways of witchcraft, please reveal yourselves to me!

(The three emerge from the shadows, cackling with delight and shrouded in ominous light. They grin at her sense of fashion, her love for spiders, and all the things that they've overheard. They tip their pointy hats to her, using magic to make their cloaks flap inside.)

Caline: Delighted to meet you my dear! And might I say what adorable little arachnids you have there!

Marinette: Thank you, miss. I've always had such a passion for these creatures.

(Giselle nods and kisses her wife before speaking to Marinette.)

Giselle: And your sense of style is so morbidly beautiful my dear!

(Marinette takes a bow.)

Marinette: Thank my parents. I suppose I share their love for the eerie and macarbe.

Olga: And you say have the wish to learn witchcraft?

(Marinette nods eagerly)

Marinette: More than anything!

Caline: Well, we’d be happy to teach you! You certainly have the spirit for it!

Marinette: You would?! (The girls pat her on the back.)

Mylentasma: We told you they’d love you!

Marinette: *Bowing to them* I eagerly accept to follow your teachings, masters.

Olga: Then it is time for your induction to begin. Gather round, Marinette, my girls, for you are about to have a new sister!

(The ghouls cheer with joy, hugging Marinette)

(They all move back and surround her, and the incantation begins. Eerie green fog surrounds the room, and the witches eyes begin to glow.)

Witches of Wisdom: Engulf in shadow, cloak in dark Let the blaze of magic take your heart You are one of us, we are family now With our final chant, you seal your vow!

(The eerie glow around the room gets brighter as Marinette feels herself becoming more attuned with the darkness, she truly has become a spookster like her new siblings.)

Ghoul Squad: Greetings, sister.

Marinette: I can feel the magic coursing through every part of me. I’ve never felt so alive!

Jubella: Now you are one vith us, always in our hearts and minds!

Mylentasma: Our spellbinding songs shall be heard throughout the city!

Alynis: We'll wrap you up, nice and cold, sister.

Winlix: You're gonna be the best witch there ever was!

(Marinette tears up.)

Marinette: Thank you, sisters. I never want this feeling to end. (She looks up at her other mamas and new masters.)

Marinette: I promise I won't let you down, mothers.

Caline: We know, darling. We have every confidence you will fully embrace your magic!

Giselle: We'll start your training tomorrow, dear.

Olga: But don't expect to be safe from our frights, isn't that right, girls? Don't go soft on her.

Mylentasma: We wouldn’t dream of it!

Alynis: We’ll still spook her out of her skin!

Marinette: I would want nothing more, and beware of spooks yourselves, my sisters. You never know when a spider will strike. (Giggles)

(The others all cackle along with her, they were going to have a wonderfully terrifiying time!)

And that’s how our Ghoul Squad met! Me and Weeby had a blast writing this, and the fun’s just beginning. We’ll see more Ghoul Squad content soon. In fact, you’ll get a chance to meet Adrien Agreste, a.k.a. Cat Astrophe. Make sure to reblog, reply, post and ask about the content. @artzychic27 @msweebyness 

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #marinette dupain cheng #marinette #mylene haprele #mylene #juleka couffaine #juleka #rose lavillant #rose #alya cesaire #alya #alix kubdel #alix #kagami tsurugi #kagami #phantom of the opera #witch #ghost #mummy #vampire #frankenstein's monster #werewolf #phantom #ghoul squad #ghoul squad au

[zukkoxx]

mha boys doing the hickey prank on you

(w/ bakugo, kiri, shinsou)

bakugo 💥

you and bakugo’s relationship started with bickering and annoying each other till you drive the other crazy.

and that didn’t stop when you started dating.

now, it’s more of pulling silly little pranks on each other.

and each time you would try to one up the other.

well, the last prank you pulled in bakugo had him fuming, he was mad for a week.

so obviously he had to get you back even worse.

he got mina to help him, figuring she’d be best at making the makeup look like the actual thing.

she berated him the whole time, telling him if he broke her best friend’s heart she’d shoot acid in his eyes.

he brushed off her comment. you deserved this.

it was a little late in the evening after you get to bakugo’s dorm, finished with all the tasks you had to do today.

“hey kats.” you greet, placing your things on his desk and joining him on the bed where he was sitting on his phone.

he looked up at you, almost feeling bad when you gave him a genuine smile before snuggling up next to him. “whats up?” you say when he doesn’t respond.

“nothing. how was your day?” he quickly asked.

the two of you talked for a while about random stuff, and at some point you went up to kiss his cheek, laughing at a comment he made.

but you freeze when you see a dark, purplish mark on the side of his neck, in plain sight.

you furrowed your brows, wondering how you hadn’t noticed to before.

“katsuki...what’s this?” you ask, making him turn from his phone and look at you.

“what’re ya talkin about dumbass?”

“don’t call me a dumbass, what the hell is this on your neck?” you speak louder, pressing a finger under the mark.

“it’s nothing, probably a bruise from a mission-”

“bakugo.”

the blond widens his eyes at your deep tone and the way you said his name. he never really heard you speak like this unless it was towards a villain. but even then, you never sounded this serious.

“you and i both know that’s not a fucking bruise.”

he stares at you silently, not knowing if he should end the prank or not.

he decides to push on.

“i don’t know what you want me to say.” he shrugs, looking away from you. he couldn’t stand seeing the hurt in your eyes.

you scoff, trying to get rid of the pressure building in you throat. “you really are just a big asshole, aren’t you?”

he stayed quiet. “if you wanted to break up with, you could’ve just told me.” you try so hard to keep your tears at bay, not letting them cross your waterline.

but it feels like a dagger had been stabbed through your heart.

“and to think, i thought you could have actually loved me.” you chuckle darkly before trying to get off the bed.

upon hearing your words, bakugo quickly grabbed your hand, pulling you against him.

“i do love you-”

“let me go you asshole!” you push his chest, tears finally escaping. “we’re done! that’s what you wanted right?”

“y/n it’s not real! calm down.”

he holds your waist so you were sitting on his lap, keeping you still. you look at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. “what the hell do you mean it’s not real?”

he stared at you for a second, almost scared that if he looked away, you’d be gone. but he eventually reaches to the table beside his bed and grabs a makeup wipe mina lended him. he quickly wiped the mark, staring at you intensely.

“see?” he turns his head, and you find the purple mark gone, only a slight red pigment left from where he wiped so harshly. “fake.” he holds up the wipe so you see the purple stains covering it.

“it was a prank.”

you felt like you could finally breath again, but your relief quickly turned into anger, and you punched bakugo’s chest out of instinct. he didn’t react.

“i hate you. why would you do this?”

“you pranked me last week!” bakugo states, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“i put pink dye in your shampoo katsuki. this was overboard.” you mutter, wiping your cheeks to get rid of sparse tears.

bakugo frowned, feeling even more bad about the whole thing. he had to admit, he took it too far. “you’re right. i’m sorry.” you didn’t respond, but accepted his apology.

“hey.” bakugo lifted your chin to look at him. “you know i love you, right? more than fucking anything.” you nod. “don’t ever doubt my love for you, or i may have to blow myself up for making you feel that way.”

you laugh slightly, bending down so you could hug when, pushing your face into his neck.

“you know i’m getting you back for this.”

kirishima🪨

kirishima often does things without thinking ahead.

not fully comprehending the consequences of his actions.

this was one of those moments.

it was april fools day! great right?

except kiri and the boys made a bet, wondering who could pull the best prank on someone in their class.

kiri took a while thinking about who he should prank. and eventually, a perfect prank to pull on his precious s/o came to mind.

a hickey prank. haha....ha. -_-

he had seen tons of videos where someone made a fake hickey and pranked their s/o with it. he always laughed his ass off at them.

this would be the perfect opportunity!

so he sprinted to ochaco’s back room, hers being the closest, and asked for some makeup he would return quickly.

he went to his room, doing his best at imitating the red, purplish bruise you’d often give each other.

when he thought he did the best he could, he leaves his room, trying to find you so he could get the prank over with.

he sees you in the kitchen, eating a bowl of fruit, chatting with jiro.

he makes his way over slowly, nervousness creeping up his spine with the amount of people in the common area at the moment.

he didn’t want to embarrass you, but he didn’t want to give any of the boys 50 dollars either.

he stood behind you, awkwardly waiting for you to finish talking to jiro.

jiro looks past you, motioning for you to check. you turn, eyes brightening as they land upon your boyfriend.

“hey kiri, what some fruit?” you push the bowl towards him, and he shakes his head with a dopey smile. “no thanks babe. just checking on you.”

you melt at his kind words, about to respond when jiro speaks up beside to. “i think you should be checking on yourself kiri. jeez y/n, are you human or a leech?” she covers her moth to stifle a laugh, pointing to a very specific spot on kiri’s neck.

you halfheartedly laugh, confused, and glanced at the area yourself.

you breath stops when you notice a big purple mark covering the side of his neck.

you didn’t do that to him...

kirishima stands uncomfortably still, not real really knowing what to do this far into the prank.

“kirishima? wha...” you can’t even speak, just utterly astonished at what you’re seeing.

you stare at him and shake your hands, waiting for him to explain himself.

“are you going to say something!?” you ask, the hurt in your voice making his heart break.

he didn’t like this. not at all. why did he do this?

“...fuck you kiri.” you spit, ignoring the fact that you still used his nickname while you were mad at him.

you walked away in a hurry, leaving jiro glaring at kirishima.

“what did you do?” she asked.

“i-it was a joke! a prank! i...it’s april fools!”

“well go tell them that!” jiro says, pushing kiri to go follow you.

kirishima runs after you, getting to you as soon as you enter the elevator to go to your dorm. he sprints inside, crashing into you in the process.

he looks at you with wide eyes when he sees tears running down your face. “why are you here?” you quickly yell.

“y/n it’s a prank! it’s april fools day, please baby! i’m sorry!” he goes to hug you. you don’t return it but you don’t push him away either.

“what the heck eijiro! that wasn’t funny!” you yell in distress. you were happy it wasn’t real, but the feeling from being absolutely heart broken to feeling better in the span of seconds was overwhelming.

“i know. i know it was stupid of me to even attempt this. i made a stupid bet with the others. i am so sorry. you know i’d never do this to you. please, forgive me.” he begs, holding onto you for dear life.

��i’m really upset with you right now, eijiro.”

“you should be. i don’t blame you y/n. but please, don’t leave me.”

you sighed, finally going to hug him back. “i’m not going to leave you kiri. i was scared you were leaving me!”

“i’d never! never in a million years!”

“i know, just don’t do that again. you really scared me.”

he nods against you. “never again.”

shinsou 🌀

shinsou was never good at expressing his emotions.

he was very reserved and even though you were his s/o, you often had trouble figuring out what was going on inside that complicated head of his

so when you laughed at izuku’s jokes, or praised shoto’s quirk

of course he wouldn’t tell you how jealous it made him feel. how it made all his insecurities rise up.

you didn’t mean to make him feel this way, god no. you had known the two boys longer than him and were used to having the comfortable playful conversations with izuku and serious quirk related talks with shoto.

but shinsou didn’t like all the attention you gave them.

and he couldn’t find a way to let you know how he felt that didn’t involve telling you. which he wasn’t going to do.

so he ended up doing the next best thing that came to mind.

make you feel what he was feeling.

he gets some makeup from someone he had already forgotten the name of and went to his dorm, doing his best to make the fake hickey at least a little believable.

he didn’t want the prank to be too serious, just to hit you with a quick realization that you had been making him feel this way.

so he waits for you to meet him in his dorm like you always do, and even leaves the makeup out in the open to see if you’d catch on yourself.

“hellooo my love.” you say cheerfully, and shinso smiled at your happy mood.

“hi y/n. had a good day?” he asked, sitting on the edge of his bed as you approached him, standing between his legs.

“mhm. but i missed you.” you muttered, pushing his face against your stomach as you hugged his head.

hitoshi frowned at your words. maybe this wasn’t a good idea. maybe he’s been overthinking and this stupid prank will just make things worse.

“so, what did you do today-”

you pull back from hitoshi and catch a glimpse of a bruise on his neck. you grip his chin, turning it to the side with slight force and narrow your eyes.

“what happened here?” you asked curiously

“nothing babe.” your boyfriend shrugs

“hitoshi is this a fucking hickey?” you asked after getting a better look, hoping to whatever god there was that his answer would be no.

“what does it look like?”

“don’t talk to me like that, you prick.” you seeth, and push his head away until he falls on his back on the bed.

“we’re over! i hate you.” you say the last part quietly, still not wanting to believe what you saw was real.

“wait y/n, it’s fake!” hitoshi yells before you could leave his dorm.

“how is it fake hitoshi? what, you had no real feelings for the bitch that sucked on your neck? do you think i’m stupid or something?”

“the hickey is fake y/n. i made it.”

you stared at him with deceiving eyes, crossing your arms and tapping your foot. “is this some type of mind joke hitoshi? i told you don’t use that shit on me.”

“please babe, c’mere. wipe it off.”

you slowly made you way back to him, gripping his chin to turn his head again and swiped at the mark. it smeared a little, but didn’t come off. you licked your thumb before rubbing it into the mark, finally making it disappear.

you pushed him back slightly, eyes still angry. “what was that all about? why’d you do that?” you ask.

“just thought it’d be funny.” he lies, looking away from you. you knew he was lying. he always looked directly at you when talking about something. especially something serious.

“do not make me even angrier than i already am shinso. fess up.”

hitoshi groaned, putting his hands over his face before looking at you with tired eyes. “fine, i got jealous of you hanging out and being friendly with midoriya and todoroki. i just wanted to get you back in a way.”

“so you pretend to cheat on me?”

“i’m sorry. it was really immature of me and i should’ve just talked to you. the makeup is right over there if you still need proof.” he points to his desk and glance at it, seeing the makeup sprawled on top.

you sighed, not wanting to forgive him so easily. but you couldn’t help it with the way he rubbed the back of your legs soothingly and looked at you with love filled eyes.

“ugh, you’re lucky i love you.” you state, trying to stop the smile growing on your face as you see him smirk softly.

“and i love you. more than anything. thank you for forgiving me.”

“and...i’ll try not to make you jealous. i really didn’t mean to.” you say, remembering the reason for the whole situation.

hitoshi shook his head. “you can hang out and be friends with whoever you want. i know you wouldn’t leave me or be unfaithful. and i’d never be unfaithful to you. i’m so thankful for you.”

.....

“stop getting all mushy on me.”

i always see hcs where the boys get pranked, i thought it’d be cool to do the reverse. i can still do y/n pranking the boys if you guys would like that! hope you enjoyed this! leave a request here! -> 🥀

#my hero acadamy #my hero headcanons #my hero angst #my hero fluff #bakugo headcanons #bakugo x y/n #bakugou imagine #bakugou x reader #bakugou x you #bakugo katsuki #katsuki x you #katsuki bakugo imagine #katsuki x y/n #katsuki x reader #kirishima x y/n #kirishima fluff #kirishima x reader #bhna #kirishima x you #kirishima eijirou #eijirou x reader #eijirou x you #kirishima headcanon #hitoshi shinso x reader #shinsou hitoshi #shinsou x reader #shinsou x you #hitoshi shinso imagine #shinso x y/n

[jadedxrealityw]

-Found You- Dean Thomas x Reader

☼-♥-☼

Kody: (SHORT STORY) using gender neutral pronouns for the first time with my first ever Dean Thomas reader, tell me what you think. Also made sure to include androgynous type clothes.

Movie/Show: Harry Potter

House/Year: Gryffindor, 7th year

Summary: after being abandoned by your friends in your first year of Hogwarts, you meet a weird lot of boys who fill the void the others had left, some more then others and when you almost kiss one of them, it becomes more then awkward.

Pronouns Used: They/Them

Possible Triggers/Warnings: suggestive flirting, gen z humor, cursing, the fluff, no voldy au, slight golden trio slander with redemption, reader staring off into space. 

☼-♥-☼

first year

the day you were placed in house Gryffindor you had become close to a few choice people, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter. Your four were as close as close could be in the beginning of your first year, playing pranks, studying in the common room. All of the things friends would do.

towards the end of the year you had caught them hanging out without you on mutiple occasions when they said they were all busy on other occasions. It didn’t bother you at first, thinking a was a one off- multiple one offs. Then it got a bit worse. 

study groups turned into you waiting for hours for them to show up, only for you to fall asleep on top of your textbooks waiting. Getting breakfast together now was just you sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table only for George Weasley to tell you they had already ate and left.

you weren’t stupid, you knew when you were being avoided. You also were never one for confrontation, so you made the executive decision to stop making an effort to hang out with any of them, just to see if they would and maybe everything you were thinking was just from your paranoia.

alas it was the end of the school year and you couldn’t do much hanging out with anyone since your mother was strict, only allowing friends to come over to your place, not the other way around. It was embarrassing at times, but you understood all her rules came from a place of love and experience.  

not that they had ever come over before, even for the winter holiday. Though you understood that as all of you went home to your families. (Yes, James and Lily are alive), but since you all had two months out of school, you figured there would be enough time to at least meet up once.

you had each of there mailing address’s and they had yours. It was the first��‘gift’ you had given to each other and at the time, you were excited to have them. Now when you looked at the the ripped piece of parchment, it’s mere existence mocked you.

as you predicted, nothing came. No letter from your so called ‘friends’ nothing at all. It was disheartening to say the least, but at the same time you saw it coming. The rest of those two months you spent with your mother, which was actually pretty nice. 

☼-♥-☼

second year

as you stepped off the train, the cold air of Hogsmeade Station hit your face, causing the hairs on your neck to stand up. You looked around, watching students as they walked with there friends or hugged them tightly. You’ll admit, it made your expression turn dark.

so you stood, just watching. As people passed, they gave you strange stares and made snide comments about how weird you looked, staring off into nothing. Most students had dispersed when your shoulder gets knocked, bringing you back into the moment. 

“Oh sorry!” you recognized the voice. Once your head turned your met with the familiar face of Neville Longbottom. “Oh Neville! Sorry was i in your way?” you quickly apologize, a sheepish smile on your face. Neville copies your smile, shaking his head “No, Seamus just shoved me too hard”

“Did not, your just weak“ Seamus argued, crossing his arms in a huff. You weren’t too familiar with Seamus Finnigan or the taller boy next to him, Dean Thomas. “Both of you, shut it“ Dean shook his head, a playful smile on his face as he pushed past the two boys to stand in front of you.

“You alright? You looked as if someone used body bind curse on you“ he jokes, a light laugh escaping his mouth. Oh jeez, how long have you stood there “Um- i was waiting for my friends, but i think they left me behind“ you confess, feeling more stupid then you already had been feeling. 

Dean didn’t skip a beat as he shrugs his shoulders “Forget them, walk with us” he offers. You were a bit taken aback as you didn’t know this fellow Gryffindor well and he already seemed so friendly towards you. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother?”

a laugh came from both Seamus and Dean while Neville chuckled nervously “Impossible, the only bother here is him. Now let’s go before we miss the boats” Dean points to Seamus, who’s expression drops “Your rude” he scoffs.

Dean smiles at him before using his hand to gesture to you to follow him as he led the small group through Hogsmeade. 

the entire walk was Dean and Seamus trying to tell embarrassing stories about each other to make the other seem better. Neville would tell you all about what he wanted to learn in Herbology this year.

after awhile they eventually asked you questions about yourself, like- your name and who had ditched you. They were surprised to find out that the golden trio had ditched you. Seamus on the other hand wasn’t, saying how “No one is really golden” 

☼-♥-☼

seventh year

fast forward to your final year at Hogwarts and you were still best friends with Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas. You all were no golden trio by any means, more like ‘Menaces To Society’ as Mcgonagall called you. 

 you weren’t a well behaved student to say the least. 

speaking of well behaved “Shut up, shut the hell up!” Seamus whisper shouts as points his wand at Neville who is looking into the dark “But this is such a bad idea!” he whines, rubbing his arm to create some warmth as the night was cold. 

“It’ll be fine, only if Dean hurries the hell up“ you say, placing a hand on Neville’s shoulder. He looks at you and nods once, shivering slightly. Smiling, you open the greenhouse door and peak your head inside “Dean, i’m getting frostbite out here!“ 

you watch as Dean’s head pops up from behind the large table, holding a potted mandrake “Oh i’m so sorry, but your not the one doing all the hard work!” he argues. You roll your eyes “You lost rock, paper, scissors. Maybe stop choosing paper dipshit”

Dean opens his mouth to say something back when you here Seamus groan loudly “Both of you can flirt later, hurry up! Filch will be back around in a few minutes” he snaps at both of you. Holding up a finger to Dean, signalling you could finish your argument in a second, you peak your head back out. 

“In what universe was that flirting, Finnigan?“ 

“You were flirting with your eyes“

“....right, anyway-“ you slowly turn your head back into the greenhouse as Dean walks out, holding two pots of mandrakes, young ones to be exact. “Alright let’s go“ he says. You jump up in your place and clap your hands together “Oh this is going to be beautiful“

“I just hope we don’t get in trouble like last time“ Neville shudders, following behind you all as you made your way through the grass. “Will be fine“ you wave your hand, standing beside Dean as he held the potted mandrakes. “Shit, these are heavy“ 

“divide and conquer“ Seamus suddenly says as he takes both of the mandrakes from Dean, tucking one under his arm and handing the other to Neville, who happily held it tightly between both of his hands. Dean smiles and stretches his arms, until he hears a pop noise in both. 

as you walked, a gust of wind hit all of you, making you shiver. Your dumbass shouldn’t have worn your pajamas out, which was only a black t-shirt with thin dark grey plaid pants. You had shoes on of course, you weren’t that stupid. “Told you to bring a jumper” Dean says in a sing song voice.

you turn your head to your side, scoffing “I’m not cold, i’m perfectly fine” you look him in the eye while he gives you a ‘really?’ look, which meant he knew you were lying. You hated that cute, dumb, knowing face. Without another word, you look forward once more. 

Dean moves closer to your side and wraps his arms around your shoulder, pulling you flush against him as you both walked quietly. You suddenly felt very warm, but most of that warmth came from your own face. “Better?” he whispers, his hand rubbing your arm. 

honestly, how did this tall freak not expect anyone to fall for him? For two years you have had a crush on Dean Thomas, but it seemed to always be platonic on his side. He was nice to everyone though, so it was hard to tell if there was any romantic intent behind his actions. 

“Much better“ 

“Hey! Who’s out they’re?! No students out pass curfew! You are in big trouble!“ looking ahead you see the familiar shape of Filch in the distance. The bright lantern covering his face, so you were sure he couldn’t see you all as well. “Scatter!“ you yell and in an instant you all pull away from each other. 

this isn’t the first time running into Filch, so you already knew what to do. All of you would run off separately until you couldn’t be seen and just apparate back into the common room. You had been doing it for years and were honest to Godric disappointed he hadn’t figured it out yet.

“Hey you get back here!“

as you pull away, you feel Dean’s hand travel down your arm until his fingers slide off yours. You would have loved to have bathed in that moment longer, but the fear of expulsion was too heavy on your mind at the moment. You spotted a pillar and ran for it. 

once safely behind said pillar, you pull your wand out that you had safely in your.....i don’t know and apparate away. 

☼-♥-☼

you stumble a bit as your transported into the Gryffindor common room, the calming sound of fire cracking on the wood in the fireplace. You were safe. Looking around the dark room, you don’t see Neville or Seamus, but you do see the back of Dean’s head as he’s sat on the sofa in front of the fire. 

your eyes narrow as you walk over to the sofa, placing your hands on his shoulders “Hey Y/n” he says, not even taking a glance as you as he chuckles to himself. “How did you know?- Nevermind, where’s Nev and Seamus?” you ask him.

“There setting up the mandrakes, remember?” he explains before reaching up to grab your hands with both of his, pulling them down so your forced into resting your chin against the top of the sofa. He released only one of your hands and brought the other to his mouth, placing a kiss on your palm.

what the fuck?- 

 “Also I've had your hands on me before, not hard to forget“ he explains. The way he said that made it sound so suggestive if anyone else had been in the room. You were also stunned by the fact he just kissed your hand. This was one of the moments you couldn’t tell if he was being friendly or not.

you could feel his eyes on you, practically burning holes into the side of your face, but you just didn’t have it in you to look at him. Heart racing and your stomach feeling lighter by the second, you felt utterly and completely swooned by the tall Gryffindor boy once again.

“Can you look at me?” you hear him ask, feeling his free hand gently force your face in his direction so your E/c eyes meet with his. “What?“ you ask, trying to mask the fact that you were putty in hands at the moment. Dean didn’t respond, only smile widely as his eyes flicker from your eyes to lips.

he couldn’t be asking to, ya know..right? Before you could question it further Dean began to lean in and you found yourself doing the same “We did it!- whoa, what’s going on here?” you almost snapped your spine at how hard you threw yourself back, moving a good five feet away.

“Nothing!“ you and Dean shout at the same time. Dean folded his arms over his chest, coughing awkwardly into his hand. You watch as Neville steps out from behind Seamus, who’s grin is wider then ever before. “As much as i want to indulge in whatever this is, we have to get to our dorms- like right now“

“What, why?“ you ask, giving him a questioning look. “Neville dropped his Gryffindor tie back at the greenhouse so Mcgonagall and Dumbledore are coming to inspect in the house to see if anyone’s awake“ Seamus sighs, walking forward. 

“Good thing it didn’t have my name on it or anything“ Neville smiles sadly before following Seamus to the hall where the dorms were at. “It’s alright Nev“ you send him a warm smile, trying to reassure him. You decided to follow them as well to the dorms “Y/n!“ you hear Dean call out.

thinking fast and stupid, you stretch your arms, letting out a fake yawn “Damn, i’m super tired. I’ll see you guys in the morning!” you push past both Seamus and Neville and speed walk down the hall. You made a beeline down to your dorm and almost ripped your dorm off of it’s hinges trying to open it

but once you do, you take a large step and shut the door behind you

what the fuck just happened?

that night you had laid in bed for almost an hour, thinking about your almost kiss with Dean Thomas. You felt shame, like you had someone forced this situation upon yourself. You liked Dean Thomas yes, but did you imagine that he was going in for a kiss?

eventually when your brain started to hurt too much, you fell asleep without any interruptions that night.

☼-♥-☼

you awoke to the sounds of awful birds chirping outside and roll onto your side, unfortunately though you were already on the edge of your bed and rolled right of the thing, collided with the hard wood floor that made up the ground of your dorm. You knew you should have gotten a damn carpet at that muggle store.

using your elbows, you prop yourself up and push yourself into the sitting position. What a glorious way to start the day you thought before standing on your two feet. Its saturday, which means you didn’t have to get too dressed up just to eat breakfast.

you yawn, not bothering to cover your mouth as you trudge slowly to your closet, swinging the door open. Taking into account that the weather had bit cold recently you pick out a multicolored jumper consisting of brown, beige’s, purple’s, dark blue’s, and whatnot. with a pair of brown overalls.

removing your clothes, you place them in a woven hamper next to the closet, you had taken a shower the previous night before going to bed, but you just ended up sneaking out. Eh- still counts. Once the clothes are on, you walk over to your dresser where your mirror was on the wall and looked in.

you looked tired and like someone who wanted to go back to bed, perfect. Reaching your hand up, you run your hand through your hair, untangling a few knots with your fingers before shaking your head, your hair now looking like in had been through a gust of wind.

also perfect

after that, you go over to the door slipping your shoes on with your feet before turning the knob and opening it. As soon as that wooden door unhinged you remember all the events from last night and internally cringed. God, today was going to be awkward as hell. 

stepping out, you shut the door behind you, not bothering to lock it as you never had a reason to before. Gryffindor house was pretty chill with privacy and whatnot, so you weren’t worried about people coming in and taking your things. 

☼-♥-☼

walking down the stairs to the dungeons, you had a gleeful smile on your face. See, the whole reason you stole mandrakes is because you currently were in a prank war with the Slytherin house, or to be more specific Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson. 

Draco said he could pull better pranks, you said otherwise and that’s pretty much how it started. It had been going on for a few weeks and the mandrakes were your big finale since you knew that ferret couldn’t do anything better. “Oh shit, Theo!” you heard as you took the final step.

you could hear screeching for a few moments before its quickly shut up. Speeding up, you turn the corner to see a group of Slytherins surrounding four passed out students, one of those students being Theodore Nott. “How did mandrakes get all the way down here?” Pansy crossed her arms.

“I don’t-“ Draco spoke, his head turning to spot you with a shit eating grin on “Nevermind“ he exhales before standing up straight and walking over to you “L/n“ he greets, a deadpan expression on his face while you look like you’ve won the lottery. 

“Malfoy, i see you got my gift“

“Oh yeah, my friend Theo was just blown away“ he said, rolling his eyes which only makes you feel more victorious. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. It was meant for you” you smile innocently at him. He lets out a bitter chuckle before extending his hand out to you “You win L/n”

you gladly take his hand into yours and shake it “pleasure doing business with you, Malfoy” you say. Draco crack a smile, shaking your hand for a second before then letting go “Surprised to see Thomas isn’t following you, he usually is” he points out.

and there goes a reminder. Your expression visibly dropped “That’s- well, complicated at the moment” your reply spiked Draco’s interest as he leans against the wall “Do tell“ he gestures with his hand to continue. You eye him up and down, your nose cringing.

“Since when did you care about my life?“ you asked, the question sounding a bit harsher then you intended it too. Draco only shrugs “I’m bored, humor me L/n“ you chuckle at his words and shrugged as well. No harm in telling him anything. 

☼-♥-☼

“Wow“ Draco breathed, his grey eyes slightly widened as you finished retelling the embarrassing events of last night “And you just ran off? Don’t think that was a good idea” he adds, turning his head to face you as you both leaned on the wall.

you exhale, a solemn look on your face “I know, i’m just not good with confrontation. I curl up into a ball and clam up, like i can’t speak” you explain. Draco nods along, listening to what you had to say “He’s your best friend, been your best friend for years. Talk to him, avoiding it will make it worst”

“Wow, that actually was helpful. You’ve surprised me Malfoy”  you give hi a mock astonished look, making him roll his eyes. “Yeah whatever, now go away. I have to help them carry Theo back into the common room“ he pushed off the wall, standing straight.

“Tell Theo i’m sorry when he wakes up“ you turn on your heels and begin to walk down the stone hall, taking in a deep breath. Everything was going to be fine, no worries. Nothing at all.

☼-♥-☼

your first thought was to check the courtyard, it’s where you, Blaise, Neville, and Seamus hung out between classes. It was a good place to start. Stepping outside, you feel the gentle cold breeze nip your face causing a light shiver to run up your spine.

wrapping your arms around yourself you walk along the grass until you spot the familiar tree you all sat under. It instantly brought you back to the first time you had sat under it.

--

second year

“Found you“

your head snaps to your left where the voice came from. Dean, out of breath and wiping sweat from his forehead. You looked confused as he took a step towards you “You were looking for me?” you asked, head tilting ever so slightly to the side. 

Dean looks at you like you had just asked a silly question, chuckling “Of course, you seemed upset a lunch as well so i wanted to check up on you” he said, taking a seat next to you in the grass. You avoided looking at him by pulling out blades of grass and ripping them apart.

after an awkward amount of time of silence, mostly on your part, Dean reach for the grass next to your hands and began to pull it out of the earth as well “What’re you doing?” you ask, still looking at the ground. “If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. We can just sit here if that makes you feel better too”

weirdly enough, it did. Just having him sit there made your bad day feel slightly better. You couldn’t explain it, but his presence alone was comforting and made you feel more at ease. “If that’s what you want of course” he adds, his pinky extending out to tap your hand, just light enough not to make you tense.

you couldn’t bring yourself to respond verbally and nodded a few times. You hear Dean hum as he continues to copy what your doing. You both sat in silence and stayed there for an hour or so, just soaking up each others company. 

that was the moment you knew Dean Thomas was a true friend

--

“Y/n!“ you hear a shout, bringing you out of your wholesome memory and back to reality. Seamus and Neville were running up to you with confused looks on there faces “What?“ you say, meeting them halfway. As soon as you were grabbing distance, Seamus places his hands on your shoulders and shakes you

“What are you doing here!?“ he shouts while you feel as if your brain is about to knock off of its stem and kill you “What’re you talking about? and stop shaking me!“ you yank his hands off of you. Seamus rolls his eyes and takes a deep breath like he’s about to talk a lot, and talk a lot he did. 

“So after your almost kiss with Dean he told us by the way, he wanted to talk to you so we told him you’d most likely be in the dungeons giving Malfoy a tongue lashing“ Seamus explained before gasping for air. Neville puts a hand on his mate’s shoulder “He kind of thinks you don’t like him. Never seen him so upset before“

processing on the information you were just given, you thank the both of them and run back into the building. This school was huge, no wonder you didn’t run into Dean on the way back or even see him once. Nonetheless, you were determined to find him.

(Filled with determination- get it? Undertale reference)

☼-♥-☼

it took you a good ten to fifteen minutes to get back to the dungeons. You walked fast paced against the cobble ground until you reached the Slytherin portrait. There stood the familiar faces of Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. They noticed you instantly giving you a confused look.

“Your boyfriend is looking for you“ Pansy snickered, clearly amused by something. You let of a sigh, a hand running through your hair “Yeah i know, do you know where he went?“ you asked, already tired of walking around this shit school. 

just kidding, Dumbledore if you could here there thoughts, they’re kidding 

“We told him you were going to potions“ Draco said which floored you because why in Godric’s name would he say that. The Slytherin boy seemed to catch your confusion and gave you a ‘are you dumb?’ look. “Yesterday, in class, you offered to help Snape organize the stockroom?”

oh shit

you let out what can only be described as a sound of frustration as you realized you were going to be murdered by Snape before you could ever find Dean. You wished that you could apparate, but it was against school rules to apparate inside the school, aka as soon as you would do it, it would teleport you to Dumbledore’s office instead. 

funny enough you could apparate from outside to inside the school with zero repercussions. The rule was ancient and so was Dumbledore, you had a feeling it wouldn’t change in your life time. “Right, thanks. I have to go” you say and give them a lazy wave. 

“Go get your man Y/n! Then tell me all about it!“ you heard Pansy shout as you walk away. 

☼-♥-☼

twelve minutes to get to potions. As soon as you pushed open the door you let the string of apologies fly “I’m so sorry Professor Snape, i completely forgot about helping out- Today has been super stressful and-” you were cut off by Snape himself. 

“Silence, your....friend already told me all about your little issue as much as i didn’t want to hear it. Your free to deal with your teenage drama as long as it’s away from my classroom” he lifts his hand up, gesturing for you to go away like he requested. 

he was surprisingly understanding, which was weird

“Oh um- Thank you, professor. May i ask where Dean said he was off to?“ You asked, fully knowing you might be pushing your luck and his sudden kindness. Snape sighs, dramatically you’d like to add “He didn’t say or he did and i didn’t care enough to listen“

“Right uh, thank you anyway. Goodbye Professor“ you laugh nervously. That quick kindness had run out. Snape only grumbles and you take that moment to walk out the classroom, feeling that little bubble of stress you usually got from talking to Snape fade away.

taking a few steps back you look at the potions door, god you’ve hated that class since first year. Potions were never your strong suit, you were more into astronomy or herbology. Snape never made it any better with his attitude,but he had always been like that.

fifth year was probably the worse

--

fifth year

it was the beginning of your fifth year and one of your earlier classes was potions. What a dreadful way to start the morning. Today you were instructed to brew a draught of peace, which was currently bringing you anything but peace at the moment.

you just couldn’t understand the instructions. Like at all. It was supposed to be a turquoise blue color when finished, but kept turning a dark purple instead. You only had about half an hour to get it right or you were going to fail your first potions lesson for the year.

at one point you got so frustrated, you slammed the ladle on the table but it was already pretty noisy, so no one really turned there head at the noise. “Someone’s cranky” you heard a snicker beside you, which you knew well enough to know it belonged to Dean Thomas.

“Try frustrated, i have to be the dumbest wizard in the entire wizarding world to not get this“ you sigh, crossing your arms as you stare at the dark purple liquid, the mere sight of it mocked your livelihood. Dean shook his head, stifling some laughter as he grabbed the handles of your cauldron.

“You continue to pout while i go dump this”

pout? you weren’t pouting. You rolled your eyes as he comes back, placing the cauldron back down onto your work space “Alright so you added all the ingredients right, but your stirring it to much and the wrong way“ he spoke as he added all the ingredients back in.

once he tilts the mortar and pestle, pouring the crushed unicorn hair into the liquid he smiles warmly “Alright now grab the ladle” he instructs and you, begrudgingly do so. Dean nods and moves to step behind you. As you go to turn around Dean places his hands on your arms, keeping them in place.

you tense almost instantly as his hands travel down your clothed arms until they rest on your own hands. He’s literally pressed against you, not rough or anything like that though. His head moved off to the side a bit “You stir like this” he begins to move your hand with his in the correct motion.

 you honestly didn’t know how to feel.

as he slowly stirred the magical liquid he says something else to you “It’s okay to get frustrated, it’s also okay to ask for help. I’m here if you need me Y/n” he spoke and let go for hand, which suddenly felt a whole lot colder then it did a second ago.

Dean returns back to your side and smiles proudly once he looks into the cauldron “See, easy” he says. You pull out the ladle and look in to see that beautiful turquoise color you had waited to see the entire class period. Thank Godric, actually thank Dean. Speaking of that.

“Thanks Dean, i was about ready to pull out my hair“ you joke, placing your hands on the table. Dean chuckles and places on of his hands on top of yours. You tensed again, feeling light and warm as the pad of his thumb rubs the skin of your hand. “Like i said, i’m here for you, in any and every way possible“

his words made you feel even lighter if that was possible as you tried to contain a bright smile

that was the moment you knew you liked Dean Thomas

--

you sigh, pulling yourself out of your happy memory. How were you going to find Dean?

☼-♥-☼

late evening 

after leaving Snape’s class you, funny enough, kept running into Seamus and Neville who kept pointing you into different directions or places. You were quite literally running around the school like a lunatic. Your current location was the library and library you went. 

since you were absolutely terrified of Madam Pince, you made sure you cautiously open the door as you walk in as well as closing it. Looking around, you don’t see any familiar faces which had you already feeling doubtful, but you still had to look behind the tall bookshelves. 

you decided to take the left side first and begin to walk through the middle isle with haste as you look around. No, nope, nothing, and disappointed. Jumping off the astronomy tower looked appealing at the moment. Alright, other side. You walked with the same fast pace, checking behind each shelf. 

after about four rows, you come face to face with a freckled boy, causing you to jump back “Godric” you put your hand over your heart like an old man about to have a heart attack. “Ron, your ugly face is scaring students” you heard a male voice say.

wait, did he just say Ron?

you take a few steps back, yeah that was them. You first friends at Hogwarts. You saw them almost every week, but haven’t talked to them since your first year at Hogwarts. This was gonna be awkward, you could already tell. “Sorry ‘bout him, I’m Harry and these are my friends Hermione and Ron”

Ron steps back to stand next to Hermione. They all looked at you like your a new person they have never met before. You honestly didn’t know how to react. On one hand, it was kind of funny they didn’t recognize you. On the other hand, it felt kinda shitty.

you force out a bitter laugh, shaking your head “I- I’m floored that you don’t remember me and as funny as it is, i’m looking for someone” you say, about to excuse yourself from this mind numbing situation. “Wait! We know you?” Hermione cuts in, raising her hand a bit.

exhaling, you nod “It’s me. Y/n, Y/n L/n” you introduce yourself, like all those years ago. Watching there eyes widen one by one almost made you laugh “Oh my, Y/n. It’s been so long” Hermione smiles nervously. As evil as it was, you were kind of enjoying the awkwardness.

“Yeah it has, lovely to see you lot. Lets get together next decade where you can forget me all over again“ you had to admit, it was kind of mean but you were busy at the moment. “Wait Y/n, can we talk?“ Harry steps towards you, a look of shame on his face. Good.

did you really want to hear some shitty apology? You didn’t want them or blame them either. You were eleven year olds and children loose friends all the time. There wasn’t any deeper meaning, at least to you there wasn’t, but some part of you wanted to know why? Why were you abandoned?

“I have a lot going on right now, so make it quick Potter“

Harry smiles as he gestures for you to sit down at the table they were currently residing in. You follow him and take the seat across from the other three. Hermione, Ron, and Harry all sit down, looking as nervous and anxious as ever while you were tapping your foot against the ground, impatiently.

“We wanted to say we were sorry, for how we treated you in first year“ Harry starts, the other two nodding along. “Can i get a reason? If you didn’t want to be my friend you could of just told me. Instead you left me alone“ you fold your arms over your chest, already wanting this to be over with. 

“You changed“ Hermione said. You expression shifted to confusion, scoffing “I changed? How?“ you asked. Godric it was a bad idea to listen to these guys. “You started hanging out with Malfoy, he turned you into some kind of menace. All you two did was pull tricks on each other back and forth“

okay so maybe this wasn’t the first prank war you’ve had with Malfoy

and it wont be the last either

“Seriously, you dropped me because i hung out with Draco? Yeah he’s a bit of an asshole, but he’s just all bark no bite“ you shrug your shoulders, maybe you were bias since you guys had been ‘friends’ for awhile now if you could call each other that.

“He’s a Slytherin“ Ron chimes in, looking as if he’s disgusted to say the word. “Ron” Harry warned, whacking his friends arm. Oh you were so not doing this house variably bullshit. Okay, maybe you had a ‘house prank war’ but that was all in good fun.

“I’m done here, i think i dodged a bullet with avoiding you guys all these years“ pushing off of your chair, you stand up ready to leave. Harry stands up the second you do “Sorry about them and they both can have there own opinions, but i know what we did was wrong and i just wanted to say i’m sorry“

looking at Harry, you could tell he was being genuine. Well at least one of them was. “Thanks Potter, now i have to go find someone” you try to make your escape again when you hear footsteps behind you. Stopping you see Harry at your side “Yes?”

“Who’re you looking for, maybe I've seen them?“ He offers. You assumed he was trying to be helpful as an apology. “Dean Thomas, know him?“ you ask, watching as his eyebrows furrow “Yeah but haven’t seen him- wait, it’s curfew in twenty minutes“

“Yeah, so?“

“He’s a Gryffindor, which means he’s heading back to the common room right this moment“ Harry points out, a light smile on his face. Your eyes widen and you throw your arms around the boy. You feel Harry tense, but still wrap his arms around you “Your a genius Potter“

“It’s common sense?“ he looks confused as you pull away from him. You tell him goodbye and that you two could catch up on a later date. 

☼-♥-☼

you push through students on the staircase who were trying to the Gryffindor common room as well. Once you make it to the top, a student in front of you whispers the password “Dilligrout” the portrait opened and a wave of students filed in. 

someone shoulder checked you when you made it in yourself, but you were to preoccupied with finding your friend? Crush? Person you had a crush on...yeah that works. All the students who came in had immediately filed down the hall to go to the dorms. 

silence took over and once again you were in a empty room, your shoulder dropping a bit “Found you” that familiar voice breathed out. You spin on your feet to see Dean Thomas leaning against the wall, huffing as he reached to wiped sweat that had gathered on his forehead. 

“You were looking for me?” you quipped back, obviously joking. Dean seems to catch on rather quickly and flashes a grin “Of course, you seemed upset after last night” he tells you, your expression dropping at the mention of the night before. He notices.

stepping forward, he takes your hand in his, gently leading you to the sofa. That cursed sofa. Once you both take a seat Dean clears his throat, his hand still intertwined with yours “How’re you feeling?” he asked, a worry glint in his eyes. Of course that’s the first question he asked. 

“Nervous, anxious, something like that, but also scared“ you admit, while your free hand scratches the side of your neck. “What would you have to scared off?“ Dean had a sympathetic smile on his face, one that you had seen many times before.

you chuckle, thinking that what you were going to say had been the most obvious thing in the world. “That your going to stop being my friend because we almost kissed?” you said, but it sounded more like a question instead of a statement. 

a, what you would call dramatic sigh escapes Dean’s mouth “I’m the one who initiated the kiss Y/n. I wanted it because i hoped you wanted the same thing, you do, right?” his voice wavers a bit, his confidence dropping with every word. 

“Yes, i have for a long time” you confess. Dean’s smile was a mile long as he lifts your hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss to your knuckles “I wish we told each other this last night instead on running around to find each other all day” you both laugh at the situation.

“Yeah, now that i think about it. I could of sent you a howler” you say, exhaling loudly. How come you didn’t think of that sooner “Yeah, i guess we both didn’t think much” Dean then scoots closer to you on the sofa, his hand still holding your gently. 

not having the courage to speak, you simply sit there as Dean lets go of your hand and cups your face instead. Your breath hitched as you feel his thumbs moving up and down each temple on the side of your head. He still had that dopey smile on his face too.

after what feels like forever, Dean closes the gap between you both, kissing you softly. His head tilts to the left as he continues to kiss you. You swore you could feel everything in you become as light as a feather. Kissing Dean Thomas was something else.

a couple more seconds pass by before he pulls away, a smug grin gracing his face “can we take this to my dorm? We’ve gathered an audience” his eyes glanced to the right of you. Turning your head in his hands, you see Neville and Seamus

“Do you all mind?“

“No, keep going“ Seamus waved with his hand, smiling at you both. Dean rolls his eyes as he stands up from the couch, grabbing your hand to drag you along with him. “We’re so happy it worked out“ Neville had a gleeful look on his face as Dean dragged you past them.

“Try to keep things quiet in there lovebirds!“ Seamus calls out as you and Dean walk down the hall. You scoff, shaking your head. Seamus was something else. Once you both reach Dean’s door, he opens it, allowing you to step inside “No promises!“ he yells before stepping inside himself and shutting it.

covering your mouth, you laugh into the back of your hand until what he said registers in your mind “Wait what?”

☼-♥-☼

Kody- It’s been a hot minute ngl. Um- i’m trying to find a regular schedule update every month, but honestly something called sleep and depression has been kicking my ass. Hope you enjoy this fic..requests are open. Anyways, peace. 

☼-♥-☼

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[chasingpj]

𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐝-𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝

"Ehm, is this like a seven-minutes-in-heaven thing?”

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 5,236

warnings: none? pls let me know if i missed anything

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story click here

a/n: hi hi! i hope you guys like this chapter. i fell in a little bit of a rut about my writing so I've been holding off on posting but I think I'm pretty satisfied with how this came out. i'm so fried after editing this so if i happened to miss any typos, sorry, i tried haha.

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven

The heat and dimness from the cabin surround you like a warm hug making it challenging to stay awake. Your eyelids droop against your wishes to study, fatigue messing with your vision as it blurs the letters on the page you were trying to read. As you find yourself mindlessly reading words, you decide to give in, and soon you’re settled in an in-between state of consciousness.

Suddenly, you’re standing at the entryway of the kitchen in your home, the first thing you notice is the scent of your favorite meal as it fills your nostrils, and you smile sleepily as your father looks at you. He’s hovering over the stove, right hand stirring something in a saucepan, and he smiles widely at you.

“Stella, you’re home!” He announces as he pushes his round glasses up the bridge of his nose, “Go, sit! Dinner is almost ready.”

You smile at the nickname your father has called you since you were a child. He said that the first time you cried in his arms, your little body illuminated like a supernova, and since then, he’s called you Stella, the Latin word for star. You make your way past the kitchen island on your left, noticing the history channel playing on the small TV in the corner of the counter like always. A sense of nostalgia hits you in your core, and you sigh, feeling safe. As much as you loved the camp, homesickness was unavoidable.

You settle yourself at the black round table in the back of the kitchen, chin resting on your palm as you look outside of the window beside you. The small garden of herbs and flowers you have in the backyard is as you remember. Every summer, your father cultivates herbs and flowers in dedication to your mother. He uses most of the herbs for spells, and at the end of the summer, he would make a bouquet out of the brightest flowers in the garden and rest them on your mother’s alter.

The reminder of your mother made your stomach feel heavy, and you quickly push the thoughts of her away. You weren’t in the mood to deal with them, especially not in a dream like this. The thumping of Atticus’s footsteps coming down the stairs catches your attention, and soon your brother appears in the doorway with his usual wide smile.

“Hey! I thought you were making my favorite tonight.” His shoulders slump, and he playfully narrows his eyes at you. You shrug,

“What can I say? Must suck not being the favorite,” you joke, and Atticus gasps dramatically. The sound of your father’s laughter fills the room as he tilts his head back.

“I love you guys equally! That’s not nice to say,” he says as he points the spatula at you as he squints. You snort as Atticus joins you at the table,

“Yeah, Y/n, that’s not nice,” he repeats, poking his tongue out at you, and you return the action. You and your brother have a short competition of who can stick out their tongue harder as your father puts the food on the table. At the sight of your favorite meal, you let Atticus win, turning to put a portion on your plate.

Amidst your dinner conversation with your father and your brother, the deep growl rumbling in Ambrose’s chest makes its way into your dream. A soft hum leaves your lips, your neck relaxing against your will, and your head jolts forward as your cheek slips off your palm. You blink a few times, groaning since you’ve lost your dream.

“Ambrose, shush.” Your chin returns onto your hand, and you submit to your fatigue once again. The image of a ravenous bunny, cartoonishly stomping its way through a candy cane forest, filled your mind, projected on your eyelids like a movie in a theater. It’s too ridiculous to give much thought, and you were too busy relishing in the soothing feeling of sleep.

All of a sudden, Ambrose bursts into a series of short high pitched barks, jolting you awake. Your eyelids fly open, and you turn in your chair. Ambrose stands up tall, his fur contouring to his muscles as they flex. His ears are perched up; his focus fixed on the back wall. Whatever he was looking at, he didn’t dare to approach.

"What? What is it?"

The bunk beds obstructed your view, but you are sure you are alone. Everyone was out and about doing their normal camp activities; if anyone had entered the cabin, you would have heard them.

You groan in your hands as they rub your face to shake off the remaining fatigue, growing annoyed at Ambrose’s persistent barking that nips harshly at your eardrums.

“Ambros-”

A bitter breeze fills the room, and your breath gets caught in your throat at the feeling. Your arms wrap around your frame, failing to prevent goosebumps from forming on your arms. It was impossible. Today’s weather report called for a hot, humid day like it’s been all summer. As the hair at the back of your neck stands straight, and you have an idea of what’s happening, but you hoped you were wrong.

Ambrose abruptly ends his barking with a distressing whine. His ears sag low on the sides of his head as he retreats, his large body shrinking in fear. With cautious steps, you approach him in the middle of the cabin. The thumping of your pulse is loud in your ears, and for the first time in a while, a familiar pang strikes you in your gut. You’re being watched.

Despite his fear, Ambrose guards you finding the courage to stand tall and confident after cowering a few seconds ago. You let out a shaky breath, and warily, you finally catch sight of what has his attention.

A tall, dark figure stands still at the end of the room. The light that bleeds through the thin curtains behind it wasn’t enough to expose its face but instead illuminates the swirling black vapor that made up this human form.

From your years of experience, you learned how to deal with these kinds of things. Ghosts gravitated towards you like a moth to a lit flame. Most of the time, the spirits are harmless, looking for some company, and were eager to ask for favors you often couldn’t fulfill. Other times, they were more malevolent entities, existing to feed off your fears, and had the reputation of being stubborn guests.

From the way, the room turned impossibly cold in the middle of a sweltering summer afternoon and the heaviness in your gut, the shadow in front of you was definitely the latter.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" Your voice booms through the silence. "Why are you here-"

The cabin door slams open, the shadow dispersing the moment the sunlight bleeds through the room. You jump, gasping as your whole body turns around. The two figures at the doorway are dark, the sudden beams of light blinding you for a moment before you manage to recognize Connor and Travis.

“Why is it so damn dark in here? And cold? Jeez, Y/n, open the curtains at least,” Travis nags with a smirk on his lips.

“I don’t need light to see.” You groan, turning your face away, the sun shining right at you as Travis begins ripping open the curtains. “And I hate when the sun gets in my eyes,” you complain, stepping aside where sunlight doesn’t reach. Though you saw the shadow disperse, you glance at the back of the room, double-checking that what you saw was gone.

"You know... “

Your focus returns to the two boys standing side by side a few feet away from you. Both of them sporting the mischievous smirk that all the Hermes kids had when they’re about to stir up trouble. Connor only uttered two words, but it was clear they were up to something, and you were about to be involved.

"You've been locked up in here, in the dark, alone, for a while now. It's been like a week and a half since the incident, and we know you’re still a little down,” he trails off, swaying on his feet.

"... yeah?"

"And we think we have the perfect way to cheer you up!" Connor gives you a toothy grin, and as confident as he looked, you don’t quite believe him.

"And that is?"

"I think it's time we execute our bunny prank on the Ares cabin!"

You press your lips together in a thin line; head cocked to the side. "That's supposed to cheer me up?"

"Yeah!"

"How is putting my life in danger going to cheer me up?" Your gaze switches between the two as they exchange looks with each other.

“Um…” Connor says, lost for words.

"It'll be fun. We promise!" Travis insists, waving your comment off. He moves to sit in your chair, leaning back as he props his legs on your desk. "So, have you thought about how we're going to do this?"

You sigh softly, not bothering to protest. If you denied participating, Connor would be quick to remind you what’s at stake.

"I have," you admit. After your last interaction with Clarisse, the prank did come to mind.

The Stoll brother’s faces grew almost as bright as the sun outside. Connor takes a seat on the bed closest to you, leaned in with his elbows on his knees, "Tell us the details then,” he urges.

"Okay, so I found a shape-shifting potion in my spellbook. It's pretty simple. I have all the ingredients except for one. The only thing I need is the hair of a rabbit. Get that for me, and I'll make it." Connor and Travis nod eagerly, and you can already see the gears turning in their heads as they formulate a plan to catch a bunny.

"If you can get it to me in a few hours, we can sneak into their cabin while they're practicing in the arena. Then I can pour a few drops of the potion into their water cooler. The potion is potent; you only need a few drops for it to work."

"Sounds like a solid plan. They'll be thirsty after practicing, and boom, they’re all cute little bunnies,” Travis says, legs unmounting from your desk, and he hops onto his feet.

"So hurry and get me rabbit hair!”

A small, almost manic laugh comes from Connor’s lips, "This is gonna be epic!"

"Should we ask the nymphs for help?" Travis ponders out loud as he makes his way out of the dorm.

"Wait! We should get scissors! Do you have scissors?” Connor asks you, and you giggle. You grab a pair of scissors from your desk drawer, and Connor quickly swipes them from your hands the moment you present them to him.

"Thanks, Y/n!” Swiftly, he turns on his heels, trailing behind Travis.

"Be careful, please! Don't hurt the bunny!"

"We won't! The worse we'll do is give it a bald spot; they’ll be fine!" Travis shouts.

After the slamming of the front door and the ragged footsteps of Connor and Travis’s departure, your smile falters as the silence regresses. The figure you had seen comes to mind, and you frown, Ambrose whining as he sits close to your legs.

"That was weird, wasn't it?" You lean down, affectionately scratching the backs of his ears as Ambrose licks your wrists. The sight of his drooping eyes told you enough to know that this wasn’t the last time you’ll be seeing whatever that was.

"C'mon, let's not worry about that now. We have to make that potion." An uneasy grumble comes from Ambrose's chest as he nuzzles his snout in your hand.

"I know, I know," you whisper before standing up.

☆’.･.･:★:･.･.’☆

"Shh, they’re coming,” Travis announces in a whisper, silencing you and Connor’s conversation. The distanced chattering and footsteps of the Ares campers become louder as Clarisse pushes open the front door. The three of you duck lower in your place as they scatter to their beds, beginning to take off their armor. Travis slowly rises from his crouching position, peaking enough to see the inside. He gives you and Connor a nod, a silent okay to peek yourselves. Cautiously, you come up, watching the group now crowding around the water dispenser, playfully telling each other to hurry up.

Connor lightly pats your shoulder with excitement, and you scrunch your face, anticipation swirling in your stomach as one by one, they begin taking sips from their water bottles. Your jaw drops as Mark forms a snout, his hands flying up to his face.

"W-what?" He sputters, moving closer to his reflection in the mirror. "What is-"

The rest of his words became soft squeals, his whole body shrinking and shifting into a stark white bunny in the blink of an eye.

“Um? Did that just-?”

“How did-”

“You have bunny ears!” Ellis shouts, pointing at Clarisse while she formed a pair of her own. Clarisse didn’t have time to comment as Ellis joins her half-brother. One by one, they began shrinking, and small shrieks fill the room.

"What are you guys doing?" The three of you practically jump out of your skin, heads snapping in the direction of the voice.

Percy’s eyes are wide and curious, furrowing his eyebrows at the chaos breaking out in the Ares cabin. You open your mouth to say something but stop yourself, not wanting to blow your cover.

“It must have been the water!”

“When I see the Stoll Brother’s I’m going to-” Squeal.

Travis’s face was a tint of pink from holding in his laughter. He doesn’t respond, simply waving at Percy to come and see for himself. You and Percy exchange a smile before turning back to the window.

His chance at seeing the pool of white bunnies went down the drain; the four of you met with an angry Clarisse instead. To your dismay, she didn't completely transform. Her normally brown eyes are now crimson and her mouth transformed into a whiskered snout. White bunny ears peek through her brown hair, making it look like she was wearing one of those bunny ear headbands they sell at the pharmacy around Easter time. You’d be laughing as much as the Stoll Brothers if Clarisse’s stare wasn’t fixed on you and only you. You give her a nervous smile as you step away carefully, and the moment Clarisse moves to jump out the window, the four of you bolted.

“She’s gonna kill us!” You exclaim; Travis and Connor burst into laughter, hands over their stomach as they run beside you.

“Split up! She can’t kill all of us!” Travis suggests, already making a beeline into the forest with Connor.

“Yeah, cause she’s gonna go after me!”

“We’ll weave you a nice shroud!”

“WOW, THANKS!”

The cackles of the two made you roll your eyes, and you make a mental note never to help them with a prank ever again. You grunt as Percy grabs onto your wrist, and you stumble for a second until you catch up to his pace.

“You can’t run from me forever!” Clarisse shouts, running close behind. She was right, you couldn’t avoid her forever, but you just needed her to calm down. "When I catch you, I'm tying your necks like shoelaces!"

You cringe at the threat as you and Percy burst through the swinging doors of the Arts and Craft center, weaving your way through the campers.

“Sorry!” You shout over their groans as you’re pulled into one of the hallways. Seeing the closets along the walls of the hallway gave you an idea. You bite your lip, focusing on the door leading to the outside. Reaching your hand out, you flick your fingers forward, causing the door to burst open fast enough for it to lock in place.

The moment you approach the last door in the hallway, you grab the knob. A grunt leaves Percy’s lips as you drag him in the closet with you. He loses his footing from the change of direction, spinning hastily toward you, and the both of you stagger into the closet. You yelp, the weight of Percy’s body sending your back right against the wall, and the knob comes out of grip right as it slams closed.

Percy grunts, his hands push against the wall beside your frame, promptly lifting himself away from you.“Sor-”

“Shh.” Your index finger rests your lips as you look at the door. Your shoulders tense up, afraid that Clarisse had heard the slam. Soon, Clarrise’s pounding footsteps rise like a crescendo and, to your relief, gradually fades as she runs right out of the building. A shaky sigh leaves your lips before glancing at Percy, who’s directly in front of you. You smile sheepishly, foot moving to step back only to be met with the wall.

Percy’s heart beats loud in his chest, and he was hoping that you couldn’t hear it. He tried to step back as well, but Percy’s foot was met with the shelves behind him to his dismay. He scans your face in the dim lighting for a few seconds. Suddenly, he’s reminded of how he stumbled on top of you, making him too embarrassed to look at you any longer. His focus falters to the shelves beside him, forcing himself to find interest in the tubs of paint stacked on them.

“It’s your fault,” you accuse after some silence. Shock flashes across Percy’s face,

“Huh?”

“Because you were so nosey, you blew our cover.” You reach over, and you poke his shoulder. Percy’s peers down at where you poked him as if he was offended.

“At least I ran with you. Travis and Connor left you for dead!”

“Great friends, they are, huh?” You ask, your voice laced with playful sarcasm.

Percy laughs, "I think you've taken the trophy of being the most hated by Clarisse," he jokes.

"I don't think I can one-up you. You literally fought her dad and won," you point out. "I think if we split up, she'd definitely come after me. Imagine the last thing you see when you die is Clarisse looking like… that. "

Percy laughs and you laugh, too, feeling comfortable with making light of the situation now that you were out of harm's way.

"How did that even happen!?”

"I don't know!” You sigh, bummed that Clarisse had managed to be the only person who stayed human. “Maybe she didn’t drink enough water?”

“Wow, the only person you needed to transform into a bunny just didn’t,” Percy says as he crosses his arms over his chest, leaning against the shelves.

“Pretty much.”

“You have amazing luck, Y/n,” he says sarcastically.

“Whatever,” you mumble, eye faltering to the shelves beside you. Percy’s laughter fills the small space, making it hard to prevent the smile from creeping on your lips. The sound of footsteps interrupts you as you open your mouth to say something else and it brings Percy’s laughter to an end. Your shoulders are practically up to your ears as you look into Percy’s wide eyes before he mouths, “we’re dead.” If it is Clarisse, you guys are cornered, and you prepare to shadow travel even if it meant you might pass out, especially if you bring him with you.

You furrow your eyebrows as you hear two familiar voices, and soon the door opens, revealing you both to Beckendorf and Silena. There is a moment of silence, Silena blinking at the both of you, her head tilted slightly to the side as she observes the tension. Beckendorf’s right eyebrow raises, glancing between you and Percy’s face.

"Ehm, is this like a seven-minutes-in-heaven thing?" Your face gets hot, and you exchange a look with Percy, noticing the tips of his ears are bright red.

"No, we were hiding from Clarisse,” he stutters out, gaze snapping to the two, and you nod quickly,

"Because I turned her into a bunny and-"

"She didn't transform all the way-"

"It's okay. Charles and I would sneak around at first, too," Silena interrupts, her lips curled up in a satisfied smile.

"We were just talking!" You and Percy say in unison. The more defensive you got, the more suspicious you both came off. From the way Beckendorf and Silena smiled at each other, you knew they weren’t buying it.

Beckendorf shrugs, and he steps forward, reaching between the two of you to grab the box of beads from the shelf. He hums, “It’s clear we interrupted something. I just needed this. You guys can carry on,” he teases, amused at how embarrassed the both of you are.

“But- we-” you stutter, unable to finish your sentence, Beckendorf shutting the door, and Silena makes a sound between a giggle and a squeal as they walk away.

Percy clears his throat, interrupting the short silence that fell between the two of you, “Um, should we…?” His voice falters, not finishing his sentence, but you already knew what he was going to ask.

“Yeah,” you agree awkwardly, opening the closet. “Let’s go,” you mumble, stepping out with Percy close behind you.

"Where should we go now?" Percy asks, opening the door to the outside for you, and you smile, finding it sweet. You thank him shortly, and you shrug,

"I'm not sure, but I don't think Clarisse has calmed down yet…" you trail off, catching sight of a fuming Clarisse standing beside Chiron a few meters away. “Dammit.”

☆’.･.･:★:･.･.’☆

You shift on your feet, standing in Chiron’s office alongside Travis, Connor, and Percy. Clarisse’s crimson eyes are still narrowed at you as Chiron sighs, backing into his wheelchair before his backside disappears, allowing him to sit fully into it.

"I understand you guys are just having fun. However, I believe the Ares Cabin deserves a little break from the pranks, don't you think?" He asks as he looks at Connor and Travis.

You fiddle with your fingers, your shoulders slumped along with Connor and Travis’s shoulders. Travis nods, and he hums as if he considers it for a moment.

“We could prank the Apollo Cabin instead?" Connor suggests, and Chiron opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. You press your lips together in an attempt to refrain from smiling, discovering that Percy was doing the same. You became more amused at his face turning a little pink as he holds in his laughter, and you quickly look at your hands to recollect yourself.

“I’d prefer you tone down the pranking altogether,” Chiron clarifies. Connor frowns, and he nods slowly,

“Oh. Yeah, we could do that, I guess,” he mumbles, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. Chiron nods, shifting his gaze to you,

“Y/n, what did you used to transform them into rabbits?” You hum softly,

“It’s a shape-shifting potion from my spellbook,” you explain.

“How long will it take for them to transform back?” You look up for a second, trying to remember your notes. While recalling the day you went through Ernest’s potions book to jot the recipe in your Book of Shadows, you realize how many forms of the potion there were depending on the transformation length. Ernest had mentioned in passing something about reading his notes carefully. It wasn’t until now did you realize that the potion you had made was not the short-term one.

“About … 24 hours,” you admit, and Connor snorts beside you.

“What!?” Clarisse snaps, her fists clenching on her side. “You mean, they’re going to be like that until tomorrow afternoon?”

“Yes, that’s what 24 hours means,” you snap back; her presence was enough to annoy you. Clarisse’s glare burns into your face, and she moves to take a step, about to charge at you.

“Clarisse, please! They will be punished accordingly,” Chiron reassures her, making her halt in her place, and she groans, her arms crossing over her chest as she waits for Chiron’s verdict.

"Well, I was going to assign you four to clean the Pegasus stables, but now that it has come to my attention that the potion lasts 24 hours, your punishment is to feed and clean up after them while they’re under the spell."

“Ew, I’d rather clean the stables,” Connor mutters, and you furrow your eyebrows,

“But wouldn’t the pegasus stables be more work?” You ask, hoping to get him to change your punishment. The last thing you wanted to do was be surrounded by a bunch of angry bunnies. Sure they were small, but you did not doubt in your mind that you were going to be attacked by them.

“They are a big group; I think it is fair that Clarisse gets assistance in taking care of them,” He says calmly, his fingers intertwined as they rest on the desk in front of him. “Feed them before you go off to dinner, accommodate their sleeping arrangements and clean up after them before morning check-ins,” he decides. You sigh softly. At this point, as long as Clarisse wasn’t on the hunt to kill you, you were okay with it.

As Chiron dismisses you, you catch the satisfied smile Clarisse was sporting, and you felt your anger swirling in your chest. You grunt as you turn on your heels, Travis and Connor behind you as Percy walks by your side. You sigh, lazily trotting off the steps of the big house,

“This...”

“Sucks,” Percy finishes your sentence, and you nod, the both of you frowning.

☆’.･.･:★:･.･.’☆

“Stop biting me!” You complain, nudging off the crowd of bunnies from your arm. Percy laughs, seated on the floor beside you as he helps you make a nest of blankets big enough for the bunnies.

“They hate you,” he comments, amused. His smirk falls flat, and he hisses as one of them gets a good bite on his finger. “Ow!” He squints at the bunny before picking it up. It was your turn to laugh, and you watch curiously as he walks to one of the dressers and plopping it on top. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re in time-out,” he grumbles.

“Wait, that’s actually really smart!” You look down at the bunnies around you. “They can’t jump from that high!” As you reach for the closest bunny, they run out of your reach, squealing, and soon they were huddled under a bed.

Percy smiles as they disperse, “well, now they’ll leave us alone,” he says as he sits beside you to continue piling the extra blankets you found. “You should have let me play that rock-paper-scissors game with them,” Percy mentions.

The two of you were stuck making a makeshift bed for the Ares campers since Travis and Connor had to round up their cabin for curfew. Well, one of them could have done it, but they insisted that it was a two-person job. You said it was unfair if they skipped out and they offered to settle who will go with an intense rock-paper-scissors game; best of three. You had accepted the challenge and lost miserably.

"I should have known there was no point in trying with their luck."

"Yeah, you walked right into that."

You side-eye him, "anyways, you would have lost.”

“How are you so sure?”

"Because, you just would have," you say shortly, and you smile as he turns to you.

“Well, considering how lucky you've been all day," he says sarcastically, and you squint at him. "I would have had a better chance,” he gloats.

“You’ve been real sassy today,” you mumble, and he laughs. “It’s fine. There’s not that much to do anyway.” Carefully, you roll the sides of the blankets into a nest shape after Percy finishes piling them. You rise on your feet, “It’d sleep there if I were a bunny. What do you think?”

“I would too. It seems comfortable,” Percy smiles as he stands up.

"Are you losers done?" Clarisse walks into the cabin with bowls of water for her siblings, and you roll your eyes as she puts them on the ground.

"Yeah, is it to their liking?" You ask with fake politeness, straining a smile. Clarisse observes the bundle of blankets as her siblings get in to try it out. She furrows her eyebrows, listening attentively to the various squeals. She had inherited most of the bunny traits, and though she didn’t transform completely, she could understand what they were saying.

“Eh, it’s good enough,” she concludes after hearing all the complaints of her siblings. “I’m sick of seeing your faces; get out.” She didn’t have to tell you twice, and you don’t waste any time as you turn on your heels. You were sick of seeing her face too.

Walking down the steps of the Ares Cabin, Percy follows beside you. A slight hum comes from his lips, and you look over,

“I was wondering when you’d come back to sword fighting,” he mentions, and you nod, recalling that you had agreed to attend classes after sparing with him a couple of weeks ago. “Your brother has been coming more often; he’s gotten a lot better.”

“That’s why my body has been aching so much,” you mutter more to yourself. For the past week, you thought you were staining your body in your sleep.

“Huh?”

“Long story,” you wave your hand, and you think about his question.

If you were completely honest, you weren’t as depressed about what had happened anymore. After you talked with Percy, you had finally come to terms with many of the thoughts that were tormenting you. However, you still stayed locked up in the Hermes Cabin because in the past week or so, you’ve gotten so much studying done. You wanted to stay in and read, and you were planning on milking your excused absences for as long as you could. But now, you considered that maybe you should return to your normal activities. Connor and Travis were becoming more worried, so were Atticus and Lou Ellen.

“I could join tomorrow,” you say hesitantly, your heart fluttering as Percy’s face brightens up. “Are you that excited to beat me up?” You joke, and Percy laughs, shaking his head.

“No! It’s just… it’s weird not seeing you around.” He admits shyly as he looks away. The cool summer breeze blows on your warm cheeks, and you swallow,

“I’ll go tomorrow,” you confirm, sounding more sure of yourself this time. Once you approach the steps of the Hermes cabin, you turn to him. “Good night, Perce.”

The sides of Percy’s eyes crinkle as he nods, “Good night,” he says as he slowly backs away. “And try to wake up on time, yeah? I’m not feeding the Ares cabin alone tomorrow,” he teases. You did have a habit of being the last person to arrive at breakfast. He must have noticed.

“Yeah, yeah. Worry about yourself, waterboy.” You smile, hearing him scoff. Opening the door to the Hermes cabin, you look back at him one more time. You take in the wide grin on his face, and he nods,

“Got it. I’ll remember that when you’re being chased by Clarisse again.” Your mouth drops open, eyes glinting at his banter.

“You better go before the harpies eat you!” You shoo him away as he laughs, then with a short salute of his two fingers, he walks off to his cabin.

masterlist taglist: @xxyrr @nct127bee @mochabreezeee @minamisulemisa @yanfeisluvr @-thatgirloverthere- @sanovr @passionswift @nanskidoodle @Slytherclaw-kitten @zhethugisa

#my writing #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson x reader #percy x reader #percy jackson fanfiction #percy jackson oneshot #percy jackson imagine #percy jackson and the olympians fanfiction #pjo fanfic #pjo x reader #percy jackson x y/n #percy jackson fluff

[kaistarus]

Mistexting Mayhem

Pairing: Nishinoya X Reader

Words: 1.6K

Summary: You accidentally send Nishinoya a text that was meant for Yachi and now he’s knows secrets you were hoping he never found out

A/N: If you think this fic is anything but crack you’re wrong lmao I’ve always wanted to write a fic with this style and Noya is great for the chaos i needed. It was fun

Masterlist

[6:40pm] idiot⚡: look y/n without adhd id be too powerful

                         i could beet god himself in handtohand combat

                         god was afraid of my raw fuckin awesomeness wen i bursted from the woom

[6:41pm] y/n: there is so much wrong with what u just said

[6:41pm] idiot⚡: i have absoltly no clue wat

[6:43pm] y/n: put those 3 brain cells to work. I believe in you

[6:43pm] idiot⚡: but theyve reached their daily quota

                          plz there so tired and overworked

You snorted, a dopey smile on your lips as you laid surrounded by textbooks and homework, swinging your feet in the air behind you. You focused intently on the cell phone in your hand doing everything you could to procrastinate the schoolwork around you.

[6:44pm] y/n: noyas so stupid

[6:44pm] yachi❤: i thought you liked him?

[6:45pm] y/n: jeez Yachi. dont come for my throat

                       i cant help that i have bad taste 🙄

[6:46pm] yachi❤: if it helps he tripped over a stray ball today

                               maybe think of that till you don’t like him??

Unfortunately, the image of Nishinoya waving to everyone then biffing it only had you smiling like a dork. How you’d gotten to a point that Nishinoya being an idiot made you swoon, you’ll never know.

You raised your eyebrow suspiciously at the new notification on Snapchat from ‘Tanaka’ and after swiping it open you nearly dropped your phone. Looking back at you was Nishinoya, his head tilted and eyebrow quirked in confusion with a gari-gari kun shoved halfway down his throat. The caption at the bottom reading ‘daaaammn look at your prince charming go 😩’.

You frowned at the picture, letting out a frustrated groan at how your heart accelerated against your ribcage. You quickly tapped out of it and reopened the messenger app.

[6:57pm] y/n: we have to kill Noya

[6:57pm] idiot⚡: we??? what kind of mission is this??? 😤

[6:58pm] y/n: i like him too much. he has to die. its for my own good

You waited impatiently for her response and almost debated doing your homework since it took longer than you felt necessary. You supposed you had suggested murder to Yachi, but still…

When you finally received a response your entire body froze.

[7:11pm] idiot⚡: U LIKE ME?!?!? 😍

                          UR KILLING ME?!?! 😢

                          IM SO CONFUSED......

                          and a lil turned on ngl👀

Your hand covered your mouth in horror as you processed what the hell you had just done. This didn’t happen to people in real life. Mistexting was stuff people made up when they created fake texts for social media to get likes. You didn’t think people actually went through this.

You opened new notifications to escape the hell that stared you straight in the face.

[7:15pm] Tanaka💪: Yo, whatd u do. Whys Noya having a panic attak

[7:16pm] y/n: I accidently texted him instead of Yachi and told him i liked him 😣

[7:16pm] Tanaka💪: O wtf thats hilarious 😂

[7:17pm] y/n: ITS NOT HILArIOUS

[7:18pm] Tanaka💪: Hes askin if its a prank. Wat do i do?

[7:19pm] y/n:I DONT KNOW SDKFHJN IM THE IDIOT WHO STSRTED IT

He stopped responding and you banged your head against your pillow anxiously.

[7:23pm] y/n: YACHI ITOLD NoYA I LKED HIM AND NOU HE NOS WAY DO JI DO!?!????! 😭😭😭

[7:23pm] idiot⚡: THIS ISNT YACHI!!!!

                           HOLY FUKC U DO LIEK ME!!!

You screamed into your pillow. Were you fucking kidding? This could not be happening.

[7:25pm] Tanaka💪: dude, twice? i cant save u now 🤪

[7:25pm] y/n: betraying me in my time of fucking need? i’ll remember this asshole

[7:26pm] Tanaka💪: so vulgar 👀

You growled at Tanaka’s uselessness and bravely peeked through one eye as you went back to your conversation with Nishinoya.

[7:24pm] idiot⚡: STOP IGNORING ME I KNO UR TEXTING RYU

[7:26pm] idiot: IM GONNA KEEP SPAMMING U TILL U ANSWE RME😤

[7:26pm] idiot⚡: 1

                          2

                          3

                          4

                          5

                           6

                           7

                           8

                           9

[7:27pm] y/n: what is this twitch chat? fuck 

[7:28pm] idiot⚡: your heeeeererererreee 🥰

[7:29pm] y/n: soooooo………..

                        clearly there has been a misunderstanding

[7:29pm] idiot⚡: oh nonono. I understand PERFETCLY. u LOVE me

                         its ok. this is a safe space. we can discuss feelings 😌

[7:31pm] y/n: there are zero feelings to discuss

[7:31pm] idiot⚡: then y did u say u like me too much so i have to die?

[7:34pm] y/n: i am filled with rage 🤬

[7:34pm] idiot⚡: rage over how much u liiike me???🥰🥰🥰

[7:36pm] y/n: definitely not

You racked your brain for some kind of reasonable sounding excuse, eventually landing on:

[7:36pm] y/n: It was autocorrect

[7:36pm] idiot⚡: HAH????? FROM?????

[7:38pm] y/n: HAH???

                       ....Nora?

[7:38pm] idiot⚡: Who TF is nora???? 😡

[7:39pm] y/n: someoe i like obviously 😏

[7:40pm] idiot⚡: so u like them but u use my name so much it autocorrected to me? 🤔

[7:44pm] y/n: OK MR DETEcTIVE WHERE TF ARE THES BRAIN CELS COMIN GFROM?

[7:45pm] idiot⚡: i pull them out for special ocasions 😌

[7:45pm] y/n: well how bout you pack those up and put em away

[7:46pm] idiot⚡: how bout two people who LIKE each other SAY something so they can DOOOOOOOO something bout IT 🙄

You began typing a frantic message about how it was none of his business until you processed the message. Then you read it over several times before letting out an audible, “what the fuck.”

[7:50pm] y/n: YOU LIKE ME

[7:50pm] idiot⚡: I FLIRT WITH U ALL THE TIME WAT DO U MEAN yOu LiKe Me!?!

                          FUCKING OBVIOSLY

[7:51pm] y/n: literally when. name one time.

[7:52pm] idiot⚡: I WALK WITH U EVERY MORNING!!!

[7:53pm] y/n: I thought that was a coincidence???

[7:54pm] idiot⚡: I BRNIG U SNACKS DURING LUNCH!!!

[7:54pm] y/n: I thought they were leftovers??

[7:55pm] idiot⚡: …....I call you cute and invite you to my games.

[7:56pm] y/n: you call everyone attractive and i thought there was like a audience quota or something........?

[7:57pm] idiot⚡: ….i cant tell who i should be upset with rn but i think its u 😑

[7:58pm] y/n: WAT WHY!?!

[8:00pm] Idiot⚡: I LIKE U+U LIKE ME=WE LIKE EACH OTHER

[8:01pm] y/n: whoa. slow down. I hate math 😣

[8:02pm] Idiot⚡: ===WE SHUD GO ON A DATE!!!

[8:02pm] y/n: HAH!? i think you started multiplying that addition problem buddy 🤨

Your cheeks were beginning to ache from how wide your dopey grin was. You couldn’t help but tease Nishinoya-it was second nature at this point-even if you now knew your feelings were mutual.

[8:04pm] idiot⚡: i suk at math but thats NOT the point

                         point iiissss i think deep down u want to hang out and cuddle and fall in love

                        maybe even..... 😏 kiiisssss

[8:04pm] y/n: WHOA WHOA WHOA

                        WARN ME BEFORE YOU GET NSFW

                        i would never premarital eye-contact. let alone k🤢ki-🤢🤢kiss🤢🤮🤮

[8:05pm] idiot⚡: well we would have socks on 🙄

[8:06pm] y/n: oh. well if there’s protection

[8:06pm] idiot⚡: Im not a maniac

[8:07pm] y/n: i suppose as long as you dont do something stoopid

                        like faceplant in public

                        that would be humiliating

[8:08pm] idiot⚡: I-

                          who told you that 😠

[8:08pm] y/n: i have spies everywhere noya

                        youre never safe

[8:09pm] Idiot⚡: kinda hot 👀

                         makin me fear for my life like that👀

[8:10pm] y/n: i hate that i like you

                        It kills me inside 

                        i feel braincels leaving with every conversation

[8:12pm] Idiot⚡: fan behavior 😏

                          so am i taking u to eat tomorow or wat?

[8:14pm] y/n: if I HAVE to 🙄

[8:14pm] Idiot⚡: No u GET to

                          I am a fucking delite 😤

[8:15pm] y/n: whatever helps you sleep at night

[8:15pm] Idiot⚡: nothing helps me sleep at night. this mind never rests

[8:16pm] y/n: thinking 24/7 and still not a smart thing comes out of that mouth 👀

[8:17pm] Idiot⚡: yas, bully me more 😫

[8:19pm] y/n: ok thats as much as i can handle for one day......

                       im gonna pretend to do homework

[8:20pm] idiot⚡: okie... good luck my sweet baby pogchamp 🥰

[8:20pm] y/n: no

[8:20pm] Idiot⚡: 😘😘😘

[8:22pm] y/n: 🙄✋

[8:23pm] Idiot⚡: oh FUCK yas 🥵 shut me UP

[8:25pm] y/n: suddenly all i feel is endless regret

[8:26pm] Idiot⚡: i have that effect on people

                          See you tomorrow 🥰🥰🥰

[8:27pm] y/n: unfortunately 😘

[8:27pm] idiot⚡: 🥵

You flung an arm over your eyes and let a small giggle bubble up from your chest. Nishinoya was probably the biggest idiot you’d ever met, but you couldn’t help that thinking of spending time with him had you kicking your feet with excitement.

You supposed you should actually get started on your homework. You reached forward when a notification popped up from Yachi, asking if her idea worked and you had stopped liking Nishinoya.

...you should probably break the news, huh?

#nishinoya yuu #nishinoya imagine #nishinoya scenarios #nishinoya yu x reader #nishinoya x reader #nishinoya yu #tanaka ryuunosuke #yachi hitoka #haikyuu!! #haikyuu x reader #hq nishinoya #nishinoya #nishinoya yū #haikyuu #nishinoya yuu x reader #haikyu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyu!! #haikyuu x y/n

[aliasimagines]

operation fools in love//luke patterson

requested by a lovely anon

word count: 3333(!!!)

a/n: i still don’t know how to write endings

The corridor was noisy with loud chatter, quietly whispered gossip and the sound of rushing students' shoes hitting against the floor. 

You hummed  'edge of great' as you started fishing out the books you need for class from your locker. It has been stuck in your head since yesterday evening when the guys played it for you and Flynn at band practice. 

You were about to close your locker when he poofed next to you. 

“Hi, y/n!”

“AAHHH” you screamed, earning a few side looks from passing by students. 

“Ahh, I accidentally kicked my locker, haha…”you started explaining yourself before turning back to your open locker. You sent a glare in Luke’s way.

“What did Julie and I say to you? Do not teleport randomly to us at school!”

He chuckled.

“Yeah, rules, rules, I don’t care. I just wanted to drop in and say hi!” he smiled at you with his signature Luke smile.

“Well, you did. That’s all? I kinda need to go to class.” you spot Julie in the corner of your eyes as you walk over to her locker. You quickly wave at her and soon after she comes over so you can talk to Luke without looking crazy. 

Luke mumbles something under his breath and goes to scratch the back of his head.

“No! Uhm..Hi Jules… So y/n I also kinda wanted to ask if you would come to our gig tonight? You know, we are playing not far from that food place you like? "

You smiled, appreciating that he remembered your favorite food place. 

"Well,erm.. I guess? I want to but I might have dance practice, so I am not sure." you say, wishing you'd know for sure but you won't find out till the end of your classes. 

Luke's lips formed an 'o' before his gaze fell down on his shoes. 

"Oh well.. I-okay. Bye?" he says in an unsure tone before disappearing, leaving you to face Julie. 

"Well, wasn't that adorable?"  she asks with a smug grin. 

"What? What are you talkin' bout Jules?" you ask honestly confused. She laughs and puts her hand on your shoulder. 

"Sweetheart, you two are just oblivious to each other!" 

"I don't… What?" 

"You like him. He likes you. It's not that confusing. Really it is obvious." 

"Shhh, quiet!" you shh-ed her, quickly making sure if Luke was 100 percent gone. "I.. I don't like him." 

It was unnecessary, you couldn't even fool yourself and especially not Julie. 

"Y/N, come on girl, I know you do. And he does like you too! I mean I am writing songs with him, do you know how many lovesick lyrics he has written lately? It is making me sick." she laughed. 

"Well, he might have written them about someone else. Maybe you? You two have amazing chemistry."

Julie sighed and grabbed both of your shoulders so she could look at you. 

"Y/N, honey. Believe me when I say he is head over heels for you. Why else would he want you to be at our gig so much?”

„Luke is literally so passionate about music? Of course he wants to share it with me, cause he wants to share it with everyone.”

„Ahg, girl you need glasses cuz you can't see shit. Look, if  prove he likes you too will you believe me?”

„Sure. I mean you can’t prove something that is not true but, sure go ahead, ’prove it’.” 

Julie rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond but luckily for you the bell rang.

“See you later, alligator!” and with that you were off to class, leaving Julie alone to work on her master plan. 

She knew she had to pull this off because the mutual pinning was unbearable but she also knew she couldn't do it alone. She'll need all the help she can get and that includes Flynn and the rest of her ghost band. 

You changed into your leggings and sweatshirt before heading into the gym where the dance practice took place. You were quite bumped. Don't get me wrong dancing is everything to you but.. You really did want to see the guys perform. 

You and the other kids were warming up, waiting for your teacher to start showing the choreography. But neither of you expected what she did next. Much to your surprise Reggie and Alex appeared next to her and started messing with her water bottle before you could even open your mouth.

For a moment no one acknowledged what was going on. Some were too busy chatting and warming up and Ms Janett was too busy with her phone. The two ghosts seemed to have noticed that and after exchanging a knowing smirk they grabbed the phone out of your teachers hands. She perked up, a mixture of anger and confusion on her face. And then… she saw her own phone floating in tin air.

“Stop!!” you whisper shouted  in the boys direction but they only gave you a smirk before Reggie started searching for the music player application. Alex pointed over Reggie’s shoulder.

“Uuu, play that one.” 

And as soon as the Lady Gaga song started playing Ms Janett let out a scream causing everyone to look up. You saw the boys dancing with the phone and the pompoms in their hand (although you have no idea where Alex got those pompoms) but everyone else just saw those items moving by themselves.

“GHOOOST!!! Everybody RUUUUUUN!” 

Some people followed the teacher, some stayed behind to take a closer look only to be scared away by a flying pompom. 

“What the heck are you two doing?” you turned to them,being  rather angry,  once you were the only living person in the gym. Seriously, what were they thinking?

“We cleared your afternooon! You can come to our concert!” Reggie exclaimed and put down the phone. 

“Do you think I would go after this fiasco you just pulled??” you were definitely angry now.

“Oh come on, if not for us then for Julie..and for Luke.”

You snapped your head in Alex's direction at the mention of Luke’s name.

“What do...No. Don’t try to divert the topic. What you did was incredebly stupid! What if.. What if someone connects the dots and figures out that Julie’s hologram band is actually a ghost band? There will be scientist and ghost busters and-”

“Shh, Y/N jeez, calm down. it will be okay. We’ll see you at the show.” 

And they poofed away. They simply left  you alone with your thoughts. You need to come up with some kind of explanation for the dance class but right now you need to go home and change. The boys were right, even if they kinda (really) caused a mess here you still like them and don’t want to miss seeing them live ((Winky face)).

Meanwhile you were sorting through your dresses and outfit options. Julie and the band arrived at the venue for rehearsal.

Usually it was Luke who hyped Julie up before shows but right now the roles were switched because Luke looked like a kicked puppy ever since he learned you wouldn’t be able to make it to their gig. Of course Julie knew you will be here, as she was the one to send the boys to scare away your teacher. It was all part of her little plan.

Like mentioned Luke wrote half a dozen songs, all centered around his feelings for you. He stated to Jules that he will definitely not play them for you because there is just no way you like him back, but now Luke thinks you won’t be there so Julie is on the next step of her genius plan. Convince Luke to play one of his love songs.

“Luke, Lukey-poo, my man.” she started getting more and more cringy. “I thought we could close with Hero and Heroine? I know you said you don’t want to play it but it is such a great song, you definitely shouldn’t let it be just another forgotten song that stays on a piece of paper. Plus it is perfect for closing, think about it!”

“Julie...I-I told you I don’t wanna play it.”

“You told me you don’t wanna play it in front of Y/N, which would be the whole point of writing love songs to her but that's besides the point right now. Pleeassee?”

Luke took a deep breath and looked at his ghost mates for...What for? Support? Advice? He is not sure. He does want to play the song, pour out his emotions through the song but the question is..should he? He knows you can’t be here which both makes him wanna play the song and not at the same time.

“I agree with Julie, dude.” Alex said, shrugging his shoulder like he knew of nothing. Reggie nodded along.

“Okay..If you all think I w-”

Julie stood up and clapped her hands together.

“Cool! It is settled. I’ll need to make a phone call, brb.”

“Barbeque?” asked Reggie confused. Which made Alex laugh.

“Brb actually means be right back. Willie told me.” the blond made his way over to Luke and gently punched his shoulder. “Really Luke, that song is great. And I know you think there is no way Y/N would like you back but I am sure if she could hear it-”

“I’m a ghost, Alex! I can’t just confess to her, how are we gonna date? We can’t even touch.”

“That is totally not the reason. You are afraid she would decline your affection, I get it, but believe me I have seen her look at you. That longing in her eyes when I mention your name. She likes you.”

Luke rolled his eyes.

“Not that it matters, she won't hear the song and that is my final say in this.”

As soon as Julie stepped out of the small, cigarette smelling backroom she dialed your number. You picked up after two rings.

“Hi, Jules.”

“Hi girl, I heard what the boys did, I am so, so sorry. You know they are idiots.”she said trying real hard not to laugh but she reminded herself of her plan and pulled on her poker face.”But..Are you coming to the show? Flynn could pick you up; she is about to get going.”

“Yeah I’ll come, tell the boys I will call my teacher and say it was a prank so they can thank me for saving their ghostbutts.”

Julie giggled and started playing with her hair.She walked up and down the small corridor that led to the stage from the backroom.

“I will, I better get back and warm up but you should call Flynn so she won’t leave without you.”

Of course Flynn wouldn’t leave without you. She was waiting in her car two blocks from your home waiting for your phone car.

She didn’t have to wait long, you called her and she pretended to not expect it. Flynn kinda became your and Julie’s driver ever since she got her driver's  license last month. 

By the time the two of you got to the venue the opening was playing their last song and the place was already packed with dancing teenagers. Flynn dragged you to the bar and asked for a cola for herself and a (favourite drink) for you. 

The two of you hung back and sipped your drinks until Julie appeared on the stage. Then you took Flynn by the hand and  started pulling her toward the stage. Only she held you back. 

"Hey, what's up? Don't we wanna go and watch them from closer?" 

"Oh, well, uhm...I'd rather hang back. The crowd kind of makes me anxious right now." Flynn said. You lifted an eyebrow at her. Flynn being anxious? In a crowd?? That did not convince you. But you didn’t argue. 

"Do you need to step outside a little or…" 

"Nah, it's good, let's just stay here in the back." 

So you did. You sang and danced along to the songs you both knew so well. You tried  your best not to stare at Luke too much but let’s be honest you failed miserably. Flynn occasionally wiggled her eyebrows at you when she caught you ‘drooling over him’ as she put it.

After they finished playing Stand Tall you expected them to bow and ‘disappear’ but much to your surprise Julie grabbed the mic and brought it to her lips.

“Hello, hello, helloo! Do y’all wanna hear one more song?” the audience erupted into a loud cheer. It was so heartwarming to watch. Julie doing what she was born to do, playing music and enchanting the crowd. Flynn seemed to have the same thought because she looked at her with such pride. You pulled her into a big hug and the two of you waited for the crowd to quiet down so Jules could go on.

“Allright, allright. Now this song will be a bit different but...I will let Luke here tell it.”

You just became more and more surprised when Luke stepped closer to the mic and spoke into it, looking kinda...nervous? 

“Ohm..Hello everyone! So uh..This song is dedicated to a special someone, the songs called-”

“What’s the special someone’s name?” your eyes travelled to Reggie who asked the question with a huge grin. Luke turned to look at the bassist. If looks could kill Reggie would be double dead. But before Luke could give a voice to his disapproval towards Reggie’s question Julie spoke up.

“Yeah! What’s the name?” she turned towards the crowd and started chanting. “What’s the name?”

Soon Reggie and Alex joined with smiles painted on their faces along with the audience. You were so freaking confused. You looked at Flynn for some explanation but how would she know about it. 

“OKAY, okay, stop!” Luke yelled before laughing a little. “All right I will tell you guys but you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone?”

All of a sudden you felt sick and wanted to get out of here. You were so not in the mood to hear Luke declare his love for someone. 

“This song is dedicated to..To Y/N. Unfortunately she wouldn't be here today but..she is an amazing person. Hope you all like the song.”

He...He couldn’t be talking about you, could he?

He started strumming his guitar and soon Reggie joined in with the bass and Alex with the drums. Jullie clapped her hands together and kept sending encouraging looks for the boy.

“It's too late baby, there's no turning around, I've got my hands in my pocket and my head in a cloud, this is how I do, when I think about you,I never thought that you could break me apart,I keep a sinister smile and a hole of my heart” he sang into the mic, his voice filling in the whole club “You want to get inside, then you can to get in line but not this time”

“'Cause you caught me off guard, now I'm running and screaming!” Julie joined in for the line“I feel like a hero and you're my heroine.”

“I won't try to philosophize, I'll just take a deep breath and I'll look in your eyes, this is how I feel and it's so so real I got a closet filled up to the brim with the ghosts of my past and the skeletons, and I don't know why, you'd even try but I won't lie” Luke sang and you finally realised what was going in. He wrote this song. For you. You looked over to Flynn who nodded towards the stage and mouthed ‘go’.

I feel like a hero and you are my heroine. Do you know that your love is the sweetest sin?

You started making your way towards the stage, slipped through the cracks between dancing people and singing fans. The further you got the harder it was to get through but you heard Luke’s voice and you kept going.

And I feel a weakness coming on, never felt so good to be so wrong. Had my heart on lock down and then you turned me around

And I’m feeling like a new born child..

You finally break through a few screaming girls and see him.

“-Every time I get a chance to see you smile. It’s not complicated, I’m so jaded.” Luke sings and looks at the audience and- He spots you. Looking up at him with eyes wide open and admiration on your face. His voice cracks because of the sudden surprise of your presence but you smile at him and that is all he needs to continue.

“And you caught me off guard...Now I’m running and screaming”

He sang the song with such passion that even if you weren’t before now you were absolutely sure this wasn’t just a simple crush. 

When they finished you didn’t waste a lot of time, you ran backstage, quickly waving your vip ticket.  You almost run into Julie on your way to the door of the backroom.

“Who- Y/N!”

“This was your doing, wasn’t it?” you smiled at her already knowing the answer. She flashed a toothy grin. 

“Well I had a great team behind me but yeah, Operation FiL was my idea.”

“Phil?” you ask back .

“No, no. F i L. Fools in Love. Now go get ‘im tiger!”

You shook your head and entered the backroom. Luke stood with his back facing you but as soon as he saw you in the mirror he spinned around. For a moment you forgot he was a ghost and ran to give him a hug. 

“Y/N, no-” he put his hands out so he could catch you, simply out of reflex but he didn’t expect to actually hold you in his arms. You both looked at each other with eyes as wide as a 6 lane highway. 

“How can I-”

“Do you care?”  you closed the little distance between the two of you and pressed your lips against his.  They were just as soft as you imagined oh, so many times before. He kissed back gently, afraid that this is just a dream. But this was definitely too real to be a dream. You unfortunately had to pull back to catch your breath but Luke looked leaned closer to press his forehead against yours.

“The song was so beautiful, I loved it.” you whisper. He just stared at you with a smile.

“If I knew you would kiss me, I would have played it a long time ago.” you giggled and brought your lips together for one more kiss. He let his hands wander this time but so did you. Your fingers ran through his brown hair, this being something you wanted to do for so long. He kept one hand on your waist and placed the other on the side of your face.

Your lips moved so in sync like you’ve been doing this all your lives. You were so drawn to each other, you felt like you couldn’t pull away in that moment even if you tried. Like this invisible magical force just glued the two of you to-

“Okay, that is enough! Get out I need to change!” Julie brusted in causing Luke to jump up and cling to you like Scooby Doo.

“Wow, you are so brave.''you laughed rolling your eyes at. “Come on, let’s leave alone Julie. We’ll meet ya at the car?”

 Jules nodded and sent a wink in your way. You walked outside, both of you grinning like idiots. 

“So uhm...Does this make us, Us?”

“Yeah. I mean if that’s what you want too.” you look at your shoes and bite your lower lip waiting for his answer.

“There’s nothing I want more.” he said. “Oh well..maybe another kiss wouldn’t be so bad either..”

#luke patterson x reader #luke patterson imagine #luke patterson oneshot #Julie and the phantoms one shot #julie and the phantoms imagine #jatp luke x reader #sunset curve imagine #aliasimagines

[ghostlywritten]

If Only I Had Stayed In The Shadows - Chapter Ten

James Potter x OC

Words: 4,8k

Prologue  Chapter One   Chapter Two  Chapter Three  Chapter Four  Chapter Five  Chapter Six  Chapter Seven  Chapter Eight  Chapter Nine

The break passed and life in Hogwarts continued in blissful peace for the next few months. At least for us students. Outside of the walls and grounds of Hogwarts, the situation was getting darker and darker each day. People went missing or were declared as dead, causing chills down our spines whenever the list grew longer with each newspaper.

I sighed, folding a piece of parchment that contained a letter from my parents about their well being. They were alright but had to take a lot of extra hours, giving how more and more muggleborn or halfblood wizards and witches were registered every day and night with the worst injuries at their hospital. Some - if not many - did not make it by the end of the next dawn. A hand snatched the letter from my hand and I glanced over at the messy-haired boy next to me as he unfolded it again. "Ever heard of privacy?" I asked and his eyes widenend in mock-astonishment, "No, what's that?"

His good mood evaporated slightly though after he skimmed the letter and an usually solemn expression graced his features instead. "Things are really getting worse everyday, aren't they?" he asked quietly, catching Sirius' attention from his other side.

"What's getting worse everyday?" he questioned, joining our conversation. Remus, Peter, Lily and Marlene looked up from their sheets as well. We were gathered together in the Common Room, sitting at one table to 'study'. Some would think it odd since we never usually mingled together, especially with Lily's open hatred towards James and everything the Marauders stood for. But ever since he and I got together, everyone consequently spent more time together as a group, surprisingly getting along...most of the time.

"A lot of people are dying or getting injured," James replied, handing me back my letter.

"Mom says, the hospital is being run down. They won't be able to carry so many patients for long," I added, feeling uneasy, "Apparently the healthcare system is close to collapsing."

"That's bad," Marlene commented, worry creasing her forehead, "What's going to happen if this goes on?" Everyone shrugged, glancing at each other helplessly as no one had an answer.

"The Ministry will figure it out eventually," Remus tried to reassure us all, straightening up in optimism.

"Right, they always do," Lily agreed, causing Sirius to scoff quietly. She gave him a challenging look, raising her eyebrow. "You've got anything to say, Black?"

"There is a lot I could say that would certainly not please you, Evans," Sirius quipped.

"Anyways," James cut in before a bicker session could begin between them, "We shouldn't turn our hair grey because of this. We are young! And still have more than a year left in the safest place in the country."

I nodded in agreement, leaning into him as he threw his arm around me. Lily silently flickered her deep green eyes between us.

"But what happens after we graduate?" Peter spoke up with an almost quivering voice as he still looked worried.

"Let our future selfs worry about that," Sirius dismissed.

"We should still have a plan though," Lily pointed out and I allowed a frown on my face after she finally ripped her intense gaze off. She had been doing that a lot lately, staring at our interactions longer than deemed normal. What was her issue? "You know, the teachers are planning to start sessions for career advice with each of us. Having no plan probably won't look good."

"Oh, I already know what I'm going to do," Sirius shot back immediately, smirking confidently, "Auror sounds pretty enticing, especially during this time, doesn't it?"

"Same," James said and I resisted the urge to raise my eyebrows at his confidence, "That or Quidditch," he added as an afterthought.

"I don't know," Marlene mused, "Auror does have a nice ring to it but I always thought I would do something with Potions...," Stunned silence and a collective jaw drop followed. The brown-haired beauty burst out in laughter at our disbelieved looks, shaking her head, "Just joking. You should see your faces."

I rolled my eyes at her. "You really got us there for a second, Marls," Remus chuckled.

The evening passed and even though I would have liked to say we did a lot of studying...we didn't. "Well, Remus and I gotta go," Lily sighed, getting up, "We're patrolling tonight."

"Uh, sounds fun," Marlene commented sarcastically and the red head shot her a look.

"Right, on it!" Remus got up as well, readying himself, "Boys, don't pull any pranks tonight. It will make me look bad."

"But Moony, now is the best time! With you on patrol, we won't get any punishment!" Sirius stated indignantly.

"That's exactly what I mean with making me look bad," Remus remarked with a sigh, "I'm a prefect, mate. Help me out by not doing anything."

The black-haired boy seemed to contemplate his options before giving in with a pout, "Fine, but you owe me."

"Good boy," Remus said, patting his head like a dog, "I'll see you guys later...ladies, have a good night."

"Night, Remus!"

"So, if no pranks are allowed...how about we get a midnight snack from the kitchen and head to the Astronomy Tower?" James suggested and I gave him an offended look even though my heart fluttered at his romantic suggestion. "I am second to your pranks? Really?"

"Of course you are!" Sirius snickered.

"Of course you are not!" James contradicted and it was his best mate's turn to give him an affronted look. "Really, Prongs? You're giving me up for a lass so easily?"

"...Pretty much, yes," James shrugged, causing me to snort.

Sirius pouted. "Can I at least tag along?"

"Me too?" Peter added himself.

"Sorry mates, this time is only for me and my love," James declined, pulling me closer as we got up and kissing my temple. I blushed slightly at his open affection. Ever since New Year's Eve we had become closer and practically glued to each other. I couldn't believe my luck at this point, wondering how I had managed to capture the attention of this charismatic and sweet boy when I was a rather boring girl with a boring life. Yet, here we were, officially together for about four months in and going strong.

After grabbing a few snacks from the kitchen, we headed up to the highest tower in the school. I sat down at the ledge, leaning against the barrier with my arms and resting my chin on them as I breathed in the fresh night air. James settled down next to me, quietly handing me a sandwich I bit into immediately whilst we enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and presence of the other. The view was magnificent, moonlight reflecting from the slight waves of the black sea and I imagined the Giant Squid breaking the surface with its tentacles from time to time.

"What are you thinking about?" James eventually asked softly and I glanced over. His cheek rested on his crossed arms, eyes locked on my face. I blushed slightly at his gaze, looking back out at the landscape. A tinge of happiness rose in me as I thought how life was for me at the moment. Despite my parents throwing fits because of my career choices, I had a great boyfriend, who supported me in everything. And as cliché as it sounded, he made me feel safe during the dangerous times of war raging just outside of the Hogwarts grounds. Is that what love makes you feel-? My thoughts came to a screeching halt at the l-word before it started racing uncontrollably fast. Love? Did I love him?

"Cec?" James poked my arm, breaking me out of my reverie and I twitched slightly in surprise, "Are you spacing out on me?"

"N-no, I was just...," my eyes flickered around for an escape, "..daydreaming," I ended lamely, pressing my mouth against my underarm.

"Okay?" James raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing me, "Are you cold? You are twitching like a weirdo."

"Jeez, thanks," I said sarcastically, though immediately blushed when he scooted closer, throwing an arm around me. "It's alright, weirdo," he said with a grin, "I'll be your knight in shining amor once again and keep you warm."

"And once again, I gotta remind you of a little magic trick called Heating Charm," I replied with the same grin, warmth spreading through me at his cute gesture. James was full of cute gestures, it was a miracle no one knew that. Maybe, because he had never been able to show this side of him before. I bit my lip, shyly acknowledging the increase of my heartbeat at his proximity, the realisation of my feelings suddenly becoming clear.

I had fallen for that idiot.

Days had passed and I was mulling over how to tell James about my feelings. Should I tell him at all? Should I wait for him to say it first? Did he feel the same anyway?

There was only one person to ask for love advice. Someone, who had helped me before.

"Marlene, should I tell him?" I asked.

"Absolutely not," the beautiful Gryffindor answered immediately with her eyes wide.

"Why not?"

"The boy has to say it first. That's the rule."

I made a face. "Is that really? Or are you just making it up?"

Marlene sighed, grabbing my shoulders. "Dearest Cec. We girls easily fall in love. And we figure it out quite easily, too. A boy usually needs a while longer and if the girl were to approach him with her feelings, he would immediately feel swamped and make a beeline for the next exit. Until he is not sure of his own feelings, I wouldn't tell him."

I frowned slightly, "That's a bit biased, don't you think? I'm sure not all boys would try to run away."

"Oh believe me, they will," Marlene stated almost darkly. Something told me, she was talking from experience but I was not enough of a Gryffindor to dig deeper. She noticed my gaze though and immediately let go of my shoulders, leaning back in nonchalance. "I mean, you can risk it and tell him or you can wait. Personally, I believe waiting is the best. It doesn't hurt now, does it?"

I pondered over her words whilst wandering the halls in search of the one boy, who kept running through my mind. Sure, it wouldn't hurt to wait for him to say it first, but the question was how long would he need to realise it? Could I perhaps quicken it up by just telling him first, making him notice his own feelings faster? Or would it just pressure him to say it, too even if he doesn't mean it? That thought filled me with horror and I swiftly decided to keep my mouth shut.

Though, when I rounded the corner to the courtyard and saw him standing in all his bespectacled, nut brown messy haired glory I couldn't help but suddenly hear my heartbeat loud and clearly, drumming in my ears in a pace it would usually go after a sprint or a run up of blasted staircases. I couldn't help but stop short in my movements to savour the sight of his smile for a second, the same smile he would direct at his mates and me, all the people he loved (perhaps he did actually love me, too), his teeth shining in the sunlight that would occasionally peak through between the many clouds and I decided to tell him my feelings then and there, head slightly dizzy from the once again quick change of mind. But before I took a step forward, my eyes flickered away from him at the reflection of the sun on shiny red hair, rippled in perfect waves and slightly blinding. And then they flickered towards a pair of glistening, emerald green eyes that were smiling at the exact same boy I wanted to talk and spill my feelings to.

I swiftly stepped back in the shadows, wincing at my own behaviour. Why was I spying on them? They were doing nothing but talking, laughing at each other...something I had never seen Lily do with James before. Ever. Wishing I could hear what they were saying I looked back at James, feeling my chest warm at the sight of his smile but almost burn at the realisation who it was directed to. All the people he loved...

'No,' I shook my head, 'We've talked about this before we got together. He made it clear that he lost interest in her...after pining after her for years.' She clearly never reciprocated his feelings, so their not-lovestory was over when he moved on. But what if she did reciprocate his feelings? I thought back on all the times I caught her staring at us. Could it be that she had been feeling something for him all along and was just hiding it? Or didn't realise it until now?

Marlene's lessons on keeping a boy interested crossed my mind. Would trying hard to get work on girls, too? After all, James had been chasing her for years and suddenly stopped paying attention to her. He was even in a relationship. But would that spark an interest in Lily? Certainly not. She wasn't the type to chase after someone, who was taken, not to mention one, who had been annoying her for years. No, she was just befriending him now that he wasn't pining after her, seeing as they were in the same friendship circles. We were all spending more time together, the girls and the Marauders. And as Marlene, Alice and I were starting to get along more with the boys, so was Lily. It was bound to happen that we all grew closer. If anything, it was a good thing.

I relaxed a bit at that conclusion, smiling slightly as they laughed quite loudly at something James said. Back then, when I was obsessing more over other people's relationships (since I had none of my own), I always thought they would get along really well if James hadn't been chasing her in his boisterous and overly-done way. Him, with his wild and goofy nature that would dare her to many adventures, and her, who would be able to tame him and not take it too far, keeping him on the ground. 

+A perfect friendship. 

A perfect relationship.

My smile faded and I turned around. Despite myself, I didn't dare to reveal my feelings to the boy on that day.

Neither did I on the following days that turned to weeks until we reached the end of the spring and the world slowly turned warmer in the first days of the summer with a turn from April to May. Everything was as normal as it could get when you were friends with the Marauders. Classes were the same, Quidditch practices were the same, we had won the last game against Ravenclaw and were now on first place to win the Cup as long as Slytherin lost against Hufflepuff (which was quite unlikely, but nobody tell James). The Marauders pulled their usual pranks, although they were more tamed than in their previous years and less directed at us girls. James and I were still going to strong...yet none of us had said the l-word even though we had been together for almost eight months by now. And although Marlene kept reassuring me that it was normal for boys to take longer in their admittance for love, all the romantic books that I'd read throughout my teenage years stated otherwise. We should have long since reached that stage to proclaim our love for each other, shouldn't we? Hell, James proclaimed his love for Lily everyday for years ever since he saw her and they weren't even together. It shouldn't be hard for him to realise whether he loved me or not.

This fueled my insecurities more each day that passed without a confession, which caused me to keep my mouth shut about my own feelings, too. Instead I found myself frequently catching James and Lily alone, deep in conversation, whenever I was looking for him after he went missing on all of us. Either at the library, where I had never seen him go as often as now and on his own will, too, or outside at the courtyard or on the Hogwarts grounds with her sitting in the shade of a tree and him dangling from a branch above her, grinning down at her as she laughed whenever his glasses slipped askew from his upside down position. It was practically a picture ripped from the pages of a romance novel. And the burning feeling in my chest would continue.

"Lily and James are getting along pretty well, aren't they?" I commented off-handedly one day. Marlene, Alice and I were sat in the library together, studying for the upcoming exams with Lily having gone to fetch more books. Alice tensed up slightly, her eyes flashing from me to her book whilst Marlene looked up, shrugging nonchalantly. "Guess so. Now that he is not annoying her anymore."

"Right. Good thing," I said, nodding along to her words. Needless to say it was relieving to see that she had the same thoughts as me about this. An expert like her would have caught on if there was something more to their sudden closeness, right? Nonetheless I looked over at Alice, who suddenly seemed very busy with scribbling something down on her parchment. Alice, who out of the three of us was the closest to Lily and who would likely know exactly what was going on. "What do you think, Alice?" I asked her bluntly as she didn't seem to want to join the conversation on her own.

Startled, she looked up and I gave her a tight-lipped smile as I awaited her answer. "Eh, yes. They seem to get along better than before. At least, Lily is not yelling her head off anymore every time she sees him," she replied, laughing albeit nervously. Just then, the aforementioned girl headed back towards our table with four books stacked in her arms. I gnawed on my lip, wondering how to ease the constriction in my chest that had been my constant companion for a while now with the ongoing uncertainty.

"Hey Lily, are you dating someone?" I asked her as she sat down. Her books promptly landed on the table with a bang as she had slackened her grip on them in surprise. I cringed slightly at the glare thrown at us from Madam Pince and Lily mouthed a silent 'sorry' at her.

"What? Why do you ask?" she coughed slightly, glancing at the other girls, who had looked up in interest now.

I shrugged. "Just wondering. You are pretty and someone ought to have to courage to ask you out, now that James is not holding anyone back from it," I laughed slightly at the end, hoping to dissolve the suddenly awkward atmosphere that appeared at my statement.

"She's right, Lils," Marlene thankfully butted in, blissfully unaware, "You are the only single among us and you've been for a while. It's time to get some!" Lily went beet red, reaching over to smack her on the arm as we all snickered slightly. "Jesus, Marlene. That's so inappropiate!"

"What? It's true! You are the only single among us. And someone is bound to have asked you out lately! Right?" the brown-haired beauty pressed on and I had never been more grateful for her noisiness than now.

Lily grumbled under her breath, hesitating slightly before she gave in, "Maybe. Some Ravenclaw perhaps." Our eyes widened and Marlene squealed as quietly as she could. "I'm not interested though!" she quickly added at our excited looks, deflating my relief, "Now drop it. We are here to study." And with that, she successfully ended the topic.

Later at night I met up with James at the Astronomy Tower, our usual spot when we wanted to hang out after curfew. "Hey, how was your day?" he greeted me warmly as I sat down next to him at the edge of the tower, resting my arms against the railing. A cool breezed rushed throughout the tower and James quickly scooted closer to wrap his arms around me before I even started to shiver and I smiled at his sweet gesture.

"Quite well. Studied a lot. And you?"

"Quite well. Pranked a lot," he mimicked, grinning when I laughed slightly. "Which poor soul did you harrass this time?" I asked, resting the side of my head against my arms as I listened attentively to him recounting each prank with great detail, his arm leaving me once in a while to emphasize something but never failing to come back around me. "Sounds like you had a lot of fun today...," I remarked when he ended and he nodded with a beaming grin, "...and when did you study?" His beam deflated into a pout, causing my shoulders to shake in silent laughter.

"I don't need to study," he grumbled nudging me. "Sure, you don't." I nudged him back, slipping to the side and almost under the railing when he nudged me slightly harder. He quickly grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back towards him. "Sorry about that," he apologised embarrassed and I giggled slightly, resting against him. "Don't worry, I don't mind this at all," I replied, snuggling my head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tightly towards him. "Mhmm, I'm sure you don't," he chuckled into my hair, his lips grazing slightly against my earlobe and causing me to shiver. I could feel his smile as he deliberatly brushed against my ear again and I squirmed slightly, burying my red face in his chest. "Why so shy all of a sudden?" he teased and I stifled a gasp as he playfully nibbed at my ear. "I'm not shy," I protested, voice muffled. "Is that so?" He tried to back away but I tightened my arms around his waist, firmly keeping my face planted against his chest. "Yes!"

He laughed lightly, promptly dropping on his back and pulling me on top of him. I adjusted my position, placing a leg on each side of his hips and resting my ear on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. "I could stay like this for a long while," James commented with a blissful sigh as he wrapped his robes around me for warmth. I raised my head to shoot him a smile and he grinned back at me softly. Craning my neck I placed a kiss against his jaw, unable to resist the urge. He quickly pulled me further up, rising up slightly to capture my mouth with his and my eyes fluttered shut as he held the back of my head, his fingers grasping my hair. I fisted his shirt, a swarm of butterflies causing a wreckage in my stomach as he molded his lips against mine, his tongue peeking out to run across my lower lip when a sudden noise erupted somewhere close.

I pulled away quickly. "Did you hear that?" I asked breathlessly as I looked up.

"Hear you moan for me?" James tugged me back down by the neck. "Not yet," he whispered huskily against my mouth. My eyes widened in surprise, heart pounding against my ribcage at his words. He nipped at my lip with his teeth playfully before fully placing his lips against mine again until I almost forgot what had interrupted us in the first place. But the fear of getting caught outside of curfew broke me out of my daze once more. "Seriously, James," I whispered breathlessly, looking up to squint at the doorway, "I think someone's down there. They might come up." James groaned, tugging at my shirt. "No ones down there."

"And what was that noise? What if we get caught?" I asked, sitting up.

"Probably gonna get detenti- uff," he hissed and I glanced down at him to see him holding his breath. "What's wrong...?" I questioned when I realised I had sat up directly on his groin. 

Oh. 

"Oh, Cec," he breathed out as his eyes darkened, "You really shouldn't have done that." He shot up, crashing his lips against mine before I could get another word out, his hand coming up to entangle in my hair as his other arm wound tightly around my waist, pulling me flush against him. A small moan escaped me when his sudden movement caused his hips to grind against mine as I sat securely between his torso and his slightly raised knees. "There is my moan," he smirked against my lips and I could have sworn my heart stopped at this devilish sight. Breathing out shakily, I took his face between my hands, seeing his eyes soften slightly before I tilted my head to deepen the kiss, unable to restrain myself in any way. He reciprocated eagerly, his hand fisting in my hair as our tongues clashed together. I moved slightly against him, a flash of excitement coursing through me when I heard his breath hitch. "Fuck, Cec," he groaned in my mouth and my eyes almost rolled back in pleasure at the mere sound. He reached down to grasp my thigh tightly, pulling me closer and I gasped against his mouth. His thumb stroke softly over my skin, smiling at the goosebumps erupting everywhere. He let his hand travel up until he reached the end of my skirt. "Can I?" he asked without detaching his lips once and I nodded, resisting the urge to moan when he dug his fingers in the exposed flesh under my skirt. "James," I breathed out as I broke away for air, feeling him shiver. His mouth trailed down to my neck, nibbling on it as I tangled my hand in his hair, his own letting go of my waist and reaching up to undo the buttons of my shirt-

"James and Cec sitting in a tree," an all to familiar voice reached our ears and my eyes snapped open. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" James halted his movements, burying his face in my neck with a groan.

"First comes love!" Sirius sang joyfully as he appeared by the doorway, a piece of parchment in one hand and his wind lit up at the tip in the other. "Then comes marr-holy shit!" His eyes widened slightly at our disheveled figures but his smirk came back as soon as it had disappeared. "My my, first come the babies it seems with you two!"

"Fucking hell, Sirius!" James cursed, turning around to glare at his best mate.

"Hi Prongs!" Sirius greeted innocently, waving his parchment.

"Worst timing ever, mate!" I buried my face in my hand in embarrassment, wondering if our compromising position would go unnoticed if I pretended that it wasn't compromising.

"Sorry Prongsie, your babymaking has to wait. We've got a little something going on tonight," Sirius said, not sounding sorry at all as he nodded outside. I peeked a glance between my fingers to see James' eyes widen under his slightly askew glasses. Glancing over my shoulder I caught sight of the full moon, partially obscured by a few clouds.

"Right, give us a minute please," James requested and Sirius disappeared down the stairs again. His hazel eyes appeared startingly lighter under the shine of the full moon as he grasped my hips softly with both hands. "I've got to go," he said quietly and the atmosphere seemed suddenly serene in contrast to a minute ago.

"That's okay," I replied as quietly, adjusting his glasses once again and he smiled that sweet smile, that one damn sweet smile only reserved for his loved ones and my mouth opened before I could stop myself, "James, I l-"

"Prongs! Hurry up already!" Sirius cut me off from down the stairs. James huffed, rolling his eyes at his mate.

"I'm sorry. I really gotta go," he said and I nodded quickly, scrambling to get up and off him. He adjusted his clothes before stepping closer, giving me a sweet kiss. "Good night, love," he said softly as he fastened up the buttons he had undone on my shirt, "I will see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely. Good night."

Unbeknownst to him, to Sirius and to me, Sirius had just saved me from committing the biggest mistake tonight. Twice.

Chapter Eleven

#James Potter #james potter x reader #james potter imagine #james potter x oc #james potter fanfiction #harry potter imagine #marauders imagine #harry potter fanfiction #marauders fanfiction #marauders era #Marauders #sirius black imagine #Sirius Black #Remus Lupin #Lily Evans #marlene mckinnon #marauders fic #Harry Potter

[maybedefinitely404]

Day 23: Dukeceit

I’m very aware it’s October. But I will get all these prompts done!

@tsshipmonth2020

Day 23 - At a certain age you switch bodies with your soulmate for 24 hours. (I may have changed this one slightly, too.)  

Content warnings: kidnapping mention, food/coffee mentions, homophobia mentions (though none is really seen), just so much caffeine.

The first thing Janus noticed when he woke up was that this was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Which, to be fair, was an accurate reaction, seeing as he was in the wrong room.

His initial thought was that he’d been kidnapped, but no, that couldn’t be right. It was just another bedroom, not a basement or a van or whatever kidnappers used. It was a regular, teenage looking bedroom, with clothes littering the floor and the desk, large posters haphazardly stuck at every angle on the wall, and a phone charging on the nightstand next to him. So, definitely not a kidnapping. 

When his mind finally cleared from his post-waking haze, he sighed in resignation. Apparently the universe had decided that today was the day he would switch bodies with his soulmate, on the day he had specifically set aside to study for a huge biology test that would make or break his grade in the class. Hopefully the school took pity on him and let him redo it. If they believed him, that is… he wasn’t exactly the most honest student.

Groaning, he threw the blankets off him and stumbled to the full body mirror on the door, inspecting the reflection. His soulmate was cute, he’d give him that, but it did nothing to disperse the internal confusion at seeing someone else looking back at him in the mirror. It also felt super weird to be attracted to… well, himself, at the moment, technically? He pushed a strand of white hair, dyed lighter than the rest of the black locks, out of his face and leaned forward, trying to decipher if the eye color was brown or murky green, when the door flew open and hit him in the face.

He yelped upon hitting the floor, rubbing his forehead, and glaring up at the intruder.

“Who the hell are you?” He hissed before he could stop himself, meeting the eyes of a very confused guy standing in the doorway. Blinking, he looked back into the mirror, and then back to the newcomer, wondering for a second if he was hallucinating. It took him far too long to remember the concept of twins, mentally facepalming as the other spoke.

“What do you mean, who the hell am I? Really, not one of your best pranks, Remus.”

“I’m not pranking you. I’m not Remus.”

The other merely blinked, staring at him blankly, until a look of realization crossed his face. “Oooohh! You’re his-”

“Yeah,” Janus snarked, getting back to his feet, “I am. Who are you?”

“Uhm, I’m Roman. Your- I mean, his brother. Remus’ brother. What’s your name?”

He brushed nonexistent dirt off his pajama top, an old and ripped oversized t-shirt, and responded, “Janus.”

“Janice? Huh,” Roman wrinkled his brow, casting a look behind him before stepping in and closing the door behind him, “I could have sworn Remus was gay.”

“I’m not a girl, you deflated airbag. I’m named after a Roman god, and I am very much male.”

Roman was at a loss for words, watching Janus approach Remus’ closet and look through it scrutinizingly. “He has good taste.”

“That’s what you call good taste?” The brother asked, peering over his shoulder at the chaos of ripped cloth and mesh and leather. He was frankly shocked there was any left in the closet, seeing as there was what appeared to be enough for a whole other wardrobe on the floor.

“I wouldn’t personally wear it. I’m more classy than that. But,” He picked out a weathered jean vest, adorned with pins and spikes, “Hot.”

Roman tried to hide his eye roll. “You’ll get along with him well. I came up to get you- er, Remus, but now you, I guess. For breakfast.”

Right on time, a woman’s voice carried up through the house, calling for them. Janus shrugged and followed Roman out the door, abandoning his discovery on a chair and pulling up the first hoodie from the floor. He didn’t generally like to wear oversized things, so he was surprised that the almost blanket-like garment was so comfortable. 

“Ah, took you long enough. It’s getting cold.” Janus took in the downstairs area, a small kitchen and dining room in one, leading off into a living room. It was all comfortable, the sunshine raging through the picture window on the wall closest to the table, highlighting the steam rising off the food. 

Janus stood at the bottom of the stairs as Roman took his seat opposite his parents, gesturing to the seat next to him.

“Remus, sweetie, everything okay?”

For a solid second, he forgot that he was supposed to be Remus and just stared blankly at the woman who had spoken. 

“That’s not Remus. It’s his soulmate.” Roman said absently around a bite of food.

Their mother’s expression turned to delight, standing up immediately and engulfing Janus in a hug that he didn’t return, “Oh, welcome, darling! It’s so nice to meet you! Join us for breakfast, and you can go about contacting Remus later. Sound good?”

“I guess.” He didn’t seem to have a choice either way as he was ushered to sit next to Roman, his plate pushed a little closer to him by the mom. The dad was just taking him in, chewing slowly, and everything in Janus was yelling at him to look away. But Janus was never one to shy away from a stare off, so he kept eye contact, hoping that Remus had the same glare that his own face did. He must have, since the man finally looked back down to his plate.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” Jeez, did this woman always have to use pet names? 

“Janus.” He responded simply, pulling in his first bite of food. It was good, he’d admit, but his own house never had these kinds of… family get-togethers, and to say he was uncomfortable was an understatement. 

“Janice? Huh, must be weird being in a boy’s body, yeah?” Her face clearly conveyed that it was supposed to be a joke, or maybe some fucked up icebreaker, but he was more annoyed by his name. 

“I’m actually-” He was cut off by a sharp kick to the shin, coughing slightly to stifle a curse, and turned to Roman expectantly. The glare out of the corner of his eyes was something Janus wasn’t anticipating, same with the almost imperceivable shake of his head. The message was clear. Forcing a small smile on his face, he turned back to the parents, who were still wholly focused on him. “Yeah, it’s weird for sure.” 

Usually, lies slipped off his tongue with no hesitation. He had to learn to survive, growing up as he had. But this one felt wrong, and so utterly bizarre, that it seemed to burn the roof of his mouth. If that’s what it took though, and he was very sure that Roman’s cutting him off had been to prevent outing Remus, he could take that.

The rest of the meal was filled with small talk between him and the parents, in which he learned that he wasn’t all too far from his own house, where Remus would be waking up. Even so, he didn’t recognize the neighborhood he was in. It was definitely nicer than from where he lived, though, and he doubted that Remus would know where he was either. Poor guy. 

As soon as it seemed socially accepted to leave the table, he did so, loading his dishes into the washer and dashing upstairs. It was only nine in the morning and he was exhausted, dropping onto the bed and noticing the little glow in the dark dinosaurs on the ceiling for the first time. Rather, the remains of glow in the dark dinosaurs. Remus must have taken scissors to them, separating the heads and attaching them to different bodies. He was specifically entranced by a T-Rex with a Pterodactyl head when Remus’ mother’s words flooded back into his mind, and he remembered that he should probably try to get into contact with Remus. One look at the phone on the nightstand, though, and he was getting up with a groan and padding down the hallway. 

It wasn’t hard to distinguish Roman’s room from the other doors; it was the only one with his headshot taped to the front with a star under it, his name written in bold letters across it like a Hollywood star. Janus rolled his eyes and knocked on it, walking in at Roman’s call.

“Can I use your phone?”

“Why?” Roman gave him a hard side eye from where he was splayed across his bed, a script in his hands that he was most likely trying to memorize. 

“I want to call Remus. And unless you know the password to his phone, I can’t get on it.”

“Ah. In full honesty, I don’t even want to know what the cretin has for a password.” With no further convincing, he handed Janus his unlocked phone and went back to scanning the papers, quietly muttering lines to himself while giving Janus the occasion glance. 

He typed in his own number and held the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“It’s odd hearing my own voice through the phone,” were Janus’ first words to his soulmate. The voice on the other line, his voice, gasped. 

“Oh shit! Ooooh shit! I would have called, but I couldn’t remember my own number!”

“That’s Remus for you.”

“Stop eavesdropping,” Janus snarled, taking a step away.

“If it’s loud enough to hear, is it really eavesdropping?”

Janus lowered the volume of the phone in response, flipping Roman off. “Hi, Remus, I presume.”

“I see you’ve met Roman. Pain in the ass, huh?”

“You could say that.”

“Okay, first things first. You’re hella hot.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Second, where am I?”

Janus chuckled, which sounded odd coming from vocal chords he wasn’t used to. “About twenty minutes away from your house. Did you want to meet somewhere to switch back?”

“Fuck yes. I want my teeth back.”

“Your-” Janus ran his tongue along his teeth, noticing for the first time that they felt different than what he was used to. The general shape, the curve, it was all new, and odd, and suddenly it was all he could think about. “Why the hell did you have to say that?”

Remus snickered, “Whoopsies.”

“How about Edison’s Bakery, on Westland? It’s pretty much in the middle.”

Roman gave him a thumbs up, mouthing ‘good choice’, at the same time as Remus almost squealed in glee. Apparently, he liked the place. 

“I’ll take that as a yes. In half an hour?”

“Yessss.”

“Before you hang up, what’s your phone password?” He physically recoiled at the response, earning a snort from Roman. “I’m not typing that.”

“That’s the only way you’re getting into my phone.”

“Hold on, how did you get into mine?” Remus only chuckled, and the line went dead. Janus sighed and tossed Roman his phone back, hitting him squarely in the chest. “Not much of a conversationalist, is he?”

“Remus abides to the laws of social constructs about as well as he abides to the laws of nature. That is to say, not at all.” 

“What should I wear? When I go to meet him?”

Roman looked taken aback. It made him scowl in embarrassment, rolling his eyes at the other’s face. 

“I don’t know what Remus likes to wear, dumbass. Don’t get a big head.”

“Uh, the ripped grey jeans with the patch on the thigh and Green Day shirt are his favorite. He usually wears something meshy underneath, but-”

“I’m not wearing mesh.”

“Figured.”

Like all of Remus’ clothing, Janus learned very quickly, the Green Day shirt was also full of holes. Whether his closet had been raided by moths, or it was just his aesthetic, he didn’t know. He could see why mesh would go well under it, but there was no way he would stoop to that level, so he threw on the jean vest he’d first seen and went back to Roman’s room to get approved. 

Deciding against seeing the parents again (Janus didn’t understand his instinctual hatred for them, but it was strong), he scaled the drainpipe outside Remus’ window and used his soulmate’s phone for directions to the cafe (despite the disgust he felt at typing in the password), since he still didn’t know the exact directions from this strange neighbourhood.  After deciphering the bus map, he hopped on the next one to arrive, grateful that he’d found enough spare change in Remus’ horribly unorganized wallet for bus fare. 

Surprisingly, he wasn’t nervous by the time he got to the cafe. He’d have thought his nerves would have eaten at him already, telling him to just turn around and live as Remus for the rest of his life, but they were surprisingly calm. There was just something about meeting a soulmate that didn’t mess with him. They were soulmates; they were kind of supposed to be perfect for each other. That’s the whole point. 

It didn’t take long for him to spot himself in the almost empty bakery, propped up against the large window in a way he would never stand, tracing the patterns on the ceiling with his eyes. Janus sidled up to him- himself? The concept was enough to make his head spin- and, ignoring the slightly Inception-esque nausea of looking at his own body, smirked.

“You’re getting fingerprints all over the glass.”

Remus spun to him, grinning widely, and without further adieu, grabbed his hand. Janus’ vision tunneled before going completely black. A sound like an intense air rush overwhelmed him despite the fact that there was no wind, his ears popped almost painfully, and his mouth went completely dry, but when he opened his eyes again, he was staring back at Remus. Actually Remus. In his own body and everything.

“Oh, my teeth, how I missed you,” The taller crooned, making a show of running his tongue across the outside of his teeth.

“You’re odd.” Never before had Janus been so happy to hear his voice.

“That I am,” Remus said with too wide a grin, tilting his head to the counter. “I waited for you.”

“Glad you had the decency.”

“C’mon, Jay,” He tightened his grip on Janus’ hand, who was surprisingly okay with the nickname (despite having punched people for using it before), “I love their energy drinks.”

“Their what?” Janus had been going here since he was a little kid, and he knew for a fact they didn’t have energy drinks. The overtired barista heard him though, shooting him a look of pure disdain.

“That’s what he calls it. We like to call it the Abomination unto God. I don’t know how his heart doesn’t give out from it. One pump of every flavor, five shots of espresso, top it off with black coffee.”

“Is that legal?” Janus asked incredulously.

“Technically, I just ask for how many espresso shots they can fit in a cup. She was the one to limit it to five.”

“He asked a trainee on their first day working. They filled the whole cup with espresso.”

“I was vibrating.” Remus said dreamily, as if the memory was particularly fond. Despite Janus’ protests, Remus ordered his monstrosity of a drink, pouring at least three sugar packets into the cup to his rising horror, and sat down happily. It was almost enough to make him not want his coffee anymore, watching his soulmate take a long glug of the sludge in his cup.

“So, Janus,” He said when he finally put the half empty cup back onto the table, “How did you find my family?”

Somehow, Janus could sense the underlying question, taking a sip before responding. “They’re fine. Your parents rub me the wrong way, so to speak, and Roman’s a bit of a prick, but they’re fine.” He watched as Remus tossed his cup back again, fiddling with the sleeve on his cup, “I didn’t out you, by the way.”

That was enough to dampen the mood, Remus suddenly looking sullen as he stared at his hands. He blinked rapidly, taking a shaky breath before responding with a quiet thank you.

“They think I’m a girl. So that sucks.”

“They’re homophobic as shit.”

“I figured that out. Is Roman-”

“Gay as they come.”

Janus swirled his drink in his cup, watching the coffee stain the edges. “What will happen if they find out?”

“I don’t want to think about that. Getting disowned, at best.”

They both went silent, almost in solidarity. What could you say to that?

“Do you live alone?” Remus asked out of the blue, drinking more and having the audacity to chew the sugar from the bottom of the cup. 

“My mom’s out of town for work right now.”

“Dad?”

“Never knew him.”

“Shit.”

“That about sums it up.” The two of them chuckled. 

“So…” Remus started, finishing his concoction and throwing the cup into the garbage can by the sugar station, startling the barista. “We’re soulmates.”

“What led you to that conclusion?” He deadpanned, watching Remus as he took a slow sip of his coffee. 

“Hardy har har.”

“Yes, we’re soulmates,” Janus agreed, “Must we make it complicated?”

“Eh,” The other said with a shrug, “Ride with the tide, see where it goes?”

“Works for me.” As Janus finished off the last of his coffee, he could see Remus’ hands had started to shake violently on the table, and could feel his leg bouncing up a storm underneath it.

“C’mon, get up,” Janus laughed, pulling Remus to his (somewhat unsteady) feet, “Let’s go to the park and get your energy out. Hopefully I can get you home before you crash.”

“Aww, you do care.” Remus cooed, laying his head on Janus’ shoulder as they left the shop.

“I believe that’s the point, dumbass. Now, I’ll race you to the park. Three, two, one, go!”

Remus took off at a full caffeine-induced sprint to the park just down the street as Janus continued his leisurely pace, laughing the further Remus got without realizing he wasn’t following. What had he gotten himself into?

Nothing he didn’t want, that was for sure.

#lywrites #tsshipmonth2020 #dukeceit #remus sanders #janus sanders #roman sanders #sanders sides #sanderssides #sanders sides fanfiction #sanderssidesfanfiction #ts soulmate au #soulmate september #even though its october #soulmateseptember #sanders sides soulmate au

[mystical-flute]

Summer Heat, Boy and Girl Meet (SFWeek Day 2)

Tallahassee AU or Summer Love

AO3 || FFN

@mysteryandnonstopfun

Get a job at Camp Sherwood, her father said. It would be fun, he said.

Emma Nolan was not having fun.

In fact, she wasn’t sure she was going to make it to the end of the month without landing in jail for attempted murder. Or, if things continued to get even worse, actual murder.

The source of her ire?

Neal Gold, the counselor of Cabin 4, and his merry band of lost boys who loved to cause trouble to the girls of her cabin, Cabin 8.

The problem had started on the third day of camp. The kids had started settling in and getting used to the routine, and Emma had become more confident in her abilities as a camp leader.

Neal Gold had noticed this, and had planned a spontaneous water fight between their cabins, ambushing the girls on their way back from canoeing. That was fine, lighthearted enough, and it had been a hot, humid day, so the extra water had, admittedly, felt good.

But then it had all gone downhill.

Shaving cream had been next, as the girls had been coming back to their cabins from an arts and crafts lesson. Luckily (in Emma’s opinion), they’d had to leave their crafts to dry, and nothing had been broken.

The third was scaring her campers when they’d had a late-night bonfire. Emma had planned it perfectly - s’mores, campfire songs, the works. And then Neal and his stupid campers had decided to jump out of the bushes just as they’d started telling scary stories. The boys had somehow constructed a monster costume and had jumped out of the bushes. If the kids hadn’t already been aware of Emma’s sour attitude toward Neal Gold, it would have looked like it’d been coordinated by the two counselors.

The worst prank had been when they’d returned to their cabin from a hike through the forest. It had been so nice to learn about the local wildlife and plant life, that for the afternoon, Emma had nearly forgotten about the trouble she’d been having.

Then they’d made it back to their cabin to find all of their belongings tossed onto the roof, including Emma’s mattress.

Despite her complaints to Director Sherwood, nothing had been done. The pranks had been waved off as harmless summer fun, which meant Emma had only one other option: revenge.

She’d started slowly: releasing a harmless, wild garter snake into the cabin (“Goodness, Gold, you guys should learn to shut your cabin door!”), greasing the entryway so many of them slipped on their way in after their movie night.

Then, he’d caught on to what she was doing.

He’d confronted her about the pranks, she had snapped back at him, and somehow (both of them swore up and down they hadn’t done it), a syrup-drenched piece of french toast from that morning’s breakfast had flown through the air and landed on Director Sherwood’s wife, Regina.

It had all gone wrong from there, a full-blown foodfight exploding in a second. It hadn’t lasted long, but Director Sherwood had known immediately who was likely at fault (even though she and Neal absolutely weren’t), and had forced the two of them to clean the mess hall alone, while he took their cabins out to the zipline and rock wall.

“I can’t believe I got stuck cleaning this with you,” Neal scowled, flicking a piece of bacon at her.

“Hey! I didn’t want to do this either, but you’re the one who’s been pranking my kids all month!” she retorted, scraping drying maple syrup off one of the tables with a groan. “I just wanted to be a good counselor and give the kids a fun summer, but you had to go around disrupting us all the time!”

“You think I didn’t want to do the same? Be a good counselor and have a little fun with the kids in my cabin? Isn’t that why we’re all here?”

Emma tossed a dirty rag into a bucket of equally-disgusting water. “Do you get off on scaring little girls? Alice had to sleep with me the night you dressed up as a knockoff Frankenstein, and we had to look for Ella’s lucky blanket for three hours after you put our stuff on the roof!”

Neal went unusually quiet as he processed her words. “Oh. Emma, I’m - ”

“Sure. You’re ‘sorry’, you promise you’re done, but then the minute I walk out of here, you’re going to be plotting something else,” she scoffed.

“No - I mean it,” Neal threw a sponge down and raised his hands in a show of surrender. “I didn’t know I’d scared any of your kids. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Emma scowled. “I did! Director Sherwood didn’t do anything.”

“Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“Was I supposed to believe you’d listen, after everything that’s happened this month?”

A pause. “Fair point. I’m calling a truce. No more pranks.”

She looked him up and down, trying to find the catch, or to find the lie. She had always been good at it - her father had once told her she was made for detective work.

But she couldn’t find any with Neal, so she sighed, holding out her hand. “Fine. Truce.”

“C’mon, let’s finish this up. If we’re lucky, we might be able to ride the zipline once.”

“Yeah, okay. Sounds like fun.”

Emma’s shoulders ached, from the amount of force used to scrub the mess hall, but by the time they’d finished, they had missed out on the zipline, and the kids were busy practicing their skits for that night’s talent show. They’d missed the pizza that had been called in for lunch, too.

She groaned, rubbing her eyes. “Now what do we do?”

“You hungry?”

“Well, yeah, but - ”

Neal smiled and pulled two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of his pocket.

“Neal!”

“What, did they expect we’d eat wild berries and dirt for lunch? Come on, let’s go sit by the lake. We’ll be able to hear when the rehearsal ends.”

He was becoming a terrible influence, but Emma saw no other option as she followed him, plopping down on a rock and nibbling at the crust of her sandwich.

“Where you from, Emma?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s this little town about two hours from here. I doubt you’ve heard of it.”

“Try me.”

“It’s called Storybrooke.”

Neal choked on the bit of sandwich in his mouth, taking a long drink of water. “No shit? My stepdad is from there.”

She stared at him. What were the odds of that? “What’s his name?”

“Jerkass. Dickwad. Motherfu - oh, sorry, you meant his real name. Killian Jones.”

“Any relation to Adam Jones?”

“Think that’s his twin brother. Why?”

“He’s one of the deputies that work under my dad.”

“He’s a cop?!” Neal laughed, doubling over and wiping a tear from his eye. “Could you send him to NYC? I’m pretty sure my stepdad is some sort of thief. Or worse. Mom keeps getting some really fancy shit and then, wouldn’t you know it, the news comes on with a store being robbed.”

Emma frowned. “Jeez, Neal. You don’t have to live with him, right?”

“Nah. Dad has custody. I live with him most of the time.”

“That’s good at least.”

“Yeah, he and Belle are fine.”

They settled into a comfortable conversation then, and Emma found that underneath all the stupid pranks, Neal Gold wasn’t too bad. And he was, well… kind of cute.

Not that she’d ever tell him that.

“GOLD! NOLAN! I hope you two aren’t slacking off!” Director Sherwood suddenly yelled.

The two jumped up.

“Sorry, Director!” Emma called. “See you later, Gold.”

“See ya, Nolan.”

The rest of the month went smoothly, much to Emma’s relief. The girls had come to enjoy themselves, and she’d made a new friend with Neal.

As she lifted her duffel bag onto her shoulder the last day of camp, she frowned as something hit the ground.

A peanut butter label? How had the label to a jar of peanut butter ended up in her bag?

She carefully unfolded it, feeling her eyes widen as she took in the note scribbled on the back.

Call me if you’re ever in the city. - Neal

#sfweek2021 #swanfire #emma swan #neal cassidy #ouat

[toothpastecanyon]

Noie's Friends, Chapter 3

A collection of oneshots about Noie's years at college.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

_____________________________________________________________

“Hmm… what should I have today? What, should, I, have?”

Tapping on the counter. Noie stretched her shoulders a bit, and tapped the register to stop it going to sleep.

“Huh. You know, I just don’t know any of these teas.” The man scratched his stubble. “You guys sell an awful lot of them, don’t you?”

“Yes. We’re a tea shop, sir.”

“Oooh, sir. I don’t get sir’ed very often…” he peered at her name tag. “Naomi. Oh, that’s a pretty name. Where’s it from?”

She shrugged.

“You don’t know? Oh, I know where my name comes from, John’s a good English name, you know? There was a King John once. In fact, how’s about I write it down on this napkin…”

Noie found herself glancing over his shoulder. If only she could tell him there was a line.

“You can call me up anytime, little lady.” He passed it to her with a wink. “Anyway, where was I… Oh, do you guys have Dr Salt? I think I’ll take that over your weird teas.”

“Okay, we’ve got them in the back.” Noie stepped away. “They’re kind of expensive here, though.”

“Aw, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Hey, don’t forget my napkin!”

Noie headed to the back, which was a small tiled room with an asphyxiatingly-strong stench of various spices. Even after a week she still hadn’t gotten used to it; her eyes watered a tiny bit as she headed to the tiny soda fridge in the corner of the room.

“Somebody wants another soda?” A voice - Sara stepped out from behind a column of spices. “They know there’s a restaurant right next to us, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’s here for a drink.” She tossed the napkin at her. “Check out what he passed me.”

Noie opened the fridge and picked a soda out. She heard a sniggering from behind her.

“Why did he…” Sara snorted. “Why did he write ‘King John winky face’ on it?”

“Oh my god, did he? I didn’t even look at it.”

“Yeah, look at it there. He sounds like a real catch.” She shook her head. “You want me to go out there? I can always chase off a creepy guy.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Thanks, though.” Noie heard the front door jingle. “Oh, sweet, new people!”

“Now you can tell him there’s a line.”

“Hah! Did you read my mind?” She winked at Sara as she opened the door. “Seeya.”

“Silver!”

Noie recognised the group strolling into the shop - and especially the woman in pyjamas making hre way to the counter. “Bea! Isn’t it Magic 101 for Gus and Mina right now? I thought you guys were coming after that.”

“Hey,” The man glanced between them. “About my order-”

“What, you dreading us?” Bea winked at her. “Nah, there was - heh - a little accident in the labs.”

“Is everyone okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” She stabbed a thumb back at Gus, who seemed to be missing his eyebrows. “You should get the story from ol’ fire fingers over there. I hear primary sources make the most engaging narratives.”

The man cleared his throat. “Excuse me-”

“Oh, I’ll ring your soda up for you, it’s five dollars.” Noie grinned at Bea. “Did he blow himself-”

“Five dollars?!”

“-up?”

“I’m not saying nothing! You’ll have to-”

“Excuse me kid, I’m still ordering!” The man shoved Bea a little back. “Hey, what’s the big idea? I could go down to the gas station and get this for a fifth of what I’m paying here! What kind of stupid fucking-”

Bea tapped his shoulder, and he stopped midsentence with a choking gasp. He grabbed his throat gasping for air, eyes bugging out, and started coughing up leaves and loose soil. She pushed him aside, and leaned an elbow on the counter.

“Okay, so what’ll we have today?” Bea slid the soda away. “Obviously not that - jeez, five dollars? Does anyone actually buy those?” A pause. “What?”

Noie was leaning over the counter with wide eyes. The man was on his hands and knees, making shallow gagging sounds. “Uh, Bea? Is he gonna be alright?!”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry about the mess. Shouldn’t have done that spell indoors.” She snapped her fingers, and everything dissolved into air. The man gave a gasp of relief, and curled up into a shuddering foetal position. “Now I’m the bad customer, right? There you go.”

“But is he gonna be okay?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s an old elven children’s prank. I don’t know why he’s being such a baby about it.” She nudged his leg. “Come on, man. I’ve seen elflings half your age take this better than you. Stop crying.”

As Noie watched, Sara came out of the back. She saw her peeking around the corner- as soon as she caught sight of Bea and the others, she came wandering out.

“Oh, hey guys! Hi Bea!”

“How’s it hanging.”

“You’re here early, right? Why do I feel like- oh my stars, Gus, your eyebrows! Your hair!”

Laughter erupted across the table, and Gus went red. Bea chuckled.

“Yeah, tell her the whole thing, dude!” Bea turned back to Noie. “Eh, I think we’ll all just have our usual. You know what that is, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Noie turned towards the brewing machines. “Alright, gimme a second…”

She got out a pot, and from behind her she heard the ongoing conversation.

“So what happened, dude? Did you blow yourself up?”

“I didn’t blow myself up-“

“Yeah, cause it was a candle spell.” There was a chuckle from Bea. “First time I’ve ever heard of a human hurting themselves on one of those.”

“No, no, okay, so I had my hands like this, okay! I was rubbing my forehead from all the Latin, and then suddenly my head feels really warm and Mina starts screaming that my hair’s on fire.”

“Your hair was on fire, dude. It looked like a campfire up there for a second.”

“Yeah, and then Mr Jasko grabbed me and basically threw me into the lab shower. How often does that water get cleaned, do you think? It smelled really bad.”

Noie poured the tea, and turned around as it brewed. She saw Gus rubbing at his eyebrows; Jess was patting his shoulder.

“Ughhhh… I look like a damn thumb.”

“No you don’t, dude. You still have… some of your hair.”

“Oh yeah, that’s great, that’s great. Some of my hair.” He ran a hand through it. “Shit, and I have a date this Friday! Do you think it’ll grow back by then?”

“I can grow things.” Bea gave a smile. “Hair is kinda like moss, right?”

“Oh no, you are not touching my hair, Bea. I know you too well.”

“Yeah, you do. But really, that sucks, man. I’m sorry for you.”

“Maybe I’ll just wear a hat,” Noie heard as she placed all the mugs onto a tray. “Hats are cool right? He’ll think it’s cool, right?”

Noie walked over. “I’m sure it’ll go fine, dude.” She carefully placed the tea right next to Gus’ book. “At least you gotta get a good grade on the fire spell thing, right?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly light a candle, did I.” He flipped his textbook to a certain page, and picked up his tea. “The lab’s probably gonna be redone anyway. I gotta study up for it.”

“Heh, don’t go saying it out loud again-”

“No. No, I won’t, Mina.”

Noie started going around the table, but Sara suddenly noticed her and jumped up. “Oh my gosh! Noie, I should’ve been helping! Let me do that!”

“Oh, it’s fine-”

She took the tray. “No, no, you made it, I’ll do the rest. Bea, were you paying?”

“Yeah, it’s my turn.” Bea turned around, digging in her pockets. There seemed to be a lull in conversation as everyone set up their books and magi-orbs; Noie found herself standing awkwardly behind Gus, looking down at his textbook.

Huh. She’d never actually looked inside a magic textbook before; it looked a lot like any other, with dense pages of information cut up by a few diagrams and headings - here, the headings seemed to be the spell incantations themselves, judging by the fact that they were in latin. There was one incantation next to a drawing of someone lighting a candle with their finger; that was probably the one Gus messed up on.

She frowned. How do you even pronounce Latin? She tried sounding it out in her head, flam-mul-a ex stud-

There was a shout. The next thing Noie knew she was on the floor, her hands twisted behind her back. She opened her mouth, but-

“D’arvit!” Bea’s voice was right next to her ear, louder and sterner than she’d ever heard. “The hell are you playing at, Naomi!”

“Wh-what-”

“Don’t let me ever see you trying that shit again! You know better!”

Noie blinked; she could hardly form words. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about! What did I do?”

“You don’t know?!” A pause. “You don’t know?”

“No!” Noie tried to move her arm, but it wouldn’t budge. “Agh, ugh, I think you’re twisting my wrist!”

There was a moment of silence, and then Bea let go of her completely. She pulled Noie up, and there was something strange in her eyes as she patted her down. She felt along Noie’s wrist, and Noie couldn’t help but notice the whole table had turned around to stare at them.

Noie shivered at that… shivered. She felt strangely cold, strangely drained. She opened her mouth, but nothing really came out.

Mina was the first one to speak. “Uh, Bea,” she started. “What was that about? What happened?”

Bea’s eyes flitted up to her, and then traced across the whole group. She let go of Noie’s arm, and after a moment, Noie could see her stretch a big smile across her face.

“What was that?” Bea asked, and then gave Noie a light shove. “Pranked! It was a prank! You should’ve seen your face, Silver!”

She gave a great laugh, but Noie could still see that glint in her eyes. She didn’t laugh back; no one did.

“Eh? Prank? Nobody up for some good ol’ horsing around?”

“Seriously? That, uh, wasn’t very funny, Bea.” Sara walked over to Noie. “I think you really freaked her out. You freaked me out.”

“Yeah, me too.” Gus frowned at her. “You really shouldn’t tackle someone like that. That hurts.”

“I see your point, I see your point.” Bea raised her hands. “Guess I don’t know my own strength. I won’t do it again… unless, like, hypothetically, you were standing next to some kind of bomb and I had to tackle you to save your life-”

“Dude. Just apologise.”

“Alright, I was getting to it!” She looked at Noie, and held out her hand. “Hey. I’m sorry I freaked you out.”

Noie glanced down at her hand. She gingerly took it. “Uh, no problem, Bea-”

We need to talk.

She froze at a clear voice in her head - Bea’s voice. Still smiling, the elf nodded once, and let go.

“Alright, glad we reached an understanding.” She dusted her hands off. “Now, what was I doing? Oh right, paying for junk! Sara, get over here!”

Sara put a hand on Noie’s shoulder - it was strangely warm, or maybe Noie was strangely cold. “Are you gonna be okay?” She asked. “You’re shivering.”

“Me? Um,” Noie gulped. “Y-yeah, I’ll be, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“You should go stand out in the sun for a bit. I’ll cover for you.”

“Yeah, that… that sounds good. Thanks.”

Sara gave her a quick smile, a squeeze, and then headed off. Noie watched her go, then looked towards the front doors. She stumbled as she made her way over, and struggled a little to open them.

She stepped out into the sun, into the harsh rays beating down on her face, her shirt, her soul…

And still she shivered a little.

She needed… she needed to sit down. Wow.

_____________________________________________________________

The little study session ended much sooner than usual - only a little after the end of Noie’s shift. It was a bit awkward the whole time, with Gus touching his hair and Sara shooting daggers into the back of Bea’s head. For Noie it still felt like an eternity; she’d managed to warm up, but there was still a strange weakness in her knees, a sluggishness in her mind that was hard to shake.

It was strange. The looks Bea kept shooting her didn’t help either. What was going on?

“I think I’ll be heading out,” Gus said, closing his textbook. “Gonna go hat shopping.”

“Oh, if you’re heading out, I might too.”

“Yeah, it’s getting late.”

As everyone started packing up, Noie felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” Sara spoke quietly. “You, uh, want a ride home?”

Noie glanced over at Bea, who was ostensibly cleaning her magi-orb; somehow Noie still felt watched.

“Uh,” she started. “That’s okay, thank you. I think I’m gonna walk home - uh, with Bea.”

Sara frowned. “You sure?”

“Don’t worry,” Bea spoke without looking up. “I won’t tackle her again, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Noie gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah, it’s fine. It’s fine, Sara. Thanks.”

Sara didn’t look entirely convinced, but she hugged her goodbye and left the shop. The rest of the group filtered out shortly after, leaving only the two of them, sitting across from each other.

Bea didn’t immediately talk. Noie tapped her fingers a little on the desk; she made a face, and then opened her mouth.

“Bea-“

Bea stood up. “Walk with me, will you?”

“What?”

“Just follow me.” She reached out an arm. “Take my hand.”

“Why?”

“I wanna show you something.” She flashed a smile. “You’ll like it, I promise. Trust me on this, Silver.”

Noie hesitated… but after a moment, she did take her hand. Bea gently pulled her upright, and led her out the door. Immediately they turned into a back alley, and Noie frowned.

“Uh, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

“Why are you being so weird about this?” She stumbled as they made their way down the edge of a parking lot. “What happened back there? And, uh, not to be rude, but did you do something to me? I feel kinda weird after you tackled me back there.”

“Hmm?” Bea suddenly turned and lead them through a dead bush. “Oh, yeah, sorry about that. It’ll go back to normal in the next few days.”

A twig slapped her in the face. “What? What’ll go back to normal?”

“Your, uh, magic.”

“Magic? What?” Noie could hardly see her through the greenery now. “Okay, where are we going, seriously? There’s got to be an easier way to-“

She stumbled out of the bushes, and blinked hard. Her eyes went wide.

“To…”

They were inside the biggest forest Noie had ever seen in her life. Old growth trees with trunks wider than a car towered way overhead, up into a canopy of leaves that caught all but little flickers of sunlight. Beneath her feet was suddenly ferns and mulch, and all around her were animal sounds - caws, chirps, cheeps, foliage cracking, woodpeckers hammering. This was… Noie looked to Bea, and found her grinning back.

“This…” she managed. “This isn’t Arizona.”

“Sure it is! Also it isn’t. Don’t worry about it.”

“Did you teleport us?”

“No, no.” Bea let go of her hand. “This is, uh… well, there isn’t really an English word for it - let’s call it the Elfscape!” She snorted. “Stars, the Elders can never catch me calling it that.”

“Elfscape? Like the Mindscape-”

“It’s complicated, it’s, uh… well, kinda, but it’s more physical than the Mindscape. Or maybe it’s the Earth’s Mindscape?” She shrugged. “Look, it’s complicated even for elves, I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Oh, okay?”

“Also, uh, if you see anything between the trees, try not to stare at them.”

“What?” Noie followed her gaze, and saw a shadowy figure far in the distance. There was something eerily… angry, there - she could feel it like a pit in her stomach. She looked back at Bea. “Uh, what’s that?”

“Another elf. They’re probably fine - they just get a bit touchy about outsiders coming here.” Bea gave a laugh. “I’m gonna get an earful about it when I next visit for sure.”

Noie frowned. “Then, uh, why’d you bring me here?”

“Because you are gonna test something for me real quick.”

“Test something?”

“Yeah!” Bea touched her hand, and gently lifted it up. “Alright, that goes - yeah, there. And point for me; any finger’s fine. Yeah, that looks good!”

Noie found herself pointing straight forwards. She raised an eyebrow at Bea. “Uh, okay?”

“Now, I want you to say flammula ex studio.” A small flame appeared on Bea’s thumb; she winked when Noie’s eyes went wide. “Can you do that?”

“Are you trying to get me to do magic? I don’t think I can do that kinda stuff; don’t you have to really practice for it? And-“

“Just! Just indulge me for a second, Silver.” Bea stepped back. “Try it. Please?”

Noie made a face at her, then turned to look forwards again. She felt a little ridiculous standing here like this, but Bea shot her another smile and she sighed.

“Okay… fine. Fine. What do I have to say again?”

“Flammula ex studio. Whenever you’re ready.”

Noie grimaced. “Okay, here goes nothing. Flammula ex studio.”

She’d hardly finished the incantation when she felt a rush of heat. One moment she was standing there, the next all she could see was a great ball of fire coming out of her fingertip.

“Wha- oh, shit!” Noie jumped back and instinctively tried to shake it off. “Bea! Bea! Help, I’m on fire! I’m on-”

With a chuckle, Bea walked over and put a hand over the flames. They seemed to extinguish it, and Noie was left standing there, eyes wide, heart thudding in her chest. Distantly she could hear Bea laughing.

“Now that is what you call no flow control!” Bea patted her shoulder. “You really haven’t done magic before, huh? Wow!”

Noie gulped, and tried to steady her breathing. She forced herself to meet Bea’s eyes, and opened her mouth. “W-w-what was that? Why did th-that happen?”

“Why’d you think? Magic!”

“Magic?”

“You better believe it! Seems like you’ve got a bit more juice in your tank than the average human! A lot more juice, but of course,” Bea winked at her. “I already knew that.”

Noie blinked. “You did?”

“Course I did! Magic’s not subtle, Silver. It’s written all over you!” She patted her shoulder. “Honestly, the only thing I’m surprised by is that you didn’t know. Don’t human schools have those little magic exams in elementary school these days?”

“Magic exams?” Noie frowned. “I don’t remember those… but I was exempt from magic stuff as a kid. Dipper has magic sensitivity, so he-” She glanced at Bea. “Oh. That was, uh, his cover when we were growing up.”

“Huh, not a bad cover.” She rubbed her chin. “Well, that definitely clears it up, but that’s still nuts to me that you didn’t know. I guess that’s just me talking, though; I dunno what I’d do without magic.”

Noie laughed a bit at that, but the sound faded away quickly. She found herself looking down at her hands, rubbing her fingers. They still felt warm, and she frowned.

“Bea?”

“Yeah?”

“You said…” Noie clasped her hands against her chest. “You said I had more magic than most humans.”

“I did.” She chuckled. “Gus’d have a way worse day if he could do what you can.”

“But - how? Is it just… random chance? Do you know?”

“Do you know?”

Bea had that strange shine in her eyes again. Noie hesitated as she stepped a little closer.

“I’m asking you seriously.” Bea was studying her face; after a moment, she looked away. “You know, it’s a common joke that humans suck at magic, but you know why they do?”

“Why?”

“Cause of the Transcendence. Or at least, all that time leading up to the Transcendence, living in a world without magic. Y’know, elves were in their forests, mermaids were in the seas, all your city preters kept themselves under wraps.” Bea touched a budding leaf, and watched it open. “Magic follows magic, and for thousands of years, you guys just weren’t having much sent your way. Now you’re playing catch up.”

She looked at Noie with a knowing smile.

“So that leaves us two possibilities,” she said, and pushed off the tree. “Either you’re just a real lucky human - and that happens! - oooor, someone in your family was a little more in touch with their magic, if you know what I mean.”

“More in touch-” Noie started, and then she stopped dead. Oh.

Oh, she knew exactly where she got this from.

“Anyway, you don’t have to say anything. Just telling you what might be going on” She passed by Noie. “You wanna head home? I’m thinking I should probably take you back to your brother before he thinks I trapped you in an alternate dimension or something.”

“But- what do I do?”

Bea raised her eyebrows. “Do about what?”

“I-I nearly burned everyone back at the tea shop without even realising!” Noie stammered over her words. “What if that happens again? I was lucky you were there - I don’t know how to control that on my own!”

“Hey, don’t panic. Panic makes magic explode, I’ve heard.”

“Wh- that’s not funny, Bea!”

“I know, I know.” She chuckled to herself. “Couldn’t help myself, but, uh, if you’re asking for serious advice, I guess you could just make sure you never read anything that sounds like a spell again. Oh, also, since you don’t have to speak it out loud, try not to think too hard about that spell I taught you, flammula ex studio.” She gave a sly grin. “Yeah, don’t even think about flammula ex studio, don’t even think the words flammula ex studio, don’t-”

“Please stop.”

“Okay, or what you could do - and I think this is better - you could maybe learn some basic flow control so you stop going full blast on every random spell you see. It’s not hard to learn, I bet I could give you a handle on it in a couple hours.”

Noie just stared at her. Stared, as she reached out a hand.

“C’mon, Silver. Let’s get you home.”

After a moment, Noie took a deep breath, in, and out. She swallowed, and then she took Bea’s hand. Bea smiled, and then took them through a bush; they made their way through the greenery, through cool leaves brushing past her face, and then came out in the garden bordering Noie’s dorm. She looked behind her, and saw not a forest but a shrub and the corner of a building. There was a chuckle from Bea.

“Yeah, don’t tell the others about that little trick. They’ll be asking me for shortcuts until the end of time.”

“Hah, yeah-”

“Wait.” Bea held up a hand. “Do you hear that?”

“You!”

A shout. Someone was stomping over to them - someone with a suit, glowing eyes, and a shadow that sported wings. Noie blinked.

“Dipper?”

“You’re okay!” Dipper hugged her tight, then turned to Bea. “Okay, where’d you take her?”

“Back to her dorm, of course.”

“Don’t play games with me, mortal.” He stabbed a finger at her. “I just spent the past hour tearing through pocket dimensions to see where the hell my sister went. Where’d you take her?”

Noie patted his shoulder. “Dipper…”

“Nah, it’s okay, it’s a fair question.” Bea brushed his finger away. “It’s just a little hangout place for elves, it was totally fine.” She chuckled. “I’m glad that’s the part you noticed - you know, not the part where I totally broke her arm a tiny bit. I thought I was a dead girl walking there.”

“You did what?!”

“You broke my arm?”

“See? She didn’t even notice before I healed it, it was fine.”

Noie watched Dipper make several attempts to speak. He clenched his clawed fists - and then, with some effort, unclenched them, and pinched his forehead.

“You… make it very hard for me to like you, you know?”

“Aww, I try.” Bea winked at Noie. “Anyway, I oughtta be heating out.” She took a step away, and then clicked her fingers. “Oh, you know who else could totally help you with magic? Demon boy over here’s pretty good at it, I’ve heard.”

“Magic?” Dipper looked over at her. “You want to learn that? I could definitely help.”

Noie stared back.

“What?”

“You knew I could do magic too?”

“Yeah?” Dipper frowned at her. “I could always tell, why?”

There came a chuckle from Bea as she walked away. “Yeah, you two have fun now! Bye!”

_____________________________________________________________

“So, you had a bit of a day.”

“Tell me about it.” Noie unlocked her dorm’s door and collapsed into bed. “I can’t believe you knew this whole time. You didn’t think to mention it?”

“I mean, no!” Dipper closed the door; immediately he shed his human form, and floated close to her. “I’m sorry, I just - I didn’t think you were that into magic!”

“Yeah, and why wasn’t I into magic when I was a kid again?” She huffed as his face dropped. “No, that’s not a- you don’t have to feel bad about it, but that’s just the truth. I didn’t know about this because of your magic sensitivity.”

“Yeah…” Dipper looked down. “No, you’re right, you’re right.”

Silence hung there for a second. Noie rolled her eyes, and pulled him into bed.

“Hey!”

“Hey yourself.” She hugged him close. “Stop looking so sad; seriously, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m not really ‘into’ magic anyway; I was only annoyed because I’m not ‘into’ accidentally blowing myself up if I read some Latin.”

Dipper snorted at that, and she smiled. Stared up at the ceiling.

“Yeah…” she said. “It’s not important to me, you know? It’s not something I grew up with, or even knew that much about. Even if I had found out earlier… how much would it really matter, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” Noie looked at him. “I know where it came from, you know?”

“From where?”

“You don’t know?”

Dipper stared blankly.

“From Pinni, of course.” Noie made a face. “From… my mother.”

“Your mother?” He sat up. “Oh, right, I remember now! She was a selkie, right?”

“Apparently.”

“Yeah, yeah, I see that now. I totally forgot you’re a half-selkie-”

“I’m not a half-selkie, you can’t be half selkie.” Noie cut in, and then stopped herself. “Sorry, it’s just- it's a hereditary enchantment, not a separate species. And I'm long past the age when they were supposed to do the skin thing and everything, so I'm not a selkie, I'm fully human."

Dipper was looking at her askance; suddenly Noie heard how that came off. Her cheeks flushed.

"Not that it'd be bad if I was! I'm not, like, ashamed of it or anything, but it doesn't affect me all that much!” She gave a shrug. “Seriously, I live in a desert. I've never been to the ocean in my life - heck, I don't even know how to swim. Why would I go around telling people 'ooh, did you know I'm half selkie?' That'd be so obnoxious."

Dipper didn’t say anything to that. She rose to her feet.

“It’s just - what do I know about any of this, right? What do I know about magic, about selkies - fuck, what do I even know about my own mom?” She gestured at him. “At least Leon left videos, right! At least you and David met him, right! But who the fuck is Pinni? All I ever got was, I dunno, she’s nice? She’s shy?” An angry shrug. “Apparently she came from the ocean, whatever the fuck that means, so it sounds like I’d have a hell of a time tracking down any family on that side!”

“Noie?”

“It’s just - I’m fine that I never met these people, okay? They’re literally strangers to me, I don’t know why people expect me to feel devastated about them or something.” She stared at her hands. “I guess I just… that everything could’ve been so different, you know?”

A pause. Dipper said nothing, and she sighed.

“I could’ve known about magic. I could’ve actually met my parents. I could’ve been a fucking selkie - how weird is that?”

She chuckled, but then she looked back at Dipper. He had tears in his eyes, and she watched him hang his head.

“You could’ve,” he said, softly. “I’m sorry, Noie. If it weren’t for me, you could’ve had so, so much better-”

“No!”

Dipper glanced up sharply. She ran back to his side.

“Dipper, that’s - that’s not what I mean!” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You know, I think about how stuff could’ve been, a-and it scares me! I don’t want that!”

“What do you mean? You deserved so much better, you deserved to know your parents-”

“And if I had them, I would never have had you!” Noie snapped. She put her arms around him. “I don’t care if it would’ve been better. I don’t want to imagine myself in a timeline where you aren’t my brother, okay?”

Dipper hugged her back - lightly for a moment, but then he squeezed.

“And there’s… it feels like if just one thing had changed, I would never have known you at all, and I hate that… you know?”

There was a thick chuckle. “Oh, you might have known me. You’re still a Mizar, after all.”

“But you wouldn’t have been my brother.” Noie hugged him tighter. “And I’m so glad you are. I’m so glad. I love you, Dipper.”

She heard him say something like “I love you too”, but it was too shakey to make out, and when he buried his face in her shoulder, she felt wet tears on her shirt. She smiled at that, at his wings enveloping her, and just held him for a long, long time.

It was a warm kind of quiet. Neither of them quite let go, but eventually Noie shifted her leg, and Dipper pulled back a little to wipe his eyes. They looked at each other, and laughed a little.

“We’re a pair, aren’t we?” She said, and Dipper gave a chuckle.

“We are, we are…” He cleared his throat. “So, uh, I take it you aren’t up for magic lessons?”

“Huh? Oh, no…. Bea was right, I probably should learn the basics.” She brushed some hair out of her eyes. “You know, just so I don’t go blowing myself up accidentally.”

“Yeah.”

“After that… I dunno, maybe it’ll be fun? We’ll see how it goes.”

“I liked learning magic.” Dipper said. “Of course, my magic’s kind of… different from yours, but I think you’ll like it.”

“What, I won’t be making demon deals? Darn.”

“Oh, very funny.”

“I’m hilarious,” Noie said, and lay back down in her bed. Looked out her window, at the setting sun. After a moment, Dipper laid down next to her, and that warm silence descended on both of them again.

Words were needed no more. They held each other like that as Noie’s eyes drooped, as she drifted peacefully to sleep in her brother’s arms.

#transcendence au #naomi argenta #toothwrites #Noie's Brother #magic #worldbuilding

[stab-the-son-of-a]

Whumpers Only

I wish I could explain how this got away from me but I have no words. Not quite a caretaker, so, sorry anon, but here you go.

CW: Brief drug and alcohol mention

The itemized call history that crossed Detective Vance’s desk is deceptively extensive and several pages thick, despite being only for a few months’ span of time. Forensics still have their hands all over the cell phone itself, and the detective has a few choice words they could say about the forensic team’s work ethic, but they’re not in the practice of layering their insults in honey. Their bread and butter is to to dig and root around for information, like some sort of truffle pig, and their tongue is regularly knotted. The detective finds themself quite defective when it comes to spinning the same pleasant, nuanced banter, certainly not enough to keep up with the man down in forensics with the sugar sweet smile.

So, itemized call list it is. It took the detective an obscene amount of time to cross reference the numbers against every possible database and to confirm the pattern to the suspect's behaviors and narrow down which numbers are legitimate. Most of all, which of these numbers matches the spurious rumor of a hotline.

A ‘whump’ hotline. There are many, many similar mentions in certain circles and apparently coded messages sent through various forms of advertising, and yet, this is the closest Jesse has come to interacting with that sphere. They’re not sure, but they think that might be why they still can’t bring themself to finish dialing.

The information has always been there, readily accessed in the same sort of way drugs and alcohol are accessible - a thinly veiled barrier, a little social based pressure to avoid or partake depending on the circles. For years, Jesse has been a teetotaler and avoided whump content in any respect, and kept that influence from their life.

It’s odd to abandon that part of their life, that internal badge of never having indulged.

It’s for a case, however, so they finally stop their waffling and dial.

Not long after, on the second ring, someone picks up. “Hello and thank you for calling 1-877-WHMP-NOW, the whump specialist hotline.” The person on the other end, an operator of some sort, offers a friendly greeting.

Off balanced by just how cordial the other person sounds, Jesse hesitates a moment to collect themself. They just have to pretend to want to be a whumper. That couldn't be too hard. “Um…” they mumble, then clear their throat. “Um, hi, I... want to learn to whump. My name is-”

“Oh. Excuse me, I’ll have to place you on hold while a representative finishes with another client.”

The cheery hold music is far more underwhelming than anything else and Jesse frowns at the phone, as if it’s the device’s fault, before sighing and settling on their couch, one leg tossed over the arm while they wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Eventually they start mirroring the words of the automated voice recording, interjecting with their own commentary in the brief pauses between statements.

“All our lines are busy at the moment.”

“And here at Whump Corp or whatever these moments last a lifetime,” Jesse snorts as they try yet again to find another position on the couch. Their curly hair serves little by way of cushioning from the carpet as they sit upside down. The phone sits a few inches away from their head, speakerphone enabled, and Jesse crosses their hands over their stomach and their ankles behind the back of the couch.

Undeterred, because of course, the message continues, “Please remain patient. Your time is very important to us. We will be with you momentarily.”

“Momentarily means for a short period,” Jesse corrects under their breath. It’s a small pet peeve, something that normally wouldn’t have drawn their attention either, but as they hear the same spiel for the dozenth time, it’s like getting the last final small pebble thrown in their face- just enough to burst the dam. "Not in a short period of time."

“We are currently experiencing greater than usual call volume. Continue to hold the line, and you will be connected as soon as possible.”

“How many people can there even be calling at 11am on a Tuesday?” Gravity draws Jesse’s blood into their head until the pressure and dizziness build uncomfortably. They roll off the couch and root around in their mini fridge for a drink. At this volume, they can hear the same three bar hold music repeat yet again, despite the distance. Cracking the seal on their iced tea, Jesse settles cross legged beside the cellphone. “Don’t whump on company time, guys, jeez.”

“Just a moment please, the next available team member will be there for you shortly.”

Letting out a drawn out groan, Jesse lies back and stares up at the ceiling. It’s been hours. “Starting to think I’m waiting for the next available team member to be born.”

Click. Jesse bolts upright, fumbling with the phone and nearly yeeting it across the room in their haste.

“All of our employees are currently busy assisting other clients,” the new voice announces. The faint static and electric tone warns Jesse that they’ve simply stumbled into another robot. “Your call and phone number has just been noted and a representative will call you back as soon as possible. We thank you for your understanding.”

“What?” That doesn’t make any sense. Jesse runs a hand through their curls, only to freeze as the line goes dead. “What?! No! I did not just sit through hours of happy fun time hold music just to get hung up on by a robot!”

Except that’s exactly what just happened.

They stare down at their screen in acute betrayal. What now? Try again? Their number is now in a whump call center database of some sort.

-

Half an hour after the call disconnected, Jesse still hasn’t moved from their position. Their mind is a blur as they try to figure out what it is they really ended up doing- if they would have to explain themself and the call to anyone- their family, friends, service provider, work. They don’t even know if anyone will know, let alone if they will care.

The house is absolutely silent, the muted television still playing in the background as they’d forgotten to turn it off or to return the volume.

Silent until the phone rings. Shock and no small amount of recklessness has Jesse answering the unknown number.

“Hello, and thank you for holding!” It’s the operator from before- Jesse recognizes the faint impediment or accent that sharpens the glottal sound of their h’s.

“I wouldn’t call that holding,” Jesse grumbles.

Either not hearing them, or not addressing their commentary, the operator continues, “At this time, I'd like to let you know that this call may be recorded for quality assurance and training purposes. Please answer the following survey questions.”

“I’ve been on hold for hours and you want me to perform a survey? About what? I haven’t even gotten helped!”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, friend. Were you highly satisfied with your service experience?”

Bewildered, Jesse cries, “No!”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Did you receive the result you needed from your service interaction?”

“What interaction?!” Are they in the Twilight Zone? Are they still speaking English? Did they have a stroke and now they’re mumbling incoherently? What sort of madness was this, an elaborate prank?

“Thank you for your response. Did you receive friendly service?”

“I didn’t get any service! Rude would have been preferable!”

“Your feedback has been noted.”

Jesse groans again and scrubs their face.

“Was our service timely and convenient?”

“Not on your life!”

“Thank you for your responses. Now, would you recommend our service to others?”

They can feel their head pulsing and pounding, a twitch behind their temple and their eyebrow jumping, but as soon as they hang up, their blood pressure begins to lower with a rush of relief.

Their iced tea now room temperature and bitter, Jesse takes a few more sips and leans against the couch, resting their neck against the cushion. “What a disaster,” they sigh.

After a few seconds of blissful silence, their phone goes off again. Swiping the decline button with a vicious smirk, they return to enjoying what more of their day they can.

Said enjoyment ends with another call, and another.

“Fine! Hello?”

“I’m sorry, it seems we were disconnected. Please finish providing your feedback so we can improve our services.”

“My feedback is that this was an exercise is madness! You kept me on hold for over two hours, but you’ve repeatedly called me for a stupid survey when before you couldn’t give me the time of day!”

“I’ve very sorry you were not satisfied with the level of response and attentiveness. You are welcome to try calling again tomorrow-”

“Absolutely no-”

“As I was saying, Mx. Vance, you may call the hotline again tomorrow during regular business hours. Thank you for completing the survey and for calling 1-877-WHMP-NOW. Have a whumpderful day!”

“A pun?” Jesse tosses their phone to the couch and storms off to the bathroom to wash the rage and boiling heat from their face. “All that for a stupid pun?!”

-

Over at the call center, Gladys and Fran sit huddled around the phone, Gladys actually sitting on the desk and perched precariously on the edge. The speaker button still flashes from the abrupt disconnection.

“Did you hear them?” Gladys roars with laughter, holding her aching ribs. It took everything in her willpower and then some to keep quiet, both while listening to the detective while they were on hold, but especially while Fran spoke with them. Now free, she lets loose, uncaring of who else hears her. “Oh God, oh man, I’m gonna bust a rib. Babe, you’re the best.”

“I’m actually proud of that pun. Like, really proud.” Fran takes out their pen and quickly scribbles that one down.

“Uhhh, Fran, I’m pretty sure Craig in finance already-”

They raise up one finger imperiously and continue to write. “Let me have my moment, Glady-girl. Just this once.”

Smiling, she rolls her eyes and slides off the desk. “Since you gave me the best lunch break surprise ever, want to head down to the cafe?”

Fran takes a final quick look at their work space, how messy and disorganized it is now that it’s no longer Gladys’s chair, considers the amount of time left in their shift and how long this high of a well played prank might last, and wheels back from their desk. “Lead the way!”

“Oh, no, you’re my hero,” she insists, dramatically bowing to allow them to go ahead of her. The angle is perfect for a quick peck on the cheek before they make their way down the corridors.

#wcc series #wcc fran #wcc gladys #wcc detective jesse vance #alcohol mention #drug mention #anonymous #kissing cw

[stardust-walker]

The (Victorious) Princess Bride

Summary: Scott Lang is tasked with one of his hardest missions ever. Keep a trio of kids occupied as their parents decide to go on date nights. Never one to turn down a challenge or miss the chance to impress one of his superhero idols, Scott accepts. After his usual tricks for amusing kids fall through, he falls back on one of the classics: a story. If princesses, sword fighting, pirates, Valkyries, and magic are what it takes to keep these kids from tearing the house down, then he accepts.

Infinity War/ Endgame never happens. Mentions of chaotic dad Tony Stark. Loki x Sigyn.

Scott Lang was pretty sure that he’d never felt fear like he did when he had probably the hardest job thrust on him. Babysitting. He had agreed because he felt he didn’t have a choice along with not wanting to get on the wrong side of some of the most powerful people in the world. Or the Worlds. Whatever.

“What am I supposed to do? The one thing I got fell through!”

“You mean they didn’t like crawling around on the ground and pretending to be you,” the smooth voice on the other end of the phone jokingly mocked him.

Scott’s mouth dropped open before he snapped it shut again. “Thanks for the support, Hope. I appreciate it. You know what the one kid said? He looked me dead in the eye and said ‘my brother can turn into an ant without a suit’” He raised his voice slightly to imitate the child.

“You mean you’re regretting watching these kids that you know nothing about?”

“I didn’t say that!”

Hope let out a small laugh. “What? Are you afraid that Cap is gonna hear you and revoke your Avengers membership punch card or something?”

“Wait there’s a punch card?” Silence on the other line. “One of the boys ate like 3 hamburgers and I swear he’s still hungry!”

“Why don’t you try telling them a story that’s not about you?” The voice of an older man cut in and caused Hope to laugh at him once more.

Scott rolled his eyes and thought for a moment. “I have an idea!” Before anyone else could say anything, he hung up his phone and shoved it into his pocket. If these kids wanted a story, he would tell them one of the greatest of all time.

~

“The Princess Bride?” It was amazing how a 10 year old boy could make his soul recoil like that. 

The boy’s black haired twin spoke up, “It sounds boring. Mom told us you were a jokester. I thought you would be funny.”

“Wow tough crowd,” Scott mumbled under his breath. “It’s not boring, I swear!”

“That’s what you said about the first ant story!”

“What’s your story about?” The only girl in the room narrowed her eyes with slight suspicion as Scott lowered himself down on a chair across from the couch where all three children sat.

He pointed at the girl with a bright smile, “I’m glad you asked! It’s got everything! Princesses!” The girl’s eyes lit up with a little bit of excitement. “Sword-fighting! Torture!” The first boy seemed a little more intrigued now. “Pirates! Magic! Giants! Extravagant chase scenes!”

The black haired boy leaned forward slightly on the couch. “Has it got a Valkyrie?”

Oddly specific question. “Sure does!” Sure I can fit that in somewhere.

The two boys nodded at each other and Scott seemed to relax a little bit too. He finally had a captive audience! “Alright our story starts in Florin.”

“Where’s Florin? Is that on Midgard?”

“It’s called Earth, you dummy!” The girl rolled her eyes.

“Is it on Vanaheim?” The blonde boy sounded a little more interested this time.

“Earth! It’s on Earth. Jeez.” He suddenly got an idea and like most of his hair-brained ideas, he decided to run with it full speed ahead.. “You know what...our story starts in Asgard…”

~

Sigyn was raised on a small farm in the country of Asgard. Her favorite pastimes were riding her horse and tormenting the farm boy who worked there. His name was Loki and he was a prince. His parents had thought him and his brother to be too reckless and had sent them out into the world to work. A good king had to be modest and have it all together after all. 

She rarely ever called him by his name, though.

Nothing gave Sigyn as much pleasure as having the privilege to boss a prince around.

“Farm boy,” Sigyn skipped around her horse as she called out for Loki in a sing-song voice. Her eyes seemed to light up with a little bit of mischief as she finally spotted him. “Polish my horse’s saddle. I want to see my face shining in it by the morning.” She finished with a bright smile.

“As you wish,” Loki nodded slowly before he returned to his work. She could never tell if he was plotting something or not and that just egged her on even more. Part of her honestly wanted him to play a prank on her or something to make her life a little more interesting. 

As you wish was all Loki would say to her. While she appreciated the manners, sure, she did half of the things she did to really egg him on. She’d heard he liked to make mischief but she hadn’t seen him do anything since he’d been sent there. No cards tricks, no missing socks, nothing!

But one day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying As you wish, what he was really saying was that he loved her! I know right? Like come on, dude. Just say it. And even more amazing was the day she realized she loved him too.

“Farm boy,” Sigyn turned as soon as she heard the footsteps enter and instantly cursed herself for not having a task for him. Her brown eyes flickered up towards the ceiling and she spoke without thinking. “Fetch me this pitcher? I’m afraid I can’t reach.” Now that was a lie but she didn’t really care at the moment.

Loki raised a dark eyebrow and seemed to have the same thought process. She half expected him to refuse and leave her standing there feeling ashamed but he took a step forward. Her eyes didn’t leave him as he reached up and clutched the pitcher in his hand and began lowering it towards her. She looked away for a moment and then Sigyn laughed. The pitcher wasn’t in Loki’s hand anymore. Instead, he held a flower out for her.

“As you wish.”

~

“Lame!”

“It’s not lame! It’s nice,” the young girl frowned as she eyeballed her friend. Scott was almost more afraid of her than he was of the two boys which was saying something.

“Besides, you didn’t even let me get to the good part yet! Jeez! It gets better I promise.”

“I hope you keep your promise, Bug-Man.”

#loki x oc #loki x sigyn #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki #my writing #yet another idea that wouldn't leave my ass alone until i did at least one small thing with it im sorry fam #i know its probably shit but u know what #we love and respect scott lang in this room too #what an absolute mad lad #loki x reader

[softest-cinnamon-roll]

Can you do a reddie secret admirer one shot? I’ve been starved for one and I love your work

“Gimme, let me see that,” Bev moved forward and ripped the note out of Eddie’s hands, bringing it up to her face to read what it said. “This is some adorable stuff, Eddie. Do you have any idea who it might be?” She passed the note back to him before leaning against Ben. All of the Losers were gathered in the clubhouse, hanging out post school to regenerate.

Eddie shook his head, “I really have no idea. I don’t know anyone who might be able to write nice notes like this and I also have no clue who would...put this much effort into something like this for me.” He shrugged, slipping the note back and forth between his fingers. “It’s probably a joke, anyway. One day they’ll reveal themselves and it’ll be this huge joke.”

It was that sentence that made Richie perk up from the hammock, the comic he was reading falling into his lap, “Woah, Eds. You don’t know that. This person might genuinely be into you. We can also collectively agree that it’s a guy? No girl would be able to write shit like that.”

“Exactly, that’s exactly why I know this whole thing is a huge joke!” Eddie snapped, whipping his head around to Richie. “The last thing I need is for you to start...making fun of me for this. Sometimes your jokes are well timed and appreciated and other times, like now, everyone would just prefer it if you kept your mouth shut.” Around him, the loser's jaws dropped but none of them said anything as Eddie grabbed his stuff and left the clubhouse, the note scrunched up in his hand.

He was halfway home when Eddie heard the familiar crunching of Richie’s shoes following behind him. Thanks to his long legs, Richie was able to catch up to Eddie quite quickly, which was annoying when he wanted nothing more than to get away from his friend. “Eds, hey, wait up!” He sounded out of breath, as though he had been running and that made Eddie turn around, his eyes narrow. “Thank you, jeez!”

“What do you want Richie? Can’t you take a hint that I want to be alone?” Eddie snapped, crossing his arms across his chest. “Go back to the clubhouse, I’m fine. I just want to be alone okay?” He hoped that would be enough to satisfy Richie and he’d turn around to head back, but he wasn’t in luck as Richie stayed put. “Look, I’m sorry I snapped at you, I’m just...I know this is a joke, but is it really stupid of me to want it to be real?”

Richie’s jaw dropped just a little and he ran his hand through his hair, “Eds, of course it’s not. I wasn’t making fun of you back there when I suggested it might not be a joke. I was serious. We’re not in middle school anymore, we’re High School seniors, people have grown up and you...you’re a catch Eds. Any guy would be lucky to have you on their arm.”

Eddie bit his lip, looking from the ground and back to Richie, who was still staring at him. “You really think whoever sent these could be...actually into me?” He asked, voice quiet and Richie was quick to nod his head in agreement. “Why wouldn’t they tell me who they are though?”

At that, Richie chuckled a little, “Uh, well there’s loads of reasons Eds. Maybe he’s a little scared that you won’t feel the same once you find out who it is? Maybe you guys are friends already and he doesn’t want to ruin anything. I mean, you are friends with more than just the losers now. You have all the guys on the track team, and the student council.”

“You think it might be someone on the track team?” Eddie asked, suddenly feeling a lot more nervous about the whole situation. The guys on the track team, minus Ben, were all somewhat popular at their High School. “I mean...wow,” he ran a hand through his hair. “Thanks, Richie, you really made me feel a whole lot better about this thing.”

Richie smiled and if Eddie was paying attention, he would have realised it wasn’t a proper Richie smile. “No problem Eds,” he winked. “Anything for my favourite Loser.” He turned to look back towards the clubhouse. “I left my bag and everything back there, so I’m going to go get it. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Eddie nodded, taking a few steps back. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Richie.” He turned to head back, when he heard Richie call his name. He turned back around, a questioning expression on his face. “Yeah?”

Instead of saying anything, Richie just shook his head and waved Eddie away, “Nothing, see you later Eds.” He turned around and walked away. As he did, Eddie smiled at him, before he turned around, heading home.

* * * * *

“You gotta tell him, Rich,” Stan spoke from next to Richie as he rummaged through his locker. He had been putting secret admirer notes through Eddie’s locker for three months now, and every day he told Stan he would tell Eddie it was him. He never did, he always chickened out when he got even a little close. “If you don’t tell him, he’s really going to think it’s a game and you’ll lose your chance.”

Richie slammed his locker shut and rested his head against the metal, banging his head, “I know, fuck, I know. I just- what if he freaks out and I lose him? What if he laughs at me...or worse screams at me for making a joke out of him. It’s not a joke Stan, I love him!”

Stan raised an eyebrow and looked down to the note that was in Richie’s hand, “Don’t tell me you love him, you need to tell him that.” He looked up and over to where Eddie’s locker was, where he was talking to one of the guys on the track team. “I’d also be quick about it because to me, it looks like Danny is going to ask Eddie to prom.”

Eyes wide in panic, Richie whipped his head around to see that Danny was, in fact, talking to Eddie close and intimately. A feeling of jealousy, not that Richie would admit that, took over him and he grabbed his back, striding over to where his best friend was and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “Morning Eds, what a beautiful day it is right?” He asked, before looking up at Danny who was looking awkward. “Oh, hey Danny.”

“Hey Richie,” Danny muttered. “Uh, sorry but Eddie and I were having a conversation, could we have a little privacy?” He asked and Richie scoffed, tightening his arm around Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie seemed to notice, as he looked up at him, frowning slightly.

“Anything you have to say to Eddie you can say to me, right Eds?” Richie asked, looking down at him to meet his curious gaze. Eddie frowned once more but nodded and turned back to Danny to hear what he had to say. “See? So ask away.”

Eddie sighed, “I’m sorry about him, you were about to say something, Danny? What’s up?” He was smiling now, as though he was waiting for Danny to say something life changing and the green eyed monster flared up in his stomach.

Danny glanced at Richie before he turned back to Eddie, “So I heard that you’ve been receiving notes in your locker from a secret admirer?” Richie froze up a little, but neither of them noticed as Eddie perked up. “Well, it’s me. I’m the one sending the notes and I was hoping I’d be able to take you out on Friday and if it all goes well, take you to Prom next week?”

The students in the hallway all stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the three of them. Eddie’s eyes were wide and his cheeks red as he looked from his locker, to the note in his hand and then back to Danny. Richie, on the other hand, was frozen in shock. For the first time, he was lost for words. “I-” Eddie mumbled. “I guess?”

“Great, pick you up at seven?” Danny asked and Eddie weakly nodded his head, the happy look that was on his face now gone.

Just as Danny started to walk away, Eddie pulled out of Richie’s grasp to head to class and Richie finally found his words. “Wait, wait stop!” Richie yelled, making everyone turn their heads back to Richie; including Eddie and Danny. “No, no this is all wrong. Danny- you’re an asshole because you’re not the one sending Eddie those notes and the fact that you’d claim you were makes you even more of a douchebag.” A few whispers broke out in the hallway, but Richie wasn’t done. “Eds, Eddie. This- this isn’t how I wanted you to find out. I had a plan, I swear I did and it involved a lot more romance and a picnic and maybe roses.” He chuckled nervously and took a step closer to Eddie.

“What- what are you saying, Richie?” Eddie whispered, his eyes filled with tears. All Richie wanted to do was pull him into his arms and make everything okay again. God he wanted to punch Danny for being such a prick.

He took another step closer to Eddie, “It’s me,” he whispered. He pulled out the fresh note from his pocket and walked right up to Eddie with it, holding it out for the taking. “I’m your secret admirer. I’m the one who’s been sending you the notes and putting little gifts in your locker because, because I am so in love with you and I have done so for so long. I was just...scared to tell you because I didn’t want to lose you as my friend.”

Eddie’s eyes widened and he took the note from Richie, opening it up to read over the words; the words that Richie had been too scared to say out loud. Unknown to Stan and everyone else, Richie had in fact written his identity in that letter, finally believing it was time to come clean to Eddie.

Eds,

Fuck, you probably know it’s me now and this is letter number 15, I’m running out of paper so let’s just run with it. I love you. I love the way you laugh at all my jokes, I love the way you help me with the pranks without question. I love how much you just get me and I get you. I don’t know if you feel the same about me but god I hope you do. You’re amazing and you deserve the world, even if it isn’t with me.

If it is with me though, and you do feel the same, would you meet me on the field after school? I planned a little date for us, yes a date, so we can talk about all of this. It’s not a joke, I would never joke about this, not with you. I hope to see you there, Eddie Spaghetti.

Love, Richie

Letting out a breath, Eddie looked up from the letter with tears trailing down his cheeks. Richie was sure that Eddie was about to turn around and leave him, and his heart, in the dust. Yet, instead of walking away, Eddie pocketed the letter and took a step forward, pushing up on his toes as he wrapped his arms around Richie’s neck to bring their lips together.

The kiss wasn’t deep or dirty or anything like that. No, it was soft, sweet and absolutely perfect. Eddie’s lips tasted like the cherry chapstick his mother made him use and they were both smiling into it so much they couldn’t really deepen the kiss. Slowly, Eddie pulled back and sat back down on his heels. “I’ll see you on the field afterschool. Don’t be late.”

Richie grinned, running hand through his hair as he nodded his head, “See you after school. I definitely won’t be late.” As Eddie walked away, Richie broke into a wide grin, punching the air just a little before clearing his throat and heading to class. He had finally scored the guy.

* * * * * 

@bi-bi-richie @bovaque @derrylosers @eds-trashmouth @eduardoandale @girasol-eddie @halfway-happy353 @inthebreadbinwrites @isaacslaheys @its-stranger-than-you-think @jem-carstairs-is-perfection @lifesucksheres20bucks @loserslibrary @losers-gotta-stick-together @madidraw @mars-14 @marsisaplanetyall @moonlightrichie @njess04 @oldguybones @pink-psychic @purplepoisonedgem @rebecca-the-queen  @reddie-to-cryy @reddiesetandgo @richietoaster @richietoizer @roobarrtrashmouth @rreddies @s-onora @s-s-georgie @sedanleystanley @sloppybitchreddie @spirited-marvel @stellarbisexual @studpuffin @that-weird-girls-blog @thegoshdiddlydangdoor @thejadeazalea @thorn-harvester-ven @tinyarmedtrex @tozier-boy @tozierking @toziesque @trashmouthtozierr @twoidiotsinl0ve @violetreddie @wilding-throught-thehallways @xandertheundead 

#reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #writing tag

[berri-hopefulspouse]

Windblume Songs

Characters: Aether “Traveler” X Self-Insert Character (Ren), Paimon, Kaeya (Mentioned)

TW: ED Imp, General Weight Issues, Abandonment Issues

Summary: After both him and Albedo confessing during the Windblume Festival, Aether and Ren spend some time together to take some time for themselves...

Cough,,, this took too long, I started writing this right after the Windblume Festival and it’s....August now... cough. Anyway take.

Something about the air felt surreal. Like at any given moment, they would wake up- and everything that had occurred today would be nothing but a dream. Maybe it was the way their face was still wet with tears, ones Ren would occasionally wipe off into the crest of their arm. Maybe it was the way their other hand was intertwined with his. Maybe it was the way the wind even smelled sweet with flowers and freedom and feeling almost completely at ease. Surreal. Like none of this should be happening. 

Everytime they tried to think about whether or not the scenario playing out before them was real...it was like their mind outright rejected it. Their traumatized, scarred heart, was so afraid of reality crashing in- that it refused to accept outright that this WAS the reality. 

More tears fell from their cheeks.

“Ren?” A voice snaps them back out of their way-too-thoughtful stupor, “You’ve been quiet…”

“Huh? Oh...s-sorry, I’m fine.” They immediately dismissed, out of habit, however when the blonde turned to face them, and thus stopping their walking in its tracks, they took a moment to observe the blonde before them.

5’2”, with soft curly blonde hair that was still set in its typical braid, Aether could only put his opposing gloved hand that wasn’t still held tightly in theirs to their cheek, wiping the soft galactic shimmers off their cheeks.

“You’re crying.” He remarked, as if it wasn’t obvious enough.

“I-I’m sorry,” They said again, a sheepish grin on their face, “I just...I don’t believe this is real. That someone like you could even...tolerate someone like me, let alone…”

Aether rose an eyebrow at that, wiping a few more tears from the corners of their eyes as they had trailed off. 

“Is it that unbelievable that I love you, Ren?” He asked, genuine curiosity in his tone with the smallest hint of teasing. Paimon, who had been behind the two for most of this time- thankfully quiet, Aether had noted to himself- finally spoke up with a cheeky little huff.

“That’s what Paimon’s been trying to tell them! But they don’t ever listen to Paimon!” She retorts, which earns her an embarrassed glare from the shorter half-adepti.

“I-It’s not! I just…” Ren stumbled for an excuse, shoulders bunching up as they tried to hide their face from him. Yet, none came, instead another outpour of tears, causing the traveler to bristle a bit with anxiety.

“H-hey, it’s okay, I’m just joking with you!” He quickly backtracked, “I mean- I know you struggle with a lot…Struggle with figuring out yourself, and struggle with keeping people close...”

“...It is a bit of a surprise…” They admitted, closing their eyes and steeling themselves before giving a soft sigh- deciding to try and let their walls down...just a bit, “You’re someone not from this world...someone who’s on a mission before going off to your next big quest...I didn’t think you’d get attached to someone like me. Someone who’s...afraid to lose more people. Someone who doesn’t want to get hurt again.”

“Yeah,” Aether nodded in agreement, “I didn’t...want to, honestly. But, I’m...glad I did, if it meant I get to be with you. I want to help you. Just like how you helped me stay here, in the present, rather than just focus on the future.”

“Aether…” Their voice was quiet, a bare whisper in comparison to their usual loud tone, “You don’t need to fix me. I just want you here with me, as you are. That’s enough for me.”

“I didn’t say you needed to be fixed. Or that you’re broken to begin with,” He remarked, earning him a light smack on the arm.

“Meanie!”

“Ow- Sorry!” He laughed a bit, Paimon slowly floating her way back beside Aether.

“Are you two done? Because Paimon’s hungry, and the Windblume Festival is still in full swing!” Crossing her arms, she glances to Aether, who sighs and nods.

“Yeah, let’s keep going…” He smiled over to Ren at that, “After that, I think I’ll let Kaeya babysit you for a while, Paimon.”

“Wh- HEY! Paimon’s not a child that needs to be babysitted! Babysat?...” Paimon’s protest died in her mouth as she fumbled with the right word to use, “Babysatted!”

“Wrong on all accounts,” Aether lightly poked fun at her, lightly jabbing her side, causing Paimon to squeal and bat at Aether’s face.

“Oh hush!! Language can be difficult sometimes!” She squeaked, face red from embarrassment. Aether burst into a fit of laughter, quickly taking off in a sprint to avoid Paimon’s assault. And as a result, dragging Ren with him- who after stumbling for a brief second, quickly matched his pace.

“Sorry Paimon!” Ren couldn’t help but laugh alongside him, “See you at Good Hunter’s!” 

Paimon squealed in annoyance, quickly taking off after them and shouting an array of what she would consider “insults” towards both the traveler and his partner as they headed back to the latter’s hometown, Mondstadt. 

Taking a couple breaths as the two had slowed to a stop at Mondstadt’s gate, Ren taking slow deeper breaths as they regained their will to stand. Aether only chuckled at them, giving a gentle pet to their head, “Sorry, I didn’t want to get bapped to death by Paimon.” 

“It’s fine...I’m just-” They panted between their words, tone barely mumbled as a hiss between their sharper teeth, “-Out of shape. Severely out of shape.”

“You’d think after all the travelling you did with me, you’d be more in shape,” Aether teases, earning him a swift kick to the shin, “OW!”

“Don’t joke about that, jeez!!” They pouted, embarrassed as they turned their face away from him, wide-set ears downturned in discontentment. Aether chuckled sheepishly, holding his shin with one hand for a moment in an attempt to ease the pain before setting his foot back down and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Okay, okay, sorry. I won’t joke about it anymore,” Aether apologized, a hand then reaching just behind their little elf-like ears and giving a small scritch, “I forgot you can be a bit self-conscious about those kind’ve things.”

“Hmph,” Still pouty, they tried to look away from him, but the slight flush of their face gave them away easily, and within another few moments they leaned in further to his hand, a soft rumble of a purr rising from their throat.

Smiling to himself, the two stayed like that for a few moments, letting Ren relax a bit more until their eyes shut in a soft contentment, before opening again and giggling.

“Okay, okay, let’s go get food, I’m sure Paimon’s already waiting for us.” They responded, a hand reaching up to gently hold his once again. Their hand was warm, both from holding it earlier and from their natural body heat, and Aether couldn’t help but blush a bit to himself as well as he nodded in agreement, following Ren inside. 

Heading over to Good Hunter’s, Aether went to go order the food for the three of them as Ren sat across from Paimon, who hovered in her chair impatiently, lightly bobbing her head from side to side in mild boredom. Ren couldn’t help but chuckle, a hand over their mouth to try and suppress the sound.

“What?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking about how well you and Aether get along.”

“Psh, as if!” Paimon pouts, still clearly fussed over the little dispute earlier, “He always calls Paimon emergency food and treats Paimon like a child!”

“Yet, you still follow him around, and still are willing to travel with him~!” Ren refutes, lightly twirling their finger idly in a circle to make a point, making a light pop sound with their lips, “Checkmate.”

Paimon gave a little huff, crossing her arms as she looked away from the brunette, seemingly not having a rebuttal to their claims.

Ren bursts into a small fit of catatonic laughter, trying to quiet themselves somewhat with a shaky hand over their mouth but to very little avail. Paimon couldn’t help but notice, when she looked away, Aether was staring over towards them- a simple soft smile on his face as he was waiting for Sara to finish preparing their drinks at the very least. Paimon couldn’t help but relax at that, knowing Aether was happy, and chuckled as well alongside the brunette- however for a different reason altogether.

Settling back down after a couple of moments, Ren rubs the mirthful tears from their eyes as Aether walked back over- a small armful of drinks in tow, “I told Sara to let me handle giving you guys your drinks, so she could focus on the food.”

“That’s quite sweet of you!” Paimon pointed out as Aether slotted himself into the chair between Paimon and Ren, “Paimon noticed you’ve been really happy lately!” 

“What gave you that idea?” Aether joked, knowing full well the two knew why, however Ren simply gave a confused tilt of the head, opting to just listen to the two banter as usual.

“Hmm, well, it just seems like ever since you and Soren had sorted your situation out, you’ve just seemed to brighten up! Paimon noticed how you smiled at them a lot more than usual, and your willingness to help those around you has gotten much more... proactive.” Paimon tried to explain, somewhat fumbling over her words, ending up sputtering as Aether simply put the cup to her mouth and tilted it towards her- causing her drink to start spilling into her mouth as she spoke. It earned a chuckle from Ren, as she bapped at the glass until Aether set it back down- a cheeky amused grin never leaving his features.

“Did you ask Paimon that just to do that?!” She exclaimed as she regained her composure from the surprise, “That’s mean!”

“It’s called a prank, Paimon,” Aether lightly teased, before whispering quietly, “Besides, you were saying too much.”

“But it’s the truth! Paimon knew you were harboring feelings before, but now after that whole mess, it seems like you’re ready to take on anything!”

Aether chuckled sheepishly, a blush having started to break his mischievous composure from before, “C’mon, I’m sure I’m not acting that different from how I normally do.”

Ren hummed in thought, ears lightly twitching as they considered the light bickering and banter between the two, before adding in their own two-cents. 

“Well, sure, you’re not acting much different,” They piped up, “But your energy is notably shifted. Like you're no longer as distant from the current state of things… like you're actually emotionally present, for once.” 

“Huh?” Aether tilted his head, a bit confused as to Ren’s sudden explanation, to which they further clarified.

“Your body language changes depending on your current psychological state of mind, and your overall well-being. If you’re in a decent mood, you stand as you normally would. Sad, and it’ll show. It takes much practice to hide emotions to the point your body language doesn’t give you away, but even so, someone like me can read how you feel pretty easily...  I just haven’t before until now.” 

Aether and Paimon sat in silence for a few moments, processing what they said and furthermore what in the actual hell any of that actually meant. Ren flustered up, ears twitching once more as they laughed almost nervously. 

“Did I forget to mention I’m an empath? It’s a type of person who’s exceptionally good at reading other peoples feelings, and feeling them themselves. It derives from the word empathy,” They sheepishly explained further, “I’ve been able to read people’s emotions for as long as I can remember… which, isn’t much, but I was probably able to do it before I woke up in Mondstadt as well. I just hadn’t before because I feel it’s usually intrusive to do so. So I repress doing so, unless I feel like others are in need of help.” 

“How do you repress something like that?” Aether asked, not in disbelief but rather out of curiosity, resting his cheek into the palm of his hand as he looked to them, and they knew he had to be listening quite closely. They turned even more flustered out of shyness.

“I-it’s something I’ve learned overtime...if I had my abilities on all the time, I’d go crazy. It’s more about training yourself to focus inward, and focus on yourself, rather than those around you. Sometimes I slip up, especially when I’m tired or in a bad mood, but I never read you before, Aether.” They turned to him as they spoke his name, and smiled, “...But you’re calming. Calm, mixing with joy and...and…” They stuttered, unable to say the word they knew was on the tip of their tongue. Aether only giggled as they shyly hid their face in their hands, a soft little shy whine drawing from the back of their throat. He could only reassuringly pet their head, and shake his own head.

“Don’t worry, I know. Still, that’s...an amazing ability to have.” Aether simply responded, “I’m glad you told us.” 

“I kind’ve….Kind’ve forgot to tell you both… we were so busy, it must’ve slipped my mind. It’s why I’m so invested in other people’s well being.” They mumbled between their fingers, eventually looking back to meet Aether’s calming yet deep gaze into their anxious dark brown eyes.

“Looking back, it makes sense...you always knew just when to step in and force us to either rest, or to take a breather to keep us from overexerting ourselves.” Aether noted, recalling all the times they helped out in what he thought were smaller ways- but were in actuality just as important as their abilities to fight and deduction skills, “You’re really talented…”

“I wouldn’t say that… You had to teach me how to fight and such, I’m not that talented.” They spoke down upon themselves again, brushing the bangs out of their eyes. Aether gave a bit of a pout, raising an eyebrow doubtfully at their statement.

“Ren, before we met you knew how to sing, how to dance, how to draw- to the point you had made it your job. And now you just mentioned that you had this ability to read others emotions. Not to mention,” Aether cheekily held up the poem they had written for him, and watched the tips of their ears flush in a galactic blush, “You can write exceptionally well. You’re amazing, Ren.”

Ren remained quiet, though they were clearly starting to smile, he could see it in their eyes. Letting their hands fall, sure enough, there was a sharp-toothed grin on their face. 

“I-I…” Eventually they tried to speak, “...Thank you.” 

That got Aether to chuckle again, a hand reaching down to gently scratch behind their ears once more, “There we go, that’s better.”

Still, he was surprised to find the brunette lightly yanking his chair closer to them, and hug the blonde tightly. He hesitated for a split second, before returning the gesture wholeheartedly.

“No, really...thank you. I-I know I probably make things difficult sometimes, but hearing that from you just...means so much...It lets me know I’m doing something right.” They mumbled into his shirt, cheek pressed into his chest, “I just...I...you mean a lot to me.”

Aether paused for a second. Did it sound like they were about to say something else, or was it just him? 

Still, before he would ask, Sara approached with food, coughing nervously to herself to get the trio’s attention. Sighing to himself, he watched as Ren jumped back a few feet with a nervous squeak, falling off the chair in the process. He guessed he would ask later on, after having dinner of course, so he smiled and thanked Sara for her effort, picking almost nervously at his food as Paimon began to eat, trying not to clearly laugh. 

═ ═ ═ ╰☆╮ ═ ═ ═

Later on that evening, after Aether had passed off Paimon to a very peeved Cavalry Captain, him alongside Ren were walking just around Mondstadt, taking in the cheer of the environment. Various forms of music played in the streets as many sorts of bards who called the city their home sang various tales from their lives, sung of the god Barbatos, Sung of the tale of the windfaring dragon. Hands intertwined, Ren hummed along to the songs as they passed by, seemingly calm in the city. Part of him was glad they were so calm in such a busy environment, as when they were in Liyue- during the time of the lantern rite as a matter of fact- he recalled they mentioned feeling overwhelmed with all the pretty lights and music and people. In a way, it showed that Mondstadt truly was their home. 

It was starting to get rather late, the sun barely shimmering still in a pale pink and orange sky. Thankfully, it was another gorgeous evening in Mondstadt. The Windblume Ceremony would be tomorrow night, a signal to the end of the festivities. As it turned out, Aether had been chosen to pick the flower to represent Mondstadt in this year’s celebration- although he still held the question in the back of his mind...truly, what WAS a Windblume flower? 

But, for the time being, he didn’t need to think about it, he supposed. Mostly because, for the time being, Aether’s focus was on Ren, and the way the sunset had framed their face in a soft reddish orange glow. Their eyes were-quite literally- sparkling, no longer worried about their own struggles or concerns, but simply enjoying the feeling in the air of the festival. They turned to look at Aether, and he flustered up a bit. 

“Isn’t the Windblume Festival just so much fun? It has such a better energy than the lantern rite in Liyue!” They spoke with conviction, letting go of his hand only for a brief moment to do a small sprint forward with an excited twirl and a cat-like chirp of joy. Aether only watched their movements with a small smile on his face, honestly only half paying attention to what they said. It had to be the first time since he first met them that he’s seen them this...legitimately happy. 

“Yeah, sure is...beautiful.” Aether said, though more-so to himself than to the twirling brunette, watching their sash twirl with them. Mostly because, in fact, he wasn’t talking about the Windblume Festival… he was talking about them, having fun for once without a care in the world. Beautiful.

For a long time, before he finally shoved past his fears and confessed to them, he had shoved these thoughts down into the deepest areas of his subconscious, not wanting to think of things like personal relationships or anything of the sort. Not when Lumine had told him to leave Teyvat, not when he still had to find his dear sister. 

Yet, like pandora’s box, it seemed those thoughts were resurfacing now, watching them goof off and twirl and spin and-

“Ren, be careful!” Aether snapped out of his thoughts quick enough to speak, however he could only watch them lose their footing and land into the water of the fountain that surrounded Barbatos’s statue. 

Rather than be upset though, naturally the hydro equipped adepti simply started cackling, not bothering to try and get back up for a few good moments while they rode the high of their positive energy. It was infectious, and sure enough a moment later Aether couldn’t help but to shake his head and laugh as well. He couldn’t help it, despite everything they could be so bright sometimes- and despite what they had faced, they still chose to smile and help others. It was admirable.

“Here, take my hand,” He walked over to where they sat, offering a hand to them. He watched water droplets quietly circle around their head- a habit they tended to do when they were in the water as a result of their vision. Smiling, they took his hand, although that smile quickly fell into an open mouthed gasp as he pulled them up and into his chest. And for that moment, time stilled. 

“Hey, Soren,” His voice was quiet, tender, and considerate, “...Do you remember when we first met? It was in this same plaza, and you were humming the song the bard’s playing right now.” 

As he spoke, they felt a slightly harsher, but still intending to be gentle wind along their back as Aether gently ran his hand up more towards their shoulder blades, using a small bit of his anemo abilities as he did so to dry them off from their spill into the fountain only moments prior. 

“I remember, yeah,” They responded after a moment of trying to find the willpower to actually speak again, “It was right after your first encounter with Dvalin...and before we became teammates.” 

“Mhm,” He couldn’t help but chuckle as he felt them shudder a bit from the cold bite of wind along their neck, “Sorry, your clothes can be pretty thick.” 

That at least got a giggle out of them, bangs fluffing out of their face and making a bit of a frizzy mess as it dried at the elemental magic, delicate hands that wielded a sword gently combing through the dark brown locks. Hearing a soft sigh, Aether only chuckled even more at their reaction.

“I remember that I inspired you.” Aether continued after a brief moment, “How you always wanted to be an adventurer yourself, but was...too scared to. But seeing someone like me, someone who was completely new to Mondstadt and this world, manage to scare off a dragon back to his lair… It inspired you to at least try.”

Ren couldn’t help but blush and let out an embarrassed little snort.

“Yes, and then I nearly got myself killed trying to take out one of the hillichurl camps.” They grumbled quietly, clearly sheepish about the event. 

“Still, when I came to help out and ended up hurt… It was the moment you got your Vision, wasn’t it? Finding your will to fight again and make things right, after your actions had gotten someone else harmed.” As the gentle breeze of anemo faded from his fingertips, they looked away flustered. 

“I mean, yeah, I suppose...It just hurt my heart to see someone else hurt because of my actions.” They mumbled, “I didn’t even think of what I had to do, I just...Put it on and went for it, I had to get them off of you.”

“You were really happy at being able to protect me, you actually started laughing and dancing not too long after that battle ended.” Aether pointed out, watching their face turn further shades of blues and purples from embarrassment. 

“I had really hoped you forgotten that...I probably looked really dumb,” They muttered, trying to cover their face with one hand, only for Aether to gently grab it, a thumb rubbing gentle circles across their knuckles. 

“I didn’t...but I know you definitely didn’t look stupid then. Part of me wanting to see how well you could do...well...other dances,” Aether started to fluster over his words, his somber facade cracking into a more goofy, awkward, yet very sincere one, “...I guess what I mean to say is, I wasn’t able to ask then but uh...better late than never, right? So, ah…” He cleared his throat into his opposing hand, before awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, unable to meet their eyes in his own slight embarrassment. 

“Little Dreamer, would you care for a dance?” He’d have to thank Xinqiu and Venti for the line later…

Ren could only blink in response to that for a few moments, fumbling over their tongue for the words to speak, and eventually stuttering out a simple little, “S-Sure…” 

And just like that, time had started to move, once again.

═ ═ ═ ╰☆╮ ═ ═ ═

Letting go of their hand for a brief moment, the traveler in question had simply turned to slip off his gloves, tucking them into one of the many pockets in his oversized pants. After a moment of contemplation, staring blankly at his hands for a few moments, he offered it to them with a small, shy smile.

“Shall we?” He chuckled as he spoke, watching with twitching and flittering ears as Ren had put their hand in his, the sound of the lyre nearby only seeming to grow louder as the world began to grow just more quiet. When Aether took a glance around however, he found it wasn’t a trick of his mind- while the little plaza that sat before the church of Barbatos was mainly empty- there were of course a few fortunate souls who took notice to the display, falling quiet and watching. Not to mention, the bard in question only smirked, seeming to play louder.  He’ll have to make another note to pay the bard a decent tip later, although it didn’t prevent his face from turning an embarrassing shade of pink.

However, seeing Ren’s expression still frozen in shock and flusteredness, Aether hummed quietly and put his other hand on their cheek, lightly scratching behind their ear. 

“It’s alright, relax. It’s just me,” He tried to calm them down, only to hear them chuckle shyly. 

“You do not understand how little that helps in this,” They respond, their face a delightful shade of blues and purples.

Chuckling as well, he moved his hand from their cheek slowly down to their shoulder….down their arm, and to their waist. Ren couldn’t help but notice at the moment, the varying degree of scars that littered his hand- his somewhat calloused fingers from each battle and the little paler lines that jagged across them...and they knew that he lived a life so much more dangerous than he did now. 

“Just dance how you normally would,” He spoke of reassurance, and to that they opened their mouth to say something...only to close it again seconds after with a small nod. Truth be told, they were...a bit shy about their dancing, but they wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to dance with him due to their fears and anxieties. 

They fell silent after that, looking down a bit sheepishly and stepping slightly closer to Aether. Raising an eyebrow at that, he couldn’t help but chuckle even more at their shyness as the hand that held theirs adjusted slightly. The hand at their waist tightened, just a bit, comfortingly. He wouldn’t let them go- not again. Not when he almost lost them several times now in several aspects.

So, slowly, taking the initiative, he began to move- carefully and elegantly. One step to the side turned to another, Ren following each movement almost naturally. Hands entwined, that felt like they were meant for this purpose alone- to be held by the other. One step, two step, three, he felt their shoulders relax a bit, their other hand loosely draped over his shoulder. Tightened, tense and nervous tanned fingers slowly loosened, as with each beat of their heart and the strum of the lyre melted away their anxieties. Right here, at this moment, nothing else mattered.

The only thing that mattered was the warmth of his hands, the warmth of his breath- which they could feel ever so slightly brush against their face as they pressed just a bit closer to him- feeling their chest brush against his stomach. 

Ren couldn’t help it, a smile started to escape their anxious features, letting the music slowly seep through the fear and worries that plagued their heart, and delve deep into the features of their soul. When nothing else was there for them- music truly was. It was the one thing they cherished in this world more than life itself. People could abandon them, people could leave, and yet music was always there waiting for them in times of sadness, or right now...in times of joy.

Slowly, their steps started to deviate, a slight bit. A bit more graceful, a bit more elegant, more relaxed and calm and at peace with everything in the world. Yet, more complicated- Aether had to focus to keep up with their movements- lest he trip. 

Aether could feel it too, the way the whole world started to fall apart around him- how everything else in the background had faded to nothing else but white noise all except for himself, and the tiny little nonbinary before him. The little hydro being with literal stars in their eyes and glitter radiating from their hair at each movement, with dewdrops starting to lightly dance around their face as they were losing themselves in the calmness of the music. All there was, was himself, and them. Nothing else- no one else- mattered for the time being. 

The more they relaxed, the more confident the two became in their movements. Uncertain steps of hesitation turned to confident strides, gliding across the concrete like it was made specifically to keep up with their movements. Just as quickly, the two fell into sync. Letting go of their waist at the perfect time as they gave a gentle twirl, never letting go of his hand and twirling away- then back towards him. Him, gently scooping them upwards into his arms to twirl them around, the braid of his hair starting to get messy in the flurry of movement and wind and peace. Yet, it was all so perfect. With every few steps, the two would step on the other’s foot, or his hand would slip a bit and accidentally grab at their hip, or he would almost be sent tumbling into the concrete- yet, it felt so fluid and simple and perfect. Simply perfect. Something that matched the both of them, he would even argue. 

Never letting go of the other’s hand, the two danced in a way that almost seemed like their souls were connected. Even if the one fumbled, the other made it seem intentional, and vice versa. Hands would trail between brushing away strands of hair, to gliding down the other’s body, gently grabbing at clothes and dramatic gestures that made them both smile. The music got louder still, but not in an overwhelming way...in fact, in a way that swallowed them both whole. Ren’s heart started to race, energy surging through them with a mix of overexcitement and pure joy. Their movements starting to get even more complicated, making Aether struggle to keep up if not slightly. He never had to really learn these particular dance moves- so where did they learn them from? Was there something they couldn’t do? 

Once again, they twirled, this time taking the blonde with them- him quickly gripping their waist to prevent either of them from falling as their hair whirled around them- catching in their face and then being swept away again in the wind as they kept twirling, twirling, twirling. He felt the band in his braid start to come loose, and eventually fly off with the force of gravity working against him- blonde strands starting to go into a chaotic cacophony of giggling and laughter as Aether could only scoop them back up, taking control of the whirls and twirls in both of their steps to keep them both from tumbling back into the fountain once again in their flurry of dancing. As if, if they didn’t keep moving, the world would collapse around them, and reality would come crashing back in once again. Aether couldn’t help but lightly toss them up, a surge of anemo accompanying it to send Ren flying up- and following his feeling, Ren elegantly twirled up into the sky, sending specks of water into the sky that caught the sun perfectly to light the plaza in a warm rainbow light of dew dropped light. Falling back to the ground, Aether easily caught them in his arms, continuing to twirl as the dewdrops followed them down, lightly raining themselves and the clearing in a gentle mist. Aether couldn’t help but laugh, them following suit as their air grew slightly damp, as they kept twirling to the song, Aether’s hands clasped to their form to keep them steady as their cheek nuzzled into his neck, his frizzy messy hair almost akin to wings that shielded them from the world. 

The music had started to slow, and with it, their movements- Aether setting Ren back down after a few moments as they pressed themselves straight to his body. The curtain of hair settled, revealing the two back to the rest of the world, although it definitely couldn’t be said that he looked as graceful as he did a bit ago with his hair starting to curl at the ends- strands frizzing up from the new humidity of the plaza. Following their slowing movements, Aether couldn’t help but lightly rest his head atop of theirs, cradling them to him as their feet moved slowly to the rhythm of the lyre that slowly ebbed away, until the plaza was quiet once again… leaving just them, in revire and a happy afterglow that could only be accomplished from feeling their souls truly connect on a level far beyond the mortal concept of love.

There were a few whispers amongst the small crowd that had gathered in the time; as well as the cheers of a very happy Paimon, but all Aether could hear was the ragged breath of his partner, a little worn from the burst of energy that had made their body act against its own accord only moments before. Blonde strands of hair fell in his face as he looked back down to them, brushing some dark hair from their face. 

“I love you,” It was something softly spoken, words he had previously only reserved for his sister. But now, he had even more reason to say them. His breath was equally hastened, catching puffs of breath after the excitement and adrenaline.  Ren looked back up to him in response, a smile on their face and sparkles in their eyes as they responded.

“...I love you too, Aether.” And a gentle kiss of reassurance placed on his mouth sent the crowd- and Paimon-  into rapturous applause. 

Windblume, afterall, was a time of love. Even for the Honorary Knight, and for the lost Dreamer of the Realms. If even those two could find love within each other; certainly there was always hope that love was truly out there- wasn’t there? 

Even then, that didn’t matter in the end- at the end of the day; Aether had Ren. And Ren now had him. And for that perfect moment in time, that was all that ever truly mattered. Their perfect little Windblume Dance….and their perfect Windblume song.

#[ Ren Rambles ] #[ Storytime! ] #[ Stormy Winds ] #I finished this yesterday during the blackout #Anyway taketh