#i am a simple girl and when i see potential for a headache i say yes

[theunholygrails]

Foolish Games Part 2

Masterlist

A/N: Introducing new characters and some drama! Percy is still sexy as ever :'(.

Warnings: BJ

I woke up to a door slamming so hard it joined the symphony of my pounding headache. I groaned, hoisting myself over the back of the couch to investigate to intrusion. A brunette head of long sweeping hair rushed through the foyer, barreling towards the kitchen. A familiar mop of black hair hurried after.

Reyna was speaking so fast in Spanish my brain scrambled to keep up. I noted lots of curse words followed by a series of sentences too fast I was surprised she even knew what she was saying. Percy was answering in slow measured words, probably fighting a hangover of equal measure. I ducked behind the back of the couch, reaching for my phone plugged in on the coffee table.

It was noon. 2% battery and a couple messages from friends. Nothing from my ex thank gods. Five from Annabeth being nosey. I opened my uber app, squinting in the sunlight breaking through the cream curtains. I managed to get my driver secured.

A door slammed and I winced, peaking to check that they were in another room. I did not immediately spot my dress in the chaotic. I grimaced remembering the midnight swim. When I sat up I finally noticed the white tshirt I wore and the basketball shorts. And then I went rigid remembering what happened after the swim.

“Motherfucker,” I whispered.

Now I really had to get out of this house. I checked the arrival time of my driver. Three minutes away. Great. I made my way on shaky knees to the large wooden front door. My keys were still in the collection dish. I grabbed them quietly and turned the door handle a fraction of an inch before another door slammed open and Reyna came barreling back into the foyer, brown eyes landing promptly on my guilty ass. Behind her, Percy pursed his lips into a thin line and raised both of his hands to lay on top of his head. His biceps strained nicely against the thin t shirt.

“The fuck is this?” Reyna whispered.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” I babbled.

“It’s just Noa, Rey. Gods,” Percy said.

“I can see that, Percy!” She snapped. I was glad her spear was not strapped across her back this morning. “Why is she sneaking out of my house in your clothes?”

“People were swimming last night. Her clothes got wet.”

“I’m sure the fuck they did.”

“Zeus, Rey! You ended it with me. Why does it even matter?”

“Because I still fucking love you! I’m sorry, okay?” She burst out crying and Percy instantly pulled her against his chest. The memory of being in those arms drove me out the door like a nest of hornets.

~~~~

“I’m just saying. You have nothing to feel sorry for,” Annabeth paused to sip her iced coffee. “Unless they get back together and then you sleep with him. But as of right now, you’re good. Trust me. Been on the Percy train. We’re still friends. You’ll get over it. Just a harmless rebound for both of you.”

I groaned, laying my chin on the cool metal table parked outside our favorite coffee shop positioned between our New York apartments. Just two Manhattan women enjoying their Sunday afternoon. The air was cooling as fall neared. I pulled my baseball cap closer to the top of my sunglasses.

“Should I call him?”

“Maybe tomorrow. Let him deal with his relationship drama. Reyna is a lot to deal with. Still nothing from fuckface?”

“Nope and that’s fine.”

“Good for you. We will hydrate you, get you a good dinner, hit the gym before work in the morning and then get back on our bad bitch mental track. Agreed?”

~~~~

“Good Monday, yogis,” I chirped from my desk at the corner of my studio.

The third class was beginning to trickle in and I was settling into my rhythm. Hot yoga was next and hopefully I would sweat out all the negativity I’d allowed lately. I was in the middle of emailing back a potential client when someone rapped at the wood of my desk. I glanced up to a blonde male who waved gently.

“Heya, sansei Noa,” he said.

“That’s karate. Can I help you?”

“Do you do trial classes?”

I hit send on my email and closed my laptop. The guy was built like a poser with the defined muscles and chiseled jaw but his voice was soft and tempered. He was clean shaven and dressed like a basic gym bro.

“Normally you have to schedule them beforehand because of class size,” I gave my standard answer.

“Right, my bad. Sorry. I was just passing by the front and it looked like the kind of place I needed right now. Can I go ahead and pick a date then?”

I was staring too long into his pale blue eyes, honed in on the polite response. A nice change from the daily demanding consumers. “You know what? Ive got space right now if you like? Have you ever done hot yoga?”

A brilliant white smile showcasing sharp canines. “My favorite.”

“Perfect. I just need a name, number and email to get you a file started.”

He leaned large hands on my desk. “It’s Luke Castellan.”

Before he could give the contact information, I cut him off. “Wait. I know you.” His tanned skin paled significantly.

“I…”

“You’re supposed to be dead!” I blurted out.

His eyes skated around the room and he leaned in closer. “That’s not supposed to be public knowledge. I assume you’re a demigod?”

“Luke, you trained me. We took fucking sculpting together. The Apollo table was right next to the Hermes one for fuck’s sake.”

He winced. I heard a murmuring from the rest of my class I was disturbing with my volume. I collected my shock finally. “Take a seat if you want. We should talk after class. I need to start.”

“Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry Noa.”

I waved him off and walked over to my yoga mat. I sat cross legged and drew in an even breath to smooth out my emotions.

It was a slow 30 minute class. Each pose and movement dragged on. Finally, I dismissed the group and nodded Luke outside. He was waiting on the bench outside of the studio I split renting with a few other instructors. I sat next to him, wiping sweat from my face with the towel slung over my pink sports bra.

“Alright, talk,” I said.

“Not much to say. I was given a second chance at my hearing. Here I am. Starting over.” A shrug of well-defined shoulders. The muscles flexed beneath his gleaming sweat. His red tank top stuck to his chest and stomach. “I wish I remembered you, truly. That time is such a blur in my life.”

“It’s ok. You were a lot older than me and to be honest I had a massive crush on you so I probably hid most of the time.”

A surprised smile slipped across his lips. “I’m assuming the betrayal helped you get over that?”

I laughed outloud, slapping his knee. “No shit! So where are you staying these days?”

“Just around the corner actually. Got a job at the local gym.”

“Yeah I bet the fuck you did.” I squeezed his forearm between both of my hands. I wanted to roll my eyes at me falling back into my school girl giddy at him. Betrayal of the gods aside. He was even more gorgeous than ever. The scar down his face gave him a dark sexy vibe. Like a bad boy even though he claimed he was rehabbing himself now.

“So how, did you feel about the class?”

“I mean, I’d like to sign up for it a couple times a week, that’s for sure. And I’d like to take you out to dinner to make up for not remembering a beauty like you.”

I almost bit my cheek biting out the response of “Yes!”

“You’ve got my number,” he said, chuckling quietly. “I’ve got to get to work.” He shouldered his gym bag and excused himself.

The bike back to my apartment was spent reliving my tween fantasies about bad boy Luke. I opened my apartment door and screeched seeing a man sitting at my kitchen counter. Percy turned to face me.

“You know you live in New York? You should really lock that.”

“It was!” I snapped.

A quick grin. “Yeah. But it was easy to break into.”

I dropped my bag onto the floor and brushed past him to get a protein shake from the fridge. “I have to shower and get prepared for my night classes.” I told him.

“I know. I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t either.”

He paused, studying my face in the shitty lighting of the single bulb hanging between us over the counter. “Are we good, Noa?”

“Of course. What’s a little head between friends?”

“Okay…I can’t read you. Can you not play tough just for a minute?”

I chugged the shake and set the bottle down between us. I leaned my arms on the chilled counter, bun knocking against the light. “Honestly, Percy. I’m fine. We are good.”

“Reyna moved back in.”

“You’re engaged again?”

I drank from the empty bottle to give myself something to do. He watched me with those green eyes. He’d known me for far too long. He was nearly impossible to deceive, but I was determined today. The fact that I had dreamt of fucking him two consecutive nights was irrelevant if he was off the table. Even if his lips did look incredibly juicy tonight. Even if they had done near illicit things to me just nights ago.

“I don’t know. She said she wanted to work on things. And it’s her dad’s house, so I can’t ask her to go and I don’t want to go to my mom’s and admit defeat.”

“You know you could stay here, Perc.”

He worked his jaw silently, then rubbed his hands over his face. “Thanks. I do know. Even if we aren’t officially back together, I think we should work on it…” he trailed off.

“And not tell her about you eating me out?” I leaned closer because I was mean to both him and myself. Because I knew this top combined with this angle gave him a simple opportunity. And he took it.

His tongue slid out between his lips as his eyes flicked down, stayed, then dragged deliberately back up. “Probably not,” he agreed.

For a long moment neither of us said anything. He had more to lose now than me. We were no longer on equal playing fields. So, I left the ball in his court. “I’m going to go shower.”

I was done washing in the first ten minutes. The second ten was giving him a little wiggle room to decide. I had my hand on the faucet to cut off the water that was beginning to go cold when I heard the door creak open. I watched through the fogged glass, catching a hold of my breath. I watched as he tugged his shirt off. My stomach flipped over itself when he reached for his jeans. What had I done?

The opening door let in a rush of cool air, perking my skin to attention. My eyes raked unapologetically over his naked, aroused body. His dark hair quickly slicked against his stubble covered jaw. His eyes were no longer the sea green but murky like the deep water of the ocean.

“Hey,” he said quietly, cautiously.

“Hey,” I giggled, reaching out to touch his rough jaw. He winced, catching my hand with his. “We probably shouldn’t kiss again.”

“Sure, whatever you want, Percy. What can I do to you?”

He groaned, turning his mouth into my palm, scraping teeth against the vulnerable skin. “Touch me,” he said.

My free hand instantly planted against his chest, scraping at the muscle. His eyes fluttered closed, head tilting back to expose his throat. I slid my other hand into his thick hair, tugging it tightly between my fingers and pulling to grant myself more access to the strong column of his neck. I bit it first, backing him into the tiled wall when he shuddered. I kissed over the reddening skin and moved my hands to his flat stomach, feeling the shuddered breaths beneath my touch.

“Like this?” I asked.

His reply was unintelligible. I kissed down his chest, moving my hand lower still as I went. When my fingers brushed over the v-line of his hips, I shifted my route away from the center and to his thighs. An annoyed grunt escaped his lips. “Hush,” I scolded, getting my knees under me. The now cold water was hitting the back of my neck and flowing down my body. I placed my hands on the inside of both his thighs, trailing them upwards and upwards until he nearly contorted when I gripped him. He let out a scandalous string of curses that quickly turned to moaning silence when I took him into my mouth.

He unraveled in minutes and I let him cum all over the breasts I had teased him with earlier. I rose in front of him, my own rosy cheeks mirroring his. “Now we’re even.”

#percy jackson smut #percy jackson fanfiction #percy jackson #logan lerman smut #logan lerman fanfiction

[ali-kitkat]

Strangeness and Charm

MGI 2021 One-Year Anniversary Gift Exchange

hello, im back for a little post for @khneltea you are the recipient for enemies to lovers and by gods i hope you like this! romantic, or well its implied, daminette enemies to lovers! also tagging @issaxcharlie as per requested in the server!

fic is under the cut!

Marinette understood that the bat team was sent to Paris to help her; now that it was just herself against Papillon, but she really wanted to kick Robin’s teeth in. She couldn’t stand him. He was a self-centered, entitled, little shit. How dare he come into her city and tell her how to do her job? 

The akuma attacks had been sporadic since she had revoked Chat Noir’s miraculous and the only attack that had occurred since Robin and the rest of the bats had arrived was Mister Pigeon. However, if she was being honest with herself that hardly counted as an attack in her or anyone’s books anymore. 

It took all of her self control to not throttle him on the rooftop, after she had cast the miraculous cure, when he said “If this is what qualifies as an attack for you, I would hate to see how you would fare against even one of Gotham’s villains.” She was livid, he had based his opinions on akuma attacks by one attack and one attack only. 

He had only been in Paris for a week and this is how he treated her, because of one little flare up by their resident akuma magnet? He had no idea what even counted as an attack in Paris nowadays.

Mister Pigeon? Definitely not. 

Siren? Absolutely.

Due to him being close to her in age, she had constantly paired up with him during her nightly patrols and she hated it. She wondered if this was his team's way of trying to get him to socialize or work on his people skills. If so, they were doing an absolutely shit job of it. 

At this point she really had debated whether or not being on Batman’s shit list would be worth dangling Robin from the Eiffel Tower by his ankles. She could do it. She knows she could, she had done it before in fact, to Chat before she took his miraculous away from him. In the end, she decided that it wouldn’t be worth the trouble it would cause her; but if she did accidentally hit him with her yo-yo while patrolling with him that night, no one would be the wiser. 

She elected to ignore the muttered curses and detoured from her usual route in an attempt to get away from the miserable bastard. Of course, Robin then scolded her for running away and being an inferior hero. At that point she decided to put even more distance between them, only to prevent herself from injuring a potential ally. If he could even be called that with his constant berating and demeanor.

It was then that she heard a scream, an akuma. Kwami, she hoped it wasn’t Sandboy again, especially since his usual appearances were during the night. 

She cast a quick glance at Robin and decided to leave him be. She took off in the direction of the scream, he was preoccupied by something on his gauntlet, if the blue light it was emitting was an indicator. Besides she had been fighting akumas for years now, the last thing she needed was Robin’s attitude and chiding rather than his help. 

He didn’t need to see her nightmares either if it was in fact Sandboy who was akumatized as well.  Sure, she wasn’t exactly the same thirteen year old girl she was when she first started battling akumas but Robin certainly didn’t need any more ammunition to use against her. 

He didn’t need to see that her nightmares were of herself, whispering in her ear, telling her to give up. That she was a failure, that she should just let Papillon have the miraculous. It would all be over, it wasn’t like she would remember that she was Ladybug anyways. Whatever wish he would make would erase the current timeline out of existence. She hated seeing it.

When she touched down on the street, the first thing she noticed was that it was empty. There was no sign of any akuma, no destruction or frozen bodies. There wasn’t anything, it was too empty, as if the people had just up and disappeared. It was incredibly unnerving. 

Casting another look around, she saw something dart into the shadows of an alleyway. She jumped to a neighboring rooftop and looked down. There it was, the akuma. They didn’t look like anything special, no obnoxious colours or outrageous outfits. Just someone in a simple, sleek suit in muted colours, their hair tied back in a dark braid and a drooping butterfly mask that looked like ruined eyeliner. 

They looked up and made eye contact. She flung herself back on the rooftop. The akuma’s eyes looked empty, there was no emotion or life in them. It was disconcerting. 

She looked back down into the alleyway to try to get another read on the akuma. They were gone. She rose to her feet and looked around again, just in case she missed something. 

“Well, well, well. Look at what we have here,” a low, gravelly voice called out. It sounded as if they had gargled glass. Marinette quickly turned around to see the akuma at the other end of the rooftop. “A little ladybug all alone. Let us see what kind of memories you hold, heroine.”

Then suddenly the akuma was in front of her, arm outstretched and their hand was pressed against her forehead. She watched as her memories played out in real time before her and the akuma. She watched as her memories played side by side, all at once. It was headache inducing. 

Marinette saw the first friend she made in almost a decade. She saw Lila threaten her and her friendships. She saw the day she had met Tikki, and the day she had received guardianship of the miracle box from Fu. She watched as flashes of her homelife flashed by, the few happy memories of her parents before the bakery’s popularity increased, before they began to neglect her. Before Lila’s honeyed words ruined what little she had left of them. 

She watched as memories of previous akuma attacks played out. Of how Chat Noir acted away from the crowds and cameras, how treated her like an object to be won rather than a person. She watched as she had scrubbed herself raw in the shower after he had touched her, as she scrubbed her teeth after he forced a kiss on her.

She watched as the attacks ended and her reunions with her friends had turned into screaming fits. The shouts of how she was flakey and that if she was just going to hang out with them only to ditch them halfway through their time together that they were no longer going to be friends anymore, that they were better off without her. She watched as Lila smiled from across the room, where she comforted her former friend. As Lila’s promises came to fruition.

She watched as her nightmares flashed by just as quick of her looking in the mirror, looking at the scars that the miraculous cure hadn’t healed. As her reflection had started to speak. That she should give up, let Papillon have the miraculous. That she wasn’t worth it, that she was all alone. As the whispered words of her former friends had joined in. She watched as images of Chat had appeared telling her that she was his and no one else’s.

She watched as she was left to pick up the pieces of her life.

Suddenly she was wrenched back and someone was holding her against their person. She could see one of the bat-themed vigilantes fighting against the akuma, it looked to be Red Hood with the way the streetlight was glinting off his helmet. She could hear herself breathing heavily and could feel the tears streaming down her face as she was swung away from the akuma.

When the person holding her landed on a different rooftop, she wrenched herself out of their arms. She hit the rooftop with a thud and scrambled as far away from them as she could possibly get; then she buried her face in her knees. She covered her ears with her hands, hoping to block out the unrelenting images of her memories and nightmares. She didn’t want to see or hear anything. She certainly didn’t want to see anyone’s pitying looks or hear their scorn. She just wanted to forget, this akuma was most definitely Papillon’s newest masterpiece. 

She flinched when a hand settled on her shoulder and tried to inch away from it, without removing her hands from her ears. Unfortunately, the hand remained, grounding her ever so slightly. Finally she gave in and looked up. Robin was watching her, but rather than disdain or pity, his face was pinched with concern. She huffed out a laugh, it was weak and made Robin flinch. She shrugged his hand off and stood; she held her head high and wiped her tears away. Ignoring his questioning looks, she tossed her yo-yo out. 

“Ladybug,” he said softly. 

“Don’t. Whatever you have to say, keep it to yourself. I don’t care,” she croaked. She didn’t want to hear anything he had to say, she just wanted to be done with this night and its horrors.

“Ladybug,” he repeated. “Regardless of whatever you might think or feel, you are not alone. There are plenty of other heroes who know exactly how you feel, who have been exactly where you are.” 

That stopped her in her tracks. Of course Robin of all people had seen her memories, her nightmares and her fears. She turned and glared at him, though she imagined it wasn’t all that effective. What with her tear streaked face and red eyes. 

“I know how you feel,” Robin sighed and she deflated. “That your best is not enough, that you, yourself are not good enough. I have been in your shoes. I have felt alone.”

“Well, you certainly don’t act like it,” she sniped bitterly, closing in on herself.

“I apologize,” Robin stated. 

“What?” 

“I am sorry,” he repeated. “I realize that I may have come off as too brusque and in doing so have diminished your accomplishments.” 

“Why?” she asked. “Why are you apologizing? You have nothing to be sorry for. You were right, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just playing at being a hero. My villain just found out my identity and so did all of you and your team.”

“That being, it was not, nor is it, your fault,” he replied. “I made assumptions of which I am at fault for, and of which caused the predicament of which you have found yourself in. You cannot quit or give up because of several imbeciles, because if you do, you let them win. You do not strike me as a sore loser, Ladybug.”

Marinette let out a laugh and watched as Robin’s expression shifted. He no longer looked concerned, but was now smiling wryly at her. She returned the smile. “Thank you Robin.” 

“You are welcome,” he said. “Now I believe you have an akuma to take care of? Would you care for some assistance?” 

“I would,” she replied.

“I look forward to working with you more,” he said, “Marinette.” 

Marinette nodded, feeling her face flush at the way Robin said her name. “I do too Robin. I do too.”

#maribat #daminette #mgi 1 year anniversary #ali-kitkat's writing #ali-kitkat writes #i live

[axwalker]

Bad Timing: Kismet

Book: The Royal Romance (AU)

Pairing: Drake Walker x Alexis O’Brien (MC) 

Synopsis: Alexis O’Brien is escaping a terrible past. After months of running  she settles  in Cordonia where she meets Drake at the bar where she works and they spend a passionate night together. 

What happens when a one-night-stand turns into unexpected parenthood? 

This chapter

MASTERLIST 

WORDS: 3,890 🙊

POV: Dual 

TRIGGER WARNINGS: None for this chapter. In the future, mentions of domestic violence, and explicit sex scenes. 

ALL MY FICS ARE +18 

A/N: I apologize for any grammatical errors. 

I switch between Drake’s and Alexis’ POV several time in this chapter. I hope it’ll be clear enough!

PRESENT TIME Alexis

 After a one-hour bus ride and a 20-minutes walk, I finally find the correct address. When I reach the massive iron gates, I punch in the code Mr. Beaumont’s assistant gave me on the phone and gape as the extensive estate comes into view when I walk through. Acres and acres of super green grass littered with pines surround the massive house in the distance. The closer I get, the more I feel like a foreigner. This might have been my world once, but my new reality couldn’t be further apart from all this luxury. I have fifty dollars left in my wallet, an eviction notice back in my 200 square foot studio, and to top it all, the worst freaking headache I’ve had in my life. Talk about a bad streak. Ironically, I’m happier than I’ve been in years. My life belongs to me; I don’t have to live in constant fear and –most importantly, I’m free. Unattached. I want to do a lot of things with my life, and no one will stop me. That’s worth the worst headache in the world or a few money problems. 

I ring the bell, and a gorgeous woman opens the door. Her deep blue eyes scowl at me when I smile at her. 

“Who are you looking for?” She doesn’t ask as much as she barks the question. 

“Eh,” I haven’t been called shy a single day of my life, but her attitude it’s messing with the positive vibes I had coming up here. “I’m looking for Mr. Bertrand Beaumont from Beaumont Caterings.”

 “This door is for house guests only. The help,” she says the word as if it tastes bad in her mouth, “must go around the house and ring the bell back there.” She’s about to close the door right in my face when two hot guys come to the door. Seriously, what do people eat in this country? 

“Penelope, what are you doing answering the door like a simple maid? Where is Jessa?” 

Penelope rolls her eyes. “She had to leave early. She said she asked you for the afternoon off.”

The older man nods as, the younger one grins at me. “We can discuss Jessa’s schedule later, Bertie. Please, come in, Ms.?” He asks me, still smiling. 

“Ortiz. Alexis Ortiz.” I grin back, instantly liking the man with the kind blue eyes. “I’m here for the catering job.” 

“I’m Maxwell Beaumont. This is my brother Bertrand—the owner and Penelope Brim, one of our party planners.”

I follow them to a huge office and give Bertrand the resumé I printed at the internet place next to my building.  

“Is this all true?” He asks after a quick read.

I nod my head.

“Are you sure, Ms. Ortiz? It says here that you were working as a bartender, a barista, and a waitress in a very exclusive French restaurant, all at the same time.”

Penelope gives me a dismissive glare. “She’s obviously lying. That isn’t even possible. Unless she’s iniquitous.” 

I know better than to interrupt a potential employer, even worse if it’s to correct them, but this woman is grating on my nerves. Plus, I had a lifetime of keeping my head down with Matt, and I just don’t have the patience for this kind of crap anymore. And she called me a liar. Hell no.

“No, Ms. Brim, I’m not ubiquitous.” Maxwell snorts, and I swear the other guy, Bertrand, smiles behind my CV. I refrain from telling her what iniquitous actually means because I do need this job. “I worked as a barista in a Starbucks from 5 to 11 am. Then as a waitress at “Clair de Lune” from 12 to 6 pm. Finally, as a bartender in an Irish pub from 7 to midnight or 2 am, depending on the day. You can call any of those places and see I’m not lying.” Just please, God, don’t ask for my papers.

Maxwell reads the resumé when Bertrand gives it to him. “Do you speak French and Spanish as well?”

I shrug. “I love languages, and I grew up in a house where my mom and grandmother only spoke Spanish. I learned French in school. I had an amazing teacher.” 

Maxwell and Bertrand look at each other. The older brother, a younger, sterner version of Hugh Jackman, clears his throat. “I’ll be honest with you, Ms. Ortiz. Two of our waiters are absent, and tomorrow we’ll be catering to one of the most important events of the year. If everything in your resume is true, you can start training today --paid of course, and start working tomorrow.”

Paid training? Despite my throbbing head, I want to scream with happiness. “Everything is true.”

“That’s settled then. Penelope, please, darling, show Ms. Ortiz the kitchens and the ballroom. You can ask Naomi to train her for tonight. You know Regina, and she’ll want everything to go as smooth as possible.” 

“Right.” Penelope turned at me with an uptight smile. “Come with me.” 

I turn and beam at Maxwell, who’s giving me a thumbs up. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.” 

Bertrand shakes his head. “Don’t thank me yet, Ms. Ortiz. Just do an impeccable job.” He glances at my Vans. “And for the love of God, only heels tomorrow.” 

I nod and follow Penelope down the hallway. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DRAKE

 “This is why you ditch your friends who get hitched to a relationship,” I grumble, sitting in my chair. 

“He’s five minutes late,” Liam says. 

Leo shakes his head. “Well, I want a goddamn drink. How come I can’t order one until he gets here?” 

Liam pinches the bridge of his nose. “You two are acting like children. You can wait five minutes.” 

“Maybe, but I need something, and fast.” 

“Ah, there they are,” Max exclaims, hands clasped together, staring at us. “My boys.” Jesus Christ. Liam is scooped into a hug and then set back in his chair. 

From over Liam’s head, Max points at me and shakes his finger. “Come here; you handsome Walker bastard.” 

I hold up my hand. “I’m good.”

 “Nope.” He shakes his head. “You don’t get to pass up Max’s snuggles.” Before I can move, he swoops to his knees, pulls me into a hug. . . and nuzzles. 

“What the fuck are you doing, Beaumont?” I ask, my voice strong as I try to push him away. 

“You smell like heaven,” he says, chuckling. No one likes to fuck with me as much as Maxwell Beaumont does. Unfortunately for me, he’s one of my best friends, and the bastard is well aware of it. 

“Get out of here.” I palm his face and push him away. 

Leo laughs. “Come on, man, you know Walker is a sour bastard.” 

With another laugh, Maxwell retreats to his seat, unbuttons his jacket, and sits down. Hands-on the table, he looks between us and declares, “I’m in love.” 

Christ. “We know,” Liam and I say at the same time, irritation heavy in our voices. Leo just rolls his eyes as he looks for a waiter. 

Maxwell has only been dating Rashad for a few weeks, so it’s no surprise he’s like this—a hopeful idiot with a relentless smile. Hell, he’s been in love with the man for years. It took him a really, really long time to finally make a move. He adjusts his tie as he says, “You don’t have to be rude about it. I’m just sharing. Isn’t that what this is all about? Sharing?” 

“Sharing? I thought this was about drinking as much as possible and hooking up with a hot waitress,” Leo says, flagging down our waiter. 

When he arrives, I talk above the guys and quickly say, “Macallan, neat.” 

“Dalmore, on the rocks, please,” Liam says, and Leo orders the same. 

When the waiter turns to Max, he rubs his stomach and says, “You know, a hot cocoa would be perfect right now.”

 What the actual fuck? “No.” I step in. “He’ll have an Old Fashion. Thanks.” A little confused and probably slightly disturbed, he takes off as Max complains. 

“Hey, I really wanted a hot cocoa.” 

“Not happening. First, because they don’t serve hot cocoas here and second because we’re supposed to be out drinking, Beaumont. And you fucking love Old Fashions. You order one every damn time. Stop complaining.” 

“Sheesh.” Maxwell unfolds his napkin and sets it on his lap. “What’s up your ass?” 

“Nothing.” I push my hand through my hair. 

“It’s a girl.” Leo smirks, causing Liam and Max to practically jump out of their seats.

“A girl?” Liam cocks his eyebrow. “Surely not Drake --permanent bachelor, Walker. My fucking heart can’t take it.” 

Fucking Leo. “It’s not what Leo is making it out to be.” 

“He met her two months ago, and he’s been thinking about her ever since. Magical pussy right there.”

“I swear, Leo; I don’t care for how long we’ve been friends, next time you talk about her like that, I’ll personally break that shit-eat grin off your face”

The clown raises his arms. “I rest my case.”

 “What?” Max’s eyes nearly fall out of their sockets. “Drake Walker doesn’t get attached, and he doesn’t duel his friends for a girl.” 

Jesus. Thankfully the waiter brings our drinks at that moment, so I have a second to compose myself. 

“You slept with her?” Liam asks after a swig of Dalmore. He’s been in a stable relationship with Hanna Lee for a year now. Once the most popular guy on school, he now spends his Friday nights curled up with her watching Netflix. I can’t even remember the last time he went out with us. 

“I don’t want to talk about it. The only reason this fuckhead is bringing it up it’s because I went looking for her, and he saw it.” There I said it. Better me than Leo fucking Rys. 

Max and Liam exchange a look, but Max seems too stunned to talk, so Liam asks. “You did what?”

I chug my whiskey and ask for another one. “I don’t know why. I just …” Tired of this fucking conversation, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “We had a great time. That’s all.”

 “How come Leo knows about this girl, and I don’t?” Liam complains. 

Max complains too. “Dude, you know I’m the romantic one. Leo over here has a brick for a heart, and Li is too busy. You need to discuss these things with me.” 

“I don’t have a brick for a heart,” Leo says, surprisingly offended. 

“No, you’re just still hung up on Maddie,” I say with a smirk. He shifts in his chair but doesn’t say anything. What does it feel, Rys? 

“So . . . who is the girl?” Maxwell asks. 

For fuck’s sake. I might as well get it over with. “I’m going to say one last time that I’m not interested in her anymore, so before your little hearts starts beating wildly for playing cupid, it’s not going to happen.” 

In a snarky tone, Leo replies, “Well, of course, it’s not. She left the country. Are you that bad, Walker? Because I can give you a tip or two.” He’s so fucking annoying. 

“Oh.” Max sighs, disappointed.  

Leo elbows his brother and says, “He hasn’t slept with anyone since.” 

And there it is. The real reason why Leo is worried about this. He lost his wingman. “I’m not an animal, Leo. It’s not the first time in my life that I go two months without fucking. I’m not you. Anyway, all this is pointless. She’s gone.” 

My friends grew up with me, so they know when it’s time to stop pushing. Max interrupts the silence that follows because nothing makes little Beaumont more uncomfortable than a gap in the conversation. “Everything is ready for the party tomorrow night. The thirtieth anniversary of Rys Corporation will be a success.” 

Liam nods. “Regina talked with Hana this morning. It’s the first anniversary since I took over as CEO. I need everything to be perfect.” 

“What about the staff, Max?” Leo asks, smiling. Having sex at every anniversary party is a personal challenge of his. 

“We actually hired someone today. She’s gorgeous.” He turns his head at Leo. “But she’s off-limits.” Leo smirks, wiggling his eyebrows. “I mean it, dude. Bertrand said he’s tired of looking for new waitresses. Two quit yesterday morning when they found out that the event was for Rys corporation.”  

“Hey, I never lie. It’s not my fault if they think I’ll call them anyway.” 

“Whatever, just don’t mess with her. Plus, I got to talk to her after her training today. She’s super nice. She’s Am--. Wait.” He says when his phone chimes up. “Sorry, boys. It was a text from Penelope. Apparently, the Chablis hasn’t been delivered yet. I have to call Joelle before I lose my big brother over a wine crisis. See you all tomorrow.” He finishes his cocktail and stands up. 

Liam stands up too. “I should go home too. Han arrived today from Hong Kong.” 

Leo checks his phone. “Wait, Li. I’ll go with you. I have a date with this girl I met last night at Kismet. Do you want to come, man?” He asks me. “I’m sure she has a friend she can introduce you.”

I shake my head. “I’ll finish my whiskey and head home. See you all tomorrow.”

It was only one fucking night. Why can’t I get her out of my head? 

It’s maddening. Or maybe it is a blessing. If I’m still thinking about her after one night, imagine how bad I’d have it after several. It’s best that she stays far the fuck away from me. I’m not interested in long-term attachments of any kind.  I don’t want to think about Lexie Ortiz, but she’s infected my brain. The sound of her teasing laugh haunts me.

And I can’t deny it; it was one hell of a night.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALEXIS 

 “This is a single girl’s paradise.” 

“No,” I grimace, trying to clean the spilled tomato sauce from my shirt. “Paradise would be a tropical beach with a hot cabana boy giving us free massages... and an endless supply of piñas Coladas.” Naomi laughs, the sound almost lost in the chaos of the kitchen. Chefs shouting orders, Penelope and Bertrand panicking, plates being dropped—the world of catering is a noisy business. 

“Cabana boys may have hot smoking bodies and virility, Lex, but they lack two essential qualities: prestige and money.” 

“So, what you’re saying is that you’d prefer an old limp dick over a young hard one? Interesting,” I answer, teasing her. 

“No, that’s not what I’m saying, smart ass. I’m saying I’d take a solid bank account over a solid dick. Think about it—with all that money, he could never fuck me at all, and I couldn’t care less. And I’d be treated properly. Rich guys know how to treat a lady.” 

“Trust me on this, Naomi. Money has absolutely nothing to do with how a man treats a woman.” I should know. “In any case,” I retort, grabbing another tray of drinks, “if you’re looking for old rich guys, there are tons of opportunities out there.” I laugh at the dreamy look on her face, partly because it’s hilarious and partly because I know she’s kidding. After my training last night, she invited me to her house, where I met Theo, her little boy. He’s eight years old and the absolute love of her life. 

“Speaking of fucking,” she says, her eyes sparkling, “did you see the Rys brothers? One of them is taken, but the other two are single and oh so yummy. Especially the tall and brooding one. I’ll kill for those smoldering brown eyes looking right at my soul” 

I snort. “You really should stop reading romance novels, Nao. And yes. I served one of them and his girlfriend champagne earlier, but he was blond and didn’t have smoldering, brooding eyes. I thought they were only two brothers, though.”

“Well, technically, yes. But Constantine Rys --the super-rich owner of Rys Corporation-- adopted two other kids. A boy and a girl. They all grew up together.” She uncorks several champagne bottles as she speaks.

Now that my uniform is clean, I grab one of the Veuve Clicquot bottles and help her pouring the cold liquid into the glasses on our trays. “How do you know all of that?”

“I’m Cordonian, girl. The Rys siblings are almost royalty in this country. The one that is not an actual Rys is the one with the smoldering eyes. He doesn’t work for the company, though. He’s a … a vet, I think.”  

A veterinarian like Drake. My stupid heart flutters when I think about him. 

“Do we pay you to work or to gossip, ladies?” Penelope screams from the kitchen door. 

Naomi and I roll our eyes and grab our refilled trays. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DRAKE

“This is a huge night for Liam,” Regina says behind her champagne glass. Constantine has been telling everyone, especially her, that he’s ready and happy to retire, but she knows him better than anyone. Leaving Rys Corporation and pass the torch to Liam is much more difficult for Constantine than he cares to admit.  

“It’ll be all right, Regina. Don’t worry. Liam is more than ready to handle the responsibility.”

She throws a glance at Liam, who’s standing a few feet behind me next to his dad. “I just hope he doesn’t forget that his personal life is equally important. He and Hana work too hard.” 

I’m about to answer when one of the waitresses distracts me. Her back is turned to me, so I can’t see her face, but there is something incredibly familiar about the way she moves. She’s passing drinks amongst Regina’s friends. I want to go and see who she is, but Liam catches my eyes across the room.  We exchange a look, one that we’ve exchanged several times over our lives. It was Liam and me when we were younger, walking into his father’s office after getting into a fight at school. It was the two of us when we came home late, and his parents were waiting in the living room as we walked in, drunk. It was the two of us when we wrecked Leo’s new Porsche when we were sixteen, and right now, I know he needs me. Constantine is a great father, but he has too many expectations for his younger son. Liam needs a break. 

Regina sees the exchange and smiles. “Liam’s very lucky to have you, Drake.” She is not our biological mother, but she loves all of us as if she was. And she’s more my mother than Bianca Walker will never be.  

A couple of men look at me, and I try to remember if I should know them from somewhere. I think they’re both on the board of directors at RC. As much as I love the Rys, I will never get used to this shit. Socializing and pretending to like a bunch of people that annoy the fuck out of me. Ignoring them, I make my way to my best friend. Liam is standing with his hands in his pockets, looking serious and put together like the CEO of the largest company in Cordonia should. 

“I think it’s going well,” he says as I approach. “Father was driving me crazy with all his advice.” 

“It’s not only the anniversary of the company, Li. It’s also his first one as the former CEO. It’s normal he feels out of place.” 

Liam nods. “I know. I just wish he’ll trust me more.”

“He does, Liam. He’s just nervous.”

 I’m cut short by Liam’s grin. His gaze slides right behind me and lights up. 

“Would either of you like a glass of champagne?” a female, very familiar voice nearly whispers behind me. 

“I’m good,” Liam answers, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “How about you, Drake?”

 I turn around, and my heart skips a beat. Soft curves, tanned skin, and a few freckles across the bridge of her nose. The brightest, most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen. Alexis Ortiz tucks a strand of her rich brown hair behind her ear and takes a deep breath. Her eyes widen, and I see she recognizes me but doesn’t mention it. Instead, a faint smile ghosts her luscious lips, and she lifts her chin like she has a secret she won’t tell. A secret we share. Her gaze remains on Liam, almost like she’s afraid to look my way. Finally, she turns to me, and when she does, an adorable blush color her cheeks. 

“Would you, uh, sir?” she asks, taking half a step backward. 

“Would I what?” I press, enjoying too much the way her cheeks turn even pinker. 

“Would you like a drink?” The words leave her lips fast like she wants to pronounce them and run away. I take a step towards her, remembering the night she spent in my arms and how damn perfect she felt. I know I make her nervous because I see little goosebumps erupting on her soft skin.  I smirk at her. “That depends on what you’re offering.”

 I shouldn’t be toying with her, but I can’t help it. I want to keep her talking, to watch her reactions, to see that sweet smile again.  

“I don’t have much to offer,” she says, a hint of nervousness in her voice. “Unless you like champagne, sir.” She emphasizes the last word.

“I like all sorts of things.” I keep my gaze heavy against hers, not allowing her to look away. She fidgets with her tray and swallows hard but never takes her eyes off mine, too rebellious to look away. The longer our eyes match, the hotter my body becomes. She bits her delicious bottom lip slowly, her dark gaze boring into mine. 

“Is that so?” Liam laughs beside me, and I watch her jump like she forgot he was there. Alexis clears her throat and glances around the room. She turns back to us again, this time a practiced smile on her face. The easy grin and soft laugh are both gone. She wants to get away from me, I can feel it, and I understand. She’s working; it wouldn’t be professional. This is not the time or the place to reconnect. Unfortunately for her, I have other plans.

“Gentlemen ...” With a nod, Alexis walks away as fast as possible. She doesn’t look back, but I watch her until she’s out of sight. 

“What was that?” Liam snickers, loosening his gray silk tie. “I thought you were going to jump on her.” 

I rub my thumb over my lip, still surprised as hell.

“That was Alexis, the girl I met a couple of months ago. Now, if you excuse me, Li, I need to go talk to Bertrand.”  

@mskaneko @burnsoslow @gkittylove99 @kat-tia801 @no-one-u-know @thegreentwin @twinkle-320 @forallthatitsworth @kingliam2019 @marshmallowsandfire @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @princessleac1 @twinkleallnight @tinkie1973 @drakexwillow @moneyfordiamonds 

@yukinagato2012​ @alyssalauren​

#drake x alexis #drake walker #drake walker fanfic #drake x mc #tw domestic violence

[jade-marie]

Heyyy. With all this supposed romantic jealousy and like you said ‘dick measuring’ game that Nick and Rio are playing, I think about the scene in the car after Beth got Rio arrested and Nick got him out. Rio said: “so what do you want to do about [Beth?] and Nick said “not what you want to do.” This scene makes it seem like they have a plan that they’re BOTH in on to deal with Beth. I’m at first I thought they were playing good cop/bad cop (I still think they are) but now Rio is clearly uncomfortable with Nick’s plan. What the fuck is going on because I am confused?

Also do you think the dynamic between Nick and Rio will become clearer by the finale? They seem to have a very complex relationship and wow, who would have thought utilising one of your best and most underused character that LITERALLY DRIVES THE WHOLE MAIN PLOT would make the show interesting again 🤔

Hi, doll! Ok, you’re gonna have to bear with me because my brain is messy at the best of times and I’ve had a non stop headache since yesterday morning, so making sense of my thoughts is hella difficult right now lol. I’m just gonna break this up into sections to help me keep track of everything!

P.s. I’m sorry this got long 🥴

Rio and Nick’s dynamic

So, from what we’ve seen so far, Nick is extremely narcissistic, manipulative, and selfish. In my opinion, he doesn’t really seem to have a very strong sense of self or morality, he just becomes whoever he needs to, in order to achieve the goal at hand. Whether it’s kissing ass at the golf club, playing politics, or having Rio thrown in jail/beaten with a stool. He’s always thinking about the long game, always about the bigger picture, he likes to use every situation/person to his advantage. He seems to have some sort of resentment and/or jealousy towards Rio and that comes out a lot in his desire to take from Rio. He took his dreams of being a boxing a boxer, his freedom, trivial stuff like the burger and the basketball. I also think he wants to take Beth but they’ve not made it clear in what capacity he wants to take her. Whether it’s because he’s clocked that Rio has/had genuine feelings for her, or because he thinks Beth is a business asset. Either way, he sees that Beth is a sore spot and he’s going to keep pushing as a way to exert power and feel like a man.

Rio, on the other hand, likes to see immediate results, and he can be pretty impulsive. He’s also very self-assured, he is who he is and he doesn’t change that for anyone. He literally has a giant tattoo across his throat which he displays proudly because he doesn’t care how anyone else sees him. But he has a natural charm and charisma that he can use when he needs it, without having to become a completely different person. I think he’s a very emotional person, regardless of how much he tries to hide it, which can make him pretty reactive to situations – see: basically every interaction with Beth.

They’re wildly different people and this would cause conflict in itself because they immediately want to handle situations differently, like with Annie being kidnapped. The girls owed him money, Rio was mad about it, and he wanted an immediate resolution to that problem, whereas Nick didn’t care so much about the short-term financial issues, in comparison to the long-term benefit to him of keeping Beth onside. Within their organisation, the structure is still kinda murky because he doesn’t seem to be the boss, but then he does and ehhh. Supposedly Rio handles all the illicit stuff and then Nick pushes through city contracts to shell corporations he owns and also makes money from that, as well as keeping Rio out of jail. The actual power imbalance between them still irks me because Nick is literally a councilman. He has no real clout. There’s no reason for him to have such a hold over Rio, especially when Rio knows exactly what Nick is and he also knows that Nick wouldn’t have dick without him. But I digress.

The conversation in the car

I definitely think that conversation is very relevant to what’s happening with Beth right now. In that moment, I think Rio wanted revenge, plain and simple but he was also thinking long term. I don’t think he was planning on going out to kill her, but that’s where Nick’s mind went because he severely underestimates how much of a “big picture guy” Rio can be hence telling Rio, “not what you want to do”. Presumably, there would’ve been a discussion between them off screen where Nick decided exactly what was going to happen and how they were going to use her. My guess is that going forward they were basically going to play a game of ‘good cop bad cop’. Nick offers himself up as the friendly local councilman, shows concern for Beth, helps her etc, while Rio is more menacing than ever. Rio is reluctantly going along with this plan because of the stupid power imbalance, but I think he’s got something up his sleeve. I think the discomfort we’re seeing from Rio stems from their difference in opinion on how to handle Beth, Rio chafing under Nick’s control and also the resentment Rio holds because of Nick’s constant routine of taking what’s his. I kinda spoke about it in this post.

Last time Beth got Rio arrested, he shot Dean - he’s not shy when it comes to payback. Typically, he’s always quite reactive to situations and that can (has) come to bite him in the ass but he knows this. He was there. He knows that every time he pushes Beth, she pushes back with equal force, so he needs to immobilise her. While Nick just wants to use Beth to benefit himself financially, by using her to push through contracts for shell corporations etc, I think Rio wanted to kill two birds with one stone. He can use Beth as a shield for his business and make money off her, then later on, I think he probably wants to use her to get rid of Nick and potentially let Beth go down with him as payback for her betrayal (at least, I think that was his original plan but he may soften to her and end up forming an alliance once Nick is out of the picture).

Romantic Jealousy?

As for the jealousy, it’s still not the word I’d choose to describe Rio. It probably fits, to a degree, but I always associate it with pettiness and wanting stuff you don’t have - i.e. Nick. With Rio, it feels more possessive over what he already has because he knows Nick wants to take it. This now extends to Beth because she was and is his, at least in a business sense. I don’t think he’s ever been particularly jealous of her in their personal relationship because neither of them ever truly gave into whatever it was. In business, she worked for him, she answered to him, if she needed help – she came to him, and he’s created that dynamic with Beth by keeping her isolated from his wider organisation. He was effectively trying to mentor her and make her in his image. Now, Nick comes along and suddenly Beth’s going to Nick for help, Beth’s doing what Nick says, and she’s looking to Nick as a mentor. So, once again, Nick is taking what belongs to Rio. That’s why I think he reacted the way he did in the strip club. He realised that he was about to lose to Nick again, and he wasn’t willing to let that happen, so he pulled out the ol’ carrot and stick. He took her money away as a punishment, made her think on her feet, and then rewarded her for a job well done. He showed her that she doesn’t need Nick because then Nick has no hold over her. He’s showing Beth that she can get shit done on her own, but also reminding her that he essentially made her what she is. He taught her. He believed in her. He asked her what she gained from being on the city council and doing what Nick tells her, knowing full well she gets fuck all out of it because he knows Nick. Then he gave her a reward to make ‘team Rio’ all the more appealing. Yes, there could well be some romantic feelings under that but I don’t think that’s what’s driving Rio right now. I think this is firmly about him and Nick, while Beth has become another toy for them to fight over.

#rio x nick #good girls nbc #rio good girls #nbc good girls #beth boland #brio #gg season 4 #rio x beth

[shessoparticular]

Ready Set Date: Chapter 3 | #ShawnMendesWritingCircle

Another day, another fic!

Find part 1 written by @shawnscxlvins here! & part 2 written by @sinceweremutual here! thank u again @saysweartogod-og for the challenge again, everyone enjoy x

You sat at the table dumbfounded for a little bit before collecting your belongings before heading out to your awaiting Uber. You’d passed several paparazzi’s as you left, making you confused as you’d been told that they wouldn’t really be making an appearance until your next “date”.

Once you had safely made it into the car you made sure to send a short text to Shawn, making sure that everything was okay since he’d left you in a pretty dramatic way. You couldn’t help but be nosey and wonder what that text he received was about. It wasn’t long before he replied with a simple “everything’s okay, I’m so sorry about leaving”. You smiled to yourself and decided to end the conversation at that.

Your apartment was lonely, and you found yourself wondering what it’d be like if you ever found yourself a significant other. Your couch was made for two, your king bed was basically invented for cuddling and your breakfast nook was designed to have two people crammed on to the stools. You couldn’t help but picture all of those things featuring Shawn. You had to remind yourself that everything was fake and behind the scenes he had a long-term girlfriend, even if you didn’t like her. You’d have to settle for being friends.

You were cuddled up on the couch with your favorite red wine while watching Game of Thrones on the couch later that evening before you heard a knock on the door. You glanced at the time on your phone, seeing it was just after midnight. You checked your peephole before seeing a teary-eyed Shawn with an overnight bag in his hand. “I’m so sorry about coming over this late. I didn’t want to deal with Andrew and Camila’s decided that it’s more important for her to win this argument than me to have a place to stay. The team gave me your address on that paperwork we looked at during the meeting” he told you as you ushered him into your apartment. “It’s fine Shawn, I have a guest bedroom. I’ll show you where it is” you suggested, leading him to the room.

--

“Do you wanna talk about it? I understand if you don’t, we don’t exactly know each other that well yet” you suggested as you both took a seat on your couch, red wine in hand. “It’s probably best if I do hey? Get it off my chest” he confessed, taking another sip of his wine. “So Camila isn’t happy about all of this obviously. She sent me that text telling me that there was an emergency so obviously I freaked out. I get back to our apartment to find out it was a lie to get me out of being with you” he proclaimed before continuing. “We argued about it for a while before she confessed that she also called the paps on us so they’d see me react to the text to make you look like an idiot. Obviously, I was mad at her because you don’t deserve that, so she kicked me out of my own apartment” he uttered, clearly upset.

“I’m so sorry Shawn. It must be really hard on her. You don’t have to defend me to her, I’m a big girl and can do it myself. You can stay here as long as you need; I need someone to drink my extensive collection of red wine with” you laughed, trying to comfort the boy seated next to you. “So, are we finishing this bottle tonight?” he asked, laughing at himself. “Let’s make you feel better” you exclaimed, chugging the rest of your glass.

--

It was hours later and to say the both of you were slightly intoxicated would be an understatement. In those two hours, the two of you had finished three bottles of wine and you were about to finish the fourth. It was insane how well the two of you got on, even when intoxicated. He’d shared so many stories about the hundreds of cities he’d been to and you’d told him all about the movie and TV sets he could only dream of working on. You’d promised him to try and get him in the door with your acting agent when he explained how he felt like acting was his next step. You two were even more compatible than you could have imagined

“How long have you and Camila been together?” you asked, finally growing the courage to ask about her. “Officially for over a year but there’s always been something between us since I was like 17” he answered truthfully. “I’m not gonna lie, I think we’ve outgrown each other already but we waited so long to be together I don’t want to make a crazy decision that’ll just hurt both of us” he confessed. “Have you told her this?” you asked. You didn’t like Camila but she deserved to know exactly how Shawn was feeling. “No, she’s all in on us. I think I want to end it but I have no idea. She’s been my first serious partner since I was in high school” he replied. “I’m sure this is just a combination of alcohol and the argument. I think you should sleep on it” you suggested, trying to give him good advice.

“It’s insane that I’ve known you for a few days and I already feel a better connection between the two of us that I’ve felt with Camila for months” he confessed, the alcohol clearly affecting him. “You’re just saying that because of how much we’ve had to drink” you conceited, even though you felt it too. “If you don’t feel anything y/n, you have to tell me” he confessed, getting closer to you. “I was always taught not to lie, Shawn” you sassed, letting him get closer.

It felt like hours, but realistically it was only seconds before Shawn finally put his lips on yours. It was cliché but you felt so many butterflies in your stomach. It was almost like time slowed down. “Tell me if you want me to stop” Shawn confessed, taking his lips away from yours for one second to make sure that you consented. “Absolutely not” you whined, kissing him again. “What way is your room?” He asked, lifting you off the couch and swinging your legs around his waist where you quickly gripped on. “Second door on the right. Stop talking Shawn” you babbled, wanting this more than anything, despite how wrong it is.

--

The next morning you had woken up with an extreme headache as the light shone into your bedroom. You’d been so caught up with Shawn that you’d forgotten to close your blackout blinds. You moved your arms around, trying to reach for the human heater that is Shawn. You quickly pulled on some clothes as you realized he wasn’t in your bed anymore.

You found him out in your kitchen with McDonald's breakfast on the bench waiting for you. “I knew we both wouldn’t feel like cooking” he confessed, passing you a McMuffin. “Thank you! This is exactly what I needed” you uttered, moaning as you took a bite. “I could get used to that noise” he muttered, laughing at himself as you whacked his shoulder. “What we did last night was so wrong but am I a bad person if I want all of this, with you?” you ask him, scared of his answer. “I feel the same way. I think I’m going to end it with Camila. I at least owe her that much” he proclaimed, seeming sure of his decision. “Please don’t end it just because of me” you added, trying to not feel like the bad person. “I think this is just evidence of why I need to” he decided.

You were both startled as your phone started to ring, making you both jump. “It’s my manager, I’ve gotta answer this” you stated, picking up the ringing phone. “You guys are doing amazingly already! How did you two manage to get photos of Shawn coming out of your apartment, looking like he just had sex? This is insane” your manager exclaimed excitedly. “What? Are they online? Where are you seeing these?” you asked frantically, stressed that you two had potentially been caught out already. “They’re all over Twitter and those gossip sites. Good job guys” she stated before hanging up, leaving you almost speechless.

Almost as soon as your manager hung up, Shawn’s phone also lit up. He lifted it quickly to see who it was. “Yeah, we’re busted” he confessed, showing you the screen. You gulped when you saw Camila’s contact lighting up the screen.

#shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes fluff #shawn mendes #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes imagine #ShawnMendesWritingCircle

[kaidans-alenko]

Citadel Noire

Write the detective au you want to see in the world and I did, it kept bothering me so I sat down and decided to make it a collection of one shots because their buddy cop potential is too good. Although some how I made it a tad darker but I have a tendency to do that. 

AO3 Link

Kaidan splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to wake himself up, that brief two hour nap was the most sleep he's gotten lately and he wasn't the only one. The whole station has been sleep deprived as of late, missing persons cases usually involve more coffee than they do actual shut eye. 

"How are you doing Alenko?"  His partner Garrus asked as he leaned up against the doorway. 

"Fine, just shaking off my nap." Kaidan told him as he patted his face down with a towel.

Garrus pushed himself off the wall and walked over to him "Shepard and Taylor found something they want us to see but if you still need a moment I can go ahead." He said softly, placing a gentle hand on Kaidan's shoulder. 

"I appreciate that Vakarian but I'm okay, really I'm just tired." He told his turian partner, the dark circles under his whiskey brown eyes further adding to his statement. 

"If you're sure…" Garrus said as he watched Kaidan make a half assed attempt at fixing his tie before giving up. "Here, let me." 

Kaidan turned to him an eyebrow quirked up "No offense, but since when do you know how to tie a tie? Let alone fix one." 

"Just shut up and let me help you." 

Kaidan shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips "Be my guest." 

Garrus clumsily took a hold of the front of his tie, his talons making it harder than it had to be. Slowly he started pulling the knot in the front up his shirt to his collar. "Is that too tight?" He asked, blue eyes looking into his brown ones, making Kaidan blush at the closeness.

"No...it's perfect, thank you." Kaidan's tan skin had a light tinge of pink to it and Garrus wasn't quite sure but that's probably what humans called...blushing? Yeah that was the word Shepard used. But why was he blushing? 

"Are you sure you're feeling okay? Your face is a bit pink." Garrus pointed out, only making his human partner more flustered.

"Come on, we shouldn't keep them waiting." Kaidan said as he turned away and walked ahead of him, it could've just been the amount of time they've been spending together but his feelings for Garrus are slowly evolving from professional and bordering on romantic, it wasn’t the fact that Garrus was another man or even that he was an alien that bothered him, they were partners. It wasn’t exactly frowned upon, there was no official rule about it, if there was Jacob and Buttercup wouldn’t be together but it could get in the way of a case. If a suspect made them choose between each other or the victim things could get really complicated really quickly. Kaidan liked to think they’d both be able to make the decision to save the victim over each other but he couldn’t be sure, maybe it was time for a new partner. It’s not what he wanted, but it would be for the best. 

“What did you get?” Kaidan asked the pair of detectives, Garrus following close behind him.

“Well…” Jacob opened the holo journal, pulling up the most recent entries  “the victim’s mother stopped by with her journal, thought it might help the case.”

“And will it?” Garrus asked.

Jacob nodded “I believe so, all the entries are from the time period she went missing.” 

“Is her mother still here?” Kaidan asked.

“That she is, she wanted to stay in case we had any questions, she’s pretty hysterical but who can blame her.” Buttercup answered.

Kaidan nodded “Yeah…” he didn’t have kids himself, so he couldn’t imagine what she was going through but he was going to do everything he could to get Nef back to her. 

“Where is she now?” Garrus asked.

“Put her in an interrogation room, had Verner go get her some coffee, figured having him talk her ear off might distract her.” 

Jacob chuckled “Come on Butters, hasn’t the lady suffered enough already?” he joked as he pulled up the entry she made just a day before she disappeared. 

Nef’s face popped up on the screen, a bright smile on her face “Cycle forty-two, orbit sixty-seven. She’s going to take me to her apartment tonight! Whatever happens, I want to be with her forever.” 

“Any idea who she could be talking about?” Kaidan asked.

“None, although probably a girlfriend from the sound of it.”

“I’ll play the next one.” Jacob said, pulling up the middle entry.

“Cycle thirty-six, orbit six-hundred seventy one. Am I a freak? Morinth is a girl like me and she’s definitely not human. When we dance and the Hallex is flowing through me...the way she looks at me with a hunger, a longing….no ones ever looked at me like that, we kissed tonight.”

Buttercup looked at them “Funny, the mom didn’t mention a relationship.”

“Maybe she wanted to keep a secret, sure maybe the same sex aspect wasn’t an issue but the alien aspect could’ve been.” Kaidan said, mainly speaking from experience. His parents were extremely accepting when he came out but that was probably because they assumed he met human men, which he did, until he partnered up with Garrus and now he wasn’t too sure the reaction would be as accepting if he one day told them he was dating a turian and here he was again, fussing over things that would probably never happen anyway. 

“Only one way to find out, one of us should go question her.” Buttercup said. 

 “I can go talk to her, too many of us in there might overwhelm her.” Kaidan told her.

“Good idea, you’re better with victims then I am.” Garrus said, giving him a friendly pat on the back. 

“Agreed, we’ll stay here and see what else we can dig up and let you know.” Jacob called after him as he pulled up the last entry in her journal. 

----------

Kaidan walked into the room, Conrad and Nef’s mother Diana turning to look at him “Oh, detective Alenko, good to see you, I was just dropping off some coffee.” 

Kaidan didn’t mind Conrad too much, like the other people at the precinct he put up with him but right now his voice was a little too loud for the growing headache he had. “That’s great Conrad, thank you, I need to talk to our guests now, could you give us some privacy?” he asked, giving him the best smile he could. 

“Of course, just let me know if you need anything.” He saluted before walking out of the room, Kaidan letting out a sigh “Thanks for coming down Ms-”

“Just Diana is fine.” She told him as he took a seat across from her. 

“Okay Diana, i’m detective Alenko, I wanted to ask you some questions about your daughter if you’re up for it.” 

Diana wiped her eyes “Of course, anything to find my baby.” 

“Thank you, now in her journal she mentioned a Morinth, it sounded like they were romantically involved, to your knowledge was she seeing someone?”

“So the journal helped? Oh thank goodness!” she said on a sob “I know of Morinth yes, I wouldn’t exactly say they were in a relationship, i’ve never met her and it seemed they only hung out at Purgatory.”

Kaidan nodded as he took some notes “Purgatory...and how often did she go out?” 

“My daughter didn’t have many friends so not often, until she met her.” Kaidan got the feeling she didn’t like whoever this Morinth was and he couldn’t blame her. According to Buttercup and Jacob who talked to her first, Nef had changed drastically after meeting this mystery woman.

“She also mentioned Morinth wasn’t human, any idea what species she was?” 

“An asari.” 

That was interesting, he’d run into quite a few asari mercenaries and if that were the case they would have requested a ransom and this could've been over and done with a lot sooner. “She didn’t mention the Blue suns or Eclipse?” He knew the answer but he wanted to cover all his bases just in case. 

“Not from what I recall, no, I probably would’ve come by a lot sooner if that was the case.” she placed her head in her hands “how could this happen? I thought the Citadel was supposed to be safer than Omega.” 

If there’s one thing Kaidan has learned from this job it’s that no where is really safe, evil can be found around every corner and it’s unfortunate she learned that the hard way. “We’re going to do everything we can to find your daughter ma’am.” he wasn’t going to make any promises, it would only get her hopes up and he hated to say it but Nef was probably dead by now, he was still going to do his best to find her body, but right now their main objective was to find this Morinth and bring her in to answer for what she did to this innocent girl and her mother. 

----------

“Well…” Buttercup sighed as the four of them looked at Nef’s body “anybody surprised?” she asked.

“I want to be.” Jacob answered grimly. 

“Any idea what happened here Chakwas?” Kaidan asked.

“Physically I don’t see anything, could’ve been an overdose, i’ll know more when I get to the lab.” She answered. 

“Now onto our favorite part, which one of us is telling her mother?”Buttercup asked.

“Garrus and I can go and then will meet you at the autopsy.” Kaidan suggested.

“Sounds good to me, Buttercup?” Jacob asked, turning to look at her.

“Works for me if it works for y'all, lets go.” Buttercup liked to act like she was fine and not tired but she usually kept her accent in check, lest she confuse the translators so the fact it was slipping meant this was finally getting to her. 

Kaidan’s shoulders sagged as soon as he and Garrus were somewhat alone “I wish we found her sooner.” He said softly. 

“I know, but hopefully Chakwas will give us a lead so we can get justice for her.” Garrus placed a hand on his shoulder, jostling him a bit in an attempt to cheer him up.

“Yeah...that’s the idea isn’t it?” If it was an overdose was Morinth really responsible? Maybe she gave her one to many Hallex and panicked when Nef passed out. Not a behavior he particularly condoned but it wasn’t a murder charge. Something told him it wasn’t a simple overdose but with no obvious external injuries what could it be? He really hoped Chakwas could find something. 

#kaidan alenko #garrus vakarian #alenkarian #mass effect fanfiction #jacob taylor #buttercup shepard #otp: guys being dudes

[hyukiee]

Chapter 5: Hope

warnings: cussing, overdose mention, a little angst, drug mention

I thought yesterday was Wednesday 😩 .. a little late but enjoy! :)

After what you remember from last night, anyone would assume you feel like absolute shit. You do but it’s nothing that wasn’t there before last night. Your used to the headaches and body aches. You slowly opened your eyes, the room your in is beyond bright but the bed was beyond comfortable. Taehyung was sitting in a chair in front of you obviously sleep deprived. He probably didn’t sleep at all. “Do you remember anything from last night?” He spoke quietly, he sounded exhausted. “Bits and pieces. Why? Are you okay?” you sat up interigating him. What the fuck did you do to him last night? “Have you ever tried to cluelessly help someone out of a potential overdose while her so called “friends” couldn’t give a single fuck-“ “Taehyung” “No. No you listen to me,” Taehyung raised his voice the more and more he spoke. He went from looking down playing with his fingers to looking at you with eyes that burn into you as he pointed his finger at you. “You make no sense at all. You walk around acting like you know everything but you are so clueless that the people around you wouldn’t care if you died right in front of their eyes. You deserve better. You deserve more y/n. Why do you do this? Why?” Tears started to stream down your face. You weren’t sad or hurt by what he was saying, you just can’t handle people yelling at you. It happend your whole childhood and now you deal with being the most sensitive person anyone comes by. He sighed noticing the tears you failed to wipe away fast enough and pulled you against his chest. “Don’t fucking yell at me.” It was something in the way you muttered those five words that made his heart drop. Every day he seems to feel more and more of your pain. At this point, he just wanted to get you away from here and away from these people. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, i’m not thinking straight i’m so worried for you,” he sighed again sitting down on the bed still holding you against him. “The members are almost in L.A, they’d like to meet you if your up for it.” He was lying out of his ass and even though he hardly lies, he’s not bad at it. The group didn’t ask to see you but he needed to get you away and have you around good people, for once.

“Soo, where are we going?” You and Taehyung haven’t talked much since you cried in his arms. Everything that happened last night is making the usual comfortable silence, very awkward. “This restaurant by their hotel. Be prepared for a lot of raughtiness,” he said softly smiling at you. He’s trying to forget. He’s that type of person, to ignore everything bad that happens so there’s no confrontation. It could be for your sake though, you really don’t want to talk about it. You’ve always hated meeting people’s loved ones. You feel like you have a terrible first impression and your terrified they won’t like you. Taehyung reassured you the whole car ride that they would adore you but there’s always a thought at the back of your head thinking they’ll see right through you and hate you.

“Hello again, y/n, how’s our boy been treating you?” Jungkook quickly walked to you two putting his arm around you with the biggest bunny smile. “Is he secretly a dick or something?” Everyone chuckled at that making you realize the other five had walked over too. Everyone made their introductions while slowly making the way inside the restaurant. They weirdly all made you feel happy without even doing anything. Taehyung looked happy too, the happiest you’ve ever seen him. That stung your heart a little bit, you couldn’t make him smile like that but it’s not like you could even be compared to his members. “So why’d you learn Korean y/n?” Namjoon asked sitting across from you. “Oh, I got really into the culture and stuff. I wanted to live there and teach English.” You hate thinking back to that time in life. So full of hope and dreaming about the future. It was nice to have goals but thinking about it now just hurts you. You fucked up your life, you fucked up your little dream. “Oh wow, why haven’t you moved then?” You knew he was just trying to make conversation but you just hated this one. “Ah, things just turned out differently in high school,” Taehyung glanced at you after you said that and put his hand on your thigh. He knows what you mean. Going to South Korea was your dream but then you started doing everything you do now and you simply stopped dreaming. It made him feel bad, he could see how Namjoon was hurting you by bringing it up. “Well, her Korean is probably better than ours that’s for sure,” Taehyung smiled at you. “Yah, not even,” Jin laughed hitting Taehyung on the back of his neck. “Y/n, you dance?” Hoseok asked you randomly. “I love to.” “Perfect, this song is amazing, let’s dance!” he almost yelled getting up grabbing you. Yoongi gave you an apologetic look but the rest of the guys laughed at your obviously terrified face. Meanwhile Hoseok stood there as happy as can be in his own little world.

“Can you guys be deadly honest with me?” Taehyung said bringing his attention to the boys while you danced with Hoseok and Jimin on the patio. “When am I not,” Yoongi smiled to himself playing with his fingers. “I don’t think I can leave y/n here. She is involved with things that will kill her and I know it sounds stupid but I think we can help her.... I just- I don’t know what to do,” Taehyung couldn’t bring himself to look at the guys, he felt pathetic for feeling this way after knowing you for a couple of days. “Well she said she dreamt of going to South Korea, it might sound crazy but let’s bring her back with us. She seems nice, I don’t mind it,” Jin piped in as everyone else nodded along. It really could work the more Taehyung thought of it. They could bring her back and help her get on her feet and then she can live a better life and he could still see her. “What type of life threatening things are we talking about Tae?” Namjoon didn’t mind that Taehyung had found a pretty girl that seemed to be very nice but he had to logical, that’s his job after all. Taehyung looked up at the guys, trying to bring himself to admit your dirty little secret. “Drugs.” Everyone’s expressions changed, with reason of course. They are famous, if someone were to find out they had a drug addict living with them it would be a terrible scandal and that’s just the harsh truth but Taehyung realized he wasn’t the only one that felt like he needed to help you after Jungkook put in his two cents. “That doesn’t define her though, she could get sober back home, we shouldn’t judge her, not yet.”

After you all ate and had a bunch of crazy funny conversations, no one was ready to go home so you put out the idea to go cruising around. You were sitting in the very back of their van in the middle of Taehyung and Hoseok. They were both raping your ears with how loudly they were singing along with everyone. You would never admit it but you loved the moments where you’re genuinely happy and you get to sit back and take it all in. You liked them. “So y/n, do you see yourself anywhere in 5 years?” Yoongi asked turning down the music from the front seat making Jimin laugh at the randomness. If you were honest you would say dead but you don’t want to sound suicidal or something. “Mm, I don’t know really I like to just live day by day.” “How about South Korea?” Hoseok piped in giving you a big smile. That’d be nice if you lived a life where everything went your way, but it doesn’t. Taehyung gripped your thigh and you looked at him and noticed they were all giving you the same type of look. “Listen, y/n, you said yourself it was your dream to go there so why miss this opportunity? Live day by day and take chances right?” Hoseok said making it seem so so simple. Are they really asking you to go to South Korea? For what? So Taehyung doesn’t get depressed when they go back home? You met this guy a few days ago and they want you to go back with them? You could slap Taehyung for being so naive. “Just think about it baby I think it would be a great opportunity. I just want to see you suceed.” Baby... you felt your eyes starting to swell up. “Where’d the music go, I love this song,” you whined trying to change the focus so they didn’t see the tears come out of your eyes. “Y/n please-“ “No, fuck you for puting me on the spot like that. Do I look like a person that suceeds?” you argily whispered at Taehyung as the music started playing again. Your not mad at him, your mad at yourself for being to afraid to say yes. He sighed before grabbing your hand and speaking again. “Our flight is tomorrow at 5pm, we’ll wait for you but you know I have to go back.”

“Don’t you want to say bye to the guys?” Taehyung spoke softly to you, afraid to say something wrong. You haven’t talked to him since he started packing, you just stayed laying in a fetal position completely disassociated. Everything was hitting you all at once. He’s really leaving, you’re fun is over. He’s going to leave and your going to go back to your pointless life here in L.A. “Are you not even going to say goodbye to me?” “Bye.” Your heart dropped being this way but if he hated you then you won’t lay awake at night thinking about all the things that could of been done differently. Your thoughts came to a complete stop when Taehyung slammed the door making you flinch. He’s gone. God he’s gone and you didn’t even look at his beautiful face one more time. Part of you hoped he would force you to at least hug him goodbye but he just left. You fucked another thing over like you always do. Tears escaped your eyes as you started to think about actually leaving with him. If you really wanted to, you could. Your all about impulsive decisons. Why do you have to keep yourself from happiness? How long will you do this to yourself? You heard him that one night, when he thought you were asleep. He said he might fall in love with you. You of all people, you and your throwing it away. After sitting up and whipping your tears you dialed Julian and prayed he was alive. “Julian, I need you to pack all my shit in the bathroom and enough clothes to fill one bag and meet me at the airport. Now.” You stared at the time. 4:00pm. Your gonna miss it, nothing works right for you. Your gonna show up and he won’t be there, he won’t.

“Hyung, she really isn’t coming?” Jimin pouted at Taehyung in the van. He couldn’t believe you wouldn’t even look at him. He’s hurt, he wants to curl up in a ball and cry but he couldn’t help but hold on to the hope that you might show up. “Don’t lose hope yet, she might show up, you never know,” Jungkook tried to reassure the two boys but it almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself in the process. your not showing up. Taehyung felt so stupid getting involved in something he knew would hurt him. The whole car ride felt like hours with everything running through his brain but they finally got there. The place that will take him away from you forever. He never even got your number. He’ll never see you again. “Do you want to wait out here for a few and see if she comes?” Namjoon asked stopping him at the enterence of the airport. “No, she’s not coming,” Taehyung knew if he looked up he would start crying so he looked down at his shoes and tried to breathe evenly. “You should have more faith in her,” Yoongi laughed shoving Namjoon so he would look ahead and see you. Taehyung looked up and turned around as fast as he could, it almost gave him whiplash. “Taehyung... i’m falling in love with you and i’m so convinced it’s fate,” You yelled at him with the most beautiful smile making him smile so much it hurt. This felt like some cheesy K-Drama. God you were just so perfect to him. So so perfect.

#bts #fanfic #kpop fanfic #taehyung angst #taehyung fluff #taehyung smut #bts fluff #bts angst #bts smut #bts fanfic

[colorfullfalls]

Warm me up

Embry Call x Reader

Between Forks and La Push, supernatural occurances were constant. Vampires, wolves, but the new visitors were witches. A coven of witches moved directly between Forks and La Push, which created a massive headache for the Cullen's and Quileutes.

The witches were unpredictable and everyone seemed weary about them. The imprints were strictly told to steer clear of them. Worry coursed through the wolves veins as the thought of the love of their lives being magically hurt in any way.

Y/N was bored. Embry was patrolling a lot lately for the Black Pack due to the additional supernatural beings. She admired his dedication and hours upon hours protecting the people. But she missed him. And even more so, she was bored.

"Sweetheart, please don't go anywhere without someone who is.. well... A wolf or vampire. It sounds dumb but we aren't sure with what we are dealing with."

Embry's honest genuine worries flowed through her brain every time she thought about saying fuck it and leaving the small house.

She watched movies, cleaned again and again, organized a thousand times, played with the dogs in the yard, danced in the kitchen, painted and even sewed. Still, she yearned to actually go out in public. Walmart roaming at 2 am seemed like an absolute dream, but Embry would go into cardiac arrest if you went there, let alone so late.

He always claimed that late nights made people lonely and that led to them doing bad shit. He was so paranoid that you would fall victim to someone's boredom gone wrong. He loved Y/N more than the world and God, he wanted to shelter her and keep her safe.

The imprints were alright with doing whatever their wolves said. Stay inside- they did. Don't talk to the cullens- they did. But Y/N was not like that. She was stubborn as a mule, and Embry knew better than to try to treat her like that. She was a free woman who refused to bend to whatever others wanted.

Embry grew up respecting women. Growing up with his mom made him realize how strong women are. Tiffany didn't need a man's presence, money, or help to raise her son. He knew felt proud to have his mom. He loved her almost as much as he loved Y/N. Which is an insane amount considering Y/N was his life.

Sitting on the counter with Embry standing between her legs, she knew shit was serious. His wide brown eyes held sorrow and fear as he explained how dangerous the witches could potentially be. And that he knew she hated trying to be told what to do, but she would save him loads of worrying if she would please listen.

Y/N solemnly agreed because she knew that this matter was serious. What she didn't realize was that he would be absent so much. She missed him. Having him home would make the time fly by. His very presence was all that she needed. Craved it.

Y/N had a sudden idea. Having a hammock would be nice. Two beautiful oak trees rooted close by would be a wonderful place to hang one. She could read on it, paint on it, and stare at the sky for hours. She blushed as images of her and embry on it ran through her mind.

Leaving was a bad idea. Her mind said, no. Be smarter than that. Her heart said that she wanted that hammock and needed it. She bit her lip as she glanced at the clock. Embry wouldn't even know. Y/N decided she would lie and say she had the thing all along if he were to ask about it.

That's it, she was going. She went, got it, and felt great. Happy. Fulfilled. Excited to put it up.

She was halfway home when her car slowly halted. Gas pedal was down but the car was not moving.

"What the fuck?!" She stated, hitting the gas pedal a few times. Y/N groaned as she threw her head back. If she wasn't home soon she would be found by a very angry and dissapointed wolf. A metaphorical dog house, ironically.

Tapping left to her head made Y/N jump, screams rippling out of her throat. Hand on her throat in surprise she turned.

Gorgeous piercing green eyes looked expectantly at her. Tattoos spread down her arms, but they were almost unnoticeable due to the black hair cascading over them. Y/N swore that she never saw such beautiful hair before.

The woman had a calm look on her face, but she was intimidating none the less. She opened the car door and all Y/N could do was watch as her heart beat out of her chest.

"Wolf girl.... Could sense you miles away." She said, leaning on the door.

"Im- uh- hah, I'm not a wolf..." Y/N stammered, clinging to her seat belt in fear. Embry was for sure going to scold her for hours now.

"An imprint, whatever. You have association with them. It's simple. See, you came from La Push, their territory. No one goes there really. So you're a wolf girl one way or the other."

Y/N sheepishly nodded, glancing away from the woman and to her phone. Maybe if she got ahold of Embry he could save her before anything happened. Her hand twitched to grab it but suddenly she gasped, crippling pain invading her body.

Y/N cried out in pain as she sank into the seat. An instant headache crept up the back of her head as tears spilled.bShit shit shit. This witch meant business, and wasn't scared to use powers already.

Flame like feeling stopped and Y/N gasped for breath in her driver seat. She hit the steering wheel a few times in frustration.

"God, maybe use your words next time?" Y/N venomously spat, glaring at the green eyes witch.

"Waste of my breath, hun. Girl talk isn't girl talk if you call your wolf man."

"Don't want girl talk." Y/N mumbled, still calming down from being hurt. She didn't want to anger her but sometimes it was hard to bite her tongue.

"Let's cut to the chase. You need to tell the wolves to lay off. Stop pacing around our area. Witch business is none of their concern" The witch knelt down and got closer to Y/N's face.

"Tell them that... You think they listen to me? Sure, I'm an imprint and I can voice my opinion, but the pack does as it chooses. I have no power over them." Y/N softly said.

"Seduction. You own your wolf. I'm familiar with how imprinting works. You control this man's life! So don't give me that 'I can't control anything' speech. You can and will relay the message."

Anger coursed through Y/N's veins. How dare the asshole witch act like Y/N can just suck off Embry and then he does whatever she says? He didn't own her, and she didn't own him. Insinuating that Embry was Y/N's toy made her want to scream. She kept calm and shook her head.

"You're oh so wrong..." Y/N mumbled shaking her head, "You should've talked to them because Embry is not going to be happy when he finds out you did this. Infuriated, actually."

"Wow, so Embry is his name? It's a handsome one, truth be told." The witch stood back up.

"Don't."

The witch's tongue poked out to wet her lips before she spoke in a scary calm tone, "Do as I say...you'll live. Simple. task. Look, I'm not stupid, I would never face a wolf alone and right now I'm the only one home. But you see, 'm getting rather fed up with all the sneaking around our place. I'm actually angrier than I thought...."

"shit" Y/N whispered

The witch looked at Y/N thoughtfully, "Maybe if I hurt you a bit, they would get the hint..."

Y/N shook her head, "You said you know about imprinting, but obviously not enough because going after a wolf is idiotically stupid. They're sacred. Not to be messed with. They would die for us."

At that moment snarking was heard. Y/N felt a tear of happiness roll down her cheek as she felt relief rush through every cell in her body like a river that had been dammed up. Embry was about to save her ass.

The witch jumped around in time to see Embry approach. She flicked her wrist as if to hurt him the way she hurt Y/N, but she was quickly jumped on by Bella. Bella choked her so that she would pass out.

Jacob ran out of the woods to help Bella tie up the woman's arms and legs. Embry shifted back, scrambling to throw on shorts and racing to your side.

His hands grasped her face as he checked her for any injuries. His stony expression broke as he cried out in relief, kissing Y/N's face all over.

"Baby, thank God we found you!" Em exclaimed, hugging her to his chest. Tears flowed down her face. That witch scared the daylight of out Y/N, and Embry saved her life.

°°°°

Hours later Embry sat with his chin on the edge of the bathtub while his lovely imprint sat inside of it. Bubbles filled the area up to her chest. Embry's heightened eyes couldn't see anything besides her shoulders and head. Her hair sat delicately in a bun to avoid getting damp.

Embry smiled smittenly at how pretty she looked in the candle light. Her doe eyes stared back at him equally lovingly. She blushed, looking away and sinking deeper into the water.

Baths always made her feel better, and after the day the imprint had, she needed one. As soon as they got home Embry ran the water and helped her in.

50's music softly played through the bluetooth speaker as the couple shared such an intimate moment.

Embry interlocked one of his hands with his imprint's soapy ones, "Thought I was gonna lose you today..." He murmured, brining the interlocked hands up so that he could kiss hers.

"For a while there, me too..."

Embry whimpered and kissed her hand a few times to center himself. Seeing that witch in front of his soulmate awakened things inside of him that he never knew he had in him.

He wanted to rip the witch's limbs slowly one by one, her screams echoing through the land. He wanted the witch bitch to beg for mercy and apologize relentlessly until her last breathe. But then his eyes moved to his scared girlfriend, and all he thought about was getting to her as soon as he could. Holding her in his strong arms and assuring her that all would be okay.

"Talked to Jake and I'm not patrolling for a while. Can't leave you again." He said with every fiber of his heart.

Y/N nodded, understanding that his inner wolf was still going crazy from the danger she had been in. She felt guilty for being dumb enough to leave the house over a hammock.

"Thank you for not yelling at me. I deserve it, like big time. I went to buy a fucking hammock. All of this, over a fun outside prop..." Y/N ranted, angry with herself.

"I was going to, but three seconds after I realized you were in danger... Scolding you was the last thing on my mind. Telling you to stay home and then never being there was hard on you, I get that. I'm sorry." He confessed.

Embry blamed himself. He knew Y/N hated being at home and with him not being there, she would hate it even more. His Y/N was a social woman and restricting that wasn't right. Not without him keeping her company.

"Apology isn't necessary, but thank you. Im a grown woman who should have more common sense."

A comfortable silence settled over the pair. Embry stroked his thumb across her hand as her eyes fluttered shut. She was tired and he could tell.

"Love bug, why don't we dry you off and go to bed? We could both use sleep, hmm?"

She sleepily nodded.

Ten minutes later Embry spooned Y/N, squeezing her close as he could without hurting her. He felt her body shake a bit. Concern filled his face as he lifted up to look at her through the moon light.

"Y/n?"

She turned and instead of crying, she was laughing. Laughing so hard that her body was shaking. Embry slightly smiled, unaware of how to react.

"I bought a hammock today. I risked my life... For a hammock. But hey," she laughed harder, "now we can use it whenever. Because we have so much time alone. Trapped here."

Embry now grinned. He knew she was delirious and tired, but he thought it was cute, "We can lay in it tomorrow, all day. Just us." He whispered, nuzzling his nose agaisnt her cheek.

Y/N stopped laughing, "Id like nothing more. I'm so in love with you," she whispered suddenly serious. He felt his heart flutter as her lips brushed against his. He lost his breath as she kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Tease" he mumbled, caressing her face to bring her in for a propper kiss. She hummed as she pulled her wolf closer to her, drugged by his closeness. His warm body heat made her toasty as he slipped his tongue in her mouth. She slightly pulled away.

"Warm me up, wolf boy." She said, kissing him once again. Embry almost lost his Y/N, but God was she alive with him at 2 am. Very alive.

#embry call imagine #embry call #twilight imagine

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Platinum Cherry Blossom - Kujo Jotaro (1/2)

MULAN x STARDUST CRUSADERS & VENTO AUREO (just a tiny bit)

Cast:

Fa Mulan - Reader Li Shang - Kujo Jotaro Fa Li (Mulan’s mother) - Bruno Buccellati (You had it coming...) Fa Zhou (Mulan’s father) - Leone Abbacchio (Godamn it, me...) Little Brother (Mulan’s dog) - Ghirga Narancia (Wtf am I doing?) Grandmother Fa - Guido Mista (By this point, you can go ahead and throw me out of the window) The Matchmaker - Trish Una (Sorry, girl, I never liked you) Chi Fu (Annoying Advisor) - Enyaba The Emperor - Joseph Joestar General Li - Sadao (Jotaro’s dad that’s not busy playing the sax anymore) Shan Yu - Dio Brando Yao - Jean - Pierre Polnareff Ling - Kakyoin Noriaki Chien-Po - Avdol Muhammad  Mushu - Iggy Cricket - Sex Pistols (Mainly #5)

Oh boy, this is gonna be quite the ride... And BOY am I gonna have fun with this!

ALSO, I will make this a 2 part story because apparently it’s getting too damn long and I wouldn’t want to make a novel on a single post!

CLICK HERE FOR:

PART 2

Somewhere, far away, during a night with the full moon peeking from behind the clouds, many soldiers were walking up and down the Great Chinese Wall, making sure no threats were to befall the Kingdom...

However, this very night seemed to be rather problematic for one simple soldier, whose helmet had been stolen by a bird...But it was not just any bird, it was a hawk.

The man stared in confusion at the bird that perked itself on a spear, croaking into the night, and almost as if on cue, a grappling hook was thrown high into the sky, latching itself onto the stone wall.

As the man stepped forward to see what was going on, countless more hooks rained in the sky, grabbing onto the wall, and it was then that he realised they were under attack, which made him yell out for his comrades, telling them to light the signal, running towards the little base.

Much to his dismay, instead of his allies, huge huns came out instead, so he quickly jumped on the wooden ladder before they could chop it off, and climbing on the roof, he grabbed a lit torch, only to be met face to face with the abominable Hun leader, Dio Brando, his hawk obediently latching itself on his master’s shoulder.

The loyal shoulder realised he had no chance to win a 1 on 1 combat, so he threw his torch in the tar filled fountains, and thus, alerting all the other bases situated on the Wall, and in turn, all of them lighting up the signal.

“Now all of China knows you’re here!” the solder spoke bravely, feeling a sense of pride as he was able to at least alert the Emperor of the potential danger.

In turn, the enemy leader only smirked widely, breaking the Chinese flag and lighting it up on fire, only saying one word - “Perfect.”

His plan was going accordingly, and the little soldier that only did his duty as instructed, fell right into his master plan.

---

In the Palace, General Kujo, along with 2 of his soldier, went to alert the Emperor of the grave new befalling the Empire, and thus, kneeling and bowing in front of him, his face grave and stern.

“Your Majesty, the Huns have crossed our northern border.” Sadao informed the Emperor, but he was quickly cut off by his advisor. “Impossible! No once can get through the Great Wall!” Enyaba sneered at the general, hitting her staff on the ground. “Dio Brando is leading them. We’ll set up defenses around your palace immediately.” the general declared, but his words were denied by the wise Emperor. “No. Send your troops to protect my people.” Emperor Joestar informed. “Enyaba.” “Yes, Your Highness?” the old woman asked. “Deliver conscription notices throughout all the provinces. Call up reserves and as many new recruits as possible.”  Joseph ordered the advisor. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I believe my troops can stop him.” the General tried to reason with his master. “I won’t take any chances, General. A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man may be the difference between victory and defeat.” the Emperor explained to the man in front of him, while also giving him a gentle new lesson of life.

---

In another part of China, there was a girl that recently turned of age, and had to be sent to the Matchmaker very soon, to find a suitable husband for her - Until then, she had to revise constantly the lessons of proper etiquette and lady mannerism that have been taught to her since she was but a little babe.

“Quiet and demure. Graceful. Polite. Delicate. Refined. Poised. Punctual!” the girl sat in bed, eating rice and neatly writing the words on her arm, so she would remember them later on, when needed.

However, as soon as she spoke out the last word, the rooster sang and she quickly jolted up from the bed, calling out for her little brother, Narancia, while blowing on her skin so the ink would dry. “Narancia! Nara...! Ah, there you are!” the girl found her little brother snoring on the floor, no doubt having fallen asleep again while playing. “Aww, Nara, who’s the most adorable little brother in the world?! Come on, help me out, it’s gonna be fun!” she said, dragging her hyperactive brother out of his room. “You want me to help you with your chores, right? You’ve got it!” he grinned widely, as the girl took a bag of grains, roped it around her brother’s waist and gave him a nice treat, telling him where to run so the chickens would all get to eat.

But of course, just as he was going out of the room...He missed the door and hit himself on the wall. No worries, though, he quickly recovered and started running around the garden, trying to use up all the energy he had.

On the other hand, their father, Leone, kneeled inside the shrine of their ancestors, bowing and praying for them, knowing very well what kind of daughter he had and how she needed to be tamed, in a way.

“Damn it, Ancestors, if you truly are there, PLEASE help my daughter impress that annoying Matchmaker today. I promise I won’t drink sake for the rest of the week.” just as he said that, Narancia got in the shrine, circled his father, and left, just like that.

The grains that remained in the shrine attracted quite a lot of chickens, which only exasperated Abbacchio further.

“PLEASE help her, or at least help my headache, or I have no idea what I’m gonna do.” he groaned, facepalming.

In the meantime, Y/N had enough time to dress up nicely and brush her hair, pulling it in a neat tail in the back, as she went to the shrine, hurriedly bringing her father some tea, only to bump into him, make the cup fall and shatter.

But she was prepared, she already knew she may or may not fuck up, so she brought a spare cup, smiling in victory at her witty plan.

“Remember, the doctor said 3 cups of tea in the morning, and 3 at night. Only that will help you with the pain caused by the war against the Hun Diavolo.” she smiled, not caring that her father was constantly calling out her name so she would pay attention. “Y/N...Why aren’t you in town already? We are counting on you to-” he began saying, only to be neatly cut off by the girl. “To uphold the family honour.” she smiled at him.

In truth, Abbacchio was rather annoyed with having to constantly repeat that ‘Honour’ bullshit, almost as if he was some robot manufactured only to bring honour, but he was aware of how cruel society can be to those who don’t abide the rules, so even if he had to hurt his daughter’s feelings, in a way, by not letting her be free and do as she pleases, he’d rather her live a normal life than be hated and shunned.

“Don’t worry, papa, I won’t let you down.” the girl smiled sweetly at him as she unconsciously tugged down on her sleeve to cover the words written in ink. “Wish me luuuuck~!” she thrilled as she started skipping down the stairs. “I’m...Going to pray some more...And drink some sake...” Leone sighed, looking down at his little son as he came next to him, munching on some nice treat.

---

In town, Bruno was pacing up and down, waiting for her daughter to appear already, until some woman came out of the building, calling out to him.

“Bruno Buccellati, is your daughter here already?  The Matchmaker is not a patient woman.” she informed the worrying man as she went back inside. “Of all days to be late...I should have prayed to the ancestors for luck.” he sighed, looking up to the sky with a worried expression. “How lucky can they be? They’re all dead! Besides, I’ve got ALL the luck we’ll need! This is your chance to prove yourselves, Pistols!” grandpa Mista smirked, looking at the playful bullets in his little birdcage, wanting to do a little test of luck.

He covered his eyes with his hand, letting his lucky bullets guide his fate as he passed the street, despite Bruno’s warnings... But of course, Mista was on the other side of the road, not touched by the traffic. The same can’t be said about the traffic, however, as there was only chaos and mayhem where she stepped.

“Yep, these bullets are lucky ones! Now, as long as there’s no Number 4, Y/N won’t have to fear a thing!” Mista cheered carefree, showing off the birdcage in which the bullets were cheering as well.

As if on cue, a gorgeous black horse, ridden by none other than Y/N, came in sigh, and she quickly jumped off in front of her ‘mother’, claiming that she’s there...With an ear of wheat stuck in her hair.

“What? But, Mama, I had to -” the girl tried to reason her tardiness, but her mum had none of it. “None of your excuses. Now, let’s get you cleaned up.” Bruno cut her off, getting her inside the building.

“This is what you give me to work with Well honey, I've seen worse We're going to turn this sow's ear into a silk purse” the woman sang as she undressed Y/N and threw her in the bubbly bath.

“It’s freezing!” the poor girl shivered, hugging herself. “It would have been warm if you were here on time.” Bruno scolded her gently.

“We'll have you washed and dried Primped and polished till you glow with pride Trust my recipe for instant bride You'll bring honor to us all” the woman sang again as she started washing the girl’s hair with much pride.

“Y/N, what is this?” Bruno raised his eyebrow in confusion as he tried to scrub the girl’s arm and noticed the scribblings. “Uhhh...Notes? In case I forget something?” the girl tried to play it cool, awkwardly taking her arm back. “Hold this. We’ll need more luck than I thought.” Mista chuckled, giving Bruno the bird cage with the bullets, as the girl finished bathing and put on a simple white robe.

“Wait and see, when we're through” the first woman sang, cheerfully brushing half half of Y/N’s hair. “Boys will gladly go to war for you” the second woman sang, brushing the other half of her hair, then tying it up in an updo with a red ribbon. “With good fortune” the first woman began her verse, letting the other one continue. “And a great hairdo.” the other one said, putting the mirror in front of her and the girl. “You'll bring honor to us all” the women sang, accompanied by Bruno.

“A girl can bring her family Great honor in one way By striking a good match And this could be that day” all the women were singing outside the building as Bruno was walking Y/N to the seamstresses, and in the way, the girl stopped to ponder the best move for checkers, beating the elderly man who thought he won...Before being dragged by her mum.

“Men want girls with good taste” the seamstress dressed in green sang “Calm” the one dressed in blue chirped simply. “Obedient“ Bruno cheered, helping the women with the red sash. “Who work fast paced” the plump seamstress jumped off the stool. “With good breeding and a tiny waist” Bruno sang, throwing the other end of the sash to the blue seamstress. “You'll bring honor to us all” they both sang as they suffocated the poor girl the the sash tightly knotted, but she at least looked stunning.

“We all must serve our Emperor Who guards us from the Huns A man by bearing arms A girl by bearing sons” everyone seemed to sing this overly annoying and indoctrinated song as the poor girl was dragged to the make up artist.

“When we're through You can't fail Like a lotus blossom soft and pale How could any fellow say "no sale" You'll bring honor to us all” the make up artist caked her face with the traditional make up for soon to be brides, and the girl simply took out a strand of hair to cover her forehead, admiring herself in the mirror.

“There, you're ready.” Bruno smiled tenderly at his daughter, taking out a gorgeous lower comb and putting it in her hair, caressing her face with pride and love. “Not yet!” Mista hurried inside with a huge grin. “An apple for serenity.” he began, putting a shiny red apple in her mouth. “A pendant for balance.” he continued, putting a lucky charm in her sash. “Beads of jade for beauty.“ he trailed on, putting the necklace around her neck. “You must proudly show it!” he raised up her chin, so she’ll carry herself with pride. “Now add the Pistols, just for luck! And even you can't blow it!” Mista put the birdcage to the sash, winking at the girl and doing a playful hip-hit with the girl, urging her to join the rest of her peers.

“Ancestors, hear my plea Help me not to make a fool of me And to not uproot my family tree Keep my father standing tall!” the girl smiled up at the sky, praying and rushing after the rest of the maidens.

“Scarier than the undertaker We are meeting our matchmaker” the rest of the girl sang, as Y/N quickly caught up to them. “Destiny, guard our girls And our future as it fast unfurls Please look kindly on these cultured pearls Each a perfect porcelain doll” all the women around sang, encouraging their daughters.

“Please bring honor to us- Please bring honor to us- Please bring honor to us- Please bring honor to us- Please bring honor to us all!” the girls sang, opening their coloured sun umbrellas and kneeling in front of the Matchmaker’s house in sync...Well, almost.

“Y/N” the Matchmaker Trish took out the pen from her hairdo and phlegmatically called out her name. “Present!” Y/N raised quickly, raising her hand enthusiastically. “Speaking without permission.” Trish sneered, turning her back to the girl and walking inside. “...Oops.” Y/N muttered, facepalming, realising that she was already fucking up. “Who spit in her bean curd?” she could hear her grandpa ask Bruno, which made her giggle softly.

Inside, Matchmaker Una started severely analysing her, saying she’s too skinny, not good for bearing sons, all while one of the Pistols, specifically Number 3, managed to escape the birdcage and was jumping around like a little cricket, making the girl quietly try to catch it, only to have to put it in her mouth as the pink haired ugly lady turned around, getting annoyingly close to her face, telling her to recite the final admonition.

Taking out her fan and hiding her face behind it, she quickly spit the bullet and started reciting what she remembered from the poem she kept repeating over and over at home.

“Fulfill your duties calmly and...Respectfully. Uhm...Reflect before you snack...Act! This shall bring you honour and glory.” the girl sighed in relief as she got it right and got away with the little cheating she did, despite the Matchmaker looking to see if she had anything written on her fan. “Now, pour the tea.” Trish dragged her by the wrist to the table, and so, getting ink on her hand without realising, much to the girl’s horror. “To please your future in-laws, you must demonstrate a sense of dignity...And refinement.” Y/N didn’t even relise she was spilling the tea on the table, just next to the cup, as she was staring blankly at the beard Matchmaker Una did on her face with her fingers. “You must also be poised.” the girl quickly poised herself and poured the tea in the cup this time, only to see #3 bathing peacefully in the warm beverage. “Uhmmm, pardon me...” the girl tried to warn the magenta haired woman as she took the cup to drink, only to get scolded. “AND silent!” she glared at the beautiful girl, raising the cup, taking a sniff of it. “Could I just take that back? Just one moment.” the girl asked, crawling on the table and taking a hold of the cup...Only to spill it on the Matchmaker’s face and clothes. “WHY, you, clumsy...!”

The pink haired woman was ready to shake the girl and scold her, only to realise she had something in her clothes, that make her shake and walk backwards, hitting the immolated coals used for the tea, and falling on them, creating a hole in her clothes and for her to jump up and down, trying to put off the fire, while shrieking like a monkey.

Y/N’s brilliant idea was to fan the hole, only to make the fire grow even more, and the woman burst out of her building, yelling for someone to put the fire out, as the younger girl threw the tea at her, successfully extinguishing the fire...

And her chances of marriage.

She softly handed her the teapot back as she covered her face and started walking back to her family.

“YOU ARE A DISGRACE! You MAY look like a bride, but you will NEVER bring your family honour!” Trish Una screeched in her face, as make up and tea were smearing down her face.

Everyone on the streets left, as only Bruno and Mista stood there, quietly trying to console the girl.

In vain, though.

She rode back home, not even able to face her smiling father, as she walked her horse back to the stables, looking at herself on the water sheen, watching herself with disappointment and anger.

“Look at me I will never pass for a perfect bride...” the girl sang to herself as she exited the stables and walked by the house, only to see Bruno tell Leone what happened at the Matchmaker and their reactions crushed her. “Or a perfect daughter Can it be I'm not meant to play this part Now I see That if I were truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart” she sighed, taking out the Pistols and letting them hang around her as she walked to the beautiful garden, on the way there jumping on the bridge rail and skipping on the posts.

“Who is that girl I see Staring straight, back at me Why is my reflection someone I don't know” she sang, watching herself in the pond before looking at the sky with a sorrowful look, before making her way to the shrine.

“Somehow I cannot hide Who I am Though I've tried When will my reflection show who I am inside When will my reflection show who I am inside” the girl continued, bowing down in front of the graves, using her sleeve to wipe away the dreadful make up and letting her hair down, before going back to the garden and sitting on the stone bench under the gorgeous Cherry tree.

Just as she sat down, she heard someone clear their throat, only to reveal the lavender haired man she called father looking at her with an expression that was much gentler than usual.

The girl couldn’t even face him, so she quickly snapped her head away, combing her hair with her fingers, looking down with her eyes closed, as the man sat down next to her.

“Huh...We have quite the nice blossoms this year...Oh, look at that. That one’s blooming rather late. I bet all the sake I have that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all.” Abbacchio tried to reassure his daughter, taking the flower comb from her lap and fixing her hair, making her smile at him with a thankful expression.

They shared a tender look of love that was quickly interrupted by the sound of drums, making the man frown in confusion and dread.

He realised what was happening, as all the family went out to the gates, but while Bruno told the girl to stay inside, Mista pointed to the boxes she could use to jump on the gate to spy on them.

The Royal advisor was telling them that the huns have invaded China and that at least 1 man from every family must serve the Emperor, and unfortunately, their family was called as well.

She watched her father limp with his chin up in front of the soldiers, bowing respectfully and taking the scroll from his hand, saying how honoured he is to serve the Emperor.

“Papa, you can’t go!” the girl jumped off and went in front of him, shielding him. “Please, sir, my father has already fought bravely and he is also injured-” she tried to beg them, but the hag Advisor rode in front of them, yelling at them. “Silence! You would do well to teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man’s presence!” the Advisor cackled, riding her horse away. “Y/N...Godamn it, you just can’t stop dishonouring me.” Leone looked away from his daughter as the grandpa gently pulled her away, feeling sad, knowing her benevolent intentions.

Abbacchio nodded at the soldier as he told him the orders and limped back in the house, not even looking at Bruno or bothering to take his cane again, all while the advisor kept saying more and more names.

Leone went back to his room, looking at the armor, taking his sword and trying to wield it, just like before when he wasn’t injured, and took out his Stand, but soon, his leg gave away and was barely able to grab on a pillar and keep himself straight, panting in pain and cursing the huns for disturbing their peace and taking him away from his loving family.

What he didn’t know was that his daughter was watching him from the hallway, crying as her heart broke seeing her father go through something like that.

Their dinner was silent, as she poured everyone tea, thunder and lightning striking outside, but every little noise pissed her off, driving her to the edge, until she slammed her cup on the table, raising and looking at her father.

“You shouldn’t have to go!” her voice was raised, but it was cracking. “Y/N...!” Bruno gasped, trying to calm her down. “There are plenty of young men to fight for China!” she tried to reason. “It is an honour to protect my country and my family.” Abbacchio looked away, reciting the words he was indoctrinated to say. “So you’ll go there to die for your stupid honour?!” she gritted her teeth in anger. “I will die doing what’s right, for goddamn once!” he retorted back. “But if -” she tried to reason again, but he got to his feet, towering over her. “I know my place! It is time you learned yours!” he spoke so harshly, like never before, it was like he was someone else, which made the girl snap her eyes wide open in shock. “If you think that a graveyard is your place, then fine, do what you want! But don’t expect China to sing you praises and don’t expect me to mourn for you!” she started crying angry tears, running away from that place, done with the whole fanaticism around.

That’s when she knew what she had to do...But she was afraid to admit it. She stood on the stone totem, letting rain soak her as she cried, and from outside, she could see her father trying to console her mother, but Bruno couldn’t even look at his husband...

And it hurt.

So much.

She was ready.

She knew what she had to do.

She went to the shrine, lighting up an incense stick, praying to the ancestors, then went to her parents’ room, taking the scroll and replacing it with her flower comb, took the armor and sword from the wardrobe, cutting her gorgeous long hair so she would resemble a man, putting it in a bun.

She put on her armor, went to the stables to her horse and so, they rode away to fulfill the role of a man in China.

Just as she left the place, Mista woke up with a gasp, as Number 5 kept crying that Y/N was gone, so he lit a lantern and went to Bruno’s and Abbacchio’s room, alerting them of what happened, which made Leone stare at the older man with horror and remorse, taking the flower comb in his hand and rushing, with his cane, to the wardrobe -

The armor and sword were gone.

He ran outside, in the rain, not caring about anything but to have his daughter back...

“Y/N! GODDAMN IT, Y/N, PLEASE COME BACK, I’M SORRY!” his voice boomed through the place, but he slipped and fell down. “Leone, you must go after her! She could be killed!” Bruno worried, helping his husband get up. “If I reveal her...She will be...” Abbacchio bit his lip so hard, trying not to cry, that blood started to go down his mouth.

Instead, all he could do was curse himself for arguing with the daughter he loved so much and try to comfort Bruno, who was crying in his shoulder, while Mista could only watch in sorrow the pair while praying to the Ancestors to have her be okay.

Somewhere in the Shrine, the ghost of Kars summoned someone named “Iggy” who awoke from a dark and fiery mist, screeching “I LIIIIIIVE!” 

Kars had to scold Iggy for his over enthusiasm, as he hit the gong, waking all the ancestors to discuss the fate of the girl. The Zeppelis and the Speedwagons were fighting between themselves, there was the whole chaos that resulted in Iggy destroying the statue of the protector, and cursing himself for having to create a plan not to die. Outside, he met with #5 and together, they went in search for the girl.

---

Somewhere in the mountains, Dio was riding his army of Stand users as the D’arby brothers found two spies and threw them in the middle of them.

As Dio jumped off the horse, Pet Shop, his hawk, perched itself on the shoulder, and the man went in front of the 2 scouts with a smirk, watching their terrified looks.

“Nice work, gentlemen. You found MY army. Dio’s army.” Dio spoke tauntingly. “Emperor Joestar will stop you!” the younger scout was brave enough to speak up. “Stop me? Haha! He invited me! By building his stupid Speedwagon wall, he challenged my strength...My authority! Well, I’m here to play his little game.” the blond man took the poor spy by his throat, taking out his Stand, before throwing the man to the ground, feigning to put The World on them. “Go! Out of my sight! Tell Joseph Joestar to send his strongest armies! I’m ready. None may challenge me.” Dio made them run away, before stroking his chin, mockingly. “How many men does it take to deliver a message, I wonder~?” he crossed his arms, waiting for The Empress to act. “One, my Lord.” she laughed as she attached her Stand to one the men’s arm, easily killing one of them.

---

Y/N, who was looking through the bamboo forest at the army camp, glanced at her horse and clearing her throat, did her best manly impersonation, only to have the horse roll on the ground, neigh-laughing at her, which only made her roll her eyes in annoyance.

What neither of them was expecting was a big fire to form behind the rocks and the silhouette of a dog, and a dark voice calling out to them.

“Did I hear someone ask for a miracle? Let me hear you say AAAARGHHH!” the voice roared, scaring the girl, screaming and hiding behind a rock along with her horse. “That’s close enough.” the being chuckled in a lighter tone. “A ghost?” the girl whispered to herself, unsure of what she was seeing. “Get ready, Y/N, your canine salvation is at hand! For I have been sent by your ancestors to guide you through your masquerade! So heed my word! ‘Cause if the army finds out you’re a girl, the penalty is DEATH!” the scary being’s rawr echoed through the place. “Who are you...?” she asked, peeking from behind the rock. “Who am I? WHO am I?! I am the guardian of lost souls! I am the powerful! The pleasurable! The indestructible Iggy!” from behind the rock, Y/N saw a small and adorable dog grinning at her with a shit-eating smirk.

The girl and her horse felt rather disappointed at the help they received, so much that the cabalin started trampling on the dog because of the fear it sent them through, only to have the girl gently push it away and pick the dog by the tail, no longer a pancake on the ground.

“Uh...My ancestors send a little puppy to help me?” she asked in disdain. “Hey, hound! Hound, not puppy! I don’t to the tail wagging.” Iggy said, only to wag his tail rapidly. “You’re, uhm...Tiny. Very tiny.” the girl looked at him weirdly. “Of course, I’m travel-size for your convenience. If I was my real size, your cow here would die of fright” Iggy boasted, as the horse tried to hit him with his hoof again. “...Down, Bessie. My powers are beyond your mortal imagination. For instance, my eyes can see straaaaight through your armor...OOH!” Iggy wagged his tail, almost lecherously, making the girl put her arm around her chest instinctively, kicking the dog away, only for him to stumble next to #5. “All right, that’s it! Dishonour! Dishonour on your whole family! Dishonour on you, dishonour on your cow-” he began, making #5 take a note of all the things she brought dishonour to.

“Okay, I know, it’s a little late for that anyway. I’m sorry, Iggy, it’s just...I’m very nervous. I’ve never done this before.” she apologised, which made Iggy start scolding and teaching her as they all walked to the camp. “Okay, now show me your man walk.” he instructed, hiding in her hood. “Shoulders back, chest high, feet apart, head up and strut.” he said, controlling her, and prancing through the camp, looking awkwardly as everyone was staring at her weirdly. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Iggy asked in amusement, as the girl started at everyone in disgust. “No, they’re disgusting.” she scrunched up her nose, seeing someone use chopsticks to get the dirt from between his toes. “No, they are men. You have to act like them, so pay attention.” Iggy instructed again.

Of course, somehow, she got in front of a man showing off her red dragon tattoo on his plump belly and chest, saying it will protect him from harm. The silver haired man punched him in the gut, making the red haired one laugh healthily, patting the silver haired on the shoulder, telling the unfortunate one that he should get his money back.

“I...Don’t think I can do this...” she looked in horror and disgust at the display in front of her. “What are ya looking at?!” the one who punched asked, looking at her with a weird look. “Punch him! It’s how men say hello!” Iggy urged her, and she complied, punching the buff silver haired man, making him stumble into the smiling black man, who patted his shoulders. “Oh, Polnareff, you’ve made a friends!” he hummed in amusement. “Good. Slap him on the butt, they like that.” Iggy told her again, and she complied without question. “WHOA WHOA WHOA! I’m gonna hit you SO hard, it’ll make your ancestors dizzy!” Polnareff took her my the neck, glaring down at her. “Polnareff, relax and chant with me.” the man took him by the shoulders and started chanting some traditional tune, trying to calm down his friend, which seemed to work. “Ayyy, you ain’t worth my time...Chicken boy.” he insulted, making Iggy get out of her hood and yell out, incredibly offended, the same insult, almost in disbelief. “Say that to my face, ya limp noodle!” Iggy cried out, making Polnareff try to hit them, but instead, she dodged and he hit the red haired boy instead, blacking his eye. “Oh. Sorry, Kakyoin.” Polnareff chuckled sheepishly.

And so, somehow, the girl tried to hide while the 3 were fighting, but Kakyoin saw her and they ran after her, only to get fooled and have to abruptly stop by the food line...

And Avdol not to be able to stop in time and to send everyone down, like Domino, while the girl was looking at them with a guilty expression.

Meanwhile, in the general tent, Sadao was explaining strategies to his son, Jotaro, telling him that he will have to stay here and train the new recruits, waiting for Enyaba’s approval to get into battle, naming him Captain Kujo, who smirked in pride and accomplishment, thanking his father.

Leaving the tent, however, he noticed the mayhem that left him jaw-dropped, and his father left, letting him to whatever he wanted as he went for the surprise attack on the Huns.

Jotaro stepped in front of them,  yelling out for them to shut the hell up, only for them all to stop and point at the poor girl, saying she started it all - Girl who was huddled on the ground in a fetal position, trying to keep herself from getting hurt.

She quickly got up from the ground, noticing the man’s aquamarine eyes glaring down at her, and dusting herself, she gulped, awaiting a good scholding.

“I don’t need anyone causing trouble in my camp.” Jotaro grunted, towering over her even while she was standing. “Sorry. Uhm...S-Sorry you had to see that...Uh..You know how it you...But you know how it is when you get those uh...Manly urges and you just gotta kill something. Fix things. Cook outdoors.” she did the best manly impression, which was extremely exaggerate, especially by the awkward punch on Jotaro’s arm, or the way she would punch her chest. “What’s your name?” the brunet man asked the girl, who started stuttering, and looking away, trying to come up with a name. “Your commanding officer just asked you a question!” Enyaba scolded her, hitting her legs with her staff. “Uh...I’ve got a name. Ha! And it’s a boy’s name, too! Uhmmm...” she trailed on, waiting for Iggy to say something. “How about Kakyoin?” he whispered softly. “His name is Kakyoin.” she answered, not realising that Jotaro was getting closer to her. “That’s not what I asked.” he grunted, glaring at her. “Ah...Ah Chu?” Iggy giggled. “Ah Chu.” the girl said, absent-minded. “...Ah Chu?” Jotaro raised his eyebrow in disbelief. “Gesundheit! Haha...I kill myself.” Iggy giggled even more at his own silliness. “Iggy...!”  she tried to warn her companion. “Iggy?” Jotaro raised his voice in annoyance. “Fugo! Say Fugo, he was my best friend-” he trailed on, making the girl shush him by quickly grabbing his mouth. “Fugo. My name is Fugo.” she finally answered. “Let me see your conscription notice.” Jotaro snatched the scroll from her sash, opening it. “Abbacchio Leone? THE Abbacchio Leone?” he asked, raising his eyebrow in surprise. “I didn’t know Abbacchio Leone had a son.” Enyaba was just as shocked. “He, uh...Doesn’t talk about me much.” she tried to play it cool, by trying to spit on the ground...And failing. “I can see why. The boy’s an absolute lunatic.” Enyaba tried to say to Jotaro, only to have everyone snigger in amusement. “Thanks to your friend, Fugo, you will all spend tonight picking up every single grain of rice. And tomorrow, the real work begins. Don’t think either of you can slack off.” Captain Kujo ordered before leaving for his tent, everyone around growling at the poor girl. “You know...We have to work on your people skills.” Iggy said, making the girl sigh.

At the end of the day, she pitched her tent away from the others, just in case, and it’s needless to say that she fell asleep within seconds.

The next day, Iggy woke Y/N up by making #5 cry, snatching her blanket, forcing food down her throat, trying to get her to look more fierce and making her get up and run, while he tried to bring her the sword, but it was too late. 

By the time she arrived, everyone was making fun of the annoying Enyaba, until Kakyoin noticed her and her tardiness, while Polnareff mocked her by asking if she was hungry.

Thankfully, she was saved from a ‘Knuckle Sandwich” by Jotaro who yelled for them to shut up and went to the wooden lances, taking off his shirt, as the girl could only whistle in her head how hot he was, not even caring what he was talking about discipline and whatever.

Of course, Polnareff had to mock him, which only resulted in everyone stepping back from the line, highlighting him, while Jotaro took a bow and arrow, making his Stand, Star Platinum, shooting it to the top of the wooden pole.

“Glad someone volunteered. Go retrieve that arrow...Without your Stand.” Jotaro smirked in amusement seeing Polnareff’s crestfallen face that quickly turned into a scowl as he cracked his knuckles, ready for action. “I’ll get that arrow, pretty boy.” he murmured, glaring at the arrow. “And I’ll do it with my shirt on.” he walked in front of the pole, readying himself to jump on it, only to get stopped by the captain once again. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked, getting 2 golden weights and wrapping them around the man’s wrists. “These represent discipline and strength. You need both to reach the arrow.” he declared, while everyone was silently chuckling, seeing the silver haired man go through such torture.

Of course, no matter how much he struggled, neither he, nor Kakyoin, Avdol or the girl could do anything else but fail.

“Yare Yare Daze...We’ve got a lot to do.” he tipped his hat, going to the wooden sticks and throwing everyone one.

Of course, the petty Polnareff had to catch Y/N’s lance and use it to hit her legs, making her fall, acting as if nothing happened.

“Let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns” Jotaro sang, showing off by easily twirling the stick around, then getting the 2 vases by their handle, throwing them to the sky and easily breaking them, making everyone gasp in awe.

“Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?” he sang as everyone was supposed to replicate everything, but Kakyoin wanted to pull a prank on the girl, putting a beetle in her clothes, making her hit and knock down everyone as she attempted to get the disgusting creature away.

“You're the saddest bunch I ever met But you can bet before we're through Mister, I'll make a man out of you” he continued as he used the stick to jump into the air, doing a fancy flip and landing in front of the girl, who hit him in the gut without realising, which in turn made him take her by the shirt, glaring at her to stop her foolishness.

“Tranquil as a forest but on fire within” he tried to teach everyone how to properly shoot arrows in the bullseye while also getting an arrow, which made Iggy try to give the girl an arrow that already had an apple, but they easily got caught

“Once you find your center, you are sure to win You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot And you haven't got a clue” this time, he had a wooden water basin on his head, using his stick to dodge or hit the rocks thrown at him by everyone else. When it was time for Y/N to replicate, the basin fell on her head, blinding her as she got hit by all rocks, and even managed to sent on his way, which he swiftly dodged, rolling his eyes at her.

“Somehow I'll make a man out of you” he showed them how to catch fish from the river, but she somehow managed to catch Polnareff’s toes instead, and had Iggy bring her a salmon.

“I'm never gonna catch my breath” poor Avdol sighed, trying to dodge the burning arrows sent his way.

“Say goodbye to those who knew me” Polnareff fell to the ground, an arrow lodging itself in his butt.

“Boy, was I a fool in school for cutting gym” Kakyoin whined, hitting his head on a stone, trying to break it, but only getting his face smashed instead. “This guy's got 'em scared to death” Iggy chuckled, as he tried to wash Y/N’s face as Jotaro blackened her eye in a hand to hand sparring. “Hope he doesn't see right through me” she thrilled, trying to get herself up, despite feeling like her horse jumped on her. “Now I really wish that I knew how to swim” Avdol cried out, as they all tried to jump on the poles in the water, only to stop, almost falling, and getting everyone to fall off instead.

“Be a man We must be swift as the coursing river Be a man With all the force of a great typhoon Be a man With all the strength of a raging fire Mysterious as the dark side of the moon” they chanted as they tried to learn how to use the firework explosives, only to somehow get Kakyoin to fool with Y/N’s dragon and make Enyaba’s tent catch fire.

At the end of the day, Jotaro was sitting on a rock far up above the camp, sighing to himself, not realising how much of a drag everything was going to be, and feeling as if he was getting nowhere with them.

“Time is racing toward us till the Huns arrive Heed my every order and you might survive” the next day they had to get water by carrying 2 buckets on a stick on their shoulders, but the poor girl really wasn’t used to such exhausting physical labour and fell on the ground, making Captain Kujo go to her, take the buckets, looking at her with disappointment, before jogging to the front of the line again.

“You're unsuited for the rage of war So pack up, go home, you're through How could I make a man out of you?” at the end of the 2nd day, he took her horse’s reigns, giving it to her, not wanting to look at her, that’s how much of a disappointment she was.

However, that only seemed to motivate her further, as she quickly knotted the weights around her wrists and started trying to climb up the pole, despite being the dead of night and needing a much deserved sleep.

“Be a man We must be swift as the coursing river Be a man With all the force of a great typhoon Be a man With all the strength of a raging fire Mysterious as the dark side of the moon” it took all night for her to be able to catch the drift of how it was done, and when the morning Sun rose and her fellow colleagues were starting to get out of their tents, she was almost there, reaching the top.

She still stumbled a bit, being drenched in sweat, but her ambition and motivation were strong enough for her to pull through, and she managed to get on the top of the pole, making everyone cheer as she weakly panted in victory.

As soon as Jotaro got out of his tent to see what the whole chaos was about, an arrow was thrown at him, as he then noticed the girl perched up on the pole, waving and smiling sheepishly at him.

It was then that he could finally feel a sense of accomplishment, seeing his worst student succeed after so much training.  It was her resolve - Unbreakable - Just as his.

“Be a man We must be swift as the coursing river Be a man With all the force of a great typhoon Be a man With all the strength of a raging fire Mysterious as the dark side of the moon”  by the end of it, everyone was able to properly shoot, the girl easily managed to knock him out in a hand to hand combat, everyone was able to get their balance on point and skip on the water poles, they could all carry the water buckets, catch fish from the river, be proper comrades and even be disciplined enough to use the stick.

Everything seemed fine to them, but they had no idea that Dio managed, with the help of Pet Shop, his hawk, to find out that the city in the pass was guarded by the imperial army, and they were going to kill those arrogant men who thought they could best him, Dio Brando!

Click here for 

PART 2!

#jojo x reader #jojo x disney #jojo imagine #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #jojo's bizarre adventure x reader #jojo's bizarre adventure imagine #jojo's bizarre adventure phantom blood #jojo's bizarre adventure battle tendency #jjba x reader #jjba imagine #jjba #jjbava imagine #jjbava x reader #jjbava #vento aureo #jojo's bizarre adventure vento aureo #kujo jotaro x reader #kujo jotaro imagine #Jotaro Kujo #Joseph Joestar #Kakyoin Noriaki #Jean Pierre Polnareff #jjba x disney #disney princess #mulan #iggy the fool #Bruno Buccellati #leone abbacchio #Narancia Ghirga #mista guido

[deepphantomstarfish]

The power to wake up

Photo Cred - Jude Beck, unsplash.

“The way I see it, every life is a pile of good and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don’t always spoil the good things.” - Doctor Who.

I get really vivid dreams. And usually when I say that whoever is listening thinks I mean just weird dreams you forget and don’t usually remember with a strange storyline. Well, yes and no -- I mean I can remember some of them, and some of them are so vivid, even if they’re just the weirdest things I’ll ever remember, but they’re so vivid a few I have thought were real life.

Last night was no exception - I woke up in a cold sweat after having a dream my little sister left us on a ski trip to go marry a dude she’d just met and I was the only one who was like, to everyone else, “um... excuse me? No plus this dude is a jerk! What the heck!” And my little sister was like, “Omg why can’t you just respect my decisions!?” and I was like “Because he’s a pretentious prick!”

Now of course - who am I to control other peoples behaviors... but this is a dream mind you. And honestly.... I wasn’t about to let my sister marry a pretentious prick who literally was calling me names in the dream! (I woke up mad at my sister about this lol). 

But the point is at a certain point in the dream, I grew so frustrated with my little sister because I think it had somehow turned into a nightmare for me -- something I couldn’t control whatsoever and everything was out of my reach. I ended up crying in the dream and the next thing I know I woke up in a cold sweat with less than 20 minutes to get ready for my class on zoom. I was definitely a bit shaken though. 

Which brings to mind, fear. We all know it, we all dread it, and some of us go out of our ways to avoid it. Procrastinate things to avoid having to deal with it.

Lately I think I’ve been letting fear rule my life in so many different ways. We’re all afraid of different things of course, but sometimes it can transfer to something more than just a simple phobia and end up running the course of our lives. Like for example...

I’m afraid of heights, so usually I’ll go out of my way to avoid having to take planes (not to mention saves money on trips if you can use a car on road trips), go on ziplines, or even go on rollercoasters. Yeah, I was that fun kid on school field trips who hated going on rollercoasters. (Don’t get me wrong I tried it -- ended up getting massive headaches afterwards though. Not my thing. I do love hilariously gargantuan waterslides at waterparks though).

Right now I’m in a period of waiting and standstill in my life and I don’t know quite what to do about it. I feel a bit burnt out but I think the biggest thing about where I am in my life right now, a new 20 year old with a book in progress and a massive writer’s block and case of wanderlust, is I’m seemingly in a state of standstill and I wish I could be proactive in the parts of my life that feel so achingly short, yet I also have this instinct to just procrastinate dealing with it. Why is that? Why do I feel so burnt out and so... paralyzed in my life? Not reaching to my lifelong goals in the pursuit of a life I’ve always dreamed? Am I scared the life I want won’t be enough or isn’t what I need to sustain my healthy life? 

I’m not entirely certain. But I have a few theories. Firstly in writing my book, I know it is fear. But what of? Well, I think I’m scared of not succeeding, of making something I can’t be proud of and look back on with regret. I think I’m scared of writing a bad story and one that doesn’t reach it’s full potential.

Then there’s the standstill in my relationships - where do I want to be and why am I not there? Well, I’ve always wanted a best friend and after last weekend I’m recovering from the abrupt confusion that plagued me when the girl I thought I was really good friends with ended up cutting me off. I’m not sure what happened but I’m doing better I think. But in relationships, all good or bad, what is stopping me from being the best me I can be in the sense of having a go-to friend group I know I can call family and can support me? 

Maybe I’m keeping people at bay who have always had my back in the past and forgetting about those already in my circle. But why? I think I could just be scared to be vulnerable. And then... scared of being seen as I truly am and then not being appealing to those who see it.

Because isn’t companionship what everyone wants right?

Usually I deal with this I think by either avoiding it, procrastinate dealing with it, or tucking it away out of sight out of mind. But that doesn’t fix the problem. I think where I am now, my procrastination of school and writing is only hurting me more by avoiding it. When I avoid prayer, I think that only hurts me by cutting off the source that allows me to grow stronger in who I am.

In the face of all our battles and fears, we all have a choice to where we can either face it or procrastinate dealing with it even though we know that won’t help us achieve the life we want. As Rafiki said, “Yes, the past can hurt, but the way I see it you can either run from it or learn from it,” - the Lion King.

So instead of being afraid to go to sleep tomorrow night, I think I can rest easy knowing that in the end I can always choose to wake up and start a new day.

Thank you for reading, midterms are tomorrow and oh boy am I stressed. But from my heart to yours, I hope you are well reader.

#healthylife #growth #fear

[allmidaddies]

woke up in 4.

“How is he taking it?” Jasmine asked cautiously, her tone telling you that she knew on some level that there was tension between the two of you. You only offered a shrug in response,

 “As well as one would expect.”

 Jasmine rolled her eyes but you didn’t catch it, too busy mulling over whether you should pack Mat’s hoodies or return them to their rightful owner.

 “Maybe he’ll come chasing after you in the airport as you board your flight, finally confessing his undying love for you,” Jasmine joked, missing the way your face twisted in pain at her words. She still didn’t know that Mat had already done that. And that’s what was making this so hard.

 “Do you think I’m making the right decision?” You asked quietly. Jasmine stopped what she was doing, taking a deep breath.

 “Babe.”

 “Like I know I am, at least in terms of my career and building my resume, but what about in terms of life?” You elaborated. Jasmine took a seat on your bed,

 “You can never be sure.”

 You gave an airy laugh, stuffing the hoodies into a box at your feet.

 “You can never know one hundred percent that you’re making the right decision,” Jasmine continued, ignoring your scoff, “But you have to trust your gut. If it feels right it feels right. Life works itself out and I know that sounds cliche and corny and whatever but it’s true. You can’t be afraid to lose control just a little bit. Nothing will ever go to plan exactly how you want it but you’ll always end up where you’re supposed to be with the people you’re supposed to be with.”

 You chewed on your lip, a habit that had become increasingly worse over the last few days of packing and sorting through logistics of your move.

 The problem was that you didn’t know if the decision felt right. It certainly sounded like the right move to make but you couldn’t tell if the feeling in your gut was your intuition or your anxiety. If Mat could just stop being so damn selfish for five minutes you might be able to confess to someone that you didn’t know whether you were doing the right thing. But he was MIA and you were going to have to figure it out without him.

 ~

 Mat was up with the sun, slipping into running clothes as quietly as possible in the early hour. It had been four days since you’d dropped the news on him, only six left until you were gone. The guilt in his chest seemed to grow heavier with each day that passed, tenfold whenever a text of yours went unanswered.

 Y/N: can we please talk?

Y/N: i can’t go through this without my best friend

Y/N: mat please

Y/N: i’m still going to be there for you, i promise

He was trying to be rational and supportive through it all but there was so much pain in his chest that he could barely breathe most days. It was a feeling so foreign to him he didn’t know how to deal. He’d thrown himself into his training and was running every morning to try and clear his mind, exhaust his body so that he could find sleep. You weren’t even gone yet and life was already harder without you.

 Things felt unfinished with you and Mat. After all the years you’d spent together you thought he’d at least be able to push his feelings aside to be proud of you and celebrate this time with you. He had been waiting his whole life to fall in love and to have you and now that he had finally found the courage to tell you how he felt you were slipping through his fingers.

 He was so proud of you and he wanted you to get everything that you deserved but he couldn’t help but believe that you deserved him. Of course, love didn’t pay the bills. You had worked hard for your degree, he knew that first hand. But what did Nashville have to offer you besides a paycheck? Would you find community there? Would you have friends who you could call after you had a bad day? Who would you go out with on Friday nights? Who would get up early with you to go hiking on Sunday mornings? Would you be completely alone out there with no shoulder to lean on?

 That was what Mat couldn’t stomach. That was why he appeared so selfish in not wanting you to go. But, at the end of the day you were as stubborn as he was. You were going to do what you wanted to do and he wasn’t going to stop you.

 Mat’s feet hit the pavement, wet from the rain the night before. By the looks of it the clouds were moving east and the sun would return come afternoon. He didn’t even know how long he’d been running for, completely zoned out. It felt like the only time he wasn’t suffocated by the thought of you leaving.

 Life had seemed so perfect after the wedding. You were in love with him the way he was in love with you. He was supposed to go up to training camp and come home to you, where he would finally be able to call you his. What he had come back to was so far from that. It might not have been so bad if he had had a warning. If the thought of you potentially moving somewhere other than New York had even been on his radar. But it wasn’t. He’d had no idea.

 Mat finally came to a stop at the park, realizing just how tired his legs were. He had to be ten miles from home by this point. The sun had fully risen and he checked the time. He lifted his arms over his head, trying to catch his breath. Whatever song was playing through his airpods was giving him a headache so he yanked them out, only to hear his name being called from behind.

 “Mathew Barzal, what does a girl have to do to get your attention?” Your all too familiar voice had him chuckling to himself. For a moment he forgot all of his troubles. He turned to face you, a smile on his face,

 “Couldn’t catch me or what?”

 “Your stride is twice as long, your speed three times as quick. That’s quite unfair,” you smiled up at him, blocking the sun with your hand. Your skin was glistening, having clearly been on your own run. The universe was really teasing him now, crossing your paths like this.

 “Plus I had to let you grow tired, that way you can’t run from me again,” you added, voice sounding more pained than before. Mat took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair,

 “Babe I’m sorry.”

 Your heart flipped at the pet name, Mat didn’t even notice he’d said it.

 “I’m just scared, ya know,” he said honestly, slowing his steps so you could fall in with him, “I’ve never had to do this without you.”

“Mat,” you sighed, “I’m moving to Nashville, I’m not dying.”

 Mat laughed, gently pushing your shoulder,

 “I know that. But you won’t be ten minutes away anymore.”

 “When did it ever take you ten minutes to get to me?” You teased, “It was at least thirty on a light traffic day.”

 “You’re ruining my sentiment,” Mat grinned, clearly not upset with you.

 “Sorry,” you pretended to zip your lips.

 “I am so proud of you, and they’re so lucky to have you, but I’m going to miss you,” he said, “I mean...I love you after all.”

 Now that he’d told you he loved you he couldn’t stop saying it. It rolled off of his tongue so easily, like a river down a mountain side.

 “I promise I won’t let this drive a wedge between us,” you said, “I know we’ve never had to deal with this before but you’re my best friend and I’m not going to forget about you just because I’m in a new city. Because...for the record….I love you too. In case you didn’t know.”

 ~

 Over the next few days Mat managed to push his feelings aside, at least during the light of the day. You were right, you shouldn’t have to go through this alone. And if he loved you, and he did, he would be there for you. Even if it meant helping you pack and lugging boxes down the stairs and into the shipping container in the middle of a heat wave.

 However, he’d rather do that a hundred times over than have to face the last night with you in town. You’d asked him to come over before heading out to see some friends. Mat felt his heart tug, the way it always had when you invited him to your place. It was such a simple gesture but time alone with you was time he cherished. Now more than ever.

 Mat let himself in, like he’d done a million times before. The house was eerily quiet, your family not back yet from work and his footsteps seemed to echo off the walls.

 “Hey you,” you smiled, poking your head around your bedroom door. Mat managed to smile in return, pulling you into his chest as you bumped the door open wider for him. All the photos in your room had been taken down, the only things left were the bags you were taking on the plane and a box by your bed.

 “This is so weird,” Mat said, letting out a heavy sigh, carding his fingers through his hair.

 “I know,” you sat on the bed, wringing your hands out as Mat surveyed what was left.

 “So what’s up?” He asked, leaning against the wall, hands shoved in his pockets.

 “Um,” you coughed awkwardly, Mat raising his eyebrows.

 “These, uh, are yours.”

 Mat’s eyes shifted down to the box you were pushing towards him, filled with hoodies and t-shirts of his you had claimed over the years.

 “Wha-” he could barely keep his jaw from dropping to the ground in shock, running his hands over his face to hide his emotions.

 “I just figured, ya know, I won’t be ten minutes away from you anymore so it won’t be so easy for you to steal them back,” you said gently. Mat nodded, clearing his throat,

 “Yeah, no, uh, for sure.”

 He bent down, rifling through the items you’d stolen from him. Some pieces dated back to even before he was with the Thunderbirds, and of course old hoodies he used to love but loved on you even more so he never asked for them back.

 “You sure were a thief,” he chuckled, not lifting his gaze to you. This felt like a kick in the chest.

 “Are you sure you don’t want this one?” He asked, lifting an Adidas jacket you’d taken only a few years back. You wet your lips before tugging your bottom one between your teeth.

 “Yeah,” you nodded, “I mean, we’re not together or anything so…”

 It was a lame reason, you both knew it.

 “That never stopped you before,” Mat gave an empty chuckle.

 “Mat,” you mumbled, picking at your nails.

 “I know,” Mat sighed, “I know, just didn’t expect you would give these back is all.”

 You fell quiet, unsure of what to say. Mat didn’t seem to mind, he was busy reminiscing over the clothes he’d leant you over the years.

 “Are you sure you don’t want a jacket?” Mat asked, watching you bound down the stairs, dressed in a pair of denim shorts for the bonfire at Jordan Eberle’s house.

“Mat you sound like my mother,” you laughed, gently patting his face. Mat dodged your hand as best he could, trying not to stare disrespectfully as you brushed past him.

“All I know is I’m bringing a jacket and if you get cold I am not giving it up,” he said, leaning against the door, keys in his hand.

You rolled your eyes at him, knowing that he’d be draping his jacket around your shoulders before you even asked if he saw so much as a single shiver run through you.

True to his history, you were curled up around the fire, nursing your third drink of the night. Mat was seated on the other end of the patio furniture from you, but he had your feet in his lap. The fire may have been making your face warm, nothing burned quite like the touch of his hands against your skin.

A breeze blew through and you felt goosebumps raise across your body, all the way down to your toes. Mat took notice, his eyes falling on you with a knowing look in his eyes.

“Stop,” you whined, pretending to kick him gently. Mat gripped your ankle, stilling your movements.

“It’s okay to admit I’m right you know,” he grinned, already reaching to tug off his hoodie.

“I’m not cold,” you protested, sipping your drink. Mat wasn’t listening, the hoodie already pulled off and airborne in your direction. It hit your face, spilling the liquid that was caught on the rim.

“Mat!” You hissed, reaching over to swat his shoulder, but not wanting to interrupt the story that was being told across the fire.

“Just put on the damn sweatshirt and come over here,” Mat chuckled, extending his arm over the back of the seat you were sharing. You rolled your eyes but you did oblige, inhaling his signature cologne as you tugged the soft material over your head. Carefully, you crawled to the other end, nestling yourself against his chest. You caught Tito’s eye over the flames and he had a knowing grin on his face. You resisted the urge to look up and see if Mat noticed, assuming that he probably did. You just wanted to enjoy that moment, not think about the what if, just have Mat’s arms around you.

Mat kept running his fingers over the soft grey material, trying to hold onto the memory and bring back the moment.

 “We should probably head out soon,” you said, breaking him from his thoughts. Mat nodded in agreement, pushing himself to stand with a groan and a loud crack from both of his knees. He lifted the box easily, carrying it down the stairs as you led the way to the car.

 Your friends were having a bonfire, fittingly enough, for your last night in Vancouver. Mat wasn’t the only person who was going to miss you. Plus, it was sort of tradition that any time someone of your friend group was leaving you celebrated their achievements and the new chapter of their life.

 Mat had been dreading this night for the last few days, as soon as he heard that Tyson and a few of the other guys were planning on hosting it. He planned on nursing a single beer for as long as possible, designating himself as the sober driver so that he could excuse himself from drinking in excess and he could make sure you got home in one piece.

 Watching you parade around the party, saying goodbye to friends was painful. The only thing getting him through was the smile on your face as you talked about how excited you were for the new opportunity. What he didn’t know, though, was that even as you spoke on what was to come with a wide grin there was a sinking feeling in your stomach that you couldn’t quite ignore. Instead of listening to what you intuition was trying to tell you, you helped yourself to a drink. Something to ease your nerves and get you through the night. This was the last time you would see these people for a while and you weren’t going to let anxiety step on your fun.

 “Holding up?” Tyson’s voice earned Mat’s attention as he sat on the back step of the house. Tyson made himself comfortable beside him, a beer in his own hand.

 “What? Yeah,” Mat shrugged him off, “All good.”

 Tyson knew better than to believe what Mat was trying so hard to convey. While the two of them had been up at training camp Mat had let it slip to Tyson that he’d told you he loved you. He couldn’t keep it to himself and he had thought that when he got back to Coquitlam he would be coming back to you. Loose lips sink ships apparently. However that saying could be applied here.

 “You don’t have to kid me, man,” Tyson said, “I know it’s eating you up inside.”

 “Fuck,” Mat cursed, “It’s just so...I don’t want to say unfair because she deserves this, you know, but it’s fucked up that it had to happen now. It’s like we can’t ever have both.”

 “So you guys aren’t gonna try it?” Tyson asked. Mat shook his head,

 “We never really talked about it and then she gave me all my hoodies back today, just another reminder that she’s not mine.”

 Tyson nodded slowly, staring out over the lawn and watching as you dropped yourself into a chair beside Jasmine.

 “If it’s meant to be you’ll be back together, though,” Tyson said. He made it sound so easy. Mat was anything but patient.

 “I keep trying to tell myself that, because as crazy as it sounds I know we’re going to end up together. I don’t see myself with anyone else,” Mat said, leaning back on his palms. His eyes were locked on you, watching your smile as you laughed. He couldn’t hear it but he could feel it. Right in the center of his chest.

 “That’s why this sucks so much. It’s the waiting that kills me.”

 “That’s heavy,” Tyson breathed out, looking over at Mat who could only give a shrug.

 “Sorry to rain on the parade,” Mat chuckled, “You asked.”

 “It’s going to happen for you guys,” Tyson said, his tone sounding so sure of it. Mat decided to hang on to that, keep that belief for himself.

 “Don’t waste this last night feeling sorry for yourself, though,” Tyson said, patting Mat on the shoulder, “Celebrate your girl, man.”

 As the hour grew later Mat could see you rubbing your hands over your arms, goosebumps scattered across your skin. He chuckled to himself, disappearing to go back out to his truck and get you one of the jackets from the box.

 “Where are you going?” Your voice sounded panicked as he leaned over the second row of seats, retrieving a grey hoodie. You had followed him out as soon as you saw his head disappear in the house. He’d been pretty quiet all night, letting you make the most of your night with the friends you hadn’t spent every day of summer with. You’d lost your shoes at some point and the pavement of the driveway was cold against the bottom of your feet as you danced back and forth.

 “I’m not going anywhere,” Mat said, settling back on the ground again and slamming the door shut. He extended the sweatshirt to you, a knowing look on his face.

 “I don’t-”

“Yeah you do,” Mat smiled, slipping the hoodie over your head. You blew your hair out of your face in a huff, pouting up at him as you shoved your arms through the sleeves.

 “Better?”

 “Yes,” you grumbled, wrapping your arms around his waist. Mat could tell you’d had a few drinks but you weren’t anywhere near drunk. Mostly at the point where you were tired and ready to lay in bed. Your hands were running up and down his back, chills erupting across his skin to the point he almost grabbed another hoodie from the box.

 “You tired?” He asked, brushing your hair back. You nodded,

 “Yeah, but I feel bad leaving my own party. It’s not even ten yet.”

 Mat checked his watch, seeing that it was barely 9:30. It felt like the sun had set ages ago, not just within the hour.

 “But I know something we could do to pass the time,” you said, batting your lashes up at him. Mat’s heart stopped. He knew exactly what you were talking about and it had him suppressing a groan.

 “Babe I don’t know…” he trailed off, eyes searching your face.

 “Mat,” you said softly, “I really want you right now.”

 Mat swallowed thickly. He felt the same way, he had wanted you for a long time. And he just wanted to feel close to you before you were gone.

 “Are you drunk?” He asked, not looking to take advantage of you in a compromised state. You shook your head,

 “No. I’ve only had two ciders. I want to remember this night,” you said, hands roaming the expanse of his chest, feeling his hard muscles beneath the thin material. You’d been watching him all night, stealing glances as you chatted with your friends. Every time he ran his fingers through his hair had you crossing your legs, and each time his tongue ran across his lips you were forcing yourself to look away. This might be the last night you ever got to be with him and you wanted to make the most of it.

 Mat sucked in a breath, the heat between your bodies evident.

 “Maybe we should find a room then,” he said, “So I can give you something to remember.”

 You and Mat crept into the house, careful of anyone who might be lurking. There were a few of the guys Mat trained with who were staying in the house for the summer and while most of the rooms were occupied there was a guest room on the second floor, tucked back at the end of the hall. It was just a matter of whether someone else had beat you to it.

 You narrowly avoided Jasmine in the kitchen with a few of your other friends, gently shoving Mat towards the stairs. He made sure to skip the step that creaked, his hand never leaving yours.

 By the time you reached the, thankfully, empty bedroom your heart was beating out of your chest.

 Mat’s hands found your waist, pushing the material of the hoodie up so he could feel your skin where the material of your shorts stopped. Draping your hands around the back of his neck, you pulled him down to you, your lips finally meeting. Mat walked you backward until your knees hit the mattress and he caught you before you fell completely, gently laying you down.

 With his weight now settled between your legs you needed him more than ever. The friction of your shorts was not enough. Mat moved to press open mouth kisses along your throat, feeling your body arch up into him for as much contact as possible. He pushed the sweatshirt up and you lifted it over your head along with the top you’d been wearing. Mat dragged his eyes down your body, fingers moving to work on your shorts. Once you were lying beneath him in just your bra and panties he couldn’t help but stare, appreciating just how beautiful you looked.

 For once there was nothing on his mind except you. Just you.

 He rid himself of his shirt and his shorts before scooting you up the bed. He captured your lips with his once again, his hand slipping between your bodies so that he could rub your clit over your panties.

 “Mat,” you whined against his lips, desperate to feel him. He slipped his hand behind your back to unclip your bra, tossing it aside as his lips moved down your throat and across your chest. Your fingers tangled in his hair as he wrapped his lips around your nipple, biting gently before flicking his tongue over the sensitive bud.

 Though it was the first time you’d ever had sex with Mat he seemed to know your body better than anyone else you’d ever been with. He was barely even touching you and your body was on fire.

 By the time he finally hooked his fingers around your panties you were practically dripping. Mat spread your legs, large hands sliding over your thighs. He lifted his gaze to meet yours, the moonlight coming in through the window giving you all the light you needed to admire his features. There was a mix of emotions in his eyes that you couldn’t quite read but when he pressed his lips along the inside of your thighs your eyes fell shut and pure bliss flooded your veins.

 Mat certainly knew what he was doing with his tongue, devouring you like it really was the last supper. He wanted to savor this feeling, taking his sweet time to bring you to your first orgasm. Each stroke of his tongue had you gasping, bottom lip bitten between your teeth, the grip on his hair growing tighter.

 “You taste so good baby,” Mat hummed, vibrations felt all the way down to your toes.

 “Mat, please,” you whimpered, choking back the moans in an effort to stay quiet. There was still a party happening outside but neither of you were concerned. You were more concerned with the fact that you could feel a fire burning in your belly, Mat fucking you with his tongue at the perfect pace to bring you to your high. He brought you through it with a combination of encouraging words and running his hands along your skin softly.

 As you caught your breath he crawled back up your body, chin glistening. You caught the back of his neck and brought him down to you once again. You could never keep him away from you for too long.

 Your hand dipped between your bodies then to palm him over his boxers, swallowing the low groan he let out.

 “Can I?” You asked, pressing one hand against his shoulder to push him onto his back.

 “I just need to be inside you baby,” Mat groaned as your hands pulled down his boxers.

 “It’s only fair,” you hummed, “I want a taste too.”

 Mat cursed under his breath, eyes fluttering shut as you took his hard length in your hand and gave a few gentle strokes before flattening your tongue along the underside.

 “Holy shit,” he muttered, breath catching in his throat. His fingers found your hair, tangling gently as you began to bob your head down his length painfully slow. Just as he had taken his time, you were taking yours. Mat thrust his hips involuntarily as he let out another string of curse words. He knew he wasn’t going to last much longer but the idea of cumming before getting to properly fuck you was not one he wanted to entertain.

 “Baby, baby,” Mat murmured, tugging your hair gently to pull you off of him. You stared up at him with an all too innocent expression, his thumb running over your swollen bottom lip.

 “I need to be inside you,” he said, reiterating his previous statement. You were going to protest but the look in his eyes told you how badly he needed you and there was no denying the ache between your legs.

 Mat took your moment of submission and regained control, turning you onto your back. His hands traveled across your body as if he was ingraining the feeling into his memory. Each soft curve and birthmark he wanted to remember.

 Finally, though, he pushed your knee to your chest, spreading you open for him. He pushed in slowly, giving you a moment to adjust before he started moving. Your body reacted to each of his touches and movements, allowing him to find the perfect pace that had your nails digging into his forearm. One of his hands held his body above you while the other was leaving bruises on your thigh as he gripped underneath your knee, hitting the most delicious angle.

 “Fuck baby,” Mat groaned, head dropping down and a stray strand of hair drooping over his forehead.

 “Feels so good,” you managed to say between moans and his thrusts. You’d never had someone bring you so close to your high without touching your clit but Mat did just that. Each time he pushed back into you he was brushing over your g-spot.

 “God damn,” Mat breathed, voice sounding strained, like he was trying so hard to hold on.

 “I’m gonna cum,” you whined, nails dragging down his skin and leaving red lines in their wake. Mat pressed his thumb against your clit, rubbing circles in pace with his thrusts.

 “Yes yes yes,” you were moaning uncontrollably but Mat didn’t want you to stop. He didn’t care who heard. Your walls were clenching around him and he was cumming just as you were crying out his name, your orgasm washing over you.

 He fucked you through it, sloppy movements as he finished. Your body fell limp and he lowered himself to his elbow, pulling out slowly. He flinched when you whined at the loss of contact but you caught his arm, curling into him.

 Neither of you said anything for a moment, his fingers carding through your hair with your head on his chest. The rest of the world felt distant, the sounds of your friends hardly able to break through the bubble the two of you were in. Eventually, though, Mat did pull away to retrieve a towel, cleaning you up so that the two of you could get dressed. Neither of you had any intention of sleeping in the guest room. And besides, you had a few goodbyes left to give.

 “Stay with me tonight,” you said quietly after you had finished pulling the sweatshirt back over your head. Mat wasn’t sure he’d heard you quite right, turning to look at you.

 “Please.”

 Mat felt his heart thudding in his chest. He didn’t know why, he’d literally just had you naked beneath him, moaning his name but somehow the invitation felt intimidating.

 “Okay,” he nodded, “Yeah, of course.”

 You breathed a sigh of relief, crossing the room to wrap your arms around his waist like you’d done a thousand times before. Even though your words were muffled by the material of his t-shirt he heard you loud and clear.

 “I’m going to miss you like hell.”

 ~

 “Call me when you land,” Mat said, a sad smile on his face as he set your suitcase on the sidewalk. You nodded, trying to avoid his eyes because you knew if you looked at him you would cry. The tears had been welling all morning and the last place you wanted to break down was at the airport.

 “Hey,” Mat said softly, his hands gently catching your waist and pulling you into him, “Promise you’ll call me.”

 His fingers lifted your chin to look at him. His expression was hard to read but you knew he was falling apart inside, he’d just always managed to remain stoic in a way you couldn't.

 “I promise,” you whispered, not trusting your voice.

 “We’re going to be okay,” Mat said. It was more for himself than for you. He wanted to believe that your friendship could survive anything. And he was in love with you. Even if you weren’t together he would always love you. Even if you were a thousand miles away, he would always love you. He had always loved you.

 “You’re gonna kick ass at your new job,” he said, voice soft. There were a hundred people buzzing around you, probably annoyed that Mat was taking so long to drop you off but neither of you cared, you could hardly hear them as you stared up at him. God, you loved him so much.

 “And when we come to play the Preds in a few months you better be there wearing my jersey,” Mat smiled. You laughed softly, tears threatening to spill. His face looked pained as he brushed his thumb along your cheek, catching the stray tear.

 You threw your arms around his neck, burying your face into his shoulder. Mat wrapped his arms around your waist, holding you as close as possible. He didn’t want you to go, his heart aching for you. He inhaled your scent, the familiar fragrance of your shampoo fogging his senses. Would it be different when he saw you next? Would you still be wearing his hoodies when you grew tired and homesick? Would you still have the same coffee order? Would you have a new favorite restaurant, one where he didn’t have your order memorized?

 Finally, you pulled back, as agonizing as it was.

 “I have to go.”

 Mat nodded, glancing towards the airport.

 “Have a safe flight, okay?”

 “I’ll see if the captain can arrange that,” you teased, giving a weak smile. Mat could only shake his head at you, unable to bring himself to smile.

 Your hand gripped your suitcase as you slung your carry on over your shoulder. Just before you stepped away you paused, facing Mat fully one last time.

 “I love you, Mat Barzal.”

 That got a small smile out of him. With the sun in his eyes you could tell he was fighting back tears, carving out an even bigger hole in your chest.

 “I love you,” Mat breathed out, closing the space between the two of you and bringing your lips together. You both knew it was a bad idea, tempting fate like this, but you couldn’t leave without tasting him one last time. Your fingers tangled in his hair and his hands melted into your hips as your chests pressed together.

 Mat climbed back into the driver’s seat, hands frozen on the wheel until you disappeared into the airport. Once he could no longer see even a glimpse of you, he let the tears spill out. The tears he’d been holding back for the last two weeks. It broke him down to the bone to lose you, to have you anywhere but right beside him. For the first time since you were kids he was going to have to navigate his life without you and he didn’t know how he was supposed to survive.

 Mat pulled away from the curb, trying to wipe the tears from his vision. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t talk to you and rarely a week where you didn’t see each other. Even when he was traveling during the season and you had been drowning in school work you had always made time for each other. But that was when you were living in the same cities. Mat wondered if it had been a bad idea to tell you that he was in love with you. Maybe if he hadn’t spoken those words the universe wouldn’t have decided to take revenge. What he’d done to deserve this sort of twisted karma he didn’t know but he would take it all back if it meant bringing you home to him. Whether home was in New York or Vancouver, or anywhere else in the world where he might end up. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that you were gone and he was alone.

 As he drove further out of the busy city Mat realized he was taking a route he hadn’t taken in a while. In a few years actually. The road winded along through the countryside, a highway not many people took and certainly not many people who were driving something other than a tractor.

 “I’m so scared of the future,” Mat chuckled, trying to laugh off his nerves as he glanced over at you. You had your feet tucked up under your legs, wearing the outfit you had intended on wearing out to see some of your friends. Right up until Mat showed up at your door unannounced.

“Me too,” you sighed, resting your elbow on the center console. Mat could smell your shampoo, the breeze blowing in through the open windows as he sped down the highway.

“You don’t need to be scared,” Mat said, grinning over at you, “You’re smart and you’re going to get a degree.”

“You don’t need to be scared either,” you laughed, shoving his shoulder, “You’re a projected first round pick in the NHL draft. You have nothing to worry about.”

Mat laughed, shaking his head as he looked over at you for a brief moment.

“Are we stupid for being scared?”

“No.” you shook your head adamantly.

“No?”

“We’re kids, Barz,” you said, twisting in your seat to look at him, admiring his side profile, “We don’t know what the hell is going to happen even two weeks from now. And there’s no way to know. But I guess we just have to hope that everything works out how it’s supposed to. The universe will look after you.”

Mat stayed quiet for a while, letting your words sink in,

“You’re too wise for your age.”

“I think you’ve just hit your head into the boards too many times,” you teased, leaning over the console and pressing a kiss against his cheek. Mat’s heart skipped a beat and he hoped you couldn’t tell he was blushing in the dim lighting.

“Wherever you go,” you said, “I’ll go with you. You’re never going to be alone, Mat Barzal.”

Mat pulled to a stop at the overlook, putting the truck in park and resting his forearms on the steering wheel. All the tears that had dried were now joined by a fresh batch. He couldn’t stop, his shoulders shaking as he let his head drop down against his hands. He’d never felt pain quite like this. For a moment he debated calling his agent, seeing if he could get traded to Nashville or even Carolina. Somewhere closer to you. Somewhere that it didn’t feel like you had oceans between you.

 His phone started ringing in the passenger seat.

 “Fuck!” Mat took the heel of his palm and rubbed away the tears, clearing his throat before he answered.

 “Hello?”

 “Hey Mat, we think we’ve reached an agreement on your contract.”

[ouatimaginesnetwork]

Illusion: A Peter Pan Imagine

Hey guys it’s Hannah! I got this request from @internally---screaming on my Captain Swan page, but I wanted to post it on here for you guys as well! If I get any requests on my original page ONCE related, I will repost them on here. You can make requests here, but right now I’m only doing imagines and would includes. Right now I’m looking to get some requests on my side blog @dracomalfoyistheloml because I love the wizarding world. Writing a sequel to my Newt imagine on there, you can read about it. Anyways enjoy! 

-Hannah :)

Request: The reader has the power of illusion and Pan helps her train with it. There’s a point where he pushes her too far and she blows up at him. It all sews back together with a little fluff at the end. 

    You sat around the fire with the other lost boys, staring absentmindedly into the flames. They danced around the edge of your vision, creating blue spots around the edges of your mind. “Y/n? Are you even listening to me?” You shake out of your daze and look up at the voice that summons you. It was Peter. “Sorry Peter what did you say?” He looks at you, concern etched on his features. He gently takes a seat next to you, hesitating before resting his hand on your thigh. It sent chills to your spine. The scent of evergreens and pine wafted through your nostrils from him. It was heavenly. “What’s going on?” he says softly. You shrug and say, “I’m fine, really. Just a headache.” He presses you to say more, but you don’t. Eventually, he leaves. You watch as the lost boys slowly file away to bed around you. The flames begin to die out. Your mind wanders to the one place you didn’t want it to go. To Peter. You picture him in front of you as vivid as if he were real. The forest green eyes as bright as emeralds, his sandy colored hair that you always longed to run your fingers through. You close your eyes and finish the picture. And for a beautiful moment you let your heart wish for him. You longed for him, his presence. Blinking them open, you gasp. Right beside the dying embers was the same image of Peter you had created in your mind. “Peter?” you called out to him. He smiled. You walked towards him and reached out to grab his hand. But your hand passed right through his own. “What?” your mind begins to drift from the perfect image of him, and as your mind drew away from that the image began to falter. He wasn’t really there. You frown and sit back down, wondering how on earth you had created that image. Were you hallucinating? You squeeze your eyes shut concentrating on the image of something else. You decide to concentrate on the image of your parents. It was sad to think about, but it was the only way you could test your theory. Your parents were dead. If you were somehow able to recreate the image of them, then something else was up. Opening your eyes, tears immediately befall you as you see your parents standing before you. “Mom? Dad?” They smile back at you. Your eyes gloss over as you whisper, “You’re not real.” And as hard as it is, you force your mind away from them, and the image falters and disappears. It still didn’t make sense to you. Head in your hands, you wonder what this means. Silently, a figure comes up beside you and sits down next to you. And you don’t have to lift up your head to see who it is. The familiar scent of forest washed over you and you knew Peter was beside you. He rests his hand on your back and whispers, “Y/n, I saw what you did. It was amazing.” You finally look up at him and reply, “What do you mean?” He takes your hands and explains. “I’ve only seen it once before. But it’s a great power. The power of illusion. Of making things appear as if they’re not really there. It takes a great deal of sorcery.” You think about what he said. “What does this mean?” you breathe. Peter pulls your chin up lightly and makes you look at him. “I can train you, if you want. I’ve seen this once before, like I said, and I happen to have the power myself. I can help.” His face was so close to yours you could feel his cool breath on your face. You gulp, “Okay.” He smiles and his eyes briefly flicker to your lips. The urge to kiss him was so strong. But you couldn’t. There was absolutely no way he felt the same way about you as you did about him. So you pull away and look down. “Thank you Peter.” He looks to you, and for a brief second, you see the hurt register on his face. “We begin tomorrow,” he pats your leg and leaves. 

    The next morning you get up and throw on a raggedy green tunic. You put on a pair of leggings and a brown belt. Slipping on your combat boots you place your dagger in your belt and braid your hair back. Jogging over to the lake, you find Peter standing by the shore. “I’m here,” you call out to him. He turns around and smiles. Drinking you in he chuckles, “You know you really are a lost girl.” Your cheeks flame in response. He stands and stares at you. After a moment you say, “Umm Peter?” He shakes his head and says, “Sorry. Well, let’s begin. So, I want you to imagine someone before you, it can be anyone you want. But it’s not as simple as it was last night. If you want to create an illusion, you have to really concentrate. Make it believable. Make it believable to me. Go ahead, try.” So you close your eyes and concentrate on creating an image. You decide to create the image of another lost boy, of Felix. You squeeze your eyes shut tighter as your mind forms the picture of him. You blink them open and see Felix standing before you. Concentrating your energy on him, you hear Peter say in the background, “Very good Y/n. Now make Felix have a conversation with me.” You turn and look at the image you created. Peter says to the image, “Felix, where are the lost boys?” You say an answer in your mind, “They’re back at camp. They just finished hunting.” No sooner did you finish the response in your mind, did the fake Felix repeat the response to Peter. You jump in excitement, but your distraction makes the image disappear. You frown in disappointment. “Y/n, you can’t lose your concentration, it makes everything fall apart!” he raises his voice. You flinch at his response, but he doesn’t notice. He sighs, “The next thing we should try is disguising yourself as someone else.” You respond unsure, “Okay.” Peter says, “It’s similar to creating an image of someone, but you must reflect the image back on yourself. You must imagine yourself as them, imagine your features turning into their features. Start with someone you know very well, someone who it’s easy to picture.” “Okay. I guess I’ll picture the person I’m around the most,” you reply. He nods. So you close your eyes once more and picture Peter. You could see him clear as day, but it was hard to reflect the image back on yourself. You imagined your long h/c hair shortening to his sandy strands. Your e/c eyes morphing into his. As you continued your concentration, you felt energy draining from you and you became very tired. Your concentration wavers and you open your eyes. Peter frowns at you. The only thing different is your eyes and your hair. Your eyes were exactly the same as his, but your hair was only slightly lighter. “Y/n, why am I not looking at an image of myself?” He tries to hide it, but you can hear the disappointment in his voice. “I’m sorry Peter. Let me try again,” you tell him, anxious to prove yourself. You close your eyes and concentrate even harder than before. “It should be easy,” you thought, “You think about Peter all the time.” And that part was easy, it was the reflecting the image that was hard. You pushed with all your might to look like him. You pictured yourself as him so hard that beads of sweat form at your hairline. Working the illusion took every ounce of energy out of you. You opened your eyes again and Peter huffed, “Now you’re only wearing my clothes.” “I’m sorry,” you reply, tired. “Maybe if we just take a break. This is taking so much out of me,” you admit. Peter looks disappointed. “No you have to keep going, you can’t just sit there and do nothing.” You’re shocked at his words, he’d never spoken to you like that before. You wanted to be angry with him, but even more than that you wanted to impress him.”Okay,” you grit your teeth. Shutting your eyes tight once more, you put everything you have into the image. Sweat poured down your face and you could feel your body slowly morphing. But at the same time, you couldn’t push anymore, the energy was gone. You were empty. You opened your eyes and saw Peter’s disappointment. “You were so close come on y/n! Stop giving up!” This time he full out yelled at you. And that pushed you over the edge. “No you know what Peter you can shut up! You’ve pushed me hard enough.” Peter continues as if you hadn’t even spoke, “You’re not even trying! If you just pushed a little-” You cut him off. Anger rolled off of you as you looked at him in disbelief. You were too angry to even yell. “Not trying? Not trying?” you laughed sarcastically. He shot back, “Yeah not trying. You have so much potential you don’t even realize.” You shake your head at him, ready to leave. But before you do you look him straight in the eyes and say, “Fuck you Peter.” You turn on your heel and leave.

    The next couple days you avoided Peter completely. The anger slowly ebbed away, and turned into sadness. You knew you had feelings for Peter, and you thought he returned your feelings, but you were wrong. No one would treat someone they cared for that way. Across the fire each night, you could feel Peter’s eyes on you. They looked apologetic, but you held your ground. He looked especially sorry tonight, and you know if you didn’t get away you would forgive him. So you stand from your place at the fire and walk into the woods. Unbeknownst to you, Peter follows.

    You wander aimlessly, brushing the tree branches as you walk by them. As you continue on, you can’t hide your disappointment when you see Peter emerge from behind a tree in front of you on your path. “What do you want Peter?” you avoid looking at him. He stands silently, not responding, forcing you to look at him. You bite back your surprise, chewing on the inside of your lip as you stare into his eyes. They’re glossed over with tears, and the look he gives you nearly breaks your heart. He steps forward and goes to take your hand, but pulls back seeing the look of hurt on your face. He takes a breath, “I’m sorry y/n. I know I pushed you too hard. I know that now and I’m so sorry. I got carried away with your promise. You’re just so talented and beautiful and bright and I just wanted to help-” You cut him off. “Did you say beautiful?” He wrinkles his nose and blushes. “Yeah. Yeah I did,” he whispers. This time you do take his hands and look into his eyes. You sigh, and throw caution to the wind. “Peter I forgive you. I can tell you’re being sincere.” You watch excitement take over his features as he squeezes your hand. “Y/n thank you, thank you so much!” You both stand there for a moment, silence passing between the two of you. You don’t trust your ears. You thought you heard him wrong, but he says again, “You know you really are beautiful y/n. The most beautiful person I have ever met.” You blush. He steps closer and continues, “Every night I thank my lucky stars that you came to the island. You’re everything to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He wraps his arms around your waist and you rest your head on his chest, inhaling his familiar scent. Time stops as he leans closer and whispers in your ear, “I love you y/n.” You here him gasp as he admits it, but it was too late for him to take it back. He waits in fear for your response. “I love you too Peter,” you look up at him and smile. Peter sighs with relief and smiles, “Thank God.” This time an unusual feeling surges through you, courage. So you take your courage and place your hands on Peter’s cheeks, planting a fiery kiss to his lips. A hunger fills you as you realize you’ve been waiting to do this forever. Peter immediately kisses you back, his hands splayed across your lower back. His hands run up your back and through your hair, leaving fire in their wake. You kiss him till your face turns blue, and pull away reluctantly. He grins from ear to ear, and rubs his nose against your own. “You’re amazing you are,” he tells you. You lightly chuckle, “Shut up Peter,” as you go back to kissing him.  

#peter pan x reader #peter pan imagine #ouatimagine #ouat #robbie kay x reader #robbie kay imagine #neverland

[awreckfics]

Day 2

Characters: Eponine, Courfeyrac

Prompt: brazen (it’s not really in the story, because it decided to take an other direction but it’s somewhat included)

...

“Can I be the next? Can I?” Courfeyrac raised his hand so violently, he almost hit Bossuet in the face.

“Okay, sure, choose a number” Grantaire nodded, then proceeded to shuffle through his papers to get to the appropriate question. “Uh, this will potentially be very awkward” he remarked.

“Ah, yes, read the question!” Courfeyrac leaned forward excitedly.

“Okay, you asked for it” Grantaire shrugged. “When did Eponine become friends with Courfeyrac?”

“Oh, come on, this one is easy! When you first brought her along to hang out with us and I ordered her seventeen-years-old self some alcohol as any responsible adult friend would do.”

“Ponine?” Grantaire turned to the girl sitting with her back against Bahorel’s at the other end of the room.

“Well, no. Actually, I rather disliked you at first” she shrugged.

“What? Are you even my friend, woman?” Courfeyrac faked a dramatic gasp, but he couldn’t fully cover the fact that he was slightly hurt by the answer.

“I think the fact that you are still alive after calling me woman speaks for itself” Eponine rolled her eyes, but a fond smile was playing in the corner of her lips.

“Fair enough” Courfeyrac nodded in agreement. “But why didn’t you like me back then? I was so nice to you. I was trying to make you feel welcome with us.”

“You kind of had the opposite effect, though. I mean the first thing you did when we met was going all creepy saying how young I was and how you will help me out and buy me something” Eponine explained.

“But you drank it” Courfeyrac pouted.

“Well it was a free drink after all” Eponine shrugged.

“Did you at least like it?” Courfeyrac continued, not even trying to cover his hurt anymore.

“Oh, come on, Courf, you have to admit a guy pulling you around a bar by your elbow, saying things like good old Courfeyrac will help you out, kiddo is a bit creepy” Eponine tried but when her words made Courfeyrac only shrink in on himself more, she continued with a sigh. “Come on, Courf! It doesn’t even matter anymore. I like you now. We are friends” she ran a hand nervously through her hair as she saw that Courfeyrac was still visibly upset and Grantaire was about to apologize, because asking this question seemed like a really asshole move in hindsight, when Courfeyrac finally looked up from staring at his knees.

“When?” he asked Eponine on a small voice. “When did you start to consider me as a friend then?”

“In the year I got custody over Gavroche.”

~~~

May 2018

Eponine placed her head on the table in front of her, hoping that the cold bartop would ease some of its throbbing. The letters on her computer screen were turning into unreadable smudges if she looked at them for more than a second anyway. Well, that much was to be expected, since she was running on three hours of sleep after getting home at one from a waitressing gig on a random event Grantaire had found for her and getting up at four thirty to get to one of her day jobs in the city centre by six.

She only needed to concentrate for a few more minutes, then she could take a quick nap in one of the café’s armchairs until Gavroche got there from school and then they could finally go home and from then on she only had to stay awake for an hour until Azelma got home, then she could curl up in her bed and sleep for twelve hours if she was lucky and nothing else came up. That sounded like a dream.

But right now, she needed to finish reading through her emails, since the only reason she was in that loud café at the first place, was to get access to free internet. And because Grantaire was working there that afternoon and that meant a free coffee for Ep. Even if it didn’t wake her up at the slightest.

She was about to open her eyes again and get back to reading, when Grantaire’s friends started laughing again at something Grantaire had said over the counter and Eponine’s headache re-emerged in full force.

She loved Grantaire, she really did but sometimes she wished he could just stop making his idiotic friends laugh for one stupid second. Okay, that wasn’t fair of her. Not all of Grantaire’s friends were that bad. Joly and Bossuet were decent, she even liked Jehan, Bahorel, Feuilly and Musichetta and she, Combeferre and Enjolras were politely ignoring each other, which was totally fine by her. The only person that really irritated her was Courfeyrac.

Because even when it was plain and simple that his world was so far removed from the one Eponine was living in that sometimes she felt like they weren’t even speaking the same language, he didn’t seem to accept the uncoverable gap between them. He even seemed to be under the impression that they were friends, which was about the most irritating situation Eponine could imagine.

The laughter finally died down again and she could concentrate on the email in front of her again. It was from Montparnasse, saying that she could pick up an extra shift at the tattoo salon, because Joana was traveling to Switzerland. Third fucking time this month. Anyway, who was she to complain, she needed the money. Gavroche’s school trip shook their monthly budget a bit. She had no idea before that school took up so much money.

Right as she was about to send Parnasse a respond, the door of the coffee shop burst open and Gavroche entered, bouncing happily on his feet, not bothered at all by his bag that must have weighted at least five kilos. Eponine smiled in spite of her headache. Sometimes all she needed was seeing her little brother happy to remind her that there was a reason she was working herself to the bone. Seeing that Gavroche wasn’t dreading to go to school so much he spent more days wandering the streets of Paris than actually making it to class anymore. That now that he was with Eponine, who let him participate in after school activities and actually gave him money to buy gifts for secret Santa, he had finally managed to make good friends, who made him excited for going to school. So much so, that he hadn’t missed a single school day since October.

“Hey, Ponine” he greeted her happily as he climbed up to the bar chair next to hers. “We are celebrating Fathers’ Day with the parents at the first Friday of June in school.”

“Cool” Eponine nodded, opening her next letter distractedly. “I’ll be there.”

“But you aren’t my dad” Gavroche remarked.

“Would you like me to tell your real dad to come?” she snapped back. still paying more attention to the emails than the little boy. She just wanted to get it over with.

“No, but I thought you could maybe, get a boyfriend or something.”

“Am I embarrassing to you?” Eponine felt herself getting more pissed by the moment. She sure as hell didn’t sleep enough for this.

“No, but I’ve already told everyone that my father would be there and…”

“I won’t get a boyfriend for this, Gav, I don’t have time for that right now” she gripped the edge of her chair with whitening fingers. She needed to keep her temper in check, she didn’t want to shout at Gavroche but the whole boyfriend topic was a bit of a touchy topic for her on a normal day.

“But please Ponine! It doesn’t have to be anyone new. You could just ask one of the guys that pick you up in the evenings someti…”

“That’s enough!” Eponine broke, unable to contain herself anymore. “What I do with my evenings is none of your business. I’ll go see your Fathers’s Day show and if you want someone else there, you can talk Zelma into coming.”

“But…”

“If you say one more word you can go and live with your father again” Eponine shut him off.

“Fine!” her brother shouted as he jumped off of the chair. “I’ll just live on the streets then, because I hate both of you anyway!” he shouted back red faced from the entrance of the café, before he shut the door behind himself with a loud bang and ran down the street.

Eponine’s anger left her as if it was never even there, instantly giving space to her worries instead. She quickly pushed her computer into her bag, sent a quick glance towards Grantaire, who pointed desperately at the clock on the wall behind him, and right, he still had two hours of his shift and he was in alone that day. Doesn’t matter, it wasn’t his fault she screwed up anyway.

Eponine was already at the door when someone grabbed her arm before she could exit. She turned around to find Courfeyrac looking down at her with a sympathetic expression.

“What?” Eponine asked as rudely as she could, because she needed to go after her brother, and she needed to go right then.

“It’s just that you seem exhausted lately” the boy continued, though he seemed a bit less sure of himself than a moment before. “If there’s anything I can help with.”

“I don’t need help” Eponine stated drily as she pulled her arm out of the boy’s grip and hurried down the street after her brother, desperately trying to forget Courfeyrac’s words, because he noticed – and if he noticed, everyone else had noticed as well – that she wasn’t enough. And if he offered his help that meant he knew the thing Eponine was desperately trying to push out of her brain ever since she got custody over her siblings, that she would never be enough.

June 2018

Eponine took a quick detour to the bathroom of Gavroche’s elementary school to put on another layer of corrector under her eyes and fix her dark lipstick before she went on finding her brother. She always put on heavier makeup when she went to Gavroche’s school. She wanted the other parents to take her seriously, which meant she needed to look older than her age. It didn’t take a lot of time anyway and made a world of a difference in how the moms in Gav’s class addressed her.

Thankfully, she discovered as she entered the gymnasium where the celebration was taking place a few minutes late, the play hadn’t started yet. She even spotted Gavroche standing at the side of the room, talking to his teacher, so she made her way over there to let the kid know she had arrived.

“Oh, Eponine, you’re here, that’s wonderful” Gav’s teacher hurried to her as soon as she saw her approaching, which was rather unusual. Eponine had known the woman to be rather cold actually. “Do you know when your father will be here?”

“My fa…” Eponine stared at the woman in shock, then Gavroche caught her eyes behind his teacher, looking repentantly at his feet and she remembered their conversation from a few weeks ago. “Oh, I’m sorry but Gavroche’s father won’t be here today.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that. What happened?”

“He was never planning on coming” Eponine answered drily, watching closely as her brother visibly paled after her words.

“He was never… You brazen little div” the woman turned violently towards Gavroche, towering over him. “You said you will have your father will be here.”

“You wouldn’t have let me play the main role otherwise” Gavroche answered on a small voice, which made Eponine’s stomach twist. She should have known it was important for Gavroche to have someone he could call his father in attendance beyond wanting a dad there.

“I’ll never give you a main role ever again, you’ve just made sure of that young man” the teacher shot back. Eponine twisted her hands into fists behind her back. She was about to open her mouth to say something that would have probably got her banned from the ten-meter radius of the school, because no one should talk to her little brother in that tone. But before she could say anything, someone slipped past him and stopped at Gavroche’s side to place a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, kiddo, I’m sorry I’m late, I was coming as fast as I could” Courfeyrac said. The words died at Eponine’s throat as she looked over at the boy, panting slightly from probabl running there, but looking perfectly formal in his light blue shirt and expensive pants.

“You came?” Gavroche asked excitedly and if Eponine didn’t know him so well, she would have easily fallen for him and though Courfeyrac was invited all along.

“And who are you again?” Gavroche’s teacher straightened to give Courfeyrac a distrustful look over.

“I’m Gavroche’s father, Oliver de Courfeyrac” he held out his hand politely. “Okay, biologically, I’m his cousin” he leaned slightly closer as if he was telling a secret to the woman. “But I’m kind of a father figure to him.”

“Eponine didn’t mention you were coming” the woman tried to resist the boy’s charm with one last desperate attempt.

“I wanted it to be a surprise. I’m sorry, did I cause some kind of inconvenience? It didn’t intend to” Courfeyrac managed to look genuinely terrified by the concept, which made any mistrustful thoughts vanish from the teacher’s mind.

“Oh, no, not at all. We haven’t started the show anyway. Why don’t you two find a seat until I get the kids in order?”

“That would be lovely” Courfeyrac gave the woman one last charming smile before he pulled the shell shocked Eponine after him to two empty seats in the back.

“What are you doing here?” Eponine asked as the play started and she was finally able to get her thoughts in order.

“I was really sorry for stopping you the other day. I realized that my timing was entirely wrong, and I figured I should make up for it somehow” he admitted, looking sheepishly at his knees in front of him. “Also, I wanted Gavroche not to feel left out today. He’s a good kid.”

“Yeah, he is” Eponine nodded, turning her gaze towards the stage where Gavroche entered, wearing a purple bucket on his head for some reason.

“You raise him well” Courfeyrac added next to her. “Do you know why he has a bucket on his head?” he asked the next moment, genuinely confused, totally ruining their sentimental moment and Eponine couldn’t fight her smile any longer.

~~~

“Oh my god, Eponine, can I hug you?” Courfeyrac asked as Eponine finished telling the story, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Okay, fine” she rolled her eyes, but it didn’t take a genius to see that she was extremely touched by the boy’s reaction.

“Aw, come here!” Courfeyrac was on his feet in an instant, stepping over the amis in his way to pull Eponine into a deep hug. “It was totally worth missing that European Law seminar for the Fathers’ day then” he whispered into the girl’s shoulder.

“What?” Eponine pulled away suddenly to look Courfeyrac in the eyes. “You missed a lesson for it?”

“He had to retake EU Law next semester, because that was his fourth missed class” Combeferre chimed in from his place on the floor before Courfeyrac could dodge the question.

“What? You idiot!” Eponine hit him on the head rather forcefully before pulling him back into the hug. “Thank you” she whispered. “I’m glad you forced your friendship on me.”

“Me too” Courfeyrac whispered back, pulling her even closer. “Also, ouch. That hurt” he added, which led to the whole room breaking into laughter again.

First chapter || previous chapter

#this was kind of pretty much #based off one of my friendships #i have a really good friend #who used to irritate me so much #i hated whenever we were in the same crowd #but then he did something really nice for my other friend #and i instantly started liking him #and we are still good friends to this day #also eponine is 18 in this #and stressed #courfeyrac is 22 #gavroche is 12 #Courfeyrac #Eponine #Eponine Thenardier #gavroche #gavroche thenardier #friendship #Les Miserables #les mis #Les Mis fanfic #les miserables fanfiction #awreckattemptstowrite #writuary #my writuary mess 0 #january writing challange #les amis de l'abc #les amis #barricade boys

[migleefulmoments]

The drama and the bullcrap that Abby and her coven are spewing today is just crazy. Just spending a few minutes on her blog gave me a headache. Worst part is I don't understand half of what they're trying to say. (I am very tired and my brain is only functioning at about 75% but still) Can you figure out what they're trying to say about Elsie Fest and Chris and Darren's 'struggles' and all that shit? Because I'm just not able to figure it out. Seriously, it's like a foreign language. Thanks! :)

Abby and her posse of mean girls have spent the last month raging about the Elsie Fest lineup-or the lack there of. They have a weird way of claiming Elsie is Darren’s baby but all the problems they find with the show are Ricky’s fault- even though Ricky is a "loser" who “can’t do anything right”. Abby fully believes that Elsie is a mess- she finds fault every single year- this year just happened to be the lineup she found great fault with- but Darren can do nothing wrong so “it’s Ricky’s fault”. Even harder to believe, she thinks everyone else is as in love with Darren as she is and has her blinders on. But she does. Today a tinhatter saw through their nonsense and called them out. But first justcantgetenoughcc wrote an open letter to Darren where they first went on about how Darren is no longer the “vibrant, bouncy, full of life and overflowing with love for life” cough*Blaine*cough that he once was. Justcant said 

It started with the announcement of ACS. He was nervous. All his facial tics were back (anyone doubting this, should go back and watch his Mario Lopez interview) and he didn’t even speak of ACS or show any happiness or appreciation at getting that role… or even promote it for a while there. It was downhill from there. A couple of us feared for his mental breakdown as the violence and the mental space he would’ve to get to.. to prepare for the role each day… [Again, anyone doubting this should take a look at Heath Ledger’s final role]. For the simple reason, Darren wasn’t in a good place even before the ACS announcement… having suffered abuse in various ways and relentlessly for a longtime. It was clear he suffered from depression.

Fast forward to the present… Darren looked consistently sad and depressed in 99% of the pictures and clips that came our way. He looked like death warmed over. It was easy to see that he felt his situation in life was hopeless. His career wasn’t going anywhere. His personal life was a mess. He had officially become a walking talking billboard or a clotheshorse… or the Pianoman at a sleazy strip joint. It was all the wrong people in his life that got the focus… that were being given the attention… while the man who won awards after awards was slowly fading away.

Justcantgetenoughcc concluded by claiming that poor, depressed Darren is too sad to produce Elsie and the ccers shouldn’t have been pressuring him for the last several months to put it on. Justcant suggestes that he is only putting it on because the cc fandom has pressured him or worse, his team is forcing him to do it 

What IF Elsie was announced BY HIS TEAM only because of the pressure from the fandom? And NOT because Darren wanted it or was ready to do it? He had personal issues to deal with… that he had to get to… before… he could take on Elsie?

Abby read justcantgetenoughcc’s comment and spent the next 24 hours reflecting on what her actions potentially did to Darren....oh come on, you know she didn’t. She immediately fired off an “Abby’s greatest hits” post that included the one honest comment she’s made in the last 8 months (she tends to be unintentionally honest when she’s upset)

@justcantgetenoughcc I know I will regret this, but you are virtually accusing the person who is the MOST compassionate to D of being inconsiderate. I am the one everyday explaining everything that happens and trying to keep this fandom together with a handful of others.  I am the one who constantly tries to explain his actions and constantly tries to assert my opinion, that i am harassed and bullied for daily (you all truly have no idea), to try to make people understand he is a caught in a horrific nightmare and he is doing the best to fight his way out of it.  That is me, and about 5 others that i won’t name as invariably i will forget someone.   I would think again before you tell at me for being as supportive as I can be considering I hate watching what is happening.

With respect to EF, I did not really say a word before tickets went onsale, but they did and people planned travel based on the announcement.  They have a right to know who will be performing.  I also went on record stating that if it was canceled for reasons to do with D, that is ok because nothing is more important that freeing himself from this utter horror story he is living. But again, people, based on the announcement, booked hotels and flights and if it was going to be canceled, which it is not, a line up has been announced, they have right to know with sufficient time to cancel plans.

Did you catch that? She admitted “I am the one who constantly tries to explain his actions and constantly tries to assert my opinion, that i am harassed and bullied for daily (you all truly have no idea), to try to make people understand he is a caught in a horrific nightmare and he is doing the best to fight his way out of it”. I mean that entire post is a complete narcissists wet dream. 

The other comments that came after about Chris and. Darren struggling was in response to justcantgetenoughcc’s comment and in defending Abby.  They tried to outdo one another with they drama.

[hannah-mic]

Illusion

  Hey you guys! Here’s a request from @internally---screaming! Thanks so much for the request I loved writing this! Requests are open you guys! I’m not working this summer because I got surgery recently and am recovering so I have plenty of time to write. I’m going to repost this on ouatimaginesnetwork. Also, if you have any Harry Potter requests my requests are open on @dracomalfoyistheloml! Anyways I hope you all have a glorious night! 

Request: The reader has the power of illusion and Pan helps her to train on it. There’s a point where he pushes her over a bit too much and she blows up at him. It sews back together with a bit of fluff in the end.  

You sat around the fire with the other lost boys, staring absentmindedly into the flames. They danced around the edge of your vision, creating blue spots around the edges of your mind. “Y/n? Are you even listening to me?” You shake out of your daze and look up at the voice that summons you. It was Peter. “Sorry Peter what did you say?” He looks at you, concern etched on his features. He gently takes a seat next to you, hesitating before resting his hand on your thigh. It sent chills to your spine. The scent of evergreens and pine wafted through your nostrils from him. It was heavenly. “What’s going on?” he says softly. You shrug and say, “I’m fine, really. Just a headache.” He presses you to say more, but you don’t. Eventually, he leaves. You watch as the lost boys slowly file away to bed around you. The flames begin to die out. Your mind wanders to the one place you didn’t want it to go. To Peter. You picture him in front of you as vivid as if he were real. The forest green eyes as bright as emeralds, his sandy colored hair that you always longed to run your fingers through. You close your eyes and finish the picture. And for a beautiful moment you let your heart wish for him. You longed for him, his presence. Blinking them open, you gasp. Right beside the dying embers was the same image of Peter you had created in your mind. “Peter?” you called out to him. He smiled. You walked towards him and reached out to grab his hand. But your hand passed right through his own. “What?” your mind begins to drift from the perfect image of him, and as your mind drew away from that the image began to falter. He wasn’t really there. You frown and sit back down, wondering how on earth you had created that image. Were you hallucinating? You squeeze your eyes shut concentrating on the image of something else. You decide to concentrate on the image of your parents. It was sad to think about, but it was the only way you could test your theory. Your parents were dead. If you were somehow able to recreate the image of them, then something else was up. Opening your eyes, tears immediately befall you as you see your parents standing before you. “Mom? Dad?” They smile back at you. Your eyes gloss over as you whisper, “You’re not real.” And as hard as it is, you force your mind away from them, and the image falters and disappears. It still didn’t make sense to you. Head in your hands, you wonder what this means. Silently, a figure comes up beside you and sits down next to you. And you don’t have to lift up your head to see who it is. The familiar scent of forest washed over you and you knew Peter was beside you. He rests his hand on your back and whispers, “Y/n, I saw what you did. It was amazing.” You finally look up at him and reply, “What do you mean?” He takes your hands and explains. “I’ve only seen it once before. But it’s a great power. The power of illusion. Of making things appear as if they’re not really there. It takes a great deal of sorcery.” You think about what he said. “What does this mean?” you breathe. Peter pulls your chin up lightly and makes you look at him. “I can train you, if you want. I’ve seen this once before, like I said, and I happen to have the power myself. I can help.” His face was so close to yours you could feel his cool breath on your face. You gulp, “Okay.” He smiles and his eyes briefly flicker to your lips. The urge to kiss him was so strong. But you couldn’t. There was absolutely no way he felt the same way about you as you did about him. So you pull away and look down. “Thank you Peter.” He looks to you, and for a brief second, you see the hurt register on his face. “We begin tomorrow,” he pats your leg and leaves. s a s a p

    The next morning you get up and throw on a raggedy green tunic. You put on a pair of leggings and a brown belt. Slipping on your combat boots you place your dagger in your belt and braid your hair back. Jogging over to the lake, you find Peter standing by the shore. “I’m here,” you call out to him. He turns around and smiles. Drinking you in he chuckles, “You know you really are a lost girl.” Your cheeks flame in response. He stands and stares at you. After a moment you say, “Umm Peter?” He shakes his head and says, “Sorry. Well, let’s begin. So, I want you to imagine someone before you, it can be anyone you want. But it’s not as simple as it was last night. If you want to create an illusion, you have to really concentrate. Make it believable. Make it believable to me. Go ahead, try.” So you close your eyes and concentrate on creating an image. You decide to create the image of another lost boy, of Felix. You squeeze your eyes shut tighter as your mind forms the picture of him. You blink them open and see Felix standing before you. Concentrating your energy on him, you hear Peter say in the background, “Very good Y/n. Now make Felix have a conversation with me.” You turn and look at the image you created. Peter says to the image, “Felix, where are the lost boys?” You say an answer in your mind, “They’re back at camp. They just finished hunting.” No sooner did you finish the response in your mind, did the fake Felix repeat the response to Peter. You jump in excitement, but your distraction makes the image disappear. You frown in disappointment. “Y/n, you can’t lose your concentration, it makes everything fall apart!” he raises his voice. You flinch at his response, but he doesn’t notice. He sighs, “The next thing we should try is disguising yourself as someone else.” You respond unsure, “Okay.” Peter says, “It’s similar to creating an image of someone, but you must reflect the image back on yourself. You must imagine yourself as them, imagine your features turning into their features. Start with someone you know very well, someone who it’s easy to picture.” “Okay. I guess I’ll picture the person I’m around the most,” you reply. He nods. So you close your eyes once more and picture Peter. You could see him clear as day, but it was hard to reflect the image back on yourself. You imagined your long h/c hair shortening to his sandy strands. Your e/c eyes morphing into his. As you continued your concentration, you felt energy draining from you and you became very tired. Your concentration wavers and you open your eyes. Peter frowns at you. The only thing different is your eyes and your hair. Your eyes were exactly the same as his, but your hair was only slightly lighter. “Y/n, why am I not looking at an image of myself?” He tries to hide it, but you can hear the disappointment in his voice. “I’m sorry Peter. Let me try again,” you tell him, anxious to prove yourself. You close your eyes and concentrate even harder than before. “It should be easy,” you thought, “You think about Peter all the time.” And that part was easy, it was the reflecting the image that was hard. You pushed with all your might to look like him. You pictured yourself as him so hard that beads of sweat form at your hairline. Working the illusion took every ounce of energy out of you. You opened your eyes again and Peter huffed, “Now you’re only wearing my clothes.” “I’m sorry,” you reply, tired. “Maybe if we just take a break. This is taking so much out of me,” you admit. Peter looks disappointed. “No you have to keep going, you can’t just sit there and do nothing.” You’re shocked at his words, he’d never spoken to you like that before. You wanted to be angry with him, but even more than that you wanted to impress him.”Okay,” you grit your teeth. Shutting your eyes tight once more, you put everything you have into the image. Sweat poured down your face and you could feel your body slowly morphing. But at the same time, you couldn’t push anymore, the energy was gone. You were empty. You opened your eyes and saw Peter’s disappointment. “You were so close come on y/n! Stop giving up!” This time he full out yelled at you. And that pushed you over the edge. “No you know what Peter you can shut up! You’ve pushed me hard enough.” Peter continues as if you hadn’t even spoke, “You’re not even trying! If you just pushed a little-” You cut him off. Anger rolled off of you as you looked at him in disbelief. You were too angry to even yell. “Not trying? Not trying?” you laughed sarcastically. He shot back, “Yeah not trying. You have so much potential you don’t even realize.” You shake your head at him, ready to leave. But before you do you look him straight in the eyes and say, “Fuck you Peter.” You turn on your heel and leave.

    The next couple days you avoided Peter completely. The anger slowly ebbed away, and turned into sadness. You knew you had feelings for Peter, and you thought he returned your feelings, but you were wrong. No one would treat someone they cared for that way. Across the fire each night, you could feel Peter’s eyes on you. They looked apologetic, but you held your ground. He looked especially sorry tonight, and you know if you didn’t get away you would forgive him. So you stand from your place at the fire and walk into the woods. Unbeknownst to you, Peter follows.

    You wander aimlessly, brushing the tree branches as you walk by them. As you continue on, you can’t hide your disappointment when you see Peter emerge from behind a tree in front of you on your path. “What do you want Peter?” you avoid looking at him. He stands silently, not responding, forcing you to look at him. You bite back your surprise, chewing on the inside of your lip as you stare into his eyes. They’re glossed over with tears, and the look he gives you nearly breaks your heart. He steps forward and goes to take your hand, but pulls back seeing the look of hurt on your face. He takes a breath, “I’m sorry y/n. I know I pushed you too hard. I know that now and I’m so sorry. I got carried away with your promise. You’re just so talented and beautiful and bright and I just wanted to help-” You cut him off. “Did you say beautiful?” He wrinkles his nose and blushes. “Yeah. Yeah I did,” he whispers. This time you do take his hands and look into his eyes. You sigh, and throw caution to the wind. “Peter I forgive you. I can tell you’re being sincere.” You watch excitement take over his features as he squeezes your hand. “Y/n thank you, thank you so much!” You both stand there for a moment, silence passing between the two of you. You don’t trust your ears. You thought you heard him wrong, but he says again, “You know you really are beautiful y/n. The most beautiful person I have ever met.” You blush. He steps closer and continues, “Every night I thank my lucky stars that you came to the island. You’re everything to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He wraps his arms around your waist and you rest your head on his chest, inhaling his familiar scent. Time stops as he leans closer and whispers in your ear, “I love you y/n.” You here him gasp as he admits it, but it was too late for him to take it back. He waits in fear for your response. “I love you too Peter,” you look up at him and smile. Peter sighs with relief and smiles, “Thank God.” This time an unusual feeling surges through you, courage. So you take your courage and place your hands on Peter’s cheeks, planting a fiery kiss to his lips. A hunger fills you as you realize you’ve been waiting to do this forever. Peter immediately kisses you back, his hands splayed across your lower back. His hands run up your back and through your hair, leaving fire in their wake. You kiss him till your face turns blue, and pull away reluctantly. He grins from ear to ear, and rubs his nose against your own. “You’re amazing you are,” he tells you. You lightly chuckle, “Shut up Peter,” as you go back to kissing him.  

#peter pan x reader #peter pan #ouatimagine #ouat #Robbie kay x reader #Robbie kay #neverland

[sunsiac]

king and queen / jaehyun [6]

genre: murder mystery, romance, angst

member: jaehyun

word count: 1.8k

warnings: none

summary: a young prince and a knight’s daughter are an unlikely pair, but nonetheless, these two were attached at the hip as children. without any royal duty or stress, it proved to be an unexpected yet beautiful friendship.even as they grew up together, they only developed to be more inseparable. they proved this when she, hakyeong turned 16, and he, jaehyun, gave her one of the most precious gifts he could; both of their first kisses. but it was bad timing. their respective responsibilities dawned on them quicker than they would’ve imagined, forcing them to grow apart. 5 years later, the both of them 21, meet again after jaehyun’s older brother who is about to be crowned king is found dead. A string of murders throughout the castle force them to come together and find the one behind it before one of them is next.

—

THIRD P.O.V

Word seems to travel fast in a place where nothing ever happens. That was the thought in the back of everyone's mind as the latest circled around quicker than wildfire.

'the prince's friend is on trial for his murder,'

'Lee Hakyeong? Isn't she a knight?'

It was heartbreaking for her to walk through the halls with a straight face, ignoring the occasional point or whisper from those who gossiped thought she wouldn't hear. In those moments, she pulled the first layer of inferiority across her heart, and it only grew thicker with the passing minutes, the number of reasons to do so growing greater. This, she thought, was similar to her own personal hell.

Meanwhile, it wasn't any easier for the man on the other side.

The moment she had left his office, he carded his fingers through his neat black hair, unsure of how he was going to make this work after all. His plan to indict Lee Hakyeong wasn't exactly a pristine one, there being obvious faults in between her words and his. The stories didn't match up at all, not even a little, but he was hoping the general audience would believe him before they did her.

But, the picture of her expression as he told her she would be put on trial for Hyeonsik's murder, one that the both of them knew she didn't commit, had seared itself painfully into his memory. Maybe he wasn't smart to do it, after all.

He looked down at his hands in the comfort of his office, his unsteady breaths racking through the otherwise silent room. Though Hyeonsik had been killed around a week ago, he could still clearly imagine the blood on his hands, the opaque liquid dripping off his fingers and on to the marble flooring of the prince's bedroom.

Some days he hated his decision to kill Hyeonsik, the thoughts that always came bombarding after it sending shivers down his spine as he tried to convince himself that what he had done had been coming for a while, and there was nothing he could do now that the plan had come into action. But, another part of him, the part he had eventually given into, told him that is was fine, that this didn't make him any less of a man. Because, after all, the world was nothing but competition.

His firm belief was that to get something, you had to be the one that wasn't afraid to accept something to put you ahead in the race. That was what he told himself to stick to now, the belief that he was just the only one brave enough to accept the leap.

He may not have any lingering regrets, but, boy, was he scared.

It wasn't every day something like this happened, something that couldn't be resolved quickly. That was part of the reason that nothing ever seemed to happen; because when it did, they were quick to clean it up quietly. He knew this was only like a stump in the road that may or may not give them a flat tire, but was one they could ultimately recover from.

That was part of the reason he was glad of his position. He could potentially slow progress down and direct them away with no suspicions, plainly because he was the royal supervisor and nothing else. At least, he hoped he could. Even he could never predict or control what the candidates thought, and what happened was usually just left to fate. Which side it leaned towards, well, they would usually find that out after it happened.

The general public of the castle hadn't been informed yet, which the both of them were grateful for, but there was one person that was made sure to know of it almost right away.

His fist slammed down harshly against the finished glass of the table as he was informed, his expression undeterminable and his chest sinking low. Jaehyun knew that Hakyeong hadn't killed Hyeonsik, she hadn’t. She couldn't have. He knew that he didn't know her anymore, not by any means, but no matter how much she could have changed, Hakyeong was not that type of person. He refused to believe it.

The memory of her forced smile and pained eyes yesterday at the funeral came rushing into him, only further convincing him that he was right. She was never that good of an actress, after all.

The thoughts ping-ponged back and forth in Jaehyun's head, the entirety of everything giving the man a headache. But, it made him so angry that he was still stubborn enough in his belief to turn to his guard, and say with a low snarl,

"Are they out of their mind? Tell whoever made this decision to see me. Now."

The guard left soon enough, almost terrified by the quick change in the prince's demeanour. Jaehyun covered his face with his hands and shut his eyes, wondering why he still let himself get so affected. The simple answer he had for himself was only that he knew that whoever had finalised this now was wrong about her, and they had brought that on everyone. At least, he prayed they were.

But, no matter how much he thought about it, it didn't sit right. The image of Hakyeong, the girl who had accepted Hyeonsik's blatant attempt of friendship after Jaehyun didn't have the time to be see her anymore, who always smiled with Hyeonsik and was right by his side, by Hyeonsik’s bedside late at night with a-

He opened his eyes at a knock on the door, his earlier thoughts diminishing as the door opened to the reveal the supervisor. This came as no surprise to Jaehyun, but he still found room to be so.

"Your majesty," He bowed as the guard shut the door behind him. Jaehyun didn't greet him back, his frown growing with every step the other man took.

"Sit,"

The supervisor almost laughed. It was almost comical, this situation. He would normally be the one to say that, after all. But, he did, folding his hands as he awaited the prince's anticipated words. He knew it was unlikely, but he hoped he wouldn't be cut this short. He'd worked much too hard for that to be possible.

"You made your decision, I see?" The prince asked, making the supervisor look up and nod.

Jaehyun shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable at his confidence. "What means was this based on?"

The supervisor subconsciously felt his shoulders relax. He had been prepared for this question.

"Are you aware of the past this young woman has had?" He asked the prince, unaware himself that Jaehyun already knew most of the things he was about to say. "Being this close to Sir Hyeonsik with something like that hanging onto her, I'm surprised we didn't think of this sooner,"

Jaehyun almost scoffed. Her past meant nothing to her anymore, and he knew that for sure.

"Do you ever miss your parents?" He'd asked this once, when they were walking out of the crown room after talking to his mother.

She turned to him as they walked, giving him a small smile and shaking her head casually. "No, I try not to,"

This confused him. "What? Why not?"

"I know they wouldn't want me to cry over them. I know it sounds cheesy, but that's just the kind of people they were," she had explained.

"You've got to miss them, though, Hakyeong. You're human,"

"I mean, I do miss them. I am human," She agreed, laughing. "But it's easier to pretend that I don't."

"First," The supervisor brought Jaehyun back by holding up a single digit, "Both of her parents died in action when she was a young age, potentially leaving her with trauma,"

He knew this, of course, but in no way had she ever been troubled by this. He knew that Hakyeong had always been happy with the Nakamotos, having no trouble referring to them as her family

But, he didn't say this, instead just sighing. "What else?"

"Are you aware that she was in debt recently?"

Jaehyun rose a brow. He was not, but he didn't see how that mattered in this case.

"What does that matter?" He asked, making the supervisor chuckle.

"It was paid off only recently," He started, "She could have been desperate for money. And while I don't have access to things like this, I assume you know that as someone close to the prince, she could have possibly been offered compensation after his death. I also suggest the possibility of money laundering, since the compensation alone wouldn’t have covered everything at once.”

His brows furrowed, and he hated that he saw the logic in it.

"But," He trailed off as he unintentionally let out, "She's always been a saver. How do you not know if she paid it off by saving up money?"

"I don't.” He admitted, sealing Jaehyun’s prior beliefs. “But, please understand my decision to do this,"

Jaehyun just sighed, hating that to a normal person, this would be evidence enough. So, he just nodded and dismissed him, still unbelievably confused.

Though he didn't really take anything the supervisor had said to heart, he couldn't help but fear that he had been right all along, that she had changed. That she had killed him.

But he didn't want to think about that

—

The rest of Hakyeong's walk back to the dorm was, thankfully, a quiet and mostly unbothered one. Aside from the occasional expected stare or two, she remained unbothered until she shut the door to her dorm room, pushing her back against it as she let out an unsteady breath.

Hakyeong knew, or at least thought, that there was nothing she could've done to avoid everything that had just happened. Though, this thought did leave her wondering how in the world the supervisor had come to his conclusion, seeing as nothing he'd said to her had been true.

With shaky steps, she made her way over to her bed, sitting down and shrugging off her jacket. She folded it in her arms, fully ready to delve back into her thoughts before a small object fell out of the pocket and landed on the floor.

The colour confused her at first, as she had no idea where it would have come from. At least, before she remembered the letter. With a sigh, she picked the small piece of ribbon up, twisting in between her fingers.

'what would the queen think of me now?'

She racked her brain for anything, any reason that this would be happening, but she came up blank. She determined that maybe someone had merely just mistaken someone else for her that night, and she was just unlucky. That she had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Hakyeong decided that she didn't want to cry, telling herself not to get upset over something that wasn't true. Because if it wasn't true, then nothing would happen.

Or, at least she hoped.

— 

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