#edit: my mom ignored my text about it what have I done to deserve this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gold-kobold · 2 years

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How To Fight A Shadow

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Jim speaks at a press conference to address the vicious troll attack on an Arcadian citizen. He and his friends get continuously harassed by the media in the days following, much to the displeasure of his troll and Changeling allies. But, with Dictatious's and Stuart's help, Angor Rot may have found a (nonviolent) solution to the problem.

man, the summaries look so much better indented, why tf have i not done this before now-

HOO MAMA, sorry this one kept gettin' FREAKIN' DELAYED, i kept dozing off like every twenty minutes so i finally gave up and just got some proper sleep lmao i deadass slept for like 16 straight hours kjskdfjsdf staying awake 24/7 is clearly catching up to me, oh no-- thank you guys for your patience, i'm just a dumb ho *sob*

big BIG thanks to all the help i got for brainstorming strickler characterizations on this one!!! i mostly drew from @minty-skull-armour @theoldandnewfirm @littleaipom @elorastory (i didn't source the quote in-text, but it was the fear/ignorance line originally by titus livius lol) @soulsbefore and @pinkytoothlesso11's suggestions for inspiration on this particular chapter, but honestly, shoutout to @days-light and @granny-anthem too because their suggestions were also really good and really helped me during the brainstorming process (and let's be real, i'm probably gonna fall back on these for future chapters too FKJSDKFLGH) and yOU ALL DESERVE CREDIT FOR YOUR GOOD IDEAS DANGIT GFDSFHDFJGKHKJ PLEASE CHECK THESE PEOPLE OUT, THEY'RE COOL--

(might do more editing later, as i'm not sure it's 100% how i want it yet, plus q has not proofread some parts yet so i apologize for any of my mistakes, but ENOUGH STALLING, HERE'S THE THING)

Jim had been struggling with his tie for longer than he’d like to admit. He wasn’t used to such formal attire.

He could easily go find his mom or Strickler for assistance. But he stuck with squinting at tutorials on his phone screen.

Maybe it was because he didn’t want them to notice how badly his hands were shaking. Maybe the shaking hands were why he was having so much trouble.

There was a knock at the door, then Strickler’s voice through it. “Do you need any help, Young Atlas?”

It was as if he could sense the teenager’s struggling without even entering the room. But still, Jim refused the help.

“I got it.” He called back. “Just, uhh, give me a couple minutes…”

After many of those painstaking minutes, Jim finally managed to get his tie on.

He looked at himself one last time in the mirror for good measure.

His human self.

It was the best form to take for what was to come. Humans that were angry against Trollkind likely wouldn’t take kindly to his other face.

When he felt assured that nothing was amiss, Jim headed for the door.

He opened it to find Strickler waiting in the hallway, a similar outfit on his trollish frame, and a similar expression of discomfort with the situation they were about to get into. “Ready to go?”

“Ready as I can be...”

The pair made their way out to the car.

Claire and Toby were already waiting by the car to accompany Jim. They were his anchor, his reassurance that he’d get through the day… and, they were all wearing matching suits.

Barbara was getting into the driver’s seat, her and Strickler there for similar reasons, as well as for security. She wore a long-sleeved pencil dress, teal in colour. Strickler got into the passenger seat beside Barbara as the children all scooted into the back, Jim in the middle.

“You look lovely.” Strickler said, kissing Barbara’s hand before she started driving.

“Thank you, Walt. So do you.” She smiled at him. Looking back at the kids, she added, “And so do you three! Very dapper.”

“Thanks, Dr. L.!” Toby chirped in response. “Gotta give ‘em the ol’ razzle dazzle.”

Jim stayed quiet, hands fiddling nervously in his lap. Barbara caught that small gesture, frowning slightly, but didn’t draw attention to it and began to drive.

“... You’re going to do fine, Jim.” Claire said quietly after some time, as if reading Barbara’s mind.

“Heck yeah, Jimbo!” Toby exclaimed in agreement, doing his best to keep spirits high. “You got this in the bag, I’m sure of it!”

“Uh-huh.” Jim responded quietly.

With another worried look at Jim through the rearview mirror, Barbara softly mentioned, “Remember your box breathing if you start getting stressed, honey.”

Box breathing was basically just taking deep breaths to calm the body, something Jim had definitely been neglecting to do lately.

Claire took his hand, resting her head on Jim’s shoulder, and Toby linked his arm in Jim’s, holding his other hand too to offer as much comfort as possible.

The group mostly engaged in casual small talk from that point until they reached city hall.

Almost as soon as they exited the car, one of the staff members had ushered them into one of the back rooms, where Blinky and Aaarrrgghh were already waiting. Both trolls’ eyes lit up upon seeing the children enter the room.

“Ahh, there you all are! What a sight for sore eyes!” Blinky greeted them with open arms. “How is everyone feeling?”

“Like I’m gonna puke, but otherwise fine.” Jim half-joked. With a worried frown, he asked, “Did you guys get here okay? Nobody gave you any problems?”

Aaarrrgghh and Blinky exchanged a look, but Aaarrrgghh shook his head and said, “Scared of Aaarrrgghh. Wouldn’t come close.”

From that, the trio could conclude that they must’ve gotten some nasty looks or comments, but, well… if Aaarrrgghh’s size was good for anything, it was definitely intimidation factor.

“Jim Lake?”

They didn’t get long to talk before being interrupted, a heavyset white-haired man peeking into the room from offstage to get the boy’s attention. “You’re up in ten minutes.”

That got his anxiety pumping all over again, nervousness forming a heavy rock in his stomach. He tried again to take some deep breaths, and forced a small laugh. “Welp, here’s to hoping I don’t completely bomb all human-troll relations…”

“Master Jim…” Blinky stepped towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Whatever happens out there, we will all endure. We’ve gotten this far already. This is just one more step of many to go.”

He stepped back again, letting Jim go, and Aaarrrgghh gave him a light head pat before he started heading to the stage.

“Go get ‘em, tiger! You got this!” Toby cheered him on.

“We’ll be right here for you!” Claire added for extra reassurance.

As he left the room, Strickler approached the employee that had led them inside. “We’re to be seated where he can see us, yes?”

Jim followed the white-haired man backstage, where he could already start to hear the audience’s murmuring.

That same man was the first to approach the podium, greeting the people of the media that were in attendance, then outlining the main reason for this gathering.

That Draal incident.

Nobody had been killed, thankfully. But the fact of the matter is, someone was attacked and badly injured by a troll, and that couldn’t go ignored by the Trollhunters and co.

Jim was presented to the stand.

Normally, press conferences were in part planned by the speaker. But for this, Jim had little to no choice in the matter of how things went.

The public was angry, and wanted answers, all for good reason. But this was a poorly structured event, and it showed all too soon in how little control their reporter audience had, already trying to speak over each other to get the first question in.

“Um…” Unsure of what to do, Jim stood helplessly in place and looked to the other event organizer for some kind of direction.

The man came back forward, taking the stand one more time. “We don’t have all the time in the world, folks.” He boomed sternly into the mic, as if scolding disobedient children. “Settle down, now. Mr. Lake needs to be able to hear your questions.”

It took a moment, but the group eventually got the message. One man cleared his throat with the intention to speak the first question.

“Hello, Mr. Lake. Brett Winston with CDF News here… How at risk would you say the public is to these troll attacks in the future?”

Jim took a long pause at that, fretting over saying the wrong thing... It was so strange. Jim has stood up to the entirety of Trollmarket before in the face of conflict, so why was this causing him so much more stress?

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his friends and family taking their seats next to the wall, separated from the crowd and easy to distinguish. Every one of them gave him an encouraging wave, and Toby and Claire both shot double thumbs-up, too.

He took a deep breath, and replied to the man.

“I… I don’t think the risk is very high at all, to be honest.” Jim said. That response got a mixed bag of negative looks from the mass of faces staring up at him, and so he cleared his throat, and tried to explain himself better. “Don’t- Don’t get me wrong, what happened was awful , and we won’t rest until we track down who did this. But I assure you, violence against humans is extremely frowned upon within troll communities. Like, part of their whole thing was staying away from us to keep the peace, after all…”

Then came the note-taking. Jim knew he was being recorded already, but knowing just how intently these people were taking his words was just as nerve-wracking.

“You’ve had much experience with troll society, yes?” Another voice spoke up. “What was their reaction to you when you showed up to them?”

“Uh, well, not… not great , but that’s only because they were startled… ” Jim answered. He definitely didn’t want to get into the constant threats that were hurled his way the first week on the job, that’s for sure. “They’re good trolls at heart.”

“How many times have these supposedly ‘good’ trolls tried to kill you? ” Another woman asked.

The directness of that question caught Jim completely off guard. Why she sounded so certain that they had tried to kill him at any time, he had no idea. It seemed like quite a leap to make, given everything he’d just said, but...

“Umm… Not a lot? ” Jim quickly realized that wasn’t a very reassuring answer, judging from the contorted looks on his audience’s faces, and stumbled to elaborate, “I-I mean, like, it was always Gumm-Gumms that were the biggest threat to me--”

“But the other trolls were also a threat?”

“No! I mean, not-- It was, like, a cultural thing--?”

That was an even worse thing to say, as that got disapproving gasps and murmurs among the crowd, more people speaking over each other trying to get another question in. Jim’s mind went blank, unable to think of what else to say, as the mediator tried desperately to get some control back in the crowd.

He caught his mother trying to catch his attention out of the corner of his eye, and turned his head to look at her. She raised her hands up along her torso where the lungs would be, then reversed the motion as she silently blew air out, a reminder for him to take a breath.

Jim took a moment to collect himself, following his mother’s lead in taking longer, calming breaths. He waited for the audience to quiet down before giving any more to them.

“... Look. Their culture is different. Their species is different . But that doesn’t make them bad . Especially not when they’ve spent all these centuries purposefully letting us humans have the surface world. If it wasn’t for the Eternal Night, they never would’ve had to resurface, and none of you would’ve even known they existed .” Jim sternly pointed out. “Life would’ve continued as normal in ignorance of them, and they were letting it stay that way. And now , when so many of them are trying again to leave you all in peace like things once were, you keep trying to drag all of them into the spotlight?”

There was some murmuring amongst the crowd, and another voice spoke up. “Are you saying we should ignore this world-changing revelation?” One man asked in disbelief. “And what about that rogue blue troll that did hurt somebody?”

“That’s not what I’m saying, and--” Jim winced at the mention of Draal. Took another deep breath. “... Like I said… we’re still working on tracking that one down.” was all Jim said. He was hesitant on elaborating about things such as the Glamour Mask, because who knows what sort of chaos that might bring in light?

Whether or not staying quiet on that was a decision he’d come to regret, he’d take his chances.

“But I stand by the fact that the vast majority of trolls will not hurt humans . Peace between our races is too important to them. They’ve maintained it for this long...” Jim continued. He pulled his amulet out of his pocket, the Daylight armour donning his suited form in mere seconds. “If it wasn’t for this amulet choosing me as its Trollhunter, our cultures never would’ve collided.” With a grimace, he added, “Not until Gunmar’s inevitable attack.”

“About that amulet...” Another woman spoke up, “Why did it fall into a human boy’s hands if trolls were trying so hard to keep our worlds separate?”

“This amulet was made to protect them, it wasn’t made by them. They don’t control it, and they don’t get to decide who it chooses.” He took another deep breath, trying to keep his tone as level as possible as he went on. “To have it fall into human hands wasn’t their choice. They were shocked, confused, scared, angry, just like any of you when trolls first came into the light. We’ve all had to make adjustments through this mess, and if you just gave these guys a chance, you’d understand each other--”

Jim got cut off by another overload of questions being called in, and the boy grimaced. The man that had helped him before stepped onto the stage once more, yet again scolding the members of media for their impatience.

Well… Jim was going to have to take a lot of box breaths today.

Dictatious, Angor Rot, NotEnrique, and Nancy were all watching the fiasco live from the Domzalski living room.

Angor had no previous knowledge in how ‘press conferences’ were supposed to go, but the rest of his company seemed just as unimpressed and upset as he was about how things were being handled.

“Whoever was in charge o’ organizin’ this crap ought to get canned.” NotEnrique growled. He made an annoyed gesture to the TV and ranted on, “It’s like they think the kid can answer five questions at once! Jeez, shut up an’ give him a chance to reply, wouldn’tcha!”

“Honestly .” Dictatious agreed, one rare time he found himself siding with a Changeling. “This is almost painful to listen to…”

Nancy had stayed mostly quiet during their viewing, but her usual carefree demeanour looked touched with something akin to indignation. As for Angor, he watched the screen with a low growl half the time.

It was safe to say that they were all in agreement about the sooner this being over, the better.

NotEnrique had gone to the garage to record a… what did he call it? Reaction? Commentary? Some sort of response to the event they just watched.

Dictatious stayed in the living room, having put on some other show, and Nancy had taken to baking some cookies in the kitchen for when the children returned.

Angor Rot whittled at a totem carving, as he often did, waiting by one of the windows to keep an eye out for their car. Soon enough, he did recognize it as it pulled into the Domzalski driveway.

“We’re baaack! ” Toby’s voice rang through the house as he basically kicked the door open. He walked inside with Claire close behind.

“Trollhunters.” Angor greeted them with a nod. He watched the door for a moment longer, only two of them having entered the house, then frowned slightly. “... Jim isn’t with you?”

“He, um… He went home with Strickler and Barbara.” Claire explained, glancing out the window at Jim’s house. “Needed some space right now.”

“Whew, who can blame the guy.” Toby said flatly. That enthusiasm he’d kept up all day was beginning to dwindle. “Can never catch a break.”

“Hmm…”

“Toby-pie! I made cookies!” Nancy called from the kitchen.

“Oh heck yes! ” That was quick to restore some energy in him. He and Claire made their way over, grateful to have fresh treats after that whole ordeal.

“Remember to set some aside for Jim!” Claire said.

“Way ahead of you.” Toby responded, already grabbing a tupperware container out of the cabinet.

They filled up a plate to share, got some milk, and made their way over to the table to wind down and enjoy.

“I suppose Blinky and Aaarrrgghh had to walk back?” Angor Rot asked out of mild curiosity.

“Yep. Poor Aaarrrgghh was just not made for little cars.” Toby said between bites. “We need to get a truck one of these days!”

“Well, they’re probably going to be a while, anyways.” Claire pointed out. “Blinky had to call up on New Trollmarket to check on them.”

At that, Angor’s brows furrowed. “Humans have been causing them problems?” He asked.

“Yeah, New Trollmarket’s been having some major issues… New Jersey certainly wasn’t as quick to accept the whole ‘troll’ thing in the first place, and now everything’s just. Worse .” Claire sighed, drowning her worries in her glass of milk.

“Has anyone been harmed?”

“Pretty close, from what we’ve heard of Blinky’s calls, but they’re laying as low as possible right now. Lucky for everybody, it’s not like humans can get into any Troll locations without a Horngazel.” Toby replied.

“Oh, and speaking of that…”

Angor Rot raised an eyebrow, watching quietly as Claire rummaged through her purse. Then, she walked over to him, and presented a Horngazel of their own.

“Here, we all figured you should hold on to one of these. With how messy everything’s been lately, it’s probably better if you guys hang out in Trollmarket instead of in town.” Claire handed him the item, then added, “Just don’t lose it! Don’t want the wrong people getting their hands on it and all.”

The irony of her handing him off a Horngazel with those kind of words was something that Angor would always find mildly amusing. Nice that he didn’t have to steal one from her purse this time around…

“Thank you.” Angor said as he pocketed the Horngazel. “I’ll be sure not to lose it.”

They stewed in silence for a bit, Claire hesitant in leaving as if she had something else on her mind. Truth be told, it had been on her mind for some time now, but she had troubles spotting fitting times to bring it up.

“... How’ve you been, by the way?” She asked. “Not with this , but... you know, with, like… Morgana and stuff…?”

That name still caused his face to contort with anger upon hearing it. He closed his eyes, and shrugged the question off. “No worse than any of you.”

Worry very clearly entered Claire’s expression, and Toby looked his way with a frown, too. “... Some of us have been doing pretty bad, so that’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

“I am managing.” He assured them. “You don’t have to keep worrying about me like this.”

“Well, that’s just what friends do.” She reminded him intently. “Remember to let us know if you ever need to talk or anything. Seriously.”

“I know. If I need to, I will.” Angor said, with more reassurance than his last reply. With one raised brow, he added, “Remember that same offer goes for you, child.”

Claire’s skeptical gaze stayed on him for a few more seconds, but she eventually nodded at that, letting the topic lie, and went back to join Toby at the table. Angor Rot went back to his carving, casting occasional glances at the house across the street.

Jim hadn’t said a word on the car ride back home. He didn’t even verbalize a goodbye in response to Toby and Claire, something Barbara was sure they had noticed. By the time they’d gotten to their own house, Jim was the first out of the car, speedwalking his way inside. Barbara and Strickler exchanged worried looks.

As they quickly followed behind, Barbara contemplated what she should try to say to him very carefully… but almost as soon as they stepped inside, they could hear him already sobbing.

He’d only gotten up half the stairs when Barbara called for him to stop. And, surprisingly, he did. But, he wouldn’t turn to look at them, and it sounded like he tried to shut himself up as best he could, just standing and shaking in place.

Barbara walked up the stairs, meeting him at the halfway point, and just silently hugged him. That got him to break all over again.

Jim wrapped his arms around her and just cried .

His mother held him close, guiding him downstairs and to the couch, sitting him down next to her. No words spoken as her son sobbed uncontrollably in her arms, completely broken from stress.

Strickler wasn’t as quick to get close, though he did wince at the sight of the boy in so much pain. He took a few steps towards them, part of him trying to look for words of reassurance, but he ended up reasoning that wouldn’t be what helped Jim this moment in time.

“I’ll… I’ll put on some tea.” He quietly offered instead.

“Check.”

Strickler drew his hand away from the board after placing his knight, Jim’s king forced into a corner. But it wasn’t a check mate , so Jim knew he must have an out somewhere. He held his hand on his chin in thought, scanning the board carefully.

Eventually, he spotted the solution, and took Strickler’s knight.

Barbara, unfortunately, couldn’t stay long. She tried to, assuring Jim that she’d call in sick to work to stay with him, but once he was well enough to use his voice, he’d insisted that she not jeopardize her work over this in any way. Calling off a shift that short notice would just make him feel worse for his stupid breakdown.

Strickler, however, could stay. Javier was quite willing to keep looking after the babies, so Strickler stayed downstairs to keep Jim company.

Jim had been quiet during their whole chess game. Strickler couldn’t be sure just how much this was helping him calm down from his earlier ordeal, but he could at least tell that the brunt of the boy’s focus had shifted to the chess board. Despite this, there was no doubt some anxieties still bothering him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Strickler finally asked as he moved another chess piece.

Jim didn’t respond. His eyes stayed glued to the chess board.

“... It’s perfectly reasonable for you to be upset--”

“ Is it?” Jim asked. Whether or not that was Strickler’s intention, that tiny amount of prompting from him triggered a small rant from Jim that he’d seemed to be holding back. “At this point I feel like I’m not even justified in being so mad at everybody, because they don’t know any better . They don’t know trolls! And then this shit with that Draal thing happens, and of course they’d be more scared -- I just--” Jim growled under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “... God. I should be used to everything always going to shit, but--”

“No, Jim. Nobody should have to be used to that, least of all you .” Strickler countered with absolute certainty.

Sighing irately, Jim just shook his head, and took his turn. “Check.”

“... We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them. That’s just first nature for any living creature.” Strickler said as he moved his king out of check. His slitted pupils flicked back to Jim. “More and more people are coming to trolls’ support every day that they continue to learn. It may not feel like it now, especially with this... masked menace disrupting progress... but you are making a change.”

Jim sighed, staring at the pieces on the board. After some time of contemplation, he slid his bishop across the squares, but not far enough to check his opponent’s king. “Maybe... But sure as hell not fast enough…”

With a click of the tongue, Strickler sighed too. Jim always did have that habit of putting too much pressure on himself. “Nobody gets to control the speed of such things, young Atlas.” He said, making his move.

“... I know…” He conceded. “You’re right.”

The two went quiet as Jim yet again examined the board carefully. After much contemplation, he cornered Strickler’s king with his queen. “Check.”

When Strickler leaned forward to take his next turn, he blinked a few times, looked back at Jim and said. “I do believe that’s check mate .”

“... Wait, seriously? ” Jim looked over the board again, not fully realizing that Strickler had no more moves he could make. “... Huh. I guess it is.” He raised an eyebrow at Strickler, the ghost of a smile touching his face for the first time since they’d started. “You were going easy on me, weren’t you?”

Strickler scoffed in exaggerated false offense at that accusation. “Why, I did no such thing!”

Jim snickered quietly, then looked away. “... Well, I’d… I’d better go see Claire and Tobes. Don’t want them to worry too much…”

“Of course.” Strickler said, standing from his seat. “Don’t let me keep you.”

He walked Jim to the door, and the boy took another pause before leaving.

“... Thanks for being here for me.” Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, Jim added, “Sorry I’ve been such a disaster lately, heh…”

“You don't need to apologize for things so out of your control.” Strickler contradicted him. While physical reassurances weren’t his strength, he gave Jim a light pat on the shoulder, albeit a little awkward as well. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Jim tried to put on a smile, though it came off semi-forced this time. “I’ll do my best...”

Days passed.

Humans continued to be a nuisance.

Reporters and cameramen had made it a habit to lurk around the Lake household, and sometimes Toby's as well if they thought there was a chance of ambushing any of them.

The windows that were usually kept open to welcome the sunlight were now covered with blinds and curtains all day and all night if they wanted any privacy in their own home.

From the tree where he sat in the Domzalski's front yard, Angor Rot watched. He watched how Strickler used his wings to shield the children from cameras being shoved in their face every time he escorted them out of the house. Every time he saw this harassment taking place, it made his blood boil.

But he knew it was better that he stay away. He wasn’t sure that he could keep his temper in check with how aggressively the humans were harassing his friends, and if he were to cause a scene over it, that would just make everything worse for them. As frustrating as it was to let it happen, he had to keep his distance.

“Angor?”

That voice drew him out of his stewing anger temporarily. Angor dropped down from his spot in the tree, meeting Dictatious at the door. “You are ready to go?”

Dictatious nodded, following Angor’s lead outside. The assassin offered his arm, which Dictatious put his hand on. That arrangement hadn’t been needed as much after gifting Dictatious the walking stick, but with the higher tensions around humans lately, they had fallen back into that habit for a better sense of safety.

“My apologies for making you wait.” Dictatious said. “The cat sat on Nancy’s dough and we had to make a new batch.”

“I don’t mind waiting.” Angor Rot reassured him. If anything, he was relieved when Nancy added some diversity to Dictatious’s routine.

As they started heading into town, Dictatious’s ears pricked at sounds of the crowd near Jim’s house. “Sounds like they’re still going at it, hm...?”

An irritated growl from Angor Rot confirmed it. “They’re just asking for a beating at this point…”

“Ohh, don’t let them hear you say that.” Dictatious responded half-jokingly. “They’d be all too excited for such content fodder.”

“If they were smart, they’d stay away .”

“They’re more concerned about being business smart than common-sense smart.” Dictatious chuckled. “If anything, having the chance to film a troll attacking somebody matters more to them than not getting attacked by a troll in the first place. Priorities, eh?”

Angor Rot could only snort in annoyance at that, baffled at this twisted behaviour.

“... Really, though. It’s better to ignore them.” Dictatious advised, a more serious note to his voice. “They’re looking for drama, so being as boring as possible is probably the way to go. They’ll lose interest eventually.”

Again, the thought of Dictatious actively avoiding opportunities to rile up some touchy humans was a strange one. But, in this case especially, he was right. It was better to be safe than sorry, which is what Angor had been doing regardless, but the reminder was sometimes necessary...

The pair headed down to Trollmarket, taking a night to read and chat together like they’d done once before. It was something Angor had been intending to do more often anyways, but it would be a much easier task now with their own Horngazel. Plus, it was a good way to take their minds off of the mess going on in the world, even if only temporarily.

Angor had found some of the few books in here actually not written by Dictatious, these particular ones about spellcasting written by a late troll sorceress. It got them talking on the topic of magic as a whole, and the functionality behind it.

“So, when it comes to making new spells...” Dictatious wondered aloud, “... what exactly are the limitations? ”

“That depends on a lot of things.” Angor Rot replied, casually skimming a few more pages, “One must have a significant level of power and experience to be able to create brand new techniques, for one.”

“Hmm.” Watching him with great curiosity, Dictatious asked, “Have you ever created your own?”

Angor Rot gave pause before answering that one. “Hrm… Yes… Stealing Daylight was a technique I developed on my own.”

“Ahh, of course…” The Conundrum nodded slowly. “That must have taken great strength.” Angor Rot stayed quiet at that, and Dictatious gave him one more curious glance. “Have you ever considered trying to make another?”

“Not really.” Angor said with a shrug. “I had everything I needed for battle, and then some.”

“They don’t always have to be for battle though, do they?”

“Well, no, I suppose not. But that was my purpose at the time.”

“Fair enough.” Dictatious replied. He was more thinking aloud than anything, but he went on to say, “Well, the situation’s changed now, so maybe you can try something new one of these days.” Chuckling, he added, “You know, once things are a bit less hectic, perhaps.”

“... Hmm. Perhaps.”

It wasn’t something Angor had put much thought into, especially not these days, but Dictatious had a point. He was in a different situation now. He was basically in a different world from what he was used to before joining the Trollhunters. There were many potential uses to creating new spells, not just violent ones. As much as he wanted to commit some violence against those troublesome reporters…

… Come to think of those humans, perhaps he could come up with some way to approach the issue using magic.

Just like that, an idea started to form in his head.

The days continued to pass, and the harassment wasn’t stopping. It was to the point where neither Jim, Toby, nor Claire even felt comfortable running the simplest of errands by themselves.

They had to go out as a unit just to get one box of kitty litter for Toby’s nan. Even just their quick stop at the pet store couldn’t go uninterrupted, as the second they stepped outside, they were spotted by pests with cameras.

“Oh, great.” Jim muttered, pulling out his amulet. “ For the glory of Merlin …”

By the time those press members reached the children, Jim had donned his full Daylight armour right up to the helmet. He, Claire, and Toby were huddling close together and shielding their faces from the cameras, Jim using his shield to cover his friends even more, all of them making it abundantly clear they did not want to be filmed. That didn’t stop their crowd, though.

“Ms. Nuñez, is it true that you were possessed? With Morgana’s attempted return, do you think you’re at risk of that happening again?”

“Mr. Domzalski, do you have any comments on the violent pasts of those you consider ‘friends’?”

“Mr. Lake! Mr. Lake! What do you have to say about--”

Jim got progressively angrier with each prying question, and had to fight with himself not to lash out. Where in the hell were they learning about all these private things, anyways?!

The three did their absolute best to ignore them, but it was too hard to get away with how persistently they were blocking their path. Jim looked around for any sort of escape route, but--

Suddenly, there was the loud honking of a car. The kids all looked towards the noise, a small black Subaru in the street trying to get their attention. When the driver rolled its window down, gesturing for them to get in, Jim’s heart sunk with disappointment.

Of course it had to be his stupid father.

Still, he didn’t have a lot of great options right now. Given how severely these journalists had been harassing him and his friends, anything felt like a better alternative. He made up his mind rather quickly, and started herding his friends to the car, despite their confusion and concern.

When all three of them managed to pile into the back, slamming the door right in some cameraman’s face, James peeled out of that street and left those people in the dust.

Everything fell silent after that. Awkwardness was just an unfortunate side effect of being anywhere near James Lake Sr..

“You kids okay?” James eventually asked.

“Yeah,” was Jim’s short response.

“Good, good…”

More silence.

Claire and Toby shared similar looks of discomfort with each other while Jim sat stone-faced in the middle seat. As in their last uncomfortable car trip together, both Claire and Toby held one of Jim’s hands each.

“I’ll drop you all off at Jim’s house.” James broke the silence again. “They’re not still bothering you there, are they?”

At that, Jim laughed a short, bitter laugh that told James all he needed to know in that regard. “They’ve got their stupid cameras pointed at our house basically all day .” He snapped, irritated. “Can’t even leave the blinds open anymore…”

A frown befell his father’s face. For another short moment, nobody spoke, but James was brainstorming hard as he drove from street to street.

“... Oh! I know!” James piped up suddenly. “You know those kinds of windows that you can see out of, but can’t see inside? Maybe that would help with the camera problem!”

“We can’t just shell out thousands of dollars for all-new windows--”

“You don’t have to, I don’t mind paying for it!”

The way James said that was as if he thought he were doing Jim some grand favour . But after his insistence about the cameras, Jim was starting to sense a pattern he very much didn’t like, and with how short his patience had already been due to everything else going on, Jim was quick to snap.

“You can’t just buy your way into my life, you know!” Jim shouted at him. “I don’t want to be stuck owing you anything, got it?!”

James stopped the car. He turned around to face his son, the usual smile that he’d been putting on having completely vanished from his face. “Jim. I’m not doing any of this to try and guilt you into liking me or something. I know that’s not going to happen.” James said, his voice unusually serious. “I’m not trying to buy you or to make you feel like you owe me something. I want to do these things for you because I’m the one who owes it to you. Okay?” He turned back around and started the car back up. “I messed up. I get that. I know I can’t make up for what I did to you. Just… please, at least let me help you in little ways when I can…?”

That caught Jim completely off guard. He was quiet for a long moment, the anger he’d just felt taking a back seat to suspicious confusion. He squinted coldly at his father. “... No strings attached?”

“No strings attached, promise.” With a short chuckle, James added, “Hell, you can record me saying it if it makes you feel better.”

If James knew this whole time that there wasn’t a chance to repair their relationship, then why did he even come back to Arcadia…? Or did this sudden realization sink in for him after they reconnected?

Either way, Jim was at least relieved to know that his sperm donor wasn’t as painfully oblivious as he first appeared.

“... Okay. Fine.” Jim eventually agreed to his help, however tentatively. “But getting all new windows is still way too much…”

“Yeah, like, aside from being stupid expensive, wouldn’t they also take a while to install...?” Toby pointed out, though very hesitant to interrupt the conversation between these two.

“Hmm, true…” James agreed, pausing a moment to think. “... Hrrm… Oh, you know, I think they make film coverings for windows that accomplish the same effect? I’ll have to look into that later…”

“Googling it now.” Claire said, using her free hand to search it up on her phone. “... Ah, yeah, here it is - ‘Privacy window film’.” She turned her phone to Jim as she scrolled through the different kinds. “Certainly looks a lot cheaper and easier than brand new window installation, that’s for sure.”

“That sounds great. You and your mother can look through those and get back to me about what kind you want me to get for you?” James offered, glancing at Jim through his rearview mirror. “Or I can just send you the money for it so you can handle all the ordering details or whatnot, if that’s easier.”

“Umm…” Tentatively glancing between Claire’s phone and his father, Jim eventually conceded to that compromise. “Fine, okay, we can--” He closed his eyes and took a breath that came out in a short sigh. “We can discuss it later…”

Again, silence fell among them, one that was left uninterrupted until they reached the Lake household. There weren’t as many press employees lurking around Jim’s house today, so hopefully they could get inside without too much issue.

“Bye, Jim.” James waved the kids off. “Stay safe out there.”

Jim gave the man a strained look, but didn’t reply. He and his friends were quick in getting to the front door, James not leaving the street until he saw them safely get inside the house. With a sigh of his own, he got out of there, too.

Angor Rot had been making far more totems than usual these past few days. Dictatious could easily tell.

The rate at which he did it before was already somewhat unnerving, but with the accelerated pace at which he’s been producing them now, Dictatious wondered where on earth he must be storing them all… Then again, who was he to judge this strange choice? It was technically a productive use of time...

… Still, it happened far too much to be normal, and Dictatious visibly winced when he heard Angor rip off another piece of his own stone past the sound of the TV. He glanced in Angor’s general direction with a deep frown. “Doesn’t that hurt… ?” He asked.

“Not much.” Angor Rot casually replied, chipping away at the soon-to-be totem.

Dictatious still looked bothered, to an unusually high degree for him. Angor couldn’t really imagine why. It's not like these smaller wounds wouldn't heal over in due time. The Conundrum eventually looked back to the screen again, though his ears would occasionally twitch at the soft grind of blade against stone.

“I seriously don’t understand why you need that many…” He mumbled, another disturbed glance being sent Angor’s way. “Maybe you should take a break. It can’t be good for you to be doing it that often...”

“I have been creating these for centuries. I know what my body can handle.” Angor Rot tried to reassure him, though it didn’t alleviate any of the uneasiness in Dictatious’s expression. “... Besides. I’ve been going through too many of them right now.”

At that, Dictatious’s ears perked immediately, and the look in his eyes turned to a skeptical squint. “What have you been using them for? ”

There was a small pause, but Angor eventually admitted, “I’m working on a new charm.”

“... Oh...” As curious as he was about what that might be for, Dictatious felt strangely unsettled by the fact that a conversation he instigated might be leading towards Angor picking his own limbs apart. “Erm… May I ask what it is you’re trying to accomplish?”

“With any luck, a spell that can take care of those troublesome humans harassing the Trollhunters…”

“By ‘take care of’, you don’t mean--?”

“No.” Angor was quick to shut down the suggestion of hurting them. He knew better than that. “My goal is to have it damage their recording devices, to be specific. Preferably from a distance.”

“... Huh.” Still, Dictatious’s frown deepened. “Does it have to be done with totems, though…?”

“The totems are just the easiest way to provide an anchor for the spell.” He answered. “I’m not around the children all the time, so it’s better they have something they can carry with them.”

“... I suppose…” Dictatious didn’t fully ‘get it’, as he was nowhere near as much of a magic expert as Angor, but he had to ask. “Is there no quicker way to perfect it…?”

“I don’t have the proper resources to test them more efficiently, so the testing process has been slow.”

Squinting slightly, Dictatious asked, “‘Resources’ as in... spare filming equipment to test them on, or-?”

He got a mild hum of confirmation in response.

“Hrm…” Dictatious drummed his fingers against the arm of the couch, his pupils darting side to side in thought. He very much didn’t like the thought of Angor continuing this habit so aggressively, and as such, racked his brain for some sort of solution to the issue. The children had access to many cameras, but they were using those right now to keep an eye out for shadow portals... After not long at all, a different realization struck him. “Say… didn’t that Stuart fellow mention owning an electronics store?”

Luckily for them, Angor Rot remembered approximately where the store was, though it did take some wandering. Not so luckily, their trip was much longer than necessary due to dodging aggressive humans or unrelenting members of the press. It didn’t help that they had to make a stop at Trollmarket first for their needed bargaining chips… but, eventually, they did manage to reach Stuart’s shop without incident.

A bell rang as they opened the door, announcing their presence to the shopkeeper right away.

“Just a second!” Stuart’s voice shouted from the back of the store.

While waiting for their new acquaintance to emerge, Angor Rot wandered the front of the store with Dictatious close by his side, the Conundrum carrying a small bag in one arm. There were many strange-looking items and computer parts, artifacts stored on the shelves in seemingly no order. The room was fairly cluttered, but not in complete disarray.

When Stuart emerged from the back room, he started off rambling some apology for the wait, but paused in his tracks when he saw who it was. “Oh, hey!” He greeted them happily. “Wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon! How can I help you fellas?”

“I’m working on developing some spells, but I need human equipment to work with. Most importantly those, erm…” Angor Rot paused, glancing to the side in thought. “Those recording devices that those people have been using, the…”

“Camcorders?” Dictatious clarified.

“Yes, those.”

“Ohh… umm…” Stuart started fiddling about the store, looking around. “Ehhh… I’m sure I have something around here that I could spare…”

Sensing the hesitance in his voice, Dictatious dumped the contents of his bag out onto the counter, the clattering of gems getting Stuart’s attention. “We’ll be paying you, by the way.”

“ Ohthankgoodness .”

As much as Stuart wanted to be as friendly to them as possible, considering how harshly everyone else is being to trolls right now, he did appreciate knowing he’d be reimbursed. Intentionally damaging equipment is a little more expensive than buying them groceries… but, from the look of all the gems Dictatious had presented him with, that will comfortably cover the cost of anything they might break. “In that case…”

It didn’t take Stuart long to present them with several pieces of equipment similar to what the press uses. “These cams are pretty old, but they oughta be good for what you’re looking for.” He said. “Some of them fancy ones the media use can be over $8,000… but you don’t need the exact same models as ‘em, do you?”

“Hopefully not.” Angor Rot replied, picking up a few of the camcorders and examining them. “If the basic functions are similar, these should be good enough to test on.”

“Awright, you’re the magic expert...” Stuart trailed off, drumming his fingertips against each other. “... Say… would you mind if I stuck around and watched for a bit?” He asked, genuinely curious about seeing the magical arts in action. “Never seen troll magic up close, heh heh…”

“... I suppose not…” Angor Rot said, tilting his head in slight confusion. It sounded like he was implying they could stay here to do it, although... “But aren’t you working right now?”

Stuart laughed that off, walked over to his door and flipped the sign from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’, then said, “Best part of being your own boss, you can make your own schedule!”

And so, the next many hours were spent magic-tinkering. Angor Rot had many totems to spare, so there wasn’t a worry of running out of resources for testing charms and spells. It was a long process, what with adjusting already-existing magicks and applying it to such new technology, so there was much trial and error involved. (And a surprising amount of spontaneous combustion; Stuart made sure to keep the fire extinguisher nearby after the first two or three times.)

Dictatious and Stuart were both very curious beings, each asking the occasional question during the process, but definitely not to the point of being annoying. Dictatious’s presence and questions were already something Angor was well used to, and Stuart was basically just a jollier extension of that. As one who tended to get overwhelmed or quickly tired of more company than usual, even he found himself slightly surprised that he was lasting so long around this talkative near-stranger without issue.

Maybe that was due to being used to Dictatious, or maybe it was due to his mind being too focused on the golem testing to really register his social battery draining. Plus, Stuart had been an extreme help in explaining in more detail how the devices worked. ( And providing them with a pile of random trash and metal scraps for the totems to be tested in golem form.) He opened up one of the cameras, making a display of the wiring and how all the different parts connected. He elaborated on some common dangers to cameras, like overheating damaging the wires, and some lesser common dangers, like how certain signal jammers can disrupt the functions of wireless ones... All of this was useful for Angor Rot to know at this stage.

After many failed attempts, Angor finally got a golem that both didn’t make any aggressive movements, and could fry these camcorders from a distant range (without making them straight-up explode, either). Satisfied with the results, they packed it up there for the day.

“Thanks for letting me stick around! Very interesting stuff here.” Stuart grinned. With an awkward laugh, he said, “I hope I wasn’t too much of a bother!”

“You weren’t a bother.” Angor replied, relieving some of Stuart’s worries. “You’re one of the few tolerable humans around here.”

At that, Stuart laughed just a little too long to feel natural. Then immediately changed the subject with a clap of the hands. “ Welp! It’s probably about time I close up shop anyways!” He looked at the clock as he spoke, then gasped upon realizing how much time had passed. “Gee whiz, you’ve been here over six hours now! I better let you fellas go while there’s still some daylight left!!”

“... Daylight is useless to us.” Dictatious bluntly reminded him.

“Oh. Right. Ahaha…”

Shrugging, Angor Rot gathered up his totems and said, “Regardless, we should be going. I want to get these to use .”

They said their short goodbyes, and went their separate ways. Angor dropped Dictatious off at Nancy’s, then headed across the street.

Now that he had a charm that functioned how they needed it to, Angor Rot could move on to the second part of his plan.

But first, he had to run the idea by the head of the household.

Barbara listened intently as Angor Rot explained his idea to her. He presented her with the totems that had been prepared, even demonstrated its effects in golem form with one of the spare cameras Stuart had given them.

“Hmm…” She put a hand on her chin, thinking about it carefully. “... And they won’t hurt anybody?”

“They won’t hurt anybody.” Angor assured her. “Of that, I’ve made certain.”

“Well, then… I’m not really seeing a down side.” She circled the golem again, giving it a once-over look. It was big, sturdy, and likely wouldn’t be disruptive to the household since they were going to be kept outside. “Might as well give it a try?”

Given permission, Angor Rot gave a small nod before deactivating the golem, picking up the tiny totem that fell with it to the floor. After they both put the pile of sheets they’d used to make the test golem back where they belong, Angor headed for the door to start setting up those totems.

“Hey, you said you bury those things, right?” Barbara asked, pausing Angor in his tracks. “Let me get you a trowel.”

Well… The gardening tool did make his job a little bit easier, even if it wasn’t really necessary.

Angor Rot had gone about rounding the house, burying totem after totem a few feet apart, forming a circle around the property. Many of the humans had tried approaching him with their subtly-goading line of questioning, but Angor had done a good job of ignoring them. Bold as they were, they were at least intimidated enough by him as to not get too close, especially when not knowing what he was even doing.

He was about halfway through when he noticed Strickler landing nearby, just getting home from wherever he had been. Work or something, Angor assumed.

The first thing out of the Changeling’s mouth was, “Is everything alright?”

Confused, Angor gave him a look. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Err…” Subtly gesturing to the crowd, Strickler asked, “Do you need any help with… you know. That? ”

Angor Rot gave them an uninterested glance, shrugged, and went back to his work. “No need. Their brainless babbling has been easy enough to tune out.”

“... Hmm. If you’re sure.” His head tilting to the side to get a better look at the totems Angor was burying, Strickler inquired curiously, “May I ask what it is that you’re doing? ”

Angor Rot once again glanced back at the flock of media vultures nearby, clicked his tongue, and simply replied, “Hopefully, something that will help.” Casting Strickler a side glance, he added, “Barbara can elaborate. I’ve run it by her already.”

Mildly confused, but still able to catch the hint that he didn’t want those people overhearing, Strickler simply shrugged and walked inside, leaving Angor to his own devices.

In due time, Angor Rot had totems buried all around the house in a circle. For some reason, those persistent humans had still been sticking around. Angor couldn’t imagine how interesting an hour’s worth footage of a troll digging holes would be, but to each their own.

He took a few steps back, looking over his handiwork, and even after all this time, the humans were still throwing pointless questions at him in hopes of any scrap being returned. How persistent were these people?

Completely ignoring the line of questioning they were hoping for responses to, Angor spoke over them with a complete change of topic. “If you value your filming equipment, you should leave right now.”

The fact that he spoke to them at all was enough to spark some excitement in the group. Angor Rot was reminded of needy seagulls fighting over garbage scraps with how they all squabbled to get a word in. “Was that a threat? ” One of them barked over the others, an amusing mixture of worry and offense in their voice.

“No. I’m just giving you a fair warning.” He replied calmly. “Nothing here will hurt you, but your cameras might get damaged--”

“We have a right to be here, you know!”

Angor was no expert on human laws, but he felt certain an argument could be made against that… Either way, they would be too stubborn to listen to him regardless. He closed his eyes, shrugged, and merely said, “Well, I tried to warn you…” It would ultimately be their loss, so who was he to care? “If you insist on staying, then at least stand back.”

Before anybody even had the chance to ask why, the ground beneath them rumbled. From beneath the earth, muddy golems clawed their way to the surface, horrified gasps and shouting coming from the humans as they rose to their full height.

“What are those?! ”

“Oh my god, it’s making monsters --”

“Would you stop being so dramatic?” Angor spoke over them, giving a most disapproving glare. “If they frighten you so much, then you’re free to leave.”

Angor and multiple of the humans were distracted by the sounds of abnormally loud whirring and clicking noises coming from their cameras. Some of the larger ones were even producing small sparks.

“What the hell…?!” One of the cameramen exclaimed, almost dropping the device as it started smoking in his hands. The display screen completely blacked out in the middle of recording, the camera clearly suffering from some kind of internal damage. One immediately after another, every camcorder had broken down with no clear reason.

When Angor Rot started snickering under his breath at the small wave of discord he’d caused among them, it wasn’t difficult for the humans to conclude that he was the cause of this.

“You stupid fucking troll!” One of them shouted, immediately losing all professionalism to curse him out as he tried pointlessly to get his camera working again. “Do you have any idea how much these cost?!”

“Yes, actually.” Thanks to Stuart, that is. Raising an eyebrow, Angor added, “And how am I the stupid one here when I warned you this would happen?”

That point didn’t seem to matter to them, as he and a few others continued berating him to no avail.

“Who do you think’s gonna pay for these, huh?!”

“Hmm. Not my problem.” Angor Rot shrugged them off yet again, and walked inside the Lake house for the time being. One particularly brave woman tried to follow to the door, presumably to start pounding on it, but one of those intimidatingly massive golems moved in front of it, completely blocking the door off and dripping mud dangerously close to her already-damaged equipment.

It didn’t take long for the group to give up at that point. There was literally nothing more to stay for, unless they wanted to stare at near-immobile golem guards all day. But what would be the point with nothing to film them with?

Once the coast was clear, Angor proceeded to safeguard Toby’s house next, and then went to search for the children themselves.

They weren’t too difficult to track down, what with the crowd of grown adults always lurking nearby to ambush them.

They’d been on their way to Mary’s house, the girl having offered them a day at her place while her parents were away, in hopes to give them some relief from the constant media attention. Toby had just been commenting how ironic it was that their most social-media-famous friend was the one about to stow them away when they got blindsided.

It was the same old song and dance, trying to hide their faces and keep walking as the press asked intrusive question after intrusive question…

But, almost as soon as they had started, their harassers suddenly walked away with no explanation, for they saw the troll approaching that Jim, Toby, and Claire hadn’t noticed yet.

Perhaps they’d been warned already about Angor’s new camera-breaking golems. Perhaps these humans were ones less willing to mess with a troll in general . Either way, they were immediately out of the picture.

“... Huh. That was weird.” Claire commented, confused but relieved at their sudden departure.

“Hey, let’s not complain about it!” Jim responded. “Let’s pick up the pace before they come ba--”

“Trollhunters.”

The trio turned around at the sound of that voice.

“Oh, hey Angor!” Toby happily greeted him back. “How’s it hangin’?”

“Things are going well.” Angor replied. “I have something for you three.”

Curious, the children watched on as Angor Rot pulled something out of one of his many pockets. When he extended his hand, they saw three familiar shapes of carved stone.

Blinking a few times, Jim looked from the offering in his hand to Angor’s face. “... Totems… ?” He said hesitantly. “Angor, we can’t use these, we don’t want to hurt anybod--”

“These will not bring harm to anyone. I’ve tested them thoroughly.” Angor Rot was quick to assure him. “They are for protection, yes, but of a nonviolent sort.”

Toby was the first one to pick one up, wondering how these were any different from Angor’s other golem monster things. “Well, if they’re nonviolent, then how would they protect us, anyway?”

“Their appearance alone seems to be enough to discourage those humans from getting too close… but these totems have been charmed.” The assassin explained. “So far this spell is still experimental, but any humans that bring filming equipment close to you will have that equipment fried.”

“Oh! So it’s like, the golems themselves don’t even have to touch anything? It’ll just break their stuff by being near them?” Claire asked, making sure she got that right.

When that got a confirming nod from Angor, Toby raised an eyebrow. “... This won’t mess up our phones, will it?”

“I don’t think so... The golems have been able to target specific devices while I was testing them. But you should probably turn them off before activating your totems, just to be safe.” Angor advised them. “I’ve set some up around your houses already, and it seems to be working at keeping people away.”

“Oh my god, that’s so neat.” Toby said, grinning.

Jim had a look of hope and relief on his face, too. “Maybe they’ll finally back off if it costs them all their equipment by just being near us!” He exclaimed in excitement, him and Claire accepting their totems as well. “Thank you, Angor, this is great!”

“Group hug! ”

“Wh-? Oomph .”

Before he could even ask what Toby meant, all three children had basically tackled him with hugs. Angor hadn’t the slightest idea how to react, so he just stayed stiffly in place, greatly befuddled by this tactic. He very awkwardly cleared his throat, muttering, “Well, don’t thank me yet, we still don’t know how well they’ll work…”

Sensing Angor’s hesitance at the physical contact, the trio let him go pretty quickly.

“Still though, the fact that you even did this is just… Seriously, thank you!” Claire chirped happily. “Knowing your magic, I’m sure they’ll do the trick!”

The three of them pocketed the totems, all smiles at the possibility of having some peace again.

“Listen, we’ve got to get going-- Mary’s expecting us-- but seriously, thank you again!” Jim grinned at him, the other two voicing similar sentiments.

He let them go on their way, still feeling a little strange about the whole ‘hugging’ thing, but… weirdly enough, while it was a foreign overload of contact, it wasn’t as unpleasant as Angor thought it’d be. Besides, it was nice to see them happy.

With all that said and done with, Angor Rot had only one thing left on his to-do list.

It’s been some time since Dictatious had the house to himself. Nancy was out shopping, the kids were off in town somewhere, and Dictatious never really knew or cared what NotEnrique got up to. Probably off making videos somewhere.

He wandered the kitchen, carefully navigating his way around putting on a kettle of tea. Nancy got one of those electric ones so that he wouldn’t have to fiddle with the stove or anything like that. He stepped away for a moment while waiting for the kettle to boil, wandering into the living room, and--

WHAM!

Within seconds, Dictatious had been tackled to the floor, a situation all too familiar. At first, his mind raced with confusion, wondering if he’d done something wrong, or Gods forbid he’d been right about Angor lulling him into a false sense of security from the start , or--

“You’ve gotten rusty.”

“... W-What?”

Angor Rot let him go almost immediately, not giving the Conundrum a chance to truly start panicking. He helped him back up to his feet, even. “You should have been able to notice me coming. I wasn’t being particularly quiet.” He said. Turning away, he said one last thing before walking off that made Dictatious breathe a sigh of relief. “We’ll brush up on paying better attention to your surroundings tomorrow. Then we’ll continue with combat and magic.”

Still a little shaken, all Dictatious managed to squeak in response was a small “Okay” as Angor Rot left the room.

His anxiety was quick to melt away and be replaced with relief and, if he were being honest with himself, a hint of genuine excitement. After all these days stuck in the same setting, with Angor as basically his only momentary relief, Dictatious finally had something consistent to look forward to again.

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granolabird · 2 years

Text

Christmas Magic

Here we have an Hournite Christmas fic, posted the day after Christmas because I was really busy yesterday and couldn’t get it edited in time oops- Anyway, this is sort of a present to the whole Stargirl and Hournite community, because our little community and little show have really helped me this year. So, here’s this! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and for those who don’t Happy Holidays! :)

This fic came to me after I realised Rick, bless him, has probably never really celebrated Christmas. He’s had the party at the Whitmore-Dugan house, but other than that, I doubt Matt ever celebrated. So I took it upon myself to give Rick a happy Christmas with the Chapel family, because they all deserve to be happy 💙

Warnings: N/A Just Christmas Fluff!!

It's way too cold in the Pit Stop, Rick thinks to himself as he lays sprawled on the loft couch, staring at the ceiling. He's honestly surprised he can't see his breath right now, but it feels like it's only a matter of time. Does this place not have heating? Rick knows for a fact that it does, but Pat informed him just a few days prior that it's such a big building that it takes a lot of time (and money) to heat. It's never been much of a problem until today, however. Rick has been staying at the Pit Stop for a while now, and sure it has its ups and downs, but it's still better than Matt's place. Today however, there's a nasty snowstorm outside and the power is flickering. Not out yet, but any minute he's expecting to be plunged into darkness. As if on cue the lights flicker again and Rick sighs, letting his head fall against the back of the sofa. He's about to grab a blanket and resign himself to his fate of freezing when his phone buzzes. He half ignores it, then thinks better of it and checks. He tries to suppress the jolt of excitement he feels when he sees who's texted. It's Beth, because of course it is, she always seems to know right when he needs her. He opens the message, and reads;

Hey! R u busy on Christmas? Both eve and day :)

Rick responds with the honest answer: What do you think?

A few minutes and then Beth types back:

No need to get sarcastic with me mister. Mom and Dad are having a party, you're invited. Everyone else will b there too. You can stay overnight if you don't wanna b at the Pit Stop. Pat says it's cold there.

Rick laughs at that, nodding as if she could see him. Yeah, it's cold. Then the rest of the text registers in his mind and he's pretty sure he short circuits for a moment.

Staying.

For Christmas.

With Beth.

Rick has never been one to celebrate Christmas. Hell, after his parents died he didn't celebrate at all. Matt never bothered with presents, or trees, or anything of the sort. He usually just got drunk, and Rick spent the night hiding in his bedroom waiting for the night to end. Last year was the first year he'd actually had some semblance of a proper Christmas at the Whitmore-Dugan household, and it had been fine. Great, really, but this was different.

Different how? Rick asks himself, as if he doesn't already know. He likes to think that he's been keeping his feelings for Beth on the down low. Really, he shouldn't be as stressed about this as he is. He's done Christmas once before. He hangs out with Beth all the time! He knows her parents so there's no worries about impressions, her parents love him. He hasn't stayed over there, but he knows their guest room, so it should be fine. But if he's staying there for Christmas that brings up the question of presents, and who to get them for, and what to get. And yeah he got everyone presents last year, but it was simple things like chocolate, and- His phone buzzes again, and Rick blinks, shaking his head as he snaps back to reality.

My parents already got u presents just a warning they really want u to stay over

Rick smiles at that as he begins formulating a response. He's never been adept at texting.

He responds with a simple:

I'll be there 💙

And then thinks better of attaching the heart and swiftly deletes it.

Beth's response is instant:

Perfect! So excited! I'll see you there!

Rick sighs, running a hand through his hair, already running through all the present options he has, just as the lights go out.

Yeah, he's entirely screwed.

The day of the party goes exceedingly well all things considered. Presents are exchanged, food is eaten, and well, it's a Christmas party on Christmas eve. It goes about as well as it possibly can, given their group. Jakeem does almost cause a jello catastrophe, after nearly wishing he had more on his plate. Thankfully Mike catches him in the act just in time and prevents spawning what would almost certainly be an ungodly amount of jello in the house. Other than that, the night goes smoothly. Beth's family is possibly a little too excited to have the entire JSA at their house for Christmas, but that's how they usually are, so it's all about as normal as it can be. Everyone has left now, leaving Rick, Beth, and her parents sitting and watching Christmas movies as the dim light from the tree illuminates the room. Beneath it lays a pile of gifts, all nicely wrapped. The gifts Rick has wrapped are easily noticed, poorly taped together wrapping paper covering them, which he was assured was just fine when he apologised profusely for the shoddy wrapping job. Beth's parents keep looking at Rick and smiling which is just a little unnerving, but he brushes it off as them just being happy to have him here.

Finally, Beth gets up to go get some more popcorn and her parents leap at the chance to talk to Rick.

"We're so happy to have you here, we just wanted you to know." They're smiling, and they look genuinely pleased to have him here.

"I'm uh, happy to be here." He offers, and he can't believe it but their smiles seem to grow even more.

"Oh thank goodness. See Beth told us you never really celebrated Christmas, and well, we thought you should have the full Christmas experience. You deserve it after everything you've been through, really."

Rick smiles at that, ducking his head awkwardly. He didn't expect any of this, but it's nice.

It's nice.

He feels warm, and happy, and like he's where he's supposed to be. It's been a while since he's felt this happy.

"Thank you." Rick says, and he means it.

He's still getting used to the genuine displays of kindness from people after so many years of nothing that it leaves him a little speechless. Beth returns around this point, and glances between Rick and her parents before asking

"What did you say to him?"

Rick laughs at this. Always the observant, Beth.

"We just said we're happy to have him here Beth. Making sure he has a Merry Christmas!" Her mom explains and Rick nods emphatically to prove her point.

Beth seems a little suspicious still, but if she's thinking anything she doesn't say it. Instead she settles beside Rick, propping the popcorn bowl on the couch between them and returning to movie watching. Rick is almost certain her parents share a knowing glance, but about what he can't be certain.

The rest of the night is relatively uneventful, just a lot of movie watching and idle chatter. There is a moment where Rick and Beth both reach for the popcorn at the same time and their hands brush, but Rick is pretty sure he plays it off well enough. Even if he does blush a little, he's turned to face the TV so nobody could possibly notice. Apart from that, it's just a good time, hanging out and enjoying movies. After all is said and done Beth's parents insist Rick helps put out milk and cookies for Santa. He's pretty sure everyone in the household doesn't believe in Santa, but it's a tradition so he gives in. He can't help but chuckle as Beth explains in detail why each cookie is chosen, and why Santa (presumably her father) likes them so much. It's strange, nothing like every other Christmas Rick has experienced, but it's sweet. By the time the group retire to their respective rooms it's half past midnight and they're all exhausted, but happy. Good nights are exchanged, and Rick sends Beth a small grateful smile and wave before he ducks into the guest bedroom and flops on the bed. Christmas. He's finally starting to understand all those stupid movies and their talk about Christmas magic. He always thought it was bullshit, but laying here in this bed there's a warm fuzzy feeling in his heart he can't get rid of. It must simply be magic. That's what he keeps telling himself as he falls into a deep sleep.

Rick wakes up to a frantic knocking on his room door. He's panicked at first, thinking something is wrong until he hears Beth on the other side.

"Wake up! It's Christmas!"

"Alright alright give me a minute." Rick says with a huff of laughter, forcing himself out of bed to get ready for what he can only assume will be a long day of festivities.

As soon as he's dressed he opens the door to see Beth, bright eyed and grinning. She grabs his hand and starts leading him down the hall.

"C'mon!" She exclaims, as she drags him towards the stairs.

Rick has no choice but to stumble down the stairs behind her, trying not to fall as he's led to the tree. Beth's parents follow shortly after, clearly still sleepy but they seem just as excited as Beth. They say Merry Christmas and hug Beth good morning, offer friendly smiles to Rick which he returns, and all settle around the tree. Rick sits there for a moment, unsure of what to do and he glances between presents. Then, Beth hands him a nicely wrapped box with his name on it, grabs a present of her own, and begins to unwrap it. Rick follows suit, finding himself faced with a woollen grey sweater. From there, the gifts keep coming and soon Rick finds himself surrounded by various items and piles of gift wrap. Beth's parents have opened their gift from Rick, a knitted blanket that he found in sale in one of the local gift stores, and they seem to adore it, thanking him profusely. He thanks them for all the gifts they got for him, which almost certainly cost at least triple what that blanket was worth, and then glances at the tree to see what’s left. There are two presents remaining, one for him and one he got for Beth that he tucked back because the wrapping job was particularly bad. The present for him is adorned in shiny red paper with a bow on it, and a small tag that reads Save me for last! Instructions in which Rick has made sure to follow. Beth’s parents look over the presents under the tree, then look at eachother and make their way out of the room.

“We’re going to start breakfast. Don’t rush, the pancakes will take a while.” Her Mom reassures. Her Dad looks like he’s about to say something more about that, but he receives a stern look from both Beth and her mother that immediately silences him, as he nods and heads into the kitchen. As soon as they're gone Beth turns to Rick with wide eyes.

“Did they tell you what your present was?” She asks immediately, and Rick shakes his head.

“No, why?”

“Thank goodness. They were looking suspicious last night so I wasn’t sure. They’re nearly as excited about it as I am.”

That gets Rick interested, so he reaches for the gift but Beth bats his hand away.

“You have to save it for last! There’s one other gift left, don’t think I missed it.” She says as she scoops up the small box that’s covered in more tape than paper.

She looks the gift over, and Rick ducks his head, not wanting to see her open it. Out of all the gifts he bought, this is the one he was least sure about. He listens as Beth rips through the paper to the box underneath, and then opens the box with a small gasp. Rick tentatively looks up to see Beth holding a bracelet. It was the most expensive of the few gifts he purchased but also the one he was least sure on. It’s a small golden bracelet with two charms hanging from it, one a sun and the other a moon. Rick thought of Beth as soon as he saw it, and he knew he had to get it for her, but as soon as it was wrapped he started second guessing himself. Now, however, seeing her smile down at the gift so genuinely, drives some of his concern away.

“Do you like it?” Rick asks, tapping his thumbs together nervously as he waits for a response.

“Rick, it’s perfect.” Beth says, smiling at him, and Rick feels his heart melt just a little.

“Great. Perfect.” Rick sighs, and the pair smile at each other for a moment.

Then, Beth grabs the ‘save for last’ present and slides it over to Rick. She looks down at it and then back up at Rick, and seems to hold her breath as she waits for him to open it.

“Why are you so worried about this gift?” Rick half-laughs “You’re making me worried, is something going to jump out and bite me if I open this the wrong way?”

Beth laughs at that and shakes her head; “No, I’m both excited and scared. I don’t know how you’ll react.”

“Beth, you know me better than anyone else. I’m pretty sure it’s physically impossible for you to get me a present I don’t like.”

Beth smiles a little more at this but she still seems unsure, so Rick resolves to open the present and see what all the fuss is about. He tears open the paper to reveal a book. Now, Rick enjoys reading. He spends his free time reading the odd novel or two, and Beth often provides him book recommendations based on his most recent reads, but this is not a reading book. In front of Rick is what appears to be a photo album, with a black cover engraved with little vine designs. Carefully, he peels it open and as he registers what he's looking at his breath catches in his throat. He expected photos of him and his friends, but these photos are old. They're torn around the edges, a little faded, but the image is still clear. It's a photo of his father. Beside it there's a date written, along with a time and a place. He flips to the next page to find a similar photo, this is one of his father with Doctor Mcnider. The rest of the pages in the book are similar images, until the last few pages with photos. There, the photos of the new JSA reside, with little happy face and heart stickers surrounding them, clearly Beth's handiwork. Rick can't help the tears welling in his eyes as he looks at the photos, both old and new, and he stops on a photo of his dad smiling beside who he can only assume is The Flash based on his knowledge of the old JSA.

"Beth, where did you get these photos?" Rick's voice is barely above a whisper, and he can't take his eyes off the page.

"Chuck gave them to me. He found them at home, in an old box and mailed them to me. He thought you should have them, and so I put them in a nice book to give to you. Then, I added photos of us, and the rest of the team to sorta… continue it? Keep making memories, like a tradition sort of thing I guess. If you want to, of course."

Now it's Beth's turn to awkwardly duck her head, and smile sheepishly.

"I love it, thank you." Rick says as he flips through the pages again, struggling to blink tears away. It's nothing he expected but it's everything he could've ever wanted. He takes a steadying breath as he softly smiles at Beth.

"I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if it would bring up bad memories or if it would upset you or… I don't know. I'm just glad you're happy."

Rick nods at that, finding himself at a loss for words. They sit in silence for a while, just looking over the photos quietly, until Beth takes a deep breath. They've moved closer together to look at the book at the same time, and now Beth is practically pressed right beside Rick, so it's not hard to see she's thinking about something.

"Hey, what's up?" Rick asks, and he seems to break Beth from her thoughts as she looks up suddenly.

"I told myself that if you liked your present, and this whole thing went well, I would do something for myself. But I don't know if I can do it." Beth confesses, flipping to the next page of the photo book.

Rick tips his head, confused, and he glances over at her quizzically.

"What do you mean?" He asks, and Beth frowns, clearly considering the question.

"It means… it's…" Beth stumbles over her words as she searches for the right thing to say. Then, she takes another deep breath

"It means this."

And with that Beth presses a kiss to Rick's cheek. It takes him a minute to register what's happened, and he sits there dumbfounded as he stares at Beth.

"Oh."

"Oh? Is that a good thing or…?"

Rick looks over Beth's face, she looks worried, so he presses a hand to her cheek softly, trying to calm his racing heart.

"A good thing."

Beth breaks out into a beaming grin and places her head on Rick's shoulder, snuggling against him as he lays an arm around her shoulder.

"Y'know we weren't even under mistletoe"

Rick murmurs as they look through photos of their friends, and Beth gives him a small elbow to the side with an indignant huff, but it's followed by a quiet giggle that makes Rick grin.

In that moment he's more certain than ever; Christmas magic is real, and it's chosen to bless him with all it's gifts this year.

And it's perfect.

#This took me longer than I'd like to admit #But it's finally here hooray-#hournite #Stargirl #Hourman #Rick Tyler #dr midnite #Beth Chapel #beth x rick #They make me happy

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doubleleoenergy · 3 years

Text

v. Blinding Lights, The Princess and the Pogue Series

I've been on my own for long enough. Maybe you can show me how to love, maybe.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: JJ Maybank x fem!reader

Warnings: 18+ ONLY, mentions of drug use, mentions of addiction, mentions of suicide, mentions of drinking, swearing

Summary: The events from the weekend bring JJ and y/n closer.

Words: 1820

Notes: I apologize for this coming out this morning, I fell asleep on my laptop last night editing so...here it is!

The first rays of morning light hit JJ’s window, sending beams across the room and onto his face. He groaned instinctively, covering his head with a pillow, a slight headache from the night before lingering and making him groggy.

He was aware of his actions from the night before, and did he regret them? Absolutely. He knew he fucked up with Y/N, bad, but he also couldn’t help it. He had never been in a long-term relationship before, he’d never let things get farther than a casual hookup before with anyone. Ad he had never actually liked a woman long enough to see potential with her, not until he had met y/n. Well, not that they did or did not have potential, that was all up to the game of life. And an apology would be necessary if they were to move forward with even a friendship at that point.

JJ rolled out of bed and onto his feet, his door creaking as he opened it up and peaked around the hallway. John B’s door was completely open, with him and Sarah nowhere in sight. That was probably for the best, he knew if they were there, he would just feel too prideful to apologize.

Stepping out into the hallway, he walked out and into the living room, finding y/n sound asleep on the couch still. The sun shined through the windows, covering her body in a warm beacon of light. She looked angelic, and she was. Y/N was everything JJ felt he didn’t deserve in a woman, and he still had no idea why she even hung out with a Pogue like him.

He leaned back against the wall, admiring the way her body was curled up, her lips slightly parted and her tangled hair framing her face. She was still dressed in her clothes from the night before, having passed out on the couch soon after they’d arrived at the Château. JJ kept his gaze on her for a few more minutes until her eyes fluttered open, blinking away the sunlight and rolling onto her back.

It took her a moment to realize JJ standing there, the hurt from the night before resurfacing as she covered her eyelids with the cool palms of her hands. “Take a picture, JJ, it’ll last longer.” She commented. JJ finally removing himself from the wall where he was leaning, moving over to take a seat to her left beside her on the couch. She immediately rolled onto her right side, facing away from him.

“C’mon, princess, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” He teased, resting his head against the back of the couch. She groaned at the nickname, pulling the blanket over her head.

“Actually, I can. You can fuck right off, JJ Maybank.”

Her tone made JJ frown, not realizing just how badly he had screwed up the night prior. “Look, I know you’re upset, but at least let me explain.”

Y/N sat up with her back towards him, looking around on the floor until she found the backpack she had stuffed with her clothes and toothbrush, picking it up and ignoring him as she headed to the bathroom. JJ was hot on her heels, only stopping when the door shut in his face.

“Y/N, please.” He pleaded, leaning his head against the door as he spoke. Y/N rid herself of the clothes from the night before, tossing them into her bag before slipping on the tank top, jeans, and cardigan she had packed for the day.

“You can’t just ignore me forever. At least let me apologize.” JJ sighed, hearing the water running in the sink on the other side of the door. “I’m fucking sorry, okay? I just got caught up with drinking and the weed and dancing with you and I didn’t know what to do. I thought you wanted me to kiss you, I figured that was why you were dragging me out where no one could see us.”

Y/N abruptly opened the bathroom door, causing JJ to stumble forward, catching himself on the doorframe before he could fall. She passed by him as he caught himself, pulling her hair up into a bun on the top of her head. “You think I’m upset because you kissed me? I was going to kiss you, dumbass.” She admitted, crossing her arms over her chest as she sat back down on the couch.

“Well then, what’s the problem?” He questioned, walking down the hallway and stopping at the end, afraid that if he sat beside her, she’d just get up and walk away again.

“The problem is that you kissed me and then acted like it didn’t happen when we caught up with John B and Sarah.” JJ recalled the events of the night, remembering how he pulled away from her to walk back to where John B and Sarah were standing. He remembered making a joke to John B as to why they were in the woods, lying to him about the fact that they were kissing.

“Well, shit, I don’t know, y/n. I just…I panicked, okay? We have this rule: no Pogue on Pogue macking. You’re part of the Pogues now and I…” JJ sighed, running his hands through his blonde locks. “I don’t know how any of this works. Whenever I’m into a girl it’s just based on hooking up with her. It’s never anything serious. I have a fucked up way of thinking, alright? Is that what you want to hear?”

Y/N looked up at him sadly, meeting his gaze before she reluctantly motioned for him to sit on the cushion beside her on the couch. JJ followed her motions, sitting beside her and leaving some space between them. They sat in silence for a minute before JJ continued.

“Look, my mom left my dad and I when I was young, and my dad blamed me my whole life for it. He was addicted to drugs and used to beat the shit outta me whenever he felt like it. I never grew up understanding a healthy relationship, or sharing feelings, or really any of that shit.” He looked down at his hands, opening and closing them as he spoke. “I’m sorry, I wanted to kiss you, I mean, who wouldn’t? You’re the fucking best, y/n; you’re smart, funny, and incredibly beautiful. And for some reason you like hanging out with a fuck up like me.”

Y/N shifted to look over at him, a small smile on her face as he talked about her. “You’re right, I am pretty great.” She teased, easing the tension and making them both laugh. “You’re not a fuck-up, you know that, right? You can’t control what happened with your mom and dad. I was so young when my dad killed himself, but when I grew up and watched my mom drinking, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was my fault. The truth is you can’t blame yourself for the way others react to situations. Life is shit, I mean, we don’t even make it out alive after all the bullshit we go through. It’s not worth spending your whole life blaming yourself for the actions of others.”

Her words are comforting, soothing JJ down to his core. She made him feel less messed up, like he could be someone better, like he deserved better than the shitty cards he was dealt in life. JJ’s eyes flicker to her lips, leaning closer and closing his eyes before the moment is interrupted by the sound of a car horn honking outside.

“Shit.” Y/N cursed, pulling away from the intimate moment they were having and standing up off the couch. She pulled her backpack to her shoulder, looking out the window at the familiar Dodge Durango. “That’s Bailey, I texted her for a ride home when I was in the bathroom.”

JJ tried not to look flustered, scrambling to his feet and running a hand through his hair again. “I’ll walk you out.” Y/N opened the door, walking out onto the screened in porch before stepping outside while JJ walked silently beside her. She watched her sister’s expression as she looked between the two, raising an eyebrow as she smiled mischievously at y/n.

“You must be JJ.” Bailey noted, rolling her window down and resting her arm on the open space.

“Yeah, it’s uh-it’s nice to meet you.” JJ held out his hand for Bailey to shake, receiving a firm handshake from the woman, glancing back to where y/n stood.

“It’s nice to meet you finally, y/n won’t shut up about you.” Y/N’s cheeks flushed a bright red, her eyes widening as she wordlessly pleaded with her sister to shut up.

“B, don’t we have that place to go?” Y/N questioned, hinting at her sister to play along with her lie after having just embarrassed her.

“Right...yeah, get in kid. It was nice to meet you, JJ. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of you.” Bailey watched as y/n walked to the passenger door of the Durango and opened it, Y/N lingering in the doorway. JJ followed her, holding onto the top of the door frame.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow, yeah?” She asked, biting her lip as she looked up into JJ’s blue hues..

“Yeah, sounds good. It was nice meeting you, Bailey.” He gave them both a salute before heading back into the Château, y/n hopping into the passenger seat of the Durango and shutting the door behind herself.

Bailey backed out onto the road, a sinful smile on her lips. “I can see why you like him; he’s tall, muscular, and those eyes are like staring into the damn ocean.” Bailey hissed when y/n smacked her arm as she drove, y/n letting out a huff of breath as she stared over at her older sister.

“You just had to embarrass me, huh?”

Bailey shrugged, stopping at a stop sign on the road before making a left in the direction of their home. “Mom would’ve done the same if she was here, you know that. Like she did for that boy who took you to your eighth-grade formal.” Y/N smiled at the fond memory of her mother, one of the better memories before her mother’s drinking had gotten worse.

“...Yeah, mom definitely embarrassed me much more than you just had. And that was before I even thought about kissing boys.” Y/N agreed, biting down on her bottom lip and looking out the window. She still didn’t know how JJ felt, he had been leaning in for a kiss, but what was to say he wasn’t going to pull away again or shrug it off as an ‘in the moment’ gesture. Her thoughts are clouded with the what-ifs of her and JJ’s relationship as they drove home, the lingering sounds of the radio playing softly in the background as she replayed the past hour repeatedly in her head.

Tagging those who may be interested. Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged/untagged: @midnightf, @serendipityrogers, @fuckandfluff, @eireduchess, @calisamcro, @moniamaybank, @astrydis, @sokovianheadtilt, @blackwiddows, @matbarzalschain, @bigassnocash, @sspidermanss

#doubleleoenergyseries: The Princess and the Pogue #series: the princess and the pogue #the princess and the pogue outfits #jj maybank #outer banks #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x fem!reader

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cno-inbminor · 4 years

Text

domus

a/n: here we have another short drabble dump! i wrote this up very quickly -- i’m still working on that long fic i’ve been talking about! i apologize for taking so long to put it together. pls take this short fic as an apology for now. stay hydrated, wear your masks, and be safe! love you all so dearly <3

plot: when kuroo tetsuro drops the hard-hitting truth that he’s fallen out of love with you, your first thought is to escape. but you find comfort in the least likely person: akaashi keiji, a boy you had grown up with out of forced family interactions, who always seemed so distant from you. yet you probably knew more about him than anyone else.

characters: fem!reader, ex-bf!kuroo, & family friend!akaashi

wc: ~3.7k, will probably have other parts in the future.

genre/warnings: angst with dashes of fluff; mentions of alcohol

pt. 2 | pt. 3

edit: now crossposted to AO3!

When you’re in love, you spend weeks and months wondering why time won’t stop. You sit and ponder over why you’ll have to die someday and leave behind the person you’ve dedicated your entire soul to, or what might happen if your death came early and you didn’t get to say goodbye. You wonder why the seasons seem to pass you by so quickly, that in the blink of an eye, you go from enjoying a cup of iced tea on the porch to holding a mug of hot chocolate inside watching snowflakes swirl in their journeys to the ground.

But when love ceases to exist, time seems to stop. The days drag for longer, the seasons crawl at a turtle’s pace, and the inevitable end feels less terrifying. You no longer fear the eventual sagging of your skin or the spider legs that grow at the corners of your eyes. You no longer cling onto a hope that there will be a lover’s hand holding yours at your bed of eternal sleep. You simply become, just you. Solitary, single, independent you.

It’s no longer you and someone else. The realization stings so badly that it physically hurts you, a whimper leaving your throat. You shakily reach over for the next blouse and fight back the tears, teeth gnawing at your bottom lip. The skin is chapped and broken to the point that you would need layers and layers of chapstick to save any semblance of it, a terrible habit that you wish you hadn’t possessed. It’s muscle memory, the way you fold the blouse in half, fold the sleeves in, bending it over your arm before it lands in a neat stack of other tops in your suitcase. Your eyes take a glance at the clock, and you gather you have about another hour before you needed to leave for the airport and make it on time for your flight.

You ignore the male figure hunched over on the edge of your bed, tuning out his pleas and broken promises. He begs you to give him time, to implore that it’s all his fault and he’ll make it work for the two of you. Tetsuro promises that he didn’t mean to and that it wasn’t anything you did, but you feel so empty inside that you can’t even find the energy to argue, to turn on him and say that he was pretending to take all the blame so it’d be a better explanation to all your friends. A relationship involves both parties, and while there were special exceptions, this wasn’t one of them. Something was clearly wrong with you, and you were okay with that. You were just tired of Testuro attempting to take everything onto himself.

“I thought it’d be best to come clean with you,” he says, throat hoarse from lack of hydration. “I know you would question it and I haven’t done anything, I swear, I know you’re amazing and don’t deserve to live a lie and—”

“Do you want me to say ‘thank you’?” You interjected quietly, morosely. Your hands slide open the underwear drawer and take out a week’s worth of underwear, bras, and bralettes. “Do you want me to express my gratitude in your honesty for telling me that you don’t love me anymore? You can easily buy a trophy online and make the inscription yourself. ‘Most honest man alive’? Is that what you want?” You ask, tone flat and not possessing the least bit of amusement and humor.

“Can’t you give me some time? I’ll try, I’ll try to figure out what went wrong, and I can love you again. We can still get married and everything, but please don’t leave.”

“I’m not leaving forever, Tetsu. I’m just gone for a week, maybe more.”

“Where are you even going?”

“That’s none of your business,” you quickly reply, defenses back up as you make a beeline for the bathroom. You pick up all the toiletries you can, the ones that would be allowed in your carry-on. Strangers won’t care about your missing skincare routine and your complexion not looking its best.

“What if you get lost? Or kidnapped? What if people ask—”

“Easy. Just tell them I had a last minute business trip, family emergency, whatever floats your boat.”

“Can’t you see that I’m trying? I—”

“This isn’t just about you!” You snap, whirling around to look at him for the first time in the last hour or so. Testuro notices with a pang in his heart that your cheeks have sunken in slightly since he broke his revelation to you just last week, the eye circles darker than ever. But your eyes are soulless, dead, no shine or spark that he’d wake up to every morning even muddled with sleep.

“You can’t just expect me to be okay and continue to bend over backwards for you without question. The least you could do is give me my time, give me some space to think about all of it. That’s the bare minimum.”

And with that, you zip your suitcase shut, grab your passport (even though you probably don’t need it), keys, wallet, and phone, and walk as quickly as you can to the front door. The scheduled Uber will arrive in just a few minutes, and as you slip into a pair of flats, you can hear the creak of the bed and Testuro’s padded steps nearing you.

“Just be careful, okay? Call me if you need anything, anything. You’re still one of the most important people to me, so just – text me at some point. Let me know you’re alive at least.”

“You need to rest. You’re on call tomorrow,” you digress while opening the door.

“(Y/n)—”

“I’ll text you. Promise.”

And the door shuts behind you.

Your relationship with Akaashi Keiji is…hard to explain. In fact, you’re not even sure what to refer him as in your life. Anytime you spoke of him or attempted to explain, you’d fumble over words and draw blanks. While it was irritating and aggravating at times, you learned to just accept it.

Akaashi Keiji was the neighbor down the street, two years older, and someone who had known you since you were 8. Your moms were attached at the hip not longer after you moved to Tokyo, and that meant holidays were spent together, impromptu get-togethers and dinners were a common occurrence, and you saw him frequently at school. He was a quiet soul, gentle, but reserved. In fact, most of the things you knew about him were secondhand conversations from your mother talking about the family, because honestly his mom was basically your second mom now, and your mother trusted you with everything. His past, his troubles, his personality all relayed through your mom from his own, and when you saw him in the hallways, he wasn’t much of an enigma to you. Many other girls had found the mysterious air around him to be attractive, that the pretty setter who only ever smiled around his volleyball team and kept a tight circle of friends had something significant beneath the layers.

Keiji grew up with you, playing Smash on the Wii to pass time as your parents gossiped away. Sometimes, you’d play an intense game of Monopoly with him, a game that typically tipped in his favor. He never said much about himself, always relayed more about others that overlapped in your lives. The most he ever spoke to you about was when it came to teachers at school, even giving you some of his old notes and pointers. But even you could tell that he kept his guards up, and you wondered if he even classified you as a friend.

Your go-to explanation of Keiji’s standing in your life was a family friend. But that insinuated you were close with him, which you weren’t at all. No matter how many times he walked home with you (mainly at the pushing from his mother), no matter how many times he was forced to entertain you at dinners and holidays, no matter how many times he gave you a small smile in school, there was such a large gap between the two of you. He always seemed so different around his team, like they had the privilege of knowing the real him, and at times, you felt…jealous.

And the weird thing is that you can rely on him somehow – whether it be because he’d get an earful from his parents if he didn’t help you when you asked it or out of the goodness of his heart, he was simply always there. Sometimes, you were bold enough to text him about a show he talked about in the past, and he would reply quickly as if your unexpected, rare text about something benign didn’t faze him at all.

Yet despite the distance, despite the lack of any semblance of an actual friendship with him, he was the first one you thought of when all this happened. He was the one you wanted to see – maybe it’s because he was the closest thing to home, and you didn’t want to go back to your parents explaining everything. It’s been a while since you’ve been back in Tokyo, ever since you moved to Sapporo for your job and Testuro got matched for a residency at a hospital there.

At 7PM on a Friday afternoon, past the baggage claim with the sunset beaming in through the sliding glass doors, you stare at Keiji’s contact on your phone, thumb hovering hesitantly over the call button. You could count the number of times you’ve called him on one hand, but this was an emergency, right? Is this why your heart is pounding against your chest, so anxious that you feel like you’ll break into a cold sweat any time soon?

You jump into the deep end.

Your hand nervously brings the phone to your ear, waiting with bated breath as the dial tone echoes in the chamber of your brain. Part of you wants him to miss the call so you can avoid this awkward conversation, but another part of you desperately wants him to pick up as if he’ll be able to save you.

Oh god oh god oh god, you panic as the tone stops, there’s a pause, a rustle, and then a hesitant, “—Hello?”

You didn’t plan this out. You’re not ready for this. Shit, what are you supposed to say?

“—hello? (Y/n)?”

“Have you had dinner yet?”

Wow, you’re a terrible conversationalist.

“…um, I haven’t actually. I was about to warm up some leftovers?”

Your eyes focus on the taxis driving by, picking up passengers as they get waved down. Maybe you should just find a cheap hotel nearby, continue this conversation tomorrow.

“Well…I’m in town, actually. I just landed about 30 minutes ago and realized I didn’t have anywhere to go and I don’t really want to call anyone else and I don’t exactly know who else to call so I just, um, thought about calling you and asking if you’ve had dinner? Which if you’re busy and stuff, that’s totally fine, I should’ve texted you beforehand instead of springing this on you and—”

“(Y/n), it’s okay, alright? It’s okay. I’m not busy, so you can stop by. Did my mom ever give you my address?”

Keiji’s brief attempt to calm you down works, surprisingly. You allow yourself to take a deep breath despite the stale airport air, but it was some much-needed oxygen. This is going to be okay, Keiji doesn’t hate you quite yet.

“N-no, she never did.”

“That’s fine, I’ll text it to you. My place is about 30 minutes from the airport, I’d recommend getting a taxi instead of an Uber. I’ll order some delivery—”

“Oh, you don’t have to—”

“You still like the miso ramen from that shop not far from your house, right? They opened up a second store not far from where I live.”

How did he remember that? You’re pretty sure your own mother had forgotten that fact by now.

“Y-yeah, I do,” you smile to yourself. “I still think about it sometimes.”

“Sounds good then. Get here safely then.”

“Okay. Thank you loads again. I’m sorry for all this—”

“Don’t worry about it. Keep me updated, see you later.”

“Yeah, bye.”

Not 30 seconds later, a text arrives to your phone with an address, a keycode for getting past the main door, and other relevant instructions.

Keiji’s apartment is exactly as you expect it to be – prim, proper, neat almost to a fault, with minimalist decorations. The apartment complex he lives in is rather high-end, if the security guards standing outside the main entrance indicated anything. You almost feel completely out of place or like a bug on the wall as you step in after him, a rather comfortable silence between the two of you. His kitchen is spotless and almost sparkles back at you, and the only thing that seems out of place are the containers of your ramen he so kindly ordered for you.

“Your place is really nice, it’s really…you,” you comment, setting your stuff down at the door. Keiji indulges you with a quiet laugh, making sure that there wasn’t anything that would be in your way. His glasses are perched on his head, an old monochrome t-shirt on his shoulders and sweatpants hung low on his hips, yet in this apartment that almost seems like it should be in an interior design magazine, he looks at home. His ethereal beauty, the softness in his eyes, the gentle up-turned strands of his hair – he belonged here.

“The ramen came not too long ago, so it’s still hot. I’ll go ahead and put it together, you can put your jacket on the couch.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Instead, you fold your jacket over your suitcase and quietly make your way into the apartment. Straight across from you are doors to a balcony – darkness had long taken over the city, so you see nothing but your reflection at first. But as you near the plexiglass, the reflection disappears into the view and you almost gasp from the beauty of it.

Blinking lights, flashing billboards, and the brightly lit Tokyo Skytree peer back at you. It only hits you now how much you’ve missed home, and that even though Sapporo was one of the largest cities in Japan, it still wasn’t Tokyo.

“I never get tired of it,” Keiji chimes in while carrying your bowl of ramen to the dining table.

“It’s an amazing view, I can see why you’d live here,” you reply while moving away from it. The table also has two empty wine glasses, and just as you’re about to ask him why they were there, he returns with a newly opened bottle of chardonnay.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to restock the wine fridge, but I knew I was going to kick myself for not having a bottle of that dessert wine we had before you went off to college,” he said with mirth and amusement. “You remember that one?”

“Yeah,” you nearly splutter, almost flushing that once again, Keiji was remembering details about you that you didn’t even know. “Your mom wanted to throw me a graduation dinner and you made it back in time after finals. And she had a bottle of it and between the two of us, we probably drank most of it. Our parents said it was too sweet.”

He nods and sits across from you, elbows on the table as you mutter, “Itadakimasu,” and start eating. You finish your meal silently for the most part, making small talk here and there. Keiji refills both of your glasses and the two of you sip the wine demurely, and while he seems okay with the lack of an explanation, you’re struggling to find the right words.

“So what’s with the impromptu trip to Tokyo? Are you going to see your parents?”

“Should I try to lie to you?”

“It’s up to you.”

Oh, okay then.

But he looks expectant, as if he knows you wouldn’t lie to him – in fact, you’ve never lied to him before. There was never any need to, but did that just mean neither of you ever cared enough?

“Something happened with me and Testuro. I don’t want to bore you with the details, but at the end of the day…I just needed to get away, as cliché as it sounds,” you laugh brokenly. Keiji continues to carefully observe you with a stare that you can’t escape. “I don’t want to tell my parents – you know them, they’ll ask a million questions. Without thinking, I booked a ticket to Tokyo and…now I’m here.”

That was a lie. How are you supposed to tell Keiji that he was the first person you thought of in an effort to run away? You and Keiji have never gotten personal before, he made sure of that. The last thing you want to do is weird him and scare him off.

“…did he cheat on you?” Keiji asked. His voice is darker in his inquiry, deeper than you’ve ever heard before. He has his hands folded in front of his lips and his eyes harden. Testuro may be an old friend to him, but you were in his life longer.

“Nonononono,” you quickly wave off. This isn’t the time to slander your…boyfriend? Could Tetsuro still even be your boyfriend if he no longer has any feelings for you? “Nothing like that.”

“That’s good to hear. If you want, you can tell me another time then. You’re welcome to stay here until you go back to Sapporo.”

You look up at him, eyes incredulous. Could Keiji really be this comfortable with you?

“I wouldn’t mind staying tonight, but I can stay in a hotel for the rest of the week that I’m here.”

“Nonsense,” Keiji refutes, standing from the table and taking your wine glasses to the sink. You follow with your bowl and he starts washing them before you can even offer. “Mom would kill me if she knew I let you pay for a hotel when I have a perfectly functioning bed you can stay in.”

“I mean, if it’s not a bother…”

“It’s not. The futon’s pretty comfortable, I’ve definitely fallen asleep on it plenty of times.”

“We can switch, I would never let you sleep on the futon for a whole week.”

“If you say so then. But for tonight, you can take my bed. Let me grab you an extra towel so you can shower. I’m sure you’ve had a long day,” he says while drying everything off, folding the kitchen towel neatly before heading off to his room. He returns with a large, soft grey towel and you shyly take it from him with a word of thanks, but he stays there in front of you, waiting for something.

“I’m really glad you picked up the phone,” you whisper softly, feeling the effects of the alcohol. You’re entering uncharted territory for the two of you, and this could either kill or strengthen this odd distant friendship. “I meant it when I said I didn’t know who else to call. You were the first person that came to mind and just…I don’t want to make this weird, like you can kick me out,” you begin to ramble. “Don’t feel like you’re obligated to take me in because your mom would be disappointed if you wouldn’t, you’ve already put up with me for over 15 years and it’s fine, I can be on my own and—”

Smooth, calloused hands delicately hold your face, large palms and nimble fingers cupping your cheeks. Your words die on your tongue as Keiji stares straight into your eyes, holding your gaze until your breathing calms down to a steady, languid pace. “You’re my friend, (y/n). So it’s good that you called me.”

“I’m your…friend?” You ask unsteadily, feeling a sense of disbelief.

“Yeah,” he confirms with the corners of his lips turning up slightly. “We’re friends.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Now go shower.”

“Okay.”

You’re fast asleep before Keiji finishes his own shower, his bedroom door left ajar as the hallway light beams through. He pauses in the midst of drying his hair with a towel, letting it bunch and hang off his neck as he cautiously pushes the door open. Keiji notices your even breathing and how much more relaxed you look in sleep. You’re curled up on your side with the blanket pulled up to your face and he can’t lie: it’s adorable and cute, and he shouldn’t really be thinking these things.

He sits on the edge of the bed in the little space that’s provided, lithe fingers reaching out to brush back a few stray wisps of your hair. Watching you sleep pulls him back into a fond memory he’s kept of the two of you, one that might’ve held very little significance to you but meant something so much more to him. He knows you know him well, he knows how much his mother babbles on about him, and adults were more prone to gossip than the rowdiest of teenagers – he’d be painfully oblivious if he didn’t think you knew that much about him, or more than the average friend.

But it’s comforting to him, sometimes. Knowing you, how kindly you think of others, he might not have to explain what he’s feeling in the moment. You would be able to know, and that soothes him to some degree.

Maybe he had a little bit too much wine as well, but ever so subtly, motions steady and unhurried, he deftly leans closer and closer until his lips brush the apple of your cheek. He lingers for no more than a few seconds and sits back up, gazing at you before standing. His hands adjust the blankets and make sure you’re properly tucked in. He pads away, shutting the door behind him as quietly as possible as to not wake you.

And when he’s found a comfortable position on the futon with his most comfortable throw blanket, he realizes, begrudgingly, that this week will fly by too fast for his liking.

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midnightsnyx · 4 years

Text

Consequences - Matthew Tkachuk: part 5

summary: you absolutely hate Matthew Tkachuk so it’s just your luck when you wind up pregnant with his child.

a/n: surprise!!! it’s part 5!! i wont be home sunday so i wanted to post this today. i’m really iffy on this part because i wrote and rewrote a lot of the scenes because i wasn’t happy with it and i’m still not 100% happy with it but if i keep picking it over i’ll end up deleting the entire thing and rewriting it from scratch

but yeah i hope u guys like it & thanks again sooooo much for the love on this story <3 you guys rock.

word count: 2.6K

warnings: swearing, angst w/ a lil fluff again and bad editing lol

ALSO the first part in italics is a flashback to before Matt missed the appointment!

Part 5

“You’ve gotta stop moping, man.” Noah said, bumping his shoulder against Matt’s during morning practice.

Matt knew he was moping but he couldn’t get you out of his head and it was driving him nuts. He was attracted to you the moment you met even though you hated him, but lately something was different. He wasn’t sure if it’s from seeing you carry his child but the past couple months, you were all he could think about.

And it drove him insane.

“I’m not.” He mumbled, attempting to deny his teammates statement. Noah didn’t buy it though, because he grinned.

“You, me, and drinks?” He pointed at Matt. “Tonight at 9. We’re getting you laid.”

Matt forced a smile and nodded, knowing that Noah wouldn’t leave him alone until he agreed.

“The ultrasound is in the morning though so I can’t stay out late.” Matt reminded him.

“We’ll have you back in time for the appointment.” Noah promised and Matt believed him which was why the hurt on your face the next morning broke him.

. . .

21 weeks

“Noah Hanifin is at your front door.” Becca says, looking through the peephole before turning to look at you. Piled under a mountain of blankets with tissues surrounding you and an empty tub of ice cream sitting on the coffee table, you‘re the perfect picture of a broken heart.

You have been dodging calls and texts from Matthew for the past two weeks but in the last couple days, he’s been radio silent and you’re not sure if it hurts more, or less.

“Tell Noah Hanifin to fuck off.” You mutter, trying to dig yourself deeper in the pile of blankets. You know why Noah is here and it pisses you off.

Becca opens the door a little and you can see Noah standing there, holding a bag and looking uncomfortable.

“Can I help you with something?” Becca asks shortly and Noah sighs.

“Good to see you too, Becs.”

Becca’s shoulders tighten and you know without seeing her face that she is glaring at him. “What do you want, Hanifin?”

He hands her the bag he was holding. “This is for Y/N. It’s from Matt. He says he’s sorry.” Then he looks at you. “He’s in bad shape.”

You know he’s in bad shape because even though you’re hurt and angry, you’ve been watching his games. He’s being careless, taking stupid penalties, picking fights more than normal and you know he hasn’t been getting much sleep because there are bags under his eyes.

So you don’t need Noah Fucking Hanifin to tell you that Matthew’s in bad shape.

“That’s not my problem.”

“Oh come on, Y/N.” Noah says a little too harshly for your liking. “He fucked up, he knows that. Cut him some slack, he’s twenty two and he’s about to be a fucking father. He’s scared!”

“And I’m about to be a mother!” You snap. “He doesn’t think I’m scared?”

Noah groans in frustration. “Look. It was my fault, okay? I talked Matt in to going out that night because I wanted him to stop moping over you.”

You try to ignore his comment about Matt moping over you but your voice is unsteady when you answer him.

“Matt is a big boy, Noah. He can make his own decisions and he made the wrong one.” You watch Noah’s face fall. “Stop trying to stick up for him.”

Noah shakes his head and sighs. “You should cut him some slack. It was my fault.”

You watch as he leaves without saying another word. When he’s gone and Becca shuts the door behind him, she turns to face you.

“He doesn’t deserve forgiveness just because Hanifin ‘talked’ him in to going out and getting drunk. He made that choice.”

You slowly nod, watching as she walks to your kitchen preparing to throw the bag Noah dropped off in the garbage. You’re not sure what prompts you to stop her but you call out before she throws it out.

“Wait.”

She looks at you with a raised brow. “What?”

“Let me see what he brought.”

You know she’s pissed, but she brings it over and hands it to you.

“I’m going to go get ready for bed, okay?” She says and you nod, watching as she walks down the hallway. When she’s out of sight, you peak in the bag.

The first thing you see is a chocolate bar. It’s your favourite, and you’re surprised he remembered. There’s some candy and a box of popcorn and your lips turn up in a tiny smile when you pull out a movie.

It’s What to Expect When You’re Expecting, the movie you were very against watching because of how unrealistic it would be compared to actual childbirth. There’s a little sticky note that says, you should watch this even though it’s totally not accurate.

Then, at the very bottom of the bag, there’s a bigger note and you want to ignore it like you’ve done with every text he’s sent you but you read it out of curiosity.

Y/N,

I know that I can’t make up for missing the appointment and I know there’s nothing I can say to make it better so all I’m going to do is say sorry. I am so, so sorry and I know I keep saying that and they are only words but it’s all I can think of to say.

So I’m sorry and I hope that you can forgive me soon because I miss you and I want to be there for you without having to ask my mom for updates on how you are. Please call me, or even text me. I just want to know how you’re doing.

Matt

You’re sniffling by the time you’ve read the note but when you hear Becca approaching, you wipe away the tears and shove the paper back in the bag.

“What did he give you?” She questions, sitting on the couch next to you.

You don’t want to tell her about the note so you just shrug. “A movie.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah.” You lie. “Will you watch it with me?”

“Sure.” She says, taking the movie from you and putting it in to the DVD player before returning to the couch and curling up on the opposite side of the couch.

You try to focus on the movie but you can’t get Matt’s note and Noah’s words out of your head. You’re confused from what Noah said about Matthew ‘moping’ over you. The two of you were friends and you used that term loosely. If it wasn’t for the baby, you know you never wouldn’t have gotten so close to him. You never would have gotten to know the side of him that the rest of the world has never seen. You wouldn’t have learned how terrible he is at cooking but how gentle he can be.

But you also wouldn’t be in this situation right now. By yourself and pregnant with a broken heart.

So you’re not sure what hurts more. The thought of never having known him the way you do or having your heart broken.

. . .

22 weeks

Johnny: I’m really sorry to bother you but can you please come pick Matt up? He’s in bad shape and he won’t go home unless its to you.

It’s this text that has you standing outside a bar that Matt and the guys are. For Johnny to text you, you know that it must be bad and you’re proven right when the doors open and Noah and Johnny carry an extremely wasted Matthew Tkachuk out. You’re not sure he’s even awake until he lifts his head when Noah shakes him.

“Y/N’s here, bud.”

His eyes are closed but they open when he hears your name and his face lights up and he shrugs the boys off, stumbling towards you. He’s unsteady so you reach out to steady him, grateful when he doesn’t put much weight on you.

“You’re here.” He breathes and you nod slowly.

“And you’re drunk.”

He shakes his head quickly. “No, I’m sober as a judge!”

You hear Noah chuckle but you don’t react to him, pulling Matt’s arm around your shoulder.

“C’mon. Lets go home.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Noah calls out and you’re still pissed at him so you don’t bother looking back.

“Yeah.”

You get Matt in your car without a problem and when you start the drive back to your apartment, you try to ignore how he’s staring at you but it feels like he’s burning holes in the side of your head.

“What?” You mutter eventually and you see him shrug out of the corner of your eye.

“’m surprised you came to pick me up. I know you hate me.” He mumbles and you sigh.

“I don’t hate you.” You tell him, “I was angry with you. And I had every right to be.”

“I’m sorry.” He whispers quietly and when you glance at him, he’s no longer looking at you. He is staring at his hands and you notice the cuts from the fight he got in to at today’s game. It was a heavy loss and had a lot to do with how many penalties Matt took. They were dumb penalties, all of which he never would have taken if his head was in the game. You know it’s not entirely your fault but you still can’t help but feel a little guilty because you know he’s playing like this because you haven’t been talking to him.

“I know.” You say, pulling in to the parking lot of your apartment building. You could have very well dropped Matt off at his house but you know he’s too drunk and leaving him by himself could be dangerous.

He’s sobered up a little by the time you’re in your apartment. You make him drink a couple glasses of water before guiding him to your bathroom so he can brush his teeth with his toothbrush he keeps at your apartment and when you give him clothes that he keeps here too, you realize how much time he really spent here.

“I can sleep on the couch.” He says and everything in you is screaming to agree but he just looks so tired and you know he won’t get a wink of sleep on that couch so you shake your head.

“It’s fine.” you say, ignoring the small look of hope on his face, instead sending him out of the bathroom so you can get ready. You take your time, hoping that he will be asleep when you go to your bedroom but you find him laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He doesn’t look at your face when you settle on the bed next to him but you do notice his eyes flicker to your stomach before you pull the blanket over you.

“It’s bigger.” He says.

“What?”

“Your stomach.” He clarifies. “It’s getting bigger.”

“Well that’s what happens when you’re growing a human being inside you.” You remind him and his lips turn up in a small smile.

“Y/N-” He starts to say but you cut him off.

“We’ll talk in the morning.”

He looks disappointed but he’s still drunk enough that you’re not comfortable having the conversation the two of you need to have. There are things that need to be worked out and said and you don’t want him to only remember half of it.

So you watch him nod and drift off before letting yourself fall asleep.

. . .

You wake the next morning before Matt. He snoring quietly and his back is to you which makes getting out of bed easier. He’ll be hungover for sure, so you decide to make breakfast while you wait for him to wake up. You’re also trying to think of what exactly you’re going to say to him.

You don’t know if you have it in you to still be so angry at him. He messed up and it’s not something you’ll ever forget but Noah made a good point when he said that Matt is only 23. You’re both still so young and about to be parents and despite wanting him to be perfect and never mess up, you can’t expect him to be.

“Hey.”

You turn to see Matt walking in to the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

“Hey.” You reply, turning back to the stove. You can hear him sit down on a bar stool and he’s quiet for a moment before speaking up.

“Thank you.” He says softly and it surprises you because you were expecting him to say sorry again.

“You didn’t have to come pick me up last night but you did.”

You shrug, turning around to look at him. “I know you would’ve done the same.”

“I would.” He says. “And I know you’re tired of me saying it but I am really sorry I missed the appointment. I promised I would be there and I let you down.”

You nod, walking over and sitting next to him. “You did, but I’m starting to think that I was too hard on you. You made a mistake, we all do.”

“I swear I’ll never miss one again.” He promises.

“Good, because I’ll shun you if you do.” You chirp and he grins.

After breakfast, the two of you are watching hockey replays and Matt is quietly talking to the baby. You can’t hear exactly what he’s saying but suddenly he looks up and grins.

“Can we tell everyone now? I thought we could make up an Instagram post or something.”

“I may already have one prepared.” You admit sheepishly and his smile lights up the room.

#matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk fanfiction #nhl imagines #nhl fanfiction #matthew tkachuk imagines #consequences series #allies writing #hockey imagines #hockey fanfiction #calgary flames imagines #calgary flames fanficton

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goldenpctals · 3 years

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TRUTH BOOTH, mackenzie edition

GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. Please state your full name: I’m Mackenzie Juniper Quinn 2. Does your name(s) have any kind of meaning? If so, what is it? I was named ever my mother’s grandmother, Mackenzie and Juniper was my own grandmother. So classic, right? 3. Do you have any nicknames? A few. Kenz, Kenzie 4. Where were you born? And in which country? Born and raised in Brisbane, Queensland. Also known as Australia 5. What is your date of birth? November 1, 1995 6. Of course, the following question; what is your Zodiac sign? Scorpio 7. Do you believe in Zodiac signs? No, they never add up. There is a moment where every now and then, I can relate to a certain post. However, Zodiac signs are just a myth to me 8. Where do you live? I jump between Violet Springs and London 9. What is your home situation like? (ex. do you live with your family? Your partner etc.?) In London, I have my own apartment, but in Violet Springs, I live with Theo. I have an apartment in London because of my work duties 10. Do you have any siblings? I have one twin brother named Sebestian who constantly reminds me that he is the oldest by 30 seconds. Sad 11. Do you have any kind of allergies? Peanut allergy 12. Do you own any pets? If so, what kind of pets are they? Do snakes back home in Australia count? We usually occur a wild snake every now and then. They keep seem to come back? 13. Why did you apply to St Jude’s? My mom recommended it to me and eventually, I had a scholarship 14. Did you had to go through a lot audition rounds? No, I was discovered 15. What is the current course you’re following? Acting, mostly on screen/tv 16. If you can switch courses, which one would you switch to and why? Producing. It’s a new journey I’m starting at the moment 17. What is your proudest project you’ve done? I, Tonya 18. What is the proudest project that someone’s else has done? Anything Mason does. His work is absolutely fascinating 19. Do you like FanCons? I do 20. What do you like about FanCons? The answer would be pretty obvious, but meeting fans and getting to know them 21. What don’t you like about FanCons? Too personal questions. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s FanCon and fans will ask questions, but some are unbelievably severe 22. A fan memory that always stuck with you? Can be positive or negative. Whenever they dress up as Harley Quinn. That always stays absolutely adorable 23. Your favorite event so far? I love any kind of award show 24. What kind of event would you like to see in the future? Maybe some kind of camping / surviving trip? 25. Would you recommend St Jude’s to friends, family. etc? Depends. If you handle the pressure and you are career-focused, then yes. If you can’t handle the drama, then no

PERSONALITY QUESTIONS

26. What are your positive traits? Passionate, purposeful and patient. The 3 P’s that Quinn’s usually swear by 27. What are you negative traits? Incredibly stubborn and a little too fierce 28. What would other people describe you as? I hope positive things. But I know some of them have a lot to say other wise, oops 29. What are your pet peeves? Picking men over your friends 30. What makes you happy? Family, genuine friends, working 31. What makes you upset? The classic: ‘seeing one of my loved ones upset’ 32. What is something you love? Working. I’m a workaholic 33. What is something you dislike? Being so proud of something and then not getting the recognision that everyone deserves 34. What are you strengths? I would like to say that I’m organised? 35. What are you weaknesses? Picking my head over my heart. Poor choices have been made, unfortunately 36. A misconception people often think of you? That I’m a spoiled brat, probably. Little did they know, everything I’ve done, has been acchieved by me, myself and I 37. Do you have any fears? Yes, but I’m passing this one since I have 3 passes 38. What scares you the most? Tiny holes. They are awful 39. What do you do to entertain yourself? Work out, go shopping or be around my friends 40. What is your MBTI? My MBTI type is ESFP 41. How do you deal with stress? Talk to Amber, she is like my personal therapist 42. Are you a determined person? Are you a stubborn person? Stubborn, very 43. Do you consider yourself selfish? I am. However, since when is this a bad thing? You should be looking out for yourself? 44. Would you like to be different? No, I don’t 45. Are you more introverted (focused on your inner world) or more extraverted (focused on other people and the outer world)? Extraverted

ROMANCE QUESTIONS

46. What is your sexual orientation? My sexuality is: Heterosexual 47. Current relationship status? I’ve been in a relationship with Theo Carmichael for a couple of years now, even when we had our low moments, I still adore him 48. When was your first kiss? Behind a bar, I was drunk and snuck out of my house 49. Do you remember your first date? If so, with who was it? What did you do? Yes, it was that awful that I’m sparing you the details. You’re welcome! 50. Have you ever experienced heart-break? Pass 51. Have you ever been in love? (If yes, skip to question 53) I have! 52. If no, how so? n/a 53. How do you know when you’re in love? Honestly, this was pretty hard for me to answer. I have experienced multiple relationships in my past and with Theo, things were just different. There was so much more and he opened up a whole new world to me by being so patient and understand 54. What would be your ideal date? Take me on an adventure and you’re good to go 55. What is your perspective on marriage? Being pressured into marriage is never good. My parents tend to do so. However, I would love to get married someday. 56. (only for non-virgins) Are you a sub, dom or switch? You had the audicity to ask that? 57. What do you think of relationships? If you’re in love, then it’s wonderful. I wish people stopped getting their lonely souls mixed into business they shouldn’t even be in 58. What do you think of one-night stands? Used to, but it’s a no for me, thanks 59. Are you still a virgin? No, I’m not 60. Most attractive trait in a different person? Passion 61. What matters most to you when it comes to a relationship? Being truthful to one another and talk things out if there is something to talk about. I’m still learning this myself 62. Are you comfortable with PDA? Or would you be comfortable with PDA? Not the biggest fan, but I don’t really mind it? 63. Are you more of a type to be asked out or the type to ask the other out? The one to be asked out 64. How do you express love to the other? *looks away at Theo* 65. Who is your celebrity crush? If I don’t say my boyfriend, he will probably ignore me for a solid week and come back with a replacement for me. Probably a dog. So, my boyfriend, Theo

GETTING DEEP QUESTIONS

66. Do you regret anything? Yes, I do 67. Is there something you woule like to re-do? So, start all over again? There are a couple of things yes. But that’s for me to know and for you to dot.. dot.. dot.. 68. What is something you would never share with anyone? What happened in Brisbane on July 20, 2012 (OOC: This is that her secret happened) 69. When was the last time you cried? Why did you cry? Yesterday. Sometimes I tend to get overwhelmed by the pressure of my parents. Bash thinks he isn’t their favorite and always calls me out for being the favorite. I don’t think he knows what they want me to be 70. Most memorable event that happened in your time in St Judes? This could be anything: I almost drowned whenever the ship sunk. This happened twice. Twice? Like, excuse me? Did St Judes raised their insurance policy? I hope they did 71. One thing you wish you could do all over? See question 67 72. Someone you miss? People leave for a reason. It is what it is 73. Something you wish you could forget? Once again, July 20 2012 74. Who has the biggest impact on you? Disney has a pretty big impact on me. She is definitely someone I look up to, a lot. Also my mom or my grandmother 75. What is your perspective on love? Is it beautiful? Does it scare you? It shouldn’t be scary. If love scares you, are you ready for it? 76. What has hurt you in the past that you don’t want others to go through? Hm, can’t really think of something? 77. What is something you have gained, something you have lost and something you let go of during the past year? Gained: More confidence in my work. Lost? “Friends”. Let go of: Chopping my hair so short 78. Have you ever lost a friend? do you wish you would still be friends? Yes and no. 79. Do you have any triggers? What is the history behind these triggers and are they related to any disorders or mental illnesses? I don’t 80. If you could meet your 16 year old self, what would tell them? That life isn’t really that painful and that I should really get a sense of fashion.........

RANDOM QUESTION ROUND

81. Summer or Winter? Summer, any day 82. Cats or dogs? Dogs 83. Beach or mountains? Beaches, but I love the mountain view more 84. Phone calls or texting? Phone calls 85. Have you ever skipped class? Rarely

#stjudestruthbooth #q.

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royallyprincesslilly · 4 years

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Title: Love, Maybe? {42}

Chris Evans X Reader OFC Vixen Giovanni

Warning: Cursing, Heavy Angst

Word Count: 4.7K

Summary: After a night of drunkenness you wake up next to warm, hot as hell body, a migraine and no memory of the night before. When you come to realize that the hot body belongs to none other than Hollywood’s golden boy Chris Evans you freak out. As events unfold you become even more panicked to find out you got married in your drunken haze. What else is there to do but get it annulled, right? Before walking away, you share one more night of molten kisses and passion. Three years later you are still living with the repercussions of your brash decisions, but the surprises don’t stop there. The past has a way of coming back and have you questioning is this fate that you’ve been running from, hell could it have been love, maybe?

NOTE: **Italic texts is an inner Vixen thought. Bold Italic texts is an inner Chris thought.

**Loosley Edited/Proofread**

Thank you guys for reading!!!! If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG. 😊❤❤️

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

Chapter 42: Down With The Ship

-Vixen-

Thanks to how close opening night was you were busier than ever making sure things were perfect. You checked, double-checked and even triple checked everything, décor, menu, staff, vendors, setting, everything. You left nothing untouched by your meticulous eye and obsessive-compulsive attention. This meant you ate, slept and breathed your restaurant. You were up before sunrise out after breakfast with Ella, gone all day and not back until just before midnight. It was exhausting and you missed spending time with Ella but you were grateful for the distraction.

Before you knew it two weeks had passed since your life imploded. Two weeks since the story of the decade broke. For those two weeks, you were hounded by paparazzi almost everywhere. You were now on their radar and they were learning your moves. You had to be extra careful not to lead them back home to Ella. When Ella went anywhere it was usually with Nexus who was more than happy to play mom. She said it was great practice which made you think that things with Anthony were getting even more serious.

For the two weeks Chris called, but you ignored every one of them. What began as four or five calls a day dwindled to two then one. You still didn’t want to hear anything he had to say. You had way too much going on and you didn’t want to add to your plate. You took a meeting with Charmaine St. John to hear all she had to say then abruptly told her you didn’t want anything from him when she eluded you could get a “nice cut.”

She looked shocked at that. Then when you went on to say you weren’t going to proceed with taking half of everything she almost fell out of her seat. It was clear she was used to dealing with jilted Hollywood wives who felt entitled no matter what and wanted to go down fighting. That wasn’t you. You just wanted peace and quiet. She prepared the paperwork and faxed it to you. It was paperwork you still held on to.

Ella’s inquiries about Chris increased. What was once or twice a day turned into three or four or even five. The numerous facetime calls you’d orchestrated between Ella and Chris didn’t even seem to have mattered. Every time Nex told you it broke you. This was the reason you were apprehensive to involve him in the first place; this was why you worked as hard as you did to keep everything strictly platonic and complication free. For all the work you attempted you’d ended up right where you didn’t want to be.

You heard the bell chime from your phone and checked it to find an email from Kassius. He’d sent the contract proposal from Food Network a few days ago for you to review and go over with your lawyer. When you did it was revealed that they were being very generous, more generous than you suspected they had been to other no-name chefs.

According to Charmaine, they were offering an eighteen months contract for production of a cooking show with a twist that was creatively left up to you. Within the eighteen-month period, there were to be four episodes filmed a month, with smaller recordings they hoped to push for YouTube, and an extension review to be done at the end of the contract period. When it came down to money you were shocked by how many figures you saw. Charmaine told you it was very generous, but you should definitely leap on it.

You were apprehensive because it was rare for them to offer this kind of money to some no-name chef. You suspected and worried that they were showing the “kindness” of their hearts because of everything that was going on and your newly ousted status as Chris Evans’ wife and baby mama. You suspected they wanted to capitalize on it, either way, it was a win/win for them.

“What’s got you so far away?” Your mother approached and sat across from you. You sighed and shook your head.

“Remember that deal with Food Network?”

“Yes, we are all still incredibly proud of you, honey. My god, all your years of work, sleepless nights. I know it has been hard, harder than you let on and I am over the moon for your successes.” You felt the prick of tears. You knew she loved you, you knew she always had your best interest at heart, but this was so nice to hear her praise you rather than berate you for not having a boyfriend let alone a husband.

“Thanks, mom.” Her smile was warm, as was her hand that rested atop yours.

“The contract they sent over is—impressive. There is trying to woo someone to join you and then there is going all out. This is all out,” you explained.

“That’s good, right? So, what’s wrong?”

“I feel like it’s because I’m now linked to him. I feel like they’re willing to offer these things, this amount of money not because I’m me but because I’m close to him.”

“I’m going to stop you right there Vixen. You are my daughter, you are smart, talented, willful, ambitious, strong and such a force to be reckoned with. You know everything and if you don’t you fake it till you make it. You have no idea how talented you really are. I do not doubt for a second that the reason you are seeing the fruits of your tireless labor now is because of that talent, ambition and grueling desire to make an amazing life for your family and Ella.” Your tears rolled down your face of their own accord.

“Vixen, you are a star, that is the reason why your father and I gave you that name. Vixen to the American definition is fierce, fiery-tempered, and it was true. You cried twenty times louder and longer than any of the other babies, you were stubborn, quick to anger, and that temper ooh, it was hot but were you adorable.” She smiled bright which prompted your smile. You sniffled and dried your tears but they kept flowing.

“Vixen also means female fox. You know I believe in every culture and take pieces where I feel a connection. Guess you can call it my way of keeping in touch with my gypsy spirit, something I think you inherited more so than Nexus. This beautiful free spirit that loathes being tied down, loathes being boxed in and caged like a gilded bird. You want to be free, so you keep running for that freedom. In Japanese culture, there is a creature called Kitsune, a powerful mythical creature with an abundance of intelligence and power. Their energy is bright, hence your middle name. Your name is no coincidence honey, it was destined for you. It is your time. You are here because of you and you alone. Reap those rewards unabashedly,” she finished.

You could hear the conviction in her voice and see the pride coming off of her. It struck you. Nodding your head, you wiped your face and allowed her words to sink it.

“It is your time.”

You signed the contract and faxed it back to Kassius. You were filled with a mix of excitement, happiness, and sadness. You wanted to call him and tell him the good news, tell him about this exciting new thing in your life but you couldn’t. You also wanted to feel the happiness the event deserved but again, you couldn’t, not completely.

-Chris-

“I cannot believe you would do this! I cannot believe you’d do something so stupid. On the list of stupid things you’ve done which is quite long, this is the stupidest.”

He sighed and rubbed his face. He was tired of being reprimanded. This was round three with them and by them, he meant all of them. He was now sitting in his office in front of one of the biggest group video calls he’d done. On the screen was his mom, his sisters their significant others, his brother and his partner. It was a full house. He’d sat here for the last forty minutes as they each took a turn telling him what an idiot he was. He listened to it from every point of view, and no matter how he cut it he still felt like a dick.

“Okay enough! Jesus Christ, I get it I screwed this up,” he shouted.

“Baby brother, you did more than screwed it up. Ya’ fucked it up!”

Everyone began talking over each other and none of it sounded any different than when they’d started.

“Fa’ the love of God!” His shout was loud, and it echoed throughout the first floor of his home. It was loud enough for them to shut their mouths and hear his accent pop through. No one spoke for several long moments.

“Look, I know what I did was wrong. I know I messed up. I know I should have done things differently. I have gone around it time and time again, I wish I could change what I did, go back and handle it differently. I’m sorry.”

They still didn’t speak.

“Chris. Getting past the fact that you lied to us about marrying her and then continued to lie when you realized you were still married. We all can see you’re in love with her, I don’t know how she hasn’t seen it,” Shana stated.

He didn’t know it was that obvious. Thinking further, he’d practically told you how he felt, he just hadn’t said the words. You had to know.

“You have to tell her how you actually feel Chris. I get it you’re scared and everything that comes along with it. I get it. At some point though in order to get what you want you have to go after it—or her.”

He sighed. Somehow this had turned from a berating session to a counseling session.

“Look, I know you all mean well, but—she hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you ya’ idiot. She’s hurt,” Carly informed in an annoyed tone. She then shook her head. “Chris you lied to her and honestly it is just the same as the lie she told. Neither of you are in the right. I get why she lied but you, I don’t get it. You lied to her and she feels stupid, she feels as if maybe you had an agenda. Like maybe you manipulated her and anything that was between you wasn’t real that it was just some figment of the situation that you ensured with your lie,” Carly finished.

“I had no agenda. All I wanted was a little time to show her what could be there, here between us.”

“You should have told her and gave her the choice. You took her choice away Chris. I get that rights and choices are huge with her especially seeing how independent she has been her entire life,” his mother simplified.

He sighed and nodded. She was right. He took your choice just as you’d taken his. Everything he’d felt in the first initial days since you’d told him about Ella you were now feeling. He didn’t think about it in that light.

“You have to be the one to fix this,” Shanna added.

“I don’t think I can. She said that they were better off without me.”

Scott made a “yikes” face, as did the rest of his siblings.

“Well, you kinda deserve that one. Have you seen what the press are doing to her? Her entire life is plastered everywhere. Not even just her, but Ella’s too. She didn’t ask for this and certainly wasn’t prepared. Her privacy is gone. This blindsided her,” Shanna’s boyfriend enlightened. It was insight from someone like you, normal, away from the eye of the press.

“Regardless if she wants you or not, or if you think she wants you or not you have to make this right. You have to stop using that as a crutch. You have to take a chance, Chris. Don’t she and Ella deserve it?”

There was the cincher, he thought. He was so used to getting what he wanted with little effort and work. He was now face to face with what he had to do, he had to put in the right kind of work.

-Vixen-

“Very good Ella, I’m so proud of you. You read that so well.”

She smiled widely and clapped her hands excitedly. You ruffled her soft curls then kissed her forehead.

“Mama, I sweepy.”

“Okay, let’s get the little princess to bed.” You stood, lifted her and carried her to her bedroom while softly singing her favorite lullaby.

“Smile, though your heart is aching, smile even though it’s breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by. If you smile through your fears and sorrow. Smile and maybe tomorrow, you’ll see the sun come shining through. If you just smile.”

By the time you made it to her bedroom, she was half asleep. You tucked her in and finished the lullaby while tracing gentle patterns on her scalp. It always did the trick and within a few minutes she was out like a light. You sat there for a few minutes more and just watched her sleep. When you felt like your tears would start you hopped in the shower and allowed it to clam your mind.

You still had some work to do so you wrapped in your robe after your post-shower ritual and went down to your office and got lost in work. You didn’t know how long you were in there sipping wine and working but when you looked up you heard muffled voices. You stood and slowly walked down the hall. As you got closer you could make out whose voices you were hearing; your mother, Nexus and Chris.

“I’m very sorry Mrs. Giovanni. There are no words or excuses I can give, and I am ashamed of my actions. I can assure you what I did was not an act of maliciousness or manipulation. I hope with time I can show you how sorry I am and earn your forgiveness,” he said.

For a few seconds, there were no words, and you were sure that they’d fallen for it. How could they not? He was respectful, sounded sincere, charming and was laying it on thick as fuck. Then your mother spoke.

“Chris, when I first met you I saw the kind of man you were through your eyes. I know you’re a good man, with good intentions. I know you love Ella and would do anything for her and Vixen. I have no doubt that this wasn’t malicious and I know you didn’t mean any harm.”

“That doesn’t change that there was harm done, a lot of harm,” Nexus added. You slyly peeped around the corner and saw Nexus leaning on the wall with her arms crossed before her, she was the furthest from him. she was not happy. your mother, on the other hand, looked neutral.

“You’re right I did cause harm.”

“Chris, I know that you know what you did. I just don’t know why you did it. I don’t get it and you know what I don’t know if I want to get it. I believed in you, I was rooting for you and I kind of feel responsible for the pain my sister is in. She didn’t deserve to find any of this out through a tabloid show,” Nexus shouted with as low of a whisper as she could manage. You could tell she was angry.

“You’re right, she didn’t deserve this, any of it. I’m sorry. I just—I want a chance to explain to her. I need to say some things to her.”

You’d heard enough. Coming around the corner your mother was the first to see you.

“Get out. There is nothing here for you,” you blurted out and you hoped you sounded believable.

“Vixen, stop it,” your mother interrupted coming up to you. “The least you can do is hear him out.” Your jaw dropped.

“The least? Excuse me?”

“Vixen, this isn’t something that happened to you. You were at the altar with him, you married him the same way he married you. Yes, he wasn’t forthcoming about the status of that marriage, but your life isn’t about you anymore. You have a daughter, a little girl who will be affected by this. She is already affected. She asks for him. She deserves the two of you to get it together.”

You were speechless. You had no idea she had it in her to be so bold about this. You also hated that she was right. Ella did deserve normalcy. Sighing you cross your arms and roll your eyes.

“Fine.”

“Are you sure?” Nexus approached you giving you an inquisitive look. You nodded assuring her you knew what you were doing although you had no idea what you were doing. “Okay. Just holler if you need me.” She gave you a quick hug and walked away with your mother trailing behind you.

You didn’t look at him, instead, you walked away to the kitchen. You could feel him following you. Once you walked in you made a beeline for the freezer and took out the tequila bottle then filled a glass. You could feel his eyes on you, he didn’t speak, and you were quickly getting annoyed.

“You better start because I didn’t fuck up.”

“You’re right, I fucked up,” Chris admitted.

“No shit! You lied to me, Chris. For weeks. You orchestrated everything on the basis of that lie.”

He rounded the island attempting to get closer. You evaded him and walked around to the opposite side. He stopped and raised his hands in the air. “That’s not true. Not entirely. When Sherman told me about the error and that we were still married I didn’t know what to think or do. I didn't know how to tell you. I was scared to tell you. I thought you'd insist we file and end things.”

Pulling the glass from your lips you gulped down the liquid more quickly than you should have and felt the intensified burn. “So what! That is a stupid reason, Chris. That doesn’t matter,” you lashed out.

“Of course it matters. I didn't want to lose you again!”

The admission had you frozen just staring at him across the island. The words were pretty, but they were said to cover an ugly lie. You closed your eyes and refilled your glass and took another out to fill it. You then slide it across the island to him. There were almost two full minutes of silence. The two of you just sipped your drinks, well he sipped, you gulped. Then he spoke.

“I’d spent months, years regretting how everything went down three years ago. Spent so many nights sitting up with a glass like this one just watching the ghosts of memories all around me. I spent so much time wishing I'd done things differently, wishing things had ended up differently. Then out of nowhere there you were and the minute I saw you everything I felt three years ago came back, everything I'd been trying to bury for three years came right back.”

“None of this matters. You lied to me! You used this lie to your advantage. None of it was real. None of it was true.”

The words stung you even more. The realization that this was reality, that everything over the last few weeks wasn’t anything real. You felt the tears and you tried so hard to keep it in.

“That's a lie and you know it Vixen.”

He raised his voice at that point. Realizing his tone, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and slowly blew it out. You took another gulp.

“This is what I know.” Another swig of tequila burned your throat before you spoke.

“You said the worst shit to me three years ago, made me feel like a modern day prostitute, like I was only worth what was between my legs; like that was all I was good for. That fucked me up, it fucked with me for years. Had me second guessing my worth, my value to a man, to you. So I got the hell out of there. Did I regret it? Sometimes, but for the most part no. Then I found out about Ella and I could have told you, I could have tracked you down, but I didn't. I was scared I didn't want to let you anywhere near again so you’d hurt me all over again. Part of me did want to stick it to you for what you did. I can be honest here and now. Then three years later you show up and you're charming and kind and everything you were three years ago, everything that I--then you kiss me and bring me to that lake and we--then San Francisco. You had so many chances to tell me the truth. You didn't.”

“I should have. I tried to so many times. I tried the night you met my family, tried in the pool, tried the night in the backyard in Boston, I tried, and I did but you were asleep when I said it in San Francisco. Jesus Christ, I tried Vixen.”

“Not hard enough. What you wanted one more romp in the hay to see if it was like old times?”

Again, Chris walked around the island to you. You backed up to the oversized fridge holding your arms out trying to keep him at bay. He ignored your hands and still approached, closing in. Walking away you were hoping to create distance between you, but he followed you.

“What's not fair is you keeping this from me. Something that was important that mattered and I know I did the same thing so don’t pull that.

“I wanted time to show you how perfect we were for each other, for you to see that maybe things were the way they should have always been. God Vixen I've never felt this way about anyone before. I've never felt the things I feel for you, I never thought I could, but I do.”

The tears were steadily approaching, your breakdown was coming. “You feel nothing it was an illusion; it was the sex.” You attempted to walk away again but Chris’ hand wrapped around your arm pulling you back to him.

“I've been in love with you from the night I married you. I didn’t know it then; I didn’t know it until I saw you again. When I looked in your eyes and had you in front of me I knew exactly how I felt and seeing you with Ella--our daughter only made me fall more in love with you. You are such an amazing mother, such a kind person with a good heart. You are so damn ambitious and determined. I love that about you, love how genuine you are and how you have an incredible work ethic one that shows the kind of person you are. This was never about sex for me Vixen. It started with Ella, but it didn’t take long for me to realize I didn't just want her, I wanted you. I want to build a life with you and Ella, be by your side as you shatter that glass ceiling you are so damn close to shattering. I want to be your biggest fan and supporter, I want to grow with you, build something others could only dream of. I want to see you every morning, go to sleep beside you after tucking Ella in, I want family vacations, princess dress-up parties, trips to the lake, birthday parties, a family, brothers, and sisters for Ella. I--I want you Vixen. I love you.”

Everything froze. He’d said the words. You thought you’d wanted to hear these words, thought if only he felt this way things would be so much easier. Now here they were. You thought you’d be happy or feel some sort of excitement but the only thing you felt was fear. You were filled with an abundance of fear, so much fear you couldn’t speak for several long moments. He stood there waiting for you to respond and each second that passed he looked as if he were unraveling.

“I want to love you, Vix. Let me.” His voice was pleading, as were his eyes, it was like he was begging you. When his lips dropped to yours the only thing your body did was kiss him back with as much passion and desire that he kissed you. He pulled you closer to him and the heat from his body had you pressing against him trying to savor it. A moan escaped you then one came from him. In a matter of seconds, the kiss was quickly getting out of hand. You were getting lost in the moment despite your common sense. You were the one to pull away.

“Until the day you wake up and want something else or don't want me anymore. The day you've finally gotten me out your system.” Your tears finally won as you expressed your deepest fear concerning him. Pressing your forehead to his chest you accepted defeat and cried allowing your fears and sorrow to seep out of every pore. You’d suppressed this cry because you feared you would never be able to stop.

Somehow, you found your voice for words. “Chris I barely put myself back together last time. I have no idea how I did it, no idea how my heart healed I--I can't.”

Somehow you got the words out through your tears. Somehow you were able to speak. You were scared to look at him, but you chanced it and immediately regretted it. Chris looked hurt. There was visible pain on his face and shining through his eyes. That only made you cry more. You put your forehead onto his chest again and breathed him in. When you felt his forehead on the top of your head you sobbed.

“Right.”

“I swear I won’t stand in the way of you getting to be there for Ella. I promise I won’t be that woman. We will work something out that you can see her when you want. I just--.” Unable to finish you walked away toward your bag.

“So you don’t want me?”

“Chris--.” The question was blatant. You couldn’t lie about it. You also couldn’t say anything. The terror in you was at its peak and the truth was you were too scared.

“You don’t feel what I feel?” You could feel him behind you. You wanted to turn to him and stare in his eyes but you knew if you did you couldn’t get through this. You were barely making it now. You reached into your purse and took out the folded papers.

“Tell me Vixen. There is no way that you feel nothing; no way that all this time we’ve spent together, after everything we’ve done together meant nothing.”

You try to keep a straight face, one that was arid of emotion that could give any indication just how much you were dying inside. The outward signs of that agony were your tears that continued to roll down your cheeks.

Taking a deep breath, you pressed the papers to his chest. Debating inside yourself you kept your hand on them—on him. This was yet another time a war was being waged within you, brain, reality, freedom, safety, or heart, dreamland, complication, risk. Maybe you had a lot more of this gypsy spirit your mother spoke about, you thought.

“I'm not strong enough, or brave enough. This won't end well.”

After a long hesitation and endless internal debate, you pulled your hand away from his chest just as he gripped the papers. You still didn’t know if you were doing the right thing from your heart or from fear. Unable to look at him anymore you slinked past him and down the hall. You had no idea how you did it so gracefully, especially considering how shaky your legs were.

-Chris-

He couldn’t believe his eyes. The force of his realization of seeing this knocked the wind out of his lungs. He could hear the blood pumping in his ears, hear his heart pounding so loudly that there was no other sound that he heard. Divorce papers—signed divorce papers. He gripped the side of the island hoping to steady himself. More hurt than he’d ever felt in his life bombarded him. His hyperventilating came on quickly and impacted his other senses, his vision, his breathing, his scent, even his touch. This was his worse nightmare, the worst outcome.

“It’s over. She doesn’t want me.”

Acknowledging that out loud felt like ripping his heart out. It had been so long since he’d felt pain like this, it dated as far back as his childhood. Even then did not compare to now. He didn’t know how long he stood there, didn’t know if he could move, or speak for that matter. When he finally did move his limbs felt heavy as if he had fifty pounds of lead in his body. He couldn’t think but he sure felt everything. Digging in his pocket he took out his pen and pressed it to the paper on the island right next to the blank line for him. He wavered for a few moments but shook off the hesitation and signed his name on the line next to yours. Once complete he got the hell out there sparing not even a second to look back.

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

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#love maybe fic #Chris Evans #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans smut #chris evans x reader #chris evans x you #Chris Evans X black reader

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msjr0119 · 4 years

Text

One Temptation

Part 11

*This series is based on The Royal Romance characters who belong to Pixelberry - AU Plot switch*

Riley Brooks moves back to New York after leaving five years prior- struggling to get by in life she wanted to go home. After getting mugged, a woman and man come to her rescue and offer her a job at their strip club. A rich business man Liam Rhys is forced to visit the club as part of his bachelor party. What will happen that night?

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Warnings: Swearing, smut, verbal abuse.

*****

“Is the baby mine? Is Alice having a sibling?” Remaining silent, she placed her hand over her stomach. Closing her eyes, she knew exactly who the father was- regret? Maybe? Running away, Liam remained stood dormant overthinking the situation- if she was pregnant with his child they would be the perfect family- the family that he had always imagined. Although he would never confess what he had done to his children.

Drake ran after her, he had supported her last time so believed that he was the best shoulder for her to cry on.

“What are you doing sitting on the floor?” Noticing her sat on the kerb outside the hotel lobby, he knew she was upset- but didn’t realise that she was that upset to risk a cab running over her feet.

“I don’t know. I couldn’t stay in there. Maybe Bertrand and Savannah should have kept it as a family only invite. The baby shower, you punched him. Today I punched him- again. Now the whole of New York City will be thinking that I need to pay Maury a visit with Liam’s comment...” Referring to him assuming that the baby was his, she could imagine the headline on the Maury show ‘ex boyfriend cheats on me, impregnates the other woman. Then raped me years later. Now I’m pregnant and he believes that he is the father.’

“Liam would be able to support you both, he has the money to do that. Don’t ruin your second chance at being a Mom. I know he’s an arsehole, but that is your baby. I’ll support you as I did last time. I care about you too much to let you go through all of this alone. You also have Leo, Max and Bertrand. Please don’t abort another child. You’ll regret it again.”

“I’m not going to abort it. I can’t....”

“Good- I wouldn’t allow you to either, do you want me to take you home?” He interrupted her, thankful that she wasn’t going regret another decision.

“You didn’t let me finish what I was saying, Drake....”

“Sorry, what was you saying?”

“I’m not going to abort it. I can’t do it to us again.” Empathising the word ‘us’ Drake didn’t realise why- he just assumed that she meant her and the baby. “The baby isn’t Liam’s. After the rape, I had those tests done. They advised me to do a pregnancy test a month after- which I did and it was negative. I did another a week after that. The only person I’ve slept with is sat next to me. At your moms before I left and at the Crowne plaza...”

*****

Getting off the subway near Central Park, she was too punctual with her timings- not wanting to be stuck in the crowds waiting for him, she decided to have a stroll towards broadway and Times Square. It would be a fifteen minute walk, if she walked at a normal pace- knowing she would still be early, she would take her time.

Arriving at 7th Avenue, she was still too early to meet him. Noticing a group of people dancing, she paused as she watched Maxwell in the middle of them- Shaking her head, she should have known to expect him completing in such a thing. Forcing her way to the front of the crowd, she had time to support her best friend. Nearly having a heart attack, witnessing him do a back flip- she was relieved when he landed gracefully on two feet.

“Go, Maxi!” Hearing her voice, he wondered why she was there- leaving the troupe, he ran up to her- picking her up and swinging her around like a rag doll.

“Stranger! It’s good to see you!”

“I should have guessed that you’d be showing off. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was due to meet Daniel for a drink, but I got distracted. You?”

“Erm, I’m meeting...” looking at the time, she needed to get her arse into gear and finish the brief reunion. “Max, I need to go. I’ll text you, we can meet up for a drink at some point?”

“Sounds like a plan.... I’ll text you tomorrow. Love ya!” Placing a kiss on her cheek, he returned to the circle - encouraging the crowd to join them.

......

Making her way further down the streets, she stopped abruptly causing the rush of people to ‘tut’ at her. Panic ran through her veins. Attempting to ignore the fact of who she had just seen, she had failed as his eyes locked onto hers - fuck, she murmured to herself.

“Riley!” Hearing his voice, she was trying desperately to get lost within the crowd until she felt his hand grip her arm.

“Liam, I’m actually really busy. I need to go.”

“As am I. I just wanted to say hi.”

“Hi. Goodbye.”

“Ri...” noticing that she couldn’t look at him, he knew he didn’t deserve it. “I came to the club when the police informed me about what you did, but you wasn’t there. I just want to say thank you.”

“I didn’t do it for you. I really need to go.”

“Before you do, I have a proposition for you... you seem to care about my daughter. This isn’t about us, I was going to ask you if you wanted to become her nanny, home school her. That way you could sort of get your dream job of being a teacher.”

“She has a nanny.”

“Yes she does, but Alice idolises you. I will buy you an apartment, pay you a good wage.” He is unbelievable. Fuck off liam.

“No thank you. Bastien is trying to gain your attention, a man in a suit is stood with him. See you around Liam.”

“Just consider it, please. I’ll Erm, text you or something?” Riley got her phone out as she left him, furious that he would even consider this- she knew Liam, and she knew that he would use his daughter as an excuse to get close to her. Li 💕 - forgetting that she had kept the love heart emoji next to his name all these years - she edited his name to ‘piece of shit’ then blocked him.

........

Riley made her way to the location where they had arranged to meet. Pausing as she got closer to him, she took a deep breath- and counted to ten. It’s going to be okay.

“Hi.” She said nervously as she tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hello. I didn’t think that you’d come. I got you these. You deserve everything and more.” Smelling the flowers, the scent surrounded them filled her senses.

“They are beautiful, thank you. So what do you need to talk about?”

“You. Me. Us.” Riley furrowed her eyebrows at the man stood in front of her.

“I don’t have time to be sentimental. I just want to look forward to my future- the last week or so I’ve been the happiest I’ve been in a long time.” Looking down towards the floor, he knew exactly what she was referring to. Feeling like she had stabbed him directly in the heart- all he could do was try to cheer her up. He didn’t want her to runaway again. Not knowing if he would be able to find her this time.

“I’ve booked a room in the Crowne Plaza, we can order room service- have a talk. I’ve missed you, it’s always been you. I... I love you. I just needed you to know.”

Ignoring the love, she put her hand in to his- this unexpected gesture formed a smile on his face

“Come on, I’m starving!” Internally scolding herself- she believed that she could cope with food then escape.

Walking through the lobby, he suggested having a few drinks at the bar before they headed up to the room. One drink, turned into two, turned into three- before she knew it she was staring at another empty glass. The alcohol had gone straight to her head- but her mind was still able to function, wondering what made her think it was a good idea to meet him in the first place. Wondering what other people would think. “Fuck it. Fuck them.” She muttered to herself. “More, please.” She slurred to the barmaid.

“I think you need to slow down.. have you actually eaten today?”

“No I haven’t. Don’t tell me what to do, please. You suggested ordering food, before we came here instead.”

“Ri....”

“Please don’t Ri me... you know life if shit. It sucks. There’s hope that it’ll get better, some days it does.. then some days it doesn’t...”

“I’m sorry. Come on, finish that then let’s get the food that was promised.”

Making their way upstairs, Riley stumbled but had the strong arms around her- supporting her, no matter how much anger she still had towards him, she was grateful. Opening the door, he immediately rung for room service knowing that she needed some food, making her a coffee this would also sober her up.

“Here, you don’t want a stinking hangover.” Smirking at him, she didn’t care about the hangover- she worked nights so would have time to recover. Accepting the coffee, she slowly slipped it.

“Thank you.” There was a moment of silence, he sat next to her- holding her hand. She had no energy to force him off of her- instead she turned her head towards him. Cupping her cheeks, he lent closer towards her- kissing her in a long lingering kiss- her drunk mind craved more. His gaze focused on her as he broke the kiss away- would she slap him across the face? Or punch him? Standing up, she bit her lip- turning to face him once more she held his gaze. A smile formed on his alluring mouth- don’t fuck this up, he thought to himself on repeat.

“You. Me. A hotel. Like old times eh? Shall we start over? My names.....” she placed a finger over his lips, as she lent down towards him and eventually straddled him.

“I know what your name is you moron. We have slept together before.” Pushing her away, he wanted to touch her more than anything.

“Ri... I’m on a break with Liv. I know you are still in love with Drake. He is madly in love with you. I saw him before, we went for a beer...” Seeing the disappointment creep up onto her face, he was unsure if it was due to his rejection or the mention of his name.

“You just said that you loved me... that you wanted to talk about ‘us’...I’m sorry I was abrupt when you said it, you’ve healed me once with heartbreak....”

“Riley, I’ve always loved you- since Florida. If there was a chance for us, I’d snap it up right here right now. But you don’t love me. It was just sex with no strings remember.... Drake.. he’s in love with you- wants a future with you, I could see the sincerity in his eyes and hear it in his voice.”

“I’m actually meeting someone on route, but thanks. See ya around Walker.”

“What time are you meeting the mystery lady?” Leo turned around, why is he assuming that I’m meeting a woman? Looking down towards the flowers, they were a huge giveaway.

“I am meeting Riley at half eleven...” Drakes heart sunk, hearing her name- knowing she had arranged to meet up with Leo, and had ignored his texts. Leo noticed Drakes sudden heartbreak written across his face.

“I’ll let you get off, you don’t want to keep her waiting. Tell her that I’m thinking about her, and that I’ll always love her...” Sighing, Leo knew that Drake did love her- believing that it was now time to talk as civil adults to hear his side of the story regarding his past. Give him a chance to explain.

“Walker, wait. Half the time she isn’t punctual, I don’t even know if she will actually show up. Why don’t we go for a beer? And you can explain what’s in that bag.”

Arriving at the Hard Rock Cafe, Leo wanted to be close to where he was meeting Riley incase he lost track of time then he could sprint to the location. Ordering them both a beer, Drake thanked him- not knowing how it was going to escalate. All he kept thinking about was Riley, as he had done ever since she had runaway from Texas.

“Is Riley okay?” Talking about the common factor between the two of them, he assumed it would break the awkward silence.

“Not really. Only had a few simple one worded texts off of her. You know when she left New York, there was only me who took time to try and find her. Spending that week with her, I fell in love with her every second I spent with her. At the time, I believed it was because we had been hurt by the same people. When you came on the scene, I knew that she was instantly attracted to you. So I never told her the truth. Why did you have to hurt her? She deserves happiness, she is the most caring person I’ve known- and every man she has been involved with has hurt her...”

“Leo, I love her too. She was carrying my baby- I didn’t want her to do that decision that she chose to. The woman that I was engaged to, it wasn’t love from my end. I agreed to the arrangement to help my family. Kiara’s father is rich, she had always told me that she loved me- she was suffocating- she stalked me everywhere. He offered to pay my family’s debts, to ensure that they kept their home- if I married her. I’d never fallen in love with any girl, so I thought why not? I believed that I would possibly fall in love with her eventually. But it just got worse as time went by. I broke off the engagement, I didn’t really care about the consequences and came here. Started a new life, made new friends- I thought I’d found the love of my life. I didn’t want to hurt her.” Leo sipped the beer, slowly- Drakes words slowly sinking in. They were both in love with the same woman- Leo was also in love with another. Olivia had realised that their was much more to his relationship with Riley- so they both agreed to have a break.

“So what’s in the bag then?” Drake nervously, took out the two boxes.

“If and when Riley ever spoke to me again, I thought I’d treat her, as an apology for the misunderstanding- the lack of communication from my end.” Opening the first box, there was a gold bracelet. Fuck me, I need to get a new job if he can afford things like that.

“This, this is a ring I sort of designed- a personal touch. My grandmother would be turning in her grave in she knew what I’ve done...” Explaining to Leo that he had the diamonds from his grandmothers ring removed and cleaned- the jewellery store added them to a band with a few extra diamonds. “Was you planning on proposing to her?”

“In the future, yes. But it all doesn’t matter anymore. She won’t respond to my texts or calls.”

“She’s a stubborn mofo. Can you love her more than I can?” Leo asked, Drake was confused by this question- not knowing if he knew the answer.

Leo reiterated what had happened when he had seen Drake, missing out the personal detail regarding the gifts as well as the future plans of a proposal.

“By the sounds of it, this Kiara is in love with him but he never loved her. He agreed to the proposal to help his family. He ended the engagement and moved here. When I bumped in to him, he had been somewhere to get you a gift. You need to talk to him...I’m always going to be here, I’m always going to protect you and love you.” Pulling her down towards him, he pressed his lips onto hers- the rest of his words that he was going to say were now lost against her mouth. He kissed her softly, his heart wanted more even after all this time. Breaking, the kiss, he stood up abruptly - leaving Riley confused with his actions.

And hold me while you wait

I wish that I was good enough (hold me while you wait)

If only I could wake you up (hold me while you wait)

My love, my love, my love, my love

Won't you stay a while? (Hold me while you wait)

I wish you'd cared a little more (hold me while you wait)

“Where are you going?”

Holding her in a tight hug, he stayed there a while- knowing there was no future for the two of them, not yet anyway. He was happy for her if Drake was the one. At this moment in time, all he wanted to do was hug her- but had something to do before they said goodbye.

“I’ll be back in a minute....”

......

Leo had been gone longer than a minute, Riley began picking at the food that he had ordered them. Sobering up gradually, she wasn’t sure if it was due to boredom or the food. Hearing the door open, she wanted to inform him that she was madly in love with Drake and apologise for allowing the kiss to happen.

“You said you’d be a minute, I know you flunked math but come on Leo. Surely know how to tell the time.... oh... Drake...”

“He flunked math? He said he was a smart ass at school, just wait until I see him...”

“How are you?” Changing the subject, she didn’t know what else to say- knowing the reason why Leo was longer than he said, she was sure this was his way of getting them both to talk.

“Better than you by the looks of it. You’re going to have a stinking hangover in the morning.”

“Leo said exactly those words too... alcohol is good for healing heartbreak....I just wish that you’d have warned me about your past before we went to your moms...” kneeling down beside her, he had hoped that he could talk to her openly- Leo had given them both this chance. Giving up his own happiness, to try and get them both together. Walker, go into the room- grab your girl. If you hurt her again- I’ll kill ya. Don’t let me down- prove that you can love her more than I could.

“I wish that I did, I didn’t tell you because it was over. That is the reason I left Texas...”

“I know, Leo told me.”

“I’m so sorry that you found out the way you did. If I believed it was going to cause problems, I’d have told you straight away. I didn’t want to lose you...I went back to Texas, I told them straight...”

“You don’t have to explain...”

“But I do. They were awful to you. It’s all my fault.” Seeing tears creep into his face, she stood up and led him over towards the bed. Sitting beside him, her eyes were beginning to leak too.

“Drake.. don’t cry please. People treat me like shit, I’m used to it.. I’m going to take it to my grave.” Shrugging her shoulders, she decided to make a joke out of her life- laughing, she wiped the tears away from his cheeks. “Can you take something else to your grave?” Riley was confused, Drake held both of her hands. Looking into her eyes, he would fight to win her back no matter how long it would take him. “I love you, can you please take my words to your grave with you. I know you probably don’t believe me- but I’m being honest. It will always be you. I’m going to go home. Enjoy your night with Leo...” Feeling as if she was some type of virus, that people were avoiding- she wasn’t going to allow another man to leave her without any explanation.

“Drake, don’t go...”

“Why?”

“I... I’ve.. for fuck sake Drake, I’ve missed you... I’m sorry I’ve ignored you.”

“I’ve missed you too, you’re the first and last thought of my day... I don’t blame you, but I wish you’d have talked to me.”

“You should know me by now, I get a thrill out of running away from my problems.”

“I better get you some baby reins then? Keep you close to me... I mean close to us... I mean... fuck. It was a joke, Ri. Just ignore me...”

“I wouldn’t mind being close to you...”

“I wouldn’t mind you being close to me Miss Brooks...” closing the distance between the two of them, he tilt her chin upwards- brushing his thumb over her lips, she closed her eyes. Leaning down, he gently placed his lips on to hers.

“Ri, I want you in my arms again. So much. But you’ve been drinking, I’ve had a couple...” she gazed at him, with her sparkling baby blues.

“Leo got me a coffee and food, I’ve sobered up a bit.” Looking at her with a sorrowful expression, she shook her head. “What the fuck do you want from me Drake?”

“I wanted you! I’ve always wanted you. You keep fucking shutting me out. I can’t do anything right with you can I?”

“Maybe you should have fucking warned me about an ex fiancée and the psychotic family that you have!”

“Maybe you should have fucking spoken to me rather than fuck off! We had sex, then poof you’re gone. As you always fucking do. You’re not the only one who’s fucking broken, Riley!”

“Oh yeah. Why are you broken Drake? Have you got a psychotic ex who raped you? Have you been attacked verbally by your boyfriends fucking family? Do you have people criticise you for what you do for a living?”

“I’m broken because the woman I love keeps shutting me out- but goes for a lunch date with the man who raped her, then drops the charges. Oh and she chose to kill my baby!”

“It wasn’t a fucking date! It was a quick lunch. Where he actually confessed what he did. I would never forgive him. I did what I thought was right about the baby- and everyday that goes by is proving that it was the right decision. You’re a fucking jerk. I’m going.” Grabbing her wrist, not allowing her to leave- he felt awful for the words that had been exchanged. Pinning her arm against the wall, no words were spoken- instead their facial expressions had a silent argument.

“You’re a fucking stubborn bitch, Riley Brooks.” Feeling his hot beer infused breath linger on her - she had also regretted the way she had spoken to him. All the anger let out in a full rage. Drakes mouth descended onto hers; not gently- but passionately and demanding. Both giving into the temptation, the desire that they had both been craving for weeks. His tongue brushed against her lower lip- waiting for permission to enter- both their tongues battled and curled around each other. Breaking the kiss, he rest his forehead against hers- still holding her wrist pinning her arm against the wall- he moved his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers.

“I’m sorry, Ri. I didn’t mean to say all of that...”

“I’m sorry too.” Leaning forward to kiss her neck, he released her arm which immediately went around his waist pulling him flush to her. Feeling like she was melting away with every touch he made along her neck and shoulders- she placed her hand under his shirt, feeling his toned body. Wanting to do more than feel- she was eager to see him, even though she was stubborn to ignore him for weeks she had deep down missed him. Removing his jacket and shirt in an urgent manner after feeling her touch his bare skin, he wanted to give her more access. Noticing her baby blues fixated towards his bulge- he gulped as her delicate fingers fumbled with his zipper and pulled it down- carefully pulling his manhood free from his boxers.

Her fingers wrapped around his cock, instantly they began sliding up and down over the tip of his shaft while her thumb circled his cock head. He instantly had a full erection, it wasn’t only he that had missed her. “Ri...”

“Shhh...” her eyes searched his, as she continued to rub him- smiling softly at him as he let out a low growl. “I’m close...” feeling the sensation of pleasure pour out of him- he arched his back as he orgasmed, Riley kept her eyes locked onto his as the hot sperm exploded into her hand.

“I’m sorry...” Referring to the mess in her in hands, he wished that he didn’t allow her to touch him like that.

“Don’t be, I instigated it.” Smiling at him, she made her way to the bathroom. Hearing the tap, he didn’t know what to do- watching his cock deflate like a popped balloon, he decided to put it away after quickly wiping it with a serviette. Sitting on the bed, he checked his phone quickly.

Well you haven’t begged to meet me. I assume it’s going well?

Sort of.

What you mean sort of?

It started off well, all the miss you’s- then we insulted each other.....

Oh fuck. Then what?

Then she jerked me off.

And I assume you are going to continue? Like, fuck her senseless? If not, I can do it. 🤔

No Leo. I’m not called you. If we have sex, it’s making up sex- not just a fuck. I appreciate what you’ve given up, for me. For her. I promise I’m not going to hurt her, and I’ll repay you somehow.

Don’t worry about it. Myself and Riley would have never worked out. Maybe I should have told her before? I’m happy for you both. If I get charged for your cum stains, you better cough up Walker. 😆

Leo, I don’t know what’s happening. I’ll pay you the money that you paid for the room. Deal?

Deal. Enjoy 😉

“Drake? Are you okay?" Asking as she returned from the bathroom - her blue eyes twinkling as she sat on the edge of the bed next to him.

Drake coming back to his senses, held her in his arms- wondering what was next for them. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for ... you know...”

“You don’t need to thank me. I feel like I owe you more than a hand job, the way I ran out on you. The way I’ve ignored you.”

“You don’t owe me anything...”

Laying backwards, the soft feeling of her body pressed against his bare chest as she rest on him providing deep passionate kisses. Almost like deja vu, she sat up- releasing his cock again.

While her tongue slid all over the sensitive skin of his shaft, he drank in the sight of her - not knowing why he was allowing her to pleasure him yet again. Sucking the head of his cock between her soft lips, she began to run her tongue around the tip- looking up at him with those beautiful eyes of hers. Feeling the warm blood rushing to fill his rapidly growing member- it wasn’t deflated anymore. Drake quickly slipped from beneath her and rolled himself on to her before she had a chance to react. She was pinned lying on her back, as his dick nestled in between her legs.

“Drake? What the fuck?" Kissing her lips, his hands cupped her breasts- the fabric of her dress being a burden he wished that he could touch her bare skin.

“I want you to fuck me" she whispered close to his lips- smelling the strong scent of alcohol lingering on her breath he was in a dilemma. She seemed sober, sober enough to consent.

“I need you to be sure Ri. I want you to be sure. I don’t know what’s going on between us- I don’t know if you want what I want?”

This is you, this is me, this is all we need

Is it true? My faith is shaken, but I still believe

This is you, this is me, this is all we need

So won't you stay a while?

“I want you Drake, please... even if it’s just for tonight...” Just for tonight? I want you forever. Standing up, he discarded the remainder of his clothes- Riley stood up and did the same before laying back on the bed. Not wanting to jump straight into sex, as she asked for, he laid next to her- feeling her soft hands gently pumping up and down his member.

"Do you want this Drake?" Riley asked insistently. Nodding, she threw a leg over his body and began straddling him. Resting her hips on his thighs - her hand still rubbed his cock head, she was his drug- he was addicted, every touch made him want to cum again. Lifting her hips up, she guided him to her wet entrance. Placing her hands on to his chest, she slowly sunk her hips down, allowing for his cock to enter through the tightness of her sex.

"Oh Riley, I’ve missed you..." Drake barely moaned- watching her lift her body up, allowing his cock to slide almost out of her then settle back down.

“I’ve missed you too- I forgot how this felt... with you...." she moaned as his cock plunged back into her as she slid back down. Drake didn’t want her to do all the work, he couldn't resist anymore and forced his hips upwards, driving the last few inches of him into her warm walls.

She had asked for this and Drake was going to give it to her- not knowing what would happen afterwards, but he didn’t care at this moment in time. He was in a trance with her being so close to him again. Reaching his hands up, he cupped her breasts- tweaking at the buds whilst rapidly thrusting his hips up and down. "Oh my god. Yes... oh Drake..." Riley couldn’t contain her moans escaping from her lips, attempting to match his rhythm - she failed miserably. Leaning forward, she was practically laid on his chest as he continued thrusting inside of her.

“Cum for me baby...” He practically begged through gritted teeth.

“I am Drake... Yes!" she moaned. This encouragement, as well as the sudden trickle of her juices made his speed increase not knowing if he could go any faster. The orgasm was so strong that Drake felt her insides slowly contracting back and forth around him. Forcing her off of him, he slipped out- he was ready to cum but wanted to give her something. Spreading her legs, he licked up and down the length of her folds. Sucking her clit between his lips- flicking his tongue eagerly over the top of her pleasure spot- she screamed, unable to remain silent.

Removing his lips and tongue, Drake slowly made his way up her body- lining himself up the full length of his cock plunged into her- causing her back to arch as he resumed to penetrate her. Feeling the pleasure of his own orgasm building up inside of him- knowing he was close, he held onto her breasts as his load of warm cum shot up inside of her. His hands remained on her body as he continued to twitch inside of her.

“Is that what you wanted?” Drake asked sarcastically, as he removed himself out of her and laid next to her. Feeling as if he had ran a marathon with the rhythm of his breathing- he held her hand.

“Didn’t you?”

“Of course I did.”

“Well then.” Smiling softly at him, she rest her head onto his chest.

The morning after, Riley woke up before Drake- their limbs entangled together. They had sex a few more times, each time became more passionate. Not knowing how to feel about the previous night- she was unsure what it was. Was it another ‘one night stand’ between the two of them? Was it a move that would initiate their relationship again? Uncertainty ran through her mind. Regretting not using protection, even though she would be to blame with the persistence she had. Kissing him on the forehead, she got dressed- writing him a note on a serviette.

Drake, thank you for last night. I’ve got things to do, I’ll text you. Ri xo

Afraid that he may believe that it was a mistake, she knew it was best to just leave without saying a word.

******

“Drake? Say something. Please... you said more when you believed that the baby was Liam’s..”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I’ve done this to you again...”

“It’s takes two to tango... do you want this baby?” Placing his hand over her stomach, he remained silent for a few seconds. Keeping his hand there, he looked up to face her.

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted, Ri. I wanted to keep the other one... “ Standing up, he helped her up- Pulling her into his embrace a smile finally crept onto his face.

“Shit Bertrand still has the test.... he’s holding my piss...” Laughing at her random comment, brought him out of his thoughts.

“Don’t worry about it. Bartie pissed and puked all down him yesterday...”

“Ah, so that’s why he wasn’t in his usual vest top attire when he came to see me... Drake, I was drunk that night in the hotel room before you arrived as you know. I was heartbroken still, I was ready to sleep with Leo- but he pushed me away.... he told me...”

“He told you that he loved you...” Riley nodded, feeling guilty- feeling like a slut giving herself to her friend that loved her more than a friend.

“If you feel the same about him, I want you to be happy. I’ll still support you with our baby...”

“Drake, I’ve slept with Leo and Maxwell in the past. Friends with benefits, with Max we was so drunk we cringed about it the morning after... I love them both, but the love is best friend love. I want to be with the father of my children. I love you, it broke my heart when I believed that you was engaged- I felt like a hypocrite, I felt like I did exactly what Madeleine did to me...”

“I love you too. Children? You mean child. We can work through this Ri.. move in with me and Max... quit work... I promised you that I’d look after you before and I am going to keep that promise...”

“I don’t want to quit work, I enjoy it. Gill has looked after me, she treats me well. Those weeks after we slept together, I spent a lot of time with her, she convinced me to talk to you- I don’t know why I avoided you? I can’t just leave her in the shit...”

“Ri, we are having a baby. A second chance for the both of us. I want us to live together, bring it up together... I want us to be a family...”

“Have you forgotten about Maxwell?”

“He won’t mind, until we get on our feet we can both live there... please. We will go back inside and tell him.”

****

Walking back inside, Drake placed his hand into hers- feeling nervous, in a way she was glad that Bertrand was persistent with her taking the test. However, she dread what the outcome from other people would be, especially Bianca and Leona.

“Sav, Mom, Aunt Leona...” Drake shouted for his family to come towards them. Praying that they would accept the news and welcome Riley into the family. “Please no, don’t force me to talk to them.” She whispered, as her body began to tremble.

“Ri, you’re family now. If they don’t like it, they can fuck themselves. They will never see this baby if they treat you any different.” Gulping, she felt her hands become more clammy- her heart was practically jumping out of her chest.

“Myself and Riley have some news... we are having a baby.” Kissing her on the cheek, his hand lingered over her stomach. Bianca could now tell how happy her son was, he loved this girl. If there was a second chance at happiness, she was going to support her son and grandchild as she was doing with her daughter.

“I’m so happy for you both. Congratulations..”

“Riley, Drake was a nightmare as baby- just to warn you. He kept Bianca and Jackson up all night... you better get your sleep in now...”

“I’m going to be an Auntie. Bartie is going to have a cousin. Welcome to the family, Riley.” Savannah was beaming, knowing how upset her brother had been. Pulling the two of them in for a hug, Riley felt more at ease with the comments- only for a brief second.

“Welcome to the family? There’s a chance that the baby could be mine!”

“Liam, the baby isn’t yours. Can you leave my family alone?” Forcing Riley behind him, he was ready for a stand off with his old friend- someone who had turned into his arch-enemy overnight.

“She was mine before you Drake... we both have had sex with her.”

“You raped me!”

“He did what?” Drake gulped, he didn’t tell his family regarding the abuse she had received from Liam and Rita. It was none of their business, but now Bianca had questioned this he was unsure about how it was going to elaborate.

“Liam and my old boss, drugged me and then he raped me..”

“Why isn’t he in prison?” Anger was now building through Bianca’s veins, knowing why Drake was so protective over her.

“I dropped the charges, he has a daughter to provide for...”

“Listen Mr Rhys, stay away from my son and daughter in law.” Everyone came over hearing the altercation, all providing the Walkers with support.

“Leo, back me up. We’re brothers.” Leo wrapped his arms around Riley’s waist, kissing her on the cheek.

“The minute you hurt Riley all those years ago, you lost me as your brother. I’ll be fighting for custody over Alice if you carry on causing trouble for everyone...” Liam looked at everyone who was scowling at him, knowing he wasn’t going to win this debate but he wasn’t ready to let it go without a fight.

“This isn’t over Riley. I am not having another man bring up my child. I am paying for you to have a DNA test before that baby is born. Do not try to stop me!” Storming off, Riley’s body began to shake- she was an emotional wreck, Leo attempted to comfort her but knew she needed Drake.

“I don’t need a DNA test, I know that you’re the father... It could harm the baby or I could miscarry. I can’t lose another baby.” Resting her head, in the crook of his neck- he held her attentively. Wishing that Liam would back off, he was appreciative that everyone had stuck by him, Riley and his family.

“You’re not going to. You have all of us, he can’t force you to do anything.” Bianca looked at her son, placing the item in his pocket- she smiled softly, hoping that he would understand the reasoning why.

#trr #trr fanfic #trr au one temptation #drake x riley #liam x riley #maxwell x riley #leo x riley #drake walker #liam rhys #leo rhys #maxwell beaumont #riley brooks #bianca walker #savannah walker #bertrand beaumont

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euphoria-svt · 5 years

Text

All My Love is Yours

if you see any spelling errors pls ignore it. I edited this on the flight and was sleepy af.

Songs I listened to while writing this (if you wanted a more emotional effect):

say you won’t let go - james arthur

marry me - train

be your everything - boys like girls

fallin all in you - shawn mendes

enchanted - taylor swift

lay me down - sam smith ft. john legend

a thousand years -christina perri

swear it again - westlife

can’t help falling in love - jess and gabriel (cover)

just the way you are - bruno mars

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Word count: 2.5k -ish

8 years, 5 months and 19 days. That was how long Connor has known you.

And how long have you two been together, you may ask?

6 years, 4 months and 23 days. Connor was definitely counting. He would tell that to anyone who asked and he wouldn’t be embarrassed by it. Connor is THAT in love with you and he wanted the whole world to know it.

Because to him, every minute he has spent with you counts. Every laughter, every smile, every tears, every arguments, every ups and downs; it counts. That’s what made the relationship last. That’s what made Connor and y/n what they are now; two teenagers who fell in love accidentally on purpose and still going strong years later.

Connor was certain you were the one he wanted to spend his life with even before you two celebrated your first anniversary. He remembers himself rambling to his mother over the phone about how amazing you were and how your laugh is so contageous that he would be laughing along every time you were giggling.

His mother thought it was cute; that her son finally found someone to love, someone to be head over heels over, but she didn’t think too much about it. It was when Connor introduced you to his family that his mother immediately knew what Connor was talking. After that, she was also convinced that you were the one for her boy and she prayed for it to be true; because she could see how perfect you two were for each other and Connor’s family absolutely adored you.

Being with someone for over 6 years was crazy to think. Connor thinks you deserve a trophy for sticking by his random and crazy antics for such a long time. But he also thinks that it’s finally time to pop the question.

xxx

You headed up to your study after dinner with Connor and your two best friends. Connor insisted they would do the dishes instead because he needed to talk to them without you around.

“Hmm” Brian hummed as he watched over Connor at the sink sceptically “You never offer to do the dishes for y/n, Brashier. So. what gives?

Connor shrugged in reply while rinsing off the soap from the plates “I just want to help my girlfriend out around the house. Is that so unbelievable?”

Shawn grins, shaking his head “Brian is right, Con and we all know it. So spit it out”

Damn these guys for knowing Connor too well.

He hangs the last plate at the drying rack and turned off the tap. He dries his hand with the kitchen towel before joining the other two at the island.

“I’m going to do it” Connor announced.

Shawn asks confusingly, “Do what?”

Connor breaks into a smile, saying “I’m going to ask her to marry me”

“Shut up!” Brian exclaimed loudly, voice full of excitement while he stares at his best friend “For real?!?”

He laughs in respond, nodding in confirmation “For real”

“Dude!” Shawn grinned, moving over to Connor’s side so he could give him a hug “I’m so happy for you!”

“Fuck yeah!” Brian cried, joining in the group hug “Our Baby Brash isn’t a baby anymore!”

“Stop calling me that!” Connor rolled his eyes annoyedly, pushing his two best friends off him.

“Do you think… She’ll say yes?” He then asks hesitantly.

“Are you really asking us that?” Shawn deadpanned “Of course she’s going to say yes! You two are Connor and y/n. You’re bound to spend the rest of your lives together!”

Brian nodded in agreement “There’s no one else more perfect for each other than you two”

Oh, he hopes for that to be true.

“Would you go with me to find the perfect ring for her?” Connor asks.

“Con, it would be our honour” Shawn smiles at his friend before looking over at Brian “Bri, are you crying….?”

“Shut up! I’m emotional okay!”

xxx

The three guys were set to go for ring shopping that weekend. You were having a lunch reunion with your high school friends so Connor didn’t have to worry about explaining to you what they were doing for the rest of the day.

2 shops in, Connor still hasn’t found the right one. He was starting to think that maybe it was a sign from the universe but Brian smacked the back of his head, saying “You’re going to find that ring and you’re going to find it today! So take that negativity somewhere else, dumbass”

And Brian was right.

Shawn got the name of this jewellery shop from his friend. He swears they do the prettiest engagement rings and Shawn just knew he had to take Connor here.

“Take a deep breath” Shawn instructed Connor as they stood in front of the store “You’re going to get it from here. Trust me on this”

“Yeah” Connor agreed “I’m going to find it”

And so, he did.

It was the first ring he laid his eyes on when he walks up to the counter displaying all the rings. He was scanning through the various shapes and sizes of rings, then he caught a glance of this one.

To him, it was basically screaming how perfect it would be our your ring finger. The details on the ring, the size of the diamond; it was all perfect. And Connor knew that this is the one.

It’s a little on the pricier side but he didn’t mind. He gets it engraved (because Connor loved being extra whenever it comes to you) on the inner side of the ring.

all my love is yours always.

It’s cheesy but he didn’t care. He would be the cheesiest man in the world when it comes to you.

He gets home before you do and he immediately keeps it hidden in his side of the closet. That day, Connor couldn't stop smiling and no matter how many times you asked him why was he so chirpy, his response is “I’ve got the best girl in the world with me right now. I think that’s a valid reason to be grinning like a mad man”

xxx

a month later

“Hey babe?” Connor looked up from his paperwork. You sat across from him with your own pile of work on a Saturday (early) morning, something you both did very often together.

You hummed in response, looking at him “Yeah, bubs?”

“Mom asked if you were down to spend the afternoon with her” Connor waved his phone as an indication “She’s in desperate need of a girl’s day”

That was the plan. He needed you out of the house for a few hours while he gets everything into place and his mom was more than happy to be a distraction for you.

“Today?” You ask immediately “I guess I could use one too. It’s been a rough couple of days at the office”

“Exactly!” Connor agreed “Take a break then? Spend the day with ma”

“Yeah, I’ll give her a call in a bit” You nodded, smiling “Are we stil on for date night?”

“Always” He reassured “Is pizza okay with you?”

“You know that’s my favourite kind of date night, Con”

So, a few hours later you left Connor alone at home to spend the day with his mother. That was when he got to work.

He has been compiling all the stuff he needs for tonight and shoved them all in his equipment room, knowing you wouldn’t step into the room unless Connor was calling for you from the room.

Connor starts with hanging up the fairy light around the living room. He knew how much you loved them; always telling him how magical they looked like. After that was set up, he took the bag filled with rose petals and spread them on the floor of your living room in the shape of a filled giant heart then set-up a table for two in the middle of the room.

He even cooked your favourite meal (the only one he was a master at) instead of having takeaway pizza for dinner because he wanted everything to be perfect for this moment; to show you how much he loves you and would do anything if it meant to see that smile on your face.

Connor has been working on the compilation of your relationship’s montage for about 3 weeks now. He sneaks off to his equipment room on most nights and you don’t bother him; assuming he was just busy with the workload he was getting. There were so many photos and videos of you two together and he wanted to put as much into the montage as possible.

His mother texts him, giving him the signal that they were done and you were probably 30 minutes away from home. He grabbed the projector and his laptop then made his way to the living room to do the final set-up.

When Connor heard the front door jiggle, his legs started to shake and there were butterflies in his stomach.

This is really happening. He thought to himself. There’s no turning back.

You walked through the front door, confused as to why there were lack of lights in the house. “Con?” You called out to him, slipping off your shoes and putting them neatly at the shoe rack by the door.

“Living room, babe!”

When you got to the destination, your jaws dropped at the set-up before you. There were fairy lights everywhere, flower petals on the floor, a table set-up for two. You were stunned.

“Con?” You gawked “What’s all this?”

“Surprise!” Connor cheers, making his way towards you. He pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, “Do you like it?”

“Bubs, this is amazing” You gushed, looking around at all the decoration “But what’s the occasion? Did I miss something?” You asked confusingly.

He chuckles and took a hold of your wrist and led you towards the table, dropping off your bag at the couch in the process.

“No you didn’t, baby” He insisted, pulling the chair out for you “I just wanted to do something nice for date night. We’ve had a pretty rough week at work and I thought it’s what we deserve”

“You’re amazing, Connor David Brashier” You sighed happily as you waited for him to sit across from you. You eyed the spaghetti and meatballs set in front of you “You cooked dinner? What happened to pizza?”

“It was a part of the surprise, silly!” He smiles “Now stop talking and let’s eat. What did you and ma do today?”

xxx

“Why do you have the projector out?” You asked confusingly after you two were done with dinner, notcing the equipment out along with his laptop.

“Oh, right. I was working on a project for the past few weeks” He answered and you don’t miss how nervous he suddenly sounded, but didn’t think too much about it “I wanted to show it to you and get your opinion on it”

“Of course” You nodded “You know I love watching whatever you work on, bubs”

Connor stood up from his seat and walked over to turn on the projector. You took a sip of your wine as you watched him press a few buttons on his laptop before he joined you again at the table.

“Give me your honest opinion okay?” He said nervously “Good or bad, just let me know”

“Baby, you know I always do” You reassured.

He pressed the play button on the remote and a countdown starts from 3… 2… 1…

The video starts with a photo where you two first met. At the bottom, Connor labeled it as where it all began.

And then you just knew he was lying about showing you his work project. Then next photo comes up with a photo of the restaurant where Connor took you for your first date, accompanied by a selfie that you took after dinner was over. Where we had our first date. And truthfully, it was the best first date of my life.

The next one was one at a Brashiers’ family event. You got along well with Connor’s little cousin and she thinks of you like her older sister. While you were playing with her; giggling with one another, Connor snapped a beautiful picture of you both. He labelled it as the woman who my family loves so much.

You smiled as more photos and videos popped up one by one. Getting overwhelmed by all the nostalgic feeling, you could already feel the tears forming in your eyes. Connor put in so much of clips that you forgotten that you still had.

You were so into the video that you didn’t see Connor’s shift in movements. And when it got to the last part of the video, your breath hitched in your throat.

y/n, the love of my life, will you officially become Mrs. Connor Brashier?

That’s when you turned to Connor and already see him kneeling down on one knee with a velvet box in his hand.

“Connor” Your lips start to tremble as more tears were falling from your cheeks.

This was real, this was really happening.

Connor was no different that you. He had tears in his eyes, trying to find the right words to say. He prepared himself for this moment for weeks and he thought he had it in him to do it without breaking down, but he was wrong.

“y/n…” He choked out, smiling at you “You are the love of my life, my best friend, my rock, my everything. When I first laid my eyes on you, I just knew that I had to get to know you. And after we started dating, I knew you were the one for me. I knew you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with”

“I want to be there through everything” He continued as his voice started to crack a little “Through every laughter and tears, through ever fights, through every pregnancy. I want to do stupid things together with you in the late morning, have kids with you, grow old with you and I want us to be those kind of couple who gets buried side by side”

“I don’t want to be in love if it’s not with you” He confirmed, opening the box in his hand; displaying to you the most beautiful ring you’ve ever set your eyes on “So y/n y/ln, please make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”

“Yes!” You exclaimed, letting out a mixture of a choked sob and laughter “Yes I’ll marry you, Connor David Brashier!”

Connor sighs in relief as he took the ring out of the box. His fingers were shaking as he slid the ring on your finger perfectly. Just like he expected, the ring suited your finger beautifully.

You leaned forward and buried your face in the crook of his neck; a mixture of your sobs were echoing in the room.

“I love you so much” You said in between sobs “I don’t want to do this with anyone else, Connor. It’s only you”

“I love you more, baby” He answered “And all my love is for you always, future Mrs. Brashier”

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reblog, like and leave your feedbacks for this!

x rina

TAG LIST:

@hurts-like-hell-xx

#connor brashier #connor brashier imagines #connor brashier x reader

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comicgeekscomicgeek · 4 years

Text

Their Hero Academia – Chapter 56: Shout It All Out

Presenting the next raw and unedited chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic, Their Hero Academia!

Earlier chapters can be found here

The edited version of this chapter will probably be up on AO3 in a day or two.

The Nomu grabbed Ground Zero and pulled, his leg separating from his body in a messy spray of blood. Both parts of him dropped to the ground with a sick, wet sound. The Nomu let loose a triumphant war cry, like some dinosaur from the ancient past. But this time, Shota didn’t make a sound, didn’t scream. He couldn’t… he just couldn’t…

Ground Zero locked eyes with him. “You did this,” he said, jabbing an accusing finger in Shota’s direction. “You did this to me! It’s your fault!”

“I didn’t,” he began, “I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

“Your fault…

“Your fault!”

Shota bolted awake, with a scream that briefly made the furniture and windows rattle, before he gained enough awareness of where he was. He was in his bedroom, in his home. The walls lined with Hero posters, the shelves filled with books on Heroes and every available surface crammed with different Hero collectibles. Even bringing some of his things to school had done little to make a dent in everything he had. Deku, Lemillion, Shoto, Ingenium, countless others… and, of course, Ground Zero.

A shelf of Ground Zero action figures and statues all seemed to stare at him accusingly. The Hero’s trademark “Kill” yell seemed to twist in the darkness into the same cry of pain he’d witnessed firsthand. Even the ones with a more neutral expressions seemed to stare directly into his soul, accusing him on ruining the life and career of one of the greatest Heroes of their time.

The door to his room flew open and his parents burst into his room. “Shota!” Dad called out. “Are you all right?” His already tired features were marred by concern and even more exhaustion.

Mom moved to his bedside, kneeling beside it. Like Dad, she looked like she hadn’t been sleeping well. Not that he had either. Shota was sleeping a lot, but barely a few hours at a time, before the dreams took him again. “Oh, Baby,” she said, running a hand through his hair. “Another nightmare?”

He nodded, mutely. His voice frightened him now. He’d used his Quirk to literally unmake the Nomu, after he’d already put a hole in it. Such was the power of the raw sonic energy he could unleash, doing everything from sonar to raw destructive force to changing the solidity of matter to vibrating it to the point its molecules lost all cohesion. And none of it had been enough.

“About Katsuki?” Mom asked. “And what happened?”

He nodded again. “I’m sorry,” he said, each word barely a whisper. “I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“Shota,” Dad said. “We’re your parents. Worrying about you is our job.”

“Comes with being fam,” Mom added. “We’re gonna get through this, together.”

It had been days now, since the Nomu attack. He’d barely left his bed in all that time. He just… couldn’t. Couldn’t even look at his phone, though it had buzzed time and time again with texts from his friends. What was there to get through? He’d messed up. Ruined someone’s life. Ruined lots of people’s lives, not just Ground Zero’s, but his family’s as well. And then, what about all the people that only Ground Zero could have saved?

His godfather may have told him he had more potential than anybody else in the class, and for a moment, that had boosted his spirits. Until the terrible reality had set in.

It didn’t matter who said it. He knew whose fault it was.

***

The door to his hospital room opens with a slight click. Shota ignores it; it was probably his parents. Uncle Deku had called them and they’d come as quickly as they could, trying to comfort him. But they had left for a few minutes, trying to let him get some rest while they spoke to one of the doctors.

“Shinso?” a voice asks. It’s Doctor Izumi—Aunt Eri. “You’ve got a visitor.”

There’s a tension in her voice. “For the record, I think this is a bad idea. You should both be resting. You’re just a few hours out of major surgery, Katsuki. You don’t need any stress right now…”

A harsh, hoarse voice interrupts her. “Just… give me a minute with the kid, okay? Please.”

He hears her sigh. “Okay. Ten minutes. No more than that.”

She was going to leave him alone with Ground Zero? Shota doesn’t think he can face that kind of wrath. Why would she leave him alone with someone who must hate him? Instinctively, he turns away, pulling the thin hospital blankets up over his head to hide. Maybe if he stays there long enough, Ground Zero would just go away.

“I know you’re there, Shinso.”

That strikes him as odd. Ground Zero almost never calls people by their actual names, either in a personal or professional context. There’s a long running debate on some of the fandom boards over whether or not he’s giving affectionate nicknames or honestly doesn’t remember people’s names. But it’s out of character enough that Shota risks turning and pulling the covers down just enough for his eyes to poke out.

It definitely looks like Ground Zero, sitting in a wheelchair, dressed in a hospital gown. But Shota’s eyes are drawn to the absence of a leg. His fault. If Ground Zero hadn’t been protecting him, he’d have fought the Nomu some other way, wouldn’t have gotten caught like that…

Ground Zero stays silent for a moment. He’s not known to be a thoughtful man. He’s known for his quick action and quick temper. But from working with him and him being a family friend, Shota knows it’s only half of the truth. He’s just as capable of kindness and gentleness as anyone. He just doesn’t let it show a lot where other people can see. But Shota doesn’t expect to see any of that now.

“Go ahead,” Shota says, his voice barely a whisper. “Yell at me. Tell me I screwed up. I deserve it.”

“Why would I yell at you?” Ground Zero asks. He doesn’t sound surprised, though. Was he expecting Shota to act like that? Maybe his parents had said something. “Near as I can tell, you saved my life. Three times. Pretty sure that makes you the hero of the hour.”

He inches the covers a little lower. “But… but you got hur, .because of me.” Tears start welling up in his eyes. “You lost your leg!”

“That thing would have killed me if you hadn’t gotten its attention. My head was spinning so bad I couldn’t see straight. No way I was getting up in time to fight it off. So you did the heroic thing and put yourself in danger. Even though I told you not to.”

The smallest of smiles tugs at Ground Zero’s lips. “Reminds me of somebody else I know.”

Shota isn’t sure who that might be, but he just keeps eye contact. Ground Zero continues. “And then you blasted the damn thing to smithereens before it could finish me off. And Deku told me you were doing first aid when he showed up. Quick thinking. Might have bled out if you hadn’t done that.”

“But… but I didn’t know Deku was going to show up! I should have…”

“Rescue ops were always gonna get there sooner or later. But in an emergency, every second counts. You did good.”

“But if I wasn’t there… you wouldn’t have gotten hurt at all!” Shota protests.

“Ground Zero shakes his head. “There’s no way of knowing that. This kinda life, every time you go out, every fight you get in, it’s a risk. I always used to say that no second rate Villain was gonna do me in… but a lot of that’s just trash talk. All it takes is one guy getting lucky… and this one did.”

“But,” Shota begins, “aren’t you mad? Aren’t you angry?” Why wasn’t he yelling at him like he deserved?

“Of course I am,” Ground Zero says. “But not at you. I’m angry at the people who were behind the Nomu attacks. I’m, okay, I’m angry at a lot of things. But not at you. Never at you.”

Shota looks up at him, eyes wide. This still isn’t making any sense.

Ground Zero takes his hand and gives it a little squeeze. “Because of you, Shinso, I get to go back to my kids and my husband. Better missing a leg than being dead. I… I don’t say this often. So… thank you. For saving my life.”

Shota only manages to nod mutely at that. This all seems so unreal. Even with Ground Zero himself saying it, he can’t quite believe it.

“And getting hurt in the line of duty… time was, I’d say the best Heroes didn’t get hurt. But that ain’t true. The best Heroes… if they get hurt saving somebody… that’s a pretty good trade off. Maybe we saved each other out there.”

He gives Shota a look. “So… stop blaming yourself, okay? I don’t wanna hear about you moping or nothing. Get better and give some Villains hell for me, okay?”

“Oh…okay,” Shota says, quietly.

“What was that?”

“Okay!” It’s the loudest he’s managed to be in several hours. Not a shout, but above the whisper he’s been talking at.

It’s a lie. He’s not okay. It’s not okay.

But maybe if he says it enough…

***

Hound Dog was trying his best to help Shota cope with the memories of what he’d experienced. Trauma was never easy on anyone and his was tied up with a lot of guilt. But the mental health field for Heroes and Hero-trainees had come a long way since his parents’ day. He’s not expected to just walk it off and go right back into the action.

Hound Dog was surprisingly good with teenagers, despite his fearsome appearance. Carefully, he’s walked Shota back through that day. News drones and surveillance drones from the Hero Commission have provided plenty of footage for them to look over, always in short spurts, never more than he could handle at a time.

“Okay,” Hound Dog said. “Now that we’ve looked at the footage, let’s treat this as an after mission report. We can stop at any time, but I want to see how far we can get. Start by telling me where it began.”

“Ground Zero and I were on f-f-foot patrol,” Shota said, forcing himself to spit the word out. “The Nomu came out of nowhere, like it was dropped out of the sky. Ground Zero threw me out of the way and then engaged. He told me to stay down.”

Hound Dog nodded encouragingly. Shota took a breath and went on. The first time watching the video, they hadn’t even gotten this far. This was progress. He could do this.

“Ground Zero then engaged with the Nomu. But… nothing he did even slowed it down. All his explosions were burning it, but it didn’t stop it. At all. Finally…”

The meaty sound of one of the Nomu’s fists hitting Ground Zero. The cry of pain and alarm from the Hero. The terribly ringing clanging where Ground Zero hit a street light. The dull thud of a body hitting the ground. The Nomu’s terrible roar…

“We can stop,” Hound Dog said, kindly. He put both hands on Shota’s shoulders and Shota was aware he’d been shaking. He put his own hands on top of Hound Dog’s, fingers digging into the soft fur. “Stay with me. You’re here in my office. Deep breaths. Come back to the present.”

Shota took in slow breaths and steadied himself. “I can go on,” he said.

“Only if you’re sure.”

He nodded. He wasn’t sure, not really, but he wanted to try. “I can. The Nomu struck Ground Zero, hard enough to send him flying. He hit a street light and didn’t get back up right away. It was… it was going to kill him. Right then and there. There was no way Ground Zero was going to get up in time.

“I had to do something.”

“Even though Ground Zero told you not to engage,” Hound Dog prompted.

“It was going to kill him!” Shota said, more forcefully than he’d meant to. But for just a moment, he’d felt for sure that he hadn’t made a mistake getting involved. “I didn’t have a choice.”

Hound Dog nodded again. “Go on.”

“So I hit it with one of my really big screams. One of the kind where I can rally do some damage. Maybe a little too strong, because I punched a hole right through it. But that still didn’t stop it! All I did was get its attention.”

Dead skin. A pulsating, exposed brain. A hole all the way through its chest, absent any blood or gore. Burns all over its body, one dead eye. And a roar that froze him in his tracks. All it would have taken was one more second and it would have killed him. He’d braced himself for the terrible blow…

“It attacked me. But I was too afraid to move. But by then, Ground Zero had recovered. He didn’t… he didn’t look all that steady on his feet. But he attacked it anyway. And it grabbed him and…”

The wet sound of flesh and muscle and nerves separating. The splatter of blood. The scream…

He was shaking again. Hard. The room seemed too small. He couldn’t breathe. Shota let out a scream that quickly surpassed normal human volumes and went straight into the hypersonic. Everything in the small office began to rattle, being shaken by the radiating sonic force. Hound Dog clapped his hands over his sensitive ears, whining in pain, his jaw clenched tightly behind his muzzle.

The door to the office flew open, and Uncle Shota was there, his Quirk active and eyes glowing red. Shota’s scream faded back into human levels, leaving him coughing. They’d done this on purpose. Uncle Shota had been outside, with a decibel monitor. He couldn’t hear their conversation, but just in case he had lost control, he could step in.

“I’m sorry…” Shota said quietly.

Uncle Shota and Hound Dog exchanged a look.

***

The car pulled to a stop outside a rocky quarry. His godfather was at the wheel, the school counselor, Hound Dog, crammed into the passenger seat. It was Thursday afternoon. They’d ended Wednesday’s after his destructive scream.

He missed his friends so much it hurt. Toshi and Izumi and Asuka and Haimawari… But he couldn’t face them. And he definitely couldn’t face Katsumi. Not with what he’d done to her family…

He got out of the car. He wasn’t sure why they were here, but he trusted Uncle Shota and Hound Dog. He looked at them, expectantly.

Hound Dog and Uncle Shota both held what looked like fancy headphones. “We’re going to try a little scream therapy,” Hound Dog said. “Basically, I want you to focus on all your feelings and emotions about everything that happened. Gather it all up, and then scream and let it go.”

“But,” Shota began, “last time, I lost control and…”

“That’s why we’re here,” Uncle Shota said. “The local government is planning on demolishing this anyway to make way for a new highway and they’ve got a crew with earth-moving Quirks lined up. Anything you destroy, it won’t matter and might even save them some time. But I’m still here just in case. So you don’t have to worry about hurting anyone or anything.”

Shota sucked in a sharp breath. There was fear, bubbling under his skin. Every time he thought too hard about what had happened, his Quirk welled up and turned on everything around him. He’d thought for a minute, just maybe, he was getting to understand it… and then he’d lost control again. And now they wanted him too?

Uncle Shota came over to him and bent down. “Everybody carries their traumas, Shota. Me, Deku, your parents, even Mic. But we have to be brave and face them. And sometimes, facing them is running at them head on. But you’ve got my permission to be afraid. And you’ve got my permission to let it all out, right here. You’ll feel better. Can you do that?”

He nodded. “I… Yes,” Shota said quietly.

“Good,” Hound Dog said, fitting the headphones over his ears, while Uncle Shota did the same. “Take your time. Let your memories go. And when you’re ready… let it all out.”

Shota took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Everything was still so fresh, he could see everything that happened so easily. Still hear it. Still feel the terror of that moment. The coppery scent of blood, the wet stickiness of it on his hands as he tried to keep Ground Zero from bleeding out. The screams of the Nomu. The coldness in his own body as terror took him. The feeling of his heart about to pound out of its chest.

The distant, fading look in Ground Zero’s eyes.

The sound of tearing flash

The dead flesh of the Nomu.

Ground Zero’s scream as he was torn into pieces.

There was so much blood… Ground Zero was dying in his hands. He’d started almost making sense, trying to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, trying to make sure Shota was the one who was safe. But then he’d started to slip away, talking about his husband, about his daughter, and about his son. Asking for them. Telling them he was sorry. He lost track of where he was and of who Shota was…

If Deku had been even a minute or two late in getting there…

Fear

Death

Guilt

Fear

Death

Guilt

FearDeathGuilt

FearDeathGuild

ALL HIS FAULT!

Shota screamed, without focus, without care. For all that he was a carefree young man, he was also deeply aware of the power of his Quirk. Every frequency he could scream at did something just a little bit different, many of them highly destructive. He had to have some control. But here, for the first time in forever, he deliberately allowed himself to just let go. To scream. To let all his power go out into the universe.

As he screamed, he got louder, rapidly shifting up to higher and higher frequencies, way past loud, way past cacophonic, way past anything. The very air around him seemed to ripple and distort, so great was the power that he was unleashing that even the very air itself was being rent asunder. Raw sound slammed into the walls of the quarry, turning rock into dust in an instant, causing yet more to come crashing down.

Shota screamed, putting into it all of his fear, all of his rage, all his frustration, all his guilt. All the hurt, all the pain, everything he was feeling. The world had lost a great Hero and he’d been unable to do anything to stop it. He’d been so scared, so certain he was going to die and then so certain that Ground Zero was going to die. There was nothing more he wanted in this world than to be a Hero, like his parents, like Uncle Deku, like Shoto, and Ground Zero…

And so he screamed. He screamed at the unfairness of it all. At the end of a major Hero’s career. At the terrors that a kid his age should never have seen. At the helplessness he felt. At everything, at all the feelings he couldn’t name and all the terrors that still rose up in his heart.

He screamed and screamed and screamed, until there was nothing left to scream for. Shota sank to his knees, gasping for breath. The air was thick with dust from the demolished rock, sending him coughing. Strong arms wrapped around him and picked him up; it was Uncle Shota.

“You did good,” Uncle Shota said. “Feel better?”

Shota coughed, hard. His throat felt clogged and scratchy. And he felt tired, so very tired. He’d pushed his Quirk to its absolute limit, unleashed its complete destructive power, let every ounce of energy he had flow through it.

“I do,” he said.

And he realized that he meant it. Somehow, in letting all that out, he felt like it wasn’t weighing him down quite so much. Before sleep took him, a moment of clarity set itself in. In stark relief, Ground Zero’s words, Uncle Shota’s words, the events of that day, all played before him. That had been a monster. So many Heroes had nearly died from how powerful they were and that was without his being there. Ground Zero had taken a blow, because the creature was far faster than anything that big should have been, gotten injured because he was trying to fight while still dazed. It was a fight that would have happened no matter what. A fight that could only have happened because he wasn’t killed then and there. What had happened was terrible… but it wasn’t his fault. He had seen far more than he should… but it wasn’t his fault. Forced to bear terrible burdens… but it wasn’t his fault.

Wasn’t his fault…

***

“And then it grabbed Ground Zero and severed his leg from his body,” Shota said. He had to take a deep breath to steady himself and he gripped the arm of the plush chair to keep himself from shaking, but he’d gotten even further along in his statements than ever before. Progress.

“And then I panicked,” he added. “And used a full power blast from my Quirk on it. Completely destroyed it.”

He looked down. “I shouldn’t have. Even if it was a robot, I didn’t know that. A Nomu’s still kind of alive. And Heroes aren’t supposed to use lethal force, unless there’s no other choice.”

Hound Dog nodded. “That probably would have come under review from the Hero Commission. But that’s also typical of big events like this in general. Go on, please.”

Shota took another breath. “After that, I tried to remember what first aid I could for a severed limb. Try to stop the bleeding, put pressure on the wound. Maybe I should have tried calling for help first... but I felt like I had to do something, anything. I was scared and feeling pretty guilty. And I was crying so bad I could barely see straight…

“And then Unc… Deku. Deku showed up. He got Ground Zero to the hospital. Just in time. He saved his life.”

Hound Dog nodded again. “Based on what you’ve said, it sounds like you saved his life too. At least two, possibly three times. What do you think about that?”

Shota hesitated. Ground Zero had said the same thing. He didn’t think he was wrong to get involved. Not anymore. Not completely, anyway. “I think I tried to,” he said. “I know it was going to kill him the first time. Everything after that… I don’t know. Still trying to sort that out.”

“That’s okay,” Hound Dog told him. “You don’t have to have it all figured out now. But that you’re trying to sort it out, rather than simply declaring your own fault, is a sign that you’re becoming ready to deal with those feelings. That’s good. You’re talking more too. And louder. Have you noticed?”

That got a nod. “Yeah,” he said. “I don’t know… but maybe letting everything out like that, that helped push me past something.

“…Thank you.”

Hound Dog flashed a small grin behind his muzzle. “It’s my job to help you with your mental health. But you’re welcome.”

The counselor scratched something on the notepad he was holding. “How do you feel about going back to school?”

That was that ten million yen question, wasn’t it? Did he still want to be a Hero? Seemed like had an awful lot of people still believing in him. He’d even checked his phone messages today and gotten one from Red Riot, a photo of Ground Zero doing physical therapy and the simple word “Thanks.” Somehow, instead of making him feel guilty, it made him feel pretty good. Like he’d done something right.

“I’d…,” he began, “I’d like to try. Got a lot of people believing in me. Hate to let them down.”

Again, Hound Dog was silent for a long moment, before he spoke again. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll sign off on it. Welcome back, Mister Shinso.”

***

Carefully, Shota placed the last of his things in the drawer of his dorm room dresser. He had put away his Ground Zero statues though. He didn’t feel much guilt, but he knew that a few days wasn’t enough to get rid of it entirely. One less reminder was probably a good thing for now. He’d probably put them out eventually.

Toshi and his friends had been around to welcome him back. They’d been a little cautious, unsure of what to expect from him. Definitely tiptoeing around what had happened. He didn’t blame them. Of course, if the situations were reversed, he’d probably be more than a little clueless and would have relied on Asuka or Izumi to rein him in. He knew he tended to get a little excitable and not think things all the way through. But they were all happy to have him back. And he’d been missing them so much. Just being around them had made him feel better. Maybe this would be all right after all.

“Hey.”

Shota looked over to the doorway of his room and found Kirishima-Bakugo standing there. She didn’t look angry, which was rare. She didn’t even have that smile she got before she punched something. She just looked worn out and tired. It was a lot like how he felt, really.

“Oh,” he said. “Ah, hi. I’m…”

She held up a hand. “Nope, no talking, Shinso. Not right now.” She was using his name? Just like her dad had…

Kirishima-Bakugo walked into his room, not bothering to ask permission. She looked him over and briefly closed her eyes. He could see her lips moving, as though she was rehearsing what she wanted to say. “Look,” she said, “I’m not good with words, and I definitely don’t need anything interfering with my rep around here. So I’m only going to say this once and you don’t get to tell anybody else about this. Do you understand me?”

Shota nodded. This wasn’t her usual threats or even her banter or sarcasm. This was full on sincerity. He’d never seen anything like this from her before.

Before he could even fully process that, she had her arms around him and pulled him close. He was the shortest in the class, but she wasn’t much taller, just enough so that her chin rested on top of his head. She moved her head slightly, so her mouth was right by his ear.

“Thank you,” she said, “for saving my dad. He told us what you did. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” With every word, she squeezed him tighter.

“Can’t… breathe…” he gasped.

“Oh!” Kirishima-Bakugo let him go. “Sorry, Loud Kid, I… Sorry.”

He felt tears well up in his eyes. “I… I’m…”

“Oh, hell no,” she said, firmly. “No crying. Absolutely no crying… ‘cause if you cry, then I’m gonna…”

They cried. And for a moment, the world was a strange, wet, mixed up place. But after a moment, Kirishima-Bakugo got control over herself.

She gave him a small smile. A true, sincere, and actual smile. Shota thought she should do it more often. It looked good on her. “Glad to have you back, Loud Kid.”

It was good to be back.

#my hero academia #their hero academia #fan fic #fan fiction #my writing #shouta aizawa #mha aizawa #mha hound dog #shota shinso #ryu inui

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