#decided to bust out my knit sweaters

[taejusunju]

Autumn leaves 🍂

Woonhak x fem!reader genre: fluff, angst word count: 2.39k admin: 🧃

note: Hii okie ik this is pretty long but bare with me, I haven’t written something in a while and this is my first official ff also feel free to leave any feedback. I do know the angst is a lot, had to make it sad you know. Either way I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading. 🤍🧸

Summer was coming to an end, the chilly breeze and colourful leaves falling had already indicated autumn slowly weaving its way. For others it may seem like an ordinary day and nothing special, but autumn was my favourite season. The not so cold and not so hot weather, the colourful leaves falling from trees, this was the time to relish in the colours, wear cozy sweaters and sit by cozy fires, roasting marshmallows while singing your favourite songs, the time for the closeness of others to keep out of the chill of the morning and the dark-eyed darkness of the night.

This time everything would be different, autumn wouldn’t be the same as it had been all the past years for me. The person whom I had shared the beautiful memories of enjoying this season wasn’t going to be with me.

Every autumn my family and I, would go to our cottage on the far side of town for 3 weeks during fall break. I had made many friends and we would have so much fun together. Sometimes I would visit them during spring break too. Till 3 years ago, I had met my best friend woonhak. Me and my friends had visited a new coffee shop opened near us, and that was when I had spotted a cute barista, who later on became my friend and then best friend. Woonhak had always kept in touch with me even when I came back to my hometown. But till last autumn, when he had suddenly started to change and become more colder, and just different. I wasn’t sure what had happened but he wasn’t the same Woonhak who I was bestfriends with. From hours of facetime calls to not a single text message, me and him had completely drifted.

Time sure does fly fast, its fall break of my junior year and me and family are on our way to our cottage. I had texted all my friends, most of them are reaching today and we are excited to finally see each other again. I was wearing my favourite knitted brown sweater that I got gifted on my 14th birthday by woonhak with grey sweatpants and my busted converse. It made me a little upset thinking about how I won’t be able to hangout with him like I used too this break.

Lost in my thoughts, while listening to music and looking outside the window admiring the red and orange leaves scattered across the roads and in the air, the chilly breeze hits my face like ice, sending chills down my spine. We were about to reach the cottage. I could smell the faint scent of firewood and home baked sweets in the air. It felt like I was finally home. When we finally arrived, I ran out the car and straight to the lake down the street. I could hear my parents yelling from behind, telling me to come help with the bags, but I had to go to the lake. Just like I had assumed my friends were already there. Taesan and eunchae were the first to arrive and they came to the lake first. I had missed them so much I ran up to them and hugged them tightly. After a bit we saw jaehyun, sungho, nat and woonhak, coming down the hill. What was he doing here? I forgot for a second that just because he’s not close with me anymore doesn’t mean he’s not close with the others after all he was jaehyuns bestfriend. They all came and we started hugging eachother, it had been a year since we last saw eachother. Woonhak was still distant with me. Besides a mere exchange of hi we said nothing to eachother, I could tell the others had sensed the awkward tension between us.

After chatting for a bit and catching up with eachother we all decided to call it a day and head back home. Everyone lived near the village, besides me and woonhak cause he lived a little further down the street from me. I was walking behind him. I so badly wanted to go up and talk with him but I didn’t know how. I feared he would just ignore me and not say anything back but I couldn’t stand the silence anymore. So I got a little closer and started walking near him, he didn’t even move a bit to look at me, like I’m not there. “Hi”, I said hoping he would notice me and talk, I was surprised when he said “Hi” back but in a cold tone. “It’s been a while since we have talked” I said nervously looking at him. He just nodded back in silence this time moving his head towards me for a mere second of eye contact before he looked back ahead. I wish it could’ve lasted longer, I haven’t seen him in so long or talked to him. I missed him.

It was starting to really irritate me and making me upset, I hate to admit it but I did have feelings for woonhak and before I could confess them last year he had just stopped talking. Getting annoyed I stood in front of him blocking his way, he looked at me with a confused look. "What are you doing?” He said. “The same thing you’re doing, blocking your way like you blocked me out of your life” I said, I wasn’t gonna hold back now I have had enough of it. "Why have you been ignoring me? Did I do something? If I did, why don’t you just tell me instead of leaving me in the dark, was all those years of friendship worth nothing to you, that you just threw it away like it was trash?" I said to him now a bit more louder and colder. He just looked at me with a blank face, "you did nothing wrong, it was me." He said. “So what? That’s it? You have nothing else to tell me? Seriously woonhak what is wrong with you.” I said while starting to tear up, I was too frustrated I just couldn’t hold back my emotions. As I started to cry, I noticed my face being lifted up, it was him. "Please stop crying, i didnt mean to hurt you." He said now looking worried, this was the first time in a while I had seen any sort of emotion on his face. "I just..had to but I didn’t mean to hurt you” he said. “How could you not hurt me, we were bestfriends woonhak” I said. “Oh. yea best friends..I’m sorry" he said now looking down at his shoes. "It’s getting late you should head back home" he said. "Fine” you said, you were upset and frustrated and continued to walk back home alone.

The rest of the evening I spent unpacking my bags and spending time with my family. I didn’t wanna think about what had happened earlier. Everyone was texting in the groupchat making plans on what to do tomorrow together but thinking about how woonhak would be there was already making me upset. Ever since woonhak and me stopped talking, jaehyun and I had became really close friends. I had asked him many times why woonhak had been acting the way he is, but it was only me who felt that way, jaehyun said he seemed fine and maybe he just didn’t wanna be friends with me anymore, but why?.

Its now 11:40pm and I can’t sleep. I decided to go to the park near me, I remember me and woonhak used to hangout a lot during last fall here together. He liked playing basketball and I would watch him or sometimes play with him. As I got to the park I sat down on the swing, listening to the sound of leaves rusting against the ground as the wind blows them. The quite sound of the night, the water of the lake moving and the crickets sound. I was gently swinging when I heard someone sit on the swing beside me, "Can’t sleep?" He asked. I looked up to see woonhak, "I don’t want to talk to you". For a bit we stayed in silence swinging before either of us said a word. "I’m sorry" he said looking at me. I didn’t feel like talking to him, it’s not going to fix anything since he doesn’t want to. "Why are you sorry, it’s not like you care” I said. "I do care, a lot more then you think” he said. What did he mean by that, "If you cared, you wouldn’t have just cut me off like that, do you know how hurt I was" I replied. "I know and I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left everything like that but I didn’t know what to do at the time” he said. “God why are you so stubborn woonhak, can’t you just tell me what’s wrong if you aren’t I’m just gonna go” I said getting frustrated. I was about to get up and walk away but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to hug him. "Can’t we just stay like this for a while, I’ll tell you everything” he said, my heart was beating so fast I hoped he wouldn’t notice it. "I missed you so much, you don’t understand” he said, I missed him a lot too.

We stayed hugging for a few minutes before we both pulled back. We sat down at the bench near us, hopefully he would tell me everything and why he was so distant with me. "So tell me now, don’t leave a detail out okay?” I said, “okay…I didn’t want to distant from you y/n…we were so close….I-I just didn’t know what to do. Jaehyun had liked you since we all had first met and he wanted me to help him pursue you.” I was at lost of words, jaehyun liked me? But he had never told me anything. “I didn’t wanna help him pursue you, but I also didn’t want to tell him that cause he’s been my closest friend since childhood. So the best thing I did was cut you off and tell him we weren’t close anymore and I couldn’t help him. I truly am sorry for hurting you y/n it wasn’t my intention” he said. “Why did you not want jaehyun to pursue me?” I asked, why was he so against it. “It’s cause.. I just you know” he said, “you know what woonhak, say it” I was tired of him going around the bush. “It’s cause I like you, I like you a lot y/n and this wasn’t how I planned on telling you but you keep on insisting. I never knew if you felt the same and after jaehyun liking you I thought you would like him too and I never wanted to ruin our close friendship.” He said dropping the bomb on me, I was silently shocked, I didn’t know what to say to him. He liked me too? Did he not know I liked him too. "Oh” was all I could say. “It’s fine if you don’t feel the same, especially after becoming distant you probably lost any sort of feelings for me anyways” he said looking kinda upset now. “NO no, I’m sorry it’s not that it was alot to take in, but no I do like you woonhak, I always have since I first saw you at the coffee shop. I wanted to tell you last fall but you had already cut me off” I said to him, it felt so good finally telling him the feelings I had bottled inside me for years.

We both stood there looking at each other and smiling, after confessing to each other. I could see a smirk plastered on woonhak as face, “So you liked me for so long and didn’t care to tell me?" He said. "And you liked me and cut me off" I said back. "Heyyy I had my reasons to why” he whined, "okayy finee. oh..yea what do we do about jaehyun now?” I didn’t want him to ruin his friend ship with jaehyun cause of me. "I don’t know I guess I’ll have to talk to him and tell him about us” he replied. “Us?” I said grinning back obviously teasing him, “You know what I mean..like us liking each other” he said shyly, I could see his face becoming red. "It’s getting late, I’ll walk you back home” and I nodded back.

He walked back with me home, on the way we just chatted a bit catching up on old stuff. Here and there our hands would rub against each other and making us both get shy and look away from each other. After a bit we finally reached my house and it was time to say goodbye for the night, but I didn’t want to and I knew he didn’t want to either. "It’s getting late now you should head inside” he finally said. "Yeah you should head home too, goodnight woonhak" I said looking at him, admiring his face glowing under the street light. "Goodnight y/n, sleep well” he said. I wish we could stay like this for longer but it was getting late and he needed to get home. I started heading back inside and I saw he was still standing there smiling and waving at me, waiting for me to get home safely before he left. I waved back at him before I headed inside my house.

The next few days, me and my friends hanged out together and we did our usual activities that we did every fall. Woonhak and me had gotten closer again too. He would always text me in the morning, drop me off home, we always take our night scrolls at the park. As for our relationship, we wanted to take things slow and regain our friendship before anything else. As for jaehyun, him and woonhak had talked and he wasn’t upset, actually he had already known and moved on awhile ago and was now dating nat which definitely surprised us all cause no one knew about their secret relationship. So after all, my autumn break this year wouldn’t be bad as I thought it would be.

#boynextdoor #bnd #woonhak #bnd woonhak #fluff fic #boynextdoor scenarios #boynextdoor imagines #boynextdoor fluff #boynextdoor fic #boynextdoor woonhak #boynextdoor x y/n #woonhak x reader #fluff fanfic #woonhak fluff #kim woon hak

[nadinebrooks]

Here is the link to my masterlist.

How You Spend the Christmas Holidays Part 2

I just thought this was something cute to do for the holidays! I hope you are able to spend some time with family and friends. Please enjoy

George: Slytherin, halfblood, same year

"I know my mom can be a lot, and I'm sorry for all of this but-" George started saying, but I didn't care. It was perfect. He was perfect. Everything about this moment was perfect. I lunged across the bed wrapped my arms around his neck. George was staying at school for the holidays, and I decided that I would keep him company since my family wasn't doing anything too special.

"Tell your mom I love it." I grinned pulling away from the hug to see his face bright red. She had knitted me one of her famous sweaters and tossed in some homemade fudge. I couldn't have asked for a better gift.

I pulled the (f/c) sweater on over my head. I had left the Slytherin common room very early in the morning to sneak into George's room to surprise him this morning. I had brought him a couple of gifts that he had already opened, but I was saving one special gift. I was holding a very small box that I'm sure he was bound to notice sometime soon.

"Whatcha got there?" George chucked looking around my back trying to see what it was.

"I got these a couple of months ago, but I decided to wait to give it to you for Christmas." I passed the small box over to him and patiently waited for him to open it. When he finally did, I couldn't help but giggle at the surprised look on his face.

"Are you serious (y/n)?" In his hand were 4 tickets to a Quidditch match this summer. He had been talking about this team nonstop since they won the championship last year so I figured I would get him some tickets for an upcoming game. "Who are the other 2 tickets for?"

"Whoever you want." I shrugged, "I figured you'd want to invite Fred and he can pick someone to bring along. Just don't lose them."

"Wouldn't dream of it." He was still staring at the 4 paper tickets in his hand as if they were pure gold. Then he looked up at me with a look that I had never seen from him. "(y/n), I could kiss you right now."

And with that he started to lean in. I felt myself start to get nervous. I had never kissed a boy before. What if I wasn't any good at it? What if George didn't like me anymore after this? But before our lips could connect, the door busted open and there was Fred.

Don't get me wrong, I love Fred, but he couldn't have picked a better time to walk in? He could've given us at least another minute.

"Wow. Where'd you get those?" He questioned picking up the tickets lying on the bed.

"(y/n) got them for me. But did you need something Fred? We were kinda in the middle of something."

"Oh yeah." He nodded dropping onto the bed clearly oblivious to what he had walked into. "Hermione showed me a spell to enchant the snowmen so we could have snowball fights with them. So be ready in ten minutes so we can head outside." And with that to wait down in the common room.

"I'll meet you two at the entrance. I need to head back to get dressed." I got up off George's bed and walked towards the door. But before I could get too far he grabbed my hand and spun me around. He leaned forward until his lips were on mine. I wasn't expecting it at all.

At first, it was hard for me to keep up with the way he was kissing me, but after a moment I caught on. Then I started kissing him back as hard as he was kissing me. George pulled away and I sighed in annoyance which caused him to chuckle.

"Fred is going to wait a little bit longer." He smirked locking the door.

Fred: Gryffindor, pure, 2 years below (same as Trio)

I stumbled out of the fire place in the Weasley residence. I loved this place just like it was my own. I was here more than I was at my own house. I grew up in a Slytherin household, but my parents didn't mind the Weasleys too much. They had actually come to become friends over the past couple of years.

"(y/n)." I heard someone yell.

"Hermione. I'm in the living room." I called back as she ran into my arms. She was one of best friends and even though we hadn't seen each other in a couple of days, it felt like it had been months.

"Why are you all covered in soot?" She questioned stepping back and trying to dust it all off.

"Floo Powder." I told her.

"(y/n) is here." There came more voices from another room of the house. Then came Ginny who was suddenly hugging me. I hadn't realized how much I had missed them. I would've come to their house right when school got out but I had to return home because the Zabinis were having a holiday party that I was not allowed to miss.

My parents could be a little old fashioned at times and I knew they were expecting me to marry someone who was pureblood which is why I couldn't skip the party. They were hoping I would meet my husband there.

"Hiya (nickname)." There came a very familiar voice. I pulled away from everyone to see Fred standing there in the doorway.

"Hi." I suddenly whispered looking down at my shoes. Why did he make me feel like this? One of the very few people who made me nervous.

"C'mon Ginny." Hermione said grabbing the youngest Weasley's hand and dragged her out of the room to give us some privacy.

"I missed you." I mumbled. In about three strides Fred was standing in front of me. I looked up at him and then back down unable to meet his gaze.

"I missed you too." He chucked wrapping my arms around Fred pulling him into me. Fred wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me into him. We didn't say much of anything. We just stood there embraced in each other's company.

Then I had the strangest idea: maybe I could marry Fred. I know he's not what my parents were thinking, but he was a pureblood. Plus I knew that in the end he could make me very happy. Which is all I wanted from someone.

"Now let's go see mum. She's been dying to see you ever since I told her you were coming." Fred pulled away and I followed him into the kitchen.

"Who else is here?" I asked him.

"Well there's you, Hermione, Harry, Sirius, oh Tonks and Lupin should be here sometime tonight. Mum has been preparing dinner all day to get ready for everyone."

"(y/n) dear." Mrs. Weasley grinned when she saw me. "It's so good to see you dear. How are your parents? I do hope they're doing well." She smiled pulling me into one of her hugs.

"They're doing fine Mrs. Weasley. They told me to tell you they said hello."

"Please call me Molly. Now can you two please get out of the kitchen. I've still got so much to do. I think everyone else is in Ginny's room. Oh and (y/n) you can sleep in the guest room or in the room Ginny's room with Hermione. Whichever one you please." And with that she shooed us out of the kitchen to get ready.

I went upstairs to say hello to everyone. I had really missed all of them. We all decided to play some games of exploding snap until it was time for dinner. I was absolutely terrible at this game.

I ended up sitting between Fred and Harry. While we were eating, Fred rested his hand on my thigh. I thought it was a mistake until his hand slowly started traveling higher and higher until I had to smack it away. I could see Harry smirking at us out of the corner of his eye.

After everyone was full, Molly sent us all upstairs to go to bed. Before I had went to bed, I wanted to speak to Fred about what had happened at the dinner table.

"Fred." I hissed pulling him somewhere so we could talk privately. "What was that at dinner?"

"What are you talking about?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I'm afraid I don't (y/n)."

"Look Fred, I need you to listen good because I'm not going to repeat myself. I like you and I completely understand if you don't feel the same way. But I'm not going to allow you to do all these touchy feely things just because you can. I respect myself enough to-" but I was completely cut off by his lips on mine. It was a soft kiss, but I wanted more. I needed more. Fred's arm snaked around my wrist pulling me closer into him. When I tried to deepen the kiss, he pulled back chuckling.

"Good night (nickname)." He smirked heading towards his room.

That night, I lay in bed not able to take my mind off Fred. I cannot believe that kiss happened. I was starting to think that it didn't even happen. As I began to doze off there was a loud bang out in the hallway. I instantly sat up in bed trying to hear what was going on.

Then came Mrs. Weasley's voice roaring from outside my door.

"Fred Weasley! I just know that's not you trying to sneak into (y/n)'s room in the middle of the night."

Cedric: Hufflepuff, muggleborn, same year

"Can we please go outside?" I pleaded pulling on Cedric's hand. He was laying out on the couch reading a book on Quidditch.

"No (y/n). You are not allowed to go outside."

"But why?" I pouted dramatically falling onto the couch. "We don't even have classes anymore."

"You already know the answer to that (y/n). You get sick just looking at the snow. And when you get sick, I end up having to take care of you which causes me to fall ill as well. Plus your mother would kill me if we showed up on her doorstep sick."

I stood at the window in the common room staring out the window in awe. Where I came from, it did not snow like this. We occasionally had little flurries, but it never got cold enough for the snow to stick to the ground like this.

It was exactly what it looked like in the movies. I needed to get outside immediately to play. Breakfast didn't start for another hour so I figured that I had time to get down there for a little while before it was time to eat. I noticed that Cedric put his book and walk over to the window beside me and stare outside. At first I didn't say anything to him.

I assumed that he was watching everyone else playing in the snow and maybe he was going to change his mind. But then he adjusted his gaze. Now he was watching me.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" I smiled at him gesturing out to the snow.

"Yeah," he nodded still staring at me. "You are."

"What?" I asked in shock turning my attention to him. I cannot believe he had said that. Ever since we had started hanging out, I had started to grow rather fond of him. But I always thought that he saw me as a younger sister since I he was always having to look after me due to my mother's orders.

"I was just agreeing with you. The snow is beautiful." He quickly tried to avert his gaze from me now watching everyone who was playing outside. He had this look on his face and I knew that I would be getting exactly what I want.

"Fine. We can go outside but only for a little while."

"Thank you Ced." I gave him a quick hug. "Let me go change into something warmer and I'll be right back." I quickly ran upstairs and put on something a lot warmer to keep me from freezing.

We had been outside for about 30 minutes or so and I had started to get cold, but I wasn't going to tell Cedric that. In all of my excitement, I hadn't gotten my warmest coat and I was really starting to regret that. I fell onto my back and started moving my arms back and forth to make snow angels.

"Get up (y/n)." Cedric sternly said leaning over me. "You're going to get sick."

I opened my eyes to see him standing over me. I could tell he was cold by the fact that his nose was starting to turn red.

"No." I stuck my tongue out and went back to making snow angels. I heard him let out an agitated sigh and then walk away. Then he came back and stared at me. I wasn't sure what to make of the situation so I just tried to look away from him. I was starting to feel uncomfortable so I got up.

"Now your robes are drenched." He took in my appearance but I wouldn't allow him to see that I was cold. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. "And your hair is a mess." He reached up and gently smoothed out my hair trying to get the snow out of it.

"I don't mind." I don't know why but I was suddenly worried about Cedric looking at me. I didn't usually care what he thought about me, but now I really did.

"I know you don't (y/n)," he chuckled shimmying out of his jacket. "Here put mine on."

"I don't want to take your jacket."

"Please take it." He begged trying to force me into it. I took my jacket off and put the larger one on. "Now you look even cuter than before. We need to get you inside before you get sick." He turned around and headed towards the entrance. Did Cedric Diggory just say that I was cute?

"Cedric?" I called out running after him.

"Yes?"

"Do you really think I'm cute?"

"Of course."

"Not like I'm your little sister cute. But like you're attracted to me cute?"

"I'm very much attracted to you (y/n). I figured you would have caught on by now, but you're not good at picking up on signals."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize." Cedric held the door open for me and I thanked him walking inside the warm building. I opened my mouth to say something else but then I sneezed.

"Damnit (y/n)." He groaned realizing what this meant. "Your mom is going to kill me."

#harry potter masterlist #harry potter preferences #harry potter imagine #harry potter x reader #cedric diggory x reader #cedric diggory x female reader #cedric diggory #george weasley x reader #george weasley x y/n #george weasley x slytherin!reader #fred wealsey fic #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x y/n

[diteach]

Another knitting friend!!! :D What are you working on right now?

KNITTING FRIEND! KNITTING FRIEND!! KNITTING FRIEND!!!

I've just recently cast on a long sleeved sweater. Up to now, I've only ever knit short sleeved sweaters, and for as warm as they can be, I only have one cardigan :')

The original pattern had no gauge and was meant for a 36-inch bust. I've been wanting to knit this for such a long time, but I never had the courage to experiment with resizing. It features a simple lace design, so after some time I had a fuck it we ball moment and decided to give it a go. The goal is to shrink it down to a size 30 or 32 (I wouldn't mind if it looked more like a blouse since the original pattern looks like that).

Have I read about how to resize patterns? Yes.

Do I think I understood the instructions? Yes.

Do I still have the feeling I'm completely winging it and will likely have to frog the entire panel? Also yes.

Let's hope it turns out alright :P

The yarn I'm using is discontinued, so the *plan* is to have long sleeves, but do I have enough of it? Hmm, good question! It is a beautiful deco green, kind of hard to capture in photos.

I also wanted to mend one of my skirts, which was attacked by a bug that decided to chomp right through it and then fall asleep in it as if nothing had happened. Definitely on my to-do list!

Thank you for asking :)

What are YOU working on??

#teach says #dont-wake-the-dragon #ask #knitting #i could talk about knitting all day sorry

[lightlyknitted]

For 2023 I’ve also decided to start a knitting journal, or more broadly a craft journal.

I did bullet journaling in college and loved the flexibility and adaptability of it so I decided to adapt it for my knitting. 

I personally, like to use a paper and have some journals leftover which fit into the faux leather travelers notebook. I want this to be a journal I can edit and change around to fit my crafting so I set it up like I did my journals in college. 

To keep it simple so I am more likely to use it I stuck to doing an outline in pencil and might decorate the pages later. Don’t feel pressured to make it look instagram ready, this journal is supposed to be used and doesn’t need to be perfect. I tried doing the pretty spreads I saw on instagram and pinterest and while they look nice, I found myself not wanting to fill them out and it made my journal feel useless. 

There are two main sections, the first is my “static” pages, — so trackers and lists will be kept there. 

For trackers I included:

Notions/Needles/Hooks

Stash (yarn name, weight, amount, project decided?)

Stash Busting Progress (monthly)

Gift project trackers

The second is my pattern notes and a journal section. 

My project pages include the pattern name, needle size, yarn, start date, who or what it’s for and then general notes. The notes I want to leave open for me to be able to add any alterations I might do. 

For my printed patterns I dug out an old three ring binder from college and plan to keep them all in there. In the future, I’ll add some dividers for categories like: sweaters, shawls and accessories. 

#bullet journaling #knitblr #crochet #knitting #knitters of tumblr #fiber arts #crochetersofinstagram #crocheting #yarnblr #craftblr #bullet journal #no buy year #organization

[ardatli]

Pamela Voorhees sweater

Starting a sweater project for myself - the first time I'm doing a pull-over thing, which gives me zero room to fake the fit by tweaking button placement or wrap depth. (I'm a sewer -- I like being able to adjust things by an 1/8th of an inch after the fact!)

But this one's specific, and I want to have it done for Hallowe'en, so I'm building in lots of frogging and cursing time. We're doing serial killers this year, and I decided to try my hand at Ma Voorhees' blue cable sweater from Friday the 13th.

No one's put up a full start-to-finish pattern for it, but littlegrotesquerie on Reddit made one a couple of years ago and posted a few notes about it, as well as her cable charts. There's a longer writeup here. Bless everything about her, and all credit to her for her insane work.

I'm making the larger of the two sweaters used in the movie, the one with the purl stitches between the verticals, because I need the bust space. I'm also using Amy Miller's 'Gwyneth' sweater pattern for the general structure, swapping out the cable charts.

(Image by littlegrotesquerie)

I'm also going to change the sleeve top style, because I'm heavy-busted and short-waisted and the 80s drop-shoulder makes me look like a potato.

I'm still wavering between using the Gwyneth pattern raglan or just going for a higher set-in sleeve to keep the cables as accurate as possible. I'm knitting bottom-up, so I have time to decide. Lifelines are my friend.

Notes:

Vanna's Choice silver-blue yarn

My bust is 45", aiming for 2" ease. (high bust of 39", underbust 37". sigh.)

Size 6 cable needles for the ribbing, size 7 for the body of the sweater, to give me a 9 stitches / 2" gauge.

Stopped ribbing at 15 rows / 2" instead of 2.5" (see above re: short-waisted).

The front panel so far, after goofing on the cables once:

Frogging count:

1, down to the top of the ribbing.

#knitblr #craftblr #friday the 13th #pamela voorhees sweater #ardatli crafts

[eschergirls]

Originally published at: https://eschergirls.com/photo/2022/11/03/november-2022-caption-contest-winners

It's the final Saturday of November so it's time to pick the winners of the monthly caption contest!

Due to when the Saturdays fell this month, it's a relatively short caption contest (3 weeks), but you still all submitted some pretty great captions and it was hard to choose between them!  Because I originally ran this specific picture as a caption contest in 2021 that I never got back to, I've included those captions too, so if you submitted a caption back then, you still have a chance to win. :3

Anyway here were the entries:

P J Evans: They're clutching the boob-belt, it seems

P J Evans: The napkins do look like nice padding for that boob-squishing belt!

tytalus: Those look riveted on. They're cyber-boobs! We made them better, stronger...faster?

Kurt Prünner: "That's the third wrongest use of a bunny hair band that I've ever seen!"

Mel: I think she took up knitting, discovered it was hard work and stopped after two inches. But she told everyone she was making a sweater and decided to just tie the tiny scrap on and pretend it was high fashion.

@earthdeep: wow those things have their own shopfront awning...

@fliting: They're oven mitts, so she can balance a hot pan on her breasts when she takes it out of the oven without burning herself.

@plateglasstrampoline: Boob bibs.

@slightlyannoyedpanda: All I can see is that sharp white decorative border that looks like a blade is about to pierce her stomach, and if there ever was a convincing argument for why you should wear proper armor, this is it.

@caprice-nisei-enjoyer: Notice the claws and the belt across her bust? It's a mimic that wants to be the Monster Book of Monsters when it grows up

@coriwithclass: The caption "up" and the arrow are desperately trying to fix that poor girl's torso and keep her boobs from dragging on the ground.

@timhulsizer: “Yeah, my neck comes out of my left shoulder. What’s it to ya?”

@differenttriumphdragon: "Pick Up [Summon]"? More like "Pick Up a shirt from the nearest clothing store for the love of god"

@siklo: She’s clearly lactating and she though napkins are the obvious choice to clean up spilled milk

So I'm going to pick 3 winners and 2 honorable mentions.  If 1 of the winners doesn't accept their prize, then it'll go to the honorable mentions. :3

Honorable mentions go to: @earthdeep and @plateglasstrampoline!

And in third place: Mel!

In second place: @fliting!

And the winner of November 2022's caption contest is... @siklo! whose entry came in just under the deadline and made me laugh much harder than it should have

The winners get their choices of Steam games from this list: Beholder 2, Severed Steel, We Were Here Together, Overgrowth, Syberia 1, Riot: Civil Unrest, Neverinth, Dusk Diver, Tokyo Xanadu EX+, Still Life, Castle Crashers, Hotel Giant 2, Not The Robots, Steel Storm: Burning Retribution, Velvet Assassin, Fury Unleashed, Main Assembly, Oddworld: New n' Tasty, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD, Rage in Peace, Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos, and Wife Quest

If you've won, please contact me by email or on Tumblr to collect your prize!  If you won first place, just tell me the game you want, if you won second place, let me know 2 games in order of preference, and if you won third place give me 3 games in order of preference.

Thank you to everybody who competed!  It was a very fun one and I loved the captions you all came up with.  It was very hard for me to pick!

Stay tuned next week for December's special holiday themed caption contest!

#caption contest #caption contest winners #unitia #wtf clothing

[icterid-rubus]

I’m self drafting a knit top and I know it doesn’t fit right but I’m not sure how. I put in bust darts a while back and just recently decided to lower them by placing the lower half of the sweater in waste yarn and cutting it, then knitting an extension and grafting the darts back on. It’s puckering at the under arm and above the bust. I can’t tell if it’s from a sloppy graft or if the darts are ineffective.

I think the lapels are too wide, and perhaps I cast on too many underarm stitches. I used to think the armscye was too large, now I’m wondering if it’s too small. The bust darts my also be too far from the apex of the breast? If I pull down on the hem it evens out nicely.

#i didn’t want to unravel it since it’s been knit up for a while and the yarn would be like ramen noodles #i know there’s a knitting help subreddit. I’m thinking of posting there for help

[castiel]

hi hello please tell me more about the lighthouse fic 👀👀💕💕

ahh!! thank you for asking jordan!

i'm not even sure where the idea for this came from. i feel like i was just picturing cas as a lighthouse keeper at one point and decided to go for it.

--

excerpt:

“I heard this place was haunted.”

The corners of Castiel’s eyes crinkled. “Haunted?”

“Ya.”

Castiel tilted his head. “Are you some sort of… paranormal enthusiast?” 

Dean breathed out a short laugh. “Uh, I’m not sure that I’d use quite those words.”

Castiel hummed and narrowed his eyes before straightening his stance. “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t believe my home is haunted.” 

“It’s not?” Well this was a bust if that was the case.

“No.” Castiel tucked his hands into the pockets of his thick work jeans. He was also wearing a dark blue cable knit sweater that only further served to set off his eyes. Which Dean found himself staring into again. Seriously, what was with that? It wasn’t like Castiel was shy about practically staring into his soul, and it only seemed to drag Dean in like gravity pulling at his gaze. 

A sudden crash made him jump to the right as a bottle rolled towards his feet. It had clearly fallen from somewhere, but Dean didn’t see anyone but them in the room. “Are you sure it’s not haunted?” he asked.

Castiel’s lips quirked and he gestured up at the curved wall to Dean’s left. “Not unless you count Mrs. Butters.” Dean squinted in the dim light and saw a small tabby cat winding her way between various objects on a shelf near the ceiling.

Dean raised a brow at the name. “Mrs. Butters?”

Castiel shrugged. “She likes butter.”

-- outline:

so cas lives on this little island with his cat and is the strange lighthouse keeper that the mainland villagers have lots of mysterious stories about. dean ends up going there because he heard that the lighthouse was haunted and with sam away at school, he figures he'll check it out since he's always wanted to do a seaside case. of course, being dean, he doesn't check the weather forecast. so when he arrives on the island, there's a storm brewing. dean ends up getting stuck on the island for a week while the seas are too rough for him to get back to the mainland. he and cas get to know each other, and see a lot of similarities in each other. even though they've both been on their own for a long time, they find they like the company. at the height of the storm, a siren calls out to dean and he goes down to the rocks. the siren looks like mary and is trying to tempt him into the sea. cas saves him but not before dean gets injured. cas heals him and that's when dean finds out that cas is an angel who fell to earth a long time ago, and has just a little bit of grace left.

there's limited electricity on the island, so there's no heater and just a singular bed... and dean has to get warmed up somehow...

#jenn writes #jennmish writes #destiel fic #deancas fic

[musicandteddybears]

on one hand, i really don't need more yarn and in fact i should look into donating some of the stuff i have that i know i'll probably never use. on the other, like, most of it i could probably just use for rugs/mats and carry on 'cause those would eat a lot of yarn. my big issue is that a lot of it is worsted weight. i could also do hats and scarves, i guess? my superwash merino is definitely gonna be used for fingerless gloves, arm/leg warmers, and some hats. i refuse to touch sweaters. haven't gotten to shawls yet, that might be something to consider. i do kinda wanna go back to hobby lobby for the sugarwheel cotton, the citrus grove, neptune haze, and paris morning colorways were so damn pretty and they'd be great for baby blankets! except i don't know anyone around me with babies, i'm already making a baby blanket from mini skeins for the girl who does my hair and god knows i don't need more yarn. also i have way too many projects as it is. should frog a couple, i know full well i'm not gonna finish that knitted bookmark i was trying. the pillow cover...i'm not sure on that. i'll have to decide eventually what i wanna do with my stash, 'cause i have so much stuff from when i was just starting out and had no frigging clue what i was doing. gotta love that. also i need to work it out anyway as i've gotta get yarn for a future blanket, and i plan to use extra bulky for it so i can actually get it done in a reasonable time. may have to get a skein just to see how it'll work up so i know for future reference whenever i DO start that blanket. not gonna worry about said blanket just yet though. at least i can work on busting my cotton stash, my mom wants some more knitted coasters.

#knitting #thinking out loud #rambling

[casspurrjoybell-25]

November - Chapter 16

*Warning Adult Content*

- Oliver -

The morning of Thanksgiving, Oliver dressed in the outfit he'd brought for the occasion.

Since he thought he'd be having Thanksgiving with Brad, he'd packed his nicest sweater, a soft, cream colored cashmere and a pair of tan pants.

He was looking at himself in the mirror and frowning when Cooper came into the bedroom.

"You look amazing," Cooper says, coming up behind Oliver and wrapping his arms around him.

"Is it too much? I don't want to stick out when I'm with your family."

"It's perfect. The only downside is now I have to dress up. My mom got me a sweater last Christmas and if I show up with you looking this nice and I'm not also wearing a sweater, that's all I'm gonna hear about the rest of the day."

Oliver laughs.

"Then we better find that sweater."

Inside the closet, while Cooper tries finds the sweater, Oliver looks through his other clothes.

Cooper’s closet was mostly filled with jeans, outdoor work pants and flannel shirts but Oliver sees some dress pants and a button down shirt in a corner.

"You've got some nicer pants you could wear with the sweater."

"Yeah and I'll probably bust the ass right out of them if I try and wear them. I've put on a little weight since I bought them."

Over laughs loudly and then hugs Cooper.

"I think you have a great body. And I love your ass, even if it's not playing nice with some of your pants at the moment," Oliver tells him, making his point by grabbing Cooper’s ass with both hands.

Cooper grins and backed away out of his grasp.

"If we start, we're not going to get to my parents' house. Hands off."

"You better get dressed then," Oliver warns with a smile on his face."Standing there in your underwear is not helping the situation."

Oliver watched Cooper pull on a nicer pair of jeans and a knit olive green sweater. The color complemented his dark hair and beard perfectly and brought out his hazel eyes.

"You do clean up nice," Oliver says.

"I knew you would."

"Before I let all your compliments go to my head, we should get going. Being in front of my family will force me to behave around you."

                                           ******

When they pulled up to Cooper's parents' house, Oliver takes a deep breath.

He knew he shouldn't be nervous.

They weren't dating.

He was just a new friend who had nowhere else to go for Thanksgiving and it shouldn't matter if he impressed Cooper's family or not.

But for some reason, he wanted to impress them.

He wanted them to like him.

He followed Cooper inside, carrying some sparkling cider they'd picked up from the store.

The house was like Cooper's, except bigger.

It had the same warm, homey feel and the air smelled of vanilla and a hint of cinnamon.

Oliver assumed Annabelle had been baking.

"We're here," Cooper calls out.

He leads them to the kitchen where his family have gathered.

Oliver recognizes Annabelle and Rhett from the pictures Cooper had shown him and he assumed the dark-haired, bearded man was his father and the woman with red hair like Annabelle's was his mother.

"Everyone, this is Oliver. Oliver, you can probably guess who Rhett and Annabelle are. And these are my parents, Andy and Eileen."

Oliver stepped forward and shakes everyone's hand.

"It's great to meet you all. Cooper has told me a lot about you and I really appreciate you including me on Thanksgiving."

Cooper’s mother smiled at Oliver and he noticed she had the same warm, hazel eyes as her son.

"Cooper's friends are always welcome. I wouldn't allow anyone to be alone on Thanksgiving."

"Well, I'm looking forward to it." Oliver glanced over at Annabelle.

"Did you bake something for dessert? Cooper gave me some of the s'mores cookies you made and they were amazing. I loved them."

Annabelle's face lit up.

"Thank you. I helped my mom make a pumpkin pie and then I made snickerdoodle cookies. I'm making every type of cookie so I can decide which one is the best."

"This is why I'm getting a fat ass," Cooper says.

"I've been asked to taste all of them."

"If you just had one, it wouldn't be a problem," Rhett says.

"But you take half of them home and then I see you eating at least five during lunch whenever we work together."

"Okay, guilty," Cooper admits with a grin.

"Annabelle's cookies are just that good and I lack self control."

Oliver laughed along with everyone.

As they all sit down and begin eating, it became clear to Oliver that Cooper was the jokester of the family and he kept everyone entertained.

Oliver could also imagine him being the peacekeeper and making sure everyone got along.

All of his family members were kind to Oliver, with the exception of Rhett.

Rhett was the quietest member of the family and the most serious and Oliver caught several disapproving glances from him whenever Cooper’s brother looked in the non-couple’s direction.

Oliver remembered Cooper telling him that Rhett didn't approve of Cooper being gay and the young man hoped it wasn't going to be an issue.

Annabelle talked Oliver’s ear off about baking, especially when she found out that he baked sometimes.

She wanted to know all about the cookies he had made and only stopped her questions when Cooper's father changed the subject.

"How are you liking Washington?" he asks.

"It's incredible. There's so much out here, beaches, mountains, waterfalls, lakes, rainforests. I've been really impressed with everything."

Oliver fills them in on what he'd seen so far and Cooper's parents tell him about some of the trips they'd taken as a family and what else he should try to see.

Talking with them felt natural and easy and Oliver was having a great time.

Dinner flew by and soon Cooper's mother was getting up to get the pumpkin pie and Annabelle's cookies.

"Oliver?" Annabelle piped up.

"Are you Cooper's new boyfriend?"

Oliver looked over at Cooper and saw his cheeks turn pink as he blushed.

Cooper answered before Oliver could.

"No, Oliver is just a good friend. He doesn't live here. He's visiting from California."

"Oh," Annabelle says and turns her gaze to Oliver.

"I had hoped you were Cooper's boyfriend. He deserves someone nice and cute like you. And someone who will bake for him when I can't."

Oliver smiles at her.

"He certainly does deserve all of that. Your brother is an amazing guy and anyone would be lucky to have him as a boyfriend."

"How did you two meet?" Rhett asked.

It was the first thing he'd said to Oliver.

Cooper chimed in again.

"Oliver had the unfortunate experience of having to sit next to me on the plane flight home. He's a forgiving person because he still wants to be friends after I crushed half his body."

Oliver snorted a laugh at Cooper's description.

"What he isn't telling you all is that he helped cheer me up on the plane. My boyfriend at the time got himself a seat in first class and stuck me in economy. Then he kind of ruined this trip by not wanting to hike with me and then breaking up with me after a few days. Cooper's been an awesome tour guide and basically saved my trip."

Cooper’s mother beams at him, a smile that seemed to say 'that's my boy'.

"Cooper has always made friends where ever he goes."

After that, it seemed to be ‘Cooper story time’.

They all took turns telling Oliver about ridiculous things Cooper had done while growing up and the younger man really appreciated hearing the stories and having something to tease Cooper about later.

They finish eating the pie and cookies and everyone helps clean up.

Then Rhett appeared at Oliver’s side.

"Come outside. I want to talk to you."

Oliver followed Rhett into the yard.

‘He made me nervous because he didn't talk much and had an intense demeanor and because I also knew how he felt about gay men.’

Rhett stopped near the corner of the house, crossed his arms and stared at Oliver.

"What's with you and Cooper?"

"Um, what do you mean?"

"I can tell he really likes you. You better not be leading him on."

"I'm not. I like him too but we're not dating. I've known him less than two weeks and I don't live here."

"So you're just going to pick up and leave when your trip is over and go back to California to find another yuppie like you?"

"I don't know. Neither Cooper or I know what's going to happen and we haven't talked about it yet. But I told him I want to come back and visit and he's talked about visiting me."

"Do you actually like him?"

Now Oliver was confused.

"I said I did?"

"How much did he tell you about his exes?"

"He said he had three exes and that one relationship was long distance.

"Here's what he didn't tell you. One of those guys that lived in Seattle called him an uneducated hick. I don't want another city person coming here and making him feel like shit."

Oliver was horrified.

"I would never do that. I think Cooper's great. He's a smart, hardworking guy and I really enjoy being around him. I would never put him down like that."

Rhett stares at Oliver and narrows his eyes.

"You better not. The last thing he needs is someone else getting his hopes up. When that long distance guy broke up with him, he was devastated. I don't want to see him like that again."

Oliver didn't know Cooper had taken the break-up that hard.

He talked about it like anything else, with no hint of seriousness or emotion.

"I wish he wasn't like this," Rhett continued.

"His life would be a lot easier if he would settle down with a woman and have his own family."

"That's not going to happen. He's gay and it's not a choice and he can't change it," Oliver says, feeling a flare of anger.

“I get that. But I don't want him to keep getting hurt, either by not being able to find someone or by guys he works with giving him a hard time."

"Welcome to our lives," Oliver says bitterly."It's not easy and people with attitudes like yours don't make it any easier."

Rhett glared at Oliver and he glares back.

After, what seemed like forever, Rhett breaks the silence.

"Don't hurt him."

Then Cooper’s older brother turns and walked back into the house.

Part of Oliver was mad but another part of him understood what Cooper meant when he said that Rhett worried about him.

Sure, Rhett wasn't exactly gay-friendly but he did seem most concerned about how it impacted Cooper's life and the way people treated him.

Beyond Rhett's gruff exterior and harsh words, Oliver could tell he cared about his brother.

And Oliver cared about Cooper also, more than he wanted to.

And to make the whole situation even worse, Oliver liked his family too.

Being with them felt like being home and they had a warmth that he'd never felt with his own parents.

Cooper was lucky that his parents and Annabelle accepted him exactly the way he was.

It was going to be difficult to go back to his life in California, back to a family he wasn't close with and back to single life.

‘Why did I have to fall for a guy that lived over 1,300 miles away?’

[subspencer]

spencer has been on a case for a couple weeks now, and he’s coming back tonight. his plane was delayed so he wouldn’t have gotten home until really late so you try your hardest to stay awake by doing different things that google says helps, and eventually you fall asleep reading a book or something and when spencer comes home he sees you and just moves you to get comfy and kisses your head, then you wake up and then some fluff or smut doesn’t matter<33

hiii i wrote this all last night! it’s a bit of both fluff and smut! 

wc: 1.4k    

According to Google, the scent of pumpkin was known to arouse men, especially when combined with the scent of lavender. So you lit a bunch of different candles, a few of both scents, plus dozens of smaller ones to line the windowsills. 

Chocolate is another aphrodisiac, as you’ve heard. You hand-dipped fresh strawberries in the fanciest chocolate money could buy, plating them up next two two champagne flutes and a chilled bottle of bubbly. It was the least you and Spencer deserved after weeks apart. 

Everything looked great, until he texted you at nine-thirty in the evening, at the time you were expecting his plane to land.

I’m so sorry, a massive storm came through. Plane never left. We’re getting back on now, hope to land in a few hours. 

Well, fuck. You were so prepared for him; all dressed up, glasses already poured, candles lit, and a set of new lingerie on.  

But it was only three hours. That’s all that separated you from Spencer, and after so many days, you could manage to busy yourself for a few hours. He was worth the wait. 

You passed eighty minutes by watching some tv, another twenty while playing a game on your phone, and twenty more by going back to the tv. Two hours down, one more to go. But you made the fatal mistake of having some of that champagne while you waited, and staying awake seemed harder to do with every passing minute.

With no coffee in the house to keep yourself up, you resorted to the internet again. The first search result was a listicle of tips and tricks:

1. Get Up and Walk Around  

Okay, done. And while you walked around, you also accomplished tip number four, “Eat a Healthy Snack to Boost Energy”. With a whole, peeled carrot in one hand, you paced around Spencer’s apartment while chomping on the vegetable for a good ten minutes. 

It worked, but only a little. So, you tried another item.

5. Start a Conversation to Wake Up Your Mind

It was a total bust. At goddamn eleven forty five in the evening, on a week night, not many people would be excited to pick up the phone. You tried a few numbers and all of them went to voice mail. 

On to the next one.

3. Give Your Eyes a Break

Okay, so no screens. You put your phone down, shut the television off, and walked over to Spencer’s bookcase. Running your fingers along their spines, you were in awe of how many books he had. It was too many to pick from, so instead, you went to his bedside table and picked up the book he was last reading in bed. 

You almost fell into the trap of sitting in bed to read it. You knew if you did that, you’d fall asleep right away. So you took it to the couch, grabbing one of his sweaters off his armchair on the way, and tossing it overhead.

In a bid of hope, you never got out of that lingerie you put on for him, but now it was starting to get chilly. You promised yourself to take it off the second you heard his keys hit the door; he’d never have to know you were anything less than the perfectly seductive piece you were dressed up as. 

But, Jesus fucking Christ. Spencer reads some boring books.

Not boring, maybe, but ones that have words just in the damn title that you don’t even understand. You strained your mind through four of the pages, which took at least another twenty minutes anyways, and decided that was more than enough. 

You checked your phone again, hoping for a miracle. And it came to you in the form of a text from Spencer.

Just landed! 

Got news that all the roads are blocked off. Trains are closed, Morgan’s gonna drive me home, but it could still take at least an hour :(

There wasn’t even a moment to be excited about the first part before you swiped out of the messages app and angrily pulled up that listicle again. All the other suggestions were rubbish; you weren’t going to go exercise in a snowstorm, there wasn’t any fucking sunlight at past midnight, and you’d already drank tons of water. 

There was one item on the list you hadn’t tried yet.

2. Take a Nap to Take the Edge Off Sleepiness

That was tempting. Spencer did say it would be another hour, and as he’s informed you many times before, a twenty-minute nap was all it took to get the optimal nap in. 

You caved. But you made sure to set your phone alarm for twenty minutes out, and yet another after that just in case. Fluffing Spencer’s sofa cushions up, you tucked one under your head and laid down.

-

You woke up just moments before Spencer came home. He walked in to find you waiting for him, clad in the hottest red lingerie he’d ever laid eyes on. After weeks of being apart, he didn’t have the time for words. He dropped his bags at the door and wordlessly stormed over, bringing his hands to either side of your face and gripping you tightly as he covered your mouth with his own. 

Your mouths worked furiously together, and his hands dropped low on your hips before throwing all caution to the wind and palming your ass. With both hands just below your ass, he picked you up, wrapping your legs around his waist as he walked you to the wall and pinned you against it. Your pussy was leveled perfectly against his hard dick. He grinded himself against you, moaning at the sweet friction. His head was buried in your neck, sucking so deliciously. 

“Spencer,” you moaned his name, low and rolling, as he shifted your panties aside. “Mmm, feels so good baby.” 

He carefully set you down and dropped to his knees, putting his face between your legs instead. His tongue pressed along the length of your seam. You let your eyes close as you dropped your head back onto the wall.

“Fuck, Spencer!” you couldn’t stop moaning it. Every other breath became the sound of his name. 

And then, you felt a kiss on your forehead. And a palm on your shoulder. Your eyes flickered open, fully and for real this time.

Next thing you knew, Spencer was kneeling on the floor. Not between your legs, but by your side while you were laid out on the couch, gently shaking you awake.

“Hi,” he smiled as you finally blinked your eyes awake. “Havin’ a good dream, I hope?”

You grumbled, disappointed both that it wasn’t real, and that you’d fallen asleep. “No, no, it wasn’t supposed to be like this!” you pouted, sitting up. “I was supposed to wake up and, and –”

“Be ready for me?” He quirked a brow as he surveyed the room. 

There were dozens of blown-out candles under the open windows, carrying a cool evening breeze. An untouched plate of chocolate strawberries, and a less-untouched bottle of champagne. You, clad in something silky and red, that made you look like a present waiting to be unwrapped. And also, his chunky knit sweater. 

“I tried, I promise. I did everything, I even read that book of yours,” you gestured to it on the coffee table, barely cracked open.

“Well, it’s no wonder you fell asleep then,” he laughed. 

“I’m so sorry, Spence.” 

He only shook his head and pushed your shoulders back down until you were lying on the couch again. 

“Don’t apologize.” He pulled your knees closer to him, hooking the leg closest to him over his far shoulder and nestling himself inside. “To find my girlfriend waiting for me, in my home,” he stopped to kiss the inside of your knee, “in my sweater,” and then the other one, “and in this, too?” 

Spencer pushed up the hem of the sweater, exposing the fancy lingerie you had under. His large hands rested on your sides as he dove in to kiss your belly, right above the mesh garter belt you wore. From there, he kissed a line all the way down, stopping before reaching your panties.

“Well, that’s all I could’ve asked for.” He gave you a smirk before hooking one finger into your panties and pulling them to the side. He dragged his tongue over you. “So, why don’t you tell me what that dream was about?” 

#spencer reid #spencer reid smut #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid self insert #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds smut #spencer reid blurb #spencer reid imagine #blurb

[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home: Chapter 11

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!) Guest starring Nick Fury and Maria Hill

Summary: Fury comes for another weekly check-in and Reader gets in trouble. He also brings along a doctor, will he have good or bad news for Rocket?

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: A -l o n g b o i- of a chapter. Also, for my records, this is day 14 of the Guardians living with reader.

Word Count: 7,756

You wake up early, partially due to the pain in your arm, but mostly because you knew Fury would likely be coming today and you wanted to try and get to town and back before he arrived.

After a light breakfast you start to go out back door to retrieve the box the raccoon corpse was in, but Peter, who had also just finished eating and who suspected exactly what you're doing, jumped up and said he'll help you get the box.

You roll your eyes, and you're about to tell him you are fine to do it yourself when you hear knock at door. You assume it's Fury, but you want to be careful. You look out window, prepared to tell Peter to keep the others out of sight, when you notice two SHIELD vehicles behind your own, and that they hadn't been cloaked like Fury's was last time.

"It's Fury," you tell Peter, and he goes to fetch a few of the others who weren't already in the kitchen, mostly Rocket, because he expected they would want to see him after you said you'd be contacting SHIELD about the raccoon fight and whether Rocket had his shots.

Feeling slightly relieved that it was just Fury and that he hadn't decided to test you this time, you answer the door to see not only Fury and Agent Hill, but another man.

Fury gives a quick greeting and introduces the man as a doctor they brought along to test the dead raccoon. Apparently they came prepared after your message to Maria the previous night. You offer to go unlock shed but Fury says he needs you to stay there, and to give the doctor the keys. You are surprised, but obey, assuming he just wants briefed on what happened last night.

You hand the doctor the keys and he disappears back out the front door while you lead Fury and Maria into the kitchen where the others are just as Peter comes back down the stairs with Drax and Rocket.

As suspected, Fury asks first about what happened with the raccoon incident.

Rocket rolls his eyes and grumbles, "Nothing."

Drax speaks up. He tells Fury that he and you heard the commotion outside, saw Rocket getting attacked, and then you shot the offending animal.

Fury nods. "I see. I trust you've already looked him over, but our doctor will be doing so again before he administers the booster. According to our records Rocket was given a rabies vaccination, but you can never be too careful."

"Good." you reply, nodding your head in relief.

Rocket just hopped up on the counter to sit with his arms crossed indignantly, not looking forward to being examined for something he had already been checked for, but surprisingly he chose not to be a child about it.

"How long before we know if the raccoon was infected or not?" asked Kraglin.

Agent Hill answered. "The test takes about two hours. We brought a lab van so the test could be preformed on site that way we'd know as soon as possible."

Leave it to SHIELD to come prepared for literally everything.

"We also brought another couple weeks worth of rations. NOVA expects you all to be here for awhile more." This earned unhappy muttered grumblings from Rocket, but the others kept their mouth shut. They were never under the impression the negotiations would be done quickly. Maria continued, "So if a few of you want to help carry the boxes in..." she gestured towards the kitchen door. She said it politely, but it wasn't exactly a request. She wasn't a maid.

You nodded and started to head toward the door when Fury said. "Agent, stop."

You stopped, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Sir?"

Peter, Drax, and Kraglin, who had stood and were also about to follow Agent Hill (and tell you specifically not to go, for obvious reasons), also stopped, surprised by Fury's tone. He almost sounded a bit like he was scolding you despite his tone being even.

"Please remove your sweater."

The sweater he was referring to was actually an old knit cardigan. You had taken to wearing it the past few days due both to a string of overcast and therefore chillier days, and well, for said obvious reasons. "I'm sorry, what?" you ask.

"Your jacket. Take it off."

You swallow. You had a sneaking suspicion why he would ask you that. He had an annoying habit of somehow knowing everything. "If it's all the same, I'd rather not-"

"Remove your jacket, agent. Or do you need Agent Hill to assist you?" It was clear that he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

You try to hide a grimace as you did what you were told, doing your best not to wince as you pulled your sweater off your good arm first and then the injured arm. Silently you wondered who had squealed on you. A small gasp from Mantis was heard when she saw what your sweater had been hiding, and you could feel the eyes of the others also on you as Fury gave you an unamused look and Agent Hill's eyes widened sightly. Even Rocket looked a bit surprised. He wasn't expecting it to look that bad.

Purple and green bruising stained your arm, radiating out from your elbow and stretching from your bicep to maybe 5 inches shy of your wrist.

"The doctor is also here to check over your injury as well." Fury said. Looking to Gamora he thanked her for informing them of your injury before turning back to scold you for not having mentioned it to them or having seen a doctor for it. He also threw in that you should be wearing a sling and resting your arm instead of 'acting like a dumbass who thinks they don't need to take care of themselves.'

"Sir, it's fine. I-"

"I'm trusting you to protect these people. How are you going to do that if you cripple yourself by neglecting injuries?" he scolded.

You shot an unhappy look to Gamora, but you could tell she wasn't sorry. You also caught almost smug looks from Yondu and Peter before turning back to Fury.

"How did it happen?" asked Maria. Gamora had told her that it had happened, that you refused help, and that you put it back in place yourself, but she hadn't told her how it happened. Seeing the aftermath of the injury now herself had made her curious.

"Slipped," you say before anyone can speak up for you. "Clumsy me," you add sarcastically.

Peter raised an eyebrow and shared glances with Kraglin and Yondu, surprised that you seemed to be covering for him. However, he didn't correct you, assuming you gave that answer for a reason, and after all, it wasn't totally a lie, more just... not the whole truth.

That explanation was apparently good enough for Fury and Maria because she nodded at the guys for them to follow as Fury laid into you again.

***

Maria opened the back hatch of the SUV, revealing crates of rations to be taken inside.

Lifting up one of the crates, Peter tried to make conversation, mentioning how Fury seemed surprisingly mad at you for not seeking out a doctor for your injury.

Sure, he could understand your boss telling you that you were dumb for neglecting an injury and scolding you for being stupid, but Fury's anger seemed different than he would have expected. Almost like he genuinely cared that you had gotten hurt. He couldn't remember any of his mother's bosses caring that much. If anything, if she had gotten hurt or sick, they would have preferred that she pretended she hadn't and just worked through it. Then again, he always did think most of her bosses were mean. Maybe she just had bad luck?

"Yeah, well, this wouldn't be the first time she's hidden an injury." Maria admitted. "I imagine he's getting a bit tired of it."

Kraglin took a crate from Maria. "She do that often?" he asked, surprised that anyone would just routinely hide when they've been hurt for seemingly no reason.

"It's not a super frequent occurrence, but she does have a bad habit of not saying when she's hurt. Once she got stabbed on the job in Hong Kong... we only found out when another agent walked in on her trying to stitch herself up in the hotel afterwards." She stacked a crate on top of the one Drax was already holding and shut the hatch before bending down to pick up the last crate she had set on the ground for herself. "Then there was a time when we were on a job together in Romania. We had been captured and held hostage for two days. I noticed she started looking worse and worse as time went on. I thought she was just getting sick, but then she passed out during the last interrogation attempt before SHEILD busted in the door with backup." She started walking back towards the house with the men. "I found out after they got her to medical that the day after we got sent out she came down with appendicitis and instead of telling someone that something was wrong and getting medical treatment, she apparently decided it was better to just cut out her own appendix- still don't know how she managed that without anyone noticing." Maria sounded like she clearly disapproved of your prior actions. "Anyway, with no way to keep it clean while we were being held prisoner, she had developed an infection. She was put on suspension for that one. I've got more, but I think you get the drift."

The three men's eyes were wide as they followed Agent Hill back to the house.

"That's insane." Peter said. "Why would anyone do that?"

"Beats me. She didn't always used to be that way, but now we use her as an example for what you shouldn't do with the new recruits."

"What do you think changed? Could she have suffered a brain injury that made her dumb?" Drax asked.

Peter shifted his crate so he could open the door and scolded Drax for being rude. As they walked into the hall Maria said, "No head injury that I'm aware of, she just kinda changed after-"

She never got to finish that sentence, for they entered the kitchen to hear you angrily say to Fury, "You can't be serious."

The four made their way towards the pantry with their crates, cautiously eyeing the situation so as to not appear nosy. Well, except for Drax, who was just flat out staring.

You were staring angrily at a stern-faced Fury while Gamora looked at the two of you, uneasiness in her eyes. Yondu and Rocket had looks of almost smug satisfaction playing on their faces, while Mantis and Groot appeared confused and intrigued.

"Serious as a heart attack." Fury answered. "After the doctor examines you and gives his orders, she-" he pointed to Gamora, "is going to report back to me if you break them, since clearly she has more sense than you."

"Sir, I don't need a babysitter-"

"Act like a baby, you get a sitter." Fury responded, cutting you off. "Adults know better than to just ignore serious injuries, Agent. Or do I need to remind you of the stunt you pulled in Romania?"

Gamora looked uncomfortable, and she wasn't even the one being scolded, though now she did wonder what you had done in Romania, wherever that was. Yondu was also curious, as Fury's statement confirmed you had done this more than once.

You sighed indignantly, "Sir I-"

"Enough. Unless you want to tell me you intend to defy orders, I suggest you keep any excuses to yourself. If I hear anything about you neglecting the doctor's orders, your ass will be assigned to a desk so fast your head will spin. Are we clear?"

Your eyes widened. Desk duty?! He couldn't do that to you. "What? Sir?! You can't do that-" you say, your voice almost pleading with a hint of indignation.

He says again, more firmly, "Are we clear?" Not only could he, he most definitely would. You thought being assigned to stay home was bad? Try being stuck in a cubicle for the next foreseeable future.

"Yes, sir." you say begrudgingly.

"Good."

Rocket started chuckling, pleased to see you get dressed down by your boss. In your own home, no less. Then he got an idea. "Hey, Agent." he said in a mocking tone.

You turn to glare at him. "What?" you respond irritably.

"Why don't you tell me where that new bed in my room came from?" He was wearing a shit eating grin, and you weren't sure why he'd bring it up right now.

You roll your eyes. "How should I know? Bed faeries? Piss off."

Rocket grinned wider. "Really? 'Cause I've got a feeling you aren't allowed to lie to your director, so if he were to ask..."

Fury, not in the mood, flatly repeated what he had said on the last visit, "I'm not here to get involved with your petty squabbles." adding, "I couldn't care less what this was about."

Rocket almost looked disappointed, and you relieved, before Agent Hill said, "Well, he might not care, but we'll be here for the next two hours waiting on results anyway... and technically I do outrank you..." Her smile wasn't malicious, it was clear that her intent was only some good-natured ribbing to her fellow agent who seemingly didn't like to admit that she'd done something nice for the asshole raccoon. Trying to lighten the mood.

You give Maria a look that says, 'Are you fucking kidding?'

Rocket looked delighted, and a few of the others looked pleasantly intrigued by your expression. By now everyone had pretty much gathered that you had made Rocket the bed, but you never would say as much. It'd be interesting if you'd actually admit it, or suffer whatever consequence lying to a superior might entail if they would choose to enforce it.

Fury, however, rolled his eye and told Maria he was going to have a word with the doctor. His way of saying that this issue wasn't worth his time, but he also wasn't going to stop whatever happened next.

Maria didn't force you to come clean about the bed. Not at first anyway. She did, however, exercise her power to keep you in line. Meaning, if you didn't do like you were told and just sit and wait for the doctor while the guys finished emptying the crates into the pantry and returned the crates to the vehicle, she'd make veiled threats to ask where the bed came from.

You knew she was only having a bit of fun, but you still stared daggers at her.

***

After a bit Fury returned with the doctor, who greeted you again by handing you the keys to your shed, stating that he locked it back up. He also informed that part of the the rabies test involved freezing the samples for 45 minutes, so he would examine you and Rocket in the meantime.

You went to motion for Rocket to go first, but Fury prodded the doctor in your direction, giving you a look that you knew better than to argue with. Rocket stuck his tongue out at you and remained sitting, satisfied, on the counter. Out of most everyone's sight, though, his tail twitched.

You were tense, but on your best behavior the whole time the doctor examined your injured arm, not wishing for Fury to come up with another punishment for your disobedience.

The doctor pulled a device out of a briefcase that turned out to be a fancy portable X-ray device to make sure there were no fractures. Luckily there weren't any.

The outcome was determined that you were very lucky. Somehow you had managed to set the bones back in place well enough on your own without accidentally breaking the radial heads in the 're-entry' process, something the doctor said he'd wouldn't have expected for a self-reset, but then again, most don't attempt to reset this type of injury on their own either. You were given a mild scolding by the doctor for not putting the arm in a sling so the ligaments could heal, however, and he said you were very lucky it didn't re-dislocate. You internally groaned as "I told you so's" peeped from behind you.

The doctor placed your arm in a strange hinged brace with a strap that made it sort of like a sling with the instructions that you were required to wear it with the strap for a week. Afterwards you could remove the strap, but you would still need to wear the brace for at least another two or three weeks. You were also placed on a weight restriction of only 5 pounds for your injured arm. Great...

You didn't say anything, only nodded, having gotten the message that it wasn't in your best interest to argue if you didn't want another tongue-lashing from Fury.

When the doctor was done with you he moved onto Rocket, who's ears momentarily flattened when he saw the doctor was now approaching him, but he quickly recovered, begrudgingly allowing himself to be examined.

As expected, the doctor found nothing of concern, barely even a scratch, which he was sure to clarify that Rocket likely wouldn't have contracted rabies from even if the animal does test positive.

The doctor turned to his coat pocket and pulled out a pre-loaded syringe of pinkish liquid, declaring to Rocket that it was the vaccine booster as he pulled off the cap.

Peter saw Rocket stiffen and finally noticed the twitching of his tail, and decided to be merciful and distract him. "Hey, Trash Panda,"

Rocket turned his head to Peter as the doctor grabbed his arm. "I don't answer to that, Star-Munch."

"You just did." Peter laughed.

Rocket growled at him before turning back to the doctor and asking him to hurry up so he could bite a chunk out of Peter's face.

"Already done," stated the doctor, capping the now empty needle and slipping it into a plastic bag before returning it to his pocket.

Rocket raised his eyebrows, forgetting his previous anger towards Peter. "Oh." His tail ceased its twitching. He hadn't felt a thing.

Peter didn't return to taunting and just let him forget. Mission accomplished.

Now done, the doctor announced he'd be going back to the lab-van to check on the samples, leaving you to sit awkwardly with your boss, co-worker, and the rest of the Guardians.

You look to the ceiling and sigh before saying, "Well I suppose I should offer you some tea if you're going to be here awhile."

Maria nodded that she'd take some and no sooner than you go to stand does Peter speak up and say, "Let me help-"

You give him a seething look that actually makes him recoil. "Unless you know how to make tea, fuck off. And even if you do, still fuck off. I don't need both arms to make fecking tea and I don't need your help. I'm not an infant." Your tone was even, but the venom was still there. A bit harsh, perhaps, but it sent the desired message. The whole situation was making you very cranky and maybe they shouldn't push it. At least for awhile until you had a chance to decompress.

Fury, however, shot you a disapproving look before you turned to put the kettle on, though he didn't say anything. He had pretty much expected this is how you might react.

The next half hour was mostly sipping tea and awkward attempts at conversation as everyone waited for the doctor to finish the test.

Yondu wasn't much interested in trying to make conversation, though he was surprised to find he didn't mind the tea. He was watching as you fiddled with your cup. You were quiet, and he thought you seemed nervous. Could you be nervous about the test results on that animal? Why? All evidence pointed to Rocket being completely fine, he hadn't been bitten, and that's what you said they had to worry about, right?

When the doctor finally returned he had good news. The raccoon had tested negative.

Yondu watched you visibly relax and it made him wonder if there was something you hadn't told them.

He was right. You were worried about the possibility of the raccoon's blood or saliva having found its way into one of the scratches or, more grossly, Rocket's mouth or eyes. If the raccoon had been infected, you knew those would be other possible ways Rocket still could have contracted the virus. You hadn't told the others because you hadn't wanted them to worry, but doing this only then made you worry. Not just because you didn't want to see even an asshole like Rocket die like that, but because you had told the others he'd be fine if he wasn't bitten, and that hadn't fully been the truth. It was a weight off your shoulders to hear that the test came back negative.

With that news Fury, Agent Hill, and the doctor were finally all able to leave. Fury stood and made eye-contact with Gamora. "Remember what I said, she steps out of line, disobeys the doctor's orders, you report back to us. Understood?"

Gamora nodded uneasily. She hadn't expected to be put on the spot and honestly wasn't looking forward to her assigned task, sure that it would only serve to piss you off.

Fury looked at you now. "Understood, Agent?"

You exhale irritably and say, "Yes, sir."

"Good. We'll be seeing you again next week."

You led them to the front door to let them out, but right before she walked out Maria turned to you with a smile and said, "Oh, almost forgot. Where did that new bed in Rocket's room come from?" She said it louder than necessary, no doubt to make sure that the others could hear the question being asked.

"Dammit, Maria!" you scold.

Fury now turned with a smirk, seemingly finally finding humor in the situation. "You know what. I changed my mind. I'd also like to know. Agent?"

You look to the ceiling with a pitiful look. Maria had only been joking, there wouldn't be any real consequences for refusing to tell her. Fury, however, was your boss, and if he wanted to be a dick about it, he could. Apparently your recent stunt with your injury had pressed his 'asshole' button. "I built it." you mutter.

Fury spoke in a tone louder than necessary, just to mess with you. "Sorry, Agent, I didn't catch that."

You glare at him and only speak up a little bit. "Said I built it, sir."

Fury chuckled, and spoke again in the louder-than-necessary voice, "Ah, you built the bed! What a nice thing to do, Agent!"

Rocket could be heard from the kitchen cheering, "I frickin knew it!"

You glared at your boss and coworker. "I hate you both so much."

Fury chuckled. "Goodbye, Agent."

"Goodbye, sir." you reply, promptly shutting the door.

You turn to see Rocket standing smugly in the kitchen doorway. Peter and Kraglin were standing behind him, appearing amused.

"Not a word." you say, barely looking at them as you made for the stairs.

Rocket laughed. "Oh, I was just going to ask if I should give my regards to you, or the faeries."

"Can't hear you!" you call back as you walk up the stairs.

"Come on now, that was a nice thing ya did!" Kraglin said, his tone teasing.

"Not listening!" you cry back as you climb higher, fully aware you were acting a bit like a child, but not caring in your pursuit to get away.

They heard your door shut and Kraglin turned to Peter to say, "She's an odd one, ain't she?"

"Yep."

***

Gamora felt uneasy. After conversing with the others about you, she had contacted Agent Hill on the communication device SHIELD had given them in case any issues arose. They were naturally concerned with how you kept to your room after the injury, and a few therefore worried that the injury was worse than you let on.

They could have just let you be, after you made it clear that you wouldn't accept their help, but after they saw you risk further injury to save their friend, she and Peter collectively decided they'd risk overstepping and contact SHIELD. You helped one of them, they'd help you. Even if you didn't want it, they felt you needed it.

What they hadn't expected was for Fury to be angry about it and, as a result, assign Gamora as your warden.

She talked with Peter in private, discussing what she should do about the situation. She didn't see the situation going well. You barely knew each other and you could be... well, stubborn might be an understatement. Eventually they agreed there was only one thing to be done. Just do it.

Or, at least make it look like she had every intention of carrying through without pissing you off to much. Sometimes people needed a little tough love for their own good, but Gamora knew if they crossed the line into overbearing things could go south real quick, and she didn't want to risk finding the tipping point that would make you make them leave. Being assigned someone to report back on you if you misbehaved was probably humiliating enough without them pushing it.

Now if they could only get Rocket on board.

You stayed in your room most of the day, but when you did come out to eat or to stretch your legs Rocket would throw teases at you, saying that you better stay in line if you didn't want Gamora to tell on you, and throwing taunts about the punishment Fury had threatened you with if you disobeyed the doctor's orders.

To their surprise, however, you just ignored him. You literally just didn't acknowledge him. Just walked about your business, and returned to your room without even a glance in his direction.

Then they realized it was only because you couldn't hear him. You had your earbuds in. Probably for the best, really.

Gamora's uneasiness eventually turned into relief when it became clear that you didn't hold a major grudge against her for squealing on you or her assignment from Fury. Based on your reaction earlier she had been worried that you'd focus your ire on her, but for whatever reason, you didn't seem to.

It was true, you didn't hold a grudge against her. Well, not after you had a chance to cool down about the situation, that is. Listening to music always made you feel better, so it helped your mood that you had kept your earbuds in for most of the day, (and let's be honest, it saved Rocket's ass too.) You took some time to reflect. Except for a period when you went for a walk to decompress, you stayed in your room and just thought about the situation. From what you had seen of Gamora, she probably only thought she was helping. Why she wanted to, you couldn't guess, but you just assumed she did. Fury was probably just trying to teach you a lesson, and you resolved to not let it get to you. You'd play the game, be good, and then he'd eventually get off your back. Easy.

After spending most of the day reflecting, you didn't feel as cranky as you had that morning. Yup, good old music and walking had done it's job to help your mood...

You hadn't made the connection that each of the three times Mantis came to your shared room to check on you, and would take your hand or place hers on your arm to ask how you were feeling, you felt a little more contented. You just assumed she was feeling affectionate and that you enjoyed her company.

Both of those were true, but Mantis had also been working her magic a little, wanting to see you cheer up but doing it in tiny doses so as to not ruin the practical joke Yondu had said would be real funny later if she didn't tell you about her abilities. She didn't know when the joke would be over, but she also didn't want to ruin it and disappoint her new friend.

Later that night you decided to break out a bottle of whiskey from the cellar. Try to get a buzz going. You brought it into the kitchen, asking those already at the table if they wanted any. Well, it was more like telling them that they knew where the glasses were if they wanted some, but still, an offer is an offer.

You sat down and poured yourself a glass as Peter grabbed a glass each for him and Gamora, and Kraglin fetched one for himself and Yondu.

Gamora was the first to speak. "I just wanted to aplogi-"

"No."

"What?"

"It's awkward enough without the apology. It's done. I'm sure you thought you were being helpful or something, but it's done."

Gamora raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Well I-"

You sigh. "Look, if it makes you feel better, you're forgiven or whatever, but I don't want to talk about it. 'Kay?" you down your glass and pour another. "Don't kill my buzz before it's even started."

Peter started to speak up. "Well I feel Krags and I at least-"

You cut him off as well. "Same goes for you. We're not going to talk about it right now. It's done."

"Oh...kay..." Peter said, taking a sip. He attempted small talk after a bit. "So... how did you come about working for SHIELD?"

You sipped and shrugged before setting your glass down. "My dad was an agent, and I guess I followed in his footsteps." you say, toying with your glass. Eager to turn the conversation away from you, you asked, "How'd you lot go about becoming 'Guardians of the Galaxy'?"

That question had the desired effect. Peter started off the story by telling you how it actually all started with them getting thrown in prison over a stone and then breaking out of said prison together to locate said powerful stone that some dick called Ronan was going to use to wipe out an entire planet.

About a quarter the way through the story the rest of the Guardians came and the same offer was extended to them before you stood up and announced you should probably grab another bottle as the one you brought up was nearly empty.

Rocket piped up, "So where ya hide it anyway?"

You looked at him, confused and a little tipsy. Cocking your head you asked, "What?"

"The booze. You always seem to pull it out of thin air. Figured you were hiding it."

You blink at him while Peter scolded him for being dumb, a sentiment you now currently shared. You laugh and look at Gamora, who looked embarrassed by her friend. "Is he always this dumb?" Not waiting for an answer you turn back to Rocket. "It ain't hidden. Dipshit." You turn away to resume your task.

Rocket, offended that you would call him dumb, said, "If you ain't hiding it, why haven't we ever seen where you keep it."

Now Kraglin was giving him looks. Even if you were hiding it, it was your shit. You were already giving them a place to stay, you didn't owe them booze too. The rest were sure Rocket was just trying to get a rise from you, but the secondhand embarrassment was real.

You rolled your eyes but kept walking. It was most likely the alcohol, but you were actually finding humor in his stupidity. "It's in the cellar, space case. I won't stop you from tagging along. Make sure your mother signs the permission slip." With that you slipped out the kitchen door.

The guardians exchanged glances at your comment and Peter, who remembered school and field trips, said, "That was a joke. You wouldn't get it." He then stood up and said, "Might as well take the chance to see something new since we don't know how long we'll be stuck here." He then looked to Rocket and asked if he was coming, since technically the invitation had been extended to him.

Rocket, who had been clearly hoping for, or at least expecting, a fight, awkwardly followed in the direction you had left. Mantis and Groot stated they wanted to go see the cellar too, but the others opted to stay behind.

Seeing that four of them had actually decided to take up your mock-offer to come to the cellar, you waited for them to catch up. You honestly didn't care if they went into the cellar, as long as Groot didn't go down there to play, and you made a point to ask Peter to tell him that you didn't mind him coming down with the rest of you tonight, but he was under no circumstances to come down there to play as he could get hurt.

Rocket translated instead, seeming irritated that you had given the message to Peter instead of him, and you open the door start to walking down the stairs, the others trailing behind.

The cellar wasn't anything spectacular. The stairs were a bit creaky with age, and it was dusty and dim even with the light on. The walls were stone strung with cobwebs and the floor was made up of old red brick.

You reached the ground and led them to some shelves on the wall across from the boiler, to grab the whiskey. On the other wall next to the shelves was an old wooden door, but other than that, a few cans of paint, and another set of shelves on the far end of the cellar, it was largely empty. You didn't keep much down there due to the damp.

You turned back to face them once you grabbed a bottle and asked if Rocket was satisfied. You didn't recieve an answer, not like you had expected one anyway. Gesturing back to the whiskey you said to Peter that it was down here if they wanted it. You didn't care as long as they didn't get sloppy drunk and start wrecking shit on the regular.

Peter nodded and the four took in the sight of the cellar. Mantis looked like she regretted her decision to come down, and said it was a little creepy, and Groot seemed to share her opinion. Good. Would mean he wouldn't care to come play down there. Peter and Rocket, however, looked at the shelf behind you in surprise. There was... more whiskey than they had anticipated. A lot more.

"Not that it's any of my business, but why do you have so much whiskey down here?"

You turned back to the shelf. Remembering the reason combined with your tipsy state made you giggle as you answered honestly. "Decided to order a small case awhile back just to have a bit around. Might have ordered it drunk and messed up the size of the order... just a bit..."

'A bit' was an understatement. The whiskey didn't sit on just one shelf, but rather the whiskey took up a whole shelving unit. You had only meant to order one case. A case would have been maybe six bottles. Somehow you ended up ordering six cases, and of course there were no refunds. So, into the cellar with a few other assorted bottles it went. You didn't do any online shopping while drunk after that again.

Peter chuckled at your honesty and noticed the wooden door for the first time. He debated asking about it, it seemed oddly placed considering the layout of the house above, but Mantis beat him to it.

"Where does that door go?" she asked, pointing to it.

You look to the door and then back to them. "Closet," you say, before widening your eyes in mock realization to tease Rocket. "Oh right, better prove it before that one gets all suspicious again!"

Rocket narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, not thrilled with you making him the butt of a joke as you opened the door to reveal a small, dark closet, maybe a meter deep and just as wide. Pipe wrenches hung on hooks off the door, and inside was a bucket, a broom, and a shovel resting against a wall of shallow shelves which were empty aside from a few random tools and a couple lanterns.

You closed the door after a moment and to Peter's surprise you handed him the whiskey bottle you had retrieved and grabbed another. "Might as well grab two, save me a trip if we run out again," you explain before shooing them all up the stairs.

Once back in the kitchen you re-took your seat and poured yourself another glass before sliding the bottle towards the middle of the table for someone else to grab. "Alright, I believe you were telling a story now?" you say to Peter as he also sat down, seeming surprised you were still interested.

And you were. It was quite an interesting story and you had to admit it captured your attention quite well.

Before you knew it an hour had passed and the second bottle was finished between seven of you when they'd finished telling it. Mantis didn't like the taste and Groot wasn't permitted to have any, though fortunately he didn't seem to mind. Just sipped on some juice you had gotten up to pour for him and Mantis and played about on the table adorably as Peter told the story.

The Ronan guy had gotten the stone, but Peter and his team still won anyway, having managed to get the stone away from him. You had giggled when you realized that Peter had more or less described that they had used 'the power of friendship' to hold onto the stone, though he didn't seem as keen on that comparison. You were also surprised to learn that the little Groot before you wasn't the original Groot, but rather more like the original's son, and that Kraglin and Yondu weren't part of the team yet in this story, but actually the leaders of an almost adversary group of space pirates that had agreed to work with Peter with the promise of obtaining the stone for themselves. You wanted to ask about that, how they came about joining Peter's team and where the rest of their crew was, Ravagers you believed they were called, but before you could Yondu interjected.

"Yeah, I'd almost forgot about that switcharoo ya pulled with the stone, boy." Yondu said to Peter, who, now several drinks in, included that bit of the story despite the former captain and first mate sitting right at the table with him.

Peter chuckled nervously in response, and said in jest, "Well, you got a cool troll doll out of it, that's something, right?"

You snorted a short laugh out your nose at that, making the others turn to you in surprise. Aside from a few questions, you had been more or less quiet the whole time until now. "Troll doll?" you say, clearly tipsy, behind your hand. The thought was ludicrous to you. Of all the things, a troll doll.

Peter grinned, pleased to see you found it funny. "It was the only thing I had on hand that would fit in the orb." He admitted, giggling.

Gamora's eyes crinkled as she looked at Peter. She hadn't had nearly as much drink as him, but she still found his giggly nature and his ability to tell a story to be endearing. This was probably the most she had let herself relax since they arrived.

Kraglin lightheartedly punched Peter in the shoulder. He'd been angry when the "switcharoo" incident happened, but he'd since been given enough reason to get over it.

"You goofy cunt," you chuckled at Peter, standing from the table and grabbing the empty bottle to bin it.

Peter raised an eyebrow and cocked his head at you as you walked toward the bin. Had you just called him a 'cunt'?

The others shared surprised contemplative looks and Kraglin said, "I think that was a compliment?" He was unsure, but you hadn't exactly said it in a derogatory way, so perhaps it was?

You overheard him and said from the bin, "Eh. Close enough." You spared one final giggly glance towards the group before leaving the kitchen to use the bathroom.

Peter shrugged, correctly assuming that he shouldn't be offended and stood to put his now-empty glass in the sink before re-joining the table with the others.

They sat chatting for a bit longer, before they thought they heard the soft sounds of singing coming from the sitting room. Exchanging glances, Peter and Gamora decided to go check it out.

***

You didn't return to the kitchen after you finished your business. The story was finished and you were in a better mood than you had been that morning so you just made your way to the sitting room to relax in your rocking chair before your buzz could wear off.

You had been there just a few minutes with your eyes falling closed when the sensation of something crawling up your leg startled you. You jump slightly only to see it was Groot crawling into your lap. You then relaxed. Cute little bugger looked sleepy, and for whatever reason, decided he would crawl up into the rocking chair with you. You didn't mind, and even if you did, you were getting a little too sleepy to feel like wasting energy making him move.

He climbed up on your slinged arm, too light for the action to cause you any pain, and curled up as you rocked away.

You weren't sure what possessed you, likely the whiskey, but you started to softy sing him a lullaby. One you remembered your grandmother singing you to sleep with when you were little.

***

Gamora peeked in the doorway and stopped, seeing you in the rocking chair, though you didn't see her. The rocking chair faced the bookshelf on the opposite wall, putting your gaze perpendicular to her own.

You were the source of the singing, and it didn't take long for her to notice Groot curled up sleeping against you and to deduce that what you were singing was a lullaby.

The others had come to see as well, but Gamora motioned for them to be quiet and didn't let them get past the doorway, afraid that you would stop if you knew you had an audience.

"What is it?" Drax asked.

"I think she's singing a lullaby to Groot." Peter answered, turning to peek back through the doorway for a moment before stepping aside to let Drax see. Drax smiled warmly at the sight and motioned Mantis to take his spot.

Kraglin chuckled and whispered over to an equally amused Yondu, "Well ain't that precious."

"So what?" asked Rocket, annoyed that everyone was gathered by the doorway instead of entering. He was, however, definitely not jealous that Groot would have taken to you well enough to let you sing a lullaby to him. He was also definitely not irritated about the fact that Groot had aparently just fallen right asleep in your lap, when he had been having to deal with Groot fitting to go to sleep most nights due to being someplace new.

Gamora looked to him. "It's sweet."

"She ain't sweet, it's all an act. She don't really care."

"So it was an act when she shot that raccoon and saved your ass?" asked Peter, rolling his eyes at his furry friend.

Rocket threw up his arms in frustration, unwilling to admit the possibility of being wrong. "Probably! She don't really care about us. We're just an assignment to her. And I didn't need her help anyway."

Peter rolled his eyes again, and that's when they noticed the singing had stopped. They were too busy arguing to notice it had been getting softer and softer. Gamora peeked in again and saw that you had fallen asleep, and she whispered back to the group as such.

"Good. I'm putting Groot to bed." Rocket said, pushing through the others before they could say anything.

"Rocket!" Gamora hissed, finally entering the room herself along with Peter.

Rocket ignored her as he approached the rocking chair. Who did you think you were anyway, singing lullabies to Groot? You weren't his mother. He was the one raising Groot, he didn't need some Terran dickhead stepping in and playing 'mommy.' Rocket let his frustration get the better of his sense and instead of gently climbing to retrieve Groot, or asking someone else once he realized he wouldn't quite be able to reach, he decided to be an asshole and jump right into your lap, startling both you and Groot awake in the process.

"Ow! The hell?" you said groggily, rubbing your eyes.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?" Rocket said mockingly before walking off with a confused and groggy Groot.

The others gave him disapproving looks as they dispersed, not wanting to crowd the doorway any longer.

"You're a real asshole, ya know that?" Kraglin said before heading towards the stairs with Yondu. Rocket just ignored him.

Mantis, who also decided she would go to bed, said to Rocket as they climbed, "You're wrong, you know. She does care. I've felt it."

Rocket just rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever," before bounding up the rest of the stairs and to his room to put Groot down to sleep.

Peter and Gamora had decided to head back into the kitchen with Drax to clean up the forgotten empty glasses on the table, so by the time you got up and decided to head to bed yourself the hall was empty.

Too tired to do anything else, you decided to just go to bed. As you made your way up the stairs you remembered taking the others to the cellar and showing them what was behind the door, and wondered if you should consider getting a lock, just in case Groot disobeyed and decided to go play down there anyway.

They didn't need to find out what was behind the back wall of that closet.

#gotg #gotg fanfic #guardians of the galaxy #x reader #gamora #rocket raccoon #groot #mantis #yondu #peter quill #starlord #kraglin #drax #doctor #nick fury #maria hill #drinking #mystery #drama #fluff #stories

[isolemnlyswearpevensie]

Nothing Changed But Everything’s Different | Sirius Black x Reader

Warning: slowburn angst, mentions of slight violence, alcohol, no happy ending

Time/Era: Marauder Era, Ages 18-21

Word Count: 10.1k

Summary: Sirius found someone who made him believe in love at first sight. 

Request: Okay! :) Well in that case can I have an ANGST Sirius x Reader? Where they’ve been together for a few years (it’s post-hogwarts only a couple years) but the relationship is starting to sour and crumble. Sirius being Sirius is flirting with other girls and just neglecting y/n. They argue a lot and everyone can see that it’s deteriorating. It gets to a point where he just flat doesn’t acknowledge her even though they live together, long and ANGSTY pls 🥺 :) U decide the ending! :) Ty, much love!

A/N: I worked really, really hard on this so I hope you enjoy :) Let me know what you think :)

part 2 | masterlist | marauders era playlist | read on ao3

“She’s absolutely gorgeous, Prongs!” A young Sirius Black twirled around the dorm room and fell onto his bed with a dreamy sigh. “She’s witty and smart mouthed, but she’s so sweet and nice at the same time. She listens to the Weird Sisters and Queen and she’s a total badass.” 

“Y/N L/N?” James scoffs, bending over a sketch he was working on. It appeared to be an intricate building of some sort, complete with four stories and geometric windows. 

“Yes, Y/N L/N! I think it’s love at first sight, Prongsy. I’m going to marry that girl one day.” Sirius laid one of his ankles against the post of his bed. The leather of his boot made a loud squeaking noise, and James cringed.

“Have you ever even talked to Y/N L/N?” James smiled smugly and smudged ink across the side of his hand. 

“Have you ever had an actual conversation with Lily Evans?” Sirius countered, making James sputter. James looked diagonally towards Sirius and moved his head so their corresponding bedposts weren’t in the way. 

“I have! This morning, for example! We talked about the morning toast for a full 3 minutes!” His glasses began to fog as his cheeks warm. Sirius laughed heartily and threw the pillow that was under his head square at James’ face. With a deep ‘oof,’ James looks back towards Sirius, glasses now crooked. “Fine, don’t believe me! You’re just angry Evans is finally starting to fall for my charm.” 

“Ah yes, my bad. I forgot sweat and body odor was irresistible to girls.” 

“Lily isn’t a girl.” James reached his slender fingers to level his glasses. “She’s a woman.” 

Sirius was sent into hysterics; chest heaving, loud laughter, tearful, hysterics. James rolled his eyes and threw the pillow back at Sirius. But, in all of its glory, the cushion hit Sirius’ bedpost and sent feathers flying through the air. Sirius busts out in even more laughter, falling to the floor with a big, dramatic thud. 

“What’s going on here?” Remus asks, entering the room and setting his bag onto his bed. “Why is Pads on the floor?” 

“JP assaulted me!” 

“I DID NOT YOU THREW FIRST!!!” 

Remus chuckled under his breath and unbuckled his bag to retrieve his homework. “And what exactly caused this alleged assault? Did Sirius call you Prancer again?” 

A bark sounding laugh came from Sirius and James scowled. 

“No, we were just talking about his newfound obsession with Y/N L/N and he took an unwarranted dig at mine and Lily’s relationship.” 

Remus snorted and set his work on his desk. “What relationship?” Sirius let out another “HA” and pulled himself back onto his mattress. “And isn’t Y/N L/N the one who called your hair greasy, Pads?” 

“Well, yes, but I like a woman with a bit of attitude,” Sirius sighed dreamily. His left pointer finger, ring and all, came to twirl a chunk of his hair. “I think I want an autumn wedding.” 

“You’re not getting married to her, mate. You don’t even know her.” James came to Remus’ bed and started poking around his bag. “Are you putting on the scar ointment Pomfrey gave you still, Moons? Hey! Stop picking at that one, you’re going to make it worse!” He slapped Remus’ hand away from his face and Remus rolled his eyes. 

“Who are you? My mother?” 

“I am too going to marry her, James! Just watch me!” 

Peter opened the door solemnly, a grumpy look plastered on his face. James turns nervously towards him before slapping him on the back. 

“What happened, Pete? I thought you were supposed to be on a date?” 

“I was, but she stood me up. Again.” Peter responds, making a beeline for the window seat. Conveniently, it was located next to his bed, so he haphazardly tossed his school bag onto the mattress. He grabs hold of one of the pillows before hugging it to his chest and burying his head into it. Sirius and James share a look before Sirius speaks up. 

“Awh, you’ll get ‘em next time. Don’t worry too much about it. It’s her loss, really.” 

“No, it was my loss. It was Abagail Cavin, mate. It was definitely my loss.” Peter’s voice was muffled as he muttered into the soft fabric. 

“Who’s Abagail Cavin?” Sirius asks, looking towards Remus for an answer. He shrugs. 

“I think that’s the ginger girl who always hangs around Y/N L/N? A year or two below us,” James thought aloud. “She’s friends with Lily too, I’ve seen them studying together.” 

Remus snorts. “Of course you have.” 

“I don’t know if I’m sad or angry.” The mousy boy admits, throwing the pillow in his lap at the wall. It hit one of Sirius’ Queen posters, making the frame fall to the floor with a loud crash. James is quick to swoop in and redirect Peter’s attention in fear of him escalating. 

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay, there’s no need to get mad at Abagail. Um, how about we go get some sweets from the kitchens, yeah? Maybe that’ll make you feel better.” 

Peter tightened his jaw, staring at the now shattered frame on the ground. After a moment of silence from all the boys, Peter nodded and the pair exited the room. 

~

“Y/N L/N,” Sirius spoke in his signature flirty voice. He tried to match her walking pace, but she seemed to be in a rush. 

“Sirius Black, what can I do for you?” Y/N answered, her school uniform skirt swaying as she walked. She was on her way to meet Abagail in the library so the two could study together, and she was already 5 minutes late. 

“I was wondering if you would -excuse me, sorry- if you would like to go to the next Quidditch match with me?” Y/N seemed to swerve in and out of the crowded hallway like a car in heavy traffic. “Supposed to be a good game, you know.” 

“Me? Go with you? While you cheer your little boyfriend on? Thanks for offering, but I have to decline.” 

“Come on, you always go anyway! It could be fun!” Sirius finally matched Y/N’s fast gait. “And maybe we could grab some hot butterbeer or cider after.” 

Y/N sighed, suddenly stopping at the entrance of the library. She faced Sirius boldly and grabbed his upper arms with her hands. 

“Listen, it’s really flattering that you want me to go with you, and I have to admit, you’re super cute. But, you don’t exactly have the best track record with girls and I don’t want to be just a checkmark on your list of girls to shag.” 

While any person would be wounded by Y/N’s blunt assumptions, Sirius grins. “That’s where you’re wrong, love. I don’t really have a track record with girls, unless you count the week I dated Marlene McKinnon the October of our 2nd year. It’s our 7th year and I’ve had one kind-of girlfriend.”

Sirius watched as Y/N’s facial expression changed. Taking this as an invitation to keep going, he rubs his hands together and continues. “And if you’re talking about shagging, I’ve shagged maybe three girls who were not on some kind of to-fuck list, thank you very much.” Sirius suddenly leans in so he could whisper. “I’m just flirty. And based on the look on your face, the flirting is working.” 

“Y/N!” Abagail’s voice made Y/N drop her hands and Sirius smirk. “What are you doing?” 

“Oh, we’re just chit chatting,” Sirius answers for Y/N. “But, I do have a question for you, Ab.” 

Abagail’s face scrunched in response. “Don’t call me that. What’s your question?” 

“Why’d you stand up my mate Peter?” Sirius now stood with his feet shoulders width apart, arms crossed over his chest and his hair pulled to one side. Y/N couldn’t help but admire how well Sirius’ uniform pants fit. 

“What do you mean, stand him up? We talked about hanging out, but we never made actual plans. Honestly, I don’t really think I want to make any official plans. Some of the things he says are kinda scary.” Y/N looks sympathetically towards her friend.

“I told you to just ignore him, babes.” 

“I know, I know. I really think he’s a nice guy deep down though.” 

Sirius looked puzzled, “What harmless, little Peter Pettigrew says scares you?” 

Abagail nods frantically, “He came and sat with Lily and me when we were studying in the library last week. He went on a rant about how he can’t wait to become an Auror just to see,” The girl lifted her fingers to so air quotes. “How far he can take it.” 

“That doesn’t sound like Peter at all,” Sirius’ eyebrows knit in confusion. 

“Well, it was. And Y/N and I have a lot of studying to do. So, if you’ll excuse us.” Abagail gently tugged at Y/N’s arm. 

“Wait! So, is it a date, Y/N?” Sirius called after the girls. Y/N turned over her shoulder and beamed. 

“Common room before the match. I don’t like to be kept waiting, Black!”

~

“You don’t like to be kept waiting… but you think it’s perfectly okay to leave me all alone in the common room? That’s not very kind, Y/N.” Sirius watched Y/N descend the stairs to the girls dormitory. He was wearing his Gryffindor sweater and ripped black jeans, his hair tied messily in a bun. A long, striped scarf dangled lazily on his shoulders and draped down his frame to his mid thigh. 

“I said before the match and if I’m not mistaken, it’s before the match.” Y/N tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Are those for me?” 

Sirius quickly stood, holding out a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers. “Heh, yeah. I thought it was fitting because it’s the middle of October and we’re going to a Quidditch match. The leaves are orange and there’s so many colors and the sunflowers have the same kind of color pallet-” 

“Sirius, they’re lovely. Thank you.” Y/N cut off the blabbering boy. She took the flowers happily and observed their pretty petals. Sirius was right; the rich golden color matched the fallen leaves that littered the Hogwarts grounds. Y/N held up a waiting finger to Sirius so she could go leave her flowers in her dorm. 

“It’s pretty cold out, love, do you want to grab a jacket?” Sirius said when she returned. 

“It’s all in the name of fashion, my dear,” Y/N pulls a piece of hair behind her ear and nods towards the portrait hole. “Shall we?” 

Y/N sat in the crowd with her legs crossed; her shoulders were slumped forwards and her hands stayed sandwiched in between her thighs. Gryffindor was absolutely destroying Ravenclaw with the impressive score of 80-10. 

“The snitch is right by Potter’s head!” Y/N screeched, bumping Sirius’ shoulder with her own. 

“Where?! I don’t see it!” 

“To the right! Meadowes needs to catch it before Lockhart sees it!” Y/N shivers in spite of herself, bringing her hands to her mouth in order to warm them. Sirius snickers and loops his scarf around her shoulders. 

“Hopefully that doesn’t ruin your outfit, love.” Sirius winks and turns back to the game. 

The scarf was soft and toasty, and smelt exactly like Sirius. The satisfying mix of leather, butterbeer, pine and smoke engulfed her senses and made her dizzy. Y/N wrapped it around her arms and snuggled deeper into the soft knit. 

“Meadowes spots the snitch!” Remus announces over the intercom. The entire statum seemed to erupt into chaos; cheers and boos echoing off of every surface within 500 feet. 

Y/N had always had a soft spot for Remus; they weren’t friends, but something about him was so warm and inviting. He in no way seemed like the type to announce a Quidditch match, but it appears that when you’re friends with James Potter long enough, anything could happen. 

Dorcas zooms past the Gryffindor student section in her pursuit for the snitch. The entire group, Lily and Marlene especially, scream out loud words of encouragement. Y/N could have sworn she could see a faint smile appear across Dorcas’ features. 

“Potter scores! 10 points to Gryffindor! 90-10! Ravenclaw could still win if Lockhart catches the snitch!” 

“Come on, come on,” Sirius mumbles under his breath. No matter how much he liked to deny it, Sirius got really into Quidditch. He couldn’t play for shit, but he knew the mechanics of the game like the back of his hand. 

“Meadowes catches the snitch! Gryffindor wins!!” The entire crowd goes ballistic. Kids hug, and some kiss, before storming the field to congratulate their team. James stays on his broom, doing small loops in the air in the hopes of impressing a certain redhead. 

Sirius wraps his strong arms around his date, pulling her to her feet and lifting her into the air. “We won, Y/N! We won!!” 

Y/N snakes her arms around Sirius in return, a similar happiness bubbling in her chest. 

“What’d ya say about grabbing some hot cider from the kitchens to celebrate?” Sirius questions, noticing they’re the last students at their seats. 

Y/N nods, a soft smile gracing her face. “Yes, please. I’m fucking freezing.” 

~

“It would be easier if you just levitated the boxes in, love.” Y/N watched as Sirius struggled to carry boxes into the living room of their new flat. She giggled, admiring her boyfriend’s flexed biceps and strong hands. The prominent veins in his hands and forearms were bulging, making the manual labor a show for his very happy girlfriend. 

“I feel like that’s bad luck,” Sirius explained, placing the cardboard onto the floor. “I want to do this right. If I don’t we could be cursed.” 

“Whatever you say, babe. But, just so you know, that box goes into the kitchen.” With a flirty wink and smile, Y/N walked into their bedroom to unpack some of their boxes. 

Their new flat wasn’t overly exciting; it was a one bedroom, one bath flat above a small bakery in the center of London. It was a tiny space, as you’d expect two barely-twenty-year-olds to own, but it would soon be their home. Y/N was just excited the flat had a kitchenette and a small living space. 

The best part, in Y/N’s opinion at least, was the fact that the smell of freshly baked bread filled their flat at the beginning of each day. The elderly bakery owners, Jullian and Caspar, had given the young couple a good price on the flat. According to them, they were waiting for the perfect couple to rent from them. What that meant, Y/N didn’t know, but it made her feel special all the same. 

Y/N looked out of their window to the hustle and bustle on the sidewalk below. The shop was a small, hole in the wall bakery called Dream Puffs, that was oddly popular for its location. And Y/N was quick to understand why. Almost everything they made, especially the sour dough bread and cream puffs, were to die for. Jillian had presented Sirius and her a large loaf of the bread and a dozen cream puffs as a welcome present, most of which had been eaten already. Y/N wished she had known of Dream Puffs and the wonderful owners before, but she supposed she still had a lot to discover in London. 

The one downside was the only way to get into their apartment was by going through the bakery. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but when you’re in a rush or having a bad day, having to face random people isn’t the most ideal situation. Jullian and Caspar were nice enough to close the bakery early for the couple’s move in. 

“I thought you were supposed to be unpacking?” Sirius poked his head into their bedroom with sweat dripping down his brow. 

“Oh right, sorry,” Y/N lazily flicked her wand and their clothing sprang to life. 

“Bad luck, Y/N!” He entered the room and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, laid his chin on her shoulder and looked out the window. The busy streets and buildings were muted by the glass, which made Y/N feel as if they were watching ants in an ant farm. 

“I doubt we’ll get bad luck from levitating a few shirts, darling,” Y/N brought one of his hands to her mouth, gently kissing his knuckles before returning it to her waist. “I can’t believe this place is ours,” 

“Well, technically it’s Jillian’s and Caspars, but yes.” Sirius chuckles directly into Y/N’s ear and kisses her shoulder. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

“Are you asking me to marry you?” 

“Yes and no. Not now, obviously, but eventually. We’re going to be together forever anyway, so why should we rush?” 

Y/N sighed happily, feeling very loved. 

~

“Do you think Abagail will ever talk to me again?” Peter asked, laying his head against the armrest of the couch. “I heard she's working at the book shop in Diagon Alley.” 

Y/N snorted, laying her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder and enjoying the sound of the record playing in the corner of the room. Sirius and Y/N were hosting a dinner party for their friends in celebration of James getting accepted into the Auror academy. The nine of them -Sirius, Y/N, James, Lily, Peter, Remus, Marlene, Dorcas, and Mary- were all piled in Sirius and Y/N’s small living room, tipsy and full of warm food. 

“That happened almost two years ago, Pete. Let it go,” Y/N hummed, Sirius’ gentle hand rubbing her back and lulling her to sleep. She could feel the vibrations of Sirius’ laughter through his leather jacket. 

“Yeah, so? I’m not allowed to like someone that long?” Peter’s voice was harsher than he anticipated, making Sirius send a glare his way. 

“She means stop moping around and pining after a girl who doesn’t want you. There’s a world of opportunity and thousands of girls just waiting to date you if you open your eyes to it.” Sirius’ tone was barely lighter than Peter’s. 

“Well I don’t want thousands of girls, Padfoot. I want Abagail. Not everyone can hit it on their first try.” 

“Hit it on their first try?” Y/N was now wide awake. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” 

“I mean,” Peter sat up, looking Y/N straight in the eyes. “You fucked Sirius on the first date.” 

“Woah, woah, woah, alright that’s enough. Wormy, Pads, Y/N, let’s all just take a deep breath and calm down for a moment.” James was quick on his feet to defuse the potentially harmful situation. He knew how Peter could get, and he didn’t want to see it escalate to that point. 

“Did you just slut shame me for having sex with my own boyfriend? Do you even have the authority to do that, Mr. Unused-Condom?” Y/N was now standing with James, starting to walk towards Peter. Peter stumbled to his feet and stared into Y/N’s eyes. 

“He wasn’t your boyfriend then, Miss Drop-My-Panties-for-a-Knut.” 

Sirius was quick to act, anger boiling inside of him. His knuckles balled into a fist and he threw a nasty punch square into Peter’s jaw. “No one insults my girl, Peter. I thought you knew better than that.” Sirius’ voice was like nothing Y/N had ever heard; it was cold and icy, yet fiery hot and full of hell-bending anger. 

Peter looked up and slugged Sirius right in the nose, making it gush blood. Remus grabs Sirius’ arms and binds them behind his back, trusting James to do the same to Peter. 

Y/N shrieked, having never seen Sirius or Peter get physical with anyone, let alone each other. Marlene grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the boys. 

“What have we talked about, you two?” James demanded, the vein on his neck bulging. 

“I’m not going to sit around and let him harass my girlfriend, JP! He’s a fucking asshole and he knows it!” Sirius struggled against his binds, but Remus was much stronger than him. 

“I’m not the one dating a slut!” 

“Get the fuck out of my flat!” Sirius screams making the room shake. Peter wiggles from James’ grip and grabs his wand before disapperating out of the room. 

Remus releases Sirius and he stomps out of the flat and down the stairs, most likely to go smoke a cigarette. James quickly follows after a glance towards Lily. 

“What did James mean when he said ‘what have we talked about,’ Remus?” Y/N asks, her soft voice a stark contrast from Sirius’ shouting. Remus runs a big hand down his face and plops onto the couch. 

“I wasn’t supposed to let you girls know,” He scoffs, shaking his head. “Sirius and Peter have been at each other’s throats for the past few years. Recently, it started getting physical. James always tries to defuse the situation, but it doesn’t work a ton.” Remus meets Y/N’s gaze and smiles sadly. “That boy would do absolutely anything for you, I hope you know that.” 

~

Sirius laid in bed with his arms wound tightly around Y/N’s waist. It was near 5 am and the light was just barely peeking through the window of their bedroom. The morning bread must have just been put in the oven, as the smell of fresh bread was slowly starting to overtake the flat. A long sliver of silver light slashed against the wall before fading delicately into the white paint. Sirius sighed contently and looked down at his girl. 

Her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly agape; Sirius observed how Y/N’s eyes moved under her eyelids while wondering what she was dreaming about. He hoped she dreamt of him, as his dreams were constantly riddled with her. Every aspect of her danced around his dreams: her lovely smile, her laugh, her scent, her gait, and everything that made Y/N Y/N. Sirius’ own lips parted a miniscule amount as he brought the back of his fingers to brush her cheek. He couldn’t help but notice how soft her skin was under his touch. She was so peaceful in this moment, and if she was to be disturbed, the world would crack. 

But all good things come to an end, and Y/N opened her eyes. Her features were riddled with the grogginess of sleep as she batted her eyes to focus her vision. 

“Darling? Is everything alright?” Her voice was honey in his ears. 

“Perfect, my love. Go back to sleep.” 

“What time is it?” Y/N began to wiggle from his strong grip, but Sirius tightened his hold on her waist. 

The man shot a spare glance at the old coo-coo clock that hung in the corner. “Quarter to five” 

“Then may I ask why you’re awake?” 

Sirius sighed, pressing an opened mouth kiss on her forehead. “Couldn’t sleep, the nightmares are still awry.” 

“What was it this time? Your mom?” Y/N was now wide awake and propped up onto her elbow. 

“No, the last Order mission, actually,” Sirius gently brushed a clump of hair out of her eyes. “But it’s okay, I’m alright. I have you here with me.” 

Y/N’s eyebrows scrunched and her mouth pierced. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

“No, my darling. I just want to lay here with my beautiful girl in my arms.” 

~ 

“I’ve never been to this bar before,” Y/N giggles as Sirius opens the door to the small building. The outside’s appearance was rather unappealing; cracked, exposed brick that has moss growing out of it, a leaky gutter system, a splintering wooden door and a faded open sign. Y/N looked up towards the LED sign that spelled out the bar’s name. Silver Sickle Bar and Eatery illuminated in the wet pavement, but multiple letters were unlit, making it read Silver Ickle and Eat. 

“Me either, one of my clients works here and said she’d give me free drinks.” Sirius winked before following Y/N inside. 

The place was small and drafty, but oddly cozy. It had the same exposed brick as the outside, but this time, they were bright red and covered in picture frames.  A few wooden tables were scattered across the floor opposite the bar, and various older men sat with beers in their hands. 

“Oh, Sirius! My love, you came!” A very angelic girl from behind bar squeals, quickly exciting the bar and throwing her arms around Sirius. Her hurried speed made Y/N step away from the pair to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Sirius chuckles heartily, wrapping his arms around her small frame, seeming to forget Y/N was there. 

“Vanessa! Nice to see you again,” He exhaled. A sinking feeling settled in the bottom of Y/N’s stomach. “How is your tattoo healing?” 

Vanessa pulls her shirt down to show Sirius the skin in between her breasts. On her skin sat a magical tattoo of a Hongorian Horntail dragon, which looked towards Sirius and blew a big breath of fire his way. The art was gorgeous, very obviously Sirius’ work, which only made Y/N’s stomach sink further into her feet. The red, lacy, v neck bra Vanessa was wearing brought out the ink in the tattoo perfectly, and the shape of the cut displayed not only her breasts, but the dragon beautifully. 

Y/N knew that many of Sirius’ clients were girls; she wasn’t stupid. He was a newly licensed tattoo artist at the biggest magical tattoo parlor in all of London. Not to mention, Sirius was an incredibly talented artist, which meant his appointment list was extremely difficult to get on. The charming attitude and good looks only added to the appeal of his artistry. 

“Who’s this?” Vanessa turned her gaze from Sirius’ to look directly at Y/N. Her long, black hair fell over her shoulder like a waterfall and her porcelain skin glowed under the dim lighting. 

“Oh! Right,” Sirius stuttered, shooting a grin in Y/N’s direction. “This is my gorgeous girlfriend, Y/N. Y/N this is Vanessa, I did her dragon tattoo last week.” 

Y/N forced herself to send a polite smile towards the girl who was just all over her boyfriend. Vanessa sent an equally fake smile and began to walk back to the bar. 

“And what can I get started for you, handsome?” She giggled, standing in front of the large wall of liquor. Y/N felt as if she was back at Hogwarts with all the girls throwing themselves at Sirius. 

“Old fashioned,” Sirius responded, taking place on one of the wooden stools. “And for the lady, tequila on the rocks with lime.” 

Vanessa sends Y/N an icy look before giggling sweetly. “Coming right up.” 

Y/N sends a worried glance towards Sirius, but he just responds by squeezing her thigh and kissing her temple. 

“So, do you have any tattoos? Since you’re so good at your job, I would assume you do, yes?” Vanessa asks, pouring Sirius’s drink and sliding it towards him. 

“Quite a few,” He catches the glass before it flies off the bar. “Most of them are covered by my shirt though.” 

It was true, Sirius’ torso and shoulders were littered with tattoos: A large lion across his right shoulder onto his bicep, stag antlers across his shoulder blades, a moon on the lower left side of his stomach, rat paw marks under the moon, and constellations riddling his collarbones. 

The bartender tilts her head to the side cheekily. “Can I see them?” 

Sirius chuckles in a very happy, flattered way. “I don’t think that’s quite necessary here,” 

“But I can already see this one…” Vanessa reached her arm across the bar and traced the bottom of the lion’s mane with her long, slender fingers. The tattoo seemed to move with her movements. “Can’t I see the rest?” 

Y/N coughs, slapping her hand against the bar. The vibration of Y/N’s sudden movement caused Sirius’ drink to wobble inside the glass. “I think I ordered a tequila not a random chick flirting with my boyfriend.” 

“Of course, how foolish of me.” Vanessa sent a scowl Y/N’s way and turned her back to fetch the bottle of alcohol. Sirius matched Vanessa’s expression. 

Once the flirt finished making Y/N’s drink, she slid it over to her. Y/N took a sip, only to find it was awfully made and very watered down. 

“Sirius, babe, I have a headache, can we go home?” 

“You didn’t have a headache a minute ago?” Sirius raises an eyebrow. 

“I know, I just feel a migraine coming on. I really need to take my migraine potion before it gets bad. Please?” 

Sirius sighs and nods, throwing an arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple. “Of course, babygirl.” 

The pair stand from their stools but Vanessa stops them. “That’ll be 2 galleons for the tequila.”

“You said you’d give me free drinks?” Sirius placed a comforting hand on Y/N’s lower back, rubbing small circles over her shirt. 

“Yeah, for you. The tequila wasn’t for you.” 

“Yeah, fine, whatever.” Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out two galleons, slamming them onto the bar. 

“Can I bet on seeing you again?” A loud giggle comes from her mouth as the couple exited the building. “Maybe you can show me your tattoos.” 

~

“I don’t know, Lily! She was all over him and he didn’t stop it.” Y/N bit into an apple and traced the Potters’ tablecloth. It was a month after Sirius and Y/N had visited The Silver Sickle, and Y/N couldn’t keep her anxieties to herself. 

“Have you tried talking to him about it?” Lily responded, kneading a big glob of pie crust at the counter. Potter Cottage was much larger than Sirius and Y/N’s flat above Dream Puffs. Earlier that month, Lily had announced she was pregnant, so James decided it was time to upgrade from their small flat to a house fit to raise a family. 

“Yes, but each time I try to bring her up he gets defensive and assures me that it was nothing, that he was trying to get free drinks.” 

Lily stared down at her dough intensely before grabbing her rolling pin. “Well, I wouldn’t let him get away with it. Maybe try to ask him again tonight? Just sit down and have a real, hearts on the table conversation about your feelings and whatnot. It’s important to do that.” 

“Yeah, that’s the thing. He’s been staying at work late this entire week. Apparently, one of his clients is getting a full back tattoo and it’s taking multiple sessions to finish. This is his biggest job to date, I don’t want to ruin it for him.” 

“How late is late?” The mom-to-be laid the pie crust into her pan and began to trim the excess off of the edges. 

“Nine, sometimes ten. He comes home exhausted.” 

“Hm, okay. I’d still try to speak with him if you can. How’s your work going? St. Mungos treating you well?” 

“Oh, yeah, definitely. My supervisor said that I’m one of the best beginning level healers he’s seen since Pomfrey worked in my ward,” Y/N took another bite of her apple. “I might get transferred to the branch in France for a week coming up, though. There was a big gas explosion and they have over 200 burn victims. My supervisor said it would be a good experience for me.” 

“Oh, I read about that in The Prophet! Those poor people,” Lily filled the crust with apple pie filling. “I’m sure they need all the help they can get.” 

“Oh, I know. I haven’t learned much about burn solvents yet, so it’ll be interesting to learn on the job.” 

“Are you going this week? What a shame, it’s your birthday on Saturday.” 

“Oh, no, the earliest I would be leaving is a fortnight from now. I’m kind of a last resort since I don’t have much experience or training yet.” Y/N stood and threw her apple core into the bin. “How’s JP doing at the Academy? He’s in his second year by now, right?” 

“Oh, he’s doing lovely. The Order is grateful for his efforts and have been sending him on more missions than before.” Lily sighs. “It’s rather nerve wracking, isn't it? You’re lucky Sirius doesn’t get called on many.” 

Y/N laughed a bit uncomfortably. “Yeah, I suppose they prefer actual Aurors to go on the calls. But when he does go, those are the worst nights. I can’t imagine having to go through that on a daily basis.” 

“It’s really hard,” Lily’s voice cracks and she begins to cry. “I’m sorry, it’s the hormones.” 

“Don’t apologize, Lils. I know how scary it can be. At least he's with Wormtail most of the time, yeah? They’re at the academy together and all.” 

Lily takes a deep breath to control her crying. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Thank god for Wormy.” 

~

“Hello there, pretty lady. I heard there’s a 21st birthday party to be thrown?” James said happily as Y/N opened the door of the flat. Lily and Remus tailed him ever so slightly, all three wearing large grins and holding brightly wrapped packages. 

“Birthday party? You guys don’t-” 

James waved his hand dismissively. “We’re already here, so you’re kind of stuck with us. Peter should be here eventually.” The three push their way into the living room. 

“The nice elderly woman downstairs asked me to bring you this,” Remus held out a cupcake with bright red frosting. Y/N took it happily and walked to the kitchen to set it on the counter. 

“Thank you, Moony. But, really, you guys didn’t have to. Sirius isn’t even here.” Y/N felt self conscious around her friends. She was wearing an old tee shirt from her early teens, a beloved Scooby-Doo tee with a rip in the left armpit, and black yoga pants. It was safe to say Y/N was more than ready to spend her birthday alone. 

“What do you mean, not here?” Remus was standing in the corner of the living room, flipping through Sirius and Y/N’s record collection. They had so many at this point that the couple was unsure which record belonged to who. 

“I don’t know, he left early this morning saying he got called into work. Something about an angry customer.” Y/N felt small under the group’s gaze. “I wasn’t really paying attention, I was half asleep.” 

Y/N watched as Lily and James shared a look. “I didn’t think the shop was open on Saturdays, but I guess they are.” Y/N’s shoulders lowered visibly, making Lily backtrack. “It’s the pregnancy brain, Y/N. I’ve been mixing things up for the past week and a half.” 

“Right, right. Of course. Um, how’s that going, by the way?” She crossed her arms across her stomach uncomfortably. 

“Oh, it’s going wonderful! We actually have something to give you, if that’s okay.” 

“Wait!” James cut in. “We should wait for Wormy to get here!” 

Lily hit his chest with the back of her hand. “Oh, come off it. You know how late he is to everything! Let’s do it now.” The couple led Y/N to the couch and sat on either side of her, both wearing matching shit-eating grins. Remus remained leaning against the wall, ready to flip the record when the time came. James placed a medium-sized purple box on her lap. 

Y/N carefully undid the wrapping paper, prompting James to let out a loud groan. 

“Any day now, woman!” 

Y/N giggled. “Hey! It’s my birthday! Be nice to me!” 

“I am being nice to you, Y/N! I gave you a present, didn’t I?” 

Y/N bumped her shoulder with his and reached into the box. Her fingertips met with the soft fabric of a tee shirt. Upon pulling the garment out completely, she observed that the words World’s Best Godmother was printed across the front. Immediately, Y/N dropped the shirt and covered her mouth with her hand. 

“Is that a yes?” Lily asked, her eyes tearing again. 

“Yes! Oh my god!” Y/N’s own tears trailed down her cheeks as she hugged both tightly. “Me? Godmother?” 

“I can’t think of anyone more worthy,” Remus remarked as he watched the heartwarming scene unfold in front of him. Y/N was so overwhelmed with joy that she had almost forgotten that Sirius was absent. Almost. 

The party went along swimmingly from there on out; Peter had arrived shortly after Y/N unboxed Remus’ gift, a new cauldron and potion ingredients, and another gift from the Potters, a pair of gorgeous black combat boots. The mousey-boy shuffled over to Y/N and handed her a small gift bag. 

“Oh? Thanks, Pete.” Y/N awkwardly pulled out the contents of the bag. “Oh, good, a gift card to Silver Sickle Bar and Eatery.” She tried to sound thankful towards the man in front of her, but the disdain was still evident in her voice. 

“Sirius said it was his favorite bar, so I thought you’d like it. Maybe we can grab some lunch there, obviously my treat,” He lazily gestures to the card in her hand. “We haven’t really hung out for a while. I figured it would be nice. If you don’t like it I can get you something diff-” 

Y/N cut him off with a hug, “Thank you, Peter, this was really thoughtful. Would next week work?” 

“Wednesday?” He wraps his arms around Y/N’s frame for a moment before letting go. 

“Wednesday works perfectly.” 

The four continued to hang out well into the night; laughing, chatting, drinking, listening to music, and playing board games. As the party dragged on, Y/N couldn’t help but grow worried about Sirius’ whereabouts. Her worries were harshly pushed aside, though, when Lily suggested they play poker. 

“Ugh, I fold.” Peter slams his cards down onto the coffee table and laid back onto the carpet in defeat. Y/N smirked at Remus, her only opponent, and gestured for him to show her his cards. 

“Straight, beat that,” Remus says confidently. James and Peter “oooh” childishly and looked towards Y/N. It was very apparent that all of them, besides Lily, were very buzzed. 

Y/N smirked and shook her head, “You play a hard bargain, Lupin. So good that I applaud you. But,” Y/N laid her hand on the table: four of a kind. “You’re just not good enough.” 

The room laughs as Y/N pulls the large pile of galleons, sickles, knuts and Lily’s wedding ring towards her. Y/N slips it onto her own ring finger and holds her hand as if to admire it. 

“Oh, Lily, dear, don’t you just adore my new ring? Look at how it glistens in the light!” 

The redhead rolls her eyes and snatches it off of Y/N’s finger. “I’ll just be taking that,” She puts it back on. 

“It will forever be known to be my legal property, Evans. Don’t forget it!” 

“Does that mean I’m married to both of you now?” James smiles a dopey grin and looks back and forth between the two women. Y/N pretends to gag. 

“On second thought, I surrender my rights to your ring.” 

The group continued their laughter until the front door of the flat swung open. A very drunk Sirius Black stumbled in the door, dumbfounded as to why all of his friends were in his house. 

“Why are you guys here?” Sirius slurred, pulling up the shoulder of his leather jacket. He bumped the record player in the process, making Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac skip. 

“It’s Y/N’s birthday, Sirius,” Remus responded, his soft voice contrasting to his previously upbeat tone. Sirius slouched against the wall and slid down it until he hit the floor. 

“Y/N’s birthday...Y/N’s birthday...Oh! Y/N’s birthday! Was that today?” 

James was quick to jump into action. Propelling himself off of the couch, he took Sirius into his arms and brought him to a standing position. Sirius, of course, whined the entire way up, claiming that the floor wanted him to sit there. James responded with a small hum before peeling Sirius’ jacket off of his body and throwing it onto the kitchen counter. As Y/N watched, she couldn’t help but notice a bright pink smear on Sirius’ neck. 

“Yes, it’s today, you big goof. Where have you been?” 

Sirius went into a big flurry of words as James brought him towards the bedroom. Y/N thought she heard ‘And you should have seen her!’ amidst all the jumbled words, but she pied that off as her anxious imagination running awry. Lily’s hand found her back and she rubbed soothing circles on Y/N’s shoulder blades. 

“He forgot,” Y/N said to no one in particular. “I can’t believe he actually forgot.” 

“I’m sure he didn’t forget,” Lily soothed Y/N, rubbing circles into her shoulder blades. “He probably got carried away at happy hour, you know how he gets.” 

“Happy hour on Y/N’s birthday though?” Peter shook his head. Something about his tone didn’t sit well with Y/N. Lily shot a glare his way. 

The party did not last much longer; Remus said he had an interview with Dumbledore about a TA position at Hogwarts, Lily was tired, and Peter said that he was going on a mission tomorrow and needed rest. Y/N bid her friends farewell with large hugs and thank you’s. 

It’s safe to say that Y/N slept on the couch that night. 

~

Y/N awoke to sunlight in her eyes and a crick in her neck. The living room window wasn’t guarded with curtains, so even at the early hour of 4:30 AM, the room was illuminated with soft oranges, reds, and pinks. Y/N sat up and reached her hands above her head to stretch her back. She looks towards the bedroom door, listening for the soft snores of her boyfriend. Her neck screamed in agony, but she still stood and padded over to open the door. 

Y/N twisted the doorknob with care, trying to be as silent as humanly possible. She needed to see Sirius, not have a conversation with him. Alas, in all his glory, Sirius lied on his stomach with his mouth hung open and drool oozing onto the pillow. The girl admired how he looked as he slept; the sharp jaw, the perfect skin, the messy hair, the peaceful look gracing his features. He still wore his skinny jeans from the day previous, but at some point during the night, he discarded his white dress shirt. Y/N’s gaze darted around the floor until it landed on the crumpled fabric. 

Y/N glanced back at Sirius, admiring the artwork that filled his back. She remembered the day he got it; James cried when he first saw the gorgeous antlers. The low light highlighted the dark brown ink and seemed to make his skin appear airbrushed. Y/N smiled in spite of herself. 

Closing the door softly, Y/N walks into their small kitchen to prepare some tea in order to calm her nerves. The apartment was rather messy from the ‘party’ and Y/N had to dig through endless dirty dishes to find a mug clean enough to use. Y/N finally found one, a lavender mug that Marlene had given her for her 17th birthday, and set it on the counter while she filled the kettle. 

The kitchen wasn’t as dirty as Y/N previously thought. Sure, the sink was overflowing with dishes, but the kitchen itself was rather clean. And besides Sirius’ leather jacket, the counter was clear. The floor, though, was slightly sticky. Y/N sighs and flicks her wand; almost silently, the dishes start cleaning themselves. 

Y/N reaches for Sirius’ jacket, only to have a squishy substance fall onto her feet. She jumps back in surprise and disgust of the weird texture. But, the real panic sets in when she notices a big red spot on not only the floor but the leather jacket. Upon further investigation, Y/N realizes it’s the frosting from the cupcake Remus had given her. Sirius was very protective of this jacket and if he saw this, Y/N would be a dead man. So, she did the only reasonable thing she could think of: scrub the material with a wet paper towel. 

Thankfully, the frosting came off easily and didn’t stain the material. The only real obstacle was the sweet scent of the frosting lingering on the garment. Sirius had an insane sense of smell, so if he picked up even the slightest trail of sugar, Y/N would be busted. She delicately lifted the material to her nose. 

The musky scent of Sirius filled her nose as normal; leather, smoke, cologne, and spearmint. Y/N grinned at the familiar scent until she noticed a strong rose perfume almost ingrained into the leather. Y/N’s perfume smelled of vanilla. 

~

Y/N held her breath as she opened the door of the Silver Sickle, she was in no mood to see Vanessa again. All the same, Y/N put effort into her appearance just in case. She let out her breath when she noticed an old man behind the bar and Peter sitting in the corner. 

“Hey,” Y/N said breathlessly as she pulled out one of the wooden chairs and sat down. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel a little nervous meeting Peter alone; the two seemed to rekindle their friendship after he and Sirius fought. He promised that he was just drunk and not thinking, and Y/N not wanting to cause childish conflict within their friend group, had accepted his apology. 

“Hey!” He squeaked. “I didn’t know if you wanted to day drink or not, so I just ordered you a water to start off with.” 

Y/N laughed awkwardly. “Thanks, Wormy.” She took a long sip from her straw, trying to slow her nervous heart. “So, uh, how’s the academy? James said you are taking more and more missions with the order.” 

Peter nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, it’s great! Being an Auror is really fun, you really get to show people who’s boss, ya know?” 

“Um, I guess?” 

“I think they’re gonna kick me out, though. I haven’t done the best job at catching who I’m pursuing.” Peter raises his eyebrows and cocks his head to the side. 

“Oh? Why not?” Y/N glanced over the menu, only half listening to what her companion was saying. 

“I just like to play with them a ‘lil, like a cat and mouse. Except this time, I’m not the mouse.” 

Y/N looks at a delicious looking chicken sandwich on the menu and hums in response. 

“So, how are you and Sirius doing? It seemed pretty rough last week.” Peter takes a chunk of ice from his drink and starts chewing it. “If you want to talk about it, I guess.” 

This brings Y/N out of her sandwich-filled thoughts. “I don’t know, to be quite honest. We haven’t spoken much and I barely see him. He leaves early in the morning...comes home late at night…” Peter nods as if he was a therapist listening to a client. “I don’t want to assume the worst but he’s making it rather difficult.” 

“I wasn’t going to tell you this, because it isn’t really my business, but…” He comps down on the ice cube. “I was coming home from a mission a few nights ago and I saw him with a girl. I’m not quite sure what they were doing but it sure as hell didn’t look platonic.” 

Y/N felt her entire world shatter into her lap. “What?” 

“Yeah, I don’t know. She was really short with long black hair and a skimpy cocktail dress. They were walking into that club off of Coventry Street. I almost beat the fuck out of him right then and there, but there were bouncers.” 

Y/N bit her trembling lip and folded her hands in her lap. Rifling through her purse, she slammed the gift card down and stood. 

“Thanks for the lunch date, Peter, but I don’t feel well. I’ll talk to you later, yeah?” 

“Was it something I said?!” Peter yelled at Y/N’s retreating back as she left the bar. 

~

“Are you going somewhere?” Sirius asked, gesturing to Y/N’s packed suitcases by the door. 

“Yup, I’m going to France for a week to aid burn victims,” Y/N finished brushing her teeth before packing her toothbrush. “Didn’t think you’d care.” 

“Well, I do. You could have told me.” He leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms. 

“I would have if I actually saw you.” Y/N wasn’t in the mood to argue; she had about an hour before she had to leave, and she planned on using that time to relax with a cup of herbal tea. 

“What’s that supposed to mean? You see me plenty.” 

“Yeah, when you’re sleeping or showering. There’s not exactly time to chat when you leave early in the morning and come home well past midnight.” Y/N walked into the kitchen and cut a slice of bread. “Oh, by the way, Caspar brought up some sourdough, if you actually want any.” 

“Don’t change the subject like you always do, Y/N. I work hard to support us, you know that.” 

“I work hard too. And I get home before 11 every night. I’m not exactly sure how being a healer gets you home earlier than a tattoo artist, but whatever.” Y/N buttered her now toasted sourdough. 

“Sometimes a piece takes a long time, that’s not my fault! I’ve been getting big jobs recently! You should be happy for me!” 

Y/N let out a harsh laugh as she poured water into the kettle. “Do you really think I’m that fucking stupid, Sirius? Really?” 

“What do you mean? I think you’re rather smart.” Sirius followed Y/N into the kitchen and was leaning against the counter. 

“Yeah? Then why have you been lying to me for the past, I don’t know, two months?” 

“You can’t keep accusing me of things, Y/N. It’s not fucking fair!” Sirius stared holes into Y/N’s back. “For fucks sake! Look at me when I talk to you!” 

Y/N whipped around, her hair fanning around her face as she spun. “You know what’s not fucking fair? Letting a girl feel you upright in front of me. Lying about going into work. Forgetting my birthday and coming home from who knows where drunk as fuck with lipstick smeared all over your neck. Coming home drenched in another girl’s perfume. Taking your fucking side chick to a strip bar while I’m sat at home wondering if you’re fucking dead because we’re in the middle of a fucking war! You don’t know the first thing about fucking unfair!” 

“You’re not going to France, Y/N.” His jaw was clenched and his eyes held nothing but fire. The tone of his voice was like nothing she had ever heard before, at least not directed at her. He usually reserved it for people who yelled nasty things at her from the street, or when someone bad mouthed James. It felt foreign to hear him use it with her. Maybe she didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. “You’re not fucking going, and that’s final.” 

“What are you? My fucking mother? I’m going because I’m actually doing something good for the world, unlike your cheating ass.” Y/N pushed her way past her boyfriend and towards her luggage. 

“Don’t walk away from me!” Sirius followed her strides. He stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. “Y/N, darling, we need to talk about this-” His tone was notably softer than before as if he was trying to glue together shards of glass. 

“Talk about what, Sirius?! How you cheated on me and won’t even deny it? How you betrayed me in the worst way fucking possible? I’m not going to let you manipulate me into putting my career on the line to work out some issue you caused.” 

“What, so now I’m not important? You’re a fucking hypocrite!” 

“And how exactly am I a hypocrite, Sirius? You treat me like shit and whine that I’m done putting up with it? Gonna go cry to James about how you are so upset I wouldn’t hear you out after you cheat on me? Well, go the fuck ahead because James actually has a healthy relationship with a baby on the way. He won’t sympathize with you.” Y/N grabbed the handle of her suitcase and lifted her wand. “I’ll be back in a week and once we’ve had some time to cool off, we’ll talk about this like adults. I’ll see you soon.” 

Just as Y/N apperated out of the room, the kettle whistled and Sirius noticed Y/N left her half-eaten toast on the counter. 

~

It was near two in the morning when Y/N returned home from France the following week. The home was cold, dark, and vacant, and the entire appearance of the small flat had changed. In a week, Sirius had managed to completely trash the house. Even the smell of freshly baked goods was replaced with the sour smell of firewhisky and sex. 

Y/N ventured into the kitchen first, where she observed the large stack of dishes in the sink. Everything from to-go packages to their fine china (normal glass plates from the thrift) were stacked as high as the eye can see. Some were starting to mold and produce the most horrid smell. The stove housed the kettle where Y/N had left it, but this time it was cold and empty. Another pot that contained crusty spaghetti sat next to the kettle, and Y/N cringed at the thought of scrapping it out. She moved to the counter where her toast, now stale, sat. Y/N picked it up between two fingers and threw it into the bin. 

She carried on into the living room next. The couch cushions were tossed about the room and the small fur throw was draped across the back of the couch. The record player in the corner still held the Fleetwood Mac record Moony had chosen on her birthday as if it were a time capsule; Y/N couldn't help but reminisce about how happy she was with her friends that evening. Maybe that proved that she could be happy without Sirius in her life, or maybe it served as a constant reminder that he was woven into every aspect of it. 

Again, the room was covered with food wrappers and alcohol bottles. Y/N feared the liquid that remained in the bottles would leak and stain the carpet, so before moving on to the bedroom, she set each one upright. 

The bedroom was what Y/N feared the most; without her presence in the home, Sirius could have been intimate with an infinite amount of girls in her own bed. She shivered at the thought but pushed on and reached towards the icy doorknob. 

The room was the cleanest out of the entire flat, just various clothes scattered around the floor and a messy bed. Y/N wanted nothing more but to curl up under her warm covers and press her face into the chest of the man she loved most, but that was an impossible task. He didn’t love her anymore and that was something she had to deal with, she just wished she had savored the last time he held her. 

As Y/N explored further into the room, her feet found an article of clothing that neither Sirius nor Y/N owned. Bending at the hips to pick it up, Y/N held a red, lacy v neck bra in between her fingertips. Y/N fingered the material with teary eyes. Another step forward and her feet came into contact with the matching bottoms. Y/N laid the set out neatly on the bed and wallowed; it must have looked stunning on her. 

Y/N walked to the desk, where an ink well was left open and a half-written letter laid face up on the surface. She capped the ink with a wet chuckle. 

“You need to cap your ink, Sirius. If you don’t it’ll dry out. I won’t be there forever to do it for you.” Y/N said aloud, wiping her running nose. She picked up the letter against her better judgment and began to read. 

Prongs,

I know you’re mad at me, but please just hear me out. Vanessa is gorgeous, mate. She’s sweet and nice, but at the same time she's so witty and smart-mouthed. She even listens to Queen and the Weird Sisters!

She made me believe in love at first sight, JP. 

I’m going to marry her one day, mark my words!

The ink began to run as Y/N read and cried, making small blotches of black contrast against the stark white paper. Y/N placed it onto the table and gripped the edge to steady herself. Never in her 21 years on earth had she ever felt such pain, such sorrow. Her pains were usually cushioned by Sirius’ arms and sweet slurred language in the middle of the night, or by her friends’ loud cackles. But this time, this time was different; she was alone, completely and utterly alone. 

Y/N looked to the wall in order to ground herself; a small sliver of silver moonlight slashed against the wall, illuminating the otherwise dark room. Y/N traced the line with her eyes until she landed on the wooden coo-coo clock. 

The clock was one of Sirius’ most prized possessions; it was a gift from his Uncle Alphard that he received when he ran away from the Black family.  Alphard was one of the few Sirius still kept in contact with, and he was a big role model to Sirius when he grew up. Debatably, Alphard was the one who taught Sirius how to be a man. 

The present seemed lame on the surface, but that clock was one of Sirius’ favorite things when he was a child. Sirius had told stories of the long afternoons he would spend in front of the clock, waiting for the small, yellow bird to pop out of the top while Walburga and Orion fought in the background. Y/N respected Alphard with all of her being, but she wanted nothing more than to smash that godforsaken clock. She wanted to destroy everything that made Sirius happy, she wanted him to be under the same pain he was putting her through.

Y/N knew what she had to do at that very moment: she had to get out of London and move far, far away. So far away that no one would ever find her. So, she grabbed the extra suitcases in the flat and began to pack her things. 

Starting at the record corner, she picked every single one of her belongings and shoved them into her suitcase. Y/N had to shrink a few of her belongings, such as the couch, in order to fit, but in a little less than an hour, every hint of Y/N was packed away in three large suitcases. 

Y/N gave one last look at the apartment before apparating to Paris, where she knew she could start a better, more meaningful life. Maybe, she could even find a fresh bakery to supply her with warm loaves of sourdough bread. 

When Sirius returned to the flat the following morning, the only remaining aspects of Y/N were a striped scarf and two galleons folded neatly on the bed next to Vanessa’s lingerie. 

#sirius black #sirius orion black #sirius black x reader #sirius black x you #sirius oneshot #sirius black fanfiction #sirius black fanfic #sirius black x reader angst #angst #sirius black angst #the marauders #the marauders era #marauders #marauders era #marauders x reader #marauders x you #james potter #james potter x reader #remus lupin #remus lupin x reader #peter pettigrew #lily evans #lily potter #harry potter #harry potter x reader #harry potter angst #the wizarding world of harry potter #jk rowling #harry potter fanfiction

[lightlyknitted]

Mid Year Goal Update:

It’s June so it’s time for a mid-year update on my knitting. I posted a roundup in March of some goals and current wips so I thought we could do a quick update on where I’m at with that.

My stash busting is not going great. I have purchased a bit more yarn but have slowed down considerably in my knitting and crochet production. So I haven’t used more than I purchased in the last few months. I will be keeping up with trying to shrink my stash but my stash is still controllable.

In the next month or so I plan to start my fiance’s christmas sweater so that it will be finished in time for the holiday season. That will use the yarn I purchased in March and a few from my stash (not completely for the sweater but close). If I have enough left I might make a hat / scarf / mitten set to go with the sweater.

WIPS:

My wedding knit is coming along. I finished the lace filler row I was working on in March but did set it down for a few weeks because I had messed up the next section and needed to rip it out. I completed recently and unknotted the yarn ball I had been using so I have started it back up and changed my pattern.

Because I put it aside for a few weeks I am still on my first 100 grams. I think I can still get that finished by December but I will not be too upset if it doesn’t happen.

I did start knitting a skirt based on a vintage pattern I found in an early 1900’s book. I bought three balls of bamboo pop. I’m on ball number two so hopefully I can finish it up in a month or so.

Another wip I have that is not too high on the priority list is a cardigan. I bought some wool for swatching and testing some ideas I have. There isn’t a set pattern for this, I am making this one up as I go.

FINISHED OBJECTS:

I did finish the campfire cozy shawl. It is currently waiting to be blocked and it turned out good! I am happy with it and can’t wait for it to get cool enough to use.

I also took a week or so to make some golf head covers for a coworker. These were in the colors of the college he graduated from and was a fun project to distract myself with. Ended up making five so he has an extra one in case they get too worn out and fall off.

Other Craft goals:

Another thing I would like to try this year is writing a pattern for a magazine. I have a few ideas but don’t want to share to much information about it at the moment. Fingers crossed it goes well!

I haven’t started the bookbinding properly. I have most of the supplies, I just need to work up the courage to start it. I decided not to make the crepe paper flowers and instead a friend of mine offered me their old tunisian crochet set so I might pick that up since it’s helpful with stash busting.

My fiance and I did purchase a resin 3D printer so we’ve been playing around with that. He helped me make a few bobbins for knitting and it’s kind of fun. We’re planning to use it for wedding stuff but might use it for a few hobby supplies when we get a bit better at it.

#knitting #knitblr #crochet #goals #craft goals #accountability

[shyvioletcat]

“Just shut up and kiss me.” for Rowaelin? 💙

This is Part 3 of The Sweater.

~~~~~

Rowan stood there not saying anything and Aelin tugged at her sock and pulled it higher, suddenly feeling very self conscious. She stood there in long fuzzy socks, his sweater… and not much else. It was all only made worse by his prolonged silence.

“Do you want to come in?” She finally said.

Those words seem to break Rowan out of his trance and he nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

Aelin stepped aside and let him walk by, his hands going into his pockets as he strode in. This side of Rowan she was seeing just now was confusing. She knew there was a reason for him randomly appearing on her doorstep but he was not the most forthcoming man at the best of times, and right now Aelin could see right through him.

He was here to tell her something, but what she didn’t know.

“Dinner was fun,” he said at last.

Aelin let out a breathless laugh. “I do love our little outings.”

Rowan smiled a little at that, but Aelin couldn’t miss the way his eyes seemed unable to stop from roving over her, always lingering on the sweater she wore. It was more of a very short dress on her from where it hit the top of her thighs. She had meant to give it back, she had seen Rowan a few times since the picnic little more than a week ago. But honestly, she didn’t want to. She had taken to wearing when she got home, she’d even slept in it a few times. It was pathetic, Aelin knew this, but it smelled of Rowan and it was so incredibly soft she couldn’t help herself. The fact that she had been busted wearing it by its owner started to make her cheeks heat, and she tugged at the hem in a futile attempt to make it longer.

“So,” Aelin said, clearing her throat as it caught on absolutely nothing, “to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?” 

“Oh, I just,” Rowan pulled one of his hands from his pockets and ran it through his hair. Then he looked around the room, as if he were possibly looking for a reason. “I just wanted to see you.”

Aelin crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a look. “Rowan.”

He looked right at her then, those green eyes not faltering from her’s, and Aelin’s breath caught. Rowan took a few tentative steps towards her and when she dropped her arms his gait became more purposeful. He stopped in front of her, his hand running along the length of her forearm, the long sleeve of the sweater falling away as he held her hand.

“I wanted to ask you something,” Rowan whispered, his eyes not leaving where their hands joined. 

“What is it?” Aelin asked, her voice just as soft.

“I wanted…” Rowan closed his eyes for a long moment, then he let go of her hand and took a step back. “I just wanted to get my sweater back.”

Aelin physically felt the colour drain from her face, disappointment settling in her stomach. She had wanted him to ask her something else. She had wanted him to confess something that had been on the tip of her own tongue so many times. Instead he had asked for his gods-damned sweater back. Aelin wanted to cry, but she opted for laughing, she even contemplated taking it off and throwing it at him if she had been wearing a little more than her lingerie underneath.

“Okay, I’ll get that sorted for you,” Aelin said, sounding a little more bitter than she wanted. She shouldn’t be mad at him, he had no idea. 

Aelin went to leave, her blood pounding in her ears. She was almost at her bedroom door when Rowan caught her arm and made her turn to face him.

~~~~~

The sound of Aelin’s laugh had just about broken his heart. He knew he was a coward. But when faced with the possibility of Aelin not loving him back Rowan had panicked, dropped that stupid line about the sweater instead. He hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her when he had seen her in it, just knowing that this wasn’t the first time she had worn it. Now the dark green knitted item had gone and ruined everything. 

“Fireheart, I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry with me,” Rowan pleaded.

Aelin straightened, a determined look setting on her face. “Why did you really come here, Rowan.”

Rowan moved closer again, so close their chests almost brushed and she had to tilt her head up to look at him, those stunning eyes not wavering from his for even a second. 

“I came to tell you that I’m in love with you and that you consume me like a wildfire.” He wasn’t sure Aelin was breathing as he went on. “You are the only one that I want, and I’ve been terrified and stupid to not say anything until now, becuase I was too scared to know if you felt the same. I love you, Aelin. I’m just praying to almost every god there is that you love me too.”

Aelin let out the breath she had been holding, a single tear running down her cheek that she quickly wiped away with the sleeve of the sweater. Then she smiled up at him, her arms looping around his neck.

“I love you, too,” Aelin said.

“I’m sorry ––”

Aelin cut him off. “Uh-ah, nope.” Then she was closing all the remaining space between them. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

Rowan did what he was told. The kiss was searing, demanding and a deep seeded relief that he felt in his very soul. Why had he waited so long to do this? What had they both danced around each other for so long?

His hands ran over Aelin’s back, over the soft knit of the sweater, down to her ass and to her thighs. She gasped when he squeezed them but got the message and jumped, Rowan holding her tight as her legs circled around his hips. He broke the kiss as he walked them over to her couch, but her lips never left him as Aelin kissed his jaw, his neck. When she nipped at him he groaned and sat down heavily, Aelin bouncing in his lap. She laughed and they kissed again.

“So,” she said, and Rowan recognised the teasing tone in her voice. “You wanna take your sweater back now.”

Rowan’s fingers slipped beneath the hem of it ––hands running up Aelin’s thigh and her back–– the movements had her arching into him as he became aware of how little she wore underneath. 

He kissed her neck, smiling against her skin. “You know what, I think I just might.”

~~~~~

Thanks for reading this little adventure! And yep, I’ve already decided to do a Christmas piece so be on the look out for that in December

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[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

An Unforgettable Halloween | Luke Patterson

Requested by anon:  hiiiii! can i do a jatp luke x reader imagine where it’s halloween and reader runs into Luke and they spend the whole day making Luke forget he’s dead? thanks! <3 love your writing by the way

A/N: Thank you for this request, anon! I really enjoyed writing it! I hope you like it!! Idk why I always need to have the reader and Luke/Charlie singing together, but here ya go anyway. The song used is Favorite Place by All Time Low. :) 

Pairing: Luke x fem!reader

Warnings: fluff

Words: 4,447

Halloween. It’s never been my favorite holiday. My poor, feeble heart can’t handle all the scares and creepy stuff. And besides, it’s over commercialized, in my opinion. Capitalism just needed another reason to exploit a holiday. My best friend, Ava,  tells me I hate the holiday because it reminds me of two years ago when a Halloween party traumatized me for the rest of my life. “Just because Brent made that day terrible, doesn’t mean the day will forever be terrible, Y/N,” she’d always say. Though that might be true, I still like to believe that’s not the only reason why I  hate the holiday. “Just come with me to the party tonight, and you’ll see it’s not as bad as you think it is!” We’re on FaceTime while I’m doing homework and she’s trying to figure out what to wear to the annual Halloween party at Charlotte the popular girl’s house. Another reason to hate the holiday. Charlotte Parks is the typical popular girl trope in this story. Pretty, popular with the guys, a cheerleader. The cliché. “I don’t think I’m gonna do that, Av,” I say whilst tucking my pencil behind my ear and staring down the phone in front of me, balancing against my backpack on the end of my bed. “You know Charlotte and I don’t mix well together.” That’s true. Charlotte has always despised me, God knows why. For some reason unknown to me, she always has to find a way to ruin my life. “Her house is so big, you won’t even see her!” Ava reasons from her walk-in closet before walking back onto the screen, another dress in her hand. This one is a black bodycon number with a white collar at the top and fringes at the sleeves. “How about this one?” “That’s very Wednesday Adams!” I exclaim with a wide smile on my face, to which I receive a very impressed nod from my best friend. “You know Bobbi’s coming tonight, Av. Can’t cancel on her!” Roberta’s my cousin of 13, and she’s one of my best friends, no matter how lame that sounds. We’ve always been pretty good pals, since we’re the only girls in the family. We kind of had to stick together against the testosterone of our other cousins. She’s not actually coming tonight, but I needed a good excuse to get out of this party. “Take her with you!” she yells both excited and kind of desperate at the same  time. “Ooh! How about I wear my pleather pants with, like, a black body and cat ears?!” She disappears into the wardrobe again. “She’s 13, Av! I’m not going to take her to a high school party!” I yell back whilst shaking my head in disappointment. “Wear whatever you want, Ava. I’m sure you’ll look amazing.” She appears into the picture again, her pleather pants halfway her butt and her bra on show. “Hey, is that my bra?!” I recognize that black lace with the gold detailing down the bust anywhere and I’ve lost that bra three weeks ago. “What? No! This is mine!” she says, but I can tell she’s lying. “You are unbelievable, Av!” I shake my head, grinning at my best friend. “I’m gonna have to go though. Send me a snap of  your outfit once you’ve chosen!” She nods her head in response, walking up closer to her phone, which she had balanced somewhere on her drawers. “I really can’t convince you to come?” Her expression has suddenly turned serious. She really is bummed I don’t want to come out, but I don’t care. I can’t care. This is for my own good. At least then, I don’t have to see Charlotte. Or Brent. “I’m really sorry, Ava.... Maybe next year, yeah?” She sighs mournfully before nodding her head. “Have fun, okay? And be careful!” A smile appears on her face again. “I will, babes. Have fun with Bobbi!” She offers me a wave, which I return before yelling ‘bye’ and pressing the red button on my phone screen. Lying to my best friend is not my favorite thing to do, but she wouldn’t shut up when she found out what I’m actually gonna be doing. With a sharp exhale, I crawl off my bed and head downstairs where my parents are getting ready for their little get-together with their friends. Dad’s dressed in a pin-stripe suit, a fake mustache stuck on his upper lip and his hair gelled back tightly whilst mom’s wearing a black dress with a deeply cut V-neck and a large slit down the side. Gomez and Morticia Addams. Very spooky. “Don’t you two look dashing,” I compliment, watching them from the middle of the stairs, sitting down. Mom shoots me a kind smile as she fixes her slick hair. “What are you gonna do tonight, sweetie?” Dad asks, tightening his tie. “Probably gonna go get some food and watch some movies,” I shrug, placing my head in my hand, my elbow resting on my knee. “You know, the use.” Dad exhales sharply, smiling sympathetically. “Don’t give me that look, dad.” “I’m sorry, sweets. But I just wish you would act like a seventeen-year-old instead of an eighty  year old.” I scoff at his statement. We had this discussion last year too. Both of them know what happened and why it’s so hard for me to enjoy this day. But they still give me shit for it. “I’m gonna have plenty of fun by myself. Even more so than if I did go to the stupid party,” I reason with him. He raises his hands in defeat before turning to his wife. “Just make sure the kids get their candies, yeah?” mom says instead, climbing a couple of stairs to press a kiss to my head. “I love you,” she whispers and heads down again. “Love you too. Have fun, guys.” Dad comes up to kiss me too before heading to the door with mom. With his hand on the doorknob, he looks back at me. “You know we only want you to be happy, right?” he says. I nod my head, offering him a smile. “I love you, sweets.” He walks out and shuts the door behind him, leaving me alone in the empty house. I sigh deeply before heading down and grabbing my Vans. Once they’re on my feet, I grab my wallet and exit the house. The cool October air hits my sweater-clad arms, sending a chill down my spine. As my feet tread down the pavement, my mind wanders to this day two years ago. Around this time, everything seemed normal. I was happy and excited to get to the Charlotte Parks Halloween extravaganza with my boyfriend Brent. We’d picked out a great couples’ costume. He was a wolf, and I was dressed as Red Riding Hood. I’d even taken the liberty to go all out with makeup and put a slash near my eye as though I’d been attacked by the wolf. Ava was a fan of that costume, more than Brent was. But when we neared the end of the night, everything crumbled down into shreds of sadness and anger. The residue of that anger wells up again until it’s knocked out of me when I bump into someone, making me stumble backwards. I would’ve fallen on my ass if it wasn’t for the hands capturing my arms to keep me from doing so. “I am so sorry, I--” I stop in my tracks as I look up into the gorgeous green eyes that belong to the attractive brunette that saved me from landing on the cold pavement. “A-are you okay?” he asks, letting go of me. “I--wait…” He furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “You can see me? And you can touch me?” That’s the weirdest question I’d ever gotten. My eyebrows knit together now too, trying to figure out what’s happening and why this boy is so confused about our entire interaction. “Uhm, yeah? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do with people?” “No. I mean -- yeah, but I’m not a person, technically,” he replies in a mumble. He cautiously looks up at me again. “I’m a ghost, actually.” I let the words sizzle through my brain until it decides to send me into a fit of laughter. “Right, yeah, it’s Halloween. Ghosts. I get it. Good one,” I say between laughs, patting the boy’s shoulder, which only sends him to more confusion. To be fair, he doesn’t feel like a normal person. His arms don’t feel like they’re made of flesh and blood, but rather something light and airy. He gapes at me with this inquisitive look on his face, which calms down the laughter abruptly. “You’re not really a ghost, are you?” I ask, just to be certain. “I am, actually…” he mutters and jams his hands into the pockets of his black jeans. “Me and my bandmates died in 1995 and this girl, Julie, brought us back as ghosts… She’s the only one who could see us… Until now,” he looks up at me with hope and confusion written all over his face. “But she can’t touch us… Are you sure you’re not dead either?” I snort at his last question. “Kinda wish I was today,” I blurt out. My eyes widen after the words left my mouth. “That sounds way too dark…” I chuckle, and the boy does too, but I think it’s more out of awkwardness than finding it funny. “Are you okay?” he asks. At first, I think about answering it superficially, but there’s this look on his face that makes me want to spill all the beans. He, too, seems lonely and distraught on this Halloween night. “I’m not actually,” I glance down at my feet, finding his feet are clad in the same shoes. I then let my eyes glide from his shoes all the way up to his face. He’s urging me to continue by tilting his head a little, shooting me a questioning glance. “Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday…” I clarify. The boy nods his head understandingly. “That explains the lack of costume,” he says, which makes me glance down at my doodled-on mom jeans and oversized sweater before chuckling. “You don’t do the dressing up either? Or is that not something ghosts do?” I query, pointing at his ensemble. He’s wearing black jeans with a shirt and long-lined jean jacket. “I mean, it’s not like anyone would see,” he jokingly says, which lets a giggle escape from my mouth. His smile widens upon hearing this ridiculous sound coming from me. “Where were you going so determinedly before I smashed into you?” he asks after a few beats of silence. “Oh, I was getting some food from the place on the end of our street. They got pretty decent sushi, and since I’m home alone tonight, I thought, why the heck not treat myself, right?” I curse at myself for sharing this much with a complete stranger, who is a ghost, nonetheless, but the chuckle that reaches my ears comforts me a little. “No parties to go to? Back in my day, Halloween parties were always the best.” I feel the smile on my face fade away at the reminder of the Halloween party I’m not attending tonight. “Yeah, no… I haven’t gone to any Halloween party in two years… Like I said, Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday.” He offers me a sympathetic smile. A silence then falls over us as we stand in the middle of the street, looking at each other, debating what to say. “So… I’m gonna go and get my sushi. Uhm… Sorry for bumping into you,” I apologize and lift a foot to start walking away, but his voice stops me. “Would you mind if I tagged along?” he asks, which renders me surprised. “I don’t eat, so you don’t have to buy me sushi, but I think I could use some company tonight… If you don’t mind, of course.” His eyes are filled with hope, and some sort of desire to hang out with someone other than those bandmates he was talking about. “Uhm, no… Yeah, sure. You can tag along. It might be a nice change from that lonely Halloween I always have,” I chuckle, and he does too. “I’m Y/N, by the way,” I say as he turns and falls into step with me. “Luke,” he introduces himself with a smile. “Why don’t you go to Halloween parties, Y/N?” I inhale sharply at this question. I was hoping he wouldn’t ask too much about it. But I guess I can never get out of that question anymore. Halloween is a big holiday around here. “Two years ago, I went to one with my boyfriend. It’s the party where I found out he was cheating on me with the one girl who always had it out for me.” It rolls off my lips with ease. Normally, I’d choke or start bawling my eyes out. But Luke’s aura is so calming and reassuring that I can’t help but feel okay telling the story. “I haven’t been able to go back since, much to my best friend’s dismay.” I roll my eyes amusedly thinking about Ava and her desperate attempts to get me to go each year. “That sucks, I’m sorry,” he says as we enter the sushi place. “You better grab your phone now if you wanna talk to me. People tend to give weird looks at people talking to themselves.” I get my phone from my back pocket and pretend to dial a number before pressing it to my ear, glancing up at Luke with a smile on my face. “Hey, how you doing?” I say into the phone, which makes Luke giggle. “Just know that your ex-boyfriend’s stupid for ever cheating on you,” he tells me before looking down at his feet. “I would never wanna hurt someone as pretty as you.”  I can feel a blush creeping its way onto my cheeks, but decide to conceal it by jokingly saying, “Aw, you think I’m pretty.” He rolls his eyes, an amused smile on his face. “Next!” the guy from the sushi place yells. “Oh, hold on,” I say into my phone before placing it on the counter and facing the employer. “Uhm, the Halloween surprise box, please,” I order politely. The man nods curtly before getting into action. I grab my phone again and press it to my ear to continue talking to Luke while we make our way to a couple of chairs and tables set up for waiting customers. I let my eyes wander around the room. It’s decorated to the max with spiders in spiderwebs, pumpkins, skeletons, ghosts,... The lot. Then, my eyes fall onto Luke. He’s glancing around the place, letting his eyes wander until they find their way back to me. A shimmer appears in them when he finds me already looking at him. “So, you said you were in a band?” I ask, pretending to talk to the person on the other side of the line. “Oh, yeah! Me and three of my best friends were in this band called Sunset Curve. Three of us died on the night we were supposed to play the Orpheum,” he explains, and my eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets upon hearing the name of the venue. “The Orpheum?! You’re kidding, right?” He shakes his head, smirking. “You would’ve been legends.” The words come out in a whisper, hoping it wouldn’t upset him too much. “Yea, we would’ve been,” he sighs, then suddenly perks up again like an excited puppy, “But the girl I told you about, Julie? She can make us visible whenever we play with her! We’re now a band with her called Julie and The Phantoms!” I giggle at his endearing enthusiasm. “We would’ve had a gig at this really cool party in the Bel Air, but Julie got sick and had to cancel.” My eyes widen upon the words ‘party’ and ‘Bel Air’. Charlotte Parks lives in Bel Air. “That would be the party I’m not going to tonight,” I tell him, chuckling. “So, we would’ve met tonight either way.” He adds with a cheeky smile, “Some would say it’s fate.”  I shake my head at him, but can’t help the smile on my face either. I want to add something to debunk his theory, but my name is called out by the sushi guy. I get up and take the box of sushi from him, shooting him a quick thank you before leaving the joint with Luke in tow. “Where do you wanna go?” he asks, bouncing up and down. “Oh, I was planning on watching some movies at home, but if you have a better idea to spend tonight? Anything is better than going to that Halloween party.” He purses his lips in ponder, his eyes darting up to the night sky. “Ooh! There’s this park I like to hang out at sometimes?” I raise my eyebrows at his suggestion, popping a piece of sushi in my mouth. I’m way too hungry to wait until we sit down to eat. “You haunt children’s playgrounds?” I ask after having swallowed the seafood. His eyebrows knit together at this as he narrows his eyes at me. “I don’t haunt children’s playgrounds. I hang out at them,” he corrects me. “You’re a ghost, sweetie. That’s haunting.” “It’s not!” he shouts. “It is so!” I laugh loudly, throwing my head back. “You’re lucky the kids are all trick or treating tonight, so we can go there. Might be a little more secluded for me to talk freely to you without worrying people will think I’m crazy.” He nods his head agreeingly. Once at the park, we take a seat in the grass. I have my legs crossed whilst Luke’s are spread out, his hands supporting the rest of his body behind him. “So, what do you do in life, Y/N? You know, besides avoiding parties,” he asks with a little smile plastered on his face. I look at him for a moment, chewing my sushi. This gives me the time to really look at him. He has really great bone structure. Sharp jawline, chiseled cheekbones, fine nose, deep-set, dreamy eyes. “Eating sushi,” I reply jokingly after I’d swallowed the piece of deliciousness. Luke lets out a laugh too. “I’m still in school, so I’m spending most of my time studying. And I like to think I’m a pretty decent writer.” He stares at me, giving me his undivided attention with the cutest smile plastered on his face. “What do you write?” he asks curiously as I pop another sushi in my mouth. I lift my hand to my mouth, and reply, “Poems,” before continuing to chew quickly. “Kinda like songs, then?” I shrug my shoulders. “They could be, but I don’t play any  instrument, so I haven’t tried,” I reply and place the half-eaten box of sushi to the side, pulling my legs up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. “Do you write your own music?” He nods his head. “I wrote most of the songs in our band and now, I write with Julie for the new band,” he answers. As I’m thinking how much I’d like to hear him and his band play, he cuts those thoughts in two by asking, “Can I see your work?” I open my mouth, then close it. Then open again. I must look like a goldfish breathing. “I’ve never really shown anyone my work…” I trail off, debating whether or not I should show him. “Besides, my notebook is at home.” Luke suddenly gets up from the grass and reaches out his hand for me to take. I hesitate. Am  I really going to take a complete stranger, a ghost, to my house to show my poetry, only to find out he hates it because it’s nothing like his songwriting? The answer is yes. I place my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet. Without letting go of my hand, he grabs the box of sushi and then guides me out of the park and lets me lead us towards my house. “Wait here,” I tell him as we’re in the foyer. He simply jams his hands into his pockets and nods his head curtly. I run up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and then go to grab my notebook from my room, quickly storming back downstairs where Luke’s still waiting. I make my way to the living room and sit down on the couch. The boy cautiously trails behind me, and only comes to sit down after I pat the spot beside me. “It’s not that great, but… You know, it’s fun to do and a great outlet for anything I may be feeling.” I hand him the notebook and let him flip through all the pages. He stops on a few, reading it a little more thoroughly. It’s building some suspense in me. What if he doesn’t even like them? What if he, a songwriter, hates them? “Ah! This one!” he exclaims, and suddenly, with a whoosh, there’s an acoustic guitar on his lap. “One of the perks of being a musician spirit,” he tells me with a grin before strumming the instrument a little. He abruptly stops, looks at the page in my notebook again, and then softly tickles the strings. A beautiful melody pours out of the instrument before his melodic voice joins in too with the words I wrote. “I saw your face in the fire again I touched the flames and burned down everything I hear the sirens west of 8th now” He looks at me with a questioning glance as if asking for encouragement of some sorts. I offer him a smile, unsure of anything else I could be doing right now. His voice has rendered me silent. I think I could listen to him sing for hours.  “Wonder if you're hearin' them too And I know you don't belong  Know you don't belong to anyone” He focuses on the instrument again, making sure he’s still playing the right chords.  “No you can't be tamed love Maybe I was wrong  Maybe I was wrong for this But you feel like the perfect escape now Just like the sun on my face” His voice grows a little stronger, almost sounding raspier and more like a growl as he looks up again. I always thought it’d be cliché to melt when an attractive boy sings to me, but it’s actually happening to me right now.  “So can we close the space between us now It's the distance we don't need  Yeah, you're everything I love about The things I hate in me  So come on, come on, come over now and Fix me with your grace 'Cause I'm not too far and you're my favorite place” “You sing this last part,” he tells me, pushing the notebook towards me before going back to playing his guitar.�� “I can’t sing, Luke,” I tell him, slightly panicking.  “Sure you can. I’ll sing along, don’t worry,” he offers me a reassuring smile before putting more power behind his strumming while also leaning closer toward me to read the words.  “So come on, come on, come over now and Fix me with your grace 'Cause I'm not too far and you're my favorite place” He now quits playing, placing his hands flat on the strings, and for a while we just stare at each other in disbelief. Disbelief about the song we just made together. Disbelief about how beautiful a voice he has. Disbelief about how attractive he is.  I cough, breaking the eye contact, “That’s a great song, Luke… You can have it if you want,” I offer with a smile to try and hide the blush from heating up my cheeks.  “No, Y/N, I couldn’t. That’s yours. Those are your words. Your words made this a great song.”  “They’re just words without a melody,” I mutter, folding the edges of the paper nervously.  “A song is quite boring without words though, isn’t it?”  For some reason, I’m starting to think all of this could be a metaphor for us. Him being the melody and me being the words. I would be a plain and simple poem without him, and his life -- though I doubt it -- would be boring without me.  “It would still be a song though,” I add, looking up at him again. One corner of his mouth curls up into a smirk, which makes me think he caught onto that metaphor I was thinking about. He suddenly grabs my hand and laces our fingers together. Before I can even register what’s happening, the front door suddenly opens, revealing a distraught-looking Ava. I let go of Luke’s hand and get up to help my best friend.  “What’s wrong?” I ask her as she stumbles inside. I grab her just in time before she can hurt herself. She looks up at me, her makeup run out all the way to her chin and blood trickling down her nose, though I’m not sure if it’s real blood or part of her cat costume.  “I punched Brent in the face and Charlotte punched me back,” she get out through sobs and hiccups. My eyes dart over to Luke, who’s watching this from the sofa. I almost forgot she can’t even see him. He offers me a small smile.  “Why?” I ask and guide her to the couch. She nearly sits down on top of Luke, but I’m quick enough to guide her next to him while he vanishes. He pops back behind the couch, looking down at the drunk girl lying down on the sofa.  “Because he was boasting about how he even managed to wrap the prude around his finger two years ago and got her to anything he wanted,” I swallow, remember those times people called me a prude because I covered up unlike girls like Charlotte who wore short skirts and plunging necklines. “I really don’t get what you saw in him, Y/N,” she mumbles while cuddling up to the pillow and letting her eyes flutter shut. “I hope you find someone that looks at you like I look at pizza.” I giggle at her drunken words before looking up at Luke to find him already looking at me. Kind of the same way Ava looks at pizza. A smile then finds its way to my face. Maybe Halloween isn’t as bad as I always thought it was. 

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