#getting drunk in your ski boots for the first time... a bad idea and a rite of passage

[onadarklingplain]

sincere / blues for SKI AU if you want?? or maxiel generally??

i love youuu and the way you know i'm always ready to write more ski au ⛷️ They took blues down to the parking lot, but Max still felt tired to his bones, legs shaky-tired in a way that was embarrassing but felt kind of good. It was satisfying, gritting his teeth and pushing through it. It meant that it had been something worthwhile.

Max was fastest and could’ve skied at the front, but it was nice, for once, to hang back at the back of the group and let the others go ahead. Blake had stopped filming, and Max thought that Daniel was having more fun. He kept crisscrossing across the trail to hit the tiny jumps that lined the edge, overselling the small amount of air he got to make Scotty laugh. It got more and more ridiculous until he caught an edge and fell, still grinning all covered in snow, like he didn’t care. It made Max laugh too, until he was almost doubled over on his skis and he had to stop.

When they got to the bottom, Daniel pulled off his helmet, and Max thought about trying not to stare at the way his curls were crushed down onto his head, at the lines his goggles had left on his cheeks, at the bright, kindness of his eyes, hidden away all day, but he knew he’d never be able to manage it.

It was so distracting that it took Max a second to realise that Daniel was talking to him.

“Fancy a beer? Can you skive off a bit longer?"

Max hadn’t thought that Daniel would want to hang out with him, if they weren’t skiing or working out, but he sounded sincere. Like he he actually wanted Max to come.

Max must have taken too long to answer, because Daniel added a second later, “Come on, Maxy, I’ve got my van in the parking lot."

Max was nodding before he had even decided to say yes.

Daniel’s van, it turned out, was parked at the far side of the lot, alone in a little clearing of packed-down snow. It was a cool van. Max stood in his ski boots as Daniel pulled out a camping chair for him and peered through the open doors into the back. It was the kind of van you could live in, with a messy bed and a little kitchenette. It made him think of Daniel out on the road, singing along to the radio probably, on his way somewhere exciting and wild and remote, everything he needed right there.

The end of the day sun was spilling dark, cool shadows everywhere, but golden slivers of light were cutting through, and sitting in the sun, it was warm enough for Max to unzip his jacket. When Lance and Scotty and Chloe and Blake brought over their own chairs, they all circled around a cooler that Daniel had put in the middle. It was a routine, clearly, something they did a lot.

Max took a beer when Daniel offered it, even though he didn’t normally drink much, and laughed in the right places when Scotty told a story about a crash Lance had the week before.

“The day was a total huck-fest, absolute nectar,” Scotty was saying. “But then Lance went massive, clipped a tip and just fucking clapped it face first into the snow."

To punctuate his point, Scotty flailed forward, arms windmilling through the air in imitation, and Max watched Daniel’s face as he laughed, still greedy for it even though he had gotten it all day. When he turned to pass Max another beer, the ghost of the smile was still on his face, and Max felt drunk just from that, and bottomless. Like he would never be able to get enough.

#getting drunk in your ski boots for the first time... a bad idea and a rite of passage #ski au #tumblr fic #that will hopefully someday grow up to be a real fic #maxiel #f1 rpf #mv33 #dr3

[maeve-writes]

Heroes

Pairing: Stripper!Bucky Barnes x Reader x Stripper!Steve Rogers

Rating: 18+, Minors DNI 

Warnings: Adult situations, alcohol consumption, allusion to mild cheating(??). More to be added later.

Summary: It’s your friend’s birthday and you’re dragged to the Heroes club. You’re not one for that kind of place, but you quickly change your mind after you get to play the damsel in distress for a pair of Brooklyn babes. 

a/n: Unbeta’d, any mistakes are my own and please forgive me. This is the second story I’ve written in a while. Forgive me?

You normally don’t go to these sorts of places but it was your friend’s 30th birthday and it was on her bucket list. Luckily, you weren’t talked into planning any of it, just had to toss in some cash for the fee to get in and the never ending flow of drinks, plus the very special Birthday Girl Dance package.

It took you three years after the second Magic Mike movie came out to watch the first one. The idea of male strippers seemed odd. But, when you really thought about it, so did female strippers. 

Nevertheless, the night ultimately wasn’t about you, it was about your friend and her birthday. You were happy to be there with your friends, enjoying the celebration and drinks, seeing hot guys take off their clothes was a weird added bonus.

Heroes was the club to go if you wanted to see buff dudes bare it all. Tara, the birthday girl, had been raving about it for months. She found videos of it online and shared them in your group chat. That, of course, had your other friends looking for more videos and all of them started to have their favorites.

“Girl, some of them even give private shows,” Sonya, the oldest and who was supposed to be the responsible one of your group, mock-whispered excitedly.

You tried not to roll your eyes as your gang was escorted to the front table near the stage. It was a semicircular booth where small round tables came up from the floor, big enough for drinks, but small and spaced out enough to allow for bodies to move around and in between.

Your host was a slender built guy on the younger side, barely old enough to be allowed in. He had a baby face and a boyish smile, but his muscles were well defined as the club forced him to be shirtless save for the small bow tie around his neck with a spider in the middle, and the tiny pair of shorts that cupped his rear which stayed there by what you guessed was his will or magic. Maybe both.

“Here you are, ladies,” he guided, instructing Tara to take her seat near the middle. “The name’s Peter- uh Spider-Man. I’ll be taking care of you tonight.”

That set off a fit of giggles from your friends which caused a full body flush from your waiter. His embarrassment tugged at your heartstrings. “New at this, Mr. Spider,” you asked.

His flush darkened and he rubbed absently at the back at his neck after he passed out the menus. “It’s Spider-Man,” he corrected you, “but is it that obvious?” You tilted your head and scrunched up your nose, parting your pointer and thumb a small ways apart. He laughed in return, his shoulders relaxing a little. You gave him a wink and a smile before the rest of your friends attacked the poor kid with their drink and food orders.

You felt sorry for the guy, but he seemed to have loosened up a bit since your small, playful banter and your friends ate up his boyish charm. 

While you waited for your turn to order, you looked around the club to find its sleek design, not something you thought a strip club would offer. The walls were painted black, accented by silver framed posters of the dancers. Above each were white neon lights that spelt out their Hero name.

The rest of the booths were like your own, made of soft black cushions, black metal bases which were illuminated underneath by white light. The tables that sprang from the ground were polished silver necks with textured tempered glass tops to keep drink slipping and spilling to a minimum.

Of course, all of the booths surrounded the stage, which was mostly closed off by a thick black curtain, save for the large catwalk that split half of the sitting area in two. It was wide enough to fit three large men comfortably across it, shoulder to shoulder, and from some of the videos your group shared, they had done so before.

When Peter- there was no way you were going to refer to him by his Hero name- got to your order last, you could hear other rowdy groups start to file in. A couple of bachelorette parties, a girl’s 21st birthday, and a Happy Divorce Finalization Day were all joining you. Your friends quickly became friends with everyone in the room, so even if the show sucked, at least all of you could get drunk and have fun.

“Excuse me, ladies,” a voice rang out above you. Cheers burst from the crowd and every light in the room popped out and stayed out until the room fell silent. “Now that I have your attention…” A tall, dark man walked out from the split of the curtains. He wore a wireless microphone over his ear, an eyepatch over his eye which rested just above a self assured smile. Dressed in a fitted pair of leather pants and combat boots, he strode to the center crossroads of the stage and catwalk, “My name is Director Fury. I will be introducing you to your Heroes tonight.” He paused for another round of catcalls. “And hopefully we can save you from the Villains, too.” That drew out louder screams from the crowd.

“Now, what do we do to the bad girls like you,” he paused, looking pointedly to the crowd, “we contain,” he pulled a piece of rope from the back of his pants and tossed it into a group nearby, “detain,” he pulled out cuffs and twirled them around a finger before he threw those out as well, “and entertain.” With that, the bass dropped and the curtain flew open, behind Director Fury were the Heroes (and Villains) in all of their sweat slicked glory. 

Once the Director stepped aside, the seven dancers on stage began their opening routine. Dressed in black vests and tear-away leather pants, the men paraded around the stage and catwalk to the thump of the music, pulling off pieces of their clothing as they went. The women around you went wild, snatching at whatever was tossed their way, fighting playfully for it. While it seemed incredibly silly, Tara was having the time of her life and you absently sipped at your Tequila Sunrise while you scrolled on your phone. 

The dance number finished not two minutes later with a screaming cheer and standing ovation from the rest of the already slightly tipsy crowd. Director Fury came out while the dancers disappeared into the back to get ready, he worked the crowd, mentioning the brides-to-be and promised them a very special wedding gift before the night was over. “But I heard there were a couple of birthdays here,” Fury said, looking between your group and the one behind you. “Now, I’m going to get the young gun back there in a moment, but… a little bird told me that you,” he pointed to your friend, “are a very big fan of our first Hero of the night.” 

Tara squealed and stood up, “Fuck yes, I am. God bless Captain America! ...and dat ass!”

It was obvious that Director Fury was trying to keep his composure, but the corners of his lips twitched like he wanted to join in on the laughter from the crowd. “Well, he is certainly blessed,” he replied, “and ladies, you will be, too, when you see him at full salute.” He winked and started to walk off stage, “Captain? Duty calls…”

Some sort of abomination of the Star Spangled Banner started to play, remixed with drum and bass. You looked up to see what kind of horror show would come from something treasonous as what bled from the speakers around you, you were met with over six feet of muscle covered in a fitted blue suit, fingerless leather gloves on his hands, and a round metal shield on his back painted red, white, and blue. 

The Captain’s background was what looked like a large war ship with painted ski-masked bad guys spread throughout the levels. His stage allowed him ramps and poles to move up and down, which he used freely. He used a mixture of acrobatics and dance to move across the stage, tossing the shield around, “fighting off the bad guys” and losing his clothes in the process. By the end of the song he was left in just the leather gloves and a very tight pair of shorts, much like the ones Peter wore, except the Captains had the same pattern of his shield printed across the backside. 

Tara’s screams knocked you out of your daze and you realized you hadn’t stared down at your phone at all during the Captain’s dance. You watched all five minutes of it and couldn’t tear your eyes away. Heroes wasn’t about getting drunk women horny, they wanted to put on a show, too. You clapped lightly, though it was drowned out by the cheering around you, but unbeknownst to you, it wasn’t unnoticed. 

Fury was out once again and he brought up the first bachelorette of the night. He put her in a chair on the catwalk and gave her a candy-garterbelt. Then he asked her waiter, a guy named “Ant Man”, to remove it with only his tongue, which he happily obliged. 

Peter cut off your view with another drink, one you didn’t order. “On the house,” he said with a lopsided grin and placed the red, white, and blue layered drink next to your nearly empty Sunrise. Before you could ask him who ordered it, the candy garterbelt was being tugged between the bachelorette and her waiter. It ended in a tongue-y kiss and the ladies went wild. 

“Let’s hope her future husband doesn’t mind,” you muttered and turned your attention to your phone once again. Director Fury, thankfully, broke up the awkward scene on stage and began to introduce the next dancers. It was a pair, brothers, apparently, and they worked on the good versus bad troupe. Thor and Loki were opposites in every sense of the word. Thor was a large blond with a commanding presence. He had a bright smile and sun kissed skin that looked great in his red and gold trimmed briefs. But his brother was slender, graceful - almost cat-like, with dark hair and a mischievous grin all wrapped in flawless alabaster skin. They didn’t look like brothers, but they moved around each other like they had been together all of their lives, and knew each other’s moves. 

You only caught half of their story, as you were already halfway done with, what you found out was called the American Glory drink, and half wondered if that was what Captain America tasted like. Fury was up again and had the young lady celebrating her 21st birthday take two shots and lick the salt from Thor and Loki’s still sweaty chests. 

Peter found his way in front of you again and said that someone needed to talk to you about your card being declined. You frowned and excused yourself from your friends to find out what was going on. There shouldn’t have been a problem, you got paid the day before, there was plenty of money in your account.

You were taken to a hall that connected what seemed like offices, the dressing room, and the route to the backstage. “Sorry,” Peter said sheepishly, “they said this was the only way to get you back here. Gotta go.” He waved and jogged back out to the lobby.

Confused, you were about to shout out after him when you felt a tap on your shoulder. When you turned, you faced that wall of American muscle beaming down at you. “Hey there,” he greeted, a smile almost blinding you from its perfection. “Don’t be too mad at the kid, I asked him to get you back here.”

“What,” was all you could get out. He was thankfully dressed, but his muscles were straining against the white tshirt and the gym shorts did not hide the package he carried. Even with all of that, what mesmerized you most was his eyes, sparkling blue and bright with amusement. 

“This next bit requires audience participation and he had someone in mind,” the Captain replied like he explained everything.

“We had someone in mind,” a voice corrected behind the door you two stood near. You tore your eyes away from the blond and eyed the wood barrier suspiciously. 

“Don’t worry,” Captain America laughed, capturing your attention once again, “it’s nothing too dangerous or embarrassing. You just have to sit there, pretend to be tied up, and me and Buck will dance around you.” He put his hands on his hips and tilted his head in thought, “Well, actually, you really will be tied up, but we promise we’ll let you go once we’re done.”

“Or not, if you don’t want us to,” came the voice again, which made the Captain laugh.

You blinked up at him and frowned, “What’s the catch?”

“There’s no catch,” he shook his head. “We might dance on you a little, if you don’t mind, the crowd likes it. But if not, we can work around that.” The thought of Captain America in those tiny shorts grinding on you was a very nice thought.

“‘Sfine,” you shrugged.

He beamed and reached out to squeeze you on the shoulder, his touch lingering and his thumb running along your collarbone. “I’ll let the stage team know.” Reluctantly, he dropped his hand and knocked on the door next to you both, “Five minutes.” When he heard a ‘yeah, got it’, the Captain motioned you to follow him. 

The stage crew took over and the Captain disappeared to get ready. You were told about the chair you’d be sitting in, the rope that would be tied around your chest and if you would be okay with it. There was some hesitation on your part, but ultimately you agreed. They brought you on stage, a winter wonderland of sorts and placed you on a log-like chair. The rope wasn’t tight, but it was obvious you were the damsel in distress. 

“One of you was taken,” Director Fury said from the other side of the curtain in front of you, “by The Winter Soldat. Will she survive? Will she be saved?” All of the lights turn off once again and an industrial heavy beat thrummed through the speakers, rattling your bones. Red stage lights shone down on you when the curtain pulled open and your friends lost their minds.

To your right you saw a figure stalk out of the dark, red light bouncing off a silver metal arm. A mask covered the lower half of his face, but his eyes were trained on you like you were prey. His black muscle shirt clung tightly to his chest, one sleeve missing to show off his arm, and his black tactical pants stretched against his thick thighs. You could feel the shaking of the stage from the stomps of his booted feet.

Eyes wide, you stared at him until he stopped short of your chair on cue with the music. His nostrils flared lightly before he moved again, the music flowing with him. He slung one leg over the side over your chair, straddling you. The metal arm clamped the wooden back rest of the chair and he narrowed his gaze. Lights flash around you, strobing from red to white and back again until they settle on the house lights. 

Soldat began to roll his body with the tempo, blue eyes locked with yours. You could hear the screams behind him as he dancing, but neither of you were paying attention. 

His hips circled until he’s seated on your lap, you’re practically nose to nose. He brought his flesh hand to the side of your face and you could feel it trembling against your skin. With him that close you could hear him mutter in some other language that isn’t English, you’re guessing Russian, but you’re not sure. Either way, you felt crushed by his weight and you liked it. You didn't want him to go. 

But the music changed and the lights started to flash again, red, white, and now blue mixed in. Captain America joined the two of you on stage and Soldat slipped from your lap. Just as Thor and Loki had before, these two moved around each other like they were made from the same mold. 

During the fight, pieces of clothing were tossed aside and at one point you were freed from your bonds. Soldat pulled you up from your chair and up against his chest, your backside pressed so tightly against him you could almost feel his heartbeat. He moved you with him as he continued to fight the Captain.

Until seconds before the song ended and the music swelled, the Captain landed one good blow to Soldat and sandwiched you between them. The Winter Soldier recalibrated and recognized his old friend and you. He pulled the Captain into a big bear hug and then picked you up bridal style, taking you off stage with cheers from the crowd.

Once you’re all off stage, he sat you down with a hearty laugh. “You did a fantastic job, sweetheart,” the Soldier praised, running his metal hand through his chin length brown hair. “Couldn’t have asked for a better dance partner.” Flushed from embarrassment and arousal, you continued to stare at him until you were joined by the Captain. “I told you she’d be great, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, Buck, you know how to pick ‘em,” the blond agreed with a smile.

“Thanks,” you replied breathlessly, finally coming out of your stupor. “That was… fun. I’m just going to go back to my seat now, I guess.”

“Wait,” the one named “Buck” jumped to stop you, “we were wondering if you wanted a private show?” You heard about those from Tara. You knew that they were exclusive and very expensive… and sometimes had happy endings. They seemed to sense your hesitation because they both added in unison as they eyed you up like you were a four course meal, “For free.”

“I never turn down free anything,” you shrugged. The pair turned to look at each other and their smiles turned to wicked grins. You aren’t sure what you got yourself into, but you’re pretty sure you were going to enjoy it.

a/n: Part Two coming soon... with smut!

#bucky barnes x reader x steve rogers #bucky barnes x you x steve rogers #bucky barnes x y/n x steve rogers #steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes #steve rogers x you x bucky barnes #steve rogers x y/n x bucky barnes #stucky x reader #stucky x you #stucky x y/n #stripper!bucky barnes #stripper!steve rogers #stripper!au #heroes au

[hwrryscherry]

The one with the Christmas Eve, eve.

blurb: Harry and Model Y/N are spending christmas in the French Alps with their families and suddely realizes they didn’t have any time to go christmas shopping this year.

word count: 2.8K

author’s note: Heeey guys, so I'm editing with my phone and I'm not able to add the "read more" tag but I'll do it in the morning🥰 I hope you enjoy♥️

christmas song of the day: Sleigh Ride by The Ronettes

December 23rd, 2020.

house near La Clusaz

— What are you doing? — You'd ask Gemma a you arrived at the first floor leaving the stairs behind you. You observed your sister-in-law with a bunch of wrapped boxes on her hands as she walked towards the huge christmas tree settled on the living room on the left side of the enormous fireplace. Gemma crouched down beside the tree and placed the enveloped boxes on the foot of the tree while you walked towards the big and comfortable brown sofa and sat on the same prop for your things.

— I'm putting the presents here. They were up there in the room and I already started to think it’d break or something — The woman told you while placing the boxes under the tree — And also because it looks nicer like that though. You and Harry should put yours here too.

— Sure, it looks more like home this way — You said agreeing with Gemma and then got up and walked behind the sofa where you placed your palms over it  looked at her — I'll get them, they must be in Harry’s suitcase — You smiled tenderly at her and walked again to the stairs, where you went up step by step until you reached the top floor and walked up to your room. When you opened the door carefully since when you left the room Harry had just entered the shower, you came across Harry with a towel wrapped around his hips giving you an excellent view of his exposed chest and arms tattoos as he placed the items of clothing he planned to wear on the bed.

— Love, I was thinking that we should've gone skiing yest... — Harry started to say the moment he noticed your presence in the room.

— We have a big problem, Hazz — You interrupted him bringing all his attention that were previously in the clothes for the you. He noticed the look of despair that you had on your face and felt the concern take over his body — A huge problem! — When saying this, you rubbed your palms on your face and Harry approached you in a quick pace, gently touching your arms.

— What happened? Are you okay? — Harry'd ask while carefully examining your face and body with his green eyes looking for any sign that you'd have been hurt in any way.

— I'm okay, that's not it! — You said taking a deep breath and then sighing to take your gaze against his — We forgot that we had to go christmas shopping — You'd say with a long breath coming out of your nostrils as you watched Harry frowing in completely silence as he actually noticed that none of you remembered of buying any gifts. The thing is, with Harry filming Don't Worry Darling and you doing so many shootings you both would always say "oh let's go tomorrow" and then you'd never actually go and it turned out that you totally forgot about it — How could we forget it? Oh my god, your mom's gonna be so upset and today is Christmas Eve eve, there's no way we'll find something for them and I panicked and told Gemma that their gifts were up here and...

— Love, love, love — Harry'd interrupt you as he rushed towards the bed and grabbed his clothes to start dressing up — Let's not panic! There's a christmas market down in La Clusaz. I bet there must be something good left! — Harry would say trying to convince himself more than you actually. He'd feel completely bad and shattered by giving no presents to his family. But he was kinda right though. The house you rented were up in the mountains but a fifteen minutes drive would take both of you to a commune that had a beautiful Christmas Market and as christmas day is so close it probably should be open.

— Yeah, sure! — You'd agree going directly to the small closet there was in you guys bedroom that you organized both of your clothes in there yesterday and grabbed some warmer clothes because it was probably the coldest it's ever been since the day you both got here, but thank god it wasn't snowing at this moment.

— Ok but what if they want to come with us? — Harry said as he put on his sleeves and later on his snow coat alongise with his beanie.

— We'll tell them we're going on a date! — You'd fastly say back as you changed your sweatpants to a legging and following it with jeans, and then changing your hoddie for a heavy coat of yours and your slippers for snow boots — I'm sure they won't try to follow us on our date.

— Yeah that'd be weird! — Harry would agree with you taking his phone and putting it inside his pocket and then his mask. Remember how the mask made your face warm in the summer? Thank god it makes your face warmer now. — I'll go downstairs and starts the car and then I'll just say that I was planning it and ye' didn't know.

— Ok! — You'd tell him as you searched for your phone on the mess sheets from the bed, as you found Harry's gloves, you'd take it in your hands and show them to him — Won't you use it?

— No, I'm good! See you downstairs! — Harry'd say as he left the room and walked downstairs leaving you alone in the room. And also, unlike Harry, you weren't wearing a beanie when you got downstairs.

— Oh, you look pretty! — Anne would say with a big smile on her face at the moment she'd see you leaving the stairs while putting your gloves on. She'd come closer to you with your newly washed mask on in her hands — We didn't know you both were having a date, dear! — She would complement as you'd put on the mask on your face feeling a little tense from her words. It's not like you don't know how to lie, you're good at it. It's just that you love this woman so much and it's hard to lie to her.

— Oh yeah, I didn't too! Harry said it was a surprise! — You'd say while putting your phone inside your 2005 Re-edition Prada bag that was actually last christmas gift from Harry. God, you wanted this bag for so long and you got so happy when Harry gave it to you that you couldn't stop thanking him for almost a week after christmas — We should be back soon, though! I don't know how much time is gonna take — You'd add stoping your movements and looking at the shorter woman's face.

— It's okay, darling! — She'd say giving you a warm hug before walking with you towards the door — Now go have some fun! — She'd say happily as you walked towards the car that Harry had rented too. God, the air felt so cold. Of course you lived in NYC for years, and you are used to snowy weather but this feels ten times colder. You'd rush into black SUV that Harry rented feeling the warmness almost instantly when you sit in the passagers sit and put on your sit belt.

Harry started driving directly to the commune center with the GPS instructions and honestly, you were glad that you had a GPS because you could never tell the difference on the way because all you could see was snow and mountain until you got in center. 

You both were so surprised when you left the car after you had parked it. Of course, it was dead cold but it was so pretty. It felt like you were inside a christmas movie with all the lights and decorations and the cute houses with all those people going ice skating and walking around the christmas market with a christmas song in the background. It felt like a heaven made of christmas.

— This must be what heaven looks like — You'd say as you and Harry walked hand in hand towards the christmas market getting a chuckle out of Harry. He knew how much you love the christmas spirit and all it came together with it. It just felt so great, and he learned to love it just as much as you do with the time.

— Do ye' have any idea on what we should buy? — Harry asked as you both first entered the market that was actually a little too crowed for being so early in the afternoon.

— I think that for your mom, we should get her new crystal bowls because you broke hers last christmas and for — You'd say casually remembering last christmas when they were all playing games together and Harry was a little too excited about winning the game and a little too wine drunk too to realize that he was one step away of breaking Anne's brand new crystal bowls.

— Hey, I still feel bad for that, let's not talk about this! — Harry'd say on a playful way making you let out a chuckle as you looked at the many stands options of presents to buy.

— Ok, I'm sorry! But anyway, I think we should get Gemma something classy and cute, maybe with a little...

— Pride and Prejudice vibes — Harry'd interrupt you making you turn your gaze to him seeing the boy with raised eyebrows at you — You say this every year!

— Yes, and she loved all the gifts we gave her in the past 2 years! — You'd say convincingly as you started to walk inside the market basically dragging Harry with you — Imma buy my mom a light spot necklace, you know? That one with only a small diamond in it? She's obsessed with it lately.

The first thing you'd buy would be your mom's necklace.It'd take you a while to find it, but it was so worth it because it was just like the one you have and you knew she would love it. The cute french woman, the seller was an old lady with white hair and a very sweet voice and it's been a while since you've put your french in work so it would really nice to talk to her. She'd tell both of you that she plans on spending christmas with her grandkids on their house and then later appreciating the christmas fireworks. The thing is that both you and Harry loved to know people's story, it's easier to understand and like someone when you know it's story of life and what made it be who it is.

Later you'd start looking something for Michal, which was probably the hardest thing ever because Michal is the kind of person that will like whatever you give to him so it's hard to think about something special and it's a proven thing when it's already the fifth stand that you ans Harry stops at to look for something to him.

— Why is this so hard? — Harry would say looking through some very cute sweaters.

— I know right! — You'd add as you looked through the many jewels it had on the stand — I'll go finding something for Gemma, and you find something for Michal! — You'd say starting to walk away from him and being stopped by the man's rough voice at you making you turn around to look at him.

— Why do I have to choose anything for him? Why don't you do it? — He'd say making you go silent for a moment as you thought about a good excuse about him finding it alone. You know Michal likes anything but you don't want to be the one to find the "wrong" anything.

— I mean, you're a guy! You know what guys want for christmas, love — You carefully say touching his arm as you approached him — And by the way, you've known the guy for five years, and I know him for two years so you'll do it! — You'd say with a convincing smile on your face as you petted his arm.

— Ow so that's the game? 'Cause I've known Gemma for 26 years! — He'd argue back.

— Yes, but she likes me better! — You'd say grabbing a bracelet with the letter G in it and observing it closer to your eyes.

— What do ye' mean she likes you better? I am her brother! — He'd say making a huge deal about the "brother" part. You'd roll your eyes at his little drama and then you'd show him the bracelet.

— Yeah, whatever! — You'd say — See, you could ask if you can buy this bracelet with the letters G and M and I think it would be the perfect gift for him! I'll go find Gemma's one! — And you'd leave. Harry would be kinda shocked on your presenting skills. It surprises how you can see one thing and transform it into the perfect christmas gift ans he knows that you'd call it your natural talent and maybe it was.

For Gemma, it would be a lot easier and right after Harry finished buying Michal's gift, he'd help you with Gemma's gift. You'd buy her two of them because it was just perfect for her. First, Harry would find a beautiful journal with major vibes from Fairy Academia and you both think it would be so useful for Gemma because she's always travelling and discovering some new things and with this journal she could write it down and read it 50 years from now and remember the good old days and the great experiences she experienced. And the second one, you bought her a bracelet that had "sisters by heart" written in it because you and Gemma had the best relationship ever and you knew you could count on her through the good and the best at this is more than what you could ask for.

At last, you both bought the crystal bowls for Anne and god, it was the hardest thing to find. Specially because it was already Dec 23rd and most actual stores was closed now. When you finally bought it, all you could do was to tease Harry about it asking him to please don't break those too. Poor Harry, he really felt bad about it and he really wishes he never made such a mess but it became a funny story to tell and to tease him about.

Later on that day, you'd grab some lunch too because you finished your shopping by just a couple of hours before it was actually dark and you'd just agree that what you and Harry said to Anne didn't have to be a total lie and you could actually have a date and enjoy some alone time.

You both would choose a very cozy restaurant called Les Rhodos, for the grace of god it wasn't very crowed and you both chose a sit by the window so you could eat with the most phenomenal view of the snowy mountain. The restaurant had a lot of details in stone and wood which brought all the alps vibes to it.

You'd both chose burgers to eat and it would honestly taste like one of the best burgers you've ever eaten in your life. Harry'd order a special type of beer to him that was literally green. You don't know how, but it was. You'd talk. You'd talk about last christmas, this christmas and what you expected from next christmas.

— Do ye' think that we'll ever tell them about we forgetting to buy their gifts? — Harry would ask in your drive back home while you admired the sunset by your window. The sky was lilac with a bit of orange and pink and for a moment you felt like you were inside the movie Brother Bear from Disney and all it missed was the northern lights, which you'd totally search on google if it happens in the french alps and you'd find out that it's possible but also really rare.

— I definitely think they'll notice it, H! — You'd say trying to contain your laugh. It's not like you both bought the worst gifts in the world; you bought amazing gifts but it's not what you usually buy and your families will notice it, but they'll appreciate the fact that you both really tried to get them something nice and I mean, it's christmas. Enjoy the holiday experience.

#hwrryscherry #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry and y/n #harry styles and y/n #harry x reader #HARRYxMODELY/N #HARRYxMODELxY/N

[leafs-lover]

Because Two People Got Drunk: 18.5

Chapter 18.5

Series Masterlist

Previous Chapter – in case you want to refresh yourself, although I don’t think it’s all that necessary.

A/N: Italics are flashbacks. Read to the end, its worth it

Warnings: Swearing, drinking, smut, cheating

Word Count: 4100

You sit at the dimly lit bar in your hotel. You sit at the corner of the bar. It’s pretty busy with some groups scattered around the bar but you are relatively alone in your corner. You look to the full glass of whiskey at the seat beside you, ice long melted condensation leaving a ring on the wood counter. This was the drink you ordered for Fred thinking he would have arrived long ago. You grab the drink and throw it back, not nursing it like you did the first patience wearing thin.

You wish you didn’t spend the extra time on your makeup or stressing over what to wear given the current situation. There is a mess of clothes in a pile on your floor, before you finally decided on your black ribbed turtle neck with puffed sleeves. Dangling around your neck on top of your shirt is the sapphire necklace Fred got you your first Christmas as a mom. You paired it with your black and white high-waisted wool skirt and knee high leather boots. Normally you would be concerned about the cool Toronto air, but you and Fred didn’t plan on leaving the hotel limiting your time outside.

The bartender sees the empty cups and you order two more. You pull your phone out to check the time, Fred’s 40 minutes late and the last text you sent is sitting on read has been for the last twenty minutes. Due to your late flight he went out to dinner with Mitch and Auston without you, but he said he’d meet you at the hotel bar once he was back.

A few nights ago Fred stopped by to drop Oliver off at your apartment. While you had been spending a lot of the time Fred isn’t on the road together, those couple days you opted to leave Fred and Oliver to their time alone.

Once finally getting Oliver to sleep Fred pulled you onto his lap while you talked about what they did the last few days. Fred’s hand is gently resting on your waist “I actually wanted to ask you something but I don’t know how it fits in with us taking things slow” His thumb has slid under the hem of your sweater and is pressing circles softly onto your bare skin

Your shoulders stiffen as you put your hands on his chest bracing yourself with a perplexed look “okay…”

“Geez I’m not asking you to marry me, calm down” he jokes causing you to smile. “I love when you smile” he grins pulling you back for another kiss. Your body melts into the touch, relaxing while his tongue swirls around your mouth.

His hand on your neck holds you steady while his other slides around to the back of your thigh giving it a light squeeze. You squirm and giggle but Fred doesn’t release you from the searing kiss. His hand gently caresses your ass while you rock your hips against him feeling wetness pool in your core.

“I get lost in your kiss so easily” he murmurs his lips centimetres from yours.

“Then why stop” you whisper closing the gap between your mouths. Your hands run up his chest into his hair tangling around the roots tiliting his head back while you deepen the kiss. You roll your clothed core over him searching for some friction, causing Fred to groan loudly.

Your mouth slides to his jaw and onto his neck, peppering him with soft warm kisses when he pushes you away slightly. “Because I have to ask you something”

A disappointed grunt leaves your throat and Fred just laughs. You lean back sitting on the heels of your feet creating some reluctant distance between you. “What?” you ask eyes narrowed slightly but a smirk on your lips as you can’t be serious.

“So I leave tomorrow for the road trip” he starts and you nod knowing they play Boston tomorrow, Saturday in Toronto and finally ending the trip on Monday in Montreal. “So a couple of the girls are flying to Toronto Friday and then going to Montreal for some shopping. I wanted to know if you wanted a seat on that plane.”

“I didn’t know they went on road trips with you guys” you respond.

“They don’t go on a lot of them. They sometimes join us on a trip through LA or Florida to spend time on the beaches. Some come to Alberta to do some skiing but it’s not all the common. But there are a couple girls who want to see their or their husband’s family who live in the area and the rest just want to go shopping in Montreal.”

“I see” you respond.

“Given you are from there I thought you might want to go on Friday see your friends and family.” You scowl at that, you haven’t talked to your grandparents since the last time you saw them and don’t see that changing any time soon. “Or just your friends” he laughs.

“I can get two tickets to the game, and if you wanted to go to Montreal you could, or you could fly back on Sunday or even stay a few days longer in Toronto. Up to you” he shrugs.

“What about Ollie?” you ask.

“You could bring him if you wanted, but I asked Christie and she is available to watch him for the weekend. I thought you could use a break

“Okay” you respond. It’s been a bit since you have seen your friends.

“And Oliver?” he asks.

“Am I a bad mom for wanting to leave him?” you ask and Fred just laughs shaking his head. “My friends will be upset not seeing him but I really like the idea of an adult only weekend.”

“No you’re not a bad mom” he brings you in for a soft kiss. “I was kind of hoping you’d leave him, I wanted to book you a spa day with your friends and toddlers can ruin the relaxing vibe in spas” he chuckles.

“Mkay. I won’t complain about a spa day” you smile pulling his face closer, feeling his mustache tickle you while you press a kiss to his lips. “I can come back Sunday night or early Monday morning” he say lips hovering an inch from his.

“I will get you on a flight mid-day Monday so you can sleep in” he says.

“You’re amazing you know that” you whisper placing a soft kiss on his lips. You begin to rock your hips, your kiss becoming hungry.

“You might change your mind” he laughs standing up. Yours arms instinctively wrap around his neck expecting him to carry you down the hall but instead he carefully places you on the floor. He leans down for a soft kiss and when he pulls away you feel it linger on your lips “I gotta be up early so I have to go.”

“Fred” you huff in disapproval eyes going wide “are you serious?” You’re so wet you are almost surprised when you don’t see a stain on his pants

“Yup sorry” he chuckles releasing his hands from you and walking to the door. “He was a little terror because of his short nap and the teething so I have to clean my place and pack for the trip”. You follow him leaning against the wall watching while he bends down to put on his sneakers.

“Have a good night” he smirks placing a soft kiss on your cheek. He chuckles seeing your eyes pleading for more, pupils dark and hungry. Instead of giving you want you want he turns around and opens the door. Your body jumps hearing the heavy door slam shut leaving you alone. A chill runs coarse through your body, but not from the temperature.

You are drawn from your trance when with the clatter from the glasses being set on the bar. The bartender shoots you a soft smile recognizing you have been stood up before turning around. The thing is this is out of character for Fred, the past month or so he has tried to encourage you to join him and Oliver, even taken you on a few dates. You even woke up to him making you breakfast one morning saying “he had to make sure the key you gave him worked.”

You sigh putting your phone back in your purse when you feel a body slide into the empty barstool beside you.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing alone at a bar?” the man asks reaching out for the whiskey in front of him. Fred’s whiskey.

You scoff unsure if it’s because of the line or the drink “that line ever work before?”

“I don’t know, you tell me” he says taking a drink.

You gaze at him from the corner of your eye quickly before bringing your gaze back to the bar in front of you. You lean back in your seat “you should know I’m waiting for someone.”

“I know I’ve been watching you for the last 20 minutes. You waiting for a date?” he asks.

“It was supposed to be but he is almost 45 minutes late” you sigh taking a small sip.

“Wow. When he decided to blow you off did he know you looked this good?”

“He should have” you retort.

The man beside you laughs slightly and you allow yourself to peak from the corner of your eye. He has on dark jeans and a simple grey long sleeve; you don’t see a coat so he likely is staying in the hotel. Your eyes finally meet his and he smirks having caught you checking him out, your cheeks heat up and you turn your attention away. You mindlessly play with the straw in your cup, pushing the ice around. Creating a distraction from the man beside you.

“No need to be embarrassed” he says shifting closer placing a hand on your thigh. Your eyes immediately drop down watching while his pinky toys with the hem of your skirt, playfully lifting it ever so slightly.

“You should be careful; my boyfriend won’t like you touching me” you respond talking a large swig of your drink pushing his hand off your leg.

He clears his throat shifting in his seat. “Not much of a boyfriend to keep you waiting” he says reaching forward for his drink. He finishes the remainder in one final gulp; he sets the glass back down and returns his hand back on your thigh. His hand is cold and wet from the glass and it sends a chill down your spine while also electrifying your core at the same time.

“You from around here?”

“I live in Pittsburgh” you respond taking a small sip scanning around the bar in search of Fred.

“What brought you to Toronto in the middle of winter?”

“Here for the hockey game” you sigh.

His thumb slides up your thigh a bit “oh that’s right you’re Fred’s girl.” Your head immediately snaps up and looks to the man beside you, eyes going wide.

You hastily push his hand off your leg “you should go” you whisper knowing this is wrong. Your whole body shakes an uncomfortable chill coursing through you. It was wrong before allowing a stranger to touch you like that, but knowing he knows Fred makes it even worse. You turn your head back scanning around the bar, still no sign of Fred or anyone you recognize for that matter.

He shifts forward in his seat, his mouth hovering inches from your ear. “Its okay sweetheart I won’t tell.”

You take a few deep breathes and feel his lips gently touch your neck drawing goosebumps to the surface. “So are you staying here tonight?” he asks indicating the hotel. You nod silently shifting from his touch.

You sit in silence for what feels like minutes though it likely wasn’t; your heart beating through your chest. “Well I think I’m going to head out” he says breaking the silence. “You want to come beautiful or you going to sit alone a little longer?”

His warm breath is still on your neck, you look at him from the corner of your eye. He gives your thigh a squeeze and you feel yourself dripping onto your panties. It hasn’t taken much since Fred left your apartment a few days ago to get you wound up.

You bring your glass to your mouth throwing the remainder down your throat wincing at the burn. You scan around the bar seeing the groups scattered around, some of the city lights filtering in through the windows.

The bartender comes over with the bill setting is down. He throws a couple twenties down waiting for your response. You place your glass down; hand trembling under this man’s touch. You turn to face him scanning over his face, pupil’s dark blown with fire.

You pull your lower lip between your teeth, eyes locked on his. You know you shouldn’t. You know it’s wrong, even if Fred never finds out it will eat at you. You won’t be able to look him in the eyes if you go through with this and he will sense something is wrong. Whether he finds out on his own or you tell him everything will be ruined.

You know all this but maybe it’s the excitement, or maybe the 3 whiskey’s you’ve downed in the past hour but you decide against your judgement. “Let’s go” you say jumping up and practically running towards the elevator. As soon as the door closes you press him against the wall hand gripping his arms while locking him in a searing kiss. His mouth vibrates against you and you pray nobody gets on the elevator, knowing your lipstick smeared on his face leaves little to the imagination.

“Fred can never know” you say to the man in front of you.

“I won’t say a word” the man groans spinning you, pressing your back to the wall his hands gripped tightly on your hips.

“Don’t you want to know my name baby?” he groans as your hand slides down to his shaft palming over his denim.

“What’s the point you’ll forget it by the time my perfume leaves the pillow” you respond kissing him passionately.

“Fuck your trouble” he growls the elevator dinging open. He grips your hand pulling you down the hallway to his door; he fumbles briefly with his room key before the green light finally appears. As soon as the door closes his body is on yours slamming you against it. He licks a stripe from your neck to your ear and sucks on your ear lobe spreading your legs apart with his knee.

His hands dig into your hips likely leaving bruises later while he bites your neck. He rubs circles with his thumbs slowly pulling your shirt up to expose some skin. His calloused thumbs press into your exposed skin pinning you under his touch.

You struggle to find your breath his mouth trailing along your jawline. He slowly pushes your shirt up, his fingers leaving a trail of heat on your stomach. He pulls your shirt over your head throwing it aside. You see his eyes quickly gaze over your body with a devilish smirk before his mouth attaches to your chest.

His mouth sucks on your breast, his hand sliding behind you to unclasp your bra. He sucks on the top of your breast, his hand massaging your other while deep groans leave your lips. His mouth trails around your chest and neck sucking harder in each spot.

“Fuck” you groan “no marks.” You run your hands up his body tangling into the roots of his hair. His hands slide up your thigh lifting your skirt before finding your clothed core

“Your boyfriend should see them” he growls “so he knows someone treated you right.”

He bends his knee flexing his thigh into your core, his hand slowly trailing up your thigh. Your skin heats up at the anticipation while you roll your hips against him your core dripping onto his jeans. His fingers dip under your wool skirt finding your lace panties.

“Fuck your soaked” he groans sliding a finger over your slit, any regrets you had long faded from his touch. His thumb presses into your clit your head falling back against the door. His thumb begins rubbing circles in your heat spreading your wetness around. He hooks his finger in your underwear pulling it down your thighs. He spins you pushing you toward the bed throwing you onto it.

He crawls over you pressing his knee into your core; you rock your hips against him feeling the denim on your bare folds. He kisses your neck and chest, leaving a trail until he reaches your waist. He sucks a spot on your hip leaving a dark mark, his hands pushing your skirt higher until it is bunched up above your waist.

He hooks your legs over his shoulders dipping his head in, you feel him blow warm air on your core. Your head falls back onto the pillow back arching off the bed slightly. He wastes no time licking a stripe up your folds moaning when he tastes your juices.

His tongue dances around your folds when you feel two fingers dip in opening you up. His fingers curl inside you. You gasp when his mouth finds your clit and begins to suck. Your hands find his locks pulling his head closer into your core.

His fingers pick up the pace at your motions; him moaning between your legs. His calloused fingers draw inside your walls, your hips lifting closer to his face. He pumps your fingers pulling your wetness as he works you, a string of panted curse words leaving your mouth.

He finds your g-spot smirking when your legs tighten around his head. He keeps pumping his fingers hitting it with every thrust, while your hells dig into his back. His mouth sucks harder on your clit and the familiar burn builds in the pit of your stomach.

“I’m gonna cum” you pant, body squirming at the contact. The man beneath you grunts at your announcement. Your hips buck into his face your coil snapping as your orgasm rips through you. He pumps his fingers a few times working you through your high; your eyes snapping shut your breathing erratic.

You breathing steadies while his fingers slip out of you, you feel him pressing gentle kisses on your stomach. When you finally open your eyes you notice he has stripped. You try to take in his body but he rolls you onto your side to unzip your skirt. He pulls your body up pulling the bunched up fabric down your legs.

Once you are lying on your back he crawls over you engaging you in a deep sloppy kiss. You moan at the taste of yourself on his lips, your body buzzing with fire. You feel his hard member pressing at your entrance coating himself in your juices.

“Please” you whine his tip poking at your folds.

“I’ve wanted to hear you beg for my cock since I first saw you, alone at the bar” he groans and without hesitating he slips inside you stretching you out. You cry out while he pushes fully in, his mouth sucking gently on your sweet spot. He pulls back at a painfully slow pace before snapping his hips back inside you.

He gives you a few slow thrusts causing you to whine under his body. His eyes are dark with hunger as he shoots you a devilish grin. You pull him down closing the gaps between your faces locking him in a sloppy kiss while he slowly rocks into you.

You pull away gasping for air, the taste of whiskey still on his lips. “God you feel so good” he mumbles into your neck.

“Fuck please” you cry needing more from him.

“You’re so gorgeous when you beg” he grunts snapping his hips and picking up the pace. Your hands slide down his back, digging your nails in deep to his skin. He hooks an arm under your knee pushing it into your chest increasing the angle and depth he can hit you.

“You’re boyfriend fuck you this good?” he asks and your eyes go wide. You take a deep exhale with the realization of what you’re doing, but before you can feel bad he hits your g-spot and you begin to fall apart again.

Beads of sweat are on your forehead. You can tell your hair you spent hours on is a mess and your mascara is streaking down your cheeks.

“Tell me I feel better than him. Tell me I’m better than Fred” he growls when you don’t respond.

“Ye…yes” you stumble out. “So good” your breath catches in your throat.

“Say it, say I’m better than him” he grunts bringing a hand to your throat. Your airway begins to restrict as your knee is being placed over his shoulder. You rake your nails over his back leaving some marks, your back arching off the bed.

“You’re better” you croak out between breaths. His eyes darken and the edges of his lips curl upward at your admission. Your second orgasm is quickly approaching and he senses your walls tightening around him.

“You gonna cum all over my cock?” he asks and all you can manage is a slight nod. You feel him getting sloppy above you “I’m gonna cum inside you, teach Fred a lesson.”

Before you can object your second orgasm comes and your vision goes black. Your walls tighten around him nails digging into his muscles. Pleasure rips through you and a string of curse words leaving your lips while he works you through it. You feel the man above you spill deep inside, painting your walls white. He releases your leg and collapses on you, head landing on your shoulder.

Your hand comes up running through his hair, damp with sweat. The two of you lie in silence before he finally pulls out and flops onto his back. You both stare up at the ceiling for a minute, him being the one to break the silence.

“Boyfriend eh” he chuckles turning to rest on his side, his hand gently grazes the necklace around your neck.

“Shut up Fred” you groan rolling your eyes. You go to push yourself off the bed but he pulls you back throwing a leg over you to pin you to the mattress. You don’t bother fighting him and melt into his touch; he gently brushes some of your sweaty hair from your forehead.

“You’ve never called me your boyfriend before” he says kissing your cheek “I like it.”

“Make me wait 45 minutes in a bar for you again and see if still call you that” you joke smiling up at him. His golden brown eyes look down at you while he grins bringing his lips down to yours for a soft kiss.

“Sorry I ran into the goalie coach on my way down and he wanted to show me some footage” he responds.

“For 45 minutes?” you joke.

“No twenty, when I arrived I didn’t see you because it was so busy so I got a table on the other side. Then once I had my drink I saw you and I don’t know, decided to have some fun. I’m surprised you played along” he responds.

“Really? I thought you were going to break first” you laugh. “Especially when I called you my boyfriend” you quirk your eye brows playfully at him. He bites his lower lip shaking his head at you before finally carrying you to the bathroom, you both clean up. While brushing your teeth Fred leaves and comes back in wearing his boxers and he sets a t-shirt on the counter for you

“So am I allowed to stay or do I have to go to my own room?” you ask walking out of the bathroom.

“Technically you should leave, but I’m not letting you” he smiles lifting the duvet for you to crawl under with him.

“Just leave when we’re at practice so nobody sees you” he chuckles.

“So much sneaking around, it’s like were in high school” you laugh turning off the lamp. Fred shifts closer to you, to the point where you are going to be sharing a pillow. You pull Fred’s face closer for a soft kiss “good night Fred” you whisper against him.

“Goodnight girlfriend” he says bringing his lips back to you one more time.

Next Chapter

#frederik andersen #frederik andersen x reader #frederik andersen fic #frederik andersen smut #Freddie Andersen #freddie andersen smut #freddie andersen x reader #freddie andersen fic #fred andersen #fred andersen smut #fred andersen x reader #Fred Andersen Fic #nhl fic #nhl smut #because two people got drunk #my writing

[shrike-nest]

D&D Character Ask Post

In Honor of D&D, Here are 100 Questions answered about my character Alistair. Done from a prompt reposted by @mechmech and @scatterpatter , and also gonna tag my DM @aerial-ace97

What Does He Smell like: Ozone, Sandalwood, Pine

Voice: A light baritone, sometimes slipping into a bit of a lit from his native island (similar to a Scottish brogue/Irish lit)

Motivator: Before he met his group? Power and Adrenaline. Now? Redemption.

Most embarrassing memory: (TW: Animal Death) He doesn’t really remember this as he was terribly drunk at the time, but he and his crew stopped in a city that held goats as a sacred animal. With a terribly “bright” idea, he wondered how far a goat could fly? Because goats fly. Throws the goat off of the third floor of a building. Then proceeds to have a not very respectful Coffin Dance-style funeral for said goat.

How does he react to pain: Lots of swearing and anger.

What does he wear: He wears dragon scale armor that has three deep gouges in it from where he was previously killed. A faded and slightly ragged admiral style coat on top, leather breeches, and give this man some high calf pirate boots. He also always wears a green headband to keep his hair back, and occasionally an eyepatch to hide his demonic eye.

Most positive relationship: In terms of character development, it might be Torvid, as Torvid inspires Alistair to be a better moral person. In terms of wholesomeness? His partner/hopefully soon fiancé, Atwater. Atwater was able to show Alistair that he can have positive love in his life, without having to fight so hard for it.

The weirdest thing he has ever eaten: Corren’s cooking

Sleep: He suffers from nightmares and now more recently night terrors. Because he technically doesn’t need to sleep from effects of his class, he often chooses not to. However, when he does sleep, he sleeps hard, snores lightly, and octopus cuddles anything in his bed.

Favorite food/ kinda food: He actually really loves a dish similar to pao de queijo (Brazillian Cheese Bread).

Most insecure about: His ability of being a leader.

Like to wear: He enjoys fairly tight fitting clothing to prevent too much flapping when he flies or moves around quickly.

How do they react to feelings of guilt: Denial and self doubt

React to betrayal: A very quick and violent anger that chills to a long lasting and cold hatred. He doesn’t forgive easily.

Greatest achievement: After being mutinied against by his former crew, being wanted and supported as a leader for his current adventuring party

Too little sleep: Pretty robotic, but he doesn’t get exhausted anymore or feel any physical effects of not getting sleep due to his class.

What are they like drunk: He’s a very cheerful and boisterous drunk. Makes and laughs at many jokes. Can fall into a melancholy pretty easily though if he thinks on certain thoughts too long. Deflects with humor!

Music likes: 80s hair band music, and 70s-80s rock.

Right or left-handed: Right handed

Fears: He’s claustrophobic, but also has a fear of being vulnerable and getting his heart broken again.

Favorite weather: Sunny Day with a slight chill.

Favorite color: He really likes blue.

Collect anything: Well technically he used to collect gold and other high priced artifacts. He doesn’t really collect anything anymore.

Hot or cold weather: This man controls the weather. He enjoys his thermostat of life to be at a nice 70 degrees F.

Eye color: His natural eye color is an emerald green. His left eye is a demon cat eye, with a gold iris and black sclera.

Race/ ethnicity: He’s a human in the world of Sekrezia, but in IRL, he’s probably northern UK.

Hair color: Ginger/Auburn, with some sun-bleached streaks in it.

Happy where they are currently: … Well his adopted sister and brother just died in the last game so nah. BUT- as kind of a whole, he’s happy to be where he is now as a person compared to how he used to be.

Morning person: Yup. He tends to wake with the sun if he sleeps, and once he’s awake- he’s awake.

Sunrise or sunset: He loves the sunset. It calms and amazes him that he survived another day.

Messy or organized: He’s messy. Kind of an ADHD procrastination kind of messy.

Pet peeves: Disloyalty, undeserved ego trips, other weather veins that mess with his control of the weather,

Objects of significant importance: O’Malley, his halberd. He earned his weapon when he became a captain, and it has saved his life numerous times after.

Least favorite food: After being stuck in a cave for over a year? Anything with mushrooms.

Least favorite color: He’s not a fan of dark reds or browns. Reminds him too much of dried blood. (oooh edgelord)

Least favorite smell: Cauterized Flesh, Rotting Fish

The last time they cried: Last game. But before that? When he found out that Torvid killed his father. Before before that? When Atwater died. Before before before that? When he woke up alone in the desert after the mutiny.

Were they with anyone when they cried: His party. His party and both sides of the war that was going on. And no one.

One time they got injured: He actually died in a fight with a dragon, not with the dragon, but with a bat crony of the dragon.

Scars: He’s got a scar in the shape of a jagged p on his right cheek, a claw scar from when his eye was gouged out, and he also has the marks from the bat crony when he died. Alistair also has lightning scars on his arms that led to minor nerve damage that occurred when he first was learning how to use his magic.

Mental health issues: ADHD, Depression, Anxiety

Bad habits: Lashing out when he doesn’t know how to process his emotions

Why might someone dislike him: … Lemme get the list. So if we ignore the fact that he used to be a feared sky pirate, earning the nickname “Orphaner of the Skies”… he can be a flippant asshole sometimes. He can often forget to stay in touch and update people on important topics. Also, some may dislike him because he insists on being their dad (*cough* CORREN *cough*)

Why might someone love him: Alistair is very loyal to those he trusts and he can often fall into caretaker type tendencies.

Believe in ghosts: Yeah. He’s seen them and fought them. Also dated one.

Anyone they would trust with their life: Mecha, Corren, Tristan, Atwater, Jerry, Mephistopheles, and Torvid.

Romantically interested in anyone: Atwater!

Dating/ Married: He is currently dating Atwater

Like surprises: Not really

Birthday: His weave day is in Summer, Sibelya 13th.

Celebrate their birthday: He used to. Doesn’t really anymore, mostly because he hasn’t had much reason to celebrate or the time.

Family: His parents are dead, but he still has his adopted aunt Imelda. He also views Tristan as his brother, Corren as his little brother, Mecha as his sister. Atwater is his romantic partner, and he is now the step father of Atwater’s child, Crestwell. He also is the adopted father of Liam (deceased) and Liam’s twin sister, Serana.

Close to their family: Yes

MBTI type: ENTP

Zodiac signs: His Sekrezian Sign is Xamatang, The Coming Storm

Hogwarts house: Gryffindor

Alignment; Chaotic Neutral but he’s steadily making his way towards Chaotic Good

Nightmares: Yes. Often about his ex, Ghost. He also has nightmares about losing those he considers family.

View on death: If it happens, it happens. Once someone is at peace, leave them be.

Something they always laugh at: Seeing his group smile and joke around.

When bored, what do they do: Fly, tinker with magic, practice magic, research magic.

Enjoy the outside: Very much so.

Accent: I can’t replicate it, but I imagine it’s somewhere between a Scottish and Irish accent. However it has faded as he hasn’t been home in a very long time.

Upon seeing a slice of chocolate cake, the first reaction: *Poke it*, *Look at it*, *Look around*… *Shrug*, My cake now.

If they knew they were going to die what would they do/ say: He would find his party, if he can- gives them hugs, and hopefully be able to die watching the sunset. “Find what makes you happy and hold on to it. You all deserve to have happiness in your lives.”

Feelings about sex: He likes it. He also has a pretty damn high libido.

Sexuality: Bisexual

Squeamish around blood: Somewhat. It makes him uncomfortable now because he’s scared that he likes the sight of it still.

Anything they find gross: Rotting bodies and decaying bodies.

TV trope: Father Figure, Tragic Backstory, Anti-Hero

Enjoy helping people: Yes, he finds it comforting, like a form of redemption.

Allergies: Minor shellfish allergy

Pet: Does Meph count as a pet? I mean, he usually hangs around Alistair as a cat.

Quick to anger: Depends on the situation, but yes.

How patient is he: Not very. He gets very jittery and anxious easily. He’s getting slightly better at that.

Good at cooking: Somewhat, he tends to overdo it on the spice.

Favorite insult:” It’s cute when you try.”

How do they act when happy: The biggest doofiest smile, and he can’t help but laugh occasionally.

What do they do when they learn about others’ fears: He keeps it secret, but tends to go out of his way to help them through it, or help them avoid their fears.

Trustworthy: If you earn his trust, yes. A million times in return.

Do they try to hide their emotions: If it benefits him? Yes. And he’s damn good at it. But if he feels it’s not necessary to do so, his heart is on his sleeve.

Exercise regularly: Yes. His constitution is ridiculous and so he often finds ways to keep up and improve his stamina and strength even further.

Comfortable with the way they look: Yeah. He can get a lil cocky about it. But this is a man who uses bar soap on his hair.

Features they find attractive on others: Eyes and hands.

Personalities they find attractive: He likes those that can keep up with him intellectually, but also on a wittier level as well. He really views self-confidence as attractive.

Do they like sweet foods: Yes.

Age: He just turned 42.

Tall or short: He’s 6’0”

Glasses or contacts: Nah

Consider herself attractive: Yup

Sense of humor: Sexual humor, dad jokes ftw, but can also throw in some dark and self-deprecating humor nowadays.

What mood are they in most often: Most recently, a sort of determined melancholia. But he used to be very self-assured, confident, and flippant.

What angers them: Child abuse, betrayal, hurting those he cares about.

Outlook on life: “Just keep going. Roll with the punches. Because that sun is going to rise again, and you’re going to get to try again, try something new, find something new.”

What makes them sad or depressed: Thinking of those he has lost, thinking of Ghost, falling into his own insecurities.

Greatest weakness: He often jumps into situations without thinking them through. He tends to be very “leap before he looks”

Greatest strength: His determination and resiliency

Something they regret: Losing contact with his crew and Imelda, not being a better leader in his eyes, his past of piracy, and in some ways- all his deals with Mephistopheles, even the one that granted him his magic.

Biggest accomplishment: Isn’t this the same as greatest achievement?

Favorite memory: Sitting by the campfire with his group and all of them laughing, joking, and smiling with each other. With the good ol occasional ribbing at Corren’s expense.

#D&D #Alistair Stormcrown #Sekrezia #The F.U.C.K.s

[beyondconfessor]

Principle Decisions [10/24]

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Lilith/Zelda Spellman

Summary: Were they occasional partners who engaged in a professional relationship based on a mutual exchange? Or were they occasionally a patron and client, engaging in a relationship based on kink.

N.B.: Also posted on AO3. This is pure fantasy, please suspend your disbelief.

  By the next morning, Zelda had awoken feeling unrefreshed. Although she and Lilith did not engage in any forms of sexual activity––outside of the spanking sessions-–Zelda felt the night roll over her. I’m proud of you ringing through her ears as loud as they had the night before.

Zelda had awoken on the lounge, wrapped in blankets, feeling exhausted with weight on her chest.

She hadn’t dreamt, only moments of respite with her waking up to occasionally put more firewood into the fire, before falling asleep again, rolling through her emotions.

As Lilith quietly made her way down the stairs, Zelda closed her eyes, pretending to drift asleep as she heard the sound of the woman shuffling around her house, before she began making breakfast. Only as the movement of pans was too loud to ignore, did she decide to ‘wake up’ and join her, sitting at the table as Lilith pulled out eggs, bacon, and brought done spices from the rack hanging above the stove.

“There’s orange juice in the fridge, otherwise, feel free to make yourself tea.”

Zelda went for the latter option, boiling water in the jug, before pouring into a pot of black tea. It was enough, she felt. But by the time that she’d set out the cups, and poured the tea, Lilith had finished cooking the bacon and eggs, setting them on a plate each and sat down from across her.

“Sleep well?”

“Enough,” Zelda lied, cutting into the eggs to see that Lilith liked hers sunny-side up.

She ate them without complaint, with pepper and salt, and ate her bacon too without further conversation, feeling the tiredness carry over. More than once, she shifted on the seat, trying to ease the sting, and caught Lilith glancing up with a smirk. Knowing the reason for her shifting discomfort.

“Your clothes are dried. I set them aside from you.”

“Thank you,” Zelda said. The entire situation was as strange today as it was yesterday. By chance, she had taken the forest road, and instead of ending up on the other side, where she would come out near the Spellman home, she ended up on this side, near the Wardwell residence (so to speak). And then had engaged in kink with the woman, who opened up her home to her, before setting a place on her lounge.

Because sleeping in the same bed would have been too intimate.

If Zelda was honest, she’d considered making her way up the stairs and seeing what changes would bring. She wanted, quietly ardently, to slide between the sheets and press her lips to Lilith’s mouth and feel her sigh against her. She wanted to draw her hands over her body and feel her whimper and moan and quiver against her.

But instead, she’d lain awake, thinking about doing it and then not.

Perhaps it was a mistake as she watched Lilith stare over her plate at her, but if Zelda was honest, it was becoming difficult to work out their relationship. Were they occasional partners who engaged in a professional relationship based on a mutual exchange? Or were they occasionally a patron and client, engaging in a relationship based on kink.

Zelda wasn’t sure.

Furthermore, she didn’t know which answer she preferred. And as Lilith smirked at her and Zelda buried herself in tea, blinking tiredly at the woman as she squirmed in the kitchen seat, all she could think was how desperately she wanted to feel the other woman’s fingers buried between her thighs.

“What are you thinking about?” Lilith asked as she set her knife and fork down.

“Nothing of interest.”

“I’ve just washed a most lovely shade of red colour your face, so I highly doubt that.”

Zelda drew in a breath and looked away. “Don’t be absurd,” she commented.

It was the weekend––but her car was still bogged and the more she left it alone, the more likely that a bear (or some creature) was likely to make her way inside of it. And she had a terrible feeling that somehow she’d forgotten to lock the door.

So she shook her head, trying not to remember how it felt to be fucked by the woman, pressed against a hard surface as she felt her tongue curl around her clit and her fingers working their way inside of her.

If she didn’t know better, she would suspect that Lilith had dosed her breakfast with an aphrodisiac.

But she did know better, and knew that the arousal was entirely dependent on the fact that Lilith was giving her a look that seemed to say ‘I could have you on this table in a few seconds if I wanted it’.

Zelda cleared her throat and drunk deeper into the tea, trying to ignore how Lilith continued to look over, across their food. It was still raining outside, but a dreary rain, trickling down the window, with grey skies. It was nowhere near as bad as yesterday, but Zelda suspected it was unlikely to let up any time soon.

She would need to get her car pulled by something more powerful. She would need to call a mechanic.

She focused on staring out the window, trying not to remember how Lilith had taken her in the garden.

“Do you have any clients today?” she asked.

“I do not,” Lilith informed her. “Free day to focus on work. Did you want me to take you home?”

Zelda nodded. It’d be easier to get Hilda to take her to her car than it would be to walk there from here. She couldn’t remember how long it took her. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

“Not at all, but it would be a favour owed.” Zelda turned and looked to the woman, watching her laugh. “that was a joke, of course.”

A pity, she thought but didn’t dare speak the words. She wouldn’t mind owning the ever so evasive Principle Wardwell a favour. The idea if being on her knees had never seemed so attractive.

I’m proud of you.

Zelda looked away and felt the pain shift through her. She wished the woman hadn’t said those words together, but it didn’t matter.

After breakfast, she dressed in her last night’s clothes, having parted ways with her stockings. Standing in the bathroom, with a spare toothbrush been provided, she brushed her teeth and tried to bring some semblance of tame to her well-tussled hair.

She spent most of the night thinking of Lilith, going as far as considering to masturbate on the woman’s lounge, before ultimately deciding against it. It felt somehow impolite and yet…expected? No, that wasn’t the word. It felt like there’d be an invitation between words stated that Zelda could have climbed the stairs and slipped into the woman's bed, but she hadn’t.

And now she was regretting it. Though it was probably the right decision, despite how achingly wet she'd been after the spanking. Even now, as she smoothed the material of the dress, she felt her hands press over the welts, leaving her to draw in a tight breath.

She could seduce her, Zelda realised. It wouldn’t be difficult to accidentally brush her fingers against the woman, and feel her respond in kind. After all, she’d done masterfully last night to get the spanking. How difficult would it be to draw the woman out of her underwear?

Setting the toothbrush down, she left the bathroom, at least feeling some semblance of clean with her washed and dried clothes.

Lilith waited for her the lounge room, slipping into her boots and pulling a coat off the hook to draw on. The rain was pattering down, and Zelda longed to feel something. But she followed the woman, watching as she opened an umbrella to step outside.

The umbrella held over them both as she walked them to her car, opening up the passenger door first, allowing Zelda passage before climbing into the driver’s seat herself. In the car, the rain continued to patter down on the windscreen as she pulled out of the driveway, and onto the highway.

It was quiet for a moment, and Zelda sat in the seat, back straight.

“I don’t think my car will survive the fire roads, so I’m afraid you’ll have to reach out to someone with a truck.”

“I will thank you.”

“But I’ll still need you to give me directions. I know you're on the other side of the forest, but I don’t know where that is.”

“Oh, it’s…if you drive into town, you take a left at the library.”

“Ah,” Lilith hummed. “Easy enough.”

Silence fell again, and Zelda propped her head against her arm on the window, feeling the tiredness drift over her. She wished she’d slept better.

Lilith was careful in how she drove in the rain, slower than Zelda would have been and yet Zelda was ultimately grateful for it. This should allow her the opportunity to learn more about the woman, and yet all she could think about was last night.

“What does the girlfriend experience involve?”

Zelda blinked, realising that the sentence had come out of her mouth. She flushed and looked away, trying to play it off with an air of indifference, but she could feel the woman’s eyes on her, a soft chuckle breaking in the space between them.

“Mm, for most clients, it usually involved dinner, drinks, and then we would return to their hotel room and negotiate from there. Are you looking to understand the girlfriend experience specifically, or are you trying to enquire as to what deluxe means in this context?”

“The latter,” Zelda said, pleased with how calm she sounded.

“Well, for you I would probably advise to book in advanced and suggest somewhere in the city for the weekend. You’d pick me up, we’d drive to the city, get a hotel there and then get drinks and dinner the first night where I would spend every opportunity to seduce you in public, and then the next day we would get breakfast together, go out and visit the art museum where I would impress you with all of my knowledge in the fine arts before I would seduce you somewhere entirely inappropriate where you weren’t allowed to make a noise. If you were especially noisy, I’d have to gag you…, and I’m sure you can imagine with what.”

Zelda squirmed in her seat, already picturing it.

“And then, we’d get a late lunch, venture around, go back to the hotel where I would ensure you’re appropriately dressed in ropes, or with a toy, before taking you out to dinner, and then, if you were so inclined, I would take you a private invitee only club where you could see other like-minded people, or we could go off and find somewhere inappropriate to have sex. There’s an old Catholic Church that I know how to get into, and I could fuck you in the confessional booth.”

Zelda blinked, feeling the flush fill her face. “Pull over,” she said.

“Pardon?” Lilith enquired innocently. They were still on the highway, five minutes outside of town.

“Pull over,” Zelda said again, turning and looking at her. Lilith grinned, obeying as she pulled over, off the side of the road. The rain still fell outside, reasonably heavy as it washed down the windows.

Zelda drew in a deep breath, unbuckling her seat belt, but Lilith was faster, and somehow, the moment the seatbelt was off from Zelda, Lilith was on her lap, kissing her like the world was ending.

Zelda drew up, pressing against Lilith. She slid her hands up her waist before she was tugging the jacket from Lilith’s shoulders and pulling up her dress as Lilith did the same with her. And then Lilith’s mouth was hot against her shoulder, nipping over the skin and Zelda was keening as her breast was palmed through the material of her dress.

This was insane, absolutely insane, and yet she couldn’t help but not care a single bit when Lilith was biting down on her shoulder as her fingers pushed up the material of her dress.

Her fingers stroked purposefully between her thighs, and Zelda could feel the effect on her already. If she wasn’t careful, this was going to be over as fast as it began.

And then Lilith was kissing her again, lips parting with a soft laugh as she slid underneath the band of the underwear and stroked Zelda with purposeful intent.

In a short, firm stroke against her sex, Zelda lifted her hips, wanting her deeper insider. She could feel the woman’s focus to tease her, and as Zelda’s nails pressed harder into her back, an urging moan pushing against her mouth, she felt Lilith submit to her need.

Her fingers slid inside, and Zelda gasped at the feeling. At how the woman filled her as she pressed her thumb against her clit, purposefully drawing over her. Zelda sighed, dropping her head to Lilith’s shoulder and drew her hands over Lilith’s thighs, clutching at them as she rocked her hips.

“You should have come to bed with me last night,” Lilith said in her ear. “I would have fucked you like you really wanted.”

Zelda bit her lip, eyes squeezing shut. “I should have,” she agreed.

“Mm. I have all sorts of lovely items to use. But I know what you really want.”

“And what’s that?” Zelda asked, pulling away to press against the seat of the car. She looked up, into the blue eyes that seemed all the more bright in the dark interior. The woman’s mouth parted to pant hot, sharp gasps.

“You want to seem me climax. I could have tied you up and made you watch.” She leant forward then until her lips were against her ear, “I spent most of the night masturbating waiting for you. I’d hoped you would interrupt me. All the things I would have done at your mercy…”

Zelda drew in a breath, nails digging into the woman’s thighs. She could feel herself on the brink of orgasm as it began to tug low inside of her. She squeezed hard against the woman’s fingers, seeing if she could…

“Don’t you wonder how your name sounds my lips? Do you wonder how I sound if you slid inside of me?”

Zelda’s fingers slid higher up the woman’s skirt. “Yes,” she admitted.

“Uh-uh. Hands still. You missed your opportunity, and now you’re mine.” Zelda drew in a breath, holding back something guttural between a whine and a growl. She wanted Lilith. She wanted to make Lilith shiver as she had, to feel her clench around her fingers and moan in her ear. “Say it, say you’re mine.”

Zelda swallowed, softening as the woman the kissed her gently against the throat. She didn’t know what would happen if she didn’t, but she found herself nodding. “I’m yours,” she agreed with a sigh.

Lilith laughed, kissing her throat again as her fingers continued to stroke inside of her, somehow pressing at just the right spots, spreading wide as she continued to draw over her clit with her thumb. “Good girl,” she purred, and Zelda whined, actually whined like a fucking animal as she almost climaxed at that moment. “You’re okay,” Lilith said, “Don’t slip away from me now.” And then Lilith was pulling back again, so her face took up the whole of Zelda’s view.

One hand still buried in Zelda’s underwear, the other stroked at Zelda’s cheek, soothing her. As if she was calming her.

And Zelda shivered at the tenderness. It was a lot if she was honest. Too much, almost. Like Lilith could love her, and that was impossible. She couldn’t love her. She couldn’t. Because if she––

“Look at me,” Lilith urged, eyes holding onto her steady. And then she pressed forward and kissed, and all the noise in Zelda’s head ceased, and there was only Lilith.

And then Lilith was kissing down her throat again, and it was so soft and tender, and Zelda hated how much she craved it, how much she needed it. Was this what people wanted from the girlfriend experience? The feeling of a person’s hands-on your as if they could hold you together.

Lilith’s mouth nipped at her throat as if summoning her thoughts, and Zelda sighed, tilting her head to kiss the bare skin under Lilith’s jaw.

She felt the orgasm coaxed from her and Zelda came clenching around the fingers, nails digging into Lilith’s thighs, but it was softer than she expected. Softer than the other times, and it left her wanting more.

But Lilith’s mouth pressed to hers sweetly, fingers sliding out and Zelda knew that she couldn’t do this. Perhaps the woman was right. Perhaps she did need to see a therapist, because sex didn’t use to leave her feeling like she might break, and yet this woman was able to shatter every defence she built.

“Are you alright?” Lilith asked, and there was a hand stroking her cheek again.

Zelda nodded because she needed to, leaning her head into the hand. After all, it felt nice. She couldn’t say what she really wanted––which was that for the first time, Lilith made her acutely aware of how lonely she was. How much she missed the affection and attention of another person.

But it was too close to saying that she actually liked her, and that, in its self, wasn’t something she could allow.

So she soothed the growing pain, pressing them deep down and brushed her own thoughts away. “Last night you said that you hadn’t barred me from your services, is that true?”

“It is. We can still negotiate; you just need to tell me what you want.”

“I want you to do what you did last night.”

“Caning or discipline?”

“All of it.”

Lilith looked at her as if she was studying her very carefully. “We’ll negotiate it,” she said. “I like playing with you Zelda, but I meant what I said, I think there’s a part of you that’s trying to sabotage yourself, I don’t want to play a part in that.”

“I don’t want to sabotage myself. I want relief. The very first time I engaged your service, you made me feel relaxed in a way I didn’t expect. I want that, I don’t care what I have to do to get that feeling again, but I want that.”

Lilith gave a genuine smile, nodding. “Well, how about next Sunday? I’ll book for two hours with you, and we can sit down and talk in further detail about what you want in a scene, and we can test some things out.”

“I would like that.”

“Of course you would, it’s me,” Lilith said as she manoeuvred in a way to draw herself over Zelda’s thigh, actually showing that she wasn’t wearing any underwear before she slid back into the driver’s seat.

Zelda swallowed, turning and looking at her. “Can I––“

“No,” Lilith said, clicking her seatbelt in place before she turned back and looked at her. “I told you, you missed your chance. Now you have to suffer the consequences.”

Zelda drew in a breath, putting her seatbelt in place before she adjusted her clothes. “I’ll have you know that I’m quite good in bed.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that, but if you want to hear me moan your name in the throes of ecstasy, then you have to work for that privilege.”

Zelda crossed her arms, sitting back in the seat as she tried to ignore the growing arousal between her thighs. She didn’t know how Lilith managed to shift her moods so easily, but now she was back in the same state she’d been before they pulled over. And she was sure Lilith knew it.

Giving a small cough, she looked out of the window, watching the scenery pass her by.

Once they entered the town, she began directing her to home. The woman eventually drove her to the front of the driveway before the Spellman home, pausing to look at Zelda. “Did you want me to drop you off up at the top?”

Zelda sighed. “Perhaps not,” she said. “The last thing I need is Sabrina seeing and asking questions.”

Lilith nodded before reaching into her backseat and pulling out the umbrella. “Take this. You can give it back to me next week then.” Zelda’s fingers brushed over Lilith’s as she took it.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Zelda paused, a part of her wanting to lean in and kiss again, but she didn’t. Instead, she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car, opening the umbrella. It wasn’t raining nearly as heavy, but she made her away up the loose gravel driveway, listening as Lilith pulled out of the edge of the driveway and returned home.

It was a strange turn of events, and Zelda wasn’t sure of what story she would speak of––as certainly a story would be needed––but decided that that was a problem for later.

Now she would focus on the fact that she needed to get her car out from the forest road, with the only truck she knew belonging to one Mr Harvey Kinkle. Perhaps if she raised the issue with Sabrina, she would offer to help out, and it would be a learning experience for them all.

Zelda opened the front door of the manor, setting the umbrella aside. She could smell the faint perfume of Lilith on her and hoped that it wasn’t so prominent that her family would also smell it. But as she made her way through the house, it seemed to be that everyone was out.

She trailed through the kitchen, dining room and parlour, glancing in her own office before making her way upstairs.

On the way to her room, she noticed Ambrose seeming to sneak out of his room, which only caused her to pause, watching as he quietly pressed the door shut and turned on his heel and faced her, surprise washing over his face as he tugged his robe close.

“Auntie!” He yelped. “Hello.”

“Ambrose,” she said, looking him over. “Do you have a guest over?”

“Ah, yes,” he admitted shyly. “Luke and I…were studying last night and happened to––“

“Studying?” she echoed dubiously.

Ambrose flushed before he paused and looked to her. “And where were you, last night?”

“My car was bogged and the river flooded, I was stuck on the other side of town,” she said, lifting her eyebrows to make her point.

“And I suppose that’s why you have a hickey on your collar bone.” Zelda looked down, trying to see if she could spot the mark on her neck only for Ambrose to laugh, making his point clear. “As I suspect. I’m pleased, Auntie. It’s been a while since you looked happy.”

“Happy?” she scoffed. “I don’t know what you think is going on, but I assure you that it’s not that.”

“Mm, well. I’m going to drop downstairs and make breakfast for my study companion. You should get some sleep. It looks like something kept you up.”

Zelda drew in a breath, crossing her arms. There was no point in defending herself, Ambrose may be using incorrect evidence to draw his conclusion, but it wasn’t far off its mark and she’d rather her family suspect a relationship than being concerned about what she was truly getting up to.

Following her nephew’s advice, she went to bed to sleep for only an hour or so before she got up and showered, doing her hair and completing her make-up as she came downstairs. The rain had stopped, but the skies remained grey, and the air was cold as she came out to the veranda with a cigarette and cup of tea, coming to stand beside Ambrose who was sitting outside with a book.

“Your friend has left?”

“Had some essay to complete,” he said, before turning to eye her. Zelda didn’t miss the way he studied her, as if looking for something before he turned back to his book. “I’ve requested to speak to Prudence,” he said.

“Oh?”

“You’re right. It’s time I cleared the air. I don’t wish to pursue whatever this might be with Luke if I’m still uncertain as to where I stand with her.”

Zelda drew the cigarette to her lips thoughtfully, feeling the nicotine rush through her lungs. “Did she ever mention Professor Blackwood to you?”

“Blackwood? No. Should she have?”

Zelda drew the cigarette to her mouth again, letting her thoughts wander over what Constance had said, the frantic state she was in about Faustus’ emotions pulling away. She had noticed on a few occasions that he seemed deeper in thought than usual but had placed it down to administrative tasks weighing over him heavily. Faustus had eyes on becoming the Dean eventually, and was often taking on tasks and projects that would reflect well on him should the Dean suddenly drop dear.

“No,” she answered. “I just know that she’s trying to get the position for next year in Faustus’ study.”

“Is she? She was entirely uninterested last semester,” he commented, “even joked as far to say it was a complete waste of school fundings, but I suppose opinions can change.”

Zelda flicked the ash of the cigarette, feeling the thoughts swirl. Did it matter, was it even her concern? Whatever he was doing to destroy his own marriage was between him and Constance, and her own involvement would likely only make matters worse, or reflect poorly on her.

And yet, she couldn’t help but recall how frantic Constance had been, how certain of an affair was going on despite how she mused otherwise.

A car pulled up into the driveway, and Zelda watched as her niece jumped out of the passenger side, waving goodbye to one of her friends as she made her way into the home. She seemed to step on the porch and then look to Zelda, noticing that she was there for the first time. “Aunt Zee,” she greeted.

Zelda’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as Sabrina adjusted her bag on her shoulder, looking…guilty about something.

“Sabrina, I take it you’re safe and well.”

“I am,” she said. “Aunt Hilda said you got caught on the other side of the river. Did you have to stay the night at the office?”

Zelda drew the cigarette to her lips, considering lying, but it would only make it difficult when it came to the fact that her car was bogged. “No,” she answered, “I tried to come through on the forest roads and ended up getting bogged. I’ll need to ask one of your friends’ a favour.”

“You should ask Theo’s father. He has a thing for you, you know?” Sabrina said, with a sweet smile.

Zelda’s brows rose at the comment as she snuffed out the cigarette. “Perhaps, I shall. Could you enquire with Theo?”

Sabrina nodded and ran off inside the house. Zelda sighed, listening to her steps recede upstairs.

“Was anyone home last night?”

“Aunt Hilda was until rather late,” Ambrose advise. “Advised she needed to help out at the bookshop as apparently the roof caved in and was starting to flood the storage.”

Zelda gave a small laugh to herself. While the excuse likely had some valid merit, she suspected that whoever the owner was may have had other intentions, and given that it was lunchtime and her sister was decidedly not home, that had come to fruition.

“So if you were bogged on the forest road,” Ambrose said. “Where did you seek shelter for the night?”

Zelda picked up her coffee, putting out the cigarette in the ashtray. “And why are you so curious? For all you know, I sought shelter in my car.”

Ambrose smiled, digging his nose into the book, knowing not to push further. Nonetheless, Zelda found herself amused rather than annoyed by his enquiry as she made her way to the office. She set her coffee down on the desk and then rolled her shoulders, still feeling the effects of the lack of sleep roll over her.

The nap had helped, but not much.

Not to mention that despite the shower, she could still smell Lilith’s perfume on her. Not to mention that every movement she made ached where the cane had struck her, all of it acting as a reminder to Lilith’s words, telling her that she waited for her to come upstairs.

Clicking her computer on, she reviewed through her emails. There was nothing of interest outside of usual administrative work. Students trying to beg for extensions, staff requesting assistance in the location of missing personalised mugs, and a few status updates from Faustus, as well as the Dean about other departments.

Zelda clicked through them, organising her emails and returned to working on her lesson plans. Since her computer had been wiped, she had begun compiling new books to help with her article but had overall left it to be while she worked on her current workload. It brought an annoyance to her at the fact that she was behind on her self-made deadlines, but it would have to be something that she just let go.

“Aunt Zee?” Sabrina asked, knocking on the doorframe. “I’ve spoken to Theo, and he’s agreed to ask his dad for help. They’ll be around later this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Sabrina. Did Theo happen to mention what his father would like in thanks for helping?”

Her niece smirked. “Perhaps a date,” she enquired. “After all, you mentioned that you’re not seeing anyone lately, right?”

Zelda’s eyes flicked up, over the monitor to glance at her niece. “I’m not,” she assured. “Despite that, however, it still does not mean that I have time to be sitting around dating others.”

Sabrina shrugged. “Doesn’t have to be dating, you could just go out for a few drinks and see if you like each other.”

Zelda sighed, returning to her work. “I’ll think about it,” she advised, having no such plan even to consider it. She stood firm with her opinion that she had no interest in dating, furthermore to the point, her current needs were being met quite well.

Sabrina made a soft humming noise as if she was trying to make a point before she disappeared, laughing. Zelda wasn’t sure as to what she was up to but was concerned that it was mischief. She still had no clue as to what Sabrina did on that sleepover a few weekends back, and as of late, her niece was becoming all the more secretive.

She still didn’t think that Sabrina had moved her relationship with Harvey to the next level. Still, there was a strangeness to the way Sabrina acted, that had she been more concerned, would have to lead her to believe that perhaps Sabrina was getting involved in something she shouldn’t, such as the local gang.

But she pushed the thought aside. If Sabrina were in trouble, she’d reach out to either herself or Ambrose, and Ambrose, in turn, would reach out to her, and she would solve it.

“Sabrina?” she called.

Her niece came back, head ducking around the corner. “Yes, Auntie?”

“Did you need help building your CV?”

“No, already done. I got a job at the bookshop with Aunt Hilda.”

Zelda paused, looking up at Sabrina as she felt a strange twist in her stomach. “Oh?”

“Just for Thursdays and Saturdays,” Sabrina said. “Promise it won’t interfere with everything else.”

“Excellent, I pleased you’ll be working so hard.”

Sabrina nodded before leaving, while Zelda felt her stomach turn. If she was working with Hilda, she suspected that very little work would get done. Sabrina’s friends would likely visit, and Sabrina would spend all of her time speaking with them, only occasionally doing any of her work.

Zelda looked away, drawing in a breath. She shouldn’t think so harshly on niece, after all, it was still an opportunity for responsibility. And if she were fired fro her first job by Hilda or her boss, then all the better, Sabrina would learn that she couldn’t coast through life, hoping that her general charm would save her.

Zelda’s nail ran over the office desk before she returned to her lesson planning, building her lessons for the next few weeks.

She drafted an email to Faustus, enquiring as to Shirley, before scrapping it entirely, knowing that it came off too contrived. She drafted an email to Prudence then, setting a time to go over everything on Monday, before recalling that Monday she had a meeting booked in with Elspeth for the extension she requested.

Zelda drew back, pulling out her planner to flick through it. Her week was excessively full, from classes to meetings, to Sabrina’s school sports and Lilith (with she penned as a meeting for funding, given that she didn’t expect to do any such thing for some time).

Closing her eyes, she felt a wave of nausea roll over her from all the work she was doing. She was exhausted. Utterly exhausted and now her coffee was cold.

Draining the cup, she stood up and held her position as a rush of dizziness washed over her. Perhaps she should poke through the kitchen for something to eat as well, given that it was well past lunchtime.

She moved to the kitchen, looking through the cupboards and discovering biscuits that Hilda had made before she made her self a new pot of coffee as someone else came up the driveway of their home.

Zelda peered through the window, noticing the truck and felt a strange twist in her stomach. She didn’t know why, but seeing the Putnams here made her feel awkward like she was doing the wrong thing.

Eating the cookies, she made her way outside and watched as both Theo and Mr Putnam got out of the car.

Theo walked up, dressed like a much more petite version of his father and dug his hands into his pockets. There was still a cut healing on his cheek and lip, but he otherwise looked well, providing a bright smile on his face. “Ms Spellman,” he said.

She nodded. “How’s school?”

Theo shrugged in a similar way that Sabrina was starting to and Zelda felt her stomach clench, wondering if the bullying was getting worse. As she understood, they had a few more weeks left of their community service since the fight but had thankfully been split from the bullies.

“Sabrina mentioned your car got bogged on the forest road,” Theo said as his father came up behind him.

Looking to Joe Putnam, she raised her eyes briefly in greeting, giving a short nod, before returning to look at Theo. “I did. I tried to brave the old roads when the river flooded across the highway but ended up stuck.”

“As I recall, you used to brave those roads when you were young, too.”

Zelda laughed at the words, raising her eyes to look at Joe. That was certainly a flashback. “I did,” she agreed. “But not through a storm like last night’s, which is probably why it’s my first time being bogged on that road.”

“Do you know which road?”

“I do, I was coming up from the university and was planning to cut through the one that comes out just beyond the house, there,” she said, pointing to where there was an opening coming out onto the highway. Joe looked behind him, studying it before giving a nod. “I’ll take you if you like.”

“Can Sabrina come?” Theo asked. “We’ve never pulled out a bogged car.”

Zelda nodded, amused as she watched Theo run inside, likely to look for Sabrina upstairs, in her room.

It left her alone with Joe, allowing silence to slip between them until he grinned at her. “You look nice, Zelda.”

“Thank you, as do you,” she said, meaning it honestly. His clothes were ironed, his hair combed. He looked well, far better than in the early years of the loss of his wife. “How’s the business going?”

“As well as it can. Most of my money comes from wedding destinations these days, looking to rent out the land for their authentic view,” he sighed, digging his hands into his pockets. The town was struggling. It seemed that all the tourists had upped and left, and there were less and fewer people coming through.

Though the opposite couldn’t be said for Riverdale, which seemed to be having stranger and stranger murders, making them quite the tourist destination for a particular group of people.

Zelda turned on her heel, inviting Joe inside and pouring him a cup of coffee as Sabrina came down the stairs, dressed in her familiar red jacket and patent headband. Both she and Theo looked mischievous, and if Zelda were to place her thumb onto it, she would suspect that they were trying to set them up.

She wasn’t sure why all of a sudden they were trying to set the two of them together––and certainly she would have expected them both to be too old to do it––however there was little else that could explain their secret glances as they glance between her and Joe, holding back giggles.

After coffee, she grabbed her jacket and handbag, following Joe outside to his car and climbed inside. The interior was mud splattered on the floor, but she noticed that the seats had been cleaned, and there was otherwise nothing else to be concerned about.

She took her seat, buckling up the seatbelt and watched as Joe, Theo and Sabrina did the same before she began directing as to where her car was.

The truck bounced along the road far better than her sedan had, and Zelda noticed a great number of potholes and puddles that would have had her car bogged again, had she managed to get out of the second lot.

When they arrived, Zelda gave a brief look to her, confirming that its contents were still in place and then stepped aside to watch as Joe explained to Sabrina and Theo both what to do if they ever found themselves bogged.

He pulled out pieces of flat wood, setting them in front of the bogged tire, digging it underneath to allowing the car to drive out.

And then Zelda got into her car, turning the engine on before she slowly accelerated. The wheel did not move forward, due to not finding any traction. She paused, setting it back in park and climbed out.

“You did a good job,” he advised.

She nodded, arms folding as he dug through the mud, adjusting the plank of wood before directing her to try it again.

Zelda obeyed, getting back in the car, placing it into gear and trying to accelerate over the piece of wood slowly. Again, it didn’t work, and Mr Putnam sighed, before digging into the back of the truck. “Looks like we’re going to have to do this a bit more forcefully then.”

Pulling out chains, he tied them to the front of Zelda’s car, and then to the back of his own, before directing Zelda to put the car into neutral.

Zelda obeyed and watched as Theo and Sabrina stepped out of the way, seeming to share more than a few laughs.

If Zelda was honest with herself, there was a time where she may have considered dating Joe again. But their history was so far gone, that she doubted either one of them truly wanted to dig it up.

With ease, he pulled the car out, and Zelda felt a sigh of relief. Her car was no longer bogged. Now she just needed to be careful not to do it again as she drove along behind the Putnams.

Sabrina slid into the passenger beside her, buckling her seatbelt in place as she tossed a knowing smirk to her. “That was very helpful of Mr Putnam,” Sabrina advised. “And it was good that he became prepared.”

“Quite,” Zelda advised shortly, putting the car into the drive as she slowly drove behind them.

Sabrina fiddled with the radio before sitting back against the seat as a local station played. “You know, Jesse passed recently.”

“I am aware.”

“Mr Putnam has been quite lonely since losing Jesse.”

“Has he?” Zelda said. “Perhaps he should look at dating someone who has the time to share that emotional grief,” she turned and looked back at Sabrina with a steady look. “I don’t know why you’ve gotten into your head that he and I are a match, but I assure you, Sabrina, we are not.”

“You would be,” she insisted. “He’s a nice man, he works hard, and he likes his own company, so you two would be perfect for each other.”

“Sabrina, he and I are well acquainted. We used to know each other back when I first returned to Greendale.”

Sabrina didn’t seem surprised by this information, which made her all the more aware of Sabrina’s motives. Her dear niece likely thought herself a champion for them. Reuniting two long lost loves, but the truth was far from that.

“Why did you break-up?”

“We weren’t formally dating,” Zelda said, going over a bump. The radio cut out briefly and seemed to return, crackling as they drove around the winding path. “And we fell distant because he met someone else and I had no interest in pursuing anything serious.”

“Have you ever?”

“Pursued something seriously,” she paused, thinking back to her partners. Certainly, she’d had long term relationships. There’d been offers of marriages and her own acceptance before eventually, they ended up breaking up inevitably before the wedding for one reason or another. Once upon a time, she’d thought herself cursed.

The truth was, she knew she wasn’t someone pleasant to be around. She was cold and withdrawn, preferred her own company, placed her work over everything else and found things like romantic anniversaries enjoyable, but overall unimportant.

“No,” she said, “But things change.”

“Did you ever want your own children?”

“I have you and Ambrose.”

“But we’re not your children,” Sabrina advised. And although her niece did not intend to be unkind, the pain still struck her heart. She’d raised and provided for them both, soothed their fevers and kissed their scrapes and bruises. But Sabrina was right. She would never be their mother, no matter what she did.

“No,” she lied. “I didn’t want my own children.”

“But when Constance had us look after Leticia–“

“What is with the questions, Sabrina?” She snapped, hating the painful reminder of Leticia. “What on earth are you trying to get at it?”

“You’re not happy,” Sabrina said. “You’re not happy with me or Ambrose or Hilda, or the house. You don’t like your job. And for a while, it seemed like maybe you’d found someone, but you’re insistent that you haven’t, so…” Sabrina sighed, “I don’t know, I just want you to be happy.”

“Having someone in your life doesn’t necessarily make you happy,” Zelda advised. “Have you ever considered the fact that I’ve chosen a life outside of a partner because that’s what I want?”

“But Mr Putnam is nice, and he said––“

“He may say a many great amount of things, but it doesn’t mean I share the same sentiment. We parted a long time ago, long before you were born for reasons that have long since ceased to matter. I went to college and came back, and he was married, and I didn’t care, Sabrina. If I truly cared for him, that would have been something that would have mattered.”

Sabrina shifted in the seat, watching as they came out to the highway. “You’re both so lonely, so I thought…”

“I understand you’re intentions, but I will ask this only once of you. Do not interfere with my love life. I am happy to be where I am. I have a family, work-life. There’s little else I require.”

“What about friends?”

Zelda paused there, “I have colleagues I consider friends.”

“Constance?”

Zelda drew in a deep breath, feeling the pain wash over her. “Yes, Constance and I are friends.”

“Why don’t you want to talk about what happened? It was only six months ago.”

“Because I don’t know how I feel,” she answered honestly, turning to look at Sabrina briefly before returning her eyes to the road. “I don’t know how I should feel, except happy that Constance was able to move past that difficult part of her life.”

Sabrina went quiet and didn’t push any further, for which Zelda was relieved.

Pulling up in front of the Spellman house, she watched as the Putnam’s pulled up behind her––likely with Joe having gone through a similar insistence from his son to push them together.

As he climbed out of the truck with a tired look on his face, it softened as he looked at her. Zelda smiled despite herself before looking away. She had missed him in some ways, and seeing Theo and Sabrina grow to be best friends had felt right. A way for them to connect after losing touch for so long, though an awkwardness had always remained with them.

“Did you want to stay for dinner?” Sabrina asked Theo before turning and looking back at Zelda mischievously.

Zelda tried not to feel the frustration roll over her. Her niece intended well, she knew that, but it was nonetheless frustrating that she’d only just mentioned to her niece not to interfere and here she was, interfering because the two of them had shared eye contact.

“If we weren’t intruding,” Joe said.

“Of course not,” Zelda advised, “Theo and Sabrina can help Hilda.”

They headed inside, and she was thankful to see Joe remove his muddied boots at the door, leaving them aside. Theo and Sabrina followed doing the same, whereas Zelda shifted one pair of shoes for another, not wishing to walk through her house without appropriate shoes on.

She led them all to the dining room, directing Theo and Sabrina to wash-up before she made a pot of tea, setting aside some of Hilda’s biscuits.

She had seen Hilda’s car parked on their return and knew she was home. Likely, her sister would be coming down soon to set-up, and when she did, the children could help to prepare the meal with whatever she had planned.

Taking the tea to the parlour, she set it down, pouring herself and Joe a cup before she reclined to her seat. Mr Putnam took his tea politely, with a biscuit. And for a horrifying moment, Zelda wondered if he was going to try and dunk the biscuit into the tea before he seemed to change his mind just nibble on it.

“Did you make these?” he inquired.

“No, Hilda did.”

He seemed to smile to himself. “She could always bake,” he said. “Even when we were young, she used to bake with your grandmother.”

Zelda nodded. She didn’t remember Hilda baking much when she was younger, but she supposed she’d often been too busy either galavanting around with other local teenagers or sticking her nose in a book to notice. “Did you spend much time with Hilda?”

“When I used to wait for you, I did. You used to promise to meet me at your home and then you would turn up an hour later.”

Ah, that Zelda did recall. Joe had been a good man, even young. He’d been good and kind. And she had probably used that for her own gain more than once, flattered by his interest in her. She’d never intended to hurt him, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t selfish.

“Theo and Sabrina have been less than obvious,” he advised, breaking the silence.

“I’ve noticed,” she agreed. “Sabrina especially seems quite insistent.” Setting her cup of tea down, she smoothed the creases in her dress. “I don’t want to mislead you. I’m not interested in a relationship.”

“I know. You never were.”

“What on earth does that mean?”

He paused, coughing awkwardly as he set the cup down on its saucer and set it on the coffee table before him. “Just that you were always independent. You preferred your own company—it’s not a critique, it’s just you. You’re…” cold, she could see he was trying to avoid the word, but she’d had too many partners throw it at her. “Unbound by that desire,” he ended on.

Zelda felt a laugh rise in her throat. If only you knew. “I suppose,” she answered. There was a pang of discomfort, raw wounds she long since thought healed seemed to feel like a new skin, not unlike the very welts she could feel recovering.

And with that, her thoughts returned to Lilith.

Zelda looked away, feeling a flush creep up her throat. The last thing that she wanted was for Joe to notice her arousal flooding across her. It’d been over two decades since they were together, but her skin hardly hid the flush.

She closed her eyes, trying to move her thoughts away to something else, imaging something of more substance before she opened her eyes to find Mr Putnam staring into his cup of tea. “And what of you?” she inquired. “I haven’t noticed you dating anyone since the loss of your wife.”

He looked tired, truly tired, and for the first time, Zelda was reminded of their age. She remembered Theo’s mother. Angelina had been an out of towner. A lovely, round-faced woman who had always looked like she was on the verge of bursting into laughter.

And how Joe had looked at her like she was the whole world.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Too old for the theatrics of it all, and I know most of the town's occupants.”

She nodded, that was certainly true enough. “It’s difficult,” she agreed. “And it’s not easy to meet anyone when you stay on the farm.”

“No,” he agreed. “And Jesse was ill for so long…” he said before tiredly reclining, a look of grief crossing over his face.

A part of Zelda wanted to reach out and assure that it was okay, but they weren’t old friends. They were barely acquaintances now. Their children were friends.

“Do you remember when Jesse would chase after us when we were to the river?”

“He could never take a hint,” he said. “Always wanted to involve himself.”

“He taught me to fish better than you did.”

At that, he smiled, and Zelda felt a hum of something old and nostalgic, remembering as she pulled the fish from the line and both men had jumped around her, utterly surprised in her ability to unhook and then gut the fish.

“You give him too much credit. You were always better at those things than any of the boys. You had them lining up.”

Zelda smiled wistfully, remembering the time. Both in school and out of school, she’d occasionally date a man or woman who would look her over and make certain presumptions about her. It was always fun to pretend she had no idea how to do anything like survive in the wilderness, and then to show them that not only could she hunt, but she was a better shot than anyone with a gun.

Not that she’d needed use of one in a long time.

“I wanted to speak to you about a few weeks back,” he said, “Sabrina’s been standing up for Theo since he’s come back. Done lots of research and shared it around between not just his friends, but teachers and even family. It means a lot to see that she loves him so much.”

Zelda smiled, “She has a good heart,” she agreed. “Kinder than I ever did.”

“You have your own kindness. It might not be formative actions, but you never let anyone hurt Hilda. Remember when Blossom once tried––“

“Push her in the river?” She laughed. “Oh yes, I quite remembering enacting that particular revenge.” She hummed at the memory. It’d been a long time ago, but the redheaded bitch had it coming. “Helped that she was from Riverdale’s side too.”

“She was jealous of you. You had her boyfriend wrapped around your finger.”

“As if that was difficult,” she scoffed. “He…” and then she trailed off, remembering other things. “Well, I suppose he just wanted someone who wasn’t going to kick him when he was down.”

Putnam nodded, softly to himself before he looked away, tracing the cup before taking a sip. “Are you happy, Zelda?”

“Happy?” she scoffed. “Of course, I am. I have everything I want.”

He nodded. “I’m glad,” he said.

There was something there, and if she pressed at it, she might find out what he was digging at. But she couldn’t tell if it was for himself or her, and if it was for her, she didn’t want him getting any closer to it.

Setting her tea down, she made the excuse of checking on Hilda and toed around to the kitchen, through to the greenhouse where she could Hide softly speaking to Theo and Sabrina both.

“What are you up to?” she inquired, looking them both over suspiciously.

Theo turned on his heel, looking oddly suspicious, but Sabrina and Hilda both took no notice of it. “Just looking over the garden,” Hilda advised. “Little Theo’s got a science project coming up, and I was just suggesting––“

“That perhaps it was time to start dinner?” Zelda interrupted. “I’m sure whatever you’re up to can wait until after then?”

Sabrina’s mouth pressed into a line, but she had the decency to hold it back.

“Of course, love,” Hilda advised. “I was going to make a shepherd’s pie if that’s alright with you?”

“Sounds perfectly fine,” she advised. Though in truth, she would prefer something of more speed to cook.

As it was, she managed to be saved by Ambrose coming down and joining in the conversation with her and Hoe, having suddenly taken an interest in agriculture, he enquired at to Joe’s work, freeing Zelda’s mind from polite conversation.

If she was perfectly honest with herself, the exhaustion of last night weighed heavily on her, and the tea seemed to be doing little to keep her awake. Even when they were summoned for dinner, she poured alcohol for the adults, pointedly refusing Sabrina a glass of wine (though usually, she didn’t mind her occasionally having half a glass on the weekend with an appropriate meal, but given that Hoe was unlikely to approve the same for Theo, it wasn’t fair to place him an awkward situation).

The conversation drifted across the table, with Hilda and Ambrose both discussing classes with Theo, which was all fine and well until Zelda’s ears pricked at the mention of, “––Principle Wardwell.”

Zelda looked to Theo; her eyes hovering over the boy as she tried to trace back what the conversation had been regarding. School, no doubt, but it what context?

“She’s been putting a firm foot down towards bullying, reminding them of Baxter High’s zero tolerance,” Sabrina said in response, giving enough to provide context, “but I don’t know if it was fair about the community service. They’re bullies, big bullies, and she gave them all the same service as us when they started it.”

Sabrina’s expression turned hot.

“Principle Wardwell did?” Zelda inquired.

“Yeah. And it wasn’t like there was any point. She had them working some service for the aged cared centre, whereas we worked with the grade school. I doubt they learned anything from it.”

“It’s funny,” Joe advised. “Because when the other parents and I were speaking to her, she had negotiated them down to a week’s suspension for everyone. And then you came into the room.”

Zelda took her glass of wine in grip, taking a sip. “Quite,” she advised. “It was hardly fair that Sabrina was punished for that.”

“Well she still punished us equally,” Sabrina advised.

Zelda felt the flush warm her face, “Not true,” she advised hoarsely before clearing her voice. “As it was, I couldn’t allow a suspension on your record. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t remain on theirs, but I did my best.”

Joe gave her a strange look across the table. “So you negotiated her down?”

Zelda nodded. “I made it clear that while fighting should not be tolerated. There was some merit to what occurred. Though I understand that one of the boys was hospitalised?”

“He broke his leg,” Sabrina advised, “and that wasn’t our fault. We got into a fight, but when we did, one of his friends accidentally knocked him back down the stairs. It’s…how the fight stopped” she admitted. “We didn’t keep fighting.”

Zelda nodded, knowing already that had it been otherwise, Lilith would have advised her. “Anyway, the matter’s solved. Your service is nearly completed.”

Sabrina shrugged, as if unsatisfied by this, but didn’t say anything else to the matter. She looked at Theo with a strange look as she sipped her water. Again, Zelda found herself suspicious of the shared looks, wondering if there was a deeper meaning to it, but placed it aside. She couldn’t go around, convinced that Sabrina was up to no good because of secretive looks with friends.

There was plenty of other reasons to be suspicious.

“Well, Wardwell certainly has the PTA under wraps. Completely cut them down when they tried to raise some complaints about inappropriate outfits been worn to school,” Hilda advised, chuckling to herself. “Started enquiring if she should start measuring the same thing on the boys too, and wasn’t that an uproar.”

Zelda’s brows rose. Lilith seemed determined to make enemies everywhere it seemed, attacking the PTA and teachers in defence of the children. It would certainly make her look like a tyrant to them, and likely have their attention zero in on her, if she wasn’t careful.

She refrained from commenting as such, not wishing to ruin dinner as Theo began excitedly recounting Wardwell-telling-off-Craven story that Sabrina had previously advised.

Again, Zelda was reminded that the woman seemed unfazed by the enemies she was creating. She was still only a rather recent Principle, and Zelda doubted that her position was so written in stone that if a select group of teachers and parents complained, she would come out of it unscathed. The best scenario would be that she was requested to leave her post. Worst would be a parent or teacher digging into her personal life to find dirt on her.

And it wasn’t that difficult, given that she was actively moonlighting as a Dominatrix.

Zelda shifted on the seat, reminded (rather painfully) that if that were to occur, she would be caught in the middle as well.

Perhaps she should…

Who was she kidding, she wasn’t going to stop. She already longed to see her again. At the moment, it was one of the few things in her life that she enjoyed privately.

She looked across the table, sipping her wine to see Joe looking at her curiously before his eyes darted away.

Drawing her attention back to the conversation, Zelda tried to quell the anxiety in her stomach. Even after eating dinner, she was still feeling unwell. Perhaps she needed an early night.

#lilith #zelda spellman #zelith #madam spellman #caos fanfic

[kyn19]

1 THROUGH 98! I WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWERS AND I CAN'T STAND GETTING THEM PIDDLING BIT BY PIDDLY BIT!!!!!

Lmaooooo what a fuckin Mood. Thank you!!!!! Also, you’re getting Drunk Kylie answers which are arguably the Best answers. For the courtesy of everyone’s dash, answers are below the cut!! <3 <3 <3

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

Coffee mugs! I have a sizable collection lmao #WriterLife

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

omg such a tough one, both are aces. seriously I can think of so many combatting pros & cons!! the only fair way i can currently conceive is which i would want weed in. Which is lollipops bc (#UnpopularOpinion) pot makes chocolate taste bad.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

both are great, but def bubblegum.

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

“Pleasure to have in class” in true Gifted Child fashion

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

i’ll rate them in order: 1) can (absolutely preferred), 2) bottle if alone but plastic (lez be honest, Red Solo Cup) if with company, 3) glass (do not like)

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

#1 goth all the way. Pastel and Formal guest appearances

7. earbuds or headphones?

headphone, bc earbuds usually hurt my ears.

8. movies or tv shows?

first of all, how dare you. second of all, tv shows ONLY BECAUSE if all my fave movies were given tv shows so that they could last longer i would choose so

9. favorite smell in the summer?

idk i guess pool chlorine? dislike summer

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

bruh fuckin none. elementary school: too long ago to recall. middle school: escaped having to take gym at all. high school: had a medical excuse to take online PE. least athletic girl u know

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

i don’t have bfast bc eating close to when i awaken makes my tummy upset

12. name of your favorite playlist?

hmm 4-way tie between “#motivate #bitch” (gets me pumped to work) and “Friends Of The Illness” (my playlist of songs about and/or artist who are mentally ill) and “Ominous/haunting” (speaks to my creepy side) and “Bad Bitches” (self-explanatory amirite)

13. lanyard or key ring?

Key ring. Straight up I use an extra shoelace as my key ring string, despite owning multiple lanyards.

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

god another fkn hard one. Listen y’all, you dont understand how much of a sugar fiend i am. candy is my JAM. Starbursts, Sour Straws, Skittles, Jolly Ranchers...who can choose?!

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

“Ceremony” by Leslie Marmon Silko. Highly recommend!!!!!!!!!!!

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

laying down lol sitting is for suckers

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

combat boots like the gay i am

18. ideal weather?

low 70′s degrees (F*), intermittent showers during the day but clear starry skies overnight

19. sleeping position?

mostly fetal, mostly on my side but chest is towards the bed, one arm under the pillow under my head

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

Laptop. I used to love writing in notebooks, but ya girl got weak fingy joints nowadays

21. obsession from childhood?

pfft as if they aren’t the same obsessions i have now

22. role model?

so many!!!!! Jameela Jamil is the first that comes to mind

23. strange habits?

lmao i am ass-deep in idiosyncrasies, if you ain’t read the blog title already

24. favorite crystal?

i don’t know anything about crystals. does blue topaz count? cuz that’s my birthstone and i like that one a lot. i even had the foresight to pick that as my engagement ring’s stone in my utterly preposterous & failed relationship

25. first song you remember hearing?

oh wow, no idea. music has always been huge for me. probably either a Britney Spears or Mary J. Blige song???

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

stay inside lmao

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

WEAR SWEATERS & DRINK HOT CHOCOLATE, BITCH!!!!!!!!!

28. five songs to describe you?

oof ok, hard, but here goes:

“Here” by Alessia Cara

“Wannabe” by the Spice Girls

“I’m Just a Kid and Life Is A Nightmare” by Simple Plan

“No Daddy” by Teairra Mari

“Brick By Boring Brick” by Paramore

29. best way to bond with you?

i am straight up not easy to make friends with (bc my own bullshit, not trying to be pretentious), so bonding is hard. the best way is probably a combo of queer + memes + loves food + correct morals + being the dominant talker

30. places that you find sacred?

Libraries, locally owned coffee shops, Walmarts at 3am, playgrounds in the middle of the night, side of a rural road at 12am, my bed

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

Blazer + shirt with a titty window + high waisted plaid pants + platform booties

32. top five favorite vines?

OMG I LOVE VINES OK OK OK OMG I LOVE SO MANY SO HERE ARE JUST THE ONES I QUOTE THE MOST OK:

Josh Kennedy: “What’s up my name’s Jared I’m 19 and I never fucking learned how to read”

Sarah Schauer: [dont remember the beginning] “didn’t you..?” “sleep in this? yes. mama needs A DRINK”

Evan Breer: “What’s up my & my boys are going to see Uncle Kracker - give me my hat back Jordan, do you see Uncle Kracker or no - *gasp!*”

Drew Gooden: “Road work ahead? Um yeah, I sure hope it does...”

Nathan Enick: “Yo how much money do you have?” “69 cents” “Oh you know what that means!” “...i don’t have enough money for chicken nuggets :( ...”

33. most used phrase in your phone?

bruh like how even am i supposed to answer this?? like texts or Siri requests or????? bc if it’s Siri requests then it’s 100% for arithmetic

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

Stanley Steamer. you kno the one

35. average time you fall asleep?

3:30am

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

bitch i’m a 90′s child of the internet, i was around the web before YouTube launched, i was there when the first modern memes were fucking conceived. i will say the biggest repository of meme culture that i was a part of was YouTube and icanhazcheezburger.com & its side-sites.

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

duffel - Tie-Dye Girl from the Lindsey Lohan “Parent Trap” made quite the impression on me

38. lemonade or tea?

Lemonade! hate the leaf water

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

Lemon cake! Not a meringue pie girl saly

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

I’ve been to a lot of schools yo lol. My undergrad college was def the “weirdest” ofc, bc it was an art school lol. An instance that stands out was a string of “Solid Gold Clit” graffiti after a Sophia Wallace visit to campus right before i started there.

41. last person you texted?

My bff triad pals @backwardswriter and @bristarshine

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

damn tough call. Probably jacket pockets bc i’m more likely to have those as a lady who wears lady-targeted pants

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

Hoodie

44. favorite scent for soap?

Plum!

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Fantasy, though sci-fi is a solid 2nd. Not much of a superhero gal

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

.....underwear only. Sometimes an oversized t-shirt too.

47. favorite type of cheese?

Mozzarella!!!

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

I would want to be like a pomegranate, but i’m probably a nectarine

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

“If you hope for the best but expect the worst, you’ll never be disappointed.”

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

bitch i’m a giggle monster, i taught myself to be easily amused as a survival mechanism.

51. current stresses?

My own lack of discipline.

52. favorite font?

oooooof i have so many ok. too name a few: Centaur, Garamont, Book Antigua, Times New Roman, Montserrat.....mostly Serif fonts bc I’m an old books bitch

53. what is the current state of your hands?

I don’t love my hands (how homophobic of me, I know). Currently they’re kinda dry and full of sandwich

54. what did you learn from your first job?

what kind of boss I like. also that my customer service voice is frighteningly pleasant

55. favorite fairy tale?

Original tale: Thumbelina. Adaptations: Snow White.

56. favorite tradition?

uhhh Thanksgiving feast I guess? i am not a traditions gal

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

I am very very fortunate to not have a lot or a severity of these. The ones that I’ve had the worst of are: gender discrimination/harassment as a woman, hardcore emotional abuse in a relationship, and heavy heavy mental illness

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

Tangible talents: writing, lying. Intangible: A+ imagination, useless trivia.

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

“I support you!”

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

like if Tokyo Mew Mew and Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni had a baby

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

Again, how dare you. Like literally, asking me to pick a favorite line from something is like asking what my favorite breed of dog is. Legit impossible

62. seven characters you relate to?

Ananka Fishbein (Kiki Strike series), Mermista (She Ra & the Princesses of Power), Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter), Gwen (Total Drama), Rori Gilmore (Gilmore Girls), Villanelle (Killing Eve), Andrea (St. Trinian’s)

so like all very- to semi-weird white girls lmao

63. five songs that would play in your club?

[by the term “club” i assume that i’m limited to pop and electronic music. even with the limitation, though, a super hard question]

“Talking Body” by Tove Lo

“Hot in Herre” by Nelly

“Because the Night” by Cascada

“Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels” by Todrick Hall

“Break Free” by Ariana Grande ft. Zedd

64. favorite website from your childhood?

pretty much any doll franchise’s site (Barbie, Bratz, My Scene, Polly Pocket, Diva Girlz, everGirl, etc you name it)

65. any permanent scars?

Yep. One by a dog scratch (it was honestly a weak/shallow/innocent scratch, i still have no idea why it scarred at all), and a few from a car crash last year

66. favorite flower(s)?

i don’t really like flowers? i usually just say Forget-Me-Not’s for ease

67. good luck charms?

bitch idk but i’m knocking on wood just from thinking bout it

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

you ever taste that chocolate Laffy Taffy? vile bruh

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

I am annoying enough to know how i learnt all my facts, but the funnest fact I like to annoy people with is that ducks have corkscrew penises evolved from their main form of mating being rape

70. left or right handed?

Right (like any ol’ simp)

71. least favorite pattern?

polka dots

72. worst subject?

MATH and also PHYS ED

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

One time whilst high, I put nacho cheese Doritos on a tuna sandwich. Winning combo, I’m telling you

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

My pain tolerance is straight up unpredictable, so like anywhere from a 3 to a 9

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

5 years old

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

Mashed potatoes

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

I am not a plant person. Moss.

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

fucking neither but i at least like coffee so i guess the former....

(i know, it’s tragic and barbaric that i dislike sushi, i wish i had another answer for you)

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

Neither lmao - I got them within a month of each other (six years ago) so they’re essentially the same photo.

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

Jewel!

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

I mean those are the same bug so I assume this is asking about which terminology I typically use/prefer. Which i would say both bc I’m a cultured ho

82. pc or console?

I don’t game so I guess PC lmao

83. writing or drawing?

Writing but I like both

84. podcasts or talk radio?

damn neither lmao I can’t focus on non-music audio only. I guess talk radio, just bc I can do like ten minute radio segments at least lol

84. barbie or polly pocket?

both were lit but I had more Barbies

85. fairy tales or mythology?

not to sound like a broken record but FIRST OF ALL HOW DARE YOU? second of all, I essentially consider them in the same category at this point in modernity, so my answer is Yes.

86. cookies or cupcakes?

Cupcakes, but both are exquisite

87. your greatest fear?

spiders, heights, clowns, seeing bad things happening to animals, that my consciousness will exist even after death, y’know normal stuff

88. your greatest wish?

to transfer myself into one of my fave fictional worlds

89. who would you put before everyone else?

dogs, next question

90. luckiest mistake?

i make a lot of those honestly, so who knows

91. boxes or bags?

LISTEN I LOVE CONTAINERS OF ALL SORTS, YOU CAN’T MAKE ME CHOOSE, IM PANSEXUAL FOR A REASON

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

FLASHLIGHTS, BITCH

93. nicknames?

Ky, KyKy, Moonshine, SugarTits, Goog Bones

94. favorite season?

Autumn (yes i call it that instead of Fall bc i’m a pretentious ass bitch lol)

95. favorite app on your phone?

Tumblr, c’mon

96. desktop background?

Currently a digital art painting of a flowing stag in a swamp that I downloaded from DeviantArt. I change it every few months though (to other downloaded digital art from DA that I collect periodically lmao)

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

Seven - mine, my mom’s 2 numbers, my grandma’s, my pop’s cell and office (also my old office) numbers, and my childhood house phone number lol

98. favorite historical era?

Golden Age of Piracy, specifically bc the piracy lol

Thank you so much for the asks, this was so much fun!!!

#asks

[staticscreenwriting]

Heaven can wait - Billy Hargrove

Synopsis: Love letters, mothers, valentine’s day aaaand everyone’s favorite song to sing along to when drunk and emotional. 

A/N: I wrote this for @moonstruckhargrove ‘s Valentine’s Day writing challenge. I had the “love letter” prompt. What I only realized when I was done though, was that I mostly ignore the “it has to be centered around Valentine’s Day” rule. Vday is mentioned so I hope this still counts. Enjoy.

[additional note: I am German. Sometimes I get the tense wrong or make mistakes. I am useless when it comes to punctuation. Go easy on me, please.]

Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies. Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.  

February fucking sucks. That’s the underlying truth of it all. It’s grey and dark and cold and miserable. Christmas has come and gone and the novelty of snow has worn off by the time January 12th rolls around.

Hawkins Indiana might look like a scene straight from some cheesy Hallmark greeting card but it sure doesn’t feel like it.

(Y/N) pulls her coat tighter around herself as she steps out of Hawkins High and into the harsh winter wind. The sound of crunching snow beneath her boots that brought her joy just a month earlier, now only serves to remind her that summer is so many months away.

To say she’s sick of it might just be the understatement of the century.

There’s a great bustling of people on the school grounds. They’re hanging up banners and bows and hearts made of paper and entirely too much glitter glue. It’s like middle school but worse. Because back in middle school, Valentine’s day was this cutesy tradition that was over the top cheesy and ridiculous but in the end it was just for shits and giggles anyway.

High School is a whole different story. Valentine’s Day is serious business at Hawkins High. Various committees had formed and organized all kinds of things for the big day. You can buy chocolates for your crush and have it sent to them in class. They set up a wall that students can pin their teenage love confessions to. They even organized a fucking dance for the night of Valentine’s Day.

And now it’s not like (Y/N) hates the day or the couples or the shameless commercialization of love. It’s just — a lot.

Additionally, it makes her aware just how awfully single she is and how the one guy she truly wants really only sees her as a friend. And you don’t date friends.

There’s countless movies where the main characters start out as best friends then fall in love and then live happily ever after. But that’s not reality is it ? (Y/N) parents started out as the best of friends then fell in love somewhere along the line. They got married in spring, had little (Y/N) then lived and loved until their friendship was sucked into the big black void of everyday life. Now dad lives in a bachelor pad in some high rise in Indianapolis and fucks his secretary and mom takes antidepressants as if they were tic-tacs.

They don’t show that in the movies, do they ?

So actually ever confessing her feelings for her best friend is an absolute no-go.

Speak of the devil.

Billy is leaning against his car looking like a young god, unbothered by the perpetual teenage disillusion with the future.

Like the world is his and he knows it.

“ You’re gonna get hypothermia one of these days ? “ (Y/N) approaches him and points towards his half-unbuttoned shirt.

Billy might just be the most stubborn person (Y/N) knows. He simply refuses to buy winter clothes. “ I’m not gonna stay here anyway “ is what he always says and sure, that might be the case, but he’s here now and he’s freezing his ass off. Yet he’d rather freeze than admit it and cave and buy himself a freaking winter coat.

“ I have a great immune system “ Billy replies, a smirk pulling at the edge of his lips.

A smirk that makes (Y/N)’s heart beat just a little faster.

“ Oh do you ? That why you been sneezing all day ? “

“ Shut up “ Billy replies then takes a last drag from his cigarette and throws it to the ground.

“ You got somewhere to be today ? “ He asks (Y/N), eyebrows furrowed. There’s a certain edge to his voice that immediately tells her that something is wrong. There’s something on his mind he wants to talk about. Something weighing on his shoulders.

“ Nope. Why ? “

He just nods towards the Camaro and mumbles a “ get in “ before opening his car door and slumping down on the driver’s seat.

So it’s one of those days. Where he doesn’t talk, at least not yet. (Y/N)’s learned that asking questions just makes him talk even less. He will open up, eventually. It’s just that opening up feels like admitting defeat to him. Feels like showing weakness.

It’s not and (Y/N) is trying her best to make sure he knows this. That he can allow himself to be vulnerable with her of all people. Because despite it all, she’s his best friend.

The drive is mostly silent except for the sound of Billy’s beloved Metallica tape playing through the car radio. He looks tense. His hands are gripping the steering wheel tightly and there’s a serious look on his face. It makes (Y/N) nervous. Makes her fear that a Goodbye is closer than expected. That maybe his dad is taking him away again. Somewhere else. Somewhere new. She knows there’s an end to their friendship eventually. An expiry date. All he wants is to go back to California and though she’s his best friend, (Y/N) doesn’t think she’s worth enough to make him stay. Or at least wait. To wait until she’s figured out which way to go after graduation. To see if maybe her path could lead her west. Could lead he towards California. Towards the sun. Towards the beach. Towards Billy.

Now that idea doesn’t sound all that bad to her. But would he even want her to come ?

Billy parks the car at the edge of the quarry. It’s kind of their place. Unofficially of course. But they come here whenever they need to vent. Whenever things get too bad. Whenever Neil adds another bruise to Billy’s skin. Whenever things at (Y/N)’s home feel like suffocating her.

“ Sooo … “ (Y/N) speaks up after a moment.

“ I gotta show you something “  

“ Okay ? “

For a moment Billy fumbles around in the pocket of his leather jacket, before he pulls out a very crumpled piece of paper.

“ So uh — Neil thought it was time to get rid of some of mom’s things that we still had and, you know him. Asshole didn’t wanna deal with any of it so he put all the boxes into my room. Most of it was clothes and shit that I don’t want to keep either but as I went through a box of records she left with us, I found a bunch of letters “ Billy starts to explain. His voice is laced with emotion. There’s anger and sadness and utter confusion.

It’s always hard for him to talk about his mother. When they started to become friends, (Y/N) has honestly thought she was dead, the way Billy didn’t talk about her at all. Just mentioned his mom every once in a while. It took one of Carol’s parties and a bottle of Tequila for him to come clean about the fact that his mom didn’t die, she left.

Every once in a while, when he has a really good or a really bad day, he tells (Y/N) little snippets of what his life used to be like. Back before his mom left. When he still had a proper family. And every time (Y/N) can tell just how hard it still weights on his heart.

“ Letters ? “

“ Mm-mh. Letters from my mom to a man. Some dude named Michael. Letters she never sent. Fucking love letters. “

There was never a doubt in (Y/N)’s mind, that Billy adores his mother. Not the woman who left but the one he got to know before. Whenever he talks about her it’s with love and fond memories. He seems different now though. Unsure if he really properly knew his mother to begin with.

“ She talks about how much she loves him. How she wishes she could be there with him. She mentions me too. Says I’m too young to understand. Too young to do it by myself. Fucking hell she was unhappy even when I was just a baby. I — I thought that things used to be good at one point but apparently it was shit from the start. “

(Y/N) honestly doesn’t know what to say. She wants to hold him and tell him that his mother doesn’t know the person she decided to leave behind. That it’s her loss. That she is never going to see the wonderful boy he grew up to be. The one that means so much to (Y/N). The one she loves so dearly.

Only friends don’t say that, do they ?

“ There’s tons of letters. The first one goes all the way back to when I was just 2 months old. Last one was written just days before she left. I — I wonder if she went there. I wonder if she had enough and decided she wanted to be with this guy. I wonder when she decided I was old enough to leave behind. “

He’s caught somewhere between pure rage and utter sadness. It takes over his mind like a tidal wave. Like suddenly everything he ever thought he knew is full on bullshit. His head is filled with so many what-ifs. All his happy childhood memories, where they really all that happy if his mom wished she could’ve been somewhere else ?

“ You think she might be there ? “ (Y/N) asks, wondering if she should be saying anything at all.

“ I was asking myself that question too. She must’ve gone there, right ? In all these letters she keeps talking about how all she wants is to be with this dude. It only makes sense, right ? “

“ Right. “

(Y/N) carefully considers the next words. She’s about to propose an idea that could potentially change everything. Good or bad.

But maybe some things are worth it.

“ Do you wanna go ? “

“ Go where ? “

“ Go see her in — “ (Y/N) takes the letter from his hand and reads the address out loud “ Pensacola Florida “

Billy combs his fingers through his blonde locks and lets out a sigh. “ That’s like a 10 hour drive. And for what ? “

“ Closure ? “

There’s a million different ways this could go and they’re all flashing in front of Billy’s eyes at that moment. He’s been thinking about this moment ever since his mom left and now that he finally has an idea of where she might be, he’s terrified.

“ Would you come ? “ he asks it almost timidly. As if there’s any chance she’s gonna say no. As if she wouldn’t follow him to the end of the earth and further.

“ Billy, you’re my best friend I’d come anywhere you want me to “

“ Yeah, yeah. You’re are. “ And for a moment he hesitates as if he wants to say so much more. Only he doesn’t dare speak those words.

“ So, Florida ? “

Billy takes her hand in his and squeezes it for a moment. His hands are warm and rough and (Y/N) wonders what they’d feel like touching other parts of her body. Then she scolds herself for it because friends don’t think stuff like that. Do they ?

“ Florida! “

- OOO -

The camaro is filled with the smell of cream soda and beef jerky. But really, that’s the smell of a good road trip.

Before they embarked on their epic adventure, Billy insisted they stock up on all the snacks and drinks anyone could ever consume on a 10 hour drive.

The radio is playing softly in the background as the two teens laugh and bicker about god and the world.

Hearing Billy laugh, like actually genuinely laugh, is something (Y/N) thinks she’ll never get enough of. He’s got the most radiant smile, the most infectious laugh. It’s a downright shame the world doesn’t give him more reasons to do it. And if we’re being real honest here, (Y/N) takes a little pride in being the one that can get the laughs and smiles from him.

“ So what did you tell your parents ? “ Billy asks then follows it up with a “ Twizzler please “

(Y/N) pulls a twizzler out of the package and holds it out towards Billy’s mouth, basically feeding the sweet treat to him.

“ Ah you know, It’s my weekend with dad so mom thinks I’m there. Dad thinks I’m at the Valentine’s Day dance. It’s no big deal, really “

“ Sorry about that by the way “ Billy mumbles around the bit of his Twizzler.

“ ‘bout what ? “

“ Making you miss the dance. “

(Y/N) scoffs. As is she was gonna go to the dance anyway. Going to prom with your friends was one thing but going to a Valentine’s Day dance by yourself was just sad.

“ Oh yeah because being single at the Valentine’s Day dance is totally something I was looking forward to. “

“ Ah, I’m sure you could’ve found some guy to take you. “

“ But it’s a Valentine’s Day dance, Billy. You don’t want some guy to take you. You want the guy. “

Billy raises his eyebrow in question before taking a sip from his cream soda.

“ So what’s the guy like then ? “ he asks.

You. (Y/N) thinks. But she knows that even if anything were to ever happen between them, Billy isn’t the type of guy to shoq up to school dances. He’s not one for big dramatic gestures. He’s just Billy. And that’s enough.

And anyway, a road trip to Florida fueled by cream soda and twizzlers sounds way more exciting than some school dance anyway.

“ Billy Idol “

“ What ? Really ? “

“ Oh yeah. He’s hot, he makes great music and he’s got the whole bad boy thing going for him”.

Billy shakes his head in disbelief though (Y/N) can just make out the hint of a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. Billy doesn’t smile a lot but when he does oh god it’s marvelous.

“ That all it takes ? Some bleached hair and a leather jacket ? “

“ And really tight leather pants “

“ Of course, can’t forget those “.

A silence settles upon the two. Thick with words unspoken. By now the snow has vanished from the surroundings and (Y/N) can’t help but feel somehow liberated.

Like she’s escaped the winter and the cold and the miserable truth that with the actual spring comes their graduation and with that the end of her time with Billy. It’s like she gets the warmth and the sun and the joy without the heartbreak.

Maybe this is what they need, she thinks, one last adventure before the inevitably have to say goodbye.

“ Can we go to the beach ? “ (Y/N) asks, images flooding her head of burying her feet in the warm sand and forgetting about the grey cloud above her hometown for just a moment.

“ Yeah. Yeah we can “

(Y/N) takes another sip of her drink “ Can we also go to Disney World ?“

Billy doesn’t answer but he smiles. A full on smile. It doesn’t stretch upon his entire face but it’s big enough to earn itself the title of a proper smile. And that’s all she needs, really. This is better than any ride at any theme park could ever be.

- OOO -

The setting sun casts the sky in vibrant shades of pink and orange. It’s like a picture from a postcard and though (Y/N)’s seen many sunsets in her life, she knows this one is her favorite. There’s something magical about it.

They’re parked on the edge of a gas station parking lot. Being on the road for hours after a rather stressful day at school, they’re both exhausted and decided it’s best to rest for the night.

Billy is finishing a bag of beef jerky as (Y/N) switches through the different radio stations looking for something to listen to. Looking for a station that’s playing anything but the Flashdance soundtrack.

“ Let us die young or let us live forever

We don't have the power, but we never say never

Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip

The music's for the sad man”

“ Oh my god I love this song “ (Y/N) exclaims as the words to Forever Young echo through the Camaro.

“ I hate this song “

“ Oh come oooon now. It’s catchy. “

Billy only rolls his eyes “catchy doesn’t mean good”.

“ No but catchy means I get to sing along “

And she does. At the very top of her lungs. She belts out the words to the chorus like her life depends on it. There’s so much joy on her face though, that Billy can’t even be mad. In fact, he finds himself admiring her and her unwavering love for life. The way she just lets go and allows herself to be goofy and ridiculous. He wishes he could let go and just — be.

“ FOREEEEEVER YOUUUUUUNG I WANT TO BEEE FOREEEEEEVER YOUNG. Come on Billy. I know you want to sing along “.

“ I don’t sing. “

“ Nah. Bullshit. You’re just embarrassed. I bet you can’t sing “

“ Neither can you “

“ I know. So what ? It’s just us, right ? Just you and I. Who cares ? “

And really, who does care ? Maybe this trip was his awakening. Maybe he can let go when it is just the two of them. Him and (Y/N). (Y/N) who is honest but never judges him unfairly. Who lets him be the person he is. Always. Who never tries to change him. Not even the bad parts. Not even the really shitty parts he wants to change himself.

So he let’s go. For the first time in a long time. And not in the way of getting blackout drunk. But in letting himself be ridiculous. Be a dumb teenager singing along to a dumb song. He lets himself be goofy. Allows himself to be, well — young.

“ So many dreams swinging out of the blue. We let them come truuuue ! “

“ Hah ! I knew it! You even know the words !”

And when he catches the pure and unfiltered happiness in (Y/N)’s eyes and the huge smile spreading across her face, he thinks maybe this isn’t so bad. Maybe it’s worth it.

So he grabs her hand and their voices mix as the belt along to the chorus.

“ Forever young, I want to be forever young. Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever ? “

It’s like magic caught in moment. Like love caught inside a ‘79 Chevrolet Camaro. And Billy never wants it to end.

- OOO -

The outside world is only illuminated by the distant glow of the gas station’s neon signs as (Y/N) wakes up in the back of the Camaro. Billy had generously offered her the more comfortable sleeping space while he closed his eyes still sitting in the driver’s seat which, (Y/N) notices, is now deserted.

She spots him leaned against the front of the car, cigarette in hand. The magic from earlier is gone and has made room for all the anxiety of what’s to come once they reach their destination.

Slowly (Y/N) climbs out of the car and stands next to Billy.

“ You alright ? “

He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just takes a drag and blows the cigarette smoke into the nightair.

“ I honestly have no fucking clue anymore “ Billy scoffs, letting his tongue wet his lips in unease.

(Y/N) notices a can of beer in the hand that isn’t holding onto the cigarette.

“ Have you been drinking ? No judgement or anything just if you did I can drive tomorrow morning “.

Billy shakes his head “ Nah. I uh — I thought it would help settle my nerves but it doesn’t. Only had a sip. I just — I’m terrified, (Y/N) “

It’s unusual for Billy to tell anyone how he feels so (Y/N) knows this is special. That this really means something. That this situation must weight so heavy on his heart.

“ I’ve been imagining this day for so long. Since the moment she left really. And now that it’s actually happening I don’t know how to feel. I have — I have no idea how to react when we find her. If we even find her. Who knows she might not even be there. Do I talk to her ? What do I tell her ? I don’t know anything anymore. I just — she’s my mom and she just left “

There’s a sniffle, then another one and another. And just like that Billy comes undone right in front of (Y/N). His face shows pure agony. Deep sadness. Absolute confusion. All at once. There’s anger and pain and heartache. If she could she’d take it all from him and live with his pain if it meant he never had to feel it again.

But she can’t.

So she does the one thing she can do. Show him she’s there with him every step of the way. The good, the bad and most of all the ugly.

She softly leans her head against Billy’s shoulder as he drops the cigarette stump into the can of beer gone stale by now. His arm finds its way around (Y/N)’s shoulder who promptly links her fingers with his.

Even with all the misery and heartache and angst, a little of the magic comes back suddenly. With soft touches and hearts filled with love for the other.

“ Florida is nice “ (Y/N) says as the both watch the sun slowly rising above the horizon.

“ California is better “ Billy replies “ You’d like it “.

“ You should show me one day. I uh — I applied to some colleges on the west coast so … “

Billy looks down towards the girl cuddled into his arms and it’s like a spark ignites deep inside his heart. And it sounds like some absolute pussy shit. Like something Harrington would probably write in one of his cheesy letters to the Wheeler girl. But it’s true.

No matter how much he tries to deny it, the future absolutely scares him. But a future with (Y/N) doesn’t sound so bad. It sounds comforting. It sounds like something he’d very much want.

“ Would you want to go ? “

“ To California ? “

Billy nods.

“ Yeah obviously “.

“ With me ? “

It’s (Y/N)’s turn to nod now. She wants to say so much. Mostly that she loves him and that she wants nothing more than to go about this life with him. But she doesn’t because some things mean too much to say them out loud, even if there’s nothing you’d rather do.

“ I’d like that too. Very much “ he tells her “ You’re pretty much the only person I don’t get sick of. And I — that’s pretty neat “.

Billy Hargrove has never told anyone that he loves them. He thinks this is as close as he’s ever come before.

As he looks down at her, illuminated by the sunrise and the pink neon sign advertising 70ct slushies, Billy thinks she looks phenomenal in pink. He thinks she’s probably the prettiest sight he’s ever seen.

And he wants to kiss her, so badly. With every fiber of his being. But this isn’t the time or the place. She deserves better than kissing this version of him. The tired, anxiety stricken mess.

So he’s going to wait. Even if it goes against everything in him.

“ You ready to get back on the road ? “ he asks instead and prays to every higher power that he hasn’t just wasted his chance.

(Y/N) nods again and the magic is gone.

- OOO -

There’s a pale blue house at the end of a cul-de-sac. It has a big front yard with a swing set and a white picket fence surrounding the property. Ther mailbox is white and splattered with the same blue paint of the house. In bold black letters it tells everyone that this house belongs to the Stone-Hargrove household.

Billy and (Y/N) sit in the Camaro, parked just across the street from the house and observe it closely. No one is home right now, that much is obvious. The lights are off and no one’s been seen through the big front window yet. There’s no cars in the driveway and everything is quiet.

“ Should we leave ? “ Billy asks and nervously wipes his sweaty hands on his jeans.

“ Do you want to leave ? “

He thinks for a moment then shakes his head.

“ Then we won’t leave.”

While Billy doesn’t dare take his eyes off the house, (Y/N) reads through the letters Billy has handed to her. They’re all varying in sizes and shape. Some of the love confessions are written down neatly on stationary paper with little flowers around the edges. Some are hastily scribbled onto napkins or the back of some promotional flyers. They all have something in common though, they were never sent.

As she reads through them, (Y/N) can’t help but imagine the woman writing them all those years ago. A woman who seemed all but happy in her situation. A woman who so desperately wanted to give her heart to the little boy she had put into this world. Only her heart was never her’s to give away. It already belonged to the man in Florida.

She mentions Billy several times and it really does sound like she loves him. Only not enough. (Y/N) thinks that maybe life isn’t that easy. That it isn’t entirely black and white. That some women aren’t born mothers. That you can try and try and do your best but hat maybe some aren’t meant to be moms.

And yet she can’t help but feel a little resentment towards her. For breaking Billy’s heart.

(Y/N) gets shaken from her daydream as she hears Billy’s breath hitch. She looks at him, then follows his glance towards the house.

There’s a white Jeep Wagoneer pulling into the driveway. A man gets out, salt and pepper hair and smile on his face. He looks kind. Like he’s jumped right out of a 70’s tv family. Your poster-child for the perfect suburban dad.

He’s followed by a woman and at that point Billy’s breath speeds up a little. There’s no doubt in either of the teen’s minds that this is her. She has the same dark blonde hair as Billy. The same smile. Only she seems to show it far more often. She opens the backdoor of the car and a kid jumps out. A girl about Max’s age, maybe younger.

That’s the exact moment Billy’s heart sinks.

She looks just like a girl version of him when he was that age. It’s like looking into a damn mirror they’re so similar. Only they aren’t are they ? Because she’s happy and smiling and driving around a perfect suburban neighbourhood with her mom and dad and they’re smiling and they’re happy and the love each other. And she doesn’t have to ask herself every single fucking night why she wasn’t good enough for her mom to stay. And she doesn’t have to fear coming home to a dad who hates her guts. No she doesn’t.

Billy did. Billy does.

And for a moment he feels resentment cursing through him. Until he feels the soft touch of (Y/N)’s hand against his as she gently pulls his hand off the steering wheel and links her fingers with his.

It’s not the kids fault. Billy has to remind himself. And this woman ? She may have given birth to him but she wasn’t his mother. This was a different woman living a different life. A life that didn’t involve him. A life separate from him. From all the memories they made.

“ That’s not my mom “ he says so timidly, so softly, (Y/N) almost doesn't hear.

“ My mom made me blueberry pancakes on sunday mornings and sang along to Elvis on the radio. “ he continues and sighs deeply. “ My mom took me to Chuck E. Cheese’s every first friday of the month. She told my bedtime stories about dragons and heroes. She built a birdhouse with me for the blackbirds that always hung around in our garden. She took me to the beach whenever possible and helped me find the coolest seashells. This isn’t my mom. My mom loved me and she stopped being my mom when she didn’t. “

And then he turns to (Y/N) and there’s tears in his eyes and she so desperately wants to tell him she loves him but maybe this isn’t the right moment. He deserves better. He deserves an I love you that doesn’t come in a moment of sadness. He deserves an I love you that comes with a moment of magic.

“ My mom loved me. She did. I know this and that’s enough. “ Billy says and smiles. (Y/N)wonders if he says those words to her or if they’re meant for himself. In the end, it doesn’t matter.

“ Let’s go to the beach “ Billy suggests and squeezes (Y/N) hand.

“ Yeah, let’s “

- OOO -

(Y/N) stands by the shore, boots long forgotten by the car as her feet are buried in the warm wet sand. The crashing of waves sends a calm through her. There’s no one but them at this small patch of beach. The sand isn’t perfectly white and the water isn’t crystal clear but it’s perfect. She’s missed the warmth and the sun. It feels good to be here, even better now that Billy has voiced that he’d like for her to come with him to California.

Maybe this can be a weekly thing soon. Them hanging out by the beach, away from the cold and the misery and the heartbreak.

Billy takes a last drag from his cigarette before he pushes himself off the car and walks towards (Y/N).

She looks phenomenal against the backdrop of the ocean. It’s his two favorite things in one place. He thinks that maybe this trip meant so much more than they had initially planned. It made him realize what actually matters to him.

If (Y/N) thinks he’s good enough then there might just be some truth to it. Because she’s entirely too good for him and yet she chooses to drive halfway across the country with him over a Highschool Dance.

He softly touches her hand and pulls her towards the car. Brushing off as she rises her eyebrows in confusion.

“ I’m sorry I made you miss the dance so uh — I think I owe you one “ Billy says. (Y/N) is sure she can just make out a slight blush settling on his cheeks.

“ Billy wha— “

He lifts up a finger as a sign for her to wait, then leans into the car and presses play on the radio, turning the volume all the way up.

Chicago’s “You’re the inspiration” sounds through the air and (Y/N) can’t keep herself from laughing.

“ Didn’t take you for someone who listens to that kind of music “ she jokes and grants Billy a teasing smirk.

“ Ah you know “ Billy says and shrugs “ the girls like it “.

“ Oh really ? “

“ Mmh “ Billy replies then pulls (Y/N) closer settling his hands on her hips as she wraps hers around his neck in return.

“ You’re just a big softy on the inside, huh ? I knew it !”

Billy smiles for a moment then grows serious again. He clears his throat once, twice, then speaks up again. There’s the force of a storm hidden in his eyes. And warmth. And love.

“ Look I — I gotta tell you something. And please don’t interrupt me because if I don’t do this now I’ll get the jitters and never say it. “

The words leaving his lips send (Y/N) heart beating faster.

“ I’m in love with you, (Y/N). I love you. I have to tell you this because the whole thing with my mother’s letters just made me realize that I don’t want to live my life constantly regretting not telling you how much you mean to me. I don’t want to settle for someone I don’t want just because I was too chicken shit to admit my feelings to you. And I know you think that friends falling in love can never last and I know that your parents’ failed marriage has you cynical and I know that this might not be forever but it is now and I honestly can’t see me loving anyone else. I don’t want to regret a single moment not spent with you. And I sure as hell don’t want my future children to feel like my heart is someplace else. I love you, (Y/N). I think you’re by far the coolest person of all time and also your ass is almost as great as mine. I thought you should know. “

There’s no fireworks or butterflies. Nothing fundamentally changes as he speaks those words and yet it feels different. Better. Like there’s a weight lifted and they can finally breathe again.

“ You think I’m cool ? “ (Y/N) asks. There’s a smile on her face that makes Billy’s heart stop and beat faster all at once.

“ That’s what you took from my monologue right now ? That’s it ? “

“ Billy ? “

“ Hmm ? “

“ I love you too. Happy Valentine’s Day. “

It’s all she says but it’s enough. Because he’s enough. For her. And maybe even for himself.

If there ever was a moment to kiss her it’s now. He thinks this is what she deserves. A beach and a love song and a sunset. Magic in a moment.

It’s slow and the air around them practically sizzles with electricity as they move closer. Every sense is registering what’s happening. Billy closes his eyes and feels her soft skin under his hands. He can smell the salty ocean air in her hair.

It’s but a whisper of a touch at first. When her lips meet his and, fuck does it sound cheesy, but feels like so much more than any other kiss ever did. Because she’s his girl.

And she doesn’t taste of cotton candy and miracles but coca cola and twizzlers and he still loves kissing her.

She’s soft and warm and she feels like home. Like a home he never knew he needed but now realizes he wants so desperately. And it’s not California or Hawkins or any other god forsaken place. It’s a person and a feeling and a lifetime of ordinary moments sprinkled with those few magical ones.

“ I wanna be forever young with you, Billy Hargrove “ (Y/N) whispers against his lips. She wonders if that makes sense.

To Billy it makes perfect sense.

- OOO -

They’re almost back in Hawkins, when (Y/N) pretty much forces Billy to pull off at the gas station to stock up on more sodas. That and she really has to pee.

Music is softly playing through the radio as Billy’s eyes fall onto a piece of paper placed on the passenger seat. He noticed (Y/N) had been writing something down during the last hour or so of their ride but hasn’t really paid any thought to what it might be.

Now that the opportunity presents itself though, he can’t help but feel curious. And yes it might be a little bit of an invasion of privacy but it’s literally right there next to him and it’s not like she’s tried to hide it or anything.

So with one last look out the window, he opens the folded piece of paper and begins to read.

“ Dear Mrs. Stone or Hargrove or Stone-Hargrove,

my name is (Y/N) and I’m a 18 year old Highschool student at Hawkins High. You don’t know me and honestly that’s fine, this isn’t about me. This is about Billy. The son you left behind all those years ago. I’m not going to judge you or tell you that you were wrong in doing so (even though you were). I have never been in a position like yours. I am, however, gonna tell you about the boy you abandoned, because he’s phenomenal. 

To begin with, he’s absolutely beautiful. Breathtakingly handsome. That comes with an ego, sure. But it makes him charming. So very charming. He’s smart too, even though he won’t admit it. I know he regularly steals books from my bookshelf only to replace them days later once he devoured them. I know this but I don’t mention it because I know it’s something he wants to keep to himself. I fear there’s a part of him that thinks he needs to be the best at something or he isn’t allowed to take pride in it. I think it’s his dad’s fault (Neil is still an asshole by the way).

Billy has a plethora of faults and issues but for every bad personality trait there’s 10 more that I love about him. He’s so genuinely human, faults and all. He’s not trying to be someone else just for the sake of fitting in. I think you broke his heart when you left but he’s trying so hard to hold it together. For his sake and mine.

Billy has a great taste in music. He’s funny. Genuinely funny. And fiercely protective.

It takes a lot to make him open up but once he does, my god it’s worth it. There’s so much love in him it’s breathtaking. It’s all consuming.

I wish you had taken the time to get to know the person he is, then again maybe he wouldn’t be the Billy he is now if it weren’t for you breaking his heart. Maybe he wouldn’t be my Billy.

Bottom line is, Billy Hargrove is so many things, but he’s not defined by the mistakes of his parents and their inability to love him the way he deserves.

This is my love letter to the boy who owns my heart and the boy you chose to leave behind to find yours.

Regards,

(Y/N)”

And it’s then, that Billy realizes she’s right. That when spring comes around and he’s free to leave his father’s home, that he won’t be defined by another person’s choice anymore. That he gets to decide who he is. That he gets to be goofy and ridiculous and silly. That he gets to make mistakes without having to fear repercussions.

That he gets to love.

That he gets to be loved in return.

As he glances out the window again he catches sight of (Y/N) walking back towards the car and as their eyes meet, she smiles that smile that makes his entire world seem just a little brighter.

And looking at her now, he can’t wait for their future to begin.

February fucking sucks. That’s the underlying truth of it all. It’s grey and dark and cold and miserable. But february too will pass and make room for march then april. For spring and warmth and a future that’s uncertain in so many ways. But a future he knows for sure, will be filled with love.

#billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove fanfic #billy hargrove fanfiction #stranger things imagines #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #moonstruckhargrovevday

[realladyjaguar]

Hexanna Christmas Challenge: An Unexpected Visitor

It was Christmas Eve. Roxanna had spent a lot of time getting the Christmas decorations just right. The 300 year old cottage she now shared with Henrik had been theirs for just over six months, and their first Christmas in the new property promised to be very special. 

They had spent the morning roaming the countryside, carefully choosing foliage for indoor decorations. Holly, ivy, several types of evergreen. Roxanna had always enjoyed floristry. It was a form of relaxation away from the hubbub of Holby. Thanks to her nimble surgeon’s fingers, as well as a flair for design, she was rather good at it. 

Henrik sat at the their large oak kitchen table, watching her spread out the leaves and gradually fashion them into a wreath for the front door and a display for the dining table. They had reached home just in time. Now the rain was drumming on the window. Henrik leaned down to sling another chunk of wood on the burner.

“Careful!” Roxanna’s warning came too late. The low beam connected solidly with the top of Henrik’s head. 

“Not again. That beam’s been there for 300 hundred years, you know.” She helped him into a chair.

“Yes, but I haven’t,” he groaned, feeling the sore spot. She examined it, feeling the growing lump. Luckily his curls would hide the evidence. She kissed the spot, feeling him lean against her. 

“I’ll learn,” he said, sighing happily. His long arms wound around her waist. He nuzzled her in a way that told her he wasn’t interested in being in the kitchen any more. 

“Hey, behave yourself.” She made him look up at her. His gaze was gentle and adoring but his glasses had steamed up.

“I am.” He sounded innocent, but she knew better. Since their relationship had become physical, he had surprised her with his passion and prowess. Now he was hungry for her again, burying his nose between her breasts, his hands squeezing her buttocks. She shifted to perch on his knee and they shared a kiss, one that grew in intensity the longer it continued.

As they were contemplating abandoning the kitchen, the back door burst open. 

“Oh for God’s sake, put her down, Henrik.”

They looked towards the drenched figure, shaking a bedraggled umbrella.

Immediately, Henrik was on his feet. “Ms. Naylor, what a pleasant surprise.”

“No it isn’t. My car’s broken down. I’ve walked two miles to get here and my shoes are ruined. If my mood gets any worse, there will be fatalities.”

Roxanna rushed to put the kettle on the Aga. “Get her a towel, Henrik. She’s soaked.”

“I’m fine.” Jac left a trail of water as she plumped down at the kitchen table. She took the towel that Henrik passed to her, stopping first to look at the embroidered R & H in one corner. She rolled her eyes. “Really?”

“It’s called domestic bliss, Ms. Naylor. I recommend it.” Henrik said jovially.

“Ugh, no thanks. Can I borrow your phone? Mine’s run out of charge.”

“Not terribly efficient of you,” Henrik grumbled. 

“Thank you, Mr. Hanssen.” Jac’s voice was acid. “Believe it or not, I am human.” She took the phone from Roxanna.

“Do you have to get back to Emma?” Roxanna put a mug of tea in front of her and looked concerned. 

“She’s with Johnny in Colorado. Ski-ing. Not back until the day after Boxing Day.” Another eye-roll.

“Oh!” Roxanna’s gaze slid to Henrik, and his heart sank. He knew what was coming next. 

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be grateful for the peace and quiet,” he said, before Roxanna could speak. “I never minded it when I was on my own.”

Roxanna’s eyes widened. “She can’t be alone all over Christmas! Jac can stay here with us. We’d love it, wouldn’t we, Henrik?” The last three words were said pointedly, coupled with a stern look.

“Well, of course we would. It’s just too bad we don’t have enough food in. It’s too late to get any now.” Even as he said it, Henrik knew his excuse was lame and futile.

“Oh, there’s plenty,” Roxanna countered, scowling at him. “We’d love to have you here, Jac.”

Henrik glowered back at her. “Perhaps Ms. Naylor has other plans.”

Jac was smiling, enjoying their exchange. “Oh no, not this year. I’ll gladly accept your offer, Roxanna. That’s very kind of you.” She grinned savagely at Henrik. “I can’t wait.”

******

“What on earth possessed you?” Henrik asked as soon as Jac had left with the breakdown truck to retrieve her car. “I was looking forward to a peaceful Christmas with just you and a roaring fire and now we’re playing host to that hellcat.”

Roxanna folded her arms and glared at him. “That’s hardly charitable, Henrik. If you’d prefer to change your shifts and work tomorrow...”

“I am not going to change my shifts!” Henrik exploded. He headed towards the stairs, Roxanna winced as he hit his head on the beam again. “Bloody hell!” He stomped up the stairs. She heard the bedroom door slam. 

Roxanna continued with her foliage decorations, but the joy had gone. She could not help shedding a tear as she teased the leaves into elegant Christmas displays and put them on the mantelpiece, the table and the windowsill. The wreath hung on the front door. It all looked and smelled welcoming and beautiful, but with the atmosphere between her and Henrik at an all-time low, her heart was heavy. 

An hour after he had disappeared upstairs, he went out. She heard him go whilst she as in the bathroom, and just in time saw his Volvo disappearing up the driveway. Then she did cry, curled up on the bed, hugging a pillow. Furious with herself for being so weak, yet unable to shake the feeling that Henrik had only moved to the cottage to please her, all her insecurities over the past few months came to a head. 

It was dark when she finally went downstairs to fix some supper. He still wasn’t back and she wasn’t hungry. She turned on the welcoming porch light and poured herself a glass of wine before running a warm bath. Even though she sat in it until the water was cold, he still didn’t return. In the end, she went to bed, after having wrapped the present she had bought for him. She wasn’t going to ring him. He had overreacted and needed to apologise. Storming out on her on Christmas Eve was simply unacceptable. 

******

Henrik knew Roxanna was upset with him. He had behaved churlishly after all. He had gone to the shops to find something to make it up to her, but really he knew the only way he could do that was to be a charming host to Jac bloody Naylor, who would no doubt find fault with everything and walk away, having ruined their Christmas without so much as a thank you.  

It was as he was walking, he saw the shoe shop. In the window were Doc Martins in several colours, including red ones. As he looked thoughtfully at them, he remembered the last time he tried to give Roxanna something meaningful. She had burst into tears and run away, not the reaction he had been expecting or longed for. 

This time it would be different. He went into the shop. After some deliberation, he chose a patent red pair and had them wrapped. The shop assistant looked pleased as they obviously hadn’t been expecting any more sales that night. Henrik carried them away, feeling pleased. 

But he had one more present to get. He didn’t suppose Jac would have any others to open that year, if she was even bothered about it.

She was bothered. He knew her well enough for that. He roamed around the shops but nothing seemed obvious. In the end he called Essie, who gave him an excellent idea. 

At the garden centre, he saw what he was looking for, a rose entitled Heart Of Gold. As he was walking to the checkout, a horrible thought struck him. 

He was giving another woman a rose. How would that make Roxanna feel?

“Oh dear,” he said out loud, hovering in the middle of the store. 

It was too late, they were closing. He had run out of time. 

On the way home he stopped at an off-licence and bought a bottle of Talisker to cheer himself up. He couldn’t see this Christmas to be anything other than an unmitigated disaster. 

The cottage was in darkness when he arrived home, but the porch light was on and Roxanna’s car was still in its space. As he went inside the house, his mobile rang. 

It was Jac. 

“You’ll be pleased to know I have to decline your offer of lunch tomorrow,” she said. 

“Oh! What a shame.” He tried to keep the relief from his voice. 

“Sacha’s just told me we’re going to a spa hotel to get drunk in a hot tub. It’s an offer I can’t refuse.”

“Definitely not.” Henrik allowed himself a little air punch and a silent “yes!”

“Henrik?”

“Yes, Ms. Naylor?”

“I can see you. I’ve been looking at the inside of your ear for the past two minutes. My present to you is some advice. Acquaint yourself with how your phone works.”

He looked at the screen in horror. She gave him a little smile and a playful one-fingered salute, then disappeared. 

But the fact she wouldn’t be joining them after all outweighed any embarrassment. All Henrik had to do was apologise to Roxanna. He just hoped she would forgive him. 

Especially now she had an extra present.

******

She felt the bed dip as he climbed in, and the coolness of his body as he slipped his arm around her waist, gently moving her closer towards him. His lips pressed to her ear. 

“I’m sorry, Roxanna.” The way he whispered her name made her melt every time. She sleepily turned and pulled him into her arms, warming him up. 

“Jac is going away with Sacha tonight. It was his gift to her,” he explained.

“You’re delighted with that, I’m sure,” she said.

“Yes, but my behaviour was inexcusable tonight. I’m sorry I left you on Christmas Eve. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, you shouldn’t.” She kissed his cheek. “But this time, you’re forgiven.”

******

Christmas Day, and they finally rose after making love in the early morning light. They had all day to fix a leisurely lunch and enjoy their first Christmas in Rose Cottage. Over a champagne breakfast, Henrik presented Roxanna with her two presents. 

When she saw the boots, she began to cry. 

Oh no, not again, Henrik thought, but then she flung her arms around him, and he knew it was the best present he could have given to her. 

“And one more,” he said, pushing the bag with the rose inside it towards her. 

She frowned. “That’s odd. This is your present.” She gave him a bag from the same store. Together, they opened their presents. And began to laugh. 

They had each given the other roses. Where Henrik had chosen Heart Of Gold (okay, so it had been originally for Jac, but Roxanna would never know that) Roxanna had chosen a rose called Cariad.

“It means darling or sweetheart, but I expect you already know that,” she said playfully. 

He pulled her onto his lap and whispered “Roxanna, cariad,” in her ear. She shuddered with delight at the soft caress of words against her skin. She pressed her lips to his, feeling him respond. 

“Wait a moment.” He carefully placed the roses on the floor in the utility area where it was cool, and came back. Without a word he guided her to the kitchen table and gently pushed her back on it. 

“Henrik, wait.” She hastily moved her carefully constructed decoration out of the way. His kisses became hungry as he spread her out on the table. Her silk dressing gown fell apart as her legs wrapped around his waist. When he entered her she held him close, fighting tenderness with fierce arousal, her hands in his hair, his lips on her neck. 

Lunch would definitely be late.

#hexanna christmas fic 2k18 #holby city #hexanna #henrik hanssen #roxanna macmillan #jac naylor

[bazypitchandsimonsnow]

Rainy Day

Rating: T

Genre: Fluff

Words: 2587

Summary: Baz and Simon make the most of a rainy day on their vacation.

Read on AO3

Simon

I wake up alone in the big bed. Which is surprising, considering I’ve been waking up next to Baz all week. The soft duvet is like weighted cloud holding me down. There’s a soft pattering outside the window above the bed. I look up. Rain is falling steadily, soaking the forest floor. Weird, weather report said clear skies.

I stretch as I sit up. The blanket falls down and a shiver runs down my spine. My thin sleeping shirt and boxers are no much for chilly morning wind. With the sheet around my waist, I sort through the pile of clothes in the floor for something wearable, settling on trackies and Baz’s LSE hoodie. I slip on my Spiderman fuzzy socks too. These old wood floors get fucking cold in the morning. Especially since there’s no bloody insulation anywhere except in the kitchen.

I walk through the cottage. It’s a Pitch homestead, originally a fishing cabin built over a 150 years ago. (Relatively recent for their family properties, actually.) Ever since then, descendants have added onto it. And because of that each room looks quite different. The master bedroom is a wood panelled space with chipped white paint, a large old fashioned queen bed in the middle. It leads right into the blue porch dining room. They’re attached, but were actually built over a decade apart.

I take a second to look out through the screen panel walls. I can smell the wet dirt from outside, see the lake rippling in the distance. I think I could stand here, staring outside, for hours. It’s too beautiful. But a different kind of rich smell draws me away.

Walking through the warm high ceilinged living room (the original fishing cabin) and the mint green breezeway, I reach the kitchen. There Baz stands, humming over the stove, wearing a different pair of my sweats and his Scandinavian jumper, hair tied up on top of his head. I lean against the doorframe for a second just to watch him. It’s a bit creepy maybe, but I can’t help it. He looks so happy, so peaceful.

“Morning, love,” I say softly, “you didn’t wake me up?”

“Wanted to let you sleep in a bit. We did hike an entire trail yesterday,” Baz says flatly. But then he turns his head slightly, showing just a corner of his smirk. “Plus I wore you pretty ragged last night too.”

I groan and roll my eyes. “Well aren’t you full of yourself.”

“Am I wrong?”

I shrug but still feel the blush on my cheeks. He notices, if his smug chuckle is any clue. “Maybe you have a point.”

“Of course I do.”

He’s such a smug bastard. I love him.

I walk up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my chin on his shoulder. The scent of greasy bacon fills my nose.

“Smells good,” I hum happily.

“There are also pancakes and scones staying warm in the oven.”

“Ooh, fancy breakfast.” I nuzzle his neck. “You spoil me too much.”

“Duh. We already knew that. Now set the table while I finish this up.”

I kiss his cheek once, then do as he says. The whole kitchen is weirdly rustic and modern at the same time. It’s the most recent addition, built by Baz’s grandmother. The walls are made of smooth warm wood panels, meant to look old but aren’t really. The cupboards and pine table by the window are the same. But other parts aren’t even trying to pretend. The counters are modern laminate and there’s a high tech dishwasher.

I set out two places for us just as Baz finishes with the last of the bacon. He brings out all the delicious smelling food to the table. I lick my lips in anticipation. We sit down across from each other. I wait for him to go first, in an attempt at politeness.

“Just dig in, Snow,” he sighs. “I can hear your stomach from here.”

With an eyeroll, I go straight for the scones. Baz’s are the closest I’ve ever had to Cook Pritchard’s. I slather on the butter then stack on the pancakes. I eat ravenously as usual. Baz eats more carefully but takes just as much as me. He doesn’t bother to hide his fangs anymore. First year of our relationship he still ate with a hand over his mouth. I’m glad he trusts me enough now to not feel like he has to do that.

We eat in relative silence, but it’s not uncomfortable. Just sort od easy, peaceful. But it means I hear the rain and wind speed up outside. I nearly jump when a loud crack of thunder booms across the sky. Baz frowns at the window.

“Guess we’re not going canoeing after breakfast,” I chuckle.

Baz huffs with a slight frown. “No, I guess not. Unless we want to get soaked through out on the lake.”

I sigh and lean my cheek on my hand. “So what are we going to do?”

“Well, we’ll just have to wait out the storm. Should clear in an hour or so.”

“Sounds good to me!” I go back to digging into the pancakes. Made with chocolate chips, of course. Baz knows me too well.

Four hours later, it’s still fucking raining. Falling in sheets with thunder and lightning to boot. So we’re still stuck inside.

We’re in the living room. All the heavy oak doors are closed, keeping the noise of the rain muffled. I’m stretched out on one of the uncomfortable sofas (it was made in the fifties, when everything was uncomfortable), playing on my phone. I turn to look at Baz. He’s sitting on the identical opposite couch, catching up on his readings. There’s a heavy textbook in his lap. His brow is adorably furrowed in concentration, mouthing the words as he reads. I sigh loudly in hope he’ll notice. But he’s too lost in thought. Usually I find it cute and funny how oblivious to the outside world he gets when he’s reading. Not right now though.

I walk over to stand right in front of him. Still nothing. Fuck it. I flop down on the couch and put my head right onto of his book. He jolts back immediately.

“What the hell, Snow?” He snarls.

“I’m booooored!”

He huffs, blowing some hair out of his face. “And what do you expect me to do about that?”

“First of all you could put down your bloody book. It’s Easter break. You’re allowed a little downtime, Mr. A-Plus Student.”

Baz groans, but still pulls the textbook from under my head and puts it to the side. “There. Happy?”

“Yes, very.”

“Now what?”

“Hm, I don’t know.”

He rolls his eyes, tilting his head back. “Your plan is sorely lacking, Snow.”

“Shut up, I’m thinking.”

“That’s a first.”

I pinch his stomach through the sweater. He snickers, placing a hand in my hair. Maybe we should just stay like this. Part of me wonders if I could stay here forever, head in Baz’s lap, his hand gently pulling at my curls. Just together and content. I could on a good day. But I’m too restless now. Like I used to be when I was itching for a fight. I need to be doing something.

“How about cards?” I say quietly

Baz scoffs. “That’s incredibly specific.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Know how to play gin?”

“Yes. Dev, Niall, and I use to play while drunk. Ironically enough.”

I sit up, grinning madly. “Then let’s play.”

“Gin!” I say for the fifth time.

“Dammit!” Baz yells, throwing down his cards. I laugh and clap happily.

“You lose once again, Pitch. That’s five to zero for Simon Snow.”

“How are you so damn good at this game?”

I take the cards and start shuffling them. “We used to play this all the time in the group home. Played for candy though, so I learned to get good.”

Baz chuckles. “You learned to play gin well to win candy? Crowley, that’s the most Simon Snow thing I’ve ever heard.”

I frown. “Oh fuck off.”

“Never said it was a bad thing, love.”

He reaches across the table and puts his hand over mine. The way he smiles makes my heart melt. It’s soft, quiet, and easy, everything I used to think Baz Pitch never could be. I’ve learned better since then.

“Want to play another round?” He says.

My stomach gurgles practically on cue. “Actually, I’m pretty hungry. How about lunch?”

“Sounds good to me. What shall we make?”

I lean back in my chair, linking my hands behind my head and smiling smugly “I think the loser should have to make lunch.”

He scoffs and crosses his arms. “But I made breakfast!

“But, you lost at gin. Five times. So you should make us lunch. Not my fault you suck.”

Baz huffs. “You’re such an arsehole.” He stands up though, and starts marching towards the kitchen. I lean out towards the door.

“I love you!” I say with a sing song.

“Arsehole!” He shouts back. I cackle proudly.

Baz makes grilled cheeses. But they’re all fancy with tomatoes and mustard and old cheddar. He knows I like them plain. I think it’s his small protest at having to make them. I eat mine anyway.

The storm still rages outside. I sigh and glare at the window.

“Can’t believe it still hasn’t stopped,” I mutter.

Baz shrugs. “Maybe Zeus is being pissy.”

“Zeus is a dick then.”

“Of course he is. Have you ever read Greek myth?”

I chuckle. “Got a point there.”

He sighs heavily. “It does suck that we’ve been stuck inside all day, though.”

An idea shoots through my head. An amazing, awful idea. Baz notices, his eyes narrowing at me. He slowly outs down his grilled cheese.

“Snow, what are you-”

I jump from my chair bolt out towards the doors. Making a sharp right at the breezeway, I push open the the screen door and run out into the open space outside the cottage. The water drenches me immediately. I tilt my head back, rain running through my hair and soaking my clothes. I laugh with my mouth open wide.

“For fuck’s sake, Snow!” I look forward. Baz is standing outside but under the overhang, glowering at me. “You’ll catch a cold out there!”

“Oh c’mon, Baz! Live a little, you bloody stick in the mud!”

Baz chews on his lip. I can see the gears turning in his head. His practicality clashing with his emotions. I just keep standing there, drenched in the rain, smiling at him. He sighs, then runs forward. I laugh loudly and joyfully, tilting my head back again. Baz joins me. It’s rare to hear him laugh like this. With no reservations or regard for what other’s may think. All his walls down.

I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him to me in a crushing kiss. He clutches waist in turn. Everything melts away to just the two of us. The heat of his lips easily counteracts the cold of the rain. I run a hand through his soaked hair, letting the strands slip between my fingers. He moans into my mouth and pushes us even closer together. This is all so perfect I’m pretty sure it’s a dream. And if it is, I never want to wake up.

Baz pulls back slightly, separating our mouths but keeping us close together.

“Kissing in the rain, Snow?” He chuckles, obviously more than a little breathless. “Talk about cheesy.”

“Shut up, you love it.”

He looks right into my eyes. Not shying away for even a second. “I certainly do.”

I press my lips to his again. I know he’s talking about more than just a kiss in the rain.

Baz passes me the hot cocoa with mini marshmallows. I stick my shaking hands out of my quilt cocoon to take it.

“T-T-Thanks,” I chatter out.

Baz sighs. “This is your own fault, y'know. You decided to run out into a thunderstorm.”

I glare at him over the mug. “F-Fuck off.”

He chuckles and sits beside me. We’ve shifted the sofa so it’s right in front of the fireplace. Baz uses his wand and sets the logs aflame. It helps, and so does the cocoa. Even in fresh dry clothes I’m still chilled to my bones. Baz is better, but I see him chattering slightly.

We sit in silence for a bit, just trying to regain some warmth. Baz is lost in thought, I can tell. His eyes are distant, mind far away and thinking. His face is blank. I wonder what’s going on in that big beautiful brain of his.

“You know, I’ve always loved this place,” Baz sighs. He keeps staring at the fire, face still expressionless. “We used to come here a lot, when my mother was still alive. She loved it too. I remember her telling me how my great-great-great grandfather built it on a whim. People just kept adding rooms after him until it became this. It grew with the our ancestors. Truly a family home. Not like Hampshire, which was stuck exactly the way it was made. But this place, it’s organic, growing.” He sighs, leaning his head back. He looks calm and content. “I’ve missed it so much.”

“When’s, the last time you were here?” I ask softly.

“I think I was about six. Father and I came, a year after my mum died. But he took us back after less than a day. It was too painful, for the both of us.”

I reach across, cautiously putting my hand on his. “Is- Is it still…painful?”

“A bit. But not as much anymore. And…” He flips his hand over to grasp mine, interlocking our fingers. “And that’s why I wanted to bring you here. I don’t want this place to be painful anymore. I want to make new happy memories here. With you.”

My heart is caught in my throat. I’m more at a loss for words than usual. Nothing can truly summarise what I’m feeling right now. So I just scoot closer and wrap myself around him, putting an arm over his chest and my legs over his. My ear is pressed over his heart, hearing and feeling the soft beat. He hugs me to him and kisses my damp hair.

“We… we should come back,” I whisper. “This summer. And next year. Make it a tradition. Our tradition.”

Baz holds me tighter, if that’s even possible. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, darling.”

I close my eyes and let myself drift away. I dream of us back here in the future. Swimming in the lake, roasting marshmallows, kissing in more storms. Then it’s not just us. I see Penny and Micah and Agatha, all of us laughing together around the dining room table. I see Baz’s family here too; Mordelia and the twins chasing Baz around in a game of tag while Daphne and I laugh from the porch. Somehow it gets even better. I see Baz and I lounging on the beach, many years older with matching gold rings on our fingers. We’re grinning as we watch two little kids with curly black hair giggle and splash each other.

It feels less like a dream and more like a vision. A vision of our life together. And this cottage right here being the epicentre of it all.

I look forward to every minute of it.

AN: Yeah the ending is cheesy af, I know. I’m a sap, sue me.

Fun fact: the cottage in this story is entirely based off my own. Mine also is over 150 years old, started as a fishing cabin built by my great-great-great grandfather, and has been added on to over the years by my crazy ass family. All the stuff I described is real. (Except for the high tech dishwasher. The real one is from the eighties and half broken. Thought a high tech one worked better for the story.) But it’s definitely a haphazard mess of different coloured rooms with zero insulation and a lot of rain. It’s also one of my favourite places on my earth. I practically grew up there. I still stay there every summer and love being with my family in it. So I thought it’d be nice for Simon and Baz to have it too. They need happy traditions .

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little mushy ass piece. Tomorrow: dreams!

#snowbaz #carry on countdown #coc 2017 #simon snow #baz pitch #carry on #carry on fanfiction #mysnowbazfic

[emotionalsupportaudino]

For @nuciablue for the @mkrholidayficswap! I’ve had you as my recepient two years in a row so I, uh, really hope you’re okay with my writing, lol. Anyway, a dippy AU about why you should never give Umi alcohol and why Ferio is a Bad Friend. (No it’s a shipfic I promise)

Drinking with Umi somehow always wound up… regrettable. And on this, the Ryuuzaki family’s giant fly-to-the-Alps, rent-out-a-ski-lodge, relax-for-a-week annual holiday vacation, it had been no different. Until, of course, Hikaru and Fuu had lost track of Umi, who may have drank a few glasses more champagne than could be advised. They’d scoured their rooms for her and had no luck until, they checked the balcony. There, they had been powerless to watch as Umi came down the slopes on a snowboard that was decidedly not hers, that she did not know how to use, wearing her evening gown and jacket, with almost all the lights out and almost nothing to see by, and flung herself from a ramp into a snow bank.

Still clad in party attire, Fuu and Hikaru had thrown on their snow boots and dragged Umi out of the snow and into their rented car. Being the only sober driver (Hikaru still had not learned), Fuu had helped her to the car and told Hikaru to set up Umi’s room for when they returned before driving off to find the nearest ER.

And that was how she was here. She sighed, her body sagging forward in the plastic waiting room chairs, watching the door for the nurse who had taken Umi back not too long ago. Glancing at her phone screen, she saw it was 11:30 on December 24th. She was resigned, then, to be spending part of Christmas in the ER. No wonder it was so quiet. When she’d come in there’d only been on other person waiting. A young man, dozing on a chair near the back. She’d lost track of him somewhere between helping Umi register at the desk and her being brought back, and now the room was empty and it was supremely lonely. She hadn’t even had time to pack a book. She noted that she was still in her party dress and boots and she shivered, closing her eyes. Now that things were calming down, she was cold.

“It’s a little clod to not be wearing a jacket, you know.”

Fuu glanced up at the young man who’d been here before them. He was holding two paper coffee cups and a plaid fleece blanket that smelled unmistakably like car. “Well, it was an emergency, after all.”

He offered one of his cups to her, and she took it gladly. It smelled sweet and warm and, at the moment, like pure comfort. Setting the other cup down, he unfolded the blanket and dropped it over her shoulders. She sipped at the drink and enjoyed the flavor of hot cocoa just cool enough that it didn’t burn her tongue.

“The last thing you want is to be back here tomorrow morning with a cold, right,” his voice was playful and his eyes were shining with some level of mirth that Fuu couldn’t quite gauge.

“I appreciate it. We left in such a hurry, I didn’t even think of it. Are you here with someone?” She could be conversational, and honesty, it was nice to not be alone while she waited.

“Yeah, a friend.” He blushed a little, looking away. “I, uh, might’ve given him a few holiday drinks. Didn’t realize Ascot was allergic to peppermint…”

Fuu winced at that. “Will he be all right?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s fine, they’re just keeping him to watch another few hours. I saw your friend go in… seems like an interesting story.” He smiled and judged her.

“She might’ve taken a few holiday drinks of her own.”

“And then went skiing?”

“Snowboarding.”

The young man barked out a laugh that he didn’t seem to anticipate. Fuu couldn’t help but giggle along with him.

“I’m Fuu, by the way. Fuu Hououji. It would be rude to not introduce myself if we’re going to be talking.”

“You can call me Ferio.” He winked at her. “It’s nice to meet you, Fuu Hououji. It’s a shame we haven’t shared a drink elsewhere.”

Was he flirting with her? Was that a flirting wink? Fuu had gone to an all-girls school through her entire middle and high school careers, and even now, as she was finishing her first year of University, she had no idea how to handle something like that. Instead, she sipped again at her hot chocolate, avoiding his eyes.

Maybe it was from the late hour, but she had to admit he was handsome in a roguish kind of way. His hair was all tousled and his eyes were this bright kind of gold He had a few light scars on his face, and they were charming in a way. He was sprawled pretty confidently, too, wearing a too-big dark green sweater and a pair of old jeans. He was relaxed but still came off as almost, well… regal. She wouldn’t exactly mind if he was flirting with her, but… she was probably taking it wrong.

“Hm? Did I say something?”

Ferio peered at her over the cup and she jumped. She’d been silent too long. She cleared her throat and tried to ignore the blush she felt rising on her cheeks.

“Not at all. I was just lost in thought, for a moment. … It’s a shame you have to spend Christmas Eve in the ER, though.”

“Honestly? I was just going to be at a big boring party, otherwise. It gave me a good reason to get out.”

“You don’t like crowds?” Fuu tilted her head quizzically. He seemed quite charming, after all. He must be good with people.

“It’s not that. It’s just that I don’t like the expectations… besides, my sister’s the one who does all the entertaining. I’m just there out of obligation.”

“You dislike it more than the Emergency Room…” She raised an eyebrow.

“What can I say. If it gets me a conversation with a cute girl, Fuu Hououji, then I won’t say no to it.”

She almost choked on her drink, her face burning red. And she could hear him laughing over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears.

“I-I—”

“Though I have to say, the evening dress and snow boots really add to your look. You might be onto a new trend.”

“Well! I told you, I couldn’t help it!”

“Come on, don’t be mad.” Ferio nudged her, playfully. “It’s not something you expect out of someone in the ER. And you’re cute when you blush.”

“That’s more than enough of that!” Fuu wished more than anything she could learn to control the heat in her face.

The night was long and quiet in the ER, and Fuu was sure she saw the nurses give them more than a look or two as he continued to tease her and she continued to protest. But it was good natured and after a few more rounds, it was easy. Outside of shooting off a few texts to Hikaru, there was really nothing else for Fuu to do, but talk to him.

And they talked. Hours of chatter, from playful banter to a discussion of her first-year philosophy class, to moments on global politics that Ferio seemed to be particularly well aware of while shrugging it off while saying he didn’t enjoy it. Somewhere around 4AM, though, the pair had begun to drift off, Fuu sinking down without thinking onto Ferio’s shoulder. He hadn’t protested, leaning his head on hers and falling asleep not much later.

Fuu awoke to familiar snickering and blinked awake, feeling his weight lift off of her. She straightened herself and blearily recognized Umi in front of her, on crutches, with a cast on her foot.

“Cozying up to a boy while I’m in the hospital, huh?”

“Umi-san! Oh, I—” She frantically shook her head, looking at Ferio with her face red again. “I’m so sorry, Ferio, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

He only chuckled. “It’s all right. Let me walk you guys to your car.”

As Umi hobbled to the car, protesting any offerings of help, Fuu followed along, searching her bag for her keys. Ferio watched them with that same playful grin he’d had all last night right until Fuu took the crutches and packed them in the backseat of the car so Umi could shut the passenger door. Before she could get into the driver’s side, though, he took her hand, slipping a scrap of paper he’d torn off one of the hospital brochures into it.

“You don’t have to use it, but… I’m in town for the next few days.” He winked at her again and his grin widened at the sight of her blush.

She scrambled for a moment and pulled a business card from her bag. She was always told they’d come in handy, but she never expected it to be like this.

“Wait! Um—please take this.” She handed it over with shaking hands. “I’ll be busy helping Umi-san today, so please… feel free to use it.”

“I certainly will.”

She hesitated. She didn’t necessarily want to say goodbye but she really did have to get Umi home. “Maybe we’ll see each other again?”

“Hopefully.” With an elegant bow, Ferio caught her hand again, pressing it to his lips. “It was nice to meet you, Fuu.”

Words couldn’t even come to Fuu’s mind as her heart seemed to stop. He finally let her go with a chuckle.

“See you soon!” He lifted a hand as he turned to head back inside and Fuu, startled, held her hand close to her chest. He was definitely flirting with her.

She sank into the driver’s side seat, still processing and looked at the number on the paper. He’d actually given her his number? Oh, she was going to have to use it…

Umi nudged her from the passenger seat, smartphone in hand. “Hey, Fuu.”

“Yes… what is it?” Her voice was still airy and dazed.

“So, I thought that guy looked familiar and—” She held up her phone to show Fuu an article. Something about foreign royalty visiting the town they were in. Ferio’s picture, next to a girl with a crown. It was captioned ‘The Princess and Prince.’ “You exchanged numbers with a prince, Fuu. Look at you! And I thought you’d be single your whole life—”

Umi getting drunk was always regrettable in some way shape or form. And as her phone chimed, she saw his number pop up.

‘Dinner 2nite?’

A glance in the rearview mirror showed Fuu that he was leaning on a column in front of the door, watching the car with a smile on his face and the phone in his hand.

Well. It was time to get Umi home. She needed to get some sleep if she was going on a date with a prince tonight.

#mkrholidayficswap #nuciablue #fuu hououji #ferio #fuurio #magic knight rayearth

[juliusschmidt]

i want them all! but... 4

‘cuddling in front of the fireplace’  

from the lbo ‘verse, ~1.6k, G 

angst!, hurt/comfort!, and tswift gets a hard mention or three.    

~

Louis’ nose burns with cold, his bum hurts (in an ice-bruised way and not a well-fucked way) and he misses his mum. Today has not gone well. 

A holiday. That’s what Harry called it a month back when he’d begged Louis to come along. Louis’d be on break from school, wouldn’t he? It’d be fun. Didn’t Louis deserve a break from England in January? 

But instead of sunshine, surf lessons, and lazy morning sex, Louis’d gotten snow, humiliation, and far less Harry than he’d been led to believe. 

A holiday. 

Didn’t really seem like much of a ‘holiday’ at all. Louis wishes he’d heeded his mum’s advice, left luxury to the rich and studied for his exams instead. God knows he could’ve used it.

Louis pulls the fluffy white hotel blanket even more tightly around him. His mum says Harry’s lovely, but that he’s leading Louis on. What Louis’ tried to explain is that it’s even more tragic than that. He and Harry have an arrangement. Louis’ allowing Harry to use him for easy sex out of the kindness of his heart. 

He opens Facebook on his phone. Bad idea. Nearly all his notifs are from fans asking whether or not Harry and Taylor Swift have the Real Thing. 

Louis’ heart, which had just started to warm thanks to his half-drunk pint on the bedside table, freezes again. 

Louis closes his phone and his eyes and fights the urge to call his mum and tell her that she was right all along, that his miserable self needs to hop on the first flight home where he can spend the rest of his break cuddling his baby siblings and cats. 

His phone pings with a text from Harry. 

See you soon. 

He types, already asleep and then deletes it. He tries, kinda want to be alone, and then deletes that, too. Finally, he decides on, i’m in bed. Which is true, but, also, at 8pm gives off the vibe of sullenness that’s settled in Louis’ bones. 

Honestly, he’s not sure whether or not he wants Harry to come see him or not. He’d probably be brimming of stories of Swifty. Maybe she’d turn him straight. Wouldn’t be the first time she’d achieved such a feat as far as the gossip sites are concerned. 

Closing his eyes, Louis tries to tug sleep over himself like darker, heavier duvet. If he’s asleep, he’ll never have to know whether or not Harry shows, whether or not Harry’s decided that the celebrity dating game isn’t too bad after all. 

Louis doesn’t fall asleep, though. Instead, his mind races with regrets. The boy on the ski slope who’d asked him to grab drinks back at the lodge. His mum who complains of never seeing enough of him between uni and pursuing his famous not-boyfriend around the world. His tutor last fall who’d confessed that Louis was funniest, most beautiful boy he’d ever met. 

What was wrong with Louis. Why was he here? 

Harry bursts into the room just in the nick of time. Louis blinks back the tears of self-pity that’d begun to form in the corners of his eyes. 

“I’m so sorry.” 

If Harry’d led with any other words, that might’ve been the end of it. Louis might’ve confessed the end of the ruse and asked to be flown home. He might’ve told Harry he couldn’t do this anymore.  

Louis peeks his head out from under the covers. Harry’s fully dressed in his ski apparel, winter jacket, snow pants, heavy boots; he’s even got his hat on. 

“I came back as fast as I could,” Harry continues. He’s pulling his gloves off. Or trying to. “I don’t know if anyone told you, but there was an accident.” 

At this, Louis sits up fully, taking in the bandaid on Harry’s brow and the sling that’s holding his right arm tight to his chest. 

“Fuck,” Louis cusses, climbing out of bed to help Harry, who’s now struggling to unlace a boot, one-handed. 

“I’m fine,” Harry assures him. “Just a scratch and all that.” He pulls off the boot and wobbles wildly for a terrible moment before Louis reaches out to catch him. 

“What happened?” Louis asks. 

“There was a snowmobile and a tree…” Harry trails off. He meets Louis’ eyes with a pout. “I don’t really want to get into it. It was all terribly stupid and totally my fault. My manager’s doing damage control so that Swifts people don’t come after me with an exorbitant lawsuit. American’s, you know.” 

Louis pulls Harry’s jacket carefully off one arm and then the other. He wants the story and he’ll get it, eventually. Now, he’ll settle for checking Harry over to make certain for himself that Harry means it when he says ‘only a scratch.’ 

They tussle a bit- Harry continues to insist that he doesn’t need help- as they loosen and free Harry from each and every item of clothing he’s wearing. Once’s Louis’ got him down to his boxers (and sling), Louis proceeds to pat him over from head to toe. 

Harry’s hisses at the first touch of Louis’ palm. 

Louis stills, hand on Harry’s left shoulder. “Does this one hurt, too?” 

Harry shakes his head. “Your hands are just cold.” 

Louis blows on them a bit and then rubs them together a few times before continuing his exploration. Harry stays still, watching. 

Louis’ fingers are gentle over the large pink and blue bruise on Harry’s right side. “What’s this? Is there internal bleeding? Have you broken a rib?” 

Harry sighs. “No. I told you, just the cut on my forehead and the shoulder tear, that’s all.” 

“How’s she, then?” Louis finally thinks to ask. 

Harry shrugs his shoulders and then winces in pain. “About the same. Maybe a little better. I sort of blocked her fall.” 

Louis lets out a breath and tries not to be disappointed. Wishing bodily harm- even on your sworn enemies- is not kind and Louis does try to be kind. For his mum’s sake. 

Harry’s squeezes Louis’ fingers. Louis hadn’t even realized they were holding hands. 

“You’re still freezing,” Harry says. He casts his gaze around the large suite that they’re sharing for the weekend. “Why didn’t you turn on the fire?” 

Louis glances at the large gas fire place underneath the mounted flat screen television. He’d been so caught up in his stewing that he hadn’t even noticed it there before. 

“I- I was waiting for you.” This explanation is even stupider and more embarrassing than the truth. 

Harry beams at him. “You didn’t have to.” With his good arm he pulls them toward it. 

All it takes to turn it on is the flick of switch. Harry presses one button and suddenly the room is lit by the merrily dancing flames of full-grown fire. The technological advances hoarded by the wealthy never cease to amaze Louis. 

Harry drops to the floor, leaning his back up against the huge bed, feet out in front of him, inches from the glass plate holding back the fire. Louis grabs a blanket off the bed before dropping down beside him. 

“No,” Harry says. “Not where I want you.” 

Louis raises a brow at him. 

Harry pats the ground between his legs. “Better to warm you up.” 

Louis can’t disagree. But, then, as he’s settling back against Harry he remembers the ugly bruise on his side. Frozen, he says, “I’m going to hurt you.” 

“No, come on.” Harry pulls Louis more firmly to his chest. 

“I don’t want to hurt you.” It’s true, too. Even though less than twenty minutes ago he’d been miserable enough to leave Harry forever, he does not want to hurt Harry. 

“You’re not hurting me. It’s my side that’s injured not my chest. Anyway, they gave me some good drugs.” Harry’s lips tickle Louis’ ear and emotion wells up inside Louis so thickly that he reaches out to squeeze Harry’s thigh, hard. 

They sit for a long few minutes in quiet, watching the flames jump and twirl. Louis listens to Harry’s low, quiet breaths. Harry’s okay. He’s not partying with a new, beautiful, rich, famous, talented girlfriend. He’s not dying in a snowbank in the woods, waiting for his corpse to be eaten by wolves. 

He’s here with Louis, alive and well. 

Harry’s voice is rough when he breaks the silence. “I hate this. All the fake… you know… It’s the worst part of all of it.” 

Louis squeezes Harry’s thigh again, his eyes stinging. 

“I’m really glad you came along, Louis. I don’t think-” he pauses. “I couldn’t do this without you. When I was in the A&E, that’s all I kept thinking. As soon as this is over, I get to be with Lou.”

Louis’ throat is too tight to reply so he waits a moment before, scratchily, saying, “We’re not even fucking right now.” 

Fucking. The word sounds strange spoken between them in the firelight. But that’s what this is about, after all. If he doesn’t say it, he’ll forget. The romantic thoughts he works so hard to keep at bay will break free, take control, convince him to hope in things that will never be. 

Harry’s chin sinks into Louis’ shoulder. His stubble rubs against Louis’ cheek and Louis’ breath catches. 

“No, that’s good. The fucking, I mean,” Harry whispers. “But I think this might be better.” 

Louis squeezes Harry’s thigh again and, this time, he doesn’t reply, only wordlessly nods his agreement. He’s not sure Harry sees it. He’s not sure it matters. 

#last best option #Anonymous #blah blah blah #i should have this betaed and put it on ao3 #but it was only supposed to 1/3 as long as this #and i have to go make dinner #enjoy!!! #last best option verse

[ifoundkylo]

Liberty Pt.6

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Steve Rogers x Peggy Carter, surprise ship (that wasn’t a pun)

AU: Pirates of the Caribbean Universe

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Natalia Romanoff, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Peter Parker, Baron Zemo (mentiones briefly)

Warnings for this fic: Angst, smut, running away, profanity, violence, self defense practicing

Warnings for this chapter: Alcohol, Drunk!Reader, throwing up, a few cute lil kisses, fluff, LANGUAGE

Word Count: 3889

A/N: BOOM! There's a surprise in this chapter, (not a surprise for some) I’ve used google translate and my own knowledge for the spanish speaking parts {my cousins are bilingual and they’ve taught me a bit of shit}

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

Captain James ‘Bucky’ Barnes was a peculiar man, how he sailed the seas for most of his 27 years. He was born at sea, he would most likely die at sea. All pirates, including those in the farthest corners of the maps, had heard of the infamous Captain. You? You were the governor’s daughter, secretly hoping to be taken out to seas and to be set free.

~

“I shouldn’t be doing what I am- I should only be doing this once I’m married, but I say screw the rules. I’m glad it’s you, and if I’m honest, on this night, I think I’m falling for you, Captain James.”

“And I, you, Miss Y/L/N.”

~

The day after tomorrow ~

As the St. Brooklyn came to the Spanish harbour, you watched as the bustling Spaniards made their way through the town. It was a lovely sight to see, palm trees, sandy beaches, sunny skies. It was about 4 pm and the sun was still beating down on everyone and everything.

You looked beside you to see Wanda, who was laughing with Sam, they looked at each other as though they were in love, maybe, and a smile tugged onto your lips.

Yet again, once Bucky had anchored the ship, he tipped off the harbour manager and gave a false name. He held out his arm and you took it willingly, feeling his muscles ripple underneath your fingers.

You had walked up to a large stall and Bucky dropped plenty of Spanish reals into the hand of the owner of the stall.

"Diez cajas de la mejor comida que tienes, por favor." He smiled kindly at the man as he said a quiet 'sí, señor' in return, Bucky requesting for some of his crew to take it back to the ship.

"Shall we gather some rum, water, and port? You can get something too if you'd like." Bucky smiled down at you, you could feel a small amount of wonder wash through you, maybe they sold some fresh orange juice around here, you heard that Spain was known for the glorious taste of the fruit.

"Could we find somewhere that sells fresh orange juice, Sir?"

"We may, mi amor, let's go." As you walked alongside him, you felt the cool breeze whisper through your hair, and two familiar voices came up behind you both.

"Captain!" You heard Sam chirp, you both turned to see him escorting Wanda by the arm. "May Wanda and I accompany both of you?"

"Of course Sam! And you know full well you can call me by my actual name when the crew isn't around!" Bucky patted Sam on the back and gave a sweet smile to Wanda. As you all walked down the main street, the sweet smell of mangos, strawberries, and oranges filled your nostrils and you sighed happily, for it had been so long since you indulged in such food.

You approached the stall with Wanda and asked for some orange juice, "Naranja con pulpa, por favor." Bucky was utterly surprised how you knew Spanish- as a woman who was confined to only a small island knew a language other than English. As you waited for your juice to be finished, you spoke quietly with Wanda.

"So, tell me, what's with you and Sam, hm?" You both chuckled lightly.

"It um, it started when Bucky had liberated him and many others during a slave trade, he had... been branded, he was hurting and well...Bucky had taken him under his wing, helped him heal from all the abuse inflicted onto him, the rest is for him to say but... He had sought refuge with me during the nights; he had nightmares. One night, I was out on the main deck looking at the stars, he came and sat by me."

~

"Oh, hello Sam, how are you tonight? No bad dreams I hope." Wanda questioned, a frown adorning her features.

"Much better now I'm with you, Miss Wanda-"

"Please, Sam, no 'miss', I am not your superior, I am your equal, please remember that..." Wanda whispered, her hand coming to softly rest against his jaw, her thumb stroking the slight stubble as her eyes met his. They were warm, dark, beautiful.

As a slight breeze danced across the ship, a piece of Wanda's hair rested across her face, Sam wasted no time in gently tucking it behind her ear.

"How many stars do you think are in the sky, Sam?" Wanda murmured. Sam looked at her then up at the sky.

"At least seven hundred billion, or more." He had turned to see her looking at him with a secret smile, seems like all they were really were doing was waiting for love, and they didn't have to wait longer than a millisecond.

Inching closer, he had sliced the space between the both of them, pressing a tender kiss upon her soft lips.

~

"Ah, I see. As long as you are both happy, that's all that matters." You smile at the brunette.

"There is much more to it, but I'll tell you once we leave port." She whispered.

The lady at the stall cleared her throat, turning around to see the small woman holding two large glass bottles of orange juice.

"Gracias, señora!" You giggled with Wanda as you carried a bottle of the sweet juice each.

You turned and saw Bucky giving you a look that almost sent you to your knees, it was full of admiration and affection, so intense and you couldn't help but feel the bird in your chest try and break out of its cage.

You approached him and took his hand in yours, following Sam and Wanda back to the market.

"Here, let me." You heard Sam murmur to the woman in red, her blush was apparent on her cheeks and you saw a slight wink in Sam's eyes. You knew it.

Bucky took you to multiple stalls, he bought you a new corset and some pants, a pair of new boots and some blouses, so you didn’t have to wear the same clothes every day. You thanked him with a chaste kiss to his cheek and you swear you saw him blush only slightly.

~

As the night fell, the cooler it had become and Bucky escorted you back to the St. Brooklyn. As you both got to the ship Bucky heard a deep voice behind him.

"Well, if it isn't the legendary Captain James Barnes..."

Bucky whipped around faster than a pistol bullet, you felt the blood drain from your face as you looked at the man in front of you. Was he here to arrest Bucky? Kill him? Take him? Bucky was a wanted man.

"S-Steve Rogers, what are you doing here? I thought you were up in the north east Atlantic?" Bucky went to hug the man and pat him on the back, a wide smile donning his features.

"Well, I arrived here about two days ago, Peggy had never visited Spain before, and I couldn't resist." The tall blond man was as big as Bucky, blue eyes like the uniform he was wearing- you knew he didn't belong to the Trading Company; his thick American accent was apparent when he spoke- most likely from New York, like Bucky.

"And who would this beautiful lady be?" You jerked your head up to see 'Steve' smiling down at you. So you took a timid step forward, shaking his hand lightly.

"Y/N Y/L/N, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sir." You gave him a forced smile, you didn't know whether to smile or not.

"Y/N, he's okay- I've known him since infancy. He won't hurt me, love." You felt a blush spread across your cheeks as Bucky whispered the words into your ear, you let out a sigh of relief and turned to smile at your lover.

"We're having a small celebration upon my ship tonight- Peggy turned 25- if you'd like to join us we can find another part of the coast to tie the ships together so we don't drift apart during the night." You stood awkwardly beside them as they spoke.

"That is a brilliant idea, I'd be a fool to pass up such an offer, how about we gather both our crews and do it now, sound good?"

~

Bucky and Steve decided on setting the party on the St. Brooklyn; it had a wider and longer main deck. You could hear the waves lap against the sides the ship as the men anchored it once more, you watched as Bucky and the crew tied up the sails. Wanda was slowly approaching you as you sat on the staircase towards the quarterdeck.

"So, I need to ask you something," You piped up, "Bucky... Okay well, when I first saw you use your powers, I said to Bucky that you could literally rule the seas, and well, he said something about how you couldn't, something about you don't have the full ability because you gave your heart to someone else?"

Wanda sighed heavily and sat on the staircase with you.

"Okay, so, this is the continued story from earlier. When Bucky had taken Sam in, which you already know the whole story about our... thing. Well anyway, he had a brand on his shoulder, from the slave trade, and he opened up to me about it one night. He had told me it was the root of his nightmares, bad thoughts and stress. I used my magic to make it disappear, the action I took made me realise that I was in love with him. Y/N, I would do anything for him, including...giving him my heart, I didn't cut the beating thing out of my chest, no- I gave him my heart in the spiritual term. My heart belongs to Sam and Sam only. It's better that I don't have my full powers; they can take over your soul, you can make reckless decisions."

You nodded along to everything she said, letting the words sink through your skin, it all made sense; the looks, the hidden touches, stolen kisses even.

The sun had finally set and the moon was apparent against the dark sky, both ships were illuminated with oil lamps, making the scene look like a swarm of giant fireflies if one were to look from afar. You noticed the loud music of strings playing an upbeat Irish tune and you smiled, remembering a small band that played something similar at the annual summer festival in Port Royal when you were younger.

"Care to dance, miss?" You whipped around to see Bucky with an extended arm, you took his hand and he pulled you against him.

"Bucky, I don't know the steps!"

"Neither do I!" You both laughed as you danced along the main deck, holding each other in close proximity, this was the happiest you had felt in a long time.

As the song finished, you quickly grabbed a forgotten bottle of rum and took a few large gulps, the liquid burning the back of your mouth as you swallowed and squinted your eyes. As you opened them you saw Bucky stare at you, his mouth agape and eyebrows almost resting on his hairline.

"What, you think a respectable, young, intelligent lady of Port Royal can't drink?" You smirked, offering your captain the bottle, he took it gratefully and kept his eyes on yours as his lips wrapped around the neck of the bottle, a pang of desire drifting down to your core, you ignored it though; tonight was a night of having fun with him, no sexualness. He passed the bottle back to you and you gulped the rest down, almost half a bottle! Feeling a rush of blood go to your head, a few other songs were played and you felt your vision begin to blur only slightly as you turned back to Bucky.

"W-What is it you pirates say? 'drink up me hearties yo ho' Isn't it? Or s-something..." You slurred, making Bucky chuckle as he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead.

"Have you ever been drunk before, Y/N?" He mumbled, you looked up at him through your lashes and pouted, shaking your head.

"Oh, darling, it's going to be a fun night..."

Suddenly, you felt a gentle hand on your shoulder, you whipped around to see a woman slightly taller than yourself with wavy brunette hair and a smile as bright as the white sails of the HMS Endeavor.

"Hello, you must be Y/N, I'm Peggy!" You shook her hand, giving her a once over, she wore similar clothes to you, white blouse, brown pants and black boots. Her fair skin made her dark eyes contrast against her face and you admired her beauty greatly.

"It's wonderful to meet you Peggy!" You returned, "Steve does know how to throw a party, does he not?"

"Indeed he does, I believe he's throwing this one because I turned 25 a few nights previous. Hey- have you ever fired a pistol?"

The question took you aback, you'd never touched the blasted things, they were deemed dangerous and if not handled correctly you could get a backfire injury.

"I believe I haven't, why'd you ask?" You had to raise your voice just a tad and the reason made you smile, for the crew had grown loud and boisterous.

"Would you like me to show you how?" You quirked a brow at her question.

"I'd like to try!" She smirked at your retort and glanced at Steve, grabbing your hand she guided you to the quarterdeck, an empty glass bottle in her hand. As Peggy approached the railing of the deck, she placed the bottle down and stepped back a few metres, gesturing for you to come hither.

"Now, take the gun, hold it like this, put your fingers here... Make sure you use both hands at first," Peggy placed your fingers and hands in the right places, shifting your form so it was at a perfect angle to shoot the bottle. "shoot."

You pulled the trigger and almost got knocked back by the force. It was in a blink of an eye that you saw the bottle explode and shards of glass fly everywhere like a firecracker and you flinched, squeezing your eyes shut.

The ringing in your ears blocked out the silence, and when you opened your eyes you were met with Peggy smirking at you. You let out the breath that was trapped in your lungs, shoulders slumping.

"That was bloody brilliant! Y/N you’re a natural!” You smiled at the woman and gently handed the musket pistol in her hands for her to put it back on her affects belt.

You heard heavy footsteps come up to the quarterdeck and saw Bucky. He gave you both a confused look and turned to see the bottom of a rum bottle.

“Peggy what did you do?”

She didn’t cower, more like an ‘I’m innocent, I swear!’ look. “I just showed her how to fire, James. Calm down- at least she didn’t get a backfire injury like I did.”

Peggy turned and showed you her hand, there was a thick white scar trailing from the inner side of her thumb to the middle her palm.

“When Steve first taught me how to fire a musket, I didn’t hold it correctly and the force of it ripped my hand open, it took a few good months to heal, I had to train with my opposite hand and now I’m ambidextrous.” Your face lit up at the word; so were you! But then the fleeting moment of giddiness simmered away as you realised Peggy and Steve weren’t to stay on your voyage to Singapore, at least, that’s what you thought.

“Um- Bucky! I, er, oh… fuck.” Bucky flinched, you had never cursed before! “I- I don’t feel well-” you ran to the side of the ship, a pain in your head and the feel of bile rising in your throat. You felt gentle fingers pull your hair out of your face as you threw up what was in your stomach, the foul taste of rum and and bread combined leaving a bad aftertaste in your mouth.

~

“Someone can’t handle their alcohol,” Bucky laughed, whipping a rag out of his pocket to gently wipe at your mouth. “Let’s get you cleaned up, angel, c’mon.”

“Will she be okay, James?” Peggy asked, shock written on her pale features.

“Yes Ma’am, it’s her first time drinking, obviously one hell of a lightweight. Would you be a doll and tell Steve I’ll be back in about 20 minutes? I just need to clean her up.” Bucky slithered an arm around your waist as you leaned against him, groaning at the thump, thump between your eyes.

As you approached the doors of the Captain’s Cabin, you felt the familiar burn of bile slither up your throat. Detaching yourself from Bucky, you stumbled to the side of the ship to hurl again, this time only throwing up once and then dry heaving, leaving a nasty pulled-muscle feel in your spine and throat. You fell to your knees in exhaustion, salty tears slipping from your eyes, though they weren’t from sadness; you didn’t know what to feel right now.

It felt like an eternity or a life long prison sentence before you felt two dainty hands lift you by your underarms.

“My, my, Y/N. How much did you drink?” Wanda stroked your hair from your face, as she questioned you.

“Only ha-half a bottle of… well it was a biiiiig bottle of, er, rum? I think?” You felt the world spin as you mustered the words to speak. “I-I’ve never ever, ever drank alcohol before p-please don’t be mad at me.” You whimpered, feeling the same hands hold your face.

“Oh, Y/N, why would I be mad? Everyone’s got to experience new things in their life, even if the outcome isn’t as good as they hope.” You smiled up at Wanda, you figured apart from Peter, she was your best friend and you hugged her tightly.

“Bucky’s bringing you some mint water, oh- here he is. I’m going to go and give Sam that promised dance.” She kissed the top of your head in a motherly fashion and jogged away, you were slumped against a bannister as Bucky approached.

“Here, Y/N, gargle this and spit it out.” He lifted the goblet to your lips and the strong taste of mint almost made you gag. You swivel and spit through the wooden bars of the banister.

“Please take me inside, Bucky.” You rested your head against his chest as he carried you to his cabin once more, hoping you weren’t going to throw up. You were beginning to feel normal again but not enough to feel sober.

As Bucky gently placed you on the bed, couldn’t help but admire him, he shrugged his waist coat off and rolled his sleeves up his forearms, revealing the branded ‘P’ on his right wrist. He was beautiful nonetheless, even with scars, or cuts or bruises. You tugged on your blouse and yanked it over your head, finding no energy to remove your corset, you slumped back onto the bed. You kicked off your boots and groaned, wiggling your aching toes inside your trouser stockings. You leaned up against the headboard as Bucky reappeared with a damp cloth in his hand.

Bucky lightly dragged the cloth against your face and neck, the cool sensation seemed to help you breathe deeply and you couldn’t help but chuckle, for Bucky had his eyes trained onto your chest, every breath you took had your breasts straining against your corset.

“My eyes are up here, James.” You giggled as you whispered, earning a quiet ‘sorry, kitten, every part of you is just so beautiful’ from his lips. “I feel kind of sober now, all I have is a pounding headache. How are you feeling?” Your body betrayed your words as you hiccuped. You looked into his icy blue eyes as your hand came to stroke his shoulder.

“I’m absolutely perfect, angel.” He bestowed a feather-like kiss to the area between your cheek and your jaw, and the previous pang of desire fired up again. As Bucky dragged the cloth down your neck, he maintained eye contact with you, watching as your pupils dilated when the damp rag came into contact with the top of your breasts, your breath hitched in your throat as he squeezed hard on the damp fabric, sending a few cold streams of water down your cleavage. Your no-sexualness-tonight-rule was trying to break out the window, but you refused to let it go. You leaned into him and pressed your mouth to his, a sweet, tender kiss was all it was.

“I’m feeling quite fuzzy, I don’t know what this feeling is.”

“That my dear, is a feeling between relaxation and happiness I believe. would you like to change out of these confines?” Bucky asked, stroking your hair away from your shoulders. You mumbled a ‘mhm’ and a ‘please’ as you felt him kiss your shoulder.

“Let me go and get one of my shirts…” Bucky was back as soon as he left, a white shirt in hand. He motioned for you to turn around so he could unlace your corset. The feeling of his cool fingers against your spine raised goosebumps on your forearms and you gasped when you felt very familiar lips gently tease your neck, the mixture of being undressed and teeth against your skin making you tilt your head to the side with a heavy breath escaping your parted lips.

“I’m not going to do anything with you tonight, angel, just a few kisses, for I don’t want to take advantage of a beautiful soul like yours.” The words sent the butterflies in your tummy into a frenzy, you heard Bucky mutter an ‘arms up’ and you slightly felt like a child, and the thought made you chuckle. You felt him slide the corset and replace it with the cool fabric of his shirt. The strong scent of him filled your nostrils and you sighed.

“Pants on or off?” You answered his question by tugging them down your hips, your soft thighs grabbing his attention. He placed a loving hand upon one, squeezing only slightly. “Y’know, you look good in my shirt- scratch that, you could probably look good in a potato sack.” You gave a hearty laugh which coaxed him into a fit of giggles too. “I mean, you’re just wonderful, you’re soft, angelic, your keep your sword as sharp as your wit and you seem like the person to not be afraid of battle. I really, truly admire you, Y/N.”

By then you had shifted and laid your head on his thick thighs, your hand stroking his knee. You felt his fingers stroke over the exposed skin of your neck, over your shoulder and rested on your waist.

“B-Bucky can I sing you a lullaby? I-I know I’m still, er, drunk but it’s one my father used to sing to me when I was an infant.” He chuckled at your request and uncertainty.

“Of course, my love, but I must get back to Steve soon, it’s Peggy’s birthday after all and I haven’t seen them in a long time and you must get some rest.”

“Okay, um, I can’t remember the full lyrics, but I know a few…”

“Oh, someday this chair may be a boat for another pair and you and your baby will sail the sea,” You felt him jerk at the words, making you pause, but you continued. “Within this rocking chair and as we rock and hum and sing so you will go too and dreams, with sweep and with swing will take baby and boat and you.” You hicupped and it made him chuckle lightly, you yawned and smushed your face against his thighs some more, god, they were so comfortable!

~

“Y/N… Did your father ever tell you where that lullaby is from?” Bucky asked, he could feel the unwanted tears pool in his eyes.

“Mmm, he ne’er told me, why’d y’ask Buck?” You mumbled in your relaxed state.

“Doll… That’s a lullaby only pirates know.”

~

Tag list: 

@papi-chulo-bucky @tamianich @when-lighting-strikes @rachelle-on-the-run @hotemotionalmess @aubzylynn @marvel-fanfiction @confuzzled-panda @tahreemhaq576 @gypsygirllover19 @siobhanrebecca @jezzula @you-didnt-see-that-cuming @xxchexchickxx @imamoose @i-cannot-escape-this-fandom @buckybarnesbestbabe @erinvanlyssel @kenobi-and-barnes @vaisabu @adrianabribiescacortes @mellifluous-melodramas @scarlettsoldier @witheringblooddemon @langinator @barnescrazy @kaykayvoltage53 @topthis808 @sketchbookthingz @vibraniumdoll @erinvanlyssel @buckyshattergirl @k7ngdom (idk if you wanted to be tagged but here ya go anyway) @robbiekaysnumber1fan

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #james barnes #james barnes x reader #the winter soldier #the winter soldier x reader #captain america #steve rogers #steve x peggy #steggy #peggy carter #bucky smut #james barnes smut #tws #cacw #civil war #sebastian stan #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian x reader #wanda x sam #swanda #sam x wanda #marvel #mcu #mission report

[fanficsandfluff]

Supernatural: Cold, Snow, Tea

A lovely anon asked for Sam x Reader, and I had a really fun time writing this. It’s pure fluff and there really isn’t a plot at all lol so I hope you all enjoy! 

Words: 2,369

The dead of winter had always been an isolating and even frightening time for you. Snowstorms were frequent and usually ended up snowing you in, making you get sick of staying in one place for too long. So that's why you were nervous when Sam suggested you all get a literal cabin in the woods and take a break for a week or so. That did not seem like the most rational choice a hunter could make. You tried your best to hide your qualms about the situation, and went along. 

To your utter surprise, upon arriving at this spot in the middle of the woods up on a mountain in some part of Colorado, the charm of it all made you gasp out loud. No snow yet, but the spruce trees were thick and green, lining the path to the sizable cabin.

"Wow, this is a damn nice place," Dean remarked, stepping out of the Impala. Yourself and Sam stepped out next, with the angel Castiel following suit. 

Sam walked right up to the door, taking out the rental keys and unlocking the polished wooden door. He pushed the door open and smiled, "Wow."

"Cahan we move here?" Dean grinned when he barged in.

The interior held a high ceiling, floors speckled with thick rugs but the clean wooden floor still peeking out. Dean next jogged towards the stairs, wanting to pick the first room.

"This is very quaint. Good choice, Sam," Castiel grinned softly.

Sam chortled, "Thahanks, Cas. G'head and look around."

Castiel climbed the stairs after glancing into the kitchen and living room in the downstairs space. 

"I can't believe we're really doing this," you smiled gently at Sam.

Sam grinned back at you, "Doho what? Take a vacation?"

You nodded, "Exactly. You guys never do that."

"I figured we needed a break. In the winter it sometimes gets too cold to even think of going out and hunting," Sam shrugged, checking their stock of food in the pantry and fridge. 

With a nod, you walked over to Sam and went behind him, wrapping your arms around him in a hug, burying your face into his back, "This is gonna be such a fun experience," you informed him despite your own worries of an incoming snowstorm predicted on the news. 

Sam smiled softly and you felt his larger hands clasp around your own, "It is. Or I'm going to make sure it is. Nohow come on, we should hurry and pick a room before they take the best ones," he turned around and pulled you closer to him, kissing your forehead.

You smiled and nodded, picking up your bag before heading upstairs along the shining staircase. 

"Sam, you said there were three bedrooms," Dean remarked, walking out of a room to the left of the stairs.

"There aren't?" Sam rose a brow.

"I think you misread it as three beds. There's a king bed in that room and two queens in this one. Cas and I are gonna take that one, so you love birds can have the master all to yourselves," he smirked with a wink.

You grinned, "What? You and Castiel don't want to get all cozy with each other?"

Dean flushed red and Castiel stifled a laugh behind his hand, "I thihink we're fine with the double beds, thank you," he winked at you.

Sam chortled, pulling you by your arm gently, "Thahanks," and he got you to your room. You went to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the expanse of green from the spruce and fir trees plaguing the area. The cloudy skies signified the coming of snow. 

Sam rested his hands on your shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze, "It's beautiful here, huh?"

You nodded and smiled, "Yeahah. Amazing."

You felt a soft peck on your cheek and Sam whispered, "Not as beautiful or amazing as you are."

With a short chuckle, you looked up at the Winchester, "Gehetting flirty, Mr. Winchester?" 

Sam smiled down at you, shrugging innocently, "Whahat else can I do? You always look gorgeous."

You blushed, knowing your hair was already in a messy bun and you were wearing the most comfortable (and casual) clothes you owned, probably looking disheveled after sleeping in the car, "Shuhut up," you shoved him lightly, his bigger form not budging an inch. 

Sam chuckled and tilted your chin upwards so he could kiss you on the lips. You hummed and kissed back. 

Dean knocked on the door, "Hey, lovebirds, they have a fire pit outside. Me and Cas were gonna party it up out there if you wanna join," he grinned.

Sam rolled his eyes at his big brother being a cock block and he turned towards the door, "Suhure, Dean, we'll be right there."

You chuckled and poked Sam's belly, "Dohon't give him a look like that, he's just being himself."

Sam flinched, holding his side, "Yeahah, his annoying self. Come on, let's see what they have planned," he smiled.

You followed Sam out, but not before glancing back at the window to get a look at the sunset peeking through the thick clouds. Sam took your hand and guided you out of the room. Each of you grabbed your coats before heading out the sliding back door, seeing Dean stoking a small fire with Castiel observing. 

"Who's ready to roast some of these bad boys?" and Dean held up two bags of marshmallows.

You gasped and smiled wide, "I totally am! This is such a great idea," you smiled and sat on a wooden bench by the fire. 

As the fire blazed, the group spent the peaceful, very chilly night outdoors, toasting marshmallows by the warm fire. Dean got up and recollected old times with his brother, acting scenes out behind the fire, to which you were by far the most amused. Then you each went around, reciting the most outlandish ghost stories a group of hunters could tell. This vacation was off to a pretty damn fun start. 

When it got so dark and late that the only light was emitting from the fire before them, flakes of snow started to fall from the sky. 

Sam smiled and tilted his head up, catching a few flakes in his mouth, "Wehe should probably go back inside. Don't wanna freeze out here."

Dean chuckled and nodded, tamping the fire. 

Castiel stepped inside and rubbed his vessel's arms. Usually he was more impervious to weather, but he spent a long time out in the cold.

Dean walked in, stomping his boots on the floor before removing them, "Wehe gotta go out there every night."

"Well, theoretically we could," Sam smiled, "Nothing's stopping us."

You yawned as you shed your boots at the door, also hanging up your coat. Sam grinned at you, "Sleepy?"

Rubbing your eyes and smiling, you nodded, "Mmhm, pretty tired."

"Come on," Sam kissed your cheek as you walked upstair with him, bidding goodnight to the other two. 

"Dehean may have been a little drunk tonight, huh?" you mused with a giggle when you got into your bedroom with Sam. He snorted.

"Youhu think? He wouldn't shut up."

"Buhut it was funny as hell," you chuckled, getting undressed for bed, "Especially went he outed you and your childhood."

Sam rolled his eyes with a fond grin, "Yeah, I'm sure you really loved those parts."

You slipped on a shirt for bed with some sweatpants and grinned, "Someone embarrassed?" you walked up to Sam.

The Winchester smiled and shook his head, "No, I'm not. Are you going to keep bringing it up?"

"Yehes," you giggled.

That prompted Sam to smirk and he grabbed you and lifted you into the air before dropping you onto the bed, "Youhu are?"

You squeaked when Sam did that and laughed afterward, "Yeahahah! Youhu gotta be sexy with me like you did your fihirst girlfriend," you giggled, "Ahahall tongue!"

Sam's cheeks flushed but he didn't take the teasing without some retribution, and he buried his fingers into your sides. You gasped when you felt the wiggling digits and burst out laughing.

"Sahaham! StahahAHAhahahap!"

"Why would I stop? You deserve this," Sam grinned, dragging his fingers to your belly, skittering them along your quivering, smooth flesh. 

With an arching of your back, you tried pushing Sam's hands away from your belly, only succeeding briefly before he got them free again and attacked with more vigor. 

"Sahahammy! Ihit tihihihickles, stahahahap!"

"Wow, it does? I never would have guessed," Sam chortled, leaning most of his weight on you so you'd squirm less. He nuzzled his stubbly face into your cheek and neck as his hands wreaked havoc crawling up your ribs.

You snorted, "EEHEhehehahahaha! Gahahad! Stahahahappit!"

Sam smiled and hummed into your cheek, "I lohove your laugh.... Oh, and about the tongue?" he shifted and pressed his lips into your smiling ones. He slipped his tongue into your already open mouth, fingers slowing their movements on your sides, merely grazing the skin there, giving you goosebumps. 

You moaned into Sam's mouth and when he pulled away, you leaned forward to keep the kiss lingering.

Sam smiled lovingly at you, "Hohow was that?"

Your cheeks flushed and you panted, "I lohove you," you grinned up at Sam and played with the hair hanging over the back of his neck. 

Sam hummed and kissed you again before laying next to you in bed, "Let's get some sleep, babe."

You nodded and got under the soft covers with your partner, cuddling into Sam's side, "G'night, Sammy."

Sam smiled wide and pecked your nose with a kiss before shutting his eyes as the two of you laid in the warm bed inside, while snowfall carried on just outside. 

The next morning, you awoke before Sam and you blinked your eyes open, rubbing the early morning crud out of them. You heard Sam's light snores and smiled at the mess of a bedhead sleeping beside you. Outside the window, all you saw was white. You sat up in bed to get a better look of what it was like out there. The spruce's were decorated with dazzling white snow, and the flurries were still falling at a lighter pace than what had surely gone on overnight. Despite your worries of being snowed in, this was too beautiful to pass up. And hell, you wouldn't mind being snowed in with your favorite people in the whole world. 

With a yawn, you laid back down and wrapped your arm around Sam's waist, your head resting on his shoulder. He shifted under you slightly but not enough to show any signs that he was awake. 

Now that you were awake, you never usually fell back asleep. Your fingers stroked through Sam's hair, detangling any knots in it. You felt him give a shiver when your nails came into contact with the back of his neck. Your lips quirked and you traced your fingers down Sam's spine and drew patterns on the expanse of his back. 

Small huffs of breath came from Sam and he started to squirm lightly. 

You smiled, "Good morning, baby," you whispered. 

Sam turned his head and groaned softly as he stirred, "Mmm.... that tickles..." his lips curled into a sleepy smile. 

You chuckled and kissed his nose, “Yeahah? Giving you goosebumps?” you tippled your fingers along the crevice of his armpit, which was partially exposed since his arms were up underneath the pillow.

A peal of giggles left his mouth and his arm twitched, “Mmhmhm yeahahahah...”

You smiled wide, “Youhu’re adorable in the morning.”

Sam’s cheeks reddened visibly and you kissed one, hugging him, “How’d you sleep?”

“Perfect,” Sam smiled and rolled onto his back, drawing you closer and wrapping you in his strong arms, “Waking up next to you made it even better.”

You smiled, “Thahat’s sweet. And I slept fine myself, too, in case you were curious. It snowed a lot,” you nodded your head towards the window. Sam looked over.

“Wohow, it really did. We need to go out and play in it today,” he grinned.

“You’re sounding like Dean,” you chortled, lightly drumming your fingers against Sam’s belly, making him giggle.

“Shh, hehehe..”

You leaned up and kissed Sam’s lips, “Mmm... I’m gonna make breakfast, okay? For everyone.”

“No, lemme help. I have a surprise for Dean I wanna prepare,” Sam smirked.

You rose a brow, “I dohon’t know if that means if it’s a bad thing or not,” you chuckled.

Sam laughed, “Ihit’s a good surprise, don’t worry. Let’s go,” he slapped your ass gently with a smirk.

You didn’t even yelp but you bit your lip and grinned back at him, digging your thumbs into his hips. Sam bucked and burst out laughing. 

“HEHEheheHEHEY! HAHAhahahahahaha!” 

You giggled and blew a quick raspberry into Sam’s neck before jumping out of bed and running down the stairs. 

Sam sat up, “Cohome back hehehere!” and he ran after you.

Dean grumbled as he trudged out of his own bedroom, “Jesus, can you two hold off till later?”

You got into the kitchen before Sam but he caught up a second later and grabbed you around the waist and hoisted you into the air. You squealed and laughed, “Saham!” 

He giggled and nibbled your neck, making you squeak and laugh, trying to get out of his grasp. 

Sam released you and gazed down at you with a wide dimpled smile on his face, “Wahahant to make breakfast now?”

You giggled and nodded, “Yeahahah,” and you hugged Sam, so happy and light feeling. He made you feel amazing all the time and you loved him. You then went to the fridge and started to search around for breakfast items. And you found teabags in the pantry, so you began boiling water. Because who doesn’t love tea on a cold winter morning? 

“So, what’s Dean’s surprise?” you asked Sam.

Sam smiled, “They left us a pie. With instructions on how to heat it up.”

You beamed, “Ahaww! He’s gonna love it!”

And Dean enjoyed an entire apple pie to himself, and you and Sam cuddled up eating chocolate chip pancakes and drinking hot tea on the couch while watching white fluffy snow fall outside the peaceful log cabin. 

#ticklish!sam #ticklish!reader #reader fic #reader insert #sam winchester #gf!reader #sam x reader #dean winchester #castiel #spn #supernatural

[emorysinclair-blog]

Without a Paddle || Nevada, Kaleb & Emory

Tagging → @nevada–saunders, @ulrichtech Mentions of → Nevada Saunders, Kaleb Ulrich, Thorn White, Katherine White, alcohol, alcohol abuse, mental issues, and sex. Time Frame → During Ski Trip Location →  Aspen Villas & Nearby Bar Notes → Emory, Nevada, and Kaleb decide to go out for drinks. This is the prelude to them getting drunk/drinking, and eventually going back to the villas to have a threesome.

Nevada had just stepped out of the shower when his phone vibrated against the marble counter. The boy read the text while towel drying his hair, it was from Emory asking him out to drinks. Quickly typing a reply back he agreed to going out with the man. It didn't take Nev long to finish drying off and pulling on a pair of briefs and jeans. There was a few quick knocks upon his door -- though, Nev didn't expect Emory to be so soon. Stepping out of the bathroom, the blonde answered the door half dressed with a towel in hand. "Oh, hey Emory -- Kaleb." Nevada smiled upon seeing the two there.

Kaleb had been hanging out with a good amount of people. He had tried snowboarding and of course failed at it. Going to the Opera House and the Brewing Company. There was a lot to do and yet he wanted to spend some more time with Nevada and spend some with Emory as well. So when the idea arose that they should all go out for drinks, Kaleb was excited to hear and met Emory to walk to Nevada's room. Upon seeing Nevada opening the door, Kaleb's eyes landed on the male's body and then met his eyes. "Hey," he greeted happily.

Emory hadn't done very much so far on this trip. He'd aimed to just relax, but idle hands didn't seem to suit him well. Which lead him to texting a few of his friends to hang out. The man strolled with Kaleb over towards Nevada's, he enjoyed both men's company immensely and was certain they'd have a good time. When Nevada opened the door, Emory smirked. "Hey," he shamelessly looked Nevada up and down. "Shame we didn't get here sooner," he taunted.

Nevada just cocked a grin while stepping back and inviting the two in. "Just give me five minutes," the male mumbled as he sauntered off back towards the bathroom. Only to appear again with a toothbrush dangling from his mouth, while brushing his teeth the boy shoved his boots on. "Are we goin' local bar here in da area?" Nev asked with a mouthful of toothpaste.

Kaleb while the door was opened for them, Kaleb stepped in only to have his gaze move to follow Nevada to the bathroom but then to distract himself. Kaleb was lucky to have friends like Nevada and Emory around him. They just had to be in his presence and he would be a happier man. "Uh yea I believe so, right Em?" He smiled back to Emory.

Emory followed Kaleb into the building. He leaned against the wall not bothering to get too comfortable. "That's the game plan, unless either of you had something else in mind?" His gaze went back and forth between the two males.

Nevada eyes perked up when hearing Emory's question. "Huh?" He questioned the toothbrush still hanging from his mouth. The male returned to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth, and stepping out in the midst of sliding a shirt over his head. "I'm fine with drinks, I could use a few but I'm at a limit so if you two need a designated walker I can be it."

Kaleb let his mind wonder for a moment before hearing Emory ask if they had anything else in mind. "What no. Nothing else in mind. I mean you know me I'm always up for drinks." Kaleb said with a small chuckle as he went back to Nevada. "Hmm, designated walker. Does that count for after the trip too? I could always use one so I don't wonder the halls at the apartments."

Emory stood up straight when both men said they were all for going out. "Why are we limiting our alcohol intake?" he asked Nevada curiously. Emory had nothing against the idea. In fact, he hadn't had a drink this whole trip so far. He chuckled at Kaleb's comment, "Yes, I'm well aware."

Nevada nodded as he grabbed his wallet off of the night stand, "You don't have too, I just watch my limit -- I'm not too pretty when I'm drunk." The male pressed his lips together remembering the time were battled his alcohol abuse. Nev slowed things down after discovering his father was an alcoholic, and died of congestive liver failure. It wasn't the thought of dying, the blonde didn't want to waste his life away just like his dad. Nev chuckled softly as he pushed the memory into the back of his mind. "If you need an escort just for walking the halls, I'll be happy too -- Are we ready?" He asked moving towards the door.

Kaleb knew he had a problem with alcohol. It was the one thing that helped his happiness or to block out the questioning thoughts he always had. But he wasn't doing anything to stop it. It was just a way of life for Kaleb to have a drink every night or get drunk when a problem arose to him. But maybe tonight he could watch the intake. Who knows what could happen. All that mattered was that he was around two friends that he liked and enjoyed their company, even without the booze. "I'd very much like that." Kaleb grinned softly as he pocketed his hands. "Let's get going" Following Nevada's lead

Emory nodded his understanding at Nevada. "Well, as you know I'm a happy drunk." The man turned and opened the door for the other two since he was the closest, having not bothered to go far into the room. "After ya'll," he drawled. Then proceeded to follow the two out of the building. Emory stuffed his hand into his pockets.

Nevada chuckled, "Oh, how can I forget that." He teased the other while leading down the hall and out of the villa. "I'm glad the weather has passed, it was really bumming my mood. "Em, Kaleb told me you two went snowboarding? We'll all have to go before the trip ends."

Kaleb hadn't really seen Nevada drunk, but he knew that Emory liked having a good time and as the three men walked from outside the room and out of the building, Kaleb kept in with the conversation. "Same, it was really messing with my sleep. And for the record I didn't fall as much as I thought I would while snowboarding. By the end of the trip I might be a pro" Kaleb joked about the snowboarding. "I want to race you both in a challenge."

Emory cocked his head to the side. "Didn't I call you an angel?" he thought back to the memory. He listened to them both talk about the weather. The male couldn't relate to ether's sentiment. The only thing that had phased him at all about the weather had been to make sure the people he cared about her safe, after that he had read a book until the power went out. Which had forced him to try and sleep, the male fearing more what his own mind would do to him than the weather. "We did," he replied snapping out of his inner musings. "You weren't half bad, once you started moving your hips. Still gotta work on not digging your toes in though." Emory laughed at Kaleb's request to race. "Unless you wanna eat my powder, I think you best hold off on that. I have no problem turning the nose of my board parallel to the mountain and just gunning it."

Nevada tried to recall back to the moment exactly, "I'm more than sure you did." The male chuckled, and was glad he had Emory here when he first moved to Denver. He sucked in his breath, "Phew, Emory sounds pretty certain. Wait until I get on those slopes I'll show you both up." Nev teased, as he stuffed his hands into the pocket of his coat.

Kaleb furrowed a brow at the banter between the two but it sounded cute. Only to relax his face and add in the comment on the topic at hand. "I can't help it. But at least I got to move my hips and be one like the wind. And no, I won't hold off. Even though I'll fall, I'll get back up and beat you in the end." Turning to Nevada when he spoke up. "Bet! Though let's bet something that doesn't involve me possibly running around in the snow naked. I have a feeling a might lose a snowball fight"

Emory smiled at Kaleb's description of snowboarding. He glanced down at the man's hips at the mention of them, watching them from behind. "Oh? looks like we got ourselves a challenge then." The brunette returned his glance back up ahead of them making sure they were headed in the right direction. "I wouldn't do that. My brother once locked me out on our balcony in the snow in my underwear. I was out there long enough I legit started contemplating jumping. And I was on the third floor with a downward incline as my landing."

Nevada nodded, "You could get frost bite and then Em and I would have to warm you up." The male winked towards Kaleb. "Em is right, it's no fun. I was camping on top on of the summits back in Cali -- the weather was fine before I went to sleep by the middle of the night a snowstorm ended up blowing in and I didn't have my tent completely staked to the ground. So, I was out in just boxers and a t-shirt trying to pound the stakes in."

Kaleb "I mean it's only one lap around the Villas all together, but I could use some warming up," Kaleb mentioned to both of them as the settle hint. "Oh my god, first of all your brother is a douche. Though I can see my brother doing that. And you go camping Nevada? I never been camping before. New York boy," he stated to the two men.

Emory smiled. "I'd be more than happy to warm you up." The male laughed at Kaleb calling his brother a douche. "I'd like to see you say that to either of my brother's faces. It would be gold. Besides I've done some shit to them too. Hell one time we put Thor out on the middle of a lake while he was sleeping. Either of you know Thor?" The man could easily picture Nevada in the situation. Having already seen him in a similar state. "You've never been camping?" he asked Kaleb. "You should come with Nev and I. Our last trip was fun."

Nevada smiled towards them both, "I'm sure with the two of us, you'd be warmed up in no time." The male listened to the conversation as he looked around them being out here made him feel at home. "Thor.. like the Norse God? No, I don't" The male joked. "It's more like, when do I not go camping?" His gaze flickered towards Emory, "Oh, it sure was."

Kaleb couldn't help but smile as the two agreed to warm him up after the bet was sealed. "I'll put you word on it then." He told the two guys. "And I would tell them, unless they are big and would possibly hurt me than maybe not so much. Thor? I only know a Thor White who lives in the building." Kaleb spoke up as he shook his head. There was a lot that Kaleb hasn't done as a kid or even after New York. "I'd love to, I'm up for trying new things."

Emory laughed at Nev's joke, "No." When Kaleb said Thor White, "Yes. That Thor. I may still have the video of it somewhere." He could tell they were nearing the bar. "They are about the same size as me, Uriel was in the army with me and Caden works at my dad's architecture firm. I don't think either are intimidating, and I'm the youngest." He pointed toward the street, "We need to make a right here."

Nevada turned his attention back to the men, "Caden is working at your dad's firm? Shit, I never imagined that. It has been ages since I've seen your brothers but that's alright. I did always like you the most." The male smiled turning to the right as they reached the street.

Kaleb had only met Thor once and that was a while back when there was a party at Zachary's apartment. "Okay good, if they aren't intimidating and don't hit me, I'll call them out." Kaleb joked lightly. "I know Thor's sister, Kat and I'll have to see this video." As they were making the direction they hooked a right and onto the street for the bar.

Emory nodded his head and smiled. "Yeah. He's all top dog now. College and his girlfriend straightened him all out." Emory chuckled at Nev saying her liked him best, "That's only because i'm the only on who'll sleep with you," he joked. "You know Kat? Kat hates my ass. Its funny. Remind me and I'll show it to you once we sit down."

Nevada chuckled shaking his head, "That's probably most of the truth." The boy hadn't me either of these two who Kaleb and Emory were talking about, Nev figured they lived at Queens as well.

Kaleb questioned Emory from when he said Kat hated him. "Why does she hate you?" Then again, Kaleb only had spent time with Katherine and hardly any of the White siblings. Seeing the bar up ahead, Kaleb kept his pace with the other men to keep close. "How long have you two known each other?" Asking about Nevada and Emory's history.

Emory shrugged his shoulders, reaching for the door and opening it so the other two could enter, "Your guess is as good as mine. I will admit I do like to get under her skin." He followed behind the two, letting the door close behind him. Emory looked to Nevada. He scratched the back of his head trying to recall when it was they met. "Shit, too long."

Nevada stepped instead the bar the instant smell of cigarette smoke burning his nostrils. It made him want to light one up there, but the boy had left his pack at him. Though, perhaps it was for the best. "I think I was either twelve, or going on thirteen when we met. So you would have been... eight?"

Kaleb couldn't help but wonder and maybe he'll ask the next time he hangs out with Kat. "Well maybe I'll ask her when I play pokemon go with her next." Letting out a small laugh. "Wow, long time. So both of you are country boys?" Kaleb teased as the question slipped out.

Emory scanned the room for somewhere the three of them could sit while he still listened to the two speak, "Yeah, eight sounds about right to me. Or nine." He directed his attention to Kaleb. "Is there a pokemon stop?" he joked, seeing a busy boy cleaning off a table that just cleared. Emory began making his way to it. He glanced back at Kaleb again as he spoke. "Nah. Don't let Nev's nature loving self fool you. He's a city slicker." Emory chuckled. "We actually met camping."

Nevada followed Emory to the table before pulling out a chair and taking a seat. Leaning back into the chair the male waved down the bartender. The boy chuckled, "He's right, I grew up in the city. Emory's the really country boy here." Nevada smiled, "We did, I happened to be camping alone and his family ran into my campsite. Noticed I was all alone and invited me to camp with them."

Kaleb took his seat at the table that Emory had pointed out. His posture to lean on the table with elbows on the edge as he looked around the bar but stayed focused to their conversation. "No there's no pokemon stop, but I'm sure there's a hot spot here if I pull up the app now." Kaleb joked as he learned more of Emory and Nevada's history. "So you met camping and why were you camping alone? Sounds dangerous. I mean talk about pitching a tent." Kaleb snickered as he let the pun slip

Emory shook his head. "Kaleb, you might as well be speaking a foreign language to me," he commented about the game. Emory wasn't super into tech or social media. He was pretty much a noob. The male sat down in one of the chairs, catching the eye of a waitress, and stick two fingers up in her direction to signal they needed assistance.

Nevada nodded agreeing with Emory, "Same for me, or any kind of social platform. I only have instagram but I made an account only last year, so I could post all my traveling pictures." Nev watched as the waitress made her way over, smiling up at her as he gave his order. "I'll take a whiskey sour whatever these two will have," he spoke while handing the girl a twenty. "I didn't have anyone to take me. So, I would take the bus until the very last stop on the edge of town and then rode my bike the rest of the way."

Kaleb opened his mouth to speak. "cha' je 'IHqu'" Only to smile and his face heating up a nice red. Surely none of them knew how to speak Klingon. But giving the compliment of them being cute was all he said. "I'll just have a Jim Beam, neat" He smiled to the waitress. "I literally grew up just watching movies and playing games with my siblings. I also live in the reddit, just reading anything." Kaleb chuckled. "Well that's one way to get out there and camp. I never learned to ride a bike" Biting his bottom lip

Emory gave the girl when her attention finally landed back on him a charming smile. "Could you be a peach and bring us a bottle of Dalmore?" he laid his accent on thick. Handing her his credit card, "Don't forget to take a shot for yourself." He winked at her before she walked away. Emory gave Kaleb a perplexed look. "I speak a few languages, but whatever you just said is from one I definitely don't know."

Nevada gawked at Emory, "Jeesh Em, buy the most expensive bottle here." He chuckled just shaking his head. "Klingon," Nevada corrected the male, "It's Klingon, right?" He looked towards Kaleb.

Kaleb eyes grew wide when Emory ordered the Dalmore. "Damn Em. And that was for the bottle not the fact you don't know Klingon." He smiled as he turned his head to the direction of Nevada. "Yes it is! I also know Na'vi from Avatar too. Talk about foreign languages. I know a little German though." Kaleb smiled to the two. "But I'm not going to translate what I said. You two will just have to guess"

Emory chuckled at their reaction. "Nah, they got a bottle of Glenfiddich that's worth more," he pointed to the top shelf of the bar where the bottle sat. "Besides, we came here to have a good time, didn't we? And you said you're not drinking much. So why not drink the good stuff?" he shrugged his shoulders. "You know some German?" he quirked a brow at Kaleb. Emory knew a little German himself. Mostly just enough to get around town.

#Nevada Saunders #Kaleb Ulrich #mhcskitrip #para #Without a Paddle