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writershapeholeonthedoor · 3 years

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You Marked More Than Just My Skin - Supercorp

Read it on AO3

Kara’s first instinct was to blame Alex because, if she was going to be honest, Alex was the one to blame for many of her stupid decisions. Sisters' competitive nature or something like that. That's what their mother would say when they were teenagers and they randomly started a fight. A just adopted Kara who had just lost her parents was not letting an overly cocky Alex win without fighting back.

So, naturally, she was going to blame Alex for this. However, Alex had nothing to do with Kara walking down the street from her job one day and entering the tattoo shop she walked past by every day on her way home. No, it had started with Winn, her best friend, saying that Kara wasn’t the type of person to do things out of impulse. Which he wasn’t exactly wrong, although he hit a sore spot because "I can be very spontaneous!" had been Kara’s answer and everyone around them gave her that look that made it pretty clear no one believed her.

Then, just about a week after that, Nia was walking home with her after a stop at Noonan's for their killer milkshake and saw the tattoo shop still open even if it was past 10 pm. There was no one inside that they could see, but the sign read "open" in neon letters and Nia did a double-take when she saw the walls covered in drawings.

"Oh, my God! Look at that thing!" she had screamed. And that thing was a fairly beautiful drawing of a girl lying in bed with a cloud above her head as though she was dreaming about a myriad of things.

Nia grabbed her arm, dragged her inside and, ten minutes later, she was sitting on a chair while a young man that couldn't be older than Kara permanently marked the skin on her forearm with the same drawing.

"Did you draw it?" Nia asked and Kara could tell she was just a little bit in pain because she was clutching the arm of the chair and hadn’t stopped babbling for two seconds. Not that Nia ever stopped talking, actually.

"No," the man replied in an excited voice. Like he was happy to be doing a tattoo on a girl that had just ten minutes prior decided she wanted one. But Kara held back her tongue, took some pictures while Nia made her goofy faces and sat on a stool at the corner like the good friend she was. "My boss did. She does most of the drawings we have available."

"Well, she has a hell of a talent!" Nia exclaimed, bit her lip when the needle hit a soft spot and flashed another smile once it was gone. "You should tell her she's amazing!"

Jack, that was his name, Kara reminded herself, laughed like that was a big joke that only he was aware of, but nodded all the same. "She's in the office right now, maybe she will stop by to hear you say that. She loves when people pick her drawings, but she will never say it out loud."

The woman, whoever she was, didn’t leave her office, not even when they left, way past midnight, listening to Jack's careful instructions on how to take care of Nia's arm for the next week. In the end, Kara had to admit Jack was a nice guy. And he did an excellent job. Nia's tattoo was perfect. Perfect for her and perfectly done, and her friend had no problem showing it off the next day.

"Holy crap!" Winn screamed when he saw it on game night on Friday. "I didn't know you were into tattoos. It looks awesome!"

"Thank you! And I just decided to do it," Nia shrugged, as though deciding to do a tattoo on a Wednesday night at 10 pm after getting a milkshake was a normal thing. "Thank Goddess Kara was with me so she could keep me company."

"Wait," Winn eyed Kara with the same incredulous expression from a week before and she immediately felt defensive. "Kara was there and didn't try to stop you?"

"She did say I might regret it," Nia conceded with a smile. "About ten times, but she stayed with me."

Kara rolled her eyes, picked up the pizza box and sulked on the couch while her friends made fun of her lack of spontaneous nature. Kara was a planner. And she had learned her lesson when she decided to walk to the park instead of going home one day after school and returned to the Danvers' household to find out three police cars parked at the street and a frantic Eliza giving them a photo of her and saying she had disappeared. So, yes, Kara wasn't one to do things out of the blue anymore, but that was hardly a bad thing.

She tried to tell that to herself for the next week while everyone still awed and cooed at Nia's tattoo. She tried to remind herself of Eliza's panicked face while James, with his impressive looking dragon tattoo on his back, said Kara would never be one to make a tattoo because she would keep changing her mind. She tried to picture Alex's disapproving stare while Nia's boyfriend, Querl, made comments on how he loved Nia's carefree and spontaneous nature.

In the end, what pushed her to do it was her boss and Kara couldn’t even blame her, or Alex, or any of her friends. But she would, anyway.

"Kiera, the reason why people hardly remember your name-" she wanted to point out that Cat was the only one who had a hard time remembering her name but bit her tongue instead "-is because you are so... blank."

"Blank?" Kara had asked, trying and failing not to look so offended.

And Cat nodded because she knew how to get to her. "Nothing remarkable. You use terrible sweaters and write articles that everyone could write. Did you ever do something, I don’t know, remotely spontaneous in your life?"

Kara was sure - or almost sure because you can never know with Cat Grant - that her boss was trying to push her to fly to Midvale to write about the scandal surrounding some tech company there even though Snapper had decided William would cover that for CatCo. It was either that or to make her wear something that wasn’t in pastel color.

Well, all it did was send Kara straight to a tattoo shop where she hoped to find Jack and demand he did something as spectacular as Nia's tattoo. And she went on a mission, marching down the ten blocks from CatCo to the tattoo shop - that only that day she stopped to read the name of and what weird name they chose, Le Vintage Ink - her feet hitting the ground with a purpose, her hand pushing the door open with a vengeance, her eyes narrowed behind her glasses with one goal in mind.

It wasn't Jack she saw, however. She didn't see anyone at first, actually. The shop was empty like it was a week before and very silent, with the air conditioner doing a soft hum and nothing else.

The anti climax moment was enough to make all her determination wave off. Her shoulders dropped, her eyes rounded, her feet started to stamp and her determination, well, she didn’t quite remember it anymore. Nobody needed to know, Kara told to herself. Nobody knew she was going to do it, so she could just turn around, leave, go back to her apartment and try to do some online shopping. Maybe buy a red dress for once. None of her friends would ever believe she went back to the tattoo shop, so there would be no problem...

No. That was exactly the problem. They wouldn’t even believe her if she told them. They would laugh, call it a bluff, and keep teasing Kara for not being adventurous like they were. Alex does this long motorbike drives all over the state sometimes, and James goes hiking and jumps from planes from time to time. Winn would point out that the last thing Kara did without meticulous planning was to change pizza night for potstickers and that was only because the pizza place she always orders from was out of pineapples.

However, Kara reasoned with herself, instead of doing a tattoo, she could just go with Alex on her next trip. Maybe she could ask James to teach her how to hike. Querl adopted a cat he found behind his building, so maybe that could be Kara’s unplanned moment too. And what did Winn do so adventurous or spontaneous that he had the right to make fun of Kara? She couldn’t remember.

Yes, any of those things would be more reasonable. She could even do an impromptu visit to her mother. It would count for something. She knew Eliza would be happy and she loved making her mom happy. She could even pick Alex's old helmet so her sister could use it to ride with her girlfriend, Kelly, and Eliza makes a killer chocolate pecan pie too.

Already dreaming with the taste of the pie crust in her mouth Kara turned around. She must have been inside the tattoo shop for less than ten seconds and Jack hadn’t shown up yet, so that was a plus and a sign, even if she wanted to greet him and tell how nice Nia's tattoo looked after a week.

The second her back was turned to the counter, though, she heard a door opening and then a voice filled the silence. "Can I help you?"

That wasn’t Jack's voice. That much she knew. What she didn’t know was that someone could sound so... husky and still be so clear on the words. What she also didn’t know was why her body froze like she had been hit with lightning. Or why she ever decided to leave when a voice like that was inside the shop.

It would be rude to just keep walking, Kara told herself and even she knew it was a lame excuse for wanting to see the owner of that voice. But she still turned around, eyes blinking fast as she tried not to miss a second of what she was about to see, and then immediately felt her soul leave her body. That was the only explanation on why her mouth fell open and why her brain's function slowed down at least 30%.

Because the voice's owner was... for the lack of a better word, striking. It was a woman, looking a few years younger than Kara, with dark as coal wavy hair falling down her shoulders, green piercing eyes framed by some heavy eyeliner and plump lips painted with red lipstick. The woman was wearing a black t-shirt from a band Kara had never heard of, the v-cut being deep enough that she could see a black bra under it. The shirt looked like she had been cut at home - maybe she wasn't designed to have such a deep v-neck, maybe she had sleeves at some point and maybe the deep cuts by each side also weren't a part of the initial product. But, damn, it looked great on her. Since she had no sleeves and the shirt moved as she walked and showed a great expanse of her sides, Kara could see that the woman’s body was covered in tattoos.

Her arms, from shoulder to wrist, were almost totally covered. Her left arm almost looked like a flower shop, with dozens of flowers in different colors drawn all over it. Her right arm had tattoos from her shoulder to her elbow, and they were a mix of chemical elements and computer parts that, somehow, worked together in all black and white. Kara got just a few glimpses of the tattoos on her side - something that looked like a cartoon character, another one that assembled a lake, a few words that Kara couldn’t read from that far - but that was enough to make her lick her lips and try to picture what else was there. There were no tattoos on her chest area, that Kara could see, but there was a small musical chord on the left side of her neck, and Kara wondered if she had any tattoos on her legs. She couldn't see them from where the woman was standing behind the counter, and something dragged her feet forward before she could stop herself.

"H-hi," she choked out and her face immediately heated up with embarrassment. Her sister would call it 'gay panic' and make fun of her for three days, and Kara was suddenly very thankful for being alone. "I, uh..." The woman blinked, Kara mimicked her, and lost every coherent thought inside her head. "Jack."

The woman arched one perfect eyebrow, resting her hands flat against the counter, and Kara’s blue eyes were suddenly very interested in the long fingers spread over some papers. The papers, she noticed as a second thought, were unfinished drawings, but she could hardly tell what they were. Feeling her face get even hotter, Kara demanded that her eyes moved up and she was almost proud of herself when they paused for only a second at the woman’s cleavage. Of course, as soon as her eyes met the woman’s face again, she had a tiny smirk like she knew Kara was having a hard time being in the same space as her.

"I'm sorry, love," she said and Kara noticed an accent behind the last word, like she had spent years trying to get rid of it but still couldn't brush it off some words. "Jack doesn't work here on Tuesdays."

Oh. Well, that's a bit of a relief, Kara wasn't going to lie. No Jack, no tattoo, and she still could say she tried. She still wanted to say ‘hi’ but...

"Can I help you instead?"

Oh, boy. Kara almost turned around and ran away right then and there because the things she was thinking this stranger could help her with were kind of mortifying. Instead, Kara bit her bottom lip so hard that it went numb instantly, and leaned forward until she was resting her hands in front of the woman's fingers. She dared to glance down really quick, just to find out the woman was wearing black jeans and boots, before she looked up again - with a quick stop at the cleavage because good lord.

"I don't know, I..." Kara couldn’t even say her own name if the woman asked at that moment, let alone remember what she was doing there and where there even was.

The woman chuckled then. A deep, husky sound from the back of her throat that brought a small smile to her lips, and then she ducked her head - as though she had no idea that was the most blinding smile Kara had ever seen in her twenty-six years of living. Neither the chuckle nor the smile was mockingly, and her green eyes were just a little bit amused when she looked back at Kara.

"Don't get me wrong but... you don't look like the type of person that would get a tattoo."

Okay, what is it with people just assuming Kara is too boring to do something? Kara took a look at her own clothes. She wasn't even wearing a sweater that day! Sure, beige trousers and a blue button up hardly screamed "living on the edge" but come on! Was it the glasses? Alex always said she should use contact lenses, but she liked the glassed!

Feeling a new wave of determination, Kara set up her jaw and crossed her arms. "Well, that's exactly what I came here to do."

The woman raised both eyebrows now, clearly amused. "To get a tattoo?" She asked like there was any other reason for Kara to be inside a tattoo shop on a Tuesday night.

So Kara nodded, her blonde hair wiggling from side to side on her ponytail, and straightened up her back like she was about to enter a fight. Not that she ever fought before, not even when the cruel kids at her new school would call her weird and push her inside her locker. Alex would beat them up for her, so she didn’t have to, it was fine.

"Yes," she said and her voice only trembled for a second. "To get a tattoo," she confirmed like there was any other reason for her to be inside a tattoo shop on a Tuesday night.

"Okay," the woman said, clicking her tongue once before she picked up a pen from the desk, a smirk permanently spread on her lips. "Do you have any idea of what you want?"

Shit. Kara hadn’t gone that far. Maybe not even her own brain thought she would do it because she had neglected the most important part of the entire process. She had no idea what she wanted permanently marked on her skin.

(Permanently marked also sent a thousand of red lights inside her head because, you know, it was permanent)

It must have shown on her face because the woman’s smirk became more of a smile, not exactly gentle but not mockery either. "What's your name?"

"Kara." She was so glad her brain hadn’t come up with something ridiculous to say. She could remember when she met her cousin's sister-in-law and answered the same question with "mashed potatoes" for some reason she would never be able to grasp. Lucy never let her forget that embarassing moment.

"Well, Kara," and Holy Goddess of all the universe and beyond, how could her name roll out of her lips like that? "why don’t you take a look at the drawings we have here, see if you like one. If you don't, we can always come up with something for you."

She then pushed some heavy black portfolio across the counter towards Kara and opened the leather front cover to show her the first drawing. They were all separated by plastic, and she started the task of turning the pages while trying very hard to look at the drawings and not at the woman in front of her. She wasn't sure because she wouldn’t dare to look up, but she could feel green eyes staring at her and her blush returned full force.

"So..." she heard after a couple of minutes in silence. "What kind of dare you lost?"

Kara took full offense on that, glaring at her for a moment before going back to the portfolio. She had gotten on the dragon section and decided to skip it all together. "There was no dare."

The woman hummed, watched her for another minute, and then leaned over with her forearms touching the counter. She reached out, taking the plastic from Kara's fingers, and started skipping the pages until they reached the flowers. Kara looked up, catching a glimpse of the woman's arm, before meeting green eyes with a light glare.

The woman shrugged. "You look like a flower kind of girl."

"What else do I look like to you?" Kara mumbled back and stubbornly went back to the drawing she was seeing before - the ships and anchors section - even though she left a finger marking the flowers page.

The brunette seemed even more amused now, barely able to hide her smile, and she chuckled once when Kara turned the page to see another ship. "Like you randomly decided to get a tattoo because someone pissed you off."

Kara tried not to give her the satisfaction of being right, deciding to focus on studying every ship and every anchor. She heard another chuckle, but the woman wisely didn’t push the subject.

"You could save us a lot of time by just going to the flowers."

Fine, maybe she was right about that too. Kara would never pick a ship, or a dragon, or a coffee cup, or any other drawing she saw before. Although Kara never thought what type of drawing she would get tattooed. With a sigh, she went back to the flowers, throwing the woman a dirty look when she huffed a laugh.

"Hey," she said, raising her hands in playful defense, "if I'm going to do something that you will regret tomorrow, at least let me help."

"Aren't you going to try to talk me out of this?" Kara asked, remembering when Jack asked Nia five times if she was sure before touching her skin with the needle.

"No," another shrug. "I will get my money and you will get the regret. Works fine by me."

Kara scoffed and shook her head, but finally spotted something she liked. It was a rose, not larger than a paper ball, black and white with a few leafs to the side. She was almost pointing that one out when she heard a deep sigh and looked up. The brunette was staring down at the drawing with enough judgment that Kara changed her mind in a blink.

"What?" She still asked because it was a beautiful flower.

"Nothing, it's just... does that even mean something to you?"

Kara looked back at the rose and frowned. "I like roses," she defended herself.

"I like kale, but I won’t tattoo that."

"You like kale?" Kara didn’t mean to sound so disgusted by it but it was stronger than her. Her face twisted in a grimace, shocked more than anything.

The other woman laughed a real laugh this time, and Kara felt the sound into her xcvery core. "Please, don't ask me to tattoo a burger on you. You're too pretty for that."

It was like she knew exactly what those words would do to Kara because she winked right after, making her blush ten times more. "What do you suggest, then?"

The tattooed brunette smiled and tapped her finger on top of the rose. "If you liked this one, it's fine, but I would go with..." She let her voice die as she started turning the pages until she found what she was looking for. "This one."

Kara looked at the drawing and was immediately sold to the idea. It wasn't just any flower. It was a plumeria. Well, two plumerias side by side, with a few leafs to the sides and a mandala carefully placed behind them like it was the third flower. She knew she wanted that one the second her eyes landed on it.

"It would look good on you," she kept talking. "I wouldn’t add any color, though." Kara kept nodding although she was only half paying attention now that she had found the right one. Her silence must have sent twisted signals because the woman’s voice became softer. "I know I said I wouldn’t try to talk you out of this but... are you sure?"

Kara’s eyes moved up then, metting slightly concerned green eyes, and she smiled. "Yes. I'm sure."

The woman studied her face for a few seconds before she nodded once. "Okay, then. Where do you want it?"

Shit.

The panic on her face told her out again and the woman’s laugh filled the space around them like a melody. "Come on, we can figure it out inside."

‘Inside’ being a closed room very similar to the one Nia had gotten her tattoo, albeit it was clear that that one wasn't Jack's. First, it lacked the smell of cigars and heavy cologne that Kara smelled last time and made her nose itch. But it also held a more personal touch like more drawings and a few words scribbled on the black walls. Kara didn’t feel nervous while the woman turned the sign from open to close, explaining that she was the only one who worked on Tuesdays' nights. She also didn’t feel nervous when she entered the room and spotted the comfortable chair she would be sitting on. What made her nervous again was taking her shirt off so she could decide where she wanted the plumerias to be.

She placed the printed drawing on several parts of both of her arms, her shoulders and asked the brunette to hold it at some spots on her back as well. But Kara was only satisfied when she put the paper against the right side of her ribs, a few centimeters below her bra. The woman gave her a knowing look and arched one eyebrow when she said that was the place she wanted her tattoo.

"Are you sure? It can be quite a painful area to get a tattoo, especially if it's your first one."

Again, she wasn't making fun of Kara and she appreciated it, but she also wasn't going to change her mind. "I'm sure."

"Okay. I will put the outlines, then."

It was only when the brunette had her hands against her side and her face a few inches from her chest that Kara realized she didn’t even know who she was. "Hey, I, uh, I didn't catch your name before."

Green eyes glanced up, bright and slightly amused, before they returned to the task of perfectly positioning the flowers on her ribs. "Lena."

"Lena," Kara found herself echoing the name in a whisper before she could stop herself. Lena looked up again, even more amused than before, and Kara felt herself blushing. "It... it suits you."

She had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but Lena smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Thanks." She pushed back the stool she was sitting on. "Take a look at the mirror and see if that's what you want."

Kara took a step closer to see her reflection and tried very hard to ignore the fact that she was standing in front of a stranger in her bra. The plumerias were exactly what she wanted and exactly where she wanted them, and she said that to Lena, who told her to lay down after turning the chair into an improvised bed. While Kara tried to find a comfortable place to lay, she heard Lena slipping on rubber gloves and moving a few things around before approaching her again. She was half expecting her to ask one more time if she was sure, but Lena said nothing when she touched her skin with the black gloves, and raised the needle to her eyes level to make sure it was ready to go.

Kara wasn’t sure if the shivers were from nervousness, the chill air of the room, or the fact that this very attractive woman was touching her just below her breast, but she did her best to ignore it. Lena had pulled her hair into a messy ponytail, Kara realized, and she could see her sharp jawline more easily now. She also spotted five different piercings on the woman’s right ear. For a second, she wondered if Lena could feel her heart beating under her skin or if she could maybe even hear it.

"Be ready for some pain, but try not to move," Lena said while she lowered the needle to her skin. "It will take longer if you keep moving. You also don't want me to fuck this up," she offered Kara a smile to let her know she was joking - at least that's what the blonde hoped for. "Tell me if you need a break."

So, Lena wasn't lying when she said it would hurt. Nia neglected to tell her about the painful part and Kara would make her pay for it by typing down her next article, but, holy crap, it hurt. The first touch of the needle made her jump and hiss, and Lena pulled it away like she knew it was going to happen, giving her a few seconds to recover.

"Sorry," Kara whispered once her body relaxed again.

"It's fine," the brunette mumbled back, totally concentrated on her job now.

It went like that for a few minutes - Kara squeezing her eyes shut, biting her lips, clutching the sides of the chair slash bed, and hissing under her breath whenever she couldn’t hold it back anymore. Until she started to get used to the pain and allowed herself to focus on other things. Her eyes trailed to the few drawings hanging on the walls, taking in the delicate traces and the lack of colors from all of them. She decided that talking would help her with the pain.

"Jack said his boss makes those drawings," she commented lightly.

There was a brief pause before Lena answered her. "That would be me."

"Oh," the blonde breathed out in shock. "So, you..."

"I'm the owner, yes." There was another pause while Lena cleaned her skin with a soft paper. "I used to work for a tattoo artist back in Metropolis before I decided to open my own business. Jack followed me."

"Well, you certainly have talent. Your drawings are beautiful."

"On paper," Lena teased and Kara didn’t need to look at her to know she was smirking. "Let's see how it translate to your skin."

Kara wanted to play along and tell her to ‘please, don't make something awful that would be permanently marked on my skin’, but she found herself saying something entirely different. "Plumerias were my mom's favorite flowers. My dad would bring them to her every Saturday after work because those were the first flowers he ever gave her." She could still remember her father getting back home on Saturdays right before lunch with a bouquet in his hand to her mom and a box of chocolate for her, all smiles and offering hugs. If she tried hard enough, Kara could still remember the smell of her mom's stew mixed with the flowers' smell, could still taste the chocolate. "They died almost fifteen years ago."

Kara had no idea why she was sharing those things with this stranger wearing black rubber gloves and breathing too close to her ribs, but she also couldn't stop. Maybe it was a tattoo thing, like sharing too much about your relationships while cutting your hair.

Lena didn’t shy away, though. She made sure their eyes were locked before saying, "Let's make sure those are perfect, then," and went back to work.

Kara felt herself relaxing more after that, although she didn’t say anything else for a few minutes. "I work as a reporter to a magazine," she found herself saying. "My boss is... both of them are impossible to deal with. I dream about throwing them into space sometimes, but... I love my job. One of them is the reason I'm here today."

"Who should I be thanking?"

Kara blushed one more time, even if she wasn't sure it was said to be flirtatious or if she was just imagining it. "Cat means well, she just... push some buttons sometimes."

"Well," Lena stopped her movements to look at Kara again, this time with a soft smile. "I will be sending this Cat some flowers anyway."

The blonde chuckled at that. "Go back to work. I don't want to end up with a dragon on my ribs."

Lena hummed, eyes dropping back to the outlines of the flowers and needle touching skin again. "I wouldn’t draw a dragon on you," she contemplated. "You're more of an iguana kind of girl."

Kara gasped in faked offense and turned her head to fully stare at Lena with narrowed eyes. "How dare you? You know nothing about me!"

The tattoo artist shrugged, not bothered by her explosion. "Maybe a kitty." Kara huffed and puffed, letting her body fall back on the chair, and did her best to keep frowning. "Definitely a kitty," she heard Lena whispering under her breath, playfully and amused, and Kara was soon smiling. "So... will your boyfriend approve this?"

"Are you fishing for information about me?" Kara teased.

"Huh," Lena sighed. "You didn’t sound this confident when you were stumbling over your words when you first saw me."

She was sure her entire body turned pink with that and she mumbled weakly that: "I was nervous about getting a tattoo."

"Yes, of course," Lena replied and Kara blushed again.

"No boyfriend," she ended up replying because the other alternative was to dig a bigger hole to herself. "Or a girlfriend."

She was ready for another teasing from the other woman, but Lena pulled back instead and eyed her tattoo with her head tilted to the side. "I need you to hold your breath for a few seconds, okay? I'm getting to a delicate part and it would be better if you hold it for, like, ten seconds."

Kara nodded and got ready to pull in a breath to hold it while Lena got her needle ready to go again. When the other woman said so, Kara took in a large intake of breath but, as soon as the needle touched her again, she exhaled in surprise when the pain shot to every nerve in her body.

"I know," Lena said. "It's the hardest part. I promise to be done with it as fast as possible. Can we try again?"

There weren't many options since Kara was already in the middle of getting her tattoo done, so she nodded and waited for the new signal. Kara grabbed the chair with both of her hands, pressed her eyes tightly shut, bit her bottom lip and held her breath for the longest ten seconds of her life before Lena tapped her skin and pulled away with a smile.

"There," she declared in her husky tone. "Good girl."

It was embarrassing how those two words made Kara react. She gasped, the breath still stuck in her lungs almost causing her to choke, and her entire body went stiff when a shiver left goosebumps all over her skin on its way down her spine. She couldn't see Lena and that was a blessing because she could feel the pause that her reaction gave the brunette. So, maybe that was a weird way to find out a praise kink, Kara decided while praying that Lena would brush it as a perfectly normal reaction to have.

"That was interesting," Lena whispered and, this time, the blonde knew she wasn't supposed to have heard that.

The blonde bit her bottom lip so hard that she could feel the taste of blood and she was totally sure that Lena could hear how fast her heart was beating. She could probably feel it, and, God, that was so embarrassing. Kara had half a piece of mind to just pull back her shirt, leave and never go back there, but the other woman didn’t give her time to react before she was once more piercing her skin with the needle. It was still painful, although the mortification she felt numbed it a little bit.

Lena didn’t sound so cocky when she spoke again and she even had to clear her throat so the words would come out less hoarse and more audible. “Just a while longer and we will be done. Can you handle it or should we finish it another day?”

Kara didn’t trust herself to ever come back – and not just because of what had just happened but also because she didn’t think she would be brave enough to get any tattoo needle to ever touch her again. So, she exhaled slowly and nodded. Lena went back to the draw immediately after that and they fell in a half comfortable silence until the trickiest part was over. Or, at least, that’s what Kara thought the trickiest part was because it hurt like hell and Lena had this crinkle between her brows when she glanced back that made her look... cute. Even with the tattoos and the five different piercing sets on her ears, the black clothes, the black room and her undeniable confidence.

It wasn’t until Lena leaned away to get more ink that she spoke again. “Plumerias were very common where I lived.”

Kara thought back on their conversation and wondered aloud, “Metropolis?”

“Ireland,” she corrected gently.

“Oh,” Kara breathed out and then hissed when the needle was back to her ribs.

“Not many people know I’m Irish, so I’m trusting you with this secret, Kara.”

She could hear the joke in the woman’s voice and Lena even poked her side playfully, and Kara heard herself giggling like a schoolgirl. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“That’s not how it works,” Lena declared with a huff. “Now you need to tell me a secret of yours.”

“What?”

“Yes, so we’re even and I can make sure you will never tell anyone what I just told you.”

“It’s not like you just confessed a murder,” Kara argued with an eye roll that was quite too fond to be directed to someone who she had met only two or three hours before.

Lena looked up for a second and their eyes met, making Kara’s face flush red. She was pulling a very uncomfortable position to keep her head raised and turned to the side so she could watch the other woman, and she had just been caught doing that one more time. “No? Well, you shouldn’t go to my office then.”

Kara hummed, trying to sound unimpressed by the joke while fighting back a laugh, and shrugged. “I knew it was weird I didn’t see Jack.”

The brunette let out a breathy chuckle, her hot breath hitting Kara’s side and making her shiver again, before she pursed her lips. “I see you’re too fond of Jack already.”

“Jealous?”

Lena quirked one dark eyebrow and gave her a look – the type of look that Kara tried to pull out her entire life while trying to look all sexy and misterious and was never able to do it – that made the blonde’s entire body warm up. “I’m the one poking your skin with a needle right now, so I think he should be the jealous one.”

Yes, Kara couldn’t keep up with that. She was weird, she rambled, she stuttered more times than not, and just, overall, was terrible at the whole flirting thing. Lena, on the other hand, seemed to be a master on it. Kara didn’t really stand a chance against it, not even for a second. She could try, pull out a word or a phrase here and there, but, in the end, Lena would find a way to leave her blushing and flustered so easily that made her head spin.

(She couldn’t be sure if Lena was just that good or if Kara was just super gay, but, whatever it was, it was working wonderfully)

“Now, come on, spill a secret,” Lena said after a long silence that stretched between them while they just stared at each other’s eyes.

Kara felt hypnotized by the green eyes and that was so unfair. So, damn, unfair. “I get my boss’ coffee order wrong every day.”

Lena stopped with the tattoo again to blink at her a couple of times in what seemed to be confusion. Then, she tilted her head to the side, glanced to the ceiling and opened her mouth as if she was going to say something. No sound came out, she closed her mouth again, and she looked so adorable that Kara felt her rambling coming to the surface again.

“Cat has this really complicated order at Starbucks that makes my head hurt just to think about. 3% fat, quarter milk, a spoon and a half of organic sugar, or whatever that is. It’s my job to get her coffee every morning and there’s no Starbucks close to my apartment, so I stop at another place called Noonan’s and get an order from there.” Lena still hadn’t said anything and Kara couldn’t bring herself to stop talking. “I used to work there, so I have a discount. I can buy a coffee for myself too with the same amount of money I would spend at Starbucks. And she never noticed it!”

There was a pause where Kara tried to come up with more things to say before a loud laugh cut the space around her. She looked at Lena with wide eyes and only slightly offended by her reaction, but the other woman was too busy laughing at her expense to notice it. The brunette used the back of her hand to cover her mouth while she shook her head and kept laughing freely.

“I’m sorry,” Lena said, waving her hand, before being interrupted by her own laugh. “It’s just... Fuck! That’s the worse thing you ever did in your life?” The tattoo artist looked at her again with her eyes crinkling at the sides and Kara felt her anger melting away.

“What? Did you expect a murder?”

“I was hoping that you would say you spit on her coffee, at least.”

Kara gasped. “I would never do that!”

Lena narrowed her eyes at her, a tiny smirk adorning her lips. “But you think about it, don’t you?”

“Every day,” she admitted with a groan, letting her head fall back against the chair.

The brunette laughed again and a cold hand came to rest against her thigh, making Kara’s body vibrate from head to toe. “I won’t tell your secret if you don’t tell mine.” Lena winked – winked – at her and Kara felt her throat too dry all of sudden. The woman chuckled again when the blonde gulped before she gently tapped the hard muscle of Kara’s thigh. “We’re done here.”

“Oh.” Kara blinked in surprise and her eyes immediately fell to her ribs. The skin was red and swollen, but she could see the delicate lines of the flowers and the leaves, and she was hit by the urge to cry all at once. She felt like a little girl again, being six or seven, and running to the door to meet her father, seeing the plumerias in his left hand and the chocolate on his right.

“Hey,” Lena called her gently, ducking her head to be able to catch the blue eyes again. “You're fine over there? I had people regretting tattoos before, but not so fast.”

Kara laughed and shook her head, trying to discreetly brush a tear from the corner of her eyes. “Everything is fine. It’s really beautiful.”

“Well, don’t say that before you take a better look,” Lena pushed her stool away and got up with a refreshed excitement. “Come on, stand up so you can look at it in the mirror.”

That’s what Kara did, sliding off the chair and walking with slightly trembling legs to the full body mirror that she had seen before. The fact that she still didn’t have her shirt on was in the back of her mind while her eyes traced the ink. It looked even better on her ribs than it looked on the paper and she made sure to tell the other woman that, earning a smile that she doubted she would ever be able to forget.

"Here." She turned around to see Lena's hand reaching out a piece of white chalk between her long fingers and sporting a kind of smile that Kara hadn’t seen on her yet - satisfied, the type of smile you give after accomplishing a task that meant something to you. "All of my clients have to write something on the walls. It's tradition," Lena shrugged in the end.

Kara’s eyes swept through the room again, taking in the black walls and words written in almost every inch available under a new light. There were small praises, thanks, some jokes and even a few doodles, and Kara wondered what she could write that could sum up her entire experience inside Lena's tattoo shop. She took the chalk more out of instinct, her brain still working on finding the right words, and Kara took a few steps around the room until she found the right place to write.

It was just below one of Lena's drawings that were hanging from a string, between a Scooby-Doo doodle and the message of someone saying they loved their new rose tattoo. Kara’s handwriting wasn't the best one - sloppy and crooked - and it looked even worse when she was trying to write on a wall, but she managed to write her first and last name to make it look readable. Then, she added her phone number under it and put the chalk inside the small box she found just beside her. Kara turned around making sure her body would cover what she had just written, suddenly feeling too nervous about it, and accepted the plastic foil paper Lena handed her.

"Remember to put on the ointment I told you about and keep it covered so it heals. It should be all healed in a week, tops. You're free to call if you have any doubts."

Lena led the way out of the room and they found themselves once again at the reception desk. Lena picked up the pen she had played with before and scribbled something on a piece of paper beside the computer while Kara reached out for her wallet in the pocket of her trousers. Their fingers brushed when she handed Lena the money and her face flushed red for the millionth time that night. Lena gave her a knowing smile before putting the money away and just like that they realized that they would part ways soon. A small part of Kara, primal and shameless, tried to come up with any reason that would make her stay for a while longer. Anything would do, really.

Even so, there was no reason for her to stay and Kara tried to mask her unjustified sadness by joining her hands in front of her body and forcing a smile to look real. “Thank you again.”

Lena waved a hand dismissively, the pen still hanging between two fingers, before her hand came to rest on top of the other one on the desk. “It was my pleasure.”

“If I regret it in the morning, I will come back with a vengeance,” Kara joked, swaying on her heels, and the laugh that came from the other woman was worth any type of regret she might end up having in the near future.

“As much as I would like to see you again, I would hate for that to be the reason you came back.”

Lena winked at her and Kara’s mouth hang open before she could stop herself. That made the brunette laugh in delight, made a deep blush rise from her neck to her cheeks, and Kara started taking steps back before she could embarrass herself anymore. Alex, Nia and all of their friends were right: she’s a gay disaster. None of them would be able to judge her if they just saw Lena though, of that she was sure.

Stumbling over one of the chairs, Kara let out a nervous laugh and, to her utter terror, she pointed finger guns at Lena. “Have, ah, have a good night, ma’am.”

She missed the door handle twice before she was able to open the door and, by the time she looked at Lena again, the other woman was smiling broadly at her. Ducking her head, Kara walked out the door and let it close behind her. Once the slightly chill air of the night hit her face, she closed her eyes and resisted the urge to hit herself for some very stupid decisions made inside that shop. She wondered if she would ever be able to live it down if any of her friends ever found out she just did finger guns at a beautiful woman as a way to say goodbye.

Well, to be fair, she wasn’t sure any of her friends would let her live it down when they found out about her very spontaneous tattoo.

God, Alex was going to kill her. Not for getting a tattoo, but for doing so without giving it enough thought. And, for Christ’s sake, Alex could be a real pain in the ass when she decided to lecture her for whatever reason it was. She was so not ready to deal with that.

It was only when she opened her eyes again that she realized she was still standing outside the tattoo shop – and that Lena could still very easily see her from her place behind the counter – and, with another blush, Kara pushed herself to start walking. Her apartment was only five more blocks down the street and she took that time to clear her mind from anything negative she was thinking about.

If her crazy and very unusual night taught her anything was that she had the thing inside her that could make her do some very adventurous things. She was capable of doing those things. Maybe randomly getting a tattoo wasn’t the ideal way to prove that to herself, but, damn, she had just renewed faith in herself.

Her poor attempts at flirting were the last thing on her mind when she pushed the door to her studio apartment open and stepped inside, making a beeline to where she had left her laptop earlier that day on the small kitchen table. She pulled a chair after turning the computer on and, reaching out for an apple inside the fruit bowl, she waited for the laptop to come to life so she could open a new file to start typing. She had an article to write, and a trip to plan.

XxxxxxxX

It was two days later – after Alex had scolded her for making decisions in a rush, after Nia took pictures of their tattoos side by side to post on her Instagram, after Querl had awkwardly given her a thumbs up, after James raised his eyebrows, after Winn yelped in shock – that something changed.

Kara was lazily reading something Nia had written so she could suggest some corrections before the girl submitted it to Snapper’s approval, when her phone buzzed from its place beside her mousepad – her rainbow mousepad, thanks to Winn. She picked it up, thinking it was Alex inviting her for lunch so she could yell at her a few more times, but the number who had texted her was an unsaved one. She frowned, but didn’t give it much thought before unlocking her screen to read it.

“Since you didn’t barge inside my shop to kill me, I take it that you didn’t regret it?”

The smile that curled her lips up came from within her and it was apparently too obvious because Nia, who was sitting across from her, gave her a weird look and arched one eyebrow in question. Kara shook her head, biting her bottom lip, and turned her chair around so the girl couldn’t see her anymore before typing a reply.

“I never said I was going to kill you.”

“The threat was clear to me,” came the next text just a few seconds later and Kara chuckled to herself.

“Please, don’t tell me you were scared.”

“Why do you think it took me two days to reach out?”

Kara paused at that. She had spent the last two days being sure that, despite their easy flirt with each other, Lena didn’t actually want to talk or see her again. So, to have her texting her now was really... reawakening something inside her.

“Who are you texting?”

Kara jumped on her chair, startled by Nia’s voice so close to her ear all of sudden, her phone almost slipping from her fingers and crashing on the floor. Thankfully, her reflexes were still working and she was able to grab it, but not without throwing a glare at Nia for scaring her like that. The girl gave her a sheepish smile, although she shrugged and didn’t back away from where she had perched on the corner of Kara’s desk to look over her shoulder.

“No one,” came the childish, and not at all convincing, reply and Kara didn’t need to look at her friend again to know she was busted. Now Nia was not going to let it down.

“Really? Because you have been smiling to your phone for five minutes and you just smile like that when Alex says she’s bringing extra potstickers for game night.” Nia smirked and leaned over, trying to read the texts again, but Kara quickly pressed the phone against her chest to block her view.

“Alex just invited me for lunch,” Kara attempted to throw her off.

However, Nia arched her eyebrows. “Really? Because I just texted Kelly asking her to go to that vegan place with me and she said she already has plans.” A pause. “With Alex.” Another pause. “For lunch.”

Kara groaned and turned her chair so she was facing her computer again, slipping her phone screen down on the table. “Fine, it wasn’t Alex, but I’m not going to say anything.”

“Okay.” Her friend gave up way too faster than usual and Kara watched her with narrowed eyes as the girl jumped from her desk to turn the corner back to her own cubicle. Nia was about to sit down when she tried to snatch Kara’s phone away with one surprisingly fast move, but the blonde was even faster, taking it out of her reach in the last second. “Damn.”

Kara rolled her eyes and pushed her chair back. She grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair, throwing it over her shoulders and slipping her phone inside one of the pockets, and threw an overly sweet, clearly fake, smile at Nia. “Now you will have to eat alone because I won’t have lunch with you either.”

Nia stuck her tongue out at her. “I will call Querl!”

Kara waited until she was safely inside the elevator before opening her texts again. There were three more texts since the last time she looked and a smile immediately spread over her face when she read them.

“Okay, I confess, I was a little nervous.”

“You still there? You didn’t change your mind, did you?”

“About the tattoo, not the... leaving your name and number on my wall thing.”

She barely noticed when someone entered the elevator a few floors below, too focused on replying to the texts.

“You? Nervous? You don’t look like the type of girl that gets nervous. And no, I didn’t change my mind about any of those things, actually.”

A new text only came after she was already walking down the street to Noonan’s, but she wrote a quick text to invite Winn for lunch before opening Lena’s text.

“I’m also not the type to text any of the numbers left on my walls. And good.”

“Do you get a lot of numbers on your walls?” Kara asked and she had to make a conscious effort to cross the street to Noonan’s instead of walking straight for a few more blocks to the tattoo shop. She could picture Lena leaning against the counter with her gorgeous smirk and her impressive tattoos – and even more impressive cleavage.

“Jack enjoys them more than I do.”

Kara was about to make a comment about Jack but another text came in before she could and she stopped in her tracks so suddenly that the man walking behind her shoved against her shoulder. She tripped over a few steps, but quickly held herself again to read the words over and over in disbelief. She hoped, of course, but that was... wow.

“I don’t want to be too straightforward here, or overly confident or something, but I have a client coming in five minutes, so I don’t have much time. This won’t sound romantic at all, but would you like to have dinner with me? Tomorrow?”

Kara didn’t have to think too much about her answer, of course. Alex would give her a piece of her mind for agreeing to go out with someone she barely knew – and ‘that’s the whole point of going out to meet people’ was not a good argument on her sister’s book – but Kara would deal with it later. Right now, she had a very gorgeous woman asking her out and she already knew what her answer would be.

“I would love to.”

“What? Really?” Kara chuckled at the rushed text she received back, but another one came just a second later. “Pretend you didn’t read that. I meant ‘okay, great!’.”

Chuckling again, Kara typed a new message. “I know you were the one who asked me out, but may I suggest a place? I don’t have a car and it’s close to both of our workplaces.”

“Whatever you want, just text me address. Let’s say, tomorrow at 7 pm?”

“Can’t wait.”

XxxxxxxX

“Hey, Kara?”

“Yes?” She asked, not taking her eyes away from her computer screen and typing away as fast as she could to be able to put all the ideas in her new article. She had never written like that before, but she wasn’t about to complain about small inspirations spikes.

“The front desk called and said there’s a pack for Cat downstairs. Can you pick it up?”

With a small sigh, not because she was mad at Winn for interrupting her but because she would have to go all out of the way to pick a pack she didn’t even know was going to come in, Kara saved her file and pushed her chair back. Nia glanced up and was about to remove her earphones, ready to follow Kara to whatever she was going to learn more about the journalism world, but the blonde made some gestures with her hand that she hoped meant ‘boring things, stay here’ before she started making her way to the elevator.

Jenny, the woman that stayed at the front desk, was kind, around Eliza’s age, and very chatty, which worked fine with Kara when she wanted to waste a few minutes talking along. “Good morning, Kara! How are you?”

“I’m great, Jenny. And you?”

“I’m fine. What happened? I recognize that smile.”

Kara tilted her head to the side, although she couldn’t stop smiling, doesn’t matter how hard she was trying. “What smile?”

Jenny narrowed her eyes and waved a finger at her playfully. “That’s the smile of someone who had a very good night.”

The blonde could feel her face heating up and a nervous chuckle escaped her lips before she could stop herself. She had been leaning against the counter, but she leaned her torso back and tapped her fingers against the hard surface nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right,” Jenny scoffed, rolled her eyes and started pulling out the packages that she would need to take upstairs with her. There was a yellow thing that was sent by one of the photographers of the last shooting they made, some letters and a few small boxes, which made Kara believe Jenny had been holding those things with her for at least a few days. Cat hadn’t asked for any of that, so it wasn’t a problem. “Don’t tell me then. You don’t have to. Is all over your face.”

Blushing even harder, Kara huffed an anxious laugh and looked down at the counter. She put one hand on her hip as the other one raised to push her glasses up her nose, but she kept her eyes down to avoid seeing the smirk on Jenny’s face. She would have to agree with her, if she did. Because she knew it was, in fact, written all over her face. She hadn’t been able to stop smiling since she woke up that morning – who was she kidding? It had been like that since dinner last night.

It had a reason – and the reason had a name – but she was not going to share any personal details about her life with Jenny. The old woman had the tendency to share everyone’s secrets – which was another reason Kara liked to talk with her so much, but she would never admit to being a gossip girl. She did tell Nia, mostly because her friend wouldn’t stop asking why Kara was fifteen minutes late that morning, though she had made the girl promise not to tell anyone.

It was still pretty new, she had argued.

“If you two slept together, it’s not that new,” Nia had teased back, making her face turn red so fast that James, that had been coming back from the bathroom, asked if she was feeling well.

Even if the whole ‘sleeping together on the first date’ thing was new to her, Kara hadn’t regretted it in the morning. Much like the tattoo. Although, it would be remarkably harder to regret sleeping with Lena when the said woman was spooning her from behind than it was to regret a tattoo that recquired a lot of afterward care. Either way, Kara was living the best morning in her life and it clearly showed on her face.

“Looks like you’re not the only one who’s having a great time.” Jenny’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts and Kara looked up in time to see the woman pulling a big bouquet from under the counter.

The flowers looked cheap and scruffy, which made it seem like someone had just thrown them together without much care. They were yellow and pink daisies, the colors clashed and didn’t work well together, but the card hidden between the flowers was black and easy to see. She knew she shouldn’t because it had her boss’ name outside the card and it was clearly not for her to see, but curiosity took the best of her – that and the fact that the card had been clearly already open, and by Jenny’s face she knew who had done it.

“Thank you – L”

Well, that wasn’t helpful at all.

Sighing and feeling silly for stealing a look, she put the card back and started to try to find a way to pick everything she needed to take back with her. She knew there was a small cart some other companies in the building used to transport stocks and other products, but she was sure she could use her hands if she just pilled everything right. Kara had just come up with a plan when Jenny spoke again.

“There’s also this one. It doesn’t have a card, but it came with the bouquet. Same delivery. The guy couldn’t say anything about it, but I’m sure we can find something if we call the shop and...”

“I think there’s no need,” Kara interrupted gently, without looking up from the growing pile in one of her hands, but she raised her head eventually.

Only to lose track of every thought she was having.

Jenny had put a single plumeria on top of the counter. As the woman had said, there was no card or any type of identification – who it came from or who was supposed to receive it – but Kara connected the dots quite easily. Smiling, she reached over to grab the simple flower and brought it closer to her face to smell it.

“Oh, I see.”

“I have to go!” Kara said suddenly, knowing everyone in the building would know she had just randomly smelled a flower at the front desk that morning. “See you, Jen!”

The look on Cat’s face when Kara gave her the bouquet, not offering any other explanation othan than that there was a card attached to it, was worth every step on the stairs she had to walk up, holding the woman’s coffee every morning. As soon as she was back to her desk, Kara pulled her phone from her pocket and sent a text before Nia could start asking any questions.

“Thought you said that you’re not good with romance.”

The reply didn’t come right away, Kara ended up putting her phone to the side and went back to work. However, as soon as it rang beside her, she grabbed it.

“Guess we’re both learning new things about ourselves. Want to have lunch together?”

And, yes, she totally did.

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thran-duils · 3 years

Text

Use All of Me (P.13)

Title: Use All Of Me (Part Thirteen) Summary: Fem!Reader x Dark Mob!Steve Rogers. The Avengers are heroes saving the world but in this AU, they are also permitted by the powers in charge to have less than favorable business underneath their guise of mere superheroes. Steve and Tony are at the helm, keeping their empire’s wealth in check, both devious and perilous if crossed. Steve takes a liking to the reader at a party and it may be her undoing to her autonomy choosing to go home with him. Words: 3,575 Warnings: Dark AF, angst, emotional/mental abuse, smut, breeding, death

Part Twelve || Part Fourteen || Masterpost (mobile) || Fanfic masterpost

A branch snapped out in the woods and you turned quickly towards the noise. It was dark outside still, the sun just starting to rise. You had been unable to sleep since 3:30am and instead of tossing and turning that could wake Yua up, you had come out onto the upper balcony with a book and a blanket.

The only sound you heard now was your heart pounding in your ears, worried that you were going to see a shadow step out from behind the trees in the shape of Steve’s broad shoulders.

But the woods were quiet, no looming figures. Slowly, you relaxed, the tension leaving your muscles. You could not see anything, so you nestled back down, opening the book again. After a few minutes, the sound was forgotten, and you were immersed in your book.

When you finally came back inside, Yua was up by then. You walked quietly by Natalie’s still sleeping form and made your way down the stairs carefully. Yua was already at the sink making herself some coffee. She eyed you as you walked into the kitchen.

“God, look how big you are,” Yua said groggily, eyeing your stomach.

“Good morning to you too. And yes, I can feel it,” you jested. “26 weeks.”

She laughed, “I mean honestly. Since this all started out… it’s like you swallowed a volleyball. It just hits me sometimes, still catches me off guard.”

“Soon to be a basketball, I’m sure.”

“Or bigger.”

“Probably bigger,” you admitted, grabbing a glass to get yourself some water.

“Well, you’re not that size yet. So, where is my breakfast? Cause you look like you’ve been up for a while. Why isn’t it ready?” Yua joked.

Yawning, you said, “Well, ma’am, I was actually going to go back to bed after I got something to drink. I’ve been up since 3:30. I couldn’t sleep. And now it’s catching all up to me. But if you would like, I could make you eggs.”

She waved you off, “I was just kidding. Go back to sleep. It’s still early enough! Do you want me to put a plate of food in the fridge for you for whenever you do wake up?”

“That would be nice,” you said before taking a large gulp of the water. You placed the half empty water glass back on the counter and said, “I’ll have that later too. Don’t want to drink too much at one time. The babies have declared a competition on who can kick my bladder the hardest.”

<><><>

Back in New York, Clint looked way too proud of himself as he strode into the room, but it caught Steve’s attention because that could mean only one thing. And that thing was going to bode well for him.

He was halfway out of his seat as Clint approached, a wide grin tearing at the sides of his mouth.

“I think I got it,” he said, throwing the few pictures he had printed out upstairs on the desk in front of Steve. Steve sat back down, pulling the photos towards him eagerly. “I saw that one of Natalie’s cousins had some photos up in the woods. I couldn’t get a location on them because I wasn’t friends with him. So, I got Shuri to make up a hack for me to gain access to an account. I chose one of the aunts, disguising it as a money scheme – she fell for it, clicked on the link. I was able to gain access to her account and was able to access more of the photos on his page. He’s got a cabin in New Hampshire.”

Steve was looking at the photos of the family outside their cabin.

“If she isn’t on the trains,” Clint said, excitedly. “Where are we now with the cameras? The west coast? We should have seen her by now if she was on the Amtrak.” He pointed eagerly at the pictures and said, “This might be it. It wouldn’t cost them anything to stay in and it’s probably secluded. It’s not too far but it’s far enough out of state.”

<><><>

Wanda was leaning back on the couch, flipping through a magazine. She had been watching the cameras for most of the early morning, but Tony had arrived around 6:30am, wanting to try different locations so she got up and left, giving him the space he needed.

The phone on the desk rang nearby, drawing her attention instantly, and she sat up, craning her neck to look at it. The phone was the number they had given out on the ads to call if anyone had any information on Y/N’s whereabouts. Tony’s gaze was locked on it too and before he could react, she was there, picking it up.

“Hello?”

“Hi, I’m calling about the missing persons ad.”

Wanda’s breath caught for a moment before she breathed, “Yes?”

“For Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Yes,” Wanda said more impatiently.

“Saw a woman like the photo at one of the cabins up here as I was on a walk real early this morning, right as the sun was coming up. She was sitting on the porch, very pregnant. I didn’t get a great look at her, didn’t want to gawk, you know. Plus, I think I was on their property, so I was probably trespassing, but I was following a doe—”

“Where was it at?” Wanda asked, cutting him off in the politest voice she could muster.

<><><>

“Steve!” Wanda called, taking the stairs by two. Steve called from the community room and she walked briskly, practically breaking into a jog. When she entered the room, she saw Clint, Sam, and him were looking at some photos on the table. Tearing her attention away from that, she said in a rush, “We maybe got something. A man named Will called about it, saying he thinks he saw Y/N.”

“In New Hampshire?”

“Y-Yes?” Wanda said completely confused at how he knew that.

Clint looked beside himself and Steve demanded, “Where at? Did you get a location?”

Wanda told him the address and Steve pulled his phone out, typing it into the maps app. He slammed his hand down on the desk in triumph, standing quickly. He thrust the phone into Clint’s hands. Sam was trying to peer over Clint’s shoulders to get a look too.

“That’s the same damn cabin,” Steve exclaimed, hardly able to contain his excitement. Wanda took notice of the pictures now, leaning over the table to look at them herself.

“Are we going now?” Sam asked just as Steve breezed past him. His eyes swept to Clint and said, “I guess so then.”

“Ha, teamwork,” Clint smiled, squeezing Wanda on the shoulder encouragingly as he walked by, rushing to follow Steve.

<><><>

The team was quick in their assemble upon arrival, Bucky and Natasha having to travel to get there which set Steve on edge because he had been ready immediately in his black suit, anxiousness coursing through him. He was pacing in front of the facility, having a hard time containing the hope blooming. His eyes were set on the tree line, wanting to just get into the car and drive to the address, scoop Y/N up and bring her back home.

He was not going to make the same mistakes he had that had let her slip through his fingers. If he could help it, she would never step foot off that property without him again. He would make sure she learned that lesson as soon as he got her home.

Tony met him at the edge of the entrance patio, not suited up. He was staying behind to monitor from there and he surprised Steve with a small drone, holding it out to him.

“You should not go in there guns blazing before you get sights on her or something to be absolutely sure. Use this. You don’t need to be barging into some random pregnant person’s cabin. Not a good look, not good press. Especially since you’ve got it out there now that you are looking for her. This drone is quiet, but it’s not silent so don’t fly too close or they’ll hear it and it’ll blow your whole covert cover.”

“You mean hovering above the place in a plane isn’t going to do that?”

“You’re not taking a plane, jackass,” Tony retorted, and Steve smirked in response. “Park down the road. You can go in on foot.” Steve thanked him, taking the drone. Tony ran his eyes up and down Steve and asked, “Was it really necessary to get up in the suit?”

“Can’t exactly show up in slacks. Just in case things get squirrelly,” Steve responded.

“’Squirrelly’,” Tony chortled. “Y/N will hardly be able to run.” Steve’s only response to that with a slight smile of acknowledgement. Tony stepped closer and said, “I got something else too. Of course, they say it doesn’t exist because the general public already has an issue with frothing at the mouth with conspiracy theories of the government tracking them. People honestly suffer from grandiosity in this country.” He noticed the impatient look on Steve’s face and apologized, “Sorry. Soap box. How do you feel about a GPS chip?” Steve’s eyes widened in surprise and Tony back tracked quickly. “Right. We can talk about that when she gets back home, safe and sound. I’ve just wanted to try out the new model and she seems like the perfect candidate, perfect circumstance. We’ll chat when you’re back. Don’t forget.”

Tony clapped Steve on the shoulder before walking back towards the door to the elevator.

<><><>

The trip up north was taking longer than Steve wanted it to, his fingers drumming impatiently on his thigh as he watched the trees go by. The thought that Y/N would somehow get tipped off and bolt before he got there was eating away at him. He was watching his phone anxiously, seeing them get closer and closer to where the cabin should be.

When Clint pulled off on the highway at what should be the end of the road that would lead to the cabin, Steve threw the door open and stepped outside. He was ready to let the drone go, flying it towards the direction of where the cabin was in a matter of a few moments, the only pause in the effort being from the drone having to start up. Steve was watching the viewing screen of the drone with intensity as it hovered over the trees, keeping an eye peeled as he followed the gravel road. The rest of the team was waiting around the SUV. Bucky leaned against the side, tapping his foot, trying to expel some of the pent-up adrenaline that everyone was garnering, knowing this needed to be executed without injury or incident.

The cabin was there at the end and Steve leaned forward in anticipation seeing the car.

“That looks like the car model,” Tony said over his earpiece. He was able to access the drone’s camera was well back at the facility. “Zoom in a bit to the license plate.” Steve did as he asked and Tony breathed, “Bingo.”

“Alright,” Steve said far more calmly than he felt. “That’s good enough for me.” He walked back towards the open back door of the SUV, walking up and placing the screen just inside. “The cabin is about half a mile away. Clint, stay here with the car and be ready to come up when we are ready to go. I don’t want Y/N to have to walk back down the driveway. Nat, Sam… you’re with me at the front. Buck, take the back of the cabin. Don’t shoot anyone unless I tell you to.”

“Taking the fun out of things,” Bucky halfheartedly joked.

<><><>

Stretching out on the bed, your toes curled. A sigh of contentment left your lips as your eyes opened, blinking away your sleep. When your vision focused, you saw the clock said it was almost 11:00am. You had managed to fall back asleep around 7:00am and you felt better now that you had gotten some more sleep. You could barely detect Yua and Natalie speaking in low tones, more than likely trying to avoid waking you up.

The serenity was shattered at the loud bang from on the first floor and you heard Yua scream in alarm. You sat up with difficulty just as the door from the balcony burst open. You jolted to the side, holding your stomach protectively.

Your heart rate slowed only for a moment upon recognizing the man who burst in was Bucky. When his cerulean eyes landed on you, gun pointed in your direction, your heart rate blew past normal, your breath quick.

“Bucky?” you got out in a gasp.

He relaxed ever so slightly, his eyes softening at the sight of you. His gun was no longer pointed at you, hanging at his side now. You did not miss the uptick of his lips, satisfaction flooding his face. But he still stayed on alert, ready to raise his weapon again if needed.

You sat up straight slowly, despite the commotion downstairs, keeping eye contact with him. Getting to your feet you tried to drown out the sounds of shouting downstairs, focusing only on him. His eyes flicked to your stomach, causing your hands to clench tighter around it and he made eye contact with you again.

“You can let me leave,” you said to him, your voice shaking.

Bucky’s laugh was humorless. “Y/N. Sweetheart, c’mon.” He was chastising you for even suggesting it with that tone.

“Buck?”

The sound of his voice rolling up the stairs made you freeze to the spot.

“I’ve got your doll in my scope. She looks good, Steve,” Bucky called back down towards the ground floor.

The sound of his foot on the bottom stair made you flinch. His footfalls were heavy, each step putting another nail in the coffin of your freedom. Your eyes flicked towards the open door and Bucky gave you a disappointed look, taking a step back towards it. He shook his head and you tore your eyes away from him, eyes fixated on the stairs.

He came into view quick, his height surpassing the staircase railing long before Yua or Natalie’s would. The same time elation flew through his features upon seeing you, you felt dread course through your veins. He was geared up, like he was going into a fight. Apparently, he did not underestimate the three of you.

Steve was a foot from you now, his gaze piercing and you were too afraid to take your eyes off him. There were a few moments of silence before he said quietly, “I admit, you have some loyal friends down there. They remind me of Buck.” You said nothing and he asked harshly now, “What did you think this was going to accomplish though, really, Y/N?”

You sucked in your bottom lip, unable to form a sentence in your frightened state about what he was there to do besides take you back.

“Answer me.”

Stammering, you said, “I… I just…” You were embarrassed he was shaking you up so bad. You had been in such a haze, hoping beyond reason that the three of you would eventually be able to settle down and it would blow over. The longer you had stayed away, the more the doubt it could work had been overshadowed by that terrible misleading feeling of hope.

Steve’s expression softened seeing you tripping over your words. He stepped closer and you instinctively stepped back. His lips formed into a thin line, stopping his advancement. “Y/N, doll, please. I want what is best for you. All I want is to take care of you. You worried me, doll. You worried me a lot. Do you know what it felt like to not know where you were? If you were safe? If the children were safe? Can you imagine how utterly upset you made me? How betrayed I felt when I realized you were gone? I leave to let you have a party with your friends, to give you space with them.” You almost flinched at the phrasing, like he had taken the words right out of your mouth. If he noticed, he did not show it. He continued on, “I leave a gift behind for you to find, something I built for you and the babies, and how do you repay me? You left. Without a word. Like I didn’t matter. Did you even see the gift?”

“No,” you whispered.

“Of course you didn’t. You didn’t care enough to look. You were only concerned with yourself. Out of everyone in the world, I didn’t think it would be you that would betray me like this. You told me you loved me.”

Heat rose to your cheeks as your eyes glistened with tears. He sounded deeply hurt, wounded. You could see it in his eyes.

“I can forgive you, Y/N. Trusting you is something else entirely. I don’t think that’s an option right now. But… I can forgive you. You just have to come back and be good.”

You averted your gaze, your chest tightening at his order.

Steve closed the space between you, and you did not move away this time. He hooked his fingers underneath your chin, tipping your head up. “It’s me…” Steve told you as his eyes hardened, and he warned gravely, “Or nobody.”

You did not have to imagine all the guns pointed at your friends downstairs. You either left with them both dead and back with Steve. Or left with them both alive and with Steve. Either way, he had you enveloped back to him. The degree of guilt is what you were choosing, that’s what he was giving you.

You were taking too long to answer.

Steve looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with Bucky. Bucky started walking towards the staircase where he could look down on the living room.

“Steve, don’t—” you choked out.

“I want to hear you say it.”

“You’re scaring me.”

“Good.”

You let out a strangled noise before you got out in between tears, “I won’t ever try to leave you again, I swear. I’ll stay home for you. I’ll take care of the twins. I’ll do what you ask, I’ll listen, like I promised. I’ll be happy.”

“Were you ever?” He asked coldly.

“I w-was,” you said shakily, nodding. Nodding to convince yourself, remind yourself that you had been. “I was, really.”

“And what changed that, hmm?”

“You… you locked me away in the house.”

His lips twitched at the accusation and you feared you had made a misstep, fearing for Yua and Natalie. He did not make a move though except to say, “And why did I do that?”

He wanted you to say what he believed. He wanted you to believe it too. The tears were fat rolling down your cheeks as you whispered, “Because… you wanted to keep me safe.”

“That’s right, doll,” Steve breathed easier, smiling. His fingers caressed your face. “That’s exactly what I was doing. And you pulling this little stunt proved my gut instinct was right, didn’t it? You need protection, especially from yourself. You are impulsive and don’t think about the long-term repercussions of your actions.” His hand came to rest on your abdomen, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me, doll. I want you to just come home and let me take care of you. That’s what’s going to happen. Right?”

“Yes,” a voice that sounded like yours said; it was like you were outside your body. “Yes, I want that.”

“That’s what I thought,” Steve said, leaning forward and giving you a long kiss on your forehead.

“My friends?” you choked out.

Steve pulled away from you and smirked at you. “Hmm, maybe you can be concerned with more than yourself. Maybe I was too harsh there for a moment… what about your friends?”

“Please don’t hurt them. Please let them leave and go back home unharmed.”

He exhaled heavily and asked seriously, “And why should I do that?”

“Bucky would help you if you asked.” Bucky turned his head towards the pair of you and you tried to pretend like you did not notice his gaze. “It’s not their fault. I asked for help. It’s my fault. They shouldn’t be punished for my mistake. Please don’t make them pay for my behavior.”

Steve looked contemplative and you waited with bated breath, hoping he would react positively to your display of holding yourself liable. He wanted you to beg and you were giving it to him.

Over his shoulder, he finally ordered, “Let the ladies grab their things and get out of here. They’re safe… as long as Y/N continues to behave.” You opened your mouth to protest but he cut you off by pressing a button on his earpiece. “Barton, we’re ready. Come on up.”

He grasped your arm and you tried to yank your arm away from him. He was far too strong and jolted you to him. “Don’t go messing this up now, Y/N. You were doing so well. Don’t make this harder for me than it has to be to get you in the damn car. You got what you wanted with your friends; you just need to uphold your side of the bargain.”

~~~

Tags: @imsonick , @alexakeyloveloki, @kvzctam, @ironlady1993, @taintedgenre, @inlovewiththefictionalcharacters @roxyfan14-blog @mrsnegan25 @coconutqueen21

#steve rogers x reader #dark!steve rogers x reader #dark!steve rogers #dark steve rogers #dark marvel #dark marvel fic #marvel fic #my shit

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shhhlikeme · 4 years

Note

I ALMOST NEVER SEE ANYONE WRITE ABOUT ARAN SO IM JUMPING IN- ;-; Can I ask for his girl helping him relieve some stress, massaging him and his hands then just a nice cuddle session after..? also Ive been shy to hop in but hi you're pretty and Id love to be friends with you ;-;

UMMM A BIG ACCOUNT LIKE YOURS THAT JUST REACHED 1.25K followers (congrats beb!!) peeps my work ?? And compliments me + gave me my first Aran requestttt ?!

*faints*

I feel like this is a proposal and the answer is YES boo 💍🥰 friendssss 🥺🤗

Anyway I hope you like it newest friend💞

————————————

Some Aran Ojiro x Reader Romance 😩🌹

————————————

you and your boyfriend Aran haven’t been able to see eachother much in the past year at all

He just made the Japan National Team which meant he was practicing and travelling all the time

You two keep up with nightly Facetime dates every night which is great but he almost always falls asleep on you in the first 20 minutes

sleepy muffin that we love so much

You don’t blame him considering his training regimen.

When he wakes up he’s literally talking your ear off apologizing because he feels like a shit boyfriend for falling asleep every time

“I did it again and I know you say it’s fine but it’s not. I’m so sorry Y/N. When I get home, I promise I’ll make it up to you baby girl, I promise. Have a great day Queen and remember I’ll be home to spoil you in 10 days. You’re not ready. I love you! Peace!”

As you lay in your empty bed the next morning, you just smile at the video of him apologizing to you while he is running around his hotel room to get ready for morning practice

Your man works so hard but he never fails to make sure he’s the first thing you see when you wake up and the last person you see before you fall asleep. It’s endearing

He is super super busy being a professional athlete but that doesn’t stop him from making you feel special in the little and big ways

Sometimes, he orders you breakfast or dinner from your favourite brunch or sushi spot that you two like to go to so that he can put a smile on your face when he’s travelling

All he asks in return is a cute selfie of you in your pjs and messy bun with the food and that is the only thank you he needs

Seriously send it though or he’ll spam your phone lol

Can I tell you a funny story related to your mans sweet foodie gestures?

Okay so One random night last weekend.....

You heard a knock on the door of your condo and you quickly paused your Netflix movie to dust the popcorn crumbs off Aran’s t-shirt you were wearing

You opened the door excitedly thinking it might be another Uber Eats surprise from your boyfriend but instead you see a grumpy looking Osamu standing in the delivery guys place

“Your boyfriend is annoying.” Osamu deadpanned as he glanced at you once before letting himself in.

“Uh, Nice to see you.....too, Osamu-san.”

Samu murmured something in response grumpily and went over to your kitchen island to place down a large brown paper bag.

“Stupid professional volleyball playing friend and brother,” He muttered under his breath. You watched him take out lots of food from his restaurant from your spot by the door, by the look (and amazing smell) of it the bag was packed with all your favourites. You were thrilled even though the grey haired boy in your kitchen wasn’t.

“Look at me! I’m Aran. My stupid Uber Eats app won’t work from mutant-spider Australia so instead of just chilling like a normal person I call and beg my very handsome and very successful restaurant-owner friend to make my girlfriend all her favourite dishes and drive them over in the middle of a rain storm. A rain storm!”

You held your ground back at the door (knowing good and well not to get in the way of Samu when he was in one of his signature bitchy moods) as a smile crept on your face. It felt like someone was squeezing your heart as you watched Osamu comfortably rummage through your cabinets and find your dishes. He plated your food beautifully like the professional chef he is, all while mumbling angrily under his breath about his quote unquote “Simp of a best friend.”

When he was done with the food, Osamu also pulled out a bottle of your favourite wine from his restaurant that only Aran knows about and poured you a glass perfectly, swaying the liquid around first to make sure it was rich. Satisfied but still annoyed, Osamu cleaned his restaurant’s paper bag contents away and then walked over to your spot on the couch to take a handful of popcorn. Still a grump, he met you back at the door.

Samu looked down at you with the irritated expression you’ve become accustomed to over the years.

“Aran also told me to give you this.” He deadpanned before leaning down to kiss the top off your head then left. You smiled, unable to stop bubbling over in giggles because you knew Aran just added that to annoy his affection-challenged best friend. You poked your head out to the hallway of your condo building, seeing Osamu’s retreating figure you sang:

“Thank you, Samuuuuuu! 🎶”

Effectively adding to his annoyance just like your boyfriend would have wanted you to.

Without looking back, Osamu just lifted up a cool peace sign that your boyfriend and the two brothers were notorious for.

That trio, man.

dinner that night was the best you’ve had in forever

Not only was it delicious but

You realized that very night that your boyfriend was the most remarkable human in the world and you didn’t deserve him

You checked your phone as you sipped your wine because you received several texts from your boy asking where his picture of you eating is and also asking how funny Samu’s reaction was

You giggled as you read the text and then you had an idea! 💡

You put down your phone and quickly changed into some lacy lingerie for the picture:

Your boyfriend always asked for simple ‘rates PG’ pics because he loved to see you bare faced and wearing his big clothes. It was so cute to him.

he would make each new picture you sent his two backgrounds on his phone and he relished in the fact that you were so beautiful when you didn’t try

You knew this, but you also knew that your man deserved a little ‘sumn sumn’ for making tonight so special for you 😉

You put on a little sultry makeup to go with your sexy number and went back to the kitchen to your food and wine

You took a much sexier picture than he would ever expect

Actually you chose to send him a boomerang:

one of your hair slightly disheveled and your tits basically out despite the lacy cover. You pressed the wine glass to your red lips and winked in the boomerang, wiggling your hips ever so seductively

•••

in a luxurious hotel in Australia, your stunning boyfriend just finished his shower in his hotel room

He dried his face with a towel and opened his iMessage app on his phone... effectively ignoring the:

“🖕🏼🖕🏼🖕🏼it’s done.🖕🏼🖕🏼🖕🏼”

text from his best friend Osamu and clicking your name instead

Aran swiped left on his phone hoping to see another cute picture of his girlfriend being sent to him that makes his day the brightest but what he actually sees instead almost makes him drop his phone out of his wet hands

No Deadass he almost dropped it! it slipped out of his hands 4 times

His heart beating because of his phone but mostly because you were the finest woman he’s ever seen, he replays your sexy boomerang 30 times, literally engraving every detail about you into his mind. If his teammates weren’t so nosy he’d love to make what you just sent him his background on his phone......but that wouldn’t work

He really treasured you and what you sent though. For Aran, the next 9 days at this Global Tournament could not go by fast enough.

Aran’s never asked for naughty pictures from you not once because he doesn’t want you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with, but seeing that you did it on your own, of course it made him want to skip his National game tomorrow just to fly back and make love to you all night then rub your back the way you like until you fell asleep

Mans is in LOVE, you feel me?

He wanted to show you just how treasured you are for sticking by his side through all this travelling shit. He wanted you to always know you were his queen even if he was miles away

So, by you sending this sexy Boomerang and treating him like a King even though you didn’t have to, your man fell even harder for you

He had so much planned when he came home like always: spoil you with a shopping trip with your girls, a romantic spa trip for you both and a trip to the amusement park, but it seemed so far away now

Frowning, Aran texted you back a paragraph telling you how beautiful you are and how lucky he was to have you in his life for a plethora of reasons

He Facetime’d you for the expected classic 20 minutes while you wore that lingerie BUT he actually stayed up for 36 minutes because he was fighting sleep like a damn boxer. He wanted to see you... but of course his fatigue got the better of him and he fell asleep with a big smile on his face because you whispered goodnight

•••

the next day, after sleeping in, Aran woke up for his first tournament game and did all of his pre-game rituals which included calling you, and his best friends Kita & the twins.

He proceeded to his 6:00pm game as planned in the grand court of Sydney.

Aran sweetly signed autographs and Jerseys with his name on it that fans and little kids eagerly presented to him before and after the game that they had won.

“Mr. Ran’! Mr. ‘Ran! Volleybwall is my most favouritest sport to pway , too! Can I have hug???” Asked a particularly bouncy little African-Australian girl in the crowd. Aran glances at the dad for permission and upon granting Aran nodded kindly and picked up the toddler so she was propped up on his hip. The girl wrapped her miniature arms around the big volleyball star’s neck and squeezed tightly. Aran chuckled in his deep voice, exclaiming an “Ow! You’re a strong one, aren’t you? A future Ace for sure.” The little girl gasped at her idols words and hugged him harder. The dad had to literally rip her out of Ojiro’s arms because she didn’t want to let go.

“Don’t break the volleyball player, honey. They’re sore.” Said the father to his daughter.

Aran reached in his gym bag to collect a clean tournament shirt from his bag and handed it to the hysterically crying little girl. “Sore is an understatement. But....here, ‘future Ace.’ When you make the National Women’s Team and I’m the one at one of your games, maybe you can give it back to me.”

The little girl’s whole life was made as she immediately stopped crying and smiled widely, hugging the shirt close to her chest as if it might disappear if she let go.

Because he was a teddy bear and wanted to sign as many kids memorabilia as possible, plus give the youth encouraging messages....Aran usually stayed an hour or two later than the other players after their away games. Telling his teammates to go on ahead back to their hotel without him

HE’S PERFECT 😩

Sore as hell and more tired than ever after his big games, he picked up his phone to call you on his way back to the hotel

He loved hearing your voice it was so soothing to him

No answer. He tried 5 times.

Thinking you were probably working hard from home, Ojiro dragged his feet past the hotel concierge and used all of his slumped body weight to push open the door to his hotel room.

He didn’t remember it being this dark in here or even shutting off the lights when he left, but being too tired to care he dropped his huge bag on the floor, gripping his aching shoulder as he took one step to the right to flip on the lights

When he did, he had to rub his sleepy eyes because he couldn’t believe what he saw

“Y-Y/N?!”

Standing in the middle of his hotel room, you smiled brightly and ran to your boyfriend, wrapping your legs around his waist in a koala hug. You wore that lacy number you used in the picture you sent him last night. Your man stumbled back from the impact and overall surprise but once he was stable he hugged you back tightly.

“Oh my God, you look incredible, what-what are you doing here?!” He asked, still in disbelief.

You pecked his lips and jumped down. “After last night I missed you so much. So I just called into work, booked a 9-hour direct flight and now I’m here! I’m staying for the rest of the tournament. Hi, handsome!!!!” You had so much happiness and light in your eyes that it literally woke up your boyfriend by contentment, even though he was just on the verge of collapsing on his bed from fatigue minutes ago.

He grabbed your face softly in his large hands and tilted your head up towards his to give you a proper kiss, letting you know how happy he was through the kiss.

You pulled away. “Whoa! Someone’s happy to see me!” You poked his tummy.

“An understatement—Wait, what is that?” Finally looking away from your face for the first time since he entered his room, Aran looked behind you in awe. There was a rather large massage table set up in the centre of his suite.

“Oh, that old thing?!” You questioned playfully as you jogged over to the big table and showcased it with your hands like a Wheel of Fortune prize girl. “I tried to book a massage for you for tomorrow because I know you always forget, but they were all booked obviously so I just asked the guy downstairs—after name dropping you—if they could bring this up and they had no problem with it!”

Aran looked at you incredulously so you continued. “Lay down, babe. I know you must be sore after your game. I ordered food for you too but they said it will be up here in an hour and a half. So, I’ll get out some of your kinks now, we’ll eat, and then I can massage you more until you fall asleep.”

Aran couldn’t believe this was happening.

“But you just got off a flight, Y/N! You must be tired, too! I couldn’t possibly—“

You gave your boyfriend your best Osamu impression with your seriously annoyed frown. “Aran. You do everything in your power to make sure that I’m feeling more than amazing every single day even when you are halfway across the world. So now since I’m a mere halfway across the room, I want to do this for you. Please. Let me return the favour.”

Feeling too tired to bicker and knowing you meant business, your big man gave in. He removed his shirt when you asked and settled face down on the comfortable table.

You put on some soft r&b and took out the essential oils you bought from the spa and began to give your man a sensual but remarkable rub down, taking immense care in soothing his muscle pain in his legs and back

You listened for his groans when you reached particularly sensitive spots on his back and spent a lot more time in those areas

When you were massaging his shoulders you made sure to lean down every few minutes to kiss the side of his neck and Aran would sigh in delight every time.

“Y/N. I know you want to get all of my kinks out and trust me this feels amazing, but, if you keep kissing me dressed like that I’ll stop this massage to make love to you on this table. Okay?”

You giggled and smacked his booty.

“Kay.” 😇

When the food came, you and Aran opted to sit on the couch and eat, feeding eachother and kissing and just being all cute n shit—🙄

A/N: Can you tell how jealous I am?

After dinner and your night routines, you told your baby to give you his hands in bed.

you lotioned them in between your smaller ones and gave him a long, much desired, kneading hand massage in the pitch black room until he was on the verge of falling asleep.

“I love you, Y/N.” whispered Ojiro, his deep voice slower because he was half asleep. “Please be here when I wake up....” He whispered before succumbing to a deep slumber.

You stopped your massage, kissed both of his hands and cuddled into his warm body.

“I’ll be here when you wake up, Aran.” You closed your eyes too, feeling sleep wash over you as well.... “I’ll always be here.”

#aran ojiro #aran ojiro x reader #aran ojiro x y/n #aran ojiro x you #black anime fans #fluff #hq fluff #haikyu romance #hq romance #haikyu fluff #fluffville #kaylas fluffville #inarizaki #kiba hq #haikyu headcanons #osamu hq #hq atsumu

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janicho88 · 4 years

Text

Come Back Part 3

Paring- Dean x Reader

Word Count-3810

Summary- After everything you and Dean have been through to get together you deserve some happiness right?

Warnings-Smidge of angst, fluff, some language, maybe just a couple words. Implied smut

A/N As of right now this is the final part. There is a chance someday there will be a fourth. There are a few more pictures in this one, I like to visualize things, was trying to help you see what I was. Pictures found on google.

Part 1 Part 2

Three months later

Chaos, mayhem and craziness, that was what surrounded you. Currently you were hiding in your old room in the bunker trying to get away. Unfortunately the knock at the door told you that they found you again. Charlie, Donna, and Jody, all of whom you had renamed in your head, hurried in. They were trying to help get everything ready for the wedding in a few days. They all had an opinion on how it should be, the problem was, their opinion didn’t match yours.

Chaos, I mean Charlie thought you should do a Star Wars theme. They women could all dress like Princess Leia and the guys Jedi, with the robes and hoods. You think you just about had her talked out of it. You had told her if that was what she wanted to wear, go right ahead, but she would be the only one.

Mayhem, oh miss Donna wanted you to learn square dancing. She was also hoping for big dresses with these crazy bows, and so so many ruffles. You told her she was more than welcome to have one herself. At this rate it was going to be more like a costume party than a wedding. You mentioned to Donna you didn’t think Dean was going to learn square dancing this week for the wedding, but if she wanted to show people that night it was fine.

Craziness, bless her heart. Jody’s ideas were probably the closest to what you were thinking. After you lost your parents you spent most of your time at Bobby’s before going off hunting with Dean. You saw Jody as a mom figure, and she knew the inner girl you kept hidden. You just didn’t want to make things as grand as she did. You appreciated everyone’s help, they were just a bit overwhelming when you had them all at once.

You weren’t expecting too many attendees. Besides the three ladies, Alex and Claire would of course be joining. Garth and his family would be here, a few other hunters the guys kept in constant contact with also coming. You expected, but weren’t completely sure Crowely and Rowena would also make an appearance. Rowena liked you, and the two of you had become friends over the years, even if Dean wasn’t thrilled about it. Sam was Dean’s best man, Donna your maid of honor. Since Dean was legally dead, and also wanted for numerous federal crimes a marriage license was out of the question. Cas was officiating, both you and Dean figured married by an angel would make it legal and binding for the two of you.

Turning your attention back to the three ladies in front of you, you figured it would be wise to see what questions they had this time.

“What are you doing for decorations?”

“Where is the caterer going?”

“Where is your dress”

Jody’s question was the easiest so you started there. “My dress still needs to be picked up, they finished the last alteration yesterday.” While hunters don’t often get normal things, one thing you always dreamed about watching chick flicks was a beautiful wedding dress. When you told Dean you were just going to get a simple dress or wear one you had, he encouraged you to go after your dream one. He joked about wanting to see you in a big fancy dress in your real wedding pictures, not just your fake ones Sam had made.

As for the decorations, “Dean and I talked, we will move the tables aside in the library and rearrange the chairs for people to sit. I don’t have any decorations.”

“What nothing? No fancy lights or even flowers?” Charlie wanted to know.

“No, we figured simpler was easier.” Charlie just rolled her eyes.

“There aren’t that many of us, we didn’t exactly get a caterer. There is a restaurant in town we’ve gone to a few times that does party size orders. We ordered a few dishes to serve 30 that should give us plenty. Sam or Dean are picking them up the day before the wedding, we just need to reheat it the next day. Dean joked that we can order pizza later if people are hungry. Honestly, I don’t care much about any of those things, well other than the dress, but it still isn’t as important as Dean. End of the day what matters most is actually being together with Dean. I want to be able to truthfully say he’s my husband.”

They all chuckled at that. You still had to humor them with a few more answers before they left you alone. You had about two minutes to yourself when there was a knock on the door. Turning your head toward the door you saw Dean walking in.

“How’s it going with your wedding army?”

“Not funny, they are driving me nuts. I know I said I didn’t want to go to Vegas before, but is that completely off the table now?”

“Personally, I wouldn’t want to face the wrath of those 3 if they found out we eloped now, but if you really want to Baby is gassed and ready to go.”

“UGGHH, you’re right, we would never hear the end of it now.”

“I’ll talk to them, see if I can get them to calm down.”

“Thank you, Honey, you're the best.”

After giving you a kiss your fiance left to try and wrangle in your help. Fiance, what a crazy year you two have had. It started with the fight that had you leaving the bunker and Dean. Followed by the amnesia and being Dean’s fake wife. They two of you had been together since the memories returned, you had officially moved into his room. He didn’t say anything else about a wedding after the comment about getting real pictures so you didn’t push. A month after all of Dean’s memories of you came back he took you out to dinner then a walk by a nearby lake. It was by the lake he dropped down on one knee and asked you to be his wife. With tears in your eyes you had said yes. Dean didn't want to ever lose you again, hunter’s don’t always have the longest lives so he wasn’t going to waste any more time making you his actual wife.

The next month and half had kept you all pretty busy with hunts, you had not had much time to do anything for the wedding. One of the few things you two finished was picking out your rings while gone on a case.

Your lack of completed tasks is why the girls are here now trying to help you. You appreciated the help because honestly the last couple of weeks you hadn’t had a lot of extra energy. You were thankful Dean hadn’t noticed that yet though.

Dean talked to your three friends and got them to tone everything down a bit. It made the next few days so much easier for you. The night before your wedding they took you out for your bachelorette party. You mentioned to them you didn’t want a hangover the next day so you wanted to avoid the alcohol. They took you out for dinner, and still ended up with a trip to the bar after. Things went pretty well though, and it was a fun night with the girls. You weren’t sure what the guys were doing for Dean, but you knew they were hanging around the bunker. When you made your way from the garage to your old room, you could still hear them in the library.

You know those days where everything that can go wrong will? That was your wedding day. It was now 11:30 and the wedding was supposed to be starting at 1, if it ever did. You could not believe the morning you had had. Dean and Sam had picked up the food yesterday from the reception. Everything was sealed and labeled just how you had ordered it. The guys brought it home and put it in the fridge. This morning when you, Jody and Donna were in the kitchen talking about when to reheat everything and what goes where you took it all out of the fridge, good thing. What was supposed to be an alfredo pasta was, well you weren’t really sure. It was something slimy. In the container labeled chicken breasts, raw vegetables, at least those were edible. They would work too since Sam forgot to grab anything to make a salad. Instead of mashed potatoes you got yams. The cornbread Dean wanted, just cream corn.

Jody called the restaurant to see if they could fix it and get you the right things. They were extremely sorry, but could not fix it right now. Apparently your food got mixed up with another catering they had today for a bigger group. They were working on fixing that one right now, and it would take a few hours to start on yours. They told Jody they would be giving you a refund though. Looks like you’ll be ordering pizza after all.

Leaving the kitchen after that mess you headed up to the library. The site that met you had you closing your eyes hoping it was all a nightmare. The guys little bachelor party the night before looks like it got out of hand. For some reason there were books everywhere, the tables and chairs all over and as soon as your shoe hit the library floor it stuck to it. They apparently spilled a bit of alcohol, you could smell it now. That had you running for the bathroom. You carefully made your way back to the library, Sam looking around the corner when he heard your approach.

“Hey we were going to come clean this up before you woke up. Guess we overslept. Don’t worry about this. It will straighten up in no time.”

“What about the smell Sam?”

“We’ll find something.”

“What happened in here anyways?”

“Cas might have had a bit too much to drink and he was trying to show off some of his powers. Didn’t go well as you can tell. Used too much energy and passed out before we could get him to fix it.”

As you were talking you didn’t notice Charlie and Donna coming behind you. They were going to finish the cake table and chose to bring the cake out now. Charlie hit the sticky floor and stumbled. She held her balance until she hit an out of place chair and the cake went flying. Now you had another mess and no cake. At least you had bought Dean a pie, which Donna was carrying. Never mind it met the same fate as the cake. What else could go wrong?

You should not have asked. After trying to help clean up some of the mess, Jody sent you to shower. She was going to start your hair after. You two had practiced your updo a few times and she knew exactly how you wanted it. Problem was today your hair didn’t realize it was supposed to cooperate. The half up half down with curls you wanted was mostly down, and extremely limp. Oh well, it was just hair you told yourself. While looking in the mirror at the flop on your head someone knocked on the door. It was Sam.

“What’s up Sam”

“Is anyone here any good with alterations?”

“What kind, to what and why?” You asked with your eyes narrowing in the mirror.

“Slight problem with the tuxes. Um how do you feel about purple?”

‘What’s wrong with the tuxes? What’s purple that I need to feel something about? Again why?”

“Cas’ tux apparently came in purple. Now is the first time he’s opened it. He must have hit the wrong box. The alterations are for Dean and I. My tux is a bit too big, and his is too small. He can’t even get the coat on.”

“Didn’t you get measured for your tuxes? Why didn’t you try them on before?”

“We sent in our measurements and they sent us things to try on and we told them what fit. Things have been hectic. We all thought they would be fine.”

You didn’t say anything just stared straight ahead for a minute. “I guess your Fed suits will have to work.”

You were hoping to do a few pictures outside before people came, that way you weren’t holding up the reception after. You had figured if everyone here was ready by 11:30 it gave you time for pictures and to get back to your room before anyone else arrived.

Shortly after 11 Donna and Charlie were helping you into your dress while Jody looked for your shoes.

“I can’t find them anywhere Y/N do you know what they were in?”

They were in a white box. They were on the counter, I grabbed the dress and Charlie grabbed my shoes.”

“I didn’t carry anything out of the shop.” The redhead behind you spoke up.

“Did anyone carry the white box out?”

Silence great, you left without your shoes. You had white flip flops guess that will have to do. Donna started to zip the back of your dress with Charlie helping when you heard a ripping noise.

“What is that?”

“OH NO! Y/N, I am so sorry!” Charlie exclaimed. Apparently she had ended up standing on the dress while they were pulling the zipper and it was enough to tear the fabric in the back. They unzipped it, while Jody left to see if there was any thread in the bunker to try and sew it up. Charlie kept apologizing, but you told her accidents happen, and ushered them both out for a few minutes of quiet for yourself.

There was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Babe it’s me. Jody told me about all the problems, are you okay? Can I come in”

“NO! If the only thing that goes right today is the tradition of not seeing the bride then so be it. You can open the door a smidge, but don’t peak in.”

“Okay, okay. How are you holding up.”

“I’m beginning to think someone cursed us today. Who did we piss off now?”

“Just a rough morning, we aren’t cursed this time. I’m sorry about the mess we made in the library. We got the spills cleaned up.”

“Does it still smell like beer?”

“Eh, maybe some.”

“Okay. Thank you for getting the rest ready.”

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry this isn’t the day of your dreams.”

“It’s okay, I’ll survive. At the end of the day the most important thing is I have you by my side.”

“Always, Sweetheart. We’re in this together.”

As you and Dean were talking you heard the clank of heels coming down the hall. “Is that Jody coming back?”

“No, it’s Rowena. Hello Rowena, can I help you?”

“Hello Dean. No, you cannot, I just fancied a word with the bride to be.”

“Dean, be nice.” You whispered out to him

“Fine, I’ll see you out there Sweetheart everything will be fine.”

As Dean walked away you opened the door and let Rowena in.

“I heard from Samual, it’s been a bit of a rough morning for you? That library smells like a brewery.”

“That’s one way to put it. Not much is going right, the food is wrong, the cake hit the floor, along with Dean’s pie. The library was a mess this morning. They cleaned it, but like you said it still smells. The guy's tuxes don’t fit, Cas’ is the wrong color, I forgot my shoes and my dress ripped. My hair has decided this will be the day it does it’s own thing. This isn’t exactly how I thought this day would go. I guess I should just be happy we haven’t been called for a hunt yet.”

“Sit here and let Rowena see what she can do Lass.”

You had been sitting in your room for about five minutes when Jody and Donna came back. They took your wedding dress and an old pair of shoes and left again. They must have found some thread, not sure what they are doing with the shoes though. Five minutes later they returned again, much too quickly to have actually sewn the dress.

“Okay, let’s get you dressed,” Jody said.

“Wait, what about the dress? Did you fix it already?”

“We did not. Your witchy godmother did. She fixed your dress, shoes, the tuxes, cleaned up the library a bit.”

“Oh my.” You were speechless.

As they were finishing closing your dress there was another knock at the door. Rowena entered a moment later.

“You look just about perfect deary. One more little thing.”

Rowena spoke a few words and you could suddenly feel your hair moving around. She was fixing that too.

“Rowena, I’m going to cry thank you so much!”

“No tears today, it’s a happy day. Even if you are marrying that Winchester.”

“Thank you so much.” You gave her a hug and she went back out to the library.

You had just enough time to get a few pictures finished before you needed to come back inside. While Dean was outside getting his pictures with the guys, and ladies, you went to the library. You could not believe your eyes, Rowena had worked her magic in here also. It was no longer the library you knew, but a ballroom. Gone were the bookcases, tables and chairs. White Chairs were set up for the guests and a beautiful wedding arch where you would say your vows.

“This is amazing Rowena, I can’t believe you did all this thank you!”

“You are more than welcome. Alas I can’t take all the credit in here, your fiance made the arch as a surprise for you.”

You couldn’t believe Dean had done that. It was perfect. The door opened and Jody came in to see where you were, so Dean wouldn’t see you when he came in. She ushered him to the hall, then helped you up the stairs. When your pictures were done, she went inside and looked for Dean, to keep him out of the way. Sam came over to talk to you.

“You look stunning, my brother is one lucky guy. I’m glad you both came to senses. I’m glad you decided to come back here.”

“I am too. Mostly I’m thankful we got our Dean back.” Sam gave you a hug as you both headed back inside.

Soon it was time for the ceremony to start. You had asked Jody to walk you down the aisle, being the closest thing you had to a parent. Dean actually had a tear in his eye when you reached him, and he told you how beautiful you looked. You told him how dashing he was. The ceremony went much quicker than you imagined. Both you and Dean reciting traditional vows. When Cas pronounced you husband and wife Dean grabbed you to him in a longer kiss than you thought he would. After you walked back down the aisle and people were getting up from their seats, Rowena changed the room to a different setting again.

The white chairs were now around tables, a buffet line was set up that smelled delicious. In the corner a beautiful wedding cake, with smaller circles surrounding it on the table. Upon closer inspection they were mini pies. You were going to need to hide some of those from Dean so he didn’t get sick. This was incredible and more than you could imagine, you were going to owe her big for this.

You and Dean spent the afternoon and even talking with guests, dancing and enjoying the wonderful food Rowena provided. When it came time to cut the cake, you told Dean if he made a mess it would be a long time before you made him another pie. He took that warning to heart and did his best not to smear it on your face. You doing the same with the piece of pie you cut him. Dean picked your first dance song, Aerosmith’s "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." He said he wasn’t missing anymore of your life together. Most of your guests were crashing at the bunker tonight so it was one long party. At one point you caught up to Sam.

“Think Rowena could have helped us with Dean a few months ago?”

“Probably, wish we had thought to ask her back then.” You nodded your agreement before going to find your new husband.

You and Dean finally decided to call it a night and head back to your shared room for a little alone time. There was something you wanted to share with Dean tonight. Opening the door and turning back to pick you up Dean carried you in and placed you on the bed. You were staying in the bunker tonight before heading off to your honeymoon. Dean had actually rented a house on the beach, but far enough away from others you would have some privacy.

“I missed you in my arms last night wife”

“I missed being held close to you, husband. I like being able to honestly call you that now.”

“I love hearing it. I like the idea of filling those frames with pictures I actually remember.”

“Dean I have something for you.”

“Yeah, is it under your dress”

“Not in the way you're thinking.”

Getting off the bed you went to your dresser and pulled out a gift wrapped box. As you handed it to him, he told you he didn’t get you anything. You told him he already did, and just open the box. He tore the paper off and when his eyes shot up to you when he removed the lid. He looked at you and then back to what you had made for him in the box.

“Really… are you?.. Am I?” With tears in his eyes he could finish his sentences.

“Yes, we are going to have a baby, you're going to be daddy.” He grabbed you and pulled you in for a tight hug before he thought better of it and loosened his grip. Leaning down his lips met yours in a slow sweet kiss.

“How far along are you?”

“Just about 6 weeks I found out this past week. Cas told me and I swore him to secrecy.”

“You know this means no more hunting for you right?”

“Yes, I kind of figured that.”

Dean leaned down to kiss you again. It didn’t take long till you were working the buttons on his shirt and he was trying to figure out your dress. You had to break apart to deal with clothes before coming back together and finishing your wedding night wrapped up in one another.

Tags @flamencodiva @deanwanddamons @katehuntington @winchest09 @emoryhemsworth @waywardbeanie @malfoysqueen14 @talesmaniac89 @whatareyousearchingfordean @superfanficnatural

@fantasydevil2002 @vicmc624 @lilballofemotions @sandlee44 @multi-fan-lover

#Dean x reader #Supernatural #Dean Winchester

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utterlyinevitable · 3 years

Note

hc about what happened in the time jump for the bryce and raf routes to fix this mess? Make the lack of progression make sense! please and thank you

Sorry it’s taken a while to get these two done, i’ve been too busy living in my carefully curated Ethan timeline 😅 You can find Ethan x MC During the Time Jump here. (raf will be another post)

Bryce x MC During the Time Jump

After the gala, things weren’t that much different between them.

The most notable difference was the intimacy. It seemed stronger, deeper. Effortless.

They weren’t casual anymore that much was certain. They weren’t just fucking for fun. They were making love to last a life time. Their bodies knew one another in a tale as old as time.

But they’re both too timid to admit it. They won’t say the weighted phrase until they’re certain life and residency won’t tear them apart.

MC spent any free time she could having dinners with Keiki and Bryce. MC did most of the cooking but Bryce was the best sous chef learning how to adventure past pasta. The two doctor’s helping the teen out with her homework however they could. As smart as they are, they don’t understand Common Core...

But then Ethan turning the hospital into a greater version of the clinic meant MC was constantly busy. She barely even had 30 minutes to grab lunch. And sometimes she was even much too tired for drinks at Donahue’s.

Bryce had to lean on his surgical acquaintances a lot more now that his internal medicine buddies weren’t around. The clinic hadn’t trickled down to the surgical department; mostly because there were only so many ORs and you couldn’t rush procedures.

The week before Thanksgiving Bryce and Keiki were invited to MC’s apartment to celebrate with her roommates on their only day off together in weeks.

Despite the exhaustion everyone felt, they were up early and super cheery.

Sienna did most of the cooking with MC and Aurora lending a hand. Bryce and Jackie were on drinks duty and Elijah was in charge of entertainment.

They all crowded around the dining table on the matching chairs and ones from their bedroom desks in order to accommodate. It was a mismatch but it was perfect.

Conversation flowed freely and everyone said what they’re thankful for and what they think the upcoming year will hold.

Then out of seemingly nowhere Keiki brought up boarding school.

Bryce looked at her with utter shock. The other’s asked questions about it.

Keiki shrugged saying, “it’s just an idea. I can’t live with Bryce forever”.

It was true, but doesn’t mean Bryce felt a little sad at his sister leaving all too soon.

Christmas came sooner than anyone realized.

MC saw her family the weekend before the holiday as became her tradition since med school.

Since Bryce’s call to his mother about the funds to send Keiki to boarding school, she was sending him more messages and asking Keiki to come home for the holiday. She offered to pay for first class flights for her two darling children to come home.

Both Lahela’s were against it.

Bryce took off as much time as he could to spend with the kid before she goes to school. But there’s only a handful of days he could take off at the busiest time of the year.

He managed to get Christmas and the day after off, and a half day on Christmas Eve.

Eve evening, Bryce came home to half priced decorations unceremoniously scattered about his living room, and Keiki and Mc standing on the couch trying to hang a daisy chain banner that looked like kindergarteners made it.

He couldn’t help but smile and pull MC into the biggest hug. She made everything 1000x better.

The small family spent the evening eating and laughing and decorating the table top tree MC and Keiki picked up at the Walgreens down the street.

Cuddled up on the sofa in each other’s arms and Keiki on the makeshift bed she’d been sleeping on since her arrival, they watched classic Christmas movies and ate chocolate. It was perfect.

Except MC had to work the next evening.

The amount of patients coming through Edenbrook’s doors tripled in the upcoming days and kept everyone busy.

Luckily the group of friends were able to spend New Years together.

There wasn’t a single question as to if they were kissing at midnight.

Bryce started kissing MC during the countdown; from her neck, up her jaw to her ear, cheeks, to the tip of her nose and then her lips at midnight.

Shortly after the brief celebrations with the others, the two retired to her bedroom and kept ringing in the new year the right way.

Keiki leaves for boarding school a few days after New Years. It was a very emotional journey down to Connecticut.

Bryce was endlessly thankful MC accompanied him. Without her he’s pretty sure if would have cried a lot more on the drive home. And he probably would have stopped off at some sketchy gas station for a pick-me-up snack. Thankfully, MC suggested they hit Buffalo Wild Wings before entering the city instead.

The couple thought Keiki being gone would give them more time together.

They were so wrong.

Mc got busier and busier and her time off didn’t coincide with his schedule, and everything got so damn complicated.

They hadn’t seen one another properly outside the hospital that wasn’t in passing in weeks.

So Bryce carved out some time around Valentine’s Day.

MC was too busy to even realize the significance of the day. Every single day melded together to the point she didn’t know what was up or down, the month and barely clocked the time.

She was leaning against the nurse’s station rapidly filling out charts when Bryce made a move.

He slid up next to her, rubbed her shoulders and told her to take break with him.

“Bryce I can’t I have patients. You see that line don’t you?”

“You haven’t taken lunch yet,” he said simply. He dropped his hands and turned around and called, “Hey Inès, MC is going on lunch!”

“Enjoy!” the senior resident called back.

Bryce folded up the charts, handed them to Sarah behind the desk and dragged MC by both the wrists down the hall to the elevator.

“Where are we going?” MC asked.

Bryce may have set up a little rendezvous spot in a shut down inpatient wing. He had some take out he picked up from the café around the corner set up by the window and two clinical chairs. On the still-made bed was a stuffed bear holding a “Be Mine” heart and chocolate that he certainly did not steal from the gift shop.

“The last time we were in one of these something really magical happened,” he said as he closed the door behind them.

“The only thing magic was your hands.” MC wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips.

The evening of the group’s night on the town started off rough and stressful.

Bryce admitted he applied for a transfer to MK. He needs to be in Boston or really any hospital within driving distance of his sister’s school. She didn’t fly all the way out here just to be abandoned by him again.

MC understood - of course she understood his reason for staying here. She just didn’t know what to do for herself. They hadn’t talked about the long term, if they were going to try and be close. They hadn’t talked about their future at all, actually. The only times they did Keiki was the main subject.

And she guessed she just had to apply to places and hope for the best. She knew where he’d be and now she needs to figure out if she fits into that.

When applications got sad and boring the group got all dolled up and went out for a drink. Or six. Enough alcohol to forget the awkwardness that was earlier in their apartment. To forget the looming uncertainty of their unofficial relationship.

Bryce was committed. MC was committed. They just weren’t vocal about their devout commitment.

They got so drunk and ended up at the helipad on top of Edenbrook.

Cracking beers in hand, dancing and singing and enjoying the evening to it’s fullest. Bryce held her close and they lamented on the view as they sat against the wall, anticipating the sunrise over the horizon.

The nightly breeze picked up. He rubbed patterns up and down her arms and she drew circles at his inner thigh.

MC looked at him, their eyes locking.

Bryce’s lips turned upwards in a weighted smile. MC leaned her forehead against his and let out the sigh she didn’t know she was holding in.

He kissed the corner of her mouth. Then her cheek. Then her nose. Then her neck. Her hands gripping to the lapels of his sports coat.

They went back to his place and they didn’t talk about the future at all. Both of them clinging to the here and now.

That evening they didn’t have sex. They held one other the entire night. They fell asleep to the sound of the other’s heartbeat.

Small pleasantries were exchanged in the morning along with light kisses.

For another time that year, they both felt the change.

Edenbrook’s last day came and they were both in their feelings. Bryce was set to start at MK in a few weeks time and MC still didn’t know where she was going. Not a single application response on the east coast had come back yet.

Bryce was standing outside with his best friends when the lights of Edenbrook finally went off that fateful day.

Minutes later MC walked out. He noticed how her features, mood and hopes simultaneously fell lower than he’d seen in a while.

Her eyes found him right away, his arms waiting for her. She melted into his hug. Deep in his embrace with all her friends chattering around them, a part of her hoped they could compromise. There was so much more to explore between them. This couldn’t be the end.

The entire Boston Bucket List event was bittersweet. As much as they enjoyed the escapades and these memories with their friends Bryce and MC just wanted some time alone. They needed time together to combat the unknown.

By the time it was MC’s turn she chose a total cop-out. A kiss with Bryce.

A kiss she hoped encompassed every feeling she was too scared to say. A kiss that told him just how much the uncertainty of their future was eating her up inside. A kiss he desperately needed as well.

________________________________________

Masterlist

Perma:

@rookiemarsswiftie @lucy-268 @binny1985 @thegreentwin @queencarb @danijimenezv @starrystarrytrouble @terrm9 @interobanginyourmom @adrex04 @maurine07 @mercury84choices @schnitzelbutterfingers @theeccentricbibliophile @wingedhairstylemusicweasel @whimsicallywayward15 @mvalentine @rookie-ramsey @drariellevalentine @lifeaskim @otherworldlypresents @therookie @aylaramseycarrera @angela8754 @fireycookie @stateofgracious @missmiimiie @uneravine @homeformyheart @choicesaddict5 @iemcpbchoices

Bryce

@eleanorbloom @weaving-in-words

Bryce HCs

@aworldoffandoms

#Anonymous #asked #bryce lahela #bryce lahela x mc #bryce x mc #open heart #open heart hc #open heart headcanons

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neoarchipelago · 4 years

Text

Bridegroom’s Oak Tree chapter 4 (Mafia Lord!John x reader)

A/N: Yet another story I have to finish… hum.. let’s see how long it’ll take me guys. I hope you enjoy this.

Word count: 3645

Warnings: MATURE CONTENT. DADDY!DOM. MENTIONS OF MURDER, BLOOD AND VIOLENCE. do not read if you are triggered by it.

You closed the black car's door as you heard the distinct sound of your friends yelling behind you.

"(y/n)!!!" The sound of their voices mixing together into a yell that could be heard throughout the street made you smile as you turned to them. You were immediately hugged by the two.

"I missed you too guys" you voiced out, half suffocating in their hug.

"How's everything? Oh and your handsome boyfriend?" Amber asked.

"No wait, we want to know every detail! Let's get lunch and we'll discuss about it." Lexy added.

You chuckled at their impatience and followed them as you chose a restaurant. You settle for one and sat down chatting after ordering your meals.

"We want to know everything!" Lexy half-yelled excitedly at you.

"Well…" you started.

"Is that… a hickey?!" Amber gasped at you.

You blushed heavily, raising your hand to your neck trying to hide the obvious mark.

"It's not what you guys think." You tried looking away, but a shy smile still on your lips.

"Oh! Let us know please!" Amber begged.

"I've recently…. Moved to his house." You let out.

The girls gave you a shocked expression melted with some excitement and happiness. You chuckled.

"So… like… this is real?" Lexy asked, being a bit more serious.

"I think… yeah. I'm crazy about him…" you spoke out although slightly unsure.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Amber asked in some firm motherly-like tone.

You blushed heavily again. You wanted to tell them. Explain to them how we somehow acted weird, and how you were suspicious of his 'other side'. However. It was painfully obvious you couldn't tell them John's real job.

"We still haven't… you know…" you tried to explain.

"You haven't had sex yet?" Amber spoke out loud, earning a little glare from lexy.

"It's not that we don't want to. He just seems… very… dominant." The word made amber grin widely while lexy seemed to think deeply about the whole situation.

“Plus, some things came up and I’m learning to deal with a new side of him.” You added as the waitress came by with your cocktails.

“Does it scare you?” Lexy inquired.

“That’s the thing. It doesn’t. I feel perfectly safe.” You finished, a small smile on your lips.

The hours seemed to fly by. You had finished lunch and Amber dragged you and Lexy to the nearby mall. You had walked for what seemed forever in the different shops and aisles. You had ended up buying a new dress and some lingerie that Amber had practically ordered you to buy. You had lost track of time to be honest and it was only when Lexy asked if you’d be getting dinner together that you froze in place.

“Dinner? Wait what time is it?” you asked as you reached for your phone.

You sighed as you noticed it had turned itself off, probably from lack of battery.

“It’s 6:30.” Amber answered.

You sighed again. And you were late.

“Sorry girls, I got something tonight…”You explained apologetically.

“With your loveeerr?” Amber asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

You rolled your eyes at her teasing and made your goodbyes as you hurried to the place where John’s chauffeur was supposed to pick you up, 30 minutes ago.

You were glad to find that the black car was parked where it was supposed to be, and to see the driver, standing next to it, on the phone. As he saw you, he nodded respectfully, and as you reached his side he handed you the phone.

You took the phone, although taken aback by the situation.

“Hello?” you spoke.

“Are you ok?” John’s voice hurriedly rang from the other side.

You closed your eyes for a second, a wave of guiltiness rushing over you.

“Yes, yes, i’m fine, i’m so sorry… my phone ran out of battery…I didn’t notice…” you explained as the driver opened the car door for you to step in.

“You should have been more careful, do you know how worried I have been?” he asked. His voice didn’t show particular anger, it was tainted with just that, worryness.

“I know… I’m sorry again… I’m heading home right now…”

---

John had tried to tell himself that it would be fine. That even with what had happened the day before, he couldn’t control every single one of your movements. He was even glad that you had accepted some of his requirements. Throughout the day, he had looked at his phone many times, wondering if he should text you or not, or if he would be too insistent.

He had texted you once around 4pm to check up on you, but no answer reached his worried mind. Perhaps you were busy, enjoying some time with your friends after the awful and probably traumatic moment he had put you in. An hour later, he tried to reach you, but again, no reply from your part. His nerves were starting to wreck him, slowly eating him, as scenarios started to pop into his mind. He had then called numerous times, just to find that your phone wasn’t reachable. The last straw had been his men calling him to tell him that you weren’t at the meeting point at 6pm.

John had paced his house back and forth, his phone in hand at every single minute to make sure he’d be reachable if anything came up. He kept reassuring himself that you were maybe just late, and everything had a plausible explanation. No. It wasn’t another one of his many enemies that had managed to get to you. No. You were safe. But as the minutes passed by like hours, those thoughts seem to be erased by darker ones. He was ready to send his men through new york to find you. He picked up his phone and dialed the driver once more.

He had barely the time to start giving orders that he was informed that you were finally here. He let out a sigh as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand.

He wasn’t particularly angry no. He had been worried sick. The sound of your voice was reassuring, and of course, the guiltiness in your voice was perfectly understandable. You were finally heading home. As he put the phone down on the kitchen counter he took a deep breath. You were fine. For a moment, his mind had run over the possibility of you being in danger again. Being ripped from him after he had finally found someone he was willing to share his life with. And perhaps that was what angered him. The way life could take you from him so easily.

As he ordered for dinner to be made ready, as you were driving home, John decided to isolate himself. Locking himself in his office,with orders to only notify him of your arrival.

When you stepped into the house, you had first notice the smell of food. As you gave your coat to one of the lovely maids of the house, you then notice how calm the house was. It wasn’t usually crowded you told yourself, but this time it just felt… silent. The soft light made the house look like some kind of protective shelter. You thanked the lady as you walked into the kitchen. Another maid was putting food on the beautiful glass table. She smiled at you as she saw you walk in.

“Good evening miss. Dinner is ready. Mr Wick is working in his office he wished for us to inform you he won’t be able to eat dinner with you.”

You smiled at her as you thanked her. After she left the kitchen you sighed out loud. Was he angry at you? Was it why he didn’t want to eat dinner with you? You suddenly felt tiny, and lonely in this big house, without John with you. You let yourself fall down on one of the chairs as you eyed the food that had been carefully prepared. You weren’t even hungry. You were now regretting even going out. You knew it was a dangerous move, that many things could have happened. It had been stupid of you not to check your phone battery before leaving. What if something did happen? John would have never forgiven himself. You chewed on your bottom lip nervously. You had to apologize. Now.

You shot up from your seat and ran to the stairs. As you walked up into the hallway and as you got closer to the door, your pace slowed. You were trying to go through what you were going to say.

“Miss?”

You jumped at the sound as you turned around. You finally notice the butler standing not too far.

“Do you need help?” he asked.

“Y-yes… Could you show me the door to the office please?” You replied.

“Of course. But Mister Wick has asked not to be disturbed.” He added.

You grabbed onto the hem of your white fluffy sweater as you tried to gather up more courage.

“I know… but please… Show me anyhow.” You asked again.

The butler smiled softly as he put his hand out, motioning for you to follow him. You quickly did so, as you kept your heart from trying to escape your ribcage. Why did you feel like a child going to apologize for making her daddy worry? As you processed this thought in your mind, you felt your cheeks heat up. You remembered how the word had slipped from your lips this morning and the reaction you earned from John. Maybe this was exactly it.

Stopping in front of a large double door, you smiled at the butler as he bowed respectfully before walking away. You stared at the door in front of you. Only silence was there to comfort you. You took a final deep breath as you lifted your hand up to knock on the door. You ended up knocking weakly, as you mentally cursed yourself for the pitiful sound your nervousness had made you do. What was done was however, done. Your fingers reached for the door knob, turning it in your palm as you opened the door slowly. You let your head only peek inside as you looked for John’s approval to let you in.

John had tried to focus on his work. He had felt uneasy, and had chosen to hide away in his office to let himself blow some steam off before coming to you. He hadn’t planned that his kitten would be the one coming after him. He looked up from his computer as he heard a very gentle knock on the door. He chose not to answer as he watched the door knob turn very slowly, and then the door open, just as slowly.

It had taken him all his willpower not to smile at you as you adorably peeked inside the room like a shy child.

“Can I come in… Am I bothering you..?”

The sound of your voice was soothing. He closed his laptop as he nodded at your answer. Sitting behind his desk, chin resting on one of his fists, he watched you walk in the room, closing the door gently behind you.

You walked up to his desk, hands behind you back, biting down on your lip. John frowned at it when he noticed the effect that simple action had on him, and sat back on his chair trying to keep some composure. You were looking around the room, as you seemed to be searching for your words. Finally when you had seemed to finally find your voice, you spilled out.

“First of all… I’m sorry. I was not careful at all, and i’m really sorry about that. I should have checked my phone… I should have had a charger with me or something… I’m sorry...Please don’t be mad.” You finished, the cutest pout on your face.

John sighed. Trying to find his own voice.

“I’m not angry at you.” He simply said.

He watched again as you anxiously played around with the hem of your sweater.

“You’re...not?” You asked, slightly surprised.

“I’m not. I was worried. A lot.” John explained.

The look of guiltiness you harbored made John feel bad as well. He didn’t mean to see you like this. John stood up from his chair, and walked to you.

“I’m not angry. I’m glad you’re okay. It was a mistake, you didn’t mean for your phone to be unreachable.” He tried to soothe the situation.

---

John was standing in front of you. You knew he wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t feel any anger towards you. All you could see in him was tiredness, and relief from seeing you. He had tried to be a bit distant when you had walked in, but it had quickly vanished. He had a gentle smile on his lips. Your mind ran over your next move. You wanted to apologize, truly. You wanted him to know how sincere you were. And as you thought back to his reaction when you had called him daddy, you thought that maybe that was it. Maybe surrendering yourself to him, showing him your infinite trust. Maybe he’d know how much you were sincere. So when the words escaped your mouth without truly realizing it, you tried your best to not be nervous.

“I’m sorry daddy…”

John still smiled but you had notice how his eyes had immediately grown darker. He eyed you for a second, trying to read you, and you tried your best to show him you meant it, that it was okay, and you were definitely giving in.

“Are you kitten?” His voice had lowered and it sent a shiver down your spine.

You were slightly shocked by your body’s reaction as you heard the pet name. You could feel yourself blush and your heart melt at it. You nodded candidly. John took another second scanning you before finally letting his hands reach you. He wrapped his arms around you waist as he pulled you closer.

“Well daddy said he wasn’t mad. But maybe I should punish you, just so you learn to be more careful next time.” John whispered right before capturing your lips.

His hands traveled on your waist, getting under your sweater and caressing your skin. You moaned into the kiss. John pulled you even closer, as your hands rested on his chest. For some reason he was still trying to hold back. As he pulled away, letting your foreheads touch, one of his hands rose up to your cheeks to caress it. He was looking at you again, making sure you weren’t going to run away. You simply held his gaze. He let one of his hands intertwined with yours, and he pulled you with him. You followed him to the couch that stood a bit further away from the desk. He sat down, as you stood in front of him. He was still so gentle with you. It was making you melt on the spot. When his hands reached the zipper of your jeans you blushed and bit your lip once more. You could feel his eyes roam all over you, checking for any sign of fear or regret. But you simply stood there like a good girl.

He pulled down your jeans, and you stepped out of them. He let his fingers play with the lace on your panties but chose not to remove them.

“Come here.” He ordered.

He guided you slowly so you were laying across his lap. You were blushing heavily again and you were glad that John couldn’t see your face.

“Let’s see… How many spanks do you deserve for being careless little one?” He teased.

His hand cupped one of your ass cheeks and you gasped. He caressed it slowly.

“Let’s say 5. I want you to count with me alright?” he commanded.

“Yes daddy…” You whispered.

You felt his hand leave your skin, the cold air replacing the warmth of his hand, just to feel it smack your skin a second later. You yelped gently. Your skin burned where his hand had fell. He lightly massaged the area, soothing it.

“I’m not hearing you count…” He warned.

“O-one..” You hurriedly replied.

Without warning, his hand rose once more, just to fall back on your round ass. This time the pain mixed with something else. The whole room felt like a burning furnace, or maybe it was just you.

“Tw-two…” you whispered.

His hand still soothed the burn each time. It was soothing to your skin, but it made a incandescent fire burn within you. The way you were feeling so vulnerable, yet so safe. Pain mixed with pleasure in a way you weren’t sure you had ever been familiar with. You had to admit to yourself that the heat you were starting to feel in between your legs was unavoidable. You were hoping somehow he wouldn’t notice it. Once more his hand rose, just to fall back down with a loud ‘smack’. This time you couldn’t stop the moan that escaped your mouth. Although really low, as you had tried to suppress it, you were sure John had heard it.

“Three.” you let out, a bit too quickly for your own taste. John’s hand hovered over your skin. You bit your lip as you could feel yourself getting wetter. You didn’t know if you should be ashamed or let yourself completely loose under his touch. Giving yourself away to the punishment. Yet again his hand lifted up into the air, just to spank you once more. You moaned again. Feeling your panties get slowly soaked.

“Four” you breathed out.

You were expecting John’s hand to run over your skin again to calm the burning skin but no. You had first gasped at the sensation, as you had felt his fingers lightly touch your clothed pussy. His touch feather like. You had even wondered if you had actually felt it. But when he let his fingers lightly caress your slit once more, you moaned, closing your eyes. You were soaked, it was painfully obvious.

“Daddy…” You moaned under his touch.

He didn’t answer, simply letting his finger travel up and down lightly, gently applying pressure every few up and downs. Your hips starting to roll almost like a reflex, trying to get more friction.

You yelped when his hand left your aching core, just to collide with your ass once more. This one had surprised you. You had entirely forgotten of the ache on your skin with his sinful touch, even forgetting about the last spank.

“Five” you let out in a little surprised voice.

His hand reached your soaked panties again, letting his finger run up and down. You breathed out, the feeling of pain and pleasure mixing together into a poisonous cocktail.

“You’ve been a good girl. Daddy’s proud of you. But I think you enjoyed this a little too much Kitten.” John said.

You weren’t sure how or why, but the sound of his dark voice, the way he called you by your pet name, did nothing to calm your needs. You lifted your ass up, trying to push yourself onto John’s hand. John complied, pulling aside the piece of clothing from your entrance and letting his fingers directly caress your wet folds. You moaned again, arching your back under his touch and closing your eyes. He soaked his fingers in your wetness before slowly pushing two fingers inside of you. One of your hands grasped the pillow in front of you fisting the fabric as you whimpered. The slow movement of his fingers was amazing. He pumped in and out letting his large fingers stretch you. His other hand wrapped itself around your neck, lifting your head up gently. You were entirely submissive to him and damn, it was making you go wild. His fingers felt amazing already, you couldn’t wait to know how his cock would make you feel.

Unfortunately, just as fast as John had delivered his punishment, he retrieved his fingers, covering your pussy with your soaked panties again. You whined at the loss.

“John…please...” you begged.

“No darling. This is a punishment. I’m not allowing you to cum tonight. You’ll wait like a good girl. Is that understood?” John whispered lowly in your ear.

You nodded a little, his hand still wrapped around your neck. He lifted you up making you stand on shaky legs. You pouted slightly, making him chuckle.

“Did you understood Kitten?” he asked one more time, with a caring yet firm tone.

“Yes daddy…” You replied.

“Very good.” He smiled.

He pulled you down for a kiss, his hands wrapped around your waist.

“Come on let’s get you dressed up, and let’s go eat dinner.” John announced.

“How do you know I didn’t eat diner?” You asked.

“I was informed of when you got home, and you went up to my office right after.” He explained.

You bit your lip again. You weren’t hungry for food at all...You looked into John’s dark eyes. Maybe if you were a nice girl, he’d help you relieve a bit of the tension that he had build up inside you.

“Can I change my panties at least?” You inquired.

John faked a pout, as if in deep thought.

“No. Maybe later.” He replied with a smirk.

You whined again, but smiled anyhow. John helped you put your jeans again, every single graze of his fingers on your skin making you fall back into a very needy state. You were sure he was doing it on purpose. Finally he pulled you by the hand, leading you out of his office, heading to the kitchen. It was diner time, you’d have to wait for any relief, hoping you would spontaneously combust every time John touched you or looked at you with his lustful eyes.

Tags: @cynic-spirit @keanuchillz @lokislittlewarrior @wickedbarnes @lokis-imaginary-friend @baphometwolf666 @paanchu786 @gian-giannina @thesadvampire @thatbemyhouse @magdazwolska @crystalchysalis19 @keandrews @thelastemzy

#john wick x reader #john wick x you #fanfiction #fanfic #keanu reeves x reader

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dragon-kazansky · 3 years

Text

A fantastic Christmas: Theseus Scamander

Chapter nineteen- To the theatre

This would be the second time you got all dressed up for Theseus. He had swung by that morning holding up two tickets for a show at the theatre. Of course you said you would go with him. He was going to pick you up in about 30 minutes. You were stranding in front of your mirror checking out your outfit. You had chosen something simple, but stylish. To your knowledge, it wasn't a super fancy show or anything.

30 minutes seem to fly by when you hear the knock at your door.

You grab your coat and answer the door. Theseus was standing there, dressed smartly as he turned to face you. He was caught off guard. You could only laugh as you took in his expression.

"Like what you see?"

"Very much." He chuckled. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

You lock the door behind you and climb into his car. He holds your hand throughout the journey, just wanting an excuse to touch you. Taking you out in public like this was a big step for him. People he knew would be there tonight and he wanted to be seen with you.

When you arrived, he climbed out, insisting you wait, and came round to open your door for you. You chuckled as you took his hand and stepped out of the car. He closed the door and offered you his arm. Together, you walk into the theatre. You were glad to discover you weren't underdressed for the event. Theseus leaned in to tell you as much.

"You look stunning."

"Thank you."

In the lobby there was a crowd. Theseus kept you close to him as you shuffled through the groups of people, trying to get to the stairs. You managed to get there without bumping into too many people. Theseus showed the theatre staff the tickets. As they checked them, Theseus was called by someone from behind you both. You turned to see familiar faces, people Theseus worked with.

"Theseus! Putting those tickets to good use, I see." The man chuckles. He stops beside Theseus and pats him on the back firmly.

"Yes. This is Y/N. Y/N, this is Joseph, a fellow auror." You shake hands with Joseph. "Joseph gave me the tickets."

"It's nice to meet you." You smile.

"Likewise."

"Curtains up in fifteen minutes!" Someone announced.

"I'll let you two get on with your evening, but if you feel like joining us later, we're having drinks in he bar after the show. You two should join us." Joseph pats Theseus once more before heading toward a small group who were coming his way.

"He's friendly." You chuckle.

"Quite."

You both just smile as you enter the theatre. You find your seats with ease and sit comfortably next to one another. You leaned against him a little, enjoying the closeness.

As the lights dimmed, the curtains rose and the music began, the chatter in the air died down as all attention was on the stage.

The lady that come onto the stage was a stunning and talented singer. Her voice struck you and you were captivated. Though there were other singers present during the show, she was your favourite amongst them. When the show broke for an intermission, Theseus and yourself stepped outside for a little bit of air.

"Enjoying the show?" He asks.

"Very much. I never come to the theatre. It's very exciting."

"I'll keep that in mind, sometimes I find myself with tickets to shows and no one to go with," he smiles.

"I'd like that very much."

"Good, that's a date idea sorted."

You both chuckle as you go to make your way back inside. You both find yourselves metres away from Joseph and his company. Theseus gave a wave in greeting as you both walked on. Joseph waved back, but his group watched in silence as you both went back inside the theatre.

Joseph gave a chuckle to his group.

"They have no idea how out of their league he is." The group laugh with him.

Theseus and yourself find yourselves back in your seats and enjoy the second half of the show. You applaud along with the others when it's all over. On the way out, you turn to Theseus.

"That beautiful lady who came on first, who is she?"

"Her name is Sylvia, she only ever seems to sing here at Christmas. I believe she lives abroad these days."

"She was amazing."

"Yes, she was. Her beauty doesn't quite compare to you though."

"Smooth." You both chuckle.

Theseus opened the car door for you, as you climbed in, Joseph came over. He asked if he could talk to Theseus privately. Theseus closed the door and held a finger up to you. You nodded. You watched as they stepped away from the car and talked.

You had no idea what they were talking about, but Joseph was quite animated with his movements. He gestured to the car more than once, making you think the conversation was about you. Your curiosity had been piqued. Theseus began to become quite animated too. Now you were even more curious about what they were talking about.

Theseus became quite angry. He shook his head and instantly came back to the car. He wasted no time climbing in and driving off. You waited a minute or two before speaking up.

"What was that about?"

"Joseph wanted to know if I planned on joining them for drinks. I told him no. He said they would wait until I dropped you off. He said you would only bring the mood down anyway. Apparently I'm too good for you.... Do you.... do you think that?"

You fell silent.

"Y/N?"

"Yes, I do."

"I see...." He gripped the steering wheel.

"Theseus, you're an amazing, hard working and loyal person. You're too good for everyone. Yet, I find myself sitting here beside you after a date. You chose me." You smile at him. "You chose me and I'm happy."

His grip slackens. He glances at you softly.

"You are?"

"Of course I am! You're the best thing that could have happened to me."

Theseus smiles warmly. He pulls over for the sole reason to kiss you.

Screw whatever Joseph though of you. His opinion isn't important anyway.

#theseus scamander x reader #theseus scamander #a fantastic christmas #fantastic beasts #christmas

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lavenderek · 4 years

Note

Why do you hate Ian?? When i was a kid I LOVED What A Girl Wants. I had such a crush on Ian :(

i am happy to go off thank you for this opportunity, long post under the cut

in case somebody wants to read this but doesn’t know what “what a girl wants” is, it’s a movie from the early 2000′s starring amanda bynes as Daphne.

she grew up in new york with a single mom, Libby. she has an estranged father played by colin firth, Henry, who doesn’t know daphne exists. libby is a singer who works weddings a lot.

libby and henry were star-crossed lovers, basically. henry is an english aristocrat with political aspirations, and his family believed marrying libby, who is living her stevie nicks fantasy, would damage his career; so they got her alone and convinced her henry changed his mind and didn’t want her. libby left, not yet knowing she was pregnant, and then spent 17 years pining for him.

daphne has spent her whole life romanticizing the idea of her father coming to get her, so after she graduates high school she chooses to fly out to england and surprise him. when she gets there she is disappointed to find that he is engaged to a woman who has a daughter about daphne’s age, but tries to make it work anyway.

daphne is clumsy and very casual, so hijinks ensue. henry’s fiancee and future stepdaughter are evil and conniving.

daphne is rejected and bullied by the fiancee and stepdaughter and she struggles trying to fit in with aristocratic society, so ultimately she leaves. henry is upset about this because he learned to love her, and subsequently he discovers she was being mistreated. he breaks up with the fiancee and flies out to america to surprise daphne. daphne gets into oxford u somehow and they all live happily ever after.

the first person daphne meets and gets to know in the movie is a local musician named Ian, who tells her she was born to stand out. he has minimal effect on the plot, like, i could write him out in two minutes, but god forbid we have a teen movie without a romance in it. they’re immediately attracted to each other and he proceeds to be a very bad boyfriend that the audience is supposed to find morally upstanding and charming.

this post is about how it did not work and i don’t like him.

The Superficial Shit: I’m Not About It

i’m immune to motorcycle boys. motorcycles are impractical and loud. get a muffler. i think if you buy a motorcycle you have to sign a contract promising to idle on your motorcycle for ten minutes every morning at 6:30 so that everyone in the neighborhood knows you have a motorcycle. so i don’t care that ian is A Bad Boy.

i’m also immune to english accents. it’s just like, an accent. it’s fine. i’m supposed to find everything he does inherently charming because he has an accent and he sings, but i don’t, so, try a little harder.

like, i’m also not impressed by sporty types, but i still accepted “a cinderella story” because austin had a character progression and i could see why sam found him attractive.

ian has no character progression. he starts out confident and independent and he ends up confident and independent. he remains happily working class with a more or less successful band the entire movie. nothing daphne does affects him negatively except that one time she fucks up and blows off a concert he wanted to go to.

so as a result i’m not invested in anything he does. the only interesting thing he does is first building up daphne’s confidence and then getting mad and tearing it back down when she’s doing something he doesn’t personally find important, which is the next thing.

The Worst Boyfriend: Why Am I Not The Center Of Your Universe?

here are the first three pieces of information ian learns about daphne:

her mom is a musician

she is american

she is here to find and get to know her politician father, Lord Dashwood

he’s very supportive of this endeavor, right up until it gets difficult. he’s like, “you came all this way, he’s your dad, you should definitely meet him.”

she publicly fucks up a couple major society events and then is like, “hey, i’m putting my dad’s career in jeopardy, so in order to stay and get to know him this summer i’m gonna prioritize these events a little more.”

and ian is immediately like, “you’ve changed,” and dumps her lmfao

her lifelong drive to find and get to know her dad is one of the first things he learns about her. why does he think it’s so stupid? why am i supposed to care about his opinion?

daphne, probably: this thing is important to me. ian, probably: ok, that’s fine. daphne, probably: woof, in order to keep up with this thing i have to try a little harder. ian, probably: hm. actually, this is unimportant. daphne, probably: i’m going to do it anyway. ian, probably: what? didn’t you hear me? i just said it was unimportant. why aren’t you quitting immediately? my opinion should be your primary concern. you know what? i’m done.

i had the same problem with nate from “the devil wears prada.” i will never understand the idea of seeing someone you apparently care deeply about very stressed out trying to accomplish a goal, and being mad that they’re not super fun and interesting right then. sometimes a person you care about is going through something. let her vent and buy her some ice cream.

if your partner stops being supportive and understanding the second your life gets stressful or complicated, that’s kind of a red flag. the real test of a relationship is when you have to support each other and maintain your bond even when you’re trying to get something done, or even when you’re having a rough time and you’re in a bad mood.

ian fails this test because he’s weirdly judgmental about it all.

Attitude Stinks

before the change ian hates, daphne is late to things, she dresses casually for formal events, she gets into a screaming physical altercation with someone at a party, and because she was acting out a lot at a ball she’s blamed for the destruction of a prized, historical piece of architecture. all of these cause scandals that embarrass henry and make him look bad in tabloids. he is in the middle of a campaign for a political position, so this is bad.

after the change, daphne reaches out to her debutante grandmother for guidance and starts wearing socially acceptable clothing, goes to events where she is expected, and is quiet and respectful at an event where she’s supposed to meet the queen of england. this is all very successful for henry. people go up to him and tell him daphne’s great, and she somehow ends up in a tabloid that talks about how great she is lmfao.

all of this takes a lot of effort from daphne, though. she’s stressed out. while this works out for henry, it isn’t working for daphne. she’s doing all this so that she can be accepted by her father’s family, but the fiancee and stepdaughter don’t want her around, and henry is passive throughout all this. he doesn’t know she’s actively being bullied, but he’s also letting his fiancee direct him away from daphne. so daphne ultimately leaves.

here’s where ian comes in. ian tells her a story toward the beginning of the movie about how his mother was also an aristocrat. he tells her she was rejected by society because of classism towards ian’s father. this is framed as a demonstration of ian’s values. the fact that his mother rejected being a debutante is a source of pride for ian.

but the problem is that this is just because ian likes the choice she made. he’s not proud that his mother took control of her life and made her own decision. he’s proud that his mother rebelled. you know this because he sums up the story with this line -

daphne: what happened to your parents? ian: they’re as poor as church mice and the happiest people i know.

- and because his entire conflict in the movie is that daphne makes a different decision.

ian’s mom chose her husband over her parents and the life they wanted for her. daphne is choosing the family she’s been wanting her whole life over a guy she’s known for like, a month. ian is the biggest whiner about it. he storms out on her. she runs into him at an event and asks to talk to him, and he tells her no. he only forgives her when she quits and goes back to america.

there are a lot of dudes like this out there. he loves a strong, unique woman, as long as she fits seamlessly into his life and makes decisions he tells her to. yawn.

Makes No Sense: Why Are You Here?

ian is somehow ubiquitous in debutante society. he and his little band are hired to play at every ball daphne goes to. why??

a huge plot point is a moment where daphne attends a terribly boring coming out ball for a pair of very meek, shy twins. daphne delights the twins by going out of her way to liven up the party. she convinces ian to play loud rock music and encourages everyone at the ball to dance. the bass is too loud, though, and somehow causes an antique chandelier to fall. this is a big scandal.

the whole thing that’s emphasized during this scene is that daphne is shaking up the scene and that this music is unorthodox and unwanted at these high society type functions.

which all begs the question of why these people keep hiring a local rock band for these events. he’s playing at at least one other ball later on in the movie. the music they play doesn’t really fit in with the tone of the events, which are the kind of affairs you’d wear a tiara to. these are very formal events. why are we hiring ian and his band, and where did you guys even find him??

in the scene where daphne gets into a fight with somebody, she’s at a fancy outdoor event, the kind of place you’d wear a tea length dress and a big hat. ian is also there, working in the parking lot as a parking lot guy.

daphne’s thrilled, but she does ask why he’s there. he’s basically like, “i have lots of jobs.” for somebody who hates deb society so much, he does take a lot of jobs at deb events. why don’t you work in a restaurant or something? does that offend your punk rock whiner sensibilities?

also, he’s boring and i think daphne should go for somebody who makes her laugh.

Has Spiked Hair

lots of gel, no other info needed. wash your hair. very sculpted hair makes people seem less down to earth. it’s not relatable.

I Will Fix It

so ian doesn’t help with the plot at all. the only time he helps daphne is in the chandelier scene. the rest of the time he’s just there to date her and talk to her a lot about how cool it is to stand out and not fit in.

his role in the movie is to cause more tension and place more pressure on daphne. he behaves like she’s making a moral choice, when really she’s making a behavioral choice.

i think using him to vocalize her conflict is a mistake because it’s framed as Stand Out vs. Assimilate, when that has nothing to do with daphne’s motivation.

daphne’s Want is to be with her dad, and her Need is to be accepted and wanted. as a result, ian rejecting her because he doesn’t like the choices she’s making comes across as entitled and cruel lmao. it’s directly antithetical to daphne’s journey. she never once says anything about loving standing out.

here are the ways i think this could be fixed:

if you want it to be a moral thing, make it a moral thing.

give ian a best friend who is gay, and after daphne decides to fit in with society, she won’t be seen with the gay friend anymore. or after daphne decides to fit in, have her be super judgmental of people who aren’t succeeding as much as she is. then when she decides she’s fed up, have her stand up for them.

that would make ian being mad about her “changing” make sense. and we, the audience, would be like, “yeah, this is misguided and goes against what daphne believes.”

not breaking things or yelling at a royal event isn’t a moral stance. why are you so pressed. get a hobby

if you want her thing to be standing out, make it standing out.

standing out isn’t a conflict in the whole movie. henry’s flaw is being passive. daphne’s flaw is being embarrassing at parties because she’s clumsy and she likes to meet new people and dance and stuff. libby has no flaw except that she was a victim of classism.

the twins at the party are dowdy and shy, and daphne gives them a makeover off screen lmao. ian is single, and daphne dates him.

so make standing out the recurring issue. make daphne super obsessed with fitting in. in the very beginning, she runs into a girl she knows at a wedding. the girl is kind of privileged and successful, and daphne reveals that she’s a free spirit who doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life. instead, make her hedge and hem and haw and try to make herself seem more successful to the girl. make her Want to be fancy and part of her dad’s high society life, but her Need to “be herself.”

maybe the twins are secretly super weird and quirky, and they’re depressed trying to fit in; and their big moment revealing being cool now at the garden party is them wearing loud patterns and dancing when the music starts playing. maybe ian is super funny and goofy and the parties suck until he and daphne trick the singer into leaving the stage, and ian jumps onstage and plays a fun song.

make libby have been rejected because she always started talking politics at henry’s parties and she’s kind of radical.

maybe daphne: hey, i’m sorry, but you can’t come with me to the party next week anymore. maybe ian: what? how come, i rented a tux for this. maybe daphne: sorry. i’m trying to behave. maybe ian: haha what does that mean? you’re not trying to fit in with all those stuffy losers, are you? maybe daphne: no, i’m trying not to ruin things for my dad. it was a big deal when you were super messy at the garden party. maybe ian: wow. i seem to recall you being “messy” right along with me. sorry for embarrassing you. maybe daphne: ian, don’t take it personally. we can still hang out sometimes, i just can’t go places with you. maybe ian: no, thanks.

i don’t prefer this, because i’m an introvert and people who think someone they don’t personally find interesting are fundamentally worse, are boring and annoying. i wouldn’t find this story relatable or compelling at all. i’m 9000 years old and i’m like, “what if you guys respected each other and participated in society, though?” i wouldn’t enjoy this story. but at least it would make sense why ian’s bothered by daphne not “standing out.”

i think the entire reason this movie was made is that trailer moment from the boat scene where ian’s like, “i don’t understand why you want to fit in, when you were born to stand out!” so that’s how you can keep that dumbass line.

make ian have an arc himself.

in the movie, ian is initially helpful and gives some backstory, and then partway through the movie he gets mad at her and breaks up with her. he forgives her at the same time as henry realizes daphne’s unhappy, right at the end.

instead, make ian become helpful as the movie progresses.

so first of all, take the scene toward the beginning where he’s in the boat allegedly showing her how to practice being poised, and he tells her about his mom being a disowned deb. move this scene to the beginning of the third act.

next, make it so that ian was rejected by his grandparents. maybe ian at some point also defied his mom to seek out estranged family; but where daphne’s dad let her stay, ian’s grandparents insulted him and told him they didn’t want him around. they called him illegitimate and a mistake. so when daphne chooses to try to conform, ian is reacting to those feelings rather than projecting his own feelings of personal superiority.

and finally, make daphne try to fit in much sooner, but make her super bad at it. my roommates and i watched this movie the other night and one of them made the very good point that daphne’s grandmother and father sit her down and are like, “there is a certain way you’re supposed to behave,” but they don’t tell her how to do that.

so let’s actually keep that part. maybe daphne overcorrects. she knows she’s fucking up, so she believes she shouldn’t be doing anything fun or interesting or making conversation with anyone. this isn’t great. her charm is in how friendly, fun-loving, and proactive she is. she does what she wants and people find it refreshing. make people start to be like, “wow, lord dashwood’s daughter is kind of weird and stiff. it’s clear she isn’t used to places like this, what a rube.”

now we get to the third act, and the boat scene. in the boat, ian tells her about his family, and apologizes and offers to try and help her, if this is what she wants. now ian is playing more of an active role, and he’s contributing to her life in a positive way.

because as it is, he does nothing that i couldn’t get rid of very easily. so...

get rid of ian.

here are the effects ian currently has on the plot:

daphne riding away on the back of a motorcycle makes henry worry about her, and he realizes he’s developing paternal feelings toward her. he calls libby and libby affirms and empathizes with those feelings.

ian is in the band at the party where the chandelier is destroyed.

ian talks a lot about how daphne’s supposed to stand out.

ian stresses daphne out, which sort of artificially raises the stakes.

ian shows up right at the end to reward daphne for existing.

especially because ian’s criticisms are so disconnected from daphne’s motivations, nothing he does is particularly helpful to the plot in a way that he couldn’t be replaced.

daphne has a tattoo in the movie, and when henry sees it, he’s sort of like, wow, she’s kind of a wild child, she reminds me of me when i was young. instead of a motorcycle boyfriend, make daphne get the tattoo in london. henry calls libby like, “she just got a tattoo!” and libby is like, “i remember you holding my hand while i got my first tattoo.”

maybe the live band takes a break, and daphne sneaks up and hooks up the speakers to her ipod or something, and she plays super loud music herself.

i already talked about how pointless this is. also, we don’t need a greek chorus telling us what’s going on. show, don’t tell.

daphne is already stressed. those motivations can come from inside daphne.

why would henry seek out daphne’s ex-boyfriend and fly him out to new york to impose on daphne and her mom? this is so weird. go home.

ian is replaceable. to the left, to the left.

#long post #haters #who is this even #Anonymous #talking out of my ass

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withabackpackandcamera · 3 years

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July 3rd, 2021

Day 8: Horses, Waterfalls, and Highlands On Our Last Full Day of Nature

Over the last two days of driving, an idea came to me of how I could finally give Cynthia her overdue birthday gift while here in Iceland. With so much commuting time to ponder it, I slowly thought about the possibilities and finally came up with the idea of an impromptu Icelandic horseback riding experience! Cynthia loves horses and riding on an Icelandic horse would be both a unique and fun experience to have while here in Iceland! So after I threw that idea out, Cynthia called some places to figure out what last minute options we had for booking. Eventually, we settled on Vik Horse Adventures, a horse-riding tour company in Vik, that had open time slots that were most convenient for our already-packed itinerary.

This morning, we woke up early (despite really wanting to sleep in) and ate a quick breakfast Cynthia made for us while enjoying our tall-windowed morning views of the plains leading down to the black sand beach and ocean water. Once we finished breakfast, Minh drove us out to Vik and dropped us off at Vik Horse Adventures. After an orientation to riding techniques and our horses, we quickly climbed on top of our designated horses and made our way out of the barn and toward the black sand beach located a little ways behind the barn.

My horse’s name was Atgeir, one of the younger horses I believe. He was a funny horse. From what the company folks had to say about him, he was puppy-like in nature, curious, loved to snack along the way, and enjoyed getting into people’s businesses! Also, he was always a little itchy and needed a scratch. I feel ya, Atgeir. As for Cynthia, she got old, reliable, “been through this a few times” Hektor. Anyhow, we rode our horses in a line down to the black sand beach, with me and Atgeir walking somewhere in the middle of the line. We trotted slowly down to the beach, where we rode over the black sand before stopping for some photos. After our photos, we rode back toward the barn along a different path, where we got to do some fast-paced trotting/galloping as well as ride through a stream of water. Eventually, after some more fast-paced jogging, we arrived back at the barn and bid farewell to our horses and the workers. The last minute birthday gift experience was fun, and Cynthia definitely enjoyed her time with Hektor!

While waiting for Minh to pick us up, we spent some extra time with the horses as they were cooling down behind the barn before walking over to a grocery store and a cafe to buy some snacks and croissant sandwiches for the last long drive of the trip. Once we finally got picked up, we made a brief stop to see Vik Church, the iconic church located on the hilltop overlooking the town of Vik. Unfortunately, given how heavy the clouds and fog were blanketing the area by the time we got to the church, the photo opportunity was poor so we didn’t spend too much time there before driving off to pick up our parents from Black Beach Suites.

Back at the suite, we packed the rest of our stuff. Before long, we had the car packed and were ready to hit the road once more. Because of the impromptu horse riding experience this morning, we were a little behind schedule. With a ton left to still see and do, it was time to play some catch up.

Our first stop after getting gas this morning was Seljalandsfoss, the beautiful waterfall in south Iceland that you can walk right behind as it flows down from the cliff above. This was my third time visiting Seljalandsfoss, and luckily for me, it was definitely not as busy as I thought it’d be given its popularity amongst international tourists. We did a brief walkthrough of the waterfall, took some photos with midges flying all around, and then jumped back in the car to continue on. Oh, and we were nice and gave our parking ticket to some other random family driving in to save them some money before driving off (later than expected) to see one of the expected highlights of the trip: The Icelandic Highlands.

The Icelandic Highlands are some of the coolest and most scenic places in Iceland. Before this trip, I had never had the opportunity to see them because of how difficult they are to get to. But I made it a goal to see the highlands with my whole family this trip. And with Cynthia working most weekdays, today was the only day that we could put aside to see them together. And because we didn’t have nearly enough time to see all the cool, accessible places in the highlands, I only chose a couple of places that were close to one another and easily accessible from where we were, hoping that those sites would at least give us a small taste of the amazingness of the highlands.

Our first stop in the highlands was Haifoss, a beautiful waterfall that flowed over a beautifully colored canyon. When I planned our trip through the highlands, I was worried that whatever car we got wouldn’t be able to handle the gravely-and-rocky F roads. Luckily, for this first part of the trip to Haifoss, the drive wasn’t actually too bad. For a large chunk of the trip, the drive was primarily on paved roads before it transitioned to gravel roads that weren’t nearly as rough as I thought they’d be but rough enough that I was glad that we rented a 4x4.

Once we arrived at Haifoss, there were only 4-5 cars in the parking lot, a relatively small crowd for how easily accessible this beautiful area was (though it did get much busier shortly after). And it was quite spectacular! The deep canyon over which the waterfall flowed was beautifully striped with vivid earthly colors. And the two huge waterfalls flowing there were gorgeous as well, though both waterfalls were beautiful in their own different ways. By this point in the day, the afternoon sunlight was hitting the waterfalls straight on, providing even lighting for some attempts at decent landscape photography… So I took out my camera and tripod to take some photos. At the end of it all, the photos were OK because the sky was subpar. And canyons and waterfalls are never that easy to capture on camera. They’re much prettier when seen in person with your own eyes. Anyhow, my family and I stayed at Haifoss and cycled through multiple viewpoints until we were satisfied with the views and left for our next location: Sigöldugljúfur.

Sigöldugljúfur, also known as the Valley of Tears, is a well-Instagrammed canyon with tons of small waterfalls flowing into the canyon and filling up its floor with very turquoise blue water. A magnificent and tranquil scene. To get there, we had to endure a much longer and rougher drive than the drive we had just taken to Haifoss. But again, we were lucky that there were some paved parts to drive on to escape the rocky, unpaved parts. Once we finally got to the parking lot for Sigöldugljúfur, my dad and Minh walked out ahead of me and Cynthia to check out the scenery and scout the location. But before long, they waved to us and turned back, saying that they didn’t see anything worth visiting and that we should turn around and start heading back toward Reykjavik to get home early.

After all of that driving, there was no way I was going to turn back and not see what I was looking forward to seeing. And so I decided that, with Minh and Cynthia, I would go back out there and look for Sigöldugljúfur despite my parents’ protests that we should head back. I was a bit upset at the situation but whatever. I looked online and confirmed we were in the right spot to see the canyon. And I spoke with a drone-flyer and confirmed with him that we were in the right location as well. So, I left my parents in the car and left Cynthia and Minh behind as I started my search for the canyon. I hiked all the way past the point where my dad and brother had previously turned back, determined to find the canyon and determined to take decent photos of it before returning to the car within a reasonable amount of time (because sometimes I spend too much time taking photos at different locations, thus delaying the trip and making everyone wait, and I didn’t want to do that again if I could avoid it).

Eventually, I found what I was looking for: Sigöldugljúfur. Though I found it located much further out from the parking lot than I expected. The canyon of waterfalls was gorgeous to finally see in person after seeing it on Instagram over the years. As Cynthia and Minh trailed behind me, I started to take my photos so that we could head back sooner rather than later. After taking some shots from one vantage point, I tried another until Cynthia and Minh made it over. We took a couple of group photos and then headed back to the car after around 30-45 minutes at the canyon so that we could continue on with the trip.

By this time, it was starting to get late into the afternoon and the sun wasn’t so high in the sky anymore. And we were running out of time to see everything we wanted to see AND get back in time to eat dinner and possibly go out to the volcano site again. So, because we were still far from Reykjavik and because the drive out to Landmannalaugar, a gem in the area, was way too far and way too difficult to race to on gravel roads, we decided to scrap that plan (and unfortunately miss out on seeing it… again) and instead, started our drive back toward Reykjavik with a pit stop at Geysir and Strokkur, the geysers located in the Golden Circle.

It took a longer-than-expected drive to get to Geysir and Strokkur. But given the beautiful evening weather, it wasn’t such a bad drive. Once we were at the geysers, we looked around the geothermal area and braved the annoying midges to watch Strokkur erupt a few times before starting our trip back to the capital. At this point, because we were essentially in the middle of the Golden Circle, we had to drive through half of the Golden Circle route to get back to Reykjavik. And fortunately for everyone, they got to sort of see, from the outside of the park and while driving by, the landscape of Þingvellir and its rift valley, where two tectonic plates are slowly drifting apart. After the brief stops near Þingvellir, we finally started our long drive back to Reykjavik.

As we approached downtown Reykjavik, nostalgia hit me. All these familiar sights and scenes that I have seen over and over again during my last couple of trips. Man, it was nice to see Reykjavik again. Though, this time, there was a lot more construction throughout downtown than what I remembered seeing in 2017. We had to navigate through all of the construction to grab our dinner for the evening from good ol’ Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, the Icelandic hotdog stand located in downtown Reykjavik, because most other places were closed by the time we arrived in Reykjavik. I dropped my family off so they could walk around and order the hotdogs while I drove up and down some streets to look for parking. Eventually, after 10-15 minutes of driving, I found a spot right next to the hotdog stand where I could park. I then joined up with my family at the hotdog stand, where I enjoyed two delicious hotdogs before climbing back into the car to drive to our nearby AirBnB.

Once at the AirBnB, which was located right on the outskirts of downtown and close to Landspitali, the hospital I briefly worked at in 2017, we met our hosts, a very nice and welcoming couple who live just below the AirBnB they were renting out to us. We were briefly shown around the unit and then left to ourselves, during which time we got settled and comfortable in our home for the next two nights.

But us kiddos didn’t stay settled for very long. With the evening skies looking clear and weather conditions looking promising, I decided pretty late that it would be a waste not to attempt another hike to check out the Geldingadalir/Fagradalsfjall volcano. Even though it was late and even though I was extremely exhausted from the day’s and trip’s cumulative activities. But I thought to myself… “When will I get another good chance like this to see an active volcano in person?” and “I can just rest when I get back home to the States.” So, I committed myself to a very tiring and late night and roped both Minh AND Cynthia into coming along for the late night-early morning adventure as well. We all quickly packed our belongings for the hike and bundled up before finally leaving the house for the volcano around 11:15pm. Because I was so tired, I asked Minh to drive, which provided me with a brief opportunity to rest my eyes and recharge in the back seat before we arrived at the parking lot for the volcano around midnight or so. What happens next… will not happen today! So stay tuned for Part 2 of the volcano adventure!

5 Things I Learned/Observed Today:

1. Typically, all horse breeds have three natural gaits: the walk, the trot, and the gallop. However, due to the unique body structures of Icelandic horses, not only do they have the three typical gaits mentioned above, they also have two unique gaits called the tölt and the flying pace that other horse breeds do not have. Don’t ask me what that actually entails because I wouldn’t really understand… but it’s pretty cool and super unique!

2. According to our horse tour guides, there are approximately 19,000 horses (give or take) in Iceland and most of them are used for tourism, shows and competitions, farming, and for private use. And tradition here is that all horses in Iceland are Icelandic purebreds. With these purebred horses, there are very strict rules by which they and their owners must abide. One is that they must be purebred in Iceland. And two is that if any Icelandic horse leaves the country, it can never come back into the country. Additionally, no horses that are from outside of Iceland can be introduced into Iceland, resulting in the purebred horse population in Iceland being very isolated and exclusive to Iceland, something that has been going on for about a thousand years. These rules make Icelandic horses one of the most purely bred horses in the world. And one benefit from this isolation: they are pretty healthy and don’t die of horse influenza even though they are not vaccinated against it. .

3. There have been a ton of movies and shows that have been filmed all over Iceland throughout the years. Interestingly enough, there have been a ton filmed near Vik, like Star Wars: Rogue One, Game of Thrones, and the new Netflix original series Katla. Supposedly, Iceland was a very popular location to film movies and shows last year during the pandemic because there were so little restrictions that the movie industry had to abide by, making it easy for movie folks to come over and work on their projects.

4. Not all F roads are super rocky, gravel-y roads. Some parts are paved like regular roads. Others are less rocky and easily passable by simple sedans and passenger cars (though not recommended). But I’m sure there are a TON of roads that are almost impassable in a smaller 4x4 due to how rough they are.

5. Strokkur, the geyser that is still alive in the Golden Circle, seems to erupt, on average, every 2-6 minutes plus or minus a few minutes, based on my 30 minute observation and timing of its eruptions. Geysir, on the other hand, is dead and no longer erupting.

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whatdoesshedotothem · 4 years

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Tuesday 11 October 1836

- No kiss rained very much in the night - damp rainy morning - and F50° now at 9 35 breakfast at 9 50 A- read a little French - had Mr. Duncan the undertaker at 11 - gave the necessary directions for my aunt’s funeral at 9 am next Monday - the Sexton to come up - Greenwood to make the coffin - Mrs. Lawson to make the lead ditto - said I was satisfied with the clothes chosen for the footman and groom - Duncan owned it was too good - said he easily gave broad cloth from 14/. to 16/. per yard - what I chose (because no other patterns sent and supposed he had no other) 22/. per yard - said I had told Mr. Jackson I did not wish to pay more than £4.10.0 per footman’s dress suit and £3.10.0 per undress ditto - Mr. D- said the clothes ordered would exceed this but he would make what sacrifice he could! - then sat with A- on telling Mr. D-to invite the vicar he said he was not at home - I then told him (D-) to invite the curate - talked over to A- the propriety of my writing to the vicar and asking him to come over - had just written so far of today at 12 25 - at which hour fair after very rainy and between 10 and 11 boisterously windy morning - a sort of hurricane for about ¼ hour during breakfast - wrote out list of people to have gloves and [ biscuits?] - long while seeking (with A-) in vain her [?] of the French secretaire screen - then walked with her 25 minutes on the flags - Mr. Harper came about 3 ½ and with him in an out about an hour - mentioned my intention of getting off from here as soon as I could, and proposed having Mr. and Mrs. Husband in the house - H- thought this plan good - will find out for me what addition I should make to Mr. Husbands’ salary on this account - Explained about the hall ceiling - cannot turn the ground floor of the east tower into 2 floors temporary without incurring too much trouble hereafter but could easily make the ground floor into a kitchen - approves of my 2 dry arches - did not like the idea of a large square tower for the hay on the east side of the farm yard but well proposed 2 octagon like dry wall towers up against the north wall of the farmyard - these will do very well - look very well and be very convenient - mentioned leaving him (Mr. Harper) to overlook Husband’s payments of workmen of all sorts including colliers - no tidings of Mr. Gray - H- thinks if he does not come we can do without him - much to do at Northgate - will be here all tomorrow and till Thursday evening - asked what rent I should get for the mill - surprised when I said how much and so much - begged him not to mention it - had said the mill and machinery would cost £1000 - calculated there would be about 400 roods of dry walling in my octagon tower - hay-barns - I said I thought the walling would be done for 6/. a rood - 40x6 = 240/20= £12 and supposing roofing as much more = £24 say £30 to £40? for a great deal of convenience - approves my plan of palisading off the upper and lower parts of the farmyard leaving the coach house open, and driving thro’ it as one does in the north of Germany - Looking for papers respecting my uncles’ funeral - in vain - but found the memorandum of my giving ER-‘s will to Mr. Duffin in the presence of Mr. Jonathan Gray June 1836 - dinner at 7 in 25 minutes and then hurried upstairs to write to Mr. Musgrave and wrote and sent this evening as follows to ‘the Reverend Charles Musgrave Whitkirk vicarage near Leeds’ ‘Shibden hall - Tuesday 10 October 1836 my dear sir - Remembering with gratitude your very kind attentions to my aunt during the few last years of her long and painful illness, and quite sure what the expression of her own feeling would have been, had she left any directions upon the subject, I hope that, should no particular engagement put it out of your power, you will come over to her funeral - your doing so, will afford me a melancholy satisfaction - Mr. Duncan has been instructed to invite your officiating curate, and to make the necessary arrangements for nine on Monday morning; but, if this hour should be inconvenient to you, a later shall be fixed - Miss Walker begs you to present her kind regards along with my own to Mr. Musgrave - Believe me very truly yours A. Lister’ - coffee at 7 40 - A- read French and we looked over genealogical map of Sweden and Denmark - then till 9 35 wrote the last 31 ½ lines of today - when the letter bag came - note from Mrs. Veitch of condolence - Mrs. V- has just lost her sister Ann who lived at Giggleswick - Rainy stormy windy morning (a sort of hurricane between 10 and 11) but fair (with the except of a few flying drops now and then) in the afternoon from about 2pm F46 ½° now at 10 ¾ pm

#anne lister #gentleman jack

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spine-buster · 5 years

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Alone, Together | Chapter 30 | Morgan Rielly

A/N: We are officially in the thirties in terms of chapters...CAN YOU BELIEVE?! I can’t. Let me know what you think of the chapter!

Bee looked at herself in the mirror, smoothing out her spaghetti strap dress striped with pink and green and navy. She’d curled her hair slightly and wore some bright coloured lipstick to reflect the great weather and the happy event: Aryne’s baby shower. She was having it at McLean House within the Estates of Sunnybrook, and Bee couldn’t be more excited. Ashley had just had her own baby shower last weekend, so for a solid week, Bee was occupied with all things baby. She stood in front of the mirror in the bedroom and took a picture of her complete outfit, sending it to Ashley to make sure it was okay (who replied with emphatic and all-caps “HAWT” and “WERK IT” texts) before texting it to Morgan.

Before she was even able to grab her Chanel bag and make sure everything she needed was in there, her phone began to ring and Morgan’s name flashed across the screen.

“You look beautiful,” he said, not bothering with saying hello after she did. “You have Aryne’s baby shower today, right?”

“Yeah. And thank you. The dress looks good?”

“The dress looks amazing,” he stressed. “You know I think you look beautiful in everything.”

Bee couldn’t help but blush. “What are you up to today? How was Andy’s birthday yesterday?”

“It was fun! We played a round of golf in Whistler in the morning and then went to Blue Water Café in Yaletown to have dinner. He got a little drunk off the wine,” Morgan laughed slightly. “Haven’t seen him drunk in years.”

“Did he like my gift?” Bee asked hesitantly, referring to the coffee mug and tie she bought for him. Morgan had taken it to Vancouver with him already wrapped when he left.

“He loved it. They missed you last night.”

“They know I’ll be there at the end of July, right?” she asked, referring to the two week trip to Vancouver she and Morgan had planned for her two weeks vacation. They had decided on it before he left and had booked the tickets already. Bee was excited to go back.

“I’m keeping it a surprise from them,” he said. “He’s coming back from the washroom right now. I’ll talk to you later okay?”

“Okay. Tell him I say hi,” she said. “I love you. And I miss you.”

“I love you and miss you too, Bumblebee. Have fun today. You look beautiful.”

Almost immediately after hanging up, her phone buzzed for a text from Ashley saying she was waiting out front. Bee rushed in packing some last minute things into her purse before strapping on her heels, grabbing her present, and meeting Ashley outside. She slid into the passenger’s seat and kissed her across the console. In the backseat, she saw Sydney Esiason quickly typing away on her phone before setting it down on her lap to smile at her.

“You look adorable!” Ashley exclaimed as she drove away, taking another look at Bee in her dress. “Sydney, you remember Bee McTavish?”

“Of course! The one who works!” Sydney smiled from the backseat. “It’s…TD Bank?”

“Scotiabank,” Bee corrected her politely. “It’s nice to see you again Sydney. How’s the wedding planning going?”

“All done! Just a few weeks to go,” she smiled. “It’s too bad this one can’t fly to the Hamptons to be there,” Sydney nodded her head towards Ashley in the front seat. “Everyone else is going to be there.” Morgan never received a wedding invitation, even though other members of the team had. Bee figured it was because he and Matt never became close during Matt’s time on the Leafs. Not that Bee cared – she had no idea who these people were besides her brief encounter with Sydney months ago during lunch with Aryne.

“I can’t fly!” Ashley defended herself. “My doctor said it’s way too risky.”

“I know, I know,” Sydney rolled her eyes playfully. “How have you been, Bee? How’s work?”

Bee couldn’t help but notice the way Sydney kept saying the word ‘work’, but she tried not to think much of it. Bee wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. “Work is great, actually,” Bee said. “It keeps me busy, that’s for sure. But I love the team I work with, so it’s all good.”

“I bet you wished you could have quit for the playoffs,” Sydney commented. “How hard was it to travel to Boston with your work schedule?”

Bee tried not to make a face or furrow her brows. “I didn’t go to Boston.”

“Oh, you didn’t?” Sydney asked. She seemed genuinely shocked that Bee couldn’t travel, that she couldn’t follow Morgan regardless of how important the game way. “Hey Ash, where are we picking up Alannah?”

“Just at her hair salon on King. We’ll be there in like two minutes.”

Bee began to feel self-conscious. Morgan had never expressed that any WAGs would ever travel with the team during the playoffs. She assumed that the boys needed to stay focused, without distraction, and that significant others weren’t allowed to travel with them. Why did Sydney make it seem like it was so out of the ordinary that Bee didn’t go? Even if she could go, even if the significant others were allowed to travel with the team…she had work. She had a job. Responsibilities. She couldn’t just follow Morgan wherever he went because of hockey. She had a life too, and a career she was building – one as important as his – and she didn’t take that lightly.

When Alannah got in the car, the girls settled into a comfortable conversation – Ashley, Alannah, and Sydney more so, with Bee contributing every now and then – as Ashley made her way towards the Don Valley Parkway, the highway she’d need to take to get to the northern part of the city. As she turned on to Queen Street, driving through Moss Park on the east side of Toronto, Bee felt a sense of familiarity. Despite her circumstances now, she would never forget where she came from. These were the streets she grew up with – the streets that raised her, to an extent. The schools she attended. The apartment buildings she lived in. The parks she wandered through when –

“I don’t think I remember driving through this part of town! Ghettoooo!” Sydney giggled jovially from the backseat. “We heard so much about it when Matt wanted to go to that trendy restaurant but we never ended up coming ‘cause I convinced him not to.”

A shiver ran up Bee’s spine at Sydney’s comment. Yeah, it was the ghetto. It was one of the most depraved areas of Toronto. Public housing buildings dominated the neighbourhood. May families were low-income or relied on public assistance – like Bee and her mother had been. There were a lot of homeless shelters – many that Bee stayed in at some point in her young life. Bee was torn up at how out of touch Sydney made herself seem with that comment, so completely unaware of the area despite living in Toronto for two years…Bee didn’t know if it was a shock to her, or if she expected it.

And the fact that she had called it the ghetto with the tone of voice that she did. Like it was a joke.

Bee was quiet as they pulled up to a light. She looked towards Ashley in the driver’s seat before pointing to a building across from them that very much looked like public housing. “You see that building over there?” she asked. Ashley nodded her head, and Bee looked in the rear-view mirror to see Sydney and Alannah from the backseat looking as well. “I used to live there.”

Bee could see Sydney’s body stiffed in the backseat. “Ohmygod, you used to live here?”

“Yeah,” Bee nodded her head, trying to handle this with as much grace and maturity as she could even though Sydney had said what she said. “I grew up around here. I’ve lived in a couple of the buildings.”

“Well thank God you got out, huh?”

Bee bit her tongue so she wasn’t snippy. “Yeah. Thank God.”

***

“Oh my God Bee, your dress is sooooo cute!” Aryne exclaimed as she waddled over excitedly towards Bee with her arms stretched out, giving her a giant hug as she always did. “And your lipstick! That colour! I feel like Nigel from the Devil Wears Prada – my job here is done.”

Bee couldn’t help but giggle as she hugged Aryne back. “You’ll always be my fairy godmother, Aryne.”

“Good. Come on. Let me introduce you to my mom and some of my cousins.”

After a flurry of introductions, polite handshakes, small-talk, fruity drinks and some canapés, Bee let Aryne greet the next batch of guests who arrived as she re-joined Ashley, Alannah, and Sydney. Monique and Christina had joined, and Bee made sure to greet them. “That dress looks so cute on you, Bee!” Christina smiled as she went in for the hug.

“Thank you! God, I think I should wear it more often! I’ve been getting so many compliments,” she giggled. “I fell in love with the colours of the stripes.”

“It does look great,” Sydney agreed. “It's good you chose vertical stripes. They're slimming which is why it looks so great on you. Horizontal stripes are a big no no."

Bee’s breath hitched in her throat. Monique said something immediately after that made them switch subjects, but Bee was still stuck on the comment. She wished she wasn’t. She wished she could let it go and not care about it, but she couldn’t. It was like her Instagram DMs had taken a human form and she couldn’t get away. In front of her was a walking, talking embodiment of everything those girls wanted her to be, everything they thought Bee should be, and everything that she so clearly wasn’t. Sydney didn’t need to wear anything that was slimming because she was already slim. She didn’t need to think about what would look good and what clothes would flatter her body because everything would look good – with her blonde hair, perfectly plumped lips, cheekbones to die for, skin as clear as the sky, she looked like a fucking model.

Bee tried not to let it get the best of her as the baby shower went on. Everybody sat at their designated seats and munched on Caesar salad, a choice of either salmon filet or mushroom ravioli, and a peach and blueberry crumble. They played games, guessed the gender, and opened presents to much oohing and awing over how tiny everything was. Aryne seemed to appreciate Bee’s gift of a plush elephant and small collection of books to add to the baby’s library.

As the ladies ate their dessert, from beside Bee, Alannah nudged her gently. “Lucy texted me, told me you got a good deal on yoga pants. Lululemon?” she asked, forking some crumble into her mouth.

“Old Navy, actu--”

“Are you looking for a studio?” Sydney imposed on the conversation. Bee looked at her across the table. “I used to go to Moksha Yoga on King for hot yoga. And Jessica recommended this amazing personal trainer who works out of a gym on Adelaide. If you tell them my name, they’ll definitely help you with everything you need done.”

“Sydney,” Alannah stressed. So it wasn’t just Bee who was picking up on these things. Alannah had been listening for a long time too and, well, hell – Alannah was a lawyer. Reading between the lines on every single little thing said was practically her job. “I’m just asking about a deal on yoga pants.”

‘Do I look like I need to be helped? Do I look like I need everything done?’ Bee wanted to desperately to ask, but decided to hold her tongue.

“Listen, we can all tone up a bit,” Sydney shrugged her shoulders. “Like, I’m taking a boxing class right now to tone up before the wedding. We’ve had to take in the dress a bit more and my seamstress sort of hates me for it, but…it’s my wedding! I need to look my best, right? You understand, Alannah,” she tried to play it off, smiling and giggled and making it into a joke. “We all want to look good on our wedding day! Those are photos we’re going to have forever.”

“I get what you’re saying, Syd. I just wouldn’t advertise gyms or personal trainers to people unless they explicitly ask for it,” Alannah said.

“I don’t think Bee is offended, Alannah,” Sydney said as if it was the most ridiculous notion in the world. Bee was highly offended. “She knows how long and stressful the wedding planning has been.”

“She does?” Alannah asked.

“I do?” Bee asked, speaking for the first time in the entire conversation.

“Of course you do! Remember when we first met at lunch? I mentioned the second dress and the flower wall and the veil,” she said. Bee looked at her wide-eyed, shocked that Sydney would assume Bee would remember any detail about her wedding when she, nor her boyfriend, were even invited in the first place. “It was like, after the All-Star Break. When I was in town for my dress fitting on Valentine’s Day,” Sydney said. “I know you and Morgan were in Vancouver around that time, but you must remember.”

The fact that Sydney remembered, or even knew, that Morgan and Bee were in Vancouver during the All-Star Break was one thing – she must have seen the stolen pictures reposted on NHL WAG Instagram accounts. But at the mention of said All-Star Break, Alannah got physically uncomfortable. “Syd--”

“I’m sorry, I just remember that we met. I don’t remember the details. I must have forgotten about it,” Bee shrugged her shoulders, trying to drop it.

“How could you forget?” Sydney pressured.

“Sydney --”

“Because my mother died during the All-Star Break in January,” Bee revealed as calmly as she could, biting her tongue and looking Sydney dead in the eye, watching her squirm in her seat, the discomfort and the realization finally dawning on her. “Now can we drop it?”

A loud clink of a glass. Everybody settling down and silencing themselves. Aryne standing up from her spot at the head of the table, a giant smile on her face as she started her speech thanking everyone for coming and for all their gifts. Polite rounds of applause as she thanked her mom and her mother-in-law for hosting. Another polite round of applause when she finished her speech. A strained smile on Sydney’s face as she listened and clapped along. Side-eyes from Alannah, watching the space between Bee and Sydney, before focusing back on Aryne.

“I’ll be right back,” Bee said to Alannah as she stood up from her seat, making her way towards the bathrooms. Noticing that it was empty when she entered, Bee took a few seconds to look at herself in the mirror. The dress did look nice, and it did look cute on her, but because there were spaghetti straps, there was some underarm flab that the other girls didn’t have. If she was strategic, her hair could conceal it. Bee wondered if that’s what set Sydney off.

Bee was only human. There was only so much negativity she could take until she began to wonder if the words that constantly followed her around were true. She knew she wasn’t perfect – far from it – but she didn’t need her imperfections and insecurities pointed out to her at literally every given moment of the day. The Instagram DMs were a part of her life at this point – she’d never be able to get rid of them, and she made her peace with that long ago. They didn’t affect her as much, mostly because these girls didn’t know her, or Morgan, or anything to do with her life. But to hear similar comments coming from the mouth of someone in a similar situation, someone who knows this world and who has been in it for a while…it was different. Bee was taking her comments to heart, even though she knew she shouldn’t be. It was a rare moment of weakness for her – a moment of weakness she tried to desperately to overcome when it was anonymous random messages.

But in that moment of weakness, her thoughts and impulses got the best of her. She could only be so strong. She was only normal. She remembered what those girls said to her in the bathrooms at Scotiabank Arena and opened a new tab on her phone. ‘tumblr puckbunny Sydney esiason cassie’ she typed the random array of words quickly into the search bar, the first link giving her exactly what she wanted. An anonymous ask sending in screenshots of a Valentine’s Day post on someone’s profile and a comment thread below. The original comment on Instagram read ‘Fangirls in Toronto didn’t like Syd bc she called them out on their bullshit. The amount of girls trying to hook up with players there is ridiculous. They have no shame. So many succeed bc the guys are young and dumb. They’re all work as waitresses or bottle girls at clubs.’

Innocent enough, Bee thought. She was intrigued to know that Sydney had apparently called girls out. When the whole mess happened with Morgan, Bee distinctly remembered Steve Keogh telling her not to engage. She wouldn’t have put it past Sydney to not listen to him.

But then, Sydney’s response to the comment: ‘Girls in Toronto love to pretend to work only to quit when the playoffs come around’

Bee locked her phone as an automatic reaction because she couldn’t believe the words she’d just read. She unlocked her phone again. She read over the comments and noticed the answer written by the owner of the blog. ‘That’s definitely about Cassie, anon. Don’t know where u get off thinking it’s about Mo’s girl just bc that other anon sent in proof Bee got a job at Scotiabank. Everybody knows Cassie is a wannabe model and only got hired by that modelling agency bc her dad is friends with the owner. Cassie doesn’t work and comes from money but wants to be a ‘model’ and ‘influencer’ bc she’s barely literate.’

Bee felt like flushing her phone down the toilet. She felt like burying it in one of the flowerbeds outside so she could never see it again. She felt like taking the streetcar all the way down to Lake Ontario, attaching concrete blocks to her phone, and tossing it into the lake. ‘Girls in Toronto love to pretend to work’ repeated over and over in her head.

She couldn’t do this. She didn’t want to engage. Not today, at Aryne’s baby shower. Not ever.

She exited the stall, flattening out her dress and putting her phone back into her Chanel bag before the door opened again out of the corner of her eye. “Hey,” Sydney’s voice shocked her momentarily. Bee watched as she entered the washroom clutching her bag, letting the door close behind her. “Are you alright?”

Bee had held her tongue for most of the afternoon. She had tried to remain calm and quiet, stoic, and unbothered. But she couldn’t anymore. Not after Alannah heard it too. And now, with the two of them alone in a bathroom, she was finally going to use her voice. “Is there…I mean, is there a reason why you hate me so much?”

“What?” Sydney asked.

“All you’ve done today is insult me in every way possible.”

“Well I didn’t mean to.”

“But you kept doing it!” Bee stressed. “Every conversation we’ve had today, I felt like you were trying to undermine me somehow or make me feel like complete shit. And like…listen,” Bee took a deep breath. “I don’t need you to like me. Quite frankly, I don’t care if you do. You don’t mean anything to me and I don’t know you. But you need to at least respect me. And you weren’t even doing that.”

“I was trying to help you--”

“How? By insinuating I was fat and needed to lose weight?” Bee demanded. “By making me feel bad for having a career away from hockey?”

“Listen, I think you misunderstood--”

“Don’t take me for a fucking idiot, Sydney,” Bee spat, not even bothering to hold back the venom in her voice, looking her dead in the eye. It shut Sydney up really quick. “I’m sure you already know what comments I get regularly from girls in Toronto. It’s white noise at this point for how many I get. Every. Single. Day. You’ve been in this world for much longer than I have and you should know better. I really don’t need those types of comments from you too.”

There was a moment of silence between the two women as Sydney lowered her eyes and looked at the floor. Bee couldn’t help but cross her arms over her chest, waiting for a reply. “Listen…” Sydney began finally. “I’m sorry if you were offended--”

“I am offended.”

“Well I’m sorry,” she stressed, her voice more firm this time. “It’s just a really stressful time right now and I guess I said some things that were misconstrued. You don’t understand because you aren’t getting married or planning a wedding.”

Bee couldn’t help but roll her eyes. If a half-assed apology and some lame excuse were all she was going to get from her, then so be it. She would have to accept it. She wanted to end the conversation right there because she didn’t want to hear Sydney blame it on anything besides her sour attitude. “I’m sure you’re going to have a beautiful wedding and you’re going to look absolutely stunning, because you are. You just don’t need to insult other people, whether consciously or unconsciously, in order to do that.”

Bee made her way past Sydney, opening the door to the washroom and re-joining the baby shower. By this point, the wait staff was clearing the dessert dishes from the table. She settled into her seat, eating the last of her crumble. Alannah looked at her wide-eyed. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Just don’t say anything to Aryne,” Bee implored, and Alannah nodded her head.

***

“LET’S GO RAPTORS!” Bee shouted along with the rest of the fans, clapping and smiling as she looked between the jumbotron and the action on the court to see what was going on. Basketball was easier to understand than hockey for most things (although fouls still confused her – they could be called for the slightest of things, whereas in hockey it often seemed you needed to guillotine a guy to get a penalty called), so she was able to pick it up quicker. The energy inside of Scotiabank Arena was different than a Leaf game, that was for sure. The buzz that the Raptors could bring a championship to Toronto fed that feeling.

Bee sat with Morgan, munching on the last of their popcorn. So many of the boys – Naz, Patrick, Travis, Zach, Mitch, Connor, and Trevor – and their significant others were there cheering on the Raptors from an executive suite and the accompanying seats. Morgan had the free t-shirt they were given wrapped around his neck, and Bee had hers around her neck as well, not wanting to cover the brand new Raptors jersey Morgan bought for her when they got to the arena.

“Are you liking it so far, Bee?” Naz asked her as Morgan escaped to the washroom in between plays.

“I’m loving it,” she smiled. “No offence but it’s so much easier to understand than hockey.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Naz smiled. “I think it helps that they might fucking do this tonight. The city is going to go apeshit.”

“If they do, we have to be out there with them,” she said. “I think the last time people partied in the streets for a championship was when Team Canada won the gold medal in Vancouver, right?” she mused. “But I was only fifteen then. Couldn’t exactly party.”

“Even then. It was Team Canada, but it wasn’t a Toronto team,” he said. “It’s gonna be nuts. And if we win it at home it makes it that much sweeter.”

As the play resumed, Morgan still hadn’t made it back to his seat. Bee and Naz watched intently as the Raptors began a play that ended up in a pretty awesome shot by Kyle Lowry. Though Bee was focused on watching, she noticed Naz look behind him out of the corner of her eye and yell ‘Hurry up bro!’. After a few more back and forths, Kawhi Leonard shot an incredible three-pointer, giving the Raptors the lead. Everybody went crazy – Bee and Naz stood up from their seats, throwing their hands up in the air. Bee looked to her right to see Morgan doing the same, an excited smile on his face before he went in to give Naz a giant hug. They began jumping together with excitement and Bee couldn’t help but laugh – they looked like little boys, especially Morgan with his backwards cap on. He managed to shuffle past Naz and hug her too, squeezing her tightly and lifting her up off the ground. After he set her down, he kept his arms around her as he kissed her.

“They’re gonna do it! They’re really gonna do it!” he screamed.

But they didn’t. After a last minute surge, the final score was 106-105 for the Golden State Warriors. Another heartbreak. The series was 3-2, and the Raptors would be heading back to California. Despite the loss, everybody seemed in generally good spirits, given the score. Considering it was so close, and considering the Raptors were still up a game, there was a major hunch that the Raptors would end the series next game, in Golden State’s arena.

“So what did you think?” Morgan asked as they got into his car in the Scotiabank Arena parking lot. “Your first basketball game. Sorry they lost.”

Bee snorted. There was no reason for him to apologize. He wasn’t even on the team. “It was a blast, Morgan. I’m going to have to write a thank you note to Kyle and Masai for the tickets.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he said absent-mindedly.

“Of course I do. It’s polite,” she countered. “Tickets for this game were going for thousands of dollars. And we were in a private box with catering. It would be impolite not to.”

“Okay, okay,” he smiled, grabbing her hand across the console as they drove out of the parking garage. “You look cute in that jersey.”

She smirked as she gave him some side-eye. “Oh yeah? How so?”

Morgan shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. You just do.”

“Do you prefer a Raptors jersey on me or a Leafs jersey?” she asked.

Morgan gave her a look, causing her to giggle. “I think you know the answer to that question,” he said, his voice low. “Never saw the number 44 look so good, that’s for sure.”

“You’re lucky blue goes with my eyes better than red does,” she said, giving him a wink. “I think blue is my colour.”

“Oh, blue is definitely your colour.”

***

“Come up baby. Come up,” Bee cooed as she patted on the couch. Bruce looked up at her, meowing as he finally jumped up. “Hi baby! Hi Brucey,” she scratched underneath his chin. “You wanna come cuddle with us?”

Instead of cuddling into Bee like he usually did, Bruce began to climb on top of Morgan, exploring and even falling off of him before jumping back on. Morgan watched with an amused look on his face despite being focused on the hockey analysts on TV just moments ago. He had decided he wanted to watch the Stanley Cup Final game – Boston versus St. Louis – if only because his old friend and teammate Tyler Bozak was playing on St. Louis now and Morgan wanted him – and only him – to win. He made that abundantly clear. He only wanted “Bozie” to win.

Bee knew there were going to be a lot of emotions that night. She knew they would be thinking that it could have been Morgan and the Leafs in this position, so she made sure to prepare accordingly – extra buttery popcorn, chocolate chip cookies, and Sweet Chili Heat Doritos were already in bowls in front of them on their coffee table, just in case. And because she knew he would need it, she designated herself to be the big spoon. As they cuddled on the couch, Morgan laid his head on her chest instead of the other way around, like it usually was. She was already running her fingers through his hair gently as he had watched the pre-show.

“He’s definitely his mother’s son,” he commented as Bruce meowed, participating in a delicate balancing act of walking along Morgan’s legs.

Bee gave him a playful side-eye. “Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?” she asked.

“You decide,” he winked. Bruce meowed again. “He definitely has Springsteen’s voice, that’s for sure,” Morgan giggled.

“He wants the world to know he has something to say,” Bee said. “Don’t you, Brucey?” Another meow as he walked back up Morgan’s legs, causing them both to laugh. “Come cuddle, Brucey. Give us a concert another time,” she patted the spot on the couch in front of her again.

“Maybe he’s trying to say he wants St. Louis to win,” Morgan mused.

“Maybe he’s telling Nick Kypreos to shut up,” Bee mused as well, garnering a snort from Morgan. “Then he’d really be his mother’s son.”

“You’re something else, Briony McTavish,” he said, leaning his head up to kiss her before snuggling it into her chest again. He let out a content sigh as he continued to watch the analysts speak. “I love this,” he said quietly, almost a whisper.

“You love what?”

“This. Us being like this. Me, you, Bruce,” Morgan said as he scratched Bruce’s ears.

Bee couldn’t help but smile. “Me too.”

The game was decent. Boston lost, which Bee was happy about, and Tyler Bozak won the Stanley Cup, which Morgan was happy about. Bee got to watch Brad Marchand cry – a true highlight – and Morgan texted Tyler’s wife Molly a congratulations message, though he was sure she wouldn’t be checking her phone for hours. As they watched the presentation of the Conn Smythe Trophy to Ryan O’Reilly and the official presentation of the Stanley Cup to the St. Louis Blues, Morgan didn’t take his eyes off the screen. Bee made sure she kept running her fingers through his hair. She made sure that her body was as close to his as possible, that his hand keeping warm between her thighs was held on to.

As they watched each of the players scream in pure elation as they hoisted the Stanley Cup, Bee placed a gentle kiss on Morgan’s forehead. “That’ll be you and the boys one day,” she whispered against his skin.

“I know,” he said softly, not taking his eyes off the screen. “One day. And you’ll be out on the ice with me.”

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