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spine-buster · 3 years

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Patience is a Virtue ft. Matthew Tkachuk | 𝒯𝑒𝓂𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒

CONTENT WARNING: this story deals with cults, polygamous cults, escaping cults, strict adherence to religion, gender roles, abuse, miscarriage, and a character with a traumatic past. ̲𝖳̲𝗁̲𝗂̲𝗌̲ ̲𝖼̲𝗁̲𝖺̲𝗉̲𝗍̲𝖾̲𝗋̲ ̲𝗌̲𝗉̲𝖾̲𝖼̲𝗂̲𝖿̲𝗂̲𝖼̲𝖺̲𝗅̲𝗅̲𝗒̲ ̲𝗁̲𝖺̲𝗌̲ ̲𝗆̲𝖾̲𝗇̲𝗍̲𝗂̲𝗈̲𝗇̲𝗌̲ ̲𝖺̲𝗇̲𝖽̲ ̲𝖽̲𝖾̲𝖺̲𝗅̲𝗌̲ ̲𝗐̲𝗂̲𝗍̲𝗁̲ ̲𝗍̲𝗋̲𝖺̲𝗎̲𝗆̲𝖺̲ ̲𝖺̲𝗋̲𝗂̲𝗌̲𝗂̲𝗇̲𝗀̲ ̲𝖿̲𝗋̲𝗈̲𝗆̲ ̲𝗆̲𝗂̲𝗌̲𝖼̲𝖺̲𝗋̲𝗋̲𝗂̲𝖺̲𝗀̲𝖾̲𝗌̲ ̲𝖺̲𝗇̲𝖽̲ ̲𝗌̲𝖾̲𝗑̲𝗎̲𝖺̲𝗅̲ ̲𝖺̲𝖻̲𝗎̲𝗌̲𝖾̲.̲ Please be warned.

Word Count: 15,503

A/N: I have been loving your feedback on this story so far. Your canon question about Matthew and Effie are great and I would love to hear and answer more. It means the world to me that a plot this...unconventional, let’s say, is really taking hold and generating interest. I know that there’s some really, really serious stuff dealt with in the chapters, so I appreciate everyone’s feedback and maturity about it. As always, please check the content warning for this chapter. Otherwise, I hope everyone enjoys the update!

* * * * *

She wrote every message on Instagram like an email, and Matthew couldn’t get enough of it.

Hello Matthew,

Today was interesting. I started classes for my business certificate today. I sat in a room with about 50 other people and I listened to my professor speak about the course prospectus and what we would be learning and doing. I didn’t meet any new people or make any new friends but that’s okay. I want to focus on my studies. I already have homework.

How has St. Louis been? I bet you are excited to be back home. I hope you are relaxing and staying safe.

Sincerely, Effie Schaffer

I know you are going to ace that program, Effie. You’re very talented and smart and it’ll be no time until you find yourself with a certificate and able to explore more job opportunities.

St. Louis is good. Brady and Taryn are home too so it’s good to be surrounded by family. I know it’s not the same for you but one day I think you will find a group of friends that will make up your family. Most days I go golfing with my dad. I usually relax by our pool too, or play basketball or some other sport with Brady. I go to the gym too, to keep up on my fitness for next season.

Hello Matthew,

Class was good today. We started the beginning lectures. The professor went quickly but I was able to keep up. I’m definitely learning how to type fast on my laptop!

You said in your message that I’m very talented but I don’t think I’m talented. I’m maybe talented at some things like baking, but I don’t think I’m talented in much else. Talents are developed over time and I was never given the opportunity to develop anything because I was expected to be a good wife, tend to children, and read the Bible. Sometimes I think about if I could have been a piano player or a singer or something creative. Maybe I could have been a writer like Geneviève if I was given the opportunity young, but I wasn’t. But that’s okay. I am trying to make my peace with it. I will develop what I have now and try to use it for good.

Sincerely, Effie Schaffer

Nobody bakes like you, Effie. Please don’t think you are not talented, because you are. I know you weren’t able to develop anything like you said, but you can still find your talents now. You’re still young! You’re only entering your 20s in a few weeks. You can do whatever you set your mind to.

Hi Matthew,

Levi and Jenna took me to the mall again today. We bought some new clothes that fit me better and aren’t so baggy. They look really nice. I even bought a dress that falls right at my knee. Can you believe it?! I never thought I’d wear something like that. I never thought anybody else would be able to see my legs! It’s a very weird feeling but it’s a very pretty dress. Jenna said I should wear it for my birthday and I think I’m going to do it. Do you want to see it? I can send you a picture of it if you want.

I checked the weather in St. Louis and saw there was a big thunderstorm. I hope you weren’t caught it in or anything. I can’t imagine your curly hair getting wet in the rain and what it would look like.

Sincerely, Effie Schaffer

What are you trying to say about my hair??????????

I would love to see your dress. I bet it looks great on you. And you will need to send me pictures of you wearing it on your birthday.

They happened daily. Usually sometime after dinner, when Matthew knew Effie had just finished eating and was either winding down for the night or preparing to do homework. Every day, he waited for the message. And every day, he’d grab his phone the second he heard the notification, not bothering to wait, and read the message eagerly.

***

Matthew found himself at a raucous house party, one that could have been characteristic of any stereotypical college experience or American movie trying to depict a traditional American life. It felt like it was straight out of the American Pie movies. A friend of his was hosting, and there was everything – beer kegs, jungle juice, trashed guys jumping into the pool, music blasting so loud Matthew almost couldn’t hear his own thoughts, girls taking selfies and posting to Instagram or complaining about boys at the party not paying attention to them.

Hot girls taking selfies and posting to Instagram or complaining about boys – he and Brady – not paying attention to them.

Brady was taken and accounted for – Emma was great and Matthew loved her, even though he saw her only sparingly – and so most of the attention tonight was placed on Matthew. He was the shiny new toy every time he came back to St. Louis in the summers – well, shiny always, but new not so much. Nothing was new about him being in St. Louis in the summer, but everybody always treated is as such a big deal because he spent most of the year in Calgary. That’s why attention was always on him, especially at parties like this. That’s why everybody wanted to talk to him. That’s why all the girls wanted to talk to him. Matthew didn’t want to think about it. He wanted to enjoy his night with his buddies, drinking beer and chatting them all up.

That was…until Leah made an appearance.

Leah, a girl. Leah, a girl he would hook up with in the summers…occasionally. Sporadically. Like, once a summer when he was back. Maybe twice. She’d always show up everywhere and smile and be nice. And when Matthew was tipsy, or just a little bit drunk, he’d think ‘What the hell’ and let the night take him where it wanted to take him.

Just like now.

“Hey Matty,” she cooed, smiling as she always did and biting the bottom of her lip. She went in for a hug, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He could swear she spilled some of her jungle juice on his neck.

“Hey Leah,” he said, his lips in a tight smile as she pulled away. She was wearing a frilly crocheted top and cut-off denim shorts. She looked hot. Any guy at the party would have wanted to hook up with her. “How are you?”

“Better now that I see you,” her flirting was automatic. “How long have you been back for?”

“A few weeks,” Matthew shrugged his shoulders.

“And no call or text? Ouch, Matty.”

“You always show up places,” he found himself saying, feeling his lips curve into a smirk. “Didn’t think I needed to call.”

“Well then maybe I should have sent you a text.”

The party went on. Matthew hung out with his buddies and talked up a storm. Everybody got a kick out of his hockey stories and were practically begging for more. He’d catch Leah staring at him from a few friend groups away where she stayed with her girlfriends, or from across the backyard or something, and she’d always bite her lip and flutter her eyelashes. The beers kept pouring down his throat and he noticed her get closer and closer until she wiggled her way in with her friends. It probably took a while, but in Matthew’s mind, it felt like it was only a minute until she was right in front of him, red solo cup in her hand.

“Have you tried the jungle juice?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I’ve been drinking beer all night.”

“Come get some inside with me,” she said, already grabbing his hand. She wasn’t taking no for an answer. She pulled him as he staggered behind her, almost tripping on the steps of the patio and while walking through the screen door. When they finally got to the kitchen, Leah looked over her shoulder and winked before tugging Matthew nearer to her body. She spun around in front of the jungle juice to pour some more into her cup. When she did, Matthew could feel her ass up against his groin. He felt like he was going to pass out from the beer.

“Did you miss me, Matty?” she asked as she looked at him over her shoulder again.

“I miss everyone in St. Louis,” he replied.

Leah apparently didn’t like that response, because she grinded her ass up against his groin even harder now. “Don’t say that,” she cooed. “I know you miss me. It’s not like there’s anybody in Calgary like me.”

Matthew hummed. She was right. There wasn’t anybody like her in Calgary.

Effie was nothing like her.

Matthew’s stomach twisted as images of Effie flooded his mind. The first one that came was the day he had picked her up at the hairdresser’s when she’d chopped off all her hair. She looked so cute, and he remembered how bashful he was. Then came the image of her sitting on another couch watching Little Women intently, at least fifteen bags of candy spread out on the coffee table of Levi’s basement. She was so into watching the movie, and he was so into watching her. Then came the image of her face, sweet and innocent and beautiful – the last face he saw in Calgary before heading to the airport and boarding a plane to St. Louis. “No,” he mumbled out, half-drunk and heart aching.

“No,” Leah repeated with a smile on her face, turning around finally to face him before trailing her finger down his chest and letting in linger on the hem of his jeans. “There’s nobody in Calgary like me.”

He furrowed his brows. He wanted out, but his feet felt like cement. They always were when he was on the edge of being drunk. He gulped. “Where’s Brady?”

“Come with me, Matty,” she tugged at his jeans before grabbing his hands again and dragging him through the house. She kept looking over her shoulder to smile at him and he kept looking back towards the backyard. “I know what you need.”

She led him down a hallway, and at the end of that hallway was the bathroom. She turned on the light and dragged him inside, shutting the door behind them and locking it. She looked at him suggestively when the click filled the air. “Le—”

“Shhh…” she pressed her finger against his lips to shut him up, replacing them quickly with her lips as she began to kiss him.

Matthew closed his eyes.

These weren’t Effie’s lips.

She was kissing his neck now, and had backed him into the sink so he could lean against it. Her hands wandered down to the button and zipper of his jeans. Suddenly, she dipped down and was on her knees in front of him. “Want me to suck you off, Matty?”

“N—No,” he stuttered out, looking down at her. Matthew felt the zipper being pushed down and her hand on his groin.

“You can come down my throat,” she offered.

He closed his eyes tightly, and in the darkness, he saw only one person: Effie.

The only thing that brought him back – because he could have stayed alone in the bathroom with his eyes closed and the image of Effie in his mind for the rest of the God damn party if he really wanted to – was the sound of his zipper being pushed down dramatically. He opened his eyes. “Would you stop?!” he demanded, wiggling out of where he’d been backed into the sink. He grabbed the front of his pants and zipped them up again.

Leah, still on her knees, spun around and glared at him. “Oh you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” she got up slowly, not breaking eye contact. “You have someone in Calgary?” she demanded.

Matthew refused to answer as he did up his button.

“Who the fuck is she?” she demanded again.

“There’s nobody.”

“Fucking hell there’s nobody. What’s her name?”

“Don’t go there, Leah. As if I’d tell you.”

“You’re fucking someone in Calgary? Since when?”

“As if I’d tell you,” he repeated.

She gave him one last glare because unlocking the door. “Fuck you Matthew Tkachuk. You’ll fucking miss me.”

“Doubt it.”

***

Hi Matthew,

I went to a Starbucks today to work on some school work and people watch. When you get back to Calgary, we will need to find a new Starbucks because the one near Levi’s house is too far away now. Anyway, I was working on an assignment and watching people interact and go about their daily lives. It was eye-opening and a bit weird to me. A lot of people were on their phones! It makes me wonder if I should be on it more…? A lot of the girls who walked in were really fashionable and it makes me want to go shopping again. I don’t think I’ll ever look as good as Geneviève or Annica but I could definitely try, and they could help me. I learn a lot by people watching. Does that make me weird?

I had a Zoom call with Geneviève and Jacob in Sweden. She is doing well and helped me with my assignment a little bit. I’ve been baking shortbread recently, and I’m going to make butter tarts tomorrow. I miss you being my taste-tester, but I bet you are happy to have home cooking. Sometimes I wonder if my siblings miss my cooking but I doubt they do.

Did you think I was weird when I said I didn’t miss my family at all?

Sincerely, Effie Schaffer

I do not think you are weird at all for not missing your family. They were abusive. You have no reason to miss them.

People are addicted to their phones these days, which is why you’re so refreshing. You’re not a slave to it…at least yet lol. I hurt my eyes sometimes from staring at my screen too long.

I can’t wait to eat ALL of your baking when I get back. It’s the best, Effie. It really is.

I miss you a lot.

Hi Matthew,

I miss you too.

Thank you for not thinking I’m weird for not missing my family.

I’ve been watching a lot of movies and listening to a lot of music. I’ve been researching what’s been popular since I was born and I’m trying to, like, catch up I guess. Some of the movies I don’t like or don’t get. Some of them are really funny, and I watched them because I know people quote them all the time. Like this movie called Bridesmaids. I want to be able to get references people make even though I wasn’t in the moment of them. There are some movies I’ve read about online that seem amazing, but I don’t want to watch them alone. They are:

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind Moonlight There Will Be Blood Shoplifters Brokeback Mountain The Master Unorthodox

When you come back to Calgary, would you watch them all with me?

Sincerely, Effie Schaffer

Of course I’ll watch them all with you.

***

Effie Schaffer woke up the morning of her 20th birthday, on July 7, 2021, to her phone ringing. Birthdays were not a thing in the People’s Dominion of Christ. They were not celebrated. Effie always knew when hers was, but as a kid she never had a birthday party, and when she was forced to marry the prophet, she hated her birthday. Hated it. She always wished that the prophet would forget about it but he never did. It was the one day of the year she spent the most time praying, and when she was not praying, she was with the prophet on his demand. Several weeks later, usually, after a lot of blood loss and visit from the cult’s midwife (though she wasn’t properly medically trained), Abraham would tell Effie that everything was her fault, that God was testing him when He spoke to Abraham and told him to take Effie as his wife. “July 7. 7/7. One number above the Devil,” he’d tell her. “That’s what you are. Just above the devil. Your blood and your loss are the signs of having the devil in you. That’s why you refuse to carry my Son of God.”

She wasn’t expecting anybody to call besides Levi and Jenna, but they said they would be picking her up at noon anyway. After she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up in bed a little bit, she was pleasantly surprised, albeit a little shocked, to see Matthew’s name flash across the screen. The giant FaceTime text was at the bottom of screen. Effie swiped to answer. After a bit of lagging, Matthew’s smiling face appeared. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” he screamed, loudly, causing her to jump slightly.

“Thank you, Matthew,” she said, her heartbeat going back to normal.

“How does it feel to officially be in your twenties?” he asked.

Effie could barely think, so she shrugged. “When I wake up and my brain starts working, I’ll tell you.”

Matthew furrowed his brows. It was only then that he noticed half of her hair in a scrunchie and the pillows behind her head. “Oh shit, I fucked up time zones, didn’t I?” he asked worriedly. “What time is it there?”

Effie looked at her watch. “It’s 7:30 in the morning.”

“I woke you up! Jesus Effie, I’m so sorry,” he began to apologize. “I’m such an idiot—”

“It’s okay, Matthew,” she said, smiling at how his own smile had faded from his face when he realized he had woken her up early. 7:30 in the morning would have been a godsend two years ago, when she usually woke up at 5:30. “It’s nice to be woken up by your voice on my birthday, actually. Someone is at least treating it like a birthday.”

“Levi’s gonna treat you,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. As if Levi wouldn’t.

“I know,” she said. “I mean, like…before. Birthdays weren’t exactly a celebration.”

“You never used to celebrate your birthday?” he asked, thinking back to all the amazing birthdays his parents had thrown he and his siblings over the years. Because his was so close to Christmas, it was extra special. His parents always made sure Christmas didn’t overshadow it too much. Same with Taryn being born on Halloween. Brady’s parties were always good too because they were right after the start of school, so usually the entire class would be invited.

“No,” Effie shook her head. Matthew was sort of waiting for her to elaborate, but it seemed like she didn’t want to. He left it at that. “Levi’s taking me to that steakhouse we went to for Noah’s birthday,” she informed him. “I think I’m gonna have another tomahawk.”

Matthew smiled again. “Please do, in honour of me.”

“Maybe I’ll take a picture of it to show you what you’re missing.”

“Believe me, I know what I’m missing,” he said. He bit his lip, wondering for a quick second if he should tell her about the gifts coming her way. He quickly decided against it, thinking it would be better left as a surprise. “I’m sorry I can’t be there, Effie.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Matthew,” she told him, meaning it sincerely. “It’s an amazing thing that you’re so close to them. I…believe me, I know how important that is…to be able to have people who love you unconditionally, to be able to have people who love you and want to see you and always have your best interests at heart. I would never want to take that away from you. And besides, when we watch all those movies together…you’ll be there. We’ll be reunited.”

He licked his lips, nodding quickly. “You bet.”

***

Matthew had been lying around the house all day after playing a round of golf with his dad that morning. He’d tanned by the pool with Taryn and ate straight from the bag of Veggie Straws, but he was pretty glued to his phone because he wanted to see the delivery updates for the gifts he’d gotten Effie for her birthday.

The first gift was a giant bouquet of flowers. Peonies, mostly, of course, because of her tattoo, set in a beautiful vase. He’d gotten the delivery notification, then about five minutes later he’d received a picture of it from Effie over Instagram saying thank you. Fifteen minutes later, she uploaded a photo of it to her Instagram feed and tagged him. ‘Beautiful bouquet of peonies from my friend Matthew! I am twenty years old today.’ was her caption. That was the first gift.

The second was a delivery of some cookies from an amazing bakery in Calgary that Annica and Geneviève always ordered from. The cookies were divine, but realistically, they weren’t better than Effie’s cookies. But Effie making cookies for her own birthday wasn’t exactly a gift, so he knew he’d have to order her a batch. Again, he’d gotten the notification that the cookies had been delivered, and ten minutes later, Effie had sent a selfie of her with one of the chocolate chip cookies. ‘Yum!’ she’d texted with the photo. Another notification on Instagram told him Effie had uploaded another photo and tagged him in it. ‘My friend Matthew gave me cookies too! How sweet! Cookies are some of my favourite treats.’ He absolutely loved her feed and the way she used Instagram. If he had to delete everyone else and just follow her, he’d do it.

The last gift was the trickiest. He didn’t know how she’d react. But she didn’t have one of her own – she’d been borrowing Jenna’s – and she needed one, quite literally, for her job. He wondered if she’d like the colour. And the make. And all the attachments.

A ‘MATTHEW, YOU DIDN’T’ text suddenly came through on his phone, and he couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. It was the first time it didn’t sound like an email.

Do u like it? he texted back.

I LOVE IT IN THE PISTACHIO TOO MY FAVOURITE COLOUR AND THE SIFTER ATTACHMENT AND THE ICE CREAM MAKER ATTACHMENT MATTHEW!

Im happy u like it! Now u can bake all you want and not have to borrow Jenna’s

“Taryn, mom needs you inside to help with something,” Brady’s voice boomed through the silence of the backyard. Matthew heard the screen door burst open, and watched conspicuously through his sunglasses as Brady more or less barged towards them.

“Can she wait?” Taryn didn’t make any effort to move.

“Now Taryn. She seems pretty adamant,” Brady didn’t give up, his tone serious as he continued to walk towards them.

Taryn grumbled and got up from her seat. Matthew locked his phone and pretended not to care, even when Brady took Taryn’s place in her lawn chair right beside him and didn’t bother lying down. Instead, he sat facing Matthew, elbows on his knees and hands joined together, like he was a cop about to interrogate his brother. “Who’s in Calgary?”

Matthew looked over at him. “Huh?”

“Who’s in Calgary?” Brady asked again.

Matthew was confused. “G…Gio?” he asked.

“Who’s in Calgary that made you not hook up with Leah at the party?”

Matthew’s heart dropped in the pit of his stomach. For fuck sakes. He sighed deeply and took off his sunglasses, trying to make it seem like everything was being blown out of proportion when, really, Matthew just didn’t want people knowing. But he told Brady everything – everything. He was sort of impressed that the secret had lasted this long, if he was being honest. “Brady…” he began, his voice low.

Brady took off his sunglasses too. “There’s a girl.”

“Sort of. It’s complicated.”

“It’s complicated? What’s her name?”

Matthew thought about not telling him, but there was no point. Brady would find out eventually, and Matthew would rather Brady learn the news from him than from the rumour mill or from Leah stalking his social media. “It’s…Effie.”

“Effie?”

“Who’s Effie?” Taryn voice boomed. The boys whipped their head to see her standing at their family room’s sliding doors, hiding behind the screen door.

“Taryn!” both brothers yelled at their sister.

“Effie? Who’s Effie?” Chantal called out from the kitchen.

“What’s an Effie?” Keith asked from beside Chantal.

“Oh my GOD this is a disaster!” Matthew screamed out in frustration. “Get out of here, Taryn!”

“Who’s Effie?” Brady demanded once more.

Matthew put his heads in his hands dramatically before giving up. There was no way he was going to get out of this. Now his whole family would know. It would be a game of telephone, and by the end of his and Brady’s conversation, Keith would hear Matthew married a girl named Jessie who’d grown up in a hut. “You remember me talking about one of our physio guys? Levi Schaffer?” Matthew asked. Brady nodded. “His younger sister.”

Brady furrowed his brows. “Isn’t Levi in his thirties? You’re dating an older woman, Matthew?”

Matthew rolled his eyes. “No, you dolt. She’s fifteen years younger than he is.”

“SHE’S FIFTEEN?!”

“WHAT?!” Taryn screamed from the screen door again.

“AAAAAAARGHHHH!” Matthew screamed in absolute frustration. “You are literally the dumbest person alive, you know that right?!” he screamed at Brady.

“Matthew! Apologize to your brother!” Chantal called from the house, opening the screen door and stepping through into the backyard with Keith.

“But mom! He’s an idiot!”

“Matthew,” Keith’s voice bellowed. “Now.”

“Sorry,” Matthew grumbled. His parents always made the siblings do this stuff, ever since they were kids. “Can we just drop it all?” he asked.

“Nope. We’re all here now,” Brady said. “Who’s Effie?”

Matthew sighed heavily. “She’s a girl I met through my friend Levi at work.”

“What’s the big deal? Are you dating her?” Keith asked.

“No,” Matthew answered immediately, shaking his head. “No. We’re not dating. Not at all. She…” he began, trying to find the right words.

“She…” Brady egged on.

“She’s a bit…” Matthew began again. How was he going to tell them? How was he gonna word it? Should he sugar coat it or just come out and say it? “She’s a bit…different. She…she and Levi grew up in one of those, like, religious cults, out in rural Alberta. But a year and a half ago, she escaped, and she’s been trying to adjust to the real world ever since. I met her in January, at Noah’s birthday. And ever since, I’ve just been, like…helping her experience the normal world.”

The entire Tkachuk family was silent as they processed the information. They were definitely expecting a much different explanation from Matthew, that was for sure. “A religious cult, Matthew?” Chantal was the first to speak. Matthew nodded his head. Chantal grew serious. “Was she abused?”

Matthew hesitated, but he eventually nodded his head. It wasn’t his business to tell – he knew that – but he couldn’t lie to his own mother. “She could only wear dresses. She had to read the Bible all day. She was married at fourteen to the leader of the cult who was 55. That sort of thing,” he explained briefly, not wanting to give any more details.

Chantal looked concerned. Keith looked at his wife before looking back at his son. “So you’re not dating her, but you’re helping her learn about the real world,” Keith clarified. Matthew nodded again. Keith looked at Brady. “Then that’s none of our business! What’s the big deal?” he huffed.

“It’s not—”

“Why’re you busting his balls then?”

“Keith!” Chantal chastised.

***

Hi Matthew,

I still can’t believe you got me the stand mixer. I love it so much. It’s the only thing that I have out on my countertop because there’s no reason to hide it. And the pistachio colour is sooooooo beautiful. I promise that as a token of appreciation, I’m going to bake you whatever sweets you want when you get back to Calgary. Seriously. Anything you want. Even if I haven’t made it before. And I’ll make ice cream too!

I have been taking some walks around Calgary in my spare time. It’s a really beautiful city. Sometimes I will do my walks at night and see all the young people out at restaurants and bars and all the light are lit up downtown, and it’s even more beautiful. It’s so nice to see life in people. Everybody in the cult was so miserable. Maybe I’m just saying that because I was so miserable, but that’s how I remember it. Nobody was happy about life. Well, they weren’t happy about life like the people in downtown Calgary are on a Friday or Saturday night.

Sincerely, Effie Schaffer

Calgary is definitely a beautiful city, and I’m happy that you’re starting to see that. Wait until you see even more of the country and the world one day! All of those young people that you see out and about are your age. I know you are probably very nervous to make new friends, but if you ever want to go out to one of those places, I’m sure Levi or Jenna would take you. When the team gets back into the city, I know any of the guys would take you too, just like when we went out for Andrew’s birthday. You just let us know when. And I apologize in advance for Noah’s behaviour.

I’m going to put in a request for snickerdoodles. My mom used to make them a lot growing up, but she doesn’t make them as much now because then I’d eat them all and get too pudgy.

Hi Matthew,

Snickerdoodles it is. I will perfect the recipe before you come back.

On top of movies, I’ve also been listening to music. Levi lets me use his Spotify. He also told me what an iPod is…was. Have you heard of Adele? She’s amazing! I love her voice. Most of the time I just let Spotify recommend me things and I end up liking them, but Levi introduced me to some bands too. Have you heard of Bruce Springsteen? Taylor Swift? The Tragically Hip? Red Hot Chili Peppers? They’re all so good. Red Hot Chili Peppers is Levi’s favourite band. I also really like listening to Coldplay. I think they’re my favourite out of all of them. But I also like dancing songs, like the songs that have a good beat. I wasn’t allowed to dance before (it was too sensual and would tempt the men) so now I feel like I should let it all out.

Sincerely, Effie Schaffer

Dance your heart out Effie. Fuck them.

Fuck them.

***

Matthew was antsy. Antsy. The second the plane landed in Calgary, his leg was bobbing up and down to get off the plane, grab his bags, and go straight to Effie’s apartment.

It was the first time since he had lived in Calgary that he wanted to go anywhere but his apartment after a flight back to the city. But Effie had that effect on him these days. He hadn’t seen her in three months – almost four. And he was dying to. FaceTimes and Instagram-messages-formatted-as-emails could only do so much, and satisfy so much in his mind. He needed to see her, physically see her. He didn’t know what had happened to him in the past few months, especially since he and Effie had left on such a good note. No need to rush things. Take the time. But this entire summer, all Matthew could think about was her. All he dreamt about was her. He wondered if it was the same for her too. And he wondered, if it was, if she would admit it.

Once he got his bags from baggage claim, he hightailed it out of the airport and got into a taxi. He gave the driver Effie’s address, and within half an hour, he found himself with his suitcases at the foot of her apartment.

Okay, so maybe he didn’t think this through.

He hauled both of his suitcases up the staircase, most definitely putting chips in the wood steps along the way. It reminded him of moving her in to the place months ago, with him yelling at Sean for half of the day but ending with a slice of pie and his first kiss from Effie. He didn’t know what to expect now, but he knew that whatever he’d get, he’d be happy with. He knocked on her door and waited.

When Effie opened it, she looked confused because she wasn’t expecting anybody. But the second she saw Matthew’s face, her face lit up like a night show of fireworks. “Matthew!” she squealed, jumping on him and wrapping her arms tightly around his broad shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “What are you doing here?! You weren’t supposed to be back in Calgary for a few days!” the shock was still evident in her voice.

“Just thought I’d take an earlier flight out,” he said casually. “Gonna need to customize to the time change anyway.”

As if an hour was going to be a big shock to his system.

When Effie pulled away, she still kept her hands on his shoulders and he kept his hands at her waist. She’d gained more weight throughout the summer, thankfully, and filled out more. The pair of jeans she was wearing actually fit. The top she was wearing actually fit too – a simple navy-striped long sleeve. He was happy to see that. She’d been so frail when he met her in January. She looked like she had life in her now. “Have you even gone home?” she asked, looking down at his suitcases behind him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Uh…no,” he said awkwardly. “Can I bring them in? I just wanted to see you.”

Effie couldn’t help but gulp at his words. “I just wanted to see you.” Nobody had ever said those words to her before – not even her own mother, she thought. Nobody was ever happy to see her in the cult. But in the real world, Matthew was. “Yeah, come in,” she said, moving to remove her hands from his shoulders to give him more space to haul his suitcases into her entrance. He closed the door behind him when he was done, and that’s when the reality snapped back into Effie’s mind. “Oh no!” she exclaimed worriedly.

Matthew automatically got worried too. “Oh no what?”

“You came home early and I—I didn’t make your snickerdoodles!”

A smile automatically appeared on his face. “Effie, it’s okay,” he said softly, slipping off his shoes. “It’s not like I told you I was coming back to Calgary.”

The worried look didn’t leave her face. “Are you sure? I—I didn’t mean to forget. I actually made one batch but I thought they could be better for you so I was going to make another and—”

“Effie,” he said sternly, placing a hand over hers, which had bunched together nervously. “It’s alright. It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” she asked one more time.

“I’m positive,” he squeezed her hands gently. “Just gives me another excuse to come over again in a few days, really.”

A small smile crept on Effie’s face as she realized Matthew wasn’t angry. Usually, when something like this happened, the outcome was much different. She didn’t have to worry about that anymore. “Well come in then, come in,” she said, moving further into her apartment so Matthew could follow her. “D’you want something to drink?” she asked, already opening up her fridge.

“Tell me what you’ve been learning in school,” Matthew said instead, leaning against it. “I want to hear everything I missed.”

Effie couldn’t stop talking after that. They had managed to migrate to her couch and she told him about her courses and teachers and homework and assignments and textbooks and her new computer and the classroom and the building and the campus and the Starbucks on campus and the cafeteria she’d eat in and the vending machine she’d buy snacks from and the bench she’d sit on waiting for class and everything. Everything. There was nothing she didn’t talk about. And he listened to it all, listened to all of it intently, not interrupting once, asking follow-up questions and asking her for more more more more more. He couldn’t get enough. He forgot about his water. He forgot about the homemade Rice Krispie she gave him on a plate on her coffee table. He forgot that he was going to suggest they go out to a Starbucks. He forgot that he hadn’t seen her in months and was so desperate to see her that he came here before he even went to his own apartment. All he could think about was here, and all he could pay attention to was what she was saying.

He wanted it like this all the time.

“How’s therapy going?” he asked, finally remembering his water and taking a quick sip from his glass.

“I’m seeing a sex therapist now too.”

That was a bombshell. Matthew tried not to make it show that he was shocked at the news, but she’d said it so casually – like everyone saw a sex therapist. And, like, a therapist was one thing, but a sex therapist was another. He understood why she’d need one, but it was still a shock to him. “Oh yeah?” he tried to say casually.

Effie nodded her head. “I told Dr. Barlow how we’d been kissing,” she said, biting her lip and blushing slightly. “And, um…well, I told her some other things, so she suggested I see the sex therapist to help fix them.”

Fix them? Matthew had no idea what she meant. He moved slightly closer to her on the couch as he furrowed his brows. “What else did you tell her?” he asked softly. Effie averted his gaze, looking away as if she were embarrassed. “Effie, come on, you can tell me,” he urged.

“Well…when we—do you promise not to freak out at me?”

His heart ached. “Of course.”

“When we started kissing—well, when I started kissing you…I liked it a lot,” she said.

“We were kissing each other,” he said, correcting her, because he knew language was important and the way things were phrased was important and he wanted her to know he was 100% in on it too. He wasn’t exactly innocent. He was a willing accomplice. “I was kissing you too. I liked it a lot too.”

Effie nodded her head. “Well…I liked it a lot. But then we had that talk and you left for St. Louis and we were in a good place. Dr. Barlow told me that was very mature of me, and that she was very impressed. But then…”

“But then…”

Effie kept averting his gaze. “Um…but then, well, you weren’t here, and I started to have dreams of us kissing. I’d lean into you and close my eyes and kiss you. And your lips were soft like I remembered. But then it would change. Quickly. And it would hurt. It—it would hurt. And I’d open my eyes and instead of you, it was…Abraham. And I’d get so scared. I’d wake up screaming.”

Matthew’s heart fell in the pit of his stomach. He felt like he was going to be sick. “I made you feel that way?”

“No! No you didn’t,” she shook her head vehemently. “It was only when you left. When you’re—Matthew, no,” her words were jumbled because she had started crying. “When we kissed, I liked it. I liked it so much. But my mind was playing tricks on me.”

“Effie, if I hurt you—”

“You didn’t. You didn’t hurt me at all,” she pressed, her hand extending automatically to grab at his forearm comfortingly. “You could never hurt me Matthew. Ever. I just…” her voice had gotten softer, frailer, more like it had been in January. “I still see him sometimes.”

If Matthew’s heart had fallen into the pit of his stomach before, then now it had just shattered into a billion pieces. “Oh, Effie…” he barely got out.

“I don’t want to see him ever again,” she said.

“C’mere,” he said softly, pulling her body towards his so he could hug her. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and could feel Effie melt into him, her head cradled on his chest. He wanted her to feel as safe as possible with him – he’d wanted that since the beginning. With this new revelation, he now wanted it more than ever. “You’ll never see him again, Effie. I promise you.”

“I know I won’t. I know. This is happening because of what happened to me.”

“When he would hurt you.”

Effie looked up at him, nodding, almost embarrassingly. “I know that he can’t hurt me anymore. But my dreams would take me back to when he did. It wasn’t you, Matthew. You didn’t make me feel that way. I told Dr. Barlow and Dr. Stevenson that. They’re just trying to help me not see him anymore, and move past the things that he did to me. And they’re…they’re trying not to make me feel guilty about something so simple like kissing.”

“You felt guilty about us kissing?” he asked.

“Women couldn’t date, right? So it wasn’t like I was kissing any of the other boys in the cult. We were harlots and sinners if we kissed men, and we were responsible for them straying away from God. My first kiss was on my fake wedding day.”

Matthew could kill them all. He had half the heart to jump into his car and drive to Sheerness so that he could. “I will give you as many kisses as you want if it helps you forget,” he blurted out.

Effie couldn’t help but smile. “Can we start again now? Slowly?”

Matthew smiled slightly. She craned her head up and placed one of her signature chaste kisses on his lips, and he reciprocated readily, the feeling of her lips on his after months of not having them there ranking up there with the best feeling in the world. When she pulled away, her eyes were still closed, but there was a smile on her face. Her prior tears had stained her cheeks. “Hugging you feels nice too,” Effie said, finally opening her eyes.

Matthew smiled. “Well then we’ll start doing a lot of that too.”

***

At the beginning of every hockey season, right before training camp, the Calgary Flames hosted a gala to benefit the Calgary Flames Foundation. The team would set a fundraising goal for the night – often surpassed – and then set one for the season – also surpassed – to give back to the city and community that supported them endlessly, through thick and thin. The gala was unofficially the kickoff to the season. Every member of the team, coaching staff, and head office attended. It was one of Calgary’s biggest events. It was the one night of the year Matthew didn’t mind being out and having to small-talk with hundreds of strangers, because he knew it was all for a good cause and a greater good.

Matthew was forced to wear a tuxedo. All the members of the team were forced to wear tuxedos. He kept fiddling with his bowtie and Mark kept slapping his hand away. Matthew thought they all looked like penguins. He searched around the gala room, already filling up with people. He took his phone out of his pocket.

You guys here yet? he texted Geneviève, knowing that since Elias and Jacob were already here, she and Annica were coming together.

We’re in a taxi. Eyeliner needed to be reapplied because Effie kept crying.

Matthew chuckled to himself, picturing the image of Effie sitting in a chair while Annica and Geneviève fussed over her makeup. Before he could text her back, another text from her came through.

She looks beautiful, by the way.

Matthew was impatient. He kept looking towards the doors even though he was supposed to be pretending to be interested in what these rich people had to say. Levi and Jenna were already there, too, so it really was just him waiting for Effie to arrive. This entire night didn’t start until Effie arrived.

Matthew was in a conversation with someone when he saw her walk through the doors. Annica was wearing a navy blue bodycon dress that showed off her curves, and she looked great. Geneviève was wearing an emerald green midi-length dress with a high slit, high collar, back cut-out, and cap sleeves, and she looked impeccably chic and stylish, like only Geneviève could.

But it was Effie, of course, who looked the best. A bright red dress that fell to her knees, with floral lace and sequins and cape sleeves that covered her otherwise bare arms. She wore a pair of low nude heels, and her blonde bob was styled professionally as a barely-there curl. She looked impeccable. Beautiful. Stunning. Gorgeous. Divine. Exquisite.

“Excuse me,” he said quickly to the man and wife he was talking to, and left Elias alone with them as he made his way through the crowd and towards Effie, Annica, and Geneviève. He pushed past some people gently before finally appearing in front of them. He could see Geneviève smirking the second they saw him, but he locked eyes with Effie. When she saw him in his tux, her breath hitched in her throat. He looked good. “Hi,” he said to Effie breathlessly.

Annica saw the look in his eyes and knew she had to skedaddle out of there. “Where’s Elias?”

“Over there,” Matthew pointed behind him, somewhere in the crowd of four hundred people, as if that answered the question and helped her.

“Thanks,” she left, winking at him as she passed him.

Geneviève was next. “I guess my husband is in the same place?” she asked him.

“Mhm,” he nodded his head quickly.

“Great. You two behave. If I don’t see you, I’ll assume you’re in a broom closet,” she said before disappearing into the crowd of people.

Matthew and Effie hadn’t taken their eyes off each other. Effie thought he looked great in his tux; it was tailored to perfection, and really showed off how thick his body was, but in a good way. She’d felt it when they hugged when he showed up to her place after landing in Calgary, and if she was being honest with herself, she had been thinking about it ever since. She kept thinking about being physical with him, about touching him and hugging and cuddling and doing all the things she couldn’t have done with another man before. And she only wanted to do them with Matthew. Her mind – and now increasingly her body – wanted to do that only with Matthew. With the dress and the makeup and the whole look all together, Matthew was a man possessed. With Geneviève and Annica gone, Matthew couldn’t help but bite his bottom lip to suppress himself from smiling bashfully, like he usually did with Effie. “You look beautiful, Effie,” he said softly.

“Thanks,” she smiled. “This is the second dress I’ve ever worn that has shown off my legs. It’s Geneviève’s. And – if you can believe it – this is the first time I’ve word something red.”

He couldn’t take it anymore. From her hair to her makeup to her dress to her shoes, he just couldn’t fucking take it anymore. He looked around the room quickly before grabbing her hand. “Come with me,” he mumbled.

“Where are we going?”

He dragged her out of the room and into the foyer. There were more people out there, sipping on cocktails and eating hors d’oeuvres and getting checked in, so he kept walking with her behind him down the long foyer that connected all the different hall rooms in the complex together. When it got quieter, and the rush of people were too far away, he led her into a short corridor where a men’s and women’s washroom was. They were far enough away that he knew no-one from the gala would find them.

“Matthew? Is everything okay?” she asked as she watched him close the door behind them.

“Everything’s fine,” he said, his voice strained. “I just…God, Effie, you look so fucking beautiful.”

Effie could pick up on the strain in his voice. She could also see the fire in his eyes as he looked down at her. She didn’t know much about the world, and she knew even less about men, but those things alone were telling her something. Her body was telling her something too, something she’d never heard from it before. Instead of being repulsed by the body in front of her, she was drawn to it. Instead of being scared to touch it, she wanted to feel it all over her. Instead of allowing her mind to take her somewhere else so she didn’t have to focus on pain on hurt or anything else, she wanted to be in the moment and feel everything. “Kiss me, Matthew,” she said. She’d never been so bold in her entire life. She didn’t think she had it in her.

Matthew didn’t need to be told twice. He held her face between his hands, dipped his head, and began kissing her passionately. Effie loved it. It wasn’t a chaste kiss like the kisses they had shared in the past. This kiss was hungry, and told her almost everything she needed to know about Matthew’s feelings.

Her feelings were similar. She wanted to explore them. She wanted to do more.

That was why, when it was Effie who slid her tongue along Matthew’s lips, he stopped in shock. Not that he wanted to – the action was just surprising. He pulled away slightly, making sure it was something she wanted to do. When he saw her open her eyes slowly, she was bringing her hands up, placing them over his. “You can touch me, Matthew,” her voice was barely above a whisper.

He let out a shaky breath. He knew they weren’t exactly gonna hook up in the bathroom or anything, but this was still huge, especially for Effie. “Are you sure?” he asked.

She nodded her head. “You won’t hurt me.”

He dipped down and kissed her again. And he kept kissing her, letting his hands wander to her waist and hips, where he gripped them and pulled them closer to his body. And she kept kissing him, letting her hands wander down his chest and under his tuxedo jacket to his back, feeling the thickness of his body. And for at least a few minutes, they were in their own little world, kissing in the men’s bathroom of a banquet hall, hands all over each other as Matthew probably got lipstick all over his mouth.

Effie was loving it. The feeling of his soft lips on hers was unlike anything she’d ever felt, and his tongue in her mouth, tasting slightly of the alcohol he’d drunk before she got there, was intoxicating to say the least. She felt like it could go on forever. She was pretty sure she would let it go on forever if she could. She was happy, so happy that she was doing this – that she could do this. Two years ago, if she’d even thought about it, she would have been scared of being damned to hell for eternity. Now, she was enjoying it. Now, she wanted to do it all the time. Now, she could—

She could—

She—

Now, it hurt a little.

Now, the lips weren’t as soft.

Now, she could feel a prickly, unkept beard scraping at her skin—

“STOP,” she instinctively pushed the body away, scrunching her face and gulping hard. Before she could see Abraham’s face – before it could appear to her in her mind – she opened her eyes and looked at Matthew.

Matthew.

She saw him staring back at her worriedly and she let out a shaky breath. He knew why she stopped; he didn’t need to be told. “I’m—I’m so—”

“Hey hey, it’s okay,” he said soothingly. “It’s alright, Effie. We can stop.”

She diverted her eyes from looking at him. She was so embarrassed. “You won’t be mad?” she asked. That was usually how it went for, well…

Matthew put his hand under her chin so he could look her in the eye. “No,” he said, with as much conviction as he could muster. “We can stop whenever you want.”

“I’m so—”

“Do not apologize to me,” he said sternly. She didn’t need to. He needed her to know that. “Never apologize to me for that.”

She bit her bottom lip. “Thank you for stopping.”

“There’s no way in hell I’d keep going.”

Effie nodded. She understood. “At least I’m getting better,” she said. “I didn’t give you a black eye this time.”

Matthew couldn’t help but snort. It released all the tension in the air immediately; even Effie was giggling slightly. “That you did not,” he said, grabbing her hand slightly. “Wanna go back out there? Well, after we get all this lipstick off of me.”

***

The gala was nice. It was formal and the food was decent and even though Matthew basically kept his eye on Effie sitting with Levi and Jenna the entire night, it was nice. He had fun with his teammates. He embarrassed himself on stage for charity. At the silent auction, one of his packages with signed memorabilia went for the second-highest bid. He was proud of what he and the team were able to accomplish in terms of giving back to the community.

But now he had more important things on his mind.

By the time he found Effie again, she was standing in a group with Levi and Jenna, Jacob and Geneviève, and Annica and Elias. It looked like they were chatting about something exciting, so Matthew knew he needed to be there. When Geneviève saw him butt his way in, she smiled. “I was just reminiscing about when Jacob and I met, and how my friends and I went to the pubs in Oxford after our graduation in our robes and Tudor bonnets,” she said, filling him in. “There’s nothing better than showing up to a place severely overdressed and then having the time of your life dancing.”

Matthew looked at Geneviève in her dress. He looked at Annica in hers, and Effie in hers, and Jenna in hers. He looked to his teammates in his tuxedos, and to Levi wearing a form-fitted navy suit. “Wanna go dancing?”

Elias smirked. “The night’s still young.”

***

They ended up at a bar downtown, one that Matthew had been to before but couldn’t really remember exactly what happened (it was his first year in Calgary and he’d just found out hours before that the legal drinking age was only eighteen). The bouncer looked at them all weirdly in their getups but let them in anyway. It was only when they entered that they realized it was frosh week for the University of Calgary, and the bar was full of university students drinking and dancing. The floor was slightly sticky. It was the perfect venue for the goal they wanted to achieve.

“Oh, this takes me back,” Geneviève giggled, looking out at the sea of people. She looked at Annica and Jenna. “Spicy margs?”

Both women nodded. “Spicy margs.”

She looked at Effie. “Have you ever had alcohol?”

“No.”

“Do you want to try it while you’re safe with us?”

Effie nodded.

Geneviève, Effie, and Matthew headed to the bar while the rest of the group went to find a bar table to take over. Matthew made sure Effie got a spot right at the front as he stood directly behind her, his body pressed against hers. Geneviève waved down the bartenders and ordered all the drinks. All the university students clamouring to get a spot at the bar and the attention of the bartenders looked at them weird for their too-fancy clothes. Geneviève didn’t care – it wasn’t like this was her first time doing this. Effie was a little self-conscious, but that soon went away when she saw the drinks being made in front of her.

“Whenever you go out to a bar like this, you always want the bartender to make your drink in front of you. Don’t ever accept a drink from a stranger or if you haven’t seen it made in front of you,” Geneviève cautioned her.

“Okay,” Effie nodded. “What happens if I don’t like the spicy margarita though?”

“Then we’ll get you another drink.”

Once all the drinks were made, they were brought back to the bar table the rest of the group managed to find and everyone began drinking. Effie liked her spicy margarita. Matthew let her take a sip of his beer but she didn’t like that too much. She ordered another spicy margarita. Her body began to feel tingly because of the tequila. The music started to get progressively louder, too, the bass making the floor vibrate. Effie looked out onto the dance floor to see a bunch of people her age dancing – grinding, as Matthew called it at Andrew’s birthday many months ago. She watched them intently, while they were having the time of their lives.

“You okay?” Matthew asked, bending down to ask as she was looking out at the crowd.

“I want to dance but I don’t know how to,” she revealed. “I’m just…looking to see what everyone else is doing. I wouldn’t be comfortable with that grinding.”

Matthew couldn’t help but smile. “Nobody knows how to dance, Effie. We all just move our bodies to the beat of the music.”

The song changed suddenly and it made Geneviève scream at the top of her lungs in excitement. Effie watched as she grabbed her drink and Jacob’s hand and dragged him towards the dance floor as they began to dance together. Levi and Jenna followed, and so did Annica and Elias. The couples weren’t grinding like the university students, but instead danced facing each other, holding hands or swaying back and forth, holding their drinks it their hands and raising them up in the air, miraculously not spilling a thing. She and Matthew were the only ones left at the bar table. “This was their wedding song, I think,” Matthew explained, watching Effie watch Jacob and Geneviève dancing.

“What’s it called?”

“I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston.”

“Levi hasn’t introduced me to that one.”

“Levi isn’t the type to listen to Whitney Houston.”

Effie continued to watch them dance, Geneviève singing the lyrics to Jacob at the top of her lungs. They were so in love with each other, even she could see it, and she barely knew what healthy love was. A part of her wondered what made them love each other so much, and another part of her wondered if she should ask. Was it rude to ask something like that?

“D’you want to dance, Effie?” Matthew asked.

Effie looked up at him. “Do you think people will laugh at me because I don’t know how?”

He shook his head. “There’s so many people and they’re all so drunk, they won’t even notice you.”

She gripped her margarita tighter. There was something to be said about overcoming fears ever since she left the cult, and this could be classified as one of them. But she wasn’t like these university students who were moving their bodies so freely and easily. She was much more restrained – with everything really – but she wanted to actively work to move away from that. Conquer her fears. Do what she needed to do to shed herself from the past. So she nodded her head. “Let’s go.”

Matthew grabbed her hand and led her on to the dance floor, moving his body to the song with his beer still in his hand, doing his best not to spill it everywhere, but especially not on Effie wearing Geneviève’s expensive red dress. Effie watched, moving her feet back and forth awkwardly. She looked up at Matthew for reassurance, only to see him already smiling at her. “You got it, you got it,” he said, moving his feet in a similar way.

“What do I do with my hands?” she asked.

“Just throw ‘em up!” he showed her. She did the same movements, but she couldn’t step or move with the beat of the music. Matthew could tell she was nervous. “Just move your body, Effie. Move it however you want. Doesn’t need to be on beat.”

Effie closed her eyes, trying to get the feel of the song in her, but she lost her groove because it soon ended and another began. This one was even more upbeat – well, it had a better beat – and Effie began to move again.

Feel buried alive This city is airtight Suffocated and lonely in the crowd I'm surrounded by All the screens of their life Screaming in to space to drown them out

Effie not only began to move her feet and hands, but she tried swaying her hips a bit. She liked this beat. She loved this beat. She lost herself completely in it, dancing with no inhibitions. Matthew watched as she let loose, moving her body in tune with the music. Her dancing was unlike anyone else’s around her, and the only thing he wanted to was copy her. It looked a bit ridiculous, but it didn’t matter to Matthew. He’d made himself look more ridiculous than this before. This was nothing.

I felt down so low Found nowhere to go But I know you wait for me You wait for me So far out of sight Straight into the white But I know you wait for me I'm coming home I'm coming back down tonight

Effie opened her eyes to see Matthew. Matthew, who would wait for her. Matthew, who had waited for her.

'Cause I've been hypnotized by the lights But I'm coming home I'm coming back down tonight Yeah, it's taken time to realize But I'm coming home I'm coming back down tonight

“Go Effie! Go Effie!” Annica chanted, coming up beside them with Elias, grooving to the beat of the music. Annica watched Effie moving and followed her movements too – albeit more fluidly – and when Effie looked up and saw Annica, a giant smile took over her face. Annica screamed in excitement and cheered their drinks together before moving with her, beside Matthew, letting him get closest to her.

So hold me tight I just wanna fade out Somewhere we can ship the world away I'm ready to hide Far from the fallout They won't find us in the paradise we'll make

“Woooooooo! You go girl! Get loose!” Geneviève screamed from her other side, approaching them with Jacob beside her who was doing a modified version of the robot. Matthew watched as Effie closed her eyes, going into her own little world, raising her arms and bopping her body to the music. It was the happiest and most carefree he’d ever seen her. He vowed right then and there to take her dancing whenever she wanted to go so she could feel this same way.

I felt down so low Found nowhere to go But I know you wait for me You wait for me So far out of sight Straight into the white But I know you wait for me I'm coming home I'm coming back down tonight

Effie was feeling it. She loved it. She loved this. She loved the people she was surrounded by. If this was love, she wanted to feel it all the time.

'Cause I've been hypnotized by the lights But I'm coming home I'm coming back down tonight Yeah, it's taken time to realize But I'm coming home I'm coming back down tonight I'm coming home I'm coming back down tonight I'm coming home I'm coming back down tonight

When she opened her eyes again, she saw everyone dancing around her. She stepped closer to Matthew, almost so close that she could feel his body against hers. They moved together to the climax of the song, Matthew looking down at her and smiling.

Free falling from the high I'm following the voice I know Free falling from the high I'm coming home I'm coming back down tonight

In his tuxedo and in her frilly red dress with cape sleeves, surrounded by people. it felt like they were the only ones in the world.

***

“I think I can live a normal life with him,” Effie told Dr. Barlow as she sat in her usual seat in the office, looking down at her hands. She’d already been talking for almost an hour during her session, but she felt the need to get that statement out. Dr. Barlow had the right to know.

“With Matthew?” Dr. Barlow clarified.

Effie nodded her head. Who else would she be talking about? “He’s never once made me feel uncomfortable or unsafe or…like…ashamed of what I went through,” she elaborated.

“That’s a very positive thing,” Dr. Barlow said, her voice steady. “It’s good that you’re thinking about these things, Effie. You’re thinking about your future. You actually see a future for yourself. But how normal do you think a friendship or perhaps even a life with a hockey player can be?” she asked.

Effie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I barely understand hockey as it is.”

“Well, hockey players don’t exactly live the most conventional of lifestyles. They travel a lot, as I’m sure you know since Levi travels with the team.”

“Yeah…” Effie didn’t know where Dr. Barlow was going with this. “That’s…that’s not the biggest deal to me.”

Dr. Barlow nodded her head, writing something down on her pad of paper. “Have you continued to kiss him since he’s come back?” Effie nodded. “Regularly?”

“Semi-regularly.”

“Have you told Dr. Stevenson?” she asked. Effie nodded again. “Do you still envision Abraham sometimes?”

Effie hesitated before nodding her head. She knew she couldn’t lie. “It’s been getting better though. We kissed for a couple of minutes once before I, um, felt Abraham’s beard. And when he stopped, he didn’t get mad at all. I means it’s progress from when he brushed up against me in bed and I gave him a black eye,” she tried to joke.

Dr. Barlow apparently didn’t find it funny like Matthew had. She just nodded again and wrote on her note pad. “You should tell Dr. Stevenson about that.”

***

“I made another pint of maple pecan ice cream,” Effie told Levi as she handed him a Tupperware full of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. They were mostly for Jenna – she was craving them. Jenna had been craving a lot of things lately, ever since Effie got her own mixer, anyway. Effie had been experimenting making ice cream. The café was pleased about this as well. The owner was already looking to invest in ice cream storage to be able to serve it. “I’ve found a real gem in you, Effie,” the owner would repeat over and over again to her. Matthew had to stop himself constantly from getting a third bowl on nights he’d come over. He’d tap at his stomach and say “I can’t” but when he’d go and put his bowl in the sink, she’d always see him hesitate before he did so. “Do you want it?”

“Please,” he begged his sister. She moved to open her freezer. “I swear Effie, the best thing Matthew’s ever done was get you that KitchenAid. I’ve been gaining weight ever since.”

Effie smiled. “At least you’re not the hockey player that has to stay in peak physical condition. Matthew’s been complaining that I’m making him pudgy.”

“Thank God.”

“Speaking of…” she began, handing him the pint of ice cream. “Do you think you can teach me about hockey?”

“You mean like the rules and stuff?”

“Yeah. You know, like what’s going on out there whenever I’m at games.”

“Okay,” he nodded, shrugging his shoulder slightly. “Any reason?”

“If I’m going to be surrounded by hockey because of you, then I should learn it, shouldn’t I?” Effie asked rhetorically.

“Sure,” he side-eyed his sister playfully. “But does this have anything to do with Matthew?”

“What if it does?”

Levi smiled. He knew there was something going on between the two of them, regardless of whether or not they wanted to tell him. He liked Matthew, he knew he was a good kid, so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. She could have hooked up with someone way worse. Actually, she could have gone the opposite route of where she currently was (which many former cult members went), which was becoming a hypersexual after being sexually repressed for so many years. Effie was taking her time with it, and that was fine, but if her friendship…or relationship, or whatever she had going on with Matthew was any indication, Levi figured Effie was thinking about it. “I don’t care, Effie. It’s kind of cute, actually.”

“So you’ll teach me?”

“Of course. I’ll have you screaming at the referees in no time.”

***

“So Levi’s teaching me about hockey,” Effie said as she marinated chicken in her kitchen, her phone call with Matthew on speakerphone as she moved around and got her hands dirty.

“He is?”

“Mhm. By the time the home opener comes around, I’ll be able to understand what’s going on,” she revealed.

“I better get you a Tkachuk jersey then.”

Effie smiled bashfully, even though he couldn’t see it. “You don’t want me wearing a Markstrom one like last time?” she joked.

“Effie.”

***

Effie was nervous as she sat in Dr. Stevenson’s office. Not because she was scared, or because she wasn’t a good sex therapist, or because of anything like that. She was nervous to admit to her the thoughts she’d been having about Matthew, even though she knew Dr. Stevenson wouldn’t judge her at all and that it was his job to help her. Help her make peace with these thoughts; help her realize they were completely normal and okay; help her act on them, eventually, in a healthy way. Dr. Stevenson already knew about Matthew – she knew about him from Effie’s very first day.

“My mind may not be ready but my body is physically attracted to him. I don’t know how to…you know, mend the two so that both are on the same page,” Effie admitted after almost an hour. “I want to be with him. I do. I know he won’t hurt me – that he’d never hurt me.”

Dr. Stevenson nodded. “When you were in the People’s Dominion of Christ, there was a huge power imbalance between Abraham, being the prophet and leader, and the followers – you,” Dr. Stevenson began to explain. “This imbalance made it impossible for you to give true consent to sex.”

Effie’s body stiffened. Consent. Geneviève had taught her that term early on. Consent was giving permission for something to happen. Effie had never given her consent to marry Abraham. She’d never given Abraham consent to consummate their marriage. She’d never given Abraham consent to touch her, stroke her, do anything to her. She’d surely never given him consent to impregnate her. “Okay…that makes sense. But I didn’t know I had to give consent. I thought that men could do whatever they wanted with my body. Especially Abraham, since he was the prophet.”

“The institutionalized sexism in the cult is nothing I haven’t heard before. Many victims like yourself have said the exact same thing to me,” Dr. Stevenson said. “You are not alone. There are many people like you, unfortunately. When females are not equally valued because of misogyny, because of outdated traditional gender roles that are disempowering, it makes women like you experience sexual inequality and become more susceptible to leaders who will exploit you.”

“So how do I get it back?”

“Get what back?”

“My agency. My…my…” Effie began to tear up, thinking about all the things she had to endure at the hands of Abraham – literally and metaphorically. “How do I get my mind back? My body is finally mine, and I can do what I want with it, but I don’t feel like I have my mind back yet if I’m kissing Matthew but then all of a sudden I remember the feeling of Abraham’s beard or that I can’t sit or lie at the foot of a bed because that’s where…”

Dr. Stevenson took a deep breath. “One way to do so is to embrace, appreciate, and celebrate your sexual self. That is what I am trying to help you do here. You need to understand that your capacity for pleasure is not a luxury, and it is not shameful either. It is a necessity for a well-balanced and emotionally happy life. As a woman – as a survivor of sexual abuse, of rape – you should take a stand for your own sexual healing and embrace sexual pleasure as something that will help heal you.”

Effie nodded her head, more tears escaping her now, but she understood. She knew what she needed to do, and the mental shift she needed to go through. Touching could be pleasurable for the woman. Sex could be pleasurable for the woman. Not everything had to hurt. Not everything had to come with pain.

“I’m not saying this is going to happen tomorrow for you, Effie,” Dr. Stevenson continued. “I’m not saying it’ll happen next month, or year. It happens quickly for some, and for others it can take years. Everybody has their own timeline – you included. You have to remember that your trauma comes with complex PTSD. If you set goals for yourself, like you already have been doing, with a person you are comfortable with – Matthew – your sexual self will grow with your physical self and your mental self. When those three parts of you are aligned, they will all grow stronger, and make you stronger.”

Effie kept nodding. The words were permeating through her like lightning. “I’m going to try. I’m really going to try.”

“Just stop when you need to stop. Go when you want to go. You’ll get there, Effie.”

***

“Did you learn about gay people in the cult?” Matthew asked as he prepared Brokeback Mountain on the TV while Effie finished pouring the popcorn into the bowl.

“Not in a good way, if that’s what you’re really asking,” she said from the kitchen. “You know the stupid Bible verse. The prophet called it an abomination. But it was one of the first things that Levi and Jenna taught out of me when I first went to live with them, because Jenna’s brother is gay and has a husband and two kids. Levi didn’t want me to be shocked if I ever saw them.”

Matthew didn’t know that about Jenna. But he nodded his head and watched Effie bring the bowl of popcorn over. “Have you met them?”

Effie nodded. “They came over a few months after I arrived. They were so incredibly kind,” she explained. She handed the popcorn bowl to Matthew to take before folding her leg and collapsing onto the couch beside him, facing him. “It really…it really messed with me. I mean, it’s not like I wanted to think that way. It was what I was conditioned to think. I didn’t know better. And I felt so bad, because I knew they knew, but they were so understanding. From the moment they walked through the door they were so nice and they didn’t hold it against me,” she explained.

Matthew could only listen. And though he listened through her entire explanation, he was hung up on one thing. “You should stop calling him the prophet,” he said suddenly, not really thinking it through but needing to get it out. “He wasn’t a prophet. He wasn’t even your husband. He was just some guy.”

Effie looked stunned by what he was saying. She’d never considered that before. She was so used to calling him the prophet that the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind – ever. “You’re right,” she said, unable to say anything else. It was such a simple sentiment but it held so much power. “I…you’re right, Matthew.”

He smiled slightly. “Wanna start the movie?”

Effie nodded. Matthew extended his arm to move the bowl to the side, and his other arm moved upwards slightly, signalling to Effie that it was already to cuddle. She moved closer to him, snuggling into his side and letting both legs drape over his thigh. Only then did he let his arm down, draping it over her back. Effie looked up at him. “Is that okay?” she asked.

“It’s perfect,” he whispered, placing the bowl of popcorn between their bodies so they had equal access to it. “You comfortable?”

“Mhm.”

“Effie, are you comfortable?” he repeated.

She knew why he was repeating himself. She looked up at him and smiled. “The comfiest I’ve ever been.”

Matthew pressed play. From that moment, Effie’s eyes were glued to the screen, hooked on the love story unfolding in front of her. For Matthew, he was more hooked on watching her than the movie, but he kept up slightly. At some point during the movie – Matthew didn’t pay attention when – Effie’s hand settled on his abs, and it was all he could think about for the rest of the night. He was acutely aware of its placement. Then, the sadder scenes started happening, and he’d feel the hand grip his t-shirt, and his body would seize up. She’d soften it, but then grip again when something emotional would happen. Then the scene where Ennis visits Jack’s parents after his death occurred, and Ennis was let into Jack’s childhood bedroom and found his old shirt. Matthew watched as Ennis smelled it and clutched it against his chest.

Then he heard Effie let out a sob.

She gripped him tighter than she ever had. He tightened his hold on her too, shifting slightly and letting his shirt ride up against the couch, just so she could cuddle into him even more than she already was. He could feel her hand on his skin now, gripping at his side tenderly as the tears still rolled down her face. He took the opportunity to place his hand in the small sliver of space where her shirt had ridden up too, squeezing and massaging it gently to comfort her. “Y’okay?” his voice was barely above a whisper.

She didn’t respond. Her eyes were glued to the TV. As the movie continued, Matthew left his hand exactly where it was, and Effie left her hand exactly where it was. Holding each other. Clutching each other.

When the movie ended, Effie didn’t move for a long time. Not even when the credits began rolling on the screen. “Are you okay, Effie?” Matthew repeated his question from earlier, albeit a bit louder and more pronounced this time.

“I think my heart is broken,” she finally let out, bringing the hand that was squeezing his side to her face so she could wipe her tears away. “That was beautiful. Beautiful.”

“It was,” Matthew agreed. It was very obvious the movie was affecting her a lot.

Effie moved so she could look up at Matthew, craning her head and bringing her hand up to cradle his face so she could kiss him. When their lips connected, Matthew could feel the wetness of her cheeks. “I can’t believe I was ever scared of that,” she whispered against his lips when she pulled away.

“Doesn’t matter. What matters is what you think now.”

Effie nodded. He always knew the right things to say. He was helping her change her past and way of thinking one way or another. “I think I want to kiss you again.”

Matthew kissed her. And even as the credits finished, neither of them would let go of the other.

***

The Calgary Flames home opener at the Saddledome had Effie buzzing with excitement. She wore a brand new pair of jeans for the occasion, and arrived at the game with Jenna, Annica, and Geneviève. As was normal for them, Annica was wearing her tried and true Lindholm jersey, while Geneviève was sporting a Markstrom one. Jenna wore Levi’s old Iginla jersey.

Effie had Tkachuk sprawled across her back.

“Do you want to go down near the ice and wave?” Annica asked, and Effie nodded her head. “It might get a big crowded, so stay near me.”

The ladies descended down the steps, joining the pretty big crowd that had formed against the glass beside Jacob’s net. A bunch of kids were up against the glass with homemade signs, their parents near them taking pictures. Some men around Effie’s age were there too, drinking beers with their jerseys on and taking videos on their phones. Other girls her age were there too, taking pictures of all the players. “Can you see Matthew?” Geneviève asked as she looked down at Effie.

“He’s over there,” she smiled, pointing at Matthew across the ice. He was practicing his stickhandling, in such deep concentration that he didn’t look up for a while. When he finally did look up, happy with his stickhandling, he began skating around the ice, bumping into Noah and Andrew along the way.

Effie waved excitedly.

Matthew stopped when he saw her. Even though there was glass streaked with puck shots and some distance between them, she could see him smile from ear to ear, his mouth guard hanging out. He waved back, his hockey glove looking like a giant bear claw.

“God you two are insufferable,” Geneviève said jokingly.

Matthew continued to skate around, shooting the puck at the net, each of them going in. Geneviève noticed all of his glances back at them, and the small smile constantly on his face as he went about his drills. When the practice was almost over, she kept an eye intently on him, watching as he skated over. She knew what he wanted to go. “Go closer,” she said to Effie, urging her with a little nudge.

Effie took her cue and stepped down, closer to the glass. Matthew had flipped a puck over the glass towards a kid with a sign for him. Now, as Effie watched, he pointed to her and made sure everyone around knew who he was pointing to. She turned around slightly, pointing to his name on her back. He smiled wide and flipped another puck, perfectly, right into her hands.

Geneviève watched as the young women around them eyed Effie suspiciously.

***

“Matthew!” Effie squealed once he finally emerged from the locker room, his suit back on and his tie tied loosely around his neck. She hugged him excitedly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he reciprocated. “Great game!”

“Thanks, Effie.”

“And your goal!” she continued. Now that she actually understood hockey, and now that she wasn’t scared about every little thing around her at the arena, she could actually enjoy the experience and know what was going on. “What a great goal!”

He had the puck in his pocket, and had planned to give it to her, but right now his mind was elsewhere. Seeing her in his jersey at the beginning of the game did things to him, and although he was able to focus throughout the sixty minutes, now that he saw her again with his name sprawled across her back, his mind was right where it was the moment he first saw her that night. “Wanna come over mine and watch a movie?” he asked, his voice low so no-one else would hear.

To his complete surprise, Effie nodded her head immediately. “Of course.”

They left inconspicuously without saying goodbye to anyone.

***

Effie broke down during the first scene.

Matthew had changed out of his suit and into a sweater and track pants, and Effie had taken off the jersey and hung it up in his front closet. They cuddled on the couch together, exactly as they’d done when they watched Brokeback Mountain, and Matthew pressed play on Netflix. The first scene was the main character, Esty, packing up her most valuable belongings, including a small picture of her grandmother, and running away from her Hasidic community. All before the opening credits. When the show’s opening played, he heard Effie let out a loud sob.

“Hey hey hey,” he cooed, watching as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth to try and control herself, but there was no use. Tears were streaming down her face. “It’s alright, it’s alright.”

“It’s me,” she said softly, through tears. “It’s me.”

“C’mere,” he said, pulling her even closer against his body, if that was possible. Every inch of her was touching him now, with his arms wrapped tightly around her, and he hoped that brought her at least some reprieve. She was wiping her face with her hands, and he could see her chest heaving, though he could tell she was taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. “We can stop it or watch so—”

“No,” she interjected sternly, looking up at him. “I can do this.”

“I know you can Effie, but—”

“No buts. I can watch this,” she was adamant.

Matthew lost. He knew he would. He bit his bottom lip and nodded his head. “Will you promise to tell me if it becomes too much?”

Effie nodded. She snuck her hand underneath his sweater to feel his skin again, and she – surprisingly – game him a quick peck before laying her head on his chest again. “Press play.”

Matthew kissed her forehead, then the crown of her head, then laid his cheek there before pressing play.

Effie broke down again less than ten minutes later, when the grandmother was listening to an old German song, An Die Musik sung by Elisabeth Scwartzkopf. And again, when Yanky was searching her childhood bedroom and found her personal items and her music. The last scene she cried to was near the end, when Esty’s biological mother showed up and gave her documents to prove German citizenship “just in case you need somewhere else to go”. When the episode ended, Effie was shedding her last tears. Matthew paused Netflix before the episode could switch over. “You okay?”

Effie nodded, despite her tears. “I know it’s different religions, but a lot of things were just, like, so similar,” she explained. “The…the beginning brought me back.”

“I can only imagine,” Matthew whispered.

“The grandmother crying listening to that beautiful song. Esty’s music. Her mom still looking out for her despite abandoning her. It all just…it all just really hit home.” Matthew nodded. It was the only thing he could do. If Effie wanted to elaborate, she could, but he wasn’t going to force her. Instead, he shifted her body so she was sitting more in his lap as opposed to right beside him. She steadied her breathing, and her tears had stopped. “When I went to live with the proph—Abraham, as his wife,” she began, “he made me leave everything at home besides my clothes. I couldn’t see my favourite things unless I was visiting, and even then, I’d never be alone in my room for more than two minutes because he knew I’d be reminiscing, and he said it was a sin to dwell on my past life when I should have been looking forward to my future as his wife and as a mother to his son of God.” She paused, biting her bottom lip; Matthew could tell she was remembering it all vividly in her mind. “After a year my mom threw out all my things anyway. Because she agreed with him.”

“What did you have? What were your things?” he asked, sad and angry and disturbed all at once.

“Just simple things. Nothing special,” she said. “My…my own Bible that I’d been using since I was a kid. A journal I had where I recorded my favourite verses. A doll I had when I was a kid that another member made for me. Just stupid things.”

“They’re not stupid things if they were special for you,” Matthew said. “I can’t believe your mom threw them all out. My mom has kept my kindergarten paintings.”

Effie smiled slightly. “That’s because you have a good mom who knows how to be a mother.”

Matthew digressed. Effie obviously hadn’t meant Chantal yet, but Matthew talked about her enough that Effie knew a lot about her. “I know I keep saying this, but you’re so strong, Effie.”

“It’s a lot to overcome,” she whispered, nodding her head. They sat for a while in comfortable silence, just being with each other. Matthew’s arms were still wrapped around her. Effie was still in hip lap, looking at him. “Will you kiss me, Matthew?”

Matthew smiled slightly before dipping his head down and capturing her lips in a kiss. It wasn’t long before – once again – Effie took the initiative to slip her tongue into his mouth. There was kissing – so much kissing – and Matthew took it upon himself to start to lay Effie down on the couch, his body looming over hers slightly and—

“Stop,” Effie said, her hands on his chest, pushing him off her slightly. Matthew immediately stopped and moved away from her. Her chest heaved up and down once before she pushed herself up. “I’m sorry.”

“Never apologize,” he said. “Did you see him again?”

Effie didn’t answer. “I think it happened because we laid down,” she said, her lips puffy from all the kissing.

Matthew was catching his breath. He was thankful that he was wearing track pants or else Effie would see how…excited he’d become. “How about you stay on top then?”

She furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”

“We—we can stay upright,” Matthew explained. “You can sit on my lap if you want…facing me. Or you could just…you know, like, sit…” he was losing his words.

Effie looked confused. Nervous. Like she didn’t know what to think. Like she was picturing the scenario in her head and couldn’t really make sense of any of it. “W—Women are allowed to do that?” she asked softly. Matthew couldn’t speak; he could only stare at her flabbergasted. He nodded his head slightly, and Effie thought about it. How women could be ‘on top’. What that would look like. What that would entail. “C…Can you—can you show…” she was too embarrassed to even be asking.

“C’mere,” he said, extending his hand. She put her hand in his and he pulled her towards him. “Put your one leg over here,” he said, patting to the space on the other side of him. She did so slowly. “And your other leg goes here,” he explained, and she did the same movement, “and now you can just sit on my lap.”

Effie took a deep breath as she lowered herself down until she could feel his thighs as her seat. Both she and Matthew had barely blinked the entire time during his simple act of showing her how to straddle him, but she had never done it before (and it wasn’t like she would have been allowed to), and so everything about it was new to her. Now, she was face-to-face with him, her hands resting on his chest, his hands resting near the bend in her knees. “This is new,” she said.

“Are you comfy?” he asked. She nodded. “D’you like it?” he asked again.

“It’ll take some getting used to,” she admitted. “But I can see it being nice.”

Being nice. Matthew couldn’t help but grin. “It’ll be nice. Trust me.”

Effie nodded. She did trust Matthew. So when she went in to continue their kisses, it was nice, and it was beautiful, and it wasn’t so bad anymore. Which is why, when Matthew’s hands moved from her knees up her thighs, it was okay. When his hands squeezed at her flesh through her pants before going higher, it was okay. When his hands moved to her hips and pulled her even closer, it was okay.

It was okay.

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jstlikemagic · 4 years

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Put Her to Sleep. - David Dobrik Smut

Title: Put Her to Sleep.

Pairing: David Dobrik/Reader

Rating: R (little mention of alcohol, sex, and swearing!)

Summary: You’re tired, he’s not. So what do y’all try? Cockwarming!

A/N: Urban Dictionary defines cockwarming as “The act of a man slipping his erection into his partner's vagina or ass in order to keep warm - a more intimate version of spooning.” So yeah! Also, I would consider this fluff as well because there is more fluff than smut. I did post this on another account but am moving my writings over to this one!

As always, reblog and/or like if you enjoyed this imagine!

My Masterlist

Your life with David was your favorite adventure of all time. Whether it was being involved in fun experiments at his house, drive around in his Tesla, or just the idea of calling him ‘yours’, you were always more than content. Which is why when David invited you to take a four hour trip to Vegas with him and a few members of the Vlog Squad, you took the opportunity. Being with David usually involved spontaneity which you loved. He could always switch things up and had the perfect balance between excursions and relaxing together.

During the few hours in Vegas, your whole world was spinning. The first hour was spent in the casino where David obviously bet on red. Nothing got you going more than when David could flip $1,000 to $2,000. His lucky streak didn’t end as he ended up doing just that. After everyone placed their bets and won, Zane kept begging to go to a club. You were a little adamant about it because you were already feeling tired and it was 1am. David, being David, needed more content. There was no other choice but to tag along. Deciding to make the most of the situation, you had about two mixed drinks and called it quits. After David got footage that consisted of Zane shaking his ass on everyone and Jason dancing on the table, you all left the club and headed towards the airport.

The whole car ride back to David’s house was quiet. It wasn’t a tense quiet but there was a wave of tiredness floating through the air. Natalie was in the backseat looking like she was about to pass out. Your head had been resting against the window and David had his ring-clad hand on your thigh. Every now and then, he would caress your thigh and turn over to see if you were sleeping.

Finally reaching the house, Natalie booked it to her room while you plopped down on the couch accompanied by a loud sigh. You were lying down with your body propped up facing the pool table. David spent no time curling up beside you with his hand dangling across your waist and the other playing with your hair. “Can’t move. Too tired,” you mumbled to him. Tracing circles on your bare waist, he chuckled.

“How are you tired?” he asked enthusiastically.

“Did you process that we just filmed us doing stupid shit for like twelve hours? Were you even there?” you sarcastically asked. You had no idea how he still had any energy after the day you two had. Starting to place kisses on your neck, you could tell he was feeling some type of way. You knew though that you weren’t about to do anything. Not while you were this tired. “Dave, I’m not having sex with you right now. Can you wait till tomorrow? You know, when I’m not a zombie.”

“What if I just put myself inside you but no doing anything?” you could sense the smirk on his face. David had talked about trying cockwarming before but you guys hadn’t done it. Mostly because there wasn’t really an appropriate time to do it. This time around though the idea didn’t seem too bad.

“I guess that wouldn’t be too bad but I’d rather not do it in the living room,” you laugh. All of the sudden, the presence holding you was gone. In one swift movement, he picked you up and carried you bridal style to the bedroom. Carefully, he peeled back the covers and placed you in the bed. He slowly started to unbutton your jeans and peel them off your body and down your legs. After throwing your jeans to the side, your panties soon followed and located in the corner of the room. You took the chance to take your bra off and throw it across the room like you normally do.

Turning on your side, you could feel the bed dip on the other side. “Please let me know if you get uncomfortable with this by the way. I don’t wanna do anything you’re not down with,” he assured. That’s one of the things you loved about David. He was usually considerate and accommodating. Maybe it was because he was a people pleaser but nonetheless it was a great change of pace compared to other guys you’d been with.

David grabbed them lube from the nightstand and put a generous amount is hands. He slowly coated your pussy with the lube, making sure to get every crevice. Even though you were tired, you moaned and shuddered at the contact. The cold lube ignited a euphoric reaction in you. Yet, you still didn’t have enough energy to actually have sex. After applying the lube, he placed his hand on cock and lined it up against your folds. You could feel the tip at your entrance, waiting for him to go all the way.

“Alright, babe. Are you ready?” he sweetly asked. After giving a quick “uh huh” and a nod, David slowly sunk his cock inside of you. Feeling him inch himself inside was a little unsettling at first. Per usual, your legs quaked a bit and you bit your lip to suppress the moan you wanted to let out.

If you were being honest, the feeling was weird at first. You were used to him fucking you, not filling you. As time passed though, you enjoyed the feeling. You could tell David liked it too because he didn’t dare move except for caressing your hair and placing soft kisses on your neck. It strangely became a calm sensation that made you fall in a deeper state of drowsiness. Laying in his arms with his thick cock resting inside you was a warm feeling. This was a new way to be intimate without having to exert energy which was a relief for days like this.

“How does it feel angel?” he asked. After not hearing a response, he said your name to try and get your attention. Not hearing anything back, he realized that you in fact, fell asleep. “Damn, my dick put her to sleep.”

#david dobrik smut #david dobrik imagines #vlog squad smut

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fanficimagery · 4 years

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Natalie’s Half-Sister [Part 1 of 3]

Summary: Imagine being Natalie's half-sister and visiting her. Your week long vacation gets prolonged into a month and you hit it off with quite a few of the group.

Words: 4.3K Warnings: Language. Drinking. Most likely OOC since this is my first time writing for the Vlog Squad. I told myself I'd never write for real people, but the Vlog Squad got me fucked up, man. That said, I'm 95% sure I'll only keep these imagines platonic-friendly because I find it weird shipping someone with a real person. Then again these are the Vlog squad boys and they're quite flirtatious.

Having finished filming for David's latest video, a few members of the squad stick around to help David and Natalie clean up.

So after all the glass and broken drywall is swept up, the water all mopped up from where Zane threw a bucket of it on a small fire, and the demolished trash cans and ping pong balls taken out to the curb, everyone drops onto the couch with a tired sigh as Mariah proceeds to order a smorgasbord of food through Postmates.

"So David," Natalie drawls, attention focused on her phone as she addresses her friend. "I have a favor to ask."

"No, Natalie! You can't go on another vacation."

Those surrounding them laugh, Natalie included, but she rolls her eyes fondly as well. "Shut up. Y/N is coming to visit and I was wondering if she could stay with us."

"Y/N?" David lowers his camera. "Your sister Y/N?" He then slowly grins.

"Wait, what?" Zane leans forward in his seat, gaze darting between his two friends. "Natalie's got a sister and we're only hearing about this now?"

"It's because she's hot. She's hot, isn't she?" Todd laughs.

"She's my half-sister," Natalie says at the same time David answers, "Definitely hot."

"Wait a minute." Jeff looks up from his phone to address his friends. "So does this mean that if Natalie won't go on a date with me, then I can ask her sister?"

"Jesus," Natalie groans and then grips a couch pillow to swat Jeff with. "No hitting on my sister."

"No promises," He, Todd, and Zane all muse at the same time.

The room erupts with laughter.

Then finally, David says, "Y/N can stay with us. I don't mind."

"Thanks. She's only staying for a week, so.."

"That's fine," David assures her. "When does she get in?"

"Two days from now."

After a three and a half hour flight, you're more than ready to find your sister in the busy airport and go wherever it is she's putting you up for the week.

With the strap of your duffel bag hooked over your shoulder and you pulling your rolling suitcase behind you, your tired gaze scans the crowd waiting for their loved ones. It doesn't take you long to find your sister in the crowd, a familiar face at her side with a camera attached to his hand. David still looks the same, but it's obvious he's grown into his dorky appearance. The other two men, however, is what gives you pause. Both are incredibly good looking, dark haired, one clean shaven and the other with a fair amount of facial hair.

They're all joking and laughing, and you already know your week with them is going to be an entertaining one. The two unknowns with your sister put their heads together, laughing as they play a quick game of rock, paper, scissors. The clean shaven one loses and after David has his camera pointed at him, the stranger stands up on a chair and shouts that he loves penis. Several people stop and stare while others laugh and continue walking. A few young teens get excited over seeing them, so while the guys are busy taking photos with their apparent fans, you pull down the sunglasses over your eyes and attempt to walk on by.

You've barely made it a few feet before someone is rushing in front of you, shoving a camera in your face. "Did you really just walk on by us, Y/N? How rude!"

You laugh and playfully shove the camera away. "Well if it isn't Dobrik all grown up. Tell me, David, have you boned my sister yet?"

David only cackles in response, lowering his camera to give you a brief hug. "You haven't changed a bit. Thank god."

"Neither have you," you say. "Well I lied. You finally grew into your looks."

"Hey!"

Laughter erupts and you watch the two other men join David, smiling. Arms wrap around your waist from behind and you manage to turn your head just so in order to spot your sister's beaming expression. "Natty. God I've missed you." You turn in her arms and give her a proper hug, sighing. "LA suits you, sister-mine."

As soon as she pulls out of the hug, she gestures to her two other friends with David. "Sorry for the welcoming committee. The whole squad has been non-stop trying to dig information up on you since I told them about you, and these two threw themselves into the back of David's Tesla when we were leaving to come here."

"Hey. I'm Jeff."

"And I'm Todd."

You laugh at their too charming smiles, shaking your head as David films the entire encounter. "Y/N," you say. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too. And let me take that for you," Jeff says as he reaches for the strap of your bag. "It looks kind of heavy."

"It's not."

"And I'll take the suitcase," Todd's quick to jump in, taking your suitcase from your hand.

You laugh as your sister groans. "Aw, Natty, your friends are adorable."

Arm in arm, you and your sister then walk out of the airport as David continues to film you and his friends acting a little too chivalrous. David and Natalie end up taking the driver and front passenger seats, leaving the boys to play yet another game of rock, paper, scissors to see who would be sitting with you in the middle seats. Todd wins.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" Natalie asks after setting up David's camera on the dash.

"Honestly? I just want to keep things chill. And that goes for my entire stay here. Don't go out of the way to plan something special. If you're gonna stay home and edit videos, that's fine with me. I'm seriously okay with whatever."

The entire car goes quiet and the group start to nervously chuckle.

"Goddammit," you grumble. "What did you do?"

"There may or may not be a party happening tonight to welcome you," David giggles.

Smiling, you shake your head. "You're really trying to get me to relive my party days. Shame on you, Davey."

"Party days," Todd muses. "That makes you sound old." Laughter fills the car, it dwindling when you shrug.

"Well I am older than Natty."

Todd quirks an eyebrow. "How old?"

"Old enough."

"Yes!" Jeff cheers from the back. "I can hit on this one without feeling weird."

Glancing over your shoulder, you wink. "Flirt all you want, hot shot, but I don't do hook-ups or relationships."

Natalie turns around in her seat, smirking. "Fun fact about my sister, guys, is that Y/N doesn't have sex."

Todd practically gapes. "Like at all?"

You shake your head. "I will hold hands, I will cuddle, and I will make-out, but nothing more. I'm just- I'm not hardwired like everyone else."

David suddenly cackles, he pulling over to the side of the road and picking up his camera. Turning around in his seat, he says, "Look at Todd and Jeff, guys. They just found out that Natalie's sister doesn't do sexual intimacy and they look like someone murdered their dogs."

You and Natalie laugh, and you reach over to grab Todd's hand. "Aw. Don't pout. If it helps any, you and Jeff are really attractive. I just don't feel the need to have sex with you."

Jeff leans forward. "But you will make-out with us. Right?"

You glance at him again, grinning. "We'll see."

- X - X - X - X - X -

David's house leaves you in awe when you get there. He and Natalie give you a tour when Todd and Jeff take their leave to get dressed for the party, and you end up shedding a couple of tears over how proud you are of him. David laughs it off, but you and Natalie can see how much it means to him to hear that you're proud of him.

Natalie then ends up ordering the three of you a late lunch/early dinner and encourages you to eat as much as you can because the alcohol will be flowing later that night and she doesn't want you to get too sick. Then after you nap off your food baby in the guest room Natalie had set up for you, you shower and dress in a pair of black, ripped skinny jeans and a white sports bra that's visible through your mesh crop top.

You go searching for your sister, only to find her in David's room and helping him choose a decent outfit. Laughing, you fall onto his bed and then snatch up one of his numerous Clickbait caps.

"Hey, can I wear this?" David glances at you and watches as you put his cap on backwards, fixing your wavy hair to drape in front of your shoulders.

"Yeah." He turns back around, but then quickly faces you once more. "Hey, I forgot to ask earlier, but is it okay if I use the footage with you in it? I kind of need your permission to post anything you're in."

"Yeah. Go for it. I don't mind."

"Thanks."

People soon start showing up and you're introduced to every one of Natalie's friends. Zane is, by far, the loudest and most blunt with his first impression of you. Being called baby and hot amuses you to no ends, and then you're relieved to see that when the camera is turned off their personalities are a lot more calmer.

There's a bit of pre-gaming before David turns his camera back on, Todd and Jeff letting everyone know about your personal choices pertaining to dating, or the lack there-of, when Jonah and Dom take their flirting a little too far. Everyone seems a little surprised, but you're relieved when they respect your choice and a few volunteer themselves to make-out with you should you feel yourself wanting to kiss someone. You laugh it off, but make no promises.

When everyone is loose-limbed and loose-lipped, David finally turns his camera back on. Lights are dimmed, multi-colored lights flash, and a tray of shots are passed around.

"A toast!" Zane shouts, already glassy-eyed. Everyone gathers around, shot glasses raised. "To Y/N! Baby girl, you are a hottie and I honestly hope you let loose enough to stick your tongue my throat. I'm game." The group cheers and you snort, laughing.

"To Y/N!" Everyone then shouts before downing their shot.

"Y/N. Y/N, wake up." You startle at the voice and the gentle nudging of your shoulder, flinching as the lights are suddenly flooding the room. David laughs and you groan when you see the camera in hand, pulling up the sheet to cover your face. "Wake up, sleepy head. Your sister went out to get some lunch."

"Screw you. I'm never drinking with you guys again." David laughs some more. Then after making sure you're not going to barf, you shove the sheet away. "How bad was it? I feel like shit, so.."

"You and Mariah ended up dancing atop my pool table. I've never seen Heath look so happy before."

"Anything else?"

"Not as bad as you're thinking. The squad really likes you. Natalie was happy you got along with everyone."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Now get up and shower. Natalie will be home soon."

"Okay," you mumble, rolling over onto your side and letting your eyes close once more.

"I'm serious, Y/N. If you don't get up in five minutes, you're not going to like your wake up call."

Unfortunately for you, you don't listen to David and then someone's bursting into the room. Water splashes you and you shriek, sitting up only to see a hungover Zane cheering. "Ice bath, baby! Get 'ya perky ass up. Food's here."

"You. Are. Fucking. Dead."

Zane blows you a kiss and takes off running.

- X - X - X - X - X -

After taking a warm shower, you dress in a pair of leggings and yet another sports bra beneath a baggy tank top. You accept Zane's hug and apology for the rude wake-up call, and then eat the greasy burger and fries Natalie had slid in front of you.

Your sister and David have hours of footage to go through and edit for his next video, so you have absolutely no problem dropping onto the lovesac (giant beanbag) in the living room while they edit on the couch several feet away from you, but only after you've down some ibuprofen. You're in and out of sleep, eyes fluttering open every time someone pops in real quick for a visit.

Todd, Scott, and Jason stick around, laptops in front of them and headphones plugged in as they edit their own stuff.

You end up falling asleep, only to be jolted awake by something jumping onto your lap. "Wha-" There are sounds of panting and then slightly heavy footsteps walking up your body until a flat tongue is sweeping across your cheek. "Aw. Doggie," you sleepily chuckle, petting the animal.

"Nerf, no! Get down."

You manage to fully open your eyes and spot Jeff looking a bit alarmed that the dog has jumped on you, but you wrap your arms around the dog as it lays down atop your chest. "He yours?"

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout him."

"Don't be," you smile, gently scratching around the dog's neck. "Dogs are my favorite." Turning onto your side, Nerf slides off of you but he doesn't go far. In fact, he lays right in front of your chest and snuggles in. Then chuckling softly, you curl around the dog. "Oh my god. I want one so bad."

"Hey Jeff," David suddenly pipes up. "How does it feel to have the hot girl cuddling your dog rather than you?" His friends all laugh, including your sister who snaps a picture of a pouting Jeff as he stares down at you.

"Like a cosmic joke."

"Aw, Nerf, daddy seems jealous. Should we allow him to cuddle too?"

"Yes." Before you can even laugh, Jeff is sliding up behind you.

Everyone laughs louder and more video/pictures are taken. "I'm down for some good cuddling, but if your hand ends up on my tit I'm gonna throat punch you."

"She'll do it too," Natalie muses. "Trust me."

"Noted." Jeff's arm stays draped over your bare waist and you soon find yourself drifting off back to sleep.

"That dog is seriously the luckiest little shit I've ever met," Todd grumbles.

You have no idea how long you've been asleep until a phone ringing startles you awake. You're no longer cuddling a dog, but a person instead, and as you glance up at the equally sleepy face you grimace. "I did it again, didn't I?"

Jeff yawns. "Did what?"

"When I get cold I tend to curl into the nearest source of warmth. I'm so sorry."

He chuckles as you unwrap yourself from him. "Don't be. That was the best nap I've had in a while."

Then glancing around, you notice the living room is empty and it's starting to get dark outside. "Where is everyone?"

"Hey, you guys are finally awake!" Natalie enters the room and she readily pulls you up from the giant beanbag you'd fallen asleep in. "Since last night was a bit wild, David rented out a theatre for ourselves. We can watch a movie and still be loud little shits without ruining anyone else's movie night."

"That's fine." You stretch and then guiltily glance at Jeff before looking back at your sister. "I really wish you'd have woken me earlier. I only met your friends yesterday and already I wrapped myself around one like a-"

"Y/N," Jeff chuckles. "It's fine. Really."

"It really isn't," you frown. Natalie faintly smiles as she wraps an arm around your shoulders. "We only met yesterday and if I made you uncomfortable-"

Natalie snorts. "Doubt it."

"Listen to your sister," he tells you. "It was only cuddling. I know where you stand and I'm cool with it. At least this way I know you're the only girl I can actually just sleep with without you trying to wheedle anything out of me."

You nervously chuckle at his pretty smile. "You sure? Like I didn't cross any lines?"

"I'm positive. In fact, if you want a cuddle buddy for the rest of your stay, all you have to do is ask."

Sighing in relief, Natalie finally laughs at you. "Now that that's settled, you two need to shower and get dressed. We're getting dinner before heading to the movies."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

The next few days are a whirlwind of drinking, laughter, cuddles, and pranks. You seemed to fit in rather flawlessly with your sister's friends and it was a running joke that you'd end up in a threesome with both Jeff and Todd because after that night with you cuddling Nerf and then cuddling Jeff, the boys seemed to find you fair game as a cuddling partner. More often than not, it was Jeff or Todd cuddling you or placing their head in your lap and falling asleep when your nails lightly raked against their scalps.

Now it's the morning of the day before you're set to fly back home, but instead of doing anything, you're laying in bed with your sister as you lazily scroll through social media.

"You ready to head back home tomorrow?" Natalie asks.

"No," you mumble. "I've forgotten how much I loved being around you and I've grown quite fond of your friends."

"They're your friends too," she grins. "Even though some might secretly wish there was something more going on."

"Christ," you chuckle, rolling onto your side to face your sister. "I've never met a more attractive group of people. I recently found myself wishing I was sexually attractive to people just so I could sit on one of their faces."

"Oh my god!" Natalie cackles, her phone falling and hitting her in the face. Her hands then cover her face as she continues to laugh, it completely masking the sound of her bedroom door opening.

"Room for one more?" You turn and see David standing there, still a little sleep mussed with his camera and laptop in hand.

"Sure."

As Natalie tries to control her giggles, you roll out of bed and let David take the middle. Then once he's situated, you climb back in. "What did I miss?" He asks, absentmindedly turning on his camera and angling the lens towards you three. When you only smile and shrug, he then says into his camera, "Look, guys, I'm living the dream right now." He moves it around to show you and Natalie on either side of him.

You flip off the camera just in time for Natalie to tell him what he had missed moments ago. "Y/N admitted to wanting to be sexually attractive to our friends so she could sit on their faces."

David cackles as a blush heats your face. "Who?" He wonders.

"Nope. Not telling. Knowing you, you'll tell them what I said or put this clip in your next video and surprise them. I'm not stupid, Davey."

"Come on, Natalie, tell me since your sister won't."

"I don't know either!" She laughs. "We didn't get that far into the conversation."

Luckily for you, before David can pester you for any more information, your phone starts to ring and you see Boss Lady flash across the screen. "Oh shit, guys. I need to take this." David and Natalie instantly calm down, and you sit up to answer the call. "Hello?"

The call goes no way near what you expected and your blood slowly starts to boil as your boss reprimands you over the phone. You can feel yourself getting agitated, so you crawl out of bed, choosing to pace by Natalie's closet. "So let me get this straight," you say, voice cold. David and Natalie lose their grins, the snickering coming to a full fledged stop as they watch you. "Because no one wanted to listen to me when I said nurse Tyler wasn't ready for solo rotations, I'm the one being punished for her screw up?"

The bedroom door slams open, making you flinch, but before a clearly exuberant Zane can say anything, David and Natalie wave him off and gesture for him to join them on the bed. Seeing your eyes flash and jaw clench as you remain on the phone, Zane clamps his mouth shut and plops down on the foot of your sister's bed. "With all due respect, ma'am, this is such a bullshit call. I'm well aware I was the one in charge of her training, but I warned you before I left for vacation that nurse Tyler wasn't picking up as quick as you'd hoped. I told you she wasn't prepared to be on her own and even left clear instructions for the other nurses on shift to help nurse Tyler should she find herself overwhelmed."

Once again the door opens and it's almost comical as the three other occupants of the room wave their arms in hopes of catching Jeff's attention to not make any noise. His smile quickly falls and he warily joins the others on the bed as you huff over the phone. Aware of all eyes on you, you will yourself to not cry the angry tears threatening to fall.

Your boss' next words have you freezing, eyes subtly widening. "Suspended without pay?" You repeat the words back, almost in disbelief. Even your sister and friends seem shocked. "Are you kidding me!? It wasn't my call to let nurse Tyler out on the floor!" More words are had until your shoulders slump in defeat, but the anger is still there simmering. "Aw. Bless your heart, ma'am," you mockingly coo. Natalie snorts. "But I have a better outcome for you: I quit." With that you end the call, squeezing your phone until you just let it drop with a sigh.

The room is eerily quiet until, "Did you just say bless your heart?" Zane muses.

Natalie starts to giggle. "In Texas speak, she just told her boss fuck you."

David and Zane laugh, and Jeff appears surprised. You shrug. "She wanted to punish me for someone else's mistake. The hospital I work for has been having a lot of problems lately and a couple of the doctors are sketchy as fuck. I've been meaning to look elsewhere for a job and she just gave me the push I needed to finally quit."

"Hold up!" Zane sits on his knees, staring at you intently. "You're a nurse!?"

"Yes." And before Zane can ask anything else, you hold up a hand. "And no I don't own a sexy nurse costume, nor will I model one for you."

He deflates. "You're such a buzzkill."

Everyone laughs and it's David who then finds his voice, realization dawning. "Holy shit. Did you really just quit your job?"

"Yep."

"You know what this means. Right?" Natalie then asks. "You don't have to fly out tomorrow. With no job, you don't have to be back home for anything."

"What? No," you laugh. "I've already disrupted your lives for a week."

"So? Lets make it a month." You gape at David, content to let him record whatever plan he's no doubt concocted in that brain of his. "Anyone got a quarter?"

"Yaassss, baby," Zane cheers. "Where we going?"

"What?" You glance around in confusion and it's Jeff who takes pity on you as Natalie searches for a quarter.

"The last time David flipped a quarter, if it lands on heads, we go on a trip of his choosing."

"Oh."

You tiredly sigh and pick your phone up from the floor. "You okay?" He then asks.

"Hmm?" You see Jeff's concerned expression and flash him a small smile. "Yeah. I really have been meaning to find a job elsewhere. My boss just gave me an excuse to finally quit and get on with it."

"You can always find a job out here," he then muses. "It's LA. There are jobs everywhere."

"Aw. Are you gonna miss me, Jeff?" You tease.

"Maybe." He shrugs. "But Natalie will miss you more. Since you've been here, she's been a lot more happier. Everyone can see it."

"You say that now. Just wait until she has to see me day in and day out for a month. She'll be ready for me to leave then."

Jeff grins, but then Zane catches everyone's attention as he makes phone call after phone call to the rest of their friends. He tells everyone to get to David's asap without giving away the surprise and half an hour later you find yourself with your legs draped over Jeff's lap as you both absentmindedly look at hospitals hiring around the area just in case.

"Okay so what's going on?" Heath asks as he and Mariah are the last to show up.

David stands, camera in hand, recording. "Y/N just quit her job earlier today and from the sounds of it she had a real shitty boss." Everyone boos and glances at you in sympathy. "So to cheer her up, I thought we'd play a game." David pinches a quarter between his forefinger and thumb, holding it up for all to see. "Heads we go to Vegas tonight, tails we move Y/N out here tomorrow."

"What!?"

"Deal." Natalie snatches the quarter from David, beaming. "Its a win-win for me," she says. "I either get to go to Vegas with you or I get to live with you. I'm taking this deal for us." And before you can refuse, Natalie flips the coin.

Everyone seems to hold their breath and then when it lands, David zooms in. "WE'RE GOING TO VEGAS!"

The whole group cheers simultaneously, laughing hysterically. Natalie rushes over to you, falling into your lap and making Jeff groan. "This is going to be so much fun."

#fanficimagery #imagine #vlog squad x reader #vlog squad imagine #natalie mariduena imagine #david dobrik imagine #jeff wittek imagine #toddy smith imagine #zane hijazi imagine #natalie mariduena #david dobrik #jeff wittek #toddy smith #zane hijazi #heath hussar #nerf #vlog squad

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lovelyirony · 4 years

Note

omg 10. “change in mind or change in heart?” with natmaria please? xx

Maria Hill does not like crushes. Ever. They complicate things, are never returned, and mess her up.

This is why she does not like being around Natasha Romanoff. Black Widow. Tasha. Whatever you call her, Maria avoids her.

This isn’t rational, she knows that. Maria can be a very rational person, but not about emotions. If she could still maintain a shred of empathy every now and again, she would cut out every single emotion entirely.

Apparently, that is “severely unhealthy” and “please see a therapist, Ms. Hill.”

It’s Deputy-Director Hill, firstly. Secondly, her whole job is severely unhealthy. She’s not going to stop working it.

But back to the matter at hand. A crush. Crushes are stupid. All the time. Because when Maria gets a crush, she tends to imagine unrealistic scenarios, reads into every single action, and acts very illogically.

Such as leaving the break room when her break has just started because Natasha enters and smiles at her.

Or the time that Maria volunteered to do one of the hardest missions of the week because she decided that it would be better to focus her energies on not being killed and taking down a trafficking ring in Texas and dealing with gun-happy people than sitting down and telling someone that she had feelings for them.

This did not happen out of the blue.

Sure, she noticed Natasha when she first came. Hell, everyone did. With her Cupid’s Bow lips, green eyes that could stare right through you, and a killer figure, she bewitched everyone and she knew it.

But that’s just noticing someone. That’s not knowing how they smile when they find something really funny. That’s not noticing how someone takes their coffee.

And it’s not falling for someone.

People tell you that it’s “love at first sight.” Pro-Tip: falling in love happens quickly, but it ain’t that quickly.

Maria falls in a month.

It is when she notices that Natasha refuses to drink coffee without creamer. It is when they share jokes and looks at some of Fury’s more petty quips, share a mission, and Natasha laughs.

She laughs.

And Maria falls. It’s like when she takes a dive from a tall building and there’s that split-second moment of being worried you didn’t bring your parachute or your team doesn’t have your back.

So Maria has a little freak-out in her office and on the drive home. It’s fine. She just yells and someone to the right of her car stares, but it’s Fine.

Things are Fine.

(They are not Fine.)

Because she likes Natasha. Likes her in the way that she wonders how it would feel to kiss her, to run her hands through her curls and get them tangled up.

What if they got too tangled up? What if she accidentally got her hand stuck and then Natasha had to cut her hair and hated her for all of eternity?

The worst part of having a crush, in Maria’s experience as a human on earth, is quite often it is not returned. There is either the painful experience of them softly smiling and telling you that they are honored, but not like that. Friends, please?

Or you drift and drift away and you don’t know them and they still smile at you but it’s not the same it can’t be the same all because you were fucking stupid and messed it up and then you’re alone, and--

Wow. Too personal.

Anyways. They do not return it. And someone like Natasha...a girl could dream. But dreams are short-lived. And they are often just that.

So she could think about getting coffee with Natasha before work and sneaking kisses while they commute together. She could think about taking her out to dinner and smiling across the table and arguing who will pick up the check.

But that’s not possible.

So Maria gets the hell on with her job and reviews over the paperwork twice.

It’s not until Coulson asks her to come into his office and she sees her.

“Hey Mar,” Natasha says, smiling. “Fancy having a bit of a fun weekend.”

Maria’s cheeks color.

“Um, sure?”

Natasha laughs.

“You’re cute when you blush,” Natasha says.

“Stop flirting in my office, it’s going to scar me,” Coulson says blandly. “I need you both to go undercover for a weekend. We’re supposed to be intercepting confidential medical information from one Dr. Tanner. She’s attending an exclusive LGBTQ club event. You’ll drop in Friday, fraternize Saturday, and lure her in. Got it?”

“With all due respect Phil, why two of us?” Maria asks. “Natasha would do great, um. I don’t mean to sound creepy about that.”

“None taken,” Nat says, grinning.

“Two different styles,” Phil says. “Don’t make me explain. Just bring that blazer and the red pants you like. Go, plane lift-off at seven in the morning.”

Maria nods.

And then freaks out. In her apartment.

Should she buy new perfume? Should she get a new face mask? Maybe she could pack seven different lipsticks, or maybe--

She’s overthinking this. By a lot. But damn, it’s with Natasha. Alone.

Natasha is excited. She’s the one who convinced Phil to let her put Maria on this mission. It’s logic. She could do it by herself. But it’s so much fun when you have a gorgeous woman at your side.

She’s intending to tell Maria how she feels. She’s noticed the glances, the way Maria smiles at her. The most important part is that she knows that Maria isn’t just looking.

So she’s packing, and she’s bringing her nice dress.

Maria shows up to the airport in comfy jeans, an old college sweatshirt, and has her hair pushed back into a messy ponytail.

“Too early,” she grumbles, gripping her backpack.

Natasha, of course, looks put together as always. She smiles at Maria.

“Good sleep?”

“None, unfortunately.”

“Worried about the mission?”

“More like the outfit.”

“We can change it up when we get there,” Natasha says. “For now, you’re all good. I was thinking we get lunch when we get there?”

“Sounds good.”

The plane takes off, Maria fails to get a nap in, and instead texts Tony memes.

you know every single time you text me i’m in shock

why, because you know i’m funny?

no, not that. just shook that you actually contact me. i thought you had bad guys to catch.

i do. just on a plane for now.

oh, with nat ;) she mentioned being excited about the mission! happy u get 2 spend quality time with her, loser

i will tell pepper about the candle incident.

i will literally give you an apartment for free if you don’t do that

i want locations.

Maria smiles to herself, looking out.

“Gorgeous, right?” Natasha asks, smiling at her. “I think we’re gonna have some fun, Mar.”

She likes the nickname. A lot. Probably more than she should.

But they touch down, get their car, and Maria looks up restaurants.

Natasha settles on Mexican.

It’s a nice place, all things considered. They make easy conversation as they drive, and end up getting a table and looking at the menu. The salsa is good. Has a bit too much cilantro, but eh. What are you gonna do?

“So, what do we know about Dr. Tanner?” Maria asks.

“She likes women a lot, and she also likes performing illegal procedures on people.”

“Dynamic.”

Natasha laughs, sipping more of her water.

They check into the hotel, get to their room, and find out that there’s only one bed.

One. Fucking. Bed.

“We can make a switch, maybe, but--”

“It’s fine,” Natasha says smoothly, cutting the attendant off. “No trouble at all, but thank you.”

Things are Fine.

Just that Maria realizes that technically she will sleep with Natasha. Not in the usual way. But. Still. Sleep.

They also have to get ready in the same bathroom and room.

Great.

At least they both like trashy reality TV and documentaries. They share stories about work, share a mutual hatred for a coworker, and agree to have coffee when they get back.

“There’s a great little place that I think you’ll love,” Natasha says. “It’s right by my apartment.”

“I’d love that,” Maria says, smiling. “A lot.”

And then it’s time to get ready for the night.

Maria decides to commandeer the bathroom, fiddling with her suit. She’s not sure if it’s too much with the heels. It might be. She still does her mascara and lipstick.

And then she exits.

Natasha falters in applying her lipstick.

“Damn Maria. Damn.”

Maria smiles.

“You clean up well yourself, Romanoff.”

(Natasha loves how she says her last name.)

Maria cannot stop staring at Natasha. Because she looks stunning.

This mission is boring. It could’ve been one person. Which makes Maria curious as to why there are two of them. Not that she’s necessarily complaining. It just...doesn’t make sense.

Dr. Tanner is already infatuated with Natasha. She’s enamored, following her around like a dog on a leash.

It’s amusing. Maria hates it. She’s on her fourth plate of appetizers.

She has also gotten approached by a very cute woman.

“Hey gorgeous,” she purrs. “I’m Lily. You are?”

“Valerie,” Maria responds. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“In that suit...the pleasure’s all mine,” Lily says. “My hotel room is 202, if you’re interested.”

“I don’t believe so,” Natasha says, laying an arm around her waist. “Ready to go, honey?”

Maria grins.

“Sorry Lily, but I hope you find someone cute.”

Natasha leads her out of the club.

“I got the USB device. Put it in her device, huge mistake. Glad we don’t need to break into her hotel room. Anyways, room service?”

“Sounds good,” Maria says, mouth going dry. “You can, um, stop having your arm around my waist. If you want. I don’t mind.”

Natasha smiles.

“And if I don’t want to?”

“Change of mind or change of heart?” Maria asks, grinning nervously.

“Neither. Always liked you, Hill. I thought you knew. That’s why I wanted you here on the mission.”

Maria blinks, smiles, and grabs Natasha’s hand.

“Cancel room service, I don’t think it’s necessary.”

Natasha smiles.

“Yes ma’am.”

#lovelyirony writes #natmaria #FAVORITE SHIP #natasha romanoff #maria hill #maria is USELESS #LOVE THEM #also yes maria and tony text and tony's shook each time #blackhill #love them love them love them

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dc41896 · 4 years

Text

Champagne Showers-Mini Imagine (1)

Ok so me and @fumbling-fanfics were talking about when he posted this on his insta, and I was saying how the video of him spraying Joe with the champagne (I’m guessing..?) gave me two separate ideas for imagines but I didn’t know which one to write. Long story short here’s one of the 2 short imagines based on said video 😂. The second one I’ll put in a separate post 😊

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LEWIS TAN (@lewistanofficial) on Dec 13, 2019 at 10:57pm PST

instagram

Today was the day you had been waiting for and you couldn’t be more excited. Your husband would finally be returning home from close to a year of filming and you were more than ready to see him in person instead of over the phone via Skype or FaceTime.

Just as you dropped him off at the airport, you planned to pick him up too and spend the rest of the day together finally able to spend a bit of quality time as husband and wife. Because filming started soon after your wedding, you chose not to have a honeymoon so he could complete his last bit of preparation before leaving.

⚔️❤️Boo Tan❤️⚔️: Hey I’m looking on the screen and it says I have a couple more hours until I’m home 😝

Y/N: Yay!!! I’m excited!!! Can’t wait to see you at the house 🥰

⚔️❤️Boo Tan❤️⚔️: Wait what? I thought you were picking me up?

Y/N: Oh...I thought you were getting an Uber👀?

⚔️❤️Boo Tan❤️⚔️: I mean I can if you’re busy

Y/N: I’m kidding! 😂 Do you really think I’d let you take an Uber home? I’ll leave the house in an hour so I can be there in time

⚔️❤️Boo Tan❤️⚔️: I would hope not but then again idk you might be busy! Lol and ok so by an hour than means 2 and I’ll be waiting for you outside then? 😏

Y/N: Haha such a comedian 🙄😂, no I mean an hour smarty. Keep it up and you won’t get the second part of your surprise😌

⚔️❤️Boo Tan❤️⚔️: Surprises?! 👀🥺 ok I’m sorry don’t be mad. LOVE YOU!!! 😘😘

Y/N: Mhmm yea now you say you love me when I mention surprises lmao

~~~~~~

Just as you said, you arrived at the airport about 40 minutes early and decided to wait in the lobby. Plus given the chance that his flight arrived early, you’d be there ready to go.

Y/N: Hey! Just got to the airport, waiting near the gift shop 🥰

Sitting in the leather seat, you felt as if time was slowly ticking by. Every time you looked at the time thinking five or 10 minutes had passed, you were sadly proven wrong by the clock only increasing by one or two minutes.

To keep yourself busy, you scrolled through your Instagram feed, as bystandards passed by. Although you didn’t look up, you could hear excited squeals and ‘welcome home’s as families and couples were reunited.

You tried not think about it, but the more you heard and occasionally saw it made you more anxious to see Lewis. This was the first time you guys were separated for a long period of time and although you hated it, you knew it was part of his job.

Nearly finished watching your third makeup tutorial, your screen was interrupted with a notification from Lewis.

⚔️❤️Boo Tan❤️⚔️: Just landed. See you in a few ❤️😘

Y/N: 😍😍 Ok!! Meet you by the luggage spinning thing? Don’t judge you know what I’m talking about 😂

Heart racing, you paced back and forth trying not to miss your husband when he finally appeared, although you knew it would be hard to miss him seeing as though his stature was very distinct.

Soon though, you see a black ball cap through the crowd paired with shades, a simple grey tee, jeans, and converse walking towards you and causing all your anxiousness to immediately disappear. You told yourself ahead of time that you wouldn’t be one of those dramatic couples in movies that crash into each other and have this grand reunion in front of everyone.

However, your limbs seemed to have a mind of their own as they made you take off towards him and jump into his arms wrapping your legs around him. Kissing him, you feel all eyes on the both of you, but you don’t care or even think about it.

So much for not being THAT couple.

“I take it that I was missed a lot,” he laughs as your reunion is momentarily interrupted. Burying your face in his neck you nod your head, taking in his cologne that you loved so much.

You also didn’t expect yourself to cry, but again your body did what it wanted to do and you were just the vessel that happen to be part of it.

“Aww it’s ok babe don’t cry I’m here!,” he soothes, rubbing your back. “I know, I’m just so happy to see you,” you respond, leaning up to meet his eyes, now visible from him removing his shades.

“I’m happy to see you too love,” he smiles, showing those heart melting dimples.

~~~~~~

After getting his luggage, you both made your way home to start your evening together. You drove as Lewis sat reclined in the passenger seat holding your hand that he occasionally peppered with kisses.

Of course during the ride he kept asking about the surprises trying to make you spill, to which you either told him no to not ruin it or tried to distract him by changing the subject.

“Please keep your eyes closed. I’m too short to reach up there so I’m trusting you to do it,” you instruct using one hand to lead him up the walkway to your house and the other rolling one of his bags.

“I promise my eyes are completely shut. Here I can let your hand go and try to make it to the front door myself,” he replies about to let your hand go to hold his out in front of him.

“No no, let’s not do that and you end up falling in a bush somewhere,” you laugh opening the door. “Ok stand here and don’t open them until I say.”

Letting his hand go, you close the door behind you and place his bags beside it. The only thing that could be heard was your sneakers against the hardwood floor as you moved about the house getting what you needed. “Ok now you can open.”

Revealing his brown eyes, he immediately smiles, mouth slightly agape in shock, seeing the floor filled with balloons as well as black lettered balloons along the wall that read “Happy Wrap!” Before he could say anything, the pop of a champagne bottle made him slightly jump followed by liquid spraying out and covering his clothes from you shaking the bottle.

He tried to run to avoid any further hits from the foaming drink, but you were just as quick keeping up with his every move. “Happy Wrap Day babe!!,” you shout as the bottle seems done with what all it would spray out. “I know it’s not technically today and you guys already celebrated, but I still wanted to do something.”

“Aww thank you, I love it! And there’s nothing wrong with celebrating more than once,” he smiles scooping you up in a bear hug as you wrap your arms around his neck. “So this was the big surprise huh? Spraying me with champagne?”

“Part of it yes,” you laugh kissing his cheek before escaping his grasp to run into the kitchen to get the final surprise. As you returned, you held a small circular cake that had “Welcome Home!” written in red icing in your hands.

“Welcome home love!”

“I cannot believe you did all this for me,” Lewis smiles using his finger to lick some of the buttercream icing off the cake. “Well you deserve it for doing such an amazing job,” you respond before being brought to his lips by his gentle hands.

Taglist: @fumbling-fanfics @honeychicana @crushed-pink-petals @themyscxiras @lady-olive-oil @melinda-january @felicity-x0 @lovelymari4 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @nina-sj @itshinothey @wildfirecracker

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged and doesn’t see their name, or only wants to be tagged for certain people I write about, just let me know 🤓

#lewis tan #lewisxblackreader #lewisxreader #lewisxwoc

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camillemontespan · 4 years

Text

hello, goodbye [AU. one shot. drake walker x camille montespan]

I was inspired by an episode of Modern Love before writing this. Hope you enjoy. It’s just pure fluff.

@moonlightgem7 @burnsoslow @ibldw-main @emichelle @katedrakeohd @dcbbw @saivilo @notoriouscs @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @gardeningourmet @mskaneko @jovialyouthmusic @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @pedudley @sirbeepsalot @pug-bitch

********************************************

Friday 8am

Drake stood at the door, his back ramrod straight. He was dressed in his usual black uniform with gold stitching around the edges of his sleeves and his tie was wrapped tightly around his neck.

He watched the clock overhead knowing he would see her soon.

The elevator door opened and sure enough, Camille Montespan rushed out into the foyer. Her dark hair was tousled around her shoulders and she wore a white trench coat over a purple dress that hugged her figure. Her heels click clacked against the marble floor.

‘I am so late, Drake!’ she cried, rushing towards him and the door. ‘So late! I overslept!’

‘Relax, Montespan, you’ve got the subway right around the corner, you’ll make it on time,’ Drake told her, opening the door for her. ‘Relax.’

‘I am never relaxed!’ she hissed, managing to drop her handbag and laptop bag at the same time. ‘Gah, shit!’

Drake crouched down to pick up her things and handed them to her with a smile. ‘Easy, Montespan.’

‘You know, for my doorman, you’re very informal calling me by my last name,’ she told him, giving him a grateful smile as she took her bags. ‘I have a first name, you know.’

Drake smirked. ‘I know. I just choose not to use it.’

‘Whatever. I’ll just call you Marshmallow in response,’ she said. Before Drake could protest, she gave him a quick wave and sang, ‘Byeeeee!’ rushing out of the door he held open for her. She left a trail of perfume in her wake.

*****************************

Drake stood for the rest of the afternoon in stoic silence. He would nod to other residents, open the door for them, and helped old ladies with their bags. Being a doorman at Cordonia Plaza meant he witnessed all people from all walks of life enter and leave his doors, barely taking the time to ask how his day was going. To them, he was just the doorman. Reliable, always there, day and night, without fail.

He liked people watching. Having become so used to being in the background and often ignored, he watched as the residents went on dates, or went to work, or to school, or to the airport. He imagined what their days would be like. Would Henry from No. 46 have a good day at work? Would Arthur from No. 25 come back from the doctors with good news or bad news?

Would Camille from No. 10 think about him?

Of course she wouldn’t think about him. Why would she? She had a life outside of this marble foyer. She had a high flying job as a paralegal at the firm Pearl & Goldfinch. She had Wednesday night cocktails with her friends after work. She went to spin class on Saturday mornings.

She always stopped to speak to him, except for this morning when she was in a rush to get to work. Being late wasn’t like her. Usually, she had a spare fifteen minutes to chat to Drake, ask him what he had on for today (standing, lots of standing, lots of door opening) and give him that perfect smile she always gave him.

But no, she didn’t think about him. For one thing, Drake was used to seeing her dates walk through his door and announce they were here to pick up Camille. She would come down in the elevator, dressed up to the nines if they were going to dinner, or dressed casually if they were doing something laidback and fun, and Drake would open the door for her and the date, wishing them a good night or day out loud, wishing she was with him silently.

Day and night, without fail, Drake loved Camille.

****************************

6pm

‘Hi Drake!’ she greeted him, entering through the door he held open for her.

‘Hey, Montespan. Good day?’ he asked.

Camille rolled her eyes. ‘Ick. Long meetings, difficult clients, too much coffee. How was yours?’

‘I stood around a lot,’ he answered. ‘Just stood.’

Camille laughed and Drake felt himself blush. In a bid to keep himself calm, he asked her if she was doing anything tonight.

‘I got a date,’ she told him. ‘I’ve got a good feeling about this guy. So much better than the other jerk I went out with last week.’

‘Good for you, Montespan,’ he said softly. ‘I hope he treats you right.’

Camille blinked and looked a little bewildered by his honesty. ‘Oh.. thank you, Drake.’ She then gave him a warm smile. ‘That means a lot.’

Drake bowed his head and Camille gestured that she was going upstairs. ‘Oh, his name’s Leo,’ she told him. ‘Just so you can expect him. He’s picking me up at 8.’

Drake gave her a thumbs up -really man? Really?- and watched her press the button for the elevator. She was transported up to her apartment, her world, the world Drake could only catch a glimpse of, while he just stood there, unable to follow.

**********************

Leo was an asshole.

Drake could tell from the get-go. As soon as he opened the door to him, he felt attacked by the sense of asshole. Jesus, this guy was covered in it.

Leo was tall, golden and muscular. He wore a suit with the top two buttons of his shirt open, probably to show off his golden skin and obvious muscles underneath. Drake was muscled, sure, but he could tell that this guy went to the gym daily. He was a gym bunny. Probably talked about protein and diets all the time. Asshole.

‘I’m here for Camille,’ Leo drawled. ‘She’s expecting me.’

Drake nodded and went to the service desk where he picked up the phone to call Camille’s apartment. ‘I’ll be right down!’ she said breathily.

Two minutes later, she was in the foyer. She was dressed in black trousers with a white shirt and black heels with a blazer. She looked sophisticated. Beautiful, actually.

‘Hi, Leo,’ she said, giving him a smile. Leo grinned like the Cheshire Cat and kissed her hand.

Drake resisted the urge to dry heave.

*****************************

Midnight

‘Ugh, what a dick!’

Drake held in laughter as Camille stormed into the building, ranting. She whipped around and pointed at Drake. ‘Remind me, never to date a guy like that ever again!’

‘What did he do?’ Drake asked.

Camille sighed and slumped down on one of the sofas opposite the service desk. ‘All he talked about was diets and protein,’ she said. ‘So dull. And god, his flirting! Ugh! He thought he was God’s gift!’

Drake nodded solemnly but internally was cheering.

Camille closed her eyes then opened them to look at him. ‘How was your night?’ she asked.

‘Fine,’ Drake said. ‘The building is quiet so I’ve just been wandering, stretching my legs.’

‘Do you like being a doorman?’ Camille asked.

‘I do actually,’ he said. ‘I like to people watch.’

Camille grinned. ‘Do you watch me?’

Drake blushed and looked away. Camille giggled. ‘You do!’

‘Shurrup, Montespan..’

Camille stood up and wandered over to him, her brown eyes looking up into his. ‘You’re a very good doorman, Drake,’ she said. ‘I’m glad we’ve got someone like you watching over us in this building.’

Drake blushed again and Camille turned on her heel. ‘Goodnight!’ she called.

‘Night, Montespan.’

‘My name’s Camille!’ she replied, not glancing over her shoulder, still walking to the elevator.

‘I know,’ Drake said quietly. ‘I know, Camille.’

She didn’t hear him.

*****************************************

Saturday 10am

‘Here ya go!’

Drake blinked when he looked down at Camille. She was brandishing a paper cup of coffee. ‘Sorry?’

Camille placed the coffee in his hand. ‘Here. I got you coffee. You looked quite sleepy this morning so I thought after my spin class I could bring you some.’

Drake grinned at the gesture. ‘Aww, shucks Montespan. Thank you.’

Camille looked quite pleased with herself. ‘You’re welcome. I’m off to have a shower. See you later!’

‘See you-’

‘Oh, by the way, I got a guy picking me up later,’ she told him. ‘7pm.’

‘Not an asshole, right?’ Drake teased.

‘I hope not,’ she said.

*********************************

7pm

‘Hi, my name’s Maxwell, I’m here to pick up Camille,’ the lanky boy said to Drake.

He was a boy. He looked about fifteen. Lanky with no facial hair at all and a slight frame that showed no muscle definition. Camille was dating a boy. Drake sighed - really, Camille?

He rang Camille. She came down a few minutes later wearing ripped jeans and espadrilles. ‘Hi Max!’ she said, giving him a hug.

As they were leaving, Drake murmured in Camille’s ear: ‘Is he a teenager? Didn’t take you for a cougar, Montespan.’

‘He’s the same age as me!’ she hissed.

Drake chuckled and gave her an exaggerated bow. When he stood up, he watched them both go out into the night, Camille throwing her head back to laugh at something the manchild had said.

***********************************

10pm

‘You’re back early,’ Drake said, letting her in.

‘It became clear we just don’t work,’ Camille sighed. ‘Better off as friends.’

‘Sure, sure. Oh well, next time huh?’

Camille laughed shortly. ‘I’m so tired of dating.’

Drake allowed himself to walk with her to the elevator. He needed to stretch his legs anyway. Camille pressed the button despondently. ‘It’s just exhausting,’ she said. ‘Why put myself through it?’

‘Because you have hope,’ Drake suddenly said without thinking. ‘You want someone to love, as do we all.’

Camille smiled softly. ‘Do you?’

Drake cleared his throat. ‘I’d rather not talk about myself-’

‘Drake.’

Drake looked down at the floor then back at her. She was watching him intently. God, he wanted her.

‘I do,’ he admitted. ‘I want someone to love.’

********************************

Friday 8pm

‘I’ve got a guy picking me up,’ Camille told Drake as she rushed through the foyer. ‘He’s picking me up in like, five minutes and I’m nowhere near ready. Do you mind just sending him up?’

‘Sure thing Montespan. What’s his name?’

‘Liam.’

‘Cool.’

Not cool.

8.30pm

Drake’s phone rang. ‘Drake, is he here yet?’ Camille asked.

‘Sorry, not yet,’ Drake told her, wincing. It was clear that she was being stood up, not that he wanted to tell her.

‘Oh. Right.’

The line was silent.

‘Camille..?’ Drake ventured. ‘You okay?’

‘Yeah..’

She did not sound okay. Drake said nothing, waiting patiently.

‘I don’t think I’ll find the one,’ she whispered, finally. ‘I keep seeing guys and just not clicking. What if it’s hopeless?’

‘You’ll find the one, Camille,’ Drake told her, his voice steady. ‘Why wouldn’t you? You’re amazing. You just need the right guy to see that.’

‘I’m not amazing-’

‘Fuck yeah, you are,’ Drake interrupted. He couldn’t stop talking. ‘You’re sweet and fun and a good person. You’re beautiful. You’re funny. You’re intelligent. Trust me, those guys you date, they’re not worthy. Nobody is worthy of you.’

There was another silence on the other end. Drake instantly regretted his sudden honesty.

‘I gotta go..’

She hung up.

Drake closed his eyes and cursed himself. He had ruined the one friendship he had going for himself. Great. How would he look at her now? How could he open doors for her and pretend he hadn’t just admitted that he found her beautiful? How mortifying.

This was why Drake preferred to stay in the background. He couldn’t have the chance to put his foot in it.

Drake went back to the door, where he belonged.

8.35pm

The elevator door opened and Drake’s eyes widened when he saw Camille striding out of it. She was wearing a purple coat and heels. She looked like she was going somewhere fancy. Maybe the loser Liam had phoned her and asked her to meet him in the city. Maybe he wasn’t picking her up. Maybe loser Liam was that much of a schmuck that he couldn’t be assed to pick up his date.

‘Want to have coffee with me?’ Camille asked bluntly.

‘Uhh.. I’m working?’ Drake replied, staring at her like she had grown three heads.

‘I know you are. I’m going out to get us coffee.’

‘Oh.’

‘Then I’m bringing coffee back and we’re having a coffee date at your door. I wouldn’t want to take you away from your duties.’

Drake turned red. ‘Camille, I didn’t mean to tell you all that earlier. I was stupid-’

‘Did you mean any of it?’ she interrupted.

Drake’s mouth felt dry. So fucking dry.

‘Yeah,’ he murmured. ‘I did.’

Camille looked down at the floor. Drake studied her for a long moment until he saw her nod, as if she had made a decision. Before he could register what was happening, she reached up and pulled him into her so their mouths collided in a searing kiss.

She smelled of coconut.

Drake’s hands raked through her hair as he pulled her in closer. He was kissing his dream woman. Camille Montespan had been a resident at Cordonia Plaza for a year now. For a year, he had watched her come and go. For a year, he had imagined what it would be like to date her. For a year, he imagined leaving his post so he could travel in the elevator to her apartment and enter her world. For a year, he thought of only her.

They broke apart.

‘So, coffee?’ she asked, giving him a smile.

Drake grinned. ‘Sounds like a date.’

#drake walker #trr #trr au #trr fanfic #drake walker x mc

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mustangshelby04 · 5 years

Text

Boston Boy Chapter 1

A/N This is my first attempt at a Chris Evans Fanfic. I posted it over on another blog, but I was encouraged to post it on my blog, too. So, here goes! Be gentle with me.

Finally!

Kathleen looked around the airport as she pulled her luggage behind her. After years of being a fan of the Patriots, she’d finally bought tickets to a game and was spending a week in Boston. And even more exciting, she was doing it by herself. She’d never travelled by herself before, so this was exciting and slightly terrifying.

It was mid morning on a Saturday and the airport wasn’t terribly busy. The rental car terminal was practically deserted as she entered to pick up her rental car. The people were friendly and the car was a newer Ford Fusion with the works inside. She plugged in the address of her hotel and made her way through the streets of Boston. The last time she’d been to this city, it had been a horrible experience. The Boston Marathon had been going on and they were in the middle of the “Great Dig”, so driving had been a nightmare. This time, she was determined to enjoy every minute.

After getting checked in at her hotel in downtown with some minor difficulty since she was so early, she finally settled her bags in the room and began unpacking. All she needed to do was get freshened up before she went out exploring. It didn’t take her long. She swept on some mascara and pulled her shoulder length blonde hair up into a ponytail before changing into jeans, knee high boots, and a sweater.

It was late October, but the weather was unseasonably warm. The city was just beginning to buzz with people starting their day. The Patriots were playing tomorrow and most businesses had put out their Patriot pride paraphernalia. She wouldn’t be attending that game, though. Her tickets were for the Thursday night game against the Dolphins. Her friend Lara was supposed to have come with her to the game, but she’d cancelled at the last minute. It didn’t matter, though, she would be surrounded by fellow Pats fans. Maybe she’d even make a new friend to give the extra ticket to.

Boston Common was less than a mile away from her hotel, so she set off on foot in that direction. The best part about this trip was that she had no plans beyond the football game. She could come and go as she pleased. Check out the sites, eat the food, and enjoy museums whenever she wanted. There was no rush to be anywhere as she walked down the street towards the park.

The day passed quickly as she wandered the park and then explored the shops and eateries around Newbury Street. The people she talked with were friendly and helpful. They seemed to really love the fact that someone from Kentucky was such a huge fan of their football team. A few people were very helpful on places to go to watch the game with fellow fans. By the time dinner time rolled around, she had a list going of places to eat at and things to see or do that weren’t tourist traps.

For dinner, she decided to get something simple and eat at the park. She stretched out on a bench with her Kindle set to the third book in the Outlander series and started eating the PB&J she’d gotten from a little sandwich shop on Newbury Street. People wandered by her and she smiled back at them if they looked her way. The sunset made beautiful colors on the grass around her and she enjoyed the glow all the way into the dimness of evening.

Finally the temperature dropped enough that she needed more than a sweater to stay warm. Deciding that was her cue to head back to the hotel, she turned off her Kindle and stood up. Which was when she ran straight into a tall, bearded man with blue eyes. She bounced off of him and lost her balance, falling straight back onto her backside and dropping her Kindle and purse. The contents fell out and she moved quickly to stop a runaway Chapstick tube.

“I’m sorry.” She said as the man bent down to help her pick up her stuff.

“It’s ok. I tried to catch you, but you bounced pretty hard.” The man said in a voice that sounded very familiar to her.

“Oh, that’s just my boobs’ natural reaction to running into things. They throw me down.” He started laughing and she finally looked over at him after picking up her purse. “Oh!”

“Are you ok? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No. I’m ok. Thanks. I’m so sorry I ran into you.”

“It was my fault. I was texting and walking.”

“That’s really dangerous. You could’ve fallen into a fountain or something.”

“Lucky for me I just ran someone down.”

“Yeah.” She laughed and realized her Kindle was missing. “Oh.” Turning around to retrieve it from under the bench, she heard a hiss come from behind her. “What?”

“I think someone didn’t clean up after their dog.”

“I’m sorry?”

“No, I’m sorry. Oh, don’t!” He grabbed her hand before she could wipe at the wet substance on the back of her jeans. “Sorry. I knocked you down straight into dog shit. Here,” He took his jacket off and slung it around her shoulders, making sure it covered the spot up. “Do you live near here?” “Uh, my hotel is only a couple of blocks away.”

“Which one?”

“The Doubletree.”

He smiled and ushered her down the sidewalk. “Let’s get you back there so you can clean up and I can apologize for this some more.”

“Seriously, there’s no need to apologize. I ran into you.”

“How about we ran into each other?”

“I’ll accept that.” She chuckled. “I’m Kathleen, by the way. People call me Kate, though. Or Kat.”

“Chris.”

“Yeah. I kinda figured that out.”

“And here I thought I was doing good at blending in.”

“Sorry. I’m a nerd. I love all things Doctor Who and Marvel. It’s kind of hard to miss Captain America when he’s standing right in front of you. Even with a beard.”

He smiled. “Have we met before?”

“No. Why?”

“You just seemed…. familiar. Thought maybe I’d met you at a convention or something.”

“Oh. Well, I kinda fail at that part of being a nerd. Don’t tell any of the others, but I’ve never been to a convention. It’s on my bucket list, though.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” He glanced down at her. “It’s fun. At least from my experience.”

“I can imagine. I have friends that go to them all the time and it looks like so much fun. And since I love Halloween, it would give me a chance to use some of my costumes again.” She looked up and saw her hotel looming. “That’s me.”

“Nice. A Halloween fan, huh?”

“The biggest. I go all out. I usually start planning for the next year the day after Halloween.”

“It’s only a few days away. What are you planning this year?”

“I was going to do Peggy Carter, and I even started collecting the pieces for it, but I had the opportunity to come to Boston and I chose that instead.” They walked into the lobby and Chris called the elevator for them. It opened immediately and they stepped in. She hit the button for the sixth floor.

“Is this your first time in Boston?”

“Second. I was here in early 2001 for spring break.”

He laughed and shook his head. “You came to Boston for spring break?”

She laughed. “It’s a long story, but yes. I came to Boston for spring break.” The elevator doors opened and she led the way down the hall to her room. He held the door for her as she walked in. “I’ll be right back with your jacket.” She disappeared into the bedroom and shut the doors behind her. Taking a moment to freak out that Chris Evans was sitting in her hotel room, she jumped up and down for a few seconds. Then she caught a whiff of the dog poo on her backside and gagged. She quickly stripped those jeans off and shoved them in the dirty laundry bag from the closet. Grabbing another pair and checking to make sure there was no poop on his coat, she headed back out into the sitting room. “Thank you for giving me your jacket to hide the poop.” She handed him back his coat.

“No problem.” He’d made himself comfortable on the couch, but had stood up when she walked in. “This is a really nice hotel room.”

“Yeah. My mom runs a Hilton in Virginia and she got me the employee discount despite not wanting me to come on this trip.”

“She didn’t want you to come?”

“She worries. This is my first time travelling alone. She’s texted me about twenty times today. And don’t even get me started on my brother and my step-dad.”

“Bad, huh?”

“They’ve been threatening to show up and keep an eye on me. I’m surprised they haven’t sensed there’s a man in my hotel room and kicked in the door.” She glanced at the door. “You’d think I’m not almost 30 years old and been living on my own for years.”

“It’s good they worry. Mine do too.”

“Yeah? Try being the youngest in a family full of boys. Out of the eight cousins in my family, there’s only three girls. Myself, my sister, and Cara. Cara got married a couple of years ago and now everyone’s protective forces have shifted to me. I’m tempted to never get married just to drive them crazy.”

“What about your sister?”

“She’s a very long story and I doubt she’ll ever get married.”

“Do you think the guys would show up if I bought you dinner as an apology for knocking you down?”

She blinked for a few seconds. “You want to buy me dinner?”

“It’s the least I can do.”

“Are you sure? I mean…. I’m not exactly…. Well, you’re…..” She sighed. “You shouldn’t feel obligated to do anything beyond what you’ve already done.”

“I don’t feel obligated. I want to buy you dinner. I feel terrible that I knocked you down into dog shit on your first vacation by yourself. Also, my mother raised me to be a gentleman and this is the gentlemanly thing to do.”

“I, uh…. Ok. I mean, if you’re dead set on it, then I guess I’ll let you buy me dinner. Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. Besides, we’ve managed to carry on a conversation without either of us turning into bumbling idiots and I wouldn’t hate continuing it.” “Yeah, I’m shocked I’m being so cool right now considering I am a fan of yours, but why would you ever be a bumbling idiot talking to me?”

“Oh, uh….” To her amazement, he actually blushed. “I sometimes have trouble keeping up a conversation with someone I’ve just met. You can’t tell it, but I’m sweating bullets right now.”

She smiled slightly. “No need to get all sweaty nervous around me. I’m just…. Well, I’m just me. Not worth the sweat.”

“I highly doubt that’s true.” Before she could respond, he changed the subject. “So, dinner…. What would you like to eat?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich earlier and I had planned to come back here and curl up with room service.”

“That’s no good. You’re a couple blocks from Chinatown and some really delicious food.”

“Ok. Chinese sounds good.”

“Great!” He bounced on the balls of his feet for a second. “I know exactly where to take you.”

She laughed at his enthusiasm. “You’re very excited about this.”

“Well, yeah. It’s not every day I run someone down, knock them into dog shit, and get Chinese food for it.”

“Oh, you’re getting rewarded for it?”

“Yeah. One could say that I already have gotten rewarded.”

“How so?” She walked back into her room to reach in the closet and grab her coat. He followed her to the doorway. “I met someone new today.”

“And she hasn’t gone psycho fangirl on you.”

“You planning to?”

“Gonna try not to.” She laughed again, slipping on her coat. “Honestly, I’ve met a lot of celebrities and you’re all just like us normal folks. I’m not going to scream in your ear or hump your leg or anything crazy.”

“Thank god. I don’t know what I’ll do if you scream in my ear.”

She laughed as they walked out of the hotel room. They headed back to the elevators and he hit the call button. “You know, this is definitely not how I pictured meeting you.”

“Yeah? How did you picture it?”

“Um…. At a convention with you on one side of a table and me on the other. Probably handing you something to sign.”

“Ah.”

“This is better, for the record. Even with the dog shit.”

The elevator opened and he let her step on first. They made it to the sidewalk before he spoke again. “So why Boston?” He asked as they headed down the street.

“The Patriots.”

“The Pats? Are you a fan?” “Big fan. I’ve got my Brady jersey in my room ready to wear.”

“Are you going to the game tomorrow?”

“Not tomorrow’s game. I couldn’t get tickets for it. I’m going to Thursday’s game.”

“Nice!”

“My best friend was supposed to come with me, but she flaked out.”

“That sucks. Why did she do that?”

“Something about she didn’t want to waste vacation days because she’s got dance things coming up.” She rolled her eyes.

He didn’t miss the eye roll. “You don’t approve?”

“It’s not that I don’t approve. I’m glad dance makes her so happy, especially with her being separated from her husband and dealing with all of that. My problem lies with the fact that she’s really starting to shun people for the dancing thing. I swear, I haven’t seen her in weeks and that’s highly unusual for us.”

“You’re the same age?”

“Yes.”

“When did she start dancing?”

“It’s been off and on since she was a kid. There’s a lot of issues there and the dancing is just a mask for them. Honestly, it’s a can of worms you don’t want to open.”

“Ok. New subject. How did you become a Pats fan coming from the south?”

“My first trip to Boston.”

“The spring break one?”

“Yup.”

“I think we’ve got time if you want to tell me why you came to Boston of all places for spring break.”

She laughed. “Ok. Well, I was living with my father at the time, but planning to move back with my mom before sophomore year of high school. I wanted to get away from my father whenever possible because that was a horrible situation and my mom said I could come with her for my spring break. She had a conference to go to for her job and it was here in Boston.”

“There’s no football during spring break, though.”

“No. I know. It was after a really terrible season, too, but everyone I met loved their Patriots. I got my first Patriots shirt while I was here. I started watching the team to see what all the fuss was about their 2001 season and that’s when Brady showed up. So while the trip pretty much stunk, I was in love with an amazing football team. Fourteen years later and I’m still a big fan.”

“Why did the trip stink?”

“It was the weekend of the Boston Marathon and they were in the middle of that Great Dig thing, so things were closed or we couldn’t get to anything because streets were closed. It was crazy. There was also an incident with a shrimp that scared me off them for a while.”

“You were right. It is a long story. I have questions.”

“Ask away.”

“I’m going to get back to the shrimp thing, because I can’t let that one go. But, if you don’t mind me asking, what was the horrible situation you were getting away from with your dad?”

“I don’t call him dad, I call him my father. My step-dad is my dad. He earned that title. My father was, uh, well…. He was abusive.”

He became really quiet and his face got very serious. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”

“It’s still horrible.”

“It definitely was. It wasn’t just physical. It was mental, too. For a very long time I had body image issues and I didn’t feel like I was worth anything to anyone. I got so low that I contemplated suicide at one point. I had the pills in my hand, but my boyfriend at the time developed a sixth sense and called me. He convinced me to move back to my mom’s in Virginia. It took a lot of therapy, some great friends, and eventually getting into burlesque to get to some semblance of normal thinking back. I still have some anxiety about certain things and I’ve been known to unconsciously sabotage relationships because I don’t feel like I’m worth the trouble and I’m almost in constant terror that they’re going to lie to me. Gotta love trust issues.”

“I’m so sorry you went through that.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you talk to your father at all?”

“Yeah. He’s gotten help since then and he’s come out of the closet, so he’s a much happier man now. He’s been trying to develop a relationship with me lately.”

“Your father is gay?”

“Very. I’ve known it since I was thirteen and my mom confirmed it. As a friend of mine put it, my father was so far in the closet he found Narnia and wondered what the fuck happened.” He laughed and she chuckled. “He finally came out when he turned 50.”

“Good for him.”

“Yeah.”

“It still sucks that he put you through all of that. I’m really sorry.”

“Thank you. I try to make the best of it. I’ve worked with a few charities, I’ve done a couple of burlesque shows that benefit women’s shelters, and I’ve gotten to talk with some people in abusive situations that didn’t know how to get out. I was lucky I had my mom and step-dad to go back to. Not everyone is so lucky.”

They walked into the little restaurant and were seated right away. Chris requested a booth in the back where it was quiet. They browsed the menu for a few moments before deciding on a few different options. Once the order was placed, Chris turned his full attention back to her.

“Please tell me about the shrimp now. I gotta know.”

She laughed. “So the hotel we were staying at for the conference was super fancy. It had this gourmet restaurant and a gift shop and a salon. I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called or even where it was located. Near the harbor, I think. Anyway, mom and I wanted to go check out this seafood restaurant she’d heard about, but since the streets were all closed and wonky and this was before GPS, we got horribly lost. Like, ended up in a different town lost. Mom got frustrated and back tracked us back to the hotel so we could just eat dinner there. I ordered fried shrimp with rice and when it came out, it was…. Well, it was a gourmet restaurant so the plate was very decorative. It had this column of rice wrapped in seaweed and these brown fried sticks coming out of it. No shrimp in sight yet. I figured it was in the rice. So I start to disassemble the plate and pluck one of the brown sticks out. But it was heavier than I’d planned because along with the stick came the whole shrimp, eyeballs and all. They had fried the entire shrimp and the brown sticks were the whiskers or tentacles or whatever the hell those things are on shrimp. It was so unexpected that I screamed, threw the shrimp, and left the table. I couldn’t eat shrimp for years after that without seeing those hollow, fried eyeballs looking at me.” She smiled at Chris’ laughter. It was a full belly laugh that almost echoed around them.

“Why would they serve a shrimp like that?”

“I have no idea. It was traumatizing for my fourteen year old self!”

Once their laughter died down, Chris asked, “So if your mom was at a conference, what did you do the whole time?”

“Explored a little bit. Checked out where the Boston Tea Party happened. Followed the Freedom Trail.”

“History buff?”

“Oh god yes! I love history. There’s this house in Richmond called Agecroft Hall. It was built in England around the time of the War of the Roses. In the 20s, it had fallen into disrepair and would’ve been torn down, but it was bought by a man in Richmond and he had it dismantled and brought over here to repair and rebuild it on the James River just like it had been in England. The place is gorgeous and it’s a British history museum right in the middle of Richmond, Virginia. I’ve spent countless hours there taking pictures and exploring and talking to the tour guides. I even got to put on my full Tudor costume and hang out and answer questions while people visited and I once took Tudor dancing lessons there. The Volt is very exciting and was very intimate for those times.” She noticed Chris watching her intently. “I told you. I’m a big nerd.”

“No, it’s cool. I like it. You’re passionate about history.”

“If we don’t learn from the past, we’ll never change the future.”

He smiled brightly at her. “Exactly. Wait, you have a full Tudor costume?”

“Yes. I told you I don’t do Halloween lightly. I went as Anne Boleyn one year. My mom has to be my handmaiden when I wear it because there’s no way I can get into it by myself. It’s the most expensive costume that I own.”

“I bet. Please tell me you have pictures.”

She smiled and pulled out her cell phone. The food came as they were browsing through her Facebook pictures. Chris kept browsing as he ate, mind half on his food as he asked about one picture and another. She was completely surprised at how calm she was being that Chris Evans was genuinely interested in her life. He held her phone hostage all through dinner as he looked at the different pictures and even took some selfies of himself and them together.

As they walked out of the restaurant, he said, “You have a lot of pictures of your dogs.”

She shrugged. “They’re my babies. And they’re all chock full of personality. Or…. Were…. We had to put Tucker to sleep a couple of years ago. He had cancer. And Ireland went to sleep about a month ago and didn’t wake up.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“She was old…. Thirteen. Even though I was expecting it, I was devastated. I had to leave work I was so upset. She was a little Nazi, but she was mine.”

He laughed. “How was she a Nazi?”

“She would tell on her brother if he was in the trash or doing something he wasn’t supposed to and as soon as she was satisfied that you caught him, she’d run over to the treat bowl and stare at you impatiently till you rewarded her. But then she would turn around and get into something she wasn’t supposed to and leave the evidence on Tucker’s bed to frame him.”

“Oh my god!” His bellowing laugh echoed around them.

“She would also smack you when you were eating to remind you that she got at least 25% of your food as payment for allowing you to live in her house.”

“She was definitely a Nazi.”

“She was also dramatic. She got my high school personality. I was a theatre nerd back then. The funniest thing she ever did, though, was walk into a room and if we weren’t paying attention she would let out this huge sigh and pretend to faint.”

“She pretended to faint?”

“Yup. Then she’d turn her head just a little to see if we were watching her performance. If we weren’t, she’d move dead into our eye line and do it again.” The bellowing laugh returned and he had to stop for a minute as he doubled over. She smiled at him and waited for him to compose himself. “Tucker was a ninja. For a 90 pound dog, he was stealthy as shit. On a number of occasions I turned my back only to turn back around and discover my sandwich or whatever I had been making was gone and Tucker was sitting in the living room licking his lips. We never did figure out how he did it so quietly. He also fancied himself a lapdog, but he was my protector. If he thought someone was there to harm me, he was one tough dog to restrain. I pretty much just prayed that I could hold him back long enough to determine if I should let him go or calm him down.”

“He sounds like he was a good dog.”

“He was.”

“How old is your Boston?”

“Gally is seven. She’ll be eight in February.”

“What is she like?”

“She’s crazy. She’s got a vendetta against all fuzzy slippers in the world and her best friend is a hedgehog toy that I got her when she was a puppy. She loves to run full speed in a tight circle or figure eight around the yard…. Or a person…. And she’s klutzy like her mama. I’ve never met a dog who runs into walls and trips up stairs.”

“You run into walls and trip up stairs a lot?”

“On a regular basis.”

“You haven’t done it tonight.”

“No. I’m surprised I haven’t. I’ve had a number of opportunities.”

“Well, the night is still young.”

“This is true. But remember how we met? I did run into you and fall down.”

“Into dog shit.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall again.” He smiled down at her and she was sure that he was flirting with her. “So, what about the newest addition? Denali?”

“She belongs to my parents, but she’s mouthy. Loves to talk to you and she’s not afraid to tell you off when she’s mad about something. She’s also crazy. She can spend, literally, hours chasing her tail or playing fetch. And she chases animals on TV. The TV is positioned right next to the doorway into the den and if an animal runs off screen, she’ll run into the den to find it. Of course it’s not there, so she lets you know how upset about this she is.”

“And you live with your parents?”

“Sort of. My step-dad converted the garage into a little apartment for me. I’ve got my own entrance and my own bathroom…. A little living room area and a bedroom that’s sectioned off by these really pretty screens that my step-dad made for me. It’s nice.”

“It sounds like it.” He smiled. “I still live with my mom when I’m not off somewhere shooting a movie or staying in LA. My whole family and their families live there too.”

“Must be a big house.”

“Kinda.”

“So, you’re close with your family?”

“Very. My brother is one of my best friends. What about you?”

“Same. As close as we are, I tell him constantly that I would sell him in a heartbeat for my niece. I love her to pieces.”

“You must if you dressed up as Merida for her in Georgia in June.”

She smiled and felt herself blushing that he remembered her telling him about it when he found the picture. “Yeah. I’ll probably end up spending most of my souvenir money on stuff for her.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. She is pretty adorable.”

“That’s the thing I’m most proud of: being an aunt. I love that kid. And my best friend’s little boy is my unofficial nephew. I spoil him when I can, too.”

“You sound like me. I love spending time with my sisters’ kids and I spoil the crap out of them whenever I can.”

She laughed. “As much as I love spoiling Hailey, my favorite moments are when it’s just the two of us playing Barbies or going for a walk or rocking her to sleep at night. She’s four and she still likes for me to do that when I’m there.”

“Awe!”

“It broke my heart when she asked me not to leave in June. She woke up and came to the guest bedroom and curled up with me the morning I was leaving. She said, ‘aunt Kat, please stay one more day. I’ll be a good girl. I love you.’ God, I cried for the first half of the drive back to Virginia.”

“Awe!” Chris wrapped an arm around her and hugged her tightly. “And wow! You drove to Georgia? How long of a drive is it?”

“About eight or nine hours. It’s eleven hours to Kentucky. I love to travel, so I don’t mind driving. I would’ve driven here, but I actually won plane tickets in this contest at work.”

“Tickets?”

“Yeah. I won two. I haven’t used the other one since Lara was going to use her frequent flyer miles for her ticket. So, I’ll probably take another trip by myself somewhere.”

“Oh yeah? Where?”

“Vegas. LA. Alaska. I don’t know.”

“Alaska? Really?”

“My brother and his wife took a cruise there and they loved it. My sister in law goes a lot for work.”

“That sounds awesome. What would you do there?” “Hike. Take pictures. Go ice skating on a frozen lake. Take pictures. Maybe try and camp a couple of nights. Oh, and take some more pictures.”

“Camp, huh?”

“Maybe. I haven’t been in a long time and I enjoyed it when I was younger. All through high school, I had to visit my father during the summer even though I didn’t want to. Some friends would kidnap me and we would go to Lake Glendale in Illinois and spend a week camping and swimming and riding horses and learning to shoot a bow and arrow…. Rock climb. It was amazing. I would love to do it again someday.” She realized they were standing in the lobby of her hotel. “Oh, we’re back.” “Yeah. I just realized that too.” He seemed genuinely sad about that.

“Uh, you’ve probably got somewhere to be, right? You were going somewhere when we ran into each other.”

“Oh, not really. I was probably going to meet Scott and some of his friends for dinner.”

“You ditched your brother for me?”

“It’s ok. He had just invited me and I was texting him back when I ran into you.” “But he’s your brother.”

“Yeah. And I’ve had plenty of time to hang out with him. I’ve only got a week with you.”

She opened her mouth to retort, but closed it when she realized what he’d said. Instead she settled on, “I’m confused.”

“About what?”

“Are you saying you want to hang out more?”

“Yeah. Why not?”

“Um…. You’re Chris Evans and I’m Kathleen Allen.”

“Yeah. We’ve done introductions. It’s the entire conversation afterwards that makes me want to hang out with you more.”

“Do you normally meet fans and hang out with them? Or am I special?”

“You’re definitely special. I’ve met a lot of people, but you’re different. It’s nice.” He called the elevator and held it open for her. As it started its ascent, he turned to her. “It gets lonely.”

“What does?”

“Being a celebrity.” He said the word like it was a sour candy in his mouth. “You meet people and they know everything about you because they’ve read it in a magazine somewhere. All they want to talk about is how famous you are. They don’t actually talk to me.” The elevator opened and he held the doors so she could step out safely. “But you did. You talked and you listened. I can honestly say that you’ve been one of the best conversations I’ve had in a while. I’ve loved every second of it.”

She opened her hotel room door and stepped inside. “Well, I don’t know if this is being presumptuous, but you’re welcome to stay and continue the conversation. I don’t have a mini bar, but there’s room service.”

He grinned. “Yeah. It’s only eight thirty.” He followed her in and shut the door behind him, shrugging his jacket off. “That sounds fun.”

Before she could respond, her phone went off with the James Bond theme. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket. “One sec. It’s my brother Killian.” She hit the answer button. “Hey Killi. No, I’m fine. I went out for Chinese with a really nice guy from Boston. Yes, I said guy. Yes, as in male. No, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m fairly certain all those lessons will keep me safe if the nice Boston boy decides to attack. Shut up and put my niece on.” Her face lit up suddenly. “Hey Hailey Bug! I’m in Boston. That’s waaay up north from where you are. I miss you, too. You’re coming for Christmas!? That’s so exciting! Yes, I’m pretty sure Santa will know where you are. I’ll write him a letter and make sure, ok?” She glanced at Chris with an embarrassed smile. “Yeah, I’ll sing a song for you. What do you want to hear? Again? What about something from ‘The Little Mermaid’? No? ‘Frozen’ again, huh? Ok.” With another embarrassed look at Chris to find he was holding back laughter, she started singing “Love Is An Open Door” with her four year old niece. “Ok. I love you too, munchkin. I’ll see you in a couple of months. Bye! Yeah. She made me sing ‘Frozen’ again.” She rolled her eyes. “I promise I’ll be careful. Talk to you later. Bye.” She hung up and shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“You have a nice voice.” Chris said.

“Oh, no…. No. It’s…. Not that great.”

“You’ve had training.”

“What? How….”

“My mom is the art director at a youth theatre. My brother and sisters and I are trained, too.”

“My father…. On good days…. He and aunt Dolly taught me. He sang in a Christian music group around the area I grew up and his best friend, who I refer to as aunt Dolly, was a music teacher.”

“Nice. You do have a nice voice. I wasn’t kidding.”

“Thank you, but no. I don’t. I only sing in the car and for Hailey these days.” She turned and grabbed the room service menu. “Here, you pick something to drink and I’ll be right back. I need to take my contacts out and put on something besides jeans.”

“You wear contacts, too?”

“Yeah. Please don’t laugh at my glasses. I hate them.” She turned and disappeared in the bedroom. When she came back, she was in a T-shirt with minions on it and black yoga pants. Her long blonde hair was swept up in a ponytail and she had on her half frame glasses.

“You look nice.”

“You’re way too nice for your own good. I wouldn’t even put the glasses on if my contacts hadn’t been bugging me.”

“Honestly, you shouldn’t be so self-conscious. You’re beautiful with or without glasses. And I’ve seen you in both now and can judge that honestly.” He sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him. “I ordered you some sweet tea. I hope that’s ok. It’s what you were drinking at dinner.”

“Yeah. That’s perfect.” She sat down next to him. “Wait, you wear contacts?”

“Yeah. Got them in now. I haven’t had mine in as long as you have, so they’re not bugging me yet, but I know exactly what you were going through. It’s a pain in the ass to have to wear them that long.”

“Amen!” She laughed.

“So your brother’s name is Killian?”

“Yup.”

“And you’re Kathleen.”

“And my sister Janice is the oddball.”

“And your brother gave you fighting lessons?” “God no! He only thinks he’s tough. My cousin Todd taught me how to throw a punch. My brother taught me how to shoot a gun.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t carry. I can also sword fight.”

“Now why would a nice girl like you need to know that?”

“A friend of mine is really big into medieval weaponry. He taught me how to swing a bunch of different swords.”

“So, you can shoot a bow and arrow, you can shoot a gun, you can use a sword, and you can throw a punch. You’re officially scary.”

“Thanks. I consider myself almost ready for a zombie apocalypse.” Her phone started ringing again and this time it was Stewie from “Family Guy” yelling “mom, mom, mom” over and over. Kate rolled her eyes and got to her feet. “Hi mom. Yeah, I’m having great fun. You talked to Killian, huh? What did he have to say? Oh, yeah? He’s being dramatic. Yeah, I did meet a nice guy that took me to dinner. Chinese. I met him in Boston Common. Uh, yeah. I’d say he was. I don’t know. I promise I’m being careful. No, I don’t want to talk to him cause he’s just going to have a cow over everything. I don’t know. Then tie him up in a closet somewhere till he calms down and realizes I can take care of myself. You have fun with that. I’ll talk to you later. Nope. Bye, mom.” She set her phone down. “My brother told my mom I met a Boston boy and I’m probably going to move here now.”

“What would you say I was?”

“Huh?”

“You said to your mom ‘I’d say he was.’”

“Oh, uh….” She blushed. “She asked if you were handsome and then she asked if I was going to see you again.”

“That was the ‘I don’t know’ part, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, change that ‘I don’t know’ to a ‘yes’.”

“What?”

“You’re going to see me again. Tomorrow. I’m taking you to the game if you’ll let me.”

“The Patriots game?”

“Yeah. While you were talking to your mom, I texted a friend of mine and got us seats in one of the suites. Great view of the field.”

“Are you joking? Am I on a hidden camera show?”

Chris laughed. “No. Look, I meant what I said before. You’ve been one of the best conversations I’ve had in a while and I don’t want to see it end. In fact, I’ve got the next couple of weeks off and I’d love to show you around Boston myself while you’re here.”

“You do?”

“Yeah! Who better to show you around this city than someone from it?”

“Well, I guess, yeah….” “We can go to the game tomorrow and then grab dinner somewhere and plan our week.”

“Chris….” “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do want to, it’s just….” A hundred different things went through her head to finish that sentence, but she settled on. “Unexpected.”

“Isn’t that when life is at its best? When it’s unexpected?”

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#Chris Evans #Kate Allen O/C #Chris Evans/Kate Allen #Boston Boy #chris evans fanfic

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gaylotusthatexists · 5 years

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30. with Logicality

Well this was fun to write! Which can probably be seen since I’ve actually written it on the same day I got the request. Here ya go dude, hope you enjoy :)

Also on ao3

To say that Patton was bad with directions would be an understatement; it was his first day in a new city and he was already lost. So incredibly lost. The instructions had been so simple, and yet he had been trying to figure out where he was meant to be going for the past twenty minutes.

A tall, clearly aggravated woman barged past him, causing him to stumble to the side and almost crash into a brick wall. But still, he plastered on a smile. Sure, he was lost and everybody stared at him as though he was insane, but absolutely nothing could ruin his day. He was about to meet up with his best friend for the very first time (they had been talking to one another online for the better part of four years and had formed quite a close bond, but had unfortunately never got the chance to see each other in real life due to living on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean) and he felt the happiest he had felt in a long time.

Of course, he would have left even happier if he knew where he was going. He had attempted to contact his friend, but they hadn’t responded - perhaps they were asleep (even though it was well past noon, this wouldn’t have surprised Patton) or perhaps they were just away from their phone. He suddenly came to the realisation that telling them he would be able to find his way himself was a terrible idea and he should have just taken them up on the offer to pick him up from the airport and drive him here. But no, he just had to insist that he could take a taxi from the airport and then walk to his friends house from the hotel.

Unable to come up with any other solution, Patton approached two teenagers who seemed to know their way around town. “Hey, do you happen to know where I can find Smith Street?”

The two teenagers gave Patton a look that anybody who wasn’t an optimist such as himself would describe as disgust, before walking away, leaving him completely alone. Well, Patton thought, that went well.

Sitting down on a bench, Patton let out a huge sigh. No matter what he told himself, it was hopeless. He had no internet, meaning Google Maps wouldn’t be any help, and his friend wasn’t picking up any of his calls. He’d just have to sit and wait until-

“Hey,” somebody said, taking a seat beside him, “you look lost.”

Patton looked the stranger up and down. He wore a black button-up shirt and black skinny jeans, with a striped blue tie adding a splash of colour. A pair of thick rimmed, square, black glasses sat upon his nose, in front of a pair of concerned, deep brown eyes. His brown hair was slicked back, kept perfectly tidy aside from a single strand falling over his forehead. Although he couldn’t tell for sure since they were both sat down, Patton assumed that the stranger was taller than him, or at least had better posture so he appeared to be taller. But whoever this guy was, something within Patton told him he was trustworthy.

“I am lost,” Patton confessed.

“Are you a tourist?” the stranger asked.

Patton nodded. “Yes. I came to visit a friend.”

“Could I be of assistance?”

Patton hummed. This was good, right? He could ask for directions and find his friends place and everything would be fine. “Yes, um, would you happen to know where Smith Street is?”

The stranger thought for a moment. “Yes, I believe I do. Actually, I was just heading down that way. If you’d like, I could take you down there?”

Patton’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, thank you! So much!” Patton exclaimed, standing up and grinning at him. “I’m Patton, by the way.”

“Logan,” he introduced, standing up as well. The two began to walk, Patton paying extra close attention to make sure he went the right way. “So, when did you get here?”

“I arrived last night,” Patton told him. “Stayed in the Premier Inn.”

Logan nodded. “From your accent, I’m guessing you flew from America?”

“Yeah. Florida,” Patton confirmed. “And I’m guessing you’ve been living here all your life?” Logan somehow sounded exactly like Patton had imagined all British people to sound like, just like on TV.

“I have, yes. I only moved briefly to a city a few counties over for university, but I couldn’t help but come back home,” Logan told him. “I mean, this city isn’t great, but I like it. It feels safe.”

“Do a lot of tourists come here?” Patton wondered. “It doesn’t really seem all that tourist-y.”

“Some people come here,” Logan said, “although usually it’s other British people. We’re quite a historic town, which is appealing to some people. But if I’m being honest, this isn’t really a place that many people would come to for a holiday.”

Patton looked around at his surroundings, which weren’t at all what he was expecting. “It doesn’t look that historic.”

“That’s because the historic parts are further up north,” Logan said. “Certainly not this area. Apart from a few churches here and there, this part of town in fairly, well, boring, I guess. Not that tourist-y.”

“Huh. I guess that’s why Virgil always said this place was boring,” Patton said.

Logan frowned. “Virgil?”

“My friend,” Patton explained.

“As in, Virgil Andrews?” Logan asked.

Patton looked at him. “Yes. How did you know?”

“I went to school with him,” Logan stated. “We were never really ‘friends’, but I respected him.”

Patton smiled. “That’s cool! Gosh, you should have become friends with them, they’re honestly such a great guy.”

Logan looked down for a second. “Neither of us were one for people in school. It wouldn’t have worked, I don’t think.”

“Oh,” said Patton, deflating a little, but soon perking back up to his usual self. “Well, can you tell me more about this place? You seem to know a lot, and Virgil never really speaks much about it, and I’d be really interested to know about all that historic stuff you mentioned.”

Logan hesitated, before deciding to take on Patton’s request and soon enough he found himself telling him everything. All that he had learned from his late-night wikipedia reading, his many trips around the castle, the books he had found hidden in the corner of the local library. He went on about how the town came to be, how it changed over time, all the interesting stories that people had to tell about family, visitors, ghosts, events, and everything in between. And with each and every word, Patton’s heart began to fill up with more and more admiration, more and more love. Love for the city, love for the people, love for the stranger. He couldn’t stop listening, couldn’t stop staring, couldn’t stop smiling.

When they finally reached their destination, Patton couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

“Hey, uh, before you go, can I ask you one more thing?” Patton wondered.

Logan shrugged. “If you wish.”

“Uh, well, I’m going to be around for a few more weeks, so I was wondering if maybe we could meet up again at some point?” Patton invited. “Maybe you could show me some of those places you were talking about.”

Logan considered that for a moment, before finally saying, “Yes. I think I’d like that.”

Patton grinned. “Great. Let me just…” He took out his phone and showed it to Logan. “Here’s my number.”

Logan took out his own phone and, using the number displayed, sent Patton a message. “I’ll text you when I’m free to meet up, okay?”

Patton nodded. “It’s a date!”

A silence spread out between the two of them for a moment. Logan breathed in and out and then smiled. “Yes. I suppose it is.”

And with that, the two of them parted, knowing that it wouldn’t be long until they were reunited. They both left with a smile upon their faces and a new, wonderful feeling in their hearts.

Just like he had thought, everything was going to be fine.

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banditthewriter · 5 years

Text

Impossible Year - Billy Russo - 12

Well here we have it, December! We’ve made it to the end of the year. I sure hope you enjoy this part!

Since links are making posts not show up in tags, you can find previous parts on my Masterlist in my about me!

Tags are at the bottom. Let me know if you would like to be added to one of my tag lists!

Enjoy!

*****

December The headstone read your brother's name and the dates of his birth and death. You let your fingers rest on the granite of the headstone for a moment before you placed the flowers down. "Hey big bro," you said with a smile as you knelt before his graze. "Been a while since I've been out to see you. I guess it's just been too hard because of how much I miss you. And I do miss you Evan. More than I ever missed you when you were alive. I guess because I knew I'd see you again at some point but now?" You sniffled and looked over at the other headstones that surrounded you. Your heart felt like it was breaking imagining all of the loved ones that were left behind. "Last time I was here, I told you about Billy. I didn't know how I felt about him and I didn't know if it was something that could work. I guess I should tell you that I know how I feel about him and now I know that it is something that can work." In no rush, you spent time telling your brother about Billy. You told him about Billy being abandoned as a child and how he kept himself pretty locked up tight because of it. Then you explained that you had fallen for Billy and that you knew he felt the same. It wasn't a conversation you could have had with Evan if he was still alive, but there was freedom in talking to him now. You didn't have to worry about being embarrassed. Talking about feelings and emotions and maybe wanting to spend the rest of your life with someone you've never met in person felt a little like a dream. "He comes home soon," you said as you let your fingers move over the petals of the flowers you had brought. "It'll be the first time we'll meet in person. I know I should be nervous because it'll be the first time we'll meet, but I don't? I feel like this has been inevitable from the very beginning. Even before I knew he was the one that package went to." It felt like destiny conspired to introduce the two of you and you would never forget it. "You'd like Billy," you said confidently as you stood up. "Well, maybe not that he's a Marine, but I think even you'd get over that in time." After you were done spilling your guts to your brother, you pressed a kiss to your fingers and touched them to the top of his headstone. "I miss you bro," you said with a teary eyed smile. "I'll be back soon." ------ You had told your parents that this thing with Billy was serious. They had noticed your worry and you had admitted that he had been unreachable for a while. You told them that he wanted to be with you and that you wanted to be with him. The only problem your mom had with it was that she was worried about you. "Anything can happen in the service," she reminded you. Like you needed a reminder. "I'd rather have him for now than to not have him," you admitted easily. It was easier to admit these things now that you and Billy had talked about it. "You sure about this?" Your dad stared at you and when you nodded without any hesitation, he sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Well I guess we'll just have to get over him being a jarhead, won't we?" It was as close to a stamp of approval as you'd get until they actually met the man that had stolen your heart. But you knew the moment they met him, they'd love him as well. He was getting home soon. You'd told him that you'd meet him at the airport and he could stay with you or in a hotel. You told him that you could make up the guest room for him. Truthfully you hoped that he'd never step foot in the guest room, but you didn't want to rush it. His reply was something along the same lines of your own hopes so you didn't worry too much. Would it be strange with him there? You emailed and Skyped constantly, but did that mean that your ease with one another would translate into being in person? As much as you cared for each other, you had to imagine that meeting for the first time might be awkward. The mailbox had a few pieces of mail in it when you got home from work. You flicked through them with a certain level of disinterest until you found a familiar handwriting staring at you. Billy wrote you a letter? He would be getting back to the states soon. The two of you hadn't nailed out the plan for you picking him up from the airport, but you weren't worried. You opened the letter eagerly as you sat on the couch, kicking your shoes off as you read his words. My dear Y/N, I miss you so much. I didn't think it was possible to miss someone this much. Much less someone I've never met. Frank has threatened me with physical harm if I don't stop talking about you. It's good payback for him talking about his wife and kids all the time at least. I don't even care. Do you realize that soon I'll have you in my arms? I'll be able to hold you. To touch you. To kiss you. You're going to have to call out of work because I don't think I'll be done with you for days. I used to make fun of guys that got this sappy over a girl but I guess it's just because I didn't know what I was missing. And what I was missing was you. I'll see you soon. Billy You smiled as you read the letter again. When had he sent this letter? You grabbed the envelope to check the post mark and frowned. There was a stamp, but it wasn't post marked. It didn't say where it had been sent from or what post office it had been sorted at. You turned the envelope over, wondering if it was on the other side, but it was blank as well. How...? A knock at your door made you freeze. Your heart was thudding in your chest and you stood up, the letter still clutched in your hand as you made your way to the entry way. You could see the outline of someone on your porch. One deep breath and then another. You unlocked the door and pulled it open. Standing on your porch with a grin and a duffle bag over his shoulder was Billy. He was wearing jeans and a leather jacket, but you could picture him so perfectly in fatigues that it took you a moment to process that he was wearing civilian clothes. That he was there. How was he there? "You gonna invite me in or am I just supposed to freeze my balls off out here?" A laugh escaped you as you reached out to tug him in. He dropped his bag on the floor next to your feet as both of you wrapped your arms around the other. He was cold to the touch but you didn't care. Your cheek was pressed against the leather jacket over his chest and you closed your eyes. Bliss. Holding him in your arms after so long of wanting this very thing was bliss. You didn't ever want to let go. Nothing could be better than this. His fingers tucked under your chin and made you look up at him. He was grinning as he bent in, bumping his nose against yours before he leaned in to kiss you. Had you thought that holding him was bliss? This was heaven. You tugged him in closer as that first kiss turned into a second one. Billy didn't seem inclined to release you and you didn't care. You didn't want to let go of him either. ------ The two of you were curled up on the couch together. After the greeting—which had almost lead up the stairs until both of you started thinking clearly again—you had led him into the house and bundled him in front of the fire place. He shed his jacket and shoes, let you cover the two of you with a throw blanket, and then had simply held you. "I thought I was picking you up from the airport," you said as you rubbed your cheek against his shoulder. "Not that I mind the surprise. In fact that was possibly the best surprise in the world." "I got an earlier flight out and I wanted to surprise you. I came straight here after I left the airport." You turned a bit until you could meet his eyes. The two of you had barely stopped touching in the time he'd been in your house but you also couldn't stop looking at him. It wasn't just that he was definitely the most attractive person you'd ever seen. This man was more than that. You were just scared that if you closed your eyes or looked away too long that he would disappear. This was obviously a dream. "You're more beautiful in person if that's possible," he whispered as his eyes roamed over your face. When you ducked your head, he tilted your chin back up and gave you a wide grin. "I don't want to hear it from you, mister GQ model. Seriously you look like you stepped off the pages of a magazine and I'm not even mad about it." He laughed and leaned in to press a kiss to your cheek. His lips lingered and you turned into the touch, your lips seeking his out easily. You lost yourself to the kiss once more, your body bowing into his as you struggled to remember why you weren't dragging him upstairs. "We have time," he said with a laugh as he broke the kiss, his hand cupping your cheek. "I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to." You shook your head with a smile. "The only place I want you is right here with me."

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henryandalex · 5 years

Text

MALEC ADVENT CALENDAR 2018 | December 21st by @bytheangell

The Kindness of (Handsome) Strangers

((A/N: Inspired by the lyrics to “Old City Bar” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.))

One would think that Christmas Eve will be a slow day for places like old city bars, while most people travel to and from families and loved ones. And for the most part that assumption is correct - there are less people than usual but the faithful regulars still populate the stools around the counter. In the city that never sleeps, the bar’s neon light shines like a beacon to passersby with nowhere better to be on this cold, winter night.

Magnus washes out a glass between tending to the half-dozen or so patrons in the bar, music playing low in the background from the jukebox in the corner. People stuck working the holiday, or those who didn’t have a family to go home to but who also didn’t want to be entirely by themselves, sit around the small room making small talk. Mr. Dry’s Bar (repurposed from an old speakeasy) is a safe compromise - the solidarity of others in a similar position, but the solitariness of a barstool. Lonely but not alone.

The snow is still coming down outside, starting to pile onto the sides of the roads and sidewalks. Travel is a mess, but when is it not in the city? Still, Magnus is glad to be inside as the edges of the windows begin to ice up. Not that he ever leaves - with a room above the bar he doesn’t need to bother. The outside world brought him nothing but pain in the past and he’s long since stopped trying to force anything else from it. Perhaps he was never meant to love or be loved… at least that’s what he told himself a few years back when he shut himself off to it entirely.

The bell above the door rings, confusing him at first because he doesn’t see anyone there. The sound of light footsteps draws his attention down to the young girl so bundled up in a puffy coat, wool hat and scarf that he can barely make out her eyes to be certain-

“Madzie? What are you doing here, you shouldn’t be out in this weather… or in here by yourself. You know the rules.”

The young girl starts to reply but her voice is muffled by the scarf, and she stops to remove it before trying again.

“I’m not by myself, I’m with you!” Madzie states with the sort of unwavering trust that only a child can possess. She rolls her eyes rather dramatically and Magnus can only imagine how much Catarina hates that particular habit she likely picked up from Ragnor. In all of the city (if he’s being honest, in the entire world at this point) Magnus has three people in his life he still cares for - the three people who wouldn’t allow him to push them away, even now when he hasn’t spoken to any of them in weeks.

“Right. Well, I’m working, and you should get home before it gets too dark out.” He motions back out towards the door.

“I will. I just wanted to see if you knew there was someone lost outside.”

Magnus’ gaze turns back towards the windows, where sure enough a tall man in jeans, a long black coat, and a maroon scarf stands across the street at the payphone that hasn’t worked in years. The snow dots his dark, dishevelled hair before melting, replaced by fresh flakes which repeat the process. Magnus watches for a few seconds as the man tries to pick up the phone, puts it back down, and slumps back against it in defeat.

“He can’t get home,” Madzie adds, drawing Magnus’ attention back to the room he’s in and away from the scene outside.

“Not that I care,” he says slowly, hoping the little girl hasn’t been out there talking to strangers on the street. “But how would you know that?”

Madzie shrugs. “If you could be home, wouldn’t you already be there? It’s Christmas Eve.” And with that she’s gone, out the door and into the swirling snow.

Magnus watched her pass by the window before turning away from it. Wasn’t like he could go give the guy a ride or anything - it’s a city, cabs go by more often than necessary even in the snow. He’ll be fine.

Or maybe not. A few moments later, drawn towards this particular building by the glowing neon in the otherwise dreary winter grey outside, the man from across the street comes into the bar with a little ‘ding’ from the bell above the door to announce his arrival.

He’s gorgeous. It’s the first thing that registers in Magnus’ mind, entirely against his will. The next is the redness of his face, unable to distinguish if its from the cold or potentially from crying - all of his exposed skin is damp from the melted snow so it’s difficult to tell. He definitely looks upset, though.

“What can I do for you?” Magnus asks, doing his best to look entirely disinterested. Which he is. The guy may be attractive but that doesn’t mean Magnus needs to be invested in his problems.

The stranger eyes him carefully, hesitating. “Do you have a phone here I could use? I tried to use the pay phone across the street, but--”

Magnus huffs a laugh. “That thing’s been broken for years. I reported it to the city a few times but, hey, it’s 2018 - I don’t even know if they bother fixing them at this point, or just let them become relics.” He gives the guy a good-natured smile at the joke but it falls flat. Not in the joking mood then. No, he supposes someone in a position to need a payphone in the snow on Christmas Eve probably isn’t having the best of days.

“I wouldn’t ask except my car broke down, and my cell is totally dead, and my apartment’s at least an hour back, walking…” the attractive man continues to explain until Magnus holds up a hand to stop him.

“Don’t worry about it. Here.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cell phone, unlocking it before handing it over.

The guy takes it with a quiet “Thanks”, waiting just long enough to take a very telling deep breath before dialing the number. “Hey Luke, is mom there?” A pause, and the stranger grows visibly more distraught. “Hey, mom. Listen, I’m-” he swallows thickly. “I’m not going to make it home.”

Magnus watches as the strangers face falls, any attempt at a forced smile for show gone entirely.

“I know. I know it’s been years. No, this isn’t about-” he spares an apologetic, embarrassed glance Magnus’ way and Magnus shrugs and turns away, seeming to give him a bit more privacy though he continues to listen. “I know this is the first year without Robert. I really wanted to see you and Izzy again too, but my car broke down. Even if I had the extra cash for the tow and the cab I’d never make my flight--” The stranger trails off, and though his back is turned Magnus can hear the emotion choking his words. “Just tell Max and Izzy I’m sorry. I’ll call later.”

Magnus waits a moment or two before turning to face the man on the other side of the bar again, taking back his phone.

“Thanks,” the stranger says with another sigh, eyeing the liquor behind the bar. “Can I get a shot of whiskey? It’s going to be a long walk home.”

Magnus nods, fighting the urge to talk; to do what bartenders are expected to do in this scenario, even though he definitely doesn’t care about the sad, stunning man doing shots of whiskey while stranded at his bar on Christmas Eve. Not at all.

Not until the man nearly chokes on the shot, only managing a wincing half-sip before looking like he just bit into a lemon. Magnus has to actively hold back the instinctive laughter. “I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’re not a whiskey man?”

“I’m not much of a drinker in general,” the stranger admits. “But I figured it’d warm me up a bit.”

Magnus caves. “You said your car broke?” He asks despite his better judgment.

“Yeah. I was supposed to go home for Christmas for the first time in… five years now, I think?” He tries the whiskey again, a little more prepared for the bite this time. “I kind of fucked things up back home, then my parents escalated it, and long story short I left town for college and never came back. This was supposed to be the first year I saw them again… second chances and all that. But I guess I’ll just pick up some extra shifts at work instead.” The guy looks down at the now-empty glass in resignation. “One more for the road?”

Magnus obliges, and this time the stranded stranger knocks it all back in one proper go, still wincing and shuddering a bit as he swallows. Magnus can see how torn up he is over the situation and his thoughts drift towards his own father: he doesn’t even know where he is to try and reach out to him even if he wanted to. Which he doesn’t. Not after--

Magnus is torn from his thoughts when the guy across the bar speaks up abruptly. “Anyway, I should go. How much do I owe you?”

Magnus frowns slightly while remembering the words he spoke on the phone about not having the extra money for the tow or a cab to the airport. Granted, that would be considerably more expensive than a few shots of low-end whiskey, but still...

“It’s on the house.”

The man looks surprised. “Really? Are you sure, I have-”

“Really. Don’t worry about it.” Magnus repeats the offer in a way that makes it very clear he won’t say it a third time.

The stranger lingers a moment before nodding, pushing himself away from the bar. “Thanks. Happy Holidays.” And there’s something in the gratitude behind those hazel eyes at the small act of kindness, even in the face of everything else he’s dealing with, that tugs at Magnus’ heartstrings a little.

“Yeah,” Magnus replies. “Happy Holidays.” This earns him a few funny looks from his regulars around the bar, and it isn’t lost on the stranger as he makes his way back out into the snow that there isn’t a single decoration in or on the entire building. Magnus waits until he’s out of the door before not-so-subtly wandering back to where he can see the guy cross the street through the window. The tall man stops beside a dark car, struggles to get a duffle bag that’s half his size out of his trunk and over his shoulder before shutting the trunk, lastly giving the car a kick out of obvious frustration before turning to start down the street.

Magnus watches. He hesitates. He takes a deep breath. And then, without a single word, he reaches for his red coat and slides it on, grabbing something from the register and shoving it in his pocket before heading out into the snow after the stranger.

----

Alec can’t believe his luck. Maybe it’s a sign. He’s willing to give his mom a second chance and the benefit of the doubt now that Robert is out of the picture and Izzy promises him that Maryse is much better now, swearing she’s really, truly looking to make amends. It was bad enough to learn that Robert was cheating on her after Alec left, but to find out she knew and stayed anyway was almost too much for him to forgive on top of his own grievances. Now that they’re separated and his mom is dating Luke she does seem better, and it’s obvious how much of her opinions of him after his engagement debacle were shaped by having Robert at her side. He thought this year he could try to extend that olive branch…

Maybe this is the universe telling him it isn’t time just yet. He thought he was ready - he really felt like things were lining up to be alright again - but maybe he’s wrong.

The whiskey warms his chest as he grabs the bag from his car, giving the side of the broken vehicle a kick for good measure. “Cheap piece of shit,” he mutters bitterly, not sure what else he really expects from a car nearly as old as he is. Honestly, he’s lucky it lasted him as long as it did.

Alec’s already trying to convince himself this is fine. He hasn’t seen her in years, not since he broke off his engagement to Lydia the day of the wedding. He still isn’t sure what made his parents more furious: the embarrassment of him waiting until the last moment or the revelation after the fact that it was because he’s gay. Either way, the fallout was so spectacular that he left and never looked back… not until now.

The truth is that he’s been looking forward to this for months. He misses his family. He forgave them long ago, probably earlier than he should have, and he needs to be certain that they forgive him, too. A flight home for three days was the best he could manage with the way he’s been working to pay for school on top of the classes he’s taking, and now he has no idea when his next chance to get home may be.

But it’s fine. Maybe he can work something out for over the summer... what’s another Christmas alone after this many, anyway?

He’s ready to start the long walk back to his apartment when he sees something moving towards him - no, not something, someone. A figure in a bright red coat which stands out in stark contrast to the whiteout surrounding them is crossing the street and it doesn’t take him long to recognize the bartender.

“What time is your flight?” The bartender asks without preamble.

“What?” Alec asks back, thrown by the sudden question.

“What time is your flight? How long do you have to get to the airport?” He repeats with a huff of impatience, as if he’s already regretting his decision to come out here.

Alec glances at his watch. “A little under two hours.”

The bartender reaches into the pocket of the red coat and takes out a messy cluster of bills. It’s a twenty or two, some tens, but mostly fives and ones. It’s everything from the register that day. “Take a cab. If you bribe them with a good tip they won’t stall for extra fare time. Traffic probably won’t be too bad this late, you should be able to make it.”

“I couldn’t.” Alec takes a step back while shaking his head. “And I have to find a tow before I leave.”

The older man hesitates, clearly considering this additional roadblock in his plan for the first time. “...leave me your keys?”

Alec laughs in disbelief. “What?!” He has to be joking, right? He doesn’t really expect him to just hand his keys over to a stranger, does he?

“Leave me your keys,” the bartender repeats again, with more conviction this time. “What, do you think I’m going to steal your broken down dinosaur of a -- Jesus is that a Buick? How do you even drive that boat in the city?”

Alec narrows his eyes. The bartender clears his throat and shrugs apologetically. “Sorry. Look, one of my regulars inside owns a shop. We’ll tow it there and you can sort it out when you get back. He’ll give you the fairest price in the city, you have my word.”

He has no reason to trust this guy besides the fact that he was nice enough to let him borrow a phone and not pay for drinks, and Alec can’t help but doubt this much unwarranted kindness, even during the holidays. “Why? I mean it’s nice of you to offer and all, but you don’t even know me.”

Something shifts in the man’s expression. He looks like he’s about to share something personal, give a little insight to his motivations, but just as quickly it’s gone. If Alec isn’t so positive of what he saw he may believe it’s just a trick of the streetlights above them.

“Look, I’m not going to offer twice. Just… take it. Go home. See your family.”

The look in his eyes may be gone but something is still there in his voice: a mixture of fondness and sadness, Alec thinks he hears, wondering if the bartender’s thoughts are on his own family just then.

Alec looks down at the money in the man’s hand and decides to take it.

“I’ll pay you back.” Alec promises, hope springing to life in his chest where only regret and disappointment lingered moments before. Alec reaches into his own pocket for his keys and slides the one for the car off the ring, handing it over to the bartender.

“I’m not asking you to. Don’t worry about it.” The bartender turns and heads back across the street without another word.

“Thank you!” Alec calls out after him. It doesn’t even occur to him that he never got the bartender’s name before he disappears back inside the bar, leaving Alec to flag down the cab that miraculously passes by that very moment.

This, Alec realizes with a smile. This is the sign I needed.

-----

It’s a week later, New Year’s Eve, and there isn’t a soul in sight at Magnus’ little bar on the outskirts of the city. All of his regulars are home by now; anyone wandering by is trying to make their way closer to the action in Times Square and not paying his little hole in the wall a second glance. He’s getting ready to lock up - half of the chairs are flipped upside down to rest on the tables and most of the lights are already out - when there’s the familiar sound of the bell above the door.

“I’m closing up for the--” Magnus starts, but stops abruptly when he sees who it is.

It’s the guy from Christmas Eve.

“Oh, sorry. I can come back tomorrow…” The tall stranger trails off, already looking down at his feet as he turns to leave as quickly as he came.

“Wait!” Magnus calls out, but when the stranger turns back around Magnus realizes he has no follow-up for stopping him until he remembers the car that’s been . “Uh, your car’s fixed but the shop’s closed until the 2nd. I hope that’s alright.”

“It’s more than alright. Thank you,” the guy says. “For everything. Really, I can’t even begin to tell you how much it meant for me to see my family this year. It’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me and I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Magnus.”

“Alec.” The stranger - Alec - supplies. “Nice to properly meet you.” Alec smiles, and it’s enough to make Magnus forget what he was doing only a moment before; he’s still awkwardly holding a chair in his hand and it takes him a few seconds to remember to set it down on the table to clear the floor for the morning’s sweeping. “Need some help with those?” Alec motions to the chairs left around the tables.

Magnus shrugs. “Sure,” he agrees, trying not to sound too eager. “Thanks.” At first there’s a bit of awkward silence. They don’t know each other. Their last interaction before this was Magnus shoving a handful of money into his hands and walking away, but not before taking the key to his car. This isn’t the typical set-up to any sort of friendship. But after a minute or two Magnus asks how the trip home went, and Alec tells him a bit more about his family, hesitating at the bit about being gay but going on eagerly when it doesn’t phase Magnus in the slightest.

Instead of actually leaving once the chairs are up Magnus pours them both a drink, which turns into two drinks, and the two of them are in the middle of laughing over something one of them said when all at once the sound of cheers and noise makers and fireworks spills into the city streets around them.

It’s New Years.

They both waver, locking eyes, searching for the answer to the same question. There’s something here. Each of them is certain that they feel it on their end, but does the other? Magnus is the first to move closer, almost imperceivably, but Alec’s quick to close the rest of the gap once he makes the first move. The taste of the sweet liquor of Alec’s cocktail mixes with the darker smokey notes of Magnus’ scotch as their lips meet, tentative at first then more confident as hands reach out to smooth up and down arms or thread through hair.

They only pull back when Magnus leans forward a bit too far and Alec nearly falls backward off of his barstool, causing them both to break into barely-contained fits of laughter.

“I should get going,” Alec reluctantly admits, glancing at the clock. “Getting a cab at this point is going to take forever.”

“You could stay,” Magnus offers quickly. He doesn’t want Alec to leave. He thought about that kind smile and those warm hazel eyes every day since Christmas Eve, and the more he gets to know him the more he’s drawn into every facet of his personality. He wants to let him in and he doesn’t know why - but only if he can be certain Alec isn’t going to leave like all the others. God, he can’t let himself get hurt like that again. It’s a risk, one Magnus has closed himself off to for years now, but one impromptu midnight kiss has him certain it’s one worth taking. “I live above the bar, no travel required. And I promise to be a gentleman; I’ll take the sofa, you can have the bed.”

Alec considers the offer for several long, agonizing seconds, and for a moment Magnus is convinced he’s going to say no - which will be disappointing but not surprising. They’re still practically strangers, after all.

But instead of turning him down, Alec counters with an unexpectedly coy: “...and what if I were to say I don’t want you to be a gentleman?”

“If you insist,” Magnus deadpans. “Then I can take the bed and you can have the sofa.”

When Alec starts to laugh again Magnus can’t help but break his perfectly executed serious expression to join in. He honestly can’t remember the last time he laughed this much, and it isn’t until he thinks idly that Catarina would like Alec that he realizes how far gone he is already.

If Alec catches the soft look of surprise that crosses Magnus’ face at the realization it only helps to make up his mind.

“Lead the way.”

#bytheangell #malec #shadowhunters #malec fic #mac18 #mac18:fic

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escapingreality1992 · 4 years

Text

Secret Pen Pals Ch. 5

Keira’s POV

Thanksgiving showed up faster than expected. Meaning, I needed to pack for the trip to my parents’ house. It also meant I would live up to the promise to send a letter to Steve detailing my time spent with family. While packing, I made sure to pack the essentials like clothes, toiletries, and the like. In two separate bags, I made sure I packed the beginnings of Steve’s blanket, plus the writing items I needed to send him something. If anyone asked, I could pass it off as getting back into writing. Who knew? Perhaps I could work out something anyway.

Once I was packed, I hailed a cab to JFK airport, my flight being at 12:10 p.m. I’d arrive in Greensboro close to two and at my parents’ around 2:30 or 3 depending on the traffic with it being Thanksgiving. The thing about me is that I tend to get to some places early, arriving at the airport two and a half hours earlier than my flight. Most people did this anyways, preparing for delays in security and checking in luggage. Not too surprising, given that it was busy during the day itself.

It only gave me an excuse to sit down and read in my boarding gate. This time it was a book I needed to read for a book club I joined a few days ago. Unfortunately, this particular book bored me; I guess I could attempt to get it over with while sitting here. It would allow me to move onto the next Dresden Files book on the plane. As it happens, the goal was achieved and I wrote up a quick review about the book; Where the Crawdads Sing, one of the most hyped-up books this year. Not my favorite, a little slow, and a bit shocking at the end.

I guess I couldn’t figure out why everyone loved it, but then that’s their own opinion. I’m not going to condemn them just because I didn’t like it. It didn’t live up to my own standards, but I have always had weird tastes to begin with. It’s not like people can’t enjoy the book, but I didn’t really care for it and that’s okay.

Satisfied with the review, I shut down my laptop and put it away, tuning into the next book of interest. I didn’t get very far into it when they called us to board, a full flight; thank goodness I brought my earbuds to tune out the surrounding noise around me. I breathed a sigh of relaxation as the plane glided through the air, reading taking over any unnecessary thoughts roaming around in my mind. The only ones that sought out freedom from the story playing out before my eyes were the ones about Steve.

How would he celebrate the holiday? Would it be with friends or family? If we had met, would he travel with me? Meet my family? Would he invite me to spend it with his? A small smile tugged at my lips at those thoughts when they popped up, enjoying them and the scenarios that came with them. I imagined my parents and the rest of my family welcoming him with open arms.

Dad would probably grill him about his intentions and try to find out every little detail about him. Mom would talk his ear off, making subtle remarks about marriage. These scenarios prompted a giggle from my throat, silenced by the look I caught from the person sitting next to me. Wouldn’t it be lovely if Steve was by my side at this moment?

We landed and I waited for people to get off the plane to head to baggage claim. Before I booked the tickets, I had gotten Dad to agree to pick me up from the airport and planned on meeting him outside in the carpool lane of the PTI airport to return to their home.

“Hey, daddy. Happy Thanksgiving,” I greeted him, handing off my suitcase to be put in the trunk of the car. The other bags were put in there as well before he embraced me in a tight hug.

“Hi, honey. Welcome home. Everyone should be arriving at 3 for dinner. Did you have a nice flight?”

“Yeah, it was fine. Full, but fine,” I told him, getting in the passenger side and closing the door.

“It is Thanksgiving. It’s to be expected. Your mom is excited to see you and I imagine Newt will want to see you as well,”

“He’ll tackle me and then lick me to death. Still, I’ve missed the big furball,”

“Just a heads up, Keira. I’m sure your grandmas will want to know about what you’ve been up to. They’ll want to know about your love life, so expect a lot of questions,” Dad warned me.

“Wonderful. I can’t wait,” I grumbled, my happy mood now dampened. I was under the illusion that I’d get through the holidays without more people wanting to get involved in my life. It appeared everyone wanted nothing but to invade how I was getting on with it; if I was dating, where I was heading in my career, if they could offer any unwanted assistance. If only I could become invisible to avoid all the pestering.

“You’re staying until Monday, right?” Dad asked, getting off the subject of the impending interrogation I’d be receiving upon the arrival of other family members.

“That’s the plan. Unless I decide otherwise,” I answered. If things. If things went awry, I wanted to fly home immediately, avoiding the crushing drama, which happened each time our family got together. If things appeared normal, then I’d stay, enjoying the company of my parents. It’d all depend on everyone’s attitude and if they chose to piss me off, intentional or not.

“Alright. You’re in your old room. Not much has changed, except we repainted the walls this summer,” Dad stated.

“Thanks, Dad,” We pulled up to their two-story house and parked behind the second car they owned. He helped get my things out of the trunk to carry them inside; scraping claws sounded from the living room to the kitchen where we were entering, followed by a loud bark. A giant German Shepherd jumped on me, the force of his weight making me stumble back a little.

“Newtie! Hey, buddy. Who’s a good boy? Newt is. I’ve missed you Newtie,” I stated, pushing his front paws to the floor and petting him as he spun around in circles. He sat and the proceeded to lay down in the middle of the floor for me to rub his belly. I dropped to my knees to give him the attention he wanted before getting up to place my luggage in my room for the weekend. I unpacked and found my brush, running it through my long hair, getting the tangles out from it getting bunched up on the plane. A knock sounded at my door and I turned to face my mom.

“Welcome home. I trust you had a good flight,” she greeted me. I nodded and walked over to hug her.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” I told her.

“Others will be arriving soon. Come on down,” she said, letting go and exiting the room. I sighed and descended the steps, preparing myself for the dinner of possible drama. At least, I could count on Newt to keep me in a good mood.

Steve’s POV

Sounds of things being banged around roused me from sleep; a section of blonde hair falling in front of my eyes when I sat up. My first thought is someone was breaking in and I needed to go help resolve the situation. Not caring if I attacked them without a shirt on, I bolted from bed and sprinted downstairs, ready to spring into action.

Listening for where the noise was coming from, I follow it to the main dining room, trying my best to be stealthy. I peek around the corner to find Thor, Wanda, and Tony hanging Thanksgiving decorations. Standing straight from my crouched position, I walked in to address what is going on.

“Tony? Thor? Wanda? What are you guys doing?” I asked, confused as more decorations are put into place on the walls.

“Thanksgiving. I’ve invited a few people over to eat. It’ll be kind of a big family feast. Strange will be here as well as Wong, not to mention it’ll be good to have a break from things for a few days,” Tony stated, moving chairs down to make more room at the huge conference table we held meetings at.

“Thanksgiving. Right. I didn’t realize that was today. Do you need help with anything? I could grab supplies at the store. Maybe cook the turkey,” I said.

“You can go with Natasha for the food and help cook. We’ve got the decorations covered. I might suggest you put something on that isn’t sweatpants though,” he responded to my question. I nodded and returned to my room to change into a gray shirt, jeans, boots and my favorite leather jacket. I met Nat downstairs by the entrance.

“Ready to go?” I asked her, receiving a shake of her head.

“We’re waiting on Bucky. Don’t get mad, but I’ve invited him because I think you should tell him about…her,” She told me.

“Nat. I’m not sure I need to tell anyone else about Keira,” I argued.

“Steve, he’s your best friend. He should know. In case you need him to talk about her with. Besides, it’s not like he’s going to tell anyone else,”

“I’ve got you, don’t I?” At the quirk of one of her eyebrows, I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face.

“Alright, fine. I’ll tell him. Only him. I don’t want anyone else to know. Not until after we’ve met. Not until I know for sure,” I said. She smiled, patting me on the arm. A minute later, Bucky joined us, and we walked out to one of the SUVs in the garage. Natasha drove us to the store we normally shopped at, my heart hammering at the thought of telling someone else about the letters and Keira.

“Wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell me you’ve been writing to a complete stranger? A woman named Keira. And you didn’t tell me?” Bucky said when I revealed the secret to him.

“Yeah. I tried to keep it secret until Natasha discovered one of the letters. Tony technically saw one first, but I grabbed it before he had a chance to ask any questions,” I answered. I carded a hand through my hair, a bit nervous about his next reaction. He pulled a couple of bottles of wine – both red and white – from the shelves and placed them in the shopping basket with the other supplies we acquired.

“Why?”

“Why keep it a secret? I don’t know. I-,”

“No, why didn’t you tell me? You know I don’t judge, and I don’t spill secrets. Why didn’t you say something?” Bucky asked, his expression turning to anger.

“I guess I wasn’t sure how long it would last. I didn’t expect to develop feelings. It just sort of happened. I feel connected to her in ways I never knew existed. This is nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Especially not with Peggy when we interacted,”

“How long? How long have you been writing to her?”

“A few months. Since September. It started as an event from a bookstore. No deadline, but I thought after the first letter, we might stop, get bored. Except her first letter drew me in and I found I didn’t want to stop corresponding to her.

The second letter made me realize I wanted more. After the third, I knew I needed more. The last one I sent to her, I knew I wanted to meet her,”

“A few…Steve, you should’ve said something. Especially, if you think you’re falling for this girl. Have you looked into her? Found out who she really is?” Bucky said, tossing in blocks of cheese when we approached the deli department.

“No, and I don’t want to. Something about her words makes me feel I can trust her. You can’t tell anyone. Please, Buck. I’ll tell them eventually. After I meet up with her, once I know for sure she’s the one I want. The letters are wonderful, but I’d like to see what happens when we actually meet face to face,” I replied. He raked a hand through his hair, taking in what I said, a sigh escaping his lips.

“I’m not saying anything to anyone, I promise. When will you see her?”

“After the holidays. I would like to start the new year right. Create new beginnings. See how things go. I’ve sent her this request. I have to wait to see her response. Of course, there’s the possibility that she won’t respond if she feels I’ve crossed a line,”

“What happens if you meet before the holidays are over? Will you be prepared for it? Will you be prepared if things don’t pan out the way you want them to?” he asked.

“Don’t worry about me. Everything will be okay, whether Keira and I connect more or not. Let’s just get through Thanksgiving,” I stated.

“If they don’t end up together, we can always set him up with someone else,” Natasha chimed in, throwing in packets of gravy. I managed to nod and chuckle at her comment, secretly hoping Keira and I would work out, so that didn’t happen.

We finished up shopping, returning to the compound to prepare the feast. Tony told us guests would be arriving around 5, leaving us plenty of time to get everything together and to change into nice attire – I changed into a dark blue, button up shirt, black trousers, and black leather loafers to complete my outfit – celebrating with our huge family.

Often, I found myself wandering to thoughts of Keira; how she was getting along with her own family, if she was thinking about me, how, if she were here, would she get along with my own version of family. I’d look at Natasha and Wanda with their arms around each other kissing or Tony and Pepper gazing at each other with adoration and wonder what Keira would feel like in my arms.

Even Strange had brought a date and the same pang of loneliness I felt at the benefit returned; I shoved it away taking in the happiness of the group around me. I was loved by many, my friends always being there for me. Bucky was even like a brother to me. It didn’t stop me from wanting to be loved by her, by Keira. I knew she had gone to North Carolina. Again, as I approached a window, peered out of it, glancing at the stars, I thought of her.

Meanwhile, in Greensboro

Keira’s POV

During one part of the night of Thanksgiving, I drifted over to one of the windows and peered up at the stars, lost in thought, already broken away from conversations with those who were there. Other members of the family showed up; first my mom’s mother who I called Mimi, then dad’s side – his brother Andrew, my aunt Kelsey, my cousin Callie and her son Jonathan, plus my dad’s mother – Grandma Luanna, all being on time to the feast.

As expected, everyone inquired into my life, asking about if I was seeing anyone and my career, which all in all wasn’t too bad. It appeared to die down when food was ready, and everyone sat down to eat. Still, I wanted to disappear, to write to the one person I wanted to talk to. The one person I wished was here. Later when everyone has cleared. When my parents have gone to bed, I thought. I knew if I left for too long, questions would be asked, secrets would be discovered.

Feeling the need of a brownie, I strode over to the counter and piled three of them on a plate and sat down at a table before Callie came over. Currently, as I nibbled on the brownies, a conversation was held between the two of us about New York.

“I wish I could’ve gone with you. It’d be nice to have my own place. Especially in New York,” she said.

“It’s not too bad. It’s prettier in Fall and Winter,” I said, taking another bite of the chocolate treat.

“So, you haven’t found anyone yet? To date, I mean?”

“Please, not this again,” I groaned.

“Why not? You’ve been up there for two years and no one’s asked you out? Not even any of the Avengers? Like Tony Stark?” she pressed.

“He’s engaged, Callie. It wouldn’t work even if he wasn’t. He seems nice, but he’s not really my type,”

“Stephen Strange?”

“I thought you didn’t like him because of his supposed arrogance. Alas, no, he hasn’t. I’m not really in his world though. He’s kind of hot, but I don’t usually date someone based on looks. Trust me, I’ve seen his pictures before and after the accident,”

“Thor? Captain America?”

“No and no. Callie, don’t worry. I’m okay.

“You don’t want a boyfriend? Aren’t you lonely?” she asked, the last question hitting home. Sure, I was a bit lonely, but I didn’t think any of the Avengers would be the right choice. Maybe Captain America, but I would like to get to know the man behind the mask and costume. Not that I knew his real name. I’d like with that anyone, really. I liked to get to know the people I dated before I dated them. I fell for personalities, not necessarily looks. I was a firm believer that someone could be good looking but could end up being a jerk.

Steve was one I really enjoyed finding out about, getting to know. He appeared to be warm and gentle; a captivating soul. Not to mention he made feel warm inside.

“Don’t tell me you’re interested in women. Is that why you dismissed the men I offered?” Callie asked, a look of disgust on her face.

“No. Of course not. I’m a little lonely, but I’m not in any rush to get married right now. When I meet the right one, I’ll be sure to tell you. By the way, there’s nothing wrong in liking women,” I told her, annoyed by her attitude. Callie scoffed and changed the subject before we joined everyone else. The celebration lasted a few more hours, going until around 8 when everyone went home, leaving my parents and me alone for the rest of the evening. We mainly watched movies, the cheesy kind in which everyone lived happily ever after. You know, like Hallmark movies.

Around midnight, my parents retired to bed while I crafted a new letter to Steve.

Steve’s POV

“Explain to me why you’re still single. You could have any woman you want and yet you haven’t found one single girl to date. To settle down with,” Tony stated, knocking me out of my thoughts.

“I don’t know Tony. I’m not rushing into anything. You know how I am. I like to be friends with people, or women, before I do anything,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I still think you would have found someone by now,”

“It’s not that easy. Plus, we’ve been busy these last couple of weeks, not to mention all of the years we’ve been fighting enemies,”

“I don’t think you’re trying hard enough. Maybe-,”

“Tony, leave him alone. He’ll settle down when he’s ready. It took you years before you found Pepper,” Natasha cut in. Tony surrendered and the subject was dropped. I mouthed a thank you to Nat and tuned into the funny stories everyone was sharing. The night started becoming late, coming up around 1 a.m. and soon Strange, his date, and Wong returned to the Sanctum.

One by one, people left to return to their rooms, giving me leave to go to mine. I picked up a book, deciding to read for another hour, but kept losing interest. My attention kept wandering to my desk where my notebook lay, a letter waiting to be crafted. It’s not that I was afraid to write another one, but after the last one I sent, I wasn’t sure if I should write one. What if Keira had decided I had crossed a line and wanted to cut off communication.

Write her, Steve. You can still be friends with her, I thought. Closing the book, I walked over to the desk, crafting a new one. I stuck to asking about how she celebrated Thanksgiving and wishing her a good one. I tried not to confess my feelings to her again, instead telling her about Bucky and Natasha, followed by some fears I had. I even wrote her a story with warmth, an imagined scenario I wanted to happen between us.

Four Days Later

Our routine hadn’t returned during the rest of the week, allowing us the freedom to do what we wanted. I still went out for runs, the cool air distracting me from waiting by the mailbox for another letter from Keira. I managed to stay out of the compound as some of the couples were being a little loud with their own activities.

Even Bucky and I hung out at coffee shops and movie theaters to get away from it all. In fact, I had ventured out to a coffee shop this afternoon to relax and read, returning in time with the mail truck, approaching the box after the mail man had left a stack of mail in it. Thumbing through the stack, I found the one I was looking for. I strode inside, leaving the rest on the coffee table. No one was home except for Bucky, leaving me to look at the contents of the letter without anyone being nosy.

I threw it down on the bed, pacing back and forth. What would be her answer? What did she think of me now? I picked up the letter immediately putting it back down, nerves encompassing every part of me. I ran a hand through my hair, squeezing the back of my neck as I stared at the envelope. Unable to bear the unread contents, I sat down in the middle of my bed, opening it with shaking fingers and pulling out the paper within. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I unfolded the letter and started reading.

Steve,

Believe me when I say you haven’t crossed any lines. Thank you for the confession. Truth be told, we’re on the same page. I believe I’m falling in love with you too. Your words have me made me feel like nothing I’ve ever felt with anyone before.

I can’t stop smiling every time I receive something from you. I feel more alive, more confident when I write to you. I feel I’m a lot braver when writing, the words flowing like water on these pages. I think it’s time we meet. See where this goes. I agree with your suggestion. Let’s meet after the holidays. Start fresh with a new year.

Start somewhere small. Maybe coffee or lunch. Or maybe a movie. Do you want to set a date and place to meet? Would you like me to? I can send over my schedule and you can send me yours to figure it out.

“She wants to meet. Keira said yes to meeting,” I stated out loud and in shock. A wave of happiness washed over me next, my lips stretching out in a huge grin. I’d have to get with Tony to figure out some sort of schedule and find out a good time to get together with her. I wanted lunch to spend as much time with her as possible. Maybe we could stretch it out into a dinner. I continued reading, interested in every word.

Perhaps, you’re also right. Maybe fate will have us meet earlier. Still, I think a plan should be made in case it doesn’t happen. I want to see you, to touch you, to feel your skin against mine. I imagine you’re warm and gentle. Your words alone have me thinking it. I have no doubt we’ll be happy when meeting. I believe we’ll get along great.

Yes, I watched the storm. I believe I said so in my last letter. My power went out and I resorted to candles when it was over. It’s funny and lovely that one storm brought a connection between us, drawing us in. It’s not only the letters, but nature must be telling us something. Maybe we’re meant to be.

I loved your list of favorites. For your next musical, once you’ve watched Rent, you should give Phantom of the Opera a try. The movie is beautiful. So is the show. I saw it live in Vegas a couple years back. Reduces me to tears every time. I’ve always loved the Phantom even though some of the choices he makes are awful. I’ve seen the Goonies. It’s fantastic. It took me a while to see it, though. I thought it was something different than it was. I…I’d like to have your arms around me. Especially, during the Winter.

Some country singers I think you might like are Lady Antebellum, Dan + Shay, Hunter Hayes and Kip Moore. They’re pretty good and have some softer songs I think you’ll enjoy.

As you can probably see from the address on the front of this envelope, I’m at my parents for Thanksgiving. Things weren’t as bad as I thought. Yes, they grilled me again, but at least it didn’t last the whole night. Of course, I’ve discovered I can’t drink a whole lot if I haven’t had that much food. I had a killer headache towards the end of the night, but I took Advil to make it go away. It gave me enough focus to write to you. I’m writing late at night, as when everyone left to go home from my parents’, we watched cheesy Hallmark movies until they went to bed.

This got a small laugh out of me. I imagined doing this with her next year, one arm draped over her shoulders, the other linking with her fingers. We’d be buried under one of her blankets, our bodies close.

Want to know something interesting? I found myself over at a window glancing up at the stars, thinking of you. I thought about what you were doing, how you were celebrating Thanksgiving. What it would be like to have you here with me.

Oh FYI, I’m here for four more days, so I may not get your letter until I get back to Brooklyn. It’ll be worth the wait, though I really want it much sooner. We need to meet, soon if possible. I miss you even though I haven’t seen you yet.

Until next time. Until we meet. Please write soon.

Waiting for you,

Keira

Tears welled up, a couple escaping down my cheeks. Clearly, we were more connected than we thought. Both of us were drawn to a window, both of us thinking of each other. A soft knock echoed at my door; I quickly wiped away the tears from my cheeks and blinked back the others that threatened to fall before I answered the door.

Behind it stood Bucky, who seemed to want to invite me somewhere. He took one look at my face and worry crossed his features.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Everything’s fine. Did you need something?”

“Danvers texted. She wanted to invite everyone out to drink and play darts at our usual bar. Want to come?”

“Sure. Let me grab my jacket and put shoes on,” I answered, turning back inside my room. I put up the letter and placed it in the box I had the others.

“Keira again? Did you get the answer you wanted, or did she reject you?” Bucky asked, once I got my jacket on and stuffed my feet in my shoes.

“I received the best answer one could get. She wants to meet. Turns out we’re more connected that I thought. Let’s go before everyone gets suspicious,” I told him.

“You’ve got it bad for this chick. I can only imagine what will happen when you finally meet her,” Bucky said. He was right. I had major feelings for Keira, and they would only grow stronger once we came in contact with each other.

Monday Night

Keira’s POV

I got back to New York around 8 p.m. and took a cab back to my apartment after picking up my luggage. I made a stop at my mailbox to pick up the missed envelopes and magazines I had gotten while away, taking the elevator to rummage through them.

My fingers landed on one special envelope, the address and name standing out. Steve. I smiled, eager to open it, waiting until I got into my apartment before I did so. I didn’t even make it to the bedroom before my fingers were under the edge of the envelope and pulling out the paper inside it. I sat down on the couch, pulling off my boots and began reading.

Keira,

It’s Thanksgiving. Something I forgot about until this morning. I almost attacked a few of my friends when they were setting up for the feast. You’d probably love them. Especially Wanda, who is a sweet girl. She’d love to watch movies with you, and she loves animals. Thor would wrap you into a bear hug because everyone says he’s a giant teddy bear.

Thor? He’s friends with an Avenger? I thought, recognizing the name right away and the next after.

Tony will talk your ear off about technology but he’s fun and intriguing. Anyway, a couple of us went to the store to pick up supplies to help out with the huge dinner. There’s a bunch of us attending the dinner and my friends are practically family since my real family passed away a while ago. Though, I wouldn’t trade this family for anything. I’d only introduce someone new to the group. I’d love to introduce you to this group.

Thanksgiving was enjoyable. We drank and ate a lot, having fun talking and hanging out. At one point, I went over to one of the giant windows we have here at home and looked out to the stars. My first thought was about you and where you were at that very moment. I knew you were in North Carolina of course, but I kept asking myself if you were at a window as well, staring up at the stars or if you were talking to someone you love.

I know I haven’t received your answer yet, but I still want to meet. I still want to see your gorgeous face. I’m being patient and I’ll gladly accept any answer you give even if…it’s a no or you don’t want to write anymore.

I’ll accept it even if it kills me, but it’s ultimately your choice. I only want your happiness, even if you might not want it with me. Based on your last letters, I feel that you want this, but I could be reading into it wrong.

Believe me, I want this. I want you, but you’ve sent this before you’ve gotten mt answer. You’ll be in for a surprise, I thought. I kept reading, soaking in his words.

I hope your Thanksgiving went well. No drama, no judgment. I hope you enjoyed your fill of turkey and dessert. As I sit here, I find I want to know what you’re thinking about. What you’re doing. Are you asleep? Are you wide awake? Are you writing to me or are you working on something original? Will you write me something you’re working on? Write me something that came from your imagination.

Send me something beautiful. Send me something romantic, though your words are just that. Send me something that speaks volumes of your soul. Something from your heart. Let me see it, let me feel it, let me hear your heart. Each beat, each color of your soul. Please?

You asked me to tell you about my oldest friend. His name is Bucky. Well, technically speaking, his full name is James Buchanan Barnes, but I’ve always called him Bucky. He’s my closest and we grew up in the same area. He’s the one that immigrated here. He’s originally from Romania in case you were wondering. Both of us grew up poor, but we got by when we could. We had our friendship too, which is nice. He was there when my parents died and has been by my side ever since.

He’s sweet and kind. He’s been through a lot though, but still has a kind soul. I feel like you two would get along great. You’re both gentle and loving. He’s the same one who made me get on the Cyclone at Coney Island and I threw up afterwards. He’ll most likely be the first person I’ll introduce you to after we meet…if we do meet. Bucky is the one I talk to most.

Apart from Natasha. She’s sweet too, but she’s got a fiery attitude. A good thing, a Natasha thing. She’s currently dating Wanda, a romance I don’t think anyone expected to happen. They’re happy together and that’s all that matters. In love, in fact. Their relationship blossomed extremely well.

I wonder if he’s friends with the same Natasha, I met a few weeks ago, I thought.

I don’t have a story to keep you warm at night. At least not something real. I can only give you a scenario involving us. I’ll try my best to give you something you can picture in your mind.

Close your eyes after reading this.

Imagine us in a cabin during the Winter months. It’s just us, no one else. It’s snowing. Not heavily, but it’s gentle, beautiful. Like you. Maybe it’s Christmas, maybe not. We’re sitting on a couch or bed, curled under a couple of your blankets. You’re pressed close to me. My arms are around you, your head is on my chest, my lips pressed into your soft hair as I kiss you there. Soft music is playing in the background, a fire crackling in the fireplace near us, surrounding the cabin in warmth as well as the blankets; as well as our bodies close together.

I lift your chin up to give you a kiss on the lips. It’s soft but lingers after a few moments. Even once we’ve pulled apart from it, your olive-green eyes gazing into my light blue ones. You snuggle closer, link your fingers with mine. We don’t even have a book. We’re reveling in each other’s company, enjoying the snow, the sound of the crackling fire, sharing kisses. Talking, loving one another.

I close my eyes once I’ve read it all. Re-live it in my head. It’s a lovely view. Something I desire to happen between us. Steve’s painted a beautiful picture and I release a sigh, wishing it was real. To have him sitting here with me, to have his lips on mine. I open my eyes to read the rest of the letter.

Can you see it? It’s not much, but it’s what I have. Something I’ve thought about before. Something I’d love to happen.

My fear right now is that we’ll never meet. That you won’t want to. I’m trying to stay positive. Other fears include losing those I’m close to, the world coming to an end. A world where you’re not in it. I fear that most of all.

Patiently waiting for you,

Steve

I can see it, Steve. I want it, I thought. I knew I was in danger of falling for him. Eager to set up a day to meet after the holidays, I checked my schedule for January. There were two weeks I was booked with dogs, but the 16th through the 20th, I would be free. Even some days towards the end of the month had some availability.

Fate would have other plans in mind that we wouldn’t foresee in the form of coffee. As if it wanted us to meet sooner and fall faster. If I must fall, then I’d gladly fall for Steve Rogers.

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ecmlol · 5 years

Text

“Are you thinking about a open adoption “Ollie asked

“It’s complicated “ jude said

“ wouldn’t know a good family attorney any chance?”noah asked

“ I can look into it for you”Connor says

“ thank you”jude says

For the next 45 minutes Jude ,noah,Connor ,and Ollie all talked about what to expect in the first couple months of having a baby.

They parted ways with swapping phone numbers ,emails ,a promise for a future play dates and getting on separate planes to go home."

Noah and Jude settle into their seat for their long ride home.

“I can’t believe we made our first friends as a married couple.”

“They are just like us but in the future . It’s a absolfreakinglutely awesome looking future.”jude says

“ agree. I’m looking forward to playing Ollie online.”noah said

“ maybe I can wooh Conner to be apart of devil nation.”jude said

“That would be nice too but we have a couple that gets us the age difference and the whole difference race thing.”

“ Yeah it is pretty wild how Connor’s dad is gay and yours is bi.”

“ right it’s nice to find people you have something in common with.”Noah say

“ yeah Connor a bit like you with no filter.”jude says with a smile.

“ yeah but he’s a little bit mean spirited “noah said

“ Yeah but I think lionel would love him”jude says

“ or hate him because they are too alike”noah say

“ true “jude say with relaxed sigh.

“ last selfie for the road to end our trip” noah says

“ sure why not”jude say as he leans in.”

Noah takes the picture .

“ I can’t wait to edit everything thing when we get back to la”noah say

“ are you going to let me see it before we show the world?” Jude asked

“ no I think I’ll make it a surprise.”

“ you know I don’t like surprises.”jude says

“ come on it will be fun”noah says

“ Fine if it blows my mind then I might change my mind about surprises.”jude says

“ well if it doesn’t I’ll blow your mind in other ways”noah say.

Jude smiles

Jude leaned back and closes his eyes. He thought back to a conversation that he had with lionel and Noah a few months ago about the Devils image . Lionel said they need a softer more family friendly image in the press. He didn’t like the idea of his life being put front and center but if it helps then he’s willing to do what ever it takes.

Jude takes his phone out and takes a selfie with a sleeping noah who has his mouth wide open.jude chuckled to his self and took a nother picture just of a sleeping noah.

Jude shoved his phone in the pocket of his jeans.

Halfway through the fly noah wakes up.

Maybe this will be fun jude said to himself .

“When we get back i don’t want you to be alone ever. Please don’t argue with me ok. I don’t care if your with Lionel or me or even the players or your private security officer.”noah says in a serious tone that jude doesn’t hear often.

“Ok “ jude says as he looks up from his book.

Noah cracks one eye to look at Jude.

Few hours later noah and Jude land safely in LA.

As soon as they got off the plane noah could see the tension in Jude’s shoulders grow in front of his eyes.Noah knew no matter what that things were going to change.His pot smoking short wearing sleep until 11:00 Jude was gone. Noah sighed.

Jude smiles as he walks pass the devils advertisement in the airport.

“ glad to see that up “ jude says as he pass the ad

“ that was from the last shoot right”noah asked

“ right at one time I never thought I’d never see it up”jude says

“ me too” it was a road they both thought that would never end atleast not in a good way.

They picked up there suitcases and found Lionel waiting for them in a limo curb side.

“ my favorite lovebirds have finally came home”Lionel says and Jude and Noah climb into the limo.

“ welcome home “ Lionel says

Hugs are passed around.

“ have a good time in the land of “sunshine”” Lionel say

“ it was great my in-law are pretty awesome “noah say

“ it was interesting and enlightening“jude says

“ oh”Lionel says

“ well I have a sister”jude says

“ ah what?”Lionel says

“ and a brother too”noah says

“ you do ?”Lionel says

“My mother has been busy getting married and having a baby “jude say with as little emotion as possible .

Noah knew jude was upset.

He reaches over and pats his leg.

“Can I show her pictures? Of my littlest fan”noah say

“ go for it”jude say nonchalantly

“ oh by the way my dad has kept every article written about me and my mother whole house watches every game when they can”jude says

“She couldn’t be prouder of her boy” noah say with a smile.

“ I see I have missed a lot”Lionel says

“ yeah there is so much more I don’t know where to begin” jude say

“How about lunch tomorrow and you can catch me up then”Lionel says

“ I don’t think that’s a good idea we have something important to take care of” Noah say

Jude knew he was talking about getting a bodyguard for him tomorrow.

“ yeah we do have alot to do.Maybe in a few days”Jude says as he looks to noah for confirmation.

“ Fine I don’t know what I was thinking you have to move and get settle in before the season gets started. I hope your ready to work.? And that stuff on your face needs to disappear like a bag of m&m .“Lionel says point to Noah’s beard.

“ I’m always ready”noah says. Noah and Jude give each other a look of they were right about the beard. They both snicker

They made small talk about the beach and the day they spent with Justice on the way to Noah’s apartment .

“ do you mine hanging out while I quickly grab some more cloths?”noah asked

“Please lionel”jude says

“Sure it’s not like I have anything else to do.”lionel says

“ thank you so much.ill be right back ok.”noah say to Jude.

Noah closes the door and Jude reaches over and locks it.

“ tell me you aren’t having second thoughts about

marrying Noah?”Lionel asked

Jude looked distance and unhappy to Lionel.

“ No no what why would you ask me that?”jude say in a disbelief way.

“ you aren’t the blushing groom I saw just a few days ago jude what wrong what happened? If he...”Lionel asked.

Jude cuts her off.

“ right now Noah is the only thing in my life that feels like a sure thing.”Jude says

“Ok..why is noah acting like you can’t be a few miles away from each other. You two only live 3 miles away from each other.”Lionel say

“ I know I just need to be with someone right now.“jude say

“ why?”lionel asked

“ I really don’t want to talk about it. I’m trying to wrap my head around everything.” Jude said

In Noah’s apartment

Jamie is laying on the couch with her feet up when Noah walks in.

Noah notices how much Jamie’s belly has grown in a week.

“ honeymoon over already?”Jamie says from the couch

“ hasn’t even started.”noah says as he comes through the door.

Noah heads to his bedroom to grab a bunch of clothes.

“ oh so when are you guys going?”Jamie asked

“ after the season “noah say

“ oh that’s not much of a honeymoon with a baby.”Jamie say

“ we have families and friends I’m sure someone will watch her.”

“ her?”jamie asked

“Wishful thinking “noah says

“ oh well I hope you get what you want “Jamie says

“ me too.” Noah say as he shoves his socks and underwear into a duffel bag.

“ I can’t wait to not be pregnant. Your kid going to give me stretch marks “

“I bought you that coco butter “

“ I forgot

“Me too. I’m excited that I now know that Jude is excited too”Noah says with a smile.

“Oh I’m going to send you yesterday ultrasound pictures.”

“ still looks like a little alien?”noah asked as he grabs a pair of shoes.

“ no definitely a baby now”Jamie say

“ can’t wait to see them send them to my phone will you”noah says

“ sure thing”Jamie says as she stretches her back.

Three minutes later noah is heading out with his hands full of clothes.

“ I’ll see you in a few days.

“ have fun living in the big house”Jamie says

“Make sure you lock the door behind me and don’t let anyone in unless it’s me .”

“Oookk”Jamie says

Jamie closes the door behind Noah.

In the limo

Jude didn’t tell lionel about his brother but did use this time to text Derek and Pax and told them they are having lunch and they need to talk.

Noah open the door and shoves his bags of cloth inside .

Jude looks relieved to see noah.

Lionel just shakes her head because she still doesn’t know what’s going on.

Lionel drops off jude and Noah at the front gate of the house.

“ I’ll give you the code when we get in to the house.”jude say as he punches the code in.

Noah grabs as much as he can and carries it to the front door.

Jude unlocks it and heads straight to the panel to silence the alarm.

“I’ll give you that one too.” Jude say as he walks back to get the rest of everything by the front door.

Jude starts to head to the bed room with Noah right behind with his arms full of bags.

“ Jude don’t go in yet” noah say when he reaches the door.

“Why?”Jude say as he turns and looks at noah.

“You will see” noah pushes pass jude and drops all of the bag to one side and the takes everything from Jude and drops then next to his stuff.

“ why can’t I come in you don’t think he broke in do you the house has a alarm”jude asked

Noah walks up to jude and kisses his cheek.

“ don’t fight me but you know how you sometimes pictures something in your head?”

“Yeah .why would I fight you?”

Noah catches Jude off guard and puts him in a fireman’s carry.

“ Noah what are you..”

“ I never imagined myself marrying a guy as tall as you are but I al way pictured myself carrying my husband over our bedroom threshold and then making love for the next couple of hours”noah say

“ nope not fighting this but you tell anyone you tossed me over your shoulders like I’m a fire victim I’m never letting you do it again.”jude isn’t going to tell noah this but he likes being man handling by him like this was a huge turn on for him.

Noah flips Jude on to the bed. Jude bounces a little.

“ god your a romantic “ jude say and rolls his eyes

“ what do you have against me being romantic when you are romantic outside of the bedroom.”noah say

“ I’m not a romantic “jude say

“ I call bull shit jude. You proposed in the middle of fireworks at Disneyworld. You had a romantic dinner the first time you proposed to anyone. You believe in faith for pete sake. Oh don’t think I havent noticed you looking at flowers.Everytime we pass them.You like flower and romantic dinners.”

Jude crosses his arms defiantly over his chest.

“ that doesn’t mean I’m a romantic “jude say

“ tell me why you think romance is a dirty word to you.Or can I guess? I’m betting it the same person that never called your his boyfriend and didn’t like going down on you. The same people that bought you a car and a house . The same person that didn’t say yes the same person that wouldn’t come out of the closet at the beginning”it was Noah’s turn to be defiant and Jude’s to stand down and stare at the sheets. The look on Jude’s face broke Noah’s heart.

“ hey I’m sorry Dane I hate that look on your face.i sometime get frustrated that I have to fix his toxic male residues that he left on you. I just want you to be you not who you thought he wanted you to be.”

“Fix?”jude say

“ yes don’t try an ague over my wording his toxic male residue is still on you jude . Think back five years ago. What was your favorite movie and activities?”

“ I was in college I wasn’t into anything”

“ ok 10 years ago thenjude think about it.

“ I painted, played baseball and cooked”

“Ok what about movies?”

“ sports If I tell you the rest you have to promise to not make funny of me .” jude say quietly

“ scout honor “ noah say

“ you were a boy scout?”

“ for a day until I decided it wasn’t for me”

“ ok fine twilight and Harry potters “

“ twilight?really how did I not know this?”noah

“ no one knows beside my mom”jude says. Noah starts to laugh

“You said you wouldnt make fun of me”

“No I love twilight my sister got my parents into it and I was lasted to be converted.”Noah say

Jude smiles his biggest goofy grin.

“ there’s my smile” noah say

“ you are something else you know ?” Jude says

“ why because I want to love all of you?”

Jude hugs Noah.

“ I love you more then Bella loves Edward”Jude say with A smile and a laugh. Jude had to roll his eye at himself at how cheesy he sounded to himself.

“ wow you’d be a vampire for me?” Noah say as he kisses Jude’s neck.

“Yes.” Jude say as Noah pushes him back on to the bed.

“We are going to have a marathon one night” noah says as he takes a breath from kissing Jude’s neck

“Sure now be quite and kiss me”jude said

Noah smiles and playful bites jude neck.

The next day.

Jude wakes up and reaches for Noah and finds himself alone. Jude turns over and finds a single red rose in a small vase and a note.jude reaches out and picks up the note and reads it.

“ happy one week anniversary My Dane love Noah.”Jude sleepily smile and stretches. Jude takes a deep breath and smells breakfast cooking.

“Man I love married life”Jude says to himself.

Jude pads naked out of the room. Everywhere he turns he see a small vases with a flowers in it. Nothing super fancy. There two flowers in the hall, on the coffeee table and the dinning room table.

“ hey “ Jude says with a smile on his face.

Noah is standing at the kitchen counter fully dressed.

“ hey” noah says with his back turned.

“ what are you cooking?”jude say as he walks up and hugs noah from behind.

“ this egg thing my pops made when I was a kid.”

“Oh looks good”

“ back up for a second I need to get this in the oven”noah says

Jude lets him go and takes a few steps back.

“ hey I didn’t say let me go”noah say

Jude smiles and takes a few steps forward and puts his hand on Noah’s back.

“ ah there you are”noah says as he close the oven.

Noah take Jude’s hand and turns around

“ oh look at you glad I wasn’t frying bacon “ noah say as he nods to Jude’s nakedness.

“ the security companies will be arriving to give us quotes on bodyguards in ... a hour and a half.”noah says

“Ok I’m going to get dressed I’m having a meeting with my starters today.”jude say

“ oh ok about anything You want to talk about”Noah asked

“ business noah that’s all it’s just to get a feel of what’s going on with everyone.” Jude says. Jude hates lying to noah but jude had to think about the team first and his personal like second.

Jude left to get dressed. Noah is setting the table for brunch when jude walks in after getting dressed.

“ this is like the fifth or six meal that has been made in this kitchen.”Jude tells noah as he takes a seat at the large dining room table fit for a king.

“You feel so far away” noah says as he looks across the table at jude.

“ I don’t know why we made the dining room so big for”Jude said.

“ the whole team could come over for dinner”noah says

Jude looks around.

“ you know what your right about this place it’s depressing with all the dark wood and drapes”

“ I don’t know what your paintings look like but I can bet they would brighten the place up.”noah says as he takes a sip of his juice.

“They would” jude says as he cuts into the egg dish noah made.

Noah smile

“ last thing I want is our child to growing up in a depressing looking house” noah says

Jude stops eating and looks at noah.

“ I have been thinking about what you said about this place. We were hiding from each other. I was hiding the real me because I didn’t know what his reaction was going to be and he was still hiding from me how he really felt about being with a man.He was like a pokimon and he never made it to his final form with me and neither did it.”

“Great use of nerdy terminology Dane”

Jude smile

“ I listen “jude says with a smile.

“I’m proud of you now my friend won’t be so hard on me for marrying a guy that is a total clueless about nerd culture up”

“Hey I’m not that bad I like Star Wars and Star Trek and Harry Potter. I have seen a little bit of anime too .”

“ that’s true. Anime really? “noah asked

“That is some strange stuff “ jude say as he shakes his head.

“That it is” noah say as he get up and walk around the tables to seat next to jude.

Noah makes a joke about the weather on the other end when he took the long way around to sit next to him.

“ why didn’t you just take the short way?”

“Because I couldn’t make a joke about the weather .”noah say

“ you are silly!” Jude says with a smile and then rolls his eyes.

Noah finds Jude’s eye rolls cute . He sees them as a way of jude saying “ yes my husband is nuts but I love him anyway “.

They sit and eat the rest of their meal talking about how to improve the gloom and doom castles in the hood. As Noah likes to call it.

The intercom goes off in the middle of doing dishes.

Noah puts the last dish in the dishwasher.

“I’ll get it “jude says

Jude goes to the intercom to look at the camera ‘s view. Jude can see two men in suits standing outside by his fence.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Kinkade im here from Richardson security.” One man say

“ and I’m with Johnson inc.“

For the next hour jude and Noah figures out which company they wanted to use. They went with Johnson’s security because they had female guard.

Jude thought it was funny noah wanted all female bodyguard. Noah says that people will think she’s a a assistant or a intern so it wouldn’t bring up a lot of questions. Jude knew that Noah might not say it but he had a jealous streak someplace.Well he hoped he did.

During the meeting Jude let noah do most of the talking because he was more worried about the threat then he was.

“ so can you start tomorrow “noah said

“ of course “ Tom from Johnson security said.

“Great have her meet us at the arena at 10 am. It should be a short day maybe 6 hours. “Jude said.

“ all right I’ll let her know”Tom says as he gets up to leave.

Jude and Noah follow Tom out and see a limo waiting out front.

Derek rolls the window down.

“ hey Jude I’m starving let’s get going.”Derek say from the curb.

“ I’ll be right there” Jude says

Jude turns to noah.

“ please don’t worry about me I’m going to be with Derek . I’ll texts you when we arrive I promise. “Jude says knowing noah is going to worry about him.

“ ok ? you have a job to do while I’m gone.Go get more of your stuff and figure out what you want to change about the house that should keep you busy.”jude says he kisses noah cheek and heads for the door . Noah couldn’t help but to make a note of everything jude was wearing before jude walks out the door.

Noah walks behind jude and watches him get into the limo.

“Hey I promise I’ll get him back in one piece” Derek yells to noah who’s standing in the doorway .

Jude settles in for the trip to the restaurant.

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imagine-loki · 6 years

Text

Books are better than people

TITLE: Books are better than people CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 1 AUTHOR: dance-in-moonlight ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine taking Loki to the biggest library in the world, The Tianjin Binhai Library in China. As soon as you walk in, he’s like a kid in a candy store as he doesn’t know where to start with 1.2 million books surrounding him… RATING: T NOTES/WARNINGS: I plan on adding fluff and at some point perhaps a little bit smut, but not yet. There’s a mention of fear of planes and height, but no detailed experience with that. Furthermore it’s my first Tumblr fic and I will post it on my blog too, so I’d be happy about feedback!

Addition: You are Tony’s personal assistant and therefore stick around the Avengers most of the time. You opened the calendar on your phone and checked today’s tasks. Two were on the list: picking up Mister Stark’s suit from the tailor and cancelling tomorrow’s meeting. Both already had a little tick since you had fulfilled them. Right before the flight you had picked up the suit, and while waiting for the private jet to be ready for boarding you had fulfilled the other task. With a sigh you shut off your phone and leaned back in your seat. Your eyes drifted towards the oval window on your left, allowing you to see mountains of clouds outside. From time to time the clouds would separate a little and offer a fantastic view of the world below. There were forests, fields, mountains, cities and now and then a bit water. With a little twist of your stomach you turned away from the window. You were not afraid of heights, but planes had always been scary to you. Once again you wondered why you had agreed on joining the Avengers on their trip to China.

“Miss Y/L/N, you look a little pale. Are you alright?”, a calm voice asked close to you, causing you to look up. Steve who sat on the other side of the aisle looked at you attentively. Him and Bruce were the only ones on the team who treated you with that measure of respect and politeness, the others mostly saw you as an intern. At least that was the idea you got after Clint repeatedly sending you to get coffee and everyone else asking you to do little chores. Tony constantly had to remind them that you were his assistant, not theirs. “Oh, thank you Mr. Rogers. It‘s…nothing”, you replied ashamed of your stupid fear. “It’s because Tony assigned you as his Babysitter, right?”, he replied with a sympathetic gaze. You chuckled lightly. Everybody seemed to be so afraid of Loki or dislike him. Sure, he had caused a lot of trouble, but to your mind he was just moody. On the other hand you had never been there when he’d snapped, and nobody wanted to describe the god’s dark side to you as if they thought you were too fragile to know. “I believe I can handle that”, you replied with a little smile. “Thor brought devices which will assure he stays calm.” Steve shook his head and leaned over the aisle to talk more quietly to you. “He is a psychopath, Ms Y/L/N, don’t underestimate that. You don’t have to do that.” “That’s very kind of you, but don’t worry. Mr. Stark promised it would be a task I can handle, and I trust him. Besides, somebody has to keep an eye on Loki while you are doing your job, right?” The blond man sighed realising you wouldn’t give in, so he leaned back again. “Fine, but I will ask Tony to keep his phone close.” Again you chuckled, amused by him being so protective of everyone on the team including you, even though you technically didn’t belong to the team. “Thank you, Mr. Rogers, but it’s really not necessary. “ You saw him take a deep breath before he relaxed again. Since the conversation was over and no one else seemed talkative at the moment you decided to avoid anxiety attacks caused by your fear of planes by napping for the remaining flight.

“Y/N, get up! Or do you want to spend three days in the yet?”, Tony Stark’s voice woke you up. You stretched and yawned while sitting up and looking around. Apparently you had fallen asleep since you could see an airport and the Avengers standing outside through the window. Tony stood beside you with an impatient but amused expression, arms crossed before his chest. “I need you for our man baby, remember? ” You shook your head to escape the last bit of sleepiness and got up, straightened your white bluse and pulled your black jeans up a little. “I am awfully sorry, and of course I remember. I made a detailed plan, if you want I can e-mai-” “Not necessary, just don’t let him burn up the city”, Mr. Stark interrupted and shoved you down the aisle and out of the plane. You held onto your handbag and stumbled down the stairs, probably looking like a dork. “Gosh Tony, you’ll break her legs”, Clint’s voice mentioned nearby. You looked up and saw the remaining team members standing close, most of them looking at you. Your boss seemed to find Clint’s argument valid since he took his hand of your back and stopped pushing you. “I would never! My apologies, Y/N.” You nodded it off and walked over to Steve, the one that was closest to a friend to you. Besides your charming boss of course. He watched you approaching and smiled politely once you stopped next to him. You noticed him trying to figure out your feelings through your neutral expression, causing you to smile as well. “I am fine, I promise.” He nodded quietly even though he did not seem very convinced. “Good, we will have to leave you alone soon. Tony has-” “I have made sure the hotel sends staff to pick up our luggage, thanks Rogers”, Tony explained behind your back. You felt his hands on your arms as he turned you around and examined your expression. “You can handle that?” “Mister Stark, I told you a million times that I’ll be fine”, you said with an annoyed little sigh. How dangerous could Loki be? He wasn’t possessed by Thanos or anyone this time. “Great, because we have to leave. Thor will give you everything, I gotta do something.” His expression changed into a frown when he tried to remember what he had to do. “Ms Potts asked you to call her after our arrival”, you said helpfully. Your boss snapped his finger and nodded while taking his mobile phone out. “See, that’s why I hired you. Guys, let’s roll.” He turned around and the others followed slowly. You shook your head, Mr Stark could be so forgetful sometimes…remembering your main task you turned around and shyly approached the Aesir. “Hello Mr Odinson, Mr Laufeyson”, you greeted with two little nods into their direction. Loki glared at you with ice cold green eyes. His mouth was covered by a futuristic-looking metal gag which upset you since you thought it violated human rights. “Can we take that off? It would be creepy to have him silently stare at me.” You sounded tough, but inside you were nervous and a tiny bit scared. Both men were huge and muscular, even though Loki was a lot slimmer than his adoptive brother he was still looking strong. Thor had watched you with a curious expression, as if he was guessing whether you’d make it through the day in one piece. “Ms Y/L/N…I thought you were Stark’s chambermaid. But you seem to be doing different things”, he said in a booming voice, but with the face of a curious Golden Retriever. That image couldn’t even be destroyed by his missing eye. “I am his personal assistant”, you explained politely, even though you had told him at least five times in the past months. “Now, if you don’t mind”, you added and pointed at the raven haired man. Thor followed your gesture and nodded, then removed the gag. Loki immediately shifted his jaw and inhaled theatrically. His brother meanwhile turned back to you and handed you a little remote, barely the size of your palm. “That is all you will need, trust me.” “Um…okay, thank you. I really hope I won’t need it.“ The huge blond man patted your shoulder before he passed you, following his team members and leaving you alone with Loki. “We haven’t been introduced I think”, you said to break the icy silence. “I am-” “Y/N”, Loki interrupted monotonously. The deep, cold voice sent a shiver down your spine. His eyes which had been focused on the city’s skyline wandered to you, examined you from head to toe. “This will be interesting. Shall we?”

#Loki #Lover #God of Mischief #Submitted fic #submission #dance-in-moonlight #chapter 1 #Books are better than people #library #biggest #world #tianjin binhai library #china #kid #candy store #millions #books

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royalromancefanfic · 6 years

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Chapter 1

“Leonie!” I heard my name being called and scanned the busy space around me. Passengers were arriving from all over the world to most likely get the best of Switzerland’s most picturesque skiing and snowboarding resorts. I soon found the voice that was calling my name. Once I had spotted where the voice had come from I walked closer to it.

“Hey!” I beamed in reply.

“So pleased you’re here.” Van said immediately moving in to kiss both of my cheeks.

His dark brown hair was casually swept back. It had to be around 8pm, and the sun had long since disappeared but his sunglasses sat firmly on his bed of thick hair. He looked tanned, making me think he must’ve caught some rays earlier. He stood tall wearing a white oxford shirt which was rolled at the sleeves, casual dark wash jeans and some loafers.

“You look amazing.” He was way too complimentary, considering I was wearing a leather jacket, white tshirt, black jeans and flats. My tousled hair was left down - my makeup was non existent. “It’s so good to see you.” He beamed not letting me get much of a word in. He was excited. “How was your flight?”

Thomas van Staubenzee was all you imagined an Aristo’ to be like - very well groomed, very well spoken, and very well connected - but he also had an absolute heart of gold. Funnily enough, he was always the nicest guy in the room. Well to me anyway.

“Quick...quite short actually.” I smiled after answering his question. Getting to Sion from Geneva was quicker than I’d expected. Also, flights from London to Geneva were plenty. “How’s your mother and father? Both well?”

“They’re both great. Father is really excited for Louis’ next ski trip.”

“Yeah, papa is always going on about it.” I laughed lightly as I put my mobile phone into my handbag to free up my hands. “He’s always talking about how it needs to be bigger and better than last year and the year before. He’s looking forward to seeing your father and everyone else soon.” Every year my father would host a group of his closest friends at the van Staubenzee’s chalet. He loved his annual ski trip.

“Pardon me,” Van reached for my pull along suitcase. “How extremely rude of me. Let me help you with that.”

“I’ve got it.” I fanned him off. It’s not too heavy. It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” He asked wide eyed.

“Yes. It’s okay. Thanks Van.” I smiled at him gratefully.

“When are the rest of the crew arriving?” He wondered. Going back to the nature of my visit.

I’d almost forgot that I was in Switzerland for a shoot. British Vogue were shooting a winter lookbook with a group of Victoria Secret models - who also happened to be some of my closest friends/ex colleagues - at Van’s father’s chalet. I had sourced the location for the shoot and as Creative Director, was there to make sure everything fell into the right place.

“Tomorrow.” I’d taken an earlier flight in to make sure everything was good. “I’ll send a car to pick them up in the morning.”

“Terrific!” I knew Van was still pumped that I’d chosen his family chalet as the backdrop to our shoot. “Alright. Let’s head to the chalet.” His hands came together and he rubbed them. “Lady, your chariot awaits!” He led the way, leading me out the busy airport and to his car. It was a short 40 minute drive to his family’s chalet. However, once we’d pulled up I could only marvel at the cabin and the scenery.

Van had shown me the infinite number of spacious rooms and relaxation spots (game room, gym, hot tub, pool and sauna) around the estate. We settled on the private balcony. The space was lit up well. It was also helped by the lights of the other chalets surrounding it.

Verbier, Switzerland had a certain air to it. Van’s estate was perfect.

It reminded me of my childhood. My winter breaks were spent sliding down the slopes, sledging with my younger sister and exploring winter walkways with my parents. The flour-white snow covered the dreamy heights of Verbier. The air smelt fresh and woody at the same time. And that was just the beautiful scenery.

The actual chalet had a spectacular view of the surrounding village and mountains.

I took a deep breath and smiled.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Van could see the smile playing on my lips. I nodded. “You just wait until the morning. The whole place looks a lot better.”

I leant against the side of the balcony as my ears immediately picked up some noise. I cast my eyes around to see and hear where the music and loud drunken laughter was coming from. It was coming from the chalet to the right. “Looks like someone’s having a good time.” I laughed pointing to where the noise was coming from. I could see a group of guys and just about make out someone dancing on a table. “Doesn’t your family own that one too?” I wondered out loud.

Van walked over to where I was and leant over the balcony. “Oh yes, that would be f*cking Skippy.” He laughed and shook his head. “It’s my best friend’s stag do this weekend.” He looked down at his watch to check the time. “They’re off their heads already!”

I imagined a bunch of hammered toffs dancing on the tables and drunkenly singing Wonderwall at the top of their lungs.

“I should go...” He excused himself. “If you need anything this weekend, just give me a call.” He tapped his phone and began making his way out. He suddenly stopped himself. He turned back to me. “Actually, why don’t you come for a drink?” He suggested.

“A drink?” I repeated, thinking about it as I said it.

“Yes, you know a liquid... that you ingest. The alcoholic kind is usually my preference.” He laughed. “Ohhh come on -” Before I could protest he squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll introduce you to the boys...”

And that’s where it all started.

The chalet was almost identical to the one the shooting crew and I were staying at.

Van grabbed me by the shoulders and steered me through the crowd of rowdy, drunk, happy toffs. The crowd parted easily, as he yelled and greeted guys on our way through it. Van was such a bubbly people person - it didn’t shock me. I was the only fully-clothed female in the room, so I think that caused some interest.

I heard a few hellos and questions of who I was, but both Van and I chose to ignore them. I noticed how quite a few of the guys looked and dressed the same.

“Here, take a drink.” Van picked up a glass of champagne from one of the practically-naked waitresses. She was wearing a skimpy gold two-piece with sequins. Her hair was snatched back into a sleek pony tail and her lipstick was a powerful crimson red. She was stunning, but I couldn’t help but feel bad - she wasn’t using her body in the right way. Van presented the glass of bubbly to me. “Looks like we’re about to toast to the groom.”

“The groom?” I whispered, more so wondering who he was.

“Soon to be groom!” Van laughed and pointed out a tall guy who could barely stand up. He was covered in glitter and confetti. “It’s his stag do.”

The taller guy with deep brown/reddish curly locks raised his glass. He addressed the circle that had formed around him. “To good friends, good times and my last f*cking weekend as a free man!” He began sloshing around the large beer he had in his hand.

The guys cheered. “To Skippy!” Another with dark spikey hair and supple rosey cheeks chimed in.

“To Skippy!” The grouped repeated before downing their glasses.

I let my glass sit between my lips before sipping slowly. I looked up to have my eyes connect with someone else’s. All I saw were giant blue orbs.

My eyes held the stare for a while, before I snapped out of it. I looked across at the face that was staring back at me. What. The. Heck? I hadn’t expected to see him here, but I kind of wasn’t surprised either - it was Britain’s aristo’ crowd after all. Plus it wouldn’t surprise me that he was connected to Van. Van knew everyone...

He was the first to cave. Looking away bashfully.

I lowered my eyes and decided to distract myself with my phone. I found an empty space to my left and leant against the wall. I found that I had a couple of texts from Jas and Chrissy.

Jasmine: Can’t wait to see you tomorrow chica. About to board my flight that’s taking me Europe bound. Picking us up from the airport? x

Chrissy: Borrowing your green skirt. Hope you don’t mind...

I quickly text them both back. Before I could look up and switch from iMessage to an app I felt someone’s presence to the left of me. I hesitated at first, because I had endured loud chat already. I looked up slightly and was met with a smile. I was taken aback slightly that I could only stare.

“Do you ever blink?” He teased slightly. “I reckon you have a good poker face.” He leaned down a bit. He was much taller than I’d imagined. I was 6 foot, but he still lingered over me.

“Sorry?” I only snapped out of my daze at the last second. I immediately began to smell his strong but subtle fragrance. His blue orbs were drawing me in once more. I only then began tracing his face with my eyes. His beard was full and ginger, but slightly darker than his hair.

“Harry.” He extended his hand, sharing his name like as if I had no clue as to who he was. He wasn’t just Harry. He was Prince Henry of Wales. I gulped slightly. “I hope you don’t mind me coming over.”

I looked down at his large open hand and shook it. “Leonie.” I played it cool.

“Leonie.” He repeated after me, as he nodded and deepened his smile. It was almost like he was making sure he remembered my name. “That’s a lovely name. Pleasure to meet you.” His voice was way deeper and soothing than I expected. “Are-”

He was cut off as Van swooped into the mini semi-circle we’d created. “Leonie, I almost forgot to show you the best thing about your chalet. Want to follow me?” He was bursting to show me. He glanced at Harry and then realised he was interrupting something. He patted his friend on the back and winked. “Sorry Wales, I’m going to have to steal this one away.”

Before I knew it Van was taking me under his wing and showing off a private entrance to the ski lift that took you up to the mountain’s less busy slopes. “British Vogue will love this!” He smiled.

#Prince Harry ff #Prince Harry Fanfic #fanfiction #prince harry #fanfic #chapter 1 #chapter one #chapters #royal fandom

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deeeelightfuldee · 3 years

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How many cats and dogs have you had as pets in your lifetime? oooo boy. ok lets see. 5 dogs, 9 cats?

Can your mom and/or dad play any instruments, or how about anyone else in your family? My mom doesn’t play anything. My dad is a drummer

Have you ever colored in an adult coloring book as a stress reliever? Yes. I’ve done it this week alone, just to try and calm down a little.

Can you crack crab legs without a tool? i have no idea. I don’t eat crab or anything in the sea for that matter.

How many light sources are in the room you’re in? ooo good question. umm, eight? lol

What’s your favorite thing to put on bagels? uhhh cream cheese.

Who’s your favorite director? i really don’t know, i don’t follow who directs what.

Bats: cute or gross? i mean, I don’t really care.

What was the last really intense pain you felt? lung pain during this whole nonsense.

Would you rather vacation by a beach or a lake? either.

How would you feel about traveling abroad alone? I would love to, but I don’t see it happening with the travel restrictions these days.

What is your father's middle name? He doesn’t have one. he’s got a family name and the men who have it do not have a middle name. Where did your last kiss take place? uhhh I believe on my driveway

Which movie villain do you find the most terrifying? no clue, tbh. none that come to mind

Do you stick your tongue out often in pictures? I don’t think ive ever done that.

Which one of your family members are you closest to? My mom. one of my brothers and my sister.

Would you rather have name brand shoes or name brand clothes? brand names just don’t matter to me, but if i was forced to choose i guess shoes?

Are you a good liar? no. not at all.

Are you proud of your parents? Im super proud of my mom.

Which is better: orange or grape soda? orange

Was the last thing you ate hot or cold? hot. so yummy.

Who was the last person in your house who isn’t family? uhhhhhhh, idk who was here when I wasn’t in town, but prior to that I would imagine em/nathan

What color was the last swimsuit you wore? green

Can you remember the last song you listened to? something from the toy story soundtrack lol. I’m binge watching all four today... I am using Kile’s disney+ for as long as he has it. I don’t think he watches it ever, so I imagine it’ll cut off soon.

Have you ever been dumped really harshly? once. it was horrible. every other time I’ve done the break up.

Can you do a back flip, or anything else of that sort? heck’n no. unless im going into a pool maybe.

Do you have any exes you can’t stand anymore? yes

What happened to cause you to feel that way about them? he sexually assaulted me

Are you more of a phone or a computer person? my preference is laptop,

Do you have a job, and if so, where do you work? not currently.

If not, do you want one? yeah i’d like to have income.

Do any medical afflictions run in your family? yes. a few.

What’s your favorite Mexican dish? pork tacos from mama marias omggggggggggggg.

Have you ever been to a professional sports game? yes. bulls games, bears games

Have you ever ordered a specially made cake from a cake shop? of course.

What months were you and your siblings born in? january, july, august, august

What did you have for dinner last night? nicks.

Do you do anything to groom your eyebrows? absolutely. to keep the shape n such.

Has your town ever flooded? uhhhhh to my knowledge once. it had rained SO heavily for like a week and the local ponds and lakes were over-flowing. a car literally floated down my road. it was so weird.

Have you ever played at the McDonald’s play place? when I was a kiddo yes. not often tho cus I didn’t like the smell, it was always sticky, and there were always bratty kids.

Have you ever taken a picture of snow? only every single day it snows

Do you cry easily? i notoriously do not cry in front of anyone. I am not a crier. when I lost Kile I cried for weeks.

Are you happy with where you live? I love it.

Do people ever mistake you for being a different race? No

Do you hate the last person you kissed? no, i’m not a hateful person

What genre is your favorite movie? drama, romance, kids lol

Who was the last person you were in a car with? Mom. she picked me up from the airport.

Do you like the picture on your license/I.D. card? yes. I always seem to get the nice workers and they help so much.

When was the last time somebody hit on you? yesterday. blegh.

Was the last person you met a male or female? hmm. Iiiiiii wanna say male.

What brand is your underwear? I think the pair im wearing is hanes.

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food? usually green bean casserole.

Do you have a TV in your room? yup. watching TS1 right now.

Are any of your electronics charging right now? my phone. of course it was on 2 percent.

What was the last video game you played? acnh on the switch.

What’s the biggest promise someone’s ever made to you? Did they keep it? that they will be there for me forever and always take care of me. no.

Google, Bing, or Yahoo? Google.

What was the last song you had on repeat? more by bobby darin

Who is your favorite person to watch on YouTube? froggy fresh

How many college degrees do you want? i have two. I’d like my masters and/or phd

Can you wink? yes but I dont think it looks good lol i have to get better

Do you own any jerseys? I did, I dont know if I have any still

Have you ever tried to snort Pixie Stix as a child, or even an adult? No. i wasn’t a dumb child and i certainly wouldnt do that as an adult

Do you like going to baby showers? Do you go only for the cake? not really no.

Has there ever been a time in your life, you felt sexually undecided? no.

Do you think tattoos and piercings are sexy on the opposite sex? im not into piercings on guys. tattoos are fine if they arent trashy

Do people ever ask you to do things they’re too short to accomplish? all the time.

What color are the headphones you have at this moment in time? kind of a creamy taupe-y color

Ever choked severely on something during lunch at your school? no

Do you eat more vegetables or fruits? What’s your favorite fruit/veggie? i probably consume more fruits? but i love both.

What would you say is the color of your favorite bra? white

Is anyone in your family a firefighter? Who is it anyway? no. sadly

What do you usually buy when you go to the dollar store? i cant even tell you the last time i went to a dollar store.

Ever peed in the pool? Be honest! I would have been murdered lol no i dont do that. it grosses me out.

When you’re older, what kind of house do you want to live in? something on a lot of land, big front porch.

Where do you want to get married? probably a courthouse. maybe outdoors?

Do you plan on having both your parents at your wedding? no. just mom.

What is your favorite childhood TV show? recess

Honestly, do you like school? no. i looooooooooooooooooooooooove it.

Last thing that made you cry? probably dejavu.

Honestly, are you keeping a big secret right now? sort of yes.

Last person you took a walk with? liza, em, dutch, della

Have you ever liked someone who didn’t like you back? i think currently to be honest.

Who was the last person to actually pick you up in the air? lol either mario or an old friend david

Does any part of your body hurt? yeah. my muscles have been weakening sooooooo bad it is so painful.

If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to change a regret what would you do? Million bucks. noooooooooooo question.

Can you keep a secret? Sure.

Your favorite romantic movie? sleepless in seattle probs.

How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? I loved it for the longest timeeeeeeee. i dont think ill love it as much this next year, but maybe by then ill have met someone new who knows.

Who was the last person you took a picture with? uuuuuhhh probably one of my nephews/niece

Do your jeans have rips, tears, and holes in them? Some do, some dont.

Do you celebrate 420? Nope. verrrrrry much not my thing.

Have you ever kicked a vending machine? i think so lol

How do you eat Oreos? with milk.

Do you wear your shoes in the house? sometimes. my preference is slippers. we usually wear something on our feet because gram needs to and so does mom.

Would you survive in prison? probably not, tbh.

Ever been to Georgia? the state, yes. many times. the country? never.

Do you get your hair cut every month? gosh no. my dream is to get my hair done professionally again sometime, but its so daggum expensive.

Current relationship in detail. I am single. i will probably start casually dating soon.

If you were kicked out of your house, who would you call/go to? i dont even know. I always imagined I’d go to kile. but who knows now.

List things you spend money on in an average week. i can go several weeks without spending.

Rate each of your sexual partners (if any) from 1-10. ooooooohhhhhh, id rather not.

Would you parents be mad if you were in a relationship? i am convinced bill would not give a fig whether or not im in a relationship. mom, however, would probably be EEEEEEEEXXXXXXXXtra cautious now.

Think of the last person you had sex with. Do you think they’ve slept with anyone else since they last slept with you? oh im sure.

Is there someone that you believe you will always be attached to? yes. even if we don’t talk anymore... theres just always a connection.

What board games are you good at? oooo, i’m very good at board games.

Is there a sport/hobby you keep thinking about taking up, but that you’ve never quite gotten around to starting? quilting. its expensive and im not wanting to get it all cvid-y

Do you think pranks like egging/toilet-papering someone's house are funny or immature? Immature.

Do you think “sleeve tattoos” are a good idea? there are people who can pull it off, but it is notttttttttt my style.

Is there anything in particular that your parents argue about? What? debt bill put my mom in. they don’t speak tho.

Do you ever actually read the “Terms and Services” when you sign up for websites and such? the first couple years.

If you have a handheld games console (a DS or GameBoy, for example), how often do you use it? I don’t use the switch handheld, despite really wishing i could. the controllers are broken and beyond what I can afford. so I just use the tv dock.

Your phone is ringing. It’s the person you fell hardest for, what do you say? i’d pick it up 1000000000000000% , I just would be so curious what they would say.

If your best friend was kicked out, would your parents let him/her live with you? absolutely.

Are you afraid of falling in love? I am. I don’t ever again want to feel the way ive felt with my two heart breaks.

Is there anybody you wish you could be with right now? yes, but the feeling is lessening. I responded to him for the first time in... idk how long. thinking he’d be eager to talk and be responsive. he wasn’t. it just pushes me further and further from feeling those feelings.

Have you ever kissed someone & wished you didn’t? no, i dont think so.

Did you get kissed last night? goodness no.

Do you enjoy going through a carwash? I love it.

How did you get most of your scars? benny. by far.

Ever had to take an inkblot test? I have taken 2. One for a fellow student in a classroom who had to administer it for a project. another time in a psych class the prof asked me to for a demonstration

Have you ever been in trouble for something you honestly didn’t do? yep! the only time ive been grounded.

Have you ever seriously slapped someone in anger? no. I do not get physical in my anger. I withdraw.

What/who woke you up this morning? Just me.

Who was the last person to be in your bedroom besides you? My mom. dropping off ice water and benny.

What’s one of your locked text messages? I don’t even know if this phone locks messages tbh. I used to do that all the time on my t9 phones.

Have you ever finished a game of Monopoly? I think maybe 1 time.

Is there anyone you know who’s in any way paralyzed? Yes.

The truth all comes out when someone is drunk, true? I wouldn’t say alllllllll, but i do think inhibitions are lowered so it makes it easier

When was the last time you felt disappointed in yourself? messaging kile and realizing he isn’t interested in responding. makes me feel so dumb.

How about feeling disappointed in someone else? something a family member did to me this past week.

For you, do you commonly feel more jealousy or envy? ummm. lately it’s been jealousy. i dont like people taking what was mine. but i’m learning if they had access to it, that likely means that it is best to let it go. so maybe im now leaning towards envy of like beautiful relationships.

Do you rely on the heads/tails flipping of a coin sometimes for decisions? uhhh, not unless its like in a joking, light-hearted manner.

Do you have any specific chores you do around the house? when im not sick... i vacuum, dust, do dishes, wipe counters and table, do laundry of others, disinfect, etc.

For you, does comfort or fashion come first in dressing? I would say 51% comfort and 49% looking nice

Have you had two friends that absolutely hated each other? yes. lots of jealousy due to their feelings toward me.

Do you like Laffy Taffy? No. not my style of candy

Do you prefer electric or manual pencil sharpeners? manual.

Are your biceps at all noticeable? hardly.

Have you ever seen a walrus? absolutely!

Did you ever have one of those Easy Bake ovens as a kid? no. one time moms friends daughter (who was significantly older than me) lent hers to us... but there were no mixes of anything. so I didn’t know what to do with it.

Does your bathroom have a theme to it? nope.

From inside of your house, how many doors lead outside? uhhhhhhhh 3 if you dont include the garage door.

Are there a lot of trees in your yard? i wouldn’t say a lot. I wish.

Have you ever liked someone that treated you like crap? treating me like crap cuts down my interest like immediately.

Have a best friend? meh.

Does it bother you when your best friend does stuff without you? no.

Is there a secret you’ve never told your parents? yes. I dont need to concern them or worry them.

Does anyone hate you? kiles ex(?) i am sure does.

What’s the one thing you regret more than anything? hm. i dont really have any.

Do you remember important dates? yes. almost always.

What’s some lyrics from a song that means a lot to you? “what if we could put the world on hold and finally meet somewhere inside of the world? I would meet you... would you meet me?”

Who gives the best advice? mom

Who do you usually see in your dreams? :) It varies. depends on who I think about.

What type of cake did you last eat? graduation cake.

How many of your friends are gay or bisexual? I have like 4 casual friends that are, but my closest friends are all straight.

What’s your favorite type of sandwich? buona chicken one. bless it.

When was the last time someone asked you out? Did you accept or decline? tonight. I said maybe once this quarantine business is over.

Do you like The Offspring? I know a couple of songs but I definitely can’t call myself a fan. << same

One pillow or two? 12

Do you like Mad Libs? not really no.

Are you suicidal? no. I mean there are moments where I think wow, i dont want to be here. but not like let me put together a plan.

Where do your grandparents live? my fathers parents were killed by a drunk driver bout ten years ago. My mothers father passed away maybe 12 years ago. My gram is fine and lives in the room down the hall.

Do you cut yourself? not purposely

What is your pet’s name? benny and lottie.

Have you ever been to Canada? not yet.

Aren’t babies overrated? no, no. theyre expensive af though.

Have a built-in pool in your backyard? i wish more than anything but no.

Ever won yourself a stuffed animal? maybe once or twice. I one time had a guy win me an animal at a carnival and i found that sooooooooooooooooo attractive.

Ever had someone else win you a stuffed animal? woops. yes. lol

Ever been to a circus? i think when i was really little.

Ever shot animals? I have not. i couldn’t.

Do you consider yourself intelligent? I do. It is something I have some confidence in.

Have you ever run away from home? when my dad was abusive, yes.

Do you put family first, friends, relationships, school, or something else? faith, family, friends, school, relationships (only cus im not in one)

What’s something you’ve stood up for in the past? my faith.

What’s something you worked extremely hard to get? my degrees and honors.

Are you satisfied with your body image? no. I am honored to have a body that is capable of all that it is.. that has been my “home” all these years. the body that still breathes life every day, thats all incredible. I dislike having the fat that I do, as I worry it could be off putting to others. but then I realize im fine being single, so then my body imagine is fine. its a weird cycle.

Have you ever been labeled negatively or otherwise been called something extremely derogatory? yes. when I worked and a customer didnt like a policy or whatnot.

Have you ever seriously taken advantage of someone or been taken advantage of? never to my knowledge have I taken advantage of someone else seriously. I have been VERY seriously taken advantage of.

Have you ever been seriously ill? trying to get over it now tbh

Have you ever befriended a former enemy? uhhhh, not that I know of. I tend to be friendly to everyone, but I can’t think of a situation where it was an enemy.

If you’re not religious, would you ever pray as a last resort? If you are religious, do you often pray for other people? I do pray for others quite often. it’s important to me. I sometimes will see strangers and immediately start praying over them. I actually almost started my GRE late because I was praying over every person I saw in the room lol.

Have you ever dated someone, then after you dated they came out of the closet or switched (for lack of a better word) sexual orientation? no. not to my knowledge anyway.

Has a boy/girl ever walked a ridiculous distance just to see you? How about vice versa? yes! like 8 miles lol. I have not.

When was the last time you felt really uncomfortable? this past week.

Is there anything that your mom is really known for as to how she is as a person? shes everyones favorite. shes kind, funny, sarcastic, down-to-earth, warm.

Who have you been talking to the most today? mom lol

Are you nosy? I think it could be perceived as nosy but I love to make people feel ridiculously special. So I will sit and ask questions just to get them talking about themselves. If I recognize the personal questions are not working, I’ll keep it totally light.

What’s the meanest thing you have done to a friend? i really dont know.

If your ex called you crying, what would it most likely be about? if we consider kile an ex, it would probably be that he feels overwhelmed and feels alone because he doesnt have me or his ex anymore. :(

Who was the best kisser out of all the people you have kissed? ooooo thats hard to narrow down.

Have you ever been told that you have an annoying laugh? no. everyone comments on how they love when it turns wheezy.

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