toronto birthday, pt 2 to california christmas with jamie drsdale.
Warnings: angst.
Word Count: 1.9k
Part one:
Can be read as a stand-alone :)
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tara sat in her mom's kitchen in toronto, and was eating a snack while she read a book. it was currently may, and the ducks were officially out of the playoffs contention, so she had been waiting for jamie to come back now that he was free to. she had missed him since she visited him for spring break, and hadn't seen him since march. delilah her mom's girlfriend walked in with coffee and she silently thanked her.
"have you heard from him?" she questioned, and tara shook her head. "he'll text, dont worry t." delilah reassured her and she smile softly as delilah walked out. her brother jonathan strolled in, stealing a sip from his sister's coffee. "ew, thats grosss." she complained, making jonathan laugh out loud. jonathan leaned on the counter across from her, "have you heard anything? z?" tara questioned her older brother and he shook his head. though he was lying, so was delilah.
tara walked into toronto cafe, later that afternoon to grab some coffee and a cinnamon roll to snack on. she sat down, texting away on her phone with her bestfriend lauren who was in on what was gonna be happening the next day. "tara?" she heard from next to her and she knew that voice. it was her ex boyfriend, erik. she looked up and it was indeed him. his eyes flickered to the empty chair in front of her and then back at her. she noticied that and caved. "would you like to sit?" she questioned and he nodded softly, not trying to ruin the moment.
"how have you been?" she asked sipping her iced coffee, and he smiled. a genuine smile. "im good, schools good. how have you been?" he asked sipping his hot latte. "its been fine, as expected." she mused, a small smile shown. "hows dad? mom? brothers?" he asked leaning back in his chair. she mirrored him, "they are good! brothers trucking away at hockey ofcourse. dad is about to celebrate hit anniversary and mom is mom." she stated. he nodded, "you doing anything for your birthday?" he questioned, curiously. she shrugged, "i haven't heard anything." she said honestly, as if her birthday was not tomorrow. "really? nothing?" he questioned, taken back a bit. "nada. everybody has been busy. though my best friend promised to take me to timmies for coffee and breakfast." she rememberd. he nodded, "lauren?" he asked and tara nodded. "well-- if you don't have anything happening...i'd love to take you out for old time sakes." he said nervously, trying to gage her reaction. she sighed, unsure. "i dont know erik.." she said looking behind him for a brief moment. and that's when she saw him. jamie.
her eyebrows creased, as the two met eye to eye. his sling completley gone, his skin golden, even more freckles kissed upon his cheeks and nose. his mouth parted, mid step; unsure if he should order coffee or leave. he wasn't meant to be seen, but he also wasn't expecting to see tara the girl he truly liked; sitting nonchalantly with her ex. her pos ex. she looked down at her coffee feeling like she had been caught red handed, she wasn't hiding anything, she didn't come with or expect to see erik. she looked back up, about to go up to him but he was gone. the sound of the door a second later. she stood up, grabbing her coffee and without a goodbye; she hurried after jamie.
"jamie!" she screamed jogging over towards him. he had his toronto car with him, and he hopped in ignoring the girl. "jamie!" she screamed again, and stopped next to his door. he didn't move, and a few seconds later he looked over at her. he saw the confusion and hurt written all over her face. "jamie." she said, defiently. he sighed, rolling down his window to reveal trevor next to him. "you fools!" she yelled, grinning. "what do you want tara? seems like your occupied." jamie said with attitude, his eyes flicking back to see erik walking out looking for tara. she looked back to and growled. "im not with him. he happened to be there at the same time i was. that's it. i would never reach out to him. i promise. im not hiding a thing!" she defended, hoping to see the genuineness in her eyes. jamie looked down at her, before trevor told her to hop in. as she did so, jamie hit trevor softly in the ribs; without her seeing.
the two boys drove her to her mom's house. she hopped out, stopping next to jamie's door. "please, just please text me so we can meet. we need to talk, talk about us." she whispered the last part. he nodded, rolling up his window and she stood there for a second, before walking towards her house. how did their relationship just blow up in a matter of 20 seconds?
—
lauren pulled up at tara's house with coffee and her sandwich in hand. tara grinned, plucking it from her hands and they drove off to a spot they used to go to during highscool. they ate, catching up as if they hadn't seen eachother in years, though it had only been a week. only a week. she asked about jamie, and told her what happened. lauren silently cursed him, he had ruined the surprised he had wrangled lauren in for her. "im sure he's fine." lauren mused, whilst typing away an angry message for him. "youre an idiot drysdale!!! you know she frequents that coffee shop downtown omg" she sent and then shut her phone.
"well lets go shopping." lauren smiled, putting the jeep in drive and jetting off. t-6 hours until the surprise. the two spent two hours paroozing and shopping at various canadian brands and some international brands. lauren splurging and buying tara a necklace for her birthday from tiffany, which the latter begged her not to. little did the birthday gal know, but that was curtesy of jamie. the two headed back to lauren's house to get ready for their dinner date that tara believed that had. she settled on a black strapless dress, hugging her curves perfectly and slicked her hair half up half down for the occasion. lauren walked up behind the birthday girl with a small bday cake, and tara smiled widely in the bathroom mirror. "awe, lauren- you didnt have to." she frowned and turned around in the swivel chair. she smiled down at the cake, illuminated with candels. "lets get a pic on the bed!" lauren said and moving into the bedroom quickly. tara chuckled, laying down halfway and posing with it. she blew out the candles, hoping that this year. her 21st year on life, would be her best yet.
—
the two walked hand in hand to the more upscale toronto restaurant. tara's eyebrows creased as lauren pulled her past the hostess, and away from the main dining area. "lauren?" tara questioned as they went down a hallway. lauren stalled in front of the door that was open, and pushed tara towards doorway. "SURPRISE!!!!" the group of friends and family yelled. tara brought her hand to her mouth, gasping and then turned towards lauren; instantly hugging her best friend. "oh my god, hi!!!!" she turned back around and waved. she found her brother's jonathan and erik, her dad and his wife. along with her mom and delilah. she made her way over to her brothers who instantly took her in for a big hug. "SO glad we pulled this off." the two brothers smiled high fiving one another. "with my help ofcourse." lauren mused, and the brothers agreed. "all they did was get the hockey dudes here." lauren grinned, pointing towards the players. tara turned around seeing jamie drysdale, trevor zegras, owen powers and hig gf, mason mctavish, brendan brisson and thomas bordealou. just some friends that jonathan had made along his journey to the nhl. who in turn, loved tara more than jonathan. much to his dismay ofcourse.
tara caught the eye of jamie and gave him a small grin, to which he returned with a smile. so maybe the situation earlier, was forgotten? "here!" lauren yelled, pushing a glass of vodka cranberry into her hand and tara rolled her eyes playfully before taking a big sip. "woah slow down there girlie!!! we dont need you passing out too early." she heard the famous and cheery voice of trevor. she turned around and stuck her tongue out. "we dont talk about that time." she playfully snarled, causing him to clutch his chest as he laughed. "not my fault your a lightweight and didn't tell us!" he defended him self and she gave him a vulgar gesture, to which he replied with a big smile. "imma leave you two to settle things." trevor said pulling jamie away from the group he was in and in front of tara. tara swallowed nervously. "happy birthday." he smiled. she smiled, "thankyou jamie." she smiled back. "liste-" "Im sor-" the two said at the time time, to which tara blushed.
"im sorry, that i freaked out. i was also nervous, because you had seen me when you weren't supposed to." he explained and she nodded. "i had no right to, and i apologize." he added and she nodded again. she leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek. "thankyou." was all she said before going around and talking to people.
it was around 11:30 when the two found one another again, on the dance floor. tara was on her 3rd vodka cranberry and was feeling it in her bones. the song 'you belong with me' was blasting, therefore trevor was belting the song along with jamie and tara on the top of their lungs. jamie held tara in his arms, in front of him as they did so. the song turned to the archer, and at the end as the beat began to up, so did the group of younglins. 'cause they see right through me' was screamed throughout the private room. lauren and tara jumped up and down, now that their heels were discarded an hour earlier. and to end the night, mr brightside played causing tara to laugh loudly. this was one of the songs that played during jamies, trevors and mason's party during her spring break.
jamie and tara looked at one another, dancing to the song. it was almost as if the final song was played in slow motion. tara at one point during the first bridge, pulled jamie in for a big kiss. with trevor and mason eyes widening, and freaking out. lauren laughed along with owen powers gf, as the two watched. the two pulled apart, smiling at one another. their breathing heavy and their hearts pounding. he twirled her one last time, and the song was over.
—
tara woke up the following morning in jamie's hotel room he had booked for the evening. she found him staring at her, dazed with exhaustion. "hi." she hummed, leaning up and kissed him. he pulled her in again, gently pulling her chin back up. "happy first full day of being 21." he whispered before pulling her in for another kiss, by her necklace but paused. "glad my money was well spent." he nodded towards the necklace. she was confused for a moment before realizing. "you cheeky boy." she grinned.
—
@taratatee: 21 years🤍🥳🦋🫶🏻
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@laurenstallard: love uuuuuu
@brendan.brisson: pArTy tImE
@jamiedrysdale: birthday girl 🫶🏻
@trevorzegras: one year closer to 22
@taratatee: bahahaha, ‘feeling 21’
•
@jamiedrysdale: has posted to private story.
—
Hope you guys enjoyed!!!!
Random Tags: @jayda12 , @zegrasbabyyy @zegras2crosby @fallinallincurls @jamiedryssdale @cellythefloshie @hugheshugs @mack-samo @maximoffweasley
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Bittersweet: Chapter 15
Summary: It's Elain's birthday, and the whole gang is celebrating at her and Nesta's apartment. Nesta and Cassian bond.
Read it here on AO3!
Warnings: mentions of previous self-harm
Bittersweet Masterlist
Just one more tattoo, and it would be done. It was a small area, too. Nothing that would cost too much. The Gods only knew how much Nesta had spent on tattoos since the age of eighteen.
The first one – she’d gotten it a week after her eighteenth birthday – was inked on her right forearm. The snake coiled from just beneath the crease of her arm, all the way down to her wrist. Flames accented its scales, its tongue out in a deadly hiss. It was heavily shaded; all of them were. That was the point.
When she began self-harming at twelve years old, Nesta knew it would leave irrevocable scars. Why would she care, though? At that point in her life, she didn’t think she’d make it past high school. Marred skin was the least of her worries.
But then she survived through middle school. And high school and college and now here she was as a graduate student, still very much alive, with countless scars to show for it.
Except they didn’t show. She’d spent thousands of dollars, countless of hours in uncomfortable chairs, to make sure of it. The bumpy texture would never completely disappear, but with the power of ink and art, the pinkish-brown marks did. Despite the persistent voice inside her that’d always told her she deserved it, Nesta regretted what she’d done to her body. She spent years hiding under long-sleeved shirts in ninety degree weather, years of avoiding the beach, of privatizing every part of her body, to keep her secret safe. Up until that horrible day, the day she’d never forget no matter how much she tried.
Nesta had a full sleeve on her left arm, a couple large tattoos on her right, and both her thighs were covered as well. All of them were darkly shaded; a far stretch from the delicate fine lines that inked Feyre’s arm and hand. There were just two scars that remained uncovered on her right bicep, discreet enough that most people didn’t notice, visible enough that she did. She didn’t quite know what to put there yet, but she was determined to get it done soon.
Nesta sighed, turning away from the mirror. The clock blinked two o’clock in the afternoon. The sun glared off the snowy ground and into her window, and Minx was enjoying himself in the sunspots on her bed. She needed to start preparing for tonight. It was Elain’s birthday, and she’d insisted that she and Nesta host the party at their apartment, much to Nesta’s dismay. Elain felt bad they hadn’t yet hosted a potluck, and this was her remedy, the gods-damn angel.
Nesta looked around her room. Her closet was spilling out with oversized sweaters, her many pairs of shoes were scattered around the floor, her bed was atrociously unmade. Tomorrow, she told herself. She’d clean it up tomorrow. It wasn’t like the party would be in her room.
With that settled, Nesta stalked out of her room toward the kitchen.
She only made it a few feet before stopping short.
Oh, hell no.
“Elain, what are you doing?”
Her sister turned around to face Nesta, cake batter on her nose, cheeks flushed pink. She looked guilty. As she should.
Nesta took in the scene and let out a strangled groan, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. “Tell me you’re not making your own fucking birthday cake.”
Elain’s lips formed an O. “I’m… not making my own birthday cake?” It came out as a question.
Nesta stifled the urge to stomp her foot like a child on the tiled floor. “What did we tell you?”
Elain looked down at her pink-polished toes. “You got it taken care of.”
“Yes. We got it all taken care of. You’re not supposed to lift a finger for this celebration.”
“But⸻”
“But nothing, okay? Let us do something nice for you.”
Elain nodded reluctantly before looking back at the bowl of cake batter on the counter before glancing back at Nesta with concern. “So, are you going to make the cake…?”
Nesta heard the skepticism in her sister’s voice. She puffed out her chest in a challenge. “Yeah, maybe I am.”
“But Nesta,” Elain bit her lip, her voice lowering to a whisper. “You can’t really cook.”
Nesta opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out because Elain was right. She couldn’t cook for shit. Thanksgiving proved that to everyone.
“Please just let me make it,” Elain pleaded with those irresistible puppy eyes. “I already started; there’s no point in wasting the batter.”
Nesta eyed her.
“C’mon, you know I’ll enjoy baking it,” Elain teased with a wide grin. She wiggled her eyebrows. “And you’ll enjoy eating it even more.”
“Okay, okay,” Nesta conceded. Even she couldn’t argue with that.
* * *
Three hours later, the apartment was shining with glittery décor, the smell of freshly baked cake wafting in every room. Elain was just finishing getting ready in her room, Nesta lighting some mood candles, when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Elain bounced out of her room excitedly, smacking a big kiss on Nesta’s cheek as she passed her to get to the door.
Elain was wearing a beautiful pink sundress that fell just below her knee, a generous slit on the left side showing off her cream-colored thigh. Her golden hair tumbled down her shoulders, butterfly clips framing her face perfectly. She’d applied a light layer of rosy blush, her lips shining with gloss.
Azriel was damn near going to shit himself when he saw her.
“Elain,” Nesta called out quietly before her sister could open the door. Elain turned back to face her.
“You’re beautiful.”
Elain beamed, making Nesta’s heart squeeze. “Look in the mirror.”
Nesta gave her a small smile in return. Elain had miraculously convinced her to wear a dress. When she saw the dusty sage material hanging in the back of Nesta’s closet just an hour ago, she squealed in delight and asked Nesta to try it on for her. And because Nesta couldn’t say no to her sister on her birthday, she agreed. When she put it on, Elain had tears in her eyes.
And now, here she was. The silky fabric hugged her hips, helping to hide the weight she’d lost. For once, her wavy hair wasn’t pulled back into a ponytail. The golden-brown locks flowed freely, complementing the color of her dress. As she faced the foyer in the kitchen, Nesta was starting to regret the whole thing while Elain greeted everyone at the door.
The urge to bolt back to her room and change was overwhelming, but a familiar, raspy voice called out her name before she could escape.
Amren was waltzing to her in a velvet dress, a look of bemusement on her perfectly made-up face. She stopped in front of Nesta and let out a low whistle.
“Have you really been hiding this,” she nodded to Nesta’s dress – or more accurately, her body – “from me this whole time?”
“Hello to you, too.” Nesta could only chuckle awkwardly and wave away the compliment, turning the attention back to her friend. “Where have you been?” She hadn’t seen Amren in what felt like weeks.
Amren crossed her arms with a quirk of her eyebrow. “Where have I been? You haven’t come to one of the potlucks since New Year’s Eve.”
Nesta cringed inwardly. She’d been avoiding those ever since the night Tomas came into Rita’s. After the incident, she’d thrown herself into work, picking up stray shifts whenever she could.
“Sorry, I got a new best friend.”
Amren gasped in mock horror. “You didn’t.”
“She listens to Bring Me the Horizon,” Nesta offered.
“And she’s not here, why?”
“Stop by Rita’s next Friday; I’ll introduce you.”
Amren gave her a look. “I’m holding you to that.”
While they’d been talking, everyone had slowly trickled through the foyer. Nesta spotted Elain in the kitchen holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands, beaming at Azriel, who was looking down at her like she was the sun. One of his hands reached the small amount of space between them to stroke her cheek, which was now flaming red. Giving them some privacy, Nesta looked away, only to find herself face-to-face with Cassian.
He was holding a half-empty beer in his hands – Gods, he’d just gotten here – as he peered down at her. He wore a dark Henley shirt; two buttons popped open like he’d gotten ready in a rush. His hair was pulled back into a low bun, a couple flyaway strands framing his perfectly structured face. It was infuriating how good he managed to look all the damn time.
And the way he was looking at her… Nesta cursed the flush that ran down her neck as Cassian raked his eyes up and down her body, hugging every curve. His gaze caught on her unbound hair, and Nesta took a small delight in the way his nostrils flared. She swore his hand clenched tighter around the beer bottle.
When their eyes met, though, the heat morphed into a lazy swagger so quickly that Nesta wondered if she’d imagined the whole thing.
“Don’t look too excited, sweetheart,” he greeted her, sweet arrogance coating his every word. “I know seeing me makes your day.”
“Sorry, sweetheart,” she threw back at him dryly. “I would hate for you to think I don’t worship the ground you walk on.”
The bastard clutched his poor, empty heart. “My love language has always been words of affirmation. How ever did you know?”
“Oh, Feyre didn’t tell you?” Nesta feigned shock before her lips curved into a cruel smile. “I can smell when a man is insecure with his masculinity.”
Cassian’s lips pressed together in poorly concealed amusement. It was then that Nesta realized Amren was still there, her eyes bouncing between them like she was watching a tennis match.
“As entertaining as this is,” Amren interrupted their back-and-forth with a smirk, “I’m going to grab a drink. You two have fun doing whatever this –” she gestured between them “– is.”
Nesta felt the deep rumble of Cassian’s laugh in her lower stomach as Amren sauntered away.
Now it was just them. Great.
“So… you did really well at Illyria,” Cassian observed, tilting his head down to look at her. “Will you be joining us again?”
Illyria. It’d been a little over a week since Nesta and Emerie walked into Cassian’s gym. Nesta hadn’t yet admitted to Emerie how much she’d begrudgingly enjoyed their kickboxing session. The day after, she’d been pleasantly sore, and her back muscles felt less tense. Her body wasn’t used to physical activity, and it needed to replenish itself with nutrients. So, for the first time in months, she’d actually eaten something for breakfast the next morning.
But Nesta simply shrugged, a portrait of indifference. “We’ll see.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
As per usual, she ignored him, opting to grab a glass of wine from the kitchen island. Gods only knew she would need it to get through the evening.
Feyre approached her as she took a gulp from her glass. It was Snoop Dogg’s red blend, the bottle both inexpensive and delicious. Nesta had bought three bottles in preparation for the party. She couldn’t help it; Snoop knew what was up.
“Great job with the party,” Feyre complimented, casting a glance to the decorations around them. Her face softened. “Elain seems really happy.”
Nesta hid her surprise, treading carefully. She never knew if Feyre had a second agenda. “Did she tell you she made the cake?”
“Even after we told her we’d handle it?”
Nesta nodded, and her youngest sister rolled her eyes. “Predictable,” they both said in unison, casting a strange look at each other before laughing. A moment of silence passed between them.
“I like your hair like that,” Feyre murmured, bringing her tattooed hand between them to playfully curl a strand around her finger. Nesta couldn’t help but flinch at the contact, cursing herself when Feyre took notice. Her sister quickly dropped her hand, confusion and concern swirling in those blue-grey eyes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to –”
“Oh, I think Cassian is calling me over,” Nesta interrupted. Gods, why did I say that? Amren is right there –
“Did someone rub the magic lamp?” Cassian sidled up behind Feyre, throwing an arm over her shoulder. Her sister gave him a strained smile, her attention returning to Nesta.
“Uh, you mentioned t-that you, um…” Nesta struggled for words. Think of an excuse, think of an excuse, think of –
Cassian must’ve read the panic in her eyes because he smoothly finished for her. “Ah, yes. I wanted you to give me a little tour of the place. You were especially excited to show me your bedroom.” He shot her a saucy wink.
Gods-damn him to hell.
Nesta forced a smile, the promise of murder in her eyes. To his credit, Cassian’s smile didn’t even falter.
“Right,” she said through gritted teeth before turning to her sister. “I think we’re eating soon; we’ll be right back.”
Feyre didn’t even get the chance to reply, as Cassian was already beelining for Nesta’s bedroom, the latter right on his heels.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Nesta sputtered, trying to pass Cassian to block the closed door. The bastard shot a grin at her over his shoulder.
“I’m getting a tour.”
Nesta shoved his arm with all her might, hoping to derail him from his course, but he didn’t even falter.
“You can’t be serious. I’m not actually giving you a –”
She was cut off as they reached her bedroom door, Cassian’s hand clasping the rusty doorknob. Nesta was breathing heavily, levelling a glare at him.
“Oh, I’m deadly serious, sweetheart.”
She scrambled for an excuse. “It’s a mess in there.”
“You clearly haven’t seen pictures of Rhys’s dorm room freshman year.”
His eyes shone with determination. Somehow, Nesta knew that Cassian wasn’t backing down. Not when he’d already made up his mind. She’d wager all her money to bet that he always got what he wanted.
Damn him.
“Five minutes,” she conceded, her tone final.
Cassian’s grin was blinding as he twisted the doorknob and entered.
It was dark, save for the moonlight that seeped onto the hardwood floor through the window. Cassian quickly found the light switch mounted next to the door frame, illuminating her room.
Her entire body clenched in anxious anticipation as Cassian took in everything before him; there wasn’t much. The cream walls were bare, her bed unmade, trash bin to the point of overflowing, and cardboard boxes littered the floor. There wasn’t a single picture in sight. It looked like someone had just moved in yesterday.
Nesta and Elain had moved into the apartment six months ago.
Cassian hadn’t yet said a word, and Nesta wanted to push him out of here and never talk to him again. A surge of anger rushed through her. Where did he have the right to barge into her private space? Who did he think he was? They weren’t even fucking friends. She could sense the judgement, the disgust coming from him. It had her blood boiling.
Just as she was about to snap at him to get the fuck out, Cassian turned to look at her. His face, it wasn’t full of disgust or pity or judgement like she’d expected.
No, his lips were tipped up in the smugness he carried around everywhere. It didn’t quite meet his eyes, but she didn’t have the chance to read into it before he spoke.
“You know…” Nesta braced herself. Cassian pointed to the empty wall that her headboard rested against. “I have a 23 x 12 inch headshot that would look great right here. It has a glossy finish, so it would really pop against the blandness of the wall.” He let out an idyllic sigh. “You would get to wake up to my smiling face every morning.”
Words escaped Nesta, her jaw nearly hitting the floor as Cassian gave her a dazzling smile.
Then, she laughed.
It wasn’t one of the half-assed chuckles that’d replaced her real laughter in the past six months. No, it was a raucous bellow that spilled out of her lips, uncontrollable in the best way. Nesta clutched her stomach, the deep laughter making her belly cramp.
Cassian watched her with astonishment; he’d never heard such a beautiful sound. And soon, he found himself laughing just as hard.
“Please tell me,” Nesta got out between her amused howls, “you don’t really have that big of a headshot in your possession.”
“Come over to mine, and you’ll find out,” he winked flirtatiously.
“I could think of a thousand other things I’d rather do, one of which includes being struck by lightning,” she shot back. Her laughter subsided, but the lightness in her chest remained.
* * *
After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room, drinks being poured and passed around one after another. The cake Elain had baked turned out delicious; there wasn’t a single slice left. But perhaps that had more to do with the boys’ unending appetites.
At this point in the evening, Elain was flushed and giggly, a telltale sign that she was tipsy. Azriel sat next to her (like he’d done all night), eyes gleaming with amusement. Elain didn’t often drink, so Nesta assumed this was Azriel’s first time seeing her like this. He looked absolutely enraptured.
Everyone had their fair share to drink, Nesta included. She had a hard time not indulging in Snoop’s fine wine. Her body was warm and buzzing against the soft material of the loveseat as she listened to the conversations around her.
When she looked to her right, she noticed that Cassian was sitting beside her, eyes twinkling.
“You’re not Amren,” Nesta stated the obvious. She swore it was Amren on the loveseat next to her just moments ago…
“No, sweetheart, I’m not,” Cassian murmured, laughter in his voice. “She got up about ten minutes ago for a smoke.”
Nesta’s attention homed in onto his lips. They were full and soft. “Are you drunk too?”
He licked his lips, and Nesta wanted to slap him for tempting her. Even if it was wholly unintentional. “I will be when I finish this drink.” He gestures to the half-empty drink in his hands. Whiskey. She could smell it on his breath.
When had they gotten so close?
Nesta’s legs were curled underneath her, and she was facing Cassian, her head resting gently on the couch. Her dress had ridden up, hitting midthigh to show off the skulls and flowers tatted there. Cassian sat just inches away, his feet planted on the ground, knees gravitating in her direction.
Cassian opened those mesmerizing lips to say something, but a fluffy black ball leapt onto his jean-clad lap before he could get the words out.
Minx.
The traitor sat on his haunches facing Cassian, tilting his head up for scratches. Cassian laughed and obeyed, his large hands nearly swallowing Minx’s face as he rubbed his ears. “He likes me,” Cassian smirked. He knew Minx was her cat, how possessive she was of him.
Nesta scoffed. “He likes everyone.” Lie. Minx was not a people person. The brothers just seemed to bring out the best in him.
“Hmm,” Cassian rumbled deeply. He leaned down until he was face to face with Minx. Nesta tried to contain her shock when Minx closed the space between them and booped his nose with Cassian’s. He only ever did that with her.
Cassian shot her a look of victory from the corner of his eye. Nesta stuck out her tongue in retribution.
“Cass, come take a look at this!” Feyre called out from where she and Rhys sat together on an armchair. They were both looking at Rhysand’s phone, cracking up at whatever video or article or post was pulled up. Cassian downed the rest of his drink and set it on the coffee table before making his way over.
Nesta’s attention returned to everyone conversing around her. Everyone was in their own little group, laughing or talking animatedly, and it was then that the realization hit her. She wasn’t like them. Rhysand still avoided talking to her, Feyre only made small talk when they were forced to interact, Azriel had Elain and vice versa, and Mor hadn’t done more than introduce herself and her wife. Half of them had to pretend to like her. Even though tonight had been different than most, Cassian was still a thorn in her side. She had Amren, but… this would always be her choice. Not Nesta, Feyre’s estranged sister who could barely talk to anyone the first couple of months she lived in Colorado. No, that was hardly realistic. All of them belonged together.
And Nesta? She was just there.
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so nice to have a dad you can rely on 🙃
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birthdays ft. takashi mitsuya (timeskip)
"And I can't tell him because?" Hakkai pesters on while Yuzuha continues to roll her eyes. "Are we even sure if it's the same person?"
"Don't tell me you forgot—you follow him everywhere!" She argues while he takes a defeated sigh. Much to their surprise, the remaining members reached out to the Shiba siblings to gather a little celebration for the designers birthday.
"But shouldn't we tell him? I know it's a surprise but he's probably waited for them since they left." Hakkai suggests, while his sister shakes her head. "Took us long enough to contact them, so let's just save the best for last."
The night welcomes them as well as a satisfied Mitsuya to see them all together just to feast over for his birthday. He missed them even if some of them grew busy. He embraced them all, a nostalgic feeling surrounds him as he remembers the remaining memories where they were all together just to enjoy their youth.
"Seriously, thanks for being here, everyone." Mitsuya greets them with a smile, a drink in hand while the rests raise their own glasses. "I'll be back, I'm just going to get my camera." He excuses himself. The cue goes on as Draken opens the door once you knocked, only for the Shiba siblings to welcome you at a frantic pace.
"Shit am I late? I am so sorry!" You panicked as the Toman members look at you strangely. Excusing yourself while Yuzuha scolds you for being a little late than usual as you dusted yourself off. Draken merely smiles at the sight of you, remembering a few encounters of you and the birthday boy.
"It's his lover from middle school!" Chifuyu greets you as he was handed a smack to the shoulder as Hakkai signals him to keep quiet.
"It's nice to see you all—holy shit you guys look so different." You bid them. It must've taken a while for you to recognize a few of them. You knew their names and appearances but given the 12 year gap of not being able to keep their identities attached to your memory all the time—well it was a bit difficult.
A few years ago, you were in the same school as Mitsuya, back when the Tokyo Manji Gang was at its peak or at it's beginning. You weren't lovers unlike what Chifuyu mentioned, you were just friends who shared the same passion but it was possibly close to that.
"You okay?" Young Takashi asks as he turns the engine off of his bike. You hated the fact you had run out of gas in the middle of the rain and you didn't even carry a single umbrella nor a raincoat but it seems as if the person in front of you was well prepared. You were familiar with him from the first day you entered the school. He was the seamstress in your class.
He rushes to your side, his jacket being placed on you without his hesitation as the rain hits him. "Take your jacket! I'll be okay also I'm so sorry for stopping you." You said while he waves you off to reassure you it was okay. He then continues to observe your own motorbike. It was given to you by your parents since they couldn't afford the risk of transportation at the station with the criminal rate and gangs they've heard that lurked around the town.
"Why don't we leave it at a store and let's just come back to tomorrow?" Mitsuya suggests. He saw the drop in your expression, assuming you were worried it might get robbed.
"Hey if someone comes for your bike, I got your back. You don't have to worry about it." He assures you with a smile but the rain progressively pounds onto you two making it short with the time since he prioritized your health.
"Looks like we can't make it to the store. I don't want us to get sick so is it okay if I drive you home?" He offers, a soft tone in his voice while you looked at him. He sees how you weren't even covering yourself properly so he snickers before walking up to you. He then takes the jacket to insert himself beside you as the fabric hovers above you two.
"If it's okay with you that's all." You answered him while he smiles. "Good. I don't want you to get sick. I promise I'll bring you back here to get your bike and if it was ever stolen, I promise I'll help you." Mitsuya says before his hand goes to your waist to guide you to his bike while he held onto the jacket to cover you two.
"You do have the address and owner name on that bike right?" He asks while you nodded as you hopped on the motorcycle. He hands the remaining helmet to you while you declined it noticing it was the only one left. "You can have it-" he cuts you off. "I'm fine on my own. It's you that I'm worried about so wear it for your sake." You didn't have much time to fight as he takes the helmet and places it on you before securing it in place.
"Just keep your hands around me and you'll be safe." Mitsuya reminds you but there's a flush to his cheeks that were thankfully left unseen due to the hue of the dark skies. You nodded as you wrapped your hands around his waist while he checks you one more time to see if you were okay. "Thanks, Mitsuya." You whispered to him as he began to rev up the engine. "So you remember my name huh?" He jokes, making you smile knowing you couldn't really forget the boy who looked your way. "But you're welcome, Y/N."
That friendship began to flunk when your parents had unfortunately decided to move you to a much better city. As bitter as the sky cried the day you properly met, you didn't get to say goodbye because they rushed to file you in a new school and to reach the flight that they already had decided upon without your acknowledgement leaving a very disappointed Mitsuya that held onto your letter with his promise to wait for you.
"He's in his room. Just go already!" Draken encourages you while you scurry off to reach his room. "12 years huh? That's how long he was waiting for?" Chifuyu asks but there's only a smile to Hakkai's features as a few of their conversation resurface to him.
"The day they met was the day Taka-chan told me he'd be busy at the end of the night just to take them home and then pick them up the next morning."
Takashi reaches for his camera, a few seconds after he dusts off the particles seeing that it got covered in a lot of them since it was at the top of the shelf. He hears the creak of the door open while he awaits the person at the other end. As you enter, he feels as if his heart retched of excitement but it grows flustered as time passes when you looked at him with a smile.
"So do you remember my name?" You joked to reminisce on your first encounter while he shakes his head with a chuckle before placing the camera on the table as he walks your way, engulfing you in the most awaited embrace he's longed for. Wrapping your arms around his neck with a smile while he lets his nose get buried in your skin, a familiar scent he's caught up on the day you last hugged him.
"Like I'll ever forgot the dumbass who got caught sick the next day." He mutters. You both closed your eyes at the warmth of each other. " Happy birthday, Mitsuya." You whispered to him making him sigh in fulfillment of having you here. "I have something for you." You said patting his back to release you.
Handing the paper bag to him, he cocks an eyebrow to you before opening it to reach for the sweater as he eyes it suspiciously. His eyes widen at the recognition making you laugh.
"Yeah yeah I got better on my sewing." You teased while he stares in awe at the familiarity. It was the sweater he kept bugging you to tell him whose it for back in middle school. In the middle of class, you would be focused in finishing it but he always bribe you into asking if it was a gift for someone. It was supposed to be your last gift to him before you left but it never got to him. "I was supposed to give it to you the day of my flight but my parents really got in the way."
"How ironic." He jokes while he walks to his cabinet, opening it to grab the jacket he's kept since forever. He still had your sweater held in his hand but he hands out the jacket to you as you took it. "I was supposed to do the same." He whispers looking at you flustered. You then took the jacket to wear while he stares in awe.
"It looks like the jacket you gave me when we met."
"Now I guess I have to drive you home again?" He jokes while he stands in front of you as your hands went inside the pocket. You felt a piece of paper inside and before you could bring it out, Mitsuya stops you—anxious at the memory of him writing you his confession inside that letter seeing that it wasn't the proper time to read it.
"Thank you for this but what I really loved more is seeing you here, Y/N." He admits while you took your arms to wrap it around him once more as he smiles, his arms circling around your waist the way he's missed to do. "I missed you too." You whispered back.
Pulling away, you land a quick peck to his cheek leaving him stunned but soon a smirk returns to his lips earning you a kiss of your own to your forehead while his wish forms into dust knowing the best gift he could ever receive was to love you all over again.
"Happy birthday, Mitsuya."
A/N: THIS WAS ONE WAS LONGER THAN I EXPECTED but happy happy birthday to my favorite, mitsuya!! <3 ily
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One Thousand Followers Celebration
okay I’m honestly kind of shook that we’re even here but thank you to everyone who’s a part of our little corner of the fandom. I love you all so so much and I’m so happy to be here ❤️ most people requested something cute and fluffy so here’s Cassian being drunk and and Nesta comes to get him. I hope you all enjoy!! 💘💘💘
feel free to read it on AO3 here too!
word count: 2975
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Nesta was halfway through her latest read when her phone started buzzing incessantly. It was just getting to the good part, where the main couple started to realize maybe there was something more between them than burning hatred, and she didn’t want to put it down. Frankly, it reminded her of her own love story, but she’d never admit that to anyone out loud.
She was forced to look away when her phone was vibrating so constantly with texts she thought someone was calling her. Sighing, she reached for her phone, unlocking it only to see her husband had sent her almost twenty messages.
Cassian, 11:52 PM
Nesta
Nes
I love yiu sooooo muche
Youe so pretty
I weish u were here
everyons laufghint at me but i miss u
wyd
nesssssssssss
are u ignoringme for a book agwain
:(
Swethearft<3
did i tell u i luv u td
wait its ok I ddid
i want a kiss when i see u ok
The remaining messages were a jumble of Spanish and English words mixed together, and while she had a working knowledge of Spanish, she didn’t know it well enough to even attempt to decipher what he was trying to tell her. Still, she couldn’t help but smile as she read through them all, affection blooming in her chest for her favorite person in the world.
Cassian, Rhys, and Azriel had gone out to their favorite bar for guys night, and Cassian was clearly drunk off his ass. It was really hard to keep a straight face with him normally, but when he was drunk, she thought it was one of the most adorable things she’d ever seen.
Nesta, 12:01 AM
I love you too, you big goofball
I’ll give you a kiss and a hug when I see you how’s that
Her phone was ringing within seconds, a picture of Cassian filling her screen before she answered.
“Hello?” she said, marking her page with a bookmark before closing it.
“Nesta!” Cassian exclaimed. She had to pull her phone from her ear for a moment, but she smiled again anyways.
“Hi, Cassian,” she replied, trying not to laugh. He was just so cute. “Are you having a good time?”
“Leave me alone, I’m talking to my wife,” he said, his voice sounding slightly further away. He must have been talking to Rhys or Azriel, but the way referred to her made her want to melt. They’d been together for years and married for just over one, but it still sent a thrill through her to hear him claim her out loud.
“Nes?” he said, his voice back to normal volume.
“I’m here,” she said, getting off the bed to begin looking for her shoes. He normally called her and started getting ridiculously affectionate when it was getting close for him to come home, so it was only a matter of time before he asked her to come get him.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Looking for my shoes,” she replied, spotting her boots on the floor. Leaning her phone against her ear, she bent down and put them on over her leggings before walking back to her dresser.
“Are you coming to find me?” he asked. She couldn’t help but smile at how excited he sounded by the prospect.
“Yes, baby.” Nesta hit speaker and put the phone down on their dresser as she took off the oversized shirt that she’d borrowed from him, slid a sports bra on, and put on a plain tee shirt over it.
“Oh thank God,” he said, and then dropped his voice to a loud whisper. “You’re much more fun than the dumbasses I’m with.”
She’d opened her mouth to reply, but then Cassian began talking to someone else nearby. “Tarquin! Fancy seeing you here! Are you still mad about your windows? Nes, I gotta go. Love you.”
It was a cool September evening, so Nesta grabbed a denim jacket before throwing her hair up into a bun and leaving their apartment. Once she got to her car, it was a short fifteen minutes to get to The Sidra. Thankfully there was ample street parking around the corner, and the bouncer let her in with a quick flash of her ID.
Nesta walked inside, spotting her husband and his friends immediately. They took up a ridiculous amount of space in one of the booths, and she couldn’t resist smiling as Cassian visibly brightened by her appearance.
“Nesta!” he shouted, grinning widely as she got closer. So much for subtlety, she supposed. She offered repeated apologies as she walked over to where he was sitting, but thankfully most of the people there seemed to think his behavior was too cute to be a serious nuisance.
Once she was next to the side of the booth he was sitting on, he pulled her in for a hug, wrapping his muscular arms around her waist and laying his head on her chest.
“Cassian,” she said at a normal volume, endlessly amused as he snuggled into her. She leaned down to press a kiss to the top of his head before turning to greet Rhys and Azriel, both of whom looked seconds away from breaking out laughing.
“Don’t you dare,” she told them, tightening her arms around Cassian as she gave his friends a look. They both hold their hands up in surrender, Azriel raising his beer at her before turning back to Rhys.
“I missed you,” Cassian said against her chest, his voice muffled. “So much.”
“Every minute without you was excruciating,” Nesta said, playing along. He looked up at her with a pout.
“Stop teasing me,” he told her. He was frowning slightly now. “I did miss you a lot, you know.”
“I’m sorry. You’re just so cute like this, it’s hard not to tease you a little bit.”
“Not as cute as you.” Cassian smiled up at her, pleased with himself. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes good-naturedly and let him tug her into his lap.
“Sorry to crash your guys’ night,” she said to Rhys and Azriel now that she was facing them.
“He’s not as much fun when he gets like this anyway,” Azriel replied, chuckling. “In his old age, he’s turned into a sappy drunk.”
“Hey! We’re the same age!” Cassian protested from behind her, tightening his grip around her waist. Azriel and Cassian had both turned thirty earlier this year, while Rhys’ birthday wasn’t until November. Nesta had turned twenty-eight back in April.
“Good thing I like sappy drunks,” she said, twisting around to face him. He gave his friends a smug look as she pressed a kiss to his warm cheek, his stubble scratching her face in a way she loved.
“You two are the worst,” Rhys groaned.
“Like you and my sister are any better,” Nesta shot back as she turned around. Feyre and Rhys had been together since their college days and had tied the knot once they’d both graduated.
“Speaking of her, I’d love to get back home to her,” he replied. He pulled out his phone and began texting, and Nesta guessed he was asking if she was still awake.
“I guess that’s it then, huh?” Azriel asked, raising an eyebrow at Nesta.
“I’m sure Gwyn is dying to see you too,” she teased, smiling softly at him. She and Emerie had colluded with Cassian and Rhys to set the pair up on a blind date last year, and everyone had been thrilled when they’d agreed to keep seeing each other.
“She has a performance tomorrow, so she’s probably already asleep,” Azriel answered, raising a hand to catch the closest server’s attention.
“I told you my wife was hot as fuck,” Cassian said suddenly, shifting to point wildly at Nesta as their server – a young woman named Nuala – came by to bring them the check.
“I’m thrilled,” she replied dryly, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Nesta. “He hasn’t shut up about you for the last half an hour, you know. Thank God he wasn’t making you up.”
“Thanks,” Nesta said, her lips twitching from trying to hold in her laughter. Rhys put down his card to pay for all of them, waving off Cassian and Azriel’s attempts to give him money for their share of the check. Within a few minutes, the four of them were getting out of their booth and beginning the walk to the exit.
Cassian immediately went for Nesta’s hand, intertwining their fingers before bringing their hands to his mouth so he could kiss the back of hers.
“That is so unhygienic,” she said, exasperated. “I haven’t washed my hands since I left our place.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” he said, grinning at her. He kissed the back of her hand one more time before lowering their hands to swing them between the two of them as they kept walking.
“Who’s that guy glaring at you?” Nesta asked, noticing a tall Black guy staring Cassian down from a booth near the door. He had silver curls that stood out brightly against his dark skin, but he couldn’t have been much older than any of them. It had to have been natural, since his eyebrows and lashes were the same color.
“Oh, that’s Tarquin,” he replied, waving at Tarquin with a sheepish grin from where they stood. Tarquin flipped him off before turning back to his companions, who both shared the same dark skin and silvery hair.
“Why is he glaring at you? Do I need to talk to him?” Nesta asked, frowning. She was the only one allowed to glare at her husband like that.
“No sweetheart, it’s fine,” Cassian replied, laughing as they walked by the table. “It’s our inside joke. He threw a party senior year of college and I might have gotten drunk and broken a few windows in his house.”
“You what? Cassian, that’s not an inside joke.”
“It’s fine, Nes. I paid him back for it, but his parents were pissed. I’m banned from his neighborhood, actually.”
“That is not fine.”
“I might be drunk, but I know when I’m right,” Cassian said, just before walking right into the door. Azriel had accidentally let it swing behind him and Cassian hadn’t grabbed it in time, and it got him right in the face.
Nesta burst out laughing before she clapped her free hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. Are you okay?”
“The love of my life just laughed at my pain,” he whined, yanking open the door. Azriel and Rhys were absolutely losing it on the other side, making it hard for Nesta to keep her composure in solidarity with Cassian.
“Let me see it,” she said once they were outside. Cassian had pressed his hand to the side of his face, but Nesta got him to move it with her free one. His cheek was red from the impact, but she was sure it’d be fine with some ice once they got back to their place.
“It’s not so bad,” she reassured him. It was hard to keep a straight face with his friends – mostly Rhys – still howling in the background, but she got on her toes to give him a kiss on his face.
“It still hurts,” he said, pouting at her. “Can I get another kiss?”
“You big baby,” she said, but she leaned in and kissed his cheek again. “That’s all you’re getting. When we get home, I’m putting ice on that.”
“I love it when you boss me around,” he said dreamily, letting her tug him past his friends. “It does things to me.”
“Please take him home,” Rhys called from behind them. Nesta flipped him off before Cassian could, earning another wide grin from him as they walked towards her car.
“Thanks for the best thing I’ve ever seen!” Azriel added, both of their laughter fading the farther Nesta and Cassian walked.
“They’re so mean,” Cassian grumbled as she dug into her pocket for the keys.
“You want me to yell at them? Hurt their feelings a little?” she offered, unlocking the doors.
“No,” he said, pouting again. He got into the passenger seat as Nesta walked around to the driver’s side, and he immediately reached for her hand once she sat down.
“I’d do it if you wanted me to,” she told him, shooting him an amused look before starting the car.
“Maybe a real kiss would make me feel better,” he suggested, leaning towards her and puckering his lips.
Nesta leaned in and brushed her lips against his, but he wasn’t having it. He cupped the back of her head as he deepened their kiss, warming her up inside from the cool September air.
“Come on, let’s go home,” Nesta said, pulling away even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. He huffed and pouted but thankfully put his seatbelt on.
It was a quick ride back to their building, and thankfully Cassian managed not to walk into any more doors on their way upstairs. He wrapped his arm around her as they got off the elevator, which Nesta thought was as much for balance as it was to hold her close.
“Thank you for coming to get me,” he said once they were back in their apartment. He immediately walked into the bedroom and flopped on their bed, somehow managing not to knock anything over or hit Nesta’s book.
“You’re welcome,” Nesta said back, taking the time to take off her jacket and shoes before walking to the freezer to grab a bag of frozen peas. She wrapped it in a paper towel before coming to lay next to him, taking down her bun so that her hair was down around her.
“Can I tell you a secret?” he whispered, turning to look at her. His eyes lit up when he noticed her hair was down, and he reached over to play with it. She handed him the peas instead, making sure he pressed them to the side of his face.
“I thought I knew all your secrets,” she whispered back, smiling softly as she indulged him. She loved that she was the one who got to see him like this, that she was the first person he saw in the mornings and the last person he saw when he closed his eyes at night.
“You do,” he confirmed, pulling the peas away to smile at her. She gave him a disapproving look and he quickly put them back before continuing. “I love nights like these.”
“Why’s that?” she asked. She reached out to brush some of his loose waves away from his face so they didn’t get in the way of the peas.
“I never thought I would be as happy as I am right now,” Cassian said seriously. His other eye was blocked from the position of the peas, so Nesta just held the gaze of the one she could see as he moved his hand to cup her face.
Sometimes he would say things like this that made her feel like her heart was going to burst from how sweet he was. “Really?”
“Yeah.” He shifted closer to her, and Nesta inhaled deeply at the lingering scent of his cologne. “I remember when you wouldn’t even say my name out loud. Now you’re here with me and my peas.”
She laughed before answering. “It was the peas that really sold me, you know. I should have written them into my vows.”
“And you’re telling jokes? Tonight must be my lucky night.”
“Shut up before I take the peas from you, Cassian.”
“You love me too much to do that, Nes.”
“Stop using my love for you against me. It’s unfair and you know it.”
“Never,” he said, running his thumb across her cheek. “I love you too much not to use every advantage I can get.”
“I taught you too well,” she said, smiling softly at him. “Come on, let’s get ready for bed.”
She turned to kiss his palm, as unhygienic as it was, and then got up and started changing into pajamas. He groaned as he rolled off the bed, stretching as he stood up to reveal a strip of golden-brown skin at his abdomen before walking towards their bathroom.
Nesta joined him to brush her teeth in another one of his oversized shirts and no pants. He finished first, squeezing her hip as he walked by her and went back into their bedroom. She quickly brushed through her hair and pulled it into a loose braid for sleep before turning off the light.
Cassian was waiting for her under the covers, laughing as he examined the back of her book. “Is there smut in this one?”
She rolled her eyes before grabbing it from him. “You’re insufferable.”
“That’s a yes, then,” he said, grinning. She turned the lights off and put the book on her nightstand before she slid under the covers, snuggling up next to him anyway.
“I’ll let you know when I get to the juicy parts,” she grumbled eventually. He laughed under his breath, pulling her tighter against him as he maneuvered them so her back was to his chest as usual. His heart was beating its usual steady rhythm against her, a familiar baseline that let her know she was safe and everything was right in the world as long as she could curl up next to him every night.
“I love you,” she whispered, not sure if he was asleep yet. He could fall asleep anywhere, and ridiculously quickly at that; she wasn’t too proud to admit she was jealous.
“I love you, too,” he replied, tangling their legs together.
It didn’t take long for either of them to fall asleep after that.
tag list (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @live-the-fangirl-life | @nessiansimp | @bookologist | @simpingfornestaarcheron | @sayosdreams | @dealingdifferentdevils | @rowaelinismyotp | @arinbelle | @swankii-art-teacher | @angelicvoice19 | @teagoddess99 | @dontgetsalmonella | @champanheandluxxury | @chloepereyra | @bookstantrash | @houseofcalores | @lysakirova | @generalnesta | @gwynberdara | @sv0430 | @catplayinvioline | @julemmaes | @secretlovelybeauty | @flora-shadowshine | @imsointobooks | @sophilightwood | @lemonade-coolattas |
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Pink lady
Note - For the lovely @lielullabyes 500 followers challenge! Congrats babe🥰🥰
And for @navybrat817 and @stargazingfangirl18s challenge and birthday! I'm sorry I'm a bit late! Hope y'all like it❤❤
Summary - You try to convince your professor to give you a better grade.
Warnings - smut, age gap, professor/student relationship, deep throating, cock warming.
Prompts - professor!character x student!reader for snow
Gif prompt + your professor has a different kind of extra credit in mind for navy and siri
Pairing - Andy Barber x reader
Word count - almost 4k
Masterlist is linked in the bio!
You closed your eyes rubbing them to sooth the dryness. You had a long day and getting anything through your thick skull was turning out to be a challenge.
Of course it would. You were never an amazing student. You just studied the night before the exam and cramped whatever you could, writing what you remember on the test the next day. And yeah it wasn’t the most ideal way to study but it had worked so far for you. You got by alright.
It was more of all the shitty professors you’ve ever had than your fault. None of them could ever get you really interested in their subjects. They either didn’t care enough or only knew how to abuse their power.
But then he walked into your class. He was pretty enough to be a model or an actor. You just assumed he was someone famous. You felt as if you’ve met him before, as if you’ve known him your whole life. You were shocked to hear he was your new criminology professor, along with being a DA. Which has to be a demanding job.
It was impossible to not listen to him when he spoke, his voice so smooth like honey, carrying hints of a Boston accent he let slip whenever he got too passionate, which was quiet often.
He had broad shoulders and thick biceps he hit under those expensive suits and dress shirts. But it was more than that. He acted as if he cared. About his students, about the things he was teaching you. He always encouraged questions and helped everyone with their doubts. He had you on the edge of your seat with every word he said.
He even knew all the students by their names. Well... everyone except you.
You never interacted much in your classes, too afraid to make a fool of yourself in front of your dream man. So you had decided to buckle down and study as much as you can so you can finally raise your hand when he asked a question. How amazing it would be to hear him say ‘Good job' to you.
Maybe it isn’t classy to harbor such sinful thoughts about your professor. But the way his pants stretched over his round butt, hugging his long legs and creasing as he leaned against the edge of his table, his thick dark beard framing his face so perfectly, was just so mesmerizing. He was sex on legs. Were you really to blame here?
You had made sure to get to class ten minutes early so you could sit on the first bench. To get a close up look at the show. He was talking about something, you couldn’t really focus on. Your eyes stuck to his crotch, and how you could clearly see the imprint of his...
“Shit” You whispered as you heard him call out your surname, suddenly realising that he had his eyes on you.
“What do you think?” He asked.
“Wh – I – don’t really think a lot.” You stammered “I’m sorry what was the question?” You cringed at yourself.
“Try to pay attention next time.” He scolded you as you cowered under his intense gaze, his lips set in a hard line as he went back to addressing the whole class and resuming his lecture.
He didn’t even spare a look at you the rest of the class. You had to keep your tears at bay. It would’ve been better if you were invisible to him. Anything would be better than being publicly humiliated like that.
You decided then and there that you don’t like him. Sure you weren’t paying attention but how dare he point that out? He would never do that to anyone else. What the fuck did he have against you.
Nope. You were going to hate him now and bear him till the end of the semester. But then, all your resolve went out the window as soon as he turned around to write something on the board, giving everyone a nice view of his 'cute bubble butt'. At least that’s what you heard someone else call it. Although the kind of feelings it gave you were anything but cute.
After two long torturous hours the class was dismissed. You scrambled to pack up your bag. You were about to leave your, but body stopped of its own accord when you heard him call out your surname again. Sending shivers down your spine. You took a deep breathe turning around to look at him, your mouth suddenly dry and your hands clammy and sweaty.
“Yes professor Barber?” You asked as you stood a few feet away from him, staring at his shoes as if they were the most interesting thing you’ve ever seen. You could not look at his face. You would melt on spot and make an idiot of yourself, again.
You cursed as he walked towards you standing just in front. You had never been so close to him before, you could smell his musky cologne, feel his hot breath on your forehead.
“Don’t you think it’s rude to not look at your professor when speaking to him?” He asked cocking his head.
He couldn’t but feel proud and satisfied as you complied so easily, looking up at him. The tip of your tongue peaked out to lick your lip before your lower lip was caught in your teeth as you chewed harshly on it. A very distracting habit of yours. He really had to resist the urge to groan.
He wondered if you knew you were so cruelly teasing him or if you were as oblivious as you seemed to be.
He was excited when he was offered a position to be a teacher, a chance to shape young minds. To make a larger difference in the world. He stayed up all night preparing for his first lecture. He was always thorough with his work. He had made up his mind to do his best and be a good teacher.
But he knew he was ruined as soon as his eyes landed on you.
He wasn’t one for making friends. Always having trouble trusting people. Especially in his profession. It wasn’t that he was shy. He hated small talk and just didn’t have a lot to say, unless he was in a courtroom, even if he did he wasn’t always sure how he should say it.
But when he and his colleagues had a win on a particularly hard case, bringing down a huge mob after working tirelessly for over 3 months, he agreed to go out for drinks to celebrate. He did need to wind down a bit. When he wasn’t at the office he was at home either working or sleeping.
He was sitting on the bar stool with Henry the paralegal he had come to like the guy. He had been a huge help with the case. Henry was going on about his daughters biology project when Andy felt a tap on his shoulder he looked over his shoulder before turning around to get a proper you.
There you stood, leaning against the bar with a dopey grin on your face. He couldn’t help but do you a once over, looking you up and down, you were wearing a hot pink dress that hugged your waist before flaring over your hips. He smiled at your cute kitten heels with small white bows on them. You looked so beautiful, your hair tied up in a high ponytail as curls framed your sweet face.
“Hello mister businessman mister!” You giggled before covering your mouth as you let out a hiccup. “Oops excuse me.”
“I’m not a businessman.” He smiled shaking his head.
“Well you sure do look like one!” you laughed weakly punching his bicep “Oh my gosh” You gulped pressing his bicep in your palm “You must work out.”
“I dabble here and there.” He said waving it off as if it wasn’t a big deal “Can I buy you a drink? Are you old enough to be here?” He wondered.
“I’ll have you know I’m more than old enough” You said proudly. Normally, he would never even consider flirting with someone who looked so young, but for some reason he just couldn’t stop. “Yes I will have a drink. Wait no! No I won’t!” You gasped.
“That’s probably a good idea. You seemed to have had plenty. How about a coffee?” He offered.
“Nope I’m fine. I’m here for my friend Stacey. She likes you.” You drawled out moving your hips side to side dancing to a tune stuck in your head.
“And you don’t like me?” He pouted.
“Noooo” You whined cupping his beard in your hands. He kept pouting to milk some more sympathy from you but was completely taken aback when you pressed your soft cushiony lips over his. You pulled back staring into his eyes and said “I like you a lot! But sisters before misters you know. I couldn’t do that to my friend.” And now you were the one pouting.
He heard Henry clear his throat behind him “I’ll just go on home then. See you tomorrow man.” Andy couldn’t be bothered to turn around to say goodbye, his eyes completely focused on you.
“Oh no your friend left. Whatever you’re going home with Stacey anyway.” You looked around for your friend “Where is she? Oh no! She’s not here.”
Andy frowned looking around the bar with you “Don’t worry she must be in the bathroom or something. Why don’t you try calling her?”
You whipped out your phone from your bag. Your lips starting quivering and eyes turned glossy as you looked at it. “Hey what happened?” His instincts screaming at him to sooth your panic state. He just ran his hand up and down your forearm, there wasn’t much else he could do without seeming like a creep.
“My friend left! She said she went home with a wall street guy. Left me all alone.”
He frowned at that. “Your friend doesn’t deserve you.” He stated as if he knew you. He didn’t but he knew how loyal you were to your friend when you turned him down. Who would abandon such a sweet thing like you?
“And we were gonna go to dinner and everything.” You sniffled “I’ll have to walk home now.”
“No you won’t.” He blurted clenching his jaw. He knew just how bad men could be. He would never let a clearly inebriated woman go home alone.
Sure in any other case he would’ve called or even paid for an taxi. But he couldn’t say goodbye to you just yet. So he offered to take you home. And with some convincing you agreed.
He secured you into the passenger seat before putting your address in the GPS. He found himself laughing more than he ever had at your incoherent drunken ramblings.
“Do you believe in aliens?” Before he could even answer you continued “What if this is all just a simulation. By aliens. Like what if we’re in a tv show. That’d be awesome.” You leaned against the window, closing your eyes.
“Are you this funny when you’re sober?” He wanted to know. Although he had an inkling that you definitely would be.
“Yes I am! But my friends tell me I talk too much.” You said scrunching up your nose.
“I could listen to you talk all night. But I think we’re here.” He said parking across a building. “is this it?”
“Yeah” You nodded. “You’re right dude. They don’t deserve me.”
“Don’t call me dude.” He grumbled. You call your friends ‘dude’. And he had no intentions of being just a friend to you.
“Fine dude” You chuckled. “Do you have a pen?” You asked.
“Uh I think” He felt his pockets and then pulled out a fountain pen he always carried around with him.
You took it from him and shook your head. “You business men and your pens” You snatched his arm and started writing something on his palm.
“I keep telling you I’m not a business man.” He argued.
His heart swelled with giddiness as he saw you write down numbers on his open palm.
“Call me if you wanna hear me talk some more, ‘night.” You struggled to open the door before stumbling out. He made sure you got inside your building safely before he entered your number in his phone. He didn’t ask your name, too caught up in your rant about women’s jeans not having pockets. So he just saved it as ‘pink lady’.
He was so excited to hear from you again that he called you the next morning. Only you had given him the wrong number. He didn’t know if it was a mistake or if you had just lead him on. He considered maybe ‘accidentally’ bumping into you near your apartment. But then he saw you. In his class, as his student.
You didn’t seem to remember him but obviously had a crush on him. You weren’t such a confident talker without the influence of alcohol, the one time he asked you what your name was you just replied with ‘I’ve never had one.’ Which was adorable but also infuriating.
Was he so damn forgettable? How did you manage to do such a number on him, so much so that you haunted his wet dreams, but you had completely forgotten about him and the whole encounter. Going about your merry life, your mind not plagued with such unprofessional and unethical thoughts.
He wanted to know you. To hear you ramble some more or be awkward. Literally anything but the cold shoulder you were giving him. So he did a bad thing. He called you out when you were clearly too busy ogling him. He revelled in the sick pleasure he got from embarrassing you.
“Why don’t we go talk in my office?” He suggested and collected his books without waiting for your answer. You both made your way over to his office, you following a few steps behind him. “After you.” He said as he held the door open for you.
He locked the little latch as he closed the door, instructing you to take a seat. He wasn’t sure why he had called you over. It wasn’t like he could actually act on his feelings. Or ask you if you remembered him at all. It would be out of the question. He would get fired from the university, his reputation would be tarnished.
He took a seat at his desk shuffling through the papers in his drawer and brought one out on the desk.
He felt his cock twitch in his pants as he took in your demure state. How you had made yourself so small across him. He decided then. He couldn’t possibly not do anything about his feelings. Once his mind was set on something he HAS to have it.
Every fibre of his being was screaming at him to simply bend you over the desk and take you in the most primal way possible. But he could wait. In just a few months you would graduate and he would ask you out. There was a possibility that you would turn him down. Again. But he’d take his chances and get what he wanted. He always did.
“Your grades aren’t doing so well Miss L/N” He said passing the paper over to you. “It’s a C. You barely passed. If you don’t get a B or up in your next exam you won’t pass my class.” As much as he loved seeing you everyday he needed you to graduate so he could have his way with you.
“Oh” You let out as you looked at the test.
“That’s all you have to say? What’s wrong? Do you not understand my teaching?” To which you shook your head no “Maybe you should focus on your studies before going to clubs and getting drunk.” He spit leaning back in his chair. He knew he was being harsh, but he also knew that you needed some tough love.
“I – clubs?” You looked up at him and frowned “I don’t go to clubs! How would you know anyway?”
“Oh so you don’t remember.” He sneered not taking too kindly to being forgotten so easily. “January’s last Thursday. You were wearing a pink dress.”
You looked as if you were in deep thought before your eyes widened almost popping out of their sockets. “Oh my god! You’re that business man!” You gasped.
“Listen closely. Because I won’t say it again. I’m not a business man. I’m a district attorney and your professor.” He said sternly as he threw his head back loosening his tie so frustrated with you. He’d have to be patient. Something he very obviously wasn’t. It’s alright. You were worth waiting for.
“Sorry” You mumbled half heartedly. You knew you remembered him from somewhere. You thought you had dreamt of meeting a handsome and charming business man. Apparently you were wrong. “Why am I here professor Barber?” You asked.
“I told you. You need to get your grades up.”
“Yeah but I’m sure many other students must’ve gotten a C or lower as well. Why are you so concerned with me? What’s so special about me?” You spit with an accusatory tone.
“I care about all my students.” It wasn’t a lie. He did. He just cared about you a little bit more.
“Uh – huh. Then why did you lock the door?”
“I didn’t want anyone to disturb us.” He cleared his throat as he sat up straight in his seat.
“Sure.” You rolled your eyes.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me.”
“Why? What are you gonna do about it?” You asked before exaggeratedly rolling them again.
He scoffed “You’re such a brat.” He shook his head. “I’ll have you straightened up in less than a week when you’re mine.”
You hummed at that. “In your dreams old man.”
“You’ll see sweetheart. I just have to wait till June.”
“Well how about you can have a little taste now? I can give you something if you can change my grade.” You offered biting your lips again.
He groaned at the tempting offer and sight “There’s nothing you can give me that will change my mind.”
“Isn’t there?” You got up and walked around the desk to him, exaggeratedly swaying your hips.
He moved in his chair to look at you kneeling between his legs. Rubbing your hands on his thighs.
“I’m sure I can change your mind.” You said confidently as you undid his buckle and pulled down his zipper.
“I doubt it.” A thought of maybe stopping you as you took his hard cock out of his briefs came to him. But then you looked at his length with such awe, as if you were admiring it.
“You like it?” He smirked.
You could only nod your head and try your best to not drool. “It’s the most beautiful dick I’ve ever seen.” You admitted. It was also the biggest, his rosy mushroom head slippery with precum, couple of blue veins adorning his thick shaft. You could wait to suck the life out of him.
“How many dicks have you seen?” He frowned. He didn’t really liking you thinking about anyone else’s dick, not when his was right in front of you. “Never mind. Finish what you started.” His impatience took over him as he pushed your head down, forcing you to open your mouth and swallow him whole. He moaned at the feeling of your warm wet mouth wrapped around him. “Relax your throat.” He ordered as he pushed deeper into you.
Sighing deeply as his tip hit the back of your throat, groaning as you choked around him before swallowing. “That’s it good girl.” He praised caressing your jaw. Rubbing away the tears cascading down your cheeks.
He pulled some papers out of his bag as your raised your brows at him. “I need to get some work done sweetheart.” He shifted his hips to sit back on his chair. “How about you keep me warm till then?” He said as you whined “What? Do you have other plans?”
You shook your head as he muttered a “Good” And started going through his paperwork. “You can swallow honey. But that’s all you can do. Don’t you dare move.” He warned.
It was proving to be quiet a task. He couldn’t really focus on anything but your mouth and how he wanted to just fuck it and you stupid. But he was teaching you a lesson. He had to wait a while before he came down your throat. Besides this would give him an opportunity to really savor the feel of you.
You laid your head on his thigh as he flipped through his papers for the next half an hour. Suckling here and there to not mess up his pants. When you realised that he might be interested in you, even just a little. You hoped he would just take you, make your dreams come true. You had no idea what the fuck this shit about waiting was. But you were too afraid to say no to him.
He haphazardly put down his pen. Releasing a shaky breath he finally took hold of your head. Rolling his hips a little, he pulled his length out and pushed it back in. Setting a slow and steady pace, knowing that he’d come all too soon.
You moaned as his hand went down to cup your breast fondling it so gently. He lost it as he felt the little vibrations “Do it again” He demanded as you moaned around his length. He held onto the back of your throat driving his hips up a couple of times before spilling in your throat. “Swallow it all.” He ordered as he pulled out of your mouth with a loud ‘pop’.
He groaned as he as your throat swallow a gulp “Clean me up. I have to go to work.” He pushed his tip against your lips as your tongue peaked out and licked what you couldn’t swallow and your spit off of him. You gave his tip a last kiss before tucking him back in his pants.
You stood up on wobbly feet, straightening the wrinkles in your dress. You went over to your chair cleaning your mouth up with a hanky Professor offered. “So you’ll change my grade now?” You pushed your test towards him.
He laughed “We never agreed to that sweetheart.”
“But I – but we – but I just!”
He shushed you putting his papers back in his bag “That would be unethical. You’ll be coming to my house for lessons. We have to make sure you graduate. Are you free tonight?” He looked up as you nodded “Good. Then we’ll decide if you’re worthy of a reward.” He pulled his laptop bag over his shoulder as he walked towards the door, unlatching it and holding it open for you. “I’ll see you tonight sweetheart.”
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I keep posting non marauder content and I apologise (no i dont, you just have to deal with it)
BUT HERE GO, THE CONTENT YOU ACTUALLY WANT FROM ME (probably)
A lil Jily story of angst and fluff kind of:
(its not lil,, its pretty darn long)
tw. brief physical violence and stalking
Lily hated the summer holidays. Her sister always complaining about her return, her parents struggle with keeping Petunia calm while still spending time with Lily, and Severus' change of character once they were back in the muggle town.
But this summer, she had more to worry about. Severus still hadn't left her alone after their fall out. He had started waiting for her in the library, following her in between classes, and and watching her hanging out with her friends at Hogsmeade.
And now without her friends and the separate common rooms in the way, it would be even harder to avoid him and she was worried for her own safety.
So as she stepped off the train, said goodbye to her friends and walked towards her family. She was miserable.
And as the days of summer ticked by, Lily had locked herself in her bedroom. Not wanting to go downstairs in order to avoid the endless arguments and shouting of Petunia, and not wanting to go outside to avoid Severus stalking her and pleading with her to forgive him.
But after a few weeks, her parents urged her to get some sunlight and got her to go to the shop round the corner to grab a few things.
Carrying 2 bags, filled with milk, bread, toilet roll, laundry detergent, the daily newspaper, and a litre bottle of fanta; Lily left the shop. Only to spot Severus a few feet away, and hurriedly following her.
She started walking faster towards her house, but only a few metres a way from home, a hand sharply attached itself to her shoulder.
"Lily!! I'm trying to talk to you!!" He yelled.
Lily shook her shoulder, flinging his hand off it and back to his person.
"I've told you a million times!! Leave me alone!!" She yelled back.
"But I'm in love with you" he said, stepping forwards and about to touch her cheek.
She took a step back and scoffed, "you can't love someone while hating who they are"
"It's not your fault who you're born as, it doesn't matter to me. It's like a curse being put on you, but you can still overcome it. The dark Lord himself is a half blood like me! But we know we're better than that, we just have to overcome that set back." He replied, stepping closer and closer to Lily.
A loud crack sounded and blood ran down Snape's nose. He lifted a hand to his face and felt the blood pouring out. Her grocery bags fell to the floor.
"Being muggleborn is not a setback to overcome. Don't ever come near me again" she replied, before picking up her bags and heading back to her house without looking back once more.
.
The next morning, she looked out her window to see Snape standing outside, holding a bouquet of lilies.
She shut her blinds and hid in her room. As the days ticked by, she never left the house and Snape stood there hour after hour, bringing different assortments of gifts to compensate his inability to actually care about her.
She decided she had to leave for the rest of the holiday. But Mary was visiting family outside the country, Marlene and Dorcas were in Italy together to celebrate their anniversary. Then she remembered Remus was at home.
She owled Remus straight away and got a reply from him fairly quickly, accepting her request of staying at his till the holidays had ended.
So the next morning she packed her things, said goodbye to her mum, and drove with her dad to the train station around 7 am, before Snape arrived at the house.
It was a long, confusing train journey to Wales. But once she got there after hours on different trains, she spotted Remus and his mum sitting outside one of the station cafes.
Remus looked up as she walked towards them, and he moved over a piece of chocolate cake and his cup of tea to make more room for her on the small metal table.
Lily grabbed a seat from an empty table nearby and sat it down. Hope passed a menu over to Lily and she ordered a cup of tea and a a hot sausage roll. The three of them ate and drank before getting to Hope's yellow volkswagen van to get back to the Lupin cottage.
Once they got to the cottage, Hope showed Lily around the house and brought her stuff to Remus' bedroom.
"We don't have any spare rooms I'm afraid so I hope you don't mind sharing with Remus?" Hope asked her.
"No it's fine thank you" she replied.
"Alright, oh also I need to get some more herbs and plants for my stocks so I was going to go foraging tomorrow, would you two like to join me?"
Remus looked towards Lily to see her thoughts, she nodded at him in acceptance.
"Yeah we would" Remus said.
Hope lifted her hand to affectionately stroke Remus' curls before leaving the room.
.
The next day the Lupin's and Lily set out to the forest, Lyall deciding to join them as it was his day off work. All four were carrying small handmade baskets, Lyalls was full of picnic food for lunchtime, while the other's were empty for foraging.
Remus and Lily went ahead in a different direction, agreeing to meet up at the usual spot at lunch time.
As Remus and Lily went through the woods, Remus sometimes picking up certain plants and flowers and putting them in his basket, while Lily (not knowing much about foraging or what Hope needed) only picked flowers she liked and had decided to make a nice bouquet for Hope with them.
The two chatted as they walked, talking about what topics they're studying in their classes next year, about Snape, about their what they had been up to for the last few weeks.
Once they got back to the house, Remus started writing a letter to James and Sirius, who had run away to James' a few weeks ago. While Lily and Hope were downstairs talking, after Lily had given her the bouquet.
Around an hour later, all four were sitting on the lounge for dinner, the bouquet was placed on the middle of the wooden table as a centre piece inside a tall mug with a picture of Phil Bennett on.
After dinner, Lily and Remus went out. There wasn't much to do in the small village in the evening so they ended up in the middle of someone's field. The two sat on the hill for a few hours, stargazing and mindlessly talking about whatever came to mind.
The days went by, with Lily staying at Remus' place. The duo found themselves spending most of their time in a small bookshop cafe and walking through the woods, Remus smoking his weed and Lily sometimes Lily would take a hit but she wasn't as fond of it as Remus was.
With only a week and a half till school started again, Remus and Lily planned to go to hogsmeade together tomorrow.
But midday, two figures appeared walking towards the Lupin cottage just as Remus and Lily got back from their walk in the woods.
As the got closer to the two, they saw it was James and Sirius.
Remus dropped his joint to the floor and ran to the two standing by the door to his home.
He wrapped his arms around Sirius, but felt them freeze up at the touch. So Remus moved to stop the hug, but at that withdrawal, Sirius wrapped his own arms around Remus tightly with no sign of letting go.
The two stood there for a few minutes, wrapped in an embrace while Lily and James stood awkwardly nearby them.
"... hi" James said, waving at Lily, but since they were near each other, Lily had to move backwards to avoid getting hit by his hand.
James quickly withdrew his hand, and stepped back. He looked down at his hand for a few seconds, before bringing it up again and saluting Lily.
As he was half way through saluting her, he realised what he was doing and quickly brought it straight down to his side, and froze at Lily with unblinking eyes like a deer stuck in headlights.
She started laughing, affectively ending the hug between Remus and Sirius, who turned to look between Lily and James.
At that moment, Hope came inside, calling Lily for something and waved in greeting to James and Sirius.
After Lily had walked into the house, James grinned widely.
"She laughed at me!! She thinks I'm funny!"
"She was laughing AT you, cause she thinks you're a wanker" Remus corrected.
Sirius grinned slightly at the retort and grabbed Remus' hand.
Remus looked to Sirius and James realised Sirius would talk to Remus and Remus could help Sirius, even just slightly.
"I'll go see if Hope needs some more help" James said before turning to the cottage and giving Remus and Sirius some time alone.
Inside the cottage, James and Lily were setting up cutlery around the table and helping Hope with the dinner.
James noticed the flowers in the mug, "wow, these look really nice Hope, my mum keeps trying to make some nice flower arrangements for around the house but she's not very good at it. I made this red and gold one, go gryffindor!! for her birthday a few weeks ago but it was no where near as good as this one!!"
Hope came out of the kitchen carrying a saucepan of curry.
"Oh no honey, I didn't make that, that was all thanks to Lily" she said coming round the table and softly touching Lily's arm in gratitude.
"Oh" James said, freezing again as he stared back at Lily. "Its.. um.. its really good.. I like the uhh,, its good."
Lily raised an eyebrow at him, "thank you?"
James nodded, and tapped the table, trying to think of something else to say.
His eyes glanced over the the window, spotting Remus and Sirius sitting on the edge of the woods on a small bench, still talking and holding each others hand.
"I should probably go get them for dinner" he said, about to get out of his seat.
Hope waved her hand absentmindedly, "oh leave them its fine, the lovebirds can eat later"
A few minutes later, Lyall came back from work and sat at the table with them.
The four ate in fairly comfortable silence, sometimes having small conversations.
.
The next day they went to Hogsmeade.
Sirius waringly looking out for any of their family members as they walked around doing their shopping. Remus stood by xyr side the whole time, with James and Lily awkwardly leading the group together.
Peter found them a few hours later, he was shopping with zir mum but stayed with his friends for a while.
In Flourish and Blotts, Sirius and Remus seemed to have disappeared together in a fiction section, bonding over their mutual love of books packed with monsters and adventures and swordsmen.
Lily gazed at books on the shelf closest to her, sometimes bringing one up to her eye line and reading the blurb before putting it back on the shelf again.
James stood there with Peter, who he was very glad of, Peter acting as a distraction of the awkward silence between Lily and James.
So as Peter rambled about how he's so glad ze doesn't have to do potions anymore, James took his mind of trying to impress Lily and put his focus on listening to Peter.
However in the next moment, Peter made a very tactical decision of engaging Lily into the conversation.
"So Lily, I'm guessing you're still taking Potions this year?" Peter asked.
Lily turned around, one hand still lightly touching one of the books on the shelf.
"Yeah, but it sucks that none of my friends are taking it. I tried to get Remus to change his mind and take it for weeks.. and then he blew up half the kitchen trying to make pasta sauce and realised my efforts were futile."
James laughed, "thats Remus, alright"
Lily looked over at him, contemplating. Before nodding her head and smiling slightly as she turned back to the bookshelf.
After around five minutes, Peter chiped up.
"Oh!! James is taking Potions still aren't you? You said you're dad really wanted you to get a Potion Newt. You two can hang out in class"
James sent Peter a 'what the hell' glare before Lily nodded again and clearly said the words,
"I guess we could, its better than the chance of getting stuck with Sev- Snape for the rest of the year... are you any good?"
James froze, "um.. yeah, yeah.. well no, not really to be honest"
Lily smiled again, "thats fine, I'm hood enough for the both of us"
She took a book off the shelf and kept it in her arms for the first time. And then walked back to James and Peter.
"If I'm helping you in Potions though, you've gotta help me with transfiguration."
She lifted up the book in her arms to show the cover, the transfiguration book they needed this year.
"I skimmed this a little, and it barely made any sense at all."
James lifted a hand to his hair, ruffling it up on a nervous habit.
"Minnie gave me a group of younger years to tutor last year, maybe you could come to those? .. not that I think you're as dumb as first and second years, far from it, you're one of the smartest people I know. But I just mean that a lot of our topics this year our ones that we did in first and second year but with more context and more advanced. So I thought that if you revised the basics then the more advanced parts would make more sense to you.. if you wanted?"
"Yeah that sounds great" she said, before moving to another bookshelf and flicking through it.
The rest of the day, the two of them talked and talked. And back at Remus' cottage Lily walked up to him before he had to leave with Sirius.
"Today was fun, friends?" She asked.
James nodded, "friends"
As him and Sirius left, Sirius hit his shoulder.
"What were you and Lily talking about? Declaring your undying love for her?"
James shook his head, "We're just friends, I need to just... move on i guess, friends is as best as it'll get. And its enough for me."
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A Hellish Encounter
By Drazzilder
Chapter 19: Birthday
It’s spring and you are turning 35 today. Normally birthdays never meant anything to you. The most you got in the facility was a prepackaged cupcake to celebrate. You couldn’t even celebrate while on the run for obvious reasons so it’s nice to finally celebrate it. Enji has been very silent about the day except for asking if you want anything special. You don’t really want anything for your birthday, you are just happy to have everything you have now: a family that loves you.
The morning starts off not too different than normal. You get up and start cooking breakfast like normal but there looks to be new pots and pans with matching cooking utensils. Enji must have heard your surprised voice because he came down faster than normal.
“Happy Birthday (Y/N).” he says with the biggest smile.
“Thank you Enji. I love it!”
“With all the cooking you do for the family, I thought some new tools would be nice for you.”
You give him a big hug and kiss his cheek. “It’s perfect. Did you want anything special for breakfast?”
“Why are you cooking? It’s your birthday, I should be cooking for you.”
“Remember the last time you cooked eggs?” you say squinting at him.
“Fair point… I’ll be happy with anything you cook. Don’t forget your going out today with Shoto and Natsuo to the mall to get them new school clothes.”
“Sounds like fun to me.” You smile.
After breakfast, you head out with the boys to go shopping. As soon as the front door closes, Enji and Fuyumi get to work. After some phone calls, a truck comes to the house. Package after package enters the house and start to fill the living room. A 4-foot-tall cake is delivered to the house and placed in the dining room. The last package is so large that it can’t fit in the house so Enji has the workers crane into the backyard to hide it.
“Dad, I know you love (Y/N) and all but don’t you think this is a bit much?”
“He told me he has never had a birthday celebration before so I wanted to make it special. I already missed the past few birthdays.”
“He looked happy just to get pots and pans. I just hope you don’t overwhelm him.”
“He will be fine. What’s next on the list?”
“Decorations.”
“Ok, let’s keep going.”
~
The shopping trip is lasting a lot longer than you initially thought it would. Shoto and Natsuo are having a hard time deciding on what to buy. They go from store to store, being indecisive the entire time. Even your patience is wearing thin as the day goes on.
(Y/N): “Can you please just decide on something.” You say in an exasperated tone.
N: “Shoto, what do you think of this?” he says holding up a punk style jacket.
S: “I don’t know, doesn’t really look like you.”
Z: “Ok, now I’m even getting annoyed. If you two don’t pick something, I will make you!” he says as your eye starts glowing brighter.
N: “Just give me a little more time.”
(Y/N): “FUCKING HELL! It’s been 4 hours! I already know that you’re here to keep me away from the house.”
S: “There goes the surprise.”
N: “Did you use your mind reading powers on us?”
(Y/N): “I didn’t have to; you’re here taking forever while your father and sister are at home. It’s obvious. Just tell me how much longer we have to wait.” You say covering your eyes with one hand out if frustration.
S: “Dad said he will text us. What about it being a surprise?”
(Y/N): “I can act when I need to. Can we just stop to get something to eat, Zaheer is getting restless inside of me?”
Z: “This is torture, even for a demon.”
After some lunch and waiting some more, you finally get the text message to come back home. You take the train home to give them more time if they need it. Whatever is going on seems to be taken care of because nothing looks amiss at the front door. However, that all changes when you open the door. Confetti cannons go off as you’re blinded by the paper. Enji and Fuyumi come out as she shouts “Happy Birthday!” You do your best try to act surprised but you are more shocked at everything that is going on. The living room is stacked almost to the ceiling with presents, there are streamers and balloons everywhere, and the birthday cake looks like it might catch fire with the number of candles on it.
Fuyumi grabs your arm and pulls you to the giant cake. “Quickly, blow at the candles and make a wish!”
After blowing out all the candles, with some effort, you look at everything. “You didn’t have you do all of this.”
Enji hugs you. “Well, I wanted to do this for you. You have a lot of presents to open so you better get started.”
(Y/N): “All of those are for me?”
F: “Yea, I think dad went a little overboard. There is about 200 presents.”
“A little?” You say looking at the massive stack of gives. You start with the closest one. Its small but when you open it, it’s a Rolex watch. You look at Enji who has a smile on his face.
“I saw you looking at it one day. After we left, I ordered it immediately.”
“Enji…. I love it but you didn’t have to do this. Are all of the gifts this expensive?” You say in shock.
“Not all of them but nothing is too much for the person I love the most.”
As the day wears on, you open more and more gifts. Designer clothing, shoes, electronics, knives, and anything else you had your eyes on was a present. After all the presents were open, you eat some cake. Between the five of you, you barely made a dent in the cake that could serve 250+. You’re getting more annoyed at this point when Enji says there is one last gift. Everyone heads outside and you see a cloth with a bow on top of a large preset. When you pull the cloth off, it’s the sports car you have been looking at for a while. You are at your breaking point when you finally speak.
“Kids, can you leave your father and I alone for a little bit.”
After they leave with some questioned looks. “Did you have a good birthday, (Y/N)?” he says with a faint smile.
“Enji…. I can’t accept all of this.” You say looking at the car.
“What do you mean? I got you everything you wanted.”
“But I don’t need all of this stuff.”
“Fuyumi told me to get whatever you like. I told her some of the things you looked at and she said that’s a good way to get what you like.”
“That is a good way to do it, but did you think about what you were buying?”
“What?”
You say coming towards him, holding his hand. “Enji…. why would I need a car?”
“You have been searching that car a lot and I saw you look at it in person when it drove up next to us one day. I thought you really wanted it.”
“But I can teleport…”
“Oh… that’s what you mean.”
“I appreciate all of this, I really do, but it’s too much. How much did this cost?”
“More than I want to admit.” He says turning away from you.
“Ok, can you tell me how many credit cards you maxed out for this?”
“5…” he mumbles.
“And how long have you been working on this?”
“3 months….” He says realizing the problem.
“You didn’t have to do this much for me. I know what you were trying to do but you don’t have to make up for all the birthdays I missed. The pots and pans and maybe some cupcakes would have been more than I ever had before.”
Looking at the car: “I just wanted you to be happy.” as he squeezes your hand harder.
Putting a hand to his face to turn it to you: “And I am. Just being with someone I love on my birthday really is enough.”
With a sigh. “What do you want to do now?”
“I’m more than happy with everything I got before breakfast. I love cooking for you, making your favorite meals after a hard day’s work to make you happy. That to me is more special than any watch or pair of shoes. Let’s make some calls and see what we can return, does that sound good?”
Looking down, “What about the car?”
“Now hold on… maybe we could keep that. I think it’s a little weird for the number 2 hero driving an average family sedan. Why don’t you use this as your daily driver? Well, if you can fit in it.”
“I can, I tested it when I bought it. It’s really nice.” He says rubbing his chin in thought. “It would make a better impression than what I have now.”
“Plus, we can use it for when we want to go on trips just for us and the kids can use the sedan for their own use.”
“That does sound nice.”
Sitting down on the ground: “Come here, let’s lie down and watch the sky. I could use a little relaxation after all that craziness.” You say patting the grass next to you.
“I’m sorry if I stressed you.”
“You didn’t. Just relax with me for a while.”
You both lay down and hold hands. You both just watch the clouds go by as the day slowly turns to dusk. Throughout that time, you talked about the family, about the craziness of how Enji bought everything and brought it home. Finding out how much Enji had to do to make all of that happen makes you love him more, putting in so much effort for you. You both laughed at the thought of what to do with all that cake. When the sun finally set, you both went inside.
F: “Is everything ok? You were out there a long time.”
E: “Everything is fine, we discussed about today.”
S: “Something wrong?”
E: “We will be returning almost everything.”
N: “I knew it. He didn’t like any of it.”
(Y/N): “No, I appreciate all of it and I love that Enji put so much effort and time into this but I really don’t need all this stuff.”
N: “Even the car?”
(Y/N): “No, your father will be using it as his new car.”
N: “Can I use it every once in a while.” He says with a childish grin.
E: “No.”
(Y/N): “Hold on Enji, maybe we can discuss that on another day.”
N: “Really?”
E: “Don’t push it. Right now, let’s just pack everything up. I’ll arrange everything to be picked up tomorrow.”
After packing up, you ask for one last thing: a bath. He draws the bath and you both enjoy a nice soak. You tried something different and Enji rested his head on your chest this time. Even though your smaller than Enji, you manage to find a good position for both of you to be in. Running your fingers through his hair, he hums and rumbles in pleasure as you gently scratch and massage his scalp.
“I can see why you enjoy this so much; I could get used to this.”
“We can do this again in the future. It’s kind of nice giving the affection for once.” You say as one of your hands goes down to rub slow circles over the warm skin of his chest.
“I know the morning wasn’t the best but did your birthday finish better?”
You think for a moment still running your fingers through Enji’s hair. “I think it was perfect.” You say before kissing the top his head.
Next Chapter
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The Treehouse
Day 2 of @petopher-events March 2021 - Kid fic
1982
“Hey! That’s my tree!” Chris peeked down, rubbing his face with the back of his arm as he heard a high-pitched fierce voice.
He groaned, running a hand over his short bristly hair. All he wanted was some peace and quiet. Chris had just been beaten to a pulp by his father, and he was aware that if Gerard saw him cry, he would be battered all over again. He had ended up on a sturdy tree in the preserve after sneaking out the window, silently sobbing to himself. There was nowhere else Chris could have gone. If he tried to run away, Gerard would have still found him and he would have been returned to the Argent household by someone else. Sadly, his father had way too much influence over the county and its people.
“Shut up, it hasn’t got your name on it.” he shouted back.
“As a matter of fact, yes it does.” the voice cried out in reply.
Chris turned his head and caught sight of the initials ‘P. H.’ engraved onto the bark. He almost fell off when he faced forwards and saw a little dark-haired boy with big blue eyes perched opposite him.
“See.” he tilted his head.
“Well, now it’s got mine.” Chris muttered, fishing the pocket knife he carried everywhere and carving his own initials leaving a gap next to the other.
The boy rolled his eyes but outstretched his arm, “I’m Peter. Are you- are you okay?”
“Chris,” he said, shaking the boy’s hand, “And yeah I’m fine.”
“Don’t look like it.”
There wasn’t a single day he didn’t have a black eye, a bruise, or a cut. Gerard always found some reason to punish him and not even his own mother could do anything about it. He wasn’t even sure of how he was alive at that point.
“It doesn’t matter.” he replied hastily and asked, “How old are you?”
“Six.” Peter told him and continued, “What about you?”
“I’m twelve. And how’d you get up here so fast?” Chris inquired since he was confused as to how a six-year-old could race up such a tall tree.
Peter’s deep blue eyes briefly flashed in a golden yellow, and Chris realized that this kid was what Gerard wanted him to hunt down; a werewolf. However, unlike the vivid picture of bloodthirsty savage werewolves and their young that Gerard had painted in his head, the boy didn’t seem like a threat at all. Chris saw him as a human, not a monster.
Peter gasped suddenly, “You’re one of them aren’t you?”
“One of who?” he raised an eyebrow.
“The Argents.” the boy stated calmly.
Chris flinched and nodded at him. He had expected Peter to be afraid of him, and even run away, but he hadn’t. He sat completely unfazed and Chris was surprised.
“What are you doing here?” Peter questioned again.
“Nothing really. It’s peaceful up here and I like it.” he lied. Peter didn’t need to know why he actually came there. Chris wasn’t even sure whether the wolf would have understood if he had been honest.
“Cool!” the boy stared at him before exclaiming with a grin, revealing the absence of a few teeth, making Chris smile as well.
*
“Hey!” Peter greeted, hurtling up the tree and settling in front of him.
“Hey, Peter. What’s this?” Chris smiled at the boy and asked when he held out an energy bar packed in a blue wrapper.
“What it looks like, obviously.” he regarded, waving it, “Take it. I got it for you.”
“Me? Why?” he said, taking it from the wolf’s hands and tearing it open.
“You ask too many questions. I brought it thinking you might be here when I came.” Peter answered, digging into another energy bar that he had kept in his pocket.
“Well, thanks.” Chris replied, taking a bite.
He knew his father would have him whipped for accepting food from a werewolf without a second thought, but he was too famished to care. Gerard didn’t only beat him, he also starved Chris as punishment. The bar tasted like heaven and he wolfed it down. He was more than glad that Peter had brought it for him and yet he was also puzzled.
“You were hungry, I sensed it yesterday.” Peter revealed, licking his fingers.
“Really?” Chris said and stuffed the wrapper in his jacket pocket, “Why did you bring it, though? Why did you trust me? You know I’m… one of them.”
Chris didn’t even want to mention his own last name. He detested being an Argent and being referred to by that name.
“You smell nice.” Peter responded matter-of-factly, but Chris was confused.
He had loathed his own scent, however, with time he had grown accustomed to it. Chris knew he smelled of dried blood combined with sweat and he was pretty sure that didn’t smell nice. Horrible and disgusting seemed more likely.
“Excuse me, what?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, Ta said that people who smell nice are good people and I can trust them.” Peter explained.
“Ta?”
“Talia, my sister. She started taking care of me after Ma and Pa- after they went to a better place.”
Everyone had heard the term ‘a better place’ at some point in their lives and that was when Chris pieced it together. Peter wasn’t just any ordinary werewolf who lived in Beacon Hills.
“You- you’re a Hale.” Chris stated wide-eyed.
“Yup.” Peter said bobbing his head.
It had taken place about a year ago when he was eleven and Chris could remember it clearly. Gerard had gloated to his fellow hunters about his achievement of being able to capture and kill both Richard and Emilia Hale, the two oldest members of the family, who were also widely known in the supernatural world. He had seen them briefly and to him, they seemed like genuinely pleasant people. His father had told him that Chris wasn’t old enough to understand, but he was sure that Gerard wasn’t doing something right if he could so heartlessly torture him. He had come to acknowledge that Gerard had the best interest to no one and only for himself.
1986
Chris yawned, his legs dangling from the tree and Peter was munching on an apple, murdering it with his fangs. The wolf was taller now and his hair had grown, the fringe covering his forehead and just above his eyes. It had been a gloomy day and Chris had made it to the tree right after training. He had been beaten again and his body had ached so much that he struggled to get on the tree, but Peter had helped him up and offered an apple.
They had been meeting every day for four years now and Gerard, thankfully, hadn’t suspected a thing. It was most probably since his younger sister Katherine had been born three years ago. The young wolf would arrive with food and they’d sit there together, sometimes talking and sometimes silent.
As a result of their conversations, Chris had discovered that Talia, Peter’s older sister was the alpha of the Hale pack and was the mother to a little wolf girl named Laura. He also found out that Peter was prone to have fits of rage, destroying his own toys. However, Peter had mentioned that he felt comfortable with him and Chris had never witnessed such behavior from the wolf.
“Christopher?” the boy called out.
Peter had begun to call him ‘Christopher’ instead of what everyone else called him in his life and Chris found that amusing. He liked the boy and he didn’t mind meeting him each day for the rest of his life. Chris wondered whether things would change by then, whether he’d escape Gerard and there would be no more hunting, a world where he and Peter could meet freely, no violence, no death, just peace, and happiness.
“Yeah?” he replied lazily, yawning again. Chris was still tired and he needed to nap. He couldn’t do that at home, and as uncomfortable as it would be, Chris felt like sleeping up on the tree.
“What do you think about a treehouse?” Peter suggested with a grin, chucking away the remainder of the apple.
“I like that.” Chris smiled, “But… only if you help me build one.”
Peter rolled his eyes and groaned, “Of course you’d say that. Fine, I’ll help.”
“Great. We start tomorrow. I’m gonna nap.” he muttered to the wolf before closing his eyes, cozying himself on the not-so-comfy branch.
“Well, I’ll be here protecting you.” Peter said and Chris laughed a little.
“And what are you going to do if someone tries to kill us?” He opened an eye to look at the Hale.
In an instant, Peter drew his claws and tried to growl menacingly. Chris thought that it was adorable.
1988
“Christopher!!!” Peter exclaimed, jumping off the tree and launching himself onto Chris, wrapping him in a tight hug. The wolf was twelve and several inches shorter than him but was obviously stronger than most kids his age.
“Peter, woah geez I’m human.” he laughed, stuck inside the rib-crushing hug.
“Happy 18th Birthday! Well, late birthday.” the boy shouted, hugging him tighter.
“Thank you, kiddo.” Chris groaned and Peter let go of him, grinning.
It had been Chris’ birthday the week before and he had been in Japan, doing his first gun deal with the goddamn Yakuza. Gerard’s idea of a birthday present was putting him in a near-death situation and Chris wasn’t even surprised. The experience had been extremely unsettling and so terrible, that he wanted to forget his 18th birthday. He had informed Peter about it a few days before but not many details as even Chris had been unaware of what he was going into until he had made it to the venue.
“What happened? You look pretty shaken up.” Peter eyed him, suspiciously.
“Yeah, it wasn’t that great. It was a gun deal with the Yakuza and it didn’t go that well, but I’m alive, right? So that’s what matters.” Chris managed a weak smile. He knew he couldn’t lie and Peter was always worried about him so he kept the details of figures materializing out of the shadows with swords similar to ninjatos to himself.
“The ya- what?” the wolf blinked at him.
“It’s like Japanese mafia, Pete.” he answered, ruffling Peter’s hair.
“Woah geez. Are you hurt?” Peter raised an eyebrow at him.
“Nah, nah I’m good.” Chris smiled. He was telling the truth in a way. Though he was injured then, he was better now and he was used to the pain regardless.
“Well enough of that. We’re going to have a proper celebration.” the boy smirked and Chris wanted to facepalm himself. He was sure that Peter would have planned something. It was just the way he was. Chris had never wanted anything for his birthday but the wolf would get him small trinkets and he appreciated it very much.
Chris had genuinely been surprised when Peter had introduced him as his best friend to the rest of the Hales. Peter’s sister Talia had dinner prepared and even baked a cake with ‘Happy 18th Birthday Chris!’ on it. Peter had made him what seemed like a bracelet with a little piece of wood shaped like a tree, which Chris assumed was to signify how they met. He had almost cried at the Hale House. He had never been so happy and no one had ever done anything so amazing for him. The Hales had treated Chris like he was one of their own and given him a birthday that he would never forget. The next morning Chris had sneaked back into the house, and Gerard hadn’t noticed his disappearance as always.
1992
“Christopher!” Peter yelled, and he could detect the excitement in his voice, “I did it!”
Chris sniggered as he slipped the wolf figurine that he had been carving for the past hour into his left jacket pocket. He sheathed the knife in his boot, stepped out, and settled on a branch before hanging upside down to greet the wolf.
“I did my first evolved shift!” he panted as he came to a halt.
It took a while for Peter to come into view and Chris shut his eyes when he did, almost plummeting onto the ground below.
“Why are you naked?” Chris groaned.
“What do you- have you seen wolves wearing clothes?” Peter whined back.
“Go get yourself some clothes or I’m leaving.” he said, with his eyes still closed.
There was another whine from the younger boy and it made him snicker. He loved how Peter could always lighten up his mood somehow. It was good and he felt lucky to have the wolf in his life. It had been ten years since they had met and Chris’ life had changed for the better though his father still made his life a living hell. Peter made him forget all of it when they spent time together.
“Ughhh will you come with me? Please, please, pretty please Christopher?”
“Fine.”
Chris landed onto his feet with a flip without opening his eyes and Peter snorted, before snarling. When he glanced in the direction of the sound, Chris saw a wolf with dark black sleek fur. He lowered himself onto one knee so he could run his hand through Peter’s coat. He let out something like a satisfied purr and Chris got back onto his feet. Then they were off, sprinting through the preserve back to the Hale house. Peter was quick, but Chris managed to keep up with him.
Once they had arrived at the residence, Peter shot up the stairs to his room. He came back down in his usual V-neck and jeans with a pout. His hair was shorter now and in a mess as always, yet Chris considered it to look good on him. The two of them went back to their tree, this time walking slowly.
They spent the day chasing each other around through the trees. Chris felt like an idiot for playing, but he was having fun and soon he became comfortable. It was pretty late when Chris was feeling exhausted, so Peter decided that they should take a swim in the lake. They fooled around for a couple of minutes and it was when they dried off to get dressed that Chris remembered about the wolf he had carved. When they got back to the treehouse, Chris had gifted the figurine to an astonished Peter. The wolf had adored it from first sight and thanked him endlessly. Since it was dark, they silently lied down next to each other on the wooden floor. Chris was an adult so he knew that Gerard didn’t give a damn about him as long as he was at the house in the morning.
“Christopher, can I say something?” Peter suddenly spoke up.
“Yeah?” he responded, turning to the side and propping himself up on his elbow.
“I- I- it’s hard to say.” he chuckled lightly, “Never mind.”
“Just go on Pete.” Chris hummed at the boy.
“I- I like you. A lot. You know- more- more than just a friend. I- I just didn’t understand it before.” he mumbled, stuttering a little.
Chris sighed, closing his eyes and lying on his back once more.
“Peter, you’re sixteen. What you feel- it’s not love. It’s just something you feel at this age as you grow.” he explained, “You will know what it’s like to be in love when you’re older, but this as much as you think it is, it isn’t.”
“Okay.” said Peter, softly and Chris flinched as he detected the hurt in the Hale’s voice.
‘I smiled sadly for a love I could not obey’ from David Bowie’s Lady Stardust started ringing in his head, because that’s exactly what he was doing now.
He had acknowledged that there was more than just a brotherly affection he felt towards Peter. He wanted to wrap the wolf in his arms, love him and protect him, but it just wasn’t right. Peter was a sixteen-year-old. He was still a boy in high school while Chris - he was twenty-two; an adult. Chris was disgusted by his own self for the attraction he had to the teenager. It may just be a six year age gap, but Peter was a kid and he wasn’t. It was wrong and Chris detested that he couldn’t view Peter as just his best friend anymore.
Even if their ages weren’t a problem, anything else between them would only give Gerard more reason to harm Peter if he found out. Chris didn’t give a damn about what happened to him. He needed the wolf to be safe no matter what and it would break him if Peter was hurt. It was a sacrifice that he had to make, so they wouldn’t lose what they already had. To Gerard, it wouldn’t be just about loving a werewolf, but also about loving a man.
1993
Peter was already at the treehouse when Chris got there. They were still the best of friends even after the confession from Peter almost a year ago. Things remained just the same and the younger boy didn’t make any advances. This day Chris had news. News that was going to change his life and possibly affect their friendship as well.
“Hey, Pete.” Chris greeted as he settled himself opposite Peter on the wooden floor.
“Christopher.” Peter smiled at him. He had grown into a beautiful man now and Chris still could recall the six-year-old with the missing teeth. Chris had literally watched him grow through the years.
“I’ve- I’ve got news. I’m getting-” he started to say, but was soon interrupted.
“Married next week,” Peter finished his sentence and Chris frowned, “What? All of the supernatural world knows. A hunter family visiting Beacon Hills? It’s obvious. Besides, news spreads around here fast.”
He stared at Peter with his jaw dropped and then nodded. The wolf was right about all of it and Gerard had planned it to be a grand wedding. The funny thing about that was the fact that Chris had never seen the girl he was going to marry or even heard her name. Obviously, Gerard was doing it for his own benefit. He pondered over the question of what it would be like to live with a stranger for the rest of his life.
“Yes.” he said, confirming what Peter had said.
“Well, I’ve got some news too, Christopher.” Peter spoke again, his tone slightly somber.
“What’s that?” Chris inquired.
“I’m leaving. For college that is.” his voice was soft, and Chris couldn’t believe that he had forgotten. Of course, Peter was going to leave. He had mentioned that he was contemplating that decision some time ago. Maybe Chris had been thinking that it wouldn’t come to that.
“Where to?” he asked the boy.
“Oh, that- no idea yet. I’ve got a little more time.” Peter grinned and Chris cracked up.
They spent that entire day together as there was a possibility that it would be the last one they could meet each other freely. It was as much as he could have. Though Chris loved him too, they would be star-crossed lovers and he just wanted to save Peter from that pain.
1998
“Daddy, where thish?” the little dark-haired fair girl in Chris’ arms chirped.
“We’re going to see my good friend, Ally sweetheart.” he said, kissing the top of her head. She was four but insisted on being carried and Chris just couldn’t say no.
“Okay, Daddy.” she hummed, resting her head against his collarbone.
It had been a long while since he had gone back to the treehouse. Chris had become busier with the business and had the responsibility of sustaining a family. Besides, Peter was away as well and he missed the wolf dearly. It was tough at first, not being able to meet his best friend, talk to him or hear of how he was doing. Even if it got easier with time, the Hale was on Chris’ mind every single day and the feelings were still there though he was a husband, a father.
Talia had secretly informed Chris that Peter would be returning to Beacon Hills because she had figured that he’d want to see the wolf again. She didn’t know of his feelings but knew how close they had been.
“Peter!” Chris called out when he arrived at the tree.
“Christopher!” there was a roar and Peter landed, leaping off the tree. Allison stared in amusement.
Chris caught his breath when he got a proper look at Peter. His hair had grown slightly, but it was still the gorgeous mess it used to be. He hadn’t changed much, but Chris could see that Peter had matured, despite the goofy grin on his face. Peter wasn’t a boy. He was a man. It hurt Chris. Seeing the one he always wanted. The one he couldn’t have.
“And who is this angel, then?” Peter spoke first, beaming at his daughter.
“Allison, my daughter.” Chris smiled at the Hale, “Allison, this is Peter, my best friend.”
The words sounded almost bitter in his mouth. Best friends. That was all they could be, but at least they had that.
“Hello, Allison.” the wolf said, waving at her and Chris removed her from his chest, holding her towards Peter.
“Hi, Peter.” she chuckled at him.
Peter raised an eyebrow and Chris insisted with a nod. The wolf gently took Allison into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck instantly. He gazed at him, thrilled. Chris was glad that Allison was comfortable with him since every time Gerard was nearby, she’d break down crying. He didn’t blame her and kept her away from the man as much as he could. It was also amazing to see Peter so happy after years of not meeting each other.
They chatted as Peter gave Allison a piggyback and played with her, fooling around. Chris got the idea that Peter was great with kids and then realized that he was already an uncle to a sixteen-year-old girl, a ten-year-old boy as well as a four-year-old girl. He tried to picture what it would be like to raise a child with Peter, but soon let that thought go because it hurt too much.
As they talked, the wolf revealed that he didn’t want to go to law school, since he didn’t want to stay away from the pack for much longer and didn’t need a job for himself. He also wanted to be where Chris was. That piece of information made Chris feel better and even if they couldn’t hang out in their treehouse, there was a chance they could run into each other frequently.
When evening arrived, Chris decided that it was high time to leave. His wife Victoria would be paranoid and there was no cell signal in that area. Allison also seemed to be exhausted after playing. They had stayed there for a good amount of time. Before they said their goodbyes, Chris wrapped his arms around Peter and pulled him into a tight hug. He gently ruffled his hair like he did when they were younger, earning a snicker from the Hale in return. It had been forever since they last hugged and Chris missed it more than he could fathom.
“Hey, sweetie. I need you to help me.” Chris told Allison as they got to the edge of the preserve.
“Yes, Daddy?” she asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
“Can you promise me that you won’t tell anyone about Peter? And if someone asks where we were, will you tell them we were at the park? Can you do that for me?” he requested. Chris had wanted Peter to meet Allison and he knew what could take place if anyone else found out about that.
“I promise. I will do that.” she grinned at him and then frowned, “But why?”
“You’ll understand when you get older, sweetie.” Chris pressed his lips to the side of her head.
“Okay, Daddy. Park.” she yawned, falling asleep on Chris.
2003
Chris crept down the stairs with his flashlight, trying to make the least sound possible. It didn’t take him long to make out Peter and Derek hiding in the dark.
“Pete, Der?” he whispered to them.
He had managed to shake off Gerard and the other hunters before making it to the Nemeton. Peter had brought him there a couple of times and he figured that it would be where Peter and Derek ran off to. Though it would take the others a while to find the Nemeton, Gerard wouldn’t stop at tracking the wolves down, so Chris had to make sure they got away safely. He didn’t want to see what would happen to them otherwise. Peter was usually up to no good and Chris made sure to keep an eye on him as much as he could. It also didn't help that there were three other werewolf packs in Beacon Hills at the time. It could be a jackpot for Gerard.
“Yeah?” Chris heard Peter’s voice answer him, but his tone was more of a question.
“You have to get out now. Gerard- he’s coming.” he informed them and, both Peter and Derek slowly made their way towards Chris.
“Hey.” Derek said, his expression showing slight fear. The boy was about fifteen.
“Hey, Der.” Chris replied with a smile and glanced at Peter. He swore that the older wolf only got more attractive each time he saw him, which really wasn’t much. They met, but not as frequently as they used to and it almost tore Chris into pieces. He missed Peter terribly and when he lay in bed at night, Chris knew that he wanted Peter next to him instead of Victoria, and she was aware of that as well. She didn't know about Peter, but she did know that Chris wasn't exactly in love with her since it was the same with her for Chris.
Peter moved forward to hug him but Chris deflected it by grabbing his arm. He pouted and groaned.
"Peter, seriously, you need to be more careful. Gerard is so much more on alert these days and I- Peter- I don't…" Chris tried to say and faltered because the lump that formed in his throat didn't allow him to speak further.
Peter put his arms around Chris, wrapping him into a tight hug, "Don't worry, Christopher. I'll be fine."
"Don't you 'I'll be fine' me, Peter. I always worry about you. Promise to me that you'll take care." Chris told the younger man, ruffling his hair.
"Yes, I promise." he mumbled, resting his chin on Chris' shoulder.
Chris wished that the hug could go on for longer. However, they had to get moving now and hugs were for a later time. He pulled away from Peter begrudgingly before it got to the point that he couldn’t bring himself to let go of the wolf. It felt like torture.
He led them out from what looked like a root cellar as quickly as he could. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around just yet. Chris glanced at Peter.
“Yeah, I don’t hear anyone. I think we can get back home safely.” Peter said, reading Chris’ mind, “Der, go on. I’ll be right behind you.”
The teenager nodded and hurried off, disappearing among the trees.
Peter gazed at him, “I’ll see you around I guess.”
“Remember your promise?” Chris asked the Hale.
“Yes, Christopher. I promise I’ll take care.” Peter answered with a smirk and then he was gone, leaving Chris all on his own by the Nemeton.
2004
Chris’ heart was heavy in his chest. He had contacted Peter a few days ago and asked to meet him at the treehouse. He and Victoria had decided to leave Beacon Hills and stay away from Gerard. Victoria didn’t want Allison to be exposed to the supernatural and Chris didn’t either. Chris was sure that Gerard would try to snake his way into the little girl’s mind and twist her views like he did with his younger sister Kate. Even if Gerard didn’t take that route, Chris didn’t want Allison to live through a childhood similar to his. He didn’t want his daughter to grow up to hunt those similar to Peter. Those two were the people in Chris’ life that he loved the most and it would kill him if something happened to either one of them.
He climbed the tree and got himself onto the treehouse to see that Peter was sitting there waiting for him.
“Christopher, what’s going on? You asked to meet me.” Peter said, studying him intently.
“Yeah, Peter, I have news.” Chris told him with a sigh.
Peter raised an eyebrow, rising to his feet, “News? Last time you said that you were going to get married. You’re not getting married again are you?”
Chris chuckled softly, shaking head at the wolf, “No, Peter, I’m not getting married again. I’m- we- we’re leaving Beacon Hills.
“Leaving? You’re going? For how long?” Peter inquired, astounded.
Chris shrugged. They weren’t sure whether they’d ever move back and that was what hurt the most. He would likely never see Peter ever again. Though, Chris was ready if that was what it took to not have to watch his daughter hunt down Peter and his family.
The wolf launched onto Chris, taking him into a tight hug. Chris stumbled backward, but regained his footing and wrapped his arms around Peter. His heart shattered when he heard a sniffling sound.
“Hey, Pete…” Chris choked out the words, stroking Peter’s head with one hand and rubbing his back with the other.
“I- I know we haven’t seen each other much lately, but- but you’re my best friend. You- you were always there for me for most of my life.” he mumbled, “I’ll- I’ll miss you, Christopher. What will I do without you?”
“I’ll miss you too, Pete, but that’s how things are. I’m sorry. I just want you to be safe. You’ll do great without me, I’m sure.” Chris said to Peter, ruffling the younger man’s hair.
Peter silently clung to him a little longer and then finally spoke, “Promise me you’d at least let me know you’re alive from time to time?”
“Promise.”
They spent the rest of the day walking through the preserve that had been a home to them. Chris tried to take it all in before he left. The preserve had been his sanctuary and had given him his best friend.
2011
In just one night, Chris’ entire world crashed down upon him as he watched helplessly. It started off when Stiles had implied that Kate had set the Hale House on fire and unfortunately, it all made sense to him. The idea that someone of his blood was the reason for the demise of a family that actually cared about him, made his blood boil. His younger sister was the reason that Peter was so badly injured and in a vegetative comatose state. The sole reason Chris had left Beacon Hills was to make sure that Peter would be safe and if he had remained there, the wolf would be happy and full of life, while the other Hales would still be alive.
It had gotten even worse subsequently when it was revealed that it was in fact Peter who was the alpha. The bloodthirsty alpha committing all the murders in Beacon Hills. The alpha that Chris had returned to Beacon Hills to hunt. His best friend was the alpha. His beloved Peter was the monster that Chris was attempting to kill.
That wasn’t all. Peter had murdered Kate, ripping her throat out with his claws, that too in front of Allison. Then Peter had been set on fire before having his own throat ripped out by Derek, right in front of Chris’ eyes and he just stood there, unable to do anything. Everything he was used to and everyone he had known was different and he assumed that was what pain did to people.
Chris wished he could have done more. He could have intervened. He could have tried to help Peter this time. But he didn’t and so now here he was at an unholy hour, back at the treehouse, sobbing to himself exactly like he did twenty nine years ago, except then there was no treehouse then. Chris could remember how he had cried when he heard about the fire and that was nothing compared to the pain he felt this night. Chris thought about how could have saved Peter from his fate, but this time he had lost Peter completely and his mind wouldn’t stop recalling the six-year-old with the missing teeth, the crazy mischievous teenager that would joke around with him, the man Chris had deeply fallen in love with. It was like a hole in his heart, one that could never be filled.
Peter was gone and Chris didn’t want to believe that. It was Peter. He didn’t just die. He just couldn’t. Chris hated everything, he hated everyone including himself. He didn’t give a fuck anymore. Nothing mattered any longer.
This was exactly what Chris had tried to avoid and all he had done was fuel it. Even if it wasn’t directly, Chris was still to blame. He had failed everyone and he wondered what Peter had been thinking when he saw Chris standing there, doing nothing for him. His best friend, not lending a hand when he was dying. Had Peter given up on Chris as he died? It broke him into pieces.
Chris looked over at where he had carved his name next to Peter’s and he raised an eyebrow. Maybe his vision was blurry from the crying but he could make out a plus sign between their names. He rubbed his eyes and looked again to see just that. Had some kid found their treehouse and done that?
Or had it been Peter?
Had the wolf still had those feelings for him from almost two decades ago? Had Peter still loved Chris despite the rejection, despite Chris getting married to a woman? Had Peter yearned for him when he was away from Beacon Hills? Had Peter carved the sign between their names because it was his little secret since no one would know what it meant and since he thought Chris wouldn’t see it as he wouldn’t come back? Did Peter love Chris as he lay on the preserve floor, seconds away from his death? Chris would never have those answers because he was too late, too idiotic, and foolish.
His heart ached even more. If Peter did love him, he would have died thinking that Chris never felt the same way about him, though in reality, Chris did. He wished he would have just told the wolf the truth and then explained why they couldn’t be together.
Chris glanced at his watch, realizing that it was almost 3 in the morning. Here he was mourning a werewolf while his family mourned his younger sister. He had to get back home. Although his heart was in pain for someone else, Chris had his duties. He ran his hand over the carvings of the tree and drew back his sleeve, exposing the wrist he wore Peter’s gift and kissed it. Chris had worn it every single day of his life after receiving it and that was all he had of the wolf now.
*
Chris wasn’t sure whether his life was getting worse or better. First Kate, then Peter and now Victoria. However, Peter was back and it drove Chris mad. He had mourned for the wolf, cried his eyes out wishing he could have saved the wolf and hating himself for doing nothing. Then Peter had emerged out of nowhere at the warehouse and Chris couldn’t believe his eyes. He felt stupid for crying and he had been right when he thought that Peter didn’t just die. The fact that Peter had returned to the world of the living the exact night Victoria died baffled him. It was as if the universe willed it.
He found himself in the treehouse once again after Allison had fallen asleep. Chris was happy, and yet so furious. Couldn’t have Peter said something? Couldn’t he have left Chris a sign showing that he was alive? Chris wasn’t crying this time. Instead, he had settled on the floor with his head against the wall, eyes closed, rubbing his forehead trying to make sense of all the different emotions churning inside his system.
There were a few creaks accompanied by a shuffling sound and then a voice said, “Christopher, it’s me.”
There was no way Chris didn’t recognize that voice. It made him feel like his heart was about to melt. He opened his eyes to stare right into Peter’s, drowning in the beautiful blue ones that Chris had always had adored. The wolf was sitting in front of him, cross-legged. There was stubble on Peter’s face now and he was as gorgeous as always. Chris wanted to kiss the heck out of the man.
“I fucking hate you.” he mumbled, before springing towards Peter and into his arms, taking him into a bone-crushing hug. The familiar scent felt like home and Chris was warm inside.
He melted into Peter as the wolf hugged him, gently rubbing Chris’ back, and whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
Chris had already forgiven the man before the apology and pulled away to look at him again. He couldn’t begin to describe how much he had missed Peter. To Chris, it had been like an eternity until he had seen Peter again. Peter smiled at him and Chris was smiling back naturally, a few tears streaming down his cheeks. He peeked at the carving and Peter cleared his throat.
“About that… It’s probably not the right time to tell you this, but I’m not sixteen anymore, so I’m sure it’s real.” he said, and produced the wolf figurine Chris had given him.
“You loved me?” Chris asked the wolf.
“No, Christopher I love you. Always have and still do.” Peter replied, taking Chris’ face in his hands.
He wasn’t sure if he was hearing wrong. Peter had loved him all along.
“But- but you didn’t…” Chris tried to say.
“I knew you must have a good reason to hide it and just stay friends with me, so I didn’t say anything again. I could still smell it on you though. Talia was the one who told it to me because she could smell it too. Heck at first, I didn’t know and I couldn’t stand myself for falling for my best friend. I was confused why you didn’t want something more between us, but I understood eventually. And now we’re here, Christopher. What have we got to lose?” Peter spoke softly, looking into his eyes and stroking his cheek.
Chris was kissing Peter before he knew it, letting loose of all the emotions that he had been bottling up for years. He had never thought this day would come, and he tightened the hug, not wanting to let go of the wolf. He couldn’t let that happen again. Peter was kissing him back passionately, and Chris got lost in all his feelings. It felt good. The taste of Peter’s lips on his, the wolf’s touch against his skin, the warmth. He pulled back, resting his head against Peter’s neck.
He didn’t know what he had done to deserve this but was glad that there was a chance for Peter and him. Chris could be with the one he had truly loved when he was a boy. It was possible now, though it had seemed impossible back then. They could still have a future. Peter held Chris in his arms as they stayed in the treehouse in silence. They didn’t need to say anything.
When Chris had run off to the preserve twenty nine years ago and sobbed to himself on this very tree, he had never imagined that it would lead him to happiness.
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Bless This Happiness We Found
I wanted to write a little something for Anna’s birthday! Simple questions bring about her thoughts and well, just something nice. I didn’t really edit it because I’m very tired, and didn’t want to be much later with it.
Title is from the lyrics out the outtake song “Home”! Can easily be read as Snow Sisters or Elsanna :)
---
"What do you want for your birthday?"
Anna opened her mouth to answer, but as soon as she did so, she found she had no answer. "I-I don't know."
"What? There must be something!" Olaf gave her a concerned look from his place on their red and white checkered picnic blanket. They'd decided to have lunch together on a beautiful summer day while Elsa took a meeting with a couple of farmers in town.
Anna would have attended, and she even tried, but with her birthday the following day Elsa had told her she was to take the week off. Anna protested of course, and they almost fought about it. All she wanted to do was spend time with Elsa! Spending time with her sister was her favorite thing in the world! At the same time, it was easy for Elsa to convince her - she hugged Anna and kissed her freckled cheek, telling her just to trust her.
At first Anna had wondered if Elsa was planning some grand event, and she didn't know how she felt about that. She loved Elsa making a big deal of her birthday, she really did, but what would require a week off? If Elsa was planning a huge party, she didn't know that she was ready for whatever was coming.
However as the days went along, she found herself relaxing. She'd been so invested in being the second queen of Arendelle, so invested in leading, that she'd found...well, she lost parts of herself that came back as she relaxed. She felt them as she leaned back on the blanket, clad in the beautiful dress that Elsa had given her years prior during the first birthday in forever. Her hair hung free, resting on her back. "Nothing comes to mind Olaf," she finally answered. "I know I'll get some things, Elsa has given me a different dress every year and-and you know her, she spoils me! I know you and Kristoff have been whispering..." She smiled at him and he chuckled. "...Mattias carved me that duckling last year, and I saw him working at something the other day."
"Oh." Olaf leaned back as well and looked up at the blue sky above them. "I guess if you know you're getting so many gifts, it's greedy to ask for them! Elsa must feel that way since she gives away gifts on her birthday each year."
Anna stared up at the sky as well. When had she last spent lots of time outside the castle with Olaf, just staring at the sky? There were no clouds for them to find shapes in, but she didn't mind that. "Elsa just loves to make everyone around her so happy...so do I! But her birthday is during that time of year, so it makes a little more sense." Elsa had begun to let Anna join with her in planning the gift-giving each winter, and Anna loved it. She loved her sister so much.
"Elsa doesn't have to give gifts to make anyone happy. Neither of you do," Olaf commented. "I'm happy right now! We haven't done this in a while."
A grin broke out over Anna's face, her gaze still on the sky. "I'm happy too."
"Hoo hoo! Queen Anna, you look so happy!"
Anna paused on her walk through town, having spent time with Olaf until he dozed off. Actually, she stayed for a little while, until her foot fell asleep. She kissed the top of the little snowman's head before deciding to go on a very leisurely stroll, something she hadn't done in a while.
She was usually with Elsa, so she missed her, but it was still lovely - especially when a friendly face greeted her. "Oaken! Hi! How are you?" she asked, making her way over to his kiosk. She could never quite pin down how his business worked. Sometimes she wouldn't see him in town for a while and he'd be in his store where she'd met him years ago. Other times, he'd be peddling remedies for stress relief and offering massages to various Arendellians.
"Very well thank you! Tomorrow's your big day!" he said with a smile and a wave from his place behind his counter. On display he had flowers, sunhats, and bottles of...of mysteries. She wasn't sure.
Anna bounced closer though. She hadn't chatted with him in a while, not having proper time. "Yes, it is," she said with a laugh. "You always remember!"
"How could I forget your birthday?" he asked, and reached for what was a surprisingly huge pile of sunflower bouquets, pulling one wrapped in an orange ribbon. "Let me give you some flowers to start your day with!"
"Oh, thank you!" Anna squealed. She was never able to turn down sunflowers! She took them with a smile as she bounced on her heels, and then buried her face in them. Her love for sunflowers was almost an obsession, and she never put together quite why, other than being bright and sunny. They just made her so happy!
"You're so welcome! But I'm sure you have grander birthday wishes, ya? What have you asked for this year?" He placed his palms together and tapped his fingers against each other, an excited look on his face.
"I haven't asked for anything, I don't really know what I'd want!" Anna replied, her eyes closing as she remained in her flowers for another few seconds.
"Oh no? Nothing at all?"
"Nope!" she answered brightly.
"Oh!"
When Oaken failed to follow up with anything else, Anna opened her eyes. "Is...is that weird?" she asked, somewhat confused.
Oaken chuckled. "No, no. Well...yes. Usually people want something for their birthday! Even if it's not a material gift, they want something! Are you sure there's nothing you're looking for, Anna?"
Anna sighed. She really couldn't think of anything. She had a wonderful life in the castle, and was surrounded by everyone she loved. Most of all, she had Elsa! She couldn't wait to see her again that evening when she knew the meeting would be over. What was she supposed to ask for? "Not really...I know I'll get gifts tomorrow and I'll love whatever I receive, but I don't want anything in particular. As long as nothing bad happens, I'll be happy." That was the truth. She half wanted to say that she hoped for a day where no one wanted to follow mysterious voices and the earth stayed calm, but those would be strange things to say just for the sake of conversation.
Life had been fairly normal. There'd been no disruptions, just days of being a ruler of a kingdom, which could be tiring. Elsa handled it impressively.
Oaken watched her for a second, and then a light chuckle escaped him. "Well, then I'm very happy for you Queen Anna," he said simply, and Anna knew he meant it.
The time to see her sister was drawing closer and the sun was beginning to leave its place high in the blue sky. Anna had made some small talk as she walked, and eventually she found herself in front of the statue she'd had dedicated to their parents. She shifted her sunflowers in her arms as she looked up at them, chewing her lip. She couldn't really remember a truly happy birthday with them, which was somewhat sad. Sure, they celebrated it with her and gave her presents and dinner and there was a very minor celebration in the castle.
And every year, Elsa's door stayed closed without Anna understanding why.
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty! Or perhaps it's good evening by now."
Anna was taken from her thoughts by a familiar, smooth, calming voice. It was a voice she was always happy to hear, and she turned slowly to face Mattias as he approached. "Evening, I suppose. Hello Mattias!" she replied, not bothering to correct him - he knew it was more than okay for him to just call her by her name. He preferred to use her title though, and she respected that.
"How are you doing? Enjoying your week off?" he asked her, continuing forward and stopping beside her to look at the statue.
"Oh, yes, very much. It's been wonderful. It's strange not doing all my meetings and not being in the study but...well, it's also so good to...um..." She felt a little strange telling the hard-working man that it was nice to have less on her shoulders. Even if it was the truth, it seemed a bit awkward to say that to Mattias, dressed in his guard uniform, patrolling like he always did. Anna could tell it brought him a sort of peace.
He glanced at her, a hint of amusement in his face. "It's fine to say you're enjoying not working. From all I've learned about you, it seems being a Queen of Arendelle was never exactly in your plans."
"Oh!" she placed her hand lightly on her chest, laughing nervously. "Well no, it wasn't - I don't, I don't hate it! I don't even dislike it. I just miss some of my life before."
"Understandable," Mattias said with a little nod.
Anna took that as encouragement to continue. "I had responsibilities before! I helped around town and when Elsa would stop being so stubborn I would do what I could with her work. Then we had time to be with each other. That's kind of how it is now, except, I have to be a little more involved because of my title...we still have fun though! And I see her every day since she returned from the forest!"
Mattias glanced at her again, before turning to face her completely. "So despite the change, you're happy? Really happy?"
"I...yes, I am," Anna answered in a small voice. "Why do you ask?"
"Your birthday is tomorrow, correct?"
"...Yes?"
Mattias smiled, letting out the air of almost quiet laughter as he regarded her. "I know birthdays can be a time of reflection, of thinking about what we've accomplished in life. At least, I did that every year in the forest. Anyway, finding you out here looking at the statue of your parents drove me to ask."
Anna felt her shoulders relax - she hadn't even known she'd been tense. Mattias had such a way with his words, so able to calm her when she needed and providing a sense of comfort she hadn't felt from an older male figure in her life in years. Someday she'd have to show him just how much she appreciated him. "I see. Yes, I was thinking a little, mostly about my birthday and how happy I am to have everyone here. My birthdays used to be very lonely, but now..."
"Now?"
Anna shrugged a little. "Well now, things are better than I could have ever thought. I have Elsa, I have my family - that includes you - and I get to do good for my kingdom. I don't have to do it alone. It's a lot of work sometimes but...but then I have days like these, where I can walk around the town and everyone says hi to me. Everyone knows me and no doors are closed. I do what I can to help them, and they support me." She was very, very happy.
Mattias didn't answer right away. He kept smiling, and looked back to the statue. "So...what do you want for your birthday, Your Majesty?"
"Oh..." Anna laughed, she should have expected it. "I can't think of anything. I've tried several times today and just couldn't. There's nothing I could ask for."
"Nothing at all?" he asked, but he didn't sound disbelieving.
"Nothing at all," she responded quietly, looking up at the statue. She didn't follow it up with anything else, just regarding her honored past, though in a way it felt like she was looking at two strangers. In that moment it didn't bother her. She wasn't feeling alone.
When she finally approached the castle a little while later, Elsa was crossing the bridge to meet her. She was in her green dress that she'd made years ago - she had been wearing it all week. Magic dresses rarely had to be laundered, it appeared.
"Anna!" Elsa threw out her arms as she greeted Anna with a huge smile. It was like they hadn't seen each other in months when it had been just hours. Elsa hugged her with such intensity too and she always did that.
It was a hug that let Anna know she'd never be pushed away again, and she melted into it as her bouquet dropped the short distance to the ground. She returned the embrace eagerly. "Oh Elsa! I missed you!"
"I missed you too. The meeting lasted forever...have you had a nice day?" Elsa asked, still squeezing.
"It's been a lovely day. But you know, I wish you'd been at my side," Anna told her quietly.
Elsa finally released her, only to run her palms down Anna's arms to take her hands, holding them down between them. "I would have liked that too. Tomorrow I will be, my schedule is cleared just for you. We can do anything you want. What would you like to do for your birthday?"
It was that question again, though framed differently. Her answer was still the same. "I don't know. Nothing in particular."
"Nothing...? Surely there's something that would make you happy?" Elsa asked, tilting her head a little, the tiny snow diamonds in her hair sparkling despite the setting of the sun.
Anna almost laughed because of how-how dear Elsa looked in the moment, so ready for an answer, so ready to please. How could she ask for more than that? Standing on the bridge, hands joined, while Elsa's gaze met her own - after a day of seeing friends and knowing she was somewhere that so thoroughly loved her.
She squeezed Elsa's hands and leaned forward until their foreheads touched, her sister face so close to her own. "I am happy, Elsa." She watched the beautiful smile that spread across Elsa's features, something she always loved to see. Yes, she was sure of what she was saying. "I am very, very happy."
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𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓 ; 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦 ›› 𝐊𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐍 + 𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍
usually , when evan was found within arms reach , SLEEP came easily . it was just about the only time he managed to sleep soundly . but as his birthday wound down & a night of celebration turned into a goodbye . . . sleep had been elusive at worst & fleeting at best . & not even evan wrapped up in his arms , from the moment they’d found their way back from a haze of goodbyes , could help . because in a few hours , when the sun had begun its descent , they’d utter their LAST goodbye . because tomorrow , when they both woke up , they’d be waking up a WORLD away from each other . time felt as if it was slipping through his finger & , no matter how EXCITING knowing he was only a few days away from kicking off their first show on their american tour , he’d wanted it to STOP . freezing them in the warm , comforting quiet that enveloped them in the safety of his apartment . but there would never be enough time in the world . there would NEVER be an easy time to slip from evan’s warmth & say GOODBYE — a i’ll be back with you in a month & a half . & as his alarm pierced the air , pulling him from a brief moments sleep & breaking the illusion that maybe , just maybe , the morning would NEVER come , the ache festering in the pit of his stomach seeped up into his chest . he lingered for as long as he could , fingers lingering in soothing lines against her skin as whispered words were muffled against wild curls ; good morning . . . go back to sleep . . . only one of us has t’ get up now . . . i’ll get more done wit’out you . . . you stay , get some more sleep . . . i’ll still be here when you wake up . but eventually , he had to move . because today was one day he COULDN’T be late . & with a bag still to pack . . . giving into evan’s attempts at coaxing him back , he couldn’t . so , finally , he slipped from the warmth of their bed with one final kiss pressed against her forehead . but even as he somehow managed to figure out just how to fit his life for the next month & a half into a suitcase , his gaze — his attention still lingered upon the girl with wild curls he couldn’t figure out how to bring with him without risking putting her dream on the line . because just like last night , he wanted to savour every last moment he could with her . time , however , stops for no one . & as the sun reached its peak kieran stepped over the threshold of his apartment , his front door clicking locked behind him , for the last time . it was a WEIRD feeling . knowing he wouldn’t be back until a month & a half had passed . knowing what lay ahead of him . knowing the ANTICIPATION he’d felt for it since it had first been given as something that was an option . knowing the ACHE that weighed down his chest for what he was leaving behind for it . . . how could he be so EXCITED for something but be DREADING it at the same time ? it was contradicting . he KNEW they'd be okay . they’d survived the distance between them from galway to manchester . they'd survived the distance between them from manchester to london . surely after everything they’d been through , & their future already a promise kieran had EVERY intention of fulfilling , a month & a half was NOTHING in the grand scheme of things . but that didn't make it any easier to even untangle his fingers from evan’s as they joined the three other boys , mikey , nora , & liv at the departures gate .
NO goodbye was easy . & at the sight of tears upon nora & liv’s cheeks , he could feel the beginning of a lump forming in his throat . he imagined it was going to be ten times worse saying goodbye to EVAN . he loved his mam’ & sister — more than anything — but since the move to manchester , calls , facetimes & texts had be the main form of communication for YEARS . he’d miss them , he always missed them , but being away from them had gotten easier . especially now he knew they were both SAFE . & the tears in nora’s eyes were more from PRIDE than anything else . made clear by the gesture of gentle hands pressing against his cheeks as she finally receded from a tight hug as she uttered , “ you look after yourself you hear me . i know you're a big rockstar now but it doesn't mean you have t’ act like one — - ” kieran let out a quiet laugh as his head nodded gently in her hold , “ i’ll try not t’ let t’e fame get t' my head , promise . ” a teary smile spread across nora's lips , “ i believe you . you’ve always been a good boy & you’ve grown into a good man . . . i’m so proud of you , a leanbh . i can’t wait t’ hear all about it , i love you . ” a soft smile spread across his lips as he pulled her in for one last hug , “ i love you . ” & as nora drifted from him towards mikey , liv lingered at the side . fingers interlocked in front of her in a turn of twisting fingers . teeth worrying at her bottom lip . but as kieran's gaze flittered over to her , his shoulder tilting in a small shrug , it was all it took for her to cross the small space between them & wrap her arms around his waist . a gesture he quickly followed as he enveloped her into a tight hug . “ i’ll call you every night alright ? ” hands moved in a soothing manner against her back as he pressed a kiss against the top of liv's head . a rumble of laughter slipped from his lips as liv murmured a barely audible response into his chest . “ hey now , i’ll 'ave time . i always ‘ave time for you — never forget t’at . ” liv pulled away from him just enough to lift the heel of her palm up to brush tears from her cheeks , “ text when you land ? ” kieran nodded as a smile pulled at his lips , his pointer finger curling to tap lightly beneath her chin before tapping the tip of her nose , “ ‘course . don't need you t’inking my plane’s gone down . ” liv’s features scrunched as she hugged him again , “ don't even joke about t'at . ” the smile upon kieran's lips grew further as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head , “ i'll be fine , promise . ” & as he spoke , his eyes flittered over to where evan stood with three boys he’d be spending the next month & a half with in a too small tour bus & endless hotel rooms . “ t’ere is one t'ing i need you t’ do for me t’ough . ” liv shifted back just enough to look up at kieran . & as her eyes followed his gaze to settle on evan , her head begun to nod softly . a knowing look crossing over her features as she glanced back up at him . he didn’t need to ask the question . “ i can do t'at . she’ll be okay . ” & as liv’s lips curved into a gentle reassuring smile , she pulled away slowly before nudging him in evan's direction . “ go on — you can’t put it off forever . ” she was right . there were no more distractions . no more avoiding . time had finally caught up to them . taking in a deep steadying breath kieran lifted a hand to ruffle the top of liv's head before he parted ways .
his fist pressed into his opposite palm as he walked towards the four people that had ALWAYS been there . three were coming with him but ONE was staying behind . the one that just so happened to be the one he wanted to share something as AMAZING as an american tour with the most . she’d been right last night . just because it wouldn’t be the same without her didn’t mean it was going to be BAD . he knew it was going to be incredible . it was part of the reason why he did all this . to feel the rush as he stepped out on stage with a guitar in his hand & a crowd that knew every single word of the songs he’d written . it was what he was MEANT to do . but that knowledge didn’t make leaving her easier . that knowledge wouldn’t make saying goodbye easier . & as he approached & conan caught his eye , that goodbye was only moments away . the lump in his throat was hard to swallow . a gentle nod was all it took from kieran for conan to tug at ruairi’s shirt , “ alright — t’at’s enough ya bloody softie . you’ll see her again in a mont’ & a half . we’re not leaving her forever — sadly . ” but even the teasing nature lingering upon conan’s features as he glanced at evan was tainted by a goodbye they were all struggling with in their own ways . because even if evan believed that they’d be here without her . . . she was an integral part . an integral part of not only the found , but THEM . the five of them . they’d been friends long before they’d ever been a band & no matter WHAT happened , they always would be . kieran lingered at the side as adam had to aid in towing a clueless ruairi away . but as kieran watched conan gesture between them before pointing back to kieran & evan , ruairi seemed to finally click . leaving JUST the two of them to find their way back together just like always . kieran swallowed as his gaze drifted from the three boys & towards evan . he really didn’t know HOW he was going to say goodbye to her . but somehow , a soft smile managed to find its way upon his features as he spoke , “ hey , you . ” carefully he reached out for her , fingers catching at hers as he began to draw her in . “ t’ink you can manage one more for your favourite frontman ? ” he tried to keep his voice light as his gaze flittered over her , “ or ‘ave you decided t’ make it offical & become a groupie once & for all — t’ere's still time & i don’t mind sharing a seat . ”
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You aren’t alone - we are alone together.
Hi, @autophobiaxx - guess what, I had been your secret snowflake🤗. Believe me when I say I had absolutely no idea what awaited me on this project, but i am really happy I got paired up with you and it turned out this way.
Your answers had always been so helpful and I might just want to pet myself on the shoulder with some lucky guesses I made. Hopefully this project had been for you as fun as for me, because I really enjoyed it. I actually found myself giddy through some days, not able to wait to ask you my next questions.
I do hope you like the first part of your present, the other two will follow soon - you get one on each Christmas holiday day. (That’s the reason why I had asked you to pick a number - you started with number 2. So, 3 will follow tomorrow and 1 after that.)
But now, I wish you a lot of fun - if a bit of my grammar isn’t as well as it should be, feel free to point it out - but please spare me a bit. English sadly isn’t my native language.
Greetings and definitely until tomorrow😘
Word count ( note not included) : 7. 380 words
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It was so long.
So long since she last saw the Shadowsinger - her heart longing to see him once again as she looked out into the endless sea of stars above of Velaris.
No glittering light left alone, always a close neighbour that shone with them close by. It was an endless chain so it seemed.
One that smiled down upon the fae of Velaris, her sister and her mate and even down to her - the lonely seer. That sat with a longing heart night for night, wrapped in a blanket, in front of her wide-open window. Hoping to hear even a silent beat of his mighty wings, hoping to see even a whisp of him seek comfort in the endless sea of dreams and light in the dead of night.
Perhaps he had always known she was watching, was too shy to show up in the sky which she could see so clearly. Not even the bright light of the always shining city able to taint the dark dome that was stretched above their heads.
It unsettled her. The seer's guts twisting and churning inside her as her heart made leap for leap, leaving a heavy rumble as it landed each time with the same wish: I want to see Azriel again.
Elain knew it was selfish of her to think such thoughts, but he was her friend. One that had been by her side since she first stumbled into this new life, showing her how to embrace this new part of the world she hated for so long, explained to her that it was completely fine to not be immediately ok with the ways of this world, but that it was also good to try those new possibilities it gave her from time to time.
And that she did, the Shadowsinger always an arm's reach away when she did so. A kind reassuring smile a constant companion when she looked up at him, those shining hazel eyes of his seemingly having never strayed from her.
He was there - always.
There was no way he would suddenly be gone. Her aching heart not able to believe even a crumb of this thought as she shook her head in disapproval at the night. Standing up on numb legs - for the twentieths evening in a row - from the chunky armchair. Hurt flooding her entire body as this aching wave of hurt crashed down from her heart.
He would not be there, she felt it, would not be there for Solstice.
Perhaps she should have asked Feyre of his stay, maybe even Rhys, but then again - these two loved to cloak themselves in silence. Everything that needed to be spoken only between the two of them, far away from the worried ears of the seer.
Feyre’s older sister - that was treated like a child.
A child, perhaps that was who she was, a selfish stubborn, weak child that waited for its friend to arrive, only to be disappointed that he would not attain, would not be there the next morning to celebrate the Solstice with her - leaving her alone in the shadows of a giant estate, that would this year not brim with happiness during the festivities.
If she would have wanted to ask Feyre or Rhys it was too late anyway. They were all off already - celebrating Feyre’s birthday and the longest night of the year, under the stars of Winter.
A great feast that was hosted by Vivianne and Kallias in order to acclaim Viviannes rise to the High lady of the Winter Court, though it was more going to be of a friendly gathering - that Elain had seen, in a vision, and with that she did not want to interfere.
Her absence could be considered as rude, but her presence wasn’t of any meaning - Nesta was the emissary of the Night Court and she would be there. So, there was no need for the defender of Velaris, to go with them and abandon her duty. Though Feyre had given that title to her out of pity - to make Elain feel more useful.
Allowing her to go to bed early as the stars continued to shine down in protection on the city, leaving her window wide open this night. The hope, that he would perhaps see her open window and come home, was all she needed to endure the cruel ripping of the cold harsh wind on her curtains in her chamber as she piled blanket for blanket atop of her.
Trying to let sleep claim her with its soothing blanket.
Though its blanket was nothing but wild and untamed tonight. Pictures of death and shadows, of chaos and blood infiltrating her mind. In her worry the seer was not able to part these pictures of violence into a vision or simply a nightmare.
She hoped for the last one – begged for it to be the last one. As she awoke screaming, cold sweat coating her skin like an old friend. It happened so often already in the past, she had hoped these fears would have gone away with the years of peace.
Yet it left her soaring, her eyes tearing in the darkness as she buried her face into her shacking palms. Letting the impressions behind her inner eye suffocate her - battle screams, bones breaking, cries of hurt heard among the heavy rain that poured down on the battlefield in the woods. Mud coating the already fallen warriors as hundreds of wing pairs peeked up from the carpet of death – Azriel's body lay dead and cold as a yarn of death weaved, among the other fallen warriors, into this endless rug of blood and rotting bodies.
A silent scream escaping Elain's shivering body as his eyes flooded her mind. Those soft warm eyes, that reminded her so much of the forests she had wandered upon, that never seemed to stray from her and knew when she was upset or needed a shoulder to cry on - were looking lifeless and cold into the face of an enemy he had taken to death with.
No!
This could not be the truth!
Azriel had offered so much in the last few centuries, had shed too much blood and fought too many battles throughout the years. It couldn’t be that the only thing the mother deemed for him as right was bloodshed and war and death.
Azriel, too, had a loving family with which he deserved to spend time with.
So, Elain begged the mother, that it simply was a nightmare that ripped sleep away from her. Her uneasiness making it impossible to just fall back asleep again.
She needed a distraction, something that could bring her thoughts far away from blood and cold lonely nights, in which she feared Azriel would never return.
‘Stop thinking like that!’ she tried to convince herself ‘Azriel is strong. Very strong - there is no way that he is suddenly going to die in battle. Is there?’
It was a childish thought; she knew that as she threw a blanket over her shivering shoulders. Elain knew how sudden death could bite someone, no matter how strong the one it chose to claim - after all, even a High Lord can find death in a battle. Rhys had proven that and even though he came back - letting the vibrating song of the living envelop him a lot longer- there were still nights in which she heard Feyre scream.
Some nights it was the scream from the battlefield Elain had heard. Other nights it was the same screams that ripped from her lungs, whenever she awoke from a nightmare.
Death had sought out her family too many times already. Feyre, Rhysand, her father, Nesta and she herself. Though it had been a human life that would have ceased -for the fae- in the blink of an eye anyway, it was Nesta’s and her life that had been thrown into the cauldron and was ripped away from them.
Leaving them dead empty in a new world.
In a new world, in which hope had been a rare asset, once they were made. Though Feyre had it, just like Rhys and Cassian, Morrigan and Amren and Azriel. Along with thousands of others that believed in the good and hoped for it to win.
And so, Elain realized, she could hope too - would hope - that he is going to return. Safe and sound.
The snow on the streets and rooftops of Velaris twinkling under the many streetlights like a thousand fallen stars, leading the lost warrior home. The billowing curtains -hopefully- beckoning him to come closer as the two heavy sheets of fabric waved at the night.
Beckoning him to come closer to his family.
Any part of his family.
Elain didn’t care to whom he would find his way, she just hoped he could find this way. Perhaps he already flew towards winter, having long crossed Day and Dawn on his way as he was now to spend some time with his brothers, friends and the female he so loved. Maybe his wings had flown him home to his mother, that awaited him with open arms and a warm smile on her threshold.
Though there was a selfish wish inside Elain’s worried chest as she moved on silent feet down the winged staircase. Her long cosy gown swishing past her naked feet, like a fluffy cloud of dawn. The cosy cream white blanket atop of her long peachy gown, the last sunrays of the day that caressed the fluffy clouds a last time for the day.
Sunshine incarnate.
That was what Azriel had once called her - by accident. His cheeks having taken on the same peachy colour as her gown, as she remembered this day with a smile on her lips. How he had rambled apology for apology silently under his breath.
This selfish wish inside her growing with each minute, as she searched for a distraction from the bloodshed she had seen, only minutes ago.
Elain Archeron, seer of the Night Court and defender of Velaris, wished for the shadowsinger, the Spymaster of the Night Court, her friend, to come home and see her sunshine glow in the darkness of night.
She wished for him to be here. Left her window wide open in the hopes of this selfish wish.
Wandering with a heavy heart, a soft hand placed atop of this traitorous thing as she walked circle for circle in the foyer. Her naked feet silently swashing step for step over the cold marble as a grandfather clock, in the far away corner of the sitting room, called her out of her endless wandering and wondering. Announcing to her the begin of the new day - Solstice - as it struck twelve.
Finally woken from her trance she saw nothing.
Nothing that came even close to a Solstice decorated house. Garlands - along with the other decorations- stored safely away in the far back of a closet.
With a huff did Elain start her hunt for the almost exploding cardboard box - the faerie lights all around the house turned on as she dug into closet for closet.
Only in a little chamber, where she needed to dive through thousands of papers and weapons she found it. Her nightgown and the blanket covered in a veil of dust as she wanted to lift the box triumphally up but let it fall instead, her petite arms not able to hold up all of the heavy weight. Fir branches, garlands, mistletoes, little wooden figures as well as a heavy little wooden box - raining down on her.
All far older than the things that were normally used, so it seemed, as cobwebs danced down on her. Covering her honey golden hair under a hat of grey nets. A cough escaping her lungs, just before a sneezing fit took over – the whirling dust having played a bit too much with her nose trills.
With a, for her unlikely, groan did she bent down to pick everything up. Her form slightly shivering in the coldness of the small chamber, even with the heavy blanket around her.
how could she always be that clumsy? It was a wonder that she hadn’t suddenly tripped in her garden yet. Accidently ripping out all the plants she had planted with such careful hands - that were now dust covered. As she loaded garland for garland, figure for figure into the cardboard box.
Until she saw a little wooden case - engraved with twines and flowers, so it seemed. A heavy layer of dust hiding the once shiny wood underneath it.
Who had forgotten it here?
It looked really old and somehow bits of the wood seemed to be worn out - along with the clank on the backside of the musical box. The once shiny metal having taken on the colour of a deep grey.
Somehow this little box was fascinating her the little rusty lock, that kept the music box tightly shut, seemingly calling for her to open it. A lullaby on its own as she listened into the silence. Her eyes straying ever so often from the little box in her petite hands, searching for the little key that would fit the lock.
But no matter how hard she searched for it - it was nowhere to be found.
No paper hid it underneath, no layer of dust cloaked it, the cardboard box also never having swallowed a key. A sigh escaped her lips as she stood up on wobbly feet, tugging the little wooden box carefully away beneath all the fir branches in the carton.
The way towards the door a fight on its own again as swords, arrows, bows, daggers and papers cluttered her way. Cold steel meeting Elain’s naked feet more than once as her eyes could not see what was underneath the large box in her hands.
But somehow she managed to move across the room and finally leave it again - no blade having cut her. A dusty hell which she would probably clean later throughout the week. She needed to get the time over anyway.
And with this thought in mind, bloodshed and war long forgotten, she started her magic. Transforming this cold lonely house - within only one hour- into a glittering sea of Solstice decorations.
She might have been alone and would be for the rest of the week, but that did not mean she couldn’t decorate the house. No one would take the decorations and the cosy feeling of Solstice from her, as she lightened the fireplace. the happy crackling of the fire suddenly reminding her of snaping bones.
Bones of the Spymaster that ... . No!
She would not go there, would not let her mind wander into these dark parts of her mind again as she tried her hardest to overcome these blood-filled thoughts within the last hour.
The seer simply needed to distract herself further. There would still be a later time in which she could enjoy watching the flames lick happily at the wood it feasted on -letting warmth embrace her instead of fear.
And just in case fear wanted to overwhelm her again - she needed some nerve food. The plenty of cookies she wanted to bake this year, somewhere abandoned in the back of her mind. But the thought of searching in her endless messy cook books for a cookie recipe unmotivated her, so Elain decided to go for something easy.
A recipe she already baked with her mother in the innocent days of her childhood. The smell of freshly baked butter cookies always connected to the cosiest time of the year. Stitched into her mind - just like the recipe itself.
Already on giddy feet hurrying into the large kitchen, she made a mental list of supplies she needed: butter, sugar, vanilla sugar, flour, an egg, a bowl, a rolling pin ... of course, a baking trey with baking paper and some cookie cutters.
Perhaps she could find some old chocolate too.
Even though they tasted - for her at least- almost better without gloss and sprinkles than with them, but Feyre liked those with chocolate gloss - so doing a bit of glazing won't hurt.
With a giggle on her lips and a grandfather clock in the corner that struck two, she hurriedly turned off all the lights in the house. Baking those divine smelling cookies only under the cosy light of some candles. The scent of cinnamon, oranges, fir trees and freshly baked butter cookies soon enveloping the lonely quiet house. A cold wind from upstairs occasionally getting lost in the kitchen, letting the fire of the candles dance in the dark - deep shadows running along the walls whenever wind and fire danced.
It made Elain only smile more as she baked trey for trey - tiredness not even a whisper in her body as her thoughts were preoccupied.
‘I wonder what Az and the others are doing right now.’
A humourless chuckle escaped her as she rolled the rolling pin further through the next dough. It was past two, either way they were drinking or sleeping.
And what did she do? Baking butter cookies in the middle of the night, because a wave of nostalgia crashed down on her, a nightmare kept her awake and she felt lonely!
Just how she always wanted to spent the Solstice, a family festivity without the family she thought she had.
It hurt to know that. Hurt to know that they were all laughing and celebrating, exchanging presents - while she was stuck here. Perhaps she should have asked if she could come along, but then again - she would have probably ruined it for them.
Her family seemed to think that they could never speak on normal terms with her. They never knew that she, too, could speak like a normal fae being - not like one that was always stuck in the meeting of some lords or ladies, a stick shoved up her ass.
“Holly mother!” she groaned as Elain rubbed tiredly at her eyes, maybe she just wanted to get rid of the tears that started to whelm up there. Her heart having finally taken enough hurt and damage as she crumbled - just like the butter cookie she shoved into her mouth.
Alone - that was what she was. Always meant to be left behind - protected- like they liked to call it, but the seer couldn’t take the isolation anymore. Each tear that ran down her cheeks, a butter cookie she ate.
Some were still too hot, but she didn’t feel it as she stood at the floured kitchen counter and stole cookie for cookie from the treys. Those sweet little stars, hearts and smiley cookies the only things that comforted her, as she braced her arms next to a half-eaten trey. Her streaming tears luckily only hitting the empty part of the counter top - she didn’t want the cookies to become mushy, but then again - next to her - who would eat them?
‘Snap out of it!’ was all Elain could repeat over and over again in her mind. Deep shivering breaths shattering her lungs while she did so. This wave of hurt from perhaps, two, three hours ago, burying her deep in the tides once again.
She had overcome this already once she could do it again, tried Elain to convince herself, but there was this dark feeling inside her - that mocked her, laughed at her, pulled her always back down into the raging tides of her mind - each time a bit deeper.
It was this dark mocking voice inside her that spoke as she opened her tightly shut eyes again, those emotionless eyes having once again returned to her as she eyed one of the butter cookies “What am I doing here?”
And just as she thought the bells of the grandfather clock had drowned her out, there was this deep voice that rumbled along the dark gongs.
“That I’d like to know too.” it was a mere whisper of silence, but never would her pointed ears overhear his raven voice. Her head snapping immediately up to meet his confused hazel eyes. They looked paler, but at the same time more awake than ever as they found her widened ones.
A breathless choke escaping her as she saw him standing there in the doorway - wings tightly closed behind him, a black tunic stretching over his broad chest and shadows dancing behind him.
Completely unharmed -just a bit dishevelled- his hair more tousled and a light stubble spread over his sculpted cheeks, but he was fine.
Completely unharmed.
The seer couldn’t contain her happiness as Azriel voice had pulled her out of her trance - a wave of relief flooding her as she stormed around the kitchen counters and jumped right into his arms.
One of her cookie crumble smeared cheeks was pressed against his warm chest, spreading crumbs on the clean black fabric while her ears listened to the calm thrumming of his heartbeat - a sniffle escaping her as she looked, through a tear cloaked vision, up at him.
A genuine wide smile stretching across her cheeks, as he looked down on her.
Azriel looked baffled at first, but a shy little smile spread on his lips too, once he heard Elain’s hoarse voice. “You are finally home again.” “I am finally home again, yes and thank you very much for the open window.” The seer couldn’t contain herself, couldn’t think about any consequences as she hugged him even tighter.
Azriel. Azriel. Azriel.
Her mind chanted his name over and over again. A warm feeling sprouting once again in her heart as he softly whipped away cookie crumb for cookie crumb on her cheeks - those scarred hands of his as gentle as any feather - as she silently laughed at him through streaming tears; “Please, Az, never do that again. Promise me, please.”
“What shall I never do again?” a puzzled look crossed his features as his thumb stopped abruptly its whipping, before realization dawned on him - though it was the wrong one as he tried to pull his hands away - already searching for an apology.
But Elain wouldn’t have this tonight. And so, she lifted her own hands and laid them carefully atop of his - pressing these warm palms of him back onto her salty cheeks, a fierce look in her teared eyes as his searched hers for answers.
“Please, Az, never again - you hear me - never again stay away from me for almost a whole month without at least a little note. Please, I was worried sick.”
He nodded, even though there was confusion written across his face as his brows furrowed, before he spoke. The ravenous sound of his voice finally caressing her ears again “I had left you a message though.”
“Really?” The Spymaster nodded curtly as his face turned firm.
Those sinful lips of his pressed into a thin line while he held onto her petite body. His shadows turning slightly wilder as they seemed to roll off of him in waves - a sign that he was trying to hide his rage. Elain had noticed that a long time ago, that he seemed to hide in his shadows once he was close to showing too many emotions - it was a way to keep him safe.
But worry still piled in the seers' stomach as she looked up at him - had a mission gone wrong that he needed to report?
“Where are the others?” he suddenly asked, his voice pressed, as this cold voice hissed in laughter at her again.
Wasn’t it obvious that he came for them? Not for a crippled thing like you! It hissed at her, eating up all her hope and what was left of her to make her happy - the smile she put on now not the genuine one she shared with him.
It was the same emotionless grimace she put on when she first tried to be fae. Her voice sounding even to her empty.
“They are in Winter. I’d thought you already knew that they were going to celebrate Solstice and Feyre’s birthday this year there. Vivianne and Kallias are also going to celebrate Viviannes rise to the High Lady of the Winter Court with them.”
Hurt suddenly flashed through Azriel’s eyes - most likely at the sound of her voice. He needed to swallow hard. It looked like he had trouble to deal with the information's - while Elain had trouble to deal with all the questions swirling around in her mind.
“I am so sorry Elain.” “For what?”
Azriel breathed in deep through his nose, before he pulled her - in the flash of a second- into the soothing veil of shadows around him. Crashing her face once more into his chest as quiet whispers surrounded her - one of them was his voice; “I left a message to Rhys, Feyre, Mor and Cassian - I even left a letter, that said I would be gone for at least the next month -perhaps even longer- at both of their desks.”
Betrayal, hurt, it all clashed through her as she heard these words. He trusted them all - just not her! He -
“El, please hear me out before you judge.”
A firm nod was all she could give him.
“I had asked them to tell you, that you don’t need to worry. I just wanted to clear my head off a bit, ...” Long silence enveloped them before he - for once- broke the silence, the shadows almost drowning out his whispered words “... I wouldn’t have been able to go once I would have seen your worry, your sadness, but I couldn’t stay either. Couldn’t endure to be around her when I hadn’t figured out yet what she is to me. So, I had asked them to tell you -had hoped they would- but apparently ...”
The rumble she felt in his chest as he growled the last part could have competed with one of the heaviest thunderstorms in the mortal realms - he would surely leave just as much damage in his rage.
He trusted them and they -somehow- betrayed this trust of his. Hopefully they would have a good excuse for this, she thought as Elain hugged her Shadowsinger tighter. This wonderful, insane driving scent of his coating and enveloping her like a coat again -the cosiest cloak she ever wore.
“It’s fine now. You are home again. Safe and sound – that is what matters.”
This time he was the one that could only nod. His eyes hidden somewhere above of her as she was still pressed into his warmth. “Do you perhaps need help with those cookies of yours?”
Elain's giggle -that washed through his body like a wildfire- was all he needed to smile. Her shining eyes finding him once she had wrestled herself free. “With eating them, yes. But I can do the cleaning alone, maybe you could search for a blanket. Feyre always seems to hide the cosiest ones mother knows where.”
A dark chuckle rumbled through the house as they both began their tasks in silence. “Are you sure that it’s Feyre who hides them and not Amren?” “I could bet a cookie trey on that!”
Needless to say - she lost that cookie trey.
The kitchen starting to look normal again, while Azriel had found a cosy blanket - large enough for the two of them - hers from before abandoned somewhere on the couch.
A silky short black hair peeking out from the folds of the blanket. This victorious smirk on his lips so insufferable and yet beautiful, that she could not help herself as to groan silently – while he placed two glasses of wine on the small side table. Already tugged in under the blanket.
Azriel laughed as he saw how Elain balanced ten fully packed boxes of butter cookies into the room - handing one to him: “Your won trey of cookies.”, letting the others practically fall onto the wooden table as she grabbed her glass of wine and snuggled under the blanket too.
His warmth, the warmth of the fire and the blanket enveloping her as he carefully lay one wing over the sofa lean - pulling Elain in tighter ever so softly.
A feeling of peace washing through her while they watched the flames dance. The shadows to their feet occasionally twitching up to them, to inform their master of the safety they were in – never leaving before brushing the cheek of the seer, that stuffed herself with butter cookies again.
Nursing already the second glass of wine, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier – her spinning head slowly sliding from his shoulder – sleep finally seemed to claim her.
Those golden curls of hers soon spilling in his lap, as she fell onto it sleepily – the glass somehow still safely in her hand, before it was taken from her.
A soft feeling suddenly stroking her head in lazy movements - making her want to purr like a cat. She didn’t precisely start to purr, but she couldn’t resist to nuzzle closer into the soft touch of his hands.
Azriel’s soft hands that were always in reach for her, that always were so gentle with her. His touch -even if it just was a whisper of it- leaving her skin, her blood, her heart alight. This wildfire burning and yet somehow saving her.
Elain was never sure of what to think of this wildfire inside her whenever he was near, but never too close. Now she thought she knew what it was, this burning flame longing for him.
Longing for his attention, his words, his touch – his love.
And somehow, she thought, she had found it all tonight as she was nuzzled into him. This burning untamed and twisting fire suddenly turning into a cosy little ball of sunshine that warmed her skin and her heart, like the sun rays in the days of Spring and Summer did.
It was like coming home – or in her case having home come to her.
Her mind finally catching up to her heart, to finally understand those feelings. Those softly blooming feelings, that would stay in an eternal Spring.
“Az?” she suddenly asked. Her eyes closed softly as her smiling face was turned to him, his hands – thank the mother- still buried in her mass of hair. “Hm?”
“Can I ask you something personal?”
He hesitated for a moment, before he nodded. Though her heart ached and her throat was desert dry, she needed to ask him, needed to know. “Who did you mean when you said you couldn’t be around her?”
“Morrigan.”
“Why that? Has she done something bad, did she hurt you?”
“Not really El, it’s just – somehow she helped me realize something and I wasn’t able to deal with it as well as I thought.”
To say Elain was never more curious than now would have been a lie. She was always curious when it came to the shadowsinger, but as the tension flooded her – curiosity never felt heavier than now.
Her wondering eyes opening slowly to see his far away gaze fixed on a strand of fire that danced along a log.
Tension resting on his shoulders as he looked stiff like a stone. The silence pushing down on them as neither dared to speak, the heavy gong of the grandfather clock suddenly awakening them from their daydreams.
A yelp escaped Elain as she flinched at the sound, an uneasy feeling waking up her entire body again. Gravity pulling at her gown as soon as she was fully woken and struggled to get a hold on the warrior. The soft rug in front of the couch luckily cushioning the fall a bit, though it didn’t prevent the cookie boxes to fall down on her.
A silent,almost drowned out clicking landing next to her ear.
For a moment she sat there, lay there, with baffled eyes between the small space of couch and table. A loud laugh erupting from her as soon as she realized her situation, the heavy rumble of Azriel’s ravenous chuckle joining hers until he noticed the small high-pitched noise – that played to his feet.
A furrow settling between his thick eyebrows.
“El, are you alright?” With a huff she took the scarred hand of the shadowsinger-her love- and pulled herself up again.
The tasty baked goods laying forgotten and cracked in the boxes on the floor. Just not the little music box – which the shadowsinger picked up with great interest as something dawned in his eyes.
Recognition – Elain realized with wonderous eyes. Her petite curious form taking up the space next to him again
It was his music box!
“Azriel are you alright?”
He could only turn his -so incredibly- happy face to her. Those hazel eyes of his almost drowning in tears as he looked like a little kid on Solstice that had received the present of his dreams. Holding it in his shaking scarred hands like a sacred treasure.
Elain always knew Azriel was never a male of many words, but as he lay the delicate box in his lap and crashed her entire being with one hug – she was never more amazed than now. Warmth spreading through her. Elains bones and her very blood singing of the feelings that were weaved into her being.
Home.
She thought again. Azriel was her home – even though he might not have realized it yet, she would gladly wait for him to see -perhaps- home in her one-day too. But maybe he already did that.
The fire his body gave over to hers, more than just his body heat. There was so much in this hug, as his face was buried in her shoulder. Tears dripping down on the pale skin of her shoulder as she carefully hugged him too.
Those soft feelings of her’s hopefuly showing him everything her heart could offer.
A sniffle of him, pulling them apart. The question of why he hugged her, of why he cried – lost on the tip of her tongue as he beat her to it.
“This music box, it belonged to my mother.”he fumbled for something around his neck, pulling at a long black bond – to which a little rusted key was attached. Fitting perfectly inside the lock.
A beautiful little melody beginning to play as soon as he turned the crank a few times, soft petals of a delicate Violet opening as it took slow turns - amazement written across Elain’s face.
Azriel only smiled at it. The story behind the little music box wrestling itself free.
“It belonged to my mother. She gave it to me when I was dropped into Windhaven – it was next to the clothes I had on me the only thing I possessed. She gave it to me, telling me: ‘As long as this melody plays, there is hope that we will live one day in freedom.’ And I believed her – turning the crank each night before I went to bed and each morning before I went to training.”
A low chuckle rumbled through him “When Rhysand’s mother picked me up and gave most of her attention to me, instead of Rhys and Cass – they weren’t the fondest of me. And when they found out about the music box - they took it from me.
Rhys words echoed still for many months in my head: ‘Isn’t the attention of my mother good enough for you or why are you always listening to this baby toy?’. Back then, when they took it, I had not let a single word slip from my lips for the next two months as I plotted out how I could make them give it back to me, but soon after these months of silence did my mother come free.
She had earned her freedom again, while I still fought for mine. But I was so incredibly happy, that I had lost thought to the music box. Only when my mother had asked me four centuries ago if I still had it – I remembered it again. Guilt had filled my guts as I told her I had lost it, but she only smiled and told me, once I had it I should not keep it.”
Azriel’s eyes never strayed from the frayed wood as a deep chuckle erupted from him, a barely audible whisper following “I hadn’t known what she meant back then, but now I do.” Before he turned to Elain.
Telling her the last parts of this story with such sincerity, that the pure look of his eyes into hers, had her warm and cosy. Her insides carving to be with him, to just hug him, but she wanted to see him tell this story. Did not want to miss one of his loving gazes, so this had to do – her hands softly cupping his as they held and listened to the music together.
“Even though it confused me that I should give it away - I still asked Rhys where they hid it, but he didn’t remember. I remember that all three of us Cassian, Rhys and I, had turned the hut in the mountains, in Windhaven and the town house in Velaris upside down. No one of us even heard a tiny tone of the melody and eventually gave up on it – they did at least. Somehow, I was never able to lose hope –probably an echo of the melody that still played in my ears.”
Soft chuckles escaped him a final time before he closed the lid, put the tiny key with the black leather bond atop of it and carefully lay it into Elain’s hands, wonder lacing her gaze as she looked down at it.
Azriel’s next innocent words held so much meaning, yet he only whispered them. Shy hazel eyes boring into her tearing doe ones.
“Elain Archeron, I am so incredibly thankful you found it for me. Though it doesn't come close to the feeling of happiness and joy that erupts inside of my chest whenever I see you. Your voice alone a lullaby to me. One that calms me, sooths me and somehow always manages to be there for me when I need you. A friend.”
A sudden pang of hurt crossed her heart, but she smiled nonetheless. If she could make Azriel happy as a friend, she would be happy too – would take joy in seeing him happy for the rest of eternity. Even though her traitorous heart started just tonight to hope for his love. Hoped that those scarred palms of his would hold and nurse her heart for the next millennia's – until the mother decided it was time for the seer to go.
“So, I thought.” he suddenly said. Snapping her out of her cruel train of thoughts. Capturing her eyes- her attention- once again.
“I had always thought you were a friend, had always thought the safety, the lightness I felt around you was the same with my brothers. I had for more than five centuries believed love was supposed to be a burning thing – one that burned and feasted upon feelings until one day nothing but ashes were left, but you proved me wrong. Made me realize what love is.”
Elain was speechless, her eyes having long brimmed over with tears as she held the little box in shaking palms.
Her heart realizing what it meant to him, what he gave her.
His heart. He gifted her his heart.
Those scarred hands, having placed it shyly in her hands – while they now whipped her tears away again. Her heart beating so unbelievably fast as he placed his forehead softly atop of hers. “When Mor sought me out at the beginning of the month – I think I already started to realize that my heart had long fallen for you, that I had fallen for you. Mor came to tell me about her preferences of females and in all honesty it didn’t really hurt.”
Elain nodded. One week after Azriel was gone the golden female had it declared officially. The seer had always respected the Morrigan, though on that evening she had been slightly angry with her – thinking she chose to tell this then when the one that effected it the most wasn’t there. The fact that Elain now found out that she had sought him out a week earlier already – made her feel guilty.
She hadn’t known that. But she came to realize something. “You had left to get your thoughts sorted out.” Azriel only nodded.
“These twenty days I had spent away from you made me realize the longing I felt. The longing to be close to your heart.”
Elain only smiled at him.
Her tear-stained vision seeing him. Seeing how the reflections of orange and red danced in those soft black hairs of his, every vein in his wings seeable as the fire shone through it. Her eyes, so it seemed, able to see his wildly beating heart when she gave him back the box.
His form grew stiff as he held the old wood back in his hands, but Elain kept the key.
The key to his heart.
And he understood. A blinding smile erupting on his face as he took the box back. Elain’s sheepish voice a mere whisper when she asked him: “Is it selfish of me – to want to be the key to your heart?”
Azriel didn’t answer that, not with words at least as his lips crashed hers.
Joy and happiness claiming him, making him act before thinking of the consequences. Though, he thought with a smile, as Elain’s lips pillowed his: I will verry much enjoy these consequences.
But there were no consequences. All he got was Elain’s unbelievably big heart – that beat in the same thumping rhythm as his as their chests were pressed together.
Elain’s petite body laying atop of his as her love completely overwhelmed him. The realization of that had her giggling into the kiss, until they broke apart. Heavy breaths fanning over each other's lips as they gaped for air. Elain fully bursting out laughing once she realized what she did.
Her bell like laugh echoing throughout the house, like a warm breeze of wind in summer as she hugged the shadowsinger – her shadowsinger.
Those pointed ears – which she had cursed for so long- listening to the song of his heartbeat while his scarred hands – to which she gave so much admiration – drew calming circles on her back as they lay on the couch.
The fire crackling, the cookies and the wine abandoned and the music box and the key safely put aside on the table. Their souls finally having found the way together as their hearts were finally able to embrace the other fully.
Their heated lips finding purchase on those on the other one ever so often as they showered in silent kisses on the eyebrow, the forehead, the nose, the cheek, the hands – leaving the skin of each other alight with every wet kiss.
Trust, love, adoration and so many other emotions weaved into the air between them as they fell asleep at the struck of five – not even the loud gong of the grandfather clock able to pull them apart from their little world.
Perhaps, they thought, it was good that their family wasn’t home – like that there was no need to be silent.
And neither was.
The house having long brimmed over with love as each of their family members came back. Standing baffled in the foyer as they watched sunshine and shadows dance, or rather chase. A play of tag having erupted between the two, while giggles and chuckles flooded the house.
Only a coughing fit of Cassian was able to make them look at their family. Mor and Amren smirking at what they was displayed infront of them, while Rhys and Feyre were left speechless. Nesta looked like as if she either wanted to stab Az or puke on the floor at the sweet silliness with which they chased each other.
All of them having witnessed the shower of kisses in which Elain drowned Azriel as she got him. Though he did not seem to mind. Her lips still pressed against his cheek as they were caught.
But before even one of them could speak up – Azriel glared at them all and winnowed away together with his love.
_____________________________________________________________
I hope you all enjoyed that one. Though I do admit it had hurt a bit to portray Rhys as such an a-hole.
But I needed someone that was close to Az and could play a meaner rolle and since we all know that both, Cass and Rhys, had troubles to get along with Az at first I chose Rhys, because he could winnnow stuff away.
Anyway, here is a small hint for tomorrows fic:Something little comes around ;)
Taglist: @heirofthrnightcourt004
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The Absurd Plan to get Amity Blight a Girlfriend (Chapter 2)
Summary: “You’re late Mittens. Caught up at school like the teacher’s pet you are?” Edric teased and she rolled her eyes.
“I was hanging out with my friends. I have a life outside of school you know,” Amity huffed before a book fell out of her bag and the twins stared at it.
It was the latest Azura the Good Witch novel and she quickly picked it up and shoved it back into her bag.
“So…hanging out means Azura book club? With Luz huh?” Emira winked and she gritted her teeth.
“We’re just friends and happen to like the same books. Leave it alone.”
“We never said anything about you two being more than friends…right Ed?”
Chapter: 1 / 2 / 3
Read on AO3
“Hey Emira…I was thinking that we should change up our strategy a little,” Edric said when they got home that afternoon.
“What do you mean? We planned everything already,” Emira said as she flopped onto the chaise lounge.
“Well now that we’ve ‘promised’ Mittens that we’ll back off, I think we should…physically at least. I know that we only were supposed to do this on Thursday, but I think she’ll be suspicious if we try any physical contact tomorrow,” he explained, and she sighed.
“Okay fine. We don’t want this falling through, so we’ll do this one change for her,” she said, “What are we doing then?”
“I thought we’d swap tomorrow’s plans for Thursday’s.”
“Thursday? Hmmm…that means that-” her eyes widened.
“Em? What’s wrong?”
“The flowers! We can’t order flowers of the size we wanted for tomorrow! It’s impossible!”
Edric closed his eyes and thought for a moment before smiling.
“Wait, I have an idea!”
“Let’s hear it,” Emira mumbled.
“What if we spoke to Willow? Luz and Amity’s friend? She does plant magic and she’s strong! She could do it!”
Emira paused for a moment and she grinned.
“Surprisingly…that idea doesn’t suck Ed! Okay, but how do we convince her to do flowers of that size without raising suspicion? We have to think of a good enough reason for her to make flowers for Luz.”
“It’s not Luz’s birthday anytime soon…actually I don’t know when her birthday is and none of the special holidays are coming up…ugh why does this have to be so hard!” Edric said resting his head on his hand.
“Wait…when did Luz start attending Hexside?” Emira asked and Edric drew a circle before a calendar illusion appeared in his hands.
“It says here…roughly a month ago. Why? Can we celebrate that?”
“Well she’s attended a month at Hexside so we can celebrate a month at Hexside! We don’t know how long Luz is supposed to be here so that’s a reason to celebrate!”
Edric raised his eyebrows before shrugging his shoulders.
“That works for me. I don’t have any other ideas so let’s go with that one.”
“Great! We just need to find Willow and ask her!”
~~~
They ran back to school and to the green house. They knew Willow hung out there sometimes after school, but they weren’t hopeful either. She was Luz’s friend, not theirs and for all they knew, she could’ve gone home but to their relief, she was there, watering her plants.
"Hey Willow!" Edric said and she jumped in surprise.
She turned to face them before cocking her head to the side in confusion.
"Hey Edric and Emira…um...what are you doing here?" she asked, and they smiled at her.
“We have a favour to ask,” Edric responded and she looked at them warily.
"No, I'm not going to create plant bombs for you," Willow said flatly and she turned back to her flowers.
The twins cringed, remembering how Boscha stole some of Willow's special seeds two weeks ago and mixed them with one of her exploding potions. That day had been nearly disastrous for Hexside, with plants growing randomly around the school before exploding, but Principal Bump managed to stop it and suspended Boscha for two weeks.
"Wait, we don't want plant bombs! Well actually those do sound pretty cool-" Edric said but Emira pushed him aside.
"It's for Luz and you're the only person who we know could do it."
Willow turned around slowly, exhaled and adjusted her glasses.
“What favour?”
The twins were aware of how Amity broke off her friendship with the girl years ago, but never knew any details. They didn’t know how it all happened and what had changed until they asked Amity about it a few weeks ago after they caught her having lunch with Willow.
After Amity explained what had transpired between them, they couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
Emira and Edric always had each other, so there was never an urgent need to make friends and when they did, it was coincidence that those friends ended up being from families that their parents approved of.
Amity had just been unlucky.
They had decided to keep Amity’s rekindled friendship with Willow a secret from their parents.
"Well you see the thing is, it’s Luz's one-month anniversary at Hexside tomorrow and it's a Blight family tradition to celebrate! We usually get a huge bouquet of flowers, but our order got cancelled last minute!" lied Emira.
"Yeah, apparently there was an infestation and the pesticide was not flower friendly," Edric nodded, "So, we're asking if you could do us a huge favour and make some flowers with your plant magic? We've called other flower stores but it's impossible to get an order that huge in time for tomorrow."
“A Blight family tradition to celebrate the first month attending Hexside? Amity never mentioned that when we were kids,” Willow said, an unsure look on her face.
“Yep, a tradition! We usually get them when were really young because ‘first day of magic school in the baby class’ and all that but because Luz only started recently, we thought it would be a nice gesture to make her feel more welcome. Amity probably doesn't remember her bouquet.”
Willow thought for a moment before smiling.
"That's really sweet of you two! I'd be happy to help. Is there anything specific you'd want me to do?"
The twins grinned before showing them a sketch of what they had given to the previous florist.
"We know plant magic can be hard to control since it is nature and all but if you could do this, we'd be in debt to you," Emira said as she handed her the sketch.
Willow looked at their sketch and adjusted her glasses before taking in a deep breath.
"It's definitely something I've never done and quite complicated. It will take me some time, but I'll give it a try. No promises that it will work though!" she quickly added.
They thanked her before sitting back and letting her work her magic. They watched her first couple attempts fail before it started taking shape.
Half an hour later, they were bored and Edric had started to make mini plant illusions while Emira scrolled through her Penstagram.
“Done!” Willow announced and they jumped up so they could see her work.
She presented them the extravagant bouquet and their jaws dropped at the final product. It was a large creation made of plaited vines, silver fern and red roses wrapped in floral tape with a silver bow around it.
"I know these aren’t the exact flowers you wanted but I felt since it's for Luz...I added a little bit of human flare. Boiling Isles flowers can be a little harsh on the eyes and Luz mentioned how much she was missing roses the other day, so I've been researching and practicing how to grow them. I removed the thorns and I added the Boiling Isles silver fern you wanted and the vines as too your instructions."
"Willow...this exceeded our expectations! Thank you! It's gorgeous! This is so much better than the other flowers we initially planned," Emira gasped as she felt the soft petals.
“What do red roses mean? They smell beautiful,” Edric asked, inhaling the scent.
“Red roses specifically mean love but if that’s not the message you’d like to bring across I could change them to something else if you want-”
“No! It’s perfect!” Edric said quickly and Emira marveled at the flowers.
Edric looked at his sister, amazement in his eyes before turning back to plant witch.
"We must pay you for your services," he began, and Willow lifted both her hands.
"Oh no, it's okay! It's for Luz after all and she deserves it. I’m happy you asked me for help."
"Have you ever thought of running your own floral shop when you graduate?" Emira inquired.
"I mean...I have thought about it but...I don't know. I love plant magic, but I don't know the first thing to running a business."
"Willow, you'd be great! Just think about it."
"I guess I could give it a try...maybe do some commissions for the school first?"
"That's the spirit! Now we going to leave this here and tomorrow morning we’ll put it in her locker. She's going to be so surprised!"
~~~
“Be quiet Emira! We don’t want to get caught!” Edric grumbled and she tried to hold in her laughter.
It was Tuesday and they were cutting class so that they could put the bouquet into Luz’s locker before lunch.
“Okay, I think we managed to get it in without damaging it as well as the locker,” Emira whispered and Edric nodded before he gently tickled the locker and it opened its mouth, growling at the bouquet it's mouth.
“We know those flowers are a hassle, but they will be removed shortly,” he whispered to the locker and the locker seemed to sigh before closing its mouth.
The bell screamed for lunch and they quickly walked away from the locker so that they could watch the scenario play out in front of them. After a few minutes, students began filling up the corridor to swap books from their locker or make their way to the cafeteria.
“Look! Look! There’s Luz with Amity and Willow!” Emira pointed as the three students walked to their lockers.
They watched Luz laugh at something their sister said and noticed that Amity's cheeks went red and she shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Damn, Mittens has got it bad. How does Luz not see it?” Emira snickered.
“She’s probably so caught up with wanting to be a witch, she doesn’t notice,” Edric said and gripped his sister’s wrist as Luz tickled her locker, "Look! She's opening it!"
Luz let out a scream when the bouquet fell into her hands and the rest of the students in the corridor turned to look at the commotion. It took the girl a couple seconds to realise that she was holding flowers before she gasped and raised them to her face and breathed in their scent.
“Roses?” she squealed before noticing a tiny card sticking out the bouquet.
Whispers came from the other students and she read the card and her cheeks were bright red.
“Who’s it from Luz?” Willow asked before spotting the twins and giving them a small smile.
“It’s from Edric and Emira! It’s a gift to celebrate my first month here!” she giggled before smelling the roses again.
“What?” Amity asked before looking at the card, “A Blight family tradition? We don’t have a-”
Edric and Emira sensed that Amity would blow their cover and made their way towards the group.
“-Luz! We see you got our gift!” Emira said and Luz looked up before smiling widely.
“Amity could you hold these? I need to thank Edric and Emira,” she said as she handed her friend the bouquet.
Luz ran up to them and hugged them both and they smirked at Amity, who had an expression of disbelief and confusion on her face.
“These are so thoughtful you two! Roses are my favourite! How did you know?” she asked as she pulled away.
“A lucky guess,” Edric said.
“Only the most beautiful flowers for the most beautiful human in the Boiling Isles,” Emira said as she winked at Luz.
They cast a glance at their sister who looked outraged.
“Edric. Emira. Can we talk?” she asked, each word dripping with anger as she handed back the roses to Luz.
The twins grinned before excusing them from Willow and Luz and followed Amity down the corridor, out of earshot from her friends.
“What is this?” Amity hissed, gesturing to Luz who was still sniffing the roses.
“Just a gift, baby sister,” Emira said.
“We know how hard Luz has been working and we wanted to do something nice…can’t we do something nice for a classmate?” Edric asked and Amity shifted uneasily before narrowing her eyes.
"She's not your classmate! You're two years ahead of us!"
"Okay then, we wanted to do something nice for a friend," Emira smiled.
“What are your intentions? I told you to back off yesterday!”
"Intentions? Seriously, Amity we're just trying to be nice!" Edric said in exasperation.
“Amity! We’re trying to do something nice for once and this is your reaction? We thought you’d appreciate us liking your friends but clearly not,” Emira said frowning, frustration in her voice.
“I…I just…” Amity trailed off, looking down in embarrassment.
“Mittens. We said we’d back off yesterday and we planned the roses a few weeks back. It would’ve been a waste of money and flowers if we cancelled it,” murmured Edric and Amity seemed to shrink into herself before sighing.
“I’m sorry for how I reacted. I’m so used to you two messing with me and now that Luz is here…it’s just hard to know what your angle is,” Amity mumbled, and the twins laughed.
“No angle here, Mittens. We just want to get to know your friends better, especially Luz cause she’s human. It’s been a while since you were this happy and we wanted to do something nice. Honest!” Emira said and squeezed her sister’s shoulder gently.
That wasn't a complete lie. Amity was happier than they've ever seen her but they did have a angle.
Amity nodded slowly before looking back to Luz who was discussing with Willow where to keep the roses until school ended.
“I better get going to lunch and...thanks for being nice to my friends,” she murmured and walked back to Luz and Willow before they headed to the cafeteria.
Edric and Emira high-fived once they were gone and laughed.
“She looked ready to strangle us!”
“And her face-”
“Good job on the lying, Ed. I’m so proud of us! Now all we need to do is to get Luz alone after school. Mittens has training this afternoon with Lilith so it’s best we’re in view of her at least.”
“Wait…wasn’t it supposed to rain this afternoon? How are we going to get Luz alone, within range of Amity without being hit by the boiling rain?” he asked and Emira rubbed her chin thoughtfully before her face brightened.
“I know exactly what we should do!”
~~~
“Come on Luz. It’s just a little further!”
“Where are we going Emira? You kinda ambushed me...but I’m also filled with nervous excitement!” the Latina exclaimed.
“You don’t want me to ruin the surprise now do you, cutie?” Emira asked with a wink and Luz let out a nervous laugh before looking away so that Emira couldn't see her blush.
She had been so focused on avoiding eye contact with her that she hadn’t seen a branch in her path and tripped over it, nearly falling on her face in the process. Luz waited for the impact of the hard ground on her cheek but instead she felt warmth and the scent of jasmine.
She looked up and her eyes widened when she realized that Emira had caught her in her arms.
“You okay?” Emira asked with a giggle, and Luz nodded quickly before standing up properly and, to Emira's delight, was a lovely shade of red.
“Good because we're hear! I like to call this place The Sanctuary. No teachers and no students ever come here because it’s rumoured to have a curse” -Luz gasped before hiding behind a tree and Emira laughed- “But that was a rumour Ed and I made up to keep people away. This area gets the best sun on warm days and it’s perfect to just…get away from the rest of the world.”
Luz took in the sight of the area and at that moment, the sun peeked from behind the clouds for a minute and light up everything in gold.
“Woah…it’s like those places in fairy stories that’s filled with magic,” Luz said in awe and Emira smiled.
“Well…the Boiling Isles is filled with magic so you’re not too far off. Come on, take a seat with me and just relax.”
“Are…are you sure? The boiling rain is supposed to hit any minute and shouldn’t we head for shelter?”
“It’s only been light showers today and they last five minutes, tops. We’ll be okay. Plus…Lilith will put up a force field in three…two…one-”
On cue, there was a burst of blue in the air and Luz jumped in surprise. She turned around and peeked behind the bushes to see Lilith and Amity in the centre. From the looks of it, Amity was nodding along to every word coming out of Lilith's mouth before she drew a circle and an abomination appeared.
“Don’t worry. Amity’s training session is over and they’re just cooling down. Lilith just puts up a force field on days like this when it seems like it’ll rain,” Emira said and Luz nodded, her eyes glued to Amity and Lilith.
“Luz, they’re just doing some breathing exercises with an abomination. You’re not missing out on anything,” Emira chuckled and Luz blushed once more.
“Sorry. I got excited since Lilith’s in the Emperor’s Coven so I thought I could watch what she'd teach Amity but it’s okay,” she smiled before sitting down.
"Lilith usually leaves once Amity starts her breathing exercises so you will only be seeing Amity and an abomination. No Lilith today," Emira said.
She tilted her head back and bathed in the little amount of sun that was provided while Emira undid her plait and ran a hand through her hair. A couple seconds later, it began to rain and Luz watched the raindrops sizzle above them on the force field.
“Your hair’s really long Emira. It’s lovely,” Luz noticed and yawned, the sun making her feel lethargic.
“Thanks Luz. Have you ever thought of growing out your hair?”
“I got it cut a few months back because it's hard to maintain natural hair consistently but I’m learning. I’d like to have long hair like Azura one day and maybe dye it like Amity’s!”
Emira gave her a smile before looking over her shoulder and glancing at her sister. From what it looked like, Lilith and Amity were almost done with their breathing exercises and Lilith seemed to be in deep discussion with her.
“Hey Luz…how close are you and Amity? Just asking because you two seem to be getting along more.”
Luz thought for a moment before responding.
“After she patched things up with Willow, it’s been better. We talk more often, chat about Azura and she tells me bits of her life like how she was Grudgby Captain! So, to answer your question, I think we’re good friends!”
Emira internally groaned at Luz’s obliviousness but shrugged it off. For all she knew, Luz didn’t want to be in a relationship but that didn’t mean that her hopelessly romantic sister didn’t know that.
“That’s good to hear and I’m glad that it has been a little easier. So…now for the juicy stuff-”
She turned to look into Luz’s eyes and grinned.
“Do you have a crush on anyone?” she asked, and Luz’s face immediately went red.
“What? No! I mean…no particular interest in anyone right now…I mean there was this one prince who ended up being a puppet to this demon creature thing and that didn’t plan out the way I expected,” she mumbled and Emira chuckled.
“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable Luz. I just thought we’d do some bonding since Amity talks about you all the time and she never really spoke much about Boscha and Skara.”
“She talks about me?”
“Yeah! How amazing you are and how hard you’re working to becoming a witch,” Emira said, trying to be subtle but laying it on thick.
Emira stood up and stretched before looking at the sky, the rain stopping drop by drop.
“But Amity's so cool too! She’s smart and-”
“Well, have you told her that?”
“I…no…no I haven’t.”
“Well you should! The next time you two talk, you should mention it. Some words of encouragement are good to hear from time to time!”
Luz smiled widely, stood up and hugged Emira.
“Thanks for everything Em. I know Amity and I got off on the wrong foot but it's really thanks to you and Edric. If we hadn't faced certain death that night in the library, I think it might've taken longer for us to be friends.”
Emira laughed loudly and for a moment didn't care if Amity spotted them. Luz was a strange human but she liked her and was happy that she could help...even if that help meant almost humiliating her sister with her diary entries when they first met.
“No problem, Luz. Now, I think we should get going before it starts raining again,” she said as she looked up at the dark clouds, "It looks like these clouds won't just last a couple minutes."
Luz grinned before grabbing Emira’s hand, her eyes sparkling.
“Race you back to school? Last one there is a student of Glandus High!”
They ran off laughing but in the distance, in the middle of the field, Amity glared at them before letting out a sigh.
"Emira was just talking to Luz. Don't over think it," she mumbled to herself.
But she couldn't help it.
She had seen them hug and even though it was a quick one, Amity still felt her insides squeeze uncomfortably. She saw how Luz grabbed her sister's hand and she groaned.
Calm down Amity. Your siblings are being nice and are getting to know your friends better. Ed and Em said they wouldn't manipulate Luz or do any funny business. Just breathe in...you are overthinking things and you just need to breathe-
"They're just being nice people to your friends! Stop worrying about it!" she yelled, her emotions getting the better of her and some birds flew from the trees at the sound of her voice.
"Amity?" Lilith asked from behind her and she jumped before turning to face her mentor.
"Lilith! I thought you left! Sorry. Just some frustrations at school. Small things that don't need to be worried about," she said quickly and Lilith nodded.
"I forgot my bag here and I was going to let you wind down by yourself but...let's do one final breathing exercise together and then you can go home. It looks like you need it."
Amity bit her bottom lip in embarrassment and nodded before standing next to Lilith.
Just breathe. Ed and Em are not up to anything weird. This is normal. This is fine.
But the sinking feeling in her stomach said otherwise.
~~~
A/N: Hello everyone!
Firstly, thank you all so much for the lovely comments on chapter one! <3 They made this last week bearable as I had assignments due and I would just reread them to give me a push to finish my work so I could update as soon as possible!
Also damn updating in just a week? I'm one to usually go on month long hiatuses but after Agony of a Witch...my dudes...I needed to write happy stuff.I hope you all have a lovely day further and as always, if you liked reading this, leave a comment, reblog or a like!
Feel free to follow me on Twitter or Tumblr to see my writing and rambles (you'll also get notifications from me about updates earlier so...if you're that obsessed with this fic then...you know what to do).
Stay safe and wear a mask!
vanilla107
xoxo
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🎂 To Myself (Arashi Fukada)
[art by Lushia on deviantart]
Genre: Fluff, Slice of Life, Birthday
Word Count: 1,655
Pairing: Reader x TYL! Arashi Fukada
World: Katekyo Hitman Reborn (11^ Famiglia)
Prompt: Valentine’s Day #4 by thefakeredhead
Author’s Note: I think this is the first time I’ve ever written for someone else’s original character, but it was super fun! This was written for @zeno290’s birthday featuring the original character, Arashi Fukada, created by @kiralushia! Arashi is from the 11^ Famiglia webcomic, which I highly recommend you read (webtoons | @the11thfamily).
Thank you for giving me the chance to write for one of your wonderful characters, I hope I did her justice! ^~^)/ I also feel the need to mention that I’m only on chapter eight, I believe, so I’m going by what I currently know!
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You stood in front of the mirror, readjusting the outfit that you were wearing to make sure you looked presentable. Today was your birthday and your boss was taking you and the rest of the family to a nice restaurant in order to celebrate.
You glanced at the clock. The reservation is set for eight o’clock and it was only just now turning seven, but you were feeling a bit worried because your girlfriend was currently in a meeting. The eleventh family was meeting up with a rival family so that their boss, Nozomi, could try and create peace between the two families. They had been at it for an hour already and something told you that they were no closer to finding a resolution.
Arashi was going to be late for dinner, you just knew it.
Your cell phone chimed from its position on the dresser, the familiar tone letting you know who was calling without having to check the ID. A smile came to your lips as you answered it, the cool glass against your ear. “Hey, Arashi. How’s the meeting going?”
“I want to shoot them all,” she huffed in annoyance. “These guys have zero respect for Nozomi!”
You chuckled as you pictured the face she must be making. “Just don’t get blood on your clothing. The reservation is for eight so you probably won’t have time to get changed.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t!” she laughed, the sound like music to your ears. “I love you for enabling me.”
“I love you, too,” you responded softly.
“Ugh, the break is over, we have to get back in.” She clicked her tongue, clearly not looking forward to rejoining the meeting. “I’ll see you soon, Y/N!”
“Okay,” you ended the call, sliding the phone back into your pocket. With one final look in the mirror, you grabbed your keys and left the apartment that you shared with the red-head.
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You stepped into the restaurant, taking in the quiet atmosphere. From what you could see, there didn’t seem to be any others inside and you briefly wondered if your boss had rented out the entire restaurant for the night. It was definitely something she would do for her beloved family.
The waiter smiled at you. “Hello! May I have your name, please?”
Upon giving him the information, his back straightened and his smile widened.
“Ah, the guest of honor! Please follow me.”
You stepped around the wooden podium into the dining room, eyes scanning the empty booths and tables. Candles lit up the room, their flames dancing across the walls like people at a club. Situated at the very back of the room to the right was a large round table where most of your family had already made themselves comfortable.
Boss was the first to notice you, hopping up from her chair and throwing her arms around you. “Happy birthday, Y/N!”
You couldn’t help smiling as you returned the hug. “Thank you, big sister.”
You settled down beside her as the others exchanged happy birthdays with you, asking how you were feeling and if your day had been kind to you. It had, of course. Any day that you got to spend just lazing around with Arashi was a good day, after all, but you spared them the details, simply letting them know that yes, your day had gone well.
When the last of the family had arrived, boss sent you a weary smile as the waiter approached to take the group’s order. “Do you want to wait on Arashi?”
You kept your lips in a firm line as you glanced at your phone. No messages or missed calls. “No, she will be a while.”
She didn’t seem happy about this but she nodded, offering you a smile and a pat to the shoulder. “I’m sure she will get here as soon as she can!”
“Is everyone ready to order?” The waiter questioned with a polite smile, pulling out a pad of paper and clicking the pen. Being the guest of honor, you were allowed to order first, choosing your favorite dish and drink before passing it on to the boss, who did the same. The waiter nodded once everyone had given their orders. “It will be out soon, I’ll be back with your drinks in just a moment.”
You tried to focus on the strange conversation that your family was having, but you found yourself staring out the window at the darkening sky, dotted with glittering stars against the dark velvet. Despite trying to keep yourself in good spirits, you felt a bit down. It was your birthday, after all, and yet the person you loved most was MIA.
You knew how much she loved Nozomi and the eleventh family, her loyalty unshaken no matter what happened and, while you would never make her choose between your love and the family, you still wished that she had decided to stay with you rather than running to her family. She didn’t technically need to be there for the meeting, Nozomi had said so herself, but Arashi had insisted.
The night wore on and your boss did the best she could to keep your mind off of your missing girlfriend by engaging you in conversation about various items. She tried to avoid family matters, no wanting to impose such things on your birthday, but it usually ended up back there in the end, not that you minded. You loved your family and wanted to do what you could to help your boss succeed.
In that respect, you could understand where Arashi was coming from and you briefly wondered if you would leave her on her birthday or not. So far, your boss had made sure not to bother you on Arashi’s birthday, so the situation had never presented itself to you. You couldn’t honestly say whether you would leave or not and that bothered you.
“The food was delicious!”
“Top tier, for sure~”
“I’m stuffed and ready for a nap.”
“Same here.”
As the boss pulled out her wallet to pay for the bill, which several of the members tried to dissuade her from doing to no avail, she sent you a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I’m sure she has a good reason for not showing up.”
You nodded, not commenting on the subject. “Thank you dinner, big sister.” And then you turned your gaze to the rest of the table, where your beloved family sat, sending you smiles of love and respect. “Thank you all for coming, I appreciate you being here.”
“Of course!”
“We’re happy to be here, happy birthday again!”
“We got free food, too – ow! Why’d you smack me?”
“Idiot~ Happy birthday, Y/N!”
“Rude. I mean, it’s true, but rude.”
You chuckled as the two started to bicker back and forth playfully, your woes temporarily forgotten as they bumped into the table, tipping off the jug of water and creating a panic among the other members as they tried to stop it before it could run off the table.
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The apartment was dark when you pushed open the door, kicking your shoes off by the door. You were certain that you had left the hall light on so you wouldn’t come home to darkness, but perhaps it had slipped your mind. You used your phone to light up the hall, hand fumbling for the light switch.
It clicked as you flicked it on, but no light flooded the hall. With a frown, you flicked the switch a few times, but nothing happened. Had the light blown out? Wrinkling your nose, you decided you would fix it tomorrow, too tired to care at the current moment.
You feet padded across the wooden floor as you headed for the bedroom to change into more comfortable clothing, but when you opened the door, you felt your body freeze up. The room was bathed in the flickering of candlelight, daffodil petals scattered across the floor. Movement from the corner of your eye had your gaze shifting to the side where Arashi was standing up from the wingback chair.
You felt your heart pick up speed at the sight of her silhouetted in the soft light, her dress fitting her body perfectly as her red locks contrasted against the black. She looked like a goddess in your eyes, but she always did no matter what she was wearing. Even after dating for so long, she was still able to take your breath away.
Arashi smiled sheepishly, her cheeks painted with a soft pink hue. “I’m really sorry I missed dinner. Can you forgive me?”
The sour mood you had felt quickly dissipated at the sight of your beautiful girlfriend, a smile slipping onto your lips as you crossed the distance between you. “It’s okay, I understand.”
“The truth is…” she shifted, turning her gaze to the floor. “I didn’t want to go there with your family. I wanted you all to myself…”
“Why didn’t you just say so?” you questioned softly, resting your hand on her warm cheek, forcing her brown eyes to meet yours.
“Because,” she pouted, tugging on the end of your shirt. “I knew you’d stay home if I said something! And after your boss went through the trouble of reserving the restaurant…”
“You knew about that?”
“She told me she was going to.”
You chuckled, wrapping your arms around her waist protectively, lips finding her cheek as her hands clenched around your shirt. “You’re right, I would have stayed home with you. Big sister would have understood, you know. Next time, it will be just the two of us, okay?”
Arashi’s face lit up and she nodded. “Okay!”
With a smile, you brought your lips to hers, loving the way her arms wrapped around the back of your neck, his fingers clutching the base of your neck to deepen the kiss.
Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all~
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📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜
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My Way
v. Social Graces
It became clear very quickly that the problem was not Hongjoong’s stealth skill.
For some reason, he didn’t care to disguise himself from the Song family’s younger son. He seemed to be around his age, and selfishly Hongjoong crafted this fantasy, wishing they could be brothers, that he could become part of this new family and fit right back in to his old home, escaping the Hall and all its pressures.
And then one day the boy yelled at him and told him to leave.
Hongjoong’s objective shifted from investigating the imposters to rescuing Mother’s diary once he’d gone home and had a good cry.
If the boy hated him that much, he wouldn’t have to see him again. As soon as Hongjoong retrieved the book, he’d be out of the newcomer’s hair.
It had been too much to hope for anyway.
It was technically Aunt Sohee’s fault that Hongjoong was caught in his old bedroom with the diary, mid-escape. She had forced him to practice for even longer than usual during the daily piano lesson, and he hadn’t been able to make off with the book before the boy returned from school.
During the chase that ensued, Hongjoong’s mind went blank. Again, he was conflicted about the stranger. Why was he chasing him all the way back into town? Why did he care enough to read the diary and try to reconcile things?
Hesitantly and against his better judgment, Hongjoong allowed the boy Mingi to befriend him while they sat and looked out at the ocean. There was a simple genuineness in the way he expressed his concern that didn’t annoy Hongjoong the way his cousins did.
He seemed a little absorbed in his own thoughts, but at least he was unattached to this town and all the memories it trapped. He wouldn’t try to talk about Hongjoong’s parents or plan his future for him.
Spending time with Mingi after that first real conversation was always a chance to live in the moment. It was just them, the cliffs, and the beach. They could talk about whatever they wanted, they could be whatever they wanted.
It was more uncomfortable when Bosung joined them, neither certain how to proceed with their frayed friendship, but Mingi sensed it and stopped arranging picnics for three.
Playing with Mingi was an escape.
But it was an escape Hongjoong rarely managed to indulge in thanks to the oppressive schedule of Jangwon Hall.
Mining, farming, even teaching the younger boys all while acting the part of a gentleman but never being treated as one behind closed doors.
Hongjoong was actually quite good at it, smiling graciously and showcasing all his charming talents, but it wasn’t anything he particularly enjoyed. His eyes were completely empty, and no one was the wiser.
Day after day, week after week, he cycled between his different selves. He blinked and somehow it was the day before his thirteenth birthday. He’d gone months without his parents, and he’d practically become a different person.
The Jangwon staff didn’t go easy on him. They saw their opportunity and took advantage of his situation, so instead of spending time with Mingi and enjoying the precious moments when he could just be himself, Hongjoong was fulfilling a litany of tasks, the last of which being a trip to the market, shopping for the cook.
The Song family’s stall used to be the fish stall where Hongjoong’s parents sold their catches, but they didn’t know about him and Hongjoong preferred to keep it that way, so he skipped over them quietly and went to a neighbouring food vendor to purchase what he needed.
At least the cook had given him money to buy the ingredients.
“Ah, the youngest son of the youngest son doing what he can to live up to his family name,” the shop owner chuckled on seeing him. “Working odd jobs for spare change?”
“No one pays me for my labour,” Hongjoong snorted as he added a bag of flour to his basket. “It seems it is my duty nonetheless.”
Hongjoong’s feelings toward his relatives were well known in Panhang. It seemed he was the gossip of the town, even after the onset of autumn.
“Well,” the man shrugged as he received and counted the money. “The Navy is offering quite the generous ransom for certain pirates nowadays. You could set yourself up nicely.”
He moved to pass out a flyer with the pirate’s drawing on it, but Hongjoong waved it away. “If mining was hard work, pirate-hunting must be suicide.”
“Very well then,” the owner laughed, handing him his change instead. “Have a relaxing evening.”
Hongjoong dropped his smile the moment he was out of the man’s sight. He still had to meet Cousin Seyong at the stables.
Field inspection was far from relaxing, but it was the final event on the agenda and at the very least Hongjoong could tune everything out and gaze across the land, getting lost in his head among the golden ginkgo trees and following flocks of birds as they journeyed south in pursuit of the warmer breezes.
“Hongjoong? What do you make of the chestnut harvest?”
Seyong was holding out a handful of chestnuts to him in a feeble attempt to include him in the conversation, so Hongjoong took them and popped one into his mouth.
Once he’d given the farmer an approving smile, the adults moved on to the farmhouse to deal with a pay dispute and Hongjoong dropped the rest of the nuts into the bucket.
He wasn’t hungry enough to scavenge someone else’s food today.
“We have a surprise for you tomorrow,” Cousin Seyong told him on the ride back home. Hongjoong looked up from where he played with a few strands of hay in the back of the cart and tried to read his guardian’s face.
“A birthday surprise?”
Seyong nodded and Hongjoong wondered if he should let himself feel excited. It was quite unexpected that any of his relatives at Jangwon would even remember his birthday, much less prepare a gift for the occasion.
“We’ll have a nice dinner with the family—” Regretfully, Hongjoong knew he meant the whole family. “— and we’ll give it to you before cake and tea. It’ll be quite the celebration.”
He was grinning back at him deviously, and Hongjoong was inclined to trust that rare smile, so he nodded and moved up to the front bench to sit next to his cousin.
They watched the sun set ahead of them and urged on the pony to bring them home, while Hongjoong rested his head on Seyong’s shoulder. It was nice to feel appreciated once in awhile.
Mercifully, he was not required to cook his own birthday food and so Hongjoong carved out some time the next day just before supper and went to the beach, hoping to see Mingi. And indeed, the younger boy came and went, excited and nervous about the new girl at school, begging Hongjoong to teach him to sail.
When their time ran out, Hongjoong left with a gloomy cloud over him, but why should he expect anything else?
It wasn’t as if he’d told Mingi it was his birthday.
While all twenty currently present family members ate the dinner feast and chatted clamorously, Hongjoong pulled out his Mother’s diary and managed to skim the final pages before being tapped on the shoulder by Aunt Ajung and reprimanded for it.
“When you are in company, you must not begin reading to yourself. Don’t you remember your etiquette?” He winced and slipped the book back down into his lap before it was confiscated, and made a mental note to hide it somewhere in case any of his aunts suddenly decided to clean out his things.
“And what else?” She hissed as he began to slouch in his chair petulantly.
“Tidiness in dress and habits,” he sighed. So he had no choice but to sit through everyone else’s conversations for the rest of the hour.
They may be celebrating for him but they certainly weren’t celebrating with him.
Finally, Uncle Ryeowook tapped his spoon against his glass and gave Cousin Seyong the floor.
Hongjoong held his breath.
“It is with great excitement that Yujung and I can announce...” He cleared this throat dramatically and winked in Hongjoong’s direction. “We’re expecting a child!”
The table erupted in congratulations but Hongjoong was frozen to his chair.
After so much pressure to produce an heir, Yujung had finally given in. Hongjoong couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Surprise!” Seyong tried again, tilting his head in confusion when Hongjoong didn’t seem to react favourably. “You’re getting a new cousin!”
“But...”
But he didn’t want another cousin. What would become of him now?
“Aw, look at him!” Aunt Sohee cooed, pinching his cheek even as he tried to flinch away. “He’s speechless!”
Seyong took it as his cue to say more about the whole ordeal and rested a gentle hand on the shoulder of his wife.
“Yujung dreamed the child was a boy, so we hope you’ll be like brothers to each other. And if her dream turns out to be false, I’m sure you’ll love your new sister nonetheless.”
The rest of the table laughed at his meagre jest and, having never seen Cousin Seyong this happy, Hongjoong was tempted to smile and give them what they clearly wanted— his approval— but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He already had Mingi, and Mingi was all he needed now.
Hongjoong hung his head for shame.
He would never have the guts to tell Mingi he was his whole world.
“Just the news we needed to ease the pain of poor Hohyun and Eunha’s passing,” Aunt Minkyung insisted and Hongjoong shut his ears.
He couldn’t listen to them talk about his parents again. He couldn’t sit here amidst all this sickening ostentation while every word was a poisoned arrow shot into his future before it could go anywhere.
Yujung could see his panic beginning. “Shall we retire for tea and cake?”
Like a blur, the festivities moved to the main parlour and Hongjoong thought he was off the hook for a moment but Aunt Sohee urged him to show off the new piece he was learning and to say no would be disrespectful.
For once, the room fell silent with everyone’s attention on him.
It was so quiet, he could easily pretend he was the only one there, so he let the world fade away and played the first tune that came to him on the piano. There was no need to showcase a practiced song when he could floor them with just one.
He effortlessly bent the keys to his will, and with the flowing cadence of the song, he knew he had every listener enraptured, trapped in the beautiful melody he was crafting.
It echoed around him when the song decrescendoed to a stop. And then the room erupted into awed clapping that grated on his ears.
A tear dripped onto the piano. Hongjoong scrubbed at it with his sleeve, several keys playing underneath his fist, a dissonant cord echoing through the parlour.
Aunt Sohee guided him away and into a chair while cake was served, taking him by the shoulders and embracing him excitedly.
“You must play it at the midwinter ball, Hongjoong, you must. The world will fall in love with you.”
And even though he’d rather not, he nodded along and finished his food, grateful to be excused early.
His mind was a cacophonous mess full of thoughts that rang in his ears.
Seyong and Yujung.
The stipulation was that they were to be his primary caretakers until they had children of their own.
Until.
And Hongjoong simply didn’t believe there was room for both of them. It was hard enough now, being passed off to someone else would be starting the process all over again.
He buried himself in his blankets and cried until the tears ran out and Yujung had come in to rub his back and mutter soothing words.
“I don’t want there to be a baby,” Hongjoong cried, nudging her away. “You said you’d love me and take care of me, and now I’ll have to go back to Uncle Ryeowook and Aunt Minkyung. Is it because I run off to the beach sometimes? Is that why you’re doing this to me?”
Yujung’s eyes lowered to the mug she clutched and she relinquished it to the bedside table. Other than a clock and his mother’s diary, it was empty. So was much of his room. It still didn’t really feel like his.
“You didn’t finish your tea.”
Hongjoong didn’t take the mug. He didn’t even meet her eyes. They were probably guilty and sad and he didn’t feel bad for her. He didn’t.
He wanted to be selfish just this once.
“You know we never wanted to replace your parents,” she finally explained softly. “And our child won’t replace you or your brother.”
Her eyes flitted over to Mother’s diary as she said it. She was referring to Hyunseok, who she must’ve known before he died.
But Hongjoong didn’t know him as anything other than a phantom that haunted his mother, and he didn’t know this new baby at all.
He felt caught in between them, invisible and unwanted and incapable of living up to either of them.
Why did he even want to? He had the beach, he had Mingi...
“Your mother loved you,” Yujung sighed, hesitantly running fingers through his hair as soon as he let her. “I know how much she loved you, we were good friends. I love you too, Hongjoong. And that will never change. I know it’s not what you hoped for, but this baby is not a replacement. Only an addition.”
Her words resounded through Hongjoong’s head with every pound of the pickaxe on stone the next day in the mines.
His mother loved him. She had been terrified for him, anxious he would one day leave her like Hyunseok had. And she and Father had drowned instead, so her horrible fear hadn’t come true.
Needing some air, Hongjoong checked that no one was looking and dropped his pickaxe.
There was a secret path he had made over his many mining days in the last few months, and when no one was looking Hongjoong rolled the rock out of the way and entered the cave.
It faced the sea, and it was so far south that none of the other children played in it. It was the perfect place to hide Mother’s diary, where his aunts couldn’t steal it and he wouldn’t be tempted to dwell on it.
And while he wandered through the next couple of weeks, it stayed at the back of his mind. He would check on it from time to time, and one day he decided to write his own entry in it, when playing the piano wasn’t enough to channel his emotions.
As he returned the book to its place that afternoon, something caught his eye. It looked like a gun hidden behind another rock a few feet away and Hongjoong couldn’t help but pick it up and inspect it.
The weapon was heavy but sleek and exciting, and even though he had no idea what he was doing, something sparked inside as he pretended to shoot the wall with it.
A startled yell came from the mouth of the cave and Hongjoong turned to see the stranger from before staring at him. He waved the gun in greeting.
“This yours?”
“Um— no,” the man scoffed. “But I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.”
“Why do you have a gun?” Hongjoong stood and began moving closer. It had been hidden here in the cave, clearly it belonged to the man.
“Why are you touching it?” The stranger shot back.
“Why are you hiding in a cave?” Hongjoong kept pushing, ignoring the man’s questions.
“Why did you come looking?”
“I didn’t come looking,” Hongjoong finally answered, rolling his eyes. “I told you, I grew up on this beach.”
There was a brief pause before Hongjoong sighed and motioned to the diary with the hand holding the gun. “I hid something here a few weeks ago.”
“Stop— stop swinging that around, you’ll hurt yourself!”
“You sound like my Aunt Minkyung,” Hongjoong spat.
“I take it that’s not a good thing,” the man muttered under his breath.
Hongjoong continued to fiddle with the weapon, accidentally flicking off the safety and smirking at the way the man panicked.
“Hey! Hey, that’s enough,” the stranger snapped, growing in volume. “Listen, boy—”
“Hongjoong.”
“Listen, Hongjoong. I can see that you’ve got a rebellious streak, but I’m going to need you to hand it over.”
“Not until you tell me who you are.”
He wanted to know what business this man had wandering the coastline and fishing a bleeding boy out of the water.
Instead of launching into his life story, the tidal stranger pulled a paper out of his bag.
It was the wanted poster for a notorious pirate, and his face was illustrated on it.
The Dread Pirate Eden.
Hongjoong paled and the weapon slipped through his fingers. This was already more than he bargained for.
“You... You’re a-a—”
“A pirate,” Eden cut him off. “Yes, I am.”
He said it so nonchalantly.
Not only was he a pirate, he was a pirate that dragged Hongjoong out of the shallows and taken him to the lighthouse keeper.
“So why did you save me,” he asked in a near whisper. “That morning after the storm when I washed up with a head wound? You could’ve let me bleed to death.”
In fact, for awhile, Hongjoong had wished he did.
Eden sighed and turned to look up the beach where the incident had taken place. He didn’t seem very dreadful just now.
“... I don’t know.”
So he didn’t deny it.
He had done a very human thing for one who was supposed to be a filthy reprobate.
Careful to keep his distance, Hongjoong handed over the gun. The shop vendor’s offer was far from his mind now that he knew a real pirate.
Of course, the man snatched it and turned to walk away, probably for the last time.
“You were holding it wrong anyway,” Eden threw over his shoulder, unable to resist the temptation.
That sounded like a challenge, and Hongjoong didn’t know why, but he felt the need to accept it.
He sprinted in front of the man on a whim and blocked his path, pointing at the weapon where it was holstered. “Teach me!”
Eden narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think that’s wise.”
“I promise I won’t tell!” Hongjoong pleaded, suddenly looking younger than he had at the beginning of the conversation.
Eden scoffed and took a step back. “You have no use for a weapon.”
“That’s not true! What if there’s an emergency?” Hongjoong skipped alongside him while Eden resumed walking. “What if there’s a scarier pirate who shows up here one day?”
Appealing to his newly discovered humanity was the best trick Hongjoong had up his sleeve.
“What, you don’t think I’m scary?” Eden scoffed, trying to move on. He should honestly just stop talking to the boy, but again he couldn’t resist snapping back.
“No, not really.” Hongjoong laughed, but without any trace of a lie in his eyes.
That brought Eden to a stop.
“Well, I’ve killed people, so you ought to be frightened,” he said sternly, hoping to shake the child off.
“Please,” Hongjoong begged, grabbing his arm and pulling it. “Please teach me how to use it. I’ll be careful.”
Eden should have pushed the boy away and removed himself. He should have vowed never to see him again.
But he looked between Hongjoong and the gun and had to admit he was right.
It may come in handy. And if he taught him all the proper safety measures...
“Are you sure you feel safe about all this?” Eden asked, not breaking face for even a moment.
“Of course!” Hongjoong insisted. “This is the safest I could possibly be, you’re teaching me self-defense.”
“I’ve blown up towns, what’s to stop me from killing you? I mean, are you really willing to trust me that easily?” Eden pulled away and crossed his arms. It was a question Hongjoong already seemed to have the answer for.
“You wouldn’t hurt me, you saved my life,” he reminded him calmly. “I can see it in your eyes and I’ve been told I’m a pretty good judge of character. Besides, think of it this way. I could reveal you as a pirate and get you executed. But I won’t. And you could kill me, an innocent bystander, for discovering your secret. But you won’t. So now we have leverage over each other, don’t we?”
Eden stared at him a moment longer.
He was really being unravelled by a thirteen year old.
“You are one troublesome hothead, I hope you know that.”
A slow smile spread on the boy’s face. For all intents and purposes, that was a yes. He finally had something to look forward to. And— dare he say it— a new brother he could rely on.
“Same time and place tomorrow.”
...
A/N: Just by way of reminder, from this point on the chapters go hand in hand with Mingi’s spinoff, The Windy Road, because they happen more or less simultaneously and act as a prequel to the entire series. You don’t need to read both to understand either of them, but it certainly helps. Drop likes and comments if you’d like and have a pleasant evening :)
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The Cost of a Legacy (4)
Summary : He sees her and she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, everything perfect. Well except the fact that they’re growing up during the revolutionary war. Their love will hit many hurdles and what the future has in store may not be what they planned.
Pairing : John Laurens x Reader
Words : 4,851
1771 October
My Dearest (Y/n),
I know by the time you receive this letter you will hopefully be in Switzerland, it's come to my realization that our declarations of love will be few and far. My letters, no matter how many I write won’t arrive in your sweet hands till weeks after it’s written. It was silly of me to hope that the distance between us wouldn’t affect our dynamic.
Don’t misinterpret me my love, this does not change anything between us. This just makes my anticipation for your letters even greater.
Anyway, I’ve returned to my usual routine and to my parents demands, I have begun to take my studies seriously, which I know will ease your mind. It feels odd to have no reason to travel to New York though, maybe I’ll visit your old man after he comes back from seeing you. Henry Jr. has been kinder, he never liked my frequent trips to see you, as you know. I think he’s jealous of how much time I spent with you over him, but I don’t regret it.
I miss our adventures through Manhattan, I wish I had taken you out more. Not that I didn’t love our time spent on the outskirts of the busy town. But I wish I could have taken you to Charleston, to meet my mother or siblings. Aw, little James would have loved you, well he’s not so little anymore but he loves meeting new people. My sisters would have loved to listen to your romance stories, and your life in the biggest city in the colonies.
Well, my love, I wait for your response. I pray you’ve arrived safely in your new home and that you meet new FEMALE friends. I can not stress this enough love, FEMALE friends would be ideal. Though I trust you, I don’t trust the Swedish BOYS, they will try, mark my words. Your beauty charms everyone. But while those Boys wil try to gain your affection but remember you have a MAN across the sea still dedicated to courting you.
With Love
John Laurens
1771 November
To my darling John,
Oh, John, your right, your letter took so long to arrive, I almost had myself convinced you didn’t want to write to me. I guess we both didn’t factor in the whole ocean and thousands of miles of land we'd be apart, seems obvious now.
I want to wish you a happy birthday darling. I wish I was able to stay to celebrate your 17th with you, but it seems like my father wanted me gone quickly. I know it’s not much but I’m sending my favorite hair ribbon with this letter, a small token to remind you of me. I wish I could send you an actual gift but the sisters here are very strict and were only allowed to exit the grounds with a male companion. And as your letter states, I will attempt to stay far away from any gentleman callers.
John, I miss you so much. I long to be in your arms again, who knows when that will next be. Do you have to live an ocean away? What an unfair God we serve, he put this distance between us.
Thoughts of you never leave my mind, I wake and wonder if you’ve gone off to class, after I leave class I wonder how you fared at your job for that day. And at night when I rest on my bed I stare at the stars we used to gaze together I wonder if you're also missing my company. I miss you, John. There’s so much more I want to say to you, but I’ll save that for when I see you again, I pray it is soon.
With Love,
(Y/n) Fiore Gavalanch
1771 December
“Johnny, your old man said you were up he-oh a letter from Miss Gavalanch I assume?” Dave entered the room seeing his friend at his desk reading a letter. “Yea, why are you here?” John answered still focused on his letter.
“Mate, I’m here to save you from your self. Come on John lets go out for a walk or we could stand in the middle of town and wait for some crazy loon to start cursing about the king?” John shook his head, “No I’ve got to write back (Y/n) back. The faster I write it and send it out the faster it can get to her.” Dave sighed, “John, mate you can’t just live for these letters, you’ve done nothing but study, work and wait for her response for the past 3 months. I’m sure (Y/n) wants you to have a life too.”
John sighed, of course Dave was right, John just didn’t want to accept it. His life these past few months has been terrible, of course reading and responding to (Y/n)’s letters were the highlight but besides that, he felt like a big part of his soul was missing. He knew he felt like this because she was gone. “Your right Davey, let go to town and watch the protesters make speeches about how terrible our leader is... Which he is.” He corrected his friend and he put his coat on. “You have your opinion, I have mine. Call them protesters I call them fools, they deserve to be beheaded.” John rolled his eyes, “Come on let’s go.” They turned to exit, John, paused to grab the ribbon on his desk and staching it in his pocket.
1772 January
“Miss Gavalanch! You’ve got a letter from New York, and Charleston.” (Y/n) ran down from her room to the entrance of the home, one had to be from her father the other John. “Thank you Anna!” She kissed the woman’s cheek before skipping back the room happily, Anna had been hired by her father to keep watch of her here in Switzerland. Not like (y/n) got to do much anyway since she was preoccupied with her studies.
Her first few months in Geneva were to state simply, sad. After her father’s visit she knew her stay would be longer than she expected, she begged for him to take her back and her father a man who has never said no to her refused. After his short visit he left as if there was no issue, which upset her. If he really planned to keep her here for who knows how long she could go years without seeing John.
She sat on her bed and placed her father’s letter to the side, probably just sending her money as he had done so far. She held John’s letter tracing over how he wrote her name on the envelope, she adored his writing. She opened his letter, oh how she longed to hear his voice instead of imagining it.
To my love,
First, let me wish you a Merry Christmas! I know you’re not used to be alone during this time, but I hope your new friends made you feel welcomed. Now let me say Happy New Year, when I’m writing this it’s not yet 1772 but I assume by the time you get this it will be.
I wanna thank you for the ribbon you sent me, I like looking it and remembering that you’re out there waiting for me. No gift from you is too small, I just hope you’re still wearing the necklace I gifted you. I have a surprise for you, during the summer I may have enough saved to come to see you, maybe just for a week but its better than nothing. I know the summer is far from now but think about it love, we could be in each other’s arms again.
Things in the colonies don’t seem to be going well, just the other day I went downtown to see many folks protesting, Dave my friend who I used to mention from school, isn’t very fond of the riots. I don’t understand how he still supports stupid King George, I think if there was a war tomorrow I’d volunteer. I don’t think the people here really want to fight though, so maybe we can come to a compromise that will benefit us all. God knows that if we don’t things could get ugly fast.
Besides how terrible things are going for us over here please write to me on how you are. I worry about you constantly (Y/n). Maybe soon I’ll go visit your old man soon. Take care of yourself love, hopefully, I’ll hear from you soon.
Sincerely Yours,
John Laurens
“What are you all smiley for?” Anna asked standing in front of (Y/n) door entrance. (Y/n) startled dropped the letter and grabbed her father’s. “Nothing just reading what my father wrote to me.”
“And the letter from Charleston, whos that one from?” She smiled looking away from Anna, holding her necklace “Just a friend.” Anna hummed shutting the door leaving (Y/n) to herself. Oh John, how I long for you, she thought.
1772 February
“JOHN!”
“Coming mother” He ran up to his parent’s room striding over to his mother. “Yea Ma? You need me to get you more water or get a meal started?” She shook her head and motioned him to sit. “I’m fine son, I just wanted to talk, see how you’re doing in school.” She turned her head to cough.
“I’m good ma, focusing on my studies as you wanted.” He took her hand and tried to warm it with his, she was getting worse. His mother had entertained 5 pregnancies, so when she announced her sixth pregnancy everyone was elated, another Laurens child. But this one was different from the start, his mother was put on strict bed rest from the doctor, he said that since she was older she wasn’t able to handle being pregnant like younger women could. So here she was bedridden for 3 months so far and she’d stay her for another 6, the doctor blamed her pregnancy on her other symptoms too. Lack of appetite, weight loss, and constant fever.
“How’s that girl, what’s her name again?” He smiled, the mention of (Y/n) always brightened the day. “Ahh, Martha! Hows she son?” He frowned, Martha. Martha who was his father’s business partner’s daughter. Martha who stayed with his family over the holidays, something he didn’t want to include in his letters to (Y/n). Martha who had apparently grown fond of John because she sent him a letter every two weeks. She was from London where his father’s new business took place, where letters got here faster than from Switzerland. “Shes good I think.”
“She’s such a sweet girl John, only two years younger than you. And she seems to like you very much, I see she send you letters more frequently than Gavalanch’s girl.” Ever since his mom met Martha she was obsessed with her, always bringing her up during dinner and how elegant of women she was. It wasn’t that he hated Martha she was just too bland, shes like every girl in Charleston, except she has a British accent, which didn’t help her here in the colonies anyway. She had no opinions, agreed with all his statements, and laughed at everything he said, even when it wasn’t funny. He understood why she was like that but he wasn’t interested.
“(Y/n) cant write to me as often because she’s in Switzerland, which is so much farther than Britain. You know that mother, and you know I’m not interested in Martha so please stop writing her.” She huffed, John understood she knew nothing about (Y/n) except that her father was a cruel man who constantly put down his father, which didn’t make (Y/n) seem like the best person. “John, sweetheart I just wanna see you marry soon, before I go, to great women like Martha.” He sighed trying not to be angry with his mother, not wanting to start an argument with his ill mother.
He stood up leaning down to kiss her head “Maybe I will.” A white lie, something to calm his mother’s nerves for a bit. She smiled pulling him close “John, Marthas a good girl who likes you and her father could provide you with a good career. Think about it, you could be happy.” He pulled away with a small nod making his way to his room. He sat at his desk and began composing another letter, why could you be here?
1772 March
“Is that John Laurens? John, John!” He turned startled to see no one other than Angelica Schuyler and her two younger sisters trailing after her. “Angelica! Long time no see, how are you? Elizabeth, Margarita.” He greeted the younger girls. “I’m as good as I can be when my best friend is a world away, but I guess you can relate. I knew her father was mean but to send his only daughter away for no valid reason, that man upsets me.” She frowned at him, her sisters nodding in agreement, at least their father wanted them around. “What are you doing in Manhattan John?” Eliza asked.
“Well truly I just wanted to get away from the noise in my home, so I wanted to go where I feel most at peace, and well I got in a carriage to New York.” New York always calmed him, or he supposed (Y/n) calmed him. He hoped he could relax even with her not being here. “I was actually on my way to see (Y/n)’s father, it been a minute since I’ve pestered him with my existence. In all seriousness though, (Y/n) wanted me to see how her father was doing, she says her father’s letters are becoming sporadic and shes worried. So here I am”
“Well John maybe you should fix your coat first, you’ve got a huge hole on the arm, I’m sure Mr. Gavalanch won’t think highly on you if you show up like that. Good luck but me and the girls have to go home before father starts looking for us. Don’t be a stranger!” He waved goodbye watching his old friend leave, maybe he should visit Manhattan more often. Just because (Y/n) was gone doesn’t mean he should avoid the city entirely. He looked at his coat seeing the whole Angelica was talking about, dammit shes right Gavalanch would use any imperfection against him. He made his way downtown, he’s pretty sure he saw a tailor on his way up.
He arrived at “Mulligans Tailor” he walked in happy to see it wasn’t busy. “Sir how can I help you?” The young man behind the register asked him to which he pointed at his jacket “I’m on my way to see my- my father in law and I noticed a hole in my jacket. Is there any way you could fix it now?” He took off his coat and handed it to the tailor “Yes I could fix it, it’ll be 12 pence”
“12 pence to fix a small hole? That’s insane sir.” The man smirked “Sir we provide luxury tailoring here, most of our business comes from British soldiers, so our prices are high for a reason.” “Fine here.” He took out his wallet and gave the young man money. “It’ll be ready in 10 minutes, so you can take a seat.” He gestured to the stool and began working on the coat. “So whos your father in law must be an important man to fix a coat for 12 pence.”
“Well he’s not my father in law yet, I’m courting his daughter. Um, Mr. Gavalanch up on Williams Street.” The boy gasped “Your courting (Y/n) Gavalanch? Well, I thought her father wasn’t giving permission to start courting her. So many of my pals from school have asked him and he’s said no every time.” John shrugged “I didn’t exactly ask for permission.” The tailor laughed, “that makes sense Mr. Gavalanch even said no to Thomas Detuch, his father is rich. With their combined fortune, they could own all of New York.”
“Gosh your a lucky man what I would do if I could get my hands on her-”
“Watch it.” He glared at the boy, no one was going to talk about his girl like that. “Woah man just congratulating you, I don’t have anything to offer a girl like that anyway.” He nodded in reply, he didn’t have enough to provide for a girl like (Y/n) either. The thought saddened him sure his father was respected in Charleston but here in Manhattan, they were no ones. “All done man.” He stood up and approached the tailor “Thanks-”
“Hercules, Hercules Mulligan.” He shook Hercules’s hand “John Laurens, thanks, Hercules. See ya around.” He put his coat on and exited the shop making his way back uptown.
Looking at (Y/n)’s home you’d think it was abandoned, the grass dead, stairs dirty, and (Y/n)’s beloved flowers shriveled. He knocked on the door, looking around the porch, mail on the ground. He picked them up to see 2 from (Y/n) and 5 others from some men, he assumed business partners of Gavalanch. He knocked again, wondering why the help hadn’t come to open yet, he waited until the door was opened. There stood a disheveled Gavalanch, it looked as if he hadnt shaved in 2 months, his clothes wrinkly. He looked like a bum in comparison to Johns’s neat look. “Laurens? What are you doing here? (Y/n)’s gone.” He stepped out closing the door behind him, not wanting John to see the state of the inside of the house.
“I know Sir, um your daughter wrote me. She asked me to come up and check on you, she states you’ve seen distant in her letters and don’t tell her anything about how you are doing.” Gavalanch smiled “My girl, always worrying about me. Boy, write to her and tell her I’ll write to her as soon as I get the chance, I’ve just been busy with business, that’s all.” He nodded but something was off, a man John knew his whole life to be a neat, sophisticated looking man now looked like he lived outside for the last 5 months. He started to retreat, “John, does my daughter write you frequently?”
“No sir, she was worried and knew that her friends here wouldn’t want to approach you, so she asked me.” He lied trying to read Gavalanches face, did he buy it? “Okay, after this letter please don’t write her again she needs to focus on her studies.” He nodded making his way out of the yard, “Yes sir, see you around.”
1772 April
My dear (Y/n),
I spoke to your father on my trip to New York, he looked tired to say the least. He assured me he was just overworked, yet if that were the case Id think your father needs to retire. He said he’d write to you as soon as his work allowed it. Don’t fret my love your father will write to you soon, he’s a hard worker and sometimes works can consume men. But they do it to provide for those they love, as I will with you when you return back from the Switz.
On my trip, I saw your dear friend Angelica, and her darling sisters. They grow ten times faster than normal children I swear. Angelica expressed to me how much she missed your company, Elizabeth probably still too young to understand her. I bet you miss her, I remember when she joined us on our adventures, or should I say when I joined you two. I admire your friendship so much.
While in Manhattan I met a friend of my own, a tailor named Hercules Mulligan, he patched my coat and after I spoke to your father we chatted a bit, I told him how I used to visit the city every weekend to be with you, and how now I long to be in the city again. The pace in New York is just so much more exciting than Charleston. I think when you come back I’ll stay for good, to be with you and the city. Any way Hercules offered to let me stay with his family when I want to come visit the city.
As you might recall I told you my parents were attempting to have one more child, well mother is now pregnant. Shes become ill through her pregnancy, the doctor says after the baby is delivered she will be healthier. I hope that is the case. Well, love I hope you write me back as soon as possible. Remember I hope to see you this summer.
Yours always,
John Laurens
1772 May
“Henry go get your brother” Mrs. Laurens laid on her bed sweaty, weak, and fragile. Her skin sunken, only her bump sticking out. He nodded leaving his mothers beside to find his brother, he looked in Johns’s room seeing no sight of him, he headed out to the garden in their backyard. As his senses told him there was John with a letter in his hand laying on the grass without a care in the world. Everyone but John had pretty much known that their mother was close to death, she woke up every day in pain and rambled nonsense, they assumed only holding on to deliver her last baby. John chooses to ignore the obvious.
His actions the past few months angered Henry. He had been so focused on (Y/n) and her family and his new friends in New York that it seemed like John wasn’t even there. He approached John snatching the letter from his hand “Mom wants to see you.” John stood up snatching the letter back and tucking it in his pocket. “Just say so, no need to get nasty.” He pushed past his younger brother and made his way to his parents room.
“Mother, Henry said you wanted to see me.” He sat down beside his mother, a position that he grew to hate. “Yes Johnny, I have something to give you.” She reached over and handed him a letter “It’s from Martha, your brother gave it to me while you were out and I read it. I know that’s your mail but son from what I read this girl really loves you.” She smiled, she looked down at her left hand and began pulling off her wedding ring. He gasped as she took his hand and placed the ring in his hands. “Mom what-”
“Shh Johnny, my first baby. I love you and I wanna see you happy. And I think we all know after I have my last angel, I won’t recover. I want you to take this and give it to your bride.” She gestured to the letter in his other hand. “Mom don’t say that you’re going to have this baby and raise it. God wouldn’t let you die.” She chuckled wiping the tears that spilled from his eyes. “Sweetie I think God is calling me, it’ll be my time soon. So I want you to stay here and help your father with your siblings, your father could move his business to Charleston and you could work for him here. And Martha and her father could come here and it would bring you closer-”
“Mom no, I don’t want Martha, you know that.” She shook her head “I know, you don’t want her right now. But you could learn to love her John, she’s a great girl.” He stood up wiping his tears on his own, he smiled tucking in his mother, knowing he couldn’t change her mind. “Rest mom, I’ll come to see you after your nap.” She nodded falling asleep quickly. He turned to leave stopping when he saw Henry waiting for him the hallway. “What?”
“Read Marthas letter, Mother read it to me and well, I know you love (Y/n). But you need to set things straight with Martha, shes… I would call her delusional.” And with that Henry left to his room, John made his way to his, and opened her letter.
Dearest John Laurens,
I found it odd that you haven’t written me back since my visit to your family in December. As you know your mother and I have become close friends, shes assured me you’re very busy with work and your studies. Which I completely understand, I’d expect nothing less of a great man like yourself.
Your mothers told me you’re very shy with your feelings too, so here I am being rather bold to say I Adore You, John. I know its not very characteristic of me, but your mother says you enjoy that. If you don’t please let me know, I want to be the perfect match for you.
My mother raised me to be a perfect bride for whatever groom would have me. I also wanted to let you know my father one hundred percent approves of you, so it is whenever your ready we can begin courting. Im patient John.
Say hello to your mother for me, and let her know I’ll be around by the end of June. See you soon.
Yours Truly
Martha Mannings
Oh god, what is happening to his life.
1772 June
“JOHN, HENRY! Hurry” John heard his younger sister yell, he sighed as he out his half-written letter to (Y/n) away. He stood up making his way to where he heard her yell. “Mary I was writi-”
“John! We need to go, get to the horses!” His younger brother yelled running past him to their stables. He quickly followed his brother mounting his horse, “Henry what happened?”
“Mother went into labor” He gasped, his mother wasnt due for another month. “I’ll get the doctor, you go find father.” Henry nodded riding away, to find their father while John went the other way to the doctors home.
---
“How’s your mother?” Their father who was out of breath, arriving with Henry. “The doctors been with her for a couple of hours and the midwife arrived half an hour ago. They said when you arrive to go in.” His father nodded running up the stairs to his wife. For the past hours, all the Laurens kids were hearing were screams and cries from their sweet mother. “John is mommy going to be okay?” Mary the youngest asked, in tears hugging her brother’s side. “I don’t know Mary.”
“John! Mary of course Mothers going to be okay.” Henry responded trying to calm their siblings. He sat down next to John and took his hand and Mary’s. “We’re going to pray for Mother, Mary do you wanna start?” The little girl nodded, shutting her eyes and began her prayer. John sat there holding hands with his four siblings watching them pray, pray to a God who put their mother in this situation. He sat in silence.
---
“John, John.” He awoke to see his father red-eyed in front of him, he stood up without waking his siblings since they had fallen asleep waiting to see what happened. His father gestured that they leave the room, John followed. “How’s Mother? And the baby?” His father held his oldest son’s shoulder, “The baby, was a boy. He didnt make it, he was gone when he came out.” His father cried hugging his oldest, “And mother how she take it?” He father cried harder, “Father”
“Your mother had to go with your brother.” He stiffened “What?” His father pulled away, “The pain was too much for her, son.” He felt like he couldn’t breathe, just like that. Their savior not only took his brother but his mother. “I need to go, I need air.” He walked out not saying another word to his crying father.
---
Her ceremony was beautiful. He sat by her freshly covered grave, hours after the burial happened. His father and siblings gone, crying inside. He had yet to shed a tear, anger consumed him, why kind of god would kill his mother and baby brother. He stood when he heard footsteps behind him.
“I came as soon as I heard what happened. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here, I wish I could have gotten here earlier but I’m here for you now John.” He ran to her and hugged her. “Thank you for coming Martha.” He whispered, “Its no trouble John.”
1772 July
John, John, John. He was all that was on her mind, why hadn’t he written her? Was he still coming to see her? Did he still want this, her? She paced around her room waiting to see if Anna had any mail for her. It wasnt like John to leave her feeling so helpless.
“(Y/n), I’ve got something from Charleston!” Anna yelled as she made her way up, ‘Oh thank you Anna, thank you!” She smiled kissing both her cheeks grabbing the letter. “After you read your letter please come down to eat (Y/n) you need to eat tonight.” She nodded.
“Of course Anna Ill be down soon.” Anna nodded leaving (Y/n)’s room. She sat on her bed and took a deep breath, this would answer all her questions. To why her love hadnt written her if he was going to travel the sea to see her.
Dear (Y/N)
I won’t be coming to Switzerland, I’m sorry. I’ll write to you soon.
Sincerely
John Laurens
---
I finally edited this! I don’t know how Britains currency worked/use to work so sorry if thats wrong.
New chapter soon!
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