#except they had to be doing something during that conversation such that the fic wouldn't just be dialogue | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rxgirlie · 29 days

Text

The Verdict- Chapter Four

Pairing: Vincent Renzi x OFC

Warnings: mentions of parental death, mentions of suicide, sexual themes.

A/N: happy Saturday! I have nothing to say except thank you to everyone who reached out with praise for this fic and urged me to continue. Big shout out to @luxlisbons who is constantly feeding me inspiration and listening to my neurotic ass. If you want to be added to my taglist, just let me know.

The arrangement that had begun as a matter of convenience had quickly transformed the dynamic between Leah and Vincent. Sharing Vincent's apartment brought them into a proximity that neither had anticipated, a closeness that underscored their days with an undercurrent of unspoken tension and unacknowledged attraction.

The mornings found them navigating the small kitchen together, a dance of shared spaces and quiet exchanges over coffee. These moments, charged with a palpable tension, were filled with lingering glances and the brush of fingers that neither could completely dismiss as accidental. The air between them was thick with something more than just the steam from the kettle—a budding desire that neither had yet dared to voice.

The first week bled into the second with ease as Leah and Vincent became acclimated as roommates. Leah, in the constant pursuit of finding a new temporary home, found herself discouraged each time she showed Vincent a listing.

“Bad neighborhood,” he would say, or “I don’t think that place suits you.”

Leah eventually gave up, falling asleep on the couch most nights when Vincent decided to work late in a quiet attempt to give him back his bedroom. Without failure, though, she would wake with Vincent asleep across from her on the chaise lounge. A testament to both their stubbornness.

As they delved deeper into the case, their evenings often stretched into late nights, with legal documents and books scattered across the living room table. The professional masks they wore during the day gradually slipped away in the privacy of their apartment, giving rise to laughter, shared stories, and the occasional bottle of wine that led their conversations from work to personal revelations.

"I've noticed the way you look at Daniel sometimes," Vincent broached the topic cautiously. "Do you have kids I don't know about?"

Leah shook her head, chuckling. "No, I just empathize with him. My mom... she committed suicide when I was a teenager. It's hard not to see his pain and not relate it back to my own."

Vincent nodded, his expression somber. "I'm sorry."

Leah waved off his apology with a smile. "Don't be sorry. I hate talking about it. I'm sorry I even brought it up."

Vincent shook his head. "It's okay. I appreciate glimpses into your world."

"What about you?" Leah inquired. "Any kids? Deceased parents? Any skeletons you want to share?"

"No kids that I know of. My mother is a publisher and very much alive. At least she was an hour ago," Vincent quipped.

"So that's who you were talking to. Sounded intense," Leah teased, referring to Vincent's animated phone call earlier.

Vincent chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Do you suddenly speak French?"

Leah shook her head, grinning. "Her tone was very motherly. She's quite loud."

"She can be nosy, but I always answer her calls. She keeps her distance," Vincent explained, blinking and clearing his throat.

"And your dad?" Leah probed. "Is he as nosy as your mom?"

"I wouldn't know," Vincent shrugged, meeting her gaze. "I've never met him."

Leah, suddenly embarrassed, felt the smallness and intimacy of the space they shared, shook her head, a tumble of apologies fell from her lips.

“It’s fine. Really.” Vincent reassured her, his hand reached out to pat her hand.

“Really put my foot in my mouth with that one.” She admitted with a nervous laugh.

“Is your dad alive?” Vincent asked, opening up the space to dive deeper.

“Unfortunately so,” Leah sighed, “at least he was the last time I checked.”

Leah grabbed her glass of wine sitting between the heap of legal papers on the coffee table, sipping generously from it.

“Long story.” Leah sighed and looked away from Vincent.

“I have time.” He said with a gentle smile.

_________________________________________

“Is it still awkward?” Kate's voice echoed from the phone resting on the kitchen table as Leah paced around the empty kitchen.

“No,” Leah admitted, “I mean, there have been a few incidents, but overall, it's not awkward.”

“Ooooh,” Kate quipped, “tell me more.”

Leah, her cheeks growing warmer with each passing moment as the memory replayed in her mind, sighed, “He was supposed to be out late for dinner with mom, so I decided to relax in the tub. The apartment was eerily quiet, and he just walked right into the bathroom while I was sprawled out like a stranded orca in the tub. We both just stared at each other, frozen in place, until he slammed the door and bolted. I wanted to waterboard myself!”

Kate burst into laughter as Leah covered her eyes.

“He kept apologizing profusely, and I begged him to pretend it never happened!” Leah rubbed her face and let out a sigh.

“There was also the time I peeled off my sweatshirt in the middle of the night and dozed off with a flimsy tank top on. I'm sure he got an eyeful then, but he was respectful about it. Unlike the time I woke up to find him in the kitchen, in his briefs, frying eggs, and it was staring at me, and I was staring at it. I had to step outside onto the balcony and pretend to admire the weather while I regained control.”

Kate, once again amused, cackled from her end of the call.

“Jesus Christ, Leah,” she exclaimed, “just fuck him already!”

Leah huffed and shook her head, “I highly doubt that will happen, Kate.”

“Nice people fuck every day, Leah,” Kate persisted.

“Maybe so, but not in this house,” Leah remained resolute. “Besides, he's kind. He went out and bought some apples when I mentioned that I like to snack on them in the middle of the night. I woke up one morning, and there was a bowl of them on the kitchen table.”

“You like him,” Kate remarked, her smile evident in her voice.

“As a roommate, yes,” Leah replied.

“I can picture you standing there, nervously biting your cuticles, pacing back and forth. You must be blushing like a dozen different shades of pink,” Kate teased, sensing Leah's inner turmoil.

“I told him about my mom last night,” Leah confessed softly, “and my dad and Charlotte.”

“Ah, yes, daddy and step-mother dearest,” Kate joked, “Eddie and Betty Machete. That's quite a load of baggage to unload on him.”

Leah shrugged, “He asked, and I told him. I'm pretty sure Charlotte isn't the first person to fuck and marry her best friend's husband. Ex-husband? It's still unsettling to me after all these years.”

“Did he share any juicy details with you?” Kate inquired.

“His mom had a fling in Ireland in the eighties and came back with him as a souvenir. He's never met his father,” Leah revealed.

“See, you've trauma bonded. Just make a move on him already!” Kate laughed.

“You're crazy. I have to go,” Leah playfully rolled her eyes.

“Don't call me back until you've fucked him!” Kate yelled out as Leah hung up.

_________________________________________

Leah was certain that Vincent was in love with Sandra. She had sensed it the first time she saw them together in Sandra's chalet kitchen. Vincent was making pasta, soothing her with soft coos as she cried over the triviality of Parmesan cheese. The day's drama had reached its peak as she sobbed into the open refrigerator door. It had seemed puzzling at that moment, but after spending so much time with Vincent and picking up on his little nuances, Leah was convinced. This realization became even clearer as she watched Sandra recount her meeting with Samuel through the camcorder's flipped screen.

"He was... he was one of the few people I knew who could change the atmosphere in a room just by walking in. I suppose that's what charm is, isn't it? I fell in love with his charm," Sandra said, reflecting on her feelings.

She spoke of not feeling understood by her family or friends growing up, of feeling truly seen only when Samuel came into her life. She longed for a time when that connection still existed, reminiscing on what was lost. Leah felt a deep resonance with Sandra's words, hanging on to every syllable as if Sandra was guiding her on a precarious tightrope, with the ground beneath widening, threatening to swallow her whole.

Vincent's lighter pinged from his seat near the window. Leah observed him lighting a cigarette and blowing the smoke out the open window.

"Don't say it's gone," Vincent urged Sandra, prompting her to share how she and Samuel first met. She briefly recounted how he had landed a job at a London university and how they had moved there together. She praised his teaching skills and his ability to make everything vibrant and accessible. However, despite all this, Samuel longed for more, as people naturally do. It seemed as though he had chased his dreams straight out the window. Sandra contrasted her own ease with writing to his struggles with time management when working on his novel. Then, she recounted Daniel's accident in vivid detail.

Nour nodded along as Vincent offered suggestions, while Leah sat motionless, pondering whether everyone had a defining crisis in their life that altered them forever.

During a brief respite, Leah stepped outside for a breath of fresh Alpine air. The cold bit at her cheeks, a sharp contrast to the warmth of the indoors. She was soon joined by Sandra, who, in a rare moment of vulnerability outside of what Vincent had requested from her for the sake of the case, offered Leah a cigarette. The two women, standing side by side against the backdrop of snow and solitude, shared a silence that spoke volumes.

It was Sandra who broke the quiet, her voice tinged with a mix of resignation and defiance. "You remind me of a cat, you know. A black cat—slinky, chic, and a bit intimidating. But ultimately harmless." Her comparison, unexpected yet oddly accurate, drew a surprised laugh from Leah, the tension between them easing.

Leah took a slow drag, considering Sandra's words. "A black cat, huh? I'll take that as a compliment, I suppose. They're survivors, after all."

Sandra's lips quirked into a semblance of a smile, a glimmer of the woman she might have been before tragedy had taken its toll. "Survivors, yes. But they're also misunderstood. Feared for no reason other than superstition."

The conversation, meandering between confessions and observations, offered Leah a glimpse into Sandra's soul—her fears, her regrets, and her defiant hope for vindication. For Sandra, the moment provided a rare connection, a sense of being seen beyond the accusations and the public persona crafted by the media and the court.

As they stamped out their cigarettes and turned to head back inside, the brief camaraderie forged in the Alpine chill left a mark on both of them.

_________________________________________

It was Vincent who suggested that Leah ride back to Paris with Nour before it got too late. He wanted to have a private conversation with Sandra, and although Leah felt a tug in her chest and her internal monologue firing on all cylinders, she didn't resist much. "Attorney-client privileges," she told herself, even though she couldn't recall ever sharing a drink or personal history with the people she had represented.

Nour chattered about the case for most of the journey back, while Leah tried her best to engage in the conversation. However, it was evident that something was amiss. Leah couldn't quite pinpoint what it was or why she felt the way she did.

The apartment was dimly lit when Leah returned, with only a few rays of light streaming through the kitchen window, casting a stripe across the living room. She quickly shed the day away by washing her face and changing into an old collegiate sweatshirt before settling on the couch with a glass of Chablis to unwind. As she slowly drained the bottle of Chablis, she reflected on the weeks spent with Vincent and Sandra. Their dynamic became increasingly clear in her mind, stirring a jealousy within Leah that she had only experienced as a teenager caught in the turmoil of an unfaithful father and an emotionally unstable mother years ago.

"Ancient history," Vincent's words echoed in Leah's thoughts.

As she drifted off to sleep, the last thought on Leah's mind was what was truly unfolding in Sandra's home and why it was affecting her so deeply.

________________________________________

Leah, never a heavy sleeper, was immediately awoken by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Despite Vincent's attempts to be quiet, his efforts were useless. Slowly sitting up on the couch, she switched on the tableside lamp as the bathroom sink began to run. A few moments later, Vincent emerged in the living room, offering her an apologetic smile as he observed her rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Can I ask you a question?" Leah asked, to which Vincent nodded in response.

"What's the dynamic between you and Sandra?" Leah shifted on the couch, observing as Vincent's eyebrows arched upwards in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Vincent questioned, tilting his head. "I'm her lawyer."

"I'm not stupid, Vincent." For some reason, Leah felt compelled to delve deeper. "You paid her for bail."

Vincent, confused by Leah's sudden change in tone and line of questioning, gave her a quizzical look. "Only a portion of it."

Displeased with his response, Leah shook her head. "I wouldn't go to such lengths for a client."

"She's a friend," Vincent explained.

"‘Ancient history,’” Leah echoed his words back at him. “You don’t describe a friend as ‘ancient history.’”

“What's the matter? Why does it concern you?” Vincent inquired, slightly puzzled, moving closer to where she was seated on the couch.

"It just struck me earlier as I reflected on the past few weeks that something hasn't felt right, like I'm on the outside looking in. But then I saw the way you looked at her earlier. And then it hit me," Leah said, casting a heavy glance at Vincent.

"What hit you? What are you trying to say?" Vincent asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Are you defending her because you genuinely believe she's innocent, or because your feelings for her have clouded your judgment?" Leah questioned.

"I'm standing up for her because she's my friend, Leah. Because I believe in her innocence," Vincent explained.

A bitter laugh escaped Leah. "Friendship can blind us, Vincent. We're trained to read people as lawyers, but sometimes the truth is staring us in the face."

Leah shook her head incredulously. "And you sent me down the mountain with Nour. Usually, you want me right there with you, just to have another perspective."

Vincent's eyes widened in disbelief. "Leah, what is this really about?"

Leah's tone turned sharp. “If there's something between you and her, I need to know. I want to trust your judgment, not your feelings."

Vincent shook his head, frustration evident. He pushed his hair back, a mix of emotions crossing his face.

Leah's voice softened, yet held a steely edge. "Did you fuck her tonight? Was that why you sent me home early?"

"What if I did?" Vincent retorted, noticing the jealousy etched on Leah's face. "How would that concern you?"

Leah stood up abruptly, tossing aside the blanket on the couch as she stormed past Vincent and into the bedroom.

"Enough of this," Leah exclaimed as she rummaged through her suitcase. "I refuse to be a part of this. It's unprofessional, and I want no part in it. You can do as you please, but I'm leaving."

She hastily slipped into a pair of jeans while Vincent observed her from the hallway. Brushing past him again, she retrieved her belongings from the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" Vincent inquired, looking puzzled.

"I'm leaving," she replied, stuffing her suitcase full.

"Where will you go?" he asked.

"To a hotel, maybe a hostel," Leah replied, pulling the sweatshirt over her head and tossing it into the suitcase, leaving her in a thin tank top. "I don't know."

Vincent approached her as she struggled to close and zip her overflowing suitcase, its contents spilling out haphazardly as she packed in a frenzy.

"What's gotten into you?" he questioned. "What's all this about?"

"I don't know, I just—" Leah paused, meeting his gaze, her eyes searching his face. "It hit me today that you're so blindly in love with her that if she had pushed Samuel out the window in front of you, you'd defend her to the end."

He grasped her shoulders, drawing her closer as he looked into her eyes intently.

"Do you want me to fuck you? Is that what this is about?" he asked, his expression serious despite the taboo nature of his question.

"That's exactly it," Vincent shook his head as he spoke. With nimble fingers, he swiftly unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans.

"Say it," he paused, looking up at her. "Tell me what you want."

"I want you to look at me like that," Leah confessed. Despite her uncertainty, she let her emotions guide her, baring her soul to the man before her.

"I do," Vincent murmured, drawing her closer. "I have. I am."

Taglist: @weakling-grace

#the verdict #anatomy of a fall vincent #vincent renzi fanfiction #maitre vincent renzi #vincent renzi x original female character #swann arlaud #vincent renzi

56 notes · View notes

mercurytojupiter · 3 months

Text

the labyrinth - chapter one

a/n: do you guys have any idea how hard it is to get my friends to beta for saltburn?

warnings: farleigh being farleigh, which includes underage drugs, drinking, cigarettes and sex 18+

fic summary: ariadne gavin and her childhood best friend turned enemy return to saltburn for the last time

Ariadne is twenty-one now, and can hardly recall the last civilized conversation she had with Farleigh Start while sober. Everything about him is grating. She can't even imagine how he used to be her best friend.

He bites his lip as he throws an arm around his girl-of-the-week, whose name has come and gone from Ariadne's mind so quickly it was like she'd never heard it at all. Alicia? Felicia? She doesn't know and doesn't care. She doesn't. And she absolutely cannot smell the mix of his citrus and sandalwood cologne - a signature scent that they had picked out together when they were twelve, and yes, hers was the matching, feminine version of the same collection - and the sharp tang of cigarettes. She is not looking at his hair and thinking about how he's using the wrong conditioner because it's frizzing, and probably not even wearing his durag since he's waking up in a different bed every morning.

She's not paying attention to any of that.

She sits comfortably on India's lap, laughing breathily at whatever joke the girl just made. She doesn't know and doesn't care, but India tightens her grip and presses a red lipstick print into her neck, she takes another hit off of her blunt and waits for Farleigh to fade away.

Ariadne and India aren't dating, but they are fucking. Poor replacements for the two boys at the table, but replacements nonetheless.

Besides, if Ariadne had learned one thing during her education, it was that boys got off on girls making out. She liked it personally, but she knew some girls did it just to catch Felix's eye. Their loss, Felix didn't find Ariadne hot so he found none of the girls she kissed hot either. India has yet to learn this lesson.

Felix is talking about how some nerd was his hero or something because of the flat tire on his bike, Ariadne doesn't know and certainly doesn't care when the nerd himself catches Felix's eye.

Ariadne takes one look at the man and knows that Felix is going to string the poor boy along for months without even realizing it. Or, maybe he did. Ariadne doesn't care. She doesn't care much about anything these days, and when she does, she takes another hit, another shot, another something until the world fades again.

When she's sober and has no homework, she remembers to care about Farleigh, so she makes sure those two states never occur at the same time.

Against her will, she notes the way Farleigh's jaw tightens when Oliver Whatshisface approaches the table. This must be Oliver "Thus" Quick from his tutoring sessions.

Ariadne snorts as Farleigh shifts in discomfort and sinks back again as the conversation turns to who Ollie is, what college he's in, and other shit she wouldn't even care about sober.

Her attention tunes back in when the shot chant begins.

"Jagerbombs!" She and Farleigh demand at the same time. She shoots him a look of annoyance.

Farleigh makes a low rumble in his throat that only she knows to watch for. "It's your round, man!"

"I should go to bed," Oliver mumbles, suddenly green.

Farleigh shakes his head and curls entrancingly, so much so that she almost forgets to pay attention to what he's saying. "No, no, no, no. You can't snake out of your round."

Oliver squirms in his seat. Something about him is offputting, now that Ariadne's finished her blunt and is coming down from the high. "I'm not," the boy mutters.

"It looks like you are." Farleigh laughs, but Ariadne knows he's not joking. She knows that the alarm bells in her head are going off in his, and even more so, she senses his competitive streak flaring up.

The table boos except Felix, who seems to sense Oliver's unease. Ariadne rolls her eyes. Ever the angel, their Felix.

He's going to get himself killed that way. It's unnatural to Ariadne that anyone could be as trusting as he is.

"Okay, okay." Oliver concedes. Maybe Ariadne's imagining the way he seems to sneer at Farleigh as he gets up.

Oliver manages to get to his feet and heads for the bar, and Ariadne's final assessment begins to click into place. This kid was a gold-digging little weasel, but probably too weak to do any real damage, except for Farleigh, who seemed to be pissed off by the dude's very existence.

"Farleigh," Felix scolds.

"What?" Farleigh fakes innocently. She sees the way his round eyes widen and his lips open just enough that even India's head falls onto her palm in adoration. There's no denying that Farleigh is pretty.

"Just cut him a break, mate." Felix pleads.

It's not going to work. Whenever Felix asked any of them to be nice to his strays, they always got meaner. Her and Venetia included.

For example, poor old Eddie last year.

"What?" Farleigh repeats lower.

He'd never liked receiving orders from the Cattons. When they were younger, she might have soothed him back down, but it was no use now. She couldn't even if she wanted to.

The crack had become a canyon, just like her dad had foretold.

"That round's gonna cost a fucking fortune." Felix continues.

"Pub rules, Felix." Farleigh grins.

Silently, she agrees, but she decides she can't be here anymore. Farleigh's pretty, white and fox-like smile, had very suddenly become too much for her.

"I'm off." She declares suddenly, sitting up. The group groans and complains good-naturedly, and she watches Farleigh stare at her with an intensity she had grown used to.

She sits in her car for twenty minutes, smoking a cigarette and trying to pretend every time she's with Farleigh she can't feel him in her skin when she hears a tap-tap-tapping on her passenger window.

The man himself, grinning his evil grin.

She can't help herself. She unlocks the car.

"There you are, pet! I looked out the window and I saw you hadn't even driven away! How weird is that, hm?" He teases in that tone which he only takes with people he can't stand. She'd never imagined she'd be on the receiving end of it.

She takes another long drag of her cigarette. "You used to hate when they called me that. You almost broke Felix's nose over it."

"Pass." Farleigh demands. She hands him the cigarette and he puffs it gently. "You gave a shit about me then too. Venetia called me a dog and you fucking bit her. At fourteen."

"I was a weird fucking kid," Ariadne mumbles.

"What the hell happened to us?" Farleigh asks. His long fingers twist a ring, which she deciphers as nerves. She hates that she knows that. Because she wonders, if they aren't friends, and they aren't lovers, why does she know him better than she knows herself? Why does she think about the little things he's done since they were children and worry about his health? Why does she make sure with a glance that he's eating well?

What the hell happened, indeed.

Ariadne knows exactly what happened to them. She had a crush on someone incapable of loving her back and took the lowest of all low roads in her envy. She doesn't say that. She just shrugs. "I dunno, Far. I really don't."

Farleigh leans across the console, palm resting on her cheek, and kisses her.

For a moment, Ariadne sinks deep into the feeling. How many years had she craved his affection? How many times had she let him ruin her life just for a chance of this? His soft, plush lips on hers, their foreheads pressed against each other, his hot, warm tongue twirling with hers. It felt beautiful and religious and, above all else, right. Just fucking right. Like this was how it ought to have been all along.

But then she realizes that this isn't what she was waiting for. She pulls away, gasping.

"My dorm or yours?" Farleigh asks breathlessly.

Ariadne wants to cry. She doesn't want this. She wants him, but she wants all of him, not a night like he gave everyone else.

She shakes her head. "I can't. I can't, I-"

She scrambles for anything to say that isn't "I like you, and I've had a crush on you since we were seven."

"You can't cheat on Alicia." She settles on instead.

"I don't give a fuck about Alicia!" He huffs.

Ariadne sobs. "I know! I know and that's the problem, Far. You used to be so sweet. You used to love everyone and you would never hurt someone's feelings without a reason and I don't even recognize you anymore!"

Farleigh stares at her. "Is that why you stopped talking to me? Because I'm too mean, because newsflash, princess, you're not exactly all sunshine anymore either."

"I stopped talking to you because of Arabella Vaillancourt." She whispers before she can stop herself. Why would she say that? He's going to know exactly how immature and obsessed she is and-

Farleigh scrunches his nose. "Who?"

Ariadne bangs her head against her steering wheel. "You don't even remember. You shattered my worldview and it was so insignificant you don't even remember."

"I-"

"Get out of my car, Farleigh," she begs. She wishes it had venom in it. She wishes she had yelled or something. Instead, all there is left is exhaustion and heartbreak.

He doesn't argue, and that hurts even worse.

She doesn't speak to him again until graduation. Steals glances at him sometimes, after he breaks things off with Alicia, and shares twin looks of annoyance every time Oliver does something irrevocably stupid, but never words.

She misses it. Even arguing with him had been better than not having him at all.

Until, suddenly, on the last day of term as she packs her things, Farleigh bursts through her door.

"Felix invited Oliver to Saltburn." He says like he's announcing a death.

Ariadne groans. "You've got to be fucking kidding me, Start."

"He's worse than Eddie from last year," Farleigh complains, throwing himself on her bed like they're fourteen again.

Ariadne nods. "Like, times ten. Am I the only one who can tell that this kid is fucking insane?" She whines.

"No," Farleigh hums competitively. "I know it too."

"Shut up, this isn't about you," Ariadne commands.

Farleigh holds his hands up in the air in surrender before he gets distracted by her bookshelf.

"Is this that old copy of Pride and Prejudice I got you?" He asks.

Ariadne shrugs. "Yeah. I wasn't going to get rid of a perfectly good novel just because I was mad at you."

"Was?" Farleigh grins.

Ariadne sighs. "Am." She amends. "You are a mistake and a scourge on the earth."

"And," he licks his lips, "The first friend you ever had."

She doesn't dignify that with a response and sets about finishing packing her clothes.

"Do you ever miss Bel-Air?" He asks suddenly.

Ariadne closes her eyes and can almost smell the sea salt of Malibu Beach. Remember the small staff of her home rather than the expansive staff at Saltburn.

She also remembers her and Farleigh's mothers at the mini-bar drinking themselves into oblivion and her father yelling at her to be perfect and finds she even misses that too.

"Every day. You?"

"Yeah," Farleigh says, suddenly sounding very small.

He perks back up. "Arabella Vaillancourt was the girl I lost my virginity to at prep school," he declares proudly.

Ariadne bites back a smile. "Good. Now prove to me you've changed since then."

Farleigh practically skips out of her room.

Later that day comes the six-hour night drive back up to Lowick from school. Ariadne cherishes the drive. It's the only time she spends with the Cattons now when all of them are sober.

Venetia stretches her arms, as catlike as ever. "So, what're we going to do about the O-word?"

"Orgasm?" Ariadne guesses.

Venetia smirks. "Maybe for Felix, but I meant Oliver."

"Dad didn't get you the flat in town so you could be a bloody spy, y'know." Felix huffs.

Venetia pats his cheek. "But he never said it wasn't."

"I don't want to fuck him," Felix says sternly.

Venetia raises an eyebrow. "Then why the fuck did you invite him?"

Ariadne sighs. "I wish I fucking knew, Vee."

"Ari and I agree; the dude's a fucking creep," Farleigh says.

"I swear to god I saw him watching me change. And did you know he almost fucked Annabelle but he kept bringing you up and that's why she stopped hanging around?" Ariadne complains.

"Wait, what was that?" Farleigh raises a hand.

Ariadne doubles back. "He tried to fuck Annabelle. Little weasel-freak."

"I think he meant the part about Ollie watching you change, Pet, which I don't believe. He's gone through a lot. Did you know his dad died last week, right before exams?" Felix sighs sadly.

Ariadne rolls her eyes. "He's such a little snake I wouldn't be shocked if that was a lie. And I'm not kidding, I straight up saw him outside my bedroom window just staring at me."

"God, he deserves a good fuckin' punch, maybe it'll set him straight," Farleigh mutters. He's seething, and for once, Ariadne can't even tell why.

"Well, clearly not straight if he's hanging off Fi like you guys say," Venetia snickers.

They all laugh - even Felix- and the topic shifts to god-knows-what.

Ariadne scoots closer to Farleigh in the backseat, feeling like she did that first summer on this road.

On the first day at Saltburn, while they await Oliver-the-Golddigger's arrival, Ariadne holes herself up in her room to avoid running across the Weasel.

Ariadne only ever reads Pride and Prejudice at Saltburn. It is her yearly reminder that love is fickle and takes time and sometimes cannot be seized at all.

On her eighteenth birthday, she had gone with Vee to get the words "from admiration to love; from love to matrimony," along her wrist. Once, she had told Felix that the only people who understood her were him and Elizabeth Bennett.

A knock at her door has her scrambling up. "Dinner's in an hour."

She's shocked Farleigh came for her instead of Vee or Felix.

Farleigh leans against her doorway, already in his slacks and button-down, though his bowtie is disastrously loose.

"How'd you know to get me?" She hums, opening her closet.

Farleigh shrugs. "You always read when we're here. Figured you might lose track of time."

Sometimes she thinks that he must observe her as much as she does him.

"Is this a part of me telling you to show me you've grown?" She asks, pulling her tee-shirt off to slip on the black, floor-length dress for dinner.

Farleigh whistles lowly. "Maybe. Or maybe I thought it was unfair that Oliver saw you naked before me."

"You jealous bitch." She snarks. "Zip me?"

He strides across the room towards her - it doesn't take long, because he's always been much taller than everyone except Felix - and slowly zips her dress up. His fingers barely ghost over her skin and her whole body shudders.

"You look good, Gavin." He mutters.

She turns and fixes his bowtie. "Back at ya, Start. Y'know, you'd be gorgeous if you could keep your mouth shut."

"How will I lick Uncle James' boot, then?" He hums sarcastically.

She kisses his cheek. "You're improving, you should know." She pats his chest.

She walks past, but she knows he pumps his fist in the air from the sound of his clothes rustling.

Loveable damn idiot.

Dinner is an absolute bore. Elspeth gushes over Oliver, Poor Dear Pamela retells her sob story, and Venetia takes two bites of her dinner. Oliver is wearing one of Felix's suits. she can tell, the arms are too long, and the cufflinks are some old ones he had gotten for his sixteenth birthday.

She says nothing but shares a long glance with Farleigh. He rolls his eyes and she snickers.

Farleigh follows her up to her room. She was expecting it, to be fair.

He undoes his tie and throws it across the room before releasing the top few buttons of his shirt.

"Zipper." She reminds him. His lithe fingers are skimming her waist and her back, all the way up to the top of the zipper, and then back down again.

She throws on a tee shirt. "Go grab some house clothes from your room." She huffs. "Your hair has been bothering me since Oxford 'cause you've been doing it alone, I've got to do something about it."

He exits and returns in a tee shirt of his own and a pair of Fila sweatpants.

Ariadne missed this more than anything. The feeling of churning her fingers through his scalp. The way he simply relaxed into her palms. She loves it. She loves him.

Oh. Oh fuck. She loves him. She doesn't just like him, or have a crush, or want to fuck him out of her system, as she had been insisting since she was a kid. She loves him.

She breathes deeply, finishes his hair, and wraps it up in his durag. "When your curls pop back tomorrow, you'd better thank me."

He snorts. "Yeah, sure. Night, Ari."

"Night, Far." She watches him close the door to his room across the hall and scrambles over to Venetia's, swinging the door open.

Venetia is on the bed, painting her nails. "What?"

"I'm in love with Farleigh," Ariadne whispers, still shocked.

"Sorry," Venetia said automatically.

Ariadne slows her breathing to be heard. "I'm-"

"No, I heard you." Venetia interrupts. "I just think it's unfortunate."

Ariadne lays down beside Venetia and allows the girl to pet her hair. "What am I going to do?"

"Seduce him," Venetia says simply, petting and swirling a curl off Ariadne's head.

Ariadne groans, rolling away. "It's not that simple and you know it! I don't just want to fuck him, if I did I would have said so."

"So what, you want to marry him? Because I'll tell you now that's a bad idea." Venetia hums.

"No! Well, maybe? I don't know!" Ariadne whines

Venetia pins Ariadne to the bed. "Do not do anything stupid until you've decided what you want from him. I mean it, Pet."

Ariadne shrugs her off. "I'm not going to hurt him." She mumbles.

Venetia giggles. "Wasn't him I was worried about, Newmo."

Ariadne climbs off the bed, flipping off Venetia. "I'm going to sleep. Night, Vee."

"G'night Pet!" Venetia grins.

When the morning rolls around, Ariadne stretches out of bed at first light, throwing on a pair of house shorts and a cropped tank top. She would never have the old money urge to waste her nice silken robes on a simple breakfast at Saltburn.

She waves hello to Miss Portia, the maid, as she makes her way down.

"Morn' Liam, Joshie." She grins.

The two footmen wave to her. "Good Morning, Miss Ariadne."

Liam clears his throat. "Your boyfriend's already at breakfast."

"Oh fuck off, you nosy little-" Ariadne starts, but silences before Felix can pass them.

"Enjoy Breakfast, Ma'am," Liam grins.

Ariadne scrunches her nose and blows a raspberry at him before she makes her way to the table.

Farleigh's curls look decidedly better, she notices smugly, and she knows he's aware. He's already holding a cup of coffee and is probably the only one in the house who takes coffee instead of tea beside her.

"G'morning, guys." She hums. Everyone gives her similarly apathetic greetings. Felix looks like he fell out of bed.

She's halfway through her scrambled eggs when Oliver makes his way down the stairs. "Morning."

She waves, zoning out. Weasel.

"You sleep well, mate?" Felix asks, leaning a little over the table to look at Oliver closely. From an angle where she knows at least Farleigh and Felix can see her, she pokes her cheek with her tongue and pokes her finger in the air, mimicking a blowjob. Farleigh snorts so hard that coffee almost shoots out of his nose.

"Uh, yeah," Oliver mumbles. He's so mumble-y. It's grating.

"Hey, Oliver, have some breakfast." Felix coaxes.

Ariadne looks at Farleigh and rolls her eyes hard. She watches him smirk and feels a flutter of pride at the effect.

Duncan places Felix's boiled eggs on the side of his breakfast platter and retreats quickly.

Ariadne raises a hand and awkwardly points to her coffee cup, and a maid - Amelia, she thinks, the nice ginger one - pours her a new cup and then places the appropriate amount of creamer in it.

Ariadne silently mouths thank you and shakes her hands in a prayer-like stance. Amelia blushes and disappears from the room as if she were never there at all.

"Can I have a full English breakfast too, please?" Oliver asks quietly.

Ariadne looks at the table housing the food, and then to Farleigh, and then at Oliver the Weasel, and then to Farleigh again. She watches his eyes follow the same path and dip down to the magazine in his lap to keep from laughing again.

"Breakfast is on the side, darling," Elspeth says helpfully. "Just help yourself."

"How would you like your eggs?" Duncan asks, returning.

"It’s fine. I can get them." Oliver stammers. She rolls her eyes. Didn't he just see Felix's eggs delivered onto the plate?

"Not the eggs. The eggs are made for you." Farleigh corrects.

Felix gives him a sharp look, but in Farleigh's defence, he wasn't even being mean that time.

"Exactly. And everything else is on the side." Auntie Elspeth finishes.

"Fried over easy, please," Oliver says queasily.

"Ollie, we were just talking about the Shelley biography." Felix interjects, sweeping in to rescue the weasel.

Ariadne was sure they were, but she surely wasn't paying the conversation much mind. Until Oliver's arrival, she had been at peace, shockingly enough.

"Shelley who? Shelley, Belinda’s sister Shelley?" Poor, dear, idiot Pamela asks. Ariadne looks at Oliver. Pamela was Oliver's best future. A leech and an idiot who couldn't help but overstay their welcome.

"Oh, Percy Bysshe Shelley. The poet. The Romantic poet." Sir James explains as though speaking to a child.

"Oh." Pamela says simply because she is simple.

"Do you know the story about Shelley’s doppelgänger?" Venetia hums, hidden eagerness just below the surface of her tone.

Ariadne rolls her eyes. She couldn't count the amount of times Venetia had brought this up since she'd learned it.

Sir James, clearly sensing his daughter's nefarious tone, looks at her warily. "His doppelgänger?"

"Mmm. Shelley’s housekeeper was cleaning one of the rooms when Shelley walked past the window and waved at her. So, she waved back before she realized that Shelley was in Italy. And she was on the top floor of the house." Venetia had always had the perfect voice for telling a scary story.

"Oh, Vee. Stop, stop, stop. I won’t sleep." Felix balls up his fists and covers his ears.

Felix had always been a bit of a wimp, though Ariadne meant it in only the most loving of ways. Over countless summers they had held bonfires and told scary stories, and without fail, every time they did, All of them had to sleep in Felix's room because he was too scared to go to sleep. Ariadne is never annoyed by it though. It's a reminder of how sweet and pure their dear Felix is.

It was a stark contrast to Venetia, their resident investor in the macabre and overall gloomy and grotesque.

"A few hours later," Venetia continued, undeterred, "he drowned."

"Oh! Oh, that’s just given me goosebumps. Look, Pamela." Elspeth says dramatically.

"Oh, no." Pamela sighs in the same dull tone she says everything else.

"Look, Fi, the only important thing about Shelley was that he was married to the mother of science fiction." Ariadne comforts.

"I heard he fucked his sister, so there's that too," Farleigh adds helpfully.

Ariadne snorts, and so does Venetia.

"Oh, for God’s sake!" Sir James chides.

The weasel pokes his evil little head up. "I think that was Byron."

"Fucking English majors." She mouths to Farleigh. He gives a slight smile and nods.

Pamela and Elspeth talk nonsense about people Ariadne doesn't care about, so she reaches over the table, snatches Felix's apple from his plate, and bites in.

"What the hell, pet?" Felix whines.

Ariadne rolls her eyes. "You don't even like apples that much!"

Duncan delivers the eggs to Oliver's plate. "Thank you so much," he says, big blue eyes darting around like a frightened animal. then, the eyes peer down, and Oliver grimaces at the eggs.

"Is everything okay, Ollie?" Felix asks, that sweet, tentative sound in his voice that, when directed at the right person, could make you spill your deepest secrets and greatest fears.

The way he calls him Ollie, the way the Cattons always take to nicknames for their pets, makes her jaw tick. It's such an odd but effective way to claim possession over someone, and it didn't even occur to them that they were doing it.

"Er, ‘course, yeah. It’s just. Runny eggs. I get a bit sick from them."

Ariadne can't resist the urge. she whistles, quietly. Duncan is going to be pissed. The Cattons, especially Elspeth, will be horrendously embarrassed. The whole kitchen staff will have their asses handed to them.

"Sorry." He says as Duncan clears his plate of eggs, and again when Duncan leaves for more.

Farleigh smirks into his magazine. "Well, I'm goin' up to my room." He declares.

Venetia nods. "I'd like to head back to sleep an hour more."

Ariadne snorts. "I'm sure you can show Oliver to the pool by yourself, right Fi?" She grins wickedly, making a good show of yawning.

Farleigh waits in the doorway for her, and she flicks him in the chest as she passed him. He sets to follow her, undeterred. "Later, losers." She hums as she swings out.

#farleigh start x black!oc #farleigh start x original female character #farleigh start x oc #farleigh start smut

111 notes · View notes

veryace-ficrecs · 1 year

Text

Cal Kestis Fic Recs

This list was requested by @hocusypocusy!

This List may contain spoilers for Jedi Survivor.

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

Different Settings by BreakfastTea - Rated G

Jaro Tapal isn't the type to struggle with sleep...

...until Cal Kestis became his Padawan.

On one of their last nights in the Jedi Temple, Cal's anxieties keep him up far past his bedtime, and Jaro must find a novel way to help his apprentice find rest.

(Inspired by Survivor, but no Survivor spoilers!)

With the Dawn by pennflinn - Rated G

Almost healed from the encounter on Nur, Cal sets off on his own to explore a new planet — and, in doing so, finally allows himself to process the past several weeks.

Reflection by pennflinn - Rated T

It’s disorienting seeing the world, however briefly, through someone else’s eyes; it’s more disorienting still when that person is looking at you.

Or: three times Cal picks up echoes of himself.

no lie, im kind of cold? by makeyourpeacenow - Rated T

In Cal's hasty escape from Bracca, he didn't exactly have the time to drop by his place to pack his things. He left behind everything except the clothes on his back, his master's lightsaber on his belt and his infinite supply of spite against the empire. Everything else was non-essential.

That doesn't mean he wouldn't appreciate a blanket, though. He was karking cold.

In the Hole by BreakfastTea - Rated G

Cal learns the hard way how the dreamwort got its name, and Greez learns the taste of his fear.

(Set during Fallen Order. No Survivor spoilers)

A bud of promise to thy parent cling by Riv_ika - Rated G

Ponds is wandering the halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, on his way to a meeting with his general, when he finds a crying youngling. He’s clutching his hands close to himself and Ponds abruptly remembers a mission with General Vos, who had an eerily similar reaction to a set of manacles. Ponds can’t help but kneel in front of the kid and offer him his pair of brand new gloves.

Stolen Choices by softmoonlight - Rated G

There's a youngling perched on the roof of the Galactic Museum, and Fox is exhausted.

A jaded clone and a nervous young Jedi have a conversation about duty.

The Start of Something New by katanrock - Rated G

After coming back from a short, but intense mission, newly appointed Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi finds himself hiding from Master Che in hopes of skipping his mandatory medical evaluation. He finds an unexpected companion instead. Or, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Cal Kestis meet for the first time.

Padawan Switch by Xo_flower - Rated G

In order to give the Padawans a more well-rounded training, the council decided to switch around a few Padawans for a few days. This was the result.

Shameless Crossover:

Cabin Fever by The_Asset6 - Rated T

When Mickey wakes up in an unfamiliar place, he’s only got two questions: where the hell is he, and who the hell is this Ian wannabe?

#jedi survivor #jedi fallen order #jedi survivor fic recs #cal kestis #jedi fallen order fic recs #star wars #star wars fic rec #fluff #veryace recs

112 notes · View notes

izzyspussy · 7 months

Text

early season 2 fic, inspired a bit by @fanficfanattic's gang bang for behavior modification post and also by my own various perversions, where the protest happens a bit later so we can draw things out a bit, and in between there somewhere colin gets it into his head to push jamie around a little bit.

it's not like everyone else isn't doing it too, knocking their shoulders into jamie as they go out to the pitch, tackling him just a little bit too hard during scrimmages, either not passing to him at all or passing deliberately long so he has to run harder than the rest of them, closing him out of conversations and keeping him on the fringe of their huddles with their bodies, etc. so he's not out of line, right, if he just gets in jamie's face a bit one day when they're both the last in the locker room because jamie was dawdling so he wouldn't get caught in the door way with anyone else, and colin was held back on the pitch for nate to say something mildly catty to him for no real reason. colin's still fully in his kit because he had a bit of a pout before even taking his boots off, and jamie's shirtless in jeans looking fit and a bit miserable and colin's pissed off because what does he have to be miserable about anyway, so he decides to start something.

except, well. colin's been a bully before, sure, but you know. in a self-preservationy better-them-than-me this-is-what-my-buddies-are-doing type of way. he's not so great at starting it himself, and he realizes only once they're nose to nose he's actually not got any cutting remark ready. but on the other hand he doesn't really want to say anything to jamie anyway. he doesn't want to hurt him (back), not really, he just wants to intimidate him. even in those moments back when jamie was first here when they were both on the same "side" (the wrong side, but let's not put the point on it right now), colin was still below him. in jamie's eyes, in everyone else's eyes, in colin's own eyes, even in their victim's eyes - and at least that last part still seems to be true. colin just wants to be above jamie, he wants to be bigger than him, just for a moment, and see that jamie knows it in his eyes.

the problem with this of course is that jamie is very, very, very big, where his personality is concerned. even if you do manage to intimidate him, which is already unlikely on its own, you're probably not going to be able to tell. even right up in his face like this. maybe especially up in his face like this. and it's obvious that even though jamie is acting submissive toward colin right now, not challenging him, backing up when colin presses forward, all that, he's just- appeasing him. not out of any real intimidation, but just because that's obviously what colin wants. he's letting colin have the upper hand because he thinks he owes it to him.

so maybe colin gets a little physical with him. just a little bit. just another ruffle of his hair, which visibly pisses jamie off but he tolerates it anyway, and you know what fine. maybe colin can't truly intimidate him (at least not this way) but he'll take annoying him. humiliating him, just a little bit. whatever way he can feel a little power over him. so he pushes him next, not a huge shove or anything, it's clear he's not trying to start a fight, and at first jamie resists and is totally unmoved. but then he gives in and takes quick steps back along with colin's next shove, and it just so happens that the bench is fewer steps behind him than he takes and it digs into the backs of his knees and he's unexpectedly knocked down into sitting.

and it's not violent. not really. probably this would have gone another way if it was. jamie's still not genuinely intimidated, but something he wasn't prepared for happened that put him at a sudden disadvantage, so he's just a little bit shaken. just for a moment. and colin- he's not proud of it, alright, but the adrenaline of starting something with someone he expects to be "dangerous" in the way jamie is (-was?) and "winning", getting physical about it, the warmth of jamie's bare skin in his hands, and jamie's so pretty, looking up at him now with wide eyes and messed up hair and his stupid DSL slightly parted, well- colin's young, okay? it doesn't take much.

jamie notices. he's looking up at colin's face wondering what he'll do now, and then he's glancing down, and then he's doing a double take, and then he's looking back up real slow. and he's not closing his mouth and he's watching colin's face cautiously and he's reaching out for colin's waistband, and he's sliding off the bench onto his knees on the ground and colin doesn't back up - can't, he tells himself, since jamie's got a hold of him - so his face brushes down colin's belly as he goes, until his hot breath is sending shivers up colin's spine from between his legs, through his shorts, his shorts which jamie is - cautiously - beginning to pull down-

and colin says, "wait!" and jamie instantly takes his hands off and sits back on his heels, the bench digging uncomfortably into his lower back. colin stutters, "you- you don't have to..."

jamie shrugs and asks, "will it make you like me better?"

and colin doesn't know, he's not sure, it seems maybe like he should say no because that reasoning is a little bit iffy re: whether jamie wants to or not, but it also suddenly seems really mean not to say yes since jamie's already fucking down there, and also jamie is still so pretty and his mouth is still- listen, he's not proud of it okay! but he just shrugs noncommittally, which jamie looks like he won't take for an answer, until colin reaches for him, and then he's lifting colin's shirt out of his way with the tip of his nose which is somehow both very cute and bone-meltingly hot, and really what is colin supposed to do at that point but take what he's given? he's not a fucking saint, and jamie can make his own decisions.

so jamie sucks colin off. he sucks him off and it's fucking good. fuck, it's so good colin is certain only seconds in he's going to come so quick and embarrass himself and go home feeling bad about this two ways instead of just one, but then jamie expertly backs him away from the edge and slows it down so it can last, and it's- god, it's possibly the best blowjob colin's ever had in his life. and then when colin's come down jamie's throat, jamie asks if he minds if jamie gets off too! of fucking course he doesn't mind! and he'd say so too, except jamie literally took his breath away, so he can only vaguely gesture, but jamie gets it thank fuck, and he leans back, throwing himself half over the bench behind him and spreading his knees out wide- he's literally putting himself on display for colin, and it's a damn good show-

and colin wishes, maybe, for a second, that he could get hard again already - back to back is a little bit much even for him - so he could jerk off over him. or maybe what if isaac was here too (and what if isaac was gay) and they both did, and what if-

jamie comes silently, which is a bummer but probably for the best because who knows who's where to hear what, fuck's sake the coaches could easily be on their way back to the office from film review or something, all the lights are still on and all. but colin doesn't want it to be over. he's riding high, still, on that taste of power, and jamie's still on his knees anyway- and sure, maybe he's just catching his breath, but maybe he's waiting for something, waiting for orders-

so colin- it's contrived, obviously, worse than porn even because he hasn't got a fucking script, but he manages to improvise some reason why jamie can't get up and get some tissues or use his shirt or something to clean up, and he's cringing internally as he says it because it sounds worse than porn and jamie's staring at him unblinkingly- but then jamie licks his hand clean, one slow lick at a time, and. well. it's hard to worry about anything else when that's happening.

jamie is the first to notice the stray drop of come on the floor. colin rushes to tell him he doesn't have to. he licks it up anyway.

the next day colin is, understandably, a bit awkward with jamie, and he's-? being nice to him? held the door for him, weirdly enough, and he's smiled at him a few times, but mainly he's just not participating in shutting jamie out anymore. so the lads think jamie must've done something to him, or said he would. to them, at the time, that's the most reasonable assumption, yeah? and isaac - protective, temperamental isaac - demands to know what.

colin is too nervous to answer. he's a great improvisor on the pitch, adaptable, that's his Thing, but interpersonally not so much, and he's just not ready to come out on-fucking-demand, and also the more he thinks about it the more morally ambiguous he feels about what happened, so to just say the truth at this point now feels like a double pronged confession, and it's fucking 10AM on a Tuesday alright.

jamie cuts a glance at him, seems to get the measure of the situation in the space of a breath somehow, and shrugs nonchalantly. "just did him a favor, is all," he tells isaac, tells the room. "that's what friends do, yeah?" they stare, he stares, he shrugs again more uncomfortably this time, finishes getting dressed, awkwardly says, "see you out there, lads," and leaves for the pitch.

"it really seems like he has never had friends before," jan maas says when jamie's gone. no one tells him to shut up this time, mainly because they don't want to acknowledge what he's said.

except colin. colin can't take it. he blurts the whole thing out, to everyone. and he does mention that he's not completely totally 100% sure if jamie really wanted it wanted it or if he just thought that was the only way to win colin over, but he maybe glosses over that part a bit. he doesn't make it clear he's mildly tormented over it and that's the only reason he couldn't keep this in.

so it maybe sort of comes across like maybe that was a sort of negotiated, reasonably talked through arrangement. that jamie offered tit for tat and colin took him up on it. and maybe the other lads think hey. that actually doesn't sound like a bad deal. so maybe a dozen or so of them decide to get the same kind of favors-for-favor.

and jamie. well it's true what jan maas said, he's never really had friends before. and nobody's being mean, not during or after, and it never feels like they're just using him, and he gets to come, and they're all fucking fit obviously, and he feels included, and all that. like, he's not feeling pressured or taken advantage of at all, colin's worries are for nothing, but also eventually the lads do start to feel bad when they start actually caring about jamie (a little bit, just a little! don't make a big fucking deal out of it) and realize he's been thinking he's earning their friendship with his body (rather than PS5s, see) this whole time.

#jack facts #ted lasso #jamie tartt #colin hughes #hc #ask to tag #my fic

30 notes · View notes

atinyjules · 8 months

Text

I JUST KNEW FT. LEE HAECHAN

It's been awhile. I hv no idea why the work just keeps piling up but yeah...updates will now unfortunately be slower than it was before but don't worry! I will continue posting as much as I can.

So let's go forward with this fic!

°°° - This signifies the characters flashback

Genre: Dad au, family au, romance, fluff, crack.

Pairings: Haechan x Miyuki

Warnings: None

I just knew.

It was like the universe had already planned Us.

Me and Miyuki had been friends ever since she moved to my neighbourhood from Tokyo. At first I was skeptical to converse with her since her Korean wasn't too strong, she was Japanese of course. But as time went on, small talks turned into us hanging out at each others houses till it was dark. We were inseparable, still are. I always knew that I wanted to marry her but what strengthened my desire more was a situation we were in during our second year of high school.

I was a naughty and curious kid growing up, but I was an even more rebellious teen. Picking fights with people stronger than me, sleeping during class, staying back for detention and visiting the Principal's office way too much for my own liking. It was Summer and we had just two days before the summer holidays began, I bitched about Kim Yena Queen Bee of my high school. Not only was she the most popular girl on campus, she was the beloved girlfriend of the King of Kwangya high Park Jaesun.

He was...well...terrifying and he was even more terrifying when anyone even so looked at his Queen a different way. Yena was his queen and I bitched about her...well technically that whole drama could've been avoided if only she had steered clear of my girl, Miyuki. Not that we were dating at that time, but Miyuki was my best friend wayyy before we fell in love and had tiny munchkins of our own so when she told me that Yena verbally and physically abused her I bitched her like no one ever bitched before.

Then word got out and I became the school's most wanted student. Jaesun's minions were on my tail every single day until that faithful day, two days before our Summer holidays began. He had me surrounded on all sides and beat me up like there was no tomorrow until an angel came and saved me with pepper spray.

°°°

"Yah!" I opened my eyes slightly at sound of a familiar voice.

"What? Go about your business little girl." Jaesun said before kicking my stomach making me let out a cry.

"Yah! Let him go you bully!" Miyuki exclaimed as I gasped out for air.

"Miyuki, stay o-out of this!" I exclaimed making Yena laugh.

"Ohh, so he's your knight in shining armour." she said making Miyuki gulp as she pushed Yena to the ground harshly and made her way towards me making me curse.

"Bitch, run!" I exclaimed.

"Yah! How dare you push Yena?!" Jaesun exclaimed and walked towards Miyuki.

"You listen! I've had enough of bullies like you guys! No one gets to beat up my best friend except me!" she exclaimed and quickly took out something from her bag and sprayed it on Jaesun's eyes.

"Arghhh!! My eyes!" he said and fell to the ground.

"You bitch-" she cut Yena off by spraying what looks like pepper spray on her eyes as well.

"Come on!" Miyuki quickly helped me up and began running.

>><<

"Pepper...spray." I said exasperatedly as she caught her breath.

"I didn't know what else to do..." she said as I sat down on the floor of her bedroom.

"You could've gotten hurt." I said worriedly as she smiled.

"And leave you to become dead meat? No way...you're far too important to me." she said and gasped after realising what she said, going completely red after.

"Ahh so I'm that special?" I teased as she hit my arm lightly.

"Of course you are..." she said as I looked at her quietly with a loving gaze.

"You...y-you're important to me too...I wouldn't have gotten those beatings if you weren't important to me..."

°°°

And everything after that was history.

That day I realised that she was the one for me and I was gonna marry her. And five years of dating later we got married and we now have two beautiful angels together. Life just couldn't get any better than this. Looking back, I now know the answer to the question a lot of people asked me over the years after finding out that we're childhood best friends and high school sweethearts.

How did you know that she was the one?

The answer is that...I just knew.

"Dadd!!" I was brought out of my trance when Chaerin suddenly exclaimed.

"Yes, baby?" I ask with a smile as I pick her up into my arms.

"Mommy's calling!" she blurted out making me laugh.

"Ohh, is she? Come on, let's go to mommy then!" I say happily as I marched over to the dining room to see her and Chaerin.

"Doesn't this arrangement look beautiful?!" she chirped happily and showed me the flower arrangements done by her and Chaerin making me smile as I placed a kiss on her cheek.

"It's gorgeous love, just like you." I said as she hit me playfully.

"Daddy! Do you like it?! I helped mommy do it!" she said as I cooed at her and kissed her forehead.

"Chaein, do you like it?" she asked our youngest while placing a little flower in her hair.

"Yes!" she exclaimed making us smile as we sat in the dining room, talking for the rest of the day.

That's the end of this fic! It kinda turned out crappy at the end as I ran out of ideas but I hope y'all liked it anyways.

Reblogs and likes are appreciated 🌠✨

29 notes · View notes

krabkrab-wontshutup · 10 months

Text

Yeah, I'm thinking about heartless again. Gonna slam a fic here:

The room was silent. Neither Flint nor Eira wanted to say anything to each other. Yet, the silence was uncomfortable.

Eira’s eyes darted around the room, Trying his best to keep himself from glancing at Flint.

Flint’s mind was elsewhere though, so he wouldn't have noticed. He was thinking about the run-in they’d recently had with the jury. He and Eira had both fought well, and he wasn't worried, it was just… the way Eira had looked at him during the fight, the simple smirk. It gave him this weird, fuzzy feeling.

He stood up, deciding he needed fresh air, and walked towards the door on Eira’s “side” of the room.

Eira flinched as he watched Flint leave- well, he didn’t mean to watch. Flint was just suddenly there. And the door was right next to Eira’s bed, it's not like he wouldn't notice. Eira gave Flint a small awkward smile as he opened the door. Flint smiled back.

He put his head in his hands when flint shut the door, sighing, “how am I unable to have a regular conversation with someone I share a room with?”

Flint had made the right choice by heading outside. He rarely ever got to see Eira smile, and when he did it tended to be in battle. The fact that they weren’t in action gave Flint time to think about the fuzzy feelings he got when Eira smiled at him.

Flint nodded, saying to himself, “I’m definitely going to try and get him to smile more often.”

And try he did.

“What’s your favorite type of cake?”

Eira was suspicious of the question, but he answered, “German Chocolate, why?”

“I’m just writing stuff down, trying to get everyone’s favorite cakes into my memory,” Now, this wasn’t necessarily a lie. Flint had been planning on doing this. But, Eira was the only one he asked so far. Flint cleared his throat as he wrote down “Frosty likes German chocolate”.

“German chocolate is pretty good.”

Eira nodded, made the sort of humming noise you make when you agree with someone but have nothing to add to the conversation, and went back to reading his book. It was titled “The Seer of Angels”, and it was about a man cursed to grow 6 pairs of wings and lose his sight after trying to see into the future.

“Is that book any good? I mean, do you like it?”

Eira laughed, that warm laugh that Flint just couldn’t get enough of. “Yes, it's good. I don’t think I’d be reading it if it wasn’t!”

Flint looks at Eira in a way that almost shocks him. It's uncharacteristically soft. Eyebrows raised just slightly, head tilted slightly upward, a hand rested on his chin, and a slight smile- barely noticeable if you weren't paying attention. But Eira was, and he practically whipped his head around to hide his face in his book. He was certain he could feel his face getting warmer.

Flint was, reasonably, a bit worried, “Ah, did I look at you weird? I’m sorry- I really didn’t mean to”

Eira cut him off, saying “It’s alright, Flint.”

And so, that was that. The two went back to their routine of not talking to each other. But this time, the silence was comforting.

Flint was suffering. The team had taken a job in a desert of all places! Everyone was wearing fewer layers. Except for Eira. Was he insane?

“Dude, why are you still wearing that? It’s boiling!”

“Hm, I guess my body just runs colder? I’m not sure.”

Flint groaned. He really hated the heat.

“If you want, you can borrow my scarf. I’m certain it's affected by my temperature.”

Flint was startled by the gesture, but he accepted.

Eira handed him the scarf. Their hands brushed against each other, causing Eira’s face to heat up again. He quickly turned away. He muttered something under his breath that Flint couldn’t hear.

“Your hand is warm..”

“What?”

“Nothing! It's nothing.”

Flint was not convinced in the slightest.

#winter solstice #eira x flint #eira hale #flint solveig #heartless abd illustrates #heartless eira #heartless flint #fic #writing #fanfiction

33 notes · View notes

instexcamera · 2 months

Note

hi hi hi any chance we can take a soft and lighthearted mood? i’d like to request natsume with a transmasc s/o on their period if that’s okay shdhshsh like either a point form hc list or a lil fic

mine has started and could really use a pick me up. if not, don’t worry about it! :>

Of course! I chose to write this as a headcanon point fic because I feel as if more can be fitted in it, I also became a lil self indulgent in this since I'm also transmasc

Natsume x Transmasc!reader on their period headcanons

No warnings apply

Getting your period was a hindrance, since it showed a more feminine side that you didn't appreciate, forcing you to switch back to panties for a little while since pads didn't really work with boxers

Not to mention the cramps that you'd get in your stomach and lower back, sometimes so horrible you could barely move

So you call Natsume, telling him about your period and how the cramps were so severe sometimes you could barely move, so of course he came over immediately, wanting to care for you

He had picked up some sweets, leaving them on your bedside table for when you'd want them, curling himself up beside you, saying he could stay for a while, however you knew he was busy so he couldn't stay with you forever

Before he had come over, when your cramps were especially bad you'd use a pillow/plushie and press it against your stomach, hoping it would offer some relief to the pain. When he's here however, he gets you a heating pad, hoping that would help

When headaches would occur, he wouldn't quite know what to do for those except get you some pain meds, hoping they would work

Your anxiety was worse during your period, making you anxious about something or another, Natsume would help calm you down rather quickly though, pulling you into his arms and telling you how great you are

When you'd be feeling particularly upset over it, thinking it made you more feminine, Natsume would make the thoughts disappear rather quickly, saying that even though you had them, it didn't make you any less of a man than he is

He would play with your hair, running his fingers through it while he cuddled you, calling you the most handsome boy he's ever seen and how much he appreciates you

He would stay the night, having you close to him while you drift off to sleep, whispering how much he loves you

If you choose to stay awake, or can't sleep he would stay up with you, offering to read your fortune or watch a movie/show with you, he doesn'r care if he would be tired for practice tomorrow as long as you're happy

He knows it's easier for you to become annoyed, so if you accidentally snap at him he doesn't hold anything against you, simply changing the conversation

#ensemble stars #enstars #enstars x reader #ensemble stars x reader #natsume sakasaki x reader

10 notes · View notes

liminalmemories21 · 5 months

Text

Year in Review: Favorite Lines

tagged by @iboatedhere. thank you!

RULES: Share your top three/top five/however many favorite snippet(s)/line/quotes/paragraphs from your published fics (or wips, I don’t care!) and don’t forget to share the link of course!

One each from Knave 2 and Knave 3 because they're in conversation with each other.

The Knave of Hearts . . . he said he'd steal no more

“You didn't steal me, TK,” he says softly. “I’m here because I want to be, eyes open, and my choice. You didn’t con me, and I don’t want anything from you except you.”

TK’s hand tightens on his shirt, and he laughs faintly. “You say that like it isn’t everything.”

The Knave of Hearts . . . brought back the tarts

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep the Leyendecker for you.” She laughs ruefully, “I saw it and I couldn’t help myself, I know how much you loved it, how much it tore at you that you had to give it up for me. I’m sorry I couldn’t give it back to you.”

TK’s voice is amused. “I went straight, Jack, I couldn’t have kept it anyway.” He pauses. “And it turns out I don't need it as much anymore. I have the real thing now, I don’t need to look at a painting of a possibility.”

“You’re really happy?” She sounds dubious, but willing to be convinced.

“I really am. I love my job. I love Carlos. I love the life I have here. I know it’s not what either one of us imagined, because I didn’t know how to imagine this. But I’m not running anymore, not from or to. I think I’ve found where I’m supposed to be.”

We Were in Screaming Color (Chpt 1 & Chpt 11)

okay, so I love this partly because I put this in Chapter 1 so I could have a pay off in Chapter 11. I don't know if anyone else remembered that 11 chapters later, but it was on purpose and I like the symmetry.

Chapter 1

Once, staring at his ceiling gritty-eyed and unable to sleep during the endless months after he bought the loft, he’d cataloged the way TK uses pet names; a grim taxonomy of words he thought he’d forfeited the right to hear.

Babe is casual. It's a substitute for his name. It's an interjection, or the exclamation point to a sentence.

Baby is more intimate. Sometimes it’s teasing, and sometimes it’s serious, but it’s always affectionate.

TK had tried darlin' once and promptly made a face and admitted he didn't have the drawl he needed to pull that off.

Sweetheart is only ever for the two of them, soft and private.

Always Carlos, unadorned, when TK wants to be sure Carlos is listening, when TK needs to be sure that Carlos understands that what he's saying is important.

Hearing TK say babe now is a relief. TK wouldn't be using it if things were broken.

Chapter 11

TK still looks troubled. “I don’t want to lose you to this. I don’t want you to let this eat at you. I get that you want answers, but what happens if you can’t get them? When do you stop looking?”

“Not yet,” he snaps. “It’s barely been a week, and nobody else seems to even be asking the question, let alone looking for an answer. He deserves better than that. He gave his entire life to the Rangers, don’t they owe him something in return?”

“Carlos, no.” And TK’s words are gentle, but his tone is sharp, sharper than TK usually is. “Your dad lived for his family, not for his job. At the funeral, the people who showed up came for your mom, for your sisters, for you, because your dad’s legacy isn’t his work, it’s his family. Don’t take that away from him.”

tagging @rmd-writes, @lemonlyman-dotcom, @paperstorm, @strandnreyes, @heartstringsduet in return.

#tarlos #911 lonestar #year in review #2023 wrap up

8 notes · View notes

missizzy · 7 months

Text

Perc'ahlia Week Day 3 Fic

Vex would later think Trinket has sensed something off about Percy from the beginning, probably without consciously realizing it. Not that she thought animals could magically sense evil things like demons, but she'd known their abilities to sense things like earthquakes and storms, things that could threaten them and theirs.

Of course he was nervous around each of their new companions when they first joined them, though he took to Keyleth surprisingly quickly. (And when Vex would've thought the opposite; her changing species must have seemed bizarre to him at first.) It wouldn't be until Tary joined them that he showed himself more used to new friends coming in. So it made sense when he was initially wary of Percy.

When the possibility of marrying Percy started feeling like more of a probability, Vex asked Trinket, on a lazy day where she could cast Speak with Animals multiple times without worry, what he thought about that. Trinket was generally happy with the idea; he knew Percy made her happy, and had become convinced he'd make a good mate, too. "I think he was a threat once, but now he just protects us, right?"

Vex regretted then that she couldn't really ask him what he meant by that; getting that sort of nuance was beyond the abilities the spell gave them. Although Trinket, since he had reached adulthood, had witnessed enough behavior from the people around him that he could usually tell the basics of what was going on. And of course, not only had he been present for the conversations they'd had with Percy when they'd been trying to free Whitestone, but he'd first seen the smoke, and then even delivered the final blow on the entity responsible when they'd first fought him.

So he might have easily just meant all that. But it was then that she also thought how how he'd constantly been sniffing at Percy and looking nervous around him during his first days with the group, and so also wondered if he'd marked Percy as a threat for much longer, for different reasons. Or maybe his having the sticks that made big scary noises had just freaked him out, and the behavior before he first fired them had been because he'd been the only newcomer to focus on.

In any case, Vex hadn't needed magic to understand Trinket's behavior when he was one of the few present when she married Percy. The way he ruffled against him and and growled softly spoke an obvious message she translated for him: Trinket would give Percy a fair chance to be a good mate, but would keep a sharp eye on him nonetheless. Of course, Percy declared himself quite glad to know Trinket was doing his part both keeping him in check, and protecting Vex.

Her thoughts about what Trinket could sense in Percy returned one more time: during her fourth pregnancy, where a constantly elevated body temperature served as an indication their fifth child might turn out to be a Tiefling. Trinket, who had already shown an ability to detect her pregnancies himself and maybe get more solicitous of her as a result, this time, on one still early day, went sniffing at her womb, then stared as her with an expression so flummoxed she very nearly laughed.

Except it wasn't entirely funny, as she then cast the spell and asked him, "You don't think I'm being threatened, do you? You've never had a problem with Zahra, not really."

"A cub's never a threat!" Trinket exclaimed. "And you don't smell like Zahra, you smell like Percy when he was dangerous. It's weird."

Most of that was reassuring, but Vex did feel the need to ask, "You won't go ask him for inflicting this particular baby on me, will you?"

Trinket seemed to have to think about that for a moment, but then said, "Not so long as he continues to be good to you and to all your cubs."

He got over the smell, after that. It was true he'd never had a problem with Tieflings, and when Gwen was born, she really was like her siblings had been to him. Vex wasn't sure if he really even understood how she was different, even if she'd cause her mother to smell different. He did seem to eye Percy a little more in the days following the birth, but if anything he was even more of an attentive husband and father than he had already been, and Trinket probably couldn't even recognize the guilt in his eyes. Bears didn't feel guilt, beyond maybe an occasional immediate and brief reaction to having gotten someone they cared about hurt.

Ultimately, by that time in his life, Trinket definitely had his own views about mates and the raising of cubs. They were ones, Vex knew, that weren't a normal bear's views, if a normal bear's attitudes towards the subject could even be called that. This became very clear when, not long after Gwen's birth, he unexpectedly found a mate of his own.

He really hadn't had much contact with other bears in general, and none for years, when a female bear wandered into the Parchwood and made it her home. Trinket actually found her by himself weeks before anyone in the Grey Hunt did, and they found it suitable to mate with each other soon after that. But then Trinket showed her Whitestone, and managed to communicate to her that he wanted them to raise their cubs together in the castle, which had confused her greatly.

"Boy bears don't do that," she explained to Vex, when they magically conversed for the first time. "I know some boy animals do that, but bears don't. My mom mated with my dad, then they went away from each other, and she raised me without him, and I can raise my cubs the same way."

It made Vex think for the first time that maybe what she'd done with Trinket, raising him so much in the world of people, especially when she and Vax had stopped living so much in the woods, had been a little bit of an extreme thing to do with a bear. Not a wrong thing, necessarily, if only because there hadn't been many options when she'd first taken him away, but still.

Eventually, the idea of having constant warmth and food available brought Trinket's new mate to the castle shortly before she gave birth. Both she and Trinket warned Vex, though, that she had no intention of being a fully domesticated bear. She even requested they not give her a name. "Animals have names when they belong to people," she said. "I won't belong to people." Vex duly instructed everyone to not name her; she could be referred to easily enough just as "Trinket's mate."

Percy had already agreed to take her in, and he even allocated the bears their own space within the castle, one that made it easy enough for them to also act as guard bears when they were there and awake. But Vex, to her own private amusement, sometimes thought his reaction to her was not unlike Trinket's friendly but ever watchful reaction to him had been.

"Well, of course I have concerns," Percy said to her. "Remember wild bears often view people as for eating, even if Trinket has no doubt made clear to her we aren't, and you even said she won't be tamed entirely. But if she has accepted we're not to be harmed, well, then, let Trinket have his mate here, right alongside yours."

She came and went as she pleased, sometimes disappearing off into the woods for days at a time. After Charlie was born, she usually took him with her, determined he would know how to live as a wild bear as well. Sometimes Trinket went with them, too, and Vex thought he looked a bit refreshed when they came back. Which kept her from minding; indeed, she couldn't help but admire her determination.

She also responded more to the advent of winter than Trinket did. Neither of them had to fully hibernate when living in Whitestone, but even as he showed all the signs of how much older than her-and most other bears-he was, she was the only who slowed down and was much less inclined to step outside the castle once it got cold enough. Which, ironically, meant that when little Vax'ildan and Charlie decided that was when they wanted to venture out on their own for the first time, it was her, sleepy and possibly also pregnant again, who stayed behind in the castle, and Vex and Trinket who walked them to the outskirts of town.

There Vex hugged her son, whispered him her various reminders all over, and told her she loved him, while the bears said farewell with soft sounds and headbutts. They stood together, listening, until their sons could no longer be heard even by Trinket's ears.

On the way, Trinket gave Vex the specific whine that had become his way of requesting she cast Speak with Animals. When she did, he said, "I think Allura was right, that I won't die until you do. I feel old, but I think I should feel older."

"Does it bother you?" Vex asked. "I don't want you to leave me ever, but if staying that long would be too much for you..."

"I don't want to leave you alone," said Trinket. "I know it'll be bad once they starting dying."

"Not all of them will," said Vex. "Some of our friends will live even longer than me. And also, I've been talking with Keyleth about Danny, and she says he might become like her, which would make him live a very long time as well. Or he might be become like me, and Charlie might live as long as him, then."

"That would be nice," said Trinket.

The spell had worn off by the time they reached the castle, with them instead sharing a comfortable silence as they headed in. They found Trinket's mate where they'd left her, still dozing away, and, much more surprisingly, Percy dozing against her.

Vex's laughter woke both of them up. Together they raised their heads, looking rather caught out. The bear only for a moment, before she lowered her head back down and returned to her nap, but Percy remained pink-faced as he hastily scrambled to his feet.

Trinket, inclined to nap himself after the day's exertions, headed to join his mate. On his way, he moved to nudge the mortified Percy, and give him a reassuring look. "He's glad," Vex told her husband, thought she didn't really need to.

#critical role #vox machina #perc'ahlia #perc'ahlia week #vex'ahlia #percy de rolo #trinket the bear

10 notes · View notes

msmargaretmurry · 1 year

Note

“strings and all” + jack/trevor

okay. OKAY. hmmmm. this makes me think of this concept that i believe i already wordvomited onto twitter once, but let me expand upon it here: the tried-and-true classic "didn't realize i had feelings until you got a boyfriend" trope.

this is the fic where trevor had a little thing for jack all through teenhood and into their early 20s, but it never seemed like jack was into him that way, and that was fine. they make great best friends, and then they're on opposite sides of the country, and it's not like trevor's sitting around pining or anything. he's a charming young man, he can play the field, maybe even land himself a boyfriend.

so trevor gets a boyfriend. probably a boyfriend i make up, and not, like, jamie or something, because then i would have to break trevor and jamie up for the jack/trevor endgame, and that would be sad. so a made-up boyfriend from the greater los angeles metropolitan area. at first i was like, maybe he's kind of artsy, but no, i feel like he works for a creative company but in a slightly douchey corporate capacity. he thinks he's more artsy than he is, but trevor doesn't know how to tell the difference, so trevor legitimately describes him to people as "so creative." anyway, he and trevor met via mutual friends or something and hit it off and now trevor has a boyfriend.

jack doesn't like the boyfriend. he meets him like once when the devils are on a california swing and he doesn't like him, and then trevor brings him along on a bros' trip that summer, and jack still doesn't like him. usually jack wouldn't bother trying to pretend he likes someone he thinks sucks, but he can tell how proud trevor is and how pleased he is with this whole having-a-boyfriend concept, and they do seem to really like each other, even if this guy isn't the kind of guy jack pictured trevor with at all. what kind of guy DO you picture trevor with, jack? oh no. oh NO.

but he doesn't want to fuck up the good thing trevor has going. trevor's his friend and he loves him! he loves him way more than this rando californian (the guy is actually from indiana, he is an LA transplant) and he will prove it by being SO cool and chill about his feelings, the feelings that he apparently has, the feelings he apparently HAS HAD for eons and is just now recognizing for what they are. but his feelings keep getting worse, he kind of convinces himself that maybe trevor's only with this other guy because he doesn't know jack is an option. like, why would anyone ever want that guy if jack was an option? have you MET jack?

but he still doesn't want to fuck things up. really he doesn't! except then he and trevor are hanging out at some point during the season and he maybe drinks a little (a lot) too much and tries to kiss trevor, and trevor is like what the FUCK man. genuinely very upset about it!! he's in a really good relationship and jack knows that! jack had literal years to make a move that trevor would have been super into! the next day jack feels awful about it and trevor texts that maybe they shouldn't talk for a while, jack says okay because what else can he say? and so they don't talk for a while. go a whole summer without trevor coming to the michigan house. it's awful and jack is miserable. he hasn't gone more than a day or two without at least texting with trevor since he was, like, sixteen. it feels like he's missing a limb.

the first time they play each other the next season he asks if trevor wants to get dinner and talk, and trevor says yes, because life sans jack IS miserable. trevor hates it, too. they have a good meal and a long conversation wherein jack apologizes and promises he just wants to be friends, and trevor isn't sure that's true for either of them but he wants it to be, so they agree to be friends again. over the course of the season they get back to the normalness of texting every day and playing video games online together, etc, and jack's heart hurts but he thinks it's for the best, truly. trevor thinks he's finally got the best of both worlds again, his relationship going great, jack as his bestie again. but of course this cannot last, and when trevor's breakup happens it blindsides and crushes him.

it happens toward the end of the season, so pair that with another awful season for the ducks and trevor is deeply upsetti spaghetti. he goes home to mope but only makes himself more miserable, and finally finds himself showing up unannounced at the door of the hughes bros michigan lakehouse, where of course jack welcomes him with open arms to mope there for as long as he wants. it takes about three days for them to start having sex, and then they spend weeks having sex and playing house (please picture quinn in the background of this constantly facetiming brady like, i am both scarred for life and very concerned) until something happens to make jack realize, oh, none of this is real. it's just summer, and trevor is just grieving, maybe rebounding, maybe just wanting comfort and distraction, but it's not real.

so he screws up his courage and tells trevor, look, i love you, i want us to be friends forever, but also i'm in love with you and i can't do this summer fling thing anymore so i'm sorry but you need to leave.

as much as he loves jack, trevor knows in his heart he was using him a little bit. and he feels so guilty about it that he can't really argue his way into staying. they spend the rest of the summer only talking a little, trying once again to find normal, but everything has shifted and there is no normal anymore. cue months of pining, cue quinn absolutely flattening trevor every time the canucks play the ducks, because trevor made his baby brother cry. cue brady also flattening trevor when the sens play the ducks, because trevor made quinn's baby brother cry. cue matthew flattening trevor when the panthers play the ducks, but that's just because it's fun and trevor weights 137 pounds soaking wet.

anyway, something's gotta give. trevor can't live like this. he wants jack back. he's under no illusions about how he feels about jack, and if jack really is in love with him, then it's fucking stupid wasting all this time when they could just be together. and once he gets that thought into his head there is no stopping him. at the next opportunity — an all-star game, or a game in jersey, idk, but literally the moment he's in the same place as jack again, he puts on his cute little dress pants and a nice shirt and he goes to jack and says, go out on a date with me. and jack is like, i'm sorry what. and trevor says, i love you. go out on a date with me. and jack says, ok but don't expect me to put out on the first date, and then definitely proceeds to put out on the first date, and then they live happily ever after the end

#ask #writing meme #jack and trevor #hockey for ts #this one is even longer lmao 😭#i SWEAR they're not all going to be this long!!!!#also i am definitely not getting through all of these tonight but thank u everyone who has sent one!!#i am looking forward to working through them for the next few days 😂#now taking bets on how many time the michigan lakehouse shows up in my responses

13 notes · View notes

imagine-you · 2 years

Text

Living As Foes (5/11) [Eddie Munson/Reader]

Summary: It only takes you one week to realize Eddie Munson hates you. It only takes you one year to fall in love with him. Go figure.

Word Count: 2.5k

Author's Note: Based on a prompt I received: "ok random idea because eddie seems like a bug flirt but when he has a legit crush hes hopeless so reader is so confused because eddie flirts with everyone except her"

Thank you to everyone for your patience. I've been so exhausted lately. But please know I haven't abandoned this or any of my fics. Also, this is now a fix-it fic. Because I have to.

June 1985:

You thought you would feel different once you graduated.

You should feel liberated. You should feel free. The whole rest of your life was right there in front of you, ready to be explored.

Instead, you just felt a bit confused and lost and disappointed.

You assumed that since you didn't have school, you would still have work. You had to save up for college, which meant you would need to take every shift Colleen could throw your way.

It turned out that your dad and Colleen had other plans for you.

When you walked into the diner during the first weekend of June, only to realize your hours had been cut, you felt like your whole world was coming down around you. Was Colleen gearing up to fire you? Were you not doing a good enough job? What would you do when you had no money and no future and no hope?

You felt like you were on the verge of panicking right in the middle of the Saturday night dinner rush, which was visibly apparent enough that Colleen pulled you aside right after serving drinks to a family of five.

"C'mon, honey," Colleen coaxed, ushering you into her office. "We've got to talk."

"I'm sorry," you blurted out once the door was shut.

Colleen quirked an eyebrow at you before gesturing for you to take a seat in her office chair. "Sorry? What for?"

"I must've done something, right? Because you're firing me?"

"Oh, no, honey," Colleen sighed, moving to lean against her desk. "I'm not firing you. As long as I'm alive and running this place, you'll always have a job here. So, don't go worrying about that, alright?"

You furrowed your brow in confusion, frowning up at Colleen. "But if I'm not fired, then why are you cutting my hours? I've got school to worry about. And my family--"

"And that's why," Colleen cut you off, "you're going to enjoy your summer."

"But--"

"No," Colleen immediately argued, shaking her head. "I haven't known you for very long, but I know you've got the whole world on your shoulders. Most kids these days would be partying away their last summer before college, but all you want to do is work. And I know you think you've got to, but I've had a talk with your father, and we both think you need to enjoy this time while you can."

"My dad?" You blurted in surprise, wondering just when the hell he had found the time to have a conversation with your boss.

"He's worried about you," Colleen answered, offering you a sympathetic look. "And I am too. You're going to burn yourself out before you even take your first class this fall. I want you to enjoy this summer. Have fun and do something stupid and make some memories, sweetheart."

"But I've got to save up--"

"Don't worry about that," Colleen interrupted you again. "You've spent all this time taking care of others, let someone take care of you for once."

You figured Colleen wasn't about to let you argue with her, but you were still worried. Was your dad going to take care of your tuition? There was no way he could afford it. If you didn't work all summer long, there was no way you could afford it either. The last thing you needed now was a pay cut.

It wasn't until you got your first paycheck that you realized exactly what Colleen had meant.

You had only worked half your usual hours, but received full time pay.

You tried to tell Colleen it was too much, and you couldn't accept money for work you hadn't done, but Colleen wouldn't let you refund any of the extra pay. Instead, she merely smiled at you and then sent you home with a fresh-baked pie to share with your family.

Your sister was off at summer camp having the time of her life and your dad was busy working, so Stacy was more than happy to make sure you enjoyed your free time. She dragged you to Starcourt and made you go shopping, which you secretly loved. You both went to the pool, where Stacy did her best to get Billy Hargrove's attention, and you tried not to roll your eyes too hard. You both went to Scoops Ahoy, where you traded awkward nods and smiles with Steve, and tried not to remember kissing him in front of half the senior class.

By mid-June, you had to admit to yourself, you were having a fantastic summer. You were still saving up for college, but you were also taking the time to enjoy yourself without worrying about your other responsibilities. Your sister was sending you letters every other day, assuring you she was having fun and making friends, and your dad didn’t seem so stressed out once he realized that both his kids were happy.

Whenever Stacy couldn't hang out with you, you still found yourself following a routine. You would go to the pool in the morning, and then hit the mall in the afternoon. You would get a cone from Scoops Ahoy, indulging in small talk with Steve, before either making your way to the diner for your shift or going home for dinner with your dad.

It was on one of those Stacy-free mornings when you struck up an odd friendship with Billy Hargrove.

You were sitting in one of the pool loungers, halfway through your book pick of the week, when a shadow fell over you.

You glanced up to see Billy standing there, a smirk on his face before he popped a stick of gum in his mouth.

"Where's your friend?"

"At her aunt's house," you told him, quirking an eyebrow at him. "Why do you care?"

"I don't," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Just wondered why she wasn't here practically begging me to fuck her."

"Gross," you groaned, shaking your head. "That's my best friend."

"Yeah? Well, your best friend has it bad. It's kind of pathetic."

You shot a glare up at Billy. "Don't you have a job to do?" You couldn't help but ask, wondering why today of all days, Billy Hargrove had decided to talk to you.

"Well, yeah," Billy said, dropping down onto the lounger beside you. "But it's all little brats running around and housewives eyeing me up. You're the only one here who's actually my age."

"So? Doesn't mean I'm interested in you."

Billy laughed, shooting you a look like he didn't fully believe you. "Oh, c'mon. I'm bored, alright? Talk to me about anything. I don't even care what it is, just anything."

You frowned at Billy for a moment, before you held up the book in your hand. "Want me to tell you about The Shining?"

Billy squinted his eyes at the cover for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders. "Beats watching a bunch of snot-nosed kids run around. What's it about?"

You struck up an odd camaraderie with Billy that mostly consisted of Billy griping about his job and Hawkins and his family while you told him about whatever book you were currently reading or about your job at the diner.

While you never thought you'd be able to stand Billy Hargrove, he turned out to have a sarcastic, biting wit that surprised laughs out of you when you least expected it. Stacy didn't seem to know what to make out of the development, but once she actually started joining in on your conversations, you knew her crush on Billy only got worse.

You started spending more and more of your free time at the pool, so by the time July was approaching, you found yourself looking forward to the moments when you could do anything but try to play wing woman for Stacy.

You loved Stacy. She was your best friend. But you didn't want to feel like an awkward third wheel for your whole summer break.

"It's just, he's so hot, y'know?" Stacy said, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. You were on your lunch break in the middle of a slow night at the diner, so you doubted Earl at the bar gave a damn about Stacy's crush or the family of four sitting across the room, which made Stacy's attempt at secrecy even more amusing. "But he's also kind of a dick. But I think he might like me. Do you think he likes me? I mean, he hasn't asked me out or anything, but maybe he will. That big Fourth of July celebration is coming up. Maybe I should see if he's going," Stacy continued, ignoring the sound of the bell over the door sounding, letting you know someone else had entered the diner.

You glanced up, freezing at the sight of Eddie Munson walking through the door.

"Oh look, it's the freak," Stacy sneered over her shoulder.

"He's not a freak," you immediately defended as you watched Eddie curiously look around the diner. He noticed you sitting near the back corner of the room with Stacy and ducked his head. He went to the booth closest to the door and dropped down into the seat that had his back facing you.

He glanced quickly over his shoulder at you before picking up his menu and studying it. When you looked back at Stacy, she was already watching you.

"Oh my God," she breathed.

"Shut up," you snapped.

"You have a thing for Munson?!" Stacy hissed in surprise.

"Shut up," you groaned, resisting the urge to hit your head against the table.

"I mean, Steve, that would make sense. It's Steve Harrington, you know? But him?" Stacy asked, her voice an insulting shade of incredulity.

"Could you just not? It's just a phase, alright? A really unfortunate phase, because I’m pretty sure he hates me."

"I doubt that," Stacy snorted. "You're like...the most likable person I know. He'd be an idiot not to have a thing for you too."

You couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for Stacy in that moment. She thought Eddie was no better than a piece of trash she'd find stuck to her shoe, but she quickly went from insulting him to reassuring you that he had to like you back. You knew you had truly lucked out in the best friend department, and you would be forever grateful that life had decided to throw the two of you together.

"I've got to get back to work," you sighed, reluctantly pushing yourself to stand. "Want another milkshake?"

"On the house?" Stacy checked, already pushing her empty glass towards you.

"Duh," you muttered, shooting her a grin.

You got Stacy another strawberry milkshake, making sure to add extra cherries, but go easy on the whipped cream just like she preferred, before you forced yourself to approach Eddie.

You had to practically give yourself a pep talk as you walked towards his table.

It's okay.

You've got this.

He won't bite.

Destroy you, sure, you thought. But only because he didn't know about your doomed crush.

"Welcome to Colleen's," you found yourself saying once you were standing next to him. "What can I get for you?" You were glad you had entered your own personal mode of autopilot since you were secretly freaking out.

"Hey, uh, there," Eddie started, drumming his fingers on the tabletop before he started absentmindedly playing with the sugar packets he had pulled out of the holder that also housed the ketchup, mustard, and pancake syrup. "Right, I should order something," he grumbled. He bit his bottom lip, staring determinedly at the menu before glancing nervously up at you. "How about coffee? That sounds good."

"Alright," you agreed, simply writing down 'coffee' on your order pad just to give yourself something to do. "Coming right up."

You shot Stacy a panicked look as you crossed over to the bar. You nodded at Earl when he shot you a worried look before moving to grab a mug from the stand next to the coffee pot. You didn't know if Eddie wanted decaf or not, but since you were currently out of decaf, you figured he would just have to settle for regular coffee.

When you turned back around, you were surprised to see Colleen standing next to Eddie's table. She had a huge grin on her face as she listened to whatever Eddie was telling her.

You were glad to at least have Colleen as a buffer, but as you got closer, you felt ridiculously jealous of her. What the hell was Eddie telling her to make her look like that?

"Well, you know, I heard this was the hottest spot in town, but it's not because of the food. Should've figured a pretty lady like you would be bringing in all the business," Eddie flirted, gifting Colleen with a wide grin.

"Oh, well, aren't you sweet? But I'll have you know," Colleen started, her eyes flicking up to meet yours. You felt yourself freeze for a moment, instinctively knowing that whatever was about to happen was going to be incredibly embarrassing. "Y/N here is way prettier than I am, so she must be the one bringing in all the customers."

Eddie looked up at you as you set down his cup of coffee in front of him. There was an awkward, expectant silence before Eddie cleared his throat and wrapped his hands around the mug. "Shit," he hissed, shaking out his hands. "That's hot."

Colleen glanced from Eddie to you and back again before her jovial demeanor changed. "Right, well, best to drink your coffee and go, young man. It's getting late," she told him before she walked away, sending you a pointed look.

"Right, right," Eddie agreed, nodding his head. "Well, I shouldn't be drinking coffee anyways. Makes me too damn jittery. Thanks, though" he sighed before he stood up. He placed a five-dollar bill down on the table, not even bothering to look at you, before brushing past you. You watched him take the time to stick his tongue out at the toddler sitting with her family, before practically stumbling through the exit into the parking lot. You stood there, thoughts a whirlwind, wondering why the hell he would leave a four dollar tip for a cup of coffee he didn't even bother to drink.

"So, what's his deal?" Colleen asked, startling you. "Kid was all smooth until you came over. He got a problem with you? Because if he's giving you trouble, then I won't allow him in here anymore."

"No, don't worry about it," you sighed, watching Eddie's van taillights slowly pull out of the parking lot. "He's just...a guy I knew from school," you finally conceded with a grimace.

"Well, if I need to ban him, you just let me know," Colleen told you, patting you on the shoulder, before walking over to Earl to ask how he was liking his burger.

You picked up Eddie's abandoned cup of coffee and moved to pour it out in the sink in the kitchen. You didn't know why Eddie would show up at Colleen's and you certainly didn't know why he would order something he had no intention of drinking. You started wiping down the bar, one thought stuck in your mind for the rest of your shift.

What the hell was Eddie's deal?

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. Life has been crazy and stressful. We just had to call the cops on an angry drunk guy the other night because he threatened to kill my manager...so...yeah. Life has been a lot. Thank you everyone for your patience! I promise to let up on the slow burn soon.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #stranger things #eddie munson imagine #stranger things imagine #eddie munson x you #stranger things x reader #imagine #living as foes fic #my fic

99 notes · View notes

vivelarevolution13 · 25 days

Note

For the ask game ;)

🏜��,❄️,🥐,🌻 aaand 🥤

Hope you are having a good day!

Hiya, thanks for the retaliatory hit! (affectionate) hope you're having a lovely day too :) 🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work? Ooh, can I just say any? Kidding, albeit I am very grateful for everyone who takes the time out to comment, even if it's just a string of emojis or something! But I am eternally grateful for long, detailed comments and especially love when people point the things that they related to in my work or things that clicked for them (particularly the ones I thought might be overlooked or alternatively, too heavy-handed to land) or even line up certain things or parallels that didn't fully register to me while I was writing except as a vague ~vibe~. I just appreciate it a whole lot, and it makes the whole exchange feel like a conversation. ❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

Hm, I don't know - I don't think I have one specific dream theme/plot. That said I have been thinking a lot about Red Room/Department X plotlines recently. I really love the throughline of the struggle for identity + shifting ideologies/definitions of what it means to be a good person + autonomy & free will vs. wanting to belong dichotomy in those stories. Especially when it's grounded in interesting dynamics that aren't very black and white (i.e. Nat and the other widows, the handlers, the WS.) That era is also just very interesting to me in terms of real world circumstances and events, and the scifi potential to explore trauma and psychological fuckery in general is endless. So I guess I'd really love something that deals with Natasha's memories as a child + teen in the war and how that shaped her both before the Red Room even got their hands on her, as well as during and after; how she became this kind of mercurial person who is still (maybe surprisingly so) solid at her core. Something a la Name of the Rose, if you've read that run.

As for who I'd like to write it, I am in fact attempting to write something to that effect into my current post-CATWS wip, so I guess me? Not to say I wouldn't love to read something similar by someone else - there have been several fics out there that dealt with Natasha in a way that had me staring into empty space for an hour (in a good way) - just that I enjoy the process of developing ideas like that in my head differently than I do reading about them from another angle, if that makes sense!

🥐 ⇢ name one internet reference that will always make you laugh

that vine with the two guys with heavy NY/NJ area accents screaming at a duck. wait no - any patrick william charlton vine where he suddenly acquires a german accent. wait no - the can I PLEASE get a waffle one.

oh man. any one vine really. I'm very nostalgic about vine. 🌻 ⇢ tag someone you appreciate but don't talk to on a regular basis

I feel like if I started doing that I'd end up spamming way too many people haha. I do wanna say I very much appreciate everyone I've gotten to interact with and follow during this CATWS10 event and over the past two months I’ve been on here more!

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love Oh, god. GOD. This is so tough, I'm really blanking right now. I've been around for a loong while lol and there are so, so many insane, brilliant ones. It doesn't help that I really haven't read that many in the last few years as much as I've been writing them.

Off the top of my head though, I recently went back to Speranza's All the Angels and the Saints. One of the all-time old school Cap greats. All of their stuff is just wonderful, foundational Steve, Bucky & SteveAndBucky content. Also everything by magdaliny. I don't even know what to say there, except maybe goddamn.

I’ve also been reading a couple Red Room fics that I can’t find right now but that were great, so I’ll have to dig through my old laptop bookmarks and get back to you with a personalized list, hehe 🫡

#sorry this took a second and thanks for indulging me with these again<3 #vostok3-ka #asks #ask game

2 notes · View notes

sunshine304 · 5 months

Text

20 questions for fic writers

@chrononautintraining tagged me for this, thank you!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

162,445

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Almost exclusively for The Untamed/MDZS. Did a little fic for Legend of Fei as well, but I guess that was an exception. XD

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Five Serious Late-Night Conversations & ...

Hanguang-Jun's Flawless Taste in Men

Rumour Twarting, Gusu Lan Style

A More Practical Approach

Sign Me Up For That Full-Time, I'm Yours Which isn't a surprise since those are the oldes ones in that fandom.

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

Yes I do. I appreciate that people take the time to leave a comment and so I want to at least thank them. Then again, I'm not exactly flooded with comments, so it's easy to keep up.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm not much of an angst writer. I guess the angstiest would be Bitter Flies My Longing Soul, which is angrily pining LWJ during Sunshot.

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Almost all of them are happy. XD I guess the happiest is likely Five Serious Late-Night Conversations, because it's a fluffy fic in general. I also think that Jade Reflecting the Morning's Glow ends very happily and is overall a very soft fic.

8. do you get hate on any fics?

So far I haven't and I hope it stays that way! But I guess it's far easier to get hate if your fics take off or if you've got "controversial" tags that draw in the haters.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

So far, I've posted one smutty fic. Currently trying to write another one, we'll see how that goes. XD I tend to write T-rated stuff tbh.

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No I don't. Or I haven't yet, but I also don't have ideas for crossovers so I don't see one in my near future.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, hopefully not!

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

No I haven't.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Also no. (Wow this is exciting XD) But I could see it happening.

14. what’s your all time favorite ship?

I usually have a main ship for each fandom and it would be difficult to decide on my all time favourite! It's usually whoever is the one from my current main, I guess.

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I think I'm going to finish all my current WIPs. Or well, the ones that actually have good chunks written which are 4. I don't count the tiny snippets or tentative ideas because those are usually just me wanting to get the idea out and then letting it lie around to see if something happens with them.

16. what are your writing strengths?

I think I'm good at humour and feel good stuff, and also with dialogue! Most of my fic ideas start with an idea for a conversation. Also, I'm good with grammar and spelling.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes, which I haven't even written yet. XD Trying to avoid them. I'm also really insecure about smut but I guess that's one of those things that people are either super sure about or fear. XD

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't mind it? At least if there's a footnote or something to translate.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

Sherlock. Which was for a holiday exchange, otherwise I wouldn't have written anything for it at first. And then I liked it well enough to write another fic for it. And then didn't write anything for 8 years or so. XD

But I started at, like, 10 with drawing/writing stuff for The Animals of Farthing Wood. XD I'm sure those comics are still lying around somewhere at my parents' house. It was a whole epic thing. There were so many fox OCs! XD

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh that is mean! I don't really have a favourite. I think everything came together the best in A More Practical Approach, as it came out pretty much exactly as I'd wanted it too. But I'm proud of all the other ones as well, of course!

I'm too lazy to think of people to tag and I've seen a lot of people already do this on my dash. So, if you want to answer this, go for it!

#writing #fanfiction #writing memes #thank you for tagging me #my posts #my fanfiction #tag games

4 notes · View notes

shadowqueen402 · 1 year

Text

Aria's (Un)Happy Childhood (A Prim And Proper Problems fic)

This is similar to the small fic 'We Meet Again' that I made back in 2022. Except, this is what Aria had experienced growing up. This is based off of the popular Prim And Proper Problems fic by @kayssweetdreams.

Every child deserves a chance to be happy, regardless of what life tends to throw at them. Some children do get the priviledge to have a happy childhood. Others, not so much.

And in Aria's case? Her once happy childhood turned into a living nightmare before she even realized it.

The four-year-old girl thought that everything in her life was perfect. After all, she had two wonderful parents, amazing aunts and uncles, awesome cousins, and the most loving grandparents that anyone could ask for.

But she was bound to learn the horrible secret that her parents were hiding from her one day.

It all started one night when the little brown-haired girl was getting ready for bed. As soon as she entered into her bedroom, that was when she heard her parents talking with each other. Her mother sounded frightened while her father sounded…angered. Aria was confused but quietly listened to their conversation.

"Another love note!?" Roy exclaimed, angered. "When will this woman take the hint that I am not interested!?"

"What if she finds us, Roy?" Esme asked, panicking. "What if she sees our daughter?"

"That woman will not touch our daughter, Mo leannan," Roy firmly assured Esme. "And in the event that she does find us, we'll have to..make a difficult choice. We'll have to move."

"I see." Esme nodded. She knew why it would be a difficult choice. Because it would mean having to separate from the rest of the family. And she knew that Aria loved spending every Sunday with them.

"It is getting rather late." Roy's tone was now calm. "I'll go tuck our daughter in." He then went upstairs to where Aria's room was and went inside. Aria was sitting on her bed, hugging her bunny plushie.

"Daddy, what's going on with you and Mummy?" Aria asked.

"Nothing's going on between us, Brèagha," Roy replied. "Your mother saw something terrifying and I reacted angrily to it. Sorry if I scared you."

"What did you see?" Aria lied in her bed as Roy pulled the covers over her.

"I promise to tell you when you're old enough, Aria." Roy planted a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Brèagha." Then, he turned off the lights and left the room.

Eight years later, Roy had to be deployed to Afghanistan. This was to be expected as being a marine required him to go to a different country. So currently, it was just Aria and her mother at the time.

Aria sighed as she sat on the one of the benches of her middle school's yard. She missed her father terribly and wondered when he would be coming home. Aria recalled how, during those eight years, Roy still wouldn't tell her what he was so angry about. And this made Aria even more confused.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a strange woman standing by the school who appeared to be in her mid thirties. This woman had platinum-blonde hair that was tied into a tight bun, fair skin, and piercing violet eyes that would glare into the soul of anyone she looked at.

And her outfit? It was a long-sleeved black dress that resembled the ones that women that were in the upper class would wear back in the day. She wasn't sure why, but there was something about that woman that didn't seem right.

Fortunately, the woman didn't notice Aria was staring at her. She was rather more busy with talking onto her phone with someone. Her lips were curled into sickeningly sweet smile. "What's that? He's over in Afghanistan?" She said on the phone. "Aww, that's too bad. My offer still stands… What!? He has a daughter!? Hmm… Perhaps, she won't be as much trouble as her mother…"

Aria felt her heart pounding in her chest. She needed to tell her mother about this now. But how would her mother react?

A couple months later, Aria turned thirteen. And it was on the same day that Roy returned home. "Welcome home, a shèoid!" Esme greeted her husband.

"Father!" Aria cried, running up to Roy and hugging him. Roy smiled and hugged his family back. But the happy moment was ruined when loud knocking was heard at the door. Confused, Esme walked over and opened the door.

To Aria's shock, it was that same woman that she saw. "Primrose? What are you doing here?" Esme asked. So that was what that woman's name was…

"Out of my way, peasant," Primrose spat. "I need to speak to Roy!" Her tone was haughty and cruel. Aria frowned at this. Why was this Primrose woman mean to her mother?

"What do you want now, Primrose?" Roy asked.

"What, no "Hello" for me?" Primrose asked in a fake-hurt tone as she flashed a smile at him. "I've been doing well on my own. I'm the headmistress of my own school and I'm handing out flyers to everyone in Scotland."

"You have a school?" Roy asked, frowning. His brows furrowed in confusion.

"Yes." Primrose gave one of the flyers to Roy. "I call it PPP, short for Prim, Proper, and Perfection. A boarding school for girls that are EAGER to be perfect young ladies."

Aria made the mistake of peeking out from behind Roy. Because Primrose saw the young girl, peeking out. "Oh! And who is this young lady?" The woman nodded at Aria.

"This is my daughter, Aria," Roy asked, now sensing the red flags. "Why do you want to know?"

"I think she'll make an excellent fit in PPP," Primrose said. "If she fits my standards, she'll become the president of the student council that happens there. Don't you want your little girl to be that perfect and that successful?"

"Primrose, our daughter is already perfect to us," Esme said. "And we're already helping her choose a high school that she would enjoy going to."

"Nonsense!" Primrose barked. She then shoved a thick envelope into Roy's hands. "In this envelope is $900,000 in cash. If you accept it, I'll assure you that your daughter will be well taken care of in PPP."

"You're going to bribe us with money to send our daughter to a place that we don't know about!?" Roy was now angered at this. "We made up our minds! Aria is not going to your school! Now leave and we better not see you anywhere near her!"

Primrose huffed at this before storming out of the house, slamming the door shut. This made Aria jump in fear. "Mother? Father? Who was that woman?" She asked.

"Some woman that your father and I…don't really like," Esme said. "We don't want you talking to her, Aria. If you see her outside and we're not home, immediately get inside and lock the door. If she knocks, do not open it at all costs. You wait until we get home, okay?"

This scared Aria a lot more than what had happened earlier, but she always listened to her parents. So she nodded, making her parents sigh in relief.

Unfortunately for the Montgomerys, it wasn't over until Primrose said it was.

I don't own Madame Prim.

Roy, Esme, and Aria belong to me.

#balan wonderworld #fanfic #ocs

8 notes · View notes