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#it makes it look like Nick doesn’t know how to dress himself and his mom doesn’t buy him the right size clothing
freakylilnutjob · 2 years
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the only thing I hope the costume department does different for season two is to let Kit wear clothes that properly fit
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hyunlixsbbygirl · 9 months
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❥Drama Talk
Only Friends Episode 5
The way Sand just protects Ray without a second thought is honestly so hot - like we love a protective lover even if they don’t realize they actually like each other more than friends yet. Oh and he cooks?! If Ray doesn’t wife this man up - Ima find a way to jump through my screen and steal Sand away.
NICK I SWEAR TO GOD 😂 my babies were about to get down and you interrupted! Like sir…
The way they flirt with each other though! Like can ya’ll just admit you love each other already?! It’s so obvious by the way Ray just wants (and needs) to be around Sand as much as possible.
I still don’t like Top but he does seem to genuinely care about Mew - I mean the man was ready to sue to the guy that nearly hit him.
THEY ARE SO CUTE! Look at them being all domestic and stuff, being a little cheeky in the dressing room together - ugh I just love Ray and Sand so much! Yes, I am very biased over them due to watching them in The Eclipse but that is beside the point.
I think Boston is starting to fall for Nick without like truly realizing it - like he’s realizing that just sleeping around with random people isn’t giving him the same satisfaction that Nick gives him so he’s not sleeping around with anyone else now because like he said, it’s just empty and kind of pointless. He likes what he feels when he’s with Nick though - he doesn’t know exactly what this feeling is yet but he’s chasing it.
Okay, when Summer first started chatting up Ray I got worried but bro… Ray swerved away from flirting with her, especially when Sand returned to him. The man is in love whether he knows it or not. Like all of these little glances to each other? They are married at this point - period. And look at how Ray wants to help Sand and his mom out with the debt collectors like he really likes him.
SAND’S MOM IS EVIL AND I LOVE HER!!
The song Ray picked to sing and the fact that Sand confirmed that Ray may not be just a friend?! To his mom no less?!!!!!!! They are totally in love with each other!!!
Okay… Top still makes me suspicious but the way he was so gentle with Mew their first time does make me think that maybe I’m wrong about Top just using him. I don’t trust him but he’s not at the top of my shit list anymore.
FUCKING BOSTON!
First he asks all the awkward questions about Sand liking Ray and teasing them about it and now he’s spreading out Ray’s past in front of Sand and saying that he has no chance of winning over Ray’s heart because of Mew even though it was clear in the last episode that Ray is starting to realize his true feelings about both of them!
He literally ruined everything…
Sand is devastated - Ray is devastated. Before he was even able to determine his feelings for Sand, Boston had to come and ruin everything for them! You could tell Ray was really clinging to Sand not in the same way he used to with Mew but in this way that just screams that he’s falling for him! Now he feels like his chance at true happiness is going to slip away and I bet his drinking problem is only going to get worse because Sand is going distance himself now.
Boston… count your days man 😤
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tenshinokorin · 2 years
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All right, folks, I'm going to tell you a story about why we need to teach people--especially cis males of a certain age group--to keep their goddamn mouths shut on the street when they feel they have some pearl of wisdom to drop about a stranger's appearance. This is, of course, mostly about me being fat and female-presenting, so it will bring up stuff about fatphobia, street harassment, and various other things. It's also about Stevie Nicks. Mostly, it's because this happened last month and is still bothering me, and that means I've missed my window to magically forget about it, so it has to go on file now with all the other fun street harassment encounters over the years that are likewise taking up valuable space in my brain and that come up to haunt me every time I think about going for a walk on a nice day. So maybe if I can unload this here I can go back to wearing my favorite sweatshirt in peace. 
For starters, I have a Stevie Nicks sweatshirt. I got it on clearance last year and like to joke that it is, in fact, the LEAST SteevishNickery kind of garment to have her face on it, which I think is really funny, like having a reproduction of the Sistine Chapel roof painted on the underside of your tool shed. It's also very soft and oversized and comfy, and it makes my on-the-spectrum brain feel safe and hugged without being smothered. That's a really big deal. It is in no way a flattering garment, and I do not care. I can deal with shit better if I have Stevie emblazoned on my tits, because how could you not feel better with that kind of protection? I've loved her since I was a kid, and of course loved her style as well, although as a fat girl in the 80's my options for imitating her look were limited. The sweatshirt is like a shortcut, though. I have worn this sweatshirt to the emergency room at midnight, I have worn it for days on end during depressive episodes, I have worn it to scary doctor appointments. I might not be able to face stuff myself sometimes, but hey, if Stevie's with me, I feel a little bit better. 
On the day in question I was wearing this sweatshirt because my parents were visiting. That should tell you all you need to know about my relationship with my parents. Especially since I tend to overdress on these occasions to try and preemptively fend off my mother's criticism about my appearance. This time, I said fuck it, I'm tired, I'm sick, I'm wearing Stevie. I'd been out to lunch with my wife and my folks, and since we'd parked downtown a ways from the restaurant and my mom is a little wobbly, I'd gone to go get the car and pick up everybody. 
So I'm walking up a busy downtown street to my car, my brain full of cold meds and the things that it's full of when you're managing aging parents and a relationship minefield, just trying to get the car so my wife won't be left on her own with them too long. And in the corner of my eye I see this guy. And I know. I know by the look of him that he's winding up what he thinks is a real zinger, and I also know by the look of him that he doesn't have the sense to keep his trap shut. I'm in my 40s, I've been fat my whole life, and you develop a sixth sense about these things. I know I don't have time or energy to deal with this kid, so I just keep trucking on to my car, but sure enough as I go by I hear him say: "Wow, it's like a Stevie Nicks made out of a thousand Stevie Nickses." 
I do not have time to deal with this asshole. My mom is right now standing on a street corner with my wife, probably asking her awkward questions about her mental health. I do not have time to whirl on this kid and tell him to shut his fucking face before I put it through the comic-shop window. I do not have the energy to tell him I'm old enough to be his mom and if I was I'd be ashamed to own up to it. I do not have the space to tell him--also fat, only barely groomed and dressed like a drunk toddler--he's no fucking prize himself. I just have to get to the car. 
Only now, my precious Stevie shirt is covered in his invisible shit. I try to reason out of it: maybe it's some Stevie meme I don't know, and he's doing that dumb thing where someone tries to strike up a conversation by referencing something they assume everybody knows, but even if that was the case, I know what's really going on. I had the gall to be walking down the street alone while being fat and female and unsmiling, and some manchild had to let me know what he thought about my body. 
I get in the car. I pick up my family. I go out and spend the day with them. And the whole time this event is still running on a background process in my brain, trying to extract the toxin, or at least dismiss it, so I can forget about it. There's plenty going on, so I think if I can focus on other stuff maybe the encounter will be overwritten and I won't remember it. My favorite safe shirt won't be ruined. 
It doesn't work, of course, or I wouldn't be writing this. I have no idea what we did after I picked them up, or anything in the hours between then and dinner. Memories with my family (problematic as they can be, but still very loved and not seen very often), are blotted out by this fleeting episode. And even though the sweatshirt's been washed multiple times since then and I have never seen that guy again, even though the whole thing took less than ten seconds, there it is, forever, in vivid color every time I wear or even think about my favorite shirt. And coming with it are all the other sidewalk occasions I don't want to remember either, when boys or men would scream at me about my ass from their car windows or from the safety of their groups, when for days after I would analyze everything I had been wearing, how I had been standing or walking, whether or not I was wearing too much makeup or not enough makeup, trying to figure out what I had done to deserve to be the target of ridicule. 
But I hadn't ever done anything except be fat, and nobody deserves mockery and abuse for that. Not you, not me, and not my poor Stevie sweatshirt hiding in my closet. I feel like Mabel Pines being sad about her sweater with the dog dunking a basketball because Pacifica said it was dumb. It's grade-school stuff and shouldn't even be there, either. Nobody should have to put up with this. 
Don't be that guy. Don't let your friends or your kids or anyone be that guy. You want to say something about my shirt? Say "Nice shirt" or "Stevie Nicks is a goddamn Queen." Or maybe just don't say anything at all. 
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banannabethchase · 10 months
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Set the World Alight: Chapter 23 - also on AO3
~
It's graduation for Matty, Mox, and many others.
~
Epilogue: Saturday, June 7th
Nick
“Why do I have to dress up?” he whines, batting away the dress shirt Matty keeps trying to foist on him.
“Because it’s my graduation and I say so,” Matty says, glaring. She adjusts her hair, soft curls tumbling down her back, and Nick has never been so tempted to yank her hair in his life. He resists, though, because he’s a good brother and Matty might just kill him for messing with her hair. “Plus, you look handsome, and don’t you want Adam to jump you in the car on the way home?”
Nick feels himself blush. “You don’t have to say it like that.”
“Like what?” Matty asks. “Put on the shirt.”
“Like – you’re my sister, okay, you don’t have to be weird.”
“I’m always weird!” Matty beams at him. “Please? For the pictures?”
Nick nods and leaves his bedroom for his bathroom, which is still something he’s getting used to. Having all this space to himself is disconcerting, as it reminds him of the boxes he and his father picked up earlier in the week to help Matty start packing things she wants to bring for college. He tries his hair in a half up bun, a style Matty’s mostly given up on since she’s figured out how to curl her hair and use bobby pins. It works, he thinks.
He takes it out and ties it back in a low knot.
“Perfect!” Matty says as he walks out the door. She claps her hands together, swinging her hips in her pale blue dress. “Now we match, like when we were little.”
“You were less annoying when we were little,” Nick mutters, but he smiles to let her know it’s all good. “Let’s get downstairs before Mom melts down about being late.”
Matty nods and skips down the stairs before him, the skirt billowing around her like a cloud.
She doesn’t stop talking the entire car ride, and Nick wonders if he’ll eventually grow to miss that, too.
“You okay?” she asks as they park. He’s thankful that she’s quiet. Their parents are talking about how to meet up with Adam’s and Mox’s parents, so they aren’t even paying attention as they get out the car.
Nick nods. “It’s a reminder you’re leaving, is all.”
Matty’s face crumbles, just a tiny bit. “Oh, Nicky,” she says. “I’m always coming back, though. You know that?” She grabs his hands. “Look, I know I’m your annoying big sister, but I promise I’m always gonna be here when you need me. I can come home for Saturday games if you want.”
“No!” Nick says. Matty blinks. “Not – not that I don’t want you there, duh, but I want you to have your own life, you know?”
Matty’s smile is kinder than he’s used to, at least when directed at him. “I will. But I want you to be a big part of that life.”
Nick dives across the set and wraps his big sister in the hug of a lifetime. It feels a little like a goodbye somehow. But it matters. And Matty hugs him back just as tight.
There’s a knock on the door and Matty huffs as she turns around. “We need a – Adam!”
Nick scrambles out of the car so quickly he hits his head on the door frame. “Ow!”
“Whoa, calm down,” Adam chuckles. He steadies Nick and adjusts his hair. “You two okay?”
“We were being sappy,” Matty says, sliding out of the car with far more grace. “Did you park around here?”
Adam shakes his head. “My parents drove me.” He nods over to where a few vaguely parent-shaped blobs are making their ways to the stadium.
Nick pulls back to slide a hand into Adam’s. “Matty, you good?”
Matty nods, pulling her phone from her pocket. “Mox said he’s walking over here from where his parents parked.” She shoves her hands back into the pockets. “Did I tell you my dress has pockets?”
Adam giggles. “We can see!”
The three of them meander their way toward the stadium when a whirl of excitement rushes toward them.
“Hi, Jamie!” Matty catches her by the arm before she flies to the ground.
“Fucking pavement,” Jamie says, oddly cheery. “I was calling to you but you didn’t seem to hear me. Had to sprint to catch up.” She smooths her flowy blouse. “Britt told me to wear this shirt. Does it look okay?”
“You look great,” Matty assures her. “Where is Britt, anyway?”
“Already over there.” Jamie rolls her eyes. “Been there since seven thirty or something.”
“Ew,” Matty says. “Why?”
Jamie sighs. “Sometimes when your girlfriend is valedictorian she needs to rehearse her fancy speech in the stadium eighteen times.”
“I’m so glad I purposefully got all B’s and C’s then.”
Nick barely catches it when Matty turns and runs into Mox’s arms. “Hi!”
“Oh, here they go,” Adam chuckles. “Y’all get ready, okay? We’ll find a space to cheer you on.”
Nick blushes, thinking about the last time he and Adam snuck behind the bleachers after finals the week before. “Uh, yeah,” he says. “We – you go off to where you have to be.”
“Mom was right about your poker face,” Matty calls after them, and Nick and Adam giggle as they sneak away.
~
Matty
The speeches are torment. She understands their importance, of course, to give Britt and Keith their valedictorian and salutatorian flowers, to give Principal Khan the chance to applaud them, to give Coach Gunn the time to impart one last glimmer of knowledge before he retires and they’re off to college. But she knows she was a little late sending in her name change request, and the anticipation is killing her.
They start calling students and she watches as people stand and file in, starting with Taylor Aaron. Her heart races as they get to H’s, cheering on Jamie with all her might as her row of J’s file in behind. She’s the first of the J’s. She’s the first of her row. She slides in behind Alexis, and hopes this goes well.
She’d sent in the form for the name change on the diploma, for the announcements. She was a few weeks late – the Matty revelation happened later than convenient – so there’s always a chance something went wrong.
But Principal Khan says he put in the form to the superintendent with an extra note, so maybe, just maybe, it will work out in her favor.
She catches Adam’s eye, and he gives her a thumbs up from way back in the crowd. Mox is in the second row back and blows her a kiss. Her shaking stops, and she gets up to the stairs.
“Alexis Hyland,” calls Principal Khan.
Matty is next. She holds her breath as she steps up the stairs to the waiting position, crossing her fingers. She glances out again to see Mox, who mouths, you’re beautiful, and Matty thinks she could do or be anything right now.
“Matty Jasmine Jackson,” calls Principal Kahn. Her heart soars as she picks up the diploma with her true name on there, the name her mother had told her she’d loved for a girl since her own childhood right in the middle, and she cries.
“Thank you,” she whispers as she shakes Principal Khan’s hand.
His smile is genuine. “Congratulations, Ms. Jackson.”
It’s a blur until it’s Mox’s turn, and she screams as loudly as she can muster when he crosses the stage, diploma held high. Kenny points to somewhere in the crowd as he raises his diploma, and the smile tells Matty it’s at Kota.
When all the seniors, ending with Ana Zuniga, are back in their seats, Hikaru Shida and Maxwell Jacob Friedman make their way to the stage with the choir, their caps tilting to the side as they get to the microphones.
Matty immediately recognizes the song as one that played at prom. The lyrics sink into her and she feels compelled to close her eyes as the words swirl around her.
We’re gonna be birds and fly We’re gonna set the world alight We’re gonna lose ourselves tonight
A shiver runs down her spine. They will set the world alight.
Her eyes fly open as the song ends, just in time for the countdown to toss the hats. She throws hers gently on the cheers, sure to keep an eye on the carefully designed cap before it falls into the wrong hands, and clutches it to her chest as they’re dismissed. She knows she should be looking for her parents, maybe Nick, but Mox will be closest. And those are the arms she wants to be wrapped in right now.
It takes seconds, and he finds her first, pulling her in for the kind of kiss she always hopes to see in the movies. It’s magic and mayhem around her, and she wants the moment to echo in her mind forever. She memorizes it all: the feelings, smells, sounds, Mox’s hands, one on her waist and one cupping her face. No matter what, she will make this a core memory.
When they finally pull apart, Mox’s eyes are bright. “We did it,” he breathes.
Matty beams at him. “We did it.”
~
Nick
“Oh, they’re making out.” He’s surprised at how mildly he manages to say it. “Shocking.”
“You don’t have to say it like that,” his dad says, ruffling his hair as he pushes past Nick to get to Matty. “You and Adam are just as bad.”
“We are not!”
His parents each raise a single eyebrow, so in time he’s pretty sure they’ve practiced it. “Sure you aren’t.”
Nick hands back while their parents and Mox’s give the two of them hugs and congratulations. Adam’s hand never leaves his.
“Just think,” Adam says, leaning in to whisper in Nick’s ear. “This’ll be us next year.”
“Oh, god,” Nick giggles, a little frantic. “Wow. Yeah. Let’s, uh. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though.” He bumps Adam’s shoulder with his own. “I want to stay right here and now.”
Adam nods. “Here and now.”
They practically tackle Matty and even Mox joins in, sure not to mess up her dress.
“You guys are going to that dinner tonight, right?” Nick asks, trying to be casual.
“If this is you asking if the house is free tonight, it is,” Matty says. “Mom and Dad are acting like they’re going to be all sneaky, but they and Adam’s parents are gonna be at the same restaurant. I’ll text you when they leave.”
Nick laughs as he hugs her fiercely. “You’re the best big sister ever.”
Matty scoffs. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
They laugh and talk a bit, while Nick works up to courage to see if Adam can stay over that night. Mox was already planning to, so they don’t have to worry about dropping Mox and the Pages off after the dinner. In the spirit of fairness Nick’s banking on a yes.
“Um, while we’re talking about tonight’s plans – ”
“Yes, fine,” his dad says before he can ask. “Adam can sleep over. I can’t believe you managed to pick the one guy I would never distrust.” He frowns.
Adam’s mom pats him on the shoulder. “At least when they get married we’re officially related.”
Nick feels himself blush and sees it mirrored on Adam’s cheeks. “Oh my god.”
“What?” Adam’s mom asks. “Am I wrong?”
He and Adam exchange the quickest of glances. They’re on the edge of seventeen, their whole lives in front of them, the biggest decision what college to go to in the next year.
But Nick can’t shake the feeling that Mrs. Page might be right.
“Oh, my god, you two,” Mr. Page says, shaking his head. “Joyce, how about we let the boys have some time while we all accidentally have dinner at the same restaurant as that ragtag group of seniors.”
Nick and Adam say their goodbyes, then walk over to the Page’s car. Mr. and Mrs. Page will drive with Nick’s parents, and this way Nick and Adam get time to themselves.  
Adam and Nick drive to the field by the elementary school, where the two of them met for the first time on the first day of second grade. Nick remembers it like breathing: Adam, tiny back then, curly blonde hair and timid blue eyes. Nick grabbed his hand and told him to come play Ninja Turtles, and even let him be Raphael.
Looking back at it, that might have been his very first declaration of love.
The stars sparkle gently in the summer heat, and they climb to the hood of Adam’s car and lean back, curling into each other.
“Officially seniors,” Nick says, linking his foot around Adam’s ankle. “How’s it feel?”
“Pretty good.” Adam’s smile is sweet and soft. Nick wants to keep it in his pocket. “Kind of cool to be going into twelfth grade with a boyfriend.” He ducks his head, cheeks pink. Nick can’t figure out why he already loves Adam this much. It’s been a month. One month of sneaking kisses between classes, of making out furiously before their mothers call up the stairs, of tentative hands and delighted giggles and gasps. He’s not anxious about it, either. None of it feels scary, or too fast. None of it makes him worry he’s doing something wrong.
He loves Adam. He knows it already, even if he’s not ready to say it.
But maybe that’s what love is, when it’s your best friend. The sequel to the book you loved that you thought was a one-shot.
He buries his face in Adam’s shoulder and sighs, smiling against the soft fabric of Adam’s Orville Peck tee shirt.
Adam wraps an arm around him and a hand around Nick’s thigh, hauling him into his lap. “What?”
Nick throws his arms around Adam’s neck. He can’t stop grinning. “I get to keep you.”
Adam laughs, and it’s quite possibly the most beautiful thing Nick’s ever seen. “Yeah,” he says, blue-green eyes sparkling. “You do.”
~
Matty
Dinner goes by so quickly she can’t keep up – pasta and sparkling cider and a cake their parents send over with a knowing smile, kisses in the lobby under soft yellow light. She’s so tired by the time they get home that she doesn’t even have the energy to tease Nick and Adam about the way they’re entwined on the couch.
After saying goodnight through yawns, Matty and Mox stumble upstairs and he gently helps her pull the pins out of her updo. She thinks this could be every night from now on, and she would have nothing to complain about.
Mox falls asleep first, holding her close against his chest, and Matty makes a promise to herself to remember this night for her whole life.
She wakes up the next morning with sunshine streaming in onto her face. Mox is next to her, fingers curled around the hem of her tee shirt. She smiles.
“Mox, scoot,” she murmurs. “I gotta pee.”
He tightens his grip around her waist and turns them so she’s on the outside of the bed. She can’t help the giggles as she gets downstairs. She brushes her teeth while she’s down there, because morning breath, and walks back upstairs to see Mox with a sleepy, sweet smile.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Mox grabs her arm and pulls her into his arms, kissing her without a single moment of hesitation. “We did it,” he murmurs against her lips. “We made it to the first day of our forever.”
Matty doesn’t care that she definitely forgot to lock her door, that Nick and Adam could walk up without warning, that her parents are downstairs in the living room. She pulls off her shirt and throws it somewhere. “How about we start our forever with something fun?”
“I fucking love you,” Mox says, hearts in his eyes. He leans down and kisses her like the world couldn’t pull him away.
“Forever?” Matty promises, like always.
Mox rests his hand on her waist, then kisses her forehead. “Forever.”
~
Wow. The idea for this fic was sparked by a random conversation with Sarah and me sometime back in January or February. At that point, I expected it to be around 20k, maybe 30k if I was ambitious. I was so wrong. Thank you to everyone who read, kudos'd, commented, and loved these characters along with me. I am a high school AU addict and I thank you for allowing me to feed that addiction in such a fun way. I'll be thinking of these versions of my Matty girl and Nick and Adam and Mox for a long, long time. Outtakes, followups, and extra snippets from the perspectives of other characters are not out of the question, so if you have any requests or ideas I'm happy to hear them. For the final time on this fic, thank you for reading.
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luci-in-trenchcoats · 3 years
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If I Fell For You (Part 5) - Date Night
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Summary: The reader and Jensen go on their first fancy date together before attending a nanny happy hour the next night. The reader makes a new friend there to Jensen’s dismay but someone from the past will come along and change things between the new couple...
Masterlist
Pairing: Jensen x nanny!reader
Word Count: 4,200ish
Warnings: language, lying, angst, mention of past child abuse/assault, fluff
A/N: This a rough one, not gonna lie. Enjoy!
________
Friday Night
“Y/N, I’m downstairs when you’re ready,” said Jensen through your closed bedroom door.
“I’ll be there in five,” you said.
“See you in fifteen,” he chuckled before he walked away. You walked back into your bathroom, looking over your hair in a bun. It looked like a freaking messy bun actually. You should have done it down and in big flowy waves instead. You pouted and smoothed out your dress. Of course you were bloated and you’d nicked your leg more than once shaving earlier. 
“It’s Jensen,” you said to yourself, taking a deep breath. “He’s never even seen you in makeup before. You’re fine. He’s not gonna say anything.”
You forced yourself out of the bathroom and slipped on your heels, your clutch in your hand. You wobbled for a step or two on the carpet but did better once you were out in the hardwood hall. Ten seconds later you were downstairs, heading over to the foyer area. 
“All set?” you asked, Jensen spinning around. He smiled as he stared, eyes looking you up and down more than once, not even trying to hide it.
“Y/N, you look pretty,” said Arrow as she rushed in from the family room. 
“Yes she does,” said Jensen. “We’ll be home soon, okay?”
“Okie dokie,” she said, wandering off with a little wave.
Half an hour later you were sat at a table in a very nice restaurant, Jensen tugging on his collar. His cheeks were slightly pink but it wasn’t from the cold outside. 
“So...what’s a good wine?” you asked, sliding the drink list over to him. “I’m not really good with the names.”
“You like red or white?” he asked.
“Normally red,” you said. “You?”
“I like a Merlot,” he said. “You like dry?”
“Sure,” you said. 
“We’re not going dutch tonight you know right. This is all on me.”
“We can go dutch, Jensen.”
“I asked you out and this is fancy, even for me. My treat, okay?” he asked.
“Alright,” you said, looking around the restaurant and over in the distance to the bar. “You know I could go for a lemon drop actually.”
He smirked and set the list down, a waiter coming by. He ordered a gin and tonic for himself while you got your cocktail, Jensen breaking off part of a breadstick from the basket. 
“Bread’s good,” he said with his mouth full.
“So. Ackles,” you said, picking up a piece and tearing off a chunk with your teeth. He stared and started to laugh to himself. “Ah, there’s my sweet guy.”
“Thought you were gonna say boyfriend for a second.”
“This is our second official date,” you said. “So. Boyfriend.”
“Yes girlfriend?” he chuckled.
“What’s an appetizer look like in a place like this? Like a tiny cube of cheese with some dressing they’re gonna charge twenty bucks for or something like that?”
“You’re goofy,” he said, a big smile stuck on his face. “Uh, they probably have something like that. There’s normally some kind of bread olive oil bowl option.”
“Fancy people eat like a starving college student apparently,” you said. He tried to hide his laugh as your waiter brought over the drinks and a pair of menus. “Excuse me but can you recommend an appetizer? We’re both new to town and are wondering what you think is a good choice.”
“You can’t go wrong with our sourdough and seasoned oil dipping sauce,” he said. You glanced at Jensen and smiled. “The artichoke spinach dip and tartar crackers are also quite lovely.”
“Do you have anything with a little more substance? We’re quite starving,” said Jensen.
“The fried calamari and crab cake poppers combo is a great option,” he said.
“What’s calamari?” you asked.
“Squid, miss,” said the waiter.
“We’ll have that combo,” said Jensen.
“Perfect. I’ll put that in and be back shortly to get your dinner orders,” he said. He took off and you made a face at Jensen.
“Squid?” you asked.
“It’s fried. Trust me, it’s pretty good,” he said. “I could go for a good steak. You see a filet on here yet?”
“Uh,” you said, eyes scanning the page and seeing most everything was something you’d never heard of. 
“There it is,” he said. “I’m getting that and scalloped potatoes. See anything you want to try?”
“Uh, why does half of this seem like it’s a foreign language to me?” you asked. Jensen looked at his menu and chuckled.
“That would be because it’s in French. We’re in Canada and this is a french restaurant.”
“Oh. Gotcha,” you said. He got up and leaned over the back of your chair, glancing at the page.
“These are soups and salads,” he said, pointing near the top. “Sandwiches. Pasta. Main dishes down here.”
“Uh, maybe pasta?” you said. He knelt down and read off the dishes to you one by one, your waiter returning by the time he was just finishing.
“Anything I can assist you with?” he asked.
“I’ll have the fettuccine alfredo with chicken please,” you said, handing the menu to him, Jensen returning to his seat.
“Face principale?” he asked. You stared at Jensen and he smiled.
“She doesn’t speak French,” said Jensen.
“My apologies miss. What would you like for your main side dish?” asked the waiter. “Steamed vegetables, scalloped potatoes, lobster bisque-”
“I’ll have the vegetables,” you said. Jensen ordered and the waiter went to get your appetizer, a sad smile on his face.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think twice about the French thing.”
“Kinda hot that you know French,” you said. “I should try to learn it if we’re gonna be up here for a few months.”
“I’m an idiot and I learned it so you’ll do just fine picking it up,” he said. 
“So where’d you learn in the first place?”
“I’m stuffed,” you said, plopping your napkin from your lap onto the table awhile later. Jensen took the last bite of the piece of mouse pie, licking his lips as he finished. “This might have been the best alfredo I’ve ever had.”
“I enjoyed it. Mostly I enjoyed listening to you talk,” he said. You blushed and looked away, Jensen letting out a small hum. “It’s funny. Doesn’t really feel like just a second date, does it.”
“No, not really,” you said. “I guess that’s what happens when you’re friends first.”
“Well I definitely like being friends with you,” he said. 
“Me too, Jensen.” 
“Want to get out of here?” he asked. You smiled and nodded, the two of you outside a few minutes later wrapped up in your coats. Your feet were cold in just your heels, Jensen’s arm wrapping around your waist when you almost slipped more than once. It was slow going back to the car, especially when it started to snow lightly.
“You know, that dress would still look hot with winter boots,” he chuckled. 
“Sorry,” you said.
“No apology necessary. I got freaking dress shoes on and my feet are cold. I can’t imagine how you’re holding up,” he said.
“The perils of being a woman,” you said.
“Well, no need to impress me is all I’m saying. I ain’t looking at your feet anyways,” he said.
“Oh well in that case I’ll wear some nice baggy sweats next date.”
“Please do,” he said. 
“You really don’t care, do you.”
“I think you look beautiful tonight. But I think you look beautiful every night. You did your hair and makeup and this is stunning, don’t get me wrong. But she’s not more beautiful than the girl at home with hair tossed up all messy walking around in oversized shirts and leggings. It’s like flowers. Both are pretty but one isn’t more pretty than the other.”
“Where the fuck did I find you?”
“At my house,” he chuckled. You whacked his arm and leaned your head on his shoulder. “Almost back to the car. I’ll blast the heat for us when we’re in there.”
“Thanks Jensen.”
“Thank you for the date, honey. I mean it. We’ll do it again sometime. Promise.”
Saturday Night
“Your boyfriend seems pissed,” said Brandon. You sipped up the last of your beer, glancing over to the bar where Jensen was tapping his finger. 
“He’s fine,” you said. “So any good parks around the west side of town?”
“Center Grove is always my choice. Good playground, nice area, cops routinely are around. Parking can kinda be a bitch sometimes but it’s worth it in my opinion. My kids love it.”
“You’ve been their nanny for five years you said?”
“Mhm,” he said, knocking back the last of his drink. “Shawn’s mom is their mom’s best friend.”
“Oh. So you had an in already.”
“You know long term gigs are the way to go in this job,” he said. “Not too many American girls come up here. Your accent is cute.”
“Is it, eh?” you chuckled.
“Like I’ve never heard that one before,” he said, Jensen walking back with two beers and a clenched jaw. 
“You okay?” you asked as he sat it down in front of you.
“I’m fine,” he said, taking a long sip. Brandon slid off his seat and made a face. 
“I need a refill anyways. Nice meeting you Y/N. We gotta hang some time,” he said as he walked away.
“For sure,” you said, Jensen rolling his eyes behind his back. “Jensen what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” he said.
“Well you obviously have a problem with Brandon.”
“I don’t have a problem with him. I have a problem with my girlfriend flirting with another guy.”
“I was not flirting. I’m trying to make new friends. It was your idea to come to this thing tonight anyways.”
“Whatever,” he scoffed.
“Excuse me?”
“In case I wasn’t clear, I’m not the kind of guy where I’m okay with you dating multiple people at once. I don’t get that not exclusive shit.”
“I’m with you and only you. I was being nice. Geez, let’s just go,” you said. You got up and pulled your coat on, bumping into a guy on the way out. He turned and apologized, staring at you a little long.
“Y/N?” he asked, a big smile on his face. “My Y/N?”
“Dad?” you said, his face much older looking than you remembered but his eyes still the same.
“Dad?” said Jensen. You brushed past your dad and outside, Jensen hot on your heels. 
“Y/N,” your dad said as he left the bar. 
“Stay away from me,” you said. “Jensen I want to go home right now.”
“What-”
“Right fucking now!”
He held up his hands and you walked around the block to the car, getting inside and Jensen taking off.
“So your dad’s alive huh,” he said. You stared out the dark window with crossed arms. “So is everything I know about you bullshit?”
“What?”
“Is literally anything you’ve ever told me true? Your dad obviously didn’t die when you were a kid. All those late night talks about family and shit, you just like to fuck with people or something?”
“I was not flirting with Brandon you asshole. You didn’t need to know my whole life story the second I meet you.”
“Oh. Okay. Just your fake life story then, huh?” he said. You shook your head as he got stuck at a red light. “If I can’t trust you, I can’t employ you let alone date you.”
“Whatever,” you said. He drove in silence until you were out of the city, going along quieter roads. You were close to the house when he suddenly turned right towards the local park and stopped in the lot, putting the car in park. He touched your arm and you turned, Jensen leaning over and kissing you roughly, far more roughly than you thought he was capable of. You blinked when he pulled back, Jensen looking you up and down. 
“He won’t hurt you.”
“What?”
“Did he walk out on you and your mom?” he asked. “You told him to stay away from you. Sort of shouted it at him. Maybe you lied but maybe...I’m sorry I got jealous of Brandon. I’m still scared and I think you’re still scared too and that’s okay. If you lied about your dad, I’m gonna trust you have a good reason for it. I’m sorry for what I said. I trust you and I don’t want to know what my life is like without you in it.”
“It’s okay,” you said quietly. “I forgive you.”
“You don’t have to tell me what happened,” he said. “We can just go home, okay?”
“Why’d you pull over?”
“Because I knew I didn’t mean it and I knew I overreacted. I said I’d mess up when we started. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this. I’m 42 with three kids. Brandon is thirty and young and stronger than I am and can go out to the bar whenever he wants. You have options. You don’t have to settle for me.”
“If I’d wanted to settle, I’d have married my ex. What I wanted was the guy that forgives me for not telling him the whole story cause I’m not ready to say it. I want the guy that makes me happy and feel like I have a teenage crush but it’s deeper than that. You’re not the settle for option, Jensen. Why don’t you get that?”
“The last time I felt like this, I married the girl,” he said quietly. “That didn’t turn out so well.”
“You didn’t get the time you deserved with her. It doesn’t mean it ended badly. You loved her and she knew it. She wants you to be happy again, whether it’s me or somebody else.”
“See? That’s the shit that tells me...it tells me to keep falling for you. I’m so sorry for how I acted tonight.”
“I lied about my dad and not a little white one either,” you said with a nod. You turned away and felt his hand on your cheek. “So much of what I told you was a lie.”
“You don’t have to tell me the truth right now, Y/N.” He stroked your cheek and you glanced over, meeting his soft green eyes.
“My mom died giving birth to me,” you said, Jensen nodding. “He hated me for it. Hated me. He would hurt me when I was a toddler. When I was four he started doing...other things.”
“Four?” he breathed out.
“I didn’t know it wasn’t normal. Not until I started school. I was scared though so I never said anything. One of my friends mom’s realized what was going on when I was over playing one day. He went away and lost custody. I went into foster care briefly and got adopted when I was eight. Single mom who’d lost her husband young. That’s my mom. She was a kind person. Ray was always good to her and to me. But I asked him not to adopt me after she was gone and he knew it was because I was still scared of a dad again. Being a nanny, I’ve met fathers that look at me and I just know what was going through their head. I reported him and kinda fucked up their family situation but-”
“That was the right thing to do,” he said.
“I know it was. I’ve just...I’ve had more than one guy and even a woman walk in on me changing or into my bathroom and it’s like, she’s just the help, nobody cares. They don’t touch so it’s like...what can I even do? Then my house before this one, the guy tried getting in my shower with me and I shoved him and he broke his arm and I just don’t understand why so many people think I’m just a piece of meat. Even my ex never got why it bothered me so much. They didn’t touch me so what was wrong with it? He just didn’t get it. He would get mad if I wasn’t in the mood for sex. Nobody ever fucking gets it except you who I lied to and pissed off tonight and without a word of an explanation why, you say you won’t let somebody hurt me. Do you get why you’re the opposite of fucking settling Jensen?”
“I won’t hurt you.”
“I know you won’t Jensen.”
“How?”
“Because you’re a good person. You’re so gentle and kind. I know you’re strong and tough but I see it everyday. You should never be worried about how your kids will turn out. If they are half as good as you are they’ll be fucking great people. Your daughters aren’t gonna put up with shit and your son is gonna be kind to everyone and say fuck you to the toxic guys out there. I can already tell the kind of person you are through them and it’s a good one. A really good one.”
“I’m not the only good person in their lives,” he said. You sniffled and looked down, Jensen’s hand sliding under your chin and tilting it up. “You don’t have to apologize for not telling me all of that. Never apologize for not telling me that. Okay?”
“I never told anyone about…the other stuff,” you said, wanting to look down but Jensen’s hand holding your chin up.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m sorry it took you so long to find people that would protect you.”
“You mean…” He nodded and dropped his hand away, running it over your head. “You’re not gonna like, go back and kick his ass are you?”
“Want me to? I’m very tempted at the moment,” he said.
“I just want to go home. I could use one of those hugs right now.”
“Do you want to stay with me tonight? Just to stay, nothing more.” You nodded and he kissed your forehead, a tiny smile crossing your face. Ten minutes later you were home and the babysitter was gone, Jensen pulling you into his room next to yours. You blew your nose in his bathroom and washed off your face, lifting your head to find a pair of your pajama shorts and one of his shirts on the vanity beside you. He smiled as he ducked out, leaving you to change. You let your hair down and took off your bra before you walked out and saw his blanket on the opposite side of the bed. “Warm enough?”
You spun around as he walked inside and you nodded, Jensen pulling you into a hug. 
“I’m sorry for how I was at the bar,” you said.
“I was the one that overreacted, not you,” he said. You felt goosebumps on your arms and he pulled away to turn up the heat, nodding over to the bed. The covers were flung back and you climbed underneath, Jensen getting in on his side. His arm wrapped over your waist and pulled your chest close to his, face only inches away. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore. No one will hurt you again. I promise.”
You moved closer to him, resting your forehead against his.
“Remember last Saturday when we were on the trampoline and you talked about those safety nets,” you said.
“Yes, I do.”
“You’re a really good net,” you said softly.
“So are you,” he murmured. He kissed the tip of your nose and you shut your eyes. “What’d you want to be when you were little?”
“A princess,” you said. He chuckled and you smiled. “I wanted a prince to come take me away and everything would be just fine.”
“Really?”
“Princesses were always happy at the end of the movie,” you said. “They got the boy and they were happy. Then I grew up and prince charming doesn’t exist.”
“Cause you’re not a damsel in distress. You didn’t need the prince to save you.”
“But the prince would have made life so much easier.”
“I’m partial to badass princesses myself,” he said. You opened your eyes and he was smiling.
“I’ve never noticed your freckles before.”
“They come out more when I spend some time in the sun.” You moved a hand up and traced under his eye, Jensen nuzzling into his pillow. “Make you a deal. If the badass princess saves me, the scared prince will save her too.”
“Okay,” you said. You kissed him lazily, Jensen smiling through it. 
“Do you want to be a nanny forever?”
“Not forever. It’s an easy way to feel like you have a family when you don’t.”
“Now you do,” he said.
“Jensen you don’t know if this will work out.”
“I do and you do and we’ll take it slow anyways,” he said. “Which is why I’m asking do you want to be a nanny forever.”
“Why?”
“Because maybe someday I won’t need one,” he said. 
“I thought about being an elementary school teacher when I was eighteen for a hot second.”
“You did? You’d be amazing.”
“Pay in Texas is crap though. I make more as a nanny.”
“If money wasn’t an issue though, would you want to be a teacher still?”
“Anything at all?” you asked, Jensen nodding, nose brushed against yours. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“You okay?” he asked, reluctantly letting you out of bed.
“I’m good. I want to show you something,” you said. You slipped out of the room and down the hall to the playroom, picking up a book. Jensen was sat up in bed when you returned and crawled under the covers. You handed him the book and he smiled.
“I don’t remember buying this,” he said, flipping it over. “There’s no serial code on it.”
“You can’t buy it. I wrote a children’s book and printed a few copies for myself,” you said.
“You wrote a book?” he asked, flipping through it. “Did you draw this?”
“Yeah,” you said, Jensen staring at you. “I don’t know if it’s any good. I never tried publishing it.”
“You want to write children’s books, don’t you?” he said, starting to read the story.
“I have a number of them written out. I would make up the stories for kids at bedtime and decided to write them down. It’s kinda like whinnie the poo, that age group, you know? Same group of characters but different stories,” you said.
“These are adorable,” he said, turning another page. You were quiet while he read through for a few minutes, Jensen smiling when he shut the book. “I’ve never read a children’s book where they deal with the loss of a parent.”
“The kids really like it,” you said.
“You should publish this. Seriously. It’s cute and I’m a grown ass man and it made me feel better about Dee.”
“It’s just a story,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck.
“I make stories for a living. This whole place would fall apart without stories. This is good. You should consider trying to get it published.”
“Maybe if that nanny job doesn’t work out I will,” you said. 
“Do you mind if I keep this?” he asked.
“Not at all. I gave it to JJ in the first place.”
“Thanks. I want to read this to the twins tomorrow,” he said. He set it on the nightstand and slid back down, pulling you with him. “Why’d the mom fox die in the story? I would have expected the dad wolf considering…”
“Wish fulfillment for a nice father,” you said. “Plus I like drawing the wolf.”
“I like him. He’s fluffy,” chuckled Jensen. “Is that why you asked if I carry a picture of my kids when we met?”
“I’m done with asshole parents. If they treat their kids like shit they sure as hell aren’t gonna treat me any better. You seemed like a good guy. Good guys tend to do that kind of thing.”
“I’m not always good.”
“Yeah, you are,” you said. You shut your eyes and nuzzled close to him, Jensen letting out a soft hum. “You okay? With me being here.”
“Very. Feeling better after everything that happened?”
“Mhm,” you said. “I’m still sorry I lied to you.”
“Did you ever lie about your mom?” he asked. “I mean aside from the fact she adopted you, did you lie about her?”
“No.”
“Then you didn’t lie, not really. I’m sorry it came out like that. You should have been able to tell me in your own time.”
“You still would have been angry,” you said. 
“I still would have come to my senses too. I’m not perfect. I never was.”
“I don’t want someone perfect,” you said. Your head rested against his chest and you let out a soft sigh.
“Goodnight, Y/N,” he said. He kissed the top of your head and tucked it under his chin, adjusting the blankets once before he stilled.
“Goodnight, Jensen.”
_______
A/N: Read Part 6 here!
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bunnysuit-femboy · 3 years
Text
The Worst Wingman - Dust and a Goddess
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(Chapter 1 / 3)
Jean x Reader
Word Count: 5.3k
Warnings: mentions of homophobia
Summary:  Jean knew you better than anybody else, so why was he so good at picking the worst people on the planet for you to go on dates with. You were persistent to find a boyfriend this year and you thought Jean could help you find the perfect man, but apparently he loves to watch you suffer. If only you knew the perfect man for you was the one setting you up on all of these dates.
Notes: I posted this on my Ao3 first, but I thought I’d post it here too. So, please enjoy!
First Saturday
Another Saturday night meant another shitty date with another uninteresting and weird guy. You knew Jean hand-picked these dates that he sent you off with, but it seemed he didn’t know you or them at all. Every single date was just another bust, undeniably and irrefutably.
And, this date was just another on the already long list of bad dates.
“So,” Your date said with a smile, “You’re good friends with him, aren’t you?”
You nodded with the wine glass close to your lips. He had asked you the same question nearly fifteen times in the last fifteen minutes. It was as if he couldn’t believe it himself. As if he were surprised, or maybe even a little bit jealous.
“Yeah,” You said with a fake smile, “We’re in the same friend group. I met him freshman year, when I became close friends with Mikasa and she introduced us-”
“How is he?”
“Huh?”
The redhead smiled wide, “How is Eren? What’s he like as a friend?”
You raised your eyebrows and placed your glass back on the table, “Eren?”
The redhead nodded excitedly. He was nearly on the edge of his seat, leaning towards you like a child about to hear a war story from his grandfather. It was odd that the boy had gotten caught on the idea of Eren being friends with you when you had just explained how Jean was the one who set you up on the date.
“Eren is- um,” You looked around the small restaurant, trying to find inspiration for a way out of this conversation from the other diners, “He’s cool.”
The boy is physically upset about your discretion, “And?”
“And,” You involuntarily continued, “He’s- uh, he’s very nice. He-uh he helps me with my homework, and helps me study quite a bit.”
It was all a lie, but only partially. Sure, somebody in the friend group was really nice and helped you with homework and helped you study, but it wasn’t Eren. It was Armin who was the nice one, but you didn’t know Eren well enough not to switch the two names when talking with the boy in front of you.
“That’s awesome,” The redhead said with an admirational sigh, “I bet he’s super helpful. He’s definitely the type to not give up until you know everything, for sure.”
“Oh.” You grinned at your empty dinner plate. “For sure. He’s the best. He’s super dedicated, and he always makes the harder information easier for me to understand. He’ll word it in ways that he knows I’m more comfortable with.”
“I’ll have to join you two, sometime.”
You looked at the boy with furrowed eyebrows, “You want to join me and Eren while we study?”
Boy, is he going to be upset when he finds out Eren is actually an adorable blonde boy with big ocean eyes who’s not nearly as blatantly mean. Also, it’s a bit strange the redhead wants to go on a study date with you and somebody else. Isn’t he at this date for you? But, all he’s asked you about all night is Eren.
“Of course,” The boy said with a smile, “I would just love to see him again.”
You giggled lightly to yourself, “Do you want me to get his number for you?”
Though the comment was purely a joke, the boy didn’t flinch nor smile. He just stared at you with a look of defeat in his eyes and he almost looked angry. His eyes never left your face, his mind not finding an ounce of humor in your question.
His reaction caused your smile to quickly falter, “Do you actually have a crush on him?”
The redhead rose from his seat, “I have to use the bathroom.”
You furrowed your eyebrows, “Right now?”
“Yes,” The boy’s voice came out harsh, “Right now.”
“Oh, okay.” You watched as the boy walked off towards the bathroom. And, once he was out of earshot, you pulled your phone from your purse sitting on the back of the chair and phoned Jean.
The phone only rang once before the call was picked up. He spoke a half-assed greeting above the sound of yelling in the background. You knew he was with Connie and Sasha tonight and you knew they were playing video games from the noise coming from behind his voice.
“Don’t hey me,” You spat angrily through the phone, “This guy is insane, Jean, he’s fucking weird.”
Jean was now laughing, “How is he weird?”
“He keeps asking about Eren.” You took a quick peek at the male’s bathroom door. “He offered to go on a study date with me-”
“That’s nice of him.”
“-And Eren.”
“Oh,” Jean said, “That’s weird. Eren doesn’t even study with you, he’d have to be smarter than you to be of any help.”
“I may have lied to him.” You took a quick swig of wine from the glass and then turned back to the bathroom doors.
“Aw,” Jean said with a smirk, “Poor Floch.”
“Floch,” You said excitedly, nearly knocking the discarded fork from your plate, “That’s his name! I forgot it about two hours ago, but didn’t have the heart to ask him.”
Jean was uncontrollably laughing on the other side of the phone. It wasn’t like these types of calls were foriegn to him. You normally called Jean in the middle of a crisis, and most of your crises these days happened mid-date when the boy did something weird and left to go to the bathroom.
“You’re a horrible date,” Jean said between his giggles.
“It’s not a normal name.” You held the wine glass to your lips. “I wouldn’t have forgotten his name if it were Brian or Nick. It’s his mom’s fault I forgot his name.”
Jean smiled into the phone, “Now, you’re blaming his mom for your ignorance, how cruel.”
You couldn’t help but grin as well, “Also, I think he has a thing for Eren.”
“Really?” Jean takes a moment to remember something. “That actually makes a lot of sense. I met him through Eren because they were in the same chemistry class last semester. He seemed reluctant to go on the date with you until Eren told him he should, then he was all for it. I thought it was weird, but not weird enough to be concerning.”
“It’s not weird nor concerning,” You said sweetly, “He just has a crush and he doesn’t know how to deal with it, it’s endearing.”
“He’s actively homophobic.”
“What?” You peek at the bathrooms and notice nothing has changed. “You set me on a date with an active homophobe?”
Jean shrugged, “I didn’t think about it.”
You shook your head angrily, “After this date, I am coming straight to your apartment and I am giving you a piece of my mind, Jean Kirstein.”
“Oh no,” Jean said with a smile, “I’m really scared, she used my last name.”
“You should be really scared. I’m bringing my baseball bat and everything.”
You took another peek at the bathroom and then checked the timer on the call. Seven minutes and fourteen seconds was how long you had been on the phone with Jean and how long Floch had been in the bathroom. Sure, it could be reasonable, but you still got a weird feeling from the whole thing.
“‘You okay?” Jean asked endearingly once the silence between you two had settled.
“He’s coming back,” You lied, “I gotta’ go.”
“Okay, just-”
The call ended quickly with one press of your finger. You put your phone back in your purse and let the bag fall to the side of the chair. You looked around the beautiful restaurant and tapped your fingers impatiently against the clothed table.
You leaned to your side in order to get closer to the couple beside you. At the table sat two people: one with long brown hair and wide glasses dressed in a tux and the other with short dirty blonde hair also dressed in a tux.
“Hi,” You said to the brown haired person to your immediate right, “Could I ask a favor of either of you? It’ll only take a minute, I swear.”
The brown haired person smiled widely, “Of course!”
“My date, a redhead, went to the bathroom nearly twenty minutes ago, and I can’t go into the boy’s bathroom-”
“You want me to go?” The brown haired person’s eyes lit up with excitement. “I can go see if he’s still in there, or if he’s sick, or if he’s dead - God forbid, but how interesting, right?”
You nodded with a smile, “Yes, thank you, please. I’m sure he’s not dead, but I’m just worried.”
“Don’t worry until I come back with news.” The brown haired person stood up and left, heading towards the bathroom.
You watched the nice brown haired person go off towards the restrooms. You watched them weave around tables, even stopping now and then to peek over diners’ shoulders, looking at what they had decided to eat for the night. They were strange, but in an endearing way - something you weren’t entirely used to seeing on these dates.
“You know,” The blonde guy spoke up suddenly, snapping you back to reality, “They’ve done that a few times on our dates before, as well.”
“Hm?” You turned to the brown haired person’s date.
The blonde guy smiled, “My date, they get interested in something in the bathroom and don’t bother coming back out for half an hour. The first time is scary, but you’ll get used to their curious mind.”
You grinned weakly at the nice man, “Yeah, I have a feeling there won’t be anything to get used to because there won’t be another date.”
The blonde boy furrowed his eyebrows, “Oh?”
“He wasn’t the best date I’ve been on, nor the best person I’ve been on a date with.” You turned towards the bathroom in time to catch the blonde man’s date making their way back across the restaurant with a frown. “In fact, he’s the first date to ever crawl out of a bathroom window to get away from me.”
“I’m sure that’s not what happened,” The blonde man said with a worried glance at his date. You weren’t sure how you knew it, but you were entirely sure of the redhead’s escape.
“He’s gone, dear.” The brown haired person placed a gentle hand on your shoulder as they sat back in their seat. “The window was pried open, I assume he crawled out of it.”
You nodded with a fake smile, “Thank you, for checking. I can pay-”
You reached for your purse, but the brown haired person shook their head, “No, no. Don’t even try to pay me. In fact, let us pay for your meals, it’s the least we can do.”
You shook your head quickly, “No, I can pay for them, but thank you.”
“No, he left you high and dry and-”
“You’ve already done enough for me tonight.”
“-You don’t deserve to pay for a meal you didn’t even enjoy.”
While the brown haired person was distracting you with a back and forth battle of who would pay for what, the blonde man waved down a passing waiter. He mumbled something to the waiter, pointing at your table over his shoulder. The blonde man pushed a small plastic card into the waiter’s hand. The waiter nodded pityingly, running off quickly towards the hostess’s table at the entrance.
“No,” You said with another shake of your head, “You don’t have to pay for a taxi, I don’t need one-”
But, you did need one considering Floch was your ride here.
“No,” The brown haired person continued, “Let me pay for your wine. In fact, have our wine. It’s the least we can do.”
“No, I don’t need more wine-”
The waiter was back and the blonde man finally spoke up over the argument between you and his date. He held two slips of paper in his hand and looked at you both with a small smile.
“Hange,” He said to make his date stop debating with you, “It’s okay, she doesn’t need your insurance card. And, ma’am, don’t worry about the bill, it’s already been paid for, and you don’t owe me anything in return. I’ve been in your shoes before, and I wish somebody would have done this for me.”
“Sir,” You said quickly, “It’s really not that big of a deal-”
“Not anymore,” The blonde man said with a smile, “Next time you come to this restaurant, just bring somebody you trust. I promise, not everybody is as awful as that boy.”
You bit your lip to keep the newly created tears from falling. You couldn’t help the overload of emotions happening in your throat and eyes. You didn’t normally cry so easily in front of strangers, but these strangers were overly generous. And suddenly, you were remembering the last ten dates that all ended just as horribly. It seemed like nothing was working out in your favor anymore.
“Thank you,” You said with a large smile contradictory to the tears that now fell down your cheeks, “I-I don’t know where to find those not awful people, but I really hope I will someday.”
“Oh no!” Hange said as they quickly wrapped you in a tight hug. “Moblit, look, you broke her.”
Moblit giggled with a shake of his head, “I’m sorry I broke you, dear.”
You shook your head into Hange’s shoulder, accidentally wiping the tears on the shoulder of their black tux. You couldn’t express to Moblit how badly you wanted to find not awful people, and how badly you wanted a date that didn’t end horribly. It was just more complicated than that, and it seemed awful people were the only ones Jean could offer you dates with and the only ones he thought deserved dates with you. So, what did that say about how he viewed you as a person?
You spent a few minutes crying into Hange’s shoulder, mumbling incoherently about boys and school and your pot-smoking next door neighbors who are way too loud when they have sex. They listened to your tangent intently, nodding along, as if they could understand any of your words.
Once you had wiped the tears from your face and thanked the couple profusely some more, you made your way from the restaurant. You knew you could call a taxi to Jean’s apartment, but the weather was nice and his apartment wasn’t too far away. So, walking seemed like a convenient money-saving way of getting the whole date out of your mind.
You walked down the street of town, but once you got to campus, you slid the heels from your feet and into your hands. You walked across campus with your shoes balancing on your fingers like the morning after a horrible one-night stand.
Eventually you made it to Jean’s apartment building and found your way to his front door within a few minutes. You knocked on the wood with your heel and weren’t too surprised when the door opened almost immediately. Jean stood in the doorway, still shouting at the other two over his shoulder.
“Hey,” Jean said once he finally turned his attention to you, “How was the-” You swung the heel swiftly into his stomach, earning a surprised grunt from the boy.
“Don’t mention this date ever again.” You said the threatening words with a glint of anger to your voice, but your face was pressed into a sweet smile.
Jean nodded slowly, “Will you at least tell us what happened?”
You sighed, “Later, I’ll tell you, but I know Connie will bully me for it.”
Jean nodded some more, “Later?”
“The least you can do is let me stay the night.” You raised your eyebrows at the boy. “Since you made me go on the worst date of my life with a homophobic jerk.”
“Okay,” Jean said with a grin, “But only because you’re practically begging for me.”
You swung the heel into his stomach a second time, but he grabbed it before it could give any damage. You both looked intently at each other, your eyes glaring annoyedly and his eyes admiring the sight in front of him. This was exactly what you expected from him, this is exactly how he acts after these dates. He’s always the one to pick up and put back the broken pieces once the doll breaks, even if he’s the reason the doll fell in the first place.
Once you walked into the apartment, you left your shoes and purse by the door, right beside Jean’s shoes. You waved a quick hello to Connie and Sasha - who were too distracted shooting zombies to see you - as you walked past them in the living room and found your way straight to Jean’s room. You knew the apartment like the back of your hand, you had been here a million times.
You walked across the small room to your drawer that Jean keeps all of your clothes in for when you stay. You pulled it open and picked out a pair of cheetah print pajama shorts and an old t-shirt from an now irrelevant ex boyfriend. You threw the clothes on his bed, getting ready to change just when the door suddenly opened.
You turned to the door with tired eyes and furrowed eyebrows as Jean joined you in the room. He leaned against the now closed door, physically keeping the others from joining as well. He crossed his arms against his chest, taking in the sight of him - you in your satin black dress you wore on nearly every date.
“So,” Jean said finally, “What happened?”
You sighed, “He crawled through a window.”
Jean’s eyebrows furrowed, “He crawled through a window?”
“Yes, when he went to the bathroom and I called you. He crawled through a window to get away from me.” You looked anywhere around the room but the boy. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Hey,” Jean moved from the door, coming across the room to you, “Nothing’s wrong with you. Something’s wrong with him.” Jean held you at arm’s length, his hands on your shoulders. “Not only did he leave you, but he has a crush on Eren of all people. I’ve seen birds at the park who are more attractive than he is.”
You grinned sadly, “I bet people don’t crawl through windows to get away from Eren on dates.”
Jean ran his hand down the side of your head, “Eren doesn’t give them the chance, I don’t think he’s ever been on a date.”
“But, people would go on one with him.” You finally looked up at the boy in front of you, trying to keep the tears from spilling the second time today. “He’s not undateable. I’m undateable. I’ve scared guys away every Saturday night for the last two months.”
“You’re not undateable,” Jean said sternly, “You just haven’t found the right one. And, you won’t find the right one if you don’t keep going on these dates. Every horrible date means you’re one more Saturday closer to your soulmate.”
“And, what if I don’t have a soulmate? What if I’m damned to die alone?”
“Then, I’ll die with you.” Jean brought you in for a tight hug, your face snuggling into his firm chest. Jean whispered his words, mostly to himself, “I’d give up 200 soulmates if it only meant I could die with you.”
You closed your eyes against the soft fabric of Jean’s shirt. It was hard to trust his words when there seemed to be so many contradicting factors. Maybe tonight was a total bust, but next Saturday was a new day. You could try again next Saturday, and the Saturday after that, and the Saturday after that. And, every Saturday for the rest of your life until you found your soulmate, even if that seemed like a pointless mission.
You’d do it for both you and Jean, it was the least you could do.
First Sunday
You woke up in Jean’s bed with his body close to yours. It was a standard cuddling position for your friendship: face-to-face, his arms wrapped around your side, your arms cradled against your chest, and your legs intertwined. Despite the normalcy associated with the position, you still woke up with a dorky smile and butterflies floating around your stomach when you saw him sleeping in front of you.
Today was no exception.
You grinned ear to ear as you watched the peaceful rise and fall of Jean’s tanned chest under the thin fabric of his white t-shirt. You watched as his lips parted against the pressure of the pillow under his cheek, a small stream of spit rolling from the corner of his mouth and onto the fabric of the pillowcase below. Every Saturday night ended with tears and regrets, but every Sunday morning began with sweet dreams and a special sleepy boy.
You turned away from Jean, reaching for your phone on the nightstand. The only way to successfully grab the phone was to also pull yourself from Jean’s grasp and from between his legs. It was a horrible price to be paid, but it had to be paid nonetheless.
You checked your lock screen, reading over playful messages from your roommate asking about how good Floch was in bed - assuming you had stayed at his house since you hadn’t come home. And, a few confused messages from Eren asking you who Floch was, why he was texting him, and how he was connected to you.
You locked the phone and turned back to Jean. You were expecting the boy to still be napping peacefully, but he instead stared sleepily at you. Your face had been in a grimace from the mentions of your date last night, but Jean’s honey brown eyes quickly dissipated any negative feelings.
“Good morning,” You whispered, “Did you sleep well?”
“Good morning,” Jean said as he shifted his head and wiped the spit from the corner of his mouth. He was hoping you hadn’t noticed the wetness and that you weren’t questioning the wiping motion he made at his cheek. “And I-”
You smiled, “From the drool spot on the pillowcase, I’ll have to assume you slept well.”
Jean’s cheeks turned rosy, you could see the physical embarrassment on his face. He wasn’t the type to accept humiliation so easily, he was always one to fight back. Just his humiliation isn’t enough, if he’s going down, he’s taking as many people he can take with him. So, you weren’t sure why you were surprised when he swiftly sat up, grabbed the pillow, and attempted to shove the wet spot into your face.
You yelped, rolled, and sprung from the bed only a second before the pillow could land on your cheek, right where it was heading. You were up on your feet quicker than you ever thought you could be, your body still feeling the aftereffects of sleep. You looked down at the boy in front of you, the pillow still tightly gripped in his hands and a mischievous smile smacked across his face.
“You little bastard,” You said with a shocked smile.
Jean smiled back, “I’m actually quite big.” The words were meant as a joke about his body’s size, but both of your dirty minds immediately jumped to the size of something else on his body. “In more ways than one.”
You shouted at the boy between the giggles escaping from your throat, “Jean! Seriously!”
Jean shrugged, laughing along at his own joke, “I’m sorry, I had to!”
“You didn’t have to do shit!” You made your way to the bedroom door. “I’m going home!”
“One bad joke and now you’re leaving.” Jean leaped from the bed, following you to the door. “At least let me make you breakfast first.”
You turned to him with an intrigued glint in your eyes, “Will you make me waffles?”
“Sure,” Jean said as he playfully shoved your shoulder, “I’ll make you waffles.”
“With chocolate chips?” He walked in front of you, leaving the room with you following behind him like a child.
“Yes, I can add chocolate chips.” Jean tried to hide the grin spreading across his cheeks. “Do you want bacon and sausage as well?”
“Shut up,” You said from behind his back, “You know that I don’t.”
His voice sounded sweet, “Yeah, I do know.”
You stood against the counter, only a foot away from where he stirred the waffle mix. You watched as he eyed the waffle box intently, then poured the four other ingredients into the bowl after the dry mix. He looked a bit confused as he moved the spoon around the bowl, as if he was deathly afraid of missing something but not wanting to give the impression that he’d be stupid enough to miss something.
You knew where the coffee was kept and how to work his coffee machine and while you waited for it to brew, you watched Jean with a weak smile across your face. He could feel your eyes on him. Jean tried to ignore the weight of your eyes, not wanting his cheeks to go red though his chest was already inflating from the action.
Jean spared a glance in your direction, only a few seconds before the coffee finished brewing with a loud splash. For those few seconds when both of your eyes were held on each other, time seemed to slow. You could read the admirational glint in his brown eyes and he could read the appreciative glint in your eyes. Before the moment could go much further, you turned away and grabbed the coffee pot and mugs.
You not only knew which coffee beans Jean preferred, but you also knew how he liked his coffee. You poured a little bit of his roommate’s creamer into his mug, and then the tiniest bit of sugar as well. After the coffee was finished, you handed him the mug with a quick smile.
Waffles eventually found themselves on plates and forks eventually found themselves in between fingers. You both ate breakfast against the kitchen counter, Jean leaning down farther than you had to. You moved your fork against the softness of the slightly underdone waffles - he didn’t know just how much batter was supposed to go into the waffle maker at once.
Jean suddenly spoke up by your side, “Are you free this Saturday?”
You turned to the boy, “I normally am. Who’s next?”
“I have a friend on the football team.” Jean ignored your initial grimace to the statement. “He’s nice and desperate, the way you like ‘em.”
You turned back to your waffle with a small pout, “Maybe I should give guys a break for a little.” Jean raised an eyebrow at you. “I’ll just become a nun and write off men altogether.”
“You can’t do that!”
Your head snapped back to Jean, “I can’t?”
“No,” Jean said, “You can’t.”
“And, why can’t I?”
“You just can’t.”
A thick silence had settled in the room, the only sound being the scraping of forks against the porcelain plates. You wondered why Jean was against you becoming a nun. You assumed it was because he was the type to fight persistently, so possibly the idea of giving up on something indefinitely was foreign and upsetting to him. You knew he indirectly reflected onto other people, yourself included.
After a few more moments of silence, Jean started walking away. You watched him as he moved across the living room, heading straight towards his bedroom. Right before the boy could get to the door, he turned to you with a single raised eyebrow and a cocky grin.
“Hey,” Jean said from across the room, “Do you wanna go to the bathroom before I do?”
You looked around the kitchen with a confused look on your face, as if the apartment could give you any clue as to what he was implying with his words. You didn’t have to use the bathroom, nor did you ever insinuate within the last twenty minutes that you did.
You tilted your head curiously, “Why would I need to go to the bathroom before you?”
Jean smiled at the idea of his next words, already proud of himself, “Just to make sure I can’t crawl out through the window.”
Jean laughed as you pretended to throw your fork across the spacious apartment. He was proud of his joke, and you had to admit that you weren’t as upset as you should have been. Last night, the idea of your date crawling through a window in order to get away from you was the worst thing that had ever happened. But with Jean, it was just a funny memory.
Jean came back to the kitchen after a few moments, still giggling lightly about his joke he made nearly two whole minutes ago. You ignored his cockiness by trying to fight the smile forming on your face.
Jean leaned towards you, wrapping a muscled arm around your shoulders. Being pressed against his body in this way made you now realize how he smelled. He smelled of a rich cologne of rose and mahogany. You hadn’t noticed the cologne before he left for the bathroom, but it could have very well slipped past you.
Jean spoke from above you, “I’m glad you aren’t still upset about last night.”
“I never said that.” You looked up at the boy, his arm still around you. “But, I am starting to see the humor in the situation.”
“Good,” Jean said with a smile, “It’s not nearly as bad as that guy who asked if his mom could join you for the date.”
You cringed at the thought, “And, I said yes.”
“And, the one who asked for a vial of your blood.”
You shrugged at the taller boy, “At least he asked, there was the one guy who stole my hair scrunchie without asking first. I think he used it so he could clone me.”
“Yeah.” Jean quickly remembered another awful date. “And, the one who gave you a yarn doll of yourself as a first date gift.”
You smiled widely, “I’m nearly a hundred percent sure that it was actually a Voodoo doll. I’m glad I accepted it before I told him no to a second date.”
Jean grinned down at you, only an inch or two from your face. It was hard not to smile when looking at the boy. He was beautiful and reminded you of an ancient sun god. From his tanned skin, to his lively brown eyes, and his deeply inviting smile. It was hard to look at Jean and not feel your heart skip a beat, especially when you were so close to him.
“They’re all funny stories now,” Jean said, “So, that’s good.”
You moved deeper into his arm, “Funny stories that I don’t need.”
“But, funny stories nonetheless.”
“Yeah,” You mumbled sarcastically, “Thanks to you.”
“Hey!” Jean was pulling you into a quick bear hug as you laughed against his chest. “I try to find the University’s best guys for you! They are truly the school’s finest.”
“Then, why do they all suck?”
He didn’t answer your question because he wasn’t sure he knew why. He didn’t know why he threw these horrible guys onto you, under the impression of them being good matches. But, in his defense, it was hard to find somebody of your quality.
You were a goddess amongst mortals and these men could never be enough for you. And, if these men were mortals compared to you, then Jean felt he wasn’t even a mortal. He was the dirt hiding in the crevices of somebody’s shoe, he was the dust somebody breathed in before they yawned. Jean felt he could never equal up to you, but maybe these other guys could get close. And, maybe - just maybe - if he helps you get a boyfriend, then he wouldn’t think about you being a goddess so much.
Next Chapter
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🌺 Masterlist 🌺
‼️ = possibly triggering content
💦 = contains sexual content, not necessarily smut 
Rio 
Jealous/possessive Rio 
Domestic life 
Rio getting a call that his girl was mugged
Significant other was hurt in like a car crash or non-gang related incident
Rio's reaction to his boo strip teasing💦
Rio’s girl being pregnant
Rio meeting and falling in love with a female version of himself
Rio having his girlfriend meet Marcus for the first time
Rio taking care of his newborn baby and wife
Rio taking care of his little girl because mama is sick with the flu
Reader gets taken by a rival gang as leverage ‼️
Rio trying to win over a woman who he really can be himself with
Rio's reaction to you flinching when he breaks something or yells and what he would do to assure you that you were safe with him ‼️
Rio on his wedding day/night 💦
Rio’s girl giving him the silent treatment like after a fight
Reader it is Beth’s sister who is with Rio. She betrays him for her sister and the crew
Rio doing daddy duties/ taking care of Marcus and his new baby
Shower sex 💦
Rio’s reaction to the reader with a complicated relationship getting flirted with
One of Rio’s men steps out of line and makes a move on his SO
Rio hiring a shy nanny who he really likes to tease
Reader is frustrated by how much Rio’s been working and doesn't know how to bring it up. Reader starts acting different and eventually Rio gets her to tell him what's wrong
Rio’s baby girl calling him dada for the first time and giving him a big smile
Rio dating a younger reader
Reader & Rio going to an event where reader gets nervous and starts being overly critical of what she's wearing/how it looks on her ‼️
Rio getting hurt by a rival and his girl reacting & consoling him
You find out Rio slept with Beth and try to leave him but he cuts it off with her
Rio and a girl he is secretly in love with having to share the same bed
Rio finding a hickey on his girl that he’s positive wasn’t from him💦
Rio vs Billy 💦
How Rio would be with someone who put him and Marcus first and kept doing it until she cracked
Rio and the reader spending time with Marcus and admiring the new baby
Rio gives a little degradation after he finds you super wet, even though he hasn't touched you and he over stimulates you💦
Reader is black & someone makes a comment about her weight or her being a poc around him causing him to lash out‼️
Rio’s reaction to another man making you cry
Make-up sex with Rio 💦
How Rio would react and treat a girl he had feelings for but wasn’t yet dating who just got emergency surgery
Rio having an SO with long luscious hair and him washing her hair for her
Rio x reader where her ex shows back up in her life and tries to win her back/turn her against Rio and how Rio reacts to it
Readers boss blatantly flirting with her in front of Rio ‼️
Rio and the reader at their gender reveal or baby shower
Rio getting jealous by his S/O fangirling over a hot actor during their movie night at home
Rio’s normally very bold gf who gets shy with sexual things gets caught touching herself while watching porn 💦
Rio and Marcus picking up the reader (mom/wife) from the airport after a long trip, and they go home and spend quality time together
Rio and the reader having a romantic/sweet date night
Beth attempting to kill Rio’s SO because she’s jealous of her and what Rio would do in response
Beth making it look like Rio is cheating on reader with her. He finds out Beth planned it but reader leaves him & Rio getting revenge  
Rio with a girl who went behind his back to help Ruby, Annie, and Beth 
First time reader & Rio discuss what he actually does
Rio thinking his SO is cheating but she’s not
Rio taking care of his girl after she gets her wisdom teeth taken out
Rio saving a girl from some drunk trying to mess with her and that’s how they meet !!
Reader trying to leave in the middle of the night for a walk after a fight 
Rio finding out his girl is bi and ask of she wants to try it with him and a woman
Rio meeting the reader’s parents
You are Rio's ex/gf/ Marcus' mom/ and find out about Beth's "pregnancy"
Rio fingering his girlfriend 💦
Would ever snoop through his SO’s phone
Rio dating a clumsy girl
Drabble: Gunk kink 💦
How would Rio deal with his S/O being very sensitive and emotional
Rio with a tall reader
Rio taking his SO’s virginity 💦
Rio comforting reader who had PTSD and nightmares  !!
Strip Poker with Rio 💦
Making out with Rio would include 
Rio accidentally walking in on the girl he loves having sex with another dude
Getting back together with Rio and finding out about Beth’s pregnancy
Honeymoon with Rio
Drabble: Control your anger or you’ll have me to worry about
Working as Rio’s assistant/secretary and having a flirty relationship
Rio being friends with reader who is in a bad relationship and is very neglected by her current bf
Morning sex with Rio 💦
Beth shoots reader instead of Rio and then he thinks she's dead but she came back 
Rio with a sub SO who likes to be choked 💦
Rio and Billly share reader
Rio dating dancer reader 
Rio taking reader for her first tattoo
Quarentine with Rio
Rio with pregnant reader who doesn’t want to be a mom
Rio with shy trans mtf reader
Rio with reader who doesn’t want kids 
!! Rio getting with reader who was in an abusive relationship !!
!! Reader runs into toxic ex and Rio gets protective !!
Rio going to the club with the reader 
Reader taking care of and spoiling Rio
Rio with a pregnancy kink 💦
Reader doing the refusing to kiss your boyfriend prank on Rio
Latina reader unknowingly intimidates Beth and end up making her jealous when she finds out you’re together 
Rio shaves pregnant reader since she’s so far along that she can’t
Reader wants to post Rio on social media but he’s hesitant 
Rough blowjob with Rio💦
Rio’s reaction to someone threatening your life while out together 
Being Rio’s new employee who steals his attention away from Beth 
Rio with soft and innocent reader
Rio lets reader take control for the night 💦
Cops bring reader in for questioning and he pampers you after you stay solid
Billy Russo 
Jealous Billy
Fight and making up with Billy 
Billy’s been acting weird so his girl thinks he's cheating. She eventually can't take it anymore & he comes home to find her gone. He tracks her down and proposes 
Billy thinking his girl is cheating (She's not of course)
Rio vs Billy 💦
Billy gets reader pregnant in a fwb situation but is smug about it
Billy coming home to find you asleep on the couch surrounded by work
Billy finding out the Reader is pregnant and being delighted and determined to give his child a better life than he had
NSFW Alphabet 💦
Rio and Billly share reader
Billy worries reader will leave him if she learns the truth, but she already knows 
Protective Billy with hurt reader 
Frank Castle 
Reader has a really bad anxiety day and he’s soft with her and quiet‼️
NSFW Alphabet💦
Domestic life
Soft but still angsty “I thought I lost you” with frank after a bad night
Seeing Frank at the diner for a while before finally approaching him 
Geralt of Rivia
A kid tries to pay Geralt to kill a monster but the monster turns out to be an abusive parent‼️
Ray Merrimen
Ray’s new girl is coincidentally just in the bank he and his crew are robbing
Reader having a crime boss ex that wants reader back, and 2) finding out what Ray does and her reaction to it
Ray meeting a girl at the gym/dojo that can kick his ass, despite the size difference
Ray being your instructor at the gym would be like
NSFW Alphabet💦
Bratty reader who keeps bothering Ray while he's working on plans for the next hit because she wants attention 💦
Ray expressing how much he cares about you x plus sized reader ‼️
Going on vacation with Ray 💦
Ray’s stripper ex is trying to cause trouble in his new relationship because he moved on from her after he got out of prison
Ray’s reaction to his girl getting into a fight with someone or more like defending herself
Reader is feeling ignored by Ray so she seeks attention elsewhere, but it backfires
Ray’s totally smitten for the shy reader who doesn't think he'd be interested in her
Ray  spoiling his girl because he's nervous that he's about to propose
Ray just can't keep his hands to himself when reader is around 💦
Ray’s girl is afraid to tell him she's pregnant as they never talked about having kids
How would Ray react to his girl feeling neglected and seeking attention elsewhere
How Ray deals with reader’s male friend who tries to sabotage 
Jealous of Ray’s ex FWB, reader starts dressing and acting sexier 
Cuddling in bed with Ray
Ray taking care of reader during her period 
Reader thinks Ray’s cheating but he’s not
Reader is unsure where her relationship with Ray lies, he makes it clear she’s his
Joseph Seed 
Joseph with small and petite girlfriend
NSFW Alphabet💦
Joseph finds someone just like him, who believes in his vision and takes care of everyone, like a mama bear
Joseph's wife finding out she's pregnant
Having an atheist girlfriend 
Joseph falling head over heels for a new follower of his church
Joseph with a virgin SO💦
FC5 Misc. 
The Seed brothers learn about latina readers curly hair while in the bunker 
Jacob Seed 
Jacob with a tall girl, a blonde with blue eyes
Dom!jacob with newly subdued but bratty Dep 💦
Jacob with a chubby S/O 💦
Jacob with small and petite girlfriend
NSFW Alphabet 💦
Animalistic dom!jake with a breeding kink taking his plus-size wife 💦
Having an atheist girlfriend 
Jacob with a virgin SO💦
Jacob Seed and a super sweet/naive SO who looks harmless, but can kick ass 
Jacob and asexual reader 
Jacob taking his plus sized virgin wife’s virginity 💦
John Seed 
John dating a small, thin Hispanic girl with crazy curly hair
John with small and petite girlfriend
Having an atheist girlfriend 
NSFW Alphabet💦
John with a virgin SO💦
John secretly dating Dep reader 
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
Miguel in bed (general)💦
Helping Miguel unwind after a rough day 
Miguel surprises reader after you thought he forgot your anniversary 
Miguel telling his child about how you and him met 
Nick Amaro 
Loving Nick coming home to reader after being away to work on a case 
Agent OA Zidan 
Having an interfaith relationship with OA
Plus size reader tag Black reader tag Latina reader tag
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normal family christmas ~ nikki sixx;the dirt
word count: 1434
request?: yes!
“Can you do a Nikki Sixx x reader one-shot where the reader is his wife and they have a 3 year old daughter and it’s 1996 and they host Christmas dinner at their place and her parents, her brother (older by 3 years) and his wife and 6 year old son, her 2 friends and their husbands and 3 year old daughters, Tommy, Mick, and Vince come and it’s just cute and fluffy? Nikki and the reader adopted a dog, a male Golden Retriever they named Buddy, a year after their daughter was born.”
description: after all his years of partying and drugs and touring, nikki never thought he’d have just a normal christmas with his normal family
pairing: nikki sixx x female!reader
warnings: swearing
masterlist
Tumblr media
Years ago, Nikki would’ve never dreamed of an actual Christmas celebration with family and friends and kids. Hell, he had never expected an actual Christmas in his whole life - his dad had split, his mom was a colossal bitch, and she could never keep a stable job long enough to be able to afford Christmas presents. Nikki’s Christmases were always sad, lonely, and present-less.
Then (Y/N) came intot his life, and gave him his beautiful daughter Mia. It was a struggle to adjust to fatherhood. Nikki could barley take care of himself, let alone of a child. But the moment Nikki looked into her eyes and saw his own looking back, he vowed to be the best father ever to Mia.
With a wife came her family and friends, and with a child came actual, happy Christmases. This Christmas, that included inviting (Y/N)’s family and friends for dinner, as well as Nikki’s bandmates.
Nikki’s heart raced with nervousness as the time neared for everyone to arrive. He was in their room, fumbling with the tie he had picked out for the occasion. Nikki was far from being a tie person, but he figured it was the right attire for this situation.
A small knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. (Y/N) poked her head into the room. “Are you ready, hun? Mom and dad just arrived.”
The mention of his in laws made Nikki’s heart rate spike. “Yeah, I’ll be down soon. Just gotta fix this.”
(Y/N) slipped into the room and eyed Nikki’s outfit. “Why are you dressed so...proper?”
“Well, I figured this was the right way to dress with everyone coming over.”
(Y/N) rested her head on Nikki’s shoulder and smiled at him through the mirror. “Just be yourself, baby. Everyone who will be here, you’ve met already. You don’t need to impress anyone.”
She kissed his cheek and headed for the door. “Whatever you decide to wear, do it fast. I will not hesitate to have dinner without you.”
Nikki smiled at her as she left. She always knew how to ease his nerves.
About ten minutes later, Nikki was descending the stairs into the living room. He had decided to leave on the button up shirt, but now with one of his sleeveless shirts on underneath, complete with his ripped up jeans instead of the uncomfortable dress pants he had originally chosen.
His father in law was sat on the floor, playing with Mia and the new dolls she had gotten from “Santa”.
“Hey Nick!” he said when he saw Nikki.
“Hey Mr. (Y/L/N),” Nikki responded. He bent over to kiss Mia’s head. “Mrs. (Y/L/N) helping with dinner?”
“Of course, you know how she is. Can’t leave poor (Y/N) alone.”
Nikki laughed as another knock came on the front door. Before he could even more, Mia was up and racing to answer the door. Her voice trailed back to the living room as she exclaimed, “Uncle (Y/B/N)!”
(Y/B/N) and his wife, Jane, and son, Christopher, entered the room, Mia in her uncle’s arms.
“Hey munchkin,” he said, setting her back on the ground. “Merry Christmas, Nikki.”
“Merry Christmas you guys. Hey Mia, why don’t you go play with Christopher in your play room?”
“Okay!” Both children raced out of the room.
Shortly after, two of (Y/N)’s friends - Tonya and Chrissy - arrived with their husbands - Dan and John - and their daughters - Jessie and Luna. The band boys were the last to arrive, fashionably late as always.
The more people that filled his house, the more anxious Nikki felt. Not because he didn’t like having all these people around, but because he didn’t want to screw this Christmas up for (Y/N) and Mia.
He felt a wave of relief wash over him as (Y/N) called, “Dinner is ready!”
The kids raced to sit around Mia’s small plastic table, the proclaimed “kids table, while their respective parents got their plates. Their four year old golden retriever, Buddy, was laid on the floor next to Mia, but they all knew there was no use in telling the kids not to feed him, especially Mia.
After grace was said, John spoke up first to make conversation, “So guys, any plans for new music in the new year?”
“John, I’m sure the boys don’t want to talk about work right now,” Mrs. (Y/L/N) said.
“Actually, we have an album in the words for next year,” Vince responded. “We’ve been using our time off to write, next up is just recording and figuring out melodies and all that technical stuff.”
“Must be hard on your families for you guys to be travelling all the time” Mr. (Y/L/N) said. “I don’t know how (Y/N) does it.”
Tommy and Vince shuffled awkwardly. Nikki was the only one of the four in a stable relationship, not that Mick cared much about his marital status. Tommy, on the other hand, had just went through a very public divorce, and Vince had just lost his baby girl. The word “family” was a very touchy topic for the two of them.
Luckily, an exclaim of excitement from Luna pulled everyone’s attention away from the question. The kids were giggling together as Buddy licked up whatever Luna had dropped on the ground.
“Luna, baby, don’t feed the dog,” Chrissy scolded.
“It’s fine, Chrissy. Mia feeds Buddy all the time. There’s no use in telling her not to,” (Y/N) said. “That boy is spoiled beyond his wildest dreams because of Miss Mia.”
The three year old smiled innocently at her parents before going back to devouring her food. Nikki and (Y/N) shared a look across the table and Nikki couldn’t help but smile at his beautiful wife.
The dinner small talk continued and, soon enough, the plates were being cleared away. Anything that could fit in the dishwasher, (Y/N) piled in there. The pots and pans used for cooking were the only things that had to be hand washed, and (Y/N)’s mother had gladly took over that job so that (Y/N) could join everyone in the living room.
The kids were playing on the floor while some Christmas movie played on the TV screen. Nikki sat on the couch with (Y/N) cuddled under his arm, his father place to be. The sounds of everyone talking just seemed like a dull murmur to him at that moment, which he was fine with. He wasn’t part of the conversation, and that’s how he liked it.
One by one, everyone began to leave. The kids were starting to get tired, and it was starting to get late. As they were the last to arrive, the boys were the last to leave, hugging (Y/N) and kissing Mia on top of her little head before telling Nikki they’d see him in the new year to work on the album.
With everyone gone, (Y/N) convinced Mia to put her toys away and go to bed. When their daughter was tucked away for the night, (Y/N) joined Nikki in their room. She shed herself of her clothes, leaving her in just her bra and panties, and pulled on the button up shirt Nikki had discarded after everyone left. She crawled into bed next to her husband and curled into his arms.
“I think tonight went well,” she said.
“I think so, too,” Nikki agreed. “I never realized how many people we knew.”
(Y/N) giggled. “It doesn’t feel like a lot until you put everyone in one room, or one house I guess.” She looked up at Nikki. “Were you okay with it, honey? You enjoyed today, right?”
“Of course I did.”
“I know the big family gathering isn’t usually your scene - ”
“Hey,” Nikki cut her off. “Baby, I loved tonight. I loved having everyone over and getting to have a normal Christmas with family and friends and home cooked meals, just as much as I’ve loved having a beautiful wife and daughter to celebrate Christmas with the past three years. I never thought I’d ever have this in my life. Actually, I thought I’d be dead long before now. I was just nervous about ruining tonight for you and for Mia.”
“You’d never ruin anything, Nikki,” (Y/N) told him. “Everyone loves you, myself and Mia especially. Just having you here to spend the day with, that’s all we really need.”
Nikki smiled and kissed her forehead. “Merry Christmas, baby.”
“Merry Christmas, Nikki.”
317 notes · View notes
lesbianlotties · 3 years
Link
five times Deena and Sam met in secret (and one time they didn’t) - Final Chapter
Chapters: 6/6 Fandom: Fear Street Trilogy (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Fraser/Deena Johnson Characters: Deena Johnson, Samantha "Sam" Fraser (Fear Street) Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Canon, High School, Cheerleaders, Band, Teenagers, Teen Romance, First Meetings, First Love, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Fluff, Happy Ending, Light Angst Words: 14470
Secrets.
Deena and Sam met by accident. They fell in love in secret.
But how long can they last together like that?
Chapter 6: no more secrets:
There were dreams. Afterward. When everything was over. Almost every night, all the survivors of the latest, and hopefully last, Shadyside tragedy, were plagued by dreams. Very often, the dreams were nightmares. Deena can’t wake Sam up after drowning her. Josh waits for Deena at the mall and his sister never returns. Sam kills her girlfriend, again and again. Simon takes Ruby Lane’s razorblade and kills himself. Kate’s stab wound doesn’t heal, something worse comes for her. Ziggy refuses to help and her sister haunts her decisions. Martin arrives at the mall in the morning and finds his new friends all dead. 
Nightmares. All of them. Terrible and cruel nightmares, but only dreams after all. It’s not easy to live with it, with all the trauma that this experience left them, but at least they get to live. It isn’t a comfortable title to carry, being a survivor. But, all things considered, they are all pretty fucking happy to be still alive.
However, it wasn’t just nightmares. 
After killing Nick Goode and ending the curse, everyone went back home so exhausted that nobody had any dreams at all. But, on the second night, Deena was blessed by dreams that were far from being nightmares. Sarah Fier’s reward to her, she guessed. And those dreams, those gifts from the girl that wasn’t a witch and put her entire story in Deena’s hand, they were as common as the nightmares, thankfully. Those dreams were blissful, sweet, comfortable, and just confusing enough. In those dreams, Deena was back in Sarah Fier’s story, sharing a simple meal with her brother, running through a field with her dog, dancing with her friends, sometimes doing nothing but staring at the love of her life, Hannah Miller. Or was that Sam’s face? When Deena woke up, it was never clear who was who. But the feeling of peace and safety and love remained, and often lasted throughout the day.
One night in particular, Deena was having the sweetest dream. It must have been summer, the woods were alive and the sun was a clear blue color, the breeze was gentle and the soft red moss under her feet made her feel like she was running on top of clouds. There was nobody chasing her, no dangers, no threats. Only Hannah Miller, holding her hand, running beside her, smiling the entire time and calling her name… 
Sarah.
Sarah…
“Deena!”
“What?!” Deena gasped, suddenly awake. Maybe her dreams weren’t always so bad, but the instinct to fight something evil at all times was sort of always there.
“Well, good morning,” Sam chuckled. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Deena sighed and fell back on her pillows. She covered her face with her hands and worked on slowing down her racing heart. “I’m okay, just…” she rubbed her eyes, and finally the image in front of her registered. “Sam? What are you doing here? What time is it?”
Sam’s grin only widened. She was sitting in Deena’s bed, dressed in some of her best clothes and looking a little too happy if such a thing was possible. “I was done a little early, so I decided to come help you get ready,” she said, “Wouldn’t want you to be late to your own graduation.”
“Right,” Deena smirked at her. She didn’t make any move to get up from her bed though, even less so considering now she had the perfect company.
Sam sent an unimpressed look her way and offered her a hand. “Come on, hurry up! Your dad’s making breakfast.”
“Wait, what?” Deena blurted out. That last sentence still sounded so wrong to her, even if it was true that she and Josh were seeing more and more of their father lately. “Hold on a minute,” Deena frowned at her girlfriend, “How did you get here? Did your…”
“My mom drove me,” Sam smiled, knowing exactly what was going through Deena’s mind.
The two girls couldn’t help but laugh at how absurd a little bit of happiness and normalcy felt after everything they had gone through. “This is messed up,” Deena chuckled.
“I know,” Sam agreed. “Don’t overthink it. Just… go get dressed so we can, you know, graduate.”
“I could… I guess I could do that,” Deena said slowly. She sat up in bed and moved closer to Sam. “Or… you know, we could do something else…” Deena whispered. She brushed Sam’s blonde hair off her shoulder and then simply rested her hand there. She didn’t miss the way Sam’s lips parted slightly, and the way those pretty blue eyes glanced at her lips.
“Deena…” Sam whispered her name in what probably was supposed to be a warning tone. But just as their lips brushed, she seemed to remember herself and she pulled back quickly. “Nope. No, no, no. I said I was going to help so you wouldn’t be late!”
“Come on!” Deena laughed and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. “We can be late together,” she added. She noticed Sam rolling her eyes at her, but she also knew exactly how to look and talk to her to get exactly what she wanted. “Just one kiss,” Deena whispered.
Inevitably, Sam leaned in. Perhaps she knew right from the start that this was a losing battle. Perhaps it had been her plan all along that both of them would arrive late to their graduation.
--
The two girls sat in the back of the car, while Deena’s father and brother were in the front. When they arrived at the school Deena’s father walked away quickly to find their seats, but Josh waited a moment longer beside the two girls.
“Hey, so, uh, congratulations, I guess,” he told them.
“Thanks, Josh,” Sam smiled brightly at him, delighted to receive one of his shy smiles in return.
Deena lightly hit his shoulder. “Just make sure to hurry up and get out of here soon too.”
Although her younger brother chuckled at her joke, Josh suddenly looked a little nervous too. “So, you guys… I mean, you don’t plan to, um, leave right away, do you?”
It was safe to say both girls were taken aback by his question. Deena exchanged a discreet look with her girlfriend and slowly replied. “No… We don’t have any concrete plans yet, I guess.” She paused, and studied the way Josh nodded, satisfied but still visibly uncomfortable. After being reassured by Sam’s hand in hers, Deena smiled and opted for lightening the mood. “What?” she asked him, “Are you saying you’ll miss me?”
“What? No!” Josh scoffed. The outraged look on his face nearly made Sam laugh affectionately at how similar the Johnson siblings could be. “Maybe I’d miss Sam a little, at least she can cook.”
“Hey! Shut up!” Deena shoved him with just a little more force this time. The three of them were laughing though. Sam actually threw her head back laughing.
“I’m just saying,” Josh raised his hands in defense, “There might be more evil stuff to fight in Shadyside, so…”
“Oh, that’d be so cool,” Sam said. Her blue eyes somehow managed to perfectly combine terror and curiosity.
“Hey, no, stop it, both of you,” Deena frowned, holding back her smile. “No more supernatural shit for any of us, okay? Josh go get your seat, we’ll be there in a minute.” She affectionately pushed her younger brother away, her heart warmed by the things he didn’t say out loud but she managed to hear loud and clear from his heart.
Afterward, Deena and Sam hesitated for one more moment outside the car.
“Are you ready?” Deena asked her girlfriend.
Sam replied with a perfect smile. For a second, she looked down, then she took Deena’s hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. “I’m ready,” she said at last.
Deena felt almost bashful as the two of them entered the school grounds hand in hand. There were frowns here and there, whispers in almost every corner, some surprised faces, and even the occasional smile. She’d dreamt of this moment pretty much since she first met Sam. Still, she reassured the blonde girl about a hundred times that they didn’t have to be public about their relationship at all. The only thing that mattered is that the two of them were together again. Seeing Sam fight against her possession using just the strength of her love for her, well, that helped Deena pretty much get over all her insecurities over their relationship. Still, Sam had made the choice to move in with her father, return to Shadyside, graduate in the old high school, return to the place she belonged to, and to the people she belonged with. However, seeing Sam walk the busy hallways with her head held high and her proud smile unwavering, Deena realized that this wasn’t just about her, or them as a couple, it was also about Sam. Sam coming to terms with every part of herself, being proud of herself and her heart, because it was her love one of the reasons that saved her life, Deena’s life, and maybe the entire town. 
Their cinematic moment of pride and bliss was abruptly interrupted by a head of messy blonde hair appearing between them and a pair of arms falling around them.
“My girls!” Simon exclaimed, hugging them tightly. “You’re late, ladies! I missed you!”
Deena shrugged his arm off her, but Simon only took that as an opportunity to wrap his arms around Sam’s waist and lift her up in a strong hug as he grunted happily.
“Hi!” Sam laughed openly and ruffled his already wild hair as he gently sent her back down on the floor. Neither of them could’ve looked happier if they tried.
“Now, Deena…” Simon smirked and extended his arms while his friend took a careful step back.
“Simon, don’t you fucking dare,” Deena warned him, “I’ll kick in the balls, I swear…”
While the two friends handled that sweet combination of an embrace and a fight, Kate showed up beside Sam.
“Looks like Shadyside’s hottest couple finally decided to join us,” she smirked, sharing a hug with Sam. “I’m not even going to ask why you guys are late. Because at least Sam looks gorgeous, and Deena… you’re here.” She playfully raised her eyebrows.
“Nice,” Deena rolled her eyes. She was fixing her clothes and in between lightly pushing Simon away from her, as he continued to laugh.
“You guys almost missed my valedictorian speech!” Kate complained. 
“Yeah, and it’s going to be awesome,” Simon jumped in, “I’ll put on my witch costume one last time and perform a musical number in the middle of it.”
His words were cut short when Kate tugged on the neck of his shirt to pull him down so she could look him in the eyes and say, “I would literally kill you on stage.” But it was undeniable that both of them were smiling the entire time. The four of them started walking together, with a brief pause for Kate to check on Sam’s makeup and the girls to convince Simon to tie his shoes for once.
Then there was the final ceremony. Kate’s speech was a success, Simon wasn’t completely joking about making one last appearance as the school’s mascot, and Sam was sitting right beside Deena the entire time. Deena, halfway through, realized she couldn’t stop smiling. It felt strange, and upon realizing it, she tried to fight against it, on instinct. But quickly realized there was no reason to fight it. Wherever she looked there was a good reason to smile. Her girlfriend was sitting beside her, sending lovely looks her way every couple of minutes. Her best friends were close by, alive and on their well-earned roads to a better life. Somewhere behind them was Josh, just like his sister, trying and failing to suppress a smile at the joyful occasion. Her father appeared to be sober for a day at least, and Sam’s father was there, awkwardly supportive if only to be better than his ex-wife, it all counted. Deena had affectionately rolled her eyes when Josh informed her that even Martin and Ziggy had made it to the ceremony as spectators, not wanting to miss a chance to celebrate a win for Shadyside, and their young friends. Even the rest of her school, her peers, people that were merely acquaintances, Deena found herself happy for them too. The curse was over. These people were safe from possessed killers. They were free to improve their lives and their town and be free. So, Deena didn’t care if some people were surprised to see that peaceful smile glued on her face the entire day. She had countless reasons to be happy, and she planned to cherish every single one of them. 
When it was all over, the crowd exploded in cheers. It was official. They were Shadyside graduates. They were free. They could go anywhere, be anyone, do anything they wanted to. Some people would run away from the town as soon as possible, and some of them would stay and put in the work to change the town. Some others were content to take their time to figure out what would come next. Taking life slowly and living their days one at a time was something especially valuable to kids that only narrowly avoided death just a few months ago. 
While their peers cheered and celebrated around them, Deena and Sam threw their arms around each other and held on tightly. Even under the thunderous noise of the crowd, Deena distinctly heard Sam’s sweet voice whisper against her ear, “Can I kiss you?”
Deena tightened her arms around her girlfriend for a moment before happily chuckling out, “Of course!”
A moment later, Sam’s lips were on her. 
It was perfect. It was joyful. It was everything they had been waiting for. They were right there in the middle of the crowd, and neither of them could’ve cared less. The rest of the world didn’t matter, it didn’t even exist. Deena felt invincible, but she also felt unburdened from the weight she’d grown accustomed to always carrying on her shoulders. She felt love. Sam sighed into the kiss, tasting freedom, love, and the relief of letting go of a lifetime of holding back, now it was time for her to get to enjoy her life, and she knew she had earned it. 
They were only forced to pull away when they heard an amused, “Get a room!” Kate was standing beside them, profusely rolling her eyes.
“Ready for tonight?” Simon proceeded to slap Deena’s back and earn a roll of her eyes.
“Full moon, witchy, drugs of the land, bonfire party, you know?” Kate added with a wicked smile.
Deena thought that she was almost getting tired of fondly rolling her eyes at her friends, but she didn’t mind it that much. “We’ll be there,” she said, taking Sam’s hand.
--
There were several graduation parties going around in Shadyside and Sunnyvale. A bonfire in the middle of the woods, close to a rock engraved with the words “Sarah Fier the first Shadysider,” wasn’t exactly the most popular spot, but that made it even better. In a town of outsiders, these were the worst, meaning the best, of them. The greatest thing about Shadyside was that even the strangest of their kids came from unexpected corners and fit in together surprisingly well. The perfect example was the group formed by the valedictorian and cheerleader captain, the school’s mascot and Grab n’ Bag employee of the month, Shadyside’s moodiest teenager and possible Sarah Fier’s reincarnation, and the previously possessed and recovering Sunnyvaler. In some ways, they couldn’t be more different from each other. But, if they had been best friends before, now they were something even stronger. It was the reward for fighting a three hundred years old curse together and making it out alive. They were free to dance, laugh, sing, and be as happy as possible, surrounded by friends all around a bonfire.
Deena took her time, as she promised herself, to appreciate the glory of celebrating among friends. However, after an entire day of Sam passionately proving time and time again that she was beyond ready to openly embrace who they really were, Deena was craving a moment of privacy with her girlfriend. There was no doubt that half of Shadyside at least was now aware of their relationship. It was a small town after all. Deena would be lying if she said she was a hundred percent comfortable with it, something she once confessed to Sam. But after practically facing the devil and coming out winners, there was little they were afraid of, especially as long as they were together.
So, when enough dancing and laughing with their friends was done, Deena took Sam’s hand in hers and led her away from the group as discreetly as possible. The music followed them, as well as the light from the bonfire that, in addition to the full moon shining above them, lit a path for them. It was almost a dance, moving around the woods together. Holding on to each other’s hands until it was only their fingertips brushing, rounding a tree, and coming back together in an embrace. They were all giddy laughs, secret touches, and wide smiles.
Eventually, Deena rested her back against a familiar rock. She was out of breath, and her smile was taking over her face. Sam had been following her closely behind. When she was just one step away from Deena, she stumbled a little, and Deena had to reach out to hold her so she wouldn’t fall facedown on the red moss covering the ground under their feet.
“Are you okay?” Deena asked, equal parts concerned and amused.
“Yeah, sorry,” Sam replied. She blew a strand of hair off her face and straightened her posture. When she looked at Deena though, she burst out laughing, and hid her face in the crook of Deena’s neck. 
Deena was happy to hold her girlfriend, but she tried to pull away enough to look at Sam’s face. “Sam…” she said, “Sam, did you take any of the shit Kate sells?”
“What?!” Sam exclaimed, just loud and high-pitched enough to expose herself. “No!” she insisted. She pulled back from Deena and attempted a serious expression while pushing her hair behind her ear. A second later she was back into a fit of giggles.
“Oh my God,” Deena looked away, biting her lip to keep herself from smiling too big. She was feeling a little dazed too.
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Sam shook her head and took a deep breath. When she received an incredulous look from her girlfriend, she insisted, “Really!” She lightly pushed Deena’s shoulder. But all she earned was Deena’s hand on her waist pulling her closer. Not that she was complaining. 
Sam placed her hands on Deena’s cheeks, and pulled her in for a kiss. She got easily distracted, and moved to place kisses along Deena’s jaw and down her neck. Deena’s curls tickled her face and the feeling once again made her laugh softly.
“Well, I’m glad you’re having fun there,” Deena teased her.
Sam was nearly resting all her weight against Deena. But she was trying to compose herself enough for a conversation. She pulled back and this time looked just a little more serious as she asked, “Are you happy?”
The question took Deena by surprise. The earnest quality of Sam’s blue eyes let her know it was a real question, and her girlfriend expected an answer. “I am, yes,” Deena nodded, “Happier than I thought possible, really.”
“Hm, good,” Sam mumbled, leaning in closer to brush her nose against Deena. “Me too.” Then they simply rested their forehead together, basking in the blissful moment together. After a short while, Sam spoke up again. “I’m sorry.”
“What?” Deena opened her eyes, confused.
Sam leaned back to stare at her. She licked her lips nervously and explained. “I’ve just been thinking… I realized I never apologized,” she said, “You know, for everything.” It was slightly unclear what everything meant anymore. Deena had a feeling that stabbing her while possessed and their breakup were the two prominent things on Sam’s mind.
“Hey, you have nothing to apologize for,” Deena replied softly. She moved a hand to Sam’s face, and caressed her cheek with the pad of her thumb. She waited until Sam smiled at her again to add, “And, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too. For the other half of ‘everything’, you know?” Having to kill Sam even if it was to save her life and still, their breakup, were the main things on Deena’s mind. 
As if they could read each other’s thoughts, they understood at once. Just as they forgave each other instantly. They didn’t necessarily forget, because if this experience taught them anything, it was the value and wisdom and peace that’s found in the past. But there was nothing they could use against each other. The only thing left after their extraordinary experience was gratitude and a love big enough to fill centuries.
“I love you,” Sam said, staring deeply into perfect brown eyes.
“I love you too,” Deena replied with that easy smile of hers, waiting for the moment Sam would pull her face in for a kiss.
Afterward, all they had to worry about was coming up for air in between their kisses. Their hands were leisurely exploring each other’s bodies, and their kisses were reverent and unhurried, as they focused on nothing but enjoying each other’s company and love.
At one point, they thought they heard a rustle of leaves from somewhere behind them. Sam pulled back from the kiss with a small frown on her face, “Did you hear-”
“No, I didn’t,” Deena quickly replied with a chuckle. Then she dove back into a kiss, stealing Sam’s sweet laugh right off her lips. There was no reason to worry. It could be the actual Devil, it could be Sarah Fier and Hannah Miller themselves, it could be just the summer breeze. Nothing would break them apart ever again.
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percabethfiles · 3 years
Text
Charlie
Uh... Hello? Anybody still here? I haven't been around in years and years. But I keep my fandoms stored in some corner of my brain waiting for something to tug them out. And of all things this time it was Taylor Swift re-releasing her old songs, because I used to imagine so many percabeth scenes listening to "Fearless". So have this little something that's been sitting unfinished in my archives for years now.
Remember that time Percy saw Sadie Kane and thought “Hey, this is what mine and Annabeth’s daughter would look like”? Yes.
(Also there are small nods to that fic I wrote about Logan, Hidden Heritage, but I've been meaning to re-write it someday because there were SO MANY PLOT HOLES omg)
When they find out it’s a girl it’s a bit too soon to know for sure, or so the doctor tells them. They’ll have to wait for the next appointment to know for certain. “So don’t go buying any tiny dresses yet,” he jokes and they laugh along, but they’ve been together for approximately eighteen years now, they can tell what the other’s thinking with a glance and the ecstatic grin that breaks through their lips lets him know they’re on the same page. Too late. They’re already thinking plush bow and arrows and a Merida costume for her first Halloween.
Percy tries to keep his cool. As the weeks progress, he tries not to get his hopes up, but in his heart he knows already. They hadn’t really had a preference before, they’d been too happy knowing their baby was fully human and had all its limbs (with the number of deities they’d pissed off, you never knew), but a little girl? It feels right after their two boys, it feels like their family will be complete.
(He thinks about a slight blonde girl with streaked hair and a British accent dropping from the sky on a magic camel, remembers thinking “if Annabeth and I had a daughter…” and his chest squeezes tight with happiness so raw he has a little trouble breathing)
When the doctor beams at them next appointment and says “Congratulations, Jackson family, it really is a girl,” he’s not surprised, but no less elated. He doesn’t hear the lame joke about Jackson Five, he’s too busy trying to be a manly man and not burst into tears because he’s going to have a daughter. When Annabeth’s in the other room paying for the appointment, and he’s waiting for the doctor to print the really impressive high tech 3D picture of the ultrasound, the man asks him “So did you go ahead and buy a tiny dress anyway?”
Percy blushes.
The man shakes his head in amusement. “Every time”.
His work colleagues, proud dads of little girls themselves, try to terrorize him with tales of tea parties and future boyfriends, and Percy thinks somewhere in the middle of all that teasing they mean well, but really, he’s mostly annoyed. It’s not like he’s new to parenthood, he’s got two sons already and they seem to be turning out okay, and before, when Logan and Nathan were just a nice dream for the future, there was Estelle, the little sister Percy had never expected, but loved to bits all the same.
And then Charlie is born.
She’s tiny, warm and pink, all curled up in her yellow cable-knit blanket, a tuft of blonde hair peeking out of a tiny, tiny beanie, features scrunched into the most adorable variation of a grumpy face. He’s not new to parenthood, he’s been here twice before, but the rush of affection and protectiveness and awe and raw love is just as genuine. He’s smiling like a dork, can’t seem to stop, walking from side to side, avidly searching her traits. She’s bigger than Nate was when he’d been born, but smaller than Logan. Her hair was light, like Nate’s, would it stay blonde or darken with time? Would her eyes be like his or Annabeth’s? And oh, she had her mother’s nose (they all did).
It never fails to amaze him how such a small, vulnerable being can shake up his whole world until it’s made a space for her. And he’s done this before, he’s no first time sailor this time, he’d thought he had it all under control. But she blinks and looks up at him with half-lidded eyes and a frowny face and—they’re green. Her eyes are the blue-green Logan’s are, Percy’s are.
(He’s got two sons who are his life, and he does love all his children equally, but holding his daughter for the first time, he thinks he understands his friends’ warnings. He doesn’t love her more, it’s just… different. It’s special.)
When he goes back to work, Nick takes one look at him and bursts into laughter. He claps him on the shoulder in commiseration.
“I told you.”
He’s completely wrapped around her finger already.
It’s not too different, he finds out. Especially having been pre-trained by Estelle. He’s got to brush up on his Disney princess knowledge, and hair braiding skills. He hasn’t gotten much better at color coordinating the polka dotted bows and tiny shoes, but Charlie is really forgiving. She is a very happy baby, much happier and easy going than any of the boys had been.
She’s also fucking crazy.
She is smaller and skinnier than her brothers, likes to wear frilly dresses and talk to plush animals and dance around the house in a pink tutu, but she’s wild. She never learned to crawl, just held on to the couch until she was wobbling on two feet, and it seemed like the very next day she was running across the house, the mall, the park, and if he turned his eyes away for one second, she was shooting off in the streets and nearly getting run over.
He’d found her dangling from the kitchen cabinets, trying to reach the cowering cat. She had a phase when she thought she could fly and she would climb furniture and stairs and the window sill and just… Launch herself into the air expecting her flying powers to manifest spontaneously. If they hadn’t been trying to raise them away from the whole mythological world, he would have sat her down and clarified that she had the wrong Olympian Grandparent in mind. She might have had more luck jumping into the ocean.
She had a way to jut out her lower lip, and turn those big green eyes on him that could render his every effort to be a responsible parental presence useless.
Besides, she was so funny. He could never muster enough anger to discipline her, because if he found her on the kitchen table covered in peanut butter, somehow sporting a very sticky Mohawk, and looking entirely unapologetic, well, he just couldn’t stop laughing.
One day he’s coming home from work and he hasn’t even pulled the key from the lock when Charlie calls out ‘you’re back daddy,’ in what sounds vaguely like a new jersey accent. He finds her sitting on the floor of the living room, drowning in one of Annabeth’s bathrobes, pink plastic barbie sunglasses on, holding a pooh bear sippy cup with one hand and a pinky stretched out.
“Charlie, what are you doing?”
“It’s wine Wednesday, daddy.”
“It’s what?”
“Wine Wednesday.”
He had half a mind to check if her sippy cup actually contained wine because they hid their alcohol way up in the cabinets she can’t reach but that girl could climb like a monkey. He knows he should follow that remark up with some kind of questioning of where she’d even heard of ‘wine Wednesdays’ and then explain that kids don’t drink wine or some other kind of responsible parent speech, but a sudden burst of incredulous laughter bubbles up in his throat and he takes refuge in the kitchen, lest he encourages her behavior.
He finds Annabeth there, hand over her mouth, clearly in stitches over their daughter’s performance. He wants to question if she gave her permission to wear her bathrobe but finding his wife nearly doubled over in silent laughter in the kitchen is too much and he finally lets out the guffaw he’d been trying to hold on to.
It’s not the first time Charlie leaves them breathless with laughter, and he’s almost scared of what she’s going to cook up in the future.
Charlie is a hellion.
There isn’t one person safe from her pranks, but she’s so adorable she hardly ever catches hell for it, and she’s learning to use it in her favor – thankfully, just in time for her parents to develop immunity to her puppy eyes. And she’s… difficult, yes, but not always, and not in a terrible way. For all her climbing the roof, organizing illegal cookie sales, getting in fights with her classmates, she’s not a bad kid. She’s got Percy’s penchant for befriending the kids no one wants to go near, and defending her ragtag team of losers. She’s loyal to a fault, and it gets her in trouble often.
She and Nate have epic jealousy fights over everything, including – but not limited to – Logan’s attention, the crayons, the biggest piece of cake and all the videogame characters in the world are not enough, they will always want whatever the other picked. It gives them many, many headaches. Logan, on the other hand, positively spoils her, and whenever Charlie gets in trouble they can be sure to find her hiding behind her big brother while he gives them this solemn look and says “It’s ok, mom and dad, Charlie promises she won’t do it again. We’ve talked.”
When the whole “Logan being attacked by a dracanae in school and thus finding out his Olympian heritage” debacle came to pass, and they started frequenting camp again, there was nowhere in the entire Camp Charlie would rather be than the stables. She’d spend hours there with the Aphrodite kids, brushing the pegasi and talking to them endlessly about all her classmates and her friends, and her dolls, and her new dress, and the new book grandma gave her. It was all really cute until Percy realized the pegasi were talking back, and she fully understood their replies.
And it’s funny, really, because Logan had taken after Percy, to a point where bathing him had been hard as a child because he tended to stay dry in the tub, and Nathan was Annabeth to a T, but Charlie was a perfect mix of them both.
He guesses it makes sense it would be so explosive.
When Charlie is twelve, she gets kicked out of school.
Percy is not overly worried about it himself – the number of schools he’d been kicked out of reached double digits, and this was only her first – but he is worried about how she will feel. Getting the boot from a place that’s housed you for years, where your friends are, where everyone already knows you and having to start over is never pleasant, no matter how used to it you were.
He’d expected the school to have gotten tired of all her pranks and misbehaving, which was fair, he guessed. But when Annabeth comes home from the meeting with the school director, she is seething, and not at their daughter. Charlie is angry too. In fact, it’s the first time he’s ever seen his daughter well and truly pissed off. The two of them are a sight for nightmares, both blondes standing side by side ranting with righteous fury, they look ready to start a revolution. What he gets from her angry snarls and Charlie’s rushed rambling is that Charlie had talked back to a teacher that was picking on the autistic kid and demeaning the thirteen year old who was repeating sixth grade.
She’d called him a brain-washing small minded overgrown bully who, he was quoting, didn’t get enough love from his parents.
And Percy is so proud his eyes even get a little misty.
Because he’s getting old and sentimental and raising kids is very hard. No one knows what they’re doing, not one person, not even the fancy psychologists with those books on raising perfect, well rounded, high-achieving members of society that Annabeth insisted on reading when she was pregnant with Logan. You do your best and you hope for the best, and you don’t know what you get until it’s basically too late to do anything about it. And even if he did have the best mom in the history of the entire world to draw example from, he was also half of an absent Olympian father whose heritage condemned him to dance in and out of battlefields half his life.
He’s always been terrified of being a crap father.
He looks at Charlie cussing out with every mild version of actual cuss words, stalking around the kitchen like a little lioness in a cage, furious at the unfairness of the whole situation, caring less about being expelled and more about who was going to defend her friends from that awful teacher when she’s gone.
His daughter is only twelve, but she’s already so brave, such a force of nature. She won’t stand for injustice, and she won’t take insult lying down. And she’s so kind. She’s growing up, and the person she is slowly turning out to be… is good.
And something in his heart shifts and settles down, smooths over old fears and anxious thoughts.
Percy doesn’t mean to brag, but he thinks he’s not doing half bad as a parent.
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Male!Werewolf (Rhys) x Human! Reader (Modern AU) 3
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PART 1  -  PART 2
Male monster x human reader
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing Part 3
“There is no way I’m doing that.”
“Ah come now, sugar.” Rhys had been sat on your bed when he had told you the announcement: the prospect of meeting his parents and other brothers had been spoken about since after you had gotten together, but you didn’t think the motion would be so… extravagant.
“You didn’t tell me it was going to be this extra, Rhys.” You sighed, heavily, pinching at your nose as you searched through your wardrobe for anything that could make you look presentable. A cocktail party, something you didn’t think Rhys would ever introduce you to.
“It’s just for one night, babe. And then, when it’s all over, we can go back to yours and have as much pizza and movies you want.” He grinned toothily, his brown eyes winking your way. “How does that sound?”
“You’re terrible, you know that?” You exclaimed over your shoulder playfully. “I don’t even think I have anything appropriate.”
“You can dress down for me if you want.”
“Rhys, this isn’t helping.” You quavered, “I’m meeting your parents! I need to make a good impression.”
“Look, they’ll love you for who you are, no matter what you look like.” Rhys smiled, standing up and coming to hug you from behind, wrapping his muscular arms protectively around your waist.
“You mean it?”
“Of course, sugar. I don’t want you getting overwhelmed by this.” He kissed your cheek tenderly, the warmth coming through his chest radiating through your back. “I appreciate you coming with me though.”
You leant further back into his chest, “You mean it?”
“These events always bored me, and my old man always asked when I would bring back a girl for him and mom to meet, but I never did nor ever want to show up. This is something I want to do now, not just for my dad’s sake.”
You smiled at that, grateful to be able to do this for him. “Then, I hope they like me.”
“They will,” he nuzzled into your cheek, “just like how I do.”
-
“So you’re parents’ names are?”
“Atticus and Eleanor.”
“And you have four brothers - Nicholas, Theo, Marshall and Jackson.”
“Correction: Nick, Marshall then Theo and Jackson.” Smiled Rhys, as he turned the steering wheel to the left, coming off the main road and down towards the secluded and private narrow road. You were staring out the window, shifting your dress to cover your legs as best as you could as you watched the tall trees pass. “You didn’t tell me you owned a private house.”
“It was my grandfather’s, he gave it to all his children to come to for celebrations and whatnot. It’s just used more often by my pops than his other siblings. The Hawthorn manor, something that has been in our family for two centuries.”
“I didn’t know that.” You pondered. His family is big but I didn’t know they were rich. The manor was a piece of grandeur in his family’s name, and it certainly was something of glory: its high walls and stone marble were glossed in onyx, with high foliage that grew over the bricklayers with its bright red double doors on display. “It’s beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you, sugar.” Rhys was dressed to the max in a borrowed dark blue suit and black tie, his hair swept back and gelled back as his hand came to wander and squeeze your thigh. “If we weren’t going to this, well—I don’t think we’d even make it out the house.”
“Just keep an eye on the road, silly.” You playfully said, averting your gaze in which Rhys noticed, his deep chuckle always seemed to calm your nerves. “You’re gonna do amazing, babe. I know it. Just remember, deep breaths.”
You did as told, breathing through the nose and out through your mouth, in and out, until you could say you were slightly calmer. “Oh shit, we’re here.”
The driveway wasn’t really a driveway, but more like a small acre in a field: large enough to hold four grand cars as large as the BMW Rhys drove: all marbled and glossed black and leather-bound seats, you didn’t know what you were walking into.
You stepped out and walked over, arms linked to the door as Rhys gave the knocks to the red entrance, the sound itself seemed to reverberate through the outside of the manor than inside, but it was still all too impressive.
The doors opened suddenly and outpoured the two people Rhys held some tolerance for. His parents were similar in height and dressed accordingly to the occasion: reds and blacks of silk dresses and ties, their dark hair sprinkled with occasional greys throughout, their olive skin still youthful to make them look to be in their early 40s than late 50s.
“Rhys, you look well,” His mother was dressed beautifully in reds with a long-sleeved maxi dress and her lips being the same crimson shade, her hair pulled back into a neat bun. Her eyes landed on you with the unexpectant warmth that radiated like the sun, “you must be the special someone?” Her tone was welcoming, caring.
“That would be me, yes.” You sheepishly announced, before Eleanor took the initiative and embraced you tightly in a welcoming hug. “Welcome, my dear. It is so nice to have a new face around here.”
“You’re the one who’s got our boy’s head doing cartwheels?” Rhys’ father, Atticus was presenting himself with a beaming broad smile, his large hand coming to shake yours tightly and all too enthusiastically. “My future daughter-in-law will be the needed asset to this family.”
“If you would, dad, I don’t think we want to spend the evening in the cold,” Rhys informed with a roll of his honey-brown eyes. Eleanor took you by the arm as she took your coat to hang up. 
“Finally, another girl to keep me company surrounded by these men.” She chuckled to herself, her eyes full of mirth. “You will like Rhys’ brothers, they take after my humour, not that old dog’s.”
“Hey, I’m still here.” Atticus jested with a wink, his crow’s feet creased. “Come, we can begin now that everyone’s here.”
You took a glance back to Rhys, portraying an ‘I’m sorry we were so late because I couldn’t curl my hair properly’ to which he looked back with an, ‘It’s okay, it’s still beautiful nonetheless.’
“Our guests have arrived, boys!” Eleanor announced, the reception room was extravagant with Corinthians that would put their Greeks to shame. There, from their spots turned the four men awaiting the final guests, all ranging in different heights and forms. 
“Boys, come say nice to Rhys’ girlfriend. Be kind.” Eleanor warned, flashing a sympathetic smile as she hurried to collect more glasses for the two of you.
His brothers were all tall compared to Rhys, maybe the second to youngest, Jackson was an inch taller than Rhys, but Nicholas was and foremost the tallest, followed by just two inches, Theo, then Marshall.
“I didn’t know you were bringing a girl round?” Jackson announced first, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at Rhys’ body language and facial expressions, “A pretty one too.”
“Look, you can go find one for yourself to bring here,” Rhys kept his tone oddly calm for this intrusion, gripping at your hand securely, “we’re a thing.”
“So, you marked her?” Marshall looked you up and down with a single glance, his nostrils flaring momentarily. “I see no mark.”
“Nor do I smell her claim.” Jackson sniggered.
“You’re making her uncomfortable, Jack.” Theo came to push aside Jackson, smiling warmly to you in return. “Forgive us, we must look like animals tonight.”
“Hardly ever.” Retorted Rhys with a click of his tongue.
“I’m sorry,” you interrupted, feeling slightly aware that what they were talking about was making you uncomfortable, “what do you mean by claiming.”
“A wolf claims their mate when they find the one,” Nicholas joined in the conversation, leaning over to smile almost considerately. “It’s what wolves do when they care for their partner.”
“I see.” You could feel the tension build with the silent back and forth glares that Rhys was sent to his older brother, the sudden realisation and disappointment in knowing that you hadn’t been marked by Rhys yet… or would you ever be?
“I’m gonna get another drink. This is killing me.” Marshall slipped past, walking straight to the bar as Eleanor came back with two drinks of champagne in her hands. “Our finest, though it does go a bit to Jack’s head.”
“Funny.” Pouted Jackson, “I’m sober enough to see this night through.”
“Like last time was any better.” Nicholas seemed distracted elsewhere, his eyes always drifting in the room. “Summer of last year was an awful one.” Theo sighed dramatically, “For me.”
“We had a great time!”
“You set dad’s car on fire. And I had to clean up your sick.” Theo addressed as Jackson shrugged. “Okay—but we still had fun.”
“Come, Theo, you gotta help me with bringing up more bottles.” Eleanor grinned as she beckoned the kinder of the Pearson brothers away, leaving now just the four of you to idle chatter.
The champagne couldn’t go down your throat any faster.
You didn’t know whether the tension building between Rhys and Nicholas was already ready to burst, but when you had looked to the oldest Pearson brother, you had been surprised to see his hardened gaze on you already. He regarded you with a curt nod, before saying your name clearly.    
“Nicholas.” You acknowledged him coolly. “You already met Nick?” Jackson addressed, eyeing the two of you up with suspicion. You regarded Nicholas with a small glance to find him already staring back at you. “Not on the best of terms, but yes.”
“I wasn’t in my best of moods, but I can say myself, I was acting like a dick,” Nick confessed earnestly. “No hard feelings?”
“None at all.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want to get awkward with you, since seeing you with Rhys makes him happy.”
“I didn’t think the day would come,” Jackson grinned, “he’s like a lovestruck puppy.”
“I’m still fucking here, Jack.” Gnarled lowly Rhys, his voice resorted to sounded two tones deeper than usual, almost imperceptible. “I’m sure your little girlfriend doesn’t want to hear you swear so much, Rhys,” Nick added, smirking thinly.
Rhys snorted through his nose as he gave you a final regretful look before storming off, saying under his breath of needing some more to drink. “My apologies for him, he’s always... struggled with expressing proper emotions.” Nicholas simply added whilst Jackson continued sniggering at the affair.
“Maybe to you, but not me.” You finally added, your brow furrowed, now angry to see how bad it could get being both the youngest and forgotten one of the family. “Yeah, he isn’t perfect, but who is? I like him just how he is, and I know that he cares for me.” You addressed to the both of them: Jackson’s laughter and jeering quietened, whilst Nicholas continued to stare at you as if you were the main hideous attraction to a circus.
“Now, I don’t know about you, but I want to enjoy my evening.” You pressed the champagne glass into your bottom lip, whilst finally, Nick was first to have a broad smile appear on his face as if your words had inspired him the most, his laugh a gentle and deep timbre. “You know, I didn’t think at first I’d like you, but you surely changed my mind.”
“How so?”
“You’re like him a lot, but that warmth and empathy you have is what maybe none of us showed much to Rhys.” He placed his large hand upon your shoulder, the warm startling hot in his palm. “I hope he sees himself how good you are to him.”
You couldn’t respond at first, but Nicholas’ words were merely earnest, as he collected his younger brother and dragged him off by the shoulder. “Come, Jack, let’s go find the others. Have a good evening.” He left with nothing else to say, leaving you more than confused and surprised by his change in his words. “What in the fuck?”
-
You had found him on the second floor on the balcony that you didn’t think would be accessible to them all, but here he was, staring out idly at the view that outstretched for acres.
“Hey, I knew I could find you here.” You smiled as you came to cradle you from his back, his back tensing from your touch as you leant into him, silently thinking to yourself as you took in his lack of words or movement. “Are you okay, Rhys?”
“I’m sorry about them, sugar.” He confessed, his voice hoarse and low, “I wanted to impress you and show them how good we were together, but all they did was mock and leer, mock you as much as my love for you.”
You removed yourself when you heard that certain word, the one word that made your stomach flutter and head spin. “You… you love me?”
“I know it’s shit, and I didn’t want to confess like this either.” He laughed dryly to himself, his eyes downcast. “I wanted to make it official too, you becoming… my mate.”
Mate. The word was innocent enough but it brought you to do somersaults in your mind, and your grip around his waist loosened enough to make Rhys assume you were reacting negatively to him. “You’re scared of me, aren’t you?”
“No, I just—I didn’t think you wanted to do this, not now.” You soothed, relaxing when his head rested against your forehead, his eyes closing in relative peace. “I didn’t want to pressure you into anything, not until you were comfortable with me.”
“Rhys,” you calmed him, “I’m with you until the very end. I… I love you.”
His eyes had opened when you confessed the three words to him, his honey-brown eyes so wide in realisation, yearning only for you. “I love you too, sugar. So much.”
He captured you lips rougher than you had expected, his fingers threading through your tresses, pulling you closer to him, the heat of his body and familiar scent of him was all you wanted and you needed.
“Shall we get out of here, babe?” He had asked with a full beam on his face when he had pulled away from you, the low growl reverberating through his chest like a soft motor.
“You want to ditch your family?” You had laughed, pulling him closer to you as he kissed from your jawline to your neck. “I mean, they won’t be looking for us now, and we can finally get that pizza and chill night in.”
You kisses him again, more passionately and rougher than the first time, pulling back to look him in the eyes as you felt the calmness lull you to competition. “I can’t say no to that then.”
-
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razorblade180 · 3 years
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Twin snowflakes part 24: Date Night.
Part 23 here! <-
Still exhausted, Veronica flopped back onto her bed with the help of Nick. The girl let the mattress steal all tension from her body, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. “Aaahhhh! That’s the stuff. Appreciate the help.”
“Don’t mention it. Especially after what you just did. Frankly I had no plan to get Summer to cooperate.”
Veronica chuckled the best she could. “Hehe, not often Nicholas Schnee doesn’t have a plan. I guess you owe me then? Lucky for you I take words of affirmation as payment all the time.”
Nick smiled. It was nice to see Veronica joking. Encountering Shiva always put a dread over him, but she seemed to not care much. That’s Veronica alright, refusing to take crap from anybody. “I could praise you, or how about I praise you over a nice dinner?” Nick quickly responded.
All the neurons in Veronica’s brain suddenly came to a screeching halt. Her body immediately came flinging forward to sit upright to stare at the smiling boy. “What…?” She asked, still processing the question.
“Let me take you dinner.” He said again, “I have a reservation at this place in Atlas tonight. I was gonna cancel but we could just have a night out together. You still haven’t tried much food from here right? Plus I know you still have to be hungry. This works out.”
Veronica couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did Nick just ask her out on a dinner date? That didn’t sound right, even if it was a thank you gift. As quickly as her eyes lit up, they began to squint at him with skepticism. “What happened with Valerie?”
Now his eyes got big. He wasn’t expecting that response. “Uhhhh what?” His voice gave away his nervousness and Veronica could clearly tell.
“Don’t play dumb with me Nick. I’m not gonna call you a liar or anything, but I know you, and you know me; as well as my feelings.” She said that last part sheepishly. “You aren’t the kind of person to play with my emotions or offer a dinner date when you’re crushing on Val, so what’s up? Be straight with me”
It was becoming clear to Nick that he apparently could be read like a book. This is the third person within twenty four hours to look at him and automatically knew to ask about Valerie. This was ridiculous! His life had many things that made him bummed out. How are people guessing right on the first try!?”
“Uhhhhh” he scratched the back of his head and sighed. No point tip toeing around it. Not like it was a secret or anything, yet his stomach felt queasy all the same. “I ran into her yesterday. She was pretty upset that I didn’t tell her I got sick. I apologized and tried to smooth our recent bickering over with dinner. It was going okay, but then…Val immediately started to brush me off. I got upset, she started deflecting, people started staring, then she really started saying some things that really got me upset; kinda made a little scene out of it before walking off. Nor really princely, huh?” He tried smiling at the self jab, but failed. “Anyways, next time we meet per her request more a less will be at the tournament. We currently aren’t on speaking terms. Something she should be fine with since distance was what she wanted in the first place.”
Veronica could hear a little venom in those words. Val really did have Nick upset. He’s never this openly bitter. Though maybe it was being behind closed doors that allowed him to drop the facade of being consistently pleasant. Frankly, that made Veronica a little happy for him, in an odd way. However… “I see. So I assume that this dinner reservation was for you and her?” An answer wasn’t needed. Nick’s moment of sulking was replaced with a guilt ridden look on his face the moment she asked. “You know, kinda shitty you’re asking me to a dinner meant for another girl that turned you down. Not a fan of being someone’s second choice.”
Nick closed his eyes and let in a sharp breath like he had just been hit. “Oooo yeah, yeah that was pretty messed up for me.”
“Mhmm, big time. No girl wants to hear that you know?”
“I didn’t mean- I wasn’t trying to...sorry. That was tasteless and selfish of me.” He looked down, shamefully and with genuine guilt. It was only when Veronica’s hand lifted his head by his chin did he see the girl stare at him with an observing gaze and lips pouting to the side. She then crossed her arms and looked away from him, ears tucked and a tinge of red visible on her.
“You’re lucky you’re a good person and I am hungry. I…guess you could apologize with a good dinner?” Veronica knew he wasn’t trying to be insensitive. Still, she was more than a little ticked off at herself for letting him off easy. Darn his good qualities! Being mad towards him for long was never gonna happen. Not to mention having a calm outing together is a golden opportunity. No way she wasn’t gonna capitalize off of Valerie’s mistakes. Her eyes shifted towards Nick to see a relieved smile that only made staying upset harder.
“This place better be good! Also I’m gonna order every expensive thing possible!” Veronica declared, attempting to save face.
“Hehe, thank you, and go right ahead and order anything you want. It’s not until around nine so please, get some rest.”
“I should be saying that to you. Isn’t going out at night in the cold while moody only gonna give you more sniffles?”
“Pfft, I’m sick anymore. Just focus on healing and rest. Not that I have to tell you this, but you gotta dress nice for where we’re eating.”
Veronica smirked, pointing at a closet of designed outfits. “Careful. I may not be worth billions but I’ll make you look like a pocket change if you don’t wear you best.”
The boy let out a cocky chuckle before walking to the door. “For your information, I’m two billion.” He said puffing out his chest playfully, leaving on that note. He could hear her gentle laughter behind the door. At least he could lift one girl’s spirit. As for the other, Nick looked at his sister’s locked door. He couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t going to knock, but he had to at least walk to it. Come to think of it, Nick had a hard time remembering when this door remained open. Most days it kept either the warmth in, while shutting others out. Slowly he rested his hand against it. The wood, cool to the touch.
“Tell me what you need.” He thought, “I’m not a mind reader…” Nick could only sigh. He removed his hand and stepped back. As he began to walk, the door moved. As if something was pressed against it from the other side.
“I know you’re there.” Summer said from the other side. Nick quickly walked back to it. Somehow he could imagine how she was on the other side. One leg extended while the other was bent as she pressed her back to the door. Nick took a seat himself, mimicking the pose he envisioned.
“You okay?”
“Far from it, but that’s par for course…” Summer looked over her shoulder as if she was actually resting against her brother’s back. “Honestly I feel so fucked up some days that therapy feels like a joke. I think I need a break.”
“What kind of break?”
“The usual…” Summer let her words draw out lazily. The back of her head rhythmically tapped the door. “Care to join me?”
Nick tugged at the carpet fibers, mulling it over. “Mmmm sorry, I’m not in the mood for that kind of relief. Besides, I already have plans. I’ll cover for you though. I think venting could do some real good for ya. Just don’t stay out too long. Leave around… half past nine.”
“Will do, thanks Nick.” Even though a door separated them, Summer could feel the care from the other side. Veronica’s words back in the forest about Nick and how Summer treats their relationship struck an all too sensitive cord. “I promise not to worry you. Have fun with whatever you’re doing tonight. I’ll keep you updated and everything.”
“Don’t stress about it. I believe in you. Anyways, I gotta get going. I think I’ll do a bit of distressing in my own way.” Nick stands up. “Better go while there’s daylight.”
“Gonna pay respects?”
“Yep. Enjoy your outing. I’ll see ya tomorrow if I don’t see ya tonight before I leave. Love ya.” He walked away after that, not expecting a response. Didn’t need one. After all, Summer coming to the door said enough.
All in all, things felt okay. Life felt okay. By no means was it perfect, but Nick was thankful he had blessings to count. He’d feel better after the tournament. What should’ve been an exciting time was getting more troublesome. Training, performing, fighting Darren in the duos, and now a not so friendly rematch with Valerie. At least Eliza still had a sportsmanship attitude. He still needed to ask her favor as well. By the end of this she would certainly be sick of him. Nick was surprised she didn't block his number yet. That would royally suck.
His slow walk took down the stairs and back to the front of the manor. He heard dishes clanking from the door to the far left while he grabbed his dark blue winter coat off the rack. “That you dad?” The kitchen door swung open to show Jaune drying a cup and Yang waving in the background as she held a slice in her mouth while talking to Blake. How they managed to swipe pizza out of Veronica’s room was beyond Nick.
“What’s up?” Jaune said, noticing his son put his jacket on. “Heading out? Your mom and aunts should be back soon. Pretty sure they’d want-”
“Veronica and I are going on a dinner date later.” Nick interjected. As planned, his father was derailed. Stammering footsteps came plopping out of the kitchen in the form of a very wide eyed blonde, and a shocked ninja. Blake’s ears even did the little twitch Nick as seen Veronica do whenever she’s caught off guard. “Yeah I thought you all should now. I’d say don’t bug her about it and let her rest, but considering Yang’s feet are already pointed towards the stairs…”
Yang looked down. “Huh...how about that?” She said, walking up the stairs with Blake trying to stop her.”
“Let her rest Yang!”
“But I wanna say stuff~” she whined, “I guarantee you she’s listening to us right now.”
Yang was right on the money. Veronica was currently judging how much strength it would take to lock the door. Her odds were bad. “Okay I don’t care how cute he is. This was cruel!” Veronica thought loudly to herself.
Jaune watched Blake slowly get dragged up the stairs by trying to stop Yang. Without looking, he leaned forward and reached out to grab Nick’s shoulder, who was trying to slowly back up to the door. He faced forward and smiled. “Good attempt, but you’d need a better distraction than that.”
“Eh it was worth a shot…” Nick sighed. He was pulled forward and fell into a surprise hug. He stood silently for a minute before wrapping his arms around his dad. “You needed a hug?”
“Not really, but you looked like you did.” Jaune said, squeezing tired. “You know you’re growing up into a fine young man. Better than me by a long shot at your age. I hope you know your entire family is proud of you.”
“I know dad…” Nick said, his voice getting stuck in his throat a little.
“I know I can’t relate to some of the pressures you feel. Honestly being a part of a household with this much attention and expectation still gets me anxious from time to time. So don’t hesitate to vent to me. You’re a young adult yeah, but I’m still my son and sixteen. Weiss and I would much rather see you yell at an annoying cameraman or get scrappy with a bully than see you try to hold it in for the sake of family image. Remember that.”
How did he do it? It was unfair, downright cheating almost in Nick’s eyes. How could so many people easily call him out? “What’s the point of enduring if everyone I wanna reassure sees right through the act? So much for a brave face.” He muttered. Jaune finally let go of him. The compassionate father poked Nick right where his heart was.
“Enduring an ordeal for the sake of others is pretty brave in my book, but who said you couldn’t endure hardships and still be open to those who matter? Have you meant your friends and family? Besides your sister I don’t think there’s a soul close to you who isn’t an expert of seeing past masks. Val and Vee live with bleeding hearts and the rest have had to put up with me!” He chuckled, “Just like I’m sure you know when someone is upset.”
Nick had his doubts. “Mmmmm, starting to think I might not know them as well as I think. Val is...ugh, I don’t know she is. Learned about Vee’s traits recently for the first time, and Summer-”
“Okay, I see your point. But! Learning new things about them and knowing there’s things you don’t know, doesn’t erase what you did. Y’all are teens. There’s a bunch of things to sort through. At the end of the day though, you know them where it counts. Does that make sense?”
“....Yeah, I think I do.” Nick nodded, thanks dad. Seriously. It’s kinda scary how good at talking you are.”
“Comes with practice, specifically learning to listen and just watch closely. You may not realize it but you do this plenty. It’s a big reason people gravitate towards you. Well… people who are just money hungry anyways, but that’s more of a rich person policy than a Nick-ism. I digress! You better get going before your mother comes back and give you her own talk.” Jaune said. He opened up the door for Nick to leave. “From the way you’ve been acting I assume you’re heading to pay your respects?”
Nick nodded, “I’ll try not to be terribly long. Don’t tell mom unless she asks. You know how she gets?” Nick walked through the door, fist bumping his dad on the way out.
Jaune closed the door and went back to the kitchen. Somewhere above him he could hear giggles and a few squealing. “Hopefully nothing catches on fire up there.”
“You are starting a fire!” Blake yelled, trying to contain Yang’s excitement so the blonde’s hair would stop flaring up. “Use your words.” Blake laughed.
“Please…” Veronica groaned. This level of energy was higher than usual. “You’re more excited than me. It’s just a dinner date. Barely even that. More like a thank you gift I suppose.” That being said the blush coming to her face clearly sung a different tune. “Can we please talk about anything else? I mean mom, you’re here!”
Blake crossed her arms. “So I heard you got into a fight? Let’s talk about that.”
“Ummm, so this date, any suggestions on what to wear?” Veronica poorly deflected. Blake didn’t even respond and Yang was smart enough not to. There was no choice but to talk about it unfortunately. “Sigh….I know okay? Ma told me I should’ve eaten and I didn’t listen. I should’ve, or learn to walk away from-”
“I’ll stop you right there. Don’t think for a second I wasn’t okay with a person getting hit when they were clearing harassing you.” Blake took a seat on the bed. “Expecting you to balance instinct, emotions, and logic here in Atlas was never in the cards, because frankly we don’t know what that balance is. Not to say I assumed you’d fight here. All I wanted was for you to try and...take a break from the norm.”
“If that’s the case then school should’ve been removed right off the back. It doesn’t matter the location, people act the same. Different faces, same insufferability. Only difference is these bozos are rich and human.”
“You make it sound like you aren’t crushing on a rich human whose parents are allowing you to stay in their manor.” Yang deadpanned. “Not making you go to school would only leave you bored and gods know what you’ll do with too much time on your hands. Then again you managed to stir things up already by stealing a spot on the cheer team.”
Blake did a double take. That wasn’t mentioned earlier. “Cheer team? How did that happen?”
“A girl got cocky with me so I out performed her. Honestly I was more than a little surprised by it all. Holding pom-poms, doing flips on mats, and even the couch blowing the whistle, kinda forgot what those things were like until I was in the moment.”
“See? That’s a change from norm.”
“Pretty sure that counts as a return to form.” Veronica countered. “It’s whatever though. Just a temporary thing. Although I’ll admit that Eliza chick, Marigold’s kid, she’s pretty decent.”
Blake wasn’t expecting that easier. “Oh? Well that’s nice. Sounds like that could be not so temporary?”
“Eh, whatever happens, happens.” It was a nice thought. Veronica couldn’t deny that. “Any other thing you wanted to discuss with me? I’d like to lay down for a bit longer.”
“How’s it feel to discuss all this genetic stuff with Nick and Summer? Call it what you want, but telling them was no different from a therapy session if it made you feel better.” Blake stated.
Veronica frowned. “Not how I see it. I’m pretty indifferent for the most part I’d say. Haven’t thought deeply about it. Veronica plopped her head on the pillows and turned away.
Blake and Yang took their scrappy daughter’s hint to leave. Blake got off the bed and was more than fine revisiting the discussion later. Yang briefly bent over Veronica’s covered face and kissed her head.
“Muah! By the way, I’m pretty sure Nick would love to see you in his colors. No heels though. He’s a little touchy about his height.” Yang left after that, closing the door gently. Veronica could only lay there pondering the advice.
“Hmmmm that could work.”
xxxx
While the youth finally got some rest, Adults were hard at work trying to piece together all that’s happened. Ruby and Weiss scoped out the undisturbed frozen lake along with Winter, Nora, and Penny most importantly. Though there wasn’t much to go on. Just crushed rocks, claw marks from ferocious grimm, and a mix of blue and red blood that made Weiss particularly uncomfortable. Ruby sensed that uneasiness and quickly began rubbing her partner’s back.
“Your daughter’s fine.” Ruby reassured. “If what she said is accurate then she never actually lost control.”
“Yeah but the blue dyed snow before us means she just barely held on. That’s too close for comfort.” Weiss held her hands together gently. “It feels like things are getting worse.”
“Because you’re in the thick of it.” Nora spoke, projecting her voice to get their attention. The strong and prideful woman made her way over to them. “Every day you’re worried for her and wake up knowing your daughter is a few rooms away upset. A parent is only as happy as their saddest child, and seeing Summer so distant makes it difficult to see the good stuff. This situation is trying, yes, but Summer still fought back. Your daughter fought Shiva off and killed grimm to protect someone. Determination like that is a sign Summer isn’t done fighting by a long shot, so that means you shouldn’t mope. I mean she gets all that strength to defy assholes from you.”
Ruby gave a big smile. She couldn’t have said it better herself. “Yeah! Nora’s right. We’ll turn this around.”
“....Geez, you two ever stop being helpful?” Weiss said, smiling gently. She was happy to have them here. “Thank you, especially you Nora.”
“Considerate my way of apologizing if Valerie really upset Nick. I told her she needed to call him, especially after him having the decency to call me so I could keep her in the loop about this. Apparently she wasn’t very pleased that he was ill and didn’t mention it. She’s….a lot sometimes.”
“Hey, so were we. I’m sure she means well and I’m not oblivious to the fact Nick can be...a lot as well. I’m partly to blame. I enable some of his actions towards her from time to time. I think I’m projecting a bit. Maybe I should tell him to move on?” Weiss sighed. Perhaps she played matchmaker too much and misread things.
Nora could only chuckle. “Hehe, I wouldn’t. Believe me when I tell you Valerie doesn’t hate having Nick look her way. A little forwardness is the only way she’ll acknowledge problems she doesn’t want to deal with. I can’t say for certainty what those problems are but I don’t pin any of it Nick. Val has a way of wanting her cake and eating it too. She’s gotta learn hard ways that’s not how life goes. I just hope Nick finds it in himself to not hate her because of this.”
“Pfft, I don’t think hate truly exists in his vocabulary.” Weiss laughed. She could count on her hand how many times Nick truly despised a person. “He’ll be petty about it I’m sure, but that’ll go away. Space between them might be good. At the end of the day I at least want them to still be close. Val has a way of motivating him that I like. He actually has fun.”
“Yeah, my Little Thunderhead excels at moving people, that’s for sure. Her semblance would be pretty mediocre otherwise if she wasn’t.”
The three continued talking lightly until Penny eventually walked up with Winter. “Okay, so I’ve finished running some tests of the area and the deposit of Diamond Dust. I have….unique results.” Penny said, a bit baffled.
Ruby wasn’t a fan of that statement. “Ummm that doesn’t sound great coming from a person who reads books written in binary. What did you find?”
“This dust is less volatile than the samples in my lab, even though it’s been untouched for longer. By all means it should be more refined.”
“Well isn’t it a good thing that it isn’t?” Weiss asked. “We barely handle what we have.”
“True, but it’s strange. There’s a couple possibilities that may explain this. Summer may have used up some unintentionally, or maybe Shiva herself was syphoning it.”
Winter folded her arms, “Not a fan of that second option. Based on the story though, what if it wasn’t touched at all?”
“Panic attack.” Penny said immediately. “She hasn’t been here since the accident, right? It’s entirely plausible that Summer’s mind and body remembered the trauma. Repressed memories or outright fear and anxiety could be the basis for this entire event. I tried contacting Oscar if he’s noticed anything different in Summer’s behavior, but I can’t get in contact with him. The seas have been rather violent lately due to weather changes.”
“So what you're basically saying is we're as lost as usual?” Weiss said, falling backwards into the snow. “Juuuuuust great. I’m going to assume the pain attack option then. That’s something I can work on with her. If Shiva is by any chance stronger now then the only thing we can do is what we always do. Brace ourselves.”
Ruby looked down at Weiss. “And option one actually means we have less dust to deal with. That’s a plus!” She knew it was a small amount of positivity but every bit helped. Weiss smiled at her and sat up.
“Here’s hoping for option one as well I suppose. We should probably head back. This place creeps me out a bit.”
Ruby helped Weiss up and everyone began leaving. Penny kept staring at the data she collected and trying to call Oscar. Unfortunately the man wasn’t answering. Her displeased sigh was heard by Winter, who rubbed the girl’s back.
“Not to be insensitive, but your son and Qrow wouldn’t do anything too crazy out a sea would they?”
Winter laughed nervously. “Hehehe….I’m sorry.”
“That doesn’t inspire confidence!” Penny yelped. Now she was only going to think about them being stranded by the gods or in a storm. Hopefully she would hear from him soon. “I guess a deeper study will have to wait. Ruby, can I stay at your place with Whitley for a bit? I don’t wanna go home yet. Too lonely.
“Sure thing! Door is always open. Though I bet you’ll have a livelier time at the manor these days.”
Penny tried her best to act like that would be a good idea. “Tempting, but a certain blonde teenage girl wouldn’t like that much, considering her parents so desperately want my husband to be her therapist. Summer also sees me enough as is. Nick would be happy I was there.” She said in a happier tune.
“He’s not home if I know him well enough.” Weiss frowned. “Times like these, I’m sure he’ll visit the graveyards.”
Truly, her son was easy to read.
xxxx
Right now the boy in question walked through an alley of tombstones and snow, his and covered in pollen. Atlas’s central graveyard had become a place for Nick over the years. The wide space and solitude became a welcoming barrier that blocked out most strangers from approaching him. Even the paparazzi had enough tact to not disturb a person here. His feet carried him down multiple lanes towards an old tree barren of any leaves looming over a grave with no actual tombstone. Standing before it was Eliza, wearing a dark blue winter coat and deep in thought. He wasn’t expecting to see her today.
Nick kept approaching until he stood beside her silently. A cool breeze went by them as the air itself felt still. Eliza eventually shifted her gaze to him, completely aware he was there. She looked down at his dusty yellow hands before speaking. “Talking to your grandma again?”
“Yeah. She says I should eat more sandwiches. Afraid I’m a little too then.”
“Heh, always witty. Visited your gramps yet?”
Nick shook his head, “No that’s halfway across Atlas from here and further from my home. It’s the next stop. What about you? Didn’t expect you to be here today.”
“Haven’t been in awhile.” Eliza waved her hand to cause a brief gust that blew away the snow from the grave and several others. “It needed cleaning and I was in the area. So what brings you here specifically? You only visit here on anniversaries, holidays, and when you’re moody. Last time I checked this is a random day, soooo”
“Eh don’t worry about it. Everything is alright now. Just decompressing.”
“Fair enough.” Eliza put her hands in her pocket and went back to thinking, until she realized Nick was looking at her again. “Uhh can I help you?” She said a little confrontational.
Nick got a little defensive and spoke quickly. “No, just surprised you’re not pressing me to open up.”
“Why? Your business is your business unless you make it my business. Something you’ll do if your attitude negatively affects the preparation for the tournament.”
“Ouch...well if that’s the case then the favor I’m about to ask you shouldn’t refuse.”
That peaked her interest. Eliza actually turned around fully. “You’ve been asking a lot of favors of me lately.”
“I’ve asked like two favors, and you’re the one telling me to directly involve you if-”
Eliza covered his mouth, irritated by him being right. “I know what I said! Sigh… what’s up?”
Nick looked down at the hand on his mouth, getting Eliza to remove it. “You’re lucky I didn’t lick it.”
“You’re lucky I don’t beat you up on hollow ground.”
Nick smirked. “Oh, so you think you can finally take me?”
Eliza squinted at him as her face got a little red. Why the hell did he have to be like this sometimes!? “The next words you speak better be your favor, or I’m walking away.”
“Well I wouldn’t exactly call it a favor but if you’re training by the harbor tonight, I’d appreciate it if you swooped by the seventh dock. The one with the huge building they rarely put cargo in. Summer is going to be there blowing off some steam. I don’t think anything will go wrong but you know, if you got the time…?”
“Hmmm I guess that’s not unreasonable. Wait, how do you know I train by the harbor!?”
“Did you forget my cousin literally owns a ship? If I’m correct, one time he said his sail caught on fire when a random bolt of lightning came down one day.”
“......” Eliza put her hand back in her pocket and began walking. “You’re really annoying Nick.”
“I’ve done nothing! Also I’m not done talking! I actually do have a real favor I’ve been mulling over for about a day!” Eliza kept walking away from him. “Hey! Don’t just- Can you train me!?” He shouted, hoping to gain her interest again.
It worked wonderfully. Eliza stopped mid-step and pivoted around. “Excuse me?”
“Training, yeah uh there’s this thing Schnee’s do called the candle test. Helps with our glyphs. Long story short, I’m ass at it hehe. Summer has stuff going on and it’s not really clicking with my mom or aunt. Since your magic is sorta like what I have to do, I thought maybe-”
“We are in a contest against each other, Nicholas.” She said firmly. “You are my opponent! One of two people currently in my way from reaching the top. Why on Remnant would I help you?”
Nick’s eyes avoided contact with hers. He began to scratch the back of his head as if he’d been caught red handed in a lie. “Because… you value sportsmanship?” He looked at her to receive an unamused blank stare that was colder than the snow. “Uh, and also you helping me in any capacity will let you in on a proposition that you’d find very intriguing. But I’ll only tell you when we’re training.”
“Tsk, I would think a Schnee would know better how to do business negotiations. Why would I make a deal when I don’t know if I even care about it? You tell me now or not at all.”
“I can’t say it now! I gotta smooth out details.”
“Then I guess we’re done here.”
“Fine, then I guess you don’t want a shot at gold with a sure fire way of at least getting silver!” He boasted, catching Eliza off guard. Nick slicked his hair back and crossed his arms to intimate his uncle’s calm yet assertive demeanor. “Yeah that’s right. I’m saying I have an idea crazy enough to benefit you and I. Everyone wants gold of course. However, you got a little more riding on this, don’t you?”
Eliza remained silent. Nick began walking a little closer to refrain from speaking too loud. “Last year was your real debut to the public eye and it was pretty good one at that. Third place is nothing to snuff at in the singles bracket. However...trust me when I say I know third is the worst seat in the house. That’s where the pressure and stress is. One mistake and you're off the podium and that feels terrible when people finally start looking your way.”
Eliza began tapping her foot. He wasn’t wrong. Not by a long shot. Confident as she was, Eliza was aware of her only two options. Do better, or hit the same bar. Winning was the goal but no one was gonna give her shit for losing to the top two contests. Nick and Valerie have been dominating for about three years now, and here he was saying he can get her to second. “Get to the point.”
Nick unfolded his arms. Time to be gentle again. “I cannot get into specifics at this time, but if you wanna show up at the manor anytime this week to help me, we can talk. I can get you second at minimum in King of the Hill.
His eyes burned with eagerness. Eliza had so many questions but obviously he wouldn’t answer them. This plan clearly had to be in his favor to get first, which neither of them had earned before. However, Valerie was first. How did she fit into this? What was going through his head!? Eliza had to know what regardless if she’d actually be okay with it. Her eyes narrowed at him. “Tsk, I take back what I said. Guess you are a Schnee. I will see when I can come over and help. Now, any other obnoxious request before I get driven away from this conversation?”
“Well……” Nick could feel just how dangerous this situation was. “It’s quite a walk to the other cemetery from here….hehe.” Laughing was hard when someone’s nostrils were flaring at you in frustration. Getting closer might’ve been a terrible decision.
Eliza closed her eyes briefly, then turned around to walk away. She went a few steps before briefly stopping. “Knock the snow off your shoes before you step in.”
Nick lit up like a Christmas tree. “You’re the best!!!”
“Why did he get more votes than me!?” Eliza internally screamed.
xxxxx
The day seemed to drag on. It had taken some time for Weiss to return home with the company of her sister and Ruby. Nora had departed earlier to check in on her family. Penny had opted to head towards Ruby’s home before her. They would’ve gone together but Ruby did want to see her niece and Blake. Penny had yet to properly see her friends. Though she wanted to, she thought it best to hold off for now.
The trio walked into the house and were assaulted by the strong scent of what had to be Jaune’s amazing cooking. They could practically see the aroma of spices dance in the air. One spice in particular hit Ruby. It was subtle but sharp at the same time. The kind of spice that sent a zing through your nose and hit your tastebuds. A mouth watering smile spread on her face and her stomach growled.
“Mmmmmm” Ruby hummed, “Somebody brought spices with them from Menagerie.” She sang. Ruby and Weiss wasted no time heading to the kitchen. Inside was an apron-wearing knight stirring a pot of stew, and their favorite faunus in the whole wide world in an apron cutting vegetables.
Blake didn’t even need to turn around to know what giggling pair just entered the kitchen. She put the knife down all the same and turned around with her arms wide open. “Well-” she couldn’t even say her boastful introduction before her two cheecky smile teammates dove in for a hug. All three of them just became a choir of happy laughter as they embraced one another.
Weiss finally let her friend go to get a good look at her. “Look at you! Traveled all this way and you’re helping make dinner!? I don’t deserve you!”
“Well I saw Jaune breakout a pot and I figured he’d enjoy some help without fear of something burning.” Blake jabbed. Ruby immediately tucked her lips to stop herself from snickering at the diss.
Weiss’s jaw dropped. She still smiled however, crossing her arms. “Oh ha ha, I’ll have you know my cooking is leagues better than what you remember since last time you had it. I can cook amazing meals all by myself!”
“As long as it doesn’t involve a fryer.” Jaune added, walking over to kiss his wife’s cheek really quick.
Weiss’s face got a little flushed. “Grease is bothersome.” She mumbled. Blake could only chuckle at the remark while walking to the pot and dumping the vegetables inside. The smell of the stew intensified and reminded Weiss she is still very much the weakest in her friend group when cooking was involved. “How are you going to outdo me in my own home? Why’d you bring spices in the first place!?”
“Don’t question it!” Ruby shouted. Her body went on autopilot to grab the plates and cups for the dinner.
“Ruby, aren’t gonna make dinner at home?” The room said, thinking about Whitley.
Ruby then proceeded to grab one of Jaune’s tupperware containers. Apparently they were now feeding Whitley as well. Ruby knew they wouldn’t mind, so she felt no remorse when filling it. Her boldness knew no bonds.
“Ruby, how do you know they aren’t making enough food for the people in this house?”
“Because this household would crumble anytime Jaune did a mission and didn’t make enough food for weeks.”
“I can cook!!!!” Weiss yelled.
Jaune playfully rolled his eyes and patted Weiss’s back. “Ruby isn’t completely wrong. Anyways she can take as much as she wants. Nick and Veronica have a dinner date tonight so they won’t be joining us for dinner. Then I don’t if Summer-”
“Nick and Veronica have a date!?” Weiss and Ruby shouted.
“Oh yeah… that happened while you left.” Jaune tried to reach for the ladle for the stew but Weiss swatted his hand before turning his head back to her. Fortunately Blake swooped in to continue stirring. “Yeah so they’re going on a date tonight. I don’t know details.”
Weiss turned to Blake who shrugged. “I didn’t press Veronica too much about it. Yang should be upstairs with her trying on dresses.
“Behold! A beautiful sunflower in the snow!” Yang cried out from outside the kitchen unexpectedly.
“Or I guess she’s downstairs now.” Blake turned off the burner on the stove and moved the pot before following her friends out to the main hall. Outside was Yang standing proudly with her hands on her hips and staring up the stairs proudly. Jaune and Weiss’s eyes went wide while Winter seemed….impressed? As much as she could be. Her feelings towards Veronica in general were mixed. The girl was definitely beautiful though. That was just a fact.
Blake looked up to see her daughter all dressed up at the top of the steps. She wore a white, thin strapped dress that had a light blue sash around her waist. The skirt portion went down to about knee level and the flats she wore were also white. The bottom of the skirt brought more color in by being an intense light blue that faded to white half way up; lace snowflakes were intricately etched on to that portion to break the color up. Gloves that went just passed her elbows followed a similar scheme but started white at the hands before transitioning to blue. To top it all off, a pretty little light blue ribbon formed a bow on top of her head. It was that accessory that made Blake notice that not only wet her ears gone from sight, but so was her tail.
Veronica’s face was stricken with a decent shade of red. Her feet shuffling in place a little as she rubbed her left arm. “So….ummm thoughts?” She said anxiously. “This is just one of several ideas so no need to hold back.”
“Several? What, did you make these in a couple hours?” Winter asked.
“No. I’ve been working on a Fire and Ice collection recently. This dress in particular was already put together for the most part. Although the snowflakes at the bottom was a last minute decision I made half an hour ago.” Veronica swayed to make the skirt flow side to side. “Normally I’d say adding flames or snowflakes is a bit heavy handed since the colors of the outfit already speak fire and ice, but I don’t know. Felt appropriate. Especially since the white lace is on the blue. I even have them on the upper rim of the gloves. Made sleeve versions too.” Veronica inspected the stitching to make sure it was okay. “Hmm not my best work, but I kinda like it.”
“I kinda love it!” Yang proudly said. “Oh it takes me back to the Beacon dance a little. Back then another Schnee was outdone by a Xiao Long wearing white.”
“Ha, no! Your dress didn’t even look done!” Weiss shot back, refusing to take such slander. “This dress is ten times better than what you wore.”
Ruby nodded. “Yeah sis, your dress was pretty plain. Didn’t even have a bow.”
“I couldn’t find one!” Yang defended.
Judging by the banter, Veronica was getting positive vibes from the dress. She looked at Winter since the woman was there. Surprisingly, a thumbs up was given. “Well that was more positive than I expected from her.” Veronica thought. The only person who remained silent was Blake. Veronica turned to see her mother assessing what her daughter had on. The silence she gave made Veronica a little concerned. “What’s up mom? Not a fan of how thin the straps are? It’s not a low cut anywhere.”
“No, all that is fine. I just have to ask, why-” before Blake finished, the front door opened once again with Nick coming through it this time. Everyone froze in place by his sudden entrance. Including him!
“Uhhh why is everyone just standing in the front of the house?” Nick questioned. It was only when he looked up the left staircase did he get his answer. “Oh, that’s why. You look...wow.” He said, rather clumsily. “I didn’t think you’d get ready three hours ahead of schedule. I still gotta wash up from the grav- I mean my walk. Yeah, walk, around town. With no real location stopped at.” He had no idea why he kept saying things. The deadpanned look on Winter and Weiss’s face clearly showed they knew where he was.
Weiss gave a reassuring smile and poked his forehead. “No need to lie, especially so poorly. If talking to them brought you some form of clarity then by all means have at it.”
“Yeah it’s not my business either.” Winter added, ruffling his hair.
Veronica wasn’t exactly sure what they were discussing, but it looked like things were going well. Nick even looked like he was in a better mood then when he left. His eyes went back to Veronica and made her fidget a little. The gaze he gave her was focused, deliberate even.She didn’t know how to feel about it until Nick began to look a tad displeased. “I-Is something wrong?” Veronica asked hesitantly.
“Not wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cover your ears. Tail yeah, since it can get in the way a bit, but why the bow?” He asked, pointing at it from afar. Everyone looked towards her for an answer, especially Blake. Nick had beaten her to the question.
Veronica looked down at her feet for a moment before looking at her family, crush, others. She never really knew what to call Weiss or her siblings. “Well normally I wouldn’t cover them, but while you were gone I kept thinking about this date…and how I wanted it to be a simple night out.” Heat began to rush to her cheeks. “So you know, people will stare and judge less if I’m like this. Not that their opinions matter, but I’d like to keep things peaceful as much as possible tonight. That’s all.” She looked at Blake who was looking right back at her. The answer didn’t seem to upset or surprise the mother. Veronica played with her a bit. “Is...that okay?”
“Hmm? You’re asking permission? It caught me off guard seeing it. Whether it be for aesthetic or personal reasons, I won’t dictate how you wanna design your clothes as long as it’s appropriate. After all, ribbons and I have a history. Couldn’t judge you if I wanted.”
That was a relief to hear. Veronica had completely forgotten her mother wasn’t a stranger to trying to blend in. “Well if that’s settled-”
“Hold on.” Nick softly said, his calm footsteps walking up the stairs to meet her. Everyone fell speechless as they watched him. Veronica for some reason felt as if the mood had changed. The room was quieter, air completely still. The face of the boy in front of her began to look more earnest than it has ever been as it got closer, stifling her breath. Nick extended his hand out slowly till his fingers clasped a corner of the bow, then unraveled it.
The ribbon flowed slowly into his palm and then was brought down towards Veronica’s. “If a calm night means you have to hide, then is it really a calm worth having? Like you said, those people don’t matter. Besides, I like your ears.”
Burst, Veronica felt like her heart could’ve burst. The blush on her cheeks deepened greatly and her eyes went wide from the shocking words. She had barely remembered to breathe. If she paid attention to the audience below then she would’ve been embarrassed by the grins that went ear to ear but no. Veronica only noticed Nick and his gentle smile that matched his words. Her mind finally caught up with itself and Veronica grasped the ribbon ever so slowly.
“O-Okay…” she said without thinking. Anybody else may have gotten more of a debate on it. Not him though. Not after words like those. “I’ll...make a few adjustments then.” She said, flattered and flustered as she walked back to her room without any more words.
“Take your time. You still have about three hours like I said, plus I gotta wash up.” He reminded her, not realizing just how sweet his words were. He turned back around to see smug faces and contained laughter. “What?”
“Nick…” Winter said, smiling with her hands on her hips. “And you wonder why girls flock to you obsessively. You’re too much.”
“I’ll say.” Blake said, admiring the boy. “But you know what? There’s something perfect about that. Nicholas, thank you.”
He wasn’t entirely sure what he did but he got embarrassed all the same, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. At least things finally felt relaxed in this house. “Umm you’re welcome?”
With teasing done and the mood lightened, everyone went back to doing their respective things. Jaune and Blake went back to prepping food. Weiss went with Ruby to set tables and properly catch up, while Yang decided to keep Winter company since both her son and Qrow were off adventuring. The chatter filled the hallways and even reached upstairs to not only Veronica, but Summer, who finally managed to fall asleep peacefully. Even Nick found a bit of proper rest in the bath. The soothing warm water filled with epsom salt was more than enough to make him doze off. Time steadily went forward and the adults began winding down. However, the kids were just getting ready for the night.
xxxxx
Dusk finally came. Winter leaned up against the main door waiting until she saw Nick coming walking down the stairs looking dashing. His crisp white suit, ice blue tie and handkerchief were perfectly in place along with his slick back hair.
“Hey Whitley jr.”
He groaned, “Please don’t. This is why I do nothing with my hair. One minute I look like dad, then the next I’m uncle.”
“Grow it out more then.” Winter suggested.
He shook his head. “That’s a slippery slope. Too long and I’ll be compared to you, mom, and sis. I guess my face is just too great.”
“Pfft, you just know you can’t compete with all this.” Winter sassed, turning her head to sway her hair. Nick would have objected if she wasn’t right.
“Whatever hehe. Anyways, everybody still here?”
“No, Ruby eventually headed home, but everyone else is strung about. I’m heading out myself but I figured I could drop you and Veronica off for your date.”
Nick gave her aunt a huge smile. “Awww, auntie!”
“Oh hush, don’t make it a big deal. It’s convenient, that’s all.”
“Well I appreciate it nonetheless. Veronica will too.”
Winter mumbled,“She better show it by not getting you or sister into trouble.”
“I heard that.” Veronica called from up the staircase. Winter and Nick looked in that direction to see her walking down. Nick wasn’t prepared.
Veronica had switched the gloves out for detachable sleeves that still exposed her shoulders. They also followed the same white to blue pattern. What really changed was she used the ribbon to make a high ponytail and now dawning jewelry. A pearl white necklace rested around her neck and complemented the pearl earrings she wore. Slowly she approached Nick with her hands holding each other in front of her. Veronica’s face was still a healthy shade of red. This close, Nick couldn’t help but smell of peach nectar. An interesting and oddly refreshing choice for perfume.
“Well...ummm...you weren’t kidding when you said you would out dress me.” Nick said, captivated. “I’d say you’re one billion, easily.”
Veronica chuckled nervously. “Hehe,th...thanks. I wouldn’t go that far, but I appreciate it.” Looking at him was harder than usual. Men’s dress shoes had a bit of heel, so Nick actually was a bit taller then her now since she chose flats. It could only be by an inch or two but it made a hell of a difference to her. “I had a little help near the end. These are actually your sister’s pearls.”
“Really? Oh, that’s right! I think the only reason she got them was so this other rude girl couldn’t. I don’t remember the specifics.”
“Wow. You two are….extremely petty at times.” Veronica said. Yeah pettiness was nothing new to her, but she’d never bought something to spite someone else. That’s the lifestyle in Atlas she supposed. “Anyways, if you’re ready to go then I am too. I’d really like to avoid-”
Click! The sound of a camera cut her off. The two teens looked back to see their parents all taking photos. Trying to stop them would be impossible. The only thing they could do is quietly wait for the clicking to stop, which was thankfully over in seconds.
“Gee I didn’t realize I lived with paparazzi.” Nick quipped. Another flash came from up above the second floor. Summer and her bed head leaned against the railing. “Summer!? You too!?”
“I came down to eat and saw we were embarrassing you. How could I not?” She took one more photo and then made her way down to the kitchen. “Have fun. I’m gonna eat and go right back to bed.”
Nick knew she was lying of course. That was the real reason she came down now, to announce she’d be sleeping in her room so nobody would disturb her. Summer, never missing an opening, also collected everything she needed from upstairs without anyone noticing. It was scary how far she’d plan ahead sometimes.
Winter finally decided to open the front door and head out. “Let’s move people. Rich or not, it’s rude to be late for reservations.”
“So strict. Almost think that you’re about to go drill instructor on me.” Veronica jokes, walking out the door.
“Don’t think I won’t make you drop and give me twenty just because you’re in a dress.” Winter shot back, closing the door as Nick walked out.
“The sad thing is she isn’t kidding…” Weiss nervously said. “That’s gonna be a long car ride.”
Summer came out of the kitchen with a bowl of stew and an evil look in her eye. “Why are there less left overs than usual? Who had seconds?”
“Ruby took some for Whitley. As well as had seconds…”
Summer squinted as if Ruby was there to actually receive the grumpy look before putts spoonful in her mouth and walking back upstairs.
“Ma’am, the table. Not your room.” Weiss said, using her mom voice.
Summer did a heel turn to the dining room. “Who made this stew!?” She said annoyed. Jaune and Blake both raised their hands. “It’s fantastic!” Was all she said as she continued walking.
Blake and Yang looked at each other confused before looking at their friends.
“Hangry.” Was all Jaune said.
“Ah…” the couple said together.
The moment Summer was out of sight from everyone she put the bowl down and searched around the living room quickly until she found her guitar case. Quickly, she grabbed it and opened a window towards the side of the estate and tossed it on a set of glyphs that hopefully propelled it right into her open room window. She then ran back to the dining room to sit down and eat comfortably.
“Phew! That was the last thing. And now I wait.” She took another bite of the stew happily. Nothing tastes better than an escape plan coming together.
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themonkeycabal · 3 years
Text
Wandavision Ep 6 Spoilers
No really, spoilers. 
Previously on Wandavision — Wanda told SWORD to shove their drones right straight up their asses, Vision woke up to the reality that his utopian sitcom life was in fact a dystopian hellscape, their children were extremely creepy, and Agnes was being bizarre as hell and super sus. In the real world, Acting Director Dick was a dick, and Darcy and Jimmy welcomed Monica into their sciencey weird-crime-fighting team. Monica also mentioned an aerospace engineer she knows, which some suggest may be the first mention of Reed Richards in the MCU. I have conflicted feelings about the Fantastic Four. Mostly I never liked them. But, I'm open to revising my opinion.
Oh, and also X-Men 'Verse Pietro showed up suddenly and that was fun.
Anyway. the roommate and I tried to sort out a timeline — so Monica unBlips and goes back to work at SWORD three weeks later. AD Dick tells us Wanda stole Vision's body nine days previously. That means, just three weeks ago Wanda was in the middle of a battle, lost her boyfriend, was Snapped, was then unsnapped to fall right into the middle of another battle. Lost THREE additional teammates. And then sometime in the following week found out a shady government agency had Vision's body and she probably went "OH HELL NO". Because that's what I would say. So she goes to SWORD, dents a few doors, takes Vision's body and swans off to New Jersey. Look, she's been through a hell of a lot in the last couple weeks, is what I'm saying. I don't blame her a tiny bit. But, also, I don't think she's entirely behind this.
10-year old boy plus video camera = the 90s. Obnoxious opening credits. But, you know, I kind of liked them (as a one off). WAYYY better than last week's.
It's Halloween, and *sigh* Billy is breaking the fourth wall and narrating to the camera. There's childish twin bickering as you expect, Tommy's the wild and crazy twin, and Billy's the buttoned up twin. And Pietro is passed out on the couch at 4 in the afternoon. Living his best life. He teasingly scares the boys, chases them around, and there's awkward child acting.
Wanda comes down the stairs in the classic Scarlet Witch costume, and says she's a Sokovian Fortune Teller. Sokovia was more wild than I realized.
Genuinely funny flashback to Wanda and Pietro trick-or-treating in Sokovia as kids, 'the year we got typhus'. lol. Was it the fish that gave them typhus? Or was that just a special treat? Wanda doubts this version of events, and Pietro suggests she suppressed the memory due to the trauma. This gives Billy the chance to tell the camera that mom's been weird since uncle Pietro turned up to crash on their couch.
Next it's Vision's turn to appear in the classic Vision costume. Yikes. Wanda thanks him for humoring her, and he says there were no other clothes in his closet and they have a very weird second where he's not playing along and she's not sure what to do, and then he breaks into sitcom character says something about "just kidding, i know how much you love mexican wrestling" like it's a luchador costume, and then there's some super weird flirting. TMI you two.
Meanwhile, Pietro is a large child and the kids love him, of course. So there's that.
Back to Wanda and Vision, she's ready to take the kids out trick-or-treating, but Vision says he can't go, he's on the neighborhood watch and must patrol the streets ever-vigilant for wild gangs of child hooligans who might TP trees. He's gone off-script and it takes Wanda a second to figure out how to play this. She says it's the boys' first Halloween so he has to be there. Pietro breaks up the almost argument and says he can be a father figure-type and he'll help with the boys. Vision's still pretty off-script but Wanda doesn't fight it but looks uncertain, and he goes off to protect the night — or early afternoon.
Pietro is a child hooligan and wants to go do hooligany things with the kids. Wanda says he doesn't have a costume and he grabs Billy and they speed off only to return dressed in classic Quicksilver duds. Well, cheap-looking, thrown together Quicksilver duds. I laughed. The hair. lol. Good one.
Outside in the real world. The Hex field is still kind of glowing red and making bad force field noises. It only started doing that when Wanda got pissed in the last ep. Oh, goody, it's Acting Director Dick. I've learned his name is Hayward. I don't care.
Blah blah Stompy Mc-I'm-In-Charge blah. Monica is not pleased about the whole trying to kill Wanda with a missile while she was talking to her plan. AD Dick just says "now we know who we're dealing with". Um … what? You tried to kill her and her response was to tell you to go away. Yeah, boy, she's a monster.
Darcy is there to helpfully remind AD Dick that Wanda made him look like the fool he is. ILU girl. "Hey, there he is; the guy who almost got murdered by his own murder squad." Jimmy just makes a 'i'm so disappointed in you and your choices' face at him in the background.
I despise characters like Hayward. They are so tedious. Narratively they are there to incite conflict, but given the situation conflict naturally exists, surely there are other ways to bring up/drive that tension without the trope of the government heavy ready to solve the problem with the most extreme amount of force available to him. OH no! Our plucky heroes will have to find a way to save the day and fight the Man! Can they do it? Boring. It's too bad General Talbot went insane and then died; he could probably give tips on How Not To Be That Guy.
Anyway
Hayward wants to know if Darcy works for him and she's like "dunno my dude", Monica claims her, AD Dick says "which one of you is the sassy best friend" and Jimmy's like, that is quite enough Acting Director Not Very Nice Man. "There's no time to diminish your colleagues when you're about to start a war you can't win." AD Dick just wants to take out Wanda so the whole nightmare ends. Monica's like um, we literally do not know what's going on. Like, for real we have no clue. So that might not, in fact, end the nightmare, Director Murder Britches.
They argue a lot and Director Dick goes off the rails. Dude's like more unhinged than seems warranted. Unless he's just so embarrassed that he pissed himself when Wanda returned his murder drone to him, he's decided SHE MUST BE DESTROYED FOR THE GOOD OF … NEW JERSEY AND MY SOILED UNDERWEAR OR SOMETHING. 
"Captain Rambeau, you are an impediment to this mission!" Oh no! He's gonna tell her all about how hard it was to survive in a post-blip world, all those lucky blipped don't know what it was like! You just can't understand! Monica tells him not to use that as an excuse to be a coward. I'm so bored with this scene. Let me guess, the trio will have to go behind his back to save the day.
"Maybe it's a good thing you weren't here with your mother died. Because, clearly you don't have the stomach for this job." … non-sequitur much? Or is he saying she would have inherited the Director-ship (which should probably not be how that sort of agency works, let's be real). Is this scene five hours long, or does it just feel that way?
The Dick banishes the trio from his base.
"Hayward is way over-stepping his provisional authority". Jimmy Woo, you're so great. Monica says he's up to something. Yeah a tactical nuke and murder. Clearly he doesn't want to actually solve the problem, he just wants the problem to go away with a big show of macho explosions and whatnot. I suspect he might be in over his head, like he was not meant to be Acting Director, let alone Director. Also, he's a boring cliche stereotype and I loathe it.
JIMMY! I legit did not see that coming. He just pure hauls off and clocks one of the soldiers escorting them off the base, to a transport truck or something. Monica seems just as surprised for a second but then she's like "hell yeah!" and jumps in. Darcy sort of stands back and watches. lol. "Why didn't anyone tell me the plan?"
Oh look, it's my shipping container! They put the soldiers in there. Guys, it was for Hayward. Come on.
The trio disguise themselves with ponchos, which is a big step up from the usual MCU disguise of "baseball hat". That was a good bit in Ant-man and the Wasp "it's not a disguise, it just looks like us at a baseball game" (I watched that like last week. I missed Luis). Anyway …
Back in the sitcom world. The kids are ready for their early afternoon trick-or-treating. They're still talking to the camera. It's so awkward. I'm not a fan. I get it's meant to reproduce the very 90s Nick-era sitcoms and so, you know, it's spot on. Still, though.
Pietro is encouraging and supportive. "Unleash hell, demon spawn!"
Dang there are a lot of kids in that neighborhood. Wasn't Vision wondering last episode why there weren't any kids? Is the program correcting itself?
Wanda tries to test Pietro, asking him about some kid at an orphanage when they were kids. Pietro calls her on it, and says he knows he looks different. Wanda wants to know why that is. He says, "You tell me. I mean, if I found shangra-la, I wouldn't want to be reminded of the past, either." Hmm.
The kids speed off with uncle Pietro. Wanda wanders over to talk to neighbor Herb, who has a g-man earbud in and is clearly part of the neighborhood watch. In the background Pietro is stealing all the candy and smashing pumpkins and spraying the place with silly string. The hijinks are so wacky. Wanda tells Herb maybe Vision can help out with the chaos, and Herb says Vision isn't on duty. Oh no, he lied to her!
Herb goes weird "is there something I can do for you, Wanda? Do you want something changed?" Hmmm.
Elsewhere Vision is wandering the wild streets of Westview. He finds people caught in some type of weird decorating loop, the woman seems trapped but aware.
Commercial time!  What the fuck was that. "Yo-magic! The snack for survivors." No, really, what the fuck.
Night has fallen, the twins and the twins walk the streets. Wanda's making the boys give back all the candy they stole. She says Pietro is a bad influence. He says "I'm just trying to do my part, kay? Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the brother-in-law, stir up trouble with the rugrats, and ultimately give you grief. I mean, that's what you wanted, isn't it?"
"What happened to your accent?"
"What happened to yours? Details are fuzzy, man. I got shot like a chump in the street for no reason." AHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHA! no really AHAHAHAHAAH! Thank you, Pietro! Holy shit, perfect. That's some delicious shade. I expect to see this gif'd fifteen different ways when I load tumblr today.
"Next thing I know, I heard you calling me. I knew you needed me."
The kids interrupt. And now all of a sudden Tommy can zoom. Character development!
Everyone is so careful to give Wanda what she wants. Why? She's not cruel. Who wants to keep her pacified? And whoever it is cannot possibly be pleased with AD Dick messing things up. Assuming it's an outside or outside-ish force/entity, of course. I mean, I don't think she's doing this entirely, she might be the battery powering it, but despite her thing last episode to get SWORD to leave her alone, she does seem a little confused about the where, why, and how things are going.
"Don't go past Ellis Avenue." Just a kid thing or a boundary of the sitcom control world?
In the real world, our heroes are sneaking through a tent city and into the server room. The scene with Pietro and Wanda discussing his accent is playing in the background. Darcy seems put-out that Pietro was recast. lol. "He brought the wrong face."
Darcy hacks into Hayward's devices. "Hayward figured out a way to look through the boundary." "And he didn't share it with the group." I don't like Hayward. 
Something is blipping on the map on the computer. Jimmy asks if it's Wanda, but Darcy says "it's tracking the decay signature of vibranium". So Vision. Monica wants to know why Hayward is tracking Vision. Well, I'd super like to know what SWORD was doing with Vision in the first place, because they weren't just storing him, they were doing something. So …
Jimmy notices that there are other dots, the ones closest to Vision, who are other residents. Jimmy says the ones near the edge of town are barely moving.
Back to Vision. He's found a cul-de-sac to patrol. Everybody's frozen in place, the street lights flicker. Eerie. They're all dressed for Halloween. Does this mean the field is shrinking, or the effects spreading and so it's closing in, slowing and then freezing people who were earlier moving about just fine? Vision is unaffected by this whatever it is. He turns himself into himself and flies off, up above the town. part of the town is dark, and part alive with voices and laughter.
He spots a car at the edge of town. It's Agnes. She seems frozen-ish, but when he asks what she's doing there, she says "Town Square Scare. Where is it?" all robotic like. Vision helpfully tries to give directions. lol. "Took a wrong turn, got lost" she says.
Vision touches her head and she wakes up. "You! You're one of the Avengers. You're Vision. Are you here to help us?" "I am Vision. I do want to help. But, what's an Avenger?"
Hmm. Well, I guess he did say last week that he couldn't remember anything before Westview.
"Am I dead?" she asks. "No, why would you think that?" "Because you are."
What was news coverage after the Snap like, do you suppose? I mean, ridiculous, of course. But, like, I think they had bigger problems then wondering about snapped/dead Avengers, didn't they? Well, maybe not. "WHERE ARE AVENGERS TO HELP US?" or "HOW DARE THE AVENGERS NOT HELP US!" "TOTALLY THIS IS ON THE AVENGERS!" "WE'D ALL BE DEAD WITHOUT THE AVENGERS!" "NUHUH! BOO AVENGERS!" "EXCEPT VISION WHO DIED HEROICALLY, WE ALL LIKE THAT AVENGER!" "TONY STARK AND PEPPER POTTS SHARE THE DECORATING TIPS THAT TRANSFORMED THEIR RUSTIC RESTORATION PROJECT INTO A CHARMING FAMILY HOME".
Agnes starts screaming "Dead" at Vision. She's not coping well. Vision says he's going to try and reach outside town and try to figure this all out. "How? No one leaves. Wanda won't even let us think about it." I SUSPECT YOU, AGNES! Why would Wanda keep everybody trapped and miserable? I could see if she did it on accident, but this implies she's purposefully hurting people. I don't buy it. Agnes, again, seems to be in the right place at the right time to make Vision doubt Wanda. You're a very suspicious character, Agnes.  
She starts to laugh. "All is lost." Vision touches her had and she resets to sitcom Agnes. Somehow she can move again, she turns the car around on Ellis Ave and heads back into town. So, that answers that.
Vision walks across the Eillis Ave to the field beyond.
Meanwhile, Darcy continues to hack. Monica gets a text and says "that's it! My way back into the Hex will be here in an hour." Jimmy's all ready to boost a ride to take her to meet her aerospace buddy. But, Darcy says, nope. Can't do it. Monica's been through the Hex twice, and it's rewritten her cells. "It's changing you." Monica is undaunted. "I know what Wanda's feeling and I won't stop until I help her." Alrighty then.
Jimmy's finally going to get to hotwire a car! But wait, Darcy's not going with them. AD Dick has something hidden behind one last firewall. Darcy thinks it's big and can help them. She's going to find it.
I don't think Jimmy had to hotwire that humvee. It just started right up. Motorpool, pfft - they always leave the keys.
Back in Westview. Halloween continues at Town Square. Pietro asks Wanda where she was hiding all those kids. Whu? Says Wanda. "I assume they were all just sleeping peacefully in their beds. No need to traumatize beyond the occasional holiday cameo, amiright?" What is Pietro. "Hey don't get me wrong, you've handled the ethical considerations of this scenario as best you could. Families and couples stay together. Most personalities aren't far from what's underneath. People got better jobs. Better haircuts for sure."
"You don't think it's wrong?"
"Are you kidding me? I'm impressed. It's a pretty big leap from giving people nightmares and shooting red wigglywoos out your hands." No, really, what is Pietro? "How'd you even do all this?" Hmmm.
"I don't know how I did it. I only remember feeling completely alone. Empty. Just endless nothingness." She looks back at Pietro and for a second he's dead Pietro. Poor Wanda.
Darcy continues to hack Hayward's systems. Cataract classified weapons something something. They're still tracking Vision. Who continues his walk across the field and comes to the hex. He tries to push through it. Looks painful. SWORD rolls out to go overreact at him. He makes it through the barrier, kind of. It's a struggle.
Hayward standing there looking like a jackass "he really does want out, doesn't he?" Like he’s just amused by this turn of events, or watching a lab rat try to get out of the lab. 
Darcy's standing behind watching all of this. Bits of Vision sort of fly off and back into the Hex. Darcy says "oh no!" and runs towards him, screaming for them to help him. Way to give away your sneaky hiding, girlfriend.
In Westview. Billy looks up, he can hear what's going on outside. "I hear daddy in my head. He's in trouble."
Vision calls for help, while SWORD prioritizes arresting Darcy. Phil Coulson would never have behaved like this. Boo to SWORD. Vision is dissolving. It's kind of gross and sad.
Wanda asks where Vision is, and Pietro interrupts "Don't sweat it, sis. It's not like your dead husband can die twice." Wanda wallops him with some red wigglywoos.
Billy sees soldiers and thinks Vision is dying. Wanda stops everything and makes a big red boom. The Hex appears to be expanding. Whoops, now you've done it AD Dick. He runs away like the brave brave guy he is. They leave Darcy handcuffed to a jeep. "Are you serious right now?"
The Hex overtakes Vision and then Darcy. Trapped soldiers become clowns, and we're in the circus. Well, SWORD seems like a circus, so Wanda's not wrong. I'm pretty sure Jimmy and Monica made it, but sadly the bravest Director who ever braved also escaped. He deserved to be a circus clown. Better luck next week, Wanda.
Credits.
Well, I just don't know anymore.
Hayward doesn't care about Wanda, except where I think because of this someone will figure out what he was doing to Vision's body. And Vision is ultimately the thing he cares about in all this. I hope Wanda drops a house on him.
Hmmm.
Quit suggesting I watch Age of Ultron next, Disney. It’s not happening. 
31 notes · View notes
plaidbooks · 3 years
Text
SFW Alphabet - Nick Amaro
Requested by no one, but whenever I’m stuck on a fic, I seem to turn to headcanons, so here we are. I hope y’all enjoy some Nick headcanons!
Taglist: @the-baby-bookworm​ @beccabarba​ @thatesqcrush​ @itsjustmyfantasyroom​ @stardust-fray​ @permanentlydizzy​ @infiniteoddball​ @ben-c-group-therapy​ @glowingmess​ @whimsicallymad​ @lv7867​ @storiesofsvu​ @cycat4077​ @barbasimp​
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(gif by @dwaynepride)
A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)
Nick’s pretty affectionate—he likes to sit with you on the couch after a long day, arm wrapped around your shoulders. His love language is words of affirmation, so he’s constantly giving you compliments and telling you how much you mean to him. He also loves massaging you, whether your neck, shoulders, back, or simply your calves.
B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)
Nick’s always there for you if you need him. He’s mastered the art of listening to you vent and rage, or just sitting with you in silent comfort, whichever you need. You met Nick while at the park—he was with one (or both) of his kids, just a bonding day, playing. You were walking your neighbor’s dog at the time, and the kid(s) became enamored with it, asking to pet and play with it. The dog needed a good run, and what better way than with a child? So, you let it off the leash, and you and Nick idly chatted while watching them play. You quickly exchanged numbers, so that the kid(s) and dog could play again some time (and so Nick could have an excuse to talk to you)
C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)
Nick likes to cuddle on the couch, but more so in bed. The only problem with cuddling on the couch is that one or both of you have to get up too often. In bed, however, he can hold you close to him for hours, his nose nuzzled against your neck.
D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)
Nick’s always been in a relationship—he doesn’t know how to not be. That being said, he hates cooking. He does it (and does it well), but it’s his least favorite thing to do. As for cleaning, he’s a bit of a neat-freak. He’s gotten Zara good at cleaning up her own mess (though her room is a different story), and he’s on top of messes in the house. He’s quick to clean anything that happens, and knows how to mix chemicals safely and effectively to clean any stain.
E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)
Nick would keep his cool, collected façade the whole time—in person, of course. But, as soon as he’s alone, he breaks down crying. He’d be civil about it, making sure to get your things back to you quickly and efficiently so that you don’t have to go to his place.
F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)
After Maria, he’s a little wary about marriage. He doesn’t want to make any mistakes again, so he’ll take it slow. He’d make sure you were really the one before proposing, and even then, he’d wait to marry you. And unless you were really into a big wedding, he’d probably just take you to a small chapel, with his mom, Zara and Gil, and your family as witnesses. But he doesn’t necessarily believe you have to be married to be in love.
G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)
For the most part, Nick is gentle as can be. Because of his upbringing, he knows what it’s not to not have that. Though, sometimes work can get to be too much, and he’ll come home pissed, yelling and screaming. Once his anger passes, however, he’s apologizing profusely, holding you and caressing you gentler than ever. Even so, no matter how mad he gets, he’d never think to raise a hand to you.
H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)
Nick loves hugs, even if he won’t admit it. He’ll hug you on days you need it, rubbing your back and resting his head on yours. And on days he needs it? He won’t ask for a hug, but if you do hug him on rough days, he fucking melts against you. Sometimes, he forgets how much love and affection can be in such a soft touch, especially if he’s expecting something rougher, more violent.
I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)
It takes him a little bit to say it, but he shows it quickly. It’s evident in everything he does. And after he finally mutters it to you, it’s as if he’s seeing a door that was painted the same color as the walls. Of course, he loves you! Why didn’t he say it earlier? No matter, now he has all the time in the world to make it up to you, saying it constantly.
J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)
Nick is the epitome of jealous. He trusts you, sure, but he doesn’t trust anyone else. If a man so much as looks at you for too long, Nick will wrap himself around you, pulling you in for a dominating kiss. And if it’s a friend/coworker looking at you? Well, then that just means Nick has to take you home and mark you as his, so that those prying eyes will see his mark on your neck.
K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)
Nick’s kisses as rough and dominating, yet somehow tender and full of passion. His lips are soft against yours, his hands cupping your face, neck, hips, ass, pulling you closer to him. But his tongue is in your mouth, massaging yours, leaving you completely breathless by the time he releases you. Besides on the lips, Nick loves kissing your hands/knuckles/arms. He watched Tom ‘n’ Jerry as a kid, and saw that one episode(s) where Tom kisses the girl cat from hand up her arm to her face, and he loves doing that to you, especially because it makes you giggle.
Nick has a ticklish neck and loves when you kiss/nibble his neck/throat. It makes him laugh and he feels so warm and loved. And if you mark him? He plays it off as if he’s embarrassed, but he secretly loves it.
L = Little ones (How are they around children?)
Nick’s the best dad! He has infinite patience with both his kids, never getting mad with them. Yes, he can be strict with them, but that’s only to make sure they’re taught right. He’s also never too tired after work or on days off to play with them, or read a bedtime story (for Zara). His only downfall is that he can’t be around them more. Nick also embarrasses them both with the worst dad jokes.
M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)
On days that he works, Nick Is up early, making sure Zara is ready for school (if he has her). Then he’s shaved, dressed, and ready for work. He makes breakfast for both of you (and Zara, if she’s there), and then is on his way.
On his days off, and without Zara, Nick will stay in bed with you, waking you up with sleepy morning sex. If he can get away with staying in bed until noon, he will. Otherwise, he’ll get up and ready for whatever he needs to get done that day.
N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)
Sometimes, Nick needs to be held. When the cases are bad, or when he wakes up in the middle of the night from nightmares of his childhood, he’ll sob softly against you while you cuddle with him, telling him how much you love him.
Other nights, Nick will take you to bed and spend half the night rememorizing your body, the noises you make. He’s gentle, tender, whether you have sex or not. If not, he’ll just caress your skin with his big, warm hands, massaging you muscles slowly. And if you do have sex, then he’s slow, loving, his touch tender against you.
O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)
Nick’s pretty guarded—he’s been hurt before and is afraid to be hurt again. He’ll tell you important things first, like that he has two kids, and that’s divorced, but you won’t learn about either mom for months. He’ll also tell you he’s a detective, but he won’t tell you what department, nor what kinds of cases he gets. He compartmentalizes his work life and his home life. It’s not until he gets super defensive around his kids that you can put two and two together.
P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)
Surprisingly, Nick’s not easily angered…at least in his home life. He’s quick to anger if his children or family are threatened, but otherwise, he’s pretty chill. That being said, things at work, and his conversations with Maria, can get under his skin easier than anything else. But once he blows off some steam, he’s pretty quick to apologize, making it up to you or anyone else that was a recipient of his verbal lashings.
Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)
Nick’s brain is a steel trap. He remembers most things, even little details you didn’t think were important. Sometimes, though, he gets his facts a little mixed up (“I thought you said you loved ranch?” “Yeah, only as a dipping sauce, not as a salad dressing”). But he obviously tries, and you’re shocked that his years as a father didn’t completely destroy his brain.
R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)
Nick got called in on his day off, and his mother was busy. In desperation, he called you to watch Zara, which you happily accepted. You had a great day with her, and she loved hanging out with you. When Nick finally came to pick her up, she didn’t really want to leave. “Can I come stay with Auntie [y/n] again? I love her!” Zara said. Nick picked her up, holding her against his side, heart swelling. “Uh, I don’t know. Would you like—” “I’d love to watch Zara again. Anytime,” you replied, and Nick fell completely in love with you at that moment.
T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)
Nick tries to make every date special, he really does. But if he had a dollar for every time he got called away halfway through a date, then Zara would be able to afford college no problem. If you’ve been dating for a long time, then he’ll slowly start giving up—though, he’d be sure to do at least something special that night. Gifts are always special with Nick—he puts extra thought into every single one, and they’re all incredibly touching.
U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)
Nick relies on takeout too much. Man hates cooking, and since he doesn’t have Zara 24/7 anymore, he doesn’t eat super healthy anymore. Which isn’t a problem for him—he goes to the gym and works out. It’s becoming a problem for you though. He also tends to turn to alcohol if he’s had a bad day.
V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)
Nick is well shaven and keeps good hygiene. It’s not that he’s concerned with his looks, it’s just simply taking care of himself. Sometimes, he’ll let the scruff grow out into a neatly trimmed beard, mostly because he knows you love it. But this man was slumming in Narcotics for a bit—he doesn’t care what he looks like, as long as he’s dressed for the correct occasion.
W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)
Once you’ve joined his family, you’re a part of the Amaro clan. It’s not so much that he would feel incomplete (though he would), but he wouldn’t know how to tell Zara. Poor girl has already had so much heart break in her short life; she doesn’t need to deal with that again.
X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)
Nick loves watching cartoons with Zara. He’ll sigh and roll his eyes when she picks out a movie or show to watch, but he sings along with the opening credits, and has matching shirts with the characters on them with Zara (you are to never tell anyone that). You once came home while Nick was off and Zara with her mom, and he scrambled to change the channel from Spongebob to sports, but you had already caught him red-handed.
Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)
Nick will never be with someone who’s abusive, whether verbally, emotionally, or physically. While he understands venting and releasing pent up anger, he’s dealt with that for too many years of his life to deal with it from a partner. And if you so much as looked at Zara or Gil wrong, you’re done.
Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)
Whether it’s paternal instincts or because he’s been in a relationship so long, you don’t know, but if you and Nick are in bed together, he’s touching you. More often than not, he’s wrapping his limbs around you, holding you close. It’s only rarely that his back will be pushed against you. No matter how hot it is in the room, Nick is on you.
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headheartbellarke · 3 years
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Speak Now | WILLEX
dear @calamitykaty​ - happy valentine’s day! i’m your secret valentine, and i hope you have a brilliant, lovely day!! i just wanted to say that i absolutely adore your fics hehe :3 this one is for you, i hope u like it, you wonderful human!!
& a million thanks & kudos to @screwunsaidemily​​ / @jatpsecretvalentine​ for organizing this!! happy valentine’s day, raegan! and i hope today is as amazing as you are!!
✿◕ ‿ ◕✿
PAIRING(s): Alex Mercer x Willie, Flynn x Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina x Luke Patterson, past!Alex Mercer x Luke Patterson
WARNING(s): nothing haha just some fluff and we stan bobby in this house.. oh and some language
WORDS: 3.85k
SUMMARY: With his boyfriend marrying Carrie Wilson (well, in his defence, that’s his grandmother’s ‘dying wish’), Willie fancies himself to be the main character of a Shakespearean tragedy. Based on Speak Now by Taylor Swift.
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KEEP READING BELOW OR READ ON AO3
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     Willie exhales, watching his breath crystallize into tiny ice particles. He extends a hand to catch them, but that action causes the little cloud to dissipate.
  He rolls his eyes. Who has their wedding in Canada, in winter? Plus, not just on any day, but on Valentine’s Day.
  He fancies that he might as well be the main character of a Shakespearean tragedy. Watching your boyfriend get married is painful enough, but to a girl? That shit makes you feel as if your heart has a screw lodged in it. He feels as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
  Willie likes to say that he hates Alex (i.e., the said boyfriend, the love, the light, the star of his life) – but that sentence leaves behind a bitter taste in his mouth, like he’s just had that weird cough syrup that his mother buys.
  Alex’s friends can definitely see through his act, like, right now.
  “Willie, relax! Everything’s gonna be alright!” Julie Molina, Alex’s bandmate, ‘unbiological sister’, and ‘best gossip partner’ exclaims. She is crouching beside him.
  “Julie, I’m not the type of guy to crash a wedding and sabotage it, especially one hosted by those…” His hand moves in circular motions, pointing to the direction of the church, where Alex’s parents are probably seated. 
  Luke Patterson, Julie’s boyfriend and Alex’s ex-boyfriend, and current best friend and bandmate pipes in. “Homophobic, racist mingers?”
  Willie grins. “Don’t know what that means but sounds accurate!”
  “You know, we are saving Alex’s life, right? Literally?” Bobby Wilson chimes in, Alex’s other best friend from his position behind them. They are currently hiding behind a table laden with sweets of all kinds, and it makes Reggie, the last of Alex’s best friend-cum-bandmates’ mouth water. 
  “I still can’t believe that his parents are forcing him to marry a girl!” Julie exclaims, ponytail bobbing as she speaks. Luke adds, “Not just any girl, but Carrie fucking Wilson.” 
  “My fucking cousin!” Bobby says, looking behind to check if anyone’s there. There is, but they’re all either part of the caterer’s group, or the waiters – they are currently outside a church, where the reception will be held, post wedding. The attendees, the families, everyone – are inside the church, for the wedding.
  “Hey, is Grandma Ruth really that sick?” Reggie finally asks, his eyes diverting from the sweets. Luke smiles sweetly at him. “I’m glad you finally decided to join us, Reginald.” 
  Reggie fails to catch the sarcasm in his tone, and he smiles brightly. Luke rolls his eyes, but a faint smile teases the corners of his lips. “Yeah, she really has stage four cancer.” 
  Julie says, “Poor Ruth.” 
  Luke huffs, “I don’t care that she’s dying – she shouldn’t fucking blackmail her grandson like that! Alex, honey, I’m dying. My dying wish, you ask? Marry someone. No, not your boyfriend of four years! Marry a girl, dummy. Homosexuality is a sin!” 
  Bobby adds, “Not just any girl, but your best friend’s cousin! Whose probably into Flynn, but, yeah, whatever.” 
  Julie smiles brightly at the mention of her best friend. “Oh, she definitely is.” 
  Reggie’s brows quirk. “I thought she was still into Nick.” 
  Bobby shakes his head. “They broke up last summer.” 
  Willie clears his throat, finally gaining some confidence. “He shouldn’t be marrying the wrong girl.” He exhales, and adds, as an afterthought, “Or any girl.” 
  “You two should be walking down the aisle, Willie.” Julie says, resting a hand on his shoulder. He nods, grateful for her support. 
  He remembers this morning, when he was at the grocery store, buying as many buckets of chocolate ice cream as he could fit in his arms. Suddenly, he had felt a warm hand wrap around the back of his throat, and he let out a yelp, dropping all the buckets. 
  He remembers thinking that the universe was against him. First, it’s the day of his boyfriend’s wedding, and along with that, someone’s here to kill him. Well, he thought, it’s better to die than – 
  “Willie!” A familiar voice exclaimed, and of course, it’s Julie – he realized that the hand that he thought was here to murder him, belonged to her. She was dressed in a long, pink, A-Line dress, that complimented her skin tone perfectly and – suddenly, Willie understood that it was a bridesmaid’s dress. Yep, she’s Carrie’s bridesmaid, along with Flynn. 
  Willie wondered if she was here to rub salt on his wound. 
  “What do you want?” He had mumbled, averting his gaze from her dress. Sure, it’s a pretty dress, but it reminds him of Alex, because he has a hoodie that he adores in the same colour. (It’s in Willie’s closet now, and he makes a mental note to burn it.) 
  “We have a plan.” She said, conspiratorially. 
  Willie sighed, leaning down to pick up the fallen containers of ice cream. “I’m not in the mood, Jules.” 
  She grinned, evilly. Or as evilly as you could while having an angelic face. 
  Sure, it took her a while to convince him to crash his boyfriend’s wedding, but on the way here, he felt as if it was worth it. Julie helped sneak him in, since he doesn’t have an invite – and he found the rest of Alex’s friends – Luke, Reggie, and Bobby waiting for him. 
  Now, as Carrie’s family emerges from the church doors, he doesn’t feel that way anymore. 
  “God, I think I’m gonna throw up just by looking at them.” Luke murmurs, while Julie slaps his shoulder. “Don’t say that, they look very… colourful.” 
  Bobby snorts. 
  Carrie’s family includes her parents, two of her cousin sisters and an aunt – and they are all dressed in pastel yellow. To be really honest, that colour looks like vomit. They stand in a circle in front of the church doors, and Willie notices her aunt rolling her eyes at the waiters. He sighs. This is the same aunt who told Carrie that ‘oh, honey, it’s just a phase’, when she came out as bisexual. 
  “Guys, guys, guys!” 
  Willie sees his cousin, Flynn, running in their direction, and stopping at their table. She huffs, catching her breath and he notices that she’s wearing the same dress that Julie is. 
  “Carrie is losing her shit, dude.” She says, once she’s breathing normally again. “Why?” Julie asks, concerned. 
  “Probably because she doesn’t wanna marry Alex? I don’t know, but she yelled at me for eating!” She exclaims, an annoyed expression taking over her face. 
  Willie and Bobby exchange a look – they all know that Carrie can get a little intense sometimes – she doesn’t mean harm, but on a day like this, you can’t really hold it against her. 
  “Where is she?” Julie asks, alarmed. 
  “She’s in the back. Her mom misplaced her veil, and its total chaos out there. Also, her gown looks like a fucking pastry.” 
  Everyone’s eyes widen, and Flynn sighs, looking away. “I hate everything.” 
  Willie knows that she’s feeling just the way he is. 
  Julie stands up. “Come on, let’s help her. And boys?” She points a finger in their direction. “Stick to the fucking plan.” 
  Everyone nods rapidly, and Reggie whispers, “Yes, mam.” 
  She kisses Luke, whispering something in his ear, and squeezes Willie’s shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look, before running off in the opposite direction with Flynn. 
  Watching Julie and Luke, Willie is suddenly overpowered by a memory, a memory that was gathering dust in his brain. He remembers a cold, dark winter morning in their – his and Alex’s – apartment. It was last year, and their first morning in that apartment, in their home. They were nineteen and couldn’t get enough of each other – even after three years of being together. Somehow, somewhere they felt as if an invisible string was pulling them closer and closer, until they merged into one. 
  He remembers Alex combing his fingers through Willie’s hair, and whispering, “Is it crazy if I say that this is everything that I’ve ever wanted in life?” 
  He had smiled, eyes filled to the brim with euphoria. “No, then that would mean that I’m crazy.” 
  “We’re both crazy.” 
  “Maybe.” He had pulled him closer, loving the way Alex buried his face in the crook of his neck. 
  “Willie?” Alex softly asked, drawing patterns on his bare skin. 
  “Hmm?” 
  “I want to wake up next to you every single day. Like, I don’t ever wanna be without you,” 
  “Me, too.” He had said, then adding, “I don’t see myself marrying if not you.” 
  He could feel his boyfriend’s grin. “Not gonna lie, I’ve thought about it. A little.” 
  “A little?” 
  “Okay, I’ve planned it all out.” They both laughed, and Willie felt as if he was flying. 
  Alex continued, “I imagine us getting married on a beautiful summer day – on the beach. Where we met all those years ago. Remember?” 
  Willie smiled. “How could I forget? I will love Flynn forever for bringing me to Julie’s sweet sixteen – I never thought that I’d meet my soulmate that day.” 
  “Yeah. I imagine Luke to be my best man, and Flynn to be yours. Julie and Carrie would be our groomsmaids, yep, I invented that – and Reggie and Bobby could be the other best men. It’s a little messy, because I love them all so much and I can’t choose – but yeah.” 
  “Funny that your ex-boyfriend will be your best man at our wedding.” 
  “Shut up, Willie.” 
  “Carlos could be the ring bearer.” 
  “I think he’s a little too old for that.” 
  “Well, you have a point. But he’s gonna be pissed if he doesn’t get a title like his sister does.” 
  “All right, he’ll be the ring bearer.” 
  “We could have a skateboard shaped cake.” 
  “We will… think about it.” 
  “And we won’t need a band!” 
  “I’m not playing at my own wedding!” 
  “Well, Bobby could take your place. I’m sure he won’t mind taking a day off his solo touring.” 
  “Yeah, that sounds nice.” 
  As they went over every possibility, every dream, the world melted away and all Willie could see were the oceans in Alex’s eyes. 
  Luke’s voice dissipates the haze of nostalgia around Willie’s brain. “Yep, Carrie’s family went inside.” 
  Bobby nods. “Okay, Willie, you stay with Reggie and Luke – I’ll go inside first and distract everyone, and y’all will come at my signal.” With that, he runs towards the church. 
  “Uh… what is his signal…” Willie trails off. Luke and Reggie exchange a panicked look, as Reggie says, “I’m sure we’ll figure it out! Besides – oh my god, are those flamingos?” 
  Willie and Luke’s eyes dart to the church door, where a bunch of flamingos – Carrie’s favorite bird, apparently – are on the loose and the waiters and the staff are running around trying to catch them. 
  “Boys, I think that’s our signal.” Luke says, grabbing their hands and dragging them towards the back of the church, where the girls had previously disappeared into. 
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  Luke sneezes, and Willie absentmindedly whispers a ‘bless you.’ He shifts, saying, “There’s so much dirt here! It’s like nobody cares about my allergies!” 
  “I’m sure nobody in Canada will ever care about your allergies, Patterson.” Flynn hisses.
  The trio are currently hiding behind a curtain, the lilac shades sickening them. “Well, you wouldn’t be in this position if Alex’s lovely bride-to-be didn’t uninvite me!” Willie exclaims, looking around to make sure nobody is nearby. 
  “I’m sure she has a very good reason!” Flynn says, and Luke rolls his eyes, saying, “You’re saying that as if you don’t know Carrie. She’s hyper fixating on this wedding to distract herself from the fact that her parents will never accept her for who she is, from her fear about the fact that she’ll never get someone who sees and loves her for who she is and right now, she believes that this wedding would gain her parents’ favour, that somehow they’d be okay with her being bisexual if she’s married a man, a gay man at that, too – and now she’s doing everything in her power to make sure nothing gets fucked up.” 
  Willie and Flynn sharply look at Luke. 
  “Dude, that was deep.” He whispers. Flynn dabs the corner of her right eye. “You should be a therapist, bro.” 
  “I know, bro.” He grins. 
  Willie can’t stop a smile from breaking out on his face. He turns back to the scene in front of him, and his heart seizes because there’s Alex, dressed in a perfect tuxedo, with his hair perfectly done, with a perfect smile on his face, and Willie realizes that that is not the man he loves. 
  The man standing in front of him looks too pristine, too immaculate. It’s almost as if he is being strung up by invisible puppet strings, but his face doesn’t give away any of that – it’s absolutely blank, and Willie would have thought that the man in the front is not real if he hadn’t seen his eyes. His eyes, which houses cyclones, cyclones being fed by the apprehension, the fear, the anger, the sadness that he must be feeling inside. His eyes, that Willie loves to see first thing in the morning, showing off the parts of his soul that he is desperately trying to shield. 
  Willie wonders if he’ll see him standing behind the curtains. He probably won’t. Willie’s at the back of the room, and he’s at the front, waiting, waiting, waiting. For a moment, Willie wonders if Carrie is going to show up at all – because the wedding was supposed to start half an hour ago, and it doesn’t make sense why a person who has never been late in her entire life, would be late on her wedding day. 
  He doesn’t have to wonder long, though. The organ starts to play ‘Here Comes the Bride’, and honestly it sounds more like a death march. Willie is reminded, yet again, of another reason why this is not what Alex wants – he wants to play ‘Lover’ by Taylor Swift at his wedding. 
  Willie takes in a sharp breath when Carrie enters. She looks like a pageant queen – wearing a beautiful, white, classic dress. In one hand, she holds her dad’s arm, and in the other, there is a bouquet of daisies. 
  Flynn whispers. “I have to go. Boys, do not mess this up. Or I swear I’ll kill you.” 
  As the duo watch her run to the front of the room, Willie whispers, “Does she know about Carrie’s big, fat crush?” 
  Luke snorts. “You think so? Come on, let’s sit. They won’t be able to see us here.” 
  As they crouch down and make their way to the benches, Willie casts one last look at Alex, and he knows, he knows that Alex wishes it was Willie walking down the aisle instead.
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     “Speak now, or forever hold your peace.” The preacher says, and Willie’s heart erupts into a frenzy. As the room goes completely silent, Luke whispers, “That’s your cue, Willie.” 
  Ignoring his anxiety, he stands up with his hands shaking, and his brain telling him to just fucking run out the doors. 
  Alex’s eyes widen, relief flooding his features, and for a moment, he looks like the real Alex again. Willie catches Julie and Flynn’s eyes, who are standing beside Carrie, and they nod at him, enthusiastically. But the bride, Carrie – she looks absolutely horrified. And so does all the other people in this room, including Alex’s parents, his grandma Ruth, and Carrie’s parents, too. 
  From Alex’s right side, Reggie and Bobby give him encouraging looks, and finally, he averts his eyes back to the man he loves. 
  But he can’t say anything. He feels as if he’s frozen in time, and his mind completely blanks out. For a moment he wonders if this is his rock bottom. 
  But Luke comes to the rescue, thrusting a guitar in his hands, and breaking him out of his trance. “I remember you told me that you can always sing, even if the world was ending. So, I brought this along, as backup.” 
  It’s true. Music is a part of his soul, much like it is Alex’s. Music is what connected them in the first place, and music is what still keeps them connected now. 
  He positions the guitar, and notices that it’s Luke’s acoustic guitar. He strums it, and finally, his mind comes back to himself. He keeps his eyes trained on that of Alex, and he watches the storm of emotions in his irises. 
  “I am not the kind of guy, who should be rudely barging in on a white veiled occasion…” He sings, loving how Taylor Swift has written a song for every occasion.
  “But you are not the kind of boy, who should be marrying the wrong girl!” He sings and hears loud gasps around the room – he knows that people expected him to be in love with Carrie or something. 
  “Or any girl!” Reggie adds, and Alex grins, and that gives him the motivation to continue. 
  “So, don't say yes, run away now. I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door… Don't wait or say a single vow – You need to hear me out, and they said speak now!” 
  He drags the ‘now’ for as long as he can, because he knows that the silence that will follow will be excruciating. And it is. Alex just stares at him, an unreadable expression on his face. 
  Willie finally looks at Carrie, and when their eyes meet, she gives him an odd look. He half expected her to kill him, but the way she looks at him, it’s almost as if she’s relieved. 
  Alex clears his throat, the sound piercing through the silence of the room. Whispers arise, and Willie exchanges a look with Luke, who asks him, “You want me to dig you a hole to die?” 
  Before he can nod, Alex says, “Uh…” He fiddles with his hands, before finally saying, “Fuck it”, and untying his tie. His mother gasps, and his father stands up, but he raises a hand. 
  He locks eyes with Willie, and his world spins on its axis. 
  “You are not the kind of guy to be rudely barging in on a white veiled occasion…But I am not the kind of boy… who should be marrying the wrong girl… or any girl!” Alex sings in that raspy voice of his, and Willie feels his heart soar. He can’t help the grin from escaping on his face, and he knows that his eyes are what Julie calls, ‘heart eyes.’ Luke grabs the guitar from Willie’s hand and starts playing along. 
  “And you'll say let's run away now, and I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the back door,” 
  Alex walks down the aisle, but suddenly remembers something, or rather, someone. He turns around, locking eyes with Carrie, and Willie can’t see what he’s saying, but Carrie smiles a big, soft one – one probably no one has ever seen on her face, and he sees her mouth ‘go.’ 
  “Baby, I didn't say my vows, so glad you were around; when they said speak now!” 
  He finishes, and stands in front of Willie, and Willie knows that the both of them can feel the air electrifying between them.   
  He turns, facing his grandmother. “Grandma, I’m sorry, but you’re 93, and I’m 20. I’m not going to give up my life for you to live. I love you, though. Mom, Dad, I’m truly sad that I’m not what you wanted. But I’m not gonna apologize for being myself, nor am I gonna apologize for loving who I want to. This is my life, and maybe it’s time that I start acting like it. I can’t keep wasting my life to please you. You – you should love me for who I am, that’s what good parents do.” Alex’s voice cracks, and Willie intertwines their fingers. Alex squeezes his hand. 
  Carrie’s mom stands up, shaking her head. “No, no, no… you do not get to ruin my daughter’s wedding –” 
  Alex’s father stands beside her, his face matching the shade of Carrie’s red lipstick. “I will not accept this –” 
  “Will?” Alex whispers, his eyes trained on his father. 
  “Yeah?” 
  “Run.” 
  With that, Alex tightens his hold on Willie’s hand, and the both of them run down the aisle, and outside. Willie can hear an uproar behind him, but it fades to background noise behind the thump of his heart. 
  “That was so fucking romantic!” Alex exclaims, as they come to a stop before Willie’s car. 
  “I just…” 
  “Wait – I’m sorry, Willie. I shouldn’t have put you through that. I should’ve fought more; I should’ve run away or something. That was not okay. I’m a twenty-year-old adult, and I should – I should – learn to be it, and not hurt any – anyone –” 
  “Hey, hey, hey…” Willie says, stepping closer to Alex. “It’s alright. They’re your parents. It’s not your fault that you want their approval. But I just want you to know that I love you, all of you, for who you are. And all of us do – Luke, Julie, Bobby, Reggie, Flynn, and even Carrie. We all love you, for who you are, and we’re always gonna be by your side.” 
  He smiles, cupping Willie’s face. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I – I love you so fucking much.” He kisses Willie, and the latter feels like he is floating amongst the stars. 
  “That – everything inside – from this tux to the decorations was horrible. I’m really glad that you… you know, stopped it.” Alex says, rubbing his thumb around Willie’s cheek. 
  He shrugs. “Well, it was your friends’ idea.” 
  “Of course it was.” 
  “Guys! Guys, guys, guys!” 
  Willie and Alex break out of their embrace at Carrie’s voice, who is currently running towards them, her dress bunched in her hands. Flynn is following her, holding her veil in her arms. Julie, Luke, Bobby, and Reggie are behind them, and they all have a look of panic plastered on their faces. 
  Flynn yells. “Carrie might’ve told your and her parents to fuck off, and your grandma to just die already, and so there’s a fair chance that we’re all gonna get killed, now that everyone knows that we’re all behind this.” 
  “Also, I threw red wine at our aunt’s dress, Carrie!” Bobby yells. 
  “I might have told your parents that they’re failures, and Julie and I are your real parents, Alex!” Luke yells. 
  “Also, Flynn and I are getting married!” Carrie yells. 
  Alex’s eyes widen, and he looks at Willie. “I think we all need to run.” 
  Willie nods, and he looks around. Maybe they will get killed (probably not), and maybe everything is a little crazy right now – but what he knows is that all of them are a family, and that he’d do anything for them. He also knows that Alex is worth everything, and that someday, they will get married, just the way they want, with the people that love them just the way they are. 
  Plus, is it weird to say that he kind of feels like Taylor Swift right now?
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Note
Sole loves Halloween and super looked forward to taking Shaun trick or treating when he was older, and they still want to take him even though it's post war. How would the companions (romanced) support Sole and Shaun?
(I had so much fun writing this! Thank you!! 🎃)
Cait:
“Alright little fella..uh, let’s do this.”
Cait had never gotten the chance to experience the quintessential Halloween as a child. Her parents certainly never dressed her up or brought her out for trick r’ treating..you know. So hearing you want to take Shaun out made her fall impossibly more in love with you, you were everything she ever wanted and then some. That being said, she still is pretty clueless- just going with the flow.
Curie:
“Awww, you look absolutely adorab- I mean, you look so spooky my little darling!”
If she could, she’d be the kind to take a million completely unnecessary pictures of Shaun and his costume- she was practically floating on air with happiness. She knew that “normalcy” was hard to come by for you, so she’d do everything she can to make celebrating perfect for you and your little one. Well, come to think of it, he was her little one as well. But that won’t stop her from making sure he doesn’t eat too much candy; she can’t have her little Shaunie getting a stomach ache.
Danse:
“Promise you won’t overdo it on the candy? Good, then by all means let’s get some candy, son.”
He’s a little rusty with this whole celebrating thing, the only memories he had being when he was very small in Rivet City and some kind soul taking pity and throwing some sweets his way. With that being said, he’s determined to make this the best damn Halloween he can for his child- seriously discussing with you just what was expected out of him. Also..you can count on him being #1 candy inspector.
Deacon:
“Ha, you’re in luck. I just so happen to be a master of disguise, come see and I’ll have you fixed up.”
As one could assume, Deacon was able to fabricate one of the best costumes you could ever dream of. Both him and Shaun were so excited, it made your heart melt. After the three of you went trick r’ treating, Deacon would suggest taking Shaun back to HQ so he could parade his little “mini me” around for everyone to fawn over.
Gage:
“Taking it would probably just be easier kid..but alright, but ya better split the spoils with me.”
He didn’t really get why Shaun wouldn’t just go and steal the candy when people weren’t looking. He even decided a plan for Shaun to steal from the other children while he stole from the adults..but, alas, his plans were foiled by you. Either way, he’d still go with Shaun to each and every door- shooting a glare to whomsoever didn’t give his boy an extra handful of candy. Afterwards, he’d take Shaun back out when you weren’t paying attention and throw eggs at the houses that didn’t give good candy.
Hancock:
“Dontcha fret bud, I can personally guarantee you that you’ll get all the candy your heart desires.”
Look, Goodneighbor wasn’t exactly a child friendly area but Hancock sure as hell would make sure that everyone got their shit together for this night. He’d even supply all the candy to each house, paying off any of his lovely citizens that might’ve not been willing at first...and then outright threading to shoot them if they still think it’s too “immature” or that he’s “getting soft.” Regardless, Shaun and you will be none the wiser and you’ll enjoy the festivities like a normal family.
Macready:
“Okay..uh, that one is Duncan...wait no, that’s definitely Shaun. Darn, maybe matching masks wasn’t a good idea.”
Luckily he wasn’t a stranger to dressing up an overly enthusiastic child for the night of Halloween. However..he was completely clueless when it came to doing it with two of them. For some reason you both thought it would be cute to dress the boys up in matching costumes..but the illusion of “cuteness” quickly ended when they both started to pull pranks on you and Mac, claiming to be the other one.
It was an eventful night to say the least.
Maxson:
“Are you sure he’s going to be safe? Oh, hey Shaun, you uh..that costume is superb. Have fun but please, stay close to me and mama/dad.”
He was so very anxious about letting Shaun leave the protection of the Prydwen. So much so that he deemed it necessary to have himself, you and a well trusted knight to follow Shaun around as he went door to door for treats. On one hand Maxson still remembered how much it sucked not being able to celebrate as a child, but on the other..he would die if something happened to his son. With that being said, as soon as Shaun is satisfied with his haul and is ready to go back home to the airship, Maxson will pull out a copy of an “ancient” book with all sorts of Halloween themed ghouls and creatures described within. Probably wasn’t the best idea, but Shaun seemed to like it.
Nick:
“Don’t you just look spiffy? Okay, as soon as we get back we can carve the melon.”
Having pre-war memories was a blessing in this case. Thanks to his knowledge, he was able to provide Shaun, his adoptive son, with the closest thing to a traditional Halloween that the wasteland would allow. He’d even decorate your little home in handmade paper bats and all that kind of stuff. When it comes down to trick r’ treating, Nick makes the perfect chaperone.
Old Longfellow:
“Don’t know how willing these folks will be giving out candy but..I’m sure I can find a way to inspire some generosity.”
True to his word, he used some..eh..”unique” methods to persuade the rugged islanders to play along. After all, there were some other children who desperately needed to focus on something aside from the impending danger of the fog. So, next thing you know your little plan to trick r’ treat ends up inspiring the whole town to delve into the festivities.
Piper:
“Aww, you two look so cute! Alright, remember only stay with us or the group!”
Perks of basically already being a mom to her little sister. She had Nat’s and Shaun’s costumes ready weeks in advance and already planned out a proper trick r’ treat with the other kids of Diamond City to participate. No worries, she’d be the cool kind of parents that lets their kids go with their buddies for Halloween....but she’ll also follow nearby. Just for reassurance.
Preston:
“Wow kiddo, that costume is terrifying! Hehe, come on, get your mom/dad..”
Like always, Preston is an absolute sweetheart. As soon as you made it clear how much this Halloween stuff meant to you, he made it his personal mission to make it special for you and his new adoptive son. After the trick r’ treating was done, he’d even build a little campfire and tell scary stories for shaun’s entertainment.
Sturges:
“Alrighty sport, I think you’re ready. Let’s go get your mama/dada and we’ll be on our way to getting us some candy!”
He hadn’t ever had a kid of his own to celebrate but back in Quincy..he had seen a couple carry on the tradition so he wasn’t completely clueless. He was actually just as excited as you were, even helping with making the costume and everything. You betcha your ass he dressed up as well, after all..his overalls closely resemble the outfit a bunch of the old pre-war horror movie characters you described.
X6-88:
“Shaun remember, the more we frighten them, the more candy they’ll give.”
He has a very loose understanding on what halloween is supposed to be. However he will never disappoint when it comes to making you and Shaun happy..so he’ll brush up on what makes sense...resulting in him dressing himself and Shaun in macabre costumes. A couple innocent candy givers may have passed out at the grotesque sight.
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